121

from being rich, they have become needy and poor, and that those who seek the Lord whom they fear, are filled with all good things, he then extends his teaching to all who have become his children, saying: "Come, children, listen to me." Not according to the flesh in any way. For the children of the wise one are those who hasten to wisdom, the children of the holy one are those who wish to be sanctified, those who achieve righteousness are children of him who is the first righteous one; for it has been said to us in the beginning of the psalm that it can be declared also from the person of the Savior according to his humanity. And the children of the Savior are those who attend to virtue, those 197 who hasten to receive the knowledge of the truth. He calls them, therefore, being far off, not so that moving transitively they might come from place to place, but from disposition to disposition, from a lesser state to a greater and more perfect one. 12 I will teach you the fear of the Lord. And these children to whom he makes his address can be "infants in Christ," having a fear that is not perfect, not one that makes them never fall short, but one that causes abstinence from practical wickedness, the fear of punishment; for such ones are imperfect children; for since he who fears the Lord is without want, these are also not without want, not having the perfect love which casts out the aforementioned fear, being no other substance than the participation of God. But "God is love." And just as one who partakes of righteousness is righteous, so one who has approached this love and has become one with it is a child of wisdom, a son of love. 13 Who is the man who desires life? When they were in the lesser fear which brings on punishment and frightens with punishment so that one might not sin, they were a multitude. But when they then hasten to draw near to him who calls, so that they may be taught the fear of God, what is declared is then declared as if to one person; for having been made complete "with the same mind and with the same judgment" and each one having cleaved to the Lord and having become one spirit with him, they cast off their multitude; for multitude, especially that which concerns the soul and the inner man, comes about either from opposition or from a difference of more and less. If all who are called have virtue, but do not have it in the same way, they are a multitude. And this is not the multitude according to opposition. But when they also have contrary senses, they happen to be many because of the wickedness present in them; for wickedness is not unifying, but rather divisive. We speak, at any rate, of an entailment of the virtues, but not of the vices. It is impossible for the vices to entail each other; for there are excesses and deficiencies. And excesses and deficiencies are oppositions. Therefore, all those who perfectly take up virtue are one and become one with God. For example, all believers according to the right faith have one heart and one soul, while the wicked do not have this. Therefore he also calls some double-minded. He therefore makes his address to man alone. And man is one according to essence; for even if men become different and many, they have their multitude from the qualities that befall them. However, according to the first subject which is receptive of the qualities, they are one; for they are all of one substance. It is of man, therefore, to desire life, of the man who preserves what is according to the image. A horse mad for mares does not desire life. Since: the "Who is the man"? - not the rare nor the impossible; the one of a particular quality whom we call an individual, so that it may be this: if any man is such, let him come and learn the fear of God. 13-14 loving to see good days? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Immediately upon the desire for life and the learning of the divine fear follows being in good days; for we are not so foolish as some, as to think that the well-being of the body and abundant wealth make good days; for you have many things in the

