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God rests, keeping sabbath from His own works, according to the saying, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. And, Circumcision of the heart in spirit. And, God blessed the (14__468> seventh day, and hallowed it; for on it He rested from all His works, which God began to do.
1.45 (με΄) God's harvest is the universal abiding and establishment of the worthy in Him, which occurs at the consummation of the ages.
1.46 (μστ΄) Circumcision of the heart in spirit is the complete removal of the natural energies according to sense and intellect concerning sensible and intelligible things, through the presence of the Spirit, which immediately and wholly transforms both body and soul toward that which is more divine.
1.47 (μζ΄) God's sabbath-rest is the attainment of created things altogether to Him; in which He rests from His natural energy upon them, His own most divine energy being ineffably active. For God ceases from the natural energy that is in each of the beings, by which each of the beings is naturally disposed to be moved, whenever each, having partaken of the divine energy in a manner proportionate to it, sets as its limit its own natural energy around God Himself.
1.48 (μη΄) It must be investigated by the diligent, what one ought to understand to be the works of whose generation God began; and again, what are those which He did not begin. For if He rested from all the works which He began to make, it is clear that He did not rest from those which He did not begin to make. Perhaps, then, the works of God that have a temporal beginning of their being are all participating beings; such as the different substances of beings. For they have non-being as prior to their being. For there was a time when participating beings were not. But perhaps the works of God that do not have a temporal beginning of their being are the participated beings, in which the participating beings partake according to grace; such as goodness, and whatever is contained in the principle of goodness. And simply all life, and immortality and simplicity and immutability and infinity, and whatever things are essentially contemplated as being around Him; which are also works of God, and (14__470> have no temporal beginning. For 'was not' is never prior to virtue; nor to any of the other things mentioned; even if the things participating in them have, in themselves, a temporal beginning of their being. 1101 For every virtue is without beginning, not having time as prior to itself; since it has God as the sole eternal begetter of its being.
1.49 (μθ΄) God is infinitely infinitely transcendent to all beings, both participating and participated. For whatever has the principle of being predicated of it, is a work of God; even if one has a temporal beginning of being through generation; and another is innate by grace in those that have come to be, like some inborn power, loudly proclaiming the God who is in all things.
1.50 (ν΄) All immortal things, and immortality itself; and all living things, and life itself; and all holy things, and holiness itself; and all virtuous things, and virtue itself; and all good things, and goodness itself; and all beings, and being itself, are manifestly works of God; but some have a temporal beginning of their being; for there was a time when they were not; but others do not have a temporal beginning of their being. For there was never a time when virtue and goodness and holiness and immortality were not. And those that have a temporal beginning are and are called what they are and are called by participation in those that do not have a temporal beginning. For God is the Creator of all life and immortality, holiness and virtue; for He is transcendent beyond the substance of all things both conceived and spoken.
1.51 (να΄) The sixth day according to Scripture introduces the completion of things that exist according to nature; the seventh circumscribes the movement of temporal particularity; and the eighth indicates the mode of the state that is beyond nature and time.
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τῶν ἰδίων ἔργων σαββατίζων ὁ Θεός ἀναπαύει, κατά τό, Ὁ μέν θερισμός, πολύς· οἱ δέ ἐργάται, ὀλίγοι. Καί, Περιτομή καρδίας ἐν πνεύματι. Καί, Εὐλόγησεν ὁ Θεός τήν (14__468> ἡμέραν τήν ἑβδόμην, καί ἡγίασεν αὐτήν· ὅτι ἐν αὐτῇ κατέπαυσεν ἀπό πάντων τῶν ἔργων αὐτοῦ, ὧν ἤρξατο ὁ Θεός ποιῆσαι.
1.45 (με΄) Θεοῦ θέρος ἐστίν, ἡ εἰς αὐτόν κατά τήν τῶν αἰώνων ἀποπεράτωσιν γινομένη τῶν ἀξίων καθόλου μονή τε καί ἵδρυσις.
1.46 (μστ΄) Ἐν πνεύματι περιτομή καρδίας ἐστίν, ἡ γινομένη τῶν κατ᾿ αἴσθησιν καί νοῦν περί τά αἰσθητά καί τά νοητά φυσικῶν ἐνεργειῶν παντελής περιαίρεσις· διά τῆς ἀμέσως τό τε σῶμα καί τήν ψυχήν ὁλικῶς μεταμορφούσης πρός τό θειότερον, παρουσίας τοῦ Πνεύματος.
1.47 (μζ΄) Θεοῦ σαββατισμός ἐστιν, ἡ εἰς αὐτόν διόλου τῶν πεποιημένων κατάντησις· καθ᾿ ἥν καταπαύει τῆς ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς φυσικῆς ἐνεργείας, τήν αὐτοῦ θειοτάτην ἀῤῥήτως ἐνεργουμένην ἐνέργειαν. Παύεται γάρ ὁ Θεός τῆς ἐν ἑκάστῳ τῶν ὄντων τυχόν φυσικῆς ἐνεργείας, καθ᾿ ἥν ἕκαστον τῶν ὄντων φυσικῶς κινεῖσθαι πέφυκεν, ὁπόταν ἕκαστον τῆς θείας ἀναλόγως ἐπιλαβόμενον ἐνεργείας, τήν κατά φύσιν οἰκείαν περί αὐτόν ὁρίσῃ τόν Θεόν ἐνέργειαν.
