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my name falsely; let us know that he has signified the two general and all-encompassing energies of the devil's deception, having taken them in place of two persons; that is, the modes of the energies; and the two general and, for the rest, definitive dispositions of humanity concerning deception, the Word has called two houses. For example, when through deceit he craftily plunders the innate knowledge of God that belongs to nature, and the evil one usurps it for himself, he is a thief, attempting to transfer worship from God to himself; leading away, clearly, the soul's contemplation of the spiritual principles in created things, and confining the intellectual power solely to the outward appearance of sensible things; and when, by making use of the natural movements, he sophistically drags down the soul's practical power toward things contrary to nature, and through things considered good he plausibly fastens its desire to worse things through pleasure, he swears falsely in the name of the Lord, leading the persuaded soul to other things contrary to its promise. And he is a thief, as one who plunders the knowledge of nature for himself; having as his house the disposition of the deceived towards ignorance. And a perjurer, as one who persuades the practical faculty of the soul to labor in vain on things contrary to nature; having as his house the sin-loving disposition of the will of those who tolerate it.

Therefore the devil is a thief, as I said, by perverting the knowledge of nature; and a perjurer, by altering its activity according to virtue in practice. And the house of a thief is the disposition that is held fast by a fallacious account of knowledge; and the house of a perjurer is the disposition shaped by the initiation into the passions of dishonor; which the saving Word of God, entering in with love for mankind, makes a habitation of God through the Spirit; creating knowledge of truth instead of error and ignorance, and virtue and righteousness instead of vice and wickedness; through which things He is accustomed to make His own manifestation in those who are worthy.

Accordingly, instead of persons, the modes of the various villainy of the one and the same evil devil; and instead of houses, the Word has called the dispositions of those who are acted upon that are suited (650) to the diabolical modes.

Again, a thief is one who practices the divine words, so to speak, for the deception of his hearers, the power of which he has not known through works; making a trade of mere utterance for glory, and with the word of his tongue hunting for the praise of being thought righteous by his audience. And to speak simply, he who has a life inconsistent with his speech, and a disposition of soul opposed to his knowledge, is a thief; appearing not well from the goods of others; to whom the Word will rightly say, But to the sinner God has said: Why do you declare My statutes, and take up My covenant in your mouth?

And again, a thief is one who with his outward manners and morals conceals the unseen villainy of his soul; with fabrications of decency, covering his inner disposition; and stealing, just as that other one, with the utterance of the words of knowledge, the mind of his hearers; so too he himself with the manner of his hypocrisy of morals, the perception of his observers; to whom likewise will be said, Be ashamed, you who are clothed in strange garments. And, The Lord will uncover their fashion in that day. For every day in the secret workshop of the heart, I seem to hear God saying these things to me, as one plainly condemned on both counts.

But a perjurer is he, that is, one swearing falsely by the name of the Lord, who promises to God a life according to virtue, and practices things alien to the promise of his own profession; and who transgresses the compact of the confession of a holy life through idleness concerning the commandments, such as I am. And to speak briefly, he who according to

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ὀνόματί μου ψευδῆ· γνῶμεν ὅτι τάς δύο γενικάς, καί πασῶν περιεκτικάς ἐνεργείας τῆς τοῦ διαβόλου πλάνης, ἀντί προσώπων δύο λαβών ἐσήμανεν· ἤγουν τούς τρόπους τῶν ἐνεργειῶν· καί τάς δύο γενικάς, καί τῶν λοιπῶν ὁριστικάς περί τήν πλάνην διαθέσεις τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος, οἴκους δύο προσηγόρευσεν ὁ λόγος. Οἷον, ἡνίκα μέν δι᾿ ἀπάτης δόλῳ συλῶν τήν περί Θεόν ἔμφυτον γνῶσιν τῆς φύσεως, ταύτην ὁ πονηρός εἰς ἑαυτόν σφετερίζεται, κλέπτης ἐστίν, εἰς ἑαυτόν ἀπό τοῦ Θεοῦ τό σέβας μεταφέρειν πειρώμενος· ἀπάγων δῆλον ὅτι τῶν ἐν τοῖς γεγονόσι πνευματικῶν λόγων τήν κατά νοῦν τῆς ψυχῆς θεωρίαν, καί μόνῃ περιεγράφων τήν νοεράν δύναμιν τῇ κατά τήν ἐπιφάνειαν προσόψει τῶν αἰσθητῶν· ὁπηνίκα δέ διά τῶν φυσικῶν ἀποχρώμενος κινημάτων, πρός τά παρά φύσιν σοφιστικῶς τῆς ψυχῆς κατασύρῃ τήν πρακτικήν δύναμιν, και διά τῶν νομιζομένων καλῶν τοῖς χείροσι πιθανῶς δι᾿ ἡδονῆς προσηλώσῃ ταύτης τήν ἔφεσιν, ἐπί τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ Κυρίου ὀμνύει ψευδῶς, πρός ἄλλα παρ᾿ ὑπόσχεσιν ἄγων τήν πειθομένην ψυχήν. Καί ἔστι κλέπτης μέν, ὡς πρός ἑαυτόν συλῶν τήν γνῶσιν τῆς φύσεως· οἰκίαν ἔχων, τήν περί τήν ἄγνοιαν τῶν πλανωμένων διάθεσιν. Ἐπίορκος δέ, ὡς τό πρακτικόν τῆς ψυχῆς μάτην διαπονεῖσθαι πείθων τοῖς παρά φύσιν· οἰκίαν ἔχων τήν φιλαμαρτήμονα τῆς γνώμης τῶν ἀνεχομένων διάθεσιν.

