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they say nothing is contrary, but that contrariety exists in qualities alone. But we say that the divine substance alone has no contrary, being both eternal 14__276 and infinite and bestowing eternality on others; but that to the substance of beings, non-being is contrary and it is in the power of the one who truly is for it either to be always or not to be, but his gifts are irrevocable. And for this reason it both is always and will be, sustained by the all-powerful force, even if it has non-being as its contrary, as has been said, as having been brought by God from non-beings into being and having in his will its being or not being.

3.29 (29) Just as evil is the privation of good and ignorance the privation of knowledge, so also non-being is the privation of being, not of that which truly is, however; for it has no contrary; but of that which is by participation in that which truly is. And the privations of the former follow the will of created things; but that of the latter exists in the will of the maker, who always through goodness wills that beings should exist and always receive his benefits.

3.30 (30) All created things, some are rational and intellectual and receptive of contraries, such as virtue and vice and knowledge and ignorance; but different bodies are composed of contraries, that is, of earth, air, fire, water. And some are entirely incorporeal and immaterial, even if some of these are yoked to bodies; but others have their composition only from matter and form.

14__278 3.31 (31) All bodies by nature are motionless; but are moved by a soul: some, by a rational soul; others, by an irrational one; and others, by an insensate one.

3.32 (32) Of the powers of the soul, one is nutritive and generative; another is imaginative and impulsive; and another is reasoning and intellectual. And plants partake only of the first; irrational animals partake of the second in addition to this. humans partake of the third in addition to the two. And the first two powers are corruptible; but the third is shown to be incorruptible and immortal.

3.33 (33) The holy powers, imparting illumination to one another, also impart to human nature either their virtue or the knowledge in them; of virtue, for example, of the goodness that imitates God, according to which they benefit themselves and one another and those subordinate to them, making them godlike; and of knowledge, either something more exalted about God; for you, it says, are most high forever, O Lord; or something deeper about bodies or more precise about incorporeal things or clearer about providence or more plain about judgment.

3.34 (34) The impurity of the mind is, first, to have false knowledge; second, to be ignorant of some of the universals; I speak with reference to the human mind, for it is the property of an angel to be ignorant of none of the particulars; third, to have passionate thoughts; fourth, to assent to sin.

3.35 (35) The impurity of the soul is not to act according to nature; for from this passionate thoughts are born in the mind. For it acts according to nature, when its passible powers, I mean anger 14__280 and desire, remain dispassionate in the assault of things and of the thoughts in them.

3.36 (36) The impurity of the body is sin in act. 3.37 (37) He loves stillness who is not affected by the things of the world and loves all

men who loves nothing human and has knowledge of God and of divine things who is not scandalized by anyone either through transgressions or through thoughts from suspicion.

3.38 (38) It is a great thing not to be affected by things; but much greater than this is to remain dispassionate toward the thoughts of these things.

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οὐδὲν λέγουσιν ἐναντίον, ἐν δὲ ταῖς ποιότησι μόναις τὴν ἐναντίωσιν εἶναι. Ἡμεῖς δὲ μόνην λέγομεν τὴν θείαν οὐσίαν μὴ ἔχειν τι ἐναντίον, ὡς ἀΐδιόν τε οὖσαν 14__276 καὶ ἄπειρον καὶ ἀϊδιότητος ταῖς ἄλλαις χαριστικήν· τῇ δὲ τῶν ὄντων οὐσίᾳ εἶναι μὲν τὸ μὴ ὂν ἐναντίον καὶ ἐν τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ τοῦ κυρίως ὄντος ὑπάρχειν τὸ ἀεὶ εἶναι αὐτὴν ἢ μὴ εἶναι, ἀμεταμέλητα δὲ εἶναι τὰ χαρίσματα αὐτοῦ. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἔστιν ἀεὶ καὶ ἔσται τῇ παντοκρατορικῇ δυνάμει διακρατουμένη, εἰ καὶ ἔχει τὸ μὴ ὂν ἐναντίον, ὡς εἴρηται, ὡς ἐκ μὴ ὄντων εἰς τὸ εἶναι ἐκ Θεοῦ παραχθεῖσα καὶ ἐν τῇ βουλήσει αὐτοῦ ἔχουσα τὸ εἶναι αὐτὴν ἢ μὴ εἶναι.

3.29 (κθ') Ὥσπερ τὸ κακὸν στέρησίς ἐστιν ἀγαθοῦ καὶ ἡ ἀγνωσία στέρησις γνώσεως, οὕτω καὶ τὸ μὴ ὂν στέρησίς ἐστι τοῦ ὄντος, οὐ τοῦ κυρίως δὲ ὄντος· οὐκ ἔχει γὰρ ἐναντίον· ἀλλὰ τοῦ κατὰ μέθεξιν τοῦ κυρίως ὄντος. Καὶ αἱ μὲν τῶν προτέρων στερήσεις τῇ γνώμῃ τῶν γεγονότων ἕπονται· ἡ δὲ τοῦ δευτέρου ἐν τῇ βουλήσει τοῦ πεποιηκότος ὑπάρχεται, τοῦ ἀεὶ δι᾽ ἀγαθότητα βουλομένου εἶναι τὰ ὄντα καὶ ἀεὶ ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ εὐεργετεῖσθαι.

