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saying. But I understand, through the Latin, the practical life; as the kingdom of the Romans, according to Daniel, was defined to be the manliest of all the kingdoms on earth; and manliness, if anything else, is a property of the practical life. Through the Greek, the contemplation of nature; as the nation of the Greeks, more than other peoples, devoted itself to natural philosophy. And through the Hebrew, the theological initiation; as this nation manifestly from the beginning had its fathers dedicated to God.

2.97 (ƒζ΄) We must not only be murderers of bodily passions, but also destroyers of the passionate thoughts of the soul, according to the saint who says: In the mornings I killed all the sinners of the earth; to destroy out of the city of the Lord all who work iniquity; that is, the passions of the body, and the lawless thoughts of the soul.

(14__564> 2.98 (ƒη΄) He who has preserved unharmed the way of the virtues, without inclination to either side, with pious and right knowledge, will know the presence of God that comes to him through dispassion. For I will sing psalms, and I will understand in a blameless way, when You will come to me. For the psalm denotes virtuous action; and understanding, the gnostic science based on virtue; by which he who awaits his Lord through the vigilance of the virtues perceives the divine presence.

2.99 (ƒθ΄) One who is being introduced to piety must not be led to the practice of the commandments by kindness alone, but rather also by the memory of the divine judgments, he must often struggle through severity; so that he may not only love divine things with longing, but also abstain from evil out of fear; For I will sing of mercy and judgment to You, O Lord; so that he may both speak to God, being delighted according to his longing, and be strong for the song, being tempered by fear.

2.100 (ρ΄) He who through virtue and knowledge has harmonized the body with the soul, has become a lyre of God and a flute and a temple. A lyre, as one who has well preserved the harmony of the virtues; a flute, as one who through the divine contemplations receives the inspiration of the Spirit; and a temple, as one who through purity of mind has become a dwelling-place of the Word.

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λόγιον. Νοῶ δε, διά μέν τοῦ Ῥωμαϊστί, τήν πρακτικήν· ὡς τῆς Ῥωμαίων βασιλείας κατά τόν ∆ανιήλ ὁρισθείσης εἶναι πασῶν ἀνδρικωτέρας τῶν ἐπί γῆς βασιλειῶν· πρακτικῆς δέ ἴδιον, εἴπερ τι ἄλλο, ἡ ἀνδρεία. ∆ιά δέ τοῦ Ἑλληνιστί, τήν φυσικήν θεωρίαν· ὡς μᾶλλον τοῦ Ἑλλήλων ἔθνους παρά τούς λοιπούς ἀνθρώπους, τῇ φυσικῇ σχολάσαντος φιλοσοφίᾳ. ∆ιά δέ τοῦ Ἑβραϊστί, τήν θεολογικήν μυσταγωγίαν· ὡς τοῦ ἔθνους τούτου προδήλως ἀνέκαθεν τῷ Θεῷ τούς πατέρας ἀνατεθέντος.

2.97 (ƒζ΄) ∆εῖ μή μόνον ἡμᾶς εἶναι παθῶν σωματικῶν φονευτάς, ἀλλά καί τῶν κατά ψυχήν ἐμπαθῶν λογισμῶν ὀλετῆρας, κατά τόν λέγοντα ἅγιον· Εἰς τάς πρωΐας ἀπέκτενον πάντας τούς ἁμαρτωλούς τῆς γῆς· τοῦ ἐξολοθρεῦσαι ἐκ πόλεως Κυρίου πάντας τούς ἐργαζομένους τήν ἀνομίαν· τουτέστι, τά τοῦ σώματος πάθη, καί τῆς ψυχῆς τούς ἀνομοῦντας λογισμούς.

(14__564> 2.98 (ƒη΄) Ὁ τήν ὁδόν τῶν ἀρετῶν χωρίς τῆς ἐφ᾿ ἑκάτερα ῥοπῆς μετ᾿ εὐσεβοῦς καί ὀρθῆς γνώσεως συντηρήσας ἀλώβητον, εἴσεται τήν γινομένην πρός αὐτόν τοῦ Θεοῦ διά τῆς ἀπαθείας παρουσίαν. Ψαλῶ γάρ, καί συνήσω ἐν ὁδῷ ἀμώμῳ, πότε ἥξεις πρός με. Ὁ γάρ ψαλμός τήν ἐνάρετον πρᾶξιν δηλοῖ· ἡ δέ σύνεσις, τήν ἐπ᾿ ἀρετῇ γνωστικήν ἐπιστήμην· καθ᾿ ἥν τῆς θείας αἰσθάνεται παρουσίας, ὁ δι᾿ ἀγρυπνίας τῶν ἀρετῶν προσδεχόμενος τόν Κύριον αὐτοῦ.

2.99 (ƒθ΄) Οὐ δεῖ τόν εἰσαγόμενον εἰς εὐσέβειαν, διά μόνης ἄγεσθαι χρηστότητος πρός τήν πρᾶξιν τῶν ἐντολῶν, ἀλλά μήν καί τῇ μνήμῃ τῶν θείων δικαιωμάτων, δι᾿ ἀποτομίας συχνότερον αὐτόν ἀγωνίσασθαι· ἐφ᾿ ᾧ μή μόνον πόθῳ τῶν θείων ἐρᾷν, ἀλλά καί φόβῳ τῆς κακίας ἀπέχεσθαι· Ἔλεον γάρ καί κρίσιν ᾄσομαί σοι, Κύριε· ἵνα καί αὐδῇ τῷ Θεῷ κατά πόθον τερπόμενος, καί εὐτονῇ πρός τό ᾆσμα, τῷ φόβῳ στομούμενος.

2.100 (ρ΄) Ὁ δι᾿ ἀρετῆς καί γνώσεως ἁρμοσάμενος τό σῶμα πρός τήν ψυχήν, γέγονε κιθάρα Θεοῦ καί αὐλός καί ναός. Κιθάρα μέν, ὡς καλῶς φυλάξας τήν τῶν ἀρετῶν ἁρμονίαν· αὐλός δέ, ὡς διά τῶν θείων θεωρημάτων εἰσδεχόμενος τήν τοῦ Πνεύματος ἔμπνευσιν· ναός δέ, ὡς διά τήν κατά νοῦν καθαρότητα, τοῦ Λόγου γεγονώς κατοικητήριον.