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should embrace the rational, having despised all bodily pleasures, he pursues the divine and most God-beloved life, and that which is pre-eminently human, and he will be as the heavenly man according to the saying: As is the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are heavenly. But the chief point of the rational nature is to flee and turn away from evil things, and to pursue and choose good things. And of good things, some are in accordance with the communion of soul and body, these also having reference to the soul, as for example the soul making use of the body, such as the virtues; but others are of the soul itself by itself alone, not requiring the body, such as piety and the contemplation of existing things. Therefore, as many as choose to live the life of a human as a human and not as an animal only pursue the virtues and piety. And what pertains to the virtues and what pertains to piety will be distinguished in what follows when we deliver our discourse concerning the soul and the body; for since it is not yet known what our soul is in its essence, it is not consistent to discourse about its activity. But the Hebrews say that man from the beginning was made neither confessedly mortal nor immortal, but on the border of either nature, so that if he should follow bodily passions he might fall into also bodily changes, but if he should prefer the good things of the soul, he might be deemed worthy of immortality. For if from the beginning God had made him mortal, He would not have condemned him to death for sinning, for no one condemns mortality in a mortal; but if again, on the other hand, immortal, neither would He have created him in need of food (for none of the immortals need bodily food) nor would He have so easily changed His mind and immediately made the one who had become immortal mortal, for He does not appear to have done this in the case of the angels who sinned, but they remained immortal according to their original nature, awaiting another punishment for their sins, but not death. It is better, therefore, to understand the matter at hand in this way, or that he was created mortal, but able to become immortal by being perfected through progress, that is, potentially immortal. And since it was not profitable for him to know his own nature before perfection, He forbade him to taste of the tree of knowledge. For there were—or rather, there are still even now—very great powers in plants; but then, as at the beginning of the world's creation, being unmixed, they had the strongest effect. There was, therefore, also the taste of a certain fruit that produced knowledge of one's own nature; but God did not want him to know his own nature before perfection, lest, knowing himself to be in need of many things, he should care for bodily need, abandoning the providence for the soul, and for this reason