165

do you accept? If the judges of Israel are gods, the charges are brought against them when they fall away. For the perversion of a judge is to judge unjustly and to show partiality to sinners. For just as others debase what is just for the sake of gifts, so these, accepting persons, judge contrary to what is equal. And it is fitting that "of sinners" is added. For it would not be blameworthy to grant what is just to a rich man and otherwise superior person in accordance with equality. Indeed, it has been said, "And you shall not pity a poor man in judgment;" and it has also been said, "You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall judge the great and the small alike; you shall not be partial to any person, for the judgment is God's." For the judge must know that he serves the judgment of God. Therefore it is also well said that God stands in the assembly of these gods and in their midst judges them, so that knowing him to be in them and among them, they may follow his will. But if they are gods who lay claim to divinity, since they happen to be mutable, they might even be turned aside carelessly, to whom the Word, complaining, said, "How long will you judge unjustly?" For having an innate law according to which it is possible to know that the good is to be chosen and the evil is to be avoided, approaching matters in a contrary way so as to turn away from the good and embrace the evil, you judge unjustly; for which reason you also show partiality to sinners, hiding your own persons inasmuch as you are in the image of God; judge for the orphan, you who have been entrusted with judging, for the one deprived of a father's care, and also for the poor man who does not wish to contend for his own rights; but also deliver the needy and poor who are oppressed, rescuing them from the grasping sinners. But it is also said to those deified according to virtue, that they should judge one who has cast off his worthless father and the wealth of wickedness, in a manner worthy of the protection offered by them through instruction. And let them vindicate the one who is humble through lack of pride and poor for having labored for piety, delivering such poor and needy so as to place them outside the hand, that is, the action, of the sinner. 837 Ps 81,5 Divine knowledge, being the wisdom of God, shines forth and illuminates the one who has it; For "the wisdom of a man will illuminate his face," and those called to divine knowledge have a command to light for themselves a light of knowledge. If, therefore, the wise according to God happen to be enlightened, those who are disposed to the contrary, by embracing ignorance and folly, proceed in darkness, always advancing in evils. But since, being versed in evils and having brought forth the firstfruits of wickedness, they have not only become earth because of their material state, but also wished to be the foundations of the earth, abiding firmly and immovably in their worthless opinion. But even if they have loved to be such, yet the philanthropic Word prays for them to be shaken and moved from the most evil position they hold and to fall from the worst state they have built. 