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of us, God having executed judgment for the wronged, so that through the blood of his son Jesus Christ we might be cleansed from all injustice, not only that by which we were wronged but also that which we committed. From this we learn, according to the exhortation of Paul, to be wronged rather than to do wrong. For to those who are wronged God executes judgment, benefiting them, but upon those who do wrong inflicting punishment, so that they do not inherit the divine promise; For the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God. 980 Ps 102,7 Figuratively, the virtues are called. For the one who says, "Your ways, O Lord, make known to me," deems the virtues worthy to be made manifest to him; and the phrase, "Will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord," spoken by Paul to Elymas, presents the same meaning. That the virtues are also the wills of God will be confirmed from the passage, "I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who will do all my will." And the text at hand might be understood in another way; for since God gave through Moses the law, which has a shadow of the good things to come, and each part of this law bears an image and type of the intelligible and spiritual so that it is possible by way of analogy to pass over from perceptible things or from wickedness to spiritual and archetypal things, and such transitions no one other than the Lord will teach—fittingly concerning these transitions it is said, "He made known his ways to Moses." For who other than Moses knew how to ascend from perceptible circumcision and bodily sacrifice and the other shadowy things to the truth, having learned from God to journey in this way? For He made known His ways to him. But also if anyone might be a son of Israel, concerning whom it has been said, "Israel my chosen one," thus he will understand the wills of God, being made known by him to those who see clearly, so that striving to be Jews in secret they might circumcise not the flesh but the heart; but also they offer a sacrifice of righteousness and praise to God, being a spiritual sacrifice. 981 Ps 102,9 The Lord is all the things that have been mentioned, since he is true God, and being true God he does not exist in a state of the aforementioned virtues but is their source and substance. Therefore we are also confident that even if at some time he should be angry with us for having sinned, he does not do this in order to bring to an end and destroy. For this was the meaning of "He will be angry forever," that is, to remain angry until the end and destruction of those against whom is the anger. Therefore, not being angry forever, neither will he be wroth for eternity. For neither does he have a lasting anger, he who says, "For when the anger of my wrath has come to be, I will heal again." 