116

From these things, therefore, the philosopher [says] thus: “Of the things given to us by God, hierarchy is the mightiest; and the end of this is the knowledge of things that are, as this saying teaches; therefore, the best thing in us is the knowledge of things that are, which is the same as to say philosophy.” He truly seems (p. 554) to comprehend the sound of words, but not their holy meaning. For the saint says this, that the true knowledge of things that are, “is the complete departure from their contraries,” that is, abstinence from and inaction regarding evils, being prior to the sacred work, which is inspired and unifying. For since he who is captured and led by wicked desires desires what seems good to him and through his works shows ignorance of the truly good, and he who is overcome by anger fights against that which opposes what seems good and fine to him, and in general everyone who cleaves to the worse life adheres to it as seeming better to him, but not as it truly is, but only he who has departed from worse things, having cast off this false opinion, considers the truly worse things to be worse and has a true knowledge of things that are as they are, not as they seem, for this reason the departure from evils is “knowledge of things that are as they are,” being prior to the sacred work, which is inspired and unifying; and the sacred, unifying, and inspired work is the keeping of the commandments of God, accomplished by the flight from evil things and by the persistent and attentive love of God and divine things. This, therefore, he says, is the end common to every hierarchy: to hate the things opposed to God's commandments and to love them and God who gave them and, because of love for Him, to live under them. This is “the knowledge of things that are as they are,” this is the vision of truth, this is the participation in perfection, this is the feasting on spiritual contemplation, which is revealed according to the promise and enlightens and deifies and nourishes intellectually all who, through a pure heart, dwell in it intellectually, or rather spiritually.

This indeed he himself makes clear when he says: for having advanced his argument a little, then taking it up again, becoming his own interpreter for the sake of those not willing to understand divine things in a divine manner, but also attempting to twist them (p. 556) towards their own evil opinions, “It has been said by us sacredly,” he says, “that this is the goal of our hierarchy, our assimilation to and union with God, as far as is possible; and this, as the divine oracles teach, we shall attain only by the loving observance and sacred performance of the divine commandments; for 'he who loves me,' he says, 'will keep my words, and the Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him'.” Do you see what he calls true knowledge of things that are? The practice of the virtues. And what is its end? Union with and assimilation to God. And how did he call this assimilation love? Because love is the fullness of the virtues and this, when added to the image, preserves a perfect resemblance to God. And by the inspired and unifying and sacred work he alluded to the keeping of the divine commandments, the disposition that comes about only for the sake of God and divine things; for the good is not good, unless it is also done for the sake of the good alone; and the continual departure from contraries and the knowledge of things that are and the sacred vision and science of the truth presents hatred towards wicked passions and the condemnation of sin and the flight from it without turning back; but by the unitive perfection and inspired participation in the One and by the contemplation that nourishes intellectually and deifies, he indicated the divine visitation and indwelling according to the promise, perfecting by union and nourishing by contemplation that spiritual eye.

If, then, true knowledge and union with and likeness to God are acquired through the keeping of the commandments alone, what the philosopher calls knowledge is false knowledge. For he himself also said clearly at the beginning “that it is not possible for this knowledge to be acquired from the keeping of the commandments,” and showing a little above, whence

116

τοίνυν ἐκ τούτων ὁ φιλόσοφος οὕτως˙ «τῶν ἡμῖν ὑπό Θεοῦ δεδομένων ἱεραρχία τό κράτιστον˙ τέλος δέ ταύτης ἡ γνῶσις τῶν ὄντων, ὡς ἡ ρῆσις αὕτη διδάσκει˙ τῶν ἐν ἠμῖν ἄρα τό ἄριστον ἡ γνῶσις τῶν ὄντων ἐστί, ταὐτόν δ᾿ εἰπεῖν ἡ φιλοσοφία». Ρημάτων ὄντως ἔοικεν (σελ. 554) ἤχου, ἀλλ᾿ οὐ διανοίας ἐπαΐειν ἁγίας. Τοῦτο γάρ φησιν ὁ ἅγιος, ὅτι ἡ ἀληθής τῶν ὄντων γνῶσις, «ἡ παντελής ἀποφοίτησίς ἐστι τῶν ἐναντίων», τουτέστιν ἡ ἀποχή καί ἀπραξία τῶν κακῶν, πρό τῆς ἱερᾶς ἐργασίας οὖσα, τῆς ἐνθέου καί ἑνιαίας. Ἐπεί γάρ καί ὁ πονηραῖς ἐπιθυμίαις ἁλισκόμενος καί ἀγόμενος τῶν αὐτῷ δοκούντων ἐφίεται καλῶν καί δι᾿ ἔργων ἄγνοιαν δείκνυσιν ἔχων τοῦ ὄντος καλοῦ, καί ὁ θυμῷ κρατούμενος τῷ ἀνθισταμένῳ πρός τά δοκοῦντα αὐτῷ καλά καί ἀγαθά μάχεται, καί ἁπλῶς πᾶς ὁ τοῦ χείρονος ἀντεχόμενος βίου ὡς αὐτῷ δοκοῦντι καλλίονι πρόσκειται, ἀλλ᾿ οὐχ ὡς ὄντος ὄντι, μόνος δέ ὁ τῶν χειρόνων ἀποφοιτήσας, τήν ψευδοδοξίαν ταύτην ἀποβαλόμενος, τά ὄντως ὄντα χείρω καί χείρω ἡγεῖται καί γνῶσιν ἔχει τῶν ὄντων ἀληθῆ τήν οὖσαν, οὐ τήν δοκοῦσαν, διά τοῦτο ἡ τῶν κακῶν ἀποφοίτησις «γνῶσίς» ἐστι «τῶν ὄντων ᾗ ὄντα ἐστί», πρό τῆς ἱερᾶς ἐργασίας οὖσα, τῆς ἐνθέου καί ἑνιαίας˙ ἱερά δέ καί ἑνιαία καί ἔνθεος ἐργασία ἡ τήρησίς ἐστι τῶν ἐντολῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ, τῇ φυγῇ τῶν πονηρῶν καί τῇ ἐπιμόνῳ καί προσεχεῖ ἀγαπήσει Θεοῦ καί τῶν θείων ἐκτελουμένη. Τοῦτο τοίνυν ἐστί, φησί, πάσῃ κοινόν ἱεραρχίᾳ τό πέρας, τό μισῆσαι τά ἀντικείμενα ταῖς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐντολαῖς καί ἀγαπῆσαι ταύτας καί τόν δόντα Θεόν καί διά τήν πρός αὐτόν ἀγάπην ὑπό ταύταις ζῆν. Τοῦτό ἐστιν «ἡ τῶν ὄντων ᾗ ὄντα γνῶσις», τοῦτο ἡ τῆς ἀληθείας ὅρασις, τοῦτο ἡ τῆς τελειώσεως μέθεξις, τοῦτο ἡ τῆς πενυματικῆς ἐποψίας ἑστίασις, ἀποκαλυπτομένης κατά τήν ἐπαγγελίαν καί φωτιζούσης καί θεούσης καί τρεφούσης νοητῶς πάντα τόν διά τῆς καθαρᾶς καρδίας νοερῶς, μᾶλλον δέ πνευματικῶς, ἐνδιαιτώμενον αὐτῇ.

