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of the soul, do you not think you will suffer things more terrible than those who suffer terribly along the way? 4,13a For, he says, from him are extraordinary terrors and by a nocturnal sound, 13b fear falls upon men. 4,14a A shuddering and fear met me, 14b and it greatly shook my bones, 4,15a and a breath passed over my face; 15b my hair and flesh bristled, 4,16a and I stood up and did not recognize it, 16b I looked and there was no form before my eyes, 16c but I heard a breeze and a voice. 66 “Have you not heard,” he says, “that many have been punished in this way?” Then, in order to make his account credible, he brings himself forward as an example, that with nothing preceding, nothing appearing, a sudden fear and confusion fell upon his mind. Panaretos says this also concerning that darkness, that phantoms appeared to them during the night and that darkness, and this was sufficient for punishment. Then again, out of abundance, from the general he shows the particular. See, since he saw the righteous one's opinion opposing his own words, by how many things he wants to strike it down. 4,17a For what? he says; shall a mortal be pure before the Lord, 17b or a man be blameless from his works? “And otherwise,” he says, “it is not even possible for one who is human to be pure.” Let us not then accept these things as doctrines, beloved. And he has well added: before the Lord, as also the prophet says: In your sight shall no man living be justified. And again: If you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? For just as our goodness is wickedness when compared to his goodness, so also are the rest. Or from his works, he says, is a man blameless? See him speaking against God; for when he had said a man is blameless, this one says: “not blameless.” He raises his vote from his own. 4,18a If he puts no trust in his servants, 18b and he has noticed something crooked in his angels. It seems to me he is speaking about the powers above; “What need is there to speak about men,” he says, “when the angels are not blameless?” 67 And what is he does not trust? As righteous and blameless and not likely to sin, it seems to me, because their nature is receptive of opposites. What is he noticed something crooked? “He did not allow,” he says, “virtue to be in their nature.” And he well said he noticed, so that the greatness of their nature might not lift them up, but they might be subject to God through everything. For just as with men; man, not having immortality in his nature, was nonetheless lifted up, but if he had had it in his nature, what would he not have become? 4,18c And the heaven, he says, is not pure in his sight. That is: so great a purity of nature is a stain in comparison to him, not as if heaven has free will, but he compares the natural purity to the purity of God’s virtue. 