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1.94 (ƒδ') Through the practice of the commandments the intellect strips off the passions; through the spiritual contemplation of visible things, the impassioned concepts of things; through the knowledge of invisible things, the contemplation of visible things; and this in turn, through the knowledge of the Holy Trinity.

14__206 1.95 (ƒε') Just as the sun, rising and illuminating the world, reveals both itself and the things illuminated by it; so also the sun of righteousness, rising in the pure intellect, reveals both itself and the principles of all things that have been and will be made by it.

1.96 (ƒστ') We do not know God from his essence, but from the grandeur of his creation and his providence for beings; for through these, as through mirrors, we perceive his infinite goodness and wisdom and power.

1.97 (ƒζ') The pure intellect is found either in the simple concepts of human affairs, or in the natural contemplation of visible things, or in that of invisible things, or in the light of the Holy Trinity.

1.98 (ƒη') When engaged in the contemplation of visible things, the intellect either investigates their natural principles, or what is signified through them, or seeks their very cause.

1.99 (ƒθ') But when occupied with invisible things, it seeks both their natural principles and the cause of their coming into being, and what follows from these, and what is the providence and judgment concerning them.

1.100 (ρ') But when it comes to be in God, inflamed by longing, it first seeks the principles concerning His essence, but it does not find solace from the things that are proper to Him; for this is impossible and unacceptable for any created nature equally. But it is consoled by the things that are around Him, I mean, those concerning eternity, infinity and 14__208 indefiniteness, and goodness and wisdom and the power that is creative, providential and judicial over beings. And this alone of Him is in every way comprehensible: His infinity; and this very knowing of nothing is a knowing beyond intellect, as the theologians Gregory and Dionysius have somewhere said.

14__210 SECOND CENTURY 2.1 (α') He who genuinely loves God, this one also certainly without distraction

prays; and he who certainly prays without distraction, this one also genuinely loves God. But he does not pray without distraction whose intellect is fixed on some earthly thing; therefore he does not love God whose intellect is bound to some earthly thing.

2.2 (β') The intellect that dwells on a perceptible thing certainly has a passion for it, such as desire or grief or anger or remembrance of wrongs; and if it does not despise that thing, it cannot be freed from that passion.

2.3 (γ') The passions, when they rule the intellect, bind it to material things; and separating it from God, they make it be occupied with them. But the love of God, when it has gained mastery, frees it from its bonds, persuading it to despise not only perceptible things, but even our own temporary life.

2.4 (δ') The work of the commandments is to make the concepts of things simple; that of reading and contemplation, to render the intellect immaterial and formless; and from this comes about prayer without distraction.

14__212 2.5 (ε') The practical method is not sufficient for the intellect to be completely freed from the passions, so that it might be able to pray without distraction, if

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1.94 (ƒδ') ∆ιὰ μὲν τῆς ἐργασίας τῶν ἐντολῶν τὰ πάθη ὁ νοῦς ἀποδύεται· διὰ δὲ τῆς τῶν ὁρατῶν πνευματικῆς θεωρίας, τὰ ἐμπαθῆ τῶν πραγμάτων νοήματα· διὰ δὲ τῆς τῶν ἀοράτων γνώσεως, τὴν τῶν ὁρατῶν θεωρίαν· ταύτην δέ, διὰ τῆς γνώσεως τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος.

14__206 1.95 (ƒε') Ὥσπερ ὁ ἥλιος ἀνατέλλων καὶ τὸν κόσμον φωτίζων δείκνυσί τε ἑαυτὸν καὶ τὰ ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ φωτιζόμενα πράγματα· οὕτω καὶ ὁ τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἥλιος τῷ καθαρῷ νῷ ἀνατέλλων καὶ ἑαυτὸν δείκνυσι καὶ πάντων τῶν ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ γεγονότων καὶ γενησομένων τοὺς λόγους.

1.96 (ƒστ') Οὐκ ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας αὐτοῦ τὸν Θεὸν γινώσκομεν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ τῆς μεγαλουργίας αὐτοῦ καὶ προνοίας τῶν ὄντων· διὰ τούτων γὰρ ὡς δι᾽ ἐσόπτρων τὴν ἄπειρον ἀγαθότητα καὶ σοφίαν καὶ δύναμιν κατανοοῦμεν.

1.97 (ƒζ') Ὁ καθαρὸς νοῦς ἢ ἐν τοῖς ψιλοῖς νοήμασι τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων πραγμάτων εὑρίσκεται ἢ ἐν τῇ τῶν ὁρατῶν φυσικῇ θεωρίᾳ ἢ ἐν τῇ τῶν ἀοράτων ἢ ἐν τῷ φωτὶ τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος.

