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sinning is without accountability, but is even considered divine, when the objects of worship take refuge in such a defense.

8. But as it was granted to us, who have fled the superstitious error, to be with the truth, and to serve the living and true God, and to rise above creation, having passed all things that are under time and first motion; so let us also see, and let us philosophize about God and divine things. But let us philosophize, beginning where it is better to begin; and it is better 36.344 where Solomon legislated for us; The beginning of wisdom, he says, is to get wisdom; what does he mean by this, the beginning of wisdom? Fear. For one must not begin from contemplation. and end in fear (for unbridled contemplation might perhaps even push one over a cliff); but, being instructed by fear, and being purified, and, so to speak, being made refined, to be lifted up on high. For where there is fear, there is observance of the commandments; and where there is observance of the commandments, there is purification of the flesh, of the cloud that covers the soul, and does not allow it to see the divine ray clearly; and where there is purification, there is illumination; and illumination is the fulfillment of desire for those who long for the greatest things, or the greatest thing, or what is beyond the great.

9. For this reason one must first purify oneself, then converse with the pure; if indeed we are not to suffer the same fate as Israel, who could not bear the glory of Moses' face, and for this reason needed a veil; or that of Manoah, and suffer, and say: We are undone, O woman. We have seen God, having been in a vision of God; or, like Peter, send Jesus away from the boat, as not being worthy of such a visit. But when I say Peter, whom do I mean? The one who walked upon the waves. Or, like Paul, to be struck in his sight, before he was cleansed from his persecutions, having conversed with the one he was persecuting, or rather with a brief gleam of the great light; or, like the centurion, to seek healing, but not to receive the healer into his house because of a praiseworthy fear. Let one of us also say, while he is not yet purified, but is still a centurion, ruling over many in evil, and serving Caesar, the ruler of this world of things that are dragged down: I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof. But when he sees Jesus, though he be small in spiritual stature, like that Zacchaeus, and is lifted up above the sycamore-fig tree, having put to death his members which are upon the earth, and risen above the body of humiliation, then let him also receive the Word, and let him hear: Today salvation has come to this house, and let him receive salvation, and bring forth more perfect fruits, scattering and distributing well what he had collected badly as a tax-collector.

10. For the same Word is both terrible to the unworthy because of his nature, and accessible through his love for mankind to those who are so prepared; as many as have driven out the unclean and material spirit from their souls, and having swept and adorned their own souls with knowledge, 36.345 have not left them idle or inactive, so as to be seized again, with greater preparation, by the seven spirits of evil, as many as are also numbered of virtue (for what is harder to fight is more zealously sought after); but in addition to fleeing from evil, they also practice virtue, having made all of Christ, or as much as possible, to dwell in them, so that the wicked power, having conversed with a void, should not fill it again with itself, and the last state become worse than the first, because the assault is more violent, and the guarding more secure and harder to capture. But when, having kept our own soul with all vigilance, and having set ascents in our heart, and having renewed fallow ground for ourselves, and having sown unto righteousness, as seems good to Solomon, and David, and Jeremiah, we have lit for ourselves the light of knowledge; then let us speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, and let us shine upon others. But for now let us be purified and initiated by the Word, so that as much as possible we may benefit ourselves, godlike wor

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ἀνεύθυνον τὸ ἁμαρτάνειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ θεῖον νομίζηται, εἰς τοιαύτην καταφεῦγον ἀπολογίαν, τὰ προσκυνούμενα.

Ηʹ. Ἡμῖν δὲ ὥσπερ ἐχαρίσθη τὸ φυγοῦσι τὴν δει σιδαίμονα πλάνην, μετὰ τῆς ἁληθείας γενέσθαι, καὶ δουλεύειν Θεῷ ζῶντι καὶ ἀληθινῷ, καὶ τὴν κτίσιν ὑπεραναβῆναι, πάντα περάσασιν, ὅσα ὑπὸ χρόνον καὶ πρώτην κίνησιν· οὕτω καὶ εἴδωμεν, καὶ φιλο σοφήσωμεν τὰ περὶ Θεοῦ καὶ τὰ θεῖα. Φιλοσοφήσω μεν δὲ, ἀρχόμενοι, ὅθεν ἄρχεσθαι ἄμεινον· ἄμει 36.344 νον δὲ, ὅθεν Σολομὼν ἡμῖν ἐνομοθέτησεν· Ἀρχὴ σο φίας, φησὶ, κτῆσαι σοφίαν· τί τοῦτο λέγων ἀρχὴν σοφίας; Τὸν φόβον. Οὐ γὰρ ἀπὸ θεωρίας ἀρξαμένους. εἰς φόβον χρὴ καταλήγειν (θεωρία γὰρ ἀχαλίνωτος τάχα ἂν καὶ κατὰ κρημνῶν ὤσειεν)· ἀλλὰ φόβῳ στοι χειουμένους, καὶ καθαιρομένους, καὶ, ἵν' οὕτως εἴπω, λεπτυνομένους, εἰς ὕψος αἴρεσθαι. Οὗ γὰρ φόβος, ἐντολῶν τήρησις· οὗ δὲ ἐντολῶν τήρησις, σαρκὸς κάθαρσις, τοῦ ἐπιπροσθοῦντος τῇ ψυχῇ νέφους, καὶ οὐκ ἐῶντος καθαρῶς ἰδεῖν τὴν θείαν ἀκτῖνα· οὗ δὲ κάθαρσις, ἔλλαμψις· ἔλλαμψις δὲ, πόθου πλήρωσις, τοῖς τῶν μεγίστων, ἢ τοῦ μεγίστου, ἢ ὑπὲρ τὸ μέγα ἐφιεμένοις.

