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(14Ε_426> Human weakness: That is, the minor sins. § 5. By analogous significations: He said by analogous significations, that is, by those to us

both known and familiar, and not beyond our understanding, signified by words and names.

Of their actual reality. That is, insofar as we are able to understand and from words and names known to us, God has named the enjoyments there, saying that there is no sorrow or sickness or pain or sighing there, but that there is light; yet the good things there are not this, but are truly for now unknown to us and incomprehensible, "what eye has not seen," and the rest, but from what we know, he gives examples of blessedness. But note how he understands, "into the bosom of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob."

§ 6. For what reason: He is perplexed concerning the prayer made by the hierarch for those who have fallen asleep in their sins.

The prayers of the righteous: Note that the prayers of the righteous benefit only those worthy of the mercies of God, whether living or dead, but not sinners and those worthy of condemnation, either here or after death.

Or what of Samuel: For neither did Samuel benefit Saul, who was most wicked, by his prayer, nor did Moses benefit the Hebrews when they were sinners; for the Lord said to him: "Do not pray for this people."

The sun's own properties: See lest you think that he says the sun bestows its own light (for how could an inanimate thing bestow? for a gift comes of choice), but he says what is before us by way of a kind of personification. For just as if one were to suppose the sun saying: "I give light to healthy eyes." (14Ε_428> Then someone with weak eyes might say: Give to me also; for I am strong. Then having received the ray, he will lose even what he saw. In the same way also the sinner suffers, when asking a righteous person to pray for him; for the sinner, being dim-sighted and receiving the ray of the righteous one's prayer, does not allow it to operate according to its nature and to enlighten, but brings about darkness for himself, by neither attending through a pure life to the gifts of God, and by the departure, that is, the withdrawal from the enlightening commandments of God, and he will be in no way benefited by the prayer of a righteous person. That he understands the things concerning the sun in this way, he also indicates in the fourth chapter of *On the Divine Names*.

Beneficial: How and when the prayer of a righteous person benefits the living only; and he says, when he is repenting, according to the Apostle, "to weep with those who weep," at which time that saying is also fulfilled, "The prayer of a righteous man has great power when it is activated by the repentance of the one praying," of the prayer, that is. For if one builds, that is, the righteous one, and one, such as the sinner, destroys, the work remains unfinished, as we have learned from the example of Saul and Samuel.

Having a sacred disposition: Here he has called a sacred disposition the orientation of one's own life toward virtue. And "helper," instead of "assistant."

Communion: The father does not simply forbid us to enter into divine communion and to ask for better and saving things from God by ourselves, knowing the Apostle commands to pray without ceasing, but [forbids] one who, being held by some conceit (14Ε_430> looks down on the saints and considers their prayers as nothing.

But concerning the: From this point he begins to say how prayer benefits the dead. And note that this difficulty was investigated even before him.

§ 7. Overlooking. Which of our sins does God overlook through the prayer and supplication of the priest.

But he asks these things: What does the priest ask. For those present: That is, for the righteous and pious.

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(14Ε_426> Ἀνθρωπίνην ἀσθένειαν: Τουτέστι τά ψιλά τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων. § 5. Ἀναλόγοις σημασιαις: Ἀναλόγοις σημασίαις ἔφη, τουτέστι ταῖς ἡμῖν

γνωρίμοις τε καί συνήθεσι, καί οὐχ ὑπέρ τήν ἡμετέραν νόησιν, λέξεσί τε καί ὀνομασίαις σημαινόμενα.

Τῆς πραγματικῆς αὐτῶν. Τουτέστι καθ' ὅ δυνάμεθα νοεῖν καί ἐκ τῶν ἡμῖν γνωρίμων λέξεών τε καί ὀνομάτων τάς ἐκεῖ ἀπολαύσεις ὁ Θεός ὠνόμασεν, εἰπών, μή εἶναι ἐκεῖ λύπην ἤ νόσον ἤ πόνον ἤ στεναγμόν, ἀλλά φῶς εἶναι· πλήν οὐ τοῦτο τά ἐκεῖ ἀγαθά, ἀλλ' ὡς ἀληθῶς ἄγνωστα τέως ἡμῖν καί ἀκατάληπτα, «ἅ γάρ ὀφθαλμός οὐκ εἶδε», καί τάς ἑξῆς, ἀλλ' ἐξ ὦν οἴδαμεν, ὑποδείγματα δίδωσι μακαριότητος. Σημείωσαι δέ, πῶς λαμβάνει τό, «εἰς κόλπους Ἀβραάμ καί Ἰσαάκ καί Ἰακώβ».

§ 6. Ὅτου ἕνεκα: Ἀπορεῖ περί τῆς γινομένης εὐχῆς παρά τοῦ ἱεράρχου ἐπί τοῖς ἐν ἁμαρτίαις κεκοιμημένοις.

Τῶν δικαίων αἱ προσευχαί: Σημείωσαι ὅτι μόνους τούς ἀξίους τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ ὠφελοῦσιν αἱ τῶν δικαίων προσευχαί, εἴτε ζῶντας, εἰτε τελευτήσαντας, οὐ μήν ἁμαρτωλούς καί ἀξιοκατακρίτους καί ὦδε καί μετά θάνατον.