4,19a But let alone those who dwell in houses of clay. “What must one say about men?” he says. And first from the house he disparaged their nature, then he cheapens it from another angle. It was not enough to say that we are from clay, but also from what kind of clay. He called their nature from the worse part, almost saying, that just as for us the constitution of our nature becomes a cause of sins, so also for the angels there is something which God devised both for humbling them and keeping them in check; for also against us he devised this, showing his wisdom by saying he devised, not as one having labored much, but as one having found something wise and intelligent. 68 Then he also makes the statement general, so that he might not seem to be burdensome; 4,19b from which we ourselves are also of the same clay. For from another perspective he again presents the power of God and our weakness by saying; 4,19c he struck them, he says, in the manner of a moth. That is: easily and he corrupted the inmost parts. 4,20a From morning, he says, until evening, and they are no more. That is: in one day or that it is forever. 4,20b And because they were not able to help themselves, they perished. That is: because no one is able to stand against God. But we are not able to help ourselves both on account of the superiority of God's nature and on account of the multitude of evils. For what the holy hand has resolved, who shall scatter? 4,21a For he breathed on them

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ψυχῆς, ἆρ' οὐχ ἡγῇ τῶν κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν δεινὰ πασχόντων δεινότερα πείσεσθαι; 4,13a ἐξαίσιοι γάρ, φησίν, παρ' αὐτοῦ φόβοι καὶ ἤχῳ νυκτερινῷ 13b ἐπιπίπτων φόβος ἐπ' ἀνθρώπους. 4,14a φρίκη δέ μοι συνήντησε καὶ φόβος, 14b καὶ μεγάλως μου τὰ ὀστᾶ συνέσεισεν, 4,15a καὶ πνεῦμα ἐπὶ πρόσωπόν μου ἐπῆλθεν· 15b ἔφριξαν δέ μου τρίχες καὶ σάρκες, 4,16a καὶ ἀνέστην καὶ οὐκ ἐπέγνων, 16b εἶδον καὶ οὐκ ἦν μορφὴ πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν μου, 16c ἀλλ' ἢ αὔραν καὶ φωνὴν ἤκουον. 66 «οὐκ ἤκουσας», φησίν, «ὅτι πολλοὶ οὕτως ἐκολάσθησαν;» εἶτα, ἵνα ποιήσῃ ἀξιόπιστον τὸν λόγον, ἑαυτὸν παράγει ὑπόδειγμα, ὅτι οὐδενὸς προλαβόντος, οὐδενὸς φαινομένου ἀθρόον φόβος τις καὶ ταραχὴ ἐνέπεσεν εἰς τὴν διάνοιαν αὐτοῦ. τοῦτο καὶ ἡ Πανάρετός φησιν περὶ τοῦ σκότους ἐκείνου, ὅτι ἰνδάλματα αὐτοῖς ἐφαίνετο κατὰ τὴν νύκτα καὶ τὸ σκότος ἐκεῖνο, καὶ ἱκανὸν ἦν εἰς τιμωρίαν τοῦτο. εἶτα πάλιν ἐκ περιουσίας ἐκ τοῦ καθόλου τὸ κατὰ μέρος δείκνυσιν. ὅρα, ἐπειδὴ εἶδε τὴν δόξαν ἀντικειμένην τοῦ δικαίου τοῖς αὑτοῦ ῥήμασιν, δι' ὅσων αὐτὴν καταβαλεῖν βούλεται. 4,17a τί γάρ; φησίν· μὴ καθαρὸς ἔσται βροτὸς ἔναντι κυρίου 17b ἢ ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων αὐτοῦ ἄμεμπτος ἀνήρ; «ἄλλως δέ», φησίν, «οὐδὲ δυνατὸν ἄνθρωπον ὄντα καθαρὸν εἶναι.» μὴ δὴ ταῦτα εἰς δόγματα δεξώμεθα, ἀγαπητοί. καὶ καλῶς προσέθηκεν· ἔναντι κυρίου, καθὼς καὶ ὁ προφήτης φησίν· οὐ δικαιωθήσεται ἐνώπιόν σου πᾶς ζῶν. καὶ πάλιν· ἐὰν ἁμαρτίας παρατηρήσῃ, κύριε, κύριε, τίς ὑποστήσεται; καθάπερ γὰρ ἡμῶν ἡ ἀγαθότης πονηρία ἐστὶν πρὸς τὴν ἐκείνου ἀγαθότητα συγκρινομένη, οὕτω καὶ τὰ λοιπά. ἢ ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων αὐτοῦ, φησίν, ἄμεμπτος ἀνήρ; ὅρα αὐτὸν ἀντιφθεγγόμενον τῷ θεῷ· αὐτοῦ γὰρ εἰρηκότος ἄνθρωπος ἄμεμπτος οὗτός φησιν· «οὐκ ἄμεμπτος». ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκείων ἐπαίρει τὴν ψῆφον. 4,18a εἰ κατὰ παίδων αὐτοῦ οὐ πιστεύει, 18b κατὰ δὲ ἀγγέλων αὐτοῦ σκολιόν τι ἐπενόησεν. ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ περὶ τῶν ἄνω λέγειν δυνάμεων· «τί δεῖ λέγειν περὶ ἀνθρώπων», φησίν, «ὅταν οἱ ἄγγελοι μὴ ὦσιν ἄμεμπτοι;» 67 τί δέ ἐστιν οὐ πιστεύει; ὡς δικαίοις καὶ ἀμέμπτοις καὶ οὐκ ἂν ἁμαρτοῦσιν, ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ, ὅτι δεκτικὴ τῶν ἐναντίων ἡ φύσις αὐτῶν. τί ἐστι σκολιόν τι ἐπενόησεν; «οὐκ ἀφῆκεν», φησίν, «ἐν τῇ φύσει αὐτῶν εἶναι τὸ ἐνάρετον.» καὶ καλῶς εἶπεν ἐπενόησεν, ἵνα μὴ τὸ τῆς φύσεως μεγαλεῖον αὐτοὺς ἐπάρῃ, ἀλλὰ διὰ παντὸς ὦσιν ὑποτεταγμένοι τῷ θεῷ. καθάπερ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων· οὐκ ἔχων ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐν τῇ φύσει τὸ ἀθάνατον ὅμως ἐπήρθη, εἰ δὲ καὶ ἐν τῇ φύσει ἔσχεν, τί οὐκ ἂν ἐγίνετο; 4,18c οὐρανὸς δέ, φησίν, οὐ καθαρὸς ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ. τουτέστιν· ἡ τοσαύτη τῆς φύσεως καθαρότης κηλίς ἐστι πρὸς ἐκεῖνον, οὐχ ὡς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ προαίρεσιν ἔχοντος, ἀλλὰ τὴν κατὰ φύσιν καθαρότητα παραβάλλει τῇ καθαρότητι τῆς ἀρετῆς τοῦ θεοῦ. 4,19a ἔα δὲ τοὺς κατοικοῦντας οἰκίας πηλίνας. «τί χρὴ λέγειν περὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων;» φησίν. καὶ πρῶτον ἀπὸ τῆς οἰκίας ἔβαλε τὴν φύσιν, εἶτα ἐξευτελίζει αὐτὴν καὶ ἑτέρωθεν. οὐκ ἤρκει εἰπεῖν, ὅτι ἀπὸ πηλοῦ ἐσμεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ποίου πηλοῦ. ἀπὸ τοῦ χείρονος τὴν φύσιν ἐκάλεσεν, μονονουχὶ λέγων, ὅτι καθάπερ ἡμῖν τῆς φύσεως ἡ κατασκευὴ αἰτία τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων γίνεται, οὕτω καὶ τοῖς ἀγγέλοις ἐστί τι, ὃ ἐπενόησεν ὁ θεὸς πρός τε τὸ ταπεινοῦσθαι αὐτοὺς καὶ καταστέλλεσθαι· καὶ γὰρ καὶ καθ' ἡμῶν τοῦτο ἐπενόησεν τὴν σοφίαν αὐτοῦ δεικνὺς διὰ τοῦ εἰπεῖν ἐπενόησεν, οὐχ ὡς πολλὰ καμόντος, ἀλλ' ὡς σοφόν τι καὶ συνετὸν εὑρηκότος. 68 εἶτα καὶ κοινοῖ τὸν λόγον, ἵνα μὴ δόξῃ φορτικὸς εἶναι· 4,19b ἐξ οὗ καὶ αὐτοί ἐσμεν ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ πηλοῦ. καὶ γὰρ ἑτέρωθεν πάλιν τὸ δυνατὸν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὸ ἀσθενὲς τὸ ἡμέτερον παρίστησιν εἰπών· 4,19c ἔπαισεν αὐτούς, φησίν, σητὸς τρόπον. τουτέστιν· εὐκόλως καὶ τὰ ἐνδότατα διέφθειρεν. 4,20a ἀπὸ πρωίθεν, φησίν, ἕως ἑσπέρας, καὶ οὐκέτι εἰσίν. τουτέστιν· ἐν ἡμέρᾳ μιᾷ ἢ ὅτι διὰ παντός. 4,20b καὶ παρὰ τὸ μὴ δύνασθαι αὐτοὺς ἑαυτοῖς βοηθῆσαι ἀπώλοντο. τουτέστιν· ὅτι οὐδεὶς ἀντιστῆναι δύναται τῷ θεῷ. οὐ δυνάμεθα δὲ βοηθῆσαι ἑαυτοῖς καὶ διὰ τὸ ὑπερέχον τῆς φύσεως τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ διὰ τὸ τῶν κακῶν πλῆθος. ἃ γὰρ ἡ χεὶρ ἡ ἁγία βεβούλευται, τίς διασκεδάσει; 4,21a ἐνεφύσησε γὰρ