80

of the pipe and kithara and sambuca and psaltery, a symphony, and of every kind of music sounding in concert, the peoples and the tribes and the tongues were falling down; but those who from afar could not bear to drink the Babylonian wine and who detested the luxury of the royal table, neither fell down and worshipped, and they despised all human dominion, and they even extinguished the power of the fire. But if it is a sin not to see the works of the Lord and not to understand the works of his hands, let us lift up the eyes of our mind and know the creative principles of the works of God, and from the greatness of the beauty of created things, seeing the creator of the works in proportion to the things created. And since *The invisible things of God, from the creation of the world, being understood by the things that are made, are clearly seen*, the perceptible apprehension of the things that are made is perhaps called sight, but the intelligible comprehension of the super-cosmic is called understanding. For this reason: *The works* (he says) *of the Lord they do not see* (that is, they do not look at perceptible things through their sight); *and the works of his hands they do not understand*, that is, through the activity of the mind they do not seek out the comprehension of invisible things. But that the name of morning may be made still clearer to us, that the return from darkness (whether that according to the irrationality of youth, or that of the ignorance of God arising in souls) the first entrance into the truth is called morning. You will collect the many passages of the Prophets concerning the morning, or concerning the dawn, in order that by the citation of many examples the subject at hand may become clear. For example, *I sent the Prophets at dawn*; and, *In the morning you shall hear my voice*; and, *In the morning I will stand before you and will look upon you*; and, *From the night my spirit watches for you, O God*; and, *O God, my God, to you I watch at dawn*; and, *In the mornings I destroyed all the sinners of the land*; and, *In the evening weeping will lodge, and in the morning, rejoicing*. How then, suitably to the benefaction of God happening to men, are the Prophets sent in the morning? Because every word, coming from God, comes to us who are able to hear the divine will, not touching those who are in childish folly, but those already having the natural concepts for the discernment of good and evil. Concerning these, therefore, is the word, that as soon as they bent towards understanding and, as it were, lifted up the eyes of the soul from their previous ignorance and received some light in the eyes of the heart, the word of God entered in at the same time, defining what is to be done and what is honorable. Of the same mind also is that of the psalm: *In the morning you shall hear my voice, in the morning I will stand before you*. 5.162 For as long as night is around our soul and the sun has not yet risen, it is not possible to be heard by God; but whenever the soul, having been purified from ignorance concerning God, offers up prayers, having come to be in the brightness of the rational and spiritual day, it has God hearing its voice. For this reason he says: *In the morning I will stand before you and will look upon you*. For if you are going to stand before God, do not stand by any wicked thing, but do what was commanded to Moses: *but you, stand here before me*, steadfast, and unshaken and unmovable, standing before him by faith, that you may become worthy of beholding the spectacles of truth. *I will stand before you* (he says) *and will look upon you*. For as long as one is contemplative of the beauty appearing in visible things, one is called a physicist or a natural philosopher; but whenever one, having surpassed these things, stands before God himself, after having known in what way all things are exceedingly good, and from the beauty in these things to run back up to that which is truly beautiful and lovely, the sight of which is naturally seen only by pure souls, then having advanced to things higher than natural philosophy, the things called by some metaphysical, he is able to become an epopt. When therefore (he says) I stand before you and draw near to the very contemplation of you through the mind, then the epoptic

