Didaskalia De nobili dicto Davidis

XII.
"The Palm rejoices in watered places, and since it loves to drink throughout the whole year, it is more joyful in a thirsty and parched year."

"The righteous man rejoices in that watering of which it is said: 'I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase' (1 Cor. 3:6). Likewise: 'And Jehovah shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of waters, whose waters fail not' (Is. 58:11)."

"The same man, in the midst of the heat of afflictions, rejoices in hope, and glories in oppressions (Rom. 5:3). The Apostle says: 'We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; we are persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed' (2 Cor. 4:8-9)."

XIII.
"The Palm carries its leaves, fruit, and buds almost entirely at the top; for all its genital power resides in its vertex. Therefore, if it is decapitated, it dies, and it does not germinate (as if it had been scorched)."

"The pious man, in Christ Jesus the head, obtains the highest honor and brings forth the buds and fruits of good works; without Christ he can do nothing (John 15:2). It is well, however, that having been made one with Christ Jesus, he can never be separated from Him (Rom. 8:38-39)."

XIIII.
"Since, as Aristotle and Theophrastus attest, the Palm is a symbol of victory, it does not yield to any burden, however huge, nor does it bend inward, but rises against the weight. Therefore, in the crown contests, no other prize was usually given but the palm, as Pausanias says. Xenophon, however, in his Education of Cyrus, book 7, says: 'And indeed, when the palms are pressed by a weight, they are curved upwards, just like pack-donkeys.'"

"Thus it is said of the righteous: 'Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith' (1 John 5:4)."