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the end of life, so that, as I said, the one who is sick, being deceived by this sweat, might not unawares be alienated from the life that is manifest and divine and ever-abiding, and be found embracing the human and mortal life that will in any case be dissolved, which is by nature impossible to hold and is ever flowing through decay and alteration, and escaping the hands of those who think they have it more quickly than one who sees an unsubstantial dream.

ΡΙΕ (115). ..».FOR CHRIST DOES NOT OFTEN LOVE TO BE STOLEN, EVEN IF HE IS VERY

PHILANTHROPIC» 14Ε_066 From the same discourse, on the text, «For Christ does not often love to be stolen,

even if He is very philanthropic». Why ever, some say, having arrived here in the argument, if

God is very philanthropic, and an inexhaustible spring of philanthropy, so that it is not diminished in any way by those who draw from it, does he not love to be stolen? For in this way he would rather have shown his philanthropy, 1352 not being diminished by giving room to those who wish to steal, and especially a salvific theft, and as often as they might wish. To these, by the grace of God's word, we say that this very thing is full of philanthropy, or rather, it is philanthropy itself, and for those who wish to steal something, it is a very clear demonstration of good providence, not to allow those who wish for the appropriation of salvation to be achieved that the loss of what was given may also become very easy, as is likely, since it can easily be received again, and that those who have received the gift may be shown to be ignorant of the unchangeable and firm possession of the good, having a mind prone to fall into evil because of the ease of acquiring the good, since it is despised for its cheapness.

ΡΙS (116). OF THE SAME, FROM THE DISCOURSE ON PASCHA ... «NAKED IN SIMPLICITY AND LIFE

UNSKILLED From the same author's discourse on Pascha, on the text, «Naked in simplicity and unskilled life,

and without any covering or protection. For it was fitting for the one from the beginning to be such».

What this great teacher secretly reveals through these things, 14Ε_068

I say that only those know who have received the same gift of wisdom and knowledge as he, who, because they have put aside from the eyes of their mind every rheum from the passions and every material attachment, were able to contain the ray of true knowledge in all things, by which, with a simple and, as far as possible, uniform reason, having gathered their mind from the many things, they embraced all scientific knowledge of beings with simple understanding. But to us, on whom the gloom of ignorance still lies with respect to the comprehension of the true, because of the mind's turning about only things that are shaken, just as a blind man, touching a heap of matter with both his hands, often finds something of value, so we too, with our weakness, attempt to say something about the question before us. And indeed we say nothing at all other than what God may deliver into our hands, as it is written, to nourish you, our good fathers, according to our ability, I mean, by the groping reason of our intellectual power, a simple and unadorned contemplation and one commensurate with us, and calling for a fatherly blessing, lest, by ineptly traversing the field of sensible things in a sensible way like Esau, we should be deprived through slowness of the ready

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ζωῆς τό τέλος, ἵνα μή, ὡς εἶπον, διά τοῦτον ἀπατώμενος ὁ νοσῶν τόν ἱδρῶτα τῆς μέν προδήλου καί θείας ζωῆς καί ἀεί διαμενούσης ἀλλοτριούμενος λάθῃ, τήν δέ ἀνθρωπίνην καί ἐπίκηρον καί πάντως λυθησομένην εὑρεθῇ περιέπων, ἀκράτητον κατά φύσιν ὑπάρχουσαν καί ἀεί διά φθορᾶς καί ἀλλοιώσεως ῥέουσαν, καί θᾶττον τάς τῶν ἔχειν νομιζόντων χεῖρας διαφεύγουσαν ἤ ὄναρ ἀνυπόστατον βλέποντα.

ΡΙΕ (115). ..».ΟΥ ΓΑΡ ΠΟΛΛΑΚΙΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΦΙΛΕΙ ΚΛΕΠΤΟΜΕΝΟΣ, ΚΑΙ ΕΙ ΛΙΑΝ ΕΣΤΙ

ΦΙΛΑΝΘΡΩΠΟΣ» 14Ε_066 Ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ λόγου, εἰς τό, «Οὐ γάρ πολλάκις Χριστός φιλεῖ κλεπτόμενος,

καί εἰ λίαν ἐστί φιλάνθρωπος». Τί δήποτε, φασίν ἐνταῦθα τοῦ λόγου γενόμενοί τινες, εἰ λίαν ἐστί

