{"slug":"khazarzar-maximus-confessor-pg-91a-5","id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-maximus-confessor-pg-91a-5","title":"PG_91A_5","title_source":"PG_91A_5","author":"Maximus Confessor","genre":"commentary","date":null,"tradition":"greek","coverage":"not-located","coverage_claim":{"status":"not-located","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},"publication":{"status":"machine-draft","reviewed_by":null,"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4.1-flash:floor","provider":"Baidu","generated":"2026-11-15T19:09:49Z","cost_usd":0.026556},"source":{"registry_id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-maximus-confessor-pg-91a-5","work_id":"khazarzar-maximus-confessor-pg-91a-5","edition":"khazarzar","language":"","license":null,"url":null},"stats":{"passages":236,"english_words":62173,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":235210,"commentary_units":0,"commentary_kinds":0,"derived_notes":5,"ambiguities":0,"work_notes":0,"external_links":0,"timeline":0},"summary":{},"links":[],"checks":{"work":"khazarzar-maximus-confessor-pg-91a-5","status":"warn","blocking":[],"warnings":[{"code":"ratio-warn","i":2,"ratio":0.062}],"stats":{"passages":236,"translated":236,"commentary_passages":0,"commentary_units":0,"english_words":62173,"source_letters":235210,"commentary_kinds":0},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4.1-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[],"derived_work_notes":[{"kind":"coverage","severity":"info","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},{"kind":"limit","severity":"caution","text":"The English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Greek; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve."},{"kind":"register","severity":"info","text":"Register: other in ancient Greek; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 236 narrative."},{"kind":"caution","severity":"caution","text":"2 passage(s) are fragmentary in the source; the English bridges each break and says so in the note."},{"kind":"scripture","severity":"info","text":"2 scriptural phrase match(es) noted: John 1:1; John 4:10."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Source edition: khazarzar."}],"derived_structure":{"narrative":236},"term_index":[],"citations":{},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"ΑΠΑΝΤΑ, ΜΑΞΙΜΟΥ τοῦ ΟΜΟΛΟΓΗΤΟΥ * ος Τόμος - 14 1... συνέχεια... ΣΧΟΛΙΑ ΕΙΣ ΤΑ ΤΟΥ ΑΓ. ΔΙΟΝΥΣΙΟΥ ος Τόμος - 14... συνέχεια... ΣΧΟΛΙΑ ΕΙΣ ΤΑ ΤΟΥ ΑΓ. ΔΙΟΝΥΣΙΟΥ * ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΠΕΡΙ ΘΕΙΩΝ ΟΝΟΜΑΤΩΝ (≡14 _014≡ § 1. Ἀρεοπαγίτου: Ὅτι τά γνωρίσματα, ἅπερ εἶχον Ἕλληνες ἔτι ὄντες οἱ πάλαι ἅγιοι, καί μετά τό ἐπιστρέψαι πρός Χριστόν ἀνερυθριάστως ἐπέγραφον ἑαυτοῖς· ἰδού γάρ Ἀρεοπαγίτην ἐπωνόμασεν ἑαυτόν, ὡς καί ὁ θεῖος Ἰουστῖνος ἐν τῷ Πρός Ἕλληνας λόγῳ, Ἰουστίνου Φιλοσόφου. Συμπρεσβυτέρῳ: Ὅτι τό τοῦ πρεσβυτέρου ὄνομα καί τόν ἐπίσκοπον δηλοῖ, ἐπίσκοπος δέ καί ὁ πρεσβύτερος· καί τοῦτο δηλοῦται ἐν ταῖς Πράξεσι τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων, ἔνθα ἐν Ἀσίᾳ συντάσσεται ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις αὐτῆς ὁ Παῦλος. ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ Α' § 1. Θεολογικάς: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι ἑτέρα πραγματεία πεπόνηται τῷ πατρί οἱονεί προεισαγωγή τις καί προθεωρία στοιχειώδης τῶν περί Θεοῦ ἐν ταῖς Γραφαῖς σποράδην εἰρημένων· ἤτοι ἐπίμνησις ἦν ἥστινος κατά ἀκολουθίαν ἡ παροῦσα αὐτῷ πεπραγμάτευται.","english":"COMMENTARY ON SAINT DIONYSIUS\n\nON THE DIVINE NAMES\n\n§ 1. Of the Areopagite: That the distinctive names which the ancient saints had while they were still Greeks, they inscribed upon themselves without shame even after turning to Christ; for behold, he named himself \"Areopagite,\" as also the divine Justin in his Discourse to the Greeks [wrote] \"of Justin the Philosopher.\" To the fellow-presbyter: That the name of presbyter also signifies the bishop, and the bishop is also the presbyter; and this is made clear in the Acts of the holy apostles, where Paul, in Asia, is listed together with its churches.\n\nON CHAPTER 1\n\n§ 1. Theological: Note that the father has labored on another treatise, as it were a certain preliminary introduction and elementary prefatory exposition of the things said about God scattered throughout the Scriptures; that is, it was a recollection of certain things, in accordance with the sequence of which the present work has been composed by him.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"Οὐκ ἐν πειθοῖς: Ἡ ἀνθρωπίνη σοφία ἐκ τῶν αἰσθητῶν τάς πιθανότητας τῶν ἀποδείξεων ἐρανίζεται· ἡ γάρ μεγάλη τῶν συλλογισμῶν ἀνάγκη τῆς γεωμετρίας τάς ἀφορμάς παραλαμβάνει, ἐπί δέ τῶν ἀσωμάτων, μᾶλλον δέ καί ὑπερασωμάτων καί (≡14 _016≡ ὑπέρ πᾶσαν οὐσίαν, πῶς ἄν τις λογικῶς ἐπιστήσειεν ἀνερμηνεύτως, εἰ *\n\nΤό ἔργο τοῦ ἁγίου Μαξίμου χωρίστηκε σέ τόμους καί ἀναγράφονται οἱ σελίδες σύμφωνα μέ τή σειρά \"ΓΡΗΓΟΡΙΟΣ Ο ΠΑΛΑΜΑΣ\" τῶν ἐκδόσεων \"ΤΟ ΒΥΖΑΝΤΙΟΝ\" Θεσσαλονίκη 1992, ΦΙΛΟΚΑΛΙΑ ΤΩΝ ΝΗΠΤΙΚΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΑΣΚΗΤΙΚΩΝ, γιά νά μπορεῖ εὔκολα ὁ ἀναγνώστης νά συμβουλεύεται μετάφραση. Τό κείμενο προέρχεται ἀπό τρεῖς πηγές: 1) ἀπό τήν ἠλεκτρονική βιβλιοθήκη ἑλληνικῶν κειμένων,, ( :// ), 2) κείμενα πού δέν περιλαμβάνονται στό ἀπό τήν πατρολογία τοῦ, τόμος ος καί ος (τά δακτυλογράφησε ἡ μητέρα τοῦ π. Ἀρσενίου Μέσκου), καί 3) τά σχόλια στά ἔργα τοῦ ἁγίου Διονυσίου τοῦ Ἀρεοπαγίτη ἀπό τίς ἐκδόσεις ΒΥΖΑΝΤΙΟ, τό κείμενο περάστηκε ἀπό σκάνερ, ἀκολούθησε ὀπτική ἀναγνώριση χαρακτήρων καί ἔλεγχος. Τόμος καί σελίδα γιά τίς ἐκδόσεις ΒΥΖΑΝΤΙΟ ἀναγράφονται μέ τόν ἀκόλουθο τρόπο:, δηλαδή ἀκολουθεῖ ἡ δέκατη σελίδα τοῦ Β τόμου. Ἐπίσης ὑπάρχει καί ἔνδειξη γιά τήν σελίδα τῆς πατρολογίας ὅταν τό κείμενο προέρχεται ἀπό ἐκεῖ.","english":"Not in persuasive words: Human wisdom gathers the plausibilities of its demonstrations from things perceived by the senses; for the great necessity of syllogisms takes its starting points from geometry, but in the case of incorporeal things, or rather even things beyond body and beyond all essence, how could one apply oneself rationally, since they are inexpressible, if *","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[{"kind":"check","severity":"info","code":"ratio-warn","text":"Automatic check: the English/source length ratio is outside the usual band for Coptic — a sign that something was dropped or added, not proof that it was."}]},{"i":3,"ref":"p3","source":"* Τό κείμενο προέρχεται ἀπό τῆς ἐκδόσεις \"ΤΟ ΒΥΖΑΝΤΙΟΝ\" τῆς σειρᾶς \"ΓΡΗΓΟΡΙΟΣ Ο ΠΑΛΑΜΑΣ\" Θεσσαλονίκη 1992, ΦΙΛΟΚΑΛΙΑ ΤΩΝ ΝΗΠΤΙΚΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΑΣΚΗΤΙΚΩΝ, τόμος Ε. Πέρασε ἀπό σκάνερ, ἀκολούθησε ὀπτική ἀναγνώριση χαρακτήρων καί ἔλεγχος.\n\nμή μόλις τῷ ἀκροτάτῳ ἄνθει τοῦ νοῦ τήν περί Θεοῦ ἀγνωσίαν, ὅτι ποτέ ἐστι διά τῆς εἰλικρινοῦς εὑσεβείας, ἀλαλήτως συννοεῖν δυνάμενος;, Ἐννοῆσαί τι περί τῆς ὑπερουσίου: Ὑπερούσιος ὁ Θεός, ὡς ὑπέρ πᾶσαν οὐσίαν θεωρούμενος, εἴτε νοητήν, εἴτε νοεράν, πολλῷ δέ μᾶλλον αἰσθητήν. Ὑπερουσιότητος: Εἰ οὐσία λέγεται παρά τό εἶναι, τό δέ εἶναι παραγωγῆς τινος ἔννοιαν ὑπογράφει, οὐκ ἄν λέγοιτο κυρίως οὐσία ἐπί Θεοῦ. Πάσης γάρ οὐσίας ὑπέρκειται ὁ Θεός. Οὐδέν τι τῶν ὄντων ὤν, ἀλλ’ ὑπέρ τά ὄντα καί ἐξ οὗ τά ὄντα· ἡ γάρ τοῦ μόνου Θεοῦ πᾶσιν ἀπόκρυφος θεότης θεαρχική δύναμίς ἐστιν, ἄρχουσα τῶν λεγομένων θεῶν, εἴτε ἀγγέλων, εἴτε ἁγίων ἀνθρώπων, καθά καί δημιουργός ἐστι τῶν ἐκ μεθέξεων γινομένων θεῶν ἡ τῷ ὄντι ἐξ ἑαυτῆς καί ἀναιτίως αὐτοθεότης οὖσα.","english":"Is it not perhaps with the utmost flower of the intellect that one is able, through genuine piety, to contemplate in silence the unknowability of God—what He ever is? To conceive something concerning the supersubstantial: God is supersubstantial, since He is contemplated as beyond every substance, whether intelligible or intellectual, and far more so sensible. Concerning supersubstantiality: If substance is so called from being, and being traces out the notion of some derivation, then substance would not properly be predicated of God. For God is beyond every substance. He is none of the things that exist, but beyond the things that exist and the source from which things exist; for the Godhead of the only God, hidden from all, is a God-ruling power, governing those called gods, whether angels or holy men, just as it is also the creator of those who become gods by participation, being truly from itself and without cause self-Godhead.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":4,"ref":"p4","source":"Αὐτῇ τήν ὑπερούσιον; Μόνῃ γάρ αὐτῇ τῇ θεότητι τά καθ' ἑαυτήν, ὡς ἔχει φύσεως, ἐπιστητά.\n\nΛογίων ἀκτίς: Καλῶς εἶπεν ἀκτίς καί οὐχ ἥλιος· ὥσπερ γάρ τῷ ἡλίῳ ἐνατενίσαι οὐ δυνάμεθα, ἀλλ’ ἴσως ταῖς περί αὐτόν ἀκτῖσιν, οὕτω Θεόν αὐτόν νοῆσαι οὐ χωροῦμεν.\n\nΤῇ περί τά θεῖα σωφροσύνῃ: Οὐ γάρ κατατολμητέον θεολογίας, ἀλλά σωφρονοῦντι λογισμῷ μετιτέον τήν περί τό Θεῖον σέβας ὁσιότητα, μόνα φθεγγομένους καί πρός ἑρμηνείαν ἄγοντας ἐκεῖνα τά περί τοῦ Θεοῦ κατά τήν Γραφήν χρησμῳδηθέντα, ὡς πρό μικροῦ εἶπεν. Ἀληθεστάτῃ θεολογία: Ὅρα πῶς ἀληθῆ θεολογίαν καλεῖ τήν τοῦ θείου Παύλου Γραφήν αὐτός γάρ ἐστιν ὁ λέγων, ὅτι (≡14 _018≡ κατά τό μέτρον τῆς ἑκάστου δυνάμεως ἡ παρά Θεοῦ χορηγεῖται σαφῶς ἔλλαμψις· ὥσπερ καί ὁ Κύριος δηλοῖ λέγων τοῖς τελειοτέροις μαθηταῖς· «ὑμῖν δέδοται γνῶναι τά μυστήρια τῆς βασιλείας», ἅτε καί νουνεχέστερον προσέχουσι τοῖς θεσπιζομένοις. Οὐ μόνον δέ τοῦτο περί ἀνθρώπων φησί διαλέγεσθαι ὁ μέγας Διονύσιος, ἀλλά καί περί τῶν ἀγγέλων, οὕς εἴωθεν ὀνομάζειν κατά τινας τῶν τῆς ἔξω φιλοσοφίας νόας, οἵτινες τῶν ἄνω ταγμάτων νόες εἴρηνται, ὡς τό πᾶν νοῦς οὐσιωμένως ὄντες, καί πάντα νοοῦντες, ἑνιαίως τά ἐκ Θεοῦ ρέοντα προσεχῶς εἰς αὐτούς· ὅθεν καί ὅλοι ὅλως κατομματοῦσθαι λέγονται ἐν τοῖς ἁγιωτάτοις χερουβίμ. Ἀνακαλύπτεται τά θεῖα: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι καί οἱ ἄγγελοι κατά τήν οἰκείαν ἀναλογίαν τῆς θεογνωσίας ἀξιοῦνται.","english":"By the supersubstantial itself? For to that very divinity alone are the things pertaining to itself knowable, as it is by nature.\n\nA ray of oracles: He spoke well in saying \"ray\" and not \"sun\"; for just as we cannot gaze directly at the sun, but perhaps at the rays around it, so we cannot comprehend God Himself.\n\nBy the prudence concerning divine things: For one must not boldly rush into theology, but must pursue with a prudent mind the holiness of reverence concerning the Divine, speaking and bringing to interpretation only those things that were divinely uttered concerning God according to the Scripture, as he said a little before. By the truest theology: Observe how he calls the Scripture of the divine Paul true theology; for it is he who says that, according to the measure of each one's capacity, the illumination from God is clearly supplied; just as the Lord also makes clear when He says to the more perfect disciples, \"To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom,\" since they also attend more intelligently to the things divinely ordained. And the great Dionysius says that this is spoken not only concerning human beings, but also concerning the angels, whom he is accustomed to call, following certain of those from the outside philosophy, \"minds,\" who are said to be minds of the higher orders, as being wholly mind in essence, and understanding all things, and receiving in a unified way the things that flow from God directly into them; whence they are also said to be wholly illumined in the most holy cherubim. The divine things are unveiled: Note that the angels too are deemed worthy of the knowledge of God according to their own proportion.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":5,"ref":"p5","source":"Ἐν σωστικῇ δικαιοσύνῃ: Διά τοῦτο, φησίν, ἑκάστῳ κατά τήν αὐτοῦ δύναμιν ὁ Θεός ἀποκαλύπτει, οὐχ ὅτι φθονεῖ τοῦ πλείονος, ἀλλά διά τό σῶσαι τήν ἐν τῇ μετρήσει τῆς θεογνωσίας δικαιοσύνην· δικαιοσύνης γάρ ἴδιον τό κατ' ἀξίαν ἐπιμετρεῖν ἑκάστῳ· τοιγαροῦν ἀμέτρητος μέν ἡ περί Θεοῦ γνῶσις, ἡμεῖς δέ μέτρων δεόμεθα· εἰ γάρ ἀμέτρως ἡμῖν ἀπεκαλυπτετο, οὐκ ἄν ἑσώθημεν, ὡς οὐδέ σωματικός ὀφθαλμός ὅλον ἥλιον δεχόμενος.\n\nΤήν ἀμετρίαν θεοπρεπῶς: Ἀμετρίαν νῦν λέγει αὐτό τό Θεῖον καί τήν αὐτοῦ κατά τό δυνατόν ἔλλαμψιν.\n\nὭσπερ γάρ ἄληπτα: Τό ἀκατάληπτον τῆς περί Θεόν γνώσεως ἐντεῦθεν παρίσταται· εἰ γάρ οὐδέ τά ἁπλά καί ἀσχημάτιστα, κἄν οὐσίαι τινές ὦσι, ταῖς αἰσθήσεσιν ὑποπίπτουσιν, (≡14 _020≡ ὡς ἄγγελοι καί ψυχαί τοῖς σωματικοῖς, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ὑπερέχει ὁ Θεός, ὁ μήτε οὐσία, ἀλλ’ ὑπέρ οὐσίαν, μήτε ἁπλοῦς, ἀλλ’ ὑπέρ ἁπλότητα, μήτε νοῦς, ἀλλά καί ὑπέρ νοῦν, μήτε ἑνάς, ἀλλά καί ὑπέρ ἑνάδα, καί οὔτε ὅρῳ τινί περιγραφόμενος, ἀλλ' ἀοριστίᾳ τῶν ὄντων ἀφειμένος; Ἀκούων οὖν ἐν τῇ Γραφῆ μορφήν Θεοῦ; καί 'εἶδος', καί 'πρόσωπον', δι' ἀναγωγῆς καί ὑπέρ τά σώματα ἀξίως Θεοῦ νόει· 'ἑνότητα' δέ ἀκούων, μή διαφόρων τινῶν πρός ἕνωσιν συνδρομήν","english":"In saving righteousness: For this reason, he says, God reveals to each one according to his own capacity, not because he begrudges the greater, but in order to preserve the righteousness that lies in the measure of the knowledge of God; for it is proper to righteousness to apportion to each according to worth. Therefore the knowledge concerning God is measureless, but we have need of measures; for if it had been revealed to us without measure, we would not have been saved, just as a bodily eye does not receive the whole sun.\n\nThe measurelessness in a manner befitting God: He now calls \"measurelessness\" the Divinity itself and its illumination according to what is possible.\n\nFor just as things incomprehensible: The incomprehensibility of the knowledge concerning God is established from this: for if even simple and formless things, though they be certain essences, do not fall under the senses (as angels and souls do not fall under bodily senses), how much more does God surpass them, who is neither essence but beyond essence, nor simple but beyond simplicity, nor intellect but even beyond intellect, nor a unity but even beyond unity, and is neither circumscribed by any limit, but is set free by the indefiniteness of beings? Hearing, then, in the Scripture of the \"form\" of God, and \"appearance,\" and \"face,\" understand these by way of ascent and beyond bodies, in a manner worthy of God; and hearing of \"unity,\" do not think it is a concurrence of certain different things toward union","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":6,"ref":"p6","source":"νοήσῃς, οὐ γάρ περί τοιούτων ὁ λόγος νῦν, ἀλλά περί Θεοῦ, τοῦ μήτε ἀρχῆς ἀριθμῶν ὄντος καί ἀσυνθέτου, ἀλλά καί ὑπέρ τά μονοούσια ἡνωμένου. Ἑνοποιός: Ἐντεῦθεν μετά τό ἐξελθεῖν πάντων τῶν ἐν τοῖς οὖσι τά περί Θεοῦ, λοιπόν τῷ μέτρῳ τῆς ἡμετέρας γλώσσης ἀκολουθῶν (οὐ γάρ ὑπερβῆναι ταύτην δυνατόν ἡμῖν), ἐξ αὐτῶν δοξάζει τόν Θεόν, ἐξ ὧν αὐτόν ἐξεῖλε· καί ἑνάδα φησίν, ἀλλ’ ἑνοποιόν τῶν ἑνάδων, τουτέστι, δημιουργόν τῶν ἁπλῶν οὐσιῶν, οἷον ἀγγέλων καί ψυχῶν· καί νοῦν ἀνόητον ἀντί τοῦ μή νοούμενον ὑπό τινος νοῦ· εἰ γάρ τό ὅμοιον ὑπό τοῦ ὁμοίου γινώσκεται, ἐχρῆν οὖν, εἰ νοῦς ἦν, ὑπό τῶν νοῶν νοεῖσθαι. Ἀλλά τίς ἔγνω νοῦν Κυρίου; Οὐκοῦν νοῦς ἐστιν ὑπέρ νοῦν, καί ὄνομά ἐστι τό ὑπέρ πᾶν ὄνομα· καί «τό ὄνομα γάρ μου», φησίν, «οὐκ εἶπον αὐτοῖς»· διό καί ἀνώνυμος πᾶσιν. Ἀλλά καί οὐδέ ὤν ἐστιν· εἰ γάρ αὐτός τά ὄντα ἐκ τῶν μή ὄντων δημιουργεῖ, οὐκ ἄρα τῶν ὄντων ἐστιν, ἀλλ’ ὑπέρ τά ὄντα. Ἐάν δέ λέγη, «Ἐγώ εἰμί ὁ ὤν”, ἀξίως νόει ἄναρχον καί ἀτελεύτητον, ἀλλά καί ἀνεξερεύνητον. § 2. Ὅ,τί ποτέ ἐστιν ἐπιστήμη: Μόνος γάρ ὁ Θεός αὐτός τά περί ἑαυτοῦ ἐπίσταται, ἐπιστητῶς καί κυρίως εἰδώς ἑαυτόν ὡς ἔστι, τοῖς δέ ἑξῆς ἅπασιν ἀνεπίγνωστος ὤν κατ' αὐτό, τό τί ἐστι καί καθ' ὅ ἐστιν. «Οὐδείς γάρ γιγνώσκει τόν Πατέρα, εἰ μή (≡14 _022≡ ὁ Υἱός, καί τόν Υἱόν, εἰ μή ὁ Πατήρ»· γιγνώσκων γάρ ὁ Πατήρ τήν ἑαυτοῦ προσκυνητήν εἰκόνα, τουτέστι τόν Υἱόν, γιγνώσκει καί ἑαυτόν. Τό αὐτό καί περί τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος· «οὐδείς γάρ οἶδε τά τοῦ Θεοῦ, εἰ μή τό Πνεῦμα τό ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ».","english":"you would understand—for the discourse is not now about such things, but about God, who is neither the beginning of numbers nor composite, but is even beyond the things that are united in a single essence. Unifying: Hence, after all the things pertaining to God have been set forth from among existing things, following the measure of our language (for it is not possible for us to go beyond it), he glorifies God from those very things from which he extracted him; and he calls him a unity, but a unifying one of unities—that is, the creator of simple essences, such as angels and souls; and \"a mind not understood\" instead of \"not understood by any mind.\" For if like is known by like, then, if he were a mind, he ought to be understood by minds. But who has known the mind of the Lord? Therefore he is a mind beyond mind, and a name beyond every name; and \"my name,\" he says, \"I did not tell them\"; therefore he is also nameless to all. But neither is he among existing things; for if he himself creates existing things out of non-existing things, then he is not among existing things, but beyond existing things. But if he says, \"I am the one who is,\" understand it worthily as without beginning and without end, and also unsearchable. § 2. Whatever knowledge is: For God alone himself knows the things concerning himself, knowing himself in a knowledgeable and proper way as he is, while to all subsequent beings he is unknowable as to what he is and according to what he is. \"For no one knows the Father except the Son, and the Son except the Father\"; for the Father, knowing his own adorable image—that is, the Son—also knows himself. The same applies concerning the Holy Spirit; \"for no one knows the things of God except the Spirit that is from God.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":7,"ref":"p7","source":"Πάντα τοίνυν, ὅσα περί Θεοῦ θεωρεῖ ὁ μακάριος οὖτος ἀνήρ, περί τῆς σεβασμίας Τριάδος νοεῖ.\n\nἈπειρίαν: Τό πεπερασμένον καί περιληπτόν ἐστιν εἰκότως, ὑφ' οὗ καί πεπέρασται· εἰ δέ ὁ Θεός τῶν ἁπάντων ἐστί τόπος, οὐ σωματικῶς, ἀλλά δημιουργικῶς (τόν γάρ οὐρανόν καί τήν γῆν καί τά πάντα αὐτός πληροῖ καί ἔξω τούτων ἐστί), δῆλον ὅτι ἀπειρία ἐστί, τουτέστι πέρας οὐκ ἔχουσα δύναμις. Οὐ μήν ἀκοινώνητον: Τουτέστι τά πάντα τῆς αὐτοῦ μετέχουσι κοινωνίας καί σωτηρίου προνοίας.\n\nΤήν ὑπερούσιον: Πῶς ποτέ μέν οὐσίαν τό Θεῖον καλεῖ, ποτέ δέ ὑπερούσιον, ὥσπερ νοῦν ἀνόητον, καί ὄνομα τό ὑπερ πᾶν ὄνομα, οὕτω καί οὐσίαν ὑπερούσιον. Ἐπιβάλλοντας: Ὧν γάρ τήν κατάληψιν δέδωκεν ἡμῖν ὁ Θεός, τούτοις ἐπιβάλλειν προσήκει τόν ἡμέτερον νοῦν, καί μηδέν πέρα τῆς ἡμετέρας ἀσθενείας ζητεῖν· οἷον, ὅτι ἀγαθός, ὅτι δημιουργός, ὅτι φιλάνθρωπος, καί τά ἑξῆς, τό δέ, τίς ἡ οὐσία τοῦ Θεοῦ, μή πολυπραγμόνει.\n\nἈδυνάτως ἀπαυθαδιαζομένους: Καλῶς τό ἀδυνάτως· κἄν γάρ ἐπιχειρήσειέ τις, οὐκ ἐφικνεῖται μέν, μόνον δέ, τάς νοεράς ὄψεις ἀμαυρούμενος, καί τοῦ ὄντος ἐκπίπτει φωτός, ὡς ὁ φιλονεικήσας ὅλον ἥλιον τῷ σωματικῷ δέξασθαι ὀφθαλμῷ, ὅπερ αἱ θεῖαι καί νοηταί δυνάμεις αἰνιττόμεναι, χερουβίμ καί σεραφίμ (≡14 _024≡ τά πρόσωπα καλύπτουσι, δηλοῦντα μή προσερίζειν τῇ ὑπέρ αὐτούς θεωρίᾳ μή δεδομένῃ αὐτοῖς. Καί τοῦτό ἐστι τό, «Θεόν οὐδείς ἑώρακε πώποτε». Ὅθεν οἱ θεόσοφοι δόξαν Θεοῦ, ἀλλ' οὐ Θεόν ἑωρακέναι φασί. § 3.","english":"All things, then, that this blessed man contemplates concerning God, he understands concerning the venerable Trinity.\n\nInfinity: That which is finite is reasonably also comprehensible, since it is bounded by that which has bounded it. But if God is the place of all things—not bodily, but creatively (for he fills heaven and earth and all things, and is outside these)—it is clear that he is infinity, that is, a power having no limit. Yet not without communion: that is, all things partake of his communion and saving providence.\n\nThe supersubstantial: How is it that he sometimes calls the Divine \"essence,\" and sometimes \"supersubstantial,\" just as he speaks of a mind without understanding, and a name above every name, so also an essence that is supersubstantial. Applying: For it is fitting that our mind apply itself to those things whose comprehension God has given us, and seek nothing beyond our own weakness—for example, that he is good, that he is creator, that he is loving toward humanity, and the like; but do not busy yourself with the question, what is the essence of God.\n\nShamelessly, in a manner without power: Well said is \"without power\"; for even if someone should attempt it, he does not attain it, but only dims the eyes of his intellect and falls away from the light that truly is, like the man who contended that he could receive the whole sun with his bodily eye—which the divine and intelligible powers, cherubim and seraphim, hinting at, cover their faces, signifying that they do not press toward the vision that is above them and not granted to them. And this is the saying, \"No one has ever seen God.\" Whence those wise in divine things say that they have seen the glory of God, but not God. § 3.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":8,"ref":"p8","source":"Τό μέν ὑπέρ νοῦν: Σαφῶς ἐκ τούτων ἔστι λαβεῖν τήν Ἀρείου καί Εὐνομίου μανίαν, οἵ καί τεχνολογεῖν τήν ἄρρητον καί ὑπερούσιον οὐσιαν τοῦ Μονογενοῦς ἐθάρρησαν. [Ὑπέρ νοῦν γάρ ἐστι τό τῆς θεαρχίας, ἤγουν τῆς παμβασιλίδος καί ἀκατονομάστου οὐσίας τό ἀκατάληπτον]. Τῆς θεαρχίας: Θεαρχίαν καλεῖ πανταχοῦ τήν παμβασιλίδα Τριάδα διά τό καί τῶν λεγομένων θεῶν ἄρχειν, ἀγγέλων φημί καί ἁγίων, ὡς προειρήκαμεν. Κρύφιον δέ τό περί τῆς ἀκατονομάστου ἐκείνης οὐσίας ἀκατάληπτον, ὅπερ μετά μικρόν φησι σώφρονι σιγῇ καί ἀνωτέρω, ὡς θεμιτόν αὐτῷ, καί ἱεροπρεπῶς.\n\nΚαί τήν ἀγαθοδότιν ἀρχήν: Κατά τί ἐστιν ὁ Θεός ἀρχή πάσης φωτοφανείας, καί τίνες αἱ φωτοφάνειαι καί ἀναμορφώσεις. Ἀνάστασις: Τοῦτό ἐστιν ὅ λέγει Συμεών, ὅτε τόν Χριστόν εἶδεν· «Οὗτος κεῖται εἰς πτῶσιν καί ἀνάστασιν πολλῶν ἐν τῷ Ἰσραήλ»· πτῶσιν μέν τοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν χείρονος, ἀνάστασιν δέ τοῦ βελτίονος.\n\nΤῶν φωτιζομένων ἔλλαμψις: Βαθμηδόν, ὥσπερ ἐπί τά μείζονα προϊών, φησί, πρῶτον φωτιζομένους, εἶτα τελουμένους. Τελεῖσθαι δέ ἐστι, τό εἰς τελειότητα ἄγεσθαι διά τῆς μετά (≡14 _026≡ τό βάπτισμα δι' εὐζωίας προκοπῆς, ἵνα δύνηταί τις εἰπεῖν, «τόν δρόμον τετέλεκα, τήν πίστιν τετήρηκα». Ἡ οὗν προσκυνητή Τριάς, τῆς τοιαύτης τελετῆς ἄρχουσα, ἅτε καί πάσης τελειώσεως ποιητική τελετάρχις, εἰκότως νοεῖται. Οἱ γοῦν τῇ προκοπῆ τελειούμενοι θεοῦνται πάντως, θείας κοινωνοί φύσεως γινόμενοι, ὧν ἀναλόγως ἡ θεαρχία ὁ Θεός, θεῶν γεγενημένων ἀρχή τις ὤν.","english":"That which is beyond mind: From these things it is possible clearly to grasp the madness of Arius and Eunomius, who dared even to apply technical reasoning to the ineffable and supersubstantial essence of the Only-Begotten. [For that which is beyond mind is the incomprehensibility of the Godhead, that is, of the all-sovereign and unnameable essence.] Of the Godhead: Everywhere he calls the all-sovereign Trinity \"Godhead\" because it rules over those called gods—I mean angels and saints—as we have said before. And \"hidden\" is the incomprehensibility concerning that unnameable essence, which he mentions shortly afterward with prudent silence, and above, as was lawful for him, and in a manner befitting sacred things.\n\nAnd the good-giving principle: In what way God is the principle of every manifestation of light, and what the manifestations of light and reformations are. Resurrection: This is what Symeon said when he saw Christ: \"This one is set for the fall and resurrection of many in Israel\"—the fall of the worse in us, and the resurrection of the better.\n\nIllumination of those being enlightened: Progressively, he says, as if advancing to greater things, first those being enlightened, then those being perfected. And to be perfected is to be brought to perfection through the progress that comes after baptism by good living, so that one may be able to say, \"I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.\" The adorable Trinity, then, presiding over such perfection, as being the initiatory source that produces all perfection, is reasonably understood. Those, then, who are perfected by progress are certainly deified, becoming partakers of the divine nature, of whom proportionately the Godhead, God, is the principle, since they have become gods.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[{"kind":"lacuna","severity":"caution","text":"The source is fragmentary here: the edition marks a break or an editorial bracket, and the English carries across it. Treat the bridge as supplied, not translated."}]},{"i":9,"ref":"p9","source":"Μετά γοῦν τήν ἀνάβασιν ταύτην εἰς ἁπλότητα προκόπτουσιν, ἰσάγγελοι διά τῆς ἀναστάσεως γινόμενοι, καί οὐκέτι ψυχικόν ἔχοντες σῶμα, κατά τόν Ἀπόστολον, τουτέστι διά ψυχῆς συνεστός τε καί κινούμενον, ἀλλά πνευματικόν, ἀντί τοῦ διά τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος ἐπί μέγα χυθέντος ἐπ' αὐτούς τῆς πολυσυνθέτου τῶν λογισμῶν ποικιλίας, καί τῶν αἰσθήσεων ἀπηλλαγμένοι· ὅθεν καί ἑνίζονται εἰς ἑνάδα ἁπλότητος ἀγόμενοι, καθά προέφημεν· λέγει γάρ καί ἀλλαχοῦ· «ἦν» γάρ, φησί, «τῶν πιστευσάντων καρδία καί ψυχή μία».\n\nἩ τῶν ζώντων ζωή: Καθ' ἑαυτόν ὁ Θεός οὐ νοεῖται· ἐπεί δέ τῶν ὄντων πάντων ἐστίν αἰτία καί ἀρχή, τῶν ἁπλῶν ἁπλότης ἐστί, τῶν ζώντων ζωή, τῶν οὐσιῶν ὑπερούσιος, καί ἁπλῶς πάντων ἀγαθῶν μεταδότις ἐστίν. § 4. Ἐκφαντορικῶς: Ἐκφάντορες κυρίως ἐλέγοντο οἱ τῶν μυστηρίων τά ἄρρητα συμβολικῶς ἐκφαίνοντες.\n\nὩς μονάδα μέν: Ἐνταῦθα τρανοῖ τί μάλιστα θέλει δηλοῦν 'ἑνάς' καί 'μονάς' ἐπί Θεοῦ λεγομένη, καί φησιν, ὅτι περ, ἵνα παραστήση τήν ἀμέρειαν τοῦ Θεοῦ, τοῦτο λέγεται παρά τῶν θεολόγων· τό γάρ ὄγκοις καί πηλικότησι διειλημμένον, τοῦτο ἅτε καί σῶμα μερίζεται, τό δέ ἀμερές καί ἀνέμφατόν ἐστι σώματος, ἀλλά καί ὑπέρ πᾶσάν ἐστιν ἀσωματίαν· ἄλλως τε, ἐπειδή διανοηθείς (≡14 _028≡ ὁ Θεός βουλητικῶς τά πάντα ὑπέστησεν, οὐχ οἷά τις νοῦς εἰς νοήσεις μερισθείς ἐπολλαπλασιάσθη, ἀλλά μείνας καί μένων, φησίν, ἐν τῇ ἑνάδι ἀμερῶς καί ἀσκεδάστως καί ὑπέστησε καί ὑφίστησι τά ἐν τῇ κτίσει· «ἕως γάρ ἄρτι ἐργάζεται ὁ Θεός», ὡς ἐν Εὐαγγελίοις εἴρηται· ὑπερήπλωται οὖν πᾶσαν ἁπλότητα ἀμερῶς ὑπεραίρων.","english":"After this ascent, then, they advance into simplicity, becoming equal to angels through the resurrection, and no longer having a psychic body, according to the Apostle—that is, one constituted and moved through a soul—but a spiritual one, instead of through the all-holy Spirit poured out greatly upon them, and having been released from the manifold variety of reasonings and from the senses; whence they are also unified, being led into a unity of simplicity, as we said before. For he says also elsewhere: \"For the heart and soul of those who believed was one.\"\n\nThe life of the living: God is not comprehended in Himself; but since He is the cause and beginning of all things that exist, He is the simplicity of simple things, the life of living things, supersubstantial above substances, and simply the imparting of all good things. § 4. Manifestatively: Those who manifestatively reveal the ineffable things of the mysteries symbolically were called manifestors in the proper sense.\n\nAs a unity indeed: Here he clarifies what he especially wishes to signify by \"henad\" and \"monad\" as said of God, and he says that, in order to present the indivisibility of God, this is said by the theologians. For that which is divided by bulk and quantity—this, being also a body, is divided; but the indivisible is also beyond all bodily expression, and is even above all incorporeality. Moreover, since God, having conceived by will, brought all things into subsistence, He was not multiplied like some mind divided into thoughts, but remaining and continuing, he says, in the henad indivisibly and undispersedly, He both brought into subsistence and brings into subsistence the things in creation. \"For until now God works,\" as is said in the Gospels. He is therefore supremely simplified, indivisibly transcending all simplicity.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":10,"ref":"p10","source":"Καί τῶν μεριστῶν: Ἐπί τῶν ὑπερουρανίων κόσμων καί τοῦδε τοῦ ὁρατοῦ τά κατώτερα ἔστραπται ἐπί τά ὑπερκείμενα, καί τό σωματικόν ἥδρασται ἐν τῷ ζῶντι· «ἐν γάρ χειρί αὐτοῦ πάντα τά πέρατα τῆς γῆς»· ἀλλά γάρ καί οἱ οὐρανοί· «ἐν ᾧ», γάρ, φησί, «τά πάντα»· ἐπί δέ τοῦ καθ' ἡμᾶς θνητοῦ τό ἀνάπαλίν ἐστι τῶν εἰρημένων· ἡ γάρ ψυχή ἔστραπται πρός τό πνεῦμα ἐν ᾧ εἰσιν ἐστηριγμέναι αἱ αἰσθήσεις καί οἱ λογισμοί, δι' ὧν τά ἐν τῇ σκέψει λογιζόμεθα, «ὅπερ πνεῦμα οἶδε τά ἐν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ», κατά τόν Ἀπόστολον· ἐπεστραμμένη οὖν πρός τοῦτο τό πνεῦμα ἡ ψυχή, ἐπέστραπται καί πρός τάς ἐν αὐτῷ αἰσθήσεις, καί δι' αὐτῶν πρός τό σῶμα· καί ἐν τῷ νῷ αἱ νοήσεις οἱονεί μερίζονται, καί εἰς ἑτερότητας σκεδαστῶς προΐασιν ἀπό πρώτης νοήσεως εἰς δευτέρας, εἰς κρείττονας, ἤ εἰς φαύλους. Φησίν οὖν ὅτι, ἀνατεινόμενοι πρός Θεόν, γινόμεθα ὑπό τῆς ἑνάδος ἐκείνης ἕν ἀμερές, τῶν πολυμερῶν ἡμῶν ἑτεροτήτων ἐκ τοῦ σκεδασμοῦ εἰς σύμπτυξιν ἀθροιζομένων, καί ἑνοποιουμένων ὑπερκοσμίως, τουτέστιν οὐκ αἰσθητῶς, ἀλλά νοερῶς, οὐκ ἔτι ἀσυμβάτων ὄντων ἡμῶν πρός ἑαυτούς, ἀλλά γινομένων ἕν ἑνοειδές, ὡς καί αὐτός «ἕν ἐστιν», ὥς φησιν ἐν Εὐαγγελίοις.","english":"And of things divided: In the supracelestial worlds and in this visible one, the lower things have been turned toward the things above, and the bodily has been established in the living: \"For in his hand are all the ends of the earth\"; but indeed also the heavens: \"in whom,\" he says, \"are all things.\" But in our mortal condition the reverse of what has been said holds: for the soul has been turned toward the spirit in which the senses and the reasonings are fixed, through which we reason about things in contemplation, \"which spirit knows the things in man,\" according to the Apostle. The soul, then, having been turned toward this spirit, has also been turned toward the senses in it, and through them toward the body; and in the mind the thoughts are, as it were, divided, and they proceed dispersedly into othernesses, from a first thought to second thoughts, either better or worse. He says, then, that, being stretched upward toward God, we become by that Unity one without parts, our many-parted othernesses being gathered from dispersion into compactness, and being unified in a supracosmic way—that is, not sensibly but intellectually—no longer being incompatible with ourselves, but becoming one, unity-formed, as he himself \"is one,\" as he says in the Gospels.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":11,"ref":"p11","source":"(≡14 _030≡ Ὡς Τριάδα: Σημείωσαι Τριάδα τρισυπόστατον καί γονιμότητά φησι τήν πατρικήν ὑπέρ ἔννοιαν πρόοδον εἰς ἔκφασιν τοῦ Υἱοῦ καί τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος· καλῶς δέ τό ὡς Τριάδα, ἐπειδή οὐκ ἀριθμός, ἀλλά δόξα εἴρηται· «Κύριος ὁ Θεός, Κύριος εἷς ἐστιν».\n\nἘξ ἧς πᾶσα πατριά. Πατριάς νοητέον τάς τάξεις τάς ἐκ τῆς ὁμοταγίας, οἱονεί συνημμένας ἀλλήλοις, χερουβίμ, σεραφίμ, ἀρχάς, ἐξουσίας· ἐφ' ἡμῶν δέ καί τάς πνευματικάς, ὡς συγγενεῖς, καί ἀλληλουχίας, ὡς δηλοῖ καί Μωϋσῆς τάς συγγενείας. Ὅτι τά ὄντα πάντα: Πάντα τά τοῦ Θεοῦ δημιουργήματα καλά, καί καλά λίαν γεγόνασι, καί εἰσίν, ἐφ' ὅσον ἐν τῇ κατά φύσιν, ὡς γεγόνασι, μένουσι τάξει, ἡ δέ τοῦ κατά φύσιν παρατροπή, εἴτε ἐν ἀγγέλοις, εἴτε ἐν ψυχαῖς, εἴτε ἐν ὁποιοισοῦν σώμασι γινομένη, τό κάλλος ἀπόλλυσι καί τῇ τούτου διαμαρτίᾳ τό αἶσχος δημιουργεῖ. Πρός ἀλήθειαν ὁλικῶς: Τήν οἰκονομιαν ἐνταῦθα φράζει καλῶς, ὅτι εἷς τῆς Τριάδος ἔπαθε. Σημείωσαι δέ, ὅτι μία τῶν ὑποστάσεων ἡμῖν ἐκοινώνησεν ὁλικῶς καί ὅτι αὐτόν τόν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν ἁπλοῦν εἶπεν, εἶτα σύνθετον ἀνακαλούμενον πρός ἑαυτόν τήν ἀνθρωπίνην ἐσχατιάν· καλῶς οὖν λέγομεν, ὅτι εἷς τῆς ἁγιας Τριάδος ἦν ἐν τῷ σταυρῷ. Τοῦτο κατά Νεστοριανῶν καί Ἀκεφάλων· ἰδού γάρ, φησί, μία τῶν ὑποστάσεων ὁλικῶς ἡμῖν ἐκοινώνησεν, ὥς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, «ἐν ᾧ κατοικεῖ πᾶν τό πλήρωμα τῆς θεότητος σωματικῶς». Τοῦτο δέ τό ὁλικῶς καί κατά Ἀπολλιναρίου ἐστί· δηλοῖ γάρ τέλειον ἄνθρωπον ἀνειληφέναι αὐτόν.","english":"As Trinity: Note that he calls the Trinity three-personed, and the Father's fertility an understanding-transcending procession into manifestation of the Son and the Holy Spirit; and rightly \"as Trinity,\" since it is not a number but a glory that is spoken of: \"The Lord God, the Lord is one.\"\n\nFrom whom every family. By \"families\" one must understand the ranks that come from being of the same order, as it were joined to one another—cherubim, seraphim, principalities, authorities; and in our case also the spiritual kinship and successions, as Moses too makes clear the kinships. That all things that are: All God's creatures are good, and have become and are good exceedingly, insofar as they remain in the order according to nature as they came to be; but the perversion of what is according to nature, whether it occurs in angels or in souls or in bodies of any kind, destroys the beauty and by its deviation from it produces ugliness. Wholly in truth: Here he rightly speaks of the economy, that one of the Trinity suffered. And note that one of the persons wholly shared with us, and that he called our Lord Jesus Christ himself simple, then composite as he recalls to himself the human extremity; rightly then we say that one of the holy Trinity was on the cross. This is against the Nestorians and the Acephali; for behold, he says, one of the persons wholly shared with us, as the Apostle says, \"in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.\" And this \"wholly\" is also against Apollinarius; for it shows that he took up a perfect man.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":12,"ref":"p12","source":"(≡14 _032≡ Καί παράτασιν εἴληφε: Τό 'παράτασιν' εἰρηκέναι τόν πατέρα, ὑπολαμβάνω τό χρονικόν μέτρον εἶναι τῆς ἐν σαρκί τοῦ Κυρίου διαγωγῆς. Καί ἀσυγχύτου: Ἔμεινε γάρ αὐτός Θεός Λόγος γενόμενος, ὅπερ οὐκ ἦν ἀσυγχύτως· καί σημείωσαι, ὅτι τό ἀσύγχυτον ἐκ τῶν ἀποστολικῶν κεκήρυκται καιρῶν.\n\nΚαί ὅσα ἄλλα θεουργικά: Θεουργικά φῶτά φησι τάς διδασκαλίας τῶν ἁγίων, ὡς φῶς γνώσεως ἐμποιούσας καί θεούς τούς πειθομένους. Καθηγεμόνων κρυφία: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι τά περί τῶν ἀνηγμένων καί ὑπέρ τήν τῶν πολλῶν ἀκοήν ὄντα, εἴτε περί θεολογίας εἴτε καί περί τῆς τοῦ ζωοποιοῦ Θεοῦ οἰκονομίας κρυφίως παρεδίδοσαν οἱ θεῖοι Ἀπόστολοι, μυστηριωδῶς ἀποκαλύπτοντες τοῖς τελείοις· καί ὅτι ἐκ τῶν Ἀποστόλων ἐστί τό ἀσυγχύτως καί ἀμεταβλήτως, ὅ εἶπε, καί τό τοῦ ὅλου ἀνθρώπου· διό καί ὁ Ἀπόστολος, γράφων Θεσσαλονικεῦσι, φησί, «χρῆναι φυλάττειν αὐτούς, ὅσα ἤκουσαν, εἴτε διά λόγου, εἴτε δι' ἐπιστολῆς»· καί Τιμοθέῳ πάλιν «παραθήκην» λέγων «δεδωκέναι ἐν μυστηρίῳ», ὅπερ ἐνταῦθα ἐκφαντορικῶς εἴρηται.","english":"(≡14 _032≡ And he has taken extension: By saying \"extension\" of the Father, I understand it to be the temporal measure of the Lord's conduct in the flesh. And unconfused: For he remained himself, God the Word, having become what he was not, unconfusedly; and note that \"unconfused\" has been proclaimed since apostolic times.\n\nAnd whatever other divinely-wrought things: He calls the teachings of the saints \"divinely-wrought lights,\" as producing the light of knowledge and making those who obey gods. Secret things of the leaders: Note that the things concerning those who have been led up and are beyond the hearing of the many, whether concerning theology or also concerning the economy of the life-giving God, the divine Apostles handed down secretly, mysteriously revealing them to the perfect; and that \"unconfusedly\" and \"unchangeably,\" which he said, and that of the whole man, are from the Apostles; therefore also the Apostle, writing to the Thessalonians, says, \"that they ought to keep whatever they heard, whether by word or by letter\"; and again to Timothy, saying that he had given \"a deposit in mystery,\" which is here spoken declaratively.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":13,"ref":"p13","source":"Διά τῶν ἱερῶν παραπετασμάτων: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι ἐν μιᾷ τάξει θετέον τήν τε ἁγίαν Γραφήν καί τάς τῶν ἐπισκόπων παραδόσεις (οὕς ἱεράρχας εἴωθε καλεῖν, ὡς ἄρχοντας τῶν ἱερέων, τουτέστι πρεσβυτέρων καί διακόνων καί πυλωρῶν, ὥς φησιν ἐν τῇ καθ' ἡμᾶς ἱεραρχίᾳ· ὅθεν καί ταῖς αὐτῶν ρήσεσι περί τά δόγματα πειθόμεθα), ἐξ ὦν, φησι, λογίων τά παχύτερα τοῖς ὑπερουσίοις περιτίθεται διά νόησιν καί μυσταγωγίαν ἡμετέραν ὡς ἐπί μέν Θεοῦ, ὅταν φαίνηται ὡς πῦρ, καί ὡς γέρων ἐν Δανιήλ, (≡14 _034≡ καί ὡς ἀνήρ παλαίων τῷ Ιακώβ, καί ὅσα τοιαῦτα· ἐπί δέ ἀγγέλων, ὡς τά χερουβίμ, ἅτε καί θηριόμορφα, καί ἄλλοι ἐν τάξει ἀνδρῶν καί νεανίσκων.\n\nΤῶν μεριστῶν συμβόλων: Ὅτι ἀνθρωπολογεῖ τό Θεῖον ἡ Γραφή ἐκ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων αὐτό ὀνομάζουσα, πόδας καί χεῖρας καί πρόσωπα αὐτῷ περιτιθεῖσα. Ὅταν ἄφθαρτοι: Ὅτι ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει οἱ ἅγιοι μετά ἀφθαρσίας καί ἀθανασίας τῆς χριστοειδοῦς τεύξονται καταστάσεως, λάμποντες ὑπέρ τόν ἥλιον, ὡς καί ὁ","english":"Through the sacred veils: Note that the Holy Scripture and the traditions of the bishops must be placed in one order (whom he customarily calls hierarchs, as rulers of the priests, that is, of presbyters and deacons and gatekeepers, as he says in the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy according to us; whence we also yield to their utterances concerning doctrines), from which, he says, the coarser things are attributed to the supersubstantial realities for our understanding and mystical initiation, as in the case of God, when he appears as fire, and as an old man in Daniel, and as a man wrestling with Jacob, and all such things; and in the case of angels, as the cherubim, which are also beast-shaped, and others in the order of men and youths.\n\nOf the divided symbols: That Scripture speaks of the Divine in human terms, naming it from human things, attributing to it feet and hands and a face. When incorruptible: That in the resurrection the saints will attain to the Christ-like state with incorruption and immortality, shining brighter than the sun, as also the","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":14,"ref":"p14","source":"Κύριος, ὅτε ἐν τῷ ὄρει μετεμορφώθη, καθά φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος περί τῶν ἁγίων, ὅτι «τότε ἔσονται ὡς καί αὐτός ἐστι, καί πάντοτε σύν Κυρίῳ ἔσονται». Ὁρατῆς αὐτοῦ θεοφανείας: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι καί τό θεῖον αὐτοῦ σῶμα ὁρατήν θεοφάνειάν φησιν, ὡς κατά ταὐτόν ἁρμόττειν τό ρητόν καί κατά Νεστοριανῶν καί Ἀκεφάλων, καί τῶν ὑπολαμβανόντων μή εἶναι καί νῦν καί ἔσεσθαι μετά σαρκός τόν Κύριον· καί ὅτι ἡ μέν τίς ἐστιν ὁρατή αὐτοῦ θεοφάνεια, ὅ ἐστιν ἡ ἐμψυχωμένη σάρξ, ἡ δέ νοητή, ἥτις κατά νοῦν ἔσται ἡμῖν μεθεκτή τότε τελειοτέρως. Ὅθεν ἐπιστραφέντες πρός Θεόν, ἐκεῖθεν τελείως ἐλλαμπόμενοι, ἑνοειδῶς ἕν γενώμεθα, ἐλευθερωθέντες τῶν κατά σύνθεσιν ἑτεροτήτων ἡμῶν, ὅπερ δηλοῖ τάς κοσμικάς αἰσθήσεις καί ἐπιθυμίας.\n\nἘν θειοτέρᾳ μιμήσει: Θειοτέραν μίμησιν εἴρηκε τήν ἀκριβεστέραν καί τελεωτέραν σημαίνων, ὡς καί νῦν ἀγγελοπρεπής ὁ τῶν ἁγίων βίος ἐν τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ αἰνέσει καί ὑπεροψίᾳ τῶν σᾳρκικῶν, κἄν οὐ παντελεῖ· διό καί τά τῆς μιμήσεως μετριώτερα· τότε δέ τό τέλειον ἐν τούτοις φανήσεται. Τῶν νοητῶν θεαμάτων: Ὅτι ἐκ τῶν συμβόλων τά περί (≡14 _036≡ ἀγγέλων νοητά ἐποπτεύομεν· περί γάρ ἀγγέλων φησίν, ὡς δηλοῖ καί τό λέγειν αὐτούς θεοειδεῖς. Ἄνω δέ καί τά περί αὐτῶν σύμβολα δηλοῖ ἐν τῷ Περί τῆς οὐρανίας ἱεραρχίας, συνάπτει δέ νῦν καί περί Θεοῦ.","english":"The Lord, when he was transfigured on the mountain, as the Apostle says concerning the saints, that \"then they shall be as he himself is, and they shall always be with the Lord.\" Of his visible theophany: Note that he calls his divine body also a visible theophany, so that the saying applies equally against the Nestorians and the Acephali, and against those who suppose that the Lord is not now and will not be with flesh; and that there is a certain visible theophany of his, which is the ensouled flesh, and a intelligible one, which will be partaken of by us according to the mind then more perfectly. Hence, having turned toward God, being perfectly illumined from there, let us become one in unity, freed from our differences that come by composition, which signifies the worldly senses and desires.\n\nIn a more divine imitation: He has called a more divine imitation, indicating the more exact and more perfect, as even now the life of the saints is angel-like in the praise of God and the contempt of fleshly things, though not entirely; therefore also the things of imitation are more moderate; but then the perfect will appear in these things. Of the intelligible visions: That from the symbols we contemplate the intelligible things concerning the angels; for he speaks concerning the angels, as also the saying that they are God-like makes clear. Above, he also sets forth the symbols concerning them in the On the Celestial Hierarchy, and now he joins also the things concerning God.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":15,"ref":"p15","source":"Ἀποπαύοντες: Ἀπόπαυσιν τῆς νοερᾶς ἐνεργείας εἶπε, σημαίνων τό τῆς θείας φύσεως ἀκατάληπτον· οὐδέν γάρ τῶν ταύτης τῇ κινήσει τοῦ νοῦ καταλαμβάνεται, ἤ πρός τινα ὁμολογουμένην καί τρανήν πληροφορίαν ἡ νόησις φέρεται, παρά τό ἀκατάληπτον, ὅπερ τῇ οἰκείᾳ ἀνενεργησίᾳ καταλαμβάνεται. Ὑπεραρρήτως προϋφέστηκε: Τό προϋφέστηκε σπουδαστέον νοῆσαι· τά γάρ ἕργα πάντα διατρανοῖ ἐφεξῆς· ἐκ τούτου τοίνυν νοηθήσεται, πῶς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, «ἐν τῷ Θεῶ εἶναι ἡμᾶς πρό καταβολῆς κόσμου». Ἰστέον οὖν, ὡς τῆς ἁπάντων παραγωγῆς κατά τό αἴτιον καί τήν ἀρχήν αὐτοῦ ἀπηρτημένης, ἐπειδή τά ὄντα πάντα ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἐστιν· εἰκότως, ἅτε καί μέλλοντα ἔσεσθαι διά τό αὐτοῦ ἀνεπινόητον θέλημα, ἐν αὐτῷ καί προϋφέστηκε, τῷ εἰδότι, καί ὅτι παράξει καί ὁπότε παράξει. Προαιωνίως οὖν ἐν αὐτῷ προεγνωσμένα, προϋφέστηκε· πρίν γάρ τά νοητά παραχθῆναι, ἅτινά εἰσιν αἰῶνες, καί πρό πάσης ἑτέρας κτίσεως ἔγνωστο αὐτῷ τά ἐσόμενα, ὡς εἴρηται· «ὁ εἰδώς πάντα πρίν γενέσεως αὐτῶν»· καί πάλιν «πρό τοῦ με πλᾶσαί σε ἐν κοιλίᾳ ἔγνωκά σε».","english":"Ceasing: He spoke of a cessation of the noetic activity, signifying the incomprehensibility of the divine nature; for none of its attributes is grasped by the movement of the intellect, nor is the understanding carried to any acknowledged and clear assurance, except by the incomprehensibility, which is grasped by its own inactivity. Supra-ineffably pre-existed: One must diligently understand \"pre-existed\"; for all the works make it clear in sequence. From this, then, it will be understood how the Apostle says, \"that we were in God before the foundation of the world.\" It must be known, then, that since the production of all things depends on its cause and its beginning, because all beings are from him—reasonably, since they were also going to exist through his unsearchable will, they pre-existed in him, in him who knows both that he will produce them and when he will produce them. Foreknown eternally in him, they pre-existed; for before the intelligible things were produced, which are the ages, and before every other creation, the things that would be were known to him, as it is said: \"he who knows all things before their generation\"; and again, \"before I formed you in the womb I knew you.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":16,"ref":"p16","source":"Ὅν οὔτε ἐννοῆσαι δυνατόν: Οὕτω γάρ φησι καί ὁ θεολόγος Γρηγόριος, μεταφράζων τό εἰρημένον τοῖς Ἕλλησι· «Θεόν νοῆσαι μέν ἀδύνατον, φράσαι δέ ἀδυνατώτερον».\n\n(≡14 _038≡ Καί πασῶν: Εἰπών ἀποπερατώσεις τῶν οὐσιωδῶν γνώσεων καί δυνάμεων, τόν αὐτόν ἐπανελάβετο λόγον, ὅν καί πρό μικροῦ εἶπε· «πάντα τά πέρατα πασῶν τῶν γνώσεων»· ἤ οὖν τοῦτο δι' ἑκατέρας φωνῆς ὑποτίθεται, ὅπερ καί προπαρετέθη, ὅτι ἐν τῷ Θεῷ πᾶσα γνῶσις ἀργεῖ καί τέλος ἔχει πάσης κινήσεως, διά τό τῆς θείας φύσεως ἀκατάληπτον, ὅπερ ἀϊδίως καί οὐκ ἐν χρόνῳ περί αὐτήν θεωρεῖται, ἤ μᾶλλον πέρας καί ἀποπεράτωσις, ἤτοι τό τέλος ἑκάστης οὐσιώδσυς γνώσεως. Αὗταί εἰσιν αἱ οὐσίαι καί δυνάμεις πάσας ἅμα καί οὐκ ἀνά μέρος, ἀλλά ἀθρόως ἐν τῷ Θεῷ προϋφεστάναι, φησί, κατά τόν ἄρρητον τῆς προγνώσεως αὐτοῦ λόγον, εἰδότι ἕκαστον τῶν πρός γένεσιν παραγομένων, ὅπως ἕξει φύσεων καί δυνάμεως, οὗ ἡ οὐσία ὑπερούσιός τε καί ὑπεράγνωστος. Ἰστέον δέ, ὅτι ἕτερον οὐσία καί ἕτερον δύναμις· ἡ μέν γάρ τῶν καθ' ἑαυτά ὑφεστώτων, ἡ δέ, τῶν ἐν ἑτέρῳ τό εἶναι ἐχόντων.","english":"Whom it is not even possible to conceive: for thus also says Gregory the Theologian, translating what was said to the Greeks: \"To conceive God is impossible, but to express Him is more impossible.\"\n\n(≡14 _038≡ And of all: Having spoken of the terminations of essential knowledges and powers, he repeated the same statement which he also made a little before: \"all the limits of all knowledges\"; either, then, he sets forth through both expressions what was also previously stated, that in God every knowledge is inactive and has the end of all movement, because of the incomprehensibility of the divine nature, which is contemplated in relation to it eternally and not in time, or rather the limit and termination, that is, the end of each essential knowledge. These are the essences and powers which, he says, pre-exist in God all together and not in part, but collectively, according to the ineffable principle of His foreknowledge, knowing each of the things brought forth into generation, how it will be in nature and power, whose essence is both superessential and superknowable. But one must know that essence is one thing and power another; for the one belongs to things that subsist in themselves, the other to things that have their being in another.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":17,"ref":"p17","source":"Εἰ γάρ αἱ γνώσεις: Ἐπεξήγησις τῶν εἰρημένων. Καλῶς δέ εἶπεν· εἰ γάρ αἱ γνώσεις περί τάς οὐσίας καί τά ὄντα εἰσίν, ὁ Θεός δέ οὔτε ἐν οὐσίᾳ οὔτε τι τῶν ὄντων ἐστίν, εἰκότως καί γνώσεως ἐπέκεινά ἐστιν. § 5. Οὔτε φαντασία: Ἕτερόν ἐστι φαντασία, καί ἕτερον νόησις, ἤτοι νόημα· ἀπό τε γάρ διαφόρων δυνάμεων γίνονται καί ἰδιότητι κινήσεως· ἡ μέν γάρ νόησις ἐνέργειά ἐστι καί ποίησις, ἡ δέ φαντασία πάθος καί τύπωσις ἀναγγελτική αἰσθητοῦ τινος ἤ ὡς αἰσθητοῦ τινος· καί ἡ μέν αἴσθησις ἀντιλαμβάνεται τῶν ὄντων κατά ἀθρόαν μόρφωσιν, ὁ δέ νοῦς ἐσάπτεται, τουτέστιν ἀντιλαμβάνεται τῶν ὄντων ἑτέρῳ τρόπῳ, καί οὐχ οἵῳ ἡ αἴσθησις. Περί μέν οὖν τό σωματικόν ἤ τό πνευματικόν ἤ ἐν τῷ τάς αἰσθήσεις εἶναι καί πρῴην ἔφημεν, τό παθητικόν καί (≡14 _040≡ μορφωτικόν ἐστι κίνημα, τό δέ κριτικόν καί ἀντιληπτικόν, τῇ ψυχῇ καί τῷ νῷ δοτέον. Τοῦτο οὖν τῷ τῆς ψυχῆς ἀντιληπτικῷ καί τό φανταστικόν ὑποστεῖλαι δεῖ· διαιρεῖται γάρ ἡ φανταστική εἰς τρεῖς μοίρας· πρώτην μέν εἰς τήν τῶν ἀντιλήψεων εἰκονιστικήν πρός τά ποιοῦντα αἰσθητήν τήν ἀντίληψιν· δευτέραν δέ τήν ἐκ τῶν μενόντων ἐγκαταλειμμάτων ἀπό τούτων ἀνατυπωτικήν, μή ἔχουσαν ἐρηρεισμένας ἐπί τι τάς εἰκόνας, ἥν καί ἰδίως φανταστικήν καλοῦσι· τρίτην ἐν ᾗ πᾶσα ἡδονή τοῦ κατά φαντασίαν δοκοῦντος ἀγαθοῦ ἤ δοκοῦντος κακοῦ κατά λύπην συνίσταται. Οὐδεμία τοίνυν, καθά εἴρηται, φαντασία χώραν ἔχει ἐπί Θεοῦ πάντων γάρ ἁπαξαπλῶς ὑπέρ ἔννοιάν ἐστι καί ὑπέρκειται· δόξα δέ ἐστιν ἡ ἐκ τοῦ φαινομένου κατά τό δοκοῦν τοιάδε τις ὑπόληψις.","english":"For if the knowledges: Explanation of what has been said. And he spoke well: for if the knowledges are about substances and beings, but God is neither in a substance nor one of the beings, reasonably He is also beyond knowledge. § 5. Neither by imagination: Imagination is one thing, and thought, that is, concept, is another; for they come from different powers and by the peculiarity of their motion. For thought is an activity and a making, but imagination is a passion and an impression that reports something sensible or something as sensible. And sense perception grasps beings by a simultaneous formation, but the intellect touches, that is, grasps beings in another way, and not in the way sense perception does. Concerning what is bodily, then, or what is spiritual, or in the case of the senses, we also said earlier that the passive and formative movement is one thing, but the critical and apprehensive movement must be assigned to the soul and the intellect. This, then, the imaginative faculty must also submit to the apprehensive faculty of the soul; for the imaginative faculty is divided into three parts: first, the part that images the apprehensions in relation to the things that make the apprehension sensible; second, the part that reproduces from the remaining traces left by these things, not having its images firmly fixed on anything, which they also properly call the imaginative faculty; third, the part in which all the pleasure of the good that seems good according to imagination, or of the evil that seems evil, consists in grief. No imagination, therefore, as has been said, has a place in the case of God; for He is simply beyond all conception and transcends it. But opinion is the supposition of such a kind as this, arising from what appears according to what seems so.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":18,"ref":"p18","source":"Οὔτε ἐπαφή: Ἐπαφήν νῦν φησι τήν νοεράν κατάληψιν· καί γάρ τοῖς νοητοῖς καί ἀΰλοις τῷ νῷ ἐπιστητῶς ἐπιβάλλοντες, δοκοῦμεν ὥσπερ ἅπτεσθαι αὐτῶν καί διά τοῦ νοῦ αἰσθάνεσθαι ὁποῖά εἰσιν, ὡς καί διά τῆς ἁφῆς τῶν αἰσθητῶν· ἐπί δέ Θεοῦ οὐδέ νοερῶς ἐφαπτόμεθα.\n\nἈκλήτου καί ὑπερωνύμου: Ἀκλήτου, φησί, ἀντί τοῦ, μή καλουμένου τινί γνωρίσματι. Αὐτός γάρ καλεῖ τά μή ὄντα ὡς ὄντα, ὡς τόν Κῦρον πρό τοσούτων ἐτῶν καί τόν Ἰωσίαν.\n\nἈλλ' ὅπερ: Ζητεῖται ὁ Περί θεολογικῆς ὑπστυπώσεως λόγος. Τήν ὁμόθεον: Ὁμόθεόν πως λέγει τήν παναγίαν Τριάδα. Ἀγγελοπρεπεῖς ἑνώσεις: Εἰπών περί τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅτι ἀνεννόητος ἡμῖν ἐστι καί ἄφθεγκτος, ἐκ τοῦ ἐλάττονος λοιπόν τό περί Θεοῦ συνίστησιν· εἰ γάρ τά περί τῶν ἀγγέλων ἡμῖν ἄγνωστά (≡14 _042≡ ἐστι, τί περί τοῦ Θεοῦ λογιστέον; Φησίν οὖν, ὅτι αἱ ἀγγελικαί δημιουργίαι οἷά τινές εἰσιν ἐπιβολαί τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀγαθότητος· ἐπιβολήν δέ νοητέον, τήν εἰς τό καθ' ἕν τῶν παραγομένων μεριζομένην ἀμερῶς κίνησιν, τουτέστιν εἰς τήν ἑκάστου τῶν νοητῶν παραγωγήν. Δυνατόν δέ καί οὕτω νοῆσαι, ὅτι οἱ τρόποι τῶν πρός Θεόν ἑνώσεων, καθόσον πρέπει ἀγγέλους ἑνοῦσθαι Θεῷ, καθ' ἥν πρός Θεόν ἕνωσιν, ἤ ἐπιβάλλουσι κατά τήν οἰκείαν ἀξίαν τῇ ἀγαθότητι τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἤ παραδέχονται παρ' αὐτοῦ τῆς ἀγαθότητος αὐτοῦ τήν ἀποκάλυψιν· καί οὕτως ἀκατάληπτοί εἰσιν οὐ μόνον ἡμῖν, ἀλλά καί τοῖς κατωτέροις ἀγγέλοις· μόνοις δέ τοῖς ἀνωτάτω ἀγγέλοις γινώσκονται, ἅτε ἠξιωμένοις τόν εἰρημένον τρόπον τῶν ἑνώσεων. Ἐν δέ τῷ Περί τῆς οὐρανίας ἱεραρχίας λόγῳ φησί καί τάς τάξεις τάς ἀγγελικάς.","english":"Neither touch: By “touch” he now means intellectual apprehension. For when we apply ourselves in a knowing way by the mind to intelligible and immaterial things, we seem, as it were, to touch them and through the mind to perceive what they are, just as through touch we perceive sensible things; but in the case of God we do not lay hold of Him even intellectually.\n\nUncalled and above every name: “Uncalled,” he says, instead of “not called by any distinguishing mark.” For He calls the things that are not as though they were, as He did Cyrus so many years beforehand, and Josiah.\n\nBut that which: The discourse On the Theological Outlines is being sought after. Co-divine: He calls the all-holy Trinity in some sense co-divine. Angelic unions: Having said concerning God that He is beyond our understanding and beyond utterance, he now establishes what concerns God from the lesser case; for if the things concerning the angels are unknown to us, what should be thought concerning God? He says, then, that the angelic creations are, as it were, certain acts of projection of the goodness of God; and “projection” must be understood as the movement, undivided, that is divided into each one of the things produced—that is, into the production of each one of the intelligible things. But it is also possible to understand it thus: that the modes of the unions with God, insofar as it is fitting for angels to be united to God—according to that union with God—either they apply themselves according to their own worth to the goodness of God, or they receive from Him the revelation of His goodness; and in this way they are incomprehensible not only to us but also to the lower angels; and they are known only to the highest angels, inasmuch as they have been deemed worthy of the aforementioned mode of unions. And in the discourse On the Heavenly Hierarchy he also speaks of the angelic orders.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":19,"ref":"p19","source":"Ταύταις οἱ θεοειδεῖς: Τούς θεοειδεῖς νόας, οὕς ἀγγελομιμήτως φησί, καθ' ὅσον ἐφικνοῦνται εἰς ἕνωσιν ἄγεσθαι τῶν ἁγίων δυνάμεων, ἅς δυνάμεις ἀγγέλους προεῖπε· τούς καθ' ἡμᾶς θεολόγους νοητέον, προφήτας τέ φημι καί ἀποστόλους· οὐ γάρ δή ὑποληπτέον ἀγγέλους, μάλιστα ἐκ τοῦ «ἀγγελομιμήτως» εἰπεῖν· ἄγγελος γάρ ἄγγελον οὐ μιμεῖται, ἀλλ' ὁ ἐλάττων· νόας δέ καλῶν τούς θεολόγους, τῆς ἀγγελομιμήτου ἑνώσεως πρός Θεόν αὐτούς ἔφη ἐφικνεῖσθαι, ὡς δυνατόν, κατά\n\nἀπόπαυσιν πάσης ἐνεργείας κοσμικῆς ἐκθεουμένους· ἐπί γάρ τῶν νοερῶν πᾶν κίνημα καί πᾶσα ἐνέργεια καί πᾶσα ἠρεμία ἐνεργῶς ἐστι, καί πρός αἰωνίοις καί ἀσωμάτοις αἱ οὖσαι ἠρεμίαι καἰ ἡσυχίαι, καί τῶν ἐνεργειῶν αἱ ἀποπαύσεις, τό κατά φύσιν πράττειν ποιοῦσιν, ὅπερ ἐστί τῆς ἀνενοχλησίας καί τελειότητος εἰς ἑνάδα πρόξενον.\n\nἈπόπαυσιν: Ἀδύνατον γάρ ἑνωθῆναι Θεῷ καί θεόν τρόπον τινά γενέσθαι, εἰ μή παύσεταί τις τῶν ὑλικῶν ἐνεργειῶν κατά τε αἴσθησιν καί κατά διάνοιαν. (≡14 _044≡ Τῶν ὄντων ἀφαιρέσεως: Ἀφαίρεσιν πάντων τῶν ὄντων καλεῖ τό πρός μηδέν τῶν ὄντων παραβάλλειν τό Θεῖον, ἀλλά λέγει, ὅτι οὐ σῶμα, οὐχ ἕξις, οὐ δύναμις, καί τά λοιπά πάντα, καθώς διά τῶν ἑξῆς ἐσήμανεν. Αὐτό δέ οὐδέν: Τό οὐδέν εἶναι τόν Θεόν οὕτω νοητέον, ὡς τῶν ὄντων μηδέν ὄντα· ὑπέρ γάρ τά ὄντα ὁ αἴτιος τῶν ὄντων· ὅθεν ὁ Θεός καί πανταχοῦ καί οὐδαμοῦ θεολογεῖται· ἐπεί γοῦν οὐδαμοῦ ἐστι, πάντα μέν δι' αὐτοῦ, καί ἐν αὐτῷ, ὡς μή ὄντι μηδέν τῶν πάντων· καί ἐν αὐτῷ πάλιν, ὡς πανταχοῦ ὄντι, ἕτερα δέ δι' αὐτοῦ τά πάντα, ὅτι αὐτός οὐδαμοῦ·","english":"To these the Godlike: By “Godlike intellects,” which he says are led in an angel-imitating way, insofar as they attain it, into union with the holy powers—which powers he earlier called angels—one must understand our own theologians, I mean the prophets and apostles; for one must certainly not suppose them to be angels, especially from his saying “in an angel-imitating way.” For an angel does not imitate an angel, but the lesser imitates the greater. Calling the theologians “intellects,” he said that they attain, as far as is possible, the angel-imitating union with God, being deified through the cessation of every worldly activity. For in the case of intellectual beings, every movement and every activity and every rest is active, and the rests and quietudes that exist in relation to eternal and incorporeal things, and the cessations of activities, make them do what is according to nature, which is the cause of freedom from disturbance and of perfection unto unity.\n\nCessation: For it is impossible to be united to God and to become in some way a god, unless one ceases from material activities both in sense and in thought. (≡14 _044≡) By abstraction of beings: He calls “abstraction” of all beings the comparing of the Divine to none of the beings, but he says that it is not body, not habit, not power, and all the rest, as he indicated through what follows. And “itself nothing”: That God is nothing must be understood thus, as being none of the beings; for the cause of beings is above beings. Hence God is theologized both everywhere and nowhere. Since, then, he is nowhere, all things are through him and in him, as he is nothing of all things; and again in him, as he is everywhere, and all other things are through him, because he himself is nowhere.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":20,"ref":"p20","source":"καί πληροῖ μέν τά πάντα, ὡς πανταχοῦ ὤν, κατά τόν προφήτην, οὐδαμοῦ δέ ἐστι καθ' ἕτερον λέγοντα· «ἤ ποῖος τόπος τῆς καταπαύσεώς μου;». Εἰ γάρ μόνον ἦν πανταχοῦ, αὐτός ἄν ἦν τά πάντα καί ἐν πᾶσι τοπικῶς· οὕτως οὖν καί οὐδέν, ὡς ὑπέρ τά ὄντα.\n\nἈλλ' ὡς πάσης ἕξεως: Ἕξις μέν ἐστι διάθεσις ἔμμονος· κίνησις δέ ἐστι τό ἀντιδιαστελλόμενον τῇ ἠρεμίᾳ μετά πολλῶν τιθέμενον· ζωή δέ, τό ταῦτα δεικνύον ἐνεργά· φαντασία δέ τό ἐν διανοίᾳ ἀνατυπωτικόν· δόξα δέ, πεπληροφορημένη ὑπόληψις· διαφέρει δέ νόησις διανοίας, ὅτι τό μέν ἔστιν ἐπί τοῦ διανοητικοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς, τό δέ τήν τοῦ διανοητικοῦ κίνησιν δηλοῖ. Ταῦτα δέ πάντα καί τά ἄλλα ὅσα τούτοις συγκατείλεκται οὐκ οὐσία ἐστίν, ἀλλά περί οὐσίαν ὁρᾶται· ὅθεν καί διεῖλεν αὐτήν ἀπό τούτων.\n\nΤῆς θεαρχίας πρόνοια: Ἐκ τούτων αἱ ἀνόητοι δοξαι ἐκλύονται τῶν τολμησάντων λέγειν τό δημιουργικόν φύσει τινί ἐνεῖναι τῷ Θεῷ, ὡς καί τοῖς ἀραχνίοις τό ὑφαίνειν· φησί γάρ διά μόνην ἀγαθότητα τό πᾶν παραγαγεῖν τόν Θεόν· διό καί πάντες (≡14 _046≡ οἱ θεολόγοι ἐκ μέν τῶν αὐτοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, τουτέστιν ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας αὐτοῦ, οὐ τολμῶσιν ὑμνεῖν αὐτόν, ἀνεπίγνωστα γάρ, ἀλλ’ ἐκ τῆς εἰς τά ἔξω προόδου, ἥτις ἐστί πρόνοια, τά αἰτιατά, τουτέστι τά ἐξ αἰτίου αὐτοῦ συστάντα, τήν περί τά πάντα πρόνοιαν τοῦ Θεοῦ ὑμνολογοῦσι· τά γάρ πάντα τῆς θείας προνοίας ἐφίεται, δι' ἧς καί ὑπάρχει καί συνίσταται, ἀλλά τά μέν νοερά καί λογικά γνωστικῶς· νοερά δέ λέγεται, ὅσα διά τό νοῦς εἶναι, νοεῖ τά ὑπερκείμενα νοητά· νοητόν γάρ ἐστι τό νοούμενον, ὅπερ καί τροφή ἐστι τοῦ νοεροῦ ἀντί τούτου νοοῦντος.","english":"And he fills all things, as being everywhere present, according to the prophet, and is nowhere, as he says in another place: \"Or what is the place of my rest?\" For if he were only everywhere, he himself would be all things and in all things locally; thus then he is also nothing, as being above all things that exist.\n\nBut as [he is] above every habit: A habit is a permanent disposition; and motion is that which is set in contrast to rest, being placed with many things; and life is that which shows these things to be active; and imagination is that which forms images in the mind; and opinion is a fully assured supposition; and thought differs from the mind, because the one is in the thinking faculty of the soul, while the other makes clear the movement of the thinking faculty. And all these things, and whatever else is reckoned together with them, are not substance, but are seen around substance; whence he also distinguished it from these.\n\nThe providence of the Godhead: From these things the foolish opinions of those who dared to say that the creative power belongs to God by nature, as weaving does to spiders, are dissolved; for he says that God brought forth the whole by goodness alone; therefore all the theologians do not dare to hymn him from the things that are his own, that is, from his substance—for these are unknowable—but from his procession toward outward things, which is providence, they hymn the providence of God concerning all things, that is, the things caused, that is, the things that came to be from him as their cause; for all things desire divine providence, through which they both exist and subsist—but the intellectual and rational [desire it] in a knowing way; and those are called intellectual, which, because they are intellects, think the transcendent intelligibles; for the intelligible is that which is thought, which is also the food of the intellectual [faculty] in place of that which thinks.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":21,"ref":"p21","source":"Ὅσα οὖν κατά τό νοερά εἶναι ἅτε νοῦς νοεῖ, ταῦτα λογικά ὄντα, γνωστικῶς ἐπιβάλλοντα τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ προνοίᾳ ἀναλόγως ἐφίεται τοῦ Θεοῦ· ὅσα δέ ὑποβέβηκε τά νοερά, καί εἰσί ψυχή αἰσθητική, θηρίων λέγω καί πάντων, ἐμψύχων μέν σωμάτων, ἀλόγων δέ, ὧν ἡ ψυχή ἐκ τῶν στοιχείων καί τοῦ ἐνύλου πυρός συνεστῶσα, ἐν πνεύματι ἐνύλῳ ἔχει τό εἶναι· ταῦτα, μόνον ἐκ τῆς αἰσθήσεως συνελαυνόμενα εἰς τό πεινῇν καί διψῇν, ἐφίεται εἰκότως αἰσθητῶς τοῦ χορηγοῦντος, ὡς τό· «πάντα πρός σέ προσδοκῶσι τοῦ δοῦναι τήν τροφήν αὐτῶν εἰς εὔκαιρον»· καί τοιαῦτα πολλά καί παρά τῷ Ἰώβ καί τῷ Δαυίδ εὑρήσεις. Καί τά ἄλλα μέντοι ὅσα τήν φυτικήν, ἤτοι ζωτικήν, μόνην ἀναισθήτως τε καί ἀψύχως ἔχει κίνησιν, ὡς τά φυτά πάντα καί βοτάναι πᾶσαι, ἅτινα καί ζωτικόν πνεῦμα μόνον συνιστῶν ἔχουσι, τήν ἑαυτῶν οὐσίαν ἄνευ αἰσθήσεως, ὡς τά δένδρα πάντα, ὡς εἴρηται, καί τά τοιαῦτα κατά τό ἀποξηραίνεσθαι τοῦ φυτικοῦ πνεύματος στερούμενα, δι' οὗ κονοῦνται πρός αὔξην καί εὐθάλειαν· διά τοῦτο δοκεῖ καί ταῦτα ἐφίεσθαι τῆς θείας προνοίας, ἐφ' ᾧ καί συνεστάναι καί ἀνθεῖν· ὅθεν καί","english":"Therefore, all things that he understands as being intellectual, insofar as he is intellect, being rational, and applying themselves to God's providence in a knowing way, desire God analogously. But all things that are below the intellectual, and are a sensitive soul—I mean beasts and all living bodies that are irrational—whose soul, composed of the elements and of material fire, has its being in a material spirit: these, driven only by sensation to hunger and thirst, reasonably desire in a sensitive way the one who provides, as it is written: \"All things look to you to give them their food in due season.\" And you will find many such things also in Job and in David. And indeed the other things too, whatever have only the vegetative, that is, the vital, motion, without sensation and without soul, as all plants and all herbs, which have only a vital spirit constituting their own substance without sensation, as all trees, as has been said, and such things, when the vegetative spirit dries up, are deprived of that by which they are brought to growth and flourishing; for this reason these too seem to desire divine providence, by which they both subsist and flourish; whence also","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":22,"ref":"p22","source":"ταῦτα παραλαμβάνεται ἐν τῷ ρμη' (≡14 _048≡ ψαλμῷ αἰνεῖν τόν Θεόν, διά τῆς αὐτοῦ συστάσεως. Μετέχει οὖν καί ταῦτα τῆς ἀφάτου προνοίας, ἀλλά κατά μόνον τό ζῇν, εἰ καί ἀψύχως καί ἀναισθήτως, καί κατά τήν ἑκτικήν ἐπιτηδειότητα, ἥτις ἐστίν ἰδιότης τῆς δυνάμεως· ἕξις γάρ λέγεται ἡ ἕμμονος ποιότης, καθ' ἥν διάθεσιν καί δύναμιν ποιόν τι λέγεται· κατά ταύτην οὖν τήν ἕξιν τῆς φυτικῆς ζωῆς εἰς αὔξησιν καί κίνησιν μόνον μετέχοντα οὐσιοειδῶς τε καί ἑκτικῶς, ἀψύχως δέ καί ἀναισθήτως, λέγεται ἐφίεσθαι τῆς ἀγαθότητος τοῦ Θεοῦ. Τά μέν νοερά: Νοερά μέν τήν ἀγγελικήν φύσιν, λογικά δέ τήν ἀνθρωπίνην φησί· τά δέ τούτων ὑφειμένα τήν ἄλογον, ᾕτινι μόνον τό αἰσθητικόν πρόσεστι. Διό καί αἰσθητῶς εἶπε, τουτέστιν αἰσθητικῶς τά δέ ἄλλα, ἤγουν τά φυτά καί ὅσα πάντῃ ἄψυχα καί ἀκίνητα, τά μέν φησι κατά τήν ζωτικήν κίνησιν, τουτέστι τήν θρεπτικήν τε καί αὐξητικήν, ταῦτα γάρ δή ἐν τοῖς φυτοῖς πρόσεισι, τά δέ ἄψυχα ἐν τῷ ἔχειν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τό ὅλως εἶναι· τοῦτο γάρ εἶπεν οὐσιώδη καί ἑκτικήν ἐπιτηδειότητα. § 6. Ὡς αἰώνιον: Ὅρα πῶς σαφῶς ἐκ τῶν αἰτιατῶν καί κτιστῶν τόν ἁπάντων ἀνώτατον ὑμνολογοῦσιν· αἰώνιον μέν φασι τόν τῶν αἰώνων ποιητήν καί τῷ ὄντι αίῶνα, εἴ γε ὁ ἀεί ὤν αὐτός ἐστιν, ὅθεν καί αἰών λέγεται· αἰώνιον δέ ἐστιν οὐκ αὐτός ὁ αἰών, ἀλλά τό αἰῶνος μετέχον· καί γοῦν φησιν ὁ Ἠσαΐας· «ὁ Θεός ὁ αἰώνιος, ὁ κατασκευάσας τά ἄκρα τῆς γῆς»· ὁ δέ Θεός οὐ δεύτερός ἐστι τοῦ αἰῶνος, ἵνα καί μετέχῃ αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ’ αἰώνων ποιητής.","english":"These things are taken up in the 148th psalm to praise God, through his own constitution. Therefore these things also partake of the ineffable providence, but only according to living, even if without soul and without sensation, and according to the habitual fitness, which is a property of the power; for habit is said to be the abiding quality according to which disposition and power something is called qualified; according to this habit of the vegetative life, then, partaking only unto growth and motion, both essentially and habitually, but without soul and without sensation, they are said to desire the goodness of God. The intellectual: he means the angelic nature to be intellectual, and the human nature to be rational; and the things ranked below these, the irrational, to which only the sensitive faculty is present. Therefore he also spoke sensitively, that is, sensitively; but the others, namely the plants and all things wholly without soul and motionless, he says are so in one way according to the vital motion, that is, the nutritive and augmentative (for these are present in plants), and the soulless in having in themselves the very fact of being; for this he called essential and habitual fitness. § 6. As eternal: Observe how clearly from the effects and created things they hymn the highest of all; they say he is eternal, the maker of the ages and truly an age, if indeed he himself is the ever-existing one, whence he is also called an age; but the eternal is not the age itself, but that which partakes of the age; and indeed Isaiah says: \"God the eternal, who made the ends of the earth\"; but God is not second to the age, so as also to partake of it, but is the maker of ages.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":23,"ref":"p23","source":"(≡14 _050≡ Ὡς ἀγήρω: Κατά τό, «Σύ δέ ὁ αὐτός εἶ, καί τά ἔτη σου οὐκ ἐκλείψουσιν».\n\nὩς ἐν αὔρᾳ: Τοῦτό ἐστι τό εἰρημένον ἐν Βασιλείαις, ὅτι οὔτε ἐν τῷ συσσεισμῷ, οὔτε ἐν τῇ νεφέλῃ παρεγένετο ὁ Κύριος λαλῆσαι τῷ Ἠλίᾳ, ἀλλά φωνῇ αὔρας λεπτῇ καλεῖ ὁ Κύριος· τοῦτο δέ δηλοῖ, ὅτι καί ἐν σώματί φησιν εἶναι τόν Θεόν, τόν ἐν τοῖς πᾶσιν ἀπερίληπτον· ἡ γάρ πνοή καί παρά πάντων μετέχεται, καί ἐν πᾶσίν ἐστι, καί παρ' οὐδενός ἐμπεριλαμβάνεται, ὡς καί ἐν Εὐαγγελίοις φησίν ὁ Κύριος· «Πνεῦμα ὁ Θεός, καί τούς προσκυνοῦντας αὐτόν ἐν Πνεύματι καί ἀληθείᾳ δεῖ προσκυνεῖν».\n\n§ 7. Καί τό ἀνώνυμον: Ἀνώνυμον διά τό πάντα εἶναι καί μηδέν τῶν ὄντων εἶναι, ἀλλά πάντα ἐξ αὐτοῦ εἶναι, ὡς αὐτός ἑαυτόν ἐξηγεῖται. Ὡς ἀρχῆς: Ἀρχῆς μέν, ὡς τό εἶναι παρασχομένης, πέρατος δέ, ὡς ἐν τῷ εἶναι συνεχούσης.\n\nΤά πάντα ἐν πᾶσι: Πάντα δέ τά ὄντα, διά τό ἐξ αὐτοῦ εἶναι τά πάντα. Καί ἐστία. Ἑστίαν αὐτόν πάντων ἔφη, ὡς οἴκησιν ὄντα πάντων τῶν ἁγίων, ὡς αὐτός ὁ Κύριός φησιν, «μείνατε ἐν ἐμοί»· ὥσπερ γάρ ναός αὐτοῦ ἐσμεν κατά τό, «ἐνοικήσω ἐν αὐτοῖς καί ἐμπεριπατήσω», οὕτω καί αὐτός οἶκος ἡμῶν ἐστι· καλῶς δέ εὐθύς ἐπήγαγε τό 'ἡνωμένως'·","english":"As unaging: According to the text, \"But you are the same, and your years shall not fail.\"\n\nAs in a gentle breeze: This is what was said in Kings, that the Lord did not come to speak to Elijah in the earthquake, nor in the cloud, but the Lord calls with a gentle breeze; and this makes clear that God, who is incomprehensible in all things, is also said to be in a body; for breath is shared by all, and is in all, and is encompassed by no one, as the Lord also says in the Gospels: \"God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.\"\n\n§ 7. And the nameless: Nameless because he is all things and is none of existing things, but all things are from him, as he himself explains. As beginning: As a beginning, in that he provides being, and as an end, in that he keeps things together in being.\n\nAll things in all: All existing things, because all things are from him. And hearth. He called him the hearth of all things, as being the dwelling of all the saints, as the Lord himself says, \"Remain in me\"; for just as we are his temple according to the text, \"I will dwell in them and walk among them,\" so also he is our house; and well did he immediately add \"in a united manner.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":24,"ref":"p24","source":"ἐπειδή γάρ εἶπεν, αὐτόν εἶναι πάντα καί ἐν αὐτῷ τά πάντα, ἵνα μή τις, εἰς σύνθεσιν τόν νοῦν καταγαγών, ἐκπέσοι τῆς ἀληθείας, ὑπονοῶν ἅπαντα συμφορεῖσθαι σωρηδόν ἐν τῷ Θεῷ, ἤ κατά τήν σύνθεσιν τόν Θεόν εἶναι τά πάντα, ταχέως ἐθεράπευσε τό ἀπεμφαῖνον, εἰπών (≡14 _052≡ «ἡνωμένα», τουτέστιν ἐν τῇ οἰκείᾳ ἑνάδι, μᾶλλον δέ ὑπέρ ἑνάδα μείναντα ὑπερηπλωμένον ἀμερῶς καί ἀμιγῶς τοῖς οὖσιν εἶναι τά πάντα καί ἐν πᾶσιν· ἀλλά καί ἀσχέτως ἐστίν· ἐν πᾶσιν, ἀντί τοῦ, ὑπ' οὐδενός κατεχόμενος ἤ περιγραφόμενος σωματικῶς, ἐξῃρημένως δέ μᾶλλον· ἔξω γάρ ἐστι τῶν ἁπάντων, οὐδαμοῦ ὤν, ἐξ αὐτοῦ πάντων ὄντων, καί αὐτός ἐν πᾶσιν· ἐξ αὐτοῦ γάρ τά πάντα συνέστηκε. Πάντα δέ ἁπλῶς: Τουτέστιν ἀσυνθέτως· ἐν οὐδενί γάρ τῶν ὄντων συνετέθη ἤ σωματικῶς ἡνώθη, εἰ μή ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς οἰκονομίας.\n\n§ 8. Θείων φασμάτων: Ὅτι φάσματα καλεῖ τάς ἐν συμβόλοις ἀποκαλύψεις τοῦ Θεοῦ, καί τό πῶς αὐτό λέγει, σημείωσαι. Ἀνακτόροις: Ἕλληνες ἀνάκτορα ἐκάλουν τῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς θεῶν τά τεμένη· ἐμφαίνει οὖν ὁ ἅγιος ἐν τούτοις τό παρά τῷ Ἠσαΐᾳ· δοκεῖ γάρ ἐν τῷ ναῷ ὑπαγορεύειν αὐτόν ἑωρακέναι τήν θείαν ἐκείνην δόξαν καί ὄψιν, τήν τοῦ σεραφίμ· τά δέ ἑξῆς εἴρηται διά τήν τοῦ Ἰεζεκιήλ ὅρασιν, τήν ἐν Βαβυλῶνι, καί ἑτέρας τινάς θεωρίας.","english":"For since he said that he himself is all things and all things are in him, lest anyone, bringing his mind down to composition, should fall away from the truth, supposing that all things are heaped together in a pile in God, or that God is all things according to composition, he quickly healed the incongruity, saying \"united,\" that is, remaining in his own henad, or rather beyond henad, simply and without mixture, without division and without confusion, he is all things in all things; but he is also without relation; \"in all things,\" instead of, being held by nothing or circumscribed bodily, but rather eminently; for he is outside all things, being nowhere, while all things are from him, and he himself is in all things; for from him all things consist. And \"all things\" simply: That is, without composition; for he was not composed in any of existing things nor united bodily, except in the time of the economy.\n\n§ 8. Of divine apparitions: That he calls the revelations of God in symbols \"apparitions,\" and note how he says this. Palaces: The Greeks called the sacred precincts of their gods \"palaces\"; therefore the saint indicates in these things what is in Isaiah; for he seems to suggest that in the temple he saw that divine glory and vision, that of the seraphim; and the rest is said because of Ezekiel's vision in Babylon, and certain other contemplations.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":25,"ref":"p25","source":"Καί θώκους: Θρόνους.\n\nΣυμβολικῇ θεολογίᾳ: Ἄλλο σύνταγμα ὑπισχνεῖται γράφειν, ὅπερ καλεῖ Συμβολικήν θεολογίαν.\n\nὉ ἱεράρχικός: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι μάλιστα ἱερεῦσι πρέπει θεωρεῖν τήν θείαν Γραφήν.\n\nΘεοειδεῖς: Ἀντί τοῦ θεοφανεῖς.\n\nΚαί ὦτα ἱερά. Ὦτα διεντέλλεται ἱερά τοῖς ἁγίοις παρατίθεσθαι, τουτέστιν ἀκοήν εὑσεβῆ καί ἀξίαν τῶν ἁγίων.\n\nἈμύστων: Τουτέστι τῶν ἀμυήτων· ὅτι ὁ μετά γέλωτος καί ἐμπαιγμῶν τῶν θείων ἀκούων λογίων ἤ τῶν περί αὐτά ἑρμηνειῶν, ὡς θεομάχος κρίνεται. Τιμοθέῳ δέ γράφει καί ὁ Ἀπόστολος, ὅτι οὐ δεῖ τοῖς μή δεχομένοις τόν λόγον ἐν ἀληθείᾳ λαλεῖν περί τοιούτων.\n\nΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ Β' (≡14 _054≡ § 1. Τήν θεαρχικήν: Ἐκ τοῦ κεφαλαίου τούτου μάλιστα καί Ἀρειανοί καί Εὐνομιανοί τό ἀνόμοιον πρεσβεύοντες πολεμοῦνται, καί Νεστοριανοί δέ καί Ἀκέφαλοι. Θεαρχικήν δέ ὅλην ὕπαρξίν φησι τῆς ἁγίας καί μόνης προσκυνητῆς Τριάδος τήν ἐν τρισίν ὑποστάσεσι γνωριζομένην θεότητα· ἔθος γάρ αὐτῷ ὅλην θεότητα καλεῖν τήν σεβασμίαν Τριάδα· αὕτη γάρ καί τί ἐστιν ὅλη θεότης ἑαυτήν ἀποκαλύπτουσα μετ' ἀφορισμοῦ τῶν προσώπων, τουτέστι μετά διαιρέσεως τοῖς ἁγίοις ἐφανέρωσε, τῶν τριῶν ὑποστάσεων τάς ἰδιότητας ἐκφαίνουσα, ὅτι Πατήρ καί Υἱός καί ἅγιον Πνεῦμα· οἱ γάρ τρεῖς, μία καί ὅλη καί μόνη θεότης. Ἰστέον δέ, ὅτι ὕπαρξις μέν κυρίως ἐπί Θεοῦ οὐ λέγεται καί γάρ ἐστι προΰπαρξις, τουτέστι καί πρό αὐτῆς τῆς ὑπάρξεως ἔπειδή δέ πᾶσα ὕπαρξις ἐξ αὐτοῦ, ἐκ τῶν δι' αὐτοῦ φανέντων ὀνομάζεται, ἵνα νοηθῇ καί ὑπέρ ταῦτα.","english":"And thrones: seats.\n\nBy symbolic theology: he promises to write another treatise, which he calls Symbolic Theology.\n\nThe hierarchical: Note that it especially befits priests to contemplate the divine Scripture.\n\nGodlike: instead of god-appearing.\n\nAnd sacred ears. He distinguishes sacred ears as being assigned to the saints, that is, a pious hearing and worthy of the saints.\n\nOf the uninitiated: that is, of the uninitiated; for he who hears the divine oracles or the interpretations concerning them with laughter and mockery is judged as a fighter against God. And the Apostle also writes to Timothy that one ought not to speak about such things to those who do not receive the word in truth.\n\nON CHAPTER 2 (§ 1. The archetypal): From this chapter especially are the Arians and Eunomians, who hold to the dissimilar, fought against, and also the Nestorians and the Acephali. And he calls the whole existence of the holy and only adorable Trinity \"archetypal\"—the divinity known in three hypostases; for it is his custom to call the whole divinity the venerable Trinity; for this, being the whole divinity, revealed itself to the saints with the separation of the persons, that is, with division, making manifest the properties of the three hypostases—that Father and Son and Holy Spirit; for the three are one and whole and only divinity. But it must be known that \"existence\" is not properly said of God; for there is also \"pre-existence,\" that is, even before existence itself; but since all existence is from him, he is named from the things that appeared through him, so that he may be understood even beyond these.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":26,"ref":"p26","source":"Ἀφορίζουσα: Τουτέστι γνωρίζουσα καί δεικνύουσα. Τήν θεαρχίαν: Σημείωσαι ὅτι, καί ἀνθρωπίνως λεχθείσης τῆς φωνῆς, τῇ θεότητι ταύτην ἀνατίθησι διά τήν τοῦ προσώπου ἑνότητα. Οὐ μερικῶς: Καλῶς τό 'οὐ μερικῶς'· αἱ γάρ ἐνέργειαι καί πᾶσαι τῆς θεολογίας αἱ ὑμνολογίαι οὐχ ἑνί καί μόνῳ τῶν τῆς θείας Τριάδος προσώπων ἀποκληρωτικῶς ἀπονενέμηνται, ἀλλ’ αὐταί μέν κοιναί εἰσι τῆς Τριάδος, δίχα μόνης τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως· μόνη γάρ ἐστι τοῦ Υἱοῦ, ὡς ἐφεξῆς λέγει· μόναι δέ αἱ χαρακτηριστικαί τῶν τριῶν ὑποστάσεων ἰδιότητες μερικῶς καί ἰδίως ἑκάστῃ ὑποστάσει πρόσεισιν, οἷον τῷ Πατρί τό Πατήρ, καί οὐκ ἄλλῳ τινί· οὕτω καί ἐπί τοῦ Υἱοῦ καί τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος.\n\nΚαί ὁλοκλήρου: Σημείωσαι ὅλης θεότητος τήν Τριάδα σημαίνεσαθαι. Εἰ μή περί τῆς ὅλης: Σημείωσαι ὅτι, ὁ μή κοινάς εἶναι λέγων (≡14 _056≡ τάς θεωνυμίας, ἀποσχίζει ἀσεβῶς τήν ἑνότητα τῆς προσκυνητῆς Τριάδος. Τάδε λέγει ὁ ὤν: Σημειωτέον, ὅτι δέχεται τήν Ἀποκάλυψιν τοῦ ἐν ἁγίοις Ἰωάννου τοῦ Εὐαγγελιστοῦ ὁ ἅγιος οὗτος Διονύσιος· ἐκεῖ γάρ ἐστι τό ρητόν τοῦτο.","english":"Separating: that is, making known and showing. The Godhead: note that, even though the phrase is spoken in a human way, he attributes it to the divinity because of the unity of the person. Not partially: well does he say \"not partially\"; for the energies and all the hymns of theology are not assigned by lot to one alone of the persons of the divine Trinity, but they are common to the Trinity, apart from the incarnation alone; for this belongs to the Son alone, as he says next; but only the characteristic properties of the three hypostases belong partially and individually to each hypostasis, for example to the Father \"Father,\" and not to any other; so too with the Son and the Holy Spirit.\n\nAnd of the whole: note that the Trinity is signified of the whole divinity. If not concerning the whole: note that he who says the divine names are not common impiously divides the unity of the adorable Trinity. These things says the One who is: it should be noted that this holy Dionysius accepts the Revelation of John the Evangelist, who is among the saints; for that is where this saying is found.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":27,"ref":"p27","source":"Ὅτι δέ, ὅτε ἦν ἐν Πάτμῳ ὁ θεῖος Εὐαγγελιστής, ὅπου καί τήν Ἀποκάλυψιν εἶδεν, ἐγίνωσκεν ὁ ἅγιος Διονύσιος, καί τοῦτο μαθήσῃ κάτω ἐκ τῆς ι' ἐπιστολῆς, ἧς ἔγραψε πρός αὐτόν τόν ἅγιον Εὐαγγελιστήν καί θεολόγον Ἰωάννην. Προφητῶν: Ὁ Δαυίδ τοῦτο λέγει.\n\nΤό ὄν, ὅ παρά τοῦ Πατρός: Ἐπίσκεψαι, πῶς φησι τήν χρῆσιν ταύτην· οὐ γάρ φέρεται νῦν οὕτως.\n\nΤήν θεαρχίαν: Ἐν ἄλλοις θεαρχικήν ζωήν.\n\nΘεογόνου θεότητος. Σημείωσαι, ὅτι θεογόνον θεότητά φησι τόν Πατέρα, καί υἱικήν θεότητα τόν Μονογενῆ.\n\nΔιεξοδικῶς: Ἀντί τοῦ πλατυτέρως.\n\nΤά πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ: Σημείωσαι, ὅταν λέγῃ, ὅτι τά πάντα ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστι, περιληπτικῶς τήν ὅλην θεότητα σημαίνει, τουτέστι τήν ἁγίαν Τριάδα· ὅταν δέ φῇ, «τά πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ καί εἰς αὐτόν ἔκτισται», διεξοδικῶς περί τῶν ὑποστάσεων σημαίνει· τοῦτο γάρ εἰς τόν δημιουργικόν Λόγον ἐδέξαντο πάντες. Καί αὐτοῦ: Τοῦ Λόγου δηλονότι.\n\nΚοινωνικῶς καί ἡνωμένως: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι κοινωνικῶς ἥνωται τά τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος.","english":"That the divine Evangelist was in Patmos, where he also saw the Apocalypse, the holy Dionysius knew, and you will learn this below from the tenth letter, which he wrote to the holy Evangelist and Theologian John himself. Of the Prophets: David says this.\n\nThe one who is, who is from the Father: Consider how he uses this expression; for it is not understood thus now.\n\nThe Godhead: In other places, \"Godhead-life.\"\n\nOf God-begotten divinity. Note that he calls the Father \"God-begotten divinity,\" and the Only-Begotten \"filial divinity.\"\n\nIn detail: In place of \"more broadly.\"\n\nAll things through him: Note that when he says that all things are from God, he signifies the whole Godhead comprehensively, that is, the Holy Trinity; but when he says, \"all things have been created through him and unto him,\" he signifies the persons in detail; for all have received this in reference to the creative Word. And his: Clearly of the Word.\n\nCommunally and unitedly: Note that the things of the Holy Trinity are united communally.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":28,"ref":"p28","source":"Τάς θεουργίας: Οἷον τό, «Ἐγώ ἐν Πνεύματι Θεοῦ ἐκβάλλω τά δαιμόνια»· τό σέβας, ὡς τό· «εἰς τό ἅγιον Πνεῦμα βλασφημήσαντι οὐκ ἀφεθήσεται»· τό δέ τῶν δωρεῶν, ἤτοι τῶν χαρισμάτων, ἐν τῷ λέγειν· «λήψεσθε δύναμιν ἐπελθόντος τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἐφ' ὑμᾶς». (≡14 _058≡ Τήν πηγαίαν: Εἴρηται ἐν τοῖς Ψαλμοῖς, «ὅτι παρά σοί πηγή ζωῆς», καί ἐν Ἰερεμίᾳ, «Ἐμέ ἐγκατέλιπον, πηγήν ὕδατος ζῶντος». Ὁ οὖν Θεός λέγεται πηγή, οἷά τις μήτρα καί ἀρχή καί αἰτία τῶν φανέντων καί προελθόντων εἰς οὐσίαν ἁπάντων· ἅ γάρ καλεῖν εἰώθασί τινες καθολικά, ἤτοι γένη ἤ ὅλα ἤ περιέχοντα, ἅτε περιληπτικά τῶν μερικῶν ἐξ αὐτῶν προόδων, ταῦτα αἱ θεῖαι Γραφαί 'πηγαίαν αἰτίαν' φασί· διά τό δημιουργικόν τοίνυν καί ἀνέκλειπτον τῶν διά τοῦ Πνεύματος ὑφισταμένων, καί ὅτι τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον καί αὐτό πάντων τῶν ὄντων αἴτιον, ὡς καί ἐν τῇ Σοφίᾳ εἴρηται, εἰκότως καί πηγαίαν αὐτό αἰτίαν θεολογεῖ· τό δέ ἀνέκλειπτον τοῦ δημιουργεῖν ἐκεῖθεν νόησον εἰς τό· «ὁ Πατήρ μοι ἕως ἄρτι ἐργάζεταί, κἀγώ ἐργάζομαι». Ὡσαύτως καί τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον, σύν τῷ Πατρί καί τῷ Υἱῷ ἀεί ἐργάζεται ἀνεκλείπτως· εἴρηται γάρ· «ἐξαποστελεῖς τό Πνεῦμά σου, καί κτισθήσονται».","english":"The divine workings: for example, \"I by the Spirit of God cast out demons\"; the worship, as in \"whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven\"; and that of the gifts, that is, of the charisms, in saying \"you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.\" (≡14 _058≡ The fontal: It is said in the Psalms, \"for with you is the fountain of life,\" and in Jeremiah, \"they abandoned me, the fountain of living water.\" God, then, is called a fountain, as it were a womb and beginning and cause of all things that have appeared and come forth into being; for those things which some are accustomed to call universals, whether genera or wholes or containings, insofar as they comprehend the particular processions from them, these the divine Scriptures call a \"fontal cause.\" Therefore, because of the creative and inexhaustible character of the things that subsist through the Spirit, and because the Holy Spirit is himself also the cause of all beings, as is also said in Wisdom, it reasonably theologizes him as a fontal cause as well; and understand the inexhaustibility of his creating from that passage: \"my Father is working until now, and I am working.\" Likewise the Holy Spirit also, together with the Father and the Son, always works inexhaustibly; for it is said: \"you will send forth your Spirit, and they will be created.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[{"kind":"scripture","severity":"info","ref":"John 4:10","text":"The English carries the scriptural phrase “living water”, which matches John 4:10. The match is on the English draft; check the Coptic before quoting the verse."}]},{"i":29,"ref":"p29","source":"§ 2. Ἀδιαστρόφοις ἐννοίαις: Καλῶς εἶπε τό 'ἀδιαστρόφοις'· ἐπειδή καί οἱ αἱρετικοί ἀναγινώσκουσι τάς Γραφάς καί ἐντρέφονται ἐν αὑταῖς, καί ὅμως διαστρέφουσιν ἑαυτούς.\n\nΘεοπρεποῦς διαιρέσεως: Θεοπρεπῆ διαίρεσιν ἐπί τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος τήν περί τῶν ὑποστάσεων ἀσύγχυτον ἔφη γνῶσιν, καί ὅτι οὐ χρή φροντίζειν πείθειν τούς μή δεχόμενους τήν θείαν Γραφήν. Τό γάρ κοινῶς ἐπί τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος θεολογεῖν οὐκ ἔστι σύγχυσιν εἰσάγειν τῶν ὑποστάσεων.\n\nἘπί τήν θεολογικήν: Θεολογικήν ἐπιστήμην ἀνωτέρω περί Θεοῦ διηγούμενος, οὐκ ἔφη αὐτήν ἐπιστήμην εἶναι, ἐνταῦθα δέ τά περί θεολογίας ἐπιστήμην φησίν. Ἐπιστήμη δέ ἐστι (≡14 _060≡ δόξα ὀρθή λογισμῷ δεθεῖσα, ἤ λόγος ἀληθής ἐπί διάνοιαν ἀμετάπτωτος, καί ἡ ἀκριβής εἴδησις τοῦ πράγματος καί ἀπόφανσις, οὗ καί λέγεται ἐπιστήμη, ἀληθείας λόγον καί δόξαν ὀρθήν προβαλλομένη, μή δεομένη τῆς ἐκ παραθέσεως τοῦ ὁμοίου βεβαιώσεως. Τάς θείας ἐκφαντορίας: Ἐκφαντορίας φησί τάς τά μυστήρια ἐκφαινούσας διδασκαλίας.","english":"§ 2. By undistorted notions: He rightly said \"undistorted\"; since even the heretics read the Scriptures and are nourished in them, and yet they distort themselves.\n\nOf a God-befitting division: He called a God-befitting division in the Holy Trinity the unconfused knowledge concerning the hypostases, and that one ought not to be concerned with persuading those who do not accept the divine Scripture. For to theologize commonly concerning the Holy Trinity is not to introduce a confusion of the hypostases.\n\nTo the theological: Earlier, when discoursing about God, he called theological science [knowledge] of God, but he did not say it is science; here, however, he calls the things concerning theology science. And science is right opinion bound by reasoning, or a true account established unchangeably in the mind, and the exact knowledge and declaration of the thing of which it is also called science, putting forth the account of truth and right opinion, not needing confirmation from the comparison of a similar case. The divine manifestations: He calls manifestations the teachings that make the mysteries manifest.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":30,"ref":"p30","source":"Ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἀπλήθυντα: Ὅτι οὐ δεῖ παρεξιέναι τήν θείαν Γραφήν ἐν τῷ θεολογεῖν.\n\n§ 3. Καί ὅσα τῆς ὑπεροχικῆς: Κατά ἀφαίρεσιν ὑπέρ ἔνοιαν δοξολογεῖται· ἐκ γάρ τῶν μή θεωρουμένων περί αὐτόν ὑπεραναβεβηκότως προσκυνεῖται, οἷον ὡς ἀθάνατος, ὡς ἀτελεύτητος καί ἀόρατος καί ἀνεδεής, καί ὅσα τοιαῦτα· κοινά γάρ τῆς Τριάδος καί ταῦτα· αἰτιολογικά δέ εἰσιν ὅσα ἐπί τήν κτίσιν ἔρρευσε παρ' αὐτοῦ, ἅτε αἰτίου παντός καλοῦ, ὡς γέγραπται, ὅτι «πᾶν ἐστι καλόν αὐτοῦ». Τό τοῦ Πατρός: Κατά κοινοῦ δέ τό ὑπερούσιον, ὡς ἐπί τοῦ Πατρός, οὕτω καί ἐπί τοῦ Υἱοῦ καί ἐπί τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος. Ἐπί δέ τῶν διακεκριμένων τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος, οἷον ὀνομάτων, οὐδεμίαν φησίν ὅλως εἶναι ἀντιστροφήν ἤ κοινωνίαν· ὁ γάρ Πατήρ οὐκ ἄν εὐσεβῶς κληθείη Υἱός, οὐδέ ὁ Υἱός Πατήρ· τό αὐτό καί ἐπί τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος.\n\nἩ καθ' ἡμᾶς Ἰησοῦ: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι μόνου τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγου ἐστίν ἡ ἐνανθρώπησις. Παντελῆ δέ αὐτήν φησι κατά Ἀπολλιναρίου, ὡς ἐκ ψυχῆς νοερᾶς καί ἡμετέρου σώματος· τοῦτο γάρ δηλοῖ τό εἰπεῖν αὐτόν «καθ' ἡμᾶς», ὅπερ ἐστί καί· κατά Εὐτυχοῦς· κατά Νεστορίου δέ, ὅτι φησί, τοῦ Ἰησοῦ τήν ἀναλλοίωτον ὡς Θεοῦ καθ' ἡμᾶς ὕπαρξιν· καί ὅτι οὐσιώδη φησί τά ἐν τῇ ἀνθρωπότητι μυστήρια, τήν πεῖναν, τόν κόπον, (≡14 _062≡ καί τό ἐπί ὕδατος βαδίσαι, καί τό εἰσελθεῖν τῶν θυρῶν κεκλεισμένων πρός τούς μαθητάς, καί τό ἐγεῖραι τούς νεκρούς, καί αὐτό τό πάθος, καί ὅσα τοιαῦτα.","english":"In themselves without multiplicity: That it is not right to go beyond the divine Scripture when theologizing.\n\n§ 3. And all that belongs to the supereminence: By abstraction, beyond thought, he is glorified; for from the things not contemplated concerning him he is worshipped in a superexalted manner, such as that he is immortal, that he is endless and invisible and without need, and all such things; for these are common to the Trinity. And those things are causative which flowed from him upon creation, since he is the cause of every good, as it is written, that \"every good thing is his.\" The Father's: But the supersubstantial is said in a common sense, as of the Father, so also of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. But concerning the distinct names of the Holy Trinity, he says there is absolutely no interchange or communion; for the Father would not piously be called Son, nor the Son Father; the same also applies to the Holy Spirit.\n\nOur Jesus: Note that the incarnation belongs to the divine Word alone. And he calls it complete, against Apollinarius, as consisting of a rational soul and our body; for this is what his saying \"our\" makes clear, which is also against Eutyches; and against Nestorius, because, he says, the unchangeable existence of Jesus as God is \"our\"; and that he says the mysteries in the humanity are substantial—the hunger, the weariness, and the walking on water, and the entering through closed doors to the disciples, and the raising of the dead, and the passion itself, and all such things.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":31,"ref":"p31","source":"Οὐσιώδη μυστήρια: Σημείωσαι τό οὐσιώδη ἐπί τῆς σαρκώσεως· τοῦτο γάρ ἔφη, ἐκβάλλων τήν κατά φαντασίαν δόξαν.\n\n§ 4. Παραδόσεως ἱερομύσται. Ἱερομύσται λέγονται οἱ τά ἱερά μεμυημένοι. Κρυφίας καί ἀνεκφοιτήτους: Κρυφίας ἑνώσεις φησί τάς περί τῆς θείας οὐσίας ἀκαταλήπτους γνώσεις· τήν οὐσίαν αὐτήν τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος, τί ἐστιν, οὐδείς γνώσεταί ποτε.