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(14__534> 2.57 (57) The Lord is sometimes absent, and sometimes present. He is absent, according to the face to face contemplation; He is present, according to the contemplation in a mirror and in riddles.

2.58 (58) To the one engaged in the active life, the Lord is present through the virtues; but from one who makes no account of virtue, He is absent. And again, to the contemplative one, He is present through true knowledge of beings; but from one who has stumbled in this regard, He is absent.

2.59 (59) The one who has passed from the active life to the gnostic state is absent from the flesh; being caught up as in clouds, by the higher thoughts, into the transparent air of mystical contemplation, in which he will be able to be with the Lord always. But absent from the Lord is the one not yet able to contemplate the thoughts with a pure mind, as far as is possible, apart from the activities of the senses, and not comprehending the simple word concerning the Lord without riddles.

2.60 (60) The Word of God is called flesh not only because He was incarnate; but also because as God the Word, understood simply in the beginning with God the Father, and possessing the clear and naked types of the truth concerning all things, He does not contain parables and riddles; nor histories requiring allegory; but when He comes to dwell among men who are unable to approach naked intelligibles with a naked mind, conversing from what is familiar to them, being composed through the variety of histories and riddles and parables and obscure sayings, 1152 He becomes flesh. For at the first encounter, our mind does not approach the naked Word, but the incarnate Word; that is, the variety of words; being Word, by nature; but flesh, in appearance; so that the many seem to see flesh and not the Word, even if in truth He is the Word. For the meaning of Scripture is not what it seems to the many, but (14__536> something other than what it seems. For the Word becomes flesh through each of the written sayings.

2.61 (61) The beginning of men’s discipleship in piety is naturally directed toward the flesh. For we converse according to the letter, but not the spirit, at our first approach to the worship of God. But approaching the spirit bit by bit, scraping away the thickness of the words with more subtle contemplations, we are purely in the pure Christ, as far as is possible for men; so as to be able to say according to the Apostle: Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him thus no longer; that is, on account of the simple approach of the mind to the Word without the veils upon Him; having advanced from knowing the Word as flesh, to His glory as of the Only-begotten from the Father.

2.62 (62) He who has lived the life in Christ has surpassed the righteousness of both the law and of nature; which the divine Apostle indicates, saying: For in Christ Jesus, there is neither circumcision, nor uncircumcision. Through circumcision, he indicates the righteousness of the law; and through uncircumcision, he alludes to natural equity.

2.63 (63) Some are reborn through water and Spirit; others receive baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire. But these four, I mean the water, and the spirit, and the fire, and the Holy Spirit, I understand as the one and the same Spirit of God. For to some the Holy Spirit is water, as cleansing the external defilements of the body; to others, only spirit, as effective of the good things according to virtue; to others, fire, as purifying the internal stains in the depth of the soul; but to others, according to the great Daniel, Holy Spirit, as the bestower of wisdom and knowledge. For from the different activity concerning the subject, the one and the same Spirit receives different appellations.

(14__538> 2.64 (64) The law has given the Sabbath, in order that, it says, your beast of burden and your child may rest. But both of these through riddles the

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(14__534> 2.57 (νζ΄) Ὁ Κύριος ποτέ μέν ἀποδημεῖ, ποτέ δέ ἐνδημεῖ. Ἀποδημεῖ, κατά τήν πρόσωπον πρός πρόσωπον θεωρίαν· ἐνδημεῖ, κατά τήν ἐν ἐσόπτρῳ καί αἰνίγμασι θεωρίαν.

2.58 (νη΄) Τῷ μέν πρακτικῷ, ἐνδημεῖ διά τῶν ἀρετῶν ὁ Κύριος· τοῦ δέ μηδένα λόγον ποιουμένου τῆς ἀρετῆς, ἀποδημεῖ. Καί πάλιν, τῷ μέν θεωρητικῷ, διά γνώσεως τῶν ὄντων ἀληθοῦς ἐνδημεῖ· τοῦ δέ ταύτης κατά τι παρασφαλέντος, ἀποδημεῖ.

2.59 (νθ΄) Ἀποδημεῖ σαρκός, ὁ πρός τήν γνωστικήν ἕξιν μεταβάς ἀπό τῆς πρακτικῆς· ἁρπαζόμενος ὡς ἐν νεφέλαις, τοῖς ὑψηλοτέροις νοήμασιν, εἰς τόν διαφανῆ τῆς μυστικῆς θεωρίας ἀέρα· καθ᾿ ὅν σύν Κυρίῳ εἶναι δυνήσεται πάντοτε. Ἐκδημεῖ δέ ἀπό τοῦ Κυρίου, ὁ μήπω δίχα τῶν κατ᾿ αἴσθησιν ἐνεργειῶν καθαρῷ νοΐ θεωρῆσαι κατά τό ἐφικτόν τά νοήματα δυνάμενος, καί τόν περί τοῦ Κυρίου λόγον ἁπλοῦν χωρίς αἰνιγμάτων μή χωρῶν.

