61

are in him, as the cause of all creation; for through him are all things; for both the ideas and the paradigms are in him, not different things in (14S_280> another, but being eternal thoughts, and principles making all things, that is, nature; for nature is a principle, having cause and nature, so that the natures of beings are not random and in vain. And he calls him Word, also as one who contains all things without hindrance, and goes through all things, even to the very ends, as in the epistle to the Hebrews: “for the word is living and active,” and what follows.

This is the Word: That God the Word, who is himself also the truly existing truth, is fittingly also the simple knowledge of beings. And what knowledge is, he immediately adds by teaching.

For if knowledge is unitive: Clarifying the things concerning true knowledge, God the Word himself, Christ Jesus, of whom is the discourse, and that knowledge is truly unitive of those who know and those who are known, says: “And I know my sheep, and am known by mine; as the Father knows me, even so I know the Father.” For just as knowledge, having known that which it wished to know, is united to the known, no longer having doubt concerning it, nor, because of doubt, being split into other thoughts and being unstable, and for this reason becoming ignorance, because of not being persuaded that it knew, so the faithful, having been united by knowledge to Christ who is known, who is God the Word, and having rested their faith in him, having a most permanent and unshakable faith in the things known, that they knew God and were known by God, have departed from ignorance, which we said divides and splits and shakes one into different doubts at different times, as not having known what one must know, and they stand firm in certainty, having been fully assured by faith, that they have known and have been united through (14S_282> this to the one known. Therefore, the one who is in the darkness of ignorance, according to the Apostle, being shaken by its error, is carried about with every wind of the cunning of men, like those tossed by waves on the sea (for the Apostle says these things), and thinks the gnostics are mad, just as Festus also said to Paul as he preached the divine knowledge, "You are mad, Paul." The gnostic and true Christian, since by truth he has known Christ and through him has acquired the knowledge of God, I mean the unified knowledge of the truth (for unified is the simple and uncompounded knowledge), has departed from the world, not being in the worldly opinion and error of the unbelievers, and knows himself to be sober and freed from much-wandering unbelief; wherefore also each day they die for the truth, not only being in danger of death at every moment for the sake of the truth, but also dying always to ignorance, but living by knowledge and being witnessed as Christians.

The cause of division: He here called division the instability of opinion and its being portioned out into many things.

A hearth: Of a dwelling, of a habitation. To the one of the Christians: He named our faith one, as

being both simple and unerring, possessing the knowledge of Him who truly is.

ON CHAPTER 8, § 1. And as power: In what respect God is called power. And the dominion: As in, “The Lord of hosts, he (14S_284> is the

King of glory”; again; “The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our helper.

Distinguishing powers: Distinguishing, that is, differentiating and separating.

61

αὐτῷ εἰσιν, ὡς αἰτίῳ πάσης δημιουργίας· δι' αὐτοῦ γάρ τά πάντα· αἵ τε γάρ ἰδέαι καί τά παραδείγματα ἐν αὐτῷ, οὐχ ἕτερα ἐν (14S_280> ἑτέρῳ, ἀλλά νοήσεις ἀΐδιοι οὐσαι, καί λογοι ποιοῦντες τά πάντα, τουτέστι φύσις· καί ἡ φύσις γάρ λόγος, αἰτίαν ἔχων καί φύσιν, ὡς οὐκ εἰκῇ καί μάτην αἱ φύσεις των ὄντων εἰσί. Λέγει δέ αὐτόν Λόγον, καί ὡς καί πάντων χωροῦντα ἀκωλύτως, καί πάντα περιιόντα, καί μέχρι τῶν ἐσχάτων, ὡς ἐν τῇ πρός Ἑβραίους· «ζῶν γάρ ὁ λόγος καί ἐνεργής», καί τά ἑξῆς.

Οὖτος ὁ Λόγος ἐστίν: Ὅτι ὁ Θεός Λόγος, ἡ αὐτό καί τῷ ὄντι οὖσα ἀλήθεια, εἰκότως ἐστί καί ἁπλῆ τῶν ὄντων γνῶσις. Τί δέ ἐστι γνῶσις, εὐθύς ἐπισυνάπτει διδάσκων.

