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proudly, he enlightened the eyes, so that no one might see the death of the soul. This one, having visited, having looked upon, heard, he ceased the pain; and when these things were set right, the one who suffered well sings a song of thanksgiving and victory, saying: I will sing to the Lord who has done good to me, and I will sing psalms to the name of the Lord Most High. Having truly learned what was well said by the Lord to those who pray: While you are still speaking I will say, ‘Here I am.’ and he says these things now to those who are with him. I have fared well, having obtained what I asked for, therefore I will sing psalms to the name of the Lord Most High. Therefore, for each good deed done for us, let us also hymn the aforementioned hymn, saying it not in contemplation only but also by singing psalms; for "to sing" indicates contemplation, but "to sing psalms" indicates practical action.

82 Ps 13,1 A fool, not as one lacking common notions or clever resourcefulness, but of the one virtue of prudence, concerning which it is written: He who gets prudence loves himself, and he who keeps prudence will find good things. That he had natural resourcefulness, the phrase indicates, showing that he says there is no God not to the hearing of some, but in his own heart. For he knew that no one would accept arguments concerning the denial of God. Since almost all men have an undistorted notion concerning God, the first verse has much affinity as if spoken concerning the devil. For he too did not say it to some one or to some people, but In his own mind: I will ascend into heaven, I will set my throne above the stars of heaven; I will be like the Most High. And just as he who has knowledge of God keeps his word and turns his commandments into works, so everyone who sins, not knowing God, comes to this; John at any rate writes that everyone who sins is far from having knowledge of God, as Everyone who sins has not seen him nor known him. For having cast out piety, the preeminent and reigning virtue, from the soul, he has the other virtues departing along with it. That this understanding is sound would be clear from what is written about the sons of Eli; for they, not knowing the Lord, shown to be pests, were sinning, or rather were being impious concerning the sacred rite, corrupting in their practices those of the law and of the worship of God. You will take the foregoing also for those things reported in Jeremiah thus: Usury upon usury, deceit upon deceit; they are all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men, because they went forth from evil to evil; and they did not know me, says the Lord. For how were they not going to be transgressors of his laws, having ignorance of God? These things, considered as a whole, persuade one to keep God in memory, so that we may be shown to be praiseworthy in our practices, pursuing them with an incorruptible purpose. Among those who have become abominable by being corrupt in their practices no one is found doing good; for all are wicked, having all goodness cut out of them through hardness of heart. 83 Ps 13,4-5 As Wisdom will not enter a malicious soul, nor dwell in a body that is in debt to sin, so he who still works lawlessness does not receive divine knowledge; for no one who sins sees or knows God, according to what is written in the epistle of John; therefore he who desires to be a gnostic sows in righteousness, he reaps the fruit of life, that he may thus light for himself a light of knowledge. And since the enemies of the people of God happen to be workers of lawlessness, so as to eat them up like bread, they are deprived of the knowledge of God; and one eats up another intending to harm him, according to You bite and devour one another; see that you are not consumed by one another. And in Isaiah it is written thus: Syria from the rising of the sun and the Greeks from the setting of the sun, who devour Israel with a whole mouth. But if they should ever be able to devour the people of God delivered to them, they will suffer punishment for their sins; For Israel is holy to the Lord, the first of his fruits; all who eat him will transgress, evil will come upon

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ὑπερηφάνως, ἐφώτισεν τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς, ινα μή τις ιδῃ τὸν τῆς ψυχῆς θάνατον. ουτος ἐπιδημήσας ἐπιβλέψας ηκουσεν, ὀδύνην επαυσεν· ων κατορθωθέντων ὁ εὐπαθὼν χαριστήριον ἐπινίκιον ᾠδὴν ᾳδει λέγων· Αισω τῷ κυρίῳ τῷ εὐεργετήσαντί με καὶ ψαλῶ τῷ ὀνόματι κυρίου τοῦ ὑψίστου. Πραγματικῶς μαθὼν τὸ πρὸς τοὺς εὐχομένους καλῶς λεγόμενον ὑπὸ κυρίου Ετι σοῦ λαλοῦντος ἐρῶ· ̓Ιδοὺ πάρειμι. λέγει δὲ ταῦτα πρὸς τοὺς συνόντας ηδη. εὐπέπονθα τυχὼν ων ᾐτησάμην, οθεν Ψαλῶ τῷ ὀνόματι κυρίου τοῦ ὑψίστου. διὸ ἐφ' ἑκάστης εὐεργεσίας γινομένης εἰς ἡμᾶς ὑμνῶμεν καὶ ἡμεῖς τὸν προκείμενον υμνον λέγοντες, μὴ θεωρίᾳ μόνῃ ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ ψάλλειν· θεωρίαν γὰρ τὸ ᾳδειν, ἐνέργειαν δὲ πρακτικὴν τὸ ψάλλειν δηλοῖ.

