ἐπεὶ δέ ἐστιν 1 μελλοι] -λει ‘Reg. a’ || 6 προς το ειπ be || 8 om τε a || 11 om αν ‘Or. 1’ || 12 λεγοι] -ει ‘Reg. a tres Colb. Or. 1’ ut vid || τρεις ουδε τεσσαρες] τρια ουδε -ρα cde : τρεις ουδε -ρας b || 16 om γαρ d || εστιν] + ειπειν c 2. ἀποχρώντως] ‘sufficiently,’ ‘adequately.’ 4. οὐδὲ ἐκεῖ] in the case of incorporeal existences. ib. μέχρι τοῦ εἰπεῖν] In accordance with the double meaning of all such words, μέχρι has here the inclusive sense (‘so long as’), not the exclusive (‘until’). It is much less common when μ. is used prepositionally, as here. Οὐ στήσεται μέχρι τ. εἰ. ‘will not stop short with saying.’ Cp. § 16, 31. 5. πολυπραγμονῶν] ‘inquiring’ The word does not necessarily imply censure, esp. in the later Greek. Cyril Jer. uses it of God (Procat. § 2). The τοῦ ὄντος does not specially refer to God (ὁ ὤν), but quite generally to any existing thing which is under discussion. 8. ἀπειπεῖν] ‘to reject,’ ‘deny.’ ib. ἵνα ἔκ τε] depends on δεὸ. ib. ὧν οὔκ ἐστι] by attraction for τούτων ἃ οὐκ ἑ. ; so directly after, τῆς οὗ ἐστὶ θ. for τῆς τούτου ὅ ἐστι. 11. τὰ πέντε δὶς ὅσα ἑ.] ‘how many twice five is.’ 13. τῶν ἐντὸς δεκάδος ἢ δ. ἀ.] ‘of the numbers below ten or between the multiples of ten.’ 15. ἐρείδοL . . . εἰd] ‘satisfy . . . with’; lit. ‘plant firmly . . . upon.’ 19. ἤ] This elliptical and idio- matic use of ἤ suggests the alternative, ‘deny this if you can; or let us take it as self-evident and pass on.’ The μὲν is strictly answered by ἐπεὶ δέ, and there ought not to be such a break between them as is indicated by the usual division of chapters. ἀσώματον ἡμῖν τὸ θεῖον, μικρόν τι προσεξετάσωμεν. πότερον οὐδαμοῦ τοῦτο, ἢ ἔστιν ὅπου; εἰ μὲν γὰρ οὐδαμοῦ, ζητήσαι τις ἃν τῶν ἄγαν ἐξεταστικῶν, πῶς ἂν καὶ εἴη. εἰ γὰρ τὸ μὴ ὃν οὐδαμοῦ, τὸ μηδαμοῦ τυχὸν οὐδὲ ὄν. εἰ δέ ἐστί που, πάντως ἐπείπερ ἐστὶν ἢ ἐν τῷ παντὶ ἢ ὑπὲρ τὸ πᾶν. ἀλλ’ εἰ μὲν ἐν τῷ παντί, ἤ τινι, ἢ πανταχοῦ. καὶ εἰ μὲν ἔν τινι, ὑπ’ ἐλάττονος περιγραφήσεται τοῦ τινός, εἰ δὲ πανταχοῦ, ὑπὸ πλείονος καὶ ἄλλου πολλοῦ, λέγω δὲ τὸ περιεχόμενον τοῦ περιέχοντος, εἰ τὸ πᾶν ὑπὸ τοῦ παντὸς μέλλοι περισχεθήσεσθαι, καὶ μηδένα τόπον εἶναι περιγραφῆς ἐλεύθερον. ταῦτα μέν 10. 3 τις ἀν’] om ἀν’ d ΙΙ 7 η τινι] ἐν τινι e || 10 μέλλοι] -λει d 10. Gr. makes a digression to enquire how God is related to space. 2. ἐστιν ὅπου] ‘somewhere,’ like ἐστιν ὧν in i 5. 3. πῶς ἂν καἰ εἴη] ‘how it can exist at all.’ 5. πάντως ἐπείπερ ἐστὶν ἢ... ἤ] ‘it must of course be because it is either ...or.’ 7. ἤ τινι, ἢ πανταχοῦ] ‘it must reside either in α section of the universe, or extending throughout the whole: The passage which follows is characterized by Gr. himself (in § 11) as σκολιὸν γριφοειδές. Editors, therefore, and translators may be excused if they have made nonsense of it by wrong punctuation and by impossible renderings. The drift, however, is plain enough. Gr. places his opponent in a dilemma. If the Divine Being is located in a section of the universe, it is circumscribed by something relatively small τοῦ τινός=the supposed section, ἐλάττονος in comparison with τὸ πᾶν); a notion which is manifestly absurd. If on the other hand it is located in the universe at large, yet still (ex hypothesi) within the universe, then, though the thing which circumscribes it is relatively great πλ. καὶ ἄλλου πολλοῦ=‘greater than other great things’), yet none less it is as much circumscribed as in the former case. This follows from the very statement that τὸ θεῖον is ‘in’ the universe, which at once involves the relation of the thing containing to the thing contpined (grammatically τὸ περιεχόμενον is in apposition to the subject of περιγραφήσεται, and τοῦ περιέχοντος to ἐλάττονος τοῦ τινός and to πλείονος respectively). To complete the argument, however, it is necessary to postulate εἰ...μέλλοι) that the universe is not positively infinite but contained within itself if within nothing else, and that as it consists of space-relations it cannot he exempt from the possibility of circumscription. (The grammar of the last clause is apparently irregular, and some word like χρὴ must be supplied from μέλλοι; but it is possible that Gr. intends μέλλοι to stand absolutely and impersonally in both clauses (=‘it is to be a ’), making τό πᾶν περισχ. ace. and inf., like μ. τόπον εἶναι). εἰ ἐν τῷ παντί. καὶ ποῦ πρὶν γενέσθαι τὸ πᾶν; οὐδὲ γὰρ τοῦτο μικρὸν εἰς ἀπορίαν. εἰ δὲ ὑπὲρ τὸ πᾶν, ἆρ᾿ οὐδὲν ἦν τὸ διορίζον αὐτὸ τοῦ παντός; ποῦ δὲ τὸ ὑπὲρ τοῦτο; καὶ πῶς ἐνοήθη τὸ ὑπεραῖρον καὶ ὑπεραιρόμενον, οὐκ ὄντος ὅρου τινὸς τοῦ τέμνοντος ταῦτα καὶ διορίζοντος; ἢ χρὴ πάντως εἶναι τὸ μέσον, καὶ ᾧ περατοῦται τὸ πᾶν καὶ τὸ ὑπὲρ τὸ πᾶν; καὶ τί ἄλλο τοῦτο ἢ τόπος ἐστίν, ὅνπερ ἐφύγομεν; καὶ οὔπω λέγω τὸ περιγραπτὸν πάντως εἶναι τὸ θεῖον, καὶ εἰ διανοίᾳ καταληπτόν· ἓν γὰρ περιγραφῆς εἶδος καὶ ἡ κατάληψις.

τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν ταῦτα διῆλθον, καὶ περιεργότερον ἴσως ἢ κατὰ τὰς τῶν πολλῶν ἀκοάς, καὶ κατὰ τὸν νῦν κεκρατηκότα τύπον τῶν λόγων, ὃς τὸ γενναῖον καὶ ἁπλοῦν ἀτιμάσας τὸ σκολιὸν καὶ γριφοειδὲς ἐπεισήγαγεν· ὡς ἐκ 2 ει δε] ουδ e || 5 η] ει f || 9 om εἰ ‘Reg. Cypr.’ 11. 12 καὶ om κάτα b 1. καὶ που] ’And, still assuming that τὸ θεῖον is located in the universe, where was it,’ etc. 2. οὐδέν ἢν τὸ δ.] Gr. turns to the other horn of his first dilemma, and asks, What is there (if τὸ θεῖον is above the universe) to divide between tween the universe and it? The past tense ἦν, ἐνοήθη) in the preg- nant Greek idiom refers back to the moment when the opponent is supposed to have adopted the con- clusion. 3. τὸ ὑπὲρ τοῦτο] i.e. ὑπὲρ τὸ πᾶν. 4. τὸ ὑπεραῖρον κ. ὒ.] ὑπεραίρειν ‘to transcend’ (cp. § 3) represents εἶναι ὑπὲρ τὸ πᾶν. The single art., not repeated before ὑπεραιρόμενον, shews, of course, that the difficulty lies not in conceiving of the two things themselves, but in conceiving their relation to each other. 5. ἢ χρή] In English we say, ’Must there not be?’; in Greek there any alternative,) or must there be?’ 6. καὶ ᾧ π.] Καὶ here adds another description of τὸ μέσον, not a separate thing; and in τὸ μ. the art. is used as in τὸ διορίζον just above. 7. τοῦτο] sc. τὸ μέσον. 8. ἐφύγομεν] when we asked ποῦ τὸ ὑπὲρ τὸ πᾶν]. ib. καὶ οὔπω λοῶ κτλ.] ‘And I do not now insist upon the fact that τὸ π. εἶναι).’ 9. ἐν γάρ] ’for comprehension is one form of circumscription.’ 11 The purpose of the digression was to exemplify the barren dialectic of the Eunomians, as well as to shew that God is incomprehensible. He is so, not because He grudges the knowledge to man, whom He loves. 14. γριφοειδές] from γρῖφος, ‘a crab-pot,’ and so ‘a conundrum.’ is a hit at the Eunomian style of argument. ib. ὡς]=ὥστε. The tree is known by its fruits (Matt, vii 20) and the absence of light among the Eunomian theologians by the obscurity of their language. τῶν καρπῶν τὸ δένδρον γινώσκεσθαι, λέγω δὲ τὸ ἐνεργοῦν τὰ τοιαῦτα δόγματα σκότος ἐκ τοῦ ζόφου τῶν λεγομένων; οὐ γὰρ ἵνα καὶ αὐτὸς παράδοξα λέγειν δόξω, καὶ περιττὸς φαίνωμαι τὴν σοφίαν, πλέκων συνδέσμους καὶ διαλύων κρατούμενα· τοῦτο δὴ τὸ μέγα θαῦμα τοῦ Δανιήλ· ἀλλ’ ἵν ἐκεῖνο δηλώσαιμι, ὅ μοι λέγειν ὁ λόγος ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς ὥρμησεν. τοῦτο δὲ ἦν τί; τὸ μὴ ληπτὸν εἶναι ἀνθρωπίνῃ διανοίᾳ τὸ θεῖον, μηδὲ ὅλον ὅσον ἐστὶ φαντάζεσθαι· καὶ τοῦτο οὔτε διὰ φθόνον,—μακρὰν γὰρ τῆς θείας φύσεως φθόνος, τῆς γε ἀπαθοῦς καὶ μόνης ἀγαθῆς καὶ κυρίας, καὶ μάλιστα τῶν ἑαυτοῦ κτισμάτων περὶ τὸ τιμιώτατον· τί γὰρ Λόγῳ πρὸ τῶν λογικῶν; ἐπεὶ καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ ὑποστῆναι τῆς ἄκρας ἀγαθότητος·—οὔτε εἰς τιμὴν ἑαυτοῦ καὶ δόξαν τοῦ πλήρους, ἵνα τῷ ἀνεφίκτῳ τὸ τίμιον ἔχῃ καὶ τὸ σεβάσμιον. τοῦτο γὰρ πάντως σοφιστικὸν καὶ ἀλλότριον, μὴ ὅτι θεοῦ, ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ ἀνθρώπου μετρίως ἐπιεικοῦς, καί τι δεξιὸν ἑαυτῷ συνειδότος, ἐκ τοῦ κωλύειν ἑτέρους τὸ πρωτεῖον πορίζεσθαι.

