TO FELLOW-PRESBYTER TIMOTHY (1Pet 5.1)
DIONYSIUS THE PRESBYTER
ON DIVINE NAMES

ΣΥΜΠΡΕΣΒΥΤΕΡΩ ΤΙΜΟΘΕΩ
ΔΙΟΝΥΣΙΟΣ Ο ΠΡΕΣΒΥΤΕΡΟΣ
ΠΕΡΙ  ΘΕΙΩΝ ΟΝΟΜΑΤΩΝ

’ “”.

CHAPTER 1

What is the purpose of the discourse, and what the tradition concerning Divine Names.

1.1.Now then, O Blessed One, after the Theological Outlines (cf. Myst.Theol 3), I will pass to the interpretation of the Divine Names, as best I can.

1  Νῦν δέ͵ ὦ μακάριε͵ μετὰ τὰς Θεολογικὰς ὑποτυπώσεις ἐπὶ τὴν τῶν θείων ὀνομάτων ἀνάπτυξιν͵ ὡς ἐφικτόν͵ μετελεύσομαι.

as beyond every essence, and as It may manifest Itself properly and scientifically concerning Itself.

ὡς πάσης οὐσίας ἐπέκεινα καὶ ὡς ἂν αὐτὴ περὶ ἑαυτῆς ¹¹⁰ κυρίως καὶ ἐπιστητῶς ἀποφαίνοιτο.

 and, by their proportioned [eros-]love ⁴ of permitted illuminations, are borne aloft on wings (cf. Ps 55.6; Phaedr. 6[/7].246 ff) with a holy reverence, prudently and [in] holiness.

καὶ τῷ συμμέτρῳ τῶν θεμιτῶν ¹¹¹ ἐλλάμψεων ἔρωτι μετ΄ εὐλαβείας ἱερᾶς σωφρόνως τε καὶ ὁσίως ἀναπτερουμένους.

and, in one word, the life of the living, and essence of things that be; of all life and essence, origin and cause; because Its goodness produces and sustains things that be, in their being.

ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν͵ ἡ τῶν ζώντων ζωὴ καὶ τῶν ὄντων οὐσία͵ πάσης ζωῆς καὶ οὐσίας ἀρχὴ καὶ αἰτία διὰ τὴν αὐτῆς εἰς τὸ εἶναι τὰ ὄντα παρακτικὴν καὶ συνοχικὴν ἀγαθότητα.

in things sensible -
things noetic

αἰσθητοῖς
τὰ νοητὰ

and in things that are -
things superessential ;

καὶ τοῖς οὖσι
τὰ ὑπερούσια περικαλυπτούσης

and place forms and shapes
around the formless and shapeless,

καὶ μορφὰς καὶ τύπους
τοῖς ἀμορφώτοις τε καὶ ἀτυπώτοις περιτιθείσης

the supernatural and formless simplicity
in the rich variety (cf. Eph 3:10) of the divided symbols;

τὴν ὑπερφυῆ καὶ ἀσχημάτιστον ἁπλότητα
τῇ ποικιλίᾳ τῶν μεριστῶν συμβόλων
     πληθυούσης τε καὶ διαπλαττούσης.

 For, if all kinds of knowledge are of things existing, and are limited to things existing, that which is beyond all essence is also elevated above all knowledge.

 Εἰ γὰρ αἱ γνώσεις πᾶσαι τῶν ὄντων εἰσὶ καὶ εἰς τὰ ὄντα τὸ πέρας ἔχουσιν͵ ἡ πάσης οὐσίας ἐπέκεινα καὶ πάσης γνώσεώς ἐστιν ἐξῃρημένη.

1.5. And yet, if It is superior to every expression and every knowledge, and is altogether placed above ⁸ mind and essence, - being such as embraces and unites and comprehends and anticipates all things, but Itself is altogether incomprehensible to all, and of It, there is neither perception nor imagination, nor surmise, nor name, nor expression, nor contact, nor science;

5  Καὶ μήν͵ εἰ κρείττων ἐστὶ παντὸς λόγου καὶ πάσης γνώσεως καὶ ¹¹⁶ ὑπὲρ νοῦν καθόλου καὶ οὐσίαν ἵδρυται πάντων μὲν οὖσα περιληπτικὴ καὶ συλληπτικὴ καὶ προληπτική͵ πᾶσι δὲ αὐτὴ καθόλου ἄληπτος καὶ οὔτε αἴσθησις αὐτῆς ἔστιν οὔτε φαντασία οὔτε δόξα οὔτε ὄνομα οὔτε λόγος οὔτε ἐπαφὴ οὔτε ἐπιστήμη͵

And by Its being it is the production and sustenance of the whole, and all things aspire to It - the intellectual and rational, by means of knowledge - things inferior to these, through the senses, and other things by living movement, or substantial and habitual aptitude.

   Καὶ τῷ εἶναι ταύτην ἡ τῶν ὅλων παραγωγὴ καὶ ὑπόστασις͵ καὶ αὐτῆς πάντα ἐφίεται͵ τὰ μὲν νοερὰ καὶ λογικὰ γνωστικῶς͵ τὰ δὲ ὑφειμένα τούτων αἰσθητικῶς καὶ τὰ ἄλλα κατὰ ζωτικὴν κίνησιν ἢ οὐσιώδη καὶ ¹¹⁸ ἑκτικὴν ἐπιτηδειότητα.

1.6. The theologians, having knowledge of this, celebrate It, both without Name and from every Name. Without name, as when they say that the Godhead Itself, in one of those mystical apparitions of the symbolical Divine manifestation, rebuked him who said,

6  Τοῦτο γοῦν εἰδότες οἱ θεολόγοι καὶ ὡς ἀνώνυμον αὐτὴν ὑμνοῦσι καὶ ἐκ παντὸς ὀνόματος. Ἀνώνυμον μέν͵ ὡς ὅταν φασὶ τὴν θεαρχίαν αὐτὴν ἐν μιᾷ τῶν μυστικῶν τῆς συμβολικῆς θεοφανείας ὁράσεων ἐπιπλῆξαι τῷ φήσαντι·

  - as Provider of Life - as Wisdom - as Mind - as Word - as Knowing - as preeminently possessing all the treasures of all knowledge - as Power - as Powerful - as King of kings

 ὡς ζωῆς χορηγόν͵ ὡς σοφίαν͵ ὡς νοῦν͵ ὡς λόγον͵ ὡς ¹¹⁹ γνώστην͵ ὡς προέχοντα πάντας τοὺς θησαυροὺς ἁπάσης γνώσεως͵ ὡς δύναμιν͵ ὡς δυνάστην͵ ὡς βασιλέα τῶν βασιλευόντων͵

1.7. Thus, then, the “Nameless “befits the cause of all, which is also above all, as do all the names of things existing, in order that there may be strictly a kingly rule over the whole; and that all things ¹¹ may be around It and dependent upon It, as cause, as beginning, as end.

7  Οὕτως οὖν τῇ πάντων αἰτίᾳ καὶ ὑπὲρ πάντα οὔσῃ καὶ τὸ ἀνώνυ μον ἐφαρμόσει καὶ πάντα τὰ τῶν ὄντων ὀνόματα͵ ἵνα ἀκριβῶς ᾖ τῶν ὅλων βασίλεια καὶ περὶ αὐτὴν ᾖ τὰ πάντα καὶ αὐτῆς ὡς αἰτίας͵ ὡς ἀρχῆς͵ ὡς πέρατος ἐξηρτημένα

Also they assign to It crowns and seats, and drinking vessels and bowls, and certain other things mystical, concerning which, in our Symbolic Theology, we will speak as best we can.

 Στεφάνους τε καὶ θώκους καὶ ποτήρια καὶ κρατῆρας αὐτῇ καὶ ἄλλα ἅττα μυστικὰ περιπλάττουσι͵ περὶ ὧν ἐν τῇ Συμβολικῇ θεολογίᾳ κατὰ δύναμιν ἐροῦμεν.

CHAPTER 2

2

Concerning common and distinctive theology, and what is the Divine Union and distinction. 

And verily as we have mentioned in the Theological Outlines, if any one should say that this is not spoken concerning the whole Deity, he blasphemes, and dares, without right, to cleave asunder the super-unified Unity.

Καὶ γοῦν͵ ὡς ἐν ταῖς Θεολογικαῖς ὑποτυπώσεσιν ὑπεμνήσαμεν͵ εἰ μὴ περὶ τῆς ὅλης θεότητος φαίη τις τοῦτο εἰρῆσθαι͵ βλασφημεῖ καὶ ἀποσχίζειν ἀθέσμως τολμᾷ τὴν ὑπερηνωμένην ἑνάδα.

And if they say that the supremely Divine Life is not coextensive with the ¹⁴ whole, how is the sacred Word true which said, “As the Father raiseth the dead and maketh alive, so also the Son maketh alive whom He will (Jn 5.21),” and that “the Spirit is He, Who maketh alive (Jb 6.63)?”

Καὶ εἰ μὴ ὅλην εἶναί φασι τὴν ζωαρχίαν͵ πῶς ἀληθὴς ὁ φήσας ἱερὸς λόγος· ῞ωσπερ ὁ πατὴρ ἐγείρει τοὺς νεκροὺς καὶ ζωοποιεῖ͵ οὕτως καὶ ὁ υἱός͵ οὓς θέλει͵ ζωοποιεῖ καὶ ὅτι Τὸ πνεῦμά ἐστι τὸ ζωοποιοῦν;

2.2. But if any one should say that we introduce in so doing a confusion, in disparagement of the distinction which befits God, we do not think that such a statement as this is itself sufficient to convince that it is true.

2  Εἰ δέ τις φαίη σύγχυσιν ἡμᾶς ἐν τούτῳ κατὰ τῆς θεοπρεποῦς διαιρέσεως εἰσάγειν͵ τὸν τοιόνδε λόγον ἡμεῖς οὐδὲ αὐτὸν οἰόμεθα πείθειν ἱκανόν͵ ὡς ἔστιν ἀληθές.

2.3. The (Names) then, common to the whole Deity, as we have demonstrated from the [biblical] Sayings, by many instances in the Theological Outlines, are the Super-Good, the Super-God, the Superessential, the Super-Living, the Super-Wise, and whatever else belongs to the superlative abstraction; with which also, all those denoting Cause, the Good, the Beautiful, the Being, the Life-producing, the Wise, and whatever Names are given to the Cause of all Good, from His goodly gifts.

3  Τὰ μὲν οὖν ἡνωμένα τῆς ὅλης θεότητός ἐστιν͵ ὡς ἐν ταῖς Θεολογι καῖς ὑποτυπώσεσι διὰ πλειόνων ἐκ τῶν λογίων ἀπεδείξαμεν͵ τὸ ὑπερ άγαθον͵ τὸ ὑπέρθεον͵ τὸ ὑπερούσιον͵ τὸ ὑπέρζωον͵ τὸ ὑπέρσοφον καὶ ὅσα τῆς ὑπεροχικῆς ἐστιν ἀφαιρέσεως͵ μεθ΄ ὧν καὶ τὰ αἰτιολογικὰ πάντα͵ τὸ ἀγαθόν͵ τὸ καλόν͵ τὸ ὄν͵ τὸ ζωογόνον͵ τὸ σοφὸν καὶ ὅσα ἐκ τῶν ἀγαθοπρεπῶν αὐτῆς δωρεῶν ἡ πάντων ἀγαθῶν αἰτία κατονομάζεται.

 For there was, as I said, the complete union of all with all, unmingled throughout, and in no part confused, and this actually in a body, the air, the light even itself being dependent on the material fire.

 ῏Ην γὰρ αὐτῶν͵ ὅπερ ἔφην͵ ἡ ὅλων πρὸς ὅλα παντελὴς ἕνωσις ἀμιγὴς καθόλου ¹²⁸ καὶ οὐδενὶ μέρει συμπεφυρμένη καὶ ταῦτα ὄντως ἐν σώματι τῷ ἀέρι καὶ ἐξ ἐνύλου τοῦ πυρὸς ἠρτημένου τοῦ φωτός.

 And this is kindred and common, and one, to the whole Divinity, that it is all entire, participated by each of the Participants, and by none partially. Just as a point in a circle’s centre participates in all the circumjacent 16 straight lines in the circle,

  Καὶ τοῦτο κοινὸν καὶ ἡνωμένον καὶ ἕν ἐστι τῇ ὅλῃ θεότητι τὸ πᾶσαν αὐτὴν ὅλην ὑφ΄ ἑκάστου τῶν μετεχόντων μετέχεσθαι καὶ ὑπ΄ οὐδενὸς πάλιν οὐδενὶ μέρει καθάπερ σημεῖον ἐν μέσῳ κύκλου πρὸς πασῶν τῶν ἐν τῷ κύκλῳ περικειμένων εὐθειῶν͵

Further, there is a distinction from the goodly work of God towards us, in that the superessential Word was invested with being amongst us - from us - wholly and truly, and did and suffered whatever things are choice and pre-eminent in His human work of God. 

  Διακέκριται δὲ τῆς ἀγαθοπρεποῦς εἰς ἡμᾶς θεουργίας τὸ καθ΄ ἡμᾶς ἐξ ἡμῶν ὁλικῶς καὶ ἀληθῶς οὐσιωθῆναι τὸν ὑπερούσιον λόγον καὶ δρᾶσαι καὶ παθεῖν͵ ὅσα τῆς ἀνθρωπικῆς αὐτοῦ θεουργίας ἐστὶν ἔκκριτα καὶ ἐξαίρετα. 

2.7. Now we have set forth in the Theological Outlines whatever Divine Causes we have found in the [biblical] Sayings, of these unions, and distinctions, by treating each separately, according to our ability; by explaining some things, by the infallible Word, and ²¹ unfolding them; and by conducting the religious and unpolluted mind to the bright visions of the [biblical] Sayings; but others, as being full of mystery, by approaching them according to the Divine tradition, which is superior to mental energy. For all the Divine properties, even those revealed to us, are known by the participations alone; and themselves, such as they are in their own source and abode, are above mind and all essence and knowledge. For instance, if we have named the superessential Hiddenness, God, or Life, or Essence, or Light, or Word (logos), we have no other thought than that the powers brought to us from It are deifying, or essentiating, or life-bearing, or wisdom-imparting; but to Itself we approach during the cessation of all the intellectual energies, seeing no deification, or life, or essence whatever, such as is strictly like the Cause pre-eminently elevated above all. Again, that the Father is fontal Deity, but the Lord Jesus and the Spirit are, if one may so speak, God-planted shoots, and as it were Flowers and superessential Lights of the God-bearing Deity, we have received from the holy [biblical] Sayings; but how these things are, it is neither possible to say, nor to conceive.  

7  Ἀλλὰ τούτων μὲν τῶν ἑνώσεών τε καὶ διακρίσεων͵ ὅσας ἐν τοῖς λογίοις θεοπρεπεῖς αἰτίας εὑρήκαμεν͵ ἐν ταῖς Θεολογικαῖς ὑποτυπώσεσιν ¹³¹ ἰδίᾳ περὶ ἑκάστου διαλαβόντες͵ ὡς ἐφικτόν͵ ἐξεθέμεθα͵ τὰ μὲν ἀνελίξαντες τῷ ἀληθεῖ λόγῳ καὶ ἀναπτύξαντες καὶ τὸν ἱερὸν καὶ ἀνεπιθόλωτον νοῦν ἐπὶ τὰ φανὰ τῶν λογίων θεάματα προσαγαγόντες͵ τοῖς δὲ ὡς μυστικοῖς κατὰ τὴν θείαν παράδοσιν ὑπὲρ νοερὰν ἐνέργειαν ἑνωθέντες. Πάντα γὰρ τὰ θεῖα͵ καὶ ὅσα ἡμῖν ἐκπέφανται͵ ταῖς μετοχαῖς μόναις γινώσκεται. Αὐτὰ δέ͵ ὁποῖά ποτε ἔστι κατὰ τὴν οἰκείαν ἀρχὴν καὶ ἵδρυσιν͵ ὑπὲρ νοῦν ἔστι καὶ πᾶσαν οὐσίαν καὶ γνῶσιν. Οἷον͵ εἰ τὴν ὑπερούσιον κρυφιότητα θεὸν ἢ ζωὴν ἢ οὐσίαν ἢ φῶς ἢ λόγον ὀνομάσαι μεν͵ οὐδὲν ἕτερον νοοῦμεν ἢ τὰς εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐξ αὐτῆς προαγομένας δυνάμεις ἐκθεωτικὰς ἢ οὐσιοποιοὺς ἢ ζωογόνους ἢ σοφοδώρους. Αὐτῇ δὲ κατὰ τὴν πασῶν τῶν νοερῶν ἐνεργειῶν ἀπόλυσιν ἐπιβάλλομεν οὐδεμίαν ὁρῶντες θέωσιν ἢ ζωὴν ἢ οὐσίαν͵ ἥτις ἀκριβῶς ἐμφερής ἐστι τῇ πάντων ἐξῃρημένῃ κατὰ πᾶσαν ὑπεροχὴν αἰτίᾳ. ¹³² Πάλιν͵ ὅτι μέν ἐστι πηγαία θεότης ὁ πατήρ͵ ὁ δὲ υἱὸς καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς θεογόνου θεότητος͵ εἰ οὕτω χρὴ φάναι͵ βλαστοὶ θεόφυτοι καὶ οἷον ἄνθη καὶ ὑπερούσια φῶτα͵ πρὸς τῶν ἱερῶν λογίων παρειλήφαμεν. Ὅπως δὲ ταῦτά ἐστιν͵ οὔτε εἰπεῖν οὔτε ἐννοῆσαι δυνατόν.

2.8. But. up to this point, our utmost power of mental energy carries us, namely, that all divine paternity and sonship have been bequeathed from the Source of paternity and Source of sonship - pre-eminent above all - both to us and to the supercelestial ²² powers, from which the godlike become both gods, and sons of gods, and fathers of gods, and are named Minds, such a paternity and sonship being of course accomplished spiritually, i.e. incorporeally, immaterially, intellectually, -  since the supremely Divine Spirit is seated above all intellectual immateriality, and deification, and the Father and the Son are pre-eminently elevated above all divine paternity and sonship. For there is no strict likeness, between the caused and the causes. The caused indeed possess the accepted likenesses of the causes, but the causes themselves are elevated and established above the caused, according to the ratio of their proper origin. And, to use illustrations suitable to ourselves, pleasures and pains are said to be productive of pleasure and pain, but these themselves feel neither pleasure nor pain. And fire, whilst heating and burning, is not said to be burnt and heated. And, if any one should say that the self-existent Life lives, or that the self-existent Light is enlightened, in my view he will not speak correctly, unless, perhaps, he should say this after another fashion, that the properties of the caused are abundantly and essentially pre-existent in the causes.

8  Ἀλλ΄ ἄχρι τούτου πᾶσα τῆς καθ΄ ἡμᾶς νοερᾶς ἐνεργείας ἡ δύναμις͵ ὅτι πᾶσα θεία πατριὰ καὶ υἱότης ἐκ τῆς πάντων ἐξῃρημένης πατριαρχίας καὶ υἱαρχίας δεδώρηται καὶ ἡμῖν καὶ ταῖς ὑπερουρανίαις δυνάμεσιν͵ ἐξ ἧς καὶ θεοὶ καὶ θεῶν υἱοὶ καὶ θεῶν πατέρες οἱ θεοειδεῖς γίγνονται καὶ ὀνομά ζονται νόες πνευματικῶς δηλαδὴ τῆς τοιᾶσδε πατρότητος καὶ υἱότητος ἐκτελουμένης͵ τοῦτ΄ ἔστιν ἀσωμάτως͵ ἀΰλως͵ νοητῶς͵ τοῦ θεαρχικοῦ πνεύματος ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν νοητὴν ἀϋλίαν καὶ θέωσιν ὑπεριδρυμένου καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ πάσης πατριᾶς καὶ υἱότητος θείας ὑπεροχικῶς ἐξῃρημένων. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔστιν ἀκριβὴς ἐμφέρεια τοῖς αἰτιατοῖς καὶ τοῖς αἰτίοις͵ ἀλλ΄ ἔχει μὲν τὰ αἰτιατὰ τὰς τῶν αἰτίων ἐνδεχομένας εἰκόνας͵ αὐτὰ δὲ τὰ αἴτια τῶν αἰτιατῶν ἐξῄρηται καὶ ὑπερίδρυται κατὰ τὸν τῆς οἰκείας ἀρχῆς λόγον. Καὶ ἵνα τοῖς καθ΄ ἡμᾶς χρήσωμαι παραδείγμασιν͵ ἡδοναὶ καὶ λῦπαι λέγονται ποιητικαὶ τοῦ ἥδεσθαι καὶ λυπεῖσθαι͵ αὐταὶ δὲ οὔτε ἥδονται οὔτε λυποῦνται. Καὶ τὸ πῦρ θερμαῖνον καὶ καῖον οὐ λέγεται ¹³³ καίεσθαι καὶ θερμαίνεσθαι. Καὶ ζῆν εἴ τις φαίη τὴν αὐτοζωὴν ἢ φωτίζεσθαι τὸ αὐτοφῶς͵ οὐκ ὀρθῶς ἐρεῖ κατὰ τὸν ἐμὸν λόγον͵ εἰ μή που καθ΄ ἕτερον ταῦτα εἴποι τρόπον͵ ὅτι περισσῶς καὶ οὐσιωδῶς προένεστι τὰ τῶν αἰτιατῶν τοῖς αἰτίοις.

2.9. Further also, the most conspicuous fact of all theology - the God-formation of Jesus amongst us - is both unutterable by every expression and unknown to every mind, even to the very foremost of the most reverend angels. The fact indeed that. He took ²³ substance as man, we have received as a mystery, but we do not know in what manner, from virginal bloods, by a different law, beyond nature, He was formed, and how, with dry feet, having a bodily bulk and weight of matter, He marched upon the liquid and unstable substance 17; and so, with regard to all the other features of the super-physical physiology of Jesus. Now, we have elsewhere sufficiently spoken of these things, and they have been celebrated by our illustrious leader, in his Theological Elements, in a manner far beyond natural ability - things which that illustrious man acquired, either from the sacred theologians, or comprehended from the scientific, search of the [biblical] Sayings, from manifold struggles and investigations respecting the same, or was instructed from a sort of more Divine Inspiration, not only having learnt, but having felt the pangs of things Divine, and from his sympathy with them, if I may so speak, having been perfected to their untaught and mystic union and acceptance. And that we may display, in fewest words, the many and blessed visions of his most excellent intelligence, the following are the things he says, concerning the Lord Jesus, in the Theological Elements compiled by him.

9  Ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ πάσης θεολογίας ἐκφανέστατον ἡ καθ΄ ἡμᾶς Ἰησοῦ θεοπλαστία καὶ ἄῤῥητός ἐστι λόγῳ παντὶ καὶ ἄγνωστος νῷ παντὶ καὶ αὐτῷ τῷ πρωτίστῳ τῶν πρεσβυτάτων ἀγγέλων. Καὶ τὸ μὲν ἀνδρικῶς αὐτὸν οὐσιωθῆναι μυστικῶς παρειλήφαμεν͵ ἀγνοοῦμεν δέ͵ ὅπως ἐκ παρθε νικῶν αἱμάτων ἑτέρῳ παρὰ τὴν φύσιν θεσμῷ διεπλάττετο καὶ ὅπως ἀβρόχοις ποσὶ σωματικὸν ὄγκον ἔχουσι καὶ ὕλης βάρος ἐπεπόρευτο τὴν ὑγρὰν καὶ ἄστατον οὐσίαν καὶ τὰ ἄλλα͵ ὅσα τῆς ὑπερφυοῦς ἐστιν Ἰησοῦ φυσιολογίας. Ταῦτα δὲ ἡμῖν τε ἐν ἄλλοις ἱκανῶς εἴρηται καὶ τῷ κλεινῷ καθηγεμόνι κατὰ τὰς Θεολογικὰς αὐτοῦ στοιχειώσεις ὕμνηται λίαν ὑπερφυῶς͵ ἅπερ ἐκεῖνος εἴτε πρὸς τῶν ἱερῶν θεολόγων παρείληφεν εἴτε καὶ ἐκ τῆς ἐπιστη μονικῆς τῶν λογίων ἐρεύνης συνεώρακεν ἐκ πολλῆς τῆς περὶ αὐτὰ γυμνα ¹³⁴ σίας καὶ τριβῆς εἴτε καὶ ἔκ τινος ἐμυήθη θειοτέρας ἐπιπνοίας οὐ μόνον μαθὼν ἀλλὰ καὶ παθὼν τὰ θεῖα κἀκ τῆς πρὸς αὐτὰ συμπαθείας͵ εἰ οὕτω χρὴ φάναι͵ πρὸς τὴν ἀδίδακτον αὐτῶν καὶ μυστικὴν ἀποτελεσθεὶς ἕνωσιν καὶ πίστιν. Καὶ ἵνα τὰ πολλὰ καὶ μακάρια θεάματα τῆς κρατίστης ἐκείνου διανοίας ἐν ἐλαχίστοις παραθώμεθα͵ τάδε περὶ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ φησιν ἐν ταῖς συνηγμέναις αὐτῷ Θεολογικαῖς στοιχειώσεσιν·

2.10. From the Theological Elements of the most holy Hierotheus.

Deity of the Lord Jesus, -  the Cause and Completing of all, which preserves the parts concordant ²⁴ with the whole, and is neither part nor whole, and whole and part, as embracing in Itself everything both part and whole, and being above and before - is perfect indeed in the imperfect, as source of perfection, but imperfect in the perfect, as superperfect, and pre-perfect - Form producing form, in things without form, as Source of form - formless in the forms, as above form, - Essence, penetrating without stain the essences throughout, and superessential, exalted above every essence - setting bounds to the whole principalities and orders, and established above every principality and order. It is measure also of things existing, and age, and above age, and before age - full, in things that need, superfull in things full, unutterable, unspeakable, above mind, above life, above essence. It has the supernatural, supernaturally, - the superessential, superessentially. Hence, since through love towards man, He has come even to nature, and really became substantial, and the Super-God lived as Man 18 (may He be merciful with regard to the things we are celebrating, which are beyond mind and expression), and in these He has the supernatural and super-substantial, not only in so far as He communicated with us without alteration and without confusion, suffering no loss as regards His superfulness, from His unutterable emptying of Himself - but also, because the newest of all new things, He was in our physical condition super-physical - in things substantial, super-substantial, excelling all the things - of us - from us - above us. ²⁵ 

10  Ἡ πάντων αἰτία καὶ ἀποπληρωτικὴ τοῦ υἱοῦ θεότης ἡ τὰ μέρη τῇ ὁλότητι σύμφωνα διασώζουσα καὶ οὔτε μέρος οὔτε ὅλον οὖσα καὶ ὅλον καὶ μέρος͵ ὡς πᾶν καὶ μέρος καὶ ὅλον ἐν ἑαυτῇ συνειληφυῖα καὶ ὑπερέχουσα καὶ προέχουσα͵ τελεία μέν ἐστιν ἐν τοῖς ἀτελέσιν ὡς τελετάρ χις͵ ἀτελὴς δὲ ἐν τοῖς τελείοις ὡς ὑπερτελὴς καὶ προτέλειος͵ εἶδος εἰδοποιὸν ἐν τοῖς ἀνειδέοις ὡς εἰδεάρχις͵ ἀνείδεος ἐν τοῖς εἴδεσιν ὡς ὑπὲρ εἶδος͵ οὐσία ταῖς ὅλαις οὐσίαις ἀχράντως ἐπιβατεύουσα καὶ ὑπερουσίως ἁπάσης οὐσίας ἐξῃρημένη͵ τὰς ὅλας ἀρχὰς καὶ τάξεις ἀφορίζουσα καὶ πάσης ἀρχῆς καὶ τάξεως ὑπεριδρυμένη. Καὶ μέτρον ἐστὶ τῶν ὄντων καὶ αἰὼν καὶ ὑπὲρ αἰῶνα καὶ πρὸ αἰῶνος͵ πλήρης ἐν τοῖς ἐνδεέσιν͵ ὑπερπλήρης ἐν τοῖς πλήρεσιν͵ ἄῤῥητος͵ ἄφθεγκτος͵ ὑπὲρ νοῦν͵ ὑπὲρ ζωήν͵ ὑπὲρ οὐσίαν. ¹³⁵ Ὑπερφυῶς ἔχει τὸ ὑπερφυές͵ ὑπερουσίως τὸ ὑπερούσιον. Ὅθεν ἐπειδὴ καὶ ἕως φύσεως ὑπὲρ φιλανθρωπίας ἐλήλυθε καὶ ἀληθῶς οὐσιώθη καὶ ἀνὴρ ὁ ὑπέρθεος ἐχρημάτισεν͵ ἵλεω δὲ εἴη πρὸς ἡμῶν τὰ ὑπὲρ νοῦν καὶ λόγον ὑμνούμενα͵ κἀν τούτοις ἔχει τὸ ὑπερφυὲς καὶ ὑπερούσιον͵ οὐ μόνον ᾗ ἀναλλοιώτως ἡμῖν καὶ ἀσυγχύτως κεκοινώνηκε μηδὲν πεπονθὼς εἰς τὸ ὑπερπλῆρες αὐτοῦ πρὸς τῆς ἀφθέγκτου κενώσεως͵ ἀλλ΄ ὅτι καὶ τὸ πάντων καινῶν καινότατον ἐν τοῖς φυσικοῖς ἡμῶν ὑπερ φυὴς ἦν ἐν τοῖς κατ΄ οὐσίαν ὑπερούσιος πάντα τὰ ἡμῶν ἐξ ἡμῶν ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς ὑπερέχων.

2.11. This then is sufficient on these matters, let us now advance to the purpose of the discourse by unfolding, to the best of our ability, the kindred and common Names of the Divine distinction. And, in order that we may first distinctly define everything, in order, we call Divine distinction, as we have said, the goodly progressions of the Godhead. For, by being given to all things existing, and pouring forth the whole imparted goods in abundance, It is distinguished uniformly, and multiplied uniquely, and is moulded into many from the One, whilst being self-centred. For example, since Almighty God is superessentially Being, but the Being is bequeathed to things being, and produces the whole Essences; that One Being is said to be fashioned in many forms, by the production from Itself of the many beings, whilst It remains undiminished, and One in the multiplicity, and Unified during the progression, and complete in the distinction, both by being superessentially exalted above all beings, and by the unique production of the whole; and by the un-lessened stream of His undiminished distributions. Further, being One, and having distributed the One, both to every part and whole, both to one and to multitude, He is One, as it were, superessentially, being neither a part of the multitude, nor whole from parts; and thus is neither one, nor partakes of one, nor has the one. But, beyond these, He is One, above the one, to things existing - One, and multitude indivisible, unfilled superfulness, producing ²⁶ and perfecting and sustaining every one thing and multitude. Again, by the Deification from Itself, by the Divine likeness of many who become gods, according to their several capacity, there seems, and is said to be, a distinction and multiplication of the One God, but. He is none the less the Supreme God, and super-God, superessentially One God, - undivided in things divided, unified in Himself, both unmingled and unmultiplied in the many. And when the common conductor of ourselves, and of our leader to the Divine gift of light, - he, who is great in Divine mysteries - the light of the world - had thought out this in a manner above natural ability, - he speaks as follows, from the inspiration of God, in his sacred writings - ”For, even if there are who are called gods, whether in heaven or upon earth, as there are gods many and lords many; but to us there is One God, the Father, from Whom are all things, and we unto Him, - and One Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom are all things, and we, through Him 19.” For, with regard to things Divine, the unions overrule the distinctions, and precede them, and are none the less unified, even after the self-centred and unified distinction. These, the mutual and common distinctions, or rather the goodly progressions of the whole Deity, we will endeavour to the best of our ability to celebrate from the Names of God, which make them known in the [biblical] Sayings; - first, having laid down, as we have said, that every beneficent Name of God, to whichever of the supremely ²⁷ Divine Persons it may be applied, is to be understood with reference to the whole Supremely Divine wholeness unreservedly.

11  Τούτων μὲν οὖν ἅλις. Ἐπὶ δὲ τὸν τοῦ λόγου σκοπὸν προΐωμεν τὰ κοινὰ καὶ ἡνωμένα τῆς διακρίσεως τῆς θείας ὀνόματα κατὰ τὸ ἡμῖν ἐφικτὸν ἀνελίττοντες. Καὶ ἵνα σαφῶς περὶ πάντων ἑξῆς προδιορισώμεθα͵ διάκρισιν θείαν εἶναι φαμέν͵ ὡς εἴρηται͵ τὰς ἀγαθοπρεπεῖς τῆς θεαρχίας προόδους. Δωρουμένη γὰρ πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσι καὶ ὑπερχέουσα τὰς τῶν ὅλων ἀγαθῶν μετουσίας ἡνωμένως μὲν διακρίνεται͵ πληθύεται δὲ ἑνικῶς καὶ πολλαπλασιάζεται ἐκ ¹³⁶ τοῦ ἑνὸς ἀνεκφοιτήτως. Οἷον ἐπειδὴ ὤν ἐστιν ὁ θεὸς ὑπερουσίως͵ δωρεῖται δὲ τὸ εἶναι τοῖς οὖσι καὶ παράγει τὰς ὅλας οὐσίας͵ πολλαπλασιάζεσθαι λέγεται τὸ ἓν ὂν ἐκεῖνο τῇ ἐξ αὑτοῦ παραγωγῇ τῶν πολλῶν ὄντων μένοντος οὐδὲν ἧττον ἐκείνου καὶ ἑνὸς ἐν τῷ πληθυσμῷ καὶ ἡνωμένου κατὰ τὴν πρόοδον καὶ πλήρους ἐν τῇ διακρίσει τῷ πάντων εἶναι τῶν ὄντων ὑπερουσίως ἐξῃρημένον καὶ τῇ ἑνιαίᾳ τῶν ὅλων προαγωγῇ καὶ τῇ ἀνελαττώτῳ χύσει τῶν ἀμειώτων αὑτοῦ μεταδόσεων. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἓν ὢν καὶ παντὶ μέρει καὶ ὅλῳ καὶ ἑνὶ καὶ πλήθει τοῦ ἑνὸς μεταδιδοὺς ἕν ἐστιν ὡσαύτως ὑπερουσίως οὔτε μέρος ὂν τοῦ πλήθους οὔτε ἐκ μερῶν ὅλον. Καὶ οὕτως οὔτε ἕν ἐστιν οὔτε ἑνὸς μετέχει. Πόῤῥω δὲ τούτων ἕν ἐστιν ὑπὲρ τὸ ἕν͵ τοῖς οὖσιν ἓν καὶ πλῆθος ἀμερές͵ ἀπλήρωτον ὑπερπλῆρες͵ πᾶν ἓν καὶ πλῆθος παράγον καὶ τελειοῦν καὶ συνέχον. Πάλιν τῇ ἐξ αὐτοῦ θεώσει τῷ κατὰ δύναμιν ἑκάστου θεοειδεῖ θεῶν πολλῶν γιγνομένων δοκεῖ μὲν εἶναι καὶ λέγεται τοῦ ἑνὸς θεοῦ διάκρισις καὶ πολλαπλασιασμός͵ ἔστι δὲ οὐδὲν ἧττον ὁ ἀρχίθεος καὶ ὑπέρθεος ὑπερουσίως εἷς θεός͵ ἀμέριστος ἐν τοῖς μεριστοῖς͵ ἡνωμένος ἑαυτῷ καὶ τοῖς πολλοῖς ἀμιγὴς καὶ ἀπλήθυντος. Καὶ τοῦτο ὑπερφυῶς ἐννοήσας ὁ κοινὸς ἡμῶν καὶ τοῦ καθηγεμόνος ἐπὶ τὴν θείαν φωτοδοσίαν χειραγωγός͵ ὁ πολὺς τὰ θεῖα͵ τὸ φῶς τοῦ ¹³⁷ κόσμου͵ τάδε φησὶν ἐνθεαστικῶς ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς αὐτοῦ γράμμασι· Καὶ γὰρ εἴπερ εἰσὶ λεγόμενοι θεοὶ εἴτε ἐν οὐρανῷ εἴτε ἐπὶ γῆς͵ ὥσπερ οὖν εἰσὶ θεοὶ πολλοὶ καὶ κύριοι πολλοί͵ ἀλλ΄ ἡμῖν εἷς θεὸς ὁ πατήρ͵ ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἡμεῖς εἰς αὐτόν͵ καὶ εἷς κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός͵ δι΄ οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἡμεῖς δι΄ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν θείων αἱ ἑνώσεις τῶν διακρίσεων ἐπικρατοῦσι καὶ προκατάρχουσι καὶ οὐδὲν ἧττόν ἐστιν ἡνωμένα καὶ μετὰ τὴν τοῦ ἑνὸς ἀνεκφοίτητον καὶ ἑνιαίαν διάκρισιν. Ταύτας ἡμεῖς τὰς κοινὰς καὶ ἡνωμένας τῆς ὅλης θεότητος διακρίσεις εἴτ΄ οὖν ἀγαθοπρεπεῖς προόδους ἐκ τῶν ἐμφαινουσῶν αὐτὰς ἐν τοῖς λογίοις θεωνυμιῶν ὑμνῆσαι κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν πειρασόμεθα τούτου͵ καθάπερ εἴρηται͵ προδιεγνωσμένου τὸ πᾶσαν ἀγαθουργικὴν θεωνυμίαν͵ ἐφ΄ ᾗπερ ἂν κεῖται τῶν θεαρχικῶν ὑποστάσεων͵ ἐπὶ τῆς ὅλης αὐτὴν ἐκληφθῆναι θεαρχικῆς ὁλότητος ἀπαρατηρήτως.

CHAPTER 3

3

What is the power of prayer, and concerning the blessed Hierotheus, and concerning reverence and covenant in the Word of God.

3.1. FIRST, with your permission, let us examine the all-perfect Name of Goodness, which is indicative of the whole progressions of Almighty God, having invoked the supremely good, and super-good Triad - the Name which indicates Its whole best Providences. For, we must first be raised up to It, as Source of good, by our prayers; and by a nearer approach to It, be initiated as to the all good gifts which are established around It. For It is indeed present to all, but all are not present to It. But then, when we have invoked It, by all pure prayers and unpolluted mind, and by our aptitude towards Divine Union, we also are present to It. For, It is not in a place, so that It should be absent from a particular place, or should pass from one to another. But even the statement that It is in all existing beings, falls short of Its infinitude (which is) above all, and embracing all. Let us then elevate our very selves by our prayers to the higher ascent of the Divine and good rays, - as if a luminous chain being suspended from the celestial heights, ²⁸ and reaching down hither, we, by ever clutching this upwards, first with one hand, and then with the other, seem indeed to draw it down, but in reality we do not draw it down, it being both above and below, but ourselves are carried upwards to the higher splendours of the luminous rays. Or, as if, after we have embarked on a ship, and are holding on to the cables reaching from some rock, such as are given out, as it were, for us to seize, we do not draw the rock to us, but ourselves, in fact, and the ship, to the rock. Or to take another example, if any one standing on the ship pushes away the rock by the sea shore, he will do nothing to the stationary and unmoved rock, but he separates himself from it, and in proportion as he pushes that away, he is so far hurled from it. Wherefore, before everything, and especially theology, we must begin with prayer, not as though we ourselves were drawing the power, which is everywhere and nowhere present, but as, by our godly reminiscences and invocations, conducting ourselves to, and making ourselves one with, it.

1  Καὶ πρώτην͵ εἰ δοκεῖ͵ τὴν παντελῆ καὶ τῶν ὅλων τοῦ θεοῦ προόδων ἐκφαντορικὴν ἀγαθωνυμίαν ἐπισκεψώμεθα τὴν ἀγαθαρχικὴν καὶ ὑπεράγαθον ἐπικαλεσάμενοι τριάδα τὴν ἐκφαντορικὴν τῶν ὅλων ἑαυτῆς ἀγαθωτάτων προνοιῶν. Χρὴ γὰρ ἡμᾶς ταῖς εὐχαῖς πρῶτον ἐπ΄ αὐτὴν ὡς ἀγαθαρχίαν ἀνάγεσθαι καὶ μᾶλλον αὐτῇ πλησιάζοντας ἐν τούτῳ μυεῖσθαι τὰ πανάγαθα δῶρα τὰ περὶ αὐτὴν ἱδρυμένα. Καὶ γὰρ αὐτὴ μὲν ἅπασι πάρεστιν͵ οὐ πάντα δὲ αὐτῇ πάρεστι. Τότε δέ͵ ὅταν αὐτὴν ἐπικαλούμεθα πανάγνοις μὲν εὐχαῖς͵ ἀνεπιθολώτῳ δὲ νῷ καὶ τῇ πρὸς θείαν ἕνωσιν ἐπιτηδειότητι͵ τότε καὶ ἡμεῖς αὐτῇ πάρεσμεν. Αὐτὴ γὰρ οὔτε ἐν τόπῳ ἔστιν͵ ἵνα καὶ ἀπῇ τινος ἢ ἐξ ἑτέρων εἰς ἕτερα μεταβῇ. Ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσιν αὐτὴν εἶναι λέγειν ἀπολείπεται τῆς ὑπὲρ πάντα καὶ πάντων περιληπτικῆς ἀπειρίας. Ἡμᾶς οὖν αὐτοὺς ταῖς εὐχαῖς ἀνατείνωμεν ἐπὶ τὴν τῶν θείων καὶ ¹³⁹ ἀγαθῶν ἀκτίνων ὑψηλοτέραν ἀνάνευσιν͵ ὥσπερ εἰ πολυφώτου σειρᾶς ἐκ τῆς οὐρανίας ἀκρότητος ἠρτημένης͵ εἰς δεῦρο δὲ καθηκούσης καὶ ἀεὶ αὐτῆς ἐπὶ τὸ πρόσω χερσὶν ἀμοιβαίαις δραττόμενοι καθέλκειν μὲν αὐτὴν ἐδοκοῦμεν͵ τῷ ὄντι δὲ οὐ κατήγομεν ἐκείνην ἄνω τε καὶ κάτω παροῦσαν͵ ἀλλ΄ αὐτοὶ ἡμεῖς ἀνηγόμεθα πρὸς τὰς ὑψηλοτέρας τῶν πολυφώτων ἀκτίνων μαρμαρυγάς. ῍Η ὥσπερ εἰς ναῦν ἐμβεβηκότες καὶ ἀντεχόμενοι τῶν ἔκ τινος πέτρας εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐκτεινομένων πεισμάτων καὶ οἷον ἡμῖν εἰς ἀντίληψιν ἐκδιδομένων οὐκ ἐφ΄ ἡμᾶς τὴν πέτραν͵ ἀλλ΄ ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς τῷ ἀληθεῖ καὶ τὴν ναῦν ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν προσήγομεν. Ὥσπερ καὶ τὸ ἔμπαλιν͵ εἴ τις τὴν παραλίαν πέτραν ἑστὼς ἐπὶ τῆς νηὸς ἀπώσεται͵ δράσει μὲν οὐδὲν εἰς τὴν ἑστῶσαν καὶ ἀκίνητον πέτραν͵ ἑαυτὸν δὲ ἐκείνης ἀποχωρί σει͵ καὶ ὅσῳ μᾶλλον αὐτὴν ἀπώσεται͵ μᾶλλον αὐτῆς ἀκοντισθήσεται. Διὸ καὶ πρὸ παντὸς καὶ μᾶλλον θεολογίας εὐχῆς ἀπάρχεσθαι χρεὼν οὐχ ὡς ἐφελκομένους τὴν ἁπανταχῆ παροῦσαν καὶ οὐδαμῆ δύναμιν͵ ἀλλ΄ ὡς ταῖς θείαις μνήμαις καὶ ἐπικλήσεσιν ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς ἐγχειρίζοντας αὐτῇ καὶ ἑνοῦντας.

3.2. Perhaps also, this is worthy of apology, that whilst our illustrious leader, Hierotheus, is compiling his Theological Elements, in a manner above natural capacity, we, as if those were not sufficient, have composed others, and this present theological treatise. And yet, if that man had deigned to treat systematically all the theological treatises, and had gone ²⁹ through the sum of all theology, by detailed expositions, we should not have gone to such a height of folly, or stupidity, as to have attempted alone theological questions, either more lucidly or divinely than he, or to indulge in vain talk by saying superfluously the same things twice over, and in addition to do injustice to one, both teacher and friend, and that we, who have been instructed from his discourses, after Paul the Divine, should filch for our own glorification his most illustrious contemplation and elucidation. But, since in fact, he, whilst teaching things divine, in a manner suitable to presbyters, set forth comprehensive definitions, and such as embraced many things in one, as were suitable to us, and to as many as with us were teachers of the newly-initiated souls, commanding us to unfold and disentangle, by language commensurate with our ability, the comprehensive and uniform compositions of the most intellectual capacity of that illustrious man; and you, yourself, have oftentimes urged us to this, and sent back the very book, as being of transcendent value; for this reason, then, we too distinguish him as a teacher of perfect and presbyterial conceptions for those who are above the common people, even as certain second [biblical] Sayings, and next to the Anointed of God. But for people, such as we are, we will transmit things Divine, according to our capacity. For, if strong meat belongs to the perfect, how great perfection is required that the same should feed others. Correctly, then, we have affirmed this, that ³⁰ the self-perceptive vision of the intelligible [biblical] Sayings, and their comprehensive teaching, needs presbyterial power; but the science and the thorough teaching of the reasons which lead to this, fittingly belong to those purified and hallowed persons placed in a subordinate position. And yet, we have insisted upon this with the utmost care, that, as regards the things that have been thoroughly investigated by him, our divine leader, with an accurate elucidation, we should not, in any way, handle the same tautologically, for the same elucidation of the Divine text expounded by him. For, amongst our inspired hierarchs (when both we, as you know, and yourself, and many of our holy brethren, were gathered together to the depositing of the Life-springing and God-receptive body, and when there were present also James, the brother of God, and Peter, the foremost and most honoured pinnacle of the Theologians, when it was determined after the depositing, that every one of the hierarchs should celebrate, as each was capable, the Omnipotent Goodness of the supremely Divine Weakness), he, after the Theologians, surpassed, as you know, all the other divine instructors, being wholly entranced, wholly raised from himself, and experiencing the pain of his fellowship with the things celebrated, and was regarded as an inspired and divine Psalmist by all, by whom he was heard and seen and known, and not known. And why should I say anything to thee concerning the things there divinely spoken? For, ³¹ if I do not forget myself, many a time do I remember to have heard from thee certain portions of those inspired songs of praise; such was thy zeal, not cursorily, to pursue things Divine.

2  Καὶ τοῦτο δὲ ἴσως ἀπολογίας ἄξιον͵ ὅτι τοῦ κλεινοῦ καθηγεμόνος ἡμῶν Ἱεροθέου τὰς Θεολογικὰς στοιχειώσεις ὑπερφυῶς συναγαγόντος ἡμεῖς ὡς οὐχ ἱκανῶν ἐκείνων ἄλλας τε καὶ τὴν παροῦσαν θεολογίαν συνεγραψάμεθα. Καὶ γάρ͵ εἰ μὲν ἐκεῖνος ἑξῆς διαπραγματεύσασθαι πάσας τὰς θεολογικὰς πραγματείας ἠξίωσε καὶ μερικαῖς ἀνελίξεσι διῆλθεν ἁπάσης θεολογίας κεφάλαιον͵ οὐκ ἂν ἡμεῖς ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ἢ μανίας ἢ ¹⁴⁰ σκαιότητος ἐληλύθαμεν ὣς ἢ ὀπτικώτερον ἐκείνου καὶ θειότερον οἰηθῆναι ταῖς θεολογίαις ἐπιβάλλειν ἢ δὶς τὰ αὐτὰ περιττῶς λέγοντας εἰκαιολογῆ σαι͵ προσέτι καὶ ἀδικῆσαι καὶ διδάσκαλον καὶ φίλον ὄντα καὶ ἡμᾶς τοὺς μετὰ Παῦλον τὸν θεῖον ἐκ τῶν ἐκείνου λογίων στοιχειωθέντας͵ τὴν κλεινοτάτην αὐτοῦ καὶ θεωρίαν καὶ ἔκφανσιν ἑαυτοῖς ὑφαρπάζοντας. Ἀλλ΄ ἐπειδὴ τῷ ὄντι τὰ θεῖα πρεσβυτικῶς ὑφηγούμενος ἐκεῖνος συνοπτι κοὺς ἡμῖν ὅρους ἐξέθετο καὶ ἐν ἑνὶ πολλὰ περιειληφότας ὡς οἷον ἡμῖν καὶ ὅσοι καθ΄ ἡμᾶς διδάσκαλοι τῶν νεοτελῶν ψυχῶν ἐγκελευόμενος ἀναπτύ ξαι καὶ διακρῖναι τῷ ἡμῖν συμμέτρῳ λόγῳ τὰς συνοπτικὰς καὶ ἑνιαίας τῆς νοερωτάτης τἀνδρὸς ἐκείνου δυνάμεως συνελίξεις͵ καὶ πολλάκις ἡμᾶς καὶ αὐτὸς εἰς τοῦτο προέτρεψας καὶ τήν γε βίβλον αὐτὴν ὡς ὑπεραίρου σαν ἀνταπέσταλκας. Ταύτῃ τοι καὶ ἡμεῖς τὸν μὲν ὡς τελείων καὶ πρεσβυ τικῶν διανοιῶν διδάσκαλον τοῖς ὑπὲρ τοὺς πολλοὺς ἀφορίζομεν ὥσπερ τινὰ δεύτερα λόγια καὶ τῶν θεοχρήστων ἀκόλουθα. Τοῖς καθ΄ ἡμᾶς δὲ ἡμεῖς ἀναλόγως ἡμῖν τὰ θεῖα παραδώσομεν. Εἰ γὰρ τελείων ἐστὶν ἡ στερεὰ τροφή͵ τὸ ταύτην ἑστιᾶν ἑτέρους ὁπόσης ἂν εἴη τελειότητος; Ὀρθῶς οὖν ἡμῖν καὶ τοῦτο εἴρηται τὸ τὴν μὲν αὐτοπτικὴν τῶν νοητῶν λογίων θέαν καὶ τὴν συνοπτικὴν αὐτῶν διδασκαλίαν πρεσβυτικῆς δεῖσθαι δυνάμεως͵ τὴν δὲ τῶν εἰς τοῦτο φερόντων λόγων ἐπιστήμην καὶ ἐκμάθη σιν τοῖς ὑφειμένοις καθιερωταῖς καὶ ἱερωμένοις ἁρμόζειν. ¹⁴¹ Καίτοι καὶ τοῦτο ἡμῖν ἐπιτετήρηται λίαν ἐμμελῶς ὥστε τοῖς αὐτῷ τῷ θείῳ καθηγεμόνι κατὰ ἔκφανσιν σαφῆ διηυκρινημένοις μηδ΄ ὅλως ἐγκεχειρηκέναι ποτὲ πρὸς ταὐτολογίαν εἰς τὴν αὐτὴν τοῦ προτεθέντος αὐτῷ λογίου διασάφησιν. Ἐπεὶ καὶ παρ΄ αὐτοῖς τοῖς θεολήπτοις ἡμῶν ἱεράρχαις͵ ἡνίκα καὶ ἡμεῖς͵ ὡς οἶσθα͵ καὶ αὐτὸς καὶ πολλοὶ τῶν ἱερῶν ἡμῶν ἀδελφῶν ἐπὶ τὴν θέαν τοῦ ζωαρχικοῦ καὶ θεοδόχου σώματος συνεληλύθαμεν͵ παρῆν δὲ καὶ ὁ ἀδελφόθεος Ἰάκωβος καὶ Πέτρος͵ ἡ κορυ φαία καὶ πρεσβυτάτη τῶν θεολόγων ἀκρότης͵ εἶτα ἐδόκει μετὰ τὴν θέαν ὑμνῆσαι τοὺς ἱεράρχας ἅπαντας͵ ὡς ἕκαστος ἦν ἱκανός͵ τὴν ἀπειροδύνα μον ἀγαθότητα τῆς θεαρχικῆς ἀσθενείας͵ πάντων ἐκράτει μετὰ τοὺς θεολόγους͵ ὡς οἶσθα͵ τῶν ἄλλων ἱερομυστῶν ὅλος ἐκδημῶν͵ ὅλος ἐξιστά μενος ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τὴν πρὸς τὰ ὑμνούμενα κοινωνίαν πάσχων καὶ πρὸς πάντων͵ ὧν ἠκούετο καὶ ἑωρᾶτο καὶ ἐγιγνώσκετο καὶ οὐκ ἐγιγνώσκετο͵ θεόληπτος εἶναι καὶ θεῖος ὑμνολόγος κρινόμενος. Καὶ τί ἄν σοι περὶ τῶν ἐκεῖ θεολογηθέντων λέγοιμι; Καὶ γάρ͵ εἰ μὴ καὶ ἐμαυτοῦ ἐπιλέλησμαι͵ πολλάκις οἶδα παρὰ σοῦ καὶ μέρη τινὰ τῶν ἐνθεαστικῶν ἐκείνων ὑμνῳ διῶν ἐπακούσας. Οὕτω σοι σπουδὴ μὴ ἐκ παρέργου τὰ θεῖα μεταδιώκειν. ¹⁴²

3.3. But to pass over the mystical things there, both as forbidden to the multitude and as known to thee, when it was necessary to communicate to the multitude, and to bring as many as possible to the sacred knowledge amongst ourselves, he so excelled the majority of sacred teachers, both by use of time and purity of mind, and accuracy of demonstrations, and by his other sacred discourses, that we should scarcely have dared to look so great a sun straight in the face. For we are thus far conscious in ourselves, and know, that we may neither advance to understand sufficiently the intelligible of Divine things, nor to express and declare the things spoken of the divine knowledge. For, being far removed from the skill of those divine men, as regards theological truth, we are so inferior that we should have, through excessive reverence, entirely come to this - neither to hear nor to speak anything respecting divine philosophy, unless we had grasped in our mind, that we must not neglect the knowledge of things divine received by us. And to this we were persuaded, not only by the innate aspirations of the minds which always lovingly cling to the permitted contemplation of the supernatural, but also by the most excellent order itself of the Divine institutions, ³² which prohibits us, on the one hand, from much inquisition into things above us, as above our degree, and as unattainable; yet, on the other hand, persistently urges us to graciously impart to others also whatever is permitted and given to us to learn. Yielding then to these considerations, and neither shirking nor flinching from the attainable discovery of things Divine, but also not bearing to leave unassisted those who are unable to contemplate things too high for us, we have brought ourselves to composition, not daring indeed to introduce anything new, but by more easy and more detailed expositions to disentangle and elucidate the things spoken by the Hierotheus indeed.

