1

 2

 3

 4

 5

 6

 7

 8

 9

 10

 11

 12

 13

 14

 15

 16

 17

 18

 19

 20

 21

 22

 23

 24

 25

 26

 27

 28

 29

 30

 31

 32

 33

 34

 35

 36

 37

 38

 39

32

Most High over all the earth." For if one should assign to one hypostasis 'God,' and 'Lord,' and 'Only Most High,' he casts out the other. And from our natural impulse and custom, it is possible to understand this. For when we pray, whether we say, 'Lord, have mercy,' or, 'God, help,' or both together, we do not miss the mark; for we include the holy Trinity in one Godhead. Let them therefore either not with unwritten perversion attempt to invalidate the sublime written and indubitable proofs set forth concerning the Spirit of God, or let them also say how they, like us, call the Son God and good, when the Scriptures say: "God is one;" and. "No one is good except God alone;" or how they call the Father holy and Lord, when they hear: "One is holy, one is Lord, Jesus Christ;" and again: "But the Lord is the Spirit."

CHAP. 20. The Apostle, therefore, who was entrusted with the dispensation, distinguishes among us, and

calls some spiritual, others soulish, and others carnal, or earthly, having adapted such 39.737 appellations from what is greater and prevails in each. For every person has a soul, which we also call spirit, and also the unsubstantial breath which is breathed through the mouth, which we also call breath; but not every single person is enriched with the holy Spirit of God. He addresses, therefore, as "spiritual" those who, as it were, leap up with fitting thoughts and actions, and proceed above their own nature, and who cast off the heretical, God-hated notions, and who embrace the singing of praise to the holy Spirit as God, and through these things show themselves worthy of His coming upon them. For these alone both have Him abiding with them, together with the Father and the Son, and are illumined by His divine light, and are made spiritual, being conformed according to their capacity, those who are enlightened to Him who enlightens, and partaking of the name as they do of the light, and receiving into themselves the communication of divine grace flowing unhindered; then finally also with His wing, that descended in the bodily form. of a dove, they fly up in heart, and escaping the diabolical snare, bidding farewell to the unstable and uncertain things of life, they behold His magnificence lifted up above all the heavens, and glorified and worshipped by the powers above with the Father and the Son; and the more they are led to the longing for Him, and the nearer they become to Him in purpose, so much the more do they perceive the incomprehensibility of His divinity, having once for all acquired the eye of inner vision pure from all that obstructs; and Him whom they cannot see as He is, and contain wholly, because of the great lowliness of our nature, Him they see and receive as is possible, through their desire. Perceiving meanwhile, that whatever great things one might say about Him, he stands apart from the exact truth, not only as far as heaven is from earth, but even much more, they cry out with the Psalmist: "I said in my ecstasy: Every man is a liar," not by fleeing the truth dear to God, but by being able to think or express nothing worthy concerning the divinity of the holy Spirit; not concerning magnitude, or light; for He has all things under Himself, and enlightens, and is in all; not concerning power; for all things are established and given life by Him; not concerning form, or quality; for He is invisible and incomprehensible, as the breath of the Almighty. For if the 39.740 almighty Father is without form and invisible, inasmuch as He is also suprasubstantial and has ascended above all thought, it is clear that so also is the life-giving Spirit who proceeds from Him; not concerning goodness, or eternity, or divine glory; for He is the holy Spirit, manifested from the holy God the Father. He therefore discourses

32

Ὕψιστος ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν." Εἰ γὰρ μιᾷ τις ἀφορίσῃ ὑποστάσει τὸ, "Ὁ Θεὸς," καὶ τὸ, "Κύριος," καὶ "Μόνος Ὕψιστος," ἐκβάλλει τὴν ἑτέραν. Καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς φυσικῆς δὲ ἡμῶν κινήσεως καὶ τῆς συνηθείας ἔστι τούτῳ ἐπιστῆναι. Εὐχόμενοι γὰρ, εἴτε εἴπωμεν, "Κύριε, ἐλέησον," εἴτε, "Ὁ Θεὸς, βοήθησον," εἴτε τὰ συναμφότερα, οὐ διαμαρτάνομεν τοῦ σκοποῦ· συμπεριλαμβάνομεν γὰρ τὴν ἐν μιᾷ θεότητι ἁγίαν Τριάδα. Ἢ οὖν μὴ ἀγράφῳ διαστροφῇ, τὰς προκειμένας μεγαλοφυεῖς περὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐγγράφους, καὶ ἀναμφιβόλους ἀποδείξεις ἀκυροῦν βιαζέσθωσαν, ἢ λεγέτωσαν καὶ αὐτοὶ, πῶς τὸν Υἱὸν παραπλησίως ἡμῶν καλοῦσι Θεὸν καὶ ἀγαθὸν, τῶν Γραφῶν λεγουσῶν· "Εἷς ὁ Θεός·" καὶ. "Οὐδεὶς ἀγαθὸς, εἰ μὴ εἷς ὁ Θεός·" ἢ πῶς τὸν Πατέρα λέγουσιν ἅγιον καὶ Κύριον, ἀκούοντες· "Εἷς ἅγιος, εἷς Κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός·" καὶ πάλιν· "Ὁ δὲ Κύριος τὸ Πνεῦμά ἐστιν."

