De Theologia (Orat. 28)

Ἐπειδὴ ἀνεκαθήραμεν τῷ λόγῳ τὸν θεόλογον, οἷόν τε εἶναι χρὴ διελθόντες, καὶ οἷστισι φιλοσοφητέον, καὶ ἡνίκα, καὶ ὅσον·—ὅτι ὡς οἷόν τε καθαροῖς, ἵνα φωτὶ καταλαμβάνηται φῶς· καὶ τοῖς ἐπιμελεστέροις, ἵνα μὴ ἄγονος ἦ εἰς ἄγονον χώραν ἐμπίπτων ὁ λόγος· καὶ ὅταν γαλήνην ἔχωμεν ἔνδον ἀπὸ τῆς ἔξω περιφορᾶς, ὥστε μή, καθάπερ οἱ λυττῶντες, τῷ πνεύματι διακόπτεσθαι· καὶ ὅσον ἐχωρήσαμεν, ἢ χωρούμεθα· —ἐπειδὴ ταῦτα οὕτω, καὶ ἐνεώσαμεν ἑαυτοῖς θεῖα νεώματα, ὥστε μὴ σπείρειν ἐπ’ ἀκάνθαις, καὶ τὸ πρόσωπον τῆς γῆς ὡμαλίσαμεν, τῆ γραφῇ τυπωθέντες τε καὶ τυπώσαντες· φέρε, τοῖς τῆς θεολογίας ἤδη προσβῶμεν λόγοις, προστησάμενοι τοῦ λόγου τὸν πατέρα, καὶ [*](1. 1 ἐπειδὴ] ἔπει ’δε be ’Or. I’ || 3 καθαροῖς] -ον d1 || 7 be: λύζοντες d2 ǁ 8 ἐπειδὴ] ἔπει ’δε ef || 11 τοις τῆς θεολ.] om τῆς d: ομ τῆς θεολ. c1) [*](1. Having spoken of the conditions under which theological subjects jects should be treated, we proceed to our theological enquiry itself, invoking the assistance of the Trinity.) [*](1. ἀνεκαθήραμεν] lit. ’cleaned up’; a ref. to the passage of Plato quoted above p. 11.) [*](3. φωτὶ καταλαμβάνηται φῶς] cf. John i 5; but Gr.'s interpretation of his text is a very doubtful one.) [*](4. ἐπιμελεστέροις] ‘among thougthful men,’ Ἄγονος=ἄκαρπος Mark iv 19.) [*](6. περιφορᾶς] cf. Oral, in Ful. 1 § 100 πλοῦτον, εὐκλείαν, εὐκλείαν, δυναστείαν, ἃ τῆς κάτω περιφορᾶς of Gr. 's. ἐστὶ καὶ ὀνειρώδους τέρψεως. Hesych. renders the word by ἢ κατὰ κίνησις—‘whirl.’ Cp. Plat. Rep. 10 p. 616; Eccl. ii 2.) [*](7. τῷ πνεῦμ’. διακόπτεσθαι] ‘be stopped for want of breath.’) [*](ib. ἐχωρήσαμεν, ἢ χωρούμεθα] Our limits are fixed by our own capacity and by that of those whom we address.) [*](8. ἐνεώσαμεν...ἀκάνθαις] Jer. iv 3.) [*](10. τὸ πρόσ’. τ. γ. ὡμαλίσαμεν] Is. xxviii 25.) [*](12 προστησάμενοι τ. λ.] ’making God the προστάτης, or patron, of the ’;—a favourite expression of Gr's.)

τὸν υἱόν, καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, περὶ ὧν ὁ λόγος, ὥστε τὸν μὲν εὐδοκεῖν, τὸν δὲ συνεργεῖν, τὸ δὲ ἐμπνεῖν· μᾶλλον δὲ μίαν ἐκ τῆς μιᾶς θεότητος γενέσθαι τὴν ἔλλαμψιν ἑνικῶς διαιρουμένην, καὶ συναπτομένην διαιρέτως, ὃ καὶ παράδοξον.

Ἀνιόντι δέ μοι προθύμως ἐπὶ τὸ ὄρος, ἢ τό γε ἀληθέστερον εἰπεῖν, προθυμουμένῳ τε ἅμα καὶ ἀγωνιῶντι, τὸ μὲν διὰ τὴν ἐλπίδα, τὸ δὲ διὰ τὴν ἀσθένειαν, ἵνα τῆς νεφέλης εἴσω γένωμαι, καὶ θεῷ συγγένωμαι τοῦτο γὰρ κελεύει θεός), εἰ μέν τις Ἀαρών, συνανίτω καὶ στηκέτω πλησίον, κἂν ἔξω μένειν τῆς νεφέλης δέῃ, τοῦτο δεχόμενος. εἰ δέ τις Ναδάβ, ἢ Ἀβιούδ, ἢ τῆς γερουσίας, ἀνίτω μέν, ἀλλὰ στηκέτω πόρρωθεν, κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν τῆς καθάρσεως. εἰ δέ τις τῶν πολλῶν καὶ ἀναξίων ὕψους τοιούτου καὶ θεωρίας, εἰ μὲν ἄναγνος πάντῃ, μηδὲ προσίτω, οὐ γὰρ ἀσφαλές· εἰ δὲ πρόσκαιρα γοῦν ἡγνισμένος, κάτω μενέτω, καὶ μόνης ἀκουέτω τῆς φωνῆς καὶ τῆς σάλπιγγος, τῶν ψιλῶν τῆς εὐσεβείας ῥημάτων· καπνιζόμενόν τε τὸ ὄρος βλεπέτω καὶ καταστραπτόμενον, ἀπειλήν τε ὁμοῦ καὶ θαῦμα τοῖς ἀνιέναι μὴ δυναμένοις. εἰ δέ τις θηρίον ἐστὶ [*](3 τῆς μιας] μιᾶς τῆς d 2. 8 ασθενειαν] ἀλήθειαν cd ’Or. I1’ || 15 προσίτω οὐ γὰρ] προσιτετω οὐδὲ γὰρ ’Or. I’ ǁ 18 καπνιζόμενον τε] και καπν. c: om τε e || 19 βλεπέτω] ’in nonnullis βλεπων’) [*](4. ἑνικῶς ἑνικῶς κτλ.] ‘an illumination which, though one, comes in three different modes, and which, though coming in different modes, is united.’) [*](2. Like Moses, Gr. is called up the mountain to converse with He invites his hearers to join him as far as may be permitted, like Aaron or the elders. ’Beasts’ are warned away.) [*](6. ἀνιόντι] Ex. xix 3 foil.) [*](7. ἀγωνιῶντι] ‘filled with anxious fear.’) [*](8. ἵνα] depends upon ἀνιόντι. τῆς νεφέλης Ex. xxiv 18.) [*](10. Ἀαρών] Ex. xix 24.) [*](11 τοῦτο] sc. ἔξω μένειν. Gr. infrequently uses δέχεσθαι m tne sense of ’accepting’’ a situation, i.e. not rebelling against it.) [*](12. Ναδάβ κτλ.] Ex. xxiv 1.) [*](13. κ. τ. ἀξίαν τ. καθάρσεως] ‘acinto cording to the degree of his purification.’ Cp. Ex. xix 22.) [*](16. πρόσκαιρα γ. ἡγν.] Ex. xix 14, 15.) [*](18. τ. φιλῶν τ. εὐσ. ῥημάτων] Cp. Deut. iv 12 (Heb. xii 19). They are to hear τὰ ψιλὰ ῥ’. as distinguished from attempting to understand depths of their meaning.) [*](20. θη̣ρίον] Ex. xix 13. Cp. Greg. Moral, vi 27 ’bestia montem tangit, cum mens irrationabilibus desideriis subdita ad contemplationis alta se erigit: sed lapidibus percutitur, quia summa non sustinens ipsis superni ponderis ictibus necatur.’)

