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they recognize the places they have traversed, concerning which the wise say such things, that sensation consists, being its instrument for apprehending what is imagined by it), they thought it necessary for these activities, reasonably not to themselves, but to God who has given, through whom and from whom are all things, to offer. For there being three universal modes, as is attainable for humans, having been instructed from the precise understanding of things that are, for which God has made all things (for He has substantiated us, giving us essence, for being, and for being well, and for being forever), and the two being extremes, and pertaining to God alone, as cause, but the other being a mean, and dependent on our will and motion, and through itself providing to the extremes that which is properly spoken, and without which being present, their designation (14∆_132> becomes useless, they do not have well-being attached, that in no other way can the truth in the extremes be added to them and preserved, which well-being is by nature disposed to create, being mixed with the extremes in the middle, than by constant motion toward God, they thought;

And then, from this, intensifying the soul's power of vision according to nature with reason, and in a way that one must not use the natural activities in a contrary manner, on account of the corruption which of necessity marks the natural powers from the mode of misuse, having heard the Logos himself crying out explicitly, they were taught to be carried smoothly according to the fitting principle of nature toward its cause, so that from where they simply have their being, they may also receive true being added sometime. For what gain would there be for that which is not its own cause of being, perhaps reasoning among themselves they said, moving toward itself or anything else besides God, since it will be able to procure for itself nothing for its principle of being from itself, or from any other besides God? Because of this, that the mind should think about God alone and His virtues, and attain unknowingly to the ineffable glory of His blessedness, and that reason should become the interpreter of the things understood and a singer of hymns, and correctly discuss the modes that unify with them, and that sensation, ennobled according to reason, imagining the different powers and activities in the universe, having taught it to announce the principles in existing things to the soul as is possible, and having wisely steered the soul through the mind and reason, as a ship, they also traversed with their tracks this moist and unstable and at other times otherwise borne [nature].

TH (9). A CONTEMPLATION OF THE CROSSING OF THE SEA THROUGH MOSES

1117 A contemplation of the crossing of the sea through Moses. Thus perhaps also that great Moses, by the strike of the (14∆_134> all-powerful Logos, of which the rod was perhaps a symbol, having divided the deceit of sensible things in the manner of a sea, or more properly, having removed it, solid and unshaken, he provided the ground underfoot for the people hastening toward the divine promises, I mean, the nature under sensation, showing it by right reason to be something that can be contemplated and is easily circumscribed and passable and easy to traverse for a life adorned with virtues, and with no danger from the splashing on both sides of the divided waters, with which it had previously been covered, a rush bringing [danger] to those crossing it in this way; since, according to the anagogical sense, the division of the waters of the intelligible sea is the separation of the vices opposed to the virtues by way of defect and excess from their connection with one another, which reason is disposed to make, having touched them to the heart, and in no way allowing them to be joined to one another for those hastening precipitously to God.

I (10). A CONTEMPLATION OF THE ASCENT OF MOSES TO THE MOUNTAIN

A contemplation of the ascent of Moses to the mountain.

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τούς τόπους οὕς διώδευσαν ἐπιγινώσκουσι, περί ἥν συνίστασθαι τήν αἴσθησίν φασιν οἱ σοφοί τά τοιαῦτα, ὄργανον αὐτῆς οὖσαν ἀντιληπτικόν τῶν αὐτῇ φαντασθέντων), δεῖν ᾠήθησαν τούτων τας ἐνεργείας, εἰκότως οὐχ ἑαυτοῖς, ἀλλά τῷ δεδωκότι Θεῷ, δι᾿ ὅν καί ἐξ οὗ πάντα, προσενέγκαι. Τρεῖς γάρ ὄντας καθολικούς τρόπους, ὡς ἀνθρώποις ἐστίν ἐφικτόν, ἐκ τῆς περί τά ὄντα ἀκριβοῦς κατανοήσεως παιδευθέντες, ἐφ᾿ οἷς Ὁ Θεός τά πάντα πεποίηκεν (ἐφ᾿ ᾧ τε γάρ εἶναι, καί εὖ εἶναι, καί ἀεί εἶναι, οὐσιώσας ἡμᾶς ὑπεστήσατο), καί τούς μέν δύο ἄκρους ὄντας, καί μόνου Θεοῦ ἐχομένους, ὡς αἰτίου, τόν δέ ἕτερον μέσον, καί τῆς ἡμετέρας ἠρτημένον γνώμης τε καί κινήσεως, καί δι᾿ ἑαυτοῦ τοῖς ἄκροις τό κυρίως λέγεσθαι παρέχοντα, καί οὗ μή παρόντος ἄχρηστος αὐτοῖς ἡ προσηγορία (14∆_132> καθίσταται, τό εὖ συνημμένον οὐκ ἔχουσιν, οὐκ ἄλλως δύνασθαι καί προσγενέσθαι αὐτοῖς καί φυλαχθῆναι τήν ἐν τοῖς ἄκροις ἀλήθειαν, ἥν ποιεῖν πέφυκεν τό εὖ εἶναι κατά τό μέσον τοῖς ἄκροις ἐπικιρνώμενον, ἤ τῇ πρός Θεόν ἀεικινησίᾳ διενοήθησαν·

