Philocalia
they laid down the toils of faith. For them, indeed, nearly their whole life was spent in showing the most holy and sovereign Trinity to be of equal h
to attempt to correct the sayings of scripture for consistency, greatly preserving for those who are able to understand the coherence of the thought.
Free Will. 20. On good and evil things, and that these are in things subject to choice and in things not subject to choice, and according to the teach
rulers spoken of from Judah and leaders [from] his loins, when he for whom it is reserved, that is, the kingdom, shall come, and the expectation of th
And he came who according to Job subdued the great sea monster, and who gave authority to his genuine disciples to tread upon snakes and scorpions, an
that is, of the elementary teaching, to be brought to perfection, so that the wisdom spoken to the perfect may also be spoken to us. For he who posses
of the wives of Abraham, and of two sisters married to Jacob, and of two handmaids who bore children by him, they will say nothing else than that thes
orphans but Clement will send to the cities abroad and you will report to the presbyters of the church. For Grapte, who admonishes the widows and th
of new moons or of sabbaths which are a shadow of things to come. And further, also in the [epistle] to the Hebrews, speaking of those of the circumc
to things that have happened and things to be done, wherever the Word found things that had happened according to history which could be applied to th
Moses commands us to offer but a griffin has never been recorded to have been subject to man, which the lawgiver forbids to be eaten. But even the fa
to his brother, and so on and: But I say to you, do not swear at all. and in the Apostle the saying must be observed: Warn those who are unruly, comf
Isaac, he too having descended from Abraham, with all being traced back to Adam, whom the apostle says is Christ? For every beginning of families that
he came to gather the lost sheep of the house of Israel and when many from Israel did not yield to his teaching, those from the Gentiles are also cal
fleeing the allegory in these things, and thinking that the letter has been written for its own sake, they will stand by the will of the Holy Spirit w
behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered, to open the book and its seven seals. 2.2 But concerning its being sealed on
holy, for one who perceives the weakness of our race, and that it is impossible for us to grasp the principles of God's art, contemplated with all acc
It is. from the fifth volume of the commentary on the Gospel of John, on the prologue. Since you are not content for us to have undertaken the present
of many theorems, of which each theorem is a part of the whole discourse. But those outside this, promising to contain any kind of discussion and decl
the things before, he has understood the entire scripture as one book, understood as very sweet in the beginning when one chews it, but bitter in the
to the gospel or to himself or to the apostles. But one who has been educated in the music of God, being wise in deeds and words, and for this reason
he might change it, leading it to the singular. For having read: “They wept and entreated me ” and: “In the house of On they found me ” he might say t
of angels in the hand of a mediator and in the passage: So that the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by f
to others. And if we carefully observe this, we are freed from many errors and misinterpretations. It is necessary, therefore, to know that the word
in unbelief, confusion, outside. From the 20th book on Ezekiel. Thus says the Lord Lord: behold, I will judge between sheep and sheep, between rams a
For there are certain powers in us, of which the better ones are nourished by these, as it were, incantations, being kindred to them, and though we do
so that having despoiled the Egyptians, they might find material for the construction of the things received for the worship of God. For from the thin
His Christ would also know, and he who partakes of the spirit of God and the spirit of Christ. May you partake, and may you always increase your parti
of a spotted robe and of countless other things, one who takes the pains can find not a few examples. But we have made this digression, in order that
arising in those who speak effectively. For the prophet says in the sixty-seventh psalm, that the Lord will give a word to those who preach the gospel
knowing the first good, wrote indeed, as of God manifesting himself to the worthy and suitable, that God appeared, so to speak, to Abraham, or to Isaa
to the prophets of the Jews or to the oracles of the Christians the argument must be constructed in this way, from a certain example concerning foods
