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of those on earth has set apart the souls among men dear to God, called by the Hebrew appellations of Jacob and Israel. 4.7.1 Moses, first of theologians, initiated the ancient Hebrews into this greatest of mysteries in secret teachings, saying: "Ask your father, and he will show you; your elders, and they will tell you. When the Most High divided the nations, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the nations according to the number of the angels of God. And Jacob his people became the Lord's portion, Israel the line of his inheritance." 4.7.2 Through these words, then, he names as Most High the highest God of all and over all, and as Lord His Word, who is also called Lord by us in a second sense after the God of all. But he says that to the invisible guardians of the nations, that is to the angels, all the nations and the sons of men, called the sons of Adam, were distributed by the judgment of the Most High God and by reasons ineffable to us; but to the most excellent leader and king of all, that is to Christ, as the only-begotten Son, of those among men Jacob and Israel, that is, the whole insightful and God-fearing race, were delivered. 4.7.3 For the one who is an ascetic of virtue, engaged in a contest, and still striving and wrestling in the exercises of piety, is called Jacob by the Hebrew appellation; but he who has already been deemed worthy of victory and the prizes from God is proclaimed Israel, such as was he himself, who is acclaimed as the forefather of the whole Hebrew nation, and his legitimate children, and the descendants of these and their forefathers, all the prophets and men dear to God; for do not suppose that the multitude of the Jews is signified by this, but only those of old who were perfected in virtue and piety. 4.7.4 Taking these, therefore, the guide and guardian4.7.4 of all, the Word of God, called them back to the worship of the Father alone, that is, of the Most High, calling back his subjects gently and meekly above all things seen and beyond heaven and all created being, and delivering to them for worship only the unbegotten and creator of all, God the Most High. 4.8.1 But the overseers of the other nations, angels and shepherds, for those unable to contemplate the invisible one with their mind, nor to ascend so high through their own weakness, thought it right for them to attend to the visible things in heaven, to the sun and moon and stars, 4.8.2 which indeed, being preeminent in the visible nature of all things, on high and as near as possible, as if in the vestibules of the Universal King, called back the sight of those who see them, manifesting by analogy from the greatness and beauty of the visible creations the contemplation of the Creator of all. "For His invisible attributes," as the divine apostle says, "are clearly seen, being understood from the creation of the world through the things that are made, both His eternal power and divinity." 