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therefore "continually toward the Lord." I always see him. But he who sees God does not sin; "everyone who sins has not seen him nor known him." And see the reverence of the saints; if he himself by choice stretched his eyes toward the Lord, clearly not sinning, he says, ascribing to God the achievement of sinlessness; "since my eyes are continually toward him," for this reason I am outside the snare which sin prepares; for "he" "will pull my feet out of the snare." Some of the ancients investigated, which is good to mention, that sometimes the eye of the inner man is named in the singular, and sometimes in the plural. In the Song of Songs, for example, it is said: "you have ravished our hearts with one of your eyes." "my eye has brought down tears." "my eye is troubled by grief." But sometimes in the plural: "I lifted up my eyes to the mountains"; and in the present verse: "my eyes are continually toward the Lord." And: "the eyes of your heart having been enlightened." We have a twofold knowledge; for there is knowledge of truth when it receives into itself the form of each thing known. There are visible and invisible works of God; and from the greatness and beauty of these, the one who made them is contemplated. But the eye that sees the invisible things is our mind, the pure heart, which also sees God. We also have the sense of sight. And if it gazes upon the visible works of God in the way they were created and have their nature, it is healthy. But when, for example, seeing the sun we think it a god, seeing the celestial order we think it is astrology, this eye does not see correctly; for it was necessary that "the invisible things of God from the creation 85 of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made." The invisible things of God are seen then, when we gaze upon God's visible creations, and thus from the creation of this sensible world we see the invisible things of God. We cannot see the arts and sciences in the mind of men, since the mind is invisible. But from the crafted works or scientific theorems we get a perception of the mind, according to which science or art it has been formed. Therefore, he properly contemplates the science of the engineer; who is able to receive the principles of mechanical constructions into his own thought. Similarly also in other cases; we call that man a doctor who knows medical matters as is necessary, as science dictates. When someone, therefore, sees the invisible one as is necessary—and by "as is necessary" I mean, as is possible—and also sees the invisible creations of God, of which the soul of man is one, he has this eye looking continually toward God and pure. When he also correctly understands the sensible creations and the providence concerning them, and has his sensible desire—I do not mean that of the body, but the understanding of sensible, visible things—set aright, then he has his eyes continually toward the Lord. He speaks as a servant. A servant is one who serves God, who both by disposition and by deed confesses his lordship, "who does the will of the Father in heaven." "Because he will pull my feet out of the snare." Even if trappers and hunters lie in wait for me, wanting to take me and to snare my foot as in a trap, yet I, having my eyes continually toward the Lord, do not suffer this. For in many places of the divine teachings the ambushes of the wicked are called snares; "in this snare, which they hid, their foot was caught." Often the enemies of truth prepare snares, and in the snares which they prepare for others, they themselves are caught. And there are some such things also in the historical narrative; Haman prepared a gallows, in order to crucify the just Mordecai, and on it he himself was crucified. And concerning that great demon it is said: "he dug a pit and hollowed it out, and will fall into the ditch which he made." At least then in