πονηρὸν καὶ ἀνήμερον καὶ ἀνεπίδεκτον πάντῃ λόγων θεωρίας καὶ θεολογίας, μὴ ἐμφωλευέτω ταῖς ὕλαις κακούργως καὶ κακοηθῶς, ἵνα τινὸς λάβηται δόγματος ἢ ῥήματος, ἀθρόως προσπηδῆσαν, καὶ σπαράξῃ τοὺς ὑγιαίνοντας λόγους ταῖς ἐπηρείαις, ἀλλ’ ἔτι πόρρωθεν στηκέτω, καὶ ἀποχωρείτω τοῦ ὄρους, ἢ λιθοβοληθήσεται, καὶ συντριβήσεται, καὶ ἀπολεῖται κακῶς κακός· λίθοι γὰρ τοῖς θηριώδεσιν οἱ ἀληθεῖς λόγοι καὶ στερροί. εἴτε πάρδαλις εἴη, συναποθνησκέτω τοῖς ποικίλμασιν· εἴτε λέων ἁρπάζων καὶ ὠρυόμενος καὶ ζητῶν ἥντινα βρῶσιν ποιήσεται τῶν ἡμετέρων ψυχῶν ἢ λέξεων· εἴτε σῦς καταπατῶν τοὺς καλούς τε καὶ διαυγεῖς μαργαρίτας τῆς ἀληθείας· εἴτε λύκος Ἀραβικὸς καὶ ἀλλόφυλος, ἢ καὶ τούτων ὀξύτερος τοῖς σοφίσμασιν· εἴτε ἀλώπηξ, δολερά τις ψυχὴ καὶ ἄπιστος, καὶ ἄλλοτε ἄλλη, τοῖς καιροῖς καὶ ταῖς χρείαις συμμορφουμένη, ἢν νεκρὰ τρέφει καὶ ὀδωδότα σώματα, ἢ ἀμπελῶνες μικροί, [*](1 om ἀνήμερον καὶ e ǁ 3 ῥήματος η δόγματος f || 7 κακὸς κάκως c || 10 ποιήσεται] -σηται d) [*](1. ἀνεπίδεκτον π. λόγων θ. κ. θ.] ‘altogether incapable of taking in the words of contemplation and theology,’ 2. μὴ ἐμφωλευέτω] from φωλεός ‘a den’; ‘let him not lurk in the ’ which Gr. imagines to clothe the base of the hill.) [*](4. ἀθρόως] ’all at once’; explained by Suid. = ταχέχως: otherwise it would be in accordance with the etymology to understand it of the animal gathering itself up for the spring. Cp. § 21.) [*](ib. τ. ὑγιαίν. λόγους] 1 Tim. vi 3, 2 Tim. i 13.) [*](5. ταῖς ἐπηρείαις] ‘abuse’; cp. ἐπηρεάζομεν above i 6.) [*](ib. ἔτι πόρρωθεν] a kind of com- parative= πορρωτέρω. Cp. v 5 μικρὸν ἄνωθεν.) [*](8. στερροί] Cp. above i 3.) [*](9. τοῖς ποικίλμασιν] Jer. xiii 23.) [*](ib. λέων...ὠρυόμενος] 1 Pet. v 8.) [*](11. σῦς καταπατῶν] Matt, vii 6.) [*](12. λύκος Ἀραβικός] Hab. i 8 (LXX.); cp. Zeph. iii 3. The words κ. ἀλλόφυλος (i.e. ‘or Philistine’) seem to be added to emphasize mystic interpretation of Ἀραβικός.) [*](15. τοῖς καιροῖς κ. τ. χρείαις συμμ.] ‘shifting shape according to opportunities and necessities.’) [*](16. ἀμπελῶνες μ] Cant, ii 15 ἀλώπεκας μικροὺς ἀφανίζοντας ἀμπελῶνας. Gr. joins μικροὺς with ἀμπ. instead of ἀλώπ., understanding the sentence to denote the meanness of the ‘foxes’ (i.e. jackals), which did not venture to attack the large vineyeards, and spoiled the small ones instead.) τῶν μεγάλων διαπεφευγότων· εἴτε τι ἄλλο τῶν ὠμοβόρων, καὶ ἀποβλήτων τῷ νόμῳ, καὶ οὐ καθαρῶν εἰς βρῶσίν τε καὶ ἀπόλαυσιν. βούλεται γὰρ τούτων ἀπ’ ἀποχωρήσας ὁ λόγος οὕτω πλαξὶ στερραῖς καὶ λιθίναις ἐγγράφεσθαι, καὶ ταύταις ἀμφοτέρωθεν, διά τε τὸ φαινόμενον τοῦ νόμου καὶ τὸ κρυπτόμενον· τὸ μὲν τοῖς πολλοῖς καὶ κάτω μένουσι, τὸ δὲ τοῖς ὀλίγοις καὶ ἄνω φθάνουσιν.

Τί τοῦτο ἔπαθον, ὦ φίλοι καὶ μύσται καὶ τῆς ἀληθείας συνερασταί; ἔτρεχον μὲν ὡς θεὸν καταληψόμενος, μένος, καὶ οὕτως ἀνῆλθον ἐπὶ τὸ ὄρος, καὶ τὴν νεφέλην διέσχον, εἴσω γενόμενος ἀπὸ τῆς ὕλης καὶ τῶν ὑλικῶν, καὶ εἰς ἐμαυτὸν ὡς οἷόν τε συστραφείς. ῥαφείς. ἐπεὶ δὲ προσέβλεψα, μόλις εἶδον θεοῦ τὰ ὀπίσθια· καὶ τοῦτο τῆ πέτρᾳ σκεπασθείς, [*](3. 8 om μύσται καὶ d || 9 ἔτρεχον] εἶχον ac ‘ Reg. a tres Colb. Or. I ’ ǁ 10 ἀνῆλθον] ἀπῆλθον e) [*](1. ὠμοβόρων] = ὠμηστής ‘devouring raw flesh,’ The Law does expressly forbid the eating of such animals on that ground; but it appears to be the reason for the prohibition of most of the birds enumerated in Lev. xi, Deut. xiv.) [*](4. οὕτω] resumes the preceding clause—like sic demum; ’not it has got rid of these.’) [*](ib. πλαξὶ...λιθίναις] Ex. xxiv 12. Α somewhat difficult turn in the application of the narrative. Gr., or rather his λόγος as identified with him, has ascended the mountain, with a view to having impressed upon him, or upon it, the teaching of God, as the Commandments were upon the tables of stone. The epithets στερραῖς κ. θ. are intended to convey the thought of something — no transient impression.) [*](5. ἀμφοτέρωθεν] Ex. xxxii 15. Again a somewhat fantastic application. One side of the tables is seen—one part of the λόγος is —by every one; but there is a reverse which only few can read, viz. those who succeed in reaching the mountain top φθάνουσιν). This use of φθάνειν is familiar in the Ν. T.) [*](3. When he has reached the appointed spot, he can only see the ‘back parts’ of God.) [*](8. μύσται] Those who are initiated into the mysteries.) [*](9. καταληψόμενος] ‘as if I were about to apprehend God.’) [*](11. διέσχον] ‘penetrated’: cf. Horn. Il. v 99 ἀντικρὺ δὲ διέσχε. Gr. uses it § 31 of penetrating through the veil of the Tabernacle.) [*](ib. ὕλης] ’matter.’) [*](12. συστραφείς] ‘having gathered myself up’: cp. Plat. Rep. 1 p. 336 συστρέψας ἑαυτὸν ὥσπερ θηρίον ἧκεν ἐφ’ ἡμᾶς.) [*](13. τὰ ὀπίσθια] Ex. xxxiii 23.) [*](ib. τῇ πέτρᾳ σκεπασθείς] Ex. xxxiii 23 σκ. τῇ χειρί μου. This interpretation of the ‘ cleft in the rock,’ made familiar to Englishmen by ’s hymn, is very ancient. Cp. Iren. IV xx 9 ‘uidebit...in altitudine petrae, hoc est, in eo qui est secundum hominem eius aduentu,’ The Incarnation gives an assured point from which we may observe and study God, without being overwelmed by the greatness of the revelation. The glories of the Divine Nature are tempered for us, as it were, by the Human Life which encompasses us as we look out from it to the Divine. By the Incarnation, our field of contemplation is at once restricted and made clear.)