\n\nΤάς διακρίσεις: Διακρίσεις φησί τάς ἐνυποστάτους προσκυνητάς ὑπάρξεις, τουτέστι, τοῦ μέν Υἱοῦ τόν ἐκ Πατρός ἀνέκφραστον ἀπαυγασμόν, τοῦ δέ ἁγίου Πνεύματος τήν ἐκ Πατρός ἀνεννόητον ἐκπόρευσιν. Ἡ ὑπέρ ἑναρχίαν: Ἡ ὑπέρ ἑναρχίαν ἑνότης τό ὑπέρ πᾶσαν ἑνότητα καί ἁπλότητα ἐν τοῖς οὖσι τῆς θείας φύσεως ἀμερές τε καί ἁπλοῦν σημαίνει. Τό ἄφθεγκτον. Ἄφθεγκτον διά τό ἀκατονόμαστον τῆς οὐσίας, πολύφωνον δέ, ὅτι τῇ ποικιλίᾳ τῶν εὐεργετουμένων τό πολύφωνον ἔχει. Τό παννόητον: Πῶς ἄγνωστος καί παννόητος ὁ Θεός, καί πῶς ἐν ἀγνωσίᾳ τήν περί αὐτοῦ κτώμεθα γνῶσιν, ρητέον· ἀγνοίᾳ γάρ γίνεται γνωστός ὁ Θεός· ἄγνοιαν δέ, μή τήν διά τῆς ἀμαθίας λάβης· αὕτη γάρ σκότος ἐστί ψυχῆς· μήτε τήν γινώσκουσαν, ὅτι ἀγνοεῖται ὁ ἄγνωστος· εἶδος γάρ καί αὐτή γνωριστικόν· ἀλλά κατ' ἐκείνην τήν ἄγνοιαν γινώσκεται γνωστός, καθ' ἤν ἁπλωθέντες ὑπέρ τάς νοήσεις, αἵτινες πληθυνόμεναι σκεδάννυνται, καί αὖθις συμπτύσσονται, οὐκ οὖσαι ἑνάς.","english":"Substantial mysteries: Note \"substantial\" in reference to the incarnation; for he said this, casting out the opinion according to imagination.\n\n§ 4. Initiates into the tradition of sacred things. Those initiated into the sacred things are called initiates. \"Secret and uncommunicated\": He speaks of secret unions, the incomprehensible knowledges concerning the divine essence; for what the essence itself of the Holy Trinity is, no one will ever know.\n\n\"The distinctions\": He speaks of distinctions as the subsistent adorable existences, that is, of the Son, the inexpressible radiance from the Father, and of the Holy Spirit, the inconceivable procession from the Father. \"The unity beyond a single principle\": The unity beyond a single principle signifies the indivisible and simple beyond all unity and simplicity in things that exist of the divine nature. \"The ineffable.\" Ineffable because of the unnameable nature of the essence, but many-voiced, because through the variety of those who are benefited it has the many-voiced. \"The all-intelligible\": How God is unknown and all-intelligible, and how in unknowing we acquire knowledge concerning him, must be stated; for God becomes known by unknowing; but do not take unknowing to mean that which comes through ignorance; for this is darkness of the soul; nor that which knows that the unknown is unknown; for this too is a form capable of knowing; but he is known as known according to that unknowing according to which, having been stretched beyond the thoughts, which when multiplied are scattered and again folded together, not being one.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":32,"ref":"p32","source":"Ὅθεν οὖν πᾶσαν νόησιν περί Θεόν ὑπερβάντες, ἁπλοῖ γινόμεθα, ἀγνοοῦντες (≡14 _064≡ λοιπόν καί ἀδιάκριτοι μένοντες διά τήν πρός τήν ἑνότητα στάσιν, καί βεβαίως ἑστῶτες ἐν τῇ ἑνώσει, ἀγνοοῦμεν ὅτι ἀγνοοῦμεν, τουτέστιν οὐχ ἑτέρου τινός εἰδότες, ἡμεῖς ὡς ἀμαθεῖς ἀγνοοῦμεν, δυνάμενοι μαθεῖν ἅ τέως ἀγνοοῦμεν, ἀλλά τά παρά πάσης λογικῆς κτίσεως εὐσεβῶς ἀγνοούμενα ἀγνοοῦντες· ἐν ταύτῃ γάρ στάντες τῇ ἀγνοίᾳ, εἶδος γινόμεθα τοῦ πρό πάντων ὄντος· ἐάσαντες μέν πάντα τά εἴδη καί τάς νοήσεις, ἐν ἀφασίᾳ δέ κρείττονι πάσης φθέγξεως ἱδρυμένοι, τῷ μηδέ τοῦτο γινώσκειν, ὅτι ἀγνοοῦμεν· εἶτα πάλιν ὑποστρέψαντες ἐκ τῆς ἐν ἀφασίᾳ σιωπῆς, καί ἀπό τῆς σιγῆς εἰς φθέγξιν καταβαίνοντες, συνιέντες ὅτι ἠγνοοῦμεν,\n\nἀφιστάμεθα λοιπόν τοῦ περί ἀγνώστου ζητεῖν. Παννόητος δέ πάλιν ὁ Θεός, ἐκ τῶν φιλοδώρων προνοιῶν νοούμενος, ὅ,τι ἐστί, καί ἐκ τῶν δημιουργημάτων· ἐκ τῶν μέν, ὅτι σωτήρ ἐστιν, ἐκ τῶν δέ, ὅτι δημιουργός. Καί θέσιν μέν τήν ὕπαρξίν φησιν, ὡς ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς πάντων οὔσης ὑπάρξεως. Λέγουσι δέ καί οἱ φιλόσοφοι 'θέσιν' τά ἐπιτιθέμενα εἴδη τῇ ὕλη, 'ἀφαίρεσιν' δέ, ὅταν αἱ ποιότητες ἀφαιρεθῶσι τῶν εἰδῶν, οἷον γῆς τό βαρύ, ὕδατος τό ὑγρόν. Ὁ οὖν Θεός, ὁ καί ταῦτα μετασχηματίζων, ἡ πάντων θέσις καί ἀφαίρεσίς ἐστι· θέσις μέν πάντων, ὡς τά πάντα θείς καί ποιήσας καί ἱδρῦσθαι παρασκευάζων· ἐν αὐτῷ γάρ τά ἅπαντα συνέστηκεν· ἀφαίρεσις δέ πάντων ἐστίν, ὡς καί τήν θέσιν αὐτήν τῶν ὄντων καί τήν ποίησιν μεταρρυθμίζων καί μετασκευάζων καί ἀφαιρῶν ἐκ τῶν τεθειμένων τά κατά φύσιν·","english":"Therefore, having transcended every conception concerning God, we become simple, remaining henceforth unknowing and undiscriminating because of our stance toward unity, and standing firmly in the union, we do not know that we do not know—that is, not knowing anything else, we, as the unlearned, are ignorant, though able to learn what for the present we do not know—but we are ignorant of the things that are piously unknown to every rational creature. For standing in this ignorance, we become a form of the One who exists before all things, having left behind all forms and conceptions, and established in a silence better than all utterance, in not even knowing this, that we are ignorant. Then again, returning from the silence in speechlessness and descending from silence to utterance, understanding that we were ignorant, we henceforth cease from seeking concerning the unknown. And God is again all-intelligible, being understood from his beneficent providences, both what he is and from his creations—from the one, that he is Savior; from the other, that he is Creator. And he calls position his existence, as being from the very existence of all things. The philosophers also call \"position\" the forms imposed upon matter, and \"abstraction\" when the qualities are abstracted from the forms, for example, the heaviness of earth, the wetness of water. God, then, who also transforms these things, is the position and abstraction of all things: position of all things, as having set and made all things and preparing them to be established—for in him all things consist together; and abstraction of all things, as also reforming and reshaping the very position and making of existing things, and abstracting from the things set in place their natural properties.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":33,"ref":"p33","source":"εἰ γάρ ὁμολογεῖται τά ἐν γενέσει, πάντως καί φθείρεσθαι· αὐτός δέ πλούτῳ ἀγαθότητος τῶν μέν ἀνεῖλε καί τό φθαρτόν, ὡς ἀγγέλων καί ψυχῶν, τῶν δέ τό φθαρτόν εἰς ἀφθαρσίαν καί τό θνητόν εἰς ἀθανασίαν μετάγει, ὡς τά σώματα ἡμῶν ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει· δῆλον ὡς αὐτός ταῦτα (≡14 _066≡ ἡμῖν ὑπάρχων, αὐτός καί ὑπέρ θέσιν ἐστί καί ἀφαίρεσιν, καί θεμέλιος καί ρίζα πάντων ὤν, οὐ τοπικῶς, ἀλλά κατά τό αἴτιον· οὔτε ἀφαίρεσις αὐτός ὤν, ὧν αὐτός ἔχει· αὐτό γάρ ἀθάνατον αὐτός ἔχει. Τό γάρ ἀθάνατον καί ἀκατάληπτον καί ἄγνωστον καί ὅσα τοιαῦτα ἔχει, οὐχ ὡς μή ὤν τό ἐναντίον, ἀλλά κατά ἰδιότητά τινα πᾶσιν ἄρρητον καί ἀνεπινόητον· ἐξῄρηται γάρ τῶν ἁπάντων, ὡς ἀφῃρημένος τῶν ὄντων, καί ὑπ' οὐδενός νοούμενος τῶν ἐν δημιουργίᾳ ἤ καταλαμβανόμενος, ὡς αὐτός ἑαυτόν ἁρπάσας διά τῆς ἀπειρίας· οὐ γάρ ἐστιν αὐτοῦ πέρας. Σημείωσαι δέ τό ἐν ἀλλήλαις εἶναι, κατά τινα μονήν καί ἵδρυσιν τάς θείας ὑποστάσεις, ὡς τό· «Ἐγώ ἐν τῷ Πατρί, καί ὁ Πατήρ ἐν ἐμοί»· οὕτω καί περί τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος ὁ Ἀπόστολος λέγει.","english":"For it is acknowledged that things in generation are also altogether subject to corruption; but he, by the wealth of his goodness, has for some removed even what is corruptible, as with angels and souls, and for others he transfers the corruptible into incorruption and the mortal into immortality, as with our bodies in the resurrection. It is clear that he himself, being these things for us, is himself both beyond position and beyond removal, and is the foundation and root of all things, not locally but causally. Nor is he himself a removal of the things he himself possesses; for he himself possesses the immortal itself. For the immortal and the incomprehensible and the unknown, and all such things he possesses, not as though their opposite did not exist, but according to a certain peculiarity ineffable and inconceivable to all. For he is exempt from all things, as one removed from beings, and understood by none of those in creation, nor comprehended, as he himself has snatched himself away through infinity; for there is no limit of him. Note also that the divine hypostases are in one another, according to a certain abiding and establishment, as the saying: \"I am in the Father, and the Father is in me\"; thus also the Apostle speaks concerning the Holy Spirit.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":34,"ref":"p34","source":"Καθάπερ φῶτα λαμπτήρων: Ὅλος ὁ νοῦς τοῦ πατρός τοῦτον ἔχει τόν τρόπον. Παράδειγμα εἶπεν ἐπί τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος, ὥσπερ τριῶν τινων λύχνων, φησίν, ἤ κηρῶν ἡμμένων ἔν τινι ναῷ ἤ οἴκῳ, ταῖς μέν ὑποστάσεσι διακεκριμένων, ἤγουν κεχωρισμένων ἀλλήλων· ἄλλος γάρ καί ἄλλος λύχνος ἐστίν ἰδικῶς ὁ καθείς, τῷ δέ φωτί ἡνωμένην ἔχουσι καί ἀχώριστον τήν κοινωνίαν τῆς φύσεως καί τῆς ἐνεργείας· καί οὐδείς δύναται ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ ἐν τῷ ἀέρι αὐτοῦ διακρῖναι καί εἰπεῖν, ποῖον μέν ἐστι φῶς τοῦδε τοῦ λύχνου, ποῖον δέ τοῦ ἑτέρου. Ταῦτα εἰπών, μετέρχεται λοιπόν ἐκ τοῦ τριαδικοῦ εἰς τόν τῆς οἰκονομίας λόγον καί τήν ἔνδοξον ἔξοδον τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγου τήν ἐκ Πατρός κατά τήν αὐτοῦ φωνήν τήν φάσκουσαν, ὅτι, «ἐκ τοῦ Πατρός μου ἐγώ ἐξῆλθον, καί πρός τόν Πατέρα μου ὑπάγω», σαφηνίζει καθά φησιν· Ἀλλ', εἰ καί τόν ἕνα τις τῶν πυρσῶν ὑπεξάγοι τοῦ δωματίου, (≡14 _068≡ συνεξελεύσεται καί τό οἰκεῖον ἅπαν φῶς, οὐδέν τῆς τῶν ἑτέρων φώτων ἐν ἑαυτῷ συνεπισπώμενον λαμπηδόνος, ἤ τό ἑαυτοῦ τοῖς ἑτέροις καταλεῖπον. Ἐλθών γάρ ὁ Υἱός ἐκ τοῦ Πατρός καί ἐπιδημήσας ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ οὐδέ τόν Πατέρα καί τό Πνεῦμα συνήγαγεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ, οὐδέ μήν τῶν οἰκείων ἐξελθών ἐκείνοις κατέλιπεν, ἀλλ' ἀδιαίρετον τῆς ἑαυτοῦ μονῆς ἐποιήσατο τήν ἔξοδον.","english":"Just as the lights of lamps: The whole mind of the Father has this manner. He used an example concerning the Holy Trinity, as of three lamps, he says, or candles lit in some temple or house, distinguished in their hypostases, that is, separated from one another; for one and another lamp is each individually, but in their light they have a united and inseparable communion of nature and energy; and no one in the house in its air can distinguish and say which is the light of this lamp, and which of the other. Having said these things, he then passes from the trinitarian account to the account of the economy and the glorious departure of God the Word from the Father according to his own voice which says, \"I came forth from my Father, and I go to my Father,\" he clarifies as he says: But, even if someone should remove one of the torches from the room, its own light will go out with it, drawing to itself nothing of the brightness of the other lights, or leaving its own to the others. For the Son, having come from the Father and dwelt in the world, did not gather the Father and the Spirit to himself, nor indeed, having gone out from his own, did he leave them behind, but he made his departure inseparable from his abode.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":35,"ref":"p35","source":"Ὅπου γε καί τήν ὑπερούσιον: Αἱ τῶν σωμάτων ἑνώσεις, τῶν τε στοιχειωδῶς θεωρουμένων καί τῶν ἄλλως πως μιγνυμένων, δυνάμεσι καί ποιότησι τό παρηλλαγμένον ἔχουσι, καί ἕτερόν τι παρά τήν τῶν ἁπλῶν φύσιν ἡ τούτων ἕνωσις ἀποτελεῖ· ὡσαύτως καί ψυχικαί δυνάμεις τό ἑτεροειδές κατά τήν κίνησιν διάφορον ἔχουσι· καί μήν καί αἱ τῶν ἀγγέλων πρός τάς θείας ἐλλάμψεις ἑνότητες τό ἀνά μέρος καί ἀνάλογον ταῖς οἰκείαις τάξεσιν ἔχουσιν, ἡ δέ ἐν τῇ ἁγίᾳ Τριάδι θεότης καί ὅσα ταύτης, οὐδενί τῶν εἰρημένων διακοπτομένη ἤ ἑαυτῆς διαφέρουσα, εἰκότως ὑπέρ ταύτας τάς ἑνώσεις εἶναι δοξάζεται.\n\nΚαί ὑπερουράνια φῶτα: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι καί τάς ψυχάς καί τούς νόας ἅπαντας ὑπερουράνια φῶτα καλεῖ, καί φησιν ἑνοῦσθαι τάς ζωούσας οὐσίας ταύτας ἁπάσας, ὡς εἴρηται ἐν τῷ παραδείγματι τῶν ἐν οἴκῳ τινί πολλῶν λαμπτήρων ἀλλήλοις ἀμιγῶς τε καί ἀσυγχύτως ἑνουμένων, θεοειδεῖς τε οὔσας καί μετεχούσας ἀναλόγως ἑαυτοῖς τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ ὑπερηνωμένης ἑνώσεως, ἅστινας, ἑνώσεις δηλονότι, ἐπί τά ἀσώματα, ἅ καί δι' ἀλλήλων ἀσυγχύτως χωρεῖ. § 5. Ὑπερουσίου θεογονίας: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι ὑπερούσιον θεογονίαν καί πηγήν τόν Πατέρα καλεῖ, καί ὅτι οὐκ ἀντιστρέφει τά ὀνόματα.","english":"Where indeed also the supersubstantial: The unions of bodies, both those contemplated elementally and those mixed in some other way, have their difference in powers and qualities, and their union produces something other than the nature of simple things; likewise also psychic powers have their specific difference in movement; and indeed the unities of angels toward the divine illuminations have their partial and proportional character according to their own orders, but the Godhead in the Holy Trinity and all that belongs to it, being interrupted by none of the things said nor differing from itself, is reasonably believed to be above these unions.\n\nAnd supercelestial lights: Note that he calls all souls and minds supercelestial lights, and says that all these living essences are united, as was said in the example of the many lamps in some house united to one another without mixture and without confusion, being Godlike and partaking proportionally to themselves of the supremely united union of God—which unions, clearly, [extend] to incorporeal things, which also pass through one another without confusion. § 5. Of supersubstantial generation of God: Note that he calls the Father a supersubstantial generation of God and a source, and that he does not reverse the names.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":36,"ref":"p36","source":"Ἑνώσεις τε καί διακρίσεις: Τά περί τῆς ἀφράστου Τριάδος μέχρι τριῶν ὑποστάσεων προόδου νῦν θεολογεῖ, ὅτιπερ ὁ Θεός καί Πατήρ, κινηθείς ἀχρόνως καί ἀγαπητικῶς, προῆλθεν (≡14 _070≡ εἰς διάκρισιν ὑποστάσεων, ἀμερῶς τε καί ἀμειώτως μείνας ἐν τῇ οἰκείᾳ ὁλότητι ὑπερηνωμένος καί ὑπερηπλωμένος, τοῦ οἰκείου ἀπαυγάσματος εἰς ὕπαρξιν προελθόντος, ὡς εἰκόνος ζώσης, καί τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος προσκυνητῶς καί ὑπεραεννάως ἐκπορευομένου ἐκ τοῦ Πατρός, ὡς μυσταγωγεῖ ὁ Κύριος· ἀγαθότητι δέ ἐπληθύνθη ἐπί τρισυπόστατον θεαρχίαν ἡ αἰτία πάντων καί πηγή. Ταῦτα καί ὁ θεολόγος Γρηγόριος ἐν τοῖς Κατά Εὐνομίου λόγοις φησίν. Ἔστι δέ καί κατά ἄλλον λόγον θεία διάκρισις, ἡ διά πλῆθος ἀγαθότητος πρόοδος τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰς τήν πολυείδειαν τῆς δημιουργίας τῆς ἀοράτου καί ὁρατῆς. Κοιναί δέ εἰσι τῆς τρισυποστάτου καί διακεκριμένης ἑνάδος αἱ δημιουργικαί πρόνοιαί τε καί ἀγαθότητες· ἡ γάρ παμβασιλίς Τριάς ἐν μεθέξει τῶν δυναμένων μετέχειν γίνεται ἀσχέτως τε καί ἀμεθέκτως· ταὐτόν γάρ δηλοῖ ἑκάτερον· μετέχεται γάρ ὁ Θεός ἀσχέτως οὐ κατεχόμενος ἐν τόπῳ τῷ μετέχοντι, οὐδέ αἰσθητῶς μετεχόμενος, ἀλλ’ ὅλος ἐν μετοχῇ ἑκάστου ὤν καί ἐξῃρημένος τῶν ἁπάντων· ὥσπερ φωνῆς μεγάλης γενομένης ἅπαντες μετέχουσιν οἱ παρόντες κατά τήν οἰκείαν δύναμιν, καί ἀνήρ καί νήπιον καί ἄλογα, ἀλλ’ οἱ μέν ἐρρωμενέστερον, οἱ δέ ἀμυδρότερον, πρός τήν τῆς ἀκουστικῆς ἐνέργειαν, καί ἔστι μεθεκτή ἡ φωνή, καί ἐφ' ἑαυτῆς ἀμέθεκτος μείνασα.","english":"Unions and distinctions: He now theologizes about the ineffable Trinity, up to the procession into three hypostases—that God and Father, moved timelessly and lovingly, proceeded into distinction of hypostases, remaining indivisibly and without diminution united and supremely simple in his own wholeness, while his own radiance proceeded into existence as a living image, and the all-holy Spirit proceeds from the Father in a manner worthy of worship and beyond understanding, as the Lord initiates us into the mystery; but by goodness the cause and source of all things was multiplied upon the three-hypostatic Godhead. This also Gregory the Theologian says in his discourses Against Eunomius. There is also, in another sense, a divine distinction: the procession of God, through the abundance of his goodness, into the manifold variety of creation, both invisible and visible. And the creative providences and goodnesses are common to the three-hypostatic and distinct Unity; for the all-royal Trinity comes to be in the participation of those able to participate, without relation and without being participated; for each of these conveys the same thing. For God is participated without relation, not being contained in place by the one who participates, nor participated perceptibly, but being wholly in the participation of each and exempt from all things; just as when a great sound occurs, all present participate in it according to their own capacity—both a man and an infant and irrational creatures—but some more strongly, others more faintly, in relation to the activity of hearing; and the sound is participable, yet remains in itself imparticipable.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":37,"ref":"p37","source":"Ἐκ τῶν μετοχῶν καί τῶν μετεχόντων: Τό κατ' οὐσίαν μέν ἡ θεότης οὐ μετέχεται, οὔτε νοεῖται· μεθεκτή δέ ἐστιν ἐν τῷ ἐξ αὐτῆς εἶναι τά πάντα, καί ὑπ' αὐτῆς συνέχεσθαι εἰς τό εἶναι.\n\nἘν ἑκάστῳ τῶν ἑκτυπωμάτων: Παραδειγματικῶς φησι, πῶς ἀμεθέκτως μετέχεται ὁ Θεός.\n\n§ 6. Οὐκ ἔστιν ἡ σφραγίς: Ἀντίθεσις καί λύσις ἐκ τοῦ παραδείγματος τῆς σφραγῖδος.\n\n(≡14 _072≡ Ἀπομόργματα: Ἀπομόργματα ἐνταῦθα τά ἐκτυπώματα λέγει. Καί μήτε ἀντίτυπα: Ὡς λίθοι καί ξύλα, ἤ πάλιν τά τῆς ὑγρᾶς οὐσίας, ὧν οὐδέν ἐπιδέχεται τήν ἐκ δακτυλίου σφραγῖδα.\n\nΔιακέκριται δέ: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι διακέκριται τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος ἡ ἐνανθρώπησις τοῦ Λόγου ὁλικῶς καί ἀληθῶς.\n\nΤό καθ' ἡμᾶς: Ἐνταῦθα περί τῆς οἰκονομίας πάλιν διαλαβών, τῷ Θεῷ Λόγῳ ταύτην προσάπτει, μήτε Πατρός, μήτε τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐπικοινωνησάντων, πλήν κατά βουλήν μόνην. Σημείωσαι δέ τήν ἀκριβῆ τῆς οἰκονομίας διήγησιν, ὅτι οὐσιώθη ὁ ὑπερούσιος Θεός Λόγος ἀναλλοιώτως, ἐπεί μεμένηκε Θεός, καί οὐσιώθη καθ' ἡμᾶς ἐξ ἡμῶν ὁλικῶς, τουτέστι, σῶμα καί ψυχήν λογικήν κατά ἀλήθειαν ἐσχηκώς, καί ὅτι Θεός Λόγος ἐστί κατ' ἀλήθειαν ὁ παθών, δηλονότι σαρκί, καί ὅτι ἀνθρωπική αὐτοῦ ἐστι θεουργία πάντα τά ἐν τῇ οἰκονομίᾳ, καί ὅτι οὐκ ἐκοινώνησεν εἰς ταῦτα Πατήρ, οὔτε τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον, εἰ μή τῇ εὐδοκίᾳ καί βουλήσει τῆς σαρκώσεως καί εἰς τό","english":"From participations and participants: Divinity is not participated in according to essence, nor is it conceived; but it is participable in that all things exist from it and are held together by it into being.\n\nIn each of the impressions: He says by way of paradigm how God is participated in without being participated in.\n\n§ 6. The seal is not: An objection and its solution from the example of the seal.\n\n(≡14 _072≡ Smudges: Here he calls the impressions \"smudges.\" And neither counter-images: As stones and wood, or again those of liquid substance, none of which receives the seal from a ring.\n\nBut it has been distinguished: Note that the incarnation of the Word has been distinguished wholly and truly from the Holy Trinity.\n\nWhat is according to us: Here, having again discussed the economy, he attributes it to God the Word, neither the Father nor the Spirit having shared in it, except by will alone. Note the precise narration of the economy, that the supersubstantial God the Word was made substance without change, since he remained God, and was made substance according to us wholly from us, that is, having truly a body and a rational soul, and that it is truly God the Word who suffered, evidently in the flesh, and that all things in the economy are his human divine-working, and that neither the Father nor the Holy Spirit shared in these, except by the good pleasure and will of the incarnation and unto the","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":38,"ref":"p38","source":"συνεργάζεσθαι τῷ Υἱῷ Θεῷ τάς θεοσημείας. Σημείωσαι δέ ταῦτα μάλιστα κατά Νεστοριανῶν καί Ἀκεφάλων καί Φαντασιαστῶν. Διακέκριται: Τοῦτ' ἔστι κεχωρῆσθαι τοῦ τριαδικοῦ καί θεολογικοῦ Λόγου τό καθ' ἡμᾶς ἐξ ἡμῶν ὁλικῶς καί ἀληθῶς σαρκωθῆναι, τοῦτ' ἔστιν ὁ τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως καί σαρκώσεως τοῦ Χριστοῦ Λόγος, καί δρᾶσαι καί παθεῖν ὅσα τῆς ἀνθρωπικῆς αὐτοῦ θεωρίας ἐστίν ἔκκριτα. Ἀδιατήρητά φησι καί ἐξαίρετα, τοῦτ' ἔστιν καθαρά καί ἀδιάβλητα τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης αὐτοῦ φύσεως, ἅτινά ἐστι τόκος, νηπιότης, αὔξησις, δίψα, κόπος, λύπη, δάκρυον, πτύελος, αἷμα, τρῆσις, φθορά, ρύσις, ἑκούσιος νέκρωσις, ἀφθεγξία, ἀκινησία, καί τά ὅμοια. Τούτοις γάρ ὁ Πατήρ καί τό Πνεῦμα κατ' οὐδένα τρόπον ἤ λόγον κεκοινώνηκεν, εἰμή τις φαίη κατ' εὐδοκίαν τε καί βούλησιν.\n\n(≡14 _074≡ Γεγονώς ὁ ἀναλλοίωτος: Πῶς λέγει τόν Λόγον παθεῖν, ὡς καί τό, «αἱ χεῖρες ἡμῶν ἐψηλάφησαν» περί τοῦ Λόγου τῆς ζωῆς, ἐξεθέμεθα. § 7. Τοῖς δέ ὡς μυστικοῖς: Κατά τήν δύναμιν τήν ἐνυπάρχουσαν ἐν τῷ ἄρτῳ καί τῷ ποτηρίῳ.","english":"to cooperate with the Son, God, in the signs wrought by God. Note these things especially against the Nestorians and the Acephali and the Phantasiasts. It has been distinguished: that is, the Word of the Trinity and of theology, our being wholly and truly made flesh from us, has been separated—that is, the account of the incarnation and enfleshment of Christ the Word—and that he acted and suffered all that is distinct from the contemplation of his humanity. He calls them things preserved without change and exceptional, that is, the pure and blameless things of his human nature, which are birth, infancy, growth, thirst, toil, grief, tear, spittle, blood, piercing, corruption, flux, voluntary death, speechlessness, immobility, and the like. For the Father and the Spirit have in no way or account shared in these, unless one should say by good pleasure and will.\n\n(≡14 _074≡ Having become the unchangeable one: How he says that the Word suffered, as also, \"our hands have handled\" concerning the Word of life, we have set forth. § 7. But to those as mystical: According to the power that is present in the bread and the cup.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":39,"ref":"p39","source":"Ὑπέρ νοεράν ἐνέργειαν: Τῶν περί Θεοῦ λεγομένων τήν διάνοιαν μέν ἀναπτύσσει ὁ ἱερός νοῦς, ἤγουν ἑρμηνεύει, ὁ τοῖς θείοις διόλου ἐνασχολούμενος, καί τοῖς γηΐνοις καί ἐμπαθέσιν ἀνεπιθολώτως μένων, αὐτοῖς δέ τοῖς θείοις οὐκ ἄλλως ἐπιβάλλει, ἤ κατά ἀπόπαυσιν πάσης κινήσεως νοητικῆς τῶν ὄντων· τοῦτο· γάρ δηλοῖ τό ὑπέρ νοεράν ἐνέργειαν εἰπεῖν, τουτέστιν ὅταν τῷ ἀκαταλήπτῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ πάντοθεν περισχεθῇ, τότε καταλαμβάνει τό ζητούμενον. Ταῖς μετοχαῖς μόναις: Προσυπακουστέον ὀνόματα. Μετοχάς δέ φησιν, ὧν μετέχομεν τήν ἐξ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ παροχήν.\n\nΚρυφιότητα: Ὅτι καί τό Θεός ὄνομα οὐ δηλοῖ οὐσίαν, οὐδέ τί ἐστιν ὁ Θεός, ἀλλ’ εὐεργεσίαν τινά εἰς ἡμᾶς· καί ὅτι ἐκ τῶν μετοχῶν τῶν ὑπό τοῦ Θεοῦ δωρουμένων ἡμῖν, καί τάς περί Θεοῦ ὀνομασίας ποιούμεθα, τό δέ τί ἐστιν ὁ Θεός, πᾶσίν ἐστιν ἀνεπινόητον· καί γάρ ἡ θεία ὕπαρξις, οὕτως ἀξίως ποσῶς ὑμνηθήσεται, ὅτε πάσης ἐνεργείας, καί τῆς δραστικωτάτης, νοερᾶς δέ, πάντως ὑφ' ἡμῶν ἀπολυθεῖσα, δέξεται ἡμᾶς διά σιγῆς ἁγίας, ἐπιβάλλοντας ταῖς ἐκεῖθεν ἐκφοιτώσαις δωρεαῖς· θελήματι γάρ τά ὄντα παράγει, στάντων ἡμῶν βεβαίως ἐν τῇ τοῦ ἡμετέρου νοῦ ἀδιακρισίᾳ, ἥν ἐκάλεσε πρό μικροῦ 'γνῶσιν ἐν ἀγνωσίᾳ'. Πάλιν, ὅτι μέν ἐστι πηγαία: Σημείωσαι τά σεβάσμια καί φρικτά ἐπί τῆς ἀχράντου Τριάδος ὀνόματα, ὅτι πηγαία θεότης ὁ Πατήρ, ὁ δέ Υἱός καί τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον βλαστοί εἰσι τῆς θεογόνου (≡14 _076≡ θεότητος, τουτέστι τοῦ Πατρός, θεόφυτοι, καί ἄνθη, καί φῶτα ὑπερούσια.","english":"Beyond intellectual activity: The sacred mind, wholly devoted to divine things and remaining undefiled by earthly and passionate things, unfolds and interprets the meaning of what is said about God; and it applies itself to divine things in no other way than by the cessation of all intellectual movement toward beings. For this is what \"beyond intellectual activity\" means: that when it is encompassed on all sides by the incomprehensibility of God, then it grasps what is sought. By participations alone: Names must be supplied. He calls \"participations\" the provision that comes from God himself, of which we partake.\n\nHiddenness: That the name \"God\" does not reveal essence, nor what God is, but a certain beneficence toward us; and that from the participations granted to us by God we also make the names for God, but what God is remains inconceivable to all. For the divine existence will thus be hymned worthily to some degree, when, wholly released by us from every activity—even the most active, namely the intellectual—it will receive us through holy silence as we apply ourselves to the gifts that proceed from it. For by will it brings beings into existence, while we stand firmly in the indistinction of our mind, which shortly before he called \"knowledge in unknowing.\" Again, that it is fontal: Note the venerable and awesome names applied to the undefiled Trinity: that the Father is fontal divinity, while the Son and the Holy Spirit are shoots of the God-begotten divinity—that is, of the Father—God-planted, and flowers, and supersubstantial lights.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":40,"ref":"p40","source":"Μᾶλλον δέ βλαστούς φησιν εἰρῆσθαι ἐν τῇ Γραφῆ ἀπό τῆς τῶν ἐλαιῶν ὀπτασίας Ζαχαρίου τοῦ ἑνδεκάτου τῶν προφητῶν· δύο γάρ κλάδους τῆς ἐλαίας φασίν οἱ Ἑβδομήκοντα, οἱ δέ ἄλλοι ἑρμηνευταί στάχυας καί βλαστούς· φῶτα δέ, ἐν οἷς εἴρηται, «Πατρός τῶν φώτων» καί «Φῶς ἐκ φωτός». Πατριάν δέ λέγει τήν οἱονεί πατρότητα. Ἐπιφέρει γοῦν υἱότης· καί γοῦν φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος· «ἐξ οὗ πᾶσα πατριά ἐν οὐρανῷ καί ἐπί γῆς ὀνομάζεται»· τό γάρ εἶναί τε πατέρας καί υἱούς ὀνομάζεσθαι ἄνωθεν ἔρρευσεν, ἐκ τοῦ Πατρός μέν φύσει τοῦ Υἱοῦ ὄντος, Πατρός δέ πάντων δημιουργικῶς καί διδασκαλικῶς· ὅθεν καί ἀσώματοι καί νοητοί θεῶν πατέρες καί υἱοί διδασκαλικῶς καί ὑπερκειμένως ἐν ἀγγέλοις καί δικαίοις, ὡς καί ὁ Ἀπόστολος δηλοῖ, πάντων τῶν πατέρων ἄρχοντος τοῦ κυρίως Πατρός, ἅτε καί τήν τοιαύτην μέθεξιν δόντος, καί πάντων τῶν υἱῶν ἄρχοντος τοῦ Υἱοῦ, ἅτε καί αὐτοῦ μεθεκτοῦ ἐν τούτῳ γινομένου, ὡς αὐτός φησιν· «ἐφανέρωσά σου τό ὄνομα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις»· ὅτι καλεῖται Πατήρ ὁ αὐτόν ἔχων Υἱόν, τόν ταῦτα εἰπόντα.","english":"Rather, he says that \"shoots\" are spoken of in Scripture from Zechariah's vision of the olive trees—Zechariah the eleventh of the prophets. For the Seventy say \"two branches of the olive tree,\" while the other translators say \"ears of grain and shoots.\" And \"lights,\" in the passages where it is said, \"Father of lights\" and \"Light from Light.\" And he calls \"fatherhood\" the, as it were, paternity. Sonship accordingly follows; and indeed the Apostle says, \"from whom every fatherhood in heaven and on earth is named.\" For the very fact of being and of being named fathers and sons flowed down from above—from the Father, the Son being by nature, and the Father of all by creation and by teaching. Whence also, among angels and righteous men, there are incorporeal and intelligible fathers and sons of gods, by teaching and in a transcendent way, as the Apostle also makes clear—the Lord who is properly Father being the ruler of all fathers, inasmuch as he has also granted such participation, and the Son being the ruler of all sons, inasmuch as he himself becomes partaken of in this, as he himself says: \"I have manifested your name to men\"—because he is called Father who has him as Son, the one who said these things.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":41,"ref":"p41","source":"§ 8. Τοῖς αἰτιατοῖς: Αἰτιατά ἐστι πάντα τά παραχθέντα εἰς κτίσιν, εἴτε ἐν οὐρανῷ, εἴτε ἐπί γῆς, αἴτια δέ τά ὑπερόντα, τουτέστιν αἱ τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος. Πρόδηλον οὖν ὅτι οὐδεμία ἐμφέρεια τούτων πρός ἄλληλα, αἰτίων φησί καί αἰτιατῶν. Καλῶς δέ προσέθηκε τό 'ἐνδεχομένας'· οὐ γάρ ἁπάσας. Καί ζῇν εἴ τις φαίη: Ὅτι περισσῶς καί οὐσιωδῶς προσένεστι τά τῶν αἰτιατῶν τοῖς αἰτίοις. Ὥστε οὐ καλῶς λέγομεν ζῇν καί φωτίζεσθαι τό θεῖον· τοῦτο γάρ τοῦ ζῇν ἡμᾶς καί φωτίζεσθαι (≡14 _078≡ αἴτιον· οὐσιωδῶς οὖν προσένεστι τῷ θείῳ, ἅπερ ἡμῖν κατά χάριν· τοῦτο γάρ σημαίνει τό 'κατά μέθεξιν’· λέγει γάρ ὁ Ἀπόστολος· «χάριτί ἐστε σεσωσμένοι»· καί ἡμεῖς μέν σεσωσμένοι λεγόμεθα, αὐτός δέ ἡμῶν Σωτήρ ἐστι. Καί πάλιν· «ἀπό γάρ τοῦ πληρώματος αὐτοῦ ἡμεῖς πάντες ἐλάβομεν». § 9. Ἀλλά καί τό πάσης θεολογίας: Ὅτι θεολογίαν καλεῖ τά περί τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως, καί ὅτι καθ' ἡμᾶς θεοπλασίαν φησί τήν τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ σάρκωσιν. Ταῦτα κατά Νεστοριανῶν μάλιστα, τό ἀνδρικῶς αὐτόν οὐσιωθῆναι λέγειν· ὅρα δέ ὅτι ἐκ τῶν παρθενικῶν αἱμάτων φησί τό σῶμα τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ διαπλασθῆναι. Σημείωσαι δέ, πῶς φησι, πρεσβυτάτους ἀγγέλους εἶναί τινας, καί πρῶτον αὐτῶν τινα εἶναι. Λέγει δέ πρεσβυτέρους ἀγγέλους ὁ θεῖος Ἰωάννης ἐν τῇ Ἀποκαλύψει· καί ἑπτά εἶναι τούς πρώτους ἐν τῷ Τωβίᾳ ἀνέγνωμεν, καί παρά Κλήμεντι βιβλίῳ ε' τῶν Ὑποτυπώσεων. Πρεσβυτάτους δέ ἀγγέλους εἴωθε καλεῖν, τάς ἀνωτάτω τρεῖς τάξεις, θρόνους, σεραφίμ, χερουβίμ, ὡς δηλοῖ ἐν τῷ Περί τῆς οὐρανίας ἱεραρχίας λόγῳ πολλάκις·","english":"§ 8. To the caused: All things brought into creation, whether in heaven or on earth, are caused; but the causes are those that transcend, that is, the three hypostases of the Holy Trinity. It is therefore evident that there is no likeness of these to one another—he means of causes and caused. And well did he add \"as far as possible\"; for not all. And if one should say \"to live\": that the things of the caused belong to the causes superabundantly and substantially. So that we do not rightly say that the divine lives and is enlightened; for this is the cause of our living and being enlightened; substantially, then, those things which are ours by grace belong to the divine; for this is what \"by participation\" signifies; for the Apostle says, \"by grace you are saved\"; and we are said to be saved, but he is our Savior. And again: \"For from his fullness we all have received.\" § 9. But also the phrase \"of all theology\": that he calls the things concerning the incarnation \"theology,\" and that he calls the enfleshment of the Lord Jesus a deification in our manner. These things are especially against the Nestorians—to say that he was made man substantially; but observe that he says the body of the Lord Jesus was formed from the virginal bloods. And note, he says, that there are certain most senior angels, and that one of them is first. And the divine John speaks of senior angels in the Apocalypse; and we have read in Tobit that the first are seven, and in Clement in the fifth book of the Hypotyposes. And he is accustomed to call \"most senior angels\" the three highest orders—thrones, seraphim, cherubim—as he often makes clear in the discourse On the Celestial Hierarchy.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":42,"ref":"p42","source":"φησί δέ ἐνταῦθα, μήτε τῷ πρωτίστῳ τῶν ἀγγέλων ἐφικτόν εἶναι τόν τρόπον τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως. Καί τῷ κλεινῷ: Ἐνδόξῳ.\n\nΚαθηγεμόνι: Καθηγεμόνα οἰκεῖον, τόν ἅγιον Ἱερόθεον αἰνίττεται, ὡς εὐθύς δηλοῖ· μετά γάρ τόν Παῦλον ἐκ τούτου ὠφελήθη· λέγει δέ ὅτι ἴσως παθών τά θεῖα ἐκεῖνος, οὕτως ἐνεπνεύσθη· τί δέ ἐστιν οὐ μόνον μαθών, ἀλλά καί παθών, εἴρηται μέν οὖν καί ἐν τῇ πρός Ἑβραίους· «ἔμαθε γάρ ἀφ' ὧν ἔπαθε τήν ὑπακοήν». Ὁ γάρ παθών πείρᾳ λαμβάνει τό διδασκόμενον, (≡14 _080≡ οἷον ὁ τυπτόμενος, μᾶλλον τοῦ μόνον ἀκούσαντος· οὐ μήν καί τυπτηθέντος ποτέ, τίς ὁ τοιοῦτος πόνος γινώσκει, καί μᾶλλον ἄν παραστήσειεν, ὁποῖόν ἐστι τό ἄλγος· οὕτω καί ὁ δι' ἀποκαλύψεως μυούμενος, θειότερον ἑρμηνεύσει τά θεῖα. Τό δέ παθεῖν τά θεῖα τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν· εἴρηται τῷ Ἀποστόλῳ, «συνταφῶμεν τῷ Χριστῷ, ἵνα καί συναναστῶμεν αὐτῷ καί συμβασιλεύσωμεν», ὁ δέ σταυρῶν ἑαυτόν καί τήν ἑαυτοῦ σάρκα, αὐτός τά στίγματα τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν τῷ οἰκείῳ σώματι περιφέρει· εἰκότως οὖν καί συμβασιλεύει τῷ Χριστῷ καί τά θεῖα αὐτοῦ θαρρεῖται μυστήρια, ὅταν καί ὁ ἅγιος Ἱερόθεος λέγεται μή μόνον μαθεῖν, ἀλλά καί παθεῖν τά θεῖα· καί ὁ δι' ἀποκαλύψεως τά θεῖα μυούμενος, ἐξίσταται ἑαυτοῦ, καί καλῶς λέγεται παθεῖν τό ἐπωφελές τοῦτο πάθος, ἵνα Θεοῦ γένηται καταγώγιον. Ἄλλως. Παθεῖν αὐτόν ἔφη τά θεῖα, ὡς οὐ διδακτῶς διά λόγου τήν περί τούτων δέξασθαι μύησιν λέγων, ἀλλά τῇ θείᾳ ἐκλάμψει ἐντυπωθῆναι, καί οἷον ἐνσημανθῆναι τῇ διανοίᾳ τήν γνῶσιν τῶν ὑπέρ φύσιν, καί τήν τοιαύτην τῶν θειοτέρων μύησιν συμπάθειαν ἐκάλεσεν, ἤγουν συνδιάθεσιν. § 10.","english":"He says here that not even the first of the angels is able to attain the manner of the incarnation. And to the renowned: To the glorious.\n\nTo the guide: He hints at his own guide, Saint Hierotheus, as he makes clear immediately; for after Paul he was benefited by him. And he says that perhaps that man, having suffered the divine things, was thus inspired. And what is it not only to have learned but also to have suffered? It has indeed been said in the Epistle to the Hebrews: \"For he learned obedience from what he suffered.\" For the one who has suffered grasps by experience what is taught, as, for instance, one who is struck grasps it more than one who has only heard; yet no one who has ever been struck knows what sort of pain this is, and he would better set forth what kind of grief it is. So too the one initiated through revelation will interpret the divine things more divinely. And to suffer the divine things is of this sort: it has been said to the Apostle, \"Let us be buried together with Christ, that we may also rise together with him and reign together with him.\" And the one who crucifies himself and his own flesh, he himself carries about the marks of Christ in his own body; reasonably, therefore, he also reigns together with Christ and is emboldened to his divine mysteries, since Saint Hierotheus too is said not only to have learned but also to have suffered the divine things. And the one initiated through revelation into the divine things is beside himself, and it is well said that he has suffered this beneficial suffering, so that he may become a dwelling-place of God. Otherwise: He said that he suffered the divine things, meaning that he received the initiation concerning these things not by way of teaching through discourse, but was impressed by divine illumination, and, as it were, the knowledge of things beyond nature was stamped upon his mind; and such initiation into the more divine things he called sympathy, that is, a shared disposition. § 10.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":43,"ref":"p43","source":"Ἡ πάντων αἰτία: Τά θεῖα ταῦτα παρίστησι ρήματα, πῶς καί ὁ Υἱός «τά πάντα ἐν πᾶσι», καί «κεφαλή πάντων» κατά τόν Ἀπόστολον· καί φησιν, ὅτι πάντων ἐστί πλήρωμα καί συνοχεύς, τήν ἀλληλουχίαν τῶν δημιουργημάτων συσφίγγων, τουτέστι τά μέρη τῷ παντί, ὡς τό πᾶν ὤν· ὡς τοῦ παντός οὖν συναγωγεύς, καί μέρος εἰκότως, ἐπειδή καί πᾶν μέρος τοῦ παντός ἐστι μέρος, καί οὔτε πᾶν, οὔτε μέρος, ὡς μηδέν ὤν ἐξ αὐτῶν (≡14 _082≡ τῶν, ἀλλά καί ὑπέρ πᾶσαν οὐσίαν· μέρη δέ ὅλου τοῦ κόσμου εἰσί τά κατ' εἶδος ὁρώμενα, ἀήρ, γῆ, φυτά, καί τά λοιπά· καί ἔστι μέν οἷά τις τελεία λεγομένη ἡ αὐτοῦ θεότης, ὡς πρός ἡμᾶς τούς ἀτελεῖς, ὡς παρά Ματθαίῳ·\n\n«τέλειοι γίνεσθαι, ὅτι ἐγώ τέλειός εἰμι»· πρός δέ ἀγγέλους τούς τελείους οὐ τέλειος, ἀλλ’ ὑπερτέλειός ἐστι· καί τελετάρχης ὁ Υἱός, ὡς ἄρχων πάσης τελειότητος, ἐπειδή καί προτέλειος. Οὕτω καί εἶδος λέγεται ἐν τοῖς ἀνειδέοις καί ἀσωμάτοις, ὡς ἁπάσης τῆς εἰδοποιίας δημιουργός, καί ἀρχή παντός εἴδους· πρός δέ ταῦτα τά εἴδη ἀνείδεος καί ὑπέρ εἶδος, ἐπειδή δεύτερα αὐτοῦ καί τά εἴδη καί αἱ ἰδέαι. Ἀφορίζουσα: Ἀντί τοῦ διακρίνουσα καί πρός τό ἀσύγχυτον διασῴζουσα. Καί μέτρον ἐστί: Μέτρον ἐστί τῶν ὄντων, ἐπειδή ἐν αὐτῷ τά πάντα πεπέρασται, καί αἰών μάλιστα δικαίως ἄν λέγοιτο· εἰ γάρ αἰών λέγεται, οἱονεί ἀεί ὤν, αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ ἀεί ὤν· εἴρηται γάρ, «Σύ δέ ὁ αὐτός εἶ, καί τά ἔτη σου οὐκ ἐκλείψουσι»· καί πάλιν· «ὁ ἀριθμῶν πλήθη ἄστρων, καί τόν οὐρανόν μετρῶν σπιθαμῇ, καί τήν γῆν δρακί». Ποιητής δέ αἰώνων, ἅτε τῶν ἀγγέλων ποιητής ὤν·","english":"The cause of all things: These divine words present how the Son is also \"all things in all things,\" and \"the head of all things\" according to the Apostle; and he says that he is the fullness and the sustainer of all things, binding together the interconnection of created things, that is, the parts to the whole, as being the whole; as the gatherer of the whole, then, he is reasonably also a part, since every part is a part of the whole, and he is neither whole nor part, as being nothing from them, but also above every essence. The parts of the whole world are the things seen according to species: air, earth, plants, and the rest. And his divinity is, as it were, a certain perfection so called, in relation to us who are imperfect, as in Matthew: \"Be perfect, for I am perfect.\" But in relation to the perfect angels he is not perfect, but super-perfect; and the Son is the ruler of perfection, as the ruler of all perfection, since he is also pre-perfect. Thus he is also called a form among the formless and incorporeal, as the creator of all forming and the beginning of every form; but in relation to these forms he is formless and above form, since both the forms and the ideas are secondary to him. Distinguishing: Instead of separating and preserving unto the unconfused. And he is a measure: He is a measure of beings, since in him all things have been bounded, and he would most justly be called an age; for if an age is called, as it were, ever-being, he is the ever-being; for it is said, \"But you are the same, and your years shall not fail\"; and again: \"who numbers the multitudes of stars, and measures the heaven with a span, and the earth with a handful.\" And maker of ages, as being the maker of the angels.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":44,"ref":"p44","source":"ἀθάνατοι γάρ οὗτοι, καί ἡ ἀθανασία, παράτασις, ἀειζωΐα, αἰών, ἀλλ’ οὐ χρόνος, ἀτελεύτητος καί ἀεί ἐσόμενος, λέγεται· οὐ κατά τοῦτο οὖν λέγεται αἰών, κατά τόν χρόνον τόν τέλος ἔχοντα, ἀλλά κατά τό ἀεί ὤν, εἰς αἰῶνας τέλος οὐκ ἔχοντας. Πλήρης ἐν τοῖς ἐνδεέσιν; Ὅπερ εἶπεν ἄνω, ἀτελής δέ ἐν τοῖς τελείοις, ὧδέ φησιν ὑπερπλήρης ἐν τοῖς πλήρεσι· καί τό ἀτελής οὖν οὕτως ὀφείλεις νοεῖν, ὑπερτέλεια ἐν τοῖς τελείοις.\n\n(≡14 _084≡ Καί ἕως φύσεως: Ὁρᾷς πῶς φησιν, ἐπειδή καί ἕως φύσεως ἐλήλυθε· φύσεως μέν τῆς ἡμετέρας νόησον· καί ὅτι τό φύσεως οὐ καλῶς λέγομεν ἐπί Θεοῦ· ἰδού γάρ πῶς φησιν, 'ἕως φύσεως κατῆλθε', τουτέστιν, ἕως ἐκείνου ἔφθασε τοῦ ἀτιμοτέρου, καί οὗπερ αὐτός οὐκ ἐκέκτητο. Σημείωσαι τάς ἐμφάσεις τῶν λέξεων.\n\nἈναλλοιώτως. Σημείωσαι, ὅτι ἀναλλοιώτως καί ἀσυγχύτως ἐκοινώνησεν ἡμῖν καί ἀπαθῶς, καί ὅτι ἐν τοῖς φυσικοῖς ἡμῶν ἔμεινεν ὑπερφυής, καί ἐν τοῖς κατ' οὐσίαν ὑπερούσιος, καί εἶχε τά ἡμῶν ὑπέρ ἡμᾶς, οἷον τό ἐκ παρθένου, τό ἀναμάρτητον, τό ἐν ἐξουσίᾳ Θεοῦ λαλεῖν καί πάντα πράττειν, τό περιπατεῖν ἐπάνω τοῦ ὕδατος, καί ὅσα τοιαῦτα. Σημείωσαι οὖν, ὅτι οὐδείς οὕτω θεολογεῖ περί τῆς οἰκονομίας κατά Νεστοριανῶν καί Ἀκεφάλων καί Φαντασιαστῶν. § 11. Τά κοινά καί: Κοινά καί ἡνωμένα τά τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος ὀνόματα, ὅσα ἐκ τῶν αὐτῆς δωρεῶν τῶν εἰς τά μετ' αὐτήν ὀνομάζεται, ἅς τινας δωρεάς διακρίσεις φησί, καί οἱονεί πληθυσμούς.","english":"For these are immortal, and immortality, extension, everlasting life, age, but not time, is said to be endless and ever to be; therefore it is not called age in the sense of time that has an end, but in the sense of that which always is, unto ages having no end. Full in those who are in need? What he said above, \"imperfect in the perfect,\" here he says \"superfull in the full\"; and so you ought to understand \"imperfect\" in this way: \"superperfect in the perfect.\"\n\n(≡14 _084≡ And as far as nature: Do you see how he says, \"since he has come even as far as nature\"? Understand \"of our nature\"; and that we do not rightly say \"of nature\" concerning God; for behold how he says, \"he descended as far as nature,\" that is, he reached as far as that which is more dishonorable, and which he himself did not possess. Note the emphases of the words.\n\nWithout change. Note that without change and without confusion and without passion he communed with us, and that in our natural things he remained supernatural, and in things according to essence superessential, and he had our things above us, such as being from a virgin, being without sin, speaking and doing all things in the authority of God, walking upon the water, and all such things. Note therefore that no one theologizes thus concerning the economy against the Nestorians and Acephali and Phantasiasts. § 11. The common and: The names of the Holy Trinity are common and united, as many as are named from its own gifts toward those after it, which gifts he calls certain distinctions and, as it were, multiplications.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":45,"ref":"p45","source":"Πληθύεται δέ ἑνικῶς: Τοῦτο κατά Φαντασιαστῶν, πολλαπλασιάζεσθαι λέγεται τό ἕν· ἐπειδή γάρ ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἄπαντα, καί δι’ αὐτοῦ, καί εἰς αὐτόν ἔκτισται, καί αὐτός ἐστι κεφαλή πάντων τῶν ὄντων, καί αὐτός τάς ὅλας οὐσίας παρήγαγεν, εἰκότως πολλαπλασιάζεσθαι λέγεται διά τῶν παρ' αὐτοῦ γενομένων, ὅταν καί πάντων ὑποταττομένων τῷ Πατρί, αὐτός λέγεται διά τῶν παρ' αὐτοῦ γενομένων, τῷ Πατρί ὑποτάττεσθαι, ὥς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, «τότε καί αὐτός ὁ Υἱός ὑποταγήσεται»· καί ὁ τοιοῦτος ἐν τῷ πληθυσμῷ τῆς πάντων παραγωγῆς ἔμεινεν εἷς καί ὁ αὐτός ἐν τῇ ἀνελαττώτῳ χύσει τῶν αὐτοῦ μεταδόσεων, ἐν (≡14 _086≡ τῷ παντί μέρος ὤν, καί μηδέν ὤν τοῦ παντός· ἔστι γάρ ὑπερούσιος· καί ἡμῖν ἀνέφικτος· ἑρμηνεύει δέ αὐτό ὑποκατιών.\n\nΚαί τῇ ἑνιαίᾳ: Ἑνιαίαν ἔφη τῶν ὅλων παραγωγήν, δηλῶν ἅμα τῷ βούλεσθαι, καί οὐ κατά μικρόν τι καί μερικῶς κτισθῆναι, ἤτοι πρός τό εἶναι ἐλθεῖν τά γεγονότα. Ἀνελάττωτον δέ μετάδοσιν, ἤτοι ὅτι κτίζων τά ὄντα ὁ Θεός, οὐδέν τῶν οἰκείων μειοῖ ἀγαθῶν.","english":"He is multiplied in a unitary way: This is said against the Phantasiasts, that the One is multiplied; for since all things are created from him and through him and unto him, and he is the head of all beings, and he himself brought forth all substances, it is reasonably said that he is multiplied through the things that came to be from him, when, with all things being subjected to the Father, he himself is said to be subjected to the Father through the things that came to be from him, as the Apostle says, \"then the Son himself also will be subjected\"; and such a one remained one and the same in the multitude of the production of all things, in the undiminished outpouring of his communications, being a part in the whole, and being no part of the whole; for he is supersubstantial and unattainable by us; and he interprets this himself, going down further.\n\nAnd in a unitary way: He called the production of all things unitary, indicating at once that by his will, and not little by little and partially, the things that came to be were created, that is, came to be. And an undiminished communication, that is, that God, in creating beings, diminishes none of his own goods.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":46,"ref":"p46","source":"Ἐννοήσας ὁ κοινός ἡμῶν: Κοινός καθηγεμών καί χειραγωγός ὁ ἀπόστολος Παῦλος δηλονότι· δι' αὐτοῦ γάρ ἐπίστευσεν, ὡς ἔγνωμεν ἐν ταῖς Πράξεσι. Καί σημειωτέον, ὅτι καί ὁ ἅγιος Ἱερόθεος τῷ ἁγίῳ Παύλῳ ἐμαθητεύθη.\n\nΚαί γάρ εἴπερ εἰσί λεγόμενοι: Τό, κἄν θεοί πολλοί καί κύριοι ὦσι, πλήν ἕνα εἶναι τόν ἀληθῶς Θεόν καί Πατέρα, καί ἕνα τόν ἀληθῶς Κύριον Ἰησοῦν, τοῦτο δηλοῖ, ὅτι ἡ πάντων αἰτία, καί δημιουργός θεότης κατά μετάδοσιν ἀμέριστον καί ἀσκέδαστον τῆς ἐπωνυμίας τῆς οἰκείας θεότητος καί κυριότητος τούς λεγομένους θεούς καί κυρίους προήγαγεν, οὐ κατακερματισθείσης τῆς θεότητος εἰς μέρη θεοτήτων, ὡς χρυσός εἰς νομίσματα πολλά, οὔτε τῶν πολλῶν θεῶν συμπληρούντων τήν αὐτοῦ θεότητα, ὅν τρόπον τά πολλά εἴδη, τόν ἕνα κόσμον, ἀλλά πληθύνεσθαι λέγεται ὁ Θεός, τῷ καθ' ἕκαστον εἰς παραγωγήν τῶν ὄντων βουλήματι, προνοητικαῖς προόδοις, πολλαπλάσιαζόμενος μέν, μένων δέ ἀμερές ἕν, ὥσπερ ἤλιος ἀκτῖνας πολλάς ἐκπέμπων, καί μένων ἐν τῇ ἑνότητι· εἴρηται γάρ καί περί τοῦ Ηλίου τῆς δικαιοσύνης, ὁ καθ' ἡμέραν μεριζόμενος, καί μή δαπανώμενος· καλῶς δέ καί ἐπί τῶν θείων εἴρηται, τάς ἑνώσεις τῶν διακρίσεων ἐπικρατεστέρας εἶναι· καί γάρ οὐ δεῖ τόν νουνεχῶς ἀκροώμενον περί Θεοῦ, ἑνάδα περί αὐτοῦ ἀκούοντα, ὑπονοεῖν ἀσθένειαν, οὔτε ἁπλοῦν ὡς ἀδύνατον· οὐδέν γάρ ἐπί Θεοῦ οἰκείως (≡14 _088≡ παρ' ἡμῶν λέγεται τῆς ἰδιότητος ἐκείνης ἐφικνούμενον, οὔτε κατά στέρησιν, ὡς ἀθάνατος, καί τά ὅμοια·","english":"Our common guide and leader is clearly the apostle Paul; for through him they believed, as we know from the Acts. And it should be noted that Saint Hierotheus was also a disciple of Saint Paul.\n\nFor even if there are those called: The saying, \"even if there are many gods and many lords,\" nevertheless that there is one true God and Father, and one true Lord Jesus, shows this: that the cause of all things and creative Godhead, by an undivided and undispersed communication of the title of its own divinity and lordship, brought forth those called gods and lords, not with the Godhead fragmented into parts of godheads, as gold into many coins, nor with the many gods completing his Godhead, in the way that many forms complete the one world, but God is said to be multiplied by his will for the production of beings in each individual case, being multiplied by his providential advances, yet remaining an undivided one, just as the sun sends forth many rays and remains in its unity; for it has also been said of the Sun of righteousness that he is divided daily and is not consumed. And it has been well said also concerning divine things that the unities prevail over the distinctions; for one who listens with understanding about God must not, on hearing of a unity concerning him, suppose weakness, nor of a simplicity as though it were incapacity; for nothing said by us about God properly attains to that peculiarity of his, neither by way of privation, as \"immortal\" and the like.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":47,"ref":"p47","source":"οὔτε κατά θέσιν, ὡς ζωή τυχόν καί τό ἕν, ἀλλά τό ἕν, ὡς πᾶσιν ἀσύμβλητον ρητέον, ὅπερ ὡσαύτως ἔχει καί ἐν ταῖς ἀνεκφοιτήτοις τῆς οἰκείας ἑνάδος τῶν λοιπῶν ὑποστάσεσι· μένει γάρ ὁ αὐτός, κἄν τό βούλημα δοκῇ διακρίνεσθαι εἰς τήν τῶν λοιπῶν παραγωγήν. Πάσης οὖν διακρίσεως, τουτέστιν εἰς τό εἶναι τά πάντα παρόδου. Προαιτία δέ καί ἐπικρατεστέρα ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀμέριστος ἑνάς. Ἐπί δέ τῶν αἰσθητῶν τό ἐναντίον· οὐδέ γάρ αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἑνάς, ἀλλ’ αἱ διακρίσεις τῶν στοιχείων, προϋποῦσαι, σύνδρομοι γινόμεναι καί ἑνούμεναι, δευτέρας τάς ἐκ τῆς συνθέσεως ἑνώσεις ἐργάζονται· ἐπί δέ τῶν θείων οὐχ οὕτως· ἐπί αὐτῶν γάρ προϋποῦσα ἡ ἕνωσις τάς διακρίσεις βουλήματι δευτέρας ποιεῖ. Καί μετά τήν τοῦ ἑνός; Ἑνώσεις μέν ἐπί τῶν θείων φησίν, ἤτοι τά ἑνιαίως τε καί μοναδικῶς ἐπί τῆς θεότητος θεωρούμενα, ἄνευ γε δηλαδή ὧν προϋπεστείλατο ἰδιοτήτων, τουτέστι πατρότητος, υἱότητος, καί τῆς ἐκ τοῦ Πατρός Πνεύματος ἐκπορεύσεως· διακρίσεις δέ, τό πολλά εἶναι τά τῶν θείων μετέχοντα δωρεῶν προκατάρχουσι τοίνυν καί ἐπικρατοῦσι τά τῶν ἑνώσεων· οὐ γάρ ἐκ τῶν πολλῶν συνήχθη τά τῆς μιᾶς θεότητος καί κυριότητος, ἀλλά ἐκ τοῦ ταύτης μοναδικοῦ, ὅ ἐν ἐκείνοις πληθυσμός θεωρεῖται.","english":"Neither by position, as for instance life and the one, but the one must be called one as incomparable to all things, which holds likewise also in the unvarying hypostases of its own henad among the rest; for it remains the same, even if its will seems to be distinguished into the production of the rest. Of every distinction, then, that is, of the passage of all things into being. But the undivided henad of God is the pre-cause and the more prevailing. In the case of sensible things the opposite holds; for not even of them is there a henad, but the distinctions of the elements, pre-existing, running together and being united, produce second unities from their composition. In the case of divine things it is not so; for in their case the union pre-exists and by will makes the distinctions second. And after the one? He says unities in the case of divine things, that is, the things contemplated in a unified and singular manner in the Godhead, obviously without the properties he previously set forth, that is, fatherhood, sonship, and the procession of the Spirit from the Father; and distinctions, the fact that those who partake of the divine gifts are many. Therefore the things of the unities pre-exist and prevail; for the things of the one Godhead and lordship were not gathered from the many, but from its singular nature, which multitude is contemplated in those things.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":48,"ref":"p48","source":"ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ Γ' § 1. Τήν ἀγαθαρχικήν: Τήν ἀρχηγόν πάσης ἀγαθότητος. Οὐ πάντα δέ: Πῶς οὐ πάντα πάρεστι τῷ Θεῷ, φησί μέν καί αὐτός, νοήσεις δέ αὐτό καί ἐκ θείου χρησμοῦ· «ἐγγίσατε πρός μέ, καί ἐγώ ἐγγιῶ πρός ὑμᾶς, λέγει Κύριος».\n\nἩμᾶς οὖν αὐτούς: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι ἡ εὑχή ἡμᾶς ἀνάγει πρός (≡14 _090≡ τόν Θεόν, οὐκ αὐτόν πρός ἡμᾶς κατάγει· σημείωσαι δέ καί τά παραδείγματα ὡραῖα ὄντα. Πολυφώτου σειρᾶς: Καλῶς ἀπείκασεν οὐρανίᾳ σειρᾷ τήν καθ' ἡμᾶς προσευχήν. Ὥσπερ γάρ ὁ εἰς ὕψος οὐρανοῦ ἀνιέναι θέλων ἐπιδράττεται ταῖς χερσίν ἰσχυρῶς τῆς σχοίνου ταύτης.\n\nΠεισμάτων: Σχοινίων.\n\nΤήν ἁπανταχῆ: Πῶς πανταχοῦ πάρεστι καί οὐδαμοῦ ὁ Θεός, εἴρηται ἡμῖν ἀνωτέρω ἐν τῇ ἐξηγήσει, ἧς ἡ ἀρχή, Θέσιν φασίν οἱ φιλόσοφοι. Ὥσπερ οὖν ὁ κατά μικρόν ἑαυτόν τῆς γῆς κουφίζων ταῖς χερσί δοκεῖ μέν καθέλκειν τήν σειράν, αὐτός δέ κουφίζεται καί πρός ὕψος αἴρεται τῇ κατά μικρόν ἀναβάσει, οὕτω καί ὁ ἐκτενῶς\n\nπροσευχόμενος διά τῶν πράξεων, ἅς ὁ λόγος χεῖρας καλεῖ, τῇ κατά μικρόν ἐργασίᾳ καί προσευχῇ τόν νοῦν αὐτοῦ πρός Θεόν ἀνυψοῖ· ἐάν δέ τάς χεῖρας ἀπολύσωμεν τῆς σειρᾶς καί μή φροντίσωμεν τῆς ἐπί τά ἄνω φορᾶς, πίπτομεν ἐξ ὕψους. Τό αὐτό καί περί τῆς νηός, ἵνα νοήσωμεν ναῦν τήν ἡμῖν διάνοιαν ριπιζομένην τοῖς τοῦ βίου ἀνέμοις, θάλασσαν δέ τόν βίον τόν γέμοντα πολλῶν χειμώνων, πέτραν δέ τόν Χριστόν, ὅν κρατοῦντες ἀσάλευτοι διαμένομεν πρός αὐτόν, τόν βίον ἡμῶν ἕλκοντες. § 2. Τοῦ κλεινοῦ: Ἐνδόξου.","english":"ON CHAPTER 3 § 1. The good-principled: The leader of all goodness. But not all things: How is not everything present to God, he says this himself, and you will understand it also from the divine oracle: \"Draw near to me, and I will draw near to you, says the Lord.\"\n\nUs, therefore, ourselves: Note that our prayer leads us up toward God, it does not bring him down toward us; note also that the examples are beautiful. Of the many-lighted chain: He well compared our prayer to a heavenly chain. For just as one who wishes to ascend to the height of heaven grasps this rope firmly with his hands.\n\nCables: Ropes.\n\nThe everywhere: How God is present everywhere and nowhere has been said by us above in the exposition whose beginning is, \"The philosophers say position.\" Just as, then, one who lightens himself little by little from the earth seems with his hands to pull the chain down, but is himself lightened and raised to the height by the gradual ascent, so also he who prays earnestly through the actions which the word calls hands, by the gradual working and prayer raises his mind up toward God; but if we let go of the chain with our hands and take no thought for the upward motion, we fall from the height. The same applies also to the ship, so that we may understand the ship as our mind fanned by the winds of life, the sea as life full of many storms, and the rock as Christ, whom holding fast we remain unshaken, drawing our life toward him. § 2. Of the renowned: Of the glorious.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":49,"ref":"p49","source":"Εἰκαιολογῆσαι: Ματαιολογῆσαι.\n\nΣτοιχειωθέντας: Στοιχειωθέντας λέγει ἀντί τοῦ ὠφεληθέντας. Ἰστέον δέ, ὅτι μετά Παῦλον ἐμαθητεύθη τῷ ἁγίῳ Ἱεροθέῳ. 'Ὑφαρπάζοντας' δέ λέγει ἀντί τοῦ 'κρυφιως ἰδιοποιουμένους καί σφετεριζομένους'. Πρεσβυτικῶς: Τό πρεσβυτικῶς μέν ἴσως ἔλαβεν ἀντί τοῦ ἐμπείρως καί ἐπιστημονικῶς· συνοπτικούς δέ ὅρους φησί τούς σύντομον ἔχοντας τήν θεωρίαν· τοῦτο γάρ ἐδήλωσε καί 'ἑνιαίας' εἰπών· συνελίξεις δέ φησι τάς δι' ὀλίγων ἐκφράσεις. (≡14 _092≡ Ὡς οἷον ἡμῖν: Τουτέστιν ὡς δυνατόν ἐμοί καί αὐτός προέτρεψας ἑρμηνεῦσαι, καί ὅσοι καθ' ἡμᾶς διδάσκαλοι οὕτως ἡρμήνευσαν· αὕτη ἡ σύνθεσις τοῦ ὑπερβατοῦ.\n\nΔεύτερα λόγια: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι τά τοῦ ἁγίου Ἱεροθέου Συγγράμματα ὡς δευτέραν ἁγίαν Γραφήν νομιστέον.\n\nΑὐτοπτικήν: Τήν ἀνεπικάλυπτον καί ἐμφανεστέραν κατανόησιν λέγει. Πρεσβυτικῆς: Ὅτι ἡ πρεσβυτική ἀξία τελειοτέρα καί διδασκαλικωτέρα πάντων ἱερέων ἐστί. Τί δέ ἐστι πρεσβυτική, νοήσεις ἐξ Ἠσαΐου λέγοντος· «οὐ πρέσβυς, οὐκ ἄγγελος, ἀλλ’ αὐτός ὁ Κύριος ἥξει καί σῴσει ἡμᾶς»· καί ἐκ τῆς τοῦ ἁγίου Ἰωάννου Ἀποκαλύψεως, ὅς εἴκοσι τέσσαρας πρεσβυτέρους εἶπεν ἑωρακέναι ἐν οὐρανοῖς περί τόν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀνεκλάλητον θρόνον. Τοῦ ζωαρχικοῦ: Ζωαρχικόν καί θεοδόχον σῶμα τάχα τό τῆς ἁγίας Θεοτόκου λέγει, τότε κοιμηθείσης. Σημείωσαι δέ καί τό, ὁ ἀδελφόθεος Ἰάκωβος, καί ὅτι συμπαρῆν Πέτρῳ καί Ἰακώβῳ τοῖς ἀποστόλοις ὁ θεῖος οὗτος ἀνήρ. Τῶν θεολόγων: Περί τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων λέγει. Τῆς θεαρχικῆς ἀσθενείας.","english":"To speak idly: To talk nonsense.\n\nThose who have been instructed: He says \"instructed\" in place of \"benefited.\" But it should be known that after Paul he was taught by Saint Hierotheus. And \"carrying off\" he says in place of \"secretly appropriating and claiming for themselves.\" In a presbyteral manner: \"In a presbyteral manner\" he perhaps took in place of \"with experience and scientifically\"; and he calls \"summary definitions\" those having a concise contemplation; for this he indicated also by saying \"single\"; and \"rollings-up\" he calls the expressions made through few words. (≡14 _092≡ As it were for us: That is, as far as is possible for me, you yourself also urged me to interpret, and as many teachers after us have interpreted thus; this is the composition of the hyperbaton.\n\nSecond Oracles: Note that the Writings of Saint Hierotheus are to be regarded as a second Holy Scripture.\n\nAutoptic: He speaks of the unveiled and more manifest understanding. Presbyteral: That the presbyteral dignity is more perfect and more didactic than all priests. But what \"presbyteral\" is, you will understand from Isaiah saying: \"not an elder, not an angel, but the Lord himself will come and save us\"; and from the Revelation of Saint John, who said he had seen twenty-four elders in the heavens around the ineffable throne of God. Of the life-giving: \"Life-giving and God-receiving body\" he perhaps means that of the holy Theotokos, who then fell asleep. Note also the brother of God James, and that this divine man was present together with Peter and James the apostles. Of the theologians: He speaks concerning the holy apostles. Of the divine-princely weakness.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":50,"ref":"p50","source":"Θεαρχικήν ἀσθένειαν ἐνταῦθά φησιν τήν ἑκούσιον τοῦ Υἱοῦ ἄχρι σαρκός, ἁμαρτίας δίχα, συγκατάβασιν· ἁμαρτίαν γάρ πάντῃ ἀγνοήσας, κατηξίωσεν ὑπέρ ἡμῶν, μή ἐκστάς τῶν οἰκείων, ἀναμαρτήτως ἁμαρτίᾳ διά τῆς δι' ἑαυτοῦ ἡμῶν υἱοθεσίας εἰς τήν ἀρχαίαν ἐπαναγάγῃ ἐλευθερίαν· πλούσιος γάρ ὤν θεότητι, πτωχεύει τήν πλουτοποιόν πτωχείαν, ἀναλαβών ὑπερφυῶς τήν ἡμῶν σάρκα, ἵνα ἡμεῖς τήν ἐκείνου πλουτήσωμεν θεότητα, καί ἐν μορφῇ Θεοῦ καί Θεός (≡14 _094≡ κατ' οὐσιαν ὑπάρχων, τήν τοῦ δούλου δι' ὑπερέκχυσιν ἀγαθότητος ὑπέδυ μορφήν, Λόγος ἁπλοῦς ὤν, ἐνυπόστατος, καί γεγονώς ἀτρέπτως σάρξ· ἔτι πρός τούτοις καί πᾶσαν τήν ἔνσαρκον αὐτοῦ πενιχράν πολιτείαν, τήν φάτνην, τήν εἰς Αἴγυπτον φυγήν, τήν μετά πορνῶν καί τελωνῶν ἀδιάφορον συνδιαγωγήν, τήν ἐκλογήν τῶν πτωχοτάτων ἁλιέων, τό ἄοικον αὐτοῦ, τό αὐτοσχέδιον καί ἀπροπαράσκευον πάντῃ τῆς ὅλης αὐτοῦ ἐνσάρκου ζωῆς, τόν ἄτιμον ἐπί σταυροῦ θάνατον («ἐπικατάρατος γάρ πᾶς ὁ κρεμάμενος ἐπί ξύλου»), τήν μετά τῶν κακούργων λῃστῶν συναρίθμησιν, τάς διαπερονήσεις τῶν ἥλων, τήν διά τῆς λόγχης νύξιν τῆς πλευρᾶς, τά ραπίσματα, τά ἐμπτύσματα, τό ὄξος, τήν χολήν, τόν ἀκάνθινον στέφανον, τούς διαπαιγμούς καί διαγελασμούς, τάς γονυπετήσεις, τήν εὐτελεστάτην κηδείαν τε καί ταφήν. Τοῦτο τό ὡσανεί μωρόν καί ἀσθενές τοῦ Θεοῦ, τῷ λόγῳ τῆς οἰκονομίας σοφώτερον καί ἰσχυρότερον ἀσυγκρίτως τῶν ἀνθρώπων, τῇ ὑπερδυνάμῳ καί ὑπερσόφῳ ἐκνικήσει τοῦ κρείττονος διαπρυσίως ἀπεδείχθη,","english":"Here he calls the \"divine weakness\" the voluntary condescension of the Son, even to the flesh, without sin. For having been wholly ignorant of sin, he deigned for our sake—not departing from his own proper attributes—to bring us back sinlessly by the adoption as sons accomplished through himself into the ancient freedom. For being rich in divinity, he becomes poor with the wealth-making poverty, having taken up our flesh in a manner beyond nature, so that we might become rich in his divinity; and being in the form of God and being God in essence, he submitted to the form of a servant through the overflowing of his goodness, being the simple Word, subsistent, and having become flesh without change. Furthermore, he also took on all his impoverished incarnate manner of life: the manger, the flight into Egypt, the indifferent association with prostitutes and tax collectors, the choosing of the poorest fishermen, his having no home, the wholly improvised and unprepared character of his entire incarnate life, the dishonorable death on the cross (\"for cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree\"), the being numbered with the wicked robbers, the piercing of the nails, the stab of the spear in his side, the slaps, the spittings, the vinegar, the gall, the crown of thorns, the mockings and derisions, the bowings of the knee, the most contemptible funeral and burial. This, so to speak, foolish and weak thing of God was shown by the word of the economy to be incomparably wiser and stronger than men, by the mighty and all-wise conquest of the stronger.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":51,"ref":"p51","source":"ἀφθέκτῳ σιγῇ δι' ἔργων, ἐκβοώμενον πάσῃ τῇ κτίσει ἀκαταλήπτως· «εἰ γάρ καί ἐσταυρώθη ἐξ ἀσθενείας, ἀλλά ζῇ ἐκ δυνάμεως», κατά Παῦλον τόν θεσπέσιον. Εἰς τό αὐτό καλῶς τό τῆς ἀσθενείας τῆς θεαρχικῆς εἴρηκε· διά γάρ τήν πρός ἡμᾶς ἑκούσιον συγκατάβασιν, πάντα ὑπομείνας ἄχρι θανάτου, θανάτου δέ σταυροῦ καί τάς ἀσθενείας ἡμῶν αὐτός αἴρει, καί περί ἡμῶν ὀδυνᾶται, καί «τῷ μώλωπι αὐτοῦ ἡμεῖς πάντες ἰάθημεν», καί τό πάθος αὐτοῦ ἴδιον λέγεται κατά τήν τοῦ Πέτρου φωνήν τήν λέγουσαν· «Χριστοῦ οὖν παθόντος ὑπέρ ἡμῶν σαρκί»· καί, «εἰ ἔγνωσαν, οὐκ ἄν τόν Κύριον τῆς δόξης ἐσταύρωσαν»· ὅθεν καί κυριοκτόνοι οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι λέγονται. (≡14 _096≡ Ὑμνολόγος κρινόμενος: Ὅτι καί ψαλμούς ἔλεγον τότε ἐμμελεῖς οἱ περί τόν ἅγιον Ἱερόθεον καί ᾠδάς, ὡς δηλοῖ καί τό ὑμνολογεῖν καί τό ὑμνῳδεῖν καί ὅτι τά μέν ὑψηλά καί μυστικά ἄρρητα τοῖς πολλοῖς δεῖ φυλάττειν, ὁμιλεῖν δέ καί διδάσκειν δεῖ τούς πολλούς τά δυνατά καί εὐαπόδεικτα. § 3. Τῶν θείων: Γραφῶν δηλονότι καί θεωρημάτων. Διά περισσήν εὐλάβειαν: Ὅτι εὐλαβές τό μή ζητεῖν τά θειότερα. Εἰλήφαμεν: Σημείωσαι ὅτι οὐ δεῖ τῆς ἐνδεχομένης τῶν θείων γνώσεως ἀμελεῖν, ἀλλά καί ἑτέροις μεταδιδόναι· καί ὅτι κατά φύσιν οἱ νόες ἔφεσιν ἔχουσι πρός τήν ἐγχωροῦσαν τῶν ὑπερφυῶν θεωρίαν.","english":"in unutterable silence through works, being cried out by all creation in an incomprehensible manner: \"For even if he was crucified from weakness, yet he lives from power,\" according to the divine Paul. To the same point he has well spoken of the weakness of the divine rule; for because of his voluntary condescension toward us, having endured all things even to death, and death on a cross, he himself bears our weaknesses, and grieves on our behalf, and \"by his wound we all have been healed,\" and his passion is called his own according to the voice of Peter, which says: \"Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh\"; and, \"if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory\"; whence also the Jews are called murderers of the Lord. (≡14 _096≡ The Hymnologos Judged: That those around the holy Hierotheos also then spoke melodious psalms and songs, as the words \"to hymn\" and \"to sing hymns\" make clear, and that the lofty and mystical things must be kept unspoken by the many, but one must converse with and teach the many the things that are possible and easily demonstrated. § 3. Of the divine: namely, of the Scriptures and of the contemplations. Through excessive reverence: That it is reverent not to seek the more divine things. We have received: Note that one must not neglect the knowledge of divine things that is possible, but also impart it to others; and that by nature the intellects have an impulse toward the attainable contemplation of things beyond nature.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":52,"ref":"p52","source":"Τά μέν ὑπέρ ἡμᾶς: Ὅτι οὐ δεῖ τά ὑπέρ ἡμᾶς πολυπραγμονεῖν, οὐδέ ἀμελεῖν τῆς θείας γνώσεως, ἀλλά καί ἑτέροις μεταδιδόναι τῶν ἐνδεχομένων· εἴρηται γάρ, «ὑψηλότερά σου μή ζήτει, καί βαθύτερά σοι μή ἐρεύνα· ἅ προσετάγη σοι, ταῦτα διανοοῦ».\n\nἘγκελευομένη: Κατά τόν Ἀπόστολον εἰπόντα· «ταῦτα παράθου πιστοῖς ἀνθρώποις».\n\nΤούτοις οὖν καί ἡμᾶς: Σημείωσαι, πόθεν ἐπί τό συγγράφειν ἦλθεν. Ἱερόθεῳ: Ὅτι ἐν τοῖς λεχθησομένοις τά Ἱεροθέου ἑρμηνεύει. ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ Δ' § 1. Εἶεν δέ οὖν: Ἄγε δή οὖν.\n\nἈφορίζουσι: Τό μέν ἀφορίζουσι ἀντί τοῦ ἀνατιθέασιν (≡14 _098≡ ἐκληπτέον, τό δέ ἀπό πάντων δηλοῦσθαι τήν θείαν ἀγαθότητα, τό πάντα ἐξ αὐτῆς παρῆχθαι πρός ὕπαρξιν δηλοῖ.\n\nὩς οὐσιῶδες: Ὅτι οὐσιῶδες ἀγαθόν αὐτό τό Θεῖον, καί ὅτι τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ πάντα τά ὄντα μετέχει, ὡς τοῦ ἡλίου τά ποιητά.\n\nὭσπερ ὁ καθ' ἡμᾶς ἥλιος: Μηδείς ὑπολαβέτω πρός τό τοῦ ἡλίου παράδειγμα ὁλοκλήρως τά περί Θεοῦ κρίνειν τόν μέγαν Διονύσιον, ἀλλ’ οὕτω νοείσθω, ὥσπερ ὁ ἥλιος, οὐκ ἄλλο τι ὤν παρά τό φῶς, οὐ συμβατόν ἔχει τό φῶς καί ὡς ἄλλο τι ὤν ἤ ψυχικῶς προαιρέσει τοῦ εὐεργετεῖν ἔσωθεν λαμβάνει τό φῶς καί διαδίδωσιν εἰς πάντα· τοὐναντίον γάρ· οὔτε ψυχικός ὤν, οὔτε προαίρεσιν ἔχων εὐεργετεῖ, ἄλογος γάρ· καί οὐδέ ἑτέρωθεν τό φῶς λαμβάνων· αὐτό γάρ τοῦτο φῶς ἐστι καί φωτίζει·","english":"Things beyond us: That one must not busy oneself with things beyond us, nor neglect divine knowledge, but also impart to others what is possible; for it is said, \"Seek not things higher than yourself, and search not things deeper than yourself; think upon what has been commanded you.\"\n\nCommanding: According to the Apostle who said, \"These things commit to faithful men.\"\n\nTo these then also us: Note from where he came to writing. To Hierotheus: That in what will be said he interprets the things of Hierotheus. ON CHAPTER 4 § 1. Be it so then: Come then.\n\nThey separate: The word \"they separate\" must be taken in place of \"they dedicate\"; and that the divine goodness is shown to be from all things, and that all things were brought forth by it into existence, this is what is meant.\n\nAs essential: That the Divine itself is an essential good, and that all beings partake of the good, as the things made partake of the sun.\n\nAs our sun: Let no one suppose that the great Dionysius judges the things concerning God wholly by the example of the sun, but let it be understood thus: that the sun, being nothing other than light, does not have light as something added, nor as being something other than light does it receive light from within by a psychic choice to do good and distribute it to all; for the contrary is the case: neither being psychic nor having choice does it do good, for it is irrational; and it does not receive light from elsewhere either; for it is itself this very light and it illumines.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":53,"ref":"p53","source":"οὔτω χρή τοῦτο μόνον καί ἐπί Θεοῦ νοεῖν, ὅτι ὁ Θεός τό ἀγαθόν οὐ συμβεβηκότως ἔχει, καθάπερ τινά ποιότητα, ὡς ἡμεῖς τάς ἀρετάς, ἀλλ' οὐσία τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ αὐτός ὁ Θεός ὑπάρχων, ὥσπερ καί τό φῶς, οὐσία ἡλίου, καί ὡς αὐτό τό ἀγαθόν ὤν ὁ Θεός ἐκτείνει περί πάντας τήν τῆς ἀγαθότητος αἴγλην διά τοῦ εὐεργετῆσαι τούς φωτιζομένους· ὅθεν φησί τό τοῦ ἡλίου παράδειγμα, ὡς σκοτεινήν καί σχεδόν ἀφανῆ εἰκόνα τοῦ παντελῶς ἀκοινωνήτου ἀρχετύπου ἔχει· εἰ γάρ αἱ εἰκόνες ἀλήθειαν εἶχον, οὐκέτι ἦσαν παραδείγματα, ἀλλ' ἀρχέτυπα.\n\nΑἱ νοηταί καί νοεραί: Κατά κυριότητα ἕτερόν ἐστι νοητόν, καί ἕτερον νοερόν. Τό γάρ νοητόν τροφή οἷά τις τοῦ νοεροῦ ἐστιν, εἴπερ τό νοούμενον, ὅ ἐστι νοητόν, μεῖζόν ἐστι καί προεπινοούμενον τοῦ νοοῦντος, ὅ ἐστι νοερόν. Τά μέν οὖν ὑπερκείμενα καί προσεχῆ τῷ Θεῷ τάγματα νοητά κυρίως λεκτέον, τά δέ ὑποβεβηκότα νοερά, ἅτε νοοῦντα τά ὑπερκείμενα· οὐχ ὅτι δέ νοητά ἐστι τά νοούμενα, νομιστέον αὐτά μή νοεῖν· νοεῖ γάρ καί (≡14 _100≡ αὐτά, ἐπειδή νόες εἰσί καί οὐσίαι ζωῆς καί νοῦ ἀνωτάτου δημιουργηθεῖσαι, ἀλλά καί ἐνέργειαι ἐκεῖ ἐνυπόστατοί εἰσι καί οὐσίαι· πᾶσα γάρ κίνησις καί ἠρεμία ἐκεῖ μέντοι ἐνυπόστατοί εἰσι, καί δυνάμεις ζῶσαι, καί τῶν ρευστῶν καί σωματικῶν ἀλλοιώσεων ὑπέρτεραι· διό νοοῦνται μέν, ὡς ἄϋλοι, νοοῦσι δέ τά ὄντα, ὡς νόες ἀσώματοι καί ὑπερκόσμιοι ἄνωθεν ἐλλαμπόμενοι τούς περί τῶν ὄντων λόγους καί διαβιβάζοντες αὐτούς μυστικῶς εἰς τούς ὑποβεβηκότας ἀγγέλους νοητῶς καί ἀποκαλυπτικῶς. Δύνῃ δέ καί ἄλλως νοῆσαι τό 'δυνάμεις' καί 'ἐνέργειαι'·","english":"Thus one must understand this alone also in the case of God: that God has the good not as an accident, like some quality, as we have the virtues, but being himself the substance of the good, just as light is the substance of the sun; and being himself the good, God extends the radiance of his goodness around all things by benefiting those who are illumined. Hence he cites the example of the sun, since it holds a dark and nearly invisible image of the archetype that is altogether without participation. For if images had the truth, they would no longer be examples but archetypes.\n\nThings intelligible and intellectual: In the strict sense, one thing is intelligible and another is intellectual. For the intelligible is, as it were, a kind of food for the intellectual, since what is understood—that is, the intelligible—is greater and conceived before the one who understands, that is, the intellectual. Therefore the orders that are superior and close to God must be called intelligible in the strict sense, while those that are subordinate are called intellectual, inasmuch as they understand the superior orders. But one must not think that because the things understood are intelligible, they themselves do not understand; for they also understand, since they are intellects and substances created of life and of the highest intellect, but they are also subsistent energies and substances there; for every motion and rest there are subsistent, and living powers, and superior to the fluid and bodily alterations. Therefore they are understood as immaterial, and they understand beings as bodiless and supramundane intellects, illumined from above with the principles concerning beings and mystically transmitting them to the subordinate angels in an intelligible and revelatory manner. But you may also understand \"powers\" and \"energies\" in another way.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":54,"ref":"p54","source":"δυνάμεις μέν γάρ, ὅτι, καί μήπω τῶν ἐν τῇ κτίσει φανέντων, δυνάμει πάντα ἐν τῷ Θεῷ προϋφεστήκει, μέλλοντα παράγεσθαι δι' αὐτοῦ εἰς τό εἶναι· ἐνέργειαι δέ, ὅτι καί πρός ἔργον ἡ δημιουργία παρήχθη. Σημείωσαι δέ καί τό τῆς ρευστῆς ἀλλοιώσεως ὡς ἡρμήνευσα, ἐπειδή τρεπτοί καί οἱ ἄγγελοι, κατά γνώμην δηλονότι, καί οὐκ οὐσίαν, ὡς μαρτυρεῖ ὁ διάβολος καί τό τάγμα αὐτοῦ, πεσών ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, ὡς καί ἐν τῷ Ἰώβ ἔχομεν. Φθορᾶς καί θανάτου: Ταῦτα γάρ σωμάτων ἴδια. Οἰκείως ἐλλάμπονται: Ὅτι τά ἀσώματα καί οὐράνια νοοῦνται καί νοοῦσι. Καί φρουρά καί ἑστία: Μονή καί ἑστία ἐκ παραλλήλου ταὐτόν σημαίνουσι. Φίλων ὁ Ἰουδαῖος ἐν τῷ Περί τῆς φλογίνης ρομφαίας καί τῶν χερουβίμ λόγῳ φησίν οὕτως· Ἡ δέ μονή, τῶν τοῦ κόσμου μερῶν ἑστῶσα παγίως, ἑστία πρός τῶν παλαιῶν εὐθυβόλως ὠνόμασται. Τοῦτο δέ καί ἄνω φησί, περί τό τέλος τοῦ πρώτου κεφαλαίου, ἐν τῇ ἕκτη παραγραφῇ.\n\n§ 2. Ἐκεῖθεν αὐταῖς: Σημείωσαι τά περί τῶν ἀγγέλων, καί ὅτι τά ἄϋλα καί ἐν ἀλλήλοις χωρεῖ ἀσυγχύτως καί ἀποχωρεῖ, καί οἱονεί βαθμός καί τάξεις εἰσίν πρῶται καί δεύτεραι, καί ὅτι (≡14 _102≡ οἱ θεῖοι νόες ἐκεῖ περί ἑαυτούς ἑλίσσονται, οὐχ ἕλιξίν τινα σωματικήν, ἀλλ’ ὑπερκόσμιον καί νοεράν, καί οἵαν πεφυκε νοῦς ἑλίττεσθαι, ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ προϊών εἰς ἐπινοήσεις καί εἰς ἑαυτόν ἀναστρέφων, οὑ μήν ἕξω ἑαυτοῦ χωρῶν σκεδαστῶς καί μεριστῶς· τοῦτο αἰνίττονται καί οἱ παρά τοῦ θεσπεσἰου Ἰεζεκιήλ τροχοί πολυόμματοι· καί ὅτι περί τόν θεῖον ἔρωτα ἐν ταὐτότητί εἰσι καί ἀκρότητι·","english":"For powers, because even before the things that appeared in creation, all things pre-existed potentially in God, about to be brought by him into being; but energies, because creation was also brought forth to work. Note also what I explained about fluid alteration, since the angels too are mutable—in purpose, clearly, not in substance—as the devil and his order testify, having fallen from heaven, as we also have it in Job. Of corruption and death: for these are peculiar to bodies. They are illumined in a fitting manner: because incorporeal and heavenly beings are understood and understand. And guard and hearth: abode and hearth, used in parallel, signify the same thing. Philo the Jew, in his discourse On the Flaming Sword and the Cherubim, says thus: The abode, standing firmly fixed among the parts of the world, was aptly named a hearth by the ancients. This he also says above, near the end of the first chapter, in the sixth paragraph.\n\n§ 2. Thence to them: Note the things concerning the angels, and that incorporeal things both contain one another without confusion and separate, and are, as it were, a rank and orders—first and second—and that the divine minds roll around themselves, not with some bodily spiral but a supramundane and intellectual one, such as a mind is naturally wont to roll, proceeding from itself into thoughts and returning to itself, yet not going outside itself in a scattered and divided manner; this is hinted at also by the many-eyed wheels in the divine Ezekiel; and that around the divine love they are in sameness and at the summit.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":55,"ref":"p55","source":"ταὐτότητα δέ νοητέον τήν ἀναπόστατον πρός Θεόν προσοχήν, ἀκρότητα δέ, τήν τῆς νοήσεως αὐτῶν καί οὐσίας ἤδη πως εἰς θέωσιν πρόοδον νόησον· καί τάς ἑνώσεις δέ, τάς πρός ἀλλήλας τῶν νοητῶν, τόν πρός ἀλλήλους θεοπρεπῆ νόησον ἔρωτα, ὅς, θεῖος ὤν καί ἑνοποιός, συνάπτει αὐτούς, οὐ σωρηδόν συγκομίζων, ἀλλ' ἀγαπητῶς συνδεσμῶν. Τῶν δέ ὄντων καί τῶν νοητῶν, ὡς καί τῶν νοητῶν, ὡς καί τῶν αἰσθητῶν ὁμωνύμως λεγομένων, τά μέν ἔστιν ἡνωμένα καί ἀλληλουχούμενα, τά δέ διῃρημένα καί ἐν παραθέσει, οἷον σωρηδόν· καί νοητῶν μέν ἡνωμένα, οἷον ζῶον καί φῶς καί νοητός κόσμος καί ὅσα τοιαῦτα, διῃρημένα δέ καί ἐν παραθέσει, οἷον στρατιά, τάξις, πατριά, χορός· ἐπί δέ αἰσθητῶν ἕνωσις, ζῶον, δένδρον, κόσμος, διαίρεσις δέ κατά σωρείαν, ποίμνη, δῆμος σωρός, χορός. Ἐν τῷ Περί τῶν ἀγγελικῶν: Ἰδού ἄλλο πόνημα Διονυσίου ζητεῖται, Περί τῶν ἀγγελικῶν ἰδιοτήτων καί τάξεων.\n\nΑἱ ἀγγελοπρεπεῖς: Ἀγγελοπρεπεῖς καθάρσεις φησίν, οἷον τήν Ἠσαΐου καί τήν Ἰεζεκιήλ φαγόντος ἐν ἐκστάσει τήν κεφαλίδα τοῦ βιβλίου. Τελεσιουργίαν δέ ἀγγέλων λέγει, ὡς ἐπί τοῦ Δανιήλ καί τοῦ ἀγγέλου τοῦ ἑρμηνεύσαντος αὐτό, καί περί τοῦ ποιμένος τόν Ἑρμᾶν τελειώσαντος, ὡς ἐκεῖ ἀνέγνωμεν ἐν τῷ (≡14 _104≡","english":"Identity must be understood as the unwavering attention toward God, and understand \"consummation\" as the advance of their intellect and essence, so to speak, already into deification. And understand the \"unions\" as the mutual, God-befitting love of the intelligible beings toward one another, which, being divine and unifying, joins them together, not gathering them in a heap, but binding them in love. Of beings—both intelligible and perceptible, since both are spoken of homonymously—some are united and linked together, while others are divided and set side by side, as it were, in a heap. Of intelligible things, the united are, for example, a living being, light, the intelligible world, and all such things; the divided and set side by side are, for example, an army, a rank, a tribe, a chorus. Among perceptible things, unity is a living being, a tree, a world; division by heaping together is a flock, a people, a heap, a chorus. In the work On the Angelic: Behold, another work of Dionysius is sought, On the Angelic Properties and Orders.\n\nThe angelic: He calls \"angelic purifications,\" for example, that of Isaiah and that of Ezekiel, who in ecstasy ate the head of the book. And he speaks of the \"perfection\" of angels, as in the case of Daniel and the angel who interpreted it to him, and concerning the shepherd who perfected Hermas, as we read there in the (≡14 _104≡","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":56,"ref":"p56","source":"Ποιμένι· ἀλλά καί αὐτοί οἱ ἄγγελοι πῶς καθαίρονται καί τελεσιουργοῦνταί φησιν ἐν τῷ Περί οὐρανίας ἱεραρχίας λόγῳ.\n\nΚαί εἶναι ἀγγέλους: Διά τί ἄγγελοι λέγονται, καί ὅτι καί αὐτοί φῶτα. Αἱ ψυχαί: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι αἱ ψυχαί ἄλλαι μετά τούς ἀγγέλους εἰσίν ὑποβεβηκυῖαι αὐτῶν, καί ὅτι ἀθάνατοί εἰσιν, ἅτε κτισθεῖσαι οὐσιώδεις ζωαί· καί ὅτι διά τῶν ἀγγέλων αἱ ψυχαί χειραγωγοῦνται, αἱ ζωήν ἀγγελικήν ἐπιτηδεύουσαι· οὕτω καί ἐν τῷ Ποιμένι ἀνέγνωμεν.\n\nἈγαθαρχίαν: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι ἐπί τήν πάντων τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀγαθαρχίαν ἀνάγονται αἱ τῶν δικαίων ψυχαί, ἤγουν ἐπί τόν Θεόν, καί ἐν μετουσίᾳ τῶν ἐλλάμψεων αὐτοῦ γινόμεναι, παρρησιασμένως πρεσβεύουσι. Ἐν τοῖς Περί ψυχῆς: Ζητεῖται τό Περί ψυχῆς. Ἀλόγων ψυχῶν: Ἀλόγων ψυχῶν καί αἰσθητικῶν φησι· καί σημείωσαι ὅτι ἄλλο ψυχή, καί ἄλλο ζωή.\n\nἈμφιβίως λαχόντα: Τά ἑρπετά λέγει ἀμφιβίως λαχόντα, ὡς βάτραχοι, ὀκτάποδες, ἐγκεχωσμένα δέ, ὡς ἀσπάλακες καί ὅσα τοιαῦτα· σημείωσαι δέ, ὅτι αἱ ψυχαί εἰσι μετά τούς ἀγγέλους ὑποβεβηκυῖαι αὐτῶν, καί ὅτι ἀθάνατοί εἰσιν, ἅτε κτισθεῖσαι οὐσιώδεις ζωαί· καί ὅτι διά τῶν ἀγγέλων αἱ ψυχαί χειραγωγοῦνται, αἱ ζωήν ἀγγελικήν ἐπιτηδεύουσαι, καθά καί ἀνωτέρω λέλεκται. Δι' αὐτό τῆς οὐσιώδους ἕξεως: Καί ἤδη ἄνω εἴπομεν, ὅτι ἕξις ἐστί ποιότης ἔμμονος· ὅσα οὗν ἐστιν ἄζωα καί ἄψυχα, διά τήν ἀγαθότητα τοῦ Θεοῦ οὕτω παρήχθῃ, πεποιωμένα ἑκτικῶς, οἷον λίθοι διάφοροι, ἀλλά καί βοτάναι καί ρίζαι καί γῆ καί τά μεταλλικά περί τι χρήσιμον ποιωθέντα, καί ὅσα περί τήν ἰατρικήν καί τήν ἡμῶν χρῆσιν·","english":"In the Shepherd: but also how the angels themselves are purified and perfected, he says in the discourse On the Celestial Hierarchy.\n\nAnd that there are angels: Why they are called angels, and that they too are lights. The souls: Note that the souls are other beings after the angels, having been placed below them, and that they are immortal, inasmuch as they were created as essential living beings; and that through the angels the souls are led by the hand, those who pursue an angelic life; thus we have also read in the Shepherd.\n\nGood-principality: Note that the souls of the righteous are led up to the good-principality of all good things, that is, to God, and being in participation of his illuminations, they intercede with boldness. In the [books] On the Soul: the [book] On the Soul is sought. Of irrational souls: he says of irrational and sensitive souls; and note that soul is one thing, and life another.\n\nThose allotted an amphibious lot: he calls reptiles those allotted an amphibious lot, like frogs, octopuses, and those buried in the earth, like moles and all such creatures; and note that the souls are after the angels, having been placed below them, and that they are immortal, inasmuch as they were created as essential living beings; and that through the angels the souls are led by the hand, those who pursue an angelic life, just as has also been said above. Therefore, of the essential habit: and we have already said above that a habit is a permanent quality; therefore, all things that are lifeless and soulless were brought forth thus through the goodness of God, being qualified habitually, such as various stones, but also plants and roots and earth and minerals qualified toward something useful, and all things pertaining to medicine and our use;","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":57,"ref":"p57","source":"ταῦτα οὗν οὐκ ἔξωθεν τήν ἕξιν κτῶνται, ἀλλ’ ἐν τῇ οὐσίᾳ καί τήν τῆς ἕξεως ποιότητα θεόθεν ἔλαχον.\n\n§ 3. Εἰ δέ καί ὑπέρ πάντα: Ὅρα πῶς αἱ στερήσεις ἐπί (≡14 _106≡ Θεοῦ ὑπερβολαί εἰσι θέσεων δραστήριοι, καί ὡς ἀνείδεος, ἀννούσιος, ἄζωος, ἄνους· ταῦτα γάρ ἔννοιαν ἔχοντα τοῦ μή ὄντος, ὅμως ἐν τῷ Θεῷ τῷ ὑπερουσίως ὄντι κατά τήν ἀφαίρεσιν ἁπάντων (οὐδέν γάρ ἐστι τῶν ὄντων) ὑπεροχικῶς νοοῦνται· ἐν δέ τοῖς ἑξῆς τελειότερον αὐτό σαφηνίζει. Καί αὐτό τό μή ὄν: Πῶς τό μή ὄν ἐφίεται τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ; Εἰ γάρ μή ἔστιν αὐτό, πῶς ἐφίεται; Λέγομεν, ὅτι τό μή ὄν ἐνόησεν εἶναι τό κακόν, ὡς κάτω ἀποδεικνύει· ὅτι καί αὐτό τό λεγόμενον κακόν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἕνεκα γίνεται. § 4. Καί τῶν οὐρανίων: Τό αἴτιον τῶν οὐρανίων ἀρχῶν καί ὑποπερατώσεών φησιν εἶναι τήν ἀγαθότητα τοῦ Θεοῦ· καί ταῦτα γάρ δι ' ἀγαθότητος ὑπερβολήν παρήγαγεν ὁ Θεός· ἀρχάς δέ οὐρανίας καί ὑποπερατώσεις νοητέον τήν ἐκ σημείου, ἤτοι κέντρου, τοῦ θελήματος τοῦ Θεοῦ κυκλικῶς ὑποστᾶσαν τῶν οὐρανῶν σφαιροειδῆ δημιουργίαν· τό γάρ κυκλικόν σχῆμα ἀρχόμενον ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ, εἰς ἑαυτό περατοῦται· τήν δέ οὐρανίαν οὐσίαν ἀναυξῆ καί ἀμείωτόν φησιν, ὡς τελείως ἔχουσαν καί αὐτάρκως πρός ὅ γέγονε· διό καί ἀναλλοίωτον αὐτήν λέγει, ἐξ οὗ γέγονεν, οὐ παρατραπεῖσαν· τέλειον δέ ἐστιν, ὅ μήτε αὔξει, μήτε μειοῦται. Ὑποπερατώσεις δέ αὐτά κέκληκε, καί οὐκ ἀποπερατώσεις, διά τό σφαιρικήν μέν εἶναι τήν κίνησιν, οὐ κυρίως δέ πέρας ἔχειν, ἀλλ’ οἱονεί πέρας τήν ἐπί τό αὐτό, ὥσπερ ἀπό τινος ἀρχῆς ἐπί τι, οἷον πέρας φέρεσθαι τυχόν ἀνατολήν.","english":"These things, then, they do not acquire their state from outside, but in their very essence they received from God also the quality of their state.\n\n§ 3. If indeed also above all things: Observe how privations, in the case of God, are active positings beyond assertions, and how he is formless, without substance, lifeless, without mind; for these things, having the notion of non-being, are nevertheless understood in God, who is superessentially being, according to the removal of all things (for he is none of beings), in a transcendent manner; and in what follows he clarifies this more perfectly. And non-being itself: How does non-being desire the good? For if it is not, how does it desire? We say that non-being conceived evil to be, as he demonstrates below; that even what is called evil itself comes to be for the sake of the good. § 4. And of the heavenly: He says that the cause of the heavenly beginnings and terminations is the goodness of God; for God brought these things forth through an excess of goodness; and heavenly beginnings and terminations must be understood as the spherical creation of the heavens, which subsisted in a circular manner from the point, that is the center, of the will of God; for the circular shape, beginning from itself, is terminated in itself; and he says that the heavenly substance is without increase and without diminution, as having perfectly and self-sufficiently toward that for which it came to be; therefore he also calls it unchangeable, as not having been turned aside from that from which it came to be; and that is perfect which neither increases nor diminishes. And he has called them terminations, and not completions, because the motion is spherical, yet it does not properly have a limit, but as it were a limit in its return to the same, as from some beginning to something, for instance a limit, being carried, perhaps, to the east.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":58,"ref":"p58","source":"Σημείωσαι δέ, ὅτι καί κινεῖσθαι ἀψόφως φησί καί ἀνεπαισθήτως τόν οὐρανόν· τό δ' ἐνίων ἀστέρων μεταβατικῆς πολυκινησίας περί τῶν πλανητῶν φησι. Σημείωσαι δέ καί τοῦτο, ὅτι αὐτούς μόνους ἐδέξατο κινεῖσθαι. Σημείωσαι δέ καί πόθεν αἱ χρονικαί ἀριθμήσεις. Καί τῆς τῶν δύο φωστήρων, οὕς τά Λόγια καλεῖ μεγάλους: (≡14 _108≡ Δύο φωστῆρας τόν ἥλιον καί τήν σελήνην φησί· μεγάλους δέ εἶπεν ἑπόμενος τῷ Δαβίδ·\n\nΛόγια δέ τούς ἐκείνου Ψαλμούς ὀνομάζει. Περιοδικήν δέ ἀποκατάστασιν τήν ἀπό τοῦ αὐτοῦ εἰς τό αὐτό φοράν λέγει, ἥν ὁ ἥλιος μέν κατ' ἐνιαυτόν ποιεῖται τόν ζῳδιακόν κύκλον περιϊών, ἡ δέ σελήνη δι' ἡμερῶν τινων τόν ἀπό συνόδου μέχρι τῆς παντελοῦς ταύτης μειώσεως. Σημείωσαι δέ, ὡς καί αἱ χρονικαί ἀριθμήσεις ἐκ τούτων εἰσί, καί ἔτι ἐκ τῶν μηνῶν.\n\nἈφορίζουσι: Τελέως ὁρίζουσιν.\n\nἘπέκεινα θεότητος: Τοῦτο καί ἐν τοῖς ἄνω παρέγραψα, ὅτι καί ἐν τοῖς πᾶσιν ὁ Θεός, καί οὐδέν τῶν ἁπάντων. Ἐνταῦθα δέ τό πλέον φησίν, ὅτι καί ἔτι ὑπέρ πάσας τάς οὐσίας ἐστίν, ὅπερ λέγει κατωτέρω, ὅτι καί τῶν μή ὄντων ἐστί πληρωτικός. Ὅρα δέ πῶς λέγει μήτε τῶν ἄνω φθανουσῶν αὐτῆς τήν ὑπεροχήν, μήτε τῶν κάτω ταύτην διαβαινουσῶν· τουτέστιν, οὔτε ἀρχήν, οὔτε πέρας ἔχει τό Θεῖον, τῶν οὐρανίων καί ὑπερτέρων δυνάμεων ταύτην μή καταλαβουσῶν, οὐχ ὅτι ἐστί μέν, οὐ κατελήφθη δέ· μή οὕτω νοήσεις· ἀλλ' ὅτι αὐτό οὔτε ἐστί· τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν 'ἡ ἐν ἀγνωσίᾳ γνῶσις'. Ὑπέρτεροι γάρ γενόμενοι καί διά φιλοθεΐας ἑνωθέντες ταῖς ἄνω δυνάμεσι, γινώσκομεν ὅτι μετά πάντων τήν θείαν ἀγνοοῦμεν φύσιν.","english":"Note that he says the heaven moves without sound and imperceptibly; and the statement about the varying and much-moved motion of certain stars refers to the planets. Note also this, that he received that these alone move. Note also whence the chronological reckonings come. And [note] the [statement] about the two luminaries, which the Oracles call great: (≡14 _108≡) He says the two luminaries are the sun and the moon; and he called them great, following David.\n\nAnd he names the Psalms of that man \"Oracles.\" And by \"periodic restoration\" he means the movement from the same to the same, which the sun makes each year as it goes around the zodiacal circle, and the moon within certain days from conjunction until this complete waning. Note that the chronological reckonings come from these, and further from the months.\n\nThey demarcate: They perfectly define.\n\nBeyond divinity: This I also noted above, that God is in all things and is none of all things. And here he says the more, that he is even beyond all essences, which he says below, that he is also the filler of things that are not. And observe how he says that neither do the things above attain to his supereminence, nor do the things below pass beyond it; that is, the Divine has neither beginning nor end, since the heavenly and higher powers do not grasp this—not in the sense that it exists but was not grasped (do not understand it so), but that it does not even exist [as graspable]; for this is \"knowledge in ignorance.\" For having become superior and, through love of God, united with the powers above, we know that together with all things we are ignorant of the divine nature.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":59,"ref":"p59","source":"Καί φωτίζει: Τουτέστι τά χωροῦντα τήν ὁλότητα αὐτοῦ πρός τό μέτρον ὅ χωροῦσι· διό καί μέτρον εἶναι λέγεται τῶν ὄντων· ἤ ὅτι τήν ἀρχήν καί τό πέρας ἁπάντων ἐπίσταται, ὡς μόνος δημιουργός· ἑαυτόν γάρ παρακατιών ἑρμηνεύει. Τάς τάξις: Τάξις διά τοῦτο λέγεται ὁ Θεός, ἤ ἐπειδή μετ' εὐταξίας τά πάντα ἐδημιούργησεν, ἤ ὅτι πίστει παρά τῶν εἰς αὐτόν φοιτώντων χωρεῖται, μήτε τῷ πληθυσμῷ τούς ἀσθενεστέρους καταβαπτίζων, μήτε τῇ συγκαταβάσει ἐπ' ἔλαττον (≡14 _110≡ παρά τῶν ἁγιωτέρων χωρούμενος, ἀλλά πρός τό ἐμόν ἀγγεῖον οὕτως ἐμοί πηγάζων τήν ἀγαθότητα.\n\nΚατά πολλοστόν ἀπήχημα: Ὥσπερ ὁ αἰσθητός ἥλιος πάντα τά ὁρατά φωτίζει, καί τά μή μετέχοντα τοῦ φωτός αὐτοῦ δι' οἰκείαν ἀδράνειαν οὐ μετέχει, οὕτω καί ἐπί τοῦ Θεοῦ, πάντες παρ' αὐτοῦ ἁγιάζονται, ὅσοι βούλονται. Καλῶς δέ τό ἀπεμφαῖνον τῶν ἐπί τῷ ἡλίῳ λεγομένων εὐθύς ἐθεράπευσεν ὁ θεῖος Διονύσιος· ἐπειδή γάρ ἐμφανῆ εἰκόνα τῆς ἀγαθότητος τοῦ Θεοῦ τόν ἥλιον εἶπε τόν ἄψυχον, τό δημιούργημα τοῦ δημιουργοῦ καλέσας εἰκόνα, πρῶτον μέν παραχρῆμα ἐπήγαγε ‘κατά πολλοστόν ἀπήχημα', ἐν δέ τῷ ἑξῆς κεφαλαίῳ τελεώτερον αὐτό σαφηνίζει. Τί δέ ἐστι ‘πολλοστόν ἀπήχημα' λεκτέον.","english":"And it illuminates: that is, it encompasses those things that receive its wholeness according to the measure in which they receive it; therefore it is also said to be the measure of beings; or because it knows the beginning and the end of all things, as the only creator; for going further on he interprets himself. Orders: God is called Order for this reason, either because he created all things with good order, or because he is received by faith by those who come to him, neither overwhelming the weaker by his abundance, nor being received in lesser measure by the holier through condescension, but thus springing up goodness to me according to my own vessel.\n\nAccording to a far-off echo: Just as the perceptible sun illuminates all visible things, and those things that do not partake of its light do not partake because of their own weakness, so also in the case of God, all are sanctified by him, as many as wish it. And the divine Dionysius rightly healed at once the incongruity of what is said about the sun; for since he called the sun, which is lifeless, a manifest image of the goodness of God, calling the creature an image of the creator, first he immediately added \"according to a far-off echo,\" and in the following chapter he clarifies it more perfectly. But what \"a far-off echo\" is must be said.