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and of those who have departed from Babylonia—and by this I mean the confusion of the present age—is entirely under the twelve-year period, the Word mystically declaring that only one who has come to be beyond sense and time—for the number twelve clearly signifies this, being composed of five for the senses (14Γ_062> and seven for time—and having severed the soul's relation to these things, departs from their confusion, hastening towards the city above, having, besides children and women, forty-three thousand three hundred and sixty.

Children(10) are perhaps the thoughts concerning the natural, irreproachable passions that are not in our control, and women are either the thoughts or the natural appetites and pleasures, which bring no reproach upon those who possess them, being a necessary consequence of natural desire. For even ordinary food, assuaging a preceding lack, and drink, repelling the vexation of thirst, and sleep, renewing the power expended from being awake, and whatever other natural things belong to us, naturally produce pleasure, even when we do not wish it, things necessary for the constitution of nature, and useful for the zealous in the acquisition of virtue. Although these are not counted with the men, they nevertheless depart with every mind that flees the confusion of sin, so that he may not on their account remain held in slavery to the passions that are in our control, reprehensible, and contrary to nature, which have no other origin in us than the movement of the natural passions. But they are not counted(11) because the passions that sustain nature for the present life are not constituted to pass over with us to immortal and everlasting life.

The four myriads are the tetrad of the general virtues; with which the mind, having passed beyond nature and time, is restored to the blessed portion of dispassion. For just as the myriad is known only by the element of the monad(12), being completely unable to be signified by another letter, since it is the same in its subject matter as the monad, even if it admits of a difference only in conception, as an end in relation to a beginning—for the myriad is the end of the monad and (14Γ_064> the monad is the beginning of the myriad, or, to speak more properly, the myriad is a monad in motion and the monad is a myriad at rest—so also every general virtue has the divine and ineffable monad, I mean God, as beginning and end, beginning from Him and ending in Him, and being the same as God, differing only in the conception of the Word, from whom and in whom and unto whom every generation of virtue manifestly has its being.

Or perhaps the Word says that the four myriads are the four stages of progress of those advancing in the breadth of contemplation and knowledge within the decad of the divine commandments. For example, the first progress is simply, in beginners after the avoidance of vice(13), the practice of the commandments, making the first decad complete, which is also a monad. The second progress is the inclusion of the rest through the activation of each commandment, making the same decad also a hundred, being completed by the activation of each commandment through the others. For the decad activated tenfold makes the hundred. The third progress is the tenfold multiplication of this hundred according to the law of nature. For the law of nature is also based on ten, as it is composed of ten things, I mean the three powers of the soul and the five senses and the vocal energy and natural fertility. For it uses the rational faculty for the search for the Cause and the good things concerning the Cause, the appetitive for desire of the things sought, and the irascible for guarding and affection, and the senses for discernment, which is itself divided fivefold, from which knowledge is naturally produced—for universal discernment is divided into things that have been worked and not worked(14), things to be understood and not to be understood, things to be said and not to be said, (14Γ_066> things to be done and not to be done, things perishable and imperishable, and the vocal

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καὶ τῆς Βαβυλωνίας ἐκβεβηκότωνταύτην δὲ λέγω τοῦ παρόντος αἰῶνος τὴν σύγχυσινεἶναι παντελῶς ὑπὸ τὸν δωδεκαετῆ χρόνον, δηλοῦντος τοῦ λόγου μυστικῶς ὅτι μόνος ὁ γενόμενος ὑπὲρ αἴσθησιν καὶ χρόνοντοῦτο γὰρ ὁ δώδεκα σημαίνει σαφῶς ἀριθμός, ἐκ πέντε διὰ τὰς αἰσθήσεις (14Γ_062> καὶ ἑπτὰ διὰ τὸν χρόνον συναγόμενοςκαὶ τὴν πρὸς ταῦτα τῆς ψυχῆς διακόψας σχέσιν ἐκβαίνει τῆς αὐτῶν συγχύσεως, πρὸς τὴν ἄνω πόλιν ἐπειγόμενος, ἔχων, χωρὶς παίδων καὶ γυναικῶν, μυριάδας τέσσαρας τρισχιλίους τριακοσίους ἑξήκοντα.

Παῖδές(10) εἰσι τυχὸν οἱ περὶ τῶν φυσικῶν καὶ ἀδιαβλήτων καὶ οὐκ ἐφ᾽ ἡμῖν παθῶν λογισμοί, γυναῖκες δὲ ἢ αἱ ἐνθυμήσεις ἢ αἱ κατὰ φύσιν ὀρέξεις καὶ ἡδοναί, μὴ φέρουσαι τοῖς κεκτημένοις διαβολήν, ὡς ἀναγκαῖον παρακολούθημα καθεστῶσαι φυσικῆς ὀρέξεως. Ἡδονὴν γὰρ ποιεῖ κατὰ φύσιν, καὶ μὴ βουλομένων ἡμῶν, καὶ ἡ τυχοῦσα τροφή, προλαβοῦσαν ἔνδειαν παραμυθουμένη, καὶ πόσις, ἀποκρουομένη τοῦ δίψους τὴν ὄχλησιν, καὶ ὕπνος, τὴν ἐκ τῆς ἐγρηγόρσεως δαπανηθεῖσαν ἀνανεούμενος δύναμιν, καὶ ὅσα τῶν καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς φυσικῶν ἕτερα τυγχάνει, πρὸς μὲν σύστασιν φύσεως ἀναγκαῖα, πρὸς δὲ κτῆσιν ἀρετῆς ὑπάρχοντα χρήσιμα τοῖς σπουδαίοις· ἅπερ κἂν μὴ συναριθμῆται τοῖς ἀνδράσιν, ἀλλὰ συνεκβαίνει παντὶ νοῒ φεύγοντι τῆς ἁμαρτίας τὴν σύγχυσιν, ἵνα μὴ δι᾽ αὐτὰ μείνῃ κρατούμενος εἰς δουλείαν τῶν ἐφ᾽ ἡμῖν καὶ διαβεβλημένων καὶ παρὰ φύσιν παθῶν, οὐκ ἐχόντων ἄλλην ἀρχὴν ἐν ἡμῖν πλὴν τῆς κινήσεως τῶν κατὰ φύσιν παθῶν. Οὐ συναριθμεῖται(11) δέ, ὅτι μὴ πέφυκε πρὸς τὴν ἀθάνατον καὶ μακραίωνα ζωὴν συμμεταβαίνειν ἡμῖν τὰ τὴν φύσιν πρὸς τὴν παροῦσαν ζωὴν συνέχοντα πάθη.

