57

founding, would he ever say it is the same as the earth, being moved by reason, and desiring to be a servant of reason? But now I think he means earth, the firm and entirely unchangeable state and power of the 0888 meek with respect to their constancy in the good, as always existing with the Lord, and possessing unfailing joy, and having taken possession of the kingdom prepared from the beginning, and having been deemed worthy of the station and rank in heaven; as indeed a certain earth that has received the principle of virtue as a central position in the universe; according to which the meek person, being midway between praise and blame, remains dispassionate, neither puffed up by praises [being exalted or vainglorious], 15Γ_238 nor saddened by blame [being grieved]. For of those things whose nature is naturally free, having turned away desire, he is not sensible of their assaults when they disturb him, having stilled himself from the storm concerning these things(2), and having transferred the whole power of his soul toward the divine and tranquil freedom; desiring to impart this to his own disciples, the Lord says, Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am meek, and lowly in heart; and you will find rest for your souls; by rest, meaning the dominion of the divine kingdom, as producing mastery in those who are worthy, being delivered from all bondage.

But if to the humble and meek the indestructible power of the incorruptible kingdom is given, who is so unloving and altogether without appetite for divine goods, as not to strive for humility and meekness in the highest degree, so that he may become a character of the divine kingdom, as far as is possible for a human being, bearing in himself of the great King Christ, who is by nature and essence truly great, the unchanging formation in the spirit according to grace? In which, says the divine Apostle, there is neither male nor female; that is, anger and desire; the one tyrannically carrying away the reason, and placing the intellect outside the law of nature; the other, making the things after it more lovely than the one and only desirable and impassible cause and nature, and for this reason considering the flesh more honorable than the spirit; and making the enjoyment of things that appear more delightful than the glory and splendor of things that are understood; by the smoothness of pleasure according to the senses, debarring the mind from the divine and kindred perception of intelligible things; but rather reason alone, and even stripped bare to the uttermost, through an abundance of virtue, of the impassible but nevertheless natural affection and disposition of the body, with the spirit completely conquering nature, and persuading it to abstain from moral philosophy, when the mind must commune 15Γ_240 with the superessential Word through simple and indivisible contemplation; even if it is its nature to contribute to an easy cutting and passing through of things that flow in time; and when these have been crossed, it is not reasonable for one who has been declared unrestrained by sensible things to be burdened by the ethical way as by a sheepskin mantle.

And Elijah the great clearly shows this, typologically demonstrating this mystery through what he did; 0889 the sheepskin mantle, that is, the mortification of the flesh, in which the magnificence of ethical propriety is fixed, he gives to Elisha during his assumption as an alliance of the spirit against every opposing power, and for the striking of the unstable and flowing nature; of which the Jordan was a type, so that the disciple might not be hindered in his crossing to the holy land, overwhelmed by the murky and slippery passion for material things; but he himself, proceeding toward God unhindered, being held fast by none of the things that exist at all in terms of relation, simple in desire and uncompounded in thought, towards the One who is simple by nature, through interdependent general virtues, gnostically united with each other, making his sojourn as if by fiery horses. For he knew that the disciple of Christ must put away the unequal dispositions(3), whose difference proves alienation; if indeed that according to desire

57

ἵδρυσιν, ταυτόν ποτ᾿ ἄν τῇ γῇ φήσειε, λόγῳ κινούμενος, καί λόγου θεραπευτής εἶναι ποθῶν; Ἀλλά νῦν γῆν φάσκειν οἶμαι, τήν παγίαν καί παντελῶς ἀμετάθετον ἀπό τοῦ καλοῦ τῆς τῶν 0888 πραέων ἀτρεψίας ἕξιν καί δύναμιν, ὡς ἀεί σύν Κυρίῳ ὑπάρχουσαν, καί χαράν ἀνέκλειπτον ἔχουσαν, καί βασιλείας ἀνέκαθεν ἡτοιμασμένης ἐπειλημμένην, καί τῆς ἐν οὐρανῷ στάσεώς τε καί τάξεως ἠξιωμένην· οἷα δή γῆν τινα μέσην τοῦ παντός θέσιν ἀπολαβοῦσαν τῆς ἀρετῆς τόν λόγον· καθ᾿ ὅν μέσος εὐφημίας καί δυσφημίας ὑπάρχων ὁ πρᾶος, ἀπαθής διαμένει, μήτε ταῖς εὐφημίαις φυσώμενος [ἐπαιρόμενος ἤ κενοδοξῶν], 15Γ_238 μήτε ταῖς δυσφημίαις στυγνούμενος [λυπούμενος]. Ὧν γάρ ὁ λόγος ὑπάρχει κατά φύσιν ἐλεύθερος, ἀποστήσας τήν ἔφεσιν, τούτων διοχλούντων ταῖς προσβολαῖς οὐκ αἰσθάνεται, καταπαύσας ἑαυτόν τῆς περί ταῦτας ζάλης(2), καί πρός τήν θείαν καί ἄπρακτον ἐλευθερίαν ὅλην τῆς ψυχῆς μεθορμήσας τήν δύναμιν· ἧς τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς ὁ Κύριος μεταδοῦναι ποθῶν, Ἄρατε, φησίν, τόν ζυγόν μου ἐφ᾿ ὑμᾶς, καί μάθετε ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ, ὅτι πρᾶός εἰμι, καί ταπεινός τῇ καρδίᾳ· καί εὑρήσεται ἀνάπαυσιν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑμῶν· ἀνάπαυσιν λέγων, τό τῆς θείας βασιλείας κράτος, ὡς πάσης ἀπηλλαγμένην δουλείας τοῖς ἀξίοις ἐμποιοῦν δεσποτείαν.