τῷ σαρκωθέντι δι’ ἡμᾶς θεῷ Λόγῳ· καὶ μικρὸν διακύψας, οὐ τὴν πρώτην τε καὶ ἀκήρατον φύσιν, καὶ ἑαυτῇ, λέγω δὴ τῆ τριάδι, γινωσκομένην, καὶ ὅση τοῦ πρώτου καταπετάσματος εἴσω μένει καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν Χερουβὶμ συγκαλύπτεται, ἀλλ’ ὅση τελευταία καὶ εἰς ἡμᾶς φθάνουσα. ἡ δέ ἐστιν, ὅσα ἐμὲ γινώσκειν, ἡ ἐν τοῖς κτίσμασι καὶ τοῖς ὑπ’ αὐτοῦ προβεβλημένοις καὶ διοικουμένοις μεγαλειότης, ἤ, ὡς ὁ θεῖος Δαβὶδ ὀνομάζει, μεγαλοπρέπεια. ταῦτα γὰρ θεοῦ τὰ ὀπίσθια, ὅσα μετ’ ἐκεῖνον ἐκείνου γνωρίσματα, ὥσπερ αἱ καθ’ ὑδάτων ἡλίου σκιαὶ καὶ εἰκόνες ταῖς σαθραῖς ὄψεσι [*](1 om θέω acd ǁ 6 ὅσα] ὡς ‘Reg. a’) [*](1. διακύψας] ‘peering through the aperture,’ Εἶδον must be again before φύσιν.) [*](2. τὴν πρώτην] In ref. to Ex. xxxiii 20 οὐ δυνήσῃ ἰδεῖν μου τὸ πρόσωπον. Ἀκήρατος practically, if not etymologically, = ἀκέραιος ‘pure,’ ‘unmixed.’ Cp. Arist. de Mundo ii 5 στοιχεῖον ἅκ. τε καὶ θεῖον. Gr. adds λ. δ. τῇ τριάδι lest he should suggest the Sabellian notion of a self-conscious Nature distinct from the Persons in whom it resides.) [*](3. τ. πρώτου καταπ.] i.e. as reckoned from the seat of the Divine Presence, not as in Heb. ix 3 in the order of human approach.) [*](4. ὁ. τ. χερουβὶμ σηκ.] It seems more natural to suppose that Gr. refers to the Cherubim covering the Mercy Seat (Ex. xxv 20 [19]), than to the decoration of the veil (Ex. xxvi 31). Cp. Ezek. xxviii 14, 16, where, however, there is nothing in most texts of the LXX. to represent ’covering.’) [*](5. τελευταία] to recall τὰ ὀπίσθια. Φθάνουσα as above.) [*](id. ἢ δέ] Gr. does not of course mean to distinguish sharply between the πρώτη and τελευταία φύσις, as if they were separate natures. He means the expressed and unexpressed parts or aspects of the same nature. The danger of misunderstanding is not felt in Greek, where words like πρῶτος, μέσος and the like, are commonly monly used in a partitive sense; e.g. ὁ πρῶτος ποὺς ’the front of the foot.’) [*](6. ὅσα ἐμὲ γινώσκειν] sc. πάρεστι. ib. ὑπ’ αὐτοῦ] sc. τοῦ θεοῦ, to be supplied from θεοῦ τὰ ὀπίσθια above.) [*](8. μεγαλοπρέπεια] used of God nine times in the Pss.; μεγαλειότης is not. Prob. Gr. refers esp. to Ps. viii 2 (1), ciii (civ) 1 (in some texts), cx (cxi) 3, or cxliv (cxlv) 5, 12, where the word is used in connexion with God's works. Gr. prefers the word because it expresses Dot the abstract quality, like μεγαλειότης, but the impression produced by its manifesta- tion.) [*](9. ὅσα μετ’ ἐκεῖνον ἐκ. γνωρ.] ‘all the indications of Himself which He has lift behind Him,’ Elias pares Wisd. xiii 5.) [*](10. σαθραῖς ὄψεσι] Cp. i 3.) παραδεικνῦσαι τὸν ἥλιον, ἐπεὶ μὴ αὐτὸν προσβλέπειν οἷόν τε, τῷ ἀκραιφνεῖ τοῦ φωτὸς νικῶντα τὴν αἴσθησιν. οὕτως οὖν θεολογήσεις, κἂν ἦς Μωυσῆς καὶ Φαραὼ θεός, κἂν μέχρι τρίτου κατὰ τὸν Παῦλον οὐρανοῦ φθάσῃς, καὶ ἀκούσῃς ἄρρητα ῥήματα· κἂν ὑπὲρ ἐκεῖνον γένη, ἀγγελικῆς τινὸς ἢ ἀρχαγγελικῆς στάσεως τε καὶ τάξεως ἠξιωμένος. κἂν γὰρ οὐράνιον ἅπαν, κἂν ὑπερουράνιόν τι, καὶ πολὺ τὴν φύσιν ὑψηλότερον ἡμῶν ἦ, καὶ ἐγγυτέρω θεοῦ, πλέον ἀπέχει θεοῦ καὶ τῆς τελείας καταλήψεως, ἢ ὅσον ἡμῶν ὑπεραίρει τοῦ συνθέτου καὶ ταπεινοῦ καὶ κάτω βρίθοντος κράματος.

Ἀρκτέον οὖν οὕτω πάλιν. θεὸν νοῆσαι μὲν χαλεπόν· φράσαι δὲ ἀδύνατον, ὥς τις τῶν παρ’ Ἕλλησι θεολόγων ἐφιλοσόφησεν,—οὐκ ἀτέχνως ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν, ἵνα καὶ κατειληφέναι δόξη τῷ χαλεπὸν εἰπεῖν, καὶ διαφύγῃ τῷ ἀνεκφράστῳ τὸν ἔλεγχον. ἀλλὰ φράσαι μὲν ἀδύνατον, ὡς ὁ ἐμὸς λόγος, νοῆσαι δὲ ἀδυνατώτερον. τὸ μὲν γὰρ νοηθὲν [*](1 προσβλέπειν] βλέπειν ‘Reg. a’ || 3 Φαραω] του Φ. bdef ǁ 4 κατα τον Παυλον bef ǁ 5 ἐκεῖνον] -νους bef || 6 om ἠξιωμένος ac || 7 καν γαρ] om γὰρ a ǁ om τι e || 8 om ἤμων d || η καὶ] ἢ om καὶ f 4. 14 ἴνα καὶ] ἴνα τὸ b || 15 τὼ χαλεπὸν] τὸ χαλ. bd: τὼ suprascr. c || 16 om μεν c) [*](2. ἀκραιφνεῖ]=ἀκεραίῳ ‘unmitigated,’ ‘untempered.’) [*](3. Φαραὼ θεός] Ex. vii 1.) [*](4. κατὰ τὸν Παῦλον] 2 Cor. xii 2. Φθάσῃς as above.) [*](10. ὑπεραίρει] used intransitively from Aristotle downwards.) [*](ib. κάτω βρίθοντος κρ.] Wisd. ix 15. For κράματος see i 7.) [*](4. To form an adequate con- ception of God is even more impossible than to express it when formed. It is doubtful whether even angels can do it.) [*](12. ἀρκτέον] from ἄρχεσθαι: ‘we must begin ’ The hopes with which he had begun at first ὡς θεὸν καταληψόμενος) have proved fallacious.) [*](13. ὥς τις τῶν παρ᾿ Ἕ. θεολόγων] The reference appears to be to Timaeus 28 Ε τὸν μὲν οὖν ποιητὴν καὶ πατέρα τοῦ παντὸς εὑρεῖν τὸ ἔργον, καὶ εὕροντα εἰς πάντας ἀδύνατον λέγειν. No approval is conveyed by the expression θεολόγων τις. Cp. v 16.) [*](14. οὐκ ἀτέχνως] Plato thus art- fully insinuates, in Gr.'s opinion, that he has himself apprehended what he says is so difficult to appre hend, and at the same time escapes exposure by saying that it is inexpressible τῷ (ἀνεκφρ.).) [*](17. ἀδυνατώτερον] because if only the conception could be formed, expression would be comparatively easy. Cp. Novatian de Trin. § 4 nomen Dei edici non potest, quolacious. niam non potest nee concipi.)

