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in the great [Song] of Deuteronomy God says that: "I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword will devour the blood of the wounded." In many places again the sword signifies punishment; "for if," it says, "you are not willing and do not hearken, a sword will devour you." Such also is that which is said in Isaiah: "My sword has been made drunk in heaven," which means: the punishment has also touched certain heavenly beings. And if God has subjected "the angels who did not keep their own domain" "to eternal chains," the sword of God, that is, the avenging power, has been made drunk even in heaven. and understand the same things here also: if someone who thinks he has his citizenship in heaven, being a heaven so as "to declare the glory of God," when he unexpectedly falls under punishment, then in heaven the sword has been made drunk, among those who profess to have a heavenly citizenship. Such is the saying: "the sons of the kingdom, you shall be cast out into the outer darkness"; for not those who are. But it is also taken in a praiseworthy sense: "Your arrows are sharpened, O mighty one, peoples will fall under you." your words which wound unto desire and love are sharpened; for you are mighty and you powerfully send your words and wound unto love those who are struck. For example, at once the soul that has suffered this, or the church, says: "I am wounded with love." There are, then, both praiseworthy arrows, and there are also blameworthy ones. But since these were named with wrath and anger, they are not wounding unto desire and love, but making one perceive what sort of evil person one is. 3 And you have laid your hand heavily upon me. Again in many places the avenging power is signified by the name of the 261 hand of God; as when he says to Pharaoh: "Now having sent my hand I will strike you." And: "behold the hand of the Lord will be upon your livestock which are in the fields"; for thus those livestock were subjected to destruction. and again it is said: "Your hand has destroyed nations." when the active and creative and protective hand of God is named, it is called "right hand." This indeed leads to salvation. For instance, he who has had experience of being led by its hand says: "you have held my right hand," of the power for practicing good things. 4 And there is no healing in my flesh because of your wrath. The name of flesh, being homonymous according to scripture, signifies different things. flesh is sometimes said to signify our perceptive disposition; for when it is said that: "I will take away from them their heart of stone and I will put in a heart of flesh," by "heart of stone" it means the foolish mind which has been deprived of all perception. Instead of this a fleshy one is put in, perceptive