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":60,"ref":"p60","source":"Ὥσπερ γάρ εἴ τις μέγα βοήσας καί ἀνακράξας εἴποι τι, καί οἱ μέν παρεστῶτες, ἐάν ἐρρωμένοι τάς ἀκοάς ὦσι, καί τῆς βοῆς καί τοῦ λεχθέντος ἀκούουσιν, οἱ δέ βραχύ ἀφεστῶτες, ὅσον ἀπέχουσι, τοσοῦτον ἀδρανέστερον τοῦ φθέγματος ἀκροῶνται, οἱ δέ ἐπί μεῖζον διάστημα κεχωρισμένοι πολλοστόν τι μέρος καί ἀμυδρότατον τοῦ ἀπηχήματος λαμβάνουσιν, ὡς φωνῆς μέν ἀσήμου τινός ἀκοῦσαι, μή νοῆσαι δέ τό ἐκφωνηθέν· τοσοῦτον ἔστιν ὑπολαβεῖν τό ἡλιακόν φῶς τῷ ἀληθινῷ, ὡς καί ἀσύμβλητον εἶναι τό μέσον. Ἀλλά καί πρός τήν γένεσιν: Μή νομίσῃς τόν ἥλιον γενέσεως ἤ ζωῆς ἤ αὐξήσεως ἤ τελειότητος αἴτιον εἶναι τῶν ὄντων τινός, ὥσπερ οὐδέ ἄλλο τι στοιχεῖον, εἰ καί σφόδρα τύχοι τῶν ἀναγκαίων, οἶον τό ὕδωρ· δυνατόν γάρ ἡμᾶς διαγενέσθαι καί ἡλίου χωρίς καί ὕδατος, εἰ καί μή τελείως, ἀλλ’ οὖν ἱκανόν χρόνον· ἀλλ’ εἰδώς ὁ Θεός, ὅτι τό μέν ψυχρόν ἅπαν ἄγονον παντελῶς, τό δέ μεμετρημένως θερμόν γενεσιουργεῖ, καί ὅτι φυτά καί τά σπέρματα θερμότητος δεῖται, ὡς καί τά σώματα (≡14 _112≡ πάντα τά ζωήν ἔχοντα εἴτε αἰσθητικήν εἴτε φυτικήν, καθαίρονται δέ πολλά, ὡς καί εἰς λευκότητα φέρεσθαι, ὡς ἐσθῆτες καί ἄλλα, ἀνανεοῖ δέ καί τά ψυγέντα σπέρματα, τούτου χάριν τόν ἥλιον οὕτως ἔχειν φύσεως ἐποίησεν, ἵνα τά εἰρημένα παντα ποιῇ ἐκ τοῦ δημιουργοῦ τό δύνασθαι λαβών, οὐκ ἐκ προαιρέσεως ἰδίας ἤ δυνάμεως. Τοῦτο τελείως φησίν ὁ ἅγιος Διονύσιος, ἑαυτόν","english":"For just as if someone were to shout loudly and cry out and say something, those standing nearby, if their hearing is strong, hear both the shout and what is said, while those standing a little farther away hear the utterance more faintly in proportion to their distance, and those separated by a greater interval receive only a very small and very dim portion of the echo, so as to hear some indistinct sound but not to understand what was uttered—by so much is one to suppose the light of the sun to differ from the true light, that the distance between them is incomparable. But also regarding generation: Do not think that the sun is the cause of generation or life or growth or perfection for any of the things that exist, just as neither is any other element, even if it happens to be very much among the necessities, such as water; for it is possible for us to survive even without the sun and without water, if not perfectly, yet for a sufficient time. But God, knowing that all cold is entirely barren, while heat in due measure produces generation, and that plants and seeds need warmth, as also do all bodies that have life, whether perceptive or vegetative, and that many things are purified, so as even to be brought to whiteness, as garments and other things, and that seeds that have been chilled are also renewed—for this reason He made the sun to have such a nature, in order that it might do all the things mentioned, having received the ability from the Creator, not from its own choice or power. This the holy Dionysius says perfectly, [having] himself","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":61,"ref":"p61","source":"ὥσπερ ἐπεξηγούμενος κατωτέρω ἐν τῷ τέλει τοῦ πέμπτου κεφαλαίου καί ἐν τῷ τέλει τοῦ ἕκτου. Νόει οὖν ἀσφαλῶς, καί μή διαστρέφου. Μέτρον ἐστί: Μέτρον διά τοῦτο λέγεται ὁ ἥλιος καί ἀριθμός ὡρῶν, ἐπειδή τῆς ἡμέρας ἄρχει· ἡ δέ ἡμέρα ἀνακυκλουμένη τόν χρόνον ποιεῖ· διά τοῦτο μέτρον ἐκλήθη, οἷα τήν ἡμετέραν μετρῶν ζωήν· λέγει γάρ παντός τοῦ καθ' ἡμᾶς χρόνου. Αὐτό γάρ ἐστι τό φῶς: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι ὁ ἥλιος καί τάς τρεῖς ἡμέρας τάς πρό τῆς αὐτοῦ ποιήσεως ἐφώτιζεν ἀσχηματιστος ὤν· καί ὅτι τό πρωτόκτιστον φῶς τῇ τετάρτῃ ἡμέρᾳ μετεσχηματίσθη εἰς ἥλιον, καί ὅτι ἡμερῶν τριάδα φησίν, ὡς καί ὁ μέγας Βασίλειος ἐν τῇ Ἑξαημέρῳ σαφῶς φησιν ἐκεῖνο δέ μή παραδράμῃς, ὅτι τά προειρημένα οὐ περί τοῦ ἡλίου, ἀλλά περί τοῦ σχηματισθέντος εἰς ἥλιον πρωτοκτίστου φωτός ἐρρήθη.\n\nὩς ἐναρχική. Τουτέστιν ἀρχή καί αἰτία τῆς πρό τό ὄντως ἑνώσεως ἤ ὁμοιώσεως.\n\nΚαί οὗ ἐφίεται πάντα. Ὅρα πῶς διαιρεῖ τό ὄντα πάντα, καί περί τόν πάντων ὄντα βασιλέα, οὗ καί τά ὄντα ἐφίεται πάντα. Φησίν οὖν πρῶτον νοερά, εἶτα λογικά. Νοερά οὖν εἰσι τά μή μεμιγμένα σώμασιν, οἷον αἱ ὑπερκόσμιοι δυνάμεις πᾶσαι· λογικά δέ αἱ ἀνθρώπιναι ψυχαί, αἱ τήν σχέσιν ἔχουσαι πρός τό σῶμα, καθώς ἐστιν ὁ αἰσθητός ἄνθρωπος· εἰ γάρ ὁ ἔσω ἄνθρωπος μόνον ἐνεργεῖ, κατά τόν Ἀπόστολον, τουτέστιν ἡ ψυχή, μή τήν πᾶσαν (≡14 _114≡ ἔχουσα σχέσιν πρός σῶμα, τότε νοερός ὁ ἄνθρωπος, οὐ μήν λογικῶς καλοῖτο ἄν, κατά τό πᾶν ζῶον τό ἐκ σώματος καί λογικῆς ψυχῆς συνεστώς.","english":"Just as he explains further on at the end of the fifth chapter and at the end of the sixth. Understand then safely, and do not distort. There is a measure: for this reason the sun is called a measure and a number of hours, because it rules the day; and the day, as it revolves, makes time; for this reason it was called a measure, as measuring our life; for he speaks of all the time that is ours. For it is itself the light: Note that the sun also illuminated the three days before its making, being without form; and that the first-created light was transformed on the fourth day into the sun, and that he speaks of a triad of days, as also the great Basil clearly says in the Hexaemeron. And do not pass over this, that the things said before were spoken not about the sun, but about the first-created light that was formed into the sun.\n\nAs a beginning. That is, the beginning and cause of the union or likeness before the truly existing one.\n\nAnd to whom all things aspire. See how he divides all things that exist, and [speaks] of the King of all who exist, to whom all things that exist also aspire. He says then first intelligible, then rational. Intelligible therefore are those not mingled with bodies, such as all the supercosmic powers; rational, on the other hand, are human souls, which have a relation to the body, just as is the perceptible man; for if the inner man alone is active, according to the Apostle, that is, the soul, not having the whole relation to the body, then the man is intelligible, but he would not be called rational, according to the whole living being composed of body and rational soul.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":62,"ref":"p62","source":"Γνωστικῶς δέ φησι τά νοερά καί λογικά ἐξίεσθαι τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὡς φύσει προσούσης αὐτοῖς τῆς ὀρέξεως ταύτης, τοῦ γνῶναι τόν τῶν πάντων βασιλέα, καί μετέχειν τῆς ἀγαθότητος αὐτοῦ, διά τό εἶναι τήν ψυχήν γνωστικήν καί λογικήν, καλῶς λέγεται καί ἡ ἔφεσις τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ. Τά δέ ἄλογα ζῶα κατ' αὐτήν τήν αἰσθητικήν δύναμιν ζωῆς ἐφίεται· διό καί τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ· τά δέ ἀναίσθητα, οἷον τά φυτά καί τά ἄψυχα καί ἄζωα, ἐφίεται μέν φυσικῶς τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, οὐ μήν ἵνα καί γνῷ αὐτό, ἀλλ’ ἵνα μείνη, ὅπερ ἐστί μόνον τῇ φυσικῇ ἐφέσει συνεχόμενα παρά τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ εἰς τό εἶναι αὐτά.\n\nΠάντα ἀολλῇ ποιεῖ: Ἀολλῆ, συνηθροισμένα. Ὅτι ὁ ἥλιος λέγεται παρά τό ἀολλῇ ποιεῖν καί συνάγειν τά διεσκεδασμένα, καί ὅτι ἀναιρεῖ τό εἶναι Θεόν τόν ἥλιον, εἰ καί πολλά εἴπομεν τῆς εὐχερῶς διαστρεφομένης δοκοῦντα ἐναντία εἶναι. Κατά τόν τῆς παλαιότητος: Κατά τόν τῆς παλαιότητος λόγον, ἤ ὅτι Ἕλληνες ὑπῆρχον, θεῖος Διονύσιος καί ὁ θεῖος Τιμόθεος, ὡς ἐν ταῖς Πράξεσι τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων δηλοῦται· ἤ τόν μωρόν [τόν] τῶν Ἑλλήνων λόγον φησί· παλαιόν γάρ καί ἀρχαῖον τόν ἥλιον ἔλεγον, ὡς ἐν τῇ κωμωδίᾳ εἴρηται. § 5. Ἀνακαθαίρειν: Εἴρηται γάρ· «προσέλθετε πρός αὐτόν, καί φωτίσθητε, καί τά πρόσωπα ὑμῶν οὐ μή καταισχυνθῇ».","english":"He says that intellectual and rational beings are said to go forth to God in a gnostic sense, since this desire belongs to them by nature—to know the King of all things and to partake of his goodness—because the soul is gnostic and rational; and the longing for the good is rightly spoken of. Irrational animals, by the very sensitive power of life, desire life; and therefore also the good. Insensate things, such as plants and inanimate and lifeless things, desire the good by nature, not indeed that they may know it, but that they may remain, which is only by being held together by natural desire from the good unto their being.\n\nHe makes all things together: \"Together\" means gathered into one. For the sun is called this from making all things together and gathering what has been scattered, and because it does away with the sun being God, even if we have said many things that seem to be contrary to what is easily distorted. According to the account of antiquity: According to the account of antiquity, either because Dionysius the divine and Timothy the divine were Greeks, as is shown in the Acts of the holy apostles; or he means the foolish account of the Greeks; for they called the sun ancient and primeval, as is said in the comedy. § 5. To cleanse: For it is said, \"Draw near to him, and be enlightened, and your faces shall not be put to shame.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[{"kind":"lacuna","severity":"caution","text":"The source is fragmentary here: the edition marks a break or an editorial bracket, and the English carries across it. Treat the bridge as supplied, not translated."}]},{"i":63,"ref":"p63","source":"Ὅτι ἠγάπησαν πολύ: Τῷ γάρ ἀγαπῶντι πολύ καί πολύ δοθήσεται, τῷ δέ ἔλαττον, πρός τό μέτρον τῆς ἀγάπης· ὅπερ λέγει ἄνω, ὅτι τάξις καί μέτρον ἡμῶν ἐστιν ὁ Θεός.\n\n(≡14 _116≡ § 6. Καί ὑπερκόσμιον: Τό ὑπερκόσμιον εἰρῆσθαι νοῦν, ὥς τινων μέν ὑπέρ τούς πάντας κόσμους ὄντων νοῶν ἁγίων ἀνωτάτω, τάξεων ἀγγελικῶν, τινῶν δέ ἐπικοσμίων, τουτέστι τῶν ἐπί τῇ λειτουργίᾳ τῶν κόσμων, εἰς διοίκησιν αὐτῶν τεταγμένων, τῶν παρά τισι καί κοσμαγωγῶν λεγομένων. Τινῶν δέ ἐγκοσμίων νοῶν ὄντων, ἀνθρώπων τε καί ἀγγέλων, ἐθναρχῶν τε καί πολιούχων· καί ἐπί τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν καί τῶν ἁγίων, ὡς ἐν τῇ Ἀποκαλύψει φησίν ὁ θεῖος Ἰωάννης, καί ἐπί τῶν ἑτέρων κοσμικῶν διατάξεων· καί ὁ ψαλμῳδός δέ φησι· «παρεμβαλεῖ ἄγγελος Κυρίου»· ὑπερκόσμιός ἐστιν ὁ πνευματικός, περικόσμιος ὁ\n\nψυχικός, ἐγκόσμιος ὁ σαρκικός. Ἄλλως ὑπερκόσμιός ἐστιν ὁ καί τήν θεολογίαν κατορθώσας, περικόσμιος ὁ τήν φυσικήν θεωρίαν, ἐγκόσμιος ὁ τήν πρακτικήν ἀρετήν.\n\nΠάντα συνάγουσα: Ὁμοῦ πάντα ποιοῦσα, καί θάλπουσα, καί αὔξουσα, καί μεταποιοῦσα.","english":"Because they loved much: For to the one who loves much, much will also be given; but to the one who loves less, it will be given according to the measure of his love. This is what he says above, that God is our order and measure.\n\nAnd supersensible: The mind is said to be supersensible, since some minds are holy and beyond all the worlds, highest of the angelic orders; others are around the world, that is, appointed to the service of the worlds, for their administration, called by some also world-guides. And some minds are within the world, both of humans and of angels, and of ethnic rulers and city guardians; and over the churches and the saints, as the divine John says in the Revelation, and over other worldly arrangements; and the psalmist also says, \"The angel of the Lord will encamp\"; the spiritual person is supersensible, the soulful person is around the world, the fleshly person is within the world. Otherwise, the one who has also accomplished theology is supersensible, the one who has natural contemplation is around the world, the one who has practical virtue is within the world.\n\nGathering all things: Doing all things together, and warming, and increasing, and transforming.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":64,"ref":"p64","source":"Διαιρετική: Διαιρεῖ γάρ ἀπό τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡ ἄγνοια, ὡς μᾶλλον τό φῶς συνάγει, καί ἀολλῆ ποιεῖ, ὡς ἔφη ἄνω.\n\nΔοξασμάτων: Τῶν εἰδώλων καί τῆς αὐτῶν πολυθεΐας. Φαντασίας: Φαντασίας φησί τάς πλασματώδεις ἐννοίας περί αἰσθητά, ἤ ὡς αἰσθητά.\n\n§ 7. Καί ὡς καλόν: Καλός μέν εἴρηται ὁ Θεός καί ἐν τῷ Ἄσματι τῶν ἀσμάτων, ὥσπερ οὖν καί κάλλος λέγεται· καί ὁ Δαυίδ· «ὡραῖος κάλλει παρά τούς υἱούς τῶν ἀνθρώπων». Λέγεται δέ καλόν καί τό κάλλους μετέχον. Καί σημείωσαι, πῶς διαιρεῖται τό καλόν καί τό κάλλος ἐπί τῶν ὄντων, εἰς μετέχοντα καί μετεχόμενα, ἐπί δέ τοῦ Θεοῦ, οὐχ οὕτω· κάλλος μέν γάρ λέγεται (≡14 _118≡ διά τήν ἐξ αὐτοῦ διαδεδομένην πᾶσι καλλονήν, καί ὅτι πάντα πρός ἑαυτοῦ καλεῖ· καλόν δέ, ὡς ἀεί ὄν καί μηδέποτε μειούμενον ἤ αὖξον.\n\nΜεθ' ἑαυτοῦ μονοειδές: Μονοειδές καλόν ἐστιν ὁ Θεός, ἐπεί μήτε σκεδάννυται εἰς ἕξεις καί διαφοράς καλλοποιούς, μήτε πρός ἐνίους μέν τό καλόν κέκτηται, πρός ἐνίους δέ οὔ, ἀλλ' ἀτρέπτως αὐτό τό καλόν ἀνάρχως καί ἀπολύτως, ἀνεπιτηδεύτως καί ὥσαύτως ἀεί ἐστι· καί διά τοῦτο προέχειν ἐν ἑαυτῷ λέγεται τήν καλλονήν, ὡς καί πρό τῶν δημιουργημάτων πηγή, καί ἀρχή, καί αἴτιον ὤν τοῦ καλοῦ· ὅθεν καί ὑπεροχικῶς ἔχει τό καλόν· κἄν γάρ πολλά καλά, ἀλλ’ ἐξ αὐτοῦ εἰσι καλά, καί οὐδέ κατ' αὐτόν καλά· πόθεν ὅ γε ἀναιτίως καλόν, αὐτά δέ αἰτιατῶς καί κατά μετοχήν· ἑνοειδῶς γάρ ἐστι καλόν ὁ Θεός, ἐπεί ἐξ αὐτοῦ τά μετ' αὐτόν καλά, καί ὡς ἐν ποιότητι κεκτημένα τό καλόν.","english":"Divisive: For ignorance divides from God, as light rather gathers together and makes into one body, as he said above.\n\nOf glories: Of the idols and their polytheism. Of fantasies: He calls fantasies the plastic-formed conceptions about perceptible things, or as perceptible things.\n\n§ 7. And as beautiful: God is called beautiful also in the Song of Songs, just as He is also called beauty; and David: \"fair in beauty beyond the sons of men.\" But that which partakes of beauty is also called beautiful. And note how beautiful and beauty are divided among beings, into the partaking and the partaken, but in the case of God, not so; for He is called beauty because of the comeliness spread abroad from Him to all, and because He calls all things to Himself; and beautiful, as always being and never diminished or increased.\n\nWith Himself single-formed: God is a single-formed beauty, since He is neither scattered into habits and differences that produce beauty, nor does He possess the beautiful in relation to some and not in relation to others, but He is unchangeably the beautiful itself, without beginning and absolutely, without effort and always in the same way; and for this reason He is said to have comeliness pre-eminently in Himself, as being before the created things the source and beginning and cause of the beautiful; whence He possesses the beautiful in a transcendent way; for even if there are many beautiful things, they are beautiful from Him, and are not beautiful according to Him; whence He is beautiful without cause, while they are beautiful by cause and by participation; for God is beautiful in a unified way, since the beautiful things after Him are from Him, and as possessing the beautiful in a quality.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":65,"ref":"p65","source":"Ἐκ τοῦ καλοῦ τούτου: Τό, «ἰδού πάντα καλά λίαν», καί τό κατά τόν Ζαχαρίαν, «πᾶν εἴ τι καλόν αὐτοῦ» ἐκεῖθεν ἐκ τοῦ ἀναιτίου καλοῦ γέγονε· διά γάρ τό καλόν αἱ τῶν στοιχείων γεγόνασιν ἀλληλουχίαι, ἅς ἐφαρμογάς φησι· καί αἱ τῶν ὄντων εὔτακτοι συνδέσεις διαρκοῦσι, λεγόμεναι φιλίαι καί κοινωνίαι πάντων ἐναρέτων λογικῶν, αἱ πρός Θεόν που διανοήσεις, ὡς ἡ τῶν πρωτοτόκων Ἐκκλησία ἐν οὐρανῷ καί ἐπί γῆς· ἐπί δέ τῶν ἀλόγων αἱ ἀγελαῖαι συνδιαγωγαί, ἐπί δέ τῶν ἀψύχων αἱ πρός ἄλληλα ἑκτικαί συμπάθειαι. Πάντα οὖν ἥνωται τῷ καλῷ τῇ μεθέξει πρός τόν αἴτιον ἐπεστραμμένα.\n\nΚαί πέρας πάντων: Πέρας πάντων λέγεται ὁ Θεός, καί ὡς συνέχων πάντα, καί ὡς πάντων εἰς ἀσφάλειαν περιδεδραγμένος, καί ὡς αὐτοῦ γε ἕνεκα πάντων εἰς τό εἶναι παραχθέντων καί ἑτέρου τινός εἰς τό τετελέσθαι οὐ δεομένων· ὅθεν ὡς ἀρχή πάντων, ἅτε αἴτιος, λέγεται, οὕτω καί μέσον, ὡς τήν εἰς τό συνεστάναι (≡14 _120≡ παράτασιν διδούς, καί τελευτή, ὡς, ἐν τῷ θελήματι αὐτοῦ περατουμένων τῶν ὄντων, ἐφ' ὄν καί ἐπέστραπται, καθό καί τελικόν αὐτόν φησιν, ὡς ἀρχήν ὄντα καί τέλος, κατά τόν θεῖον Ἰωάννην ἐν Ἀποκαλύψει, καί παραδειγματικόν, ὡς πάντων τῶν ἐσομένων τούς προορισμούς ἐν ἑαυτῷ προειληφότα, καί πρίν ἤ προαγαγεῖν, ὥς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, «οὕς καί προώρισε», καί τά ἑξῆς· ταῦτα γάρ ὁ ἅγιος Διονύσιος παραδείγματα ἐνόησε, τό προωρίσθαι ἐν ἑαυτῷ προγνωστικῶς τά ἐσόμενα, καί πρίν παραχθῆ, τουτέστι πρίν ἀφορισθῇ καί διακριθῇ διά τῆς περιεχούσης τά πάντα ἑνιαίας προγνώσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ταῦτα εὑρήσεις καί ἐν τῷ ἑξῆς πέμπτῳ κεφαλαίῳ.","english":"From this good: The phrase \"behold, all things were very good,\" and that according to Zechariah, \"every good thing of his,\" have come from there, from the unblameable good; for because of the good, the interlinkings of the elements have come to be, which he calls adaptations; and the well-ordered connections of beings endure, called friendships and communions of all virtuous rational beings, the thoughts directed toward God, as the Church of the firstborn in heaven and on earth; and among irrational beings, the herd-like associations; and among inanimate things, the habitual sympathies toward one another. All things, then, are united to the good, having been turned by participation toward the cause.\n\nAnd the end of all things: God is called the end of all things, both as containing all things, and as having grasped all things for security, and as having brought all things into being for his own sake and not needing anything else for their completion; whence, as he is called the beginning of all things, inasmuch as he is the cause, so also the middle, as giving the extension into their constitution, and the end, as, in his will, the beings are brought to their limit, toward which they have also been turned, inasmuch as he calls it the final cause, being the beginning and the end, according to the divine John in the Apocalypse, and exemplary, as having beforehand taken up in himself the predeterminations of all things that will be, and before bringing them forth, as the Apostle says, \"whom he also predestined,\" and the rest; for the holy Dionysius understood these as paradigms, that the things that will be are foreknown in him beforehand, and before they are brought forth, that is, before they are separated and distinguished through the all-containing unitary foreknowledge of God. You will find these things also in the fifth chapter that follows.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":66,"ref":"p66","source":"Σημείωσαι δέ, ὅτι ταὐτόν εἶναί φησιν τῷ ἀγαθῷ τό καλόν.\n\nὍτι καί τό μή ὄν: Πῶς δύναται τό μή ὄν μετέχειν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ; Εἰ γάρ μή ὕπεστιν αὐτό, οὔτε ἔφεσιν ἔχει, οὔτε μετοχήν πρός τι τῶν ὄντων. Λεκτέον οὖν ὅτι τό μή ὄν διαφόρως νοεῖ ὁ θεῖος οὗτος ἀνήρ· ποτέ μέν γάρ αὐτό τό Θεῖον οὕτω καλεῖ, ὡς μηδέν ὄν τῶν ὄντων, ποτέ δέ τήν ὕλην, ἔτι δέ ὅτε καί τό κακόν οὕτω καλεῖ κατά διαφόρως ἐννοίας. Ἔστιν οὖν εἰπεῖν ὅτι ἡ ὕλη μετέχει τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, καθό μετεβλήθη εἰς εἶδος καί ἀπηλλάγη τῆς πρῴην ἀμορφίας· ἤ ὅτι τό κακόν μετέχει τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, καθό προαιρέσει καλῇ καί αὐτό τό δοκοῦν θέλει κακόν εἶναι, καί ὅτι ἀεί βούλεται εἶναι τό κακόν· πᾶν δέ τοῦ εἶναι ἐφιέμενον, τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἐφίεται. Ἄνω δέ πρό δύο φύλλων, τόν Θεόν φησι καί ὑπέρ τά ὄντα εἶναι· οὐκοῦν καλῶς ἄν εἴποι τις τόν Θεόν ὑπέρ τά ὄντα εἶναι, καί τό μή ὄν μετέχειν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, ὡς καί ὑπέρ τά (≡14 _122≡ ὄντα ὄντος, καί μηδέν ὄντος τῶν ὄντων. Σημείωσαι ἀναγκαῖον, πῶς φησι, τό μή ὄν εὑρίσκεται καλόν καί ἀγαθόν, ὅτε περί Θεοῦ λέγεται· ὁ γάρ Θεός καί ὄν λέγεται, καί μή ὄν, ὡς οὐδέν ὤν τῶν ὄντων, ἀλλ’ ὑπερηρμένος ἀγνώστως τῶν ἁπάντων· οὐ γάρ ἐστί τι τό γινῶσκον κατά τί οὐδέν ἐστιν ὁ Θεός. Αἱ οὐσιώδεις ὑπάρξεις: Καλῶς τό οὐσιώδεις. Ὑπάρξεις καθ' ἑαυτάς ἀνώτεραι τῶν οὐσιῶν εἰσι, νῦν δέ, ἐπειδή περί τῶν κτιστῶν φησιν, εἰκότως τῷ 'ὑπάρξεις' προσέθηκε τό 'οὐσιώδεις'.","english":"Note that he says the beautiful is the same as the good.\n\nThat even non-being: How can non-being partake of the good? For if it does not subsist, it has neither desire nor participation in any of the things that are. It must be said, then, that this divine man understands non-being in different ways; for sometimes he calls the Deity itself this, as being nothing of the things that are, and sometimes matter, and sometimes he also calls evil this, according to different conceptions. It is possible to say, then, that matter partakes of the good insofar as it was changed into form and was released from its former shapelessness; or that evil partakes of the good insofar as by a good choice even that which seems to be evil wishes to be, and because evil always wishes to be; and everything that desires to be desires the good. Two leaves above, he says that God is also beyond the things that are; therefore one might well say that God is beyond the things that are, and that non-being partakes of the good, as being also beyond the things that are, and being nothing of the things that are. Note this necessary point, how he says that non-being is found to be beautiful and good when it is said of God; for God is called both being and non-being, as being nothing of the things that are, but transcendently and unknowably exalted above all things; for there is not anything that knows what God is in any respect. Essential subsistences: Well does he say essential. Subsistences in themselves are higher than essences, but now, since he is speaking of created things, he fittingly added essential to subsistences.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":67,"ref":"p67","source":"Ἑνώσεις δέ λέγονται, οὐχ ὅτι συνέκειντο σωρηδόν ἕν τι ἀποτελοῦντα, ἀλλ’ ὅτι πηγή αὐτῶν καί ἀρχή ἦν ὁ Θεός, καί ἐξ αὐτοῦ παρήχθησαν ἐλλάμψαντα καί ὑποστάντα καθ' ὑπόβασιν ἅπαντα τά ὄντα ὡς καί εἰς διακρίσεις ὑποστάσεων φηνῆναι. Ταὐτότητες δέ εἰσιν αἱ ἀναγωγοί καί ἑνωτικαί πρός Θεόν δυνάμεις τῶν νοητῶν, ὡς καί ὁμοιότητες, ἐπειδή καί ἐξ αὐτοῦ εἰσι καί προσεχεῖς αὐτῷ. Ἑτερότητες δέ καθό καταγωγός οὖσα ἡ ἑτερότης καί μεριστή, ἐν ταῖς ὑποβεβηκυίαις καί ἐσχάταις προόδοις τοῦ θείου θελήματος εἰς ὁρατά ἐπληθύνθη. Ἀνομοιότητες δέ πάλιν, ἐπειδή τό γινόμενον ἕτερον ἄν εἰη τοῦ δημιουργήσαντος κατά πάντα, καί οὐκ ἐμφερές. Κοινωνίαι δέ τῶν ἐναντίων αἱ τῶν στοιχείων εἰσί κράσεις· ἐκ γάρ τῶν τεσσάρων στοιχείων εἰσί τά σώματα πάντα. Ἀλληλουχίαι δέ τῶν ὁμοστοίχων εἰσίν αἱ τῶν κόσμων, τοῦ τε ὁρατοῦ καί τοῦ νοητοῦ, καθ' ὑπόβασιν κατατάξεις, ἐκ μιᾶς οὐσίας τῆς ὕλης εἰς σώματα πληθυνθεῖσαι στερεωμάτων, καί οἱονεί σειρά, ἀλλήλων ἐχόμεναι· ἐκ τούτων νοήσεις καί τά ἑξῆς. Ἀσυμμιξίαι δέ τῶν ἡνωμένων εἰσίν, ὡς ἐπί τῆς τοῦ ἀνθρωπείου γένους κοινότητος, καί τῆς καθ' ἕκαστον ἄνθρωπον ἰδιότητος· τῷ μέν γάρ κοινῷ τῆς οὐσίας λόγῳ πάντες ἡνώμεθᾳ, τῇ δέ καθ' ἕκαστον ἰδιότητι, τό ἀσύμμικτον ἔχομεν. (≡14 _124≡ Αἱ στάσεις πᾶσαι: Στάσεις καί κινήσεις λέγει τρεῖς, ἄς καί καταλέγει, νοῶν καί ψυχῶν, καί σωμάτων· δεῖ τοίνυν· προσφόρως νοεῖν. Οἱ μέν οὖν νόες ἵστανται καί κινοῦνται, ὡς Ἠσαΐας φησί καί Ἰεζεκιήλ περί τῶν σεραφίμ καί χερουβίμ· ἐπειδή αὐτοί εἰσιν οἱ ἀναβαίνοντες καί καταβαίνοντες, ὥς φησι Μωϋσῆς·","english":"They are called unions, not because they were combined in a heap to produce some one thing, but because God was their source and principle, and from him all existing things were brought forth, illumined and subsisting by degrees, so as even to appear in distinctions of hypostases. Identities are the upward-leading and unifying powers of intelligible things toward God, as also likenesses, since they are from him and near to him. Othernesses, insofar as otherness is downward-leading and divisible, were multiplied into visible things in the lower and last processions of the divine will. Dissimilarities again, because what is generated would be other than its maker in all respects, and not similar. Communions of opposites are the blendings of the elements; for all bodies are from the four elements. Successions are the arrangements of the worlds of the same rank, both the visible and the intelligible, by degrees, multiplied from one substance of matter into the solid bodies of the firmaments, and, as it were, a chain, holding to one another; from these come understandings and the things that follow. Unmixings are of things united, as in the community of the human race and the particularity of each individual human; for by the common principle of substance we are all united, but by the particularity of each we have the unmixed. (≡14 _124≡ All the states: He speaks of three states and motions, which he also enumerates, of minds, souls, and bodies; one must therefore understand them appropriately. The minds, then, stand and are moved, as Isaiah says and Ezekiel concerning the seraphim and cherubim; since these are they who ascend and descend, as Moses says;)","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":68,"ref":"p68","source":"τό μέν γάρ ἐπεστράφθαι ἀλήκτως ἐπί τόν Θεόν καί ἱδρῦσθαι ἐν τῇ πρός αὐτόν ἀνατάσει, κἄν ἀποστέλλοιντο καί καταβαίνοιεν ἐπί τά ὑποβεβηκότα, προνοίας χάριν τῶν ὠφεληθησομένων, τοῦτό ἐστι τό ἑστάναι βεβαίως ἐν τῇ πρός Θεόν ἐγγίσει, καί κινεῖσθαι εἰς τάς περί τούς εὐεργετουμένους διακονίας· κινοῦνται δέ ἐν τῷ νοεῖν τά ὑπερβεβηκότα, καί ἑστᾶσιν ἐν τῷ νοεῖσθαι παρά τῶν καταδεεστέρων, ὡς νοητά, μένοντα ἐν τῇ οἰκείᾳ ταυτότητι· φρουραί γάρ εἰσι ἑαυτῶν καί μοναί, καί εἰς ἑαυτά οἰκειοῦνται, καί ἐφ' ἑαυτά συνεστραμμένα, καί ἀσκέδαστα ἐπί τά ἀλλότρια τῆς θεοσεβείας. Καί γοῦν πάντα τά καταδεέστερα ἐπέστραπται ἐπί τά ὑπερβεβηκότα. Αἱ δέ κινήσεις τῶν νοῶν καί ψυχῶν τροχοειδεῖς εἰσι καί κυκλικαί, ὡς καί Ἰεζεκιήλ φησιν, ἐπείπερ ἐξ ἑαυτῶν προΐασι, καί εἰς ἑαυτά ἐπαναστρέφουσιν ἀνεξόδευτα ἑαυτῶν. Καί ταῦτα μέν ἐπί τῶν ἀσωμάτων· στάσις δέ καί κίνησις ἐπί τῶν σωμάτων νοηθήσεται, μενούσης μέν τῆς\n\nὕλης ἐν ὑποκειμένῳ, κινουμένης δέ εἰς τάς τῶν γινομένων ἐξ αὐτῆς τροπάς καί μεταλλαγάς σωμάτων ἐμψύχων τε καί ἀψύχων.","english":"For to be turned unceasingly toward God and to be established in the upward stretching toward him—even if they are sent forth and descend to the things that lie below, for the sake of providence toward those who will be benefited—this is to stand firmly in nearness to God, and to be moved into ministries on behalf of those who are benefited. And they are moved in understanding the things that surpass them, and they stand in being understood by the things that are inferior, as intelligible realities, remaining in their own identity; for they are guards and abodes of themselves, and they are appropriated to themselves, and are turned back upon themselves, and are undispersed toward the things alien to piety. And indeed all things inferior are turned toward the things that surpass them. The movements of intellects and souls are wheel-like and circular, as Ezekiel also says, since they proceed from themselves and return to themselves, never going out of themselves. And these things apply to incorporeal beings; but rest and motion will be understood of bodies, with matter remaining in the substrate, while it is moved into the turnings and changes of the bodies that come to be from it, both ensouled and soulless.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":69,"ref":"p69","source":"Κυκλικῶς μέν: Σημείωσαι, πῶς κινοῦνται τά οὐράνια κυκλικῶς, καί κατ' εὐθεῖαν καί ἑλικοειδῶς, καί πῶς νοεῖται ψυχῆς ἑλικοειδής κίνησις. Οἱ θεῖοι νόες κινοῦνται.\n\nἤ κυκλικῶς, ἤ κατ'εὐθεῖαν, ἤ ἑλικοειδῶς.\n\nΨυχῆς δέ κίνησις: Ἐπειδή καί, ὡς ἄνω προεγράψαμεν, νοερά μέν εἰσι τά νοοῦντα, νοητά δέ τά νοούμενα, τροφή δέ τῶν νοερῶν τά νοητά, εἰκότως οὖν ἐπί ψυχῆς νοερᾶς φησι δυνάμεις (≡14 _126≡ αὐτῆς, ὡς μόνον νοούσης τά ὑπερβεβηκότα· αὕτη γάρ ὑπ ' οὐδενός νοεῖται, καί πάντων τῶν νοητῶν ἐσχάτη ἐστί. Δυνάμεις δέ εἰσι ψυχῆς αἱ πρός τάς αἰσθήσεις ἐπιτηδειότητες. Ἑλικοειδῶς; Ὁρᾷς ἐντεῦθεν, πόση διαφορά ψυχῆς πρός τά νοητά· τά μέν γάρ νοερῶς καί ἑνιαίως, τουτέστι κατά ἀθρόαν ἐπιβολήν, νοεῖ τάς ὑπερκειμένας θείας ἐλλάμψεις, κατά τό αὐτῶν μέτρον ἀποκαλυπτομένας, ἡ δέ ψυχή λογικῶς καί διεξοδικῶς, τουτέστιν εἰς μερικά μεριζομένη, καί ἐκ μετοχῆς διδασκομένη· ὁ γάρ νοῦς, εἰς λογισμούς κατιών, οἱονεί μερίζεται καί δέεται τοῦ διά πλειόνων παραδειγμάτων διεξοδεύοντος λόγου πρός παράτασιν τοῦ νοουμένου, τό ὑπεραναβεβηκός. Συμμίκτως οὖν ἐνεργεῖ ἡ ψυχή καί μεταβατικῶς, ὅτε καί νοεῖ· τοῦτο γάρ οἰκεῖον ψυχῆς, καί ὅτε ἔξωθεν ἐπί τά ὑψηλότερα χειραγωγεῖται· ἐκ γάρ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων ἀναβαίνει.","english":"Circularly: Note how the heavenly bodies move circularly, and in a straight line, and in a spiral, and how the spiral motion of the soul is understood. The divine intellects move\n\neither circularly, or in a straight line, or in a spiral.\n\nThe motion of the soul: Since, as we wrote above, the things that think are intellectual and the things that are thought are intelligible, and the intelligible things are food for the intellectual, reasonably then he speaks of the powers of the intellectual soul (≡14 _126≡), as though it alone thinks the things that transcend it; for this is thought by nothing, and is the last of all intelligible things. And the powers of the soul are the aptitudes toward the senses. Spiral-wise? Do you see from this how great is the difference of the soul from the intelligible things? For the former thinks the divine illuminations that lie above it intellectually and in a unified way, that is, by a single concentrated grasp, being revealed according to their own measure, while the soul does so rationally and discursively, that is, being divided into particulars and taught by participation; for the intellect, descending into reasonings, is as it were divided and needs the reason that goes through many examples for the extension of what is thought, that which transcends all. The soul therefore operates in a mixed and transitional manner, when it also thinks; for this is proper to the soul, and when it is led by the hand from outside toward higher things; for it ascends from things that are alien.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":70,"ref":"p70","source":"Αἱ ψυχαί αἱ λογικαί κινοῦνται ἤ κυκλικῶς, ἤ ἑλικοειδῶς, ἤ κατ' εὐθεῖαν.\n\nΤούτων οὖν καί τῶν αἰσθητῶν: Ὅρα, ὅτι καί τῶν αἰσθητῶν τρεῖς φησιν εἶναι τάς κινήσεις· τήν κυκλοειδῆ καί τήν ἑλικοειδῆ καί τήν κατ' εὐθεῖαν· προαγόμεθα δέ ταύτας νοεῖν ἐκ τῶν περί ψυχῆς εἰρημένων· κυκλικήν μέν αὐτήν, ὅταν τά αἰσθητά αὐτά κατά τάς οἰκείας δυνάμεις καί ποιότητας ἐνεργῇ, οἷον πῦρ θερμαῖνον, καί ὕδωρ ψῦχον, καί τά ἑξῆς ὁμοίως· ἑλικοειδῶς δέ, ὅταν μεταβατικῶς ἐνεργῇ, οἷον ἐξ ὑδάτων ἰχθύες καί πετεινά καί ἡ ράβδος Μωϋσέως εἰς ὄφιν καί τά τοιαῦτα· κατ' εὐθεῖαν δέ, ὅταν αὖθις εἰς τάς οἰκείας ἀνατρέχῃ, οἷον ὅταν μετά διάλυσιν τῶν γινομένων πάλιν εἰς τά στοιχεῖα τά φθειρόμενα ἀναλύηται.\n\nΚαί κίνησιν: Κίνησιν ἄν τις προαχθείη νοῆσαι τῶν αἰσθητῶν (≡14 _128≡ τήν ἀλλοίωσιν καί τήν φθοράν· ἐξ οὗ γάρ ἡ στάσις, τούτων σημαίνει τήν γένεσιν, πρόδηλον ὡς ἡ κίνησις τό ἐναντίον ἐμφαίνει· σημείωσαι οὖν, ὅτι καί τά ἀλλοιούμενα καί τά φθειρόμενα ἐξ αὐτοῦ, καί δι' αὐτοῦ, καί εἰς αὐτόν ὁρᾷ. Δι ' οὗ πᾶσα στάσις: Δι ' οὗ ἀγαθόν καί καλόν δηλονότι. Πᾶν ἕν καί πλῆθος. Πῶς νοηθήσεται τό πᾶν ἕν καί πλῆθος; Ὑπόθου τόν πάντα κόσμον φυτόν μέγα, καθ' ὅλα τά μέρη αὐτοῦ τά ἔμψυχα ζῶν τρόπον τινά, οἷον πρέμνα καί στελέχη, καί τῶν μερῶν τά μέρη, οἷον κλάδους, ἀκρέμονάς τε καί φύλλα· εἰ γάρ μοι τούτων ἕκαστον οἷον αὐτοτελές ζῶον ὑπολάβοις, τηροῦν δέ τήν ἐν τῷ ὅλῳ ἕνωσίν τε καί τάξιν, καθ' ἥν αὐτό δε τό δένδρον ζῇ καθ' ἑαυτό, καί μετά τῶν αὐτοῦ μερῶν·","english":"The rational souls move either circularly, or in a spiral, or in a straight line.\n\nOf these, then, and of perceptible things: Note that he says there are three motions also of perceptible things: the circular, the spiral, and the straight; and we are led to understand these from what has been said about the soul: circular, when perceptible things themselves act according to their own powers and qualities, as fire heating and water cooling, and the rest likewise; spiral, when they act transitively, as fish from waters and birds and the rod of Moses into a serpent and the like; straight, when they run back again to their own, as when after the dissolution of things that come to be they are again resolved into the corruptible elements.\n\nAnd motion: One might be led to understand the motion of perceptible things (≡14 _128≡ as alteration and corruption; for from that which is the source of rest, these signify generation, it being evident that motion indicates the opposite; note, then, that both things altered and things corrupted look to him, and through him, and into him. Through whom every rest: Through whom, clearly, good and beautiful. Every one and multitude. How will every one and multitude be understood? Suppose the whole world to be a great plant, living in all its parts that have soul in a certain manner, such as trunks and stems, and the parts of the parts, such as branches, boughs, and leaves; for if you should suppose each of these to be, as it were, a self-complete living being, yet preserving the unity and order in the whole, according to which the tree itself lives by itself, and together with its own parts;","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":71,"ref":"p71","source":"ὡς ἔστι ζῇν, τά μέν νοερά νοερῶς τε καί λογικῶς, τά δέ ἄλογα αἰσθητικῶς, τά δέ ἄψυχα καί ἄπνοα φυτικῶς τε καί ἑκτικῶς, καί ζῶν καθ' ἑαυτό, ὡς ἔφην ἕκαστον ζῇν καί μετά τοῦ ὅλου κινητικῶς τά μέρη μετά τῶν καθολικῶν, γνῶσῃ τοῦ παντός τήν εἰς τό ἕν συμφυΐαν τε καί σύζησιν, καί τήν εἰς τό πλῆθος, ὡς ἑκάστου προσφόρως τε καί ἰδίως ζῶντος, ὡς ἔφημεν. Καί πάλιν εἰ ἐξ ἑνός καί μόνου Θεοῦ τά πάντα, εἰκότως καί ἕν λέγονται διά τήν σύνδεσιν καί ἁρμονιαν, καί πλῆθος διά τήν πολυείδειαν τῶν καθ’ ἕκαστον.\n\nΟἱ ὅροι: Ὅροι εἰσίν οἱ ἑρμηνευτικοί λόγοι τῆς οὐσίας ἑκάστου τῶν πραγμάτων, καί τοῦ γένους, καί τῆς διαφορᾶς, καί τό τί ἐστι δηλοῦντες. Ἀρχή παραδειγματική: Παραδειγματικόν αἴτιον, ἤτοι ἀρχή ἐστιν τοῦ πρός ὅ γίνεται τό γινόμενον· τοῦτο δέ ἐστιν ἤ ἰδέα, ἥτις ἐστί νόησις αὐτοτελής, ἀϊδιος τοῦ ἀϊδίου Θεοῦ, ἤ παράδειγμα αἰώνιον ἐνεστώς τῇ φύσει, πρός ὅ γίνεται τά γινόμενα· ἀσώματοι γάρ αἱ ἰδέαι καί τά παραδείγματα· τελικόν δέ αἴτιον, ἤτοι (≡14 _130≡ ἀρχή ἐστιν, τό οὗ ἔνεκα τό γινόμενον τελειοῦται, ἤ τελικόν αἴτιόν ἐστιν, ὅ ἀχώριστόν ἐστι τοῦ ἀποτελέσματος, ἤ ἐξ οὗ ἐνυπάρχοντος γίνεται τό γινόμενον, ὡς ἡ τῶν ὅλων ὕλη· ὁ δέ Θεός καί ταύτην παρήγαγε· ποιητικόν δέ αἴτιόν ἐστι τό κεχωρισμένον τοῦ ἀποτελέσματος, ὡς ὁ Θεός, καί πᾶς ὑφ' οὗ γίνεται τό γινόμενον. Καί πάντα τά οὐκ ὄντα: Πῶς τά μή ὄντα ἐν τῷ ἀγαθῷ οὕτω νόησον· ἐπειδή αἱ στερήσεις ἐν αὐτῷ εἰσιν ὑπερουσίως· οὔτε γάρ ἄν εἴπομι οὐσίαν τήν στέρησιν, οἷον ἄναρχος, ἄφθαρτος, ἀθάνατος καί ὅσα τοιαῦτά ἐστι·","english":"As it is possible to live—the intelligible beings intelligibly and rationally, the irrational beings perceptibly, and the soulless and breathless things vegetatively and by habit—and each lives by itself, as I said, and the parts move together with the wholes, you will know the whole's unity of nature and coexistence into the one, and its multiplicity, as each lives suitably and peculiarly, as we said. And again, if all things are from one and only God, they are reasonably called both one, because of the connection and harmony, and a multitude, because of the multiformity of each individual.\n\nThe Definitions: Definitions are the interpretive accounts of the essence of each thing, and of the genus, and of the difference, declaring what it is. A paradigmatic principle: A paradigmatic cause, that is, a principle, is that toward which the thing that comes to be comes to be; and this is either the idea, which is a self-complete thought, eternal of the eternal God, or an eternal paradigm existing in nature, toward which the things that come to be come to be; for the ideas and paradigms are incorporeal; and a final cause, that is, a principle, is that for the sake of which the thing that comes to be is completed, or a final cause is that which is inseparable from the result, or that from which, being present within, the thing that comes to be comes to be, as the matter of all things; and God brought this too into being; and an efficient cause is that which is separated from the result, as God, and every [cause] by which the thing that comes to be comes to be. And all things that are not: Understand the things that are not in the Good thus: since privations are in him superessentially; for I would not call the privation an essence, such as unbegun, incorruptible, immortal, and all such things.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":72,"ref":"p72","source":"καί γάρ οὐκ ἔστι ταῦτα ὁ Θεός, ἐπεί καί πρό τούτων ἐστίν· ἐξ αὐτοῦ γάρ ἐγνώσθῃ, τί ἐστι ταῦτα καί γοῦν οὐδέ τί οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ Θεός, γινώσκομεν, ἤ πῶς ἄρρητος καί ἀκατάληπτος· οὐ γάρ ταῦτα ἀρχή αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ’ ἐξ αὐτοῦ. Αὐτός οὖν καί τοῦ μηδενός αἴτιος, πάντων αὐτοῦ ὑστέρων ὄντων, κατά τήν τοῦ εἶναι καί μή εἶναι αἰτίαν· καί γάρ αὐτοῦ τό μηδέν στέρησίς ἐστιν· ἔχει γάρ τό εἶναι διά τό μηδέν εἶναι τῶν ὄντων, καί μή ὤν ἐστι διά τό εἶναι καί ὑπερ εἶναι, πάντα ὡς ποητής, καί μηδέν ὤν, ὡς ὑπερβεβηκώς, μᾶλλον δέ καί ὑπεραναβεβηκώς καί ὑπερούσιος ὤν. Ἀνάγνωθι καί ἐν τῷ προτέρῳ φύλλῳ τήν ἐμήν παραγραφήν περί τοῦ μή ὄντος.\n\nΚαί τά ἥττω τῶν κρειττόνων: Παρέγραψα καί ἄνω τό ὅμοιον ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ κεφαλαίῳ, ὅτι ἀεί τά ὑποβεβηκότα ἐπέστραπται πρός τά ὑπερκείμενα, ὡς ὑπ' ἐκείνων περιεχόμενα καί προνοούμενα· κοινωνικῶς δέ τά ὁμόστοιχα τῶν ὁμοταγῶν, καί ἁπλῶς πάντα ἀλλήλων καί αὑτῶν ἐρᾷ. Ἀλλά καί ὁ Θεός πάντων ἐρᾷ, ἵνα τά πάντα ἀγαθά ποήσῃ.","english":"For these things are not God, since he is even before them; for from him it was known what these things are. And indeed not even what God is not do we know, or how he is ineffable and incomprehensible; for these things are not his beginning, but from him. He himself, then, is the cause even of nothing, since all things are later than he, according to the cause of being and of not being; for nothing is a privation of him. For he has being because nothing is among the things that are, and being not, he is, because he is and is beyond being—all things as maker, and being nothing, as having transcended, or rather having transcended beyond and being supersubstantial. Read also in the previous leaf my note concerning the non-being.\n\nAnd the inferior things of the superior: I have written a similar note above in the first chapter, that always the things that have descended are turned toward the things that are above, as being contained and provided for by them; and in a communal way the things of like order with those of like rank, and simply all things love one another and themselves. But God also loves all things, in order that he may make all things good.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":73,"ref":"p73","source":"Αὐτός γάρ ὁ ἀγαθοεργός: Θαυμαστῶς λέγει, ὅτι ἀγαθός ἔρως, ἐν τῷ ἀγαθῷ προϋπάρχων, οὐκ ἔμεινεν ἄγονος, ἀλλ’ ἔτεκεν ἡμῖν τόν ἀγαθόν ἔρωτα, δι' ὅν τοῦ καλοῦ καί ἀγαθοῦ ἐφιέμεθα· (≡14 _132≡ πρακτικόν γάρ καί γεννητικόν τό Θεῖον κατά τό εἰρημένον, «ὁ Πατήρ μου ἕως ἄρτι ἐργάζεται, κἀγώ ἐργάζομαι». Σημείωσαι δέ ἐντεῦθεν κίνησιν θείαν· ὁ γάρ ἀγαθοεργός ἔρως ἐκίνησε τό Θεῖον εἰς πρόνοιαν, εἰς σύστασιν ἡμῶν, ἵνα καί πρακτικόν ἦ κονούμενον, καί μή μείνῃ ἄγονον· ἐκ τούτου νοήσεις καί τό 'μονάδος μέν κινηθείσης', καί τά ἑξῆς εἰρημένα τῷ Θεολόγῳ Γρηγορίῳ ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ περί Υἱοῦ.\n\nΓεννητικήν ὑπερβολήν: Τουτέστι τήν κτίσιν παρήγαγεν, ὥστε περί αὐτήν τά τῆς ἀγαπητῆς ἐπιδείκνυσθαι κινήσεως.\n\n§ 11. Καί μή τις ἡμᾶς οἰέσθω: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι οὐ δεῖ τά ἀπεμφαίνοντα ὀνόματα λέγειν περί Θεοῦ, εἰ μή γε καί ἐν θείᾳ ἐμφέροιντο Γραφῇ, ὡς καί νῦν περί ἔρωτός φησι, καί ὅτι οὐ χρή προσέχειν λέξεσιν, ἀλλά τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ σκοποῦ· θείως γάρ αὐτά διέξεισι.","english":"For he himself is the doer of good: He says this wondrously, that good love, pre-existing in the good, did not remain barren, but begot for us the good love, through which we strive after the beautiful and good; (≡14 _132≡ for the Divine is practical and generative, according to what was said, \"My Father works until now, and I work.\" And note from this a divine movement; for the love that does good moved the Divine to providence, to our constitution, so that it might be practical when administered, and not remain barren; from this you will understand both the saying \"when the Monad was moved,\" and the things said next by Gregory the Theologian in the first [discourse] on the Son.\n\nA generative excess: That is, he brought forth creation, so that in relation to it the things of the beloved movement might be displayed.\n\n§ 11. And let no one think: Note that one must not speak incongruous names about God, unless indeed they are also contained in the divine Scripture, as even now he speaks concerning love, and that one must not attend to the words but to the force of the aim; for he expounds these things divinely.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":74,"ref":"p74","source":"Δι' ἑτέρων ὁμοδυνάμων: Ὅτι καί διά τῶν ἰσοδυνάμων οὐ κωλυόμεθα ἐκφωνεῖν τάς λέξεις. Σημείωσαι ὡς μητρίδα καί πατρίδα ταὐτό φησιν. Δέον εἰδέναι: Διά τί συλλαβαῖς καί λέξεσι χρώμεθα· σκόπει τήν ἀνάγνωσιν· ὅ θέλει εἰπεῖν, τοῦτό ἐστιν· Ἡνίκα τόν προφορικόν λόγον κινοῦμεν, τοῦτον περί τινος τῶν αἰσθητῶν, τότε λέξεων καί συλλαβῶν καί στοιχείων καί γραφῶν δεόμεθα πρός δήλωσιν τοῦ λαλουμένου εἰ δέ ἀφ' ἑαυτῆς ἡ ψυχή πρός τά νοητά κινεῖται διά τῶν ὀρθῶν ἐνεργειῶν, περιτταί μετά τῶν αἰσθητῶν αἱ αἰσθήσεις· ὑψηλά γάρ φαντάζεται· ὅταν δέ θεοειδής γένηται, προκόπτουσα ταῖς κατά μικρόν ἀνατάσεσι, καί δι'\n\nἑνώσεως ἀγνώστου πρός τό ἀπρόσιτον φῶς τάς ἐπιβολάς ἔχῃ, τότε (≡14 _134≡ καί αἱ νοηταί ἐνέργειαι περιτταί εἰσιν, ὡς καί αἰσθήσεις, ἐπειδή τά ὑψηλότερα τούτων ἡ ψυχή διανοεῖται, λοιπόν ἡνωμένη Θεῷ· ὅταν δέ ὁμοῦ χαμαίζηλα φαντασθῇ καί περί τινος τῶν αἰσθητῶν σπεύσῃ κινηθῆναι, τότε τούς σαφεστέρους λόγους καί τά τρανότερα τῶν ὁρατῶν χρή ἐπιζητεῖν.","english":"Through other [passages] of equal force: That even through things of equal power we are not hindered from uttering the words. Note that he says motherland and fatherland are the same. One ought to know: Why do we use syllables and words? Consider the reading; what he wishes to say is this: Whenever we set in motion the spoken word concerning something among perceptible things, then we need words and syllables and letters and writings for the manifestation of what is spoken. But if the soul is moved of itself toward intelligible things through right activities, the senses together with perceptible things are superfluous; for it imagines lofty things. And when it becomes godlike, advancing by little ascents, and by an unknown union has its impulses toward the unapproachable light, then the intelligible activities too are superfluous, as are the senses, since the soul thinks things higher than these, now united to God. But when it imagines both things lowly and hastens to be moved concerning something among perceptible things, then one must seek the clearer words and the more distinct of visible things.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":75,"ref":"p75","source":"Ὥσπερ καί αἱ νοεραί δυνάμεις: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι ἕτερον νοῦς καί ἕτερον ψυχή. Νοεράς ἐνεργείας καί δυνάμεις φησί τά νοήσεις, αἵτινες κατώτεραί εἰσι καί σκεδασμός τοῦ νοῦ. Ὅταν οὖν ἡ ψυχή βούληται πρός Θεόν ἀνανεῦσαι καί κατά τό δυνατόν ἑνωθῆναι αὐτῷ, τό ὄμμα αὐτῆς, τουτέστι τόν νοῦν αὐτόν ἀποστρέψαι ὁφείλει τῶν μερικῶν, καί ἐπί τά καθολικώτερα ἀναπηδῆσαι· μερικά δέ εἰσιν αἱ νοήσεις, ὡς ἔφημεν· τότε γάρ νοῦς ὅλη γενομένη καί εἰς τό ἔσω στραφεῖσα, ἑνάς λοιπόν καί ἁπλότης γενομένη, ἐπιλαβεῖν δυνήσεται ταῖς θείαις ἀκτῖσι, διά τῆς ἐπαινετῆς ἀγνωσίας, οὐ τῆς ἐξ ἀμαθείας ἀγνοίας, ἀλλά τῆς γινωσκούσης ὅτι ἀγνοεῖ τά περί Θεοῦ ἀκατάληπτα· γνώσεται δέ ἀπολαύουσα τῶν θείων μαρμαρυγῶν· οὐ διά τῶν αἰσθητῶν ὀμμάτων, οὐ γάρ καταλαμβάνεται τούτοις, ἀλλά ταῖς ἀνομμάτοις τοῦ νοῦ καταστάσεσιν.\n\nἘπιδηλότεραι τῶν αἰσθήσεων: Ἐξηγεῖται, τί εἰσιν αἱ ἐπιδηλότεραι τῶν αἰσθήσεων διαπορθμεύσεις, καί φησιν αὐτάς τούς σαφεστέρους λόγους καί τά τρανέστερα τῶν ὁρατῶν.","english":"Just as also the noetic powers: Note that intellect is one thing and soul another. He calls noetic activities and powers the thoughts, which are lower and a scattering of the intellect. When, then, the soul wishes to look up toward God and, as far as possible, to be united to him, it must turn its eye—that is, the intellect itself—away from particulars and leap up to the more universal; and particulars are the thoughts, as we said. For then, having become wholly intellect and turned inward, having become unity and simplicity thereafter, it will be able to lay hold of the divine rays through praiseworthy ignorance—not the ignorance that comes from lack of learning, but that which knows that it does not know the things concerning God that are incomprehensible; and it will know by enjoying the divine gleams—not through the perceptible eyes, for these things are not grasped by them, but through the eyeless states of the intellect.\n\nMore manifest than the senses: He explains what the translations more manifest than the senses are, and says that they are the clearer words and the more distinct of things seen.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":76,"ref":"p76","source":"§ 12. Καίτοι ἔδοξέ τισιν: Ὅτι καί ἡ ἀγάπη ἔρωτα δηλοι, καί ὅτι θειότερον ὄνομα τοῦ ἔρωτος.\n\nἈκουέτωσαν: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι καί τότε ἦσάν τινες ἐπιλαμβανόμενοι ὀνομάτων, οὕς ἐπιστομίζει ἐκ τῆς θείας Γραφῆς. Ὁ θεῖος Ἰγνάτιος: Καί ἐκ τούτου τινές οἴονται διαβάλλειν εὐκαίρως τό παρόν σύνταγμα, ὡς μή ὅν τοῦ θείου Διονυσίου, ἐπειδή Ἰγνάτιον λέγουσι μεταγενέστερον αὐτοῦ εἶναι· πῶς δέ δύναταί τις τῶν μεταγενεστέρων μεμνῆσθαι; Πλάσμα δέ καί (≡14 _136≡ τοῦτο δοκοῦν αὐτοῖς· ὁ γάρ ἅγιος Παῦλος, ὁ φωτίσας Διονύσιον, μεταγενέστερος ἧν τῷ χρόνῳ τοῦ ἁγίου Πέτρου, μεθ' ὅν ὁ Ἰγνάτιος ἐπίσκοπος γίνεται Ἀντιοχείας, μετατεθέντος Πέτρου ἐν Ρώμῃ· ἐπέζησε δέ ὁ ἅγιος Παῦλος χρόνον πολύν, ὁ φωτίσας Διονύσιον, καί Διονύσιος μετ' αὐτόν ἔζησεν· ὁ δέ Εὐαγγελιστής Ἰωάννης ἐπί Δομετιανοῦ ἐξορίζεται εἰς Πάτμον, ᾧ ἀντιγράφει Διονύσιος. Ἰγνάτιος δέ πρό Δομετιανοῦ μαρτυρεῖ· ὥστε προγενέστερος Διονυσίου. Ὁ ἐμός ἔρως: Ζητητέον πῶς ἐπί Ὀνησίμου τοῦ μετά Τιμόθεον Ἰγνατίου διαλεγομένου, καί γράφοντος Ρωμαίοις τό, 'ἐμός ἔρως ἐσταύρωται', Διονύσιος νῦν Τιμοθέῳ γράφων τούτου μέμνηται, ὡς Ἰγνατίου ἤδη γράψαντος, καί μήποτε παρά τινος τῶν φιλολόγων ἔξω παρατεθέν, πρός πλείονα σύστασιν τῶν περί θείου ἔρωτος τῷ ἁγίῳ Διονυσίῳ εἰρημένων, ὕστερον κατά ἄγνοιαν ἔσω παρενετέθῃ, ὅπερ ἐν πολλοῖς πολλάκις γενόμενον ἔγνωμεν· καί γάρ δίχα τούτου ἵσταται ἀπαραλείπτως τό σῶμα τοῦ λόγου·","english":"§ 12. And yet it seemed good to some: That love also signifies eros, and that eros is a more divine name.\n\nLet them hear: Note that even then there were some who took issue with words, whom he silences from the divine Scripture. The divine Ignatius: And from this some think to discredit the present treatise at an opportune moment, as not being by the divine Dionysius, since they say that Ignatius is later than he; but how can one of later date mention him? And this too seems to them a fabrication; for the holy Paul, who enlightened Dionysius, was later in time than the holy Peter, after whom Ignatius becomes bishop of Antioch, when Peter was transferred to Rome; and the holy Paul, who enlightened Dionysius, survived for a long time, and Dionysius lived after him; and the Evangelist John is exiled to Patmos under Domitian, to whom Dionysius writes in reply. But Ignatius suffered martyrdom before Domitian; so that he is earlier than Dionysius. My eros: One must inquire how, when Ignatius was conversing with Onesimus after Timothy, and writing to the Romans the words \"my eros has been crucified,\" Dionysius now, writing to Timothy, mentions this, as though Ignatius had already written it; and perhaps it was cited outside by some lover of learning, for the greater confirmation of what was said by the holy Dionysius concerning divine eros, and later, through ignorance, was inserted within, which we know has often happened in many places; for even without this the body of the discourse stands complete without omission.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":77,"ref":"p77","source":"ἤ τάχα σύνηθες αὐτῷ εἶναι ἀπόφθεγμα, ὡς καί τό θεοφόρος πολλάκις αὐτῷ λεγόμενόν τε καί γραφόμενον, τεκμήριον δέ τό μή προσκεῖσθαι, Γράφει δέ τισι, τουτέστι Ρωμαίοις, ἀλλ' ἁπλῶς, Γράφει δέ καί ὁ θεῖος Ἰγνάτιος. Καί ἐν ταῖς προεισαγωγαῖς: Ἐπιστητέον, ὅτι προεισαγωγάς καλεῖ τῆς θείας Γραφῆς τά Σολομῶντος, ἀφ' οὗ καί τά ρητά.\n\nα) Ὅτι ἡ ἀγάπη ἔρωτα δηλοῖ, καί ὅτι θειότερον ὄνομα τοῦ ἔρωτος. (≡14 _138≡ β) Τοῖς θείοις μᾶλλον: Διά τί τοῖς θείοις μᾶλλον ἀνατιθέασι τόν ὄντως ἔρωτα οἱ θεολόγοι.\n\nγ) Τά πλήθη: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι πρός ὅ χωροῦσι τά πλήθη, δεῖ καί ταῖς λέξεσι χρῆσθαι· λέγει δέ τί ποιεῖ ὁ ἔρως, καί περί δύο ἐρώτων, θείου καί μεριστοῦ, ἤτοι σωματοπρεποῦς.\n\nδ) Ὡς δυσχερέστερον: Ὡς διαβεβλημένον δηλονότι. ε) Ἐπέπεσε, τίς φησιν: Ὁ Δαυίδ λέγει περί τοῦ Ἰωνάθαν ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ τῶν Βασιλειῶν.\n\nς) Τάττεται πρός τῶν ἱερῶν: Ὅτι τό αὐτό δύναται ἀγάπη καί ἔρως, καί τίς ἡ τοῦ ἔρωτος ἐνέργεια.\n\nζ) Συγκρατικῆς: Τουτέστι συγκιρνώσης τά ἐρῶντα πρός ἄλληλα. η) Διά τό καλόν: Ὅπερ εἶπεν ἄνω, ὅτι ὁ θεῖος ἔρως, προϋπάρχων ἐν τῷ ἀγαθῷ, ἔτεκε τόν ἐν ἡμῖν ἔρωτα, δι ' οὗ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἐφιέμεθα. § 13. θ'. Ἐκστατικός: Περί ἐκστάσεως ἐρωτικῆς καί ὁ Δαυίδ· «ἐγώ εἶπον ἐν τῇ ἐκστάσει μου».","english":"Or perhaps it is customary for him to use the expression, as also \"God-bearing\" is often said and written by him; and the proof is that it is not added, \"He writes to certain people,\" that is, to the Romans, but simply, \"The divine Ignatius also writes.\" And in the introductions: It must be noted that he calls the Proverbs of Solomon \"introductions\" to the divine Scripture, from which also the sayings come.\n\na) That love signifies eros, and that eros is a more divine name. (≡14 _138≡ b) To things divine rather: Why the theologians attribute true eros rather to things divine.\n\nc) The multitudes: Note that one must use the words also in accordance with what the multitudes can grasp; and he says what eros does, and concerning two loves, the divine and the divided, that is, the one befitting the body.\n\nd) As more difficult: As being obviously discredited. e) It fell, who says: David speaks concerning Jonathan in the first book of Kingdoms.\n\nf) It is assigned by the sacred writers: That love and eros have the same meaning, and what is the operation of eros.\n\ng) Of a unifying kind: That is, of one that mingles those who love with one another. h) Because of the beautiful: What he said above, that divine eros, pre-existing in the good, gave birth to the eros in us, through which we strive after the good. § 13. i) Ecstatic: David also speaks concerning erotic ecstasy: \"I said in my ecstasy.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":78,"ref":"p78","source":"Ἐξεστηκώς: Σημείωσαι, πῶς νοεῖται τό, 'ἐξεστηκῶς Θεῷ'. Τολμητέον: Ὅτι καί ὁ Θεός πάντων ἐρᾷ.\n\nΔιό καί ζηλωτήν: Κατά τἰ λέγεται ζηλωτής ὁ Θεός, ὡς ἐραστής τῆς πάντων σωτηρίας.\n\n§ 14. Τί δέ ὅλως: Τῆς μέν ἀγάπης καί τοῦ ἔρωτος αὐτόν δηλαδή τόν Θεόν προβολέα φησί καί γεννήτορα· αὐτός γάρ ταῦτα ἐν ἑαυτῷ ὄντα προήγαγεν εἰς τά ἐκτός, τουτέστι τά περί τά κτίσματα, καί κατά τοῦτο εἴρηται, «ὁ Θεός ἀγάπη ἐστί», καί ἐν τῷ ἄσματι ὁμοίως ἀγάπη εἴρηται· καί πάλιν γλυκασμός καί ἐπιθυμία, ὅ ἐστιν ἔρως· τό δέ ἀγαπητόν καί ὄντως ἐραστόν αὐτός ἐστι. Τῷ μέν οὖν τό ἀγαπητόν ἔρωτα ἐξ αὐτοῦ προχεῖσθαι, (≡14 _140≡ αὐτός κινεῖσθαι λέγεται ὁ τούτου γεννήτωρ, τῷ δέ αὐτόν εἶναι τό ἀληθῶς ἐραστόν καί ἀγαπητόν, κινεῖ τά πρός τοῦτο ὁρῶντα, καί οἷς ἡ τοῦ ἐφίεσθαι δύναμις ἀναλόγως αὐτοῖς.\n\nἘραστόν καί ἀγαπητόν: Προσαγωγικόν καί κινητικόν πρός ἐρωτικήν συνάφειαν τήν ἐν πνεύματι τόν Θεόν εἶναί μοι νόει, τουτέστι μεσίτην ταύτης, καί πρός ἑαυτόν συναρμοστήν τοῦ ἐρᾶσθαι αὐτόν ὑπό τῶν αὐτοῦ ποιημάτων καί ἀγαπᾶσθαι· κινητικόν δέ φησιν, ὡς κινοῦντα ἕκαστα, κατά τόν οἰκεῖον λόγον πρός αὐτόν ἐπιστρέφεσθαι. Τό δέ τῆς προαγωγίας ὄνομα, εἰ καί παρά τοῖς τῶν ἔξωθεν πρᾶγμα σημαίνει οὐκ εὐαγές, ἀλλ’ ἐνταῦθα τήν πρόξενον τῆς ἐν Θεῷ ἑνώσεως μεσιτείαν φησί.","english":"Having been beside himself: Note how the phrase \"beside himself in God\" is to be understood. One must dare to say: that God also loves all things.\n\nTherefore also \"zealous\": In what sense God is called \"zealous,\" namely as a lover of the salvation of all.\n\n§ 14. But why at all: He says that God himself is plainly the producer and begetter of love and eros; for he brought these things, being in himself, forth into the external, that is, into the things concerning created beings, and in this respect it is said, \"God is love,\" and in the Song love is likewise spoken of; and again sweetness and desire, which is eros; and the beloved and truly lovable one is himself. On the one hand, then, because the love that is beloved flows forth from him, he who is its begetter is said himself to be moved; on the other hand, because he is the truly lovable and beloved one, he moves the things that look toward this, and those in whom the power of desiring exists, proportionately to themselves.\n\nLovable and beloved: Understand that God is, for me, leading and moving toward erotic union in the spirit, that is, the mediator of this, and the one who joins to himself the being loved by him of his own creatures and being beloved; and he calls him moving, as moving each thing, according to its own principle, to turn back toward him. But the word \"production,\" even if among the outsiders it signifies a thing that is not pure, yet here he means the mediation that is the cause of union in God.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":79,"ref":"p79","source":"Καί τῷ μέν κινεῖται: Σημείωσαι κίνησιν θείαν, ἐν ᾗ κινεῖται καί αὐτοῦ ἐστι προαγωγεύς καί κινητικός ὁ Θεός.\n\nΚαί τῆς ἐξῃρημένης: Ἡ πρός Θεόν ἀγαπητική ἕνωσις πάσης ἐξῄρηται καί ὑπέρκειται ἑνώσεως· ἐξῃρημένην οὖν τήν ἀνωτέραν φησίν, ἄναρχον δέ καί ἀτελεύτητον τόν θεῖον ἔρωτα λέγει, ὡς ἐκ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ προϊόντα καί πρός τό ἀγαθόν ἐπαναστρέφοντα κατά σχῆμα κυκλικόν· ἐπεί καί ἡ τοῦ κύκλου γραμμή οὐ γνώριμον ἔχει ὅθεν ἤρξατο καί οὗ κατέληξε· καί γάρ ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἡ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἔφεσις, καί εἰς αὐτόν πάλιν ὁρᾷ· ἐν ἑαυτῷ δέ καί ἐστι καί μένει τό ἐρᾳν τῆς συμφυοῦς ἀγαθότητος, καί τῶν πρός τό ἀγαθόν ἀνατεινομένων.\n\nἘρωτικήν κίνησιν: Ὅτι ἡ ἐρωτική κίνησις, τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ προϋπάρχουσα, ἐν τῷ ἀγαθῷ ἁπλῆ καί αὐτοκινητος οὖσα, καί ἐκ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ προϊοῦσα, αὖθις ἐπί τό αὐτό ἐπιστρέφει, ἀτελεύτητος καί ἄναρχος οὖσα, ὅπερ δηλοῖ τήν ἡμῶν ἔφεσιν πρός τό Θεῖον. Σημείωσαι δέ, ὅτι αΐδιον κύκλον προϊών φησιν εἶναι ἐν τῷ ἀγαθῷ, προϊόντος μέν αὐτοῦ ἐπί τά νοητά καί αἰσθητά, πάλιν δέ πρός ἑαυτόν ὑποστρέφοντος καί μήτε ἱσταμένου, μήτε λήγοντος.","english":"And \"by that which is moved\": Note the divine motion, in which God is both the one who leads it forth and the one who moves it.\n\nAnd \"of the transcendent\": The loving union with God is transcendent and surpasses every union; therefore he calls it \"transcendent,\" that is, higher, and he calls the divine love \"without beginning\" and \"without end,\" as proceeding from the Good and returning to the Good in a circular form; since even the line of a circle does not have a known point where it began and where it ended; for from Him is the longing for the Good, and it looks again to Him; and in itself the loving of the connatural goodness both is and remains, and of those things that are stretched upward toward the Good.\n\n\"Erotic motion\": That the erotic motion, pre-existing from the Good, being simple and self-moving in the Good, and proceeding from the Good, returns again to the same, being without end and without beginning, which makes clear our longing toward the Divine. Note that he says there is an eternal circle in the Good, as it proceeds to things intelligible and sensible, and again returns to itself, neither stopping nor ceasing.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":80,"ref":"p80","source":"Ἐκ τοῦ ἁγίου Ἱεροθέου.\n\n(≡14 _142≡ § 15. α. Τόν ἔρωτα: Ἐπίστησον, ὅπως μέγας Ἱερόθεος τά περί τοῦ ἐπαινετοῦ ἔρωτος ἄριστα φιλοσοφεῖ· πρῶτον μέν θεῖον αὐτόν λέγων, ἐπειδή καί πρῶτον αἴτιον τοῦ οὐρανίου ἔρωτος ὁ Θεός ἐστιν ἐξῃρημένως καί ἀναιτίως· εἰ γάρ ὁ ἔρως αὐτός ἐστιν ἡ ἀγάπη, ὡς προείρηται, γέγραπται δέ, ὅτι «Θεός ἀγάπη ἐστί», δῆλον ὅτι πάντων ἑνοποιός ἔρως, ἤτοι ἀγάπη, ὁ Θεός ἐστιν. Ἐκεῖθεν οὖν μεταβατικῶς πρόεισιν ἐπ' ἀγγέλους, ὅθεν καί ἀγγελικόν αὐτόν φησιν, ἔνθα μάλιστα καί τόν τῆς ἑνότητος εὕροι τις ἄν ἔρωτα θεῖον· οὐδέν γάρ ἀσύμφωνον ἤ στασιάζον παρ' αὐτοῖς· εἶτα μετ' ἀγγέλους, καί νοερόν φησιν ἔρωτα, τουτέστι παρά θεοσόφοις ἀνδράσιν, οἵ εἰσι τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, πρός οὕς ὁ Παῦλός φησιν, «ἵνα τό αὐτό λέγηται», καί τά ἑξῆς, καί ὁ Κύριος, «ἵνα ὦσιν ἕν, καθώς καί ἡμεῖς ἕν ἐσμεν». Καί ταῦτα μέν περί τῶν ἐξ ἀληθείας Χριστιανῶν, λοιπόν δέ καί περί πάντων ἀνθρώπων, ἐν οἷς ὁ περί φιλίας νόμος· τάς δέ λογικάς ψυχάς νοεράς προσεῖπεν ἐκ τοῦ θείου νοῦ προσειπών αὐτάς· ψυχικόν δέ ἐκάλεσεν ἔρωτα τόν τῶν ἀλόγων, τήν αἰσθητικήν φιλίαν, ἄνουν μέντοι δηλονότι· ἐκ γάρ τῆς ἐρωτικῆς ταύτης δυνάμεως καί πτηνά ἀγεληδόν ἵπτανται, ὡς κύκνοι καί χῆνες καί γέρανοι καί κόρακες καί ὅσα τοιαῦτα· καί πεζά μέντοι εἰσί τοιαῦτα, ἔλαφοι, βόες, καί τά παραπλήσια· καί νηκτά δέ εἰσιν, ὡς θύννοι καί κέφαλοι καί ὅσα ὁμοιότροπα. Καί τά μή ἀγελαῖα δέ πρός τήν τῶν ὁμοστοίχων σύνοδον ἔνθεν κινοῦνται.","english":"From Saint Hierotheus.\n\n(≡14 _142≡ § 15. a. \"Love\": Observe how the great Hierotheus philosophizes most excellently about praiseworthy love: first, calling it divine, since God is also the first cause of heavenly love in a transcendent and uncaused manner; for if love itself is charity, as has been said before, and it is written that \"God is love,\" it is clear that God is the love that unifies all things, that is, charity. From there he proceeds by transition to the angels, whence he also calls it angelic, where one would especially find the divine love of unity; for nothing discordant or seditious is among them. Then after the angels he also speaks of noetic love, that is, among men wise in divine things, who belong to the Church, to whom Paul says, \"that you all speak the same thing,\" and the rest, and the Lord, \"that they may be one, just as we are one.\" And these things concern true Christians, but thereafter also all men, among whom is the law of friendship. And he called rational souls noetic, calling them so from the divine Mind; and he called the love of irrational creatures psychic love, the sensitive friendship, evidently without mind; for from this erotic power even birds fly in flocks, as swans and geese and cranes and crows and all such creatures; and there are also such terrestrial creatures, deer, cattle, and the like; and there are also swimming creatures, as tuna and mullets and all similar kinds. And even non-gregarious creatures are moved from this toward the company of their fellows.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":81,"ref":"p81","source":"Φυσικόν δέ ἔρωτά φησι τόν τῶν ἀψύχων καί ἀναισθήτων κατά τήν ἑκτικήν ἐπιτηδειότητα, ἤτοι τῆς ποιότητος, ἐρώντων τοῦ (≡14 _144≡ δημιουργοῦ διά τό ὑπ' αὐτοῦ συνεστάναι· κατά οὖν τήν ζωτικήν, ἤτοι τήν φυσικήν κίνησιν, καί αὐτά ἐπέστραπται πρός τόν Θεόν. § 16. Ἐπειδή τούς ἐκ τοῦ ἑνός: Καί ἄνω εἴπομεν, νοερά μέν εἶναι τά νοοῦντα, νοητά δέ τά νοούμενα, καί ἀζητήτως τά νοερά ὑπερβαίνεσθαι ὑπό τῶν νοητῶν, ὅθεν καί τροφήν εἶναι τῶν νοούντων τά νοούμενα· τῶν οὖν νοητῶν τά νοερά ἐρᾷ, ὡς ἐπεστραμμένα πρός αὐτά καί ὥσπερ ἀναβεβηκότα· ἐρᾷ δέ καί τά νοητά τῶν νοερῶν προνοητικῶς τῷ μεταδιδόναι τῆς ἴσης ὠφελείας· ὡμολόγηται οὖν, ὅτι οἱ τῶν τοιούτων ἔρωτες ὑπερεστᾶσι τῶν αἰσθητῶν. Ἀλλά ταῦτα, οἶμαι, νοητά καί νοερά εἴρηται ἐκ μετοχῆς τοῦ ὄντος ἀγαθοῦ τοιαῦτα γενόμενα. Οἱ δέ αὐτονόητοι ἔρωτες οἱ θεῖοί εἰσιν, ἀντί τοῦ οἱ τοῦ Θεοῦ· ὥσπερ γάρ ἐστιν ἀγαθόν ὧτινί ἐστιν ἀγαθόν, καί ἄλλο τό ἁπλῶς ἀγαθόν καί αὐτό τό ἀγαθόν, οὕτως ἐστί καί νοητόν τῷ τινι νοητόν, ἅτε νοούμενον ὑπ' αὐτοῦ, καί ἁπλῶς νοητόν· οὐχ ὁ χρόνος ἥ ὁ τόπος (νοητά γάρ καί ταῦτα, ἐπεί μή αἰσθητά), ἀλλά νοῦς νοητῶν, ἐνέργεια ὤν καί ζῶν καί ζωή· τά γάρ μετά τοῦτο νοητά ἐκ ζητήσεως καί τῆς περί τά προβλήματα ἀκολουθίας εὑρίσκουσιν, ἤ ἐξ ἀποκαλύψεως ἔχουσιν.","english":"He calls natural love the love of inanimate and insensate things according to their habitual aptitude, that is, of their quality, for the Creator, because they have been constituted by him; accordingly, by their vital, that is, natural motion, even these things are turned toward God. § 16. Since those from the one: And we said above that the things that understand are intelligible, and the things understood are intelligible objects, and that intelligible things are surpassed by intelligible objects without seeking, whence also the things understood are food for those that understand; therefore the things that understand love the things understood, as being turned toward them and as having ascended, so to speak; and the things understood also love the things that understand providentially, by imparting equal benefit; it is agreed, then, that the loves of such things are above sensible things. But these things, I think, are called intelligible and intelligible objects because they have become such by participation in the good that is. But the self-intelligible loves are divine, that is, those of God; for just as there is a good that is good for something, and another is the simply good and the good itself, so too there is an intelligible object intelligible to something, insofar as it is understood by it, and a simply intelligible object; not time or place (for these too are intelligible, since they are not sensible), but a mind of intelligible objects, being activity and living and life; for the intelligible objects after this they discover by seeking and by the sequence of inquiries about problems, or they have them by revelation.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":82,"ref":"p82","source":"Ἄσχετος αἰτία: Ἄσχετόν φησι τό ἀπόλυτον, οὗ πρός τό πᾶν οὐδεμία σχέσις, ἤτοι οἰκειότης φυσική.\n\n§ 17. Ἀπάντων ὁλικός ἔρως. Εἰπών 'ὁλικόν ἔρωτα', δηλοῖ καί μερικούς, λέγων τόν Θεόν εἶναι τόν ὁλικόν καί τόν μερικόν, ὡς αἴτιον καί πᾶσι χορηγοῦντα κατά τήν ἑκάστου δύναμιν, ἐρωτικήν οἱονεί ἀπορροήν, Πῶς οὖν ὁ Θεός τό ὅλον καί τό μέρος, ἀνεκφοιτήτως ἑαυτῷ συνών, εἶναι δύναται, ἐκ τοῦ (≡14 _146≡ σπερματικοῦ λόγου σαφές ἔσται· ὅταν μέν γάρ τό σπέρμα ἀδιακόπως ὀμοῦ εἰς τήν μήτραν καταβληθῇ ἕν ἀποτελεῖται τό ἔμβρυον, ἐάν δέ μερισθῇ τό σπέρμα εἰς διαφόρους κύστιδας τῆς μήτρας, ἕκαστον μέρος ὁλόκληρον ἔμβρυον ἀποτελεῖ· ἔσται δέ τοῦ σπέρματος τό μέν ρίς, τό δέ ὀφθαλμοί, καί τά ἑξῆς, καί πάντα τέλεια. Ὅμοιον οὖν τι καί περί τόν παντέλειον νοῦν κατά ἀναλογίαν θεωρητέον· ὅλη γάρ ἡ ἐνέργεια περιέχει καί τά μέρη, τῶν δέ μερῶν ἕκαστον ἀπήρτισται· καί τό μέν αὐτοδικαιοσύνη,\n\nτό δέ αὐτοανδρία, καί τά ἑξῆς· οὕτω καί οὔτε συγκέχυται εἰς ἀλλήλας, ἀλλά καί ἑκάστη διακέκριται, καί οὔτε μετά ἀταξίας τό ἀδιαίρετον ἔχουσιν ἐν τῷ μεταλαμβάνειν αὐτῶν ἕκαστον ὡς δύναται. Τῶν γάρ εἰδῶν μεταλαμβάνει ἕκαστος πρός τήν οἰκείαν ἐπιτηδειότητα· οὕτω καί ὁ Θεός καί ὅλον καί μέρη τοῦ ἔρωτος. § 18.","english":"Unrestricted cause: he calls \"unrestricted\" that which is absolute, having no relation or natural kinship to the whole.\n\n§ 17. The universal love of all things. Having said \"universal love,\" he also indicates partial loves, saying that God is both the universal and the partial, as cause and as supplying to all according to each one's capacity, as it were an erotic outflow. How then can God be both the whole and the part, being present to himself without separation? This will be clear from the seminal principle: for when the seed is deposited continuously and together in the womb, one embryo is produced; but if the seed is divided into different sacs of the womb, each part produces a complete embryo; and of the seed one part will be a nose, another eyes, and so on, and all complete. Something similar must be contemplated by analogy concerning the all-perfect mind: for the whole activity contains the parts as well, and each of the parts is complete; and one is absolute justice, another absolute courage, and so on. Thus neither are they confused with one another, but each is also distinguished, nor do they possess the indivisible in disorder, each partaking of them as it is able. For each partakes of the forms according to its own aptitude; so too God is both the whole and the parts of love. § 18.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":83,"ref":"p83","source":"Ἐφίεται γάρ αὐτοῦ: Ἐπειδή εἶπε, καί τό μή ὄν ἐφίεσθαί πως τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ καί ἐν αὐτῷ βούλεσθαι εἶναι, ὅπερ καί ἄνω πρό ὀλίγων φύλλων εὑρήσεις αὐτόν λέγοντα, εἰ καί ἐξ ἑλληνικῶν σαφηνίζεται δογμάτων (πρός γάρ Ἕλληνας μάχεται μάλιστα, καί Μανιχαίους τούς τοῦ κακοῦ δόγματος προεστῶτας), δεῖ πλατύτερον παραστῆσαι, τί ὀνομάζεται μή ὄν, καί διά τί μίαν ἀρχήν τῶν ὄντων εὐσεβές καί ἐπάναγκες εἶναι. Τοῦτο γάρ ὑγιές ἐστι φρονεῖν. Ἔστι γάρ αὕτη ὁ Θεός· εἰ γάρ εἶεν ἀρχαί διάφοροι, πάντως ἀπειροπληθεῖς φανήσονται. Εἰ οὖν ἀρχή μία ὁ Θεός, οὕτω καί τό ὄντως ὄν, καί αὐτό τό ἀγαθόν. Εὑρήσει δέ ὁ λόγος καί τά ἐναντία τῶν εἰρημένων ἀναγκαίως· ἔνθα γάρ ἀρχή, ἔσται πάντως καί ἔσχατον· καί εἰ ἔστιν ὄν, ἔσται καί μή ὄν· καί εἰ ἔστιν ἀγαθόν, ἔσται καί κακόν. Ἀλλ' ἐπειδή τά ὄντα οὐσίαι εἰσί καί εἴδη, τό μή ὄν ἀνείδεον ἄν εἴη καί ἀνούσιον, λόγῳ μόνῳ θεωρητόν. Τό μή ὄν οὖν τοῦτο καί ἀνείδεον ὕλην ἐκάλεσαν οἱ παλαιοί, ἥν καί ἔσχατον αἶσχος ὀνομάζουσι.","english":"For it desires him. Since he said that even non-being in some way desires the good and wishes to be in it—which you will also find him saying a few leaves above, even if it is clarified from Greek doctrines (for he fights especially against the Greeks, and the Manichaeans who preside over the doctrine of evil)—it is necessary to set out more broadly what is called non-being, and why it is pious and necessary that there be one principle of beings. For this is sound to think. For this is God; for if there were different principles, they would certainly appear infinitely many. If, then, God is one principle, so too is the truly being, and the good itself. But the argument will necessarily find also the contraries of what has been said; for where there is a principle, there will certainly also be a last; and if there is being, there will also be non-being; and if there is good, there will also be evil. But since beings are substances and forms, non-being would be formless and without substance, contemplated by reason alone. This non-being, then, and formless thing the ancients called matter, which they also name the last ugliness.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":84,"ref":"p84","source":"( 14 _148 Λέγεται δέ μή ὄν ἡ ὕλη, οὐχ ὅτι παντελῶς οὐδέν ἐστιν, ἀλλ ' ὅτι μή ἐστι· τό γάρ ὄντως ὄν ὁ Θεός, καί αὐτό τό ἀγαθόν· παρῆκται γάρ ἐκ μή ὄντων ὑπό τοῦ Θεοῦ καί ἡ ὕλη· ἀλλ’ οὐχ ὥς τινες ὑπέλαβον ἀνείδεος καί ἀσχημάτιστος· ὅθεν οὐδέ ἀρχή τῶν αἰσθητῶν ἡ ὕλη, ἀλλά μᾶλλον συμπληρωτική τούτων καί ἕσχατόν τι καί ὑποστάθμη τῶν ὄντων. Διό οὔτε εἰκών Θεοῦ, ὡς τά λογικά, οὔτε εἴδωλον τοῦ ὄντως ὄντος. Καί τό αἰσθητόν δέ εἴδωλον τοῦ ὄντως νοητοῦ κόσμου, ὅπερ αἰσθητόν, οὐκ ἄνευ μέν ὕλης ἐστί, κρεῖττον δέ τῆς ὕλης, εἴδους ὁπωσοῦν μετέχον. Οὐδέποτε οὖν δειχθήσεται ἡ ὕλη δίχα τοῦ εἴδους καί τῶν ποιοτήτων, αἵτινές εἰσιν ἕξεις· πότε γάρ γέγονε τό πῦρ ἄνευ θερμότητος ἤ φωτός ἤ τοῦ λευκοῦ τῆς χροιᾶς, ἤ τό ὕδωρ ἄνευ ψυχρότητος ἤ ὑγρότητος ἤ τοῦ κυανίζοντος χρώματος; Ἡ γῆ καί ὁ ἀήρ ὁμοίως. Διά τοῦτο καί λόγῳ θεωρητήν εἶπον τήν ὕλην ἀνείδεον, καί ἄποιον, καί ἀσχημάτιστον· ἐξ οὗ γάρ τά ὁρατά καί τά ἀόρατα γέγονεν, ἐκ μή ὄντων δηλονότι ὑπό Θεοῦ παρήχθη, οὐ πρότερον ὕλης ἀμόρφου ὑποκειμένης, εἶτα κοσμηθείσης, ὡς διδάσκει Μωσῆς ὁ θεῖος. Ἐν μέν οὖν τῷ Θεῷ ἐστιν, ἅτε καί ὑπ’ αὐτοῦ παραχθεῖσα ἡ ὕλη· ὑπερούσιος δέ, τά πάντα ἐκείνου ὡς ἀγαθοῦ συνέχοντος, νοεῖται ἐν αὐτῷ. Ταῦτα εὑρήσεις ἐν τοῖς λεχθησομένοις σποράδην ἐγκείμενα. Πῶς ἡ δαιμονία πληθύς: Λοιπόν προβλήματα διαγυμνάζει λέγων, ὅτι, Εἰ πάντα ἐκ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, πόθεν τά κακά, καί πόθεν ἄγγελοι ἐγένοντο δαίμονες; Πάντα κατά Μανιχαίων.","english":"Matter is called non-being, not because it is altogether nothing, but because it is not; for the truly being is God, and the good itself. For matter too was brought forth out of non-being by God, but not, as some supposed, without form and shapeless. Hence matter is not the beginning of sensible things, but rather their complement and a kind of last and sediment of beings. Therefore it is neither an image of God, as rational beings are, nor an idol of the truly being. And the sensible idol of the truly intelligible world, which is sensible, is not without matter, but is better than matter, partaking in some way of form. Matter will never be shown apart from form and qualities, which are states; for when did fire come to be without heat or light or the white of its color, or water without coldness or wetness or its bluish color? Earth and air likewise. For this reason I said that matter is formless, qualityless, and shapeless by theoretical reasoning; for that from which visible and invisible things came to be was clearly brought forth out of non-being by God, not with formless matter first lying as a substrate and then being adorned, as the divine Moses teaches. Matter, then, is in God, since it was brought forth by him; and being superessential, since he as good holds all things together, it is contemplated in him. You will find these things scattered in what will be said. How the demonic multitude: Further, he exercises problems, saying, If all things are from the good, whence are evils, and whence did angels become demons? All things against the Manichaeans.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":85,"ref":"p85","source":"β. Οὐκ ἔστιν ἀγαθοειδές: Καλῶς καί ἀκριβῶς ἐπί τῶν ἀγγέλων τέθεικε τό ἀγαθοειδές· ὁ μέν γάρ Θεός οὐσιωδῶς αὐτό τό ἀγαθόν ὤν, τά δέ μετ' αὐτόν, ὡς ἐκ μετοχῆς καί ἔξωθεν ἀγαθυνόμενα τῇ περί αὐτόν ἐφέσει, εἰκότως ἀγαθοειδῆ λέγονται, οὐκ αὐτόχρημα ἀγαθά.\n\n( 14 _150 γ. Καί πῶς ὁ ἀγαθός: Ὄρα ὅπως προβλήματα ὡς ἐν ζητήσει παράγει, ἔχοντα μέν καί αὐτάς τάς τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἀντιθέσεις, οἷον Μανιχαίων, δηλούσας δέ ὅμως τόν σκοπόν τοῦ θείου τούτου ἀνδρός τό ὀρθόν. Λέγει γάρ, ἐκ τίνος ἀρχῆς παρήχθη τό κακόν· καί εἰ ἐξ ἄλλης αἰτίας, καί ὅσα τοιαῦτα τῶν ἀντιδίκων εἰσίν. Εἴτα λοιπόν, πῶς ὁ ἀγαθός αὐτό παραγαγεῖν ἠβουλήθη, πῶς δέ καί προνοίᾳ ἐστί τό κακόν, ἐκ τούτων δεικνύς, ὅτι, εἰ καί ὅλως παραγωγήν ἔσχε τό κακόν, ἐκ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ταύτην ἔσχε, καί ὅτι μόνη ἡ πρόνοια διοικεῖ τό ὅλον, ὡς ἐκ τούτου μίαν ἀγαθήν ἀρχήν εἶναι τοῖς οὖσι. Ταῦτα καί ἐν τοῖς προβλήμασιν ἐξήτασεν ὁ θεῖος οὗτος ἀνήρ· παρακατιών γάρ ἀναλύει σαφῶς τά προβλήματα, δεικνύς ὡς οὔτε","english":"b. It is not good-shaped: He has rightly and precisely applied the term good-shaped to the angels; for God, being substantially the good itself, whereas the things after him, being made good by participation and from without through their longing for him, are reasonably called good-shaped, not good in themselves.\n\nc. And how is the good one: Observe how he brings forward problems as in inquiry, which contain indeed the very oppositions of the enemies, such as the Manichaeans, yet nevertheless make clear the upright purpose of this divine man. For he says, from what principle evil was brought forth; and whether from another cause, and all such things as belong to the adversaries. Then finally, how the good one wished to bring it forth, and how evil is by providence, showing from these things that, even if evil had a bringing-forth at all, it had it from the good, and that providence alone governs the whole, so that from this there is one good principle for existing things. These things this divine man also examined in his problems; for going on further he clearly resolves the problems, showing that neither","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":86,"ref":"p86","source":"ἐνυπόστατον τό κακόν, οὔτε ἐν φύσει, ἀλλά κατά στέρησιν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ γινόμενον, οὔτε ὄν, οὔτε ὡς μή ὄν λογιζόμενον. Καί τοῦτο αἰνίττεσθαι τό ἐν ψαλμῷ τριακοστῷ ἕκτῳ εἰρημένον· «εἶδον τόν ἀσεβῆ ὑπερυψούμενον ὡς τάς κέδρους τοῦ Λιβάνου, καί παρῆλθον, καί ἰδού οὐκ ἦν, καί ἐζήτησα αὐτόν», τουτέστι τόν τόπον αὐτοῦ, «καί οὐχ εὑρέθη»· τοῦτο γάρ δηλοῖ, ὅτι τό κακόν, ἤ καί σφόδρα ἐπαίρεται, ἀλλ’ οὖν οὐκ ἔστιν, οὔτε καταλείψει τόπον ἑαυτοῦ, τουτέστιν ἴχνος· ἅμα γάρ τῷ φανῆναι διαλέλυται, μή ἔχον ὑπόστασιν· μή οὖν ὑπολάβοις αὐτόν ἐναντίον λέγειν τι. § 19. Τό κακόν οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τἀγαθοῦ; Σημείωσαι, πῶς θαυμασίως πλέκει τήν λύσιν ἐκ διαφόρων ἐπιχειρημάτων.\n\nὉ τῶν ὄντων σκοπός: Καί γάρ ὁ ὀργιζόμενος, ἤτοι θυμούμενος (ὡς ἐν ὑποδείγματι δέ ὁ λόγος, ὡς δοκεῖ), κακόν τι ποιοῦντος τοῦ πρός ὅν θυμοῦται, πρός τό ἐναντίον τοῦτον μεταγαγεῖν βουλόμενος, τουτέστι τό ἀγαθόν τῇ τοιαύτη κινήσει χρῆται.\n\nΚαί εἰ τά ὄντα πάντα: Ἔφημεν ἀνωτέρω, εἰ ὁ Θεός ὑπερουσιως ( 14 _152 ὤν λέγεται ὡς ἄναρχος καί πάντων αἴτιος, τό ἀντίθετον, ὡς ἔσχατον τῶν ὄντων, καί ἀνούσιον, ὡς ὑπερούσιου τοῦ Θεοῦ, τουτέστιν ἡ ὕλη, καί μή ὄν λέγεται, καί ἐν Θεῷ λέγεται, δι' ἀγαθότητα αὐτοῦ γενομένη, εἰ καί διά τοῦ μεμίχθαι τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς οὐ πάντῃ κακόν, οὔτε πάντῃ ἀγαθόν, ὡς δηλοῖ διά τό ἄστατον· ἔχει μέν γάρ τό κακόν ἐν τῷ ἀστάτῳ μερίδα δέ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, ἐπειδή καί ὑπό Θεοῦ παρήχθη, καί ἐν Θεῷ ἐστι·","english":"Evil is not substantial, nor in nature, but comes about through the privation of the good, neither being nor being reckoned as non-being. And this is what is hinted at in what is said in the thirty-sixth psalm: \"I saw the impious exalted exceedingly like the cedars of Lebanon, and I passed by, and behold, he was not, and I sought him,\" that is, his place, \"and he was not found.\" For this shows that evil, even if it is greatly exalted, nevertheless does not exist, nor will it leave a place for itself, that is, a trace; for as soon as it appears it is dissolved, having no subsistence. Do not suppose, then, that he is saying something contrary. § 19. Is evil not from the good? Note how wonderfully he weaves the solution from various arguments.\n\nThe goal of beings: For the one who is angry, that is, enraged (the account is by way of example, as it seems), when the one toward whom he is enraged does something evil, wishing to lead him to the opposite, that is, to the good, uses such a movement.\n\nAnd if all beings: We said above that if God is said to be beyond being, as unoriginate and cause of all things, the opposite, as the last of beings and without substance, as being beyond substance to God, that is, matter, is also called non-being, and is said to be in God, having come to be through his goodness, even if through being mixed with sensible things it is not entirely evil, nor entirely good, as it shows through its instability; for it has evil in its instability, but a share of the good, since it was also brought forth by God, and is in God.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":87,"ref":"p87","source":"αὐτόκακον (οὐ λέγω ἡ κακία, ἥτις ὡς εἶδος καί ποιότης συμβαίνει τῷ λογικῷ καί ἀποσυμβαίνει, ἀλλ’ αὐτό τό ἁπλῶς κακόν) οὔτε ἐν τοῖς οὖσίν ἐστι, τοῖς ὁπωσοῦν ἐφιεμένοις τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, οὔτε ἐν τοῖς μή οὖσιν, ἀντί τοῦ 'ἐν τοῖς ὑλικοῖς' ὡς νοουμένοις ἐν τῷ ὑπερουσίῳ, ἀλλά καί τοῦ μή ὄντος, ὅ ἐστι τῆς ὕλης, τό κακόν πλέον ἀφέστηκε τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, καί ἔστιν ἐντεῦθεν εἰκότως ἀνουσιώτερον τῆς ὕλης, τό αὐτό κακόν ὡς πάντῃ οὐδέν ὄν. Τό οὖν ἁπλῶς αὐτόκακον οὐδαμῇ οὐδαμῶς, τό δέ τῆς ὕλης κατ' ἔλλειψιν τῆς ἀγαθότητος, καθό καί ἀναίσθητος καί ἀνείδεος ὁρᾶται· ὅθεν νοήσεις καί τό παρά Ἀβδιοῦ τῷ προφήτῃ εἰρημένον, «καί ἔσονται ὡς μή ὄντες», πρός τούς ἁμαρτωλούς δηλονότι.\n\nΠόθεν οὖν ἐστι τό κακόν: Ἐντεῦθεν ἀντίθεσιν προτιθείς, πλατέως γυμνάζει τήν ὑπόκρουσιν, ὡς ἐξ εὐλογαφανοῦς ἀντιθέσεως· εἰ γάρ μή δοίημεν εἶναί τι τῷ καλῷ ἐναντίον, τουτέστι τό κακόν, οὐκ ὀφθήσεται ἀγαθόν ἡ ἀρετή, ἀλλ’ ἀναμίξ ἀδιάκριτα ἔσται πάντα, οὔτε ἀρετῆς ἐπαινουμένης, οὔτε τοῦ ἐναντία ἔσται. Νῦν δέ φησιν ὁ ἀντιθείς, εἰ μή δοίημεν κακόν ἐναντίον ( 14 _154 τῷ ἀγαθῷ, ἔσται αὐτό τό ἀγαθόν ἐναντίον ἑαυτῷ ἐν τοῖς κατ’ ἔλλειψιν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἁμαρτάνουσιν· ἀλλά καί πρό τῆς ἐνεργείας τῆς ἀρετῆς τοῦ ἐναρέτου ἀνθρώπου ὁρῶμεν ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ αὐτοῦ διακεκριμένας τῆς ἀρετῆς τάς κακίας· ὅταν μέν γάρ τό λογικον μέρος τῆς ψυχῆς τά οἰκεῖα ἐνεργῇ, εἰς οὐδέν τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐμποδίζεται, ὅταν δέ τό ἄλογον μέρος τῆς ψυχῆς, ὅπερ μέμικται ὕλη καί σώματι, ἐπικρατῇ, τότε ἐμποδίζεται τό λογικόν οἰκείως ἐνεργεῖν.","english":"Evil itself—I do not mean vice, which comes to be and ceases to be in the rational creature as a kind of form and quality, but evil simply—is neither among beings, which in some way aspire to the good, nor among non-beings, understood in the sense of \"material things\" as conceived in the supersubstantial, but even from non-being, that is, from matter, evil stands further removed from the good, and hence it is reasonably more insubstantial than matter, the same evil being in every way nothing. Evil itself, then, is nowhere in any way, while the evil of matter is by privation of goodness, insofar as it is seen to be without quality and without form. Whence you will also understand what was said by the prophet Obadiah: \"And they shall be as though they were not,\" clearly addressed to sinners.\n\nWhence, then, is evil? From this point, setting forth the objection, he exercises the response at length, as from a plausible-seeming contradiction: for if we do not grant that there is something contrary to the good, that is, evil, virtue will not appear good, but all things will be mixed and indistinguishable, neither virtue being praised nor that to which it is contrary. But now, says the objector, if we do not grant evil to be contrary to the good, the good itself will be contrary to itself in those who sin by privation of the good. But even before the activity of virtue in the virtuous man, we see in his soul the vices distinguished from virtue; for whenever the rational part of the soul performs its proper activities, it is hindered by none of the good things, but whenever the irrational part of the soul, which is mixed with matter and body, prevails, then the rational part is hindered from acting properly.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":88,"ref":"p88","source":"Κακύνεται οὖν τό ἄλογον ἐκ τῆς πρός τήν ὕλην ἐπιμιξίας, τό δέ λογικόν οὐ τῷ μεμίχθαι τῇ ὕλη, ἀλλά τῷ νεύειν εἰς ὕλην, τουτέστι τῷ ἐνδιδόναι τῷ ἀλόγῳ καί μή κρατεῖν αὐτοῦ, κακύνεται, ὡς ὄμμα σκότους ὄντος, κωλύεται ὁρᾷν· οὐ δείκνυσιν οὖν τοῦτο, εἰ ὑφέστηκε τό αὐτόκακον· οὐ γάρ τό τινι κακόν, τοῦτ' ἔστι τό αὐτόκακον, ἀλλα καί κακία ἐστίν εἶδος οὖσα καί συμβεβηκός τοῦ κακοῦ· ταῖς γάρ προσθήκαις καθίσταται εἰς τό τόδε τι εἶναι, οἷον ἀδικία μέν ψυχῆς ἐστι πονηρία, καί πάλιν,. τῆς ἀδικίας εἴδη πρός τήν τῆς ὀρέξεως ὕλην, ἡ μέν γάρ περί χρήματα, ἡ δέ περί τιμάς συμβαίνει. Γίνεται δέ καί κατά προσθήκας εἴδη κακῶν καί ἀπό τῶν μερῶν τῆς ψυχῆς· δειλία μέν γάρ ἧ θρασύτης ἀπό τοῦ θυμικοῦ, ἀκολασία δέ ἡ ἡλιθιότης ἀπό τοῦ ἐπιθυμητικοῦ. Γίνεται δέ καί ἀπό τῶν ἐνεργειῶν εἴδη κακῶν· ἡ μέν γάρ δειλία οἷον περί τό ὁρμᾷν ἐστιν ἔλλειψις, ἡ δέ θρασύτης περί τό ὁρμᾷν ὑπερβολή, ἡ\n\nδέ ἀκολασία περί τό πάσχειν. Σαφές οὖν γέγονε, πῶς ἐν ψυχῇ καί πρό ἐνεργείας διακέκριται τά κακά ἐκ τῶν ἀρετῶν, διά τοῦ ἀλόγου καί τοῦ λογικοῦ, μερῶν ὄντων τῆς ψυχῆς. Ταῦτα δέ τά τοῦ ἀλόγου ἕτερον νόμον δείκνυσιν ἡμῖν «ἀντιστρατευόμενον τῷ νῷ», ὥς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, ( 14 _156 καί ἐν τῷ μή κρατεῖσθαι αἰχμαλωτεύοντα τό λογικόν, ὡς ἀπεδείξαμεν. Πρός τόν λόγον: Ἀντί τοῦ, πρός τό λογικόν τῆς ψυχῆς μέρος. Καί εἰ φθορά ἐστι τῶν ὄντων: Ἀντί τοῦ, εἰ ἐν τοῖς οὖσι τό φθείρεσθαι ὁρᾶται, ἤγουν εἴ τινα τῶν ὄντων ὑπόκειται φθορᾷ, ἐκ τούτου δείκνυται τό εἶναι τό κακόν· τό γάρ 'οὐκ ἐκβάλλει', τοῦτο δηλοῖ.","english":"The irrational is therefore made evil by its mingling with matter, but the rational is made evil not by being mingled with matter, but by inclining toward matter—that is, by yielding to the irrational and not mastering it. As an eye is hindered from seeing when darkness is present, so this does not demonstrate whether evil itself subsists. For what is evil for something is not evil itself, but vice is a form and accident of evil; for by additions it comes to be a particular thing—for instance, injustice is the wickedness of the soul, and again, the forms of injustice correspond to the matter of desire: one concerns wealth, another concerns honors. Forms of evils also arise by additions from the parts of the soul: cowardice or rashness from the spirited part, licentiousness or stupidity from the appetitive part. Forms of evils also arise from activities: cowardice is, as it were, a deficiency in impulse, rashness an excess in impulse, and licentiousness concerns passion. It has therefore become clear how, in the soul and before activity, evils are distinguished from virtues through the irrational and the rational, which are parts of the soul. These things of the irrational show us another law \"warring against the mind,\" as the Apostle says, and taking the rational captive when it is not mastered, as we have demonstrated. To the text: instead of \"to the rational part of the soul.\" And if it is corruption of beings: instead of, if being corrupted is observed among beings, or if any of the beings is subject to corruption, from this is shown that evil exists; for \"it does not cast out\" makes this clear.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":89,"ref":"p89","source":"Ἤ οὐχί πολλάκις: Ἔτι τῆς ἀντιθέσεώς εἰσι καί ταῦτα, ὅτι μᾶλλον καί ἐν τοῖς οὖσίν ἐστι, καί ὄν τό κακόν· κἄν γάρ τό κακόν φθορά ἐστι τῶν ὄντων, ἀλλ’ οὖν ἡ φθορά αὕτη, ἕτερον ἔσθ’ ὅτε εἰς γένεσιν ἄγει, οἷον τό ὠόν φθείρεται μέν, μεταστοιχειοῦται δέ εἰς πτηνόν· καί ὁ κύαμος δέ, καταμασσόμενος καί ἐν τῇ γῇ κρυπτόμενος, μετασχηματίζεται εἰς ἐμβρύου εἶδος· καί τά σώματα δέ ἡμῶν εἰς σκώληκας, καί ἕτερα ζῶα, καί ἄλλα μυρία τοιαῦτα, ὡς ἵπποι μέν σφηκῶν γένεσις, ταῦροι δέ μελισσῶν.\n\nΚαί ἔσται τό κακόν: Λύσις τῶν προβληθεισῶν ἀντιθέσεων, εἰ ἡ φθορά κακόν, φθείρει δέ ἡ φθορά καί τό κακόν, πῶς ἔσται τό κακόν αὐτό ἑαυτό φθεῖρον; Εἰ γάρ ἐν τῇ ὕλῃ τό κακόν, εὔδηλον, ὡς τό εὐφθαρτότερον· ὕλη δέ ἐστι, καί τοῦτο ἑαυτό φθείρει· διά τοῦτο γάρ ἡ ὕλη καί ἀνούσιος λέγεται κατά ἀντιπαράθεσιν τῆς ὑπερουσίου τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐσίας, ὡς αὐτή φθαρτή οὖσα, καί οὐκ ἀεί οὖσα, καί ἀνείδεος κατά ἀντιπαράθεσιν τοῦ εἴδους τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὡς ἐκάλεσε Μωϋσῆς τόν δημιουργόν Λόγον. Καί μή ὄν δέ λέγεται ἡ ὕλη κατά ἀντιπαράθεσιν τῆς θείας κατά οὐσίαν ὑπάρξεως.","english":"Or is it not often the case? These things too belong to the objection, that evil is rather also among existing things, and is an existing thing; for even if evil is the corruption of existing things, nevertheless this corruption sometimes leads something else into generation, as the egg is corrupted but is transformed into a bird; and the bean, when crushed and hidden in the earth, is reshaped into the form of an embryo; and our bodies into worms and other living creatures, and countless other such things, as horses are the generation of wasps, and bulls of bees.\n\nAnd evil will be: A solution to the objections raised, if corruption is evil, and corruption corrupts evil too, how will evil itself corrupt itself? For if evil is in matter, it is clear that the more easily corrupted thing is matter, and this corrupts itself; for this reason matter is also called non-substantial by contrast with the super-substantial substance of God, as being itself corruptible and not always existing, and formless by contrast with the form of God, as Moses called the creative Word. And matter is also called non-being by contrast with the divine existence according to substance.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":90,"ref":"p90","source":"§ 20. ᾞ κακόν: Τό 'ᾖ κακόν' ἀντί τοῦ καθ' ὅ κακόν. ( 14 _158 Μᾶλλον δέ. Σημείωσαι, ὅτι καί ἐν τοῖς θείοις λόγοις ἀκώλυτος ἡ ἐξ ἐπιλογισμοῦ τῶν ἀκριβεστέρων παράδοσις· ἰδού γάρ, ὡς ὁρᾷς, μετά τήν ἔκθεσιν τῆς προτέρας γνώμης ἐξ ἐπιλογισμοῦ τά ἀκριβέστερα παραδίδωσιν. Καί ἀμιγῆ καί ὁλόκληρα: Τά μέν ἀμιγῆ ἀγαθά καί ὁλοτελῆ· ἐκ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἐγγίνεται τοῖς ὑπερκοσμίοις νοητοῖς, ἅτε καί ἀσωμάτοις, τά δέ μεμιγμένα ἀγαθά περί τά λογικά σώματα θεωρεῖται, τουτέστιν ἐν ἡμῖν, τοῦ μέν ἀλόγου τῆς ψυχῆς μέρους, ὡς εἴρηται, μετέχοντος ὕλης διά τοῦ σώματος τοῦ εἴδους μετέχοντος, τοῦ δέ λογικοῦ μέρους, ρέποντος πρός τό ἄλογον καί ἐνδιδόντος ἔσθ' ὅτε αὐτῷ, καί διά τοῦτο πρός ὕλην νεύοντος· τό μέν γάρ αὐτόκακον δεῖ θεωρεῖν αὐτοάμετρον, αὐτοανείδεον, ἑαυτῷ κακόν οὐσιῶδες, οὐ μήν ἑτέρῳ κακόν· τοῦτο γάρ εἶδός ἐστι καί συμβεβηκός κακίας. Δεῖ οὖν τό κακόν τοιοῦτόν τι εἶναι, οἷον ἔφην, ὥσπερ ὁ Θεός πάντων αὐτοπέρας καί αὐτόμετρον, καί αὐτοειδοποιόν, καί αὐτοαγαθόν οὐσιῶδες· οὐ γάρ λέγω νῦν τῷ ἑτέρῳ ἀγαθόν· συμβεβηκός γάρ τοῦτο· πῶς οὖν ἔσται τό κακόν οὐσιῶδες καί ἑτέροις, πάντων καθάπαξ τῶν ὄντων μεμιγμένως κακυνομένων καί ἐχόντων τό εἶναι ἐν τῷ ἀγαθῷ, οὐδενός κατά τό παντελές ἀμετόχου ὄντος τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, ἀλλά πάντων πρός τήν ἰδίαν ἐπιτηδειότητα μετεχόντων τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ; Τό οὖν κακόν οὐκ ἐν ὑπάρξει, ἀλλ' ἐν παρεισδύσει, ἐν τῇ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ στερήσει φαινόμενον. Ἐκτείνεται δέ ἄχρι τῶν ἐσχάτων: Ἔσχατον νοητέον τά ὑλικά σώματα καί γήϊνα·","english":"§ 20. Or is it evil: “Or is it evil” instead of “in what respect it is evil.” (14.158) Rather. Note that even in the divine words the tradition of more precise things derived from reasoning is not hindered; for behold, as you see, after the exposition of the former opinion he hands down the more precise things from reasoning. And unmixed and whole: The unmixed and wholly complete goods arise from the Good in the supracosmic intelligible beings, inasmuch as they are also incorporeal; but mixed goods are contemplated in rational bodies, that is, in us, the irrational part of the soul, as has been said, participating in matter through the body which participates in form, while the rational part inclines toward the irrational and sometimes yields to it, and for this reason leans toward matter. For one must contemplate the self-evil as self-measureless, self-formless, evil to itself substantially, yet not evil to another; for this is a form and accident of evil. It is necessary, then, that evil be something of such a kind as I have stated, just as God is the self-limit and self-measure of all things, and self-form-giving, and self-good substantially; for I do not now say “good to another”; for this is accidental. How, then, will evil be substantial and also to others, when absolutely all existing things are mixedly made evil and have their being in the Good, since nothing is wholly without a share in the Good, but all things partake of the Good according to their own fitness? Evil, then, is not in existence, but in insinuation, appearing in the privation of the Good. And it extends as far as the last things: by “last” one must understand material and earthly bodies.