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it has been said, as having been brought from non-being into being, and having in His will its being or not being.

29. Just as evil is a privation of good, and ignorance is a privation of knowledge; so also non-being is a privation of being; but not of that which is truly being;

for it has no opposite; but of that which exists by participation in that which is truly being. And the privations of the former follow upon the will of created things; but that of the latter subsists in the will of the Maker; who through goodness always wills beings to exist, and to be ever benefited by Him.

30. All created things, some are rational and intellectual, and susceptible of opposites; for instance, of virtue and vice, and of knowledge and ignorance; others are different bodies, composed of opposites; that is, of earth, (1028) air, fire, water; and some are entirely incorporeal and immaterial, even if some of them are joined to bodies; while others have their composition from matter and form alone.

31. All bodies, according to nature, are immobile; but are moved by the soul; some, by a rational soul; others, by an irrational one; and others by an insensate one.

32. Of the powers of the soul, one is nutritive and augmentative; another is imaginative and appetitive; and another is rational and intellectual. And plants partake of the first only; irrational animals, of the second in addition to this; and human beings, of the third in addition to the two. And the first two powers are perishable; but the third is shown to be imperishable and immortal.

33. The holy Powers, imparting illumination to one another; and to human nature, either impart of their own virtue, or of the knowledge within them. And of virtue, for instance, of a goodness that imitates God, by which they benefit themselves, and one another, and those below them, making them godlike; and of knowledge, either something more exalted about God; for it says, You, Lord, are Most High for ever; or about bodies, more profound; or about incorporeal things, more precise; or about providence, more clearly; or about judgment, more distinctly.

34. Impurity of the mind is, first, to have false knowledge; second, to be ignorant of something of the universals; I speak in relation to the human mind; for it belongs to an angel to be ignorant of none of the particulars; third, to have passionate thoughts; fourth, to consent to sin.

35. Impurity of the soul is, not to act according to nature. For from this are born passionate thoughts in the mind. For it acts according to nature then, when its passionate powers; I mean anger and desire, in the presentation of things and of the thoughts in them, remain dispassionate.

36. Impurity of the body is, sin in action. 37. He who suffers with regard to the things of the world loves quiet; and loves all

people, who loves nothing human; and has knowledge of God and of divine things, who is not scandalized by anyone, either because of transgressions, or because of thoughts from suspicion.

38. It is a great thing not to be passionate towards things; but much greater than this, is to remain dispassionate towards the thoughts of them.

39. Love and self-control keep the mind dispassionate towards both things, and towards the thoughts of them.

40. The mind of the God-loving man does not war against things, (1029) nor against the thoughts of them; but against the passions that are joined to the thoughts. For example, he does not war against the woman, nor against the one who grieved him, nor against the images of them; but against the passions that are joined to the images.

41. The whole war of the monk against the demons is to separate the passions from the thoughts. For otherwise he is not able to see things dispassionately.

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εἴρηται, ὡς ἐκ μή ὄντος εἰς τό εἶναι παραχθεῖσα, καί ἐν τῇ βουλήσει αὐτοῦ ἔχουσα τό εἶναι αὐτήν ἤ μή εἶναι.

κθ΄. Ὥσπερ τό κακόν στέρησίς ἐστιν ἀγαθοῦ, καί ἡ ἀγνωσία στέρησίς ἐστι γνώσεως· οὕτω καί τό μή ὄν στέρησίς ἐστι τοῦ ὄντος· οὐ τοῦ κυρίως δέ ὄντος·

οὐκ ἔχει γάρ ἐναντίον· ἀλλά τοῦ κατά μέθεξιν τοῦ κυρίως ὄντος. Καί αἱ μέν τῶν προτέρων στερήσεις τῇ γνώμῃ τῶν γεγονότων ἕπονται· ἡ δέ τοῦ δευτέρου ἐν τῇ βουλήσει τοῦ πεποιηκότος ὑπάρχεται· τοῦ ἀεί δι᾿ ἀγαθότητα βουλομένου εἶναι τά ὄντα, καί ἀεί ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ εὐεργετεῖσθαι.

λ΄. Πάντα τά γεγονότα, τά μέν εἰσι λογικά καί νοερά, καί τῶν ἐναντίων δεκτικά· οἷον, ἀρετῆς καί κακίας, καί γνώσεως καί ἀγνωσίας· τά δέ σώματα διάφορα, ἐκ τῶν ἐναντίων συνεστῶτα· τουτέστι, γῆς, (1028) ἀέρος, πυρός, ὕδατος· καί τά μέν εἰσι ἀσώματα πάντη καί ἄϋλα, εἰ καί τινα τούτων συνέζευκται σώμασι· τά δέ ἐξ ὕλης καί εἴδους μόνον ἔχει τήν σύστασιν.

λα΄. Πάντα τά σώματα, κατά φύσιν ἐστίν ἀκίνητα· κινεῖται δέ ὑπό τῆς ψυχῆς· τά μέν, λογικῆς· τά δέ, ἀλόγου· τά δέ ἀναισθήτου.