121

αὐτοῦ ἐκ πλουσίων πένητες καὶ πτωχοὶ γεγένηνται, καὶ ὅτι οἱ ἐκζητοῦντες τὸν κύριον ὃν φοβοῦνται, πληροῦνται πάντων ἀγαθῶν, λοιπὸν πρὸς πάντας τοὺς γενομένους αὐτοῦ τέκνα ἀποτείνει τὴν διδασκαλίαν λέγων· "δεῦτε, τέκνα, ἀκούσατέ μου". οὐ κατὰ σάρκα τινά. τέκνα δ' εἰσὶν τοῦ σοφοῦ οἱ σπεύδοντες ἐπὶ σοφίαν, τέκνα εἰσὶν τοῦ ἁγίου οἱ βουλόμενοι ἁγιασθῆναι, οἱ τὴν δικαιοσύνην κατορθοῦντες αὐτοῦ τοῦ πρώτου δικαίου τέκνα εἰσίν· εἴρηται γὰρ ἡμῖν ἐν ἀρχῇ τοῦ ψαλμοῦ ὅτι καὶ ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ σωτῆρος κατὰ τὸν ἄνθρωπον δύναται ἀπαγγέλλεσθαι. τέκνα δὲ τοῦ σ̣ωτῆρός εἰσιν ο̣ἱ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐπιμελόμενοι, οἱ 197 σπεύδοντες ἀναλαβεῖν τὴν γνῶσιν τῆς ἀληθείας. καλεῖ οὖν αὐτοὺς πόρρω ὄντας, οὐχ ἵνα μεταβατικῶς κινηθέντες ἐκ τόπου εἰς τόπον ἔλθωσιν, ἀλλὰ ἐκ διαθέσεως εἰς διάθεσιν, ἐξ ἐλάττονος καταστάσεως ἐπὶ τὴν μείζονα καὶ τελειοτέραν. 12 φόβον κυρίου διδάξω ὑμᾶς. καὶ δύνανται ταῦτα τὰ τέκνα πρὸς οὓς τὸν λόγον ποιεῖται, "νήπιοι ἐν Χριστῷ" εἶναι φόβον ἔχοντες οὐ τὸν τέλειον, οὐ τὸν ἀκαθυστερήτους ποιοῦντα, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἀποχὴν τῆς κακίας τῆς πρακτικῆς ποιοῦντα, τὸν τῆς κολάσεως φόβον· τέκνα γάρ εἰσιν οἱ τοιοῦτοι ἀτελεῖς τυγχάνοντες· τοῦ γὰρ φοβουμένου τὸν κύριον ἀνενλιποῦς ὄντος καὶ οὗτοι οὐκ ἀνενλιπεῖς εἰσιν οὐκ ἔχοντες τὴν τελείαν ἀγάπην ἥτις ἔξω βάλλει τὸν προειρημένον φόβον οὐκ ἄλλη τις οὖσια τῆς θεοῦ μετουσίας. "ὁ θεὸς" δὲ "ἀγάπη ἐστιν". καὶ ὥσπερ ὁ μετέχων δικαιοσύνης δίκαιός ἐστιν, οὕτως ὁ τῇ ἀγάπῃ ταύτῃ ἐγγίσας καὶ ἓν πρὸς αὐτὴν γενόμενος τέκνον ἐστὶν σοφίας, υἱὸς ἀγάπης. 13 τίς ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος ὁ θέλων ζωήν; ὅτε ἐν τῷ ἐλάττονι φόβῳ ἦσαν τῷ τὴν κόλασιν ἐπιφέροντι καὶ ἐκφοβοῦντι τὴν κόλασιν ἵνα μή τις ἁμαρτάνῃ, πλῆθος ἦσαν. ὅτε δὲ λοιπὸν σπεύδουσιν ἐπὶ τὸ ἐγγίσαι τῷ καλοῦντι ἵνα τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ φόβον διδαχθῶσιν, ὡς πρὸς ἕνα λοιπὸν ἀπαγγέλλεται τὰ ἀπαγγελλόμενα· καταρτισθέντες γὰρ "τῷ αὐτῷ νοῒ καὶ τῇ αὐτῇ γνώμῃ" καὶ ἕκαστος κολληθεὶς πρὸς τὸν κύριον καὶ ἓν πνεῦμα γενάμενος πρὸς αὐτόν, ἀποβάλλουσιν τὸ πλῆθος· τὸ γὰρ πλῆθος, μάλιστα τὸ κατὰ τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον, ἢ ἐξ ἐναντιότητος συμβαίνει ἢ ἐκ διαφορᾶς τῆς κατὰ τὸ μᾶλλον καὶ ἧττον. ἐὰν πάντες οἱ καλούμενοι ἀρετὴν ἔχωσιν, μὴ ὁμοίως δὲ αὐτὴν ἔχωσιν, πλῆθός ἐστιν. καὶ οὔκ ἐστιν δὲ τοῦτο τὸ πλῆθος τὸυ κατ' ἐναντιότητα. ὅταν δὲ καὶ ἐναντίας ἔχωσιν αἰσθήσεις, πολλοὶ τυγχάνουσιν διὰ τὴν παροῦσαν κακίαν· οὐ γὰρ ἑνοποιός ἐστιν ἡ κακία, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον διαιρετική. ἀντακολουθίαν γοῦν τῶν ἀρετῶν, οὐχὶ δὲ τῶν κακιῶν λέγομεν. ἀδύνατόν ἐστιν ἀντακολουθεῖν τὰς κακίας ἑαυταῖς· εἰσὶν γὰρ ὑπερβολαὶ καὶ ἐνλείψεις. αἱ δὲ ὑπερβολαὶ καὶ ἐνλείψεις ἐναντιώσεις εἰσίν. πάντες οὖν οἱ τελείως τὴν ἀρετὴν ἀναλαμβάνοντες ἕν εἰσιν καὶ ἓν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν γίνονται. αὐτίκα γοῦν οἱ πιστεύοντες πάντες κατὰ τὴν ὀρθὴν πίστιν μίαν καρδίαν καὶ μίαν ψυχὴν ἔχουσιν τῶν φαύλων οὐκ ἐχόντων τοῦτο. καλεῖ οὖν ἐνίους καὶ διψύχους. πρὸς ἄνθρωπον οὖν μόνο̣ν ποιεῖται τὸν λόγον. εἷς δέ ἐστιν ὁ ἄνθρωπος κατὰ τὴν οὐσίαν· κἂν γὰρ διάφοροι καὶ πολλοὶ γίνωνται ἄνθρωποι, ἐκ̣ τῶν συμβαινουσῶν ποιοτήτων τὸ πλῆθος ἔχουσιν. κατὰ μέντοι τὸ πρῶτον ὑποκείμενον τὸ δε̣κτικ̣ὸν τῶν ποιοτήτων εἷς εἰσιν· πάντες ὁμοούσιοι γάρ εἰσιν. ἀνθρώπου οὖν ἐστιν τὸ ποθεῖν ζωήν, ἀνθρώπου τοῦ σῴζοντος τὸ κατ' εἰκόνα. ἵππος θηλυμανὴς οὐ ποθεῖ ζωήν. ἐπερ · τὸ "τίς ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος"; -οὐ τὸ σπάνιον οὐδὲ τὸ ἀδύνατον· τὸν ἰδίως ποιὸν ὃν λέγομεν ἄτομον, ἵνα ᾖ τό· εἴ τις ἄνθρωπος τοιοῦτός ἐστιν, ἡκέτω καὶ μαθέτω τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ φόβον. 13-14 ἀγαπῶν ἡμέρας ἰδεῖν ἀγαθάς; παῦσον τὴν γλῶσσάν σου ἀπὸ κακοῦ καὶ χείλη σου τοῦ μὴ λαλῆσαι δόλον. εὐθέως ἕπεται τῷ πόθῳ τῆς ζωῆς καὶ τῇ μαθήσει τοῦ θεικοῦ φόβου τὸ ἐν ἀγαθαῖς ἡμέραις γενέσθαι· οὐ γὰρ οὕτως ἠλίθιοί ἐσμεν ὥς τινες, ὡς νομίζειν τὴν εὐπάθειαν τοῦ σώματος καὶ τὸν περιρέοντα πλοῦτον ποιεῖν ἡμέρας ἀγαθάς· ἔχεις γὰρ πολλὰ ἐν τῇ