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contemplative; but the leaders of the tribes are the powers of the soul, from which the ways of virtue and the principles of knowledge have their origin; to which the unclean demons of pride and vainglory, of people-pleasing and hypocrisy, approach, saying, Let us build the temple of the Lord with you. For none of these wicked demons ever hinders the zeal of the virtuous man; but rather, having deceitfully trimmed away the deficiencies of the virtues, he eagerly suggests excesses to the combatants, so that he may draw the whole mind of the ascetic to himself, having destroyed the equal measure of moderation, and that it may imperceptibly journey toward a lodging other than the one it seems to be. The two evildoers say, We listen to your Lord just as you do. For they neither hate self-control, nor do they loathe fasting; not the distribution of money, nor hospitality, nor psalmody, nor leisure for reading, nor the higher studies, nor sleeping on the ground, nor vigils, nor all the rest, by which the life according to God is characterized, as long as the purpose and the cause of what is done inclines towards them. For the ascetic, perhaps grasping the other demons more quickly, easily escapes the harm from them; but these, who seem to cooperate in the course of virtue, and as if wishing to build the temple of the Lord together, what mind, even among the exceedingly lofty, could grasp, without the active and living word that penetrates all things, and pierces even to the division of soul and spirit; that is, distinguishing which of the works or thoughts are psychical; that is, natural forms or movements of virtue; and which happen to be spiritual; that is, beyond nature, and characterizing God; but given to nature by grace.

(584) of joints and of marrow; knowing the altogether suitable or unsuitable correspondence of the ways of virtue with the spiritual principles.

and judging the thoughts and intentions of hearts; that is, the hidden relations in the depth concerning the things said; and the invisible causes of these according to the soul.

before whom no creature is hidden; clearly in us, who seem to be hidden, but all things are naked and laid bare; not only the things that have been done and thought, but already also the things that will be done by us and that will be thought. For concerning a future deed and thought, perhaps, the word says, No creature is hidden; for not concerning one that has come to be, which has been made manifest both to you yourselves and to others; much less to God, who foreknew all the infinite ages, both those that came before, and those that are, and those that will be; and who has grasped beforehand according to nature the knowledge of the generation of all things; and not from existing things, but from himself He has grasped beforehand the knowledge of existing things in himself. For He alone is by nature the knowledge of existing things, as He is the cause of existing things; and again He is knowledge as having by nature His own knowledge beyond cause; and has been removed from this yet again according to the all and utterly infinite reason of infinity an infinite number of times; because He is the creator of so-called knowledge in every reason and way, and is inaccessible to all other knowledge that can be spoken or thought.

Who, not having this word dwelling in the depth of his heart, will be able, having escaped the hidden deceits of the hypocrisy of the demons against us, to stand most alone by himself without any intermingling, and build the temple of the Lord according to the great Zerubbabel and Joshua and the leaders of the tribes, saying distinctly with a loud voice to the deceitful spirits of pride and vainglory and people-pleasing and hypocrisy, It is not for us and for you to build the house to the Lord our God; for we alone will build to the Lord of Israel; knowing that the intermingling of these of the whole

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θεωρητικός· ἡγούμενοι δέ τῶν πατριῶν εἰσιν, αἱ τῆς ψυχῆς δυνάμεις, ἐξ ὧν ὥρμηνται τῆς ἀρετῆς οἱ τρόποι, καί οἱ λόγοι τῆς γνώσεως· οἷς προσέρχονται τῆς ὑπερηφανείας καί τῆς κενοδοξίας, ἀνθρωπαρεσκείας τε καί ὑποκρίσεως οἱ ἀκάθαρτοι δαίμονες, λέγοντες, Συνοικοδομήσωμεν ὑμῖν τόν ναόν Κυρίου. Οὐδείς γάρ τούτων τῶν πονηρῶν δαιμόνων τοῦ ἐναρέτου ποτέ κωλύει τό πρόθυμον· ἀλλά καί μᾶλλον τάς ἐλλείψεις δολερῶς περικόψας τῶν ἀρετῶν, τάς ἐπιτάσεις ὑπαγορεύει τοῖς ἀγωνισταῖς συμπροθυμούμενος, ἵνα πρός ἑαυτόν ὅλην ποιήσηται τοῦ ἀσκουμένου τήν ἔννοιαν, παραπολέσασαν τό ἴσον τῆς μετριότητος στάθμιον, καί λάθῃ πρός ἄλλο παρά τό δοκοῦν ὁδεύουσα καταγώγιον. ∆ύο φασίν οἱ κακοῦργοι, Ὁμοίως ὑμῖν ἀκούομεν τοῦ Κυρίου ὑμῶν. Οὔτε γάρ μισοῦσι σωφροσύνην, οὔτε νηστείαν βδελύσσονται· οὐ χρημάτων διάδοσιν, οὐ φιλοξενίαν, οὐ ψαλμῳδίαν, οὐ σχολήν ἀναγνώσεως, οὐ τῶν μαθημάτων τά ὑψηλότερα, οὐ χαμευνίαν, οὐκ ἀγρυπνίαν, οὐ τά λοιπά πάντα, δι᾿ ὧν ὁ κατά Θεόν χαρακτηρίζεται βίος, ἕως πρός αὐτούς νένευκεν ὁ σκοπός, καί ἡ αἰτία τῶν γινομένων. Τούς μέν γάρ ἄλλους τάχιον ἴσως ὁ ἀσκητής καταλαβόμενος δαίμονας, ῥᾳδίως τήν ἐξ αὐτῶν βλάβην διαδιδράσκει· τούτους δέ δοκοῦντας συνεργεῖν τῷ δρόμῳ τῆς ἀρετῆς, καί οἷον συνοικοδομεῖν βουλομένων τόν ναόν Κυρίου, τίς ἄν τῶν ἄγαν ὑψηλῶν καταλάβοι νοῦς, χωρίς τοῦ διαπάντων χωροῦντος ἐνεργοῦς λόγου καί ζῶντος, καί διϊκνουμένου ἄχρι μερισμοῦ ψυχῆς καί πνεύματος· τουτέστι διαγινώσκοντος τίνα τῶν ἔργων ἤ νοημάτων εἰσί ψυχικά· τουτέστιν εἴδη φυσικά τῆς ἀρετῆς ἤ κινήματα· καί τίνα τυγχάνει πνευματικά· τουτέστιν, ὑπέρ φύσιν, καί Θεόν χαρακτηρίζοντα· τῇ φύσει δέ κατά χάριν διδόμενα.

