81

he has ranked it with evil things and he will rightly be held responsible, especially because he has attempted to steal the assent of his hearers through such a contrivance, since God through the prophet says that this is the iniquity of the condemned priests among the Jews, that "they did not distinguish the holy from the profane". And so this man, along with many other good activities common to soul and body, has not distinguished blessed mourning from profane activities.

"But I," he says, "do not consider this mourning to be dispassionate and blessed; for how could that which is accomplished by the activity of the passible part of the soul be dispassionate? And how could he be dispassionate who has this passible part active, but has not completely worked its mortification into a state?". But we were not taught that dispassion is this, O philosopher, the mortification of the passible part, but its redirection from worse things to better things and its activity, as a state, toward divine things, having wholly turned away from evil things and turned toward good things; and for us, he is dispassionate who has un-acquired evil states and become rich in good ones, he who has "become so qualified by the virtues as the passionate are by pleasures that are not good," who has so subjected the irascible and the concupiscible, which together are the passible part of the soul, to the gnostic, critical, and reasoning part of the soul, as the passionate subject the reasoning part to the passible part. For it is the misuse of the powers of the soul that brings forth the abominations of the passions, just as the misuse of the knowledge of beings brings forth foolish wisdom. (p. 390) But if one uses these well, through the knowledge of beings understood spiritually he will procure the knowledge of God, and through the passible part of the soul, being moved for the purpose for which it was made by God, he will work the appropriate virtues, embracing love with the concupiscible part, and acquiring patience with the irascible part. Not he who has mortified it, therefore, since he will also be motionless and inactive toward divine states and relations and dispositions, but he who has subjected this part, so that by obeying the intellect, which has by nature obtained the leadership, being led by God where it must, it is lifted up through the unceasing remembrance of God toward God and through this remembrance it arrives at a state of divine disposition and advances this to an excellent state, which is love for God, through which, according to the saying, he fulfills the commandments of the beloved, from which he is taught and acts and acquires sincere and perfect love for his neighbor, without which dispassion cannot be comprehended, among the impossible things.

This, then, is the way to perfect love through dispassion, and it is a distinct way and one that goes upward and it will be most suitable for those who have withdrawn from the world; for having given their leisure to God and having persevered in converse with Him with an untroubled mind, through this association they easily put away the rubbish of evil passions and store up love for themselves. But for those who are occupied in the world, it is for them to force themselves according to the commandments of God to use the things of the world. Therefore the passible part of the soul, partaking of this force, will also act according to them. And this force, having become chronic through habit, creates a pleasant relation to the commandments of God and transforms the disposition into a state; and this grants the most steadfast hatred for evil states and relations, and such hatred for evil things bears the fruit of dispassion, from which love for the (p. 392) only good One is born. Therefore, one must present the passible part of the soul to God as living and active, that it may be a living sacrifice, which is what the apostle also said concerning our body: "For I beseech you," he says, "by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, well-pleasing to God." How then might our body be presented as a living sacrifice, well-pleasing to God? Whenever our

81

πονηραῖς συνέταξε καί ταύτην ὑπαίτιος δικαίως ἔσται καί μάλισθ᾿ ὅτι τήν τῶν ἀκροωμένων συγκατάθεσιν κλέψαι διά τῆς τοιαύτης μηχανῆς ἐπικεχείρηκεν, ἐπειδή τοῦτό φησιν ὁ Θεός διά τοῦ προφήτου τό ἀνόμημα τῶν κατακρίτων ἐν Ἰουδαίοις ἱερέων, ὅτι «τά ἅγια τῶν βεβήλων οὐ διέστελλον». Καί οὗτος τοίνυν μετά καί πολλῶν ἄλλων κοινῶν ψυχῆς καί σώματος ἀγαθῶν ἐνεργειῶν καί τό μακάριον πένθος τῶν βεβήλων οὐ διέστελεν ἐνεργημάτων.

