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3.1.59 for the one preparing instead of the earth, wisdom is present. and when he makes the teaching of the clouds from above strong for himself, putting the commands into action, and when by his precise way of life he separates the great and spacious sea of wickedness as if by some shore, and prevents the passionate water from proceeding from his mouth, and if he holds it back in its sources, pouring forth the stream of his speech with the gift of teaching with security, so as not to offer to anyone a muddy subversion as a drink instead of pure water, and if, lifted above every earthly foundation, he becomes aerial in his life, treading upon the spiritual way of life, which the word has named 'winds', until he is set apart as a throne for the one established in him (such was Paul, set apart for the gospel, to become a chosen vessel, to bear the name of God, who in another sense became a throne, bearing the one established upon him), 3.1.60 when these and such things are accomplished, so that he who has completed the world of God in himself now rejoices, rejoicing that he has become the father not of any beasts and irrational creatures, but of men (and these would be the godlike thoughts which are formed according to the divine image through faith in the one created in us and begotten and founded, and faith, according to the voice of Paul, is understood as the foundation, through which wisdom is begotten <in> the faithful and works all the things that have been said), then truly blessed becomes the life of the one who has succeeded, with whom wisdom is in harmony and rejoices at all times, with him who daily 3.1.61 rejoices in her alone. For the Lord rejoices over his holy ones, and in heaven there is joy over those who are being saved, and the good father celebrates over the son who was saved. Since these things have been said by us in passing, let the diligent reader, having read the passages of divine scripture, fit the riddles to the interpretations, testing whether it is not by far better to think that the meaning of the riddles looks to this, and not to what is readily 3.1.62 supposed. For it is not possible for the theology of John, which praised all created things as being the work of the Word, to be considered true, if here the one who created wisdom were believed to have made all other things with her. For no longer will all things be through her, but she will be numbered with all the things that have come into being. 