1.98 (ƒη') Ἐν μὲν τῇ τῶν ὁρατῶν θεωρίᾳ γενόμενος ὁ νοῦς ἢ τοὺς φυσικοὺς αὐτῶν λόγους ἐρευνᾷ ἢ τοὺς δι᾽ αὐτῶν σημαινομένους ἢ αὐτὴν τὴν αἰτίαν ζητεῖ.

1.99 (ƒθ') Ἐν δὲ τῇ τῶν ἀοράτων διατρίβων τούς τε φυσικοὺς αὐτῶν λόγους ζητεῖ καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς γενέσεως αὐτῶν καὶ τὰ τούτοις ἀκόλουθα καὶ τίς ἡ περὶ αὐτοὺς πρόνοια καὶ κρίσις.

1.100 (ρ') Ἐν δὲ Θεῷ γενόμενος, τοὺς περὶ τῆς οὐσίας αὐτοῦ πρῶτον λόγους ζητεῖ μὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ πόθου φλεγόμενος, οὐκ ἐκ τῶν κατ᾽ αὐτὸν δὲ παραμυθίαν εὑρίσκει· ἀμήχανον γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ ἀνένδεκτον πάσῃ γενετῇ φύσει ἐξ ἴσου. Ἐκ δὲ τῶν περὶ αὐτὸν παραμυθεῖται, λέγω δὴ τῶν περὶ ἀϊδιότητος, ἀπειρίας τε καὶ 14__208 ἀοριστίας, ἀγαθότητός τε καὶ σοφίας καὶ δυνάμεως δημιουργικῆς τε καὶ προνοητικῆς καὶ κριτικῆς τῶν ὄντων. Καὶ τοῦτο πάντῃ καταληπτὸν αὐτοῦ μόνον, ἡ ἀπειρία· καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ μηδὲν γινώσκειν, ὑπὲρ νοῦν γινώσκειν, ὥς που οἱ θεολόγοι ἄνδρες εἰρήκασι Γρηγόριός τε καὶ ∆ιονύσιος.

14__210 ΕΚΑΤΟΝΤΑΣ ∆ΕΥΤΕΡΑ 2.1 (α') Ὁ γνησίως τὸν Θεὸν ἀγαπῶν, οὗτος καὶ ἀπερισπάστως πάντως

προσεύχεται· καὶ ὁ ἀπερισπάστως πάντως προσευχόμενος, οὗτος καὶ γνησίως τὸν Θεὸν ἀγαπᾷ. Οὐκ εὔχεται δὲ ἀπερισπάστως ὅ τινι τῶν ἐπιγείων ἔχων τὸν νοῦν προσηλωμένον· οὐκ ἄρα ἀγαπᾷ τὸν Θεὸν ὅ τινι τῶν ἐπιγείων ἔχον τὸν νοῦν προσδεδεμένον.

2.2 (β') Ὁ νοῦς πράγματι χρονίζων αἰσθητῷ πάθος ἔχει πάντως πρὸς αὐτό, οἷον ἐπιθυμίας ἢ λύπης ἢ ὀργῆς ἢ μνησικακίας· καὶ εἰ μὴ τοῦ πράγματος ἐκείνου καταφρονεῖ, τοῦ πάθους ἐκείνου ἐλευθεροῦσθαι οὐ δύναται.

2.3 (γ') Τὰ μὲν πάθη τοῦ νοῦ κρατοῦντα συνδεσμοῦσιν αὐτὸν τοῖς πράγμασι τοῖς ὑλικοῖς· καὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ χωρίσαντα αὐτοῖς ἐνασχολεῖσθαι ποιοῦσιν. Ἡ δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀγάπη κρατήσασα λύει αὐτὸν τῶν δεσμῶν, περιφρονεῖν πείθουσα οὐ μόνον τῶν αἰσθητῶν πραγμάτων, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτῆς ἡμῶν τῆς προσκαίρου ζωῆς.

2.4 (δ') Ἔργον τῶν ἐντολῶν, ψιλὰ ποιεῖν τὰ τῶν πραγμάτων νοήματα· ἀναγνώσεως δὲ καὶ θεωρίας, ἄϋλον καὶ ἀνείδεον τὸν νοῦν ἀπεργάζεσθαι· ἐκ δὲ τούτου συμβαίνει τὸ ἀπερισπάστως προσεύχεσθαι.

14__212 2.5 (ε') Οὐκ ἀρκεῖ ἡ πρακτικὴ μέθοδος πρὸς τὸ τελείως τὸν νοῦν τῶν παθῶν ἐλευθερωθῆναι, ὥστε δυνηθῆναι αὐτὸν ἀπερισπάστως προσεύχεσθαι, εἰ