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2.80 (80) If you wish to find the way that leads to life, seek it in the way, and there you will find it, in the one who said: I am the way and the truth and the life. But seek with great labor, because few are those who find it, and lest, being left out of the few, you be found with the many.

2.81 (81) For these five reasons the soul is held back from sins: either through the fear of men, or through the fear of judgment, or because of the future reward, or through the love of God, or finally, because of a striking conscience.

2.82 (82) Some say that evil would not exist among beings, unless there were some other power, which draws us to it; but this is nothing other than the neglect of the natural activities of the mind. Therefore those who take care of these things, always do what is good, but never what is evil. If you therefore also wish, thrust away neglect and you drive out wickedness, which is the erring use of thoughts, which is followed by the misuse of things.

2.83 (83) It is according to the nature of the rational part in us both to be subject to the divine Word and to rule the irrational part in us; 14__252 let this order therefore be kept in all things and neither will evil exist among beings nor will that which draws toward it be found.

2.84 (84) Some of the thoughts are simple, others are composite. And simple are the passionless ones; but composite are the passionate ones, as being composed of passion and a concept. This being the case, it is possible to see many of the simple ones following the composite ones, whenever they begin to be moved toward sinning in the mind. For example, as in the case of gold: a passionate thought concerning gold came up in someone's memory and he rushed with his mind toward stealing and completed the sin in his mind. But the memory of the purse and of the chest and of the chamber and of the subsequent things followed the memory of the gold. And the memory of the gold was composite, for it had the passion; but that of the purse and of the chest and of the subsequent things, was simple, for the mind had no passion for them; and it is the same for every thought, both for vainglory and for a woman and for the rest. For not all the thoughts accompanying the passionate one are also passionate, as the argument has shown; from these things therefore we are able to know which are the passionate concepts and which are the simple ones.

2.85 (85) Some indeed say that the demons, by touching the members of the body during sleep, stir up the passion of fornication; then the passion, being stirred, brings up the form of a woman to the mind through the memory. But others, that they appear to the mind in the form of a woman; and by touching the members of the body, they stir up desire, and thus the fantasies occur. And still others, that the passion prevailing in the approaching demon stirs the passion and thus the soul is kindled toward thoughts, bringing up the forms through memory; and 14__254 also concerning the other passionate fantasies, some say it happens this way, others that way. However, in none of the aforementioned ways are the demons able to stir any passion whatsoever, when love and continence are present in the soul, neither when the body is awake nor during sleep.

2.86 (86) Some of the commandments of the law it is necessary to keep both bodily and spiritually, but others only spiritually. For example, 'you shall not commit adultery,' 'you shall not murder,' 'you shall not steal,' and the like, must be kept both bodily and spiritually; and spiritually in a threefold manner. But to be circumcised and to keep the Sabbath and to sacrifice the lamb and to eat unleavened bread with bitter herbs and the like, only spiritually.

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2.80 (π') Εἰ θέλεις εὑρεῖν τὴν ὁδὸν τὴν ἀπάγουσαν εἰς τὴν ζωήν, ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ αὐτὴν ζήτει, κἀκεῖ αὐτὴν εὑρίσκεις, τῇ εἰπούσῃ· Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδὸς καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια καὶ ἡ ζωή. Πλὴν σφόδρα ἐμπόνως ζήτει, διότι ὀλίγοι εἰσὶν οἱ εὑρίσκοντες αὐτήν, καὶ μήπως τῶν ὀλίγων ἀπολειφθείς, μετὰ τῶν πολλῶν εὑρεθήσῃ.

2.81 (πα') ∆ιὰ τὰ πέντε ταῦτα ἡ ψυχὴ ἀπὸ ἁμαρτιῶν ἀνακόπτεται· ἢ διὰ τὸν φόβον τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἢ διὰ τὸν φόβον τῆς κρίσεως ἢ διὰ τὴν μέλλουσαν μισθαποδοσίαν ἢ διὰ τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ Θεοῦ ἢ τελευταῖον διὰ τὴν συνείδησιν τύπτουσαν.

2.82 (πβ') Τινές φασιν ὅτι οὐκ ἂν ἦν τὸ κακὸν ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν, εἰ μήτι δ᾽ ἂν ἑτέρα τις ἦν δύναμις, ἡ ἀνθέλκουσα ἡμᾶς ἐπ᾽ αὐτό· αὕτη δέ ἐστιν οὐδὲ ἕτερον ἢ ἡ τῶν κατὰ φύσιν τοῦ νοῦ ἐνεργειῶν ἀμέλεια. ∆ιόπερ οἱ τούτων τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν ποιούμενοι, τὰ μὲν καλὰ ἀεὶ ποιοῦσι, τὰ δὲ κακὰ οὐδέποτε. Εἰ οὖν θέλεις καὶ σύ, ἄπωσαι τὴν ἀμέλειαν καὶ συναπελαύνεις τὴν κακίαν, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἡ ἐσφαλμένη χρῆσις τῶν νοημάτων, ᾗ ἐπακολουθεῖ ἡ παράχρησις τῶν πραγμάτων.