φιλάνθρωπος ὁ Θεός, καί πηγή φιλανθρωπίας ἀνέκλειπτος, ὥστε μηδ᾿ ὁτιοῦν ὑπό τῶν ἀρυομένων ἐλαττοῦσθαι, μή φιλεῖ κλεπτόμενος; Οὕτω γάρ ἄν μᾶλλον τό φιλάνθρωπον ἐπεδείκνυτο, 1352 μή ἐλαττούμενον διά τοῦ διδόναι χώραν τοῖς ἐθέλουσι κλέπτειν, καί μάλιστα κλοπήν σωτήριον, καί ὁσάκις ἄν θέλοιεν. Πρός οὕς Θεοῦ λόγον χαριζομένου φαμέν, ὅτιπερ αὐτό τοῦτο φιλανθρωπίας πλῆρες ἐστι, μᾶλλον δέ αὐτό φιλανθρωπία, καί τούς περί τι κλέπτειν ἐθέλοντας, ἀγαθῆς προμηθείας ἔνδειξις σαφεστάτη, τό μή συγχωρεῖν τοῖς ἐθέλουσι τυγχάνοντος τοῦ σφετερισμοῦ τῆς σωτηρίας ῥᾴστη γένηται κατά τό εἰκός καί ἡ τοῦ δωρηθέντος ἀποβολή, ὡς εὐμαρῶς πάλιν ληφθῆναι δυναμένου, καί τῆς ἐν τῷ καλῷ ἀμεταθέτου καί παγίας ἕξεως ἀμαθεῖς ἀποφανθῶσιν οἱ τυγχάνοντες τῆς δωρεᾶς, εὐέμπτωτον εἰς κακίαν τήν γνώμην ἔχοντες διά τήν εὐμάρειαν τῆς τοῦ καλοῦ κτήσεως, τῷ εὐώνῳ καταφρονουμένης.

ΡΙS (116). ΤΟΥ ΑΥΤΟΥ ΕΚ ΤΟΥ ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΠΑΣΧΑ ... «ΓΥΜΝΟΝ ΤΗ ΑΠΛΟΤΗΤΙ ΚΑΙ ΖΩΗ

ΑΤΕΧΝΩ Τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐκ τοῦ εἰς τό Πάσχα λόγου, εἰς τό, «Γυμνόν τῇ ἁπλότητι καί ζωῇ

ἀτέχνῳ, καί δίχα παντός ἐπικαλύμματος καί προβλήματος. Τοιοῦτον γάρ ἔπρεπεν εἶναι τόν ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς».

Τί μέν διά τούτων ὁ μέγας οὗτος διδάσκαλος κρυφίως 14Ε_068

ἀποκαλύπτει, μόνους ἐκείνους εἰδέναι φημί τούς τό ἴσον αὐτῷ τῆς σοφίας εἰληφότας καί τῆς γνώσεως χάρισμα, οἵ διά τό πᾶσαν τήν ἐκ παθῶν καί πάσης ὑλικῆς προσπαθείας λήμην ἀποθέσθαι τῶν νοερῶν ὀμμάτων τήν ἀκτῖνα τῆς ἐν ὅλοις ἀληθοῦς γνώσως χωρεῖν ἐδυνήθησαν, καθ᾿ ἥν τῷ ἁπλῷ κατά τό ἐφικτόν καί ἑνοειδεῖ λόγῳ τόν νοῦν ἀπό τῶν πολλῶν περιστείλαντες πᾶσαν τήν ἐπιστημονικήν τῶν ὄντων ἁπλῇ συνέσει περιέλαβον εἴδησιν. Ἡμῖν δέ οἷς ὁ ζόφος ἔτι τῆς ἀγνοίας ἐπιπροσθεῖ πρός τήν τοῦ ἀληθοῦς κατανόησιν, διά τήν περί μόνα τά σαλευόμενα τοῦ νοῦ συστροφήν, ὥσπερ τυφλός ἄμφω τώ χεῖρε φορυτόν ὕλης ἀφάσσων εὑρίσκει πολλάκις τι τῶν τιμίων, οὕτως ἐπιχειροῦμεν καί ἡμεῖς μετά τῆς ἑαυτῶν ἀσθενείας εἰπεῖν τι περί τοῦ προκειμένου ζητήματος. Καί δή λέγομεν ἄλλο τό παράπαν οὐδέν ἤ ὅπερ ὁ Θεός ἐν χερσίν ἡμῶν παραδῷ κατά τό γεγραμμένον, πρός τό θρέψαι κατά δύναμιν ἡμῶν τούς καλούς πατέρας ὑμᾶς, λέγω δέ τῷ ψηλαφητικῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἐν ἡμῖν νοερᾶς δυνάμεως ἁπλοῦν καί ἀπέριττον θεώρημα καί ἡμῖν σύμμετρον, καί πατρικήν εὐλογίαν προσκαλούμενον, μήπως ἀφυῶς τόν ἀγρόν τῶν αἰσθητῶν αἰσθητῶς κατά τόν Ἡσαῦ περιοδεύοντες στερηθῶμεν διά βραδύτητα τῆς ἑτοίμης τοῦ