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guards its movements toward God; and that the reason is likewise both to be and be called prudence, when, having temperately joined the vital power administered by it according to providence to its activities, it shows it to be undifferentiated from the intellect; bearing through virtue the same and similar manifestation of the divine as it does, which he also said is naturally apportioned to both the intellect and the reason; so that the soul is rather shown to be and to consist pre-eminently of intellect and reason, as both intellectual and rational; the vital power being contemplated, that is, in both equally, I mean in both intellect and reason; for it is not right to think that either of these is without life and is comprehended by both, through which the intellect, which we said is also called wisdom, is led by its contemplative state in ineffable silence and knowledge, unfolding toward the truth through unerring and unceasing knowledge, while the reason, which we called prudence, by its practical state corporeally according to virtue culminates in the good through faith; from which both the true knowledge of things both divine and human is constituted, the truly unerring knowledge and the end of all the most divine philosophy according to Christians.

And, to speak more clearly concerning these things, he said that one part of the soul is contemplative, as has been said, and the other practical; and he called the contemplative part intellect, and the practical part, reason, as being, that is, the primary powers of the soul; and again, the intellect, wisdom, and the reason, prudence, as being primary activities. And again, discursively, he affirmed the soul to be, according to its intellectual part: intellect, wisdom, contemplation, knowledge, unerring knowledge, and the end of these is truth; and according to its rational part: reason, prudence, action, virtue, faith, and the end of these is the good.

And he said that truth and the good signify God, but truth, when the divine seems to be signified from its essence; 14__072 for truth is a simple, and single, and one, and same, and indivisible, and immutable, and impassible thing, and unerring, and entirely without interval; but the good, when from its activity. For the good is beneficent, and provident for all things that come from it, and protective, from "being exceedingly," or "being established" or "to run," according to the opinion of the etymologists, graciously bestowing on all beings their being and remaining and moving.

Therefore he said that the five pairs conceived concerning the soul are occupied with the one pair that signifies God. And I mean now by "pair": intellect and reason, wisdom and prudence, contemplation and action, knowledge and virtue, unerring knowledge and faith. And that which signifies the divine: truth and the good; by which the soul, moving progressively, is united to the God of all, imitating the immutable and beneficent quality of His essence and activity, through a firm and unchangeable disposition in the good according to its choice.

And, so that I may mix into these things a small, fitting contemplation, perhaps this is the divine decad of strings of the intelligible psaltery according to the soul, which has the word resounding to the Spirit through the other blessed decad of the commandments, and which intelligibly produces the perfect and harmonious and melodious notes, through which God is hymned; so that I may learn what is the meaning of the singing and the sung decad, and how a decad mystically united and joined to a decad, brings back Jesus, my God and 14__074 Savior, who is completed through me who am being saved, to Himself, who is always most full and never able to depart from Himself, and wonderfully restores me, the human being, to Himself, or rather, to God, from whom I have received being, and to whom I hasten, desiring from afar to receive well-being.

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διαφυλάττῃ τὰς πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν κινήσεις· τὸν δὲ λόγον ὡσαύτως φρόνησιν καὶ εἶναι καὶ καλεῖσθαι, ὅταν σωφρόνως τὴν ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ κατὰ πρόνοιαν διοικουμένην ζωτικὴν δύναμιν ταῖς ἐνεργείαις συνάψας τῷ νῷ δείξειεν ἀδιάφορον· τὴν αὐτὴν αὐτῷ καὶ 14__070 ὁμοίαν δι᾽ ἀρετῆς ἔμφασιν τοῦ θείου φέρουσαν, ἣν καὶ ἐπιμερίζεσθαι τῷ τε νῷ καὶ τῷ λόγῳ φυσικῶς ἔλεγεν· ὡς εἶναι μᾶλλον καὶ συνισταμένη δείκνυσθαι προηγουμένως τὴν ψυχὴν ἐκ τοῦ νοῦ καὶ τοῦ λόγου, ὡς νοεράν τε καὶ λογικήν· τῆς ζωτικῆς ἐπ᾽ ἀμφοῖν κατὰ τὸ ἴσον δηλονότι, νοῦ τε καὶ λόγου φημί, θεωρουμένης δυνάμεως· οὐδ᾽ ὁπότερον γὰρ τούτων ζωῆς ἄμοιρον εἶναι θέμις ἐννοεῖν καὶ ὑπ᾽ ἀμφοῖν διειλημμένης, δι᾽ ἧς ὁ μὲν νοῦς, ὃν καὶ σοφίαν ἔφαμεν καλεῖσθαι, τῇ θεωρητικῇ ἕξει κατ᾽ ἀπόρρητον σιγήν τε καὶ γνῶσιν ἐξαπλούμενος πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν δι᾽ ἀλήστου τε καὶ ἀκαταλήκτου γνώσεως ἄγεται, ὁ δὲ λόγος, ὃν ἐκαλέσαμεν φρόνησιν, τῇ πρακτικῇ ἕξει σωματικῶς κατ᾽ ἀρετὴν εἰς τὸ ἀγαθὸν διὰ πίστεως καταλήγει· ἐξ ὧν ἀμφοτέρων ἡ ἀληθὴς τῶν τε θείων καὶ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἐπιστήμη συνέστηκε πραγμάτων, ἡ ὄντως ἄπταιστος γνῶσις καὶ πάσης τῆς κατὰ Χριστιανοὺς θειοτάτης φιλοσοφίας πέρας.

Καί, [ὡς] σαφέστερον περὶ τούτων εἰπεῖν, τῆς ψυχῆς τὸ μὲν ἔλεγε εἶναι θεωρητικόν, καθὼς εἴρηται, τὸ δὲ πρακτικόν· καὶ τὸ μὲν θεωρητικὸν ἐκάλει νοῦν, τὸ δὲ πρακτικόν, λόγον, ὡς πρώτας δηλαδὴ δυνάμεις τῆς ψυχῆς· καὶ πάλιν τὸν νοῦν, σοφίαν, τὸν δὲ λόγον, φρόνησιν, ὡς πρώτας ἐνεργείας. ∆ιεξοδικῶς δὲ πάλιν τὴν ψυχὴν ἔφασκεν εἶναι, κατὰ μὲν τὸ νοερόν, τὸν νοῦν, τὴν σοφίαν, τὴν θεωρίαν, τὴν γνῶσιν, τὴν ἄληστον γνῶσιν, τούτων δὲ τέλος εἶναι τὴν ἀλήθειαν· κατὰ δὲ τὸ λογικόν, τὸν λόγον, τὴν φρόνησιν, τὴν πρᾶξιν, τὴν ἀρετήν, τὴν πίστιν, τούτων δὲ τέλος εἷναι τὸ ἀγαθόν.

Τὴν ἀλήθειαν δὲ καὶ τὸ ἀγαθόν, τὸν Θεὸν ἔλεγε δηλοῦν, ἀλλὰ τὴν μὲν ἀλήθειαν, ὅταν ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας τὸ θεῖον σημαίνεσθαι 14__072 δοκῇ· ἁπλοῦν γάρ, καὶ μόνον, καὶ ἕν, καὶ ταὐτόν, καὶ ἀμερές, καὶ ἄτρεπτον, καὶ ἀπαθὲς πρᾶγμα ἡ ἀλήθεια καὶ ἀλάθητον, καὶ παντελῶς ἀδιάστατον· τὸ δὲ ἀγαθόν, ὅταν ἐκ τῆς ἐνεργείας. Εὐεργετικὸν γὰρ τὸ ἀγαθόν, καὶ προνοητικὸν τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ πάντων, καὶ φρουρητικόν, ἀπὸ τοῦ "ἄγαν εἶναι», ἢ "τεθεῖσθαι" ἢ "θέειν», κατὰ τὴν τῶν ἐτυμολογούντων δόξαν, πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσι τοῦ εἶναι καὶ διαμένειν καὶ κινεῖσθαι χαριστικόν.

Τὰς οὖν περὶ τὴν ψυχὴν νοουμένας πέντε συζυγίας περὶ τὴν μίαν τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ σημαντικὴν συζυγίαν ἔλεγε καταγίγνεσθαι. Συζυγίαν δέ φημι νῦν τὸν νοῦν καὶ τὸν λόγον, τὴν σοφίαν καὶ τὴν φρόνησιν, τὴν θεωρίαν καὶ τὴν πρᾶξιν, τὴν γνῶσιν καὶ τὴν ἀρετήν, τὴν ἄληστον γνῶσιν καὶ τὴν πίστιν. Τὴν δὲ τοῦ θείου σημαντικήν, τὴν ἀλήθειαν καὶ τὸ ἀγαθόν· αἷς κατὰ πρόοδον ἡ ψυχὴ κινουμένη, τῷ Θεῷ τῶν ὅλων ἑνοῦται, μιμουμένη αὐτοῦ τῆς οὐσίας καὶ τῆς ἐνεργείας τὸ ἄτρεπτον καὶ εὐεργετικόν, διὰ τῆς ἐν τῷ καλῷ παγίας καὶ ἀμεταθέτου κατὰ τὴν προαίρεσιν ἕξεως.

Καί, ἵνα τούτων μικρόν τι μίξω θεώρημα πρόσφορον, τάχα αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ θεία δεκὰς τῶν χορδῶν τοῦ κατὰ ψυχὴν νοητοῦ ψαλτηρίου, ἡ τὸν λόγον ὑπηχοῦντα τῷ Πνεύματι διὰ τῆς ἄλλης τῶν ἐντολῶν μακαρίας δεκάδος ἔχουσα, καὶ τοὺς ἐντελεῖς τε καὶ ἁρμονίους καὶ ἐμμελεῖς νοητῶς ἀποτελοῦσα φθόγγους, δι᾽ ὧν ὑμνεῖται ὁ Θεός· ἵν᾽ ἐγὼ μάθω, τίς ὁ τῆς ᾀδούσης καὶ τῆς ᾀδομένης δεκάδος [ὁ] λόγος, καὶ πῶς δεκάδι δεκὰς μυστικῶς ἑνουμένη τε καὶ συναπτομένη, Ἰησοῦν μὲν τὸν ἐμὸν Θεὸν καὶ 14__074 Σωτῆρα συμπληρωθέντα δι᾽ ἐμοῦ σωζομένου, πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἐπανάγει τὸν ἀεὶ πληρέστατον καὶ μηδέποτε ἑαυτοῦ ἐκστῆναι δυνάμενον, ἐμὲ δὲ τὸν ἄνθρωπον θαυμαστῶς ἑαυτῷ ἀποκαθίστησι, μᾶλλον δὲ Θεῷ, παρ᾽ οὗ τὸ εἶναι λαβὼν ἔχω, καὶ πρὸς ὃν ἐπείγομαι, πόρρωθεν τὸ εὖ εἶναι προσλαβεῖν ἐφιέμενος.