He prevented him from partaking of the fruit of knowledge. But having disobeyed and known himself, he fell away from perfection, and came into bodily need; at any rate, he immediately sought a covering. For Moses says that he knew he was naked. But before, He had made him in ecstasy and in ignorance of himself. Having fallen, therefore, from perfection, he likewise fell from immortality, which he will later take up again by the grace of Him who made him. And after the fall, the enjoyment of meats was also permitted. For before, He commanded him to be content with only the things from the earth (for these were in paradise); but with perfection having been despaired of, the things of enjoyment were then permitted by condescension. And since man is of a body, and every body is composed of the four elements, it is necessary for him to fall into these passions to which the elements are also subject, division and change and flux, which are of the body alone; change in quality, and flux in emptying, for a living creature is always being emptied both through the visible pores and through the invisible ones, about which we will speak later. It is necessary, therefore, either for an equal amount to be brought in to replace what is emptied, or for the living creature to be dissolved for lack of what comes in. And since the things being emptied are dry and wet and breath, it is necessary for the living creature to need both dry and wet food and breath. And for us food and drink are through the

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λογικὸν χωρήσῃ καταφρονήσας τῶν σωματικῶν πασῶν ἡδονῶν, τὴν θείαν τε καὶ θεοφιλεστάτην ζωὴν μετέρχεται καὶ τὴν ὡς ἀνθρώπου προηγουμένως, καὶ ἔσται οἷος ὁ ἐπουράνιος κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον· οἷος ὁ χοϊκὸς τοιοῦτοι καὶ οἱ χοϊκοί, καὶ οἷος ὁ ἐπουράνιος τοιοῦτοι καὶ οἱ ἐπουράνιοι. τῆς δὲ λογικῆς φύσεως τὸ κεφάλαιόν ἐστι φεύγειν μὲν καὶ ἀποστρέφεσθαι τὰ κακά, μετιέναι δὲ καὶ αἱρεῖσθαι τὰ καλά. τῶν δὲ καλῶν τὰ μέν ἐστι κατὰ κοινωνίαν ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος, ἐχόντων καὶ τούτων ἐπὶ τὴν ψυχὴν τὴν ἀναφοράν, οἷον ψυχῆς προσχρωμένης σώματι, ὡς αἱ ἀρεταί· τὰ δὲ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτῆς καθ' ἑαυτὴν μόνης μὴ προσδεομένης σώματος, ὡς ἡ εὐσέβεια καὶ ἡ τῶν ὄντων θεωρία. ὅσοι τοίνυν τὸν ἀνθρώπου βίον ὡς ἀνθρώπου ζῆν προαιροῦνται καὶ μὴ ὡς ζῴου μόνου τὰς ἀρετὰς μετέρχονται καὶ τὴν εὐσέβειαν. τίνα δέ ἐστι τὰ τῶν ἀρετῶν καὶ τίνα τὰ τῆς εὐσεβείας ἐν τοῖς ἑξῆς διακριθήσεται ὅταν τὸν περὶ τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ τοῦ σώματος ἀποδῶμεν λόγον· οὐδέπω γὰρ ἐγνωσμένου τί ποτε ἡμῶν ἐστιν ἡ ψυχὴ κατ' οὐσίαν οὐκ ἔστιν ἀκόλουθον περὶ τῆς ἐνεργείας αὐτῆς διαλαμβάνειν. Ἑβραῖοι δὲ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐξ ἀρχῆς οὔτε θνητὸν ὁμολογουμένως οὔτε ἀθάνατον γεγενῆσθαί φασιν ἀλλ' ἐν μεθορίοις ἑκατέρας φύσεως, ἵνα ἂν μὲν τοῖς