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being formed by what was written typologically (For these things happened to them as a type, says the divine Apostle, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come), with respect to the ancient saints before the law, piously acquiring the knowledge of God from the creation of the world, and being taught to achieve the virtues from the Providence that wisely governs all things, in the manner of those very saints before the law, who, having by all means naturally engraved in themselves the written law in spirit 1152 of piety and virtue, were reasonably put forth as an example to those under the law (For look, he says, to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you), and with respect to those under the law, being led up through the commandments to a full knowledge of God who is suggested in them through a pious concept, and being adorned with the appropriate modes of the virtues through noble practice, and being taught that the natural law is the same as the written law, when it is wisely variegated through symbols in practice, and conversely, the written law is the same as the (14∆_188> natural, when it becomes uniform and simple and free from symbols in worthy things according to virtue and knowledge through reason and contemplation, in the manner of those very saints in the law, who were shown to possess the natural law spiritually, the Spirit having removed the letter as a veil.

33. THAT THE SAINTS UNDER THE LAW ALSO SPIRITUALLY THE LAW

RECEIVING... That the saints under the law, also receiving the law spiritually, foresaw the grace revealed through it. For all, having clearly foreseen that there would be another worship besides the legal one, proclaimed in advance the perfection of the most God-befitting life that would be revealed in it, both suitable and most akin to nature, as needing nothing from outside for perfection, as has become clear to all who are not ignorant of the divine ordinances through the law and the prophets. This is what David and Hezekiah, in addition to others, each especially alluded to in his own drama, the one legally propitiating God for sin, the other being honored by God with an addition of life by a decree other than the law.

34. THAT HE WHO IS WITH CHRIST ALSO BECOMES ABOVE THE WRITTEN AND ABOVE THE NATURAL LAW...

That he who genuinely follows Christ through the virtues according to his disposition also becomes above the written and above the natural law. And there is nothing to prevent, as I think, the one who has been instructed beforehand in these laws, I mean both the natural and the written, in a manner loving to God, or rather in a manner befitting God, and who, apart from these, through sincere faith, has genuinely followed only the Word that leads to the highest good (14∆_190>, and who in concept touches absolutely no thing or thought or concept to which the nature and knowledge of anything whatsoever that is conceived and exists in any way is subject and appears, just as it is likely for one who has purposed to genuinely follow Jesus who has passed through the heavens, and by the manifestation of the divine light to be able to receive synecdochically the true knowledge of beings, as far as is possible for a human.

44

τυπικῶς γεγραμμένων μορφούμενος (Συνέβαινε γάρ ἐκείνοις τυπικῶς, φησίν ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολος, ἐγράφη δέ πρός νουθεσίαν ἡμῶν, εἰς οὕς τά τέλη τῶν αἰώνων κατήντησε), πρός μέν τούς πάλαι πρό νόμου ἁγίους, ἀπό μέν κτίσεως κόσμου τήν περί Θεοῦ γνῶσιν εὐσεβῶς ποριζόμενος, ἀπό δέ τῆς τό πᾶν σοφῶς διοικούσης Προνοίας τάς ἀρετάς κατορθοῦν διδασκόμενος, κατ᾿ αὐτούς ἐκείνους τούς πρό τοῦ νόμου ἁγίους, οἵ διά πάντων φυσικῶς ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τόν γραπτόν ἐν πνεύματι προχαράξαντες νόμον 1152 εὐσεβείας καί ἀρετῆς τοῖς κατά νόμον εἰκότως προεβλήθησαν ἐξεμπλάριον (Ἐμβλέψατε γάρ, φησί, πρός Ἀβραάμ τόν πατέρα ὑμῶν, καί Σάῤῥαν τήν ὠδίνουσαν ὑμᾶς) πρός δέ τούς κατά νόμον διά τῶν ἐντολῶν εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν τοῦ ἐν αὐταῖς ὑπηγορευμένου Θεοῦ δι᾿ εὐσεβοῦς ἐννοίας ἀναγόμενος, καί τοῖς καθήκουσι τῶν ἀρετῶν τρόποις δι᾿ εὐγενοῦς πράξεως καλλωπιζόμενος, καί ταὐτόν τῷ γραπτῷ νόμῳ τόν φυσικόν ὄντα παιδευόμενος, ὅταν σοφῶς διά συμβόλων κατά τήν πρᾶξιν ποικίλληται, καί ἔμπαλιν τῷ (14∆_188> φυσικῷ τόν γραπτόν, ὅταν ἑνοειδής καί ἁπλοῦς καί συμβόλων ἐν τοῖς ἀξίοις κατ᾿ ἀρετήν τε καί γνῶσιν διά λόγου καί θεωρίας ἐλεύθερος γένηται, κατ᾿ αὐτούς ἐκείνους τούς ἐν νόμῳ ἁγίους, οἵ τό γράμμα ὥσπερ κάλυμμα περιελόντος τοῦ Πνεύματος τόν φυσικόν νόμον ἔχοντος πνευματικῶς διεδείχθησαν.

