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powers of goodness, it declares; according to which, receiving growth again, through the resurrection it is restored to its former natural size and beauty.

But for us it is better, following the law of the commandments, to train ourselves for the destruction of the mindset of the flesh with voluntary labors; and not a better law, but also very philosophical and fitting for those who have established the innate reason as ruler of the passions. But if not this, then the second best thing: being disciplined involuntarily, let us cherish the counsel of the one disciplining us, with fitting thanksgiving, accepting punishment for what we have sinned, like the yoke of the king of Babylon; and from our land, that is, of faith and of hope, and of the state according to virtue, the spiritual king of Babylon does not remove our mind. According to this manner, therefore, which was previously explained, the devil is also called a servant of God, and the kings of the nations are handed over to him, and the king of Judah, and the beasts of the field.

SCHOLIA. a. In what way, he says, the devil is an enemy of God and an avenger. b. That a soul rusted by the filth of pleasure, he says, is cleansed by pain, and

it completely removes from it the relation to material things, having unlearned the harm of the love for them; for which reason God permits the devil, by a just judgment, to oppress men with torments.

c. The one who suffers, he says, for the grace of God that has been transgressed, if he recognizes the reason of the divine providence healing him, he both accepts the misfortune with thanksgiving (352), rejoicing, and corrects the offense for which he is being disciplined; but the one who is insensitive to this given healing, is justly led away from grace, and is handed over to the confusion of the passions, being abandoned to come to the practice of those things for which he had an inner desire.

d. Solomon had peace according to the designation of his name; but wisdom he had by a divine gift as the fruit of prayer.

e. Here he takes Nebuchadnezzar for the natural law, and his son Belshazzar for the state of that natural law.

f. From the prayer it is clear, he says, that Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar here signify the natural law and the state born from it, but not the devil; for no one explains that a prayer for the devil ever happens; for which prayer the word of prophecy did not reject, it is not right to think that this was offered to God for the devil.

g. Fr. Nature will return to itself, receiving back sinlessness and incorruptibility. For the sinners will be destroyed, that is, the causes of sin, and all will be sinless, and for this reason, also incorruptible; and from each other and these things, all will recognize the true kingdom; some by illumination, others by punishment; but not all who enjoy the good things will enjoy them, nor in the same way.

QUESTION 27 .

Since the Lord after the resurrection clearly commanded to make disciples of all the nations, how did Peter, in the case of Cornelius, require a revelation concerning the gentiles? or how did the apostles in Jerusalem, having heard the things concerning Cornelius, contend with Peter?

Response.

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δυνάμεις τῆς ἀγαθότητος, δηλοῖ· καθ᾿ ἅς καί πάλιν λαμβάνουσα τήν αὔξησιν, εἰς τό πρώην φυσικόν διά τῆς ᾶναστάσεως ἐπανάγεται μέγεθός τε καί κάλλος.

Ἀλλ᾿ ἡμῖν γε κρεῖττον τῷ νόμῳ στοιχοῦντας τῶν ἐντολῶν, ἑαυτούς πρός ἀναίρεσιν τοῦ φρονήματος τῆς σαρκός ἑκουσίοις ἐμπαιδεύειν πόνοις· καί οὐ νόμον κρεῖττον, ἀλλά καί πάνυ φιλόσοφον καί πρέπον τοῖς τόν ἔμφυτον λόγον ἡγεμόνα τῶν παθῶν καταστήσασιν· εἰ δέ μή τοῦτο, τόγε τούτου δεύτερον· ἀκουσίως παιδευόμενοι, στέρξωμεν τοῦ παιδεύοντος ἡμᾶς τήν βουλήν, μετά τῆς πρεπούσης εὐχαριστίας, καθάπερ ζυγόν βασιλέως Βαβυλῶνος καταδεχόμενοι, ἐφ᾿ οἷς ἡμάρτομεν κόλασιν· καί τῆς ἡμετέρας γῆς τουτέστι τῆς πίστεως καί τῆς ἐλπίδος, καί τῆς κατ᾿ ἀρετήν ἕξεως· οὐ μεταφέρει τόν ἡμέτερον νοῦν ὁ νοητός βασιλεύς Βαβυλῶνος. Κατά τοῦτον οὖν τόν προαποδοθέντα τρόπον, καί Θεοῦ δοῦλος ὁ διάβολος λέγεται, καί παραδίδονται αὐτῷ οἱ βασιλεῖς τῶν ἐθνῶν, καί ὁ βασιλεύς Ἰούδα, καί τά θηρία τοῦ ἀγροῦ.

