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'of opposites'; for these are not properly opposed to each other, as it were, according to state or privation, but, as has been said, according to negation and affirmation.

Present to all things: For being present everywhere, he is present both to each thing individually and to all things together and in like manner. And God is said to be standing, because absolutely no change is observed in him, but moving, because he holds together and preserves existing things; and these things are beyond all conception; for which reason he also added 'neither standing', 'nor moving'.

Both standing and moving: It seems somehow contradictory, what was said, 'standing' and 'moving', and 'neither standing', 'nor moving'; for how does the same thing both stand and move, or neither stand nor move? First, one must not understand divine things from sensible things, or take images from them; but so that we might not seem to lack a solution, we have said above that 'standing' is generation, and 'movement' is alteration, that is, change. God, then, is the generation of all things; for he always brings these things into being; so God stands. And again, he moves, because he transforms and alters all things for the better; for through him we become more beautiful. whence also the divine Dionysius says about him a little before, 'the beginning and end of all existing things'. For 'neither standing', 'nor moving', is explained by him as remaining in himself, and proceeding to all things; for he imparts his own wholeness to all existing things, and he himself is immutable and unalterable according to what is said, "But you are the same." Therefore, God both proceeds and remains in himself.

Nor in any of existing things: He did not say 'in any one thing'; for he is in all things, and (14S_250> because of being in all things, uncontained; for 'being eternally', he means the supercosmic substances, because they came to be before the nature of time; for time is numbered from the creation of heaven and earth.

Or of things temporal: It has also been said above that 'eternal' is properly said not of the age itself, but of that which partakes of the age. And understand 'is in some way fitting' according to substance. But note that some existing things are eternal, such as angels, and that the eternal is not also without beginning. But in the following chapter, right at the beginning, he has used the term 'eternal' even of God.

And the measures of existing things: The measures of existing things are the ages of intelligible things and the time of sensible things; for intelligible things are measured as if by the measure of the age, even if the things measured are homonymously called by the same name as the measuring age; for the angels are also called ages; so also for sensible things; for the things measured by time are homonymously called times, such as the movement of the stars, and of the sun, and lifetimes; for being measured by time, they are called times.

ON CHAPTER 6

§ 1. And of the cohesive cause: He called it cohesive, as that which the life of those in

existing things not only created, but also holds together so that it endures. From it also are the souls: After the life of the angels, he consistently orders the

of our souls, being also rational, [and its] immortality; and after the rational souls, he then brings in the life of the sensitive soul and the nutritive, that is, the vegetative, that is, of irrational creatures, and of plants, which he calls the last echo, a term we have interpreted many times above. But the lives of (14S_252> irrational creatures and of plants are not divine, but of corporeal fire and spirit. Therefore, concerning only these last lives, as has been said, he says that what David said was spoken: "you will take away their spirit and they will cease to be and will return to their dust. You will send forth your spirit and they will be created and you will renew the face of the earth"; for the great one accepts these divine oracles as applying only to the sensitive soul and to vegetative life,

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ἀντικειμένων'· οὐ γάρ κυρίως ταῦτα ἀλλήλοις ἀντίκειται, οἱονεί κατά τήν ἕξιν ἤ στέρησιν, ἀλλ', ὡς εἴρῃται, κατά ἀπόφασιν καί κατάφασιν.

Παρών τοῖς πᾶσι: Πανταχοῦ γάρ παρών, καί τοῖς καθ' ἕν ἕκαστον καί τοῖς πᾶσιν ὁμοῦ πάρεστι καί ὁμοίως. Καί ἑστώς δέ λέγεται ὁ Θεός, τῷ κατά μηδέν ὅλως ἐν αὐτῷ μεταβολήν θεωρεῖσθαι, κινούμενος δέ, τῷ συνέχειν τά ὄντα καί συντηρεῖν· καί ταῦτα δέ ὑπέρ πᾶσαν ἐπίνοιαν· διό καί ἐπήγαγε τό 'οὔτε ἑστώς', 'οὔτε κινούμενος'.

Καί ἑστώς καί κινούμενος: ∆οκεῖ πῶς ἐναντίον εἶναι τό εἰρημένον, τό 'ἑστώς' καί 'κινούμενος', καί, 'οὔτε ἑστώς', 'οὔτε κινούμενος'· πῶς γάρ τό αὐτό πρᾶγμα καί ἵσταται καί κινεῖται, ἤ οὔτε ἵσταται οὔτε κινεῖται; Πρῶτον μέν οὐ δεῖ ἐκ τῶν αἰσθητῶν κατανοεῖν τά θεῖα, ἤ τάς εἰκόνας ἐντεῦθεν λαμβάνειν· ἵνα δέ μή δόξαιμεν λύσεως ἀπορεῖν, στάσιν εἴπομεν ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν τήν γένεσιν, κίνησιν δέ τήν ἀλλοίωσιν, ἤτοι μεταβολήν. Ἔστιν οὖν ὁ Θεός πάντων γένεσις· ἀεί γάρ ταῦτα εἰς τό εἶναι παράγει· ὥστε ἕστηκεν ὁ Θεός· κινεῖται δέ πάλιν, διότι πάντα μετασχηματίζει καί ἀλλοιοῖ πρός τό κρεῖττον· δι' αὐτοῦ γάρ καλλίους γινόμεθα· ὅθεν καί περί αὐτοῦ πρό μικροῦ φησιν ὁ θεῖος ∆ιονύσιος, 'πάντων ἀρχή καί τελευτή τῶν ὄντων'· τό γάρ 'οὔτε ἑστώς', 'οὔτε κινούμενος', τό πρός αὐτοῦ ἐξηγεῖται τό μένων ἐφ' ἑαυτοῦ, καί ἐπί πάντα προϊών· μεταδίδωσι γάρ πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσι τῆς οἰκείας ὁλότητος, καί ἄτρεπτος καί ἀναλλοίωτος αὐτός ἐστι κατά τό εἰρημένον, «Σύ δέ ὁ αὐτός εἶ». Οὐκοῦν καί πρόεισι καί ἐφ' ἑαυτοῦ μένει ὁ Θεός.