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οὖν "διὰ παντὸς πρὸς τὸν κύριον". ἀεὶ αὐτὸν ὁρῶ. ὁ δὲ ὁρῶν θεὸν οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει· "πᾶς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων οὐχ ἑώρακεν αὐτὸν οὐδὲ ἔγνωκεν αὐτόν". καὶ ὅρα γε τὸ εὐλαβὲς τῶν ἁγίων· εἰ καὶ αὐτὸς προαιρέ σει ἔτεινεν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς πρὸς τὸν κύριον, δηλονότι οὐχ ἁμαρτάνων, τῷ θεῷ τὸ κατόρθωμα τῆς ἀναμαρτησίας ἐπιγράφων λέγει· "ἐπεὶ οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου διὰ παντὸς πρὸς αὐτόν", διὰ τοῦτο ἔξω γίνομαι τῆς παγίδος ἧς σκευάζει ἡ ἁμαρτία· "αὐτὸς" γὰρ "ἐκσπάσει ἐκ παγίδος τοὺς πόδας μου". ἐζήτησάν τινες τῶν ἀρχαίων, ὃ καλὸν εἰπεῖν, ὅτι ὁτὲ μὲν ἑνικῶς ὁ ὀφθαλμὸς ὀνομάζεται τοῦ ἔσω ἀνθρώπου, ὁτὲ δὲ πληθυντικῶς. ἐν τῷ ᾄςματι γοῦν τῶν ᾀσμάτων λέγεται· "ἐκαρδίωσας ἡμᾶς ἑνὶ ἀπὸ ὀφθαλμῶν σου". "ὁ ὀφθαλμός μου κατήγαγεν δάκρυα". "ἐταράχθη ἀπὸ θυμοῦ ὁ ὀφθαλμός μου". ὁτὲ δὲ πληθυντικῶς· "ἦρα τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς μου εἰς τὰ ὄρη"· καὶ ἐν τῷ παρόντι στίχῳ· "οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου διὰ παντὸς πρὸς τὸν κύριον". καί· "πεφωτισμένοι τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῆς καρδίας". διττὴν γνῶσιν ἔχομεν· τότε γὰρ ἀληθείας ἐστὶν γνῶσις, ὅταν τὸ ἑκάστου γιγνωσκομένου δέχηται εἰς ἑαυτὴν εἶδος. εἰσὶν ὁρατὰ καὶ ἀόρατα θεοῦ ποιήματα· καὶ ἐκ μεγέθους τούτων καὶ τῆς καλλονῆς ὁ κατασκευάσας αὐτὰ θεωρεῖται. ὀφθαλμὸς δέ ἐστιν ὁ τὰ ἀόρατα ὁρῶν ὁ νοῦς ἡμῶν, ἡ καθαρὰ καρδία, ἥτις καὶ τὸν θεὸν βλέπει. ἔχομεν δὲ καὶ τὴν αἴσθησιν ὀφθαλμῶν. καὶ ἐὰν ἐπιβάλλῃ τοῖς ὁρατοῖς ποιήμασιν τοῦ θεοῦ οὕτως, ὡς κατεσκευάσθησαν καὶ ἔχουσιν φύσεως, ὑγιαίνει. ὅταν δέ, φέρε, ὁρῶντες τὸν ἥλιον θεὸν αὐτὸν νομίζωμεν, ὁρῶντες τὴν διάταξιν τὴν οὐράνιον ἡγώμεθα γενεθλιαλογίαν εἶναι, οὐκ ὀρθῶς βλέπει ὁ ὀφθαλμὸς οὗτος· ἔδει γὰρ "τὰ ἀόρατα τοῦ θεοῦ ἀπὸ κτίσεως 85 κόσμου τοῖς ποιήμασιν νοούμενα καθορᾶσθαι". τὰ ἀόρατα τοῦ θεοῦ τότε ὁρᾶται, ὅταν ἐπιβάλλωμεν τοῖς θεοῦ ὁρατοῖς δημιουργήμασιν καὶ οὕτως ἀπὸ κτίσεως τοῦ κόσμου τούτου τοῦ αἰσθητοῦ τὰ ἀόρατα τοῦ θεοῦ καθορῶμεν. τὰς ἐν τῷ νῷ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τέχνας καὶ τὰς ἐπιστήμας ἰδεῖν οὐ δυνάμεθα ἅτε τοῦ νοῦ ἀοράτου ὄντος. ἐκ τῶν κατασκευαζομένων δὲ ἔργων ἢ θεωρημάτων ἐπιστημονικῶν λαμβάνομεν τὴν αἴσθησιν τοῦ νοῦ, κατὰ ποίαν ἐπιστήμην ἢ τέχνην πεποίωται. κυρίως οὖν θεώρει τὴν ἐπιστήμην τοῦ μηχανικοῦ· ὁ τοὺς λόγους τῶν μηχανικῶν κατασκευασμάτων δυνάμενος δέξασθαι εἰς τὴν διάνοιαν ἑαυτοῦ. ὁμοίως καὶ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις· ἐκεῖνον ἰατρικὸν λέγομεν τὸν εἰδότα τὰ ἰατρικὰ ὡς δεῖ, ὡς ἡ ἐπιστήμη ὑπαγορεύει. ὅταν τις οὖν τὸν ἀόρατον ὁρᾷ ὡς δεῖ- τὸ "ὡς δεῖ" δὲ λέγω, ὡς ἐφικτόν ἐστιν-, ὁρᾷ δὲ καὶ τὰ δημιουργήματα τοῦ θεοῦ τὰ ἀόρατα, ὧν καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐστίν, ἔχει τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν τοῦτον διὰ παντὸς πρὸς θεὸν ὁρῶντα καὶ καθαρόν. ὅταν καὶ τὰ δημιουργήματα τὰ αἰσθητὰ καὶ τὴν περὶ τούτων πρόνοιαν ὀρθῶς ἐκλαμβάνῃ, ἔχῃ καὶ τὸν αἰσθητικὸν πόθον-οὐ τοῦτον λέγω τὸν τοῦ σώματος, ἀλλὰ τὴν νόησιν τὴν τῶν αἰσθητῶν, ὁρατῶν-κατορθούμενον, καὶ οὕτω τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἔχει διὰ παντὸς πρὸς τὸν κύριον. ὡς δοῦλος λαλεῖ. δοῦλος δέ ἐστιν ὁ δουλεύων θεῷ, ὁ καὶ διαθέσει καὶ ἔργῳ ὁμολογῶν τὴν δεσποτείαν, "ὁ ποιῶν τὸ θέλημα τοῦ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς πατρός". "ὅτι αὐτὸς ἐκσπάσει ἐκ παγίδος τοὺς πόδας μου". εἰ καὶ ἐφεδρεύουσίν μοι οἱ παγιδευταὶ καὶ θηρευταὶ λαβεῖν θέλοντες καὶ τὸν πόδα μου ὥσπερ εἰς τὴν παγίδα βροχίσαι, ἀλλ' ἐγὼ διὰ παντὸς ἔχων πρὸς τὸν κύριον τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς οὐ πάσχω τοῦτο. πολλαχοῦ γὰρ τῶν θείων παιδευμάτων τὰ ἐνεδρεύματα τῶν πονηρῶν παγίδες ὀνομάζονται· "ἐν παγίδι ταύτῃ, ᾗ ἔκρυψαν, συνελήμφθη ὁ ποὺς αὐτῶν". πολλάκις οἱ ἐχθροὶ τῆς ἀληθεία παγίδας σκευάζουσιν καὶ ἐν ταῖς παγίσιν αἷς σκευάζουσιν ἄλλοις, αὐτοὶ ἁλίσκονται. καὶ ἔστιν καὶ ἐν τῇ ἱστορία τοιαῦτά τινα· ὁ Ἀμὰ εὐτρέπισεν ξύλον, ἵνα σταυρώσῃ τὸν δίκαιον Μαρδοχέα, καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ αὐτὸς ἐσταυρώθη. καὶ περὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ μεγαλοδαίμονος λέγεται· "λάκκον ὤρυξεν καὶ ἀνέσκαψεν αὐτὸν καὶ ἐμπεσεῖται εἰς βόθρον ὃν εἰργάσατο". κἂν γοῦν ἐν