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It was necessary, looking to the choir of the saints—I mean the prophets and patriarchs, to whom the Word of truth spoke in many and various ways, and after them those who became eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word—to have reverence for the trustworthiness of the things testified to by the Spirit through him, and to abide by the limits of their teaching and knowledge, and not to venture into those things which 2.1.102 the comprehension of the saints did not touch. For they, making God—who until then was unknown to human life on account of the then-prevailing error concerning idols—manifest and known to men, both from the miracles which are shown in the things he has done, and from the names through which the diverse character of the divine power is perceived, guide them to an understanding of the divine nature, making known to men only the magnificence of the things contemplated concerning God; but the doctrine of the substance, as being neither possible to comprehend nor bringing any profit to those who are overly curious, 2.1.103 they left unspoken and unexamined. For indeed they related that all other things came to be—heaven, earth, sea, times, ages, and the creation in them—but what each of these is, and how, and whence, they were silent; so also concerning God, they counsel us to be persuaded that He is and that He becomes a rewarder of those who seek Him; but His nature itself, as being above every name, they neither named nor ventured to. 2.1.104 For if we have learned any name for the purpose of indicating the divine understanding, all these have a fellowship and analogy with such names as show the particular quality of a certain person. For just as those who describe an unknown person by certain marks say he is a noble, if it so happen, and of good birth, and splendid in wealth and conspicuous in rank, flourishing in the bloom of youth and of such-and-such a stature, and saying such things they have not revealed the nature of the person described, but certain marks known about him (for neither noble birth nor great wealth nor the distinction of rank nor being conspicuous in the bloom of youth is humanity, but 2.1.105 each of these things is contemplated concerning a certain person); so also all the expressions <which are> found in holy scripture for divine doxology signify certain things declared about God, each one providing its own particular emphasis, through which we are taught either His power, or His immunity to what is worse, or His not being from a cause, or His not being contained within a boundary, or His having dominion over all, or generally something about Him; but the substance itself, as being comprehensible neither to any mind nor expressible in word, it left uninvestigated, decreeing it to be honored in silence by forbidding the inquiry into deeper things and by saying that one must not utter a word before the face of God. 2.1.106 For this reason, one who searches every God-inspired utterance would not find the teaching of the divine nature, nor indeed of any other of the things that subsist according to substance; hence we live in ignorance of all things, we humans being first ignorant of ourselves, 2.1.107 and then also all other things. For who is there who has attained a comprehension of his own soul, who has come