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He speaks of the gift of the Spirit, which makes us partakers and communicants of God.

The belly and stomach and the structure of the internal organs are the capacious and intellectual workshop of the soul, in which you will understand the reasoning faculty as the heart in the middle, and within the reasoning faculty, both the appetitive and the incensive faculties; which, in the manner of ribs, and of muscles and nerves and fat, meekness, simplicity, forbearance, compassion and piety hold together and bind, they tend and cover and do not allow it to look upon visible things or to desire any of the things within them, but neither do they permit it to bear grudges or envy or be jealous or be angry or for these things ever to be seen by men. For since no passionate impulse of theirs at all occurs towards external things, they are kept covered; but these things, being within by themselves and safely guarded by what we have said, the reasoning faculty on the one hand distinguishes and separates the worse from the better and shows to the appetitive faculty those things to which it must be disposed and what things it must love and what things it must turn away from and hate; and the incensive faculty is present in the midst of these like some prudent servant, serving their counsels and cooperating with their wills, stirring it up towards courage and defense of the opposition in either case upon the matters of good or wicked men.

But since God who fashioned these things is incomparably better than all visible things, in place of all and before all things, he who is honored by reason and is untroubled, as we have said, (189) and who has acquired a mind unconfused by passionate preconceptions, will naturally prefer and love the creator and master of all things and will direct his entire appetitive faculty towards him alone, as if somehow showing it to him and saying: "Hear me and see; touch with awe, taste the unblemished sweetness, smell the spiritual myrrh and know that no one is more beautiful or more delightful or more pleasant or altogether more powerful or more glorious than this, nor indeed able to give you life or make you incorruptible or immortal." Therefore, when through all these things the desire of man is fulfilled, then also the entire incensive faculty, having been blended with the reasoning and the appetitive faculties, the three become one in the contemplation of the triadic unity and in the very delight of their master. For the threefold division of these is not at all recognized then, but they are in every way one. When the division of these then, but they are in every way one. Whenever, therefore, from the one and good alone in its simplicity, upon the distinction and division of wicked and good things, these powers turn towards the things here, then their will and division and their turning away towards the things contrary to the divine wills are shown indivisibly; for in these things alone the movement of the incensive faculty occurs.

We had yet more things than these to say about the stomach and liver, about food, about drink, about hunger and thirst; but lest I extend the discourse and make the ineffable things of my words effable to the hunters, to those accustomed to grow rich from others' possessions, we have left these things covered in silence for those wishing to seek them out through practical knowledge. But let us return to the subject at hand. Since, therefore, we have fashioned the body of the stature according to Christ up to the belly and stomach, it is necessary also to ascend to the head until we complete it spiritually, perfect and whole.

Therefore, we fashion together the chest and back, shoulders, arms, hands (190) and also the neck for this body of spiritual stature. And by the chest you will understand compassion, in which the breasts of philanthropy pour forth abundantly the milk of mercy to orphans and widows and all others, according to the saint who says: "Brothers, acquire bowels of mercies." Whence this milk to the

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Πνεύματός φησι δωρεάν, ἥτις συμμετόχους ἡμᾶς καί συγκοινωνούς Θεοῦ ἀπεργάζεται.

Κοιλία καί στόμαχος καί ἡ τῶν ἐνδοσθίων κατασκευή τό χωρητικόν ὑπάρχει καί νοερόν τῆς ψυχῆς ἐργαστήριον, ἐν ᾧ τό λογιστικόν ὡς καρδίαν μέσον νοήσεις, καί ἐν τῷ λογιστικῷ, τό ἐπιθυμητικόν τε καί θυμικόν· ἅ καί δίκην πλευρῶν, ψυῶν τε καί νεύρων καί πιμελῆς, ἡ πρᾳότης, ἡ ἁπλότης, ἡ ἀνεξικακία, ἡ συμπάθεια καί ἡ εὐλάβεια συνέχουσι καί συνδοῦσι, περιέπουσί τε καί συγκαλύπτουσι καί πρός τά ὁρώμενα οὐκ ἐῶσιν ἀποβλέπειν ἤ τινος ἐπιθυμεῖν τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς, ἀλλ᾿ οὐδέ μνησικακεῖν συγχωροῦσιν ἤ φθονεῖν ἤ ζηλοῦν ἤ ὀργίζεσθαι ἤ ὁρᾶσθαι ταῦτά ποτε ὑπό τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Ὁρμῆς γάρ αὐτῶν ἐμπαθοῦς ὅλως πρός τά ἔξω μή γινομένης, κεκαλυμμένα διατηροῦνται· ἔνδοθεν δέ αὐτά καθ᾿ ἑαυτά ὄντα καί ἀσφαλῶς ὑφ᾿ ὧν εἰρήκαμεν φυλαττόμενα, τό μέν λογιστικόν διακρίνει καί διαιρεῖ τό χεῖρον ἀπό τοῦ κρείττονος καί δεικνύει τῶ ἐπιθυμητικῷ οἷς δεῖ σχετικῶς προσκεῖσθαι καί ἅ δεῖ ἀγαπᾶν καί ἅ χρεών ἀποστρέφεσθαι καί μισεῖν· τό δέ θυμικόν μέσον τούτων ὥσπερ τις ὑπηρέτης εὐγνώμων πάρεστι, τοῖς ἐκείνων ἐξυπηρετῶν βουλήμασι καί θελήμασι συνεργῶν, διεγείρων πρός ἀνδρείαν καί ἄμυναν τῶν βουλομένων ἀγαθῶν ἀνδρῶν ἤ πονηρῶν τήν ἐφ᾿ ἑκατέρᾳ τούτων ἐπί τοῖς πράγμασιν ἔνστασιν.

