of the left,” but clearly of the three “above.” And this is, as it seems, the spirit of “man” that is in him, which helps the soul ... Thus, then, all things are driven by the word of God ... therefore, the things above the heavens are driven or rather governed, “things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth.” 354.30 Those who labor in the affairs of the world, riveted to sensible things, and 355 care nothing for the spiritual life and the contemplation of intelligible things, but for the things of this life, these “place their own thoughts upon their heart” and not the words of God. And it ought not to be so, especially for “the elders of Israel.” Therefore, such people “place the punishment of their iniquities before their face.” For we are the cause of our punishments, as he who says also makes clear: “walk by the light of our fire and by the flame which you have kindled.” 378 “But if a revelation is made to another sitting by,” the one who is first has a command “to be silent completely.” The prophets did not prophesy to the people while being out of their minds, but while standing in their natural state and willingly and knowingly they ministered to the word that came to them; which word was never brought by the will of man, but is brought from God to men, which men willingly minister to it. For this reason Balaam is also ordered “to speak the things suggested to him,” as having free will also “not to speak” them. And Jonah confirms this very thing. 390 A manifold opposing power “passes by” our soul and “seeks” a place to enter and “commit fornication” with the soul, as for instance the demon of anger, the demon of vainglory, the demon of grief and, in short, the power of each passion “passes by” through the soul and wishes “to commit fornication” with it, having attached itself to its choice. (Nathan hinted at such a thing to David, calling the demon of fornication “a wayfarer.”) ... “The garments” in this section are the holy scriptures and the mind in them. Therefore, the soul that has fallen away from the truth tears the “garments” given to it for decency. It as it were divides the scriptures and sews passage to passage not with the required connection; and having sewn them together, it makes the impious thoughts into “idols,” in which it worships and “commits fornication.” Such is the soul of the heretic. But a heretic is not only one who is separated from the truth in thought, but also in practice. 396 “And you built for yourself a prostitute's house.” If you see a soul devoted to willing lovers, you will see that “it has made a prostitute's house” and it receives all who choose “to commit fornication” with it, that is, the unclean powers. And after a little; The soul has a beauty beyond the adulterers; for they have lost their own beauty. For this reason they are also adulterers and they desire to corrupt her beauty ... In bodily fornication bodies “are corrupted” and in spiritual fornication “thoughts are corrupted.” And the Apostle makes this clear. 