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devil and satan and wicked one; but then he was good and fair, when he was of the order of the angels, but from them he fell, cast to the earth because of the pride, which he devised for himself. Therefore He did not say to Adam: Behold, you have become as one of us, but "as one from us"; for this one fell from the heavenly beings, just as the psalmist also teaches, saying: "I said: you are gods and all of you sons of the Most High, but you die like men and fall like one of the rulers." For he too, a ruler and a god, not in essence, but by deification, fell just as those about whom it has been said: "I have begotten and exalted sons, but they have rejected me." And having said "Behold, Adam has become as one of us", He added how: "[to] know good and evil". For this alone is what those who do not practice virtue have, knowing only what is good and what is evil, but not distinguishing so as to choose the good and flee the evil. For they use things interchangeably according to those who are pitied, about whom it is said: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness." Thus God says "from us" to his angels, just as a king to his own guards. That God communicates himself with his own creatures is known from scripture, it is possible to learn from what was said by the Savior to the disciples: 110 "Arise, let us go from here", which itself holds no small observation; for "arise" is to them, but "let us go" is with them. For since the Savior "committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth", therefore he has not fallen under a fall, he does not need such an arising as the disciples, to whom he said "Arise", "rise up from human things", but he numbers himself with them in departing. Since it is not possible for human nature alone, without the inspiration of God, to practice virtue, for this reason he says "let us go from here"; for he himself is both shepherd and way and staff, <which> leads by the hand to divine things. Indeed, he also said to the thief: "Today you will be with me in paradise." But also in the godless tower-building devised by men it is said: "Come, and going down, let us confound their language." For even if God does what He wills through ministering angels—but I say that what happens happens by His judgment—He is said to go down with those sent forth by Him. "Behold," therefore, he says, "Adam has become as one of us, to know good and evil," to which the benevolent One adds, as if a condemnation, with care. For He makes threats and inducements for their benefit. And what is it that he says: "And now lest he stretch out his hand and take from the tree of life and live forever"? Envy has been driven out from the divine choir; and if this is so, it is much more and exceedingly impossible for this to exist in God. Therefore, He does not prevent them out of envy from taking again from the 111 tree of Life, but He prevents them as being unsuitable. For just as the Savior commands: "Do not give what is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine", and he adds the reasoning, saying: "lest they trample them and turning, tear you to pieces", so it is not good for one who has been in sins and is still in them to receive of the tree of life; for such a thing is contemptuous. But if the wicked man were prevented from such a course, not hearing instruction unseasonably every day, he will one day long for it, having perceived what evils there are; and if he should not long for it, the sojourn in the evils of his own invention is better than contempt for divine things, if someone were to offer these to him unseasonably; for evil becomes long-lasting when the good is scorned, from which it happens that one has no love for it. And the "forever" is added instead of "throughout life", to which is similar what is said by Paul: "I will never eat meat forever, lest I... the

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διάβολος καὶ σατανᾶς καὶ πονηρός· τότε δὲ ἀγαθὸς καὶ καλὸς ἦν, ὅτε τοῦ τάγματος ἐτύγχανε τῶν ἀγγέλων, ἐξ αὐτῶν δὲ ἀπέστη ῥιφεὶς ἐπὶ γῆς διὰ τὴν ὑπερηφανίαν, ἣν ἑαυτῷ ἐπενόησεν. Οὐκ εἶπεν οὖν τῷ Ἀδάμ· Ἰδοῦ γέγονας ὡς εἷς ἡμῶν, ἀλλ' "6ὡς εἷς ἐξ ἡμῶν"6· ἐκ γὰρ τῶν οὐρανίων ὁ εἷς οὗτος ἐξέπεσεν, καθὰ καὶ ὁ ψαλμῳδὸς διδάσκει λέγων· "6Ἐγὼ εἶπα· θεοί ἐστε καὶ υἱο[ὶ Ὑ]ψίστου πάντες, ὑμεῖς δὲ δὴ ὡς ἄνθρωποι ἀποθνῄσκετε καὶ ὡς εἷς τῶν ἀρχόντων πίπτετε."6 Καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος ἄρχων καὶ θεός, οὐ κατ' οὐσίαν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ θεοποίησιν, ἐξέπεσεν ὡς κἀκεῖνοι περὶ ὧν ε[ἴ]ρηται· "6Υἱοὺς ἐγέννησα καὶ ὕψωσα, αὐτοὶ δέ με ἠθέτησαν."6 [Εἰ]πὼν δὲ "6Ἰδοὺ γέγονεν Ἀδὰμ ὡς εἷς ἐξ ἡμῶν"6, ἐπήγαγεν πῶς· "6[το]ῦ γιγνώσκειν καλὸν καὶ πονηρόν"6. Τοῦτ' αὐτὸ γὰρ μόνον [οἱ] μὴ χρώμενοι τῇ ἀρετῇ ἔχουσιν, γινώσκοντες μόνον [τί] καλὸν καὶ [τί] πονηρόν, μὴ διαστέλλοντες δὲ [ὡ]ς αἱρεῖσθαι μὲν τὸ ἀγαθόν, φεύγειν δὲ τὸ κακόν. Ἐναλλὰξ γο[ῦν] τοῖς πράγμασιν χρῶνται κατὰ τοὺς ταλανιζομένους περὶ ὧν λέγεται· "6Οὐαὶ οἱ λέγοντες τὸ πονηρὸν καλὸν καὶ τὸ καλὸν πονηρόν, οἱ τιθέντες τὸ σκότος φῶς καὶ τὸ φ[ῶ]ς σκότος."6 Λέγει δὲ οὕτως ὁ Θεὸς τὸ "6ἐξ ἡμῶν"6 τοῖς ἑαυτο[ῦ ἀ]γγέλοις, καθάπερ βασιλεὺς τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ δορυφόροις. Ὅτ[ι] δὲ τὸ κοινοποιεῖν ἑαυτὸν τὸν Θεὸν μετὰ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ κτισ[μ]άτων ἐκ τῆς γραφῆς γιγνώσκεται, ἔστιν μαθεῖν ἐκ τοῦ π[ρὸ]ς τοῦ Σωτῆρος εἰρημένου τοῖς μαθηταῖς· 110 "6Ἐγείρεσθε, ἄγωμεν ἐντεῦθεν"6, ὃ καὶ αὐτὸ οὐ μικρὰν ἔχει τὴν παρατήρησιν· τὸ μὲν γὰρ "6ἐγείρε[σ]θε"6 πρὸς ἐκείνους, τὸ δὲ "6ἄγωμεν"6 μετ' ἐκείνων. Ἐπεὶ γὰρ ὁ Σωτὴρ "6ἁμαρτίαν οὐκ ἐποίησεν οὐδὲ εὑρέθη δόλος ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ"6, διὸ οὐδὲ ὑπὸ πτῶμα γεγένηται, τοιαύτης ἐγέρσεως οὐ χρῄζει ὡς οἱ μαθηταί, οἷς εἶπεν "6Ἐγείρεσθε"6, "3διαναστῆτε τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων"3, συναριθμεῖ δ' ἐν τῷ ἀπελθεῖν ἑαυτόν. Ἐπεὶ μόνης τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως οὐκ ἔστιν χωρὶς ἐπιπνοίας Θεοῦ τῇ ἀρετῇ χρήσασθαι, διὰ τοῦτο "6ἄγωμεν ἐντεῦθεν"6 λέγει· αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστιν κα[ὶ] ποιμὴν καὶ ὅδοσκαὶ βακτηρία, <ἣ> ἐπὶ τὰ θεῖα χειραγωγεῖ. Ἀμέλει γοῦν καὶ τῷ λῃστῇ εἶπεν· "6Σήμερον μετ' ἐμοῦ ἔσῃ [ἐ]ν τῷ παραδεί- σῳ."6 Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῇ ἀθέῳ ἐπινοηθεί[σῃ] πρὸς ἀνθρώπων πυργοποιΐᾳ εἴρηται· "6∆εῦτε καὶ κατα[β]άντες συγχέωμεν αὐτῶν τὴν γλῶτταν."6 Κἂν γὰρ διὰ ὑπο[υργ]ῶν ἀγγέλων ποιῇ ἃ βούλεται Θεός, -ἀλλὰ λέγω κρίσει α[ὐ]τοῦ γίνεσθαι τὰ γινόμενα, - καταβαίνειν σὺν τοῖς π[ρ]οστελ[λομ]ένοις ὑπ' αὐτοῦ λέγεται. "6Ἰδοὺ"6 οὖν "6γέγονέν"6 [φ]ησιν "6Ἀδὰμ ὡς εἷς ἐξ ἡμῶν τοῦ γιγνώσκειν καλὸν καὶ πο[ν]ηρόν"6, οἷς ἐπάγει ὥσπερ κατάκρισιν κηδεμονικῶς ὁ φι[λά]νθρωπος. Καὶ γὰρ τὰς ἀπειλὰς καὶ τὰς ἐπαγωγὰς πρὸς [τὸ] συμφέρον ποιεῖται. Τί δέ ἐστιν ὅ φησιν· "6Καὶ νῦν μή [π]οτε ἐκτείνῃ τὴν χεῖρα καὶ λάβῃ τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς κ[αὶ] ζήσεται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα"6; Φθόνος ἔξω θείου χοροῦ ἀπελήλασται· εἰ δὲ τοῦτο, πολλῷ πλέον καὶ ὑπερβαλλόντως ἐν [Θ]εῷ τοῦτον ὑπάρχειν ἀδύνατον. Οὐ φθόνῳ οὖν κωλύει τοῦ 111 ξ[ύ]λου τῆς Ζωῆς πάλιν αὐτοὺς λαβεῖν, ἀλλ' ἀναρμόστως κωλύει. Ὡς γὰρ ὁ Σωτὴρ παραγγέλλει· "6Μὴ βάλητε τὰ ἅγια τοῖς κυσὶν μηδὲ τοὺς μαργαρίτας ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν χοίρων"6, ἐπιφέρει τε καὶ τὸν λογισμὸν λέγων· "6μήποτε καταπατήσωσιν αὐτοὺς καὶ στραφέντες ῥήξωσιν ὑμᾶς"6, οὕτω οὐ καλὸν τὸν ἐν ἁμαρτίαις γεγενημένον καὶ ἔτι ἐν αὐταῖς ὄντα τῆς ζωῆς τοῦ ξύλου δέχεσθαι· καταφρονητικὸν γὰρ τὸ τοιοῦτο. Εἰ δὲ κωλυθείη τῆς τοιαύτης ἀγωγῆς ὁ φαῦλος, μὴ καθ' ἡμέραν ἀκαίρως διδασκαλίας ἐπαΐων ποθήσει ποτὲ αἰσθόμενος οἷ κακῶν ἐστιν· εἰ δὲ καὶ μὴ ποθήσοι, βελτίων ἡ ἐν τοῖς ἐξ ἐπινοίας αὐτοῦ κακ[οῖ]ς διατριβὴ τῆς τῶν θείων καταφρονήσεως, εἰ ταῦτά τις αὐτῷ ἀκ[α]ίρως προσάγοι· πολυχρόνιον γὰρ τὸ κακὸν γίνεται, τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ [κ]αταφρονηθέντος, ἐξ οὗ συμβαίνει ἀνεράστως ἔχειν πρὸς αὐτ[ό]. Τὸ δ' "6εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα"6 πρόσκειται ἀντὶ τοῦ "3διὰ βίου"3, ᾧ ὅμοιόν ἐστι [τὸ] παρὰ Παύλῳ λεγόμενον· "6Οὐ μὴ φάγω κρέας εἰστὸν αἰῶνα, ἵνα μ[ὴ] τὸν