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the designation of 'spirit' signifies soul. But in the passage, For who among men knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man that is in him? no other spirit is indicated than that which is yoked with the soul, being other than it, which is also called conscience; for the conscience of man, his thoughts, is something other than the soul; for the soul is the man, not his thoughts. Since, therefore, the spirit of man has appeared in a threefold way, consider according to which meaning one must understand Into your hands I will commit my spirit. But it pleases me that the proposed text is true in all three ways. But having been seized, he says, by the enemy and already made a captive, you redeemed me, O Lord, who are also the God of truth and of the truth in each of those who partake of the only-begotten. 271 Ps 30,7a In general, everyone who keeps vanity does this for nothing, either because it is uncertain or because vanity comes to be emptily and superfluously. And since it is hateful to God, it makes hateful those who observe it. 272 Ps 30,8b-9 Now humility sometimes signifies the absence of pride, which we are accustomed to call lowliness of mind, and at other times mistreatment by enemies. And it is a good thing for God to look upon humility in either sense. What follows is consistent with considering humility as mistreatment; For he says, You have saved my soul from necessities, calling necessities the circumstances from which, when his soul has been delivered, it is not shut up into the hands of the afflicting enemy. And if a spacious place should be said in the same way as the broad and spacious way (and this is the love of pleasure), he gives thanks to the one who offered him certainty and a firm standing in this life. For what he says is of this sort: Being in the place about the earth, where living is slippery and precarious on account of the pleasures lurking there, you have given my soul a firm standing, so that I may not be carried away here and there by the passions. But if he should call the spacious place praiseworthy, he will say: Since being afflicted I am not distressed, persevering in my labors, so to speak, being broadened because of the glory that comes from the circumstances, I will say: You have set my feet in a spacious place. 273 Ps 30,11c Not every poor man is weak (for many poor men are strong), nor is one who lacks strength poor; but in spiritual things, since strength is the same as wealth, he who is rich in good works has strength. Therefore, what he wishes to say is of this sort: Since I became poor, having turned away from the wealth that sees (and this is the divine wealth), My strength has grown weak. It should be noted that he said the state instead of the one who has it; for strength does not grow weak, but the one who has it, just as we say that knowledge does not become ignorant, but the one who has possessed it. Similar to these things is what was said by Paul concerning Christ: That we might become the righteousness of God in him. For in this too he called those who have righteousness 'righteousness'. 274 Ps 30,12-14a The enemies, being lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, not only are not ashamed nor seem to have reproach for the evil things they do, but on the contrary they take pride, so that it might be said of them: Whose glory is in their shame. And they boast in those things for which they become reproachable: Be ashamed, then, of your boasting and reproach before the Lord; whence these also will rise to everlasting reproach and shame. But he who perceived himself to have been in the aforementioned poverty confesses that he is reproachable. Therefore he says: I became a reproach beyond all my enemies, but also beyond all those who are my neighbors according to dwelling, that is, those who hold the same opinion. Those who approach me with attention, perceiving from what wealth I fell into poverty, being wary lest they suffer the same things, hastened to be outside of my condition. But also, being formerly an honorable and useful vessel for the master, I was rendered so useless as to seem to be lost. For I have heard the slander of many who dwell round about. A teacher might say these things, being blamed by those who seem to be around him for the purpose of supposedly learning, but who are sojourners and do not abide in the teachings because they do not dwell in them.