to know its substance, whether it is material or immaterial, purely incorporeal or whether something corporeal is contemplated in it, how it comes into being, how it is mixed, whence it enters, how it departs, what it has that binds and mediates with the nature of the body, how that which is intangible and unformed is contained by its own particular boundary, what is the difference in its activities, how the same soul both stretches up beyond heaven in its curiosity about invisible things and also slides down to material passions, dragged down by the weight of the body, activating anger and fear, grief and pleasure, pity and cruelty, hope and memory, cowardice and courage, friendship and hatred, and all the 2.1.108 opposing things activated in the powers of the soul? Who, then, having understood this, has not considered whether he might have some populace of souls assembled in himself, with each of the aforementioned things differing greatly from the rest, and, whichever one should prevail, having dominion over all, so that even the rational faculty itself yields and submits to the mastery of such movements and contributes its own cooperation to such impulses as if to some tyrannical master? 2.1.109 What word from the God-inspired scripture, then, has taught us about this multipartite and multiform nature of the things conceived in the soul, whether it is one thing blended from all, and what is the mixture and concord of opposites with one another, so that 2.1.110 the many things become one thing? Or is each of these, being conceived of individually, enclosed in the soul as in some many-chambered vessel? And how is it that we do not always have the sensation of all of them, as though they were present within, being at once courageous and cowardly and hating according to

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ἐχρῆν πρὸς τὸν τῶν ἁγίων χορὸν ἀποβλέποντας, τοὺς προφήτας λέγω καὶ πατριάρχας, οἷς πολυμερῶς καὶ πολυ τρόπως ὁ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐνεφθέγξατο λόγος, καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα τοὺς αὐτόπτας τε καὶ ὑπηρέτας γενομένους τοῦ λόγου, δυσ ωπηθῆναι μὲν τὴν ἀξιοπιστίαν τῶν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ μαρτυρη θέντων τοῦ πνεύματος, ἐμμένειν δὲ τοῖς ὅροις τῆς ἐκείνων διδασκαλίας καὶ γνώσεως καὶ μὴ ἐπιτολμᾶν τούτοις, ὧν ἡ 2.1.102 τῶν ἁγίων κατάληψις οὐκ ἐφήψατο. ἐκεῖνοι γὰρ ἀγνοού μενον τέως τὸν θεὸν τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ ζωῇ διὰ τὴν ἐπικρα τοῦσαν τότε περὶ τὰ εἴδωλα πλάνην ἐμφανῆ καὶ γνώριμον τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ποιοῦντες ἔκ τε τῶν θαυμάτων, ἃ τοῖς παρ' αὐτοῦ γεγενημένοις ἐμφαίνεται, καὶ ἐκ τῶν ὀνομάτων, δι' ὧν τὸ ποικίλον τῆς θείας δυνάμεως κατανοεῖται, πρὸς τὴν σύνεσιν τῆς θείας φύσεως χειραγωγοῦσι, τὴν μεγαλοπρέ πειαν μόνην τῶν περὶ τὸν θεὸν θεωρουμένων τοῖς ἀνθρώ ποις γνωρίζοντες· τὸν δὲ τῆς οὐσίας λόγον ὡς οὔτε δυνατὸν χωρηθῆναι οὔτε τι φέροντα τοῖς πολυπραγμονοῦσι τὸ κέρδος 2.1.103 ἄρρητον ἀφῆκαν καὶ ἀνεξέταστον. καὶ γὰρ καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα ὅτι μὲν γέγονε διηγήσαντο, οὐρανὸν γῆν θάλασσαν χρόνους αἰῶνας καὶ τὴν ἐν τούτοις κτίσιν, ὅ τι δὲ τούτων ἕκαστον καὶ ὅπως καὶ ὅθεν ἀπεσιώπησαν· οὕτω καὶ περὶ τοῦ θεοῦ Ὅτι μὲν ἔστι καὶ τοῖς ἐκζητοῦσιν αὐτὸν μισθαπο δότης γίνεται, συμβουλεύουσι πείθεσθαι, τὴν δὲ φύσιν αὐτὴν ὡς ὑπὲρ πᾶν οὖσαν ὄνομα οὔτε ὠνόμασαν οὔτε ἠμέλλησαν. 