τάχα ἂν λόγος δηλώσειεν, εἰ καὶ μὴ μετρίως, ἁλλ’ ἀμυδρῶς γε, τῷ μὴ πάντη τὰ ὦτα διεφθαρμένῳ καὶ νωθρῷ τὴν διάνοιαν. τὸ δὲ τοσοῦτον πρᾶγμα τῇ διανοίᾳ περιλαβεῖν πάντως ἀδύνατον καὶ ἀμήχανον, μὴ ὅτι τοῖς καταβεβλακευμένοις, καὶ κάτω νεύουσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς λίαν ὑψηλοῖς τε καὶ φιλοθέοις, καὶ ὁμοίως πάσῃ γεννητῇ φύσει, καὶ οἷς ὁ ζόφος οὗτος ἐπιπροσθεῖ καὶ τὸ παχὺ τοῦτο σαρκίον πρὸς τὴν τοῦ ἀληθοῦς κατανόησιν. οὐκ οἶδα δέ, εἰ μὴ καὶ ταῖς ἀνωτέρω καὶ νοεραῖς φύσεσιν, αἳ διὰ τὸ πλησίον εἶναι θεοῦ, καὶ ὅλῳ τῷ φωτὶ καταλάμπεσθαι, τυχὸν ἂν καὶ τρανοῖντο, εἰ καὶ μὴ πάντη, ἀλλ’ ἡμῶν γε τελεώτερόν τε καὶ ἐκτυπώτερον, καὶ ἄλλων ἄλλαι πλεῖον ἢ ἔλαττον, κατὰ τὴν ἀναλογίαν τῆς τάξεως.

Τοῦτο μὲν οὖν ἐνταῦθα κείσθω· τὸ δὲ ἡμέτερον, [*](1 τάχα ἀν’] + καὶ e ǁ 4 καταβεβλακευμενοις] κατεβλ. acf ‘duo Colb. Or. 1’ || 6 γεννητὴ] γενητὴ abc || 11 p, τε c) [*](1. εἰ καὶ μὴ μ., ἀλλ’ ἀμ’. γε] μετρίως is here a word of approbation, ‘if not satisfactorily, yet dimly at any rate.’) [*](4. μὴ ὅτι] ‘not to speak ’ cp. § 11. Καταβεβλ. from βλάξ, which is thought to be a collateral form of μαλακός, ‘slack,’ ‘enfeebled,’ ‘enervated.’) [*](6. γεννητῇ] not= γενητὴ ‘created,’ for Gr. goes on to speak of the higher created intelligences as a separate class afterwards; but strictly ‘begotten’ or ‘born,’ i.e. existing under physical conditions, the effect of which is described in the following clause.) [*](7. ἐπιπροσθεῖ] The verb is formed from the adv. ἐπίπροσθεν: ‘to be in front of,’ so ‘get in the way of.’ Wyttenbach collects many instances of its use in his note on Plut. de Recta And. Ratione p. 41 C.) [*](ib. σαρκίον] the diminutive ex- presses depreciation.) [*](8. πρός] ‘in reference to,’ it comes to a matter οf.’) [*](ib. οὐκ οἴδα δέ, εἰ μὴ] of course indicates Gr.’s opinion that it is impossible. This was the general opinion. Cp. Chrys. Horn, de Incomprehensibili iii 1 τὸν ἀνεξιχνίαστον ἀγγέλοις, τὸν ἀνεξερεύνητον ἀρχαγγέλοις, τὸν ἀθέατον τοῖς σεραφίμ, τὸν ἀκατανόητον τοῖς χερουβίμ, τὸν ἀόρατον ἀρχαῖς καἰ ἐξουσίαις λαὶ δυνάμεσι καὶ ἁπλῶς πάση τῇ κτίσει.) [*](10. τυχὸν ἂν καὶ τρανοῖντο] Τρανόω, a favourite word of Gr.'s, usually = ‘to make plain’ (e.g. § 20). as τρανός is sometimes used in the more active sense of ‘clear,’ i.e. of penetrating intelligence (e.g. Wisd. vii 22), it seems best to understand τρανοῖντο here in that way, ‘gifted with insight and intelligence.’) [*](12. ἐκτυπώτερον] ‘ more expressly,’ ’distinctly.’) [*](5. The works of God are beyond our present comprehension, much more Himself; we can only affirm for certain that He exists.) [*](14. κείσθω] ‘be dropped.’ He not wish to pursue the question with regard to the superior intelligences: τὸ δὲ ἠμ’. ‘but as concerning us.’)

οὐχ ἡ εἰρήνη τοῦ θεοῦ μόνον ὑπερέχει πάντα νοῦν καὶ κατάληψιν, οὐδὲ ὅσα τοῖς δικαίοις ἐστὶν ἐν ἐπαγγελίαις ἀποκείμενα, τὰ μήτε ὀφθαλμοῖς ὁρατά, μήτε ὠσὶν ἀκουστά, μήτε διανοίᾳ θεωρητά, κατὰ μικρὸν γοῦν, οὐδὲ ἡ τῆς κτίσεως ἀκριβὴς κατανόησις· καὶ γὰρ καὶ ταύτης πείσθητι τὰς σκιὰς ἔχειν μόνον, ὅταν ἀκούσῃς· ὄψομαι τοὺς οὐρανούς, ἔργα τῶν δακτύλων σου, σελήνην καὶ ἀστέρας, καὶ τὸν ἐν αὐτοῖς πάγιον λόγον· ὡς οὐχὶ νῦν ὁρῶν, ὀψόμενος δὲ ἔστιν ὅτε· ἀλλὰ πολὺ πρὸ τούτων ἡ ὑπὲρ ταῦτα, καὶ ἐξ ἧς ταῦτα, φύσις ἄληπτός τε καὶ ἀπερίληπτος· λέγω δέ, οὐχ ὅτι ἔστιν, ἀλλ’ ἥτις ἐστίν. οὐ γὰρ κενὸν τὸ κήρυγμα ἡμῶν, οὐδὲ ματαία ἡ πίστις ἡμῶν, οὐδὲ τοῦτό ἐστιν ὃ δογματίζομεν· μὴ πάλιν τὴν εὐγνωμοσύνην ἡμῶν ἀθείας λάβῃς ἀρχὴν καὶ συκοφαντίας, καὶ κατεπαρθῇς ὡς ὁμολο- [*](5. 2 ἐν ἐπαγγελίαις ἐστιν d || 8 πάγιον] πανάγιον e || 10 om ταύτα φύσις . . . .λεγω δε d) [*](1. ὑπερέχει π. νοῦν] Phil, iv 7.) [*](3."/> μήτε ὀφθ. ὁρατά κτλ.] 1 Cor. ii 9. Gr. forgets, as most people do, that St Paul adds ἡμῖν γὰρ ἀπεκάλυψεν ὁ θ. διὰ τοῦ πνεύματος.) [*](4. κατὰ μικρὸν γοῦν] Γοῦν corrects, but limits the concession; ‘not contemplated by the mind— well, only to small estent.’) [*](6. τὰς σκιάς] ‘the outlines.’) [*](ib. ὄψομαι κτλ.] Ps. viii 4 (3).) [*](8. τ. ἐν αὐτ’. πάγιον λόγον] πάγιος from the root of πήγνυμι, ‘firm,’ ‘fixed’; ‘the well established order that prevails among them.’ words are a paraphrase of ‘which thou hast ordained.’) [*](ib. ὀψόμενος δὲ ἐστιν ὅτε] Gr. calls attention to the fact that the Ps. uses the future, not the present.) [*](9. ἢ ὑπὲρ τ....φύσις] ὑπερέχει πάντα νοῦν. It is a little odd to say, “note only the peace of God, but God Himself, passeth understanding.’’ We might have expected, ‘If the peace of God passeth understanding, much more God Himself.’’) [*](10. ἄληπτός τε κ.ἀπερίλ.] ‘inapprehensible as it is and incomprehensible.’) [*](11 οὐχ ὅτι ἐστιν, ἁλλ’ ἥτις ἐστίν] may be taken either with ἄληπτος κ. ἀπερίληπτος, or with the main verb ὑπερέχει π. νοῦν. Perh. the latter is the more forcible: ‘Ι do not mean that the fact of its existence passes understanding, but the nature of it.’) [*](ib. οὐ γὰρ κενόν κτλ.] 1 Cor. xv 14, 17. The γὰρ implies that it would be ‘vain’ if we were unable truly to apprehend the fact of God's existence.) [*](13. ὃ δογματίζομεν] ‘nor is that the doctrine which I am laying down.’) [*](ib. εὐγνωμοσύνην] Cp. εὐγνώμονος above, i 5. It resembles ἐπιείκεια, ‘reasonableness.’ Μὴ πάλιν, cp. i 4 μὴ πάλιν ἐπιφυέσθωσαν.) [*](14. κατεπαρθῇς] ‘exalt yourself against me.’ Cp. Cyr. Al. c. Ful. i p. 6.) γούντων τὴν ἄγνοιαν. πλεῖστον γὰρ διαφέρει τοῦ εἶναί τι πεπεῖσθαι τὸ τί ποτέ ἐστι τοῦτο εἰδέναι.

τοῦ μὲν γὰρ εἶναι θεόν, καὶ τὴν πάντων ποιητικήν τε καὶ συνεκτικὴν αἰτίαν, καὶ ὄψις διδάσκαλος, καὶ ὁ φυσικὸς νόμος· ἡ μὲν τοῖς ὁρωμένοις προσβάλλουσα, καὶ πεπηγόσι καλῶς καὶ ὁδεύουσι, καὶ ἀκινήτως, ἵνα οὕτως εἴπω, κινουμένοις καὶ φερομένοις· ὁ δὲ διὰ τῶν ὁρωμένων καὶ τεταγμένων τὸν ἀρχηγὸν τούτων συλλογιζόμενος. πῶς γὰρ ἂν καὶ ὑπέστη τόδε τὸ πᾶν, ἢ συνέστη, μὴ θεοῦ τὰ πάντα καὶ οὐσιώσαντος καὶ συνέχοντος; οὐδὲ γὰρ κιθάραν τις ὁρῶν κάλλιστα ἠσκημένην καὶ τὴν ταύτης εὐαρμοστίαν καὶ εὐταξίαν, ἢ τῆς κιθαρῳδίας αὐτῆς ἀκούων, ἄλλο τι ἢ τὸν τῆς κιθάρας δημιουργὸν καὶ τὸν κιθαρῳδὸν ἐννοήσει, καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀναδραμεῖται τῆ διανοίᾳ, κἂν ἀγνοῶν τύχη ταῖς ὄψεσιν. οὕτω καὶ ἡμῖν τὸ ποιητικὸν [*](6. 4 αἰτίαν] οὐσίαν f ǁ 6 ὁδεύουσι] -σα c) [*](6. Of His existence the order of nature assures us. We are forced to think of a Creator when we look upon Creation, as the sight of a lyre makes us think of the lyre-maker. But beyond that, we have no certainty.) [*](4. συνεκτικήν] from συνέχειν, Δ’ maintain in harmony’: cp. Col. i τὰ πάντα ἐν αὐτῷ συνέστηκεν. So Xen. Cyrop. 8 p. 140 οἱ θεοὶ] τὴν τῶν ὅλων τήνδε τάξιν συνέχουσιν ἀτριβῆ. For the construction, τὴν π. π. αἰτίαν is strictly (with θεόν) the subject of εἶναι. The def. art. is used in the same way as in participial sentences like εἰσὶν...οἱ τ. ἀκ. προσκνώμενοι (above, p. 1); where our idiom rather puts ’a’ than ‘the’; ‘that there is a God and a creative cause.’) [*](5. ὁ φυσικὸς νόμος] Gr. does not here mean ‘natural law’ in modern sense, although such an use might readily be paralleled. The explanatory clause below shews that he does not mean ‘the law which we observe in the natural order around us,’ but the natural upon ourselves of the observations which we make. Cp. below ταῖς φυσικαῖς ἀποδείξεσιν.) [*](ib. προσβάλλουσα] ‘lighting upon.’) [*](6. κ. πεπηγόσι] πέπηγα (from πήγνυμι) has the intrans. sense, ‘to be fixed.’ K. πεπ. κ. ὁδ’. κ. κιν. κ. are predicates of τοῖς ὁρ.; ‘seeing them fixed’ ect.) [*](8. συλλογιζόμενος] When we see the order in nature the natural result upon ourselves is to infer the existence of an ἀρχηγός i.e. ‘author.’) [*](10. οὐσιώσαντος] οὐσιόω=‘to give οὐσία,’ ‘bring into being.’) [*](11. κιθάραν...κάιλιστα ἠσκημένην] Cp. Paley's famous argument about the watch. Ἀσκεῖν like ἐξασκεῖν, = exornare; see Horn. Od. i 439: ‘beautifully and elaborately made.’) [*](15. ταῖς ὄψεσιν] contrasted with τῆ διανοίᾳ: ‘he will pass ἀναδ. because higher up, further back, in the order of thought or causation) to him in thought, although he may not be acquainted with him by sight.’ The unusual pl. ταῖς ὄψ. might mean either ‘by his (the player's) looks,’ or ‘by his (the hearer's) sight.’ latter makes the best parallel to διαν.; it is also used in this sense by Herodian 6 (9, 10) ὡς ἐν ὄψεσιν ἢν ’when he came in sight.’)

δῆλον, καὶ τὸ κινοῦν καὶ τηροῦν τὰ πεποιημένα, κἂν μὴ διανοίᾳ περιλαμβάνηται· καὶ λίαν ἀγνώμων ὁ μὴ μέχρι τούτων προιὼν ἑκουσίως καὶ ταῖς φυσικαῖς ἑπόμενος ἀποδείξεσιν. ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ τοῦτο εἶναι θεόν, ὅπερ ἐφαντάσθημεν, ἢ ἀνετυπωσάμεθα, ἢ λόγος ὑπέγραψεν. εἰ δέ τις ἐν περινοίᾳ τούτου ποτὲ κἂν ἐπὶ ποσὸν ἐγένετο, τίς ἡ ἀπόδειξις; τίς οὕτως εἰς ἔσχατον σοφίας ἀφίκετο; τίς τοσούτου χαρίσματος ἠξιώθη ποτέ; τίς οὕτω τὸ στόμα τῆς διανοίας [*](6 om ποτε ‘Or. 1’) [*](1. τὸ ποιητ δῆλον] ‘the creating power is plain.’) [*](2. ἀγνώμων] here ‘unreasonable,’ ‘deficient in sense.’) [*](3. κ. ταῖς φ. ἐπ’. ἀποδ.] The καὶ joins ἑπόμενος to ἑκουσίως, not to προίων.) [*](4. ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ τοῦτο] a very difficult passage. The usual interpretation makes ἀλλὰ answer to the μὴ in μὴ προιών, ‘who will not go as far as this, but (says) that not even this, which we have imagined, is God.’ But it is harsh to supply the necessary φάσκων or ὁμολογῶν in order to make the clause grammatical; and a comparison with the sentence in § 12 where Gr. resumes his thread after a long digression, seems to shew that we must assign an entirely different meaning to the present sentence,—and which will accord better with grammatical requirements. In ἑ 12 Gr. says that the proposition from which he had started was τὸ μὴ ληπτὸν εἶναι ἀνθρωπίνη διανοίᾳ τὸ θεῖον, μηδὲ ὅλον ὅσον ἐστὶ φαντάζεσθαι. Here, accordingly, we must suppose, that it is Gr. himself, and not the λίαν ἀγνώμων, who denies εἶναι θεὸν ὅπερ ἔφαντ’. It is, he says, very unreasonable not to accept the natural proofs of God's existence, and in following them we are compelled to form certain great outlines of a conception of God (e.g. creative power, rational method, etc.), which we cannot doubt to be correct. But even this is not the same thing as to identify εἶναι ὅπερ) God with what we have imagined, or figured to ourselves, or what our reason has delineated. τοῦτο is the subject of ἐστὶν understood, of which εἶναι θ. κτλ. is the predicate. While we have ἀποδείξεις for the one belief, we have none for the other.) [*](5. ὑπέγραψεν] Cp. I Pet. ii 21 ὑπογραμμόν ‘a sketch.’) [*](6. ἐν περινοίᾳ τ....ἐγένετο] Gr. uses the same expression in Or. xlv § 11: οὐ γὰρ οἶόν τε ἄλλως ἐν περινοίᾳ θεοῦ γενέσθαι σώματος ὑλικοῦ καὶ δεσμίου νοῦ πάχος μὴ βοηθούμενον. The rare word περίνοια appears to denote an embracing in thought, a mental taking in of the subject. Τούτου sc. θεοῦ ‘If ever anyone in any degree has attained to an understanding of Him, what proof is there of the fact?’) [*](8. τὸ στόμα...πνεῦμα] Ps. cxviii (cxix) 131. The ἵνα ὥστε, following as it does upon the οὕτως and the τοσούτου.) ἤνοιξε καὶ εἵλκυσε πνεῦμα, ἵνα τῷ τὰ πάντα ἐρευνῶντι καὶ γινώσκοντι καὶ τὰ βάθη τοῦ θεοῦ πνεύματι θεὸν καταλάβῃ, καὶ μηκέτι τοῦ πρόσω δέηται, τὸ ἔσχατον ὀρεκτὸν ἔχων ἤδη, καὶ εἰς ὃ πᾶσα σπεύδει καὶ πολιτεία τοῦ ὑψηλοῦ καὶ διάνοια;

