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happening because of the presence of the one proclaimed beforehand by them. 117 Ps 17,13b-15 When the dark clouds come forth into the light through clarity, no pretext of defense is left for sinners; wherefore immediately upon the gleaming of the clouds there follows hail and coals of fire. And kinds of punishments are signified through the names, and the prophecies concerning Christ having come to pass. God immediately thunders from heaven, either through the loud voice of the words fulfilled by Jesus, or by God casting into each mind the most lofty words of theology concerning the only-begotten Son, all but crying out this: 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,' but also, revealing his Son, the most High gives a voice to those who have loftily conceived of Christ, when not flesh and blood revealed it to them but the heavenly Father his own Son. And just as to those who have prepared their mind for the vision of God and have opened the hearing of the inner man the Lord thunders from heaven and the most High gives his voice, so that, lifted up by the thunder coming from heaven, they may stand apart from earthly things, and draw near to heaven, bearing the image of the heavenly one, and may receive the lofty thoughts given by the most High; so to those who are disposed in the opposite way the Lord sends forth arrows, having sufficient power to confound those who were formerly of one mind concerning evil. And by arrows he now means the words that proclaim the punishments beforehand; for the threats are sufficient to disturb and trouble the soul, and when he clarifies and illumines like lightning the threats spoken in riddles, he will confound those scattered by the aforementioned arrows. For those who are scattered cast off their agreement in evil, as being in turmoil and confusion. 118 Ps 17,16a When all the aforementioned things have come to pass, the springs of the waters will be seen. And if one were to say that the springs of waters are the conceptions concerning God and good things sown in us, he will say that these will be seen when the ignorance and evil that lie upon the soul are removed. For these, having been taken away, will no longer hide the springs of good things within us. But if also all God-inspired spiritual scripture, covered by obscurity, he will say are springs to be seen, pay attention; when therefore we have turned to the Lord and the veil of ignorance and obscurity is taken away, the springs of water lying within will be seen, so that it is easy to draw from each according to, 'Draw water with joy from the springs of salvation.' For this water is productive of gladness, being of the springs of salvation, which were allotted to the discerning race that is now able to see God, according to, 'In the congregations bless God, the Lord from the springs of Israel.' 119 Ps 17,16bc Since the inhabited world is built up by what it does and says and thinks upon certain foundations laid beforehand, you would not be wrong to call the habits and dispositions the foundations of the inhabited world; when he scatters the wicked with his arrows and confounds them with the flash of his lightnings, when the secret things of men become manifest, as God illuminates the hidden things of darkness and makes manifest the foundations of the inhabited world, he will uncover deep things out of darkness from his rebuke of the inhabited world against all. But if someone calls the divine men the foundations of the inhabited world because of the vigor of their life and the steadfastness of their virtue upon which those who live according to Christ are built, it will happen that these foundations are also uncovered, when a rebuke comes against the sinners. For when the punishment does not touch these, there will be a manifestation and uncovering of the foundations. 120 Ps 17,16δ God does not inflict punishments upon sinners immediately. For if this happened, the whole would have been utterly destroyed. But with great goodness and love for humanity, whenever a multitude of sins occurs, not according to

