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But faith, having entered, scattered all this darkness from the soul of the one who received it; and just as an anchor, having been cast out, makes a ship that is being tossed by the assault of the winds and swamped by the risings of the waves stand still on all sides, and roots it in the midst of the sea; so also indeed, when thoughts falling upon it from without toss our mind, faith, having entered more securely than an anchor, 51.275 rescues it from shipwreck, mooring the vessel in the full assurance of conscience as in a calm harbor. And Paul, making this very thing clear again, said that, For this reason God gave apostles for the perfecting of the saints, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God; that we may no longer be infants, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind. Do you see the achievement of faith, that like a safe anchor, so it casts out the tossing; which indeed he himself again writes to the Hebrews, speaking thus about faith: Which we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters into that within the veil. For lest, having heard 'anchor,' you might think it is drawn downwards, he shows that this nature of the anchor is a new one, not pressing down, but lightening the mind upwards, and transferring it to heaven, and leading it by the hand into that within the veil; for here he called the heaven a veil. For what reason, and why? Because just as the veil separated the holy of holies from the outer tabernacle, so indeed also this heaven, like a veil, placed in the middle of creation, from the outer tabernacle, that is, this visible world, separates the holy of holies, meaning the things above and beyond them, where Christ has entered as a forerunner for us. 4. But what he says is of this sort: Faith, he says, raises our soul on high, not allowing it to be humbled by any of the present terrors, lightening the labors by the hope of things to come. For he who looks to the things to come, and awaits the hope from the heavens, and directs the eyes of his mind there, does not even feel the pain of the present terrors, just as Paul did not feel it, and he taught the reason for this philosophy, saying: For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. How, and in what way? While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen through the eyes of faith. For just as the eyes of the body see nothing intelligible, so the eyes of faith see nothing sensible. But what kind of faith does Paul mean here? For the name of faith has a double meaning. For there is a faith so-called, by which the apostles then performed signs, about which Christ said: If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, "Move," and it will move. And again, when the disciples were not able to deliver the lunatic from the demon, and wanted to learn the reason, he pointed out to them this lack of faith, saying: Because of your unbelief. And Paul also said about it: If I have faith, so that I could remove mountains. And when Peter, walking on the sea, was about to sink, Christ again reproached him for this very thing, saying: Why did you doubt, you of little faith? Faith, therefore, is called the producer of signs and wonders; and faith is also called that which prepares for the knowledge of God, according to which each of us is a believer; as when writing to the Romans he says: I thank my God through Jesus Christ, that your faith is proclaimed in all the world; and again to the Thessalonians: For from you the word of God has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia, 51.276 but also in

