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.
3 παραδοξα] -ξον c ΙΙ 7 ἢν τι] τι ἢν e || 16 μετρίως] τελείως f3. καἰ αὐτός] like them.4. συνδέσμους] The words are a
reference to Dan. v 12, where Theodotion's
version has ἀναγγέλλων κρατούμενα
καἰ λύων συνδέσμους, and a
little before, πνεῦμα περισσὸν ἐν αὐτῷ.
While Dan., however, ’shewed hard
sentence’ and ‘dissovled doubts,’
the Eunomians ’wove’ doubts (fetters).6. δηλώσαιμι] ‘I did it, not that
I may gain credit (subj.), but that
might demonstrate (opt.) what Ι
started with.’8. μηδὲ ὅλον] The ὅλον is ad-
verbial, ‘nor nor at all to form an imagination
of His greatness.’10. ἀπαθοῦς] not ‘incapable of
suffering’ but ‘free from passions’
such as jealousy.11. τὸ τιμιώτατον] i.e. man. The
next clause τί γὰρ Λ.) justifies
τιμιώτατον.13. τῆς ἄκρασ ἀγ.] sc. ἐστί:
very existence is an outcome of.’14. τοῦ πλήρους] agrees with
ἑαυτοῦ, and = πλήρους ὄντος; cp.
§ 31. It is a ref. to Is. 11. Cp.
Athan. Or. ii c. Ar. § 29.ib. τῷ ἀνεφίκτῳ] from ἐφικνέομαι
‘to arrive at’; ‘His inaccessibility.16. μὴ ὅτι] cp. § 4. θεοῦ is governed
verned by ἀλλότριον, ‘foreign to the
character of God.’ib. οὐδέ] loosely thrown in, as
instead of ἀλλ’. he had said ἀνάξιον.
17. δεξιὸν ἑ. συνειδότος] ‘has anything
of a proper conscience.’ib. ἐκ τοῦ κ.ἑ.] a clause epexegetic
of τοῦτο.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.
Ἡλία δὲ οὔτε πνεῦμα βίαιον, οὔτε πῦρ, οὔτε
συσσεισμός, ὡς τῆς ἱστορίας ἀκούεις, ἀλλ’ ἡ αὔρα τις
3 ἀλειφθέντα] αλειφεντα aedf: αλιφεντα e || 4 Ειδος] οἶκος El: ἴσω f ||
9 γενητης] γεννήτης def ǁ I4 η ὄψιν ὅλην] ὅλην ὄψις (om 77) e: om ὅλην df
1. κλίμακα] Gen. xxviii 12.
ib. ἐφαντάσθη] ‘saw in a vision.’
3. λίθον] Is. xxviii 16 etc.;
ἀλειφθ. Is. lxi 1 ἔχρισεν) etc.
4. Εἶδος Θ] Gen. xxxii 30 (31).
This reading has better authority
than οἶκος θ., i.e. Bethel. On
the other hand τοῦ ὀφθ. seems more
like a reminiscence of Gen. xxxv 1,9
(in u. 7 the word is ἐπεφάνη); and
perh. it might have been more
natural to mention the name of
Penuel after the mention of the
wrestling.
6. ἥτις π. ἐ.] The whole clause
forms a cogn. ace. after προσπαλ.,
‘wrestles whatever wrestling that of
God with man may be.’
7. ἢ τάχα] ‘or perhaps (it would
be best to say) the trial,’ etc. He
this turn, because God was
not ’wrestling’ for the mastery, but
to try the ἀρετή of Jacob.
8. σύμβολα] Gen. xxxii 31 (32).
12. ἐκεῖνο δέ] refers to what follows,
lows, ὅτι θ. φύσιν κτλ. The δὲ
the apodosis to κλίμακα μέν.
ib. ὑπὲρ αὐτόν] Jacob was excelled
by some of his descendants,
but none of them could ’make room
for’ (χωρεῖν), ‘take in,’ or perh.
‘bear,’ the whole of God.
19. Elias, Esaias, Ezekiel, and
others, were unable to receive the
revelation of the Divine nature in
itself.
16. ἢ αὔρα τις ὁ] 1 Kings xix 12
φωνὴ αὔρας λεπτῆς. The τις hints
that there was something more than
usual in ‘that breeze.’ Gr.’s agrument
implies that if the presence
had been discerned in the mightier
movements of nature, God might
have been thought to manifest
self wholly in them, but that it was
impossible to imagine this in connexion
with the ‘small breeze.’
ὀλίγη τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ παρουσίαν, καὶ ταῦτα οὐ φύσιν,
ἐσκιαγράφησεν· Ἠλίᾳ τίνι; ὃν καὶ ἅρμα πυρὸς ἀνάγει
πρὸς οὐρανόν, δηλοῦν τοῦ δικαίου τὸ ὑπὲρ ἄνθρωπον.
