236

and nature has sustained intellectual activity, how could one still casually seek, for the establishment of the argument from conception, that the saints originated sounds or words, or if we cannot prove this, to judge it a sufficient proof for himself that God has ordained for us such syllables and words? 2.1.417 20But since20, he says, 20God does not refuse conversation with his own servants, it is consistent to think that from the beginning he established the names appropriate to the thing20. What then shall we say to this? We determine that the reason God accepts conversation with man is 2.1.418 his love for mankind. But since it is not possible for that which is small by nature to be raised above its own measures and to touch the height of the surpassing nature, for this reason he himself, bringing his philanthropic power down to our weakness, in the way it was possible for us to receive, thus 2.1.419 bestows his grace and benefit. For just as, according to the divine economy, the sun, having tempered the force and purity of its rays with the intervening air, brings a measured light and heat to those who receive it, being in itself unapproachable to the weakness of our nature, so also the divine power, in a similar way to the example given to us, infinitely surpassing our nature and being inaccessible for participation, like a compassionate mother babbling along with the indistinct whimperings of her infants, bestows on human nature that which it is able to receive; and for this reason, in the various theophanies to men, he is also fashioned in human form and speaks in a human way and assumes such passions as anger and mercy, so that through all things appropriate to us our infant life might be guided, touching the divine nature through the words of 2.1.420 providence. For that it is not pious to think the divine is subject to any passion occurring according to pleasure or mercy or anger, no one would deny of those who have even moderately examined the truth about existing things; but nevertheless the Lord is said both to rejoice over his servants and to be angry with wrath at the people who have sinned and again to have mercy on whom he will have mercy and to pity likewise; through each of these expressions, I think, the Word teaches us this, that through our own idioms the providence of God mingles with our weakness, so that those inclined to sin might restrain themselves from evil things through fear of punishment, and those who have been ensnared might not despair of their return from repentance, looking to his mercy, and those who lead a righteous life through a precise way of life might exult more in their virtues, as if gladdening by their own life the one who is the overseer of good things. 