Τοῦτο δή καί αὐτός ἑαυτόν δῆλον ποιεῖται λέγοντα˙ μικρόν γάρ προαγαγών τόν λόγον, εἶτ᾿ ἐπαναλαβών, ἐξηγητής αὐτός ἑαυτοῦ γενόμενος διά τούς μή θέλοντας νοεῖν τά θεῖα θείως, ἀλλά καί πρός τάς οἰκείας κακοδοξίας περιτρέπειν (σελ. 556) ἐγχειροῦντας, «εἴρηται τοίνυν ἡμῖν ἱερῶς», φησί, «ὡς οὗτός ἐστι τῆς καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς ἱεραρχίας ὁ σκοπός, ἡ πρός Θεόν ἡμῶν, ὡς ἐφικτόν, ἀφομοίωσίς τε καί ἕνωσις˙ ταύτης δέ, ὡς τά θεῖα διδάσκει λόγια, ταῖς τῶν θείων ἐντολῶν ἀγαπήσεσι καί ἱερουργίαις μόνως τευξόμεθα˙ "τηρήσει" γάρ, φησίν, "ὁ ἀγαπῶν με τούς λόγους μου, καί ὁ Πατήρ ἀγαπήσει αὐτόν καί ἐλευσόμεθα πρός αὐτόν καί μονήν παρ᾿ αὐτῷ ποιήσομεν"». Ὁρᾷς ποίαν λέγει γνῶσιν τῶν ὄντων ἀληθῆ; Τήν ἐργασίαν τῶν ἀρετῶν. Τί δέ τό ταύτης τέλος; Ἡ πρός Θεόν ἕνωσίς τε καί ἀφομοίωσις. Πῶς δέ ἐκεῖ ἀγάπην εἶπε ταύτην τήν ἀφομοίωσιν; Ὅτι ἡ ἀγάπη ἐστί τῶν ἀρετῶν τό πλήρωμα καί αὕτη τῇ εἰκόνι προσχρωσθεῖσα τελείαν τήν πρός Θεόν ἀποσώζει ἐμφέρειαν. ∆ιά δέ τοῦ ἐνθέως καί ἐνιαίως καί τῆς ἱερᾶς ἐργασίας τήν τήρησιν τῶν θείων ἐντολῶν ἠνίξατο, τήν διά μόνην τήν πρός Θεόν καί τά θεῖα γινομένην διάθεσιν˙ τό γάρ καλόν οὐ καλόν, ἄν μή καί διά τό καλόν μόνον πράττηται˙ ἡ δέ διηνεκής τῶν ἐναντίων ἀποφοίτησις καί ἡ γνῶσις τῶν ὄντων καί ἡ ἱερά τῆς ἀληθείας ὅρασις καί ἐπιστήμη τό πρός τά πονηρά πάθη παρίστησι μῖσος καί τήν τῆς ἁμαρτίας κατάγνωσιν καί τήν ἀπό ταύτης ἀνεπίστροφον φυγήν˙ τῇ δέ ἑνοειδῆ τελειώσει καί ἐνθέῳ μεθέξει τοῦ ἑνός καί τῇ νοητῶς τρεφούσῃ καί θεούσῃ ἐποψίᾳ τήν κατ᾿ ἐπαγγελίαν θείαν ἐπιφοίτησιν καί μονήν ὑπέδειξε, τελειοῦσαν τῇ ἑνώσει καί τρέφουσαν τῇ ἐποψίᾳ τό πνευματικόν ἐκεῖνο ὄμμα.

Εἰ γοῦν διά μόνης τῆς τῶν ἐντολῶν τηρήσεως ἡ ἀληθής προσγίνεται γνῶσις καί ἡ πρός τόν Θεόν ἕνωσις καί ὁμοίωσις, ὅπερ ὁ φιλόσοφός φησι γνῶσιν , ψευδογνωσία ἐστίν. Ἀρχόμενος γάρ καί αὐτός σαφῶς εἶπεν «ἐκ τῆς τῶν ἐντολῶν τηρήσεως μή δυνατόν εἶναι ταύτην προσγίνεσθαι τήν γνῶσιν», καί μικρόν ἀνωτέρω δεικνύς, ὅθεν