52

with propriety the things said concerning God, of which we find moderate and faint images in existing things, such as simply to be, to live, to perceive, and the like.

3. That all matter also received its existence from God, no wise reasoning will contradict; and it bears within itself proofs that it was both brought forth from God and has been ordered; for every ordering out of matter has certain faint and shadowy echoes of the intelligible things; for just as the intelligible things are suited to receive, as far as possible, the providential processions from God, and being life, they are made alive by God Who is beyond all life, and they have active powers for beneficence, and a certain supracelestial motion; so also all material things, both together and in part, are suited to receive the providence of God in a way proper to themselves, and are able to be made alive and to become life, as in, "Let the earth bring forth the living soul," and again, "Let the waters bring forth creeping things with living souls"; but also beneficent powers for those who breathe from the earth, as the benefits through herbs and the 14Ε_222 metallic things show, and material things have a corresponding motion, proceeding towards generation and corruption, and it receives the order that has been and will be imposed by God. But it is also its nature to be illuminated by the presence of intelligible powers, as in the case of the flashing angel at the Lord's resurrection, illuminating the surroundings. But matter has these things passively, not as intelligible things have them actively; therefore it is said to have these as a final echo; and what a final echo is, I will clarify in the treatise *On the Divine Names*, in chapter 4.

From the same: Note that he does not say all matter is intelligible; therefore the stars are also soulless; for they do not have a mind. Even if he states the same names, they are not taken in the same way; but they are defined and understood according to the natural property of the subject.

§ 5. Thearchic: That is, to the thoughts concerning God. Of honorable phenomena: Note what he calls honorable, such as the sun and the

stars, and what intermediate, fire and water, and what last, such as myrrh, and what dishonorable, such as beasts and worms; and that with respect to God, bestial symbols have been spoken of, and those from matter, both the honorable and the intermediate and the dishonorable.

Sun: Malachi the prophet names a Sun of justice, and the divine Peter in his catholic epistle, "until the day star arise in your hearts," and so forth; for this is the morning star. And Moses says, "fire in the bush," "not consuming," which is harmlessly illuminating. And Jeremiah speaks of water: "they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water," and others other things; and the Lord, "rivers of living water shall flow from his belly 14Ε_224"; and Solomon in the Song of Songs speaks of myrrh: "thy name is as ointment poured forth." And among the twelve prophets, Hosea and Micah list the aforementioned beasts here among the things prophesied concerning God, and David calls him a worm: "I am a worm, and no man," from the person of the Lord, or he compared him to a worm, as not born from seed, as we are, but without seed, like worms, which are not born from seed, but from the earth or from decay; for "I am a worm, and no man," is said as from the person of the incarnate God, even if it is not taken with respect to his divinity, but with respect to the apparent humility of the flesh. He calls the prophets "theosophic spokesmen." For he has already set forth certain images in the treatise *On the Divine Names*.

Of images: What inherent images are meant has been shown in the things said in the treatise *On the Divine Names* at the beginning of the 9th chapter.

Of echoes: He speaks of the final echoes of God in creation, which he previously called the more dishonorable of the material orderings. But how these are called final

52

εὐπρέπειαν τά περί Θεοῦ λεγόμενα, ὧν μετρίας καί ἀμυδράς εἰκόνας ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν εὑρίσκομεν, οἷον τό ἁπλῶς εἶναι, τό ζῇν, τό αἰσθάνεσθαι, καί τά ὅμοια.

γ'. Ὅτι μέν ἐκ Θεοῦ καί ἡ ὕλη πᾶσα τήν ὕπαρξιν ἔσχεν, οὐδείς σοφός ἀντερεῖ λόγος· φέρει δέ καί αὐτήν ἐν ἑαυτῇ ἀποδείξεις τοῦ ἐκ Θεοῦ καί παρῆχθαι καί διακεκομῆσθαι· πᾶσα γοῦν ἐξ ὕλης διακόσμησις ἀμυδρά τινα καί σκιώδη ἀπηχήματα τῶν νοερῶν ἔχει· ὥσπερ γάρ ἐπιτήδεια τά νοερά εἰς ὑποδοχήν, ὡς ἐφικτόν, τῶν ἐκ Θεοῦ προνοητικῶν προόδων, καί ζωή ὄντα, ζωοῦνται παρά τοῦ ὑπέρ πᾶσαν ζωήν ὄντος Θεοῦ, καί δυνάμεις ἔχουσιν εἰς εὐεργεσίαν ἐνεργητικάς, καί κίνησίν τινα ὑπερκόσμιον· οὕτω καί τά ὑλαῖα πάντα ὁμοῦ τε καί κατά μέρος, τήν τε πρόνοιαν τοῦ Θεοῦ οἰκείως ἑαυτοῖς δέχεσθαι, ἐπιτηδείως ἔχουσιν, καί ζωοῦσθαι, καί ζωή γίνεσθαι δύνανται, ὡς τό, «ἐξαγαγέτω ἡ γῆ ψυχήν ζῶσαν», καί αὖθις, «ἐξαγαγέτω τά ὕδατα ἐρπετά ψυχῶν ζωσῶν»· ἀλλά καί δυνάμεις εὐεργετικάς τοῖς ἀπό γῆς πνέουσιν, ὡς δηλοῦσιν αἵ τε διά βοτανῶν καί τῶν 14Ε_222 μεταλλικῶν ὠφέλειαι, καί κίνησιν δέ κατάλληλον τά ὑλαῖα ἔχει τήν εἰς γένεσιν προϊοῦσαν καί φθοράν, καί τάξιν δέχεται τήν παρά τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπιτεθεῖσάν τε καί ἐπιτεθησομένην. Ἀλλά καί φωτίζεσθαι πέφυκε παρουσίᾳ νοερῶν δυνάμεων, ὡς ἐπί τοῦ κατά τήν ἀνάστασιν τοῦ Κυρίου ἀστράπτοντος ἀγγέλου καί φωτίζοντος τό περιέχον. Ἔχει δέ ταῦτα ἡ ὕλη πάσχουσα, οὐ μήν ὡς τά νοερά ἐνεργοῦντα· διό κατ' ἔσχατον ἀπήχημα λέγεται ταῦτα ἔχειν· τί δέ ἐστιν ἀπήχημα ἔσχατον ἐν τῷ Περί θείων ὀνομάτων λόγῳ σαφηνίσω ἐν κεφαλ. δ'.