Καί λοιπόν τῷ κατά φύσιν ἐντεῦθεν τό ὀπτικόν τῆς ψυχῆς συνεπιτείναντες λόγῳ, καί τρόπον τινά μή δεῖν ἀντιστρόφως χρῆσθαι ταῖς φυσικαῖς ἐνεργείαις, διά τήν ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἐπισημαίνουσαν ταῖς φυσικαῖς δυνάμεσιν ἐκ τοῦ κατά παράχρησιν τρόπου φθοράν, αὐτοῦ βοῶντος τοῦ Λόγου διαῤῥήδην ἀκούσαντες, ὁμαλῶς κατά τόν πρέποντα λόγον τῆς φύσεως πρός τόν αὐτῆς αἴτιον φέρεσθαι ἐδιδάχθησαν, ἵν᾿ ὅθεν ἁπλῶς αὐτοῖς ἐστι τό εἶναι, καί τό ὄντως εἶναί ποτε προστεθέν ὑποδέξωνται. Τί γάρ ἄν καί ἔσται τῇ μή ἑαυτοῦ κατά τό εἶναι αἰτίῳ πρός ἑαυτούς ἴσως λογισάμενοι εἶπον, πρός ἑαυτόν ἤ ἄλλο τι παρά τόν Θεόν κινουμένῳ τό κέρδος, ὁπότε εἰς τόν τοῦ εἶναι λόγον οὐδέν ἑαυτῷ ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ, ἤ ἄλλου τινός παρά τόν Θεόν περιποιῆσαι δυνήσεται; ∆ιά τοῦτο τόν μέν νοῦν περί μόνου Θεοῦ καί τῶν αὐτοῦ ἀρετῶν διανοεῖσθαι, καί τῇ ἀῤῥήτῳ δόξῃ τῆς αὐτοῦ μακαριότητος, ἀγνώστως ἐπιβάλλειν, τόν δέ λόγον ἑρμηνευτήν τῶν νοηθένων γίνεσθαι καί ὑμνωδόν, καί τούς πρός αὐτά ἑνοποιούς ὀρθῶς διαλέγεσθαι τρόπους, τήν δέ αἴσθησιν κατά λόγον εὐγενισθεῖσαν τάς ἐν τῷ παντί διαφόρους δυνάμεις τε καί ἐνεργείας φαντασιουμένην τούς ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν ὡς ἐφικτόν τῇ ψυχῇ διαγγέλλειν λόγους διδάξαντες, καί διά τοῦ νοῦ καί τοῦ λόγου, ὥσπερ ναῦν, τήν ψυχήν σοφῶς οἰακίσαντες, τήν ὑγράν ταύτην καί ἄστατον καί ἄλλοτε ἄλλως φερομένην καί διώδευσαν ἴχνεσιν.

Θ (9). ΘΕΩΡΙΑ ΤΗΣ ∆ΙΑ ΤΗΣ ΘΑΛΑΣΣΗΣ ∆ΙΑΒΑΣΕΩΣ ∆ΙΑ ΜΩΣΕΩΣ

1117 Θεωρία τῆς διά τῆς θαλάσσης διαβάσεως διά Μωσέως. Οὕτω τάχα καί Μωϋσῆς ἐκεῖνος ὁ μέγας τῇ πληγῇ τοῦ (14∆_134>

παντοδυνάμου Λόγου, οὗ σύμβολον ἦν ἴσως ἡ ῥάβδος, θαλάσσης τρόπον τῶν αἰσθητῶν διελών τήν ἀπάτην, ἤ περιελών εἰπεῖν οἰκειότερον, στεῤῥάν καί ἀσάλευτον, τῷ πρός τάς θείας ἐπαγγελίας ἐπειγομένῳ λαῷ τήν ὑπίχνιον παρέσχετο γῆν, τήν ὑπό αἴσθησιν, φημί, φύσιν ὀρθῷ λόγῳ εἶναι θεατήν καί εὐπερίγραπτον καί βίῳ ἀρεταῖς ἠγλαϊσμένῳ βατήν δείξας καί εὐπαρόδευτον, καί μηδένα κίνδυνον ἐκ τῆς ἑκατέρωθεν παφλαζούσης τῶν διακριθένων ὑδάτων, οἷς τέως κεκάλυπτο, ὁρμῆς τοῖς οὕτως αὐτήν διαπερῶσιν ἐπάγουσαν· εἴπερ τῷ κατ᾿ ἀναγωγήν λόγῳ διάκρισις ὑδάτων νοητῆς θαλάττης ἐστίν ἡ τῶν κατ᾿ ἔλλειψιν καί πλεονασμόν ἀντικειμένων ταῖς ἀρεταῖς κακιῶν τῆς πρός ἀλλήλας συνεχείας διάστασις, ἥν πέφυκε λόγος ποιεῖν, καρδίως αὐτῶν καθαψάμενος, καί τοῖς ἐπί Θεόν προτροπάδην ἐπειγομένοις οὐδαμῶς ἀλλήλαις αὐτάς συναφθῆναι συγχωρῶν.

Ι (10). ΘΕΩΡΙΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΟΡΟΣ ΑΝΑΒΑΣΕΩΣ ΤΟΥ ΜΩΣΕΩΣ

Θεωρία τῆς εἰς τό ὄρος ἀναβάσεως τοῦ Μωσέως.