4.8.3 And this too the great Moses again teaches as a mystery. For urging the lot of the Lord to strive after intelligible and incorporeal things with a clear mind and a purified soul, he restrains them from astonishment at the visible things in heaven, adding: that these things "the Lord your God has allotted to all the nations." But why he said they were allotted, it is necessary to understand. 4.8.4 Since there exists a very deceptive chthonic and demonic substance, flying invisibly to us in the air around the earth, which is unknown and indiscriminable to men, and since it is different from the good spirits and powers and from the divine angels themselves for the worse, it was in no other way good for those who fall away from the highest piety of the Universal King than to choose the best of the visible things in heaven. 4.8.5 For there was no small fear, lest while seeking God, and busying themselves with invisible things, through perplexity concerning the unseen and obscure, they might be turned aside to opposing and demonic powers. Therefore, all the excellent creations of God among the visible things have been handed over to those who do not aim for what is better, so that somehow from here of the contemplation of the invisible, as through a mirror,

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τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς τὰς ἐν ἀνθρώποις θεοφιλεῖς ψυχὰς ἀφωρίσατο, Ἰακὼβ καὶ Ἰσραὴλ Ἑβραίων προσηγορίαις ἐπικαλουμένας. 4.7.1 Τοῦτο μυστηρίων τὸ μέγιστον πρῶτος θεολόγων Μωσῆς ἐν ἀπορρήτοις Ἑβραίους τοὺς πάλαι ἐμυσταγώγει λέγων· «ἐπερώτησον τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ ἀναγγελεῖ σοι, τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους σου καὶ ἐροῦσί σοι. ὅτε διεμέριζεν ὁ ὕψιστος ἔθνη, ὡς διέσπειρεν υἱοὺς Ἀδάμ, ἔστησεν ὅρια ἐθνῶν κατ' ἀριθμὸν ἀγγέλων θεοῦ. καὶ ἐγενήθη μερὶς κυρίου λαὸς αὐτοῦ Ἰακώβ, σχοίνισμα κληρονομίας αὐτοῦ Ἰσραήλ». 4.7.2 ∆ιὰ τούτων γοῦν ὕψιστον μὲν τὸν ἀνωτάτω καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσιν θεὸν τῶν ὅλων ὀνομάζει, κύριον δὲ τὸν τούτου λόγον, τὸν δὴ καὶ δευτέρως ἡμῖν μετὰ τὸν τῶν ὅλων θεὸν κυριολογούμενον. ἀλλὰ γὰρ τοῖς μὲν τῶν ἐθνῶν ἀοράτοις προστάταις, αὐτοῖς δὴ τοῖς ἀγγέλοις, τὰ ἔθνη πάντα καὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων, υἱοὺς Ἀδὰμ ἐπικα λουμένους, κρίσει τοῦ ὑψίστου θεοῦ καὶ λόγοις ἀρρήτοις ἡμῖν φησιν διανεμηθῆναι· τῷ δὲ πάντων ἐξοχωτάτῳ ἡγεμόνι τε καὶ βασιλεῖ τῶν ὅλων, αὐτῷ δὴ τῷ Χριστῷ, ὡς ἂν μονογενεῖ υἱῷ, τῶν ἐν ἀνθρώποις τὸν Ἰακὼβ καὶ Ἰσραήλ, τουτέστιν πᾶν τὸ διορατικὸν καὶ θεοσεβὲς παραδοθῆναι γένος. 4.7.3 ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἀσκητὴς ἀρετῆς, ἀγῶνα προβεβλημένος, εἰσέτι τε ἀθλῶν καὶ παλαίων ἐν τοῖς κατ' εὐσέβειαν γυμνασίοις, Ἑβραίων προσηγορίᾳ κέκληται Ἰακώβ· ὁ δὲ ἤδη νίκης καὶ τῶν παρὰ θεῷ βραβείων ἠξιωμένος Ἰσραὴλ ἀναγορεύεται, οἷος αὐτὸς ἦν ἐκεῖνος ὁ βοώμενος τοῦ παντὸς Ἑβραίων ἔθνους προπάτωρ, οἵ τε τούτου γνήσιοι παῖδες, ἀπόγονοί τε τούτων καὶ προπάτορες, προφῆται πάντες καὶ θεοφιλεῖς ἄνδρες· μὴ γάρ μοι τὸ Ἰουδαίων πλῆθος ταύτῃ νόμιζε δηλοῦσθαι, μόνους δὲ τοὺς πάλαι πρότερον ἀρετῇ καὶ εὐσεβείᾳ τετελειωμένους. 4.7.4 τούτους δὴ οὖν παραλαβὼν ὁ καθηγεμὼν καὶ προστά4.7.4 της ἁπάντων τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος ἐπὶ τὴν μόνου τοῦ πατρός, αὐτοῦ δὴ τοῦ ὑψίστου, θρησκείαν ἀνεκαλεῖτο, τῶν ὁρωμένων ἁπάντων ἀνωτάτω ἐπέκεινά τε οὐρανοῦ καὶ πάσης γενητῆς οὐσίας τοὺς ὑπηκόους ἠρέμα καὶ πράως ἀνακαλούμενος, μόνον τε αὐτοῖς τὸν ἀγένητον καὶ τῶν ὅλων ποιητὴν θεὸν τὸν ὕψιστον παραδιδοὺς εὐσεβεῖν. 4.8.1 Οἱ δέ γε τῶν ἄλλων ἐθνῶν ἐπιστάται, ἄγγελοι καὶ ποιμένες, τοὺς μὴ οἵους τε νῷ τὸν ἀόρατον ἐποπτεύειν, μηδ' ἀναβαίνειν τοσοῦτον δι' οἰκείαν ἀσθένειαν, τοῖς ὁρωμένοις κατ' οὐρανὸν προσέχειν ἠξίουν, ἡλίῳ καὶ σελήνῃ καὶ ἄστροις, 4.8.2 ἃ δὴ καὶ ἐν τῇ φαινομένῃ τῶν ὅλων φύσει διαπρέποντα, ἄνω καὶ ὅτι μάλιστα ἐγγυτάτω, ὡς ἂν ἐν προθύροις, τοῦ παμβασιλέως, τὰς τῶν ὁρώντων ὄψεις ἀνεκαλεῖτο, ἐκ μεγέθους καὶ καλλονῆς τῶν ὁρωμένων κτισμάτων ἀναλόγως τοῦ πάντων γενεσιουργοῦ τὴν θεωρίαν ἐμφανίζοντα. «τὰ γὰρ ἀόρατα αὐτοῦ», ᾗ φησιν ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος, «ἀπὸ κτίσεως κόσμου τοῖς ποιήμασι νοούμενα καθορᾶται, ἥ τε ἀΐδιος αὐτοῦ δύναμις καὶ θειότης». 4.8.3 καὶ τοῦτο δὲ πάλιν ὁ μέγας Μωσῆς μυσταγωγεῖ. τὸν γάρτοι τοῦ κυρίου κλῆρον νῷ διαυγεῖ καὶ ψυχῇ κεκαθαρμένῃ τῶν νοητῶν καὶ ἀσωμάτων ὀριγνᾶσθαι προτρέπων, εἴργει τῆς τῶν ὁρωμένων κατ' οὐρανὸν ἐκπλήξεως, ἐπιλέγων· ὅτι δὴ ταῦτα «ἀπένειμεν κύριος ὁ θεός σου πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν». διὰ τί δ' ἀπονενεμῆσθαι ἔφησεν, συνιδεῖν ἀναγκαῖον. 4.8.4 πολυπλανοῦς ὑπαρχούσης τῆς ἀοράτως ἡμῖν ἀμφὶ τὸν περὶ γῆν ἀέρα πωτωμένης χθονίου καὶ δαιμονικῆς οὐσίας ἀγνώστου τε καὶ ἀδιακρίτου ἀνθρώποις, τῆς τῶν ἀγαθῶν πνευμάτων καὶ δυνάμεων καὶ αὐτῶν δὴ τῶν θείων ἀγγέλων πρὸς τὰ χείρω διαφόρου, καθεστώσης, οὐκ ἄλλως εὖ εἶχεν τοῖς τῆς ἀνωτάτω τοῦ παμβασιλέως εὐσεβείας ἀποπίπτουσιν ἢ τῶν ὁρωμένων κατ' οὐρανὸν τὰ κράτιστα αἱρεῖσθαι. 4.8.5 δέος γὰρ οὐ τὸ τυχὸν ἦν, μήποτε θεὸν ζητοῦντες, καὶ τὰ ἀόρατα πολυπραγμονοῦντες, ἀπορίᾳ τῶν ἀφανῶν καὶ ἀδήλων εἰς ἐναντίας δυνάμεις καὶ δαιμονικὰς περιτραπεῖεν. τῶν ὁρωμένων οὖν τὰ πάντα διαπρεπῆ τοῦ θεοῦ δημιουργήματα τοῖς μὴ τοῦ κρείττονος ἐφιεμένοις παραδέδοται, ἁμωσγέπως ἐνθένδε τῆς τοῦ ἀοράτου θεωρίας, ὡς ἂν διά τινος ἐσόπτρου,