Καί τῶν αὐτῶν: Σημείωσαι, ὡς πᾶσαν τήν ὕλην οὐ φησί νοεράν· οὐκοῦν καί οἱ ἀστέρες ἄψυχοι· οὐ γάρ ἔχουσι νοῦν. Εἰ καί τά αὐτά ὀνόματά φησιν, ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁμοίως λαμβάνονται· πρός τήν φυσικήν δέ ἰδιότητα τοῦ ὑποκειμένου καί ὁρίζονται καί νοοῦνται.

§ 5. Θεαρχικαῖς: Τουτέστι τοῖς περί Θεοῦ νοήμασι. Τῶν φαινομένων τιμίων: Σημείωσαι τίνα καλεῖ τίμια, ὡς ἥλιον καί τούς

ἀστέρας, καί τίνα μέσα, πῦρ καί ὕδωρ, καί τίνα ἔσχατα, ὡς μύρον, καί τίνα ἄτιμα, ὡς θηρία καί σκώληκας· καί ὅτι ἐπί Θεοῦ καί τά θηριώδη σύμβολα εἴρηται καί τά ἐξ ὕλης, καί τά τίμια δέ καί τά μέσα καί τά ἄτιμα.

Ἥλιον: Ἥλιον δικαιοσύνης Μαλαχίας ὁ προφήτης ὀνομάζει, ὁ δέ θεῖος Πέτρος ἐν τῇ καθολικῇ αὐτοῦ ἐπιστολῇ, «ἕως οὗ φωσφόρος ἀνατείλῃ ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν», καί τά ἑξῆς· οὗτος γάρ ἐστιν ὁ ἑῷος ἀστήρ. Ὁ δέ Μωϋσῆς, «ἐν τῇ βάτῳ πῦρ», φησίν, «οὐ κατακαῖον, ὅ ἐστιν ἀβλαβῶς φωτίζον. Ὁ δέ Ἰερεμίας ὕδωρ λέγει· «ἐμέ ἐγκατέλιπον πηγήν ὕδατος ζῶντος», καί ἄλλοι δέ ἄλλα· καί ὁ Κύριος, «ποταμοί ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας αὐτοῦ 14Ε_224 ρεύσουσιν ὕδατος ζῶντος»· ὁ δέ Σολομῶν ἐν τῷ Ἄσματι τῶν ἀσμάτων μύρον φησί· «μύρον ἐκκενωθέν ὄνομά σου». Ἐν δέ τοῖς δώδεκα προφήταις Ὠσηέ καί Μιχαίας τά εἰρημένα ὧδε θηρία καταλέγουσιν ἐν τοῖς περί Θεοῦ προφητευομένοις, ὁ δέ ∆αυίδ σκώληκα αὐτόν λέγει· «ἐγώ εἰμι σκώληξ καί οὐκ ἄνθρωπος», ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ Κυρίου ἤ σκώληκι αὐτόν παρείκασεν, ὡς μή ἀπό σπέρματος γεννηθέντα, ὡς ἡμεῖς, ἀλλά σπέρματος χωρίς, ὡς οἱ σκώληκες, οἵτινες οὐκ ἀπό σπέρματος τίκτονται, ἀλλ' ἀπό γῆς ἤ ἀπό σήψεως· τό γάρ, «ἐγώ εἰμι σκώληξ καί οὐκ ἄνθρωπος», ὡς ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ σαρκωθέντος Θεοῦ λέγεται, εἰ καί μή, κατά τήν θεότητα λαμβανόμενον, ἀλλά κατά τό φαινόμενον ταπεινόν τῆς σαρκός. Θεοσόφους ὑποφήτας τούς προφήτας φησίν. Τινά γάρ ἀγάλματα ἤδη προπαρέθηκεν ἐν τῷ Περί θείων ὀνομάτων λόγῳ.

Ἀγαλμάτων: Τίνα δηλοῦται ἐναποκείμενα ἀγάλματα, τοῖς λεγομένης ἐν τῷ Περί θείων ὀνομάτων λόγῳ ἐν τῇ ἀρχῇ τοῦ θ' κεφαλαίου δεδήλωται.

Ἀπηχημάτων: Ἔσχατα τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀπηχημάτων ἐν δημιουργίᾳ φησίν, ἅ προεῖπεν ἀτιμότερα τῶν ὑλαίων διακοσμήσεων. Πῶς δέ ταῦτα λέγονται ἔσχατον