Εἰ δέ τοῖς ταπεινοῖς καί πράοις τό ἀκαθαίρετον τῆς ἀκηράτου βασιλείας δίδοται κράτος, τίς οὕτως ἀνέραστος καί πάντη τῶν θείων ἀνόρεκτος ἀγαθῶν, ὡς μή κατ᾿ ἄκρον ἐφίεσθαι ταπεινώσεως καί πραότητος, ἵνα γένηται τῆς θείας χαρακτήρ βασιλείας, ὡς ἐφικτόν ἐστιν ἀνθρώπῳ, φέρων ἐν ἑαυτῷ τοῦ φύσει κατ᾿ οὐσίαν ὡς ἀληθῶς μεγάλου βασιλέως Χριστοῦ, κατά τήν χάριν ἀπαράλλακτον τήν ἐν πνεύματι μόρφωσιν; ἐν ᾗ, φησίν ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολος, οὐκ ἔστιν ἄῤῥεν καί θῆλυ· τουτέστι, θυμός καί ἐπιθυμία· ὁ μέν τυραννικῶς ἐκφέρων τόν λογισμόν, καί τοῦ νόμου τῆς φύσεως ἔξω ποιούμενος τήν διάνοιαν· ἡ δέ, τῆς μιᾶς καί μόνης ἐφετῆς τε καί ἀπαθοῦς αἰτίας καί φύσεως ποιουμένη τά μετ᾿ αὐτήν ἐρασμιώτερα, καί διά τοῦτο τήν σάρκα προτιμοτέραν τιθεμένη τοῦ πνεύματος· καί τῆς νοουμένων δόξης τε καί λαμπρότητος ἐπιτερπεστέραν ἐργαζομένη τήν τῶν φαινομένων ἀπόλαυσιν· τῷ κατ᾿ αἴσθησιν λείῳ τῆς ἡδονῆς, ἀπείργουσα τόν νοῦν τῆς θείας καί συγγενοῦς τῶν νοητῶν ἀντιλήψεως· ἀλλ᾿ ἤ λόγος μονώτατος, καί αὐτῆς εἰς ἄκρον τῆς ἀπαθοῦς μέν, φυσικῆς δέ ὅμως τοῦ σώματος δι᾿ ἀρετῆς περιουσίαν γυμνούμενος στοργῆς καί διαθέσεως, νικῶντος τελείως τήν φύσιν τοῦ πνεύματος, καί τῆς ἠθικῆς πείθοντος σχολάσαι φιλοσοφίας, ἡνίκα συγγίνεσθαι 15Γ_240 δέοι τῷ ὑπερουσίῳ λόγῳ δι᾿ ἁπλῆς καί ἀμεροῦς θεωρίας, τόν νοῦν· κἄν συντελεῖν αὐτῷ πέφυκεν, εἰς ῥαδίαν τῶν χρονικῶς ῥεόντων τομήν καί διάβολον· ὧν διαβαθέντων, οὐκ εὔλογον ἐπιβαρεῖσθαι καθάπερ μηλωτῇ τῷ κατ᾿ ἦθος τρόπῳ, τόν ἀποφαθέντα τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς ἀκατάσχετον.

Καί δηλοῖ τοῦτο σαφῶς Ἠλίας ὁ μέγας, δι᾿ ὧν ἔπραττε τυπικῶς τοῦτο παραδεικνύς τό μυστήριον· 0889 τήν μέν μηλωτήν, φημί δέ τῆς σαρκός τήν νέκρωσιν, ἐν ᾗ τό μεγαλοπρεπές πέπηγε τῆς ἠθικῆς κοσμιότητος, κατά τήν ἁρπαγήν Ἑλισσαίῳ διδούς εἰς συμμαχίαν τοῦ πνεύματος κατά πάσης ἀντικειμένης δυνάμεως, καί πληγήν τῆς ἀστάτου καί ῥεούσης φύσεως· ἧς τύπος ὑπῆρχεν ὁ Ἰορδάνης, πρός τό μή σχεθῆναι τόν μαθητήν τῆς πρός τήν ἁγίαν γῆν διαβάσεως, τῷ θολερῷ τε καί ὀλισθηρῷ περικλυσθέντα τῆς τῶν ὑλικῶν προσπαθείας· αὐτός δέ χωρῶν πρός τόν Θεόν ἄνετος, οὐδενί τῶν ὄντων παντελῶς κατά τήν σχέσιν κρατούμενος, ἁπλοῦς τε τήν ἔφεσιν καί τήν γνώμην ἀσύνθετος, πρός τόν ἁπλοῦν τῇ φύσει, διά τῶν ἀλληλούχων γενικῶν ἀρετῶν, γνωστικῶς ἀλλήλαις συνῃρημένων, ὡς ἵππων πυρίνων τήν ἐνδημίαν ποιούμενος. Ἔγνω γάρ ὅτι δεῖ τῷ Χριστοῦ μαθητῇ [τόν Χριστοῦ μαθητήν] ἀπογενέσθαι τάς ἀνίσους διαθέσεις(3), ὧν ἡ διαφορότης ἐλέγχει τήν ἀλλοτρίωσιν· εἴπερ διάχυσιν μέν τοῦ περί καρδίαν αἵματος τό κατ᾿ ἐπιθυμίαν