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209 xii, 1-3. And the Lord said to Abram: Go forth from your land and from your kindred and from the house of your father to the land which I shall show you; and I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will magnify your name and you shall be blessed, and I will bless those who bless you, and those who curse you I will curse; and in you all the tribes of the earth shall be blessed. God does not command Abraham to depart from his land and his kindred arbitrarily, but having seen in him <something> worthy of being placed henceforth under his care, which was faith in him, and it was not fitting for one having faith in God to remain with the wicked; for his father was an idolater. For often the company of the wicked harms the virtuous, and especially when they are newly established. For this very reason the Savior also proclaims: "If anyone wishes to come after me and does not hate his father and his brothers and his sisters, and even also his wife and children, he cannot be my disciple". The Lord did not say this to work hatred of one's own family, but if any of these things should become an impediment to virtue, it must be hated for the sake of virtue, which the disciples did and said: "Behold, we have left everything and have followed you". This, then, is also commanded now to the patriarch, <with God> promising to show him a land, that he might dwell there, and to make him into a great nation, and to bless and magnify his name and to show him to be blessed, so that those who bless him receive blessings from him, while those who curse him undergo a curse from him. In addition to these things, it is promised to him in a promise that in him all the tribes of the earth shall be blessed, all of which things are not human, as we will know from the anagogical interpretation, beginning from this point on high. The devil is the father of every sinner according to what is said: "Everyone who commits sin is of the devil". 210 For just as the one who does the will of God becomes his offspring, -for he says, "Everyone" "who practices righteousness has been born of God"-, so "the one who commits sin is of the devil" and of its father. And he has a kindred constituted from this father. God therefore exhorts him to depart from this, calling it land, -for there is nothing heavenly but everything is earthly in the adversary, the devil, -so that thus putting off the image of the man of dust he might take up the image of the man of heaven. And something like this is found in a psalm, spoken to the church from the nations: "Listen, daughter, and see and incline your ear and forget your people and the house of your father, because the king has desired your