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to hasten to carry it around impressed upon the soul, according to the great Basil. For by deeds and words and thoughts, we ought to practice the constant and unceasing prayer that is possible for us, until we obtain the gift; "for if," he says, "you have not received the glorious gift of prayer, persevere and you shall receive it"; for it is the Spirit through whom we worship and through whom we pray, and "God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

But after he had taught about prayer and the state of mind pertaining to it, although he had previously heard the sayings of the Theologian that I had brought forward, through which he says (p. 320) that he preferred to enjoy only this from words because of Christ, he brings up in opposition those things through which he says, "I have given up all things for the commandment; but I am held by words alone, and I would never willingly neglect this"; and thus he shows himself to be completely inconsistent with himself. What then shall we say to these things, agreeing with the wise Theologian? What else but that by the "words" which he says he abandoned for Christ's sake, he means the wisdom of the Greeks, but by the "word" by which he is held, he means what has been selected from that wisdom and mixed with the sacred and divine teachings, as we propose, against which you argue intemperately, O philosopher. The results of this "word" also lead me to these conclusions; "for this," he says, "persuades me to be weak with the weak and to rejoice with the strong" (and this is clearly an apostolic injunction) "this divides worlds for me, and leads me away from the one, and adds me to the other"; where would one find these things in Greek learning? "This one leads me through the weapons of righteousness on the right hand, and philosophizes with me in those on the left, yoking to me the hope that does not disappoint, and lightening the present with the future." These things hold even to the letter of the apostolic words. But if anyone does not agree with these words, let him give another reasonable account of the agreement and I will be persuaded; for I am not persuaded that the Theologian contradicts himself.

But after these sayings, which the philosopher thinks contradictory, having called us "rude and uneducated," he does not hesitate to align himself with Julian and says it is just for me to be hated "as depriving the (p. 322) monks of learning, just as he did the Christians in the world." Just as if someone, having heard the psalmist saying, "The fool has said, there is no God," thinks that the God-revealer from the Areopagus ought to be aligned with this fool, when he says concerning God that He neither was, nor is, nor will be, being himself the most foolish of fools and not understanding the exceeding difference, that the holy one knows and speaks of God as being beyond all existing things, whereas the heart of the fool places the only truly existing Being among things that in no way exist at all. For in the same way, we know that the monastic life is beyond reason, but that apostate, thinking the Christian life to be irrational, for this reason kept them from learning, which this man who thinks he knows everything was unable to perceive, and he deems worthy of the same charge those who place Christian things above all honor and those who have chosen to dishonor them in the highest degree, and that the pious are justly hated equally with the most impious, because they declare that perseverance in prayer to God is more to be sought after than anything whatsoever.

"And if the Lord," he says, "did not command in the gospels the study of learning, neither did he forbid it." What then when He says, "be wise as serpents and innocent as doves"? Does He not distinguish and take what is useful from outside wisdom and mix it with the simplicity of the gospel, which is what we also say in those words, we who are now being insulted by you for this very reason? And what when He says again, "I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which no one will be able to withstand" and "when the Comforter comes, he will teach you all the truth"? Did he not promise a more divine wisdom, and superior to this which is by nature always contradicted, which you yourself, defending it, extol as unsurpassable, so to speak? What then did the lovers of this wisdom do,

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ἐντετυπωμένην τῇ ψυχῇ σπεύδειν περιφέρειν κατά τόν μέγαν Βασίλειον. Ἔργοις τε καί γάρ λόγοις καί διανοήμασιν τήν δυνατήν ἡμῖν τέως καί ἀδιάλειπτον προσυχήν ἐπιτηδεύειν χρή, μέχρις ἄν ἐπιτύχωμεν τοῦ δώρου˙ «εἰ μή γάρ», φησίν, «ἔλαβες δῶρον προσευχῆς εὐκλεές, προσέδρευσον καί λήψῃ»˙ τό γάρ Πνεῦμά ἐστι δι᾿ οὗ προσκυνοῦμεν καί δι᾿ οὗ προσευχόμεθα, καί «Πνεῦμα ὁ Θεός, καί τούς προσκυνοῦντας αὐτόν ἐν πνεύματι καί ἀληθείᾳ δεῖ προσκυνεῖν».