Τί γάρ ποτε ὑπολήψῃ τὸ θεῖον, εἴπερ ὅλαις ταῖς λογικαῖς πιστεύεις ἐφόδοις; ἢ πρὸς τί σε ὁ λόγος ἀνάξει βασανιζόμενος, ὦ φιλοσοφώτατε σὺ καὶ θεολογικώτατε καὶ καυχώμενε εἰς τὰ ἄμετρα; πότερον σῶμα; καὶ πῶς τὸ ἄπειρον, καὶ ἀόριστον, καὶ ἀσχημάτιστον, καὶ ἀναφές, καὶ ἀόρατον; ἢ καὶ ταῦτα σώματα; τῆς ἐξουσίας· οὐ γὰρ αὕτη φύσις σωμάτων. ἢ σῶμα μέν, οὐχὶ ταῦτα δέ; τῆς παχύτητος· ἵνα μηδὲν πλέον ἡμῶν ἔχη τὸ θεῖον. πῶς γὰρ σεπτόν, εἰ περιγραπτόν; ἢ πῶς φεύξεται τὸ ἐκ στοιχείων συγκεῖσθαι καὶ εἰς αὐτὰ πάλιν ἀναλύεσθαι, ἢ [*](4 ορεκτον] -των e 7. 6 ὀλαῖς] ὅλως abde ‘Coisl. 3 Or. ’ ǁ 7 εφοδιες] ’Coisl. 1 ορμαις’ (perperam) || 11 σωματα]+ ω f || 12 αυτη] αὐτή ut vid cef ΙΙ ταύτα δε] + ω f ΙΙ 15 om η cdef) [*](1 τῷ τ. π. ἐρευνῶντι κτλ.] 1 Cor. ii 10.,) [*](3. τοῦ πρόσω] ‘no longer needs to advance.’) [*](ib. τὸ ἔσχ. ὀρεκτόν] ‘ the ultimate object of ’ The phrase comes originally from Arist. Metaph. xii 7.) [*](4. πολιτεία τ. ὑψηλοῦ] ‘all a high-minded man's life.’) [*](7. to begin with, God cannot be corporeal; which would involve being dissoluble.) [*](6. ὅλαις τ. λου....ἐφόδοις] The reading ὅλως (‘if you rely at all’) would not make so strong an argu- ment against Eunomian self-confidence. Ἔφοδος ‘method.’) [*](8. βασανιζόμενος] a logical pa- rallel to ὅλαις;š—‘however much you rack it.’) [*](9. καυχ. εἰς τὰ ἄμετρα] ‘boasting of your command of the infinite.’) [*](ib. σῶμα] of course, a very un- likely alternative for the Eunomians to choose; and it must be admitted that Gr. somewhat begs the question as against them, in the next clause.) [*](ib. καἰ πῶς] sc. σῶμά ἐστιν (or ἄν εἴη).) [*](11. ἢ καἰ ταῦτα σ.] ‘Are bodies to be so described?’) [*](ib. τ. ἐξουσίας] ‘a stretch of power,’ to confer such properties upon a body!) [*](12. σῶμα μέν, οὐχὶ τ. δέ] ‘Will you make Him a body and drop these attributes?’ This Gr. terizes as ‘gross.’ For παχύτητος cp. § 4 τὸ παχὺ τοῦτο σαρκίον.) [*](13. ἵνα...ἔχῃ] B good example that not ‘final’ use of ἴνα which is familiar in the N.T.) [*](14. σεπτόν] from σέβεσθαι, ‘an object of devotion.’ Gr. mean that the fact of being περιγραπτόν would by itself preclude being σεπτόν, but that all that is connoted by περιγράπτῳ would.)

καὶ ὅλως λύεσθαι; σύνθεσις γὰρ ἀρχὴ μάχης· μάχη δὲ διαστάσεως· ἡ δὲ λύσεως· λύσις δὲ ἀλλότριον πάντῃ θεοῦ καὶ τῆς πρώτης φύσεως. οὐκ οὖν διάστασις, ἵνα μὴ λύσις· οὐδὲ μάχη, ἵνα μὴ διάστασις· οὐδὲ σύνθεσις, ἵνα μὴ μάχη· διὰ τοῦτο οὐδὲ σῶμα, ἵνα μὴ σύνθεσις. ἐκ τῶν τελευταίων ἐπὶ τὰ πρῶτα ὁ λόγος ἀνιὼν οὕτως ἵσταται.

Ἠὼς δὲ καὶ σωθήσεται τὸ διὰ πάντων διήκειν καὶ πληροῦν τὰ πάντα θεόν, κατὰ τό· Οὐχὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν ἐγὼ πληρῶ; λέγει κύριος, καί· Ηνεῦμα κυρίου πεπλήρωκε τὴν οἰκουμένην, εἰ τὸ μὲν περιγράφοι, τὸ δὲ περιγράφοιτο; ἢ γὰρ διὰ κενοῦ χωρήσει τοῦ παντός, καὶ τὰ πάντα οἰχήσεται ἡμῖν, ἵν ὑβρισθῇ θεός, καὶ σῶμα γενόμενος, καὶ οὐκ ἔχων ὅσα πεποίηκεν· ἢ σῶμα ἐν σώμασιν ἔσται, ὅπερ ἀδύνατον· ἢ πλακήσεται καὶ ἀντι- [*](8. 10 περιγραφοι] φει ‘Reg. a’:μη περιγράφοιτο e || 13 om ἔχων e ǁ 14 και] η e) [*](1. λύεσθαι] treated as something further than ἀναλ. The component elements might conceivably be separated and yet something remain; but λ. would be the complete break up of the whole thing.) [*](ib. σύνθεσις] The blending of different elements introduces a possibility of conflict, and so of division, and so of destruction; which is unthinkable in connexion with Him who, if He exists at all, must be the πρώτη φύσις, or primary existence, into which no earlierexistence enters. Elias observes that the ‘Platonic’ form of the argument is particularly applicable to the heretical dialecticians whom Gr. has in view.) [*](5. ἐκ τῶν τελ.] In other words, the contention that God is not ‘a body’ is proved by a reductio absurdum.) [*](8. Besides, if God were corporeal, His corporeity must involve either the denial of all other corporeities, or His interpenetration with them. Even on the supposition of a ‘fifth element’ which might be identified with His corporeity, He would be made subject to motion and to space.) [*](8. τὸ Οὐχί] Jer. xxiii 24.) [*](9. πνεῦμα κ.] Wisd. i. 7. The book is treated as authoritative.) [*](10. τὸ μὲν...τὸ δέ] It seems logically best, if grammatically less obvious, to take τὸ μὲν as the direct ace. after περιγράφοι and τὸ δὲ as the indirect ace. after περιγράφοιτο; ‘if God should circumscribeonething and be circumscribed with another.’ This, it is assumed, must be the case if God were ‘a body.’) [*](11. ἢ γάρ] as often, ‘for otherwise either’etc.) [*](ib. διὰ κενοῦ...τ. παντός] ‘the universe which He pervades must be empty.’) [*](12. ἵν’ ὑβρισθῇ] an answer to the implied rhetorical question, ‘And why must everything perish?’ order that God may be doubly outraged, by being made a body, and by being deprived of all that He has created.’) [*](14. ἀδύνατον] because ‘bodies’ are mutually exclusive.)