σωματικοῖς ἀκολουθήσῃ πάθεσι περιπέσῃ καὶ ταῖς σωματικαῖς μεταβολαῖς, ἂν δὲ τὰ τῆς ψυχῆς προτιμήσῃ καλὰ τῆς ἀθανασίας ἀξιωθῇ. εἰ γὰρ ἐξ ἀρχῆς αὐτὸν θνητὸν ἐποίησεν ὁ θεός, οὐκ ἂν ἁμαρτόντα θανάτῳ κατεδίκασε, τοῦ γὰρ θνητοῦ θνητότητα οὐδεὶς καταδικάζει· εἰ δ' αὖ πάλιν ἀθάνατον, οὐδ' ἂν τροφῆς αὐτὸν ἐνδεᾶ κατεσκεύασεν (οὐδὲν γὰρ τῶν ἀθανάτων τροφῆς σωματικῆς δεῖται) οὐδ' ἂν οὕτω ῥᾳδίως μετενόησε καὶ τὸν γενόμενον ἀθάνατον θνητὸν εὐθέως ἐποίει, οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν ἁμαρτησάντων ἀγγέλων τοῦτο φαίνεται πεποιηκὼς ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς φύσιν ἀθάνατοι διέμειναν, ἄλλην τῶν ἡμαρτημένων ἀπεκδεχόμενοι δίκην ἀλλ' οὐ τὸν θάνατον. βέλτιον οὖν ἢ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον νοεῖν τὸ προκείμενον, ἢ ὅτι θνητὸς μὲν κατεσκευάσθη, δυνάμενος δὲ ἐκ προκοπῆς τελειούμενος ἀθάνατος γενέσθαι, τουτέστι δυνάμει ἀθάνατος. ἐπειδὴ δὲ οὐ συνέφερεον αὐτῷ πρὸ τῆς τελειώσεως γνῶναι τὴν φύσιν ἑαυτοῦ, ἀπηγόρευσε μὴ γεύσασθαι τοῦ ξύλου τῆς γνώσεως. ἦσαν γὰρ μᾶλλον δέ εἰσιν ἔτι καὶ νῦν δυνάμεις ἐν τοῖς φυτοῖς μέγισται· τότε δὲ ὡς ἐν ἀρχῇ τῆς κοσμοποιΐας ἀκραιφνεῖς οὖσαι ἰσχυροτάτην εἶχον τὴν ἐνέργειαν. ἦν οὖν καὶ ἀπόγευσίς τινος καρποῦ γνῶσιν ἐμποιοῦσα τῆς οἰκείας φύσεως· οὐκ ἐβούλετο δὲ αὐτὸν ὁ θεὸς πρὸ τῆς τελειώσεως γνῶναι τὴν οἰκείαν φύσιν ἵνα μὴ γνοὺς ἑαυτὸν ἐνδεᾶ πολλῶν ὄντα τῆς σωματικῆς ἐπιμεληθῇ χρείας καταλιπὼν τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς πρόνοιαν, καὶ διὰ ταύτην τὴν αἰτίαν ἐκώλυσεν αὐτὸν μεταλαβεῖν τοῦ καρποῦ τῆς γνώσεως. παρακούσας δὲ καὶ γνοὺς ἑαυτὸν τῆς μὲν τελειώσεως ἐξέπεσε, τῆς δὲ σωματικῆς χρείας ἐγένετο· σκέπασμα γοῦν εὐθέως ἐπεζήτησε. φησὶ γὰρ ὁ Μωυσῆς ὅτι γυμνός ἐστιν ἔγνω. πρότερον δὲ ἐν ἐκστάσει αὐτὸν ἐποίησε καὶ ἐν ἀγνωσίᾳ ἑαυτοῦ. ἐκπεσὼν οὖν τῆς τελειώσεως ἐξέπεσεν ὁμοίως καὶ τῆς ἀθανασίας, ἣν ὕστερον ἀναλήψεται χάριτι τοῦ ποιήσαντος αὐτόν. μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἔκπτωσιν καὶ ἡ τῶν κρεῶν ἀπόλαυ σις συνεχωρήθη. πρότερον μὲν γὰρ τοῖς ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς μόνοις ἐκέλευσεν αὐτὸν ἀρκεῖσθαι (ταῦτα γὰρ ἦν ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ)· ἀπεγνωσμένης δὲ τῆς τελειώσεως τῇ συγκαταβάσει λοιπὸν συνεχωρήθη τὰ τῆς ἀπολαύσεως. ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἐκ σώματός ἐστιν ὁ ἄνθρωπος, πᾶν δὲ σῶμα ἐκ τῶν τεσσάρων στοιχείων συνέστηκεν, ἀνάγκη τούτοις τοῖς πάθεσι περιπίπτειν αὐτὸν οἷς καὶ τὰ στοιχεῖα, τομῇ καὶ μεταβολῇ καὶ ῥεύσει, ἅπερ ἐστὶ μόνου τοῦ σώματος· μεταβολῇ μὲν τῇ κατὰ ποιότητα, ῥεύσει δὲ τῇ κατὰ κένωσιν, κενοῦται γὰρ ἀεὶ τὸ ζῷον διά τε τῶν προδήλων πόρων καὶ διὰ τῶν ἀδήλων, περὶ ὧν ὕστερον ἐροῦμεν. ἀνάγκη τοίνυν ἢ τοῖς κενουμένοις ἀντεισφέρεσθαι τὰ ἴσα ἢ διαλύεσθαι τὸ ζῷον ἐνδείᾳ τῶν ἐπεισιόντων. ξηρῶν δὲ ὄντων καὶ ὑγρῶν καὶ πνεύματος τῶν κενουμένων, ἀνάγκη καὶ ξηρᾶς καὶ ὑγρᾶς τροφῆς δεῖσθαι τὸ ζῷον καὶ πνεύματος. ἔστι δὲ ἡμῖν ἡ τροφὴ καὶ τὸ ποτὸν διὰ τῶν