the concept of forbearance is corrupted by the meanness of the words, but in this too Celsus slanders the Word, saying: “But concerning these and othe
three apostles. But he will say that these things are fabrications and in no way different from myths, just as are the other wonderful things about Je
who are in no way lacking intelligible thunder. 15.19 And his garments below are different, they are not white, they are not as the light if you go u
admittedly more numerous but I think also among barbarians, as many as profess to practice medicine. And again, since philosophy, professing truth an
to think and to speak and to do, when reviled, we bless when persecuted, we endure when defamed, we entreat and we would not say things that may an
brother of Artemis, and paternal brother of Hermes and as many other things as the wise fathers of Celsus's doctrines and the ancient theologians of
of the name of Isaac, and something is revealed from the voice of Jacob and if indeed the one who calls or the one who adjures names the God of Abrah
as they wish, so he says it also happens among Christians. And he says that some, not even wishing to give or receive a reason for what they believe,
to seek proofs. And how is it not more reasonable, since all human affairs depend on faith, to trust God rather than them? For who sails, or marries,
I know the Stoic, or all the Peripatetic doctrines? unless perhaps, having heard the phrase for I know all things from some insensitive laymen who w
a profession was apparent since the word and the preaching were in the persuasive wisdom of phrasing and composition of words and faith would have b
to remove from such great evils those who were preoccupied in them. And among the Greeks a certain Phaedo, and I know not if a second, and one Polemon
We will say that the story about Aristotle is also a slander against Jesus and his disciples for when he saw that a court was about to be assembled a
And indeed one of the prophets, Hosea, says at the end of his words: Who is wise, and will understand these things? Or prudent, and will know them? Bu
that he might bring to nothing things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence some have been moved to suppose that no one educated or wi
inviting them. which certain of the Cynics especially have done, discoursing in public to those who happen to be present. Will they then say that thes
a gathering of prudent men would never be addressed, but where they see boys and a crowd of household slaves and a throng of foolish men, there to bri
of the riddles and of the things said with concealment in the law and prophets and gospels, which you have despised as containing nothing of value, no
of stone as being worthy of worship but the common conception demands we understand that God is in no way corruptible matter, nor is he honored in in
to say to those who, through hatred for the hated, accuse them of things for which their dearest friends are praised. For just as in their case hatred
for food, and others for shelter. For it was better for those not intending to seek divine things and to philosophize to be in want, so as to use thei
to be captured by them? For if indeed the world came to be by providence, and God presides over all things it was necessary that the first sparks of
among them their succession, because men have need of honey for many things, for the healing of suffering bodies and as a purifying food. But what is
Indeed, when they meet, they converse with each other, which is why they do not miss their paths therefore, there is among them a fulfillment of disc
to have granted aids, because neither wisdom nor reason is in them, but a certain natural constitution for such things for the sake of the animals' pr
divination and after this to set forth the defense more clearly and demonstratively to reject the arguments of those who do away with such kinds of
mantic birds and the other irrational animals and conceptions of the divine and foreknowledge concerning future things, would have revealed such thing
taken as an example of the worst things, and never is a wolf or a fox named in connection with a good thing. It seems, then, that there is a certain f
For none of the irrational animals has a conception of God. And it is a falsehood that irrational animals are nearer to divine communion since even
to act, he would not have said that storks are more pious than men. Furthermore, as if standing up for the piety of the irrational animals, Celsus int
has the cause of movement, animals and plants and simply all things that are held together by nature and soul, among which they say are also minerals.
