And who, she replied, could deny that truth is to be found only in that upon which the seal of Scriptural testimony is set? So, if it is necessary that something from the Gospels should be adduced in support of our view, a study of the Parable of the Wheat and Tares will not be here out of place. The Householder there sowed good seed; (and we are plainly the “house”). But the “enemy,” having watched for the time when men slept, sowed that which was useless in that which was good for food, setting the tares in the very middle of the wheat. The two kinds of seed grew up together; for it was not possible that seed put into the very middle of the wheat should fail to grow up with it. But the Superintendent of the field forbids the servants to gather up the useless crop, on account of their growing at the very root of the contrary sort; so as not to root up59    There is a variety of readings from the Codd. here; συνεγκαταλείη, συνεκτάλῃ, συνεκταλείη, συνεκταλαί& 219·, συγκαταλύ& 219·: in two (and on the margins of two others), συνεκτίλῃ, which Krabinger has adopted. The Paris Editt. have συνεκτίνει the nutritious along with that foreign growth. Now we think that Scripture means by the good seed the corresponding impulses of the soul, each one of which, if only they are cultured for good, necessarily puts forth the fruit of virtue within us. But since there has been scattered60    παρενεσπάρη, the idea of badness being contained in παρὰ, which in such cases is always the first compound. One Cod. has the curious inversion ἐνπαρεσπάρη amongst these the bad seed of the error of judgment as to the true Beauty which is alone in its intrinsic nature such, and since this last has been thrown into the shade by the growth of delusion which springs up along with it (for the active principle of desire does not germinate and increase in the direction of that natural Beauty which was the object of its being sown in us, but it has changed its growth so as to move towards a bestial and unthinking state, this very error as to Beauty carrying its impulse towards this result; and in the same way the seed of anger does not steel us to be brave, but only arms us to fight with our own people; and the power of loving deserts its intellectual objects and becomes completely mad for the immoderate enjoyment of pleasures of sense; and so in like manner our other affections put forth the worse instead of the better growths),—on account of this the wise Husbandman leaves this growth that has been introduced amongst his seed to remain there, so as to secure our not being altogether stripped of better hopes by desire having been rooted out along with that good-for-nothing growth. If our nature suffered such a mutilation, what will there be to lift us up to grasp the heavenly delights? If love is taken from us, how shall we be united to God? If anger is to be extinguished, what arms shall we possess against the adversary? Therefore the Husbandman leaves those bastard seeds within us, not for them always to overwhelm the more precious crop, but in order that the land itself (for so, in his allegory, he calls the heart) by its native inherent power, which is that of reasoning, may wither up the one growth and may render the other fruitful and abundant: but if that is not done, then he commissions the fire to mark the distinction in the crops. If, then, a man indulges these affections in a due proportion and holds them in his own power instead of being held in theirs, employing them for an instrument as a king does his subjects’ many hands, then efforts towards excellence more easily succeed for him. But should he become theirs, and, as when any slaves mutiny against their master, get enslaved61    ἐξανδραποδισθείη; this is adopted by Krabinger from the Haselman Cod. for the common ἐξ ὧν δραποδισθείη by those slavish thoughts and ignominiously bow before them; a prey to his natural inferiors, he will be forced to turn to those employments which his imperious masters command. This being so, we shall not pronounce these emotions of the soul, which lie in the power of their possessors for good or ill, to be either virtue or vice. But, whenever their impulse is towards what is noble, then they become matter for praise, as his desire did to Daniel, and his anger to Phineas, and their grief to those who nobly mourn. But if they incline to baseness, then these are, and they are called, bad passions.