Μανωὲ δὲ τὸν κριτὴν πρότερον, καὶ Πέτρον τὸν μαθητὴν
ὕστερον, πῶς οὐ τεθαύμακας; τὸν μὲν οὐδὲ ὄψιν φέροντα
τοῦ φαντασθέντος θεοῦ, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο, Ἀπολώλαμεν, ὦ
γύναι, λέγοντα, θεὸν ἑωράκαμεν· ὡς οὐ χωρητῆς οὔσης
ἀνθρώποις οὐδὲ φαντασίας θείας, μὴ ὅτι γε φύσεως· τὸν
δὲ καὶ τὸν φαινόμενον χριστὸν τῷ πλοίῳ μὴ προσιέμενον,
καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἀποπεμπόμενον. καίτοιγε θερμότερος τῶν
ἄλλων εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν Χριστοῦ Πέτρος, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο μακαριζόμενος,
καὶ τὰ μέγιστα πιστευόμενος. τί δ’ ἂν εἴποις
περὶ Ἠσαίου, καὶ Ἰεζεχιὴλ τοῦ τῶν μεγίστων ἐπόπτου, καὶ
τῶν λοιπῶν προφητῶν; ὧν ὁ μὲν τὸν κύριον Σαβαὼθ
εἶδε καθήμενον ἐπὶ θρόνου δόξης, καὶ τοῦτον ὑπὸ τῶν
ἑξαπτερύγων σεραφὶμ κυκλούμενον καὶ αἰνούμενον καὶ
ἀποκρυπτόμενον, ἑαυτόν τε τῷ ἄνθρακι καθαιρόμενον, καὶ
πρὸς τὴν προφητείαν καταρτιζόμενον· ὁ δὲ καὶ τὸ ὄχημα
τοῦ θεοῦ τὰ Χερουβὶμ διαγράφει, καὶ τὸν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν
θρόνον, καὶ τὸ ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ στερέωμα, καὶ τὸν ἐν τῷ
19. 2 ἐσκιαγράφησεν] εσκιογρ. a || 6 om καὶ f || 10 καίτοιγε] καίτοι c ||
16 om ἑξαπτερύγων d || 17 ἀποκρυπτόμενον] κρυπτομένων c: κρυπτόμενον f
‘Colb. 1 Or. I’ || 19 ἀυτῶν] αὐτοῦ ‘Reg. Cypr.’
1. καὶ ταῦτα] used like καὶ τοῦτο,
‘and that without shadowing forth
His nature.’ If Gr. had meant ταῦτα
= τὴν παρουσίαν, he must have said
ταύτην.
2 Ἠλ. τίνι;] ‘and what Elias?’
i.e. what was he?
4. τὸν κριτήν] M. is not so styled
in the book itself.
6. ἀπολώλαμεν] Judg. xiii 22—a a
free version. But as Gr. quotes the
words in precisely the same form in
Or. ix 1, it is possible that he may
have found them so in some text.
8. μὴ ὅτι] Cp. ἑ 11.
9. τῷ πλοίῳ μὴ προσι.] Luke v 8.
Gr. seems to have forgotten that
Christ was in the boat.
11. μακαριζόμενος] Matt, xvi 17
foil.
15 καθήμενον ἐπὶ θ. δ] Is. vi 1
(δόξης seems to come from Matt.
xxv 31).
17. ἀποκρυπτόμενον.] This is Gr.'s
addition to the narrative, unless he
means ‘hidden from themselves’
the Seraphim. It is indeed possible
that he understood πρόσωπον, πόδας,
in Isaiah, to be those of the Lord.’
ib. ἑαυτόν τε] ‘and saw himself.’
18. τὸ ὄχημα] Ezek. i 4. It is
not actually described by that name.
στερεώματι φανταζόμενον, καἰ φωνὰς δή τινας, καὶ ὁρμάς, καὶ
πράξεις, καὶ ταῦτα εἴτε φαντασία τις ἢν ἡμερινή, μόνοις
θεωρητὴ τοῖς ἁγίοις, εἴτε νυκτὸς ἀψευδὴς ὄψις, εἴτε τοῦ
ἡγεμονικοῦ τύπωσις συγγινομένη τοῖς μέλλουσιν ὡς παροῦσιν,
εἴτε τι ἄλλο προφητείας εἶδος ἀπόρρητον, οὐκ ἔχω
λέγειν· ἁλλ’ οἶδεν ὁ τῶν προφητῶν θεός, καὶ οἱ τὰ τοιαῦτα
ἐνεργούμενοι. πλὴν οὔτε οὗτοι περὶ ὧν ὁ λόγος, οὔτε τις
ἄλλος τῶν κατ’ αὐτούς, ἔστη ἐν ὑποστήματι καὶ οὐσία
κυρίου, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον, οὐδὲ θεοῦ φύσιν ἢ εἶδεν
ἢ ἐξηγόρευσεν.
