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passionate fear, no longer being weak in soul, but armed with the spirit of strength. 7.196 Do not be cowardly before these two pieces of wood, these smoking firebrands. A command to us, not to be cowardly before the plausibilities of the Greeks and the slanders among the heterodox, which are two pieces of wood, or rather two firebrands, having lost the life of the plant and the strength of the wood, not having the light of fire, but smoking firebrands, blackening and staining those who touch them, and making the eyes of those who draw near tear up. But if you wish to understand the harm from the smoking firebrands, which comes from the smoke in them, remember Solomon, who says: As unripe grapes are harmful to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is lawlessness to those who practice it. For I think that unripe grapes refer to the sin from the deeds of wickedness, and smoke to the harm from falsely-called knowledge, which confuses the clearsightedness of our soul. But when (he says) the wrath of my anger comes, I will heal again, that is, after the blows that cause turning back, when I see that the correction is sufficient, I will not leave them in their gloomier state, just as if a physician should say to the sick: when I cut and when I cauterize, I will not leave either the incision or the wounds from the cautery uncared for. For when that is accomplished for which the painful things are undertaken, then applying the remaining therapy, I will restore them to health. 7.197 And the son of Aram and the son of Remaliah, because they devised an evil plan, saying: We will go up to Judea and, having conferred with them, we will turn them to ourselves, and we will make the son of Tabeel king over it. Thus says the Lord of Sabaoth: This counsel shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. Since, therefore, two arguments, which are outside of the truth, agree against the Church, when the son of Aram (the lofty argument, which exalts itself against the knowledge of God) and the son of Remaliah (the argument from lofty circumcision) which, on the pretext of knowledge and the appearance of teaching about higher things, draws one away from the truth according to the Church of God; these, therefore, devised an evil plan, that by conversing with those in Judea, that is, with the confessing soul (for Judea is renamed "confession of God"), we might turn it to ourselves through the plausibility of dialectic, promising to give no other king than the son of Tabeel, that is, of the good God; whom they call the son of the good God, but they do not call him good, using the voice of the Gospel for insult: Why do you call me good? No one is good except one, God. Therefore, when you see the heterodox professing knowledge, bringing in the wisdom of the nations, warring against the Church of God, remember that even now the son of Aram and the son of Remaliah are devising an evil plan. And against the evil plan of the son of Aram and the son of Remaliah (as we have interpreted), the Lord says these things: that the counsel of God stands and abides, but that of those who strive against the truth will not stand, but will lie fallen and overturned. For he says: The head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; that is, the head of the lofty ones is accursed and full of blood (since Damascus is interpreted as "blood of a sack"). Now, a sack is a symbol of repentance; but he who is stained with blood is not pure. Therefore, it can be taken to refer to a supposed repentance, which is not true repentance, because it did not occur in sound doctrines. And again, the head of Damascus, of the impure repentance, but stained with sins unto death, is called Rezin, he himself also being a symbol of no sound or pure doctrine. 7.198 But yet sixty-five years (he says) and the kingdom of Ephraim shall cease from being a people; and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son