3.30 (λ') Πάντα τὰ γεγονότα, τὰ μέν εἰσι λογικὰ καὶ νοερὰ καὶ τῶν ἐναντίων δεκτικά, οἷον ἀρετῆς καὶ κακίας καὶ γνώσεως καὶ ἀγνωσίας· τὰ δὲ σώματα διάφορα ἐκ τῶν ἐναντίων συνεστῶτα, τουτέστι γῆς, ἀέρος, πυρός, ὕδατος. Καὶ τὰ μέν εἰσι ἀσώματα πάντη καὶ ἄϋλα, εἰ καί τινα τούτων συνέζευκται σώμασι· τὰ δὲ ἐξ ὕλης καὶ εἴδους μόνον ἔχει τὴν σύστασιν.

14__278 3.31 (λα') Πάντα τὰ σώματα κατὰ φύσιν ἐστὶν ἀκίνητα· κινεῖται δὲ ὑπὸ ψυχῆς· τὰ μέν, λογικῆς· τὰ δέ, ἀλόγου· τὰ δέ, ἀναισθήτου.

3.32 (λβ') Τῶν ψυχικῶν δυνάμεων ἡ μέν ἐστι θρεπτικὴ καὶ αὐξητική· ἡ δὲ φανταστικὴ καὶ ὁρμητική· ἡ δὲ λογιστικὴ καὶ νοητική. Καὶ τῆς μὲν πρώτης μόνης μετέχουσι τὰ φυτά· τῆς δὲ δευτέρας πρὸς ταύτῃ τὰ ἄλογα ζῶα. τῆς δὲ τρίτης πρὸς ταῖς δυσὶν οἱ ἄνθρωποι. Καὶ αἱ μὲν δύο δυνάμεις φθαρταί· ἡ δὲ τρίτη ἄφθαρτος καὶ ἀθάνατος ἀποδείκνυται.

3.33 (λγ') Ἀλλήλαις μεταδιδοῦσαι φωτισμοῦ αἱ ἅγιαι δυνάμεις, καὶ τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει ἢ αὐτῶν ἀρετῆς μεταδιδόασιν ἢ τῆς ἐν αὐταῖς γνώσεως· καὶ ἀρετῆς μέν, οἷον τῆς θεομιμήτου ἀγαθότητος, καθ᾽ ἣν καὶ ἑαυτὰς καὶ ἀλλήλας καὶ τὰς ὑποβεβηκυίας εὐεργετοῦσι θεοειδεῖς ἐργαζόμεναι· γνώσεως δὲ ἢ περὶ Θεοῦ τι ὑψηλότερον· σὺ γάρ, φησίν, ὕψιστος εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, Κύριε· ἢ περὶ σωμάτων βαθύτερον ἢ περὶ ἀσωμάτων ἀκριβέστερον ἢ περὶ προνοίας τρανότερον ἢ περὶ κρίσεως σαφέστερον.

3.34 (λδ') Νοός ἐστι ἀκαθαρσία πρῶτον μὲν τὸ γνῶσιν ἔχειν ψευδῆ· δεύτερον δὲ τὸ ἀγνοεῖν τι τῶν καθόλου· ὡς πρὸς ἀνθρώπινον νοῦν λέγω, ἀγγέλου γάρ ἐστι τὸ μηδὲν τῶν ἐπὶ μέρους ἀγνοεῖν· τρίτον δὲ τὸ ἐμπαθεῖς ἔχειν λογισμούς· τέταρτον δὲ τὸ συγκατατίθεσθαι τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ.

3.35 (λε') Ψυχῆς ἐστιν ἀκαθαρσία τὸ μὴ ἐνεργεῖν κατὰ φύσιν· ἐκ τούτου γὰρ τίκτονται τῷ νῷ οἱ ἐμπαθεῖς λογισμοί. Τότε γὰρ κατὰ φύσιν ἐνεργεῖ, ὅταν αἱ παθητικαὶ αὐτῆς δυνάμεις, ὁ θυμὸς 14__280 λέγω καὶ ἡ ἐπιθυμία, ἐν τῇ τῶν πραγμάτων καὶ τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς νοημάτων προσβολῇ ἀπαθεῖς διαμένωσι.

3.36 (λστ') Σώματός ἐστιν ἀκαθαρσία ἡ κατ᾽ ἐνέργειαν ἁμαρτία. 3.37 (λζ') Ἀγαπᾷ ἡσυχίαν ὁ μὴ πάσχων πρὸς τὰ τοῦ κόσμου καὶ ἀγαπᾷ πάντας

ἀνθρώπους ὁ μηδὲν ἀγαπῶν ἀνθρώπινον καὶ γνῶσιν ἔχει Θεοῦ καὶ τῶν θείων ὁ μὴ σκανδαλιζόμενος εἴς τινα εἴτε διὰ παραπτώματα εἴτε διὰ λογισμοὺς ἐξ ὑπονοίας.

3.38 (λη') Μέγα μὲν τὸ μὴ πάσχειν πρὸς τὰ πράγματα· μεῖζον δὲ τούτου πολλῷ τὸ πρὸς τὰ τούτων νοήματα ἀπαθῆ διαμεῖναι.