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of a participant, he who increases his own; but spiritual wealth does what the sun does, dividing itself among all who look, and coming whole to each. Since, therefore, an equal gain from the labor is hoped for by each, let our cooperation through prayers for what is sought be equal for all. First, then, I say that we must understand the beatitude itself, whatever it is. What is blessedness, according to my word, is the comprehension of all things conceived of as good; from which is absent none of those things that come to a good desire. And the meaning of the beatitude would become better known to us from the juxtaposition of its opposite; and the opposite of the blessed 44.1197 is the wretched. Wretchedness, then, is the misery in painful and involuntary sufferings. And the disposition arising in each case is divided from its contrary. For he who is blessed has joy and exultation in the things set before him for enjoyment; but he who is lamented has distress and pain in the things present to him. Therefore, that which is truly blessed is the Divine itself. For whatever we may suppose it to be, blessedness is that pure life, the ineffable and incomprehensible good, the unutterable beauty, grace itself, and wisdom, and power; the true light; the source of all goodness; the authority that is above all; the only lovely thing, that which is always the same, the perpetual exultation; the eternal gladness; concerning which, anyone saying all that he can, says nothing worthy of it. For neither does the mind attain to what is, and even if we should be able to conceive something of the higher things about it, what has been conceived is not declared by any word. But since he who formed man made him according to the image of God, in a secondary sense that which comes to be in this name by participation in true blessedness would be blessed. For just as in the case of bodily beauty, the original beauty is in the living and existing face, and second to this is that which is shown by imitation in an image; so also human nature, being an image of the transcendent blessedness, is itself characterized by good beauty, whenever it shows in itself the manifestations of the blessed characteristics. But since the filth of sin disfigured the beauty in the image; he came who washes us with his own water, that living and leaping up to eternal life, so that we, having put off the shame of sin, might be renewed again according to the blessed form. And just as in the art of painting an expert might say to the unskilled that a face is beautiful which is composed of such and such parts of the body; to which belongs such hair, and circles of eyes, and outlines of eyebrows, and position of cheeks, and all the individual things by which its beauty is completed; so also he who paints anew our soul in imitation of the only blessed One, outlines in his discourse each of the things that contribute to blessedness, and says first: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. But what profit will come from the great gift, if the meaning contained in the saying is not made clear to us? For indeed in medicine, many of the precious and hard-to-obtain drugs remain useless and unprofitable to those who are ignorant, until we hear from the art for what purpose each of them is useful. What then is it to 44.1200 be poor in spirit, by which one obtains possession of the kingdom of heaven? We have learned from Scripture of two kinds of wealth: one that is sought after, and one that is condemned. The wealth of virtues is sought after, but that which is material and earthly is disparaged; because the one becomes a possession of the soul, while the other is suited to the deception of the senses. For this reason the Lord forbids storing this up, as it is exposed to be eaten by moths and to the designs of those who dig through walls. But he commands us to be zealous for the wealth of things above, which the power of corruption does not touch. And by speaking of moth and thief, he pointed out the destroyer of the treasures of the soul. If therefore

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συμμετέχοντος, ὁ τὸ ἑαυτοῦ πλεο νάσας· ὁ δὲ πνευματικὸς πλοῦτος τὸ τοῦ ἡλίου ποιεῖ, καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς βλέπουσιν ἑαυτὸν μερίζων, καὶ ὅλος ἑκάστῳ παραγινόμενος. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἴσον ἑκάστῳ τὸ ἐκ τοῦ πόνου κέρδος ἐλπίζεται, ἴση γενέσθω πᾶσιν διὰ τῶν εὐχῶν πρὸς τὸ ζητούμενον ἡμῖν ἡ συνέργεια. Πρῶτον μὲν οὖν αὐτόν φημι ἐγὼ δεῖν τὸν μακαρι σμὸν, ὅ τί ποτέ ἐστιν, ἐννοῆσαι. Μακαριότης τίς ἐστι, κατά γε τὸν ἐμὸν λόγον, περίληψις πάντων τῶν κατὰ τὸ ἀγαθὸν νοουμένων· ἧς ἄπεστι τῶν εἰς ἀγαθὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἡκόντων οὐδέν. Γένοιτο δ' ἂν ἡμῖν καὶ ἐκ τῆς τοῦ ἐναντίου παραθέσεως γνωριμώτερον τὸ ἐκ τοῦ μακαρισμοῦ σημαινόμενον· ἐναντίον δὲ τῷ μα 44.1197 καρίῳ τὸ ἄθλιον. Ἀθλιότης οὖν ἐστιν, ἡ ἐν τοῖς λυ πηροῖς τε καὶ ἀβουλήτοις πάθεσι ταλαιπωρία. Με μέρισται δὲ ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου ἡ ἐφ' ἑκατέρου τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς γινομένων διάθεσις. Ὑπάρχει γὰρ τῷ μὲν μα καριζομένῳ τὸ εὐφραίνεσθαι τοῖς προκειμένοις εἰς ἀπόλαυσιν αὐτῷ καὶ ἀγάλλεσθαι· τῷ δὲ ταλανιζο μένῳ τὸ ἀνιᾶσθαι τοῖς παροῦσιν αὐτῷ καὶ ἀλγύνεσθαι. Τὸ μὲν οὖν μακαριστὸν ἀληθῶς, αὐτὸ τὸ Θεῖόν ἐστιν. Ὅ τί ποτε γὰρ αὐτὸ εἶναι ὑποθώμεθα, μακαριότης ἐστὶν ἡ ἀκήρατος ἐκείνη ζωὴ, τὸ ἄῤῥητόν τε καὶ ἀκατανόητον ἀγαθὸν, τὸ ἀνέκφραστον κάλλος, ἡ αὐτο χάρις, καὶ σοφία, καὶ δύναμις· τὸ ἀληθινὸν φῶς· ἡ πηγὴ πάσης ἀγαθότητος· ἡ ὑπερκειμένη τοῦ παν τὸς ἐξουσία· τὸ μόνον ἐράσμιον, τὸ ἀεὶ ὡσαύτως ἔχον, τὸ διηνεκὲς ἀγαλλίαμα· ἡ ἀΐδιος εὐφροσύνη· περὶ ἧς πάντα τις ἃ δύναται λέγων, λέγει τῶν κατ' ἀξίαν οὐδέν. Οὔτε γὰρ ἡ διάνοια καθικνεῖται τοῦ ὄντος, κἄν τι περὶ αὐτοῦ τῶν ὑψηλοτέρων νοῆσαι χωρήσω μεν, οὐδενὶ λόγῳ τὸ νοηθὲν ἐξαγγέλλεται. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ πλάσας τὸν ἄνθρωπον, κατ' εἰκόνα Θεοῦ ἐποίησεν αὐτόν· δευτέρως ἂν εἴη μακαριστὸν τὸ κατὰ μετου σίαν τῆς ὄντως μακαριότητος ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι τούτῳ γινόμενον. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῆς σωματικῆς εὐμορφίας, τὸ μὲν πρωτότυπον κάλλος ἐν τῷ ζῶντι προσώπῳ ἐστὶ καὶ ὑφεστῶτι, δευτερεύει δὲ τούτου τὸ κατὰ μίμησιν ἐπὶ τῆς εἰκόνος δεικνύμενον· οὕτως καὶ ἡ ἀνθρωπίνη φύσις, εἰκὼν οὖσα τῆς ὑπερκειμένης μα καριότητος, καὶ αὐτὴ τῷ ἀγαθῷ κάλλει χαρακτηρίζε, ὅταν ἐφ' ἑαυτῆς δεικνύει τὰς τῶν μακαρίων χαρακτήρων ἐμφάσεις. Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ὁ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ῥύπος τὸ ἐπὶ εἰκόνος κάλλος ἠχρείωσεν· ἦλθεν ὁ ἐκ νίπτων ἡμᾶς τῷ ἰδίῳ ὕδατι, τῷ ζῶντί τε καὶ ἁλλο μένῳ εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον, ὥστε ἡμᾶς ἀποθεμένους τὸ ἐξ ἁμαρτίας αἶσχος, πάλιν κατὰ τὴν μακαρίαν ἀνακαινισθῆναι μορφήν. Καὶ καθάπερ ἐπὶ τῆς ζωγρα φικῆς τέχνης εἴποι ἄν τις πρὸς τοὺς ἀπείρους ὁ ἐπι στήμων, ἐκεῖνο καλὸν εἶναι τὸ πρόσωπον, τὸ ἐκ τοιῶνδε τῶν τοῦ σώματος μορίων συγκείμενον· ᾧ κόμη τε τοιάδε, καὶ ὀφθαλμῶν κύκλοι, καὶ ὀφρύων περιγραφαὶ, καὶ παρειῶν θέσις, καὶ τὰ καθ' ἕκαστον πάντα δι' ὧν συμπληροῦται ἡ εὐμορφία· οὕτως καὶ ὁ τὴν ἡμετέραν πρὸς τὴν τοῦ μόνου μακαρίου μίμησιν ἀναζωγραφῶν ψυχὴ, τὰ καθ' ἕκαστον τῶν εἰς μα καρισμὸν συντεινόντων, ὑπογράφει τῷ λόγῳ, καί φησιν ἐν πρώτοις· Μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν. Ἀλλὰ τί κέρδος ἐκ τῆς μεγαλοδωρεᾶς γενήσεται, μὴ φανερωθείσης ἡμῖν τῆς ἐγκειμένης διανοίας τῷ λόγῳ; Καὶ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῆς ἰατρικῆς, πολλὰ τῶν τιμίων καὶ δυσ πορίστων φαρμάκων ἄχρηστα τοῖς ἀγνοοῦσι καὶ ἀνό νητα μένει, ἕως ἂν εἰς ὅ τι χρήσιμον ἕκαστον τούτων ἐστὶν παρὰ τῆς τέχνης ἀκούσωμεν. Τί οὖν ἐστι τὸ 44.1200 πτωχεῦσαι τῷ πνεύματι, δι' οὗ περιγίνεται τὸ τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν ἐγκρατῆ γενέσθαι; ∆ύο πλού τους παρὰ τῆς Γραφῆς μεμαθήκαμεν· ἕνα σπουδα ζόμενον, καὶ ἕνα κατακρινόμενον. Σπουδάζεται μὲν ὁ τῶν ἀρετῶν πλοῦτος, διαβάλλεται δὲ ὁ ὑλικός τε καὶ γήϊνος· ὅτι ὁ μὲν τῆς ψυχῆς γίνεται κτῆμα, οὗτος δὲ πρὸς τὴν τῶν αἰσθητηρίων ἀπάτην ἐπιτηδείως ἔχει. ∆ιὸ κωλύει τοῦτον θησαυρίζειν ὁ Κύριος, ὡς εἰς βρῶσιν σητῶν καὶ εἰς ἐπιβουλὴν τῶν τοιχωρυ χούντων ἐκκείμενον. Κελεύει δὲ περὶ τὸν τῶν ὑψηλῶν πλοῦτον τὴν σπουδὴν ἔχειν, οὗ ἡ φθαρτικὴ δύναμις οὐ προσάπτεται. Σῆτα δὲ καὶ κλέπτην εἰπὼν, τὸν λυμεῶνα τῶν τῆς ψυχῆς θησαυρῶν ἐνεδείξατο. Εἰ οὖν