beauty, and he is your Lord". For since she had already begun to be moved from idolatry, the Word, rousing her with a prophetic eye, calls her daughter, urging her to both hear and to see, since the Word of God can be both heard and seen by a pure heart, and in addition to this, to incline her ear, so that from these things she might forget "your people", her own, "and your father", having renounced him, adding also the reason, which we said was also present in the patriarch, the beauty of the soul; for nothing adorns the soul so much as virtue. One must therefore forget all earthly things which are divided into the aforementioned categories. And he says for the virtuous man to come into a land which God will show him, not a visible one, even if this also followed for the sake of a symbol, but an invisible one; "for hope that is seen is not hope". And what of making him "into a great nation" after taking it literally? For it is clear that this also happened historically. And he truly becomes a great nation, when he is adorned with virtues. And it is manifest that, when greater progress occurs in the soul, a greatness is constituted that is not human, but heavenly, which is a blessing, not uttered merely, but in reality, 211 of the great

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209 χιι, 1-3. Καὶ εἶπεν Κύριος τῷ Ἀβράμ· Ἔξελθε ἐκ τῆς γῆς σου καὶ ἐκ τῆς συγγενείας σου καὶ ἐκ τ[ο]ῦ οἴκου τοῦ πατρός σου εἰς τὴν γῆ[ν] ἣν ἐάν σοι δείξω· καὶ ποιήσω σε εἰς ἔθνος μέγα, καὶ εὐλογήσω σε, καὶ μεγαλυνῶ τὸ ὄνομά σου καὶ ἔσῃ εὐλογητός, καὶ εὐλογήσω το̣υ`̣ς̣ εὐλογοῦντάς σε, καὶ τοὺς καταρωμένους σε καταράσομαι· καὶ ἐνευλογη- θήσονται ἐν σο[ὶ πᾶ]σαι αἱ φυλαὶ τῆς γῆς. Οὐκ ἀποκληρωτικῶς τῷ Ἀβραὰμ ὁ Θεὸς κελεύει ἀποστῆναι τῆς γῆς καὶ τῆς συγγενείας ἑαυτοῦ, ἀλλ' ἐνιδὼν ἐν αὐτῷ ἄξιόν <τι> τοῦ ὑπὸ κηδεμονίαν αὐτοῦ λοιπὸν τετάχθαι, ὅπερ ἦν ἡ εἰς αὐτὸν πίστις, καὶ οὐχ ἥρμοζεν τὸν ἔχοντα πίστιν εἰς Θεὸν παραμενεῖν τοῖς φαύλοις· εἰδωλολάτρης γὰρ ἦν ὁ τούτου πατήρ. Πολλάκις γὰρ ἡ συνουσία τῶν κακῶν βλάπτει τοὺς σπουδαίους, καὶ μάλιστα ὅταν νεοπαγεῖς ὦσιν. ∆ιά τοι τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Σωτὴρ κηρύττει· "6Εἴ τις θέλει ὀπίσω μου ἐλθεῖν καὶ οὐ μισεῖ τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τὰς ἀδελφάς, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ τέκνα, οὐ δύναται εἶναί μου μαθητής"6. Οὐ μῖσος δὲ τῶν οἰκείων ἐνεργαζόμενος τοῦτ̣ο̣ ἔφη ὁ Κύριος, ἀλλ' εἰ ἐμπόδιον τούτων τι πρὸς ἀρετὴν γίνοιτο, [μι]σητέον αὐτὸ δι' ἀρετήν, ὅπερ ποιήσαντες οἱ μαθηταὶ ἔλεγον· "6Ἰδοὺ ἡμεῖς ἀφήκαμεν πάντα καὶ ἠκολουθήκαμέν σοι"6. Τοῦτ' οὖν καὶ νῦν τῷ πατριάρχῃ προστάττεται, <τοῦ Θεοῦ> ἐπαγγελομένου δείξειν αὐτῷ γῆν, ἵν' ἐκεῖ διάγῃ, ποιήσειν τε αὐτὸν εἰς ἔθνος μέγα, εὐλογήσει<ν> τε καὶ μεγαλυνεῖν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ καὶ εὐλογητὸν αὐτὸν ἀπο- δείξειν, ὡς τοὺς εὐλογοῦντας αὐτὸν τυγχάνειν παρ' αὐτοῦ εὐλογίας, τοὺς δὲ καταρωμένους κατάραν ὑφίστασθαι πα[ρ' αὐ]τοῦ. Πρὸς δὲ τούτοις ἐν ὑποσχέσει αὐτῷ κατε- παγ̣γ̣έλλεται ἐνε[υλο]γηθῆναι ἐν αὐτῷ πᾶσας τὰς φυλὰς τῆς γῆς, ἅπερ ἅπαντα οὐκ ἀνθρ[ώ]πινα τυγχάνει, ὡς ἐκ τῆς ἀναγωγῆς εἰσόμεθα [τὰ] ἐντεῦθεν ἄν̣ω̣θε̣[ν] ἀρχόμενοι. Παντὸς ἁμαρτωλοῦ διάβολος πατή[ρ ἐσ]τιν κατὰ τὸ ε̣ι᾿̣ρη- μένον· "6Πᾶς ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστίν"6. 210 Ὡς γὰρ ὁ πο̣ι̣ῶν τὸ θέλη[μα τοῦ] Θεοῦ γέννημα αὐτοῦ γίνεται, -"6Π̣[ᾶς]"6 γάρ φησιν "6ὁ ποιῶν τὴν δικαι- [οσύν]ην ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ γεγέννηται"6-, οὕτως "6ὁ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ποιῶν ἐκ τοῦ δ̣ιαβο´̣λου ἐστίν"6 καὶ πατρὸς αὐτῆς̣. Ἔχει δὲ καὶ συγγένειαν τὴν ἐκ τούτου̣ [τοῦ] πατρὸς σύστασιν. Ταύτην οὖν ὑπεξελθεῖν αὐτῷ παρακελε̣ύετ̣αι Θεὸς γῆν αὐτὴν καλ[ῶν, -ο]ὐδὲν γὰρ οὐράνιον ἀλλὰ πάντα γήϊν̣α ἐν τῷ ἀντικειμένῳ διαβόλῳ, -ἵν' οὕτω ἀποθέμενος τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ χοϊκοῦ ἀναλάβῃ τὴν εἰκόν̣α̣ τοῦ ἐπουρανίου. Τοιοῦτον δ' ἐν ψαλμῷ φέρεται πρὸς τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐκκλησίαν λεγόμενον· "6Ἄκουσον, θύγατερ, καὶ ἰδὲ καὶ κλῖνον τὸ οὖς σου καὶ ἐπιλάθου τοῦ λαοῦ σου καὶ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ πατρός σου, ὅτι ἐπεθύμησεν ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῦ κάλλους σου, καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ Κύριός σου"6. Ἤδη γὰρ αὐτὴν ὑπαρξαμένην τοῦ κινεῖσθαι ἀπὸ τῆς εἰδωλολατρείας προφητικῷ ὀφθαλμῷ διεγείρων ὁ λόγος θυγατέρα καλεῖ προτρεπόμενος αὐτὴν ἀκοῦσαί τε καὶ ἰδεῖν, τοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ λόγου ἅμα καὶ τὸ ἀκούεσθαι καὶ τὸ ὁρᾶσθαι ἔχοντος καρδίᾳ καθαρᾷ, πρὸς δὲ τοῦτο καὶ κλῖναι τὸ οὖς, ἵν' ἐκ τούτων ἐπιλάθῃ "6τοῦ λαοῦ σου"6 οἰκείου "6καὶ πατρός σου"6 ἀποταξαμένη αὐτῷ, προσθεὶς καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν, ἥνπερ καὶ ἐν τῷ πατριάρχῃ ἐφάσκομεν ἐνυπάρχειν, κάλλος ψυχῆς· οὐδὲν γὰρ οὕτως καλλωπίζει τὴν ψυχὴν ὡς ἀρετη´̣. ∆εῖ οὖν ἐπιλαθέσθαι πάντων τῶν γηΐνων ἃ διαιρεῖται εἰς τὰ προειρημένα. Φησὶν δὲ τῷ σπουδαίῳ ἥκειν εἰς γῆν ἣν ἐὰν αὐτῷ δείξῃ Θεός, οὐχ ὁρατο´̣ν, εἰ καὶ συμβόλου χάριν καὶ τοῦτο παρηκολούθησεν, ἀλλ' ἀόρατον· "6ἐλπὶς γὰρ βλεπομένη οὐκ ἔστιν ἐλπίς"6. Τί δὲ καὶ τὸ ποιήσειν [αὐ]τὸν "6εἰς ἔθνος μέγα"6 μετὰ τὸ κατὰ τὸ ῥητὸν ἐκλαβεῖν; ∆ῆλον γὰρ [ὅτ]ι καὶ καθ' ἱστορίαν τοῦτο ὑπῆρξεν. Μέγα δέ ἐστιν τῷ ὄντ̣ι γινόμενος ἔθνος, ὅταν ἐξ ἀρετῶν κοσμῆται. Φανερὸν δὲ ὅτι, πλειον·[··]· προκοπῶν ἐν ψυχῇ γινομένων, μέγεθος οὐκ ἀνθρώπινο[ν σ]υνίσταται, ἀλλ' οὐράνιον, ὅπερ εὐλογία ἐστίν, ου᾿̣ ψιλῶς προφερομένη, ἀλλὰ πραγματικῶς, 211 μεγάλου τοῦ