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for it steals by carrying away the reason, in order to bring about a deprivation of the life according to virtue and knowledge.

12. What is the house of the thief and of the perjurer. (14Γ_254> 13. The reason why the devil was permitted to plunder,

one might say, conjecturally, is that his wickedness might be known to men through experience of him, in order that, being revealed, he might be hated all the more; and that the dispositions of all men might be revealed to one another through testing, so that each might bring forward an innate defense for himself, his own conscience. For God does not need to learn by experience, since He has knowledge of all things essentially, even before their creation.

14. What are the pieces of wood, and what are the stones. 15. That the destruction of the house, that is of the world, according to error occurred through

the incarnation. 16. An exposition of the same things according to another contemplation. 17. Another contemplation concerning the same things. 18. He set forth this contemplation as suitable for the impassioned. For he who suffers from complete

immobility with regard to the good, is surely easily moved with regard to evil. For it is impossible to be immobile in both respects.

19. The movement according to sense, when joined to the activity according to the intellect, produces virtue with knowledge.

20. Why did he call it a sickle? 21. That the Word is mingled with the practical powers of the soul, just as the

sickle is with the hand of the reaper, for the destruction of passions and the harvesting of virtues. 22. The devil, he says, is a thief, as the creator of ignorance; and a perjurer, as the creator of wickedness;

having as his houses, in the case of the ignorant man, the erring mind; and in the case of the wicked man, the sin-loving will.

23. A good contemplation, and very suitable for us, who adulterate the glory of virtue and of knowledge for the sake of vainglory.

24. A thief, he says, is also one who feigns the deceptive (14Γ_256> formation of moral virtues; and by his outward appearance, conceals the hidden wickedness of his will.

25. He who feigns knowledge only in the utterance of words, he says, steals the mind of his listeners for his own glory; and he who feigns virtue in his habits, steals the sight of his observers for his own glory; and both, stealing through deceit, lead astray, the one, the mind of the soul of the listeners; the other, the bodily sense of the observers.

26. What is the perjurer. 63 (63). CONCERNING THE LAMPSAND WHICH THE SAME PROPHET SAW. (14Γ_258> 63. QUESTION 63. In the same prophet it is written again: “and he said to me, What do you see? And

I said, I have seen, and behold a lampstand all of gold, and the lamp upon it, and seven lamps upon it, and seven pipes for the lamps that were upon it; and two olive trees upon it, one on the right of its lamp and one on the left.” What is the lampstand? and why is it of gold? and what is the lamp upon it? what are the seven lamps and what are the seven pipes of the seven lamps and what are the two olive trees? and why on the right and on the left of the lamp?

Response.

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γάρ κλέπτει συναρπάζων τόν λογισμόν, ἵνα τῆς κατ᾿ ἀρετήν καί γνῶσιν ζωῆς ἐργάσηται στέρησιν.

12. Τίς ἐστιν ὁ οἶκος τοῦ κλέπτου καί τοῦ ἐπιόρκου. (14Γ_254> 13. Αἰτίαν τοῦ λῃστεύειν συγχωρηθῆναι τόν διάβολον,

στοχαστικῶς ἐρεῖ τις τυχόν, τό καί τοῖς ἀνθρώποις διά πείρας αὐτοῦ γνωσθῆναι τήν κακίαν, ἵνα μισηθῇ πλέον δεικνύμενος· καί τό πᾶσιν ἀλλήλων δειχθῆναι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις διά τῆς δοκιμασίας τάς διαθέσεις, ἵνα ἕκαστος ἑαυτῷ σύμφυτον ἐπιφέρηται συνηγορίαν, τήν οἰκείαν συνείδησιν. Ὁ γάρ Θεός οὐ δέεται τῆς κατά τήν πεῖραν μαθήσεως, πάντων ἔχων οὐσιωδῶς, καί πρό τῆς αὐτῶν γενέσεως, τήν γνῶσιν.

14. Τίνα τά ξύλα, καί τίνες οἱ λίθοι. 15. Ὅτι καταστροφή τοῦ οἴκου, τουτέστι τοῦ κόσμου, κατά τήν πλάνην διά

τῆς σαρκώσεως γέγονεν. 16. Κατ᾿ ἄλλην θεωρίαν τῶν αὐτῶν ἔκθεσις. 17. Ἄλλη περί τῶν αὐτῶν θεωρία. 18. Ταύτην ἔθετο τήν θεωρίαν τοῖς ἐμπαθέσιν ἁρμόδιον. Ὁ γάρ τήν παντελῆ

περί τό καλόν ἀκινησίαν νοσῶν, περί τό κακόν ὑπάρχει, πάντως εὐκίνητος. Κατ᾿ ἀμφότερα γάρ ἀκίνητον ὑπάρχειν, ἀδύνατον.

