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he had, the man, boldness, communion with God, life in paradise, a life without toil, and as if from a shipwreck, he came out thence naked; but God, having received him, immediately clothed him, and leading him by the hand little by little, brought him up to heaven; and yet the shipwreck was not worthy of forgiveness. For this whole tempest happened not from the violence of the winds, but from the negligence of the sailor. But God did not look to this, but he pitied the greatness of the calamity, and him who suffered shipwreck in the harbor, as if he had endured this in the midst of the sea, he so kindly received; for to fall in paradise is to endure a shipwreck in harbor. Why so? Because not yet by grief, not yet by care, nor by pains, nor by labors, nor by the ten thousand waves of desire surging against our nature, was he tripped up and fell. And just as wicked men who sail the sea, often piercing the ship with a small piece of iron, introduce all the sea from below into the vessel; so also then the devil, seeing the vessel of Adam, that is, the soul full of many good things, as with a small piece of iron, approaching with a mere voice and piercing it, he emptied all his wealth, and sank the boat itself. But God made the gain greater than the loss, and brought our nature up to the royal throne. Wherefore Paul also cries out, saying: He raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places, that he might show in the ages to come the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness toward us. What do you say? The thing has already happened and has its end, and you say: That he might show in the ages to come? For did he not show it? He has shown it already, but not to all men, but to me, the believer; but the unbeliever has not yet seen the wonder. But then on that day all human nature, coming into the midst, will marvel at what has happened, and besides, it will be more manifest to us then. For we believe even now, but hearing and sight do not represent the wonder in the same way; but just as in the case of kings, hearing of the purple, and the diadem, and the golden garments, and the royal throne, we marvel, but we experience this more greatly, when the curtains are drawn back and we see him sitting forth on the high tribunal; so also in the case of the Only-Begotten; when we see the curtains of the heavens drawn back, and the king of angels descending from thence and being escorted by the heavenly hosts, then we receive a greater wonder from the sight. For consider, what a thing it is to see our nature riding upon the Cherubim, 49.248 and all the angelic power poured around it. 3. Consider for me also the wisdom of Paul, how many names he seeks, so as to represent the philanthropy of God. For he did not simply say grace, nor simply riches, but what? The surpassing riches of grace in kindness. But nevertheless, even so he was weak. And just as slippery bodies held by countless hands, escape our grasp and slip away easily; so also the philanthropy of God, by however many names we may try to grasp it, not even so can we comprehend it, but its greatness overcomes the weakness of our words out of great abundance. Paul, therefore, having experienced this, and seeing the power of his words defeated by its greatness, saying one word, he desisted. And what is this? But thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift. For neither word, nor any mind will be able to represent the care of God. Therefore here he says it is inexpressible, but elsewhere, that it also surpasses our mind, saying thus: The peace of God which surpasses all