being driven out of what is solemn and stable so that they change to licentiousness, often beginning their licentiousness in the middle of their life
someone that in like manner those who are perishing are not of free will nor will they perish by their own fault. And what is said in Ezekiel: I will
to Pharaoh? For it is necessary for one who believes that the scriptures are true and that God is just, if he is fair-minded, to struggle with how in
narratives are also considered violent, let us see also from prophetic discourse, what those say who have experienced the great goodness of God, and h
One might blame the farmer for not casting the seeds sooner upon the rocky ground, seeing some other rocky ground that has received the seeds and is f
21.15 After this was the passage from the gospel, when the savior said that for this reason he speaks to those outside in parables, that seeing they m
that they would have long ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes, when the savior came near their borders, they do not even hear the things of t
we might stumble, while it is understood that something has happened in a human way, but the good deed is thankfully referred to God the perfecter th
thus? Or does not the potter have authority over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor, and another for dishonor? For someone will
O man, who are you who answers back to God? 21.22 But to those who introduce natures and use the saying, these things must be said: if they preserve t
those who were allotted to be overseers of the earth established laws for those who were being legislated for, cooperating with the lawgivers. It seem
different relations and laws see if temperance will not consequently be one of the relatives, and courage and prudence and knowledge and the other vi
the voice of his neighbor. And the Lord scattered them from there over the face of all the earth, and they stopped building the city and the tower. Fo
in proportion to the sins of those who had obtained the other lands, first, having been punished to a lesser degree and paid the penalty, as if discip
blessings for none of these things will any longer reasonably come to be. And if one were to look at the consequences for himself of what he teaches,
in a prophetic book which makes clear beforehand the things concerning Judas the traitor, to suppose, having learned what was to be, seeing it being f
king of the Macedonians, and Ptolemy who ruled Egypt, who was surnamed Lagos, it is thus prophesied: And behold, a he-goat came from the west over the
that what is in our power can be preserved. 23.8 To these we must say that when God applies himself to the beginning of the creation of the world, sin
hearing they will turn back or they will persist in their own sins just as it is said in Jeremiah: Perhaps they will hear and repent. For God does no
in the psalm, whose beginning is: O God, do not be silent about my praise for the mouth of the sinner and the mouth of the deceitful has been opened
taking the hour of this man’s birth, they ascertain how each of the wandering stars is perpendicularly aligned, either with this degree of the zodiac
of the father and that of the mother and that of his wife and of his sons and of the servants and of the dearest friends, and perhaps also of the murd
the intelligible dodecatemorion being one thing, and the, as it were, formation another and they say the results are found not from the formation, bu
Pharaoh was for the demonstration of the power of God and the proclamation of his name in all the earth, consider how great a demonstration of God's p
