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sweats of virtues, becoming fathers of toil; through which we completely abolish (469) the power of falsehood opposed to the truth; humbling and casting down every high thing of the evil spirits that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.

And prayer is a request for those things which God is wont to grant to men for salvation; and very reasonably so. For if a vow is a promise of good things offered by men to God according to a pledge; prayer, according to the probable account, will clearly be the asking for good things granted by God to men for salvation, bringing a recompense for the preceding disposition.

And a cry is the advance and increase of virtuous ways according to practice and of theorems contemplated gnostically according to theory at the time of the insurrection of evil demons, which, not least of all things, God naturally hears, receiving the disposition of those who care for virtue and knowledge instead of a loud voice.

And "heaven" is often said in Holy Scripture to be God himself; as somewhere the great herald of truth, John the Forerunner, says, A man can receive nothing of himself, unless it has been given him from heaven; instead of, "from God"; because, Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights. According to which meaning, in the present chapter, the passage of Scripture must be understood. And again, Scripture knows to call "heaven" also the heavenly Powers, according to, Heaven is my throne; as resting, clearly, on the holy and bodiless natures. And if one should say that the human intellect, purified of all material fantasy and adorned with the divine principles of intelligible things, is a heaven, he has not, it seems to me, stepped outside of the truth. And if someone were to call the height of intellectual knowledge in men "heaven," he would not miss what is fitting. For in reality, like a heaven, true knowledge becomes a throne of God, receiving God enthroned according to the unchangeable state of the firm and high desire for the good; just as also a footstool, the pure practice of the virtues is called, receiving on itself the divine foundations, and not allowing itself to be polluted at all by the filth from the body, as if from the earth.

Therefore, since king Hezekiah bears a type of virtue, according to the interpretation of his own name—for this name, being said in the Greek language, means "strength of God"; and only virtue has been established as the strength of God against the opposing powers. And Ahaz, the father of Hezekiah, is interpreted as "strength," which the reason, having anticipated it in action, produced, from which the divine strength according to virtue is wont to be born. And the prophet Isaiah signifies the knowledge of (472) high things; for being interpreted, he is called "height of God," indicating through himself the height of knowledge according to God, which is born from the toil of the various theorems concerning beings. For Amos is called "toil of the people" [or...people of toil], as was previously stated.

Since, therefore, as has been said, the meaning of the names has this power, every philosopher and pious man, clearly, being guarded by virtue and knowledge, or practice and theory, whenever he sees the evil power rising up against him through the passions, just as the king of the Assyrians did to Hezekiah, has one help for the solution of evils, God, whom he propitiates, crying out without speech through the greater intensity according to virtue and knowledge; and he receives for an alliance, or rather for salvation, an angel; that is, a greater principle of wisdom and knowledge, who wipes out every mighty man and warrior and ruler and commander from the camp of the king of Asshur, and turns him back with shame of face to his own land. For the wicked and destructive kingdom of the devil, being typified by the kingdom of the Assyrians, the one against virtue and knowledge towards men

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ἀρετῶν ἱδρῶτες, πόνου πατέρες γινόμενοι· δι᾿ ἧς τήν ἀντικειμένην τῇ ἀληθείᾳ τοῦ ψεύδους δύναμιν (469) παντελῶς ἐξαφανίζομεν· πᾶν ὕψωμα τῶν ἐπαιρομένων κατά τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ πονηρῶν πνευμάτων ταπεινοῦντές τε καί καταβάλλοντες.

Προσευχή δέ ἐστιν αἴτησις ὧν πέφυκε Θεός ἀνθρώποις δωρεῖσθαι πρός σωτηρίαν· καί μάλα γε εἰκότως. Εἰ γάρ εὐχή ἐστιν, ὑπόσχεσις τῶν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων Θεῷ κατ᾿ ἐπαγγελίαν προσαγομένων καλῶν· προσευχή κατά τόν εἰκότα λόγον ἔσται σαφῶς, ἡ τῶν ἐκ Θεοῦ πρός σωτηρίαν χορηγουμένων τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἀγαθῶν ἐξαίτησις, ἀντίδοσιν φέρουσα τῆς τῶν προηυγμένων διαθέσεως.

Βοή δέ ἐστιν, ἡ τῶν κατά τήν πρᾶξιν ἐναρέτων τρόπων, καί τῶν κατά τήν θεωρίαν γνωστικῶς θεωρημάτων ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς τῶν πονηρῶν δαιμόνων ἐπαναστάσεως, ἐπίδοσίς τε καί ἐπαύξησις,ἧς πάντων οὐχ ἥκιστα φυσικῶς ἀκούει Θεός, ἀντί μεγάλης φωνῆς, τήν τῶν ἀρετῆς καί γνώσεως ἐπιμελουμένων λαμβάνων διάθεσιν.

