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the maker of things in generation, it reveals, reasonably the order of beings is knowledge of the one who ordered them; for the beings, that is, the forms, and the individual creations, such as the angelic orders, and all sensible things, are images and likenesses of the divine ideas, or rather paradigms of the things in the mind, which paradigms are the eternal thoughts of God, through which and according to which all things were in him, not being other than him and having been produced they came to be, as also in the Apocalypse the most divine John says that one of the most ancient angels said to him, that all things were and have come to be, meaning the ideas were; and the images and likenesses of the ideas, or rather paradigms, are all the things that have come to be. For the intellectual things are images of the intelligible things, and the subordinate things of the transcendent things. By abstraction, therefore, of all these (14S_276> things (for God is abstracted from beings, being none of the things created by him, but ineffably transcending all things) God is known transcendently.

From his own nature: Note a necessary point at hand for an apology of piety.

a. And certain images: Here 'divine paradigms' must be understood as the predestinations, of which the results of creation are images. And the Apostle called the predestinations purposes, as he said in the one to the Ephesians, "according to the purpose of the ages." And indeed, in all creations God is known, as the craftsman in his craftworks. But in every way he is separated in essence from all things; and hence being unknown to his craftworks, he is known from such unknowing, just as he is also through the scientific understanding and knowledge of created things. Therefore, repeating these things, he connected the following to the same point.

b. Since also the ideas of living things and of all things according to nature are universally in God, but the things here are not as idols and likenesses of the things there of each individual; for all things here are idols of the things there; for the soul is also itself an image and likeness of the idea.

c. And through knowledge God: How God is known through opposites, and through affirmations and abstractions, he explains by going through them. For although above in the first chapter he said that nothing is representative of the essence of God, not thought, not contact, not imagination, not opinion, nor as many things as he said there and here, which we also interpreted in those places; now he says that God is also known through the (14S_278> things forbidden there, but not his essence; and again that he has none of these for comprehension. As, therefore, the cause of all things, he is known from the things from him, but as being none of the things from him, he remains unknown by all; and how he is known through unknowing, he says both here, and it was said above in the second chapter.

And is not thought: For through the created things we think, we touch upon knowledge, we hold that God is. But who, or of what sort, or how great God himself is, we neither think, nor name, nor comprehend with mind or sense. For similar to this is also this: God is in all things, and he is in none of all things.

According to the union beyond mind: Note that according to what has been set forth before, he took the union of the contemplation of God beyond mind.

For this is according to the Saying: This is also from the Wisdom of Solomon, where wisdom is called the artisan of all things; and from the Proverbs, where it is said from Wisdom: "I was beside him, fitting things together"; and David: "in wisdom you have made all things."

And God is Logos: Concerning the Logos of God, and why he is called Logos, what such a naming signifies, he also states one reason here, according to which he is named Logos, because he has in himself the causes of all beings; for the logoi of all nature [are] in

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τόν τῶν ἐν γενέσει ποιητήν, μηνύει, εἰκότως ἡ τῶν ὄντων διάταξις γνῶσίς ἐστι τοῦ διατάξαντος· τά γάρ ὄντα, τουτέστι τά εἴδη, καί αἱ καθ' ἕκαστον κτίσεις, οἷον αἱ ἀγγελικαί τάξεις, καί τά αἰσθητά πάντα, εἰκόνες εἰσί καί ὁμοιώματα τῶν θείων ἰδεῶν, ἤτοι παραδείγματα τῶν ἐν νῷ, ἅτινα παραδείγματα αἱ ἀϊδιοι νοήσεις εἰσί τοῦ Θεοῦ, δι' ἅς καί καθ' ἅς ἅπαντα ἦν ἐν αὐτῷ, οὐχ ἕτερα ὄντα αὐτοῦ καί παραχθέντα γέγονεν, ὡς καί ἐν τῇ Ἀποκαλύψει ὁ θειότατος Ἰωάννης φησί τινα τῶν πρεσβυτάτων ἀγγέλων εἰπεῖν αὐτῷ, ὅτι τά πάντα ἦσαν καί γεγόνασι, τάς ἰδέας λέγων ὅτι ἦσαν· καί τάς εἰκόνας καί τά ὁμοιώματα τῶν ἰδεῶν, ἤτοι παραδειγμάτων, τά γεγονότα πάντα. Τῶν γάρ νοητῶν τά νοερά εἰκόνες, καί τῶν ὑπερβεβηκότων τά ὑποβεβηκότα. Κατά ἀφαίρεσιν οὖν τούτων (14S_276> πάντων (ἀφήρηται γάρ τῶν ὄντων ὁ Θεός, οὐδέν ὤν τῶν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ κτισθέντων, ἀλλ' ἀφάτως ὑπερέχων πάντων) ὑπεροχικῶς γινώσκεται ὁ Θεός.

Ἐκ τῆς αὐτοῦ φύσεως: Σημείωσαι ἀναγκαῖον πρόχειρον εἰς εὐσεβείας ἀπολογίαν.

