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that we may find, this he advises to keep, that we may not lose. But the way of keeping good things is in casting out those things conceived from the contrary; just as in a besieged city the guard becomes more secure when the traitors have been cast out, but as long as they are within, the hidden ones plot more than the manifest enemies. For, he says, a time to keep and a time to cast away. 5.406 The subsequent sequence of the argument leads the soul to a certain greater philosophy concerning beings. For it shows that the all is continuous with itself and the harmony of beings has no dissolution, but there is a certain concord of all things with one another. and the all is not separated from its connection to itself, but all things remain in being, held fast by the power of that which truly is. But that which truly is is goodness-itself, or if one conceives of any name beyond this significant of the ineffable nature. How could one find a name for that which the divine voice of the apostle says is Above every name? Except that whatever name might be found interpretive of the inexpressible power and nature, the thing signified is altogether good. Therefore this good, or that which is above the good, both truly is and through itself has given and gives to beings both the power to come into being and perseverance in being, and everything contemplated outside of it is non-existence; for that which is outside of being is not in being. Since, then, vice is contemplated in opposition 5.407 to virtue, and God is complete virtue, therefore vice is outside of God, whose nature is comprehended not in its being something, but in its not being good; for to the concept of what is outside the good we have given the name 'vice'. Thus, therefore, vice is contemplated in opposition to the good, as non-being is contrasted with being. Since, then, by the free will of our impulse we have flowed away from the good, just as those in the light who have closed their eyes are said to see darkness; for to see darkness is to see nothing; then the non-existent nature of vice was substantiated in those who flowed away from the good, which exists so long as we are outside the good. But if again the free-willed movement of our will were to be torn away from its relation to the non-existent and be joined to that which is, that [vice] would no longer have its being in me and would not have being at all; for evil existing in itself outside of choice does not exist; but I, having clung to and sewn myself to that which truly is, will remain in that which is, which always was and will be forever and is now. These thoughts, it seems to me, are what a time to rend and a time to sew suggest, that 5.408 having been torn away from that to which we were wrongly joined, we may be attached to that to which attachment is good. For, it says, it is good for me to cling to God, to place my hope in the Lord. One might also say that this counsel is useful for many other things, such as, Purge the evil person from among you. This the divine apostle commands, ordering the one condemned for the unlawful union to be torn away from the common body of the church, so that, he says, a little leaven of the condemned man's wickedness might not spoil the whole lump of the church's prayer. But him who was torn away through sin he sews on again through repentance, saying, that such a one may not be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. Thus he knows how to tear off opportunely the stained part of the church's tunic and again to sew it on opportunely, when through repentance it is washed of the defilement. And many such things can be seen both in the more ancient narratives and in our own life, whatever is carried out according to providence in the churches. For you know from what things we are torn away and to what things we are always sewn; for being separated from heresy we are sewn into piety through all things, then 5.409 seeing the tunic of the church as unrent, when it has been torn away from communion with heresy. But whether according to the theory previously examined by us the word philosophizes about beings or teaches such things through this counsel, in every way the saying contains what is beneficial and useful, tearing away in time those things whose connection is evil, and again joining in time those things whose union is beneficial.