ΛΓ (33). ΟΤΙ ΚΑΙ ΟΙ ΚΑΤΑ ΝΟΜΟΝ ΑΓΙΟΙ ΠΝΕΥΜΑΤΙΚΩΣ ΤΟΝ ΝΟΜΟΝ

ΕΚ∆ΕΧΟΜΕΝΟΙ... Ὅτι καί οἱ κατά νόμον ἅγιοι πνευματικῶς τόν νόμον ἐκδεχόμενοι τήν δι᾿

αὐτοῦ μηνυομένην χάριν προέβλεπον. Πάντες γάρ διαῤῥήδην ἑτέραν παρά τήν νομικήν ἔσεσθαι λατρείαν

προθεωρήσαντες τό κατ᾿ αὐτήν φανησόμενον τῆς θεοπρεπεστάτης ζωῆς τέλειον προεκήρυξαν, καί τῇ φύσει πρόσφορόν τε καί οἰκειότατον, ὡς μηδενός τῶν ἐκτός πρός τελείωσιν ἐπιδεόμενοι, καθώς πᾶσι δῆλον καθέστηκε τοῖς μή ἀγνοοῦσι τά διά τοῦ νόμου καί τῶν προφητῶν θεῖα θεσπίσματα. Ὅπερ μάλιστα ∆αβίδ καί Ἐζεκίας καί τῷ καθ᾿ ἑαυτόν πρός τοῖς ἄλλοις ἑκάτερος δράματι παρῃνίττετο, ὁ μέν ὑπέρ τῆς ἁμαρτίας νομικῶς τόν Θεόν ἐξιλεούμενος, ὁ δέ προσθήκῃ ζωῆς ἑτέρῳ παρά τόν νόμον θεσμῷ παρά τοῦ Θεοῦ σεμνυνόμενος.

Λ∆ (34). ΟΤΙ ΚΑΙ ΥΠΕΡ ΤΟΝ ΓΡΑΠΤΟΝ ΚΑΙ ΥΠΕΡ ΤΟΝ ΦΥΣΙΚΟΝ ΝΟΜΟΝ ΓΙΝΕΤΑΙ Ο

ΤΩ ΧΡΙΣΤΩ... Ὅτι καί ὑπέρ τόν γραπτόν καί ὑπέρ τόν φυσικόν νόμον γίνεται ὁ τῷ Χριστῷ

γνησίως διά τῶν ἀρετῶν κατά διάθεσιν ἀκολουθῶν. Οὐδέν δέ τό κωλύον, ὡς οἶμαι, ἐστί τόν ἐν τούτοις προπαιδευθέντα τοῖς

νόμοις, τῷ φυσικῷ τέ φημι καί τῷ γραπτῷ, θεοφιλῶς, ἥπερ τούτοις γενέσθαι θεοπρεπῶς, καί τούτων χωρίς δι᾿ εἰλικρινοῦς πίστεως μόνῳ τῷ ἐπί τό ἀκρότατον ἀγαθόν (14∆_190> ἄγοντι λόγῳ γνησίως ἀκολουθήσαντα, καί μηδενός κατ᾿ ἔννοιαν τό παράπαν ἁπτόμενον πράγματος ἤ λογισμοῦ ἤ νοήματος οἷς ἡ ὁπωσοῦν οὖσα παντός τοῦ ὁπωσοῦν νοουμένου τε καί ὄντος φύσις τε καί γνῶσις ὑποπίπτει καί ἐμφαίνεται, ὥσπερ εἰκός τόν ἕπεσθαι γνησίως προθέμενον τῷ διεληλυθότι τούς οὐρανούς Ἰησοῦ, καί τῇ παραδείξει τοῦ θείου φωτός δυνηθῆναι τήν ἀληθῆ τῶν ὄντων, ὡς ἔστιν ἀνθρώπῳ δυνατόν, συνεκδοχικῶς ὑποδέξασθαι γνῶσιν.