of men that not at every hour are some of the stars well-positioned and others ill-positioned for it is an even, varied circle, having infinite prete
a place for withdrawal. But if anyone should say that matter is in God, it is necessary to examine likewise, whether as though he were separating hims
If you have something to say, begin your speech. For if our inquiry were born of contention, I would not have thought it right to define evils a secon
God is the creator. Let this argument, therefore, be well addressed to him but to me it seems a falsehood to say that matter is without quality. For
and to turn that to the better, seems to me to be worthy of incurring blame, having left a part of matter to be evil to the destruction of the part wh
it was opposed to itself. Thus since opposites exist, it is shown that matter does not exist. These things have been drawn from the 7th book of the Ev
of their coming into being and as knowing all things before their coming into being he foreknew and predestined some to be conformed to the image of
he will discipline his body and bring it into subjection, being careful lest, having preached to others, he himself should become disqualified, and th
events teaching that we must choose justice and temperance and prudence and courage and the actions according to them, but shun their opposites. There
accomplishing by the very act of working, they were doing good to men and delivering them from evils. And those who say such things will pass on to th
For the just man did not give his money at interest and did not take bribes against the innocent and: He who does these things will not be shaken for
of providence, according to the good temper of the airs and the bearing of sufficient rain so the good of the rational being is a mixture of both his
for God to effect a hardening of anyone's heart, and to effect a hardening for the purpose of the one being hardened disobeying the will of the one ha
being destroyed. Yet this also must be inquired into, because the apostle, using the words from here, says: Therefore, He has mercy on whom He wills,
to do something alien to the profession of physicians, leading him who should be healed to inflammations and abscesses so I think God also said: But
to punish him for the sins against Abner the son of Ner, and to kill him for his offenses then he adds: And you will bring down his gray head in peac
man shall live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. But observe in these things that God afflicts and tests, so that the things in each
from the text that the heart of Pharaoh was hardened how is he just who hardened the heart of the king so that he would not send away his people, and
to Pharaoh? For it is necessary for one who believes that the scriptures are true and that God is just, if he is fair-minded, to struggle with how in such expressions God may be clearly understood as just. For if someone, having written it off, were to stand openly for the creator being evil, other arguments would be needed for him. But since they say they are disposed toward him as being just, and we as being good and just at the same time, let us consider how the good and just God could harden the heart of Pharaoh. 