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(14S_326> Not according to locomotion or alteration: Teaching to understand piously what is said about God, he says: When you hear that God is moved, never think of the motion understood in creatures, and especially in perceptible ones; for material things are moved by locomotion; and locomotion is a change of place as a whole, and especially that which cannot stop by itself, when it wishes; but motion is according to alteration; and alteration is when, while the perceptible subject remains, it changes in its affections which are contrary, or also between contraries and not; for example, the body is healthy, and again is sick; the same with bronze, sometimes round, sometimes angular, that is, transformed into angles; but when the whole changes, with no perceptible thing remaining, as the same subject, but as, for example, from all earth, blood, and from water, air, or from all air, water, or as the rod of Moses into a serpent, or the water into blood, this is both a turning and generation and corruption, the former things having been moved away; but there is also a motion according to differentiation into what is dissimilar, and from color to color. Again, a certain local motion is the transposition from place to place, which motion occurs either in a straight path, or in a circular path, as the wheel moves, and according to some also the heaven; or according to a mixed path of straight and circular, as the helical path, such as that of serpents; there is also an intellectual motion, according to which the mind is active, or also the divine minds perceive existing things. There is also a psychic motion, according to which it is moved into thoughts, and into moving the senses. There is also another natural motion, which moves suitable things to growth and nourishment. God, therefore, is not moved according to any of these, but the motion of the immovable and always selfsame is said to be his will for beings to come into existence and the procession of his providence for all things.

(14S_328> Not that from both: He means the transitional motion, which he also names helical, but unconnected, that is, absolute and continuous.

But, and the motions of God: Having forbidden the corporeal motions with respect to God, he clarifies how one should understand motion with respect to God in a manner befitting God, interpreting the senses in the universe as anagogical motions.

And the straight: How the circular and the straight and the helical motion are understood with respect to God, read the fourth chapter, a few leaves after the beginning of the chapter, and you will learn how such things are understood with respect to angels and souls and bodies.

The middle and the extremes. The transcendent always contains the subordinate. He calls, therefore, the highest powers and those approaching God extremes, and the middle ones those after them, but which are above all perceptible things. The highest, therefore, contain the middle, and the middle the perceptible things; for this reason Scripture has also spoken of orders of angels in the heavens. God, however, contains all things, as the circle contains all things within it, and returns to himself as to a cause. Note, moreover, what is 'the same' and 'justice' with respect to God, and 'the equal'.

§ 10. A similar interpenetration: There is a similar interpenetration through one another also in the case of the elements; for the equal mixture of these, and the fact that they do not overbalance in the compounds, produces the generations of the world; for if any of the elements were to predominate, what is generated is corrupted.

And according to all intelligible equality: It should be known that the intelligible is that which does not fall under sense perception, nor does it have the intellectual in itself, like the powers of the soul and of the senses; but the intellectual is that which has simple and absolute thoughts, like angels; and the rational is that which receives knowledge of beings through reason and contemplation, (14S_330> like the human mind; and the perceptible is that which falls under sense perception, like the parts of creation, which are divided into essential and natural, that is, both those that are motionless and in every way without sensation, and into those that have some kind of motion; the

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(14S_326> Οὐ κατά φοράν ἤ ἀλλοίωσιν: ∆ιδάσκων εὐσεβῶς νοεῖν τά περί Θεοῦ λεγόμενα, φησίν· Ἀκούων κινεῖσθαι τόν Θεόν, μηδέποτε νοήσῃς κίνησιν τήν ἐπί τῶν κτιστῶν νοουμένων, καί μάλιστα τῶν αἰσθητῶν· τά γάρ ὑλικά κινεῖται μέν κατά φοράν· φορά δέ ἐστιν ἡ καθ' ὅλον τόπον ἐναλλαγή, καί μάλιστα ἡ μή δυναμένη ἐφ' ἑαυτῆς στῆναι, ὅταν ἐθέλῃ· κίνησις δέ ἐστιν ἡ κατά ἀλλοίωσιν· ἀλλοίωσις δέ ἐστιν ὅταν, μένοντος τοῦ ὑποκειμένου αἰσθητοῦ ὄντος, μεταβάλλῃ ἐν τοῖς αὐτοῦ πάθεσιν ἐναντίοις οὖσιν, ἤ καί μεταξύ ἐναντίων καί μή· οἷον τό σῶμα ὑγιαίνει, καί πάλιν κάμνει· τό αὐτό καί ὁ χαλκός, ποτέ στρογγύλος, ποτέ γωνοειδής, τουτέστιν εἰς γωνίας μετασχηματισθείς· ὅταν δέ ὅλον μεταβάλλῃ, μή ὑπομένοντος αἰσθητοῦ τινος, ὡς ὑποκειμένου τοῦ αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ' οἷον ἐκ γῆς πάσης αἷμα, καί ἐξ ὕδατος ἀήρ, ἤ ἐξ ἀέρος παντός ὕδωρ, ἤ ὡς ἡ ράβδος Μωϋσέως εἰς ὄφιν, ἤ τό ὕδωρ εἰς αἷμα, τοῦτο καί τροπή καί γένεσις καί φθορά, μετακινηθέντων τῶν προτέρων· ἀλλ' ἔστι καί κατά ἑτεροίωσιν κίνησις εἰς τό ἀνόμοιον, καί ἀπό χρώματος εἰς χρῶμα. Πάλιν τοπική τίς ἐστι κίνησις ἡ ἐκ τόπου εἰς τόπον μετάστασις, ἥτις κίνησις ἤ κατά τήν εἰς ὀρθήν πορείαν γίνεται, ἤ κατά κυκλοφορίαν, ὡς ὁ τροχός κινεῖται, κατά τινας δέ καί ὁ οὐρανός· ἤ κατά τήν μικτήν ἐξ εὐθείας καί κυκλικῆς, ὡς ἡ ἑλικοειδής πορεία, οἵα ἐστίν ἡ τῶν ὄφεων· ἔστι καί νοητή κίνησις, καθ' ἥν ὁ νοῦς ἐνεργῶν, ἤ καί οἱ θεῖοι νόες νοοῦσι τά ὄντα. Ἔστι καί ψυχική κίνησις, καθ' ἥν εἰς νοήσεις κινεῖται, καί εἰς τό κινεῖν τάς αἰσθήσεις. Ἔστι καί ἄλλη κίνησις φυσική, ἡ εἰς αὔξησιν καί τροφήν κινοῦσα τά ἐπιτήδεια. Ὁ οὖν Θεός οὐ κατά μίαν τούτων κινεῖται, ἀλλά κίνησις τοῦ ἀκινήτου καί ἀεί ὡσαύτως ἔχοντος λέγεται ἡ εἰς τό γενέσθαι τά ὄντα βούλησις αὐτοῦ καί πρόοδος τῆς εἰς πάντα προνοίας αὐτοῦ.

