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In word, however, as I think, no one despises wisdom and instruction. γ Just as the head and the neck here indicate the mind, so also the crown and the collar here signify knowledge. For this is the custom of the Holy Spirit, to name by many names both God and his angels, and the mind and virtue and knowledge, and wickedness and ignorance, and the devil himself and his angels. But he does not posit the names simply, as some think; for they are signs of different activities, of God working in us through the angels and of us in him, and of demons towards us and of us towards them. δ The possession of the righteous is wisdom and understanding and prudence; for it says, Acquire wisdom, and acquire understanding, and he who acquires prudence loves himself. But the ungodly seize this possession, persuading the righteous man to do one of the things forbidden by God, so that the mind, blinded by sin, might fall away from these holy possessions. 78 ε These whom the demons conquer, they despoil, taking from them the whole armor of God, the helmet and the breastplate and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.

These are co-heirs of the adversaries, who partake of the same wickedness as them. But that is common which is not of the one God. A net is the eternal punishment brought by the just judge upon unclean souls for the destruction of the wings that have badly grown from them. He now calls "exodus" the soul that has gone out from wickedness and ignorance; such also is the exodus of the sons of Israel, which occurred after the generation from the judgment and teaching of God. And he calls the same soul also "broad"; for he says, Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it; and Be you also enlarged, says Paul in the epistle to the Corinthians. and by the soul thus going forth wisdom is hymned; but in the one being broadened through virtues it exercises freedom of speech. And he calls her "utmost wall" the utmost dispassion; since those who love the law surround themselves with a wall; for which wall David also prays, saying, Let the walls of Jerusalem be built, that is, the fallen parts of such a soul, clearly from the pretext of Uriah. And he calls the virtues of the wise "gates of rulers." For he says, Open to me the gates of righteousness; and Rulers are prone to anger, let them not drink wine, lest drinking they forget wisdom, and be not able to judge the weak rightly. How then does Solomon say before: But he that rejoices at the one perishing shall not be held guiltless? Or perhaps wisdom rejoices in this way, as it rejoiced at the perishing of Matthew the tax collector and at the perishing of the robber who believed in Christ; for wisdom destroyed the robber in the one, and the tax collector in the other.

A siege is moral teaching, destroying the badly built soul. If it is up to us to be willing to attend to the counsels of wisdom and not to be willing to attend, we have become self-determined. Similar to this is also, If you are willing and obey me, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you are not willing and do not obey me, the sword shall devour you; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things. Just as infants are between righteous and unrighteous, so also are all men between angels and demons, being neither demons nor being called angels, until the consummation of the age. The dispassionate man rests fearlessly from every evil thought. He who does it hides the commandment of God, since indeed the demons are said to snatch it away by not allowing us to do it. 79 Now he calls the voice the dispassion of the soul; for this is naturally suited to call upon the knowledge of God. so also David says: With my voice I cried to the Lord, and again: Attend to the voice of my supplication. Then you will understand how the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and how of God

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λόγῳ δὲ ὡς οἶμαι οὐδεὶς ἐξουθενεῖ σοφίαν καὶ παιδείαν. γ Ὥσπερ ἡ κορυφὴ καὶ ὁ τράχηλος δηλοῖ ἐνταῦθα τὸν νοῦν, οὕτω καὶ ὁ στέφανος καὶ ὁ κλοιὸς ἐνταῦθα σημαίνει τὴν γνῶσιν. αὕτη γὰρ ἡ συνήθεια τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ ἁγίου, πολλοῖς ὀνόμασιν ὀνομάζειν τὸν θεόν τε καὶ τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὸν νοῦν καὶ τὴν ἀρετὴν καὶ τὴν γνῶσιν, καὶ τὴν κακίαν καὶ τὴν ἀγνωσίαν, καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν διάβολον καὶ τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ. οὐχ ἁπλῶς δὲ τίθησι τὰ ὀνόματα, ὥς τινες οἴονται· διαφόρων γὰρ ἐνεργειῶν εἰσὶν γνωρίσματα, θεοῦ δὲ διὰ τῶν ἀγγέλων ἐν ἡμῖν ἐνεργοῦντος καὶ ἡμῶν ἐν αὐτῷ, δαιμόνων δὲ πρὸς ἡμᾶς καὶ ἡμῶν πρὸς αὐτούς. δ Ἡ κτῆσις τοῦ δικαίου ἐστὶν σοφία καὶ σύνεσις καὶ φρόνησις· κτῆσαι γάρ φησιν σοφίαν, καὶ κτῆσαι σύνεσιν, καὶ ὁ κτώμενος φρόνησιν ἀγαπᾷ ἑαυτόν. καταλαμβάνονται δὲ τὴν κτῆσιν ταύτην οἱ ἀσεβεῖς, πείθοντες τὸν δίκαιον ποιῆσαί τι τῶν ἀπηγορευμένων παρὰ θεῷ, ἵνα τυφλωθεὶς ὑπὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ὁ νοῦς ἐκπέσῃ τῶν ἁγίων τούτων κτημάτων. 78 ε Τούτους σκυλεύουσιν οὓς νικῶσιν οἱ δαίμονες, λαμβάνοντες ἀπ' αὐτῶν τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ πανοπλίαν, τὴν περικεφαλαίαν καὶ τὸν θώρακα καὶ τὴν μάχαιραν τοῦ πνεύματος, ὅ ἐστιν ῥῆμα θεοῦ.

Οὗτοι συγκληρονόμοι τῶν ἀντικειμένων εἰσίν, οἱ τῆς αὐτῆς αὐτοῖς κακίας ἀντιλαμβάνοντες. κοινὸν δέ ἐστιν ὃ μὴ τοῦ ἑνός ἐστι θεοῦ. ∆ίκτυόν ἐστιν κόλασις αἰώνιος παρὰ τοῦ δικαίου κριτοῦ ταῖς ἀκαθάρτοις προσαγομένη ψυχαῖς ἐπ' ἀπωλείᾳ τῶν κακῶς ἀπ' αὐτῶν ἐκφύντων πτερῶν. Ἔξοδον νῦν ὀνομάζει τὴν ἐξελθοῦσαν ψυχὴν ἀπὸ κακίας καὶ ἀγνωσίας· τοιαύτη δὲ καὶ ἡ ἔξοδος τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραήλ, ἡ μετὰ τὴν ἐκ τῆς κρίσεως τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ διδασκαλίας γένεσιν γεγονυῖα. τὴν αὐτὴν δὲ ψυχὴν καὶ πλατείαν λέγει· Πλάτυνον γάρ φησιν τὸ στόμα σου, καὶ πληρώσω αὐτό· καὶ Πλατύνθητε δὴ καὶ ὑμεῖς, ἐν τῇ πρὸς Κορινθίους ὁ Παῦλος. καὶ ὑπὸ μὲν τῆς οὕτως ἐξερχομένης ψυχῆς ὑμνεῖται ἡ σοφία· ἐν δὲ τῇ πλατυνομένῃ διὰ τῶν ἀρετῶν παρρησίαν ἄγει. ἄκρον δὲ τεῖχος αὐτῆς τὴν ἄκραν ἀπάθειαν λέγει· εἴπερ οἱ ἀγαπῶντες τὸν νόμον περιβάλλουσιν ἑαυτοῖς τεῖχος· ὑπὲρ οὗ τείχους εὔχεται καὶ ὁ ∆αυὶδ λέγων· Οἰκοδομηθήτω τὰ τείχη Ἱερουσαλήμ, τοῦτ' ἔστιν τῆς τοιᾶσδε ψυχῆς τὰ καταπεπτωκότα, δηλονότι ἐκ τῆς τοῦ Οὐρίου προφάσεως. πύλας δὲ δυναστῶν τὰς ἀρετὰς τῶν σοφῶν λέγει. Ἀνοίξατε γάρ μοί φησιν πύλας δικαιοσύνης· καὶ Οἱ δυνάσται θυμώδεις εἰσίν, οἶνον μὴ πινέτωσαν, ἵνα μὴ πιόντες ἐπιλάθωνται τῆς σοφίας, καὶ ὀρθὰ κρίνειν οὐ μὴ δύνωνται τοὺς ἀσθενεῖς. Πῶς οὖν ἔμπροσθέν φησιν Σολομών· Ὁ δὲ ἐπιχαίρων ἀπολλυμένῳ οὐκ ἀθωωθήσεται; ἢ τάχα οὕτως χαίρει ἡ σοφία, ὡς ἐχάρη ἐπὶ τῇ ἀπωλείᾳ Ματθαίου τοῦ τελώνου καὶ ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ λῃστοῦ ἀπωλείᾳ τοῦ πιστεύσαντος τῶ Χριστῷ· τοῦ μὲν γὰρ τὸν λῃστὴν ἡ σοφία, τοῦ δὲ τὸν τελώνην ἀπώλεσεν.

Πολιορκία ἐστὶν διδασκαλία ἠθική, τὴν κακῶς οἰκοδομηθεῖσαν ψυχὴν καταστρέφουσα. Εἰ ἐφ' ἡμῶν ἐστὶν θέλειν προσέχειν ταῖς τῆς σοφίας βουλαῖς καὶ μὴ θέλειν προσέχειν, γεγόναμεν αὐτεξούσιοι. ὅμοιον τούτῳ ἐστὶν καὶ τὸ Ἐὰν θέλητε καὶ εἰσακούσητέ μου, τὰ ἀγαθὰ τῆς γῆς φάγεσθε· ἐὰν δὲ μὴ θέλητε μηδὲ εἰσακούσητέ μου, μάχαιρα ὑμᾶς κατέδεται· τὸ γὰρ στόμα κυρίου ἐλάλησεν ταῦτα. Ὥσπερ τὰ νήπια μεταξὺ δικαίων καὶ ἀδίκων ἐστίν, οὕτως καὶ πάντες οἱ ἄνθρωποι μεταξὺ ἀγγέλων καὶ δαιμόνων εἰσίν, μήτε δαίμονες ὄντες μήτε ἄγγελοι χρηματίζοντες, μέχρι τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος. Ὁ ἀπαθὴς ἡσυχάζει ἀφόβως ἀπὸ παντὸς κακοῦ λογισμοῦ. Οὗτος κρύπτει τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ θεοῦ, ὁ ποιῶν αὐτήν, εἴπερ καὶ οἱ δαίμονες ἐκ τοῦ μὴ συγχωρεῖν αὐτὴν ποιεῖν ἡμᾶς ἁρπάζειν λέγονται. 79 Νῦν τὴν φωνὴν τὴν ἀπάθειαν τῆς ψυχῆς ὀνομάζει· αὕτη γὰρ πέφυκεν ἐπικαλεῖσθαι γνῶσιν θεοῦ. οὕτω καὶ ὁ ∆αυὶδ λέγει· Φωνῇ μου πρὸς κύριον ἐκέκραξα, καὶ πάλιν· Πρόσχες τῇ φωνῇ τῆς δεήσεώς μου. Τότε συνήσεις πῶς ὁ φόβος τοῦ κυρίου ἀρχὴ σοφίας ἐστίν, καὶ πῶς τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