my name, and I am in their midst,” who also says, “behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the age.” 18 For just as no part of the body is devoid of our soul, but where there is sensation there is also soul, and it reaches the entire body, so also nothing is void of God. and yet, while filling all things, He does not fill the sinner, for he is filled with unclean spirits; and it is impossible for such a one to be filled by God, unless he is rid of the other things that fill him. For He fills the worthy in heaven and on earth. For “of the Lord” is not the earth and all things in it, but “the earth and its fullness,” since there are some in it who are not the fullness of the earth. For the fullness of the earth are those filled by the one who said: Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord. 19 Since the false prophets also misused “thus says the Lord,” imitating the true prophets, there was a need for signs distinguishing between them. There was, then, according to the apostle, the gift of discernment of spirits, and the one who had this distinguished spirits, both those that were divine and those that were evil, just as a money-changer distinguishes the genuine and the counterfeit coin. But apart from universal knowledge, what has now been said is sufficient for discernment. For my word, he says, is not empty and food for irrational beings, but like wheat and food for rational beings. 20 But why did he say the chaff to the wheat, but not to the barley; for the Lord set out loaves, the barley ones for the more irrational, and the wheat ones for the rational. Therefore he did not now say: what is the chaff to the barley, but to the wheat, precisely presenting rational food. There is also another sign, that the words of the Lord are like an axe cutting a rock. When the hearer being convicted is burning so as to say, “Was not my heart burning within me,” the word is fire and wheat; but if he takes pleasure in hearing things according to pleasure, it is chaff. But the word of God is <also> an axe, able to split not only wood but also rock, not the one understood according to Christ, but the opposite one which must be cut according to “rocks will be shattered before the Lord.” 21 Just as one who has bought a garment, if it happens, from whom he ought, possesses it lawfully, but one who has stolen it possesses it but not justly, so among those who teach from scripture, those who bear the words with an illegitimate and stained soul steal them; concerning whom it might be said: “all who came before me are thieves and robbers, and the sheep did not hear them.” Such is the one who uses the evangelical word, not being disposed toward it by faith nor living according to it, but using a foreign purpose in the proclamation of the word; for he is a thief and it will be said to him: “you who preach not to steal, you steal.” 