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4 By the same author, Discourse 4 on the Incomprehensible. It would have been enough, then, having previously shown that God is incomprehensible to men, and even to the Cherubim and the Seraphim, to be rid of the matter and to stir nothing further; but since our whole eagerness and zeal is not only to sew up the mouths of our opponents, but also to make your love wiser still, we take up the same subject again and the discourse further

we carry forward. For dwelling on these things will both make you know more and for us

will produce more brilliant trophies of victory, cleansing out any remnant that may have been left; since it is necessary not just to cut off noxious weeds from above—for they grow again when the roots are left below—but to pull them up from the very flanks and bosom of the earth and expose them naked to the heat of the sun's ray, so that they may wither easily. Come, then, let us lead you up again to heaven in our discourse, not being meddlesome or prying, but hastening to put an end to the untimely contentiousness of those who do not know themselves nor can bear to know the measures of human nature. For it was for this reason that we showed from great abundance that not only an epiphany of God, but even one of angels was unbearable for that righteous man at that time, when we read the whole story to you and continually showed the blessed Daniel growing pale, trembling, being in no better state than those at the point of death, with his soul hastening to break the bond of the flesh. For just as a tame and gentle dove living in some small house, whenever it senses some fear, flutters in terror to the roof and seeks some exit through the windows, desiring to be freed from its agony, so indeed the soul of that blessed man at that time hastened to fly out of the body and hurried to the outside from all directions, and it would have gone out and flown away and left the body desolate, had not the angel quickly anticipated it, freed it from its agony, and led it back again to its own lodging. And we said these things then for this reason, so that learning how much an angel differs from a man, and being brought to their senses by the superiority of a fellow servant, they might be rid of their madness against the Master. The righteous man could not bear to see an angel, he who had such great confidence, and yet those who are so far removed from his virtue pry into not an angel, but the very Master of angels. He tamed the wrath of lions; but we cannot even overcome foxes; he tore a dragon in two and mastered the nature of the beast through his confidence toward God; but we fear even mere reptiles; he stopped a king raging like a lion and, appearing in the midst, he checked the anger of Nebuchadnezzar which was being borne more fiercely than any flame against the barbarian armies, and he illuminated all that was in darkness. But this man who brought light, on seeing an angel coming to him, was seized by a severe dizziness. What defense, then, will they have, who attempt to tread upon that blessed nature? But we did not stop our discourse there at that time, but we also led the narrative up to those wise powers; we showed the averting of their eyes, the covering of their wings, the straightness of their feet, the continuous cry, and that through all these things those incorporeal powers display to us their astonishment and awe; for the wiser they are, the nearer they are than us to that ineffable and blessed essence, so much more than us do they know its incomprehensibility. For an increase of wisdom produces an increase of reverence. We told you what the unapproachable is and that it is much greater than the incomprehensible, and we added the reason that the incomprehensible is incomprehensible after it has been investigated

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4 Τοῦ αὐτοῦ περὶ ἀκαταλήπτου λόγος δʹ. Ἤρκει μὲν οὖν πρώην δείξαντα ἀνθρώποις ἀκατάληπτον ὄντα τὸν Θεόν, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τοῖς Χερουβὶμ καὶ τοῖς Σεραφίμ, ἀπηλλάχθαι πραγμάτων καὶ μηδὲν περαιτέρω κινεῖν· ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ προθυμία καὶ σπουδὴ πᾶσα ἡμῖν, οὐχὶ τῶν ἐναντίων ἀπορράψαι τὰ στόματα μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ὑμετέραν ἀγάπην ἐπὶ πλεῖον σοφίσαι, πάλιν τῆς αὐτῆς ὑποθέσεως ἁπτόμεθα καὶ περαιτέρω τὸν λόγον

προάγομεν. Ἡ γὰρ ἐν τούτοις διατριβὴ καὶ ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι ποιήσει πλείονα καὶ ἡμῖν