and yielding to the laws of God. Therefore, what is yielding and perceptive is often called flesh. And flesh is also spoken of as distinguished from spirit. And by spirit it means the mind, and by flesh that which is distinguished from the mind. When, therefore, someone thinks the things of the flesh and does and lives according to them, he is far from the spirit. But when he follows the spirit, the right mind, and especially that which has partaken of the Holy Spirit, then he puts an end to the flesh. Concerning such flesh and the spirit distinguished from it he says: "But you are not in the flesh but in the spirit." And yet they were in the flesh, they were still burdened with the body. By their disposition they had become outside of it. And just as someone walking on earth can have his citizenship in heaven, so someone still being in the flesh becomes outside of it, when he follows the spirit. and this is the so-called rational departure. But some, not knowing how the wise have spoken of a rational departure, often when asked say: either by reasonings or passions of the flesh they have led themselves out of life. -But this is not a rational departure, but when someone, being holy, with respect to the body and the flesh becomes outside of it by zeal and disposition so as to say: "we are not in the flesh but in the spirit." and again: "the mind of the flesh is enmity against God." "But those who are in the flesh cannot please God." But it is shown that not concerning

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μεγάλῃ τοῦ ∆ευτερονομίου ὁ θεὸς λέγει ὅτι· "μεθύσω τὰ βέλη μου ἀφ' αἵματος, καὶ ἡ μάχαιρά μου καταφάγεται αἷμα τραυματιῶν". πολλαχοῦ πάλιν ἡ μάχαιρα τὴν κόλασιν σημαίνει· "ἐὰν γάρ", φησίν, "μὴ θελήσητε μηδὲ εἰσακούσητε, μάχαιρα ὑμᾶς κατέδεται". τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν καὶ τὸ ἐν Ἰσαίᾳ λεγόμενον· "ἐμεθύσθη ἡ μάχαιρά μου ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ", ἀντὶ τοῦ· ἡ κόλασις καὶ οὐρανίων τινῶν ἥψατο. εἰ δὲ "ἀγγέλους τοὺς μὴ τηρήσαντας τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἀρχὴν" ὁ θεὸς ὑπέβαλεν "δεσμοῖς ἀιδίοις", μεμέθυσται ἡ μάχαιρα τοῦ θεοῦ, τουτέστιν ἡ τιμωρὸς δύναμις, καὶ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ. καὶ τὰ αὐτὰ καὶ ὧδε νόει· ἐα´̣ν τις δοκῶν τὸ πολίτευμα ἔχειν ἐν οὐρανῷ τυγχάνων οὐρανὸς ὥστε "διηγήσασθαι τὴν θεοῦ δόξαν", ὅταν ἐξ ἀπροσδοκήτου ὑποπέσῃ κολάσει, τότε ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἡ μάχαιρα μεμέθυσται, ἐν τοῖς ἐπαγγελλομένοις ἔχειν οὐράνιον πολιτείαν. τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν τό· "οἱ υἱοὶ τῆς βασιλείας, ἐκβληθήσεσθε εἰς τὸ σκότος τὸ ἐξώτερον"· μὴ γὰρ οἱ ὄντες. λαμβάνεται δὲ καὶ ἐπαινετω῀̣ς· "τὰ βέλη σου ἠκονημένα, δυνατέ, λαοὶ ὑποκάτω σου πεσοῦνται". οἱ λόγοι σου οἱ τιτρώσκοντες εἰς ἔρωτα καὶ ἀγάπην ἠκονημένοι εἰσίν· δυνατὸς γὰρ εἶ καὶ δυνατῶς πέμπεις σου τοὺς λόγους καὶ τιτρώσκεις εἰς ἀγάπην τοὺς βαλλομένους. αὐτίκα γοῦν ἡ τοῦτο παθοῦσα ψυχὴ ἤτοι ἐκκλησία λέγει· "τετρωμένη ἀγάπης εἰμὶ ἐγώ". εἰσὶν οὖν καὶ ἐπαινετὰ βέλ̣η, εἰσὶν οὖν καὶ ψεκτά. ἐπειδὴ δὲ ταῦτα μετὰ ὀργῆς καὶ θυμοῦ ὠνομάσθησαν, οὔκ εἰσιν εἰς ἔρωτα καὶ ἀγάπην τιτρώσκοντα, ἀλλ' αἴσθησιν ποιοῦντα, οἷ κακῶν τίς ἐστιν. 