3  Καὶ ἵνα τὰ ἐκεῖ μυστικὰ καὶ ὡς τοῖς πολλοῖς ἄῤῥητα καὶ ὡς ἐγνωσμένα σοι παραλείψωμεν͵ ὅτε τοῖς πολλοῖς ἐχρῆν κοινωνῆσαι καὶ ὅσους δυνατὸν ἐπὶ τὴν καθ΄ ἡμᾶς ἱερογνωσίαν προσαγαγεῖν͵ ὅπως ὑπερεῖχε τοὺς πολλοὺς τῶν ἱερῶν διδασκάλων καὶ χρόνου τριβῇ καὶ νοῦ καθαρότητι καὶ ἀποδείξεων ἀκριβείᾳ καὶ ταῖς λοιπαῖς ἱερολογίαις͵ ὥστε οὐκ ἄν ποτε πρὸς οὕτω μέγαν ἥλιον ἀντωπεῖν ἐνεχειρήσαμεν. Οὕτω γὰρ ἡμεῖς ἑαυτῶν συνῃσθήμεθα καὶ ἴσμεν͵ ὡς οὔτε ἱκανῶς νοῆσαι τὰ νοητὰ τῶν θείων χωροῦμεν οὔτε ὅσα ῥητὰ τῆς θεογνωσίας ἐξειπεῖν καὶ φράσαι. Πόῤῥω δὲ ὄντες ἀπολειπόμεθα τῆς τῶν θείων ἀνδρῶν εἰς θεολογικὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐπιστήμης͵ ὅτι πάντως ἂν εἰς τοῦτο διὰ περισσὴν εὐλάβειαν ἐληλύθαμεν εἰς τὸ μηδόλως ἀκούειν ἢ λέγειν τι περὶ τῆς θείας φιλοσοφίας͵ εἰ μὴ κατὰ νοῦν εἰλήφαμεν͵ ὡς οὐ χρὴ τῆς ἐνδεχομένης τῶν θείων γνώσεως ἀμελεῖν. Καὶ τοῦτο ἡμᾶς ἔπεισαν οὐ μόνον αἱ κατὰ φύσιν ἐφέσεις τῶν νοῶν ἐρωτικῶς ἀεὶ γλιχόμεναι τῆς ἐγχωρούσης τῶν ὑπερφυῶν θεωρίας͵ ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὴ τῶν θείων θεσμῶν ἡ ἀρίστη διάταξις τὰ μὲν ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς ἀποφάσκουσα πολυπραγμονεῖν καὶ ὡς ὑπὲρ ἀξίαν καὶ ὡς ἀνέφικτα͵ ¹⁴³ πάντα δέ͵ ὅσα ἡμῖν ἐφίεται καὶ δεδώρηται μανθάνειν͵ προσεχῶς ἐγκελευο μένη καὶ ἑτέροις ἀγαθοειδῶς μεταδιδόναι. Τούτοις οὖν καὶ ἡμεῖς πειθόμενοι καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἐφικτὴν τῶν θείων εὕρεσιν μὴ ἀποκαμόντες ἢ ἀποδειλιάσαντες͵ ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς μὴ δυναμένους εἰς τὰ ἡμῶν κρείττονα θεωρεῖν ἀβοηθήτους καταλιπεῖν οὐ καρτεροῦντες ἐπὶ τὸ συγγράφειν ἑαυτοὺς καθήκαμεν καινὸν μὲν οὐδὲν εἰσηγεῖσθαι τολμῶντες͵ λεπτοτέραις δὲ καὶ ταῖς κατὰ μέρος ἕκαστον ἐξετάσεσι τὰ συνοπτικῶς εἰρημένα τῷ ὄντως Ἱεροθέῳ διακρίνοντες καὶ ἐκφαίνοντες.

CHAPTER 4

2

Concerning Good, Light, Beauty, Love, Ecstasy, Jealousy, and that the Evil is neither existent, nor from existent, nor in things being.

4.1. BE it so then. Let us come to the appellation “Good,” already mentioned in our discourse, which the Theologians ascribe pre-eminently and exclusively to the super-Divine Deity, as I conjecture, by calling the supremely Divine Subsistence, Goodness; and because the Good, as essential Good, by Its being, extends Its Goodness to all things that be.

1  Εἶεν δὴ οὖν͵ ἐπ΄ αὐτὴν ἤδη τῷ λόγῳ τὴν ἀγαθωνυμίαν χωρῶμεν͵ ἣν ἐξῃρημένως οἱ θεολόγοι τῇ ὑπερθέῳ θεότητι καὶ ἀπὸ πάντων ἀφορί ζουσιν αὐτήν͵ ὡς οἶμαι͵ τὴν θεαρχικὴν ὕπαρξιν ἀγαθότητα λέγοντες͵ καὶ ὅτι τῷ εἶναι τἀγαθὸν ὡς οὐσιῶδες ἀγαθὸν εἰς πάντα τὰ ὄντα διατείνει ¹⁴⁴ τὴν ἀγαθότητα.

For, even as our sun - not as calculating or choosing, but by its very being, enlightens all things able ³³ to partake of its light in their own degree - so too the Good - as superior to a sun, as the archetype par excellence, is above an obscure image - by Its very existence sends to all things that be, the rays of Its whole goodness, according to their capacity. By reason of these (rays) subsisted all the intelligible and intelligent essences and powers and energies. By reason of these they are, and have their life, continuous and undiminished, purified from all corruption and death and matter, and generation; and separated from the unstable and fluctuating and vacillating mutability, and are conceived of as incorporeal and immaterial, and as minds they think in a manner supermundane, and are illuminated as to the reasons of things, in a manner peculiar to themselves; and they again convey to their kindred spirits things appropriate to them; and they have their abiding from Goodness; and thence comes to them stability and consistence and protection, and sanctuary of good things; and whilst aspiring to It, they have both being and good being; and being conformed to It, as is attainable, they are both patterns of good, and impart to those after them, as the Divine Law directs, the gifts which have passed through to themselves from the Good.

Καὶ γὰρ ὥσπερ ὁ καθ΄ ἡμᾶς ἥλιος οὐ λογιζόμενος ἢ προαιρούμενος͵ ἀλλ΄ αὐτῷ τῷ εἶναι φωτίζει πάντα τὰ μετέχειν τοῦ φωτὸς αὐτοῦ κατὰ τὸν οἰκεῖον δυνάμενα λόγον͵ οὕτω δὴ καὶ τἀγαθὸν ὑπὲρ ἥλιον ὡς ὑπὲρ ἀμυδρὰν εἰκόνα τὸ ἐξῃρημένως ἀρχέτυπον αὐτῇ τῇ ὑπάρ ξει πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσιν ἀναλόγως ἐφίησι τὰς τῆς ὅλης ἀγαθότητος ἀκτῖνας. Διὰ ταύτας ὑπέστησαν αἱ νοηταὶ καὶ νοεραὶ πᾶσαι καὶ οὐσίαι καὶ δυνάμεις καὶ ἐνέργειαι͵ διὰ ταύτας εἰσὶ καὶ ζωὴν ἔχουσι τὴν ἀνέκλειπτον καὶ ἀμείωτον ἁπάσης φθορᾶς καὶ θανάτου καὶ ὕλης καὶ γενέσεως καθα ρεύουσαι καὶ τῆς ἀστάτου καὶ ῥευστῆς καὶ ἄλλοτε ἄλλως φερομένης ἀλλοιώσεως ἀνῳκισμέναι καὶ ὡς ἀσώματοι καὶ ἄϋλοι νοοῦνται καὶ ὡς νόες ὑπερκοσμίως νοοῦσι καὶ τοὺς τῶν ὄντων οἰκείως ἐλλάμπονται λόγους καὶ αὖθις εἰς τὰ συγγενῆ τὰ οἰκεῖα διαπορθμεύουσιν. Καὶ τὴν μονὴν ἐκ τῆς ἀγαθότητος ἔχουσι͵ καὶ ἵδρυσις αὐταῖς ἐκεῖθέν ἐστι καὶ συνοχὴ καὶ φρουρὰ καὶ ἑστία τῶν ἀγαθῶν͵ καὶ αὐτῆς ἐφιέμεναι καὶ τὸ εἶναι καὶ τὸ εὖ εἶναι ἔχουσι καὶ πρὸς αὐτὴν ὡς ἐφικτὸν ἀποτυπούμεναι καὶ ἀγαθοειδεῖς εἰσι καὶ ταῖς μεθ΄ αὑτὰς κοινωνοῦσιν͵ ὡς ὁ θεῖος θεσμὸς ὑφηγεῖται͵ τῶν εἰς αὐτὰς ἐκ τἀγαθοῦ διαφοιτησάντων δώρων.

4.2. Thence come to them the supermundane orders, the unions amongst themselves, the mutual penetrations, the unconfused distinctions, the powers elevating the inferior to the superior, the providences ³⁴ of the more exalted for those below them; the guard-ings of things pertaining to each power; and unbroken convolutions around themselves; the identities and sublimities around the aspiration after the Good; and whatever is said in our Treatise concerning the angelic properties and orders. Further also, whatever things belong to the heavenly Hierarchy, the purifications befitting angels, the supermundane illuminations, and the things perfecting the whole angelic perfection, are from the all-creative and fontal Goodness; from which was given to them the form of Goodness, and the revealing in themselves the hidden Goodness, and that angels are, as it were, heralds of the Divine silence, and project, as it were, luminous lights revealing Him Who is in secret. Further, after these - the sacred and holy minds - the souls, and whatever is good in souls is by reason of the super-good Goodness - the fact that they are intellectual - that they have essential life - indestructible - the very being itself - and that they are able, whilst elevated themselves to the angelic lives, to be conducted by them as good guides to the good Origin of all good things, and to become partakers of the illuminations, thence bubbling forth, according to the capacity of each, and to participate in the goodlike gift, as they are able, and whatever else we have enumerated in our Treatise concerning the soul. But also, if one may be permitted to speak of the irrational souls, or living creatures, such as cleave the air, and such as walk on earth, and such as creep along earth, and those whose life is in waters, ³⁵ or amphibious, and such as live concealed under earth, and burrow within it, and in one word, such as have the sensible soul or life, even all these have their soul and life, by reason of the Good. Moreover, all plants have their growing and moving life from the Good; and even soulless and lifeless substance is by reason of the Good, and by reason of It, has inherited its substantial condition.

2  Ἐκεῖθεν αὐταῖς αἱ ὑπερκόσμιοι τάξεις͵ αἱ πρὸς ἑαυτὰς ἑνώσεις͵ αἱ ἐν ἀλλήλαις χωρήσεις͵ αἱ ἀσύγχυτοι διακρίσεις͵ αἱ πρὸς τὰς κρείττους ἀναγωγικαὶ τῶν ὑφειμένων δυνάμεις͵ αἱ περὶ τὰ δεύτερα πρόνοιαι τῶν πρεσβυτέρων͵ αἱ τῶν οἰκείων ἑκάστης δυνάμεως φρουραὶ καὶ περὶ ἑαυτὰς ¹⁴⁵ ἀμετάπτωτοι συνελίξεις͵ αἱ περὶ τὴν ἔφεσιν τἀγαθοῦ ταὐτότητες καὶ ἀκρότητες καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα εἴρηται πρὸς ἡμῶν ἐν τῷ Περὶ τῶν ἀγγελικῶν ἰδιοτήτων καὶ τάξεων. Ἀλλὰ καί͵ ὅσα τῆς οὐρανίας ἱεραρχίας ἐστίν͵ αἱ ἀγγελοπρεπεῖς καθάρ σεις͵ αἱ ὑπερκόσμιοι φωταγωγίαι καὶ τὰ τελεσιουργὰ τῆς ὅλης ἀγγελικῆς τελειότητος ἐκ τῆς παναιτίου καὶ πηγαίας ἐστὶν ἀγαθότητος͵ ἐξ ἧς καὶ τὸ ἀγαθοειδὲς αὐταῖς ἐδωρήθη καὶ τὸ ἐκφαίνειν ἐν ἑαυταῖς τὴν κρυφίαν ἀγαθότητα καὶ εἶναι ἀγγέλους ὥσπερ ἐξαγγελτικὰς τῆς θείας σιγῆς καὶ οἷον φῶτα φανὰ τοῦ ἐν ἀδύτοις ὄντος ἑρμηνευτικὰ προβεβλημένας. Ἀλλὰ καὶ μετ΄ ἐκείνους τοὺς ἱεροὺς καὶ ἁγίους νόας αἱ ψυχαὶ καὶ ὅσα ψυχῶν ἀγαθὰ διὰ τὴν ὑπεράγαθον ἔστιν ἀγαθότητα τὸ νοερὰς αὐτὰς εἶναι͵ τὸ ἔχειν τὴν οὐσιώδη ζωὴν ἀνώλεθρον αὐτὸ τὸ εἶναι καὶ δύνασθαι πρὸς τὰς ἀγγελικὰς ἀνατεινομένας ζωὰς δι΄ αὐτῶν ὡς ἀγαθῶν καθηγε μόνων ἐπὶ τὴν πάντων ἀγαθῶν ἀγαθαρχίαν ἀνάγεσθαι καὶ τῶν ἐκεῖθεν ἐκβλυζομένων ἐλλάμψεων ἐν μετουσίᾳ γίνεσθαι κατὰ τὴν σφῶν ἀναλογίαν καὶ τῆς τοῦ ἀγαθοειδοῦς δωρεᾶς͵ ὅση δύναμις͵ μετέχειν καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα πρὸς ἡμῶν ἐν τοῖς Περὶ ψυχῆς ἀπηρίθμηται. Ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ αὐτῶν͵ εἰ χρὴ φάναι͵ τῶν ἀλόγων ψυχῶν ἢ ζῴων͵ ὅσα τὸν ἀέρα τέμνει καὶ ὅσα ἐπὶ γῆς βαίνει καὶ ὅσα εἰς γῆν ἐκτέταται καὶ τὰ ἐν ὕδασι τὴν ζωὴν ἢ ἀμφιβίως λαχόντα καὶ ὅσα ὑπὸ γῆν ¹⁴⁶ ἐγκεκαλυμμένα ζῇ καὶ ἐγκεχωσμένα καὶ ἁπλῶς ὅσα τὴν αἰσθητικὴν ἔχει ψυχὴν ἢ ζωήν͵ καὶ ταῦτα πάντα διὰ τἀγαθὸν ἐψύχωται καὶ ἐζώωται. Καὶ φυτὰ δὲ πάντα τὴν θρεπτικὴν καὶ κινητικὴν ἔχει ζωὴν ἐκ τἀγαθοῦ͵ καὶ ὅση ἄψυχος καὶ ἄζωος οὐσία διὰ τἀγαθὸν ἔστι καὶ δι΄ αὐτὸ τῆς οὐσιώδους ἕξεως ἔλαχεν.

4.3. But, if the Good is above all things being, as indeed it is, and formulates the formless, even in Itself alone, both the non-essential is a pre-eminence of essence, and the non-living is a superior life, and the mindless a superior wisdom, and whatever is in the Good is of a superlative formation of the formless, and if one may venture to say so, even the nonexistent itself aspires to the Good above all things existing, and struggles somehow to be even itself in the Good, - the really Superessential - to the exclusion of all things.

3  Εἰ δὲ καὶ ὑπὲρ πάντα τὰ ὄντα ἐστίν͵ ὥσπερ οὖν ἐστι͵ τἀγαθόν͵ καὶ τὸ ἀνείδεον εἰδοποιεῖ. Καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ μόνῳ καὶ τὸ ἀνούσιον οὐσίας ὑπερβολὴ καὶ τὸ ἄζωον ὑπερέχουσα ζωὴ καὶ τὸ ἄνουν ὑπεραίρουσα σοφία καὶ ὅσα ἐν τἀγαθῷ τῆς τῶν ἀνειδέων ἐστὶν ὑπεροχικῆς εἰδοποιίας. Καί͵ εἰ θεμιτὸν φάναι͵ τἀγαθοῦ τοῦ ὑπὲρ πάντα τὰ ὄντα καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ μὴ ὂν ἐφίεται καὶ φιλονεικεῖ πως ἐν τἀγαθῷ καὶ αὐτὸ εἶναι τῷ ὄντως ὑπερουσίῳ κατὰ τὴν πάντων ἀφαίρεσιν.

4.4. But what slipped from our view in the midst of our discourse, the Good is Cause of the celestial movements in their commencements and terminations, of their not increasing, not diminishing, and completely changeless, course 20, and of the noiseless movements, if one may so speak, of the vast celestial transit, and of the astral orders, and the beauties and ³⁶ lights, and stabilities, and the progressive swift motion of certain stars, and of the periodical return of the two luminaries, which the [biblical] Sayings call “great,” from the same to the same quarter, after which our days and nights being marked, and months and years being measured, mark and number and arrange and comprehend the circular movements of time and things temporal. But, what would any one say of the very ray of the sun? For the light is from the Good, and an image of the Goodness, wherefore also the Good is celebrated under the name of Light; as in a portrait the original is manifested. For, as the goodness of the Deity, beyond all, permeates from the highest and most honoured substances even to the lowest, and yet is above all, neither the foremost outstripping its superiority, nor the things below eluding its grasp, but it both enlightens all that are capable, and forms and enlivens, and grasps, and perfects, and is measure of things existing, and age, and number, and order, and grasp, and cause, and end; so, too, the brilliant likeness of the Divine Goodness, this our great sun, wholly bright and ever luminous, as a most distant echo of the Good, both enlightens whatever is capable of participating in it, and possesses the light in the highest degree of purity, unfolding to the visible universe, above and beneath, the splendours of its own rays, and if anything does not participate in them, this is not owing to the inertness or deficiency of its distribution of light, but is owing to the inaptitude for light-reception of the things which do not unfold ³⁷ themselves for the participation of light. No doubt the ray passing over many things in such condition, enlightens the things after them, and there is no visible thing which it does not reach, with the surpassing greatness of its own splendour. Further also, it contributes to the generation of sensible bodies, and moves them to life, and nourishes, and increases, and perfects, and purifies and renews; and the light is both measure and number of hours, days, and all our time. For it is the light itself, even though it was then without form, which the divine Moses declared to have fixed that first Triad 21 of our days. And, just as Goodness turns all things to Itself, and is chief collector of things scattered, as One-springing and One-making Deity, and all things aspire to It, as Source and Bond and End, and it is the Good, as the [biblical] Sayings say, from Which all things subsisted, and are being brought into being by an all-perfect Cause; and in Which all things consisted, as guarded and governed in an all-controlling route; and to Which all things are turned, as to their own proper end; and to Which all aspire  - the intellectual and rational indeed, through knowledge, and the sensible through the senses, and those bereft of sensible perception by the innate movement of the aspiration after life, and those without life, and merely being, by their aptitude for mere substantial participation; after the same method of its illustrious original, the light also collects and turns to itself all things existing - things with sight ³⁸  - things with motion - things enlightened - things heated - things wholly held together by its brilliant splendours - whence also, Helios, because it makes all things altogether (a)ollh~), and collects things scattered. And all creatures, endowed with sensible perceptions, aspire to it, as aspiring either to see, or to be moved and enlightened, and heated, and to be wholly held together by the light. By no means do I affirm, after the statement of antiquity, that as being God and Creator of the universe, the sun, by itself, governs the luminous world, but that the invisible things of God are clearly seen from the foundation of the world, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Deity.

4  Ἀλλ΄ ὅπερ ἡμᾶς ἐν μέσῳ παραδραμὸν διαπέφευγε͵ καὶ τῶν οὐρα νίων ἀρχῶν καὶ ἀποπερατώσεων αἰτία τἀγαθόν͵ τῆς ἀναυξοῦς καὶ ἀμειώ του καὶ ὅλως ἀναλλοιώτου ταύτης εὐροίας͵ καὶ τῶν ἀψόφων͵ εἰ οὕτω χρὴ φάναι͵ τῆς παμμεγέθους οὐρανοπορίας κινήσεων καὶ τῶν ἀστρῴων τάξεων καὶ εὐπρεπειῶν καὶ φώτων καὶ ἱδρύσεων καὶ τῆς ἐνίων ἀστέρων μεταβατικῆς πολυκινησίας καὶ τῆς τῶν δύο φωστήρων͵ οὓς τὰ λόγια καλεῖ μεγάλους͵ ἀπὸ τῶν αὐτῶν εἰς τὰ αὐτὰ περιοδικῆς ἀποκαταστά σεως͵ καθ΄ ἃς αἱ παρ΄ ἡμῖν ἡμέραι καὶ νύκτες ὁριζόμεναι καὶ μῆνες καὶ ἐνιαυτοὶ μετρούμενοι τὰς τοῦ χρόνου καὶ τῶν ἐν χρόνῳ κυκλικὰς κινήσεις ¹⁴⁷ ἀφορίζουσι καὶ ἀριθμοῦσι καὶ τάττουσι καὶ συνέχουσι. Τί ἄν τις φαίη περὶ αὐτῆς καθ΄ αὑτὴν τῆς ἡλιακῆς ἀκτῖνος; Ἐκ τἀγαθοῦ γὰρ τὸ φῶς καὶ εἰκὼν τῆς ἀγαθότητος. Διὸ καὶ φωτωνυμικῶς ὑμνεῖται τἀγαθὸν ὡς ἐν εἰκόνι τὸ ἀρχέτυπον ἐκφαινόμενον. Ὡς γὰρ ἡ τῆς πάντων ἐπέκεινα θεότητος ἀγαθότης ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνωτάτων καὶ πρεσβυτάτων οὐ σιῶν ἄχρι τῶν ἐσχάτων διήκει καὶ ἔτι ὑπὲρ πάσας ἐστὶ μήτε τῶν ἄνω φθανουσῶν αὐτῆς τὴν ὑπεροχὴν μήτε τῶν κάτω τὴν περιοχὴν διαβαινουσῶν͵ ἀλλὰ καὶ φωτίζει τὰ δυνάμενα πάντα καὶ δημιουργεῖ καὶ ζωοῖ καὶ συνέχει καὶ τελεσιουργεῖ καὶ μέτρον ἐστὶ τῶν ὄντων καὶ αἰὼν καὶ ἀριθμὸς καὶ τάξις καὶ περιοχὴ καὶ αἰτία καὶ τέλος͵ οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἡ τῆς θείας ἀγαθότητος ἐμφανὴς εἰκών͵ ὁ μέγας οὗτος καὶ ὁλολαμπὴς καὶ ἀείφωτος ἥλιος͵ κατὰ πολλοστὸν ἀπήχημα τἀγαθοῦ καὶ πάντα͵ ὅσα μετέχειν αὐτοῦ δύναται͵ φωτίζει καὶ ὑπερηπλωμένον ἔχει τὸ φῶς εἰς πάντα ἐξαπλῶν τὸν ὁρατὸν κόσμον ἄνω τε καὶ κάτω τὰς τῶν οἰκείων ἀκτίνων αὐγάς. Καὶ εἴ τι αὐτῶν οὐ μετέχει͵ τοῦτο οὐ τῆς ἀδρανείας ἢ τῆς βραχύτητός ἐστι τῆς φωτιστικῆς αὐτοῦ διαδόσεως͵ ἀλλὰ τῶν διὰ φωτοληψίας ἀνεπιτηδειότητα μὴ ἀναπλουμένων εἰς τὴν φωτὸς μετου σίαν. Ἀμέλει πολλὰ τῶν οὕτως ἐχόντων ἡ ἀκτὶς διαβαίνουσα τὰ μετ΄ ¹⁴⁸ ἐκεῖνα φωτίζει͵ καὶ οὐδὲν ἔστι τῶν ὁρατῶν͵ οὗ μὴ ἐφικνεῖται κατὰ τὸ τῆς οἰκείας αἴγλης ὑπερβάλλον μέγεθος. Ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς τὴν γένεσιν τῶν αἰσθητῶν σωμάτων συμβάλλεται καὶ πρὸς ζωὴν αὐτὰ κινεῖ καὶ τρέφει καὶ αὔξει καὶ τελειοῖ καὶ καθαίρει καὶ ἀνανεοῖ. Καὶ μέτρον ἐστὶ καὶ ἀριθμὸς ὡρῶν͵ ἡμερῶν καὶ παντὸς τοῦ καθ΄ ἡμᾶς χρόνου τὸ φῶς. Αὐτὸ γάρ ἐστι τὸ φῶς͵ εἰ καὶ τότε ἀσχημάτιστον ἦν͵ ὅπερ ὁ θεῖος ἔφη Μωϋσῆς καὶ αὐτὴν ἐκείνην ὁρίσαι τὴν πρώτην τῶν καθ΄ ἡμᾶς ἡμερῶν τριάδα. Καὶ ὥσπερ πάντα πρὸς ἑαυτὴν ἡ ἀγαθότης ἐπιστρέφει καὶ ἀρχισυναγωγός ἐστι τῶν ἐσκεδασμένων ὡς ἑναρχικὴ καὶ ἑνοποιὸς θεότης͵ καὶ πάντα αὐτῆς ὡς ἀρχῆς͵ ὡς συνοχῆς͵ ὡς τέλους ἐφίεται. Καὶ τἀγαθόν ἐστιν͵ ὡς τὰ λόγιά φησιν͵ ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα ὑπέστη καὶ ἔστιν ὡς ἐξ αἰτίας παντελοῦς παρηγμένα καὶ ἐν ᾧ τὰ πάντα συνέστηκεν ὡς ἐν παντοκρατορικῷ πυθμένι φρουρούμενα καὶ διακρατούμενα καὶ εἰς ὃ τὰ πάντα ἐπιστρέφεται καθάπερ εἰς οἰκεῖον ἕκαστα πέρας καὶ οὗ ἐφίεται πάντα͵ τὰ μὲν νοερὰ καὶ λογικὰ γνωστικῶς͵ τὰ δὲ αἰσθητικὰ αἰσθητικῶς͵ τὰ δὲ αἰσθήσεως ἄμοιρα τῇ ἐμφύτῳ κινήσει τῆς ζωτικῆς ἐφέσεως͵ τὰ δὲ ἄζωα καὶ μόνον ὄντα τῇ πρὸς μόνην τὴν οὐσιώδη μέθεξιν ἐπιτηδειότητι. Κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν τῆς ἐμφανοῦς εἰκόνος λόγον καὶ τὸ φῶς συνάγει καὶ ἐπιστρέφει πρὸς ἑαυτὸ πάντα τὰ ὁρῶντα͵ τὰ κινούμενα͵ τὰ φωτιζόμενα͵ ¹⁴⁹ τὰ θερμαινόμενα͵ τὰ ὅλως ὑπὸ τῶν αὐτοῦ μαρμαρυγῶν συνεχόμενα. Διὸ καὶ ἥλιος͵ ὅτι πάντα ἀολλῆ ποιεῖ καὶ συνάγει τὰ διεσκεδασμένα. Καὶ πάντα αὐτοῦ τὰ αἰσθητὰ ἐφίεται ἢ ὡς τοῦ ὁρᾶν ἢ ὡς τοῦ κινεῖσθαι καὶ φωτίζεσθαι καὶ θερμαίνεσθαι καὶ ὅλως συνέχεσθαι πρὸς τοῦ φωτὸς ἐφιέ μενα. Καὶ οὐ δήπου φημὶ κατὰ τὸν τῆς παλαιότητος λόγον͵ ὅτι θεὸς ὢν ὁ ἥλιος καὶ δημιουργὸς τοῦδε τοῦ παντὸς ἰδίως ἐπιτροπεύει τὸν ἐμφανῆ κόσμον͵ ἀλλ΄ ὅτι τὰ ἀόρατα τοῦ θεοῦ ἀπὸ κτίσεως κόσμου τοῖς ποιήμασι νοούμενα καθορᾶται͵ ἥ τε ἀΐδιος αὐτοῦ δύναμις καὶ θειότης.

4.5. But we have spoken of these things in our Symbolical Theology. Let us now then celebrate the spiritual Name of Light, under Which we contemplate the Good, and declare that He, the Good, is called spiritual 22 Light, on the ground that He fills every supercelestial mind with spiritual light, and expels all ignorance a.nd error from all souls in which they may be, and imparts to them all sacred light, and cleanses their mental vision from the mist which envelops them, from ignorance, and stirs up and unfolds those enclosed by the great weight of darkness, and imparts, at first, a measured radiance; then, whilst they taste, as it were, the light, and ³⁹ desire it more, more fully gives Itself, and more abundantly enlightens them, because “they have loved much,” and ever elevates them to things in advance, as befits the analogy of each for aspiration.

5  Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἐν τῇ Συμβολικῇ θεολογίᾳ. Νῦν δὲ τὴν νοητὴν τἀγαθοῦ φωτωνυμίαν ἡμῖν ὑμνητέον καὶ ῥητέον͵ ὅτι φῶς νοητὸν ὁ ἀγαθὸς λέγεται διὰ τὸ πάντα μὲν ὑπερουράνιον νοῦν ἐμπιμπλάναι νοη τοῦ φωτός͵ πᾶσαν δὲ ἄγνοιαν καὶ πλάνην ἐλαύνειν ἐκ πασῶν͵ αἷς ἂν ἐγγένηται ψυχαῖς͵ καὶ πάσαις αὐταῖς φωτὸς ἱεροῦ μεταδιδόναι καὶ τοὺς νοεροὺς αὐτῶν ὀφθαλμοὺς ἀποκαθαίρειν τῆς περικειμένης αὐταῖς ἐκ τῆς ἀγνοίας ἀχλύος καὶ ἀνακινεῖν καὶ ἀναπτύσσειν τῷ πολλῷ βάρει τοῦ σκότους συμμεμυκότας καὶ μεταδιδόναι πρῶτα μὲν αἴγλης μετρίας͵ εἶτα ἐκείνων ὥσπερ ἀπογευομένων φωτὸς καὶ μᾶλλον ἐφιεμένων μᾶλλον ἑαυτὴν ἐνδιδόναι καὶ περισσῶς ἐπιλάμπειν͵ ὅτι ἠγάπησαν πολύ͵ καὶ ἀεὶ ἀνατείνειν αὐτὰς ἐπὶ τὰ πρόσω κατὰ τὴν σφῶν εἰς ἀνάνευσιν ἀναλογίαν. ¹⁵⁰

4.6. The Good then above every light is called spiritual Light, as fontal ray, and stream of light welling over, shining upon every mind, above, around 23, and in the world, from its fulness, and renewing their whole mental powers, and embracing them all by its over-shadowing; and being above all by its exaltation; and in one word, by embracing and having previously and pre-eminently the whole sovereignty of the light-dispensing faculty, as being source of light and above all light, and by comprehending in itself all things intellectual, and all things rational, and making them one altogether. For as ignorance puts asunder those who have gone astray, so the presence of the spiritual light is collective and unifying of those being enlightened, both perfecting and further turning them towards the true Being, by turning them from the many notions and collecting the various views, or, to speak more correctly, fancies, into one true, pure and uniform knowledge, and by filling them with light, one and unifying.

6  Φῶς οὖν νοητὸν λέγεται τὸ ὑπὲρ πᾶν φῶς ἀγαθὸν ὡς ἀκτὶς πηγαία καὶ ὑπερβλύζουσα φωτοχυσία πάντα τὸν ὑπερκόσμιον καὶ περι κόσμιον καὶ ἐγκόσμιον νοῦν ἐκ τοῦ πληρώματος αὐτῆς καταλάμπουσα καὶ τὰς νοερὰς αὐτῶν ὅλας ἀνανεάζουσα δυνάμεις καὶ πάντας περιέχουσα τῷ ὑπερτετάσθαι καὶ πάντων ὑπερέχουσα τῷ ὑπερκεῖσθαι καὶ ἁπλῶς πᾶσαν τῆς φωτιστικῆς δυνάμεως τὴν κυρείαν ὡς ἀρχίφωτος καὶ ὑπέρφω τος ἐν ἑαυτῇ συλλαβοῦσα καὶ ὑπερέχουσα καὶ προέχουσα καὶ τὰ νοερὰ καὶ λογικὰ πάντα συνάγουσα καὶ ἀολλῆ ποιοῦσα. Καὶ γὰρ ὥσπερ ἡ ἄγνοια διαιρετικὴ τῶν πεπλανημένων ἐστίν͵ οὕτως ἡ τοῦ νοητοῦ φωτὸς παρουσία συναγωγὸς καὶ ἑνωτικὴ τῶν φωτιζομένων ἐστὶ καὶ τελειωτικὴ καὶ ἔτι ἐπιστρεπτικὴ πρὸς τὸ ὄντως ὂν ἀπὸ τῶν πολλῶν δοξασμάτων ἐπιστρέφουσα καὶ τὰς ποικίλας ὄψεις ἤ͵ κυριώτερον εἰπεῖν͵ φαντασίας εἰς μίαν ἀληθῆ καὶ καθαρὰν καὶ μονοειδῆ συνάγουσα γνῶσιν καὶ ἑνὸς καὶ ἑνωτικοῦ φωτὸς ἐμπιπλῶσα.

4.7. This Good is celebrated by the sacred theologians, both as beautiful and as Beauty, and as Love, and as ⁴⁰ Beloved; and all the other Divine Names which beseem the beautifying and highly-favoured comeliness. But the beautiful and Beauty are not to be divided, as regards the Cause which has embraced the whole in one. For, with regard to all created things, by dividing them into participations and participants, we call beautiful that which participates in Beauty; but beauty, the participation of the beautifying Cause of all the beautiful things. But, the superessential Beautiful is called Beauty, on account of the beauty communicated from Itself to all beautiful things, in a manner appropriate to each, and as Cause of the good harmony and brightness of all things which flashes like light to all the beautifying distributions of its fontal ray, and as calling (kalou~n) all things to Itself (whence also it is called Beauty) (ka&lloj), and as collecting all in all to Itself. (And it is called) Beautiful, as (being) at once beautiful and super-beautiful, and always being under the same conditions and in the same manner beautiful, and neither coming into being nor perishing, neither waxing nor waning; neither in this beautiful, nor in that ugly, nor at one time beautiful, and at another not; nor in relation to one thing beautiful, and in relation to another ugly, nor here, and not there, as being beautiful to some, and not beautiful to others; but as Itself, in Itself, with Itself, uniform, always being beautiful, and as having beforehand in Itself pre-eminently the fontal beauty of everything beautiful. For, by the simplex and supernatural nature of all beautiful things, all beauty, and everything ⁴¹ beautiful, pre-existed uniquely as to Cause. From this Beautiful (comes) being to all existing things, - that each is beautiful in its own proper order; and by reason of the Beautiful are the adaptations of all things, and friendships, and inter-communions, and by the Beautiful all things are made one, and the Beautiful is origin of all things, as a creating Cause, both by moving the whole and holding it together by the love of its own peculiar Beauty; and end of all things, and beloved, as final Cause (for all things exist for the sake of the Beautiful) and exemplary (Cause), because all things are determined according to It. Wherefore, also, the Beautiful is identical with the Good, because all things aspire to the Beautiful and Good, on every account, and there is no existing thing which does not participate in the Beautiful and the Good. Yea, reason will dare to say even this, that even the non-existing participates in the Beautiful and Good. For then even it is beautiful and good, when in God it is celebrated superessentially to the exclusion of all. This, the one Good and Beautiful, is uniquely Cause of all the many things beautiful and good. From this are all the substantial beginnings of things existing, the unions, the distinctions, the identities, the diversities, the similarities, the dissimilarities, the communions of the contraries, the commingling of things unified, the providences of the superior, the mutual cohesions of those of the same rank; the attentions of the more needy, the protecting and immoveable abidings and stabilities of their whole selves and, on the other hand, the ⁴² communions of all things among all, in a manner peculiar to each, and adaptations and unmingled friendships and harmonies of the whole, the blendings in the whole, and the undissolved connections of existing things, the never-failing successions of the generations, all rests and movements, of the minds, of the souls, of the bodies. For, that which is established above every rest, and every movement, and moves each thing in the law of its own being to its proper movement, is a rest and movement to all.

7  Τοῦτο τἀγαθὸν ὑμνεῖται πρὸς τῶν ἱερῶν θεολόγων καὶ ὡς καλὸν καὶ ὡς κάλλος καὶ ὡς ἀγάπη καὶ ὡς ἀγαπητὸν καὶ ὅσαι ἄλλαι ¹⁵¹ εὐπρεπεῖς εἰσι τῆς καλλοποιοῦ καὶ κεχαριτωμένης ὡραιότητος θεωνυμίαι. Τὸ δὲ καλὸν καὶ κάλλος οὐ διαιρετὸν ἐπὶ τῆς ἐν ἑνὶ τὰ ὅλα συνειληφυίας αἰτίας. Ταῦτα γὰρ ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν ὄντων ἁπάντων εἰς μετοχὰς καὶ μετέχοντα διαιροῦντες καλὸν μὲν εἶναι λέγομεν τὸ κάλλους μετέχον͵ κάλλος δὲ τὴν μετοχὴν τῆς καλλοποιοῦ τῶν ὅλων καλῶν αἰτίας. Τὸ δὲ ὑπερούσιον καλὸν κάλλος μὲν λέγεται διὰ τὴν ἀπ΄ αὐτοῦ πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσι μεταδιδο μένην οἰκείως ἑκάστῳ καλλονὴν καὶ ὡς τῆς πάντων εὐαρμοστίας καὶ ἀγλαΐας αἴτιον δίκην φωτὸς ἐναστράπτον ἅπασι τὰς καλλοποιοὺς τῆς πηγαίας ἀκτῖνος αὐτοῦ μεταδόσεις καὶ ὡς πάντα πρὸς ἑαυτὸ καλοῦν͵ ὅθεν καὶ κάλλος λέγεται͵ καὶ ὡς ὅλα ἐν ὅλοις εἰς ταὐτὸ συνάγον͵ καλὸν δὲ ὡς πάγκαλον ἅμα καὶ ὑπέρκαλον καὶ ἀεὶ ὂν κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ καὶ ὡσαύτως καλὸν καὶ οὔτε γιγνόμενον οὔτε ἀπολλύμενον οὔτε αὐξανόμενον οὔτε φθίνον͵ οὐδὲ τῇ μὲν καλόν͵ τῇ δὲ αἰσχρὸν οὐδὲ τοτὲ μέν͵ τοτὲ δὲ οὔ͵ οὐδὲ πρὸς μὲν τὸ καλόν͵ πρὸς δὲ τὸ αἰσχρὸν οὔτε ἔνθα μέν͵ ἔνθα δὲ οὒ ὡς τισὶ μὲν ὂν καλόν͵ τισὶ δὲ οὐ καλόν͵ ἀλλ΄ ὡς αὐτὸ καθ΄ ἑαυτὸ μεθ΄ ἑαυτοῦ μονοειδὲς ἀεὶ ὂν καλὸν καὶ ὡς παντὸς καλοῦ τὴν πηγαίαν καλλονὴν ὑπεροχικῶς ἐν ἑαυτῷ προέχον. Τῇ γὰρ ἁπλῇ καὶ ὑπερφυεῖ τῶν ὅλων καλῶν φύσει πᾶσα καλλονὴ καὶ πᾶν καλὸν ἑνοειδῶς κατ΄ αἰτίαν προϋφέστηκεν. Ἐκ τοῦ καλοῦ τούτου ¹⁵² πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσι τὸ εἶναι κατὰ τὸν οἰκεῖον λόγον ἕκαστα καλά͵ καὶ διὰ τὸ καλὸν αἱ πάντων ἐφαρμογαὶ καὶ φιλίαι καὶ κοινωνίαι͵ καὶ τῷ καλῷ τὰ πάντα ἥνωται͵ καὶ ἀρχὴ πάντων τὸ καλὸν ὡς ποιητικὸν αἴτιον καὶ κινοῦν τὰ ὅλα καὶ συνέχον τῷ τῆς οἰκείας καλλονῆς ἔρωτι καὶ πέρας πάντων καὶ ἀγαπητὸν ὡς τελικὸν αἴτιον͵ τοῦ καλοῦ γὰρ ἕνεκα πάντα γίγνεται͵ καὶ παραδειγματικόν͵ ὅτι κατ΄ αὐτὸ πάντα ἀφορίζεται. Διὸ καὶ ταὐτόν ἐστι τἀγαθῷ τὸ καλόν͵ ὅτι τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ ἀγαθοῦ κατὰ πᾶσαν αἰτίαν πάντα ἐφίεται͵ καὶ οὐκ ἔστι τι τῶν ὄντων͵ ὃ μὴ μετέχει τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ ἀγαθοῦ. Τολμήσει δὲ καὶ τοῦτο εἰπεῖν ὁ λόγος͵ ὅτι καὶ τὸ μὴ ὂν μετέχει τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ ἀγαθοῦ͵ τότε γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸ καλὸν καὶ ἀγαθόν͵ ὅταν ἐν θεῷ κατὰ τὴν πάντων ἀφαίρεσιν ὑπερουσίως ὑμνεῖται. Τοῦτο τὸ ἓν ἀγαθὸν καὶ καλὸν ἑνικῶς ἐστι πάντων τῶν πολλῶν καλῶν καὶ ἀγαθῶν αἴτιον. Ἐκ τούτου πᾶσαι τῶν ὄντων αἱ οὐσιώδεις ὑπάρξεις͵ αἱ ἑνώσεις͵ αἱ διακρίσεις͵ αἱ ταὐτότητες͵ αἱ ἑτερότητες͵ αἱ ὁμοιότητες͵ αἱ ἀνομοιότητες͵ αἱ κοινωνίαι τῶν ἐναντίων͵ αἱ ἀσυμμιξίαι τῶν ἡνωμένων͵ αἱ πρόνοιαι τῶν ὑπερτέρων͵ αἱ ἀλληλουχίαι τῶν ὁμοστοίχων͵ αἱ ἐπιστροφαὶ τῶν καταδεεστέρων͵ αἱ πάντων ἑαυτῶν φρουρητικαὶ καὶ ἀμετακίνητοι μοναὶ καὶ ἱδρύσεις͵ καὶ αὖθις αἱ πάντων ἐν πᾶσιν οἰκείως ἑκάστῳ κοινωνίαι καὶ ἐφαρμογαὶ καὶ ἀσύγχυτοι φιλίαι καὶ ἁρμονίαι τοῦ παντός͵ αἱ ἐν τῷ παντὶ συγκράσεις͵ αἱ ἀδιάλυτοι συνοχαὶ τῶν ὄντων͵ αἱ ἀνέκλειπτοι διαδοχαὶ τῶν γινομένων͵ αἱ στάσεις πᾶσαι καὶ αἱ κινήσεις αἱ τῶν νοῶν͵ αἱ τῶν ¹⁵³ ψυχῶν͵ αἱ τῶν σωμάτων. Στάσις γάρ ἐστι πᾶσι καὶ κίνησις τὸ ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν στάσιν καὶ πᾶσαν κίνησιν ἐνιδρύον ἕκαστον ἐν τῷ ἑαυτοῦ λόγῳ καὶ κινοῦν ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκείαν κίνησιν.

4.8. Now, the divine minds 24 are said to be moved circularly indeed, by being united to the illuminations of the Beautiful and Good, without beginning and without end; but in a direct line, whenever they advance to the succour of a subordinate, by accomplishing all things directly; but spirally, because even in providing for the more indigent, they remain fixedly, in identity, around the good and beautiful Cause of their identity, ceaselessly dancing around.

8  Καὶ κινεῖσθαι μὲν οἱ θεῖοι λέγονται νόες κυκλικῶς μὲν ἑνούμενοι ταῖς ἀνάρχοις καὶ ἀτελευτήτοις ἐλλάμψεσι τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ ἀγαθοῦ͵ κατ΄ εὐθεῖαν δέ͵ ὁπόταν προΐασιν εἰς τὴν τῶν ὑφειμένων πρόνοιαν εὐθείᾳ τὰ πάντα περαίνοντες͵ ἑλικοειδῶς δέ͵ ὅτι καὶ προνοοῦντες τῶν καταδε εστέρων ἀνεκφοιτήτως μένουσιν ἐν ταὐτότητι περὶ τὸ τῆς ταὐτότητος αἴτιον καλὸν καὶ ἀγαθὸν ἀκαταλήκτως περιχορεύοντες.

4.9. Further, there is a movement of soul, circular indeed, - the entrance into itself from things without, and the unified convolution of its intellectual powers, bequeathing to it inerrancy, as it were, in a sort of circle, and turning and collecting itself, from the many things without, first to itself, then, as having become single, uniting with the uniquely unified powers, and thus conducting to the Beautiful and ⁴³ Good, which is above all things being, and One and the Same, and without beginning and without end. But a soul is moved spirally, in so far as it is illuminated, as to the divine kinds of knowledge, in a manner proper to itself, not intuitively and at once, but logically and discursively; and, as it were, by mingled and relative operations; but in a straight line, when, not entering into itself, and being moved by unique intuition (for this, as I said, is the circular), but advancing to things around itself, and from things without, it is, as it were, conducted from certain symbols, varied and multiplied, to the simple and unified contemplations.

9  Ψυχῆς δὲ κίνησίς ἐστι κυκλικὴ μὲν ἡ εἰς ἑαυτὴν εἴσοδος ἀπὸ τῶν ἔξω καὶ τῶν νοερῶν αὐτῆς δυνάμεων ἡ ἑνοειδὴς συνέλιξις ὥσπερ ἔν τινι κύκλῳ τὸ ἀπλανὲς αὐτῇ δωρουμένη καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν πολλῶν τῶν ἔξωθεν αὐτὴν ἐπιστρέφουσα καὶ συνάγουσα πρῶτον εἰς ἑαυτήν͵ εἶτα ὡς ἑνοειδῆ γενομένην ἑνοῦσα ταῖς ἑνιαίως ἡνωμέναις δυνάμεσι καὶ οὕτως ἐπὶ τὸ καλὸν καὶ ἀγαθὸν χειραγωγοῦσα τὸ ὑπὲρ πάντα τὰ ὄντα καὶ ἓν καὶ ταὐτὸν καὶ ἄναρχον καὶ ἀτελεύτητον. Ἑλικοειδῶς δὲ ψυχὴ κινεῖται͵ καθ΄ ὅσον οἰκείως ἑαυτῇ τὰς θείας ἐλλάμπε ται γνώσεις͵ οὐ νοερῶς καὶ ἑνιαίως͵ ἀλλὰ λογικῶς καὶ διεξοδικῶς καὶ οἷον ¹⁵⁴ συμμίκτοις καὶ μεταβατικαῖς ἐνεργείαις. Τὴν κατ΄ εὐθεῖαν δέ͵ ὅταν οὐκ εἰς ἑαυτὴν εἰσιοῦσα καὶ ἑνικῇ νοερότητι κινουμένη͵ τοῦτο γάρ͵ ὡς ἔφην͵ ἐστὶ τὸ κατὰ κύκλον͵ ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰ περὶ ἑαυτὴν προϊοῦσα καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἔξωθεν ὥσπερ ἀπό τινων συμβόλων πεποικιλμένων καὶ πεπληθυσμένων ἐπὶ τὰς ἁπλᾶς καὶ ἡνωμένας ἀνάγεται θεωρίας.

4.10. Of these three motions then in everything perceptible here below, and much more of the abidings and repose and fixity of each, the Beautiful and Good, which is above all repose and movement, is Cause and Bond and End; by reason of which, and from which, and in which, and towards which, and for sake of which, is every repose and movement. For, both from It and through It is both Essence and every life, and both of mind and soul and every nature, the minutiae, the equalities, the magnitudes, all the standards and the analogies of beings, and harmonies and compositions; the entireties, the parts, every one thing, and multitude, the connections of parts, the unions of every multitude, the perfections of the entireties, the quality, the weight, the size, the infinitude, the compounds, ⁴⁴ the distinctions, every infinitude, every term, all the bounds, the orders, the pre-eminences, the elements, the forms, every essence, every power, every energy, every condition, every sensible perception, every reason, every conception, every contact, every science, every union, and in one word, all things existing are from the Beautiful and Good, and in the Beautiful and Good, and turn themselves to the Beautiful and Good.

10  Τούτων οὖν καὶ τῶν αἰσθητῶν ἐν τῷδε τῷ παντὶ τριῶν κινήσεων καὶ πολλῷ πρότερον τῶν ἑκάστου μονῶν καὶ στάσεων καὶ ἱδρύσεων αἴτιόν ἐστι καὶ συνοχικὸν καὶ πέρας τὸ καλὸν καὶ ἀγαθὸν τὸ ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν στάσιν καὶ κίνησιν. Διὸ πᾶσα στάσις καὶ κίνησις καὶ ἐξ οὗ καὶ ἐν ᾧ καὶ εἰς ὃ καὶ οὗ ἕνεκα. Καὶ γὰρ ἐξ αὐτοῦ καὶ δι΄ αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐσία καὶ ζωὴ πᾶσα καὶ νοῦ καὶ ψυχῆς καὶ πάσης φύσεως αἱ σμικρότητες͵ αἱ ἰσότητες͵ αἱ μεγαλειότητες͵ τὰ μέτρα πάντα καὶ αἱ τῶν ὄντων ἀναλογίαι καὶ ἁρμονίαι καὶ κράσεις͵ αἱ ὁλότητες͵ τὰ μέρη͵ πᾶν ἓν καὶ πλῆθος͵ αἱ συνδέσεις τῶν μερῶν͵ αἱ παντὸς πλήθους ἑνώσεις͵ αἱ τελειότητες τῶν ὁλοτήτων͵ τὸ ποιόν͵ τὸ ποσόν͵ τὸ πηλίκον͵ τὸ ἄπειρον͵ αἱ συγκρίσεις͵ αἱ διακρίσεις͵ πᾶσα ἀπειρία͵ πᾶν πέρας͵ οἱ ὅροι πάντες͵ αἱ τάξεις͵ αἱ ὑπεροχαί͵ τὰ στοιχεῖα͵ τὰ εἴδη͵ πᾶσα οὐσία͵ πᾶσα δύναμις͵ πᾶσα ἐνέργεια͵ πᾶσα ἕξις͵ πᾶσα αἴσθησις͵ πᾶς λόγος͵ πᾶσα νόησις͵ πᾶσα ἐπαφή͵ πᾶσα ἐπιστήμη͵ πᾶσα ἕνωσις. Καὶ ἁπλῶς πᾶν ὂν ἐκ τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ ἀγαθοῦ καὶ ἐν τῷ καλῷ καὶ ἀγαθῷ ἔστι καὶ εἰς τὸ καλὸν καὶ ἀγαθὸν ἐπιστρέφεται.

