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brought on by temptation. Indeed, it happens that one both conquers and turns back against them; For blessed is the man who endures temptation, because when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life. Therefore, one who is found in so many achievements does not fear the devil who transforms himself into an angel of light, being a noonday demon. even if he promises a brilliant light through philosophy and empty deceit, this whole thing is a noonday demon. And not he alone, but also his ministers, transforming themselves into ministers of righteousness, are noonday demons. But even if each of these pretends to be of noonday, they do not remain such as they pretend to be, as the light of the ungodly will be extinguished, when Christ comes and illuminates the hidden things of darkness and reveals the counsels of the hearts. 904 Ps 90,7-9 The one who succeeds in practical matters and in those of the knowledge of the truth has many who lie in wait plotting against him, but he overcomes them all by putting on the full armor of God. Then, since fewer plot against moral matters, as being of the left, but many exist against spiritual matters, being of the right, a thousand fall from the side of the perfect one, with ten thousand falling from his right. And the word "side" (κλῖτος), spoken in contradistinction to "right," suggests the notion of "left" and "on the left hand." Similar things to these are also said in Deuteronomy to those who keep the law: One of you will chase a thousand, and two will put ten thousand to flight. And Paul, at any rate, being thus perfected, wars against his adversaries with the weapons of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, so that a thousand fall from his left, and ten thousand from his right. And in Ecclesiastes, "the right" is mentioned in praise thus: The heart of a wise man is on his right, but the heart of a fool is on his left; the wise man having his mind on intelligible and spiritual things, because they are honorable, are called "right," while those of the fool, being about sensible and material things, are secondary and "left." But the falling thousand and ten thousand do not approach the righteous one so as to harm him; for it is written: But it shall not come near you. For as soon as the phalanx of the adversaries wishes to approach the zealous one, it falls; For when evildoers approached me to eat my flesh, those who afflicted me and my enemies, they themselves grew weak and fell. You would find these things being fulfilled symbolically in the Gospel; for when those who had come to seize him dared to draw near to Jesus, and he said, "Whom do you seek?", and they answered, "Jesus the Nazarene," when Jesus himself answered, "I am he," They went backward and fell to the ground. But with these things being accomplished (I mean, the falling thousand and ten thousand of the enemies not approaching the righteous one), with the eyes of his own mind he will perceive the things accomplished for him, being guarded by the truth, seeing also the recompense of the sinners; these things being said concerning them, immediately confessing him who is the cause of the good things that have come to be. For this reason he says: O Lord, all these things were accomplished for me, since you and no other have become my hope. For he said in the preceding verses, And God is my refuge, and I will hope in him, and concerning him, And under his, God's, wings you will hope. 905 Ps 90,10 You will also understand it thus: since circumstances, which are also called evils because of their painfulness, happen in common to the unjust and the just, the preceding words are not, therefore, about such evils. For a bodily scourge has often touched the tent, that is, the body of a righteous one; For they were tried, they were scourged, says Paul. And the Savior himself was indeed scourged when he was led to the cross, fulfilling what he had foretold about himself through the prophet, I gave my back to scourges. Since, therefore, there are two kinds of evils, one happening indifferently to the zealous and the worthless, the other does not approach the one who has made the Most High his refuge. For clinging to him