21.9 See, then, if through some example, which the apostle used in the epistle to the Hebrews, we can demonstrate how by one action God has mercy on one and hardens another; not intending to harden, but through a good purpose, which is followed, because of the underlying wickedness of their own evil, by the hardening, he is said to harden the one who is hardened. “Land,” he says, “which has drunk the rain that comes upon it, and produces a crop useful to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.” Therefore, the action of the rain is one; and while the action of the rain is one, the cultivated land bears fruit, but the neglected and barren land bears thorns. And it might seem blasphemous for the one who rains to say: “I made the fruits and the thorns in the earth;” but even if it is blasphemous, it is nevertheless true. For if there had been no rain, neither fruits nor thorns would have come to be; but when it flowed at the right time and in due measure, both came to be. For the land which drinks the rain that often comes upon it and brings forth thorns and thistles is worthless and near to being cursed. Therefore, the goodness of the rain has come even upon the worse land; but the underlying substance, being neglected and uncultivated, brought forth thorns and thistles. Thus, then, the wonders performed by God are like rain; and the different moral choices are like the cultivated land and the neglected land, being of one nature, as land. 21.10 And just as if the sun, uttering a voice, were to say, “I melt and I dry up,” although melting and drying are opposites, it would not be speaking a falsehood, on account of the underlying substance; since from the one heat the wax is melted while the clay is dried up; so the one action which came about through Moses convicted the hardness of Pharaoh because of his wickedness, but brought about the persuasion of the mixed multitude of Egyptians who went out with the Hebrews. And the fact that it is written that Pharaoh's heart was, as it were, softened little by little, when he says: “But you shall not go far away; for you shall go a three days' journey,” and “You leave your wives behind;” and whatever else he said, yielding little by little in response to the wonders, shows that the signs had some effect even on him, although they did not accomplish the whole thing. But not even these things would have happened, if what is understood by the many, “I will harden Pharaoh's heart,” were effected by him, that is, by God. It is not out of place to explain such things also from common custom; for often good masters say to the servants who are ruined on account of their goodness and long-suffering: “I have made you wicked,” and “I have become the cause to you of such great sins.” For one must hear the character and the force of what is said, and not slander it by not understanding the intention of the statement. Paul, at any rate, having examined these things clearly, says to the sinner: “Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your unrepentant heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation and righteous judgment of God.” For what the apostle says to the sinner, let it be said to Pharaoh, and these things would be understood very appropriately when reported to him, as he treasures up for himself wrath in accordance with his hardness and unrepentant heart; a hardness which would not have been so convicted nor have been made manifest, if the signs had not happened, or if they had happened, but not so many and so great. 21.11 But since such things are hard to believe
τῷ Φαραώ; ἀναγκαῖον γὰρ τὸν πιστεύοντα ὅτι ἀληθεῖς αἱ γραφαὶ καὶ ὅτι ὁ θεὸς δίκαιος, ἐὰν εὐγνώμων ᾖ, ἀγωνίζεσθαι πῶς ἐν ταῖς
τοιαύταις λέξεσι δίκαιος τρανῶς νοηθῇ. εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἀπογραψάμενός τις γυμνῇ τῇ κεφαλῇ ἵστατο πρὸς τὸ πονηρὸν εἶναι τὸν δημιουργὸν,
ἄλλων ἔδει λόγων πρὸς αὐτόν. ἐπεὶ δέ φασι διακεῖσθαι περὶ αὐτοῦ ὡς περὶ δικαίου, καὶ ἡμεῖς ὡς περὶ ἀγαθοῦ ἅμα καὶ δικαίου,
σκοπήσωμεν πῶς ἂν ὁ ἀγαθὸς καὶ δίκαιος σκληρύνοι τὴν καρδίαν Φαραώ. 21.9 Ὅρα τοίνυν εἰ διά τινος παραδείγματος, ᾧ ὁ ἀπό στολος
ἐν τῇ πρὸς Ἑβραίους ἐχρήσατο, δυνάμεθα παραστῆ σαι πῶς μιᾷ ἐνεργείᾳ ὁ θεὸς ὃν μὲν ἐλεεῖ ὃν δὲ σκληρύνει· οὐ προτιθέμενος σκληρύνειν,
