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Fourth Century, unordered, 6. Human life is a shadow of death. If therefore one is with God, and God is with him, this one can say clearly, "For if I walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me."

Fourth Century, unordered, 7. A pure mind sees things rightly; a trained reason brings into view the things that have been seen; and a bright hearing receives them. But he who is deprived of the three blames the one who has spoken.

Fourth Century, unordered, 8. He is with God who knows the Holy Trinity, and its creation, and its providence; and who has acquired the passible part of the soul as impassible.

Fourth Century, unordered, 9. (1017) They say that the rod signifies the judgment of God; and the staff, providence. It is for him, therefore, who has partaken of the knowledge of these things to say: "Your rod and your staff, they have comforted me."

100. When the mind is stripped of passions, and is illumined by the contemplation of beings, then it is able both to be in God and to pray as is necessary.

Third Century on Love. 1. The rational use of thoughts and things produces self-control and

love and knowledge; but the irrational use [produces] licentiousness and hatred and ignorance. 2. "You have prepared a table before me," and so forth. The table here signifies

practical virtue. For this was prepared by Christ in the presence of those who afflict us. The oil that anoints the mind [signifies] the contemplation of created things. The cup of God [signifies] the knowledge of God. His mercy [signifies] his Word and God. For He, through his incarnation, pursues [us] all the days, until he overtakes all who are to be saved, just as [he overtook] Paul. The house [signifies] the kingdom, in which all the saints are restored. The length of days [signifies] eternal life.

3. The evils of the soul's powers happen to us through misuse; for instance, of the desiring, the incensive, and the reasoning [powers]. And the misuse of the reasoning power is ignorance and foolishness; of the incensive and desiring [powers], hatred and licentiousness. But the [proper] use of these is knowledge and prudence, and love and self-control. If this is so, nothing of the things created and made by God is evil.

4. Foods are not evil, but gluttony; nor childbearing, but fornication; nor money, but avarice; nor glory, but vainglory. If this is so, there is nothing evil among existing things, except misuse, which happens from the mind's neglect of its natural cultivation.

5. The blessed Dionysius says that the evil in demons is these things: irrational anger, mindless desire, rash fantasy. But irrationality and mindlessness and rashness in rational beings are privations of reason and mind and circumspection. And privations are secondary to states. Therefore, there was a time when reason and mind and pious circumspection existed in them. (1020) If this is so, then not even the demons are evil by nature; but they became evil from the misuse of their natural powers.

6. Some of the passions [are productive] of licentiousness; others, of hatred; and others are productive of both licentiousness and hatred.

7. Eating too much and eating for pleasure are causes of licentiousness [Fr. αἴτιαι]; while avarice and vainglory [are causes] of hatred toward one's neighbor. But the mother of these, self-love, is the cause of both.

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τεσσ. ἀνοικ. στ΄. Σκιά θανάτου ἐστίν ἡ ἀνθρωπίνη ζωή. Εἴ τις οὖν ἐστι μετά τοῦ Θεοῦ, καί ὁ Θεός μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἐστιν, οὗτος δύναται εἰπεῖν ἐναργῶς τό, Ἐάν γάρ πορευθῶ ἐν μέσῳ σκιᾶς θάνατου, οὐ φοβηθήσομαι κακά, ὅτι σύ μετ' ἐμοῦ εἶ.

τεσσ. ἀνοικ. ζ΄. Νοῦς μέν καθαρός ὀρθά βλέπει τά πράγματα· λόγος δέ γεγυμνασμένος, ὑπ᾿ ὄψιν ἄγει τά ὁραθέντα· ἀκοή δέ λαμπρά ὑποδέχεται αὐτά. Ὁ δέ τῶν τριῶν ἐστερημένος, τόν εἰρηκότα κακίζει.

τεσσ. ἀνοικ. η΄. Μετά τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστιν ὁ τήν ἁγίαν γινώσκων Τριάδα, καί τήν δημιουργίαν αὐτῆς, καί τήν πρόνοιαν· καί τό παθητόν μέρος τῆς ψυχῆς ἀπαθές κεκτημένος.

τεσσ. ἀνοικ. θ΄. (1017) Τήν ῥάβδον σημαίνειν φασί τήν κρίσιν τήν τοῦ Θεοῦ· τήν δέ βακτηρίαν, τήν πρόνοιαν. Τοῦ οὖν τῆς τούτων γνώσεως μετειληφότος ἐστί τό λέγειν· Ἡ ῥάβδος σου καί ἡ βακτηρία σου, αὗταί με παρεκάλεσαν.

ρ΄. Ὅτε ὁ νοῦς παθῶν γυμνωθῇ, καί τῇ τῶν ὄντων καταλάμπηται θεωρίᾳ, τότε δύναται καί ἐν Θεῷ γενέσθαι, καί ὡς δεῖ προσεύχεσθαι.

