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to love Him and to keep His saving commandments, and you believe that He who was slain for your sake will not abandon you nor allow you to be destroyed? Or do you not hear Him saying: "If a woman should forget the children of her womb, yet I will not forget you"? (120) But if you, anticipating, judge yourself unworthy and willingly separate yourself from the flock of Christ's sheep, see that no one else, but you yourself, are the cause of your own destruction.

Therefore, having cast away from our souls all unbelief and sluggishness and hesitation, let us draw near with our whole heart and with unwavering faith and fervent desire, as newly-bought slaves purchased with precious blood; and reverencing the price paid for us and loving our Master who paid it and accepting His love for us, let us know that, if He had not wished to save us who were purchased through Him, He would not have come down to earth, He would not have been slain for us; but, as it is written, wishing all to be saved, He has done this. And hear Him saying this: "I came not to judge the world, but to save the world." But let us return to the subject at hand.

2. That all who have believed in Christ are foreknown and predestined

to become conformed to the Son of God; and on the saying of Moses: "When the Most High divided the nations" and what follows. (120)

Now, these things are clear and certain even at a glance. But it is necessary to speak also of the purpose of what has been said and the depth of the knowledge of the apostolic words and thoughts, so that you may learn from this that all who have believed in Christ, both monks and laity, are foreknown and predestined and become conformed to the image of the Son of God; and not only this, but also all these, (121) as predestined, are also called; and as called, also justified; and as justified, are also glorified. For those who after being baptized and believing in Christ the Son of God and becoming conformed to the image of the Son of God do not keep themselves in this, are destroyed; but all those who remain are saved. But from this point I will begin the argument, and I will begin from above and from where it is better to begin.

"When," it says, "the Most High divided the nations, when he scattered the sons of Adam, he set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the angels of God; and the Lord's portion became His people, and Israel the lot of His inheritance." What he says is something like this. God having divided all the nations, which ones were these? The sons of Adam themselves. If, then, all are sons of Adam, how does he call them nations? Because, just as Adam before transgressing the commandment of God was immortal, incorruptible, and a fellow citizen and companion of angels, dwelling in paradise, but after he transgressed the commandment of God himself, he fell away from all these good things and, having become corruptible and mortal, was cast out of paradise, so also are all those born of him. For since they multiplied and, having fallen into ignorance of God, likewise to him who said: "Upon the clouds of heaven I will place my throne and I will be like the Most High," they too, reasoning evilly, began to build a tower and attempted to ascend to the heavens, for this reason, instead of a curse and punishment, He confounded their tongues, breaking up their harmony for evil; and as if cutting off limbs from the body of Adam and separating them from him and from each other and scattering them, to each single limb He gave a foreign dialect, so that they could no longer (122) be joined together. For this reason He called them not men but nations.

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ἀγαπᾶν αὐτόν καί τηρεῖν τάς σωτηρίους αὐτοῦ ἐντολάς, καί πιστεύεις ὅτι διά σέ μᾶλλον σφαγείς οὐκ ἐγκαταλείψει σε οὐδέ ἐάσει σε ἀπολέσθαι; Ἤ οὐκ ἀκούεις αὐτοῦ λέγοντος· "Εἰ ἐπιλήσεται γυνή τά ἔκγονα τῆς κοιλίας αὐτῆς, ἀλλ᾿ἐγώ οὐκ ἐπιλήσομαί σου"; (120) Εἰ δέ προλαμβάνων σύ ἀνάξιον κρίνεις σαυτόν καί ἀφορίζεις ἑκουσίως ἑαυτόν τῆς ποίμνης τῶν προβάτων Χριστοῦ, ὅρα ὅτι οὐδείς ἕτερος, ἀλλά σύ τῆς σῆς ἀπωλείας ὑπάρχεις πρόξενος.

Τοιγαροῦν πᾶσαν ἀπιστίαν καί νωθρείαν καί δισταγμόν ἀπό τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν ἀπορρίψαντες προσέλθωμεν ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ καί ἀδιστάκτῳ πίστει καί ζέοντι πόθῳ, ὡς νεώνητοι δοῦλοι αἵματι τιμίῳ ἠγορασμένοι· καί τό ὑπέρ ἡμῶν τίμημα αἰδεσθέντες καί τόν τοῦτο καταβαλόμενον ∆εσπότην ἡμῶν ἀγαπήσαντες καί ἀποδεξάμενοι τήν πρός ἡμᾶς ἀγάπην αὐτοῦ, γνῶμεν ὅτι, εἰ μή ἐβούλετο σῶσαι δι᾿ αὐτοῦ τούς ἐξαγορασθέντας ἡμᾶς, οὐκ ἄν καί κατήρχετο ἐπί τῆς γῆς, οὐκ ἄν καί ἐσφάζετο δι᾿ ἡμᾶς· ἀλλά, καθώς γέγραπται, θέλων πάντας σωθῆναι τοῦτο πεποίηκεν. Καί ἄκουσον αὐτοῦ τοῦτο λέγοντος· "Οὐκ ἦλθον κρῖναι τόν κόσμον, ἀλλά σῶσαι τόν κόσμον". Ἀλλ᾿ ἐπί τό προκείμενον ἐπανέλθωμεν.

