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but intemperance is concerned with suffering. It has become clear, therefore, how in the soul and before activity evils are distinguished from virtues, through the irrational and the rational, which are parts of the soul. But these things of the irrational part show us another law "warring against the mind," as the Apostle says, (14S_156> and, in not being controlled, taking the rational part captive, as we have demonstrated.

Against the reason: Instead of, against the rational part of the soul. And if it is the corruption of beings: Instead of, if corruption is seen among beings,

that is, if some of the beings are subject to corruption, from this is shown the existence of evil; for the phrase 'does not cast out' means this.

Or is it not often: These things also belong to the opposition, that evil is rather even among beings, and is a being; for even if evil is the corruption of beings, yet this corruption sometimes leads another thing to generation, for instance, the egg is corrupted, but is transformed into a bird; and the bean, being chewed and hidden in the earth, is transformed into the form of an embryo; and our bodies into worms, and other animals, and countless other such things, as horses are the generation of wasps, and bulls of bees.

And evil will be: A solution to the proposed antitheses, if corruption is evil, and corruption corrupts also evil, how will evil be self-corrupting? For if evil is in matter, it is clear that it is the more corruptible; and this is matter, and it corrupts itself; for because of this matter is also called non-substantial in comparison with the supra-substantial essence of God, as it is itself corruptible, and not always existing, and formless in comparison with the form of God, as Moses called the creator Word. And matter is also called non-being in comparison with the divine existence according to essence.

§ 20. Insofar as it is evil: The phrase 'insofar as it is evil' instead of 'in respect of which it is evil'. (14S_158> But rather. Note that even in the divine words the tradition of more precise things from reflection is unhindered;

for behold, as you see, after the exposition of the former opinion, he hands down the more precise things from reflection.

And unmixed and whole: The unmixed goods are also complete; from the good it comes to be in the supercosmic intelligibles, since they are also incorporeal, but the mixed goods are observed in rational bodies, that is, in us, with the irrational part of the soul, as has been said, partaking of matter through the body which partakes of form, and with the rational part, inclining towards the irrational and sometimes yielding to it, and for this reason tending towards matter; for one must consider evil-in-itself as measureless-in-itself, formless-in-itself, essentially evil to itself, but not evil to another; for this is a form and accident of evil. Therefore, evil must be something of such a kind as I said, just as God is the self-limit and self-measure of all things, and self-form-giving, and essentially self-good; for I do not now say good to another; for this is an accident; how then will evil be essential also to others, when all beings whatsoever are mixedly made evil and have their being in the good, with nothing being entirely without a share of the good, but all partaking of the good according to their own suitability? Therefore, evil is not in existence, but in a parasitic subsistence, appearing in the privation of the good.

But it extends to the last things: The last thing must be understood as material and earthly bodies; for just as God is the beginning of all things, as we have already said, so the last of all things is this refuse-like, this dense and earthy part of matter; whence it is also called the footstool of God, as being both last, and yet partaking of His goodness, as also bearing Him in a final way; for Wisdom also says: "for this earthly tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth upon many things," as the irrational part of the soul is mixed with the material body, and sometimes overpowers the rational part of the soul.

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δέ ἀκολασία περί τό πάσχειν. Σαφές οὖν γέγονε, πῶς ἐν ψυχῇ καί πρό ἐνεργείας διακέκριται τά κακά ἐκ τῶν ἀρετῶν, διά τοῦ ἀλόγου καί τοῦ λογικοῦ, μερῶν ὄντων τῆς ψυχῆς. Ταῦτα δέ τά τοῦ ἀλόγου ἕτερον νόμον δείκνυσιν ἡμῖν «ἀντιστρατευόμενον τῷ νῷ», ὥς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, (14S_156> καί ἐν τῷ μή κρατεῖσθαι αἰχμαλωτεύοντα τό λογικόν, ὡς ἀπεδείξαμεν.

Πρός τόν λόγον: Ἀντί τοῦ, πρός τό λογικόν τῆς ψυχῆς μέρος. Καί εἰ φθορά ἐστι τῶν ὄντων: Ἀντί τοῦ, εἰ ἐν τοῖς οὖσι τό φθείρεσθαι ὁρᾶται,

ἤγουν εἴ τινα τῶν ὄντων ὑπόκειται φθορᾷ, ἐκ τούτου δείκνυται τό εἶναι τό κακόν· τό γάρ 'οὐκ ἐκβάλλει', τοῦτο δηλοῖ.

Ἤ οὐχί πολλάκις: Ἔτι τῆς ἀντιθέσεώς εἰσι καί ταῦτα, ὅτι μᾶλλον καί ἐν τοῖς οὖσίν ἐστι, καί ὄν τό κακόν· κἄν γάρ τό κακόν φθορά ἐστι τῶν ὄντων, ἀλλ' οὖν ἡ φθορά αὕτη, ἕτερον ἔσθ' ὅτε εἰς γένεσιν ἄγει, οἷον τό ὠόν φθείρεται μέν, μεταστοιχειοῦται δέ εἰς πτηνόν· καί ὁ κύαμος δέ, καταμασσόμενος καί ἐν τῇ γῇ κρυπτόμενος, μετασχηματίζεται εἰς ἐμβρύου εἶδος· καί τά σώματα δέ ἡμῶν εἰς σκώληκας, καί ἕτερα ζῶα, καί ἄλλα μυρία τοιαῦτα, ὡς ἵπποι μέν σφηκῶν γένεσις, ταῦροι δέ μελισσῶν.