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":91,"ref":"p91","source":"ὥσπερ γάρ πάντων ἀρχή ὁ Θεός, ὡς καί ἤδη ἔφημεν, οὕτω πάντων ἔσχατον τό σκυβαλῶδες τοῦτο τό παχύ τῆς ὕλης μέρος καί γεῶδες· ὅθεν καί ὑποπόδιον λέγεται τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὡς καί ἔσχατον, καί ὅμως μετέχον ἀγαθότητος αὐτοῦ, ὡς καί φέρον αὐτόν ἐσχάτως· λέγει γάρ καί ἡ Σοφία· «βρίθει γάρ τό γεῶδες τοῦτο σκῆνος νοῦν πολυφρόντιδα», ὡς τοῦ ἀλόγου τῆς ψυχῆς μέρους μεμιγμένου τῷ ὑλικῷ σώματι, καί κατακρατοῦντος ἔσθ ' ὅτε τοῦ λογικοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς.\n\n( 14 _160 Παρέστι τἀγαθόν: Ὅσον γάρ ἐπί τό παχύτερον καί ὑλικώτερον ὑποβαίνει τά ἐν δημιουργίᾳ, τοσοῦτον κατά στέρησιν καί ἔλλειψιν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἧττον μετέχει, ὡς ἐξ ἀμυδροῦ καί ἐσχάτου ἀπηχήματος· ὡς γάρ ἔφημεν, ἤδη ὑπόθου τινά βοῆσαι μέγα· καί τούς μέν πλησίον ὄντας καί ἐρρωμένους τό ἀκουστικόν ὅλην δέξασθαι τήν βοήν καί γνῶναι καί τό λαληθέν, τούς δέ ἀφεστηκότας ἀναλόγως τῇ διαστάσει ἧττον ἀκοῦσαι τοῦ φθέγματος, τούς δέ πάνυ πόρρω διεστηκότας ἀμυδρότατα ὡς ἀπηχήματος ὑστάτου ποσῶς αἰσθέσθαι. Καί τήν ἑαυτοῦ στέρησιν: Τό μή ὅλως ἐστερημένον τοῦ καλοῦ, ἀλλά μερικῶς, καί αὐτό τό ἐστερημένον τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, συνεστάναι ποιεῖ, τῷ ὅλως κατά τι μετέχειν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ· οὐ γάρ ἡ μερική, ἀλλ' ἡ παντελής ἔλλειψις τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἐστι τό κακόν. Καί τά μαχόμενα αὐτῷ: Ὅρα πῶς φησιν, ὅτι καί τά μαχόμενα τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ δι' αὐτοῦ ὑπέστη καί σῴζεται. Οὑκοῦν αἴτιος τῶν κακῶν ὁ Θεός; Μή γένοιτο!","english":"For just as God is the beginning of all things, as we have already said, so too the last of all things is this refuse-like, dense part of matter and earthiness; whence it is also called the footstool of God, as being last, and yet it partakes of his goodness, as also bearing him in a last measure; for Wisdom also says: \"For this earthy tabernacle weighs down the mind that has many cares,\" since the irrational part of the soul is mingled with the material body, and sometimes prevails over the rational part of the soul.\n\n(14.160 The good is present: For to the extent that things in creation descend to the denser and more material, to that extent, by privation and deficiency of the good, they partake less, as from a faint and last echo; for as we said, suppose someone has already shouted loudly, and those who are near and have their hearing strong receive the whole shout and know what was said, while those who are farther away hear the voice less in proportion to the distance, and those who are very far off perceive it most faintly, as a last echo, to some degree. And his own privation: That which is not wholly deprived of the good, but partially, itself makes the thing deprived of the good to consist, by partaking in some respect wholly of the good; for it is not partial but total lack of the good that is evil. And the things that fight against it: Observe how he says that even the things that fight against the power of the good subsist and are preserved through it. Is God, then, the cause of evils? By no means!)","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":92,"ref":"p92","source":"Ὁ μέν γάρ Θεός, ὡς πάντων ἀρχή καί δημιουργός, δι' ὑπερβολήν ἀγαθότητος καί δι' ἀγάπην ἄφατον, καί ἁμαρτωλῶν ἀνέχεται, ἵνα καί τήν ἰδίαν δείξη φιλανθρωπίαν, καί τό τοῦ πλάσματος αὐτεξούσιον· εἴρηται γάρ· «ἡ ἀγάπη πάντα στέγει»· καί πάλιν «ὁ ἀνατέλλων τόν ἥλιον αὐτοῦ ἐπί δικαίους καί ἀδίκους». Τό δέ κατά πάντα τρόπον. Τό προκείμενον αὐτῷ ἐστιν ἀποδεῖξαι, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν οὐσία τό ἁπλῶς αὐτόκακον· καί φησιν, ὅτι οὐδέν τῶν ἐν τοῖς οὖσι καί ἐν δημιουργίᾳ ἀμέτοχόν ἐστι παντελῶς τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ· τά γάρ πάντῃ ἄμοιρα τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, ὡς μηδέ παραχθέντα ὑπό τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, οὔτε εἰσί. Τίς ἄλλος δημιουργός; Ἀλλ' οὔτε δύναταί τι ὑφεστάναι, μή τῆς ἕξεως, ( 14 _162 ἤτοι ποιότητος, τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ μετέχον κατά συμβεβηκός· πολλά μέν γάρ καί καταλειφθέντα ὑπό τῆς προσγενομένης ἕξεως, ἤτοι ποιότητος, μένει συνεστῶτα· οἷον ὁ σίδηρος πυρωθείς καί θερμότητος ἄκρας μεταλαβών, σβεσθέντος τοῦ πυρός, μένει ὅπερ ἦν· καί τό ὕδωρ καθ' ἑαυτό μέν τό στοιχεῖον ἄποιον λέγεται εἶναι, διά δέ γῆς παριόν, ἐκεῖθεν ποιοῦται· καί ὅμως μετοχετευθέν, παύεται τῆς ποιότητος, καί ἔτι συνέστηκεν· οὕτω καί τά χιονιζόμενα καί ψυχόμενα, παυσαμένης τῆς ψυχρότητος, ἔτι συνέστηκεν, Ἀλλά καί τά ζωῆς ἄμοιρα, ὡς δένδρα, καί λίθοι, καί ἄστρα, καί τά νοῦ, ὡς τά κτήνη, ὅμως ὑφίσταται. Καί οὐσίας δέ ὁ Θεός ἐξῄρηται ὑπερούσιος ὤν, καί ὅμως ἐστί καί πρόεστιν· οὕτω δέ καί οὐκ ἔστιν εἰπεῖν ἐπί τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ· εἰ μή γάρ μετέχοι ποιότητος τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, ἐν ᾧ συνίστασθαι χρή, οὐ δύναται ὑφεστάναι «ἐν αὐτῷ γάρ ζῶμεν καί ἐσμέν», ὥς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος. Τί οὖν;","english":"For God, as the beginning and creator of all things, through the excess of his goodness and through ineffable love, bears with sinners too, in order to display both his own love for humanity and the free will of his creature; for it is said, \"Love bears all things\"; and again, \"He who makes his sun rise on the just and the unjust.\" But this is so in every way. His purpose is to demonstrate that the simply self-evil is not a substance; and he says that nothing among existing things and in creation is entirely without a share in the good; for things wholly devoid of the good, as not even having been produced by the good, do not exist either. Who else is the creator? But neither can anything subsist without sharing incidentally in the good through its state, that is, its quality; for many things, when the state or quality that came to be present has departed, remain in existence; for example, iron that has been heated and has partaken of extreme heat, when the fire is extinguished, remains what it was; and water in itself is said to be the element without quality, but passing through earth, it takes on quality from there; and yet when it has been channeled away, it ceases from the quality, and still it continues to exist; so too things that are covered with snow and chilled, when the coldness ceases, still continue to exist. But also things without a share in life, such as trees, and stones, and stars, and things without mind, such as cattle, nevertheless subsist. And God is exempt from substance, being supersubstantial, and yet he is and presides over all; but in the case of the good it cannot be said this way; for unless it shares in the quality of the good, in which it must be constituted, it cannot subsist—\"for in him we live and are,\" as the Apostle says. What then?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":93,"ref":"p93","source":"ὁ ἀκόλαστος ἐν τῷ ἀκολασταίνειν οὐκ ἐστέρηται τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ; καί ὅμως ὑφέστηκε· καί φησί μέν κατ' αὐτό τό ἀκολασταίνειν, ὡς ἐν στερήσει ὤν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ κυρίως οὐκ ἔστιν, ἀλλ' οὔτε ὄντων ἐκθυμεῖ· τί γάρ ἐστιν αὐτοακολασία δίχα τοῦ εἴδους τοῦ ἀκολασταίνειν; Ὅμως, ἐπειδή κατά ψευδοδοξίαν δοκεῖ αὐτός ἀγαθοῦ τινος ἔχεσθαι καί ἡνῶσθαι κατά φιλίαν τῷ συμφθειρομένῳ αὐτῷ, κἄν διεφθαρμένη δοκῇ ἡ φιλία εἶναι, ὅμως τοῦ θείου ἔρωτος ἀμυδρόν ἐστιν ἀπήχημα, καί διά τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ φαντασίαν ἔχει· οὐ γάρ δεῖ ἀγνοεῖν, ὅτι, ὅταν κρατηθῇ ὑπό τοῦ ἀλόγου μέρους τό λογικόν τῆς ψυχῆς, ἐμποδίζεται μέν τά οἰκεῖα ἐνεργεῖν, συνδοξάζει δέ οὕτω λοιπόν τῷ ἀλόγῳ, ( 14 _164 ὡς μήτε κρατεῖν αὐτοῦ τῶν ὁρμῶν, μήτε συμψηφίζεσθαι ταῖς πράξεσιν αἱ γάρ ψευδοδοξίαι οὔκ εἰσι τοῦ λογικοῦ δόξαι, οὔτε αἱ ψευδεῖς διάνοιαι τῶν διανοιῶν τοῦ λογικοῦ μέρους· οὔτε γάρ διάνοιαι κυρίως αἱ ψευδεῖς. Ἔνθεν καί ὁ θυμικός ἔσθ' ὅτε ἐσφαλμένως ἐπέξεισιν· ὅμως οὐκ ἄμοιρος ἀγαθοῦ, δοκῶν ἐπί διορθώσει τοῦ κολαζομένου τῷ θυμῷ χρῆσθαι, καί ὁ αἰσχρός οὕτως ὑπονοῶν ἀγαθόν τέλος τήν ἡδονήν. Ἐκ τούτου οὖν καί οἱ θεομαχοῦντες, διά τό ὅλως εἶναι ὑπό τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, συγχωροῦνται· τό γάρ μή ἐστερημένον τοῦ καλοῦ, ἀλλά μερικῶς αὐτό τό ἐστερημένον τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ συνεστάναι, ποιεῖ τό ὅλως μετέχειν τι τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ. Οὐ γάρ ἡ μερική, ἀλλ’ ἡ παντελής ἔλλειψις τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἐστι τό κακόν·","english":"Is the dissolute person deprived of the good in his dissoluteness? And yet he exists; and while he is called according to the very act of dissoluteness, as being in deprivation of the good he strictly does not exist, nor does he desire things that exist; for what is dissoluteness itself apart from the form of the dissolute act? Nevertheless, since by false opinion he seems to himself to cling to some good and to be united in friendship with what is corrupted together with him—even if the friendship seems to be corrupted—nevertheless it is a faint echo of divine love, and through the good he has a fantasy. For it must not be overlooked that when the rational part of the soul is mastered by the irrational part, it is hindered from performing its proper activities, and thereafter it assents in opinion to the irrational part, so as neither to control its impulses nor to concur with its actions; for false opinions are not opinions of the rational part, nor are false thoughts thoughts of the rational part; for neither are false thoughts strictly thoughts. Hence the irascible person sometimes proceeds mistakenly; nevertheless he is not without a share of the good, thinking to use his anger for the correction of the one being punished, and the shameful person likewise supposing pleasure to be a good end. From this, then, even those who fight against God, because they wholly exist by the good, are tolerated; for what is not deprived of the beautiful, but has that which is deprived of the good partially constituted, makes it wholly partake of something of the good. For it is not partial but total absence of the good that is evil.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":94,"ref":"p94","source":"καί οὐ τό μερικῶς, ἀλλά τό παντελῶς τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἐστερημένον, τοῦτο οὔτε ἦν, οὔτε ἐστίν, οὔτε ἔσται, οὔτε εἶναι δύναται.\n\nΟὔτε ὄντων ἐπιθυμεῖ: Ὅτι ὁ ἀκόλαστος, εἰ καί κατά τό αὐτό τό ἀκολασταίνειν οὔτε ἐστίν οὔτε ὄντων ἐπιθυμεῖ, ὅμως κατ' αὐτό τό τῆς ἑνώσεως καί φιλίας σχῆμα ἀμυδρῶς μετέχει τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ.\n\nΠρός τό δοκοῦν καλόν: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι καί ὁ τῷ θυμῷ ἀποχρώμενος μετέχειν λέγεται τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἐν τῷ πρός διόρθωσιν κινεῖσθαι τῶν δοκούντων κακῶν· οὕτω καί ὁ χειρίστης, ἤγουν κακίστης ζωῆς ἐφιέμενος, μετέχει τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἐν τῷ τῆς ἀρίστης ζωῆς αὐτῷ δοκούσης ἐφίεσθαι· καί ὁ τό κακόν δέ μετιών, ἐν τῷ δοκεῖν καλόν ποιεῖν, μετέχει τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ.\n\nΚαθ' ὅσον καί νόσος: Ἡ νόσος, εὔδηλον, ὡς ἔλλειψίς ἐστιν ὑγιείας, καί ὑπερβολή σωμάτων ἐνύλων, οὔτε μέτρον, οὔτε τάξιν ἐχομένη, ἀλλά δι' ἀκρασίας τῶν ὑλῶν μιᾶς ὑπέρ τήν εὔτακτον στασιαζούσης ποιούντων τήν νόσον. Ἐπί τοσοῦτον ( 14 _166 μέν οὖν ἡ νόσος ἐστιν ἐν τῷ σώματι, ἐφ' ὅσον ὁπωσοῦν ἡ τάξις ἐλλείποι καί τό σῶμα συνίσταται· εἰ γάρ παντελής ἀμετρία λύσει τό σῶμα, τουτέστι τῶν ὑλῶν τήν τάξιν, καί ἡ νόσος ἀφανίζεται, τοῦ σώματος λυομένου ἐν ᾧ συνεστήκει ἡ νόσος· οὕτω καί ἐπί τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, ἐν ὅσῳ σῴζεται ἐν ἡμῖν, ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν πράττειν καί τό κακόν· ἀφισταμένου γάρ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, οὔτε κακόν ἔστιν εὑρεῖν ἐν ἡμῖν.","english":"And not that which is partially, but that which is wholly deprived of the good—this neither was, nor is, nor will be, nor can be.\n\nNeither does he desire things that exist: Because the dissolute person, even if according to the very act of dissoluteness he neither exists nor desires things that exist, nevertheless according to the very form of unity and friendship he dimly partakes of the good.\n\nToward what seems beautiful: Note that even the one who uses anger is said to partake of the good in being moved toward the correction of things that seem evil; so too the one who pursues the worst, that is, the most evil life, partakes of the good in that he pursues what seems to him the best life; and the one who pursues evil, in that he seems to do something beautiful, partakes of the good.\n\nInsofar as disease also: Disease, it is clear, is a lack of health, and an excess of material bodies, having neither measure nor order, but through the intemperance of the materials, when one of them beyond well-ordered arrangement is in revolt, producing the disease. To the extent, then, that disease is in the body, to that extent order in some way fails and the body holds together; for if complete measurelessness should dissolve the body, that is, the order of the materials, then disease also is destroyed, the body being dissolved in which the disease consisted; so also in the case of the good, as long as it is preserved in us, we have the power to do evil also; for when the good departs, it is no longer possible to find evil in us.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":95,"ref":"p95","source":"Τό γάρ πάντῃ ἄμοιρον: Ὁ σκοπός τοῦ θείου Διονυσίου ἐκ πολλῶν σαφής· μαχόμενος ταῖς τινων Ἑλλήνων δόξαις περί τοῦ κακοῦ, λέγει γάρ μή εἶναι ὄν τό κακόν. Κακόν γάρ αὐτό καθάπαξ οὐσιῶδες οὐκ ἄν εἴη, εἰ μή τό κατά παντελῆ ἔλλειψιν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ὁλοσχερῶς ἄμοιρον ὄν τούτου· τοῦτο γάρ οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδαμοῦ εὑρεῖν, οὐδέ ἐν τῇ ὕλη αὐτῇ τῇ ἀνειδέῳ, κἄν τοῦτό τισι τῶν Ἑλλήνων δοκῇ· ὅ γάρ ὅλως ὑπό Θεοῦ παρῆκται, κἄν ἀμυδρῶς καί ἐσχάτως, μετέσχε δ' οὖν ὅμως τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ. Τοῦτο δέ προϊών ἐν τῷ δεκάτῳ κεφαλαίῳ τούτου τοῦ προβλήματος τελείως ἀποδείκνυσιν. Εἰ γάρ μικτόν εἴη τῷ ἀγαθῷ τό κακόν, τουτέστι, πῇ μέν μή ὄν διά τῆς ἐπ' ὀλίγον ἐλλείψεως τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, πῇ δέ μή ὄν διά τό εἶναι ὅλως τόν ποιοῦντα, οὐ κακόν τοῦτο· οὐ γάρ ἐν τῇ ὁπωσοῦν ἐλλείψει, ἀλλ’ ἐν τῇ παντελεῖ ἐλλείψει τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ τό κακόν. Τό γοῦν ἐλλεῖπον ὀλίγον τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ οὐ κακόν· δύναται γάρ καί τέλειον εἶναι ὡς πρός τήν ἑαυτοῦ φύσιν· ἔστι μέν γάρ τι ὡς πρός μέν τό ἀγαθόν ἐλλιπές, ὡς δέ πρός τήν ἑαυτοῦ φύσιν τέλειον, ὅ δή ἀγαθόν μέν ἐστι, κακόν δέ οὐδαμῶς· καίτοι τε ἐλλείψεως μετέχον ὡς πρός τό πρῶτον ἀγαθόν. Τό δέ μή παντελῶς ἄμοιρον τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, ἀλλά κατά τό πλέον ἐγγίζον τῷ κακῷ, οὐ πάντῃ κακόν· ὥσπερ καί τό ἔλλατον ἐγγίζον τῷ ἀγαθῷ, ἔχει τι τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, καί οὐσιοῦται ἐξ αὐτοῦ, ( 14 _168 καί τήν ἑαυτοῦ στέρησιν οὐσιοῖ ἐν τῷ ὅλως μάχεσθαι ἐκ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ· εἰ γάρ ἀκράτως καί παντελῶς ἀπουσία εἴη τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, δῆλον ὡς οὔτε καθ' ὅλου ἀγαθόν, οὔτε μικτόν ἀγαθόν, οὔτε αὐτόκακον· ἔνθα γάρ οὐκ ἔστι τό ἀγαθόν, οὐδ' ἐστί τι ἐν τῇ φύσει.","english":"For that which is wholly without share: The aim of the divine Dionysius is clear from many considerations. Contending against the opinions of certain Greeks concerning evil, he says that evil is not a being. For evil itself as such would not be substantial, unless it were that which is entirely without share of the good through complete privation of it. But this cannot be found anywhere, not even in formless matter itself, even if this seems so to certain of the Greeks. For whatever has been brought into being at all by God, even if dimly and at the lowest degree, has nonetheless partaken of the good. This he demonstrates perfectly as he proceeds in the tenth chapter of this problem. For if evil were mixed with the good—that is, in one respect not being, through a slight privation of the good, and in another respect not being, through the fact that the one who makes it exists wholly—this would not be evil. For evil lies not in any privation whatsoever, but in the complete privation of the good. At any rate, that which falls slightly short of the good is not evil; for it can also be perfect as regards its own nature. For it is something that is deficient as regards the good, but perfect as regards its own nature; and this is indeed good, and in no way evil, although it partakes of privation as regards the first good. And that which is not wholly without share of the good, but approaches evil to a greater degree, is not entirely evil; just as that which approaches the good to a lesser degree has something of the good and is substantiated from it, and substantiates its own privation in that it is wholly estranged from the good. For if there were an unmixed and complete absence of the good, it is clear that it would be neither wholly good, nor mixed good, nor evil itself. For where the good is not, there is nothing in nature either.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":96,"ref":"p96","source":"Πῶς οὖν ἔσται τό κακόν μή ὑπό τινος οὐσιούμενον; Ἄνελε γάρ τά σώματα καί τό φῶς, καί οὐκ ἔσται σκιά. Οὐκοῦν οὐκ ὄν τό κακόν ἁπλῶς, ἀλλ' ὡς ἐν ὑποκειμένῳ, τό δέ ἀγαθόν καί δίχα τοῦ ὑποκειμένου καί φύσιν ἔχει καί σῴζεται, καί αὐτό καθ' ἑαυτό ἀγαθόν, τό δέ κακόν δίχα τοῦ ὑποκειμένου τοῦ ὑπό τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ φυλαττομένου· πάντα γάρ ἐξ αὐτοῦ οὔτε ἐστίν, οὔτε φαίνεται, οὔτε φθείρεται· πῶς γάρ, μή ὄντος ὑποκειμένου τινός; ἀλλά παντελῶς ἀνύπαρκτον καί οὐδαμῇ οὐδαμῶς ὄν.\n\nΚαί οὐσιοῖ: Τουτέστιν οὐσιοῖ τό κακόν· εἰ γάρ τό κακόν στέρησίς ἐστι τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, τό δέ ἀγαθόν οὐσιοῖ τήν ἑαυτοῦ στέρησιν, οὐσιοῖ ἄρα τό κακόν, ὅπερ στέρησις ἐστι τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ.\n\nΤῇ ὅλως αὐτοῦ μεθέξει: Ὅτι τῇ μερικῇ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ μεθέξει, καί ἡ στέρησις αὐτοῦ οὐσίωται.\n\nἩνίκα τοῖς μέν ἔστι κακόν: Ταῦτα εἴδη εἰσί τοῦ κακοῦ, ὡς προείπομεν· οὐ γάρ τό οὐσιῶδες αὐτόκακον, ὅ μηδέ ἐστι. Τό γάρ τόδε εἶναι κακόν, ἡδονῆς δέ αἰσχρᾶς ὡς ἀγαθοῦ τινος ἀντέχεσθαι, οὐκ αὐτόκακον, ἀλλ’ εἶδος κακοῦ· τό γάρ πάντῃ κακόν αὐτό οὔτε ἐστίν, ἐπειδή μετέχει, κἄν κατ' ἔσχατον ἀπήχημα, τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ· ὅρα γάρ, τί φησι παρακατιών· εἰ γάρ πάντα μετέχει τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ καί ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσίν ἐστι τό ἀγαθόν, τό κακόν, προδήλως, ἤ οὐκ ἔστιν, ἤ ἐν τῷ ἀγαθῷ ἐστιν· οὐδέ γάρ φύσις πυρός τό ψύχειν· εἰ δέ ἄρξεται ψύχειν, οὐκ ἔσται πῦρ. Οὐκοῦν καί τό κακόν, ἐάν μέν ὕπεστι, μετέχει ἀμυδρῶς τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ· πάντα ( 14 _170 γάρ τά ὄντα ἐν τῷ ἀγαθῷ εἰσι καί μένουσιν· εἰ δέ οὐδέν ἔχει ἀγαθοῦ, οὔτε ὕπεστιν· αὐτό γάρ τό θέλειν ὑπεῖναι ἀγαθῆς ἐστι μεταλήψεως, ὡς ἀνωτέρω πολλάκις εἴρηται.","english":"How then will evil exist if it is not given being by something? For remove bodies and light, and there will be no shadow. Therefore evil is not simply a being, but is in a subject, whereas the good has both nature and preservation even without a subject, and is good in itself; but evil is without the subject that is guarded by the good. For all things neither exist, nor appear, nor are corrupted from it; for how could they be, if there is no subject of some kind? But it is altogether without existence and in no way whatsoever is.\n\nAnd gives being: That is, it gives being to evil. For if evil is the privation of the good, and the good gives being to its own privation, then it gives being to evil, which is the privation of the good.\n\nBy participation in it wholly: That is, by partial participation in the good, its privation also receives being.\n\nWhenever for some things it is evil: These are species of evil, as we said before; for the essential evil itself is not, since it does not even exist. For for this to be evil—namely, to cling to shameful pleasure as to some good—is not essential evil, but a species of evil. For the wholly evil itself neither exists, since it participates, even if by the furthest echo, in the good. For observe what he says as he proceeds further: for if all things participate in the good and the good is in all existing things, then evil, clearly, either does not exist, or is in the good. For it is not the nature of fire to cool; but if it begins to cool, it will not be fire. Therefore evil too, if it subsists, participates faintly in the good; for all existing things are in the good and remain there. But if it has nothing of the good, it does not subsist; for the very will to subsist is a participation of the good, as has often been said above.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":97,"ref":"p97","source":"Ἄτοπον καί ἀδύνατον: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι καί ἐπί τοῦ Θεοῦ καλῶς λέγεται ἔν τισι τό 'οὐ δύναται;, ὡς καί ὁ Ἀπόστολός φησιν· «εἰ ἀπιστοῦμεν, ἐκεῖνος πιστός μένει, καί ἀρνήσασθαι ἑαυτόν οὐ δύναται».\n\nΠᾶσα γάρ δυάς: Ὅτι πᾶσα δυάς οὐκ ἀρχή· μονάς δέ πάσης δυάδος ἀρχή. Σημείωσαι κατά Μανιχαίων.\n\nΠαντελῶς ἐναντία: Σημείωσαι ταῦτα· πάνυ γάρ κατά Μανιχαίων ἀγωνίζεται, τῶν δυάδα ἀρχήν ἐναντίων δογματιζόντων ἀνοήτως· ἡ μέν γάρ ἀριθμητική τό ἐν ἀριθμοῖς διαίρεσιν ἔχον πλήθους εἰς πέρας ἀνάγει, τήν μέν μονάδα τοῦ παντός ἀριθμοῦ ἀρχήν τιθεμένη, τήν δέ δυάδα τῶν ἀρτίων. Ἡ τοίνυν ἀρχή τό ἁπλούστατον ἐν ἑκάστῳ γένει δηλοῖ. Πῶς οὖν ἡ δυάς ἀρχή πάντων ἔσται; οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἁπλῆ ἀρχή ἡ δυάς, ἀλλά σύνθετος. Οὐκοῦν οὐχ ἁπλοῦν ἡ ἐκ συνθέσεως ἀρχή· καί πῶς ἄν κληθείη ἀρχή; Πρό γάρ τῆς συνθέτου ταύτης ἀρχῆς ἔσται ἡ κυρίως ἀρχή, τό ἕν, ἀφ' οὗ μονάδων συντεθεισῶν, δυάς ἀπετελέσθη. Δῆλον οὖν ἁπανταχόθεν, ὡς ἀσύστατον τῶν δύο ἀρχῶν τό δόγμα.","english":"Absurd and impossible: Note that even in the case of God it is well said in some places, \"He cannot,\" as the Apostle also says: \"If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.\"\n\nFor every dyad: Note that every dyad is not a principle; the monad is the principle of every dyad. Note this against the Manichaeans.\n\nCompletely contrary: Note these things; for he contends thoroughly against the Manichaeans, who foolishly dogmatize that a dyad is the principle of contraries. For arithmetic brings what has division of multitude in numbers to a limit, positing the monad as the principle of all number, and the dyad as the principle of even numbers. The principle, then, reveals the simplest thing in each kind. How, then, will the dyad be the principle of all things? For the dyad is not a simple principle but a composite one. Therefore the principle that comes from composition is not simple; and how could it be called a principle? For before this composite principle there will be the principle properly so called, the one, from which, when monads are composed together, the dyad was completed. It is clear, then, from every angle, that the doctrine of two principles is untenable.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":98,"ref":"p98","source":"Καί μήν οὔτε δύο: Ὅτι οὐ δυνατόν δύο ἐναντίας ἀρχάς ἐναντίων εἶναι. Οὐδ' ἐκτός δυσχερείας: Οὐκ ἀβλαβής.\n\nΔιό καί φίλα τά ἀγαθά: Ἐπειδή τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ πάντα μετέχει, καί αὐτῷ τῷ εἶναι εἰς τό ἀγαθόν ἀνάγονται, τό ἀγαθόν καί τό καλόν τῶν πάντων οὐκ ἄν εἴη τό πρῶτον καλόν, οὗ πάντα μετέχοντα, ( 14 _172 καλά γίνονται, ὁμοιωθέντα πως τῇ μεταλήψει τῷ καλῷ, πλήν πολλῷ ἀμυδρότατα ὁμοιοῦται τοῦ ἑνός ἀγαθοῦ καί καλοῦ, καθάπερ αὐξομένου καί εἰς τήν τῶν καλῶν φύσιν ἐκφαινομένου· ὅθεν, καί πάντα καλά λίαν. Ἡ δέ τῶν καλῶν φύσις, προϊοῦσα κατά πλῆθος, ἤδη πως καί εἰς τά σύνθετα, ἅ δή καί μάλιστα καλά εἰώθασι καλεῖν οἱ ἄνθρωποι, ἀποδείκνυται πολλαχῶς τοῦ κακοῦ συντιθεμένου καί κατά πολλούς τρόπους λεγομένου· τό δέ ἐν τοῖς οὖσι καλόν οὔτε οὐσία ἐστίν, οὔτε γένος, ἀλλά συμβεβηκός ὁμοιότητά τινα κεκτημένον, κατά μικρόν συναπτομένην· οὐ γάρ καθ' ἕν εἶδος λέγεται τά καλά, ἀλλά πολλαχῶς· προσέοικε δέ μόνον ἀλλήλοις ὡς ὅμοια, κἄν πολυειδῶς περί τό καί αυτά καλά εἶναι κατά τά οἰκεῖα εἴδη ἕκαστα, καί κατά τοῦτο ἅτε ὁμοιούμενα καί προσήγορα ὄντα ἀλλήλοις.","english":"Moreover, neither two: Because it is not possible for two contrary principles to belong to contraries. Nor without difficulty: It is not without harm.\n\nTherefore goods are also dear: Since all things partake of the good, and by their very being are led up to the good, the good and the beautiful of all things would not be the first beautiful, of which all things partaking become beautiful, having been somehow made like to the beautiful by participation—except that it is assimilated very faintly to the one good and beautiful, as though it were increasing and becoming manifest into the nature of beautiful things; whence also all things are very beautiful. But the nature of beautiful things, proceeding in multitude, is already somehow shown forth even into composite things, which indeed people are especially accustomed to call beautiful, evil being compounded in many ways and spoken of in many manners. But the beautiful in existing things is neither substance nor genus, but an accident possessing a certain likeness, joined together little by little; for beautiful things are not spoken of according to one form, but in many ways; and they resemble one another only as like things, even if in many forms each is beautiful in its own kinds, and in this respect, as being made like and akin to one another.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":99,"ref":"p99","source":"Εἰ δέ ἐν Θεῷ τἀγαθόν: Ὅτι τό ἀγαθόν ἐν Θεῷ ὕπαρξίς ἐστιν. Οὔτε ἁπλῶς: Ἀντί τοῦ, ἀϊδίως.\n\nΚατά χρόνον. Ἀντί τοῦ, μεθεκτῶς.\n\n§ 22. Ἀλλ' οὔτε ἐν ἀγγέλοις: Περί ἀγγέλων, ὅτι οὔτε ἐν αὐτοῖς τό κακόν, καί διά τί ἄγγελοι λέγονται.\n\nΤήν ἀγαθότητα τήν θείαν: Θεῖα λέγει τά περί φύσεως ἀγγέλων τῶν μεινάντων θεοειδῶν. Εἴπομεν δέ ἀνωτέρω, διατί ἀγαθοειδεῖς καί οὐκ αὐτοαγάθους\n\nτούς ἀγγέλους φησί· κατά τάς αἰτίας τοίνυν ταύτας οὔτε ἐν ἀγγέλοις τό κακόν. Ἐτυμολογεῖ δέ, διά τί ἐκλήθησαν ἄγγελοι.\n\nΕἰκών ἐστι τοῦ Θεοῦ: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι τούς ἀγγέλους εἰκόνας φησί τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ· καἵ σημείωσαι πῶς λέγει.\n\n( 14 _174 Ἀλλά τῷ κολάζειν: Ὡς ἐξ ὑποκρούσεως προλαμβάνει τήν τινων αἱρέσεων ἀντίθεσιν, τῶν τούς κολαστάς κελεύσει Θεοῦ ἀγγέλους, καί αὐτήν δέ τήν κόλασιν τοῦ κακοῦ τιθεμένων· καί εὐθύς ἐκλύει ταῦτα φιλοσοφώτατα καί προσφυῶς, καί ἐκ τῶν ἱερέων τούς ἐναγεῖς καί βεβήλους τῆς Ἐκκλησίας εἱργόντων καί ἐξωθούντων ἐπί βεβήλοις καί ἐναγέσι πράξεσι, δηλῶν ὡς οὐδέ αὐτοί, τιμωρούμενοι τούς ἐναγεῖς, ἐκ τοῦ κακοῦ εἰσι· μή γένοιτο! εἴρηται γάρ· «οὐ γάρ εἰκῇ τήν μάχαιραν φορεῖ· διάκονος γάρ ἐστι Θεοῦ εἰς ὀργήν τῷ τό κακόν πράσσοντι». Σημείωσαι οὖν τάς λύσεις· πολλάς γάρ ζητήσεις διαλύει τῶν λεγόντων, Εἰ ἐκ Θεοῦ οἱ δήμιοι καί οἱ ἄρχοντες.","english":"If the good is in God: Because the good is in God as existence. Nor simply: Instead of, eternally.\n\nAccording to time. Instead of, participatorily.\n\n§ 22. But neither in angels: Concerning angels, that evil is not in them either, and why they are called angels.\n\nThe divine goodness: He calls divine the things concerning the nature of the angels who remained godlike. We said above why he calls the angels goodlike and not self-good.\n\nAccording to these causes, then, evil is not in angels either. And he gives the etymology of why they were called angels.\n\nIs an image of God: Note that he calls the angels images of the good; and note how he speaks.\n\n(14_174 But by punishing: As if by way of anticipation he forestalls the opposition of certain heresies—of those who hold that the punishing angels act by God's command, and that punishment itself is of evil; and he immediately resolves these things most philosophically and aptly, also from the sacred rites of those who exclude and drive out the polluted and profane from the Church for profane and polluted deeds, showing that not even they, when they punish the polluted, are from evil—may it not be! For it is said: \"For he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is a minister of God for wrath to the one who does evil.\" Note therefore the solutions; for it resolves many questions of those who say, If the executioners and the rulers are from God.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":100,"ref":"p100","source":"Οἱ τόν βέβηλον τῶν θείων μυστηρίων ἀπείργοντες: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι δεῖ τούς βεβήλους ἀπείργεσθαι τῶν θείων μυστηρίων διά τῶν ἱερέων. Οὐδέ τό κολάζεσθαι: Ὅτι οὐ τό κολάζεσθαι κακόν, ἀλλά τό κολάσεως ἄξιον γενέσθαι. Σημείωσαι περί ἱερέων καί ἀρχόντων, τῶν βεβήλους κολαζόντων. Ἀλλ' οὔτε οἱ δαίμονες: Ὅτι οὔτε οἱ δαίμονες φύσει κακοί. Ἔπειτα οὐδέ τοῦτο παντί. Σημείωσαι, ὅτι οὐ παντί καί ἀεί κακόν ἡ φθορά, ὡς ἐπί θηρίων καί ἑρπετῶν καί βοτανῶν ὀλεθρίων. Ἀλλ' οὐδέ φθείρεται: Ὅτι οὐδέ φθείρεταί τι τῶν ὄντων, καθ' ὅ οὐσία. Ἀλλά τῇ ἐλλείψει: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι φθοράν καλεῖ καί τήν πλημμελῆ καί ἀναρμόνιον παρά τήν τάξιν κίνησιν τῆς φύσεως. Ἔχεις δέ καί τοῦτο παρά τῷ Ἰεζεκιήλ περί τοῦ διαβόλου· «ἐφθάρη ἡ ἐπιστήμη σου σύν τῷ κάλλει σου»· φησί δέ τό παρ' ( 14 _176 Ἕλλησι καί Μανιχαίοις λεγόμενον διαλύων, ὅτι οὔτε οἱ δαίμονες φύσει κακοί. Εἶτα τά καθ' ὑπόθεσιν παρ' αὐτῶν ἀντιτιθέμενα προτίθησι καί διαλύει, λέγων· Πρῶτον μέν οὐ φθείρουσιν οἱ δαίμονες οὐσίας· αἱ γάρ οὐσίαι καθ' ὅ οὐσίαι, οὐ χωροῦσιν εἰς ἀνυπαρξίαν· ἔπειτα, καί εἰ τοῦτο ἦν, οὐ πᾶσιν οὐδέ παντων ἡ φθορά κακή, ὡς ἐν τοῖς θηρίοις, καί τοῖς ἕρπουσιν, καί πόαις ὀλεθρίαις, καί τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῖς ὁμοίοις. Ζητητέον οὖν, μή δύναμιν ἤ ἐνέργειαν φθείρουσιν οἱ δαίμονες, καί τέως ἐν συντόμῳ χρή εἰπεῖν, τί δύναμις καί τί ἐνέργεια· ἰστέον οὖν, ὅτι ἡ διαφορά τῆς δυνάμεως πρός τήν ἐνέργειαν τοιαύτη ἐστίν, ὡς ἡ ἕξις πρός τήν ἐνέργειαν τήν κατά τήν ἕξιν· ἡ μέν οὖν ἕξις ποιότης ἐστίν ἔμμονος. Σαφές δέ ἔσται οὕτω·","english":"Those who keep the profane from the divine mysteries: Note that the profane must be kept from the divine mysteries by the priests. Nor is being punished: That being punished is not evil, but becoming worthy of punishment. Note concerning priests and rulers, who punish the profane. But neither are the demons: That neither are the demons evil by nature. Then neither is this [so] for everyone. Note that corruption is not evil for everyone and always, as in the case of wild beasts and reptiles and deadly plants. But neither is it corrupted: That none of existing things is corrupted insofar as it is essence. But by deficiency: Note that he calls corruption also the faulty and disharmonious movement of nature contrary to order. You have this also in Ezekiel concerning the devil: \"Your knowledge was corrupted together with your beauty\"; and he says this, dissolving what is said among the Greeks and Manichaeans, that neither are the demons evil by nature. Then he sets forth the objections made by them by hypothesis and resolves them, saying: First, the demons do not corrupt essences; for essences, insofar as they are essences, do not admit of non-existence; then, even if this were so, corruption is not evil for all nor of all things, as among wild beasts, and creeping things, and deadly plants, and other such things. One must inquire, then, whether the demons corrupt power or activity, and for the present one must say briefly what power is and what activity is; one must know, then, that the difference of power from activity is such as that of habit to the activity according to the habit; habit, then, is a permanent quality. And this will be clear thus:","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":101,"ref":"p101","source":"Τό πῦρ δύναμιν ἔχει θερμαντικήν, καί ἔστιν αὐτοῦ ἕξις, ἤτοι ποιότης, τό θερμαντικόν. Ἔστιν οὖν ἐνέργεια ἡ κατά τήν ἕξιν, ἤτοι ποιότητα, ὅτε καί τι σῶμα θερμαίνεται· ἰδού γάρ ἀποτελεῖται ἡ ἐνέργεια τῆς ἕξεως τοῦ πυρός· ἡ οὖν δύναμις παρ' ἑαυτῆς ἔχει τήν ἐνέργειαν· αὐτῆς γάρ ἐστι τῆς δυνάμεως ἡ ἐνέργεια τό ἐξ αὐτῆς ἀποτελούμενον· ἡ γάρ δύναμις κατά τό ποιεῖν λαμβάνεται. Φθορά οὖν δυνάμεως ἡ ἐνέργεια, ὥσπερ οὖν καί οὐσίας ἡ δύναμις, ταὐτόν δέ καί περί τῆς ἐνεργείας ἡ παρά τήν τάξιν καί τήν συμμετρίαν καί ἁρμονίαν ἀσθενής πρόοδος, καθ' ἥν προϊοῦσαν πλημμελῶς οὐ δύνανται μένειν ὡς εἶχον ἡ δύναμις, καί ἡ ἐνέργεια, καί ἡ οὐσία· εἰ γάρ παντελής, ὡς ἔφημεν, ἔσται ἀσθένεια, οὐ μήν ἡ μερική τῶν εἰρημένων· καί τό ὑποκείμενον φθείρει, ἐν ᾧ ἡ δύναμις καί ἡ ἐνέργεια, καί οὔτε ἡ δύναμις καί ἡ ἐνέργεια, ὡς οὔτε ἡ οὐσία, ( 14 _178 ἀλλ’ οὔτε αὐτή ἡ φθορά παραλειφθήσονται, ἀπολομένων ἐκείνων περί ἅ ἡ φθορά. Ἐνέργεια μέν οὖν νοητῶν καί νοερῶν νοῶν τό κατά φύσιν πράττειν, τουτέστι τό εἰς Θεόν ἀνατετάσθαι· δύναμις δέ νοῦ τό εἰς νοήσεις κατιέναι, περί οὗ τά εἰρημένα, πλημμελῶς κινούμενα, ἐλλείπουσι τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ. Φύσει οὖν κακόν οὐδέν. Ἀλλ' ἐλλιπές ἀγαθόν. Ὡς μή τήν τελείαν φθοράν τῆς φθορᾶς εἰσάγον.","english":"Fire has a heating power, and its state, that is, quality, is the heating capacity. There is, then, an activity according to the state, that is, the quality, when some body is also heated; for behold, the activity of the fire's state is accomplished. The power, then, has the activity from itself; for the activity is of the power itself—the result accomplished from it; for power is understood in terms of acting. The activity, then, is a corruption of power, just as power is of essence, and the same applies to activity: the weak procession contrary to order and symmetry and harmony, according to which, proceeding faultily, power and activity and essence cannot remain as they were; for if, as we said, the weakness will be complete—not, indeed, the partial weakness of the things mentioned—it also destroys the subject in which the power and the activity are, and neither power nor activity, as neither essence, (14_178) nor will corruption itself be left out, since those things about which corruption is have perished. The activity, then, of intelligible and intellectual things, of intellects, is to act according to nature, that is, to be stretched out toward God; and the power of the intellect is to descend into thoughts, concerning which the things said, being moved faultily, fall short of the good. By nature, then, nothing is evil, but an incomplete good—so as not to introduce the complete corruption of corruption.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":102,"ref":"p102","source":"Εἶτα, πῶς οἱ ἐκ Θεοῦ: Πρός τούς λέγοντας· Εἰ ἐκ Θεοῦ ἐγένοντο οἱ δαίμονες, πῶς εἰσι κακοί; Ἔστι δέ λύσις τῆς πεύσεως, εἰ κακοί εἰσιν οἱ δαίμονες· καί φησιν, ὅτι οὐ καθό ἀγαθοί εἰσι κατά τήν παραγωγήν τῆς οὐσίας αὐτῶν (ἐκ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ γάρ παρήχθησαν ἀγαθοί), ἀλλά καθό ἠσθένησαν τῆς φυσικῆς αὐτῶν ἐνεργείας. Καί ἀγαθήν ἔλαχον οὐσίαν. Ὅτι ἀγαθή τῶν δαιμόνων ἡ οὐσία. Ὡς τά Λόγιά φησι: Σημείωσαι, πῶς νοεῖ τό, 'ἀγγέλους τε τούς μή τηρήσαντας τήν ἑαυτῶν ἀρχήν'· ἀρχήν γάρ αὐτῶν φησι τήν εἰς τό εἶναι παραγωγήν· παρήχθησαν γάρ καί αυτοί εἰς πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθόν, ὥσπερ καί ἠμεῖς. Ἐκ τούτων οὖν εἰσιν οἱ δαίμονες, ἐν τούτῳ μόνῳ κακυνόμενοι, ἐν τῇ παύσει τῆς ἕξεως τῶν ἀγαθῶν, καί ἐν τῷ μή ἐγεργεῖν τό ἀγαθόν· ὥστε κατά προαίρεσίν εἰσι κακοί, ἀλλ’ οὐ κατά φύσιν· τό δέ ἀγαθόν πρόσετι τοῖς οὖσι κατά φύσιν· πολλή τοίνυν διαφορά. Τῶν θείων ἀγαθῶν ἕξεως: Σημείωσαι τό ἕξεως καί ἐνεργείας· ἰδού γάρ ἥν προεῖπε δύναμιν, ταύτην νῦν ἕξιν φησίν, ὡς ἡρμηνεύσαμεν ἐν τοῖς ἀνωτέρω ἐν τῇ μεγάλῃ παραγραφῇ.","english":"Then, how are they from God? Against those who say: If the demons came to be from God, how are they evil? There is a solution to the inquiry, if the demons are evil; and he says that they are not evil insofar as they are good according to the derivation of their substance (for they were derived good from the good), but insofar as they grew weak in their natural activity. And they received a good substance. That the substance of the demons is good. As the Oracles say: Note how he understands the phrase, \"and the angels who did not keep their own beginning\"; for he calls their beginning the derivation into being; for they too were derived for every good work, just as we were. From these, then, are the demons, being made evil in this alone, in the cessation of the habit of good things, and in not rousing the good; so that they are evil by choice, but not by nature; and the good is further proper to beings by nature; great, therefore, is the difference. Of the habit of divine goods: Note \"of habit\" and \"of activity\"; for behold, the power he mentioned before, this he now calls habit, as we interpreted in the earlier passages in the great paragraph.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":103,"ref":"p103","source":"Οὐκοῦν, εἰ ἀεί: Ὅτι οὐ πάντῃ ἄμοιροι οέ δαίμονες τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ. Τό γάρ ἀεί ταὐτόν: Ὅτι τό ἀεί ταὐτόν, ἴδιον τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ. ( 14 _180 Κακοί δέ εἶναι: Διά τί κακοί λέγονται οἱ δαίμονες. Αὐτοῖς ἔκβασις: Ἔκβασιν τήν ἀναχώρησιν τοῦ ἁρμόζοντος λέγει, ἀτέλειαν δέ τήν τοῦ τελείου, ἤτοι τῆς τελειότητος την ἔλλειψιν. Φαντασία προπετής: Τί ἐστι φαντασία, ἐν πρώτῳ κεφαλαίῳ εἴπομεν. Ἀλλά ταῦτα: Ἰδού καί ἑτέρα λύσις τοῦ μή εἶναι τό κακόν φύσει κακόν, ἀλλά κατά ἔκπτωσιν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ· τό γάρ ἐν φύσει ὄν ἀεί ὡσαύτως ἔχει καί οὐ καταβάλλεται, ὥσπερ αὐτό τό ἀγαθόν, τό δέ κακόν ἄστατόν ἐστιν, ἐπειδή φθείρει καί ἀλλοιοῖ τό προστυχόν, ὡς εἴπομεν ἄνω. Οὐκοῦν οὐκ ἐν φύσει τό κακόν, ὥσπερ ἐπί τῶν δαιμόνων φησίν ὁ θεῖος οὗτος ἀνήρ εἰ γάρ ἐν φύσει ὄν, ἀεί ὡσαύτως ἔχει. Ἀπέδειξεν οὖν, ὅτι καί δαίμονες καθό εἰσί καί νοοῦσι καί ζῶσι καί ἔφεσιν ἔχουσι τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, οὔκ εἰσι φύσει κακοί, ἀλλά κατά παρατροπήν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, ἐν ᾧ καί ἐγένοντο.","english":"Therefore, if always: That the demons are not entirely without a share of the good. For the always the same: That the always the same is proper to the good. (14_180 But that they are evil: Why the demons are called evil. For them a departure: He calls departure the withdrawal from what is fitting, and imperfection the falling short of the perfect, that is, the lack of perfection. A precipitate imagination: What imagination is, we have said in the first chapter. But these things: Behold, here is another solution to the question that evil is not evil by nature, but by a falling away from the good; for what is in nature always remains the same and is not cast down, just as the good itself, whereas evil is unstable, since it corrupts and alters whatever it encounters, as we said above. Therefore evil is not in nature, as this divine man says concerning the demons; for if it were in nature, it would always remain the same. He has shown, then, that the demons, insofar as they exist and think and live and have a desire for the good, are not evil by nature, but by a perversion of the good, in which they also came to be.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":104,"ref":"p104","source":"α. Οὐδέ αὐτά καθ' αὑτά κακά: Ὁ θυμός ὁ ἄλογος καθ' ἑαυτόν, καί ἡ ἄνους ἐπιθυμία καθ' ἑαυτήν, καί ἡ προπετής φαντασία, οὐ πάντως καί ἐπί πάντων κακόν, καθ' ἑαυτά σκοπούμενα, ἀλλ' ἔσθ' ὅτε καί ἡ ἀναίρεσις αὐτῶν λυμαίνεται τῷ ταῦτα ἔχοντι ζώῳ, ὥς φησι τελείως ἐν τῷ ζ' κεφαλαίῳ τούτου τοῦ λόγου. Καλῶς δέ ἐν ταῖς σχέσεσι ταύταις τά διαβάλλοντα τέθεικεν, ἐπεί ἔστι καί θυμός μετά λόγου, ὡς ὁ κατά τῆς ἁμαρτίας καί κατά τῶν ἐχθρῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ· καί ἐπιθυμία ἔννους, ὡς τό ἐπιθυμεῖν τοῦ βελτίονος, καί τό, «ἐπιθυμία ἐπεθύμησα φαγεῖν τό πάσχα τοῦτο μεθ' ὑμῶν». Οὕτως ἐστί καί φαντασία οὐ προπετής, ( 14 _182 καθ' ἥν ἐφαπτόμεθα τῶν νοητῶν, τῷ νῷ ἡμῶν τοῦτο ποιοῦντες.\n\nΟὐχ ἡ σχέσις: Σχέσιν μέν φησιν αὐτό τό ἔχειν ἁπλῶς, τά δέ προειρημένα, λέγω δή θυμός καί τά συνημμένα, τῆς ἔν τισι ζώοις ἰδιότητος συστατικαί δυνάμεις εἰσί, καί κατά τοῦτο οὐ κακόν τά τοιαῦτα.\n\nβ. Ἀλλ ' ᾖ οὐκ ἔστι: Κατά κοινοῦ τό κατά φύσιν. γ. Οὐ μήποτε αὐτάς: Ἰδού ἐνταῦθα σαφῶς φησιν, ὅτι ἐξ ἀγγέλων οἱ δαίμονες· τάς γάρ δοθείσας αὐτοῖς ἀγγελικάς δωρεάς οὐκ ἀποβάλλουσι, τουτέστιν ὅπερ ἐκ φύσεως ἔχουσιν ἀγαθόν, οὐ μετατρέπουσιν, εἰ καί αὐτοί μή βούλονται ὁρᾷν τό ἐν αὐτοῖς φῶς, μύσαντες αὑτῶν τάς ἀγαθοπτικάς δυνάμεις, ὡς τό εἰρημένον περί τῶν Ἰσραηλιτῶν· «τούς ὀφθαλμούς αὑτῶν ἐκάμμυσαν, καί τοῖς ὠσίν αὑτῶν βαρέως ἤκουσαν, μήποτε ἐπιστρέψωσι καί ἰάσωμαι αὐτούς», Σημείωσαι δέ, ὅτι φωτοειδεῖς καί οἱ δαίμονες, μᾶλλον δέ φῶτα κατ' οὐσίαν, ὡς καί οἱ λοιποί ἄγγελοι· οὕτω καί ἐν Εὐαγγελίοις· «ἐθεώρουν τόν Σατανᾶν ὡς ἀστραπήν».","english":"a. Not evil in themselves: Unreasoning anger in itself, and mindless desire in itself, and rash imagination, are not altogether and in every case evil when considered in themselves, but sometimes even the removal of them harms the living being that possesses them, as he says perfectly in the seventh chapter of this discourse. And he has rightly placed the things that are slandered in these relations, since there is also anger with reason, as that against sin and against the enemies of God; and thoughtful desire, as the desire for the better, and, \"With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you.\" Thus there is also imagination that is not rash, by which we grasp intelligible things, our mind doing this.\n\nNot the relation: He calls \"relation\" the mere having in a simple sense, but the things previously mentioned, I mean anger and the things connected with it, are constituent powers of the peculiarity in certain living beings, and in this respect such things are not evil.\n\nb. But where it is not: \"According to nature\" is understood in common. c. Never these: Behold, here he says clearly that the demons are from angels; for the angelic gifts given to them they do not cast off, that is, the good which they have by nature they do not change, even if they themselves do not wish to see the light in them, having closed their own capacities for good, as the saying about the Israelites: \"They closed their eyes, and with their ears they heard heavily, lest they should turn and I should heal them.\" Note also that the demons are light-like, or rather lights in essence, as are the rest of the angels; thus also in the Gospels: \"I saw Satan as lightning.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":105,"ref":"p105","source":"δ. Λέγονται κακοί: Οὐχ ἁπλῶς τό λέγεσθαι, ἀλλά τό ὄν τῇ φύσει ζητητέον. Τό δέ, 'καθό οὔκ εἰσιν', οὕτω νοητέον· Οὐ γεγόνασιν ἐπί παρατροπῇ τῶν θεόθεν αὐτοῖς δεδομένων ἀγαθῶν, ἕξεων τε καί ἐνεργειῶν, ἥντινα ἀποθέμενοι, γεγόνασι κακοί, καθ' ἥν οὔκ εἰσι τό εἶναι λαχόντες.\n\nα. Καί τοῦ μή ὄντος: Πῶς οἱ τοῦ μή ὄντος ἐφιέμενοι τοῦ κακοῦ ἐφίενται, λεκτέον οὕτως. Ὁ Θεός ὄν ἐστιν ὑπέρ τά ὄντα, καί ἡ ἀλήθεια οὖν τό ὄν ἐστιν, ἐπειδή καί ἡ ἀλήθεια ὁ Θεός ( 14 _184 ἐστίν· εἰκότως οὖν τό ἀντικείμενον τῇ ἀληθείᾳ ψεῦδός ἐστι, μήτε ὄν· ἔξω γάρ ἐστι τοῦ Θεοῦ παντελῶς· μήτε εἰκών ἀληθείας ὄν· οὐδέν γάρ ἀγαθόν ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἔχει. Ἐπειδή δέ πείθει τινάς ὅλως εἶναί τι, ἔσται σκοτεινόν καί ἀμυδρόν τῶν ὁπωσοῦν ὄντων εἴδωλον. Διό καί ἐνεργείᾳ εἴδωλον, καί ἐνεργείᾳ ψεῦδος, τουτέστιν ἀληθινῶς καί ὄντως ψεῦδος· ὅθεν καί ἐνεργείᾳ μή ὄν, οὐκ ὄν ἐστι, καί ὄντως μή ὄν. Τοιγαροῦν ὥσπερ καί ἐπί τῶν ψευδῶς ὄντων, καί τό ὅλον τοῦτο ψεῦδος ὄντων, τό ψεῦδος, ἀναιρεθέν, πᾶσαν τήν οὐσίαν τοῦ πράγματος ἀναιρεῖ, οὕτω καί ὁ τοῦ ψεύδους ἐρῶν, ὥσπερ οἱ δαίμονες, τοῦ μή ὄντος ἐρᾷ, καί ἐν τῷ ὄντι, τουτέστιν ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ οὐχ ἔστηκεν, ὡς αὐτή ἡ Ἀλήθειά φησιν. Οἱ οὖν δαίμονες, καθώς φησιν ὁ Ἰησοῦς, «ψεῦσται ὄντες, καί πατέρες τοῦ ψεύδους», οὔτε εἰσί, καί τοῦ μή ὄντος ἐφίενται, ὅταν καί κακοῦ ἐφίενται τοῦ ψεύδους. β. § 24. Εἰ δέ τό κακύνεσθαι: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι τό συγγίνεσθαι κακοῖς ἐπί προνοίᾳ τοῦ καί αὐτά ἀγαθύνεσθαι οὐ κακόν, κατά τό εἰρημένον· «ἐγενόμην τοῖς ἀνόμοις ὡς ἄνομος, ἵνα καί ἀνόμους κερδήσω».","english":"d. They are called evil: It is not the mere being called so, but what exists by nature that must be sought. And the phrase \"insofar as they are not\" must be understood thus: they did not come to be by a perversion of the goods given to them by God—both states and activities—which, having set aside, they became evil, in accordance with which they are not, having received their being.\n\na. And of that which is not: How those who desire that which is not desire evil must be stated thus. God is being, above beings, and truth, then, is being, since truth is God; reasonably, therefore, the opposite of truth is falsehood, being neither existent (for it is wholly outside God) nor an image of truth (for it has nothing good from God). But since it persuades some that it wholly is something, it will be a dark and faint idol of things that are in any way. Therefore it is also in activity an idol, and in activity a falsehood—that is, truly and really a falsehood; whence also in activity it is not-being, and really not-being. Just as, then, in the case of things falsely existing, and this whole falsehood being things that are, the falsehood, when removed, removes the whole substance of the thing, so too the lover of falsehood, like the demons, loves that which is not, and does not stand in that which is—that is, in the truth—as the Truth itself says. The demons, therefore, as Jesus says, \"being liars and fathers of falsehood,\" neither are, and they desire that which is not, whenever they also desire the evil of falsehood. b. § 24. But if to be made evil: Note that to associate with the evil for the purpose of their also being made good is not evil, according to the saying: \"I became to the lawless as lawless, that I might gain the lawless.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":106,"ref":"p106","source":"Ἔφημεν δέ καί ἀνωτέρω ἐν τῷ ε' κεφαλαίῳ, μή παντελῆ στέρησιν γενέσθαι τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν, ἐπεί καί παντελής ἐγένετο ἄν φθορά καί αὐτῆς τῆς φθορᾶς, ἀλλά κατ' ἔλλειψιν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ μερικήν. Οὐκοῦν κατά τοῦτο οὔτε ἡ ψυχή παντελές ἔχει τό κακόν, ἀλλά τό μέν ἕξει, τό δέ οὐχ ἕξει· καί τό μέν ἀγαθόν οὐσιῶδες, τό δέ κακόν ἔξωθεν. Ἀλλά καί οὕτως ἐρεῖ τις κακόν εἶναι τῇ ψυχῆ τόν ἐμποδισμόν ( 14 _186 τῆς οἰκείας κατά φύσιν ἐνεργείας. Εἰ καί ἔξωθεν τοίνυν ἦν ὁ ἐμποδισμός, ἀλλ’ οὖν ὡς ἐν σκότῳ βλέπειν κωλυομένη ψυχή, ποιήσει κακά. Πρός ὅ λεκτέον, ὅτι ἐκ τῶν εἰρημένων εὑρίσκεται ὁ ἐμποδισμός ποιητικόν κακοῦ, οὐ μήν αὐτόκακον· οὐ γάρ ἡ κακία πρῶτον κακόν, ἀλλ' εἶδος κακοῦ, ὥσπερ ἡ ἀρετή συνεργόν τί ἐστι πρός ἀγαθόν, οὔ τοι πρῶτον ἀγαθόν.\n\nγ. Τό κακόν, ὡς ὄν κακόν: Τουτέστιν οὐκ οὐσία τις τό κακόν, ἀλλ’ οὐδέ ἐν τοῖς κατ' οὐσίαν οὖσι ὡς συμπληρωτικόν ταύτης ὁρᾶται, ὥσπερ δύναμις καί ἐνέργεια τό κακόν· καί πρός τήν τοιαύτην τῆς ἐννοίας ἀπόδοσιν ὁ πᾶς περί τούτου σκοπός ὁρᾶται τοῦ πατρός.","english":"We said also above in the fifth chapter that there is no total privation of the good in existing things, since then total destruction would have come to be, even of destruction itself, but rather a partial deficiency of the good. Therefore, in this respect the soul does not have the evil totally, but some of it it will have and some it will not have; and the good is essential, while the evil is from outside. But even so someone will say that the impediment of the soul's natural activity proper to it is an evil to the soul. Even if, then, the impediment is from outside, nevertheless the soul, being prevented from seeing as in darkness, will do evil things. To this it must be said that from what has been said the impediment is found to be productive of evil, but not itself evil; for wickedness is not the first evil, but a form of evil, just as virtue is a certain co-worker toward good, not indeed the first good.\n\nc. Evil, as being evil: That is, evil is not some substance, nor is it seen among things that exist according to substance as completing it, as evil is a power and activity; and the whole purpose of the father concerning this is seen to accord with such an exposition of the concept.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":107,"ref":"p107","source":"Ἀλλ' ὡς ἔλλειψις: Πῶς νοεῖται τό κακόν.\n\nδ. § 25. Ἀλλ' οὐδ' ἐν ζώοις: Ὅτι οὔτε ἐν ζώοις ἀλόγοις ἐστί τό κακόν, ἐπεί μήτε φύσει κακά εἰσιν, ἀλλ' οὔτε αἱ σχέσεις αὐτῶν κακαί, οἷον θυμός, ἐπιθυμία, φαντασία προπετής.\n\nε. Εἰ γάρ ἀνέλοις: Ὅτι φυσικαί εἰσιν αἱ σχέσεις τῶν ἀλόγων, ὥσπερ λέοντι καί ἑρπετοῖς ὁ θυμός, καί κυσί τό ὑλακτικόν· ὅθεν ὡς φυσικαί, οὔτε κακαί. ς. § 26. Ἀλλ' οὐδ' ἐν τῇ ὅλῃ: Φύσις ἐστί καθ' ἕξιν θεία τέχνη εἰς γένεσιν προϊοῦσα, ἧς θείας τέχνης τά ἀποτελέσματα φυτά τε καί ζῶα καί καρποί καί τῶν στοιχείων εἰς ἄλληλα μεταβολαί, ἀρχή κινήσεως οὖσα καί στάσεως. Ὥσπερ οὖν ἐπί τῶν κηροπλαστῶν καί τῶν τάς πλαστικάς μετιόντων τέχνας δεῖ εἶναί τι ἐν αὐτοῖς μένον, τουτέστι λόγον καί νοῦν, οἵ διά χειρῶν ποιοῦσι τά ἑαυτῶν ἔργα, οὕτω καί ἐπί τῆς φύσεως τῶν ὅλων, ἔστι τι ἐν αὐτοῖς μένον, τουτέστι ἡ δύναμις, οὐ διά χειρῶν ἐργαζομένη, ἀλλά βούλησις καί διανόησις οὖσα Θεοῦ, ( 14 _188 προϊοῦσα οἷον τέχνη εἰς γένεσιν τῶν φυομένων· οὐ γάρ δεῖται ἡ φύσις τινῶν μενόντων, ἑτέρων δέ ὡς κινουμένων· ἡ γάρ ὕλη ἐστίν ἡ εἰς γένεσιν κινουμένη, τό δέ κινοῦν αὐτήν ὁ","english":"But as deficiency: How evil is understood.\n\n4. § 25. But not even in living things: That evil is not in irrational living things either, since they are not evil by nature, nor are their dispositions evil, such as anger, desire, and impulsive imagination.\n\n5. For if you were to remove: That the dispositions of irrational creatures are natural, just as anger is for the lion and for reptiles, and the barking instinct for dogs; whence, as being natural, they are not evil either. 6. § 26. But not even in matter: Nature is a divine art existing as a habit, proceeding into generation, of which divine art the products are plants and animals and fruits and the changes of the elements into one another, being the principle of motion and rest. Just as, then, in the case of wax-modellers and those who pursue the plastic arts, there must be something remaining in them, that is, reason and mind, which through their hands make their own works, so also in the case of the nature of all things, there is something remaining in them, that is, the power, not working through hands, but being the will and thought of God, proceeding as it were like an art into the generation of things that grow; for nature does not need some things remaining and others as it were being moved; for it is matter that is moved into generation, and the one moving it is the","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":108,"ref":"p108","source":"ἀκίνητός ἐστι λόγος ὁ ἐν τῷ ὅλῳ, ὅς ἐστιν ἡ θεία τέχνη, ἥν ἔφημεν φύσιν, εἶδος οὖσα, οὐ μήν ἐξ ὕλης καί εἴδους· τί γάρ αὐτή ὕλης δεῖ, θερμῆς ἤ ψυχρᾶς; ἡ γάρ δεδημιουργημένη ὕλη τοῦτο φέρει ἐν ἑαυτῇ· οὐ γάρ δεῖ πῦρ προσελθεῖν, ἵνα πῦρ ἡ ὕλη γένηται, ἀλλά λόγον· ὅ καί σημεῖόν ἐστι οὐ μικρόν τοῦ καί ἐν τοῖς ζώοις καί τοῖς φυτοῖς, τούς λόγους εἶναι τούς ποιητικούς κατά τήν φύσιν εἶναι λόγον τόν μένοντα· λόγους δέ τούς κατά τάς μορφάς τῶν ὁρωμένων τῆς φύσεως εἶναι γεννήματα, ἤτοι τοῦ κατ' αὐτήν ἀκινήτου καί μένοντος λόγου. Πῶς οὖν ἐν τῇ καθόλου φύσει τό κακόν, τῶν ἐν τοῖς δημιουργήμασι λόγων φυσικῶν ὄντων, καί ἐν οὐδενί ἐναντιουμένων τῇ ὅλῃ φύσει ἐξ ἀγαθοῦ οὔσῃ; Εἰ τοίνυν ἀποδέδεικται τήν καθόλου φύσιν ἐκ τἀγαθοῦ εἶναι, τούς δέ καθ' ἕκαστον ἐν τοῖς δημιουργήμασι λόγους μή ἐναντιοῦσθαι τῇ καθόλου φύσει, πρόδηλον ὡς οὐδέ ἐν φύσει τό κακόν· τοῦτο δέ τῷ καλῷ ἐναντίον· οὐκοῦν οὐκ ἔστι τό κακόν, οὐδέ ἐν τῷ καθόλου. Τά δέ ἐν τοῖς κατ' εἶδος τῆς δημιουργίας ἐναντία, εἴτε ἐν κράσεσιν, εἴτε ἐν ζώοις καί λοιποῖς, οὐχ ἑαυτοῖς εἰσι παρά φύσιν, ἀλλά τοῖς ἄλλοις· ἐν οἷς δέ παρά φύσιν πλημμελῶς φέρονται, τοῦ κατά φύσιν ἐστίν ἀσθένεια, οὐ μήν τοῦτο κακόν· κακία δέ τάξεως μᾶλλόν ἐστι.","english":"The principle in the whole is unmoved, which is the divine art, which we called nature, being form, yet not [composed] of matter and form; for why would it need matter, hot or cold? For created matter carries this in itself; for it is not necessary that fire approach in order that matter become fire, but rather a principle; which is also no small sign that both in animals and in plants the principles productive according to nature are a principle that remains; and that the principles according to the forms of visible things are offspring of nature, that is, of the unmoved and abiding principle according to it. How then is evil in universal nature, when the principles in created things are natural and in nothing oppose the whole nature, which is from the good? If, then, it has been demonstrated that universal nature is from the good, and that the particular principles in created things do not oppose universal nature, it is evident that evil is not in nature either; and this is contrary to the beautiful; therefore evil is not, nor is it in the whole. But the opposites in things according to species of creation, whether in mixtures or in animals and the rest, are not contrary to nature for themselves, but for others; and in those in which they are borne contrary to nature in a disorderly way, it is a weakness of what is according to nature, yet this is not evil; rather it is a disordering of order.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":109,"ref":"p109","source":"Τῆς καθόλου φύσεως: Καθόλου φύσιν τήν θείαν φύσιν καλεῖ. ζ. Εἰ γάρ οἱ πάντες. Πάντες, φησίν, οἱ τῆς φύσεως λόγοι, ἤγουν αἱ αἰτίαι καθ' ἅς γεγόνασι καί εἰσί, παρά τῆς θείας φύσεως ὑπάρχουσιν, ἥν, ὡς εἴρηται, καθόλου καλεῖ, ἐπειδή ἐξ αὐτῆς ἔφυ τά ὅλα· ὅλην δέ φύσιν πάντα τά ὑπό τοῦ Θεοῦ κτισθέντα ( 14 _190 ἐκάλεσεν. Οὐδέν οὖν ἐστιν ἐν τῇ φύσει, ὅπερ ὅλον ὅλοις ἀντίκειται· τό γάρ τινι τῶν ὄντων παρά τήν αὐτοῦ φύσιν ἑτέρῳ φύσις ἐστί· τοῦτο δέ ἀγαθόν. Πάσῃ οὖν φύσει τό μή μένειν ἐφ' οἷς γέγονε, κακόν· τοῦτο γάρ ἔφη στέρησιν τῶν τῆς φύσεως, τό μή ἐκτελεῖν καθ' ὁποιανοῦν αἰτίαν τά ἐφ' οἷς παρήχθη πρός γέννησιν. η. § 27. Ἀλλ' οὐδ' ἐν σώματι: Ὥσπερ τό κάλλος συμμετρία ἐστί μελῶν καί μερῶν μετά εὐχροίας, οὕτως αἶσχος ἀσυμμετρία ἐστί τῶν αὐτῶν. θ. Αἴτιον τῇ ψυχῇ: Ἐπειδή τινες τῶν φιλοσόφων φασίν, ἐκ τοῦ ἀλόγου τῆς ψυχῆς μέρους, ὕλῃ καί σώματι μεμιγμένου, ρεπούσης ἐπ' αὐτό τῆς ψυχῆς τά κακά πράττειν, ὡς ἀνωτέρω διῆλθεν, παγκάλως ὁ θεῖος Διονύσιος λύει τό ἐπαπόρημα ἐκ τῶν ἄλλων ἀσωμάτων καί ἀμιγῶν σώματος πάντῃ, οἵ καί δίχα σώματος, ἐλλείψει τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ πλημμελοῦσι.","english":"Of universal nature: He calls the divine nature \"universal nature.\" 7. For if all. All the principles of nature, he says—that is, the causes by which things have come to be and are—exist from the divine nature, which, as has been said, he calls \"universal,\" since from it all things have their being; and he called \"whole nature\" all things created by God. Nothing, therefore, is in nature that is wholly opposed to all things; for what is contrary to its own nature is, to another, nature; and this is good. So for every nature, not to remain in the things for which it came to be is evil; for this he called a privation of the properties of nature—namely, not to accomplish, for whatever cause, the things for which it was brought forth unto generation. 8. § 27. But neither in a body: Just as beauty is a symmetry of limbs and parts together with good complexion, so ugliness is the asymmetry of these same things. 9. A cause for the soul: Since some of the philosophers say that evils are committed from the irrational part of the soul, which is mingled with matter and body, when the soul inclines toward it, as he set out above, the divine Dionysius most excellently resolves the difficulty from the other incorporeal beings that are wholly unmixed with body, which even without a body do wrong through a deficiency of the good.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":110,"ref":"p110","source":"Παρυφίστασθαι κακίαν: Ὅτι δυνατόν καί ἄνευ σώματος παρυφίστασθαι κακίαν, ὡς ἐν τοῖς δαίμοσι.\n\nΚαί σώμασι κακόν: Τί ἐστι κακόν.\n\n§ 28. Ἥ μηδέ τό πάσχειν δύνασθαι καθ' ἑαυτήν: Εὔλογον ἐπιδρομάδην ἐκθέσθαι τάς δόξας τῶν λεγόντων τήν ὕλην μή ὄν, καί πῶς καλοῦσιν αὐτήν μή ὄν, ἵνα καί οἱ συλλογισμοί τοῦ θειου Διονυσίου νοηθῶσι. Καλοῦσιν οὖν τήν ὕλην μή ὄν ἐκ τοῦ τοιούτου· φασί γάρ, ὅτι τό ὄν, ὅ ἐστιν ἐν τοῖς νοητοῖς διακόσμοις, ἐκ τοῦ πρώτου τοῦ ὑπό τό ὄν ὄντος ἐγένετο. Ἐπεί οὖν ἐκεῖνος ὑπέρ τό ὄν ἐστι, τό ὄν ἐξ αὐτοῦ ὄν ἐκλήθη, ἕτερον ὄν τοῦ ὄντος καθ' ὑπόβασιν· τό γάρ ὄν, ὅ λέγουσι, τήν τῶν νοητῶν ὕλην ὀνομάζουσι, λόγῳ μόνῳ θεωρητήν, ἥν καἱ αὐτήν εἶδος καί ζωήν φασιν, οἱονεί τό ὑποκείμενον ταῖς νοηταῖς οὐσίαις· ( 14 _192 τήν δέ ἐν τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς ὕλην, ὡς ἐνδεῆ πάντων τῶν ἐν τοῖς νοητοῖς· οὔτε γάρ εἶδος, οὔτε ζωή αὐτή. Ἐγένετο δέ αὕτη, ὥς φασιν, ὑπό τοῦ ὄντος, ὅν ἔφησαν γενέσθαι ἀπό τοῦ πρώτου καί ὑπερόντος· ὥστε ἕτερον αὐτήν οὖσαν τοῦ ὄντος οὐ λέγουσιν αὐτήν εἶναι ὄν, ἀλλά μή ὄν· φασί γάρ χρῆναι τήν ὑπόβασιν καί μέχρι τῶν ἐσχάτων ἱέναι, καί διά τοῦτο ἕτερόν φασι τήν ὕλην τοῦ ὄντος καί τοῦ καλοῦ, ὡς μηδέ καλόν εἶναι. Οὐδέν οὖν φασιν αὐτήν ἐνεργείᾳ εἶναι, ἀλλά πάντων ἐστερῆσθαι τῶν ἐπ' αὐτῆς συμβαινόντων, οἷον εἴδους καί ποιότητος· οὔτε γάρ ἑαυτήν μορφοῖ εἰς εἶδος, οἷον","english":"To exist alongside: That evil can exist alongside even without a body, as in the case of the demons.\n\nAnd evil in bodies: What evil is.\n\n§ 28. Or the inability to suffer in itself: It is reasonable to set forth briefly the opinions of those who say that matter is non-being, and in what sense they call it non-being, so that the arguments of the divine Dionysius may also be understood. They call matter non-being for this reason: for they say that the being that is in the intelligible orders came to be from the first being that is below being. Since, then, that one is above being, the being that is from him was called being, a different being from being by way of descent; for the being of which they speak they name the matter of intelligible things, contemplated by reason alone, which they also call form and life, as it were the substrate of intelligible essences; but the matter in sensible things, as lacking all the things that are in intelligible things; for it is neither form nor life. And this came to be, as they say, from the being which they said came to be from the first and super-essential; so that, being other than being, they do not call it being but non-being; for they say that the descent must go even to the last things, and for this reason they say that matter is other than being and than the good, so as not even to be good. They say, then, that it is nothing in actuality, but is deprived of all the things that befall it, such as form and quality; for it does not itself shape itself into form, as it were","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":111,"ref":"p111","source":"οὐρανοῦ, γῆς, ἀέρος, ὕδατος, ζώων, ἀστέρων, οὔτε ποιοῖ, ἀλλ’ ἐξ ἑτέρου κοσμεῖται εἰς ταῦτα. Ὡς οὖν οὐδέν οὖσα τῶν ὄντων ἐπ' αὐτῇ, εἴδους φασί καί ποιότητος, μόνον δέ δυνάμει οὖσα ταῦτα, τουτέστιν εἰς εἶδος καί ποιότητα ἐνεχθῆναι δυναμένη, οὐ μήν ἐνεργείᾳ τι οὖσα τούτων, εἰκότως μή ὄν ἐστι, καθ' ἑαυτήν ἐνεργείᾳ μή οὖσα, διό καί ὡς ἀνείδεος καί ὡς ἄποιος, καί μή ὄν, καί ὡς πάντων ἐνδεής, ἐκλήθη κακόν παρ' αὐτῶν. Ταῦτα οὖν λύων ὁ θεῖος Διονύσιός φησι· Πῶς ποιήσει κακόν ἡ ὕλη, ἡ παντελῶς μή οὖσα τῇ ἐνεργείᾳ; τό γάρ ποιεῖν ἐνεργείας ἐστίν· ἀλλά μηδέ πάσχειν τι δυναμένη, καθ' ἑαυτήν μόνον οὖσα· ἐξ ἑτέρου γάρ καθ' ἡμᾶς κοσμεῖται εἰς εἶδος καί ποιότητα· οὐ πάσχει οὖν καθ' ἑαυτήν οὖσα. Εἰ δέ μή ὄν αὐτήν λέγετε, ὡς παντελῶς οὐδέν οὖσαν, οὔτε κακόν ἔσται οὔτε ἀγαθόν· εἰ δέ ἐστί τι ὄν, ἤ ἐκ Θεοῦ ἐστιν ἤ ἐξ ἑαυτῆς, ἤ ἐξ ἑτέρας ἀρχῆς, καί αὐτή καί ὁ Θεός· εἰ δέ ἀναγκαῖον ἡ ὕλη, ὡς συμπληρωτικόν κόσμου, πῶς κακόν ἡ ὕλη; Ὅρος γάρ ἀναγκαίου, ἀΐδιον, ἀληθές, ὡς ὠφέλιμον, οἵα ἐστίν ἡ ἀρετή ὠφελοῦσα. Ἄλλο οὖν τό κακόν, καί ἄλλο τό ἀναγκαῖον.","english":"of heaven, earth, air, water, animals, stars, nor of any quality, but is ordered into these things from something else. Since, then, it is nothing of the things that exist in itself—they say it is form and quality—and is only potentially these things, that is, able to be brought into form and quality, yet is not actually any of these things, it is reasonably non-being, being in itself not actually; therefore, as formless and as qualityless, and as non-being, and as destitute of all things, it was called evil by them. Resolving these things, the divine Dionysius says: How will matter do evil, which is altogether non-being in actuality? For doing is a matter of activities; but it is not even able to suffer anything, being only in itself; for according to us it is ordered into form and quality from something else; it does not therefore suffer, being in itself. But if you say it is non-being, as being altogether nothing, it will be neither evil nor good; but if it is some being, it is either from God or from itself, or from another principle, both it and God; but if matter is necessary, as completing the world, how is matter evil? For the definition of the necessary is eternal, true, as beneficial, such as virtue is, benefiting. Evil, then, is one thing, and the necessary another.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":112,"ref":"p112","source":"Τό γάρ κακόν, ᾖ κακόν: Ἀνατρέπων τάς δόζας τῶν λεγόντων ( 14 _194 κακόν εἶναι τήν ὕλην, φησί· Πῶς οὖν ἐξ ὕλης γεννᾶται καί τρέφεται ἡ ἔκφυσις τῶν ἀπό γῆς, φυτά καί ζῶα; καί ταῦτα γάρ ἐξ εἴδους καί ὕλης εἰσί. Τό οὖν αὐτόκακον πῶς γεννᾷ καί τρέφει, καί οὐκ εὐθύς φθείρει καί φθείρεται; αὕτη γάρ ἕξις τοῦ κακοῦ. Ἀλλ' οὔτε, ὡς ἔφημεν ἄνω λέγειν τινάς, ἐφέλκεται εἰς κακίαν τάς ψυχάς ἡ ὕλη διά τοῦ ἀλόγου μέρους τῆς ψυχῆς, διά τοῦ σώματος μεμιγμένη τῷ ἀλόγῳ τῆς ψυχῆς· πολλοί γάρ ἐκράτησαν τοῦ τοιούτου μέρους, ὡς οἱ ἅγιοι τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἐπειδή δέ ἔνιοι τῶν Ἑλλήνων φασί, διά τοῦτο τόν οὐρανόν καί τά ἄστρα μή φθείρεσθαι, διά τό ἐκ τοῦ καθαρωτέρου τῆς ὕλης γενέσθαι, τά δέ προσεχῆ τοῖς φθαρτοῖς σώμασιν ἐκ τῆς ὑποστάθμης καί παχυτέρας ὕλης λέγουσι γενέσθαι, ἀναγκαίως καθ' ὑπόβασιν τῶν κτισθέντων, ἐσχάτην οὖσαν, ἀποβῆναι τοιαύτην· διό καί φθείρονται τά κατώτερα καί ἀστατοῦσι, μή δυνάμενα ἰδρῦσθαι καί βεβαίως ἔχειν ἐφ' ἑαυτοῖς, ὡς ὁ οὐρανός καί τά ἄστρα. Εἰ οὖν ἀναγκαίως οὕτω γέγονε, πῶς ἡ ὕλη κακόν, ἔχουσα καθ' ἡμᾶς ἐν ἑαυτῇ τό ἀναγκαῖον; Οὐκ οὖν οὐδαμῶς ἡ ὕλη κακόν. 29. Ἡ στέρησις κατά δύναμιν: Ἡ στέρησις οὔκ ἐστιν ὑπόστασίς τις, ἀλλά περί τό ἐστερημόνον τοῦ πεφυκότος καί ἐπιβάλλοντος εἴδους γίνεται, ὡς καί ἐνταῦθα· μερικῶς γάρ τῆς στερήσεως οὔσης ἐν τῇ ὕλῃ τοῦ εἴδους, ἔσται τοῦ ἀγαθού τι ἐν αὐτῇ, καθό καί εἴδους καί κόσμου ἐρᾷ, καί δέχεται ταῦτα ὡς ἀγαθά. Τό δέ αὐτόκακον οὔτε ἀγαθοῦ μετουσίαν δέχεται, διό οὔτε ἐστίν·","english":"For evil, insofar as it is evil: Refuting the opinions of those who say that matter is evil, he says: How then is the generation and nourishment of the growth of things from the earth—plants and animals—produced from matter? For these too are from form and matter. How then does evil itself generate and nourish, and not immediately corrupt and be corrupted? For this is a state of evil. But neither, as we said above that some claim, does matter draw souls into wickedness through the irrational part of the soul, being mingled through the body with the irrational part of the soul; for many have mastered this part, as the saints of God have. But since some of the Greeks say that for this reason heaven and the stars do not perish—because they are made from the purer part of matter—while the things adjacent to corruptible bodies, they say, are made from the sediment and coarser matter, it necessarily follows that by a descending order of created things, being last, it came to be such; therefore the lower things also perish and are unstable, unable to be established and to remain firmly in themselves, as heaven and the stars do. If then it has necessarily come to be thus, how is matter evil, having in itself, according to us, necessity? Therefore matter is in no way evil. 29. Privation in potentiality: Privation is not a substance, but comes about in that which has been deprived of the form it naturally has and which is proper to it, as also here; for since privation of form is partially in matter, there will be something of the good in it, insofar as it desires form and order, and receives these as goods. But evil itself neither receives participation in the good, therefore it also is not.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":113,"ref":"p113","source":"ἡ γάρ παντελής στέρησις καί αυτό τό ὑποκείμενον σῶμα φθείρει, ὡς μηδέ νόσον ἔτι ὑπομεῖναι· ὅθεν καί ἀδύναμον αὐτήν εἶπεν· ἡ δέ μερική, ὡς ἔχουσά τι τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, δύναμιν λέγεται ἔχειν. Ἀλλά καθό οὐ παντελής: Ὅρος σύντομος τοῦ κακοῦ, ὅτι ( 14 _196 οὐ κατά φύσιν, ἀλλά κατά μερικήν ἔλλειψιν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἐστι. § 30. α. Καί τῆς ὅλης αἰτίας: Ὅλην αἰτίαν τήν τῶν ὅλων φησι. Τό δέ μερικόν εἴρηκεν, ἵνα τό καθόλου ἀνέλῃ· παντελής γάρ ἔλλειψις τό μή εἶναι συνίστησιν. Οἶδεν ὁ Θεός τό κακόν: Καί τά λεγόμενα κακά οἶδεν ὁ Θεός ἔσθ' ὅτε ὡς ἀγαθά. Κακά δέ νῦν φησιν, οἷον πολέμους, νόσους παιδευτικάς, θανάτους καί τά τοιαῦτα· νομίζονται γάρ ἡμῖν κακά, εἰσί δέ δυνάμεις ἀγαθοποιοῦ αἰτίας· καί γάρ διά τῶν εἰρημένων μετάνοια καί ἐπίγνωσις Θεοῦ καί εὐσεβείας τοῖς πλείοσιν ἐγένετο πρόφασις· καί ἐν τοῖς προφήταις ἡ κακία παιδεία λέγεται. Ἀνάγνωθι τό κβ ' κεφάλαιον.\n\nβ. Παρ' αὐτῷ αἱ αἰτίαι: Αἰτία τοῦ ἐν τῷ ἀσελγαίνειν κακοῦ ἡ ἐπιθυμία παρά λόγον κινηθεῖσα. Ἀλλ' αὐτή ἡ ἐπιθυμία δύναμις ἀγαθοποιός λογικοῖς μέν πρός τό δι' αὐτῆς πρός τό ὄντως ἀνατείνεσθαι ἀγαθόν, ἀλόγοις δέ πρός ὄρεξιν τῶν ἐπιτηδείων τῆς οἰκείας διαμονῆς.","english":"For complete privation also destroys the underlying body itself, so that it can no longer even endure disease; whence he called it powerless. But partial privation, since it has something of the good, is said to have power. But insofar as it is not complete: A brief definition of evil, that it is not according to nature, but according to a partial deficiency of the good. § 30. a. And of the whole cause: He calls the whole the cause of all things. But he has said \"partial\" in order to abolish the universal; for complete deficiency constitutes non-being. God knows evil: And God sometimes knows the things called evils as goods. But he now calls evils such things as wars, diseases that are corrective, deaths, and the like; for they are considered by us to be evils, but they are powers of a good-producing cause; for through the things said, repentance and knowledge of God and a pretext for piety have come about for the majority; and in the prophets, wickedness is called discipline. Read the twenty-second chapter.\n\nb. In him the causes: The cause of the evil in debauchery is desire moved contrary to reason. But this desire itself is a good-producing power—for rational beings, to be stretched through it toward the truly existing good; for irrational beings, toward the appetite for the things suited to their own preservation.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":114,"ref":"p114","source":"γ. Εἰ δέ τό κακόν ἀΐδιον: Ταῦτα κατά Μανιχαίων ἔλεγχος καί τῆς δόξης αυτῶν ἀνατροπή. Εἰ γάρ καί μήπω ἡ αἵρεσις, ἀλλά προφυλακτικῶς ἐνεπνεύσθη τά τήν πλάνην αὐτῶν ἀνατρέποντα. Ἴσως δέ καί πρός τινας τῶν ἕξωθεν δόξας τά τοιαῦτα.\n\nδ. Πᾶν τό κατά φύσιν: Τουτέστιν οὐκ ἄτακτοι τῶν φύσεων οἱ λόγοι, ἕπεται δέ τῷ κατά φύσιν τό ὡρισμένον· ὅρος γάρ ἐστι καί ὁ ἑρμηνευτικός λόγος τῆς οὐσίας τῶν πραγμάτων, καί τό τί ἦν εἶναι δηλῶν, τοῦ τί ἦν εἶναι, τῷ τί ἐστιν ἴσα δυναμένου. Πᾶν οὖν τό κατά φύσιν ἐξ αἰτίας ὡρισμένης ἐστί, δι' ἥν αἰτίαν γίνεται τό γενόμενον. Εἰ οὖν τό κακόν ἀναίτιόν ἐστιν, οὐ γάρ ( 14 _198 διά τι γέγονεν, εἰκότως καἱ ἐν ἀοριστίᾳ· οὐ γάρ ἐστι αὐτοῦ λόγος, τό τί ἦν εἶναι ἑρμηνεύων, ἐξ ἀνάγκης, οὐδέ κατά φύσιν. Εἰ οὖν παρά φύσιν, οὐχ ἕξει ἐν τῇ φύσει λόγος, ὡς οὔτε ἐν τῇ τέχνη ἡ ἀτεχνία, ε. Εἰ μέν φύσει: Εἰ μή κατά στέρησιν μερικήν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ κακύνεται ψυχή, ἔξωθεν τῆς οὐσίας αὐτῆς, ἀλλ' ἀλλοτρίου τινός ἐπισυμβαίνοντος, ἔσται τῆς οὐσίας αὐτῆς ἡ στέρησις τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, καί ἔσται οὐσιῶδες αὐτῇ τό κακόν. Καί πῶς ἔσται ψυχή; οὔτε γάρ ἔσται ζῶσα οὐ γάρ ἕξει ζωήν· ἀγαθόν δέ ζωή. Εἰ δέ ψυχή ἐστι, μετέχει τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, τουτέστι ζωῆς· οὐσιῶδες οὖν ἕξει τό ἀγαθόν, καί οὐ τό κακόν· διό καί ἀγαθοειδής λέγεται. Ἀσθενείᾳ δέ τῇ περί τά οἰκεῖα, κατά φύσιν ἐνεργεῖν κακύνεται, ὡς ἀσθενής καί εὐκίνητος οὖσα πρός τά πάθη. Ἀσθένεια δέ ψυχῆς οὐχ ὡς ἐπί σωμάτων παχύτης ἤ ἰσχνότης εἰς τήν οὐσίαν αὐτῆς, ἀλλ' ἐπί τά ὑλικά καί πρόσκαιρα ἔνδοσις· ὅθεν καί πλημμελῶς λοιπόν κινεῖται.","english":"3. But if evil is eternal: This is a refutation of the Manichaeans and an overthrow of their opinion. For even if the heresy is not yet present, yet the arguments that overturn their error were inspired by way of precaution. Perhaps such things are also directed against certain opinions of those outside the Church.\n\n4. Everything according to nature: That is, the principles of natures are not disordered, but what is defined follows upon what is according to nature; for the interpretive principle of the essence of things is also a boundary, and it declares the what-it-was-to-be, since the what-it-was-to-be is equivalent in force to the what-it-is. Everything, then, that is according to nature is from a defined cause, by which cause the thing that comes to be comes to be. If, then, evil is without a cause—for it has not come to be for some reason—it is reasonably also in indefiniteness; for there is no principle of it that interprets the what-it-was-to-be, of necessity, nor is it according to nature. If, then, it is contrary to nature, it will not have a principle in nature, just as artlessness is not in art either.\n\n5. If by nature: If the soul is not made evil by a partial privation of the good, but by something foreign befalling it from outside its essence, then the privation of the good will belong to its essence, and evil will be essential to it. And how will it be a soul? For it will not be living, since it will not have life; and life is a good. But if it is a soul, it partakes of the good, that is, of life; it will therefore have the good as essential, and not evil; whence it is also called good-like. But by weakness in matters proper to it, it is made evil by not acting according to nature, since it is weak and easily moved toward the passions. And the weakness of the soul is not, as in bodies, thickness or thinness with respect to its essence, but a yielding to material and temporary things; whence it is henceforth moved in a disordered way.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":115,"ref":"p115","source":"Ἔκγονα δέ ταύτης ἐνταῦθα τά ποιήματα λέγει. Σημείωσαι δέ ὅτι ἡ ἐνέργεια τῆς ψυχῆς οὐκ ἔχει τό ἀμετάβλητον, ὡς συμβαίνουσα καί ἀποσυμβαίνουσα.\n\nΕἰ δέ ταῖς ἐνεργείαις: Ἵνα ᾖ ὁ νοῦς ἐν συντόμῳ οὕτως· ἡ φύσις τῆς ψυχῆς ἀγαθή, ἐπειδή ἐκ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ παρήχθη, καί αἱ ἐνέργειαι αὐτῆς ἀγαθαί· ὁρῶμεν γάρ τούς ἀγαθούς ἄνδρας ἐνεργοῦντας τά οἰκεῖα· ἐκ παρατροπῆς δέ καί ἐλλείψεως τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ παρεισδύνει τό κακόν. Οὐκοῦν οὐκ ἐν φύσει, οὐδέ ἐνούσιον τό κακόν. § 31. ς. Εἰ τῷ ἀγαθῷ τό κακόν: Τῷ ἑνί ἐναντία τά πολλά· οὐκοῦν εἰ τῷ ἑνί καί ἀγαθῷ αἰτίῳ ἐναντίον τά πολλά αἴτια, πολλά τῷ κακῷ· καί, εἰ τῶν κατά φύσιν, ὡς ἄνω ἔφην, λόγοι καί δυνάμεις εἰσί τά ποιητικά, τῶν παρά φύσιν ποιητικά αἱ πλημμελεῖς τῶν κατά φύσιν ἐξ ἀσθενείας καί ἀδυναμίας συμβαίνουσαι, ( 14 _200 δι' ὧν καί παρυφίσταται τό κακόν. Ποιεῖ δέ κακά ἔσθ' ὅτε καί μίξις τῶν ἀνομοίων ἀσύμμετρος, ὅταν ἤ τό θερμόν ἤ τό ψυχρόν, ἤ τό ξηρόν, ἤ τό ὑγρόν πλέον τῶν ἄλλων κρατήσῃ· ὅθεν καί νόσοι πολλάκις. Πῶς δέ συσταίη κακόν, τῶν γενομένων ἁπάντων, ὡς ἐποιήθησαν, μενόντων; Ταῦτα μέν γάρ ἐκ κινήσεως βουλήματι Θεοῦ παρήχθη καί ἀκίνητα ἐν τοῖς ἰδίοις ὅροις μένει ἑστῶτα καἱ πεπερασμένα ἐν τῷ Θεῷ, τό δέ τούτων ἐναντίον τό αὐτόκακον, ἄστατον, καί πέρας οὐκ ἔχον οὔτε ὡρισμένον, ὧν οὐδέν ἐν τῇ δημιουργίᾳ ὁρῶμεν. Πῶς οὖν ἐνυπόστατον τό κακόν; ζ. Λόγοι καί δυνάμεις: Τουτέστιν οὐ κατά λόγον ἀναγκαῖον τῇ φύσει, ἤ τινα οὐσιώδη ἰδιότητα ταῦτα λογίζεσθαι χρή.","english":"He calls the offspring of this here the things that have been made. Note that the energy of the soul does not possess immutability, since it both comes to be and ceases to be.\n\nBut if to the energies: So that the meaning may be, in brief, as follows: the nature of the soul is good, since it was brought forth from the good, and its energies are good; for we see good men performing what is proper to them; but evil steals in through deviation and deficiency of the good. Therefore evil is neither in nature nor essential. § 31. 6. If to the good, evil: Many things are contrary to the one; therefore if many causes are contrary to the one and good cause, then many things are contrary to evil; and if the productive principles and powers of things according to nature, as I said above, are productive, then the productive principles of things contrary to nature are the faulty operations of things according to nature, arising from weakness and incapacity, through which evil also subsists alongside. Sometimes, too, an incongruous mixture of dissimilar things produces evils, when either the hot or the cold, or the dry or the moist, prevails more than the others; whence also diseases often arise. But how could evil be constituted, when all things that have come to be remain as they were made? For these things were brought forth by movement according to the will of God and remain unmoved, standing within their own bounds and bounded in God, whereas the opposite of these, evil itself, is unstable and has no limit nor is it defined, none of which do we see in creation. How then is evil substantial? 7. Principles and powers: That is, one must not reckon these to be necessary to nature according to a principle, or as some essential property.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":116,"ref":"p116","source":"Μίξιν δέ τῶν ἀνομοίων οἶμαι νοῆσαι τήν τῶν φυσικῶν δυνάμεων ἐπί τά μή προσήκοντα κίνησιν, ὅπερ ἡ ἀμετρία ποιεῖ, μή λόγῳ κρατουμένων τῶν κινήσεων εἴσω μένειν τῶν ὅρων, ἐφ' οἷς καί γεγόνασι. Πάντων καί τῶν κακῶν: Ὅτι πάντων καί τῶν κακῶν ἀρχή καί τέλος ἐστί τό ἀγαθόν, ἐπειδή καί πᾶν ποιοῦντες, ἀγαθόν ποιεῖν νομίζομεν, καί ὅτι ὑπόστασιν οὐκ ἔχει τό κακόν, ἀλλά παρυπόστασιν, τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἕνεκα, καί οὐχ ἑαυτοῦ γινόμενον. Τοῦτο δέ καί ἀνωτέρω εἰρήκαμεν, ὅτι οὐ πρός τό κακόν ὁρῶντες τοῦτο πράττομεν, ἀλλά δοκοῦντες ἀγαθόν ποιεῖν, εἰ καί ἡ ἔκβασις τουναντίον δείκνυσιν. Ὅτι τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἕνεκα: Ὅ εἶπε καί ἐν τῷ πρό τούτου κεφαλαίῳ, 'διά τό ἀγαθόν', ἐπειδή νομίζομεν ὅ ποιοῦμεν ἀγαθόν.\n\n( 14 _202 § 32. Τῷ ὄντι δέ οὐκ ὀρθόν: Ἐφιέμενοι γάρ κατά φύσιν καἱ δύναμιν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἑκτικήν, πράττομεν ἔσθ' ὅτε ἀγνοοῦντες τό κακόν, ὅ ἡμῖν μέν νομίζεται καλόν, τῇ δέ ἀληθείᾳ ἐστί κακόν. Τί γάρ; Ὅτι, τιμωροῦντες τῷ ἠδικημένῳ, φονεύομεν ἐσθ' ὅτε τόν ἀδικήσαντα μή ἄξιον ὄντα θανάτου. Οὕτω νόει, καί οὐ σφάλλῃ.","english":"I think that the mixture of dissimilar things means the movement of natural powers toward things that are not fitting, which is what immoderation brings about, when the movements are not governed by reason so as to remain within the boundaries in which they also came to be. Of all things, even of evils: That the good is the beginning and end of all things, even of evils, since in doing everything we think we are doing something good, and because evil has no substance but a para-substance, existing for the sake of the good and not for its own sake. This we have also said above, that we do not do this looking toward evil, but thinking we are doing something good, even if the outcome shows the opposite. That for the sake of the good: Which he also said in the chapter before this, \"because of the good,\" since we think that what we do is good.\n\n(14 _202 § 32. But in truth it is not right: For desiring the good by nature and capacity in a habitual way, we sometimes do evil in ignorance, which is thought by us to be beautiful but in truth is evil. For what? That, avenging the one who has been wronged, we sometimes kill the one who did the wrong when he does not deserve death. Understand it this way, and you will not go astray.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":117,"ref":"p117","source":"Στέρησις ἄρα ἐστι: Θαυμασίως ἔδειξεν ἀνυπόστατον τό κακόν, στέρησιν ἀποδείξας τῶν ἐν τάξει καί φύσει. Ἡ δέ στέρησις οὐκ αὐτοϋπόστασις, ὡς προέφημεν, ἀλλά τό πεφυκός καί ἐπιβάλλον παρεῖναι μή παρόν· ὅθεν καί ἁμαρτίαν, τουτέστιν ἀτευξίαν καί ἀπόπτωσίν τινα τοῦ προσήκοντος, αὐτό τό τῆς στερήσεως καλεῖ, καί ἄσκοπον, ἀντί τοῦ, παρά τόν σκοπόν βάλλον, ἐκ μεταφορᾶς τῶν τοξευόντων· ὥσπερ γάρ ἐκεῖνοι, ἐπιτυγχάνοντες τοῦ σκοποῦ, τουτέστι τοῦ σημείου ἐφ' ὅ τοξεύουσιν, ὅ δή καί σκοπός λέγεται, καλῶς προΐασιν, οὕτως οἱ ἔξω τοῦ σκοποῦ τοξεύοντες ἁμαρτάνουσι τοῦ προσήκοντος.\n\nΚαί ἁμαρτία: Τό 'ἁμαρτία' μή νοήσῃς τήν γενομένην ἐν ἡμῖν, οἷον μοιχείαν, ἤ ἀδικίαν, ἤ ἄλλο τι τοιοῦτον, ἀλλ' ὅ λέγει, τοιοῦτόν ἐστι. Τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ καἱ τῆς κατά φύσιν κινήσεως, ἤτοι τάξεως, ἀποτυγχάνοντες, φερόμεθα εἰς τήν παρά φύσιν ἄλογον καί παντελῆ καί ἀνούσιον ἀνυπαρξίαν· ὅθεν καί μηδαμῇ μηδέν ὄν λέγει τό κακόν.\n\nΟὐ πάντα πᾶσι: Θείως τάς ὑποβάσεις τῶν ἐν τῇ δημιουργίᾳ διέσωσεν· ὁ μέν γάρ νοῦς, καθ' ὅν οὐσίωνται οἱ θεῖοι νόες καί πάντῃ ἄϋλοι, ἀνώτερος ψυχῆς ἐστιν. Ὁ οὖν ἄγγελος, ὁ παρά τόν ἀγαθοειδῆ νοῦν κινηθείς, δαίμων ἀπέβη, ἡ δέ ψυχή, καθό νοερά καί λογική, οὐ κατά λόγον ἐνεργοῦσα τόν ὑποβεβηκότα ( 14 _204 νοῦν τόν νοητόν, οὐκ ἐνεργεῖ τά οἰκεῖα, τά δέ σώματα τά ὑποβεβηκότα τόν νοερόν λόγον παρά φύσιν εὑρεθέντα, οὐκ ἔρρωνται εἰς τά ἑαυτῶν. § 33. Πῶς ὅλως τά κακά: Εἰ πρόνοια ἐν πᾶσι, οὐδαμοῦ φύσει τό κακόν.","english":"It is therefore a privation. He has wonderfully shown that evil is without substance, having demonstrated it to be a privation of things in order and nature. But privation is not a self-subsistence, as we said before, but the absence of what is naturally and properly present. Hence he calls even sin—that is, failure and a certain falling away from what is fitting—by the very name of privation, and \"aimless,\" meaning \"throwing beside the mark,\" by a metaphor from archers. For just as those who hit the mark—that is, the target at which they shoot, which is indeed called the skopos—proceed well, so those who shoot outside the mark miss what is fitting.\n\nAnd sin: Do not understand \"sin\" as the act that comes to be in us, such as adultery, or injustice, or anything else of that sort, but what he means is this: failing of the good and of the movement or order according to nature, we are carried into the irrational, utterly complete, and insubstantial non-existence that is contrary to nature. Hence he says that evil is in no way anything at all.\n\nNot all things to all: He has divinely preserved the gradations of things in creation. For the intellect, according to which the divine intellects subsist and are in every way immaterial, is higher than the soul. The angel, then, who was moved contrary to the good-like intellect, became a demon; but the soul, insofar as it is intellectual and rational, when it does not act according to reason in relation to the intellect that is below it—the intelligible intellect—does not perform its own proper works; and bodies, which are below the intellectual reason, when found contrary to nature, are not strong toward their own proper ends. § 33. How evils exist at all: If providence is in all things, evil is nowhere by nature.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":118,"ref":"p118","source":"Ἀλλά καί τοῖς γινομένοις: Ὅτι καί τοῖς γινομένοις καί νομιζομένοις κακοῖς ἀγαθοπρεπῶς κέχρηται ὁ Θεός πρός διόρθωσιν ἤ ὠφέλειαν ἡμῶν ἤ ἑτέρων. Ἤ ἄλλων ἤ ἰδικήν: Πρός τούς λέγοντες, ὅτι ἐχρῆν ἡμᾶς καί ἄκοντας εἶναι ἀγαθούς.\n\nΟἵ χρῆναί φασι τήν πρόνοιαν: Σημείωσαι, πῶς ἐπιπλήττει τοῖς λέγουσι· Διά τί γάρ μή ἐποίησεν ἡμᾶς ὁ Θεός οὕτως, ἵνα, κἄν θέλωμεν, μή ἁμαρτάνωμεν; Τοῦτο γάρ οὐδέν ἕτερόν ἐστιν, ἤ λέγειν· Διά τί μή ἀνόητα καί ἄλογα ἡμᾶς ἐποίησε; τό γάρ ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἡμᾶς ἄγεσθαι ἐπ' ἀρετήν οὔτε αὐτοκράτοράς τινας ἡμᾶς ἐδείκνυ τῶν καθ' ἑαυτούς, οὔτε τήν νοεράν ψυχήν· ἄνελε γάρ ἡμῶν τό αὐτεξούσιον, καί οὔτε εἰκών Θεοῦ ἑσόμεθα, οὔτε ψυχή λογική καί νοερά, καί τῷ ὄντι φθαρήσεται ἡ φύσις, οὐκ οὖσα ὅπερ ἔδει αὐτήν εἶναι. Ὅπερ δέ φησιν, αὐτοκινήτων, ἀντί τοῦ αὐτεξουσίων καί αὐτοκρατόρων εἰρῆσθαι νοητέον· οὐ γάρ τῶν ἑαυτούς κινούντων, οἷον ἐμψύχων, πρός ἀντιδιαστολήν τῶν ἀκινήτων, ὡς οἴκων καί ὀρῶν, ἤ ἑτεροκινήτων, ὡς λίθων καί ξύλων. Περί γάρ ἀρετῆς διαλεγόμενος τούς αὐτοκινήτους παρέλαβεν, ὧν φησι πρόσφορον τήν πρόνοιαν, οἷον τήν διά νόμου καί προφητῶν, τήν διά τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν, ὡς καί ὁ Ἀπόστολος δηλοῖ, δημηγορῶν παρ' Ἀθηναίοις. Ἄκοντας ἡμᾶς: Καλῶς ἀνέτρεψε τόν λόγον τῶν λεγόντων, ( 14 _206 ὅτι ἐχρῆν ἡμᾶς καί ἄκοντας καί ἀνάγκης εἶναι καλούς· τοῦτο γάρ φθορά ἦν ἡμῶν τῆς οὐσίας· ἀνῄρητο γάρ τό αὐτεξούσιον.","english":"But also to what comes into being: That God uses even the evils that come into being and are thought to be evils in a manner befitting good, for our correction or benefit or that of others. Or of others or one's own: Against those who say that we ought to be good even unwillingly.\n\nWho say that providence ought: Note how he rebukes those who say: Why then did God not make us so that, even if we wished, we would not sin? For this is nothing other than to say: Why did he not make us senseless and irrational? For to be led to virtue by necessity would show us to be masters neither of our own affairs nor of the intellectual soul. For take away our free will, and we shall be neither an image of God nor a rational and intellectual soul, and in truth nature will be corrupted, not being what it ought to be. But what he says, \"of self-moved things,\" must be understood as said instead of \"of free-willed and self-ruling things\"; for it is not about things that move themselves, such as living beings, in contrast to immovable things, like houses and mountains, or to things moved by others, like stones and wood. For speaking about virtue he took up self-moved things, whose providence he says is fitting, such as that through the law and the prophets, that through benefactions, as the Apostle also makes clear, addressing the Athenians. Unwilling: He has well refuted the argument of those who say that we ought to be good even unwillingly and by necessity; for this was a corruption of our substance, since free will would have been destroyed.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":119,"ref":"p119","source":"§ 34. Καί ἀλλοίωσις: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι καί τά ἀσώματα καί τά ἄϋλα ἀλλοιοῦται, μή μένοντα ἐν τῇ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ὁλοτελῶς ταὐτότητι· τό μέν γάρ ἀγαθόν ταὐτόν, ὡς ἀεί ἑστώς καί βέβαιον, τό δέ τρεπόμενον οὐ ταὐτόν.\n\n§ 35. Εν γνώσει δέ ἁμαρτάνοντας: Ὅρα πῶς ἑρμηνεύει τό, «οὐαί τοῖς ἐν γνώσει ἁμαρτάνουσι», καί τό, «ὁ δοῦλος ὁ εἰδώς τό θέλημα τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦ, καί μή ποιῶν αὐτό, δαρήσεται πολλάς».\n\nἬ τῆς γνώσεως: Γνῶσίν φησιν ἴσως τήν ἐκ διδασκαλίας προσγινομένην, ἥν καί λήθη πολλάκις δύναται ἀμαυρῶσαι, ἥν καί ἀνωτέρω φησίν ἐξ ἀκοῆς ἐγγίνεσθαι· ἄληστον δέ τήν γνῶσιν οἰητέον τήν ἐκ φυσικῆς θεωρίας ἤ ἐλλάμψεως ἀδιδάκτως προσγινομένην.\n\nἈλλά ταῦτα μέν ἡμῖν: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι καί ἄλλο ἐστίν αὐτοῦ σύνταγμα περί δικαίου καί θείου δικαιωτηρίου· σημείωσαι δέ, καί ὅτι εἴκοσι καί τρεῖς συλλογισμούς ἔχει τό κεφάλαιον τοῦτο, ἀποδεικνύντας, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ὄν τό κακόν. ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ Ε' § 1. Οὐ τήν ὑπερούσιον: Ἕν ὠνόμασαν τόν Θεόν οἱ πάλαι οὐχ ὡς ἀριθμῶν ἀρχήν, ἀλλά διά τό πάντων ἐξῃρῆσθαι καί ( 14 _208 μηδέν ἔχειν συναριθμούμενον τῶν μετ' αὐτόν, ἀλλά καί διά τό ἀσύνθετον καί ἁπλοῦν· οὐ τοῦτο δέ παρίστησι, τίς ἡ οὐσία τοῦ Θεοῦ· κυρίως γάρ οὐσία ἐπί Θεοῦ οὐκ ἄν λέγοιτο· ἔστι γάρ ὑπερούσιος. Θεαρχικῆς οὐσιαρχίας: Οὐσιαρχίαν φησί τήν πάσης ἀρχήν οὐσίας καί αἰτίαν· αὐτή γάρ ἡ θεότης ὑπέρ πᾶσαν οὐσίαν. Πρόοδον δέ τήν θείαν ἐνέργειαν λέγει, ἥτις πᾶσαν οὐσίαν παρήγαγε.","english":"§ 34. And alteration: Note that even incorporeal and immaterial things are altered, not remaining wholly in the sameness of the good; for the good is the same, as always standing and firm, but what is turned is not the same.\n\n§ 35. But those who sin in knowledge: See how he interprets \"Woe to those who sin in knowledge,\" and \"The servant who knows the will of his lord and does not do it shall be beaten with many blows.\"\n\nOr of knowledge: He means, perhaps, the knowledge that comes from teaching, which forgetfulness can often obscure, which he also says above comes from hearing; but one must consider un-forgotten the knowledge that comes from natural contemplation or illumination without being taught.\n\nBut these things indeed to us: Note that there is also another composition of his concerning the just and divine tribunal; and note that this chapter contains twenty-three syllogisms, proving that evil is not a being. ON CHAPTER V § 1. Not the supersubstantial: The ancients named God \"one,\" not as the beginning of number, but because he is excluded from all things and has nothing numbered together with him among things after him, but also because of being incomposite and simple; yet this does not present what the essence of God is; for properly \"essence\" would not be said of God, for he is supersubstantial. Of thearchic ousiarchy: He calls ousiarchy the beginning and cause of every essence; for the divinity itself is above every essence. And he calls \"procession\" the divine energy, which produced every essence.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":120,"ref":"p120","source":"Καί γάρ ἡ τἀγαθοῦ θεωνυμία: Πῶς ἀγαθός λέγεται ὁ Θεός. Ὅρα δέ πῶς φησι τό ἀγαθόν, ἤτοι τήν αὐτοῦ θεωνυμίαν, ἐκτείνεσθαι εἰς τά ὄντα πάντα καί εἰς τά οὐκ ὄντα εἶναι· τό δέ ἕν ὑπέρ τά ὄντα εἶναι καί ὑπερεκτείνεσθαι αὐτό· τήν δέ ζωήν ὑπέρ τά ζῶντα εἶναι, καί τήν σοφίαν ὑπέρ τά νοερά καί λογικά καί αἰσθητικά ἐκτείνεσθαι, ὡς εἶναι δῆλον, ὅτι τό ἀγαθόν, τοὐτέστιν ὁ Θεός, καί τοῦ ὄντος καί ζωῆς καί σοφίας αἴτιον, τό δέ ὄν, ζωῆς καί σοφίας αἴτιον, τοῖς οὖσι νόει ἀκολούθως (τοῖς λοιποῖς). Καί εἰς τά οὐκ ὄντα ἐκτείνεται: Καί εἰς τά οὐκ ὄντα ἐκτείνεται τό ἀγαθόν, ὡς εἰς τό εἶναι καλοῦν αὐτά, ἤ καί κατά τό εἰρημένον αὐτῷ τῷ πατρί, ὅτι καί αὐτό τό μή ὄν καλόν, ὅταν ἐν Θεῷ διά τό ὑπερούσιον θεωρῆται. Ὄντα δέ τά οὐκ ὄντα ὑλικά φησιν, ὡς πολλάκις ἐδηλώσαμεν ἄνω· ἤ οὕτως, ἐπειδή οὐ περιγράφεται τόπῳ ὁ Θεός, εἰκότως φησί καί ὑπέρ τά οὐκ ὄντα αὐτόν εἶναι, ἵνα δείξῃ τό ἀπερίγραπτον αὐτοῦ.\n\nΚαί ὑπέρ τά ζῶντα: Ἐπισημήνασθαι χρή, πῶς, ὅταν μέν περί ἀγγέλων φησί καί ἀνθρώπων, τούς ἀγγέλους νοητά φησι, τάς δέ ἡμετέρας ψυχάς νοεράς, ὡς πολλάκις ἀνωτέρω παρεστήσαμεν καί τάς ἑρμηνείας ἐκθέμενοι τοῦ νοητοῦ καί νοεροῦ. Νῦν δ' ἐπειδή περί τοῦ Θεοῦ πρῶτόν φησιν, εἰκότως καί τούς ἀγγέλους μεθ' ἡμῶν νοερούς φησιν, ἅτε καί αὐτούς διά τοῦ νοεῖν τόν Θεόν, ὅσον οἷόν τε, τρεφομένους τῇ νοήσει, τῷ ἐπεστράφθαι ( 14 _210 ἐπί τήν θείαν σοφίαν, ὡς καί αἱ ἀνθρώπιναι ψυχαί, καί τά αἰσθητικά δέ, τουτέστι τά ἄλογα.","english":"For the divine name of the good: How God is called good. Observe how he says that the good, that is, his own divine name, extends to all things that are and reaches even to things that are not; that the one is above things that are and extends beyond them; that life is above living things, and wisdom extends above intellectual, rational, and perceptible things, so that it is clear that the good, that is, God, is the cause of being and life and wisdom, while being is the cause of life and wisdom for things that are—understand this accordingly (for the rest). And it extends to things that are not: the good extends even to things that are not, as calling them into being, or also according to what was said by the Father himself, that even the non-being is good when it is contemplated in God because of his transcendence of being. And he calls things that are not, material things, as we have often indicated above; or thus, since God is not circumscribed by place, he reasonably says that he is also above things that are not, in order to show his uncircumscribability.\n\nAnd above living things: It must be noted how, when he speaks about angels and humans, he calls the angels intelligible and our souls intellectual, as we have often set forth above and expounded the meanings of intelligible and intellectual. But now, since he first speaks about God, he reasonably calls the angels intellectual along with us, inasmuch as they too, by understanding God as far as possible, are nourished by understanding, by being turned toward divine wisdom, as also human souls are, and perceptible things, that is, irrational things.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":121,"ref":"p121","source":"Ἔμψυχα δέ ὅμως πάντα σοφίας μετέχουσι θείας καί ἐν ταῖς φυσικαῖς αὐτῶν ὁρμαῖς, ὡς καί ὁ θεῖος Βασίλειος ἐν τῇ Ἑξαημέρῳ δείκνυσι, καί αὐτό δέ τό ἐν σοφίᾳ γενέσθαι πάντα, κατά τό εἰρημένον, «πάντα ἐν σοφίᾳ ἐποίησας». Ἡ δέ σοφία ἐστίν ὁ Υἱός ὁ ὤν· πάντα οὖν ἐν τῷ Υἱῷ τῷ ὄντι ἐγένοντο, φησίν.\n\n§ 2. Ἐκφαντορικάς: Ἐκφαντορικάς φησι τάς ἐκφαινούσας, ἤτοι παριστάσας. Τῆς ὑπέρ πᾶσαν ἀγαθότητα: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι καλῶς λέγομεν, ὅτι ἐστίν ὑπέρ πᾶσαν ἀγαθότητα καί θεότητα· ὑποβεβηκυίας οὖν θεότητας νόησον ἀγγέλων καί ἀνθρώπων δικαίων.\n\nἘν ἀποκρύφοις: Ὡς τό, «ἔθετο σκότος ἀποκρυφήν αὐτοῦ», καί πάλιν· «ἐν ἀποκρύφῳ καταιγίδος».\n\nΚαί αἰσθήσεως μετειληφότων: Ἐπειδή πρό μικροῦ ἔδοξέ πως ὑπόβασιν λέγειν τό ἀγαθόν, εἰπών τοῦ ὄντος αἴτιον, καί οὕτω καθεξῆς, ἵνα μή οἱ ἀσυνέτως ἀναγινώσκοντες εὕρωσι μέμψεως ἀφορμήν, φησίν· Οὐκ ἄλλο δέ εἶναι τό ἀγαθόν, καί ἄλλο τό ὄν, καί αὖ πάλιν, ἄλλο τήν ζωήν, ἤ τήν σοφίαν· ἕν γάρ εἶναι τῶν ἁπάντων αἴτιον, καί οὐ πολλά, καί μίαν εἰκότως θεότητα πάντα παράγουσαν, τήν ἁγίαν καί μακαρίαν Τριάδα, καί μή πολλάς θεότητας δημιουργούς· τοῦτο δέ οὐ περιττῶς εἶπεν, ἀλλά καθαπτόμενος τῶν παρ' Ἕλλησι σοφῶν καί τῶν ἀπό Σίμωνος αἱρετικῶν, οἵ κοσμοποιούς φασι θεούς, καθόσον ὑποβεβήκασι, τοσοῦτον καί τά ἀσθενέστερα τῶν κτισμάτων παράγοντας, ἕως καί τῆς τῶν ἁπάντων ὑποστάθμης, ὥς φασι, τουτέστι τῆς ὕλης.","english":"All living things, however, partake of divine wisdom, even in their natural impulses, as the divine Basil also shows in the Hexaemeron, and also the very fact that all things came to be in wisdom, according to what is said: \"You made all things in wisdom.\" And the wisdom is the Son, who is; all things, then, came to be in the Son who is, he says.\n\n§ 2. Manifestive: He calls \"manifestive\" those things that make manifest, that is, that present. Of that which is above all goodness: Note that we rightly say that he is above all goodness and divinity; understand, then, that the divinities below are those of angels and righteous men.\n\nIn secret: As in \"He made darkness his hiding place,\" and again: \"in the secret place of the storm.\"\n\nAnd of those that have partaken of sense: Since a little before he seemed somehow to speak of the good as a substrate, when he called it the cause of being, and so on in order, lest those who read without understanding find an occasion for blame, he says: The good is not one thing and being another, and again, life another, or wisdom; for the cause of all things is one, and not many, and reasonably one divinity producing all things, the holy and blessed Trinity, and not many creative divinities. And he said this not superfluously, but attacking the wise men among the Greeks and the heretics from Simon, who say that there are world-making gods, who, inasmuch as they are subordinate, produce also the weaker of created things, down even to what they call the substrate of all things, that is, matter.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":122,"ref":"p122","source":"( 14 _212 Καί τήν μέν εἶναι: Τήν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἐπωνυμίαν παντελοῦς προνοίας δεκτικήν εἶναί φησι, τάς δέ λοιπάς, μερικάς, οἷον ζωήν καί σοφίαν καί λόγον· καί πάντα μέν γάρ τά ὄντα δι' ἀγαθότητα Θεοῦ παρήχθη πρός ὕπαρξιν, καί εἰσίν ἀγαθά, ἤτοι καλά λίαν, οὐ πάντα δέ ζωῆς ἤ λόγου ἤ σοφίας μετέχουσι· διό τάς τοιαύτας ἐπωνυμίας κατά ἀντιδιαστολήν τῆς παντελοῦς τέθεικεν. Ὁλικωτέρας δέ φησι τάς ἐπί πλειόνων θεωρουμένας, οἷον ζωήν· φθάνει γάρ ἐπί φυτῶν καί ζώων, λογικῶν τε καί ἀλόγων· σοφία δέ καί λόγος μερικώτεραι ἐπί μόνων γάρ λογικῶν ὁρῶνται ταῦτα.\n\n§ 3. Καί τῆς ζωῆς τήν σοφίαν: Ἀσαφέστερόν πως ἐγκειμένης τῆς ρήσεως, οἶμαι τό λεγόμενον τοιοῦτόν τινα νοῦν ὑποφαίνειν· ὥς τινος ἐπαποροῦντος καί λέγοντος· Διά τί, τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ τοῦ ὄντος ὑπερέχοντος τῆς ζωῆς τήν προσηγορίαν, καί πάλιν τοῦ ὀνόματος τῆς ζωῆς ὑπεραίροντος τήν σοφίαν, ἅτε καί τῆς τάξεως τοῦτο ἀπαιτούσης, ὡς καί αὐτός πρό βραχέως ἐδήλωσεν εἰπών, καί ὄν, καί ζωήν, καί σοφίαν τήν οὐσιοποιόν καί ζωοποιόν καί σοφοδότιν αἰτίαν τῶν οὐσίας, καί ζωῆς, καί νοῦ, καί λόγου μετειληφότων, καί αἰσθήσεως, οὐκέτι τήν τάξιν ταύτην ὁρῶμεν ἐν τοῖς οὖσι; Δέον γάρ, κατά τούς εἰρημένους ὑπό σοῦ βαθμούς, τά ὄντα πλέον τῶν ζώντων καί τῶν αἰσθανομένων καί τῶν νοερῶν καί λογικῶν, τουτέστι τοῦ νοῦ καί λόγου μετειληφότων, πλησιάζειν Θεῷ·","english":"(14 _212 That one [name] is: He says that the epithet \"of the good\" is receptive of complete providence, while the others are partial, such as life and wisdom and reason. For all beings were brought into existence by the goodness of God, and they are good, that is, exceedingly beautiful; but not all partake of life or reason or wisdom. Therefore he has set such epithets by way of contrast with the complete one. And he calls \"more universal\" those that are contemplated in a greater number, such as life; for it extends to plants and animals, both rational and irrational. But wisdom and reason are more partial, for these are seen only in rational beings.\n\n§ 3. And of life, wisdom: Since the statement lies somewhat obscurely, I think what is said hints at some such meaning as this: as if someone were raising a difficulty and saying: Why, when the name of Being itself surpasses the appellation of life, and again the name of life surpasses wisdom, since the order also demands this, as he himself indicated shortly before when he said that the cause which makes being, and makes alive, and gives wisdom—of things that have partaken of being and life and intellect and reason and sense—is Being and Life and Wisdom, do we no longer see this order in existing things? For it would be necessary, according to the degrees stated by you, that beings, more than the living and the sensing and the intelligent and rational, that is, those that have partaken of intellect and reason, draw near to God.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":123,"ref":"p123","source":"οὐκέτι μέν οὕτως, ἐξ ἐναντίου δέ ἐστιν, οἷον οὐρανοῦ καί ἄστρων καί γῆς καί ὕδατος καί ἀέρος καί τῶν ἐξ αὐτῶν πλησιαίτερα περί τήν πρόνοιαν τοῦ Θεοῦ τά ζῶντα, εἰ καί τήν φυτικήν ζῶσι ζωήν, οἷα τά φυτά καί τά τοιαῦτα, καί τῶν ζώντων πλησιαίτερα τά αἰσθητικά, τουτέστι τά ἄλογα· τῶν γάρ φυτῶν καί βοτανῶν τιμιώτερα ἐν ζωῇ τά ἄλογα, καθ' ὅ κἄν μόνον αἰσθάνωνται, τῶν φυτῶν μή αἰσθανομένων, τῶν δέ λογικῶν οἱ νόες, τουτέστιν αἱ ὑπερκόσμιοι ( 14 _214 δυνάμεις, ὡς ἡμῶν τῶν λογικῶν ἀνώτεραι, κατά τό ἄυλον καί νοερόν ἐγγίζουσαι μᾶλλον ἡμῶν τῷ Θεῷ· καίτοι ἔδει τό ἐναντίον, τά ὄντα καί μειζόνων δωρεῶν ἀπολαύοντα τοῦ Θεοῦ ὑπέρ τά ἄλλα εἶναι, οἷον τόν οὐρανόν, τά ἄστρα καί τά τοιαῦτα, Καί αὐτή μέν ἡ ἐπαπόρησις· λοιπόν οὖν ἀποκρίνεται ὁ θεῖος Διονύσιος ἐκ τοῦ νοῦ καί τοῦ λόγου καί τῆς αἰσθήσεως καθ' ὑπόβασιν καί τά προτιμήσεις τάττων· οὕτως εὑρήσεις ματά μίαν σελίδα. Καίτοι ἔδει τά τῶν μειζόνων: Μείζονας δωρεάς φησι τάς ἐπί πλειόνων θεωρουμένας, οἷον τό ὄν καί τήν ζωήν, ἀλλά τά τούτων μόνον μετέχοντα οὐκ ἐν πρώτοις καί κρείττοσιν, ἀλλ' ἐν τοῖς ἥττοσιν ὁρρῶνται, ἐπειδή τά μέν ὑπερέχοντα καί τάς τῶν ὑφειμένων ἔχουσιν ἰδιότητας τοῦ εἶναι, τοῦ ζῇν, καί κατά τοῦτο κρείττονα, εἰ καί διά μερικωτέρων ἐπωνυμιῶν σημαίνονται, τά δέ τῶν ὁλικωτέρων οὐ μετέχουσι τῆς τῶν κρειττόνων ἰδιότητος, τουτέστι σοφίας καί λόγου καί νοερότητος, καί κατά τοῦτο ἥττονα, ὡς ἡττόνων, ἤγουν ὀλιγωτέρων δωρεῶν μετέχοντα, ὥσπερ οὖν τά ἕτερα, ὡς πλειόνων, καί κρείττονα καί Θεῷ πλησιαίτερα.","english":"Not in that way any longer, but from the opposite, as it were: heaven and stars and earth and water and air, and, closer in providence to God than these, living things, even if they live a plant-like life, such as plants and the like; and closer than living things are perceptive beings, that is, irrational animals. For irrational animals are more honorable in life than plants and herbs, in that they at least perceive, while plants do not perceive; and among rational beings, the intellects, that is, the supramundane powers, are closer to God than we rational beings, inasmuch as they are more immaterial and intellectual. And yet the opposite ought to have been the case: that beings enjoying greater gifts from God should be above the others, such as heaven, the stars, and the like. Such is the difficulty. So then the divine Dionysius answers from intellect and reason and sense, arranging the preferences in descending order; thus you will find it after one page. And yet it ought to have been [the case with] those of greater gifts: he says that greater gifts are those contemplated in more things, such as being and life; but those who partake only of these are seen not among the first and better, but among the lesser, since the superior beings also possess the properties of the subordinate ones—of being, of living—and in this respect are better, even if they are signified by more particular titles; while the latter do not partake of the properties of the more universal gifts, that is, of wisdom and reason and intellectuality, and in this respect are lesser, as partaking of lesser, that is, fewer, gifts, just as the others, as partaking of more, are both better and closer to God.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":124,"ref":"p124","source":"Καί ζῶσιν ὑπέρ τά ἄλλα: Ὅτι τά ὑπερκείμενα καί μᾶλλον Θεῷ πλησιάζοντα λέγεται πλέον ζῇν τῶν ὑποβεβηκότων, οἷον οἱ θεῖοι νόες ὑπέρ ἡμᾶς ζῶσιν, ὡς\n\nμᾶλλον Θεῷ πλησιάζοντες. Πάλιν ἡμεῖς ὡς λογικοί, τῶν ἀλόγων πλέον λεγόμεθα ζῇν· παλιν τά ἄλογα, ὡς αἴσθησιν ἔχοντα, πλέον ζῇν τῶν φυτῶν, ὡς αἴσθησιν μή ἐχόντων, ἀλλά μόνην τήν φυτικήν ζωήν.\n\n§ 4. Ὁ ὤν ὅλου τοῦ εἶναι. Τό 'ὄν' ἐπί τοῦ Θεοῦ λεγόμενον, ὅλου συλλήβδην τοῦ εἶναι ὑπέρεστι· τοῦτο γάρ φησιν ὑπερούσιον, ( 14 _216 ἀντί τοῦ ὑπέρ τό ἐν γενέσει ὄν· τό γάρ ὄν οὐσία· ἀπό γάρ τοῦ εἶναι τό ὄνομα παρῆκται τῆς οὐσίας. Ὁ οὖν Θεός, ὡς καί τοῦ εἶναι ὑπερκείμενος (τό γάρ εἶναι ἐξ αἰτίας τινός δηλοῖ εἰς τό εἶναι ἀχθῆναι) ὤν, ὑπερουσίως νοεῖται· διό καί αἰών λέγεται εἶναι τῶν παρηγμένων ὑπ' αὐτοῦ αἰώνων· ὅπερ γάρ μηδέ ἦν, μήτε ἔσται, ἀλλ’ ἔστι μόνον, τοῦτο ἐστώς ἔχων τό εἶναι, τό μή μεταβάλλειν εἰς τό ἔσται, μήτ' αὖ μεταβεβηκέναι ἀπό τοῦ ἦν εἰς τό ἔστι, τοῦτό ἐστιν αἰών· οὐ γάρ μόνον τά ὄντα πάντα δεῖ παρεῖναι τῷ παντί καί ὅλῳ, ἀλλά καί τό μηδέν τοῦ ποτε μή ὄντος· οὐδέ γάρ τι προσγέγονεν αὐτῷ, μή ὄν πρότερον. Αὕτη οὖν ἡ διάθεσις καί φύσις καλοῖτο ἄν καί εἴη αἰών· αἰών γάρ ἀπό τοῦ ἀεί ὄντος εἴρηται. Εἴ τις οὖν οὕτω τόν αἰῶνα λέγοι ζωήν ἄπειρον, τῷ πᾶσαν ἤδη εἶναι καί μηδέν ἀναλίσκειν αὐτῆς τῷ παρεληλυθέναι, μηδ' αὖ μένειν, οὐκ ἄν εἴη πᾶσα, ἐγγύς δέ ἄν εἴη τοῦ ὁρίζεσθαι τί αἰών. Ἐκεῖνο γοῦν ἐστιν ἄπειρον, τό μή ἐπιλεῖπον· καί τοῦτο κυρίως, ὅτι μηδέν ἑαυτοῦ ἀναλίσκει οὕτως οὖν ὁ Θεός καί αἰών, καί αἰῶνας ποιῶν.","english":"And they live above other things: for it is said that the things which are higher and draw nearer to God live more than those below them—for example, the divine minds live above us, inasmuch as they draw nearer to God. Again, we, as rational, are said to live more than the irrational; and again the irrational, as having sensation, live more than plants, since these do not have sensation but only the vegetative life.\n\n§ 4. He who is [the being] of the whole of being. The term \"being,\" when said of God, is above the whole of being taken together; for this is what he calls supersubstantial, instead of [being] above that which exists in generation; for being is substance, since the name is derived from \"to be\" of substance. God, then, as being also above being (for \"to be\" indicates being brought into existence by some cause), is understood supersubstantially; therefore he is also said to be the age of the ages brought forth by him. For that which neither was nor will be, but only is—this, having its being as standing, not changing into \"will be,\" nor again having passed from \"was\" into \"is\"—this is age. For not only must all things that are be present to the whole and entire, but also nothing of what once was not; for nothing has been added to it that was not before. This disposition and nature, then, might be called and be age; for age is named from \"always being.\" If, then, someone should thus call age a life infinite, because all of it already is and it consumes nothing of itself by having passed, nor again remains—it would not be all, but it would be close to defining what age is. That, then, is infinite which does not fail; and this properly, because it consumes nothing of itself. Thus, then, God is both age and makes ages.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":125,"ref":"p125","source":"Αἰών τοινυν ἐστίν οὐ τό ὑποκείμενον, ἀλλά τό ἐξ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ὑποκειμένου ἐκλάμπον· τά οὖν νοητά καί τά μή ὁρώμενα κατά τόν Ἀπόστολον αἰώνια, αἰώνιον δέ οὐκ αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ αἰών, ἀλλά τό αἰῶνος μετέχον, τουτέστι τῆς ἀδιαστάτου καί ἀπείρου ζωῆς. Ὡς οὖν καί τῶν αἰῶνος, τουτέστι τοῦ ἀεί ὄντος μετεχόντων, καθ' ὁμοιότητα αἰώνων λεγομένων ποιητής ὁ Θεός, πεποιηκέναι τούς αἰῶνας λέγεται, ἀντί τοῦ τά νοητά, αἰών αὐτῶν ὤν καί συνοχεύς, οὕτω ( 14 _218 καί χρόνος ὁ ἄχρονος λέγεται, ἅτε καί χρόνων αἴτιος· ὅπερ γάρ ἐν τοῖς νοητοῖς αἰών, τοῦτό ἐστιν ἐν τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς χρόνος. Ὥσπερ οὖν τά ὁρώμενα εἰκόνες εἰσί τῶν ἀοράτων καί νοητῶν, καί αἰῶνα λέγομεν τήν ἀτρεμῆ ἐκείνην καί ὁμοῦ πᾶσαν ζωήν, καί ἄπειρον ἤδη καί ἀκλινῆ πάντῃ καί ἐν ἑνί καί προεστῶσαν, οὕτω καί τόν χρόνον τότε μέν ἐν τῷ ἀεί ὄντι ἀναπαύεσθαι, ἐκφανῆναι δέ καθ' ὑπόβασιν, ὅτε καί ὕστερον φύσιν ὁρατήν ἐχρῆν προελθεῖν. Τήν οὖν εἰς τά αἰσθητά πρόοδον τῆς εἰς τό ταῦτα δημιουργεῖν ἀγαθότητος τοῦ Θεοῦ καλοῦμεν χρόνον· οὐ γάρ ἡ κίνησις τῶν εἰς μοίρας καί ὥρας καί νύκτας καί ἡμέρας διαστάσεων, τοῦτο χρόνος, ἀλλ' ὁμώνυμον τῷ χρόνῳ· ὥσπερ γάρ τό μετροῦν καί μετρούμενον εἰώθαμεν ὁμωνύμως καλεῖν, οὕτω καί ἐνταῦθα· οἷον, ἐάν τό ὑπό πήχεως μετρούμενον, εἴτε ἔδαφος, εἴτε τεῖχος, ἤ ἕτερον, πῆχυν λέγομεν. Αἱ γοῦν τῶν ἀστέρων φοραί, κατά τό εἰρημένον, «ἔστωσαν εἰς τά σημεῖα καί εἰς καιρούς καί εἰς ἐνιαυτούς», πρός διορισμόν καί δήλωσιν ἡμῖν ἐναργῆ παρά Θεοῦ ἐγένοντο. Ὁ οὖν καί ταῦτα διατάξας, αὐτός ἄν εἴη ὑπεραιωνίως καί ἀχρόνως ταῦτα ὡς αἴτιος.","english":"An age, then, is not the underlying subject but that which shines forth from the underlying subject itself. Therefore the things intelligible and invisible are, according to the Apostle, eternal; yet the age itself is not eternal, but that which partakes of the age, that is, of the undivided and infinite life. Just as, then, God is called the maker of the ages in the likeness of ages—that is, of those who partake of the age, of him who always is—and is said to have made the ages, meaning the intelligible things, being himself their age and sustainer, so also the timeless one is called time, inasmuch as he is the cause of times. For what the age is among intelligible things, that time is among sensible things. Just as, therefore, the things seen are images of the invisible and intelligible things, and we call that unshaken and at once wholly present life an age—now infinite and in every way inflexible and established in one—so also time then rests in him who always is, but was made manifest by degrees, when it was necessary that a visible nature should later come forth. The procession, then, of God's goodness toward creating sensible things we call time; for it is not the motion of the intervals divided into parts and hours and nights and days that is time, but it is homonymous with time. For just as we are accustomed to call the measuring and the measured by the same name, so also here; for example, if the thing measured by a cubit, whether ground or wall or anything else, we call a cubit. At any rate, the motions of the stars, according to what is said, \"let them be for signs and for seasons and for years,\" came to be from God for our distinct determination and clear indication. He, then, who also arranged these things, would himself be beyond ages and beyond time, as their cause.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":126,"ref":"p126","source":"Καί οὔτε ἦν: Ὅτι οὔτε τό ἦν, οὔτε τό ἔστιν, οὔτε τό ἔσται κυρίως λέγεται ἐπί Θεοῦ· ὑπέρ γάρ ταῦτα ὁ Θεός. Λέγεται δέ καί ταῦτα διά τό κατά πᾶσαν ἐπίνοιαν ὑπερουσίως αὐτόν εἶναι.\n\nΟὔτε ἦν: Καλῶς εἶπεν, οὔτε ἦν· τό γάρ 'ἦν' δηλωτικόν ἐστι χρόνου. Ἔστι δέ ὁ Θεός καί ὑπέρ τό ἦν, τουτέστιν ὑπέρ χρόνον. Ἐρεῖς οὖν· Καί πῶς κεῖται περί τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγου, «ἐν ( 14 _220 ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος»; Ἰδού γάρ ἐνταῦθα κεῖται τό ἦν. Πολλάκις λέγομεν, ὅτι ἀρχή καί αἰτία πάντων ὁ Πατήρ διά τοῦτο οὖν, «ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν», φησίν, «ὁ Λόγος», ἐπειδή ὁ Υἱός ἐν τῷ Πατρί ἐστι. Καλῶς οὖν εἶπεν, «ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος»· τό δέ ἔσται σαφές ἐστι. Τοῦτο γάρ δηλοῖ, ὅτι νῦν οὐκ ἔστιν, ἀλλ' ἔσται ποτέ, ὅπερ ἐπί Θεοῦ λέγειν ἀνόσιον καί ἀπρόσφορον.\n\nΜᾶλλον δέ οὔτε ἐστι: Προσυπακουστέον καί ταῦτα οἷς ἐπιλέγεται κυρίως τό 'ἐγένετο' καί τά σύν αὐτῷ κειμενα· ἤ καί ἑτέρως νοητέον, ὡς ὑπέρ πᾶσαν τοῦ εἶναι\n\nἔννοιάν τε καί φαντασίαν ὑπάρχων. Διά δέ τοῦ εἰπεῖν 'τά ὄντα' τό ὅλως αὐτά πρός ὕπαρξιν ἀχθῆναι δηλοῖ, τό δέ 'καί αὐτό τό εἶναι τῶν ὄντων' προσθείς, τήν διαμονήν αὐτῶν ἐσήμανε.","english":"And neither was it: Because neither \"was\" nor \"is\" nor \"will be\" is properly said of God; for God is beyond these. Yet these things are also said of him because he is beyond being in every conception.\n\nNeither was it: He spoke well, \"neither was it\"; for \"was\" is indicative of time. But God is also beyond \"was,\" that is, beyond time. You will say, then: And how is it written concerning the Word of God, \"In the beginning was the Word\"? For behold, here \"was\" is written. We often say that the Father is the beginning and cause of all things; therefore he says, \"In the beginning was the Word,\" because the Son is in the Father. Well, then, did he say, \"In the beginning was the Word\"; but \"will be\" is clear. For this shows that he now is not, but will be at some time, which it is impious and unfitting to say of God.\n\nOr rather, neither is: These things too must be understood in addition to those to which \"became\" and the things written with it are properly applied; or it must be understood otherwise, as existing beyond every conception and appearance of being. And by saying \"the things that are,\" he shows that they were brought wholly into existence, and by adding \"and the very being of things that are,\" he indicated their permanence.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[{"kind":"scripture","severity":"info","ref":"John 1:1","text":"The English carries the scriptural phrase “in the beginning was the word”, which matches John 1:1. The match is on the English draft; check the Coptic before quoting the verse."}]},{"i":127,"ref":"p127","source":"§ 5. Καί ἔστιν αὐτό καθ' αὑτό: Ταῦτα οὐ δεῖ νομίζειν περί τοῦ τῶν ἁπάντων αἰτίου λέγεσθαι, ἀλλά περί τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ δημιουργικῶς ὑποστάντων νοητῶν τε καί νοερῶν καί αἰσθητῶν καί λοιπῶν· καθά γάρ προειρήκαμεν, ὁ Θεός πρό τοῦ εἶναι καί γάρ ἐστι προών· τό δέ εἶναι οἷον ἔμφασιν ἔχει τινά προϋπόντος αἰτίου. Προών μέν οὖν λέγεται ὁ Θεός, καί λοιπόν λέγεται καί ὤν, ὡς ἁπάντων αἴτιος· εἶτα τό εἶναι τά πάντα ἐξ αὐτοῦ. Τό οὖν εἶναι κατ' ἐπίνοιαν ἐκ μετοχῆς ὑπέστη τοῦ προεῖναι αὐτου, οὐχ ὡς μερισθέντος τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰς τό εἶναι καί προεῖναι, ἀλλά τό θέλημα αὐτοῦ τό παραγαγόν εἰς τό εἶναι τά ὄντα, τοῦτο λέγεται εἶναι προϋποστάν ἐν τῷ Θεῷ, καί τούτου τοῦ θείου θελήματος εἰς τό εἶναι κτίσιν προορισθέντος, εἰκότως πρό τῶν ἄλλων, ὧν μετέχει τά ὄντα τοῦ Θεοῦ, πρεσβυτέρα τις ἀρχή ἡ τοῦ εἶναι, ἐπινοεῖται αὐτός ὁ Θεός· πρῶτον γάρ ἐστί τι, καί τότε ἐστί καί ζωή καί σοφία. Οἱ γοῦν ἀόρατοι καί ἀνώτατοι νόες ( 14 _222 πρῶτον τοῦ εἶναι μετέσχον, καί οὕτω ζωῆς καί σοφίας. Ὥσπερ γάρ ἐφ' ἡμῶν πρώτη τις ὑπέστη ὕλη, ἀφ' ἧς ἔσμέν, οὕτω καί ἐπί τῶν ἀσωμάτων νοῶν, οἱονεί ὕλη, νοεῖται αὐτό τό ὄν ἑκάστου διά ζωῆς εἶδος, καί καθ' ὅ οὐσίωται εἰς ζωήν καί σοφίαν καί ὁμοιότητα. Ὁμοιότητα δέ καί ἄνω διεξήλθομεν καί ταὐτότητα, τάς ἀναγωγούς ἐπί Θεόν δυνάμεις, καθ' ἅς ὁμοιοῦνται αὐτῷ προσεχεῖς αὐτῷ οὖσαι, καί τούτων καθ' ὑπόβασιν μετέχουσι τά μετά ταῦτα πρῶτον καί αὐτά τοῦ εἶναι μετέχοντα.","english":"§ 5. And it is itself by itself: These things must not be thought to be said of the cause of all things, but of those things which have come to subsist from him by creation—both intelligible and intellectual and sensible and the rest. For, as we have said before, God is before being; for he is pre-existing. But being has, as it were, a certain indication of a pre-existing cause. Therefore God is said to be pre-existing, and thereafter he is also said to be being, as the cause of all things; then being, all things are from him. Therefore being, by conception, came to subsist from participation in his pre-being—not as though God were divided into being and pre-being, but his will, which brought the things that are into being, is said to be that which pre-subsists in God; and when this divine will has been foreordained for the creation's coming to be, with good reason, before the other things of which beings partake in God, a certain more ancient principle of being is conceived—God himself. For first he is something, and then he is also life and wisdom. At any rate, the invisible and highest intellects first partook of being, and thus of life and wisdom. For just as in our case a certain first matter subsisted, from which we are, so also in the case of the incorporeal intellects, as it were matter, the very being of each is conceived—the form through life, and that according to which it is made substance unto life and wisdom and likeness. And likeness and identity we have gone through above as well—the powers that lead back to God, according to which they are made like him, being near to him; and the things after these partake of them by degrees, themselves also first partaking of being.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":128,"ref":"p128","source":"Ἀρχάς δέ τῶν ὄντων τάς πρώτας ὑποστάσεις ἐν τῇ κτίσει οὐσίας νόησον, ἀρχάς λεγομένας, οὐχ ὅτι ἐξ αὐτῶν τά ὄντα, ὡς ἀπό στοιχείων, ἀλλ' ὅτι, καθά εἴρηται, πρό τῶν μετ' αὐτάς ἐδημιουργήθησαν· οἷον ἐπί μέν τῶν νοητῶν ἀρχή κτίσεως θρόνοι, καί οὕτω τά ἑξῆς, ἐπί δέ τῶν αἰσθητῶν ἀρχή κτίσεως οὐρανός καί γῆ· «ἐν ἀρχῇ γάρ ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεός τόν οὐρανόν καί τήν γῆν»· τῶν γάρ αἰσθητῶν πρωτόκτιστα ταῦτα. Εἶτα καί ἄλλως αἱ ἰδέαι καί τά παραδείγματα, ἅπερ εἰσί νοήσεις αὐτοτελεῖς ἀΐδιοι τοῦ ἀϊδίου Θεοῦ, καθά προέφημεν, ἐπινοοῦνται οἱονεί στοιχεῖα καί ἀρχαί καί ὕλη ἄϋλος καί ἀσώματος τῶν μετεχόντων καί αὐτῶν τῶν ἰδεῶν, οἷον τῶν παραχθεισῶν ἀσωμάτων τάξεων· ἡ γάρ αὐτοζωή καί αὐτοσοφία καί αὐτόταξις καί τἄλλα τά ἐν Θεῷ παραδείγματά εἰσιν, ὧν μετέχουσιν αἱ δημιουργίαι, ὡς σημείου, ἤτοι κέντρου, αἱ κατ' εὐθεῖαν γραμμαί ἐπί τόν κύκλον φερόμεναι.\n\nΠάντων οὖν εἰκότως: Ἑαυτῷ ταύτην τήν προσηγορίαν ἔθετο ὁ Θεός, εἰπών, «Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν»· διό πρό τῶν ἄλλων, ὅσα περί αὐτοῦ λέγεται, οἷον ζωῆς καί σοφίας καί τῶν τοιοῦτων, ( 14 _224 εἰκότως ἀναγορεύεται. Τῷ δέ εἰπεῖν 'προεῖναι' καί 'ὑπερεῖναι', τό ἄναρχον καί πάντῃ ἀκατανόητον τοῦ εἶναι τόν Θεόν ὑφηγήσατο, ὅς καί τῷ προορισμῷ τῆς οἰκείας ἀρρήτου γνώσεως προϋπεστήσατο τό ὅλως εἶναι τά πάντα· τούτῳ γάρ ἀθρόῳ κατά πρώτην προσβολήν ἐπιβάλλει ὁ νοῦς τῷ εἶναι, εἰθ' οὕτω τό ὁπωσοῦν εἶναι αὐτά θεωρεῖ.","english":"Understand the beginnings of beings to be the first hypostases in creation, called beginnings not because beings come from them as from elements, but because, as has been said, they were created before those after them; for example, among intelligible things the beginning of creation is the thrones, and so on in order, and among sensible things the beginning of creation is heaven and earth; for \"in the beginning God made the heaven and the earth\"; for these are the first-created of sensible things. Then, in another way, the ideas and paradigms—which are the self-perfect, eternal thoughts of the eternal God, as we said before—are conceived as, so to speak, elements and beginnings and immaterial and incorporeal matter of the things that participate, and of the ideas themselves, such as the incorporeal orders that were produced; for auto-life and auto-wisdom and auto-order and the other paradigms in God are those in which the creations participate, as lines drawn straight toward the circle participate in a point, that is, a center.\n\nOf all things, then, reasonably: God set this name for himself, saying, \"I am the one who is\"; therefore, before the other things that are said of him, such as life and wisdom and the like, he is reasonably proclaimed. By saying \"to be before\" and \"to be beyond,\" he indicated the unbegun and wholly incomprehensible nature of God's being, who also by the foreordination of his own ineffable knowledge pre-established the being of all things altogether; for the mind, at the first contact, applies itself to being as a whole, and then thus contemplates their being in whatever way.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":129,"ref":"p129","source":"Τό οὖν ἁπλῶς εἶναι, οὐ τό πῶς εἶναι ἐδήλωσεν, εἰπών καθ' αὑτό τό εἶναι, ὥσπερ ἑξῆς τήν αὐτοζωήν, τήν αὐτοομοιότητα, καί τά σύν αὐτοῖς εἰπών, τό ὅλως εἶναι ζωήν, καί ἁπλῶς τό ζῇν, οὐχί δέ τήν τοιάνδε ζωήν εἰσηγήσατο, καί τά ἄλλά δέ ὁμοίως, τοῦτο πρῶτον κατηγοροῦνται τό εἶναι. Καί εἰ βούλει τῶν ζώντων: Ὥσπερ λόγῳ τινί ἐπί τῶν ποιοτήτων οἱονεί προΰπεισιν αἱ αὐτοποιότητες· εἶτα συμβαίνουσαι ποιοῦσιν, οὕτω καί ταῦτα νόει, οἷον ἡ αὐτοσώματος λευκότης, ἐπιγενομένη σώματι, λευκαίνει τοῦτο· οὕτω καί τά εἰρημένα ὧδε νόησον ἀναλόγως, ὅτι προϋπών ὁ Θεός, ἤτοι ἡ ζωή, ζωοῖ πάντα τά αὐτοῦ μετέχοντα.\n\nΤάς αὐτομετοχάς: Μετοχάς φησιν, ὧν τά ὄντα μετέχουσιν, οἷον αὐτό τό εἶναι ἤ ζωή, ἤ σοφία, ἤ τάξις, καί τά λοιπά, αἵτινες μετοχαί θεῖαι τυγχάνουσι δωρεαί, ἅς καί ἀρχάς τῶν ὄντων ἐκάλεσε.\n\n§ 6. Καί ἔστιν ἐξ αὐτῆς καί ἐν αὐτῇ: Οὕτω νοητέον· ἡ αὐτοϋπεραγαθότης, νοῦς οὖσα, καί ὅλη ἐνέργεια, εἰς ἑαυτήν ἐστραμμένη, ἐνεργείᾳ ἐστίν, οὐ δυνάμει, πρότερον οὖσα ἀφροσύνη, εἶτα νοῦς ἐνεργείᾳ γινομένη· ὅθεν καί ἐστι νοῦς μόνον καθαρός, οὐκ ἐπείσακτον ἔχων τό φρονεῖν, ἀλλά παρ' ἑαυτοῦ πάντως νοεῖ. Εἰ γάρ ἡ μέν οὐσία αὐτοῦ ἄλλη ἐστίν, ἅ δέ νοεῖ ἔτερα αὐτοῦ, αὐτός ἀνόητος ἔσται, ἤγουν ἡ οὐσία αὐτοῦ· εἴ τι δέ ( 14 _226 ἔχει, παρ' ἑαυτοῦ ἔχει, οὐ παρ' ἄλλου· εἰ δέ παρ' ἑαυτοῦ καί ἐξ αὐτοῦ νοεῖ, αὐτός ἐστιν ἅ νοεῖ. Οὐκοῦν νοῦς ὤν, ὄντως νοεῖ, τά ὄντα ὡς ὤν. Εἰ οὖν νοῶν ἑαυτόν τά ὄντα νοεῖ, αὐτός ἐστι τά ὄντα· ἤ γάρ ἑτέρωθι ὄντα αὐτά νοήσει, ἤ ἐν ἑαυτῷ, ὡς αὐτοῦ ὄντα· ἀλλαχοῦ μέν ὄντα οὖν οὐ δυνατόν νοῆσαι·","english":"Therefore the simple fact of being, not the manner of being, he made clear when he spoke of being itself by itself, just as in what follows he spoke of self-life, self-likeness, and the things together with them, and introduced life as a whole, and living simply, not life of such-and-such a kind; and in the same way in other cases, this \"to be\" is predicated first of them. And if you wish, [consider] the case of living things: just as in some account, in the case of qualities, the self-qualities as it were come first; then, coming together, they produce, so understand these things too—for example, the whiteness of body itself, coming upon a body, makes it white; so understand what has been said here analogously, that God, that is Life, existing beforehand, gives life to all things that partake of him.\n\nThe self-participations: He means the participations of which beings partake, such as being itself, or life, or wisdom, or order, and the rest, which participations are divine gifts, which he also called beginnings of beings.\n\n§ 6. And it is from it and in it: It must be understood thus: the self-transcendent goodness, being intellect and wholly activity, turned toward itself, is in activity, not in potentiality, being formerly folly, then becoming intellect in activity; whence it is also intellect only, pure, having the act of thinking not adventitious, but thinking altogether from itself. For if its essence is one thing, and the things it thinks are other than it, it—that is, its essence—will be thoughtless; but if it has anything, it has it from itself, not from another; and if it thinks from itself and from itself, it is itself the things it thinks. Therefore, being intellect, it truly thinks, thinking beings as being. If, then, thinking itself it thinks beings, it is itself beings; for either it will think them as existing elsewhere, or in itself, as being its own; but it is not possible to think them as existing elsewhere.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":130,"ref":"p130","source":"ποῦ γάρ ὄντα ἐν αἰσθητοῖς; τά γάρ αἰσθητά οὔκ εἰσιν ὄντα, ἅτε τρεπτά ὄντα, καί γινόμενα, καί ἀπολλύμενα. Ἑαυτόν οὖν ἄρα καί ἐν ἑαυτῷ νοεῖ. Ἐπειδή δέ καί ποιητής τῶν ὄντων ἐστίν ὁ Θεός, ἐν τῷ μήπω ὄντι νοήσει αὐτά, ἀλλ’ αὐτός ἀρχέτυπός ἐστι τούτου τοῦ παντός· καί ἅ νοεῖ, οὐ τύπους λαμβάνων ἀφ' ἑτέρων, αὐτός ὤν τῶν ὄντων παράδειγμα· ὥστε οὔτε αὐτός ἐν τόπῳ, οὔτε τά ἐν αὐτῷ ὡς ἐν τόπῳ, ἀλλ’ ἔχει αὐτά ὡς ἑαυτόν ἔχων καί ἑνών αὐτοῖς, πάντων μέν ὁμοῦ ὄντων, καί ἐν ἀμερεῖ ὄντων ἐν αὐτῷ, διακεκριμένων δέ, ἐν τῷ ἀμερεῖ ἀμερῶς. Αἱ τοίνυν νοήσεις αὐτοῦ εἰσι τά ὄντα, τά δέ ὄντα εἰσί τά εἴδη. Νοήσεις δέ οὐχ οὕτως ἀκουστέον, ὅτι, ἐπειδή τόδε ἐνόησεν, ἐγένετο τόδε, ἤ ἐστί τόδε· ταύτης γάρ τῆς νοήσεως προηγεῖσθαι δεῖ νοούμενόν τι, ἵνα αὐτό νοήσας ποιήσῃ· ἀλλά νοεῖ τά ὄντα, ἅτε ἑαυτόν νοῶν καί τοῖς ἐνοῦσι συναπτόμενος· αὐτή γάρ αὐτῷ ἡ νόησις γένεσίς ἐστι τοῖς οὖσι. Τό οὖν ἐνόν ἐν αὐτοῖς, τοῦτό ἐστι τό εἴδος, καί τοῦτό ἐστιν ἡ ἰδέα· αὐτός δέ, νοῦς ὤν ὅλος, ὅλος ἐστίν ἐπιστήμη, τά δέ ἐξ αὐτοῦ καί ἐν αὐτῷ νόες ἐοικότες θεωρήμασι τῆς ἐπιστήμης. Εἰσί δέ ὁμοῦ πολλαί ἐπιστῆμαι οὖσαι, ἀσύγχυτοι μένουσι, καί ἐνεργοῦσι ἕξω κατά μίαν, ὅταν δέῃ·","english":"For where are they as beings among perceptible things? For perceptible things are not beings, since they are changeable, and come to be, and perish. Therefore he thinks himself in himself. But since God is also the maker of beings, he thinks them in what is not yet, but he himself is the archetype of this whole; and what he thinks, he does not receive types from others, being himself the paradigm of beings; so that neither is he himself in a place, nor are the things in him as in a place, but he holds them as holding himself and being one with them, all things being together and being in him in the indivisible, but distinguished, in the indivisible indivisibly. Therefore his thoughts are the beings, and the beings are the forms. But thoughts must not be understood in this way, that because he thought this, this came to be, or is this; for something thought must precede this thought, so that having thought it he might make it; but he thinks the beings, as thinking himself and being joined to the things that are in him; for his very thought is a coming-to-be for beings. Therefore what is in them, this is the form, and this is the idea; but he himself, being wholly intellect, is wholly knowledge, and the things from him and in him are intellects resembling the theorems of knowledge. And being many knowledges together, they remain unconfused, and they act outwardly according to one, whenever it is necessary.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":131,"ref":"p131","source":"καί πάσας ὁμοῦ τάς δυνάμεις ἡ ψυχή ἐν ἑαυτῇ ἔχει, καθ' ἄς προνοεῖ τοῦ σώματος, καί ὅμως ἀσυγχύτως αὐτάς κατά καιρόν προβάλλει, τήν μέν φυσικήν ( 14 _228 ἐνεργοῦσα περί τό σῶμα δύναμιν, καθ' ἥν τρέφει τοῦτο καί αὕξει καί πρός γένναν ἐπιτήδειον ποιεῖ, τήν δέ αἰσθητικήν ἐνεργεῖ δύναμιν περί φλέβας καί ἀρτηρίας καί τήν σάρκα καί τά νεῦρα, καθ' ἥν δύναμιν τῶν αἰσθητῶν ἀντιλαμβανόμεθα· τήν δέ δοξαστικήν, καθ' ἥν κρίνει τά αἰσθητά· ἀναζωγραφικήν δέ, καθ' ἥν ἀναπλάττει· καί μνημονευτικήν, καθ' ἥν μέμνηται· ὀρεκτικήν δέ, καθ' ἥν ὀρέγεται καί κινεῖ τό ζῶν κατά τόπον· καί εἰκαστικήν, καί θυμοειδῆ, καί ἐπιθυμητικήν. Ταύτας γάρ ἔχει δυνάμεις σώματι χρωμένη ἐν τῷ ἀλόγῳ αὐτῆς μέρει. Μετά δέ θάνατον ὁ νοῦς μόνος ἔσται ἐνεργῶν, τοῦτων ἀργουσῶν. Καί τά ὁπωσοῦν τῷ εἶναι: Ἐκ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ ὑπεραγαθότητός φησιν, ἥτις ἐστίν αὐτό τό εἶναι αὐτοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἡ ὕπαρξις τῶν ὄντων καί ἡ τούτων διαμονή. Ἑνιαίως φησίν, ἤγουν κατά ἁπλῆν τινα καί περιεκτικήν τῶν ὅλων αἰτίαν καί ἄσχετον· οὐδενί γάρ λόγῳ ἤ νοήματι καί πράγματι ἔχει τό Θεῖον τήν πρός τά ὄντα σχέσιν τε καί κοινωνίαν, ἀλλ’ ἔστι πάντῃ καί κατά πάντα ὑπερηρμένον, μόνῳ τῷ συνέχειν καί προνοεῖσθαι τούτων ἐφαπτόμενον, ὡς ἄν τις εἴποι. Τά δέ ἑξῆς ὑποδείγματα πιστωτικά τοῦ λόγου τοῦ εἶναι πάντα ἐκ Θεοῦ, ὡς αἰτίου τῆς τούτων ὑπάρξεως, ἄλλο παρά ταῦτα ὑπάρχοντος καί ἐν ἑαυτῷ συνεστάναι ἄλλῳ παρά ταῦτα ὑπάρχοντι. Καί ἔχει πάντα ἀριθμόν: Ὁ γάρ ἀριθμός ἐκ πολλῶν μονάδων συντιθεμένων εἰς μέγεθος παραύξει·","english":"And the soul has all the powers together in itself, by which it provides for the body, and yet it puts them forth without confusion at the proper time, exercising the natural power concerning the body, by which it nourishes it and increases it and makes it fit for generation; and it exercises the sensitive power concerning veins and arteries and flesh and sinews, by which power we apprehend perceptible things; and the opinative power, by which it judges perceptible things; and the imaginative power, by which it forms images; and the memorative power, by which it remembers; and the appetitive power, by which it desires and moves the living being from place to place; and the imitative, and the irascible, and the concupiscible. For it has these powers, using the body in its irrational part. But after death the mind alone will be active, while these are idle. And those things which in any way belong to being: From the superabundant goodness of God, he says, which is the very being of God himself, comes the existence of beings and their continuance. He says \"unitively,\" that is, according to some simple and comprehensive and unrelated cause of all things; for by no principle or thought or thing does the Divine have relation and communion with beings, but it is wholly and in all respects exalted above them, touching them only by sustaining and providing for them, so to speak. And the examples that follow confirm the account that all things are from God, as the cause of their existence, while he exists other than these things and subsists in himself, being other than these things. And he has all number: for number, when many units are combined, increases into magnitude.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":132,"ref":"p132","source":"ἡ οὖν μονάς, ὡς αἰτία ἀριθμῶν, ἑνοειδῶς τούς πάντας περιείληφεν ἀριθμούς· οὕτω καί τό κέντρον, ἤτοι σημεῖον, τάς ἐπί τόν κύκλον εὐθείας περιέχει.\n\nΚαί ἐν κέντρῳ: Ταῦτα βεβαιωτικά τοῦ λόγου ὑποδείγματα. Σημείωσαι, ὡς καί ἀπό τῶν γραμμικῶν τά περί Θεοῦ σαφηνίζει, κέντρῳ αὐτόν περεικάζων. ( 14 _230 Ἑνοειδῶς ἡνωμένας: Τό ἑνοειδῶς ἐνταῦθα τέθεικεν ἀντί τοῦ ἁπλῶς καί ὁμοίως· οὐ γάρ ἑτεροίως.\n\nἈλλά καί ἐν τῇ ὅλῃ τῶν ὅλων: Πρόδηλον ὅτι ἐν τῷ ὅλῳ τά μέρη· οὐκοῦν οἱ ἐν τοῖς καθ' ἕκαστον τῶν ὄντων φυσικῶς θεωρούμενοι τῶν ἐνυπαρχουσῶν αὐτοῖς δυνάμεων ἤ κινήσεων λόγοι ἐν τῇ καθόλου λαμβανομένῃ φύσει θεωροῦνται, φησίν· οἷον οἱ τῆς ἔξω φιλοσοφίας πάντα τά καθ' ἑαυτῶν ὑπάρχοντα καί ἐν ἄλλοις θεωρούμενα, ἅ ἔμψυχά τε καί ἄψυχά φαμεν· ταῦτα πάντα ὑπό μίαν κατηγορίαν ἤγαγον, εἰπόντες οὐσίαν· ἐν τῇ τοιαύτῃ φωνῇ περιλαμβάνονται καί τά τῆς καθ' ἕκαστον οὐσίας ἰδιώματα, καί οἱ λόγοι ἀσύγχυτοι μένοντες· ἕτερος γάρ τῶν ἐμψύχων, καί ἄλλος τῶν ἀψύχων ὁ λόγος· ὡσαύτως καί τῶν αἰσθητικῶν, τουτέστι λογικῶν τε καί ἀλόγων, καίτοι κατά τόν τῆς οὐσίας, ἤτοι τοῦ ἁπλῶς εἶναι, συνηνωμένοι λόγον, Τό δέ ἐν ψυχῇ μονοειδῶς εἴρηκε, σημαίνων μίαν εἶναι τήν ἐκ ψυχῆς ἐνδιδομένην ὅλῳ τῷ σώματι ζωτικήν δύναμιν, ποικίλως ἐνεργοῦσαν ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν.","english":"The monad, then, as the cause of numbers, has embraced all numbers in a unified way; so too the center, that is, the point, contains the straight lines drawn to the circle.\n\nAnd in the center: These are confirmatory illustrations of the argument. Note that he clarifies the things concerning God also from geometry, encompassing him by a center. (14_230 In a unified way, united: He has placed \"in a unified way\" here in the sense of \"simply\" and \"uniformly\"; for not in a different way.\n\nBut also in the whole of all things: It is evident that the parts are in the whole; therefore the principles (logoi) of the powers or motions inherent in them, which are naturally contemplated in each individual being, are contemplated in the nature taken as a whole, he says; for example, those of external philosophy brought all things that subsist in themselves and are contemplated in others under one category, calling it substance—all things that we call animate and inanimate; in such a term are encompassed both the peculiarities of each individual substance and the principles (logoi), remaining unconfused; for one is the principle of animate things and another of inanimate things; likewise also of perceptive things, that is, rational and irrational, although they are united according to the principle of substance, that is, of simply being. And he has said \"in a unified way\" in the soul, signifying that the life-giving power given from the soul to the whole body is one, working in various ways in the members.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":133,"ref":"p133","source":"§ 7. Ἀρχή γάρ ἐστι τῶν ὄντων: Εἰ αἴτιον ἐστι τό δι' ὅ γίνεται τό γινόμενον, εἰκότως ἐν τῷ πάντων αἰτίῳ πάντα προϋφέστηκεν, ὡς ἐν ἰδέᾳ καί παραδείγματι, καθά προέφημεν ὁμοῦ καί ἑνοειδῶς, καί τά ἐναντία, ὡς ἐν τῷ Θεῷ εἴρηται ἐπιθεωρούμενα. Πῶς δέ καί ἡνωμένως καί ἐναντία, οὕτω νοήσεις· τό κοσμηθέν ἔχει τό εἶδος μεμερισμένον, ὡς ἐν τῶ κόσμῳ, ἀλλαχοῦ τά ἄστρα, καί ἀλλαχοῦ τόν ἄνθρωπον· καί αὖθις ἄλλῃ τό πῦρ, καί ἄλλῃ τό ὕδωρ. Ἐναντία γάρ ὄντα, ἐάν ὁμοῦ γένωνται, συμφθείρονται· ἐν δέ ταῖς νοήσεσι τοῦ Θεοῦ καί πάντα ὁμοῦ ἦσαν ὄντα καί ἀσυγχύτως, καί οὐκ ἐν τόπῳ· οὐ γάρ σώματά εἰσιν, οὔτε ἐν σώματι, ἀλλ' ἐν ἀϊδίοις νοήσεσιν, αἵτινές ( 14 _232 εἰσι παραδείγματα· ὅθεν καί πάντων ἀρχή ὁ Θεός· ἀρχή γάρ ἐστι πᾶν τό προϋφεστώς τοῦ γινομένου, καί πρός τοῖς ἄλλοις, καί τάξις ἐστί τῶν ὡς τεταγμένων· τάξις δέ ἐστιν ἐργασία ὁμοιότητος πρός ἄλληλα πάντων τῶν ὄντων, καί συμμετρία γινομένη αἰτία κοινωνίας τῶν πρός ἄλληλα παντός τοῦ ὄντος, ἀλλά καί πᾶσα στάσις καί πᾶσα κίνησίς ἐστι τῶν ὄντων ὁ Θεός. Διαφόρως δέ ταύτας νοητέον· καί ἐπί μέν τῶν νοητῶν καί τῶν νοερῶν ἡ φύσις, ἀρχή οὖσα κινήσεως καί στάσεως, ἤτοι ἠρεμίας, ταὐτόν γάρ ἐστι, ἐνέργειαν δηλοῖ· ἥ τε γάρ κίνησις ἡ εἰς διακονίας θείας καί διδασκαλίας τῶν ὑποβεβηκότων ἐνέργειά ἐστι ζωτική, ἥ τε ἠρεμία καί στάσις αἰώνιος οὖσα καί ἄτρεπτος, τά οἰκεῖα ἐνεργεῖν δηλοῖ τούς νόας καί τῶν θείων ἐμφορεῖσθαι.","english":"§ 7. For he is the beginning of existing things: If a cause is that through which the thing that comes to be comes to be, then reasonably all things pre-existed in the cause of all things, as in an idea and a pattern, just as we said before, at once and in a unified form, and even opposites, as is said to be contemplated in God. But how both in a unified way and as opposites, you will understand thus: the ordered whole has its form divided, as in the world—the stars in one place, and the human being in another; and again fire in one place, and water in another. For being opposites, if they come together, they are destroyed together; but in the thoughts of God all things were at once both existing and without confusion, and not in place; for they are not bodies, nor in a body, but in eternal thoughts, which are patterns; whence God is also the beginning of all things. For every thing that pre-exists the thing that comes to be is a beginning, and besides other things, he is also the order of things as ordered; and order is the working of likeness of all existing things to one another, and the symmetry that comes to be is the cause of the communion of all that exists with one another, but God is also every rest and every motion of existing things. But these must be understood in different ways: in the case of things intelligible and things intellectual, nature, being the beginning of motion and of rest—that is, of stillness, for it is the same—reveals activity; for motion toward divine ministries and teachings of things subordinate is a life-giving activity, and the eternal and unchanging stillness and rest reveals that the intellects perform their own proper activities and are filled with divine things.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":134,"ref":"p134","source":"Ἐπί δέ τῶν αἰσθητῶν ἡ φύσις ἀρχή οὖσα κινήσεως καί στάσεως, ἤτοι ἠρεμίας, τήν μέν κίνησιν δηλοῖ εἰς τό εἶναι παραγωγήν, τήν δέ στάσιν, ἤτοι ἠρεμίαν, τήν διά τῆς φθορᾶς τοῦ εἶναι ἤ παῦσιν ἤ μετεβολήν. Λέγεται δέ ταῦτα εἶναι ὁ Θεός, ὡς αἴτιος αὐτός ὑπάρχων ὑπερουσίως. Κίνησις δέ ἐπί Θεοῦ ἡ εἰς τά ἐξ αὐτοῦ καί δι' αὐτοῦ ἐν ἀγαθότητι προνοητική πρόοδος, στάσις δέ τό ἀεί ὡσαύτως ἔχειν καί ἀνεκφοιτήτως ἑαυτοῦ τήν ἀνεπίγνωστον ἠρεμίαν καί ἀτρεμῇ ἀοχλησίαν κεκτῆσθαι. Σημειωτέον δέ, ὅτι τάς νοητάς δυνάμεις αἰωνίας ἐκάλεσεν, ὡς αἰῶνος μετεχούσας, ἡ δέ τοῦτο λέγουσα Γραφή ἐστι· «τά γάρ βλεπόμενα πρόσκαιρα, τά δέ μή βλεπόμενα αἰώνια». Τά δ' ἐν ἑτέροις ὑπάρχοντά εἰσιν, οἷον ἁγιασμός, ἀθανασία, εὐζωία· ταῦτα γάρ ἐν νοηταῖς καί νοεραῖς οὐσίαις τοιαῦτά εἰσι, κατ' ἐπίνοιαν δέ λέγονται ἐν τοῖς νοητοῖς καί ἡμῖν, ὡς θεοί καί κύριοι καί δυνατοί ἰσχύϊ ἄγγελοι κατά μέθεξιν καί ἄνθρωποι. ( 14 _234 Πᾶς ὅρος καί τά ἄλλα: Ὅσα τῷ εἶναι ὄντα εἰσί, ταῦτά φησιν ἐν ἑτέροις θεωρούμενα ὑπάρχειν, καί οὐ καθ' ἑαυτά· αἱ γάρ οὐσίαι (ταῦτα γάρ ἐκάλεσεν ὄντα), τῶν καθ' ἑαυτά εἰσι, ἅστινας χαρακτηρίζουσιν ἀθανασία, σοφία, τάξις, ἁρμονία, καί τά σύν αὐτοῖς, ἅπερ ἐν ἑτέροις ὑπάρχειν λέγονται· ὥσπερ καί τά κατ'","english":"In the case of perceptible things, nature, being the beginning of motion and rest—that is, of stillness—indicates motion as the production into being, and rest, that is stillness, as either the cessation or the change of being through corruption. These things are said to be God, since he himself is their cause in a superessential manner. Motion in God is the providential procession in goodness into the things that come from him and through him; and rest is his always being in the same state and possessing his unknowable stillness and untroubled freedom from disturbance without any departure from himself. It should be noted that he called the intelligible powers eternal, as partaking of the age (aiōn); and the Scripture that says this is: \"For the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are not seen are eternal.\" And the things that exist in others are, for example, sanctification, immortality, well-being; for these are such in intelligible and intellectual essences, but by way of conception they are said to be in intelligible things and in us, as gods and lords and angels mighty in strength by participation, and men. (14_234 Every boundary and the rest: He says that all things that are by their being are seen to exist in others, and not in themselves; for the essences (for these he called beings) belong to the things that are in themselves, which immortality, wisdom, order, harmony, and the things with them characterize, which are said to exist in others; just as also the things according to","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":135,"ref":"p135","source":"αἴσθησιν περί τά σώματα ὁρώμενα, οἷον χρῶμα, σχῆμα, πηλικότης, καί τά ὅμοια, ἅπερ σωμάτων ἐκτός συνίστασθαι ἀδύνατον. Διεῖλε δέ αὐτά ὁ πατήρ τῶν κατ' ἐπίνοιαν· ταῦτα δέ εἶναί φαμεν τά τῇ νοήσει καταλαμβανόμενα, οἷον νόημα, λόγον, αἴσθησιν, καί τά τοιαῦτα, ἅτινα τῇ ἐπινοίᾳ μόνῃ οἱονεί τῇ ἐπενθυμήσει γνωρίζομεν, ἤ καί κατ' ἐπίνοιαν λέγει τά νοητά, καί αἰσθήσει ὑποπίπτοντα μηδαμῶς. § 8. Αἱ νοηταί καί νοεραί: Σημείωσαι δέ, ὅτι τό 'νοηταί' ὡς πρός ἡμᾶς, τό δέ 'νοεραί ' ὡς πρός τόν Θεόν νοεῖται.\n\nΚαί τό εἶναι: Καί τό θεοειδῶς εἶναι.\n\nΚαί τά ἄλλα πάντα: Ὅτι αὐτός αἴτιος τοῦ εἶναι τά πάντα, καί πρό τοῦ εἶναι, ἅτε καί ἰδέα, ἤτοι παράδειγμα, ὤν τοῦ εἶναι, ὡς ἐντεῦθεν δηλοῦται· τό γάρ αὐτό εἶναι, οὐκ αὐτό ἐστιν ὁ Θεός, διά τό εἶναι τόν Θεόν, ἀλλά διά τόν Θεόν, καί τό εἶναί ἐστι καί λέγεται· διό ἐν τῷ Θεῷ ἐστι τό εἶναι ὡς ἰδέα, οὐ μήν ὁ Θεός ἐν τῷ εἶναί ἐστι· πρό γάρ τοῦ εἶναι ἦν· ὅμως διά τό πάντων αἴτιος εἶναι, καί παραγωγεύς δείκνυται, καί ἔξω πάντων ἐστίν, ὡς αἴτιος πάντων, καί τοῖς τῶν πάντων γνωρίσμασι προσαγορεύεται, ὡς τά πάντα παραγαγών.","english":"visible in bodies through perception, such as color, shape, magnitude, and the like, which cannot exist apart from bodies. But the Father distinguished these from things that exist by conceptualization; and we say that these are the things grasped by thought, such as a thought, a principle, a perception, and the like, which we know by conceptualization alone, as it were by mental conception, or he also calls intelligible things \"by conceptualization,\" and things that in no way fall under perception. § 8. The intelligible and noetic realities: Note that \"intelligible\" is understood in relation to us, while \"noetic\" is understood in relation to God.\n\nAnd to be: And to be in a God-like manner.\n\nAnd all other things: That he himself is the cause of all things being, and even before being, since he is also the idea, that is, the paradigm, of being, as is made clear from this; for being itself is not God because of God, but because of God it both is and is called being; therefore being is in God as an idea, yet God is not in being; for he was before being; nevertheless, because he is the cause of all things and is shown to be their producer, he is also outside all things, as the cause of all things, and he is addressed by the distinguishing marks of all things, as having produced all things.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":136,"ref":"p136","source":"Καί αὐτοῦ ἐστι τό εἶναι: Αὐτοῦ μέν, ὡς ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἐστι τό εἶναι, ἐν αὐτῷ δέ, τῷ συντηρεῖσθαι παρ' αὐτοῦ· οὐκ αὐτός δέ τοῦ εἶναι, οὐδέ ἐν τῷ εἶναι συνεχόμενος· ὑπέρ γάρ τό εἶναι ὁ ὑπερούσιος.\n\n( 14 _236 Καί οὐκ αὐτός ἐν τῷ εἶναι: Προσυπακουστέον ἐν ἀμφοτέροις τό αἴτιον, τουτέστι τό εἶναι αὐτόν ἔχει αἴτιον, καί οὐχί αὐτός ὡς ἐκ προηγουμένης αἰτίας ἔχει τό εἶναι.\n\nΚατά πᾶσαν τῶν ὄντων ἐπίνοιαν: Ἡ τῶν ὄντων θεωρία, ἥν ἐνταῦθα ἐπίνοιαν ἐκάλεσε, πολλή τις οὖσα καί ποικίλη πάσῃ ἐπιβολῇ τοῦ νοῦ, προϋπαντῶσαν εὑρίσκει τοῦ αἰτίου τήν ἔννοιαν, ἤγουν τοῦ δημιουργοῦ· τό οὖν πολλαπλασιάζεσθαι δηλοῖ, τό ἐν τοῖς πολλοῖς τόν αὐτόν αἴτιον θεωρεῖσθαι. Καί τό ἐστί καί τό ἔσται: Ἅπερ ἐν τῷ πρό αὐτοῦ ἀπέφησε, νῦν ἐπειπών τῷ Θεῷ ἀναγκαίως ἑαυτόν ἑρμηνεύων κατά τήν τοῦ αἰτίου ἔννοιαν ταῦτα νοεῖν ὑποβάλλει. Τό μέν οὖν ἐγένετο καί γίνεται καί γενήσεται ἐπί μέν τῶν κτισμάτων κυρίως κατηγορεῖται· τά μέν γάρ ἅπαξ ἐγένετο, οἷον οὐρανός, ἄγγελοι, ἥλιος καί τά τοιαῦτα, ἐφ' ὧν χώραν οὐκ ἔχει τό γίνεται, γενήσεται, τό δέ παρά τοῦ Δαυίδ λεχθέν, «ὁ ποιῶν τούς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ πνεύματα», ἤ κατά τό συντηρεῖσθαι ληπτέον, καθά εἴρηται, «ὁ Πατήρ μου ἕως ἄρτι ἐργάζεται», ἤ κατά τήν συνήθειαν τῆς Γραφῆς, ἐνηλλαγμένως τήν σημασίαν τήν χρονικήν πολλάκις προαγούσης, καί ἀντί παρῳχηκότος μέλλοντι κεχρημένης, καί τό ἔμπαλιν. Ἐπί τούτων μέν οὖν κυρίως τό ἐγένετο·","english":"And his is being: \"his,\" as being is from him, and \"in him,\" by being preserved by him; but he is not of being, nor is he contained in being; for he who is beyond being is above being.\n\n(14 _236 And he is not in being: In both cases the cause must be understood as implied, that is, that he has being as a cause, and not that he himself has being as from a prior cause.\n\nAccording to every conception of beings: The contemplation of beings, which he here called conception, being extensive and varied, meets every application of the mind and finds the notion of the cause, that is, of the creator, coming first to meet it; therefore \"to be multiplied\" signifies that the same cause is contemplated in the many. And \"is\" and \"will be\": These things, which he set aside in what preceded, now adding to God, necessarily interpreting himself, he suggests that they be understood according to the notion of the cause. \"It came to be\" and \"comes to be\" and \"will come to be\" are properly predicated of created things; for some came to be once, such as heaven, angels, the sun, and the like, in the case of which \"comes to be\" and \"will come to be\" have no place; but what was said by David, \"who makes his angels spirits,\" must be taken either according to preservation, as it has been said, \"My Father works until now,\" or according to the custom of Scripture, which often advances the temporal meaning by interchange, using the future for the past and vice versa. In these, then, \"came to be\" is properly used;","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":137,"ref":"p137","source":"γίνεται δέ καί τά ἐν γενέσει καί φθορᾷ πάντα καί ὅσα κατά ἀντιπεριχώρησιν, οἷον ἡ νύξ, ἡ ἡμέρα, θέρος, καί ἔαρ, καί τά τοιαῦτα, γενήσεται δέ μόνον, ἅτινα οὔπω γεγόνασιν ὅλως, προσδοκῶνται δέ, οἷον ἡ τοῦ παντός μεταστοιχείωσις καί τά σύν αὐτῆ. Ὡς τούτων οὖν ἁπάντων αἴτιος ὁ Θεός ὑμνεῖται· οὐ γάρ εἶπε, 'ταῦτα ἐπ' αὐτοῦ κατηγορεῖται', ἀλλά «κυρίως ὑμνεῖται». Τό δέ ἦν καί τά σύν αὐτῷ κατά πᾶσαν ἐπίνοιαν οὐκ ἄλλῳ τινί ἤ τῷ Θεῷ ἁρμόσει, διά τό ( 14 _238 πάσης ἀρχῆς ἀνώτερον ἐπ' αὐτοῦ θεωρεῖσθαι τό ἦν. Τό δέ 'ἔστι' καί τό 'ἔσται' ὡς πάντῃ τό ἀναλλοίωτον καί κατά πάντα ἀμετάβλητον ἔχοντος· διό καί ὑπερούσιος λέγεται. Διό καί πάντα αὐτοῦ καί ἄμα κατηγορεῖται. Κατά τήν τοῦ αἰτίου ἔννοιαν πάντα αὐτοῦ φησι τοῦ Θεοῦ λέγεσθαι, ἤ ἐπ' αὐτοῦ νοεῖσθαι. Τό γάρ κατηγορεῖσθαι κατά φιλοσόφους τοῦτο δηλοῖ. Αὐτός δέ οὐδέν τῶν πάντων ἐστίν, ὧν ἐστιν αἴτιος, διά τό εἶναι καί ὑπερεῖναι· διό καί αἱ ἀποφάσεις τοῦτο δηλοῦσιν, οἷον τό ἄμορφος, τό ἀκαλλής, καί τά ὅμοια· τό δέ πάνσχημος καί πανείδεος τό παντός εἴδους καί σχήματος αἴτιον αὐτόν ὑπάρχειν δηλοῖ. Καθό καί τά ἑξῆς νοητέον,","english":"And all things in generation and corruption also come to be, and whatever things exist by mutual permeation, such as night, day, summer, and spring, and the like; and only those things will come to be which have not yet come to be at all but are expected, such as the transmutation of the universe and the things that accompany it. As the cause, then, of all these things, God is hymned; for he did not say, \"these things are predicated of him,\" but \"he is hymned in the strict sense.\" But \"he was\" and the things that accompany it, in every sense, will fit no other than God, because \"he was\" is contemplated in him as higher than every beginning. And \"he is\" and \"he will be,\" as having the unchangeable in every respect and the immutable in all things; therefore he is also called supersubstantial. Therefore all things are predicated of him at once. According to the conception of cause, he says that all things are said to be his, or are understood in relation to him. For \"to be predicated\" means this according to the philosophers. But he himself is none of all the things of which he is the cause, because he is and is beyond being; therefore the negations also make this clear, such as \"formless,\" \"without beauty,\" and the like; but \"all-figured\" and \"all-formed\" make clear that he is the cause of every form and figure. In this sense also the following things must be understood,","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":138,"ref":"p138","source":"Εἰς τό αὐτό. Πῶς ἀνωτέρω εἰπών, οὔτε ἦν, οὔτε ἐστίν, οὔτε ἐγένετο, οὔτε γίνεται, οὔτε γενήσεται, ἐνταῦθά φησιν, ἐπ' αὐτοῦ καί τό ἐστί, καί τό ἔσται, καί τό ἐγένετο, καί τό γίνεται, καί γενήσεται κυρίως ὑμνεῖται; ἆρα ἐναντίως ἑαυτῷ λέγει ὁ ἅγιος Διονύσιος; Μή γένοιτο. Ἄνω μέν γάρ αὐτόν δημιουργόν εἶπε πάσης ὑπάρξεως, ὑποστάσεως, οὐσίας, φύσεως καί τοῦ χρόνου· εἰκότως οὖν ἐπί αὐτοῦ τό 'ἦν' ἔταξε καί τά ἕτερα, ἵνα νοήσῃς, ὅτι οὔτε ἀπό χρόνου, οὔτε ἐν χρόνῳ, οὔτε μετά χρόνον ἤρξατο ὁ Θεός, ἀλλ' ὅτι καί αὐτοῦ τοῦ εἶναι ἀνώτερός ἐστι. Ἐν αὐτῷ, γάρ εἶπε, τό εἶναι· ἐνταῦθα δέ, ἐπειδή κατά πᾶσαν ἐπίνοιαν εἶπεν αὐτόν πολλαπλασιάζεσθαι, δικαίως εἶπεν, ἐπ' αὐτοῦ καί τό ἦν, καί τό ἔσται, καί τά ἑξῆς, ἵνα, οἷον καιρόν ἤ χρόνον ἐπινοήσῃς, ἐκεῖ τόν Θεόν εὑρήσεις, καί ὑπέρ τά ὄντα καί προόντα, καί αὐτῶν καί τῶν ὄντων αἴτιον καί δημιουργόν, καί οὐδέν ἐξ αὐτῶν ὄντα, ὥσπερ λέγομεν, ὅτι οὐδέν τῶν ὄντων ἐστί, καί ἐν τοῖς πᾶσίν ἐστιν. Καί οὐδέν ἐστι τῶν πάντων: Πρός τό 'πάνσχημος' τό ( 14 _240 'ἄμορφος', διά τό ὑπέρ ἀσωματίαν καί ὑπέρ ἀϋλίαν εἶναι, οὐ μεμορφωμένον πρός τι τῶν ὄντων, πρός δέ τό 'πανείδεος' τό 'ἀκαλλής'. Ἀκαλλῆ δέ λέγει, ὡς καί τοῦ κάλλους ἐξ αὐτοῦ γεγονότος, αὐτοῦ δέ καί ὑπέρ κάλλους ὄντος. Αἱ δέ χρήσεις, «καί εἴδομε αὐτόν, καί οὐκ εἶχεν εἶδος, οὐδέ κάλλος», καί τά ἑξῆς. Εἰ γάρ ὁ καθ' ἡμᾶς ἥλιος: Κάτω ἐν τῷ τέλει τοῦ ἑξῆς λόγου, ἤτοι τοῦ ἕκτου κεφαλαίου, ὅπου τό σημεῖον δείκνυσιν, ὅτι οὐδέν ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ ποιεῖ ὁ ἥλιος, ἀλλ’ ἐκ τῆς πάντων αἰτίας καί ἀρχῆς, ἥτις ἐστίν ὁ Θεός.","english":"On the same passage. How is it that, having said above that he neither was, nor is, nor came to be, nor comes to be, nor will come to be, he here says that in his case both \"is\" and \"will be\" and \"came to be\" and \"comes to be\" and \"will come to be\" are rightly hymned? Does the holy Dionysius then speak in contradiction to himself? God forbid. For above he called him the maker of every existence, subsistence, essence, nature, and of time; with good reason, then, he placed \"was\" in his case, and the rest, so that you may understand that God neither began from time, nor in time, nor after time, but that he is higher even than being itself. For \"in him,\" he says, is \"being\"; but here, since he said that by every conception he is multiplied, he rightly said that in his case are both \"was\" and \"will be\" and the rest, so that, if you conceive, as it were, a season or a time, you will find God there, both beyond things that are and things that pre-exist, and the cause and maker of them and of things that are, and being none of them, as we say, that he is none of the things that are, and is in all things. And he is none of all things: To \"all-shaped\" corresponds \"shapeless,\" because he is beyond incorporeality and beyond immateriality, not shaped toward any of the things that are; and to \"all-formed\" corresponds \"unadorned.\" He calls him unadorned, as being the one from whom beauty itself has come to be, and himself being beyond beauty. And the uses: \"and we saw him, and he had no form or beauty,\" and the rest. For if the sun according to us: Below, at the end of the following discourse, that is, of the sixth chapter, where the sign indicates that the sun does nothing of itself, but from the cause and principle of all things, which is God.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":139,"ref":"p139","source":"Καλῶς δέ ἀπέδειξεν ἐκ τοῦ ἡλίου τό περί Θεοῦ νοούμενον· ὥσπερ γάρ αὐτός εἷς ὤν ὁ ἥλιος, πάντα τά αἰσθητά ζωογονεῖ καί τρέφει καί αὔξει καί ἐναλλάττει, τουτέστιν ἀπό μικρῶν μεγάλα ποιεῖ, ἤ καί ἀπό σπόρου τό ἐξ αὐτοῦ φυόμενον βλαστόν ἤ δένδρον, καί ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ὁρωμένοις ἐστί, μηδέν ἐξ αὐτῶν ὑπάρχων, οὕτω καί ὁ Θεός καί αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἡλίου καί πάντων τῶν αἰσθητῶν καί τῶν νοητῶν καί τῶν νοερῶν ὤν αἴτιος, οὐδέν ἐκ τῶν ὄντων ἐστί, καί ἐν τοῖς πᾶσίν ἐστι· αὐτοῦ γάρ τά πάντα μετέχει· διό καί ἡ Γραφή «δικαιοσύνης Ἥλιον» αὐτόν ὀνομάζει.\n\nΠαραδείγματα: Τά παραδείγματα, ἅτινα καί ἰδέας καλοῦσιν, ἤδη μέν καί ἀνωτέρω ἐδηλώσαμεν, ὅπως ὁρίζονται, ὅτι ποίησιν αὐτοτελῆ ἀϊδιον τοῦ ἀϊδίου Θεοῦ τήν ἰδέαν, ἤτοι τό παράδειγμα, φησί· καί ἐνταῦθα μέντοι σαφηνίζει ὁ μέγας Διονύσιος τήν Γραφήν, προορισμούς καλῶν τάς ἰδέας, αἰνιττόμενος τόν θεῖον Παῦλον, ὅς ἐν τῇ πρός Ρωμαίους φησίν· «οὕς δέ προώρισε, τούτους καί ἐκάλεσε»· καί ἑτέρωθι· «προορίσας ἡμᾶς ἐν τῷ θελήματι αὑτοῦ»· θέλημα γάρ καί προορισμόν τά παραδείγματα καί τάς ἰδέας λέγει. Παράγει μέντοι καί τόν μακάριον Κλήμεντα, τόν Ρώμης ἐπίσκοπον, οὗ μέμνηται ὁ Ἀπόστολος, ( 14 _242 εἰπόντα, 'ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν εἶναι παραδείγματα ἀρχηγικώτερα, οἷον τῶν πρός τι'. Σαφέστερον δέ οὕτως ἔσται τό λεγόμενον· ἔστι τις δόξα γραμμῇ ἀπεικάζουσα τά πάντα, καί τῆς γραμμῆς τό μέν ἄνω μέρος τοῖς νοητοῖς ἀποδιδοῦσα, τό δέ κάτω τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς. Καί τούτων, τοῖς μέν ἀρχηγικωτέροις, ἅπερ εἰσί τά ἰδίως νοητά, τό πρῶτον καί ἀνώτερον μέρος, τοῖς δέ ἐκ τῶν νοητῶν, τό μετ' ἐκεῖνο·","english":"He demonstrated well the concept of God from the sun; for just as the sun, being one, gives life to all sensible things and nourishes and increases and changes them—that is, makes great things from small, or from a seed the shoot or tree that grows from it—and is in all things seen, while existing from none of them, so also God, being the cause of the sun itself and of all sensible and intelligible and rational things, is from none of the things that exist, and is in all things; for all things partake of him. Therefore also the Scripture names him \"Sun of righteousness.\"\n\nExamples: The examples, which they also call ideas, we have already indicated above, how they are defined—that the idea, or the example, is a self-complete, eternal making of the eternal God, he says; and here the great Dionysius clarifies the Scripture, calling the ideas \"predeterminations,\" alluding to the divine Paul, who in the letter to the Romans says: \"Whom he predestined, these he also called\"; and elsewhere: \"having predestined us in his own will\"; for he calls the examples and the ideas will and predetermination. He also brings forward the blessed Clement, bishop of Rome, whom the Apostle mentions, who said, \"in the things that exist there are examples more original, such as those of things in relation to something.\" The saying will be clearer thus: there is an opinion that likens all things to a line, and assigns the upper part of the line to intelligible things, and the lower to sensible things. And of these, to the more original—which are the properly intelligible things—the first and higher part, and to those derived from the intelligible, the part after that.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":140,"ref":"p140","source":"εἶθ' οὕτω καθ' ὑπόβασιν τῆς γραμμῆς, τά ἄλλα· δεῖξαι γάρ θέλει ἡ τοιαύτη δόξα, μή τῆς ἀξίας τῆς αὐτῆς εἶναι τά πάντα, ἀλλ’ ἐξ ἀλλήλων ἔνια γενόμενα, οἷον τά ὑφειμένα εἴδη, τῶν καθολικῶν ἐν δημιουργίᾳ καί ἀρχῶν, ἅς καθολικάς ἀρχάς ἀρχηγικώτερά φησι. Τόν οὖν ἱερόν Κλήμεντά φησι λέγειν, εἶναι καί ἐν τοῖς ποιήμασι παραδείγματα γενικώτερα, ἤτοι ἰδέας τῶν πρός τι, ἀντί τοῦ τῶν ὑποβεβηκότων εἰδῶν τῶν πρός τι τῶν ὑπερβεβηκότων ὑπόδειγμα ὑποστάντων, οἷον τό ἔνυλον πῦρ πρός τό αἰθέριον· ἀλλ' οὐ ταῦτα κυρίως ἰδέας φησίν ὁ μέγας Διονύσιος, ἀλλά τάς νοήσεις τοῦ Θεοῦ· κἄν γάρ λέγηται παραδείγματα ἐν κτίσει, ἀλλ’ οὐ προσκυτητά, ὥς φησι Μωϋσῆς. Ποῦ δέ ταῦτα εἶπεν ὁ ἅγιος Κλήμης, οὐκ ἐδήλωσε.\n\nΠαραδείγματα δέ φαμεν εἶναι: Πλάτων μέν τάς ἰδέας καί τά παραδείγματα ταπεινῶς καί ἀναξίως Θεοῦ ἐξείληφεν, ὁ δέ πατήρ τῇ μέν λέξει ἐχρήσατο, τήν δέ ἔννοιαν εὐσεβῶς ἐξηγήσατο. Ἀφοριστικά δέ ἔφη τά θεῖα θελήματα καί ποιητικά, τό μέν, ὅτι μόνῳ τῷ βούλεσθαι τά πάντα ὑφίστησι καί ποιεῖ· τό δέ, καί διά τό ἑτεροειδῆ καί διάφορα τά ὄντα γενέσθαι. Σημείωσαι οὖν, ὅτι παραδείγματα καλεῖ τούς ἐν τῷ Θεῷ τῶν ὄντων οὐσιοποιούς καί ἑνιαίως προϋφεστῶτας λόγους, ἤτοι προορισμούς. § 9. Πρόεισι μέν, οὐ διά κυρίων: Μᾶλλον ὁ μακάριος ( 14 _244 Κλήμης δόξῃ τινί κατηκολούθησε λεγούσῃ, καί ἐν τῇ γενέσει τῶν ὄντων αἰσθητῶν εἶναι ἀρχικάς τινας αἰτίας, οἷον τά τῶν νοητῶν, ἤτοι ἀσωμάτων ἀγγέλων ἐνεργείας, ἤτοι εἰς οὐσίαν παραγωγούς, αἰτίας ἀρχικάς ἔχειν τάς ἰδέας, ἤτοι νοήσεις, τοῦ Θεοῦ·","english":"Then in this way, by a descending scale of the line, the other things; for such an opinion wishes to show that not all things are of the same worth, but that some came to be from one another, for example the subordinate species from the universal principles in creation, which he calls more archetypal universal principles. He says, then, that the holy Clement says that even in created things there are more generic exemplars, that is, ideas of relative things—instead of the subordinate species of relative things having subsisted as a pattern of the things that transcend them, for example material fire in relation to ethereal fire. But the great Dionysius says that these are not ideas in the proper sense, but the thoughts of God; for even if exemplars are spoken of in creation, they are not objects of worship, as Moses says. But where the holy Clement said these things, he did not make clear.\n\nWe say that exemplars are: Plato indeed took the ideas and exemplars in a lowly and unworthy manner of God, but the Father used the term while interpreting the concept piously. He called the divine wills both definitive and creative—the one, because by willing alone he establishes and makes all things; the other, also because the things that exist came to be of different kinds and diverse. Note, then, that he calls exemplars the logoi in God that give substance to existing things and pre-subsist in a unified way, that is, predeterminations. § 9. He proceeds, but not through the proper meanings: Rather, the blessed Clement followed some opinion saying that even in the generation of sensible things there are certain original causes, for example that the activities of intelligible things, that is, of incorporeal angels, or those productive of substance, have as original causes the ideas, that is, the thoughts, of God.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":141,"ref":"p141","source":"περί ἅς ἰδέας παραδειγματικάς οὔσας, τά νοητά εἶναι ὡς ἐνεργείας ἀρχικάς καί εὐδαιμονικάς καί ἡγεμονικάς· ἐπί δέ τῶν αἰσθητῶν, αἴτιον ἀρχικόν καί εὐδαιμονικόν καί δημιουργικόν τό εἶδος, τό ἐπί τῇ ὕλῃ ἡ εἰρημένη φησί δόξα· τόν γάρ λόγον τῆς ἐν γενέσει φύσεως, καθ' ἥν εἰδοποιήθη τά αἰσθητά, τοιοῦτον εἶδός φησιν ἀρκτικόν. Ἔοικεν οὖν τάχα τοῦτο εἰρηκέναι ὁ μακάριος Κλήμης· οὐκ ἔστι δέ κυρίως ταῦτα εἰπεῖν παραδείγματα, ἤτοι ἰδέας ἀρκτικάς, ἤγουν ἀρχικά αἴτια· οὐ γάρ ἐξ αὐτῶν ταῦτα, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῶν Θεοῦ νοήσεων, ὅς μόνος προσκυνητός. Προόδου καί ἀγαθότητος: Πρόοδόν φησι τό μή μόνον αὐτήν περί τήν αὐτῆς ἀσχολεῖσθαι θεωρίαν, ἀλλά χυθῆναι καί ὁδεῦσαι καί τά ὄντα ὑποστήσασθαι. Πάντα μέν ἐν ἑαυτῆ: Ὅτι ἐπί πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσιν ἀγάλλεσθαί φησι τόν Θεόν, κατά τό ψαλμικόν· «εὐφρανθήσεται Κύριος ἐπί τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῦ», καί ἐν Παροιμίαις· «Ἐγώ ἤμην ᾗ προσέχαιρε». Τό δέ προέχει ἐνταῦθα ἀντί τοῦ προώρισε καί προείληφε κεῖται.","english":"Concerning these ideas, which are paradigmatic, the intelligible things exist as original, blessed, and governing energies; but in the case of sensible things, the form is the original, blessed, and creative cause—the said opinion speaks of the form upon matter; for the principle of the nature that comes to be, according to which sensible things were given form, such a form it calls originative. So perhaps blessed Clement has said this. But it is not strictly correct to call these paradigms, that is, originative ideas, or original causes; for these things are not from them, but from the thoughts of God, who alone is worthy of worship. Of procession and goodness: he says procession, meaning that she does not occupy herself solely with the contemplation of herself, but is poured out and goes forth and establishes the things that exist. All things in herself: he says that God rejoices over all things that exist, according to the psalm: \"The Lord will rejoice over his works,\" and in Proverbs: \"I was that in which he delighted.\" And \"foreknew\" here is used in place of \"predetermined\" and \"preconceived.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":142,"ref":"p142","source":"Πᾶσαν διπλόην: Ἐπειδή τινες τάς ἰδέας καί τά παραδείγματα ἐνυπόστατα ἔφησαν, τούτους ἐπιρραπίζει νῦν Ἕλληνας ὄντας, καί φησιν· Εἰ γάρ μή ἁπλῶς καί ἑνιαίως εἶεν αἱ ἰδέαι, νοήσεις ὑπερηπλωμέναι οὖσαι τοῦ ὑπερηπλωμένου καί ὑπερηνωμένου Θεοῦ, σύνθετος ἄν εἴη ὁ Θεός ἐκ παραδείγματος καί ( 14 _246 ἑαυτοῦ, ὅπερ διπλόην ὠνόμασε, Τό δέ ἀγαλλομένη συμφωνεῖ τῷ Δαβίδ· «εὐφρανθήσεται Κύριος», καί τά ἑξῆς.\n\nΚαθάπερ καί φωνή μία: Σημείωσαι τό τῆς φωνῆς, ὅτι ἀσώματος καί μία οὖσα ὑπό πολλῶν ὁμοίως ἀκούεται, καί οὔτε δαπανᾶται ἐκ τοῦ πλήθους. Οὕτω καί ὁ Θεός ὑπό πάντων ἐπίσης μετέχεται· τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τό 'ἑνικῶς'. Κατά ἀναλογίαν δέ τῆς πίστεως, καί οὔτε μεριζόμενος δαπανᾶται.\n\n§ 10. Ὡς τοῦ ἕνεκα: Ἄνω ἐν τῷ πρό τούτου κεφαλαίῳ εἴπομεν, τελείως ὁρίσαντες τελικόν αἴτιον εἶναι τό οὗ ἕνεκα τό γινόμενον. Καί πέρας πάντων: Τῷ πέρατι πάντως ἡ ἀπειρία ἀντεπινοεῖται, ὁ δέ Θεός πέρας πάντων· οὐδέν γάρ ἐκβαίνει τήν αὐτοῦ πρόνοιαν καί δυναστείαν· καί ἀπειρία δέ, ἐπεί κατά τήν θείαν Γραφήν· «καί τῆς συνέσεως αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀριθμός»· καί πάλιν· «καί τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔσται πέρας». Ὡς οὖν ἀπερίληπτος καί ἄπειρος· ταῦτα γάρ ὑπερεξόχως ἔχει ὁ Θεός καί πάντα ὑπερβεβηκώς καί πέρας παντός πέρατος ὤν· εἰς αὐτόν γάρ τά πάντα περατοῦνται, καί ἀπειρία ἐστί πάσης ἀπειρίας. Κἄν οὖν ἀπειρία λέγηται καί ἡ ὕλη, ὡς ἀεί μετασχηματιζομένη καί ἄλλοτε εἰς ἄλλα εἴδη μεταβάλλουσα, ἀλλ’ οὖν πεπέρασται ἐν τῷ Θεῷ, εἰ καί ἄστατός ἐστι καί ἀόριστος ὑπό Θεοῦ μεταγομένη εἰς εἰδοποιίας.","english":"Every duplicity: Because some said that the ideas and paradigms are subsistent, he now rebukes them, since they are Greeks, and says: For if the ideas were not simply and in a unified way—being thoughts supremely simplified of the supremely simplified and supremely unified God—God would be composite, consisting of a paradigm and himself, which he called duplicity. And “exulting” agrees with David: “The Lord will rejoice,” and the rest.\n\nJust as also one voice: Note this about the voice, that being incorporeal and one, it is heard alike by many, and is not consumed by the multitude. So also God is participated in equally by all; for this is the “in a unified way.” And according to the analogy of faith, and neither being divided is he consumed.\n\n§ 10. As for the sake of which: Above, in the chapter before this, we spoke, defining perfectly that the final cause is the “for the sake of which” of what comes to be. And the limit of all things: By the limit, infinity is certainly conceived in contrast, and God is the limit of all things; for nothing escapes his providence and dominion; and infinity also, since according to divine Scripture: “and of his understanding there is no number”; and again: “and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” As therefore he is incomprehensible and infinite; for God possesses these things surpassingly and has transcended all things and is the limit of every limit; for in him all things are limited, and he is the infinity of every infinity. And even if matter is also called infinity, as always being reshaped and at one time changing into other forms, yet it has been limited in God, even if it is unstable and undefined, being led by God into the production of forms.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":143,"ref":"p143","source":"Καί εἰκότως ὁ Θεός πέρας ἐστί τῆς τοιαύτης ἀπειρίας καί ἄπειρος τοῖς πέρασι τῶν ὄντων, ὡς καί τήν ὕλην ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων παραγαγών· φησί γάρ ἡ Γραφή· «ἐξ αὐτοῦ καί δι' αὐτοῦ καί εἰς αὐτόν τά πάντα». ( 14 _248 Ἐν ἑνί γάρ, ὡς πολλάκις: Ἀντίκειται τό πέρας τῇ ἀπειρίᾳ κατά ἀπόφασιν καί κατάφησιν, ὡς τό θνητόν καί τό ἀθάνατον. Καλῶς δέ τό 'ὡς\n\nἀντικειμένων'· οὐ γάρ κυρίως ταῦτα ἀλλήλοις ἀντίκειται, οἱονεί κατά τήν ἕξιν ἤ στέρησιν, ἀλλ', ὡς εἴρῃται, κατά ἀπόφασιν καί κατάφασιν. Παρών τοῖς πᾶσι: Πανταχοῦ γάρ παρών, καί τοῖς καθ' ἕν ἕκαστον καί τοῖς πᾶσιν ὁμοῦ πάρεστι καί ὁμοίως. Καί ἑστώς δέ λέγεται ὁ Θεός, τῷ κατά μηδέν ὅλως ἐν αὐτῷ μεταβολήν θεωρεῖσθαι, κινούμενος δέ, τῷ συνέχειν τά ὄντα καί συντηρεῖν· καί ταῦτα δέ ὑπέρ πᾶσαν ἐπίνοιαν· διό καί ἐπήγαγε τό 'οὔτε ἑστώς', 'οὔτε κινούμενος'. Καί ἑστώς καί κινούμενος: Δοκεῖ πῶς ἐναντίον εἶναι τό εἰρημένον, τό 'ἑστώς' καί 'κινούμενος', καί, 'οὔτε ἑστώς', 'οὔτε κινούμενος'· πῶς γάρ τό αὐτό πρᾶγμα καί ἵσταται καί κινεῖται, ἤ οὔτε ἵσταται οὔτε κινεῖται; Πρῶτον μέν οὐ δεῖ ἐκ τῶν αἰσθητῶν κατανοεῖν τά θεῖα, ἤ τάς εἰκόνας ἐντεῦθεν λαμβάνειν· ἵνα δέ μή δόξαιμεν λύσεως ἀπορεῖν, στάσιν εἴπομεν ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν τήν γένεσιν, κίνησιν δέ τήν ἀλλοίωσιν, ἤτοι μεταβολήν. Ἔστιν οὖν ὁ Θεός πάντων γένεσις· ἀεί γάρ ταῦτα εἰς τό εἶναι παράγει· ὥστε ἕστηκεν ὁ Θεός· κινεῖται δέ πάλιν, διότι πάντα μετασχηματίζει καί ἀλλοιοῖ πρός τό κρεῖττον· δι' αὐτοῦ γάρ καλλίους γινόμεθα·","english":"And reasonably is God the limit of such limitlessness, and limitless in the limits of beings, as also having brought matter out of non-being; for the Scripture says: \"From him and through him and to him are all things.\" (14_248 For in one, as often: The limit is opposed to limitlessness by negation and affirmation, as the mortal and the immortal. And well the \"as\n\nof opposites\"; for these are not properly opposed to one another, as it were by habit or privation, but, as has been said, by negation and affirmation. Present to all things: For being present everywhere, he is present both to each one individually and to all together and alike. And God is said to be standing, by the fact that no change at all is observed in him, and moving, by his sustaining and preserving beings; and these things are beyond all conception; therefore he added the \"neither standing,\" \"nor moving.\" And standing and moving: It seems somehow that what is said is contrary, the \"standing\" and \"moving,\" and, \"neither standing,\" \"nor moving\"; for how can the same thing both stand and move, or neither stand nor move? First, one must not understand divine things from sensible things, or take the images from there; but so that we may not seem to be at a loss for a solution, we said in what precedes that standing is generation, and movement is alteration, that is, change. God, then, is the generation of all things; for he always brings these into being; so that God stands; and he moves again, because he transforms and alters all things for the better; for through him we become more beautiful.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":144,"ref":"p144","source":"ὅθεν καί περί αὐτοῦ πρό μικροῦ φησιν ὁ θεῖος Διονύσιος, 'πάντων ἀρχή καί τελευτή τῶν ὄντων'· τό γάρ 'οὔτε ἑστώς', 'οὔτε κινούμενος', τό πρός αὐτοῦ ἐξηγεῖται τό μένων ἐφ' ἑαυτοῦ, καί ἐπί πάντα προϊών· μεταδίδωσι γάρ πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσι τῆς οἰκείας ὁλότητος, καί ἄτρεπτος καί ἀναλλοίωτος αὐτός ἐστι κατά τό εἰρημένον, «Σύ δέ ὁ αὐτός εἶ». Οὐκοῦν καί πρόεισι καί ἐφ' ἑαυτοῦ μένει ὁ Θεός.\n\nΟὔτε ἔν τινι τῶν ὄντων: Οὐκ ἔν τινι εἶπεν· ἐν πᾶσι γάρ, καί ( 14 _250 διά τό ἐν πᾶσιν ἄσχετον· αἰωνίως γάρ ὄντα, τάς ὑπερκοσμίους φησίν οὐσίας, διά τό πρό τῆς τοῦ χρόνου φύσεως γενέσθαι αὐτάς· χρόνος γάρ ἀπό τῆς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καί γῆς ποιήσεως ἀριθμεῖται.\n\nἬ τῶν χρονικῶς: Εἴρηται καί ἀνωτέρω, αἰώνιον λέγεσθαι κυρίως οὐκ αὐτόν τόν αἰῶνα, ἀλλά τό αἰῶνος μετέχον. Τό δέ 'προσήκει τι' νόησον κατ' οὐσίαν. Σημείωσαι δέ, ὅτι εἰσί τινα τῶν ὄντων αἰώνια, οἷον ἄγγελοι, καί ὅτι οὐ τό αἰώνιον, ἤδη καί ἄναρχον. Ἐν δέ τῷ ἐφεξῆς κεφαλαίῳ εὐθύς ἐν ἀρχῇ, τῇ τοῦ αἰωνίου φωνῇ καί ἐπί τοῦ Θεοῦ κέχρηται.","english":"Hence also the divine Dionysius says of him shortly before: \"the beginning and end of all things that exist\"; for the \"neither standing\" nor \"moving\" is explained by him as remaining in himself and proceeding to all things; for he imparts his own wholeness to all beings, and he himself is unchangeable and immutable, according to what is said, \"But you are the same.\" Therefore God both proceeds and remains in himself.\n\nNeither in any of existing things: He said \"not in any\"; for he is in all, and (14 250) because of being in all things without being held; for he calls the supracosmic essences eternal, because they came to be before the nature of time; for time is counted from the making of heaven and earth.\n\nOr of things in time: It has been said also above that \"eternal\" is properly said not of the age itself, but of what partakes of the age. And understand \"something belongs to it\" in respect of essence. Note also that some of existing things are eternal, such as angels, and that the eternal is not already also without beginning. And in the next chapter, immediately at the beginning, he has used the word \"eternal\" also of God.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":145,"ref":"p145","source":"Καί τά τῶν ὄντων μέτρα: Μέτρα τῶν ὄντων εἰσίν οἱ αἰῶνες τῶν νοητῶν καί ὁ χρόνος τῶν αἰσθητῶν· τά γάρ νοητά, ὡς ὑπό μέτρου μετρεῖται τοῦ αἰῶνος, εἰ καί ὁμωνύμως τῷ μετροῦντι αἰῶνι καί τά μετρούμενα λέγονται· αἰῶνες γάρ λέγονται καί οἱ ἄγγελοι· οὕτω καί ἐπί τῶν αἰσθητῶν· τά γάρ μετρούμενα τῷ χρόνῳ ὁμωνύμως χρόνοι λέγονται, ὡς καί ἡ κίνησις τῶν ἄστρων, καί τοῦ ἡλίου, καί οἱ βίοι· μετρούμενοι γάρ ὑπό χρόνου, χρόνοι λέγονται. ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ ' § 1. Καί συνοχικῆς αἰτίας: Συνοχικήν ὠνόμασεν, ὡς τήν ζωήν τῶν ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν οὐ μόνον δημιουργήσασαν, ἀλλά καί εἰς τό διαμένειν συνέχουσαν. Ἐξ αὐτῆς καί αἱ ψυχαί: Μετά τήν τῶν ἀγγέλων ζωήν ἀκολούθως τάττει τήν τῶν ἡμετέρων ψυχῶν, ἅτε καί λογικῶν οὐσῶν ἀθανασίαν· μετά δέ τάς λογικάς ψυχάς, ἐπάγει λοιπόν τήν ζωήν τῆς αἰσθητικῆς ψυχῆς καί τῆς θρεπτικῆς, ἤτοι φυτικῆς, ἤτοι τῶν ἀλόγων, καί τῶν φυτῶν, ἅς καί κατ' ἔσχατον ἀπήχημά φησιν, ὅπερ ἄνω πολλάκις ἡρμηνεύσαμεν. Αἱ δέ ζωαί τῶν ( 14 _252 ἀλόγων καί τῶν φυτῶν οὔκ εἰσι θεῖαι, ἀλλά τοῦ ἐνύλου πυρός τε καί πνεύματος. Περί τούτων οὖν μόνων τῶν ἐσχάτων, ὡς εἴρηται, ζωῶν φησι τό τοῦ Δαβίδ εἰρῆσθαι· «ἀντανελεῖς τό πνεῦμά σου καί ἐκλείψουσι καί εἰς τόν χοῦν αὐτῶν ἐπιστρέψουσιν. Ἐξαποστελεῖς τό πνεῦμά σου καί κτισθήσονται καί ἀνακαινιεῖς τό πρόσωπον τῆς γῆς»· ἐπί γάρ αἰσθητικῆς μόνης ψυχῆς καί τῆς φυτικῆς ζωῆς ταῦτα δέχεται τά θεῖα λόγια ὁ μέγας,","english":"And the measures of things that exist: the measures of things that exist are the ages of intelligible things and the time of sensible things; for intelligible things, as being measured by the measure of the age, are measured—even if the things measured are called ages by homonymy with the measuring age; for the angels too are called ages. So also in the case of sensible things: for the things measured by time are called times by homonymy, as also the motion of the stars and of the sun, and the lives of men; for being measured by time, they are called times. ON THE CHAPTER ' § 1. And of a cohesive cause: He called it cohesive, as having not only created the life of the things that exist but also holding them together so as to remain. From it also the souls: After the life of the angels he next orders the immortality of our souls, inasmuch as they too are rational; and after the rational souls, he then brings in the life of the sensitive soul and of the nutritive, that is, the vegetative, that is, of irrational animals and of plants, which he also calls the last echo, which we have often explained above. But the lives of irrational animals and of plants are not divine, but of embodied fire and spirit. Concerning these last lives only, then, as has been said, he says that what was spoken by David refers: \"You will take away their spirit, and they will fail and return to their dust. You will send forth your spirit, and they will be created, and you will renew the face of the earth\"; for the great one accepts these divine oracles as referring to the sensitive soul only and to the vegetative life,","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":146,"ref":"p146","source":"Διονύσιος· περί γάρ τῆς τῶν νοητῶν ζωῆς ἤ τῆς καθ' ἡμᾶς οὐ νοεῖ ταῦτα· τήν γάρ ζωήν ταύτην οὐσιωδῶς δημιουργήσας εἰς ἀθανασίαν ὁ Θεός, τοῖς νοητοῖς καί ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἡμῶν οὐκ ἄν ἀφέλοι αὐτῶν τό ζῇν· ἐπεί οὐσίαι ἔσονται, ἀλλά καί περί ζώων ἀπό γῆς ἀνανεουμένων φησίν ὁ Δαβίδ, οὐ μήν περί τούτων· καί περί τῆς ζωῆς δέ τῷν ἑκουσίως ἀποβάντων δαιμόνων, ἐπάγει, ὅτι καί αὐτή διαμένει ἀνώλεθρος, τοῦ κτίσαντος αὐτούς Θεοῦ τοῦτο βουλομένου, κἄν αὐτοί ἀπέστησαν τοῦ Θεοῦ· «ἀμεταμέλητα γάρ τά χαρίσματα τοῦ Θεοῦ», τοῦ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ποιήσαντος αὐτούς ἀθανάτους· ἔσχατον δέ ἀπήχημα λέγει τήν ἀμυδροτέραν μετοχήν τῆς ζωῆς, καί οἷον εἰπεῖν, ὀλίγως μετέχουσαν ζωτικῆς δυνάμεως. Ἧς ἀνταναιρουμένης: Τό μέν ψαλμικόν ρητόν περί ἀνθρώπων, καί τῆς τελευταίας καί κοινῆς ἀναστάσεως λέγει, ἥν μικρῷ πρόσθεν τρανότερον τίθησιν ὁ πατήρ· ἐνταῦθα δέ τό ρητόν παρήγαγε, τόν λόγον ποιούμενος περί πάντων τῶν ὁπωσοῦν ζῇν ἐχόντων, δεικνύς μή ἄλλως ταῦτα ἤ ἐκ Θεοῦ τό ζῇν θεωρεῖσθαι ἐν αὐτοῖς. Τό δέ «ἀνταναιρεῖσθαι» ἀντί τοῦ 'κεχωρίσθαι' τέθεικεν, ὥσπερ καί τό «ἐπιστρεφόμενα» ἀντί τοῦ 'μετέχοντα'. Ἀσθενεῖν δέ ταῦτα πρός τό μετέχειν τῆς ζωῆς ταύτης φησί, διά τό μή οἴκοθεν καί παρ' ἑαυτῶν ἔχειν τήν ζωήν, ἀλλ’ ( 14 _254 ἐπακτήν ἐκ Θεοῦ· τά γάρ ὅσον ἐφ' ἑαυτῶν, οὐκ ἐν τῷ ζῇν θεωρούμενα, τῇ δέ πρός τόν Θεόν ἀναθέσει τοῦτο ἔχοντα, τρόπον τινά ἀναζῇ, καί ὡς αὐτός φησι, πάλιν ζῶα γίνεται.","english":"Dionysius: For he does not understand these things concerning the life of intelligible beings or of our life; for God, having created this life substantially unto immortality, would not take away from intelligible beings and from our souls their living; otherwise they would not be essences. But David also speaks of living creatures renewed from the earth, yet not concerning these. And concerning the life of the demons who voluntarily fell away, he adds that this too remains indestructible, God who created them willing this, even if they themselves revolted from God; for \"the gifts of God are without repentance,\" since from the beginning he made them immortal. And he calls the faintest participation of life a last echo, so to speak, one that partakes but little of the life-giving power. When this is taken away: The psalm verse speaks concerning men and the final and common resurrection, which the Father set forth more clearly a little earlier; but here he brought forward the verse while making his argument concerning all things that have any share whatever in living, showing that these are not seen to have life in themselves otherwise than from God. And he has used \"taken away\" in place of \"separated,\" just as also \"turning back\" in place of \"partaking.\" And he says that these are weak with respect to partaking of this life, because they do not have life from home and from themselves, but as something acquired from God; for things, insofar as they depend on themselves, are not observed to be in living, but by their reference to God they have this, and in a certain way live again, and as he himself says, become living creatures again.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":147,"ref":"p147","source":"§ 2. Τήν ὡς συμμίκτοις: Θαυμασίως πάντα τά δόγματα μετά ὀρθότητος διδάσκει. Τόν γάρ περί τῆς ἀναστάσεως τρόπον νῦν παραδιδούς, θνητούς μέν ἡμᾶς ἀποφαίνει, ἅτε ἐξ ἀθανάτου ψυχῆς καί θνητοῦ σώματος ὄντας θνητούς, τήν δέ ζωήν οὐσιώδη τῆς ψυχῆς ἐλάττονά φησι τῶν ἀγγελικῶν οὐσιῶν, παρ' ὅσον αὐτήν καί ἀγγελοειδῆ ζωήν, οὐ μήν ἀγγελικήν ὀνομάζει, οὐχ ὡς αὐτοαγγελικήν, ἀλλά παρεμφερῆ· καί ἡμᾶς μέν μερικῶς φησιν εἶναι τάς λογικάς ψυχάς, ὅλους δέ ἡμᾶς τούς ἐκ ψυχῆς καί σώματος ὄντας· ἀπαθανατίζεσθαι δέ φησι τά σώματα ἡμῶν ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει, φάσκων τό περί ἀναστάσεως δόγμα ἄπιστον δοκεῖν τῇ παλαιότητι, ἀντί τοῦ 'τῇ ἀνοήτῳ δόξῃ τῶν Ἑλλήνων', διά τό παρά φύσιν εἶναι τῆς ὕλης τό ἀπαθανατίζεσθαι. Παλαιότης δέ λέγεται ἡ ἀνοησία· εἰ δέ καί ὑπέρ φύσιν τό πρᾶγμα τῆς ἀναστάσεως, οἷον πρός τόν παρόντα βίον τόν διά τροφῆς καί ἐκκρίσεως καί νόσων διεξαγόμενον, ἀλλά πρός τόν Θεόν, οὐδέν παρά φύσιν οὐδέ ὑπέρ φύσιν, ἐπειδή αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ πάσης ζωῆς αἴτιος.","english":"§ 2. The phrase \"as to those compounded\": He teaches all the doctrines wonderfully with correctness. For now, handing down the manner of the resurrection, he shows that we are mortal, inasmuch as we are mortal, being from an immortal soul and a mortal body; and he says that the substantial life of the soul is less than the angelic essences, insofar as he names it also an angel-like life, yet not an angelic one, not as being itself angelic, but as resembling it; and he says that we, the rational souls, are [such] partially, but that we who are from soul and body are [such] wholly; and he says that our bodies are made immortal in the resurrection, asserting that the doctrine of the resurrection seems incredible to antiquity, instead of \"to the foolish opinion of the Greeks,\" because it is contrary to nature for matter to be made immortal. And antiquity is said [to mean] foolishness; but even if the matter of the resurrection is beyond nature, as compared with the present life which is conducted through food and excretion and diseases, yet in relation to God it is nothing contrary to nature nor beyond nature, since he is himself the cause of all life.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":148,"ref":"p148","source":"Φημί καί τά συζυγῆ σώματα: Ὅτι καί τά σώματα ἡμῶν ἀθανασίας μετέχειν ὁ θεῖος βούλεται λόγος, κατά τόν Ἀπόστολον· «δεῖ γάρ τό θνητόν τοῦτο ἐνδύσασθαι ἀθανασίαν».\n\nὙπέρ φύσιν: Τοῦτό φησι διά τό μόνῳ Θεῷ κατά φύσιν εἶναι τό ζωοῦν. Σίμωνος ἀντιρρητικοί λόγοι: Σίμωνός φησιν ἀντιρρητικούς εἶναι λόγους κατά τοῦ δόγματος ἡμῶν τοῦ λέγοντος, 'τό σῶμα ( 14 _256 ἡμῶν ἀνίστασθαι καί ἀθανατίζεσθαι', ὡς παρά φύσιν ὄντος τοῦ πράγματος. Οἱ δέ εἰρηκότες κατά Σίμωνος καί περί τούτων αὐτόν ἐλέγχουσιν Εἰρηναῖος καί Ὠριγένης καί Ἱππόλυτος καί Ἐπιφάνιος. Ὁ δέ μέγας Διονύσιος θείως ἐκλύει τό λεγόμενον παρά Σίμωνος, παρά φύσιν εἶναι τήν ἀνάστασιν τῶν σωμάτων· τῷ γάρ Θεῷ οὐδενός ὄντος ἐναντίου, πῶς ἔσται τι παρά φύσιν; Τό δέ οἴεσθαί τινα ἐκ φανερῶν καί αἰσθητῶν τούτων τάς ἀποδείξεις πορίζεσθαι κατά τῆς ἀκαταλήπτου καί πᾶσαν ἀφανοῦς αἰτίας τῶν πάντων, τουτέστι κατά τοῦ Θεοῦ, τοῦτό ἐστι ἀληθῶς παρά φύσιν· τά γάρ δοξαστά καί νοητά πῶς ἀνατρέψει τό ὑπέρ πᾶσαν αἴσθησιν καί νόησιν; Τῷ προφανεῖ τῆς αἰσθήσεως: Οὐ χρή, φησι, διά τά τῇ αἰσθήσει ληπτά ἀπιστεῖν τοῖς περί Θεοῦ λόγοις, ὅς ἐστιν ἡ πάντων ἀφανής αἰτία. Κυρίως γάρ τοῦτό ἐστι παρά φύσιν εἰπεῖν, τό ἀθετεῖν τά ὑπέρ αἴσθησιν, διά τό τῶν αἰσθητῶν προφανές.","english":"I say also the bodies that are yoked together: that our bodies partake of immortality is what the divine Word wills, according to the Apostle: \"For this mortal must put on immortality.\"\n\nBeyond nature: He says this because it belongs to God alone by nature to give life. The refutations of Simon: He says that there are refutations of Simon against our doctrine, which says that \"our body rises and is made immortal,\" as though the matter were contrary to nature. But those who have spoken against Simon and refute him on these points are Irenaeus and Origen and Hippolytus and Epiphanius. But the great Dionysius divinely dissolves what is said by Simon, that the resurrection of bodies is contrary to nature; for since nothing is contrary to God, how shall anything be contrary to nature? But for someone to think to furnish proofs from these manifest and perceptible things against the incomprehensible and wholly invisible cause of all things, that is, against God—this is truly contrary to nature; for how shall one overturn things opined and intelligible by what is beyond all sense and thought? By the manifestness of sense: It is not right, he says, because of things grasped by sense to disbelieve the words concerning God, who is the invisible cause of all things. For properly this is what it means to speak of something as contrary to nature—to reject things beyond sense because of the manifestness of perceptible things.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":149,"ref":"p149","source":"§ 3. Εἴτε λογικήν, εἴτε αἰσθητικήν, εἴτε θρεπτικήν: Σημείωσαι, πῶς διαιρεῖ τά περί ζωῆς μεθεκτῆς· ζωῆς γάρ ἀρχήν φησιν, οἷον τήν ἡμετέραν ψυχήν καί τήν αἰσθητικήν δέ· αὗται γάρ ἀρχαί εἰσι ζωῆς τοῖς δι' αὐτῶν ἀρχομένοις εἰς ζωήν κινεῖσθαι σώμασι· ζωῆς δέ οὐσίαι αἱ νοηταί δυνάμεις καί αἱ ἡμέτεραι ψυχαί· τήν γάρ οὐσίαν ζωήν οὖσαν ἔχουσιν, οἷον ὕλην τινά καί ὑποκείμενον καί αὐτοεῖδος, ὅ ἐστι ζωῆς ὑπάρχουσαν· διό καί ζωοῦσι τά σώματα, ὡς ἔφην, αἱ ψυχαί. Ὁ οὖν Θεός, ὡς αἴτιος καί συμπληρωτικός τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν, ὡς συνοχεύς καί διαιρετικός, ὡς τάς διαφοράς πάσης ζωῆς διατάξας, νοητῶν, λογικῶν, αἰσθητικῶν, αὐξητικῶν, ἀρχή πάντων ἐστίν· ὥστε, ἐπειδή ἄνω εἶπε καί τόν ἥλιον ζωήν διδόναι καί τρέφειν πάντα, μή νοήσῃς, ὅτι ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ τοῦτο ἔχει, ἀλλ’ ἐκ τῆς πάντων ἀρχῆς καί αἰτίας. ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ Ζ' ( 14 _258 § 1. Ὑπέρ πᾶσαν σοφίαν: Εἰσί τινες τῶν ἀκαίρων φιλοσόφων λέγοντες, ὅτι, Ἐάν βούλησθε τόν Θεόν λέγειν ὑπέρ πᾶσαν σοφίαν καί σύνεσιν, ποιεῖτε αὐτόν ἄσοφον καί ἀσύνετον. Πρός οὕς λεκτέον· Ὁ Θεός ἡμῶν ὑπέρ πάντα τά νοούμενα καί ὄντα ἐστίν. Εἴτε οὖν σοφία, εἴτε σύνεσις, εἴτε ζωή, εἴτε ὑπόστασις, εἴτε ὕπαρξις, εἴτε οὐσία νοεῖται παρ' ἡμῶν, ὑπέρ ταῦτα πάντα ἐστίν, οὐχ ὡς μή μετέχων αὐτῶν (τοῦτο γάρ ἀνόητον· ὁ γάρ αἴτιος τῶν γινομένων πῶς οὐ μετέχει τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ;), ἀλλ’ ὡς τῶν πάντων ἐξ αὐτοῦ προελθόντων καί τῆς αὐτοῦ μετεχόντων ὁλότητος· πᾶν γάρ τό μετεχόμενον ἀρχαιότερόν ἐστι τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ. Διό καί ὤν, καί αἰών κυρίως, καί χρόνος ὀνομάζεται, ὡς καί τούς αἰῶνας καί τούς χρόνους ποιήσας·","english":"§ 3. Whether rational, or sensitive, or nutritive: Note how he divides the things concerning participated life; for he calls an origin of life, for instance, our soul and also the sensitive [soul]; for these are origins of life for the bodies that are moved to life by them; but the essences of life are the intelligible powers and our souls; for they have their essence as being life, as it were a certain matter and subject and self-form, which is of life; therefore the souls also give life to bodies, as I said. God, then, as cause and perfecter of our life, as sustainer and divider, as having ordered the differences of all life—intelligible, rational, sensitive, augmentative—is the origin of all things; so that, since above he said that the sun also gives life and nourishes all things, do not think that it has this from itself, but from the origin and cause of all things. ON CHAPTER 7 (14 _258 § 1. Above all wisdom: There are some of the untimely philosophers who say, \"If you wish to call God above all wisdom and understanding, you make him without wisdom and without understanding.\" To whom it must be said: Our God is above all things conceived and existing. Whether, then, wisdom, or understanding, or life, or subsistence, or existence, or essence is conceived by us, he is above all these, not as not partaking of them (for this is senseless; for how does the cause of things that come to be not partake of those from himself?), but as having all things proceeded from himself and partaking of his wholeness; for everything participated is older than those from it. Therefore also, being, and properly eternity, and time he is named, as having also made the ages and the times;","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":150,"ref":"p150","source":"οὕτως οὖν καί ἐπί τῆς σοφίας καί τῆς ζωῆς λεκτέον, ὅτι καί αὐτῶν ἐστι δημιουργός· εἰ γάρ ταῦτα ἄλλως ἔχειν εἴπωμεν, εὑρίσκεται ὁ Θεός ὕστερον σοφισθείς ἤ συνετισθείς, ὅπερ τῆς αὐτῶν ἐστι τόλμης, οὐχ ἡμέτερον· μή γένοιτο! Καί τοῦ καθηγεμόνος ἥλιος: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι ἥλιον ἑαυτοῦ καί τοῦ ἁγίου Ἱεροθέου τόν ἀπόστολον Παῦλόν φησι. Σημείωσαι δέ, πῶς ἔλαβεν ὁ πατήρ τό ρητόν τοῦ Ἀποστόλου· ὁ γάρ Χρυσόστομος καί οἱ λοιποί τῶν Πατέρων περί τοῦ σταυροῦ αὐτό ἔλαβον.\n\nΚαί σύνηθές ἐστι τοῖς θεολόγοις: Τό εἰρημένον ἔθος εἶναι τοῖς θεολόγοις ἀντιπαθῶς ἐπί Θεοῦ τάς στερήσεις ἐκφέρειν, οὕτως ἄν νοήσαιμεν· βουλόμενοι γάρ ἐκεῖνοι τό φῶς τό θεῖον ὅσον οἷόν τε παριστᾶν, ὅτι ἀπροσπέλαστον καί ἀκατόπτευτον, ᾧ μή δύναται προσβαλεῖν μηδέν, μήτε ἄϋλον, μήτε αἰσθητόν, σκότος ὠνόμασαν, ὡς τό· «ἔθετο σκότος ἀποκρυφήν αὑτοῦ», ( 14 _260 ὅπερ ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολός φησι, «Φῶς οἰκῶν ἀπρόσιτον»· ᾧ γάρ μηδέν πρόσεισιν, ὅμοιόν ἐστι τῷ μή ὁρῶντι ὑπεροχικῶς σκότῳ. Πάλιν εἴρηται· «ἐθαυμαστώθη ἡ γνῶσίς σου ἐξ ἐμοῦ, λίαν ἐκραταιώθη, οὐ δύνωμαι πρός αὐτήν». Ὥσπερ οὖν ἡ ἀκατάληπτος καί ἀπερινόητος ἀκράτως τοῦ Θεοῦ γνῶσις ἀγνωσίᾳ παρεικάζεται τῇ ὑπερούσῃ πᾶσαν ἐν κτιστοῖς γνῶσιν (ἡ γάρ περί Θεόν ἀγνωσία τῶν περί τά θεῖα σοφῶν οὐκ ἔστιν ἀμαθία, ἀλλά γνῶσις, σιγῇ γινώσκουσα, ὅτι ἐστίν ἄγνωστος ὁ Θεός), οὕτως οὖν καί κένωσιν καλοῦσι τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγου τήν ἐνανθρώπησιν, καίτοι πλήρη τυγχάνουσαν, μᾶλλον δέ ὑπερπλήρη σοφίας καί δυνάμεως καί σωτηρίας·","english":"Thus, then, one must speak in this way also concerning wisdom and life, that he is also their creator; for if we say that these things are otherwise, God is found to have become wise or understanding later, which is a piece of their audacity, not ours; may it not be! And of the leader, the sun: Note that he calls the apostle Paul his own sun and that of the holy Hierotheus. And note how the father took the saying of the Apostle; for Chrysostom and the rest of the Fathers took it concerning the cross.\n\nAnd it is customary for the theologians: The stated custom of the theologians to express privations of God in a contrary sense, we would understand thus: for those wishing to present the divine light as far as possible, that it is unapproachable and invisible, to which nothing can approach, neither immaterial nor sensible, they named darkness, as: \"He made darkness his hiding place,\" which the divine Apostle says, \"Dwelling in unapproachable light\"; for that to which nothing approaches is like darkness that sees nothing by way of transcendence. Again it has been said: \"Your knowledge has been made wonderful from me, it has been greatly strengthened, I cannot reach it.\" Just as therefore the incomprehensible and utterly inconceivable knowledge of God is likened to ignorance that surpasses all knowledge among created things (for the ignorance concerning God of those wise in divine things is not ignorance, but knowledge, knowing in silence that God is unknowable), so then they also call the emptying of God the Word his becoming man, although it is full, or rather super-full, of wisdom and power and salvation.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":151,"ref":"p151","source":"ἀλλά καί ἀσθένειαν Θεοῦ τό διά σταυροῦ τρόπαιον ὀνομάζουσιν, οἷον ἐπειδή θανάτῳ αἱ πονηραί καί ἀόρατοι δυνάμεις τοῦ διαβόλου κατελύθησαν, καί ἀντί θανάτου ἀνάστασις νεκρῶν καί βασιλεία οὐρανῶν ἀντεισήχθη· τοῦτον οὖν τόν τρόπον καί μωρία Θεοῦ, ἡ πᾶσαν σοφίαν καί ἐπιστήμην ὑπεραίρουσα τῶν ἀνθρώπων σύνεσις τοῦ Θεοῦ. Νοήσαι δέ ἄν τις τό λεγόμενον, ἐννοῶν τούς ἀπό τῶν αἱρέσεων, μεθ' ὧν καί τούς Ἕλληνας, οἵ συλλογισμοῖς αἰσθητοῖς ἀποδεικνύναι φαντάζονται Θεοῦ σάρκωσιν ἀδύνατον εἶναι μέχρι θανάτου οἰκονομηθεῖσαν. Πρός οὕς ἐννοῶν ὁ θειότατος Παῦλος ἰλιγγιάσας\n\nἀνέκραγεν· «ὤ βάθος πλούτου καί σοφίας Θεοῦ, ὡς ἀνεξερεύνητα τά κρίματα αὐτοῦ». Τό οὖν ὑπεραῖρον πάσης κτιστῆς σοφίας μέθοδον ἴσον ἄν εἴη τοῖς οὐ θεοδιδάκτοις μωρίας λόγοις. Λόγοις γάρ οὐκ ἄν ἐξομαλισθείη, ἤ δι' αἰσθητῶν ἀποδείξεων τό μυστήριον, πίστεως οὐ προηγουμένης. Ἀντιπεπονθότως ἐπί Θεοῦ: Ἀντιπεπονθότως, τουτέστιν ( 14 _262 ἀντιπεριτροπήν τοῦ Λόγου πάσχοντος· διά τῶν τάς στερήσεις δηλουσῶν ἀποφάσεων, ἡ περί Θεοῦ ὑπεροχή δηλοῦται, ὅπερ ἐν ἐτέρῳ 'δύναμιν ὑπεροχικῆς ἀποφάσεως' εἴρηκε.","english":"But they also call the trophy won through the cross the weakness of God, as when, because the evil and invisible powers of the devil were destroyed by death, and instead of death the resurrection of the dead and the kingdom of the heavens were brought in; in this way, then, also the foolishness of God, the understanding of God that surpasses all wisdom and knowledge of men. And one might understand what is said by considering those from the heresies, together with whom also the Greeks, who imagine that by perceptible syllogisms they can demonstrate that the incarnation of God, which was ordered even to death, is impossible. Considering this, the most divine Paul, reeling, cried out: “O the depth of the riches and wisdom of God, how unsearchable are his judgments.” That which surpasses the method of all created wisdom would therefore be equal to the words of foolishness for those not taught by God. For the mystery could not be leveled by words, or by perceptible demonstrations, unless faith came first. Reciprocally in the case of God: reciprocally, that is, in the turning-about of the Word as he suffers; through the negations that signify privations, the transcendence concerning God is made clear, which he has called in another place “the power of transcendent negation.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":152,"ref":"p152","source":"Τό φαινόμενον ἐν αὐτῇ παράλογον: Καί γάρ τό κατά τόν σταυρόν πάθος, καί τό λέγειν Θεόν παθόντα σαρκί, καί παράλογον δοκεῖ καί ἄτοπον, ὅπερ τήν ὄντως ἐδήλου ἀλήθειαν. Σημείωσαι, πῶς νοεῖ ὁ πατήρ τό τοῦ Ἀποστόλου ρητόν· ὁ γάρ Χρυσόστομος καί οἱ λοιποί τῶν Πατέρων περί τοῦ σταυροῦ τοῦτο ἐξέλαβον. Ἐνειλούμενοι. Ἐν ἄλλοις ἐνιλλόμενοι, τοὐτέστιν ἐπιστρεφόμενοι, ἐγκαλινδούμενοι. Δείκνυσι δέ διά τούτων, ὅτι οὐ δεῖ τά θεῖα τοῖς ἀνθρωπίνοις παραβάλλειν.\n\nΤήν μέν ἔχει δύναμιν: Καί ἀνωτέρω εἴπομεν, ὅτι, ὁ νοῦς νοεῖν βουλόμενος, κάτεισιν ἑαυτοῦ εἰς τάς νοήσεις καταβαίνων· αἱ γάρ νοήσεις κατώτεραί εἰσι τοῦ νοοῦντος, ὡς νοούμεναι καί καταλαμβανόμεναι, καί σκεδασμός εἰκότως καί μερισμός τῆς ἑνότητος τοῦ νοῦ αὐτοῦ· ὁ μέν γάρ νοῦς ἁπλοῦς καί ἀμερής, αἱ δέ νοήσεις παμπληθεῖς καί σκεδασταί, καί οἷον εἴδη τοῦ νοῦ· διά τοῦτο τά νοερά, τουτέστι τά νοοῦντα, ἐλάττονά εἰσι τῶν νοητῶν, ἀντί τοῦ, τῶν νοουμένων. Ἕνωσιν δέ φησι τοῦ νοῦ, καθώς ἐν τοῖς ἑξῆς σαφέστερον λέγει, δι' ἧς πρός τά ἐπέκεινα ἑαυτοῦ ἀνατείνεται, ἤγουν τῇ περί Θεοῦ προσβάλλει θεωρίᾳ, τῷ πάντων ἐκστῆναι τῶν αἰσθητῶν καί τῶν νοητῶν, ἔτι δέ καί τῆς οἰκείας κινήσεως, εἶθ' οὕτω τῆς θείας γνώσεως δέξασθαι τήν ἀκτῖνα.","english":"The apparent absurdity in it: For both the suffering upon the cross, and the statement that God suffered in the flesh, seem both absurd and out of place, which was signifying the true reality. Note how the father understands the Apostle's saying; for Chrysostom and the rest of the Fathers took this concerning the cross. Being rolled up. In other places, being entwined, that is, being turned about, being rolled in. And through these things he shows that one must not compare divine things to human things.\n\nIt has indeed the power: And we said above that the mind, wishing to think, descends from itself, going down into its thoughts; for thoughts are lower than the one thinking, as being thought and comprehended, and reasonably a scattering and division of the mind's unity; for the mind is simple and indivisible, but thoughts are manifold and scattered, and as it were forms of the mind; for this reason things intellectual, that is, things that think, are less than things intelligible, instead of things that are thought. And he calls the union of the mind, as he says more clearly in what follows, that through which it is stretched out toward things beyond itself, that is, it approaches the contemplation of God, by standing outside all things perceptible and intelligible, and further also its own movement, and then thus to receive the ray of divine knowledge.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":153,"ref":"p153","source":"Ταύτην οὖν τήν ἄλογον: Ἐνταῦθα μάλιστα τρανοῖ, πῶς μωρία τοῦ Θεοῦ, τό ὑπέρσοφον τῆς περί Θεοῦ ἀκαταληψίας μέγεθος· φησί γάρ ὅτι τῷ αἰσθητῷ περικεκλεισμένοι, τό περί ἀϋλίας καί ὑπερουσιότητος φέρε εἰπεῖν τοῦ Θεοῦ κατεξετάζοντες ( 14 _264 δόγμα, πλανώμεθα, ἐκ τῶν αἰσθητῶν ἐκεῖνα σταθμώμενοι· οἷον τό περί Τριάδος τῆς μόνης προσκυνητῆς διεξιόντες κήρυγμα, καί τρισυπόστατον ἀμέριστον καί ἀδιαίρετον ἀκούοντές τινες θεολογίαν, εὐθύς ἰλιγγιῶσιν, εἰς τά σώματα προσέχοντες, καί τόπου δεόμενα καί διαστημάτων, λέγοντες, Πῶς οἷόν τε τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις ὑφ' ἑαυτῶν εἶναι, καί ἀδιαιρέτους εἶναι; Καί γάρ ἀγνοοῦσι μωραίνειν ἐν τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς, ἵνα τά θεῖα σοφισθῶσι, καί τοιαῦτα ἕτερα μυρία, πρός οὕς ὁ Κύριος ἀποτείνεται· «εἰ τά ἐπίγεια εἶπον ὑμῖν καί οὐ πιστεύετε, πῶς, ἐάν εἴπω ὑμῖν τά ἐπουράνια πιστεύσετε;»· καί ὁ θεῖος Παῦλος λέγει, ὅτι «ὁ ψυχικός ἄνθρωπος οὐ δέχεται τά τοῦ πνεύματος· μωρία γάρ αὐτῷ ἐστιν». Ὥστε οὖν ἡ παρά ἀνθρώποις μωρία τοῦ Θεοῦ τά πνευματικά εἰσιν, ἅτινα μεταδιωκτέον· μωράν γάρ σοφίαν εἶπε, τῷ μηδεμίαν αὐτῇ δύνασθαι προσβάλλειν σοφίαν· ὥσπερ οὖν καί ἄλογον καί ἄνουν, ὡς μή ἔχουσαν λόγον ἤ νοῦν ἑρμηνευτικόν, ἤγουν καταληπτικόν αὐτῆς.","english":"This very thing he clarifies here most especially: how \"the foolishness of God\" is the super-wise magnitude of the incomprehensibility concerning God. For he says that we, enclosed within the sensible, when we examine—so to speak—the doctrine concerning God's immateriality and supersubstantiality, go astray, measuring those things by the sensible; for example, when expounding the proclamation concerning the Trinity, the only object of worship, and when some hear the theology of the three persons, indivisible and undivided, they are immediately dizzy, fixing their attention on bodies, and on things needing place and intervals, saying, \"How is it possible for three persons to be from themselves, and to be undivided?\" For they do not know how to be foolish in sensible things, in order that they might be made wise in divine things, and countless other such things, to whom the Lord directs his words: \"If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how, if I tell you heavenly things, will you believe?\" And the divine Paul says that \"the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit; for they are foolishness to him.\" So then, the foolishness of God in the eyes of men is the spiritual things, which are to be pursued; for he called it foolish wisdom, because no wisdom can assail it; just as also irrational and mindless, as having no reason or interpretive mind, that is, no mind capable of comprehending it.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":154,"ref":"p154","source":"§ 2. Ἐξ αὐτῆς αἱ νοηταί: Σημείωσαι, ὡς καί ἐν ἄλλοις νοηταί εἰσι καί νοεραί δυνάμεις· καί εἰκότως ἐν αὐτοῖς εἰσιν οἱ αὐτοί καί νοητοί καί νοεραί, ὥσπερ αἱ ἄνω τάξεις· νοηταί μέν καθ' ὅ ἐκ τῶν ὑποβεβηκότων νοοῦνται, νοεραί δέ, καθ' ὅ καί ἀνώταταί εἰσι, καί τόν ὑπέρ πάντα Θεόν νοεῖν, ὅσον ἐφικτόν, ἀνατείνονται, ἄνωθεν μέν τρεφόμεναι τῇ νοήσει, τρέφουσαι δέ τούς ὑφειμένως νοοῦντας, Αἱ γάρ ἡμέτεραι ψυχαί νοεραί μόνον· νοοῦσαι γάρ ἐπιστητῶς, ὅσον οἷόν τε, τά ὑπερβεβηκότα, οὐκέτι ἔχουσι νοερόν τι μετά ταύτας, ἵνα καί νοηθῶσιν· ἡ ἄλογος γάρ καί ἄνους ψυχή μεθ' ἡμᾶς, αἱ δέ νοήσεις τῶν θείων νοῶν οὐκ ( 14 _266 ἐν διανοήσεσι ταῖς καθ' ἡμᾶς,\n\nεἰς ἅς διανοήσεις κάτεισιν ἡμῶν ὁ νοῦς ἐκ τῶν μεριστῶν, τουτέστι τῶν αἰσθητῶν καί διεξοδικῶν λόγων, ἀντί τοῦ τῶν εἰδῶν καί τοῦ πλήθους, ὅπερ ἐστί τῶν ὑλικῶν συλλέγουσαι τάς νοήσεις ἀΰλως, πάντα ἐν τῷ ἁπλῷ θεωροῦσαι. Νοηταί: Τό νοηταί νόησον ὡς πρός ἡμᾶς, τό δέ νοεραί ὡς πρός τόν Θεόν. Ἤ ἀπό μεριστῶν: Ἡμεῖς ἐν μεριστοῖς τοῖς αἰσθητηρίοις· ἄλλο γάρ ἀκοή, καί ἕτερον ὄψις, καί τά ἄλλα ὁμοίως· καί ἀπό μεριστῶν τῶν κατά ταῦτα αἰσθητῶν τήν τῶν ὄντων γνῶσιν ἀναλαμβάνομεν, ἤ ἐν μεριστοῖς μέν τοῖς κατά μέρος νοήμασι, ἀπό μεριστῶν δέ τῶν μαθήσεων, ἤτοι τῶν νοουμένων· ἔσθ' ὅτε δέ καί διά λόγων τῶν διεξοδικῶν, τουτέστι σαφῆ καί διηπλωμένην τήν ἐξήγησιν ποιουμένων. Αἱ δέ νοεραί φύσεις, ἀκοινωνήτως εἰς τά τοιαῦτα πάντα ἔχουσαι, ἑνιαίᾳ καί ἁπλῇ νοήσει τῆς ἀληθείας τήν γνῶσιν ἐλλάμπονται.","english":"§ 2. From this, the intelligible powers: Note that in other places too there are intelligible and intellectual powers; and reasonably in them the same are both intelligible and intellectual, just as the orders above: intelligible in that they are understood from things below them, but intellectual in that they are also the highest, and are stretched upward to understand the God who is above all things, as far as is attainable, being nourished from above by intellection, and nourishing those who understand in a lower way. For our souls are only intellectual; for when they understand in a knowing way, as far as is possible, the things that transcend them, they no longer have anything intellectual after these, so that they too might be understood; for the irrational and mindless soul is after us, but the intellections of the divine minds are not in the thoughts that are according to us, into which thoughts our mind descends from things divided, that is, from sensible and discursive reasonings, instead of from the forms and the multitude, that is, gathering the intellections of material things immaterially, contemplating all things in the simple. Intelligible: Understand \"intelligible\" as in relation to us, but \"intellectual\" as in relation to God. Or \"from divided things\": We are in divided things, the senses; for hearing is one thing, and sight another, and the others likewise; and from divided sensible things according to these we receive the knowledge of beings, or in divided things, namely partial thoughts, and from divided things, namely the branches of learning, that is, the things understood; and sometimes also through discursive reasonings, that is, those making the explanation clear and unfolded. But the intellectual natures, having no communion with all such things, are illumined with the knowledge of the truth by a single and simple intellection.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":155,"ref":"p155","source":"Καί ἔστιν αὐταῖς: Τοῖς ἀγγέλοις νοεράν εἶναί φησι δύναμιν καί ἐνέργειαν ἐκ τῆς ὑπερφυοῦς σοφίας τοῦ Θεοῦ γενομένην· ἐξ αὐτοῦ γάρ οἱ θεῖοι ἄγγελοι κατά μετοχήν τήν δύναμιν τῆς νοερᾶς ἐνεργείας ἔχουσι, καθ' ἥν νοοῦσιν ἑαυτούς καί τά ὄντα, καί τάς ἰδέας ἐποπτικῶς νοοῦντες, ἅς νοήσεις ὠνόμασε τοῦ Θεοῦ εἶναι. Ἐπείσακτον οὖν ἔχουσιν ἐξ αἰτίου τοῦ Θεοῦ τήν νοεράν ταύτην ἐνέργειαν, καί νοοῦσι τά ὄντα λίαν ὑπεραναβεβηκότως τῶν ψυχῶν, εἴ γε αἱ μέν ψυχαί ἐκ τῶν ὄντων αὐτῶν νοοῦσι τά ὄντα καί τοῖς εἴδεσιν ἐπιβάλλουσιν, ὅπερ διεξοδικώτερόν ἐστι νοεῖν, καί κύκλῳ περιεῖναι τά πάντα. Οἵ γε μήν ἄγγελοι κατά τήν ἐνοῦσαν αὐτοῖς θεοείδειαν, ἑνιαίως τά πλήθη τῆς κτίσεως νοοῦσι, καί οὐ μερίζονται εἰς τόν σκεδασμόν τῆς ποικιλίας τῶν ὄντων, ἤτοι εἰς τά αἰσθητά, ὡς αἱ λογικαί ψυχαί· ἐκείνου δέ ποσῶς ἀξιοῦνται αἱ ψυχαί, εἰς μίμησιν ἀγγέλων, ὅτε, τήν νόησιν ( 14 _268 τῶν πολλῶν εἰς ἕν συνελίττουσαι, ἔχουσιν ὁμοῦ πάντα ἐν αὐταῖς ἀσυγχύτως διακεκριμένα· καί ἔξωθεν μέντοι αἱ ψυχαί ἐπείσακτον ἔχουσι τό νοεῖν, τῶν ἀγγέλων ἐξ ἑαυτῶν καί ἐν ἑαυτοῖς νοούντων, ἅτε καί θεοειδῶν ὄντων. Καί ταῦτα μέν περί τῶν νοητῶν· περί δέ Θεοῦ ὅπως νοεῖ, ἔχεις καί ὧδε καί ἄνω ἐν πέμπτῳ κεφαλαίῳ ἐγγύς τοῦ τέλους· ὅ δέ εἴπομεν περί ψυχῶν, ὅτι ἀγγελοειδῶς εἰς ἕν τά πολλά συνελίξασαι νοοῦσι, μάλιστα ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει τελείως ἕξουσιν, ὅτε αὖθις ἐν τοῖς ἑαυτῶν σώμασι γενόμεναι, τήν τῶν ὄντων γνῶσιν τελείαν ἀπολήψονται. Ταῦτα δέ ἡ τῶν δικαίων ἀνάστασις τελείως ἕξει, κατά τό εἰρημένον· «καί οὕτως πάντοτε σύν Κυρίῳ ἐσόμεθα»· καί πάλιν·","english":"And it is for them: He says that the angels have an intelligible power and activity, coming to be from the supernatural wisdom of God; for from Him the divine angels have, by participation, the power of intelligible activity, according to which they understand themselves and the things that are, and, contemplating the ideas, understand them, which he called the thoughts of God. Therefore they have this intelligible activity as something introduced from a cause, namely God, and they understand the things that are in a manner far transcending the souls, if indeed the souls understand the things that are from the things themselves and apply themselves to the forms, which is to understand more discursively and to encompass all things in a circle. But the angels, according to the Godlike character present in them, understand the multitudes of creation in a unified way, and are not divided into the scattering of the variety of beings, that is, into sensible things, as the rational souls are; but the souls are deemed worthy of that to some degree, in imitation of angels, when, gathering the understanding of many things into one, they have all things at once in themselves distinguished without confusion; and yet the souls have understanding as something introduced from outside, whereas the angels understand from themselves and in themselves, since they are also Godlike. And these things concerning intelligible beings; but concerning how God understands, you have both here and above in the fifth chapter near the end; and what we said about souls, that they understand in an angelic manner, gathering many things into one, they will have most perfectly in the resurrection, when, coming again into their own bodies, they will receive perfect knowledge of the things that are. And the resurrection of the righteous will have these things perfectly, according to what is said: \"And so we shall always be with the Lord\"; and again:","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":156,"ref":"p156","source":"«νῦν ὡς ἐν κατόπτρῳ καί αἰνίγματι βλέπομεν, τότε δέ πρόσωπον πρός πρόσωπον», τήν τῶν ὄντων γνῶσιν δηλονότι παιδευθησόμεθα.\n\nΔιεξοδικῶς δέ καί κύκλῳ: Είρηται τί τό διεξοδικῶς νοεῖται. Διεξοδικῶς τοίνυν καί κύκλῳ, τουτέστιν οὐκ ἀθρόᾳ τοῦ νοῦ ἐπιβολῇ ἡ ἀνθρωπίνη ψυχή τήν θείαν κατακαλύπτεται γνῶσιν, ἀλλά τήν ἀληθῆ τῶν ὄντων κατανόησιν ἐκ τοῦ κατά μέρος δεχομένη, καθ' ὅ καί τῆς ἀγγελικῆς ἀπολείπεται θεοπτίας, περί τό ἕν αἴτιον τήν τῶν ποικίλως θεωρουμένων συνάγει ἔννοιαν καί τῶν ἰσαγγέλων ἀξιοῦται νοήσεων.\n\nΤυχεῖν οὖν ἐφίεται: Ἐφίεται μέν ἐξ ἀλογίας τό ἰσόθεον ὁ δαιμόνιος νοῦς, οὐκ οἶδε δ' ὅπως τούτου τυχεῖν ἔνεστιν, οὐ φύσει παθών τήν ἄγνοιαν, ἀλλ' ἐκουσίως τό παρά φύσιν αἱρούμενος. Σημείωσαι δέ, ὅτι οἱ δαίμονες, καθ' ὅ νοῦν ἔχουσιν, ἐκ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ τοῦτον κέκτηνται· ἀλογίσαντες δέ καί μή βουληθέντες μεῖναι ὅπερ ἦσαν, ἔκπτωσιν σοφίας ὑπέμειναν.\n\n( 14 _270 Καθ' ὑπεροχήν: Περί τοῦ, ὅτι τά κατά στέρησιν λεγόμενα ἐπί τοῦ Θεοῦ καί τά ἐναντία, ὑπεροχικῶς νοοῦνται.","english":"Now we see as in a mirror and in an enigma, but then face to face,” clearly meaning that we shall be instructed in the knowledge of beings.\n\nAnd “in detail and in a circle”: It has been said what “in detail” means. In detail, then, and in a circle—that is, not by a single concentrated impulse of the intellect is the human soul veiled in divine knowledge, but receiving the true understanding of beings part by part, inasmuch as it also falls short of the angelic vision of God, it gathers into the one cause the conception of things variously contemplated and is deemed worthy of angelic thoughts.\n\nTo obtain, therefore, it desires: The demonic intellect desires, out of irrationality, to be equal to God, but it does not know how it is possible to obtain this, not having suffered ignorance by nature, but voluntarily choosing what is contrary to nature. Note also that the demons, insofar as they have intellect, possess it from the Good; but having become irrational and not wishing to remain what they were, they underwent a fall from wisdom.\n\n(14 _270 By pre-eminence: Concerning the fact that things said of God by way of privation and their opposites are understood in a transcendent sense.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":157,"ref":"p157","source":"Καί πάντα τἄλλα ἔνδοθεν: Μηδείς ἐκ τούτων πρός ἀτόπους ἀπαγέσθω ἐννοίας, ὥστε λέγειν καί τῶν κακῶν ἐν ἑαυτῷ κατ' αἰτίαν προέχειν τόν Θεόν, ἤγουν αἴτιον αὐτῶν ἐκ τούτου εἶναι συνάγεσθαι· οὐ γάρ περί τούτων ἐστίν ὁ λόγος τῷ\n\nπατρί· ἤδη γάρ ἔδειξε μήτε ὄν, μήτε ἐν τοῖς οὖσι τό κακόν, ἀλλά περί τῶν ἐν οὐσίᾳ ὄντων, οἷον ἀγγέλων καί τῶν λοιπῶν κτισμάτων, καθώς καί προεῖπεν, ὧν τήν γνῶσιν οὐκ ἐκ τοῦ μανθάνειν αὐτά, ὁποῖά τινά εἰσιν, ἔχει· τοῦτο γάρ ἐδήλωσεν εἰπών· Οὐκ ἐκ τῶν ὄντων τά ὄντα μανθάνων, καί τό, Οὐ κατ' ἰδέαν ἑκάστοις ἐπιβάλλων, ἀλλ’ ὡς ποιητής τούτων τήν εἴδησιν τῶν οἰκείων ἔργων προέχει, εἰδώς ὅπως αὐτά, καί ἐφ' οἷς παράξει πρός γένεσιν, ὧν ἡ παρατροπή καί ἔλλειψις, ἤγουν ἡ ἀποτυχια καί ἀδυναμία, τό κακόν εἰσάγει, τῇ στερήσει τοῦ κατά φύσιν τό παρά φύσιν ποιοῦσα· πρός τοῦτο γάρ τό τοῦ φωτός παρήγαγεν ὑπόδειγμα· τῇ γάρ τούτου στερήσει τό σκότος παρυφίσταται, καί αἰτίαν ἔχει τήν ἀπουσίαν τῆς τοῦ φωτός φύσεως, ὥσπερ καί τῶν στερήσεων αἱ ἕξεις ἀρχηγικώτεραι τυγχάνουσι, καί ὡς ἄν τις εἴποι, αἰτίαι. Ἐνταῦθα οὖν ὁ πατήρ περί τῶν ὑπό Θεοῦ εἰς γένεσιν ἀχθέντων καί τῆς ἑκάστου τούτων φύσεως τόν λόγον ποιεῖται, ἅ καί προϋφεστάναι ἐν τῷ Θεῷ κατά πρόγνωσιν καί τό προωρίσθαι εἴρηκε.","english":"And all the other things from within: Let no one be led from these things into absurd notions, so as to say that God in himself holds the cause of evils in precedence, or that it is inferred from this that he is the cause of them; for the father's discourse is not about these things. For he has already shown that evil neither is nor is among beings, but he speaks about those that are in substance, such as angels and the other creatures, just as he also said before, whose knowledge he does not possess from learning what sort of things they are; for he made this clear when he said, \"Not learning the things that are from the things that are,\" and, \"Not applying to each according to an idea,\" but as their maker he holds in precedence the knowledge of his own works, knowing how he will bring them and for what purposes into generation, whose perversion and deficiency, that is, failure and impotence, introduce evil, making the contrary to nature by the privation of what is according to nature; for to this end he brought forward the example of light; for by its privation darkness subsists alongside, and has as its cause the absence of the nature of light, just as also the states are more originative than the privations, and, as one might say, are causes. Here, then, the father makes his discourse about the things brought by God into generation and the nature of each of these, which he has also said pre-existed in God according to foreknowledge and predestination.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":158,"ref":"p158","source":"Καί οὐσίαν προέχει: Ὅτι ἡ γνῶσις τήν οὐσίαν προέχει καί προσυνείληφεν. Ὥσπερ καί τό φῶς: Ἄπτωτον τό τῆς παραβολῆς· ὥσπερ γάρ εἴ τις ὑπόθοιτο τό φῶς τοῦτο τό ὁρατόν ἔννουν εἶναι καί λογικόν, εἶτα πυθοίμεθα αὐτοῦ, εἰ γινώσκει τό σκότος, τό δέ εἴποι, γινώσκειν καί πρίν γένηται ἄν τό σκότος· γινώσκειν δέ οὐ κατά τινα πεῖραν (πῶς γάρ ἴδοι σκότος τό φῶς; εἰ γάρ τό φῶς, οὐκ ἔσται σκότος), ἀλλά γινώσκειν εἴποι τό φῶς καθ' ὅ φῶς ( 14 _272 ἐστι· διό καί οἶδεν, ὅτι, ἐάν συστείλῃ τό οἰκεῖον φῶς, οὐδείς ὄψεται· οὕτω καί ὁ Θεός κατ' αἰτίαν ἐν ἑαυτῷ τήν πάντων εἴδησιν ἔχει, οὐ τῇ πείρᾳ ταύτην ἐπικτησάμενος, ἐπεί οὕτως εὑρίσκεται μεταγενέστερος ὁ Θεός τῆς γνώσεως, ἤ κατά τινα χρόνον μή γινώσκων. Σημείωσαι δέ τό σκότος εἶναι τό αἰτιατόν, ἐξ ἐλλείψεως τοῦ φωτός παρυφιστάμενον, ὅπερ ἐστί κατά Μανιχαίων.\n\nΤοῦ σκότους: Ὅτι τό σκότος οὐχ ἑτέρωθεν, ἀλλ’ ἀπό τοῦ φωτός γνωρίζεται. Καί οὐκ ἐκ τῶν ὄντων: Ὅρα πῶς φησι τόν Θεόν εἰδέναι τά ὄντα, οὐκ ἐκ τῆς πάντων γνώσεως, ἀλλ’ ἐκ τῆς ἰδίας, ὥσπερ τό φῶς οἶδε τά τοῦ σκότους, οὐδέν τοῦ σκότους ἔχων ἐν ἑαυτῷ. Ταῦτα δέ πολλαχῶς ἐν τῷ πέμπτῳ κεφαλαίῳ εἴρηται πῶς ὁ Θεός ἑαυτόν γινώσκων, ἤτοι νοῶν, νοεῖ καί γινώσκει τά ὄντα παραδειγματικῶς. Οὐκ ἄρα ὁ Θεός: Ἐν οὐδεμίᾳ γάρ διπλόῃ τό Θεῖον, πάντῃ ἁπλοῦν ὄν, καί ὑπέρ πᾶν ἁπλοῦν.","english":"And \"essence precedes\": That knowledge precedes and has anticipated essence. Just as also \"the light\": The comparison is infallible; for just as if someone were to suppose that this visible light were intelligent and rational, and then we asked it whether it knows the darkness, and it said that it knows even before the darkness comes to be; and it knows not by some experience (for how would the light see darkness? For if it is light, it will not be darkness), but the light would say it knows insofar as it is light; therefore it also knows that, if it were to contract its own light, no one would see; so also God holds the knowledge of all things within himself by cause, not having acquired this by experience, since in that way God would be found to be posterior to knowledge, or not knowing at some time. And note that darkness is the caused thing, subsisting alongside from a deficiency of light, which is against the Manichaeans.\n\nOf the darkness: That darkness is known not from elsewhere, but from the light. And \"not from the things that are\": See how he says that God knows the things that are, not from the knowledge of all things, but from his own, just as the light knows the things of darkness, having nothing of darkness in itself. And these things have been said in many ways in the fifth chapter: how God, knowing himself, or rather thinking, thinks and knows the things that are by way of paradigms. Therefore God is not: For the Divine is in no duality, being altogether simple, and beyond all that is simple.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":159,"ref":"p159","source":"Καί γάρ καί τούς ἀγγέλους: Τό τούς ἀγγέλους εἰδέναι τά ἐπί γῆς οὐ δι' αἰσθήσεως προσβάλλοντας τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς, ὡς ἡμεῖς, ἀλλά διά δυνάμεως ἐπαναβεβηκυίας ἐπιβάλλων νοεῖσθαι, ἐκ διαφόρων λογίων, οἷον ὡς ἐν τῷ Τωβίᾳ, ὅπου εἴρηται, ὅτι ὁ θεῖος Ραφαήλ ὁ ἄγγελος εἶπε τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ Τωβίου, λαβεῖν τήν χολήν τοῦ ἀνελθόντος ἰχθύος, ὡς ἀφαιροῦσαν λευκώματα ὀφθαλμῶν γινόμενα ἀπό ἀφοδευμάτων στρουθίων· οὐ γάρ ἄν τις ὑπονοήσειεν, ὅτι παθών ἔμαθε τήν ἰατρείαν. Ἀλλά καί ὁ ἐν τοῖς Κριταῖς ἄγγελος ἐπί τοῦ Γεδεών εἰς τήν θυσίαν ἐκβαλών ἐκ τῆς πέτρας πῦρ, οὐκ αἰσθήσει οἶδεν, ὅτι τό πῦρ καυστικόν, ὡς ἡμεῖς, ἀλλ' ἀνωτέρῳ προσφόρῳ· οὕτω καί τά λοιπά. Εἰ δέ τις εἴποι, Καί πῶς τοῦ αἰωνίου πυρός αἰσθήσεται ὁ διάβολος ( 14 _274 καί οἱ ἄγγελοι αὐτοῦ; Ἐν τῷ προσφόρῳ τόπῳ λεχθήσεται. Ἀλλά καί ἐν τῷ Δανιήλ, ἐν τῷ κεφαλαίῳ τοῦ Βαλθάσαρ, οἶδεν ὁ γράφων γράμματα μή μαθών. Σημείωσαι δέ, ὅτι οὐ κατ' αἴσθησιν τοῖς ἀγγέλοις ἡ γνῶσις τῶν αἰσθητῶν· οὐδέ γάρ τοῖς καθ' ἡμᾶς αἰσθητηρίοις κέχρηνται, ἀλλά νοῦ δυνάμει καί φύσει. § 3. Ἐπί δέ τούτοις ζητῆσαι χρή. Συζητεῖ πῶς Θεόν γινώσκομεν, καί φησιν ὀρθῶς, ὅτι Θεοῦ μέν φύσις, ὅτι ποτέ ἐστιν, οὔτε τινί πώποτε τῶν ἐν δημιουργίᾳ ἐγνώσθη, οὔτε ἐπιστητῶς, οὔτε ἐποπτικῶς· τούτοις γάρ ἐπιβάλλομεν τοῖς ἀσωμάτοις· ἀλλά γινώσκεται ὁ Θεός ἐκ τῆς τῶν κτισμάτων διατάξεως· εἰ γάρ, κατά τόν θεῖον Ἀπόστολον, ἡ τῶν δημιουργημάτων καλλονή τόν γενεσιουργόν, τουτέστι","english":"For also the angels: that the angels know the things on earth not by sense, applying themselves to sensible things as we do, but by a power that has transcended, so as to be understood as applying—from various scriptures, as for instance in Tobit, where it is said that the divine Raphael the angel told the son of Tobit to take the gall of the fish that had come up, as removing the white films of the eyes that come from sparrows' droppings; for no one would suspect that he learned the cure by experience. But also the angel in Judges, who struck fire from the rock for Gideon's sacrifice, does not know by sense that fire is combustible, as we do, but by a higher mode proper to him; and so with the rest. But if someone should say, How then will the devil and his angels perceive the eternal fire?—this will be stated in the proper place. But also in Daniel, in the chapter of Belshazzar, the writer knows the letters without having learned them. Note that the knowledge of sensible things is not by sense for the angels; for they do not use the sense organs that we do, but by the power and nature of the intellect. § 3. On these points one must inquire. He investigates how we know God, and says rightly that the nature of God—what it ever is—has never been known to any of those in creation, neither scientifically nor by direct vision; for we apply these to incorporeal things; but God is known from the order of created things; for if, according to the divine Apostle, the beauty of created things [reveals] the creator, that is—","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":160,"ref":"p160","source":"τόν τῶν ἐν γενέσει ποιητήν, μηνύει, εἰκότως ἡ τῶν ὄντων διάταξις γνῶσίς ἐστι τοῦ διατάξαντος· τά γάρ ὄντα, τουτέστι τά εἴδη, καί αἱ καθ' ἕκαστον κτίσεις, οἷον αἱ ἀγγελικαί τάξεις, καί τά αἰσθητά πάντα, εἰκόνες εἰσί καί ὁμοιώματα τῶν θείων ἰδεῶν, ἤτοι παραδείγματα τῶν ἐν νῷ, ἅτινα παραδείγματα αἱ ἀϊδιοι νοήσεις εἰσί τοῦ Θεοῦ, δι' ἅς καί καθ' ἅς ἅπαντα ἦν ἐν αὐτῷ, οὐχ ἕτερα ὄντα αὐτοῦ καί παραχθέντα γέγονεν, ὡς καί ἐν τῇ Ἀποκαλύψει ὁ θειότατος Ἰωάννης φησί τινα τῶν πρεσβυτάτων ἀγγέλων εἰπεῖν αὐτῷ, ὅτι τά πάντα ἦσαν καί γεγόνασι, τάς ἰδέας λέγων ὅτι ἦσαν· καί τάς εἰκόνας καί τά ὁμοιώματα τῶν ἰδεῶν, ἤτοι παραδειγμάτων, τά γεγονότα πάντα. Τῶν γάρ νοητῶν τά νοερά εἰκόνες, καί τῶν ὑπερβεβηκότων τά ὑποβεβηκότα. Κατά ἀφαίρεσιν οὖν τούτων ( 14 _276 πάντων (ἀφήρηται γάρ τῶν ὄντων ὁ Θεός, οὐδέν ὤν τῶν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ κτισθέντων, ἀλλ' ἀφάτως ὑπερέχων πάντων) ὑπεροχικῶς γινώσκεται ὁ Θεός.\n\nἘκ τῆς αὐτοῦ φύσεως: Σημείωσαι ἀναγκαῖον πρόχειρον εἰς εὐσεβείας ἀπολογίαν.","english":"The order of beings is reasonably a knowledge of the one who ordered them, revealing the Maker of things in generation. For the things that exist—that is, the forms and the individual creations, such as the angelic orders and all sensible things—are images and likenesses of the divine ideas, that is, patterns of the things in the mind; which patterns are the eternal thoughts of God, through which and according to which all things were in him, and not being other than him, they came to be produced, as also in the Revelation the most divine John says that one of the most senior angels told him that all things were and have come to be, calling the ideas \"were,\" and the images and likenesses of the ideas, that is, of the patterns, \"all things that have come to be.\" For the intelligible things are images of the things in the mind, and the things that have come below are images of those that have transcended. By abstraction, then, from all these—for God is abstracted from beings, being none of the things created by him, but ineffably surpassing all—God is known in a transcendent way.\n\nFrom his own nature: Note this necessary and handy point for the defense of piety.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":161,"ref":"p161","source":"α. Καί εἰκόνας τινάς: Ἐνταῦθα 'θεῖα παραδείγματα' τούς προορισμούς ἐκληπτέον, ὧν εἰκόνες τά τῆς κτίσεως ἀποτελέσματα. Τούς δέ προορισμούς προθέσεις ἐκάλεσεν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, ὡς ἐν τῇ πρός Ἐφεσίους εἰπών, «κατά πρόθεσιν τῶν αἰώνων». Ἐν πᾶσι δέ τοῖς κτίσμασι δηλαδή ὁ Θεός γινώσκεται, ὡς ὁ τεχνίτης ἐν τοῖς τεχνητοῖς. Πάντῃ δέ κεχώρισται τό κατ' οὐσίαν τῶν πάντων· κἀντεῦθεν ἄγνωστος ὤν τοῖς τεχνητοῖς, ἐκ τῆς τοιαύτης ἀγνωσίας γινώσκεται, ὥσπερ οὖν καί διά τῆς τῶν κτισμάτων ἐπιστημονικῆς κατανοήσεως τε καί γνώσεως. Ταῦτα οὖν ἐπαναλαμβάνων συνῆψε τά ἐπόμενα εἰς τό αὐτό. β. Ἐπειδή καί αἱ ἰδέαι τῶν ζώων ἐν τῷ Θεῷ καί πάντων τῶν κατά φύσιν εἰσί καθόλου, ἀλλ' οὐχ ὡς τῶν καθ' ἕκαστα εἴδωλα καί ὁμοιώματά εἰσι τῶν ἐκεῖ τά ἐνταῦθα· πάντα γάρ τά ὧδε εἴδωλα τῶν ἐκεῖ· ἡ γάρ ψυχή καί αὕτη εἰκών καί ὁμοίωμα τῆς ἰδέας.\n\nγ. Καί διά γνώσεως ὁ Θεός: Πῶς διά τῶν ἐναντίων γινώσκεται ὁ Θεός, καί διά τῶν θέσεων καί τῶν ἀφαιρέσεων, δηλοῖ ἐπεξιών αὐτά. Εἰ γάρ καί ἄνω ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ κεφαλαίῳ εἶπε, μηδέν εἶναι τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ Θεοῦ παραστατικόν, μή νόησιν, μή ἐπαφήν, μή φαντασίαν, μή δόξαν, μηδ' ὅσα ἔφη ἐκεῖ καί ἐνταῦθα, ἅτινα καί ἡρμηνεύσαμεν ἐν ἐκείνοις· νῦν λέγει καί διά τῶν ( 14 _278 ἐκεῖ ἀπηγορευμένων γινώσκεσθαι τόν Θεόν, οὐ μήν τήν οὐσίαν αὐτοῦ· καί πάλιν μηδέν αὐτόν ἔχειν τούτων εἰς κατάληψιν. Ὡς μέν οὖν αἴτιος ἁπάντων, γινώσκεται ἐκ τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ, ὡς δέ μηδέν ὤν τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ, μένει ἀγνοούμενος ὑπό πάντων· πῶς δέ καί διά τῆς ἀγνωσίας γινώσκεται, καί ἐνταῦθά φησι, καί ἀνωτέρω εἴρηται ἐν κεφαλαίῳ δευτέρῳ.","english":"a. And certain images: Here \"divine patterns\" must be understood as the foreordinations, of which the products of creation are images. The Apostle called these foreordinations \"purposes,\" as when he said in the Epistle to the Ephesians, \"according to the purpose of the ages.\" And in all created things God is of course known, as the craftsman is known in his works. But in every way the essence of all things is separate; and hence, though he is unknown to created works, he is known from this very unknowing, just as he is also known through the scientific understanding and knowledge of created things. These things, then, he takes up again and joins what follows to the same point. b. Since the ideas of living things and of all things according to nature are in God universally, yet the things here are not images and likenesses of the individual things there; for all things here are images of the things there; for the soul too is an image and likeness of the idea.\n\nc. And through knowledge, God: How God is known through opposites, and through affirmations and negations, he shows as he goes through these things in detail. For if even above in the first chapter he said that nothing is capable of representing the essence of God—not thought, not contact, not imagination, not opinion, nor whatever else he said there and here, which we also interpreted in those places—now he says that God is also known through the things there denied, though not his essence; and again that he has nothing of these things for comprehension. As cause of all things, then, he is known from the things that come from him; but as being none of the things that come from him, he remains unknown by all. And how he is also known through unknowing, he says here and it has been said above in the second chapter.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":162,"ref":"p162","source":"Καί οὔτε νοεῖται: Διά γάρ τῶν δεδημιουργημένων νοοῦμεν, ἐφαπτόμεθα τῆς ἐπιστήμης, ἔχομεν ὅτι Θεός ἔστι. Τίς δέ, ἤ ποταπός, ἤ πηλίκος αὐτός ὁ Θεός, οὔτε νοοῦμεν, οὔτε ὀνομάζομεν, οὔτε νῷ ἤ αἰσθήσει καταλαμβάνομεν. Ὅμοιον γάρ τούτῳ ἐστί καί τό· Ἐν πᾶσίν ἐστιν ὁ Θεός, καί ἐν οὐδενί τῶν πάντων ἐστί. Κατά τήν ὑπέρ νοῦν ἕνωσιν: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι κατά τά προπαρατεθειμένα τήν ἕνωσιν ἔλαβε τῆς ὑπέρ νοῦν τοῦ Θεοῦ θεωρίας. Αὕτη γάρ ἐστι κατά τό Λόγιον: Τοῦτο καί ἐκ τῆς Σοφίας Σολομῶντός ἐστιν, ἔνθα λέγεται τεχνῖτις ἡ σοφία τῶν πάντων· καί ἐκ τῶν Παροιμιῶν, ἔνθα εἴρηται ἐκ τῆς Σοφίας· «Ἐγώ ἤμην ἁρμόζουσα παρ' αὐτῷ»· καί ὁ Δαβίδ· «πάντα ἐν σοφίᾳ ἐποίησας».\n\nΛόγος δέ ὁ Θεός: Περί τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγου, καί διά τί λέγεται Λόγος, τί δηλούσης τῆς τοιαύτης ὀνομασίας, καί μίαν αἰτίαν ἐνταῦθά φησι, καθ' ἥν ὀνομάζεται Λόγος, διά τό τάς τῶν ὄντων πάντων αἰτίας ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἔχειν· οἱ γάρ λόγοι φύσεως ἁπάσης ἐν\n\nαὐτῷ εἰσιν, ὡς αἰτίῳ πάσης δημιουργίας· δι' αὐτοῦ γάρ τά πάντα· αἵ τε γάρ ἰδέαι καί τά παραδείγματα ἐν αὐτῷ, οὐχ ἕτερα ἐν ( 14 _280 ἑτέρῳ, ἀλλά νοήσεις ἀΐδιοι οὐσαι, καί λογοι ποιοῦντες τά πάντα, τουτέστι φύσις· καί ἡ φύσις γάρ λόγος, αἰτίαν ἔχων καί φύσιν, ὡς οὐκ εἰκῇ καί μάτην αἱ φύσεις των ὄντων εἰσί. Λέγει δέ αὐτόν Λόγον, καί ὡς καί πάντων χωροῦντα ἀκωλύτως, καί πάντα περιιόντα, καί μέχρι τῶν ἐσχάτων, ὡς ἐν τῇ πρός Ἑβραίους· «ζῶν γάρ ὁ λόγος καί ἐνεργής», καί τά ἑξῆς. Οὖτος ὁ Λόγος ἐστίν: Ὅτι ὁ Θεός Λόγος, ἡ αὐτό καί τῷ ὄντι οὖσα ἀλήθεια, εἰκότως ἐστί καί ἁπλῆ τῶν ὄντων γνῶσις.","english":"And neither is He comprehended: For through created things we understand, we attain to knowledge, we have that God exists. But who, or of what sort, or how great God Himself is, we neither understand, nor name, nor grasp by intellect or sense. For similar to this is also the saying: God is in all things, and is in none of all things. According to the union beyond intellect: Note that according to the things set out beforehand he took the union of the contemplation of God that is beyond intellect. For this is according to the Oracle: This is also from the Wisdom of Solomon, where wisdom is called the artificer of all things; and from the Proverbs, where it is said from Wisdom: \"I was fitting things together beside Him\"; and David: \"In wisdom You made all things.\"\n\nBut the Word is God: Concerning God the Word, and why He is called Word, what such a name indicates, and here he states one cause according to which He is named Word, because He has in Himself the causes of all things that exist; for the principles of every nature are in Him, as the cause of all creation; for through Him are all things; for the ideas and the patterns are in Him, not other things in another, but eternal thoughts and principles making all things, that is, nature; for nature is also a principle, having a cause and a nature, since the natures of existing things are not without purpose and in vain. He calls Him Word also as one who penetrates all things unhinderedly, and goes through all things, even to the uttermost, as in the Epistle to the Hebrews: \"For the word is living and effective,\" and what follows. This is the Word: That God the Word, the truth that is the same as truly existing, is reasonably also the simple knowledge of existing things.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":163,"ref":"p163","source":"Τί δέ ἐστι γνῶσις, εὐθύς ἐπισυνάπτει διδάσκων.\n\nΕἰ γάρ ἡ γνῶσις ἑνωτική: Τά περί τῆς ἀληθοῦς γνώσεως σαφηνίζων, αὐτός ὁ Θεός Λόγος Χριστός Ἰησοῦς, περἰ οὗ ὁ λόγος, καί ὅτι ἡ γνῶσις ἀληθῶς ἑνωτική ἐστι τῶν ἐγνωκότων καί τῶν ἐγνωσμένων, φησί· «κἀγω γινώσκω τά ἐμά πρόβατα, καί γινώσκομαι ὑπό τῶν ἐμῶν· καθώς γινώσκει με ὁ Πατήρ, κἀγώ γινώσκω τόν Πατέρα». Ὥσπερ γάρ ἡ γνῶσις γνοῦσα ἐκεῖνο ὅ γνῶναι ἠθέλησεν, ἑνοῦται τῷ γνωσθέντι, οὐκέτι ἀμφιβολίαν ἔχουσα περί αὐτοῦ, οὐδέ διά τήν ἀμφιβολίαν σχιζομένη εἰς ἑτέρας ἐννοίας καί ἀστατοῦσα, καί ἄγνοια διά τοῦτο γενομένη, διά τό μή πεισθῆναι ὅτι ἔγνω, οὕτως οἱ πιστοί τῇ γνώσει ἑνωθέντες τῷ γνωσθέντι Χριστῷ, ὅς ἐστιν ὁ Θεός Λόγος, καί τήν πίστιν εἰς αὐτόν ἐρείσαντες, μονιμωτάτην καί ἀσάλευτον τῶν ἐγνωσμένων τήν πίστιν ἔχοντες, ὅτι Θεόν ἔγνωσαν καί ὑπό Θεοῦ ἐγνώσθησαν, ἐξεστήκασι μέν τῆς ἀγνοίας, ἥν εἴπομεν διαιρεῖν καί σχίζειν καί διασαλεύειν εἰς ἄλλοτε ἄλλας ἀμφιβολίας, ὡς μή γνοῦσαν ὅ δεῖ γνῶναι, ἐφεστήκασι δέ τῇ βεβαιότητι, τῇ πίστει πληροφορηθέντες, ὅτι ἔγνωσαν καί ἡνώθησαν διά ( 14 _282 τοῦτο τῷ γνωσθέντι. Ὁ μέν οὖν ἐν τῷ σκότῳ τῆς ἀγνοίας, κατά τόν Ἀπόστολον, ὤν, ὑπό τῆς πλάνης αὐτῆς σαλευόμενος, περιφέρεται παντί ἀνέμῳ τῆς κυβείας τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὥσπερ οἱ ἐν πελάγει κλυδωνιζόμενοι (καί ταῦτα γάρ φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος), καί νομίζει τούς γνωστικούς μαίνεσθαι, ὡς καί ὁ Φῆστος ἔφη τῷ Παύλῳ κηρύττοντι τήν θείαν γνῶσιν, «μαίνῃ, Παῦλε».","english":"What knowledge is, he immediately adds, teaching.\n\nFor if knowledge is unitive: clarifying the matters concerning true knowledge, the very God the Word, Christ Jesus, about whom the discourse is, and that knowledge is truly unitive of those who have known and of the things known, says: \"And I know my own sheep, and I am known by my own; just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father.\" For just as knowledge, having known that which it wished to know, is united to the thing known, no longer having doubt about it, nor being split by doubt into other thoughts and wavering, and thereby becoming ignorance, because it was not persuaded that it had known—so the faithful, united by knowledge to the known Christ, who is God the Word, and having fixed their faith in Him, possessing the most steadfast and unshaken faith of the things known, that they have known God and have been known by God, have stood aside from the ignorance which we said divides and splits and unsettles into ever-different doubts, as not having known what it ought to know, and have stood firm in certainty, fully assured by faith, that they have known and have been united through this to the thing known. He, then, who is in the darkness of ignorance, according to the Apostle, being shaken by error itself, is carried about by every wind of the craftiness of men, just as those tossed on the sea (for the Apostle says these things too), and thinks that the Gnostics are mad, as Festus also said to Paul when he preached the divine knowledge: \"You are mad, Paul.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":164,"ref":"p164","source":"Ὁ γνωστικός καί τῷ ὄντι Χριστιανός, ἅτε τῇ ἀληθείᾳ γνούς Χριστόν καί δι' αὐτοῦ τήν θεογνωσίαν κτησάμενος, τήν ἑνιαίαν λέγω τῆς ἀληθείας γνῶσιν (ἑνιαία δέ ἐστιν ἡ ἁπλῆ καί ἀσύνθετος γνῶσις), ἐξέστηκε μέν τοῦ κόσμου, μή ὤν ἐν τῇ κοσμικῇ τῶν ἀπίστων γνώμῃ καί πλάνη, ἑαυτόν δέ γινώσκει νήφοντα καί ἀπηλλαγμένον τῆς πολυπλανοῦς ἀπιστίας· διό καί καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἀποθνήσκουσιν ὑπέρ τῆς ἀληθείας, οὐ μόνον μέχρι θανάτου κινδυνεύοντες ἑκάστοτε διά τήν ἀλήθειαν, ἀλλά καί τῇ ἀγνοίᾳ τελευτῶντες πάντοτε, τῇ δέ γνώσει ζῶντες καί Χριστιανοί μαρτυρούμενοι.\n\nΔιαιρέσεως αἰτία: Διαίρεσιν ἐνταῦθα τό τῆς γνώμης ἀνίδρυτον καί εἰς πολλά μεριζόμενον ἔφη.\n\nἙστίας: Μονῆς, οἰκήσεως.\n\nΤῇ ἑνιαίᾳ τῶν Χριστιανῶν: Ἑνιαίαν τήν καθ' ἡμᾶς πίστιν ὠνόμασεν, ὡς ἁπλῆν τε καί ἁπλανῆ τήν τοῦ ὄντος ἀληθῶς ἔχουσαν γνῶσιν. ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ Η' § 1. Καί ὡς δύναμιν: Κατά τί λέγεται δύναμις ὁ Θεός. Καί τήν κυρείαν: Ὡς τό, «Κύριος τῶν δυνάμεων αὐτός ( 14 _284 ἐστιν ὁ Βασιλεύς τῆς δόξης»· πάλιν· «Κύριος τῶν δυνάμεων μεθ' ἡμῶν, ἀντιλήπτωρ ἡμῶν ὁ Θεός Ἰακώβ.","english":"The one who has knowledge and is truly a Christian, having known Christ in truth and through him acquired the knowledge of God—I mean the unitary knowledge of the truth (and unitary is the simple and incomposite knowledge)—has gone out of the world, not being in the worldly opinion and error of the unbelievers, but he knows himself to be sober and freed from the much-wandering unbelief; therefore also each day they die for the truth, not only risking death each time for the truth, but also always dying to ignorance and living by knowledge and being witnessed as Christians.\n\nCause of division: Here he called division the unsettledness of opinion and its being split into many parts.\n\nOf the hearth: Of a dwelling, of a habitation.\n\nBy the unitary faith of the Christians: He called our faith unitary, as being simple and unerring, having the true knowledge of what truly is. ON CHAPTER 8 § 1. And as power: In what sense God is called power. And the dominion: As in, \"The Lord of powers, he is the King of glory\"; again: \"The Lord of powers is with us, our helper, the God of Jacob.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":165,"ref":"p165","source":"Δυνάμεων ἀφορίζουσα: Ἀφορίζουσα, τουτέστιν ἀποδιαστέλλουσα καί χωρίζουσα.\n\n§ 2. Κατά δύναμιν ἄκλιτον: Ἄκλιτον ἔφη, τουτέστι τῆς οἰκείας ἀκρότητος μή ὑποκατιοῦσαν· οὐ γάρ κλινόμενος εἰς δύναμιν δημιουργεῖ, ἀλλ' ἀκίνητος καί ἄκαμπτος ὑπάρχων τῆς ἰδίας ἰσχύος παράγει τά ὄντα. Τάχα δέ λεκτέον ἄκλειτον καί τό οἷον μή κλειόμενον· διό ἐπάγει καί ἀπεριόριστον· οὐ γάρ κλείεται, ὡς ἀδυναμοῦσα ἔν τινι, ἀλλ’ ἀεί ἀνέῳγεν ἐν δυνάμει τοῦ πάντα ποιεῖν ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ δύναμις.\n\nΚαί τήν ἀσθένειαν δυναμοῖ: Ἀσθένειαν καλεῖ τά ὑλικά ταῦτα καί περίγεια σώματα, ἅτινα καί ἔσχατα ἀπηχήματά φησι, καθά πολλάκις ἀνωτέρω ἔφημεν, διά τό ἀμυδρῶς καί κατά τήν οἰκείαν ἐπιτηδειότητα μετέχειν τῆς δυνάμεως τοῦ Θεοῦ. Καί περί μέν τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς σωμάτων εἴρηται, «πάντα ἰσχύω ἐν τῷ ἐνδυναμοῦντί με Χριστῷ», θεωρητέον δέ τοῦτο καί ἐν τοῖς λοιποῖς ζώοις, ὡς ἐπί τῶν ἐμπίδων καί τῶν μυιῶν καί τῶν τοιούτων, ὁπόσον ἰσχύουσιν ἐν τοῖς οἰκείοις κέντροις, τά οὕτως ἀσθενῆ καί ἐξουθενημένα ζῶα, ἐνδυναμωθέντα παρά τοῦ ποιήσαντος Θεοῦ· ὅθεν καί ἐν Ἰωήλ τῷ θείῳ προφήτῃ φησίν ὁ Θεός περί ἀκρίδος καί βρούχου καί κάμπης, «ἡ δύναμίς μου ἡ μεγάλη», καί πῶς ἄχρι τούτων τό ἀπειροδύναμον τοῦ Θεοῦ φθάνει, φησίν εἰκόνας θαυμαστάς καί ἀληθεστάτας. Ἀλλά καί ἐν τοῖς ἀψύχοις τό αὐτό εὑρήσεις, ἐν πόαις καί βοτάναις καί μετάλλοις θεωρῶν δυνάμεις βλαπτικάς καί ὠφελίμους· καί εὔθρυπτα ( 14 _286 τά πλείω, καί ἄλλα ἰσχυρά καί ἀνένδοτα, ὡς τόν ἀδάμαντα. Ἄλλως.","english":"Separating the powers: \"Separating,\" that is, distinguishing and dividing.\n\n§ 2. \"With unswerving power\": He said \"unswerving,\" that is, not sinking down from its own summit; for he does not create by inclining into power, but being motionless and inflexible he brings forth existing things from his own strength. Perhaps one should say \"unclosable\" and, as it were, \"not shut in\"; therefore he adds also \"unbounded\"; for it is not shut in, as though it were powerless in something, but the power of God has always been open in the power of doing all things.\n\n\"And he strengthens weakness\": He calls \"weakness\" these material and earthly bodies, which he also calls the last echoes, as we have often said above, because they participate dimly and according to their own capacity in the power of God. And concerning our bodies it has been said, \"I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me,\" but one must consider this also in the other animals, as in the case of gnats and flies and the like, how much strength they have in their own stings—animals so weak and despised, strengthened by God who made them; whence also in Joel the divine prophet God says concerning the locust and the caterpillar and the cankerworm, \"my great power,\" and how far the infinite power of God reaches even to these, he says, wonderful and most true images. But you will find the same also in inanimate things, observing in grasses and plants and metals both harmful and beneficial powers; and most of them fragile, and others strong and unyielding, like the diamond. Otherwise.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":166,"ref":"p166","source":"Ἀσθένειαν δυναμουμένην ἐν τούτοις τά ἀσθενέστατα τῶν ζώων φησί, ταύτην ἔχοντα τοῦ ὄντως εἶναι τήν δύναμιν, ἤ ἀσθένειαν οἰητέον τήν ἄψυχον καί πάντῃ ἀκίνητον φύσιν, ἥτις τήν οὐσιώδη, τουτέστι τήν τοῦ ὅλως εἶναι δύναμιν, εἴληφεν ἐκ Θεοῦ.\n\n§ 3. Καί αὐτό δέ, εἰ θέμις: Τουτέστιν, οὐκ ἦν δυνατόν εἶναί τι ὅλως, μή τοῦτο τῆς θείας δυνάμεως ὑποστησαμένης.\n\nΔύναμιν εἰς τό εἶναι ἔχει: Τήν δύναμιν οὐ μόνον τήν εἰς τό συνεστάναι ἰσχύν νοεῖ, ἀλλά καί τήν ἐπιτηδειότητα εἰς τό τοιῶσδε εἶναι δύναμιν σημαίνει. Διάδοσιν δέ καλεῖ δυνάμεως τήν εἰς τά ἔξω περί τά ὄντα πρόοδον τῆς προνοίας τοῦ Θεοῦ καί ἀγαθότητος, εἰς τό εἶναι τά ὄντα καί παραχθῆναι. Καί πρώτην μέν δύναμίν φησι τήν τῶν ὄντων· ταῦτα δέ εἰσι τά νοητά καί ἀσώματα ὄντα λεγόμενα, ὡς ἀθάνατα, τοῖς δέ γε νοητοῖς καί τά νοερά συγκατατακτέον, ὡς ψυχικάς τάς καί λογικάς νῦν λεγομένας· ὁ γάρ λόγος νοῦς ἐστι, καθ' ὅν ἡ ψυχή καθ' ὑπόβασιν μετά τούς ἀγγέλους νοερά λέγεται. Εἶτα καί ταύτης ὑφειμένη δύναμις ἡ αἰσθητική, ἡ τῶν ἐμψύχων ἀλόγων· εἶτα ἡ ζωτική καί ἡ φυτική, ἡ τῶν φυτῶν ἁπάντων καί βοτανῶν, καθ' ἥν φυτικήν ζωήν ἀνθοῦσι· μετά δέ πάσας ἡ οὐσιώδης δύναμις, τουτέστιν ἡ τῶν ἀψύχων, οἷον τῶν μεταλλικῶν καί γεωδεστέρων, ἥτις δύναμις ἡ συνιστῶσα καί εἰς τό εἶναι διαρκεῖν ποιοῦσα, καί τήν τῶν ποιοτήτων δύναμιν δίδωσι θερμῶν ἤ ψυχρῶν ἤ τῶν ἑξῆς κράσεων, καί ἤτοι ὠφελεῖν, ἤ τοιῶσδε ὠφελεῖν.","english":"He calls \"power made perfect in weakness\" the weakest of living things, which have this as the power of truly being; or one must understand \"weakness\" as the soulless and in every way motionless nature, which has received its substantial power—that is, the power of existing at all—from God.\n\n§ 3. \"And this very thing, if it is lawful\": That is, it was not possible for anything to exist at all unless the divine power had substantiated it.\n\n\"It has power to be\": He understands \"power\" not only as the strength for subsisting, but he also indicates \"power\" as the fitness for being in such-and-such a way. And he calls the \"diffusion of power\" the procession of God's providence and goodness outward upon beings, for them to be and to be brought forth. And he calls the first power that of beings; and these are the intelligible and incorporeal beings, so called as immortal, and with the intelligible ones the intellectual must also be ranked, as those now called psychic and rational; for the reason is an intellect, according to which the soul, by a descending order after the angels, is called intellectual. Then, subordinate to this, the sensitive power, that of animate irrational creatures; then the vital and vegetative power, that of all plants and herbs, according to which vegetative life they bloom; and after all these, the substantial power, that is, that of soulless things, such as minerals and the more earthy, which power is what constitutes them and makes them endure in being, and gives the power of qualities—of hot or cold or the subsequent temperaments—and either to benefit, or to benefit in such-and-such a way.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":167,"ref":"p167","source":"Καί τάς ὀρεκτικάς δέ δυνάμεις, τοῦ θέλειν ἀεί τά λογικά δύνασθαι καί ἐπιθυμεῖν, ὁ χορηγῶν ἐστι Θεός, καί δυναμοῖ πρός φιλίαν τά ἡνωμένα καί πρός κοινωνίαν, τουτέστι τά σπέρματα πάντων, ἤτοι τά στοιχεῖα συμμέτρως πρός σύνοδον ὁδεύοντα ( 14 _288 καί πρός ἄλληλα μιγνύμενα καί πλησιάζοντα πρᾴως, εἰς δύναμιν ἄγει τοῦ τά αἰσθητά ὅμοια γεννᾷν. Τῆς γοῦν ἑνώσεως ταύτης καί τοῦ μίγματος τῶν ἡνωμένων εἰς φιλίαν, ὡς ἔφημεν, στοιχείων τρεπομένου εἰς διαφοράν καί χωρισμόν, διακρινόμενα τά μέρη χωρίζεται εἰς γενέσεις καί ζώων καί φυτῶν καί τῶν ἑξῆς, καί λαμβάνει θεόθεν ἡ διάκρισις αὕτη, ἤτοι ὁ χωρισμός, δύναμιν εἰς τό εἶναι καί παραγωγήν τοῦ εἶναι τά κατ' εἶδος γινόμενα. Τάς οὖν συγκρίσεις καί διακρίσεις, ἑνώσεις καί φιλίας ἔφη, καί ἀσύγχυτα καί ἀσύμφυρτα τά εἴδη διάκρισιν ὠνόμασε. Σημείωσαι, ὡς καί αὐτήν τήν ἔφεσιν ἐκ Θεοῦ ἔχουσιν αἱ ἀγγελικαί δυνάμεις.\n\n§ 4. Καί τό εἶναι ταῦτα: Ἡ τῶν ὄντων φύσις τό εἶναι ἐπιζητεῖ οὐ προαιρετικῶς, ἀλλά τῷ ἀναγκαίῳ τε καί χρησίμῳ τῆς ὑπάρξεως καί τοῦτο οὖν φησι τό οὕτως εἶναι, καί τήν δύναμιν τοῦ ἐπιζητεῖσθαι, ὡς ἀναγκαῖον τό εἶναι παρά τῆς θείας καί ἀπειροδυνάμου οὐσίας.","english":"And the appetitive powers—that is, the capacity of rational beings always to will and desire—God is the one who supplies, and He strengthens for friendship the things that are united, and for communion, that is, the seeds of all things, or rather the elements, which travel in due proportion toward conjunction and are mixed with one another and draw near gently; He brings them, as far as they are able, to the power of generating things similar to the perceptible objects. When, then, this union and mixture of the elements united in friendship, as we said, is turned into difference and separation, the parts being distinguished are separated into the generations of animals and plants and the rest, and this distinction, that is, the separation, receives from God power to be and the production of being for the things that come to be according to species. He called, then, the combinations and distinctions, unions and friendships, and named the species, unconfused and unmixed, \"distinction.\" Note that the angelic powers also have this very impulse from God.\n\n§ 4. And that these things are: The nature of beings seeks to be, not by choice, but by the necessity and usefulness of existence; and this, then, he says—both to be in this way and the power of being sought after—as the being is necessary from the divine and infinitely powerful essence.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":168,"ref":"p168","source":"§ 5. Καί εὐθημοσύνας: Εὐθημοσύνας φησί τάς εὖ ἐχούσας θέσεις, καί τάξεις εὐθέτους τάς εὐσχήμους δημιουργίας, ἀγγελικῶν δέ ἑνάδων τῶν ἁπλοτήτων φησιν· ἤ ἑνάδας καλεῖ τάς τῶν οὐσιῶν αὐτῶν ἁπλότητας καί ἀσωματίας καί ἀϋλίας. Σημείωσαι δέ, ὅτι τούς ἀστέρας διαιωνίζειν λέγει. Καί τάξεις ἀναλλοιώτους: Ἀναλλοιώτους τάς οὐρανίας οὐσίας, μή κατά τό ἀϊδίως εἶναι νοήσῃς (αὐτοί γάρ, κατά τό γεγραμμένον, λειτουργικά πνεύματά εἰσιν), ἀλλά περί τήν φυλακήν τῶν ἐξ ἀρχῆς αὐταῖς ὑπό Θεοῦ τεταγμένων ὅρων τό ἀναλλοίωτον νόησον. 'Προόδους δέ τοῦ χρόνου' τό μῆκος τούτου καί τήν ἐπί τό πρόσω φοράν λέγει, 'διάκρισιν' δέ τήν διά τῆς ( 14 _290 ἐναλλαγῆς τῶν καιρῶν, ἤτοι ὡρῶν, σημείωσιν πρός τά αὐτά πάλιν ἀποκαθισταμένην· διό καί συνελίξεις ἐκάλεσε τοῦ χρόνου τήν κίνησιν· ἤ 'προόδους χρονικάς' φησι τάς τῶν πλανήτων ἄστρων κινήσεις, ἐπί τινα ἀριθμόν χρόνου διερπούσας τά ιβ' τῶν λεγομένων οἴκων διαστήματα· 'ἀποκαταστάσεις' δέ τάς ἀπό σημείου τινός ἐπί τό αὐτό σημεῖον ἐπαναδρομάς· οἷον ὁ ἥλιος δι' ἑνιαυτοῦ περιπολεῖ τούς ιβ' οἴκους ἀπό τοῦ λεγομένου κριοῦ ἐπί τόν αὐτόν κριόν διερχόμενος, ἡ σελήνη διά μηνός, καί οἱ ἑξῆς ε' οὕτως· ἐκ γάρ τούτων οἱ χρόνοι μετροῦνται.","english":"§ 5. And \"well-orderings\": By \"well-orderings\" he means the positions that are well held, and the fitly arranged orders, the comely creations; but by \"angelic monads\" he means their simplicities; or he calls \"monads\" the simplicities of their essences, and their incorporeality and immateriality. And note that he says the stars endure forever. And \"unchangeable orders\": Understand the heavenly essences as unchangeable, not in the sense of existing eternally (for they themselves, as it is written, are ministering spirits), but understand their unchangeableness with respect to the keeping of the bounds appointed to them by God from the beginning. And \"processions of time\" he means its length and its forward motion, and \"distinction\" he means the marking out that comes about through the alternation of seasons, that is, of hours, returning again to the same points; therefore he also called the motion of time \"rollings-up\"; or he calls \"time-processions\" the motions of the wandering stars, traversing over a certain number of time the twelve intervals of the so-called houses; and \"restorations\" he means the returns from some point back to the same point; for example, the sun circles through the twelve houses in a year, passing from the so-called ram to the same ram, the moon in a month, and the remaining five likewise; for by these times are measured.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":169,"ref":"p169","source":"Καί τάς τοῦ πυρός δυνάμεις: Τοῦ αἰθερίου δηλονότι. Φησί δέ περί τῶν τεσσάρων στοιχείων, καί ὅτι ἡ γῆ ἐπ' οὐδενός τεθεμελίωται, ἡ δέ Γραφήν φησιν, «ἐπί ὑδάτων ἐθεμελίωσας».\n\nΤάς οὐσιώδεις: Ἴσως οὐσιώδη λέγονται καί τά πάντα ἄψυχα καί ἀναίσθητα, δηλονότι ἀπό τοῦ εἶναι οὕτω λεγόμενα.\n\nΚαί τήν θέωσιν: Ἐκθεοῦνται οἱ δίκαιοι καί οἱ ἄγγελοι, κατά τό «Ἐγώ εἶπα· θεοί ἐστε».\n\nΠαντελῶς θέσις: Θέσιν καλεῖ τήν εἰς τό εἶναι παραγωγήν, ἀντί τοῦ, Ὅ μή μετέχει δυνάμεως, οὐδέ ἐν δημιουργίᾳ ἐστί. § 6. Καίτοι φησίν Ἐλύμας ὁ μάγος: Δείκνυται ἐντεῦθεν τοῦ ἁγίου τούτου ἀνδρός ἡ ἀρχαιότης· ἅ γάρ εἶπεν Ἐλύμας ὁ μάγος, ὅς καί ἀντέστη τῷ ἁγίῳ Παύλῳ ἐν Κύπρῳ, γινώσκει, οὗ αἱ Πράξεις τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων μέμνηνται. Ὅμως πολλούς ὁμοίους τῷ Ἐλύμᾳ ἡ Ἀραβία ἔχει, οἵ φασι πρός ἡμᾶς λέγοντας, Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν τόν Θεόν Λόγον σαρκί παθεῖν ὑπέρ ἡμῶν, ἀλλά μή θεότητι, ὅτι, 'Εἰ μή δέχεσθε αὐτόν θεότητι παθεῖν ὡς ( 14 _292 ἠθέλησεν, ἀδύναμον ποιεῖτε τόν Θεόν, φάσκοντες μή δύνασθαι θεότητι παθεῖν εἰ ἐθέλοι'. Προς οὕς λεκτέον, ὅτι αὐτό οὐκ ἠβουλήθη ὁ Θεός, ἔχων εἰς τί πάθοι, τό παρά φύσιν γενέσθαι, ἵνα ἡ θεότης πάθοι ἡ κατά φύσιν ἀπαθής. Ὅρα πῶς ἑρμηνεύει τό ἀποστολικόν ρητόν, «οὐ δύναται ὁ Θεός ἑαυτόν ἀρνήσασθαι».","english":"And the powers of fire: meaning, clearly, of the ether. And he speaks concerning the four elements, and that the earth is founded upon nothing, but the Scripture says, \"You founded it upon the waters.\"\n\nThe substantial: Perhaps both all soulless and insensate things are called substantial, clearly so called from the fact of their being.\n\nAnd the deification: The righteous and the angels are deified, according to \"I said: You are gods.\"\n\nA setting wholly: He calls \"setting\" the production into being, in place of \"that which does not partake of power is not even in creation.\" § 6. And yet Elymas the magician says: From this the antiquity of this holy man is demonstrated; for what Elymas the magician said, who also opposed the holy Paul in Cyprus, he knows, of whom the Acts of the holy apostles make mention. Nevertheless Arabia has many like Elymas, who say to us who declare that Jesus Christ, the God Logos, suffered in the flesh for us, but not in the divinity, that, \"If you do not accept that he suffered in the divinity as he willed, you make God powerless, asserting that he cannot suffer in the divinity if he should will.\" To whom it must be said, that God did not will this, having a way in which he might suffer, namely to become contrary to nature, so that the divinity might suffer, which is by nature impassible. Observe how he interprets the apostolic saying, \"God cannot deny himself.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":170,"ref":"p170","source":"Ἡ γάρ ἑαυτοῦ ἄρνησις: Ὅπερ ἔφην, Ἐλύμας ὁ μάγος σκώψας τόν θεῖον Παῦλον εἰπόντα, «μή δύνασθαι ἀρνήσασθαι ἑαυτόν τόν Θεόν», καί τό γε ἐπί Παύλῳ ἀδύνατον δείκνυσθαι τόν Θεόν, δυνάμενον ἅ βούλεται, τουτέστιν ἀρνήσασθαι ἑαυτόν, φιλοσοφώτατα λύει ὁ μέγας Διονύσιος. Φησί γάρ, ὅτι ὁ Θεός ἀλήθειά ἐστιν, ἡ δέ ἀλήθεια ὄν ἐστι, τό δέ ψεῦδος, ὡς ἀνυπόστατον, οὐδέ ὄν ἐστιν. Ἐάν οὖν ἀρνήσηται ἑαυτόν ὁ Θεός, ἡ ἀλήθεια ψευσαμένη, μή ὄν γίνεται. Καί πῶς οἷόν τε τοῦτο συμβῆναι; Τό οὖν 'μή δύνασθαι', ἐπί Θεοῦ ταττόμενον, ἀφάτου δυνάμεώς ἐστι σημεῖον. Ὅμοιον γάρ ἐστιν εἰπεῖν, ὅτι δύναται ὁ Θεός ἑαυτόν ποιῆσαι μή εἶναι Θεόν, ἀλλά χωρῆσαι εἰς ἀνυπαρξίαν, ὅ μετά τοῦ ἀδυνάτου καί τό βλάσφημον ἔχει. Πῶς τοίνυν λεχθήσεται, ὁ ὤν ἔσται μή ὤν; Οὐ δύναται τοίνυν ὁ Θεός, τουτέστιν\n\nἀναχώρητόν ἐστι μή εἶναι αὐτόν, ἤγουν ἀνένδεκτον μή εἶναι αὐτόν. Οὐκοῦν καί τό μή δύνασθαι τόν Θεόν, τουτέστι τό ἀδύνατον εἶναι τόν Θεόν, οὐ δυνατόν γενέσθαι. Ὥσπερ γάρ τό φῶς, καθ' ὅ φῶς, οὐ δύναται σκότος γενέσθαι, οὕτω καί ταῦτα ἀδύνατα τῷ Θεῷ διά τήν ἀνυπέρβλητον ἀλήθειαν. Οὕτως οὖν οὐκ οἶδεν ὁ Θεός κατά στέρησιν τό μή εἰδέναι, οἷον οὐ πεπείραται ( 14 _294 ὁ Θεός· ὅ ἐστιν, οὐκ οἶδε τί ἐστιν αὐτό τό μή εἰδέναι, ἤτοι ἀγνοεῖν τι. Κατά στέρησιν δέ οὐκ οἶδε τό ἀγνοεῖν· στέρησις γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ἄγνοια, οὐχ ὑπόστασις, ἀλλ’ ἔξωθεν τῆς οὐσίας, περί ἥν συμβαίνει ἡ στέρησις· ἔλλειψις γάρ ἐστι τοῦ ὀφείλοντος παρεῖναι. Οὐκοῦν ἐστέρηται ὁ Θεός τοῦ ἀγνοεῖν, καί οὐδέποτε οἶδε τό μή εἰδέναι·","english":"For the denial of himself: What I said—that Elymas the magician mocked the divine Paul when he said, \"God cannot deny himself,\" and that it is shown to be impossible in Paul's case that God, who is able to do what he wills—that is, to deny himself—the great Dionysius resolves most philosophically. For he says that God is truth, and truth is being, while falsehood, being without substance, is not even being. If, then, God should deny himself, truth having lied becomes non-being. And how could this happen? The \"cannot,\" then, when applied to God, is a sign of ineffable power. For it is like saying that God is able to make himself not be God, but to pass into non-existence, which along with the impossible also contains the blasphemous. How, then, shall it be said, \"He who is will be he who is not\"? God, then, cannot—that is,\n\nit is impossible for him not to be, or rather inadmissible for him not to be. Therefore also God's \"cannot\"—that is, God's being impossible—cannot come to be. For just as light, insofar as it is light, cannot become darkness, so also these things are impossible for God because of his unsurpassable truth. Thus, then, God does not know not-knowing by way of privation, as for instance God has not experienced—that is, he does not know what this very not-knowing is, or being ignorant of something. But by way of privation he does not know ignorance; for ignorance is a privation, not a substance, but from outside the essence in relation to which the privation occurs; for it is a deficiency of what ought to be present. Therefore God is deprived of ignorance, and he never knows not-knowing.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":171,"ref":"p171","source":"εἰ γάρ μή κατά στέρησιν εἴποιμεν μή εἰδέναι τόν Θεόν τήν ἄγνοιαν, εὑρίσκεται τῆς οὐσίας αὐτοῦ τό μή εἰδέναι, καί ἦν ἄν οὐσιώδης αὐτοῦ ἡ ἄγνοια, καί εὑρίσκεται ὁ Θεός σκότος· ἡ γάρ ἄγνοια σκότος ἐστιν. Οὕτως ὑψηλῶς νοήσεις καί τό, «ἀδύνατον ψεύσασθαι Θεόν», καί τό, «οὐ δύναται ποιεῖν ὁ Υἱός οὐδέν ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ, ἐάν μή τι βλέπῃ τόν Πατέρα ποιοῦντα», ὅπερ ὅμοιόν ἐστι τῷ εἰπεῖν· Ἀμήχανόν ἐστιν ἕτερα βουλομένου τοῦ Πατρός, ἕτερα βουληθῆναι τόν Υἱόν. Ἕν γάρ θέλημα τῆς μόνης προσκυνητῆς Τριάδος κατά τήν θεότητα· οὐδέ γάρ ἀγνοοῦμεν, ὅτι περ ὁ Υἱός τοῦ Θεοῦ, καί Θεός, ὁ εἷς τῆς πανυμνήτου καί παναχράντου Τριάδος γενόμενος ἄνθρωπος, προσέλαβεν ἀνθρώπινον θέλημα φυσικόν καί ἀναμάρτητον. Καί τό μή εἶναι οὐκ ἔστιν: Ἀπόφασις κατά ἀποφάσεως τιθεμένη κατάφασιν ποιεῖ. Ὁ οὖν λέγων, ὅτι τό μή εἶναι οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν Θεῷ, τό εἶναι αὐτόν συνάγει. Οὕτως οὖν φησιν, 'οὑ δύναται μή δύνασθαι', ὡσαύτως καί τό 'μή εἰδέναι οὐκ οἶδεν', ἐξ ὧν συνάγεται τό πάντως αὐτόν εἰδέναι καί δύνασθαι. Καλῶς δέ προσέθηκεν ἐνταῦθα τό κατά στέρησιν· οὐ γάρ ὑπεροχικῶς ταῦτα λέγονται, ἀλλά στερητικῶς, τό, 'οὐ δύναται' καί 'οὐκ οἶδε'.","english":"For if we do not say that God does not know ignorance by way of privation, then not-knowing is found to belong to his essence, and his ignorance would be essential to him, and God is found to be darkness; for ignorance is darkness. In this lofty sense you will also understand the words, \"It is impossible for God to lie,\" and, \"The Son can do nothing of himself unless he sees the Father doing it,\" which is equivalent to saying: It is impossible that, while the Father wills one thing, the Son should will another. For there is one will of the only worshipful Trinity according to the Godhead; for we are not ignorant that the Son of God, and God, the one of the all-hymned and all-pure Trinity, having become man, took up a human will that is natural and sinless. And \"not to be\" is not: a negation set against a negation produces an affirmation. He, then, who says that \"not to be\" is not in God, concludes that he is. Thus, then, he says, \"he cannot not be able,\" and likewise \"he does not know not to know,\" from which it is concluded that he altogether knows and is able. And well did he add here the phrase \"by way of privation\"; for these things are not said by way of transcendence, but by way of privation—\"he cannot\" and \"he does not know.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":172,"ref":"p172","source":"§ 7. Δικαιοσύνη δέ ὑμνεῖται: Κατά τί δικαιοσύνη ἐστίν ὁ ( 14 _296 Θεός. Ὅρος δέ δικαιοσύνης ἐστίν, ἀρετή διανεμητική τοῦ κατ' ἀξίαν ἤ ἰδιοπραγίαν τῶν τῆς ψυχῆς μερῶν· ἤ μεσότης πλεονεξίας καί μειονεξίας· ἤ ἕξις ἀπονεμητική ἰσότητος· ἤ ἕξις τοῦ κοινῇ συμφέροντος ἐστοχασμένη· ἤ ἐπιστήμη ἀπονεμητέων, καί μή, καί οὐδετέρων.\n\nΔιαλοιδοροῦνται: «Περί τῶν λαλούντων κατά τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀδικίαν», ὥς φησιν ὁ ψαλμῳδός. Ἐνταῦθα εὐκαίρως εἶπεν, ἀλλόκοτα τά αὐτῶν δεικνύς ρήματα· αὐτοκίνητοι γάρ ὄντες, τουτέστιν αὐτεξούσιοι, καί τῶν ἰδίων ὁρμῶν ἄρχοντες, διά τί, φασίν, αὐτεξούσιοι γεγόναμεν· καί οὐ μᾶλλον καί ἄκοντες κωλυόμεθα ἁμαρτάνειν, ἀγνοοῦντες ὅτι λίθοι ἑτεροκίνητοι βούλονται εἶναι, καί, γήινα σώματα ἔχοντες, διά τί μή ἐν ταυτότητι, φασί, μένομεν, τουτέστιν ἄτρεπτοι, ἀθάνατοι ὄντες, καί χρώμενοι τοῖς ὑλικοῖς καί προσκαίροις; Ὅπερ ἀγνοούντων ἐστί φύσιν αἰσθητῶν καί νοητῶν καί πολλήν ἀλογίαν νοσούντων· τό γάρ σῶμα ἡμῶν ὑλικόν καί πρόσκαιρον καί τρεπτόν ὑπάρχον, εἰκότως ἐδέετο τῶν ὁμοίων, προσκαίρων φημί καί ὑλικῶν· ἡ δέ ψυχή ἄϋλος καί ἀθάνατος κτισθεῖσα, εἰκότως τό αὐτεξούσιον ἔχει διά τήν πρός τόν δημιουργόν ὁμοιότητα· ἅπερ μή νοοῦντες ἐν ἑκατέρῳ οἱ λοίδοροι μέμφονται τήν θείαν πρόνοιαν, τοσαύτην ὁρῶντες εὐταξίαν· τοῦτο γάρ δηλοῖ τό, 'καί ὅλως τά ἄλλων ἄλλοις ἀποδιδόασιν'.","english":"§ 7. “Righteousness” is praised: In what sense God is righteousness. The definition of righteousness is: a virtue that distributes to the parts of the soul according to worth or to each its own proper activity; or a mean between excess and deficiency; or a habit that apportions equality; or a habit that aims at the common advantage; or a knowledge of what should be distributed, and what should not, and of neither.\n\nThey rail: “Concerning those who speak iniquity against God,” as the psalmist says. Here he spoke aptly, showing their words to be strange; for since they are self-moved, that is, self-determining, and masters of their own impulses, why, they say, have we become self-determining? And why are we not rather hindered from sinning even against our will, not knowing that they wish to be stones moved by another, and, having earthy bodies, why do we not, they say, remain in sameness, that is, unchangeable, being immortal, and using material and temporary things? This is the mark of those who are ignorant of the nature of sensible and intelligible things and are sick with great irrationality; for our body, being material and temporary and changeable, reasonably needed things of like kind—temporary, I mean, and material; but the soul, created immaterial and immortal, reasonably possesses self-determination because of its likeness to the Creator. Not understanding these things in either case, the railers blame divine providence, though they see such great order; for this is what the saying means: “and altogether they assign the things of others to others.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":173,"ref":"p173","source":"Αὐτοκινήτοις: Αὐτεξουσίοις.\n\n§ 8. Ἀλλ' εἴποι ἄν τις: Πρός τούς λέγοντας, Πῶς οὐκ ἄδικος ὁ Θεός ὁ συγχωρῶν τούς δικαίους ὑπό τῶν φαύλων κακοῦσθαι; ( 14 _298 Ἄλλως: Ἐνταῦθα ζητεῖ κεφάλαιον προτεθέν ἡμῖν ὑπό ἑτέρου· φησί γάρ· Εἴποι ἄν τις, καί τά λοιπά, λυόμενος εὐσεβῶς καί θεοφιλῶς· λέγει γάρ δι' ἥν αἰτίαν συγχωρεῖ ὁ Θεός, δίκαιος ὤν, ἀδικεῖσθαι τούς ὁσίους ἄνδρας ὑπό ἀδίκων καί πλεονεκτῶν (πολλούς γάρ ὁρῶμεν δικαίους ζημίας ὑπομένοντας, ἤ ἐν χρήμασιν,\n\nἤ ἐν πράγμασι παρά τῶν ἀδίκων καί πλεονεκτῶν), καί ἀπολογεῖται δεξιῶς. Λέγει γάρ, ὅτι οἱ ὅσιοι οὐκ ὀφείλουσι τοῖς γηΐνοις καί προσκαίροις προσπάσχειν, ἐπεί οὐκ ἔτι ὅσιοι· προτιμᾷν γάρ ὀφείλουσι τά ὄντως ἐραστά καί θεῖα· χρημάτων γάρ ἐφιέμενοι, οὐκ ἔτι ὅσιοι. Καί λέλυται ἡ ἐρώτησις· τοῦτο γάρ ὁ θεῖος Παῦλός φησι, «διά τί γάρ μή μᾶλλον ἀδικεῖσθε», λέγων μή περί τά κοσμικά ἐπτοῆσθαι. Καί πάλιν τόν θεῖον ἔρωτα εἰσηγούμενος, περί ὅν οὔτε ἀδικία, οὔτε πλεονεξία δύναται γενέσθαι, φησί· «τίς ἡμᾶς χωρίσει ἀπό τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Χριστοῦ; θλῖψις ἤ στενοχωρία;» καί τά ἑξῆς. Προσύλους δέ φησι τούς ἐμπαθεῖς καί μόνοις τῆς γηΐνοις προκειμένους. 'Παρευδοκιμεῖσθαι' δέ ἐστι τό ἡττόνως εὐδόκιμον φαίνεσθαι. Ταῖς ἀγγελικαῖς ἀρεταῖς: Ὅτι καλῶς λέγεται καί ἐπ' ἀγγέλων ἀρετή, ὥσπερ καί ἐπί Θεοῦ, κατά τό, «ἐκάλυψεν οὐρανούς ἡ ἀρετή αὐτοῦ», καί ὅτι ἀδικεῖσθαι τούς περί τά ὑλικά πράγματά τῆς θείας ἐστί προνοίας συνεθιζούσης αὐτούς τῶν θειοτέρων ἐφίεσθαι.","english":"To the self-moved: to the free in will.\n\n§ 8. But someone might say: In reply to those who say, How is God not unjust, who allows the righteous to be harmed by the wicked? (14 298 Otherwise: Here he examines a chapter set before us by another; for he says: Someone might say, and the rest, being resolved piously and in a God-loving manner; for he states for what reason God, being just, allows holy men to be wronged by the unjust and the covetous (for we see many righteous men enduring losses, either in possessions or in affairs, at the hands of the unjust and the covetous), and he makes his defense skillfully. For he says that the holy ought not to cling to earthly and temporary things, since then they are no longer holy; for they ought to prefer the truly lovely and divine things; for those who desire possessions are no longer holy. And the question is resolved; for this is what the divine Paul says, \"Why not rather suffer wrong?\" saying that they should not be agitated about worldly things. And again, introducing the divine love, in regard to which neither injustice nor covetousness can arise, he says: \"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation, or distress?\" and the rest. And he calls \"fleshy\" those who are passionate and devoted only to earthly things. And \"to be outshone\" is to appear less approved. By the angelic virtues: That virtue is rightly spoken of also in the case of angels, just as also in the case of God, according to \"His virtue covered the heavens,\" and that it is by divine providence that those who are wronged in material things are accustomed to desire more divine things.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":174,"ref":"p174","source":"Τῆς τῶν ὑλικῶν προσπαθείας: Ὅρα πῶς φησιν, ὅτι τό μή προσπάσχειν τοῖς ὑλικοῖς πράγμασιν ἀρρενότητα δηλοῖ, τουτέστιν ἀνδρίαν· οἱ γάρ δουλεύοντες κοσμικοῖς καί σωματικοῖς πάθεσι θηλυδρίαι εἰκότως προσαγορεύονται. Καί ὅτι ἡ θεία δικαιοσύνη οὐ βούλεται διά τούτων ἡμᾶς θέλγειν καί ἀπολλύειν, ( 14 _300 ἀλλά συνεθίζει πρός τήν τούτων περιφρόνησιν, κατά τό εἰρημένον, «ὅν γάρ ἀγαπᾷ Κύριος, παιδεύει· μαστιγοῖ δέ πάντα υἱόν ὅν παραδέχεται». Τί οὖν; Οἱ τόν πλοῦτον ἔχοντες οὐκ ἀγαπῶνται ὑπό τοῦ Θεοῦ; Ἐρεῖς, ὅτι πρῶτον μέν οὐχ ὁ πλοῦτος καθ' ἑαυτόν κακός, ἀλλ' ἡ περί τοῦτον προσπάθεια καί ἡ κακή χρῆσις· ἔπειτα οἶδεν ὁ Θεός τούς ἐν ἡμῖν ἀσθενεῖς, καί βουλόμενος αὐτούς περισῶσαι εἰς προτροπήν, καί χρήματα ἴσως καί βίου περιφάνειαν δίδωσιν αὐτοῖς, οὐκ ἀγνοῶν ὅπερ εἰσί· πῶς γάρ ὁ γινώσκων πάντα πρίν γενέσεως αὐτῶν; Ἀλλ' ἵνα μηδεμίαν ἔχωμεν ἀπολογίαν κατά τόν Ἀπόστολον, «διά τοῦτο ἀναπολόγητος εἶ, ὦ ἄνθρωπε»· καί πάλιν· «ἔχομεν Ἀρχιερέα μέγαν, δυνάμενον συμπαθῆσαι ταῖς ἀσθενείαις ἡμῶν». Τό μή θέλγειν: Θέλγειν ἐστί τό δι' ἡδονῆς ἀπατᾷν· λέγεται δέ καί τό ἁπλῶς ἡδύνειν.","english":"On attachment to material things: Observe how he says that not being attached to material things shows manliness, that is, courage; for those who are enslaved to worldly and bodily passions are reasonably called effeminate. And that divine justice does not wish to charm and destroy us through these things, but accustoms us to contempt for them, according to what is said, \"For whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; and he scourges every son whom he receives.\" What then? Are those who have wealth not loved by God? You will say that, first, wealth is not evil in itself, but attachment to it and its bad use; and secondly, God knows those among us who are weak, and wishing to save them, as an encouragement, he perhaps gives them money and prominence of life, not being ignorant of what they are; for how could he who knows all things before their birth? But so that we may have no defense, according to the Apostle, \"Therefore you are without defense, O man\"; and again: \"We have a great High Priest, who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses.\" Not to charm: To charm is to deceive through pleasure; it also means simply to delight.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":175,"ref":"p175","source":"Τῶν ἀρίστων: Τῶν ἐπιθυμητῶν.\n\nἈμειλίκτῳ στάσει: Ἀμείλικτον στάσιν φησί τήν ἀνένδοτον πρός τόν γαργαλισμόν τῶν γηΐνων ἔνστασιν, καί τό μή κάμπτεσθαι πρός τά ὑλικά διά τῶν πειρασμῶν.\n\n§ 9. Τῆς ἐν τοῖς ὅλοις ἰδιοπραγίας: Ἰδιοπραγίαν ὠνόμασε τήν ἑκάστου τῶν ὄντων κατά φύσιν ἰδιάζουσαν κίνησιν· οὐδέ γάρ τά ἀγγέλων ἀνθρώποις πράττειν δυνατόν, ἤ τά πυρός ὕδατι, καί τό ἔμπαλιν. Καί ὡς ἐκ τῶν χειρόνων: Τά χείρω ἐνταῦθα μή νοήσῃς πρός τά ποιήματα (οὐδέν γάρ ἐν αὐτοῖς κακόν), ἀλλά πρός τήν ἁμαρτίαν, ἥτις ἐκ τῆς ἡμῶν προαιρέσεως κατά στέρησιν ἀγαθοῦ παρυπέστη. Ἀναρπάζει γάρ ἡμᾶς ὁ Θεός ἐξ αὐτῆς ἑκόντας, εἰ προσδράμοιμεν αὐτῷ.\n\n( 14 _302 Καί ἀρρεπῆ πρός τά χείρω: Ταῦτα περί τῶν αἰσθητῶν καί ὑπό τήν κτίσιν ὄντων νόμιζε λέγειν αὐτόν, ὅτι πάντα ἐν τῇ οἰκείᾳ εὐταξίᾳ διαφυλάττει· οὐδέν γάρ αὐτῶν μετετράπη, ἀλλ' οὕτως ὡς ἐκτίσθησαν, ἔμειναν· τοῦτο δηλοῖ τό ἀμετάβλητα. Ἀρρεπῆ δέ πρός τά χείρω, ἤ ὅτι προαιρετάς αὐτάς πεποίηκεν, ἤ ὅτι οὐδέν ἐξ αὐτῶν τῆς οἰκείας ἐξέστη καταστάσεως, ἤ πρός τά ὑποδεέστερα μετηνέχθη. Ὁ γάρ οὐρανός καί ἡ γῆ ἔμειναν, καί τά ἐν αὐτοῖς ὡσαύτως ἔχοντα. Τό δέ τήν ἀλλοτριοπραγίαν ἐξορίζειν καί ἀμεταπτώτους φυλάττειν τάς ἑκάστου ἰδιότητας, οὕτω νόησον, ὅτι τά στοιχεῖα ἐναντία μένουσιν ἀλλήλοις, οἷον τό θερμόν καί ψυχρόν, καί ὑγρόν καί ξηρόν, καί ἕκαστον αὐτῶν ἐν τῇ ἰδίᾳ ὁλότητι ἐναπομένει, καί οὐ μεθίσταται πρός τό ἐναντίον· οὐδέποτε γάρ τό πῦρ ὕδωρ γίνεται, οὐδέ τό ὕδωρ","english":"Of the best: of the desirable things.\n\nBy unrelenting stance: he means an unyielding resistance to the tickling provocation of earthly things, and not being bent toward material things through temptations.\n\n§ 9. Of the individual activity in all things: he has called \"individual activity\" the motion proper to each of existing things according to nature; for it is not possible for humans to do the works of angels, or for water to do the works of fire, and vice versa. And as from worse things: do not understand \"worse things\" here in relation to created works (for there is nothing evil in them), but in relation to sin, which has come to be alongside from our free choice by deprivation of good. For God snatches us away from it when we willingly run to him.\n\n(14_302 And unwavering toward worse things: believe that he says these things about perceptible things that are under creation, that he preserves all things in their own good order; for none of them has been changed, but as they were created, so they have remained; this indicates \"unchangeable.\" And \"unwavering toward worse things,\" either because he has made them subject to choice, or because none of them has departed from its own condition, or been transferred toward inferior things. For heaven and earth have remained, and the things in them likewise. And understand \"to banish foreign activity and to keep the peculiarities of each thing unchangeable\" in this way, that the elements remain contrary to one another, such as hot and cold, and wet and dry, and each of them abides in its own wholeness, and is not changed into the opposite; for fire never becomes water, nor water","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":176,"ref":"p176","source":"πῦρ. Εἰ δέ καί συνέλθοιεν κατά τήν τοῦ δημιουργοῦ κέλευσιν, μένει ἕκαστον αὐτῶν, σῷζον τήν οἰκείαν ἰδιότητα.\n\nΚαί τάς ἀναλογίας: Ἀναλογίας φησί τάς ἁρμοδιότητας ἑκάστης φύσεως καί συμμετρίας.\n\nΟὐκ ἀπό σκοποῦ: Τουτέστιν οὐκ ἔξω τοῦ σκοποῦ τῆς Γραφῆς. Ὑπερείδουσα: Ὑποστηρίζουσα.\n\nΤῶν λελωβημένων: Βεβλαμμένων, τῶν λώβην καί ἀχρείωσιν προξενούντων. Καί πᾶσα ἀνισότης: Οὐχ ἁπλῶς φησι τήν ἀνισότητα ἐξορίζειν, ἀλλ' ἐν τοῖς καθ' ἕκαστον, τουτέστι τό μή ἴσως καί ὁμοίως ἕκαστον τῶν γεγονότων ἐν ταυτότητι τῇ κατά φύσιν διαμένειν· διό καί τό κατά στέρησιν προσέθηκεν, ἐπεί κατά τό ἀδιάφορα εἶναι τά ὄντα καί ἄνισα ἡ ἀνισότης οὐκ ἐκβάλλεται. Τῆς ἐν αὐτοῖς ἑκάστοις ἰσότητος: Δύο τρόπους καθ' οὕς ἀνισότης λέγεται εἰδώς, τούς δύο τρανοῖ, καί φησιν, ὅτι δικαιοσύνη κατά τοῦτο λέγεται ὁ Θεός, καθ' ὅ καί τήν ἰσότητα πάντων ( 14 _304 ἐπιμετρεῖ, καί τήν ἀνισότητα πάντων ἐξορίζει. Ἀνισότητα δέ νῦν φησι τήν κατά στέρησιν τῆς ἰσότητος συμβαίνουσαν, τουτέστι τήν πλεονεξίαν· τό γάρ ἴσως νέμειν ἑκάστοις τά κατ' ἀξίαν, τοῦτο συγκρατεῖ πάντα καί σῴζει. Ταῦτα φήσας, ἐπιφέρει καί τόν ἕτερον τρόπον, καθ' ὅν ἀνισότης λέγεται. Καί γάρ οἶδέ τινας, τά μέν νοητά καί ἀσώματα εἴδη, καί τάς πρώτας τῶν ὄντων ἀρχάς, φημί δή τήν ἀθάνατον δημιουργίαν, τάς ἑνάδας, τουτέστι τάς ἁπλᾶς οὐσίας, ἰσότητα καί ταυτότητα ὀνομάσαντας, τά δέ αἰσθητά, ἅ καί μεριστά εἰσι καί ἐν μεταβολῇ καί διαφορᾷ, καί ἄλλοτε ἄλλως ἔχοντα, ἀνισότητα καί ἑτερότητα καλέσαντας.","english":"fire. And if they come together according to the Creator's command, each of them remains, preserving its own peculiar property.\n\nAnd the proportions: By proportions he means the harmonious fitness and commensurability of each nature.\n\nNot without purpose: That is, not outside the purpose of Scripture. Supporting: Upholding.\n\nOf the maimed: Of the disabled, of those who cause maiming and uselessness. And all inequality: He does not say simply that inequality is banished, but in each individual case—that is, that each of created things should not remain equally and alike in the sameness that is according to nature; therefore he also added \"according to deprivation,\" since insofar as beings are indifferent and unequal, inequality is not cast out. Of the equality in each of them: Knowing two ways in which inequality is spoken of, he clarifies both, and says that God is called righteousness in this respect, in that he apportions the equality of all things and banishes the inequality of all things. But by inequality he now means that which arises according to the deprivation of equality—that is, covetousness; for to distribute equally to each according to worth—this holds all things together and preserves them. Having said these things, he also brings forward the other way in which inequality is spoken of. For he knows certain ones who have named the intelligible and incorporeal forms and the first principles of beings—I mean the immortal creation, the henads, that is, the simple essences—equality and sameness, but the sensible things, which are both divisible and in change and difference, and are at different times otherwise disposed, they have called inequality and otherness.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":177,"ref":"p177","source":"Λέγει οὖν, ὅτι, κἄν ταύτην τήν ἀνισότητα νοήσῃ τις, τήν τῶν αἰσθητῶν εἰς εἴδη διαφοράν, δι' ἧς αἱ τῶν ζώων καί τῶν φυτῶν καί τῶν ἑξῆς γενέσεις ὑφίστανται, ἀλλά καί ταύτης τῆς ἀνισότητος ὁ Θεός φύλαξ καί φρουρός ἐστι, μή ἐῶν τά ἐναντια εἰς ἕν συμμιχθῆναι καί συνδραμόντα διά τῆς φυράσεως εἰς φθοράν ἐλθεῖν. Ὡς γάρ παρήγαγε πάντα, οὕτω συντηρεῖ αὐτά, καί εἰσίν ὡς ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐγένοντο. Τήν γάρ ἀνισότητα: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι τήν ἀνισότητά φησι καί τήν ἐν τῷ ὅλῳ πρός ὅλα διαφοράν τῶν ὅλων, καί ὅτι τήν τοιαύτην ἀνισότητα ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ δικαιοσύνη φρουρεῖ. Σημείωσαι δέ, ὅτι ἐστί καί φυσική ἀνισότης. ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ Θ' § 1. Τούτων τῶν θεωνυμικῶν: Σοφώτατά φησι θεωνυμικῶν ἀγαλμάτων, ἐξ Ἑλλήνων ἐπί τό ἀληθές μετάγων· ἐκεῖνοι γάρ οἷά τινας ἀνδριάντας ἐποίουν, μήτε χεῖρας μήτε πόδας ἔχοντας, οὕς Ἐρμᾶς ἐκάλουν· ἐποίουν δέ αὐτούς διακένους θύρας ἔχοντας, καθάπερ τοιχοπυργίσκους. Ἔσωθεν οὖν αὐτῶν ἐτίθεσαν ( 14 _306 ἀγάλματα, ὧν ἔσεβον θεῶν, ἔξωθεν δέ ἀπέκλειον τούς Ἑρμᾶς· ἐφαίνοντο οὖν οἱ Ἑρμαῖ εὐτελεῖς, ἔσωθεν δέ τούτων θεῶν αὐτῶν καλλωπισμούς εἶχον. Οὕτως οὖν κἀνταῦθα νοήσεις, τά μέν περί τοῦ ὄντος καί ἀληθινοῦ Θεοῦ μόνου ἐν τῇ Γραφῇ ὀνόματα ἀνάξια εἶναι περί Θεοῦ λεγόμενα, ὡς τό μικρόν, καί τό καθῆσθαι, καί τά ἑξῆς, ἀναπτυσσόμενα δέ τά ὀνόματα καί ἀξίως Θεοῦ ἑρμηνευόμενα, ἔχουσιν ἔσωθεν τά ἀγάλματα καί τούς θείους τύπους τῆς περί Θεοῦ δόξης. Μέγας οὖν ὁ Θεός ἐν τοῖς Λογίοις ὑμνεῖται.","english":"He says, then, that even if one understands this inequality—the differentiation of perceptible things into kinds, through which the generations of animals and plants and the rest come into being—nevertheless God is the guardian and protector even of this inequality, not allowing opposites to be mixed into one and, rushing together through fusion, to come to destruction. For just as he brought all things forth, so he preserves them, and they are as they were made from the beginning. For the inequality: Note that he calls inequality also the difference of wholes in the whole in relation to wholes, and that the justice of God guards such inequality. Note also that there is also a natural inequality. ON CHAPTER 9 § 1. Of these divine names: He speaks most wisely of divine-name statues, leading over from the Greeks to the truth. For they used to make, as it were, certain statues having neither hands nor feet, which they called Herms; and they made them hollow, having doors, like little wall-towers. Inside them, then, they placed statues of the gods whom they worshipped, and outside they enclosed the Herms; the Herms, then, appeared cheap, but inside them they had the adornments of the gods themselves. So then here too you will understand that the names in Scripture concerning the one true God are, when said of God, unworthy—as \"the small,\" and \"to sit,\" and the like—but when the names are unfolded and interpreted worthily of God, they have inside them the statues and the divine types of the glory concerning God. Great, then, is God, hymned in the Oracles.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":178,"ref":"p178","source":"Οὐ πρός ἀντιπαράθεσιν ὁ Θεός μέγας, φησίν, ἑτέρου, ὥσπερ βοῦς μείζων προβάτου, ἤ κύαμος κέγχρου, ἀλλά διά τό ἀπαράθετον καί ὄντως ἀκατάληπτον τῆς θείας μεγαλειότητος· τοῦτο γάρ ἐσήμανε τό 'ἰδίως', ἤγουν ἰδιότητα εἰπών.\n\n§ 2. Μέγας μέν οὖν ὁ Θεός ὀνομάζεται: Εἰ καί ἑρμηνεύει τῶν ἐπί Θεοῦ κατηγορουμένων τάς προσηγορίας, ἀλλ’ ἀνάγκη Γραφικαῖς μαρτυρίαις ταύτας τρανῶσαι. Μέγας μέν οὖν εἴρηται, ἔνθα γέγραπται, «μέγας ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν, καί\n\nμεγάλη ἡ ἰσχύς αὐτοῦ», καί ὅσα τοιαῦτα ἐν τῇ Γραφῆ, τό δέ εἶναι καί μικρός, δηλοῦται ἐν τῇ τρίτῃ τῶν Βασιλειῶν, ἔνθα φησί πρός Ἠλίαν τόν προφήτην· «ἰδού φωνή αὔρας λεπτῆς, καί ἐκεῖ Κύριος»· δηλοῖ γάρ ὡς περιεχόμενον αὐτόν ὑπό τῆς αὔρας, ὅ ἐστι λεπτότητος καί σμικρότητος, τό δέ 'αὐτός' ἔχεις ἐνταῦθα, καί ἐν τῷ, «Ἐγώ εἰμι, καί οὐκ ἠλλοίωμαι». Τό δέ ἕτερον, ὅτε τῷ Ἰεζεκιήλ ὤφθη ὡς ἄνθρωπος ἐκ πυρός καί ἠλέκτρου, καί ἑτέρωθι· «οἱ ὀφθαλμοί αὐτοῦ ὡς λαμπάδες», καί τά λοιπά· ὡς εἶδος χαλκοῦ καί κλιβάνου, ὅπερ φησίν Ἰωάννης ἐν Ἀποκαλύψει· καί ( 14 _308 ὅμοιος, ὅτε καθ' ὁμοιότητα αὐτοῦ λέγει δημιουργεῖν τόν ἄνθρωπον· ἀνόμοιος δέ, ἐν Ἠσαΐᾳ, ὅταν λέγῃ, «τίνι με ὡμοιώσατε, λέγει Κύριος», ἅτε οὐδέν ἔχων ὅμοιον. Καί ἑστώς καί ἀκίνητος ἐν τῷ λέγειν Μωϋσεῖ περί τῆς πέτρας, «ὧδε ἐγώ ἕστηκα πρό τοῦ σε εἶναι ἐκεῖ», καί τά ὅμοια. Καθήμενος δέ ἔνθα ὁ Βαρούχ φησι· «Σύ καθήμενος εἰς τόν αἰῶνα, καί ἡμεῖς ἀπολλύμενοι εἰς τόν αἰῶνα»· καί πάλιν· «ὁ καθήμενος ἐπί τῶν χερουβίμ». Κινούμενος δέ, ὡς ὅταν λέγῃ· «καί ἐπέβη ἐπί χερουβίμ καί ἐπετάσθη»· καί πάλιν·","english":"God is great, he says, not by comparison with another, as an ox is greater than a sheep, or a bean than a millet seed, but because of the incomparability and truly incomprehensible nature of the divine majesty; for this is what \"peculiarly\" indicated, that is, when he spoke of a peculiarity.