ΚΕΦ. Κ. ∆ιορίζει δὴ οὖν ἡμᾶς ὁ τὴν οἰκονομίαν πιστευθεὶς Ἀπόστολος, καὶ

τοὺς μὲν πνευματικοὺς καλεῖ, τοὺς δὲ ψυχικοὺς, τοὺς δὲ σαρκικοὺς, ἢ χοϊκοὺς, ἀπὸ τοῦ πλείονος καὶ ἐπικρατοῦντος ἑκάστοις τὰς τοιάσδε 39.737 προσηγορίας ἁρμόσας. Καὶ γὰρ ψυχὴν μὲν, ἣν καὶ πνεῦμά φαμεν, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τὸ διὰ τοῦ στόματος ἀναπνεόμενον ἀνύπαρκτον πνεῦμα, ὃ καὶ ἆσθμα καλοῦμεν, πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ἔχει· τὸ δὲ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐ πᾶς ὁστισοῦν καταπεπλούτηκεν. "Πνευματικοὺς" τοίνυν προσαγορεύει τοὺς ἐμπρεπέσιν ἐνθυμήσεσιν καὶ πράξεσιν οἱονείπως ἀναθρώσκοντας, καὶ τῆς ἑαυτῶν φύσεως ἀνωτέρω χωροῦντας, καὶ τὰς μὲν αἱρετικὰς θεοστυγεῖς νοήσεις ἀποσκευαζομένους, τὸ δὲ ἀνυμνεῖν τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα Θεὸν περιπτυσσομένους, καὶ ἑαυτοὺς διὰ τούτων ἀξίους τῆς ἐπιφοιτήσεως αὐτοῦ ἀποφαίνοντας. Οὗτοι γὰρ μόνοι ἔχουσίν τε αὐτὸ καταμένον παρ' αὐτοῖς, ἅμα τῷ Πατρὶ καὶ τῷ Υἱῷ, καὶ τῷ θείῳ αὐτοῦ φωτὶ καταλάμπονται, καὶ πνευματικοὶ ἀποτελοῦνται, ἐξομοιούμενοι κατὰ δύναμιν οἱ φωτιζόμενοι τῷ φωτίζοντι, καὶ μεταλαμβάνοντες ὡς τοῦ φωτὸς, οὕτω καὶ τοῦ ὀνόματος, καὶ εἰσδεχόμενοι ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ῥέουσαν ἀνεμποδίστως τῆς θείας χάριτος τὴν μετάδοσιν· εἶτα λοιπὸν καὶ τῷ πτερῷ αὐτοῦ, τῷ κατελθόντι σωματικῷ εἴδει. περιστερᾶς ἀνίπτανται τὴν καρδίαν, καὶ τὴν διαβολικὴν ἐκφεύγοντες παγίδα, ἐῤῥῶσθαί τε πρὸς τὰ ἄστατα καὶ ἀβέβαια τοῦ βίου φράζοντες, τὴν μὲν μεγαλοπρέπειαν αὐτοῦ θεωροῦσιν ὑπεράνω πάντων τῶν οὐρανῶν ἐπηρμένην, καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ἄνω δυνάμεων δοξαζομένην καὶ προσκυνουμένην σὺν τῷ Πατρὶ καὶ τῷ Υἱῷ· καὶ ὅσῳπερ ἂν ἀγόμενοι πρὸς τὸν ἐκείνου πόθον, ἐγγυτέρω αὐτοῦ τῇ προθέσει γίνονται, τόσῳ δὴ μᾶλλον αὐτοῦ τὸ ἀκατάληπτον τῆς θεότητος νοοῦσιν, ὡς ἅπαξ τῆς ἔνδοθεν ὄψεως τὸ ὄμμα καθαρὸν κεκτημένοι ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ἐπιπροσθούντων· καὶ ὃν ἰδεῖν οὕτως, ὡς ἔστιν, καὶ χωρῆσαι ὅλον, διὰ τὴν τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν πολλὴν ὕφεσιν, οὐ δύνανται, τοῦτον, ὡς ἐγχωρεῖ, ὁρῶσιν καὶ ὑποδέχονται διὰ τὴν ἔφεσιν. Κατανοοῦντες τέως, οἷα δ' ἄν τις μεγάλα εἴπῃ περὶ αὐτοῦ, τῆς ἀκριβοῦς ἀληθείας ἀφέστηκεν, οὐχ ὅσον οὐρανός ἐστιν ἀπὸ γῆς μόνον, ἀλλ' ἔτι πολλῷ πλέον, κράζουσιν μετὰ τοῦ Ἱεροψάλτου· "Ἐγὼ εἶπα ἐν τῇ ἐκστάσει μου· Πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ψεύστης," οὐχὶ τῷ φεύγειν τὴν Θεῷ φίλην ἀλήθειαν, ἀλλὰ τῷ μηδὲν ἄξιον δύνασθαι νοῆσαι, ἢ φράσαι περὶ τῆς θεότητος τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος· οὐ περὶ μεγέθους, ἢ φωτός· πάντα γὰρ ἔχει ὑφ' ἑαυτὸ, καὶ φωτίζει, καὶ ἔστιν ἐν πᾶσιν· οὐ περὶ δυνάμεως· πάντα γὰρ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ἐστήρικται καὶ ζωογονεῖται· οὐ περὶ σχήματος, ἢ ποιότητος· ἀόρατος γὰρ καὶ ἀκατάληπτος, ὡς πνοὴ Παντοκράτορος εἰ γὰρ ὁ 39.740 παντοκράτωρ Πατὴρ ἀσχημάτιστος καὶ ἀόρατος, καθὸ καὶ ὑπερασώματος καὶ ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν νόησιν ἀναβεβηκὼς, δῆλον, ὅτι καὶ τὸ ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἐκπορευόμενον ζωογόνον Πνεῦμα· οὐ περὶ ἀγαθότητος, ἢ ἀϊδιότητος, ἢ δόξης θεϊκῆς· Πνεῦμα γάρ ἐστιν ἅγιον, ἐξ ἁγίου Θεοῦ Πατρὸς ἐκφανθέν. ∆ιαλέγεται οὖν