Θʹ. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καθαρτέον ἑαυτὸν πρῶτον, εἶτα τῷ καθαρῷ προσομιλητέον· εἴπερ μὴ μέλλοιμεν τὸ τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ πείσεσθαι, μὴ φέροντος τὴν δόξαν τοῦ προσώπου Μωσέως, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο δεομένου καλύμ ματος· ἢ τὸ τοῦ Μανωὲ, καὶ πείσεσθαι, καὶ λέξειν· Ἀπολώλαμεν, ὦ γῦναι. Θεὸν ἑωράκαμεν, ἐν φαν τασίᾳ Θεοῦ γενομένου· ἢ, ὡς Πέτρος, τοῦ πλοίου τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἀποπέμψασθαι, ὡς οὐκ ἄξιοι τοιαύτης ἐπι δημίας. Πέτρον δὲ ὅταν εἴπω, τίνα λέγω; Τὸν κατὰ κυμάτων πεζεύσαντα. Ἢ, ὡς Παῦλος, τὴν ὄψιν πληγήσεσθαι, πρὶν καθαρθῆναι τῶν διωγμῶν, τῷ διωκο μένῳ προσομιλήσας, μᾶλλον δὲ βραχείᾳ τοῦ μεγά λου φωτὸς λαμπηδόνι· ἢ, ὡς ὁ ἐκατόνταρχος, τὴν μὲν θεραπείαν ἐπιζητήσειν, τῇ οἰκίᾳ δὲ τὸν θεραπευτὴν οὐκ εἰσδέξασθαι διὰ δειλίαν ἐπαινουμένην. Λεγέτω τις καὶ ἡμῶν, ἕως οὔπω καθαίρεται, ἀλλ' ἔστιν ἑκατόνταρχος ἔτι, πλειόνων ἐν κακίᾳ κρα τῶν, καὶ στρατεύεται Καίσαρι, τῷ κοσμοκράτορι τῶν κάτω συρομένων· Οὐκ εἰμὶ ἰκανὸς, ἵνα μου ὑπὸ τὴν στέγην εἰσέλθῃς. Ὅταν δὲ Ἰησοῦν θεάσηται, καίτοι μικρὸς ὢν τὴν πνευματικὴν ἡλικίαν, ὡς ὁ Ζακχαῖος ἐκεῖνος, καὶ ὑπὲρ τὴν συκομωραίαν ἀρθῇ, νεκρώσας τὰ μέλη τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, καὶ ὑπεραναβὰς τὸ σῶμα τῆς ταπεινώσεως, τότε καὶ εἰσδεχέσθω τὸν Λόγον, καὶ ἀκουέτω· Σήμερον σωτηρία τῷ οἴκῳ τού τῳ, καὶ λαμβανέτω τὴν σωτηρίαν, καὶ καρποφορείτω τὰ τελεώτερα, σκορπίζων καὶ διαχέων καλῶς, ἃ κακῶς ἐτελώνησεν.

Ιʹ. Ὁ γὰρ αὐτὸς Λόγος, καὶ φοβερὸς τοῖς οὐκ ἀξίοις διὰ τὴν φύσιν, καὶ χωρητὸς διὰ φιλανθρωπίαν τοῖς οὕτως ηὐτρεπισμένοις· ὅσοι τὸ ἀκάθαρτον καὶ ὑλικὸν πνεῦμα τῶν ψυχῶν ἀπελάσαντες, καὶ τὰς ἑαυτῶν ψυχὰς τῇ ἐπιγνώσει σαρώσαντες καὶ κοσμή 36.345 σαντες, μηδὲ ἀργὴν, μηδὲ ἄπρακτον εἴασαν, ὥστε μετὰ πλείονος τῆς παρασκευῆς, αὖθις καταληφθῆναι ὑπὸ τῶν ἑπτὰ τῆς κακίας πνευμάτων, ὅσα καὶ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀπηρίθμηται (τὸ γὰρ δυσμαχώτερον, περι σπουδαστότερον)· ἀλλὰ πρὸς τῷ φεύγειν τὴν κακίαν, καὶ τὴν ἀρετὴν ἐργάζονται, ὅλον τὸν Χριστὸν, ἢ ὅτι μάλιστα, ἑαυτοῖς εἰσοικίσαντες, ὥστε μηδενὶ κενῷ τὴν πονηρὰν δύναμιν ὁμιλήσασαν, ἑαυ τῆς πάλιν πληρῶσαι, καὶ γενέσθαι τὰ ἔσχατα χεί ρονα τῶν πρώτων, διὰ τὸ τῆς καταδρομῆς σφο δρότερον, καὶ τὸ τῆς φρουρᾶς ἀσφαλέστερον καὶ δυσ αλωτότερον. Ὅταν δὲ πάσῃ φυλακῇ τηρήσαντες τὴν ἑαυτῶν ψυχὴν, καὶ ἀναβάσεις ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ διαθέμενοι, καὶ νεώσαντες ἑαυτοῖς νεώματα, καὶ σπεί ραντες εἰς δικαιοσύνην, ὡς Σολομῶντι, καὶ ∆αβὶδ, καὶ Ἱερεμίᾳ δοκεῖ, φωτίσωμεν ἑαυτοῖς φῶς γνώσεως· τηνικαῦτα λαλῶμεν Θεοῦ σοφίαν ἐν μυστηρίῳ τὴν ἀποκεκρυμμένην, καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐκλάμπωμεν. Τέως δὲ καθαιρώμεθα καὶ προτελώμεθα τῷ Λόγῳ, ἵν' ὅτι μάλιστα αὐτοὺς ἡμᾶς εὐεργετῶμεν, θεοειδεῖς ἐρ