22 What the whole world is, this, according to a certain analogy, is man alone. For you will find one man called heaven, when he bears “the image of the heavenly,” and another earth, if he has “the image of the earthly” (for to the one who sinned it was said: “you are earth”), another having rivers in him “leaping up to eternal life,” if he has most drinkable words, another having a salt sea, full of waves, having “a dragon which God formed to play in it.” And in part you will find one called the sun, another the moon and stars, since “so is the resurrection of the dead.” And after a little: Now the parable says it is a very bad fig; for virtue sweetens it through ripening, so that the whole soul and spirit and body are sweet, with the quality from virtues being placed in it, but wickedness makes it bad and inedible. But if someone seeks figs that are not very good, he seeks them outside the mysteries of piety and the temple of God, just as also those that are not very bad. For if one comes to discipleship itself, before the face of the temple of the Lord there are either very good figs (such as Christ knows how to make) or bad ones; for not even the bad fig outside has cast the words of God behind it. Around the temple of God, therefore, and the divine doctrines, two baskets are placed. And the one who chooses knows how he arranges each, not tolerating a bad fig

ἐμὸν ὄνομα, κἀγώ εἰμι ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν», ὁ καὶ λέγων· «ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ μεθ' ὑμῶν εἰμι πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος». 18 Ὡς γὰρ τῆς ἡμετέρας ψυχῆς οὐδὲν τοῦ σώματος ἔρημον, ἀλλ' ὅπου αἴσθησις ἐκεῖ καὶ ψυχή, καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶν φθάνει τὸ σῶμα, οὕτως καὶ οὐδὲν κενὸν τοῦ θεοῦ. καὶ ὅμως πάντα πληρῶν οὐ πληροῖ τὸν ἁμαρτωλόν, πνευμάτων γὰρ ἀκαθάρτων πεπλήρωται· καὶ τὸν τοιοῦτον ἀδύνατον ὑπὸ θεοῦ πληρωθῆναι, μὴ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν πληρούντων ἀπηλλαγμένον. τοὺς γὰρ ἀξίους πληροῖ ἐν οὐ ρανῷ τε καὶ γῇ. «τοῦ» γὰρ «κυρίου» οὐχὶ ἡ γῆ καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ, ἀλλ' «ἡ γῆ καὶ τὸ πλήρωμα αὐτῆς», ὡς ὄντων ἐν αὐτῇ τινων οἳ μὴ εἰσὶ πλήρωμα γῆς. πλήρωμα γὰρ τῆς γῆς οἱ πεπληρωμένοι ἀπὸ τοῦ εἰπόντος· οὐχὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν ἐγὼ πληρῶ; λέγει κύριος. 19 Ἐπειδὴ καὶ οἱ ψευδοπροφῆται ἀπεχρῶντο τῷ «τάδε λέγει κύριος», τοὺς ἀληθεῖς προφήτας ὑποκρινόμενοι, ἔδει σημείων διαστελ λόντων ἑκατέρους. ἦν μὲν οὖν, κατὰ τὸν ἀπόστολον, πνευμάτων διακρίσεως χάρισμα, καὶ ὁ τοῦτο ἔχων διέκρινε πνεύματα, τά τε θεῖα ὄντα καὶ τὰ πονηρά, καθάπερ ἀργυραμοιβὸς τὸ νόμισμα τὸ δόκιμόν τε καὶ κίβδηλον. χωρὶς δὲ τῆς καθολικῆς ἐπιστήμης καὶ τὸ νῦν εἰρημένον ἀρκεῖ πρὸς διάκρισιν. ὁ γὰρ λόγος μου, φησίν, οὐ διάκενος καὶ τρόφιμος ἀλόγων, ἀλλ' οἱονεὶ σῖτος καὶ λογικῶν τροφή. 