Ἀλλ’ εἰ μὲν καὶ δι’ ἄλλας αἰτίας, εἰδεῖεν ἂν οἱ ἐγγυτέρω θεοῦ, καὶ τῶν ἀνεξιχνιάστων αὐτοῦ κριμάτων ἐπόπται καὶ θεωροί, εἴπερ εἰσί τινες τοσοῦτοι τὴν ἀρετήν, καὶ ἐν ἴχνεσιν ἀβύσσου περιπατοῦντες, τὸ δὴ λεγόμενον. ὅσον δ’ οὖν ἡμεῖς κατειλήφαμεν, μικροῖς μέτροις μετροῦντες τὰ δυσθεώρητα, τάχα μέν, ἵνα μὴ τῷ ῥᾳδίῳ τῆς κτήσεως ῥᾴστη γένηται καὶ ἡ τοῦ κτηθέντος ἀποβολή· φιλεῖ γὰρ τὸ μὲν πόνῳ κτηθὲν μᾶλλον κρατεῖσθαι, τὸ δὲ ῥᾳδίως κτηθὲν καὶ ἀποπτύεσθαι τάχιστα, ὡς πάλιν ληφθῆναι δυνάμενον· καὶ οὕτως εὐεργεσία καθίσταται τὸ μὴ πρόχειρον τῆς εὐεργεσίας, τοῖς γε νοῦν ἔχουσι. τάχα δέ, ὡς μὴ ταὐτὸν ἡμᾶς τῷ πεσόντι ἑωσφόρῳ πάσχειν, ἐκ τοῦ τὸ φῶς ὅλον χωρῆσαι κατέναντι κυρίου παντοκράτορος τραχηλιᾷν, καὶ πίπτειν ἐκ τῆς ἐπάρσεως πτῶμα πάντων ἐλεεινότατον. τυχὸν δέ, ἵν’ ἦ τι πλέον ἐκεῖθεν ἆθλον φιλοπονίας καὶ λαμπροῦ βίου τοῖς ἐνταῦθα κεκαθαρμένοις καὶ μακροθυμοῦσι πρὸς τὸ ποθούμενον. διὰ τοῦτο μέσος ἡμῶν τε καὶ θεοῦ ὁ σωματικὸς οὗτος ἵσταται γνόφος, ὥσπερ ἡ νεφέλη τὸ πάλαι τῶν Αἰγυπτίων καὶ τῶν Ἑβραίων. καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν ἴσως, ὃ ἔθετο σκότος ἀποκρυφὴν αὐτοῦ, 12. 9 ἀποπτύεσθαι] -εται ‘Or. Ι’ || 13 χώρησαι] + καὶ e || 19 om το ef 12. Perhaps one reason for difficulty of knowing God properly is to make us value the knowledge; another, to save us from pride, or to enhance the reward of earnest search. In any case, the infirmity of our bodily nature ttecessarily colours all our ideas of God. 1. δι’ ἄλλας αἰ.] other than those which he is about to allege. 2. ἀνεξιχν. ... κριμάτων] Cp. Rom. xi 33. The form of the sen- tence is quite general, and may in- clude both angelic beings and (though somewhat ironically) privi- human beings also. 4. ἐν ἴχν. ἀβ. περιπ.] Job xxxviii 16 (LXX.). 6. τῷ ῥᾳδίῳ τῆς κτ.] ‘lightly the gotten, lightly spent.’ 8. μᾶλλον κρατεῖσθαι] ‘the more firmly held.’ 10. τὸ μὴ πρόχειρον] The very fact that the benefit is not too easily attained is itself a benefit. 12. ἑωσφόρῳ] Is. xiv. 12. 13. χωρῆσαι, ‘take in.’ ib. κατέναντι κ. π. τρ] Job xv 25. Trax is to lift up the neck, like a rearing horse. 15. ἐκεῖθεν] ‘on yonder side’ death: cp. i 8. 19 τῶν Αἶγ’. κ. τ. ‘Εβ.] Ex. xiv 20. That cloud was only an obleged struction on the Egyptian side of it. 20. ὃ ἔθετο σκότος] ‘the the darkness which He ’’ etc. Ps. xvii (xviii) 12. τὴν ἡμετέραν παχύτητα, δι’ ἢν ὀλίγοι καὶ μικρὸν διακύπτουσιν. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν φιλοσοφείτωσαν οἷς ἐπιμελὲς, καὶ ἀνίτωσαν ἐπὶ πλεῖστον τῆς διασκέψεως. ἡμῖν δ’ οὑν ἐκεῖνο γνώριμον τοῖς δεσμίοις τῆς γῆς, ὅ φησιν ὁ θεῖος Ἱερεμίας, καὶ τὸ παχὺ τοῦτο σαρκίον περιβεβλημένοις, ὅτι ὥσπερ ἀδύνατον ὑπερβῆναι τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σκιάν, καὶ τῷ λίαν ἐπειγομένῳ,—φθάνει γὰρ ἀεὶ τοσοῦτον, ὅσον καταλαμβάνεται, —ἢ τοῖς ὁρατοῖς πηλσιάσαι τὴν ὄψιν δίχα τοῦ ἐν φωτὸς καὶ ἀέρος, ἢ τῶν ὑδάτων ἔξω τὴν νηκτὴν φύσιν διολισθαίνειν, οὕτως ἀμήχανον τοῖς ἐν σώμασι δίχα τῶν σωματικῶν πάντη γενέσθαι μετὰ τῶν νοουμένων. ἀεὶ γάρ τι παρεμπεσεῖται τῶν ἡμετέρων, κἂν ὅτι μάλιστα χωρίσας ἑαυτὸν τῶν ὁρωμένων ὁ νοῦς, καὶ καθ’ ἑαυτὸν γενόμενος, προσβάλλειν ἐπιχειρῇ τοῖς συγγενέσι καὶ ἀοράτοις. γνώσῃ δὲ οὕτως.