3 καὶ ἐπεστήρισας ἐπ' ἐμὲ τὴν χεῖρά σου. πολλαχοῦ πάλιν ἡ τιμωρὸς δύναμις τῷ ὀνόματι τῆς 261 χειρὸς τοῦ θεοῦ σημαίνεται· ὡς ἐὰν λέγῃ πρὸς τὸν Φαραώθ· "νῦν ἀποστείλας τὴν χεῖρα πατάξω σε". καί· "ἰδοὺ χεὶρ κυρίου ἐπέσται ἐν τοῖς κτήνεσίν σου τοῖς ἐν τοῖς πεδίοις"· οὕτω γὰρ ὀλέθρῳ ὑπεβλήθη ἐκεῖνα τὰ κτήνη. καὶ πάλιν λέγεται· "ἡ χείρ σου ἔθνη ἐξωλέθρευσεν". ὅτε ἡ δραστήριος καὶ ποιητικὴ καὶ σκεπαστικὴ χεὶρ τοῦ θεοῦ ὀνομάζεται, "δεξιὰ" προσαγορεύεται. αὕτη γοῦν εἰς σωτηρίαν ξεναγεῖ. λέγει γοῦν ὁ πεῖραν τοῦ χειραγωγεῖσθαι ὑπ' αὐτῆς εἰληφώς· "ἐκράτησας τῆς χειρὸς τῆς δεξιᾶς μου", τῆς πρακτικῆς δυνάμεως τῶν καλῶν. 4 καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἴασις τῇ σαρκί μου ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς ὀργῆς σου. τὸ τῆς σαρκὸς ὄνομα ὁμώνυμον ὂν κατὰ τὴν γραφὴν διάφορα σημαίνει. λέγεταί ποτε ἡ σὰρξ σημαίνου̣σα τὴν αἰσθητικὴν ἡμῶν προαίρεσιν· ὅταν γὰρ λέγηται ὅτι· "ἐκσπάσω ἀπ' αὐτῶν τὴν λιθίνην αὐτῶν καρδίαν καὶ ἐνθήσω σαρκίνην", "λιθίνην καρδίαν" λέγει τὴν ἠλίθιον νόησιν τὴν πάσης αἰσθήσεως ἀφῃρημένην. ἀντὶ ταύτης ἐντίθεται σαρκίνη, αἰσθητικὴ καὶ εὔεικτος πρὸς τοὺς θεοῦ νόμους. λέγεται οὖν τὸ εὔεικτον πολλάκις καὶ αἰσθητικὸν σάρξ. λέγεται δὲ καὶ σὰρξ δια̣στελλομένη πρὸς πνεῦμα. πνεῦμα δὲ λέγει τὴν γνώμην, σάρκα δὲ τὴν πρὸς γνώμην διαστελλομένην. ὅταν τις οὖν τὰ σαρκὸς διανοῆται καὶ πράττῃ καὶ ζῇ κατ' αὐτά, μακράν ἐστιν τοῦ πνεύματος. ὅταν δὲ ἀκολουθήσῃ τῷ πνεύματι, τῇ ὀρθῇ γνώμῃ καὶ μάλιστα τῇ μετασχούσῃ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος, τότε καταργεῖ τὴν σάρκα. περὶ τῆς τοιαύτης σαρκὸς καὶ τοῦ πρὸς αὐτὴν διαστελλομένου πνεύματος λέγει· "ὑμεῖς δὲ οὐκ ἐστὲ ἐν σαρκὶ ἀλλ' ἐν πνεύματι". καίτοι ἦσαν ἐν σαρκί, ἐπηχθισμένοι ἔτι ἦσαν τὸ σῶμα. τῇ διαθέσει ἔξω αὐτῆς ἐγεγόνεσαν. καὶ ὥσπερ ἐπὶ γῆς τις περιπατῶν δύναται ἐν οὐρανῷ ἔχειν τὸ πολίτευμα̣, οὕτως ἐν σαρκί τις ἔτι τυγχάνων γίνεται ἔξω αὐτῆς, ὅταν τῷ πνεύματι ἀκολουθήσῃ. καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ λεγομένη εὔλογος ἐξαγω̣γ̣ή. τινὲς δὲ ἀγνοήσαντες, πῶς οἱ σοφοὶ εἴρηκαν εὔλογον ἐξαγωγήν, πολλάκις ἐρωτηθέντες λέγουσιν· ἢ ὑπὸ λογισμῶν ἢ παθημάτων σαρκὸς ἐξηγίοχαν ἑαυτοὺς τοῦ βίου. -οὔκ ἐστιν δὲ αὕτη εὔλογος ἐξαγωγή, ἀλλ' ὅταν τις ἅγιος ὢν τὸ σῶμα καὶ τὴν σάρκα ἔξω αὐτοῦ γένηται τῇ σπουδῇ καὶ διαθέσει ὥστε εἰπεῖν· "οὐκ ἐσμὲν ἐν σαρκὶ ἀλλ' ἐν πνεύματι". καὶ πάλιν· "τὸ φρόνημα τῆς σαρκὸς ἔχθρα εἰς θεόν". "οἱ δὲ ἐν σαρκὶ ὄντες θεῷ ἀρέσαι οὐ δύνανται". παρίσταται δὲ ὅτι οὐ περὶ