(584) Ἁρμών τε καί μυέλων· τήν πρός τούς πνευματικούς λόγους τῶν κατ᾿ ἀρετήν τρόπων, ἁρμόδιον ἤ ἀναρμόδιον διόλου σύνεσιν ἐπισταμένου.

Κρίνοντός τε τας ἐνθυμήσεις καί τάς ἐννοίας τῶν καρδιῶν· τουτέστι, τάς ἐπί τοῖς εἰρημένοις ἀφανεῖς κατά τό βάθος σχέσεις· καί τάς κατά ψυχήν ἀοράτους τούτων αἰτίας.

ᾯ οὐκ ἔστιν ἡ κτίσις ἀφανής· ἐν ἡμῖν δῆλον ὅτι, τοῖς λανθάνειν δοκοῦσι, πάντα δέ γυμνά, καί τετραχηλισμένα· οὐ μόνον τά γεγενημένα τε καί νενοημένα, ἀλλ᾿ἤδη καί τά γενησόμενα παρ᾿ ἡμῶν καί τά νοηθησόμενα. Περί γάρ τῆς μελλούσης τυχόν πράξεως καί νοήσεως, τό, Οὐκ ἔστι ἡ κτίσις ἀφανής, ὁ λόγος φησίν· οὐ γάρ περί γεγενημένης, ἥτις καί ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς καί ἄλλοις πεφανέρωται· σχολῇ γε [Fr σχολή γ' ἄν] Θεῷ, τῷ πάντας τούς ἀπείρους τούς τε προγενομένους, καί ὄντας καί ἐσομένους αἰῶνας προεγνωκότι· καί τῆς πάντων γενέσεως προειληφότι κατά φύσιν τήν γνῶσιν· καί οὐκ ἐκ τῶν ὄντων, ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ δέ τήν τῶν ὄντων ἐν ἑαυτῷ προειληφότι γνῶσιν. Μόνος γάρ αὐτός τῶν ὄντων ὑπάρχει κατά φύσιν γνῶσις, ὡς τῶν ὄντων αἴτιος· καί πάλιν αὐτό γνῶσις ὡς ὑπέρ αἰτίαν φύσει τήν ἑαυτοῦ γνῶσιν ἔχων· καί ταύτης ἔτι κατά τόν πάντα καί πάμπαν τῆς ἀπειρίας ὑπεράπειρον ἀπειράκις λόγον ἀνῳκισμένος· ὅτι καί τῆς οὕτω λεγομένης γνώσεως δημιουργός παντί λόγῳ τε καί τρόπῳ, καί πάσης ἄλλης λεχθῆναι ἤ νοηθῆναι δυναμένης γνώσεως ὑπάρχων ἀπρόσιτος.

Τίς τοῦτον οὐκ ἔχων ἐνοικοῦντα τόν λόγον τῷ βάθει τῆς καρδίας, δυνήσεται τούς ἀφανεῖς δόλους τῆς καθ᾿ ἡμῶν ὑποκρίσεως τῶν δαιμόνων ὑπαλύξας, στῆναι καθ᾿ ἑαυτόν μονώτατος χωρίς τινος ἐπιμιξίας, καί οἰκοδομῆσαι τοῦ Κυρίου τόν ναόν κατά τόν μέγαν Ζοροβάβελ καί τόν Ἰησοῦν καί τούς ἡγεμόνας [Fr. ἡγουμένους] τῶν πατριῶν, φάσκοντας διαῤῥήδην μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ τοῖς ἀπατεῶσι πνεύμασι τῆς ὑπερηφανείας καί τῆς κενοδοξίας καί τῆς ἀνθρωπαρεσκείας καί τῆς ὑποκρίσεως, Οὐχ ἡμῖν καί ὑμῖν οἰκοδομῆσαι τόν οἶκον Κυρίῳ τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν· ἡμεῖς γάρ μόνοι οἰκοδομήσομεν τῷ Κυρίῳ τοῦ Ἰσραήλ· γινώσκων ὡς ἡ τούτων ἐπιμιξία τῆς ὅλης