Οὐ πνεῦμα καὶ πῦρ καὶ φῶς, ἀγάπη τε καὶ σοφία καὶ δικαιοσύνη, καὶ νοῦς καὶ λόγος, καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα, αἱ προσηγορίαι τῆς πρώτης φύσεως; τί οὖν; ἢ πνεῦμα νοήσεις δίχα φορᾶς καὶ χύσεως; ἢ πῦρ ἔξω τῆς ὕλης, καὶ τῆς ἄνω φορᾶς, καὶ τοῦ ἰδίου χρώματός τε καὶ σχήματος; ἢ φῶς οὐκ ἀέρι σύγκρατόν τε καὶ ἄφετόν τοῦ οἷον γεννῶντός 4 om ο θεῖος c II 5 προβεβλημένοις cde || 6 υπερβηναι] ἐστιν υπερβαινειν ‘Reg. Cypr.’ ΙΙ 10 σωμασι] -τι e 13. 18 πρωτης] θείας df || 19 χυσεως] συγχύσεως d 7. οἷς ἐπιμελές] ‘who make it their business.’ i.e. ἐκεῖνο] viz. what follows. ib. τοῖς δ. τῆς γῆς] Lam. iii 34. τὸ π. τ σαρκίον] Cp. § 4. ib. περιβεβλημένοις] The read- ing προβ., though perh. less strongly by the MSS., has in its favour Gr.'s characteristic use of πρόβλημα; see iv 6. 7. φθάνει κτλ.] ‘it always anti- cipates your movement by just the step you take to catch it.’ 9. τῶν ὑδάτων ἀῶ] Ἔξω comes after its case. Νηκτήν from νήχω ‘to swim’; ν. φύσις, ’the kind,’ i.e. fish Διολισθ. to glide along.’ Cp. § 24. 13. The most abstract conceptions have to be conveyed in language of a concrete nature, through which the mind, in its longing after God, strugsupported gles with difficulty. 18. τῆς πρ. φύσεως] Cp. § 3, 7, 14. 19. φορᾶς κ. χύσεως] ‘movement and effusion: χύσις seems to refer to the source, from which the breath (wind) isemitted. Cp. χεόμενον below. 21. σύγκρατόν τε] a curioua use of τε, which is here attached to the whole phrase οὐκ ἁ. σύγκρατον, not merely to σύγκρ., unless we are to suppose that Gr. at first intended to say instead of ἄφετόν τ. οἷον γ., ‘detached from that which generates it, so to speak? some word like σύνδετον, ‘connected with.’ τε καὶ φωτίζοντος; νοῦν δὲ τίνα; μὴ τὸν ἐν ἄλλῳ, καὶ οὗ κινήματα τὰ διανοήματα, ἠρεμοῦντα ἢ προβαλλόμενα; λόγον δὲ τίνα παρὰ τὸν ἡσυχάζοντα ἐν ἡμῖν, ἢ χεόμενον; ὀκνῶ γὰρ εἰπεῖν, λυόμενον. εἰ δὲ καὶ σοφίαν, τίνα παρὰ τὴν ἕξιν, καὶ τὴν ἐν τοῖς θεωρήμασιν, εἴτε θείοις, εἴτε καὶ ἀνθρωπίνοις; δικαιοσύνην τε καὶ ἀγάπην, οὐ διαθέσεις ἐπαινουμένας, καὶ τὴν μὲν τῆς ἀδικίας, τὴν δὲ τοῦ μίσους ἀντίπαλον, ἐπιτεινομένας τε καὶ ἀνιεμένας, προσγινομένας τε καὶ ἀπογινομένας, καὶ ὅλως ποιούσας ἡμᾶς καὶ ἀλλοιούσας, ὥσπερ αἱ χρόαι τὰ σώματα; ἢ δεῖ τούτων ἀποστάντας ἡμᾶς αὐτὸ καθ’ ἑαυτὸ τὸ θεῖον ἐκ τούτων ἰδεῖν, ὡς οἷόν τε, μερικήν τινα φαντασίαν ἐκ τῶν εἰκασμάτων 1 μὴ] η c: εἰ μὴ d || ἐν] ἐπ’ e || 2 om τὰ διανοήματα f ǁ 5 ἐν τοῖς] + νοήμασι καὶ ’Reg. a’ ΙΙ 8 ἀνιεμένας] ἀνειμένας b ‘aliique’ || 9 om ἀπογινομένας e: προγινομένας f ǁ 11 om ἐκ τούτων def 1. μὴ τὸν ἐν ἄλλῳ] Μῆ here expects the affirmative answer: ‘is it not?’ We cannot think of νοῦς existing independently, but as a faculty of something or some one. 2. οὗ κινήμ. τὰ δ.] not ‘whose movements are thoughts,’ but movements thoughts are.’ The is that we cannot imagine thoughts, uttered or unuttered, without some kind of movement, which involves a change, in the mind which thinks them. 4. χεόμενον] The word is often used of producing a sound. Gr. uses it here to bring out the notion of dissipation inseparable from utterance. He shrinks however from saying ‘dissolved,’ ‘persihsing’ λυόμ.), because, although the sound comes to an end, there is a sense in which the ‘word’ remains. What Gr. means by λυόμενον is made clear by iv 17 λυομένη φωνῇ. 5. τὴν ἕξιν, κ. τ. ἐν τ. θεωρ.] Wisdom can only be conceived of as a ‘habit’ (the Aristotelian word) of some personal subject, and occupied upon some object. It cannot be conceived of as isolated and self- existent. 7. διαθέσεις] In the same way ‘righteousness,’ ‘love,’ are ‘dispositions’ of a person, not abstract things; and for us they derive their meaning from a contrast with their opposites. Tey are, moreover, constantly changing, and the subject in which they reside varies ac- cordingly. 11. τούτων ἀποστ.] The ταῦτα must mean the relative notions which Gr. has shewn to be inseparable from the προσηγορίαι which he has discussed. He cannot mean the προσηγ. themselves, because he goes on to use them as εἰκάσματα. In the next sentence τούτων = τῶν εἰκασ- μάτων. συλλεγομένους; τίς οὖν ἡ μηχανὴ ἐκ τούτων τε καὶ μὴ ταῦτα; ἢ πῶς ταῦτα πάντα, καὶ τελείως ἕκαστον, τὸ ἓν τῇ φύσει ἀσύνθετον καὶ ἀνείκαστον; οὕτω κάμνει ἐκβῆναι τὰ σωματικὰ ὁ ἡμέτερος νοῦς, καὶ γυμνοῖς ὁμιλῆσαι τοῖς ἀσωμάτοις, ἕως σκοπεῖ μετὰ τῆς ἰδίας ἀσθενείας τὰ ὑπὲρ δύναμιν. ἐπεὶ ἐφίεται μὲν πᾶσα λογικὴ φύσις θεοῦ καὶ τῆς πρώτης αἰτίας· καταλαβεῖν δὲ ἀδυνατεῖ, δι’ ἃς εἶπον αἰτίας. κάμνουσα δὲ τῷ πόθῳ, καὶ οἷον σφαδάζουσα, καὶ τὴν ζημίαν οὐ φέρουσα, δεύτερον ποιεῖται πλοῦν, ἢ πρὸς τὰ ὁρώμενα βλέψαι, καὶ τούτων τι ποιῆσαι θεόν, κακῶς εἰδυῖα,—τί γὰρ τῶν ὁρατῶν τοῦ ὁρῶντος καὶ πόσον ἐστὶν ὑψηλότερόν τε καὶ θεοειδέστερον, ἵν ἦ τὸ μὲν προσκυνοῦν, τὸ δὲ προσκυνούμενον;—ἢ διὰ τοῦ κάλλους τῶν ὁρωμένων καὶ τῆς εὐταξίας θεὸν γνωρίσαι, καὶ ὁδηγῷ τῇ ὄψει τῶν ὑπὲρ τὴν ὄψιν χρήσασθαι, ἀλλὰ μὴ ζημιωθῆναι θεὸν διὰ τῆς μεγαλοπρεπείας τῶν ὁρωμένων.