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γινόμεναι διὰ τὸ παρεῖναι τὸν προαναφωνηθέντα ὑπ' αὐτῶν. 117 Ps 17,13b-15 Σκοτεινῶν νεφελῶν εἰς φῶς διὰ σαφηνείας προελθουσῶν οὐδεμίας ἀπολογίας ὑπολείπεται πρόφασις τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσιν· διὸ εὐθέως τηλαυγήσει τῶν νεφελῶν ἀκολουθεῖ χάλαζαν καὶ ανθρακας πυρὸς ειναι. ειδη δὲ κολάσεων διὰ τῶν προσηγοριῶν σημαίνεται καὶ τῶν περὶ Χριστοῦ προφητευομένων ἐκβάσεως τετυχηκότων. ὁ θεὸς εὐθὺς οὐρανόθεν βροντᾷ, ητοι διὰ τῆς μεγαλοφωνίας τῶν πληρουμένων λόγων ὑπὸ ̓Ιησοῦ, η τῷ ἑκάστῃ διανοίᾳ ἐμβάλλειν θεολογίας ὑψολητάτους λόγους τὸν θεὸν περὶ τοῦ μονογενοῦς υἱοῦ, μόνον οὐχὶ τοῦτο κεκραγώς· Ουτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητὸς ἐν ῳ ηὐδόκησα, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀποκαλύπτων τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ φωνὴν δίδωσιν ὁ υψιστος τοῖς ὑψηλῶς περὶ Χριστοῦ διαλαβοῦσιν, οτε οὐχ αιμα καὶ σὰρξ αὐτοῖς ἀπεκάλυψεν ἀλλ' ὁ πατὴρ ὁ οὐράνιος τὸν ιδιον υἱόν. ωσπερ δὲ τοῖς παρεσκευασμένοις τὸν νοῦν πρὸς θεοπτίαν καὶ τὴν ἀκοὴν τοῦ εσω ἀνθρώπου διοίξασιν βροντᾷ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ὁ κύριος καὶ ὁ υψιστος τὴν φωνὴν αὐτοῦ δίδωσιν, ιν' ὑπὸ τῆς οὐρανόθεν ἐρχομένης βροντῆς μετεωρισθέντες ἐκστῶσι μὲν τῶν γηΐνων, προσπελάσωσι δὲ τῷ οὐρανῷ, τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ ἐπουρανίου φέροντες, καὶ τὰ ὑψηλὰ τῶν νοημάτων πρὸς τοῦ ὑψίστου διδόμενα λάβωσιν· ουτω τοῖς ἐναντίως διακειμένοις ἐξαποστέλλει βέλη ὁ κύριος ἱκανῶς εχοντα συνταράξαι τοὺς πρότερον περὶ τὸ κακὸν ὁμονοοῦντας. βέλη δὲ νῦν λέγει τοὺς προαναφωνοῦντας τὰς κολάσεις λόγους· ἱκαναὶ γὰρ αἱ ἀπειλαὶ ἐκταράξαι καὶ θορυβῆσαι τὴν ψυχήν, οτ' αν δὲ καὶ τὰς μετ' αἰνιγμάτων λεγομένας ἀπειλὰς σαφηνίσῃ καὶ φωτίσῃ ἀστραπῶν δίκην, τοὺς ὑπὸ τῶν βελῶν τῶν προειρημένων σκορπισθέντας συνταράξει. οἱ γὰρ σκορπιζόμενοι τὴν πρὸς τὸ κακὸν συμφωνίαν ἀποβάλλουσιν ὡς ἐν ταράχῳ καὶ συγχύσει γενόμενοι. 118 Ps 17,16a Τῶν προειρημένων ἁπάντων συμβεβηκότων, ὀφθήσονται αἱ πηγαὶ τῶν ὑδάτων. καὶ εἰ μὲν πηγάς τις λέγοι ὑδάτων τὰς ἐνεσπαρμένας ἡμῖν περὶ θεοῦ καὶ τῶν καλῶν ἐννοίας, ὀφθήσεσθαι ταύτας ἐρεῖ ἀναστελλομένης τῆς ἐπικειμένης τῇ ψυχῇ ἀγνοίας καὶ κακίας. αυται γὰρ περιαιρεθεῖσαι οὐκ ετι κρύψουσιν τὰς ἐν ἡμῖν πηγὰς τῶν ἀγαθῶν. εἰ δὲ καὶ πᾶσαν θεόπνευστον γραφὴν πνευματικὴν ὑπὸ ἀσαφείας κεκαλυμμένην πηγὰς ἐρεῖ ὀφθησομένας, ἐπίστησον· οτ' αν ουν ἐπιστρεψάντων ἡμῶν πρὸς κύριον περιαιρεθῇ τὸ τῆς ἀγνοίας καὶ ἀσαφείας κάλυμμα, ὀφθήσονται αἱ ἐγκείμεναι τῶν ὑδάτων πηγαὶ ὡς εὐκόλως ἀφ' ἑκάστης ἀρύεσθαι κατὰ τὸ ̓Αντλήσατε υδωρ μετ' εὐφροσύνης ἐκ τῶν πηγῶν τοῦ σωτηρίου. τοῦτο γὰρ τὸ υδωρ εὐφρασίας ἐστὶν παρεκτικὸν οὐσῶν σωτηρίου πηγῶν, αι ἀπενεμήθησαν τῷ διορατικῷ καὶ νῦν ὁρᾶν τὸν θεὸν εχοντι γένει κατὰ τὸ ̓Εν ἐκκλησίαις εὐλογεῖτε τὸν θεόν, κύριον ἐκ πηγῶν, ̓Ισραήλ. 119 Ps 17,16bc Τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐποικοδομήσης δι' ων πράττει καὶ λέγει καὶ νοεῖ θεμελίοις τισὶν προκαταβεβλημένοις, οὐκ αν ἁμάρτοις τὰς εξεις καὶ διαθέσεις θεμέλια λέγων τῆς οἰκουμένης· οτ' αν διασκορπίσῃ τοὺς φαύλους τοῖς βέλεσιν αὐτοῦ καὶ συνταράξῃ ἐκλάμψει τῶν ἀστραπῶν αὐτοῦ, τῶν κρυπτῶν τῶν ἀνθρώπων φανερῶν γινομένων, φωτίζοντος τοῦ θεοῦ τὰ κρυπτὰ τοῦ σκότους καὶ φανεροῦντος τὰ θεμέλια τῆς οἰκουμένης, ἀνακαλύψει βαθέα ἐκ σκότους ἀπὸ τῆς ἐπιτιμήσεως τῆς οἰκουμένης ὑπ' αὐτοῦ κατὰ πάντων. εἰ δὲ καὶ θεμέλια οἰκουμένης λέγει τις τοὺς θείους ανδρας διὰ τὸ ευτονον τοῦ βίου καὶ τὴν στερρότητα τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐφ' οις ἐποικοδομοῦνται οἱ κατὰ Χριστὸν πολιτευόμενοι, ἀνακαλύπτεσθαι καὶ τούτους τοὺς θεμελίους συμβήσεται, ἐπιτιμήσεως γινομένης κατὰ τῶν ἁμαρτανόντων. τῆς γὰρ κολάσεως τούτων μὴ ἁπτομένης τῶν θεμελίων φανέρωσις καὶ ἀνακάλυψις αὐτῶν εσται. 120 Ps 17,16δ Οὐ παραυτὰ τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσιν θεὸς ἐπαφεῖ τὰς τιμωρίας. εἰ γὰρ τοῦτο ἐγίνετο, τὸ πᾶν αρδην ἀπώλλυτο. ἀλλ' ἀγαθότητι καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ πολλῇ, ἑκάστοτε πλήθους ἁμαρτημάτων γινομένου, οὐ καθ'