Moreover, all things whatever, which are and come to being, are and come to being by reason of the Beautiful and Good; and to It all things look, and by It are moved and held together, and for the sake of It, and by reason of It, and in It, is every source exemplary, final, creative, formative, elemental, and in one word, every beginning, every bond, every term, or to speak summarily, all things existing are from the Beautiful and Good; and all things non-existing are superessentially in the Beautiful and Good; and it is of all, beginning and term, above beginning and above term, because from It, and through It, and in It, and to It, are all things, as says the Sacred Word.

Καὶ πάντα͵ ὅσα ἔστι καὶ γίνεται͵ διὰ τὸ καλὸν καὶ ἀγαθὸν ἔστι καὶ γίνεται. Καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸ πάντα ὁρᾷ καὶ ὑπ΄ αὐτοῦ κινεῖται καὶ συνέχεται. ¹⁵⁵ Καὶ αὐτοῦ ἕνεκα καὶ δι΄ αὐτὸ καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ πᾶσα ἀρχὴ παραδειγματική͵ τελική͵ ποιητική͵ εἰδική͵ στοιχειώδης καὶ ἁπλῶς πᾶσα ἀρχή͵ πᾶσα συνοχή͵ πᾶν πέρας. ῍Η ἵνα συλλαβὼν εἴπω· Πάντα τὰ ὄντα ἐκ τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ ἀγαθοῦ͵ καὶ πάντα τὰ οὐκ ὄντα ὑπερουσίως ἐν τῷ καλῷ καὶ ἀγαθῷ͵ καὶ ἔστι πάντων ἀρχὴ καὶ πέρας ὑπεράρχιον καὶ ὑπερτελές͵ ὅτι Ἐξ αὐτοῦ καὶ δι΄ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ εἰς αὐτὸ τὰ πάντα͵ ὥς φησιν ὁ ἱερὸς λόγος.

By all things, then, the Beautiful and Good is desired and beloved and cherished; and, by reason of It, and for the sake of It, the less love the greater suppliantly; and those of the same rank, their fellows brotherly; and the greater, the less considerately; and these severally love the things of themselves continuously; and all things by aspiring to the Beautiful and Good, do and wish all things whatever ⁴⁵ they do and wish. Further, it may be boldly said with truth, that even the very Author of all things, by reason of overflowing Goodness, loves all, makes all, perfects all, sustains all, attracts all; and even the Divine Love is Good of Good, by reason of the Good. For Love itself, the benefactor of things that be, pre-existing overflowingly in the Good, did not permit itself to remain unproductive in itself, but moved itself to creation 25, as befits the overflow which is generative of all.

Πᾶσιν οὖν ἐστι τὸ καλὸν καὶ ἀγαθὸν ἐφετὸν καὶ ἐραστὸν καὶ ἀγαπητόν͵ καὶ δι΄ αὐτὸ καὶ αὐτοῦ ἕνεκα καὶ τὰ ἥττω τῶν κρειττόνων ἐπιστρεπτικῶς ἐρῶσι καὶ κοινωνικῶς τὰ ὁμόστοιχα τῶν ὁμοταγῶν καὶ τὰ κρείττω τῶν ἡττόνων προνοητικῶς καὶ αὐτὰ ἑαυτῶν ἕκαστα συνεκτικῶς͵ καὶ πάντα τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ ἀγαθοῦ ἐφιέμενα ποιεῖ καὶ βούλεται πάντα͵ ὅσα ποιεῖ καὶ βούλεται. Παῤῥησιάσεται δὲ καὶ τοῦτο εἰπεῖν ὁ ἀληθὴς λόγος͵ ὅτι καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ πάντων αἴτιος δι΄ ἀγαθότητος ὑπερβολὴν πάντων ἐρᾷ͵ πάντα ποιεῖ͵ πάντα τελειοῖ͵ πάντα συνέχει͵ πάντα ἐπιστρέφει͵ καὶ ἔστι καὶ ὁ θεῖος ἔρως ἀγαθὸς ἀγαθοῦ διὰ τὸ ἀγαθόν. Αὐτὸς γὰρ ὁ ἀγαθοεργὸς τῶν ὄντων ἔρως ἐν τἀγαθῷ καθ΄ ὑπερβολὴν προϋπάρχων οὐκ εἴασεν αὐτὸν ἄγονον ἐν ἑαυτῷ μένειν͵ ἐκίνησε δὲ αὐτὸν εἰς τὸ πρακτικεύεσθαι κατὰ τὴν ἁπάντων γενητικὴν ὑπερβολήν. ¹⁵⁶

4.11. And let no one fancy that we honour the Name of Love beyond the [biblical] Sayings, for it is, in my opinion, irrational and stupid not to cling to the force of the meaning, but to the mere words; and this is not the characteristic of those who have wished to comprehend things Divine, but of those who receive empty sounds and keep the same just at the ears from passing through from outside, and are not willing to know what such a word signifies, and in what way one ought to distinctly represent it, through other words of the same force and more explanatory, but who specially affect sounds and signs without meaning, and syllables, and words unknown, which do not pass through to the mental part of their soul, but buzz without, around their lips and ears, as though it were not permitted to signify the number four, by twice two, or straight lines by direct lines, or motherland by fatherland, or any other, which signify the self-same thing, by many parts of speech.  ⁴⁶ 

11  Καὶ μή τις ἡμᾶς οἰέσθω παρὰ τὰ λόγια τὴν τοῦ ἔρωτος ἐπωνυ μίαν πρεσβεύειν. Ἔστι μὲν γὰρ ἄλογον͵ ὡς οἶμαι͵ καὶ σκαιὸν τὸ μὴ τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ σκοποῦ προσέχειν͵ ἀλλὰ ταῖς λέξεσιν. Καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ ἔστι τῶν τὰ θεῖα νοεῖν ἐθελόντων ἴδιον͵ ἀλλὰ τῶν ἤχους ψιλοὺς εἰσδεχομένων καὶ τούτους ἄχρι τῶν ὤτων ἀδιαβάτους ἔξωθεν συνεχόντων καὶ οὐκ ἐθελόντων εἰδέναι͵ τί μὲν ἡ τοιάδε λέξις σημαίνει͵ πῶς δὲ αὐτὴν χρὴ καὶ δι΄ ἑτέρων ὁμοδυνάμων καὶ ἐκφαντικωτέρων λέξεων διασαφῆσαι͵ προσπασχόντων δὲ στοιχείοις καὶ γραμμαῖς ἀνοήτοις καὶ συλλαβαῖς καὶ λέξεσιν ἀγνώστοις μὴ διαβαινούσαις εἰς τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτῶν νοερόν͵ ἀλλ΄ ἔξω περὶ τὰ χείλη καὶ τὰς ἀκοὰς αὐτῶν διαβομβουμέναις. Ὥσπερ οὐκ ἔξον τὸν τέσσαρα ἀριθμὸν διὰ τοῦ δὶς δύο σημαίνειν ἢ τὰ εὐθύγραμμα διὰ τῶν ὀρθογράμμων ἢ τὴν μητρίδα διὰ τῆς πατρίδος ἢ ἕτερόν τι τῶν πολλοῖς τοῦ λόγου μέρεσι ταὐτὸ σημαινόντων.

We ought to know, according to the correct account, that we use sounds, and syllables, and phrases, and descriptions, and words, on account of the sensible perceptions; since when our soul is moved by the intellectual energies to the things contemplated, the sensible perceptions by aid of sensible objects are superfluous; just as also the intellectual powers, when the soul, having become godlike, throws itself, through a union beyond knowledge, against the rays of the unapproachable light, by sightless efforts. But, when the mind strives to be moved upwards, through objects of sense, to contemplative conceptions, the clearer interpretations are altogether preferable to the sensible perceptions, and the more definite descriptions are things more distinct than things seen; since when objects near are not made clear to the sensible perceptions, neither will these perceptions be well able to present the things perceived to the mind. But that we may not seem, in speaking thus, to be pushing aside the Divine [biblical] Sayings, let those who libel the Name of Love 1(erotos) hear them. “Be in love with It,” they say, “and It will keep thee - Rejoice over It, and It will exalt thee - Honour It, in order that It may encompass thee,” - and whatever else is sung respecting Love, in the Word of God.

Δέον εἰδέναι κατὰ τὸν ὀρθὸν λόγον͵ ὅτι στοιχείοις καὶ συλλαβαῖς καὶ λέξεσι καὶ γραφαῖς καὶ λόγοις χρώμεθα διὰ τὰς αἰσθήσεις. Ὡς ὅταν ἡμῶν ἡ ψυχὴ ταῖς νοεραῖς ἐνεργείαις ἐπὶ τὰ νοητὰ κινεῖται͵ περιτταὶ μετὰ τῶν αἰσθητῶν αἱ αἰσθήσεις ὥσπερ καὶ αἱ νοεραὶ δυνάμεις͵ ὅταν ἡ ψυχὴ θεοειδὴς γενομένη δι΄ ἑνώσεως ἀγνώστου ταῖς τοῦ ἀπροσίτου φωτὸς ἀκτῖσιν ἐπιβάλλει ταῖς ἀνομμάτοις ἐπιβολαῖς. Ὅταν δὲ ὁ νοῦς διὰ τῶν αἰσθητῶν ἀνακινεῖσθαι σπεύδει πρὸς θεωρητικὰς νοήσεις͵ τιμιώτεραι πάντως εἰσὶν αἱ ἐπιδηλότεραι τῶν ¹⁵⁷ αἰσθήσεων διαπορθμεύσεις͵ οἱ σαφέστεροι λόγοι͵ τὰ τρανέστερα τῶν ὁρατῶν. Ὡς ὅταν ἀτράνωτα ᾖ τὰ παρακείμενα ταῖς αἰσθήσεσιν͵ οὐδὲ αὐταὶ τῷ νῷ παραστῆσαι τὰ αἰσθητὰ καλῶς δυνήσονται. Πλὴν ἵνα μὴ ταῦτα εἰπεῖν δοκῶμεν ὡς τὰ θεῖα λόγια παρακινοῦντες͵ ἀκουέτωσαν αὐτῶν οἱ τὴν ἔρωτος ἐπωνυμίαν διαβάλλοντες· Ἐράσθητι αὐτῆς͵ φησί͵ καὶ τηρήσει σε· περιχαράκωσον αὐτήν͵ καὶ ὑψώσει σε· τίμησον αὐτήν͵ ἵνα σε περιλάβῃ͵ καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα κατὰ τὰς ἐρωτικὰς θεολογίας ὑμνεῖται.

4.12. And yet it seemed to some of our sacred expounders that the Name of Love is more Divine than that of loving-kindness (agapes). But even the ⁴⁷ Divine Ignatius 26 writes, “my own Love (1eros) is crucified;” and in the introductions to the [biblical] Sayings you will find a certain One saying of the Divine Wisdom, “1 became enamoured of her Beauty.” So that we, certainly, need not be afraid of this Name of Love, nor let any alarming statement about it terrify us. For the theologians seem to me to treat as equivalent the name of Loving-kindness, and that of Love; and on this ground, to attribute, by preference, the veritable Love, to things Divine, because of the misplaced prejudice of such men as these. For, since the veritable Love is sung of in a sense befitting God, not by us only, but also by the [biblical] Sayings themselves, the multitude, not having comprehended the Oneness of the Divine Name of Love, fell away, as might be expected of them, to the divided and corporeal and sundered, seeing it is not a real love, but a shadow, or rather a falling from the veritable Love. For the Oneness of the Divine and one Love is incomprehensible to the multitude, wherefore also, as seeming a very hard name to the multitude, it is assigned to the Divine Wisdom, for the purpose of leading back and restoring them to the knowledge of the veritable Love; and for their liberation from the difficulty respecting it. And again, as regards ourselves, where it happened often that men of an earthly character imagined something out of place, (there is used) what appears more euphonius. A certain one says, “Thy ⁴⁸ affection fell upon me, as the affection of the women.” For those who have rightly listened to things Divine, the name of Loving-kindness and of Love is placed by the holy theologians in the same category throughout the Divine revelations, and this is of a power unifying, and binding together, and mingling pre-eminently in the Beautiful and Good; pre-existing by reason of the beautiful and good, and imparted from the beautiful and good, by reason of the Beautiful and Good; and sustaining things of the same rank, within their mutual coherence, but moving the first to forethought for the inferior, and attaching the inferior to the superior by respect.

12  Καίτοι ἔδοξέ τισι τῶν καθ΄ ἡμᾶς ἱερολόγων καὶ θειότερον εἶναι τὸ τοῦ ἔρωτος ὄνομα τοῦ τῆς ἀγάπης. Γράφει δὲ καὶ ὁ θεῖος Ἰγνάτιος· Ὁ ἐμὸς ἔρως ἐσταύρωται. Καὶ ἐν ταῖς προεισαγωγαῖς τῶν λογίων εὑρήσεις τινὰ λέγοντα περὶ τῆς θείας σοφίας· Ἐραστὴς ἐγενόμην τοῦ κάλλους αὐτῆς. Ὥστε τοῦτο δὴ τὸ τοῦ ἔρωτος ὄνομα μὴ φοβηθῶμεν μηδέ τις ἡμᾶς θορυβείτω λόγος περὶ τούτου δεδιττόμενος. Ἐμοὶ γὰρ δοκοῦσιν οἱ θεολόγοι κοινὸν μὲν ἡγεῖσθαι τὸ τῆς ἀγάπης καὶ τοῦ ἔρωτος ὄνομα͵ διὰ τοῦτο δὲ τοῖς θείοις μᾶλλον ἀναθεῖναι τὸν ὄντως ἔρωτα διὰ τὴν ἄτοπον τῶν τοιούτων ἀνδρῶν πρόληψιν. Θεοπρεπῶς γὰρ τοῦ ὄντως ἔρωτος οὐχ ὑφ΄ ἡμῶν μόνον͵ ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς τῶν λογίων αὐτῶν ὑμνουμένου τὰ πλήθη μὴ χωρήσαντα τὸ ἑνοειδὲς τῆς ἐρωτικῆς θεωνυμίας οἰκείως ἑαυτοῖς ἐπὶ τὸν μεριστὸν καὶ ¹⁵⁸ σωματοπρεπῆ καὶ διῃρημένον ἐξωλίσθησαν͵ ὃς οὐκ ἔστιν ἀληθὴς ἔρως͵ ἀλλ΄ εἴδωλον ἢ μᾶλλον ἔκπτωσις τοῦ ὄντως ἔρωτος. Ἀχώρητον γάρ ἐστι τῷ πλήθει τὸ ἑνιαῖον τοῦ θείου καὶ ἑνὸς ἔρωτος. Διὸ καὶ ὡς δυσχερέστερον ὄνομα τοῖς πολλοῖς δοκοῦν ἐπὶ τῆς θείας σοφίας τάττεται πρὸς ἀναγωγὴν αὐτῶν καὶ ἀνάτασιν εἰς τὴν τοῦ ὄντως ἔρωτος γνῶσιν καὶ ὥστε ἀπολυθῆ ναι τῆς ἐπ΄ αὐτῷ δυσχερείας. Ἐφ΄ ἡμῶν δὲ αὖθις͵ ἔνθα καὶ ἄτοπόν τι πολλάκις ἦν οἰηθῆναι τοὺς χαμαιζήλους͵ κατὰ τὸ δοκοῦν εὐφημότερον· Ἐπέπεσε͵ τίς φησιν͵ ἡ ἀγάπησίς σου ἐπ΄ ἐμὲ ὡς ἡ ἀγάπησις τῶν γυναικῶν. Ἐπὶ τοῖς ὀρθῶς τῶν θείων ἀκροωμένοις ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτῆς δυνάμεως τάττεται πρὸς τῶν ἱερῶν θεολόγων τὸ τῆς ἀγάπης καὶ τοῦ ἔρωτος ὄνομα κατὰ τὰς θείας ἐκφαντορίας. Καὶ ἔστι τοῦτο δυνάμεως ἑνοποιοῦ καὶ συνδετικῆς καὶ διαφερόντως συγκρατικῆς ἐν τῷ καλῷ καὶ ἀγαθῷ διὰ τὸ καλὸν καὶ ἀγαθὸν προ ϋφεστώσης καὶ ἐκ τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ ἀγαθοῦ διὰ τὸ καλὸν καὶ ἀγαθὸν ἐκδιδομένης καὶ συνεχούσης μὲν τὰ ὁμοταγῆ κατὰ τὴν κοινωνικὴν ἀλ ληλουχίαν͵ κινούσης δὲ τὰ πρῶτα πρὸς τὴν τῶν ὑφειμένων πρόνοιαν καὶ ἐνιδρυούσης τὰ καταδεέστερα τῇ ἐπιστροφῇ τοῖς ὑπερτέροις.

4.13. But Divine Love is extatic, not permitting (any) to be lovers of themselves, but of those beloved. They shew this too, the superior by becoming mindful of the inferior; and the equals by their mutual coherence; and the inferior, by a more divine respect towards things superior. Wherefore also, Paul the Great, when possessed by the Divine Love, and participating in its extatic power, says with inspired lips, “I live no longer, but Christ lives in me.” As a true lover, and beside himself, as he says, to Almighty God, and not living the life of himself, but the life of the Beloved, as a life excessively esteemed. One might make bold to say even this, on behalf of truth, that the very Author of all things, by the beautiful and good love of everything, through an overflow of His loving goodness, becomes out of Himself, by His providences for all existing things, ⁴⁹ and is, as it were, cozened by goodness and affection and love, and is led down from the Eminence above all, and surpassing all, to being in all, as befits an extatic superessential power centred in Himself. Wherefore, those skilled in Divine things call Him even Jealous, as (being) that vast good Love towards all beings, and as rousing His loving inclination to jealousy, - and as proclaiming Himself Jealous - to Whom the things desired are objects of jealousy, and as though the objects of His providential care were objects of jealousy for Him. And, in short, the lovable is of the Beautiful and Good, and Love preexisted both in the Beautiful and Good, and on account of the Beautiful and Good, is and takes Being.

13  Ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἐκστατικὸς ὁ θεῖος ἔρως οὐκ ἐῶν ἑαυτῶν εἶναι τοὺς ¹⁵⁹ ἐραστάς͵ ἀλλὰ τῶν ἐρωμένων. Καὶ δηλοῦσι τὰ μὲν ὑπέρτερα τῆς προνοίας γιγνόμενα τῶν καταδεεστέρων καὶ τὰ ὁμόστοιχα τῆς ἀλλήλων συνοχῆς καὶ τὰ ὑφειμένα τῆς πρὸς τὰ πρῶτα θειοτέρας ἐπιστροφῆς. Διὸ καὶ Παῦλος ὁ μέγας ἐν κατοχῇ τοῦ θείου γεγονὼς ἔρωτος καὶ τῆς ἐκστατικῆς αὐτοῦ δυνάμεως μετειληφὼς ἐνθέῳ στόματι· Ζῶ ἐγώ͵ φησίν͵ οὐκ ἔτι͵ ζῇ δὲ ἐν ἐμοὶ Χριστός. Ὡς ἀληθὴς ἐραστὴς καὶ ἐξεστηκώς͵ ὡς αὐτός φησι͵ τῷ θεῷ καὶ οὐ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ζῶν͵ ἀλλὰ τὴν τοῦ ἐραστοῦ ζωὴν ὡς σφόδρα ἀγαπητήν. Τολμητέον δὲ καὶ τοῦτο ὑπὲρ ἀληθείας εἰπεῖν͵ ὅτι καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ πάντων αἴτιος τῷ καλῷ καὶ ἀγαθῷ τῶν πάντων ἔρωτι δι΄ ὑπερβολὴν τῆς ἐρω τικῆς ἀγαθότητος ἔξω ἑαυτοῦ γίνεται ταῖς εἰς τὰ ὄντα πάντα προνοίαις καὶ οἷον ἀγαθότητι καὶ ἀγαπήσει καὶ ἔρωτι θέλγεται καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ὑπὲρ πάντα καὶ πάντων ἐξῃρημένου πρὸς τὸ ἐν πᾶσι κατάγεται κατ΄ ἐκστα τικὴν ὑπερούσιον δύναμιν ἀνεκφοίτητον ἑαυτοῦ. Διὸ καὶ ζηλωτὴν αὐτὸν οἱ τὰ θεῖα δεινοὶ προσαγορεύουσιν ὡς πολὺν τὸν εἰς τὰ ὄντα ἀγαθὸν ἔρωτα καὶ ὡς πρὸς ζῆλον ἐγερτικὸν τῆς ἐφέσεως αὐτοῦ τῆς ἐρωτικῆς καὶ ὡς ζηλωτὴν αὐτὸν ἀποδεικνύντα͵ ᾧ καὶ τὰ ἐφιέμενα ζηλωτὰ καὶ ὡς τῶν προνοουμένων ὄντων αὐτῷ ζηλωτῶν. Καὶ ὅλως τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ ἀγαθοῦ ἐστι τὸ ἐραστὸν καὶ ὁ ἔρως καὶ ἐν τῷ καλῷ καὶ ἀγαθῷ προΐδρυται καὶ διὰ τὸ καλὸν καὶ ἀγαθὸν ἔστι καὶ γίνεται. ¹⁶⁰

4.14. But what do the theologians mean when at one time they call Him Love, and Loving-kindness, and at another, Loved and Esteemed? For, of the one, He is Author and, as it were, Producer and Father; but the other, He Himself is; and by one He is moved, but by the other He moves; or (when they say), that He Himself is Procurer and Mover of Himself and by Himself. In this sense, they call Him esteemed and loved, as Beautiful and Good: but again Love and Loving-kindness, as being at once moving and conducting Power to Himself; - the alone - self Beautiful and Good, by reason of Itself, and, being, as it were, a manifestation of Itself through Itself, and a good Progression of the ⁵⁰ surpassing union, and a loving Movement, simplex, self-moved, self-operating, pre-existing in the Good, and from the Good bubbling forth to things existing, and again returning to the Good, in which also the Divine Love indicates distinctly Its own unending and unbeginning, as it were a sort of everlasting circle whirling round in unerring combination, by reason of the Good, from the Good, and in the Good, and to the Good, and ever advancing and remaining and returning in the same and throughout the same. And these things our illustrious initiator divinely set forth throughout His Hymns of Love, of which we may appropriately make mention, and, as it were, place as a certain sacred chapter to our treatise concerning Love.

14  Τί δὲ ὅλως οἱ θεολόγοι βουλόμενοι ποτὲ μὲν ἔρωτα καὶ ἀγάπην αὐτόν φασι͵ ποτὲ δὲ ἐραστὸν καὶ ἀγαπητόν; Τοῦ μὲν γὰρ αἴτιος καὶ ὥσπερ προβολεὺς καὶ ἀπογεννήτωρ͵ τὸ δὲ αὐτός ἐστι. Καὶ τῷ μὲν κινεῖται͵ τῷ δὲ κινεῖ͵ ἦ ὅτι αὐτὸς ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ἑαυτῷ ἐστι προαγωγικὸς καὶ κινητικός. Ταύτῃ δὲ ἀγαπητὸν μὲν καὶ ἐραστὸν αὐτὸν καλοῦσιν ὡς καλὸν καὶ ἀγαθόν͵ ἔρωτα δὲ αὖθις καὶ ἀγάπην ὡς κινητικὴν ἅμα καὶ ὡς ἀναγωγὸν δύναμιν ὄντα ἐφ΄ ἑαυτόν͵ τὸ μόνον αὐτὸ δι΄ ἑαυτὸ καλὸν καὶ ἀγαθὸν καὶ ὥσπερ ἔκφανσιν ὄντα ἑαυτοῦ δι΄ ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τῆς ἐξῃρημένης ἑνώσεως ἀγαθὴν πρόοδον καὶ ἐρωτικὴν κίνησιν ἁπλῆν͵ αὐτοκίνητον͵ αὐτενέργητον͵ προοῦσαν ἐν τἀγαθῷ καὶ ἐκ τἀγαθοῦ τοῖς οὖσιν ἐκβλυζο μένην καὶ αὖθις εἰς τἀγαθὸν ἐπιστρεφομένην. Ἐν ᾧ καὶ τὸ ἀτελεύτητον ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ἄναρχον ὁ θεῖος ἔρως ἐνδείκνυται διαφερόντως ὥσπερ τις ἀΐδιος κύκλος διὰ τἀγαθόν͵ ἐκ τἀγαθοῦ καὶ ἐν τἀγαθῷ καὶ εἰς τἀγαθὸν ἐν ἀπλανεῖ συνελίξει περιπορευόμενος καὶ ἐν ταὐτῷ καὶ κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ καὶ προϊὼν ἀεὶ καὶ μένων καὶ ἀποκαθιστάμενος. Ταῦτα καὶ ὁ κλεινὸς ἡμῶν ἱεροτελεστὴς ἐνθέως ὑφηγήσατο κατὰ τοὺς ἐρωτικοὺς ὕμνους͵ ὧν οὐκ ἄτοπον ἐπιμνησθῆναι καὶ οἷον ἱεράν τινα κεφαλὴν ἐπιθεῖναι τῷ περὶ ἔρωτος ἡμῶν λόγῳ· ¹⁶¹

4.15. Extract from the “Hymns of Love” by the most holy Hierotheus: -

Love, whether we speak of Divine, or Angelic, or intelligent, or psychical, or physical, let us regard as a certain unifying and combining power, moving the superior to forethought for the inferior, and the equals to a mutual fellowship, and lastly, the inferior to respect towards the higher and superior.

15  Τὸν ἔρωτα͵ εἴτε θεῖον εἴτε ἀγγελικὸν εἴτε νοερὸν εἴτε ψυχικὸν εἴτε φυσικὸν εἴποιμεν͵ ἑνωτικήν τινα καὶ συγκρατικὴν ἐννοήσωμεν δύναμιν τὰ μὲν ὑπέρτερα κινοῦσαν ἐπὶ πρόνοιαν τῶν καταδεεστέρων͵ τὰ δὲ ὁμόστοιχα πάλιν εἰς κοινωνικὴν ἀλληλουχίαν καὶ ἐπ΄ ἐσχάτων τὰ ὑφει μένα πρὸς τὴν τῶν κρειττόνων καὶ ὑπερκειμένων ἐπιστροφήν.

4.16. Of the same, from the same Erotic Hymns. 

Since we have arranged the many loves from the one, by telling, in due order, what are the ⁵¹ kinds of knowledge and powers of the mundane and super-mundane loves; over which, according to the defined purpose of the discourse, the orders and ranks of the mental and intelligible loves preside; next after 27 which are placed the self-existent intelligible and divine, over the really beautiful loves there which have been appropriately celebrated by us; now, on the other hand, by restoring all back to the One and enfolded Love, and Father of them all, let us collect and gather them together from the many, by contracting It into two Powers entirely lovable, over which rules and precedes altogether the Cause, resistless from Its universal Love beyond all, and to which is elevated, according to the nature of each severally, the whole love from all existing things.

16  Ἐπειδὴ τοὺς ἐκ τοῦ ἑνὸς πολλοὺς ἔρωτας διετάξαμεν ἑξῆς εἰρηκό τες͵ οἷαι μὲν αἱ τῶν ἐγκοσμίων τε καὶ ὑπερκοσμίων ἐρώτων γνώσεις τε καὶ δυνάμεις͵ ὧν ὑπερέχουσι κατὰ τὸν ἀποδοθέντα τοῦ λόγου σκοπὸν αἱ τῶν νοερῶν τε καὶ νοητῶν ἐρώτων τάξεις τε καὶ διακοσμήσεις͵ μεθ΄ οὓς οἱ αὐτονόητοι καὶ θεῖοι τῶν ὄντως ἐκεῖ καλῶν ἐρώτων ὑπερεστᾶσι͵ καὶ ἡμῖν οἰκείως ὕμνηνται. Νῦν αὖθις ἀναλαβόντες ἅπαντας εἰς τὸν ἕνα καὶ συνεπτυγμένον ἔρωτα καὶ πάντων αὐτῶν πατέρα συνελίξωμεν ἅμα καὶ συναγάγωμεν ἀπὸ τῶν πολλῶν πρῶτον εἰς δύο συναιροῦντες αὐτὸν ἐρωτικὰς καθόλου δυνάμεις͵ ὧν ἐπικρατεῖ καὶ προκατάρχει πάντως ἡ ἐκ τοῦ πάντων ἐπέκεινα παντὸς ἔρωτος ἄσχετος αἰτία͵ καὶ πρὸς ἣν ἀνατείνε ται συμφυῶς ἑκάστῳ τῶν ὄντων ὁ ἐκ τῶν ὄντων ἁπάντων ὁλικὸς ἔρως. ¹⁶²

4.17. Come then, whilst collecting these again into one, let us say, that it is a certain simplex power, which of itself moves to a sort of unifying combination from the Good, to the lowest of things existing, and from that again in due order, circling round again, through all to the Good from Itself, and through Itself and by Itself, and rolling back to Itself always in the same way.

17  Ἄγε δὴ καὶ ταύτας πάλιν εἰς ἓν συναγαγόντες εἴπωμεν͵ ὅτι μία τις ἔστιν ἁπλῆ δύναμις ἡ αὐτοκινητικὴ πρὸς ἑνωτικήν τινα κρᾶσιν ἐκ τἀγαθοῦ μέχρι τοῦ τῶν ὄντων ἐσχάτου καὶ ἀπ΄ ἐκείνου πάλιν ἑξῆς διὰ πάντων εἰς τἀγαθὸν ἐξ ἑαυτῆς καὶ δι΄ ἑαυτῆς καὶ ἐφ΄ ἑαυτῆς ἑαυτὴν ἀνακυκλοῦσα καὶ εἰς ἑαυτὴν ἀεὶ ταὐτῶς ἀνελιττομένη.

4.18. And yet, any one might say, “if the Beautiful and Good is beloved and desired, and esteemed ⁵² by all (for even that which is non-existing desires It, as we have said, and struggles how to be in It; and Itself is the form-giving, even of things without form, and by It alone, even the non-existing is said to be, and is superessentially) - ”How is it that the host of demons do not desire the Beautiful and Good, but, through their earthly proclivities, having fallen away from the angelic identity, as regards the desire of the Good, have become cause of all evils both to themselves and to all the others who are said to be corrupted? and why, in short, when the tribes of demons have been brought into being from the Good, are they not like the Good? or how, after being a good production from the Good, were they changed? and what is that which depraved them, and in short, what is evil? and from what source did it spring? and in which of things existing is it? and how did He, Who is Good, will to bring it into being? and how, when He willed it, was He able? And if evil is from another cause, what other cause is there for things existing, beside the Good? Further, how, when there is a Providence, is there evil, either coming into existence at all, or not destroyed? And how does any existing thing desire it, in comparison with the Good?

18  Καίτοι φαίη τις· Εἰ πᾶσίν ἐστι τὸ καλὸν καὶ ἀγαθὸν ἐραστὸν καὶ ἐφετὸν καὶ ἀγαπητόν͵ ἐφίεται γὰρ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ μὴ ὄν͵ ὡς εἴρηται͵ καὶ φιλονεικεῖ πως ἐν αὐτῷ εἶναι͵ καὶ αὐτό ἐστι τὸ εἰδοποιὸν καὶ τῶν ἀνειδέων͵ καὶ ἐπ΄ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ μὴ ὂν ὑπερουσίως λέγεται καὶ ἔστι͵ πῶς ἡ δαιμονία πληθὺς οὐκ ἐφίεται τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ ἀγαθοῦ͵ πρόσυλος δὲ οὖσα καὶ τῆς ἀγγελικῆς περὶ τὴν ἔφεσιν τἀγαθοῦ ταὐτότητος ἀποπεπτωκυῖα κακῶν ἁπάντων αἰτία καὶ ἑαυτῇ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις͵ ὅσα κακύνεσθαι λέγεται; Πῶς δὲ ὅλως ἐκ τἀγαθοῦ παραχθὲν τὸ δαιμόνιον φῦλον οὐκ ἔστιν ἀγαθοειδὲς ἢ πῶς ἀγαθὸν ἐκ τἀγαθοῦ γεγονὸς ἠλλοιώθη; Καὶ τί τὸ κακῦναν αὐτὸ ¹⁶³ καὶ ὅλως τί τὸ κακόν ἐστι͵ καὶ ἐκ τίνος ἀρχῆς ὑπέστη͵ καὶ ἐν τίνι τῶν ὄντων ἔστιν; Καὶ πῶς ὁ ἀγαθὸς αὐτὸ παραγαγεῖν ἠβουλήθη͵ πῶς δὲ βουληθεὶς ἠδυνήθη; Καὶ εἰ ἐξ ἄλλης αἰτίας τὸ κακόν͵ τίς ἑτέρα τοῖς οὖσι παρὰ τἀγαθὸν αἰτία; Πῶς δὲ καὶ προνοίας οὔσης ἔστι τὸ κακὸν ἢ γινόμενον ὅλως ἢ μὴ ἀναιρούμενον͵ καὶ πῶς ἐφίεταί τι τῶν ὄντων αὐτοῦ παρὰ τἀγαθόν;

4.19. Such a statement as this might be alleged by way of objection. We, however, on our part, will ⁵³ pray the objector to look to the truth of the facts, and will make bold to say this first. The Evil is not from the Good, and if it is from the Good, it is not the Evil. For, it is not the nature of fire to make cold, nor of good to bring into being things not good; and if all things that be are from the Good (for to produce and to preserve is natural to the Good, but to destroy and to dissolve, to the Evil), there is no existing thing from the Evil, nor will the Evil itself be, if it should be evil even to itself. And, if it be not so, the Evil is not altogether evil, but has some portion of the Good, in consequence of which it wholly is. Now, if the things existing desire the Beautiful and Good, and whatever they do, they do for the sake of that which seems good, and every purpose of things existing has the Good for its beginning and end (for nothing looking to the Evil qua evil, does what it does), how shall the Evil be in things existing; or, wholly being, how has it been seduced from such a good yearning? Also if all the things existing are from the Good, and the Good is above all things existing, then there is existing in the Good even the non-existing; but the Evil is not existing; and, if this be not the case, it is not altogether evil, nor non-existing, for the absolutely non-existing will be nothing, unless it should be spoken of as in the Good superessentially. The Good, then, will be fixed far above both the absolutely existing and the non-existing; but the Evil is neither in things existing, nor in things non-existing, but, being further distant from the Good than ⁵⁴ the non-existing itself, it is alien and more unsubstantial. Where then is the Evil? some one may perchance say. For if the Evil is not, - virtue and vice are the same, both universally and particularly. Or, not even that which opposes itself to virtue will be evil, and yet sobriety and license, and righteousness and unrighteousness, are contraries. And I, by no means, speak in reference to the just and unjust man, and the temperate and intemperate man; but also, long before the difference between the just man and his opposite is made manifest externally, in the very soul itself the vices stand altogether apart from the virtues, and the passions rebel against the reason; and from this we must grant some evil contrary to the Good. For the Good is not contrary to Itself, but as the product from one Source and one Cause, It rejoices in fellowship and unity and friendship. Nor yet is the lesser good opposed to the greater, for neither is the less heat or cold opposed to the greater. The Evil 29 then is in things existing, and is existing, and is opposed, and is in opposition to, the Good; and if it is the destruction of things existing, this does not expel the Evil from existence; but it will be, both itself existing, and generator of things existing. Does not frequently the destruction of one become birth of another? and the Evil will be contributing to the completion of the whole, and supplying through itself non-imperfection to the whole. ⁵⁵ 

19  Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἴσως ἐρεῖ τοιόσδε ἀπορῶν λόγος͵ ἡμεῖς δὲ ἀξιώσο μεν αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν τῶν πραγμάτων ἀλήθειαν ἀποβλέπειν καὶ πρῶτόν γε τοῦτο εἰπεῖν παῤῥησιασόμεθα· Τὸ κακὸν οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τἀγαθοῦ͵ καὶ εἰ ἐκ τἀγαθοῦ ἐστιν͵ οὐ κακόν͵ οὐδὲ γὰρ πυρὸς τὸ ψύχειν οὔτε ἀγαθοῦ τὸ μὴ ἀγαθὰ παράγειν. Καὶ εἰ τὰ ὄντα πάντα ἐκ τἀγαθοῦ͵ φύσις γὰρ τῷ ἀγαθῷ τὸ παράγειν καὶ σώζειν͵ τῷ δὲ κακῷ τὸ φθείρειν καὶ ἀπολλύειν͵ οὐδέν ἐστι τῶν ὄντων ἐκ τοῦ κακοῦ. Καὶ οὐδὲ αὐτὸ ἔσται τὸ κακόν͵ εἴπερ καὶ ἑαυτῷ κακὸν εἴη. Καὶ εἰ μὴ τοῦτο͵ οὐ πάντη κακὸν τὸ κακόν͵ ἀλλ΄ ἔχει τινὰ τἀγαθοῦ͵ καθ΄ ἣν ὅλως ἔστι͵ μοῖραν. Καὶ εἰ τὰ ὄντα τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ ἀγαθοῦ ἐφίεται καὶ πάντα͵ ὅσα ποιεῖ͵ διὰ τὸ δοκοῦν ἀγαθὸν ποιεῖ καὶ πᾶς ὁ τῶν ὄντων σκοπὸς ἀρχὴν ἔχει καὶ τέλος τἀγαθόν͵ οὐδὲν γὰρ εἰς τὴν τοῦ κακοῦ φύσιν ἀποβλέπον ποιεῖ͵ ἃ ποιεῖ͵ πῶς ἔσται τὸ κακὸν ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν ἢ ὅλως ὂν τῆς τοιαύτης ἀγαθῆς ὀρέξεως παρῃρημένον; Καὶ εἰ τὰ ὄντα πάντα ἐκ τἀγαθοῦ καὶ τἀγαθὸν ἐπέκεινα τῶν ὄντων͵ ἔστι μὲν ἐν τἀγαθῷ καὶ τὸ μὴ ὂν ὄν͵ τὸ δὲ κακὸν οὔτε ὄν ἐστιν͵ εἰ δὲ μὴ οὐ πάντη κακόν͵ οὔτε μὴ ὄν͵ οὐδὲν γὰρ ἔσται τὸ καθόλου μὴ ὄν͵ εἰ μὴ ἐν τἀγαθῷ κατὰ τὸ ὑπερούσιον λέγοιτο. Τὸ μὲν οὖν ἀγαθὸν ἔσται καὶ ¹⁶⁴ τοῦ ἁπλῶς ὄντος καὶ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος πολλῷ πρότερον ὑπεριδρυμένον. Τὸ δὲ κακὸν οὔτε ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν οὔτε ἐν τοῖς μὴ οὖσιν͵ ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος μᾶλλον ἀλλότριον ἀπέχον τἀγαθοῦ καὶ ἀνουσιώτερον. Πόθεν οὖν ἐστι τὸ κακόν; Εἴποι τις. Εἰ γὰρ μὴ ἔστι τὸ κακόν͵ ἀρετὴ καὶ κακία ταὐτὸν καὶ ἡ πᾶσα τῇ ὅλῃ καὶ ἡ ἐν μέρει τῇ ἀνὰ λόγον ἢ οὐδὲ τὸ τῇ ἀρετῇ μαχόμενον ἔσται κακόν. Καίτοι ἐναντία σωφροσύνη καὶ ἀκολασία καὶ δικαιοσύνη καὶ ἀδικία. Καὶ οὐ δήπου κατὰ τὸν δίκαιον καὶ τὸν ἄδικόν φημι καὶ τὸν σώφρονα καὶ τὸν ἀκόλαστον͵ ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸ τῆς ἔξω φαινομένης τοῦ ἐναρέτου πρὸς τὸν ἀντικείμενον διαστάσεως ἐν αὐτῇ πολλῷ πρότερον τῇ ψυχῇ καθόλου διεστήκασι τῶν ἀρετῶν αἱ κακίαι καὶ πρὸς τὸν λόγον τὰ πάθη στασιάζει καὶ ἐκ τούτων ἀνάγκη δοῦναί τι τῷ ἀγαθῷ κακὸν ἐναντίον. Οὐ γὰρ ἑαυτῷ τἀγαθὸν ἐναντίον͵ ἀλλ΄ ὡς ἀπὸ μιᾶς ἀρχῆς καὶ ἑνὸς ἔκγονον αἰτίου κοινωνίᾳ καὶ ἑνότητι καὶ φιλίᾳ χαίρει. Καὶ οὐδὲ τὸ ἔλαττον ἀγαθὸν τῷ μείζονι ἐναντίον͵ οὔτε γὰρ τὸ ἧττον θερμὸν ἢ ψυχρὸν τῷ πλείονι ἐναντίον. Ἔστιν οὖν ἐν τοῖς οὖσι καὶ ὄν ἐστι καὶ ἀντιτέθειται καὶ ἠναντίωται τἀγαθῷ τὸ κακόν. Καὶ εἰ φθορὰ ἔστι τῶν ὄντων͵ οὐκ ἐκβάλλει τοῦτο τοῦ εἶναι τὸ κακόν͵ ἀλλ΄ ἔσται καὶ αὐτὸ ὂν καὶ ὄντων γενεσιουργόν. ῍Η οὐχὶ πολλάκις ἡ τοῦδε φθορὰ τοῦδε γίγνεται γένεσις; Καὶ ἔσται τὸ κακὸν εἰς τὴν τοῦ παντὸς συμπλήρωσιν συντελοῦν καὶ τῷ ὅλῳ τὸ μὴ ἀτελὲς εἶναι δι΄ ἑαυτὸ παρεχόμενον.

4.20. Now to all this true reason will answer, that the Evil qua evil makes no single essence or birth, but only, as far as it can, pollutes and destroys the subsistence of things existing. But, if any one says, that it is productive of being, and that by destruction of one it gives birth to another, we must truly answer, that not qua destruction it gives birth, but qua destruction and evil, it destroys and pollutes only, but it becomes birth and essence, by reason of the Good; and the Evil will be destruction indeed, by reason of itself; but producer of birth by reason of the Good; and qua evil, it is neither existing, nor productive of things existing; but, by reason of the Good, it is both existing and good-existing, and productive of things good. Yea, rather (for neither will the same by itself be both good and evil, nor the self-same power be of itself destruction and birth - neither as self-acting power, nor as self-acting destruction), the absolutely Evil is neither existing nor good, nor generative, nor productive of things being and good; but the Good in whatever things it may be perfectly engendered, makes them perfect and pure, and thoroughly good, - but the things which partake of it in a less degree are both imperfectly good, and impure, by reason of the lack of the Good. And (thus) the Evil altogether, is not, nor is good, nor good producing; but that which approaches more or less near the Good will be proportionately good; since the All-perfect Goodness, in passing through all, not only passes to the ⁵⁶ All-good beings around Itself, but extends Itself to the most remote, by being present to some thoroughly, to others subordinately, but to the rest, in the most remote degree, as each existing thing is able to participate in It. And some things, indeed, participate in the Good entirely, whilst others are deprived of It, in a more or less degree, but others possess a more obscure participation in the Good; and to the rest, the Good is present as a most distant echo. For if the Good were not present according to the capacity of each, the most Divine and honoured would occupy the rank of the lowest. And how were it possible that all should participate in the Good uniformly, when not all are in the same way adapted to its whole participation?

20  Ἐρεῖ δὲ πρὸς ταῦτα ὁ ἀληθὴς λόγος͵ ὅτι τὸ κακόν͵ ᾗ κακόν͵ ¹⁶⁵ οὐδεμίαν οὐσίαν ἢ γένεσιν ποιεῖ͵ μόνον δὲ κακύνει καὶ φθείρει τὸ ἐφ΄ αὑτῷ τὴν τῶν ὄντων ὑπόστασιν. Εἰ δὲ γενεσιουργόν τις αὐτὸ εἶναι λέγοι καὶ τῇ τούτου φθορᾷ τῷ ἑτέρῳ διδόναι γένεσιν͵ ἀποκριτέον ἀληθῶς· Οὐχ ᾗ φθείρει͵ δίδωσι γένεσιν͵ ἀλλ΄ ᾗ μὲν φθορὰ καὶ κακόν͵ φθείρει καὶ κακύνει μόνον͵ γένεσις δὲ καὶ οὐσία διὰ τὸ ἀγαθὸν γίγνεται͵ καὶ ἔσται τὸ κακὸν φθορὰ μὲν δι΄ ἑαυτό͵ γενεσιουργὸν δὲ διὰ τὸ ἀγαθὸν καί͵ ᾗ μὲν κακόν͵ οὔτε ὂν οὔτε ὄντων ποιητικόν͵ διὰ δὲ τὸ ἀγαθὸν καὶ ὂν καὶ ἀγαθὸν ὂν καὶ ἀγαθῶν ποιητικόν. Μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔσται τὸ αὐτὸ κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ καὶ ἀγαθὸν καὶ κακόν͵ οὐδὲ τοῦ αὐτοῦ φθορὰ καὶ γένεσις ἡ αὐτὴ κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ δύναμις οὔτε αὐτοδύναμις ἢ αὐτοφθορά. Τὸ μὲν οὖν αὐτοκακὸν οὔτε ὂν οὔτε ἀγαθὸν οὔτε γενεσιουργὸν οὔτε ὄντων καὶ ἀγαθῶν ποιητικόν͵ τὸ δὲ ἀγαθόν͵ ἐν οἷς μὲν ἂν τελέως ἐγγένη ται͵ τέλεια ποιεῖ καὶ ἀμιγῆ καὶ ὁλόκληρα ἀγαθά͵ τὰ δὲ ἧττον αὐτοῦ μετέχοντα καὶ ἀτελῆ ἐστιν ἀγαθὰ καὶ μεμιγμένα διὰ τὴν ἔλλειψιν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ. Καὶ οὐκ ἔστι καθόλου τὸ κακὸν οὔτε ἀγαθὸν οὔτε ἀγαθοποιόν͵ ἀλλὰ τὸ μᾶλλον ἢ ἧττον τῷ ἀγαθῷ πλησιάζον ἀναλόγως ἔσται ἀγαθόν͵ ἐπείπερ ἡ διὰ πάντων φοιτῶσα παντελὴς ἀγαθότης οὐ μέχρι μόνον χωρεῖ τῶν περὶ αὐτὴν παναγάθων οὐσιῶν͵ ἐκτείνεται δὲ ἄχρι τῶν ἐσχάτων͵ ταῖς μὲν ὁλικῶς παροῦσα͵ ταῖς δὲ ὑφειμένως͵ ἄλλαις δὲ ἐσχάτως͵ ὡς ἕκαστον αὐτῆς μετέχειν δύναται τῶν ὄντων. Καὶ τὰ μὲν πάντη τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ μετέχει͵ τὰ δὲ μᾶλλον καὶ ἧττον ἐστέρηται͵ τὰ δὲ ἀμυδροτέραν ἔχει τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ μετουσίαν καὶ ἄλλοις ¹⁶⁶ κατὰ ἔσχατον ἀπήχημα πάρεστι τἀγαθόν. Εἰ γὰρ μὴ ἀναλόγως ἑκάστῳ τἀγαθὸν παρῆν͵ ἦν ἂν τὰ θειότατα καὶ πρεσβύτατα τὴν τῶν ἐσχάτων ἔχοντα τάξιν. Πῶς δὲ καὶ ἦν δυνατὸν μονοειδῶς πάντα μετέχειν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ μὴ πάντα ὄντα ταὐτῶς εἰς τὴν ὁλικὴν αὐτοῦ μέθεξιν ἐπιτήδεια;

Now, this is the exceeding greatness of the power of the Good, that It empowers, both things deprived, and the deprivation of Itself, with a view to the entire participation of itself. And, if one must make bold to speak the truth, even the things fighting against It, both are, and are able to fight, by Its power. Yea rather, in order that I may speak summarily, all things which are, in so far as they are, both are good, and from the Good; but, in so far as they are deprived of the Good, are neither good, nor do they exist. For, even with regard to the other conditions, such as heat or cold, there are things which have been heated, and when the heat has departed from them, many of them are deprived both of life and intelligence (now Almighty God is outside essence, and is, superessentially), and, in ⁵⁷ one word, with regard to the rest, even when the condition has departed, or has not become completely developed, things exist, and are able to subsist; but that which is every way deprived of the Good, in no way or manner ever was, or is, or will be, nor is able to be. For example, the licentious man, even if he have been deprived of the Good, as regards his irrational lust, in this respect he neither is, nor desires realities, but nevertheless he participates in the Good, in his very obscure echo of union and friendship. And, even Anger participates in the Good, by the very movement and desire to direct and turn the seeming evils to the seeming good. And the very man, who desires the very worst life, as wholly desirous of life and that which seems best to him, by the very fact of desiring, and desiring life, and looking to a best life, participates in the Good. And, if you should entirely take away the Good, there will be neither essence, nor life, nor yearning, nor movement, nor anything else. So that the fact, that birth is born from destruction, is not a power of evil, but a presence of a lesser good, even as disease is a defect of order, not total - for, if this should be, not even the disease itself will continue to exist, but the disease remains and is, by having the lowest possible order of essence, and in this continues to exist as a parasite. For that which is altogether deprived of the Good, is neither existing, nor in things existing; but the compound, by reason of the Good in things existing, and in consequence of this in things  ⁵⁸ existing, is also existing in so far as it participates in the Good. Yea rather, all things existing will so far be, more or less, as they participate in the Good; for, even as respects the self-existing Being, that which in no ways is at all, will not be at all; but that which partially is, but partially is not, in so far as it has fallen from the ever Being, is not; but so far as it has participated in the Being, so far it is, and its whole being, and its non-being, is sustained and preserved. And the Evil, - that which has altogether fallen from the Good - will be good, neither in the more nor in the less; but the partially good, and partially not good, fight no doubt against a certain good, but not against the whole Good, and, even it is sustained by the participation of the Good, and the Good gives essence even to the privation of Itself, wholly by the participation of Itself; for, when the Good has entirely departed, there will be neither anything altogether good, nor compound, nor absolute evil. For, if the Evil is an imperfect good, (then) by the entire absence of the Good, both the imperfect and the perfect Good will be absent; and then only will be, and be seen, the Evil, when on the one hand, it is an evil to those things to which it was opposed, and, on the other, is expelled from other things on account of their goodness. For, it is impossible that the same things, under the same conditions in every respect, should fight against each other. The Evil then is not an actual thing. ⁵⁹ 

Νῦν δὲ τοῦτο ἔστι τῆς τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ δυνάμεως τὸ ὑπερβάλλον μέ γεθος͵ ὅτι καὶ τὰ ἐστερημένα καὶ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ στέρησιν δυναμοῖ κατὰ τὸ ὅλως αὐτοῦ μετέχειν. Καὶ εἰ χρὴ παῤῥησιασάμενον εἰπεῖν τἀληθῆ· Καὶ τὰ μαχόμενα αὐτῷ τῇ αὐτοῦ δυνάμει καὶ ἔστι καὶ μάχεσθαι δύναται. Μᾶλλον δέ͵ ἵνα συλλαβὼν εἴπω͵ τὰ ὄντα πάντα͵ καθ΄ ὅσον ἔστι͵ καὶ ἀγαθά ἐστι καὶ ἐκ τἀγαθοῦ͵ καθ΄ ὅσον δὲ ἐστέρηται τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ͵ οὔτε ἀγαθὰ οὔτε ὄντα ἐστίν. Ἐπὶ μὲν γὰρ τῶν ἄλλων ἕξεων οἷον θερμότητος ἢ ψυχρότητος ἔστι τὰ θερμανθέντα ἢ τὰ ψυχθέντα καὶ ἀπολιπούσης αὐτὰ τῆς θερμότητος καὶ τῆς ψυχρότητος͵ καὶ ζωῆς καὶ νοῦ πολλὰ τῶν ὄντων ἄμοιρα. Καὶ οὐσίας ὁ θεὸς ἐξῄρηται καὶ ἔστιν ὑπερουσίως. Καὶ ἁπλῶς ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν ἄλλων πάντων καὶ ἀπελθούσης ἢ μηδὲ ἐγγενομένης πάντη τῆς ἕξεως ἔστι τὰ ὄντα καὶ ὑφίστασθαι δύναται͵ τὸ δὲ κατὰ πάντα ¹⁶⁷ τρόπον τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἐστερημένον οὐδαμῆ οὐδαμῶς· οὔτε ἦν οὔτε ἐστὶν οὔτε ἔσται οὔτε εἶναι δύναται. Οἷον ὁ ἀκόλαστος͵ εἰ καὶ ἐστέρηται τἀγαθοῦ κατὰ τὴν ἄλογον ἐπιθυμίαν͵ ἐν τούτῳ μὲν οὔτε ἔστιν οὔτε ὄντων ἐπιθυμεῖ͵ μετέχει δὲ ὅμως τἀγαθοῦ κατ΄ αὐτὸ τὸ τῆς ἑνώσεως καὶ φιλίας ἀμυδρὸν ἀπήχημα. Καὶ ὁ θυμὸς μετέχει τἀγαθοῦ κατ΄ αὐτὸ τὸ κινεῖσθαι καὶ ἐφίεσθαι τὰ δοκοῦντα κακὰ πρὸς τὸ δοκοῦν καλὸν ἀνορθοῦν καὶ ἐπιστρέφειν. Καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ τῆς χειρίστης ζωῆς ἐφιέμενος ὡς ὅλως ζωῆς ἐφιέμενος καὶ τῆς ἀρίστης αὐτῷ δοκούσης κατ΄ αὐτὸ τὸ ἐφίεσθαι καὶ ζωῆς ἐφίεσθαι καὶ πρὸς ἀρίστην ζωὴν ἀποσκοπεῖν μετέχει τἀγαθοῦ. Καὶ εἰ πάντη τἀγαθὸν ἀνέλῃς͵ οὔτε οὐσία ἔσται οὔτε ζωὴ οὔτε ἔφεσις οὔτε κίνησις οὔτε ἄλλο οὐδέν. Ὥστε καὶ τὸ γίνεσθαι ἐκ φθορᾶς γένεσιν οὐκ ἔστι κακοῦ δύναμις͵ ἀλλ΄ ἥττονος ἀγαθοῦ παρουσία͵ καθ΄ ὅσον καὶ νόσος ἔλλειψίς ἐστι τάξεως͵ οὐ πάσης. Εἰ γὰρ τοῦτο γένηται͵ οὔτε ἡ νόσος αὐτὴ ὑποστήσεται. Μένει δὲ καὶ ἔστιν ἡ νόσος οὐσίαν ἔχουσα τὴν ἐλαχίστην τάξιν καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ παρυφισταμένη. Τὸ γὰρ πάντη ἄμοιρον τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ οὔτε ὂν οὔτε ἐν τοῖς οὖσι͵ τὸ δὲ μικτὸν διὰ τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐν τοῖς οὖσι καὶ κατὰ τοῦτο ἐν τοῖς οὖσι καὶ ὄν͵ καθ΄ ὅσον τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ μετέχει. Μᾶλλον δὲ τὰ ὄντα πάντα κατὰ τοσοῦτον ἔσται μᾶλλον καὶ ἧττον͵ καθ΄ ὅσον τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ μετέχει͵ καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ αὐτὸ εἶναι τὸ μηδαμῆ μηδαμῶς ὂν οὔτε ἔσται. Τὸ δὲ πῇ μὲν ὄν͵ πῇ δὲ μὴ ὄν͵ καθ΄ ὅσον μὲν ἀποπέπτωκε τοῦ ἀεὶ ὄντος͵ οὐκ ἔστι͵ καθ΄ ὅσον δὲ τοῦ εἶναι μετείληφε͵ κατὰ τοσοῦτον ἔστι καὶ τὸ ὅλως εἶναι καὶ τὸ μὴ ὂν αὐτοῦ διακρατεῖται καὶ διασώζεται. ¹⁶⁸ Καὶ τὸ κακὸν τὸ μὲν πάντη τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἀποπεπτωκὸς οὔτε ἐν τοῖς μᾶλλον οὔτε ἐν τοῖς ἧττον ἀγαθοῖς ἔσται. Τὸ δὲ πῇ μὲν ἀγαθόν͵ πῇ δὲ οὐκ ἀγαθὸν μάχεται μὲν ἀγαθῷ τινι͵ οὐχ ὅλῳ δὲ τἀγαθῷ. Κρατεῖται δὲ καὶ αὐτὸ τῇ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ μετουσίᾳ͵ καὶ οὐσιοῖ καὶ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ στέρησιν τὸ ἀγαθὸν τῇ ὅλως αὐτοῦ μεθέξει. Πάντη γὰρ ἀπελθόντος τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ οὔτε καθόλου τι ἔσται ἀγαθὸν οὔτε μικτὸν οὔτε αὐτοκακόν. Εἰ γὰρ τὸ κακὸν ἀτελές ἐστιν ἀγαθόν͵ ἀπουσίᾳ παντελεῖ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ καὶ τὸ ἀτελὲς καὶ τὸ τέλειον ἀγαθὸν ἀπέσται. Καὶ τότε μόνον ἔσται καὶ ὀφθήσεται τὸ κακόν͵ ἡνίκα τοῖς μέν ἐστι κακόν͵ οἷς ἠναντίωται͵ τῶν δὲ ὡς ἀγαθῶν ἐξήρτηται. Μάχεσθαι γὰρ ἀλλήλοις τὰ αὐτὰ κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ ἐν πᾶσιν ἀδύνατον. Οὐκ ἄρα ὂν τὸ κακόν.

4.21. But neither is the Evil in things existing. For, if all things existing are from the Good, and the Good is in all things existing, and embraces all, either the Evil will not be in things existing, or it will be in the Good; and certainly it will not be in the Good, for neither is cold in fire, nor to do evil in Him, Who turns even the evil to good. But, if it shall be, how will the Evil be in the Good? If forsooth, from Itself, it is absurd and impossible. For it is not possible, as the infallibility of the [biblical] Sayings affirms, that a “good tree should bring forth evil fruits,” nor certainly, vice versa. But, if not from Itself, it is evident that it will be from another source and cause. For, either the Evil will be from the Good, or the Good from the Evil; or, if this be not possible, both the Good and the Evil will be from another source and cause, for no dual is source, but a Unit will be source of every dual. Further, it is absurd that two entirely contraries should proceed and be from one and the same, and that the self-same source should be, not simplex and unique, but divided and double, and contrary to itself, and be changed; and certainly it is not possible that there should be two contrary sources of things existing, and that these should be contending in each other, and in the whole. For, if this were granted, even Almighty God will not be in repose, nor free from disquietude, if there were indeed something bringing disturbance even to Him. Then, ⁶⁰ everything will be in disorder, and always fighting; and yet the Good distributes friendship to all existing things, and is celebrated by the holy theologians, both as very Peace, and Giver of Peace. Wherefore, things good are both friendly and harmonious, every one, and products of one life, and marshalled to one good; and kind, and similar, and affable to each other. So that the Evil is not in God, and the Evil is not inspired by God. But neither is the Evil from God, for, either He is not good, or He does good, and produces good things; and, not once in a way, and some; and at another time not, and not all; for this would argue transition and change, even as regards the very Divinest thing of all, the Cause. But, if in God, the Good is sustaining essence, God, when changing from the Good, will be sometimes Being, and sometimes not Being. But, if He has the Good by participation, He will then have it from another; and sometimes He will have it, and sometimes not. The Evil, then, is not from God, nor in God, neither absolutely nor occasionally.

21  Ἀλλὰ οὐδὲ ἐν τοῖς οὖσίν ἐστι τὸ κακόν. Εἰ γὰρ πάντα τὰ ὄντα ἐκ τἀγαθοῦ͵ καὶ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσι καὶ πάντα περιέχει τἀγαθόν͵ ἢ οὐκ ἔσται τὸ κακὸν ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν ἢ ἐν τἀγαθῷ ἔσται. Καὶ μὴν ἐν τἀγαθῷ οὐκ ἔσται͵ καὶ γὰρ οὐδὲ ἐν πυρὶ τὸ ψυχρὸν οὐδὲ τὸ κακύνεσθαι τῷ καὶ τὸ κακὸν ἀγαθύνοντι. Εἰ δὲ ἔσται͵ πῶς ἔσται ἐν τἀγαθῷ τὸ κακόν; Εἰ μὲν ἐξ αὐτοῦ͵ ἄτοπον καὶ ἀδύνατον. Οὐ δύναται γάρ͵ ὡς ἡ τῶν λογίων ἀλήθειά φησι͵ δένδρον ἀγαθὸν καρποὺς πονηροὺς ποιεῖν οὐδὲ μὴν τὸ ἀνάπαλιν. Εἰ δὲ οὐκ ἐξ αὐτοῦ͵ ἐξ ἄλλης δηλονότι ἀρχῆς καὶ αἰτίας. Καὶ γὰρ ἢ τὸ κακὸν ἐκ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἔσται ἢ τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐκ τοῦ κακοῦ ἤ͵ εἰ μὴ τοῦτο δυνατόν͵ ἐξ ἄλλης ἀρχῆς καὶ αἰτίας ἔσται καὶ τὸ ἀγαθὸν καὶ τὸ κακόν. Πᾶσα γὰρ δυὰς οὐκ ἀρχή͵ μονὰς δὲ ἔσται πάσης δυάδος ἀρχή. ¹⁶⁹ Καίτοι ἄτοπον ἐξ ἑνὸς καὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ δύο παντελῶς ἐναντία προϊέναι καὶ εἶναι καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν ἀρχὴν οὐχ ἁπλῆν καὶ ἑνιαίαν͵ ἀλλὰ μεριστὴν καὶ δυοειδῆ καὶ ἐναντίαν ἑαυτῇ καὶ ἠλλοιωμένην. Καὶ μὴν οὔτε δύο τῶν ὄντων ἐναντίας ἀρχὰς δυνατὸν εἶναι καὶ ταύτας ἐν ἀλλήλαις καὶ ἐν τῷ παντὶ καὶ μαχομένας. Εἰ γὰρ τοῦτο δοθείη͵ ἔσται καὶ ὁ θεὸς οὐκ ἀπήμων οὐδὲ ἐκτὸς δυσχερείας. Εἴπερ εἴη τι καὶ αὐτῷ τὸ ἐνοχλοῦν͵ ἔπειτα ἔσται πάντα ἄτακτα καὶ ἀεὶ μαχόμενα. Καίτοι φιλίας πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσι τὸ ἀγαθὸν μεταδίδωσι καὶ αὐτοειρήνη καὶ εἰρηνόδωρος ὑμνεῖται πρὸς τῶν ἱερῶν θεολόγων. Διὸ καὶ φίλα τἀγαθὰ καὶ ἐναρμόνια πάντα καὶ μιᾶς ζωῆς ἔκγονα καὶ πρὸς ἓν ἀγαθὸν συντεταγμένα καὶ προσηνῆ καὶ ὅμοια καὶ προσήγορα ἀλλήλοις. Ὥστε οὐκ ἐν θεῷ τὸ κακόν͵ καὶ τὸ κακὸν οὐκ ἔνθεον. Ἀλλ΄ οὐδὲ ἐκ θεοῦ τὸ κακόν. ῍Η γὰρ οὐκ ἀγαθὸς ἢ ἀγαθοποιεῖ καὶ ἀγαθὰ παράγει͵ καὶ οὐ ποτὲ μὲν καί τινα͵ ποτὲ δὲ οὐ καὶ οὐ πάντα͵ μεταβολὴν γὰρ ἐν τούτῳ πείσεται καὶ ἀλλοίωσιν καὶ περὶ αὐτὸ τὸ πάντων θειότατον τὴν αἰτίαν. Εἰ δὲ ἐν θεῷ τἀγαθὸν ὕπαρξίς ἐστιν͵ ἔσται ὁ μεταβάλλων ἐκ τἀγαθοῦ θεὸς ποτὲ μὲν ὤν͵ ποτὲ δὲ οὐκ ὤν. Εἰ δὲ μεθέξει τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἔχει͵ καὶ ἐξ ἑτέρου ἕξει καὶ ποτὲ μὲν ἕξει͵ ποτὲ δὲ οὐχ ἕξει. Οὐκ ἄρα ἐκ θεοῦ τὸ κακὸν οὔτε ἐν θεῷ οὔτε ἁπλῶς οὔτε κατὰ χρόνον.

4.22. But neither is the Evil in Angels; for if the good-like angel proclaims the goodness of God, being by participation in a secondary degree that which the Announced is in the first degree as Cause, the Angel is a likeness of Almighty God - a manifestation of the unmanifested light - a mirror untarnished - most transparent - without flaw - pure - without spot -  ⁶¹ receiving, if I may so speak, the full beauty of the Good-stamped likeness of God - and without stain, shedding forth undefiledly in itself, so far as is possible, the goodness of the Silence, which dwells in innermost shrines. The Evil, then, is not even in Angels. But by punishing sinners are they evil? By this rule, then, the punishers of transgressors are evil, and those of the priests who shut out the profane from the Divine Mysteries. And yet, the being punished is not an evil, but the becoming worthy of punishment; nor the being deservedly expelled from Holy things, but the becoming accursed of God, and unholy and unfit for things un-defiled.

22  Ἀλλ΄ οὔτε ἐν ἀγγέλοις ἐστὶ τὸ κακόν. Εἰ γὰρ ἐξαγγέλλει τὴν ἀγαθότητα τὴν θείαν ὁ ἀγαθοειδὴς ἄγγελος ἐκεῖνο ὢν κατὰ μέθεξιν δευτέρως͵ ὅπερ κατ΄ αἰτίαν τὸ ἀγγελλόμενον πρώτως͵ εἰκών ἐστι τοῦ ¹⁷⁰ θεοῦ ὁ ἄγγελος͵ φανέρωσις τοῦ ἀφανοῦς φωτός͵ ἔσοπτρον ἀκραιφνές͵ διειδέστατον͵ ἀλώβητον͵ ἄχραντον͵ ἀκηλίδωτον͵ εἰσδεχόμενον ὅλην͵ εἰ θέμις εἰπεῖν͵ τὴν ὡραιότητα τῆς ἀγαθοτύπου θεοειδείας καὶ ἀμιγῶς ἀναλάμπον ἐν ἑαυτῷ͵ καθάπερ οἷόν τέ ἐστι͵ τὴν ἀγαθότητα τῆς ἐν ἀδύτοις σιγῆς. Οὐκ ἄρα οὐδὲ ἐν ἀγγέλοις ἐστὶ τὸ κακόν. Ἀλλὰ τῷ κολάζειν τοὺς ἁμαρτάνοντάς εἰσι κακοί. Τούτῳ γοῦν τῷ λόγῳ καὶ οἱ σωφρονισταὶ τῶν πλημμελούντων κακοὶ καὶ τῶν ἱερέων οἱ τὸν βέβηλον τῶν θείων μυστηρίων ἀπείργοντες. Καίτοι οὐδὲ τὸ κολάζε σθαι κακόν͵ ἀλλὰ τὸ ἄξιον γενέσθαι κολάσεως͵ οὐδὲ τὸ κατ΄ ἀξίαν ἀπείργεσθαι τῶν ἱερῶν͵ ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐναγῆ καὶ ἀνίερον γενέσθαι καὶ τῶν ἀχράντων ἀνεπιτήδειον.

4.23. But, neither are the demons evil by nature; for, if they are evil by nature, neither are they from the Good, nor amongst things existing; nor, in fact, did they change from good, being by nature, and always, evil. Then, are they evil to themselves or to others? If to themselves, they also destroy themselves; but if to others, how destroying, or what destroying? - Essence, or power, or energy? If indeed Essence, in the first place, it is not contrary to nature; for they do not destroy things indestructible by nature, but things receptive of destruction. Then, neither is this an evil for every one, and in every case; but, not even any existing thing is destroyed, in so far as it is essence and nature, but by the defect of nature’s order, the ⁶² principle of harmony and proportion lacks the power to remain as it was. But the lack of strength is not complete, for the complete lack of power takes away even the disease and the subject; and such a disease will be even a destruction of itself; so that, such a thing is not an evil, but a defective good, for that which has no part of the Good will not be amongst things which exist. And with regard to the destruction of power and energy the principle is the same. Then, how are the demons, seeing they come into being from God, evil? For the Good brings forth and sustains good things. Yet they are called evil, some one may say. But not as they are (for they are from the Good, and obtained a good being), but, as they are not, by not having had strength, as the [biblical] Sayings affirm, “to keep their first estate.” For in what, tell me, do we affirm that the demons become evil, except in the ceasing in the habit and energy for good things Divine? Otherwise, if the demons are evil by nature, they are always evil; yet evil is unstable. Therefore, if they are always in the same condition, they are not evil; for to be ever the same is a characteristic of the Good. But, if they are not always evil, they are not evil by nature, but by wavering from the angelic good qualities. And they are not altogether without part in the good, in so far as they both are, and live and think, and in one word - as there is a sort of movement of aspiration in them. But they are said to be ‘evil, by reason of their weakness as regards their action according to nature. The evil then, in them, is ⁶³ a turning aside and a stepping out of things befitting themselves, and a missing of aim, and imperfection and impotence, and a weakness and departure, and falling away from the power which preserves their integrity in them. Otherwise, what is evil in demons? An irrational anger - a senseless desire - a headlong fancy. - But these, even if they are in demons, are not altogether, nor in every respect, nor in themselves alone, evils. For even with regard to other living creatures, not the possession of these, but the loss, is both destruction to the creature, and an evil. But the possession saves, and makes to be, the nature of the living creature which possesses them. The tribe of demons then is not evil, so far as it is according to nature, but so far as it is not; and the whole good which was given to them was not changed, but themselves fell from the whole good given. And the angelic gifts which were given to them, we by no means affirm that they were changed, but they exist, and are complete, and all luminous, although the demons themselves do not see, through having blunted their powers of seeing good. So far as they are, they are both from the Good, and are good, and aspire to the Beautiful and the Good, by aspiring to the realities, Being, and Life, and Thought; and by the privation and departure and declension from the good things befitting them, they are called evil, and are evil as regards what they are not: and by aspiring to the non-existent, they aspire to the Evil. ⁶⁴ 

23  Ἀλλ΄ οὔτε οἱ δαίμονες φύσει κακοί. Καὶ γὰρ εἰ φύσει κακοί͵ οὔτε ἐκ τἀγαθοῦ οὔτε ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν οὔτε μὴν ἐξ ἀγαθῶν μετέβαλον φύσει καὶ ἀεὶ κακοὶ ὄντες. Ἔπειτα ἑαυτοῖς εἰσι κακοὶ ἢ ἑτέροις; Εἰ μὲν ἑαυτοῖς͵ καὶ φθείρουσιν ἑαυτούς͵ εἰ δὲ ἄλλοις͵ πῶς φθείροντες ἢ τί φθείροντες· οὐσίαν ἢ δύναμιν ἢ ἐνέργειαν; Εἰ μὲν οὐσίαν͵ πρῶτον μὲν οὐ παρὰ φύσιν͵ τὰ γὰρ φύσει ἄφθαρτα οὐ φθείρουσιν͵ ἀλλὰ τὰ δεκτικὰ φθορᾶς. Ἔπειτα οὐδὲ τοῦτο παντὶ καὶ πάντη κακόν. Ἀλλ΄ οὐδὲ φθείρεταί τι τῶν ὄντων͵ καθ΄ ὃ οὐσία καὶ φύσις͵ ἀλλὰ τῇ ἐλλείψει τῆς κατὰ φύσιν τάξεως ὁ τῆς ἁρμονίας καὶ συμμετρίας λόγος ἀσθενεῖ μένειν ὡσαύτως ἔχων. Ἡ δὲ ἀσθένεια οὐ παν τελής͵ εἰ γὰρ παντελής͵ καὶ τὴν φθορὰν καὶ τὸ ὑποκείμενον ἀνεῖλε͵ καὶ ἔσται ἡ τοιαύτη φθορὰ καὶ ἑαυτῆς φθορά. Ὥστε τὸ τοιοῦτον οὐ κακόν͵ ἀλλ΄ ἐλλειπὲς ἀγαθόν. Τὸ γὰρ πάντη ἄμοιρον τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ οὔτε ἐν τοῖς ¹⁷¹ οὖσιν ἔσται͵ καὶ περὶ τῆς εἰς δύναμιν καὶ ἐνέργειαν φθορᾶς ὁ αὐτὸς λόγος. Εἶτα πῶς οἱ ἐκ θεοῦ γενόμενοι δαίμονές εἰσι κακοί; Τὸ γὰρ ἀγαθὸν ἀγαθὰ παράγει καὶ ὑφίστησι. Καίτοι λέγονται κακοί͵ φαίη τις ἄν͵ ἀλλ΄ οὐ͵ καθ΄ ὃ εἰσίν͵ ἐκ τἀγαθοῦ γάρ εἰσι καὶ ἀγαθὴν ἔλαχον οὐσίαν͵ ἀλλά͵ καθ΄ ὃ οὐκ εἰσὶν ἀσθενήσαντες͵ ὡς τὰ λόγιά φησι͵ τηρῆσαι τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἀρχήν. Ἐν τίνι γάρ͵ εἰπέ μοι͵ κακύνεσθαί φαμεν τοὺς δαίμονας͵ εἰ μὴ ἐν τῇ παύσει τῆς τῶν θείων ἀγαθῶν ἕξεως καὶ ἐνεργείας; Ἄλλως τε͵ εἰ φύσει κακοὶ οἱ δαίμονες͵ ἀεὶ κακοί. Καίτοι τὸ κακὸν ἄστατόν ἐστιν. Οὐκοῦν͵ εἰ ἀεὶ ὡσαύτως ἔχουσιν͵ οὐ κακοί͵ τὸ γὰρ ἀεὶ ταὐτὸν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἴδιον. Εἰ δὲ οὐκ ἀεὶ κακοί͵ οὐ φύσει κακοί͵ ἀλλ΄ ἐνδείᾳ τῶν ἀγγελικῶν ἀγαθῶν. Καὶ οὐ πάντη ἄμοιροι τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ͵ καθ΄ ὃ καὶ εἰσὶ καὶ ζῶσι καὶ νοοῦσι καὶ ὅλως ἐστί τις ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐφέσεως κίνησις. Κακοὶ δὲ εἶναι λέγονται διὰ τὸ ἀσθενεῖν περὶ τὴν κατὰ φύσιν ἐνέργειαν. Παρατροπὴ οὖν ἐστιν αὐτοῖς τὸ κακὸν καὶ τῶν προσηκόντων αὐτοῖς ἔκβασις καὶ ἀτευξία καὶ ἀτέλεια καὶ ἀδυναμία καὶ τῆς σωζούσης τὴν ἐν αὐτοῖς τελειότητα δυνάμεως ἀσθένεια καὶ ἀποφυγὴ καὶ ἀπόπτωσις. Ἄλλως τε τί τὸ ἐν δαίμοσι κακόν; Θυμὸς ἄλογος͵ ἄνους ἐπιθυμία͵ φαντασία προπετής. Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα͵ εἰ καὶ ἔστιν ἐν δαίμοσιν͵ οὐ πάντη οὐδὲ ἐπὶ πάντων οὐδὲ αὐτὰ καθ΄ αὑτὰ κακά. Καὶ γὰρ ἐφ΄ ἑτέρων ζῴων οὐχ ἡ σχέσις τούτων͵ ἀλλ΄ ἡ ἀναίρεσίς ἐστι καὶ φθορὰ τῷ ζῴῳ καὶ κακόν. Ἡ δὲ σχέσις σώζει καὶ εἶναι ποιεῖ τὴν ταῦτα ἔχουσαν τοῦ ζῴου φύσιν. ¹⁷² Οὐκ ἄρα κακὸν τὸ δαιμόνιον φῦλον͵ ᾗ ἔστι κατὰ φύσιν͵ ἀλλ΄ ᾗ οὐκ ἔστι. Καὶ οὐκ ἠλλοιώθη τὸ δοθὲν αὐτοῖς ὅλον ἀγαθόν͵ ἀλλ΄ αὐτοὶ τοῦ δοθέντος ἀποπεπτώκασιν ὅλου ἀγαθοῦ. Καὶ τὰς δοθείσας αὐτοῖς ἀγγελι κὰς δωρεάς͵ οὐ μήποτε αὐτὰς ἠλλοιῶσθαί φαμεν͵ ἀλλ΄ εἰσὶ καὶ ὁλόκληροι καὶ παμφαεῖς εἰσι͵ κἂν αὐτοὶ μὴ ὁρῶσιν ἀπομύσαντες ἑαυτῶν τὰς ἀγαθοπτικὰς δυνάμεις. Ὥστε ὃ εἰσί͵ καὶ ἐκ τἀγαθοῦ εἰσι καὶ ἀγαθοὶ καὶ τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ ἀγαθοῦ ἐφίενται τοῦ εἶναι καὶ ζῆν καὶ νοεῖν τῶν ὄντων ἐφιέμενοι. Καὶ τῇ στερήσει καὶ ἀποφυγῇ καὶ ἀποπτώσει τῶν προσηκόντων αὐτοῖς ἀγαθῶν λέγονται κακοί. Καὶ εἰσὶ κακοί͵ καθ΄ ὃ οὐκ εἰσίν. Καὶ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος ἐφιέμενοι τοῦ κακοῦ ἐφίενται.

4.24. But does some one say that souls are evil? If it be that they meet with evil things providentially, and with a view to their preservation, this is not an evil, but a good, and from the Good, Who makes even the evil good. But, if we say that souls become evil, in what respect do they become evil, except in the failure of their good habits and energies; and, by reason of their own lack of strength, missing their aim and tripping? For we also say, that the air around us becomes dark by failure and absence of light, and yet the light itself is always light, that which enlightens even the darkness. The Evil, then, is neither in demons nor in us, as an existent evil, but as a failure and dearth of the perfection of our own proper goods.

24  Ἀλλὰ ψυχάς τις εἶναι λέγοι κακάς; Εἰ μέν͵ ὅτι συγγίνονται κακοῖς προνοητικῶς καὶ σωστικῶς͵ τοῦτο οὐ κακόν͵ ἀλλ΄ ἀγαθὸν καὶ ἐκ τἀγαθοῦ τοῦ καὶ τὸ κακὸν ἀγαθύνοντος. Εἰ δὲ τὸ κακύνεσθαι ψυχάς φαμεν͵ ἐν τίνι κακύνονται͵ εἰ μὴ ἐν τῇ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἕξεων καὶ ἐνεργειῶν ἐλλείψει καὶ δι΄ οἰκείαν ἀσθένειαν ἀτευξίᾳ καὶ ἀπολισθήσει; Καὶ γὰρ καὶ τὸν ἀέρα τὸν περὶ ἡμᾶς ἐσκοτῶσθαί φαμεν ἐλλείψει καὶ ἀπουσίᾳ φωτός. Αὐτὸ δὲ τὸ φῶς ἀεὶ φῶς ἐστι τὸ καὶ τὸ σκότος φωτίζον. Οὐκ ἄρα οὔτε ἐν δαίμοσιν οὔτε ἐν ἡμῖν τὸ κακὸν ὡς ὂν κακόν͵ ἀλλ΄ ὡς ἔλλειψις καὶ ἐρημία τῆς τῶν οἰκείων ἀγαθῶν τελειότητος. ¹⁷³

4.25. But neither is the Evil in irrational creatures, for if you should take away anger and lust, and the other things which we speak of, and which are not absolutely evil in their own nature, the lion having lost his boldness and fierceness will not be a lion; and the dog, when he has become gentle to every body, will not be a dog, since to keep guard is a dog’s duty, and to admit those of the household, but to drive away the stranger. So the fact that nature is not destroyed is not an evil, but a destruction of nature, weakness, and failure of the natural habitudes and energies and powers. And, if all ⁶⁵ things through generation in time have their perfection, the imperfect is not altogether contrary to universal nature.

25  Ἀλλ΄ οὐδὲ ἐν ζῴοις ἀλόγοις ἐστὶ τὸ κακόν. Εἰ γὰρ ἀνέλῃς θυμὸν καὶ ἐπιθυμίαν καὶ τἄλλα͵ ὅσα λέγεται καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἁπλῶς τῇ ἑαυτῶν φύσει κακά͵ τὸ μὲν ἁδρὸν καὶ γαῦρον ὁ λέων ἀπολέσας οὐδὲ λέων ἔσται͵ προσηνὴς δὲ πᾶσι γενόμενος ὁ κύων οὐκ ἔσται κύων͵ εἴπερ κυνὸς τὸ φυλακτικὸν καὶ τὸ προσίεσθαι μὲν τὸ οἰκεῖον͵ ἀπελαύνειν δὲ τὸ ἀλλότριον. ῞ωστε τὸ μὴ φθείρεσθαι τὴν φύσιν οὐ κακόν͵ φθορὰ δὲ φύσεως ἀσθένεια καὶ ἔλλειψις τῶν φυσικῶν ἕξεων καὶ ἐνεργειῶν καὶ δυνάμεων. Καὶ εἰ πάντα τὰ διὰ γενέσεως ἐν χρόνῳ ἔχει τὸ τέλειον͵ οὐδὲ τὸ ἀτελὲς πάντη παρὰ πᾶσαν φύσιν.

4.26. But neither is the Evil in nature throughout, for if all the methods of nature are from universal nature, there is nothing contrary to it. But in each individual (nature) one thing will be according to nature, and another not according to nature. For one thing is contrary to nature in one, and another in another, and that which is according to nature to one, is to the other, contrary to nature. But malady of nature, that which is the contrary to nature, is the deprivation of things of nature. So that there is not an evil nature; but this is evil to nature, the inability to accomplish the things of one’s proper nature.

26  Ἀλλ΄ οὐδὲ ἐν τῇ ὅλῃ φύσει τὸ κακόν. Εἰ γὰρ οἱ πάντες φυσικοὶ λόγοι παρὰ τῆς καθόλου φύσεως͵ οὐδὲν ἔστιν αὐτῇ τὸ ἐναντίον. Τῇ καθ΄ ἕκαστον δὲ τὸ μὲν κατὰ φύσιν ἔσται͵ τὸ δὲ οὐ κατὰ φύσιν. Ἄλλῃ γὰρ ἄλλο παρὰ φύσιν͵ καὶ τὸ τῇδε κατὰ φύσιν͵ τῇδε παρὰ φύσιν. Φύσεως δὲ κακία τὸ παρὰ φύσιν͵ ἡ στέρησις τῶν τῆς φύσεως. Ὥστε οὐκ ἔστι κακὴ φύσις͵ ἀλλὰ τοῦτο τῇ φύσει κακὸν τὸ ἀδυνατεῖν τὰ τῆς οἰκείας φύσεως ἐκτελεῖν.

4.27. But, neither is the Evil in bodies. For deformity and disease are a defect of form, and a deprivation of order. And this is not altogether an evil, but a less good; for if a dissolution of beauty and form and order become complete, the body itself will be gone. But that the body is not cause of baseness to the soul is evident, from the fact that baseness continues to coexist even without a body, as in demons. For this is evil to minds and souls and bodies, (viz.) the weakness and declension from the habitude of their own proper goods. ⁶⁶ 

27  Ἀλλ΄ οὐδὲ ἐν σώμασι τὸ κακόν. Αἶσχος γὰρ καὶ νόσος ἔλλειψις εἴδους καὶ στέρησις τάξεως. Τοῦτο δὲ οὐ πάντη κακόν͵ ἀλλ΄ ἧττον καλόν. Εἰ γὰρ παντελὴς γένοιτο λύσις κάλλους καὶ εἴδους καὶ τάξεως͵ οἰχήσεται καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ σῶμα. Ὅτι δὲ οὐδὲ κακίας αἴτιον τῇ ψυχῇ τὸ σῶμα͵ δῆλον ¹⁷⁴ ἐκ τοῦ δυνατὸν εἶναι καὶ ἄνευ σώματος παρυφίστασθαι κακίαν ὥσπερ ἐν δαίμοσιν. Τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι καὶ νόοις καὶ ψυχαῖς καὶ σώμασι κακὸν ἡ τῆς ἕξεως τῶν οἰκείων ἀγαθῶν ἀσθένεια καὶ ἀπόπτωσις.

4.28. But neither (a thing which they say over and over again) is the evil in matter, so far as it is matter. For even it participates in ornament and beauty and form. But if matter, being without these, by itself is without quality and without form, how does matter produce anything - matter, which, by itself, is impassive? Besides how is matter an evil? for, if it does not exist in any way whatever, it is neither good nor evil but if it is any how existing, and all things existing are from the Good, even it would be from the Good; and either the Good is productive of the Evil, or the Evil, as being from the Good, is good; or the Evil is capable of producing the Good; or even the Good, as from the Evil, is evil; or further, there are two first principles, and these suspended from another one head. And, if they say that matter is necessary, for a completion of the whole Cosmos, how is matter an evil? For the Evil is one thing, and the necessary 30 is another. But, how does He, Who is Good, bring anything to birth from the Evil? or, how is that, which needs the Good, evil? For the Evil shuns the nature of the Good. And how does matter, being evil, generate and nourish nature? For the Evil, quâ evil, neither generates, nor nourishes, nor solely produces, nor preserves anything.

28  Ἀλλ΄ οὐδὲ τὸ πολυθρύλητον· Ἐν ὕλῃ τὸ κακόν͵ ὥς φασι͵ καθ΄ ὃ ὕλη. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ αὕτη κόσμου καὶ κάλλους καὶ εἴδους ἔχει μετουσίαν. Εἰ δὲ τούτων ἐκτὸς οὖσα ἡ ὕλη καθ΄ ἑαυτὴν ἄποιός ἐστι καὶ ἀνείδεος͵ πῶς ποιεῖ τι ἡ ὕλη ἡ μηδὲ τὸ πάσχειν δύνασθαι καθ΄ ἑαυτὴν ἔχουσα; Ἄλλως τε πῶς ἡ ὕλη κακόν; Εἰ μὲν γὰρ οὐδαμῆ οὐδαμῶς ἔστιν͵ οὔτε ἀγαθὸν οὔτε κακόν. Εἰ δέ πως ὄν͵ τὰ δὲ ὄντα πάντα ἐκ τἀγαθοῦ͵ καὶ αὐτὴ ἐκ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἂν εἴη͵ καὶ ἢ τὸ ἀγαθὸν τοῦ κακοῦ ποιητικὸν ἢ τὸ κακὸν ὡς ἐκ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ὂν ἀγαθὸν ἢ τὸ κακὸν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ποιητικὸν ἢ καὶ τὸ ἀγαθὸν ὡς ἐκ τοῦ κακοῦ κακὸν ἢ δύο αὖθις ἀρχαί͵ καὶ αὗται ἄλλης μιᾶς ἐξημμέναι κορυφῆς. Εἰ δὲ ἀναγκαῖόν φασι τὴν ὕλην πρὸς συμπλήρωσιν τοῦ παντὸς κόσμου͵ πῶς ἡ ὕλη κακόν; Ἄλλο γὰρ τὸ κακὸν καὶ ἄλλο τὸ ἀναγκαῖον. Πῶς δὲ ὁ ἀγαθὸς ἐκ τοῦ κακοῦ παράγει τινὰ πρὸς γένεσιν; ῍Η πῶς κακὸν τὸ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ δεόμενον; Φεύγει γὰρ τὴν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ φύσιν τὸ κακόν. Πῶς δὲ γεννᾷ καὶ τρέφει τὴν φύσιν ἡ ὕλη κακὴ οὖσα; Τὸ γὰρ κακόν͵ ᾗ κακόν͵ οὐδενός ἐστι γεννητικὸν ἢ θρεπτικὸν ἢ ὅλως ποιητικὸν ἢ σωστικόν.

But, if they should say, that it does not make baseness in souls, but that they are dragged to it, how will this be true? for many of them look towards the ⁶⁷ good; and yet how did this take place, when matter was dragging them entirely to the Evil? So that the Evil in souls is not from matter, but from a disordered and discordant movement. But, if they say this further, that they invariably follow matter, and unstable matter is necessary for those who are unable to stand firmly by themselves, how is the Evil necessary, or the necessary an evil?

Εἰ δὲ φαῖεν αὐτὴν μὲν οὐ ποιεῖν κακίαν ἐν ψυχαῖς͵ ἐφέλκεσθαι δὲ αὐτάς͵ πῶς ἔσται τοῦτο ἀληθές; Πολλαὶ γὰρ αὐτῶν εἰς τὸ ἀγαθὸν βλέπουσιν. Καίτοι πῶς ἐγίνετο τοῦτο τῆς ὕλης πάντως αὐτὰς εἰς τὸ κακὸν ἐφελκο ¹⁷⁵ μένης; Ὥστε οὐκ ἐξ ὕλης ἐν ψυχαῖς τὸ κακόν͵ ἀλλ΄ ἐξ ἀτάκτου καὶ πλημμελοῦς κινήσεως. Εἰ δὲ καὶ τοῦτό φασι τῇ ὕλῃ πάντως ἕπεσθαι͵ καὶ ἀναγκαία ἡ ἄστατος ὕλη τοῖς ἐφ΄ ἑαυτῶν ἱδρῦσθαι μὴ δυναμένοις͵ πῶς τὸ κακὸν ἀναγκαῖον ἢ τὸ ἀναγκαῖον κακόν;

4.29. But neither is it this which we affirm - the “privation fights against the Good by its own power 31 “; for the complete privation is altogether powerless, and the partial has the power, not in respect of privation, but in so far as it is not a complete privation. For, whilst privation of good is partial, it is not, as yet, an evil, and when, it has become an accomplished fact, the nature of the evil has departed also.

29  Ἀλλ΄ οὐδὲ τοῦτο͵ ὅ φαμεν· Ἡ στέρησις κατὰ δύναμιν οἰκείαν μάχεται τῷ ἀγαθῷ. Ἡ γὰρ παντελὴς στέρησις καθόλου ἀδύναμος͵ ἡ δὲ μερικὴ οὐ͵ καθ΄ ὃ στέρησις͵ ἔχει τὴν δύναμιν͵ ἀλλὰ καθ΄ ὃ οὐ παντελής ἐστι στέρησις. Στερήσεως γὰρ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ μερικῆς οὔσης οὔπω κακόν͵ καὶ γενομένης καὶ ἡ τοῦ κακοῦ φύσις ἀπελήλυθεν.

4.30. But, to speak briefly, the Good is from the one and the whole Cause, but the Evil is from many and partial defects. Almighty God knows the Evil qua good; and, with Him, the causes of the evils are powers producing good 32. But, if the Evil is eternal, and creates, and has power, and is, and does, whence do these come to it? Is it either from the Good, or by the Good from the Evil, or by both from another cause? Everything that is according to nature comes into being from a ⁶⁸ defined cause. And if the Evil is without cause, and undefined, it is not according to nature. For there is not in nature what is contrary to nature; nor is there any raison d’etre for want of art in art. Is then the soul cause of things evil, as fire of burning, and does it fill everything that it happens to touch with baseness? Or, is the nature of the soul then good, but, by its energies, exists sometimes in one condition, and sometimes in another? If indeed by nature, even its existence is an evil, and whence then does it derive its existence? Or, is it from the good Cause creative of the whole universe? But, if from this, how is it essentially evil? For good are all things born of this. But if by energies, neither is this invariable, and if not, whence are the virtues? Since it (the soul) comes into being without even seeming good. It remains then that the Evil is a weakness and a falling short of the Good.

30  Συνελόντι δὲ φάναι· Τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐκ μιᾶς καὶ τῆς ὅλης αἰτίας͵ τὸ δὲ κακὸν ἐκ πολλῶν καὶ μερικῶν ἐλλείψεων. Οἶδεν ὁ θεὸς τὸ κακόν͵ ᾗ ἀγαθόν͵ καὶ παρ΄ αὐτῷ αἱ αἰτίαι τῶν κακῶν δυνάμεις εἰσὶν ἀγαθοποιοί. Εἰ τὸ κακὸν ἀΐδιον καὶ δημιουργεῖ καὶ δύναται καὶ ἔστι καὶ δρᾷ͵ πόθεν αὐτῷ ταῦτα; ῏Η ἐκ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἢ τῷ ἀγαθῷ ἐκ τοῦ κακοῦ ἢ ἀμφοῖν ἐξ ἄλλης αἰτίας; Πᾶν τὸ κατὰ φύσιν ἐξ αἰτίας ὡρισμένης γεννᾶται. Εἰ τὸ κακὸν ἀναίτιον καὶ ἀόριστον͵ οὐ κατὰ φύσιν͵ οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐν τῇ φύσει τὸ παρὰ φύσιν͵ οὐδὲ ἀτεχνίας ἐν τῇ τέχνῃ λόγος. Ἆρα ἡ ψυχὴ τῶν κακῶν αἰτία καθάπερ τὸ ¹⁷⁶ πῦρ τοῦ θερμαίνειν καὶ πάντα͵ οἷς ἂν γειτνιάσῃ͵ κακίας ἀναπίμπλησιν; ῍Η ἀγαθὴ μὲν ἡ ψυχῆς φύσις͵ ταῖς δὲ ἐνεργείαις ποτὲ μὲν οὕτως ἔχει͵ ποτὲ δὲ οὕτως; Εἰ μὲν φύσει καὶ τὸ εἶναι αὐτῆς κακόν͵ καὶ πόθεν αὐτῇ τὸ εἶναι; ῏Η ἐκ τῆς δημιουργικῆς τῶν ὅλων ὄντων ἀγαθῆς αἰτίας; Ἀλλ΄ εἰ ἐκ ταύτης͵ πῶς κατ΄ οὐσίαν κακόν; Ἀγαθὰ γὰρ πάντα ταύτης ἔκγονα. Εἰ δὲ ταῖς ἐνεργείαις͵ οὐδὲ τοῦτο ἀμετάβλητον. Εἰ δὲ μή͵ πόθεν αἱ ἀρεταὶ μὴ καὶ ἀγαθοειδοῦς αὐτῆς γινομένης; Λείπεται ἄρα τὸ κακὸν ἀσθένεια καὶ ἔλλειψις τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ εἶναι.

4.31. The Cause of things good is One. If the Evil is contrary to the Good, the many causes of the Evil, certainly those productive of things evil, are not principles and powers, but want of power, and want of strength, and a mixing of things dissimilar without proportion. Neither are things evil unmoved, and always in the same condition, but endless and undefined, and borne along in different things, and those endless. The Good will be beginning and end of all, even things evil, for, for the sake of the Good, are all things, both those that are good, and ⁶⁹ those that are contrary. For we do even these as desiring the Good (for no one does what he does with a view to the Evil), wherefore the Evil has not a subsistence, but a parasitical subsistence, coming into being for the sake of the Good, and not of itself.

31  Τῶν ἀγαθῶν τὸ αἴτιον ἕν. Εἰ τῷ ἀγαθῷ τὸ κακὸν ἐναντίον͵ τοῦ κακοῦ τὰ αἴτια πολλά. Οὐ μὴν τὰ ποιητικὰ τῶν κακῶν λόγοι καὶ δυνάμεις͵ ἀλλ΄ ἀδυναμία καὶ ἀσθένεια καὶ μίξις τῶν ἀνομοίων ἀσύμμετρος. Οὔτε ἀκίνητα καὶ ἀεὶ ὡσαύτως ἔχοντα τὰ κακά͵ ἀλλ΄ ἄπειρα καὶ ἀόριστα καὶ ἐν ἄλλοις φερόμενα καὶ τούτοις ἀπείροις. Πάντων καὶ τῶν κακῶν ἀρχὴ καὶ τέλος ἔσται τὸ ἀγαθόν͵ τοῦ γὰρ ἀγαθοῦ ἕνεκα πάντα͵ καὶ ὅσα ἀγαθὰ καὶ ὅσα ἐναντία͵ καὶ γὰρ καὶ ταῦτα πράττομεν τὸ ἀγαθὸν ποθοῦντες͵ οὐδεὶς γὰρ εἰς τὸ κακὸν ἀποβλέπων ποιεῖ͵ ἃ ποιεῖ. Διὸ οὔτε ¹⁷⁷ ὑπόστασιν ἔχει τὸ κακόν͵ ἀλλὰ παρυπόστασιν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἕνεκα καὶ οὐχ ἑαυτοῦ γινόμενον.

4.32. It is to be laid down that being belongs to the Evil as an accident and by reason of something else, and not from its own origin, and thus that that which comes into being appears to be right, because it comes into being for the sake of the Good, but that in reality it is not right for the reason that we think that which is not good to be good. The desired is shewn to be one thing, and that which comes to pass is another. The Evil, then, is beside the path, and beside the mark, and beside nature, and beside cause, and beside beginning, and beside end, and beside limit, and beside intention, and beside purpose. The Evil then is privation and failure, and want of strength, and want of proportion, and want of attainment, and want of purpose; and without beauty, and without life, and without mind, and without reason, and without completeness, and without stability, and without cause, and without limit, and without production; and inactive, and without result, and disordered, and dissimilar, and limitless, and dark, and unessential, and being itself nothing in any manner of way whatever. How, in short, can evil do anything by its mixture with the Good? For that which is altogether without participation  ⁷⁰ in the Good, neither is anything, nor is capable of anything. For, if the Good is both an actual thing and an object of desire, and powerful and effective, how will the contrary to the Good, - that which has been deprived of essence, and intention, and power, and energy, - be capable of anything? Not all things are evil to all, nor the same things evil in every respect. To a demon, evil is to be contrary to the good-like mind - to a soul, to be contrary to reason - to a body, to be contrary to nature.

32  Τῷ κακῷ τὸ εἶναι θετέον κατὰ συμβεβηκὸς καὶ δι΄ ἄλλο καὶ οὐκ ἐξ ἀρχῆς οἰκείας. Ὥστε τὸ γιγνόμενον ὀρθὸν μὲν εἶναι δοκεῖν͵ ὅτι τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἕνεκα γίνεται͵ τῷ ὄντι δὲ οὐκ ὀρθὸν εἶναι͵ διότι τὸ μὴ ἀγαθὸν ἀγαθὸν οἰόμεθα. Δέδεικται ἄλλο τὸ ἐφετὸν καὶ ἄλλο τὸ γινόμενον. Οὐκοῦν τὸ κακὸν παρὰ τὴν ὁδὸν καὶ παρὰ τὸν σκοπὸν καὶ παρὰ τὴν φύσιν καὶ παρὰ τὴν αἰτίαν καὶ παρὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν καὶ παρὰ τὸ τέλος καὶ παρὰ τὸν ὅρον καὶ παρὰ τὴν βούλησιν καὶ παρὰ τὴν ὑπόστασιν. Στέρησις ἄρα ἐστὶ τὸ κακὸν καὶ ἔλλειψις καὶ ἀσθένεια καὶ ἀσυμμετρία καὶ ἁμαρτία καὶ ἄσκοπον καὶ ἀκαλλὲς καὶ ἄζωον καὶ ἄνουν καὶ ἄλογον καὶ ἀτελὲς καὶ ἀνίδρυτον καὶ ἀναίτιον καὶ ἀόριστον καὶ ἄγονον καὶ ἀργὸν καὶ ἀδρανὲς καὶ ἄτακτον καὶ ἀνόμοιον καὶ ἄπειρον καὶ σκοτεινὸν καὶ ἀνούσιον καὶ αὐτὸ μηδαμῶς μηδαμῆ μηδὲν ὄν. Πῶς ὅλως δύναταί τι τὸ κακὸν τῇ πρὸς τὸ ἀγαθὸν μίξει; Τὸ γὰρ πάντη τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἄμοιρον οὔτε ἔστι τι οὔτε δύναται. Καὶ γὰρ εἰ τὸ ἀγαθὸν καὶ ὄν ἐστι καὶ βουλητὸν καὶ ἐνδύναμον καὶ δραστήριον͵ πῶς δυνήσεταί τι τὸ ἐναντίον τἀγαθῷ τὸ οὐσίας καὶ βουλήσεως καὶ δυνάμεως καὶ ἐνεργείας ἐστερημένον; Οὐ πάντα πᾶσι καὶ πάντη τὰ αὐτὰ κατὰ τὸ ¹⁷⁸ αὐτὸ κακά. Δαίμονι κακὸν τὸ παρὰ τὸν ἀγαθοειδῆ νοῦν εἶναι͵ ψυχῇ τὸ παρὰ λόγον͵ σώματι τὸ παρὰ φύσιν.

4.33. How, in short, are there evils when there is a Providence? The Evil, qua evil, is not, neither as an actual thing nor as in things existing. And no single thing is without a Providence. For neither is the Evil an actual thing existing unmixed with the Good. And, if no single thing is without participation in the Good, but the lack of the Good is an evil, and no existing thing is deprived absolutely of the Good, the Divine Providence is in all existing things, and no single thing is without Providence. But Providence, as befits Its goodness, uses even evils which happen for the benefit, either individual or general, of themselves or others, and suitably provides for each being. Wherefore we will not admit the vain statement of the multitude, who say that Providence ought to lead us to virtue, even against our will. For to destroy nature is not a function of Providence. Hence, as Providence is conservative of the nature of each, it provides for ⁷¹ the free, as free; and for the whole, and individuals, according to the wants of all and each, as far as the nature of those provided for admits the providential benefits of its universal and manifold Providence, distributed ‘proportionably to each.

33  Πῶς ὅλως τὰ κακὰ προνοίας οὔσης; Οὐκ ἔστι τὸ κακόν͵ ᾗ κακόν͵ οὔτε ὂν οὔτε ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν. Καὶ οὐδὲν τῶν ὄντων ἀπρονόητον͵ οὐδὲ γάρ ἐστι τὸ κακὸν ὂν ἀμιγὲς ὑπάρχον τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ. Καὶ εἰ μηδὲν τῶν ὄντων ἀμέτοχον τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ͵ κακὸν δὲ ἡ ἔλλειψις τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ͵ οὐδὲν δὲ τῶν ὄντων ἐστέρηται καθόλου τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ͵ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσιν ἡ θεία πρόνοια͵ καὶ οὐδὲν τῶν ὄντων ἀπρονόητον. Ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς γινομένοις κακοῖς ἀγαθοπρεπῶς ἡ πρόνοια κέχρηται πρὸς τὴν αὐτῶν ἢ ἄλλων ἢ ἰδικὴν ἢ κοινὴν ὠφέλειαν καὶ οἰκείως ἑκάστου τῶν ὄντων προνοεῖ. Διὸ καὶ τὸν εἰκαῖον τῶν πολλῶν οὐκ ἀποδεξόμεθα λόγον͵ οἳ χρῆναί φασι τὴν πρόνοιαν καὶ ἄκοντας ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρετὴν ἄγειν͵ τὸ γὰρ φθεῖραι φύσιν οὐκ ἔστι προνοίας. Ὅθεν ὡς πρόνοια τῆς ἑκάστου φύσεως σωστικὴ τῶν αὐτοκινήτων ὡς αὐτοκινήτων προνοεῖ καὶ τῶν ὅλων καὶ τῶν καθ΄ ἕκαστον οἰκείως ὅλῳ καὶ ἑκάστῳ͵ καθ΄ ὅσον ἡ τῶν προνοουμένων φύσις ἐπιδέχεται τὰς τῆς ὅλης καὶ παντοδαπῆς προνοίας ἐκδιδομένας ἀναλόγως ἑκάστῳ προνοητικὰς ἀγαθότητας.

4.34. The Evil, then, is not an actual thing, nor is the Evil in things existing. For the Evil, qua evil, is nowhere, and the fact that evil comes into being is not in consequence of power, but by reason of weakness. And, as for the demons, what they are is both from the Good, and good. But their evil is from the declension from their own proper goods, and a change - the weakness, as regards their identity and condition, of the angelic perfection befitting them. And they aspire to the Good, in so far as they aspire to be and to live and to think. And in so far as they do not aspire to the Good, they aspire to the non-existent; and this is not aspiration, but a missing of the true aspiration.