3.1.63 But that the enigmatic sayings look to this is clearly revealed through the following statement which says Now therefore, son, listen to me, and Blessed is he who keeps my ways, by 'ways' meaning, of course, the approaches to virtue, of which 3.1.64 the creation of wisdom becomes the beginning. Who then, looking to the divine scripture, will not agree that the enemies of the truth are both impious and slanderers? Impious, because, as far as it is in their power, they pull down the ineffable glory of the only-begotten God and join it to creation, striving contentiously to prove that the Lord, whose power is uniquely begotten over all things, is one of the things that came into being from him; and slanderers, because, when scripture provides them with no occasion for such assumptions, as if they were adducing the 3.1.65 testimony from it, they arm themselves against piety. Since, therefore, they cannot show any saying from any of the saints which advises seeing the pre-eternal glory of the only-begotten God together with the subject creation, it would be well, now that these things have been demonstrated by us, for the victory prizes to be awarded to the argument of piety against falsehood, and, having pushed aside all these nominal technics of theirs, through which they join 20the created thing to the creator and the made thing to the maker20, to confess, as the gospel from heaven teaches, a beloved Son, not illegitimate nor supposititious, and with the term 'Son' having accepted all the natural affinity, to say true God from true God and to believe likewise all things in him, which are seen in the Father, because they are one and in the one the other is understood, not exceeding, not being diminished, not being altered or changed with respect to any God-befitting and good characteristic. 3.1.66

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3.1.59 ἀντὶ τῆς γῆς ἑτοιμάζοντι ἡ σοφία πάρεστι. καὶ ὅταν τὴν τῶν ἄνωθεν νεφῶν διδασκαλίαν ἰσχυρὰν ἑαυτῷ ποιῇ, εἰς ἔργον ἄγων τὰ παραγγέλματα, τήν τε μεγάλην καὶ εὐρύ χωρον τῆς κακίας θάλασσαν τῇ ἀκριβεῖ πολιτείᾳ καθάπερ ἠϊόνι τινὶ διαλαβὼν κωλύῃ τὸ ἐμπαθὲς ὕδωρ προϊέναι τοῦ στόματος, κἂν ἐν πηγαῖς κατάσχῃ, τῷ τῆς διδασκαλίας χαρίσματι μετ' ἀσφαλείας προχέων τοῦ λόγου τὸ νᾶμα, ὡς μή τινι παρασχεῖν τὸ ποτὸν ἀντὶ καθαροῦ ὕδατος ἀνα τροπὴν θολεράν, κἂν ὑπεραρθεὶς πάσης γηΐνης βάσεως διαέριος τῷ βίῳ γένηται, ἐπὶ τῆς πνευματικῆς βεβηκὼς πολιτείας, ἣν ἀνέμους ὁ λόγος ὠνόμασεν, ἕστε εἰς θρόνον τοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ καθιδρυμένου ἀφορισθῆναι (οἷος ἦν ὁ Παῦλος ἀφωρισμένος εἰς εὐαγγέλιον, πρὸς τὸ γενέσθαι σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς, πρὸς τὸ βαστάσαι τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ θεοῦ, ὃς ἄλλῳ λόγῳ θρόνος ἐγένετο ὁ τὸν ἐφ' ἑαυτοῦ καθιδρυμένον βαστάζων), 3.1.60 ὅταν ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα κατορθωθῇ, ὥστε εὐφραίνεσθαι ἤδη τὸν ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὴν οἰκουμένην τοῦ θεοῦ συντελέσαντα, εὐφραινόμενον ὅτι οὐχὶ θηρίων τινῶν καὶ ἀλόγων, ἀλλ' ἀνθρώπων πατὴρ ἐγένετο (οὗτοι δ' ἂν εἶεν οἱ θεοειδεῖς λογισμοὶ οἱ κατὰ τὴν θείαν εἰκόνα μορφούμενοι διὰ τῆς