λβ΄. Τῶν ψυχικῶν δυνάμεων ἡ μέν ἐστι θρεπτική καί αὐξητική· ἡ δέ φανταστική καί ὁρμητική· ἡ δέ λογιστική καί νοητική. Καί τῆς μέν πρώτης μόνης μετέχουσι τά φυτά· τῆς δέ δευτέρας πρός ταύτῃ τά ἄλογα ζῶα· τῆς δέ τρίτης πρός ταῖς δυσίν, οἱ ἄνθρωποι. Καί αἱ μέν δύο δυνάμεις, φθαρταί· ἡ δέ τρίτη, ἄφθαρτος καί ἀθάνατος ἀποδείκνυται.

λγ΄. Ἀλλήλαις μεταδιδοῦσαι φωτισμοῦ αἱ ἅγιαι ∆υνάμεις· καί τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει, ἤ τῆς αὐτῶν ἀρετῆς μεταδιδόασιν, ἤ τῆς ἐν αὐταῖς γνώσεως. Καί ἀρετῆς μέν, οἷον θεομιμήτου ἀγαθότητος, καθ᾿ ἥν καί ἑαυτάς, καί ἀλλήλας, καί τάς ὑποβεβηκυίας εὐεργετοῦσι, θεοειδεῖς ἀργαζόμεναι· γνώσεως δέ, ἤ περί Θεοῦ τι ὑψηλότερον· Σύ γάρ, φησίν, Ὕψιστος εἰς τόν αἰῶνα, Κύριε· ἤ περί σωμάτων, βαθύτερον· ἤ περί ἀσωμάτων, ἀκριβέσερον· ἤ περί προνοίας, τρανότερον· ἤ περί κρίσεως, σαφέστερον.

λδ΄. Νοός ἐστι ἀκαθαρσία, πρῶτον μέν, τό γνῶσιν ἔχειν ψευδῆ· δεύτερον δέ, τό ἀγνοεῖν τι τῶν καθόλου· ὡς πρός ἀνθρώπινον νοῦν λέγω· ἀγγέλου γάρ ἐστι το μηδέν τῶν ἐπί μέρους ἀγνοεῖν· τρίτον δέ, τό ἐμπαθεῖς ἔχειν λογισμούς· τέταρτον δέ, τό συγκατατίθεσθαι τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ.

λε΄. Ψυχῆς ἐστιν ἀκαθαρσία, τό μή ἐνεργεῖν κατά φύσιν. Ἐκ τούτου γάρ τίκτονται τῷ νῷ οἱ ἐμπαθεῖς λογισμοί. Τότε γάρ κατά φύσιν ἐνεργεῖ, ὅταν αἱ παθητικαί αὐτῆς δυνάμεις· ὁ θυμός λέγω καί ἡ ἐπιθυμία, ἐν τῇ τῶν πραγμάτων καί τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς νοημάτων προβολῇ, ἀπαθεῖς διαμείνωσι.

λστ΄. Σώματός ἐστιν ἀκαθαρσία, ἡ κατ᾿ ἐνέργειαν ἁμαρτία. λζ΄. Ἀγαπᾷ ἡσυχίαν ὁ πάσχων πρός τά τοῦ κόσμου· καί ἀγαπᾷ πάντας

ἀνθρώπους, ὁ μηδέν ἀγαπῶν ἀνθρώπινον· καί γνῶσιν ἔχει Θεοῦ καί τῶν θείων, ὁ μή σκανδαλιζόμενος εἴς τινας, εἴτε διά παραπτώματα, εἴτε διά λογισμούς ἐξ ὑπονοίας.

λη΄. Μέγα μέν τό μή πάσχειν πρός τά πράγματα· μεῖζον δέ τούτου πολλῷ, τό πρός τά τούτων νοήματα ἀπαθῆ διαμεῖναι.

λθ΄. Ἀγάπη καί ἐγκράτεια ἀπαθῆ τόν νοῦν διατηροῦσι πρός τε τά πράγματα, καί πρός τά τούτων νοήματα.

μ΄. Οὐ πρός τά πράγματα ὁ νοῦς πολεμεῖ τοῦ θεοφιλοῦς, (1029) οὐδέ πρός τά τούτων νοήματα· ἀλλά πρός τά πάθη τά τοῖς νοήμασι συνεζευμένα. Οἷον, οὐ πρός τήν γυναῖκα πολεμεῖ, οὐδέ πρός τόν λυπήσαντα, οὐδέ πρός τάς τούτων φαντασίας· ἀλλά πρός τά πάθη τά ταῖς φαντασίαις συνεζευγμένα.

μα΄. Ἅπας ὁ πόλεμος τοῦ μοναχοῦ πρός τούς δαίμονας, ἵνα τά πάθη τῶν νοημάτων χωρίσῃ. Ἄλλως γάρ ἀπαθῶς τά πράγματα βλέπειν οὐ δύναται.