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of things coming into being, the world having dismissed declaration by means of words), so if someone hears Moses saying how God, by name, ordained and commanded concerning each part of the world, let him neither suppose the prophet is lying, nor belittle the contemplation of high things with small and base thoughts, as if anthropomorphizing the divine through such things and supposing that it issued its commands with a voice according to our custom, but let the command declare the will, and let the names of the created things themselves signify the substance of the things that came to be; so as to learn two things through what has been said: both that God, having willed, accomplished all things, and that the divine will became nature without trouble and without labor. 2.1.233 But if someone should interpret "God said" more carnally, as to establish that articulated speech came from him for this reason, this same person will surely also suppose that "God saw" is according to our perceptive sense through the activity of the eyes, and "the Lord heard and had mercy on me" and "he smelled a sweet savor" and whatever Scripture relates more corporeally about the divine head or foot or hand or nose or eyelids or fingers or sandal, taking everything according to its readily apparent meaning, he will describe for us an anthropomorphic divine being in the likeness of things seen in us. 2.1.234 But if someone, hearing of the heavens as the works of fingers and a mighty hand and a high arm and an eye and eyelids and a foot and sandals, considers notions worthy of God through each of the things mentioned and does not defile the account of the pure nature by polluting it with corporeal assumptions, it would be consistent also to consider the utterances of words to be indicative of the divine will, but not, however, to suppose them to be articulate sounds, but to reckon this: that the creator of rational nature has bestowed upon us speech corresponding to the measure of our nature, so that 2.1.235 we might be able to declare the movements of the soul through it. But as far as nature is distant from nature—I mean the divine from ours—by that same measure of distance, all things pertaining to it have their variation from those things seen in us towards what is grander and more befitting of God. And as our power, judged against God's, is nothing, and life against life, and all our other things, judged against those in him, are as nothing before him, as the prophecy says, so also our speech, judged against the truly existing Word, is nothing. 2.1.236 For this was not in the beginning, but was fashioned together with our nature, nor is it considered as a substance of its own, but as the teacher somewhere says, it vanishes with the sound of the tongue, nor is it possible to conceive of any work of this speech, but it has its substance in voice and letter alone. But the Word from God is God, the Word being in the beginning and remaining forever, through whom all things exist and are held together, and who oversees the universe and has all authority over things in heaven and on earth, being life and truth and righteousness and light and every good thing, and holding all things in being. 2.1.237 Since, therefore, the Word conceived concerning God is such and so great, this person bestows upon God, as something great, speech composed of nouns and verbs and conjunctions, being ignorant that just as he who bestowed practical power on our nature is not said to create each of our works, but while he gave the power to nature, a house and a pedestal and a sword and a plow and whatever else life may happen to need is effected by us, of which each is our work, but has reference back to our own cause, who created our nature receptive of all knowledge, so also the power of speech is the work of him who made our nature such, but the invention of individual words for the need of signifying underlying things 2.1.238 was devised by us ourselves. And the proof is that many

