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sensuously ruling the nations and the inhabited world. For if a king is not saved by great power, the kings who are saved have their kingdom from God. And it is well said, To him who gives salvation to kings. For since they always have their salvation from him, he has not ceased to give salvation, but always both has given and will give and gives. And the same things are true of the one who is redeeming, and not of one who has redeemed once, but also of one who will redeem. 1250 Ps 143,12 These things set forth should be used for the aversion of worldly adornment. For Paul writes concerning the women of the church, that praying with modesty and self-control they should adorn themselves with the works of godliness, and not with the wearing of gold and pearls and elaborate braiding of hair. But you will consider what has been said also in the case of the heterodox. For their word is sharpened like a sword for the wounding and destruction of those who have not put on the full armor of God. And the aforementioned use this wicked sword by speaking vanity, being strange children. Their sons can be the divine thoughts which they have, compared to new plants whose strength is in their youth but not in their maturity, their daughters being the words they utter, which are beautified and adorned with smooth composition and the melodiousness of their phrasing. For this reason they are a likeness of a temple but not a temple; for they do not have the divine mind in themselves like the words of the divine scriptures; for these are a temple of God, who is found in them by those who read them rightly.

1251 Ps 144,1 He who theologizes rightly and truly exalts God, holding great and lofty thoughts about God. And he who through works and faith has become a child of Abraham speaks the praise set forth, whose God, the cause of all things, is confessed when he says to him, I am your God. And this one, having become a man of God by God being proclaimed his, fleeing every wicked kingdom, is ruled by God himself, from which he will also be able to say, You are my king and my God. And having an immortal soul, he can say, I will bless your name forever and for the age of the age. And he blesses the name of God his king who, in bearing it, does and says and thinks the things appropriate to the name of God that was called upon him, beginning to bless from the present age so as to do it unto the age; for if now, knowing in part and partaking partially of the good, he blesses the name of the benefactor, much more will he bless it when the perfect good and the face-to-face knowledge of God has arrived.

1252 Ps 144,4a And it might be said concerning those who have believed from the circumcision and from the Gentiles, Generation and generation shall praise your works, which are fittingly praiseworthy in their own right, so that even the maker himself saw with a divine gaze that they are very good.

1253 Ps 144,5 The holiness of God is none other than that of the Savior; for he himself is the sanctification who sanctifies those who draw near to God, to whom it is said, You shall be holy, for I am holy. The glory of this holiness is magnificent. As many, therefore, as have partaken of the holiness of God and also of his glory, are transformed and magnificently hymn him whose is the holiness and its magnificent glory, not with mere utterance but, before this, with works and a right disposition, thinking and acting and speaking holily and gloriously and also magnificently. The glory of the holiness of God can be, He will glorify me (that is, the Paraclete), for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. Therefore, as many as have heard him declaring, in giving the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge, will speak of his holiness. And in addition to this they will recount his wonders, whose the holiness is, with careful attention and pure contemplation going through the mystical meaning of his wonders that have happened at various times and

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αἰσθητῶς κρατοῦντας τῶν ἐθνῶν καὶ τῆς οἰκουμένης. εἰ γὰρ οὐ σῴζεται βασιλεὺς διὰ πολλὴν δύναμιν, οἱ σῳζόμενοι βασιλεῖς ἐκ θεοῦ τὴν βασιλείαν εχουσιν. ευ δὲ καὶ τὸ φάναι ∆ιδόντι σωτηρίαν τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν. ἐπεὶ γὰρ ἀεὶ παρ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ σῴζεσθαι εχουσιν, οὐ δο * σωτηρίαν ἐπαύσατο, ἀλλ' ἀεὶ καὶ δέδωκε καὶ δώσει καὶ δίδωσι. τὰ δ' αὐτὰ καὶ περὶ τοῦ λυτρουμένου καὶ οὐ λυτρωσαμένου καὶ αυ λυτρωσομένου. 1250 Ps 143,12 Χρηστέον τοῖς προκειμένοις πρὸς ἀποτροπὴν κόσμου. περὶ γὰρ τῶν ἐκκλησιαστικῶν γυναικῶν ὁ Παῦλος γράφει, οπως μετὰ αἰδοῦς καὶ σωφροσύνης προσευχόμεναι κοσμῶσιν ἑαυτὰς τοῖς τῆς θεοσεβείας εργοις ἀλλὰ μὴ περιθέσει χρυσίων καὶ μαργαριτῶν καὶ πλοκῇ τριχῶν περιέργων. Θεωρήσεις δὲ τὰ εἰρημένα καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἑτεροδόξων. ὁ λόγος γὰρ αὐτῶν μαχαίρας δίκην ἠκόνηται ἐπὶ τρώσει καὶ ἀναιρήσαι τῶν μὴ ἐνδυσαμένων τὴν πανοπλίαν τοῦ θεοῦ. χρῶνται δὲ ταύτῃ τῇ πονηρᾷ ῥομφαίᾳ οἱ προειρημένοι τῷ ματαιότητα λαλεῖν οντες ἀλλότριοι υἱοί. δύνανται ειναι υἱοὶ αὐτῶν αἱ θεῖαι νοήσεις ας εχουσι παραβαλλομένας νεοφύτοις ων τὸ ἰσχυρὸν ἐν νεότητι ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐν τελειότητι, θυγατέρων αὐτῶν τυγχανουσῶν ων προφέρονται λέξεων καλλωπιζομένων καὶ περικοσμουμένων λείᾳ συνθέσει καὶ τῷ ᾠδικῷ τῆς φράσεως. διὸ καὶ ὁμοίωμα ναοῦ ἀλλ' οὐ ναός εἰσιν· οὐ γὰρ εχουσιν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς θεῖον νοῦν ωσπερ αἱ τῶν θείων γραφῶν λέξεις· ναὸς γὰρ αυται θεοῦ εὑρισκομένου ἐν αὐταῖς τοῖς ὀρθῶς ἐντυγχάνουσιν.