2.1.104 εἰ γάρ τι πρὸς δήλωσιν τῆς θείας κατανοήσεως μεμαθή καμεν ὄνομα, πάντα ταῦτα κοινωνίαν ἔχει καὶ ἀναλογίαν πρὸς τὰ τοιαῦτα τῶν ὀνομάτων, ἃ τοῦ τινὸς ἀνθρώπου τὴν ἰδιότητα δείκνυσιν. ὡς γὰρ οἱ τὸν ἀγνοούμενον διά τινων γνωρισμάτων δηλοῦντες εὐπατρίδην αὐτόν, ἂν οὕτω τύχῃ, καὶ τῶν εὖ γεγονότων λέγουσιν εἶναι καὶ λαμπρὸν ἐν πλούτῳ καὶ ἐν ἀξίᾳ περίβλεπτον ἀνθοῦντά τε τῇ ὥρᾳ καὶ ἐπὶ τόσον διανεστηκότα τῷ σώματι, καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα λέγοντες οὐ τὴν φύσιν τοῦ δηλουμένου, ἀλλά τινα γνωρίσματα τῶν περὶ αὐτὸν γινωσκομένων ἐδήλωσαν (οὔτε γὰρ τὸ εὐγενὲς οὔτε τὸ πολυχρήματον οὔτε τὸ περιφανὲς τοῦ ἀξιώματος οὔτε τὸ κατὰ τὴν ὥραν περίβλεπτον ἡ ἀνθρωπότης ἐστίν, ἀλλ' 2.1.105 ἕκαστον τούτων περὶ τὸν τινὰ θεωρεῖται)· οὕτως καὶ πᾶσαι φωναὶ <αἱ> παρὰ τῆς ἁγίας γραφῆς εἰς δοξολογίαν θείαν ἐξευρημέναι τῶν περὶ τὸν θεόν τι δηλουμένων ἀποσημαί νουσιν, ἰδίαν ἔμφασιν ἑκάστη παρεχομένη, δι' ὧν ἢ τὸ δυνατὸν ἢ τὸ τοῦ χείρονος ἀνεπίδεκτον ἢ τὸ μὴ ἐξ αἰτίας εἶναι ἢ τὸ μὴ εἰς περιγραφὴν τέλους ἔρχεσθαι ἢ τὸ κατὰ πάντων ἔχειν τὸ κράτος ἢ ὅλως τι τῶν περὶ αὐτὸν διδασκό μεθα· αὐτὴν δὲ τὴν οὐσίαν ὡς οὔτε διανοίᾳ τινὶ χωρητὴν οὔτε λόγῳ φραστὴν ἀπολυπραγμόνητον εἴασε, σιωπῇ τιμᾶσθαι νομοθετήσασα ἐν τῷ κωλύειν τῶν βαθυτέρων τὴν ζήτησιν καὶ ἐν τῷ λέγειν μὴ δεῖν ἐξενεγκεῖν ῥῆμα πρὸ προσώπου θεοῦ. 2.1.106 ∆ιὰ τοῦτο πᾶσάν τις θεόπνευστον φωνὴν ἐρευνώμενος οὐκ ἂν εὕροι τῆς θείας φύσεως τὴν διδασκαλίαν οὐδὲ μὴν ἄλλου τινὸς τῶν κατ' οὐσίαν ὑφεστηκότων· ὅθεν ἐν ἀγνοίᾳ πάντων διάγομεν πρῶτον ἑαυτοὺς ἀγνοοῦντες οἱ ἄνθρωποι, 2.1.107 ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα. τίς γὰρ ἔστιν ὃς τῆς ἰδίας ἑαυτοῦ ψυχῆς ἐν καταλήψει γεγένηται, τίς ὁ ἐπιγνοὺς αὐτῆς τὴν οὐσίαν, ὑλική τίς ἐστιν ἢ ἄϋλος, καθαρῶς ἀσώματος ἤ τι καὶ σωματοειδὲς περὶ αὐτὴν θεωρεῖται, πῶς γίνεται πῶς κίρναται, πόθεν εἰσκρίνεται πῶς ἀφίσταται, τί τὸ συν δεσμοῦν καὶ μεσιτεῦον ἔχει πρὸς τὴν τοῦ σώματος φύσιν, πῶς ἡ ἀναφής τε καὶ ἀσχημάτιστος ἰδίᾳ τινὶ περιγραφῇ περιείληπται, τίς ἡ κατὰ τὰς ἐνεργείας διαφορά, πῶς ἡ αὐτὴ καὶ ὑπὲρ τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀνατείνεται τῇ πολυπραγμοσύνῃ τῶν ἀοράτων καὶ πρὸς τὰ ὑλικὰ πάθη κατολισθαίνει τῷ βάρει τοῦ σώματος καθελκομένη, θυμόν τε καὶ φόβον, λύπην τε καὶ ἡδονήν, ἔλεον καὶ ἀπήνειαν, ἐλπίδα καὶ μνή μην, δειλίαν καὶ θράσος, φιλίαν καὶ μῖσος καὶ πάντα τὰ 2.1.108 ἐναντίον ἐν ταῖς δυνάμεσι τῆς ψυχῆς ἐνεργούμενα; τίς ἄρα κατανοήσας οὐκ ἐλογίσατο, μή τινα δῆμον ψυχῶν ἐν ἑαυτῷ συγκεκροτημένον ἔχοι, πάμπολυ τῶν εἰρημένων ἑκάστου πρὸς τὰ λοιπὰ διαφέροντος καί, καθ' ὃ ἂν ἐπικρατῇ, τὴν κατὰ πάντων ἔχοντος δυναστείαν, ὡς καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ λογιστικὸν ταῖς ἐπικρατήσεσι τῶν τοιούτων κινημάτων ὑποκύπτειν καὶ ὑποτάσσεσθαι καὶ τὴν παρ' ἑαυτοῦ συνεργίαν πρὸς τὰς τοι αύτας ὁρμὰς οἷον δεσπότῃ τινὶ τυραννικῶς συνεισφέρειν; 2.1.109 τὸ οὖν πολυμερὲς καὶ πολυειδὲς τοῦτο τῶν κατὰ ψυχὴν νοουμένων τίς ὁ διδάξας ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῆς θεοπνεύστου γραφῆς λόγος, πότερον ἕν τί ἐστιν ἐξ ἁπάντων συγκεκραμένον, καὶ τίς ἡ τῶν ἐναντίων πρὸς ἄλληλα κρᾶσις καὶ σύμπνοια, ὡς 2.1.110 ἓν πρᾶγμα τὰ πολλὰ γενέσθαι; ἀλλ' ἕκαστον τούτων κατ' ἰδίαν νοούμενον οἷον ἐν πολυχώρῳ τινὶ ἀγγείῳ τῇ ψυχῇ κατακέκλεισται; καὶ πῶς οὐκ ἀεὶ πάντων ὡς ἐγκειμένων τὴν αἴσθησιν ἔχομεν, θαρροῦντες ἅμα καὶ δειλαινόμενοι μισοῦντές τε κατὰ