in which one dies to sin, and in some way by our life which is hidden with Christ in God. And angels too wish to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, concerning whom it was said to those on the left, "Depart into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." But "neither principalities" refers to "for our struggle is not against blood and flesh but against the principalities" and what follows, and to "when he shall have destroyed every principality and every authority and power." After this<t> are "things present"; but consider if these can refer to the world-rulers of this darkness, and not to any present human things; but another might say that "things present" refers to things that are seen and temporary. After this, let us see what are "things to come" and either <the things> that will wrestle against the apostle's sojourning in this life in the time to come, with respect to the days present to him of the writing of the epistle, or the things to be encountered immediately after the present age and after the departure, when the ruler of this world and certain powers under him will wish to seize the one who has departed, but will not be able to in the case of those who have already received the love of God in Christ Jesus. And after the<m> is "nor powers," which seems to be of a certain kind of rational beings outside a mortal body, <neither height nor depth>. Perhaps <therefore> the soul of man is plotted against by height, according to the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places, and by depth, according to the things under the earth; neither of which will permit the one armed in the love of God to be separated from it. But if, besides this whole visible creation, there is another creation, visible by nature but not yet seen, you will inquire if "nor any other creation will be able to separate us from the love of God" can refer to that. 53 xiii 20, 21 If therefore your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will heap coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Since the appetite for virtue and contemplation seems to be a hunger and thirst that produce health of soul, if the enemy should ever hunger or thirst such a thirst after repenting for his sins, one must give him the holy bread when he is hungry, if he is not a dog or a swine unworthy of the holy things; and there are many ways to feed a hungry enemy, sometimes <indeed> with a teaching word, sometimes <on the other hand> with prayer for him. And since the head of every man is Christ, therefore the head of the enemy, as not being a man on account of his impiety, is the antichrist, who must be destroyed as being opposed to the divine Word by the coals of rational fire, when the impious one who has the antichrist as his head, having hun<gered, eat>s of the holy bread, and having thirsted, is given to drink of the living water from the holy spring; wherefore it is a good work to heap coals, that is, choice words, upon the head of the enemy; whom the Lord Jesus consumes with the breath of his mouth, for this is the saving fire, concerning which he said, "I came to cast fire upon the earth," instead of consuming and destroying all things corporeal and material. But many coals are needed in order that the head of the enemy might be consumed; which are the true words that destroy falsehood; when, therefore, the head is consumed or overcome by the heaped-up coals, from feeding the hungry enemy, the one who was once an enemy becomes a friend and has Christ for his head.