Ἐντεῦθεν οἱ μὲν ἥλιον, οἱ δὲ σελήνην, οἱ δὲ 3 φύσει] + καὶ e || 10 ποιησαι] σασθαι e ǁ 11 om ἐστιν e 1. τίς οὖν ἡ μ. κτλ.] By what contrivance, he asks, can we construct an imagnation of God out of these materials and yet not identified with them? How can we use words like ‘light’ and ‘love’ to help us in representing Him to our minds, and yet eliminate from the representation notions which are of the very essence of ‘light’ and ‘love’ as known to us?—The sentence is elliptical: ἡ μηχ. is not the φαντασία which we attempt to form ἐκ τούτων·. in full it would be something like τίς ἡ μηχ. ἐκ τούτων τε συλλέγεσθαι φ. κ. μ. τ. 2. ἢ πῶς τ. π.] Supposing the difficulty last stated to be sur- mounted, how can we reconcile the thought of God's absolute unity with that of a combination of separate images, even when these images are carried to their perfection? 3. κάμνει] ‘wearies itself...so long ἃς it investigates.’ 8. σφαδάζουσα] ‘to plunge,’ a restive horse. 9. δεύτερον π. πλοῦν] a well- known proverb, like ‘trying the second string.’ The mind itself unable to comprehend God, but it cannot give up trying. Two alternatives lie before it; either to fall into idolatry, or to use nature as a suggestion of what is above nature. 10. κακῶς κακῶς εἰδυῖα] ‘and it makes a great mistake.’ 15. ζημιωθῆναι θ.] It was the fear of this ζημία, as Gr. has said, which led to idolatry (in the wide sense of the word); and by idolatry they incurred it. 14. Some, impatient of the struggle, sink into worship of natural objects, or of images. 17. ἐντεῦθεν] sc. διὰ τῆς μεγαλοπρ. τ. ὁρ. Cp. Wisd. xiii 3. ἀστέρων πλῆθος, οἱ δὲ οὐρανὸν αὐτὸν ἅμα τούτοις, οἷς καὶ τὸ πᾶν ἄγειν δεδώκασι κατὰ τὸ ποιὸν ἢ ποσὸν τῆς κινήσεως· οἱ δὲ τὰ στοιχεῖα, γῆν, ὕδωρ, ἀέρα, πῦρ, διὰ τὸ χρειῶδες, ὧν ἄνευ οὐδὲ συστῆναι δυνατὸν τὸν ἀνθρώπινον βίον· οἱ δὲ ὅ τι τύχοιεν ἕκαστος τῶν ὁρατῶν ἐσεβάσθησαν, ὧν ἑώρων τὰ κάλλιστα θεοὺς προστησάμενοι. εἰσὶ δὲ οἳ καὶ εἰκόνας καὶ πλάσματα, πρῶτα μὲν τῶν οἰκείων, οἵ γε περιπαθέστεροι καὶ σωματικώτεροι, καὶ τιμῶντες τοὺς ἀπελθόντας τοῖς ὑπομνήμασιν· ἔπειτα καὶ τῶν ξένων, οἱ μετ’ ἐκείνους καὶ μακρὰν ἀπ’ ἐκείνων, ἀγνοίᾳ τῆς πρώτης φύσεως, καὶ ἀκολουθίᾳ τῆς παραδοθείσης τιμῆς, ὡς ἐννόμου καὶ ἀναγκαίας, ἐπειδὴ χρόνῳ τὸ ἔθος βεβαιωθὲν ἐνομίσθη νόμος. οἶμαι δὲ καὶ δυναστείαν τινὲς θεραπεύοντες, καὶ ῥώμην ἐπαινέσαντες, καὶ κάλλος θαυμάσαντες, θεὸν ἐποίησαν τῷ χρόνῳ τὸν τιμώμενον, προσλαβόμενοί τινα καὶ μῦθον τῆς ἐξαπάτης ἐπίκουρον.