ἀλλὰ διὰ προθέσεως χρηστῆς, ᾗ ἐπακολουθεῖ διὰ τὸ τῆς κακίας ὑποκείμενον τοῦ παρ' ἑαυτοῖς κακοῦ τὸ σκληρύνεσθαι, σκληρύνειν
λεγόμενος τὸν σκληρυνόμενον. Γῆ, φησὶν, ἡ πιοῦσα τὸν ἐπ' αὐτῆς ἐρχόμενον ὑετὸν, καὶ τίκτουσα βοτάνην εὔθετον ἐκείνοις δι'
οὓς καὶ γεωργεῖται, μεταλαμβάνει εὐλογίας ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ· ἐκφέρουσα δὲ ἀκάνθας καὶ τριβόλους ἀδόκιμος καὶ κατάρας ἐγγὺς, ἧς
τὸ τέλος εἰς καῦσιν. οὐκοῦν μία ἐνέργεια ἡ κατὰ τὸν ὑετόν· μιᾶς δὲ ἐνεργείας οὔσης τῆς κατὰ τὸν ὑετὸν, ἡ μὲν γεωργηθεῖσα γῆ
καρποφορεῖ, ἡ δὲ ἀμεληθεῖσα καὶ χέρσος ἀκανθοφορεῖ. καὶ δύσφημον μὲν ἂν δόξαι εἶναι τὸ λέγειν τὸν ὕοντα· Ἐγὼ τοὺς καρποὺς
ἐποίησα καὶ τὰς ἀκάνθας τὰς ἐν τῇ γῇ· ἀλλ' εἰ καὶ δύσφημον, ἀλλ' ἀληθές. ὑετοῦ γὰρ μὴ γενομένου, οὔτ' ἂν καρποὶ οὔτ' ἂν ἄκανθαι
γεγόνεισαν· τούτου δὲ εὐκαίρως καὶ μεμετρημένως ἐπιρρεύσαντος, ἀμφότερα γεγένηται. ἐκφέρουσα γοῦν ἀκάνθας καὶ τριβόλους ἡ
πιοῦσα γῆ τὸν ἐπ' αὐτῆς ἐρχό μενον πολλάκις ὑετὸν ἀδόκιμος καὶ κατάρας ἐγγύς. οὐκοῦν τὸ μὲν ἀγαθὸν τοῦ ὑετοῦ καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν χείρονα
γῆν ἐλήλυθε· τὸ δὲ ὑποκείμενον, ἠμελημένον καὶ ἀγεώργητον τυγχάνον, ἀκάνθας καὶ τριβόλους ἐβλάστησεν. οὕτω τοίνυν καὶ τὰ γινόμενα
ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ τεράστια οἱονεὶ ὑετός ἐστιν· αἱ δὲ προαιρέσεις αἱ διάφοροι οἱονεὶ ἡ γεγεωργημένη γῆ ἐστὶ καὶ ἡ ἠμελημένη, μιᾷ
τῇ φύσει ὡς γῆ τυγχάνουσα. 21.10 Ὥσπερ δὲ εἰ καὶ ὁ ἥλιος ἔλεγε φωνὴν προϊέμενος ὅτι Ἐγὼ τήκω καὶ ξηραίνω, ἐναντίων ὄντων τοῦ
τήκεσθαι καὶ τοῦ ξηραίνεσθαι, οὐκ ἂν ψεῦδος ἔλεγε, παρὰ τὸ ὑποκεί μενον· ἀπὸ τῆς μιᾶς θερμότητος τηκομένου μὲν τοῦ κηροῦ ξηραινομένου
δὲ τοῦ πηλοῦ· οὕτως ἡ μία ἐνέργεια ἡ διὰ Μωσέως γινομένη σκληρυμμὸν μὲν ἤλεγχε τὸν τοῦ Φαραὼ διὰ τὴν κακίαν αὐτοῦ, πειθὼ δὲ
τὴν τῶν ἐπιμίκτων Αἰγυπτίων συνεξορμησάντων τοῖς Ἑβραίοις. καὶ τὸ κατὰ βραχὺ δὲ ἀναγεγράφθαι οἱονεὶ μαλάσσεσθαι τὴν καρδίαν
Φαραὼ, λέγοντος· Ἀλλ' οὐ μακρὰν ἀποτενεῖτε· τριῶν γὰρ ἡμερῶν πορεύσεσθε, καὶ τὰς γυναῖκας ὑμῶν καταλείπετε· καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα κατὰ
βραχὺ ἐνδιδοὺς πρὸς τὰ τεράστια ἔλεγε, δηλοῖ ὅτι ἐνήργει μέν τι καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν τὰ σημεῖα, οὐ μὴν τὸ πᾶν κατειργάζετο. οὐκ ἂν
δὲ οὐδὲ ταῦτα ἐγίνετο, εἰ τὸ νοού μενον ὑπὸ τῶν πολλῶν· Σκληρυνῶ τὴν καρδίαν Φαραώ· ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ἐνηργεῖτο, τοῦ θεοῦ δηλονότι.
οὐκ ἄτοπον δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς συνηθείας τὰ τοιαῦτα παραμυθήσασθαι· πολλάκις τῶν χρηστῶν δεσποτῶν φασκόντων τοῖς διὰ τὴν χρηστότητα
καὶ μακροθυμίαν ἐπιτριβομένοις οἰκέταις τό· Ἐγώ σε πονηρὸν ἐποίησα, καὶ Ἐγώ σοι αἴτιος γέγονα τῶν τηλικούτων ἁμαρτημάτων.
δεῖ γὰρ τοῦ ἤθους ἀκοῦσαι καὶ τῆς δυνάμεως τοῦ λεγομένου, καὶ μὴ συκοφαντεῖν μὴ κατακούοντας τοῦ βουλήματος τοῦ λόγου. ὁ γοῦν
Παῦλος σαφῶς ταῦτα ἐξετάσας φησὶ πρὸς τὸν ἁμαρτάνοντα· Ἢ τοῦ πλούτου τῆς χρηστότητος αὐτοῦ καὶ τῆς ἀνοχῆς καὶ τῆς μακροθυμίας
καταφρονεῖς, ἀγνοῶν ὅτι τὸ χρηστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ εἰς μετάνοιάν σε ἄγει; κατὰ δὲ τὴν σκληρότητά σου καὶ ἀμετανόητον καρδίαν θησαυρίζεις
σεαυτῷ ὀργὴν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ὀργῆς καὶ ἀποκαλύψεως καὶ δικαιοκρισίας τοῦ θεοῦ. ἃ γὰρ λέγει πρὸς τὸν ἁμαρτάνοντα ὁ ἀπόστολος, λεγέσθω
πρὸς τὸν Φαραὼ, καὶ πάνυ ἁρμοδίως νοηθείη ταῦτα ἀπαγ γελλόμενα αὐτῷ, κατὰ τὴν σκληρότητα καὶ ἀμετανόητον αὐτοῦ καρδίαν θησαυρίζοντος
ἑαυτῷ ὀργήν· τῆς σκληρότη τος οὐκ ἂν οὕτως ἐλεγχθείσης οὐδὲ φανερᾶς γεγενημένης, εἰ μὴ τὰ σημεῖα ἐγεγόνει, ἢ ἐγεγόνει μὲν,
μὴ τὰ τοσαῦτα δὲ καὶ τηλικαῦτα. 21.11 Ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ δυσπειθεῖς αἱ τοιαῦται
