John of Damascus, Sacred parallels

Did a carpenter make it, or a goldsmith, having melted gold, gild him, or fashion a likeness for him? Every man is made foolish by his knowledge. The thoughts of mortals are timid, and our counsels are uncertain; for we barely guess at the things on earth, 95.1081 and the things at hand we find with labor; but the things in heaven, who has traced out? Do not seek what is too difficult for you, and do not be curious about what is too high for you; what has been commanded you, think upon these things. For you have no need of the secret things. Do not be curious in superfluous works. For more things than human understanding have been shown to you; for their supposition has destroyed many, and an evil suspicion has caused their thoughts to slip; and he who loves danger will perish in it. Do not be curious about a matter for which you have no need. Wonderful are the works of the Lord, and his works are hidden from men. Who will trace out the great works of God? who will number the might of his majesty? and who will add to declare his mercies? it is not possible to diminish, nor to add; and it is not possible to trace out the wonders of the Lord; when a man finishes, then he begins; and when he ceases, then he will be perplexed. No one has ever seen God. The King of kings, and Lord of lords; who alone has immortality; dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen, nor can see. If you wish to say or hear something about God, leave your body; leave the bodily senses; abandon the earth; abandon the sea; make the air beneath you; pass by the seasons, the good order of the times, the adornments around the earth. Go beyond the ether; cross through the stars, the wonders concerning them, their good order, their magnitudes, their needs, their brightness, their position, their creation. Do not seek the unsearchable things; for you will not find them. For why do you even seek? From whom can you learn? From the earth? It did not exist. From the sea? The wet was not. From heaven? It was not raised up. From the sun and moon? They had not yet been created. But from the ages? Before the ages was the Only-begotten. Do not examine the things that are not eternal, beyond the one who is eternal. But if you are not willing, but are contentious, I laugh at your ignorance, or rather I weep for your audacity. Believe what is written; do not seek what is not written. We ought to know what we should speak, and what we should keep silent about. Do not put all words on the tongue, lest you suffer like the eye, which, having gazed at the whole sun, loses also the light it has. How great is God, and what is the measure of God, and of what sort is he in essence? Such things are dangerous for the one asking, a perplexity for the one asked; but silence is the cure for such things. 