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of matter in a substrate, and moving into the turnings and alterations of the things that come to be from it, of bodies both ensouled and soulless.

In a circle: Note, how the heavenly bodies move in a circle, and in a straight line, and in a spiral, and how the spiral motion of the soul is understood.

The divine minds move. either in a circle, or in a straight line, or in a spiral. And the motion of the soul: Since also, as we wrote above, the things that understand are intellectual, and the things understood are intelligible, and the food of intellectual things is intelligible things, reasonably therefore, in the case of the intellectual soul, he speaks of its powers 14S_126, as alone understanding the things which transcend; for this is understood by no one, and is the last of all intelligible things. And the powers of the soul are its aptitudes for the senses.

In a spiral? You see from this how great is the difference of the soul from the intelligible things; for the one understands the transcendent divine illuminations intellectually and unitively, that is, by a single application, being revealed according to their own measure, but the soul [understands] rationally and discursively, that is, being divided into parts, and being taught by participation; for the mind, descending into reasonings, is, as it were, divided and needs reason that proceeds through many examples for the extension of what is understood, that which has ascended above. Therefore the soul acts in a mixed and transitional way, when it also understands; for this is proper to the soul, and when it is led by the hand from without to higher things; for it ascends from things that are other.

Rational souls move either in a circle, or in a spiral, or in a straight line. Therefore of these and of the sensible things: See that he says there are also three motions of sensible things: the circular and the spiral and the straight; and we are led to understand these from what has been said about the soul; its circular motion, when the sensible things themselves act according to their own powers and qualities, for instance fire heating, and water cooling, and the rest similarly; and spirally, when it acts transitionally, for instance from waters fish and birds, and the rod of Moses into a serpent and such things; and in a straight line, when it runs back again to its own things, for instance when after the dissolution of things that have come to be, what is perishable is resolved again into the elements.

And motion: One might be led to understand motion of sensible things 14S_128 as alteration and corruption; for from whom is rest, of these it signifies generation, it is evident that motion signifies the opposite; note therefore, that he sees both the things that are altered and the things that perish as from him, and through him, and to him.

Through whom all rest: Through whom is the good and the beautiful, clearly. All one and multitude. How will "all one and multitude" be understood? Suppose the

whole cosmos is a great plant, living in a certain way in all its ensouled parts, such as stumps and trunks, and the parts of the parts, such as boughs, branches, and leaves; for if you were to suppose for me that each of these is, as it were, a self-sufficient living being, yet preserving the union and order in the whole, according to which this tree lives by itself, and with its parts; as it is to live, the intellectual things intellectually and rationally, the irrational things by perception, the soulless and breathless things vegetatively and by disposition, 15 and living by itself, as I said each thing lives and with the whole movably, the parts with the universals, you will know the connaturality and co-living of the all into the one, and [the division] into the multitude, as each lives suitably and individually, as we said. And again if all things are from the one and only God, they are reasonably also called one because of the connection and harmony, and a multitude because of the multiformity of the individuals.

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ὕλης ἐν ὑποκειμένῳ, κινουμένης δέ εἰς τάς τῶν γινομένων ἐξ αὐτῆς τροπάς καί μεταλλαγάς σωμάτων ἐμψύχων τε καί ἀψύχων.

Κυκλικῶς μέν: Σημείωσαι, πῶς κινοῦνται τά οὐράνια κυκλικῶς, καί κατ' εὐθεῖαν καί ἑλικοειδῶς, καί πῶς νοεῖται ψυχῆς ἑλικοειδής κίνησις.

Οἱ θεῖοι νόες κινοῦνται. ἤ κυκλικῶς, ἤ κατ'εὐθεῖαν, ἤ ἑλικοειδῶς. Ψυχῆς δέ κίνησις: Ἐπειδή καί, ὡς ἄνω προεγράψαμεν, νοερά μέν εἰσι τά

νοοῦντα, νοητά δέ τά νοούμενα, τροφή δέ τῶν νοερῶν τά νοητά, εἰκότως οὖν ἐπί ψυχῆς νοερᾶς φησι δυνάμεις 14S_126 αὐτῆς, ὡς μόνον νοούσης τά ὑπερβεβηκότα· αὕτη γάρ ὑπ ' οὐδενός νοεῖται, καί πάντων τῶν νοητῶν ἐσχάτη ἐστί. ∆υνάμεις δέ εἰσι ψυχῆς αἱ πρός τάς αἰσθήσεις ἐπιτηδειότητες.