34  Οὐκ ἄρα ὂν τὸ κακόν͵ οὐδὲ ἐν τοῖς οὖσι τὸ κακόν. Οὐδαμοῦ γὰρ τὸ κακόν͵ ᾗ κακόν. Καὶ τὸ γίνεσθαι τὸ κακὸν οὐ κατὰ δύναμιν͵ ἀλλὰ δι΄ ἀσθένειαν. Καὶ τοῖς δαίμοσιν͵ ὃ μέν εἰσι͵ καὶ ἐκ τἀγαθοῦ καὶ ἀγαθόν. Τὸ δὲ κακὸν αὐτοῖς ἐκ τῆς τῶν οἰκείων ἀγαθῶν ἀποπτώσεως͵ καὶ ἀλλοίωσις ¹⁷⁹ ἡ περὶ τὴν ταὐτότητα καὶ τὴν ἕξιν ἀσθένεια τῆς προσηκούσης αὐτοῖς ἀγγελοπρεποῦς τελειότητος. Καὶ ἐφίενται τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ͵ καθ΄ ὃ τοῦ εἶναι καὶ ζῆν καὶ νοεῖν ἐφίενται. Καὶ εἰ οὐκ ἐφίενται τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ͵ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος ἐφίενται. Καὶ οὐκ ἔστι τοῦτο ἔφεσις͵ ἀλλὰ τῆς ὄντως ἐφέσεως ἁμαρτία.

4.35. Now the [biblical] Sayings call conscious transgressors those who are thoroughly weak as regards the ever memorable knowledge or the practise of the Good, and who, knowing the will, do not perform it, - those who are hearers indeed, but are weak concerning the faith, or the energy of the Good. And for some, it is against their will to understand to do good, by reason of the deviation or weakness of the will. ⁷² And in short, the Evil (as we have often said) is want of strength and want of power, and defect, either of the knowledge, or the never to be forgotten knowledge, or of the faith, or of the aspiration, or of the energy of the Good. Yet, some one may say, the weakness is not punishable, but on the contrary is pardonable. Now, if the power were not granted, the statement might hold good; but, if power comes from the Good, Who giveth, according to the [biblical] Sayings, the things suitable to all absolutely, the failure and deviation, and departure and declension of the possession from the Good of our own proper goods is not praiseworthy. But let these things suffice to have been sufficiently said according to our ability in our writings “Concerning just and Divine chastisement” throughout which sacred treatise the infallibility of the [biblical] Sayings has cast aside those sophistical statements as senseless words, speaking injustice and falsehood against Almighty God. But now, according to our ability, the Good has been sufficiently praised, as really lovable, - as beginning and end of all - as embracing things existing - as giving form to things not existing - as Cause of all good things - as guiltless of things evil - as Providence and Goodness complete - and soaring above things that are and things that are not - and turning to good things evil, and the privation of Itself - as by all desired, and loved, and esteemed, and whatever else, the true statement, as I deem, has demonstrated in the preceding. ⁷³ 

35  Ἐν γνώσει δὲ ἁμαρτάνοντας καλεῖ τὰ λόγια τοὺς περὶ τὴν ἄληστον τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ γνῶσιν ἢ τὴν ποίησιν ἐξασθενοῦντας καὶ τοὺς εἰδότας τὸ θέλημα καὶ μὴ ποιοῦντας͵ τοὺς ἀκηκοότας μέν͵ ἀσθενοῦντας δὲ περὶ τὴν πίστιν ἢ τὴν ἐνέργειαν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ. Καὶ ἀβούλητόν τισι τὸ συνιέναι τοῦ ἀγαθῦναι κατὰ τὴν παρατροπὴν ἢ τὴν ἀσθένειαν τῆς βουλήσεως. Καὶ ὅλως τὸ κακόν͵ ὡς πολλάκις εἰρήκαμεν͵ ἀσθένεια καὶ ἀδυναμία καὶ ἔλλειψίς ἐστιν ἢ τῆς γνώσεως ἢ τῆς ἀλήστου γνώσεως ἢ τῆς πίστεως ἢ τῆς ἐφέσεως ἢ τῆς ἐνεργείας τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ. Καίτοι φαίη τις· Οὐ τιμωρητὸν ἡ ἀσθένεια͵ τοὐναντίον δὲ συγγνωστόν. Εἰ μὲν οὐκ ἐξῆν τὸ δύνασθαι͵ καλῶς ἂν εἶχεν ὁ λόγος. Εἰ δὲ ἐκ τἀγαθοῦ τὸ δύνασθαι τοῦ διδόντος κατὰ τὰ λόγια τὰ προσήκοντα πᾶσιν ἁπλῶς͵ οὐκ ἐπαινετὸν ἡ τῆς ἐκ τἀγαθοῦ τῶν οἰκείων ἀγαθῶν ἕξεως ἁμαρτία καὶ παρατροπὴ καὶ ἀποφυγὴ καὶ ἀπόπτωσις. Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἡμῖν ἐν τοῖς Περὶ δικαίου καὶ θείου δικαιωτηρίου κατὰ δύναμιν ἱκανῶς εἰρήσθω͵ καθ΄ ἣν ἱερὰν πραγματείαν ἡ τῶν λογίων ἀλήθεια τοὺς σοφιστικοὺς καὶ ἀδικίαν καὶ ψεῦδος κατὰ τοῦ θεοῦ λαλοῦντας ἐπεῤῥάπισεν ὡς παράφρονας λόγους. ¹⁸⁰ Νῦν δὲ ὡς καθ΄ ἡμᾶς ἀρκούντως ὕμνηται τἀγαθὸν ὡς ὄντως ἀγαστόν͵ ὡς ἀρχὴ καὶ πέρας πάντων͵ ὡς περιοχὴ τῶν ὄντων͵ ὡς εἰδοποιὸν τῶν οὐκ ὄντων͵ ὡς πάντων ἀγαθῶν αἴτιον͵ ὡς τῶν κακῶν ἀναίτιον͵ ὡς πρόνοια καὶ ἀγαθότης παντελὴς καὶ ὑπερβάλλουσα τὰ ὄντα καὶ οὐκ ὄντα καὶ τὰ κακὰ καὶ τὴν ἑαυτῆς στέρησιν ἀγαθύνουσα͵ πᾶσιν ἐφετὸν καὶ ἐραστὸν καὶ ἀγαπητὸν καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν ὁ ἀληθὴς ἀπέδειξεν͵ ὡς οἶμαι͵ λόγος.

CHAPTER 5

5

Concerning Being - in which also concerning Exemplars.

5.1. LET us now then pass to the name “Being” - given in the [biblical] Sayings as veritably that of Him, Who veritably is. But we will recall to your remembrance this much, that the purpose of our treatise is not to make known the superessential Essence - qua superessential - (for this is inexpressible, and unknowable, and altogether unrevealed, and surpassing the union itself), but to celebrate the progression of the supremely Divine Source of Essence, which gives essence to all things being. For the Divine Name of the Good, as making known the whole progressions of the Cause of all, is extended, both to things being, and things not being, and is above things being, and things not being. But the Name of Being is extended to all things being, and is above things being; - and the Name of Life is extended to all things living, and is above things living; and the Name of Wisdom is extended to all the intellectual and rational and sensible, and is above all these.

1  Μετιτέον δὲ νῦν ἐπὶ τὴν ὄντως οὖσαν τοῦ ὄντως ὄντος θεωνυμικὴν οὐσιωνυμίαν. Τοσοῦτον δὲ ὑπομνήσωμεν͵ ὅτι τῷ λόγῳ σκοπὸς οὐ τὴν ὑπερούσιον οὐσίαν͵ ᾗ ὑπερούσιος͵ ἐκφαίνειν͵ ἄῤῥητον γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ ἄγνωστόν ἐστι καὶ παντελῶς ἀνέκφαντον καὶ αὐτὴν ὑπεραῖρον τὴν ἕνωσιν͵ ἀλλὰ τὴν οὐσιοποιὸν εἰς τὰ ὄντα πάντα τῆς θεαρχικῆς οὐσιαρχίας πρόοδον ὑμνῆσαι. ¹⁸¹ Καὶ γὰρ ἡ τἀγαθοῦ θεωνυμία τὰς ὅλας τοῦ πάντων αἰτίου προόδους ἐκφαίνουσα καὶ εἰς τὰ ὄντα καὶ εἰς τὰ οὐκ ὄντα ἐκτείνεται καὶ ὑπὲρ τὰ ὄντα καὶ ὑπὲρ τὰ οὐκ ὄντα ἔστιν. Ἡ δὲ τοῦ ὄντος εἰς πάντα τὰ ὄντα ἐκτείνεται καὶ ὑπὲρ τὰ ὄντα ἔστιν. Ἡ δὲ τῆς ζωῆς εἰς πάντα τὰ ζῶντα ἐκτείνεται καὶ ὑπὲρ τὰ ζῶντα ἔστιν. Ἡ δὲ τῆς σοφίας εἰς πάντα τὰ νοερὰ καὶ λογικὰ καὶ αἰσθητικὰ ἐκτείνεται καὶ ὑπὲρ πάντα ταῦτα ἔστιν.

5.2. The treatise, then, seeks to celebrate these, the Names of God, which set forth His Providence. For it does not profess to express the very super-essential Goodness, and Essence, and Life, and ⁷⁴ Wisdom, of the very superessential Deity, Which is seated above all Goodness, and Deity, and Essence, and Wisdom, and Life, - in secret places, as the [biblical] Sayings affirm. But it celebrates the beneficial Providence, which has been set forth as preeminently Goodness and Cause of all good things, and as Being, and Life, and Wisdom, - the Cause essentiating and vivifying, and wise-making, of those who partake of essence, and life, and mind, and reason, and sense. But it does not affirm that the Good is one thing, and the Being another; and that Life is other than Wisdom; nor that the Causes are many, and that some deities produce one thing and others another, as superior and inferior; but that the whole good progressions and the Names of God, celebrated by us, are of one God; and that the one epithet makes known the complete Providence of the one God, but that the others are indicative of His more general and more particular providences.

2  Ταύτας οὖν ὁ λόγος ὑμνῆσαι ποθεῖ τὰς τῆς προνοίας ἐκφαντορικὰς θεωνυμίας. Οὐ γὰρ ἐκφράσαι τὴν αὐτοϋπερούσιον ἀγαθότητα καὶ οὐσίαν καὶ ζωὴν καὶ σοφίαν τῆς αὐτοϋπερουσίου θεότητος ἐπαγγέλλεται τὴν ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν ἀγαθότητα καὶ θεότητα καὶ οὐσίαν καὶ ζωὴν καὶ σοφίαν ἐν ἀποκρύφοις͵ ὡς τὰ λόγιά φησιν͵ ὑπεριδρυμένην͵ ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐκπεφασμένην ἀγαθοποιὸν πρόνοιαν͵ ὑπεροχικῶς ἀγαθότητα καὶ πάντων ἀγαθῶν αἰτίαν ὑμνεῖ καὶ ὂν καὶ ζωὴν καὶ σοφίαν͵ τὴν οὐσιοποιὸν καὶ ζωοποιὸν καὶ σοφοδότιν αἰτίαν τῶν οὐσίας καὶ ζωῆς καὶ νοῦ καὶ λόγου καὶ αἰσθήσεως μετειληφότων. Οὐκ ἄλλο δὲ εἶναι τἀγαθόν φησι καὶ ἄλλο τὸ ὂν καὶ ἄλλο τὴν ζωὴν ἢ τὴν σοφίαν͵ οὐδὲ πολλὰ τὰ αἴτια καὶ ἄλλων ἄλλας παρακτικὰς θεότητας ὑπερεχούσας καὶ ὑφειμένας͵ ἀλλ΄ ἑνὸς θεοῦ τὰς ὅλας ἀγαθὰς προόδους καὶ τὰς παρ΄ ἡμῶν ἐξυμνουμένας θεωνυμίας καὶ τὴν μὲν εἶναι τῆς παντε λοῦς τοῦ ἑνὸς θεοῦ προνοίας ἐκφαντικήν͵ τὰς δὲ τῶν ὁλικωτέρων τοῦ αὐτοῦ καὶ μερικωτέρων. ¹⁸²

5.3. Yet, some one might say, for what reason do we affirm that Life is superior to Being, and Wisdom to Life? Things with life no doubt are above things that merely exist - things sensible above those which merely live, - and things rational above these, - and the Minds 33 above the rational, and are around God, and are more near to Him. Yet, things which partake of greater gifts from God, must needs be ⁷⁵ better and superior to the rest. But if any one assumed the intellectual to be without being, and without life, the statement might hold good. But if the Divine Minds are both above all the rest of beings, and live above the other living beings, and think and know, above sensible perception and reason, and, beyond all the other existing beings, aspire to, and participate in, the Beautiful and Good, they are more around the Good, participating in It more abundantly, and having received larger and greater gifts from It. As also, the rational creatures excel those of sensible perception, by their superiority in the abundance of reason, and these, by their sensible perception, and others, by their life. And this, as I think, is true, that the things which participate more in the One and boundless-giving God, are more near to Him, and more divine, than those who come behind them (in gifts).

3  Καίτοι φαίη τις· Ἀνθ΄ ὅτου τοῦ ὄντος τὴν ζωὴν καὶ τῆς ζωῆς τὴν σοφίαν ὑπερεκτεινομένης τῶν ὄντων μὲν τὰ ζῶντα͵ τῶν δὲ ὅσα ζῇ τὰ αἰσθητικὰ καὶ τούτων τὰ λογικὰ καὶ τῶν λογικῶν οἱ νόες ὑπερέχουσι καὶ περὶ θεὸν εἰσὶ καὶ μᾶλλον αὐτῷ πλησιάζουσι; Καίτοι ἔδει τὰ τῶν μειζόνων ἐκ θεοῦ δωρεῶν μετέχοντα καὶ κρείττονα εἶναι καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ὑπερέχειν. Ἀλλ΄ εἰ μὲν ἀνούσια καὶ ἄζωά τις ὑπετίθετο τὰ νοερά͵ καλῶς ἂν εἶχεν ὁ λόγος. Εἰ δὲ καὶ εἰσὶν οἱ θεῖοι νόες ὑπὲρ τὰ λοιπὰ ὄντα καὶ ζῶσιν ὑπὲρ τὰ ἄλλα ζῶντα καὶ νοοῦσι καὶ γινώσκουσιν ὑπὲρ αἴσθησιν καὶ λόγον καὶ παρὰ πάντα τὰ ὄντα τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ ἀγαθοῦ ἐφίενται καὶ μετέχουσιν͵ αὐτοὶ μᾶλλον εἰσὶ περὶ τἀγαθὸν οἱ περισσῶς αὐτοῦ μετέχοντες καὶ πλείους καὶ μείζους ἐξ αὐτοῦ δωρεὰς εἰληφότες ὥσπερ καὶ τὰ λογικὰ τῶν αἰσθητικῶν ὑπερέχει πλεονεκτοῦντα τῇ περισσείᾳ τοῦ λόγου͵ καὶ ταῦτα τῇ αἰσθήσει καὶ ἄλλα τῇ ζωῇ. Καὶ ἔστιν͵ ὡς οἶμαι͵ τοῦτο ἀληθές͵ ὅτι τὰ μᾶλλον τοῦ ἑνὸς καὶ ἀπειροδώρου θεοῦ μετέχοντα μᾶλλόν εἰσιν αὐτῷ πλησιαίτερα καὶ θειότερα τῶν ἀπολειπομένων.

5.4. Now, since we are speaking of these things, come then, and let us praise the Good, as veritably Being, and giving essence to all things that be. He, Who is, is superessential, sustaining Cause of the whole potential Being, and Creator of being, existence, subsistence, essence, nature; Source and Measure of ages, and Framer of times, and Age of things that be, Time of things coming into being, Being of things howsoever being, Birth of things howsoever born. From Him, Who is, is age, and essence, and being, and time, and birth, and thing born; the realities ⁷⁶ in things that be, and things howsoever existing and subsisting. For Almighty God is not relatively a Being, but absolutely and unboundedly, having comprehended and anticipated the whole Being in Himself. Wherefore, He is also called King of the ages, since the whole being both is, and is sustained, in Him and around Him. And He neither was, nor will be, nor became, nor becomes, nor will become - yea rather, neither is. But He is the Being to things that be, and not things that be only, but the very being of things that be, absolutely from before the ages. For He is the Age of ages - the Existing before the ages.

4  Ἐπειδὴ καὶ περὶ τούτων εἴπομεν͵ φέρε͵ τἀγαθὸν ὡς ὄντως ὂν καὶ τῶν ὄντων ἁπάντων οὐσιοποιὸν ἀνυμνήσωμεν. Ὁ ὢν ὅλου τοῦ εἶναι κατὰ δύναμιν ὑπερούσιός ἐστιν ὑποστάτις αἰτία καὶ δημιουργὸς ὄντος͵ ὑπάρξεως͵ ὑποστάσεως͵ οὐσίας͵ φύσεως͵ ἀρχὴ καὶ μέτρον αἰώνων καὶ χρόνων ὀντότης καὶ αἰὼν τῶν ὄντων͵ χρόνος τῶν γινομένων͵ τὸ εἶναι ¹⁸³ τοῖς ὁπωσοῦν οὖσι͵ γένεσις τοῖς ὁπωσοῦν γινομένοις. Ἐκ τοῦ ὄντος αἰὼν καὶ οὐσία καὶ ὂν καὶ χρόνος καὶ γένεσις καὶ γινόμενον͵ τὰ ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν ὄντα καὶ τὰ ὁπωσοῦν ὑπάρχοντα καὶ ὑφεστῶτα. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ θεὸς οὐ πώς ἐστιν ὤν͵ ἀλλ΄ ἁπλῶς καὶ ἀπεριορίστως ὅλον ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὸ εἶναι συνειληφὼς καὶ προειληφώς. Διὸ καὶ βασιλεὺς λέγεται τῶν αἰώνων ὡς ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ περὶ αὐτὸν παντὸς τοῦ εἶναι καὶ ὄντος καὶ ὑφεστηκότος καὶ οὔτε ἦν οὔτε ἔσται οὔτε ἐγένετο οὔτε γίνεται οὔτε γενήσεται͵ μᾶλλον δὲ οὔτε ἐστίν. Ἀλλ΄ αὐτός ἐστι τὸ εἶναι τοῖς οὖσι καὶ οὐ τὰ ὄντα μόνον͵ ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ εἶναι τῶν ὄντων ἐκ τοῦ προαιωνίως ὄντος͵ αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ αἰὼν τῶν αἰώνων͵ ὁ ὑπάρχων πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων.

5.5. Summing up, then, let us say, that the being to all beings and to the ages, is from the Preexisting. And every age and time is from Him. And of every age and time, and of everything, howsoever existing, the Pre-existing is Source and Cause. And all things participate in Him, and from no single existing thing does He stand aloof. And He is before all things, and all things in Him consist. And absolutely, if anything is, in any way whatsoever, it both is, and is contemplated, and is preserved in the Pre-existing. And, before all the other participations in Him, the being is pre-supposed. And self-existent Being has precedence of the being self-existent Life; and the being self-existent Wisdom; and the being self-existent Divine Likeness; and the other beings, in whatever gifts ⁷⁷ participating, before all these participate in being; yea, rather, all self-existent things, of which existing things participate, participate in the self-existent Being. And there is nothing existent, of which the self-existent Being is not essence and age. Naturally, then, more chiefly than all the rest, Almighty God is celebrated as Being, from the prior of His other gifts; for pre-possessing even pre-existence, and super-existence, and super-possessing being, He pre-established all being, I mean self-existent being; and subjected everything, howsoever existing, to Being Itself. And then, all the sources of beings, as participating in being, both are, and are sources, and first are, and then are sources. And, if you wish to say, that the self-existent Life is source of living things, as living; and the self-existent Similitude, of things similar as similar; and the self-existent Union, of things united, as united; and the self-existent Order, of things ordered, as ordered and of the rest, as many as, by participating in this or that, or both, or many, are this or that, or both, or many, you will find the self-existent participations themselves, first participating in being, and by their being, first remaining; - then being sources of this or that, and by their participating in being, both being, and being participated. But, if these are by their participation of being, much more the things participating in them.

5  Ἀναλαβόντες οὖν εἴπωμεν͵ ὅτι πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσι καὶ τοῖς αἰῶσι τὸ εἶναι παρὰ τοῦ προόντος. Καὶ πᾶς μὲν αἰὼν καὶ χρόνος ἐξ αὐτοῦ͵ παντὸς δὲ καὶ αἰῶνος καὶ χρόνου καὶ παντὸς ὁπωσοῦν ὄντος ὁ προὼν ἀρχὴ καὶ αἰτία͵ καὶ πάντα αὐτοῦ μετέχει͵ καὶ οὐδενὸς τῶν ὄντων ἀποστατεῖ καὶ αὐτός ἐστι πρὸ πάντων͵ καὶ τὰ πάντα ἐν αὐτῷ συνέστηκεν͵ καὶ ἁπλῶς͵ εἴ τι ὁπωσοῦν ἔστιν͵ ἐν τῷ προόντι καὶ ἔστι καὶ ἐπινοεῖται καὶ σώζεται͵ καὶ πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων αὐτοῦ μετοχῶν τὸ εἶναι προβέβληται͵ καὶ ἔστιν αὐτὸ καθ΄ αὑτὸ τὸ εἶναι πρεσβύτερον τοῦ αὐτοζωὴν εἶναι καὶ αὐτοσοφίαν εἶναι καὶ αὐτοομοιότητα θείαν εἶναι͵ καὶ τὰ ἄλλα͵ ὅσων τὰ ὄντα μετ έχοντα͵ πρὸ πάντων αὐτῶν τοῦ εἶναι μετέχει͵ μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ αὐτὰ καθ΄ αὑτὰ πάντα͵ ὧν τὰ ὄντα μετέχει͵ τοῦ αὐτὸ καθ΄ αὑτὸ εἶναι μετέχει͵ καὶ ¹⁸⁴ οὐδὲν ἔστιν ὄν͵ οὗ μὴ ἔστιν οὐσία καὶ αἰὼν τὸ αὐτὸ εἶναι. Πάντων οὖν εἰκότως τῶν ἄλλων ἀρχηγικώτερον ὡς ὢν ὁ θεὸς ἐκ τῆς πρεσβυτέρας τῶν ἄλλων αὐτοῦ δωρεῶν ὑμνεῖται. Καὶ γὰρ τὸ προεῖναι καὶ ὑπερεῖναι προέχων καὶ ὑπερέχων τὸ εἶναι πᾶν͵ αὐτό φημι καθ΄ αὑτὸ τὸ εἶναι͵ προϋπεστήσατο καὶ τῷ εἶναι αὐτῷ πᾶν τὸ ὁπωσοῦν ὂν ὑπεστήσατο. Καὶ γοῦν αἱ ἀρχαὶ τῶν ὄντων πᾶσαι τοῦ εἶναι μετέχουσαι καὶ εἰσὶ καὶ ἀρχαὶ εἰσὶ καὶ πρῶτον εἰσίν͵ ἔπειτα ἀρχαὶ εἰσίν. Καὶ εἰ βούλει τῶν ζώντων ὡς ζώντων ἀρχὴν φάναι τὴν αὐτοζωὴν καὶ τῶν ὁμοίων ὡς ὁμοίων τὴν αὐτοομοιότητα καὶ τῶν ἡνωμένων ὡς ἡνωμένων τὴν αὐτοένωσιν καὶ τῶν τεταγμένων ὡς τεταγμένων τὴν αὐτόταξιν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων͵ ὅσα τοῦδε ἢ τοῦδε ἢ ἀμφοτέρων ἢ πολλῶν μετέχοντα τόδε ἢ τόδε ἢ ἀμφότερα ἢ πολλά ἐστι͵ τὰς αὐτομετοχὰς εὑρήσεις τοῦ εἶναι πρῶτον αὐτὰς μετεχούσας καὶ τῷ εἶναι πρῶτον μὲν οὔσας͵ ἔπειτα τοῦδε ἢ τοῦδε ἀρχὰς οὔσας καὶ τῷ μετέχειν τοῦ εἶναι καὶ οὔσας καὶ μετεχομένας. Εἰ δὲ ταῦτα τῇ μετοχῇ τοῦ εἶναι ἔστι͵ πολλῷ γε μᾶλλον τὰ αὐτῶν μετέχοντα.

5.6. The self-existent Super-goodness then, as projecting the first gift of self-existent being, is ⁷⁸ celebrated by the elder and first of the participations; and being itself is from It, and in It; as also the sources of things being, and all the things that be, and the things howsoever sustained by being, and that irresistibly, and comprehensively and uniformly. For even in a monad, every number preexists in the form of a unit, and the monad holds every number in itself singly. And every number is united in the monad, but so far as it advances from the monad, so far it is distributed and multiplied. And in a centre, all the lines 34 of the circle coexist within one union, and the point holds all the straight lines in itself, uniformly united, both to each other, and to the one source from which they proceeded, and in the centre itself they are completely united; but standing slightly distant from it, they are slightly separated; but when more apart, more so. And in one word, the nearer they are to the centre, the more they are united to it and to each other? and the more they stand apart from it, the more they stand apart from each other.

6  Πρώτην οὖν τὴν τοῦ αὐτὸ εἶναι δωρεὰν ἡ αὐτοϋπεραγαθότης προβαλλομένη τῇ πρεσβυτέρᾳ πρώτῃ τῶν μετοχῶν ὑμνεῖται. Καὶ ἔστιν ἐξ αὐτῆς καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ εἶναι καὶ αἱ τῶν ὄντων ἀρχαὶ καὶ τὰ ὄντα πάντα καὶ τὰ ὁπωσοῦν τῷ εἶναι διακρατούμενα καὶ τοῦτο ἀσχέτως καὶ συνειλημμένως καὶ ἑνιαίως. Καὶ γὰρ ἐν μονάδι πᾶς ἀριθμὸς ἑνοειδῶς ¹⁸⁵ προϋφέστηκε͵ καὶ ἔχει πάντα ἀριθμὸν ἡ μονὰς ἐν ἑαυτῇ μοναχῶς͵ καὶ πᾶς ἀριθμὸς ἥνωται μὲν ἐν τῇ μονάδι͵ καθ΄ ὅσον δὲ τῆς μονάδος πρόεισι͵ κατὰ τοσοῦτον διακρίνεται καὶ πληθύνεται. Καὶ ἐν κέντρῳ πᾶσαι αἱ τοῦ κύκλου γραμμαὶ κατὰ μίαν ἕνωσιν συν υφεστήκασι͵ καὶ πάσας ἔχει τὸ σημεῖον ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὰς εὐθείας ἑνοειδῶς ἡνωμένας πρός τε ἀλλήλας καὶ πρὸς τὴν μίαν ἀρχήν͵ ἀφ΄ ἧς προῆλθον͵ καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ μὲν τῷ κέντρῳ παντελῶς ἥνωνται. Βραχὺ δὲ αὐτοῦ διαστᾶ σαι͵ βραχὺ καὶ διακρίνονται͵ μᾶλλον δὲ ἀποστᾶσαι͵ μᾶλλον. Καὶ ἁπλῶς͵ καθ΄ ὅσον τῷ κέντρῳ πλησιαίτεραί εἰσι͵ κατὰ τοσοῦτον καὶ αὐτῷ καὶ ἀλλήλαις ἥνωνται͵ καί͵ καθ΄ ὅσον αὐτοῦ͵ κατὰ τοσοῦτον καὶ ἀλλήλων διεστήκασιν.

5.7. But all the proportions of nature individually are comprehended in the whole nature of the whole, within one unconfused union; and in the soul, the powers of each several part are provident of the whole body in a uniform fashion. There is nothing out of place then, that, by ascending from obscure images to the Cause of all, we should ⁷⁹ contemplate, with supermundane eyes, all things in the Cause of all, even those contrary to each other, after a single fashion and unitedly. For It is Source of things existing, from which are both being itself, and all things however being; every source, every term, every life, every immortality, every wisdom, every order, every harmony, every power, every protection, every stability, every endurance, every conception, every word, every sensible perception, every habit, every standing, every movement, every union, every mingling, every friendship, every agreement, every difference, every limit, and whatever other things existing by being, characterize all things being.

7  Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῇ ὅλῃ τῶν ὅλων φύσει πάντες οἱ τῆς καθ΄ ἕκαστον φύσεως λόγοι συνειλημμένοι εἰσὶ κατὰ μίαν ἀσύγχυτον ἕνωσιν͵ καὶ ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ μονοειδῶς αἱ τῶν κατὰ μέρος πάντων προνοητικαὶ τοῦ ὅλου σώματος δυνάμεις. Οὐδὲν οὖν ἄτοπον ἐξ ἀμυδρῶν εἰκόνων ἐπὶ τὸ πάντων αἴτιον ἀναβάν τας ὑπερκοσμίοις ὀφθαλμοῖς θεωρῆσαι πάντα ἐν τῷ πάντων αἰτίῳ καὶ τὰ ἀλλήλοις ἐναντία μονοειδῶς καὶ ἡνωμένως͵ ἀρχὴ γάρ ἐστι τῶν ὄντων͵ ἀφ΄ ἧς καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ εἶναι καὶ πάντα τὰ ὁπωσοῦν ὄντα͵ πᾶσα ἀρχή͵ πᾶν πέρας͵ πᾶσα ζωή͵ πᾶσα ἀθανασία͵ πᾶσα σοφία͵ πᾶσα τάξις͵ πᾶσα ἁρμονία͵ πᾶσα δύναμις͵ πᾶσα φρουρά͵ πᾶσα ἵδρυσις͵ πᾶσα διανομή͵ πᾶσα νόησις͵ πᾶς λόγος͵ πᾶσα αἴσθησις͵ πᾶσα ἕξις͵ πᾶσα στάσις͵ πᾶσα κίνησις͵ πᾶσα ἕνωσις͵ πᾶσα κρᾶσις͵ πᾶσα φιλία͵ πᾶσα ἐφαρμογή͵ πᾶσα διάκρισις͵ πᾶς ὅρος καὶ τὰ ἄλλα͵ ὅσα τῷ εἶναι ὄντα τὰ ὄντα πάντα χαρακτηρίζει. ¹⁸⁶

5.8. And from the same Cause of all, are the higher and lower intellectual 35 essences of the godlike angels; and those of the souls; and the natures of the whole Cosmos; all things whatsoever said to be either in others, or by reflection. Yea, even the all holy and most honoured Powers veritably being, and established, as it were, in the vestibule of the superessential Triad, are from It, and in It; and have the being and the godlike being; and after them, as regards Angels, the subordinate, sub-ordinately, and the remotest, most remotely, but as regards ourselves, supermundanely. And the souls, and all the other beings, according to the same rule, have their being, and their well-being; and are, and are well; by having from the Pre-existing their being ⁸⁰ and their well-being. And in It are both being and well-being; and from It, beginning; and in It, guarded; and to It, terminated. And the prerogatives of being he distributes to the superior beings, which the [biblical] Sayings call even eternal. But being itself never at any time fails all existing beings. And even self-existent being is from the Pre-existent, and of Him is being, and He is not of being; - and in Him is being, and He is not in being; and being possesses Him, and not He possesses being; and He is both age and beginning, and measure of being; being essentiating Source, and Middle and End, of pre-essence, and being and age and all things. And for this reason, by the [biblical] Sayings, the veritably Pre-existing is represented under many forms, according to every conception of beings, and the “Was” and the “Is,” and the “Will be,” and the “Became,” and the “Becomes,” and the “Will become,” are properly sung respecting Him. For all these, to those who think worthily of God, signify by every conception His being superessenlially, and Cause in every way of things existing. For He is not this, but not that; nor is He in some way, but not in some other; but He is all things, as Cause of all, and containing and pre-holding in Himself all governments, all controls, of all existing things. And He is above all, as superessentially super-being before all. Wherefore, also, all things are predicated of Him and together, and He is none of them all; of every shape, of every kind, without form, without beauty, anticipating in Himself, beginnings and middles, ⁸¹ and ends of things existing, irresistibly and preeminently; and shedding forth without flaw, (the light of) being to all, as beseems a One and super-united Cause. For, if our sun, at the same time that he is one and sheds a uniform light, renews the essences and qualities of sensible creatures, although they are many and various, and nourishes and guards, and perfects and distinguishes, and unites, and fosters, and makes to be productive, and increases, and transforms, and establishes, and makes to grow, and awakens, and gives life to all; and each of the whole, in a manner appropriate to itself, participates in the same and one sun; and the one sun anticipated in himself, uniformly, the causes of the many participants; much more with regard to the Cause of it and of all things, ought we to concede that It first presides over, as beseems One superessential Oneness, all the exemplars, of things existing; since He produces even essences, as beseems the egression from essence. But, we affirm that the exemplars are the methods in God, giving essence to things that be, and pre-existing uniformly, which theology calls predeterminations, and Divine and good wills, which define and produce things existing; according to which (predeterminations) the Superessential both predetermined and brought into existence everything that exists.

8  Καὶ ἐκ τῆς αὐτῆς πάντων αἰτίας αἱ νοηταὶ καὶ νοεραὶ τῶν θεοειδῶν ἀγγέλων οὐσίαι καὶ αἱ τῶν ψυχῶν καὶ τοῦ παντὸς κόσμου φύσεις καὶ τὰ ὁπωσοῦν ἢ ἐν ἑτέροις ὑπάρχειν ἢ κατ΄ ἐπίνοιαν εἶναι λεγόμενα. Καὶ γοῦν αἱ πανάγιαι καὶ πρεσβύταται δυνάμεις ὄντως οὖσαι καὶ οἷον ἐν προθύροις τῆς ὑπερουσίου τριάδος ἱδρυμέναι πρὸς αὐτῆς καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ καὶ τὸ εἶναι καὶ τὸ θεοειδῶς εἶναι ἔχουσι καὶ μετ΄ ἐκείνας αἱ ὑφειμέναι τὸ ὑφειμένως καὶ αἱ ἔσχαται τὸ ἐσχάτως ὡς πρὸς ἀγγέλους͵ ὡς πρὸς ἡμᾶς δὲ ὑπερκοσμίως. Καὶ αἱ ψυχαὶ καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα ὄντα κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον καὶ τὸ εἶναι καὶ τὸ εὖ εἶναι ἔχει καὶ ἔστι καὶ εὖ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ προόντος τὸ εἶναι καὶ τὸ εὖ εἶναι ἔχοντα καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ ὄντα καὶ εὖ ὄντα καὶ ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἀρχόμενα καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ φρουρούμενα καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν περατούμενα. Καὶ τὰ μὲν πρεσβεῖα τοῦ εἶναι νέμει ταῖς κρείττοσιν οὐσίαις͵ ἃς καὶ αἰωνίας καλεῖ τὰ λόγια. Τὸ δὲ εἶναι αὐτὸ τῶν ὄντων πάντων οὐδέποτε ἀπολείπεται. Καὶ αὐτὸ δὲ τὸ εἶναι ἐκ τοῦ προόντος͵ καὶ αὐτοῦ ἐστι τὸ εἶναι καὶ οὐκ αὐτὸς τοῦ εἶναι͵ καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ ἔστι τὸ εἶναι καὶ οὐκ αὐτὸς ἐν ¹⁸⁷ τῷ εἶναι͵ καὶ αὐτὸν ἔχει τὸ εἶναι͵ καὶ οὐκ αὐτὸς ἔχει τὸ εἶναι. Καὶ αὐτός ἐστι τοῦ εἶναι καὶ αἰὼν καὶ ἀρχὴ καὶ μέτρον πρὸ οὐσίας ὢν καὶ ὄντος καὶ αἰῶνος καὶ πάντων οὐσιοποιὸς ἀρχὴ καὶ μεσότης καὶ τελευτή. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πρὸς τῶν λογίων ὁ ὄντως προὼν κατὰ πᾶσαν τῶν ὄντων ἐπίνοιαν πολλαπλασιάζεται͵ καὶ τὸ ἦν ἐπ΄ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ ἔστι καὶ τὸ ἔσται καὶ τὸ ἐγένετο καὶ γίνεται καὶ γενήσεται κυρίως ὑμνεῖται. Ταῦτα γὰρ πάντα τοῖς θεοπρεπῶς ὑμνοῦσι τὸ κατὰ πᾶσαν αὐτὸν ἐπίνοιαν ὑπερουσίως εἶναι σημαίνει καὶ τῶν πανταχῶς ὄντων αἴτιον. Καὶ γὰρ οὐ τόδε μὲν ἔστι͵ τόδε δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδὲ πῇ μὲν ἔστι͵ πῇ δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν͵ ἀλλὰ πάντα ἐστὶν ὡς πάντων αἴτιος καὶ ἐν ἑαυτῷ πάσας ἀρχάς͵ πάντα συμπεράσματα πάντων τῶν ὄντων συνέχων καὶ προέχων͵ καὶ ὑπὲρ τὰ πάντα ἐστὶν ὡς πρὸ πάντων ὑπερουσίως ὑπερών. Διὸ καὶ πάντα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἅμα κατηγορεῖται͵ καὶ οὐδὲν ἔστι τῶν πάντων· πάνσχημος͵ παν είδεος͵ ἄμορφος͵ ἀκαλλής͵ ἀρχὰς καὶ μέσα καὶ τέλη τῶν ὄντων ἀσχέτως καὶ ἐξῃρημένως ἐν ἑαυτῷ προειληφὼς καὶ πᾶσι τὸ εἶναι κατὰ μίαν καὶ ὑπερηνωμένην αἰτίαν ἀχράντως ἐπιλάμπων. Εἰ γὰρ ὁ καθ΄ ἡμᾶς ἥλιος τὰς τῶν αἰσθητῶν οὐσίας καὶ ποιότητας καίτοι πολλὰς καὶ διαφόρους οὔσας ὅμως αὐτὸς εἷς ὢν καὶ μονοειδὲς ἐπιλάμπων φῶς ἀνανεοῖ καὶ τρέφει καὶ φρουρεῖ καὶ τελειοῖ καὶ διακρίνει καὶ ἑνοῖ καὶ ἀναθάλπει καὶ γόνιμα εἶναι ποιεῖ καὶ αὔξει καὶ ἐξαλλάττει ¹⁸⁸ καὶ ἐνιδρύει καὶ ἐκφύει καὶ ἀνακινεῖ καὶ ζωοῖ πάντα καὶ τῶν ὅλων ἕκαστον οἰκείως ἑαυτῷ τοῦ ταὐτοῦ καὶ ἑνὸς ἡλίου μετέχει καὶ τὰς τῶν πολλῶν μετεχόντων ὁ εἷς ἥλιος αἰτίας ἐν ἑαυτῷ μονοειδῶς προείληφε͵ πολλῷ γε μᾶλλον ἐπὶ τῆς καὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ πάντων αἰτίας προϋφεστάναι τὰ πάντων τῶν ὄντων παραδείγματα κατὰ μίαν ὑπερούσιον ἕνωσιν συγχωρητέον͵ ἐπεὶ καὶ οὐσίας παράγει κατὰ τὴν ἀπὸ οὐσίας ἔκβασιν. Παραδείγματα δέ φαμεν εἶναι τοὺς ἐν θεῷ τῶν ὄντων οὐσιοποιοὺς καὶ ἑνιαίως προ ϋφεστῶτας λόγους͵ οὓς ἡ θεολογία προορισμοὺς καλεῖ καὶ θεῖα καὶ ἀγαθὰ θελήματα͵ τῶν ὄντων ἀφοριστικὰ καὶ ποιητικά͵ καθ΄ οὓς ὁ ὑπερούσιος τὰ ὄντα πάντα καὶ προώρισε καὶ παρήγαγεν.

5.9. But, if the Philosopher Clemens thinks good, that the higher amongst beings should be called ⁸² exemplars in relation to something, his statement advances, not through correct and perfect and simple names. But, when we have conceded even this, to be correctly said, we must call to mind the Word of God, which says, “I have not shewn thee these things for the purpose of going after them, but that through the proportionate knowledge of these we may be led up to the Cause of all, as we are capable.”

9  Εἰ δὲ ὁ φιλόσοφος ἀξιοῖ Κλήμης καὶ πρός τι παραδείγματα λέγε σθαι τὰ ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν ἀρχηγικώτερα͵ πρόεισι μὲν οὐ διὰ κυρίων καὶ παντελῶν καὶ ἁπλῶν ὀνομάτων ὁ λόγος αὐτῷ. Συγχωροῦντας δὲ καὶ τοῦτο ὀρθῶς λέγεσθαι τῆς θεολογίας μνημονευτέον φασκούσης ὅτι Οὐ παρέδειξά σοι αὐτὰ τοῦ πορεύεσθαι ὀπίσω αὐτῶν͵ ἀλλ΄ ἵνα διὰ τῆς τούτων ἀναλογικῆς γνώσεως ἐπὶ τὴν πάντων αἰτίαν͵ ὡς οἷοί τέ ἐσμεν͵ ἀναχθῶμεν.

We must attribute, then, all existing things to It, as beseems One Union pre-eminent above all, since by starting from Being, the essentiating Progression and Goodness, both penetrating all, and filling all things with Its own being, and rejoicing over all things being, pre-holds all things in Itself, rejecting all duplicity by an one superfluity of simplicity. But It grasps all things in the same way, as beseems its super-simplified Infinity, and is participated in by all uniquely, even as a voice, whilst being one and the same, is participated in by many ears as one.

Πάντα οὖν αὐτῇ τὰ ὄντα κατὰ μίαν τὴν πάντων ἐξῃρημένην ἕνωσιν ἀναθετέον͵ ἐπείπερ ἀπὸ τοῦ εἶναι τῆς οὐσιοποιοῦ προόδου καὶ ¹⁸⁹ ἀγαθότητος ἀρξαμένη καὶ διὰ πάντων φοιτῶσα καὶ πάντα ἐξ ἑαυτῆς τοῦ εἶναι πληροῦσα καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσιν ἀγαλλομένη πάντα μὲν ἐν ἑαυτῇ προέχει κατὰ μίαν ἁπλότητος ὑπερβολὴν πᾶσαν διπλόην ἀπαναινομένη͵ πάντα δὲ ὡσαύτως περιέχει κατὰ τὴν ὑπερηπλωμένην αὐτῆς ἀπειρίαν καὶ πρὸς πάντων ἑνικῶς μετέχεται͵ καθάπερ καὶ φωνὴ μία οὖσα καὶ ἡ αὐτὴ πρὸς πολλῶν ἀκοῶν ὡς μία μετέχεται.

5.10. The Pre-existing then is beginning and end of existing things; beginning indeed as Cause, and end as for whom; and term of all, and infinitude of all infinitude; and term, especially, of things that are, as it were, opposed. For in One, as we have often said, He both pre-holds and sustains all existing things, being present to all, and everywhere, both as regards the one, and the same, and as the every same, and issuing forth to all, and abiding in Himself; and standing and moving, and neither standing nor ⁸³ moving; neither having beginning, or middle, or end; neither in any of the existing things, nor being any of the existing things. And neither does any of the things eternally existing, or those temporarily subsisting, entirely come up to Him, but He towers above time and eternity, and all things eternal and temporal. Wherefore also, He is Eternity itself, and things existing, and the measures of things existing, and things measured through Him and from Him. But let us speak of these things more opportunely on another occasion.

10  Πάντων οὖν ἀρχὴ καὶ τελευτὴ τῶν ὄντων ὁ προών· ἀρχὴ μὲν ὡς αἴτιος͵ τέλος δὲ ὡς τοῦ ἕνεκα καὶ πέρας πάντων καὶ ἀπειρία πάσης ἀπειρίας καὶ πέρατος ὑπεροχικῶς τῶν ὡς ἀντικειμένων. Ἐν ἑνὶ γάρ͵ ὡς πολλάκις εἴρηται͵ τὰ ὄντα πάντα καὶ προέχει καὶ ὑπέστησε παρὼν τοῖς πᾶσι καὶ πανταχοῦ καὶ κατὰ ἓν καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ καὶ κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ πᾶν καὶ ἐπὶ πάντα προϊὼν καὶ μένων ἐφ΄ ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ἑστὼς καὶ κινούμενος καὶ οὔτε ἑστὼς οὔτε κινούμενος οὔτε ἀρχὴν ἔχων ἢ μέσον ἢ τελευτὴν οὔτε ἔν τινι τῶν ὄντων οὐδέ τι τῶν ὄντων ὤν. Καὶ οὔτε ὅλως αὐτῷ προσήκει τι τῶν αἰωνίως ὄντων ἢ τῶν χρονικῶς ὑφισταμένων͵ ἀλλὰ καὶ χρόνου καὶ αἰῶνος καὶ τῶν ἐν αἰῶνι καὶ τῶν ἐν χρόνῳ πάντων ἐξῄρηται͵ διότι καὶ αὐτοαιὼν καὶ τὰ ὄντα καὶ τὰ μέτρα τῶν ὄντων καὶ τὰ μετρούμενα ¹⁹⁰ δι΄ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπ΄ αὐτοῦ. Ἀλλὰ περὶ μὲν τούτων ἐν ἄλλοις εὐκαιρότερον εἰρήσθω.

CHAPTER 6

2

Concerning Life. 

6.1. Now let us sing the Eternal Life, from which comes the self-existing Life, and every life; and from which, to all things however partaking of life, is distributed the power to live appropriately to each. Certainly the life; and the immortality of the immortal Angels, and the very indestructibility of the angelic perpetual motion, both is, and is sustained from It, and by reason of It. Wherefore, they are also called living always and immortal; and again, not immortal, because not from themselves have they their immortality and eternal life; but from the vivifying Cause forming and sustaining all life; and as we said of Him, Who is, that He is Age even of the self-existing Being, so also here again (we say) that the Divine Life, which is above life, is ⁸⁴ life-giving and sustaining even of the self-existing Life; and every life and life-giving movement is from the Life which is above every life, and all source of all life. From It, even the souls have their indestructibility, and all living creatures, and plants in their most remote echo of life, have their power to live. And when It is “taken away,” according to the Divine saying, all life fails, and to It even things that have failed, through their inability to participate in It, when again returning, again become living creatures.

1  Νῦν δὲ ὑμνητέον ἡμῖν τὴν ζωὴν τὴν αἰώνιον͵ ἐξ ἧς ἡ αὐτοζωὴ καὶ πᾶσα ζωὴ καὶ ὑφ΄ ἧς εἰς πάντα τὰ ὁπωσοῦν ζωῆς μετέχοντα τὸ ζῆν οἰκείως ἑκάστῳ διασπείρεται. Καὶ γοῦν ἡ τῶν ἀθανάτων ἀγγέλων ζωὴ καὶ ἀθανασία καὶ τὸ ἀνώλεθρον αὐτὸ τῆς ἀγγελικῆς ἀεικινησίας ἐξ αὐτῆς καὶ δι΄ αὐτὴν καὶ ἔστι καὶ ὑφέστηκε͵ δι΄ ἣν καὶ ζῶντες ἀεὶ καὶ ἀθάνατοι λέγονται καὶ οὐκ ἀθάνατοι πάλιν͵ ὅτι μὴ παρ΄ ἑαυτῶν ἔχουσι τὸ ἀθα νάτως εἶναι καὶ αἰωνίως ζῆν͵ ἀλλ΄ ἐκ τῆς ζωοποιοῦ καὶ πάσης ζωῆς ποιητικῆς καὶ συνοχικῆς αἰτίας. ¹⁹¹ Καὶ ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ ὄντος ἐλέγομεν͵ ὅτι καὶ τοῦ αὐτοεῖναί ἐστιν αἰών͵ οὕτω καὶ ἐνθάδε πάλιν͵ ὅτι καὶ τῆς αὐτοζωῆς ἐστιν ἡ θεία ζωὴ ζωτικὴ καὶ ὑποστατικὴ καὶ πᾶσα ζωὴ καὶ ζωτικὴ κίνησις ἐκ τῆς ζωῆς τῆς ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν ζωὴν καὶ πᾶσαν ἀρχὴν πάσης ζωῆς. Ἐξ αὐτῆς καὶ αἱ ψυχαὶ τὸ ἀνώλεθρον ἔχουσι͵ καὶ ζῷα πάντα καὶ φυτὰ κατ΄ ἔσχατον ἀπήχημα τῆς ζωῆς ἔχουσι τὸ ζῆν. ῟Ης ἀνταναιρουμένης κατὰ τὸ λόγιον ἐκλείπει πᾶσα ζωή͵ καὶ πρὸς ἣν καὶ τὰ ἐκλελοιπότα τῇ πρὸς τὸ μετέχειν αὐτῆς ἀσθενείᾳ πάλιν ἐπιστρεφόμενα πάλιν ζῷα γίγνεται.

6.2. And It gives chiefly to the self-existing Life to be a life, and to every life, and to the individual life, that each should be conformable to that which nature intended it to be. And to the supercelestial lives It gives the immaterial and godlike, and unchangeable immortality; and the unswerving and undeviating perpetual movement; whilst extending Itself through excess of goodness, even to the life of demons 36. For, neither has this its being from another cause, but from It life has both its being and its continuance. Further, It bequeaths even to men the angelic life, so far as is possible to compound being, and through an overflowing love towards man turns, and calls us back to Itself, even when we are departing from It; and, what is still more Divine, promises to transfer even our whole selves (I mean souls, and bodies their yoke-fellows), to a perfect life ⁸⁵ and immortality; - a fact which perhaps seems to Antiquity contrary to nature, but to me, and to thee, and to the truth, both Divine and above nature. But, by “above nature,” I understand our visible nature, not the all-powerful nature of the Divine Life. For, to this, as being nature of all the living creatures, and especially the more Divine, no life is against nature, or above nature. So that the con- tradictory statements of Simon’s folly on this matter, let them be far repelled from a Divine assembly, and from thy reverent soul. For this escaped him, as I imagine, whilst thinking to be wise, that the right-thinking man ought not to use the visible reason of the sensible perception, as an ally against the invisible Cause of all; and this must be our reply to him, that his statement is against nature, for to It nothing is contrary.

2  Καὶ δωρεῖται μὲν πρῶτα τῇ αὐτοζωῇ τὸ εἶναι ζωὴ καὶ πάσῃ ζωῇ καὶ τῇ καθ΄ ἕκαστα τὸ εἶναι οἰκείως ἑκάστην͵ ὃ εἶναι πέφυκεν. Καὶ ταῖς μὲν ὑπερουρανίαις ζωαῖς τὴν ἄϋλον καὶ θεοειδῆ καὶ ἀναλλοίωτον ἀθανα σίαν καὶ τὴν ἀῤῥεπῆ καὶ ἀπαρέγκλιτον ἀεικινησίαν ὑπερεκτεινομένη διὰ περιουσίαν ἀγαθότητος καὶ εἰς τὴν δαιμονίαν ζωήν͵ οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐκείνη τὸ εἶναι παρ΄ ἄλλης αἰτίας͵ ἀλλ΄ ἐξ αὐτῆς καὶ τὸ εἶναι ζωὴ καὶ τὴν διαμονὴν ἔχει͵ δωρουμένη δὲ καὶ ἀνδράσι τὴν ὡς συμμίκτοις ἐνδεχομένην ἀγγε λοειδῆ ζωὴν καὶ ὑπερβλύσει φιλανθρωπίας καὶ ἀποφοιτῶντας ἡμᾶς εἰς ¹⁹² ἑαυτὴν ἐπιστρέφουσα καὶ ἀνακαλουμένη καὶ τὸ δὴ θειότερον ὅτι καὶ ὅλους ἡμᾶς͵ ψυχάς φημι καὶ τὰ συζυγῆ σώματα͵ πρὸς παντελῆ ζωὴν καὶ ἀθανασίαν ἐπήγγελται μεταθήσειν· πρᾶγμα τῇ παλαιότητι μὲν ἴσως παρὰ φύσιν δοκοῦν͵ ἐμοὶ δὲ καὶ σοὶ καὶ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ καὶ θεῖον καὶ ὑπὲρ φύσιν. Ὑπὲρ φύσιν δὲ τὴν καθ΄ ἡμᾶς φημι τὴν ὁρωμένην͵ οὐ τὴν πανσθενῆ τῆς θείας ζωῆς͵ αὐτῇ γὰρ ὡς πασῶν οὔσῃ τῶν ζωῶν φύσει καὶ μάλιστα τῶν θειοτέρων οὐδεμία ζωὴ παρὰ φύσιν ἢ ὑπὲρ φύσιν. Ὥστε οἱ περὶ τούτου τῆς παρανοίας Σίμωνος ἀντιῤῥητικοὶ λόγοι πόρρω θείου χοροῦ καὶ τῆς σῆς ἱερᾶς ψυχῆς ἀπεληλάσθωσαν. Ἔλαθε γὰρ αὐτόν͵ ὡς οἶμαι͵ καὶ ταῦτα σοφὸν οἰόμενον εἶναι τὸ μὴ δεῖν τὸν εὐφρονοῦντα τῷ προφανεῖ τῆς αἰσθήσεως λόγῳ συμμάχῳ χρῆσθαι κατὰ τῆς πάντων ἀφανοῦς αἰτίας. Καὶ τοῦτο ἔστι ῥητέον αὐτῷ τὸ παρὰ φύσιν εἰπεῖν͵ αὐτῇ γὰρ οὐδὲν ἐναντίον.