95.1084 He who does not humble his own thought, nor in imitation of the Apostle says, 'Brothers, I do not thus reckon myself to have apprehended anything;' but considers the apprehension of the essence of God, and with his own reasoning measures the unattainable, and reckons God to be such as he himself has comprehended with his own reasoning, and entirely makes his own mind the measure of things that are, and does not reckon that it is easier to measure out the entire sea with a small cup, than for the human mind to grasp the ineffable majesty of God, being puffed up in vain, and lifted up by the vanity of his own mind, he cannot say, 'I believed, therefore I spoke.' We have been taught by the divine Scripture to permit our mind to imagine nothing beyond what is allowed. To remember God continually is indeed pious, and has no satiety for the soul that loves God; but to go through the things concerning God with words is audacious; since thought falls far short of the worth of the matters; and again, speech presents but dimly the things that have been conceived. If then our thought falls far short of the magnitude of the matters, and speech is less than thought itself, how is silence not necessary, lest in the cheapness of words the wonder of theology should seem to be endangered? I shudder in both tongue and thought when I speak about God, and I pray for the same for you, this praiseworthy and blessed passion. My humble-minded one is not he who speaks small things about himself, and this to a few

ἐποίησε τέκτων, χρυσοχόος χωνεύσας χρυσίον, περιεχρύσωσεν αὐτὸν, ἢ ὁμοίωμα κατεσκεύασεν αὐτῷ; Ἐμωράνθη πᾶς ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἀπὸ γνώσεως. Λογισμοὶ θνητῶν δειλοὶ, καὶ ἐπισφαλεῖς αἱ ἐπίνοιαι ἡμῶν· μόλις γὰρ εἰκάζομεν τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, 95.1081 καὶ τὰ ἐν χερσὶν εὑρίσκομεν μετὰ πόνου· τὰ δὲ ἐν οὐρανοῖς, τίς ἐξιχνίασεν; Χαλεπώτερά σου μὴ ζήτει, καὶ ὑψηλότερά σου μὴ περιεργάζου· ἃ, προσετάγη σοι, ταῦτα διανοοῦ. Οὐ γάρ ἐστί σοι χρεία τῶν κρυπτῶν. Ἐν τοῖς περισσοῖς τῶν ἔργων σου μὴ περιεργάζου. Πλείονα γὰρ συνέσεως ἀνθρώπων ὑπεδείχθη σοι· πολλοὺς γὰρ ἀπώλεσεν ἡ ὑπόληψις αὐτῶν, καὶ ὑπόνοια πονηρὰ ὠλίσθησε διάνοιαν αὐτῶν· καὶ ὁ ἀγαπῶν κίνδυνον ἐν αὐτῷ ἀπολεῖται. Περὶ πράγματος, οὗ οὐκ ἔστι σοι χρεία, μὴ περιεργάζου. Θαυμαστὰ τὰ ἔργα Κυρίου, καὶ κρυπτὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ ἀνθρώποις. Τίς ἐξιχνιάσει τὰ μεγαλεῖα τοῦ Θεοῦ; κράτος τῆς μεγαλοσύνης αὐτοῦ τίς ἐξαριθμήσεται; καὶ τίς προσθήσει ἐκδιηγήσασθαι τὰ ἐλέη αὐτοῦ; οὐκ ἔστιν ἐλαττῶσαι, οὐδὲ προσθεῖναι· καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐξιχνιάσαι τὰ θαύματα Κυρίου· ὅταν συντελέσῃ ὁ ἄνθρωπος, τότε ἄρχεται· καὶ ὅταν παύσῃ, τότε ἐξαπορηθήσεται. Θεὸν οὐδεὶς ἑώρακε πώποτε. Ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν βασιλευόντων, καὶ Κύριος τῶν κυριευόντων· ὁ μόνος ἔχων ἀθανασίαν· φῶς οἰκῶν ἀπρόσιτον, ὃν εἶδεν οὐδεὶς ἀνθρώπων, οὐδὲ ἰδεῖν δύναται. Εἰ βούλει περὶ Θεοῦ λέγειν τι, ἢ ἀκούειν, ἄφες τὸ σῶμα ἑαυτοῦ· ἄφες τὰς σωματικὰς αἰσθήσεις· κατάλιπε τὴν γῆν· κατάλιπε τὴν θάλασσαν· κάτω σεαυτοῦ ποίησον τὸν ἀέρα· παράδραμε ὥρας, καιρῶν εὐταξίας, τὰς περὶ γῆν διακοσμήσεις. Ὑπὲρ τὸν αἰθέρα γενοῦ· διάβηθι τοὺς ἀστέρας, τὰ περὶ αὐτῶν θαύματα, τὴν εὐκοσμίαν αὐτῶν, τὰ μεγέθη, τὰς χρείας, τὴν λαμπρότητα, τὴν θέσιν, τὴν κτίσιν. Μὴ ζήτει τὰ ἀνερεύνητα· οὐδὲ γὰρ εὑρίσκεις. Ἵνα γὰρ τί καὶ ζητεῖς; Παρὰ τίνος ἔχεις μαθεῖν; Παρὰ γῆς; οὐχ ὑφειστήκει. Παρὰ θαλάσσης; οὐκ ἦν ἡ ὑγρά. Παρὰ οὐρανοῦ; οὐκ ἦν ἐπαρθείς. Παρὰ ἡλίου καὶ σελήνης; οὐδέπω δεδημιούργηντο. Ἀλλὰ παρ' αἰώνων; πρὸ αἰώνων ὁ Μονογενής. Μὴ ἐξέταζε τὰ μὴ ἀεὶ ὄντα, ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἀεὶ ὄντος. Εἰ δὲ μὴ θέλεις, ἀλλὰ φιλονεικεῖς, καταγελῶ σου τῆς ἀγνοίας, μᾶλλον δὲ κλαίω σου τὴν τόλμαν. Τοῖς γεγραμμένοις πίστευε· τὰ μὴ γεγραμμένα μὴ ζήτει. Εἰδέναι ἡμεῖς ὀφείλομεν ἃ χρὴ λαλεῖν, καὶ ἃ χρὴ σιωπᾷν. Μὴ πάντα τὰ ῥήματα τῇ γλώσσῃ, ἵνα μὴ πάθῃς, καθάπερ ὁ ὀφθαλμὸς, ὃς ὅλον τὸν ἥλιον ἀποβλέψας, ἀπολεῖ καὶ ὃ ἔχει φῶς. Πόσος ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ τί τὸ μέτρον τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ποταπὸς τὴν οὐσίαν; τὰ τοιαῦτα, ἐπικίνδυνα μὲν ἐρωτῶντι, ἀπορία δὲ τῷ ἐρωτωμένῳ· σιωπὴ δὲ, θεραπεία τῶν τοιούτων. 95.1084 Ὁ μὴ ταπεινῶν ἑαυτοῦ τὴν διάνοιαν, μηδὲ κατὰ μίμησιν τοῦ Ἀποστόλου λέγων τὸ, Ἀδελφοὶ, ἐγὼ ἐμαυτὸν οὕτω λογίζομαι κατειληφέναι τι· ἀλλὰ περινοῶν οὐσίας Θεοῦ κατάληψιν, καὶ τῷ ἰδίῳ λογισμῷ ἐκμετρῶν τὰ ἀνέφικτα, καὶ τοιοῦτον εἶναι λογιζόμενος τὸν Θεὸν, ὅσον αὐτὸς τῷ ἰδίῳ λογισμῷ περιέλαβεν, καὶ ὅλως τὸν οἰκεῖον νοῦν μέτρον τῶν ὄντων ποιούμενος, καὶ μὴ λογιζόμενος, ὅτι ῥᾷον ἐστὶ κοτύλῃ μικρᾷ τὴν πᾶσαν θάλασσαν ἐκμετρῆσαι, ἢ τῷ ἀνθρωπίνῳ νῷ τῆς ἀφάτου μεγαλειότητος τοῦ Θεοῦ περιδράξασθαι, εἰκῆ φυσιούμενος, καὶ ἐπαιρόμενος τῇ ματαιότητι τοῦ νοὸς αὐτοῦ, οὐ δύναται λέγειν τὸ, Ἐπίστευσα, διὸ ἐλάλησα. ∆εδιδάγμεθα παρὰ τῆς θείας Γραφῆς μηδὲν ἐπιτρέπειν ἡμῶν τῷ νῷ παρὰ τῶν συγκεχωρημένων φαντασιοῦσθαι. Θεοῦ μεμνῆσθαι μὲν διηνεκῶς εὐσεβὲς, καὶ κόρον οὐκ ἔχον τῇ φιλοθέῳ ψυχῇ· λόγῳ δὲ διεξιέναι τὰ περὶ Θεοῦ τολμηρόν· τῆς μὲν διανοίας πολλῷ τῷ μέτρῳ τῆς ἀξίας τῶν πραγμάτων ἀποπιπτούσης· πάλιν δὲ τοῦ λόγου ἀμυδρῶς παριστῶντος τὰ νοηθέντα. Εἰ οὖν ἡ μὲν διάνοια ἡμῶν παρὰ πολὺ τοῦ μεγέθους τῶν πραγμάτων ἀπολιμπάνεται, ὁ δὲ λόγος ἐλάττων ἐστὶ καὶ αὐτῆς τῆς διανοίας, πῶς οὐκ ἀναγκαία ἡ σιωπὴ, μήποτε ἐν τῇ τῶν ῥημάτων εὐτελείᾳ δόξῃ κινδυνεύειν τῆς θεολογίας τὸ θαῦμα; Φρίττω καὶ γλῶσσαν, καὶ διάνοιαν, ὅταν περὶ Θεοῦ φθέγγωμαι, καὶ ὑμῖν τὸ αὐτὸ συνεύχομαι, τὸ ἐπαινετὸν πάθος καὶ μακάριον. Ταπεινόφρων ἐμὸς, οὐχ ὅστις περὶ ἑαυτοῦ μικρὰ διαλέγεται, καὶ τοῦτο πρὸς ὀλίγους