19. Συναπτομένη ἡ κατ᾿ αἴσθησιν κίνησις τῇ κατά νοῦν ἐνεργείᾳ, ποιεῖ τήν μετά γνώσεως ἀρετήν.

20. ∆ιά τί δρέπανον ἐκάλεσεν; 21. Ὅτι συμφύρεται ταῖς πρακτικαῖς τῆς ψυχῆς δυνάμεσιν ὁ Λόγος, ὥσπερ τό

δρέπανον τῇ χειρί τοῦ θερίζοντος, πρός ἀναίρεσιν παθῶν, καί συγκομιδήν ἀρετῶν. 22. Κλέπτης μέν, φησίν, ἐστίν ὁ διάβολος, ὡς ἀγνοίας· ἐπίορκος δέ, ὡς κακίας

δημιουργός· ἔχων καθάπερ οἰκίας, τοῦ μέν ἀγνοοῦντος, τήν πλανωμένην διάνοιαν· τοῦ δέ κακοῦ, τήν φιλαμαρτήμονα γνώμην.

23. Καλή θεωρία, καί πάνυ πρόσφορος ἡμῖν, τοῖς νοθεύουσι διά τήν κενοδοξίαν τό κλέος τῆς ἀρετῆς καί τῆς γνώσεως.

24. Κλέπτης ἐστί, φησί, καί ὁ τήν ἀρετῶν τῶν ἠθῶν ἀπατηλήν (14Γ_256> διάπλασιν ὑποκρινόμενος· καί τῷ φαινομένῳ σχήματι, τήν λανθάνουσαν συγκαλύπτων τῆς γνώμης πονηρίαν.

25. Ὁ κατά μόνην τήν ἐν λόγοις προφοράν γνῶσιν ὑποκρινόμενος, φησί, πρός δόξαν ἰδίαν τήν τῶν ἀκουόντων κλέπτει διάνοιαν· καί ὁ τοῖς ἤθεσι τήν ἀρετήν ὑποκρινόμενος, πρός δόξαν ἰδίαν κλέπτει τήν τῶν θεωμένων ὅρασιν· καί δι᾿ ἀπάτης ἀμφότεροι κλέπτοντες πλανῶσιν, ὁ μέν, διάνοιαν ψυχῆς τῶν ἀκουόντων· ὁ δέ τῶν θεωμένων σώματος αἴσθησιν.

26. Τί ἐστιν ὁ ἐπίορκος. ΞΓ (63). ΠΕΡΙ ΤΗΣ ΛΥΧΝΙΑΣ ΗΝ ΕΙ∆ΕΝ Ο ΑΥΤΟΣ ΠΡΟΦΗΤΗΣ. (14Γ_258> 63. ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ ΞΓ' Ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ προφήτῃ γέγραπται πάλιν· «καὶ εἶπε πρός με· Τί σὺ βλέπεις; καὶ

εἶπα· Ἑώρακα καὶ ἰδοὺ λυχνία χρυσῆ ὅλη, καὶ τὸ λαμπάδιον ἐπάνω αὐτῆς, καὶ ἑπτὰ λύχνοι ἐπάνω αὐτῆς, καὶ ἑπτὰ ἐπαρυστρίδες τοῖς λύχνοις τοῖς ἐπάνω αὐτῆς· καὶ δύο ἐλαῖαι ἐπάνω αὐτῆς, μία ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ λαμπαδίου αὐτῆς καὶ μία ἐξ εὐωνύμων». Τίς ἡ λυχνία; καὶ διὰ τί χρυσῆ; καὶ τί τὸ λαμπάδιον τὸ ἐπάνω αὐτῆς; τίνες οἱ ἑπτὰ λύχνοι καὶ τίνες αἱ ἑπτὰ ἐπαρυστρίδες τῶν ἑπτὰ λύχνων καὶ τίνες αἱ δύο ἐλαῖαι; καὶ διὰ τί ἐκ δεξιῶν καὶ ἐξ εὐωνύμων του λαμπαδίου;

Ἀπόκρισις.