1.48 (μη΄) Ζητητέον τοῖς σπουδαίοις, τίνα καθήκει νοεῖν εἶναι τά ἔργα ὦν ἤρξατο τῆς γενέσεως ὁ Θεός· καί τίνα πάλιν, ὧν οὐκ ἤρξατο. Εἰ γάρ πάντων κατέπαυσε τῶν ἔργων, ὧν ἤρξατο ποιῆσαι, δῆλον ἐκείνων οὐ κατέπαυσεν, ὧν οὐκ ἤρξατο ποιῆσαι. Μήποτε οὖν, ἔργα μέν Θεοῦ χρονικῶς ἠργμένα τοῦ εἶναί ἐστι, πάντα τά ὄντα μετέχοντα· οἷον αἱ διάφοροι τῶν ὄντων οὐσίαι. Τό γάρ μή ὄν, ἔχουσι αὐτῶν τοῦ εἶναι πρεσβύτερον. Ἦν γάρ ποτε, ὅτε τά ὄντα μετέχοντα οὐκ ἦν. Θεοῦ δέ ἔργα τυχόν οὐκ ἠργμένα τοῦ εἶναι χρονικῶς, τά ὄντα μεθεκτά, ὧν κατά χάριν μετέχουσι τά ὄντα μετέχοντα· οἷον, ἡ ἀγαθότης, καί πᾶν εἴ τι ἀγαθότητος ἐμπεριέχεται λόγῳ. Καί ἁπλῶς πᾶσα ζωή,καί ἀθανασία καί ἁπλότης καί ἀτρεψία καί ἀπειρία, καί ὅσα περί αὐτόν οὐσιωδῶς θεωρεῖται· ἅτινα καί ἔργα Θεοῦ εἰσι, καί (14__470> οὐκ ἠργμένα χρονικῶς. Οὐ γάρ ποτε πρεσβύτερον ἀρετῆς, τό οὐκ ἦν· οὐδέ τινος ἄλλου τῶν εἰρημένων· κἄν τά μετέχοντα αὐτῶν καθ᾿ αὐτά, ἦρκται τοῦ εἶναι χρονικῶς. 1101 Ἄναρχος γάρ πᾶσα ἀρετή, μή ἔχουσα τόν χρόνον ἑαυτῆς πρεσβύτερον· οἷα τόν Θεόν ἔχουσα τοῦ εἶναι μονώτατον ἀϊδίως γεννήτορα.
1.49 (μθ΄) Πάντων τῶν ὄντων καί μετεχόντων καί μεθεκτῶν, ἀπειράκις ἀπείρως ὁ Θεός ὑπεξῄρηται. Πᾶν γάρ εἴ τι τόν τοῦ εἶναι λόγον ἔχει κατηγορούμενον, ἔργον Θεοῦ τυγχάνει· κἄν τό μέν κατά γένεσιν ἦρκται τοῦ εἶναι χρονικῶς· τό δέ, κατά χάριν τοῖς γεγονόσιν ἐμπέφυκεν, οἷα τις δύναμις ἔμφυτος, τόν ἐν πᾶσι ὄντα Θεόν διαπρυσίως κηρύττουσα.
1.50 (ν΄) Τά ἀθάντα πάντα, καί αὐτή ἡ ἀθανασία· καί τά ζῶντα πάντα, καί αὐτή ἡ ζωή· καί τά ἅγια πάντα, καί αὐτή ἡ ἁγιότης· καί τά ἐνάρετα πάντα, καί αὐτή ἡ ἀρετή· καί τά ἀγαθά πάντα, καί αὐτή ἡ ἀγαθότης· καί τά ὄντα πάντα, καί αὐτή ἡ ὀντότης, Θεοῦ προδήλως ἔργα τυγχάνουσιν· ἀλλά, τά μέν, τοῦ εἶναι χρονικῶς ἠργμένα· ἦν γάρ ποτε, ὅτε οὐκ ἦν· τά δέ, τοῦ εἶναι χρονικῶς οὐκ ἠργμένα. Οὐκ ἦν γάρ ποτε, ὅτε οὐκ ἦν ἀρετή καί ἀγαθότης καί ἁγιότης καί ἀθανασία. Καί τά μέν ἠργμένα χρονικῶς, τῇ μετοχῇ τῶν οὐκ ἠργμένων χρονικῶς εἰσι καί λέγονται τοῦθ᾿ ὅπερ καί εἰσί καί λέγονται. Πάσης γάρ ζωῆς καί ἀθανασίας, ἁγιότητός τε καί ἀρετῆς, δημιουργός ἐστιν ὁ Θεός· ὑπέρ οὐσίαν γάρ πάντων τῶν τε νοουμένων καί λεγομένων ἐξῄρηται.
1.51 (να΄) Ἡ ἕκτη κατά τήν Γραφήν ἡμέρα, τήν τῶν ὑπό φύσιν ὄντων εἰσηγεῖται συμπλήρωσιν· ἡ δέ ἑβδόμη, τῆς χρονικῆς ἰδιότητος περιγράφει τήν κίνησιν· ἡ δέ ὀγδόη, τῆς ὑπέρ φύσιν καί χρόνον ὑποδηλοῖ καταστάσεως τόν τρόπον.