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γινομένων ὁ κόσμος τὴν διὰ τῶν ῥημάτων δήλωσιν χαίρειν ἐάσας), οὕτω κἂν τοῦ Μωϋσέως λέγοντός τις ἀκούσῃ, ὡς τοῦ θεοῦ ὀνομαστὶ περὶ τῶν καθ' ἕκαστον τοῦ κόσμου μερῶν διατάττοντός τε καὶ κελεύοντος, μήτε ψεύδεσθαι τὸν προφήτην ὑπονοείτω μήτε μικροῖς καὶ χαμαι ζήλοις νοήμασι κατασμικρυνέτω τὴν τῶν ὑψηλῶν θεωρίαν, οἷον ἐξανθρωπίζων διὰ τῶν τοιούτων τὸ θεῖον καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν συνήθειαν φωνῇ τὰ προστάγματα διεξοδεύειν ὑποτιθέμενος, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν πρόσταγμα δηλούτω τὴν βού λησιν, τὰ δὲ τῶν κτισθέντων ὀνόματα αὐτὴν διασημαινέτω τὴν τῶν γεγονότων ὑπόστασιν· ὥστε τὰ δύο διὰ τῶν εἰρη μένων μαθεῖν, καὶ ὅτι βουληθεὶς ὁ θεὸς τὰ πάντα κατείρ γασται καὶ ὅτι ἀπραγμόνως τε καὶ ἀκόπως τὸ θεῖον βού λημα φύσις ἐγένετο. 2.1.233 Εἰ δέ τις τὸ Εἶπεν ὁ θεὸς σαρκικώτερον ἑρμηνεύοι, ὡς διὰ τοῦτο τὸν ἔναρθρον λόγον παρ' αὐτοῦ γεγενῆσθαι κατα σκευάζειν, ὁ αὐτὸς οὗτος καὶ τὸ Εἶδεν ὁ θεὸς κατὰ τὴν ἀντιληπτικὴν ἡμῶν αἴσθησιν διὰ τῆς τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἐνερ γείας πάντως ὑπονοήσει καὶ τὸ Ἤκουσε κύριος καὶ ἠλέησέ με καὶ Ὠσφράνθη ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας καὶ ὅσα περὶ κεφαλῆς θείας ἢ ποδὸς ἢ χειρὸς ἢ ῥινὸς ἢ βλεφάρων ἢ δακτύλων ἢ ὑπο δήματος ἡ γραφὴ σωματικώτερον διεξέρχεται, πάντα κατὰ τὸ προχείρως σημαινόμενον ἐκλαβὼν ἀνθρωποειδὲς ἡμῖν διαγράψει τὸ θεῖον καθ' ὁμοιότητα τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν φαινομένων. 2.1.234 εἰ δὲ δακτύλων τις ἔργα τοὺς οὐρανοὺς ἀκούων καὶ χεῖρα κραταιὰν καὶ βραχίονα ὑψηλὸν καὶ ὀφθαλμὸν καὶ βλέφαρα καὶ πόδα καὶ ὑποδήματα θεοπρεπεῖς ἐννοίας δι' ἑκάστου τῶν εἰρημένων ἀναλογίζεται καὶ οὐ διαμολύνει τὸν περὶ τῆς καθαρᾶς φύσεως λόγον ταῖς σωματικαῖς ὑπολήψεσι καταρ ρυπαίνων, ἀκόλουθον ἂν εἴη καὶ τὰς τῶν ῥημάτων ἐκφω νήσεις ἐνδεικτικὰς μὲν ἡγεῖσθαι τοῦ θείου βουλήματος, μὴ μέντοι φωνὰς ἐνάρθρους ὑπολαμβάνειν, ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνο λογί ζεσθαι, ὅτι ὁ τῆς λογικῆς φύσεως δημιουργὸς ἀναλογοῦντα τῷ μέτρῳ τῆς φύσεως τὸν λόγον ἡμῖν δεδώρηται, ὡς ἂν 2.1.235 ἔχοιμεν ἐξαγγέλλειν δι' αὐτοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς τὰ κινήματα. ὅσον δὲ ἀπέχει ἡ φύσις τῆς φύσεως, ἡ θεία λέγω τῆς ἡμετέρας, κατὰ τὸ ἴσον μέτρον τῆς ἀποστάσεως πάντα τὰ περὶ αὐτὴν ὄντα τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν θεωρουμένων πρὸς τὸ μεγαλειότερόν τε καὶ θεοπρεπέστερον τὴν παραλλαγὴν ἔχει· καὶ ὡς ἡ δύ ναμις ἡ καθ' ἡμᾶς πρὸς τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ κρινομένη τὸ μηδέν ἐστι καὶ ἡ ζωὴ πρὸς τὴν ζωὴν καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα τὰ ἡμέτερα πρὸς τὰ ἐν ἐκείνῳ κρινόμενα ὡς οὐδὲν ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ, καθὼς ἡ προφητεία φησίν, οὕτως καὶ ὁ ἡμέτερος λόγος πρὸς τὸν ὄντως ὄντα λόγον κρινόμενός ἐστιν οὐδέν. 2.1.236 οὗτος μὲν γὰρ ἐν ἀρχῇ οὐκ ἦν, ἀλλὰ τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ συγκατε σκευάσθη φύσει, οὔτε κατ' ἰδίαν θεωρεῖται ὑπόστασιν, ἀλλ' ὥς φησί που ὁ διδάσκαλος τῷ ψόφῳ τῆς γλώσσης συνα φανίζεται, οὔτε τι ἔργον ἔστι τούτου νοῆσαι τοῦ λόγου, ἀλλ' ἐν μόνῃ φωνῇ καὶ γράμματι τὴν ὑπόστασιν ἔχει· ὁ δὲ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος θεός ἐστι, λόγος ἐν ἀρχῇ ὢν καὶ εἰσαεὶ διαμένων, δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα ἔστι καὶ συνέστηκε, καὶ τοῦ παντὸς ἐπιστατεῖ καὶ πᾶσαν ἔχει τὴν ἐξουσίαν τῶν ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς, ζωὴ καὶ ἀλήθεια καὶ δικαιοσύνη καὶ φῶς καὶ πᾶν ἀγαθὸν ὢν καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν τῷ εἶναι 2.1.237 διακρατῶν. τοιούτου τοίνυν ὄντος καὶ τοσούτου τοῦ λόγου τοῦ περὶ τὸν θεὸν νοουμένου οὗτος τὸν ἐν ὀνόμασι καὶ ῥή μασι καὶ συνδέσμοις συναπαρτιζόμενον λόγον ὥς τι μέγα χαρίζεται τῷ θεῷ, ἀγνοῶν ὅτι ὥσπερ ὁ τὴν πρακτικὴν τῇ φύσει ἡμῶν χαρισάμενος δύναμιν οὐ τὰ καθ' ἕκαστον ἡμῶν ἔργα δημιουργεῖν λέγεται, ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν ἔδωκε τῇ φύσει τὴν δύναμιν, ἐνεργεῖται δὲ παρ' ἡμῶν οἰκία καὶ βάθρον καὶ ῥομφαία καὶ ἄροτρον καὶ ὅτουπερ ἂν ὁ βίος τύχῃ δεόμενος, ὧν τὰ καθ' ἕκαστόν ἐστι μὲν ἔργα ἡμέτερα, εἰς δὲ τὸν ἡμῶν αὐτῶν αἴτιον τὴν ἀναφορὰν ἔχει τὸν δεκτικὴν πάσης ἐπιστήμης τὴν φύσιν ἡμῶν δημιουργήσαντα, οὕτως καὶ ἡ τοῦ λόγου δύναμις ἔργον μέν ἐστι τοῦ τοιαύτην ἡμῶν πε ποιηκότος τὴν φύσιν, ἡ δὲ τῶν καθ' ἕκαστον ῥημάτων εὕρεσις πρὸς τὴν χρείαν τῆς τῶν ὑποκειμένων σημασίας 2.1.238 παρ' ἡμῶν αὐτῶν ἐπενοήθη. τεκμήριον δὲ ὅτι πολλὰ