Οὔτε ἔν τινι τῶν ὄντων: Οὐκ ἔν τινι εἶπεν· ἐν πᾶσι γάρ, καί (14S_250> διά τό ἐν πᾶσιν ἄσχετον· αἰωνίως γάρ ὄντα, τάς ὑπερκοσμίους φησίν οὐσίας, διά τό πρό τῆς τοῦ χρόνου φύσεως γενέσθαι αὐτάς· χρόνος γάρ ἀπό τῆς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καί γῆς ποιήσεως ἀριθμεῖται.

Ἤ τῶν χρονικῶς: Εἴρηται καί ἀνωτέρω, αἰώνιον λέγεσθαι κυρίως οὐκ αὐτόν τόν αἰῶνα, ἀλλά τό αἰῶνος μετέχον. Τό δέ 'προσήκει τι' νόησον κατ' οὐσίαν. Σημείωσαι δέ, ὅτι εἰσί τινα τῶν ὄντων αἰώνια, οἷον ἄγγελοι, καί ὅτι οὐ τό αἰώνιον, ἤδη καί ἄναρχον. Ἐν δέ τῷ ἐφεξῆς κεφαλαίῳ εὐθύς ἐν ἀρχῇ, τῇ τοῦ αἰωνίου φωνῇ καί ἐπί τοῦ Θεοῦ κέχρηται.

Καί τά τῶν ὄντων μέτρα: Μέτρα τῶν ὄντων εἰσίν οἱ αἰῶνες τῶν νοητῶν καί ὁ χρόνος τῶν αἰσθητῶν· τά γάρ νοητά, ὡς ὑπό μέτρου μετρεῖται τοῦ αἰῶνος, εἰ καί ὁμωνύμως τῷ μετροῦντι αἰῶνι καί τά μετρούμενα λέγονται· αἰῶνες γάρ λέγονται καί οἱ ἄγγελοι· οὕτω καί ἐπί τῶν αἰσθητῶν· τά γάρ μετρούμενα τῷ χρόνῳ ὁμωνύμως χρόνοι λέγονται, ὡς καί ἡ κίνησις τῶν ἄστρων, καί τοῦ ἡλίου, καί οἱ βίοι· μετρούμενοι γάρ ὑπό χρόνου, χρόνοι λέγονται.

ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ S'

§ 1. Καί συνοχικῆς αἰτίας: Συνοχικήν ὠνόμασεν, ὡς τήν ζωήν τῶν ἐν τοῖς

οὖσιν οὐ μόνον δημιουργήσασαν, ἀλλά καί εἰς τό διαμένειν συνέχουσαν. Ἐξ αὐτῆς καί αἱ ψυχαί: Μετά τήν τῶν ἀγγέλων ζωήν ἀκολούθως τάττει τήν

τῶν ἡμετέρων ψυχῶν, ἅτε καί λογικῶν οὐσῶν ἀθανασίαν· μετά δέ τάς λογικάς ψυχάς, ἐπάγει λοιπόν τήν ζωήν τῆς αἰσθητικῆς ψυχῆς καί τῆς θρεπτικῆς, ἤτοι φυτικῆς, ἤτοι τῶν ἀλόγων, καί τῶν φυτῶν, ἅς καί κατ' ἔσχατον ἀπήχημά φησιν, ὅπερ ἄνω πολλάκις ἡρμηνεύσαμεν. Αἱ δέ ζωαί τῶν (14S_252> ἀλόγων καί τῶν φυτῶν οὔκ εἰσι θεῖαι, ἀλλά τοῦ ἐνύλου πυρός τε καί πνεύματος. Περί τούτων οὖν μόνων τῶν ἐσχάτων, ὡς εἴρηται, ζωῶν φησι τό τοῦ ∆αβίδ εἰρῆσθαι· «ἀντανελεῖς τό πνεῦμά σου καί ἐκλείψουσι καί εἰς τόν χοῦν αὐτῶν ἐπιστρέψουσιν. Ἐξαποστελεῖς τό πνεῦμά σου καί κτισθήσονται καί ἀνακαινιεῖς τό πρόσωπον τῆς γῆς»· ἐπί γάρ αἰσθητικῆς μόνης ψυχῆς καί τῆς φυτικῆς ζωῆς ταῦτα δέχεται τά θεῖα λόγια ὁ μέγας,