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κατὰ πειρασμὸν ἐπαγόμενα. ἀμέλει γοῦν καὶ νικᾶν καὶ στρέφεσθαι ἐπ' αὐτοῖς συμβαίνει· Μακάριος γὰρ ἀνὴρ ος ὑπομένει πειρασμόν, οτι δόκιμος γενόμενος λήψεται τὸν στέφανον τῆς ζωῆς. ̔Ο ουν ἐν τοσούτοις κατορθώμασιν εὑρεθεὶς οὐδὲ τὸν μετασχηματιζόμενον εἰς αγγελον φωτὸς διάβολον φοβεῖται οντα δαιμόνιον μεσημβρινόν. καν ἀκμαῖον φῶς ἐπαγγέλληται διὰ φιλοσοφίας καὶ κενῆς ἀπάτης, αὐτὸ τοῦτο ολον ἐστὶ δαιμόνιον μεσημβρινόν. οὐκ αὐτὸς δὲ μόνος ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ διάκονοι αὐτοῦ μετασχηματιζόμενοι εἰς διακόνους δικαιοσύνης δαιμόνια μεσημβρινά εἰσιν. ἀλλ' εἰ καὶ προσποιεῖται τούτων εκαστος μεσημβρινὸς ειναι, οὐ διαμένουσι τοιοῦτοι οιοι ειναι προσποιοῦνται, σβεσθησομένου τοῦ φωτὸς τῶν ἀσεβῶν, οταν ὁ Χριστὸς ἐλθὼν φωτίσῃ τὰ κρυπτὰ τοῦ σκότους καὶ τὰς βουλὰς τῶν καρδιῶν φανερώσῃ. 904 Ps 90,7-9 ̔Ο ἐν τοῖς πρακτικοῖς καὶ ἐν τοῖς τῆς γνώσεως τῆς ἀληθείας κατορθῶν πολλοὺς τοὺς ἐφεδρεύοντας ἐπιβουλευτικῶς εχει, ἀλλὰ πάντων αὐτῶν περιγίνεται ἐνδυσάμενος τὴν πανοπλίαν τοῦ θεοῦ. ειτ' ἐπεὶ ὀλιγώτεροι ἐπιβουλεύουσι τοῖς ἠθικοῖς ὡς αν ἀριστεροῖς ουσιν, πολλοὶ δὲ τοῖς πνευματικοῖς ὑπάρχουσι δεξιοῖς, ἐκ τοῦ κλίτους τοῦ τελείου χιλιὰς πίπτει, μυριάδος πεσουμένης ἐκ τῶν δεξιῶν αὐτοῦ. τὸ κλῖτος δὲ πρὸς ἀντιδιαστολὴν δεξιοῦ λεχθὲν τὴν περὶ ἀριστεροῦ καὶ εὐωνύμου ὑπόληψιν ὑποβάλλει. παραπλήσια τούτοις καὶ ἐν ∆ευτερονομίῳ λέγεται πρὸς τοὺς κατορθοῦντας τὸν νόμον Εις ἐξ ὑμῶν διώξεται χιλίους καὶ δύο μετακινήσουσι μυριάδας. καὶ Παῦλος γοῦν ουτω τελειωθεὶς πρὸς τοὺς ἐναντίους πολεμεῖ διὰ τῶν οπλων τῆς δικαιοσύνης τῶν δεξιῶν καὶ ἀριστερῶν, ὡς πίπτειν ἐκ τῶν ἀριστερῶν αὐτοῦ χιλιάδα, μυριάδα δὲ ἐκ δεξιῶν αὐτοῦ. καὶ ἐν ̓Εκκλησιαστῇ ἐπὶ ἐπαίνου τὸ δεξιὸν φέρεται ουτως· Καρδία σοφοῦ ἐκ δεξιῶν αὐτοῦ, καρδία δὲ αφρονος εἰς ἀριστερὰν αὐτοῦ· τοῦ σοφοῦ τὸν νοῦν εχοντος περὶ τὰ νοητὰ καὶ πνευματικὰ διὰ τὸ τίμια ειναι δεξιὰ καλεῖται, τοῦ δὲ αφρονος περὶ αἰσθητὰ καὶ ὑλικὰ δευτέρα καὶ ἀριστερά ἐστιν. Πίπτουσα δὲ ἡ χιλιὰς καὶ ἡ μυριὰς οὐκ ἐγγίζει τῷ δικαίῳ ἐπὶ τῷ βλάψαι· γέγραπται δὲ Πρὸς σὲ δὲ οὐκ ἐγγιεῖ. αμα γὰρ τῷ ἐθέλειν πλησιάσαι τῷ σπουδαίῳ πίπτει ἡ φάλαγξ τῶν ἐναντίων· ̓Εν τῷ ἐγγίζειν γὰρ ἐπ' ἐμὲ κακοῦντας τοῦ φαγεῖν τὰς σάρκας μου οἱ θλίβοντές με καὶ οἱ ἐχθροί μου αὐτοὶ ἠσθένησαν καὶ επεσον. ἐπιτελούμενα ταῦτα συμβολικῶς ευροις ἐν τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ· ὁπηνίκα γὰρ συνεγγίσαι τῷ ̓Ιησοῦ ἐτόλμησαν οἱ ἐπὶ τῷ συλλαβεῖν αὐτὸν ἐληλυθότες, εἰπόντος αὐτοῦ Τίνα ζητεῖτε, τῶν δὲ ἀποκριναμένων ̓Ιησοῦν τὸν Ναζαρηνόν, ἀποκριναμένου αὐτοῦ τοῦ ̓Ιησοῦ τὸ ̓Εγώ εἰμι, ̓Απῆλθον εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω καὶ επεσον χαμαί. Πλὴν τούτων ἐπιτελουμένων (λέγω δὴ τοῦ μὴ ἐγγίζειν τῷ δικαίῳ τὴν πίπτουσαν χιλιάδα καὶ μυριάδα τῶν πολεμίων), τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς τῆς διανοίας ἑαυτοῦ κατανοήσει τὰ κατορθωθέντα αὐτῷ ὑπὸ τῆς ἀληθείας φρουρούμενος, ὀψόμενος καὶ τὴν ἀνταπόδοσιν τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν· τούτων εἰρημένων περὶ αὐτῶν, εὐθέως αὐτὸν τὸν αιτιον τῶν ὑπαρξάντων ἀγαθῶν ὁμολογῶν. διὰ τοῦτό φησιν· Ω δέσποτα, κατωρθώθη μοι ταῦτα πάντα, ἐπείπερ οὐκ αλλος η σὺ ἐλπίς μου καθέστηκας. ειπε γὰρ ἐν τοῖς ἀνωτέρω Καὶ καταφυγή μου ὁ θεὸς καὶ ἐλπιῶ ἐπ' αὐτόν, καὶ περὶ αὐτοῦ Καὶ ὑπὸ τὰς πτέρυγας αὐτοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐλπιεῖς. 905 Ps 90,10 Νοήσεις καὶ ουτως· κοινῶς συνπιπτόντων ἀδίκοις καὶ δικαίοις τῶν περιστατικῶν α καὶ κακὰ διὰ τὸ ἐπίπονον ὠνομάσθη, οὐκ αρα περὶ τῶν ουτω κακῶν αἱ προκείμεναι λέξεις. καὶ μάστιξ γὰρ σωματικὴ πολλάκις καθήψατο σκηνώματος τουτέστι σώματος δικαίου· ̓Επειράσθησαν γὰρ ἐμαστιγώθησαν, φησὶν ὁ Παῦλος. καὶ αὐτὸς γοῦν ὁ σωτὴρ ἐμαστίχθη ἐπὶ τὸν σταυρὸν ἀγόμενος, πληρῶν ο προεῖπε διὰ τοῦ προφήτου περὶ ἑαυτοῦ Τὸν νῶτόν μου δέδωκα εἰς μάστιγας. διττοῦ τοίνυν τοῦ γένους τῶν κακῶν οντος θατέρου γινομένου ἀδιαφόρως σπουδαίοις καὶ φαύλοις, τὸ ετερον οὐ προσεγγίζει τῷ θεμένῳ τὸν υψιστον καταφυγὴν ἑαυτοῦ. προσκολλώμενος γὰρ αὐτῷ