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makes for the corruption and demolition of the building, and plunders the grace of the comeliness of the divine offerings. For no one, having one of the aforementioned demons accompanying his virtue, is able to build it for the Lord; for he does not have God as the end of his actions, whom he beholding would carry this out. Not out of envy, therefore, did those from the captivity not accept the Babylonians, and the Cuthites and the Hamathites and the Avites to build the temple of the Lord with them; but having recognized the friendly deceits of the demons' wickedness, which through the good secretly wished to work the death of sin for them.

And may we also always say to the spirits of wickedness who invisibly attack us under the guise (585) of spiritual friendship, and say: Let us build the temple with you for your Lord; It is not for you and for us to build the house for the Lord our God; for we alone will build for the Lord of Israel. Alone, because having been freed from the spirits that war against us through a lack of virtue, from whom we have also departed, we do not wish, having been lifted up by you through excesses, to be ensnared again, and to fall a fall so much more grievous than the former, inasmuch as for the one there was an easy hope of return; being forgiven on account of weakness; but for the other, it either does not exist or will be difficult, being hated on account of pride, and for making something else more right than the right. But again, not alone, because we have the holy angels as helpers of good things; or rather God, Himself manifesting Himself in us through the works of righteousness, and building us as a holy temple for Himself, and free from every passion.

SCHOLIA. a. That confession is twofold. b. That every confession, he says, humbles the soul; the one, being justified by grace, the other, teaching it when it is held by despondency of its own mind on account of accusations.

c. He who mourns for his first sins, and perfectly has faith in God which always begets him unto righteousness; and provides his own life and word as a pattern of every virtue, has placed himself in the spiritual tribe of Benjamin, showing that the birth which is according to God is a work of the will, and not of necessity. For he is a son of the right hand, who willingly undergoes the birth of the will according to God.

d. By the Babylonians he means pride, as it is a confused way of thinking. For the passion of pride consists of two ignorances. And two ignorances, coming together for union, produce one confused way of thinking. For only he is proud, who has been ignorant of both divine help and human weakness. Therefore, pride is the privation of divine and human knowledge. For by the denial of the true extremes, there exists one false affirmation.

e. By the Cuthites he means vainglory. For vainglory is a departure from the goal that is according to God, and a transition to another goal besides the divine one. For he is vainglorious who practices virtue for the sake of his own glory, but not for the sake of divine glory; and with his own labors buys the insubstantial praises from men.

f. By Hamath he means men-pleasing. For the men-pleaser cares only for visible customs, and also for flattering speech, so that he might usurp the sight of some and the hearing of others, of those who are pleased or astonished only by what is seen and heard, and who define virtue by sense alone. We say, therefore, that men-pleasing (588) is the display of customs and words honored by men as if for virtue.

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οἰκοδομῆς ποιεῖται φθοράν καί καθαίρεσιν, καί συλᾷ τῆς τῶν θείων ἀναθημάτων εὐπρεπείας τήν χάριν. Οὐδείς γάρ δύναται, τινά τῶν εἰρημένων δαιμόνων ἔχων τήν ἀρετήν συμμετερχόμενον, ταύτην τῷ Κυρίῳ οἰκοδομῆσαι· οὐ γάρ ἔχει τόν Θεόν τῶν γινομένων τέλος, ὅν θεώμενος ταύτην διέξεισι. Οὐ φθονοῦντες οὖν οἱ ἀπό τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας, οὐ κατεδέξαντο τούς Βαβυλωνίους, καί τούς Χουθαίους καί τούς Αἱμαθαίους καί τούς Εὐαίους συνοικοδομοῦντας αὐτοῖς τόν τοῦ Κυρίου ναόν· ἀλλ᾿ ἐπεγνωκότες τούς φιλικούς δόλους τῆς τῶν δαιμόνων κακουργίας, διά τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ λεληθότως αὐτοῖς βουλομένης κατεργάσασθαι τῆς ἁμαρτίας τόν θάνατον.