Παύλῳ δὲ εἰ μὲν ἔκφορα ἦν ἃ παρέσχεν ὁ τρίτος
οὐρανός, καὶ ἡ μέχρις ἐκείνου πρόοδος ἢ ἀνάβασις ἢ
ἀνάληψις, τάχα ἄν τι περὶ θεοῦ πλέον ἔγνωμεν, εἴπερ
τοῦτο ἢν τὸ τῆς ἁρπαγῆς μυστήριον. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἄρρητα ἦν,
καὶ ἡμῖν σιωπῇ τιμάσθω. τοσοῦτον δὲ ἀκούσωμεν αὐτοῦ
Παύλου λέγοντος, ὅτι ἐκ μέρους γινώσκομεν, καὶ ἐκ μέρους
προφητεύομεν. ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα ὁμολογεῖ ὁ μὴ
ἰδιώτης τὴν γνῶσιν, ὁ δοκιμὴν ἀπειλῶν τοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ
4 συηινομενη] συγγενομένη def: συγγενομένου ‘Or. ’ ǁ 8 κατ’ αυτους]
κάτα τούτους ac ‘duo Reg. Or. I’ 20. 11 α παρεσχεν] ἅπερ ἔσχεν d ||
15 ακουσωμεν] σομεν f
1. φωνάς] Ezek. i 24, 28; ὁρμάς,
i 19 foil.; πράξεις, ii 9.
3. τοῦ ἥγ’. τύπωσις] ‘an impres-
sion upon the rational ’ Ἡγμε.,
i 3. Συγγινομένη by a very natural
hyperbaton for νου.
6. οἱ τὰ τ. ἐνεργ] ‘those upon
whom such effects are ’ wrought.
8. τῶν κατ’ αὐτούς] ‘those of their
sort.
ib. ἵστη ἐν ὑποστ.] Jer. xxiii 18.
Ὑπόστ. is ‘an establishment’ of some
kind; in 2 Sam. xxiii 14 of ‘a garri-
son’; in Jer. prob. ‘a court,’ or
‘familiar circle.’ Gr. however
curiously misunderstood the word
to = ὑπόστασις in the sense of οὐσία
(cp. § 9).
20. St Paul only saw through α
glass] in α riddle.
11. ἔκφορα] ‘capable of being di-
vulged’; cp. Plat. Lack. 201 A ῾Ο τρ.
οὐρ., 2 Cor. xii 2.
12. πρόοδος] nom. to ἢν, not to
παρέσχεν. He calls it a πρόοδος to
signify that it represented a progress
in St P.'s spiritual experience, and
not merely an incidental privilege.
Cp. v 26.
13. etirtp τοῦτο] Gr. will not
even admit that we can be sure that
St P. thereby became acquainted
with the Divine nature. The ἁρπαγῆ
was in the strictest sense a
μυστήριον.
16. ἐκ μέρους] 1 Cor. xiii 9.
17. μὴ ἰδ’. τὴν γνῶσιν] 2 Cor.
xi 6.
18. δοκιμὴν ἀπ.] 2 Cor. xiii 3.
λαλοῦντος χριστοῦ, ὁ μέγας τῆς ἀληθείας προαγωνιστὴς
καὶ διδάσκαλος· καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν κάτω γνῶσιν οὐδὲν ὑπὲρ
τὰ ἔσοπτρα καὶ τὰ αἰνίγματα τίθεται, ὡς ἐν μικροῖς τῆς
ἀληθείας ἱσταμένην ἰνδάλμασιν. εἰ δὲ μὴ λίαν δοκῶ
τισὶ περιττὸς καὶ περίεργος τὰ τοιαῦτα ἐξετάζων, οὐδὲ
ἄλλα τινὰ τυχὸν ἢ ταῦτα ἦν, ἃ μὴ δύναται νῦν βασταχθῆναι,
ἅπερ ὁ Λόγος αὐτὸς ὑπῃνίσσετο, ὥς ποτε βασταχθησόμενα
καὶ τρανωθησόμενα· καὶ ἃ μηδ’ ἂν αὐτὸν δυνηθῆναι
χωρῆσαι τὸν κάτω κόσμον Ἰωάννης ὁ τοῦ Λόγου πρόδρομος
ἡ μεγάλη τῆς ἀληθείας φωνή, διωρίζετο.