\n\n§ 2. So then, God is called great: even if he interprets the designations of the things predicated of God, it is nevertheless necessary to confirm these by Scriptural testimonies. He is called great, then, where it is written, \"Great is our Lord, and great is his strength,\" and as many such things as are in Scripture. But that he is also small is shown in the third book of Kingdoms, where he says to Elijah the prophet: \"Behold, a voice of a gentle breeze, and there is the Lord\"; for it shows that he is contained by the breeze, which is to say, by gentleness and smallness. And you have \"he himself\" here, and in the passage, \"I am, and I have not changed.\" And the other, when he appeared to Ezekiel as a man of fire and electrum, and elsewhere: \"his eyes as torches,\" and the rest; as the appearance of bronze and a furnace, which John says in the Apocalypse; and \"like,\" when he says that man creates in his likeness; but \"unlike,\" in Isaiah, when he says, \"To whom have you likened me, says the Lord,\" since he has nothing like. And standing and unmoved, in his saying to Moses concerning the rock, \"Here I stand before you are there,\" and the like. And seated, where Baruch says: \"You are seated forever, and we are perishing forever\"; and again: \"the one seated upon the cherubim.\" And moving, as when he says: \"and he mounted upon the cherubim and flew\"; and again:","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":179,"ref":"p179","source":"«δεῦτε καταβάντες, συγχέωμεν τάς γλώσσας αὐτῶν», καί, «ἔκλινεν οὐρανούς καί κατέβη». Καί ταῦτα μέν νῦν, ἐν δέ ταῖς κατά μέρος ἐξηγήσεσι τά δέοντα σαφηνισθήσεται.\n\nΤό μέγεθος τοῦτο καί ἄπειρόν ἐστιν: Ἐπειδή παντέλειον πέρας ἔχει ὁ Θεός καί ὑπερτέλειος ὤν καί ὑπεράπειρός ἐστιν, ὡς τό, «καί τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔσται πέρας», ἀλλά καί ὑπέρ πάντα ἐστίν ἀριθμόν· εἰ γάρ καί λέγοιτο ὁ Θεός εἰς καί ἕν, ἀλλ’ οὖν ὑπέρ τό ἕν ἐστι. Κυρίως μέν γάρ τό 'ἕν' σχέσιν δηλοῖ πρός τούς ἐξ αὐτοῦ πολλούς ἀριθμούς καί οἱονεί ἀρχή πλήθους ἀριθμῶν εἶναι δοκεῖ, ὅμως ἠξίωσεν ὁ Θεός καί τό ἕν ἐκ τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ δέξασθαι, ἐπειδή τό ἕν ἁπλοῦν ἐστι καί ἀμερές καθ' ἑαυτό καί ἀσύνθετον, ἀλλά καί οὕτως ὑπερήνωται, ἀντί τοῦ, ὑπέρ τό ἕν ἐστι· διό εἴρηται, «καί τῆς συνέσεως αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀριθμός». § 3. Οὕτως οὖν ἐπί Θεοῦ τό σμικρόν: Πάντα γάρ τά ὄντα, καί τά λίαν μεγάλα, καί τά ἄγαν μικρά, μετέχουσι τῆς τοῦ μικροῦ μετουσίας· οὐδέν γάρ τῶν ὄντων διέφυγε τό σμικρόν ἐν πᾶσιν ἀναφαινόμενον· ἤ ὅτι ἐκ μικροῦ πρός τό μεῖζον πρόεισι ( 14 _310 τά ἐν αὐξήσει, τοῦτό φησιν ὁ πατήρ, ἤ ὅτι ἐν τῷ μείζονι τό μικρόν ἐνθεωρεῖται καί οὐκ ἐν τῷ μικρῷ τό μεῖζον κατ' αὐτό τό μεῖζον εἶναι. Καί διικνούμενον: Τό ὑπεροξύτερον τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ καί ἐπί τά ἀσώματα χωρήσεως ἐντεῦθεν δηλοῦται· τό γάρ διικνεῖσθαι ἄχρι μερισμοῦ ψυχῆς καί πνεύματος οὕτω γάρ ἔχειν δοκεῖ· τοῦτο ἀποφαίνει, ὅτι καί αὐτό τό ἀσώματον τῆς ψυχῆς ἑνοειδές ὑπό τοῦ Θεοῦ διαιρεῖσθαι δύναται.","english":"Come, let us go down and confuse their languages,\" and, \"He bowed the heavens and came down.\" These matters are now [set forth]; but in the detailed expositions the necessary points will be clarified.\n\nThis greatness is also boundless: for God has a perfect limit, and being beyond perfect and beyond boundlessness, as [it is written], \"and of his kingdom there shall be no end,\" but he is also beyond every number; for even if God is called one and \"one,\" yet he is beyond the one. For strictly the \"one\" indicates a relation to the many numbers that come from it, and seems as it were to be the beginning of a multitude of numbers; nevertheless God has deigned to receive the \"one\" from those that come from him, since the one is simple and indivisible in itself and incomposite, but even so he is beyond-united, instead of \"he is beyond the one\"; therefore it is said, \"and of his understanding there is no number.\" § 3. Thus, then, in the case of God, the small: for all beings, both the very great and the exceedingly small, partake of the participation of the small; for nothing of beings has escaped the small, which appears in all things; or because from small it advances to greater (the things in growth, says the father), or because in the greater the small is contemplated, and not in the small the greater according to the greater itself. And piercing through: the more sharp-edged [nature] of God's advance even to incorporeal things is hereby made clear; for the \"piercing through even to the division of soul and spirit\" is held to be so; this shows that even the incorporeal [nature] of the soul, being uniform, can be divided by God.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":180,"ref":"p180","source":"Διό καί τάς ἐννοίας ὁ Θεός νοεῖ, ἅς ὁ νοῦς κινούμενος καί ἐνεργῶν νοεῖ, καί τῆς τοσαύτης ἀσωματίας καί ἀδιαιρεσίας (τί γάρ μεταξύ νοῦ καί νοήσεως;), ὁ Θεός μέσος χωρεῖ, ὡς καί εἴρηται· «σύ συνῆκας τούς διαλογισμούς μου ἀπό μακρόθεν»· ἀλλά καί μεταξύ τῆς ψυχῆς καί τοῦ πνεύματος, τουτέστιν ἐν ᾧ τάς αἰσθήσεις ἐπεστηριγμένας ἔχομεν, δι' οὗ καί τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς ἡ ψυχή προσβάλλει, καί τό διανοητικόν τῶν σκέψεων ἔχομεν, ἀκωλύτως χωρεῖ ὁ Θεός. Τοῦτο δέ τό πνεῦμα δύναμιν καί οἱονεί δευτέραν ψυχήν αἰσθητικήν τῆς ψυχῆς οἱ παρ' Ἕλλησι σοφοί καλοῦσιν· ἡ οὖν αἰσθητική αὕτη ψυχή ἐστιν ἡ μέχρι μυελῶν καί φλεβῶν καί ἀρτηριῶν καί ὀστέων καί ὅλου τοῦ σώματος διήκουσα. § 4. Ἀμείωτον, ἀγέννητον: Σημείωσαι ποσαχῶς λαμβάνεται τοῦ ἀγεννήτου ἡ σημασία, ἤ τό μήπω γενόμενον, γεννησόμενον δέ, ὡς ἡ Σάρρα εἶπε τό, «οὔπω μέν ἐμοί γέγονεν», ἤ ὡς ἀτελείωτον, ὡς ὁ ἐν Χαλάνῃ πύργος· ἤ ὑπό του, ὡς τό, «Παῦλος ἀπόστολος οὐκ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων»· ἤ τόδε, ὡς «Ἰοῦστος εἰς τῶν δώδεκα»· ἤ μηδαμῇ μηδαμῶς ὄν, ὡς ὅσα τερατεύονται Ἕλληνες, Σκύλλαν καί Χίμαιραν καί τά ὅμοια. Ἰδικῶς οὖν καί ( 14 _312 ἀπολύτως τό ἀγέννητον ἐπί Θεοῦ. Εἰς τό αὐτό. Εἰπών ἀγέννητον τόν Θεόν, τάς παλιμφήμους ἑρμηνείας τοῦ ὀνόματος ἀποκαθαίρει, καί φησιν. Ὅρα μή εἰς τό γεγεννῆσθαι δέξῃ τήν λέξιν, ὡς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἔχοντος τόν ὑπέρ","english":"Therefore God also knows the thoughts that the mind, when moved and active, thinks, and into such great incorporeality and indivisibility (for what is there between mind and thought?) God enters as a mediator, as it is also said: \"You have understood my thoughts from afar.\" But also between the soul and the spirit—that is, that in which we have our senses fixed, through which the soul also reaches out to sensible things, and by which we have the thinking faculty of our reflections—God passes without hindrance. And this spirit the wise men among the Greeks call a power and, as it were, a second sensitive soul of the soul. This sensitive soul, then, is what extends through the marrow and veins and arteries and bones and the whole body. § 4. Un diminished, unbegotten: Note in how many senses the meaning of \"unbegotten\" is taken: either that which has not yet come to be but will be begotten, as Sarah said, \"It has not yet happened to me,\" or as the incomplete, like the tower in Chalanē; or [that which is] by someone, as \"Paul, an apostle not from men\"; or this particular one, as \"Justus, one of the twelve\"; or that which in no way and by no means exists, like the marvels the Greeks tell of—Scylla and Chimaera and the like. Properly, then, and absolutely, \"unbegotten\" is applied to God. On the same [word]. Having called God unbegotten, he clears away the equivocal interpretations of the name, and says: See that you do not take the word in the sense of \"having been begotten,\" as though God had that which is above","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":181,"ref":"p181","source":"αὐτόν, ἵνα ἐκ τοῦ πρό αὐτοῦ γένηται τόδε, οἷον δημιουργός, ἤ ἀγαθός, ἤ πνεῦμα, ἤ πῦρ, ἤ τι τοιοῦτον· ἀλλά μηδέ ἀγέννητον ὑπολάβῃς τό αὐτόν, μηδέ ὄντα παντελῶς μήτε ἐν γενέσει, μήτε ἕτερόν τι. Πῶς οὖν δεῖ τό ἀγέννητον ἀκούειν, φησίν ἐφεξῆς. Ταῦτα δέ κατά Ἀρειανῶν καί Εὐνομιανῶν ποιεῖ, τῶν ἐκ γεννητοῦ καί ἀγεννήτου τόν Θεόν βλασφημησάντων.\n\nἈλλ' ὥσπερ παναγέννητον; Ἐπειδή, ὥς φησιν, ὑπέρ πᾶν ἀγέννητον ὄντα τόν Θεόν, ποιεῖ νομίζεσθαι καί λέγειν αὐτόν ἐκ τούτου εἶναί τινα μετά τήν ἁγίαν Τριάδα ἀγέννητα ἐν τῇ κτίσει, φέρε σαφές ποιήσωμεν τό σημαινόμενον. Καί τέως δῆλός ἐστιν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὁ Θεῖος Διονύσιος, ἅτε μάλιστα τότε ἐν Ἐφέσῳ ἀκμαζόντων τῶν φιλοσόφων, ἔνθα καί ἡ Ἰωνική φιλοσοφία συνειστήκει, πάντα τά ἐκείνοις ἐσφαλμένως λεγόμενα, ἐπί τήν ἀλήθειαν μεταγαγεῖν. Ἤδει οὖν εἶναι δόγμα τινῶν αὐτῶν λεγόντων τά νοητά πάντα καί ἀθάνατα, καί νοερά γεννητά πάντα καί ἀγέννητα· γεννητά μέν, ὡς ἐξ αἰτίου τοῦ Θεοῦ ὑποστάντα κατά πρόοδον ἐλλάμψεως, ἀγέννητα δέ, καθ' ὅ μή ἐν χρόνῳ, ἀλλ’ αἰωνίως, τουτέστιν ἐν τοῖς αἰῶσι προῆλθον. Καί γάρ ἔφημεν ἄνω τά αἰσθητά τόν χρόνον ἔχειν, τά δέ νοητά τόν αἰῶνα, ὅθεν καί αἰώνια λέγονται. Ὡς οὖν ἐκ προόδου λάμψαντα καί ἀγέννητα αὐτά εἶπον· πάλιν ᾔδει ἑτέρους καί τόνδε τοῦ ὁρατοῦ εἰπόντας κόσμον καί γεννητόν καί ἀγέννητον· καί γεννητόν μέν, καθ' ὅσον εἰς τόνδε τό πᾶν, ἤ ἐξ ἑνός καί πολλά ὁδεύει, ὅπερ ἐστί ( 14 _314 ἐπί τάς γενέσεις τῶν κατ' εἶδος ζώων καί φυτῶν καί τῶν ἄλλων·","english":"him, so that from what is before him he becomes this or that, such as a creator, or good, or spirit, or fire, or something of the sort; but do not suppose that he is unbegotten, nor that he is altogether neither in generation nor anything else. How then should one understand \"unbegotten\"? he says next. He does this against the Arians and Eunomians, who blasphemed God by [dividing him] from begotten and unbegotten.\n\nBut as all-begotten? Since, as he says, God is above every unbegotten, he causes himself to be thought and said to be, from this, the source of certain unbegotten things in creation after the Holy Trinity; come, let us make clear what is meant. And for the present it is evident from the outset that the divine Dionysius, especially since the philosophers were then at their height in Ephesus, where also Ionian philosophy had been established, transferred all the things erroneously said by them to the truth. He knew, then, that it was a doctrine of some of them who said that all intelligible and immortal things are both begotten and unbegotten: begotten, as having their subsistence from God as cause through the procession of illumination; unbegotten, insofar as they came forth not in time but eternally, that is, in the ages. For we said above that sensible things have time, while intelligible things have the age, whence they are also called eternal. As, then, having shone forth by procession, they called them unbegotten; again he knew others who said that this visible world also is both begotten and unbegotten: begotten, insofar as it proceeds into this whole, or from one into many, which is ( 14 _314 into the generations of living things and plants according to species and of the others;","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":182,"ref":"p182","source":"ἤ ἐκ τῶν πολλῶν ἐπί τό ἕν, ἀντί τοῦ, ὅταν ἐπί φθοράν ὁδεύῃ, εἰς τήν ἐπί τά στοιχεῖα ἀνάλυσιν· ἀγέννητον δέ αὗθις τόν αὐτόν λέγοντας κόσμον, ἤτοι ἀΐδιον, καθ' ὅσον τῶν κινήσεων τῶν ἐπί γένεσιν, καί τῶν ἀποκαταστάσεων τῶν ἐπί φθοράν, οὐδέποτε κατ' αὐτούς ἐφίσταται. Φησίν οὖν ὁ μέγας Διονύσιος, ὅπως ποτ' ἄν λέγοιτο τό ἀγέννητον, εἴτε ὡς ἔφην, εἴτε ὡς οἱ Ἕλληνες, μή ἐπί τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦτο δέξη, τά μέν ἄλλα αἰτιατῶς λέγεται ἀγέννητα, ὁ Θεός δέ ἀναιτίως καί ἀπολύτως· τίς γάρ αἰτία Θεῷ πάντων ἀπαξαπλῶς ὑπερέχοντι;\n\nΜονοειδῶς καί ταὐτοειδῶς: Μονοειδῶς μέν ἔφη διά τό παντελῶς ἀπαράβλητον τῆς θείας φύσεως, ταὐτοειδῶς δέ διά τό ἀναλλοίωτον καί ἀμετάβλητον, ἀφοριζόμενον δέ τό δεικνύμενον, ἀπό τοῦ ὁρίζειν, ἤ τό ἐξηρημένον καί κεχωρισμένον.\n\nΚαί τό ταὐτόν: Τό ἀεί ταὐτόν καί ὡσαύτως ἔχον ἐπί μόνης τῆς τῶν ὅλων ποιητικῆς ὁρᾶται αἰτίας, ἐξ ἧς καί τοῖς κτίσμασι τό ἐν ταυτότητι διαμένειν δεδώρηται, καί ἡ τῶν ἐναντίων, ἤγουν ἑτεροίως ἐχόντων πρός ἄλληλα σύνταξις. Ταὐτῶς οὖν ἅπαν, καί τά μή ἐν ταὐτότητι φύσεως, ἐν τῷ Θεῷ θεωρεῖται· πάντων γάρ τῶν ὄντων ταὐτῶς, ἤγουν ὁμοίως, αἴτιος ὁ Θεός. Κατά τήν μίαν καί ἑνικήν: Τό ἀεί ὡσαύτως καί ἀναλλοιώτως ἔχειν, ὅπερ ἐστί ταὐτόν, ὁ Θεός ἐστι· καί ὑφ' ἑτέρου μέν αὐτός οὐ περατοῦται, οὐδ' ἐστί τι αὐτοῦ πέρας, εἰς αὐτόν δέ τά πάντα περατοῦται·","english":"or from the many to the one, instead of: when it journeys toward corruption, into the resolution into the elements; and again, calling the same world unbegotten, that is, eternal, insofar as the motions toward generation and the restorations toward corruption never come to a standstill according to them. So the great Dionysios says: however \"unbegotten\" may be spoken of, whether as I said, or as the Greeks do, do not accept this in the case of God; for other things are called unbegotten in a causal sense, but God is so without cause and absolutely; for what cause is there for God, who transcends all things absolutely?\n\n\"Monoeidōs\" and \"tautoeidōs\": He said \"monoeidōs\" because of the wholly incomparable nature of the divine nature, and \"tautoeidōs\" because of its unchangeableness and immutability; and \"aphorizomenon\" (that which is demarcated), from \"horizein\" (to define), or that which is set apart and separated.\n\nAnd \"to tauton\" (the same): The ever same and uniformly disposed is seen in the sole creative cause of all things, from which it has been granted to creatures to remain in sameness, and the ordering of opposites, that is, of things disposed otherwise in relation to one another. So all things, even those not in sameness of nature, are contemplated in God in the same way; for God is the cause of all beings in the same way, that is, similarly. \"According to the one and single\": To be ever uniformly and unchangeably disposed, which is the same, belongs to God; and he is not bounded by another, nor is there any limit of him, but all things are bounded in him.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":183,"ref":"p183","source":"καί ἔστιν ὁ αὐτός ἀεί Θεός, ὡς μονάς ὤν, καί τό ἀληθῶς ταὐτόν, καί ὅρος ἑαυτοῦ, καί τῶν ἁπάντων ὅρος ἐκ πάντων ἀφωρισμένος, καί ὑπεραναβεβηκώς μονοειδῶς καί ταὐτοειδῶς, τουτέστι κατά τό μονάς εἶναι ἡ πάντων ἀμιγής καί ἁπλῆ καί κατά τό ταὐτόν, ἀντί τοῦ κατά τό ὡσαύτως ἔχειν· οὐδέν ( 14 _316 γάρ διαφέρει μονάδα εἰπεῖν ἤ μονοειδές, καί ταὐτόν ἤ ταυτοειδές· τό γάρ αὐτό σημαίνει. Μεταδίδωσι καί τοῖς ἐξ αὐτοῦ κτίσμασι τοῦ ταὐτοῦ ὁ Θεός, ὅθεν τά πάντα κατά τά αὐτά καί ὡσαύτως, καθώς καί ἐγένοντο, ἐν τῇ συμπνοίᾳ καί σωτηρίᾳ καί συμπαθείᾳ μένουσιν, ὡς δύνανται τούτου μετέχοντα. Οὕτω καί τάς ἑτερότητας, τουτέστι τάς ἐξ αὐτοῦ τῶν δημιουργημάτων διαφόρους προόδους, ἐν ἑαυτῷ σῳζομένας ἔχει καί συντεταγμένας, ὅμως τῆς ταυτότητος ἑαυτοῦ ἐχόμενος, καί εἰς ἑτερότητα μή ἀλλοιούμενος, μήτε εἰς ἐναντιότητα, καίτοι καί ἐναντία ἐν τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς συνέχων.\n\n§ 5. Ἐπειδή πᾶσι προνοητικῶς: Καθ' ὑπερβατόν ἐστιν ἡ σύνταξις πρός τό οἰητέον ἔχουσα τήν ἀπόδοσιν, ἵνα ᾖ τό τέλος, 'οἰητέον, ἐπειδή πᾶσι προνοητικῶς πάρεστιν ὁ Θεός', καί τά ἑξῆς.","english":"And he is always the same God, as being a monad and the truly same, and a boundary of himself, and a boundary of all things, separated from all things and transcendently ascended in a monadic and same-form manner, that is, insofar as he is a monad unmixed with all things and simple, and insofar as he is the same, instead of insofar as he is in the same state; for it makes no difference to say monad or monadic-form, and same or same-form; for it signifies the same thing. God also imparts sameness to the creatures that come from him, whence all things, in accordance with the same things and in the same manner, just as they also came to be, remain in concord and preservation and mutual affection, insofar as they are able to partake of this. Thus he also holds the diversities, that is, the various processions of the created works that come from him, preserved and ordered in himself, yet cleaving to his own sameness and not being altered into diversity, nor into opposition, although he also contains opposites among perceptible things.\n\n§ 5. Since providentially to all: The construction is by hyperbaton, having its completion toward \"one must suppose,\" so that the end is: \"one must suppose, since God is providentially present to all,\" and what follows.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":184,"ref":"p184","source":"Ὡς γάρ εἰ τήν ψυχήν: Ὅρα πῶς ἔνεστι τήν ψυχήν σωματικῶς νοῆσαι, καί πῶς νοεῖ μέρη ψυχῆς εἶναι σωματικῶς· καλῶς γάρ αὐτήν διαπλάττει τῷ λόγῳ. Τῇ ἀμερεῖ: Ἀμερής ἡ ψυχή οὐχ ἁπλῶς, ἀλλ’ ὡς πρός σῶμα ἀμερής· μέρη γάρ αὐτῆς καί τάς δυνάμεις φησίν, ὧν εἰς εἰκόνα τά μέρη τοῦ σώματος ἔσθ' ὅτε παραλαμβάνεται.\n\nἈναπτύξεσιν: Ἀνάπτυξιν δέ λέγει ἐξάπλωσιν, ἤτοι σαφήνειαν τῆς ἐγκεκρυμμένης ἐν τῇ λέξει ἐννοίας, τό δέ 'ἀνακαθαίρεσθαι', τό παντοίως τῶν σωματικῶν ἀπαλλάξαι τό θεωρούμενον.\n\nΤά τριττά τῶν σωμάτων σχήματα: Τριττά σχήματα τῶν σωμάτων φησί τό τριχῇ διαστατόν, ὡς εὐθύς σαφηνίζει· καί καλῶς ἐντεῦθεν νοήσεις τό εἰρημένον τῷ Ἀποστόλῳ, «ἵνα ( 14 _318 γνῶτε τί τό βάθος, καί τί τό ὕψος», καί τά ἑξῆς, ὅπερ τινές εἰς τόν σωτήριον σταυρόν ἐδέξαντο. Σημείωσαι δέ, τί μῆκος, καί βάθος, καί πλάτος ἐπί Θεοῦ.\n\nΝῦν δέ αὐτήν τήν θείαν: Τό ἑνότητα, καί ταυτότητα, καί ἰσότητα, καί ὁμοιότητα, τό αἴτιον τῆς τῶν ὅλων συμπαθείας καί προνοίας καί σωτηρίας αἴτιον ἐκάλεσαν οἱ παλαιοί, ὅπερ καί ἕν ἔλεγον ἑτερότητα δέ καί ἀνομοιότητα τήν εἰς τά μεριστά καί μεταβλητά καί αἰσθητά καί τήν εἰς τά ὄντα δέ, ἤτοι νοητά, δημιουργικήν πρόνοιαν ἐκάλουν, ἀναλόγως τοῖς δηλουμένοις νοοῦντες καί τά ὀνόματα, ὡς καί ἄνω διαφόρως εἰρήκαμεν. Ἄλλοι δέ τήν ταυτότητα καί ἑτερότητα, ἤτοι ταὐτόν καί ἕτερον εἶδος καί στέρησιν εἶπον, ἕτεροι δέ πέρας καί ἄπειρον. (Ὅτι συντάττειν ἐπαγγέλλεται Συμβολικήν θεολογίαν).","english":"For as if to the soul: Observe how it is possible to conceive of the soul in a bodily way, and how he thinks that the parts of the soul are bodily; for he rightly molds it by his account. By \"indivisible\": The soul is indivisible not simply, but indivisible in relation to the body; for he calls its powers also its parts, of which the parts of the body are sometimes taken as an image.\n\nBy \"unfoldings\": He calls an unfolding an expansion, that is, a clarification of the meaning hidden in the word, and \"to be thoroughly cleansed\" means to free what is contemplated in every way from bodily things.\n\nThe threefold shapes of bodies: He calls the threefold shapes of bodies that which is extended in three dimensions, as he clarifies immediately; and from this you will rightly understand what was said by the Apostle, \"that you may know what is the depth, and what the height,\" and the rest, which some have taken to refer to the saving cross. Note also what length, and depth, and breadth mean in the case of God.\n\nBut now the divine itself: Unity, and sameness, and equality, and likeness, the ancients called the cause of the sympathy and providence and salvation of all things, which they also called one; but otherness and unlikeness they called the creative providence directed toward things divided and mutable and sensible, and toward beings, that is, intelligible things, understanding the names analogously to the things signified, as we have also said above in various ways. Others called sameness and otherness, that is, the same and the other, form and privation; others called them limit and infinity. (That he promises to compose a Symbolic Theology.)","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":185,"ref":"p185","source":"Ἑνιαῖον δέ πολλαπλασιασμόν φησι τό ἐν οἰκείᾳ ἁπλότητι μένοντα τόν Θεόν, τά ποικίλα καί παντοδαπῆ εἴδη τῆς κτίσεως παραγαγεῖν· πρόοδον γάρ λέγει τήν πρός τό κτίσαι τά ὄντα, οἷον κίνησιν καί ὁρμήν. § 6. Ὅμοιον δέ τόν Θεόν: Ἐφ' ἡμῶν οὐκ ἔστιν εἰπεῖν ὅμοιον· τό γάρ σῶμα ἡμῶν ἐξ ὁμοιομερῶν καί ἀνομοιομερῶν συνέστηκεν, ὡς καί Ἀριστοτέλης δείκνυσιν ἐν τῇ ἀρχῇ τῆς Περί ζώων γενέσεως πραγματείας. Ὁ δέ Θεός, ὅ ἐστιν, ὅλως ὁμοίως ἐστίν, ἐπεί τοί γε ἡ θεία Γραφή, ὡς ἀεί τόν αὐτόν ἀναλλοιώτως ὄντα ἀνόμοιον πᾶσί φησιν, ὡς τό· «τίς ἐν θεοῖς ὅμοιός σοι, Κύριε;»· καί πάλιν· «τίνι με ὡμοιώσατε, λέγει Κύριος»· καί αὖθις· «Ἐγώ ὁράσεις ἐπλήθυνα, καί χερσί τῶν προφητῶν ὡμοιώθην», τουτέστιν, αὐτός ἐγώ ἐμαυτῷ, ὡς Εἰρηναῖος λέγει ἐν τοῖς Καθ' αἱρέσεων. ( 14 _320 Τῇ κατά δύναμιν μιμήσει: Ἔστι μέν τήν μίμησιν λαβεῖν ἐν τούτοις ἐπί τῆς νοερᾶς καί λογικῆς φύσεως πρός τόν Θεόν ἐπιστρεφομένης, κατά τό «γίνεσθε τέλειοι, καί γίνεσθε οἰκτίρμονες, ὡς ὁ Πατήρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος»· ἅπερ ἐπί Θεοῦ μέν κυρίως καί ὑπέρ πάντα ὅρον καί λόγον, ἐπί δέ τῶν κτισμάτων κατά τήν ἑκάστου δύναμιν ἀναλόγως τῇ φύσει. Ἔστι δέ μίμησιν ἐν τούτοις νοῆσαι καί τήν μετοχήν τῶν ἐν Θεῷ θεωρουμένων ὑπερουσίως, ἥν τά πραχθέντα πρός γένεσιν εἴληφε, τοῦ εἶναι καί τῶν λοιπῶν μετέχοντα, ὧν διεξῆλθον ἐν τοῖς πρό τούτων. Τό δέ εἰπεῖν 'ὅμοια Θεῷ κατά τήν θείαν εἰκόνα', οὐκ ἀναιροῦντός ἐστι τό ἐπί τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τοῦτο εἰρῆσθαι, ἀλλά κατά τόν τῆς μετοχῆς λόγον καί ἐπί τῶν λοιπῶν τήν λέξιν παρῴδησε.","english":"He calls \"unitary multiplication\" God, who remains in his own simplicity, bringing forth the varied and manifold forms of creation; for he calls \"procession\" the movement and impulse, as it were, toward creating beings. § 6. \"And God is like\": In our case it is not possible to speak of \"like\"; for our body is composed of homogeneous and heterogeneous parts, as Aristotle also shows at the beginning of his treatise On the Generation of Animals. But God, what he is, is wholly alike, since indeed divine Scripture says he is always the same, unchangeably unlike all things, as in \"Who among the gods is like you, Lord?\"; and again: \"To whom have you likened me, says the Lord\"; and again: \"I have multiplied visions, and I was likened by the hands of the prophets,\" that is, I myself to myself, as Irenaeus says in his Against Heresies. (14 _320 \"By imitation according to capacity\": It is possible to understand \"imitation\" in these matters as applying to the intellectual and rational nature turning toward God, according to \"Be perfect, and be merciful, as your Father in heaven\"—which things apply to God properly and beyond all limit and reason, but to created things according to each one's capacity, proportionately to its nature. It is also possible to understand \"imitation\" in these matters as the participation in the things contemplated in God superessentially, which things that have come to be have received for their generation, participating in being and in the rest, which I have gone through in the preceding. But to say \"like God according to the divine image\" does not abolish the fact that this was said of man, but according to the principle of participation he has adapted the expression also to the rest.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":186,"ref":"p186","source":"Καί κατά θείαν εἰκόνα: Πῶς τό «κατ' εἰκόνα καί ὁμοίωσιν» νοητέον, ἐνταῦθά φησιν· ὅτι οὐ κατ' εἶδος, ἀλλά κατά τό ἐπεστράφθαι καί τόν νοῦν ἀνατεταμένον ἔχειν πρός τόν Θεόν τόν αἴτιον τοῦ εἶναι καί εὖ εἶναι, ὅπερ ἕτεροι τό αὐτεξούσιον ἐνόησαν, ἐπεί οὐ κατά τήν οὐσίαν ὁ Θεός ὅμοιος τοῖς λογικοῖς· οὔτε γάρ ἡμεῖς ὅμοιοί ἐσμεν ταῖς εἰκόσιν ἡμῶν ταῖς ἐκ κηροῦ τυχόν ἤ χαλκοῦ, ἅτινα ἑτερούσια ἡμῖν ἐστι καί ποσῶς ὅμοια· τά μέν γάρ ὁμοταγῆ, τουτέστι τά τῆς αὐτῆς τάξεως καί οὐσίας, ὡς\n\nτά χερουβίμ καί σεραφίμ καί λοιπαί τάξεις, ὁμοιοῦνται ἀλλήλοις κατά τό προηγούμενον εἶδος, ὅπερ εἶδος ἐπί τῶν νοητῶν ἐστιν, οἵα τις ὑποκειμένη ὕλη ἄϋλος ζωή οὖσα, καί αὐτό τό εἶδος ὅ ἐστιν ἕκαστον τῶν νοητῶν. Ὁ δέ Θεός οὐχ οὕτω πρός τά ἐξ αὐτοῦ· οὐ γάρ ὅμοιον τό αἴτιον τοῖς αἰτιατοῖς. Ὅ δέ εἶπον ἐπί τῶν νοητῶν νόησον καί ἐπί τῶν νοερῶν ἡμῶν ψυχῶν.\n\n( 14 _322 Ἐπί μέν γάρ τῶν ὁμοταγῶν: Ὁμοταγῶν φησι τῶν ὁμοφυῶν, ἐξ ὧν ἡ ὁμοιότης ἀντιστρέφει, οἷον Πέτρος Παύλῳ ὅμοιος κατά τήν φύσιν, καί ἀντιστρόφως Παῦλος Πέτρῳ ὅμοιος. Ἐπί δέ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καί τῆς τούτου εἰκόνος οὐχ ὁ αὐτός λόγος· οὐ γάρ ὁ τῆς οὐσίας λόγος ὁ αὐτός ἐπ' ἀμφοῖν, ὅπερ ἐκάλεσε προηγούμενον ὁμοίου εἶδος. Ὁ δέ ἄνθρωπος καί ἑτέρως λέγεται οὐχ ὅμοιος τῇ ἰδίᾳ εἰκόνι, ὅτι ἡ εἰκών μέν πρός τήν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου γέγονεν ὁμοιότητα, καί οὑχί ὁ ἄνθρωπος πρός τήν ταύτης. Οὕτως οὖν καί ἐπί τοῦ αἰτίου καί τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ, μή δεκτόν εἶναι τό ἀντιστρέφειν·","english":"And according to the divine image: How the phrase \"according to image and likeness\" is to be understood, he says here: that it is not according to species, but according to the turning toward God and having the mind stretched out toward God, the cause of being and of being well, which others understood as free will, since God is not similar to rational beings according to essence; for neither are we similar to our images, whether made of wax or bronze, which are of a different substance from us and similar only in some respect. For things of the same rank, that is, those of the same order and essence, as the cherubim and seraphim and the remaining orders, are made like one another according to the pre-eminent species, which species in the case of intelligible beings is, as it were, a certain underlying immaterial matter—life itself—and the very species which each of the intelligible beings is. But God is not thus in relation to the things that come from him; for the cause is not similar to the things caused. And what I said concerning intelligible beings, understand also concerning our rational souls.\n\n(14 _322 For in the case of things of the same rank: He calls \"of the same rank\" those of the same nature, from which likeness is reciprocal, as Peter is like Paul according to nature, and conversely Paul is like Peter. But in the case of man and his image the same principle does not hold; for the principle of essence is not the same in both, which he called the pre-eminent species of the similar. And man is said in another way also not to be like his own image, because the image came to be for the likeness of man, and not man for the likeness of it. So then also in the case of the cause and the things that come from it, it is not admissible to reverse the relation.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":187,"ref":"p187","source":"ἀντιστρέφειν δέ ἐστιν, ἅ καί τοῖς τόν ἐναντίον χειρίζουσι λόγον ἐπίσης ἔστιν εἰπεῖν, οἷον εἰ ζῶον τό κατά γαστρός, καί τό ἐναντίον, εἰ οὐ ζῶον τό κατά γαστρός. Οὕτω φησίν ὁ Κλήμης ἐν ἀρχῇ τοῦ πέμπτου Στρωματέων, ὥσπερ οὖν καί ἐνταῦθα. Εἰ οὖν ὅμοια τά ὁμοταγῆ, καί ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου, εἰ οὐχ ὅμοια τά ὁμοταγῆ.\n\nΤῆς αὐτοομοιότητος: Ἔθος ἐστί τῷ μεγάλῳ Διονυσίῳ, τόν Θεόν λέγειν ἐπί τῶν αἰτιατῶν αὐτόν εἶναι τό αὐτοόν καί τοῦ αὐτοεῖναι ὑποστάτην· καί αὐτόν εἶναι τήν αὐτοομοιότητα καί τῆς αὐτοομοιότητος ὑποστάτην. Φησί δέ ταῦτα, οὐχ ὡς ἑτέραν μέν φάσκων ζωήν αὐτόν τόν Θεόν, ἑτέραν δέ παρῆχθαι ζωήν οὐσιώδη, καί οἷον εἴ τινα ἐνυπόστατον παρά τόν Θεόν, ἧς μετέχει τά τῆς ζωῆς μετέχοντα, ἀλλ’ ὡς αὐτός ἑαυτόν ἑρμηνεύει ἐν τῷ ἑνδεκάτῳ κεφαλαίῳ, αὐτοζωή καί αὐτοδύναμις, καί αὐτοομοιότης, καί τά τοιαῦτα λέγεται ὁ Θεός, ὡς ἀρχικῶς τοῦτο ὤν, καί θεϊκῶς καί αἰτιατικῶς· τούτων γάρ αὐτός τῷ ὄντι πηγαῖός ἐστι, τῆς δέ αὐτοζωῆς ἐστιν ὑποστάτης καί αὐτοομοιότητος καί τῶν τοιούτων, ὡς μεθεκτῶς αὐτοῖς τοῖς πρώτως ἐν τοῖς οὖσι ( 14 _324 τῆς δωρεᾶς ταύτης μετέχουσι χορηγῶν. Πάντα γάρ οἰκείως ἑαυτοῖς μετέχει τῶν τοιούτων· αἱ μέν πρῶται καί ἀνώταται τῶν νοητῶν κτίσεις ἀρχηγικῶς, τά δέ ἑξῆς ὑποβατικῶς. Ὁμοιότητα δέ καί ἄνω ἔφημεν τήν τῶν ὅλων ἑνότητα, καθ' ἥν τά ὅλα τοῦ κατά τό ὡσαύτως ἔχοντος καί κατά τά αὐτά εἰς σύμπνοιαν μετέχει, κατά μετουσίαν τοῦ πρώτου αἰτίου. 'Ἐνδεχόμενον' δέ εἶπεν, οὐ γάρ τελείως, οὐδέ καθ' ὅλου ἡ μίμησις.","english":"To reverse is also possible, and the same thing can equally be said by those who handle the opposite account—for example, if the thing in the womb is an animal, then the opposite also holds, if the thing in the womb is not an animal. Thus Clement says at the beginning of the fifth Stromateis, just as here as well. If, then, things of the same rank are alike, then from the opposite also, if things of the same rank are not alike.\n\nOn self-likeness: It is the custom of the great Dionysius to say that God, in relation to the things caused by him, is the Self-Existent and the subsister of self-existence, and that he is Self-Likeness and the subsister of self-likeness. He says these things, not claiming that God himself is one life and that another substantial life has been brought forth, as it were some hypostatic thing beside God, of which those who partake of life partake, but as he himself interprets himself in the eleventh chapter: God is called Self-Life and Self-Power and Self-Likeness and the like, as being these originally and divinely and causally; for he is truly the source of these, and he is the subsister of Self-Life and Self-Likeness and such things, as granting this gift by participation to those among beings who first partake of it. For all things partake of such things in a manner proper to themselves: the first and highest of the intelligible creations in a principial way, and those after them in a descending way. And we said that likeness is also the unity of all things, according to which all things partake of what is in the same state and according to the same things unto concord, through participation in the first cause. He said \"possible,\" for the imitation is not perfect nor universal.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":188,"ref":"p188","source":"§ 7. Τό ἀποδέον: Ἀπολεῖπον.\n\n§ 8. Τί δέ καί περί τῆς θείας στάσεως: Τήν στάσιν καί τήν καθέδραν τό αὐτό δέχεται· στάσιν γάρ οὐ τήν εἰς τό ὀρθόν γενέσθαι ἀπό τοῦ συγκεκάμφθαι ἐν τῇ καθέδρᾳ ὑπόνοιάν φησιν, ἀλλά τό ἀκλόνητον καί ἀμετάτρεπτον τοῦ Θεοῦ βεβαίαν στάσιν ἐκάλεσεν· ὡς καί τό καθῆσθαι τό ἐν τῇ ἀνωνομάστῳ βασιλείᾳ, καί ἀναπαύσει διαρκῶς καί ἀκαταλήπτως ἔχειν. Καί μήν ἐν τῇ Γραφῇ, ὡς ἀπό τοῦ καθῆσθαι ἀνιστάμενος εἴρηται, ὡς ἐν τῷ, «ἀνάστηθι, Κύριε, πρόφθασον αὐτούς»· καί πάλιν ὡς ἀπό στάσεως ἐπί τῷ καθῆσθαι μεταβαίνων, ἐν τῷ· «ὅτι ἐπιβήσῃ ἐπί τούς ἵππους σου», καί, «ἡ ἱππασία σου σωτηρία»· καί αὖθις· «ἐπέβη χερουβίμ καί ἐπετάσθη», μάλιστα δέ τό· «ἐκάθισας ἐπί θρόνου, ὁ κρίνων δικαιοσύνην», καί, «ὁ Θεός κάθηται ἐπί θρόνου ἁγίου αὐτοῦ». Ταῦτα δέ οὐ σαρκικῶς, ἀλλά θεοειδῶς. § 9. Καί ἐπί πάντα προϊόντα: Ἐπί πάντα προϊών καί κινούμενος λέγεται ὁ Θεός, ὡς ἐν τῷ Ἰερεμίᾳ· «Ἐγώ Θεός ἐγγίζων, καί οὐχί πόρρωθεν»· καί πάλιν· «ὁ ἐπί πάντων καί διά πάντων», καί μάλιστα· «ἐάν ἀναβῶ εἰς τόν οὐρανόν, σύ ἐκεῖ», καί τά ἑξῆς. Ἐν δέ ταῖς θεοφανείαις· «κλῖνον οὐρανούς σου καί κατάβηθι», καί, «ἀνέβη ὁ Θεός ἐν ἀλαλαγμῷ».","english":"§ 7. What is lacking: \"failing.\"\n\n§ 8. And what about the divine standing? He accepts \"standing\" and \"sitting\" as the same thing; for he does not mean standing in the sense of becoming upright after being bent over in sitting, but he called the unshakable and unchanging stability of God a firm standing; just as also \"sitting\" means being in the unnameable kingdom, and having rest continually and incomprehensibly. And indeed in Scripture he is spoken of as rising from sitting, as in \"Arise, O Lord, prevent them\"; and again as passing from standing to sitting, in \"for you shall mount upon your horses,\" and \"your horsemanship is salvation\"; and again: \"he mounted upon the cherubim and flew,\" and especially \"you sat upon a throne, you who judge righteousness,\" and \"God sits upon his holy throne.\" But these things are not in a fleshly way, but in a God-befitting way. § 9. And \"going forth upon all\": God is said to go forth and move upon all, as in Jeremiah: \"I am a God near at hand, and not far off\"; and again: \"he who is over all and through all,\" and especially: \"if I ascend into heaven, you are there,\" and the rest. And in the divine appearances: \"bow your heavens and come down,\" and \"God has gone up with a shout.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":189,"ref":"p189","source":"( 14 _326 Οὐ κατά φοράν ἤ ἀλλοίωσιν: Διδάσκων εὐσεβῶς νοεῖν τά περί Θεοῦ λεγόμενα, φησίν· Ἀκούων κινεῖσθαι τόν Θεόν, μηδέποτε νοήσῃς κίνησιν τήν ἐπί τῶν κτιστῶν νοουμένων, καί μάλιστα τῶν αἰσθητῶν· τά γάρ ὑλικά κινεῖται μέν κατά φοράν· φορά δέ ἐστιν ἡ καθ' ὅλον τόπον ἐναλλαγή, καί μάλιστα ἡ μή δυναμένη ἐφ' ἑαυτῆς στῆναι, ὅταν ἐθέλῃ· κίνησις δέ ἐστιν ἡ κατά ἀλλοίωσιν· ἀλλοίωσις δέ ἐστιν ὅταν, μένοντος τοῦ ὑποκειμένου αἰσθητοῦ ὄντος, μεταβάλλῃ ἐν τοῖς αὐτοῦ πάθεσιν ἐναντίοις οὖσιν, ἤ καί μεταξύ ἐναντίων καί μή· οἷον τό σῶμα ὑγιαίνει, καί πάλιν κάμνει· τό αὐτό καί ὁ χαλκός, ποτέ στρογγύλος, ποτέ γωνοειδής, τουτέστιν εἰς γωνίας μετασχηματισθείς· ὅταν δέ ὅλον μεταβάλλῃ, μή ὑπομένοντος αἰσθητοῦ τινος, ὡς ὑποκειμένου τοῦ αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ’ οἷον ἐκ γῆς πάσης αἷμα, καί ἐξ ὕδατος ἀήρ, ἤ ἐξ ἀέρος παντός ὕδωρ, ἤ ὡς ἡ ράβδος Μωϋσέως εἰς ὄφιν, ἤ τό ὕδωρ εἰς αἷμα, τοῦτο καί τροπή καί γένεσις καί φθορά, μετακινηθέντων τῶν προτέρων· ἀλλ’ ἔστι καί κατά ἑτεροίωσιν κίνησις εἰς τό ἀνόμοιον, καί ἀπό χρώματος εἰς χρῶμα. Πάλιν τοπική τίς ἐστι κίνησις ἡ ἐκ τόπου εἰς τόπον μετάστασις, ἥτις κίνησις ἤ κατά τήν εἰς ὀρθήν πορείαν γίνεται, ἤ κατά κυκλοφορίαν, ὡς ὁ τροχός κινεῖται, κατά τινας δέ καί ὁ οὐρανός· ἤ κατά τήν μικτήν ἐξ εὐθείας καί κυκλικῆς, ὡς ἡ ἑλικοειδής πορεία, οἵα ἐστίν ἡ τῶν ὄφεων· ἔστι καί νοητή κίνησις, καθ' ἥν ὁ νοῦς ἐνεργῶν, ἤ καί οἱ θεῖοι νόες νοοῦσι τά ὄντα. Ἔστι καί ψυχική κίνησις, καθ' ἥν εἰς νοήσεις κινεῖται, καί εἰς τό κινεῖν τάς αἰσθήσεις.","english":"(14, 326) Not by local motion or alteration: Teaching us to understand the things said about God in a pious manner, he says: When you hear that God is moved, never think of the motion that is understood in the case of created things, and especially of sensible things. For material things are moved by local motion; and local motion is a change of place as a whole, and especially the kind that cannot stand still by itself whenever it wishes. And motion is that which is by alteration; and alteration is when, while the underlying subject remains and is sensible, it changes in its own affections that are contrary, or even between contraries and not; for example, the body is healthy, and again it is sick; the same is true of bronze, sometimes round, sometimes angular, that is, reshaped into angles. But when the whole changes, with no sensible thing remaining as the same underlying subject, but, for example, all earth becomes blood, and water becomes air, or all air becomes water, or as Moses' rod became a snake, or the water became blood—this is both turning and generation and corruption, the former things having been changed. But there is also motion by hetero-alteration into the dissimilar, and from color to color. Again, there is a certain local motion, the removal from place to place, which motion comes about either by a straight course, or by circular revolution, as the wheel is moved, and according to some, also the heaven; or by the mixed motion from straight and circular, as the helical course, such as that of snakes. There is also intellectual motion, according to which the mind, when active, or even the divine minds, think the things that are. There is also psychic motion, according to which it is moved to thoughts, and to moving the senses.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":190,"ref":"p190","source":"Ἔστι καί ἄλλη κίνησις φυσική, ἡ εἰς αὔξησιν καί τροφήν κινοῦσα τά ἐπιτήδεια. Ὁ οὖν Θεός οὐ κατά μίαν τούτων κινεῖται, ἀλλά κίνησις τοῦ ἀκινήτου καί ἀεί ὡσαύτως ἔχοντος λέγεται ἡ εἰς τό γενέσθαι τά ὄντα βούλησις αὐτοῦ καί πρόοδος τῆς εἰς πάντα προνοίας αὐτοῦ. ( 14 _328 Οὐ τήν ἐξ ἀμφοῖν: Κίνησιν τήν μεταβατικήν λέγει, ἥν καί ἑλικοειδῆ ὀνομάζει ἀσχέτῳ δέ, τουτέστιν ἀπολύτῳ καί συναφεῖ. Ἀλλά,καἱ κινήσεις Θεοῦ: Ἀπαγορεύσας τά τῶν σωματικῶν κινήσεων ἐπί Θεοῦ, ὅπως χρή θεοπρεπῶς νοεῖν κίνησιν ἐπί Θεοῦ σαφηνίζει, τάς αἰσθήσεις ἐν τῷ παντί κινήσεις ἀναγωγικῶς ἑρμηνεύων.\n\nΚαί τό μέν εὐθύ: Πῶς ἡ κατά κύκλον καί ἡ κατ' εὐθεῖαν καί ἡ ἑλικοειδής κίνησις ἐπί Θεοῦ νοεῖται ἀνάγνωθι τό τέταρτον κεφάλαιον, μετ' ὀλίγα φύλλα τῆς ἀρχῆς τοῦ κεφαλαίου, καί μαθήσῃ, πῶς ἐπί ἀγγέλων καί ψυχῶν καί σωμάτων αἱ τοιαῦται νοοῦνται.\n\nΤά μέσα καί ἄκρα. Ἀεί τά ὑπερβεβηκότα περιέχει τά ὑποβεβηκότα. Ἄκρα μέν οὖν καλεῖ τάς ἀνωτάτω δυνάμεις καί πελαζούσας Θεῷ, μέσα δέ τάς μετ' ἐκείνας μέν, τῶν δέ αἰσθητῶν ἁπάντων ὑπερκειμένας. Αἱ μέν οὖν ἀνώταται περιέχουσι τάς μέσας, αἱ δέ μέσαι τά αἰσθητά· διά τοῦτο γάρ καί τάξεις ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς ἀγγέλων εἶπεν ἡ Γραφή. Ὁ μέντοι Θεός ἅπαντα περιέχει, ὡς ὁ κύκλος τά ἐντός αὐτοῦ πάντα, καἱ εἰς ἑαυτόν ὡς πρός αἴτιον ἐπιστρέφει. Σημείωσαι δέ, τί τό 'ταυτόν' καί 'δικαιοσύνη' ἐπί τοῦ Θεοῦ καί τό 'ἴσον'.","english":"There is also another natural motion, that which moves things toward growth and nourishment of what is suitable. God, then, is not moved according to any one of these, but the motion of the unmoved and ever-unchanging one is said to be his will for things that exist to come to be, and the procession of his providence toward all things. (14, 328) Not from both: He calls it transitional motion, which he also names spiral; and \"without relation,\" that is, absolute and simple. But also the motions of God: Having forbidden bodily motions in the case of God, he clarifies how one ought to think of motion in God in a manner befitting God, interpreting the senses throughout the whole as motions in an upward-leading sense.\n\nAnd the straight: How the circular and the straight and the spiral motion are understood in the case of God—read the fourth chapter, a few leaves after the beginning of the chapter, and you will learn how such things are understood in the case of angels and souls and bodies.\n\nThe middle and the extremes. The things that surpass always contain the things that fall below. He calls \"extremes,\" then, the highest powers, which draw near to God, and \"middles\" those after them, which are set above all sensible things. The highest, then, contain the middle, and the middle contain the sensible things; for this reason Scripture also spoke of orders of angels in the heavens. God, however, contains all things, as the circle contains all things within it, and turns them to himself as to their cause. Note also what \"the same\" and \"righteousness\" and \"the equal\" mean in the case of God.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":191,"ref":"p191","source":"§ 10. Ὁμοίαν χώρησιν: Ὁμοία χώρησις δι' ἀλλήλων καί ἐπί τῶν στοιχείων· ἡ γάρ ἐπίσης κρᾶσις τούτων, καί τό μή ὑπερταλαντεύειν ἐν τοῖς συγκρίμασι τάς γενέσεις τοῦ κόσμου ποιεῖ· εἰ γάρ τι τῶν στοιχείων πλεονάσειε, φθείρεται τό γινόμενον.\n\nΚαί κατά τό πᾶσαν ἰσότητα νοητήν: Ἰστέον, ὅτι νοητόν μέν ἐστι τό τῇ αἰσθήσει οὐχ ὑποπίπτον, οὔτε τό νοερόν ἔχον ἐν ἑαυτῷ, ὡς αἱ δυνάμεις τῆς ψυχῆς καί τῶν αἰσθήσεων· νοερόν δέ τό ἁπλᾶς καί ἀπολύτους ἔχον τάς νοήσεις, ὡς ἄγγελοι· λογικόν δέ τό διά λόγου καί θεωρίας τάς τῶν ὄντων γνώσεις δεχόμενον, ( 14 _330 ὡς ὁ ἀνθρώπινος νοῦς· αἰσθητόν δέ τό τῇ αἰσθήσει ὑποπίπτον, ὡς τά μέρη τῆς κτίσεως, ἅπερ διαιροῦνται εἰς οὐσιώδη καί φυσικά, τουτέστιν εἴ τε τά ἀκινήτως καί πάντῃ ἀναισθήτως ὄντα, καί εἰς τά τήν ὁποιανοῦν ἔχοντα κίνησιν· τήν\n\nγάρ φύσιν ἀρχήν κινήσεως καί ἠρεμίας ὁρίζονται. Θελητήν δέ ἰσότητα τήν προαιρετικήν· οὐκ ἀγνοῶ μέντοι, ὡς καί καταχρηστικῶς καί ἐπί τῆς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ψυχῆς νοερά τε καί λογική.","english":"§ 10. A similar encompassing: There is a similar encompassing through one another also in the case of the elements; for their equal blending, and the fact that the generations of the world in their compounds do not overbalance, produces this; for if any one of the elements should abound, what comes to be is destroyed.\n\nAnd according to every intelligible equality: It should be known that intelligible is that which does not fall under sense-perception, nor is it that which has the noetic faculty in itself, as do the powers of the soul and of the senses; but noetic is that which has simple and absolute acts of understanding, as do the angels; and rational is that which receives the knowledge of beings through reason and contemplation, as does the human mind; and sensible is that which falls under sense-perception, as do the parts of creation, which are divided into essential and natural, that is, both those which exist immovably and altogether without sensation, and those which have motion of any kind; for they define nature as a principle of motion and rest. And voluntary equality is that which is according to choice; I am not unaware, however, that both improperly and in the case of the human soul it is called noetic and rational.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":192,"ref":"p192","source":"Πάσης ἰσότητος ποιητικήν δύναμιν: Ἔστιν ἰσότης ἡ ἐν ταῖς φύσεσιν ἐκ Θεοῦ τοῦ πάντων ποιητοῦ διδομένη, καί ἔστιν ἰσότης θελητή, ἥν ἐθέλοντες καί ἐκ προαιρέσεως κατορθοῦσιν, οἵ τό δίκαιον καί τό περί τόν βίον ἰσονομικόν μετίασι. Καί αὕτη οὖν ἡ ἰσότης ἐκ Θεοῦ συνέστη. Πᾶσαν γοῦν ἰσονομίαν καί δικαιοσύνην ὁ Θεός ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἁπλῶς καί ἀμερῶς, ὡς ἐν ἰδέαις καί παραδείγμασιν ἐν ταῖς ἀϊδίοις αὐτοῦ νοήσεσι προέχει, ἤτοι περιέχει κυρίως εἰπεῖν. ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ Ι' § 1. Ὡς παντοκράτορα καί ὡς παλαιόν: Πολιός μέν ὤφθη ὁ Θεός τῷ Δανιήλ, λευκήν ἔχων τήν κεφαλήν ὡς ἔριον, καθ' ὅ καί 'Παλαιός ἡμερῶν' ὠνομάσθη· νεώτερος δέ τοῦ πολιοῦ γέροντος, ὅταν ὡς ἀνήρ ὤφθη τῷ Ἀβραάμ μετά τῶν ἀγγέλων καί νεανίσκος, ἅ καί θεωρῶν ἀπέλυσεν ὧδε· πρεσβύτην μέν, ὡς πάντων ἐκ Θεοῦ τε ὄντων καί μετ' αὐτόν, διό καί νεωτέρων αὐτοῦ· νέον δέ, ὡς ἀεί ἐν ἀκμαίᾳ καί εὐσταθεῖ μακαριότητι ἀπαλαίωτον ὄντα. Εἰ δέ καί εἴποις τό συναμφότερον, τουτέστιν τό γηραλέον καί νέον ἅμα, ὡς ἀπ' ἀρχῆς αὐτόν δηλοῦν ἐπί πάντα διήκοντα καί προϊόντα ἄχρι τέλους διαιωνίζειν, ὅπερ τέλος ( 14 _332 τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐστι νεώτερον, ἕξει, φησί, καί τοῦτο λόγον· εἶτα παράγει καί γνώμην Ἱεροθέου τοῦ θείου· περί τούτου γάρ ἐπιβάλλω λέγειν αὐτόν οἰκεῖον ἱεροτελεστήν, ἅτε διδάσκαλον ἑαυτοῦ ἀποκαλοῦντα.","english":"A power productive of all equality: There is an equality in natures that is given by God, the Maker of all things; and there is a voluntary equality, which those who pursue what is just and the equal-sharing of life accomplish willingly and by choice. This equality too, then, has been established by God. For God, in a simple and undivided manner, holds before all equal-sharing and justice in His eternal thoughts, as in ideas and patterns—or, to speak more properly, contains them. ON CHAPTER 10 § 1. As Almighty and as Ancient: God appeared to Daniel as hoary, having His head white as wool, inasmuch as He was also called \"Ancient of Days\"; but He was younger than the hoary old man, when He appeared to Abraham as a man with the angels, and as a young man, which is also what he saw and set down here: as an elder, since all things are from God and after Him, and therefore younger than He; and as new, since He is ever in full bloom and steadfast blessedness, unaging. But if you also mention the combination of both—that is, the aged and the new at once—as indicating that from the beginning He pervades all things and, going forth, continues forever to the end, which end is younger than the beginning, he says that this too will have its reason. Then he also brings forward the opinion of the divine Hierotheus; for I undertake to say that he was a fitting hierophant of this, inasmuch as he calls him his own teacher.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":193,"ref":"p193","source":"§ 2. Καί πολιός καί νέος: Πῶς ποτέ μέν πολιός, ποτέ δέ νέος ὁ Κύριος γράφεται, ὡς τό· «Ἰησοῦς Χριστός χθές καί σήμερον ὁ αὐτός, καί εἰς τούς αἰῶνας»· τό γοῦν σήμερον τοῦ χθές νεώτερον.\n\nἘπείπερ ἡ μονάς: Ἐπειδήπερ ἡ ἀριθμητική τό ἐν ἀριθμοῖς διαίρεσιν ἔχον πλῆθος εἰς πέρας ἀνήγαγε· μονάδα μέν ἀρχήν θεμένη τοῦ παντός ἀριθμοῦ, δυάδα δέ ἀρτίων, καί τῶν ἑξῆς εἰς μέγεθος προϊόντων ἀριθμῶν κατά παράθεσιν μονάδων, ἐπειδή τό πλῆθος, τουτέστιν ἡ κτίσις, ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστιν, ὁ δέ ἀριθμός ἐπί τῷ πλήθει ἐστίν, εἰκότως τό κατ' ἀριθμόν νεώτερον ὀνομάζεται· τό γάρ πλῆθος, τό καἱ ἀριθμούμενον, μετά τόν Θεόν ἀφάτως καί ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ παρήχθη, ἀλλά καί τοῦ νεωτέρου τούτου ἀριθμοῦ τῆς κτίσεως ἀρχηγικώτερόν ἐστιν ἡ μονάς, ὡς ἔφην, ἤ καί τῶν ἀριθμῶν αἰτία, καί ἔχουσα σχέσιν τινά πρός τά ἐξ αὐτῆς πολλά. Οὐκοῦν ὁ Θεός, ὡς καί τούτων αἴτιος καί μονάδος λόγον ἐπέχων, νεώτερος κατά τήν εἰρημένην θεωρίαν ἐκ τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ προσαγορεύεται. Εἰσί δέ οἵ τά σώματα ἀριθμόν ὠνόμαζον. § 3. Χαί ἀπολύτως ἀγέννητα: Ἄνω μέν ἐν τῷ πέμπτῳ κεφαλαίῳ περί αἰῶνος καί χρόνου πλατέως διελάβομεν, νῦν δέ τά ζητούμενα σαφηνιστέον· οὐ μόνον γάρ ἡ Γραφή, φησίν, αἰώνιον καλεῖ τόν Θεόν, ἐν τῷ λέγειν, «ὁ Θεός ὁ αἰώνιος, ὁ κατασκευάσας τά ἄκρα τῆς γῆς»· τόν γάρ Θεόν λέγει ἀπολύτως ἀγέννητον, ἅτε καί ἀναιτίως ὄντα τοῦτο, ἀλλά καί τά μετέχοντα ( 14 _334 ἀφθαρσίας καί ἀναλλοίωτα περί αὐτήν τήν οὐσίαν αἰώνια λέγει, εἴτε ἀγγέλους, εἴτε ἀνώτερον οὐρανόν, ὡς τό· «ἔστησεν αὐτά εἰς τόν αἰῶνα, καί εἰς τόν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος», καί τό·","english":"§ 2. Both hoary and young: How is it that the Lord is sometimes written as hoary and sometimes as young, as in the passage \"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever\" — for the \"today\" is certainly younger than the \"yesterday.\"\n\nSince the monad: Since arithmetic has brought the multitude that contains division among numbers to a limit, positing the monad as the beginning of all number, and the dyad as the beginning of even numbers, and so on for the numbers that advance in magnitude by the addition of monads — since the multitude, that is, creation, is from God, and number pertains to the multitude, it is reasonably called younger in respect of number; for the multitude, which is also counted, was brought forth after God in an ineffable manner and from God. But the monad is, as I said, more archetypal than this younger number of creation, being also the cause of numbers and having a certain relation to the many things that come from it. Therefore God, as being the cause of these things and holding the role of the monad, is called younger according to the contemplation just described. And there are those who called bodies a number. § 3. And absolutely unbegotten: Above, in the fifth chapter, we discussed at length concerning the age and time, but now we must clarify the matters under inquiry; for not only does Scripture, he says, call God eternal, in saying \"God, the eternal, who made the ends of the earth\" — for it calls God absolutely unbegotten, since he is also without cause in this respect — but it also calls eternal the things that partake of incorruption and are unchangeable in respect of the substance itself, whether angels or the higher heaven, as in the passage \"He established them forever and forever and ever,\" and the passage:","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":194,"ref":"p194","source":"«τά μή βλεπόμενα αἰώνια». Ἀναλλοίωτα δέ φησι μείναντα ὡς ἐγένοντο· καί 'πύλας αἰωνίας' καλεῖ εἴτε οὐρανούς, εἴτε τούς ἐφεστηκότας τούτους ἀγγέλους, οἵα πυλωρούς· καί τά ἀρχαῖα δέ αἰώνια καλεῖ, ὡς καί τό· «ἔτη αἰώνια ἐμνήσθην»· καί τόν καθ' ἡμᾶς χρόνον αἰῶνά φησιν, ὡς τό· «ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος», καί τό· «ὅπως ἐξέληται ἡμᾶς ἀπό τοῦ ἐνεστῶτος αἰῶνος πονηροῦ», καί ἀνάπαλιν, τόν αἰῶνα χρόνον λέγει, ὡς τό· «Ἐγώ ἀναστήσω αὐτόν ἐν τῇ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ»· αἰών γάρ,\n\nἀλλ’ οὐχ ἡμέρα, τά ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει· καί πάλιν· «ἐν οἷς ὁ Θεός τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου ἐτύφλωσε τά νοήματα τῶν ἀπίστων»· καί τόν χρόνον δέ αἰῶνά φησιν, ὡς τό· «αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ αἰῶνος», καί· «Μωαβίτης καί Ἀμανίτης οὐκ εἰσελεύσονται ἐς τόν οἶκον Κυρίου ἕως δεκάτης γενεᾶς εἰς τόν αἰῶνα»· τάς γάρ δέκα γενεάς αἰῶνά φησιν. Ἄλλως. Οὐ χρή, φησίν, ἔνθα ἡ Γραφή αἰώνιον λέγει, πάντως τό Θεῖον νοεῖν (τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τό πάντῃ καί ἀπολύτως, τουτέστι κατά πᾶσαν ἔννοιαν, ἀγέννητον καί ἀΐδιον), ἀλλά καί ἀγγέλους τῇ τοιαύτῃ λέξει σημαίνεσθαι, ὡς τό ἐν ταυτότητι διαμένειν ἔχοντας.","english":"the things not seen are eternal.\" He says they remain unchanging as they came to be; and he calls \"eternal gates\" either the heavens or the angels stationed at them, as gatekeepers; and he calls the ancient things eternal, as also the passage \"I remembered eternal years\"; and he calls our own time an age, as the passage \"until the consummation of the age,\" and the passage \"that he might deliver us from the present evil age,\" and conversely he calls the age a time, as the passage \"I will raise him up on the last day\"; for the things in the resurrection are an age, but not a day; and again: \"in which the God of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers\"; and he calls time an age, as the passage \"the days of the age,\" and \"A Moabite and an Ammonite shall not enter into the house of the Lord until the tenth generation, forever\"; for he calls the ten generations an age. Otherwise. It is not necessary, he says, that wherever Scripture says \"eternal\" we should understand it of the Divine (for this is that which is in every way and absolutely, that is, in every sense, unbegotten and everlasting), but that angels too are signified by such a term, as having the property of remaining in sameness.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":195,"ref":"p195","source":"Αἰῶνος μεθέξειν: Ὅτι καί οὗτος ὁ πατήρ αἰῶνα λαμβάνει, κατά τόν Θεολόγον Γρηγόριον, τοῦ διηνεκοῦς, ἤγουν τοῦ ἀεί εἶναι τήν δήλωσιν. Καί ἔγχρονος αἰών δοξάζεται: Ἔγχρονος αἰών τό ἐν Ψαλμοῖς· «ἐκοπίασεν εἰς τόν αἰῶνα καί ζήσεται εἰς τέλος». Αἰώνιος δέ χρόνος τά παρά τῷ Ἀποστόλῳ, οἷον τό· «πρό χρόνων αἰωνίων», ( 14 _336 καί, «χρόνοις αἰωνίοις σεσιγημένου»· καί ἐν Μωσεῖ τό· «ἔσται σοι κατόχιμος εἰς τόν αἰῶνα». Σημείωσαι δέ, ὅτι ἄφθαρτος καί ἀεί ὡσαύτως ἔχων ὁ μέλλων αἰών.\n\nἬ καί μᾶλλον ἴσμεν αὐτοῖς: Αὐτοῖς τοῖς ἁγίοις δηλονότι. Σημείωσαι δέ, ὅτι τά νοητά, ὄντα καλεῖ, οἷς καί τόν αἰῶνα συναριθμεἷ, τά δέ αἰσθητά, γένεσιν λέγει, ὧν καί τόν χρόνον εἶναι σημαίνει. Ταῦτα τελείως ἔχεις ἐν κεφαλαίῳ πέμπτῳ. Οὐχ ἁπλῶς συναΐδια Θεῷ: Σοφώτατα κατασφαλίζεται τόν ἀκροατήν εἰς εὐσέβειαν, φάσκων μή χρῆναι ὑπονοεῖν τά λεγόμενα αἰώνια, κατά τοῦτο καί συναΐδια εἶναι Θεῷ τῷ πρό αἰώνων. Καί ἤδη μέν γάρ ἄνω εἰρήκαμεν αἰώνιον λέγεσθαι κυρίως οὐκ αὐτόν τόν αἰῶνα, ἀλλά τό αἰῶνος μετέχον· οὐκοῦν τά νοητά κυρίως καί ὄντα ὡς ἀθάνατα γενόμενα, καί αἰώνια ὡς ἀτελεύτητα βουλήσει Θεοῦ διαμένοντα χρή λέγειν, ἅτε καί παραχθέντα ὑπό Θεοῦ, οὐ πρότερον ὄντα· κυριολεκτῶν δέ μάλιστα, τά τῶν παρ' Ἕλλησι φιλοσόφων σεμνά μετάγει ἐπί τήν εὐσέβειαν ἀσφαλῶς. Φησίν οὖν, ὄντα μέν εἶναι καί αἰώνια τάς ἀσωματώδεις δυνάμεις ὑπό Θεοῦ δημιουργηθείσας, οὐ μήν συναϊδίους Θεῷ, ὡς Ἕλληνες ληρῳδοῦσιν, 'Ἅμα Θεός, ἅμα πάντα', λέγοντες.","english":"To share in the age: That this father too receives an \"age,\" according to Gregory the Theologian, as the declaration of continuous existence, that is, of always being. And a temporal age is glorified: a temporal age is the phrase in the Psalms: \"he labored into the age and will live to the end.\" But an eternal time is the phrase in the Apostle, such as \"before eternal times,\" and \"in times eternal having been kept silent\"; and in Moses: \"it shall be for you a possession into the age.\" Note that the age to come is incorruptible and always in the same state.\n\nOr rather we know them: Clearly the saints themselves. Note that he calls intelligible things \"beings,\" with which he also numbers the age, while sensible things he calls \"genesis,\" of which he indicates time also consists. You have these perfectly in the fifth chapter. Not simply coeternal with God: Most wisely he secures the hearer for piety, saying that the things called eternal must not be supposed to be in this respect also coeternal with God who is before the ages. For already above we said that \"eternal\" is said properly not of the age itself, but of what partakes of the age; therefore the intelligible things, which are also beings, as having become immortal, and eternal as remaining without end by the will of God, one must call them, since they were also produced by God and did not exist before; and most properly, he safely transfers the venerable doctrines of the Greek philosophers to piety. He says, then, that the incorporeal powers created by God are beings and eternal, yet not coeternal with God, as the Greeks babble, saying, \"God at once, all things at once.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":196,"ref":"p196","source":"Εἰσί δέ καί τά γινόμενα ταῦτα, φησί, τά πρόσγεια σώματα, ἅ καί γένεσιν καί φθοράν ὀνομάζουσιν, ὡς τῆς ὑποστάθμης ὄντα τῆς ὕλης, καί παχύτερα πάντα τά μετά σελήνην. Εἰσί δέ μέσα ὄντα, ἤτοι αἰωνίων καί γενομένων, ἤτοι παχυτέρων καί προσγείων σωμάτων, τῶν γινομένων τε καί ἀπογινομένων πυκνῶς εἰς γένεσιν καί φθοράν, ἅτινα μέσα τούτων ( 14 _338 σώματα μέν εἰσι καί αὐτά, πλήν καί αἰῶνος μετέχουσι, καί χρόνου ποσῶς· τά δέ μέσα εἰσίν οὐρανός καί ἀστέρες πάντες· σώματα γάρ καί ταῦτα, εἰ καί λεπτομερέστερα, καί τῆς ὕλης τό εἰλικρινέστατον, ὥς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, «σώματα ἐπουράνια καί σώματα ἐπίγεια»· εἶτα σαφηνίζων ποῖά εἰσιν, ἐπάγει· «ἄλλη δόξα ἡλίου, καί ἄλλη δόξα σελήνης, καί ἄλλη δόξα ἀστέρων», Ὁ μέν οὖν ἀνώτερος οὐρανός ἐν τοῑς αἰῶσι γέγονε καί ἡ γῆ· πρό γάρ τοῦ κτισθέντος φωτός, τοῦ καί ἡμέρας κληθέντος, ἐδημιουργήθησαν, ὥς φησι Μωϋσῆς· ἐν τοῖς χρονικοῖς διαστήμασι, τό στερέωμα καί οἱ ἀστέρες, πλήν κἄν σώματα καί ἔγχρονα· εἰσί γάρ καί ἁπτά καί ὁρατά, ὅμως αἰώνια ἔσονται, μεθέξοντα καί αὐτά τοῦ αἰῶνος, ὡς καί τά σώματα ἡμῶν μετασχηματιζόμενα εἰς ἀφθαρσίαν· ὡς καί ὁ Ἀπόστολος δηλοῖ, «τό σχῆμα», λέγων, «παράγειν τοῦ κόσμου τούτου», οὐ τόν κόσμον· διό καί περί τῶν μέσων τούτων σωμάτων εἴρηται ἐν ψαλμοῖς· «ἔστησεν αὐτά εἰς τόν αἰῶνα, καί εἰς τόν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος· πρόσταγμα ἔθετο, καί οὐ παρελεύσεται». Σημείωσαι οὖν ὅτι οἱ ἀστέρες καί ὁ ἥλιος καί ἡ σελήνη καί ὁ οὐρανός, σώματα μέν εἰσι λεπτομερέστερα, ἀθάνατα δέ Θεοῦ βουλήσει ἐγένοντο, ὡς καἱ τά σώματα ἡμῶν γίνονται μετά τήν ἀνάστασιν.","english":"These things that come into being, he says, are the earthly bodies, which they also call generation and corruption, since they are of the substance of matter, and all things below the moon are denser. And there are things in between—that is, between eternal things and things that have come into being, or between denser and earthly bodies, of things that come into being and pass away frequently into generation and corruption. These intermediate things are themselves also bodies, yet they partake of an age and in some way of time. The intermediate things are heaven and all the stars; for these too are bodies, even if more finely divided, and the purest part of matter, as the Apostle says: \"heavenly bodies and earthly bodies\"; then, clarifying what kind they are, he adds: \"one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars.\" The higher heaven, then, and the earth came into being in the ages; for before the light was created, which was also called day, they were made, as Moses says. In temporal intervals came the firmament and the stars—though they are bodies and within time, for they are both tangible and visible, yet they will be eternal, partaking themselves also of the age, as our bodies too are transformed into incorruption. As the Apostle also makes clear, saying, \"the form of this world is passing away,\" not the world. Therefore it is also said in the Psalms concerning these intermediate bodies: \"He established them for an age, and for an age of ages; he set a decree, and it shall not pass away.\" Note, then, that the stars and the sun and the moon and the heaven are bodies more finely divided, and by God's will they have become immortal, as our bodies also become after the resurrection.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":197,"ref":"p197","source":"Ἄλλως. Μέσα ὄντων καί γινομένων ἀγγέλους ἔφη καί ψυχάς, πῇ μέν αἰῶνος μετέχοντα, διά τό ἄφθαρτον καί ἀθάνατον, πῇ δέ χρόνου, διά τό ἐν γενέσει ὁρᾶσθαι·\n\nδιό ταῦτα ἔγχρονα καί αἰώνιά φησι· προεῖπε γάρ τά μένοντα τῷ αἰῶνι δηλοῦσθαι, τουτέστιν ( 14 _340 ὅσα καί περί Θεοῦ λέγεται, τά δέ ἐν γενέσει τῷ χρόνῳ· εἰ καί ἀκούοντας αἰώνια καί ἔγχρονα, οὐχ ἁπλῶς οὕτω ταῦτα λαμβάνειν χρή, ἀλλά κατά τούς συνεγνωσμένους αὐτοῖς τρόπους φησιν, ἤγουν τούς σαφῶς πιστευομένους. ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ ΙΑ' § 1. Ἀρχισυνάγωγον εἰρήνην: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι τόν Θεόν ἐκάλεσεν ἀρχισυνάγωγον, τό δέ 'μεριστόν πλῆθος' νόησον τό αἰσθητόν. Εἰς τήν ὅλην ἑνότητα: Ὅλην ἑνότητα οἱ μέν ἔλαβον τήν ἁπλῆν καί ἀμερῆ τῶν ὄντων αἰτίαν, πρός ἥν τά πάντα ἐπέστραπται, ὡς ἐν αὐτῇ συνιστάμενα, οἱ δέ τήν τοῦ παντός ἁρμονίαν ἐξ ἑτεροφυῶν τῶν στοιχείων συγκεκραμένην· διό καί πόλεμον ἐμφύλιον ὠνόμασε τήν τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς ποιοτήτων ἐναντιότητα, θερμοῦ πρός ψυχρόν, καί ὑγροῦ πρός ξηρόν, καί τῶν ἄλλων ὁμοίως, ἅπερ εἰς ἑνός κόσμου συμπλήρωσιν ἥνωται.","english":"Otherwise. He called angels and souls \"middle\" between things that are and things that come into being, sharing in part in the age (aion) through being incorruptible and immortal, and in part in time through being seen in generation.\n\nTherefore he calls these things both temporal and eternal; for he said beforehand that the things that remain are made clear by the age, that is, (14 340) as many things as are also said about God, while the things in generation are made clear by time. Even if people hear \"eternal\" and \"temporal,\" one must not take these simply in that way, but, he says, according to the modes recognized by them, that is, those that are clearly believed. ON CHAPTER 11 § 1. \"Ruler of the synagogue\" — peace: Note that he called God \"ruler of the synagogue,\" and understand the \"divisible multitude\" as the perceptible. On the whole unity: Some took the \"whole unity\" to be the simple and indivisible cause of beings, to which all things have turned back, as subsisting in it; others took it to be the harmony of the universe, compounded from elements of different natures. Therefore he also named the innate opposition of the qualities in them a \"civil war\"—hot against cold, moist against dry, and likewise the others—which have been united into the completion of one world.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":198,"ref":"p198","source":"Ἐνούσης εἰς ἑνοειδῆ συνοικίαν: Μή νοήσης ὡς οἱ ἄθεοι Μανιχαῖοι, ὅτι στασιάζουσα πρός ἑαυτήν ἡ ὕλη ἀπεκύησε τά δαιμόνια ταῦτα, ἀλλ' ὅτι φύσει τῷ ξηρῷ τό ὑγρόν πολέμιον, καί τό ψυχρόν τῷ θερμῷ· Θεός γάρ καί τά οὕτως ἔχοντα συνάπτει πρός φιλίαν καί σύστασιν τοῦ παντός. Τό ἐμφύλιον οὖν ἔμφυτον νόησον. Αἱ γοῦν πρεσβύτεροι: Πρεσβυτέρας δυνάμεις οὐχ ἁπλῶς τήν τῶν σεραφίμ ταξιαρχίαν φησίν, ἀλλά πρός τό συνάγειν, ἤγουν συνάπτειν, ταῖς θείαις ἐλλάμψεσι τάς ὑφειμένας τό πρεσβεῖον ἔχουσαν· τήν γάρ πρώτην αὐταί δέχονται θεοφάνειαν· ἀμερῶς δέ, τουτέστιν οὐκ ἐν μέρει τισίν, ἀλλ’ ἀθρόως τοἷς ὅλοις. Χυθῆναι πρός τό ἄπειρον: Μεγάλας πλάνας φιλοσόφων ( 14 _342 Ἑλλήνων διελέγχει νῦν καί πρός τήν εὐσέβειαν μετάγει· πολλῶν γάρ ἐν ἐκείνοις στασιαζόντων, καί τῶν μέν ἐξ ἐναντιώσεως καί πολέμου πάντα δι' ἔριδος καί μάχης λεγόντων γεννᾶσθαι, τῶν δέ, ἐκ φιλίας καί συμφωνίας μόνον δημιουργεῖσθαι τά πάντα, Θεοῦ δέ μή κατ' ἀξίαν δή φροντιζόντων, οὗτος, τάς ἐκείνων ὀνοματοποιίας εἰς ὀρθότητα μεταφέρων, Θεόν ἐφίστησι τοῦ παντός καί ποιητήν καί συναγωγέα, ἐμφύλιον μέν πόλεμον τοῦ παντός νοῶν τῶν ἀσωμάτων καί ἀΰλων καί νοητῶν πρός τήν τῶν σωμάτων καί ὑλικῶν καί αἰσθητῶν φυσικήν ἀσυμφωνίαν· ἀνόμοια γάρ ταῦτα ταῖς οὐσίαις καί ἀσύμφωνα· «ἡ γάρ σάρξ ἐπιθυμεῖ κατά τοῦ πνεύματος, καί τό πνεῦμα κατά τῆς σαρκός».","english":"Since it exists for a uniform dwelling: Do not think, as the godless Manichaeans do, that matter, warring against itself, brought forth these demons, but that by nature the moist is hostile to the dry, and the cold to the hot; for God joins even things that are so disposed into friendship and the cohesion of the whole. Understand the intestine conflict, then, as innate. At any rate, the elder powers: He calls the elder powers not simply the order of the seraphim, but those that have the precedence for gathering, that is, joining, the subordinate powers to the divine illuminations; for they themselves receive the first theophany; and that indivisibly, that is, not in part for some, but all at once for the whole. To be poured out toward the infinite: He now refutes the great errors of the Greek philosophers and leads them toward piety; for since many among them were at variance, some saying that all things come to be from opposition and war through strife and battle, others that all things are created from friendship and concord alone, and not caring for God as is fitting, he, transferring their coinages to correctness, sets God over the whole as both maker and gatherer, understanding the intestine war of the whole to be the natural disharmony of incorporeal and immaterial and intelligible things toward bodies and material and sensible things; for these are unlike and discordant to their essences; \"for the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":199,"ref":"p199","source":"Οὐ μόνον δέ τοῦτο, ἀλλά καί τά αἰσθητά πάντα, ἤτοι σώματα, ἄπειρα λεγόντων ἐνίων καί εἰς ἀπειρίαν φθείρεσθαι, καί τό μίγμα τῶν ἁπάντων, ὅπερ φησίν ἀπειρίαν, τρεπόμενον εἰς διαφοράν καί χωρισμόν καί μέρη, διακρίνεσθαι καί χωρίζεσθαι εἰς γενέσεις, καί ἐκ τούτου μᾶλλον αὐξανομένης τῆς διαστάσεως, καί μή μόνον τά μεμιγμένα τῶν ἀσυμφυῶν καί ἀλλοτρίων ἀποκαθαιρούσης, ἀλλά καί εἰς τομήν καί θραῦσιν ἤδη τῶν συμφυῶν φερομένης, καί εἰς ἀνομοιότητα πᾶσαν καί διαφοράν τά συγκρίματα ἀγούσης, λύεσθαι καί φθείρεσθαι πάντα, πλήν τῶν ἁπλῶν, ἤτοι στοιχείων, καί τοῦτο πόλεμον λεγόντων τό μή ἐᾶν ἡνῶσθαι τά ὅλα· ὁ μέγας Διονύσιος, ἅτε τῆς ἀληθείας φίλος τυγχάνων, τόν τοιοῦτον, ὡς ἔφην, φυσικόν πόλεμον (τοῦτον γάρ φυσικόν καλεῖ, τόν ἐμφύλιον, ὡς καί σύμφυλον τόν ὁμοφυᾶ), λύειν φησί τόν Θεόν, ἀντί τοῦ ἐμφυλίου πολέμου, εἰρήνην καί ἁρμονίαν καί σύμπνοιαν τῷ παντί δωρούμενον, καί ἐν ἑαυτῷ συνέχοντα πάντα καί ἀποκαταλλάττοντα, ὥς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, καί ἀποκαταλλάξει τά ἐπουράνια τοῖς ἐπιγείοις, δι' ( 14 _344 ὧν, τάς μέν ἐπιτεταγμένας τοῖς καθ' ἕκαστον δυνάμεις καί διακονικῶς διοικούσας τῇ ἀγάπῃ τῶν ὑποτεταγμένων ἑνοῖ, τά δέ πάντα πρός ἑαυτόν ἐπιστρέφει, πηδαλιουχῶν καί συνέχων τά πάντα.","english":"Not only this, but some also say that all perceptible things, that is, bodies, are infinite and perish into infinity, and that the mixture of all things—which he calls infinity—turning into difference and separation and parts, is distinguished and separated into generations, and from this the distance increasing all the more, and not only purifying the mixed things of things unsuited by nature and alien, but already being carried to cutting and crushing of things suited by nature, and leading the compounds into all dissimilarity and difference, all things are dissolved and perish except the simple, that is, the elements, and they call this war—the not allowing the wholes to be united. The great Dionysius, being a lover of the truth, says that God looses such a natural war, as I said (for he calls this natural, the intestine war, just as he calls the kindred the same in kind), instead of the intestine war, granting peace and harmony and concord to the whole, and holding all things together in himself and reconciling them, as the Apostle says, and he will reconcile the heavenly things to the earthly things, through which he unites the powers appointed to each individual and administering in a ministerial way, by the love of those subject to them, and turns all things to himself, piloting and holding all things together.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":200,"ref":"p200","source":"Ἥν ὁ ἱερός Ἰοῦστος ἀφθεγξίαν καλεῖ: Σημείωσαι περί Ἰούστου, καί ὅτι τήν τοῦ θείου εἰρήνην ἀφθεγξίαν καί ἀκινησίαν ὀνομάζει. Τούτου δέ τοῦ ἁγίου Ἰούστου μέμνηνται αἱ Πράξεις τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων, φάσκουσαι αὐτόν καί Ἰωσῆν καλεῖσθαι. Μᾶλλον οὖν καί συνέγραψέ τι, ἤ καί ἀγράφοις διδασκαλίαις ἐχρήσατο. Καί τοῦτο οὖν παρατίθεται τοῦ ἁγίου Διονυσίου τήν ἀρχαιότητα, καί ὅτι τοῖς ἀποστόλοις αὐτοῖς καί ἀποστολικοῖς ἀνδράσι συνήκμασε. Σημείωσαι δέ ὅτι καί οἱ θεῖοι ἐκεῖνοι ἄνδρες φιλοσόφοις λέξεσιν ἐχρῶντο, ἀφθεγξιαν καί ἀκινησίαν τήν τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰρήνην ὀνομάζοντες.\n\nἈπολείπει τήν ἑαυτῆς ἕνωσιν: Ἕνωσιν ἐνταῦθα τό ἁπλοῦν καί ἑνιαῖον, ἤγουν ἀδιαίρετον, φησίν.\n\nἜνδον ὅλη μένουσα: Τουτέστι τήν ἑαυτοῦ κρυφιότητα παρεξιοῦσα καί ἀπολείπουσα.\n\nΤάς νοητάς αὐτῆς καί ρητάς: Νοητάς καί ρητάς μετουσίας φησίν ὅσα διά τῶν εἰρημένων τῇ Γραφῇ ἐφεῖται νοεῖν ἡμᾶς.\n\n§ 2. Κατά τήν ἀσύγχυτον αὐτῶν ἕνωσιν: Ὅτι καί τά εἰς σύνθεσιν ἰόντα ἕνωσιν καλεῖ, κἄν ᾖ ἀνόμοια· καί ποῖόν φησιν, ὅν προέφη ἐμφύλιον πόλεμον. Ὅμως ἀκραιφνῆ: Εἰ καί τά στοιχεῖα, φησί, τήν πρός ἄλληλα καί μίξιν καί συμπλοκήν ἀδιαίρετον ἔχουσιν, ἀλλ’ ὅμως αἱ τούτων ποιότητες τήν ἀκρότητα αὐτῶν οὐ παραπολλύουσιν, οἷον τό θερμόν, τό ξηρόν, καί τά λοιπά ἐν τῇ τῶν ἑτεροειδῶν κράσει, τήν ἐν τῷ παντί θεωρουμένην.","english":"Which the sacred Justus calls aphthēxia. Note concerning Justus, and that he names the peace of God aphthēxia and immobility. And the Acts of the holy apostles make mention of this holy Justus, saying that he was also called Joseph. Rather, then, he both wrote something and also used unwritten teachings. And this, then, is set forth as evidence of the antiquity of the holy Dionysius, and that he flourished together with the apostles themselves and the apostolic men. Note that those divine men also used philosophical terms, naming the peace of God aphthēxia and immobility.\n\nIt abandons its own union: Here he calls union the simple and unified, that is, the indivisible.\n\nRemaining wholly within: That is, passing over and abandoning its own hiddenness.\n\nIts intelligible and spoken: He means intelligible and spoken participations, as many as we are permitted to understand through what has been said in Scripture.\n\n§ 2. According to their unconfused union: That he also calls union that which comes into composition, even if it be dissimilar; and what he means, which he earlier called internecine war. Nevertheless pure: Even if the elements, he says, have an indivisible mixture and intertwining with one another, nevertheless their qualities do not destroy their extremeness—for example, the hot, the dry, and the rest in the blending of things of different kinds—the extremeness observed in the whole.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":201,"ref":"p201","source":"Πρός τά ἀντικείμενα κράσεως: Κρᾶσιν ἐνταῦθα νοητέον οὐ τήν ὡς ἐπί τοῦ ὑγροῦ φύρασιν, καί τήν ἀφανίζουσαν τά ὑποκείμενα, ἀλλά τήν σύμπνοιαν καί ἀλληλουχίαν, τήν ἐν ἁρμονίᾳ ( 14 _346 φυλάττουσαν τά ἐφεστῶτα καί τά ὑποτεταγμένα, νοητά φημι καί αἰσθητά, τουτέστι τά ἐν γενέσει, καί αὐτά δέ τά ἐναντία, οἷον εἰρηνεύοντα πρός ἄλληλα, ὡς τό ὕδωρ καί τήν γῆν, ᾧ περιβεβλημένη ἡ γῆ οὐ λύεται, καί ὁ οὐρανός ἐξ ὕδατος ὤν, καί ὁ αἰθήρ οὐ λύων τόν οὐρανόν· καί οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἐμφύλιος πόλεμος, ὅν οὐ μόνον ὁ δημιουργός σοφῶς ἐξεῦρεν, ἀλλά καί σοφωτέρως εἰς φιλίαν καί ἁρμονίαν ἄγει τά πάντα δι' αὐτῶν τῶν ἁπλῶν στοιχείων, κατά τό εἰρημένον, «θέρος καί ἔαρ σύ ἐποίησας». Καί ἀμιγῆ: Ἀμιγῆ καί συγκεκραμένα εἶπε κατά τήν προτεθεῖσαν ἐκδοχήν. Δι' ἥν οἱ θεῖοι νόες ἑνούμενοι: Εἴπομεν καί ἄνω τούς θείους νόας καί ἑαυτούς νοεῖν, καί τούς ἐπαναβεβηκότας, καί τά ὑποδεέστερα· καί μένειν μέν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς, ὅταν τά ἑαυτῶν ἐνεργῶσι ταῖς ἑαυτῶν ἑνούμενοι νοήσεσιν, εἰς δέ τά ἔξω δοκεῖν προϊέναι, ὅταν δέ τά ὑποβεβηκότα νοῶσι καί τά ὑπερκείμενα, καί οὕτως ὡς ἐφικτόν εἰς τό νοεῖν, καί τῶν πάντων αἴτιον ἐπανίωσιν. Οὕτω δέ νοοῦντες οἱ θεῖοι νόες, ὁμολογουμένως ἑνοῦνται τοῖς νοουμένοις· τό γάρ νοοῦν τῇ γνώσει ἑνοῦται τῷ γνωσθέντι καί νοηθέντι, ὡς καί ὁ ἀγνοῶν σκεδάννυται, μή καταλαβών ὅ ἠγνόησε. Νοῶν οὖν ὁ τοιοῦτος νοῦς εἰς ἑαυτόν ἀνακάμπτει, οὐ σκεδαζόμενος ἔξω ἑαυτοῦ, ἀλλ’ ἑνούμενος ἑαυτῷ, δι' ὧν εἰς ἑαυτόν ἀνέστρεψεν. Ἄλλη δέ παρά τούς ἁγίους νόας, ἥτις ψυχῆς ἐστι νοητική ἕνωσις·","english":"Against the objections concerning mixture: Here \"mixture\" must be understood not as the blending that occurs in the case of liquid, and that destroys the underlying substances, but as the concord and mutual coherence that in harmony preserves both the things above and the things below—I mean things intelligible and things perceptible, that is, the things in generation—and even the opposites themselves, as it were, at peace with one another, such as water and earth, with which the earth, being wrapped about, is not dissolved, and the heaven, which is from water, and the aether, which does not dissolve the heaven. And this is the civil war which the Creator wisely devised, and which He even more wisely leads all things into friendship and harmony through the simple elements themselves, according to what is said, \"Summer and spring you have made.\" And unmixed: He spoke of things unmixed and things commingled according to the interpretation set forth above. Through which the divine minds being united: We said above that the divine minds both understand themselves and the things that have advanced beyond them and the things that are inferior; and that they remain in themselves when they are active in their own matters, being united to their own thoughts, but appear to go forth to things outside when they understand things inferior and things superior, and thus, as far as is attainable, return to the understanding of the cause of all things. And understanding in this way, the divine minds are confessedly united to the things understood; for the thing that understands is united by knowledge to the thing known and understood, just as the one who is ignorant is scattered, not having grasped what he was ignorant of. Such a mind, therefore, when it understands, turns back upon itself, not being scattered outside itself, but being united to itself through the things by which it returned to itself. But there is another union, besides that of the holy minds, which is the noetic union of the soul.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":202,"ref":"p202","source":"οἱ μέν γάρ νοητοί, ἡ δέ νοερά, πάντων ὑποβεβηκυῖα τῶν ἀγγέλων. Νοερά δέ μόνον ἐστί, δι' ἅς εἰρήκαμεν ἀνωτέρω αἰτίας, ἔνθα καί πλατέως διεξήλθομεν περί τῶν ἐνταῦθα λεγομένων ἐν κεφαλαίῳ πρώτῳ. ( 14 _348 Διά τῆς ἀΰλου καί ἀμεροῦς: Ὅτι καί ἐπί τῶν ἡμετέρων ψυχῶν ἐνδέχεται ἀμερῆ καί ἄϋλον εὑρεθῆναι νόησιν, ὅταν τούς παντοδαπούς αὐτῶν λογισμούς πρός μίαν νοεράν καθαρότητα συνάγωσι· τότε γάρ καί ἐπί τήν ὑπέρ νόησιν ἕνωσιν οἰκείως ἑαυταῖς ὁδῷ τινι καί τάξει προβαίνουσι. Συμφωνίᾳ παντελεῖ καί ὁμονοίᾳ: Παντελῆ εἰρήνην λέγει τήν πάντων τελείαν τῶν ἀγαθῶν, τουτέστι τόν Θεόν.\n\nΚαί συνδέουσα τά ἄκρα: Ἄκρα φησί τάς ἄνω δυνάμεις καί τάς κάτω, καί μέσα, ὡς προέφημεν, τά ἐκ τῆς καθαρωτάτης ὕλης, οἷον οὐρανούς, καί ἀστέρας, καί τά ἕτερα ἄκρα τά ἐπίγεια καί γεώδη αὐτά· ἄκρα μέν γάρ ἀπό τῶν ἄνω ἐπί τά κάτω τά νοητά· πάλιν δέ ἄκρα κάτωθεν ἐπί τά ἄνω τά γήϊνα ταῦτα, ἅ καί συνάπτονται τοῖς μέσοις. Ὁμόγνια δέ τά συγγενῆ καί ἐκ τοῦ πάντων αἰτίου προελθόντα. Καί ταῖς ἐσχάταις; Ἐσχάταις τοῦ παντός ἀποπερατώσεις τάς ἀψύχους οὐσίας φησί, τουτέστιν ἐν αἷς οὐδεμία κίνησις αὐξητική ἤ θρεπτική ἤ τῶν ἄλλων τις θεωρεῖται. Ὁμόγνια δέ τά ἀδελφά καί ὁμόστοιχα. Διαφέρει δέ ἑνότης ἑνώσεως· ἡ μέν γαρ τό ἰδιάζον καί ἀμιγές τῆς καθ' ἕκαστον δείκνυσι φύσεως, ἡ δέ ἕνωσις τήν πρός ἕτερα σύγκρασιν, ἥ ἁπλῶς μετουσίαν.","english":"For the intelligible beings are one thing, but the noetic soul is another, inferior to all the angels. It is noetic only, for the reasons we stated above, where we also treated at length the matters here discussed in the first chapter. (14, 348) Through the immaterial and partless: That even in the case of our souls it is possible for noetic thought to be found partless and immaterial, whenever they gather their manifold reasonings into one noetic purity; for then they advance in a fitting way, by some path and order, toward the union that is beyond thought. With complete concord and unanimity: He calls complete peace the perfect peace of all good things, that is, God.\n\nAnd binding the extremes: By \"extremes\" he means the powers above and those below, and, as we said, the middle things that come from the purest matter, such as the heavens and the stars, and the other extremes, the earthly and terrestrial things themselves; for the extremes are, on the one hand, the intelligible things from above down to the things below; and again, extremes from below up to the things above are these earthly things, which are also joined to the middle things. And \"kindred\" means those of the same kin and those that proceeded from the cause of all things. And the last? By \"last\" he means the extremities of the whole, the soulless substances, that is, those in which no growth, no nutritive movement, nor any of the others is observed. And \"kindred\" means those that are brothers and of the same rank. Unity differs from union: the former shows the distinctive and unmixed character of each nature, while the latter shows the commingling with other things, or simply participation.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":203,"ref":"p203","source":"Ὅλη πρός ὅλην: Καί νῦν τήν οἰκείαν ἀκρίβειαν φυλάττει· εἰπών γάρ ὁμόγνια, τουτέστι συγγενῆ, καί τοῦ αὐτοῦ γένους, ἅτε παρά τοῦ παντός γενάρχου Θεοῦ προεληλυθότα, κατά τόν χρησάμενον τῷ ρήματι Ἀπόστολον, «τοῦ γάρ καί γένος ἐσμέν», λέγει δέ καί τήν αἰτίαν, καθ' ἥν ὁμόγνια τά πάντα· καί φησιν, ὅτι τέως τά νοητά ταῖς ἑνότησι, τουτέστι κατά τό ἁπλοῦν καί ( 14 _350 ἀσύνθετον τῶν οὐσιῶν, καί κατά τήν ἀθανασίαν, ἥν ταυτότητα λέγουσιν οἱ περί τούτων διαλεχθέντες, συγγενῆ ποιεῖ ὁ Θεός καί ὁμόστοιχα. Ὥσπερ οὖν καί τά αἰσθητά ταῖς ἐκ τῶν διαφόρων στοιχείων ἑνώσεσιν, ἤτοι συγκρίμασι, καί ταῖς συναγωγαῖς τῶν τοιούτων μιγμάτων εἰς γένεσιν ἄγων τάς ἀλληλουχίας, οἷόν τινας συγγενείας ἀποτελεῖ.\n\n§ 3. Πῶς δέ, φαίη τις: Ἀντίθεσις πρός τούς λέγοντας, μή ἐφίεσθαι πάντα εἰρήνης, καί τί ἐστιν ἑτερότης.\n\nΤῶν ὄντων ἰδιότητα: Σημείωσαι, τί φησιν ἰδιότητα· ὅτι τό εἶναι ἕκαστον, ὡς ἔχει φύσεως, καί κατά τό αὐτό ὡς γέγονε. Ταῦτα κατά Ἀκεφάλων, τῶν καί ἀγνοούντων, τί ἐστιν ἰδιότης. Ἐπί πολύ δέ κατεξετάζει τήν περί τῆς ἰδιότητος κυριολεξίαν, σαφηνίζων αὐτήν.","english":"Whole to whole: And now he preserves his own exactness; for having said “of the same kin,” that is, kindred, and of the same race, as having come forth from God the universal progenitor, according to the Apostle who used the phrase, “for we are also his offspring,” he also states the reason according to which all things are of the same kin; and he says that for the present the intelligible things, by their unities, that is, according to the simplicity and non-composite nature of their essences, and according to immortality, which those who have discoursed on these matters call identity, God makes kindred and of the same rank. Just as, then, he also brings the sensible things, by the unions of the different elements, that is, by their compounds, and by the gatherings of such mixtures into generation, producing their interconnections, forms, as it were, certain kinships.\n\n§ 3. How, someone might say: A contradiction against those who say that not all things desire peace, and what otherness is.\n\nThe property of beings: Note what he says “property” means: that each thing is, as it has by nature, and in the same way as it has come to be. These things are against the Acephali, who are also ignorant of what property is. And at length he examines the strict usage concerning property, making it clear.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":204,"ref":"p204","source":"Ἀλλά καί ταύτην εἰρήνης ἔφεσιν: Ἐντεῦθεν ἡ λύσις. Τῶν ἑαυτῶν δέ φησιν ἀντί τοῦ τῶν ἰδιωμάτων.\n\nἈκινησίαν: Ἀκινησίαν φησί τό μή μεταπίπτειν τῆς οἰκείας φύσεως καί κινήσεως.\n\n§ 4. Καί εἰ τά κινούμενα πάντα: Καλῶς εἶπε τά πάντα κινεῖσθαι οὐ μίαν κίνησιν, ἀλλ' ἰδίαν τινά καί κατάλληλον κίνησιν· τά μέν γάρ νοητά καί νοερά ἄλλως, τά δέ αἰσθητά τήν εἰς γένεσιν, ἤ καί ποιάν τινα κίνησιν κινεῖται, περί ὧν ἐν τῷ ἐνάτῳ κεφαλαίῳ διεξήλθομεν τελειότερον. Καί τήν πάντων τῶν κινουμένων ἰδιότητα: Ὅτι ἰδιότης ἐστί καί ἡ κινητική ζωή τοῦ καθ ' ἕκαστον.\n\n§ 5. Εἰ δέ τήν κατ' ἔκπτωσιν: Πρός τούς λέγοντας ἑτερότητα εἶναι τήν κατ' ἔκπτωσιν τῆς εἰρήνης, καί ἐντεῦθεν ἰσχυριζομένους, μή πᾶσιν ἐραστήν εἶναι τήν εἰρήνην. Σημείωσαι τάς δύο ἑτερότητας μίαν μέν τήν κατ' ἔκπτωσίν εἰρήνης, καί ἑτέραν τήν τῶν ὄντων ἑκάστου ἰδιότητα.\n\n( 14 _352 Τό γάρ πάντῃ ἄστατον: Θαυμασίως ἀθετεῖ τάς τῶν Ἑλλήνων καί τῶν τοιούτων αἱρετικῶν γνώμας, οἷον Οὐαλεντινιανῶν καί Μανιχαίων, τῶν τήν ὕλην ὑποθεμένων ἀρχήν, τά ἐναντία φέρουσαν ἐν ἑαυτῇ τοῖς τοῦ Θεοῦ· ἀστασίαν γάρ καί περιφοράν καί ἀπειρίαν καί ἀορτιστίαν, καί ταῦτα πάντα διηνεκῆ τήν ὕλην ἔφησαν, ὅπερ ἀποδείκνυται ψευδές ἀληθῶς παντελῶς. Οὐδέν γάρ ἐστιν, οὐδέ γέγονεν, ὅ μή ἀφ' οὗ παρήχθη καί διακεκοσμημένον ὑπό Θεοῦ παρήχθη εἰς εἶδος καί τοῦ ὄντως ἔχειν ὡς παρήχθη, προνοίας ἔτυχεν ἀπό Θεοῦ. Ἀμαυροῖς εἰδώλοις: Ἀντί τοῦ ἀμυδροῖς εἰκονίσμασιν· ἐφίενται γάρ τῆς πρός τάς ρεούσας καί φθειρομένας ἡδυπαθείας, ἀπολαύσεως καί συναφείας, καί τό πρός","english":"But also this desire for peace: Hence the resolution. And “of their own,” he says, instead of “of the properties.”\n\nImmovability: He calls immovability the not falling away from one’s own nature and motion.\n\n§ 4. And if all things that are moved: He well said that all things are moved, not by one motion, but by some proper and fitting motion; for intelligible and intellectual things are moved otherwise, while sensible things are moved toward generation, or also by some sort of motion, about which we went through more perfectly in the ninth chapter. And the peculiarity of all things that are moved: That the motive life of each individual is also a peculiarity.\n\n§ 5. But if the one according to fall: Against those who say that the one according to fall from peace is otherness, and from this maintain that peace is not desired by all. Note the two othernesses: one, the one according to fall from peace, and the other, the peculiarity of each of existing things.\n\n(14_352 For the wholly unstable: He wonderfully sets aside the opinions of the Greeks and of such heretics, such as the Valentinians and Manichaeans, who supposed matter to be a first principle, bearing in itself things contrary to those of God; for they said that matter is instability and revolution and infinity and unsettledness, and all these things continually, which is shown truly to be wholly false. For there is nothing, nor has anything come to be, which, after it was produced and ordered by God, was not produced into form and did not obtain providence from God to have being as it was produced. By dim images: Instead of “by faint likenesses”; for they strive for enjoyment and union with flowing and corruptible pleasures, and the toward","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":205,"ref":"p205","source":"ταύτας ἀστασιάστως ὁρᾷν αἱρούμενοι, ἤγουν τούτων μετέχειν, διά τό μή τοῦτο αὐτοῖς, φησί, κατά νοῦν χωρεῖν, ἐκταράσσονται, Καί ταῦτα ἱστᾷν: Οὕτω δεῖ τό ρητόν τοῦτο συνθεῖναι, ὅτι καί οἱ φιλέριδες καί ἄστατοι ἀμαυροῖς καί αὐτοί εἰδώλοις τοῦ ἀγαπᾷν εἰρήνην κατέχονται· ὑπό γάρ παθῶν ἐνοχλούμενοι, καί τά πάθη κατά ἄγνοιαν, ὡς καλά θέλοντες ἱστᾷν, δοκοῦσιν εἰρήνης ὀρέγεσθαι, ἐφιέμενοι ἀδεῶς ἑαυτούς ἀπολαύειν τῶν ρευστῶν καί κακῶν παθῶν, ἐκταραττομένους, ἐάν ἀποτύχωσι τοῦ ἀπολαύειν τῶν νομιζομένων καλῶν, ὄντων δέ παθῶν. Κατά κοινοῦ οὖν τό ἑαυτούς τακτέον, ἵνα ἦ, ἐφιέμενοι ἑαυτούς, ἅτε ἐκταραττομένους, ἐάν ἀποτύχωσι τῶν παθῶν, δοκοῦσιν εἰρηνεύειν ἑαυτούς εἰς τό ἀπολαύειν τῶν παθῶν. Οὕτω νόησον καί τό 'πάντας ἐφίεσθαι εἰρήνης', τουτέστι τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ.\n\nΤί ἄν τις εἴποι περί τῆς κατά Χριστόν: Πῶς εἰρήνη Ἰησοῦς Χριστός ἡμῶν καί ἀγγέλων, παύσας τόν πόλεμον, καί τό μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ λύσας, καί εἰρήνην μεταξύ ἡμῶν βραβεύσας, ( 14 _354 σας, καί ποιήσας τά ἀμφότερα ἕν, ὡς ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολος ἐν τῇ πρός Ἐφεσίους φησίν.","english":"Choosing to see these things without faction, that is, to partake of them, because this, he says, does not enter their mind, they are thrown into confusion. And “to establish these things”: This saying must be composed thus, that both the contentious and the unstable are themselves held by dim images of loving peace; for being troubled by passions, and wishing through ignorance to establish the passions as though they were good, they seem to desire peace, eagerly seeking to enjoy without fear the fluxive and evil passions, being thrown into confusion if they fail to enjoy the things thought to be good, though they are passions. Therefore “themselves” must be placed in common, so that it may be: eagerly seeking themselves, inasmuch as they are thrown into confusion if they fail of the passions, they seem to make peace for themselves, to the end of enjoying the passions. Understand thus also the phrase “all desire peace,” that is, of the good.\n\nWhat could one say about the peace according to Christ? How Jesus Christ is our peace and that of angels, having stopped the war, and having broken down the middle wall of partition, and having arbitrated peace between us, and having made both one, as the divine Apostle says in the Epistle to the Ephesians.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":206,"ref":"p206","source":"Καθ' ἥν οὐ μή μάθωμεν ἔτι πολεμεῖν: Ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν ὁ μή ἑαυτῷ πολεμῶν, ὁ θυμόν καί ἐπιθυμίαν καθυποτάξας τῷ λόγῳ. Εἰρηνεύει δέ καί πρός ἀνθρώπους ὁ τήν γνώμην μίαν πρός πάντας κτησάμενος. Ὁ δέ τόν ἑαυτοῦ νοῦν πρός τά διά τῶν ἀγγέλων κινούμενα παρασχών πειθήνιον, οὗτος καί μετά τῶν ἀγγέλων τήν εἰρήνην ἐκτήσατο.\n\nἈλλά καί αὐτοῖς τά θεῖα: Τουτέστι τήν αὐτήν αὐτοῖς περί τό Θεῖον σέβας λατρείαν καί προσκύνησιν ἐπιτελέσωμεν.\n\nἘν ταῖς θεολογικαῖς: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι ἐστίν αὐτοῦ καί θεολογικῶν ὑποτυπώσεων σύνταγμα· τοῦτο καί ἐν ἀρχῇ τοῦ πρώτου κεφαλαίου φησι: § 6. Δι' ἐπιστολῆς ἐπύθου: Πῶς νοεῖ τόν Θεόν αὐτοζωήν εἶναι καί τῆς αὐτοζωῆς ὑποστάτην, καί τά ὅμοια. Καλῶς δέ αὐτό φησι καί κατά τό ἐν ταῖς ἐπιστολαῖς, μάλιστα τῇ δευτέρα. Σημείωσαι, ὅτι καί ἐκ τῶν ὄντων καί ἐξ αὐτοῦ παραχθέντων ὁ Θεός ὀνομάζεται, ὡς αἴτιος αὐτῶν ὑπάρχων, Ἐκ τῶν πρώτως ὄντων: Πρώτως ὄντα, οἶμαι, αὐτόν εἰρηκέναι τάς ὑπερκοσμίους φύσεις, ὡς πρώτως καί ἀκραιφνῶς τῶν θείων δωρεῶν μετεχούσας, ζωῆς καί τῶν λοιπῶν. Ἐκ τῶν ὄντων τοίνυν, τουτέστι τῶν ἐν τοῖς οὖσι θεωρουμένων, λέγεται ὁ Θεός τῆς αὐτοζωῆς, ἤγουν τοῦ αὐτοῦ πράγματος καί τοῦ εἴδους αὐτῆς ὑποστάτης καί παραγωγεύς· ἐξ ἑνός γάρ τοῦ τῆς ζωῆς καί περί τῶν ὁμοίων ἡμᾶς ὁμοίως νοεῖν δεῖ. Ὅταν δέ ὁ Θεός αὐτός λέγηται αὐτοζωή καί τά παραπλήσια, ὡς ταῦτα ὑπάρχων ὑπέρ φύσιν πᾶσαν λέγεται, ἤγουν καί ὑπέρ ἀγγέλους καί πᾶσαν νοεράν οὐσίαν.","english":"By which we shall no longer learn to make war: This is the one who does not war against himself, who has subjected anger and desire to reason. And he is at peace also with men who has acquired a single disposition toward all. And he who presents his own mind as obedient to the things moved by the angels—this man has obtained peace also with the angels.\n\nBut also to them the divine things: That is, let us perform the same service and worship toward the Divine as they do.\n\nIn the theological: Note that there is also a compilation of his theological outlines; this he also says at the beginning of the first chapter: § 6. You inquired by letter: How he understands God to be auto-life and the hypostasis of auto-life, and similar things. And he says this well also in the letters, especially the second. Note that God is named both from the things that exist and from what has been produced from him, as being their cause. From the things primarily existing: I think he has called the supramundane natures \"primarily existing,\" as partaking primarily and purely of the divine gifts—life and the rest. From the things that exist, therefore—that is, from the things contemplated in existing things—God is said to be the hypostasis and producer of auto-life, that is, of the thing itself and its form; for from one of life and concerning similar things we must think similarly. But when God himself is called auto-life and the like, he is said to be these things as existing above all nature, that is, above angels and every noetic essence.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":207,"ref":"p207","source":"Ἐκ τῶν πρώτως: Πρώτως ὄντα τάς νοητάς φησι δημιουργίας, τάς καί ἀσωμάτους, τουτέστι τούς ἀγγέλους. Σημείωσαι τό ἀρχηγικῶς, ὅτι πρώτως ὑφέστηκε, φησί, τό ὑπερούσιον ( 14 _356 ἀντί τοῦ, ὁ Θεός· μόνος γάρ ποιητής νοητῶν καί αἰσθητῶν· οὐ γάρ δεῖ πείθεσθαι τοῖς λέγουσι τάς δημιουργικάς δυνάμεις τοῦ Θεοῦ, θεούς εἶναι, ὅπερ οὐκ ἔστι· μόνος γάρ ὁ Θεός δημιουργός. Σημείωσαι, ὅτι μόνος ὁ Θεός ποιητής πάντων νοητῶν καί αἰσθητῶν. Ἀγκύλον: Ἐπικαμπές.\n\nΚαί θεούς τῶν ὄντων: Ὅτι οὔκ εἰσι θεοί ἤ δημιουργοί ἄγγελοι, οὐδέ ἄλλο τι παρά τόν Θεόν.\n\nἈληθῶς καί κυρίως: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι οὐδέ οὗτος ὁ θεῖος ἀνήρ διαφοράν οἶδε τοῦ κυρίως καί ἀληθῶς.