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eating the appearances of the virtues; but the principles of the commandments, in which the knowledge of the perfect exists, he concedes to God through faith, being unable for the time being to extend himself to the length of knowledge. For the altar is a symbol of God, to whom we all are spiritually sacrificed, and of things beyond our power we concede the knowledge, so that we may live. And a type of faith according to him is the base of the altar; for faith is a foundation, bearing the whole edifice of divine works and thoughts, to which everyone unable to enjoy soberly according to knowledge the intoxication from the divine cup of wisdom, does well to pour out the principles of knowledge unattainable to him; that is, he concedes to faith the knowledge of principles beyond his power.

As, therefore, the ancient people, bearing a type of those being introduced according to piety, eating the flesh of the sacrificed victims, poured the blood toward the base of the altar, being unable on account of their childish reasoning to attain the mystical knowledge of the things being done. But Christ, having come as high priest of the good things to come, sacrificing himself as the ineffable sacrifice, gives both the flesh and the blood to those who have the senses of the soul trained through perfection for the discernment of good and evil. For the perfect one, having run through not only the order of those being introduced but also that of those advancing, is not ignorant of the principles of the things done by him according to the commandment; but first having drunk them in spirit, he eats through works all the flesh of the virtues; raising the meaning of things done according to sense to the knowledge that is according to the intellect. There are indeed many other discourses about these things, especially for you most fond of contemplation; but let them be omitted now on account of their multitude.

SCHOLIA. 1. He called the appearances of the virtues moral instruction. 2. Fr. See that he called knowledge "principles." But if principles are knowledge, the one who has known

the principles has certainly known the Word and the Father of the Word; for the Word is the precise knowledge of his own Father; *He who has seen me*, says the Savior, *has seen the Father*;

3. He took the blood, according to contemplation, as knowledge, as that which nourishes the body of the virtues.

QUESTION 37.

It says in Acts concerning Saint Paul: "So that handkerchiefs and aprons were even carried from his skin to the sick, and the diseases left them." Did this happen for the sake of the ministry and the unbelievers, or, his body having been sanctified, were these things accomplished from his skin? And if according to this, and he suffered nothing from the viper, for what reason did the body of the saint not succumb to the venom of the beast, but did succumb to the sword? And I ask the same thing also concerning the body of Elisha. And what are the *semikinthia* (aprons)?

Answer. Neither through the holiness of Saint Paul alone, nor through the faith of the recipients alone, did the skin of his body accomplish the healings through the handkerchiefs and the aprons; but because the divine grace, having distributed itself to both him and them, philanthropically made the holiness of the Apostle active in them through faith. Thus, then, again, when grace willed it, his body remained impassible, not being destroyed by the venom of the beast; whether the [power] in the venom

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ἐσθίων τῶν ἀρετῶν τά φαινόμενα· τούς δέ τῶν ἐντολῶν λόγους, ἐν οἷς ἡ τῶν τελείων ὑπάρχει γνῶσις, τῷ Θεῷ παραχωρεῖ διά τῆς πίστεως, μή δυνάμενος τέως συνεπεκτανθῆναι τῷ μήκει τῆς γνώσεως. Θεοῦ γάρ σύμβολόν ἐστι τό θυσιαστήριον, ᾧ πάντες πνευματικῶς θυόμεθα, καί τῶν ὑπέρ δύναμιν παραχωροῦμεν τήν εἴδησιν, ἵνα ζήσωμεν. Τῆς δέ κατ᾿ αὐτόν πίστεως τύπος ἐστίν, ἡ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου βάσις· θεμέλιον γάρ ἡ πίστις ὑπάρχει, πᾶσαν τήν οἰκοδομήν τῶν θείων ἔργων καί νοημάτων βαστάζουσα πρός ἥν πᾶς μή δυνάμενος τῆς ἐκ τοῦ θείου τῆς σοφίας κρατῆρος κατά τήν γνῶσιν σωφρόνως ἀπολαῦσαι μέθης, τῶν οὐκ ἐφικτῶν αὐτῷ γνώσεως καλῶς ποιῶν προχέει τούς λόγους· τουτέστι, τῶν ὑπέρ δύναμιν λόγων τήν γνῶσιν τῇ πίστει παραχωρεῖ.

