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hearing we learn through a riddle about the seemliness of the visible life. For just as from musical instruments only the sound of the melody strikes the ears, but the words being sung are not articulated by the notes; but in an ode both occur, both the rhythm of the melody and the power of the words which is carried along with the melody, which must of necessity be unknown, whenever the melody is produced by musical instruments alone; so also it happens with those who pursue virtue. For those who apply their mind to the theoretical 5.76 and contemplative philosophy of things that are, achieve virtue unseen by the many, enclosing the good in their own conscience; but those for whom the character of life is also diligently perfected, these people by the seemliness of their outward appearance, as if by a kind of speech, make public the good rhythm of their own life. Therefore, whenever the good is achieved through both, with ethical philosophy running together with the theoretical, it becomes an ode of a psalm or a psalm of an ode; but when one of these is set forth for praise by itself, either the good in thought is signified by the psalm alone, or the character and seemliness of outward appearance is interpreted by the ode. But a hymn or praise mixed with an ode becomes a command that we should not first venture on thoughts concerning God, before we have made our life worthy of such confidence. For praise, it says, is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner. And to the sinner God said, Why do you declare my statutes? Likewise also prayer with an ode suggests the same thing to us, to be zealous first about our life, so that one might not happen to be unrhythmical and discordant in one's practices, and then to approach God through prayer. And it seems to me that the Lord hands down such a thought to those who said to him, Teach us to pray; as it is not achieved in the words of the prayer, but in one's life, in what he says, that If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you your sins. But when praise is written by itself, the thought contains a certain testimony 5.77 of the one who offers praises to God. For praising God is not for anyone else, but it is praise, it says, of David, so that through this we might learn that if we become like him, then we too will receive the confidence to praise God. But the psalm in hymns leads us up to a higher state, which the divine apostle also knew, as he says to the Corinthians that he now psalms with the spirit, and now with the mind. Therefore, the psalmody mixed with the mind interprets the previously stated reason, that the visible must be worthy of the