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The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous. Again, great is the exhortation, great the instruction. This says that: the eyes of God are ready to see and to save, and he has his ears ready to hearken. Therefore, "turn away from evil and do good, and seek peace and pursue it"; for immediately you will have God as overseer. Only wish to be righteous, to pursue righteousness, and you have the eyes of God upon you and his ears ready to receive your prayers which you make to him. 16 and his ears to their supplication. It has often been said that what is spoken anthropologically about God should not be taken literally, as the anthropomorphites think; for they wish there to be also a human face concerning God, and they say that man was made in the image and likeness of God 200 according to the constitution of the body. But such a notion was overturned by wise men; for they say that: "3if in this respect man is in the image of God, because he physically imitates God and his body has a likeness to God, how is God said to have wings; "in the shadow of your wings you will shelter me"? Man, then, is a wingless creature, so that it is not according to the body that he is "in the image and likeness" of God"3. But if you understand what God's wings are, you will see that man also has such intellectual wings that lift him up. Again, the eyes; since they take everything literally, the man having two eyes is not "in the image and likeness" of the one who has seven, so that those things of God, when interpreted allegorically, lead away from the sensible, while the things of man, when led away from the sensible, preserve the likeness to God. 17 But the face of the Lord is upon those who do evil. This says that those who do evil are not righteous. And not being righteous, they are not watched over by God nor are they heard. Nevertheless, they do not remain without an impression of him. But when they fall into some grievous circumstances and become conscious that they are in these things because of the evil they have done and thought, they receive an impression of him. Indeed, when Pharaoh and all his army were in pursuit, Moses said he heard from God that: "I will be glorified in Pharaoh and in all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord"; for how did they know? Surely, having been submerged, no longer able to escape, they received an impression of God. And in the Psalms it is also written that: "Let them be ashamed and confounded and let them perish and let them know that your name is Lord". After perishing, after being ashamed, they knew God, and this is what it is for him to be manifest and to have his face upon those who do evil. But how does it say elsewhere: "But you turned away your face, and I became troubled"? -There it is spoken differently; it is the voice of the Savior. Listen then: to turn away the face he speaks not of those who do evil, but of those who have it appearing to them. And having been troubled for a little while, they seemed to be outside of his face; for which reason they were also troubled. They perceived that something unpleasant had befallen them. And the turning away of the face happened in this way to rouse those who previously saw it and did not have it turned away, so that they might obtain it. But for those who do evil, this is not the reason, but that they may perceive that by the providence of God they were condemned, by the providence of God they are in grievous circumstances. And this too happens for a good end: 17 to destroy their memory from the earth. Not "their memory" altogether, but "from the earth", so that they no longer reckon the earth, no longer mind earthly things. As we say that he drove this man out of the country, where there are many fornications; for he who took him from there, having placed him among the opposites, is not a curse. 18 The righteous cried out, and the Lord heard them. And rightly so, since he has his ears upon them, having cried out they found him listening. Pay attention, two things have been said, the praiseworthy and the blameworthy:
