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he would attempt to connect to the teaching of the Spirit and to include in the catalogue of the divine gifts according to it, saying, «God has gifted to us the God-inspired teaching and (p. 272) laborious vanity, so that through these we might acquire the wisdom of the prophets and apostles». What communion has God-inspired teaching with vanities? And what does theurgic wisdom care for all the truth in the stars? And yet the philosopher, not having chosen this truth, then joined it to the spiritual and truly divine gifts, but the lessons of philosophy, clothed, so to speak, in the superfluous foreskin of wicked doctrines.

However, to introduce external philosophy straightway for the knowledge of beings is perhaps not completely false, for it might be true in some respect, but this is not the knowledge of beings and the wisdom which God has given directly to prophets and apostles. For that is the Holy Spirit. But we have not yet even to this day heard of Egyptians and Chaldeans and Greeks as partakers of the Holy Spirit; and «the holy spirit of discipline» has been settled far from guilty thoughts and deeds, and «will not enter into a malicious soul,» according to what is written, «nor dwell in a body that is in debt to sin». And the soul of Aristotle more than any other attained to the knowledge of the lessons of philosophy, whom the theologians called malicious; and what proof could one mention of his body’s purity? But knowledge of the lessons also dwelt in the Platonic body, who lived with a mother and her two daughters; and if someone were to acquire knowledge of the prophetic and apostolic oracles through diligence, he is as far from having their wisdom as an eye is from being a sun or a moon, though it partakes of the rays of the sun and moon; therefore, knowing the things of the prophets, we are by no means prophets. And apostolic wisdom, from the few who possessed it in a short time, raised the whole world (p. 274) on high toward heaven, having enveloped it in the bonds of the gospel, but now, all who are now wise, having come together as one, even if they should persevere most diligently, would not be able to pull up even a small part of the world from the depth of impiety.

But not even the knowledge that comes to us from the oracles, although it falls very short of the wisdom of those who wrote them, could be the same as the knowledge supplied by the external studies. Therefore also concerning generation and constitution, and dissolution and transformation, and the fitting worth of each of the beings, and of nearly all other things in between, we differ from the external wisdom. And the greatest part of divine wisdom tends to this, to know what is the will of God, the good and perfect and well-pleasing, to seek which the lessons of external philosophy are as far removed as swine, which are by nature always inclined toward the earth, are from knowing the well-ordered position of the stars. But he who seeks the divine will and has come to know this concerning each of the beings, for what reason it was brought forth by the Creator of all, and uses them according to this divine counsel, he is the one who knows the causal principles of beings, he is the one who has the knowledge of beings, he is the true philosopher and perfect man, according to the Solomonic saying, «Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole man». This one indeed has indisputable wisdom—for his life bears witness to his understanding—, who admits no contradiction and has in himself the testimony of his conscience, and in addition to this, also the vote from above through the mystical visitation and manifestation of the Spirit.

But he who has gathered his understanding from external wisdom, if he has indeed partaken of anything true, by reason alone offering proofs against reason, as reason, ever wrestling, has become a connoisseur of uncertain (p. 276) wisdom, at times not even agreeing with himself,

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πειρῷτο συνάπτειν τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ τοῦ Πνεύματος καί τῷ καταλόγῳ τῶν κατά ταύτην θείων δώρων ἐγκρίνειν, φάσκων «ἐδωρήσατο ἡμῖν ὁ Θεός τήν θεόπνευστον διδασκαλίαν καί τήν (σελ. 272) πολυάσχολον ματαιότητα, ἵνα διά τούτων τήν τῶν προφητῶν καί ἀποστόλων σοφίαν κτησώμεθα». Τίς κοινωνία θεοπνεύστῳ διδασκαλίᾳ πρός ματαιότητας; Τί δέ μέλει τῇ θεουργικῇ σοφίᾳ πάσης τῆς ἐν ἀστράσιν ἀληθείας; Καίτοι ὁ φιλόσοφος, οὐ ταύτην τήν ἀλήθειαν ἀπολεξάμενος εἶτα τοῖς πνευματικοῖς καί θείοις ὄντως συνῆψε δώροις, ἀλλά τά κατά φιλοσοφίαν μαθήματα, περιττήν τήν τῶν πονηρῶν δογμάτων ἀκροβυστίαν, ὡς εἰπεῖν, περικείμενα.