«Ἀλλ᾿ ἐγώ», φησίν, «οὐ τοῦτο τό πένθος ἡγοῦμαι ἀπαθές καί μακάριον˙ πῶς γάρ ἄν εἴη ἀπαθές ὅ τῇ ἐνεργείᾳ τοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς παθητικοῦ τελεῖται; Πῶς δ᾿ ἄν εἴη ἀπαθής ὁ τό παθητικόν τοῦτ᾿ ἔχων ἐνεργόν, ἀλλά μή καθ᾿ ἕξιν νέκρωσιν αὐτοῦ τελέως ἐξεργασάμενος;». Ἀλλ᾿ ἡμεῖς οὐ τοῦτ᾿ εἶναι ἀπάθειαν ἐδιδάχθημεν, ὦ φιλόσοφε, τήν τοῦ παθητικοῦ νέκρωσιν, ἀλλά τήν ἀπό τῶν χειρόνων ἐπί τά κρείττω μετάθεσιν αὐτοῦ καί τήν ἐπί τά θεῖα καθ᾿ ἕξιν ἐνέργειαν, ὁλικῶς ἀπεστραμμένου τά πονηρά καί ἐπεστραμμένου πρός τά καλά, καί οὗτος ἡμῖν ἀπαθής, ὁ τάς πονηράς ἕξεις ἀποκτησάμενος καί ἐν ταῖς ἀγαθαῖς πλουτήσας, ὀ «οὕτω ποιωθείς ταῖς ἀρεταῖς ὡς οἱ ἐμπαθεῖς ταῖς μή καλαῖς ἡδοναῖς», ὁ οὕτως ὑποτάξας τό θυμικόν τε καί ἐπιθυμητικόν, ἅ συναμφότερά ἐστι τό τῆς ψυχῆς παθητικόν, τῷ γνωστικῷ καί κριτικῷ καί λογιζομένῳ τῆς ψυχῆς, ὡς οἱ ἐμπαθεῖς τῷ παθητικῷ τό λογιζόμενον˙ παράχρησις γάρ ἐστι τῶν δυνάμεων τῆς ψυχῆς ἡ τά τῶν παθῶν ἀποτρόπαια φύουσα, καθάπερ καί τήν μεμωραμένην σοφίαν ἡ τῆς γνώσεως τῶν ὄντων παράχρησις˙ (σελ.390) εἰ δέ τις καλῶς ταύταις χρῷτο, διά μέν τῆς γνώσεως τῶν ὄντων πνευματικῶν ἐκλαμβανομένων τήν θεογνωσίαν πορίσεται, διά δέ τοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς παθητικοῦ, δι᾿ ὅ πρός Θεοῦ πεποίηται κινουμένου, τάς καταλλήλους ἀρετάς ἐργάσεται, τῷ μέν ἐπιθυμητικῷ τήν ἀγάπην ἐνστερνιζόμενος, τῷ δέ θυμοειδεῖ τήν ὑπομονήν κατακτώμενος. Οὐχ ὁ νεκρώσας τοίνυν, ἐπεί καί πρός τάς θείας ἕξεις καί σχέσεις καί διαθέσεις ἔσται ἀκίνητός τε καί ἀνενέργητος, ἀλλ᾿ ὁ τοῦθ᾿ ὑποτάξας, ὥστε διά τοῦ πείθεσθαι τῷ νῷ, φύσει λαχόντι τήν ἡγεμονίαν, πρός Θεοῦ ἀγόμενον ᾗ δέον, ἀνατείνεσθαι διά τῆς ἀδιαλείπτου μνήμης τοῦ Θεοῦ πρός τόν Θεόν καί δι᾿ αὐτῆς εἰς ἕξιν ἀφικνεῖσθαι τῆς θείας διαθέσεως καί εἰς ἀρίστην ἕξιν προβιβάζειν ταύτην, ἥτις ἐστίν ἡ πρός Θεόν ἀγάπη, δι᾿ ἥν πληροῖ κατά τό λόγιον τάς τοῦ ἀγαπωμένου ἐντολάς, ἐξ ὧν διδάσκεται καί ἐνεργεῖ καί κτᾶται τήν εἰλικρινῆ τε καί τελείαν πρός τόν πλησίον ἀγάπην, αἷς μή συνεῖναι τήν ἀπάθειαν, τῶν ἀδυνάτων.

Αὕτη μέν οὖν ἡ πρός τήν τελείαν ἀγάπην δι᾿ ἀπαθείας ὁδός ἐξηλλαγμένη τέ ἐστι καί ἄνω βαίνουσα καί τοῖς ἀνακεχωρηκόσι τοῦ κόσμου μάλιστα ἁρμόσει˙ σχολάσαντες γάρ Θεῷ καί ἀνεπιθολώτῳ νῷ τῇ πρός αὐτόν ὁμιλίᾳ διακαρτερήσαντες, διά τῆς συνουσίας ταύτης εὐχερῶς τόν συρφετόν τῶν πονηρῶν παθημάτων ἀποτίθενται καί τήν ἀγάπην σφίσιν αὐτοῖς ἐνθησαυρίζουσι. Τοῖς δ᾿ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ στρεφομένοις ἐστί βιαζομένους ἑαυτούς κατά τάς ἐντολάς τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῖς τοῦ κόσμου χρῆσθαι πράγμασιν. Οὐκοῦν καί τό παθητικόν τῆς ψυχῆς τῆς βίας ταύτης κοινωνοῦν ἐνεργήσει κατ᾿ ἐκείνας. Αὕτη δέ ἡ βία ἐγχρονίσασα τῇ συνηθείᾳ ἡδεῖαν τήν πρός τάς ἐντολάς τοῦ Θεοῦ σχέσιν ἐμποιεῖ καί τήν διάθεσιν εἰς ἕξιν μετατίθησιν˙ ἡ δέ χαρίζεται τό πρός τάς πονηράς ἕξεις τε καί σχέσεις μονιμώτατον μῖσος, τό δέ πρός τά πονηρά τοιοῦτον μῖσος τήν ἀπάθειαν καρποφορεῖ, παρ᾿ ἧς ἡ πρός τόν (σελ. 392) τόν μόνον ἀγαθόν ἀγάπη τίκτεται. Ζῶν τοίνυν καί ἐνεργόν παραστῆσαι δεῖ τῷ Θεῷ τό τῆς ψυχῆς παθητικόν, ἵνα ᾖ θυσίᾳ ζῶσα, ὅπερ ὁ ἀπόστολος καί περί τοῦ σώματος ἡμῶν εἶπε˙ «παρακαλῶ» γάρ, φησίν, «ὑμᾶς διά τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ παραστῆσαι τά σώματα ὑμῶν θυσίαν ζῶσαν, ἁγίαν, εὐάρεστον τῷ Θεῷ». Πῶς οὖν τό ἡμέτερον σῶμα ζῶν ἄν παρασταίη θυσία τῷ Θεῷ εὐάρεστος; Ὁπότε λεῖα μέν ὁρῶσιν ἡμῶν οἱ