_Μ. Ἡ δὲ, Καὶ τίς ἂν ἀντείποι, φησὶ, μὴ οὐχὶ ἐν τούτῳ μόνῳ τὴν ἀλήθειαν τιθέσθω, ᾧ σφραγὶς ἔπεστι τῆς γραφικῆς μαρτυρίας; Οὐκοῦν εἰ χρή τι καὶ τῆς τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου διδασκαλίας πρὸς τὴν τοῦ δόγματος τούτου συνηγορίαν παραληφθῆναι, οὐκ ἀπὸ καιροῦ γένοιτ' ἂν ἡμῖν τῆς παραβολῆς τῶν ζιζανίων ἡ θεωρία. Ἔσπειρε γὰρ ἐκεῖ τὸ καλὸν σπέρμα ὁ οἰκοδεσπότης (ἡμεῖς δὲ πάντως ὁ οἶκός ἐσμεν): καθεύδοντας δὲ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐπιφυλάξας ἐνέσπειρεν ὁ ἐχθρὸς τῷ τροφίμῳ τὸ ἄχρηστον, αὐτῷ τῷ σίτῳ κατὰ τὸ μέσον ἐνθεὶς τὸ ζιζάνιον. Καὶ συνεβλάστησαν ἀλλήλοις τὰ σπέρματα. Οὐ γὰρ ἦν δυνατὸν τὸ αὐτῷ τῷ σίτῳ ἐντεθὲν σπέρμα μὴ σὺν ἐκείνῳ βλαστῆσαι. Κωλύει δὲ τοὺς ὑπηρέτας ὁ τῆς γεωργίας ἔφορος μὴ ἀποτίλλειν τὸ ἄχρηστον διὰ τὴν ἐν τῇ ῥίζῃ τῶν ἐναντίων συμφυΐαν, ὡς ἂν μὴ τὸ ἀλλότριον συνεκτίνει τὸ τρόφιμον. Τὰς γὰρ τοιαύτας τῆς ψυχῆς ὁρμὰς διὰ τῶν καλῶν σπερμάτων οἰόμεθα τὸν λόγον ἐνδείκνυσθαι, ὧν ἕκαστον, εἰ μόνον πρὸς τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐγεωργεῖτο, τὸν τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐν ἡμῖν καρπὸν πάντως ἐβλάστησεν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ παρενεσπάρη τούτοις ἡ περὶ τὴν τοῦ καλοῦ κρίσιν δι' ἁμαρτίαν, καὶ τὸ ὄντως καὶ μόνον κατὰ τὴν ἰδίαν φύσιν καλὸν, διὰ τοῦ συναναφυέντος βλαστοῦ τῆς ἀπάτης ἐπεσκοτίσθη: (τὸ γὰρ ἐπιθυμητικὸν οὐ πρὸς τὸ φύσει καλὸν οὗ χάριν κατεσπάρη ἡμῖν ἐφύη τε καὶ ἀνέδραμεν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸ κτηνῶδες καὶ ἄλογον τὸν βλαστὸν μετεποίησε τῆς περὶ τὸ καλὸν ἀκρισίας, πρὸς τοῦτο τὴν τῆς ἐπιθυμίας ἐνεγκοῦσαν ὁρμήν. Ὡσαύτως καὶ τὸ τοῦ θυμοῦ σπέρμα οὐ πρὸς ἀνδρείαν ἐστόμωσεν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὴν τῶν ὁμοφύλων μάχην ἐξώπλισεν: ἥ τε τῆς ἀγάπης δύναμις τῶν νοητῶν ἀπέστη, περὶ τὴν τῶν αἰσθητῶν ἀπόλαυσιν πέρα τοῦ μέτρου ὁλομανήσασα, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον, τοὺς χείρονας βλαστοὺς ἀντὶ τῶν κρειττόνων ἐξήνθησεν:) τούτου χάριν ἀφίησιν ὁ σοφὸς γεωργὸς τὸ ἐμφυὲν τῷ σπέρματι βλάστημα ἐν αὐτῷ εἶναι, προμηθείᾳ τοῦ μὴ γυμνωθῆναι τῶν κρειττόνων ἡμᾶς, καθόλου τῆς ἐπιθυμίας τῷ ἀχρήστῳ βλαστῷ συνεκριζωθείσης. Εἰ γὰρ τοῦτο πάθῃ ἡ φύσις, τί ἔσται τὸ ἐπαῖρον ἡμᾶς πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἐπουρανίων συνάφειαν; ἢ τῆς ἀγάπης ἀφαιρεθείσης, τίνι τρόπῳ πρὸς τὸ Θεῖον συναφθησόμεθα; Τοῦ δὲ θυμοῦ κατασκευασθέντος, ποῖον ὅπλον κατὰ τοῦ προσπαλαίοντος ἕξομεν; Ἐφίησι τοίνυν τὰ νόθα τῶν σπερμάτων ἐν ἡμῖν ὁ γεωργὸς, οὐχ ὡς ἀεὶ κατακρατεῖν τῆς τιμιωτέρας σπορᾶς, ἀλλ' ὡς αὐτὴν τὴν ἄρουραν (οὕτω γὰρ τὴν καρδίαν τροπικῶς ὀνομάζει) διὰ τῆς ἐγκειμένης αὐτῇ φυσικῆς δυνάμεως, ἥτις ἐστὶν ὁ λογισμὸς, τὸ μὲν ξηρᾶναι τῶν βλαστημάτων, τὸ δὲ κάρπιμον καὶ εὐθαλὲς ἀπεργάσασθαι. Εἰ δὲ μὴ τοῦτο γένοιτο, τῷ πυρὶ τὴν τῆς γεωργίας διάκρισιν ταμιεύεται.
Οὐκοῦν εἰ μέν τις τούτοις κατὰ τὸν δέοντα χρήσαι λόγον, ἐν αὐτῷ λαμβάνηται ἐκεῖνα, καὶ μὴ αὐτὸς ἐν ἐκείνοις, ἀλλ' οἷόν τις βασιλεὺς τῇ πολυχειρίᾳ τῶν ὑπηκόων συνεργῷ χρώμενος, ῥᾷον κατορθώσει τὸ κατ' ἀρετὴν σπουδαζόμενον. Εἰ δὲ ἐκείνοις γένοιτο, καθάπερ δούλων τινῶν ἐπαναστάντων τῷ κεκτημένῳ, καὶ ἐξ ὧν δραποδισθείη ταῖς δουλικαῖς ἐπινοίαις ἀγεννῶς ὑποκύψαι, καὶ κτῆμα γένοιτο τῶν ὑπεζευγμένων κατὰ τὴν φύσιν αὐτῷ, πρὸς ἐκεῖνα κατ' ἀνάγκην μετατεθήσεται, πρὸς ἅπερ ἂν ἡ ἐπικράτησις τῶν καθηγουμένων βιάζεται. Εἰ δὲ ταῦτα τοῦτον ἔχει τὸν τρόπον, οὔτε ἀρετὴν, οὔτε κακίαν ἐφ' ἑαυτῶν ταῦτα ἀποφανούμεθα, ὅσα κινήματα τῆς ψυχῆς ὄντα ἐπὶ τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ τῶν χρωμένων κεῖται, ἢ καλῶς ἢ ἑτέρως ἔχειν. Ἀλλ' ὅταν μὲν αὐτοῖς πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον ἡ κίνησις ᾖ, ἐπαίνων γίνεσθαι ὕλην, ὡς τῷ Δανιὴλ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν, καὶ τῷ Φινεὲς τὸν θυμὸν, καὶ τῷ καλῶς πενθοῦντι τὴν λύπην. Εἰ δὲ πρὸς τὸ χεῖρον γένοιτο ἡ ῥοπὴ, τότε πάθη γίνεσθαι ταῦτα καὶ ὀνομάζεσθαι.