παρατεθήσεται, ὥσπερ ὅσα τῶν ὑγρῶν μίγνυται, καὶ τὸ μὲν τέμνει, ὑπὸ δὲ τοῦ τμηθήσεται, ὃ καὶ τῶν Ἐπικουρείων ἀτόμων ἀτοπώτερόν τε καὶ γραωδέστερον· καὶ οὕτω διαπεσεῖται ἡμῖν, καὶ σῶμα οὐχ ἕξει, οὐδὲ πῆξίν τινα, ὁ περὶ τοῦ σώματος λόγος. εἰ δὲ ἄυλον φήσομεν, εἰ μὲν τὸ πέμπτον, ὥς τισιν ἔδοξε, καὶ τὴν κύκλῳ φορὰν φερόμενον, ἔστω μὲν ἄυλόν τι καὶ πέμπτον σῶμα, εἰ βούλονται δέ, καὶ ἀσώματον, κατὰ τὴν αὐτόνομον αὐτῶν τοῦ λόγου φορὰν καὶ ἀνάπλασιν· οὐδὲν γὰρ νῦν περὶ τούτου διοίσομαι. [*](2 τέμνει] τέμει c || 3 γραωδέστερον] + ὡς οἱ πέρι ταύτα ἐσχολακότες εληρησαν bde El ǁ 9 διοίσομαι] μεν ‘Reg. a’) [*](ib. πλακήσεται κτλ.] πλακ. from πλέκω ‘to weave,’ so ‘entangle,’ It is a somewhat strange use of the simple verb; but Gr. has elsewhere θεῷ πλακῆναι καἰ θεὸν γενέσθαι ἐκ τῆς μίξεως. Ἀντιπ. ‘bring into juxtaposition.’ Gr. understands by the two words is explained by the comparison with mixing liquids.) [*](1. τὸ μὲν τέμνει] sc. ὁ θεός; the fut. τμηθ. shews that Gr. is no longer thinking of the liquids, though no doubt it was the comparison with them which caused the pres. τέμνει. The supposed interpenetration of the σῶμα of God with other σώματα necessitates constant breaches of continuity in both.) [*](2. Ἐπικ. ἀτόμων] Cp. p. 19 above.) [*](3. γραωδέστερον] Cp. 1 Tim. iv 7. The words which follow in some authorities must be an ancient gloss. If they belonged to the text at all, they must needs come in after τμηθήσεται, where (apparently) no MS. places them.) [*](ib. διαπεσεῖται] ‘fall through,’ ‘come to ’; Plat. Phaed. 80 c. The subject of διαπ. is ὁ π. τ σ. λόγος.) [*](4. σῶμα οὐχ νεῖ] It is difficult in English to keep up the play on the word σῶμα. Gr. means of course that the argument for a corporeal existence of God proves unsubstantail: it has no πῆξιν, ‘solidity’ (cp. πάγιος λόγος in § 5).) [*](5. εἰ δὲ ἄυλον] ἁ priv. and ὕλη. The protasis is broken up into εἰ μὲν τὸ πέμπτον and εἰ δὲ ἄλλο τι παρὰ τὸ πέμπτον. Then the first apodosis is broken up likewise into ἒστω μέν and κατὰ τί δέ.) [*](ib τὸ πέμπτον] The reference is to the Aristotelian conception of a “quintessence,” or fifth “element,” besides earth, air, fire and water. Cp. Bas. Hex. 11.) [*](7. ἔστω μέν] Gr. is willing to assume for the moment that there is such a thing as the imagined quintessence: οὐδὲν νῦν διοίσομαι, ‘I will not now differ.’) [*](8. κατὰ τὴν αὐτόνομον κτλ.] Almost each word here requires annotation. Λόγος is ‘the σῶμα,’ or perhaps ἀσώματον σῶμα Φορὰν at first sight seems to refer to τὴν κύκλῳ φ. just above; but there is prob. no such play upon the word intended. Gr. seems to employ it in the sense of ‘usage.’ Although no other example of the subst. in that sense is at hand, the verb is not infrequently so used. Gr. has διὰ γλώσσης φέρειν ‘to speak of. Ἀναπλάττειν and its derivatives are frequent in Gr. Sometimes the prep. has its full force, ‘re-construction,’ ‘fashioning afresh,’ as for ex. baptism; sometimes it is simply ‘to fashion,’ ‘imagine.’ Thus he of matter ὕλην) as ὑποστᾶσαν ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων, κἄν τινες ἀγέννητον ἀναπλάττωσιν. So here he seems to mean the ‘shaping’ which the Aristotelians put upon the word, with a slight suggestion of its being a factitious and not the legitimate construction. This is further expressed by calling it αὐτόνομον, ‘their inderpendent,’ arbitrary, ‘use and construction of the word.’) κατὰ τί δὲ τῶν κινουμένων ἔσται καὶ φερομένων, ἵνα μὴ λέγω τὴν ὕβριν, εἰ τὰ αὐτὰ τοῖς πεποιημένοις ὁ πεποιηκὼς κινηθήσεται, καὶ τοῖς φερομένοις ὁ φέρων, εἴ γε καὶ τοῦτο δώσουσι; τί δὲ τὸ τοῦτο πάλιν κινοῦν; τί δὲ τὸ τὸ πᾶν κινοῦν; κἀκεῖνο τί; καὶ τί πάλιν ἐκεῖνο; καὶ τοῦτο εἰς ἄπειρον. πῶς δὲ οὐκ ἐν τόπῳ πάντως, εἴ γε φερόμενον; εἰ δὲ ἄλλο τι παρὰ τὸ πέμπτον φήσουσιν, εἰ μὲν ἀγγελικόν, πόθεν ὅτι ἄγγελοι σώματα, καὶ τίνα ταῦτα; καὶ πόσον ὑπὲρ ἄγγελον εἴη θεός, οὗ λειτουργὸς ἄγγελος; εἰ δὲ ὑπὲρ ταῦτα, πάλιν εἰσήχθη σωμάτων ἐσμὸς ἀλόγιστος, καὶ φλυαρίας βυθός, οὐδαμοῦ στῆναι δυνάμενος.