6.3. From It, both all living creatures and plants draw their life and nourishment; and whether you speak of intellectual, or rational, or sensible, or nourishing, or growing, or whatever, life, or source of life, or essence of life, from It, which is above every life, it both lives and thrives; and in It, as Cause, uniformly pre-existed. For the super-living, and life-springing Life is Cause both of all life, and is generative, and completive, and dividing of life, and is to be celebrated from every life, in consequence of its numerous generation of all lives, as Manifold, and contemplated, and sung by every life; and as ⁸⁶ without need, yea, rather, superfull of life, the Self-living, and above every life, causing to live and super-living, or in whatever way one might extol the life which is unutterable by human speech.

3  Ἐξ αὐτῆς ζωοῦται καὶ περιθάλπεται καὶ ζῷα πάντα καὶ φυτά. Καὶ εἴτε νοερὰν εἴποις εἴτε λογικὴν εἴτε αἰσθητικὴν εἴτε θρεπτικὴν καὶ αὐξητικὴν εἴτε ὁποίαν ποτὲ ζωὴν ἢ ζωῆς ἀρχὴν ἢ ζωῆς οὐσίαν͵ ἐξ αὐτῆς καὶ ζῇ καὶ ζωοῖ τῆς ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν ζωὴν καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ κατ΄ αἰτίαν ἑνοειδῶς προϋφέστηκεν. Ἡ γὰρ ὑπέρζωος καὶ ζωαρχικὴ ζωὴ καὶ πάσης ζωῆς ἐστιν αἰτία καὶ ζωογόνος καὶ ἀποπληρωτικὴ καὶ διαιρετικὴ ζωῆς καὶ ἐκ πάσης ζωῆς ὑμνητέα κατὰ τὴν πολυγονίαν τῶν πασῶν ζωῶν ὡς ¹⁹³ παντοδαπὴ καὶ πᾶσα ζωὴ θεωρουμένη καὶ ὑμνουμένη καὶ ὡς ἀνενδεής͵ μᾶλλον δὲ ὑπερπλήρης ζωῆς͵ αὐτοζωὸς καὶ ὡς ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν ζωὴν ζωο ποιὸς καὶ ὑπέρζωος ἢ ὅπως ἄν τις τὴν ζωὴν τὴν ἄφθεγκτον ἀνθρωπικῶς ἀνυμνήσοι.

CHAPTER 7

2

Concerning Wisdom, Mind, Reason, Truth, faith. 

7.1. COME then, if you please, let us sing the good and eternal Life, both as wise, and as wisdom’s self; yea, rather, as sustaining all wisdom, and being superior to all wisdom and understanding. For, not only is Almighty God superfull of wisdom, and of His understanding there is no number, but He is fixed above all reason and mind and wisdom. And, when the truly divine man, the common sun of us, and of our leader, had thought this out, in a sense above nature, he says, “the foolishness of God is wiser than men,” (meaning) not only that all human intelligence is a sort of error, when tried by the stability and durability of the Divine and most perfect conceptions, but that it is even usual with the theologians to deny, with respect to God, things of privation, in an opposite sense. Thus, the [biblical] Sayings declare, the All-luminous Light, invisible, and Him, Who is often sung, and of many names, to be unutterable and without name, and Him, Who is present to all, and is found of all, to be incomprehensible and past finding out. In this very way, even now, the ⁸⁷ Divine Apostle is said to have celebrated as “foolishness of God,” that which appears unexpected and absurd in it, (but) which leads to the truth which is unutterable and before all reason. But, as I elsewhere said, by taking the things above us, in a sense familiar to ourselves, and by being entangled by what is congenial to sensible perceptions, and by comparing things Divine with our own conditions, we are led astray through following the Divine and mystical reason after a mere appearance. We ought to know that our mind has the power for thought, through which it views things intellectual, but that the union through which it is brought into contact with things beyond itself surpasses the nature of the mind. We must then contemplate things Divine, after this Union, not after ourselves, but by our whole selves, standing out of our whole selves, and becoming wholly of God. For it is better to be of God, and not of ourselves. For thus things Divine will, be given to those who become dear to God. Celebrating then, in a superlative sense, this, the irrational and mindless and foolish Wisdom, we affirm that It is Cause of all mind and reason, and all wisdom and understanding; and of It is every counsel, and from It every knowledge and understanding; and in It all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden. For, agreeably to the things already spoken, the super-wise, and all-wise Cause is a mainstay 37 even of the self-existing Wisdom, both the universal and the individual. ⁸⁸ 

1  Φέρε δέ͵ εἰ δοκεῖ͵ τὴν ἀγαθὴν καὶ αἰωνίαν ζωὴν καὶ ὡς σοφὴν καὶ ὡς αὐτοσοφίαν ὑμνῶμεν͵ μᾶλλον δὲ ὡς πάσης σοφίας ὑποστατικὴν καὶ ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν σοφίαν καὶ σύνεσιν ὑπεροῦσαν. Οὐ γὰρ μόνον ὁ θεὸς ὑπερπλήρης ἐστὶ σοφίας καὶ τῆς συνέσεως αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀριθμός͵ ἀλλὰ καὶ παντὸς λόγου καὶ νοῦ καὶ σοφίας ὑπερίδρυται. Καὶ τοῦτο ὑπερφυῶς ἐννοήσας ὁ θεῖος ὄντως ἀνήρ͵ ὁ κοινὸς ἡμῶν καὶ τοῦ καθηγεμόνος ἥλιος· Τὸ μωρὸν τοῦ θεοῦ σοφώτερον τῶν ἀνθρώπων φησὶν οὐ μόνον͵ ὅτι πᾶσα ἀνθρωπίνη διάνοια πλάνη τίς ἐστι κρινομένη πρὸς τὸ σταθερὸν καὶ μόνιμον τῶν θείων καὶ τελειοτάτων νοήσεων͵ ἀλλ΄ ὅτι καὶ σύνηθές ἐστι τοῖς θεολόγοις ἀντιπεπονθότως ἐπὶ θεοῦ τὰ τῆς ¹⁹⁴ στερήσεως ἀποφάσκειν. Οὕτω καὶ ἀόρατόν φησι τὰ λόγια τὸ παμφαὲς φῶς καὶ τὸν πολυύμνητον καὶ πολυώνυμον ἄῤῥητον καὶ ἀνώνυμον καὶ τὸν πᾶσι παρόντα καὶ ἐκ πάντων εὑρισκόμενον ἀκατάληπτον καὶ ἀνεξι χνίαστον. Τούτῳ δὴ τῷ τρόπῳ καὶ νῦν ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος ὑμνῆσαι λέγε ται μωρίαν θεοῦ τὸ φαινόμενον ἐν αὐτῇ παράλογον καὶ ἄτοπον εἰς τὴν ἄῤῥητον καὶ πρὸ λόγου παντὸς ἀναγαγὼν ἀλήθειαν. Ἀλλ΄ ὅπερ ἐν ἄλλοις ἔφην͵ οἰκείως ἡμῖν τὰ ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς παραλαμβάνοντες καὶ τῷ συντρόφῳ τῶν αἰσθήσεων ἐνιλλόμενοι καὶ τοῖς καθ΄ ἡμᾶς τὰ θεῖα παραβάλλοντες ἀπατώμεθα κατὰ τὸ φαινόμενον τὸν θεῖον καὶ ἀπόῤῥητον λόγον μεταδιώκοντες. Δέον εἰδέναι τὸν καθ΄ ἡμᾶς νοῦν τὴν μὲν ἔχειν δύναμιν εἰς τὸ νοεῖν͵ δι΄ ἧς τὰ νοητὰ βλέπει͵ τὴν δὲ ἕνωσιν ὑπεραίρουσαν τὴν νοῦ φύσιν͵ δι΄ ἧς συνάπτεται πρὸς τὰ ἐπέκεινα ἑαυτοῦ. Κατὰ ταύτην οὖν τὰ θεῖα νοητέον οὐ καθ΄ ἡμᾶς͵ ἀλλ΄ ὅλους ἑαυτοὺς ὅλων ἑαυτῶν ἐξισταμένους καὶ ὅλους θεοῦ γιγνομένους͵ κρεῖττον γὰρ εἶναι θεοῦ καὶ μὴ ἑαυτῶν. Οὕτω γὰρ ἔσται τὰ θεῖα δοτὰ τοῖς μετὰ θεοῦ γινομένοις. Ταύτην οὖν τὴν ἄλογον καὶ ἄνουν καὶ μωρὰν σοφίαν ὑπεροχικῶς ὑμνοῦντες εἴπωμεν͵ ὅτι παντός ἐστι νοῦ καὶ λόγου καὶ πάσης σοφίας καὶ συνέσεως αἰτία καὶ αὐτῆς ἐστι πᾶσα βουλὴ καὶ παρ΄ αὐτῆς πᾶσα γνῶσις καὶ σύνεσις καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ πάντες οἱ θησαυροὶ τῆς σοφίας καὶ τῆς γνώσεώς εἰσιν ἀπόκρυφοι. Καὶ γὰρ ἑπομένως τοῖς ἤδη προειρημένοις ἡ ὑπέρσο ¹⁹⁵ φος καὶ πάνσοφος αἰτία καὶ τῆς αὐτοσοφίας καὶ τῆς ὅλης καὶ τῆς καθ΄ ἕκαστόν ἐστιν ὑποστάτις.

7.2. From It the contemplated and contemplating powers of the angelic Minds have their simple and blessed conceptions; collecting their divine knowledge, not in portions, or from portions, or sensible perceptions, or detailed reasonings, or arguing from something common to these things, but purified from everything material and multitudinous, they contemplate the conceptions of Divine things intuitively, immaterially and uniformly, and they have their intellectual power and energy re-splendent with the unmixed and undefiled purity, and see at a glance the Divine conceptions indi-visibly and immaterially, and are by the Godlike One moulded, as attainable by reason of the Divine Wisdom, to the Divine and Super-wise Mind and Reason. And souls have their reasoning power, investigating the truth of things by detailed steps and rotation, and through their divided and manifold variety falling short of the single minds, but, by the collection of many towards the One, deemed worthy, even of conceptions equal to the angels, so far as is proper and attainable to souls. But, even as regards the sensible perceptions themselves, one would not miss the mark, if one called them an echo of wisdom. Yet, even the mind of demons, qua mind, is from It; but so far as a mind is irrational, not knowing, and not wishing to attain what it aspires to, we must call it more properly a declension from wisdom. But, since the Divine Wisdom is called source, and cause, and mainstay, ⁸⁹ and completion and guard, and term of wisdom itself, and of every kind, and of every mind and reason, and every sensible perception, how then is Almighty God Himself, the super-wise, celebrated as Mind and Reason and Knowledge? For, how will He conceive any of the objects of intelligence, seeing He has not intellectual operations? or how will He know the objects of sense, seeing He is fixed above all sensible perception? Yet the [biblical] Sayings affirm that He knoweth all things, and that nothing escapes the Divine Knowledge. But, as I have been accustomed to say many times before, we must contemplate things Divine, in a manner becoming God. For the mindless, and the insensible, we must attribute to God, by excess - not by defect, just as we attribute the irrational to Him Who is above reason; and imperfection, to the Super-perfect, and Pre-perfect; and the impalpable, and invisible gloom, to the light which is inaccessible on account of excess of the visible light. So the Divine Mind comprehends all things, by His knowledge surpassing all, having anticipated within Himself the knowledge of all, as beseems the Cause of all; before angels came to being, knowing and producing angels; and knowing all the rest from within; and, so to speak, from the Source Itself, and by bringing into being. And, this, I think, the sacred text teaches, when it says, “He, knowing all things, before their birth.” For, not as learning existing things from existing things, does the Divine Mind know, but from Itself, and in Itself, as Cause, it pre-holds and pre-comprehends ⁹⁰ the notion and knowledge, and essence of all things; not approaching each several thing according to its kind, but knowing and containing all things, within one grasp of the Cause; just as the light, as cause, presupposes in itself the notion of darkness, not knowing the darkness otherwise than from the light. The Divine Wisdom then, by knowing Itself, will know all things; things material, immaterially, and things divisible, indivisibly, and things many, uniformly; both knowing and producing all. things by Itself, the One. For even, if as becomes one Cause, Almighty God distributes being to all things that be, as beseems the self-same, unique Cause, He will know all things, as being from Himself, and pre-established in Himself, and not from things that be will He receive the knowledge of them; but even to each of them, He will be provider of the knowledge of themselves, and of the mutual knowledge of each other. Almighty God, then, has not one knowledge, that of Himself, peculiar to Himself, and another, which embraces in common all things existing; for the very Cause of all things, by knowing Itself, will hardly, I presume, be ignorant of the things from Itself, and of which It is Cause. In this way then, Almighty God knows existing things, not by a knowledge of things existing, but by that of Himself. For the [biblical] Sayings affirm, that the angels also know things on the earth, not as knowing them by sensible perceptions, although objects of sensible perception, but by a proper power and nature of the Godlike Mind. ⁹¹ 

2  Ἐξ αὐτῆς αἱ νοηταὶ καὶ νοεραὶ τῶν ἀγγελικῶν νοῶν δυνάμεις τὰς ἁπλᾶς καὶ μακαρίας ἔχουσι νοήσεις. Οὐκ ἐν μεριστοῖς ἢ ἀπὸ μεριστῶν ἢ αἰσθήσεων ἢ λόγων διεξοδικῶν συνάγουσαι τὴν θείαν γνῶσιν οὐδὲ ὑπό τινος κοινοῦ πρὸς ταῦτα συμπεριεχόμεναι͵ παντὸς δὲ ὑλικοῦ καὶ πλήθους καθαρεύουσαι νοερῶς͵ ἀΰλως͵ ἑνοειδῶς τὰ νοητὰ τῶν θείων νοοῦσιν. Καὶ ἔστιν αὐταῖς ἡ νοερὰ δύναμις καὶ ἐνέργεια τῇ ἀμιγεῖ καὶ ἀχράντῳ καθαρότητι κατηγλαϊσμένη καὶ συνοπτικὴ τῶν θείων νοήσεων ἀμερείᾳ καὶ ἀϋλίᾳ καὶ τῷ θεοειδῶς ἑνὶ πρὸς τὸν θεῖον καὶ ὑπέρσοφον καὶ νοῦν καὶ λόγον͵ ὡς ἐφικτόν͵ ἀποτυπουμένη. Διὰ τὴν θείαν σοφίαν καὶ ψυχαὶ τὸ λογικὸν ἔχουσι διεξοδικῶς μὲν καὶ κύκλῳ περὶ τὴν τῶν ὄντων ἀλήθειαν περιπορευόμεναι καὶ τῷ μεριστῷ καὶ παντοδαπῷ τῆς ποικιλίας ἀπολειπόμεναι τῶν ἑνιαίων νοῶν͵ τῇ δὲ τῶν πολλῶν εἰς τὸ ἓν συνελίξει καὶ τῶν ἰσαγγέλων νοήσεων͵ ἐφ΄ ὅσον ψυχαῖς οἰκεῖον καὶ ἐφικτόν͵ ἀξιούμεναι. Ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς αἰσθήσεις αὐτὰς οὐκ ἄν τις ἁμάρτοι σκοποῦ τῆς σοφίας ἀπήχημα φήσας. Καίτοι καὶ ὁ δαιμόνιος νοῦς͵ ᾗ νοῦς͵ ἐξ αὐτῆς ἐστι͵ καθ΄ ὅσον δὲ νοῦς ἐστιν ἠλογημένος τυχεῖν͵ οὗ ἐφίεται͵ μὴ εἰδὼς μήτε βουλόμενος͵ ἔκπτωσιν σοφίας κυριώτε ρον αὐτὸν προσρητέον. ¹⁹⁶ Ἀλλ΄ ὅτι μὲν σοφίας αὐτῆς καὶ πάσης καὶ νοῦ παντὸς καὶ λόγου καὶ αἰσθήσεως πάσης ἡ θεία σοφία καὶ ἀρχὴ καὶ αἰτία καὶ ὑποστάτις καὶ τελείωσις καὶ φρουρὰ καὶ πέρας εἴρηται͵ πῶς δὲ αὐτὸς ὁ θεὸς ὁ ὑπέρσοφος σοφία καὶ νοῦς καὶ λόγος καὶ γνώστης ὑμνεῖται; Πῶς γὰρ νοήσει τι τῶν νοητῶν οὐκ ἔχων νοερὰς ἐνεργείας ἢ πῶς γνώσεται τὰ αἰσθητὰ πάσης αἰσθήσεως ὑπεριδρυμένος; Καίτοι πάντα αὐτὸν εἰδέναι φησὶ τὰ λόγια καὶ οὐδὲν διαφεύγειν τὴν θείαν γνῶσιν. Ἀλλ΄ ὅπερ ἔφην πολλάκις͵ τὰ θεῖα θεοπρεπῶς νοητέον. Τὸ γὰρ ἄνουν καὶ ἀναίσθητον καθ΄ ὑπεροχήν͵ οὐ κατ΄ ἔλλειψιν ἐπὶ θεοῦ τακτέον ὥσπερ καὶ τὸ ἄλογον ἀνατίθεμεν τῷ ὑπὲρ λόγον καὶ τὴν ἀτέλειαν τῷ ὑπερτελεῖ καὶ προτελείῳ καὶ τὸν ἀναφῆ καὶ ἀόρατον γνόφον τῷ φωτὶ τῷ ἀπροσίτῳ καθ΄ ὑπεροχὴν τοῦ ὁρατοῦ φωτός. Ὥστε ὁ θεῖος νοῦς πάντα συνέχει τῇ πάντων ἐξῃρημένῃ γνώσει κατὰ τὴν πάντων αἰτίαν ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὴν πάντων εἴδησιν προειληφώς͵ πρὶν ἀγγέλους γενέσθαι εἰδὼς καὶ παράγων ἀγγέλους καὶ πάντα τὰ ἄλλα ἔνδοθεν καὶ ἀπ΄ αὐτῆς͵ ἵν΄ οὕτως εἴπω͵ τῆς ἀρχῆς εἰδὼς καὶ εἰς οὐσίαν ἄγων. Καὶ τοῦτο οἶμαι παραδιδόναι τὸ λόγιον͵ ὁπόταν φησίν· Ὁ εἰδὼς τὰ πάντα πρὶν γενέσεως αὐτῶν. Οὐ γὰρ ἐκ τῶν ὄντων τὰ ὄντα μανθάνων οἶδεν ὁ θεῖος νοῦς͵ ἀλλ΄ ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ἐν ἑαυτῷ κατ΄ αἰτίαν τὴν πάντων εἴδησιν καὶ γνῶσιν καὶ οὐσίαν προέχει καὶ προσυνείληφεν οὐ κατ΄ ἰδίαν ἑκάστοις ἐπιβάλλων͵ ἀλλὰ κατὰ μίαν τῆς αἰτίας περιοχὴν τὰ πάντα εἰδὼς καὶ συνέχων ὥσπερ καὶ τὸ φῶς κατ΄ ¹⁹⁷ αἰτίαν ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὴν εἴδησιν τοῦ σκότους προείληφεν οὐκ ἄλλοθεν εἰδὼς τὸ σκότος ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ φωτός. Ἑαυτὴν οὖν ἡ θεία σοφία γινώσκουσα γνώσεται πάντα ἀΰλως τὰ ὑλικὰ καὶ ἀμερίστως τὰ μεριστὰ καὶ τὰ πολλὰ ἑνιαίως αὐτῷ τῷ ἑνὶ τὰ πάντα καὶ γινώσκουσα καὶ παράγουσα. Καὶ γὰρ εἰ κατὰ μίαν αἰτίαν ὁ θεὸς πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσι τοῦ εἶναι μεταδίδωσι͵ κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν ἑνικὴν αἰτίαν εἴσεται πάντα ὡς ἐξ αὐτοῦ ὄντα καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ προϋφεστηκότα καὶ οὐκ ἐκ τῶν ὄντων λήψεται τὴν αὐτῶν γνῶσιν͵ ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτοῖς ἑκάστοις τῆς αὑτῶν καὶ ἄλλοις τῆς ἄλλων γνώσεως ἔσται χορηγός. Οὐκ ἄρα ὁ θεὸς ἰδίαν ἔχει τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γνῶσιν͵ ἑτέραν δὲ τὴν κοινῇ τὰ ὄντα πάντα συλλαμβάνουσαν. Αὐτὴ γὰρ ἑαυτὴν ἡ πάντων αἰτία γινώσκουσα σχολῇ που τὰ ἀφ΄ αὑτῆς καὶ ὧν ἐστιν αἰτία ἀγνοήσει. Ταύτῃ γοῦν ὁ θεὸς τὰ ὄντα γινώσκει οὐ τῇ ἐπιστήμῃ τῶν ὄντων͵ ἀλλὰ τῇ ἑαυτοῦ. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ τοὺς ἀγγέλους εἰδέναι φησὶ τὰ λόγια τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς οὐ κατ΄ αἰσθήσεις αὐτὰ γινώσκοντας αἰσθητά γε ὄντα͵ κατ΄ οἰκείαν δὲ τοῦ θεοειδοῦς νοῦ δύναμιν καὶ φύσιν.

7.3. In addition to these things, we must examine how we know God, Who is neither an object of intellectual nor of sensible perception, nor is absolutely anything of things existing. Never, then, is it true to say, that we know God; not from His own nature (for that is unknown, and surpasses all reason and mind), but, from the ordering of all existing things, as projected from Himself, and containing a sort of images and similitudes of His Divine exemplars, we ascend, as far as we have power, to that which is beyond all, by method and order in the abstraction and pre-eminence of all, and in the Cause of all. Wherefore, Almighty God is known even in all, and apart from all. And through knowledge, Almighty God is known, and through agnosia. And there is, of Him, both conception, and expression, and science, and contact, and sensible perception, and opinion, and imagination, and name, and all the rest. And He is neither conceived, nor expressed, nor named. And He is not any of existing things, nor is He known in any one of existing things. And He is all in all, and nothing in none. And He is known to all, from all, and to none from none. For, we both say these things correctly concerning God, and He is celebrated from all existing things, according to the analogy of all things, of which He is Cause. And there is, further, the most Divine Knowledge of Almighty God, which is known, through not knowing (agnosia) during the union above mind; when the mind, having stood apart from all existing ⁹² things, then having dismissed also itself, has been made one with the super-luminous rays, thence and there being illuminated by the unsearchable depth of wisdom. Yet, even from all things, as I said, we may know It, for It is, according to the sacred text, the Cause formative of all, and ever harmonizing all, and (Cause) of the indissoluble adaptation and order of all, and ever uniting 38 the ends of the former to the beginnings of those that follow, and beautifying the one symphony and harmony of the whole.

3  Ἐπὶ δὲ τούτοις ζητῆσαι χρή͵ πῶς ἡμεῖς θεὸν γινώσκομεν οὐδὲ νοητὸν οὐδὲ αἰσθητὸν οὐδέ τι καθόλου τῶν ὄντων ὄντα. Μήποτε οὖν ἀληθὲς εἰπεῖν͵ ὅτι θεὸν γινώσκομεν οὐκ ἐκ τῆς αὐτοῦ φύσεως͵ ἄγνωστον γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ πάντα λόγον καὶ νοῦν ὑπεραῖρον͵ ἀλλ΄ ἐκ τῆς πάντων τῶν ὄντων διατάξεως ὡς ἐξ αὐτοῦ προβεβλημένης καὶ εἰκόνας τινὰς καὶ ὁμοιώματα τῶν θείων αὐτοῦ παραδειγμάτων ἐχούσης εἰς τὸ ἐπέκεινα ¹⁹⁸ πάντων ὁδῷ καὶ τάξει κατὰ δύναμιν ἄνιμεν ἐν τῇ πάντων ἀφαιρέσει καὶ ὑπεροχῇ καὶ ἐν τῇ πάντων αἰτίᾳ. Διὸ καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν ὁ θεὸς γινώσκεται καὶ χωρὶς πάντων. Καὶ διὰ γνώσεως ὁ θεὸς γινώσκεται καὶ διὰ ἀγνωσίας. Καὶ ἔστιν αὐτοῦ καὶ νόησις καὶ λόγος καὶ ἐπιστήμη καὶ ἐπαφὴ καὶ αἴσθησις καὶ δόξα καὶ φαντασία καὶ ὄνομα καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα͵ καὶ οὔτε νοεῖται οὔτε λέγεται οὔτε ὀνομάζεται. Καὶ οὐκ ἔστι τι τῶν ὄντων͵ οὐδὲ ἔν τινι τῶν ὄντων γινώσκεται. Καὶ ἐν πᾶσι πάντα ἐστὶ καὶ ἐν οὐδενὶ οὐδὲν καὶ ἐκ πάντων πᾶσι γινώσκεται καὶ ἐξ οὐδενὸς οὐδενί. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ταῦτα ὀρθῶς περὶ θεοῦ λέγομεν͵ καὶ ἐκ τῶν ὄντων ἁπάντων ὑμνεῖται κατὰ τὴν πάντων ἀναλογίαν͵ ὧν ἐστιν αἴτιος. Καὶ ἔστιν αὖθις ἡ θειοτάτη θεοῦ γνῶσις ἡ δι΄ ἀγνωσίας γινωσκομένη κατὰ τὴν ὑπὲρ νοῦν ἕνωσιν͵ ὅταν ὁ νοῦς τῶν ὄντων πάντων ἀποστάς͵ ἔπειτα καὶ ἑαυτὸν ἀφεὶς ἑνωθῇ ταῖς ὑπερφαέσιν ἀκτῖσιν ἐκεῖθεν καὶ ἐκεῖ τῷ ἀνεξερευνήτῳ βάθει τῆς σοφίας καταλαμπόμενος. Καίτοι καὶ ἐκ πάντων͵ ὅπερ ἔφην͵ αὐτὴν γνωστέον· αὕτη γάρ ἐστι κατὰ τὸ λόγιον ἡ πάντων ποιητικὴ καὶ ἀεὶ πάντα ἁρμόζουσα καὶ τῆς ἀλύτου τῶν πάντων ἐφαρμογῆς καὶ τάξεως αἰτία καὶ ἀεὶ τὰ τέλη τῶν προτέρων συνάπτουσα ταῖς ἀρχαῖς τῶν δευτέρων καὶ τὴν μίαν τοῦ παντὸς σύμπνοιαν καὶ ἁρμονίαν καλλιεργοῦσα.

7.4. But Almighty God is celebrated in the holy [biblical] Sayings as “Logos”; not only because He is provider of reason and mind and wisdom, but because He anticipated the causes of all, solitarily in Himself, and because He passes through all, as the [biblical] Sayings say, even to the end of all things; and even more than these, because the Divine Word surpasses every simplicity, and is set free from all, as the Superessential. This “Logos “is the simple and really existing truth, around which, as a pure and unerring knowledge of the whole, the Divine Faith is - the enduring foundation of the believers - which establishes them in the truth, and the truth in them, by an unchangeable identity, they having the pure knowledge of the truth of the things believed. For, if knowledge unites the knowing and the known, but ignorance is ever a cause to the ignorant person of ⁹³ change, and of separation from himself, nothing will move one who has believed in the truth, according to the sacred Logos, from true Faith’s Sanctuary upon which he will have the steadfastness of his unmoved, unchangeable identity. For, well does he know, who has been united to the Truth, that it is well with him although the multitude may admonish him as “wandering.” For it probably escapes them, that he is wandering from error to the truth, through the veritable faith. But, he truly knows himself, not, as they say, mad, but as liberated from the unstable and variable course around the manifold variety of error, through the simple, and ever the same, and similar truth. Thus then the early leaders 39 of our Divine Theosophy are dying every day, on behalf of truth, testifying as is natural, both by every word and deed, to the one knowledge of the truth of the Christians, that it is of all, both more simple and more Divine, yea rather, that it is the sole true and one and simple knowledge of God.

4  Λόγος δὲ ὁ θεὸς ὑμνεῖται πρὸς τῶν ἱερῶν λογίων οὐ μόνον͵ ὅτι καὶ λόγου καὶ νοῦ καὶ σοφίας ἐστὶ χορηγός͵ ἀλλ΄ ὅτι καὶ τὰς πάντων αἰτίας ἐν ἑαυτῷ μονοειδῶς προείληφε καὶ ὅτι διὰ πάντων χωρεῖ ¹⁹⁹ διικνούμενος͵ ὡς τὰ λόγιά φησιν͵ ἄχρι τοῦ πάντων τέλους͵ καὶ πρό γε τούτων͵ ὅτι πάσης ἁπλότητος ὁ θεῖος ὑπερήπλωται λόγος καὶ πάντων ἐστὶν ὑπὲρ πάντα κατὰ τὸ ὑπερούσιον ἀπολελυμένος. Οὗτος ὁ λόγος ἐστὶν ἡ ἁπλῆ καὶ ὄντως οὖσα ἀλήθεια͵ περὶ ἣν ὡς καθαρὰν καὶ ἀπλανῆ τῶν ὅλων γνῶσιν ἡ θεία πίστις ἔστιν͵ ἡ μόνιμος τῶν πεπεισμένων ἵδρυσις ἡ τούτους ἐνιδρύουσα τῇ ἀληθείᾳ καὶ αὐτοῖς τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἀμεταπείστῳ ταυτότητι τὴν ἁπλῆν τῆς ἀληθείας γνῶσιν ἐχόντων τῶν πεπεισμένων. Εἰ γὰρ ἡ γνῶσις ἑνωτικὴ τῶν ἐγνωκότων καὶ ἐγνωσμένων͵ ἡ δὲ ἄγνοια μεταβολῆς ἀεὶ καὶ τῆς ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ τῷ ἀγνοοῦντι διαιρέσεως αἰτία͵ τὸν ἐν ἀληθείᾳ πιστεύσαντα κατὰ τὸν ἱερὸν λόγον οὐδὲν ἀποκινήσει τῆς κατὰ τὴν ἀληθῆ πίστιν ἑστίας͵ ἐφ΄ ᾗ τὸ μόνιμον ἕξει τῆς ἀκινήτου καὶ ἀμεταβό λου ταυτότητος. Εὖ γὰρ οἶδεν ὁ πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἑνωθείς͵ ὅτι εὖ ἔχει͵ κἂν οἱ πολλοὶ νουθετοῖεν αὐτὸν ὡς ἐξεστηκότα. Λανθάνει μὲν ὡς εἰκὸς αὐτοὺς ἐκ πλάνης τῇ ἀληθείᾳ διὰ τῆς ὄντως πίστεως ἐξεστηκώς͵ αὐτὸς δὲ ἀληθῶς οἶδεν ἑαυτὸν οὐχ͵ ὅ φασιν ἐκεῖνοι͵ μαινόμενον͵ ἀλλὰ τῆς ἀστάτου καὶ ἀλλοιωτῆς περὶ τὴν παντοδαπῆ τῆς πλάνης ποικιλίαν φορᾶς διὰ τῆς ἁπλῆς καὶ ἀεὶ κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ καὶ ὡσαύτως ἐχούσης ἀληθείας ἠλευθερωμένον. Οὕτω γοῦν οἱ τῆς καθ΄ ἡμᾶς θεοσοφίας ἀρχηγικοὶ καθηγεμόνες ὑπὲρ ἀληθείας ἀποθνῄσκουσι πᾶσαν ἡμέραν μαρτυροῦντες ὡς εἰκὸς καὶ λόγῳ παντὶ καὶ ἔργῳ τῇ ἑνιαίᾳ τῶν Χριστιανῶν ἀληθογνωσίᾳ τὸ πασῶν αὐτὴν εἶναι ²⁰⁰ καὶ ἁπλουστέραν καὶ θειοτέραν͵ μᾶλλον δὲ τὸ αὐτὴν εἶναι τὴν μόνην ἀληθῆ καὶ μίαν καὶ ἁπλῆν θεογνωσίαν.

CHAPTER 8

2

Concerning power, justice, preservation, redemption, in which also concerning inequality.

8.1. BUT since the theologians sing the Divine truth fulness and super-wise wisdom, both as power and ⁹⁴ as justice, and designate It preservation and redemption, come then, let us unfold these Divine Names also, as best we can. Now, that the Godhead is pre-eminent above, and surpasses every power, howsoever being and conceived, I do not suppose any of those nourished in the Divine [biblical] Sayings does not know. For on many occasions the Word of God attributes the Lordship to It, even when distinguishing It from the supercelestial powers themselves. How then do the theologians sing it also as a Power, which is pre-eminent above every power? or how ought we to understand the name of power as applied to It?

1  Ἀλλ΄ ἐπειδὴ τὴν θείαν ἀληθότητα καὶ ὑπέρσοφον σοφίαν καὶ ὡς δύναμιν ὑμνοῦσι καὶ ὡς δικαιοσύνην οἱ θεολόγοι καὶ σωτηρίαν αὐτὴν ἀποκαλοῦσι καὶ ἀπολύτρωσιν͵ φέρε͵ καὶ ταύτας͵ ὡς ἐφικτὸν ἡμῖν͵ τὰς θεωνυμίας ἀναπτύξωμεν. Καὶ ὅτι μὲν ἡ θεαρχία πάσης ἐξῄρηται καὶ ὑπερέχει τῆς ὅπως ποτὲ καὶ οὔσης καὶ ἐπινοουμένης δυνάμεως͵ οὐκ οἶμαί τινα τῶν ἐν τοῖς θείοις λογίοις ἐντεθραμμένων ἀγνοεῖν. Πολλαχοῦ γὰρ ἡ θεολογία καὶ τὴν κυρείαν αὐτῇ καὶ αὐτῶν τῶν ὑπερουρανίων δυνάμεων ἀφορίζουσα παραδέδωκεν. Πῶς οὖν αὐτὴν οἱ θεολόγοι καὶ ὡς δύναμιν ὑμνοῦσι τὴν πάσης ἐξῃρημένην δυνάμεως; ῍Η πῶς ἐπ΄ αὐτῇ τὴν δυναμω νυμίαν ἐκλάβοιμεν; ²⁰¹

8.2. We say, then, that Almighty God is Power, as pre-having, and super-having, every power in Himself, and as Author of every power, and producing everything as beseems a Power inflexible and unencom-passed, and as being Author of the very existence of power, either the universal or particular, and as boundless in power, not only by the production of all power, but by being above all, even the self. existent Power, and by His superior power, and by His bringing into existence, ad infinitum, endless powers other than the existing powers; and by the fact that the endless powers, even when brought into existence without end, are not able to blunt the super-endless production of His power-making power; and by the unutterable and unknown, and inconceivable nature of His all-surpassing power, which, ⁹⁵ through abundance of the powerful, gives power even to weakness, and holds together and preserves the remotest of its echoes; as also we may see even with regard to the powerful insensible perception, that the super-brilliant lights reach even to obscure visions, and they say, that the loud sounds enter even into ears which are not very well adapted to the reception of sounds. For that which does not hear at all is not hearing; and that which does not see at all is not sight.

2  Λέγωμεν τοίνυν͵ ὅτι δύναμις ἔστιν ὁ θεὸς ὡς πᾶσαν δύναμιν ἐν ἑαυτῷ προέχων καὶ ὑπερέχων καὶ ὡς πάσης δυνάμεως αἴτιος καὶ πάντα κατὰ δύναμιν ἄκλιτον καὶ ἀπεριόριστον παράγων καὶ ὡς αὐτοῦ τοῦ εἶναι δύναμιν ἢ τὴν ὅλην ἢ τὴν καθ΄ ἕκαστον αἴτιος ὢν καὶ ὡς ἀπειροδύναμος οὐ μόνον τῷ πᾶσαν δύναμιν παράγειν͵ ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν καὶ τὴν αὐτοδύναμιν εἶναι καὶ τῷ ὑπερδύνασθαι καὶ ἀπειράκις ἀπείρους τῶν οὐσῶν δυνάμεων ἑτέρας παραγαγεῖν καὶ τῷ μὴ ἄν ποτε δυνηθῆναι τὰς ἀπείρους καὶ ἐπ΄ ἄπειρον παραγομένας δυνάμεις τὴν ὑπεράπειρον αὐτοῦ τῆς δυναμοποιοῦ δυνάμεως ἀμβλῦναι ποίησιν͵ καὶ τῷ ἀφθέγκτῳ καὶ ἀγνώστῳ καὶ ἀνεπινοήτῳ τῆς πάντα ὑπερεχούσης αὐτοῦ δυνάμεως ἢ διὰ περιουσίαν τοῦ δυνατοῦ καὶ τὴν ἀσθένειαν δυναμοῖ καὶ τὰ ἔσχατα τῶν ἀπηχημάτων αὐτῆς συνέχει καὶ διακρατεῖ καθάπερ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν κατ΄ αἴσθησιν δυνατῶν ὁρῶμεν͵ ὅτι τὰ ὑπέρλαμπρα φῶτα καὶ μέχρι τῶν ἀμβλειῶν ὁράσεων φθάνει͵ καὶ τοὺς μεγάλους φασὶ τῶν ψόφων καὶ εἰς τὰς μὴ λίαν εὐκόλως τῶν ἤχων ἀντιλαμβανομένας ἀκοὰς εἰσδύεσθαι. Τὸ γὰρ πάντη ἀνήκοον οὐδὲ ἀκοὴ καὶ τὸ καθόλου μὴ βλέπον οὐδὲ ὅρασις.

8.3. The distribution, then, of boundless power, from Almighty God, passes to all beings, and there is no single being which is utterly deprived of the possession of some power; but it has either intellectual, or rational, or sensible, or vital, or essential power; yea even, if one may say so, self-existent being has power to be from the superessential Power.

3  Αὕτη δ΄ οὖν ἡ ἀπειροδύναμος τοῦ θεοῦ διάδοσις εἰς πάντα τὰ ὄντα χωρεῖ͵ καὶ οὐδὲν ἔστι τῶν ὄντων͵ ὃ παντελῶς ἀφῄρηται τὸ ἔχειν τινὰ δύναμιν͵ ἀλλ΄ ἢ νοερὰν ἢ λογικὴν ἢ αἰσθητικὴν ἢ ζωτικὴν ἢ οὐσιώδη δύναμιν ἔχει͵ καὶ αὐτὸ δέ͵ εἰ θέμις εἰπεῖν͵ τὸ εἶναι δύναμιν εἰς τὸ εἶναι ἔχει παρὰ τῆς ὑπερουσίου δυνάμεως.

8.4. From It, are the godlike powers of the angelic ranks; from It, they have their immutability, and all their intellectual and immortal perpetual movements; and their equilibrium itself, and their undiminishable aspiration after good, they have received from the Power boundless in goodness; since It commits to them the power to be, and to be such, and to aspire always to be, and the power itself to aspire to have the power always. ⁹⁶ 

4  Ἐξ αὐτῆς εἰσιν αἱ θεοειδεῖς τῶν ἀγγελικῶν διακόσμων δυνάμεις͵ ²⁰² ἐξ αὐτῆς καὶ τὸ εἶναι ἀμεταπτώτως ἔχουσι καὶ πάσας αὐτῶν τὰς νοερὰς καὶ ἀθανάτους ἀεικινησίας καὶ τὸ ἀῤῥεπὲς αὐτὸ καὶ τὴν ἀνελάττωτον ἔφεσιν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ πρὸς τῆς ἀπειραγάθου δυνάμεως εἰλήφασιν αὐτῆς ἐφιείσης αὐτοῖς τὸ δύνασθαι καὶ εἶναι ταῦτα καὶ ἐφίεσθαι ἀεὶ εἶναι καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ δύνασθαι ἐφίεσθαι τοῦ ἀεὶ δύνασθαι.

8.5. But the gifts of the unfailing Power pass on, both to men and living creatures, and plants, and the entire nature of the universe; and It empowers things united for their mutual friendship and communion, and things divided for their being each within their own sphere and limit, without confusion, and without mingling; and preserves the order and good relations of the whole, for their own proper good, and guards the undying lives of the individual angels inviolate; and the heavenly and the life-giving and astral bodies 40 and orders without change: and makes the period of time possible to be; and disperses the revolutions of time by their progressions, and collects them together by their returns; and makes the powers of fire unquenchable, and the rills of water unfailing; and sets bounds to the aerial current, and establishes the earth upon nothing; and guards its life-giving throes from perishing; and preserves the mutual harmony and mingling of the elements without confusion, and without division; and holds together the bond of soul and body; and arouses the nourishing and growing powers of plants; and sustains the essential powers of the whole; and secures the continuance of the universe without dissolution, and bequeaths the deification Itself, by furnishing a power for this to those who are being deified. And in a word, there is absolutely no single thing which is deprived of ⁹⁷ the overruling surety and embrace of the Divine Power. For that which absolutely has no power, neither is, nor is anything, nor is there any sort of position of it whatever.

5  Πρόεισι δὲ τὰ τῆς ἀνεκλείπτου δυνάμεως καὶ εἰς ἀνθρώπους καὶ ζῷα καὶ φυτὰ καὶ τὴν ὅλην τοῦ παντὸς φύσιν καὶ δυναμοῖ τὰ ἡνωμένα πρὸς τὴν ἀλλήλων φιλίαν καὶ κοινωνίαν καὶ τὰ διακεκριμένα πρὸς τὸ εἶναι κατὰ τὸν οἰκεῖον ἕκαστα λόγον καὶ ὅρον ἀσύγχυτα καὶ ἀσύμφυρτα καὶ τὰς τοῦ παντὸς τάξεις καὶ εὐθημοσύνας εἰς τὸ οἰκεῖον ἀγαθὸν διασώζει καὶ τὰς ἀθανάτους τῶν ἀγγελικῶν ἑνάδων ζωὰς ἀλωβήτους διαφυλάττει καὶ τὰς οὐρανίας καὶ φωστηρικὰς καὶ ἀστρῴους οὐσίας καὶ τάξεις ἀν αλλοιώτους καὶ τὸν αἰῶνα δύνασθαι εἶναι ποιεῖ καὶ τὰς τοῦ χρόνου περιελίξεις διακρίνει μὲν ταῖς προόδοις͵ συνάγει δὲ ταῖς ἀποκαταστάσεσι καὶ τὰς τοῦ πυρὸς δυνάμεις ἀσβέστους ποιεῖ καὶ τὰς τοῦ ὕδατος ἐπιῤῥοὰς ἀνεκλείπτους καὶ τὴν ἀερίαν χύσιν ὁρίζει καὶ τὴν γῆν ἐπ΄ οὐδενὸς ἱδρύει καὶ τὰς ζωογόνους αὐτῆς ὠδῖνας ἀδιαφθόρους φυλάττει καὶ τὴν ἐν ἀλλήλοις τῶν στοιχείων ἁρμονίαν καὶ κρᾶσιν ἀσύγχυτον καὶ ἀδιαίρετον ἀποσώζει καὶ τὴν ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος σύνδεσιν συνέχει καὶ τὰς τῶν φυτῶν θρεπτικὰς καὶ αὐξητικὰς δυνάμεις ἀνακινεῖ καὶ διακρατεῖ τὰς οὐσιώδεις τῶν ὅλων δυνάμεις καὶ τὴν τοῦ παντὸς ἀδιάλυτον μονὴν ἀσφαλίζεται καὶ τὴν θέωσιν αὐτὴν δωρεῖται δύναμιν εἰς τοῦτο τοῖς ἐκθεουμένοις παρέχουσα. ²⁰³ Καὶ ὅλως οὐδὲν ἔστι καθόλου τῶν ὄντων τὴν παντοκρατορικὴν ἀσφά λειαν καὶ περιοχὴν τῆς θείας δυνάμεως ἀφῃρημένον. Τὸ γὰρ καθόλου μηδεμίαν δύναμιν ἔχον οὔτε ἔστιν οὔτε τι ἔστιν οὔτε ἔστι τις αὐτοῦ παντελῶς θέσις.

8.6. Yet Elymas, the Magician, says, “if Almighty God is All-powerful, how is He said by your theologian, not to be able to do some thing “? But he calumniates the Divine Paul, who said, “that Almighty God is not able to deny Himself.” Now in advancing this, I very much fear lest I should incur ridicule for folly, as undertaking to pull down frail houses, built upon the sand by little boys at play; and as being eager to aim at the theological intelligence of this, as if it were some inaccessible mark. For, the denial of Himself, is a falling from truth, but the truth is an existent, and the falling from the truth is a falling from the existent. If, then, the truth is an existent, and the denial of the truth a falling from the existent, Almighty God cannot fall from the existent, and non-existence is not; as any one might say, the powerless is not powerful; and ignorance, by privation, does not know. The wise man, not having understood this, imitates those inexperienced wrestlers, who, very often, by assuming that their adversaries are weak, according to their own opinion, and manfully making a show of fight with them, when absent, and courageously beating the air with empty blows, think that they have overcome their antagonists, and proclaim themselves ⁹⁸ victors (though) not yet having experienced their rivals’ strength. But we, conjecturing the meaning of the Theologian to the best of our ability, celebrate the Super-powerful God, as Omnipotent, as blessed, and only Lord; as reigning in the kingdom of Eter-. nity itself; as in no respect fallen from things existing; - but rather, as both super-having and pre-having all existing things, as beseems Power superessential; and as having bequeathed to all things being, the power to be, and this their being in an ungrudging stream, as beseems abundance of surpassing power.

6  Καίτοι φησὶν Ἐλύμας ὁ μάγος· Εἰ παντοδύναμός ἐστιν ὁ θεός͵ πῶς λέγεταί τι μὴ δύνασθαι πρὸς τοῦ καθ΄ ὑμᾶς θεολόγου; Λοιδορεῖται δὲ τῷ θείῳ Παύλῳ φήσαντι μὴ δύνασθαι τὸν θεὸν ἑαυτὸν ἀρνήσασθαι. Προ θεὶς δὲ τοῦτο λίαν ὀῤῥωδῶ͵ μὴ καὶ ἀνοίας ὀφλήσω γέλωτα παίδων ἀθυρόντων οἰκοδομήματα καὶ ἐπὶ ψάμμου καὶ ἀσθενῆ καταλύειν ἐπι χειρῶν καὶ ὥσπερ τινὸς ἀνεφίκτου σκοποῦ καταστοχάζεσθαι σπεύδων τῆς περὶ τούτου θεολογικῆς διανοίας. Ἡ γὰρ ἑαυτοῦ ἄρνησις ἔκπτωσις ἀληθείας ἐστίν͵ ἡ δὲ ἀλήθεια ὄν ἐστι καὶ ἡ τῆς ἀληθείας ἔκπτωσις τοῦ ὄντος ἔκπτωσις. Εἰ τοίνυν ἡ ἀλήθεια ὄν ἐστιν͵ ἡ δὲ ἄρνησις τῆς ἀληθείας τοῦ ὄντος ἔκπτωσις͵ ἐκ τοῦ ὄντος ἐκπεσεῖν ὁ θεὸς οὐ δύναται͵ καὶ τὸ μὴ εἶναι οὐκ ἔστιν͵ ὡς ἄν τις φαίη͵ τὸ μὴ δύνασθαι οὐ δύναται καὶ τὸ μὴ εἰδέναι κατὰ στέρησιν οὐκ οἶδεν. ῞οπερ ὁ σοφὸς οὐκ ἐννοήσας μιμεῖται τοὺς τῶν ἀθλητῶν ἀπειρονίκας͵ οἳ πολλάκις ἀσθενεῖς εἶναι τοὺς ἀνταγωνιστὰς ὑποθέμενοι κατὰ τὸ δοκοῦν ἑαυτοῖς καὶ πρὸς ἀπόντας αὐτοὺς ἀνδρείως σκιαμαχοῦντες καὶ τὸν ἀέρα διακένοις πληγαῖς εὐθαρσῶς καταπαίοντες οἴονται τῶν ἀντιπάλων αὐτῶν κεκρατηκέναι καὶ ἀνακηρύττουσιν ἑαυτοὺς οὔτε εἰδότες τὴν ἐκείνων δύναμιν. Ἡμεῖς δὲ τοῦ θεολόγου κατὰ τὸ ἐφικτὸν στοχαζόμενοι τὸν ὑπερδύναμον θεὸν ὑμνοῦμεν ὡς παντοδύναμον͵ ὡς μακάριον καὶ μόνον δυνάστην͵ ὡς δεσπόζοντα ἐν τῇ δυναστείᾳ αὐτοῦ τοῦ αἰῶνος͵ ὡς κατ΄ οὐδὲν τῶν ὄντων ²⁰⁴ ἐκπεπτωκότα͵ μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ ὑπερέχοντα καὶ προέχοντα πάντα τὰ ὄντα κατὰ δύναμιν ὑπερούσιον καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσι τὸ δύνασθαι εἶναι καὶ τόδε εἶναι κατὰ περιουσίαν ὑπερβαλλούσης δυνάμεως ἀφθόνῳ χύσει δεδωρημένον.

8.7. But further, Almighty God is celebrated as justice, as distributing things suitable to all, both due measure, and beauty, and good order, and arrangement, and marking out all distributions and orders for each, according to that which truly is the most just limit, and as being Cause for all of the free action of each. For the Divine Justice arranges and disposes all things, and preserving all things unmingled and unconfused, from all, gives to all existing beings things convenient for each, according to the due falling to each existing thing. And, if we speak correctly, all those who abuse the Divine Justice, unconsciously convict themselves of a manifest injustice. For they say, that immortality ought to be in mortals, and perfection in the imperfect, and imposed necessity in the free, and ⁹⁹ identity in the variable, and perfect power in the weak, and the temporal should be eternal, and things moveable by nature, unchangeable, and that temporary pleasures should be eternal; and in one word, they assign the properties of one thing to another. They ought to know that the Divine Justice in this respect is really a true justice, because it distributes to all the things proper to themselves, according to the fitness of each existing thing, and preserves the nature of each in its own order and capacity.

7  Δικαιοσύνη δὲ αὖθις ὁ θεὸς ὡς πᾶσι τὰ κατ΄ ἀξίαν ἀπονέμων ὑμνεῖται καὶ εὐμετρίαν καὶ κάλλος καὶ εὐταξίαν καὶ διακόσμησιν καὶ πάσας διανομὰς καὶ τάξεις ἀφορίζων ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὸν ὄντως ὄντα δικαιότατον ὅρον καὶ πᾶσι τῆς αὐτῶν ἑκάστων αὐτοπραγίας αἴτιος ὤν. Πάντα γὰρ ἡ θεία δικαιοσύνη τάττει καὶ ὁροθετεῖ καὶ πάντα ἀπὸ πάντων ἀμιγῆ καὶ ἀσύμφυρτα διασώζουσα τὰ ἑκάστῳ προσήκοντα πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσι δωρεῖται κατὰ τὴν ἑκάστῳ τῶν ὄντων ἐπιβάλλουσαν ἀξίαν. Καὶ εἰ ταῦτα ὀρθῶς φαμεν͵ ὅσοι τῇ θείᾳ διαλοιδοροῦνται δικαιοσύνῃ͵ λανθάνουσιν ἑαυτῶν ἀδικίαν ἐναργῆ καταψηφιζόμενοι͵ φασὶ γὰρ ὀφείλειν ἐνεῖναι τοῖς θνητοῖς τὴν ἀθανασίαν καὶ τοῖς ἀτελέσι τὸ τέλειον καὶ τοῖς αὐτοκινήτοις τὴν ἑτεροκίνητον ἀνάγκην καὶ τοῖς ἀλλοιωτοῖς τὴν ταὐ τότητα καὶ τὰ τελειοδύναμα τοῖς ἀσθενέσι καὶ ἀΐδια εἶναι τὰ ἔγχρονα καὶ ἀμετάβολα τὰ φύσει κινούμενα καὶ τὰς ἐπικαίρους ἡδονὰς αἰωνίας͵ καὶ ὅλως τὰ ἄλλων ἄλλοις ἀποδιδόασιν. Δέον εἰδέναι τὴν θείαν δικαιοσύνην ἐν τούτῳ ὄντως οὖσαν ἀληθῆ δικαιοσύνην͵ ὅτι πᾶσιν ἀπονέμει τὰ οἰκεῖα κατὰ τὴν ἑκάστου τῶν ὄντων ἀξίαν καὶ τὴν ἑκάστου φύσιν ἐπὶ τῆς οἰκείας διασώζει τάξεως καὶ δυνάμεως. ²⁰⁵

8.8. But some one may say, it is not the mark of justice to leave pious men without assistance, when they are ground down by evil men. To which we must reply, that, if those whom you call pious do indeed love things on earth, which are zealously sought after by the earthly, they have altogether fallen from the Divine Love. And I do not know how they could be called pious, when they unjustly treat things truly loveable and divine, which do not at once surpass in influence in their estimation things undesirable and unloveable. But, if they love the realities, they who desire certain things ought to rejoice when they attain the things desired. Are they not then nearer the angelic virtues, when, as far as possible, by aspiration after things Divine, they withdraw from the affection for earthly things, by being exercised very manfully to this, in their perils, on behalf of the beautiful? So that, it is true ¹⁰⁰ to say, that this is rather a property of the Divine Justice - not to pamper and destroy the bravery of the best, by the gifts of earthly things, nor, if any one should attempt to do this, to leave them without assistance, but to establish them in the excellent and harsh condition, and to dispense to them, as being such, things meet for them.

