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wishing; for after saying, "Where is the debater of this age?", he immediately added that "God has made foolish the wisdom of this world," that is, he showed that it had fallen away from true knowledge and was not wisdom, but only called so. But if it was wisdom, how could it have become foolishness, and this by God and with His own wisdom being revealed on earth? For according to the great Dionysius, the beautiful is not opposed to the beautiful, nor the better to the lesser, and I would say that intelligible things are never blunted by one another, and I would add that each thing receives an increase of its own beauty by the manifestation of the better. What might one say, when the beautifying power itself is manifested? For neither would one say that the "second lights," I mean the supercosmic natures, are made useless by the first light shining upon them; nor that which is much inferior to these, but is nevertheless a light, I mean our own rational and intellectual faculty, has become darkness when the divine light appeared, and this "coming into the world to enlighten every man." But he who opposes this, (p. 92) whether angel or man, having willingly deprived himself of the light, being abandoned, has appeared as darkness.

So therefore that wisdom also, having set itself against the wisdom of God, has become foolishness. But if it was perceptive and declaratory of the wisdom of God in creation, being a manifestation of the unmanifest, an instrument of truth destructive of ignorance, that which is proclaimed by participation what the other is by cause, how could it have been made foolish, and this by Him who casts this wisdom forth in creation? How would this harm not be referred back to the very wisdom of God manifest in the universe? How would the author of peace, both of the whole and of each individual, not clearly contradict himself, on the one hand giving wisdom through the wisdom implanted in the world, and on the other, by his own presence, making foolish both those who had received it and this given wisdom? But this too ought to have come not to be made foolish, but to be fulfilled, just as the law of old, about which Paul cries out, "Do we then nullify the law? By no means! Rather, we uphold the law," which the Lord also urges to search, as having eternal life stored up in it, and again He says, "If you believed Moses, you would believe me." Do you see the exceeding agreement of the law and of grace? For this reason, when the true light appeared, the law became better than itself, its hidden beauty having been made clear to it, but not the wisdom of the Greeks; but having foolishness sitting beneath it with a certain elegance and eloquence and persuasiveness of words, when the shame was uncovered it became more shameful and was rightly named after foolishness, not that which is by way of pre-eminence, as being beyond understanding (for this is the ineffable name of the wisdom of God), but that which partakes of a knowledge (p. 94) lacking in truth, as having also failed to attain the proper end for human wisdom, not failing also to cling to falsehood as truth, and trying to belie the truth as falsehood, and setting creation against the Creator, whose work it is even now to set the writings of the Spirit against the Spirit and spiritual works and men.

Therefore the foolish philosophy of the outside sages is not perceptive and declaratory of the wisdom of God. For how could it be, through which the world did not know God? But if elsewhere Paul says that "although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God," the disciple of peace, heir of the supercosmic peace given in us by Christ alone, does not contradict himself. But they came, he says, to a conception of God, but not one befitting God; for they did not glorify him as all-wise, all-powerful, all-seeing, nor as alone without beginning and uncreated. Therefore from their own times, having been abandoned by God, as Paul also showed, the wise were given over to a debased mind, serving creation rather than the Creator and wallowing in the mire of shameful and wicked passions; not

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βουλομένην˙ εἰπών γάρ ποῦ συζητητής τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου;», εὐθύς ἐπήγαγεν ὅτι «ἐμώρανε ὁ Θεός τήν σοφίαν τοῦ κόσμου τούτου», τουτέστιν ἐφανέρωσε φανείς τῆς ἀληθινῆς γνώσεως ἐκπεπτωκυῖαν καί μή οὖσαν σοφίαν, ἀλλά καλουμένην μόνον. Εἰ δ᾿ ἦν σοφία, πῶς ἄν ἐγένετο μωρία καί ταῦθ᾿ ὑπό Θεοῦ καί τῆς αὐτοῦ σοφίας ἐπί γῆς φανερωθείσης; Κατά γάρ τόν μέγαν ∆ιονύσιον καλῷ καλόν οὐκ ἐναντιοῦται, τῷ ἥττονι τό κρεῖττον, ἐγώ δ᾿ ἄν φαίην ὡς οὐδέ ἀμβλύνεταί ποθ᾿ ὑπ᾿ ἀλλήλων τά γε νοητά, προσθείην δ᾿ ἄν ὅτι καί τῆς ἑαυτοῦ καλλονῆς ἕκαστον ἐπίδοσιν λαμβάνει τῇ τοῦ κρείττονος ἐπιφανείᾳ. Τί δ᾿ ἄν εἴποι τις, αὐτῆς τῆς καλλοποιοῦ δυνέμως ἐπιφανείσης; Οὐδέ γάρ τά «δεύτερα φῶτα», τάς ὑπερκοσμίους λέγω φύσεις, ὑπό τοῦ πρώτου φωτός ἀχρειοῦσθαι φαίη τις ἐπιλάμποντος αὐτοῖς˙ οὐδέ τό πολύ τούτων ἀποδέον, φῶς δ᾿ ὅμως ὄν, τό καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς λέγω λογικόν καί νοερόν, σκότος γέγονε, τοῦ θείου φωτός ἐπιφανέντος, καί ταῦτ᾿ εἰς τό φωτίσαι πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἐρχόμενον, εἰς τόν κόσμον. Ὁ δ᾿ ἀντιταττόμενος τούτῳ, (σελ. 92) εἴτ᾿ ἄγγελος, εἴτ᾿ ἄνθρωπος, ὡς ἑαυτόν ἑκών στερήσας τοῦ φωτός, ἐγκαταλειφθείς σκότος ἀναπέφηνεν.

Οὕτω τοίνυν καί ἡ σοφία ἐκείνη, ἀντιταξαμένῃ τῇ σοφίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ, μωρία γέγονεν. Εἰ δ᾿ ἦν διορατική καί ἐξαγγελτική τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν τοῖς κτίσμασι σοφίας, φανέρωσις οὖσα τοῦ ἀφανοῦς, ὄργανον ἀληθείας ἀφανιστικόν ἀγνοίας, ἐκεῖνο κατά μέθεξιν ὅ κατ᾿ αἰτίαν τό ἀγγελλόμενον, πῶς ἀν ἐμωράνθη, καί ταῦθ᾿ ὑπό τοῦ τήν σοφίαν ταύτην ἐκβαλλόντος τῇ κτίσει; Πῶς δ᾿ οὐκ ἄν εἰς αὐτήν τήν ἐμφαινομένην τῷ παντί τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφίαν τό βλάβος ἀναφέρετο τοῦτο; Πῶς δ᾿ ἄν οὐχ ἑαυτῷ μάχοιτο σαφῶς ὁ τῆς εἰρήνης τῆς τε ὅλης καί τῆς καθ᾿ ἕκαστον ὑποστάτης, διά μέν τῆς ἐγκαταβληθείσης τῷ κόσμῳ σοφίας διδούς σοφίαν, διά δέ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ παρουσίας τούς τε εἰληφότας καί τήν δεδομένην ταύτην μωραίνων σοφίαν; Ἔδει δέ καί ταύτην, οὐκ εἰς τό μωράναι, ἀλλ᾿ εἰς τό πληρῶσαι παραγενέσθαι, καθάπερ εἰς τόν πάλαι νόμον, περί οὗ ὁ Παῦλος βοᾷ, «νόμον οὖν καταργοῦμεν; μή γένοιτο, ἀλλά νόμον ἱστῶμεν», ὅν καί ὁ Κύριος ἐρευνᾶν προτρέπεται, ὡς ἀντεθησαυρισμένην ἔχοντα τήν ζωήν τήν αἰώνιον, καί πάλιν «εἰ ἐπιστεύετε» φησί, «Μωσῇ, ἐπιστεύετε ἄν ἐμοί». Βλέπεις ὑπερβάλλουσαν ὁμολογίαν τοῦ νόμου καί τῆς χάριτος; ∆ιά τοῦτο, τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ φωτός ἐπιφανέντος, βελτίων ἑαυτοῦ γέγονεν ὁ νόμος, τρανωθέντος αὐτῷ τοῦ ἀποθέτου κάλλους, ἀλλ᾿ οὐχ ἡ καθ᾿ Ἕλληνας σοφία˙ μωρίαν δ᾿ ὑποκαθεζομένην ἔχουσα κομψείᾳ τινί καί εὐεπείᾳ καί πιθανότητι λόγων, τοῦ αἴσχους ἀνακαλυφθέντος αἰσχίων ἐγένετο καί τῆς μωρίας δικαίως ἐπώνυμος, οὐ τῆς καθ᾿ ὑπεροχήν, ὡς ὑπέρ ἔννοιαν οὖσα (τοῦτο γάρ ἐπωνυμία τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφίας ἀπόρρητος), ἀλλά τῆς κατ᾿ ἔλλειψιν ἀληθείας ἐχομένης (σελ. 94) γνώσεως, ὡς καί τοῦ προσήκοντος ἀπολειφθεῖσα τῇ κατ᾿ ἄνθρωπον σοφίᾳ τέλους, οὐκ ἀπολειφθεῖσα καί τοῦ μέν ψεύδους ὡς ἀληθείας ἀντεχομένη, τῆς δ᾿ ἀληθείας ὡς ψεύδους καταψεύδεσθαι πειρωμένη, καί ἐπανιστᾶσα τήν κτίσιν κατά τοῦ κτίσαντος, ἧσπερ καί νῦν ἔργον ἐπανιστάναι κατά τε τοῦ Πνεύματος καί τῶν πνευματικῶν ἔργων καί ἀνδρῶν τάς τοῦ Πνεύματος γραφάς.σ

Οὔκουν διορατική καί ἐξαγγελτική ἐστι τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφίας ἡ τῶν ἔξω σοφῶν μεμωραμένη φιλοσοφία. Πῶς γάρ, δι᾿ ἧς οὐκ ἔγνω ὁ κόσμος τόν Θεόν; Εἰ δ᾿ ἀλλαχοῦ φησιν ὁ Παῦλος ὅτι «γνόντες τόν Θεόν, οὐχ ὡς Θεόν ἐδόξασαν», οὐχ ἑαυτῷ μάχεται ὁ τῆς εἰρήνης μαθητής, τῆς δ᾿ ἐν ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς παρά Χριστοῦ μόνου διδομένης ὑπερκοσμίου εἰρήνης κληρονόμος. Ἀλλ᾿ ἦλθον μέν, φησίν, εἰς ἔννοιαν Θεοῦ, ἀλλ᾿ οὐχί τήν πρέπουσαν Θεῷ˙ οὐδέ γάρ πανουργόν, οὐ παντοδύναμον, οὐ παντεπίσκοπον, οὐ μόνον ἄναρχόν τε καί ἄκτιστον ἐδόξασαν αὐτόν. ∆ιόπερ ἀπό τῶν κατ᾿ αὐτούς ἐκείνων χρόνων ἐγκαταλειφθέντες ὑπό τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὡς καί τοῦτ᾿ ἔδειξεν ὁ Παῦλος, εἰς ἀδόκιμον οἱ σοφοί παρεδόθησαν νοῦν, λατρεύοντες τῇ κτίσει παρά τόν κτίσαντα καί τῷ βορβόρῳ τῶν αἰσχρῶν καί πονηρῶν ἐγκαλινδούμενοι παθῶν˙ οὐ