80

σύριγγος καὶ κιθάρας καὶ σαμβύκης καὶ ψαλτηρίου συμφωνίας, καὶ παντὸς γένους μουσικῶν συνηχούντων, οἱ μὲν λαοὶ καὶ αἱ φυλαὶ καὶ αἱ γλῶσσαι κατέπιπτον· οἱ δὲ τὸν Βαβυλώνιον οἶνον πίνειν πόῤῥωθεν μὴ ἀνασχόμενοι καὶ τὴν τρυφὴν βδελυξάμενοι τῆς βασιλικῆς τραπέζης, οὔτε πεσόντες προσεκύνησαν καὶ κατεφρόνησαν πάσης ἀνθρωπίνης δυναστείας καὶ αὐτὴν δὲ κατέσβεσαν τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ πυρός. Εἰ δὲ ἁμάρτημά ἐστι τὸ μὴ βλέπειν τὰ ἔργα Κυρίου καὶ τὰ ἔργα τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ μὴ κατανοεῖν, ἐπάρωμεν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῆς δια νοίας ἡμῶν καὶ εἰδῶμεν τοὺς δημιουργικοὺς λόγους τῶν ἔρ γων τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τοῦ μεγέθους τῆς καλλονῆς τῶν κτισμά των, ἀνάλογον τοῖς δημιουργηθεῖσι τὸν τῶν ποιημάτων γε νεσιουργὸν καθορῶντες. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ Τὰ ἀόρατα τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀπὸ κτίσεως κόσμου, τοῖς ποιήμασι νοούμενα καθορᾶται, ἡ μὲν αἰσθητὴ τῶν ποιημάτων ἀντίληψις ὅρασις τάχα εἴρη ται, ἡ δὲ νοητὴ τῶν ὑπερκοσμίων κατάληψις νόησις προσ ηγόρευται. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο· Τὰ ἔργα (φησὶ) τοῦ Κυρίου οὐκ ἐμ βλέπουσι (τουτέστι τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς διὰ τῶν ὄψεων οὐ προσ βλέπουσι)· καὶ τὰ ἔργα τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ οὐ κατανοοῦσι, τουτέστι διὰ τῆς τοῦ νοῦ ἐνεργείας τὴν κατάληψιν τῶν ἀοράτων οὐκ ἐκζητοῦσιν. Ἵνα δὲ ἔτι μᾶλλον ἡμῖν τὸ τῆς πρωΐας ὄνομα τρανωθῇ, ὅτι ἡ ἀπὸ σκότους ἐπάνοδος (εἴτε τοῦ κατὰ τὴν ἐκ τῆς νεότητος ἀλογίαν, εἴτε τοῦ τῆς ἀγνωσίας τοῦ Θεοῦ ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἐγγινο μένου) ἡ πρώτη εἴσοδος εἰς τὴν ἀλήθειαν πρωΐα λέγεται. Συνάξεις δὲ τὰ πολλαχοῦ τῶν Προφητῶν περὶ πρωΐας, ἢ περὶ ὄρθρου, ὑπὲρ τοῦ τῇ τῶν πλειόνων παραθέσει φανῆναι τὸ προ κείμενον. Οἷον, Ἀπέστελλον ὄρθρου τοὺς Προφήτας· καὶ τὸ Πρωῒ εἰσακούσῃ τῆς φωνῆς μου· καὶ τὸ Πρωῒ παραστή σομαί σοι καὶ ἐπόψομαι· καὶ τὸ Ἐκ νυκτὸς ὀρθρίζει τὸ πνεῦμά μου πρὸς σὲ, ὁ Θεός· καὶ Ὁ Θεὸς, ὁ Θεός μου, πρὸς σὲ ὀρθρίζω· καὶ τὸ Εἰς τὰς πρωΐας ἀπέκτεινον πάντας τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς τῆς γῆς· καὶ τὸ Ἑσπέρας αὐλισθήσεται κλαυθ μὸς, καὶ εἰς τὸ πρωῒ ἀγαλλίασις. Πῶς οὖν, ἐπιβαλλόντως τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ εὐεργεσίᾳ εἰς ἀνθρώ πους γινομένῃ, πρωῒ ἀποστέλλονται οἱ Προφῆται; Ὅτι πᾶς λόγος, ἀπὸ Θεοῦ ἐρχόμενος, ἡμῖν τοῖς δυναμένοις κατακούειν τοῦ θείου βουλήματος ἔρχεται, τῶν ἐν παιδικῇ ἀνοίᾳ ὄντων οὐ καθαπτόμενος, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἐχόντων ἤδη τὰς φυσικὰς ἐννοίας πρὸς διάκρισιν καλοῦ τε καὶ κακοῦ. Περὶ τούτων οὖν ὁ λόγος, ὅτι ἅμα τῷ παρακύψαι αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν νόησιν καὶ οἱονεὶ ἐπᾶραι ἀπὸ τῆς πρὸ τούτου ἀγνοίας τοὺς τῆς ψυχῆς ὀφθαλ μοὺς καὶ δέξασθαί τινα αὐγὴν τοῖς τῆς καρδίας ὄμμασι, συν εισέπιπτεν ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ λόγος, τὰ πρακτέα καὶ τίμια διορίζων. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἔχεται νοῦ καὶ τὸ τοῦ ψαλμοῦ· Τὸ πρωῒ εἰσακούσῃ τῆς φωνῆς μου, τὸ πρωῒ παραστήσομαί σοι. 5.162 Ἕως μὲν γὰρ νὺξ ᾖ περὶ τὴν ψυχὴν ἡμῶν καὶ μήπω ἐπανατείλῃ ὁ ἥλιος, οὐκ ἔστιν ἐπακουσθῆναι ὑπὸ Θεοῦ· ἐπειδὰν δὲ ἀποκαθαρθεῖσα ψυχὴ τῆς περὶ Θεοῦ ἀγνοίας ἀνενέγκῃ δεήσεις, ἐν τῇ λαμπρότητι τῆς λογικῆς καὶ πνευ ματικῆς ἡμέρας γενομένη, εἰσακούοντα ἔχει τῆς φωνῆς τὸν Θεόν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτό φησι· Τὸ πρωῒ παραστήσομαί σοι καὶ ἐπόψομαι. Εἰ γὰρ μέλλεις παρίστασθαι τῷ Θεῷ, μηδενὶ πονηρῷ παρίστασο πράγματι, ἀλλὰ ποίει τὰ τῷ Μωϋσεῖ προστεταγμένα· σὺ δὲ αὐτοῦ στῆθι ἐνώπιόν μου, ἑδραῖος, καὶ ἀσάλευτος καὶ ἀμετακίνητος, τῇ πίστει παριστάμενος αὐτῷ, ἵνα ἄξιος γένῃ τοῦ κατοπτεύειν τὰ τῆς ἀληθείας θεάματα. Παραστήσομαί σοι (φησὶ) καὶ ἐπόψομαι. Ἕως μὲν γὰρ ἂν θεωρητικός τις ᾖ τοῦ ἐν τοῖς ὁρατοῖς ἐμφαινομένου κάλ λους, φυσικός τις ἢ φυσιολόγος προσαγορεύεται· ἐπειδὰν δὲ ταῦτά τις ὑπερβὰς, αὐτῷ παραστῇ τῷ Θεῷ, μετὰ τὸ γνῶναι τίνα τρόπον τὰ πάντα ἐστὶ καλὰ λίαν, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐν τούτοις κάλλους ἐπὶ τὸ ὄντως καλὸν καὶ ἐράσμιον ἀναδραμεῖν, οὗ ἡ θέα μόναις ταῖς ψυχαῖς καθαραῖς φαίνεσθαι πέφυκε, τότε ἐπὶ τὰ τῆς φυσιολογίας ἀνώτερα προκόψας, τὰ καλούμενα παρά τισι μεταφυσικὰ, ἐποπτικὸς γενέσθαι δύναται. Ἐπειδὰν οὖν (φησὶ) σοὶ παραστῶ καὶ αὐτῇ τῇ περὶ σοῦ θεωρίᾳ διὰ τοῦ νοῦ προσεγγίσω, τότε τὴν ἐποπτι