Οἱ ἐμπαθέστεροι δὲ αὐτῶν καὶ τὰ πάθη θεοὺς ἐνόμισαν, ἢ θεοῖς ἐτίμησαν, θυμόν, καὶ μιαιφονίαν, καὶ ἀσέλγειαν, καὶ μέθην, καὶ οὐκ οἶδ’ ὅ τι ἄλλο τῶν τούτοις παραπλησίων, οὐ καλὴν οὐδὲ δικαίαν ταύτην ἀπολογίαν 14. 16 ἐξαπάτης] -τησεως be 15. 18 θέοις] θεοὺς de || 20 απολογιαν ταύτην ce 2. κατὰ τὸ ποιὸν ἢ ποσὸν τ. κ. ] It is hard to see what Gr. means by this phrase. Elias gives an elabo- rate double explanation which only shews how much it puzzled him. Prob. by τὸ ποσόν Gr. means ’the ’ of motion,—the planets e.g. moving at a different ‘rate’ from the fixed stars; while τὸ ποῖον would include their conjunctions. 5. ὁ τι τύχοιεν ἔκ. τ ὁρ.] τῶν ὁρ. depends on ὅ τι; ἕκ. is in app. the subj. of τύχ.; ‘any visible any visible ob- ject which they happened individn- ally’ to select. 6. προστῇς.] Cp. § 1. 8. περιπαθέστεροι] ‘more emo- tional.’ ib. τοὺς ἀπελθόντας] Cp. Wisd. xiv 15 f. The καὶ couples τιμῶντες κτλ. to τῶν οἰκ., not to σωματικ. 10. τῆς πρ. φύσεως] Cp. ἑ 13. 12. χρόνῳ τὸ ἔθος κτλ.] Wisd. xiv 16 εἶτα ἐν χρόνῳ κρατυνθὲν τὸ ἀσεβὲς ἔθος ὡς νόμος ἐφυλάχθη. 15. προσλαβ. τ. κ. μῦθον] Gr. adopts the Euemerist view of my- thology. 15. Some deify their own pasto sions, and end in utter degradation. The Evil One deceives them into worshipping himself as God. 17. καἰ τὰ πάθη] Cp. i 6. 18. θεοῖς ἔτ’.] set gods over them. εὑράμενοι τῶν οἰκείων ἁμαρτημάτων. καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἀφῆκαν κάτω, τοὺς δὲ ὑπὸ γῆν ἔκρυψαν,—τοῦτο συνετῶς μόνον,—τοὺς δὲ ἀνήγαγον εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν. ὢ τῆς γελοίας κληροδοσίας. εἶτα ἑκάστῳ τῶν πλασμάτων ὄνομά τι θεῶν ἢ δαιμόνων ἐπιφημίσαντες, κατὰ τὴν ἐξουσίαν καὶ αὐτονομίαν τῆς πλάνης, καὶ ἀγάλματα ἱδρυσάμενοι, ὧν καὶ τὸ πολυτελὲς δέλεαρ, αἵμασί τε καὶ κνίσσαις, ἔστι δὲ οἱ γε καὶ πράξεσι λίαν αἰσχραῖς, μανίαις τε καὶ ἀνθρωποκτονίαις, τιμᾷν τοῦτο ἐνόμισαν. τοιαύτας γὰρ ἔπρεπεν εἶναι θεῶν τοιούτων καὶ τὰς τιμάς. ἤδη δὲ καὶ κνωδάλοις, καὶ τετραπόδοις, καὶ ἑρπετοῖς, καὶ τούτων τοῖς αἰσχίστοις τε καὶ γελοιοτάτοις, ἑαυτοὺς καθύβρισαν, καὶ τούτοις φέροντες τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ δόξαν προσέθηκαν· ὡς μὴ ῥᾴδιον εἶναι κρῖναι, πότερον δεῖ καταφρονεῖν μᾶλλον τῶν προσκυνούντων ἢ τῶν προσκυνουμένων. τάχα δὲ καὶ πολὺ πλέον τῶν λατρευόντων, ὅτι λογικῆς ὄντες φύσεως, καὶ χάριν θεοῦ δεξάμενοι, τὸ χεῖρον ὡς ἄμεινον προεστήσαντο. καὶ τοῦτο τοῦ πονηροῦ τὸ σόφισμα, τῷ καλῷ καταχρησαμένου πρὸς τὸ κακόν, οἷα τὰ πολλὰ τῶν ἐκείνου κακουργημάτων. παραλαβὼν γὰρ αὐτῶν τὸν πόθον πλανώμενον κότα θεοῦ ζήτησιν, ἵν εἰς ἑαυτὸν περισπάσῃ τὸ κράτος, καὶ κλέψῃ 2 ἔκρυψαν] ἀπέρριψαν ‘Reg. Cypr.’ ΙΙ 3 om τον ‘Or. I’ || 7 οἱ γε] ὅτε 8 τιμὰν τοῦτο] τοῦτο τιμὰν d: τιμὰν τούτους ‘Reg. Cypr.’ ǁ 14 πότερον] -ρων d ’tresColb.’ || 17 προεστήσαντο] προετιμήσαντο ‘Reg. Cypr.’ ΙΙ 20 πλανωμενον] -ων b || 21 περισπάσῃ] επισπαση b 2. τοῦτο συνετῶς μόνον] Α grimly humorous parenthesis: to bury them under ground was the only sensible part of the arrange- ment. 4. τῶν πλασμάτων) ‘these coun- terfeits.’ Gr. means the personifi- cations of the passions, not (as in ἑ 14) the images of them; of the images he has yet to speak. 5. ἐξουσίαν κ. αὐτονομίαν] Cp. for ἐξ. § 8: for αὐτὸν. § 8: ‘arbitrary license.’ 10. ἤδη δέ] like iam for mox. Κνώδαλα, ‘monsters.’ ib. τετραπ. κ ἑρπ.] Cp. Rom. i 23; Wisd. xi 15 (16) ἄλογα ἑρπετὰ κ. κνώδαλα εὐτελῆ. 15. τῶν λατρ.] so. δεῖ καταφρονεῖν. 16. χάριν θ. δεξ.] Gr. is using the word in a free and untechnical sense. 19. οἶα τ. π] predicate. The constr. is τοῦτο τ. σόφ’. ἦν τοιοῦτο] οἶα τ. π. 20. παραλαβών] i 7 παρ᾿ ἠμῶν. . . λαμβάνει. τὴν ἔφεσιν, ὥσπερ τυφλὸν χειραγωγῶν ὁδοῦ ὁδοῦ τινὸς ἐφιέμενον, ἄλλους ἀλλαχοῦ κατεκρήμνισε, καὶ διέσπειρεν εἰς ἕν τι θανάτου καὶ ἀπωλείας βάραθρον.