(14S_328> Οὐ τήν ἐξ ἀμφοῖν: Κίνησιν τήν μεταβατικήν λέγει, ἥν καί ἑλικοειδῆ ὀνομάζει ἀσχέτῳ δέ, τουτέστιν ἀπολύτῳ καί συναφεῖ.

Ἀλλά,καἱ κινήσεις Θεοῦ: Ἀπαγορεύσας τά τῶν σωματικῶν κινήσεων ἐπί Θεοῦ, ὅπως χρή θεοπρεπῶς νοεῖν κίνησιν ἐπί Θεοῦ σαφηνίζει, τάς αἰσθήσεις ἐν τῷ παντί κινήσεις ἀναγωγικῶς ἑρμηνεύων.

Καί τό μέν εὐθύ: Πῶς ἡ κατά κύκλον καί ἡ κατ' εὐθεῖαν καί ἡ ἑλικοειδής κίνησις ἐπί Θεοῦ νοεῖται ἀνάγνωθι τό τέταρτον κεφάλαιον, μετ' ὀλίγα φύλλα τῆς ἀρχῆς τοῦ κεφαλαίου, καί μαθήσῃ, πῶς ἐπί ἀγγέλων καί ψυχῶν καί σωμάτων αἱ τοιαῦται νοοῦνται.

Τά μέσα καί ἄκρα. Ἀεί τά ὑπερβεβηκότα περιέχει τά ὑποβεβηκότα. Ἄκρα μέν οὖν καλεῖ τάς ἀνωτάτω δυνάμεις καί πελαζούσας Θεῷ, μέσα δέ τάς μετ' ἐκείνας μέν, τῶν δέ αἰσθητῶν ἁπάντων ὑπερκειμένας. Αἱ μέν οὖν ἀνώταται περιέχουσι τάς μέσας, αἱ δέ μέσαι τά αἰσθητά· διά τοῦτο γάρ καί τάξεις ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς ἀγγέλων εἶπεν ἡ Γραφή. Ὁ μέντοι Θεός ἅπαντα περιέχει, ὡς ὁ κύκλος τά ἐντός αὐτοῦ πάντα, καἱ εἰς ἑαυτόν ὡς πρός αἴτιον ἐπιστρέφει. Σημείωσαι δέ, τί τό 'ταυτόν' καί 'δικαιοσύνη' ἐπί τοῦ Θεοῦ καί τό 'ἴσον'.

§ 10. Ὁμοίαν χώρησιν: Ὁμοία χώρησις δι' ἀλλήλων καί ἐπί τῶν στοιχείων· ἡ γάρ ἐπίσης κρᾶσις τούτων, καί τό μή ὑπερταλαντεύειν ἐν τοῖς συγκρίμασι τάς γενέσεις τοῦ κόσμου ποιεῖ· εἰ γάρ τι τῶν στοιχείων πλεονάσειε, φθείρεται τό γινόμενον.

Καί κατά τό πᾶσαν ἰσότητα νοητήν: Ἰστέον, ὅτι νοητόν μέν ἐστι τό τῇ αἰσθήσει οὐχ ὑποπίπτον, οὔτε τό νοερόν ἔχον ἐν ἑαυτῷ, ὡς αἱ δυνάμεις τῆς ψυχῆς καί τῶν αἰσθήσεων· νοερόν δέ τό ἁπλᾶς καί ἀπολύτους ἔχον τάς νοήσεις, ὡς ἄγγελοι· λογικόν δέ τό διά λόγου καί θεωρίας τάς τῶν ὄντων γνώσεις δεχόμενον, (14S_330> ὡς ὁ ἀνθρώπινος νοῦς· αἰσθητόν δέ τό τῇ αἰσθήσει ὑποπίπτον, ὡς τά μέρη τῆς κτίσεως, ἅπερ διαιροῦνται εἰς οὐσιώδη καί φυσικά, τουτέστιν εἴ τε τά ἀκινήτως καί πάντῃ ἀναισθήτως ὄντα, καί εἰς τά τήν ὁποιανοῦν ἔχοντα κίνησιν· τήν