Ἤ τί πρός τοῦ Σαμουήλ: Οὔτε γάρ τόν Σαούλ κάκιστον ὄντα ὠφέλησεν ὁ Σαμουήλ εὐξάμενος, οὔτε τούς Ἑβραίους ἁμαρτωλούς ὄντας ὁ Μωϋσῆς· εἶπε γάρ ὁ Κύριος πρός αὐτόν· «μή προσεύχου περί τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου».

Ἡλίου τά οἰκεῖα: Ὅρα μή πού γε νομίσῃς, ὅτι τόν ἥλιόν φησι δωρεῖσθαι τά ἑαυτοῦ φῶτα (πῶς γάρ ἄν ἄψυχος δωρήσαιτο; προαιρέσεως γάρ ἡ δωρεά), ἀλλά κατά ἠθοποιίαν οἱονεί τινα τό προκείμενον λέγει. Ὥσπερ γάρ εἴ τις ὑπόθοιτο τόν ἥλιον λέγειν· Ἐγώ τοῖς ἐρρωμένοις ὀφθαλμοῖς δίδωμι φῶς. (14Ε_428> Εἶτα ἀσθενῶν τις τά ὄμματα εἴποι· ∆ός κἀμοί· ἔρρωμαι γάρ. Ἔπειτα δεξάμενος τήν ἀκτῖνα, καί ὅ ἑώρα ἀπολέσει. Τόν αὐτόν τρόπον καί ὁ ἁμαρτωλός, αἰτῶν δίκαιον εὔξασθαι ὑπέρ αὐτοῦ, πάσχει· ἀμβλυώττων γάρ ὁ ἁμαρτωλός καί δεχόμενος τῆς τοῦ δικαίου εὐχῆς τήν ἀκτῖνα, οὐ συγχωρεῖ αὐτήν τά κατά φύσιν ἐνεργεῖν καί φωτίζειν, ἀλλά σκότος ἑαυτῷ προξενεῖ, τῷ μήτε προσέχειν διά καθαροῦ βίου ταῖς τοῦ Θεοῦ δωρεαῖς, καί τῇ ἀποφοιτήσει μέντοι, ἤγουν ἀναχωρήσει τῶν φωτιζουσῶν ἐντολῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ, καί οὐδέν ὑπό δικαίου εὐχῆς ὠφεληθήσεται. Ὅτι δέ τά περί τοῦ ἡλίου οὕτω νοεῖ, καί ἐν τῷ Περί θείων ὀνομάτων κεφαλαίῳ δ' σημαίνει.

Ὠφέλιμοι: Πῶς καί πότε ὠφελεῖ δικαίου εὐχή ζῶντα μόνον· καί φησιν, ὅτε μετανοοῦντα κατά τόν Ἀπόστολον, «κλαίειν μετά κλαιόντων», ὅτε καί τό λόγιον ἐκεῖνο πληροῦται, «μέγα ἰσχύει εὐχή δικαίου ἐνεγρουμένη διά τῆς μετανοίας τοῦ δεομένου», τῆς εὐχῆς. δηλονότι. Ἐάν γάρ εἷς οἰκοδομῇ, τουτέστιν ὁ δίκαιος, καί εἷς, οἷον ὁ ἁμαρτάνων, καταστρέφῃ, ἀτέλεστον μένει τό ἔργον, ὡς ἔγνωμεν ἐπί τοῦ κατά τόν Σαούλ καί τόν Σαμουήλ ὑποδείγματος.

Ἕξιν ἱεράν ἔχων: Ἕξιν δέ ἱεράν ἐνταῦθα τήν τοῦ οἰκείου βίου πρός ἀρετήν διάθεσιν εἴρηκε. Συλλήπτορα δέ, ἀντί τοῦ βοηθόν.

Ὁμιλίαν: Οὐχ ἁπλῶς τοῦ πρός θείαν ἡμᾶς ὁμιλίαν χωρεῖν, καί δι' ἑαυτῶν αἰτεῖσθαι παρά Θεοῦ τά κρείττονα καί σωτήρια, ἀπείργει ὁ πατήρ, εἰδώς τόν Ἀπόστολον προστάσσοντα ἀδιαλείπτως προσεὑχεσθαι, ἀλλά τοῦ, οἰήσει τινά κρατούμενον (14Ε_430> ὑπερφρονεῖν τῶν ἁγίων, καί ἀντ' οὐδενός τίθεσθαι τάς τούτων εὐχάς.

Περί δέ τῆς: Ἔνθεν ἄρχεται λέγειν, ὡς ὠφελεῖ τόν νεκρόν ἡ εὐχή. Καί σημείωσαι ὅτι καί πρό αὐτοῦ ἐζητήθη τό ἄπορον τοῦτο.

§ 7. Παρορώσης. Ποίας ἡμῶν ἁμαρτίας ὁ Θεός παρορᾷ διά τῆς τοῦ ἱερέως προσευχῆς καί δεήσεως.

Αἰτεῖ δέ αὐτά: Τί αἰτεῖ ὁ ἱερεύς. Τοῖς παροῦσι: Τουτέστι τοῖς δικαίοις καί εὐσεβέσι.