838 Ps 81,6.7 The good God, from whom all envy is far, sharing his own things with men, said that they might also be gods by receiving his divine Word. And this divine Word, making them gods, is God and will make them sons of the Most High, being partaken of by them as he is the only-begotten Son of the Most High. But although God graciously granted them to be gods and sons of the Most High, they ran the opposite course, so as to become men and to die the death that follows for men. And these have become men by falling from divinity, not inasmuch as they are mortal and rational creatures (for this they had even when they were gods and sons of the Most High), but inasmuch as they loved mortal and human things. And being thus men, they die not the common death but the death that follows sin, falling in a way similar to the one of the rulers who fell. And this is the devil; for he, being a ruler himself in the heavenly realms, fell. Indeed, it is said of him, "How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn!" In this way also Adam, having sinned, not as a god but as one of God's

165

λαμβάνετε; εἰ οἱ κριταὶ τοῦ ̓Ισραὴλ θεοί, μεταπεσοῦσιν αὐτοῖς λέγεται τὰ ἐγκείμενα. διαστροφὴ γὰρ κριτοῦ τὸ ἀδικίαν κρίνειν καὶ πρόσωπα λαμβάνειν ἁμαρτωλῶν. ὡς γὰρ ετεροι δώρων ενεκα παραχαράττουσι τὸ δίκαιον, ουτως ουτοι ἀποδεξάμενοι πρόσωπα παρὰ τὸ ισον κρίνουσιν. εἰκότως δὲ τὸ ἁμαρτωλῶν πρόσκειται. οὐ γὰρ ψεκτὸν ειη τὸ δοῦναι τὸ δίκαιον πλουσίῳ καὶ αλλως ὑπερέχοντι τὴν ἀκολουθίαν τῆς ἰσότητος. ειρηται γοῦν Καὶ πένητα οὐκ ἐλεήσεις ἐν κρίσει· ειρηται δὲ καὶ τὸ Οὐ λήψῃ πρόσωπον ἐν κρίσει· κατὰ τὸν μέγαν καὶ τὸν μικρὸν κρινεῖς· οὐ μὴ ὑποστείλῃ πρόσωπον, οτι ἡ κρίσις τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν. δεῖ γὰρ τὸν κριτὴν εἰδέναι, οτι κρίσει θεοῦ ὑπηρετεῖ. διὸ καὶ καλῶς ειρηται ιστασθαι ὁ θεὸς ἐν τῇ τῶν θεῶν τούτων συναγωγῇ καὶ ἐν μέσῳ αὐτοὺς διακρίνειν, οπως εἰδότες αὐτὸν ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ μέσον αὐτῶν οντα επωνται τῷ αὐτοῦ βουλήματι. Εἰ δὲ θεοὶ ειεν οἱ θεότητος μεταποιούμενοι, ἐπεὶ τρεπτοὶ τυγχάνουσι, καν τραπεῖεν ἀπροσεκτήσαντες πρὸς ους καὶ σχετλιάζων ὁ λόγος Εως πότε, εφη, κρίνετε ἀδικίαν; νόμον γὰρ ἐνδιάθετον εχοντες καθ' ον εστιν εἰδέναι τὸ ἀγαθὸν αἱρετὸν ειναι καὶ φευκτὸν τὸ κακὸν, ἐν ἀλλάξει τοῖς πράγμασι προσερχόμενοι ὡς ἀποστρέφεσθαι τὸ ἀγαθόν, ἀσπάζεσθαι δὲ τὸ κακόν, ἀδικίαν κρίνετε· διὸ καὶ πρόσωπα ἁμαρτωλῶν