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De fide

HOMILY 15. On faith.

To remember God continually is pious and never brings satiety to the soul that loves God; but to discourse on the things concerning God is audacious; since the mind falls far short of the worth of the subjects, and speech, in turn, obscurely represents the things that have been conceived. If, therefore, our thought falls far short of the greatness of the subjects, and our speech is less than our very thought; how is silence not necessary, lest in the meanness of words the wonder of theology should seem to be endangered? The desire, therefore, to glorify God is sown by nature in all rational beings; but all alike fall short of speaking worthily. But in zeal for piety we differ one from another; but no one is so blinded and deceives himself, as to think he has ascended to the very summit of comprehension; but the more he seems to advance in knowledge, the more he will perceive his own weakness. Such was Abraham, such was Moses; when they were able to see God, as it is possible for a man to see, then especially did each one humble himself; Abraham calling himself earth and ashes, and Moses saying he was of a slow voice and a slow tongue. For he saw the weakness of his tongue, unable to minister to the greatness of the things conceived. But since every ear is now open to the hearing of theology, and there is no satiety for the Church of such hearings, confirming the word of Ecclesiastes, that The ear will not be filled with hearing. it is necessary to speak 31.465 according to our ability. And we will speak, not of how great God is, but of as much as is attainable by us.

For, because we are unable with our eyes to traverse the whole space between heaven and earth, we do not for that reason refrain from seeing as much as we can; so now also let us fulfill our piety through small words, and let us concede to the greatness of His nature to hold the victory over every word. For not even the tongues of angels, whatever they may be, nor those of archangels, gathered together with all of rational nature, will be able to attain to a small part, let alone make themselves equal to the whole. But you, if you wish to say or hear anything about God, leave your body, leave your bodily senses, leave the earth, leave the sea, put the air beneath you, pass by the seasons, the good order of the times, the adornments around the earth; rise above the aether; cross through the stars, the wonders concerning them, their good order, their sizes, the needs they supply to the universe, their good arrangement, their brightness, their position, their movement; how they are in relation or distance to one another.

Having passed through all things in your thought, having stooped over the heaven, and having become above it, with your mind alone look around at the beauties there, heavenly armies, choirs of angels, the leadership of archangels, the glories of dominions, the presidencies of thrones, the powers, the principalities, the authorities. Having run through all things, and having with your reasonings risen above all creation, and having lifted up your mind beyond these things, contemplate the divine nature: standing, immutable, unchangeable, impassible, simple, uncompounded, indivisible, light unapproachable, power ineffable, greatness unbounded, glory exceedingly bright, goodness desirable,

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De fide

ΟΜΙΛΙΑ ΙΕʹ. Περὶ πίστεως.

Θεοῦ μεμνῆσθαι μὲν διηνεκῶς, εὐσεβὲς καὶ κόρον οὐκ ἔχον τῇ φιλοθέῳ ψυχῇ· λόγῳ δὲ διεξιέναι τὰ περὶ Θεοῦ, τολμηρόν· τῆς μὲν διανοίας πολλῷ τῷ μέτρῳ τῆς ἀξίας τῶν πραγμάτων ἀποπιπτούσης, πάλιν δὲ τοῦ λόγου ἀμυδρῶς παριστῶντος τὰ νοη θέντα. Εἰ οὖν ἡ μὲν διάνοια ἡμῶν παρὰ πολὺ τοῦ μεγέθους τῶν πραγμάτων ἀπολιμπάνεται, ὁ δὲ λόγος ἐλάττων ἐστὶ καὶ αὐτῆς τῆς διανοίας· πῶς οὐκ ἀναγκαία ἡ σιωπὴ, μήποτε ἐν τῇ τῶν ῥημάτων εὐτελείᾳ δόξῃ κινδυνεύειν τῆς θεολογίας τὸ θαῦμα; Ἡ μὲν οὖν τοῦ δοξάζειν τὸν Θεὸν ἐπιθυμία πᾶσι τοῖς λογικοῖς κατὰ φύσιν ἐνέσπαρται· τοῦ δὲ πρὸς ἀξίαν εἰπεῖν πάντες ὁμοίως ἀπολιμπάνονται. Τῇ δὲ περὶ τὴν εὐσέβειαν προθυμίᾳ ἕτερος ἑτέρου διενηνό χαμεν· οὐδεὶς δὲ οὕτως τετύφλωται, καὶ φρε ναπατᾷ ἑαυτὸν, ὥστε οἴεσθαι ἐπὶ τὸ ἀκρότατον ἀνα βεβηκέναι τῆς καταλήψεως· ἀλλ' ὅσῳπερ ἂν δόξῃ προκόπτειν ἐπὶ τὴν γνῶσιν, τοσούτῳ πλέον αὐ τοῦ τῆς ἀσθενείας αἰσθήσεται. Τοιοῦτος ἦν Ἀβραὰμ, τοιοῦτος ἦν Μωϋσῆς· ὅτε ἰδεῖν Θεὸν ἠδυνήθησαν, ὡς ἰδεῖν δυνατὸν ἀνθρώπῳ, τότε μάλιστα ἑαυτὸν ἑκά τερος ἐξηυτέλιζεν· ὁ μὲν Ἀβραὰμ γῆν καὶ σποδὸν ἑαυτὸν ὀνομάζων, ὁ δὲ Μωϋσῆς ἰσχνόφωνον λέγων καὶ βραδύγλωσσον. Ἑώρα γὰρ τῆς γλώσσης αὐτοῦ τὸ ἀσθενὲς, ὑπηρετεῖν τῷ μεγέθει τῶν νοηθέν των μὴ δυναμένης. Πλὴν ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ πᾶσα ἀκοὴ ἤνοικται νῦν πρὸς θεολογίας ἀκρόασιν, καὶ κόρος οὐκ ἔστι τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ τῶν τοιούτων ἀκροαμάτων, βεβαιούσῃ τὸν τοῦ Ἐκκλησιαστοῦ λόγον, ὅτι Οὐ πλη ρωθήσεται οὖς ἀπὸ ἀκροάσεως. ἀναγκαῖον λέ 31.465 γειν εἰς δύναμιν. Ἐροῦμεν δὲ, οὐχ ὅσος ἐστὶν ὁ Θεὸς, ἀλλ' ὅσον ἡμῖν ἐφικτόν.