2.60 (ξ΄) Ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος, οὐ μόνον καθότι σεσάρκωται λέγεται σάρξ· ἀλλά καθότι Θεός Λόγος ἁπλῶς νοούμενος ἐν ἀρχῇ πρός τόν Θεόν καί Πατέρα, καί σαφεῖς καί γυμνούς τούς τῆς ἀληθείας περί τῶν ὅλων ἔχων τύπους, οὐ περιέχει παραβολάς καί αἰνίγματα· οὐδέ ἱστορίας δεομένας ἀλληγορίας· ἐπάν δέ ἀνθρώποις ἐπιδημήσῃ μή δυναμένοις γυμνῷ τῷ νοΐ γυμνοῖς προσβάλλειν νοητοῖς· ἀπό τῶν αὐτοῖς συνήθων διαλεγόμενος, διά τῆς τῶν ἱστοριῶν καί αἰνιγμάτων καί παραβολῶν καί σκοτεινῶν λόγων ποικιλίας 1152 συντιθέμενος, γίνεται σάρξ. Κατά γάρ τήν πρώτην προσβολήν, οὐ γυμνῷ προσβάλλει Λόγῳ ὁ ἡμέτερος νοῦς· ἀλλά Λόγῳ σεσαρκωμένῳ· δηλαδή τῇ ποικιλίᾳ τῶν λέξεων· Λόγῳ μέν ὄντι, τῇ φύσει· σαρκί δέ τῇ ὄψει· ὥστε τούς πολλούς, σάρκα καί οὐ Λόγον ὁρᾷν δοκεῖν κἄν εἰ κατά ἀλήθειαν ἐστι Λόγος. Οὐ γάρ ὅπερ δοκεῖ τοῖς πολλοῖς, τοῦτο (14__536> τῆς Γραφῆς ἐστιν ὁ νοῦς, ἀλλ᾿ ἕτερον παρά τό δοκοῦν. Ὁ γάρ Λόγος, δι᾿ ἑκάστου τῶν ἀναγεγραμμένων ῥημάτων γίνεται σάρξ.

2.61 (ξα΄) Ἡ ἀπαρχή τῆς πρός εὐσέβειαν μαθητείας τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὡς πρός σάρκα γίνεσθαι πέφυκε. Γράμματι γάρ, ἀλλ᾿ οὐ πνεύματι κατά τήν πρώτην εἰς θεοσέβειαν προσβολήν ὁμιλοῦμεν. Κατά μέρος δέ προσβαίνοντες τῷ πνεύματι κατά τό παχύ τῶν ῥημάτων τοῖς λεπτοτέροις θεωρήμασιν ἀποξέοντες, ἐν καθαρῷ καθαρῶς τῷ Χριστῷ γινόμεθα κατά τό δυνατόν ἀνθρώποις· εἰς τό δύνασθαι λέγειν κατά τόν Ἀπόστολον· Εἰ καί ἐγνώκαμεν κατά σάρκα Χριστόν, ἀλλά νῦν οὐκέτι γινώσκομεν· διά τήν ἁπλῆν δηλονότι πρός τόν Λόγον χωρίς τῶν ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ καλυμμάτων τοῦ νοός προσβολήν· ἀπό τοῦ σάρκα τόν Λόγον γινώσκειν, εἰς τήν, ὡς Μονογενοῦς παρά Πατρός αὐτοῦ δόξαν προκόψαντες.

2.62 (ξβ΄) Ὁ τήν ἐν Χριστῷ ζήσας ζωήν, τήν τε τοῦ νόμου καί τῆς φύσεως ὑπερέβη δικαιοσύνην· ὅπερ ὁ θεῖος ἐνδεικνύμενος Ἀπόστολος φησιν· Ἐν γάρ Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, οὔτε περιτομή ἐστιν, οὔτε ἀκροβυστία. ∆ιά μέν τῆς περιτομῆς, τήν νομικήν δικαιοσύνην δηλώσας· διά δέ τῆς ἀκροβυστίας, τήν φυσικήν ἰσονομίαν αἰνιξάμενος.

2.63 (ξγ΄) Οἱ μέν, δι᾿ ὕδατος ἀναγεννῶνται καί Πνεύματος· οἱ δέ, ἐν Πνεύματι ἁγίῳ καί πυρί τό βάπτισμα δέχονται. Τά τέσσαρα δέ ταῦτα, τό ὕδωρ τέ φημι, καί τό πνεῦμα, καί τό πῦρ, καί τό Πνεῦμα ἅγιον,τό ἕν καί τό αὐτό Πνεῦμα νοῶ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Τοῖς μέν γάρ ὕδωρ ἐστί τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον, ὡς ῥυπτικόν τῶν ἐκτός περί τό σῶμα μολυσμῶν· τοῖς δέ πνεῦμα μόνον, ὡς ἐνεργητικόν τῶν κατ᾿ ἀρετήν ἀγαθῶν· τοῖς δέ πῦρ, ὡς καθαρτικόν τῶν ἐντός κατά τό βάθος περί ψυχήν κηλίδων· τοῖς δέ κατά τόν μέγαν ∆ανιήλ, Πνεῦμα ἅγιον, ὡς σοφίας καί γνώσεως χορηγόν. Ἐκ γάρ τῆς διαφόρου περί τό ὑποκείμενον ἐνεργείας, διαφόρους λαμβάνει τό ἕν καί αὐτό Πνεῦμα τάς προσηγορίας.

(14__538> 2.64 (ξδ΄) Ὁ νόμος τό Σάββατον δέδωκεν, Ἵνα, φησίν, ἀναπαύσηται τό ὑποζύγιόν σου καί ὁ παῖς σου. Ἀμφότερα δέ ταῦτα δι᾿ αἰνιγμάτων τό