79

§ 3. Must be praised absolutely: Absolutely, that is, not in some respect yes, but in some respect no, or as in relation to something else, but according to a simple notion, that is, properly.

And inequality: This is the unity, that of equality and identity, I say; for this is the cause of the concord and the sympathy and the salvation of all things; for the principle of unity, the one that is in the same respects and likewise, would reasonably be called one; for also the particular one is such, united in its parts, and concordant by participation in the first cause. According to this principle the Lord also asks of the disciples, "that they also may be one, as we also are one, that they may be perfected into the one," which signifies holiness, (14S_362> which signifies the kingdom, and God rejoices, that is, is gladdened by His own creations, according to that in the Psalms: "The Lord will rejoice in his works," which signifies lordship.

§ 4. The unparticipated cause: God is unparticipated according to the principle of nature. He is praised as Holy of holies: How God is praised as Holy of holies and such things,

he marvellously clarified, and says, insofar as a pure nature and cause of a quality differs from what is caused; for this is what is being in relation to what is not properly being, and insofar as the participated itself [differs from] that which participates in it, by so much does God, when called these things, differ from those who have this by participation; for all things are from God and are so called and have, God is from no one. Why He is called Holy of holies, and King of kings, and Lord of lords, and God of gods.

But holy ones and kings: This blessed one, having been deemed worthy of divine understanding, piously takes those things that by some have fallen into polytheism and lovingly initiates them into the divine mysteries, and says that the ruling principles over the subordinate ones are called by pre-eminence holy ones and kings and lords and gods, just as also among men the most eminent are so addressed, and just as among us teachers pre-eminent in virtue have virtue gathered together unitarily in the soul, but by imparting the virtues to others through teaching, in proportion to the difference of the multitude of those being taught, the virtue imparted by them is also multiplied; thus in a certain stronger and more divine way is it to be contemplated of the bodiless orders; and through the higher ones and those nearer to God the subordinate orders participate in the gifts of God, as from a bowl overflowing and gushing forth, the nearer (14S_364> vessels are filled first, receiving that which is borne to them, then, as they themselves overflow, it is poured out into other underlying vessels, and according to the multitude of those receiving and the difference whether of small or of great, that which gushes from the bowl is, as it were, sprinkled about, the first vessels holding within themselves, according to the unity of the fullness, that which was first brought from the bowl; so in a less refined manner of speech the abundance of the transmission of the divine gifts must be understood as being divided among all through the first orders. And the Apostle was called "a vessel of election". But note, that he now says God is unparticipated according to the principle of nature.

They multiply differences: That is, they show more; for as different as are the participants, so much also do the gifts appear manifold.

ON CHAPTER 13

§ 1. Uniformly defined by himself: God is his own limit and place,

and nothing extends beyond God, but he himself sets limits even to the infinite things; for the ages, being infinite (for they have no end), he himself, excelling in infinite magnitude, encompasses them by his infinitely greater power, and every indefiniteness of life, as in the case of the intelligible beings; for life is not defined for these, as it is for humans, but they were created immortal. But God, standing in the super-eternal, is defined by his own eternity.

79

§ 3. Ἀπολύτως ὑμνητέον: Ἀπολύτως, τουτέστιν οὐ κατά τι μέν, κατά τι δέ οὔ, ἤ ὡς πρός τι ἕτερον, ἀλλά κατά ἁπλῆν ἔννοιαν, τουτέστι κυρίως.

Καί ἀνισότητα: Αὕτη ἐστίν ἡ ἑνότης, τό τῆς ἰσότητος καί ταυτότητος λέγω· τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τό αἴτιον τῆς συμπνοίας καί τῆς συμπαθείας καί τῆς σωτηρίας τῶν ὅλων· ὁ γάρ τῆς ἑνότητος λόγος, ὁ κατά τά αὐτά καί ὡσαύτως ἔχων, ἕν εἰκότως ἄν προσαγορεύοιτο· καί γάρ τό ἐν τοῖς κατά μέρος ἕν τοιοῦτον ὑπάρχει, ἡνωμένον τοῖς μέρεσι, καί σύμπνουν κατά μετουσίαν τοῦ πρώτου αἰτίου. Κατά τοῦτον τόν λόγον καί ὁ Κύριος ὑπό τῶν μαθητῶν αἰτεῖ, «ἵνα ὦσι καί αὐτοί ἕν, ὡς καί ἡμεῖς ἕν ἐσμεν, ἵνα ὦσι τετελειωμένοι εἰς τό ἕν», ὅ δηλοῖ τήν ἁγιότητα, (14S_362> ὅ δηλοῖ τήν βασιλείαν, γάννυται δέ, ἤτοι εὐφραίνεται ἐπί τοῖς ἰδίοις ποιήμασιν ὁ Θεός, κατά τό ἐν ψαλμοῖς· «εὐφρανθήσεται Κύριος ἐπί τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῦ», ὅ δηλοῖ τήν κυριότητα.

§ 4. Ὁ ἀμέθεκτος αἴτιος: Ἀμέθεκτος ὁ Θεός κατά τόν τῆς φύσεως λόγον. Ἅγιος ἁγίων ὑμνεῖται: Πῶς Ἅγιος ἁγίων καί τά τοιαῦτα ὑμνεῖται ὁ Θεός,

θαυμασίως ἐτράνωσε, καί φησι, καθ' ὅσον διαφέρει φύσις ἀκραιφνής καί αἰτία ποιότητος καί αἰτιατοῦ· τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τό ὄν πρός τό μή κυρίως ὄν, καί καθ' ὅσον τούτου μετέχοντος αὐτό τό μετεχόμενον, κατά τοσοῦτον διαλλάττει ὁ Θεός ταῦτα λεγόμενος τῶν κατά μέθεξιν τοῦτο ἐσχηκότων· τά γάρ πάντα ἐκ Θεοῦ ἐστι καί λέγεται καί ἔχει, ὁ Θεός ἐξ οὐδενός. ∆ιά τί Ἅγιος ἁγίων, καί Βασιλεύς βασιλευόντων, καί Κύριος τῶν κυρίων, καί Θεός θεῶν λέγεται.

Ἁγίους δέ καί βασιλεῖς: Θείας ἐπινοίας ὁ μακάριος οὗτος ἠξιωμένος, εὐσεβῶς τά παρά τισιν εἰς πολυθεΐαν ἐκπεσόντα φιλοθέως μυσταγωγεῖ καί τάς ἐφεστηκυίας τῶν ὑποβεβηκότων ἀρχάς κατά ἐξοχήν ἁγίους καί βασιλεῖς καί κυρίους καί θεούς λέγεσθαί φησιν, ὥσπερ καί ἐν ἀνθρώποις οἱ ἐξοχώτατοι οὕτω προσαγορεύονται, καί ὥσπερ ἐν ἡμῖν οἱ ἐν ἀρετῇ προὔχοντες διδάσκαλοι τήν ἀρετήν ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ ἑνιαίως συνηθροισμένην ἔχουσι, διά δέ τῆς διδασκαλίας ἑτέροις τάς ἀρετάς μεταδιδόντες πρός τήν διαφοράν τοῦ πλήθους τῶν διδασκομένων πληθύνεται καί ἡ μεταδιδομένη παρ' αὐτῶν ἀρετή· οὕτως ἰσχυροτέρῳ τινί καί θειοτέρῳ τρόπῳ ἐστί τῶν ἀσωμάτων τάξεων θεωρητόν· καί διά τῶν ἀνωτέρων καί πλησιαιτέρων Θεῷ αἱ ὑποβεβηκυῖαι τάξεις μετέχουσι τῶν δωρεῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὥσπερ ἐκ κρατῆρος ὑπερβλύζοντος καί πηγάζοντος, τά μέν πλησιάζοντα (14S_364> σκεύη πρῶτα πληροῦνται, δεχόμενα τό ἐπί τά αὐτά φερόμενον, εἶτα, καί αὐτῶν ὑπερβλυζόντων, διαχεῖται εἰς ἕτερα ὑποκείμενα σκεύη, καί πρός τό πλῆθος τῶν δεχομένων καί τήν διαφοράν εἴτε μικρῶν εἴτε μεγάλων, οἷον διαρραντίζεται τό ἐκ τοῦ κρατῆρος ἀναβλῦζον τῶν πρώτων σκευῶν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἐχόντων κατά τήν ἑνότητα τοῦ πληρώματος τό πρώτως ἐκ τοῦ κρατῆρος ἐνεχθέν· οὕτω παχυτέρῳ λόγῳ τήν ἀφθονίαν τῆς μεταδόσεως τῶν θείων δωρεῶν μεριζομένην εἰς ἅπαντας διά τῶν πρώτων διακόσμων νοητέον. Καί ὁ Ἀπόστολος «σκεῦος γάρ ἐκλογῆς» ὠνομάσθη. Σημείωσαι δέ, ὅτι ἀμέθεκτον νῦν τόν Θεόν κατά τόν τῆς φύσεως λόγον φησί.

∆ιαφοράς πληθύουσι: Τουτέστι πλείους δεικνύουσιν· ὅσον γάρ διάφορα τά μετέχοντα, τοσοῦτον καί αἱ δωρεαί πολυειδεῖς διαφαίνονται.

ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ ΙΓ'

§ 1. Ὑφ' ἑαυτοῦ μονοειδῶς ἀφοριζόμενον: Ὁ Θεός ἑαυτοῦ καί ὅρος καί τόπος,

καί οὐδέν ὑπερεκτείνεται τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλά καί τά ἄπειρα αὐτός περατοῖ· τούς γάρ αἰῶνας ἀπείρους ὄντας (οὐδέ γάρ ἔχουσι πέρας) αὐτός τῷ ἀπείρῳ μεγέθει ὑπερέχων τῷ ἑαυτοῦ ἀπειροπλασίῳ περιέχει, καί πᾶσαν ἀοριστίαν ζωῆς, ὡς ἐπί τῶν νοητῶν· οὐ γάρ ὥριστα τούτοις ὁ βίος, ὡς ἐπί ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλ' ἀθάνατοι ἐκτίσθησαν. Ὁ δέ Θεός ἐν τῷ ὑπεραιωνίῳ ἑστώς, τῆς ἰδίας ἀϊδίτητος ὁρίζεται.