Ἀλλά μετά τό διδάξαι περί προσευχῆς ἐκεῖνος καί τῆς κατ᾿ αὐτήν ἕξεως, καίτοι πρότερον ἀκούσας τῶν ὑπ᾿ ἐμοῦ προηγμένων τοῦ θεολόγου ρητῶν, δι᾿ ὧν λέγει (σελ. 320) τοῦτ᾿ ἀπολαῦσαι μόνον τῶν λόγων τό διά Χριστόν προετίμησεν, ἀντεπιφέρει ἐκεῖνα, δι᾿ ὧν φησι, παρῆκα τά πάντα τῇ ἐντολῇ˙ τοῦ λόγου δέ περιέχομαι μόνου καί οὐκ ἄν ποτε τούτου ἑκών ἀμελήσαιμι»˙ καί οὕτως αὐτόν ἑαυτῷ πάντως ἀνακόλουθον δείκνυσι. Τί οὖν πρός ταῦτα ἡμεῖς ἐροῦμεν, συνιστάμενοι τῷ σοφῷ θεολόγῳ; Τί γε ἄλλο ἤ ὅτι λόγους μέν οὕς διά Χριστόν καταλιπεῖν λέγει, τήν τῶν Ἑλλήνων λέγει σοφίαν, λόγον δ᾿ οὗ περιέχεται, τό ἀπ᾿ ἐκείνης ἐξειλεγμένον καί τοῖς ἱεροῖς καί θείοις μαθήμασι συγκεκραμένον, ὡς ἡμεῖς εἰσηγούμεθα, πρός οὕς ἀντιλέγεις ἀκρατῶς, ὦ φιλόσοφε. Ἐνάγει δέ με πρός ταῦτα καί τά τοῦ λόγου τούτου ἀποτελέσματα˙ οὗτος γάρ με», φησί, «πείθει ἀσθενοῦντι συνασθενεῖν καί ἰσχύοντι συνευφραίνεσθαι» (τοῦ δ᾿ ἄντικρυς ἀποστολικόν ἐστι τό παράγγελμα) «οὗτός μοι διαιρεῖ κόσμους καί τοῦ μέν ἀπάγει, τῷ δέ προστίθησι»˙ ποῦ ταῦτα τῆς ἑλληνικῆς παιδείας εὕροι τις ἄν; «Οὗτος καί διά τῶν δεξιῶν ὅπλων διεξάγει τῆς δικαιοσύνης, κἀν τοῖς ἀριστεροῖς συμφιλοσοφεῖ, τήν οὐ καταισχύνουσαν ἐλπίδα παραζευγνύς καί τό παρόν κουφίζων τῷ μέλλοντι». Ταῦτα καί ἐπί λέξεως τῶν ἀποστολικῶν ἔχεται φωνῶν. Εἰ δέ τις τοῖς λόγοις τούτοις μή συναινεῖ, δότω λόγον εὔλογον ἄλλον ὁμολογίας καί πείσομαι˙ τόν γάρ θεολόγον ἑαυτῷ ἀντιλέγειν οὐ πείθομαι.

