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may keep its movements towards God unchangeable; and that reason, in like manner, both is and is called prudence, when, having temperately joined the vital power administered by it according to providence to the mind through its activities, it should show it to be undifferentiated; bearing through virtue the same and similar reflection of the Divine; which he said is naturally portioned out to both the mind and reason; so that the soul is shown to be and to consist principally of mind and reason, as being both intellectual and rational; the vital power being clearly contemplated equally in both, that is, in mind and reason; for it is not right to conceive of either of these as being devoid of life, and it is apprehended by both; through which the mind, which we said is also called wisdom, being expanded by its contemplative disposition in ineffable silence and knowledge, is led to the truth through an unerring and unceasing knowledge; while reason, which we called prudence, through its practical disposition corporeally according to virtue culminates in the good through faith; from which both the true science of things both divine and human is constituted; the truly unerring knowledge, and the goal of all the most divine philosophy according to Christians.

And to speak more clearly about these things; of the soul, he said that one part is contemplative, as has been said, and the other, practical; and he called the contemplative part mind, and the practical part, reason; that is, as the primary powers of the soul; and again, the mind, wisdom, and the reason, prudence, as the primary activities. And again, discursively, he asserted that of the soul, according to its intellectual aspect, are the mind, wisdom, contemplation, knowledge, unerring knowledge; and that the goal of these is truth; but according to its rational aspect, reason, prudence, action, virtue, faith; and the goal of these is the good. And he said that truth and the good signify God; but rather, truth, when the Divine seems to be signified from its essence; for truth is a simple, and single, and one, and identical, and indivisible, and unchangeable, and impassible thing, and unerring, and entirely without extension; but the good, when from its activity. For the good is beneficent, and provident for all things that come from it, and protective; from being exceeding, or being posited, or position, according to the opinion of the etymologists, gracious to all beings for their being and remaining and being moved.

(676) Therefore, the five pairs conceived concerning the soul he said are occupied with the one pair signifying God. And I now call a pair the mind and reason; wisdom and prudence; contemplation and action; knowledge and virtue; unerring knowledge and faith. And that signifying the divine, truth and the good; by which the soul, being moved in progress, is united to the God of all, imitating the unchangeable and beneficent quality of His essence and activity, through the firm and immovable disposition in the good according to choice. And, that I may mix a little fitting contemplation with these things, perhaps this is the divine decad of the strings of the intelligible psaltery according to the soul; which has reason sounding in harmony with the spirit, through the other blessed decad of the commandments, and producing the perfect and harmonious, the melodious intelligible sounds, through which God is hymned; so that I may learn what is the reason of the singing decad, and of the sung decad; and how a decad mystically united and joined to a decad, brings back Jesus, my God and Savior, who is completed through me being saved, to Himself who is always most full, and never able to depart from Himself; and wonderfully restores me, the man, to Himself; or rather to God, from whom I have received my being, and to whom I hasten, desiring to receive well-being from afar. Whoever has been able to know this, from having experienced the things spoken of, will surely know

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ἀτρέπτους ἑαυτοῦ διαφυλάττῃ τάς πρός τόν Θεόν κινήσεις·τόν δέ λόγον ὡσαύτως φρόνησιν καί εἶναι καί καλεῖσθαι, ὅταν σωφρόνως τήν ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ κατά πρόνοιαν διοικουμένην ζωτικήν δύναμιν ταῖς ἐνεργείαις συνάψας τῷ νῷ, δείξειεν ἀδιάφορον· τήν αὐτήν αὐτῷ καί ὁμοίαν δι᾿ ἀρετῆς ἔμφασιν τοῦ Θείου φέρουσαν· ἥν καί ἐπιμερίζεσθαι τῷ τε νῷ καί τῷ λόγῳ φυσικῶς ἔλεγεν· ὡς εἶναι μᾶλλον καί συνισταμένην δείκνυσθαι προηγουμένως τήν ψυχήν, ἐκ τοῦ νοῦ καί τοῦ λόγου, ὡς νοεράν τε καί λογικήν· τῆς ζωτικῆς ἐπ᾿ ἀμφοῖν κατά τό ἴσον δηλονότι, νοῦ τε καί λόγου φημί, θεωρουμένης δυνάμεως· οὐδ᾿ ὁπότερον γάρ τούτων ζωῆς ἄμοιρον εἶναι θέμις ἐννοεῖν, καί ὑπ᾿ ἀμφοῖν διειλημμένης· δι᾿ ἧς ὁ μέν νοῦς, ὅν καί σοφίαν ἔφαμεν καλεῖσθαι, τῇ θεωρητικῇ ἕξει κατ᾿ ἀπόῤῥητον σιγήν τε καί γνῶσιν ἐξαπλούμενος, πρός τήν ἀλήθειαν δι᾿ ἀλήστου τε καί ἀκαταλήκτου γνώσεως ἄγεται· ὁ δέ λόγος, ὅν ἐκαλέσαμεν φρόνησιν, τῇ πρακτικῇ ἕξει σωματικῶς κατ᾿ ἀρετήν εἰς τό ἀγαθόν διά πίστεως καταλήγει· ἐξ ὧν ἀμφοτέρων ἡ ἀληθής τῶν τε θείων καί τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἐπιστήμη συνέστηκε πραγμάτων· ἡ ὄντως ἄπταιστος γνῶσις, καί πάσης τῆς κατά Χριστιανούς θειοτάτης φιλοσοφίας πέρας.