Περί ἀγάπης τρίτη ἑκατοντάς. α΄. Ἡ μέν εὔλογος τῶν νοημάτων καί τῶν πραγμάτων χρῆσις, σωφροσύνης καί

ἀγάπης καί γνώσεώς ἐστι ποιητική· ἡ δέ ἄλογος, ἀκολασίας καί μίσους καί ἀγνοίας. β΄. Ἡτοίμασας ἐνώπιόν μου τράπεζαν, καί τά ἑξῆς. Ἡ τράπεζα ἐνταῦθα σημαίνει

τήν πρακτικήν ἀρετήν. Αὕτη γάρ ἐξ ἐναντίας τῶν θλιβομένων ἡμᾶς παρά Χριστοῦ ἡτοιμάσθη. Τό δέ ἔλαιον τό λιπαῖνον τόν νοῦ, τήν θεωρίαν τῶν γεγονότων. Τό δέ ποτήριον τοῦ Θεοῦ, τήν γνῶσιν τήν τοῦ Θεοῦ. Τό δέ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ, τόν Λόγον αὐτοῦ καί Θεόν. Οὗτος γάρ διά τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως αὐτοῦ καταδιώκει πάσας τάς ἡμέρας, ἕως οὗ πάντας καταλάβῃ τούς σωθησομένους, ὥσπερ τόν Παῦλον. Ὁ δέ οἶκος, τήν βασιλείαν, ἐν ᾗ ἀποκαθίστανται πάντες οἱ ἅγιοι. Ἡ δέ μακρότης τῶν ἡμερῶν, τήν αἰώνιον ζωήν.

γ΄. Κατά παράχρησιν αἱ κακίαι τῶν τῆς ψυχῆς δυνάμεων ἡμῖν ἐπισυμβαίνουσιν· οἷον, τῆς τε ἐπιθυμητικῆς, καί τῆς θυμοειδοῦς, καί τῆς λογιστικῆς. Καί τῆς μέν λογιστικῆς δυνάμεως παράχρησίς ἐστιν, ἀγνωσία καί ἀφροσύνη· τῆς δέ θυμοειδοῦς καί ἐπιθυμητικῆς, μῖσος καί ἀκολασία. Χρῆσις δέ τούτων, γνῶσις καί φρόνησις, ἀγάπη τε καί σωφροσύνη. Εἰ δέ τοῦτο, οὐδέν τῶν ὑπό Θεοῦ κτισθέντων καί γεγονότων ἐστί κακόν.

δ΄. Οὐ τά βρώματα κακά, ἀλλ᾿ ἡ γαστριμαργία· οὐδέ ἡ παιδοποιΐα, ἀλλ᾿ ἡ πορνεία· οὐδέ τά χρήματα, ἀλλ᾿ ἡ φιλαργυρία· οὐδέ ἡ δόξα, ἀλλ᾿ ἡ κενοδοξία. Εἰ δέ τοῦτο, οὐδέν ἐν τοῖς οὖσι κακόν, εἰ μή ἡ παράχρησις, ἥτις συμβαίνει ἐκ τῆς τοῦ νοῦ ἀμελείας περί τήν φυσικήν γεωργίαν.

ε΄. Τό ἐν δαίμοσι κακόν ταῦτα εἶναί φησιν ὁ μακάριος ∆ιονύσιος, θυμόν ἄλογον, ἄνουν ἐπιθυμίαν, φαντασίαν προπετῆ. Ἀλογία δέ καί ἄνοια καί προπέτεια ἐπί τῶν λογικῶν στερήσεις εἰσί λόγου καί νοῦ καί περισκέψεως. Αἱ δέ στερήσεις, τῶν ἕξεών εἰσι δεύτεραι. Ἄρα οὖν ἦν ὅτε ὑπῆρχεν ἐν αὐτοῖς λόγος καί νοῦς καί περίσκεψις εὐλαβής. (1020) Εἰ δέ τοῦτο οὐδέ οἱ δαίμονες φύσει κακοί· ἀλλ᾿ ἐκ παραχρήσεως τῶν φυσικῶν δυνάμεων κακοί γεγόνασι.

στ΄. Τά μέν τῶν παθῶν, ἀκολασίας· τά δέ, μίσους· τά δέ, καί ἀκολασίας καί μίσους εἰσί ποιητικά.

ζ΄. Πολυφαγία καί ἡδυφαγία, ἀκολασίας εἰσίν αἴτια [Fr. αἴτιαι]· φιλαργυρία δέ καί κενοδοξία, μίσους πρός τόν πλησίον. Ἡ δέ τούτων μήτηρ φιλαυτία τῶν ἀμφοτέρων ἐστίν αἰτία.