\n\nΤήν αὐτοουσίωσιν: Ἐν τούτοις σαφέστερον τήν λύσιν ἐποιήσατο τοῦ προτεθέντος προβλήματος, ὅπως χρή λαβεῖν τό, ποτέ λέγεσθαι μέν αὐτόν αὐτοζωήν\n\nκαί τά σύν αὐτῷ τόν Θεόν, ποτέ δέ τούτων ὑποστάτην, ἤγουν ταῦτα ὑποστήσαντα· ὅτι ὁ μέν, ὡς αἴτιος τούτων καί ἀρχή ὑπεράρχιος, οὕτω ταῦτα λέγεται· τά δε ὄντα τούτων μετέχοντα, καλοῦνται ἐξ αὐτῶν ζῶντα καί ὄντα καί ἔνθεα. Τήν ζώωσιν γοῦν, τήν οὐσίωσιν ἀντί τοῦ τά πράγματα, ὑπέστησεν ὁ Θεός. Πρώτως οὖν ἐννοούμεθα αὐτό τό πρᾶγμα, εἶθ' οὕτω τήν καθολικήν αὐτοῦ ἔννοιαν, οἷον τήν παντοίως θεωρουμένην ζωήν ἤ οὐσίαν, καί τότε τά μερικά, τουτέστι τήν τοῦ καθ' ἕκαστον εἶδος ἔννοιαν λαμβάνομεν, οἷον τῆς ἀγγελικῆς ἤ τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ζωῆς, καί τῶν λοιπῶν οἷς συνεισβάλλει, καί αὐτῶν τῶν μετεχόντων ἡ μνήμη. Ἐπαγαγών δέ εἶτα τῶν ὅλων αὐτῶν μετεχόντων, ἐδήλωσεν ὡς οὐ πάντα πάντων μετέχουσι·","english":"From the first: He says that the first existing intelligible creations, which are also incorporeal, are the angels. Note the word \"originally,\" that the supersubstantial one subsisted first, he says (that is, God; for he alone is the maker of intelligible and sensible things; for one must not be persuaded by those who say that the creative powers of God are gods, which is not the case; for God alone is the creator). Note that God alone is the maker of all intelligible and sensible things. \"Crooked\": bent.\n\nAnd gods of beings: That the angels are not gods or creators, nor is anything else besides God.\n\nTruly and properly: Note that not even this divine man knows a distinction between \"properly\" and \"truly.\"\n\nThe self-substantiation: In these words he made the solution of the proposed problem more clearly, namely how one should understand the statement that he is sometimes called Life itself and God along with him, and sometimes the substantiator of these things, that is, the one who substantiated them; because the one, as the cause of these things and a super-original principle, is thus called these things; but the beings that participate in these things are called from them living and being and divine. Therefore God substantiated the living-making, the substantiation, in place of the things themselves. First, then, we conceive the thing itself, then its universal concept, such as life or essence contemplated in every way, and then we take the particular things, that is, the concept of each individual species, such as angelic or human life, and of the rest with which it enters, and the memory of the participants themselves. Then, having brought in the participants of all these things, he showed that not all things participate in all things.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":208,"ref":"p208","source":"τά μέν γάρ οὐσίας μόνης, τά δέ ζωῆς, τά δέ καί νοήσεως ἤ καί νοερότητος, τά δέ πρός τούτοις καί θεώσεως.\n\nὍν τά ὄντα οἰκειως ἑαυτοῖς: Τό δοκοῦν ἀσαφέστερον σαφηνιστέον οὕτως· ὁ Θεός πάντα εἰς σωτηρίαν ἐν ἑαυτῷ προέχων ὑπερηνωμένως καί ἀσυνθέτως, καί ὡς πηγαία ἀρχή δι' ἀγαθότητος ὑπερβολήν, καί τοῖς ἐξ αὐτοῦ δημιουργικῶς ὑποστᾶσι, ( 14 _358 καθάπερ ἀκτῖνάς τινας ἀφιείς, μένων ὅλως ἐν ἑαυτῷ μεταδίδωσι μεθεκτῶς ἑκάστῳ οἰκείως τῶν μεγάλων αὐτοῦ προτερημάτων· αἱ οὖν ἐκ τῶν ἐνόντων αὐτῷ ἀγαθῶν εἰς μετάδοσιν ἐλλάμψεις πρωτοτύπως λέγονται καί αὐτοεῖναι καί αὐτοζωώσεις καί αὐτοθεώσεις καί ὅσα τοιαῦτα κατά μίμησιν τῶν ἀρχῶν, τουτέστιν τῶν αὐτοῦ δή τοῦ Θεοῦ ὄντων, φημί τῆς αὐτοθεότητος καί αὐτοαγαθότητος καί αὐτοζωῆς· δευτέρως δέ καί ὅλα αὐτά ὑποστῆναι λέγεται, διά τῶν κατά πρόοδον ὑποστασῶν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ οὐσιῶν, ζωῶν οὐσῶν οὐσιωδῶς καί διδομένων μεθεκτῶς τοῖς ἀξίοις· τρίτως δέ τῶν μερικῶν τούτων μεταδόσεων· τινά γάρ μετέχει ζωώσεως μόνης, τινά δέ καί θεώσεως, τινά δέ καί τῶν ὅλων ὁμοῦ τούτων, ὡς αἱ ἀνώταται νοηταί δυνάμεις.","english":"For some are of essence only, others of life, others also of thought or intelligence, and others besides these of deification.\n\n\"He who is [all things] to beings in a manner proper to themselves\": What seems rather unclear must be clarified thus: God, pre-possessing all things in himself for salvation in a supremely unified and uncomposed manner, and as a source-origin through the excess of his goodness, also to the things that have come to subsist from him by creation—as it were sending forth certain rays, while remaining wholly in himself—imparts in a participated manner to each according to its own capacity his great prerogatives. The illuminations, then, that come from the good things present in him for impartation are called primarily \"self-existing\" and \"self-living\" and \"self-deifying\" and whatever else of this kind, in imitation of the principles, that is, of the things that are his, God's own—I mean his self-deity and self-goodness and self-life. Secondarily, all these things are said to have subsisted through the essences that have come to subsist from him by procession, which are lives in an essential way and are given in a participated manner to those who are worthy. Thirdly, [they are said to subsist] through the particular impartations of these; for some partake of living only, others also of deification, others also of all these together, as do the highest intelligible powers.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":209,"ref":"p209","source":"Τῶν μερικῶν: Μερικά φησι τάς διαδοχάς τῶν γενῶν. Καί τῆς αὐτοαγαθότητος: Ὅτι καί τῆς αὐτοαγαθότητος καί θεότητος ὑποστάτης ἐστίν ὁ ὑπεράγαθος καί ὑπέρθεος. Σημείωσαι οὖν ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν οὐσία Θεοῦ τά τοιαῦτα. Ἀνάγνωθι ἐν τῇ β ' πρός Γάϊον ἐπιστολῇ. Προνοίας καί ἀγαθότητας: Προνοίας καί ἀγαθότητάς φησιν, ἅπερ προεΐπεν οὐσίωσιν, ζώωσιν, ἀγαθότητα, θεότητα, κάλλος, καί τά ὅμοια. Ἐκ Θεοῦ τοῦ ἀμεθέκτου: Πρό βραχέος εἰπών μεθεκτόν τόν Θεόν, νῦν ἀμέθεκτον αὐτόν φησιν εἶναι· μεθεκτός μέν οὖν ὁ Θεός κατά τάς φιλοδώρους αὐτοῦ μεταδόσεις, ἀμέθεκτος δέ κατά τό αὐτόν αἴτιον ὄντα, καί τοῦτο ὑπέρ πάντα ἔχειν ἰδίως, ὧν πάντα προσφόρως μετέχει· ὅμοιον γάρ ἐστι τοῦτο τῷ εἰρημένῳ ἄνω ἐν κεφαλαίῳ πέμπτῳ, ὅτι τό ὄν καί ἐν τοῖς πᾶσίν ( 14 _360 ἐστι, καί οὐδέν τῶν πάντων ἐστί· διά γάρ τό συνέχειν καί ζωοῦν καί φυλάττειν λέγεται ἐν τοῖς πᾶσιν εἶναι, οὐδέν δέ τῶν ὄντων ἐστί· καθ' ὅ αἴτιον τῆς πάντων παραγωγῆς, οὐκ ἄν δέ τό αἴτιον ἐκ τῶν αἰτιατῶν εἴη. Οὕτω καί ἐνταῦθα, μεθεκτός μέν ὁ Θεός καθ' ὅ πάντα τά ὄντα αὐτοῦ μετέχει, καί δι' αὐτοῦ συνέστηκε· τό γάρ αὐτοῦ μή μετέχον, οὔτε ἔστιν, οὔτε ἔσται, οὔτε ἦν. Ἀμέθεκτος δέ πάλιν, ἐπειδή τῆς αὐτοῦ οὐσίας οὐδέν τῶν ὄντων μετέχει· ὑπέρ τά ὄντα γάρ ὁ Θεός κατά τήν ἰδίαν φύσιν. ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ ΙΒ' § 1. Τῷ διπλασιασμῷ τῶν ὀνομάτων: Διπλασιασμόν ὀνομάτων φησί τό πρός τό ἁπλοῦν ὑπερθετικόν, οἷον Ἅγιον ἁγίων, Κύριον κυρίων, Θεόν θεῶν, καί Βασιλέα βασιλέων, καί τά ὅμοια τούτων.","english":"On the Particular: He calls the successions of the genera \"particular.\" And of Self-Goodness: [He means] that the Supremely Good and Supremely Divine is the very subsistence of self-goodness and divinity. Note, then, that such things are not the essence of God. Read the second letter to Gaius. Providences and goodnesses: He says \"providences and goodnesses,\" which he previously called essentialization, vivification, goodness, divinity, beauty, and the like. From God who is unparticipated: Having shortly before called God participated, he now says that he is unparticipated. God is participated, then, according to his gift-loving communications, but unparticipated according to his being himself the Cause, and having this uniquely beyond all things of which all things participate in a fitting manner. For this is similar to what was said above in the fifth chapter, that Being is in all things and is none of all things. For because he contains, vivifies, and preserves, he is said to be in all things, yet he is none of existing things; insofar as he is the Cause of the production of all things, the Cause would not be from among the effects. So also here: God is participated insofar as all existing things participate in him and have their constitution through him—for that which does not participate in him neither is, nor will be, nor was. But he is again unparticipated, since none of existing things participates in his essence; for God is beyond existing things according to his own nature. ON CHAPTER 12 § 1. By the doubling of the names: He calls the superlative relative to the simple a \"doubling of names,\" for example Holy of Holies, Lord of Lords, God of Gods, and King of Kings, and the like to these.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":210,"ref":"p210","source":"§ 2. Διό καί κυριότης: Ταῦτά φασιν οἱ δύο Γρηγόριοι, ὅ τε Θεολόγος καί ὁ Νύσσης.\n\n§ 3. Ἀπολύτως ὑμνητέον: Ἀπολύτως, τουτέστιν οὐ κατά τι μέν, κατά τι δέ οὔ, ἤ ὡς πρός τι ἕτερον, ἀλλά κατά ἁπλῆν ἔννοιαν, τουτέστι κυρίως. Καί ἀνισότητα: Αὕτη ἐστίν ἡ ἑνότης, τό τῆς ἰσότητος καί ταυτότητος λέγω· τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τό αἴτιον τῆς συμπνοίας καί τῆς συμπαθείας καί τῆς σωτηρίας τῶν ὅλων· ὁ γάρ τῆς ἑνότητος λόγος, ὁ κατά τά αὐτά καί ὡσαύτως ἔχων, ἕν εἰκότως ἄν προσαγορεύοιτο· καί γάρ τό ἐν τοῖς κατά μέρος ἕν τοιοῦτον ὑπάρχει, ἡνωμένον τοῖς μέρεσι, καί σύμπνουν κατά μετουσίαν τοῦ πρώτου αἰτίου. Κατά τοῦτον τόν λόγον καί ὁ Κύριος ὑπό τῶν μαθητῶν αἰτεῖ, «ἵνα ὦσι καί αὐτοί ἕν, ὡς καί ἡμεῖς ἕν ἐσμεν, ἵνα ὦσι τετελειωμένοι εἰς τό ἕν», ὅ δηλοῖ τήν ἁγιότητα, ( 14 _362 ὅ δηλοῖ τήν βασιλείαν, γάννυται δέ, ἤτοι εὐφραίνεται ἐπί τοῖς ἰδίοις ποιήμασιν ὁ Θεός, κατά τό ἐν ψαλμοῖς· «εὐφρανθήσεται Κύριος ἐπί τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῦ», ὅ δηλοῖ τήν κυριότητα. § 4. Ὁ ἀμέθεκτος αἴτιος: Ἀμέθεκτος ὁ Θεός κατά τόν τῆς φύσεως λόγον. Ἅγιος ἁγίων ὑμνεῖται: Πῶς Ἅγιος ἁγίων καί τά τοιαῦτα ὑμνεῖται ὁ Θεός, θαυμασίως ἐτράνωσε, καί φησι, καθ' ὅσον διαφέρει φύσις ἀκραιφνής καί αἰτία ποιότητος καί αἰτιατοῦ· τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τό ὄν πρός τό μή κυρίως ὄν, καί καθ' ὅσον τούτου μετέχοντος αὐτό τό μετεχόμενον, κατά τοσοῦτον διαλλάττει ὁ Θεός ταῦτα λεγόμενος τῶν κατά μέθεξιν τοῦτο ἐσχηκότων· τά γάρ πάντα ἐκ Θεοῦ ἐστι καί λέγεται καί ἔχει, ὁ Θεός ἐξ οὐδενός.","english":"§ 2. Therefore also \"lordship\": The two Gregories say these things, both the Theologian and the one of Nyssa.\n\n§ 3. \"Absolutely to be hymned\": Absolutely, that is, not in one respect and not in another, nor in relation to something else, but according to a simple conception, that is, properly. And \"inequality\": This is the unity, I mean that of equality and identity; for this is the cause of the concord and the sympathy and the salvation of all things; for the principle of unity, which holds in the same respects and in the same way, would reasonably be called one; for even the one in things that are in part is of this sort, united in its parts, and concordant by participation in the first cause. According to this principle the Lord also asks of the disciples, \"that they too may be one, as we also are one, that they may be perfected into the one,\" which signifies holiness, (14_362) which signifies the kingdom; and God rejoices, that is, is glad, over his own works, according to what is in the Psalms: \"The Lord will rejoice over his works,\" which signifies the lordship. § 4. \"The unparticipated cause\": God is unparticipated according to the principle of nature. \"Holy of holies is hymned\": How God is hymned as Holy of holies and the like, he has wonderfully made clear, and says, inasmuch as a pure nature differs from the cause of quality and of the thing caused; for this is the difference of that which is from that which is not properly; and inasmuch as the participated itself differs from that which participates in it, to that extent God, being called these things, differs from those who have this by participation; for all things are from God and are said and have [their being], but God is from nothing.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":211,"ref":"p211","source":"Διά τί Ἅγιος ἁγίων, καί Βασιλεύς βασιλευόντων, καί Κύριος τῶν κυρίων, καί Θεός θεῶν λέγεται. Ἁγίους δέ καί βασιλεῖς: Θείας ἐπινοίας ὁ μακάριος οὗτος ἠξιωμένος, εὐσεβῶς τά παρά τισιν εἰς πολυθεΐαν ἐκπεσόντα φιλοθέως μυσταγωγεῖ καί τάς ἐφεστηκυίας τῶν ὑποβεβηκότων ἀρχάς κατά ἐξοχήν ἁγίους καί βασιλεῖς καί κυρίους καί θεούς λέγεσθαί φησιν, ὥσπερ καί ἐν ἀνθρώποις οἱ ἐξοχώτατοι οὕτω προσαγορεύονται, καί ὥσπερ ἐν ἡμῖν οἱ ἐν ἀρετῇ προὔχοντες διδάσκαλοι τήν ἀρετήν ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ ἑνιαίως συνηθροισμένην ἔχουσι, διά δέ τῆς διδασκαλίας ἑτέροις τάς ἀρετάς μεταδιδόντες πρός τήν διαφοράν τοῦ πλήθους τῶν διδασκομένων πληθύνεται καί ἡ μεταδιδομένη παρ' αὐτῶν ἀρετή· οὕτως ἰσχυροτέρῳ τινί καί θειοτέρῳ τρόπῳ ἐστί τῶν ἀσωμάτων τάξεων θεωρητόν· καί διά τῶν ἀνωτέρων καί πλησιαιτέρων Θεῷ αἱ ὑποβεβηκυῖαι τάξεις μετέχουσι τῶν δωρεῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὥσπερ ἐκ κρατῆρος ὑπερβλύζοντος καί πηγάζοντος, τά μέν πλησιάζοντα ( 14 _364 σκεύη πρῶτα πληροῦνται, δεχόμενα τό ἐπί τά αὐτά φερόμενον, εἶτα, καί αὐτῶν ὑπερβλυζόντων, διαχεῖται εἰς ἕτερα ὑποκείμενα σκεύη, καί πρός τό πλῆθος τῶν δεχομένων καί τήν διαφοράν εἴτε μικρῶν εἴτε μεγάλων, οἷον διαρραντίζεται τό ἐκ τοῦ κρατῆρος ἀναβλῦζον τῶν πρώτων σκευῶν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἐχόντων κατά τήν ἑνότητα τοῦ πληρώματος τό πρώτως ἐκ τοῦ κρατῆρος ἐνεχθέν· οὕτω παχυτέρῳ λόγῳ τήν ἀφθονίαν τῆς μεταδόσεως τῶν θείων δωρεῶν μεριζομένην εἰς ἅπαντας διά τῶν πρώτων διακόσμων νοητέον. Καί ὁ Ἀπόστολος «σκεῦος γάρ ἐκλογῆς» ὠνομάσθη.","english":"Why is He called Holy of Holies, and King of kings, and Lord of lords, and God of gods? And \"holy\" and \"kings\": This blessed man, having been deemed worthy of divine conceptions, piously and God-lovingly initiates into the things that have fallen among some into polytheism, and he says that the presiding principalities of the subordinate orders are called \"holy\" and \"kings\" and \"lords\" and \"gods\" by way of pre-eminence, just as among men those who are most eminent are so addressed, and just as among us the teachers who excel in virtue have virtue gathered in the soul in a unified way, but through teaching they impart the virtues to others, and the virtue imparted by them is multiplied according to the difference of the multitude of those taught; so too in some stronger and more divine manner is it contemplated in the incorporeal orders; and through the higher and nearer to God, the subordinate orders partake of the gifts of God, as from a bowl overflowing and gushing forth: the vessels nearest are filled first, receiving what is borne upon them, then, when these too overflow, it is diffused into other vessels placed beneath, and according to the number of those receiving and the difference whether small or great, the water bubbling up from the bowl is, as it were, sprinkled abroad, while the first vessels contain in themselves, according to the unity of the fullness, what was first carried from the bowl; so too, in a coarser account, one must understand the abundance of the distribution of the divine gifts as divided among all through the first orders. And the Apostle was called \"a vessel of election.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":212,"ref":"p212","source":"Σημείωσαι δέ, ὅτι ἀμέθεκτον νῦν τόν Θεόν κατά τόν τῆς φύσεως λόγον φησί.\n\nΔιαφοράς πληθύουσι: Τουτέστι πλείους δεικνύουσιν· ὅσον γάρ διάφορα τά μετέχοντα, τοσοῦτον καί αἱ δωρεαί πολυειδεῖς διαφαίνονται. ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ ΙΓ' § 1. Ὑφ' ἑαυτοῦ μονοειδῶς ἀφοριζόμενον: Ὁ Θεός ἑαυτοῦ καί ὅρος καί τόπος, καί οὐδέν ὑπερεκτείνεται τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλά καί τά ἄπειρα αὐτός περατοῖ· τούς γάρ αἰῶνας ἀπείρους ὄντας (οὐδέ γάρ ἔχουσι πέρας) αὐτός τῷ ἀπείρῳ μεγέθει ὑπερέχων τῷ ἑαυτοῦ ἀπειροπλασίῳ περιέχει, καί πᾶσαν ἀοριστίαν ζωῆς, ὡς ἐπί τῶν νοητῶν· οὐ γάρ ὥριστα τούτοις ὁ βίος, ὡς ἐπί ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλ’ ἀθάνατοι ἐκτίσθησαν. Ὁ δέ Θεός ἐν τῷ ὑπεραιωνίῳ ἑστώς, τῆς ἰδίας ἀϊδίτητος ὁρίζεται.\n\n§ 2. Ἕν δέ, ὅτι πάντα: Πολλά τῷ ἀριθμῷ, ἕν δέ τῷ εἴδει, ( 14 _366 τά νομίσματα καί τά ἀργύρια καί οἱ ὀβολοί· τό γάρ εἶδος ἕν, ἤ χαλκός ἤ χρυσός ἤ ἄργυρος, τό δέ πολλά ταῖς δυνάμεσιν, ὡς αἱ πόαι, ἕν δέ τῷ εἴδει· πᾶσαι γάρ χόρτος· τό δέ πολλά τοῖς εἴδεσιν, οἷον ἵππος, βοῦς, ἄνθρωπος, καί τά νοητά, ἕν δέ τῷ γένει, ὅτι ταῦτα ζῶόν εἰσι· τό δέ πολλά ταῖς προόδοις, αἱ δημιουργίαι, ἕν δέ τῇ ἀρχῇ· Θεός γάρ αἴτιος πάντων.","english":"Note that he now says God is unparticipated according to the principle of nature.\n\nThey abound in differences: that is, they show them to be more numerous; for to the extent that the things which participate are different, to that same extent the gifts also appear manifold in form. ON CHAPTER 13 § 1. Bounded by itself in a single form: God is His own boundary and place, and nothing extends beyond God, but He also sets limits to the infinite; for the ages, being infinite (for they have no limit), He, surpassing them by His infinite magnitude, contains by His own infinitely-multiplied [magnitude], and [He contains] every indefiniteness of life, as in the case of intelligible beings; for their life is not delimited, as in the case of humans, but they were created immortal. And God, standing in the super-eternal, is bounded by His own eternity.\n\n§ 2. One, because all things: Many in number, but one in species (the coins and the silver and the obols; for the species is one, either bronze or gold or silver), but many in powers, as the grasses, but one in species; for all are grass; but many in species, such as horse, ox, human, and the intelligible beings, but one in genus, because these are living things; but many in processions, the creations, but one in principle; for God is the cause of all.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":213,"ref":"p213","source":"Ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἅπας ἀριθμός: Καλῶς ἀποδείκνυσιν ὅπερ καί βούλεται. Σκοπός γάρ τῷ θείῳ τούτῳ ἀνδρί καί ἀπό τῆς ἀριθμητικῆς συστῆσαι τά ἑαυτοῦ. Λέγει γοῦν, ὅτι οὐδέν ἐστι τῶν ὄντων ἀμέτοχον τοῦ ἑνός, τουτέστι τοῦ Θεοῦ· διότι καί πᾶς ἀριθμός μονάδος μετέχει· εἰ γάρ ἐκ τῶν δύο ἄρξεταί τις, μίαν δυάδα πρώτην ἀριθμεῖ, καί ἐκ τῶν δέκα ὁμοίως, τό πλέον φησίν, ὅτι, κἄν ἐν τῶν λεγομένων πολλοστημορίων ἄρξηταί τις πρῶτον, ἀριθμεῖ ἥμισυ ἕν, καί τρίτον ἕν, δέκατον ἕν, καί οὕτως ἐφεξῆς, ὥστε μή εἶναι ἀριθμόν μή μετέχοντα τοῦ ἑνός, ἤτοι τῆς μονάδος· κἄν γάρ μορίου ἐπιμνησθῇς, ἐρεῖς ἥμισυ ἕν, καί τρίτον ἕν, καί δέκατον ἕν, καί ἐφεξῆς· καί ὅτι μία δυάς, καί μία δεκάς λέγεται, ὡς καί τούτων ἐξ αὐτῆς συμπληρουμένων.\n\nΤόο πάντων αἴτιον ἕν: Ὁ σκοπός δῆλος, ὅτι 'ἕν' λεγόμενος ὁ Θεός, οὐχ ὁμοίως τοῖς ἀριθμητοῖς ἕν λέγεται· ὁ μέν γάρ Θεός ἕν ἐστι, καθό ἁπλοῦς τε καί ἀμερής καί τῆς κατ' εἶδος διαφορᾶς ἄμοιρος καί πάντων παθημάτων καί συμβεβηκότων ἀλλότριος· λέγεται καί ἕν, ἀρχή τις ὥσπερ καί στοιχεῖον τῶν ἐσομένων νοούμενος. Τό δέ ταὐτόν, ἤ ἕτερον, ἤ μεῖζον, ἤ ἔλαττον, ἔτι δέ ἄρτιον ἤ περιττόν, ἤ ἶσον ἤ ἄνισον, ὅπερ ἐν τοῖς ἀριθμοῖς θεωρεῖται, οὐκ ἄν τις εὐλόγως ἐπί τήν ἀρχήν ἀναφέροι, ἀρχήν αὐτά ποιούμενος· τά γάρ τοιαῦτα πάθη καί συμβεβηκότα ἐξ ἀνάγκης εἰσί. Τῶν μέν οὖν ἐν ἀριθμοῖς διαιρέσεων εἰς πλῆθος τό πέρας ( 14 _368 εἰς μονάδα ἀνάγεται, ἡ δέ ἀρχή ἐν ἑκάστῳ γένει ἁπλούστατόν ἐστι·","english":"But just as every number: He well demonstrates what he also intends. For it is the aim of this divine man to establish his own points also from arithmetic. He says, then, that nothing among existing things is without a share in the one, that is, in God; because every number also partakes of the monad. For if one begins from two, he counts one dyad as first, and likewise from ten—he says the more, that even if one begins from one of the so-called fractions first, he counts one half, one third, one tenth, and so on in order, so that there is no number that does not partake of the one, that is, of the monad. For even if you mention a fraction, you will say one half, one third, one tenth, and so on; and that one dyad and one decad are spoken of, as these too being completed from it.\n\nThe one cause of all things: The aim is clear—that God, being called \"one,\" is not called one in the same way as things that are counted. For God is one inasmuch as he is simple and indivisible and shares in no specific difference and is alien to all passions and accidents; he is also called one, being conceived as a kind of principle and element of things that are to be. But the same or other, or greater or less, and further even or odd, or equal or unequal—which is observed in numbers—no one would reasonably refer to the principle, making these the principle; for such things are necessarily passions and accidents. Now the limit of the divisions in numbers into plurality is reduced to the monad, and the principle in each genus is the simplest.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":214,"ref":"p214","source":"καί ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν οὖν, εἴτε τό ἕν πολλά ἐστιν, εἴτε τά πολλά ἕν, ἀρχή τις καί στοιχεῖον τό ἁπλούστατόν ἐστι, καί πάντων ἀμέτοχον ἕν, ἐξ οὗ ὥσπερ ἐκ παραδείγματος καί ἰδέας καί τό ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν ἕν, οἷον κἄν τό αἰσθητόν φῶς πολλά ᾖ τοῖς μέρεσιν, ἀντί τοῦ τοῖς ἄστροις πᾶσιν, ἀλλ’ ὅλον συλλεγόμενον, ἕν φῶς ἐστι· καί πολλά τοῖς συμβεβηκόσιν, οἷον τό ταώς· ἔχει γάρ καί χρυσίζοντα καί κυάνεα καί λευκά, ἕν τῷ ὑποκειμένῳ σώματί ἐστιν· οὕτω καί τά ἑξῆς νοητέον. Οὑδέ γάρ ἐστι πλῆθος: Ὧδε ἐξ ἀριθμητικῆς περιγίνεται τοῦ λεγομένου. Σημείωσαι δέ, ὅτι καί πρό τοῦ ἑνός λέγει εἶναι τόν Θεόν εἰκότως, ἐπειδή πάντων ὑπάρχει, ὅθεν καί τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ δημιουργός, ἤτοι ἐφευρέτης ἐστίν. Ἀλλά τό μέν πολλά: Προσυπακουστέον ἐφ' ἑκάστου τούτων τό 'ὑπάρχον', ἵνα ἦ τό λεγόμενον τοιοῦτον, τό ὑπάρχον τοῖς μέρεσι πολλά ἕν ἐστι τῷ ὅλῳ, οἷον τό σῶμα, οὕτω καί τά λοιπά ἕν τῷ ὑποκειμένῳ ἐστίν, ἤτοι οὐσίᾳ· ἀλλά πολλά τοῖς συμβεβηκόσιν, οἷον ὁ ἄνθρωπος. Συμβεβηκότα δέ τά μέν χωριστά, ὡς τό καθέζεσθαι, περιπατεῖν, καί τά ὅμοια, τά δέ ἀχώριστα, ὡς τό γλαυκόν ἤ γρυπόν καί τά ὅμοια, καί πάλιν, ἕν μέν εἶδος, ἵππος ἤ βοῦς, ἀλλά τοῦτο πολλά ὑπάρχει τῷ ἀριθμῷ· πολλοί γάρ ἵπποι, καί πολλοί βόες. Ἀλλά καί ταῖς δυνάμεσι ταῖς φυσικαῖς πολλά ὑπάρχει· καί αὗθις τά πολλά εἴδη, οἷον ἄνθρωπος, ἵππος, κύων καί τά ἄλλα, ἕν εἰσι τῷ γένει· ζῶον γάρ τούτων ἕκαστον· οὕτω γοῦν καί τό πολλά ὑπάρχον ταῖς περιόδοις, ἤγουν τοῖς βουλεύμασιν, ἤ καί τοῖς ἔργοις ἕν εἰσι τῇ ἀρχῇ.","english":"And so among existing things, whether the one is many or the many are one, there is a certain principle and element, the most simple, and a one sharing in nothing, from which, as from a paradigm and idea, the one among existing things also derives—for example, even if sensible light is many in its parts, that is, in all the stars, yet when gathered as a whole it is one light; and it is many in its accidents, like the peacock: for it has golden and dark-blue and white colors, yet it is one in the underlying body; and so one must understand the following things as well. For it is not a multitude: Here the point is established from arithmetic. Note also that he reasonably says God is before the one, since He exists before all things, whence He is also the creator, that is, the inventor, of number. But the many: In each of these one must supply the word \"existing,\" so that what is said is of this sort: what exists in its parts is many, yet is one in the whole, for example the body; and so the rest are one in the underlying subject, that is, in substance; but many in their accidents, for example man. Accidents are some separable, like sitting, walking, and the like, and some inseparable, like being grey-eyed or hook-nosed and the like; and again, one in species, a horse or an ox, but this is many in number: for many horses and many oxen. But it is also many in natural powers; and again, the many species, for example man, horse, dog and the others, are one in genus: for each of these is an animal; so then also what is many in its circuits, that is, in its counsels, or even in its works, are one in their principle.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":215,"ref":"p215","source":"Πάντα καί ὅλα πάντα: Πάντα λέγεται, ὅταν εἴδη καί μέρη καί διαφοραί ἐν ταῖς διαιρέσεσιν ὦσιν, ὅλον δέ, ὅταν τά μέρη ( 14 _370 συλλεγόμενα ἕν ὁλόκληρον ἀποτελῶσιν, ἤ τά εἴδη ἕν γένος, ἤ καί τά ἐναντία καί ἀντικείμενα εἰς σύμπνοιαν καί συμπάθειαν ἡσυχάζῃ, ὡς ὕδωρ ὁμοῦ, καί γῆ, καί ἀήρ, καί τά πυρώδη ἄστρα, καί οὐρανός· λέγεται γάρ ὅλα ταῦτα κόσμος.\n\nΚαί ἄνευ μέν τοῦ ἑνός: Ἐπειδή τό ἕν δοκεῖ πως ἔχειν σχέσιν πρός ἀριθμόν, ἄνευ ἑνός οὑκ ἄν εἴη πλῆθος· σύνθεσις γάρ μονάδος εἰσίν οἱ εἰς πλῆθος ἀριθμοί, ὅπερ εἶπεν ἄνω, ὅτι πολλαπλασιάζεται ὁ Θεός, ὡς ἀπό ἀριθμητικῆς νοούμενος. Τό δέ ἕν καί καθ' ἑαυτό ὑφέστηκε καί ἔστι.\n\nΚαί εἰ πᾶσι τά πάντα: Τό 'ὑποθοῖτό τις', καί τό 'καθ' ὑπόθεσιν' λαμβάνεται ἐπί τῶν πραγματικῶς οὐκ ὄντων, ἀλλά λόγῳ τυπουμένων· ἐνταῦθα μέντοι οὐχ οὕτω ληπτέον, ἀλλά τό κατά ἐπίνοιαν λόγῳ τοῦτο θετέον, διά τήν τοῦ ἐκτίσθαι ταυτότητα, καί τό ὅλον ἐν τοῖς μέρεσι θεωρεῖσθαι, καί ἐν τῷ ὅλῳ τά μέρη. Ὅτι κατά τό ἑνός ἑκάστου προεπινοούμενον: Εἰ μή προεπινοηθείη, φησί, τό τοῦ ἀνθρώπου εἶδος, ἤγουν ἡ φύσις, οὐκ ἄν τις εἴποι τούς ἀνθρώπους ἡνῶσθαι ἀλλήλους· δῆλον δέ ὅτι κατ’ αὐτόν τόν τῆς φύσεως λόγον. § 3. Καί εἰ ἀνέλοις τό ἕν: Οὕτω τό ρητόν συνθετέον, ὅτι ἡνῶσθαι λέγεται τά ἡνωμένα κατ' εἶδος προεπινοούμενον ἑνός ἑκάστου· προείπομεν γάρ, ὅτι τά εἴδη καί τά πολλά στοιχεῖόν τι ἀρχήν τό ἕν ἐπιγράφονται, εἰς γένος ἕν ἀναγόμενα, οὗ γένους εἴδη εἰσί· ταῦτα γάρ ἡνωμένα αὐτῷ τῷ εἴδει, οἷον ἵπποι, βόες, καί τά ἑξῆς, ἅπερ εἰς ἕν γένος ἀνάγονται, τό καλεῖσθαι ζῶον.","english":"All things and all wholes: \"All things\" is said when species and parts and differences exist in divisions, but \"a whole\" when the parts, gathered together, constitute one complete whole, or the species constitute one genus, or even contraries and opposites rest together in harmony and sympathy, as water together, and earth, and air, and the fiery stars, and heaven; for all these are called a cosmos.\n\nAnd without the one: Since the one seems somehow to have a relation to number, a multitude would not exist without a one; for the numbers that go to make a multitude are a composition of the monad, which he said above, that God is multiplied, understood as it were from arithmetic. But the one also subsists by itself and exists.\n\nAnd if all things are in all: The phrase \"one might suppose\" and \"by hypothesis\" are taken of things that do not really exist but are formed by reason; here, however, it must not be taken thus, but this must be posited by way of conception in reason, because of the identity of what has been constituted, and because the whole is contemplated in the parts, and the parts in the whole. Because according to the one preconceived of each: If, he says, the species of man, that is, his nature, were not preconceived, no one would say that men are united to one another; and it is clear that this is according to the very principle of nature. § 3. And if you remove the one: The saying must be composed thus, that things united are said to be united according to the species, the one of each being preconceived; for we said before that the species and the many inscribe as their element a certain principle, the one, being reduced to one genus, of which genus they are the species; for these are united to the species itself, as horses, cattle, and the rest, which are reduced to one genus, that of being called an animal.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":216,"ref":"p216","source":"Τήν ὅλην θεαρχίαν: Ὅλη θεαρχία ἡ παναγία καί προσκυνητή Τριάς, διά δέ τήν ἀνέκφραστον τῆς φύσεως ἕνωσιν, ὁ εἷς καί ἕν χρηματίζει. ( 14 _372 Ὑφ' ἧς καί ἐξ ἧς: Τῷ 'ὑφ' ἧς' σύνταξον τό 'ἐστί', καί τῷ 'ἐξ ἧς' τό 'συντέτακται', καί τῷ 'δι' ἧς' τό 'μένει', καί τῷ 'ἐν ἧ' τό 'συνέχεται', ἤγουν φυλάττεται, καί τῷ 'εἰς ἥν' τό 'ἐπιστρέφεται', εἰ καί ὁ πατήρ ἰδίως καί ὑφ' ἕν τά ρήματα ἔταξε, καί τό 'πάντα' δέ ἀπό κοινοῦ. Καλῶς δέ εἶπεν, ὅτι, ἐάν ἀνέλῃς τό ἕν, οὔτε ὁλότης, οὔτε πολλοστημόριον, οὔτε ἄλλο οὐδέν· τοῦτο γάρ προῃνίξατο καί ἄνω εἰπών, καί ἡμισυ ἕν, καί τρίτον, καί δέκατον, δηλονότι καί τά μόρια τοῦ ἑνός μετέχουσι. Τό πάντων αἴτιον ἕν: Οὐκ ἀπολύτως ἑνί παντί τά πάντα συνέστηκεν, ἀλλ ' ἐκείνῳ μόνῳ τῷ ἑνί, καθ' ὅ ἕν, ὁ Θεός καί εἷς καί ἕν ὀνομάζεται· τούτῳ γάρ μόνῳ τῷ ἑνί τά ὄντα ἐστίν· αὐτό γάρ τό ὄνομα τό ἕν ὁ λέγων κατά ἀπόφασιν τοῦ πολλαπλοῦ τοῦτο σημαίνει· τό μέντοι ἕν αὐτοαρχή καί πρῶτόν ἐστι τῷ πρός τί πως ἔχειν· τῶν γάρ ἐξ αὐτοῦ πολλῶν ἔννοιαν εἰσάγει. Ταῦτα δέ οὐκ ἐπιτήδεια ἐπί Θεοῦ· τοιοῦτον δέ ὄν μόνον τό ἕν, παντελῶς ἀπαθές καί ἀδιαίρετον καί αὐταρκέστατόν ἐστι· κατά γάρ τήν αὐτοῦ φύσιν ἑτέρῳ συμπλέκεσθαι οὐ πέφυκεν, ὥσπερ τό ἐν ἀριθμοῖς ἕν· ἀπωθεῖται γάρ τό πλῆθος καί πᾶσαν σύνθεσιν καί διαίρεσιν αὐτό τό κυρίως ἕν, καί πρό παντός ἑνός. Τοῦτο γάρ οὔτε μικρόν, οὔτε μέτριον καλεῖται εἰ δέ δεῖ καί τολμῆσαι, οὔτε καλόν, οὔτε ἀγαθόν· ταῦτα γάρ πάθη πως, οἷόν εἰσι καί σχέσεις καί συμβεβηκότα.","english":"The whole divine order: The whole divine order is the all-holy and worshipful Trinity, but because of the inexpressible union of its nature, it is called one and one thing. (14_372) By which and from which: Attach \"is\" to \"by which,\" and \"has been constituted\" to \"from which,\" and \"remains\" to \"through which,\" and \"is held together,\" that is, is preserved, to \"in which,\" and \"is turned\" to \"into which,\" even if the Father has arranged the words individually and under one [construction], and \"all things\" is [to be taken] in common. And well did he say that if you remove the one, there is neither wholeness, nor a fraction, nor anything else; for he hinted at this beforehand also when he said above, \"a half one, and a third, and a tenth,\" clearly that the parts also partake of the one. The one cause of all things: Not by any one whatsoever have all things been constituted, but by that one alone, insofar as it is one, which is named God and one and one thing; for to this one alone do beings belong; for the very name \"one,\" when one speaks it by negation of the many, signifies this; the one, however, is self-originate and first by having a certain relation to something; for it introduces the notion of the many that come from it. But these things are not suitable in the case of God; but the one, being such only, is wholly impassible and indivisible and most self-sufficient; for according to its own nature it is not naturally entwined with another, as is the one in numbers; for the properly one, and before every one, rejects multitude and all composition and division. For this is called neither small, nor moderate—and if one must dare [to say it], neither beautiful nor good; for these are in some way affections, such as are relations and accidents.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":217,"ref":"p217","source":"Αὐτό δέ τό ἕν καί ὑπέρ πάντα νοεῖται, τά δέ πάθη, ὡς τό μικρόν καί μέτριον, καί σύν ἄλλῳ νοοῦνται, καί οὔτε ἁπλᾶ διά τοῦτο, οὔτε στοιχειώδη. Τό ἕν οὖν, ὡς εἴρηται, ὅπερ ἁπλοῦν καί ἀπαθές, μή ἔχον τά λεχθέντα, οὔτε ὡς γένος θετέον τῶν ὄντων· τά δέ γένη πάντως διαιρεῖται εἰς τά εἴδη, ἀλλ’ οὔτε στιγμήν ἤ μονάδα κυρίως· σχέσιν γάρ ἔχει ( 14 _374 ταῦτα πρός τά ἐφεξῆς. Τό δέ ἐστιν ἁπλούστατον, καί οὔτε μίαν διαφοράν ἔχον· οὔτε γάρ κίνησίν τινα καί στάσιν, οἷον ἠρεμίαν ἔχει, ἀλλ’ οὔτε ὄν θετέον αὐτό τό ἕν, ἀλλά ἀρχήν ὄντος καί σπέρμα. Τῷ δέ ὄντι πλῆθος ἐξ ἀνάγκῃς παρέπεται, τῷ πλήθει τό ὄν προσγίνεται, ὅπερ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐπί Θεοῦ. Τό γάρ ὄν οὐσία ἐστίν, ἀπό τοῦ εἶναι. Ὁ δέ Θεός καί ὑπερούσιος, καί ὑπέρ τό ὄν, καί ἑνικῶς ἀντί τοῦ ἐξαιρέτως καί ἀμιμήτως ὑπέρ τό ὄν· ὁ γάρ Θεός τά πάντα ἐστί καί ὑπέρ πάντα. Θαυμασίως οὖν τά περί ἀριθμῶν φυσιολογήσας. Κἄν τριάς, ἐπάγει, κἄν μονάς ὑμνεῖται ἡ ὑπέρ πάντα θεότης, οὔτε τριάς οὔτε μονάς ἐστιν, ἡ παρ' ἡμῶν δι' ἀριθμῶν γνωριζομένη, ἤ παρ' ἑτέρου, ἀλλ' ὑπέρ πάντα νοῦν καί ἔστι καί ὀνομάζεται ὁ Θεός· διά γάρ τοῦ εἰπεῖν 'ὅπερ οὐκ ἔστι', νοοῦμεν ὅ,τί ἐστιν ὁ Θεός.","english":"The one itself is also conceived as beyond all things, while the affections, such as the small and the moderate, are conceived in conjunction with something else, and for this reason they are neither simple nor elemental. The one, then, as has been said, insofar as it is simple and passionless, not having the things mentioned, is not to be posited as a genus of beings—for genera are altogether divided into species—nor indeed is a point or a monad [to be so posited] in the strict sense; for these have a relation to what follows. But that which is is most simple and has not even a single difference; for it has neither any motion and rest, such as tranquility, nor is the one itself to be posited as being, but rather as the principle and seed of being. But plurality necessarily accompanies being, and being is added to plurality, which is not the case with God. For being is substance, from the fact of existing. But God is also supersubstantial and beyond being, and \"singularly\" is used instead of \"transcendently and inimitably beyond being\"; for God is all things and beyond all things. Wonderfully, then, has he discoursed on the nature of numbers. And whether a triad, he adds, or a monad is hymned, the divinity beyond all things is neither a triad nor a monad—the one known by us through numbers, or by another—but beyond all mind God both is and is named; for by saying \"that which is not,\" we understand what God is.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":218,"ref":"p218","source":"Καί αὐτό τό ἕν ὄν ὁρίζον: Ὅτι καί ὑπέρ τό ὄν ὁ Θεός, ὡς πάντα ὑπάρχων, καί αὐτός τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ ποιητής καί ἐφευρετής ὑπάρχων. Ἐνάριθμόν ἐστι: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι τό ἐνάριθμον ἀριθμοῦ δήλωσιν σημαίνει· ἐπί τῶν ὄντων τοίνυν, τουτέστι τῶν κτισμάτων, τό ἕν ἐντιθέμενον, κατά ἀριθμοῦ ἔννοιαν τίθεται.\n\nΟὐκ ἔστιν οὐδέ μονάς: Μή ἁπλῶς τό 'οὐκ ἔστι μονάς, οὐδέ τριάς' ἐξακούσῃς, ἀλλά πρός τό, 'διεγνωσμένη', σύνταξον τό 'οὐκ ἔστιν'· οὐ γάρ ἀνελεῖν τά τῆς τοιαύτης ὁμολογίας, ἀλλά τό ἀνεξιχνίαστον ὁ λόγος διδάξαι βούλεται. Καί τό θεογόνον ἀληθῶς: Τό θεογόνον φησί δηλοῦσθαι ἐκ τῆς ὀνομασίας τῆς Τριάδος· ἵνα γάρ παραστῇ τῶν ἀνεκλαλήτων ὑποστάσεων ἡ προσκυνητή ἔκφανσις, ὁ ἀριθμός ἐπενοήθη, καθά φησι Βασίλειος, καί οἱ θεῖοι Γρηγόριοι. Γόνιμον δέ τόν Πατέρα καταχρηστικῶς ὠνόμασεν, ἅτε καί προσκυνητοῦ Υἱοῦ ( 14 _376 Πατέρα, καί τοῦ συμπροσκυνητοῦ αὐτοῖς παναγίου Πνεύματος πηγήν. Γονιμότης οὖν, ἤ ἕτερόν τι ὄνομα τῶν συνεγνωσμένων ἀνθρώποις, ἤ καί αὐταῖς ταῖς νοηταῖς δυνάμεσιν, οὐκ ἄν παραστήσει τρανῶς τά ὥς εἰστιν ἐκ πάντων ἀποκεκρυμμένα τοῦ Θεοῦ· πῶς γάρ δυνατόν ὀνομάσαι ἀπό τινος τῶν ὄντων τόν Θεόν, μήτε τι τῶν πάντων ὄντα, ἀλλά καί ὑπέρ πάντα τά ὄντα;","english":"And defining the one itself as being: That God is also beyond being, as existing all things, and himself being the maker and inventor of number. It is numbered: Note that \"numbered\" signifies a declaration of number; in the case of beings, therefore, that is, of created things, the one, when placed in, is set according to the concept of number.\n\nHe is neither a monad: Do not simply hear \"he is not a monad, nor a triad,\" but join \"he is not\" to \"distinguished\"; for the word wishes to teach not the destruction of such a confession, but the unsearchable. And truly God-begotten: He says that \"God-begotten\" is made clear from the name of the Trinity; for in order that the adorable manifestation of the ineffable hypostases might be presented, number was devised, as Basil says, and the divine Gregories. He called the Father \"fruitful\" by catachresis, since he is the source of the adorable Son and of the all-holy Spirit who is co-adored with them. Fruitfulness, therefore, or some other name of those known to men, or even to the intellectual powers themselves, could not clearly present the things of God that are hidden from all as they are; for how is it possible to name God from any of beings, when he is not any of all things, but is also beyond all beings?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":219,"ref":"p219","source":"Οὐδέ ὄνομα αὐτῆς ἐστι: Καλῶς ὁ θεῖος οὗτος ἀνήρ λέγει, ὅτι οὐδέ τό ὄνομα αὐτῆς ἐστιν, οὐδέ λόγος, ἀλλά ἐν ἀβάτοις ἐξήρηται, οὐ τόποις, μή γένοιτο! ἀλλά λογισμοῖς καί ἐνθυμήσεσιν· ἄβατος γάρ παντί νῷ καί ἐνθυμήσει ὁ περί Θεοῦ λόγος. Τό δέ μήτε ὄνομα αὐτοῦ εἶναι, καλῶς καί εὐαπαλλάκτως νόησον· τά γάρ ὄντα πάντα καί δι' ὀνομάτων καί διά πραγμάτων γνωστικῶν σημαίνονται. Ποῖον τοίνυν ὄνομα ἤ πρᾶγμα δυνατόν ἐπιθεῖναι τῷ Θεῷ, τῷ ὑπέρ πάντα τά ὄντα ἐξηρημένῳ καί πεποιηκότι τά πάντα καί αἰτίῳ τῶν πάντων; Διό καί τήν ἀγαθότητα αὐτήν ἤ τό καλόν φησιν ὁ θεῖος οὗτος Διονύσιος μή κυρίως ἐφαρμόσαι αὐτῷ τῷ Θεῷ, ἐπειδή καί ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν εὑρίσκονται ταῦτα. Καί ἀνωτέρω οὕτως εὑρήσεις, ὅτι ταῦτα τά πάθη καί συμβεβηκότα λογίζοντα ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν, ὅπερ ἔστιν ἐπί Θεοῦ τοῦ ὑπεραναβεβηκότος πάντων.\n\nἈλλά πόθῳ τοῦ νοεῖν: Σημείωσαι, ὡραῖόν φησιν, ὅτι διά τό ὅλως νοεῖν τι καί λέγειν περί Θεοῦ, τῷ περί αὐτόν πόθῳ κατεχόμενοι, τό τῆς ἀγαθότητος ὄνομα ἐπέβαλον τῷ Θεῷ οἱ θεολόγοι, ἐπεί κυρίως καί ὑπεράγαθος καί ὑπερούσιός ἐστιν ὁ Θεός, ἡ δέ ἀγαθότης, ὥς φησιν οὗτος, σεμνότατον ὄνομα τῶν πάντων. Αἱ δέ ἀποφάσεις, ἤτοι ἀρνήσεις καί στερήσεις, ἐπί Θεοῦ οὐχ ἁπλῶς εἴρηνται τοῖς θεολόγοις· οὐ γάρ, ὡς λέγονται, νοοῦνται, ἀλλά ὑπεραναβεβηκότως θεωροῦνται· τό γάρ ἀθάνατος, καί ἀόρατος, καί ἄφθαρτος, καί ἀνενδεής, καί ἀναμάρτητος, οὐκ ἄν τις, σοφίας μετέχων, δημωδέστερον ὑπολάβοι, οὔτε ( 14 _378 ὅσα ἐπί Θεοῦ τοιαῦτα λέγεται, ἀλλά τῶν δηλουμένων ἐξιστάμενος ἐπί τάς σεσιγημένας καί θειοτέρας ἐννοίας ἀνανεύσει·","english":"Neither is there a name for it: This divine man rightly says that there is neither a name for it nor a word, but it is set apart in inaccessible realms—not places, may it not be!—but in thoughts and conceptions; for the word concerning God is inaccessible to every mind and conception. And understand well and easily that there is neither a name for him: for all things that exist are signified both by names and by knowable realities. What name, then, or reality can be applied to God, who is set apart beyond all things that exist, who made all things and is the cause of all things? Therefore this divine Dionysius says that even goodness itself, or the beautiful, does not properly apply to God himself, since these are also found among things that exist. And above you will find it stated thus, that these affections and accidents are reckoned among things that exist, which is not the case with God, who has transcended all things.\n\nBut out of longing to understand: Note, he says something fine, that because they wholly understood and spoke something concerning God, being possessed by longing for him, the theologians applied the name of goodness to God, since God is properly both super-good and super-essential, and goodness, as he says, is the most august name of all. The negations, that is, the denials and privations, are not spoken of God by the theologians in a simple sense; for they are not understood as they are spoken, but are contemplated in a transcendent manner. For \"immortal,\" \"invisible,\" \"incorruptible,\" \"without need,\" and \"without sin\"—no one who partakes of wisdom would suppose these in a vulgar way, nor whatever else of this kind is said of God, but, standing outside the things signified, he will turn upward to the silent and more divine conceptions.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":220,"ref":"p220","source":"διό καί θειοτέρας θεωνυμίας ἐφεξῆς αὐτάς καλῶς προσαγορεύει. Ἐξισταμένη γάρ ἡ ψυχή τῶν σωματικῶν πασῶν αἰσθήσεων καί κοσμικῶν, ταῦτα γάρ ἑαυτῇ ἐποίησε σύμφυλα· οὕτω συνάπτεται τῷ ἀκραιφνεῖ τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ, καθ' ὅσον δυνατόν ἐστιν ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει, ὡς καί ὁ Ἀπόστολος αἰνίττεται λέγων· «καί οὕτω πάντοτε σύν Κυρίῳ ἐσόμεθα»· καί πάλιν· «νῦν ὡς ἐν αἰνίγματι καί ἐν ἐσόπτρῳ ὁρῶμεν, τότε δέ τό πρόσωπον πρός πρόσωπον ὀψόμεθα». Τό τῶν ὀνομάτων σεπτότατον: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι πάντων ὀνομάτων σεπτότατον ἡ ἀγαθότης· διό καί πρώτως τῷ Θεῷ ἀφιέρωται. Τῶν ἑαυτῇ συμφύλων: Συμφύλων φησί τῶν συμφυῶν καί γνωρίμων καί τῆς κτίσεως ἰδίων.\n\n§ 4. Τοῦτο γάρ ἀληθῶς καί ἄγγελοι: Ὅτι καί ἀγγέλοις τά περί Θεοῦ ἀκατάληπτα, καί ὅτι καί ὁ κατώτατος τῶν ἀγγέλων μείζων πάντων τῶν ἐν τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ θεολόγων περί Θεοῦ θεωρεῖ, οὐκοῦν καί τῶν ἀποστόλων. Καί εἴ τι τῶν ὁμοδυνάμων. Ὅτι, κἄν ἕτεραι ὁμοδύναμοι θεωνυμίαι ἐν τῇ Γραφῇ εὑρεθῶσι, χρή καί ταύτας κατά τάς αὐτάς ἐκφαντορικάς μεθόδους προσυπακούειν.","english":"Therefore he rightly next calls them more divine names of God. For the soul, standing outside all bodily and worldly senses—for it has made these things akin to itself—is thus united to the pure knowledge of God, insofar as it is possible for human nature, as the Apostle also hints when he says: \"And so we shall always be with the Lord\"; and again: \"Now we see as in a riddle and in a mirror, but then we shall see face to face.\" The most revered of names: Note that the most revered of all names is goodness; therefore it is also dedicated first to God. Of things akin to itself: He means \"akin\" as things connatural and familiar and proper to creation.\n\n§ 4. For this truly even angels: That even to angels the things concerning God are incomprehensible, and that even the lowest of the angels contemplates greater things concerning God than all the theologians in the Church—and therefore also than the apostles. And if any of equal power: That even if other names of God of equal power are found in Scripture, one must also understand these in accordance with the same manifestive methods.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":221,"ref":"p221","source":"Καί ὑμῖν καί ἑτέροις ἱεροῖς ἀνδράσιν: Ὅτι οὐ πᾶσιν ἀζητήτως μεταδοτέον τῶν μυστικῶν, ἀλλά τοῖς ἱκανοῖς καί ἱεροῖς ἀνδράσιν, ὅπερ καί ὁ θεῖος Παῦλος τούτῳ τῷ ἱερῷ ἀνδρί Τιμοθέῳ γράφει.\n\nἩμεῖς τε εἰπεῖν ἱκανοί: Ταῦτα ἁγιοπρεπῶς μετριάζων φησίν ὁ πατήρ, ὡσαύτως καί τά ἑξῆς πάντα. ( 14 _380 Ἐπί δέ τήν συμβολικήν θεολογίαν: Ὅτι θεολογίαν συμβολικήν λέγει τέως μή φερομένην, ὡς καί ἐν ἄλλῳ κεφαλαίῳ φησίν· εἰ δέ βούλει τήν διαφοράν εἰδέναι τῆς θεολογικῆς ὑποτυπώσεως καί τῆς συμβολικῆς θεολογίας, ἀνάγνωθι τό τρίτον κεφάλαιον τοῦ Περί μυστικῆς θεολογίας λόγου. ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΠΕΡΙ ΜΥΣΤΙΚΗΣ ΘΕΟΛΟΓΙΑΣ ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ Α' ( 14 _384 § 1. Ἔνθα τά ἁπλᾶ: Ἁπλᾶ καί ἀπόλυτά εἰσι τά δίχα συμβόλων νοούμενα καί ἐποπτευόμενα ὡς ἔχουσιν, οὐ μήν παραβολικῶς. Ἀπόλυτα οὖν ἔφη τά μή κατά ἀνάπτυξιν ὀνομάτων ἤ συμβόλων λεγόμενα, ἀλλά τῇ ἐκ πάντων τῶν ὄντων καί τῇ τῶν νοήσεων ἀποπαύσει καί ἀπολύσει συναγόμενα, ἥντινα ἀνενεργησίαν τῆς ἱερᾶς κινήσεως ἐν μέν τοῖς πρό τούτου ἀνοησίαν ἐκάλεσεν, ἐνταῦθα δέ σκοτεινότατον γνόφον καί ἀόρατον κατά τόν Ψαλμῳδόν, «νεφέλη καί γνόφος κύκλῳ αὐτοῦ», καί, «ἔθετο σκότος ἀποκρυφήν αὑτοῦ». Τούς ἀνομμάτους νόας: Οὐ γάρ αἰσθητῶν ὀφθαλμῶν εἰσι μεστοί, ἀλλ’ ἐστίν αὐτῶν ἡ οὐσία, ἅτε ζῶν νοῦς, ὅλη ὀφθαλμός ὀξυδερκέστατος, ὅθεν καί πολυόμματοι λέγονται ἐν τῇ Γραφῇ.","english":"And to you and to other sacred men: That the mystical things must not be imparted to all without inquiry, but to those who are fit and sacred men, which indeed the divine Paul also writes to this sacred man Timothy.\n\nAnd we are able to speak: The father says these things with holy moderation, and likewise all that follows. (14_380 On symbolic theology: That for the present he calls it symbolic theology, not yet borne along, as he also says in another chapter; but if you wish to know the difference between the theological outline and symbolic theology, read the third chapter of the discourse On Mystical Theology. ON MYSTICAL THEOLOGY, ON CHAPTER 1 (14_384 § 1. Where the simple things are: Simple and absolute are those things which are understood and contemplated without symbols, as they are, and not by way of parable. He called them absolute, then, as being spoken not by the unfolding of names or symbols, but gathered together by the cessation and release from all beings and from thoughts—which inactivity of sacred movement he called in the preceding a lack of understanding, but here the darkest and invisible gloom, according to the Psalmist, \"cloud and darkness are round about him,\" and, \"he made darkness his hiding place.\" The unblemished minds: For they are not full of sensory eyes, but their essence, being a living mind, is wholly an eye, most keen-sighted, whence also they are called many-eyed in Scripture.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":222,"ref":"p222","source":"Καί τάς αἰσθήσεις ἀπόλειπε: Εκ παραλλήλου τό αὐτό δηλοῦται· τά γάρ αἰσθητά αὐτά καλοῦσιν οἱ παλαιοί μή ὄντα, ἅτε μεταβολῆς ἁπάσης μετέχοντα καί μή ὡσαύτως ἀεί ὄντα· τά δέ νοητά, ὡς ἀεί ὄντα ἀθάνατα βουλήσει τοῦ ποιήσαντος καί τήν οὐσίαν μή μεταβάλλοντα, λέγουσιν ὄντα. Ταῦτα δέ πολλάκις παρατεθείκαμεν ἐν τῷ Περί θείων ὀνομάτων λόγῳ.\n\nὙπέρ πᾶσαν οὐσίαν: Τήν ἁπλότητα καί ὑπέρ πᾶσαν ἑνάδα. Πῶς δέ ἀγνώστως ἀνατείνεταί τις πρός Θεόν καί ἐν τῷ ( 14 _386 Περί θείων ὀνομάτων κεφαλαίῳ πέμπτῳ εἴρηται, καί ἐνταῦθα μετά βραχέα εὑρήσεις. Ἀσχέτῳ καί ἀπολύτῳ: Ἄσχετον ἔκστασίν φησι τήν ἀναχώρησιν πάσης σχέσεως, ἀντί τοῦ, ἵνα μηδεμιᾷ κατέχοιτο σχέσει, μήτε πρός αὐτόν, μήτε πρός τι τῶν κτισμάτων.\n\nΣκότους ἀκτῖνα: Καί ἐνταῦθα σκότος τήν παντελῆ ἀκαταληψίαν ἔφη. § 2. Μηδείς τῶν ἀμυήτων: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι ἀμυήτους φησί τούς μέν τῶν μυστικῶν ἀμετόχους, τοῖς δέ αἰσθητοῖς ἐνειλουμένους καί οὐδέν ὑπέρ τά ὄντα εἶναι φανταζομένους. Ἀμέλει περί τῶν καθόλου ἀμυήτων εὐθύς παρακατιών φησι. Καί σημείωσαι, ὅτι ἄλλους τούς ἀμυήτους λέγει καί ἄλλους τούς ἀμύστους, ἤγουν ἀμυσταγωγήτους.","english":"And leave the senses behind: The same thing is made clear by parallel statement; for the ancients call the sensible things themselves non-beings, inasmuch as they partake of all change and are not always in the same state; but the intelligible things, as being always, immortal by the will of the Maker, and not changing their essence, they call beings. And these things we have often set forth in the discourse On the Divine Names.\n\nAbove every essence: The simplicity and above every unity. And how one is stretched upward toward God in an unknowing manner is also stated in the fifth chapter of On the Divine Names, and here you will find it shortly after. Unattached and absolute: He calls unattached ecstasy the withdrawal from every relation, instead of, that he might be held by no relation, neither toward himself nor toward any of created things.\n\nA ray of darkness: And here he called darkness the complete incomprehensibility. § 2. Let no one of the uninitiated: Note that he calls uninitiated those who are without a share in the mystical things, and who are entangled in sensible things and imagine nothing to be above the things that are. Indeed, concerning the wholly uninitiated he says this immediately following. And note that he calls some uninitiated and others uninitiate, that is, not initiated into the mysteries.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":223,"ref":"p223","source":"Εἰ δέ ὑπέρ τούτους εἰσί: Τά μέν πρό τούτων ἔφη περί τῶν πιστευσάντων μέν τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, μή μήν ἐπί τήν τελειοτέραν ἐλθόντων γνῶσιν, ἀλλά\n\nσυμμετρούντων τῇ οἰκείᾳ δόξῃ τήν ἀλήθειαν καί μή εἰδότων διαφοράν ὄντων κυρίως καί ὁμωνύμων ὄντων, οὐσιῶν καί αὐτοῦ τοῦ ὑπέρ τά ὄντα, διό καί ὑπερουσίου. Οἱ γοῦν τοιοῦτοι, ὡς ἀμύητοι, τῶν ὑψηλοτέρων ὑπολαμβάνουσι κατά ἀλήθειαν σκότος εἶναι τό ἀφεγγές τοῦτο τό παρ' ἡμῖν σκίασμα καλύπτον τόν Θεόν καί ἀποκρύπτον αὐτόν τῆς ἁπάντων θέας, ὅπερ ὡς ἀληθῶς νοσοῦσι πολλοί καί ἐν ἡμῖν, ἅτε μή γινώσκοντες τό ἀνυπέρβλητον φῶς πᾶσαν ὅψιν σκοτίζειν. Εἰ οὖν εἰσι, φησίν, ἐν ἡμῖν τοιοῦτοι, τί ἄν εἴποιμεν περί εἰδωλολατρῶν τῶν παντάπασι πάντων μυστικῶν ἀμετόχων καί πρός ξόανα τεθηπότων; Κυρίως μέν οὖν ὄντα τά νοητά, ὁμωνύμως δέ τά αἰσθητά. Τό δέ ὑπέρ τούτους, τούς πιστούς δηλονότι, τούς ἐν τοῖς φθαρτοῖς ἐνισχημένους.\n\nΔέον ἐπ' αὐτῇ: Ὡς πάντα οὔσης θεοπρεπῶς καί μηδέν οὔσης ὑπερουσίως· αὕτη γάρ καί θέσις ἐστί καί ἀπόφασις, ἐπεί καί κυρίως ἀμφότερα ἐπί τῆς θείας λέγονται μεγαλειότητος. Τί δέ εἰσιν αἱ ἀποφάσεις τῶν ἀφαιρέσεων καί αἱ καταφάσεις τῶν ( 14 _388 θέσεων, καί τί αἱ στερήσεις, καί ἐνταῦθα σαφηνίζεται, καί μάλιστα ἐν τῷ τρίτῳ κεφαλαίῳ, καί ἐν τῷ Περί θείων ὀνομάτων λόγῳ διαφόρως καί πλατέως παραθέμεθα.","english":"If he says \"if they are above these\": what he said before this concerned those who believed in the name of Christ but did not attain the more perfect knowledge, but measured the truth by their own opinion and did not know the difference between things that are properly beings and things that are homonyms, between essences and Him who is above beings, and therefore is also supra-essential. Such people, then, as uninitiated, suppose that the higher things are in truth the darkness—this lightless shadowing that is with us, which covers God and hides Him from the sight of all—which many even among us truly are sick with, inasmuch as they do not know that the insuperable light darkens every vision. If, then, he says, there are such people among us, what should we say about idolaters who have no share at all in any of the mystical things and who gape at carved images? Properly, then, the intelligible things are beings, and the sensible things are homonyms. And what is above these—namely the faithful—those who are entangled in corruptible things.\n\n\"It must be upon it\": as being all things in a God-befitting way and being nothing supra-essentially; for this is both position and negation, since both are properly said of the divine majesty. What the negations of the abstractions are, and the affirmations of the positions, and what the privations are, is made clear here too, and especially in the third chapter, and in the discourse On the Divine Names we have set them out in various ways and at length.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":224,"ref":"p224","source":"Ἀντικειμένας εἶναι: Ὅτι ἐπί Θεοῦ οὐκ ἀντίκεινται αἱ ἀποφάσεις ταῖς καταφάσεσιν· ὑπέρ πᾶσαν γάρ ἐστιν ὁ Θεός καί ἀφαίρεσιν καί θέσιν. Ἀνάγνωθι καί ἐν τοῖς Περί τῆς οὐρανίας ἱεραρχίας μετ ' ὀλίγον τῆς ἀρχῆς. § 3. Οὕτω γοῦν ὁ θεῖος Βαρθολομαῖος: Σημείωσαι καί ἐντεῦθεν τό ἄπλαστον τοῦ εἶναι ταῦτα τά θεῖα συντάγματα τοῦ μεγάλου Διονυσίου. Πρός οἶς γάρ ἐν τοῖς προτέροις λόγοις τινῶν τῶν συνόντων τοῖς ἀποστόλοις μνήμην χρήσεων ἐποιήσατο, νῦν παραπλησίως τοῦ θείου Βαρθολομαίου χρῆσιν ἄγει, ὡς δηλοῖ τό «φησίν»· εἰ γάρ ἀγράφως ἦν διδάξας, εἰρήκει ἄν, 'ἔφη'. Σημείωσαι δέ ὅτι τοῦ ἁγίου Βαρθολομαίου χρῆσιν προφέρει, πῶς πολλή καί ἐλαχίστη ἡ θεολογία. Ὅτι καί πολυλόγος: Πολυλόγος παροξυτόνως ὁ πολλά λέγων, πολύλογος δέ προπαροξυτόνως ὁ πολλῶν λόγων δεόμενος· ὡς καί πρωτότοκος προπαροξυτόνως ὁ πρώτως τεχθείς, πρωτοτόκος δέ παροξυτόνως ἡ πρώτως τεκοῦσα γυνή, ὡς καί Ὅμηρος.\n\n«Πρωτότοκος Κινύρη, οὐ πρίν εἰδυῖα τόκοιο». Ὅς οὔτε λόγον: Δηλαδή τῆς οἰκείας φύσεως παραστατικόν ἐν τοῖς ἔξωθεν. Ὁμοίως καί περί νοήσεως νοητέον.","english":"That the negations are not opposed to the affirmations in the case of God: for God is beyond every both removal and positing. Read also in the work On the Heavenly Hierarchy a little after the beginning. § 3. Thus, then, the divine Bartholomew says: Note also from this the unplagiarized character of these divine treatises of the great Dionysius. For in the earlier discourses he made mention of certain usages of some of those who were with the apostles; now in like manner he brings forward a usage of the divine Bartholomew, as the \"he says\" makes clear; for if he had taught without writing, he would have said \"he said.\" Note also that he cites a usage of Saint Bartholomew, how great and how very small is the theology. That he is also wordy: \"Wordy\" with acute accent on the penult is the one who says many things; \"verbose\" with acute accent on the antepenult is the one who needs many words; just as \"first-born\" with acute accent on the antepenult is the one born first, while \"first-bearing\" with acute accent on the penult is the woman who first gives birth, as also Homer says:\n\n\"First-bearing to Cinyras, not previously knowing of childbirth.\"\n\nWho neither word: that is, of his own nature, indicative in external things. One must understand the same way also concerning thought.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":225,"ref":"p225","source":"Πάντα θεῖα φῶτα καί ἤχους: Ἤχους καί λόγους οὐρανίους φησί τά περί Θεοῦ ἐν ταῖς Γραφαῖς εἰρημένα, ὡς μή κατά τήν ἀνθρωπίνην καί γηΐνην ἐπίνοιαν, ἀλλά κατά θείαν ἐπίνοιαν λεχθέντα καί παραδοθέντα. Ὁ θεῖος Μωϋσῆς: Σημείωσαι, πῶς διεξέρχεται τά περί ( 14 _390 Μωϋσέως, ὅτι, ἐν τῷ ὄρει ἀνελθών καί εἰσελθών εἰς τόν γνόφον εἶδεν, ὡς ἐφικτόν ἀνθρώπῳ, τόν Θεόν. Σημείωσαι καί τήν τάξιν τῶν τελεσθέντων ἐπί Μωσεῖ, πρίν ἀξιωθῆναι εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τόν θεῖον γνόφον.\n\nἈλλά τόν τόπον οὗ ἔστη: Τίς ὁ τόπος ἐν ᾧ ἔστη ὁ Θεός ἐπί Μωϋσέως, καί τί ἐστιν ἀκρότητος νοητῶν, καί τί ὁρατῶν, ἐν τῷ Περί τῆς ἐν οὐρανοῖς ἱεραρχίας εἰς τό τέλος τοῦ πρώτου κεφαλαίου διεξήλθομεν.\n\nὙποθετικούς: Ὑποθετικούς λόγους φησί τούς ὑπογραφικούς, ἤ ὡς θεωρητικούς τῶν ὄντων, ἅπερ ὑποβεβλημένα ἔφη τῷ Θεῷ εἶναι· δι' αὐτῶν γάρ, ἤγουν τῆς τούτων διαμονῆς καί συντηρήσεως, τοῖς πᾶσιν αὐτόν παρεῖναι διδασκόμεθα, οὐ μεταβατικῶς, ἀλλά προνοητικῶς· νοητάς δέ ἀκρότητας τάς οὐρανίας καί νοεράς οὐσίας τάς περί Θεόν οὔσας καλεῖ, ἅς καί τόπους αὐτοῦ ἁγιωτάτους ὠνόμασεν, ὧν καί αὐτῶν ὑπέρκειται, ἤ ὡς ἀπολύεται, κατά μηδέν αὐτοῖς ὅλως προσεοικώς.","english":"All divine lights and sounds: he calls \"sounds and heavenly words\" the things said about God in the Scriptures, as spoken and handed down not according to human and earthly conception but according to divine conception. The divine Moses: Note how he goes through the things concerning Moses, that, having gone up the mountain and entered into the darkness, he saw God, as far as is attainable by man. Note also the order of the things accomplished in Moses before he was deemed worthy to enter the divine darkness.\n\nBut the place where he stood: What is the place in which God stood in the case of Moses, and what is the summit of intelligible things, and what of visible things, we have gone through in On the Heavenly Hierarchy at the end of the first chapter.\n\nHypothetical: he calls \"hypothetical words\" the descriptive ones, or as it were the contemplative ones of the things that exist, which he said were submitted to God; for through them, that is, through their permanence and preservation, we are taught that he is present to all things, not by transition but by providence. And he calls \"intelligible summits\" the heavenly and intellectual essences that are around God, which he also named his most holy places, and he himself is above them too, or as being released, in no way at all resembling them.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":226,"ref":"p226","source":"Καί τότε καί αὐτῶν ἀπολύεται: Τήν κατά σύνθεσιν τοῦ ρητοῦ ἐξήγησιν οὕτω νοητέον, ὅτι ὁ Μωϋσῆς, θεωρήσας τόν τόπον οὗ εἰστήκει ὁ Θεός, καί τότε ἀπολυθείς τῶν τε ὁρωμένων, τουτέστιν αἰσθητῶν ἁπάντων, καί τῶν ὁρώντων, ἀντί τοῦ λογικῶν ἁπάντων, νοητῶν τέ φημι καί νοερῶν οὐσιῶν, μεθ' ὧν καί τῶν ἡμετέρων ψυχῶν, τηνικαῦτα εἰς τόν γνόφον εἰσῆλθε, τουτέστιν εἰς τήν περί Θεοῦ ἀγνωσίαν, ἔνθα, πάσας ἀπομύσας τάς γνωστικάς ἀντιλήψεις, ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ ἀναφεῖ τῷ νῷ καί ἀοράτῳ πασῶν ἀντιλήψεων γνωστικῶν τοῦ πέρα πάντων Θεοῦ, καί ἑνωθείς διά τοῦ τοιούτου τρόπου τῇ ἀγνωσίᾳ καί ἀνενεργησίᾳ, οὐ λέγω τῇ περί αὐτοῦ ἀνενεργησίᾳ τοῦ ἰδίου νοῦ, οὔτε τῇ ἑτέρου ἀνενεργησίᾳ ἐν τῷ μήτε αὐτόν μήτε ἕτερόν τι νοεῖν, ἀλλ’ ἑνωθείς τῷ παντελῶς ἀγνώστῳ πάσης γνώσεως ( 14 _392 τοῦ πάντων ἐπέκεινα τότε τῇ ἀγνοίᾳ τό πᾶν ἔγνω. Σημείωσαι δέ, ὡς γνόφον τήν ἀγνωσίαν ἐνόησε. Πῶς δι' ἀγνωσίας ὁ Θεός γινώσκεται, καί ὧδέ φησι, καί ἐν τῷ Περί θείων ὀνομάτων λόγῳ πλατύτερον διεξήλθομεν ἐν κεφαλαίῳ β'. Χρή δέ εἰδέναι, ὡς ἐν τῇ Ἐξόδῳ, ἔνθα γέγρᾳπται, ὅτι «εἰσῆλθε Μωϋσῆς εἰς τόν γνόφον οὗ ἦν ὁ Θεός», τό μέν Ἑβραϊκόν ἔχει ἀραφέλ, οἱ δέ Ἑβδομήκοντα καί Ἀκύλας καί Θεοδοτίων τό ἀραφέλ γνόφον ἐξέδωκαν. Σύμμαχος μέντοι ὁμίχλην τό ἀραφέλ ἑρμήνευσεν. Ὁ δέ Ἑβραῖος λέγει τό 'άραφέλ' ὄνομα εἶναι στερεώματος, εἰς ὅ ἔφθασε Μωϋσῆς· ἑπτά γάρ στερεώματά φασιν, ἅ καί οὐρανούς καλοῦσι, καί τά ὀνόματα λέγουσιν, ὧν μνημονεῦσαι νῦν οὐκ ἀναγκαῖον.","english":"And then he is released even from these things. The explanation of the saying according to its composition must be understood thus: that Moses, having contemplated the place where God stood, and then released from both the things seen—that is, from all sensible things—and from the things seeing—that is, from all rational things, I mean both intelligible and intellectual essences, together with which are also our souls—at that time entered into the darkness, that is, into the ignorance concerning God, where, having closed off all cognitive apprehensions, he came to be in the mind that is devoid of activity and invisible to all cognitive apprehensions of the God who is beyond all things, and having been united through such a manner to ignorance and inactivity—I do not mean the inactivity of his own mind concerning him, nor the inactivity of another in not thinking either himself or anything else, but having been united to the wholly unknown beyond all knowledge—then, in ignorance, he knew the whole of him who is beyond all things. Note that he understood the darkness as ignorance. How God is known through ignorance, he also says here, and we have set forth more fully in the second chapter of the work On the Divine Names. But one must know that in Exodus, where it is written, \"Moses entered into the darkness where God was,\" the Hebrew has araphel, while the Seventy and Aquila and Theodotion rendered araphel as darkness. Symmachus, however, interpreted araphel as mist. The Hebrew says that araphel is the name of a firmament, to which Moses arrived; for they say there are seven firmaments, which they also call heavens, and they give their names, which it is not necessary to mention now.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":227,"ref":"p227","source":"Ἀνέγνων δέ τοῦτο ἑπτά οὐρανούς καί ἐν τῇ συγγεγραμμένῃ Ἀρίστωνι τῷ Πελλαίῳ διαλέξει Παπίσκου καί Ἰάσονος, ἥν Κλήμης ὁ Αλεξανδρεύς ἐν ἕκτῳ βιβλίῳ τῶν Ὑποτυπώσεων τόν ἅγιον Λουκᾶν φησιν ἀναγράψαι. Ὅμως τό περί τοῦ γνόφου, εἰς τήν θείαν ἀγνωσίαν θεωρούμενον, θειότερον πεφιλοσόφηται καί ἐν ταῖς ἐπιστολαῖς αὐτοῦ· ἐν τῇ πέμπτῃ δέ τελείως περί τούτου γράφει.\n\nΤῆς πάσης γνώσεως ἀνενεργησίᾳ: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι τῇ πάσης γνώσεως ἀνενεργησίᾳ τῷ ἀγνώστῳ ἑνούμεθα.\n\nΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ Β' Κατά τοῦτον ἡμεῖς: Καί ἐνταῦθα περί θείου γνόφου καί τῆς ἀγνωσίας λέγει. Καί σημείωσαι, ὅτι τοῦτό ἐστι τό ὑπό τόν θεῖον γνόφον γενέσθαι, τό δι' ἀβλεψίας καί ἀγνωσίας ἰδεῖν καί ( 14 _394 γνῶναι τό ὑπέρ θέαν καί γνῶσιν, κατ' αὐτό τό μή ἰδεῖν μηδέ γνῶναι· τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι, φησί, τό ὄντως ἰδεῖν καί γνῶναι· οὐδαμοῦ δέ οὕτω σαφηνιζει τήν ἐν ἀγνωσίᾳ γνῶσιν. Ἀνάγνωθι δέ καί τήν ε' πρός Δωρόθεον ἐπιστολήν.\n\nΔιά τῆς πάντων τῶν ὄντων: Τουτέστι διά τοῦ μηδέν τῶν ὄντων προσφυές αὐτῷ νοεῖν· τοῦτο γάρ ἀφαίρεσιν ὠνόμασεν. Αὐτοφυές δέ ἄγαλμά φησιν, ὅ γίνεται ἐν ὕλῃ ἀτμήτῳ, οἷον ἐν πέτρᾳ ὁλοκλήρῳ, ἐν ὅσῳ ἕστηκεν, ὅταν γλύψη τις ζῶόν τι, ὡς δηλοῖ καί Εὑριπίδης ἐν Ἀνδρομέδᾳ·","english":"I have read this also in the seven heavens and in the written dialogue of Papiscus and Jason composed by Aristo of Pella, which Clement of Alexandria says in the sixth book of the Hypotyposes that the holy Luke recorded. Nevertheless, what is said about the darkness, understood as referring to the divine unknowing, has been more divinely philosophized also in his letters; and in the fifth letter he writes perfectly about this.\n\nOn the inactivity of all knowledge: Note that by the inactivity of all knowledge we are united to the unknowable.\n\nON CHAPTER 2, \"According to him we\": And here he speaks about the divine darkness and unknowing. And note that this is what it means to come under the divine darkness—to see and know what is beyond sight and knowledge through blindness and unknowing, precisely by not seeing or knowing; for this, he says, is truly to see and know. Nowhere else does he clarify so clearly the knowledge that is in unknowing. Read also the fifth letter to Dorotheus.\n\nThrough all things that exist: That is, through understanding nothing of existing things as attached to him; for this he called abstraction. And he calls a self-grown statue what comes to be in unhewn material, such as in a whole stone, for as long as it stands, when someone carves some living creature, as Euripides also makes clear in the Andromeda:","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":228,"ref":"p228","source":"Παρθένου τ'εἰκόνα τινά Ἐξ αὐτομόρφων λαΐνων τειχισμάτων, Σοφῆς ἄγαλμα χειρός.\n\nΑὐτόμορφον γάρ ἄγαλμα τῆς πέτρας τό αὐτοφυές εἶπεν· ἀλλά καί ὅταν μέρος τι τοῦ δένδρου γλύψῃ ἑστῶτος καί ἀνθοῦντος, καί μέρος κλίνης ποιήσῃ, ὅπερ, ὥς φησιν Ὅμηρος, ἐν Ὀδυσσείᾳ ἐποίησεν Ὀδυσσεύς· ἤ καί ἐν τῷ τοιούτῳ δένδρῳ ἔγλυψε τρόπαιον νίκης. Φησί δέ καί τιμίας λίθου ἀγάλματα, οἷον ὅταν ἡ σμάραγδος, ἀποκαθαρθεῖσα τοῦ περιέχοντος γεώδους, αὐτή ἀναφανῇ ἄγαλμα, τουτέστιν ἀγλάϊσμα· πρός ὅ μάλιστα νῦν βλέπων εἶπε τό προκείμενον, ὡς Διονύσιος ὁ ποιητής ἐν β' βιβλίῳ Λιθικῶν·\n\nΤῆς βαθυχλοάοντος ἰάσπιδος, ἤ ἀμεθύστου Πορφυρόεντος ἄγαλμα, μελαγκρατέτης ὑάκινθος. Ταῦτα γάρ πάντα δείκνυσι τό πολυμαθές τοῦ ἁγίου τούτου ἀνδρός. Χρή δέ, ὡς οἶμαι, τάς ἀφαιρέσεις: Τό παρόν χωρίον ἐν τοῖς ἑξῆς αὐτός ὁ πατήρ σαφηνίζει. Θέσεις μέν οὖν εἰσιν ὅσα οἰκείως ἐπί Θεοῦ λέγεται ὅτι ἐστίν, οἷον τό ὤν, τό ζωή, τό ( 14 _396 φῶς, καί τά ἄλλα, ἀφαιρέσεις δέ ὅσα ὡς ἀλλότρια Θεοῦ ἀποφάσκεται· οἷον ὅτι οὐ σῶμα ὁ Θεός, οὐ ψυχή, οὐδέ τι τῶν γνωστῶν ἤ τῇ νοήσει ὑποπιπτόντων. Ἄλλως· Τί εἰσι θέσεις καί αἱ ἀφαιρέσεις, ἐν τῷ Περί θείων ὀνομάτων λόγῳ διαφόρως ἔγνωμεν.","english":"A certain image of a virgin, from self-formed stone walls, a statue of wise hand. For he called the self-grown work of the stone a self-formed statue; but also whenever he carves a part of a tree that is standing and blooming, and makes a part of a bed, which, as Homer says, Odysseus made in the Odyssey; or also in such a tree he carved a trophy of victory. He also speaks of statues of precious stone, as when the emerald, purified of the earthy matter surrounding it, reveals itself as a statue, that is, an ornament; with reference to which especially, now looking, he spoke the present passage, as Dionysius the poet in the second book of the Lithica: Of the deep-green jasper, or a statue of purple amethyst, the dark-blue hyacinth. For all these things demonstrate the great learning of this holy man. But it is necessary, as I think, [to explain] the abstractions: The present passage the father himself clarifies in what follows. Now, positions are all things that are said fittingly of God that he is, such as being, life, light, and the others; but abstractions are all things that are denied as alien to God; such as that God is not a body, not a soul, nor any of the things knowable or falling under thought. Otherwise: What positions and abstractions are, we have learned variously in the discourse On the Divine Names.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":229,"ref":"p229","source":"Ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσιν: Αἱ τῶν ὄντων γνώσεις, φησί, τό περί Θεοῦ ἄγνωστον οὐκ ἐκκαλύπτουσι καί εἰς φανέρωσιν ἄγουσιν, ἀλλά μᾶλλον συγκαλύπτουσι καί ἀποκρύπτουσι. Τό δέ ἐν τοῖς οὖσι φῶς ὑποληπτέον τό γνῶναι τά ὄντα ᾖ ὄντα ἐστί, καθώς καί ἐν τοῖς ἑξῆς εὑρίσκομεν.\n\nΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ Γ' Πῶς ἡ θεία καί ἀγαθή φύσις: Τί περιέχει ὁ λόγος τῶν Θεολογικῶν ὑποτυπώσεων. Ἰδού θεολογίας ὑποθῆκαι καί ἀφορμαί, πάσης ἐχόμεναι θείας καί πεφωτισμένης γνώσεως καί ὀρθοδοξίας· τό εἰδέναι, πῶς ἑνική ἡ θεία φύσις, οἱ νεώτεροι Πατέρες τινές ὁμοούσιον προσεῖπον· πῶς τριαδική, ὅ φαμεν τρισυπόστατον, καί τό εἰδέναι τῶν προσώπων τάς ἰδιότητας, καί τί δηλοῦσιν, οἷον πατρότητα καί υἱότητα, καί τίς ἡ τοῦ θείου Πνεύματος ἁγιαστική δύναμις καί θεολογία· καί πῶς εἴρηται τό, «ἐξηρεύξατο ἡ καρδία μου λόγον ἀγαθόν», καί πῶς περί τοῦ προσκυνητοῦ Πνεύματος εἴρηται, ὅπερ ἐκ τοῦ Πατρός ἐκπορεύεται· καί πῶς ἐν τῷ Πατρί καί ἐν αὐτοῖς καί ἐν ἀλλήλοις ὁ Υἱός καί τό Πνεῦμα συναϊδίως καί ἀσχίστως καί ἀδιαιρέτως ἐν μονῇ εἰσιν ἀνεκφοιτήτῳ. Δεῖ δέ εἰδέναι, ὅτι μονή καί στάσις ( 14 _398 ταὐτόν εἰσι, κίνησις δέ ἕτερόν ἐστι τῆς μονῆς. Φησίν οὖν ὅτι, καί ἐν μονῇ ἀκινήτῳ, ἀεί οὖσα ἡ θεία φύσις, δοκεῖ κινεῖσθαι ἐν τῇ ἐν ἀλλήλοις χωρήσει. Καί τῆς ἐν αὐτῷ καί ἐν αὐτοῖς: Οὗτος ὁ νοῦς τῶν εἰρημένων· συναΐδιος, φησίν, ἡ ὕπαρξις τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος, καί οὐχ ἑτέρως μέν ὑπῆρξεν, ἑτέρως δέ μετά ταῦτα κατέστη, ἤ χωρισμόν τινα ἤ μεταβολήν ἔσχηκεν, ἀλλ’ ἅμα καί κατά ταυτόν τό τε ἐκ τοῦ Πατρός εἶναι τόν Υἱόν καί τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον, καί οὐ μετ' αὐτόν.","english":"In all things that exist: The knowledges of beings, he says, do not uncover the unknowability concerning God and bring it into manifestation, but rather conceal and hide it. And the light in beings must be understood as knowing beings insofar as they are beings, just as we also find in what follows.\n\nON CHAPTER 3: How the divine and good nature: What the discourse of the Theological Outlines contains. Behold the foundations and starting points of theology, which depend on all divine and illumined knowledge and orthodoxy: to know how the divine nature is single, which the more recent Fathers called consubstantial; how it is triadic, which we call three-hypostatic, and to know the properties of the persons, and what they signify, such as paternity and filiation, and what is the sanctifying power and theology of the divine Spirit; and how it is said, \"My heart has uttered a good word,\" and how it is said concerning the adorable Spirit, which proceeds from the Father; and how in the Father and in themselves and in one another the Son and the Spirit are coeternally and inseparably and indivisibly in an un departing abiding. But one must know that abiding and rest are the same, while motion is other than abiding. He says, then, that even in unmoved abiding, the divine nature, being always, seems to be moved in its containment in one another. And of that in himself and in themselves: This is the meaning of what has been said: coeternal, he says, is the existence of the Holy Trinity, and it did not exist in one way and then come to be in another, nor has it had any separation or change, but at once and together both the Son's being from the Father and the Holy Spirit, and not after him.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":230,"ref":"p230","source":"Πῶς ὁ ὑπερούσιος Ἰησοῦς: Σημείωσαι κατά Νεστοριανῶν καί Ἀκεφάλων. Πῶς ἀγαθός: Τί περιέχει ὁ Περί θείων ὀνομάτων λόγος. Καί γάρ ἐχρῆν: Διά τί αἱ θεολογικαί Ὑποτυπώσεις καί ὁ Περί θείων ὀνομάτων λόγος ὁλιγόστιχοί εἰσι μᾶλλον ἤ ἡ Συμβολική θεολογία. Τῆς συμβολικῆς: Τῶν πρώτων τά τῆς Συμβολικῆς θεολογίας φησί. Ταῖς συνόψεσι τῶν νοητῶν: Συνόψεις τῶν νοητῶν τάς τῇ ἀΰλῳ αὐτῶν ἁπλότητι πρεπούσας θεωρίας ἐκάλεσε, τό δέ «περιστέλλονται» ἀντί τοῦ 'συστέλλονται' τέθεικεν.\n\nἈλλ' ἀλογίαν παντελῆ: Ἀλογίαν φησί τό μή δύνασθαι λόγῳ παραστῆσαι τά ὑπέρ λόγον, καί ἀνοησίαν οὖν τό ἀνεννόητον καί ὅ μή δύναταί τις νοῆσαι, ὡς ὑπέρ νοῦν.\n\nΚακεῖ μέν ἀπό τοῦ ἄνω: Ἐπειδή τά νοητά καί ὑπέρ νοῦν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἑνάδες εἰσί, καί ἕν ὁ Θεός, μᾶλλον δέ καί ὑπέρ τό ἕν, εἰκότως συνέσταλται, ἅτε καί ἀμερές καί ἀπλήθυντον. Τά δέ μετά Θεόν, ὅσῳ μᾶλλον κάτεισιν ἐπί τά αἰσθητά, τοσούτῳ μᾶλλον ὁμιλοῦνται τοῖς μεριστοῖς καί σκεδαστοῖς, καί πεπληθυσμένοις συμπληθύεται αὐτοῖς πρός τόν μερισμόν καί τό πολυσχιδές τῶν αισθητῶν. Πρός τά ἔσχατα δέ, τουτέστιν ἀπό τῆς θεολογικῆς ὑποτυπώσεως. ( 14 _400 Ἀπό τοῦ","english":"How the supersubstantial Jesus: Note this against the Nestorians and the Acephali. How the good: What the discourse On the Divine Names contains. For it was necessary: Why the Theological Outlines and the discourse On the Divine Names are more brief than the Symbolic Theology. Of the symbolic: He says these things of the first [principles] of the Symbolic Theology. In the summaries of intelligible things: He called the summaries of intelligible things the contemplations befitting their immaterial simplicity, and he used \"they are wrapped around\" in place of \"they are contracted.\"\n\nBut utter irrationality: He calls irrationality the inability to express in speech things beyond speech, and folly therefore the unthinkable and what one cannot think, as being beyond mind.\n\nAnd there on the one hand from above: Since the intelligible unities of God are beyond mind, and God is one, or rather even beyond the one, it has reasonably been contracted, as being both indivisible and not multiplied. But the things after God, the more it descends to sensible things, the more it is conversed with by the divided and scattered, and is multiplied together with the multiplied things toward the division and the multifariousness of sensible things. But toward the last things, that is, from the theological outline.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":231,"ref":"p231","source":"πρωτίστου: Πρωτίστου φησί τοῦ μᾶλλον οἰκειοτέρου καί τῇ ἐννοίᾳ προεισβάλλοντος, οἷον ὅτι ὤν ὁ Θεός, ὅπερ ἑαυτόν ὠνόμασεν. Ὅτι τό ὑπέρ πᾶσαν: Πῶς δεῖ κεχρῆσθαι ταῖς θέσεσι καί ταῖς ἀφαιρέσεσιν ἐπί Θεοῦ, καί ὅτι τάς μέν θέσεις ἀπό τοῦ πρωτίστου καί μᾶλλον συγγενοῦς τῷ Θεῷ ποιούμεθα, τάς δέ ἀφαιρέσεις ἀπό τῶν ἐσχάτων καί μᾶλλον αὐτοῦ διεστηκότων. Τήν ὑποθετικήν κατάφασιν: Κατάφασίς ἐστι λόγος ἀποφαντικός ἤ τοῦ καθόλου, ἤ τοῦ μαχομένου, ἤ συμπλεκομένου τινός, ἤ συγκρινομένου, οἷον 'ὁ Θεός ζωή ἐστιν', 'ὁ Θεός ἀγαθότης ἐστίν'. Ὑποθετική δέ ἐστι λόγος ἀποφαντικός ἤ τοῦ καθόλου, ἤ μαχομένου τινός, ἤ συμπλεκομένου δηλωτικός. Ἡ οὖν ὑποθετική κατάφασις ἐπί Θεοῦ, ὅτι 'ὁ Θεός ζωή ἐστι καί ἀγαθότης' μᾶλλον ἤ ἀήρ καί λίθος· αἱ δέ ἀφαιρέσεις κατά ἀπόφασιν λέγονται ἐναντίως τῇ θέσει· ἡ μέν γάρ θέσις κατά ὑποθετικήν, ὡς εἴρηται, κατάφασιν λέγεται, ὅτι ζωή ὁ Θεός ἤ ἀήρ, ἡ δέ ἀποφατική ἀφαίρεσις 'οὐ μεθύσκεται ὁ Θεός', 'οὐκ ὀργίζεται'· καί ἐπί τῶν θέσεων ἐκ τῶν συγγενεστέρων ἀρχόμεθα· οἰκειότερον γάρ Θεῷ ζωή καί ἀγαθότης μᾶλλον, ἤ ἀήρ καί λίθος. Ἐπί δέ τῶν ἀφαιρέσεων ἀπό τῶν ἐσχάτων ἄνιμεν, οἷον τό μή λόγῳ δηλοῦσθαι τόν Θεόν, καί τό μή νοεῖσθαι, οἰκειότερον μᾶλλον τῷ Θεῷ, ἤ τό μή κραιπαλᾶν, μηδέ ὀργίζεσθαι, καί ὅλως ἐκ τοῦ δευτέρου τῆς ἀφαιρέσεως ἀρχόμεθα· οἷον, οὐ μεθύει μᾶλλον ὁ Θεός ἤ οὐ λέγεται· καί οὐ μηνιᾷ μᾶλλον ὁ Θεός ἤ οὐ νοεῖται. Κραιπάλη μέν οὖν ἐστι ἡ πολλή καί σφοδροτάτη μέθη, οἱονεί καραπάλη τις οὖσα, ὅ ἐστιν ἡ τό κάρα, ἤτοι τήν κεφαλήν, πάλλουσα καί πάνυ κινοῦσα.","english":"Of the first: He means the first, the more proper and that which enters in beforehand in thought, for example that God is being, which he named himself. That which is above all: How one must use affirmations and negations concerning God, and that we make the affirmations from the first and more akin to God, but the negations from the last and more distant from him. The hypothetical affirmation: An affirmation is a declarative statement either of the universal, or of something conflicting, or combined, or compared, for example 'God is life', 'God is goodness'. A hypothetical statement is a declarative statement either of the universal, or declarative of something conflicting, or combined. Therefore the hypothetical affirmation concerning God, that 'God is life and goodness' rather than air and stone; but the negations are spoken by way of denial in the opposite manner to affirmation; for the affirmation is spoken according to hypothetical, as has been said, affirmation, that God is life or air, but the negative removal 'God is not drunk', 'he is not angry'; and in the case of affirmations we begin from the more akin; for life and goodness are more proper to God rather, than air and stone. But in the case of negations we ascend from the last, for example that God is not declared by reason, and that he is not thought, is more proper to God rather, than not to be in a stupor, nor to be angry, and generally we begin from the second of the removal; for example, God is not drunk rather than he is not spoken; and God is not wrathful rather than he is not thought. Now a stupor is much and most vehement drunkenness, as it were a certain head-tossing, that is, tossing and greatly moving the head.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":232,"ref":"p232","source":"Μῆνις δέ οὐχ ἡ τυχοῦσα ὀργή, ἀλλ' ἡ ἐπίμονος. Ἀπό γοῦν τῶν αἰσθητῶν ἀνιόντας ἐπί τά νοητά, πάσας ταύτας τάς ἀσωμάτους ἀφαιρέσεις μή ταπεινῶς νοεῖν χρή, ( 14 _402 ἀλλ' ἐφ' ἑκάστῳ τῶν εἰρημένων προσυπακούειν, ὅπερ αὐτός ὁ μακάριος Διονύσιος εἶπεν· οὐδέν γάρ ἐστιν ὁ Θεός τῶν εἰρημένων, ὧν ἡμεῖς γινώσκομεν ἤ νοοῦμεν, ἀλλ’ οὔτε ὧν γινώσκουσιν αἱ νοηταί δυνάμεις πᾶσαι· πάντα γάρ τά εἰρημένα καθάπαξ ἐκ Θεοῦ εἰσι καί αὐτοῦ δωρεαί· καί πῶς αὐτός ἐξ αὐτῶν ὁ προνοούμενος αὐτῶν κυρίως; Πάντα δέ διαφόρως διεξήλθομεν ἐν τῷ Περί θείων ὀνομάτων· πάντα γάρ ταῦτα, ὡς συμβεβηκότα, καί ἐν οὐσίαις τῶν μετά Θεόν, ὁ δέ Θεός καί ὑπέρ οὐσίαν, καί τούτων αἴτιος, οὐκοῦν καί ὑπέρ αὐτά, Ἄλλως· Ζωή καί ἀγαθότης, ἰδού κατάφασις, ἤτοι θέσις· οὐ κραιπαλᾷ, οὐδέ μηνιᾷ, ἰδού ἀπόφασις, ἤτοι ἀφαίρεσις. Ἤ ἀήρ καί λίθος: Ἀήρ μέν, κατά τό ἐν Βασιλείαις εἰρημένον, ἐν αὔρᾳ λεπτῇ· λίθον δέ ὁ προφήτης εἶδε. Τούτων οὖν οἰκειότερον μᾶλλον θέσεις καί δηλώσεις ἐπί Θεοῦ ἡ ζωή καί ἡ ἀγαθότης. Ὥσπερ οὖν καί ἐκ τῆς ἀφαιρέσεως ἐπί τοῦ ἐναντίου, οἷον τό κραιπαλᾷν καί μηνιᾷν, πόρρω Θεοῦ καί ἀλλότρια, τό δέ μήτε λέγεσθαι μᾶλλον πρέπον Θεῷ καί ἐγγυτέρω, διά τό ὑπέρ πάντα νοῦν τε καί λόγον. ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ Δ' Οὐδέ ἐν τόπῳ ἐστίν: Ἀναγκαίως ὁ πατήρ διά τούτων προσησφαλίσατο τόν ἀκροατήν, ὥστε μή ταῖς ἑξῆς ἀποφάσεσιν ( 14 _404 οἴεσθαι ὅλως μή εἶναι τό Θεῖον, ἀλλ’ ἐν τούτοις μέν τό εἶναι αὐτό ὑπέθετο, ἐν ἐκείνοις δέ τό καί μηδέν τῶν ὄντων εἶναι, ἀλλ’ ὑπερούσιον.","english":"Wrath means not any ordinary anger, but persistent anger. So then, as we ascend from sensible things to intelligible things, we must not think all these incorporeal negations in a lowly way, but in each of the things said we must also understand what the blessed Dionysius himself said: for God is none of the things said, of which we know or conceive, nor even of those which all the intelligible powers know; for all the things said are once for all from God and are his gifts; and how is he who provides for them from them properly? We have gone through all these things in various ways in the work On the Divine Names; for all these things, as accidents, are also in the essences of things after God, but God is also above essence, and is the cause of these things, and therefore also above them. Otherwise: Life and goodness—behold an affirmation, that is, a position; he does not get drunk, nor is he wrathful—behold a negation, that is, a removal. Or air and stone: air, according to what is said in the Kingdoms, in a gentle breeze; and the prophet saw a stone. Of these, then, life and goodness are more properly positions and declarations concerning God. Just as, then, from the removal to the opposite, namely getting drunk and being wrathful, these are far from God and alien, while not even being said is more fitting to God and nearer, because he is above all mind and reason. ON CHAPTER 4: Nor is he in a place: Necessarily the father by these things secured the hearer, so that he would not by the following negations think that the Divine altogether does not exist, but in these things he supposed that it exists, while in those things that it is also none of existing things, but supersubstantial.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":233,"ref":"p233","source":"ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ Ε' Ὡς οὔτε ψυχή ἐστιν, οὔτε νοῦς: Διαφέρει ταῦτα ἀλλήλων, ὡς ἐν τοῖς ἀνωτέρω δεδήλωται, φαντασία, δόξα, λόγος, νόησις, ἅ κατά τόν νοῦν θεωρεῖται. Προσεπινοητέον δέ τό κατά τόν ἡμέτερον λόγον μή ἔχειν λόγον· ὁμοίως καί νόησιν κατά τήν ἐν τοῖς νοεροῖς κτίσμασι· καί τά ἑξῆς δέ οὕτως ἐκδέχεσθαι χρή. Ἄλλως· Καί\n\nἐπί τούτων ὁμοίως τό ὡς ἡμᾶς εἰδέναι θετέον· τῶν μετ' αὐτήν δέ, δηλαδή τήν θείαν φύσιν, τουτέστι τῶν κτισμάτων τάς θέσεις ποιεῖσθαί φησίν ἐν τῷ λέγειν ζωήν ἤ φῶς κατά τά ἐν τοῖς γεννητοῖς θεωρούμενα, ἐξ ὧν τό ταῦτα ὑποστήσαντα ἐννοοῦμεν καί οὐ τῆς αὐτοῦ φύσεως διά τούτων θέσιν τινά εἰσάγομεν· καί πάλιν ἀφαίρεσιν ποιοῦμεν τῷ κατά μηδέν τούτων εἶναι λέγειν τό Θεῖον. Οὐδέ ἕν οὐδέ ἑνότης: Διαφέρουσιν ἀλλήλων ἕν καί ἑνότης· τό μέν γάρ δηλοῖ τό ὑπερκείμενον, τό δέ τήν τοιαύτην ποιότητα, ὥσπερ λευκόν καί λευκότης, ἀγαθόν καί ἀγαθότης. Σημείωσαι δέ ὅτι οὔτε ἡ θεότης οὐσία ἐστί τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὥσπερ οὐδέ ἕν τι τῶν εἰρημένων οὐδέ τῶν ἐναντίων αὐτοῖς διό οὐδέν αὐτῶν ἐστιν. Οὐ γάρ ἐστι ταῦτα οὐσία αὐτοῦ, ἀλλά δόξα περί αὐτόν· Οὕτω καί Σέξτος ὁ ἐκκλησιαστικός φιλόσοφος εἶπε, καί ὁ Θεολόγος Γρηγόριος ἐν τῷ τρίτῳ τῶν Θεολογικῶν αὐτοῦ, ὡς οὔτε ἡ θεότης, οὔτε τό ἀγέννητον, οὔτε ἡ πατρότης οὐσίαν σημαίνουσι Θεοῦ. Οὐδέ θεότης ἤ ἀγαθότης: Σημείωσαι δέ καί ὅτι οὐδέ ( 14 _406 Πνεῦμά ἐστιν, ὡς ἡμᾶς εἰδέναι, οὔτε υἱότης, οὔτε πατρότης. Καί τό 'ὡς ἡμᾶς εἰδέναι' ἐπί πάσης τῆς ἐν τοῖς προκειμένοις ἀποφάσεως λαβέ· δηλοῖ δέ τό κατά τήν ἡμετέραν εἴδησιν.","english":"ON CHAPTER 5: That He is neither soul nor mind. These differ from one another, as has been shown in what precedes: imagination, opinion, reason, understanding, which are contemplated by the mind. But one must additionally conceive that according to our reason He has no reason; likewise no understanding according to that which is in the intelligible creatures; and the following things must be taken in the same way. Otherwise: And\n\nin these matters likewise one must posit \"as we know\"; but concerning those after it—that is, the divine nature—he says that one makes the affirmations of the created things, in calling it life or light according to what is contemplated in generated things, from which we conceive Him who established these things, and we do not introduce any affirmation of His own nature through these; and again we make a negation by saying that the Divine is none of these. Neither one nor unity: one and unity differ from one another; for the one indicates that which is transcendent, while the other indicates such a quality, just as white and whiteness, good and goodness. Note that neither is the Godhead the essence of God, just as neither is any one of the things said, nor of their opposites; therefore He is none of them. For these are not His essence, but glory concerning Him. Thus also Sextus the church philosopher said, and Gregory the Theologian in the third of his Theological Orations, that neither the Godhead, nor the unbegotten, nor the fatherhood signify the essence of God. Nor Godhead or goodness: Note also that neither (14_406) is He Spirit, as we know, nor sonship, nor fatherhood. And take \"as we know\" in the case of every negation in what lies before us; it indicates that which is according to our knowledge.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":234,"ref":"p234","source":"Οὐδέ τά ὄντα γινώσκει: Μή σε ταρασσέτω τό κέφάλαιον τοῦτο καί νομίσῃς βλασφημεῖν τόν θεῖον τοῦτον ἄνδρα· σκοπός γάρ αὐτῷ δεῖξαι τόν Θεόν μηδέν τῶν ὄντων ὄντα, ἀλλ' ὑπέρ τά ὄντα· εἰ γάρ τά πάντα αὐτός δημιουργήσας παρήγαγε, πῶς ἔχει εὑρεθῆναι ἕν τι τῶν ὄντων; Εἶπε γάρ, ὅτι οὐδέ τά ὄντα γινώσκει τόν πάντων αἴτιον Θεόν· τοῦτο δέ ἀπώλεια σαφής, τό μή γινώσκειν Θεόν· ἀλλά ταχέως αὐτό ἐσαφήνισεν, εἰπών, ᾖ αὐτός ἐστι, τουτέστιν, οὐδέν τῶν ὄντων γινώσκει Θεόν, καθ' ὅ αὐτός ἐστιν, ἀντί τοῦ τήν ἀνεννόητον καί ὑπερούσιον οὐσίαν αὐτοῦ, ἤ ὕπαρξιν καθ' ἥν ὑπάρχει· εἴρηται γάρ· «οὐδείς γινώσκει τόν Υἱόν, εἰ μή ὁ Υἱός». Καί ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου ἐπάγει ὁ μέγας Διονύσιος καί φησιν, καί ὅτι «οὐδείς γινώσκει τόν Θεόν ἦ ἐστιν», οὐδέ αὐτός ὁ Θεός γινώσκει τά ὄντα ᾖ ὄντα ἐστί, τουτέστιν οὐκ οἶδεν ἐπιβάλλειν τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς αἰσθητῶς, ἤ ταῖς οὐσίαις ὡς οὐσίαις. Ἀνοίκειον γάρ τοῦτο Θεῷ· οἱ γάρ ἄνθρωποι τά αἰσθητά ἤ διά θέας ἤ γεύσεως ἤ ἁφῆς νοοῦμεν τί εἰσί, τά δέ νοητά ἀπό μαθήσεως ἤ διδασκαλίας ἤ ἐλλάμψεως καταλαμβάνομεν. Ὁ δέ Θεός οὐδέ ἐξ ἑνός τρόπου τοιούτου οἶδε τά ὄντα, ἀλλά γνῶσιν ἔχει τήν αὐτῷ πρέπουσαν· τοῦτο γάρ αἰνίττεται τό ρητόν τό λέγον, «ὁ εἰδώς τά πάντα πρίν γενέσεως αὐτῶν», ὅπερ δηλοῖ ὅτι οὐ κατά τόν λόγον τῆς γενέσεως τῶν ὄντων οἶδεν ( 14 _408 αὐτά ὁ Θεός, ὅπερ ἐστίν αἰσθητῶς, ἀλλά καθ' ἕτερον γνώσεως τρόπον. Οἱ ἄγγελοι δέ γνωστικῶς αὐτά καί ἀΰλως γινώσκουσιν, οὐχ ὡς ἡμεῖς αἰσθητῶς. Οὕτως οὖν καί ὁ Θεός ἀσυγκρίτως καί ὑπεραναβεβηκότως, οὐ μήν ταῖς οὐσίαις ἐπιβάλλων οἶδε τά ὄντα. Ἄλλως·","english":"He does not know the things that are: let this chapter not disturb you, nor let you think that this divine man is blaspheming; for his aim is to show that God is none of the things that are, but is above the things that are. For if he himself created and brought forth all things, how could he be found to be one of the things that are? For he said that the cause of all things does not know the things that are; but this—not to know God—is manifest destruction. Yet he quickly clarified it, saying, \"as he is,\" that is, he does not know God as any of the things that are, in the sense of his unthinkable and supersubstantial essence, or the existence by which he exists. For it has been said: \"No one knows the Son except the Son.\" And from the opposite side the great Dionysius adds and says that \"no one knows God as he is,\" nor does God himself know the things that are as they are—that is, he does not know how to apply himself to sensible things sensibly, or to essences as essences. For this is unfitting for God. For we humans understand what sensible things are through sight or taste or touch, and we grasp intelligible things from learning or teaching or illumination. But God does not know the things that are in any such way, but has the knowledge that befits him. For this is what the saying hints at which says, \"He who knows all things before their generation,\" which makes clear that God does not know them according to the principle of the generation of things, which is sensible, but according to another mode of knowledge. But the angels know them in a knowing and immaterial way, not as we do sensibly. So then God also knows in an incomparable and transcendent way, not indeed applying himself to essences, does he know the things that are. Otherwise:","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":235,"ref":"p235","source":"Τά ὄντα, ἤγουν τά κτίσματα, ὑπέρ τήν ἑαυτῶν φύσιν ἐκταθεῖναι ταῖς νοήσεσιν οὐ δύναται· εἰκότως οὖν εἰς ἑαυτά βλέποντα ἀγνοεῖ τήν θείαν φύσιν, καθ' ὅ αὐτή ἐστιν. Οὕτως οὖν καί ἡ θεία φύσις, εἰς ἑαυτήν βλέπουσα, οὐκ οἶδεν ἐν ἑαυτῇ εἶναι τά ὄντα κατά τόν τῆς οὐσίας αὐτῶν λόγον· τοῦτο γάρ ἐδήλωσεν εἰπών, «ᾖ ὄντα ἐστίν», ἐπειδή ὑπέρ πάντα τά ὄντα καί αὐτό τό εἶναι κέκτηται ὑπερουσίως· ἑτέρως γάρ οὐκ ἄν τις εἴποι ἀγνοεῖν τόν Θεόν τά ἑαυτοῦ κτίσματα. Εἰς τό αὐτό. Ὅτι οὐδείς γινώσκει τήν ἄχραντον Τριάδα, καθ' ὅ αὐτή ἐστιν, ἀντί τοῦ, οὐδέν ἐστιν ὡς αὐτή, ἵνα καί γινώσκῃ αὐτήν ὡς αὐτή ἐστιν· ἡμεῖς ἄνθρωποί ἐσμεν, τήν δέ ὑπαρξιν τῆς ἀχράντου Τριάδος οὐκ ἴσμεν τί ἐστιν· οὐ γάρ ἐσμεν ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας αὐτῆς· οὕτως οὐδέ ὁ Θεός εἶδε τά ὄντα ἦ ἐστί, καθώς ἡμεῖς οὐ γάρ ἐστί τι τῶν ὄντων ἤ κατ' αὐτά· κἄν γάρ αὐτός Πνεῦμα ὁ Θεός, καί τό ἅγιον μέντοι Πνεῦμα οὕτως ὠνόμασται, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔστι Πνεῦμα γνώριμον ἡμῖν ἤ ἀγγέλοις. Τί δέ ἀνωτέρω εἰπών, 'οὐκ ἔστι φῶς, οὐδέ ἀλήθεια', ὑποκαταβάς πάλιν λέγει, 'οὐκ ἔστι σκότος, οὐδέ φῶς, οὐδέ πλάνη, οὐδέ ἀλήθεια'; Δυνατόν οὖν ἐπιχειροῦντα εἰπεῖν,","english":"The things that are, that is, the created things, cannot be stretched out in their thoughts beyond their own nature; and so, reasonably, looking upon themselves, they are ignorant of the divine nature as it is in itself. Thus, then, the divine nature also, looking upon itself, does not know the things that are to be in itself according to the principle of their essence; for this is what he indicated when he said, \"insofar as they are,\" since it possesses being itself superessentially above all the things that are; for otherwise no one would say that God is ignorant of his own creatures. On the same point. That no one knows the undefiled Trinity as it is in itself, which means, nothing is as it is, so that it might also know it as it is; we are men, and we do not know what the subsistence of the undefiled Trinity is; for we are not of its essence; thus neither has God seen the things that are as they are, just as we have not; for he is not any of the things that are, nor according to them; for even if God himself is Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is indeed so named, yet he is not a Spirit knowable to us or to angels. But what did he say above, \"he is not light, nor truth,\" and then, descending again, he says, \"he is not darkness, nor light, nor error, nor truth\"? It is possible, then, for one attempting to say,","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":236,"ref":"p236","source":"ὅτι τό μέν πρῶτον περί τοῦ ἀπολύτως φωτός λέγει, οὐδέ πλάνη ὡς ἐν οὐσίαις τῶν ἀγγέλων, καί ἀλήθειαν τήν αὐτοαπολελυμένως καί ἀναιτίως ἀλήθειαν· τά δέ ἐφεξῆς, ὅτι οὔτε τῶν πρός τι, οἷον ἐκ σκότους μεταβάλλων φῶς, ( 14 _410 ὡσανεί ἐκ τοῦ δυνάμει φωτός εἰς τό ἐνεργείᾳ φῶς μεταβάλλων ἐκ τῶν σχετικῶν εἰς ἄλληλα φῶς καί σκότος· οὔτε γάρ γνόφος ἐστίν, οὔτε πολύ φῶς, οὕτως οὔτε ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου, ἐκ τοῦ κατά δύναμιν πλάνην εἶναι εἰς ἀλήθειαν ἐνεργείᾳ μετέβαλε· πάντα γάρ ταῦτα, δεύτερα αὐτοῦ, ἐξ αὐτοῦ προνοητικῶς ἐκφοιτήσαντα. Οὐδέν οὖν ἐστι τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ.\n\nΣΧΟΛΙΑ ΕΙΣ ΤΑΣ ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΑΣ ΤΟΥ ΑΓΙΟΥ ΔΙΟΝΥΣΙΟΥ ΑΡΕΟΠΑΓΙΤΟΥ","english":"Because he first speaks of the light that is absolute, not error as in the essences of the angels, and truth that is truth in an absolutely independent and uncaused way; and the things that follow, because neither of things relative, as when he changes light out of darkness, (14.410 as it were changing from potential light to actual light, from things relative to one another, light and darkness; for neither is he darkness, nor much light, so neither from the opposite, from error being in potential to truth in actuality did he change; for all these things are secondary to him, having proceeded from him by providence. Nothing, therefore, is of the things that are from him.\n\nSCHOLIA ON THE LETTERS OF SAINT DIONYSIUS THE AREOPAGITE","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]}]}