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Ἀλλὰ τοῦτο ἅπαν τὸ σκότος ἐπεισελθοῦσα ἡ πίστις διεσκέδασεν ἐκ τῆς ψυχῆς τοῦ ὑποδεξαμένου αὐτήν· καὶ καθάπερ πλοῖον ὑπὸ τῆς τῶν πνευμάτων ἐμβολῆς κλυδωνιζόμενον καὶ ταῖς τῶν κυμάτων ἐπαναστάσεσι περιαντλούμενον ἐξαρτηθεῖσα ἄγκυρα πάντοθεν ἵστησι, καὶ ἐν μέσῳ ῥιζοῖ τῷ πελάγει· οὕτω δὴ καὶ τὸν νοῦν τὸν ἡμέτερον ὅταν οἱ προσπίπτοντες ἔξωθεν λογισμοὶ κλυδωνίζωσιν, ἀγκύρας ἀσφαλέστερον ἐπεισ 51.275 ελθοῦσα ἡ πίστις ἀπαλλάττει τοῦ ναυαγίου, ὥσπερ ἐν γαληνῷ λιμένι, τῇ τοῦ συνειδότος πληροφορίᾳ τὸ σκάφος ὁρμίζουσα. Καὶ αὐτὸ τοῦτο πάλιν ὁ Παῦλος δηλῶν ἔλεγεν, ὅτι ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἔδωκεν ἀποστόλους ὁ Θεὸς πρὸς καταρτισμὸν τῶν ἁγίων, μέχρι καταντήσωμεν οἱ πάντες εἰς τὴν ἑνότητα τῆς πίστεως καὶ τῆς ἐπιγνώσεως τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ· ἵνα μηκέτι ὦμεν νήπιοι κλυδωνιζόμενοι καὶ περιφερόμενοι παντὶ ἀνέμῳ. Ὁρᾷς τῆς πίστεως τὸ κατόρθωμα, ὅτι ὡς ἄγκυρά τις ἀσφαλὴς, οὕτως ἐκβάλλει τὸν σάλον· ὅπερ οὖν καὶ αὐτὸς πάλιν Ἑβραίοις ἐπιστέλλει, οὑτωσὶ λέγων περὶ τῆς πίστεως· Ἣν ὡς ἄγκυραν ἔχομεν τῆς ψυχῆς ἀσφαλῆ, καὶ βεβαίαν, καὶ εἰσερχομένην εἰς τὸ ἐσώτερον τοῦ καταπετάσματος. Ἵνα γὰρ ἀκούσας ἄγκυραν, μὴ νομίσῃς κάτω καθέλκεσθαι, δείκνυσιν, ὅτι καινή τις αὕτη τῆς ἀγκύρας ἡ φύσις, οὐ κάτω πιέζουσα, ἀλλ' ἄνω κουφίζουσα τὴν διάνοιαν, καὶ πρὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν μεθιστῶσα, καὶ εἰς τὸ ἐσώτερον τοῦ καταπετάσματος χειραγωγοῦσα· καταπέτασμα γὰρ ἐνταῦθα τὸν οὐρανὸν ἐκάλεσε. Τίνος ἕνεκα, καὶ διὰ τί; Ὅτι καθάπερ τὸ καταπέτασμα ἀπὸ τῆς ἔξω σκηνῆς διεῖργε τὰ ἅγια τῶν ἁγίων, οὕτω δὴ καὶ ὁ οὐρανὸς οὗτος, ὥσπερ καταπέτασμα, μέσος τῆς κτίσεως παρεμβεβλημένος ἀπὸ τῆς ἔξω σκηνῆς, τοῦτ' ἔστι, τοῦ κόσμου τούτου τοῦ βλεπομένου, διείργει τὰ ἅγια τῶν ἁγίων, τὰ ἄνω λέγων καὶ τὰ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν, ὅπου πρόδρομος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν εἰσῆλθε Χριστός. δʹ. Ὃ δὲ λέγει τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν· Ἐκεῖ μετεωρίζει τὴν ψυχὴν τὴν ἡμετέραν, φησὶν, ἡ πίστις, οὐκ ἀφιεῖσα οὐδενὶ τῶν παρόντων δεινῶν ταπεινωθῆναι, ἀνακουφίζουσα τοὺς πόνους τῇ τῶν μελλόντων ἐλπίδι. Ὁ γὰρ πρὸς τὰ μέλλοντα ἀφορῶν, καὶ τὴν ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν ἀναμένων ἐλπίδα, καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῆς διανοίας ἐκεῖ μετάγων, οὐδὲ αἰσθάνεται τῆς ὀδύνης τῶν ἐν τῷ παρόντι δεινῶν, ὥσπερ οὖν οὐδὲ Παῦλος ᾐσθάνετο, καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς φιλοσοφίας ἐδίδασκε, λέγων· Τὸ γὰρ παραυτίκα ἐλαφρὸν τῆς θλίψεως καθ' ὑπερβολὴν εἰς ὑπερβολὴν αἰώνιον βάρος δόξης ἡμῖν κατεργάζεται. Πῶς, καὶ τίνι τρόπῳ; Μὴ σκοπούντων ἡμῶν τὰ βλεπόμενα, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὴ βλεπόμενα διὰ τῶν τῆς πίστεως ὀφθαλμῶν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ οἱ τοῦ σώματος οὐδὲν βλέπουσι νοητὸν, οὕτως οἱ τῆς πίστεως οὐδὲν βλέπουσιν αἰσθητόν. Ἀλλὰ ποίαν πίστιν ἐνταῦθα λέγει ὁ Παῦλος; τὸ γὰρ τῆς πίστεως ὄνομα διπλῆν ἔχει τὴν σημασίαν. Καὶ γὰρ πίστις λέγεται, καθ' ἣν τὰ σημεῖα ἐποίουν τότε οἱ ἀπόστολοι, περὶ ἧς ὁ Χριστὸς ἔλεγεν· Ἐὰν ἔχητε πίστιν, ὡς κόκκον σινάπεως, ἐρεῖτε τῷ ὄρει τούτῳ, Μετάβηθι, καὶ μεταβήσεται. Καὶ πάλιν, ὅτε τὸν σεληνιαζόμενον οὐκ ἴσχυσαν ἀπαλλάξαι τοῦ δαίμονος οἱ μαθηταὶ, καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν ἐβούλοντο μαθεῖν, ταύτην αὐτοῖς ᾐνίξατο τὴν ἔλλειψιν τῆς πίστεως, λέγων· ∆ιὰ τὴν ἀπιστίαν ὑμῶν. Καὶ ὁ Παῦλος δὲ περὶ αὐτῆς ἔλεγεν· Ἐὰν ἔχω πίστιν, ὥστε ὄρη μεθιστάνειν. Καὶ ὅτε δὲ καταποντίζεσθαι ἔμελλε πεζῇ βαδίζων ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης ὁ Πέτρος, αὐτὸ τοῦτο πάλιν ἐνεκάλεσεν ὁ Χριστὸς, εἰπών· Εἰς τί ἐδίστασας, ὀλιγόπιστε; Λέγεται τοίνυν πίστις ἡ τῶν σημείων καὶ τῶν θαυμάτων ποιητική· λέγεται δὲ πίστις καὶ ἡ τῆς εἰς τὸν Θεὸν γνώσεως παρασκευαστικὴ, καθ' ἣν ἕκαστος ἡμῶν ἐστι πιστός· ὡς ὅταν λέγῃ γράφων Ῥωμαίοις· Εὐχαριστῶ τῷ Θεῷ μου διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὅτι ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ κόσμῳ καταγγέλλεται· καὶ Θεσσαλονικεῦσι πάλιν· Ἀφ' ὑμῶν γὰρ ἐξήχηται ὁ λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ, οὐ μόνον ἐν τῇ Μακεδονίᾳ, 51.276 ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῇ