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at the time of the uprising of temptations, refraining from the contemplation of nature, but holding fast to prayer through the intellect's concentration from all things to itself and to God, he slays the habit productive of evil which consists in the unnatural movement of the soul's natural powers with respect to sense-perceptible things and turns away with shame the devil, who has cast away the aforesaid habit, in which he trusted when he came with his proper arrogance to the soul, vaunting himself against the truth through proud thoughts.

Which thing perhaps having known and suffered and done, the great David, he who had experience of the battle-line of noetic wars more than all, "When the sinner," he says, "stood against me, I was dumb and was humbled and kept silent from good things," and after him the divine Jeremiah, commanding the people (14B_344> not to go out of the city because of the sword of the enemies dwelling round about. And if the blessed Abel had guarded this and had not gone out with Cain into the field, that is, into the breadth of the contemplation of nature before impassibility, he would not have risen up and slain him with deceit, having stolen by skilled means according to the contemplation of beings before the perfect state, the law of the flesh being and being called Cain; which first fruit of the transgression he acquired, according to the power of his name, the first man Adam, having begotten a law of sin, which God did not create for him in paradise; for Cain is interpreted "acquisition." Likewise also Dinah, the daughter of the great Jacob, if she had not gone out with the daughters of the natives, that is, with the sensory images, Shechem son of Hamor would not have risen up and humbled her. Now Shechem is interpreted "back," and Hamor "ass," that is, the body. The back, therefore, that is, Shechem, of Hamor, that is, of the body, is a law from behind, but not from before, that is, later, but not first. For in the beginning, that is, before the transgression of the divine commandment happened, this human body, that is, Hamor, did not have the law of sin, I mean Shechem, but later the law grew upon the body through the disobedience of sin; which the true word, having discerned, named Shechem on account of its later genesis, that is, "back," which is "behind"; for the back clearly signifies according to nature that which is behind. So it is good not to touch the contemplation of nature before the perfect state, lest, while seeking spiritual principles from visible creatures, we unwittingly gather passions. For in the imperfect, the visible forms of visible things have more power over the senses than the principles of created things hidden in the forms have over the soul.

(14B_346> SCHOLIA 1. The unerring contemplation of beings, requires a soul freed from passions; which

is called Jerusalem, on account of both perfect virtue and immaterial knowledge; which comes about not only by the privation of passions, but also of sensible images, which the Word has called waters of the outer springs.

2. Faith consoles the intellect under attack, strengthening it with the hope of help; and hope, by bringing into view the help that is believed in, repels the assault of the adversaries. But love renders the attack of the enemies dead to the God-loving intellect, being completely obscured by the longing for God.

3. The first resurrection in us, he says, of God who was dead to us through ignorance, is faith, well administered by the works of the commandments.

4. Things, he says, are consonant with their names. For without some expectation, either difficult or easy, a return to the good is by nature never wont to happen for anyone.

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κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τῆς τῶν πειρασμῶν ἐπαναστάσεως τῆς μὲν φυσικῆς ἀπεχόμενος θεωρίας, τῆς δὲ προσευχῆς κατὰ τὴν ἐκ πάντων πρὸς ἑαυτόν τε καὶ τὸν Θεὸν τοῦ νοῦ συστολὴν ἀντεχόμενος, ἀποκτείνει τὴν ἐπ᾽ αἰσθήσεσι τῶν φυσικῶν τῆς ψυχῆς δυνάμεων παρὰ φύσιν κινουμένων ποιητικὴν τῆς κακίας ἕξιν καὶ ἀποστρέφει μετ᾽ αἰσχύνης τὸν διάβολον ἀποβαλόμενον τὴν εἰρημένην ἕξιν, ἐφ᾽ ᾗ πεποιθὼς μετὰ τῆς οἰκείας ἀλαζονείας ἦλθε πρὸς τὴν ψυχήν, διὰ τῶν ὑπερηφάνων λογισμῶν τῆς ἀληθείας κατεπαιρόμενος.

