64

showing forth heavenly good pleasure in an imitable way by the conduct of their life; and from there again leading them up to the highest ascent of divine things, to the Father of lights, and making them partakers of the divine nature by the participation in the Spirit according to grace, by which we might be called children (15Γ_266> of God, whom we wholly carry in our whole selves, without circumscription, immaculately, [marg. Fr. Hear, Nilus] the very author of this grace, and the Son of the Father by nature; from whom, and through whom, and in whom we both have and will have our being and movement and life.

Let the aim of our prayer be this, looking towards the mystery of deification, so that we may know, 0908 instead of what sort of beings we were, what sort of beings the emptying of the Only-Begotten in the flesh has made us; and from where to where He has raised us up by the power of His philanthropic hand, we who had received the lowest place of all, to which the weight of sin had thrust us down; and that we may love more the One who so wisely prepared this salvation for us; and through what we do, may we show the prayer being fulfilled, and may we appear proclaiming God as truly Father by grace; but let us not, through the passions of dishonor, be clearly shown to have for the father of our life the evil one who always tyrannically attempts to dominate our nature, and let us not unawares exchange death for life; since each of the two present [marg. that is, God, and the devil] is wont to impart to those who approach him; the one granting eternal life to those who love him; the other creating death in those who draw near by the suggestion of voluntary temptations.

For according to Scripture, the manner of temptations is twofold: the one, pleasurable, the other, painful; and the one is voluntary, the other involuntary. And the one is the begetter of sin, which we were commanded to pray not to enter, according to the Lord’s teaching when He said: And lead us not into temptation. And, Watch and pray, that you may not enter into temptation; the other, the punisher of sin, chastising the sin-loving disposition with involuntary inflictions of suffering; which if one endures, and especially not being fastened by the nails of wickedness, he will hear the great James crying aloud: Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various (15Γ_268> temptations, for the testing of your faith produces endurance; and endurance, proof; and let the proof have its perfect work. But the evil one maliciously handles both temptations, the voluntary and the involuntary; the one, by sowing and stirring up the soul with pleasures of the body, contriving to make its desire fall away from divine love; the other he sophistically asks for, wishing to destroy nature through pain, in order to force the soul, cast down by the weakness of its sufferings, to move its thoughts toward slander of the Creator.

But we, having recognized the designs of the evil one, let us pray to be delivered from voluntary temptation, so that we may not turn away our desire from divine love; and let us nobly endure the involuntary temptation that comes by God's permission, so that we may be seen to have preferred the creator of nature over nature itself. And may it be that all of us, calling upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, be delivered from the present pleasures of the evil one, by participation in the substance, according to its form, of the good things to come, 0909 which was revealed to us in Christ our Lord Himself, who alone with the Father and the Holy Spirit is glorified by all creation. Amen.

SCHOLIA. 1. In God, counsel and will are the same thing. 2. The reason, he says, being by nature free of praise and blame, makes impassive

the one who chooses to live by reason alone; persuading him to separate from the corrupting things of the

64

τῇ κατά τόν βίον ἀγωγῇ τήν ἐπουράνιον εὐμιμήτως ἐμφαίνοντας εὐαρέστησιν· κἀκεῖθεν πάλιν ἐπί τήν ἀκροτάτην τῶν θείων ἀνάβασιν πρός τόν Πατέρα τῶν φώτων ἐνάγοντος, καί θείας ἀπεργαζομένου φύσεως κοινωνούς, τῇ κατά χάριν μεθέξει τοῦ Πνεύματος, καθ᾿ ἥν τέκνα (15Γ_266> Θεοῦ χρηματίσωμεν, αὐτόν τόν [marg. Fr. Ἄκουε, Νεῖλε] ταύτης αὐτουργόν τῆς χάριτος, καί κατά φύσιν τοῦ Πατρός Υἱόν, ὅλον ὅλοι δίχα περιγραφῆς ἀχράντως περικομίζοντες· ἐξ οὗ, καί δι᾿ οὗ, καί ἐν ᾧ τό εἶναί τε καί κινεῖσθαι, καί ζῇν ἔχομέν τε καί ἔξομεν.