λαμβάνετε, ἐπικρύπτοντες τὰ ιδια ἑαυτῶν πρόσωπα καθὸ κατ' εἰκόνα τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστε· κρίνατε ὀρφανῷ οἱ τὸ κρίνειν ἐπιτραπέντες τῷ κηδεμονίᾳ πατρὸς ἐρημωθέντι ἀλλὰ καὶ πτωχῷ τῷ μὴ θέλοντι ἐπαγωνίζεσθαι τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ δικαίοις· ἀλλὰ καὶ πένητα καὶ πτωχὸν ἐξέλεσθε καταπονουμένους, ῥυόμενοι αὐτοὺς ἐκ τῶν πλεονεκτούντων ἁμαρτωλῶν. ̓Αλλὰ καὶ τοῖς κατ' ἀρετὴν θεοποιηθεῖσι λέγεται, οπως τὸν ἀποβαλόντα τὸν φαῦλον πατέρα καὶ τὸν τῆς πονηρίας πλοῦτον κρίνωσιν ἀξίως τῆς πρὸς αὐτῶν διὰ παιδεύσεως προστασίας. δικαιούτωσαν δὲ καὶ τὸν δι' ἀτυφίαν ταπεινὸν καὶ πένητα διὰ τὸ πονεῖν ὑπὲρ εὐσεβείας γεγενημένον, ἐξαιρούμενοι τοὺς ουτω πτωχοὺς καὶ πένητας ἐπὶ τῷ ἐκτὸς αὐτοὺς χειρὸς τουτέστι πράξεως ἁμαρτωλοῦ ποιῆσαι. 837 Ps 81,5 ̔Η θεία γνῶσις σοφία θεοῦ τυγχάνουσα ἐλλάμπει καὶ φωτίζει τὸν εχοντα· Σοφία γὰρ ἀνθρώπου φωτιεῖ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ, καὶ οἱ εἰς ἐπιστήμην θείαν καλούμενοι ἐντολὴν εχουσι φωτίσαι ἑαυτοῖς φῶς γνώσεως. εἰ τοίνυν πεφωτισμένοι τυγχάνουσιν οἱ κατὰ θεὸν σοφοί, οἱ ἐναντίως διακείμενοι τῷ αγνοιαν καὶ τὸ ἀσύνετον περιέπειν ἐν σκότει διαπορεύονται προκόπτοντες ἀεὶ ἐν κακοῖς. ̓Αλλ' ἐπεὶ τοῖς κακοῖς ἐντριβέντες τὰ πρῶτα ἐνεγκάμενοι τῆς κακίας, οὐκ αὐτὸ μόνον γῆ διὰ τὴν ὑλικὴν εξιν γεγένηνται, ἀλλὰ καὶ θεμέλια γῆς ειναι ἠθέλησαν, ἑδραίως καὶ ἀμετακινήτως τῇ φαύλῃ γνώμῃ ἐμμένοντες. ἀλλ' εἰ καὶ αὐτοὶ τοιοῦτοι ειναι ἠγάπησαν, ἀλλ' ο γε φιλάνθρωπος λόγος ευχεται κλονηθῆναι καὶ σεισθῆναι αὐτοὺς ἀφ' ης εχουσι κακίστης στάσεως καὶ καταπεσεῖν ἀφ' ης ᾠκοδόμησαν χειρίστης εξεως. 838 Ps 81,6.7 ̔Ο ἀγαθὸς θεὸς ου πᾶς φθόνος μακράν ἐστι τῶν ἰδίων μεταδιδοὺς ἀνθρώποις ειπεν, οπως καὶ θεοὶ ωσι καταδεξάμενοι τὸν θεὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ. ουτος δὲ ὁ θεὸς λόγος ποιῶν αὐτοὺς θεοὺς θεός ἐστι καὶ υἱοὺς ὑψίστου αὐτοὺς ποιήσει, μετεχόμενος ὑπ' αὐτῶν ῃ μονογενὴς υἱὸς ὑψίστου τυγχάνει. ἀλλὰ τοῦ μὲν θεοῦ χαρισαμένου αὐτοῖς τὸ ειναι θεοῖς καὶ ὑψίστου υἱοῖς, αὐτοὶ τὴν ἐναντίαν εδραμον, ὡς ανθρωποι γενέσθαι καὶ ἀποθανεῖν τὸν ἑπόμενον τοῖς ἀνθρώποις θάνατον. ανθρωποι δὲ ουτοι γεγένηνται ἐκπεσόντες τῆς θεότητος οὐ καθὸ θνητὰ καὶ λογικὰ ζῷά εἰσιν (τοῦτο γὰρ ειχον καὶ οτε θεοὶ καὶ υἱοὶ ὑψίστου ἐτύγχανον), ἀλλὰ καθὸ θνητὰ καὶ ἀνθρώπινα ἠγάπησαν. ἀποθνῄσκουσι δὲ ῃ ουτως ανθρωποί εἰσιν οὐ τὸν κοινὸν θάνατον ἀλλὰ τὸν ἑπόμενον τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ θάνατον, πίπτοντες παραπλησίως τῷ πεσόντι ἑνὶ τῶν ἀρχόντων. ουτος δ' ἐστὶν ὁ διάβολος· αρχων γὰρ ων καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις επεσεν. ειρηται γοῦν περὶ αὐτοῦ Πῶς ἐξέπεσεν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ὁ ἑωσφόρος ὁ πρωῒ ἀνατέλλων; ταύτῃ καὶ ὁ ̓Αδὰμ ἁμαρτὼν οὐχ ὡς θεὸς ἀλλ' ὡς εις τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