ΣΧΟΛΙΑ. α΄. Κατά ποῖον τρόπον, φησίν, ἐχθρός ἐστι Θεοῦ καί ἐκδικητής ὁ διάβολος. β΄. Ὅτι κατιωθεῖσαν ψυχήν τῷ ῥύπῳ τῆς ἡδονῆς φησίν, ἀποκαθαίρει πόνος, καί

ἀφαιρεῖ παντελῶς αὐτῆς τήν σχέσιν τῶν ὑλικῶν, τῆς πρός αὐτά φιλίας τήν ζημίαν μεταμαθοῦσαν· δι᾿ ἥν αἰτίαν ὁ Θεός συγχωρεῖ τῷ διαβόλῳ κατά κρίσιν δικαίαν τούς ἀνθρώπους βασάνοις καταπιέζειν.

γ΄. Ὁ πάσχων φησίν, ὑπέρ χάριτος Θεοῦ παραβαθείσης, ἐάν ἐπιγνῷ τῆς ἰωμένης αὐτόν θείας προνοίας τόν λόγον, τήν τε συμφοράν εὐχαρίστως (352) δέχεται χαίρων, καί τήν ὑπέρ ἧς παιδεύεται διορθοῦται πλημμέλειαν· ὁ δέ ταύτης ἀναισθητῶν τῆς ἰατρείας τῆς δοθείσης, ἐνδίκως ἀπάγεται χάριτος, καί τῇ συγχύσει τῶν παθῶν παραδίδοται· πρός τήν πρᾶξιν ἐλθεῖν καταλιμπανόμενος, ὧν ἐνδιάθετον εἶχε τήν ἔφεσιν.

δ΄. Τήν μέν εἰρήνην κατά προσηγορίαν εἶχεν τοῦ ὀνόματος· τήν δέ σοφίαν κατά θείαν δωρεάν ὡς προσευχῆς καρπόν εἶχεν ὁ Σολομῶν.

ε΄. Εἰς τόν φυσικόν νόμον ἐνταῦθα λαμβάνει τόν Ναβουχοδονόσορ, καί εἰς τήν ἕξιν αὐτοῦ τοῦ φυσικοῦ νόμου τόν υἱόν αὐτοῦ Βαλτάσαρ.

στ΄. Ἐκ τῆς εὐχῆς δῆλόν ἐστι, φησίν, ὅτι τόν φυσικόν νόμον, καί τήν ἐξ αὐτοῦ τικτομένην ἕξιν ἐνταῦθα σημαίνουσι Ναβουχοδονόσορ καί Βαλτάσαρ, ἀλλ᾿ οὐ τόν διάβολον· οὐδείς γάρ εὐχήν ὑπέρ τοῦ διαβόλου γίνεσθαι παντελῶς ἐξηγεῖται· ἥν γάρ οὐ διέβαλεν εὐχήν ὁ τῆς προφητείας λόγος, οὐ χρή νομίζειν ὑπέρ τοῦ διαβόλου ταύτην τῷ Θεῷ προσενηνέχθαι.

ζ΄. Fr. Ἐπανελεύσεται πρός ἑαυτήν ἡ φύσις, τήν ἀναμαρτησίαν καί τήν ἀφθαρσίαν ἀπολαμβάνουσα. Ἀπολοῦνται γάρ οἱ ἁμαρτωλοί, ἤγουν τῆς ἁμαρτίας τά αἴτια, καί πάντες ἔσονται ἀναμάρτητοι, καί διά τοῦτο, καί ἄφθαρτοι· ἐξ ἀλλήλων δέ καί ταῦτα καί πάντες τήν ἀληθινήν ἐπιγνώσονται βασιλείαν· οἱ μέν τῇ ἐλλάμψει, οἱ δέ τῇ κολάσει· οὐ πάντες δέ τῶν ἀγαθῶν, οὐδ᾿ ὁμοίως οἱ ἀπολαύοντες ἀπολαύσουσι.

ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ ΚΖ΄ .

Τοῦ Κυρίου μετά τήν ἀνάστασιν φανερῶς ἐντειλαμένου μαθητεῦσαι πάντα τά ἔθνη, πῶς ἐδεῖτο ὁ Πέτρος ἐπί τοῦ Κορνηλίου ἀποκαλύψεως διά τά ἔθνη; ἤ πῶς οἱ ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ ἀκούσαντες ἀπόστολοι τά κατά τόν Κορνήλιον, διεκρίνοντος πρός τόν Πέτρον;

Ἀπόκρισις.