Ὅπερ τυχὸν καὶ γνοὺς καὶ παθὼν καὶ ποιήσας ὁ μέγας ∆αβίδ, ὁ πάντων μάλιστα πεῖραν ἔχων τῆς τῶν νοητῶν πολέμων παρατάξεως, ἐν τῷ συστῆναι, φησί, τὸν ἁμαρτωλὸν ἐναντίον μου, ἐκωφώθην καὶ ἐταπεινώθην καὶ ἐσίγησα ἐξ ἀγαθῶν, καὶ μετ᾽ αὐτὸν ὁ θεῖος Ἱερεμίας, προστάσσων τῷ λαῷ (14Β_344> μὴ ἐκβῆναι τῆς πόλεως διὰ τὴν κυκλόθεν παροικοῦσαν τῶν ἐχθρῶν ῥομφαίαν. Καὶ τοῦτο εἴπερ Ἄβελ ὁ μακάριος ἐφυλάξατο καὶ μὴ συνεξῆλθε τῷ Κάϊν ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ, τουτέστιν ἐν τῷ πλάτει τῆς φυσικῆς θεωρίας πρὸ τῆς ἀπαθείας, οὐκ ἂν ἐπαναστὰς ἀπέκτεινεν αὐτὸν μετὰ δόλου, κλέψας τοῖς δεξιοῖς κατὰ τὴν τῶν ὄντων θεωρίαν πρὸ τῆς τελείας ἕξεως, ὁ τῆς σαρκὸς νόμος ὁ Κάϊν καὶ ὢν καὶ καλούμενος· ὃν πρῶτον ἐκτήσατο καρπὸν τῆς παραβάσεως, κατὰ τὴν δύναμιν τῆς αὐτοῦ προσηγορίας, ὁ πρῶτος ἄνθρωπος Ἀδάμ, γεννήσας νόμον ἁμαρτίας, ὃν κατὰ τὸν παράδεισον αὐτῷ ὁ θεὸς οὐκ ἐδημιούργησε· κτῆσις γὰρ ἑρμηνεύεται ὁ Κάϊν. Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ∆ίνα, ἡ τοῦ μεγάλου θυγάτηρ Ἰακώβ, εἰ μὴ συνεξῆλθε ταῖς θυγατράσι τῶν ἐγχωρίων, τουτέστι ταῖς αἰσθητικαῖς φαντασίαις, οὐκ ἂν Συχὲμ υἱὸς Ἐμμὸρ ἐπαναστὰς αὐτὴν ἐταπείνωσε. Συχὲμ δὲ ἑρμηνεύεται νῶτος, Ἐμμὸρ δὲ ὄνος, τουτέστι τὸ σῶμα. Ὁ μὲν οὖν νῶτος, τουτέστιν ὁ Συχέμ, τοῦ Ἐμμόρ, ἤγουν τοῦ σώματος, ὀπίσθιος νόμος ἐστίν, ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐμπρόσθιος, τουτέστιν ὕστερος, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ πρῶτος. Κατ᾽ ἀρχὰς γάρ, ἤτουν ἔμπροσθεν, πρὶν γενέσθαι τῆς θείας ἐντολῆς τὴν παράβασιν, οὐκ εἶχε τὸ σῶμα τοῦτο τὸ ἀνθρώπινον, τουτέστιν ὁ Ἐμμόρ, τὸν νόμον τῆς ἁμαρτίας, λέγω δὲ τὸν Συχέμ, ἀλλ᾽ ὕστερον ἐπεφύη τῷ σώματι διὰ τὴν παρακοὴν τῆς ἁμαρτίας ὁ νόμος· ὃν ὁ ἀληθὴς διασκοπήσας λόγος διὰ τὴν ὕστερον γένεσιν προσηγόρευσε Συχέμ, τουτέστι νῶτον, ὅπέρ ἐστιν ὀπίσθιος· τὸ γὰρ ὀπίσθιον δηλοῖ σαφῶς κατὰ φύσιν ὁ νῶτος. Ὥστε καλόν ἐστι πρὸ τῆς τελείας ἕξεως μὴ ἅπτεσθαι τῆς φυσικῆς θεωρίας, ἵνα μή, λόγους ἐπιζητοῦντες πνευματικοὺς ἐκ τῶν ὁρωμένων κτισμάτων, λάθωμεν πάθη συλλέγοντες. Πλέον γὰρ ἐν τοῖς ἀτελέσι δυναστεύει πρὸς τὴν αἴσθησιν τὰ φαινόμενα σχήματα τῶν ὁρωμένων ἢ πρὸς τὴν ψυχὴν οἱ ἐγκεκρυμμένοι τοῖς σχήμασι λόγοι τῶν γεγονότων.

(14Β_346> ΣΧΟΛΙΑ 1. Ἡ τῶν ὄντων ἀπλανής θεωρία, παθῶν ἀπηλλαγμένης δεῖται ψυχῆς· ἥτις

Ἱερουσαλήμ λέγεται, διά τε τήν ἄρτιον ἀρετήν, καί τήν ἄϋλον γνῶσιν· ἥτις οὐ μόνον κατά στέρησιν παθῶν, ἀλλά καί φαντασιῶν αἰσθητῶν ἐπιγίνεται, ἅσπερ ὕδατα τῶν ἔξω πηγῶν κέκληκεν ὁ λόγος.

2. Ἡ πίστις παραμυθεῖται τόν νοῦν πολεμούμενον, βοηθείας ἐλπίδι ῥωννύμενον· ἡ δέ ἐλπίς ὑπ᾿ ὄψιν ἄγουσα τήν πιστευθεῖσαν βοήθειαν, ἀποκρούεται τήν τῶν ἀντικειμένων καταδρομήν. Ἡ δέ ἀγάπη, νεκράν καθίστησι τῷ φιλοθέῳ νῷ τῶν πολεμίων τήν προσβολήν, τῇ πρός Θεόν ἐφέσει παντελῶς ἀμαυρουμένην.

3. Πρώτη ἐν ἡμῖν ἀνάστασις, φησίν, τοῦ διά τῆς ἀγνοίας ἡμῖν νεκρωθέντος Θεοῦ, ἡ πίστις ἐστί καλῶς τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν ἐντολῶν οἰκονομουμένη.

4. Συνᾴδει, φησίν, τά πράγματα τοῖς ὀνόμασιν. Χωρίς γάρ τινος προσδοκίας, ἤ δυσχεροῦς ἤ εὐχεροῦς ἐπιστροφή πρός τό καλόν οὐδενί ποτε πέφυκε γίνεσθαι.