982 Ps 102,11.12 But the mercy of God takes its beginning upon the earth according to what was said, "The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord;" then the mercy beginning from here to be for the devout, he lifts up and raises these, leading them to the height of heaven; "For your mercy was magnified even to the heavens." For even ascending into the kingdom of heaven happens more by the mercy of God than by any other thing. And being luminous, the saving virtues resemble sunrises, but sins resemble sunsets, being entirely deprived of light. Since therefore one cannot be at the same time in virtue and in wickedness, he who has drawn near to the aforementioned sunrises, so as to dwell in it, the paradise in Eden planted by God toward the east, has distanced from himself† by such a distance as is the distance of the just-mentioned sunsets from the interpreted sunrises; for wickednesses are far from virtues. But just as he who is in the sunrises has the aforementioned sunsets distanced by God, so he who wishes to be in them through sinning is distanced from the sunrises by himself but not from God, having been cast out of paradise. But nevertheless, even when these things have happened from disobedience of the divine commandments, Jesus, coming to the sunsets according to the passage, "Prepare a way for him who rides upon the sunsets, the Lord is his name," will not permit one to remain there for long, saying to each, "You will be with me in paradise." For by providing forgiveness of sins he removes from the

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ἡμῶν, ποιήσαντος τοῦ θεοῦ κρίμα τοῖς ἀδικουμένοις, οπως διὰ τοῦ αιματος τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ ̓Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ καθαρισθῶμεν ἀπὸ πάσης ἀδικίας οὐ μόνον καθ' ην ἠδικούμεθα ἀλλὰ καὶ ης ἐπράττομεν. ἐντεῦθεν μανθάνομεν κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Παύλου προτροπὴν μᾶλλον ἀδικεῖσθαι η ἀδικεῖν. τοῖς μὲν γὰρ ἀδικουμένοις ὁ θεὸς ποιεῖ κρίμα εὐεργετῶν αὐτούς, τοῖς δ' ἀδικοῦσι κόλασιν ἐπιφέρων ὡς μὴ κληρονομεῖν αὐτοὺς θείαν ἐπαγγελίαν· Αδικοι γὰρ βασιλείαν θεοῦ οὐ κληρονομήσουσιν. 980 Ps 102,7 ̓Εκ παραλλήλου αἱ ἀρεταὶ καλοῦνται. ὁ γὰρ λέγων Τὰς ὁδούς σου, κύριε, γνώρισόν μοι τὰς ἀρετὰς ἀξιοῖ φανερὰς αὐτῷ γενέσθαι· καὶ τὸ Οὐ παύσῃ δὲ διαστρέφων τὰς ὁδοὺς κυρίου τὰς εὐθείας ὑπὸ Παύλου πρὸς ̓Ελύμαν λεγόμενον τὸ αὐτὸ παρίστησι σημαῖνον. οτι δὲ καὶ θελήματα τοῦ θεοῦ αἱ ἀρεταί, πιστωθήσεται ἐκ τοῦ Ευρον ∆αυὶδ τὸν τοῦ ̓Ιεσσαί, ανδρα κατὰ τὴν καρδίαν μου, ος ποιήσει πάντα τὰ θελήματά μου. Καὶ ἑτέρως δὲ νοηθείη τὸ προκείμενον· ἐπεὶ γὰρ σκιὰν εχοντα τὸν νόμον τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν δέδωκεν ὁ θεὸς διὰ Μωυσέως, εκαστον δὲ μέρος τοῦ νόμου τούτου εἰκόνα καὶ τύπον νοητοῦ καὶ πνευματικοῦ φέρει ὡς οιόν τ' ειναι τρόπῳ ἀναλογίας ἀπὸ τῶν αἰσθητῶν η τῆς κακίας ἐπὶ τὰ πνευματικὰ καὶ πρωτότυπα μεταβαίνειν, τὰς τοιαύτας δὲ μεταβάσεις οὐκ αλλος η ὁ κύριος διδάξει-εἰκότως περὶ τούτων τῶν μεταβάσεων ειρηται ̓Εγνώρισε τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτοῦ τῷ Μωυσῇ. καὶ τίς γὰρ αλλος Μωυσέως ἠπίστατο ἀπὸ τῆς αἰσθητῆς περιτομῆς καὶ σωματικῆς θυσίας καὶ τῶν αλλων σκιωδῶν ἀναβαίνειν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν, ὑπὸ θεοῦ μαθὼν τὸ ουτως ὁδεύειν; ἐγνώρισε γὰρ αὐτῷ τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτοῦ. ἀλλὰ καὶ ει τις τοῦ ̓Ισραὴλ υἱὸς ειη περὶ ου λέλεκται ̓Ισραὴλ ὁ ἐκλεκτός μου, ουτως ἐπιστήσεται τοῖς θεοῦ θελήμασι γνωριζομένοις ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τοῖς διορατικοῖς, οπως ἐν κρυπτῷ ̓Ιουδαῖοι σπεύδοντες ειναι μὴ τὴν σάρκα ἀλλὰ τὴν καρδίαν περιτέμνωνται· ἀλλὰ καὶ θύουσι θυσίαν δικαιοσύνης καὶ αἰνέσεως τῷ θεῷ ουσαν πνευματικὴν θυσίαν. 981 Ps 102,9 Εστι πάντα τὰ εἰρημένα ὁ κύριος, ἐπείπερ ἀληθινός ἐστι θεός, ων δὲ θεὸς ἀληθινὸς οὐκ ἐν εξει τῶν προειρημένων ἀρετῶν ἀλλὰ πηγὴ καὶ οὐσία αὐτῶν ὑπάρχει. διὸ καὶ θαρροῦμεν οτι καν ποτε ἁμαρτήσασιν ἡμῖν ὀργισθείη οὐκ ἐπὶ τῷ συντελέσαι καὶ ἀπολέσαι τοῦτο ποιεῖ. τοῦτο γὰρ ην τὸ Εἰς τέλος ὀργισθήσεται, τουτέστι παραμεῖναι τῷ ὀργίζεσθαι εως τέλους καὶ φθορᾶς τῶν πρὸς ους ἡ ὀργή. Μὴ εἰς τέλος ουν ὀργιζόμενος οὐδὲ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα μηνιεῖ. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐπίμονον ὀργὴν εχει ὁ φάσκων Οταν γὰρ ἡ ὀργὴ τοῦ θυμοῦ μου γένηται, πάλιν ἰάσομαι. 982 Ps 102,11.12 Τὸ δὲ ελεος τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν ἀρχὴν λαμβάνει ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν κατὰ τὸ λεχθὲν Τοῦ ἐλέους κυρίου πλήρης ἡ γῆ· ειτα ἐντεῦθεν ἀρχόμενον τὸν ελεον γίνεσθαι ἐπὶ τοὺς εὐλαβεῖς ἐπαίρει καὶ μετεωρίζει τούτους ἐπὶ τὸ υψος αγων τοῦ οὐρανοῦ· ̓Εμεγαλύνθη γὰρ εως τῶν οὐρανῶν τὸ ελεός σου. καὶ αὐτὸ γὰρ τὸ εἰς βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν ἀνελθεῖν μᾶλλον ἐλέῳ θεοῦ η ἑτέρῳ τινὶ γίνεται. Φωτειναὶ δὲ τυγχάνουσαι αἱ σωτηριώδεις ἀρεταὶ ἀνατολαῖς ἐοίκασι, δύσεσι δὲ αἱ ἁμαρτίαι πάντῃ φωτὸς ἐστερημέναι. ἐπεὶ ουν αμα τις ἐν ἀρετῇ καὶ κακίᾳ οὐ δύναται ειναι, ὁ συνεγγίσας ταῖς προειρημέναις ἀνατολαῖς ὡς ἐν αὐτῷ διατρίβειν τῷ ἐν ̓Εδὲμ κατὰ ἀνατολὰς ὑπὸ θεοῦ πεφυτευμένῳ παραδείσῳ μακρυνθείσας εχει ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ† τοσαύτῃ διαστάσει οσον ἀπέχουσιν αἱ ἀρτίως εἰρημέναι δυσμαὶ τῶν ἑρμηνευθεισῶν ἀνατολῶν· μακρὰν γὰρ αἱ κακίαι τῶν ἀρετῶν. ἀλλ' ωσπερ ὁ ἐν ταῖς ἀνατολαῖς ων μακρυνομένας εχει ὑπὸ θεοῦ τὰς προειρημένας δυσμάς, ουτως ὁ ἐν αὐταῖς διὰ τοῦ ἁμαρτάνειν ειναι θέλων παρ' ἑαυτὸν ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ μεμακρύνεται ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνατολῶν, ἐκβληθεὶς τοῦ παραδείσου. ἀλλ' ομως καὶ τούτων γεγενημένων ἐκ παρακοῆς τῶν θείων ἐντολῶν, ἐρχόμενος ̓Ιησοῦς ἐπὶ τὰς δυσμὰς κατὰ τὸ ̔Οδοποιήσατε τῷ ἐπιβεβηκότι ἐπὶ δυσμῶν, κύριος ονομα αὐτῷ, οὐκ ἐάσει ἐπὶ πολὺ ἐκεῖσε διατρῖψαι, πρὸς εκαστον ἐρῶν Μετ' ἐμοῦ εσῃ ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ. αφεσιν γὰρ ἁμαρτημάτων παρέχων ἀφίστησι τῶν