Ἐπεί δέ κρείσσων ἀσυγκρίτως τῶν ὁρωμένων ἁπάντων ὁ ταῦτα κατασκευάσας Θεός, ἀντί πάντων καί πρό πάντων εἰκότως ὁ λόγῳ τετιμημένος καί ἀθόλωτος, ὡς εἴπομεν, (189) καί ἀσύγχυτον ἐκ τῶν ἐμπαθῶν προλήψεων κεκτημένος τόν νοῦν, τόν τῶν ἁπάντων ποιητήν καί δεσπότην προτιμήσει καί ἀγαπήσει καί πρός μόνον ἐκεῖνον ὅλον αὐτοῦ τό ἐπιθυμητικόν ἀνενέγκῃ, οἱονεί πως ὑποδεικνύων αὐτῷ καί λέγων· "Ἄκουσόν μου καί ἴδε· ἅψαι φρικτῶς, γεῦσαι τῆς ἀκηράτου γλυκύτητος, τοῦ πνευματικοῦ ὀσφράνθητι μύρου καί γνῶθι ὡς οὐδείς τούτου ἐστίν ὡραιότερος ἤ τερπνότερος ἤ ἠδύτερος ἤ τό σύνολον δυνατώτερος ἤ ἐνδοξότερος, οὐ μήν ἀλλά γάρ οὐδέ ζωῶσαι ἤ ἀφθαρτῶσαι ἤ ἀπαθανατίσαι σε δυνάμενος". Τοιγαροῦν καί ὅταν διά πάντων τούτων ἡ ἐπιθυμία πληρωθῇ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, τηνικαῦτα καί ὅλον τό θυμικόν τῷ λογιστικῷ τε καί ἐπιθυμητικῷ συγκραθέν, ἕν τά τρία ἐν τῇ θεωρίᾳ τῆς τριαδικῆς ἑνάδος καί ἐν αὐτῆ τῇ τερπνότητι τοῦ ἑαυτῶν γίνονται δεσπότου. Οὐ γάρ ἐπιγινώσκεται ὅλως ἡ τριττή τότε τούτων διαίρεσις, ἀλλ᾿ εἰσίν ἐκ παντός ἕν. Ὁπηνίκα τότε τούτων διαίρεσις, ἀλλ᾿ εἰσίν ἐκ παντός ἕν. Ὁπηνίκα οὖν ἐκ μόνου τοῦ ἑνός καί ἀγαθοῦ τῇ ἁπλότητι, ἐπί τῇ τῶν πονηρῶν καί ἀγαθῶν πραγμάτων διακρίσει καί διαιρέσει, ἐπιστραφῶσιν αἱ δυνάμεις αὗται πρός τά ἐνταῦθα, τηνικαῦτα ἡ τούτων θέλησις καί διαίρεσις καί ἡ πρός τά ἐναντία τῶν θείων θελημάτων ἀποστροφή ἀδιαιρέτως δείκνυται· ἐν γάρ μόνοις τούτοις ἡ τοῦ θυμικοῦ κίνησις γίνεται.

Εἴχομεν ἔτι καί ἕτερα τούτων πλείονα περί στομάχου καί ἥπατος, περί τροφῆς, περί πόσεως, περί πείνης καί δίψης εἰπεῖν· ἀλλ᾿ ἵνα μή μακρόν ἀποτείνω τόν λόγον καί ἔκφορα τά ἀνέκφορα ποιήσω τῶν λόγων τοῖς θηρευταῖς, τοῖς εἰθισμένοις πλουτεῖν ἐξ ἀλλοτρίων χρημάτων, κατελίπομεν ταῦτα τῇ σιωπῇ κεκαλυπτόμενα τοῖς διά τῆς πρακτικῆς γνώσεως ἐκζητεῖν βουλομένοις. Ἀλλ᾿ ἐπί τό προκείμενον ἐπανέλθωμεν. Ἐπεί οὖν μέχρι γαστρός καί στομάχου τό σῶμα τῆς κατά Χριστόν διεπλάσαμεν ἡλικίας, χρεών καί μέχρι τῆς κεφαλῆς ἀνελθεῖν ἕως οὗ ἄρτιον καί σῶον αὐτό πνευματικῶς ἐκπληρώσωμεν.

Στῆθος τοιγαροῦν καί νῶτον, ὤμους, βραχίονας, χεῖρας (190) ἤδη καί τράχηλον τούτῳ τῷ σώματι τῆς πνευματικῆς ἡλικίας συμπλάττομεν. Καί στῆθος μέν ἐπί τούτῳ νοήσεις τήν εὐσπλαγχνίαν, ἐν ᾗ οἱ μαστοί τῆς φιλανθρωπίας τό γάλα τῆς ἐλεημοσύνης ὀρφανοῖς καί χήραις καί πᾶσιν ἄλλοις ἀφθόνως προχέουσι κατά τόν λέγοντα ἅγιον· "Ἀδελφοί, κτήσασθε σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμῶν". Ὅθεν τό γάλα τοῦτο τοῖς