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ἵνα εὕρωμεν, οὗτος φυλάττειν συμβουλεύει, ἵνα μὴ ἀπολέσωμεν. ὁ δὲ τοῦ φυλάττειν τὰ ἀγαθὰ τρόπος ἐστὶν ἐν τῷ ἐκβαλεῖν τὰ ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου νοούμενα· ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῆς πολεμουμένης πόλεως ἀσφαλεστέρα γίνεται ἡ φρουρὰ τῶν προδοτῶν ἐκβληθέντων, ἕως δ' ἂν ἐντὸς ὦσι, μᾶλλον ἐπιβουλεύουσι τῶν φανερῶν ἐχθρῶν οἱ λανθάνοντες. Καιρὸς γάρ, φησίν, τοῦ φυλάσσειν καὶ καιρὸς τοῦ ἐκβάλλειν. 5.406 Ἡ δὲ ἐφεξῆς ἀκολουθία τοῦ λόγου εἰς μείζονά τινα τὴν περὶ τῶν ὄντων φιλοσοφίαν τὴν ψυχὴν ἄγει. δείκνυσι γάρ, ὅτι συνεχές ἐστι τὸ πᾶν ἑαυτῷ καὶ οὐκ ἔχει τινὰ λύσιν ἡ ἁρμονία τῶν ὄντων, ἀλλά τίς ἐστι σύμπνοια τῶν πάντων πρὸς ἄλληλα. καὶ οὐκ ἀπέσχισται τὸ πᾶν τῆς πρὸς ἑαυτὸ συναφείας, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ εἶναι μένει τὰ πάντα τῇ τοῦ ὄντως ὄντος δυνάμει περικρατούμενα. τὸ δὲ ὄντως ὂν ἡ αὐτοαγαθότης ἐστὶν ἢ εἴ τι ὑπὲρ τοῦτό τις ἐπινοεῖ σημαντικὸν τῆς ἀφράστου φύσεως ὄνομα. πῶς δ' ἄν τις εὕροι ἐκείνου ὄνομα, ὅπερ Ὑπὲρ πᾶν ὄνομα εἶναί φησιν ἡ θεία τοῦ ἀποστόλου φωνή; πλὴν ὅτιπερ ἂν εὑρεθῇ ὄνομα ἑρμηνευτικὸν τῆς ἀνεκφωνήτου δυνάμεώς τε καὶ φύσεως, ἀγαθόν ἐστι πάντως τὸ σημαινό μενον. τοῦτο τοίνυν τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἤτοι ὑπὲρ τὸ ἀγαθὸν αὐτό τε ὡς ἀληθῶς ἔστι καὶ δι' ἑαυτοῦ τοῖς οὖσι δέδωκέ τε καὶ δίδωσι τήν τε τοῦ γενέσθαι δύναμιν καὶ τὴν ἐν τῷ εἶναι διαμονήν, πᾶν δὲ τὸ ἔξω αὐτοῦ θεωρούμενον ἀνυπαρξία ἐστί· τὸ γὰρ ἔξω τοῦ ὄντος ἐν τῷ εἶναι οὐκ ἔστιν. ἐπεὶ οὖν ἀντιθεωρεῖται 5.407 τῇ ἀρετῇ ἡ κακία, θεὸς δὲ ἡ παντελὴς ἀρετή, ἔξω ἄρα τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ κακία, ἧς ἡ φύσις οὐκ ἐν τῷ αὐτήν τι εἶναι, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ ἀγαθὴν μὴ εἶναι καταλαμβάνεται· τῷ γὰρ ἔξω τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ νοήματι ὄνομα τὴν κακίαν ἐθέμεθα. οὕτως οὖν ἀντιθεωρεῖται τῷ ἀγαθῷ ἡ κακία, ὡς ἀντιδιαιρεῖται τὸ μὴ ὂν τῷ ὄντι. ἐπεὶ οὖν τῷ αὐτεξουσίῳ τῆς ὁρμῆς τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἀπερρύημεν, ὥσπερ οἱ ἐν φωτὶ μύσαντες σκότος λέγονται βλέπειν· ἐν γὰρ τῷ μηδὲν βλέπειν ἐστὶ τὸ σκότος βλέπειν· τότε ἡ ἀνύπαρκτος τῆς κακίας φύσις ἐν τοῖς ἀπορρυεῖσι τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ οὐσιώθη, ἥτις ἕως τότε ἐστίν, ἕως ἂν ἡμεῖς ἔξω τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ὦμεν. εἰ δὲ πάλιν ἡμῶν ἡ αὐτεξούσιος τοῦ θελήματος κίνησις ἀπορραγείη τῆς πρὸς τὸ ἀνύπαρκτον σχέσεως καὶ συμφυείη τῷ ὄντι, ἐκείνη μὲν τὸ ἐν ἐμοὶ εἶναι μηκέτι ἔχουσα οὐδὲ τὸ εἶναι ὅλως ἕξει· κακὸν γὰρ ἔξω προαιρέσεως ἐφ' ἑαυτοῦ κείμενον οὐκ ἔστιν· ἐγὼ δὲ τῷ ἀληθῶς ὄντι ἐμαυτὸν προσκολ λήσας τε καὶ προσράψας ἐν τῷ ὄντι μενῶ, ὃς ἀεί τε ἦν καὶ εἰς ἀεὶ ἔσται καὶ νῦν ἔστι. ταῦτά μοι δοκεῖ τὰ νοήματα ὁ τοῦ ῥῆξαι καιρὸς καὶ ὁ τοῦ ῥάψαι καιρὸς ὑποτίθεσθαι, ἵνα 5.408 ἀπορραγέντες ἐκείνου, ᾧ κακῶς συνεφύημεν, προσκολληθῶμεν ἐκείνῳ, οὗ ἀγαθὴ ἡ προσκόλλησις. Ἐμοὶ γάρ, φησί, τὸ προσ κολλᾶσθαι τῷ θεῷ ἀγαθόν ἐστι, τίθεσθαι ἐν τῷ κυρίῳ τὴν ἐλπίδα μου. εἴποι δ' ἄν τις καὶ πρὸς ἄλλα πολλὰ τὴν συμβουλὴν ταύτην χρησίμως ἔχειν, οἷον Ἐξάρατε τὸν πονηρὸν ἐξ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν. ταῦτα κελεύει ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος, τὸν ἐπὶ τῇ παρανόμῳ μίξει κατεγνωσμένον τοῦ κοινοῦ τῆς ἐκκλησίας πληρώματος ἀπορραγῆναι κελεύων, ὡς ἂν μὴ Μικρά, φησί, ζύμη τῆς τοῦ κατεγνωσμένου κακίας ὅλον τὸ φύραμα τῆς ἐκκλησια στικῆς εὐχῆς ἀχρειώσειεν. τὸν δὲ ἀπορραγέντα διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας πάλιν προσράπτει διὰ τῆς μετανοίας λέγων, ἵνα Μὴ τῇ περισσοτέρᾳ λύπῃ καταποθῇ ὁ τοιοῦτος. οὕτως οἶδεν εὐκαίρως τε ἀπορρῆξαι τὸ σπιλωθὲν μέρος τοῦ τῆς ἐκκλησίας χιτῶνος καὶ πάλιν εὐκαίρως προσράψαι, ὅταν διὰ τῆς μετανοίας ἐκπλυθῇ τοῦ μολύσματος. καὶ πολλὰ τοιαῦτα ἔστιν ἰδεῖν ἔν τε τοῖς ἀρχαιοτέροις τῶν διηγημάτων καὶ ἐν τῷ καθ' ἡμᾶς βίῳ, ὅσα ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις οἰκονομικῶς ἐπιτελεῖται. οἴδατε γὰρ τίνων ἀπορρηγνύμεθα καὶ τίσιν ἀεὶ προσραπτόμεθα· τῆς γὰρ αἱρέσεως ἀποσχιζό μενοι τῇ εὐσεβείᾳ διὰ παντὸς ἐνραπτόμεθα, τότε 5.409 ἄρρηκτον βλέποντες τὸν τῆς ἐκκλησίας χιτῶνα, ὅταν ἀπορραγῇ τῆς πρὸς τὴν αἵρεσιν κοινωνίας. ἀλλ' εἴτε κατὰ τὴν προεξετασθεῖσαν ἡμῖν θεωρίαν φιλοσοφεῖ περὶ τῶν ὄντων ὁ λόγος εἴτε τὰ τοιαῦτα διὰ τῆς συμβουλῆς ταύτης παιδεύει, κατὰ πάντα τὸ ἐπωφελές τε καὶ χρήσιμον περιέχει ἡ ῥῆσις ἡ ἐν καιρῷ τε ἀπορρηγνῦσα, ὧν πονηρὰ ἡ συνάφεια, καὶ κατὰ καιρὸν πάλιν συνάπτουσα, ὧν ἐπωφελής ἐστιν ἡ ἕνωσις.