Οὐρανός δέ πολλάκις λέγεται κατά τήν ἁγίαν Γραφήν, αὐτός ὁ Θεός· ὥς που ὁ μέγας τῆς ἀληθείας κήρυξ Ἰωάννης ὁ πρόδρομός φησιν, Οὐ δύναται ἄνθρωπος λαμβάνειν ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ, ἐάν μή ᾗ δεδομένον αὐτῷ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ· ἀντί τοῦ, ἐκ Θεοῦ· διότι, Πᾶσα δόσις ἀγαθή, καί πᾶν δώρημα τέλειον, ἄνωθέν ἐστι καταβαῖνον ἀπό τοῦ Πατρός τῶν φώτων. Καθ᾿ ὅ σημαινόμενον, ἐπί τοῦ προκειμένου κεφαλαίου, τόν τῆς Γραφῆς τόπον ἐκληπτέον: Οἶδε δέ πάλιν ἡ Γραφή καλεῖν οὐρανόν καί τάς οὐρανίου ∆υνάμεις, κατά τό, Οὐρανός μοι θρόνος· ὡς ταῖς ἁγίαις δηλονότι καί ἀσωμάτοις ἐπαναπαυομένῳ φύσεσιν. Εἰ δέ καί τόν νοοῦν τόν ἀνθρώπινον πάσης μέν ὑλικῆς καθαιρόμενον φαντασίας, τοῖς δέ θείοις τῶν νοητῶν κατακοσμούμενον λόγοις, φαίη τις εἶναι οὐρανόν, οὐκ ἔξω γε τῆς ἀληθείας, ὡς ἔμοιγε δοξεῖ, βέβηκεν. Εἰ δέ τό ὕψος τῆς ἐν ἀνθρώποις νοερᾶς γνώσεως, οὐρανόν εἴποι τις, οὐκ ἄν ἁμάρτοι τοῦ πρεπόντος. Τῷ ὄντι γάρ ὡς οὐρανός, θρόνος γίνεται τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡ ἀληθής γνῶσις, δεχομένη τόν Θεόν ἐνθρονιζόμενον κατά τήν ἀμετάθετον ἕξιν τῆς περί τό καλόν παγίας καί ὑψηλῆς ἐφέσεως· ὥσπερ καί ὑποπόδιον, ἡ καθαρά λέγεται πρᾶξις τῶν ἀρετῶν, ἐφ᾿ ἑαυτῆς δεχομένη τάς θείας βάσεις, καί οὐκ ἐῶσα τό σύνολον τοῖς ἀπό τοῦ σώματος καθάπερ γῆς μολύνεσθαι ῥύποις.

Οὐκοῦν ἐπειδή τῆς ἀρετῆς ὑποτύπωσιν φέρει, κατά τήν ἑρμηνείαν τοῦ οἰκείου ὀνόματος Ἐζεκίας ὁ βασιλεύς, κράτος Θεοῦ κατά τήν Ἑλλάδα φωνήν λεγόμενον τοῦτο σημαίνει τό ὄνομα· Θεοῦ δέ κράτος μόνη κατά τῶν ἐναντίων δυνάμεων εἶναι καθέστηκεν ἡ ἀρετή. Ἄχας δέ ὁ τοῦ Ἐζεκίου πατήρ, ἱσχύς ἑρμηνεύεται, ἥν εἰς τήν πρᾶξιν προλαβών ὁ λόγος ἐξέδωκεν, ἐξ ἧς γεννᾶσθαι τό κατ᾿ ἀρετήν θεῖον πέφυκε κράτος. Ὁ δέ προφήτης Ἡσαΐας, τήν τῶν (472) ὑψηλῶν γνῶσιν σημαίνει· ὕψος γάρ Θεοῦ ἑρμηνευόμενος λέγεται, δι᾿ ἑαυτοῦ τό ὕψος τῆς κατά Θεόν γνώσεως δηλῶν, τῆς γεννωμένης ἐκ τοῦ πόνου τῶν περί τά ὄντα διαφόρων θεωρημάτων. Ἀμώς γάρ, λαοῦ πόνος [Al…λαός πόνου], λέγεται, καθώς προαπεδόθη.

Ἐπειδή τοίνυν καθώς εἴρηται, ταύτην ἔχει τῶν ὀνομάτων ἡ σημασία τήν δύναμιν, πᾶς δῆλον ὅτι φιλόσοφος καί εὐσεβής, ἀρετῇ καί γνώσει, ἤ πράξει καί θεωρίᾳ φρουρούμενος, ἐπειδάν ἴδῃ διά τῶν παθῶν ἐπαναστᾶσαν αὐτῷ τήν πονηράν δύναμιν, καθάπερ τῷ Ἐζεκίᾳ τῶν Ἀσσυρίων ὁ βασιλεύς, μίαν ἔχει πρός τήν τῶν κακῶν λύσιν βοήθειαν, τόν Θεόν, ὅν ἱλεοῦται βοῶν ἀλαλήτως διά τῆς κατά τήν ἀρετήν καί τήν γνῶσιν πλείονος ἐπιτάσεως· καί δέχεται πρός συμμαχίαν, μᾶλλον δέ πρός σωτηρίαν, ἄγγελον· δηλονότι μείζονα σοφίας καί γνώσεως λόγον, ἐκτρίβοντα πάντα δυνατόν καί πολεμιστήν καί ἄρχοντα καί στρατηγόν ἐκ τῆς παρεμβολῆς βασιλέως Ἀσσούρ, καί ἀποστρέφοντα αὐτόν μετ᾿ αἰσχύνης προσώπου εἰς τήν γῆν αὐτοῦ. Ἡ γάρ πονηρά καί ὀλέθριος τοῦ διαβόλου βασιλεία, διά τῆς Ἀσσυρίων τυπουμένη βασιλείας, τόν κατά τῆς ἀρετῆς καί τῆς γνώσεως πρός ἀνθρώπους