9

investigating the origin and nature of the world and of the flesh, and driving the soul towards the kindred region of intelligible things; towards which the law of sin makes no passage, not having sense-perception any longer as a bridge to transport it to the intellect, since it has already been dissolved in its relation to the soul, and cast away among sensible spectacles, whose relation and nature the intellect, having transcended them, does not perceive at all.

1201 1.58 (58) Just as reason, mastering the passions, makes the senses an instrument of virtue; so also the passions, mastering reason, form the senses for sin. And it is necessary to watch and meditate soberly, how the soul may properly make the good turnabout, using those things by which it previously sinned for the generation and substance of virtues.

1.59 (59) The holy Gospel introduces a denial of carnal life, but a confession of spiritual life. I speak concerning these things, of those who are always dying according to the human person—I mean the human life in the flesh in this age—but living according to God in the Spirit alone, according to the divine Apostle and those with him, who are in no way living their own life, but have Christ living in them according to the soul alone. Thus those who for God's sake are dead in the flesh in this age are judged, having many afflictions and torments and hardships, and persecutions, and enduring myriad kinds of temptations with joy.

1.60 (60) Every passion is constituted entirely by a combination of some sensible object and sense-perception, and of a natural power—of anger, say, or desire—or of reason diverted from what is natural. If, 15∆_048 then, the intellect, having contemplated the synthetic purpose of the sensible object, of sense-perception, and of the natural power relating to it, one to another, is able to distinguish each of these and lead it back to its proper natural principle, and to contemplate the sensible object in itself, without the relation of sense-perception to it, and sense-perception apart from the affinity of the sensible object for it; and desire, let us say, or some other of the natural powers, without the passionate disposition toward both the sense-perception and the sensible object—just as the quality of the passion's movement prepares the contemplation to occur—it has scattered and ground down the constitution of whatever passion occurs, like the calf of Israel of old, and has strewn it upon the water of knowledge, having completely made to disappear even the mere fantasy of the passions, through the restoration to themselves of the things which naturally constitute it.

1.61 (61) A life stained by the many trespasses of the passions of the flesh is a defiled tunic. For from the conduct of his life, as from some garment, each person is naturally revealed, whether he is just or unjust; the one having a clean tunic, the virtuous life; the other possessing a life defiled by evil deeds. Or rather, a tunic defiled by the flesh is a state and disposition which, according to conscience, forms the soul through the memory of the 1204 evil movements and activities of the flesh, which the soul, seeing perpetually around itself like a tunic, is filled with the stench of the passions. For just as from the Spirit, through the virtues being woven together with each other according to reason, a tunic of incorruptibility is made for the soul, which, having put it on, becomes beautiful and glorious; so also from the flesh, through the passions being woven together with each other by analogy, a certain unclean and defiled tunic is made, which of itself reveals the soul, imposing on it another form and image besides the divine one.

15∆_050 1.62 (62) A sure pledge of the hope for deification for human nature is the Incarnation of God, making man God to such an extent

9

κόσμου καί τῆς σαρκός διερευνώμενος γένεσίν τε καί φύσιν, καί πρός τήν συγγενῆ τῶν νοητῶν χώραν τήν ψυχήν ἐλαύνων· πρός ἥν οὐδεμίαν ὁ νόμος τῆς ἁμαρτίας ποιεῖται διάβασιν, οὐκ ἔχων καθάπερ γέφυραν πρός τόν νοῦν διαβιβάζουσαν αὐτόν ἔτι τήν αἴσθησιν, διαλυθεῖσαν ἤδη πρός τήν ψυχήν κατά τήν σχέσιν, καί τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς ἐναποῤῥιφεῖσαν θεάμασιν, ὧν διαβάς τήν σχέσιν καί τήν φύσιν ὁ νοῦς παντελῶς οὐκ αἰσθάνεται.

1201 1.58 (νη΄) Καθάπερ ὁ λόγος κρατῶν τῶν παθῶν, ἀρετῆς ὄργανον ποιεῖται τάς αἰσθήσεις· οὕτω καί τά πάθη κρατοῦντα τοῦ λόγου, μορφοῦσι τάς αἰσθήσεις πρός ἁμαρτίαν. Καί χρή νηφόντως σκοπεῖν τε καί μελετᾷν, πῶς ἡ ψυχή τήν καλήν ποιήσεται δεόντως ἀντιστροφήν, τοῖς δι᾿ ὧν τό πρίν ἐπλημμέλει χρωμένη πρός γένεσιν ἀρετῶν καί ὑπόστασιν.

1.59 (νθ΄) Τό ἅγιον Εὐαγγέλιον, σαρκικῆς μέν εἰσηγεῖται ζωῆς ἄρνησιν, πνευματικῆς δέ ὁμολογίαν. Περί τούτων δέ λέγω, τῶν ἀεί μέν κατά τόν ἄνθρωπον, λέγω δέ τήν ἀνθρωπίνην ἐν σαρκί κατά τόν αἰῶνα τοῦτον ζωήν, ἀποθνησκόντων, ζώντων δέ κατά Θεόν μόνῳ τῷ Πνεύματι, κατά τόν θεῖον Ἀπόστολον καί τούς ἀμφ᾿ αὐτόν, τούς ζῶντας μέν οὐδαμῶς ἰδίαν ζωήν, ζῶντα δέ τόν Χριστόν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς κατά μόνην ἔχοντας τήν ψυχήν. Οὕτως οἱ διά τόν Θεόν ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ νεκροί σαρκί, κρίνονται, θλίψεις καί βασάνους πολλάς καί στενοχωρίας ἔχοντες, καί διωγμούς, καί μυρία πειρασμῶν εἴδη μετά χαρᾶς ὑπομένοντες.

1.60 (ξ΄) Πᾶν πάθος κατά συμπλοκήν πάντως αἰσθητοῦ τινος καί αἰσθήσεως, καί φυσικῆς δυνάμεως, θυμοῦ λέγω τυχόν, ἤ ἐπιθυμίας, ἤ λόγου παρατραπέντος τοῦ κατά φύσιν, συνίσταται. Ἐάν 15∆_048 οὖν τό πρός ἄλληλα κατά σύνθεσιν τέλος, τοῦ τε αἰσθητοῦ καί τῆς αἰσθήσεως, καί τῆς ἐπ᾿ αὐτῇ φυσικῆς δυνάμεως θεωρήσας ὁ νοῦς, δυνηθῇ πρός τόν οἰκεῖον φύσει λόγον, τούτων ἕκαστον διακρίνας ἐπαναγαγεῖν, καί θεωρῆσαι καθ᾿ ἑαυτό τό αἰσθητόν, ἄνευ τῆς πρός αὐτό τῆς αἰσθήσεως σχέσεως, καί τήν αἴσθησιν δίχα τῆς τοῦ αἰσθητοῦ πρός αὐτήν οἰκειότητος· καί τήν ἐπιθυμίαν φέρε εἰπεῖν, ἤ ἄλλην τινά τῶν κατά φύσιν δυνάμεων χωρίς τῆς ἐμπαθοῦς ἐπ᾿ αἰσθήσει τε καί αἰσθητῷ διαθέσεως· ὡς ἡ τοῦ πάθους ποιά παρασκευάζει τήν θεωρίαν γίνεσθαι κίνησις, διεσκέδασε καί ἐλέπτυνε, κατά τόν πάλαι τοῦ Ἰσραήλ μόσχον, τοῦ οἱοδήποτε συμβαίνοντος πάθους τήν σύστασιν, καί ὑπό τό ὕδωρ τῆς γνώσεως ἔσπειρεν, ἀφανίσας παντελῶς καί αὐτήν τῶν παθῶν τήν ψιλήν φαντασίαν, διά τῆς πρός ἑαυτά τῶν ἀποτελούντων αὐτό κατά φύσιν πραγμάτων ἀποκαταστάσεως.

1.61 (ξα΄) Ὁ πολλοῖς πλημμελήμασι τῶν ἐκ τῆς σαρκός παθημάτων κεκηλιδωμένος βίος, χιτών ἐστιν ἐσπιλωμένος. Ὡς ἔκ τινος γάρ ἐνδύματος τῆς κατά τόν βίον ἀναστροφῆς, ἕκαστος τῶν ἀνθρώπων διαφαίνεσθαι πέφυκεν, εἴτε δίκαιος, εἴτε ἄδικος· ὁ μέν, χιτῶνα καθαρόν ἔχων, τόν ἐνάρετον βίον· ὁ δέ, πονηροῖς ἐσπιλωμένην ἔργοις τήν ζωήν κεκτημένος. Ἤ μᾶλλον, ἐσπιλωμένος ἀπό τῆς σαρκός ἔστι χιτών, ἤ κατά συνείδησιν μορφοῦσα διά τῆς μνήμης τῶν 1204 ἐκ τῆς σαρκός πονηρῶν κινημάτων τε καί ἐνεργημάτων τήν ψυχήν, ἕξις τε καί διάθεσις, ἥν ὁρῶσα διαπαντός καθάπερ χιτῶνά τινα περί ἑαυτήν, δυσωδίας πληροῦται παθῶν. Ὡς γάρ ἀπό τοῦ Πνεύματος, διά τῶν ἀρετῶν ἀλλήλαις κατά λόγον συνυφαινομένων, ἀφθαρσίας γίνεται τῇ ψυχῇ χιτών, ὅν ἐνδυσαμένη γίνεται καλή καί ἐπίδοξος· οὕτω καί ἀπό τῆς σαρκός, τῶν παθῶν ἀλλήλοις κατά ἀναλογίαν συνυφαινομένων, γίνεταί τις χιτών ἀκάθαρτος καί ἐσπιλωμένος, ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ δεικνύς γνώριμον τήν ψυχήν, μορφήν ἄλλην αὐτῇ καί εἰκόνα παρά τήν θείαν ἐνθέμενος.

15∆_050 1.62 (ξβ΄) Βεβαία πίστις ἐστί τῆς πρός ἐκθέωσιν ἐλπίδος τῇ φύσει τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐνανθρώπησις, τοσοῦτον θεόν ποιοῦσα τόν