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we receive grace to be always well; or His grace that is self-working in us according to the practice of the virtues; and upon it, according to contemplation, the undistracted effusion of knowledge.

24. Faith was called a stone, because of the firmness, unchangeableness and stability, and complete immovability of the truth according to it; and by no means yielding to the uprisings of falsehood. And in a hand, because of its practical activity, and its encompassing of all the virtues by description. And having seven eyes, because of (533) its discernment, and its encompassing of the complete, unerring knowledge of things under time; and its receptivity to the unmixed sevenfold energy of the all-holy Spirit in numbers.

25. A demonstrative understanding from the property of the spiritual gift. For the property of fear is abstinence from evils; of strength, the practice of good things; of counsel, the discernment of opposites; of science, the unadulterated knowledge of duties; of knowledge, the active comprehension of the divine principles in the virtues; of understanding, the soul's complete disposition towards the things known; of wisdom, the unknowable union with God, by which for the worthy desire becomes enjoyment, making by participation a god of the one who participates; and establishing him as an interpreter of divine blessedness, according to the ever-flowing, incommunicable procession and outlet of the divine mysteries to those who need them.

26. The first good in relation to us, he says, in activity, which is fear, the word of Scripture has enumerated last as the beginning of wisdom; from which being moved, we ascend to the end of wisdom, which is understanding; after which we become near to God Himself, having only wisdom mediating the union with Him. For it is not possible to lay hold of wisdom for one who has not first, through fear and the other intermediate gifts, shaken off both the rheum of ignorance and the dust of wickedness. For this reason, the Scriptural order has arranged wisdom to be near to God, and fear to be near to us; so that we might learn the definition and law of good order.

27. The monad of wisdom, he says, is contemplated indivisibly in the different virtues that proceed from it; and is brought together in a singular manner by the energies of all the virtues; and again is shown to be a simple monad by the restorations of the virtues from it to it; when we, for whose sake it makes its procession according to the generation of each virtue, are gathered together intensively through each virtue towards it.

28. He has a blind faith, he says, who does not work the divine commandments according to faith. For if the commandments of the Lord are light, it is clear that one who does not do the divine commandments is without divine light, and bears the title of faith as bare, but not true.

29. The Word, he says, has called the energies of the Spirit the eyes of the Lord. He who does not open these by the practice of the commandments, does not have God looking upon him. For God is naturally disposed to watch over those on earth with many eyes, as is likely, if our illumination according to virtue is a ray of divine vision.

30. Tin, he says, having naturally the property of both silver and lead, characterizes faith; for when not kept it punishes, (536) having as lead the accusation for ages against those who did not keep it; and it glorifies those who keep it, having as clear and shining silver the defense for ages of those who have kept it.

31. No one who sins, he says, can have the weakness of the flesh as a defense for sin. For the union with God the Word has strengthened the whole of nature by the dissolution of the curse; having made for us without excuse the inclination of the will toward the passions; for the divinity of the Word, being always with those who believe in him by grace, withers the law of sin in the flesh.

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ἀεί εὖ εἶναι διχόμεθα χάριν· ἤ τήν ἐν ἡμῖν κατά τήν πρᾶξιν τῶν ἀρετῶν αὐτουργόν αὐτοῦ χάριν· καί τήν ἐπ᾿ αὐτῇ κατά τήν θεωρίαν ἀδιασκέδαστον χύσιν τῆς γνώσεως.

κδ΄. Λίθος ἡ πίστις ἐκλήθην, διά τό στεῤῥόν, ἄτρεπτόν τε καί βάσιμον, καί παντελῶς ἀκίνητον τῆς κατ᾿ αὐτήν ἀληθείας· καί μηδαμῶς ὑπεῖκον ψεύδους ἐπαναστάσεσιν. Ἐν χειρί δέ, διά τό κατ᾿ ἐνέργειαν πρακτικόν, καί πασῶν κατά περιγραφήν τῶν ἀρετῶν συνεκτικόν. Ἑπτά δέ ὀφθαλμούς ἔχουσα, διά τό (533) διακριτικόν, καί τῆς παντελοῦς τῶν ὑπό χρόνον ἀπταίστου γνώσεως περιεκτικόν· καί τῆς ἀμιγοῦς ἐν ἀριθμοῖς ἑπταπλῆς τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος ἐνεργείας δεκτικόν.

κε΄. ∆ιάληψις ἀποδεικτική ἐκ τῆς ἰδιότητος τοῦ πνευματικοῦ χαρίσματος. Φόβου γάρ ἴδιον ἀποχή τῶν κακῶν· ἰσχύος δέ, ἡ πρᾶξις τῶν ἀγαθῶν· βουλῆς δέ, ἡ τῶν ἀντικειμένων διάκρισις· ἐπιστήμης δέ, ἡ τῶν καθηκόντων ἀνόθευτος εἴδησις· γνώσεως δέ, ἡ κατ᾿ ἐνέργειαν τῶν ἐν ταῖς ἀρεταῖς θείων λόγων περίληψις· συνέσεως δέ, ἡ πρός τά γνωσθέντα διόλου τῆς ψυχῆς συνδιάθεσις· σοφίας δέ, ἡ πρός Θεόν ἀδιάγνωστος ἕνωσις, καθ᾿ ἥν τοῖς ἀξίοις ἡ ἔφεσις ἀπόλαυσις γίνεται, μεθέξει ποιοῦσα θεόν τόν μετέχοντα· καί τῆς θείας αὐτόν ὑποφήτην καθιστῶσα μακαριότητος, κατά τήν ἀένναον πρός τούς δεομένους τῶν θείων μυστηρίων ἀνεκπόμπευτον προβολήν καί διέξοδον.

κστ΄. Τό πρός ἡμᾶς, φησί, κατ᾿ ἐνέργειαν πρῶτον ἀγαθόν, ὅπερ ἐστίν ὁ φόβος, τελευταῖον ἀπηριθμήσατο τῆς Γραφῆς ὁ λόγος ὡς σοφίας ἀρχήν· ἀφ᾿ ἧς κινούμενοι, πρός τό τῆς σοφίας τέλος τήν σύνεσιν ἀναβαίνομεν· μεθ᾿ ἥν προσεχεῖς αὐτῷ γινόμεθα τῷ Θεῷ, μόνην τήν σοφίαν τῆς πρός αὐτόν ἑνώσεως μεσιτεύουσαν ἔχοντες. Οὐ γάρ ἐστι δυνατόν ἐπιλαβέσθαι σοφίας, τόν μή πρότερον διά τοῦ φόβου, καί τῶν διά μέσου λοιπῶν χαρισμάτων, τήν τε λήμην τῆς ἀγνοίας, καί τόν τῆςκακίας κονιορτόν ἀποσεισάμενον. ∆ιά τοῦτο, Θεῷ μέν προσεχῆ τήν σοφίαν· ἡμῖν δέ προσεχῆ τόν φόβον ἡ Γραφική τάξις διέθηκεν· ἵνα ἡμεῖς εὐταξίας μάθωμεν ὅρον καί νόμον.

κζ΄. Ἡ τῆς σοφίας, φησί, μονάς ἐστι, ταῖς ἐξ αὐτῆς διαφόροις ἀρεταῖς ἀτμήτως ἐνθεωρουμένη· καί μονοειδῶς ταῖς τῶν ὅλων ἀρετῶν ἐνεργείαις ἐπισυναγομένη· καί πάλιν ἁπλῆ μονάς ἀποδεικνυμένη ταῖς πρός αὐτήν τῶν ἐξ αὐτῆς ἀρετῶν ἀποκαταστάσεσιν· ὅταν ἡμεῖς, δι᾿ οὕς κατά τήν ἑκάστης ἀρετῆς γένεσιν ποιεῖται τήν πρόοδον, ἀνατατικῶς δι᾿ ἑκάστης ἀρετῆς πρός αὐτήν συναγόμεθα.

κη΄. Τυφλήν ἔχει τήν πίστιν, φησίν, ὁ τά κατά τήν πίστιν θεῖα προστάγματα μή ἐργαζόμενος. Εἰ γάρ φῶς ἐστι τά τοῦ Κυρίου προστάγματα, δῆλον ὅτι δίχα θείου φωτός ἐστιν, ὁ μή πράττων τά θεῖα προστάγματα, καί ψιλήν, ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ἀληθῆ τήν τῆς πίστεως ἐπιφέρεται κλῆσιν.

κθ΄. Εἰς τάς ἐνεργείας τοῦ Πνεύματός φησιν, ὀφθαλμούς Κυρίου προσηγόρευσεν ὁ λόγος. Ὁ μή τούτους τῇ πράξει τῶν ἐντολῶν διανοίγων, ἐπιβλέποντα τόν Θεόν ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν οὐκ ἔχει. ∆ιά πολλῶν γάρ, ὡς εἰκός, ἐπισκοπεῖν ὀφθαλμῶν τούς ἐπί γῆς πέφυκεν ὁ Θεός, εἴπερ θείας ὁράσεως ἀκτίς ἐστιν ὁ κατ᾿ ἀρετήν ἡμῶν φωτισμός.

λ΄. Ὁ κασσίτερος, φησί, τήν τε τοῦ ἀργυρίου καί τοῦ μολίβδου φυσικῶς ἔχων τήν ἰδιότητα, χαρακτηρίζει τήν πίστιν· κολάζει γάρ μή φυλαττομένη, (536) μόλιβδον ἔχουσα τήν ἐπ᾿ αἰῶσι τῶν μή φυλαξάντων αὐτήν κατηγορίαν· καί δοξάζει τούς φυλάττοντας, ἄργυρον ἔχουσα διαφανῆ καί λαμπρόν, τήν ἐπ᾿ αἰῶσι τῶν φυλαξάντων αὐτήν συνηγορίαν.

λα΄. Οὐδείς ἁμαρτάνων, φησί, δύναται τῆς ἁμαρτίας συνήγορον ἔχειν τῆς σαρκός τήν ἀσθένειαν. Ἡ γάρ πρός τόν Θεόν Λόγον ἕνωσις, ὅλην τήν φύσιν τῇ λύσει τῆς κατάρας ἀνέῤῥωσεν· ἀπροφάσιστον ἡμῖν ποιησαμένη, τήν πρός τά πάθη τῆς γνώμης προσπάθειαν· ἡ γάρ τοῦ Λόγου θεότης κατά χάριν ἀεί συνοῦσα τοῖς εἰς αὐτόν πιστεύουσι, τόν ἐν τῇ σαρκί νόμον τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἀπομαραίνει.