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sea, and through the one having fins on its tail, the one who cleverly escapes the snares of the demonic hunters, and through the one having fins on this side and that of its head, the one having the contemplative mind, securing it from all sides.

14Α_066 QUESTION 38 For what reason does Scripture say that Esau was hated by God before he was born, but Jacob was loved? RESPONSE

According to the letter, it is clear that God, who knows all things before their birth, knew what sort each would be according to their choice, and knowing this, he already hated the one, but loved the other. But if one examines the matter anagogically, every mind like Esau is hated by God, being hairy with worldly matter and rough with forbidden thoughts; but every Jacob is loved, a smooth mind, unadorned and immaterial and single-minded. And in another sense, every Isaac has two sons, who before they are born, the one is hated and the other is loved; and these are "the law of the spirit" and "the mind of the flesh"; who also, before they come into activity, the one is loved, and the other is hated.

And in another way, Isaac is taken as a type of God; he had two sons, the written and the spiritual law; and the one was hairy and rough, but the other smooth. For the law had many and innumerable observances and was hated according to Isaiah because "My soul hates your feasts and sabbaths"; but the other was loved; for he was smooth; for the Gospel is smooth and concise; for it demands sincere faith in God and a good conscience toward one's neighbor.

[Concerning the same, otherwise] Or also according to the interpretation of the names, every 'despiser' and worthless person 14Α_068 of piety is hated by God; for this is what Esau is interpreted to mean; but every 'supplanter' of wickedness is loved, which is what Jacob is interpreted to mean.

QUESTION 39 Why then did Abraham see three angels, but Lot two? RESPONSE

Abraham, being perfected and having surpassed phenomena and been illuminated by the knowledge of the holy

Trinity and unity, for which reason he also receives the alpha as an addition to his name, as one who alone approached the Alone in knowledge, fittingly sees three angels. But Lot, not yet having traversed the visible with knowledge, but worshiping the divine from things seen and imagining nothing beyond these, nor having gone beyond the two things, matter and form, from which phenomena arise, nor having encompassed with knowledge the principle of the unity and trinity, for this reason sees two angels. Therefore, when the angels hurried him and urged him to be saved on the mountain, he hesitated to go up to the mountain, but asked to reach Segor, to the lesser knowledge; for Segor is interpreted as 'small'. But the angels casting Lot out are taken to be the two Covenants of both the written and the evangelical law; for through these one is cast out and flees the error concerning sensible things and escapes the conflagration from them. But he has his cohabiting sense ascending with him; if therefore she turns to the things behind, she becomes a pillar of salt, set forth as an example to all, bearing the unchangeable state of briny wickedness.

And if he also brings wine from Sodom, which indicates the 14Α_070 preoccupations of unclean thoughts, the two daughters make such a one drunk in order to conceive; the first daughter, then, is desire; for when the mind stirs up the first memories of the preoccupations, immediately desire, by associating with it, conceives assent; immediately then the second also approaches; and she is

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θάλασσαν, διὰ δὲ τοῦ ἔχοντος ἐν τῇ οὐρᾷ πτερύγια τὸν εὐμηχάνως τὰς λαβὰς τῶν θηρευτῶν δαιμόνων διαδιδράσκοντα, διὰ δὲ τοῦ ἔχοντος ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ ἔνθεν καὶ ἔνθεν πτερύγια τὸν ἔχοντα τὸ θεωρητικὸν πάντοθεν τὸν νοῦν κατασφαλίζοντα.

14Α_066 ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ 38 Τίνος χάριν πρὶν γεννηθῆναι τὸν Ἡσαῦ ἡ Γραφὴ λέγει μεμισῆσθαι αὐτὸν ἐκ τοῦ

Θεοῦ, τὸν δὲ Ἰακὼβ ἠγαπῆσθαι; ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ

Κατὰ μὲν τὸ γράμμα δῆλον ὡς ἐγίνωσκεν ὁ Θεὸς ὁ πάντα εἰδὼς πρὶν γενέσεως αὐτῶν ὁποῖοι ἤμελλον ἔσεσθαι κατὰ προαίρεσιν ἑκάτεροι καὶ ὡς γινώσκων τὸν μὲν ἤδη ἐμίσει, τὸν δὲ ἠγάπα. Εἰ δὲ κατ᾽ ἀναγωγὴν ἐξετάζει τις τὸ προκείμενον, μεμίσηται παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ πᾶς νοῦς κατὰ τὸν Ἡσαῦ δασὺς τῇ ὕλῃ τῇ κοσμικῇ καὶ τετραχυμμένος τοῖς ἀπηγορευμένοις λογισμοῖς· ἠγάπηται δὲ πᾶς Ἰακώβ, νοῦς λεῖος, ἀπέριττος καὶ ἄϋλος καὶ μονότροπος. Καὶ ἄλλως δὲ πᾶς Ἰσαὰκ ἔχει δύο υἱούς, οἵτινες πρὶν γεννηθῶσιν ὁ μὲν μεμίσηται, ὁ δὲ ἠγάπηται· εἰσὶν δὲ οὗτοι «ὁ νόμος τοῦ πνεύματος» καὶ «τὸ φρόνημα τῆς σαρκός»· οἵτινες καὶ πρὶν εἰς ἐνέργειαν ἔλθωσιν ὁ μὲν ἠγάπηται, ὁ δὲ μεμίσηται.

Καὶ ἄλλως ὁ Ἰσαὰκ εἰς τύπον λαμβάνεται τοῦ Θεοῦ· οὗτος ἔσχεν δύο υἱούς, τὸν γραπτὸν καὶ τὸν πνευματικὸν νόμον· καὶ ὁ μὲν δασὺς ἦν καὶ τραχύς, ὁ δὲ λεῖος. Εἶχεν γὰρ ὁ νόμος πολλὰς καὶ ἀναριθμήτους παρατηρήσεις καὶ ἐμισήθη κατὰ τὸν Ἡσαΐαν ὅτι «τὰς ἑορτὰς ὑμῶν καὶ τὰ σάββατα μισεῖ ἡ ψυχή μου»· ὁ δὲ ἕτερος ἠγαπᾶτο· ἦν γὰρ λεῖος· τὸ γὰρ Εὐαγγέλιον λεῖόν ἐστιν καὶ συντετμημένον· ἀπαιτεῖ γὰρ πίστιν εἰλικρινῆ εἰς Θεὸν καὶ ἀγαθὴν συνείδησιν εἰς τὸν πλησίον.

[Περὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἄλλως] Ἢ καὶ κατὰ τῶν ὀνομάτων ἑρμηνείαν μεμίσηται παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ πᾶς 'ἐξουδενωτὴς' καὶ φαῦλος 14Α_068 τῆς εὐσεβείας· τοῦτο γὰρ Ἡσαῦ ἑρμηνεύεται· ἠγάπηται δὲ πᾶς 'πτερνιστὴς' τῆς κακίας, ὅπερ ὁ Ἰακὼβ ἑρμηνεύεται.

ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ 39 Τί δήποτε ὁ μὲν Ἀβραὰμ τρεῖς ἀγγέλους εἶδεν, ὁ δὲ Λὼτ δύο; ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ Ὁ μὲν Ἀβραὰμ ἅτε τετελειωμένος καὶ ὑπερβὰς τὰ φαινόμενα καὶ τῆς ἁγίας

Τριάδος καὶ μονάδος τὴν γνῶσιν ἐλλαμφθείς διὸ καὶ τὸ ἄλφα εἰς προσθήκην τοῦ ὀνόματος δέχεται ὡς μόνος τῷ μόνῳ κατὰ τὴν γνῶσιν προσχωρήσας εἰκότως τρεῖς ἀγγέλους ὁρᾷ. Ὁ δὲ Λὼτ μήπω τὰ ὁρώμενα τῇ γνώσει διαβάς, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ τῶν ὁρωμένων τὸ θεῖον θρησκεύων καὶ μηδὲν πλείω τούτων φανταζόμενος, μὴ δὲ ὑπὲρ τὰ δύο, ὕλην καὶ τὸ εἶδος, γενόμενος, ἐξ ὧν τὰ φαινόμενα, μὴ δὲ τὸν περὶ μονάδος καὶ τριάδος λόγον τῇ γνώσει περιλαβών, διὰ τοῦτο δύο ἀγγέλους ὁρᾷ. Ὅθεν ἐπισπευδόντων αὐτὸν τῶν ἀγγέλων καὶ εἰς τὸ ὄρος σῴζεσθαι κατεπειγόντων, ἀπώκνησεν εἰς τὸ ὄρος ἀνελθεῖν, ἀλλὰ τὴν Σιγὼρ καταλαβεῖν παρεκάλει, εἰς τὴν μικροτέραν γνῶσιν· 'μικρὰ' γὰρ ἡ Σιγὼρ ἑρμηνεύεται. Οἱ δὲ τὸν Λὼτ ἐκβάλλοντες ἄγγελοι λαμβάνονται ἐπὶ τῶν δύο ∆ιαθηκῶν τοῦ τε γραπτοῦ καὶ τοῦ εὐαγγελικοῦ νόμου· διὰ τούτων γὰρ ἐκβάλλεταί τις καὶ φεύγει τὴν περὶ τὰ αἰσθητὰ πλάνην καὶ τὸν ἐκ τούτων διαφεύγει ἐμπρησμόν. Ἔχει δὲ τὴν σύνοικον αἴσθησιν συναναβαίνουσαν· ἐὰν οὖν ταύτη στραφῇ εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω, γίνεται στήλη ἁλός, παράδειγμα πᾶσιν ἐκκειμένη, τῆς ἁλμώδους κακίας τὴν ἀμετάθετον ἕξιν φέρουσα.

Εἰ δὲ καὶ οἶνον ἐκ Σοδόμων ἐπιφέρεται, ὅπερ δηλοῖ τῶν 14Α_070 ἀκαθάρτων λογισμῶν τὰς προλήψεις, αἱ δύο θυγατέρες μεθύσκουσιν τὸν τοιοῦτον πρὸς τὸ συλλαβεῖν· ἔστιν μὲν οὖν ἡ πρώτη θυγάτηρ ἡ ἐπιθυμία· ἐπὰν γὰρ τὰς πρώτας τῶν προλήψεων μνήμας ἀνακινήσει ὁ νοῦς, εὐθέως ἡ ἐπιθυμία συγγινομένη συμλαμβάνει τὴν συγκατάθεσιν· εὐθέως οὖν καὶ ἡ δευτέρα προσέρχεται· ἔστιν δὲ ἡ