Ἑλικοειδῶς; Ὁρᾷς ἐντεῦθεν, πόση διαφορά ψυχῆς πρός τά νοητά· τά μέν γάρ νοερῶς καί ἑνιαίως, τουτέστι κατά ἀθρόαν ἐπιβολήν, νοεῖ τάς ὑπερκειμένας θείας ἐλλάμψεις, κατά τό αὐτῶν μέτρον ἀποκαλυπτομένας, ἡ δέ ψυχή λογικῶς καί διεξοδικῶς, τουτέστιν εἰς μερικά μεριζομένη, καί ἐκ μετοχῆς διδασκομένη· ὁ γάρ νοῦς, εἰς λογισμούς κατιών, οἱονεί μερίζεται καί δέεται τοῦ διά πλειόνων παραδειγμάτων διεξοδεύοντος λόγου πρός παράτασιν τοῦ νοουμένου, τό ὑπεραναβεβηκός. Συμμίκτως οὖν ἐνεργεῖ ἡ ψυχή καί μεταβατικῶς, ὅτε καί νοεῖ· τοῦτο γάρ οἰκεῖον ψυχῆς, καί ὅτε ἔξωθεν ἐπί τά ὑψηλότερα χειραγωγεῖται· ἐκ γάρ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων ἀναβαίνει.

Αἱ ψυχαί αἱ λογικαί κινοῦνται ἤ κυκλικῶς, ἤ ἑλικοειδῶς, ἤ κατ' εὐθεῖαν. Τούτων οὖν καί τῶν αἰσθητῶν: Ὅρα, ὅτι καί τῶν αἰσθητῶν τρεῖς φησιν εἶναι

τάς κινήσεις· τήν κυκλοειδῆ καί τήν ἑλικοειδῆ καί τήν κατ' εὐθεῖαν· προαγόμεθα δέ ταύτας νοεῖν ἐκ τῶν περί ψυχῆς εἰρημένων· κυκλικήν μέν αὐτήν, ὅταν τά αἰσθητά αὐτά κατά τάς οἰκείας δυνάμεις καί ποιότητας ἐνεργῇ, οἷον πῦρ θερμαῖνον, καί ὕδωρ ψῦχον, καί τά ἑξῆς ὁμοίως· ἑλικοειδῶς δέ, ὅταν μεταβατικῶς ἐνεργῇ, οἷον ἐξ ὑδάτων ἰχθύες καί πετεινά καί ἡ ράβδος Μωϋσέως εἰς ὄφιν καί τά τοιαῦτα· κατ' εὐθεῖαν δέ, ὅταν αὖθις εἰς τάς οἰκείας ἀνατρέχῃ, οἷον ὅταν μετά διάλυσιν τῶν γινομένων πάλιν εἰς τά στοιχεῖα τά φθειρόμενα ἀναλύηται.

Καί κίνησιν: Κίνησιν ἄν τις προαχθείη νοῆσαι τῶν αἰσθητῶν 14S_128 τήν ἀλλοίωσιν καί τήν φθοράν· ἐξ οὗ γάρ ἡ στάσις, τούτων σημαίνει τήν γένεσιν, πρόδηλον ὡς ἡ κίνησις τό ἐναντίον ἐμφαίνει· σημείωσαι οὖν, ὅτι καί τά ἀλλοιούμενα καί τά φθειρόμενα ἐξ αὐτοῦ, καί δι' αὐτοῦ, καί εἰς αὐτόν ὁρᾷ.

∆ι ' οὗ πᾶσα στάσις: ∆ι ' οὗ ἀγαθόν καί καλόν δηλονότι. Πᾶν ἕν καί πλῆθος. Πῶς νοηθήσεται τό πᾶν ἕν καί πλῆθος; Ὑπόθου τόν

πάντα κόσμον φυτόν μέγα, καθ' ὅλα τά μέρη αὐτοῦ τά ἔμψυχα ζῶν τρόπον τινά, οἷον πρέμνα καί στελέχη, καί τῶν μερῶν τά μέρη, οἷον κλάδους, ἀκρέμονάς τε καί φύλλα· εἰ γάρ μοι τούτων ἕκαστον οἷον αὐτοτελές ζῶον ὑπολάβοις, τηροῦν δέ τήν ἐν τῷ ὅλῳ ἕνωσίν τε καί τάξιν, καθ' ἥν αὐτό δε τό δένδρον ζῇ καθ' ἑαυτό, καί μετά τῶν αὐτοῦ μερῶν· ὡς ἔστι ζῇν, τά μέν νοερά νοερῶς τε καί λογικῶς, τά δέ ἄλογα αἰσθητικῶς, τά δέ ἄψυχα καί ἄπνοα φυτικῶς τε καί ἑκτικῶς, 15 καί ζῶν καθ' ἑαυτό, ὡς ἔφην ἕκαστον ζῇν καί μετά τοῦ ὅλου κινητικῶς τά μέρη μετά τῶν καθολικῶν, γνῶσῃ τοῦ παντός τήν εἰς τό ἕν συμφυΐαν τε καί σύζησιν, καί τήν εἰς τό πλῆθος, ὡς ἑκάστου προσφόρως τε καί ἰδίως ζῶντος, ὡς ἔφημεν. Καί πάλιν εἰ ἐξ ἑνός καί μόνου Θεοῦ τά πάντα, εἰκότως καί ἕν λέγονται διά τήν σύνδεσιν καί ἁρμονιαν, καί πλῆθος διά τήν πολυείδειαν τῶν καθ' ἕκαστον.