β΄. Ὅτι πάντες οἱ εἰς Χριστόν πιστεύσαντες προεγνωσμένοι καί προωρισμένοι

εἰσίν εἰς τό συμμόρφους γενέσθαι αὐτούς τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ· καί εἰς τό ῥητόν τοῦ Μωσέως· "Ὅτε διεμέριζε ἔθνη ὁ Ὕψιστος" καί τά ἑξῆς. (120)

Ἔστι μέν οὖν ἐκ τοῦ προχείρου καί ταῦτα σαφῆ τε καί βέβαια. Ἀλλά δέον καί τόν

σκοπόν τῶν εἰρημένων καί τό βάθος τῆς γνώσεως τῶν ἀποστολικῶν ῥημάτων καί νοημάτων εἰπεῖν, ἵνα μάθῃς ἐντεῦθεν ὅτι πάντες οἱ εἰς Χριστόν πεπιστευκότες, μοναχοί τε καί λαϊκοί, προεγνωσμένοι καί προωρισμένοι εἰσί καί σύμμορφοι γίνονται τῆς εἰκόνος τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ· οὐ μόνον δέ, ἀλλά καί πάντες οὗτοι, (121) ὡς προωρισμένοι, καί κεκλημένοι εἰσίν· ὡς κεκλημένοι δέ, καί δεδικαιωμένοι· ὡς δεδικαιωμένοι, καί δεδοξασμένοι ὑπάρχουσιν. Οἱ γάρ μετά τό βαπτισθῆναι καί πιστεῦσαι εἰς τόν Χριστόν τόν Υἱόν τοῦ Θεοῦ καί γενέσθαι σύμμορφοι τῆς εἰκόνος τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ μή τηροῦντες ἑαυτούς εἰς τοῦτο ἀπόλλυνται· οἱ δέ μένοντες ἅπαντες σῴζονται. Ἀλλ᾿ ἐντεῦθεν τῆς ὑποθέσεως ἄρξομαι, ἄρξομαι δέ ἄνωθεν καί ὅθεν ἄμεινον ἄρξασθαι.

"Ὅτε" φησί "διεμέριζεν ὁ Ὕψιστος ἔθνη, οὕς διέσπειρεν υἱούς Ἀδάμ, ἔστησεν ὅρια ἐθνῶν κατά ἀριθμόν ἀγγέλων Θεοῦ· καί ἐγεννήθη μερίς Κυρίου καί λαός αὐτοῦ καί σχοίνισμα κληρονομίας αὐτοῦ Ἰσραήλ". Ὅ δέ λέγει τοιοῦτόν ἐστι. ∆ιαμερίσας ὁ Θεός τά ἔθνη ἅπαντα, ποῖα δή ταῦτα; Τούς Υἱούς αὐτούς τοῦ Ἀδάμ. Εἰ οὖν υἱοί Ἀδάμ εἰσιν ἅπαντες, πῶς αὐτούς ἔθνη καλεῖ; Ἐπειδή, ὥσπερ ὁ Ἀδάμ πρό τοῦ παραβῆναι την ἐντολήν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀθάνατος, ἄφθαρτος καί ἀγγέλων συμπολίτης καί συνόμιλος ἦν, τόν παράδεισον κατοικῶν, ἀφ᾿ οὗ δέ παρέβη τήν ἐντολήν αὐτοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, τῶν μέν ἀγαθῶν τούτων ἁπάντων ἐξέπεσε καί φθαρτός καί θνητός γεγονώς τοῦ παραδείσου ἐκβέβληται, οὕτω δή καί πάντες οἱ ἐξ αὐτοῦ γεννηθέντες. Ἐπειδή γάρ ἐπληθύνθησαν καί εἰς ἀγνωσίαν Θεοῦ ἐμπεσόντες ὁμοίως τῷ εἰπόντι· "Ἐπί τῶν νεφελῶν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ θήσω τόν θρόνον μου καί ἔσομαι ὅμοιος τῷ Ὑψίστῳ " καί αὐτοί κακῶς λογισάμενοι πύργον οἰκοδομεῖν ἤρξαντο καί ἀνελθεῖν εἰς οὐρανούς ἐπεχείρουν, τούτου χάριν ἀντί κατάρας καί τιμωρίας συνέχεεν αὐτῶν τάς γλώσσας, τήν ἐπί κακῷ ὁμόνοιαν αὐτῶν διακόψας· οἱονεί δέ μέλη ἀπό τοῦ σώματος τοῦ Ἀδάμ ἐκκόψας καί ἐξ αὐτοῦ και ἀπ᾿ ἀλλήλων διαχωρίσας καί διασπείρας, ἑνί ἑκάστῳ μέλει ξένην διάλεκτον δέδωκεν, ἵνα μηκέτι δύνωνται (122) συναφθῆναι. Τούτου γάρ ἕνεκεν οὐκ ἀνθρώπους αὐτούς ἀλλ᾿ ἔθνη ἐκάλεσε.