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stirring up war, through its own innate powers it contrives to turn the soul; first by provoking the desiring faculty to a craving for things contrary to nature, and persuading it to prefer sensible things to intelligible ones; then by arousing the spirited faculty to champion the sensible thing chosen by the desiring faculty; and by teaching the rational faculty to devise ways of sensual pleasures; and appointing sensible things to rule these powers, that is, ordaining the law of dust to have dominion over the powers of the soul.

Scripture, then, has called 'mighty' the evil demon that presides over desire and inflames it towards the unseemly appetites for shameful pleasures; for nothing is mightier or more violent than natural appetite. And it has named 'warrior' the demon that presides over the spirited faculty and prepares it to fight unceasingly for pleasures. And 'ruler' it has named the one that invisibly fastens itself to the surfaces of sensible things and deceitfully calls forth the soul's appetites towards each one through each sense. The Word has called this one a 'ruler' because a suitable sensible object is naturally suited to rule every passion. For without some underlying object that moves the powers of the soul towards itself through the medium of some sense, a passion could never be formed. And it has called 'general' the demon that misuses the power of the soul's rational faculty, moving it to devise and discover all the methods of vice. And the 'face of the devil' is the smoothness of pleasure, through which he is naturally able to dominate every soul that endures it, and preferring the enticing sensible objects of the senses to the contemplation of intelligible things which enriches the intellect; which face he puts to shame, who (473) through prayer has received from God the word of wisdom which wipes out every evil power; that is, that which completely annihilates the evil tyranny vexing the soul. For 'He wiped out,' says the Word, not 'He rubbed away.' For 'rubbing away' is the nullification of the impassioned act in its actuality alone; but 'wiping out' is also the complete annihilation of the evil movements in the mind.

And the land of the king of Assur—I mean, of the evil and arch-evil demon—is the firm and precipitous habit of wickedness and ignorance, which is deprived of all vital warmth of virtue and of all noetic light of knowledge; to which the devil alone returns, after the trial of the assault, having been unable to relocate to his own habit, Jerusalem; that is, the God-loving and most dispassionate soul, having within itself both the perfect principle of action, like Hezekiah, and the illumined intellect of knowledge, like Isaiah, who propitiate God and through an angel cause the evil power to vanish.

I, for my part, have understood these passages thus, according to the power that spoke to me. But if anyone is able to interpret what has been said in a loftier way, he does a favor both to himself and to us, by revealing, as is right, a more precious meaning of what is written. For I said before, that the word of divine Scripture remains forever indescribable; describing all who speak, but itself in no way being described by those who speak. So even if I have said something according to my ability, and this boldly, still I have not encompassed the entire power of what is written, which is established infinitely beyond my own power.

SCHOLIA. a. That just as God in essence has not fallen under knowledge, so neither is His word

encompassed by our knowledge. b. Those who have bound their minds to the letter alone in a Jewish manner, he says, in this

age receive the promises of incorruptible goods, being ignorant of the evils and the goods of the soul's nature.

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συνεγείρουσα πόλεμον, διά τῶν αὐτοῖς ἐμφύτων δυνάμεων τροποῦσθαι μηχανᾶται τήν ψυχήν· τήν μέν ἐπιθυμίαν πρῶτον εἰς ὄρεξιν τῶν παρά φύσιν διερεθίζουσα, καί τά αἰσθητά τῶν νοητῶν προτιμᾷν ἀναπείθουσα· τόν δέ θυμόν, ὑπεραγωνίζεσθαι τοῦ αἱρεθέντος ὑπό τῆς ἐπιθυμίας αἰσθητοῦ διεγείρουσα· τό δέ λογικόν, τούς τρόπους ἐπινοεῖν τῶν κατ᾿ αἴσθησιν ἡδονῶν ἐκδιδάσκουσα· καί τούτων ἄρχειν τῶν δυνάμεων τά αἰσθητά, ἤγουν τῶν τῆς ψυχῆς δυνάμεων κυριεύειν τόν χοϊκόν χειροτονοῦσα νόμον.

∆υνατόν οὖν ἐκάλεσεν ἡ Γραφή, τόν ἐπικείμενον τῆς ἐπιθυμίας πονηρόν δαίνονα, καί πρός τάς τῶν αἰσχρῶν ἡδονῶν ἀπρεπεῖς ὀρέξεις αὐτήν ἐκκαίοντα· οὐδέν γάρ φυσικῆς ὀρέξεώς ἐστι δυνατώτερον ἤ βιαιότερον. Πολεμιστήν δέ, τόν ἐπικαθήμενον τῷ θυμικῷ, καί ὑπέρ τῶν ἡδονῶν ἀπαύστως μάχεσθαι παρασκευάζοντα, προσηγόρευσε δαίμονα. Ἄρχοντα δέ, τόν ταῖς ἐπιφανείαις τῶν αἰσθητῶν ἀοράτως ἐπιφυόμενον, καί πρός ἕκαστον τάς ὀρέξεις τῆς ψυχῆς δι᾿ ἑκάστης αἰσθήσεως ἀπατηλῶς ἐκκαλούμενον ὠνόμασεν. Ἀρχοντα δέ τοῦτον κέκληκεν ὁ λόγος, ἐπειδή παντός πέφυκεν ἄρχειν πάθους τό προσφυές αἰσθητόν. Ἄνευ γάρ τινος ὑποκειμένου, καί τάς δυνάμεις τῆς ψυχῆς διά μέσης τινός αἰσθήσεως ἐπικινοῦντος πρός ἑαυτό, πάθος οὐκ ἄν συσταίη ποτέ. Στρατηγόν δέ, τόν τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς λογιστικοῦ καταχρώμενον, εἶπε δαίμονα, πρός ἐπίνοιαν κινῶν καί ἐξεύρεσιν πασῶν τῶν κατά κακίαν μεθόδων. Πρόσωπον δέ διαβόλου, τό λεῖον ὑπάρχει τῆς ἡδονῆς, δι᾿ οὗ, πάσης ἀνεχομένης αὐτοῦ ψυχῆς πέφυκε δυναστεύειν· καί τά θελκτικά τῶν αἰσθήσεων αἰσθητά, τῆς τόν νοῦν πιαινούσης τῶν νοητῶν θεωρίας προτιμώσης· ὅπερ πρόσωπον καταισχύνει, ὁ (473) διά προσευχῆς τόν ἐκτρίβοντα πᾶσαν πονηράν δύναμιν παρά Θεοῦ κομισάμενος, σοφίας λόγον· τουτέστι τόν τελείως ἀφανιστικόν τῆς διοχλούσης τῇ ψυχῇ πονηρᾶς τυραννίδος· Ἐξέτριψε γάρ, φησίν ὁ Λόγος, ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ἔτριψεν. Ἡ μέν γάρ τρίψις, τῆς ἐμπαθοῦς κατ᾿ ἐνέργειαν μόνης ὑπάρχει πράξεως κατάργησις· ἡ δέ ἔκτριψις, καί τῶν κατά διάνοιαν πονηρῶν κινημάτων παντελής ἀφανισμός.

Ἡ δέ χώρα τοῦ βασιλέως Ἀσσούρ, λέγω δή τοῦ πονηροῦ καί ἀρχεκάκου δαίμονός ἐστιν, ἡ στιβαρά καί ἀπότομος τῆς κακίας καί ἀγνωσίας ἕξις, ἡ πάσης τῆς κατ᾿ ἀρετήν ζωτικῆς θερμότητος, καί παντός τοῦ κατά τήν γνῶσιν νοεροῦ φωτός ἐστερημένη· εἰς ἥν μόνος ὁ διάβολος ἀποστρέφεται, μετά τήν πεῖραν τῆς προσβολῆς, μή δυνηθείς μετοικίσαι εἰς τήν οἰκείαν ἕξιν, τήν Ἱερουσαλήμ· τουτέστι, τήν θεοφιλῆ καί ἀπαθέστατην ψυχήν, ἔχουσαν ἐν ἑαυτῇ τόν τε τῆς πράξεως καθάπερ Ἐζεκίαν τέλειον λόγον, καί τόν τῆς γνώσεως καθάπερ Ἡσαΐαν πεφωτισμένον νοῦν, τόν Θεόν ἱλεουμένους, καί δι᾿ ἀγγέλου τήν πονηράν ἐξαφανίζοντας δύναμιν.

Ἐγώ μέν οὕτως τούς τόπους ἐνόησα, κατά τήν εἰποῦσάν μοι δύναμιν. Εἰ δέ τις ὑψηλοτέρως ἐκδέχεσθαι δύναται τά εἰρημένα, καί ἑαυτῷ καί ἡμῖν χαρίζεται, τιμιώτερον ἐκφαίνων, ὡς δεῖ, τῶν γεγραμμένων τόν νοῦν· προέφην γάρ, ὅτι μένει διά παντός ἀπερίγραφος, ὁ τῆς θείας Γραφῆς λόγος· πάντας μέν περιγράφων τούς λέγοντας, αὐτός δέ τοῖς λέγουσιν οὐδαμῶς περιγραφόμενος. Ὥστε κἄν εἶπόν τι κατά τήν δύναμιν, καί τοῦτο τολμηρῶς, ἀλλ᾿ οὐ περιέλαβον πᾶσαν τῶν γεγραμμένων τήν δύναμιν, ἀπείρως τῆς ἐμῆς ἀνῳκισμένην δυνάμεως.

ΣΧΟΛΙΑ. α΄. Ὅτι καθάπερ ὁ Θεός κατ᾿ οὐσίαν οὐχ ὑποπέπτωκε γνώσει, οὕτως οὔτε λόγος

αὐτοῦ γνώσει τῇ καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς περιλαμβάνεται. β΄. Οἱ μόνῳ τῷ γράμματι προσδήσαντες Ἰουδαϊκῶς τήν διάνοιαν, φησί, κατά τόν

αἰῶνα τοῦτον ἐκδέχονται τάς ἐπαγγελίας τῶν ἀκηράτων ἀγαθῶν, ἀγνοοῦντες τά κακά φύσιν τῆς ψυχῆς ἀγαθά.