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cried out: "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom of God! How unsearchable are his judgments!" Therefore, that which surpasses the method of all created wisdom would be equal to words of foolishness for those not taught by God. For the mystery could not be explained by words or by sensible proofs, without faith preceding it.

By reciprocation in God: By reciprocation, that is (14S_262> a mutual exchange of the suffering Logos; through negations that indicate privations, the pre-eminence concerning God is revealed, which in another place he has called 'the power of pre-eminent negation.'

The seemingly irrational in it: For both the passion on the cross, and to say that God suffered in the flesh, seem both irrational and absurd, which in fact revealed the true reality. Note how the father understands the saying of the Apostle; for Chrysostom and the rest of the Fathers understood this concerning the cross.

Being wrapped up. In other places, being turned about, that is, being turned back, being rolled about. And through these things, he shows that one must not compare divine things with human things.

It has the power: And we said above that when the intellect wishes to understand, it descends from itself, going down into thoughts; for thoughts are inferior to the one who thinks, as they are thought and apprehended, and are reasonably a scattering and division of the unity of his intellect; for the intellect is simple and without parts, but thoughts are multitudinous and scattered, and like forms of the intellect; for this reason the intellectual, that is, the thinking, are lesser than the intelligible, instead of, the things thought. But he speaks of a union of the intellect, as he says more clearly in what follows, by which it is stretched out towards the things beyond itself, that is, it approaches the contemplation of God, by departing from all sensible and intelligible things, and also from its own movement, and then so receives the ray of divine knowledge.

This irrational therefore: Here especially he makes clear how the foolishness of God is the supremely wise magnitude of the incomprehensibility of God; for he says that being enclosed by the sensible, examining the (14S_264> dogma, let us say, concerning the immateriality and super-essentiality of God, we are led astray, weighing those things by sensible things; as for example, when going through the proclamation concerning the only adorable Trinity, and some hear a theology of three hypostases, unparted and undivided, they immediately become dizzy, attending to bodies, which require place and intervals, saying, How is it possible for there to be three hypostases in themselves, and for them to be undivided? For they are ignorant of becoming foolish in sensible things, in order that they may become wise in divine things, and myriads of other such things, to whom the Lord addresses; "If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?"; and the divine Paul says, that "the natural man does not receive the things of the spirit; for they are foolishness to him." Therefore, the foolishness of God among men are the spiritual things, which must be pursued; for he called wisdom foolish, because no wisdom can approach it; just as therefore it is also irrational and without intellect, as not having a reason or intellect that can interpret, that is, apprehend it.

§ 2. From it the intelligible: Note, how in other places also there are intelligible and intellectual powers; and reasonably in them are the same ones both intelligible and intellectual, just as the higher orders; intelligible inasmuch as they are understood by those below, but intellectual inasmuch as they are also the highest, and are stretched out to understand God who is above all, as far as is possible, being nourished by intellection from above, but nourishing those who understand in a subordinate way, For our souls are only intellectual; for understanding with knowledge, as far as is possible, the things which transcend, they no longer have anything intellectual after them, so that they might also be understood; for the irrational and unintellectual soul is after us, but the intellections of the divine intellects are not (14S_266> in discursive thoughts like ours,

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ἀνέκραγεν· «ὤ βάθος πλούτου καί σοφίας Θεοῦ, ὡς ἀνεξερεύνητα τά κρίματα αὐτοῦ». Τό οὖν ὑπεραῖρον πάσης κτιστῆς σοφίας μέθοδον ἴσον ἄν εἴη τοῖς οὐ θεοδιδάκτοις μωρίας λόγοις. Λόγοις γάρ οὐκ ἄν ἐξομαλισθείη, ἤ δι' αἰσθητῶν ἀποδείξεων τό μυστήριον, πίστεως οὐ προηγουμένης.

Ἀντιπεπονθότως ἐπί Θεοῦ: Ἀντιπεπονθότως, τουτέστιν (14S_262> ἀντιπεριτροπήν τοῦ Λόγου πάσχοντος· διά τῶν τάς στερήσεις δηλουσῶν ἀποφάσεων, ἡ περί Θεοῦ ὑπεροχή δηλοῦται, ὅπερ ἐν ἐτέρῳ 'δύναμιν ὑπεροχικῆς ἀποφάσεως' εἴρηκε.

Τό φαινόμενον ἐν αὐτῇ παράλογον: Καί γάρ τό κατά τόν σταυρόν πάθος, καί τό λέγειν Θεόν παθόντα σαρκί, καί παράλογον δοκεῖ καί ἄτοπον, ὅπερ τήν ὄντως ἐδήλου ἀλήθειαν. Σημείωσαι, πῶς νοεῖ ὁ πατήρ τό τοῦ Ἀποστόλου ρητόν· ὁ γάρ Χρυσόστομος καί οἱ λοιποί τῶν Πατέρων περί τοῦ σταυροῦ τοῦτο ἐξέλαβον.

Ἐνειλούμενοι. Ἐν ἄλλοις ἐνιλλόμενοι, τοὐτέστιν ἐπιστρεφόμενοι, ἐγκαλινδούμενοι. ∆είκνυσι δέ διά τούτων, ὅτι οὐ δεῖ τά θεῖα τοῖς ἀνθρωπίνοις παραβάλλειν.

