De morbo et valetudine

Of Saint Athanasius, patriarch of Alexandria, from the discourse On Sickness and Health, whose beginning is: "The letters of your reverence were delivered to us." The discourse concerning the health of human beings is not simply signified in the divine scriptures, but there is also a certain twofold understanding concerning this matter. For since human beings have their existence from two parts, and according to the most blessed apostle we have a twofold signification from both the inner and the outer man (for he says in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians: "Even if our outer man is being destroyed, yet the inner is renewed," and in the Epistle to the Ephesians: "For this reason I bend my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he may grant you to be strengthened by the power of his glory through his Spirit into the inner man, that Christ may dwell through faith in your hearts"), it is necessary that the understanding concerning these matters be not simple but twofold. And just as the outer man has bodily bread for nourishment, so also the inner man has his own appropriate nourishment, concerning which Paul said: "Nourished by the words of truth." Which nourishment has its beginning from the Lord saying: "I am the bread that came down from heaven and gives life to men." And again, just as outwardly for drinking he has rivers and springs and fountains, so inwardly he has the Spirit, which is given to those who believe and "becomes a fountain of leaping water into eternal life.

and for walking upon the earth it has the bodily feet, but for the sake of ascent into the heavens it has the feet which Paul had, speaking thus: "I run as not obscurely," concerning which he also commanded us, so that we "have these feet shod in readiness for the gospel." And indeed it also has hands for the sake of bodily touch, but it has them within, so as to touch even the Word, such as the disciples had, saying: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, and our hands have handled concerning the Word of life." And since the Word is incorporeal, it is necessary that the hands touching it be incorporeal. Both of these are one, the human being made thus from the beginning by God from body and soul. Their natural constitution is one by the grace of the Creator, so that the end of the action of each is one, and they share the same praise or blame in common. For even if they are separated by death, they will recover themselves again, and having been joined together, they are again one and remain thereafter indivisibly. For when we are resurrected, death will no longer hold sway. And in general, lest I dwell on particulars by setting forth each thing in detail, it is necessary to know that the body is composed of members, while the inner being is not composed of bodily members, but according to the actions of the members it also has their significance. And feet are the soul's progress toward virtue, hands are the precision of reasonings, and the eye is the discerning mind, and the tongue is the discrimination of thoughts itself.

And it is also said to have a belly, so that the generative power of its mind may be indicated, just as it is written: "From your fear we conceived in the belly and travailed and gave birth to a spirit of salvation, which we made upon the earth." Thus it is also said to sleep and to be asleep at that time when it does nothing. For that toward which it is at rest, it has leisure for. Toward this they also say it has sleep. For when it rests from base things, then it is said to it: "If you sleep, you will sleep sweetly, and you will not fear a terror coming upon you." And this is the grace of the Savior saying: "Sleep the rest of the time," fear no more. But inactivity and negligence with respect to its virtue is such a sleep as the Holy Spirit censures, saying: "All who have mounted horses have dozed," and again: "They slept their sleep and found nothing." Hence also our Lord Jesus Christ, wishing our mind not to be negligent about virtue, commanded: "Watch" and "be vigilant," just as also in Proverbs he advises: "Do not give sleep to your eyes nor doze with your eyelids, so that you may be saved like a gazelle from snares and like a bird from a trap," even if some of those from the heresies, truly having no mind, misunderstand these things written spiritually and, concerning bodily sleep, pretend not to sleep and stealthily take away its use by necessity, not knowing that, while watching a little, they sleep entirely in their mind and, fearing bodily sleep, fall away from vigilance of soul. Which the saint had, even while sleeping in body, saying:

I sleep, and my heart is awake. For the sleep of the saints has its contemplation directed toward better things, and while their body rests on the earth, their mind traverses regions beyond places and flies up from earth to the heavens. For the great prophet Elisha, while sitting bodily on the mountain, followed Gehazi in his mind, and the holy Daniel, while sleeping in body, was awake in mind, beholding those great and divine visions. Thus, then, since the account concerning human beings has been shown to be twofold, the understanding concerning their health must also necessarily be twofold. For there is health of the soul, and there is health of the body. And some are sick only in soul and healthy in body, while others, conversely, are sick in body but healthy in soul, and some have sickness in both respects and are strong neither in body nor in soul. But the two, being one human being, again suffer together with each other, since they have a single freedom from pain from health or a single torment from sickness. And again concerning the same matters: Just as the construction of the body possesses the five senses, suited to itself, from the creator, so also the intellectual substance of the soul traverses all the work of the commandments through the five senses. And the symbol of its sight is the eyes, as the holy David said: "My eyes are always toward the Lord." And of its hearing: "He gave me an ear to hear," and the Lord: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." And of its smell: "We shall run to the scent of your ointments." And of its taste: "Taste and see that the Lord is good." And:

My mouth I opened and drew in breath." And: "Lord, you will open my lips." Of touch: "What we beheld and our hands handled concerning the word of life." There is, after these, also a sixth sense, according to which we who are able to touch touch the intangible, concerning which Solomon spoke. And you will find a divine sense, which often naturally occurs also in the compunction of the heart.