καθ' ὃν ἀποθνήκει τις τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ, πῇ δὲ ὑπὸ τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν ἥτις κέκρυπται ὺν τῷ Χριτῷ ἐν τῷ θεῷ. καὶ ἄγγελοι δὲ βούλονται ἡμᾶς χωρίσαι τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ θεοῦ τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, περὶ ὧν λέλεκται τοῖ ἐξ εὐωνύμων Ὑπάγετε εἰ τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον τὸ ἡτοιμαμένον τῷ διαβόλῳ καὶ τοῖ ἀγγέλοι αὐτοῦ. τὸ δὲ οὔτε ἀρχαὶ ἐπὶ τὸ οὐκ ἐτὶν ἡμῖν ἡ παλὴ πρὸ αἷμα καὶ άρκα ἀλλὰ πρὸ τὰ ἀρχὰ καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς ἀναφέρεται, καὶ εἰς τὸ ὅταν καταργήῃ πᾶαν ἀρχὴν καὶ πᾶαν ἐξουίαν καὶ δύναμιν. ἑξῆς τούτ<ῳ> ἐστὶ τὰ ἐνεστῶτα· ταῦτα δὲ ἐπίσκεψαι εἰ δύναται ἀναφέρεσθαι ἐπὶ τοὺ κομοκράτορα τοῦ κότου τούτου, καὶ οὐχὶ ἐπί τινα ἐνεστῶτα ἀνθρώπινα· ἄλλος δ' ἂν λέγοι τὰ ἐνεστῶτα ἀναφέρεσθαι ἐπὶ τὰ βλεπόμενα καὶ πρόκαιρα. μετὰ τοῦτο ἴδωμεν τίνα τὰ μέλλοντα καὶ ἤτοι <τὰ> πρὸς τὸν μέλλοντα χρόνον παλαίσοντα τῷ ἀποστόλῳ τῆς ἐν τῷ βίῳ τούτῳ παρεπιδημίας, ὡς πρὸς τὰς ἐνεστηκυίας αὐτῷ τῆς γραφῆς τῆς ἐπιστολῆς ἡμέρας, ἢ τὰ μετὰ τὸν ἐνεστηκότα αἰῶνα καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἔξοδον εὐθέως ἀπαντησόμενα, ὅτε ὁ ἄρχων τοῦ κόμου τούτου καί τινες ὑπ' αὐτῷ δυνάμεις βουλήσονται μὲν κρατεῖν τοῦ ἐκδημήσαντος, οὐ δυνήσονται δὲ ἐπὶ τῶν προανειληφότων τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ. ἑξῆς δὲ αὐτῶ<ν> ἐστὶν τὸ οὔτε δυνάμεις, ὅπερ ἔοικεν εἶναι εἴδους τινὸς τῶν ἔξω θνητοῦ σώματος λογικῶν, <οὔτε ὕψωμα οὔτε βάθος>. μήποτε <οὖν> ἡ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ψυχὴ ἐπιβουλεύεται ὑπὸ μὲν ὑψώματος κατὰ τὰ ἐν τοῖ ἐπουρανίοι πνευματικὰ τῆ πονηρία, ὑπὸ δὲ βάθους κατὰ τὰ καταχθόνια· ὧν οὐδέτερον τὸν ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ τοῦ θεοῦ ὁπλισάμενον χωρισθῆναι αὐτῆς ἐάσει. εἰ δὲ καὶ παρὰ τὴν βλεπομένην ὅλην ταύτην κτίσιν ἐστὶν ἑτέρα κτίσις τῇ φύσει μὲν βλεπομένη νῦν δὲ οὐδέπω ὁρωμένη, ζητήσεις εἰ δύναται ἐπ' ἐκείνην ἀναφέρεσθαι τὸ οὔτε κτίσις ἑτέρα δυνήσεται ἡμᾶς χωρίσαι ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ θεοῦ. 53 xiii 20, 21 ἐὰν οὖν πεινᾷ ὁ ἐχθρός σου, ψώμιζε αὐτόν· ἐὰν διψᾷ, πότιζε αὐτόν· τοῦτο γὰρ ποιῶν ἄνθρακας πυρὸς σωρεύσεις ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ. μὴ νικῶ ὑπὸ τοῦ κακοῦ, ἀλλὰ νίκα ἐν τῷ ἀγαθῷ τὸ κακόν. ἐπειδὴ ἡ πρὸς τὴν ἀρετὴν καὶ θεωρίαν ὄρεξις δοκεῖ πείνη εἶναι καὶ δίψαὡσ ὑγείας ἐμποιητικὰ ψυxiκῆς, ἐὰν τοιαύτην ποτὲ πείνην ἢ δίψαν ὁ ἐχθρὸς διψήσῃ μετὰ τὸ μετανοῆσαι ἐφ' οἷς ἥμαρτεν, δεῖ αὐτῷ τὸν ἅγιον ἄρτον πεινῶντι διδόναι, ἐὰν μὴ ἐστὶ κύων ἢ χοῖρο ἀνάξιος τῶν ἁγίων· πολλαχῶς δὲ ἔστι πεινῶντα θρέψαι τὸν ἐχθρὸν ποτὲ <μὲν> λόγῳ διδασκαλικῷ ποτὲ <δὲ> εὐχῇ τῇ περὶ αὐτοῦ. καὶ ἐπειδὴ παντὸ ἀνδρὸ κεφαλὴ ὁ Χριτό, οὐκοῦν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ, ὡς μὴ ὄντος ἀνδρὸς διὰ τὸ ἀσεβές, κεφαλὴ ὁ ἀντίχριστος, ὃν χρὴ ἐξαφανίζεσθαι ὡς ἐναντίον τῷ θεῷ λόγῳ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνθράκων τοῦ λογικοῦ πυρός, ὅταν ἀσεβὴς ὁ ἔχων κεφαλὴν τὸν ἀντίχριστον πεινή<σας φάγ>ῃ τὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου ἄρτον, καὶ διψήσας ποτισθῇ τῷ ἀπὸ τῆς ἁγίας πηγῆς ὕδατι ζῶντι· διὸ καλόν ἐστιν ἔργον σωρεῦσαι ἄνθρακας ὅ ἐστι λόγους ἐκλεκτοὺς ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ κεφαλήν· ὃν ὁ κύριο Ἰηοῦ ἀναλοῖ τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ τόματο αὐτοῦ, τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τὸ σωτήριον πῦρ, περὶ οὗ εἶπεν πῦρ ἦλθον βαλεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν, ἀντὶ τοῦ ἀνα- λῶσαι καὶ ἐξαφανίσαι πάντα τὰ σωματικὰ καὶ ὑλικά. πολλῶν δὲ ἀνθράκων χρεία ἵνα ἡ τοῦ ἐχθροῦ κεφαλὴ ἐξαναλωθῇ· οἵτινές εἰσιν οἱ ἀληθεῖς λόγοι οἱ ἐξαφανίζοντες τὸ ψεῦδος· ὅταν οὖν ἀναλωθῇ ἢ χειρωθῇ ἡ κεφαλὴ ὑπὸ τῶν σωρευομένων ἀνθράκων, ἐκ τοῦ τρέφεσθαι πεινῶντα τὸν ἐχθρὸν γίνεται ὁ ποτὲ ἐχθρὸς φίλος καὶ κέχρηται κεφαλῇ τῷ Χριστῷ.