α. Καί εἰκόνας τινάς: Ἐνταῦθα 'θεῖα παραδείγματα' τούς προορισμούς ἐκληπτέον, ὧν εἰκόνες τά τῆς κτίσεως ἀποτελέσματα. Τούς δέ προορισμούς προθέσεις ἐκάλεσεν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, ὡς ἐν τῇ πρός Ἐφεσίους εἰπών, «κατά πρόθεσιν τῶν αἰώνων». Ἐν πᾶσι δέ τοῖς κτίσμασι δηλαδή ὁ Θεός γινώσκεται, ὡς ὁ τεχνίτης ἐν τοῖς τεχνητοῖς. Πάντῃ δέ κεχώρισται τό κατ' οὐσίαν τῶν πάντων· κἀντεῦθεν ἄγνωστος ὤν τοῖς τεχνητοῖς, ἐκ τῆς τοιαύτης ἀγνωσίας γινώσκεται, ὥσπερ οὖν καί διά τῆς τῶν κτισμάτων ἐπιστημονικῆς κατανοήσεως τε καί γνώσεως. Ταῦτα οὖν ἐπαναλαμβάνων συνῆψε τά ἐπόμενα εἰς τό αὐτό.

β. Ἐπειδή καί αἱ ἰδέαι τῶν ζώων ἐν τῷ Θεῷ καί πάντων τῶν κατά φύσιν εἰσί καθόλου, ἀλλ' οὐχ ὡς τῶν καθ' ἕκαστα εἴδωλα καί ὁμοιώματά εἰσι τῶν ἐκεῖ τά ἐνταῦθα· πάντα γάρ τά ὧδε εἴδωλα τῶν ἐκεῖ· ἡ γάρ ψυχή καί αὕτη εἰκών καί ὁμοίωμα τῆς ἰδέας.

γ. Καί διά γνώσεως ὁ Θεός: Πῶς διά τῶν ἐναντίων γινώσκεται ὁ Θεός, καί διά τῶν θέσεων καί τῶν ἀφαιρέσεων, δηλοῖ ἐπεξιών αὐτά. Εἰ γάρ καί ἄνω ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ κεφαλαίῳ εἶπε, μηδέν εἶναι τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ Θεοῦ παραστατικόν, μή νόησιν, μή ἐπαφήν, μή φαντασίαν, μή δόξαν, μηδ' ὅσα ἔφη ἐκεῖ καί ἐνταῦθα, ἅτινα καί ἡρμηνεύσαμεν ἐν ἐκείνοις· νῦν λέγει καί διά τῶν (14S_278> ἐκεῖ ἀπηγορευμένων γινώσκεσθαι τόν Θεόν, οὐ μήν τήν οὐσίαν αὐτοῦ· καί πάλιν μηδέν αὐτόν ἔχειν τούτων εἰς κατάληψιν. Ὡς μέν οὖν αἴτιος ἁπάντων, γινώσκεται ἐκ τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ, ὡς δέ μηδέν ὤν τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ, μένει ἀγνοούμενος ὑπό πάντων· πῶς δέ καί διά τῆς ἀγνωσίας γινώσκεται, καί ἐνταῦθά φησι, καί ἀνωτέρω εἴρηται ἐν κεφαλαίῳ δευτέρῳ.

Καί οὔτε νοεῖται: ∆ιά γάρ τῶν δεδημιουργημένων νοοῦμεν, ἐφαπτόμεθα τῆς ἐπιστήμης, ἔχομεν ὅτι Θεός ἔστι. Τίς δέ, ἤ ποταπός, ἤ πηλίκος αὐτός ὁ Θεός, οὔτε νοοῦμεν, οὔτε ὀνομάζομεν, οὔτε νῷ ἤ αἰσθήσει καταλαμβάνομεν. Ὅμοιον γάρ τούτῳ ἐστί καί τό· Ἐν πᾶσίν ἐστιν ὁ Θεός, καί ἐν οὐδενί τῶν πάντων ἐστί.

Κατά τήν ὑπέρ νοῦν ἕνωσιν: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι κατά τά προπαρατεθειμένα τήν ἕνωσιν ἔλαβε τῆς ὑπέρ νοῦν τοῦ Θεοῦ θεωρίας.

Αὕτη γάρ ἐστι κατά τό Λόγιον: Τοῦτο καί ἐκ τῆς Σοφίας Σολομῶντός ἐστιν, ἔνθα λέγεται τεχνῖτις ἡ σοφία τῶν πάντων· καί ἐκ τῶν Παροιμιῶν, ἔνθα εἴρηται ἐκ τῆς Σοφίας· «Ἐγώ ἤμην ἁρμόζουσα παρ' αὐτῷ»· καί ὁ ∆αβίδ· «πάντα ἐν σοφίᾳ ἐποίησας».

Λόγος δέ ὁ Θεός: Περί τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγου, καί διά τί λέγεται Λόγος, τί δηλούσης τῆς τοιαύτης ὀνομασίας, καί μίαν αἰτίαν ἐνταῦθά φησι, καθ' ἥν ὀνομάζεται Λόγος, διά τό τάς τῶν ὄντων πάντων αἰτίας ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἔχειν· οἱ γάρ λόγοι φύσεως ἁπάσης ἐν