Ἀλά γάρ μετά τάς ἀντιφθεγγομένας, ὡς ὁ φιλόσοφος οἴεται ταύτας ρήσεις, «σκαιούς καί ἀπαιδεύτους» ὀνομάσας ἡμᾶς, καί τῷ Ἰουλιανῷ συντάττειν οὐ παραιτεῖται καί μισεῖσθαι δίκαιον εἶναί μέν φησιν «ὡς ἀποστεροῦντα τῶν (σελ. 322) λόγων τούς μοναχούς, καθάπερ ἐκεῖνος καί τούς ἐν κόσμῳ χριστιανούς». Ὥσπερ ἄν εἴ τις ἀκούσας τοῦ ψαλμῳδοῦ λέγοντος «εἶπεν ἄφρων, οὐκ ἔστι Θεός», τόν ἐξ Ἀρείου Πάγου θεοφάντορα τῷ ἄφρονι δεῖν οἴεται συντάττειν τούτῳ, λέγοντα περί Θεοῦ, ὡς οὔτε ἦν, οὔτε ἔστιν, οὔτε ἔσται, τῶν ἀφρόνων ἀφρονέστατος αὐτός ὤν καί μή συνείς τό τῆς διαφορᾶς ὑπερβάλλον, ὡς ὁ μέν ἅγιος ὑπέρ τά ὄντα γινώσκει καί θεολογεῖ τόν Θεόν, ἡ δέ τοῦ ἄφρονος καρδία ἐν τοῖς μηδαμῇ μηδαμῶς τίθεται τό μόνον ὄντως ὄν. Τόν αὐτόν γάρ τρόπον ἡμεῖς μέν ὑπέρ λόγον ἴσμεν οὖσαν τήν κατά μοναχούς πολιτείαν, ὁ δ᾿ ἀποστάτης ἐκεῖνος, ἄλογον οἰόμενος τήν κατά χριστιανούς, διά τοῦτ᾿ ἀπεῖργε τῶν λόγων, ὅ μή δυνηθείς συνιδεῖν ὁ πάντ᾿ ἐπίστασθαι δοκῶν οὖτος, τῆς αὐτῆς εὐθύνης ἀξιοῖ τούς τιμῆς πάσης ὑπερτιθέντας τά χριστιανῶν τοῖς ἀτιμάζειν εἰς τά μάλιστα προῃρημένοις, καί μισεῖσθαι δικαίους εἶναι τοῖς ἀσεβεστάτοις ἐξίσου τούς εὐσεβεῖς, διότι παντός οὑτινοσοῦν μᾶλλον περισπούδαστον ἀποφαίνοντα τήν πρός Θεόν ἐν προσευχῇ προσεδρείαν.

«Κἄν ὁ Κύριος», φησίν, «οὐκ ἐπέταξεν ἐν εὐαγγελίοις τήν περί λόγους σπουδήν, ἀλλ᾿ οὐδέ ἐκώλυσε». Τί οὖν ὅταν λέγῃ, «γίνεσθε φρόνιμοι ὡς οἱ ὄφεις καί ἀκέραιοι ὡς αἱ περιστεραί»; Οὐ διαιρεῖ καί ἀπολαμβάνει τῆς ἔξω σοφίας τό χρήσιμον καί τῇ ἁπλότητι τοῦ εὐαγγελίου συμμίγνυσιν, ὅπερ ἐν τοῖς λόγοις ἐκείνοις καί ἡμεῖς λέγομεν, οἱ παρά σοῦ δι᾿ αὐτό τοῦτο νῦν ὑβριζόμενοι; Τί δ᾿ ὅταν αὖθις λέγῃ, «ἐγώ λόγον καί σοφίαν ὑμῖν δώσω, ᾗ οὐδείς ἀντιστῆναι δυνήσεται» καί «ὅταν ἔλθῃ ὁ παράκλητος, ἐκεῖνος ὑμᾶς διδάξει πᾶσαν τήν ἀλήθειαν»; Ἆρ᾿ οὐ σοφίαν ἐπηγγείλατο θειοτέραν καί ταύτης τῆς ἀεί ἀντιλέγεσθαι πεφυκυίας, ἥν αὐτός ὑπερμαχῶν ἐξυμνεῖς ὑπερτέραν οὐδ᾿ ὅσον εἰπεῖν; Τί οὖν ἐποίησαν οἱ τῆς σοφίας ἐρασταί ταύτης,