Οὐδὲ γὰρ, ἐπειδὴ τὸν μεταξὺ οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς τόπον διαβῆναι ὅλον τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἀδυνατοῦμεν, ἤδη καὶ ὅσον δυνάμεθα καθορᾷν παραιτούμεθα· οὕτω καὶ νῦν διὰ μικρῶν ῥημάτων τὴν εὐσέβειαν ἀποπληρώσωμεν, τῷ δὲ μεγαλείῳ τῆς φύσεως συγχωρήσωμεν ἔχειν κατὰ παντὸς λόγου τὰ νικητήρια. Οὐδὲ γὰρ αἱ τῶν ἀγγέ λων γλῶσσαι, αἵτινές ποτέ εἰσιν, οὐδὲ αἱ τῶν ἀρχαγγέλων, μετὰ πάσης ὁμοῦ τῆς λογικῆς φύσεως συναχθεῖσαι, πολλοστοῦ μέρους ἐφικέσθαι δυνήσον ται, μὴ ὅτι τῷ παντὶ ἑαυτὰς ἐξισῶσαι. Σὺ δὲ, εἰ βούλει περὶ Θεοῦ λέγειν τι ἢ ἀκούειν, ἄφες τὸ σῶμα σεαυτοῦ, ἄφες τὰς σωματικὰς αἰσθήσεις, κατάλειπε τὴν γῆν, κατάλειπε τὴν θάλασσαν, κάτω σεαυ τοῦ ποίησον τὸν ἀέρα, παράδραμε ὥρας, καιρῶν εὐταξίας, τὰς περὶ γῆν διακοσμήσεις· ὑπὲρ τὸν αἰθέρα γενοῦ· διάβηθι τοὺς ἀστέρας, τὰ περὶ αὐτοὺς θαύματα, τὴν εὐκοσμίαν αὐτῶν, τὰ μεγέθη, τὰς χρείας ὅσας παρέχονται τῷ παντὶ, τὴν εὐταξίαν, τὴν λαμπρότητα, τὴν θέσιν, τὴν κίνησιν· ὅπως πρὸς ἀλλήλους σχέσεως ἢ ἀποστάσεως ἔχουσι.

Πάντα δια βὰς τῷ λόγῳ, τὸν οὐρανὸν ὑπερκύψας, καὶ ὑπεράνω τούτου γενόμενος, μόνῃ διανοίᾳ περίβλεψαι τὰ ἐκεῖ κάλλη, στρατιὰς ἐπουρανίους, χοροστασίας ἀγγέλων, τὰς τῶν ἀρχαγγέλων ἐπιστασίας, τὰς δόξας τῶν κυ ριοτήτων, τὰς προεδρίας τῶν θρόνων, τὰς δυνάμεις, τὰς ἀρχὰς, τὰς ἐξουσίας. ∆ιαδραμὼν τὰ σύμπαντα, καὶ ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν τὴν κτίσιν ἀνανεύσας τοῖς λογισμοῖς, καὶ ἐπέκεινα τούτων τὸν νοῦν ἀνυψώσας, ἐννόη σον τὴν θείαν φύσιν· ἑστῶσαν, ἄτρεπτον, ἀναλλοίω τον, ἀπαθῆ, ἁπλῆν, ἀσύνθετον, ἀδιαίρετον, φῶς ἀπρόσιτον, δύναμιν ἄφατον, μέγεθος ἀπεριόρι στον, δόξαν ὑπεραστράπτουσαν, ἀγαθότητα ἐπιθυ μητὴν,