Καί ἔσται τό κακόν: Λύσις τῶν προβληθεισῶν ἀντιθέσεων, εἰ ἡ φθορά κακόν, φθείρει δέ ἡ φθορά καί τό κακόν, πῶς ἔσται τό κακόν αὐτό ἑαυτό φθεῖρον; Εἰ γάρ ἐν τῇ ὕλῃ τό κακόν, εὔδηλον, ὡς τό εὐφθαρτότερον· ὕλη δέ ἐστι, καί τοῦτο ἑαυτό φθείρει· διά τοῦτο γάρ ἡ ὕλη καί ἀνούσιος λέγεται κατά ἀντιπαράθεσιν τῆς ὑπερουσίου τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐσίας, ὡς αὐτή φθαρτή οὖσα, καί οὐκ ἀεί οὖσα, καί ἀνείδεος κατά ἀντιπαράθεσιν τοῦ εἴδους τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὡς ἐκάλεσε Μωϋσῆς τόν δημιουργόν Λόγον. Καί μή ὄν δέ λέγεται ἡ ὕλη κατά ἀντιπαράθεσιν τῆς θείας κατά οὐσίαν ὑπάρξεως.

§ 20. ᾞ κακόν: Τό 'ᾖ κακόν' ἀντί τοῦ καθ' ὅ κακόν. (14S_158> Μᾶλλον δέ. Σημείωσαι, ὅτι καί ἐν τοῖς θείοις λόγοις ἀκώλυτος ἡ

ἐξ ἐπιλογισμοῦ τῶν ἀκριβεστέρων παράδοσις· ἰδού γάρ, ὡς ὁρᾷς, μετά τήν ἔκθεσιν τῆς προτέρας γνώμης ἐξ ἐπιλογισμοῦ τά ἀκριβέστερα παραδίδωσιν.

Καί ἀμιγῆ καί ὁλόκληρα: Τά μέν ἀμιγῆ ἀγαθά καί ὁλοτελῆ· ἐκ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἐγγίνεται τοῖς ὑπερκοσμίοις νοητοῖς, ἅτε καί ἀσωμάτοις, τά δέ μεμιγμένα ἀγαθά περί τά λογικά σώματα θεωρεῖται, τουτέστιν ἐν ἡμῖν, τοῦ μέν ἀλόγου τῆς ψυχῆς μέρους, ὡς εἴρηται, μετέχοντος ὕλης διά τοῦ σώματος τοῦ εἴδους μετέχοντος, τοῦ δέ λογικοῦ μέρους, ρέποντος πρός τό ἄλογον καί ἐνδιδόντος ἔσθ' ὅτε αὐτῷ, καί διά τοῦτο πρός ὕλην νεύοντος· τό μέν γάρ αὐτόκακον δεῖ θεωρεῖν αὐτοάμετρον, αὐτοανείδεον, ἑαυτῷ κακόν οὐσιῶδες, οὐ μήν ἑτέρῳ κακόν· τοῦτο γάρ εἶδός ἐστι καί συμβεβηκός κακίας. ∆εῖ οὖν τό κακόν τοιοῦτόν τι εἶναι, οἷον ἔφην, ὥσπερ ὁ Θεός πάντων αὐτοπέρας καί αὐτόμετρον, καί αὐτοειδοποιόν, καί αὐτοαγαθόν οὐσιῶδες· οὐ γάρ λέγω νῦν τῷ ἑτέρῳ ἀγαθόν· συμβεβηκός γάρ τοῦτο· πῶς οὖν ἔσται τό κακόν οὐσιῶδες καί ἑτέροις, πάντων καθάπαξ τῶν ὄντων μεμιγμένως κακυνομένων καί ἐχόντων τό εἶναι ἐν τῷ ἀγαθῷ, οὐδενός κατά τό παντελές ἀμετόχου ὄντος τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, ἀλλά πάντων πρός τήν ἰδίαν ἐπιτηδειότητα μετεχόντων τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ; Τό οὖν κακόν οὐκ ἐν ὑπάρξει, ἀλλ' ἐν παρεισδύσει, ἐν τῇ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ στερήσει φαινόμενον.

Ἐκτείνεται δέ ἄχρι τῶν ἐσχάτων: Ἔσχατον νοητέον τά ὑλικά σώματα καί γήϊνα· ὥσπερ γάρ πάντων ἀρχή ὁ Θεός, ὡς καί ἤδη ἔφημεν, οὕτω πάντων ἔσχατον τό σκυβαλῶδες τοῦτο τό παχύ τῆς ὕλης μέρος καί γεῶδες· ὅθεν καί ὑποπόδιον λέγεται τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὡς καί ἔσχατον, καί ὅμως μετέχον ἀγαθότητος αὐτοῦ, ὡς καί φέρον αὐτόν ἐσχάτως· λέγει γάρ καί ἡ Σοφία· «βρίθει γάρ τό γεῶδες τοῦτο σκῆνος νοῦν πολυφρόντιδα», ὡς τοῦ ἀλόγου τῆς ψυχῆς μέρους μεμιγμένου τῷ ὑλικῷ σώματι, καί κατακρατοῦντος ἔσθ ' ὅτε τοῦ λογικοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς.