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arms, which he calls forearms, and what the breast is, and what the back is, and the feet, and what the lightness of the wings is, and the rest.

But those of the olfactory senses: In these is described physically the property of the physical eye; but by anagogical interpretation these change, just as also those of the other human members, into a contemplation of the natural powers in the angels.

And of channels of food: Understand channel as the unsurpassable outpouring of wisdom, according to what is said, “I will pour out of my (14Ε_318> Spirit upon all flesh,” and the rest. For the divine knowledge passes from God through the intelligible powers to the divine men according to the proportion of each.

As of one form: According to the reception of understanding. By a providential power: Every, he says, intelligible power [which comes] to it

multiplies the divine knowledge, that is, clarifies it so that it might be understood by us, interpreting the things seen, as you will find in Daniel, when the angel interpreted for him the dream which he saw.

And again the heart: The heart is contained within us, like a center which has first received life, since according to the divine Basil the heart is created first; then as from a center the whole body is fashioned, so that this life extends everywhere into the body; for whether the innate heat vivifies the body, or the spirit, or the blood, the heart is the source of all these things. For this reason it also seemed to some that the whole vital principle is collected together and, as it were, established here first and foremost, although it is everywhere in the body and not contained by place, nor circumscribed in place, nor held together by the body. So too, therefore, in the case of the invisible orders, whether providing for the whole, or ministerially according to kind; for they must be conceived as if in the middle and in the place of a heart, and to be established as a center of fontal life; although they are uncontained and not circumscribed by place or part in a bodily manner, of the things which they hold together, having been appointed by God to provide for them.

And the guarding principle: Combine the saying thus: The guarding principle of the life-giving distribution; then as in the case of the underlying heart.

Wherefore also having wings on their feet: Why are the feet of the angels winged, (14Ε_320> that it might show their self-moving nature and their upward striving toward the divine, and their lack of communion with earthly things, inasmuch as there is no passion in them, since angels were also seen on earth.

Lightness of wings: What is light is winged. And pure: Of external addition, such as food and clothing, by which the things

pertaining to us are held together. Manifold wisdom: The manifold wisdom of God. This saying

is apostolic; and why did the divine man call it manifold? And yet we take "manifold" in the sense of "wily"; besides, here the great Dionysius called it simple and manifold; but the two seem to be contraries; we say, therefore, that he said 'simple wisdom' for this reason, in order to show the uncompounded nature of God and that which requires no duplicity; for God is not wise from learning, but is wisdom itself. But "manifold", because it is transformed into many kinds of knowledge on account of the weakness of those being illuminated; for he is a great high priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses. Or even thus: The wisdom of God before the economy is called simple, because He created all things as God, and among the just of that time showing His own power without a veil, as in the case of Moses and Abraham and the rest; but when He was working out the mystery of the economy, it would reasonably be called manifold. For having become man, and having lived under the law, and having suffered, and having been found among the dead, thus through the flesh and the weakness in it, He triumphed over every enemy, and Hades

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βραχίονες, οὕς ὠλένας φησί, καί τί τό στῆθος, καί τί τό νῶτον καί οἱ πόδες, καί τί τό ἐλαφρόν τῶν πτερῶν καί τά ἑξῆς.

Τάς δέ τῶν ὀσφραντῶν: Ἐν τούτοις φυσιολογεῖται τό ἰδίωμα τοῦ σωματικοῦ ὀφθαλμοῦ· κατά ἀναγωγήν δέ ταῦτα μεταβάλλει, ὥσπερ καί τά τῶν λοιπῶν ἀνθρωπίνων μελῶν, εἰς θεωρίαν τῶν ἐν ἀγγέλοις φυσικῶν δυνάμεων.

Καί τροφίμων ὀχετῶν: Ὀχετόν νόησον τήν τῆς σοφίας ἀνυπέρβλητον χύσιν, κατά τό εἰρημένον, «ἐκχεῶ ἀπό τοῦ (14Ε_318> Πνεύματός μου ἐπί πᾶσαν σάρκα», καί τά ἑξῆς. ∆ιαβαίνει γάρ ἡ θεία γνῶσις ἀπό τοῦ Θεοῦ διά τῶν νοητῶν δυνάμεων ἐπί τούς θείους ἀνθρώπους κατά τήν ἑκάστου ἀναλογίαν.

Ἑνοειδῆ: Κατά παράληψιν νοήσεως. Προνοητικῇ δυνάμει: Πᾶσα, φησί, νοητή δύναμις τήν γινομένην εἰς αὐτήν

θείαν γνῶσιν πληθύνει, τουτέστι σαφηνίζει πρός τό νοηθῆναι ὑφ' ἡμῶν, διερμηνεύουσα τά ὁραθέντα, ὡς παρά τῷ ∆ανιήλ εὑρήσεις, ὅτε διηρμήνευσεν αὐτῷ ὁ ἄγγελος τό ἐνύπνιον ὅπερ εἶδε.