Οὐκοῦν κλέπτης, ὡς ἔφην, ὁ διάβολος, τήν γνῶσιν παρατρέπων τῆς φύσεως· ἐπίορκος δέ, τήν κατ᾿ ἀρετήν ἐνέργειαν αὐτῆς παραμείβων τῆς πράξεως. Οἰκία δέ κλέπτου καθέστηκεν, ἡ τῷ πταιστῷ λόγῳ τῆς γνώσεως ἐνισχημένη διάθεσις· οἰκία δέ ἐπιόρκου, ἡ τῷ μύσει τῶν παθῶν τῆς ἀτιμίας πεποιωμένη διάθεσις· ἅσπερ ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ σωτήριος Λόγος φιλανθρώπως εἰσδύς, ποιεῖ κατοικητήριον Θεοῦ διά Πνεύματος· γνῶσιν ἀληθείας ἀντί πλάνης καί ἀγνωσίας· καί ἀρετήν καί δικαιοσύνην ἀντί κακίας καί πονηρίας δημιουργῶν· δι᾿ ὧν ἐν τοῖς ἀξίοις ποιεῖν πέφυκε τήν οἰκείαν ἐμφάνειαν.

Τοιγαροῦν ἀντί τῶν προσώπων, τούς τρόπους τῆς διαφόρου κακουργίας τοῦ ἑνός καί τοῦ αὐτοῦ πονηροῦ διαβόλου· καί ἀντί τῶν οἰκιῶν, τάς προσφυεῖς (650) τοῖς διαβολικοῖς τρόποις τῶν ἐνεργουμένων διαθέσεις κέκληκεν ὁ λόγος.

Κλέπτης δέ πάλιν ἐστίν, ὁ πρός ἀπάτην τῶν ἀκουόντων τούςθείους δῆθεν ἀσκούμενος λόγους, ὧν οὐκ ἐπέγνω διά τῶν ἔργων τήν δύναμιν· τήν ψιλήν προφοράν δόξης ἐμπορίαν ποιούμενος, καί τῷ διά γλώσσης λόγῳ, τόν τοῦ δίκαιος νομίζεσθαι παρά τῶν ἀκροουμένων θηρώμενος ἔπαινον. Καί ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν, ὁ τῷ λόγῳ τόν βίον ἀνάρμοστον, καί τῇ γνώσει τήν διάθεσιν τῆς ψυχῆς ἀντικειμένην ἔχων, κλέπτης ἐστίν· ἐκ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων ἀγαθῶν, οὐ καλῶς διαφαινόμενος· πρός ὅν ὁ λόγος εἰκότως ἐρεῖ, Τῷ δέ ἁμαρτωλῷ εἶπεν ὁ Θεός· Ἵνα τί σύ ἐκδιηγῇ τά δικαιώματά μου, καί ἀντιλαμβάνεις τήν διαθήκην μου διά στόματός σου;

Καί πάλιν κλέπτης ἐστίν, ὁ τοῖς φαινομένοις τρόποις καί ἤθεσι, τήν μή φαινομένην συγκαλύπτων τῆς ψυχῆς κακουργίαν· ἐπιεικείας πλάσμασι, τήν ἔνδον ἐπικαλύπτων διάθεσιν· καί κλέπτων ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνος τῇ προφορᾶ τῶν λόγων τῆς γνώσεως, τήν τῶν ἀκουόντων διάνοιαν· οὕτω δή καί αὐτός τῷ τρόπῳ τῆς τῶν ἠθῶν ὑποκρίσεως, τῶν θεωμένων τήν αἴσθησιν· πρός ὅν ὁμοίως εἰρήσεται τό, Αἰσχύνθητε, οἱ ἐνδεδυμένοι ἱμάτια ἀλλότρια. Καί τό, Ἀνακαλύψει Κύριος τό σχῆμα αὐτῶν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ. Καθ᾿ ἑκάστην γάρ ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ τῆς καρδίας ἐργαστηρίῳ, ταῦτά μοι λέγοντες ἀκούειν δοκῶ τοῦ Θεοῦ, τήν ἡμέραν, ὡς ἐπ᾿ ἀμφοῖν διαῤῥήδην κατεγνωσμένος.

Ἐπίορκος δέ ἐστιν, ἤγουν ὀμνύων ἐπί τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ Κυρίου ψευδῶς, ὁ ἐπαγγελλόμενος τῷ Θεῷ τόν κατ᾿ ἀρετήν βίον, καί ἀλλότρια παρά τήν ὑπόσχεσιν τῆς οἰκείας ἐπαγγελίας ἐπιτηδεύων· καί τήν συνθήκην τῆς ὁμολογίας τοῦ σεμνοῦ βίου διά τῆς ἀργίας τῶν ἐντολῶν, οἷος ἐγώ, παραβαίνων. Καί συντόμως εἰπεῖν, ὁ κατά