426 According to the literal sense, the first “eagle” is Nebuchadnezzar, who “entered into Lebanon,” that is, “Jerusalem,” and “took from the topmost parts of the cedar” “the king of Jerusalem and its rulers” and “brought them to the land of the Chaldeans,” “to Babylon”; For “he planted” in captivity, having taken the sons of Israel with “the royal seed” and the ruling class, and the rest of the multitude became a “vine,” not so strong as when it was with God. “The second eagle” is “Pharaoh.” There was a “war of Pharaoh” against Nebuchadnezzar and, taking this as an opportunity, the people wished to rebel from the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, to which God had delivered them because of their sins, and to incline to the yoke of “Pharaoh” not according to 427 the will of God, and not rather to incline to God. For this reason they will suffer more terrible things from “Pharaoh” than from Nebuchadnezzar. And these things are about the people who were left behind and those taken by Nebuchadnezzar according to the literal sense. 434 Because of his sins a person is dominated by the evil one, “giving” him a “place” to mount 435 upon him. And

ἀριστερῶν», ἀλλὰ δηλονότι τῶν τριῶν «ἀνωτέρω». Τοῦτο δέ ἐστιν, ὡς φαίνεται, τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ «ἀνθρώπου» τὸ ἐν αὐτῷ, τὸ βοηθοῦν τῇ ψυχῇ ... Οὕτως οὖν ἐλαύνεται πάντα ὑπὸ τοῦ λόγου τοῦ Θεοῦ ... ἐλαύνεται οὖν ἤτοι κυβερνᾶται τὰ ὑπερουράνια, «τὰ ἐπουράνια καὶ τὰ ἐπίγεια καὶ τὰ καταχθόνια». 354.30 Ὅσοι πονοῦσι περὶ τὰ τοῦ κόσμου πράγματα τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς προσηλωμένοι καὶ οὐδὲν 355 μεριμνῶσι περὶ τῆς πνευματικῆς ζωῆς καὶ τῆς κατὰ τῶν νοητῶν θεωρίας, ἀλλὰ τὰ τοῦ βίου, οὗτοι «τὰ ἴδια διανοήματα τίθενται ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν αὐτῶν» καὶ οὐχὶ τοὺς λόγους τοῦ Θεοῦ. Καὶ οὐ χρὴ οὕτως, καὶ μάλιστα «πρεσβυτέρους τοῦ Ἰσραήλ». ∆ιόπερ οἱ τοιοῦτοι «τίθενται τὴν κόλασιν τῶν ἀδικιῶν αὐτῶν πρὸ προσώπου αὐτῶν». Καὶ γὰρ ἡμεῖς ἐσμεν αἴτιοι τῶν κολάσεων ἡμῶν, ὡς καὶ δηλοῖ ὁ λέγων· «πορεύεσθε τῷ φωτὶ τοῦ πυρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ τῇ φλογὶ ᾗ ἐξεκαύσατε». 378 «Ἐὰν δὲ ἄλλῳ ἀποκαλυφθῇ καθημένῳ», ἐντολὴν ἔχει «ὁ πρῶτος σιωπᾶν πάντως». Οὐκ ἐξιστάμενοι οἱ προφῆται προεφήτευον τῷ λαῷ, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ κατὰ φύσιν ἱστάμενοι καὶ ἑκόντες καὶ εἰδότες ὑπούργουν τῷ πρὸς αὐτοὺς γιγνομένῳ λόγῳ· ὅστις λόγος οὐ κατὰ βούλησιν ἀνθρώπου ἠνέχθη ποτέ, ἀλλ' ἐκ Θεοῦ φέρεται εἰς ἀνθρώπους, οἵτινες ἄνθρωποι ἑκόντες ὑπουργοῦσιν αὐτῷ. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Βαλαὰμ παραγγέλλεται «λαλεῖν τὰ ὑποβαλλόμενα αὐτῷ», ὡς αὐτεξουσίως ἔχων καὶ τοῦ μὴ «λαλῆσαι» αὐτά. Καὶ τοῦτο δὲ αὐτὸ βεβαιοῖ Ἰωνᾶς. 