Τέσσαρες δὲ μυριάδες εἰσὶν ἡ τετρὰς τῶν γενικῶν ἀρετῶν· μεθ᾽ ὧν φύσιν καὶ χρόνον διαβὰς ὁ νοῦς πρὸς τὴν μακαρίαν τῆς ἀπαθείας ἀποκαθίσταται λῆξιν. Ὡς γὰρ ἡ μυριὰς τῷ τῆς μονάδος στοιχείῳ μόνη γνωρίζεται(12), παντελῶς δι᾽ ἄλλου γράμματος σημανθῆναι μὴ δυναμένη, ὡς ταὐτὸν οὖσα κατὰ τὸ ὑποκείμενον τῇ μονάδι, κἂν δέχεται μόνῃ τῇ ἐπινοίᾳ διαφοράν, ὡς πρὸς ἀρχὴν τέλος τέλος γὰρ μονάδος ἐστὶν ἡ μυριὰς καὶ (14Γ_064> ἀρχὴ μυριάδος ἐστὶν ἡ μονάς, ἤ, κυριώτερον εἰπεῖν, κινουμένη μονάς ἐστιν ἡ μυριὰς καὶ ἀκίνητος μυριάς ἐστιν ἡ μονάς, οὕτω καὶ πᾶσα τῶν γενικῶν ἀρετὴ τὴν θείαν καὶ ἄρρητον μονάδα, φημὶ τὸν Θεόν, ἀρχὴν ἔχει καὶ τέλος, ὡς ἐξ αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν ἀρχομένη καὶ λήγουσα, καὶ ταὐτὸν ὑπάρχουσα τῷ Θεῷ, κατὰ μόνον τῆς ἐπινοίας διαφέρουσα τὸν Λόγον, παρ᾽ οὗ καὶ ἐν ᾧ καὶ εἰς ὃν πᾶσα γένεσις ἀρετῆς προδήλως ὑφέστηκεν.

Ἢ τυχὸν τὰς τέσσαρας προκοπὰς τῶν ἐν τῇ δεκάδι τῶν θείων ἐντολῶν, εἰς μῆκος θεωρίας καὶ γνώσεως προβαινόντων, φησὶν εἶναι τὰς τέσσαρας μυριάδας ὁ λόγος. Οἷον, πρώτη προκοπή ἐστιν ἡ ἁπλῶς ἐν τοῖς εἰσαγομένοις μετὰ τὴν ἀποφυγὴν τῆς κακίας(13) πρᾶξις τῶν ἐντολῶν, πλήρη ποιοῦσα τὴν πρώτην δεκάδα, τὴν αὐτὴν καὶ μονάδα. ∆ευτέρα προκοπή ἐστιν ἡ δι᾽ ἑκάστης ἐντολῆς ἐνεργουμένης τῶν λοιπῶν συμπερίληψις, τὴν αὐτὴν δεκάδα ποιουμένη καὶ ἑκατοντάδα τῇ δι᾽ ἀλλήλων ἑκάστης ἐντολῆς ἐνεργείᾳ συμπληρουμένην. Ἡ γὰρ δεκὰς δεκαχῶς ἐνεργηθεῖσα ποιεῖ τὴν ἑκατοντάδα. Τρίτη προκοπή ἐστιν ἡ κατὰ τὸν νόμον τῆς φύσεως ταύτης τῆς ἑκατοντάδος δεκάπλωσις. ∆εκαδικὸς γὰρ καὶ ὁ τῆς φύσεως νόμος ἐστίν, ὡς ἐκ δέκα συνεστηκώς, λέγω δὲ τῶν τριῶν τῆς ψυχῆς δυνάμεων καὶ τῶν πέντε αἰσθήσεων καὶ τῆς φωνητικῆς ἐνεργείας καὶ τῆς φυσικῆς γονιμότητος· κέχρηται γὰρ τῷ μὲν λογιστικῷ πρὸς τὴν τῆς αἰτίας καὶ τῶν περὶ τὴν αἰτίαν καλῶν ζήτησιν, τῷ ἐπιθυμητικῷ δὲ πρὸς πόθον τῶν ζητουμένων, τῷ δὲ θυμικῷ πρὸς φυλακὴν καὶ στοργήν, ταῖς αἰσθήσεσι δὲ πρὸς διάκρισιν πενταχῶς καὶ αὐτὴν διαιρουμένην, ἐξ ἧς ἐπιστήμη γίνεσθαι πέφυκεδιαιρεῖται γὰρ ἡ καθόλου διάκρισις τοῖς ἠργμένοις καὶ οὐκ ἠργμένοις(14), τοῖς νοητέοις καὶ οὐ νοητέοις, τοῖς ῥητέοις καὶ οὐ ῥητέοις, (14Γ_066> τοῖς ποιητέοις καὶ οὐ ποιητέοις, τοῖς φθαρτοῖς καὶ τοῖς ἀφθάρτοις, τῷ δὲ φωνητικῷ