εἰς τὸν κτισθέντα ἐν ἡμῖν καὶ γεννηθέντα καὶ θεμελιω θέντα πίστεως, ἡ δὲ πίστις κατὰ τὴν Παύλου φωνὴν ὁ θεμέλιος νοεῖται, δι' ἧς γεννᾶται <ἐν> τοῖς πιστοῖς ἡ σοφία καὶ πάντα τὰ εἰρημένα ἐργάζεται), τότε μακάριος ὡς ἀληθῶς ὁ τοῦ κατωρθωκότος γίνεται βίος, ᾧ ἁρμόζει καὶ ἐπευφραίνεται ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ ἡ σοφία, τῷ καθ' ἡμέραν 3.1.61 αὐτῇ μόνῃ προσχαιρομένῳ. εὐφραίνεται γὰρ ὁ κύριος ἐπὶ τοῖς ὁσίοις αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐν οὐρανῷ χαρὰ γίνεται ἐπὶ τοῖς σῳζομένοις, καὶ ὁ χρηστὸς πατὴρ ἐπὶ τῷ ἀνασωθέντι υἱῷ ἑορτάζει. τούτων δὲ παρ' ἡμῶν ἐν ἐπιδρομῇ ῥηθέντων ὁ φιλόπονος ἀναγνοὺς τῆς θείας γραφῆς τὰ ἐδάφη προσ αρμοσάτω τοῖς θεωρήμασι τὰ αἰνίγματα, δοκιμάσας εἰ μὴ παρὰ πολὺ κρεῖττόν ἐστι πρὸς τοῦτο βλέπειν οἴεσθαι τὴν τῶν αἰνιγμάτων διάνοιαν, καὶ μὴ κατὰ τὸ προχείρως ὑπο 3.1.62 νοούμενον. οὐ γὰρ ἔστι δυνατὸν τὴν τοῦ Ἰωάννου θεολο γίαν ἀληθῆ νομισθῆναι τὴν πάντα τὰ κτισθέντα ἔργον εἶναι τοῦ λόγου ὑμνήσασαν, εἴπερ ἐνταῦθα ὁ τὴν σοφίαν κτίσας μετ' αὐτῆς καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα πεποιηκέναι πιστεύοιτο. οὐκέτι γὰρ δι' ἐκείνης ἔσται τὰ πάντα, ἀλλὰ μετὰ πάντων ἐκείνη τῶν γεγονότων ἀριθμηθήσεται. 3.1.63 Ὅτι δὲ πρὸς τοῦτο βλέπουσιν αἱ αἰνιγματώδεις φωναί, διὰ τοῦ ἐφεξῆς λόγου σαφῶς ἐκκαλύπτεται ὅς φησι Νῦν οὖν υἱὲ ἄκουσόν μου, καὶ Μακάριος ὃς τὰς ἐμὰς ὁδοὺς φυλάσσει, ὁδοὺς δηλαδὴ λέγων τὰς πρὸς τὴν ἀρετὴν ἐφόδους, ὧν 3.1.64 ἀρχὴ γίνεται τῆς σοφίας ἡ κτίσις. τίς τοίνυν πρὸς τὴν θείαν βλέπων γραφὴν οὐκ ἀσεβεῖς τε ὁμοῦ καὶ συκοφάντας εἶναι τοὺς ἐχθροὺς τῆς ἀληθείας συνθήσεται; ἀσεβεῖς μέν, ὅτι τὴν ἄρρητον τοῦ μονογενοῦς θεοῦ δόξαν, ὅσον ἐπ' αὐτοῖς, καθελόντες τῇ κτίσει συνάπτουσιν, ἓν τῶν παρ' αὐτοῦ γεγονότων ἀποδεικνύειν φιλονεικοῦντες τὸν κύριον, οὗ μονογενές ἐστι κατὰ πάντων τὸ κράτος· συκοφάντας δέ, ὅτι μηδεμίαν αὐτοῖς τῆς γραφῆς πρὸς τὰς τοιαύτας ὑπο λήψεις ἀφορμὴν παρασχομένης, ὡς ἐκεῖθεν ἐπαγόμενοι τὴν 3.1.65 μαρτυρίαν κατὰ τῆς εὐσεβείας ὁπλίζονται. ἐπεὶ οὖν παρ' οὐδενὸς ἔχουσι τῶν ἁγίων ἐπιδεῖξαί τινα φωνὴν ἥτις τὴν προαιώνιον τοῦ μονογενοῦς θεοῦ δόξαν μετὰ τῆς ὑποχειρίου κτίσεως ὁρᾶν συμβουλεύει, καλῶς ἂν ἔχοι τούτων ἡμῖν ἀπο δειχθέντων ἤδη προσμαρτυρηθῆναι τῷ τῆς εὐσεβείας λόγῳ κατὰ τοῦ ψεύδους τὰ νικητήρια, καὶ πάσας αὐτῶν τὰς ὀνοματικὰς ταύτας τεχνολογίας παρωσαμένους, δι' ὧν συναρ μόζουσι 20τὸ κτίσμα τῷ κτίσαντι καὶ τὸ ποίημα τῷ ποιήσαντι20, ὁμολογεῖν, καθὼς διδάσκει τὸ ἐξ οὐρανῶν εὐαγγέλιον, υἱὸν ἀγαπητόν, οὐ νόθον οὐδὲ ὑπόβλητον, τῇ δὲ τοῦ υἱοῦ φωνῇ πᾶσαν τὴν φυσικὴν οἰκειότητα συμπαρα δεξαμένους θεὸν ἀληθινὸν τὸν ἐκ τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ θεοῦ λέγειν καὶ τὰ πάντα ὡσαύτως ἐπ' αὐτοῦ πιστεύειν, ὅσα ἐν τῷ πατρὶ καθορᾶται, διότι ἕν εἰσι καὶ ἐν τῷ ἑτέρῳ νοεῖται τὸ ἕτερον, οὐχ ὑπερπῖπτον, οὐκ ἐλαττούμενον, οὐ κατά τινα θεοπρεπῆ τε καὶ ἀγαθὸν χαρακτῆρα παρηλ λαγμένον ἢ ἀλλοιούμενον. 3.1.66