Origen

“ Moreover, that both young women [6] and female servants are to be understood metaphorically, is not our doctrine merely, but one which we have received from the beginning from wise men, among whom a certain one said, when exhorting his hearers to investigate the figurative meaning: “Tell me, ye that read the law, do ye not hear the law? ”

“ And erring widely from the meaning of Scripture, he says that “God gave wells [1] also to the righteous.” Now he did not observe that the righteous do not construct cisterns, [2] but dig wells, seeking to discover the inherent ground and source of potable blessings, [3] inasmuch as they receive in a figurative sense the commandment which enjoins, “Drink waters from your own vessels, and from your own wells of fresh water. Let not your water be poured out beyond your own fountain, but let it pass into your own streets. ”