hidden, so that the ode may agree with such a thought. But the psalmody achieved by the spirit alone shows the surpassing state of the saints, whenever that which is brought to God is better than its demonstration through visible things. For the psalm is not in certain odes that articulate the power of what is understood through words, but the psalm, he says, is in hymns. And this is, at least in my judgment, a teaching of what one must understand by a hymn. For we learn that the lofty life and setting one's mind on things above and having our instrument from heavenly and transcendent thoughts, this is a hymn of God, achieved not in the power of words, but in a surpassing life; but when he writes the voice of understanding along with hymns, the word seems to me to be giving some counsel not to be without understanding regarding the words offered to God for doxology, lest we might unawares, with some unexamined and unintelligent impulse, offer thoughts not fitting to the divine majesty; 5.78 such as is the thinking that for those living according to God the rewards are set forth in the good fortune of this life, and believing that thing also to be judged good by God, which might seem such to the perception of men; and many such thoughts can be found in the conceptions about God on the part of the unintelligent

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ἀκούσαντες τὴν περὶ τὸ φαινόμενον εὐσχημοσύνην τοῦ βίου μανθάνομεν δι' αἰνίγματος. ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐκ τῶν μουσικῶν ὀργάνων μόνος ὁ ἦχος τῆς μελῳδίας προσπίπτει ταῖς ἀκοαῖς, αὐτὰ δὲ τὰ μελῳδούμενα ῥήματα οὐ διαρθροῦται τοῖς φθόγγοις· ἐν δὲ τῇ ᾠδῇ τὸ συναμφότερον γίνεται, καὶ ὁ τοῦ μέλους ῥυθμὸς καὶ τῶν ῥημάτων ἡ δύναμις ἡ συνδιεξαγομένη μετὰ τοῦ μέλους, ἣν ἀγνοεῖσθαι πᾶσα ἀνάγκη, ὅταν διὰ μόνων τῶν μουσικῶν ὀργάνων ἡ μελῳδία γένηται· οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν τὴν ἀρετὴν μετιόντων συμβαίνει. οἱ μὲν γὰρ τῇ θεωρητικῇ 5.76 τε καὶ ἐποπτικῇ τῶν ὄντων φιλοσοφίᾳ τὸν νοῦν προσανέχοντες ἄδηλον τοῖς πολλοῖς τὴν ἀρετὴν κατορθοῦσιν ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ συνειδότι τὸ ἀγαθὸν κατακλείοντες· οἷς δὲ καὶ τὸ ἦθος τοῦ βίου κατὰ σπουδὴν συγκατορθοῦται, οὗτοι τῇ περὶ τὸ φαινόμενον εὐσχημοσύνῃ καθάπερ τινὶ λόγῳ τὴν τῆς ζωῆς ἑαυτῶν εὐρυθμίαν δημοσιεύουσιν. ὅταν τοίνυν δι' ἀμφοτέρων ᾖ τὸ ἀγαθὸν κατορθούμενον, τῆς ἠθικῆς φιλοσοφίας πρὸς τὴν θεωρητικὴν συνδραμούσης, ᾠδὴ ψαλμοῦ γίνεται ἢ ψαλμὸς ᾠδῆς· ὅταν δὲ τὸ ἕτερον ᾖ τούτων ἐφ' ἑαυτοῦ τοῖς ἐπαίνοις προκείμενον, ἢ τὸ κατὰ διάνοιαν ἀγαθὸν διὰ τοῦ ψαλμοῦ μόνον σημαίνεται ἢ τὸ ἦθος καὶ ἡ περὶ τὸ φαινόμενον εὐσχημοσύνη διὰ τῆς ᾠδῆς ἑρμηνεύεται. Ὕμνος δὲ ἢ αἶνος τῇ ᾠδῇ συμμιγνύμενος παράγγελμα γίνεται μὴ πρότερον ἡμᾶς κατατολμᾶν τῶν περὶ θεοῦ νοημάτων, πρὶν ἂν τὸν βίον ἡμῶν τῆς τοιαύτης παρρησίας ποιήσωμεν ἄξιον. Οὐ γὰρ ὡραῖος, φησίν, αἶνος ἐν στόματι ἁμαρτωλοῦ. καὶ τῷ ἁμαρτωλῷ εἶπεν ὁ θεὸς, Ἵνα τί σὺ ἐκδιηγῇ τὰ δικαιώματά μου; ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ ἡ μετ' ᾠδῆς προσευχὴ τὸ ἴσον ἡμῖν ὑποτίθεται πρότερον περὶ τὸν βίον σπουδάζειν, ὡς ἂν μή τις ἄρρυθμός τε καὶ παρηχημένος τοῖς ἐπιτηδεύμασι τύχοι, καὶ τότε προσιέναι διὰ προσευχῆς τῷ θεῷ. καί μοι δοκεῖ τὴν τοιαύτην ὁ κύριος ἔννοιαν παραδι δόναι τοῖς εἰποῦσι πρὸς αὐτὸν ὅτι ∆ίδαξον ἡμᾶς προσεύχεσθαι· ὡς οὐκ ἐν ῥήμασι τῆς προσευχῆς, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ βίῳ κατορθου μένης, ἐν οἷς φησιν ὅτι Ἐὰν ἀφῆτε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὰ παραπτώματα αὐτῶν, ἀφήσει καὶ ὑμῖν ὁ πατὴρ ὁ οὐράνιος τὰς ἁμαρτίας ὑμῶν. Ὅταν δὲ καθ' ἑαυτὴν ἡ αἴνεσις γράφηται, μαρτυρίαν 5.77 τινὰ τοῦ ἀνατιθέντος τῷ θεῷ τοὺς ἐπαίνους περιέχει τὸ νόημα. οὐ γὰρ ἄλλου τινός ἐστιν τὸ ἐπαινεῖν τὸν θεόν, ἀλλ' αἴνεσις, φησί, τοῦ ∆αβίδ, ὡς ἂν διὰ τούτου μάθοιμεν, ὅτι εἰ κατ' ἐκεῖνον γενοίμεθα, τότε καὶ ἡμεῖς τὴν τοῦ αἰνεῖν τὸν θεὸν παρρησίαν ληψόμεθα. Ὁ δὲ ἐν ὕμνοις ψαλμὸς εἰς ὑψηλοτέραν ἡμᾶς ἀνάγει κατάστασιν, ἣν ᾔδει καὶ ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος, καθὼς πρὸς Κορινθίους φησὶν ἑαυτὸν νῦν μὲν τῷ πνεύματι ψάλλειν, νῦν δὲ τῷ νοΐ. οὐκοῦν ἡ μὲν τῷ νῷ συμμιγνυμένη ψαλμῳδία τὸν προαποδοθέντα λόγον διερμηνεύει, τὸ δεῖν τὸ φαινόμενον ἄξιον εἶναι τοῦ κεκρυμμένου, ἵνα ἡ ᾠδὴ συμβαίνῃ τῷ τοιούτῳ νοήματι. ἡ δὲ πνεύματι μόνῳ κατορθουμένη ψαλμῳδία τὴν ὑπερέχουσαν κατάστασιν τῶν ἁγίων ἐνδείκνυται, ὅταν κρεῖττον ᾖ τῆς διὰ τῶν φαινομένων ἐνδείξεως τὸ τῷ θεῷ προσαγόμενον. οὐ γὰρ ἐν ᾠδαῖς τισιν ὁ ψαλμὸς ταῖς διὰ ῥημάτων διαρθρούσαις τῶν νοουμένων τὴν δύναμιν, ἀλλ' ἐν ὕμνοις, φησίν, ὁ ψαλμός. τοῦτο δέ ἐστι κατά γε τὴν ἐμὴν κρίσιν, διδασκαλία, τί χρὴ ὑπὸ τοῦ ὕμνου γινώσκειν. μανθάνομεν γὰρ ὅτι ὁ ὑψηλὸς βίος καὶ τὸ τὰ ἄνω φρονεῖν καὶ ἐκ τῶν οὐρανίων τε καὶ ὑπερκειμένων νοημάτων ἔχειν τὸ ἡμέτερον ὄργανον τοῦτο ὕμνος ἐστὶ τοῦ θεοῦ, οὐκ ἐν δυνάμει ῥημάτων, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ ὑπερέχοντι κατορθούμενος βίῳ· ὅταν δὲ τὴν τῆς συνέσεως φωνὴν συγγράφῃ τοῖς ὕμνοις, συμβουλίαν τινὰ δοκεῖ μοι ποιεῖσθαι ὁ λόγος μὴ ἀσυνέτως ἔχειν τῶν εἰς δοξολογίαν τῷ θεῷ ἀνατιθεμένων ῥημάτων, μή ποτε λάθοιμεν ἀνεξετάστῳ καὶ ἀσυνέτῳ τινὶ ὁρμῇ τὰ μὴ πρέποντα τῇ θείᾳ μεγαλειότητι ἀνατιθέντες νοήματα· 5.78 οἷόν ἐστι τὸ οἴεσθαι τοῖς κατὰ θεὸν ζῶσιν ἐν τῇ τοῦ βίου τούτου εὐκληρίᾳ προκεῖσθαι τὰς ἀμοιβὰς καὶ τὸ νομίζειν ἐκεῖνο καὶ παρὰ τῷ θεῷ καλὸν κρίνεσθαι, ὅπερ ἂν τῇ αἰσθήσει τῶν ἀνθρώπων τοιοῦτον δόξῃ· καὶ πολλὰ τοιαῦτα δυνατόν ἐστιν εὑρεθῆναι νοήματα ταῖς περὶ θεοῦ ὑπολήψεσι παρὰ τῶν ἀσυνέτων