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ψυχὴν σημαίνει ἡ τοῦ πνεύματος προσηγορία. ἐν δὲ τῷ Τίς γὰρ οιδεν ἀνθρώπων τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων εἰ μὴ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὸ ἐν αὐτῷ οὐκ αλλο πνεῦμα δηλοῦται η τὸ συνεζευγμένον τῇ ψυχῇ ετερον ον αὐτῆς, ο καὶ συνείδησις καλεῖται· τὸ γὰρ συνειδὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὰ ἐνθυμήματα αλλο τῆς ψυχῆς ἐστιν· ἡ γὰρ ψυχὴ ὁ ανθρωπός ἐστιν, οὐ τὰ ἐνθυμήματα. τριχῶς ουν πεφηνότος τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, ἐπίστησον κατὰ ποῖον σημαινόμενον ἐκλαβεῖν δεῖ τὸ Εἰς χεῖράς σου παραθήσομαι τὸ πνεῦμά μου. ἐμοὶ δὲ ἀρέσκει καὶ κατὰ τοὺς τρεῖς τρόπους ἀληθεύεσθαι τὸ προκείμενον. Κρατηθέντα δέ με, φησίν, ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων καὶ αἰχμάλωτον ηδη γεγενημένον ἐλυτρώσω, ω κύριε, ος καὶ θεὸς τῆς ἀληθείας ει καὶ τῆς ἐν ἑκάστῳ τῶν μετεχόντων τῆς τοῦ μονογενοῦς ἀληθείας. 271 Ps 30,7a Καθόλου πᾶς ματαιότητα φυλάσσων διὰ κενῆς τοῦτο ποιεῖ ητοι τῷ ἀβέβαιον ειναι η τῷ κενῶς καὶ περιττῶς γίνεσθαι τὴν ματαιότητα. μισητὴ δὲ αυτη ουσα τῷ θεῷ μισητοὺς ποιεῖ τοὺς διαφυλάσσοντας αὐτήν. 272 Ps 30,8b-9 ̔Η ταπείνωσις δὲ ὁτὲ μὲν δηλοῖ τὴν ἀτυφίαν ην εθος ταπεινοφροσύνην καλεῖν, ὁτὲ δὲ τὴν ὑπ' ἐχθροῖς κάκωσιν. ἀγαθὸν δὲ τὸ ἐπειδεῖν τὸν θεὸν τὴν ἑκατέρως ταπείνωσιν. τὸ ἑξῆς δὲ ἀκολουθεῖ τῷ ταπείνωσιν νομίζειν τὴν κάκωσιν· Εσωσας γάρ φησιν ἐξ ἀναγκῶν τὴν ψυχήν μου, ἀνάγκας λέγων τὰς περιστάσεις ἀφ' ων ῥυσθείσης αὐτοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς οὐ συγκλείεται εἰς χεῖρας τοῦ καταπονοῦντος ἐχθροῦ. Εἰ τὸ εὐρύχωρον δὲ ὡσαύτως λέγοιτο τῇ πλατείᾳ καὶ εὐρυχώρῳ ὁδῷ (αυτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ φιληδονία), εὐχαριστεῖ τῷ βεβαιότητα αὐτῷ καὶ στάσιν ἐν τῷ βίῳ τούτῳ ὀρέξαντι. ο γὰρ λέγει τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν· ἐν τῷ περὶ γῆς τόπῳ ὑπάρχων, ενθα ὀλισθηρὸν καὶ ἐπισφαλὲς διὰ τὰς φωλευούσας ἡδονὰς τὸ ζῆν, στάσιν τῆς ψυχῆς μοι δέδωκας, οπως μὴ ωδε κἀκεῖσε ὑπὸ τῶν παθῶν παραφέρωμαι. εἰ δ' ἐπαινετὸν λέγοι τὸ εὐρύχωρον, ἐρεῖ· ἐπεὶ θλιβόμενος οὐ στενοχωροῦμαι ἐγκαρτερῶν τοῖς πόνοις, ιν' ουτως ειπω, πλατυνόμενος διὰ τὸ κλέος τὸ ἐκ τῶν περιστατικῶν, ἐρῶ· Εστησας ἐν εὐρυχώρῳ τοὺς πόδας μου. 273 Ps 30,11c Οὐ πάντως ὁ πτωχεύων ἀσθενεῖ (πολλοὶ γὰρ πτωχοὶ ἰσχυροί) οὐδὲ ὁ ἰσχύος λειπόμενος πτωχός· ἐν δὲ τοῖς πνευματικοῖς, ἐπεὶ ταὐτὸν ἡ ἰσχὺς πλούτῳ, ὁ πλουτῶν ἐν εργοις ἀγαθοῖς ἰσχὺν εχει. ο ουν βούλεται λέγειν εστιν τοιοῦτον· ἐπεὶ ἐπτώχευσα τὸν βλέποντα πλοῦτον ἀποστραφείς (ουτος δέ ἐστιν ὁ θεῖος), ̔Η ἰσχύς μου ἠσθένησεν. Σημειωτέον οτι τὴν εξιν ἀντὶ τοῦ εχοντος ειπεν· οὐ γὰρ ἡ ἰσχὺς ἀσθενεῖ ἀλλ' ὁ εχων αὐτήν, ωσπερ οὐδὲ τὴν ἐπιστήμην ἀγνοεῖν ἀλλὰ τὸν ἐσχηκότα φαμέν. τούτοις ὁμόλογον τὸ παρὰ Παύλῳ εἰρημένον περὶ Χριστοῦ· Ινα δικαιοσύνη γενώμεθα θεοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ. καὶ ἐν τούτοις γὰρ τοὺς δικαιοσύνην εχοντας δικαιοσύνην ἐκάλεσεν. 274 Ps 30,12-14a Οἱ ἐχθροὶ φιλήδονοι μᾶλλον η φιλόθεοι τυγχάνοντες οὐ μόνον οὐκ αἰσχύνονται οὐδ' ονειδος εχειν δοκοῦσιν ἐφ' οις πράττουσιν κακῶς, ἀλλ' ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου σεμνύνονται, ὡς λεχθῆναι περὶ αὐτῶν· Ων ἡ δόξα ἐν τῇ αἰσχύνῃ αὐτῶν. καυχῶνται δὲ ἐφ' οις ὀνειδιστέοι γίνονται· Αἰσχύνθητε γοῦν ἀπὸ καυχήσεως ὑμῶν καὶ ὀνειδισμοῦ ἐναντίον κυρίου· οθεν καὶ ἀναστήσονται ουτοι εἰς ὀνειδισμὸν καὶ αἰσχύνην αἰώνιον. ̔Ο δὲ αἰσθόμενος ἐν τῇ προειρημένῃ πτωχείᾳ ἑαυτὸν γεγονέναι ὁμολογεῖ ὀνειδιστέος ειναι. διό φησιν· Παρὰ πάντας τοὺς ἐχθρούς μου ἐγενήθην ονειδος, ἀλλὰ καὶ παρὰ πᾶσιν τοῖς πλησιάζουσίν μοι κατὰ τὴν οικησιν τουτέστιν τοῖς ὁμοδοξοῦσιν. Οἱ μετ' ἐπιστάσεως προσβάλλοντές μοι, αἰσθόμενοι ἐξ οιου πλούτου εἰς πτωχείαν επεσον, εὐλαβούμενοι μὴ τὰ αὐτὰ πάθωσιν, εξω τῆς ἐμῆς καταστάσεως εσπευδον ειναι. ἀλλὰ καὶ σκεῦος ων πάλαι τίμιον καὶ ευχρηστον τῷ δεσπότῃ ἠχρειώθην ουτως ὡς ἀπολωλέναι δοκεῖν. Οτι ηκουσα ψόγον πολλῶν παροικούντων κυκλόθεν. ειποι ταῦτα διδάσκαλος ψεγόμενος ὑπὸ τῶν δοκούντων περὶ αὐτὸν ειναι διὰ τοῦ δῆθεν μανθάνειν, παροικούντων δὲ καὶ μὴ ἐμμενόντων τοῖς μαθήμασιν τῷ μὴ κατοικεῖν ἐν αὐτοῖς.