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showing the way through the subsequent ascents, leads to the highest point of blessedness the one who follows this guidance. For the meaning of the last psalm shows you this, in which, after the complete destruction of wickedness, all things in existence will be holy and all will be in harmony for the praise of God, having equally received in the firmness of power immutability against evil and with his majesty raising up the auspicious sound as with some loud-sounding trumpet. when all of creation is joined together into one choir, of all things both above and below, and like a cymbal the intelligible creation, which is now divided and separated because of sin, produces the good sound from our harmony. when our part runs together with the angelic, and the divine battle-array, having recovered itself from confusion at the slaughter of the enemies, shouts the victory song to the trophy-bearer, then the praise of every breath comes to be, extending grace forever and through increase abounding for all eternity in blessedness, I mean that which is truly blessed; in which the conjectural thought concerning knowledge is inactive, and our activity of hope is inactive, but the 5.69 ineffable and incomprehensible state, better than all thought, succeeds, Which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the human heart. For thus the divine apostle defined the good things laid up in sanctification.

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CHAPTER 1. Since these things have been thus clarified by us, it would be time also for the one concerning the

discourse on the inscriptions to be examined. For these too contribute not a little for us to the path according to virtue, as it is possible to learn from the very meaning of what is inscribed. But it would be necessary first to make a certain technical survey of the inscriptions in brief before the contemplation of the psalms, so that it might become especially clear to us through these things as well, that the entire aim of this divinely-inspired teaching is to lead the mind up to that which is truly blessed. Of the psalms, then, some are entirely without inscription; others, which among us have the inscription of the prophet, do not have it among the Hebrews. For others, the inscription is the bare name of David; for others, along with the name something else is also written, either praise or a song or a laudation or a psalm or of understanding or a prayer or of the exodus of the tent or of dedication or of ecstasy or for a memorial or for confession 5.70 or for the servant of the Lord or for Idithum or for Aiman the Israelite. For others, the inscription is made with a certain pairing of these names or of the words written with one another; for either a song of a psalm or a psalm of a song or a song or a psalm or in hymns a psalm or in hymns of understanding or of a prayer to David or of a prayer for the poor man or a praise of a song or something of this sort arranged by pairing with the name of David becomes the inscription. Again, in the case of others, certain other things are inscribed along with these, with "for the end" usually placed before, and various and different things being written with this phrase: for it writes either "concerning those who will be changed" or "concerning the hidden things" or "for her who inherits" or "concerning the eighth" or "concerning the winepresses" or "concerning the morning help" or "concerning Maeleth" or "concerning the people removed far from the holy things" or "do not destroy" or "for an inscription on a pillar" or both of these, or "for Solomon" or "a song concerning the beloved" or "concerning the hidden things of the son" or "for confession" or some circumstance from history; for example when he was in the cave, or when in the desert, or when Saul sent to kill him, or concerning the words of Chusi, or when he changed his face

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ὁδὸν ὑποδείξασα διὰ τῶν ἐφεξῆς ἀναβάσεων πρὸς τὸ ἀκρότατον ἄγει τοῦ μακαρισμοῦ τὸν τῇ χειραγωγίᾳ ταύτῃ ἑπόμενον. τοῦτο γάρ σοι ἐνδείκνυται ἡ τοῦ τελευταίου ψαλμοῦ διάνοια, ἐν ᾧ μετὰ τὸν τῆς κακίας παντελῆ ἀφανισμὸν πάντα ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν ἅγια ἔσται καὶ πάντα πρὸς τὸν αἶνον τοῦ θεοῦ συμφωνήσει, ἐπ' ἴσης ἐν τῷ στερρῷ τῆς δυνάμεως τὸ πρὸς τὴν κακίαν ἄτρεπτον προσλαβόντα καὶ τῇ μεγαλωσύνῃ αὐτοῦ τὸν εὔφημον ἦχον οἷόν τινι μεγαλοφώνῳ σάλπιγγι συνεπαίροντα. ὅταν εἰς μίαν χοροστασίαν συναρμοσθῇ πᾶσα ἡ κτίσις, τῶν τε ὑπερκειμένων τῶν τε ὑποβεβηκότων ἁπάντων, καὶ κυμβάλου δίκην ἡ νοητὴ κτίσις καὶ ἡ νῦν δι' ἁμαρτίας μεμερισμένη καὶ διεστῶσα τὸν ἀγαθὸν ἦχον ἐκ τῆς ἡμετέρας συμφωνίας ἀποτελέσῃ. ὅταν συνδράμῃ τῷ ἀγγελικῷ τὸ ἡμέτερον, καὶ ἀναλαβοῦσα ἑαυτὴν ἐκ τῆς συγχύσεως ἡ θεία παράταξις ἐπὶ τῷ φόνῳ τῶν πολεμίων ἀλαλάξῃ τῷ τροπαιούχῳ τὸ ἐπινίκιον, τότε γίνεται πάσης πνοῆς ὁ αἶνος εἰς ἀεὶ παρατείνων τὴν χάριν καὶ δι' αὐξήσεως πλεονάζων εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς τὸ μακάριον, ἐκεῖνο λέγω τὸ ὄντως μακάριον· ἐφ' οὗ ἀργεῖ μὲν ἡ στοχαστικὴ περὶ τὴν γνῶσιν διάνοια, ἀργεῖ δὲ καὶ ἡ ἐλπιστικὴ ἡμῶν ἐνέργεια, διαδέχεται δὲ ἡ 5.69 ἄρρητός τε καὶ ἀκατανόητος καὶ πάσης κρείττων διανοίας κατάστασις, Ἣν οὔτε ὀφθαλμὸς εἶδεν, οὔτε οὖς ἤκουσεν, οὔτε ἀνθρωπίνη καρδία ἐχώρησεν. οὕτω γὰρ ὡρίσατο τὰ ἀγαθὰ τὰ ἐν τῷ ἁγιασμῷ ἀποκείμενα ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος.