Καί σαφέστερον περί τούτων εἰπεῖν· τῆς ψυχῆς, τό μέν ἔλεγε εἶναι θεωρητικόν καθώς εἴρηται· τό δέ, πρακτικόν, καί τό μέν θεωρητικόν ἐκάλει νοῦν· τό δέ πρακτικόν, λόγον· ὡς πρώτας δηλαδή δυνάμεις τῆς ψυχῆς· καί πάλιν τόν νοῦν, σοφίαν· τόν δέ λόγον, φρόνησιν, ὡς πρώτας ἐνεργείας. ∆ιεξοδικῶς δέ πάλιν, τῆς ψυχῆς ἔφασκεν εἶναι, κατά μέν τό νοερόν, τόν νοῦν, τήν σοφίαν, τήν θεωρίαν, τήν γνῶσιν, τήν ἄληστον γνῶσιν· τούτων δέ τέλος εἶναι τήν ἀλήθειαν· κατά δέ τό λογικόν, τόν λόγον, τήν φρόνησιν, τήν πρᾶξιν, τήν ἀρετήν, τήν πίστιν· τούτων δέ τέλος τό ἀγαθόν. Τήν ἀλήθειαν δέ καί τό ἀγαθόν, τόν Θεόν ἔλεγε δηλοῦν· ἀλλά τήν μή ἀλήθειαν, ὅταν ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας τό Θεῖον σημαίνεσθαι δοκῇ· ἁπλοῦν γάρ, καί μόνον, καί ἕν, καί ταυτόν, καί ἀμερές, καί ἄτρεπτον, καί ἀπαθές πρᾶγμα ἡ ἀλήθεια καί ἀλάθητον, καί παντελῶς ἀδιάστατον· τό δέ ἀγαθόν, ὅταν ἐκ τῆς ἐνεργείας. Εὐεργετικόν γάρ τό ἀγαθόν, καί προνοητικόν τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ πάντων, καί φρουρητικόν· ἀπό τοῦ ἄγαν εἶναι, ἤ τεθεῖσθαι, ἤ θέσιν, κατά τήν τῶν ἐτυμολογούντων δόξαν, πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσι τοῦ εἶναι καί διαμένειν, καί κινεῖσθαι χαριστικόν.

(676) Τάς οὖν περί τήν ψυχήν νοουμένας πέντε συζυγίας περί τήν μίαν τήν τοῦ Θεοῦ σημαντικήν συζυγίαν ἔλεγε καταγίγνεσθαι. Συζυγίαν δέ φημιν νῦν τόν νοῦν καί τόν λόγον· τήν σοφίαν καί τήν φρόνησιν· τήν θεωρίαν καί τήν πρᾶξιν· τήν γνῶσιν καί τήν ἀρετήν· τήν ἄληστον γνῶσιν καί τήν πίστιν. Τήν δέ τοῦ θείου σημαντικήν, τήν ἀλήθειαν καί τό ἀγαθόν· αἷς κατά πρόοδον ἡ ψυχή κινουμένη, τῷ Θεῷ τῶν ὅλων ἑνοῦται, μιμουμένη αὐτοῦ τῆς οὐσίας καί τῆς ἐνεργείας τό ἄτρεπτον καί εὐεργετικόν, διά τῆς ἐν τῷ καλῷ παγίας καί ἀμεταθέτου κατά τήν προαίρεσιν ἕξεως. Καί, ἵνα τούτων μικρόν τι μίξω θεώρημα πρόσφορον, τάχα αὕτη ἐστίν ἡ θεία δεκάς τῶν χορδῶν τοῦ κατά ψυχήν νοητοῦ ψαλτηρίου· ἡ τόν λόγον ὑπηχοῦντα τῷ πνεύματι, διά τῆς ἄλλης τῶν ἐντολῶν μακαρίας δεκάδος ἔχουσα, καί τούς ἐντελεῖς τε καί ἁρμονίους, τούς ἐμμελεῖς νοητῶς ἀποτελοῦσα φθόγγους, δι᾿ ὧν ὑμνεῖται ὁ Θεός· ἵν᾿ ἐγώ μάθω, τίς ὁ τῆς ᾀδούσης, καί τῆς ᾀδομένης δεκάδος ὁ λόγος· καί πῶς δεκάδι δεκάς μυσικῶς ἑνουμένη τε καί συναπτομένη, Ἰησοῦν μέν τόν ἐμόν Θεόν καί Σωτῆρα συμπληρωθέντα δι᾿ ἐμοῦ σωζομένου, πρός ἑαυτόν ἐπανάγει τόν ἀεί πληρέστατον, καί μηδέποτε ἑαυτοῦ ἐκστῆναι δυνάμενον· ἐμέ δέ τόν ἄνθρωπον θαυμαστῶς ἑαυτῷ ἀποκαθίστησι· μᾶλλον δέ Θεῷ, παρ᾿ οὗ τό εἶναι λαβών ἔχω, καί πρός ὅν ἐπείγομαι, πόῤῥωθεν τό εὖ εἶναι προσλαβεῖν ἐφιέμενος. Ὅπερ ὁ γνῶναι δυνηθείς, ἐκ τοῦ παθεῖν τά λεγόμενα, εἴσεται πάντως