2.83 (πγ') Κατὰ φύσιν τοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν λογικοῦ μέρους τό τε ὑποταγῆναι τῷ θείῳ λόγῳ καὶ τὸ ἄρχειν τοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν ἀλόγου μέρους· 14__252 αὕτη οὖν ἡ τάξις ἐν πᾶσι φυλαχθήτω καὶ οὔτε τὸ κακὸν ἔσται ἐν τοῖς οὔσιν οὔτε τὸ ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸ ἀνθέλκον εὑρεθήσεται.

2.84 (πδ') Οἱ μὲν τῶν λογισμῶν ἁπλοῖ εἰσιν, οἱ δὲ σύνθετοι. Καὶ ἁπλοῖ μέν εἰσιν οἱ ἀπαθεῖς· σύνθετοι δὲ οἱ ἐμπαθεῖς, ὡς ἐκ πάθους καὶ νοήματος συγκείμενοι. Τούτων οὕτως ἐχόντων, πολλοὺς τῶν ἁπλῶν ἐστιν ἰδεῖν ἑπομένους τοῖς συνθέτοις, ὅταν ἄρξωνται κινεῖσθαι πρὸς τὸ κατὰ διάνοιαν ἁμαρτάνειν. Οἷον ὡς ἐπὶ τοῦ χρυσίου· ἀνέβη ἐπὶ τὴν μνήμην τινὸς λογισμὸς περὶ χρυσίου ἐμπαθὴς καὶ ὥρμησε τῇ διανοίᾳ ἐπὶ τὸ κλέπτειν καὶ ἀπετέλεσε κατὰ νοῦν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν. Συνείποντο δὲ τῇ μνήμῃ τοῦ χρυσίου καὶ ἡ μνήμη τοῦ βαλλαντίου καὶ τοῦ σκευαρίου καὶ τοῦ κουβουκλείου καὶ τῶν ἑξῆς. Καὶ ἡ μὲν μνήμη τοῦ χρυσίου ἦν σύνθετος· εἶχε γὰρ τὸ πάθος· ἡ δὲ τοῦ βαλλαντίου καὶ τοῦ σκευαρίου καὶ τῶν ἑξῆς, ἁπλῆ· οὐ γὰρ εἶχε πρὸς αὐτὰ πάθος ὁ νοῦς· καὶ ἐπὶ παντὸς δὲ λογισμοῦ ὁμοίως ἔχει, ἐπί τε κενοδοξίας καὶ γυναικὸς καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν. Οὐ γὰρ πάντες οἱ συνεπόμενοι τῷ ἐμπαθεῖ λογισμοὶ καὶ ἐμπαθεῖς εἰσιν, ὡς ἀπέδειξεν ὁ λόγος· ἐκ τούτων οὖν δυνάμεθα γνῶναι ποῖα τὰ ἐμπαθῆ νοήματα καὶ ποῖα τὰ ἁπλᾶ.

2.85 (πε') Τινὲς μέν φασιν ὅτι τῶν μορίων τοῦ σώματος καθαπτόμενοι οἱ δαίμονες κατὰ τοὺς ὕπνους κινοῦσι τὸ πάθος τῆς πορνείας· εἶτα τὸ πάθος κινούμενον ἀναφέρει τὴν μορφὴν τῆς γυναικὸς διὰ τῆς μνήμης ἐπὶ τὸν νοῦν. Τινὲς δέ, ὅτι τῷ μὲν νῷ ἐν σχήματι γυναικὸς παραφαίνονται· τῶν δὲ μορίων τοῦ σώματος καθαπτόμενοι, τὴν ὄρεξιν κινοῦσι καὶ οὕτω γίνονται αἱ φαντασίαι. Ἕτεροι δὲ πάλιν, ὅτι τὸ πάθος τὸ ἐπικρατοῦν ἐν τῷ πλησιάζοντι δαίμονι κινεῖ τὸ πάθος καὶ οὕτως ἀνάπτεται πρὸς λογισμοὺς ἡ ψυχή, ἀναφέρουσα τὰς μορφὰς διὰ τῆς μνήμης· καὶ 14__254 ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων δὲ ἐμπαθῶν φαντασιῶν ὁμοίως οἱ μὲν οὕτως, οἱ δὲ οὕτως συμβαίνειν φασί. Πλὴν ἐν οὐδενὶ τῶν εἰρημένων τρόπων ἰσχύουσι πάθος τὸ οἱονδήποτε κινῆσαι οἱ δαίμονες, παρούσης τῇ ψυχῇ ἀγάπης καὶ ἐγκρατείας, οὔτε ἐγρηγορότος τοῦ σώματος οὔτε κατὰ τοὺς ὕπνους.

2.86 (πστ') Τὰ μὲν τῶν τοῦ νόμου ἐντολῶν καὶ σωματικῶς καὶ πνευματικῶς ἀνάγκη φυλάττειν, τὰ δὲ πνευματικῶς μόνον. Οἷον τὸ οὐ μοιχεύσεις, οὐ φονεύσεις, οὐ κλέψεις καὶ τὰ ὅμοια, καὶ σωματικῶς καὶ πνευματικῶς χρὴ φυλάττειν· καὶ πνευματικῶς δὲ τρισσῶς. Τὸ δὲ περιτέμνεσθαι καὶ φυλάττειν τὸ Σάββατον καὶ σφάξαι τὸν ἀμνὸν καὶ ἔδεσθαι ἄζυμα ἐπὶ πικρίδων καὶ τὰ ὅμοια, πνευματικῶς μόνον.