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παθητικὸν φόβον, μηκέτι ἀσθενῶν τῇ ψυχῇ, ἀλλὰ τῷ πνεύματι τῆς ἰσχύος καθωπλισμένος. 7.196 Μηδὲ δειλιάσῃς ἀπὸ τῶν δύο ξύλων τῶν δαλῶν τού των, τῶν καπνιζομένων. Πρόσταγμα ἡμῖν, μὴ δειλιᾷν ἀπὸ τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν πιθανο τήτων καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν παρὰ τοῖς ἑτεροδόξοις δυσφημιῶν, ἅτινά ἐστι δύο ξύλα, μᾶλλον δὲ δύο δαλοὶ, ἀπολέσαντες μὲν τοῦ φυτοῦ τὸ ζωτικὸν καὶ τοῦ ξύλου τὸ ἰσχυρὸν, μὴ ἔχοντες δὲ τὸ τοῦ πυρὸς φωτεινὸν, ἀλλὰ δαλοὶ καπνιζόμενοι, μελαίνοντες μὲν τοὺς ἁπτομένους αὐτῶν καὶ σπιλοῦντες, δακρύειν δὲ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῶν ἐγγιζόντων παρασκευάζοντες. Εἰ δὲ θέλεις νοῆσαι τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν καπνιζομένων δαλῶν βλάβην, γινομένην ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐν αὐτοῖς καπνοῦ, μνήσθητι τοῦ Σολομῶντος, λέγον τος· Ὥσπερ ὄμφαξ ὀδοῦσι βλαβερὸν καὶ καπνὸς ὄμμασιν, οὕτω παρανομία τοῖς χρωμένοις αὐτῇ. Οἶμαι γὰρ ὄμφακα μὲν εἰρῆ σθαι τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν τῆς κακίας πράξεων ἁμαρτίαν, καπνὸν δὲ τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς ψευδωνύμου γνώσεως βλάβην, τὸ διορατικὸν τῆς ψυχῆς ἡμῶν συγχέουσαν. Ὅταν δὲ γένηται (φησὶν) ὀργὴ τοῦ θυμοῦ μου, πάλιν ἰάσομαι, τουτέστι μετὰ τὰς ἐπιστρεπτικὰς πληγὰς, ἐπειδὰν ἱκανῶς ἔχουσαν ἴδω τὴν διόρθωσιν, οὐκ ἀφήσω αὐτοὺς ἐν τοῖς σκυθρωποτέροις, ὥσπερ ἂν εἰ καὶ ἰατρὸς λέγοι τοῖς κάμνουσιν· ὅταν τέμω καὶ ὅταν καυτηριάσω, οὔτε τὴν τομὴν, οὔτε τὰ ἀπὸ τοῦ καυτῆρος ἕλκη ἀτημέλητα καταλείψω. Ἐπειδὰν γὰρ ἀνυσθῇ τοῦτο, δι' ὃ τὰ ἐπίπονα παραλαμβάνεται, τότε τὴν λειπομένην θεραπείαν ἐπαγαγὼν, εἰς τὴν ὑγείαν ἀποκαταστήσω. 7.197 Καὶ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ Ἀρὰμ καὶ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ Ῥομελίου, ὅτι ἐβουλεύσαντο βουλὴν πονηρὰν, λέγοντες· Ἀναβησόμεθα εἰς τὴν Ἰουδαίαν καὶ συλλαλήσαντες αὐτοῖς, ἀποστρέψομεν αὐ τοὺς πρὸς ἡμᾶς, καὶ βασιλεύσομεν αὐτῆς τὸν υἱὸν Ταβεήλ. Τάδε λέγει Κύριος Σαβαώθ· Οὐ μὴ μείνῃ ἡ βουλὴ αὕτη, οὐδὲ ἔσται. Ἐπεὶ οὖν συμφωνοῦσι δύο λόγοι, οἱ ἔξω τῆς ἀληθείας, κατὰ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, ὅτε υἱὸς τοῦ Ἀρὰμ (ὁ μετέωρος λόγος, ὁ ἐπαιρόμενος κατὰ τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ) καὶ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ Ῥομελίου (ὁ λόγος ὁ ἐκ τῆς μετεώρου περι τομῆς) ὃς, προφάσει γνώσεως καὶ ἐμφάσει τῆς περὶ ὑψηλο τέρων διδασκαλίας, ἀφίστησι τῆς κατὰ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀληθείας· ἐβουλεύσαντο τοίνυν οὗτοι βουλὴν πονηρὰν, ὅτι συνομιλήσαντες τοῖς ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ, τουτέστι τοῖς ἐν τῇ ἐξομολογουμένῃ ψυχῇ (ἐξομολόγησις γὰρ Θεοῦ, ἡ Ἰου δαία μετονομάζεται) ἥντινα διὰ τῆς ἐν τῇ διαλεκτικῇ πι θανότητος ἀποστρέψωμεν πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς, ἐπαγγελλόμενοι μὴ ἄλλον τινὰ δώσειν βασιλέα, ἢ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ Ταβεήλ, του τέστι τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ Θεοῦ· ὃν ἀγαθοῦ μὲν Θεοῦ υἱὸν λέγουσιν, ἀγαθὸν δὲ αὐτὸν οὐκ ὀνομάζουσι, πρὸς ἐπήρειαν κεχρημέ νοι τῇ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου φωνῇ· Τί με λέγεις ἀγαθόν; Οὐδεὶς ἀγαθὸς εἰ μὴ εἷς, ὁ Θεός. Ὅταν οὖν ἴδῃς ἑτεροδόξους ἐπαγγελλομένους γνῶσιν, ἐπαγομένους τὴν ἐκ τῶν ἐθνῶν σοφίαν, ἐπιστρατεύοντας τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐνθυμοῦ ὅτι καὶ νῦν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ Ἀρὰμ καὶ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ Ῥομελίου βουλεύονται βουλὴν πονηράν. Πρὸς δὲ τὴν πονηρὰν βουλὴν τοῦ (ὡς ἀποδεδώκαμεν) υἱοῦ Ἀρὰμ καὶ υἱοῦ Ῥομελίου, ταῦτά φησιν ὁ Κύριος· ὅτι ἡ μὲν τοῦ Θεοῦ βουλὴ ἕστηκε καὶ μένει, ἡ δὲ τῶν ἀγωνιζο μένων κατὰ τῆς ἀληθείας, οὐ στήσεται, ἀλλὰ πεπτωκυῖα καὶ ἀνατετραμμένη κείσεται. ∆ιότι φησί· Κεφαλὴ τοῦ Ἀρὰμ ∆αμασκὸς, καὶ ἡ κεφαλὴ ∆αμασκοῦ Ῥασίν· τουτέστιν ἡ τῶν μετεώρων κεφαλὴ ἐναγής τίς ἐστι καὶ αἵματος πλήρης (ἐπεί περ ἡ ∆αμασκὸς ἑρμηνεύεται αἷμα σάκκου). Σάκκος μὲν οὖν σύμβολόν ἐστι μετανοίας· ὁ δὲ ἐν αἵματι πεφυρμένος, οὐκ ἔστι καθαρός. ∆ύναται οὖν λαμβάνεσθαι εἰς τὴν νομιζομένην μετάνοιαν, οὐκ οὖσαν δὲ ἀληθινὴν μετάνοιαν, διὰ τὸ μὴ ἐν ὑγιέσι δόγμασι γεγενῆσθαι. Κεφαλὴ δὲ πάλιν ∆αμασκοῦ, τῆς μὴ καθαρᾶς μετανοίας, ἀλλὰ πεφυρμένης ἐν ταῖς πρὸς θάνατον ἁμαρτίαις, ὁ Ῥασὶν λέγεται, σύμβολον ὢν καὶ αὐτὸς οὐδενὸς ὑγιοῦς, οὐδὲ καθαροῦ δόγματος. 7.198 Ἀλλ' ἔτι ἑξήκοντα καὶ πέντε ἔτη (φησὶν) ἐκλείψει ἡ βασιλεία Ἐφραῒμ ἀπὸ λαοῦ· καὶ ἡ κεφαλὴ Ἐφραῒμ Σομόρων, καὶ ἡ κεφαλὴ Σομόρων ὁ υἱὸς