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εἶχεν, ὁ ἄνθρωπος, τὴν παῤῥησίαν, τὴν πρὸς Θεὸν ὁμιλίαν, τὴν ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ διαγωγὴν, τὸν ἀταλαίπωρον βίον, καὶ καθάπερ ἐκ ναυαγίου, γυμνὸς ἐκεῖθεν ἐξῆλθεν· ἀλλ' ὁ Θεὸς αὐτὸν δεξάμενος περιέστειλεν εὐθέως, καὶ κατὰ μικρὸν χειραγωγῶν πρὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀνήγαγε· καίτοι οὐκ ἦν συγγνώμης τὸ ναυάγιον ἄξιον. Οὐ γὰρ παρὰ τὴν τῶν πνευμάτων βίαν, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τὴν τοῦ πλέοντος ῥᾳθυμίαν ἅπαν συνέβη τὸ κλυδώνιον τοῦτο. Ἀλλ' οὐ πρὸς τοῦτο εἶδεν ὁ Θεὸς, ἀλλὰ τὸ μέγεθος τῆς συμφορᾶς κατηλέησε, καὶ τὸν ἐν λιμένι παθόντα ναυάγιον, καθάπερ ἐν μέσῳ τῷ πελάγει τοῦτο ὑπομείναντα, οὕτω φιλοφρόνως ἐδέξατο· τὸ γὰρ ἐν παραδείσῳ πεσεῖν, ἐν λιμένι ναυάγιόν ἐστιν ὑπομεῖναι. Τί δήποτε; Ὅτι οὐδέπω λύπης, οὐδέπω φροντίδος, οὐδὲ πόνων, οὐδὲ μόχθων, οὐδὲ τῶν μυρίων τῆς ἐπιθυμίας κυμάτων ἐπικωμαζόντων τῇ φύσει τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ, ὑπεσκελίσθη καὶ κατέπεσε. Καὶ καθάπερ οἱ τὴν θάλατταν πλέοντες κακοῦργοι, μικρῷ σιδήρῳ πολλάκις τὴν ναῦν διατρήσαντες, ἅπασαν ἐπεισάγουσι κάτωθεν τῷ πλοίῳ τὴν θάλατταν· οὕτω δὴ καὶ τότε ἰδὼν τὸ πλοῖον τοῦ Ἀδὰμ ὁ διάβολος, τουτέστι τὴν ψυχὴν πολλῶν γέμουσαν ἀγαθῶν, ὥσπερ τινὶ σιδήρῳ μικρῷ, τῇ ψιλῇ φωνῇ προσελθὼν καὶ διατρήσας, ἅπαντα ἐκένωσεν ἐκείνου τὸν πλοῦτον, καὶ τὸ σκάφος αὐτὸ κατέδυσεν. Ἀλλ' ὁ Θεὸς μείζω τῆς ζημίας τὴν ἐμπορίαν ἐποιήσατο, καὶ πρὸς τὸν θρόνον τὸν βασιλικὸν τὴν φύσιν ἀνήγαγε τὴν ἡμετέραν. ∆ιὸ καὶ Παῦλος βοᾷ, λέγων· Συνήγειρε καὶ συνεκάθισεν ἡμᾶς ἐν δεξιᾷ αὐτοῦ ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις, ἵνα ἐνδείξηται ἐν τοῖς αἰῶσι τοῖς ἐπερχομένοις τὸν ὑπερβάλλοντα πλοῦτον τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ ἐν χρηστότητι ἐφ' ἡμᾶς. Τί λέγεις; ἤδη τὸ πρᾶγμα γέγονε καὶ τέλος ἔχει, καὶ λέγεις· Ἵνα ἐν τοῖς αἰῶσι ἐνδείξηται τοῖς ἐπερχομένοις; οὐ γὰρ ἐνεδείξατο; Ἐνεδείξατο μὲν ἤδη, ἀλλ' οὐχὶ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις, ἀλλ' ἐμοὶ τῷ πιστῷ· ὁ δὲ ἄπιστος οὐδέπω τὸ θαῦμα εἶδε. Τότε δὲ ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ πᾶσα ἡ τῶν ἀνθρώπων φύσις εἰς μέσον ἐλθοῦσα θαυμάσεται τὸ γεγενημένον, ἄλλως τε καὶ ἡμῖν τότε φανερώτερον ἔσται. Πιστεύομεν γὰρ καὶ νῦν, ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁμοίως τὸ θαῦμα παρίστησιν ἀκοὴ καὶ ὄψις· ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῶν βασιλέων ἀκούοντες τὴν ἁλουργίδα καὶ τὸ διάδημα καὶ τὰ χρυσᾶ ἱμάτια καὶ τὸν θρόνον τὸν βασιλικὸν, θαυμάζομεν μὲν, μειζόνως δὲ τοῦτο πάσχομεν, ὅταν τῶν παραπετασμάτων συνελκυσθέντων ἴδωμεν αὐτὸν ἐφ' ὑψηλοῦ τοῦ βήματος προκαθήμενον· οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Μονογενοῦς· ὅταν ἴδωμεν τὰ παραπετάσματα τῶν οὐρανῶν συνελκυσθέντα, καὶ καταβαίνοντα τὸν βασιλέα τῶν ἀγγέλων ἐκεῖθεν καὶ δορυφορούμενον ὑπὸ τῶν οὐρανίων δήμων, τότε μεῖζον ἀπὸ τῆς ὄψεως τὸ θαῦμα δεχόμεθα. Ἐννόησον γάρ μοι, οἷόν ἐστιν ἰδεῖν τὴν φύσιν τὴν ἡμετέραν ἐπὶ τῶν Χερουβὶμ ὀχουμένην, 49.248 καὶ πᾶσαν αὐτῇ τὴν ἀγγελικὴν περικεχυμένην δύναμιν. γʹ. Σκόπει δέ μοι καὶ τὴν Παύλου σοφίαν, πόσα ὀνόματα ἐπιζητεῖ, ὥστε παραστῆσαι τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν. Οὐ γὰρ εἶπεν ἁπλῶς τὴν χάριν, οὐδὲ τὸν πλοῦτον ἁπλῶς, ἀλλὰ τί; Τὸν ὑπερβάλλοντα πλοῦτον τῆς χάριτος ἐν χρηστότητι. Ἀλλ' ὅμως καὶ οὕτως ἠτόνησε. Καὶ καθάπερ τὰ ὀλισθηρὰ τῶν σωμάτων μυρίαις κατεχόμενα χερσὶ, διαφεύγει τὰς λαβὰς ἡμῶν καὶ διολισθαίνει ῥᾳδίως· οὕτω καὶ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίαν, ὅσοις ἂν αὐτὴν κατάσχωμεν ὀνόμασιν, οὐδὲ οὕτω δυνάμεθα περιλαβεῖν, ἀλλὰ νικᾷ τὸ μέγεθος αὐτῆς ἐκ πολλῆς περιουσίας τῶν ἡμετέρων ῥημάτων τὴν ἀτονίαν. Ὅπερ οὖν καὶ Παῦλος παθὼν, καὶ ἰδὼν ἡττωμένην τῶν ῥημάτων τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ μεγέθους αὐτῆς, ἓν εἰπὼν ῥῆμα ἀπέστη. Ποῖον δὲ τοῦτο; Χάρις δὲ τῷ Θεῷ ἐπὶ τῇ ἀνεκδιηγήτῳ αὐτοῦ δωρεᾷ. Οὔτε γὰρ λόγος, οὔτε νοῦς οὐδεὶς παραστῆσαι δυνήσεται τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν κηδεμονίαν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἐνταῦθα μὲν ἀνεκδιήγητον αὐτὴν εἶναί φησιν, ἀλλαχοῦ δὲ, καὶ τὸν νοῦν ἡμῶν ὑπερβαίνειν, οὑτωσὶ λέγων· Ἡ εἰρήνη τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡ ὑπερέχουσα πάντα