82 Ps 13,1 Αφρων δὲ οὐ κοινῶν ἐννοιῶν λειπόμενος η τῆς σὺν δεινότητι

ἐντρεχείας, ἀλλὰ τῆς μιᾶς τῶν ἀρετῶν φρονήσεως, περὶ ης γέγραπται· ̔Ο κτώμενος φρόνησιν ἀγαπᾷ ἑαυτόν, καὶ ὁ φυλάσσων φρόνησιν εὑρήσει ἀγαθά. οτι δὲ ειχεν τὴν φυσικὴν ἐντρέχειαν, παρίστησιν ἡ λέξις δηλοῦσα ὡς οὐκ εἰς ὑπήκοόν τινων ἀλλ' ἐν τῇ ἑαυτῶν καρδίᾳ λέγει μὴ ειναι θεόν. ῃδει γὰρ οτι οὐδεὶς ἐδέχετο τοὺς περὶ ἀρνήσεως θεοῦ λόγους. πάντων σχεδὸν ἀνθρώπων ἀδιάστροφον τὴν περὶ θεοῦ εννοιαν ἐχόντων, εχει πολλὴν οἰκειότητα ὁ πρῶτος στίχος ὡς εἰρημένος περὶ διαβόλου. καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος οὐ τινὶ η τισιν ειπεν ἀλλ' ̓Εν διανοίᾳ τῇ ἑαυτοῦ· Εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀναβήσομαι, ἐπάνω τῶν αστρων τοῦ οὐρανοῦ θήσω τὸν θρόνον μου· εσομαι ομοιος τῷ ὑψίστῳ. ωσπερ δὲ ὁ γνῶσιν εχων θεοῦ τηρεῖ τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ εἰς εργα μεταβάλλει, ουτω πᾶς ἁμαρτάνων ἀγνοῶν θεὸν εἰς τοῦτο ερχεται· γράφει γοῦν ̓Ιωάννης, ὡς πᾶς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων μακράν ἐστιν τοῦ εχειν γνῶσιν θεοῦ, ὡς Πᾶς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων οὐχ ἑόρακεν αὐτὸν οὐδ' εγνωκεν αὐτόν. ἐκβαλὼν γὰρ ἀπὸ τῆς ψυχῆς τὴν προύχουσαν καὶ βασιλεύουσαν τῶν ἀρετῶν εὐσέβειαν, συναναχωρούσας αὐτῇ εχει τὰς ἀρετάς. οτι δὲ αυτη ἡ νόησις ερρωται, δῆλον αν γένοιτο ἐκ τῶν γεγραμμένων περὶ τῶν υἱῶν ̓Ηλί· οὐκ εἰδότες γὰρ ουτοι τὸν κύριον, λοιμοὶ ἀποδεδειγμένοι, ἡμάρτανον, μᾶλλον δὲ ἠσέβουν περὶ τὴν ἱερουργίαν, διαφθείροντες ἐν ἐπιτηδεύμασιν τοῖς τῆς νομοθεσίας τε καὶ θεοσεβείας. λήψει τὰ προκείμενα καὶ εἰς τὰ ἐν ̔Ιερεμίᾳ ἀπαγγελλόμενα ουτως· Τόκος ἐπὶ τόκον, δόλος ἐπὶ δόλον· πάντες μοιχῶνται, σύνοδος ἀθετούντων, οτι ἐκ κακῶν εἰς κακὰ ἐξῆλθον· ἐμὲ δὲ οὐκ ῃδεισαν, λέγει κύριος. πῶς γὰρ οὐκ εμελλον, αγνοιαν θεοῦ εχοντες, παραβάται ειναι τῶν νόμων αὐτοῦ; Ταῦτα καθόλου θεωρούμενα πείθει διὰ μνήμης εχειν θεόν, ινα ἐν ἐπιτηδεύμασιν ἐπαινετοὶ ἀποδειχθῶμεν, ἀφθάρτῳ προθέσει αὐτὰ μεταδιώκοντες. ̓Εν τοῖς βδελυχθεῖσιν τῷ διαφθείρειν ἐν τοῖς ἐπιτηδεύμασιν οὐδεὶς ποιῶν χρηστότητα εὑρίσκεται· πάντες γάρ εἰσιν πονηροί, πᾶσαν χρηστότητα ἐκτμηθέντες διὰ σκληρότητα καρδίας. 83 Ps 13,4-5 ̔Ως Εἰς κακότεχνον ψυχὴν οὐκ εἰσελεύσεται σοφία οὐδὲ κατοικεῖ ἐν σώματι καταχρέῳ ἁμαρτίας, ουτως οὐ δέχεται γνῶσιν θείαν ὁ ετι ἀνομίας ἐργαζόμενος· οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἁμαρτάνων ὁρᾷ η γινώσκει θεόν, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον ἐν τῇ ̓Ιωάννου ἐπιστολῇ· οθεν ὁ γνωστικὸς ειναι ποθῶν σπείρει εἰς δικαιοσύνην, τρυγᾷ καρπὸν ζωῆς, ιν' ουτω φωτίσῃ ἑαυτῷ φῶς γνώσεως. καὶ ἐπεὶ ἐργάται ἀνομίας τυγχάνουσιν οἱ ἐχθροὶ τοῦ λαοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ ὡς κατεσθίειν αὐτὸν οια αρτον, γνώσεως θεοῦ στεροῦνται· κατεσθίει δέ τίς τινα βλάπτειν αὐτὸν προτιθέμενος, κατὰ τὸ ̓Αλλήλους δάκνετε καὶ κατεσθίετε· βλέπετε μὴ ὑπὸ ἀλλήλων ἀναλωθῆτε. καὶ ἐν Ἡσαίᾳ δὲ γέγραπται ουτως· Συρίαν ἀφ' ἡλίου ἀνατολῶν καὶ τοὺς Ελληνας ἀφ' ἡλίου δυσμῶν τοὺς κατεσθίοντας τὸν ̓Ισραὴλ ολῳ τῷ στόματι. πλὴν καν ποτε δυνηθῶσιν κατεσθίειν τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ λαὸν παραδοθέντα αὐτοῖς, δι' ἁμαρτίας δίκην ὑφέξουσι· Αγιος γὰρ ̓Ισραὴλ τῷ κυρίῳ, ἀρχὴ γενημάτων αὐτοῦ· πάντες οἱ ἐσθίοντες αὐτὸν πλημμελήσουσιν, κακὰ ηξει ἐπ'