20 Τί δὲ τὸ ἄχυρον πρὸς τὸν σῖτον εἶπεν, ἀλλ' οὐ πρὸς κριθήν· παρέθηκε γὰρ ὁ κύριος ἄρτους, τοὺς μὲν κριθίνους τοῖς ἀλογωτέροις, τοὺς δὲ πυρίνους τοῖς λογικοῖς. διὸ καὶ νῦν οὐκ ἔφη· τί τὸ ἄχυρον πρὸς τὴν κριθήν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸν σῖτον, τὴν λογικὴν ἀκριβῶς παραστήσας τροφήν. ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἄλλο σημεῖον, ὅτι οἱ λόγοι κυρίου ὡς πέλυξ κόπτων πέτραν. ὅταν ὁ ἀκροατὴς ἐλεγχόμενος καίηται ὥστε λέγειν· «οὐχὶ ἡ καρδία μου καιομένη ἦν ἐν ἐμοί», πῦρ καὶ σῖτός ἐστιν ὁ λόγος· εἰ δὲ τέρπεται τῶν καθ' ἡδονὴν ἀκροώμενος, ἄχυρα. ἀλλὰ <καὶ> πέλυξ ἐστὶν ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος, οὐ ξύλα μόνον δυνατὸς ἀλλὰ καὶ πέτραν διελεῖν, οὐ τὴν κατὰ Χριστὸν νοουμένην, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐναντίαν ἣν δεῖ τέμνεσθαι κατὰ τὸ «συντριβήσονται πέτραι ἐνώπιον κυρίου». 21 Ὥσπερ ὁ πριάμενος ἱμάτιον, εἰ τύχοι, παρ' οὗ δεῖ, νομίμως ἔχει τοῦτο, ὁ δὲ κλέψας ἔχει μὲν ἀλλ' οὐ δικαίως, οὕτω τῶν διδα σκόντων ἀπὸ γραφῆς οἱ νόθῳ ψυχῇ καὶ κεκηλιδωμένῃ τὰ ῥήματα φέροντες κλέπτουσι· περὶ ὧν λέγοιτ' ἄν· «πάντες ὅσοι ἦλθον πρὸ ἐμοῦ κλέπται εἰσὶ καὶ λῃσταί, καὶ οὐκ ἤκουσαν αὐτῶν τὰ πρό βατα». τοιοῦτος ὁ λόγῳ χρώμενος εὐαγγελικῷ, μὴ πίστει διακείμενος πρὸς αὐτὸν μηδὲ βιοὺς κατ' αὐτόν, ἀλλοτρίᾳ δὲ προαιρέσει χρώ μενος τῇ τοῦ λόγου ἀπαγγελίᾳ· κλέπτης γάρ ἐστι καὶ λεχθήσεται πρὸς αὐτόν· «ὁ κηρύσσων μὴ κλέπτειν κλέπτεις». 22 Ὅπερ ὁ κόσμος ὅλος, τοῦτο κατά τινα ἀναλογίαν ἐστὶ μόνος ὁ ἄνθρωπος. εὑρήσεις γὰρ τινὰ μὲν οὐρανὸν λεγόμενον, ὅταν φορῇ «τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ ἐπουρανίου», ἄλλον δὲ γῆν, ἐὰν ἔχῃ «τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ χοϊκοῦ» (τῷ γὰρ ἡμαρτηκότι λέλεκται· «γῆ εἶ»), ἄλλον ἔχοντα ποτα μοὺς ἐν αὐτῷ «ἁλλομένους εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον», ἐὰν ἔχῃ λόγους ποτι μωτάτους, ἄλλον ἔχοντα θάλατταν ἁλμυράν, κυμάτων πλήρη, ἔχουσαν «δράκοντα ὃν ἔπλασεν ὁ θεὸς ἐμπαίζειν αὐτῷ». καὶ κατὰ μέρος εὑ ρήσεις τὸν μὲν ἥλιον, τὸν δὲ σελήνην λεγόμενον καὶ ἀστέρας, ἐπεὶ «οὕτως ἡ ἀνάστασις τῶν νεκρῶν». Καὶ μετ' ὀλίγα· Νῦν δέ φησιν αὐτὸν ἡ παραβολὴ σῦκον εἶναι πονηρὸν λίαν· γλυκάζει μὲν γὰρ αὐτὸν διὰ πεπάνσεως ἡ ἀρετή, ὡς εἶναι ψυχὴν ὅλην καὶ πνεῦμα καὶ σῶμα γλυκὺ τῆς ἐξ ἀρετῶν ποιότητος ἐντιθε μένης αὐτῷ, ἡ δὲ πονηρία κακὸν αὐτὸν καὶ ἄβρωτον ἀπεργάζεται. ἀλλ' ἐὰν μὲν σῦκα ζητῇ τις μὴ λίαν χρηστά, ἔξω ζητεῖ ταῦτα τῶν τῆς θεοσεβείας μυστηρίων καὶ τοῦ ναοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ, ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ τὰ μὴ λίαν πονηρά. ἐὰν γὰρ ἔλθῃ ἐπὶ τὴν μαθητείαν αὐτήν, πρὸ προσώπου ναοῦ κυρίου ἐστὶ σῦκα χρηστὰ λίαν (οἷα ποιεῖν οἶδε Χριστὸς) ἢ πονηρά· οὐδὲ γὰρ τὸ ἔξω πονηρὸν σῦκον ἐξέβαλε τοὺς λόγους τοῦ θεοῦ εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω. περὶ τὸν ναὸν τοίνυν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὰ θεῖα δόγματα δύο κάλαθοι κεῖνται. καὶ οἶδεν ὁ ἐκλε γόμενος, πῶς ἕκαστον κατατάσσει, μὴ ἀνεχόμενος πονηροῦ σύκου