390 «Παροδεύει» ἡμῶν τὴν ψυχὴν ποικίλη δύναμις ἀντικειμένη καὶ «ζητεῖ» τόπον τοῦ εἰσελθεῖν καὶ «πορνεῦσαι» μετὰ τῆς ψυχῆς, οἱονεὶ ὡς ὁ δαίμων τοῦ θυμοῦ, ὁ δαίμων τῆς κενοδοξίας, ὁ δαίμων τῆς λύπης καὶ ἁπαξαπλῶς ἑκάστου πάθους ἡ δύναμις «παροδεύει» διὰ τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ θέλει «πορνεῦσαι» μετ' αὐτῆς, ἐπιπλακεῖσα τῇ προαιρέσει αὐτῆς. (Τοιοῦτόν τι ᾐνίξατο ὁ Νάθαν πρὸς τὸν ∆αυὶδ καλῶν τὸν δαίμονα τῆς πορνείας «ὁδοιπόρον».) ... «Τὰ ἱμάτιά» ἐστιν ἐν τῷ μέρει τούτῳ αἱ ἱεραὶ γραφαὶ καὶ ὁ ἐν αὐταῖς νοῦς. Ἡ οὖν ἐκπεσοῦσα τῆς ἀληθείας ψυχὴ σχίζει τὰ δοθέντα αὐτῇ εἰς εὐσχημοσύνην «ἱμάτια». Οἱονεὶ διελεῖται τὰς γραφὰς καὶ συῤῥάπτει ῥητῷ ῥητὸν οὐ μετὰ τῆς δεούσης πλοκῆς· καὶ συῤῥάψασα ποιεῖ «εἴδωλα» τὰ ἀσεβῆ νοήματα, ἐν οἷς λατρεύουσα «πορνεύει». Τοιαύτη ἐστὶν ἡ ψυχὴ τοῦ αἱρετικοῦ. Αἱρετικὸς δέ ἐστιν οὐ μόνον ὁ κατὰ τὸ φρόνημα ἀπεσχισμένος τῆς ἀληθείας, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ κατὰ πρᾶξιν. 396 «Καὶ ᾠκοδόμησας ἑαυτῇ οἶκον πορνικόν». Ἐὰν ἴδῃς ψυχὴν ἐγκειμένην τοῖς βουλομένοις ἐρασταῖς, ὄψει ὅτι «πεποίηκεν οἴκημα πορνικὸν» καὶ ἐπιδέχεται πάντας τοὺς προαιρουμένους «πορνεύειν» μετ' αὐτῆς, δηλονότι τὰς ἀκαθάρτους δυνάμεις. Καὶ μετ' ὀλίγα· Ἔχει ἡ ψυχὴ κάλλος ὑπὲρ τοὺς μοιχούς· ἐκεῖνοι γὰρ ἀπώλεσαν τὸ ἑαυτῶν κάλλος. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ μοιχοί εἰσι καὶ ἐρῶνται φθεῖραι αὐτῆς τὸ κάλλος ... Ἐν τῇ σωματικῇ πορνείᾳ σώματα «φθείρεται» καὶ ἐν τῇ πνευματικῇ πορνείᾳ «νοήματα φθείρεται». Καὶ τοῦτο δηλοῖ ὁ Ἀπόστολος. 426 Κατὰ μὲν τὸ ῥητὸν ὁ πρῶτος «ἀετός» ἐστιν ὁ Ναβουχοδονόσορ, ὃς «εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸν Λίβανον», τὴν «Ἱερουσαλήμ», καὶ «ἔλαβεν ἐκ τῶν ἄκρων τῆς κέδρου» «τὸν βασιλέα τῆς Ἱερουσαλὴμ καὶ τοὺς ἄρχοντας αὐτῆς» καὶ «ἤνεγκεν εἰς γῆν Χαλδαίων», «εἰς τὴν Βαβυλῶνα»· «Ἐφύτευσε» γὰρ ἐν τῇ αἰχμαλωσίᾳ λαβὼν τοὺς υἱοὺς Ἰσραὴλ σὺν «τοῦ βασιλικοῦ σπέρματος» καὶ τοῦ ἀρχοντικοῦ καὶ τὸ ἄλλο πλῆθος γέγονεν εἰς «ἄμπελον», οὐχ οὕτως ἰσχυρὰν ὡς ὅτε ἦν μετὰ Θεοῦ. «Ὁ δεύτερος ἀετὸς» ὁ «Φαραώ» ἐστι. Γέγονε «πόλεμος τοῦ Φαραὼ» πρὸς Ναβουχοδονόσορ καὶ λαβόμενος ἀφορμὴν ὁ λαὸς ἠβουλήθη ἀφηνιάσαι ἀπὸ τοῦ ζυγοῦ τοῦ Ναβουχοδονόσορ, εἰς ὃν παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς ὁ Θεὸς διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν, καὶ προσκλῖναι τῷ ζυγῷ τοῦ «Φαραὼ» οὐ κατὰ 427 βούλησιν Θεοῦ καὶ οὐ μᾶλλον τῷ Θεῷ προσκλῖναι. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο δεινότερα πείσονται παρὰ τοῦ «Φαραὼ» τῶν παρὰ τοῦ Ναβουχοδονόσορ. Ταῦτα δὲ περὶ τοῦ λαοῦ τοῦ ὑπολειφθέντος καὶ τοῦ ληφθέντος ὑπὸ τοῦ Ναβουχοδονόσορ κατὰ τὸ ῥητόν. 434 ∆ιὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας κυριεύεταί τις ὑπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ «διδοὺς» αὐτῷ «τόπον» ἐπιβῆναι 435 ἐπ' αὐτόν. Καὶ