Ὡς οὖν τύπον τῶν κατ᾿ εὐσέβειαν εἰσαγομένων ὁ παλαιός λαός φέρων, ἐσθίοντες τῶν θυομένων τάς σάρκας τό αἷμα πρός τήν βάσιν τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου προσέχεον, οὐ δυνάμενοι διά τόν νηπιάζοντα λογισμόν, τῆς τῶν γινομένων μυστικῆς ἐφικέσθαι γνώσεως. Χριστός δέ παραγενόμενος ἀρχιερεύς τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν, τήν ἀπόῤῥητον θύων θυσίαν ἑαυτόν, μετά τῆς σαρκός καί τό αἷμα δίδωσι τοῖς τά αἰσθητήρια τῆς ψυχῆς διά τήν τελειότητα γεγυμνασμένα ἔχουσι, πρός διάκρισιν καλοῦ τε καί κακοῦ. Ὁ γάρ τέλειος οὐ μόνον τήν τῶν εἰσαγομένων τάξιν, ἀλλά καί τήν τῶν προκοπτόντων διαδραμών, οὐκ ἀγνοεῖ τῶν ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ κατ᾿ ἐντολήν γινομένων τούς λόγους· ἀλλ᾿ ἐκείνους πνεύματι πρῶτον διαπιών, πᾶσαν ἐσθίει διά τῶν ἔργων τήν σάρκα τῶν ἀρετῶν· πρός τήν κατά νοῦν γνῶσιν ἀναβιβάζων τήν τῶν γινομένων κατ᾿ αἴσθησιν νόησιν. Εἰσί μέν καί ἕτεροι πλεῖστοι λόγοι περί τούτων, ὑμῖν μάλιστα τοῖς φιλοθεωτάτοις· ἀλλά παρείσθωσαν νῦν διά τό πλῆθος.

ΣΧΟΛΙΑ. α΄ . Τά φαινόμενα τῶν ἀρετῶν εἶπεν τήν ἠθικήν παιδαγωγίαν. β΄ . Fr. Ὅρα , ὅτι λόγους τήν γνῶσιν ἐκάλεσεν. Εἰ δέ οἱ λόγοι γνῶσις, ὁ γνούς

τούς λόγους, πάντως ἔγνω τόν Λόγον καί τόν τοῦ Λόγου Πατέρα· γνῶσις γάρ ὁ Λόγος τοῦ οἰκείου Πατρός ἀκριβής· Ὁ ἑωρακώς ἐμέ, φησίν ὁ Σωτήρ, ἑώρακε τόν Πατέρα·

γ΄ . Τό αἷμα κατά θεωρίαν, εἰς τήν γνῶσιν ἔλαβεν, ὡς ὑποτρέφουσαν τό σῶμα τῶν ἀρετῶν.

ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ ΛΖ΄ .

Λέγει εἰς τάς Πράξεις περί τοῦ ἁγίου Παύλου· " Ὥστε καί ἐπί τούς ἀσθενοῦντας ἐπιφέρεσθαι ἀπό τοῦ χρωτός αὐτοῦ σουδάρια καί σημικίνθια, καί ἀπαλλάττεσθαι ἀπ᾿ αὐτῶν (384) τάς νόσους." Ἄρα γάρ διά τήν διακονίαν καί τούς ἀπίστους τουτί ἐγίνετο, ἤ ἁγιασθέντος τοῦ σώματος ταῦτα ἐκ τοῦ χρωτός αὐτοῦ ἐπετελεῖτο; Καί εἰ κατά τοῦτο, καί ἐπί τῆς ἐχίδνης οὐδέν ἔπαθεν, τίνι τῷ λόγῳ, τῷ μέν ἰῷ τοῦ θηρίου οὐχ ὑπέπεσε τό σῶμα τοῦ ἁγίου, τῷ δέ ξίφει ὑπέπεσε; τό δέ αὐτό ζητῶν καί ἐπί τοῦ σώματος τοῦ Ἐλισσαίου. Τίνα δέ τά σημικίνθιά εἰσιν;

Ἀπόκρισις. Οὔτε διά μόνην τοῦ ἁγίου Παύλου τήν ἁγιότητα, οὔτε διά μόνην τήν τῶν

δεχομένων πίστιν, ὁ χρώς τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ διά τῶν σουδαρίων καί τῶν σημικινθίων ἐπιτέλει τάς ἰάσεις· ἀλλ᾿ ὅτιπερ αὐτῷ τε κἀκείνοις ἡ θεία χάρις ἑαυτήν ἐπιμερίσασα, φιλανθρώπως ἐν ἐκείνοις διά τῆς πίστεως ἐνεργόν ἐποίει τοῦ Ἀποστόλου τήν ἁγιότητα. Οὕτω μέν οὖν πάλιν βουληθείσης τῆς χάριτος, ἀπαθές διέμεινεν αὐτοῦ τό σῶμα, τῷ ἰῷ τοῦ θηρίου μή διαφθειρόμενον· εἴτε τήν ἐν τῷ ἰῷ