Τήν δ' αὖ καρδίαν: Περιείληπται παρ' ἡμῖν ἡ καρδια, οἷον κέντρον πρώτως τήν ζωήν δεδεγμένον, ἐπειδή κατά τόν θεῖον Βασίλειον πρώτη κτίζεται ἡ καρδία· εἶτα ὡς ἀπό κέντρου πᾶν τό σῶμα πλαστουργεῖται, ὥστε πανταχοῦ ταύτην τήν ζωήν διατείνειν εἰς τό σῶμα· εἴτε γάρ ἡ σύμφυτος θερμότης ζωοποιεῖ τό σῶμα, εἴτε τό πνεῦμα, εἰτε τό αἷμα, πάντων τούτων πηγή ἡ καρδία. ∆ιό καί τισιν ἔδοξε πᾶν τό ζωτικόν ἀθρόον καί οἷον ἐνταῦθα πρώτως μάλιστα ἱδρῦσθαι, καίτοι πανταχοῦ τοῦ σώματος ὄν καί οὐ κατεχόμενον τόπῳ, οὔτε περιγεγραμμένον ἐν τόπῳ, οὔτε συνεχόμενον ὑπό τοῦ σώματος. Οὕτως οὖν καί ἐπί τῶν ἀοράτων τάξεων, εἴτε ἐν τῷ παντί, εἴτε κατ' εἶδος διακονικῶς προνοουσῶν· οἱονεί γάρ ἐν μέσῳ καί καρδίας τόπῳ νοητέον αὐτάς, καί ὡς κέντρον πηγαίας ζωῆς ἱδρῦσθαι· καίτοι ἀκρατεῖς οὔσας καί οὐ περιγεγραμμένας τόπῳ ἤ μέρει σωματικῶς, ὧν συνέχουσι προνοεῖν θεόθεν ταχθεῖσαι.

Καί τό φρουρητικόν: Τό ρητόν οὕτως σύνθες· Τό φρουρητικόν τῆς ζωοποιοῦ διαδόσεως· εἶτα ὡς ἐπί τῆς ὑποκειμένης καρδίας.

∆ιό καί ὑποπτέρους: ∆ιά τί ἐπτερωμένοι οἱ πόδες τῶν ἀγγέλων, (14Ε_320> ἵνα δείξῃ τό αὐτοκίνητον καί τό πρός τό θεῖον ἀνατατικόν, καί πρός τά ἐπίγεια ἀκοινώνητον, ὅσον μή τό ἐμπαθές ἐν αὐτοῖς εἶναι, ἐπεί ὤφθησαν καί ἐπί γῆς ἄγγελοι.

Πτερῶν ἐλαφρία: Τί ἐλαφρά πτερωτά. Καί καθαρεῦον: Τῆς τῶν ἔκτός προσθήκης, οἷον τροφῶν καί ἀμφίων, οἷς τά

καθ' ἡμᾶς συγκρατεῖται. Πολυποίκιλος σοφία: Ἡ πολυποίκιλος σοφία τοῦ Θεοῦ. Τοῦτο τό ρητόν

ἀποστολικόν ἐστι· καί διά τί πολυποίκιλον αὐτήν εἶπεν ὁ θεῖος ἀνήρ; Καίτοι τό ποικίλον ἐπί κακούργου δεχόμεθα· ἄλλως τε καί ἐνταῦθα ὁ μέγας ∆ιονύσιος ἁπλῆν καί πολυποίκιλον αὐτήν εἶπε· δοκεῖ δέ τά δύο ἐναντία· λέγομεν οὖν, ὅτι τό 'ἁπλῆ σοφία' διά τοῦτο εἶπεν, ἵνα δηλώσῃ τό ἀσύνθετον τοῦ Θεοῦ καί τό μηδεμιᾶς διπλόης ἐπιδεόμενον· οὔτε γάρ ἐκ μαθήσεως σοφός ὁ Θεός, ἀλλ' αὐτόχρημα σοφία ἐστι: Τό δέ πολυποίκιλον, διότι εἰς πολλά γνώσεως εἴδη μετατυποῦται διά τήν τῶν ἐλλαμπομένων ἀσθένειαν· ἀρχιερεύς γάρ ἐστι μέγας συμπάσχων ταῖς ἡμῶν ἀσθενείαις. Ἡ καί οὕτως· Ἁπλῆ μέν λέγεται σοφία Θεοῦ πρός τῆς οἰκονομίας, ὅτι πάντα ὡς Θεός ἐδημιούργησε, καί ἐν τοῖς τότε δικαίοις τήν ἰδίαν ἀπερικαλύπτως ἐπιδεικνύμενος δύναμιν, ὡς ἐπί Μωσέως καί Ἀβραάμ καί τῶν ἑξῆς· ὅτε δέ τό τῆς οἰκονομίας μυστήριον κατειργάζετο, ἡ πολυποίκολος εἰκότως κληθείη. Ἄνθρωπος γάρ γενόμενος, καί ὑπό νόμον χρηματίσας, καί παθών, καί ἐν νεκροῖς εὑρεθείς, οὕτω διά σαρκός καί τῆς ἐνούσης αὐτῇ ἀσθενείας, ἐθριάμβευε πάντα ἐχθρόν, καί τόν ἅδην