[*](3 καὶ τοῦτο om καὶ e ǁ 4 τὸ τὸ πὰν] τοῦτο τὸ πὰν b: τὸ πὰν aef || 8 οἱ ἄγγελοι ‘Reg. a’ || αν e ποσον]+αν e ‘duo Colb. Or. 1’)[*](1. κατὰ τί] Gr. seems to mean ’in what respect,’ ‘by virtue what part of its being, will this πέμπτον, which is identified with the σῶμα of God, take its place among the things which move and revolve?’ It is, however, he a ὕβρις, a wanton affront, to assign such a place to God at all, whatever may be the answer to his question.)[*](4. δώσουσι] ‘will grant’: sc. that God is ὁ φέρων.)[*](ib. τί δὲ τὸ τοῦτο π. κινοῦν] τοῦτο =τὸ πέμπτον: it (viz. God) moves other things, and itself moves with them; what then moves it? The τὸ πᾶν which follows will then include the thing which sets τὸ πέμπτον in motion.)[*](6. ἐν τόπῳ] Motion is a change of space- relations, and therefore implies a local position.)[*](7. εἰ δὲ ἄλλο τι] The other alternative (viz. that the σῶμα of God is not the πέμπτον) is again confronted with a dilemma; εἰ μὲν ἀγγελ., εἰ δὲ ὑπὲρ ταῦτα.)[*](8. πόθεν ὅτι] ’xvhence comes the belief ’ ’how do they know that?’)[*](ib. πδσον...εἴη] In better Greek there would of course be an ἄν: ‘how far far would God excel an angel?)[*](10. εἰσήχθη] The aor. gives a liveliness to the argument: the logical consequences are represented as having taken actual effect; as in i 2.)[*](id. ἐσμός] ‘a swarm,’ said to derived from ἵημι. Ἀλόγιστος= ‘innumerable,’ though its possible sense of ‘irrational’ may perh. have suggested to Gr. the ’abyss of nonsense’ which follows. Στῆναι, ‘to stop.’ is not clear why the notion that God's (supposed) σῶμα is superior to angelic bodies should ‘again introduce a countless swarm of bodies. Perhaps by πάλιν. only means that this notion is in that respect no better than the former one, because it also implies that the angels have bodies. Otherwise he must mean that the supposition of a body far superior to angelic bodies leaves room for the invention of swarms of intermediate bodies between the angelic bodies and it.)

Οὕτω μὲν οὖν οὐ σῶμα ἡμῖν ὁ θεός. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἤδη τις τοῦτο τῶν θεοπνεύστων ἢ εἶπεν ἢ παρεδέξατο, οὐδὲ τῆς ἡμετέρας αὐλῆς ὁ λόγος. λείπεται δὴ ἀσώματον ὑπολαμβάνειν. ἀλλ’ εἰ ἀσώματον, οὔπω μὲν οὐδὲ τοῦτο τῆς οὐσίας παραστατικόν τε καὶ περιεκτικόν, ὥσπερ οὐδὲ τὸ ἀγέννητον, καὶ τὸ ἄναρχον, καὶ τὸ ἀναλλοίωτον, καὶ τὸ ἄφθαρτον, καὶ ὅσα περὶ θεοῦ ἢ περὶ θεὸν εἶναι λέγεται. τί γὰρ ὄντι αὐτῷ κατὰ τὴν φύσιν καὶ τὴν ὑπόστασιν ὑπάρχει τὸ μὴ ἀρχὴν ἔχειν, μηδὲ ἐξίστασθαι, μηδὲ περα- τοῦσθαι ἀλλ᾿ ἀλλ’ ὅλον τὸ εἶναι περιλαμβάνειν λείπεται προσφιλοσοφεῖν τε καὶ προσεξετάζειν τῷ γε νοῦν θεοῦ ἀληθῶς ἔχοντι καὶ τελεωτέρῳ τὴν θεωρίαν. ὡς γὰρ οὐκ ἀρκεῖ τὸ σῶμα εἰπεῖν, ἢ τὸ γεγεννῆσθαι, πρὸς τὸ καὶ τό, περὶ ὃ ταῦτα, παραστῆσαί τε καὶ δηλῶσαι, ἀλλὰ δεῖ καὶ [*](9. 1 om ουν ac ΙΙ 3 δὴ] δε e ǁ 5 περιεκτικὸν] ’deest in nonnullis codd.’ || 6 ἀγέννητον] ἀγένητον c1 || 8 ὄντι] ὂν e || 11 om θεοῦ f ‘Or. I’) [*](9. We thus reach a negative truth about God, but a negative truth gives us no positive information.) [*](2. τ. θεοπνεύστων] i.e. it is nowhere taught in the Bible. It is, as Elias says, a heathen and esp. a Stoic speculation.) [*](3. τῆς ἤμ’. αὐλῆς] ‘ does not belong to θίς fold.’) [*](5. παραστ. τε κ. περιεκτ.] The confession that He is incorporeal does not amount to a positive statement or description of His being.) [*](7. περὶ θεοῦ ἢ περὶ θεόν] The construction with the ace. is the less direct, and therefore suits better the scrupulous εὐλάβεια of Gr.'s language: ‘of God or in connexion with God.’) [*](8. τί γὰρ ὄντι αὐτῶ The κατὰ τὴν φ. is to be taken with ὑπάρχει, not with ὄντι. The sense is, ‘What substantive element is it in God's being, what light does it throw upon His nature and underlying essence, to say that He has no beginning,’ etc.? Ὑπόστασις is used in its older, untechnical sense, ‘person,’ but ’substance,’ as in Heb. i 3.) [*](9. ἐξίστασθαι...περατοῦσθαι] Ἐξίστ. ‘to be moved out of oneself, so to change: Plat. Rep. 380 D ἐκστῆναι τῆς φύσεως. Περατ. (from πέρας) ‘to be limited’: Arist. de Mund. ii 2.) [*](10. ἀλλ’ δὸν τὸ εἶναι] ‘Nay, the whole of the divine essence is left (untouched by these negative statements) to be conceived of and philosophically treated ated and examined.’) [*](13. πρὸς τὸ καἰ τό] ‘with regard to this or that object’: περὶ ὃ ‘to which the description applies.’) [*](ib. τὸ ... παραστῆσαί τε κ. δ.] coupled by ἢ to εἰπεῖν.)

τὸ ὑποκείμενον τούτοις εἰπεῖν, εἰ μέλλοι τελείως καὶ ἀποχρώντως τὸ νοούμενον παραστήσεσθαι· ἢ γὰρ ἄνθρωπος ἢ βοῦς ἢ ἵππος τοῦτο τὸ ἐνσώματον καὶ γεννώμενον καὶ φθειρόμενον· οὕτως οὐδὲ ἐκεῖ στήσεται μέχρι τοῦ εἰπεῖν ἃ μή ἐστιν ὁ τὴν τοῦ ὄντος πολυπραγμονῶν φύσιν, ἀλλὰ δεῖ, πρὸς τῷ εἰπεῖν ἃ μή ἐστι, καὶ ὅ ἐστιν εἰπεῖν, ὅσῳ καὶ ῥᾷον ἕν τι περιλαβεῖν, ἢ τὰ πάντα καθ᾿ ἕκαστον ἀπειπεῖν,—ἵνα ἔκ τε τῆς ἀναιρέσεως ὧν οὔκ ἐστι, καὶ τῆς οὗ ἐστὶ θέσεως, περιληφθῇ τὸ νοούμενον. ὁ δὲ ἃ μὲν οὔκ ἐστι λέγων, σιωπῶν δὲ ὅ ἐστι, ποιεῖ παραπλήσιον, ὥσπερ ἂν εἰ τὰ πέντε δὶς ὅσα ἐστὶν ἐρωτώμενος ὅτι μὲν οὐ δύο λέγοι, οὐδὲ τρεῖς, οὐδὲ τέσσαρες, οὐδὲ πέντε, οὐδὲ εἴκοσιν, οὐδὲ τριάκοντα, οὐδέ τινα, ἵνα συνελὼν εἴπω, τῶν ἐντὸς δεκάδος ἢ δεκαδικῶν ἀριθμῶν· ὅτι δὲ εἴη δέκα μὴ λέγοι, μηδὲ ἐρείδοι τὸν νοῦν τοῦ ἐρωτῶντος εἰς τὸ ζητούμενον. πολλῷ γὰρ ῥᾷον καὶ συντομώτερον ἐκ τοῦ ὅ ἐστιν ὅσα οὔκ ἐστι δηλῶσαι, ἢ ἐκ τοῦ ἀνελεῖν ἃ μή ἐστιν ὅ ἐστιν ἐνδείξασθαι.

Ἢ τοῦτο μὲν παντὶ δῆλον.