1251 Ps 144,1 ̔Υψοῖ δὲ τὸν θεὸν ὁ ὀρθῶς καὶ ἀληθῶς θεολογῶν, μεγάλα καὶ

ὑψηλὰ περὶ θεοῦ διαλαμβάνων. λέγει δὲ τὴν αινεσιν τὴν προκειμένην ὁ διὰ τὸ ἐξ εργων καὶ πίστεως γεγονὼς τοῦ ̓Αβραὰμ τέκνον, ου θεὸς ὁ πάντων αιτιος ειναι ὁμολογεῖ φάσκων πρὸς αὐτὸν ̓Εγὼ θεὸς σός. ουτος δὲ θεοῦ ανθρωπος γεγονὼς τῷ τὸν θεὸν αὐτοῦ χρηματίζειν φυγὼν πᾶσαν βασιλείαν πονηρὰν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ βασιλεύεται, οθεν καὶ εἰπεῖν δυνήσεται Σὺ ει αὐτὸς ὁ βασιλεύς μου καὶ ὁ θεός μου. εχοντος δὲ τὴν ψυχὴν ἀθάνατον λέγειν εστιν Εὐλογήσω τὸ ονομά σου εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος. εὐλογεῖ δὲ τὸ ονομα τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ βασιλέως αὐτοῦ ὁ ἐν τῷ φορεῖν αὐτὸ πράττων καὶ λέγων καὶ φρονῶν τὰ οἰκεῖα τῇ ἐπικληθείσῃ ἐπ' αὐτὸν θεοῦ προσηγορίᾳ, ἀρξάμενος τοῦ εὐλογεῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐνεστῶτος αἰῶνος ἐπὶ τῷ ποιεῖν αὐτὸ εως τοῦ αἰῶνος· εἰ γὰρ νῦν ἐκ μέρους γινώσκων καὶ μερικῶς τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ μετέχων εὐλογεῖ τὸ ονομα τοῦ εὐεργετοῦντος, πολλῷ μᾶλλον εὐλογήσει αὐτὸ ἐπιστάντος τοῦ τελείου ἀγαθοῦ καὶ τῆς πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον γνώσεως τοῦ θεοῦ. 1252 Ps 144,4a ̔Ρηθείη δ' αν καὶ περὶ τῶν ἐκ περιτομῆς καὶ ἐξ ἐθνῶν πεπιστευκότων Γενεὰ καὶ γενεὰ ἐπαινέσει τὰ εργα σου, δεόντως οντα ἐπαινετὰ τῷ ἰδίῳ λόγῳ, ὡς καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν ποιητὴν θείῳ βλέμματι ἑωρακέναι οτι καλὰ λίαν ἐστίν. 1253 Ps 144,5 ̔Η ἁγιωσύνη τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ αλλη η τοῦ σωτῆρός ἐστιν· αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ ἁγιασμὸς ὁ ἁγιάζων τοὺς ἐγγίζοντας τῷ θεῷ, πρὸς ους λέγεται Αγιοι εσεσθε, οτι αγιος ἐγώ εἰμι. ταύτης τῆς ἁγιωσύνης ἡ δόξα μεγαλοπρεπής ἐστιν. οσοι τοίνυν μετειλήφασι τῆς ἁγιότητος τοῦ θεοῦ ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ, μεταποιοῦνται καὶ μεγαλοπρεπῶς ὑμνοῦσι τὸν ου ἡ ἁγιότης καὶ ἡ μεγαλοπρεπὴς δόξα αὐτῆς, οὐ ψιλῇ δὲ προφορᾷ ἀλλὰ πρὸ ταύτης εργοις καὶ ὀρθῇ διαθέσει ἁγίως καὶ ἐπιδόξως ἀλλὰ καὶ μεγαλοπρεπῶς νοοῦντες καὶ ἐνεργοῦντες καὶ λέγοντες. ∆ύναται δόξα τῆς ἁγιότητος τοῦ θεοῦ τὸ ̓Εκεῖνός με δοξάσει (τουτέστιν ὁ παράκλητος), οτι ἐκ τοῦ ἐμοῦ λήψεται καὶ ἀναγγελεῖ ὑμῖν. διὸ καὶ οσοι ηκουσαν αὐτοῦ ἀναγγέλλοντος ἐν τῷ διδόναι λόγον σοφίας καὶ λόγον γνώσεως, τῆς τούτου ἁγιωσύνης λαλήσουσι. Καὶ πρὸς τοῦτο διηγήσονται τὰ θαυμάσια αὐτοῦ, ουπερ ἡ ἁγιότης ἐστί, μετ' ἐπιστασιότητος καὶ θεωρίας ἀκραιφνοῦς διεξιόντες τὸν μυστικὸν λόγον τῶν θαυμασίων αὐτοῦ τῶν κατὰ διαφόρους καιροὺς γενομένων τε καὶ