Τό μέντοι πρός τήν τῶν ὄντων γνῶσιν εἰσάγειν αὐτόθεν τήν ἔξω φιλοσοφίαν ἴσως οὐ τελέως ψευδές, ὑπό τι γάρ ἄν εἴη ἀληθές, ἀλλ᾿ οὐ τοῦτό ἐστιν ἡ τῶν ὄντων γνῶσις καί ἡ σοφία, ἥν ὁ Θεός προφήταις καί ἀποστόλοις ἀμέσως δέδωκε. Πνεῦμα γάρ ἅγιον ἐκείνη˙ Πνεύματος δέ ἁγίου μετόχους Αἰγυπτίους καί Χαλδαίους καί Ἕλληνας οὐδέπω καί τήμερον ἀκηκόαμεν˙ καί «Πνεῦμα μέν ἅγιον παιδείας» λογισμῶν καί πράξεων ὑπαιτίων μακράν ἀπῴκισται καί «οὔτε εἰς κακότεχνον ψυχήν εἰσελεύσεται» κατά τό γεγραμμένον «οὔτε ἐν σώματι κατοικήσει κατάχρεῳ ἁμαρτίας». Τῆς δέ τῶν κατά φιλοσοφίαν μαθημάτων γνώσεως καί ἡ τοῦ Ἀριστοτέλους παντός μᾶλλον ἐξίκετο ψυχή, ὅν κακότεχνον οἱ θεηγόροι προσεῖπον˙ τί δέ αὐτῷ καί τῆς τοῦ σώματος ἁγνείας τεκμήριον ἔχοι τις ἄν εἰπεῖν; Ἀλλά κἀν τῷ πλατωνικῷ σώματι ἡ τῶν μαθημάτων γνῶσις ἐνῴκει, ὅς μητρί καί θυγατράσιν ἐκείνης συνῴκει δυσί˙ καί τῶν προφητικῶν δέ καί ἀποστολικῶν λογίων εἴ τις ἐξ ἐπιμελείας τήν γνῶσιν κτήσαιτο, τοσοῦτον ἀπέχει τοῦ τήν ἐκείνων ἔχειν σοφίαν, ὁπόσον ὀφθαλμός ἥλιος ἤ σελήνη τελέσαι, τῶν ἀκτίνων ἡλίου τε καί σελήνης μεταλαχών˙ διό τά τῶν προφητῶν εἰδότες προφῆται τυγχάνομεν ὄντες οὐδαμῶς. Καί ἡ μέν ἀποστολική σοφία ἐξ ὀλίγων τῶν κεκτημένων ἐν βραχεῖ χρόνῳ κόσμον (σελ. 274) ὅλον ὑψοῦ πρός οὐρανόν ᾗρε τοῖς τοῦ εὐαγγελίου περιβαλοῦσα δεσμοῖς, νῦν δ᾿ εἰς ἕν συνελθόντες ὅσοι νῦν εἰσι σοφοί, κἄν ἐπί πλεῖστον διακαρτερήσωσι σπουδάζοντες, οὐδέ κόσμου μικρόν τι μέρος τοῦ βυθοῦ τῆς ἀσεβείας ἀνασπᾶσθε δυνηθεῖεν ἄν.

Ἀλλ᾿ οὐδ᾿ ἡ παρά τῶν λογίων ἡμῖν προσγινομένη γνῶσις, καίτοι πλεῖστον ἀποδέουσα τῆς τῶν συγγραψαμένων ἐκεῖνα σοφίας, τῇ παρά τῶν ἔξω μαθημάτων χορηγουμένη γνώσει ταὐτόν ἄν εἴη. ∆ιό καί περί γενέσεως καί συστάσεως, λύσεώς τε καί μεταποιήσεως, ἀξίας τε τῆς προσηκούσης ἑκάστῳ τῶν ὄντων καί τῶν ἄλλων μεταξύ μικροῦ πάντων πρός τήν ἔξω σοφίαν διαφερόμεθα. Καί τῆς μέν θείας σοφίας τό πλεῖστον εἰς τοῦτο τείνει, γνῶναι τί τό θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ, τό ἀγαθόν καί τέλειον καί εὐάρεστον, ὅ ζητεῖν τοσοῦτον ἀπέχει τά κατά τήν ἔξω φιλοσοφίαν μαθήματα, ὁπόσον οἱ πεφυκότες ἀεί πρός γῆν νεύειν χοῖροι τήν ἀστέρων εὔκοσμον εἰδέναι θέσιν. Ὁ δέ ζητητικός τοῦ θείου θελήματος καί τοῦτ᾿ ἐγνωκώς ἐφ᾿ ἑκάστου τῶν ὄντων, τίνος ἕνεκα παρά τοῦ δημιουργοῦ τῶν ὅλων προήχθη, καί κατά τήν θείαν ταυτηνί βούλησιν αὐτοῖς χρώμενος, οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τούς αἰτιώδεις λόγους τῶν ὄντων εἰδώς, οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τήν γνῶσιν ἔχων τῶν ὄντων, οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἀληθής φιλόσοφος καί τέλειος ἄνθρωπος, κατά τό σολομώντειον ἔπος, «τόν Θεόν φοβοῦ καί τάς ἐντολάς αὐτοῦ φύλασσε, ὅτι τοῦτο πᾶς ἄνθρωπος». Οὗτος δή σοφίαν ἔχει τήν ἀναμφίλεκτον - μαρτυρεῖ γάρ αὐτοῦ τό φρονεῖν ὁ βίος -, ὅς ἀντιλογίαν οὐ παραδέχεται καί αὐτός ἐν ἑαυτῷ τό μαρτύριον ἔχει τῆς συνειδήσεως, πρός δέ τούτῳ καί τήν ἄνωθεν ψῆφον διά τῆς μυστικῆς ἐπιδημίας τε καί ἐμφανείας τοῦ Πνεύματος.

Ὁ δ᾿ ἐκ τῆς ἔξω σοφίας τό φρονεῖν συνειλοχώς, εἴ τινος καί μετέσχηκεν ἀληθοῦς, λόγῳ μόνον τάς πίστεις πρός λόγον, ὡς λόγος, ἀεί παλαίοντι, παρεχόμενος ἀβεβαίου (σελ. 276) σοφίας ἐπιγνώμων καθέστηκεν, ἔστιν ὅτε μηδ᾿ ἑαυτῷ συνάδων,