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a logos subsists, of which the one Mind is by nature the begetter; 14Β_164 leading the subsequent mind up to him as to a head through the Spirit that is connatural in essence.

9. He says that the wife of the practical person is the disposition, as it is generative of modes of virtue; of the natural philosopher, sense perception ennobled by the principles of the Spirit, as it brings forth the dispassionate images of beings; and of the theologian, the pure intellect, capable of receiving in a unitive way the one triply-radiant light.

10. He calls Christ the super-essential Logos, incarnate in a super-essential way, because the mind has not apprehended His incarnation by natural reason. And he says that His head is the causal Mind according to nature, conceived with the Logos naturally as cause. For he who has seen the Logos by faith has at the same time mystically seen with the Logos, timelessly, the begetter of the Logos, the Mind, as being in Him essentially. But some say that the human aspect of Christ is called Christ, as the head of the whole, that is, of all nature. It is clear that the divinity of Christ is established as the head of this human aspect. For by calling the parts by the name of the whole, they have given a correct concept.

11. The identity by grace of the perfected mind with God is the simple and indivisible movement around that which is by nature identical, around which there is no apprehension of intelligibles, differing in their essential quantity and potential quality; but an ineffable enjoyment, having a perception that is beyond intellection.

12. He says that prayer for the practical person is the petition for the virtues; and prophecy, the true teaching of the principles within them; of the natural philosopher, he says prayer is the petition for scientific knowledge of beings; and prophecy, the transmission of this to others according to true teaching; of the theologian, he says prayer is the ineffable silence; in which the mind, through the negation of beings by way of eminence, becomes worthy of the union beyond intellection and knowledge; and prophecy, the initiation of others into this. For prayer effects the union of the one praying with God; while prophecy, for God's sake, persuades the one prophesying to share with people the good things that have been given.

13. He knows God as Logos, perceiving nothing, that is, nothing of the things that can be perceived, or understanding nothing, that is, nothing of the things that can be understood, or come into thought, or doing nothing, that is, nothing of the things subject to generation and corruption for these are properly called actionshe understands that he is the Logos.

14. When we make affirmations about the divine, he says, we do conceive of it along with existing things, but as a productive cause. But when we negate it completely of existing things, we do not conceive of it along with existing things even as a cause; because, to speak truly, it has no relation to existing things, according to which we are naturally disposed to relate at the same time the concept of both things of which there is a relation. Therefore, the good theologian makes ignorance by eminence—God's being completely beyond concept—a thesis of true knowledge.

15. Such a thesis, then, is what the negations by eminence assume. For they show that God alone exists, while denying that he is one of the existing things or of the things that can be perceived or understood or spoken of.

KS (26). CONCERNING THE KING OF BABYLON AND OF JUDAH AND OF THE NATIONS. 26. QUESTION 26 If the king of Babylon is allegorized as the devil, what is the meaning that through

the prophet Jeremiah he threatens the kings of the nations and the king of Judah

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ὑφέστηκε λόγος, οὗ ὁ εἷς φύσει Νοῦς ὑπάρχει γεννήτωρ· 14Β_164 πρός ὅν ὡς κεφαλήν ἀνάγων διά τοῦ συμφυοῦς κατ᾿ οὐσίαν Πνεύματος τόν ἑπόμενον συνίστησι νοῦν.

9. Τοῦ μέν πρακτικοῦ γυναῖκά φησιν εἶναι τήν ἕξιν, ὡς τῶν κατ᾿ ἀρετήν τρόπων γεννητικήν· τοῦ δέ φυσικοῦ, τήν ἐξευγενισθεῖσαν τοῖς λόγοις τοῦ Πνεύματος αἴσθησιν, ὡς τίκτουσαν τάς τῶν ὄντων ἀπαθεῖς φαντασίας· τοῦ δέ θεολογικοῦ τήν καθαράν διάνοιαν τοῦ ἑνός τρισσοφαοῦς φωτός μοναδικῶς δεκτικήν.

10. Χριστόν λέγει τόν ὑπερούσιον, καί ὑπερουσίως σαρκωθέντα Λόγον, ὅτι μηδέ τήν σάρκωσιν αὐτοῦ λόγῳ φυσικῷ κατέλαβε νοῦς. Τούτου δέ κεφαλήν εἶναί φησι, τόν κατά φύσιν αἴτιον Νοῦν, κατ᾿ αἰτίαν φύσει τῷ Λόγῳ συνεπινοούμενον. Ὁ γάρ τῇ πίστει τόν Λόγον ἑωρακώς, ἀχρόνως ἅμα τῷ Λόγῳ τόν τοῦ Λόγου γεννήτορα Νοῦν, ὡς ἐν αὐτῷ κατ᾿ οὐσίαν ὄντα, μυστικῶς συνεώρακεν. Φασί δέ τινες Χριστόν μέν λέγεσθαι τοῦ Χριστοῦ τό ἀνθρώπινον, ὡς τοῦ παντός, ἤγουν τῆς ὅλης φύσεως κεφαλήν. Οὗπερ ἀνθρωπίνου δῆλον, ἡ τοῦ Χριστοῦ θεότης καθέστηκε κεφαλή. Τῇ γάρ ὀνομασίᾳ τοῦ ὅλου τά μέρη καλέσαντες, ὀρθήν ἐκδεδώκασιν ἔννοιαν.