λαμπρότερα ἐργάσεται τὰ νικητήρια, εἰ καί τι λείψανον ὑπολέλειπται ἐκκαθαίρουσα· ἐπεὶ καὶ τὰς πονηρὰς βοτάνας οὐκ ἄνωθεν ἀποκείρειν χρὴ μόνον-πάλιν γὰρ βλαστάνουσι τῶν ῥιζῶν κάτω κειμένων-, ἀλλ' ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν λαγόνων τῆς γῆς καὶ τῶν κόλπων ἀνασπᾶν καὶ γυμνὰς προτιθέναι τῇ θέρμῃ τῆς ἀκτῖνος, ὥστε καταμαρανθῆναι ῥᾳδίως. Φέρε οὖν ἐπὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν ὑμᾶς ἐπαναγάγωμεν τῷ λόγῳ πάλιν, οὐχὶ περιεργαζόμενοι οὐδὲ πολυπραγμονοῦντες, ἀλλὰ τῶν οὐκ ἐπισταμένων ἑαυτοὺς οὐδὲ ἀνεχομένων εἰδέναι μέτρα φύσεως ἀνθρωπίνης τὴν ἄκαιρον φιλονεικίαν καταλῦσαι σπεύδοντες. ∆ιὰ γὰρ τοῦτο ἐκ πολλῆς τῆς περιουσίας οὐχὶ Θεοῦ ἐπιφάνειαν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀγγέλων ἐδείξαμεν ἀφόρητον οὖσαν τῷ δικαίῳ τότε ἐκείνῳ, ὅτε καὶ τὴν ἱστορίαν ὑμῖν πᾶσαν ἀνέγνωμεν καὶ συνεχῶς ἐδείκνυμεν τὸν μακάριον ∆ανιὴλ ὠχριῶντα, τρέμοντα, τῶν ψυχορραγούντων οὐδὲν ἄμεινον διακείμενον, τῆς ψυχῆς ἐπειγομένης ἀπορρῆξαι τὸν τῆς σαρκὸς δεσμόν. Καθάπερ γὰρ περιστερὰ χειροήθης καὶ ἥμερος ἐν οἰκίσκῳ τινὶ διατρίβουσα, ὅταν ποτὲ αἴσθηταί τινος φόβου, πτοηθεῖσα πρὸς τὴν ὀροφὴν ἵπταται καὶ διὰ τῶν θυρίδων ἔξοδόν τινα ἐπιζητεῖ, τῆς ἀγωνίας ἀπαλλαγῆναι ἐπιθυμοῦσα, οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ τοῦ μακαρίου τότε ἐκείνου ἐκ τοῦ σώματος ἀναπτῆναι ἔσπευδε καὶ πρὸς τὰ ἔξω πάντοθεν ἠπείγετο καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ἂν καὶ ἀπέπτη καὶ τὸ σῶμα κατέλιπεν ἔρημον, εἰ μὴ ταχέως ὁ ἄγγελος προλαβὼν αὐτὴν ἀπήλλαξε τῆς ἀγωνίας καὶ πρὸς τὸ οἰκεῖον πάλιν ἐπανήγαγε καταγώγιον. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο δὲ ταῦτα ἐλέγομεν τότε, ἵνα μαθόντες ὅσον ἀνθρώπου ἄγγελος διαφέρει καὶ ἐν τῇ τοῦ συνδούλου ὑπεροχῇ σωφρονισθέντες, τῆς κατὰ τοῦ ∆εσπότου μανίας ἀπαλλαγῶσιν. Ὁ δίκαιος ἄγγελον ἰδεῖν οὐκ ἤνεγκεν, ὁ παρρησίαν τοσαύτην ἔχων, καὶ οἱ τοσοῦτον ἀφεστηκότες αὐτοῦ τῆς ἀρετῆς, οὐχὶ ἄγγελον, ἀλλ' αὐτὸν τὸν τῶν ἀγγέλων ∆εσπότην περιεργάζονται. Ἐκεῖνος λεόντων θυμὸν ἐδάμασεν· ἡμεῖς δὲ οὐδὲ ἀλωπέκων περιγενέσθαι δυνάμεθα· ἐκεῖνος δράκοντα μέσον ἔρρηξε καὶ τῆς τοῦ θηρίου φύσεως ἐκράτησε διὰ τῆς πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν παρρησίας· ἡμεῖς δὲ καὶ τὰ ψιλὰ ἑρπετὰ δεδοίκαμεν· ἐκεῖνος βασιλέα καθάπερ λέοντα θυμούμενον ἔστησε καὶ τὴν τοῦ Ναβουχοδονόσορ ὀργὴν φλογὸς ἁπάσης σφοδρότερον ἐπὶ τὰ βαρβαρικὰ στρατόπεδα φερομένην μέσος φανεὶς ἀνέστειλε καὶ τὰ ἐσκοτισμένα πάντα ἐφώτισεν. Ἀλλ' οὗτος ὁ φωτίσας ἄγγελον ἐλθόντα ἰδὼν πρὸς αὐτόν, σκοτοδινίᾳ κατείχετο χαλεπῇ. Τίνα οὖν ἕξουσιν ἀπολογίαν οἱ τὴν μακαρίαν ἐκείνην φύσιν ἐμβατεύειν ἐπιχειροῦντες; Ἡμεῖς δὲ οὐδὲ ἐνταῦθα τὸν λόγον ἐστήσαμεν τότε, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς σοφὰς ἐκείνας ἀνηγάγομεν δυνάμεις τὴν διήγησιν· ἐδείξαμεν τὴν ἀποστροφὴν τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν, τὴν προβολὴν τῶν πτερύγων, τὴν ὀρθότητα τῶν σκελῶν, τὴν βοὴν τὴν διηνεκῆ καὶ ὅτι διὰ πάντων τὴν ἔκπληξιν καὶ τὸ θάμβος ἐμφαίνουσιν ἡμῖν αἱ ἀσώματοι δυνάμεις ἐκεῖναι· ὅσῳ γάρ εἰσι σοφαί, ὅσῳ ἡμῶν ἐγγύτεραί εἰσι τῇ ἀρρήτῳ καὶ μακαρίᾳ οὐσίᾳ ἐκείνῃ, τοσούτῳ μᾶλλον ἡμῶν τὸ ἀκατάληπτον ἴσασιν. Ἡ γὰρ ἐπίτασις τῆς σοφίας ἐπίτασιν ποιεῖ εὐλαβείας. Εἴπομεν ὑμῖν τί ποτέ ἐστι τὸ ἀπρόσιτον καὶ ὅτι τοῦ ἀκαταλήπτου πολλῷ μεῖζόν ἐστι καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν προσεθήκαμεν ὅτι τὸ μὲν ἀκατάληπτον μετὰ τὸ ἐρευνηθῆναι ἀκατάληπτον