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ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ Αʹ Τούτων οὖν οὕτως ἡμῖν διευκρινηθέντων καιρὸς ἂν εἴη καὶ τὸν περὶ τῶν

ἐπιγραφῶν ἐξετασθῆναι λόγον. οὐ μικρὰ γὰρ ἡμῖν πρὸς τὴν κατ' ἀρετὴν ὁδὸν καὶ αὗται συμ βάλλονται, ὡς ἔξεστιν ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς διανοίας τῶν ἐπιγεγραμμέ νων μαθεῖν. ἀναγκαῖον δ' ἂν εἴη πρῶτον τεχνικήν τινα τῶν ἐπιγραφῶν ἔφοδον δι' ὀλίγων πρὸ τῆς τῶν ψαλμῶν θεωρίας ποιήσασθαι, ὡς ἂν μάλιστα γένοιτο δῆλον καὶ διὰ τούτων ἡμῖν, ὅτι πᾶς ὁ σκοπὸς τῆς θεοπνεύστου ταύτης διδασκαλίας ἐστὶν ἐπὶ τὸ ὄντως μακάριον ἀναγαγεῖν τὴν διάνοιαν. τῶν τοίνυν ψαλμῶν οἱ μέν εἰσιν ἀνεπίγραφοι καθόλου· οἱ δὲ παρ' ἡμῖν ἔχοντες τὴν ἐπιγραφὴν τοῦ προφήτου, παρὰ τοῖς Ἑβραίοις οὐκ ἔχουσι. τοῖς δὲ ἐπιγραφή ἐστι ψιλὸν τοῦ ∆αβὶδ τὸ ὄνομα, ἄλλοις μετὰ τοῦ ὀνόματος καὶ ἄλλο τι συμπαραγράφεται, ἢ αἶνος ἢ ᾠδὴ ἢ αἴνεσις ἢ ψαλμὸς ἢ συνέσεως ἢ προσευχὴ ἢ ἐξοδίου σκηνῆς ἢ ἐγκαινισμοῦ ἢ ἐκστάσεως ἢ εἰς ἀνάμνησιν ἢ εἰς ἐξομολογή 5.70 σεως ἢ τῷ δούλῳ κυρίου ἢ τῷ Ἰδιθοὺμ ἢ τῷ Ἀιμὰν τῷ Ἰσραηλίτῃ. ἑτέροις δὲ μετὰ συζυγίας τινὸς τῶν ὀνομάτων τούτων ἢ τῶν ῥημάτων ἀλλήλοις συγγραφομένων ἡ ἐπιγραφὴ γίνεται· ἢ γὰρ ᾠδὴ ψαλμοῦ ἢ ψαλμὸς ᾠδῆς ἢ ᾠδὴ ἢ ψαλμὸς ἢ ἐν ὕμνοις ψαλμὸς ἢ ἐν ὕμνοις συνέσεως ἢ προσευχῆς τῷ ∆αβὶδ ἢ προσευχῆς τῷ πτωχῷ ἢ αἶνος ᾠδῆς ἤ τι τῶν τοιούτων διὰ συζυγίας συντεταγμένον τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ ∆αβὶδ ἐπιγραφὴ γίνεται. πάλιν ἐφ' ἑτέρων καὶ ἄλλα τινὰ τούτοις συνεπιγράφεται προτεταγμένου μὲν ὡς τὰ πολλὰ τοῦ εἰς τὸ τέλος, συγγραφομένων δὲ τῇ φωνῇ ταύτῃ ποικίλων τε καὶ διαφόρων· ἢ γὰρ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀλλοιωθησομένων προσγρά φει ἢ ὑπὲρ τῶν κρυφίων ἢ ὑπὲρ τῆς κληρονομούσης ἢ ὑπὲρ τῆς ὀγδόης ἢ ὑπὲρ τῶν ληνῶν ἢ ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀντιλήψεως τῆς ἑωθινῆς ἢ ὑπὲρ Μαελὲθ ἢ ὑπὲρ τοῦ λαοῦ τοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἁγίων μεμακρυμμένου ἢ μὴ διαφθείρῃς ἢ εἰς στηλογραφίαν ἢ καὶ ἀμφότερα ταῦτα ἢ εἰς Σολομῶντα ἢ ᾠδὴ ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ ἢ ὑπὲρ τῶν κρυφίων τοῦ υἱοῦ ἢ εἰς ἐξομολόγησιν ἤ τις ἐξ ἱστορίας περίστασις· οἷον ὅτε ἦν ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ ἢ ὅτε ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἢ ὅτε ἀπέστειλε Σαοὺλ τοῦ θανατῶσαι αὐτὸν ἢ ὑπὲρ τῶν λόγων Χουσὶ ἢ ὅτε ἠλλοίωσε τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