11. Ἡ πρός τόν Θεόν τοῦ τελειωθέντος νοῦ κατά χάριν ταυτότης, ἐστίν ἡ περί τό φύσει ταυτόν ἁπλῆ καί ἀδιαίρετος κίνησις, περί ἥν νοητῶν ἀνάληψις οὐκ ἔστι, ποσῷ τε τῷ κατ᾿ οὐσίαν καί τῷ κατά δύναμιν ποιῷ διαφερόντων· ἀλλ᾿ ἀπόλαυσις ἄῤῥητος, αἴσθησιν ἔχουσα τήν ὑπέρ νόησιν.

12. Προσευχήν λέγει τοῦ μέν πρακτικοῦ, τήν τῶν ἀρετῶν αἴτησιν· προφητείαν δέ τῶν ἐν αὐταῖς λόγων τήν ἀληθῆ διδασκαλίαν· τοῦ δέ φυσικοῦ προσευχήν φησιν εἶναι, τὴν περί τῶν ὄντων ἐπιστημονικῆς γνώσεως αἴτησιν· προφητείαν δέ, τήν ταύτης κατά τήν ἀληθῆ διδασκαλίαν εἰς ἄλλους μετάδοσιν· τοῦ δέ θεολογικοῦ προσευχήν εἶναι λέγει, τήν ἀπόῤῥητον σιγήν· καθ᾿ ἥν ὁ νοῦς ὑπεροχικῶς τῇ στερήσει (14Β_166> τῶν ὄντων ἄξιος γίνεται τῆς ὑπέρ νόησιν καί γνῶσιν ἑνώσεως· προφητείαν δέ, τήν ἄλλων περί ταύτην μυσταγωγίαν. Ἡ γάρ προσευχή πρός Θεόν ποιεῖται τοῦ προσευχομένου τήν ἕνωσιν· ἡ δέ προφητεία διά Θεόν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις κοινωνῆσαι τῶν δοθέντων καλῶν πείθει τόν προφητεύοντα.

13. Νοεῖ τὸν Θεὸν ὡς Λόγος μηδὲν ἀντιλαμβανόμενος, τουτέστι οὐδὲν τῶν δυναμένων ὑπὸ ἀντίληψιν γενέσθαι, ἢ μηδὲν νοούμενος, τουτέστι οὐδὲν τῶν δυναμένων νοηθῆναι, ἤτοι ἐν τῷ λογισμῷ ἐλθεῖν, ἢ μηδὲν ποιούμενος, τουτέστι οὐδὲν τῶν τῇ γεννήσει καὶ τῇ φθορᾷ ὑποκειμένων ταῦτα γὰρ κυρίως λέγονται πράξειςνοεῖ ὅτι ὁ Λόγος ἐστι.

14. Ὅταν τό θεῖον καταφάσκωμεν, φησίν, συνεπινοοῦμεν μὲν αὐτό τοῖς οὖσιν· ἀλλ᾿ ὡς αἰτίαν ποιητικήν. Ὅταν δέ τῶν ὄντων αὐτό παντελῶς ἀποφάσκωμεν, οὔτε κατ᾿ αἰτίαν αὐτό συνεπινοοῦμεν τοῖς οὖσιν· ὅτι μηδεμίαν, ἀληθῶς εἰπεῖν, ἔχει πρός τά ὄντα σχέσιν· καθ᾿ ἥν τήν ἐπ᾿ ἀμφοῖν ὧν ἐστι σχέσις ἔννοιαν ἅμα συναναφέρειν πεφύκαμεν. Οὐκοῦν ὁ καλός θεολόγος τήν καθ᾿ ὑπεροχήν ἀγνωσίαν θέσιν γνώσεως ἀληθοῦς ποιεῖται, τοῦ Θεοῦ τό παντελῶς ἀνεννόητον.

15. Τοιαύτην οὖν θέσιν λαμβάνουσιν αἱ καθ' ὑπεροχὴν στερήσεις. ∆εικνύουσι γὰρ ὅτι ὑπάρχει μόνον ὁ Θεός, ἀρνούμεναι ὅτι ἐστὶ τῶν ὑπαρχόντων ἢ δυναμένων ὑπὸ ἀντίληψιν γενέσθαι ἢ νοηθῆναι ἢ λεχθῆναι.

ΚS (26). ΠΕΡΙ ΤΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΒΑΒΥΛΩΝΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΙΟΥ∆Α ΚΑΙ ΤΩΝ ΕΘΝΩΝ. 26. ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ ΚS' Εἰ ὁ βασιλεὺς Βαβυλῶνος ἀλληγορεῖται εἰς τὸν διάβολον, τίς ὁ λόγος ὃν διὰ

τοῦ προφήτου Ἱερεμίου ἀπειλεῖ τοῖς βασιλεῦσι τῶν ἐθνῶν καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ Ἰούδα