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ὀφθαλμοὶ κυρίου ἐπὶ δικαίους. πολλὴ προτροπὴ πάλιν, πολλὴ παίδευσις. τοῦτο λέγει ὅτι· οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ τοῦ θεοῦ ἕτοιμοί εἰσιν πρὸς τὸ ἰδεῖν καὶ σῶσαι, καὶ ἕτοιμα ἔχει τὰ ὦτα πρὸς τὸ ὑπακοῦσαι. "ἔκκλινον" τοίνυν "ἀπὸ κακοῦ καὶ ποίησον ἀγαθόν, καὶ ζήτησον εἰρήνην καὶ δίωξον αὐτήν"· εὐθέως γὰρ ἕξεις θεὸν ἔφορον. μόνον θέλησον εἶναι δίκαιος, διώκειν τὴν δικαιοσύνην, καὶ ἔχεις τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπικειμένους σοι καὶ τὰ ὦτα αὐτοῦ ἕτοι μα εἰς τὸ δέξασθαι τὰς εὐχάς σου ἃς ποιῇ πρὸς αὐτόν. 16 καὶ ὦτα αὐτοῦ εἰς δέησιν αὐτῶν. πολλάκις ἐλέχθη ὅτι τὰ ἀνθρωπολογούμενα ἐπὶ θεοῦ οὐκ ἐπὶ ῥητοῦ λαμβάνειν δεῖ, ὡς οἴονται οἱ ἀνθρωπομορφεῖται· θέλουσιν γὰρ καὶ πρόσωπον ἀνθρώπινον εἶναι περὶ τὸν θεόν, καὶ λέγουσιν ὅτ̣ι ὁ κατὰ εἰκόνα ἄνθρωπος καὶ ὁμοίωσιν θεοῦ 200 γέγονεν κατὰ τὴν κατασκευὴν τοῦ σώματος. ἀνετράπη δὲ τὸ τοιοῦτο ὑπὸ σοφῶν ἀνδρῶν· λέγουσιν γὰρ ὅτι· "3εἰ κατὰ τοῦτο ὁ ἄνθρωπος κατ' εἰκόνα θεοῦ ἐστιν, ὅτι μιμεῖται σωματικῶς τὸν θεὸν καὶ τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ ὁμοίωσιν ἔχει πρὸς τὸν θεόν, πῶς ὁ θεὸς λέγεται πτέρυγας ἔχειν· "ἐν σκέπῃ τῶν πτερύγων σου σκεπάσεις με"; ἄπτερον οὖν ζῷόν ἐστιν ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ὥστε οὐ κατὰ τὸ σῶμα "κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωσίν" ἐστιν θεοῦ"3. ἐὰν δὲ νοήσῃς, τίνες αἱ τοῦ θεοῦ πτέρυγες, ὄψει ὅτι καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἔχει τοιαύτας πτέρυγας νοητὰς μετεωριζούσας αὐτόν. πάλιν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί· ἐπειδὴ κατ' ἱστορίαν πάντα λαμβάνουσιν, ὁ ἄνθρωπος δυ´̣ο ὀφθαλμοὺς ἔχων οὔκ ἐστιν "κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωσιν" τοῦ ἑπτὰ ἔχοντος, ὥστε ἀναγόμενα ἐκεῖνα τῶν αἰσθητῶν ἀπάγει, τὰ περὶ ἀνθρώπου δὲ τῶν αἰσθητῶν ἀπαγόμενα τὴν ὁμοιότητα τὴν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν σῴζει. 17 πρόσωπον δὲ κυρίου ἐπὶ ποιοῦντας κακά. τοῦτο λέγει ὅτι οἱ ποιοῦντες τὰ κακὰ οὔκ εἰσιν δίκαιοι. μὴ ὄντες δὲ δίκαιοι οὐκ ἐφορῶνται ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐδὲ εἰσακούονται. ὅμως οὐ μένουσιν ἀφάνταστοι αὐτοῦ. ὅταν δὲ περιπέσωσιν ἀνιαροῖς τισιν καὶ ἐν συναισθήσει γένωνται ὅτι διὰ τὰ πραττόμενα καὶ φρονούμενα κακὰ ἐν τούτοις γεγόνασιν, φαντασίαν αὐτοῦ λαμβάνουσιν. ἀμέλει γοῦν καὶ Μωυσῆς ὁπηνίκα ἐδίωκεν Φαραὼθ καὶ ἡ στρατιὰ αὐτοῦ πᾶσα, εἶπεν ἤκουσεν τοῦ θεοῦ ὅτι· "δοξασθήσομαι ἐν Φαραὼ καὶ ἐν πάσῃ τῇ στρατιᾷ αὐτοῦ, καὶ γνώσονται οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι κύριος"· πῶς γὰρ ἔγνωσαν; ἦ ὑποβρύχιοι γενόμενοι μηκέτι διαφυγεῖν δυνάμενοι ἔλαβον φαντασίαν θεοῦ. καὶ ἐν ψαλμοῖς δὲ κεῖται ὅτι· "αἰσχυνθήτωσαν καὶ ἐντραπήτωσαν καὶ ἀπολέσθωσαν καὶ γνωσάτωσαν ὅτι ὄνομά σοι, κύριε". μετὰ τὸ ἀπολέσθαι, μετὰ τὸ αἰσχυνθῆναι ἔγνωσαν τὸν θεόν, καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ ἐμφανῆν αὐτὸν εἶναι καὶ πρόσωπον ἔχειν ἐπὶ ποιοῦντας κακά. ἐπερ · πῶς ἀλλαχοῦ λέγει· "ἀπέστρεψας δὲ τὸ πρόσωπόν σου, καὶ ἐγενήθην τεταραγμένος"; -ἄλλως ἐκεῖ λέγεται· τοῦ σωτῆρός ἐστιν ἡ φωνή. ἄκουε οὖν· τὸ ἀποστρέψαι τὸ πρόσωπον οὐκ ἀπὸ τῶν ποιούντων τὰ κακὰ λέγει, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἐχόντων αὐτὸ φαινόμενον. ὀλίγον δὲ ταραχθέντες ἔδοξαν ἔξω τοῦ προσώπου γίνεσθαι· διὸ καὶ ἐταράχθησαν. αἴσθησιν ἐ´̣λαβον ὅτι ὑπῆρκταί τι αὐτοῖς ἀηδές. γέγονεν δὲ ἡ ἀποστροφὴ τοῦ προσώπου ὧδε πρὸς τὸ διεγεῖραι ἐκείνους τοὺς πρότερον αὐτὸ ὁρῶντας καὶ μὴ ἀπεστραμμένον ἔχοντας, ἵνα τύχωσιν αὐτοῦ. ἐπὶ τοὺς ποιοῦντας δὲ κακὰ οὐδ' αὕτη ἡ αἰτία, ἀλλ' ἵν' αἰσθηθῶσιν ὅτι προνοίᾳ θεοῦ κατεδικάσθησαν, προνοίᾳ θεοῦ ἐν τοῖς ἀνιαροῖς εἰσιν. κ̣αὶ γίνεταί γε καὶ τοῦτο ἐπὶ τέλει χρηστῷ· 17 τοῦ ἐξολεθρεῦσαι ἐκ γῆς τὸ μνημόσυνον αὐτῶν. οὐ καθάπ̣αξ "τὸ μνημόσυνον αὐτῶν", ἀλλ' "ἐκ τῆς γῆς", ὥστε μηκέτι αὐτοὺς γῆν λογίζεσθαι, μηκέτι τὰ ἐπίγεια φρονεῖν. ὡς λέγομεν ὅτι ἐξήλασεν τόνδε τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐκ τῆς χώρας, ἔνθα πολλαὶ πορνεῖαί εἰσιν· μὴ γὰρ κατάρα ἐστὶν ὃς ᾖρε̣ν αὐτὸν ε᾿̣κεῖθεν ἐν τοῖς ἐναντίοις αὐτὸν τεθεικώς. 18 ἐκέκραξαν οἱ δίκαιοι, καὶ ὁ κύριος εἰςήκουσεν αὐτῶν. καὶ εἰκότως γε, ἐπεὶ τὰ ὦτα ἔχει ἐπ' αὐτούς, κράξαντες ἔτυχον αὐτοῦ ἐπηκόου. πρόσεχε, δύο εἴρηται, ἐπαινετὸν καὶ ψεκτόν·