Εἰ γάρ ἡ γνῶσις ἑνωτική: Τά περί τῆς ἀληθοῦς γνώσεως σαφηνίζων, αὐτός ὁ Θεός Λόγος Χριστός Ἰησοῦς, περἰ οὗ ὁ λόγος, καί ὅτι ἡ γνῶσις ἀληθῶς ἑνωτική ἐστι τῶν ἐγνωκότων καί τῶν ἐγνωσμένων, φησί· «κἀγω γινώσκω τά ἐμά πρόβατα, καί γινώσκομαι ὑπό τῶν ἐμῶν· καθώς γινώσκει με ὁ Πατήρ, κἀγώ γινώσκω τόν Πατέρα». Ὥσπερ γάρ ἡ γνῶσις γνοῦσα ἐκεῖνο ὅ γνῶναι ἠθέλησεν, ἑνοῦται τῷ γνωσθέντι, οὐκέτι ἀμφιβολίαν ἔχουσα περί αὐτοῦ, οὐδέ διά τήν ἀμφιβολίαν σχιζομένη εἰς ἑτέρας ἐννοίας καί ἀστατοῦσα, καί ἄγνοια διά τοῦτο γενομένη, διά τό μή πεισθῆναι ὅτι ἔγνω, οὕτως οἱ πιστοί τῇ γνώσει ἑνωθέντες τῷ γνωσθέντι Χριστῷ, ὅς ἐστιν ὁ Θεός Λόγος, καί τήν πίστιν εἰς αὐτόν ἐρείσαντες, μονιμωτάτην καί ἀσάλευτον τῶν ἐγνωσμένων τήν πίστιν ἔχοντες, ὅτι Θεόν ἔγνωσαν καί ὑπό Θεοῦ ἐγνώσθησαν, ἐξεστήκασι μέν τῆς ἀγνοίας, ἥν εἴπομεν διαιρεῖν καί σχίζειν καί διασαλεύειν εἰς ἄλλοτε ἄλλας ἀμφιβολίας, ὡς μή γνοῦσαν ὅ δεῖ γνῶναι, ἐφεστήκασι δέ τῇ βεβαιότητι, τῇ πίστει πληροφορηθέντες, ὅτι ἔγνωσαν καί ἡνώθησαν διά (14S_282> τοῦτο τῷ γνωσθέντι. Ὁ μέν οὖν ἐν τῷ σκότῳ τῆς ἀγνοίας, κατά τόν Ἀπόστολον, ὤν, ὑπό τῆς πλάνης αὐτῆς σαλευόμενος, περιφέρεται παντί ἀνέμῳ τῆς κυβείας τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὥσπερ οἱ ἐν πελάγει κλυδωνιζόμενοι (καί ταῦτα γάρ φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος), καί νομίζει τούς γνωστικούς μαίνεσθαι, ὡς καί ὁ Φῆστος ἔφη τῷ Παύλῳ κηρύττοντι τήν θείαν γνῶσιν, «μαίνῃ, Παῦλε». Ὁ γνωστικός καί τῷ ὄντι Χριστιανός, ἅτε τῇ ἀληθείᾳ γνούς Χριστόν καί δι' αὐτοῦ τήν θεογνωσίαν κτησάμενος, τήν ἑνιαίαν λέγω τῆς ἀληθείας γνῶσιν (ἑνιαία δέ ἐστιν ἡ ἁπλῆ καί ἀσύνθετος γνῶσις), ἐξέστηκε μέν τοῦ κόσμου, μή ὤν ἐν τῇ κοσμικῇ τῶν ἀπίστων γνώμῃ καί πλάνη, ἑαυτόν δέ γινώσκει νήφοντα καί ἀπηλλαγμένον τῆς πολυπλανοῦς ἀπιστίας· διό καί καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἀποθνήσκουσιν ὑπέρ τῆς ἀληθείας, οὐ μόνον μέχρι θανάτου κινδυνεύοντες ἑκάστοτε διά τήν ἀλήθειαν, ἀλλά καί τῇ ἀγνοίᾳ τελευτῶντες πάντοτε, τῇ δέ γνώσει ζῶντες καί Χριστιανοί μαρτυρούμενοι.

∆ιαιρέσεως αἰτία: ∆ιαίρεσιν ἐνταῦθα τό τῆς γνώμης ἀνίδρυτον καί εἰς πολλά μεριζόμενον ἔφη.

Ἑστίας: Μονῆς, οἰκήσεως. Τῇ ἑνιαίᾳ τῶν Χριστιανῶν: Ἑνιαίαν τήν καθ' ἡμᾶς πίστιν ὠνόμασεν, ὡς

ἁπλῆν τε καί ἁπλανῆ τήν τοῦ ὄντος ἀληθῶς ἔχουσαν γνῶσιν.

ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ Η' § 1. Καί ὡς δύναμιν: Κατά τί λέγεται δύναμις ὁ Θεός. Καί τήν κυρείαν: Ὡς τό, «Κύριος τῶν δυνάμεων αὐτός (14S_284> ἐστιν ὁ

Βασιλεύς τῆς δόξης»· πάλιν· «Κύριος τῶν δυνάμεων μεθ' ἡμῶν, ἀντιλήπτωρ ἡμῶν ὁ Θεός Ἰακώβ.

∆υνάμεων ἀφορίζουσα: Ἀφορίζουσα, τουτέστιν ἀποδιαστέλλουσα καί χωρίζουσα.