Οὗτοι μὲν δὴ ταῦτα· ἡμᾶς δὲ ὁ λόγος δεξάμενος ἐφιεμένους θεοῦ, καὶ μὴ ἀνεχομένους τὸ ἀνηγεμόνευτόν τε καὶ ἀκυβέρνητον, εἶτα τοῖς ὁρωμένοις προσβάλλων καὶ τοῖς ἀπαρχῆς ἐντυγχάνων, οὔτε μέχρι τούτων ἔστησεν,— οὐ γὰρ ἦν λόγου δοῦναι τὴν ἡγεμονίαν τοῖς ὁμοτίμοις κατὰ τὴν αἴσθησιν,—καὶ διὰ τούτων ἄγει πρὸς τὸ ὑπὲρ ταῦτα, καὶ δι’ οὗ τούτοις τὸ εἶναι περίεστιν. τί γὰρ τὸ τάξαν τὰ οὐράνια καὶ τὰ ἐπίγεια, ὅσα τε δι’ ἀέρος καὶ ὅσα καθ’ ὕδατος, μᾶλλον δὲ τὰ πρὸ τούτων, οὐρανόν, καὶ γῆν, καὶ ἀέρα, καὶ φύσιν ὕδατος; τίς ταῦτα ἔμιξε καὶ ἐμέρισεν; τίς ἢ κοινωνία τούτων πρὸς ἄλληλα, καὶ συμφυία, καὶ σύμπνοια; ἐπαινῶ γὰρ τὸν εἰρηκότα, κἂν ἀλλότριος ᾖ. τί τὸ ταῦτα 1 ἔφεσιν] αἴσθησιν e 16. 6 προσβάλλων] προβαλὼν ‘Reg. a, Or. I’ || 8 ἡγεμονίαν] ὁμοτιμίαν b || 13 τις η κοινωνία] om η c 1. ἔφεσιν] ‘desire,’ from ἐφίεσθαι § 13). 16. We, on the other hand, are led by reason to worship, not nature, but the Author of nature and its wonderful order. 4. ὁ λόγος] ‘reason.’ When Rea- son is said to have taken us in hand, Gr. means both the reasonable in- struction given by the Church, and our own reasonable reflexion upon it. It is, of course, contrasted with ὁ πονηρός of the previous section. 6. προσβάλλων] intrans., as in § 6. ib. κ. τοῖς ἀπαρχῆς ἐντ.] Passing over the more ephemeral objects, its attention was arrested by those which are coeval with creation, like sun and moon: but it did not allow us to stop ἔστησεν) there. Μέχρι as in ἑ 9. We should have expected οὐδὲ μ.; if οὔτε is right, Gr. must intend to connect the clause closely with κα διὰ τούτων. 8. κάτα τὴν αἴσθ.] things as much subject to the senses as we are. 10. περίεστιν] ‘they still exist’; or perhaps, ‘they have existence in abundance’; cp. § 25. 11. δι’ ἀέρος] sc. φέρεται. Καθ’ ὕδατος sc. ἐστίν, ’under the water’; like κατὰ γῆς ’underground’: cp. § 24. 13. τίς ἡ κοινωνία] If this is the right reading, of course it is ‘what is this partnership?’ i.e. came it? If we read τίς κ., κοίν’. κ. συμφ. κ. συμπν. must be in ap- position to the τίς before ἔμιξε, ‘who combined and distributed them? what partnership and union and concord between them? 15. τὸν εἰρηκότα] ‘him who said it: There is no reason to think that the words which follow are a direct quotation. Nor indeed are the foregoing, but they seem more likely to have had their origin in a reminiscence of something that Gr. had read than the comparatively colourless words which follow. It is harder, however, to say, whom Gr. means by τὸν εἰρ. Elias refers to Oppian Halieut. i 412 οἵῃ σὺν φιλό- διακρίνας ἐκέδασσας αἰθέρα τε, κτλ. Jahn prefers Plato Tim. 35 A foil. The resemblance is not very close; but in Τἰm. 32 c occur words which come somewhat nearer. The ‘body of the world,’ Plato there says, was formed of the various elements δι’ ἀναλογίας ὁμολογῆσαν, φιλίαν τε ἔσχεν...εἰς ταὐτὸν αὑτῷ ξυνελθόν. Perh. Opp. comes the nearer to Gr's language. κεκινηκὸς καὶ ἄγον τὴν ἄληκτον φορὰν καὶ ἀκώλυτον; ἀρ’ οὐχ ὁ τεχνίτης τούτων, καὶ πᾶσι λόγον ἐνθείς, καθ’ ὃν τὸ πᾶν φέρεταί τε καὶ διεξάγεται; τίς δὲ ὁ τεχνίτης τούτων; ἀρ’ οὐχ ὁ πεποιηκὼς ταῦτα καὶ εἰς τὸ εἶναι παραγαγών; οὐ γὰρ δὴ τῷ αὐτομάτῳ δοτέον τοσαύτην δύναμιν. ἔστω γὰρ τὸ γενέσθαι τοῦ αὐτομάτου. τίνος τὸ τάξαι; καὶ τοῦτο, εἰ δοκεῖ, δῶμεν. τίνος τὸ τηρῆσαι καὶ φυλάξαι καθ’ οὓς πρῶτον ὑπέστη λόγους; ἑτέρου τινός, ἢ τοῦ αὐτομάτου; ἑτέρου δηλαδὴ παρὰ τὸ αὐτόματον. τοῦτο δὲ τί ποτε ἄλλο πλὴν θεός; οὕτως ὁ ἐκ θεοῦ λόγος, καὶ πᾶσι σύμφυτος, καὶ πρῶτος ἐν ἡμῖν νόμος, καὶ πᾶσι συνημμένος, ἐπὶ θεὸν ἡμᾶς ἀνήγαγεν ἐκ τῶν ὁρωμένων. καὶ δὴ λέγωμεν ἀρξάμενοι πάλιν.