Τήν μέν ἔχει δύναμιν: Καί ἀνωτέρω εἴπομεν, ὅτι, ὁ νοῦς νοεῖν βουλόμενος, κάτεισιν ἑαυτοῦ εἰς τάς νοήσεις καταβαίνων· αἱ γάρ νοήσεις κατώτεραί εἰσι τοῦ νοοῦντος, ὡς νοούμεναι καί καταλαμβανόμεναι, καί σκεδασμός εἰκότως καί μερισμός τῆς ἑνότητος τοῦ νοῦ αὐτοῦ· ὁ μέν γάρ νοῦς ἁπλοῦς καί ἀμερής, αἱ δέ νοήσεις παμπληθεῖς καί σκεδασταί, καί οἷον εἴδη τοῦ νοῦ· διά τοῦτο τά νοερά, τουτέστι τά νοοῦντα, ἐλάττονά εἰσι τῶν νοητῶν, ἀντί τοῦ, τῶν νοουμένων. Ἕνωσιν δέ φησι τοῦ νοῦ, καθώς ἐν τοῖς ἑξῆς σαφέστερον λέγει, δι' ἧς πρός τά ἐπέκεινα ἑαυτοῦ ἀνατείνεται, ἤγουν τῇ περί Θεοῦ προσβάλλει θεωρίᾳ, τῷ πάντων ἐκστῆναι τῶν αἰσθητῶν καί τῶν νοητῶν, ἔτι δέ καί τῆς οἰκείας κινήσεως, εἶθ' οὕτω τῆς θείας γνώσεως δέξασθαι τήν ἀκτῖνα.

Ταύτην οὖν τήν ἄλογον: Ἐνταῦθα μάλιστα τρανοῖ, πῶς μωρία τοῦ Θεοῦ, τό ὑπέρσοφον τῆς περί Θεοῦ ἀκαταληψίας μέγεθος· φησί γάρ ὅτι τῷ αἰσθητῷ περικεκλεισμένοι, τό περί ἀϋλίας καί ὑπερουσιότητος φέρε εἰπεῖν τοῦ Θεοῦ κατεξετάζοντες (14S_264> δόγμα, πλανώμεθα, ἐκ τῶν αἰσθητῶν ἐκεῖνα σταθμώμενοι· οἷον τό περί Τριάδος τῆς μόνης προσκυνητῆς διεξιόντες κήρυγμα, καί τρισυπόστατον ἀμέριστον καί ἀδιαίρετον ἀκούοντές τινες θεολογίαν, εὐθύς ἰλιγγιῶσιν, εἰς τά σώματα προσέχοντες, καί τόπου δεόμενα καί διαστημάτων, λέγοντες, Πῶς οἷόν τε τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις ὑφ' ἑαυτῶν εἶναι, καί ἀδιαιρέτους εἶναι; Καί γάρ ἀγνοοῦσι μωραίνειν ἐν τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς, ἵνα τά θεῖα σοφισθῶσι, καί τοιαῦτα ἕτερα μυρία, πρός οὕς ὁ Κύριος ἀποτείνεται· «εἰ τά ἐπίγεια εἶπον ὑμῖν καί οὐ πιστεύετε, πῶς, ἐάν εἴπω ὑμῖν τά ἐπουράνια πιστεύσετε;»· καί ὁ θεῖος Παῦλος λέγει, ὅτι «ὁ ψυχικός ἄνθρωπος οὐ δέχεται τά τοῦ πνεύματος· μωρία γάρ αὐτῷ ἐστιν». Ὥστε οὖν ἡ παρά ἀνθρώποις μωρία τοῦ Θεοῦ τά πνευματικά εἰσιν, ἅτινα μεταδιωκτέον· μωράν γάρ σοφίαν εἶπε, τῷ μηδεμίαν αὐτῇ δύνασθαι προσβάλλειν σοφίαν· ὥσπερ οὖν καί ἄλογον καί ἄνουν, ὡς μή ἔχουσαν λόγον ἤ νοῦν ἑρμηνευτικόν, ἤγουν καταληπτικόν αὐτῆς.

§ 2. Ἐξ αὐτῆς αἱ νοηταί: Σημείωσαι, ὡς καί ἐν ἄλλοις νοηταί εἰσι καί νοεραί δυνάμεις· καί εἰκότως ἐν αὐτοῖς εἰσιν οἱ αὐτοί καί νοητοί καί νοεραί, ὥσπερ αἱ ἄνω τάξεις· νοηταί μέν καθ' ὅ ἐκ τῶν ὑποβεβηκότων νοοῦνται, νοεραί δέ, καθ' ὅ καί ἀνώταταί εἰσι, καί τόν ὑπέρ πάντα Θεόν νοεῖν, ὅσον ἐφικτόν, ἀνατείνονται, ἄνωθεν μέν τρεφόμεναι τῇ νοήσει, τρέφουσαι δέ τούς ὑφειμένως νοοῦντας, Αἱ γάρ ἡμέτεραι ψυχαί νοεραί μόνον· νοοῦσαι γάρ ἐπιστητῶς, ὅσον οἷόν τε, τά ὑπερβεβηκότα, οὐκέτι ἔχουσι νοερόν τι μετά ταύτας, ἵνα καί νοηθῶσιν· ἡ ἄλογος γάρ καί ἄνους ψυχή μεθ' ἡμᾶς, αἱ δέ νοήσεις τῶν θείων νοῶν οὐκ (14S_266> ἐν διανοήσεσι ταῖς καθ' ἡμᾶς,