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praying through actions, which the word calls hands, by gradual work and prayer he lifts up his mind to God; but if we let go of the hands from the chain and do not care for the upward motion, we fall from on high. The same also concerning the ship, that we may understand the ship as our mind tossed by the winds of life, and the sea as life full of many storms, and the rock as Christ, whom holding fast we remain unshaken towards him, drawing our life.

§ 2. Of the renowned: Of the glorious. To speak at random: To speak in vain. Having been instructed: He says having been instructed instead of having been benefited. But it should be known, that

after Paul he became a disciple to the holy Hierotheus. And he says ‘snatching away’ instead of ‘secretly appropriating and usurping’.

In a presbyterial manner: He perhaps took ‘in a presbyterial manner’ instead of ‘experientially and scientifically’; and he calls ‘synoptic definitions’ those having a brief contemplation; for he also indicated this by saying ‘unified’; and he calls ‘convolutions’ expressions in few words.

14S_092 As is possible for us: That is, as is possible for me, and you yourself urged me to interpret, and as many teachers among us have thus interpreted; this is the composition of the hyperbaton.

Second oracles: Note that the Writings of the holy Hierotheus should be considered as a second holy Scripture.

Direct vision: He means the unveiled and most manifest understanding. Of the presbyterial: That the presbyterial dignity is more perfect and more didactic

than that of all priests. And what presbyterial is, you will understand from Isaiah saying: “not an elder, not an angel, but the Lord himself will come and save us”; and from the Revelation of the holy John, who said he had seen twenty-four elders in heaven around the ineffable throne of God.

Of the life-ruling: He perhaps calls the body of the holy Theotokos, who had then fallen asleep, a life-ruling and God-receiving body. And note also this, James the brother of God, and that this divine man was present with Peter and James the apostles.

Of the theologians: He speaks concerning the holy apostles. Of the divinely-ruling weakness. A divinely-ruling weakness he here calls the voluntary

condescension of the Son down to the flesh, apart from sin; for having known no sin at all, he deigned for our sake, not departing from what was his own, sinlessly by means of sin, through our adoption by himself, to lead us back to our ancient freedom; for though he was rich in divinity, he became poor with a wealth-creating poverty, taking up our flesh supernaturally, so that we might be enriched by his divinity, and existing in the form of God and being God 14S_094 in essence, he put on the form of a servant through an overflowing of goodness, being the simple Word, in-hypostasized, and having unchangeably become flesh; and in addition to these things, also all of his poor life in the flesh, the manger, the flight into Egypt, the indifferent association with prostitutes and tax collectors, the choice of the poorest fishermen, his homelessness, the improvised and entirely unprepared nature of his whole life in the flesh, the dishonorable death on a cross (“for cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), the being numbered with evil-doing robbers, the piercing of the nails, the stabbing of his side with the lance, the slaps, the spittings, the vinegar, the gall, the crown of thorns, the mockings and derisions, the kneelings, and the most humble funeral and burial. This which is as it were the foolish and weak thing of God, by the word of the economy, was shown to be incomparably wiser and stronger than men, by the all-powerful and all-wise victory of the stronger one, resoundingly,

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προσευχόμενος διά τῶν πράξεων, ἅς ὁ λόγος χεῖρας καλεῖ, τῇ κατά μικρόν ἐργασίᾳ καί προσευχῇ τόν νοῦν αὐτοῦ πρός Θεόν ἀνυψοῖ· ἐάν δέ τάς χεῖρας ἀπολύσωμεν τῆς σειρᾶς καί μή φροντίσωμεν τῆς ἐπί τά ἄνω φορᾶς, πίπτομεν ἐξ ὕψους. Τό αὐτό καί περί τῆς νηός, ἵνα νοήσωμεν ναῦν τήν ἡμῖν διάνοιαν ριπιζομένην τοῖς τοῦ βίου ἀνέμοις, θάλασσαν δέ τόν βίον τόν γέμοντα πολλῶν χειμώνων, πέτραν δέ τόν Χριστόν, ὅν κρατοῦντες ἀσάλευτοι διαμένομεν πρός αὐτόν, τόν βίον ἡμῶν ἕλκοντες.

§ 2. Τοῦ κλεινοῦ: Ἐνδόξου. Εἰκαιολογῆσαι: Ματαιολογῆσαι. Στοιχειωθέντας: Στοιχειωθέντας λέγει ἀντί τοῦ ὠφεληθέντας. Ἰστέον δέ, ὅτι

μετά Παῦλον ἐμαθητεύθη τῷ ἁγίῳ Ἱεροθέῳ. 'Ὑφαρπάζοντας' δέ λέγει ἀντί τοῦ 'κρυφιως ἰδιοποιουμένους καί σφετεριζομένους'.

Πρεσβυτικῶς: Τό πρεσβυτικῶς μέν ἴσως ἔλαβεν ἀντί τοῦ ἐμπείρως καί ἐπιστημονικῶς· συνοπτικούς δέ ὅρους φησί τούς σύντομον ἔχοντας τήν θεωρίαν· τοῦτο γάρ ἐδήλωσε καί 'ἑνιαίας' εἰπών· συνελίξεις δέ φησι τάς δι' ὀλίγων ἐκφράσεις.