2.1.421 And just as it is not possible to call someone deaf who speaks to a deaf person through signs as he is by nature able to understand, so neither should one think of human speech with respect to God, because he used it toward men according to an economy. For we too are accustomed to direct irrational animals with clucking and clicking and whistling, but this is not our speech by which we reach the hearing of the irrational animals; rather, toward ourselves we use our natural speech, but for the irrational animals the appropriate sound and the qualitative noise through its form has sufficed for the need. 2.1.422 But this pious man does not want God to have used our things because of our inclination toward evil, the dear fellow being ignorant that for our sake he did not refrain from becoming a curse and sin. So great is his love for mankind that he came voluntarily to the experience not only of our good things, but also of our evil things. But he who accepted fellowship with evil things, how could he have hesitated to share in the best of our things, I mean 2.1.423 speech? But he brings forward David in support and says 20that he says that the names were assigned to things by God, because it is written in this way: He who counts the multitude of stars and calls them all by name20. But I, on the one hand, plainly

236

καὶ διανοητικὴν ἐνέργειαν ἡ φύσις ὑπέστη, πῶς ἄν τις ἔτι κατὰ τὸ εὔκολον ἐπιζητοίη πρὸς σύστασιν τοῦ κατὰ τὴν ἐπίνοιαν λόγου τὸ τοὺς ἁγίους κατάρξαι φωνῶν ἢ ῥημάτων, ἢ εἰ μὴ τοῦτο ἔχοιμεν ἀποδεῖξαι, ἱκανὴν ἑαυτῷ κρίνειν ἀπόδειξιν τοῦ τὸν θεὸν ἡμῖν νενομοθετηκέναι τὰς τοιάσδε συλλαβὰς καὶ τὰ ῥήματα; 2.1.417 20Ἀλλ' ἐπειδή20, φησίν, 20οὐκ ἀναίνεται ὁ θεὸς τὴν πρὸς τοὺς ἑαυτοῦ θεράποντας ὁμιλίαν, ἀκόλουθόν ἐστιν οἴεσθαι αὐτὸν ἐξ ἀρχῆς τὰς προσφυεῖς τῷ πράγματι τεθεῖσθαι προσηγο ρίας20. τί οὖν καὶ πρὸς τοῦτο ἡμεῖς; τοῦ μὲν καταδέ χεσθαι τὸν θεὸν τὴν πρὸς ἄνθρωπον ὁμιλίαν αἰτίαν εἶναι 2.1.418 τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν διοριζόμεθα. ἐπεὶ δὲ οὐκ ἐνδέχεται τὸ τῇ φύσει βραχὺ τῶν ἰδίων μέτρων ὑπεραρθῆναι καὶ τῆς ὑπερεχούσης φύσεως τοῦ ὕψους ἐφάψασθαι, τούτου χάριν αὐτὸς πρὸς τὸ ἡμέτερον ἀσθενὲς κατάγων τὴν φιλάνθρωπον δύναμιν, ὡς ἡμῖν δυνατὸν ἦν δέξασθαι, οὕτω τὴν παρ' 2.1.419 ἑαυτοῦ χάριν καὶ ὠφέλειαν νέμει. καθάπερ γὰρ κατὰ τὴν θείαν οἰκονομίαν ὁ ἥλιος τὸ σφοδρὸν τῶν ἀκτίνων καὶ ἄκρατον τῷ διὰ μέσου κατακεράσας ἀέρι σύμμετρον ἐπάγει τοῖς δεχομένοις τὴν αὐγήν τε καὶ τὴν θερμότητα, καθ' ἑαυτὸν ὢν τῇ ἀσθενείᾳ τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν ἀπροσπέλαστος, οὕτω καὶ ἡ θεία δύναμις καθ' ὁμοιότητα τοῦ ῥηθέντος ἡμῖν ὑποδείγματος ἀπειροπλασίως ὑπεραίρουσα τὴν φύσιν ἡμῶν καὶ ἀπρόσιτος εἰς μετουσίαν οὖσα οἷόν τις μήτηρ εὔσπλαγχνος τοῖς ἀσήμοις τῶν νηπίων κνυζήμασι συνδια ψελλιζομένη τοῦτο νέμει τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει ὃ λαβεῖν δυ νατῶς ἔχει, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐν ταῖς ποικίλαις πρὸς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους θεοφανείαις καὶ κατὰ ἄνθρωπον σχηματίζεται καὶ ἀνθρωπικῶς φθέγγεται καὶ ὀργὴν καὶ ἔλεον καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα ὑποδύεται πάθη, ὡς ἂν διὰ πάντων τῶν καταλλή λων ἡμῖν χειραγωγοῖτο ἡ νηπιώδης ἡμῶν ζωή, διὰ τῶν τῆς 2.1.420 προνοίας λόγων τῆς θείας φύσεως ἐφαπτομένη. ὅτι γὰρ οὐδενὶ πάθει τῶν καθ' ἡδονὴν ἢ κατ' ἔλεον ἢ ὀργὴν συμ βαινόντων εὐαγές ἐστιν ὑποκεῖσθαι τὸ θεῖον οἴεσθαι, οὐδεὶς <ἂν> ἀντείποι τῶν καὶ μετρίως ἐπεσκεμμένων τὴν περὶ τῶν ὄντων ἀλήθειαν· ἀλλ' ὅμως καὶ εὐφραίνεσθαι κύ ριος λέγεται ἐπὶ τοῖς δούλοις αὐτοῦ καὶ ὀργίζεσθαι θυμῷ ἐπὶ τὸν ἐπταικότα λαὸν καὶ ἐλεεῖν πάλιν ὃν ἂν ἐλεήσῃ καὶ οἰκτείρειν ὡσαύτως, δι' ἑκάστου οἶμαι τῶν τοιούτων ῥημά των τοῦτο τοῦ λόγου ἡμᾶς παιδεύοντος, ὅτι διὰ τῶν ἡμετέ ρων ἰδιωμάτων ἡ τοῦ θεοῦ πρόνοια τῇ ἀσθενείᾳ ἡμῶν ἐπιμίγνυται, ὡς ἂν οἵ τε πρὸς ἁμαρτίαν ῥέποντες φόβῳ τῆς τιμωρίας ἑαυτοὺς τῶν κακῶν ἀνέχοιεν οἵ τε προειλημ μένοι μὴ ἀπογινώσκοιεν τὴν ἐκ μεταμελείας ἐπάνοδον πρὸς τὸν ἔλεον βλέποντες, καὶ οἱ δι' ἀκριβοῦς πολιτείας κατορ θοῦντες τὸν βίον μᾶλλον ταῖς ἀρεταῖς ἐπαγάλλοιντο, ὡς εὐφραίνοντες τῷ ἰδίῳ βίῳ τὸν τῶν ἀγαθῶν γινόμενον ἔφορον. 2.1.421 ὥσπερ δὲ οὐκ ἔστι κωφὸν ὀνομάσαι τὸν διὰ σχημάτων τῷ κωφῷ καθὼς ἐπαΐειν πέφυκεν ὁμιλοῦντα, οὕτως οὐδὲ ἀν θρώπινον λόγον περὶ τὸν θεὸν οἰηθῆναι, ἐπειδὴ πρὸς ἀν θρώπους αὐτῷ κατ' οἰκονομίαν ἐχρήσατο. καὶ γὰρ ἡμεῖς κλωγμῷ καὶ ποππυσμῷ καὶ συρίγματι τὰ ἄλογα διευθύνειν εἰώθαμεν, ἀλλ' οὐ τοῦτο ἡμῖν ὁ λόγος ἐστὶν ᾧ τῆς τῶν ἀλόγων ἀκοῆς καθικνούμεθα, ἀλλὰ πρὸς μὲν ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς τῇ φύσει κεχρήμεθα, τοῖς δὲ ἀλόγοις ὁ κατάλληλος ψόφος καὶ ὁ ποιὸς διὰ τοῦ σχήματος ἦχος πρὸς τὴν χρείαν ἐξήρ κεσεν. 2.1.422 Ἀλλ' οὐ βούλεται τοῖς ἡμετέροις ὁ εὐλαβὴς οὗτος τὸν θεὸν κεχρῆσθαι διὰ τὴν πρὸς κακίαν ἡμῶν ῥοπήν, ἀγνοῶν ὁ φίλτα τος ὅτι δι' ἡμᾶς οὐδὲ κατάρα καὶ ἁμαρτία γενέσθαι ἀπέσχετο. τοσοῦτον αὐτῷ περίεστι τῆς φιλανθρωπίας ὡς οὐχὶ τῶν ἀγαθῶν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν κακῶν τῶν ἡμετέρων ἑκουσίως εἰς πεῖραν ἐλθεῖν. ὁ δὲ τῶν κακῶν τὴν κοινωνίαν καταδεξά μενος πῶς ἂν τοῦ καλλίστου τῶν ἡμετέρων, φημὶ δὲ τοῦ 2.1.423 λόγου, τὴν μετουσίαν ὤκνησεν; ἀλλὰ τὸν ∆αβὶδ εἰς συνηγορίαν προβάλλεται καί φησιν 20ἐκεῖνον λέγειν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τοῖς πράγμασι τὰ ὀνόματα τεθεῖσθαι διὰ τὸ γεγράφθαι τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον· Ὁ ἀριθμῶν πλήθη ἄστρων καὶ πᾶσιν αὐτοῖς ὀνόματα καλῶν20. ἐγὼ δὲ πρόδηλον μὲν