8  Ἀλλ΄ εἴποι ἄν τις· Οὐκ ἔστι δικαιοσύνης ἄνδρας ὁσίους ἐᾶν ἀβοηθήτους ὑπὸ τῶν φαύλων ἐκτρυχομένους. Πρὸς ὃν ῥητέον· Ὡς εἰ μὲν ἀγαπῶσιν͵ οὓς φῂς ὁσίους͵ τὰ ἐπὶ γῆς ὑπὸ τῶν προσύλων ζηλούμενα͵ τοῦ θείου πάντως ἐκπεπτώκασιν ἔρωτος͵ καὶ οὐκ οἶδα͵ ὅπως ὅσιοι κληθεῖεν ἂν ἀδικοῦντες τὰ ὄντως ἐραστὰ καὶ θεῖα τοῖς ἀζηλώτοις καὶ ἀνεράστοις ὑπ΄ αὐτῶν οὐκ εὐαγῶς παρευδοκιμούμενα. Εἰ δὲ τῶν ὄντως ὄντων ἐρῶσιν͵ εὐφραίνεσθαι χρὴ τοὺς τινῶν ἐφιεμένους͵ ἡνίκα τῶν ἐφετῶν τυγχάνωσιν. ῍Η οὐχὶ τότε μᾶλλον πλησιάζουσι ταῖς ἀγγελικαῖς ἀρεταῖς͵ ὅταν͵ ὡς δυνατόν͵ ἐφέσει τῶν θείων ἀναχωροῦσι τῆς τῶν ὑλικῶν προσ παθείας ἐγγυμναζόμενοι πρὸς τοῦτο λίαν ἀνδρικῶς ἐν ταῖς ὑπὲρ τοῦ καλοῦ περιστάσεσιν; Ὥστε ἀληθὲς εἰπεῖν͵ ὅτι τοῦτο μᾶλλόν ἐστι τῆς θείας δικαιοσύνης ἴδιον τὸ μὴ θέλγειν καὶ ἀπολλύειν τῶν ἀρίστων τὴν ἀῤῥενότητα ταῖς τῶν ὑλικῶν διαδόσεσι͵ μηδέ͵ εἴ τις ἐπιχειροίη τοῦτο ποιεῖν͵ ἐᾶν ἀβοηθήτους͵ ἀλλ΄ ἐνιδρύειν αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ καλῇ καὶ ἀμειλίκτῳ στάσει καὶ ἀπονέμειν αὐτοῖς τοιούτοις οὖσι τὰ κατ΄ ἀξίαν.

8.9. This Divine Justice, then, is celebrated also even as preservation of the whole, as preserving and guarding the essence and order of each, distinct and pure from the rest; and as being genuine cause of each minding its own business in the whole. But, if any one should also celebrate this preservation, as rescuing savingly the whole from the worse, we will entirely accept this as the cantique of the manifold preservation, and we will deem him worthy to define this even as the principal preservation of the whole, which preserves all things in themselves, without change, undisturbed and unswaying to the worse; and guards all things without strife and without war, each being regulated by their own methods; and excludes all inequality and minding others’ business, from the whole; and maintains the relations of each from falling to things contrary, and from migrating. And since, without missing the mark of the sacred theology, one might celebrate this preservation as redeeming all things existing, by the goodness which is preservative of all, from falling away from their own proper goods, so far ¹⁰¹ as the nature of each of those who are being preserved admits; wherefore also the Theologians name it redemption, both so far as it does not permit things really being to fall away to non-existence, and so far as, if anything should have been led astray to discord and disorder, and should suffer any diminution of the perfection of its own proper goods, even this it redeems from passion and listlessness and loss; supplying what is deficient, and paternally overlooking the slackness, and raising up from evil; yea, rather, establishing in the good, and filling -up the leaking good, and arranging and adorning its disorder and deformity, and making it complete, and liberating it from all its blemishes. But let this suffice concerning these matters, and concerning Justice, in accordance with which the equality of all is measured and defined, and every inequality, which arises from deprivation of the equality, in each thing severally, is excluded. For, if any one should interpret inequality as distinctions in the whole, of the whole, in relation to the whole, Justice guards even this, not permitting the whole, when they have become mingled throughout, to be thrown into confusion, but keeping all existing things within each particular kind, in which each was intended by nature, to be. ¹⁰² 

9  Αὕτη γοῦν ἡ θεία δικαιοσύνη καὶ σωτηρία τῶν ὅλων ὑμνεῖται τὴν ἰδίαν ἑκάστου καὶ καθαρὰν ἀπὸ τῶν ἄλλων οὐσίαν καὶ τάξιν ἀποσώ ζουσα καὶ φυλάττουσα καὶ αἰτία καθαρῶς οὖσα τῆς ἐν τοῖς ὅλοις ἰδιοπρα γίας. Εἰ δέ τις τὴν σωτηρίαν ὑμνοίη καὶ ὡς ἐκ τῶν χειρόνων τὰ ὅλα σωστικῶς ἀναρπάζουσαν͵ πάντως που καὶ τοῦτον ἡμεῖς τὸν ὑμνῳδὸν τῆς ²⁰⁶ παντοδαπῆς σωτηρίας ἀποδεξόμεθα καὶ ταύτην δὲ καὶ πρώτην σωτηρίαν τῶν ὅλων ἀξιώσομεν αὐτὸν ὁρίζεσθαι τὴν πάντα ἐφ΄ ἑαυτῶν ἀμετάβλητα καὶ ἀστασίαστα καὶ ἀῤῥεπῆ πρὸς τὰ χείρω διασώζουσαν καὶ πάντα φρουροῦσαν ἄμαχα καὶ ἀπολέμητα τοῖς ἑαυτῶν ἕκαστα λόγοις διακοσμούμενα καὶ πᾶσαν ἀνισότητα καὶ ἀλλοτριοπραγίαν ἐκ τῶν ὅλων ἐξορίζουσαν καὶ τὰς ἀναλογίας ἑκάστου συνιστάνουσαν ἀμεταπτώτους εἰς τὰ ἐναντία καὶ ἀμεταχωρήτους. Ἐπεὶ καὶ ταύτην τὴν σωτηρίαν οὐκ ἀπὸ σκοποῦ τις ὑμνήσοι τῆς ἱερᾶς θεολογίας ὡς πάντα τὰ ὄντα τῇ σωστικῇ τῶν πάντων ἀγαθότητι τῆς τῶν οἰκείων ἀγαθῶν ἀποπτώσεως ἀπολυτρουμένην͵ καθ΄ ὅσον ἡ ἐκάστου τῶν σωζομένων ἐπιδέχεται φύσις. Διὸ καὶ ἀπολύτρωσιν αὐτὴν ὀνομάζουσιν οἱ θεολόγοι͵ καὶ καθ΄ ὅσον οὐκ ἐᾷ τὰ ὄντως ὄντα πρὸς τὸ μὴ εἶναι διαπεσεῖν καὶ καθ΄ ὅσον͵ εἰ καί τι πρὸς τὸ πλημμελὲς καὶ ἄτακτον ἀποσφαλείη καὶ μείωσίν τινα πάθοι τῆς τῶν οἰκείων ἀγαθῶν τελειότητος͵ καὶ τοῦτο τοῦ πάθους καὶ τῆς ἀδρανείας καὶ τῆς στερήσεως ἀπολυτροῦται πληροῦσα τὸ ἐνδεὲς καὶ πατρικῶς τὴν ἀτονίαν ὑπερείδουσα καὶ ἀνιστῶσα τοῦ κακοῦ͵ μᾶλλον δὲ ἱστῶσα ἐν τῷ καλῷ καὶ τὸ ὑπεκρυὲν ἀγαθὸν ἀναπληροῦσα καὶ τάττουσα καὶ κοσμοῦσα τὴν ἀταξίαν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀκοσμίαν καὶ ὁλόκληρον ἀποτε λοῦσα καὶ πάντων ἀπολύουσα τῶν λελωβημένων. Ἀλλὰ περὶ μὲν τούτων καὶ περὶ δικαιοσύνης εἴρηται͵ καθ΄ ἣν ἡ πάντων ἰσότης μετρεῖται καὶ ὁρίζεται καὶ πᾶσα ἀνισότης ἡ κατὰ στέρησιν τῆς ²⁰⁷ ἐν αὐτοῖς ἑκάστοις ἰσότητος ἐξορίζεται. Τὴν γὰρ ἀνισότητα εἴ τις ἐκλάβοι τὰς ἐν τῷ ὅλῳ τῶν ὅλων πρὸς ὅλα διαφοράς͵ καὶ ταύτης ἡ δικαιοσύνη φρουρητική͵ μὴ συγχωροῦσα συμμιγῆ τὰ ὅλα ἐν ὅλοις γενόμενα διαταρα χθῆναι͵ φυλάττουσα δὲ τὰ ὄντα πάντα κατ΄ εἶδος ἕκαστον͵ ἐν ᾧ ἕκαστον εἶναι πέφυκεν.

CHAPTER 9

9

Concerning great, small, same, different, similar, dissimilar, standing, movement, equality.

9.1. BUT since even the great and the small are attributed to the Cause of all, arid the same, and the different, and the similar, and the dissimilar, and the standing, and the movement. Come! and let us gaze upon these images of the Divine Names, such as have been manifested to us. Almighty God, then, is celebrated in the [biblical] Sayings as great, both in greatness and in a gentle breeze, which manifests the Divine littleness; and as the same, when the [biblical] Sayings declare “thou art the same”; and as different, when He is depicted, by the same [biblical] Sayings, as of many shapes and many forms; and as similar, as mainstay of things similar and similitude; and as dissimilar to all, as the like of whom there is not; and as standing, and unmoved, and seated for ever; and as moving, as going forth to all; and whatever other Divine Names, of the same force with these, are celebrated by the [biblical] Sayings.

1  Ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ τὸ μέγα καὶ τὸ μικρὸν ἀνατέθειται τῷ πάντων αἰτίῳ καὶ τὸ ταὐτὸν καὶ τὸ ἕτερον καὶ τὸ ὅμοιον καὶ τὸ ἀνόμοιον καὶ ἡ στάσις καὶ ἡ κίνησις͵ φέρε͵ καὶ τούτων τῶν θεωνυμικῶν ἀγαλμάτων͵ ὅσα ἡμῖν ἐμφανῆ͵ θεωρήσωμεν. Μέγας μὲν οὖν ὁ θεὸς ἐν τοῖς λογίοις ὑμνεῖται καὶ ἐν μεγέθει καὶ ἐν ²⁰⁸ αὔρᾳ λεπτῇ τὴν θείαν ἐμφαινούσῃ σμικρότητα. Καὶ ταὐτός͵ ὅταν φῇ τὰ λόγια· Σὺ δὲ ὁ αὐτὸς εἶ. Καὶ ἕτερος͵ ἡνίκα ὡς πολύσχημος καὶ πολυ ειδὴς ὑπὸ τῶν αὐτῶν λογίων διαπλάττεται. Καὶ ὅμοιος ὡς ὁμοίων καὶ ὁμοιότητος ὑποστάτης. Καὶ ἀνόμοιος πᾶσιν ὡς οὐκ ὄντος αὐτῷ τοῦ ὁμοίου. Καὶ ἑστὼς καὶ ἀκίνητος καὶ καθήμενος εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα καὶ κινούμενος ὡς ἐπὶ πάντα πορευόμενος. Καὶ ὅσαι ἄλλαι ταύταις ὁμοδύνα μοι θεωνυμίαι πρὸς τῶν λογίων ὑμνοῦνται.

9.2. Almighty God, then, is named great in reference -to His own peculiar greatness, which imparts itself to all things great; and overflows, and extends itself outside of all greatness; embracing every place, surpassing every number, going through every infinitude, both in reference to its super-fulness, and ¹⁰³ mighty operation, and its fontal gifts, in so far as these, being participated by all in a stream of boundless gifts, are altogether undiminished, and have the same superfulness, and are not lessened by the impartations, but are even still more bubbling over. This Greatness then is infinite, and without measure and without number. And this is the preeminence as regards the absolute and surpassing flood of the incomprehensible greatness.

2  Μέγας μὲν οὖν ὁ θεὸς ὀνομάζεται κατὰ τὸ ἰδίως αὑτοῦ μέγα τὸ πᾶσι τοῖς μεγάλοις ἑαυτοῦ μεταδιδὸν καὶ παντὸς μεγέθους ἔξωθεν ὑπερχεόμενον καὶ ὑπερεκτεινόμενον͵ πάντα τόπον περιέχον͵ πάντα ἀριθ μὸν ὑπερβάλλον͵ πᾶσαν ἀπειρίαν διαβαῖνον καὶ κατὰ τὸ ὑπερπλῆρες αὑτοῦ καὶ μεγαλουργὸν καὶ τὰς πηγαίας αὑτοῦ δωρεάς͵ καθ΄ ὅσον αὗται πρὸς πάντων μετεχόμεναι κατὰ ἀπειρόδωρον χύσιν ἀμείωτοι παντελῶς εἰσι καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν ἔχουσιν ὑπερπληρότητα καὶ οὐκ ἐλαττοῦνται ταῖς μετοχαῖς͵ ἀλλὰ καὶ μᾶλλον ὑπερβλύζουσιν. Τὸ μέγεθος τοῦτο καὶ ἄπειρόν ἐστι καὶ ἄποσον καὶ ἀνάριθμον͵ καὶ τοῦτο ἔστιν ἡ ὑπεροχὴ κατὰ τὴν ἀπόλυτον καὶ ὑπερτεταμένην τῆς ἀπεριλήπτου μεγαλειότητος χύσιν.

9.3. But little, i.e. fine, is affirmed respecting Him, - that which leaves behind every mass and distance, and penetrates through all, without hindrance. Yet the little is Elemental 41 Cause of all, for nowhere will you find the idea of the little unparticipated. Thus then the little must be received as regards God as penetrating to all, and through all, without impediment; and operating, and piercing through, to “a dividing of soul and spirit, and joints and marrow”; and “discerning thoughts and intents of heart,” yea rather - all things that be. For there is not a creature unmanifest in His sight. This littleness is without quality and without quantity, without restraint, without limit, without bound, comprehending all things, but itself incomprehensible.

3  Σμικρὸν δὲ ἤτοι λεπτὸν ἐπ΄ αὐτοῦ λέγεται τὸ παντὸς ὄγκου καὶ διαστήματος ἐκβεβηκὸς καὶ τὸ διὰ πάντων ἀκωλύτως χωροῦν. Καίτοι ²⁰⁹ καὶ πάντων αἴτιόν ἐστι τὸ σμικρόν͵ οὐδαμοῦ γὰρ εὑρήσεις τὴν τοῦ σμικροῦ ἰδέαν ἀμέθεκτον. Οὕτως οὖν ἐπὶ θεοῦ τὸ σμικρὸν ἐκληπτέον ὡς ἐπὶ πάντα καὶ διὰ πάντων ἀνεμποδίστως χωροῦν καὶ ἐνεργοῦν καὶ διϊκνούμενον ἄχρι μερισμοῦ ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος͵ ἁρμῶν τε καὶ μυελῶν καὶ ἐννοιῶν καρδίας͵ μᾶλλον δὲ τῶν ὄντων ἁπάντων. Οὐ γάρ ἐστι κτίσις ἀφανὴς ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ. Τοῦτο τὸ σμικρὸν ἄποσόν ἐστι καὶ ἀπήλικον͵ ἀκρατές͵ ἄπειρον͵ ἀόριστον͵ περιληπτικὸν πάντων͵ αὐτὸ δὲ ἀπερίληπτον.

9.4. But the same is superessentially everlasting, inconvertible, abiding in itself, always being in the same ¹⁰⁴ condition and manner; present to all in the same manner, and itself by itself, upon itself, firmly and purely fixed in the most beautiful limits of the super-essential sameness, without changing, without falling, without swerving, unalterable, unmingled, immaterial, most simplex, self-sufficient, without increase, without diminution, unoriginated, not as not yet come into being, or unperfected, or not having become from this, or that, nor as being in no manner of way whatever, but as all unoriginated, and absolutely unoriginated, and ever being; and being self-complete, and being the same by itself, and differentiated by itself in one sole and same form; and shedding sameness from itself to all things adapted to participate in It; and assigning things different to those different; abundance and cause of identity, preholding identically in itself even things contrary, as beseems the One and unique Cause, surpassing the whole identity.

4  Τὸ δὲ ταὐτὸν ὑπερουσίως ἀΐδιον͵ ἄτρεπτον͵ ἐφ΄ ἑαυτοῦ μένον͵ ἀεὶ κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ καὶ ὡσαύτως ἔχον͵ πᾶσιν ὡσαύτως παρὸν καὶ αὐτὸ καθ΄ ἑαυτὸ ἐφ΄ ἑαυτοῦ σταθερῶς καὶ ἀχράντως ἐν τοῖς καλλίστοις πέρασι τῆς ὑπερουσίου ταὐτότητος ἱδρυμένον͵ ἀμετάβλητον͵ ἀμετάπτωτον͵ ἀῤῥεπές͵ ἀναλλοίωτον͵ ἀμιγές͵ ἄϋλον͵ ἁπλούστατον͵ ἀπροσδεές͵ ἀν αυξές͵ ἀμείωτον͵ ἀγένητον͵ οὐχ ὡς μήπω γενόμενον ἢ ἀτελείωτον ἢ ὑπὸ τοῦδε ἢ τόδε μὴ γενόμενον͵ οὐδ΄ ὡς μηδαμῆ μηδαμῶς ὄν͵ ἀλλ΄ ὡς ὑπὲρ ²¹⁰ πᾶν ἀγένητον καὶ ἀπολύτως ἀγένητον καὶ ἀεὶ ὂν καὶ αὐτοτελὲς ὂν καὶ ταὐτὸν ὂν καθ΄ ἑαυτὸ καὶ ὑφ΄ ἑαυτοῦ μονοειδῶς καὶ ταὐτοειδῶς ἀφοριζόμενον καὶ τὸ ταὐτὸν ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ πᾶσι τοῖς μετέχειν ἐπιτηδείοις ἐπιλάμπον καὶ τὰ ἕτερα τοῖς ἑτέροις συντάττον͵ περιουσία καὶ αἰτία ταὐτότητος ἐν ἑαυτῷ καὶ τὰ ἐναντία ταὐτῶς προέχον κατὰ τὴν μίαν καὶ ἑνικὴν τῆς ὅλης ταὐτότητος ὑπερέχουσαν αἰτίαν.

9.5. But the different, since Almighty God is present to all providentially, and becomes all in all, for the sake of the preservation of all, resting upon Himself, and His own identity within Himself, standing, as beseems an energy, one and ceaseless, and imparting Himself with an unbending power, for deification of those turned to Him. And we must suppose that the difference of the manifold shapes of Almighty God, during the multiform visions, signifies that certain things are different from the phenomena ¹⁰⁵ under which they appear. For, as when language depicts the soul itself, under a bodily form, and fashions bodily members around the memberless, we think differently of the members attributed to it, as befits the soul’s memberless condition; and we call the mind head, and opinion neck, - as intermediate between rational and irrational - and anger, breast; and lust, belly; and the constitution, legs and feet; using the names of the members as symbols of the powers. Much more then, as respects Him, Who is beyond all, is it necessary to make clear the difference of forms and shapes by reverent and God-becoming, and mystic explanations. And if you wish to apply the threefold shapes of bodies to the impalpable and shapeless God, you must say, that the Progression of Almighty God, which spreads out to all things, is a Diyine extension; and length, the power extending itself over the whole; and depth, the hiddenness and imperceptiond incomprehensible to all creatures. But, that we may not forget ourselves, in our explanation, of the different shapes and forms, by confounding the incorporeal Divine Names with those giyen through symbols of objects of sense, we have for this reason spoken concerning these things in the Symbolic Theology. But now, let us suppose the Divine difference, as really not a sort of change from the superimmovable identity, but as the single multiplication of itself, and the uniform progressions of its fecundity to all. ¹⁰⁶ 

5  Τὸ δὲ ἕτερον͵ ἐπειδὴ πᾶσι προνοητικῶς ὁ θεὸς πάρεστι καὶ πάντα ἐν πᾶσι διὰ τὴν πάντων σωτηρίαν γίγνεται μένων ἐφ΄ ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τῆς οἰκείας ταὐτότητος ἀνεκφοιτήτως κατ΄ ἐνέργειαν μίαν καὶ ἄπαυστον ἑστηκὼς καὶ ἑαυτὸν ἐπιδιδοὺς ἀκλίτῳ δυνάμει πρὸς ἐκθέωσιν τῶν ἐπ εστραμμένων. Καὶ τὴν ἑτερότητα τῶν ποικίλων τοῦ θεοῦ κατὰ τὰς πολυειδεῖς ὁράσεις σχημάτων ἕτερά τινα τοῖς φαινομένοις͵ παρ΄ ὃ φαίνονται͵ σημαίνειν οἰητέον. Ὡς γάρ͵ εἰ ψυχὴν αὐτὴν σωματοειδῶς ὁ λόγος διέπλαττε καὶ μέρη σωματικὰ τῇ ἀμερεῖ περιέπλαττεν͵ ἑτέρως ἐνοοῦμεν ἐπ΄ αὐτῇ τὰ περιτιθέμενα μέρη τῇ ἀμερείᾳ τῇ κατὰ ψυχὴν οἰκείως καὶ κεφαλὴν μὲν τὸν νοῦν͵ αὐχένα δὲ τὴν δόξαν ὡς ἐν μέσῳ λόγου καὶ ἀλογίας͵ στῆθος δὲ θυμόν͵ γαστέρα δὲ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν͵ σκέλη δὲ καὶ πόδας τὴν φύσιν ἐλέγομεν τοῖς τῶν μερῶν ὀνόμασι τῶν δυνάμεων συμβόλοις χρώμενοι͵ πολλῷ γε μᾶλλον ἐπὶ τοῦ πάντων ἐπέκεινα τὴν ἑτερότητα τῶν μορφῶν ²¹¹ καὶ τῶν σχημάτων ἱεραῖς καὶ θεοπρεπέσι καὶ μυστικαῖς ἀναπτύξεσιν ἀνακαθαίρεσθαι χρή. Καὶ εἰ βούλει τὰ τριττὰ τῶν σωμάτων σχήματα τῷ ἀναφεῖ καὶ ἀσχηματίστῳ θεῷ περιάψαι͵ πλάτος μὲν θεῖον ῥητέον τὴν ὑπερευρεῖαν ἐπὶ πάντα τοῦ θεοῦ πρόοδον͵ μῆκος δὲ τὴν ὑπερεκτει νομένην τὰ ὅλα δύναμιν͵ βάθος δὲ τὴν πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσιν ἀπερίληπτον κρυφιότητα καὶ ἀγνωσίαν. Ἀλλ΄ ὅπως μὴ λάθωμεν ἑαυτοὺς ἐκ τῆς τῶν ἑτεροίων σχημάτων καὶ μορφῶν ἀναπτύξεως τὰς ἀσωμάτους θεωνυμίας ταῖς διὰ συμβόλων αἰ σθητῶν συμφύροντες͵ διὸ περὶ μὲν τούτων ἐν τῇ Συμβολικῇ θεολογίᾳ. Νῦν δὲ αὐτὸ τὴν θείαν ἑτερότητα μὴ ἀλλοίωσίν τινα τῆς ὑπερατρέπτου ταὐτότητος ὑποπτεύσωμεν͵ ἀλλὰ τὸν ἑνιαῖον αὐτοῦ πολυπλασιασμὸν καὶ τὰς μονοειδεῖς τῆς ἐπὶ πάντα πολυγονίας προόδους.

9.6. But similar, if any one might speak of Almighty God as the same, as being wholly throughout, similar to Himself - abidingly and indivisibly; we must not despise the Divine Name of the Similar; but the Theologians affirm that the God above all, in His essential nature, is similar to none; but that He bequeaths a Divine similarity to those who turn to Him, Who is above every limit and expression, by imitation according to their capacity. And there is the power of the Divine similitude, which turns all created things to the Cause. These things, then, must be said to be similar to Almighty God, both after a Divine likeness and similitude. For, neither must we say that Almighty God is similar to them, because neither is a man like his own image. For, with regard to those of the same rank, it is possible that these should be similar to each other, and that the similarity corresponds to each, and that both are similar to each other, after a preceding appearance of like. But, with respect to the Cause and the things caused, we do not accept the correspondence. For, the being similar is bequeathed, not to these, or those, alone, but to all those who participate in similarity. Almighty God becomes Cause of their being similar, and is mainstay of the self-existing Similarity itself; and the similar in all is similar to a soft of footprint of the Divine Similarity and completes their Oneness. ¹⁰⁷ 

6  Ὅμοιον δὲ τὸν θεὸν εἰ μὲν ὡς ταὐτὸν εἴποι τις͵ ὡς ὅλον διόλου ἑαυτῷ μονίμως καὶ ἀμερίστως ὄντα ὅμοιον͵ οὐκ ἀτιμαστέον ἡμῖν τὴν τοῦ ὁμοίου θεωνυμίαν. Οἱ δὲ θεολόγοι τὸν ὑπὲρ πάντα θεόν͵ ᾗ αὐτός͵ οὐδενί φασιν εἶναι ὅμοιον͵ αὐτὸν δὲ ὁμοιότητα θείαν δωρεῖσθαι τοῖς ἐπ΄ αὐτὸν ἐπιστρεφομένοις τῇ κατὰ δύναμιν μιμήσει τὸν ὑπὲρ πάντα καὶ ὅρον καὶ λόγον. Καὶ ἔστιν ἡ τῆς θείας ὁμοιότητος δύναμις ἡ τὰ παραγόμενα πάντα πρὸς τὸ αἴτιον ἐπιστρέφουσα. Ταῦτα γοῦν ῥητέον ὅμοια θεῷ καὶ κατὰ θείαν εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωσιν͵ οὐδὲ γὰρ αὐτοῖς τὸν θεὸν ὅμοιον͵ ὅτι μηδὲ ²¹² ἄνθρωπος τῇ ἰδίᾳ εἰκόνι ὅμοιος. Ἐπὶ μὲν γὰρ τῶν ὁμοταγῶν δυνατὸν καὶ ὅμοια αὐτὰ ἀλλήλοις εἶναι καὶ ἀντιστρέφειν ἐφ΄ ἑκάτερα τὴν ὁμοιότητα καὶ εἶναι ἄμφω ἀλλήλοις ὅμοια κατὰ προηγούμενον ὁμοίου εἶδος͵ ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ αἰτίου καὶ τῶν αἰτιατῶν οὐκ ἀποδεξόμεθα τὴν ἀντιστροφήν. Οὐ γὰρ μόνοις τοῖσδε ἢ τοῖσδε τὸ ὁμοίοις εἶναι δωρεῖται͵ πᾶσι δὲ τοῖς ὁμοιότητος μετέχουσι τοῦ εἶναι ὁμοίοις ὁ θεὸς αἴτιος γίγνεται καὶ ἔστι καὶ αὐτῆς τῆς αὐτοομοιότητος ὑποστάτης. Καὶ τὸ ἐν πᾶσιν ὅμοιον ἴχνει τινὶ τῆς θείας ὁμοιότητος ὅμοιόν ἐστι καὶ τὴν ἕνωσιν αὐτῶν συμπληροῖ.

9.7. And what must we say concerning this? For the Word of God Itself extols the fact that He is dissimilar, and of the same rank with none; as “different “even from everything, and, what is more paradoxical, says there is nothing that is similar to Him. Yet the expression is not contrary to the similarity towards Him, for the same things are both similar to God, and dissimilar - the former as regards the received imitation 42 of the inimitable, the latter as regards the dependence of the things caused upon the cause, and their being inferior in degrees, endless and incalculable.

7  Καὶ τί δεῖ περὶ τούτου λέγειν; Αὐτὴ γὰρ ἡ θεολογία τὸ ἀνόμοιον αὐτὸν εἶναι πρεσβεύει καὶ τοῖς πᾶσιν ἀσύντακτον ὡς πάντων ἕτερον καὶ τὸ δὴ παραδοξότερον͵ ὅτι μηδὲ εἶναί τι ὅμοιον αὐτῷ φησιν. Καίτοι οὐκ ἐναντίος ὁ λόγος τῇ πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁμοιότητι. Τὰ γὰρ αὐτὰ καὶ ὅμοια θεῷ καὶ ἀνόμοια͵ τὸ μὲν κατὰ τὴν ἐνδεχομένην τοῦ ἀμιμήτου μίμησιν͵ τὸ δὲ κατὰ τὸ ἀποδέον τῶν αἰτιατῶν τοῦ αἰτίου καὶ μέτροις ἀπείροις καὶ ἀσυγκρίτοις ἀπολειπόμενον.

9.8. But what also do we say concerning the Divine standing, i.e. seat? What other than that Almighty God remains Himself, in Himself, and is abidingly fixed in unmoved identity, and is firmly established on high; and thâ’t He acts according to the same conditions, and in reference to the same object, and in the same way; and that He exists altogether, as beseems the immutability from Himself; and as beseems the immovability Itself, entirely immovable, and that superessentially. For He is Cause of the standing and sitting of all, Who is above all sitting and standing, and in Him all things consist, being kept from falling out of the state of their own proper goods. ¹⁰⁸ 

8  Τί δὲ καὶ περὶ τῆς θείας στάσεως ἤτοι καθέδρας φαμέν; Τί δὲ ἄλλο γε παρὰ τὸ μένειν αὐτὸν ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὸν θεὸν καὶ ἐν ἀκινήτῳ ταὐτότητι μονίμως πεπηγέναι καὶ ὑπεριδρῦσθαι καὶ τὸ κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ καὶ περὶ τὸ ²¹³ αὐτὸ καὶ ὡσαύτως ἐνεργεῖν καὶ κατὰ τὸ ἀμετάστατον αὐτὸν ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ πάντως ὑπάρχειν καὶ κατὰ τὸ ἀμετακίνητον αὐτὸ καὶ ὁλικῶς ἀκίνητον καὶ ταῦτα ὑπερουσίως. Αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ τῆς πάντων στάσεως καὶ ἕδρας αἴτιος͵ ὁ ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν ἕδραν καὶ στάσιν καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ πάντα συνέστηκεν ἐκ τῆς τῶν οἰκείων ἀγαθῶν στάσεως ἀσάλευτα διαφυλαττό μενα.

9.9. But what again, when the Theologians say, that the unmoved goes forth to all, and is moved? Must we not understand thjs in a sense befitting God? For we must reverently suppose that He is moved, not as beseems carriage, or change, or alteration, or turning, or local movement, or the straight, or the circular, or that from both (curvative), or the intellectual, or the spiritual, or the physical, but that Almighty God brings into being and sustains everything, and provides in every way for everything; and is present, to all, by the irresistible embrace of all, and by His providential progressions and operations to all existing things. But we must concede to our discourse, to celebrate in a sense becoming God, even movements of God, the immovable. And the straight must be considered (to be) the unswerving and the undeviating progression of the operation, and the production from Himself of the whole; and the curvative - r-the steady progression and the productive condition; and the circular the same, and the holding together the middle and extremities, which encompass and are encompassed, - and the turning to Him’ of the things which proceeded from Him.

9  Τί δέ͵ καὶ ὅταν αὖθις οἱ θεολόγοι καὶ ἐπὶ πάντα προϊόντα καὶ κινούμενόν φασι τὸν ἀκίνητον; Οὐ θεοπρεπῶς καὶ τοῦτο νοητέον; Κινεῖ σθαι γὰρ αὐτὸν εὐσεβῶς οἰητέον οὐ κατὰ φορὰν ἢ ἀλλοίωσιν ἢ ἑτεροίωσιν ἢ τροπὴν ἢ τοπικὴν κίνησιν͵ οὐ τὴν εὐθεῖαν͵ οὐ τὴν κυκλοφορικήν͵ οὐ τὴν ἐξ ἀμφοῖν͵ οὐ τὴν νοητήν͵ οὐ τὴν ψυχικήν͵ οὐ τὴν φυσικήν͵ ἀλλὰ τὸ εἰς οὐσίαν ἄγειν τὸν θεὸν καὶ συνέχειν τὰ πάντα καὶ παντοίως πάντων προνοεῖν καὶ τὸ παρεῖναι πᾶσι τῇ πάντων ἀσχέτῳ περιοχῇ καὶ ταῖς ἐπὶ τὰ ὄντα πάντα προνοητικαῖς προόδοις καὶ ἐνεργείαις. Ἀλλὰ καὶ κινήσεις θεοῦ τοῦ ἀκινήτου θεοπρεπῶς τῷ λόγῳ συγχωρη τέον ὑμνῆσαι. Καὶ τὸ μὲν εὐθὺ τὸ ἀκλινὲς νοητέον καὶ τὴν ἀπαρέγκλιτον πρόοδον τῶν ἐνεργειῶν καὶ τὴν ἐξ αὐτοῦ τῶν ὅλων γένεσιν͵ τὸ δὲ ἑλικοειδὲς τὴν σταθερὰν πρόοδον καὶ τὴν γόνιμον στάσιν͵ τὸ δὲ κατὰ κύκλον τὸ ταὐτὸν καὶ τὸ τὰ μέσα καὶ ἄκρα͵ περιέχοντα καὶ περιεχόμενα συνέχειν καὶ τὴν εἰς αὐτὸν τῶν ἀπ΄ αὐτοῦ προεληλυθότων ἐπιστροφήν.

9.10. But, if any one should take the Divine Name in the [biblical] Sayings, of “the same,” or that of “justice,” in the sense of “the equal,” we must say, that Almighty God is equal, not only as indivisible and unswerving, but also as going forth to all, and through all, ¹⁰⁹ equally; and as foundation of the self-existent Equality, in conformity with which, He equally effects the same passage, through all things mutually, and the participation of those who receive equally, according to the aptitude of each; and the equal gift distributed to all, according to due; and according as He has anticipated pre-eminently and uniquely in Himself, every equality, intelligible, intelligent, rational, sensible, essential, physical, voluntary, as beseems the Power over all, which is productive of every equality.

10  Εἰ δέ τις τὴν ταὐτοῦ τῶν λογίων ἢ τὴν τῆς δικαιοσύνης θεωνυ μίαν ἐπὶ τοῦ ἴσου λαμβάνοι͵ ῥητέον ἴσον τὸν θεὸν οὐ μόνον ὡς ἀμερῆ ²¹⁴ καὶ ἀπαρέγκλιτον͵ ἀλλὰ καὶ ὡς ἐπὶ πάντα καὶ διὰ πάντων ἐπ΄ ἴσης διαφοιτῶντα καὶ ὡς τῆς αὐτοϊσότητος ὑποστάτην͵ καθ΄ ἣν ἰσουργεῖ τὴν δι΄ ἀλλήλων ἁπάντων ὁμοίαν χώρησιν καὶ τὴν τῶν μεταλαμβανόντων ἐπ΄ ἴσης μετοχὴν κατὰ τὴν ἑκάστων ἐπιτηδειότητα καὶ τὴν ἴσην κατ΄ ἀξίαν ἐπὶ πάντα νενεμημένην δόσιν καὶ κατὰ τὸ πᾶσαν ἰσότητα νοητήν͵ νοεράν͵ λογικήν͵ αἰσθητικήν͵ οὐσιώδη͵ φυσικήν͵ θελητὴν ἐξῃρημένως καὶ ἑνιαίως ἐν ἑαυτῷ προειληφέναι κατὰ τὴν ὑπὲρ πάντα πάσης ἰσότητος ποιητικὴν δύναμιν.

CHAPTER 10

2

Concerning Sovereign Lord, “Ancient of days” in which also, concerning Age and Time ⁴³.

10.1. THE time, then, is come for our discourse, to sing the God of many Names, as “Sovereign Lord,” and as “Ancient of days.” For He is called the former, by reason that He is an all-controlling basis, binding and embracing the whole, and establishing and supporting, and tightening, and completing the whole. Continuous in itself, and from itself, producing the whole, as it were from a Sovereign root, and turning to itself the whole, as to a sovereign parent stock, and holding them together as an all-embracing basis of all, securing all the things embraced, within one grasp superior to all, and not permitting them, when ¹¹⁰ fallen from itself to be destroyed, as moved from an all-perfect sanctuary. But the Godhead is called Sovereign, both as controlling and governing the members of His household, purely, and as being desired and beloved by all, and as placing upon all the voluntary yokes, and the sweet pangs of the Divine and Sovereign, and in dissolvable love of the Goodness itself,

1  Ὥρα δὴ τῷ λόγῳ τὸν πολυώνυμον θεὸν ὡς παντοκράτορα καὶ ὡς παλαιὸν ἡμερῶν ὑμνῆσαι. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ λέγεται διὰ τὸ πάντων αὐτὸν εἶναι παντοκρατορικὴν ἕδραν συνέχουσαν καὶ περιέχουσαν τὰ ὅλα καὶ ἐνιδρύουσαν καὶ θεμελιοῦσαν καὶ περισφίγγουσαν καὶ ἀῤῥαγὲς ἐν ἑαυτῇ τὸ πᾶν ἀποτελοῦσαν καὶ ἐξ ἑαυτῆς τὰ ὅλα καθάπερ ἐκ ῥίζης παντοκρατο ρικῆς προάγουσαν καὶ εἰς ἑαυτὴν τὰ πάντα καθάπερ εἰς πυθμένα παντο κρατορικὸν ἐπιστρέφουσαν καὶ συνέχουσαν αὐτὰ ὡς πάντων ἕδραν παγ ²¹⁵ κρατῆ͵ τὰ συνεχόμενα πάντα κατὰ μίαν ὑπερέχουσαν πάντα συνοχὴν ἀσφαλιζομένην καὶ οὐκ ἐῶσαν αὐτὰ διεκπεσόντα ἑαυτῆς ὡς ἐκ παντελοῦς ἑστίας κινούμενα παραπολέσθαι. Λέγεται δὲ παντοκράτωρ ἡ θεαρχία καὶ ὡς πάντων κρατοῦσα καὶ ἀμιγῶς τοῖς διοικουμένοις ἐπαρκοῦσα καὶ ὡς πᾶσιν ἐφετὴ καὶ ἐπέραστος οὖσα καὶ ἐπιβάλλουσα πᾶσι τοὺς ἐθελουσίους ζυγοὺς καὶ τὰς γλυκείας ὠδῖνας τοῦ θείου καὶ παντοκρατορικοῦ καὶ ἀλύπου τῆς ἀγαθότητος αὐτῆς ἔρωτος.

10.2. But Almighty God is celebrated as “Ancient of days” because He is of all things both Age and Time, - and before Days, and before Age and Time. And yet we must affirm that He is Time and Day, and appointed Time, and Age, in a sense befitting God, as being throughout every movement unchangeable and unmoved, and in His ever moving remaining in Himself, and as being Author of Age and Time and Days. Wherefore, in the sacred Divine manifestations of the mystic visions, He is represented as both old and young; the former indeed signifying the “Ancient” and being from the beginning, and the latter His never growing old; or both teaching that He advances through all things from beginning to end, - or as our Divine initiator says, “since each manifests the priority of God, the Elder having the first place in Time, but the Younger the priority in number; because the unit, and things near the unit, are nearer the beginning than numbers further advanced. ¹¹¹ 

2  Ἡμερῶν δὲ παλαιὸς ὁ θεὸς ὑμνεῖται διὰ τὸ πάντων αὐτὸν εἶναι καὶ αἰῶνα καὶ χρόνον καὶ πρὸ ἡμερῶν καὶ πρὸ αἰῶνος καὶ χρόνου. Καίτοι καὶ χρόνον καὶ ἡμέραν καὶ καιρὸν καὶ αἰῶνα θεοπρεπῶς αὐτὸν προσρητέον ὡς ὄντα κατὰ πᾶσαν κίνησιν ἀμετάβλητον καὶ ἀκίνητον καὶ ἐν τῷ ἀεὶ κινεῖσθαι μένοντα ἐφ΄ ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ὡς αἰῶνος καὶ χρόνου καὶ ἡμερῶν αἴτιον. Διὸ καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἱεραῖς τῶν μυστικῶν ὁράσεων θεοφανείαις καὶ πολιὸς καὶ νέος πλάττεται τοῦ μὲν πρεσβυτέρου τὸν ἀρχαῖον καὶ ὄντα ἀπ΄ ἀρχῆς͵ τοῦ νεωτέρου δὲ τὸν ἀγήρω σημαίνοντος ἢ ἀμφοῖν τὸ ἐξ ἀρχῆς διὰ πάντων ἄχρι τέλους αὐτὸν προϊέναι διδασκόντων ἤ͵ ὡς ὁ θεῖος ἡμῶν ἱεροτελεστής φησι͵ τοῦ ἑκατέρου τὴν ἀρχαιότητα τὴν θείαν ὑποδηλοῦν τος͵ τοῦ μὲν πρεσβυτέρου τὸ πρῶτον ἐν χρόνῳ͵ τοῦ νεωτέρου δὲ τὸ κατ΄ ἀριθμὸν ἀρχαιότερον ἔχοντος͵ ἐπείπερ ἡ μονὰς καὶ τὰ περὶ μονάδα τῶν ²¹⁶ ἐπὶ πολὺ προεληλυθότων ἀριθμῶν ἀρχηγικώτερα.

10.3. But we must, as I think, see from the [biblical] Sayings the nature of Time and Eternity, for they do not always (merely) call all the things absolutely unoriginated and really everlasting, eternal, but also things imperishable and immortal and unchangeable, ‘ and things which are in like fashion, as when they say, “be ye opened, eternal doors,” and the like. And often they characterize the things the most ancient by the name of Eternity; and again they call the whole duration of our time Eternity, in so far as the ancient and unchangeable, and the measurement of existence throughout, is a characteristic of Eternity. But they call time that concerned in generation and decay and change, and sometimes the one, and sometimes the other. Wherefore also, the Word of God says that even we, who are bounded here by time, shall partake of Eternity, when we have reached the Eternity which is imperishable and ever the same. But sometimes eternity is celebrated in the [biblical] Sayings, even as temporal, and time as eternal. But if we know them better and more accurately, things spiritual 44 are spoken of and denoted by Eternity, and things subject to generation by time. It is necessary then to suppose that things called eternal are not absolutely co-eternal with God, Who is before Eternity, but that following unswervingly the most august [biblical] Sayings, we should understand things eternal and temporal according to the hopes recognized by ¹¹² them, hut whatever participates partly in eternity and partly in time, as things midway between things spiritual and things being born. But Almighty God we ought to celebrate, both as eternity and time, as Author of every time an’d eternity, and “Ancient of days,” as before time, and above time; and as changing appointed seasons and times; and again as being before âges, in so far as He is both before eternity and above eternity and His kingdom, a kingdom of all the Ages. Amen.

3  Χρὴ δέ͵ ὡς οἶμαι͵ καὶ χρόνου καὶ αἰῶνος φύσιν ἐκ τῶν λογίων εἰδέναι. Καὶ γὰρ οὐ τὰ πάντη καὶ ἀπολύτως ἀγένητα καὶ ὄντως ἀΐδια πανταχοῦ φησιν αἰώνια͵ καὶ τὰ ἄφθαρτα δὲ καὶ ἀθάνατα καὶ ἀναλλοίωτα καὶ ὄντα ὡσαύτως͵ ὡς ὅταν λέγῃ τό· Ἐπάρθητε͵ πύλαι αἰώνιοι͵ καὶ τὰ ὅμοια. Πολλάκις δὲ καὶ τὰ ἀρχαιότατα τῇ τοῦ αἰῶνος ἐπωνυμίᾳ χαρακτηρίζει καὶ τὴν ὅλην δὲ αὖθις ἐσθ΄ ὅτε τοῦ καθ΄ ἡμᾶς χρόνου παράτασιν αἰῶνα προσαγορεύει͵ καθ΄ ὅσον καὶ ἰδιότης αἰῶνός ἐστι τὸ ἀρχαῖον καὶ ἀναλλοίωτον καὶ τὸ καθόλου τὸ εἶναι μετρεῖν. Χρόνον δὲ καλεῖ τὸν ἐν γενέσει καὶ φθορᾷ καὶ ἀλλοιώσει καὶ ἄλλοτε ἄλλως ἔχοντα. Διὸ καὶ ἡμᾶς ἐνθάδε κατὰ χρόνον ὁριζομένους αἰῶνος μεθέξειν ἡ θεολογία φησίν͵ ἡνίκα τοῦ ἀφθάρτου καὶ ἀεὶ ὡσαύτως ἔχοντος αἰῶνος ἐφικώμεθα. Τοῖς λογίοις δὲ ἐσθ΄ ὅτε καὶ ἔγχρονος αἰὼν δοξάζεται καὶ αἰώνιος χρόνος͵ εἰ καὶ μᾶλλον ἴσμεν αὐτοῖς καὶ κυριώτερον τὰ ὄντα τῷ αἰῶνι καὶ τὰ ἐν γενέσει τῷ χρόνῳ καὶ λεγόμενα καὶ δηλούμενα. Χρὴ τοιγαροῦν οὐχ ἁπλῶς συναΐδια θεῷ τῷ πρὸ αἰῶνος οἴεσθαι τὰ αἰώνια λεγόμενα͵ τοῖς σεπτοτάτοις δὲ λογίοις ἀπαρατρέπτως συνεπομέ νους αἰώνια μὲν καὶ ἔγχρονα κατὰ τοὺς συνεγνωσμένους αὐτοῖς προσυπα κούειν τρόπους μέσα δὲ ὄντων καὶ γιγνομένων͵ ὅσα πῇ μὲν αἰῶνος͵ πῇ δὲ χρόνου μετέχει. Τὸν δὲ θεὸν καὶ ὡς αἰῶνα καὶ ὡς χρόνον ὑμνεῖν͵ ὡς ²¹⁷ χρόνου παντὸς καὶ αἰῶνος αἴτιον καὶ παλαιὸν ἡμερῶν͵ ὡς πρὸ χρόνου καὶ ὑπὲρ χρόνον καὶ ἀλλοιοῦντα καιροὺς καὶ χρόνους καὶ αὖθις πρὸ αἰώνων ὑπάρχοντα͵ καθ΄ ὅσον καὶ πρὸ αἰῶνός ἐστι καὶ ὑπὲρ αἰῶνα καὶ ἡ βασιλεία αὐτοῦ βασιλεία πάντων τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

CHAPTER 11

2

Concerning Peace, and what is meant by the self-existent Being; what is the self-existent Life, and what the self-existent Power, and such like expressions.

11.1. COME, then, let us extol the Peace Divine, and Source of conciliation, by hymns of peace! For this it is which unifies all, and engenders, and effects the agreement and fellowship of all. Wherefore, even all things aspire to it, which turns their divided multiplicity into the thorough Oneness, and unifies the tribal war of the whole into a homogeneous dwelling together, by the participation of the divine Peace. With regard, then, to the more reverend of the conciliating powers, these indeed are united to themselves and to each other, and to the one Source of Peace of the whole; and the things (that are) under them, these they unite also to themselves and ¹¹³ to each other, and to the One and all-perfect Source and Cause of the Peace of all, which, passing in-divisibly to the whole, limits and terminates and secures everything, as if by a kind of bolts, which bind together things that are separated; and do not permit them, when separated, to rush to infinity and the boundless, and to become without order, and without stability, and destitute of God, and to depart from the union amongst themselves, and to become intermingled m each other, in every sort of confusion. Concerning then, this, the Divine Peace and Repose, which the holy Justus calls unutterableness, and, as compared with every known progression, immobility, how it rests and is at ease, and how it is in itself, and within itself, and entire, and to itself entire is super-united, and when entering into itself, and multiplying itself, neither loses its own Union, but even proceeds to all, whilst remaining entire within, by reason of excess of its Union surpassing all, it is neither permitted, nor attainable to any existing being, either to express or to understand. But, having premised this, as unutterable and unknowable, as being beyond all, let us examine its conceived and uttered participations, and this, as possible to men, and to us, as inferior to many good men.

1  Ἄγε δὴ τὴν θείαν καὶ ἀρχισυνάγωγον εἰρήνην ὕμνοις εἰρηναίοις ἀνευφημήσωμεν. Αὕτη γάρ ἐστιν ἡ πάντων ἑνωτικὴ καὶ τῆς ἁπάντων ὁμονοίας τε καὶ συμφυΐας γεννητικὴ καὶ ἀπεργαστική. Διὸ καὶ πάντα αὐτῆς ἐφίεται τὸ μεριστὸν αὐτῶν πλῆθος ἐπιστρεφούσης εἰς τὴν ὅλην ἑνότητα καὶ τὸν ἐμφύλιον τοῦ παντὸς πόλεμον ἑνούσης εἰς ὁμοειδῆ συνοικίαν. Τῇ μετοχῇ τῆς θείας εἰρήνης αἱ γοῦν πρεσβύτεραι τῶν συν αγωγῶν δυνάμεων αὐταί τε πρὸς ἑαυτὰς καὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλας ἑνοῦνται καὶ πρὸς τὴν μίαν τῶν ὅλων εἰρηναρχίαν καὶ τὰ ὑφ΄ ἑαυτὰς ἑνοῦσιν αὐτά τε ²¹⁸ πρὸς ἑαυτὰ καὶ πρὸς ἄλληλα καὶ πρὸς τὴν μίαν καὶ παντελῆ τῆς πάντων εἰρήνης ἀρχὴν καὶ αἰτίαν͵ ἥτις ἀμερῶς ἐπιβεβηκυῖα τοῖς ὅλοις ὥσπερ τισὶ κλείθροις τῶν διῃρημένων συμπτυκτικοῖς τὰ πάντα ὁρίζει καὶ περατοῖ καὶ ἀσφαλίζεται καὶ οὐκ ἐᾷ διαιρεθέντα χυθῆναι πρὸς τὸ ἄπειρον καὶ ἀόριστον͵ ἄτακτα καὶ ἀνίδρυτα καὶ ἔρημα θεοῦ γιγνόμενα καὶ τῆς ἑαυτῶν ἑνώσεως ἐξιόντα καὶ ἐν ἀλλήλοις παμμιγῶς συμφυρόμενα. Περὶ μὲν οὖν αὐτῆς͵ ὅ τι ποτέ ἐστι͵ τῆς θείας εἰρήνης καὶ ἡσυχίας͵ ἣν ὁ ἱερὸς Ἰοῦστος ἀφθεγξίαν καλεῖ καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν γιγνωσκομένην πρόοδον ἀκινησίαν͵ ὅπως τε ἠρεμεῖ καὶ ἡσυχίαν ἄγει καὶ ὅπως ἐν ἑαυτῇ καὶ εἴσω ἑαυτῆς ἔστι καὶ πρὸς ἑαυτὴν ὅλην ὅλη ὑπερήνωται καὶ οὔτε εἰς ἑαυτὴν εἰσιοῦσα καὶ πολλαπλασιάζουσα ἑαυτὴν ἀπολείπει τὴν ἑαυτῆς ἕνωσιν͵ ἀλλὰ καὶ πρόεισιν ἐπὶ πάντα ἔνδον ὅλη μένουσα δι΄ ὑπερβολὴν τῆς πάντα ὑπερεχούσης ἑνώσεως͵ οὔτε εἰπεῖν οὔτε ἐννοῆσαί τινι τῶν ὄντων οὔτε θεμιτὸν οὔτε ἐφικτόν. Ἀλλ΄ ὡς ἄφθεγκτον καὶ τοῦτο καὶ ἄγνωστον ἐπ΄ αὐτὴν ἀναθέντες ὡς πάντων οὖσαν ἐπέκεινα τὰς νοητὰς αὐτῆς καὶ ῥητὰς μετουσίας καὶ τοῦτο ὡς δυνατὸν ἀνδράσι καὶ ἡμῖν πολλῶν ἀνδρῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀπολειπομένοις ἐπισκοπήσωμεν.