14S_092 Ὡς οἷον ἡμῖν: Τουτέστιν ὡς δυνατόν ἐμοί καί αὐτός προέτρεψας ἑρμηνεῦσαι, καί ὅσοι καθ' ἡμᾶς διδάσκαλοι οὕτως ἡρμήνευσαν· αὕτη ἡ σύνθεσις τοῦ ὑπερβατοῦ.

∆εύτερα λόγια: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι τά τοῦ ἁγίου Ἱεροθέου Συγγράμματα ὡς δευτέραν ἁγίαν Γραφήν νομιστέον.

Αὐτοπτικήν: Τήν ἀνεπικάλυπτον καί ἐμφανεστέραν κατανόησιν λέγει. Πρεσβυτικῆς: Ὅτι ἡ πρεσβυτική ἀξία τελειοτέρα καί διδασκαλικωτέρα

πάντων ἱερέων ἐστί. Τί δέ ἐστι πρεσβυτική, νοήσεις ἐξ Ἠσαΐου λέγοντος· «οὐ πρέσβυς, οὐκ ἄγγελος, ἀλλ' αὐτός ὁ Κύριος ἥξει καί σῴσει ἡμᾶς»· καί ἐκ τῆς τοῦ ἁγίου Ἰωάννου Ἀποκαλύψεως, ὅς εἴκοσι τέσσαρας πρεσβυτέρους εἶπεν ἑωρακέναι ἐν οὐρανοῖς περί τόν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀνεκλάλητον θρόνον.

Τοῦ ζωαρχικοῦ: Ζωαρχικόν καί θεοδόχον σῶμα τάχα τό τῆς ἁγίας Θεοτόκου λέγει, τότε κοιμηθείσης. Σημείωσαι δέ καί τό, ὁ ἀδελφόθεος Ἰάκωβος, καί ὅτι συμπαρῆν Πέτρῳ καί Ἰακώβῳ τοῖς ἀποστόλοις ὁ θεῖος οὗτος ἀνήρ.

Τῶν θεολόγων: Περί τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων λέγει. Τῆς θεαρχικῆς ἀσθενείας. Θεαρχικήν ἀσθένειαν ἐνταῦθά φησιν τήν ἑκούσιον

τοῦ Υἱοῦ ἄχρι σαρκός, ἁμαρτίας δίχα, συγκατάβασιν· ἁμαρτίαν γάρ πάντῃ ἀγνοήσας, κατηξίωσεν ὑπέρ ἡμῶν, μή ἐκστάς τῶν οἰκείων, ἀναμαρτήτως ἁμαρτίᾳ διά τῆς δι' ἑαυτοῦ ἡμῶν υἱοθεσίας εἰς τήν ἀρχαίαν ἐπαναγάγῃ ἐλευθερίαν· πλούσιος γάρ ὤν θεότητι, πτωχεύει τήν πλουτοποιόν πτωχείαν, ἀναλαβών ὑπερφυῶς τήν ἡμῶν σάρκα, ἵνα ἡμεῖς τήν ἐκείνου πλουτήσωμεν θεότητα, καί ἐν μορφῇ Θεοῦ καί Θεός 14S_094 κατ' οὐσιαν ὑπάρχων, τήν τοῦ δούλου δι' ὑπερέκχυσιν ἀγαθότητος ὑπέδυ μορφήν, Λόγος ἁπλοῦς ὤν, ἐνυπόστατος, καί γεγονώς ἀτρέπτως σάρξ· ἔτι πρός τούτοις καί πᾶσαν τήν ἔνσαρκον αὐτοῦ πενιχράν πολιτείαν, τήν φάτνην, τήν εἰς Αἴγυπτον φυγήν, τήν μετά πορνῶν καί τελωνῶν ἀδιάφορον συνδιαγωγήν, τήν ἐκλογήν τῶν πτωχοτάτων ἁλιέων, τό ἄοικον αὐτοῦ, τό αὐτοσχέδιον καί ἀπροπαράσκευον πάντῃ τῆς ὅλης αὐτοῦ ἐνσάρκου ζωῆς, τόν ἄτιμον ἐπί σταυροῦ θάνατον («ἐπικατάρατος γάρ πᾶς ὁ κρεμάμενος ἐπί ξύλου»), τήν μετά τῶν κακούργων λῃστῶν συναρίθμησιν, τάς διαπερονήσεις τῶν ἥλων, τήν διά τῆς λόγχης νύξιν τῆς πλευρᾶς, τά ραπίσματα, τά ἐμπτύσματα, τό ὄξος, τήν χολήν, τόν ἀκάνθινον στέφανον, τούς διαπαιγμούς καί διαγελασμούς, τάς γονυπετήσεις, τήν εὐτελεστάτην κηδείαν τε καί ταφήν. Τοῦτο τό ὡσανεί μωρόν καί ἀσθενές τοῦ Θεοῦ, τῷ λόγῳ τῆς οἰκονομίας σοφώτερον καί ἰσχυρότερον ἀσυγκρίτως τῶν ἀνθρώπων, τῇ ὑπερδυνάμῳ καί ὑπερσόφῳ ἐκνικήσει τοῦ κρείττονος διαπρυσίως ἀπεδείχθη,