Θεόν, ὅ τί ποτε μέν ἐστι τὴν φύσιν καὶ τὴν οὐσίαν, οὔτε τις εὗρεν ἀνθρώπων πώποτε, οὔτε μὴ εὕρῃ. ἀλλ’ εἰ μὲν εὑρήσει ποτέ, ζητείσθω τοῦτο καὶ φιλοσοφείσθω παρὰ τῶν βουλομένων. εὑρήσει δέ, ὡς ἐμὸς λόγος, ἐπειδὰν τὸ θεοειδὲς τοῦτο καὶ θεῖον, λέγω δὲ τὸν ἡμέτερον νοῦν τε καὶ λόγον, τῷ οἰκείῳ προσμίξῃ, καὶ ἡ εἰκὼν ἀνέλθῃ πρὸς τὸ ἀρχέτυπον, οὗ νῦν ἔχει τὴν ἔφεσιν. καὶ τοῦτο 1 αγον...ακωλυτον] ὕπο τὴν ἄληκτον φορὰν καὶ ἀκώλυτον ἄγαγον ‘Reg. Cypr.’ || 10 om συμφυτος...και πάσι b || 12 λέγωμεν] -ομεν be 2. λόγον ἐνθείς] Gr. does not mean (like Plato) that the universe is conscious of the law by which it acts. 3. διεξάγεται] seems simply to mean ‘is conducted.’ Cp. in i 12 διὰ κύκλου τινὸς εὐθύνων καἰ διεφτητι ἄγων τὸν ἀπάντα κόσμον. 5. τῷ αὐτομάτω ‘to chance.’ 10. πᾶσι σύμφυτος] notexactly = ἔμφυτος, but ‘naturally bound up with’; like συνημμένος (from τειν) just after. 17. Hereafter we shall know as we are known; here, the most privileged attain to a knowledge which is only relatively great. 15. ἀλλ’ εἰ μέν] but whether man will ever find.’ 19. τῷ οἰκείῳ] ‘with that to wh it belongs’: Vaughan's ‘spirits fair kindred ’ Cp. § 12 sub fin. εἶναί μοι δοκεῖ τὸ πάνυ φιλοσοφούμενον, ἐπιγνώσεσθαί ποτε ἡμᾶς, ὅσον ἐγνώσμεθα. τὸ δὲ νῦν εἶναι βραχεῖά τις ἀπορροὴ πᾶν τὸ εἰς ἡμᾶς φθάνον, καὶ οἷον μεγάλου φωτὸς μικρὸν ἀπαύγασμα. ὥστε καὶ εἴ τις ἔγνω θεόν, ἢ ἐγνωκέναι μεμαρτύρηται, τοσοῦτον ἔγνω, ὅσον ἄλλου μὴ τὸ ἴσον ἐλλαμφθέντος φανῆναι φωτοειδέστερος. καὶ τὸ ὑπερβάλλον τέλειον ἐνομίσθη, οὐ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, τῇ δὲ τοῦ πλησίον δυνάμει παραμετρούμενον.

Διὰ τοῦτο Ἐνὼς μὲν ἤλπισεν ἐπικαλεῖσθαι τὸν κύριον· ἐλπὶς τὸ κατορθούμενον ἦν, καὶ τοῦτο οὐ γνώσεως, ἀλλ’ ἐπικλήσεως. Ἑνὼχ δὲ μετετέθη μέν, οὔπω δὲ δῆλον, εἰ θεοῦ φύσιν περιλαβών, ἢ περιληψόμενος. τοῦ δὲ Νῶε καλὸν ἡ εὐαρέστησις, τοῦ καὶ κόσμον ὅλον ἐξ ὑδάτων διασώσασθαι πιστευθέντος, ἢ κόσμου σπέρματα, ξύλῳ μικρῷ φεύγοντι τὴν ἐπίκλυσιν. Ἀβραὰμ δὲ ἐδικαιώθη μὲν ἐκ πίστεως, ὁ μέγας πατριάρχης, καὶ θύει θυσίαν ξένην καὶ τῆς μεγάλης ἀντίτυπον· θεὸν δὲ οὐχ ὡς θεὸν εἶδεν, ἀλλ’ ὡς ἄνθρωπον ἔθρεψε, καὶ ἐπῃνέθη, σεβασθεὶς 17. 2 εἶναι] γνῶναι ‘Coisl. 3 tres Colb.’ 18. 15 φευγοντι] φυγοντι b || 18 ως] ὡσπερ df 1. τὸ πάνυ φίλος.] ‘the great dictum.’ 1 Cor. xiii 12. 2. τὸ δὲ νῦν εἶναι] ’for being.’ Elias comments on the ’Attic idiom,’ and compares the way in which εἶναι is used with ἑκών. 3. φθάνον εἰς, ‘reaches.’ Enos, Enoch, Noe, Abraham, Facob, though so highly favoured, never saw God ἃς God. 9. ἤλπισεν] Gen. iv 26 (LXX.) οὗτος ἤλπισεν ἐπικ. τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ. Even to call upon His name was beyond the present powers of Enos: he only succeeded τὸ κατορθ.) in hoping to do it. Ἐπικ. is of course active in meaning. 11. μετετέθη] Gen. v 24; cp. Wisd. iv 10. This implied high favour with God μέν), but it did not of itself prove οὔπω) that E. had either attained, or would ever attain, an adequate knowledge the time the divine nature. 13. εὐαρέστησις] Gen. vi9 Kαλόν, constr. like triste lupus stabulis. 14. δίας. πιστευθέντος] ‘entrusted with the duty of saving.’ 15. ἐδικαιώθη] Gen. xv 6. 16. θυσίαν θυσίαν Gen. xxii 13. ‘Strange,’ because miraculously supplied. It is prob. that Gr. means the ram, rather than Isaac; for Basil also makes the ram a type of Christ (de Spir. S. 14, p. 319 D). 18. ἔθρεψε] Gen. xviii 8. Although the detail is taken only from ’s history, the restriction is intended to apply also to Noe. ib. ἐπῃνέθη] Perh. Gen. xviii 17 foil. ὅσον κατέλαβεν. Ἰακὼβ δὲ κλίμακα μὲν ὑψηλὴν ἐφαντάσθη τινά, καὶ ἀγγέλων ἄνοδον, καὶ στήλην ἀλείφει μυστικῶς, ἴσως ἵνα τὸν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἀλειφθέντα λίθον παραδηλώσῃ, καὶ Εἶδος Θεοῦ τόπῳ τινὶ προσηγορίαν δίδωσιν εἰς τιμὴν τοῦ ὀφθέντος, καὶ ὡς ἀνθρώπῳ τῷ θεῷ προσπαλαίει, ἥτις ποτέ ἐστιν ἡ πάλη θεοῦ πρὸς ἄνθρωπον, ἢ τάχα τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ἀρετῆς πρὸς θεὸν ἀντεξέτασις, καὶ σύμβολα τῆς πάλης ἐπὶ τοῦ σώματος φέρει, τὴν ἧτταν παραδεικνύντα τῆς γενητῆς φύσεως, καὶ ἆθλον εὐσεβείας τὴν μεταβολὴν τῆς προσηγορίας λαμβάνει, μετονομασθεὶς ἀντὶ Ἰακὼβ Ἰσραήλ, τοῦτο δὴ τὸ μέγα καὶ τίμιον ὄνομα· ἐκεῖνο δὲ οὔτε αὐτὸς οὔτε τις ὑπὲρ αὐτὸν μέχρι σήμερον ἐκαυχήσατο τῶν δώδεκα δώδεκα φυλῶν, ὧν πατὴρ ἦν, ὅτι θεοῦ φύσιν ἢ ὄψιν ὅλην ἐχώρησεν.