11.2. First then, this must be said, that It is mainstay of the self-existent Peace, both the general and the particular; and that It mingles all things with each other within their unconfused union, as beseems ¹¹⁴ which, united indivisibly, and at the same time they severally continuously unmingled stand, as regards their own proper kind, not muddled through their mingling with the opposite, nor blunting any of their unifying distinctness and purity. Let us then contemplate a certain One and simple nature of the peaceful Union, unifying all things to Itself, and to themselves, and to each other; and preserving all things in an unconfused grasp of all, both unmingled and mingled together; by reason of which the divine Minds, being united,, are united to their own conceptions, and to the things conceived; and again they ascend to the unknowable contact of things fixed above mind; by reason of which, souls, by uniting their manifold reasonings, and collecting them together to an One intellectual Purity, advance in a manner proper to themselves, by method and order, through the immaterial and indivisible conception, to the union above conception; by reason of which, the one and indissoluble connection of all is established, within its Divine Harmony, and is harmonized by complete concord and agreement and fellowship, being united without confusion, and held together without division. For the fulness of the perfect Peace passes through to all existing things, as beseems the most simple, and unmingled presence of Its unifying power, making all One. and binding the extremes through the intermediate to the extremes, which are yoked together in an one connatural friendship; and bestowing the enjoyment of Itself, even to the furthest extremities of the whole, ¹¹⁵ and making all things of one family, by the unities, the identities, the unions, the conjunctions of the Divine Peace, standing of course indivisibly, and showing all in one, and passing through all, and not stepping out of Its own identity. For It advances to all, and imparts Itself to all, in a manner appropriate to them, and there overflows an abundance of peaceful fertility; and It remains, through excess of union, super-united, entire, to and throughout Its whole self.

2  Καὶ πρῶτόν γε τοῦτο ῥητέον͵ ὅτι τῆς αὐτοειρήνης καὶ τῆς ὅλης καὶ τῆς καθ΄ ἕκαστόν ἐστιν ὑποστάτις καὶ ὅτι πάντα πρὸς ἄλληλα συγκεράννυσι κατὰ τὴν ἀσύγχυτον αὐτῶν ἕνωσιν͵ καθ΄ ἣν ἀδιαιρέτως ἡνωμένα καὶ ἀδιαστάτως ὅμως ἀκραιφνῆ κατὰ τὸ οἰκεῖον ἕκαστα εἶδος ²¹⁹ ἕστηκεν οὐκ ἐπιθολούμενα διὰ τῆς πρὸς τὰ ἀντικείμενα κράσεως οὐδὲ ἀπαμβλύνοντά τι τῆς ἑνωτικῆς ἀκριβείας καὶ καθαρότητος. Μίαν οὖν τινα καὶ ἁπλῆν τῆς εἰρηνικῆς ἑνώσεως θεωρήσωμεν φύσιν ἑνοῦσαν ἅπαντα ἑαυτῇ καὶ ἑαυτοῖς καὶ ἀλλήλοις καὶ διασώζουσαν πάντα ἐν ἀσυγχύτῳ πάντων συνοχῇ καὶ ἀμιγῆ καὶ συγκεκραμένα. Δι΄ ἣν οἱ θεῖοι νόες ἑνούμενοι ταῖς νοήσεσιν ἑαυτῶν ἑνοῦνται καὶ τοῖς νοουμένοις καὶ αὖθις ἐπὶ τὴν ἄγνωστον ἀναβαίνουσι τῶν ὑπὲρ νοῦν ἱδρυμένων συναφήν. Δι΄ ἣν αἱ ψυχαὶ τοὺς παντοδαποὺς ἑαυτῶν λόγους ἑνοῦσαι καὶ πρὸς μίαν νοερὰν συνάγουσαι καθαρότητα προβαίνουσιν οἰκείως ἑαυταῖς ὁδῷ καὶ τάξει διὰ τῆς ἀΰλου καὶ ἀμεροῦς νοήσεως ἐπὶ τὴν ὑπὲρ νόησιν ἕνωσιν. Δι΄ ἣν ἡ μία καὶ ἀδιάλυτος πάντων συμπλοκὴ κατὰ τὴν θείαν αὐτῆς ἁρμονίαν ὑφίσταται καὶ ἐναρμόζεται συμφωνίᾳ παντελεῖ καὶ ὁμο νοίᾳ καὶ συμφυΐᾳ συναγομένη τε ἀσυγχύτως͵ ἀδιαιρέτως τε συνεχομένη. Διήκει γὰρ ἡ τῆς παντελοῦς εἰρήνης ὁλότης ἐπὶ πάντα τὰ ὄντα κατὰ τὴν ἁπλουστάτην αὑτῆς καὶ ἀμιγῆ τῆς ἑνοποιοῦ δυνάμεως παρουσίαν ἑνοῦσα πάντα καὶ συνδέουσα τὰ ἄκρα διὰ τῶν μέσων τοῖς ἄκροις κατὰ μίαν ὁμοφυῆ συζευγνύμενα φιλίαν καὶ τὸ ἀπολαύειν αὑτῆς δωρουμένη καὶ ταῖς ἐσχάταις τοῦ παντὸς ἀποπερατώσεσι καὶ πάντα ὁμόγνια ποιοῦσα ταῖς ἑνότησι͵ ταῖς ταὐτότησι͵ ταῖς ἑνώσεσι͵ ταῖς συναγωγαῖς ἀδιαιρέτως δηλαδὴ τῆς θείας εἰρήνης ἑστώσης καὶ ἐν ἑνὶ πάντα δει κνυούσης καὶ διὰ πάντων φοιτώσης καὶ τῆς οἰκείας ταὐτότητος οὐκ ἐξισταμένης͵ πρόεισι γὰρ ἐπὶ πάντα καὶ μεταδίδωσι πᾶσιν οἰκείως αὐτοῖς ἑαυτῆς καὶ ὑπερβλύζει περιουσίᾳ τῆς εἰρηνικῆς γονιμότητος καὶ μένει δι΄ ὑπεροχὴν ἑνώσεως ὅλη πρὸς ὅλην καὶ καθ΄ ὅλην ἑαυτὴν ὑπερηνωμένη.

11.3. But how, some one may say, do all things aspire to peace, for many things rejoice in diversity and division, and would not, at any time, of their own accord, be willingly in repose. Now, if in saying this, he affirms, that the identity of each existing thing is diversity and division, and that there is no existent thing whatever, which at any time is willing to destroy this (identity), neither would we in any way contradict this, but would delare even this an aspiration after peace. For all things love to dwell at peace, and to be united amongst themselves, and to be unmoved and unfallen from themselves, and the things of themselves. And the perfect Peace seeks to guard the idiosyncrasy of each unmoved and unconfused, by its peace-giving forethought, preserving everything unmoved and unconfused, both as regards themselves and each other, and establishes all things by a stable and ¹¹⁶ unswerving power, towards their own peace and immobility.

3  Πῶς δέ͵ φαίη τις͵ ἐφίεται πάντα εἰρήνης; Πολλὰ γὰρ ἑτερότητι ²²⁰ καὶ διακρίσει χαίρει καὶ οὐκ ἄν ποτε ἑκόντα ἠρεμεῖν ἐθελήσοι. Καὶ εἰ μὲν ἑτερότητα καὶ διάκρισιν ὁ ταῦτα λέγων φησὶ τὴν ἑκάστου τῶν ὄντων ἰδιότητα καὶ ὅτι ταύτην οὐδὲ ἓν τῶν ὄντων ὄν͵ ὅπερ ἔστιν͵ ἐθέλει ποτὲ ἀπολλύειν͵ οὐκ ἂν οὐδὲ ἡμεῖς πρὸς τοῦτο ἀντιφήσομεν͵ ἀλλὰ καὶ ταύτην εἰρήνης ἔφεσιν ἀποφανούμεθα. Πάντα γὰρ ἀγαπᾷ πρὸς ἑαυτὰ εἰρηνεύειν τε καὶ ἡνῶσθαι καὶ ἑαυτῶν καὶ τῶν ἑαυτῶν ἀκίνητα καὶ ἄπτωτα εἶναι. Καὶ ἔστι καὶ τῆς καθ΄ ἕκαστον ἀμιγοῦς ἰδιότητος ἡ παντελὴς εἰρήνη φυλακτικὴ ταῖς εἰρηνοδώροις αὑτῆς προνοίαις τὰ πάντα ἀστασίαστα καὶ ἀσύμφυρτα πρός τε ἑαυτὰ καὶ πρὸς ἄλληλα διασώζουσα καὶ πάντα ἐν σταθερᾷ καὶ ἀκλίτῳ δυνάμει πρὸς τὴν ἑαυτῶν εἰρήνην καὶ ἀκινησίαν ἱστῶσα.

11.4. And if all things in motion desire, not repose, but ever to make known their own proper movement, even this is an aspiration after the Divine Peace of the whole, which preserves all things from falling away of their own accord, and guards the idiosyncrasy and moving life of all moving things unmoved and free from falling, so that the things moved, being at peace amongst themselves, and always in the same condition, perform their own proper functions.

4  Καὶ εἰ τὰ κινούμενα πάντα μὴ ἠρεμεῖν͵ ἀλλὰ κινεῖσθαι ἀεὶ τὴν ἑαυτῶν κίνησιν ἐθέλοι͵ καὶ τοῦτο ἔφεσίς ἐστι τῆς θείας τῶν ὅλων εἰρήνης τῆς πάντα ἐφ΄ ἑαυτῶν ἀδιάπτωτα διασωζούσης καὶ τὴν πάντων τῶν κινουμένων ἰδιότητα καὶ κινητικὴν ζωὴν ἀκίνητον καὶ ἄπτωτον φυλατ τούσης ἐν τῷ τὰ κινούμενα πρὸς ἑαυτὰ εἰρηνεύοντα καὶ ὡσαύτως ἔχοντα δρᾶν τὰ ἑαυτῶν.

11.5. But if, in affirming the diversity as a falling from peace, he insists that peace is not beloved by all, verily there is no existing being which has entirely fallen from every kind of union; for, the altogether unstable and infinite, and unestablished, and without limit, is neither an actual thing, nor in things actual. But if he says, that those are inimical to peace, and good things of peace, who rejoice in strife and anger and changes and disturbances, even these are controlled by obscure images of a peaceful aspiration; being vexed by tumultuous passions, and ignorantly aspiring to calm them, they imagine that they will pacify themselves by the gratification of things which ever elude them, and they are disturbed by the non-attainment of the pleasures which overpowered them. What would any one say of the peaceful stream of ¹¹⁷ love towards man in Christ, according to which we have learned no longer to wage war, either with ourselves, or each other, or with angels, but that with them, according to our power, we should also be fellow-workers in Divine things, after the purpose of Jesus, Who worketh all in all, and forms a peace unutterable and pre-determined from Eternity, and reconciles us to Himself, in Spirit, and through Himself and in Himself to the Father; concerning which supernatural gifts it is sufficiently spoken in the Theological Outlines, whilst the [biblical] Sayings of the sacred inspiration furnish us with additional testimony.

5  Εἰ δὲ τὴν κατ΄ ἔκπτωσιν εἰρήνης ἑτερότητα λέγων ἰσχυρίζεται μὴ εἶναι πᾶσιν ἐραστὴν τὴν εἰρήνην͵ μάλιστα μὲν οὐδὲν ἔστι τῶν ὄντων͵ ὃ πάσης παντελῶς ἑνώσεως ἀποπέπτωκεν. Τὸ γὰρ πάντη ἄστατον καὶ ἄπειρον καὶ ἀνίδρυτον καὶ ἀόριστον οὔτε ὄν ἐστιν οὔτε ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν. Εἰ δὲ τούτους φησὶν εἰρήνῃ καὶ εἰρήνης ἀγαθοῖς ἀπεχθάνεσθαι τοὺς ἔρισι καὶ θυμοῖς καὶ ἀλλοιώσεσι καὶ ἀκαταστασίαις χαίροντας͵ καὶ οὗτοι ἀμαυροῖς ²²¹ εἰδώλοις εἰρηνικῆς ἐφέσεως διακρατοῦνται πρὸς παθῶν ἐνοχλούμενοι πολυκινήτων καὶ ταῦτα ἱστᾷν ἀνεπιστημόνως ἐφιέμενοι καὶ οἰόμενοι τῇ ἀποπληρώσει τῶν ἀεὶ ἀποῤῥεόντων εἰρηνεύειν ἑαυτοὺς τῇ ἀταξίᾳ τῶν κρατησασῶν ἡδονῶν ἐκταρασσομένους. Τί ἄν τις εἴποι περὶ τῆς κατὰ Χριστὸν εἰρηνοχύτου φιλανθρωπίας; Καθ΄ ἣν οὐ μὴ μάθωμεν ἔτι πολεμεῖν͵ οὔτε ἑαυτοῖς οὔτε ἀλλήλοις οὔτε ἀγγέλοις͵ ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτοῖς τὰ θεῖα κατὰ δύναμιν συνεργήσωμεν κατὰ πρόνοιαν Ἰησοῦ τοῦ τὰ πάντα ἐν πᾶσιν ἐνεργοῦντος καὶ ποιοῦντος εἰρήνην ἄῤῥητον καὶ ἐξ αἰῶνος προωρισμένην καὶ ἀποκαταλλάσσοντος ἡμᾶς ἑαυτῷ ἐν πνεύματι καὶ δι΄ ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ πατρί. Περὶ ὧν ὑπερφυῶν δώρων ἐν ταῖς Θεολογικαῖς ὑποτυπώσεσιν ἱκανῶς εἴρηται προσεπιμαρτυρούντων ἡμῖν καὶ τῆς ἱερᾶς τῶν λογίων ἐπιπνοίας.

11.6. But, since you once asked me by letter, what in the world I consider the self-existent Being, the self-existent Life, the self-existent Wisdom, and said that you debated with yourself how, at one time, I call Almighty God, self-existent Life, and at another, Mainstay of the self-existent Life, I thought it necessary, O holy man of God, to also free you from this difficulty, so far as lay in my power. And first then, in order that we may now resume that which I have said a thousand times already, there is no contradiction in saying that Almighty God is self-existent Power, or self-existent Life, and that He is Mainstay of the self-existent Life or Peace or Power. For the latter, He is named from things existing, and specially from the first existing, as Cause of all existing things; and the former, as being above all, even the first existing of beings, being ¹¹⁸ above superessentially. But you say, what in the world do we call the self-existent Being, or the self-existent Life, or whatever we lay down to be absolutely and originally and to have stood forth primarily from God? And we reply, this is not crooked but straight, and has a simple explanation. For we do not say that the self-existent Being, as Cause of the being of all things, is a sort of Divine or angelic essence (for the Super-essential alone is Source and Essence and Cause of the existence of all things, and of the self-existent Being), nor that another Deity, besides the Super-divine, produces Life for all that live, and is a Life Causative of the self-existent Life; nor to speak summarily, that essences and personalities originate and make existing things, so that superficial people have named them both gods, and creators of existing things, - whom, to speak truly and properly, neither they themselves knew (for they are non-existent), nor their fathers, - but we call self-existent Being, and self-existent Life, and self-existent Deity, as regards at least Source, and Deity, and Cause, the One Superior and Super-essential Source and Cause; but as regards Impartation, the providential Powers, that issue forth from God the unparticipating, (these we call) the self-existent essentiation, self-existent living, self-existent deification, by participating in which according to their own capacity, things existing, both are, and are said to be, existing, and living, and full of God - and the rest in the same way. Wherefore also, He is called the good Mainstay of the first of these, then ¹¹⁹ of the whole of them, then of the portions of them, then of those who participate in them entirely, then of those who participate in them in part. And why must we speak of these things, since some of our divine instructors in holy things, affirm that the Super-good and Super-divine self-existent Goodness and Deity, is Mainstay even of the self-existent Goodness and Deity; affirming that the good-making and deifying gift issued forth from God; and that the self-existent beautifying stream, is self-existent beauty, and whole beauty, and partial beauty, and things absolutely beautiful, and things partially beautiful, and whatever other things are said and shall be said after the same fashion, which declare that providences and goodnesses issuing forth from God the unparticipating, in an ungrudging stream, are participated by existing things, and bubble over in order that distinctly the Cause of all may be beyond all, and the Superessential and Supernatural may, in every respect, be above things of any sort of essence and nature whatever.

6  Ἀλλ΄ ἐπειδὴ καὶ ἄλλοτέ μου δι΄ ἐπιστολῆς ἐπύθου͵ τί ποτε ἄρα φημὶ τὸ αὐτοεῖναι͵ τὴν αὐτοζωήν͵ τὴν αὐτοσοφίαν͵ καὶ πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἔφης ἀπορῆσαι͵ πῶς τὸν θεὸν ποτὲ μὲν αὐτοζωήν φημι͵ ποτὲ δὲ τῆς αὐτοζωῆς ὑποστάτην͵ ἀναγκαῖον ᾠήθην͵ ἱερὲ τοῦ θεοῦ ἄνθρωπε͵ καὶ ταύτης σε τῆς ἐφ΄ ἡμῖν ἀπορίας ἀπολῦσαι. Καὶ πρῶτον μέν͵ ἵνα τὰ μυριόλεκτα καὶ νῦν ἀναλάβωμεν͵ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐναντίον αὐτοδύναμιν ἢ αὐτοζωὴν εἰπεῖν τὸν θεὸν καὶ τῆς αὐτοζωῆς ἢ εἰρήνης ἢ δυνάμεως ὑποστάτην. Τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἐκ τῶν ὄντων καὶ μάλιστα ἐκ τῶν πρώτως ²²² ὄντων ὡς αἴτιος πάντων τῶν ὄντων λέγεται͵ τὰ δὲ ὡς ὑπὲρ πάντα καὶ τὰ πρώτως ὄντα ὑπερὼν ὑπερουσίως. Τί δὲ ὅλως͵ φῄς͵ τὸ αὐτοεῖναι λέγομεν ἢ τὴν αὐτοζωὴν ἢ ὅσα ἀπολύτως καὶ ἀρχηγικῶς εἶναι καὶ ἐκ θεοῦ πρώτως ὑφεστηκέναι τιθέμεθα; Τοῦτο δέ͵ φαμέν͵ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀγκύλον͵ ἀλλ΄ εὐθὺ καὶ ἁπλῆν τὴν διασάφησιν ἔχον. Οὐ γὰρ οὐσίαν τινὰ θείαν ἢ ἀγγελικὴν εἶναί φαμεν τὸ αὐτοεῖναι τοῦ εἶναι τὰ ὄντα πάντα αἰτίαν͵ μόνον γὰρ τοῦ εἶναι πάντα τὰ ὄντα καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ εἶναι τὸ ὑπερούσιον ἀρχὴ καὶ οὐσία καὶ αἴτιον͵ οὐδὲ ζωογόνον ἄλλην θεότητα παρὰ τὴν ὑπέρθεον πάντων͵ ὅσα ζῇ͵ καὶ τῆς αὐτοζωῆς αἰτίαν ζωὴν οὔτε͵ συνελόντα εἰπεῖν͵ ἀρχικὰς τῶν ὄντων καὶ δημιουργικὰς οὐσίας καὶ ὑποστάσεις͵ ἅς τινες καὶ θεοὺς τῶν ὄντων καὶ δημιουργοὺς αὐτοσχε διάσαντες ἀπεστομάτισαν͵ οὕς͵ ἀληθῶς καὶ κυρίως εἰπεῖν͵ οὔτε αὐτοὶ ᾔδεισαν͵ ἅτε δὴ οὐκ ὄντας͵ οὔτε οἱ πατέρες αὐτῶν. Ἀλλ΄ αὐτοεῖναι καὶ αὐτοζωὴν καὶ αὐτοθεότητά φαμεν ἀρχικῶς μὲν καὶ θεϊκῶς καὶ αἰτια τικῶς τὴν μίαν πάντων ὑπεράρχιον καὶ ὑπερούσιον ἀρχὴν καὶ αἰτίαν͵ μεθεκτῶς δὲ τὰς ἐκδιδομένας ἐκ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀμεθέκτου προνοητικὰς δυνάμεις τὴν αὐτοουσίωσιν͵ αὐτοζώωσιν͵ αὐτοθέωσιν͵ ὧν τὰ ὄντα οἰκείως ἑαυτοῖς μετέχοντα καὶ ὄντα καὶ ζῶντα καὶ ἔνθεα καὶ ἔστι καὶ λέγεται καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ²²³ ὡσαύτως. Διὸ καὶ πρῶτον αὐτῶν ὁ ἀγαθὸς ὑποστάτης λέγεται εἶναι͵ εἶτα τῶν ὅλων αὐτῶν͵ εἶτα τῶν μερικῶν αὐτῶν͵ εἶτα τῶν ὅλως αὐτῶν μετεχόντων͵ εἶτα τῶν μερικῶς αὐτῶν μετεχόντων. Καὶ τί δεῖ περὶ τούτων λέγειν; Ὅπου γέ τινες τῶν θείων ἡμῶν ἱεροδι δασκάλων καὶ τῆς αὐτοαγαθότητος καὶ θεότητος ὑποστάτην φασὶ τὸν ὑπεράγαθον καὶ ὑπέρθεον αὐτοαγαθότητα καὶ θεότητα λέγοντες εἶναι τὴν ἀγαθοποιὸν καὶ θεοποιὸν ἐκ θεοῦ προεληλυθυῖαν δωρεὰν καὶ αὐτο κάλλος τὴν αὐτοκαλλοποιὸν χύσιν καὶ ὅλον κάλλος καὶ μερικὸν κάλλος καὶ ὅλως καλὰ καὶ ἐν μέρει καλά͵ καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν εἴρηται καὶ εἰρήσεται τρόπον δηλοῦντα προνοίας καὶ ἀγαθότητας μετεχομένας ὑπὸ τῶν ὄντων͵ ἐκ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀμεθέκτου προϊούσας ἀφθόνῳ χύσει καὶ ὑπερβλυζούσας͵ ἵνα ἀκριβῶς ὁ πάντων αἴτιος ἐπέκεινα ᾖ πάντων͵ καὶ τὸ ὑπερούσιον καὶ ὑπερφυὲς πάντη ὑπερέχοι τῶν καθ΄ ὁποίαν ποτὲ οὐσίαν καὶ φύσιν. ²²⁴

CHAPTER 12

2

Concerning Holy of Holies, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, God of Gods.

12.1. BUT since whatever we have to say on these matters has reached, in my opinion, a fitting conclusion, we must sing Him of endless names, both ¹²⁰ as Holy of Holies and King of Kings; and as ruling eternity and for ever and beyond, and as Lord of Lords, and God of Gods. And first we must say, what we think Holiness Itself is; and what Kingdom, and what Lordship, and what Divinity, and what the [biblical] Sayings wish to denote by the duplication of the names.

1  Ἀλλ΄ ἐπειδὴ καὶ περὶ τούτων͵ ὅσα εἰπεῖν ἔδει͵ τὸ προσῆκον ἀπείληφεν͵ ὡς οἶμαι͵ τέλος͵ ὑμνητέον ἡμῖν τὸν ἀπειρώνυμον καὶ ὡς ἅγιον ἁγίων καὶ βασιλέα τῶν βασιλευόντων καὶ βασιλεύοντα τὸν αἰῶνα καὶ ἐπ΄ αἰῶνα καὶ ἔτι καὶ ὡς κύριον τῶν κυρίων καὶ θεὸν τῶν θεῶν. Καὶ πρῶτόν γε ῥητέον͵ τί μὲν αὐτοαγιότητα εἶναι οἰόμεθα͵ τί δὲ βασιλείαν͵ τί δὲ κυριότητα͵ τί δὲ θεότητα͵ καὶ τί βούλεται δηλοῦν τὰ λόγια τῷ διπλασιασμῷ τῶν ὀνομάτων.

12.2. Holiness then is (so far as we can say) the purity free from every pollution, and all perfect, and altogether unstained; Kingdom is the assignment of every limit and order, and ordinance and rank; and Lordship is not only the superiority over the worse, but also the perfect possession, in. every respect, of the Beautiful and Good; and a true and unswerving stability. Wherefore Lordship is parallel to to_ Ku~roj kai\ ku&rion, kai\ to_ kuristo~n 45; and Deity is the Providence watching over all, and with perfect goodness both circumscribing and grasping all, and filling with Itself, and surpassing all things which enjoy Its forethought.

2  Ἁγιότης μὲν οὖν ἐστιν͵ ὡς καθ΄ ἡμᾶς εἰπεῖν͵ ἡ παντὸς ἄγους ἐλευθέρα καὶ παντελὴς καὶ πάντη ἄχραντος καθαρότης. Βασιλεία δὲ ἡ παντὸς ὅρου καὶ κόσμου καὶ θεσμοῦ καὶ τάξεως διανέμησις. Κυριότης δὲ οὐχ ἡ τῶν χειρόνων ὑπεροχὴ μόνον͵ ἀλλὰ καὶ πᾶσα τῶν καλῶν τε καὶ ἀγαθῶν ἡ παντελὴς παγκτησία καὶ ἀληθὴς καὶ ἀμετάπτωτος βεβαιότης. Διὸ καὶ κυριότης παρὰ τὸ κῦρος καὶ τὸ κύριον καὶ τὸ κυριεῦον. Θεότης ²²⁵ δὲ ἡ πάντα θεωμένη πρόνοια καὶ ἀγαθότητι παντελεῖ καὶ πάντα περι θέουσα καὶ συνέχουσα καὶ ἑαυτῆς ἀποπληροῦσα καὶ ὑπερέχουσα πάντα τὰ τῆς προνοίας αὐτῆς ἀπολαύοντα.

12.3. These things, then, must be sung absolutely, respecting the Cause surpassing all, and we must add that It surpasses Holiness, and Lordship, and Kingdom, and most simplex 46 Deity. For, from It, ¹²¹  individually and collectively, were born and distributed every untarnished distinctness of every spotless purity, the whole arrangement and regulation of things existing, whilst It excludes want of harmony and want of equality, and want of symmetry, and rejoices over the well-ordered identity and rectitude, and leads round things, deemed worthy to participate in Itself. From It is all the perfect and complete possession of all. good things, every good forethought, watching and sustaining the objects of Its forethought, imparting Itself, as befits Its goodness, for deification of those who are turned to It.

3  Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐπὶ τῆς πάντα ὑπερβαλλούσης αἰτίας ἀπολύτως ὑμνητέον καὶ προσρητέον αὐτὴν ὑπερέχουσαν ἁγιότητα καὶ κυριότητα καὶ βασιλείαν ὑπερκειμένην καὶ ἁπλουστάτην θεότητα. Καὶ γὰρ ἐξ αὐτῆς ἐν ἑνὶ καὶ ἀθρόως ἐκπέφυκε καὶ διανενέμηται πᾶσα ἀμιγὴς ἀκρίβεια πάσης εἰλικρινοῦς καθαρότητος͵ πᾶσα ἡ τῶν ὄντων διάταξίς τε καὶ διακόσμησις ἀναρμοστίαν καὶ ἀνισότητα καὶ ἀσυμμετρίαν ἐξορίζουσα καὶ εἰς τὴν εὔτακτον ταὐτότητα καὶ ὀρθότητα γανυμένη καὶ περιάγουσα τὰ μετέχειν αὐτῆς ἠξιωμένα͵ πᾶσα ἡ παντελὴς καὶ πάντων τῶν καλῶν παγκτησία͵ πᾶσα ἀγαθὴ πρόνοια θεωρὸς καὶ συνοχικὴ τῶν προνοουμένων͵ ἑαυτὴν ἀγαθοπρεπῶς ἐπιδιδοῦσα πρὸς ἐκθέωσιν τῶν ἐπεστραμμένων.

12.4. But since the Cause of all is super-full of all, as beseems the One superfluity which surpasses all, He is sung as Holy of Holies and the rest, as beseems an overflowing Cause, and a towering Pre-eminence. As one might say, so far as the things which are, - holy or divine, or lordly, or kingly, - surpass the things which are not, and the self-existent participations, their participants; to such an extent is seated above all things that be, He Who is above all things that be, and the unparticipating Cause of all the participants and the participations. But Holy and Kings and Lords and Gods, the [biblical] Sayings call the higher orders in each, through whom the inferior in participating the gifts from God, multiply the simplicity of their distribution around their own diversities, the variety of which, the superior ¹²² orders carefully and divinely collect to their own Oneness.

4  Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ὑπερπλήρης πάντων ἐστὶν ὁ πάντων αἴτιος κατὰ μίαν τὴν πάντων ὑπερέχουσαν ὑπερβολήν͵ ἅγιος ἁγίων ὑμνεῖται καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ καθ΄ ὑπερβλύζουσαν αἰτίαν καὶ ἐξῃρημένην ὑπεροχήν͵ ὡς ἄν τις φαίη. Καθ΄ ὅσον ὑπερέχουσι τῶν οὐκ ὄντων τὰ ὄντα͵ ἅγια ἢ θεῖα ἢ κύρια ἢ βασιλικὰ καὶ αὐτῶν μετεχόντων αἱ αὐτομετοχαί͵ κατὰ τοσοῦτον ὑπερίδρυται πάντων τῶν ὄντων ὁ ὑπὲρ πάντα τὰ ὄντα καὶ πάντων τῶν μετεχόντων καὶ τῶν μετοχῶν ὁ ἀμέθεκτος αἴτιος. Ἁγίους δὲ καὶ ²²⁶ βασιλεῖς καὶ κυρίους καὶ θεοὺς καλεῖ τὰ λόγια τὰς ἐν ἑκάστοις ἀρχικωτέρας διακοσμήσεις͵ δι΄ ὧν αἱ δεύτεραι τῶν ἐκ θεοῦ δωρεῶν μεταλαμβάνουσαι τὴν τῆς ἐκείνων διαδόσεως ἁπλότητα περὶ τὰς ἑαυτῶν διαφορὰς πληθύουσιν͵ ὧν αἱ πρώτισται τὴν ποικιλίαν προνοητικῶς καὶ θεοειδῶς πρὸς τὴν ἑνότητα τὴν ἑαυτῶν συνάγουσιν.

CHAPTER 13.

CHAPTER 2

2

Concerning Perfect and One.

13.1. So much then on these matters; but let us now at last, with your good pleasure, approach the most difficult subject in the whole discourse. For the Word of God predicates everything, singly and collectively, respecting the Cause of all, and extols Him both as Perfect and as One 47. He is then perfect not only as self-perfect, and solitarily separated within Himself, by Himself, and throughout most perfect, but also as super-perfect, as beseems His pre-eminence over all, and limiting every infinitude, and surpassing every term, and by none contained or comprehended; but even extending at once to all, and above all, by His unfailing gratuities and endless energies. But, on the other hand, He is called perfect, both as without increase, and always perfect, and as undiminished, as pre-holding all things in Himself, and overflowing as beseems one, inexhaustible, and same, and super-full, and undiminished, abundance, in accordance with which He perfects all perfect things, and fills them with His own perfection. ¹²³ 

1  Τοσαῦτα καὶ περὶ τούτων. Ἐπ΄ αὐτὸ δὲ λοιπόν͵ εἰ δοκεῖ͵ τῷ λόγῳ τὸ καρτερώτατον χωρῶμεν. Καὶ γὰρ ἡ θεολογία τοῦ πάντων αἰτίου καὶ πάντα καὶ ἅμα πάντα κατηγορεῖ καὶ ὡς τέλειον αὐτὸ καὶ ὡς ἓν ἀνυμνεῖ. Τέλειον μὲν οὖν ἐστιν οὐ μόνον ὡς αὐτοτελὲς καὶ καθ΄ ἑαυτὸ ὑφ΄ ἑαυτοῦ μονοειδῶς ἀφοριζόμενον καὶ ὅλον δι΄ ὅλου τελειότατον͵ ἀλλὰ καὶ ὡς ὑπερτελὲς κατὰ τὸ πάντων ὑπερέχον καὶ πᾶσαν μὲν ἀπειρίαν ὁρίζον͵ παντὸς δὲ πέρατος ὑπερηπλωμένον καὶ ὑπὸ μηδενὸς χωρούμενον ἢ καταλαμβανόμενον͵ ἀλλὰ διατεῖνον ἐπὶ πάντα ἅμα καὶ ὑπὲρ πάντα ταῖς ²²⁷ ἀνεκλείπτοις ἐπιδόσεσι καὶ ἀτελευτήτοις ἐνεργείαις. Τέλειον δ΄ αὖ λέγεται καὶ ὡς ἀναυξὲς καὶ ἀεὶ τέλειον καὶ ὡς ἀμείωτον͵ ὡς πάντα ἐν ἑαυτῷ προέχον καὶ ὑπερβλύζον κατὰ μίαν τὴν ἄπαυστον καὶ ταύτην καὶ ὑπερπλήρη καὶ ἀνελάττωτον χορηγίαν͵ καθ΄ ἣν τὰ τέλεια πάντα τελε σιουργεῖ καὶ τῆς οἰκείας ἀποπληροῖ τελειότητος.

13.2. But One, because He is uniquely all, as beseems an excess of unique Oneness, and is Cause of all without departing from the One. For there is no single existing being, which does not participate in the one, but as every number participates in an unit, and one dual and one decade is spoken of, and one half, and one third and tenth, so everything, and part of everything participates in the one, and by the fact that the One is, all existing things are. And the Cause of all is not One, as one of many, but before every one and multitude, and determinative of every one and multitude. For there is no multitude which does not partake in some way or other of the one. Yea, that which is many by parts, is one in the whole; and the many by the accidents, is one by the subject; and the many by the number or the powers, is one by the species, and the many by the species, is one by the genus; and the many by the progressions, is one by the source. And there is no single thing which does not participate in some way in the one, which uniformly pre-held in the uniqueness throughout all, all and whole, all, even the things opposed. And indeed, without the one there will not be a multitude, but without the multitude there will be the one, even as the unit previous to every multiplied number; and, if any one should suppose, that all things are united to all, the All will be one in the whole. ¹²⁴ 

2  Ἓν δέ͵ ὅτι πάντα ἑνιαίως ἐστὶ κατὰ μιᾶς ἑνότητος ὑπεροχὴν καὶ πάντων ἐστὶ τοῦ ἑνὸς ἀνεκφοιτήτως αἴτιον. Οὐδὲν γὰρ ἔστι τῶν ὄντων ἀμέτοχον τοῦ ἑνός͵ ἀλλ΄ ὥσπερ ἅπας ἀριθμὸς μονάδος μετέχει καὶ μία δυὰς καὶ δεκὰς λέγεται καὶ ἥμισυ ἓν καὶ τρίτον καὶ δέκατον ἕν͵ οὕτω πάντα καὶ πάντων μόριον τοῦ ἑνὸς μετέχει͵ καὶ τῷ εἶναι τὸ ἓν πάντα ἔστι τὰ ὄντα. Καὶ οὐκ ἔστι τὸ πάντων αἴτιον ἓν τῶν πολλῶν ἕν͵ ἀλλὰ πρὸ παντὸς ἑνὸς καὶ πλήθους καὶ παντὸς ἑνὸς καὶ πλήθους ὁριστικόν. Οὐδὲ γάρ ἐστι πλῆθος ἀμέτοχόν πῃ τοῦ ἑνός͵ ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν πολλὰ τοῖς μέρεσιν ἓν τῷ ὅλῳ καὶ τὸ πολλὰ τοῖς συμβεβηκόσιν ἓν τῷ ὑποκειμένῳ καὶ τὸ πολλὰ τῷ ἀριθμῷ ἢ ταῖς δυνάμεσιν ἓν τῷ εἴδει καὶ τὸ πολλὰ τοῖς εἴδεσιν ἓν τῷ γένει καὶ τὸ πολλὰ ταῖς προόδοις ἓν τῇ ἀρχῇ͵ καὶ οὐδὲν ἔστι τῶν ὄντων͵ ὃ μὴ μετέχει πῃ τοῦ ἑνὸς τοῦ ἐν τῷ κατὰ πάντα ἑνικῷ πάντα καὶ ὅλα πάντα καὶ τὰ ἀντικείμενα καὶ ἑνιαίως προσυνειληφότος. Καὶ ἄνευ μὲν τοῦ ἑνὸς οὐκ ἔσται πλῆθος͵ ἄνευ δὲ πλήθους ἔσται τὸ ἓν ὡς ²²⁸ καὶ μονὰς πρὸ παντὸς ἀριθμοῦ πεπληθυσμένου. Καὶ εἰ πᾶσι τὰ πάντα ἡνωμένα τις ὑπόθοιτο͵ τὰ πάντα ἔσται τῷ ὅλῳ ἕν.

13.3. Especially must this be known, that according to the pre-conceived species of each one, things united are said to be made one, and the one is elemental of all; and if you should take away the one, there will be neither totality nor part, nor any other single existing thing. For the one, uniformly, pre-held and comprehended all things in itself. For this reason, then, the Word of God celebrates the whole Godhead, as Cause of all, by the epithet of the One, both one God the Father, and one Lord Jesus Christ, and one and the same Spirit, by reason of the surpassing indivisibility of the whole Divine Oneness, in which all things are uniquely collected, and are super-unified, and are with It Superessentially. Wherefore also, all things are justly referred and attributed to It, by Which and from Which, and through Which, and in Which, and to Which, all things are, and are co-ordinated, and abide, and are held together, and are filled, and are turned towards It. And you would not find any existing thing, which is not what it is, and perfected and preserved, by the One, after which the whole Deity is superessentially named. And it is necessary also, that we being turned from the many to the One, by the power of the Divine Oneness, should celebrate as One the whole and one Deity - the one Cause of all - which is before every one and multitude, and part and whole, and limit and illimitability, and term and infinity, which bounds all things that be, even the Being Itself, and is ¹²⁵ uniquely Cause of all, individually and collectively, and at the same time before all, and above all, and above the One existing Itself, and bounding the One existing Itself; since the One existing - that in things being - is numbered, and number participates in essence; but the superessential One bounds both the One existing, and every number, and Itself is, of both one and number, and every being, Source and Cause, and Number and. Order. Wherefore also, whilst celebrated as Unit and Triad, the Deity above all is neither Unit nor Triad, as understood by us or by any other sort of being, but, in order that we may celebrate truly. Its super-oneness, and Divine generation, by the threefold and single name of God, we name the Deity, Which is inexpressible to things that be, the Superessential. But no Unit nor Triad, nor number nor unity, nor productiveness, nor any other existing thing, or thing known to any existing thing, brings forth the hiddenness, above every expression and every mind, of the Super-Deity Which is above all superessentially. Nor has It a Name, or expression, but is elevated above in the inaccessible. And neither do we apply the very Name of Goodness, as making it adequate to It, but through a desire of understanding and saying something concerning that inexpressible nature, we consecrate the most august of Names to It, in the first degree, and although we should be in accord in this matter with the theologians, yet we shall fall short of the truth of the facts. Wherefore, even they have given the preference to the ascent through ¹²⁶ negations, as lifting the soul out of things kindred to itself, and conducting it through all the Divine conceptions, above which towers that which is above every name, and every expression and knowledge, and at the furthest extremity attaching it to Him, as far indeed as is possible for us to be attached to that Being.

3  Ἄλλως τε καὶ τοῦτο ἰστέον͵ ὅτι κατὰ τὸ ἑνὸς ἑκάστου προεπι νοούμενον εἶδος ἡνῶσθαι λέγεται τὰ ἡνωμένα͵ καὶ πάντων ἐστὶ τὸ ἓν στοιχειωτικόν. Καὶ εἰ ἀνέλῃς τὸ ἕν͵ οὔτε ὁλότης οὔτε μόριον οὔτε ἄλλο οὐδὲν τῶν ὄντων ἔσται. Πάντα γὰρ ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὸ ἓν ἑνοειδῶς προείληφέ τε καὶ περιείληφεν. Ταύτῃ γοῦν ἡ θεολογία τὴν ὅλην θεαρχίαν ὡς πάντων αἰτίαν ὑμνεῖ τῇ τοῦ ἑνὸς ἐπωνυμίᾳ͵ καὶ εἷς θεὸς ὁ πατὴρ καὶ εἷς κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς καὶ ἓν καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ πνεῦμα διὰ τὴν ὑπερβάλλουσαν τῆς ὅλης θεϊκῆς ἑνότητος ἀμέρειαν͵ ἐν ᾗ πάντα ἑνικῶς συνῆκται καὶ ὑπερήνωται καὶ πρόσεστιν ὑπερουσίως. Διὸ καὶ πάντα ἐπ΄ αὐτὴν ἐνδίκως ἀναπέμπεται καὶ ἀνατίθεται͵ ὑφ΄ ἧς καὶ ἐξ ἧς καὶ δι΄ ἧς καὶ ἐν ᾗ καὶ εἰς ἧν πάντα ἔστι καὶ συντέτακται καὶ μένει καὶ συνέχεται καὶ ἀποπληροῦται καὶ ἐπιστρέφεται. Καὶ οὐκ ἂν εὕροις τι τῶν ὄντων͵ ὃ μὴ τῷ ἑνί͵ καθ΄ ὃ πᾶσα ἡ θεότης ὑπερουσίως ὀνομάζεται͵ καὶ ἔστι τοῦτο͵ ὅπερ ἐστί͵ καὶ τελειοῦται καὶ διασώζεται. Καὶ χρὴ καὶ ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τῶν πολλῶν ἐπὶ τὸ ἓν τῇ δυνάμει τῆς θεϊκῆς ἑνότητος ἐπιστρεφομένους ἑνιαίως ὑμνεῖν τὴν ὅλην καὶ μίαν θεότητα͵ τὸ πάντων αἴτιον ἕν͵ τὸ πρὸ παντὸς ἑνὸς καὶ πλήθους καὶ μέρους καὶ ὅλου καὶ ὅρου καὶ ἀοριστίας καὶ πέρατος καὶ ἀπειρίας͵ τὸ πάντα τὰ ὄντα καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ εἶναι ὁρίζον καὶ πάντων καὶ ὅλων πάντων καὶ ἅμα καὶ πρὸ ²²⁹ πάντων καὶ ὑπὲρ πάντα καὶ ἑνικῶς αἴτιον καὶ ὑπὲρ αὐτὸ τὸ ἓν ὂν καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ ἓν ὂν ὁρίζον͵ ἐπείπερ τὸ ὂν ἓν τὸ ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν ἐνάριθμόν ἐστιν͵ ἀριθμὸς δὲ οὐσίας μετέχει. Τὸ δὲ ὑπερούσιον ἓν καὶ τὸ ὂν ἓν καὶ πάντα ἀριθμὸν ὁρίζει καὶ αὐτό ἐστι καὶ ἑνὸς καὶ ἀριθμοῦ καὶ παντὸς ὄντος ἀρχὴ καὶ αἰτία καὶ ἀριθμὸς καὶ τάξις. Διὸ καὶ μονὰς ὑμνουμένη καὶ τριὰς ἡ ὑπὲρ πάντα θεότης οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδὲ μονάς͵ οὐδὲ τριὰς ἡ πρὸς ἡμῶν ἢ ἄλλου τινὸς τῶν ὄντων διεγνω σμένη͵ ἀλλὰ ἵνα καὶ τὸ ὑπερηνωμένον αὐτῆς καὶ τὸ θεογόνον ἀληθῶς ὑμνήσωμεν͵ τῇ τριαδικῇ καὶ ἑνιαίᾳ θεωνυμίᾳ τὴν ὑπερώνυμον ὀνομάζο μεν͵ τοῖς οὖσι τὴν ὑπερούσιον. Οὐδεμία δὲ μονὰς ἢ τριάς͵ οὐδὲ ἀριθμὸς οὐδὲ ἑνότης ἢ γονιμότης οὐδὲ ἄλλο τι τῶν ὄντων ἤ τινι τῶν ὄντων συνεγνωσμένων ἐξάγει τὴν ὑπὲρ πάντα καὶ λόγον καὶ νοῦν κρυφιότητα τῆς ὑπὲρ πάντα ὑπερουσίως ὑπερούσης ὑπερθεότητος͵ οὐδὲ ὄνομα αὐτῆς ἔστιν οὐδὲ λόγος͵ ἀλλ΄ ἐν ἀβάτοις ἐξῄρηται. Καὶ οὐδὲ αὐτὸ τὸ τῆς ἀγαθότητος ὡς ἐφαρμόζοντες αὐτῇ προσφέρομεν͵ ἀλλὰ πόθῳ τοῦ νοεῖν τι καὶ λέγειν περὶ τῆς ἀῤῥήτου φύσεως ἐκείνης τὸ τῶν ὀνομάτων σεπτότατον αὐτῇ πρώτως ἀφιεροῦμεν. Καὶ συμφωνήσοι μεν ἂν κἀν τούτῳ τοῖς θεολόγοις͵ τῆς δὲ τῶν πραγμάτων ἀληθείας ²³⁰ ἀπολειφθησόμεθα. Διὸ καὶ αὐτοὶ τὴν διὰ τῶν ἀποφάσεων ἄνοδον προτε τιμήκασιν ὡς ἐξιστῶσαν τὴν ψυχὴν τῶν ἑαυτῇ συμφύλων καὶ διὰ πασῶν τῶν θείων νοήσεων ὁδεύουσαν͵ ὧν ἐξῄρηται τὸ ὑπὲρ πᾶν ὄνομα καὶ πάντα λόγον καὶ γνῶσιν͵ ἐπ΄ ἐσχάτων δὲ τῶν ὅλων αὐτῷ συνάπτουσαν͵ καθ΄ ὅσον καὶ ἡμῖν ἐκείνῳ συνάπτεσθαι δυνατόν.

13.4. We then, having collected these intelligible Divine Names, have unfolded them to the best of our ability, falling short not only of the precision which belongs to them, (for this truly, even Angels might say) nor only of their praises as sung by Angels (and the chief of our Theologians come behind the lowest of them), nor indeed of the Theologians themselves, nor of their followers or companions, but even of those who are of the same rank as ourselves, last and subordinate to them; so that, if the things spoken should be correct, and, if we, as far as in us lies, have really reached the perception of the unfolding of the Divine Names, let the fact be ascribed to the Author of all good things, Who, Himself, bestows first the power to speak, then to speak well. And if any one of the Names of the same force has been passed over, that also you must understand according to the same methods. But, if these things are either incorrect or imperfect, and we have wandered from the truth, either wholly or partially, may it be of thy brotherly kindness to correct him, who unwillingly is ignorant, and to impart a word to him, who wishes to learn, ¹²⁷ and to vouchsafe assistance to him, who has not power in himself; and to heal him, who, not willingly, is sick; and having found out some things from thyself, and others from others, and receiving all from the good to transfer them also to us. By no means grow weary in doing good to a man thy friend, for thou perceivest, that we also have kept to ourselves none of the hierarchical communications transmitted to us, but have transmitted them without flaw, both to you and to other holy men, yea, and will continue to transmit them, as we may be sufficient to speak, and those to whom we speak, ta hear, doing injury in no respect to the tradition, if at least we do not fail in the conception and expression thereof. But, let these things be held and spoken in such way, as is well pleasing to Almighty God; and let this indeed be our conclusion to the intelligible Divine Names. But I will now pass to the Symbolic Theology 48, with God for my Guide.

4  Ταύτας ἡμεῖς τὰς νοητὰς θεωνυμίας συνῃρηκότες͵ ὡς ἐφικτόν͵ ἀνεπτύξαμεν οὐ μόνον αὐτῶν τῆς ἀκριβείας ἀπολειπόμενοι͵ τοῦτο γὰρ ἀληθῶς καὶ ἄγγελοι φαῖεν͵ οὐδὲ τῆς κατὰ ἀγγέλους αὐτῶν ὑμνῳδίας͵ καὶ τῶν ἐσχάτων γὰρ ἀποδέουσιν οἱ κράτιστοι τῶν παρ΄ ἡμῖν θεολόγων͵ οὔτε μὴν αὐτῶν τῶν θεολόγων οὐδὲ τῶν αὐτῶν ἀσκητῶν ἢ συνοπαδῶν͵ ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἡμῖν ὁμοταγῶν ἐσχάτως καὶ ὑφειμένως. Ὥστε͵ εἰ μὲν ὀρθῶς ἔχοι τὰ εἰρημένα καὶ ὡς καθ΄ ἡμᾶς ὄντως ἐφηψάμεθα τῇ διανοίᾳ τῆς θεωνυμικῆς ἀναπτύξεως͵ ἐπὶ τὸν πάντων ἀγαθῶν αἴτιον τὸ πρᾶγμα ἀναθετέον τὸν δωρούμενον πρῶτον αὐτὸ τὸ εἰπεῖν͵ ἔπειτα τὸ εὖ εἰπεῖν. Καὶ εἴ τι τῶν ὁμοδυνάμων παραλέλειπται͵ κἀκεῖνο ἡμᾶς κατὰ τὰς αὐτὰς μεθόδους προσυπακούειν δεήσει. Εἰ δὲ ταῦτα ἢ οὐκ ὀρθῶς ἢ ἀτελῶς ἔχει͵ καὶ τῆς ἀληθείας ἢ ὁλικῶς ἢ μερικῶς ἀποπεπλανήμεθα͵ τῆς σῆς ἂν εἴη φιλανθρωπίας ἐπανορθώσασθαι τὸν ἀκουσίως ἀγνοοῦντα καὶ μεταδοῦναι λόγου τῷ μαθεῖν δεομένῳ καὶ ἐπαμῦναι τῷ μὴ αὐτάρκη δύναμιν ἔχοντι καὶ ἰάσασθαι τὸν οὐκ ἐθέλοντα ἀῤῥωστεῖν καὶ τὰ μὲν παρ΄ ἑαυτοῦ͵ τὰ δὲ παρ΄ ἑτέρων ἐξευρίσκοντα͵ πάντα δὲ ἐκ τἀγαθοῦ λαμβάνοντα καὶ εἰς ἡμᾶς διαβιβάσαι. Μηδὲ ἀποκάμῃς φίλον ἄνδρα εὐερ ²³¹ γετῶν. Ὁρᾷς γάρ͵ ὅτι καὶ ἡμεῖς οὐδένα τῶν παραδοθέντων ἡμῖν ἱεραρ χικῶν λόγων εἰς ἑαυτοὺς συνεστείλαμεν͵ ἀλλὰ ἀνοθεύτους αὐτοὺς καὶ ὑμῖν καὶ ἑτέροις ἱεροῖς ἀνδράσι μεταδεδώκαμέν τε καὶ μεταδώσομεν͵ ὡς ἂν ἡμεῖς τε εἰπεῖν ἱκανοὶ καὶ οἷς λέγεται ἀκούειν κατ΄ οὐδὲν τὴν παράδοσιν ἀδικοῦντες͵ εἰ μὴ ἄρα πρὸς τὴν νόησιν ἢ τὴν ἔκφρασιν αὐτῶν ἀσθενήσο μεν. Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μέν͵ ὅπῃ τῷ θεῷ φίλον͵ ταύτῃ ἐχέτω τε καὶ λεγέσθω͵ καὶ ἔστω δὴ τοῦτο ταῖς νοηταῖς θεωνυμίαις τὸ καθ΄ ἡμᾶς πέρας. Ἐπὶ δὲ τὴν Συμβολικὴν θεολογίαν ἡγουμένου θεοῦ μεταβήσομαι.