Γένοιτο δέ καί ἡμᾶς ἀεί λέγειν τοῖς ἐν πλάσματι (585) φιλίας πνευματικῆς ἀοράτως προσβάλλουσι πνεύμασι τῆς πονηρίας, καί λέγουσι· Συνοικοδομήσωμεν ὑμῖν τόν ναόν τῷ Κυρίῳ ὑμῶν· Οὐχ ὑμῖν καί ἡμῖν οἰκοδομῆσαι τόν οἶκον Κυρίῳ τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν· ἡμεῖς γάρ μόνοι οἰκοδομήσομεν τῷ Κυρίῳ τοῦ Ἰσραήλ. Μόνοι μέν, ὅτι τῶν κατ᾿ ἔλλειψιν τῆς ἀρετῆς πολεμούντων ἐλευθερωθέντες πνευμάτων, ὧν καί ἐκβεβήκαμεν, οὐ βουλόμεθα ταῖς ὑπερβολαῖς δι᾿ ὑμῶν ἐπαρθέντας πάλιν περιπαρῆναι, καί πεσεῖν πτῶσιν τοσοῦτον τῆς προτέρας χαλεπωτέραν, ὅσον τῆς μέν ἦν ἐπανόδου ἐλπίς εὐχερής· συγγνωθεῖσι διά τήν ἀσθένειαν· τῆς δέ, ἤ οὐκ ἔστιν ἡ δυσχερής ἔσται, μισηθεῖσι διά τήν ὑπερηφάνειαν, καί τοῦ δεξιοῦ ποιουμένοις ἕτερόν τι δεξιώτερον. Οὐ μόνοι δέ πάλιν, ὅτι τούς ἁγίους ἀγγέλους ἔχομεν τῶν καλῶν συλλήπτορας· μᾶλλον δέ τόν Θεόν, αὐτόν ἐν ἡμῖν ἑαυτόν ἐμφανίζοντα διά τῶν ἔργων τῆς δικαιοσύνης, καί ἡμᾶς ἑαυτῶ ναόν ἅγιον οἰκοδομοῦντα, καί παντός πάθους ἐλεύθερον.

ΣΧΟΛΙΑ. α΄. Ὅτι διχῶς ἐξομολόγησις. β΄. Ὅτι πᾶσα, φησίν, ἐξομολόγησις ταπεινοῖ τήν ψυχήν· ἡ μέν, χάριτι

δικαιωθεῖσαν, ἡ δέ, ἀθυμίᾳ γνώμης οἰκείας ἐπ᾿ ἐγκλήμασιν ἐνεχομένην αὐτήν ἐκδιδάσκουσα.

γ΄. Ὁ πενθῶν ἐπί τοῖς πρώτοις ἁμαρτήμασι, καί τελείως ἔχων γεννῶσαν αὐτόν ἀεί εἰς δικαιοσύνην τήν εἰς Θεόν πίστιν· καί πᾶσαν ἀρετῆς ὑποτύπωσιν τόν ἑαυτοῦ παρεχόμενον βίον καί λόγον, τῆς τοῦ Βενιαμίν πνευματικῆς ἑαυτόν κατέστησε φυλῆς, γνώμης ἔργον, ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ἀνάγκης τήν κατά Θεόν ὑπάρχουσαν δείξας γέννησιν. ∆εξιᾶς γάρ υἱός ἐστιν, ὁ τήν κατά Θεόν γνωμικήν ἑκουσίως ὑπερχόμενος γέννησιν.

δ΄. Τούς Βαβυλωνίους λέγει τήν ὑπερηφάνειαν, ὡς συγκεχυμένην ὑπάρχουσαν φρόνησιν. Τό γάρ τῆς ὑπερηφανείας πάθος ἐκ δύο συνέστηκεν ἀγνοιῶν. ∆ύο δέ συνελθοῦσαι πρός ἕνωσιν ἄγνοιαι, μίαν φρόνησιν συγκεχυμένην ἀποτελοῦσι. Μόνος γάρ ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν ὑπερήφανος, ὁ καί τήν θείαν βοήθειαν, καί τήν ἀνθρωπίνην ἀγνοήσας ἀσθένειαν. Οὐκοῦν ὑπερηφάνειά ἐστι θείας καί ἀνθρωπίνης γνώσεως στέρησις. Τῇ γάρ τῶν ἀληθῶς ἄκρων ἀποφάσει, μία ψευδής ὑπάρχει κατάφασις.

ε΄. Τούς Χουθαίους λέγει τήν κενοδοξίαν. Σκοποῦ γάρ τοῦ κατά Θεόν ἔκστασις, καί πρός ἄλλον σκοπόν παρά τόν θεῖόν ἐστιν ἡ κενοδοξία μετάβασις. Κενόδοξος γάρ ἐστιν ὁ τῆς οἰκείας, ἀλλά μή τῆς θείας ἕνεκα δόξης τήν ἀρετήν ἐπιτηδεύων· καί πόνοις οἰκείοις τούς ἐξ ἀνθρώπου ἀνυποστάτους ἐπαίνους ὠνούμενος.

στ΄. Αἱμάθ λέγει τήν ἀνθρωπαρέσκειαν. Μόνων γάρ ἐπιμελεῖται τῶν φαινομένων ἠθῶν ὁ ἀνθρωπάρεσκος, καί μή καί λόγου τοῦ κόλακος, ἵνα τοῖς μέν τήν ὅρασιν, τοῖς δέ τήν ἀκοήν σφετερίζηται, τῶν μόνοις ἡδομένων ἤ καταπληττομένων τοῖς φαινομένοις τε καί ἀκουομένοις, καί μόνῃ τῃ αἰσθήσει περιγραφόντων τήν ἀρετήν. Ἀνθρωπαρέσκειαν οὖν (588) εἶναί φαμεν, τήν ὡς ἐπ᾿ ἀρετῇ δι᾿ ἀνθρώπους τιμωμένην τῶν ἠθῶν τε καί λόγων ἐπίδειξιν.