Πρός τοῦτο δέ τῆς θεώσεως τό μυστήριον βλέπων ἡμῖν ἔστω τῆς προσευχῆς ὁ σκοπός, ἵνα γνῶμεν, 0908 ἀνθ᾿ οἵων, οἵους ἡμᾶς ἡ διά σαρκός κένωσις τοῦ Μονογενοῦς ἀπειργάσατο· καί πόθεν, ποῦ, τούς τό κατώτατον τοῦ παντός εἰληφότας χωρίον, εἰς ὅπερ ἡμᾶς τό τῆς ἁμαρτίας βάρος κατέωσε, δυνάμει φιλανθρώπου χειρός ἀνεβίβασε· καί πλέον ἀγαπήσωμεν τόν ταύτην οὕτω σοφῶς ἡμῖν τήν σωτηρίαν ἑτοιμασάμενον· καί δι᾿ ὧν πράττομεν, δείξωμεν τήν προσευχήν πληρουμένην, καί τόν ἀληθῶς κατά χάριν Πατέρα Θεόν φανῶμεν κηρύττοντες· ἀλλά μή διά τῶν παθῶν τῆς ἀτιμίας, τό ἀεί τυραννικῶς δεσπόζειν ἐπιχειροῦντα τῆς φύσεως πονηρόν, ἔχοντες τοῦ βίου πατέρα σαφῶς ἀποδειχθῶμεν, καί λάθωμεν ζωῆς ἀντικαταλλάτοντες θάνατον· ἐπειδήπερ τῶν προσόντων ἑκάτερος [marg. ὁ Θεός δηλονότι, καί ὁ διάβολος] τοῖς προσχωροῦσι ποιεῖσθαι μετάδοσιν πέφυκεν· ὁ μέν, ἀΐδιον ζωήν τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν χορηγῶν· ὁ δέ, θάνατον τῇ τῶν ἑκουσίων ὑποβολῇ πειρασμῶν τοῖς ἐγγίζουσιν ἐμποιῶν.

∆ιττός γάρ κατά τήν Γραφήν τῶν πειρασμῶν ὁ τρόπος· ὁ μέν, ἡδονικός, ὁ δέ, ὀδυνηρός· καί ὁ μέν προαιρετικός, ὁ δέ ἀπροαίρετος. Καί ὁ μέν τῆς ἁμαρτίας γεννήτωρ, εἰς ὅν εἰσελθεῖν, κατά τήν τοῦ Κυρίου διδαχήν, ἀπεύχεσθαι προσετάγημεν, φάσκοντος· Καί μή εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν. Καί, Γρηγορεῖτε, καί προσεύχεσθε, ἵνα μή εἰσέλθητε εἰς πειρασμόν· ὁ δέ, τῆς ἁμαρτίας τιμωρός, ἀκουσίοις πόνων ἐπιφοραῖς τήν φιλαμαρτήμονα κολάζων διάθεσιν· ὅν εἴ τις ὑπομείνῃ, καί μάλιστα κακίας ἥλοις οὐκ ἐμπεπαρμένος, ἀκούσεται τοῦ μεγάλου διαῤῥήδην βοῶντος Ἰακώβου· Πᾶσαν χαράν ἡγήσασθε, ἀδελφοί μου, ὅταν πειρασμοῖς (15Γ_268> περιπέσητε ποικίλοις, ὅτι τό δοκίμιον ὑμῶν τῆς πίστεως ὑπομονήν κατεργάζεται· ἡ δέ ὑπομονή, δοκιμήν· ἡ δέ δοκιμή, ἔργον τέλειον ἐχέτω. Ἀμφοτέρους δέ τούς πειρασμούς, τόν ἑκούσιόν τε καί τόν ἀκούσιον, περιέπει κακούργως ὁ πονηρός· τό μέν, σπείρων καί διερεθίζων τήν ψυχήν ἡδοναῖς σώματος, ἀποστῆσαι τῆς θείας ἀγάπης τήν ἔφεσιν μηχανώμενος· τόν δέ σοφιστικῶς ἐξαιτεῖται, δι᾿ ὀδύνης φθεῖραι τήν φύσιν βουλόμενος, ἵνα βιάσηται τήν ψυχήν, ἀτονίᾳ πόνων καταβληθεῖσαν, πρός τήν τοῦ κτίσαντος διαβολήν κινῆσαι τούς λογισμούς.

Ἀλλ᾿ ἐπεγνωκότες ἡμεῖς τοῦ πονηροῦ τά νοήματα, τόν μέν ἑκούσιον ἀπευξώμεθα πειρασμόν, ἵνα μή τῆς θείας ἀγάπης τήν ἔφεσιν ἀποστήσωμεν· τόν δέ ἀκούσιον ἐπερχόμενον συγχωρήσει Θεοῦ γενναίως ὑπομείνωμεν, ἵνα φανῶμεν προτετιμηκότες τῆς φύσεως, τόν κτίστην τῆς φύσεως. Γένοιτο δέ πάντας ἡμᾶς ἐπικαλουμένους τό ὄνομα τοῦ Κυρίου ἠμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, τῶν τε νῦν ἡδέων τοῦ πονηροῦ λυτρωθῆναι, τῇ μεθέξει τῆς κατ᾿ εἶδος τῶν μελλόντων 0909 ἀγαθῶν ὑποστάσεως, ἐποφθείσης ἡμῖν ἐν αὐτῷ Χριστῷ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, τῷ μόνῳ σύν Πατρί καί ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι δοξαζομένῳ παρά πάσης τῆς κτίσεως. Ἀμήν.

ΣΧΟΛΙΑ. 1. Ταυτόν ἐπί Θεοῦ βουλή καί βούλησις. 2. Ἐπαίνου, φησί, καί ψόγου κατά φύσιν ὑπάρχων ὁ λόγος ἐλεύθερος, ἀπαθῆ

ποιεῖ τόν μόνον λόγῳ ζῇν προαιρούμενον· χωρίζειν πείθων τῶν φθοροποιῶν τῆς