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2 Corinthians 10. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down (980) strongholds; casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
Proverbs 15. The ways of life are the thoughts of the prudent; from his thoughts a man will be filled with good things.
Proverbs 12. The thoughts of the righteous are judgments.
Proverbs 19. There are many thoughts in a man's heart, but the counsel of God will prevail forever.
Sirach 27. In the shaking of a sieve, the dung remains; so is the refuse of a man in his reasoning.
Basil. For the Creator, having composed the whole man from the rational and the irrational, like some centaur, according to the Greek model for natural philosophy, joined the anthropomorphic upper part from head to chest with the lower part from navel to loins, which bears a nature like that of a horse, [being bestial for the pleasures of the stomach, and moving irrationally for sexual intercourse]; not wishing the rational part to be seized by the irrational, but rather having all-wisely placed the irrational part in subjection to the rational, to be guided by the reins toward the necessities of nature.
Of the same. He who is eager to achieve divine impassibility ought to keep his own reasoning unenslaved to any passion.
Of the Theologian. Reasoning is better than actions or money; for the latter are of corruption, but the former stands.
Chrysostom. For this reason sparrows have wings, that they may flee the snare; and for this reason men have reasoning, that they may escape sins.
The mind does not cease from giving birth to thoughts; but you, pluck out the evil ones, and cultivate the good ones.
Clement. It is not abstinence from actions that justifies the faithful, but the purity and sincerity of his thoughts.
Plutarch. Clouds often obscure the sun; but passions, reasoning.
(981) One must remove the thorn from the foot, and ignorance from the irrational soul.
Of Philemon. He who considers all things with reasoning in himself, removes the evil and receives the good.
Of Isocrates. Whatever seems best to you in your reasoning, accomplish these things in your deeds.
Just as one must exile a seditious man from a well-ordered city, so one must exile from the soul the reasoning that is inclined toward evil things.
For the intellect of the soul endures to consent to the passion of the body.
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Β´ Κορινθ. ι´. Τά γάρ ὅπλα τῆς στρατείας ἡμῶν οὐ σαρκικά, ἀλλά δυνατά τῷ Θεῷ πρός καθαίρεσιν (980) ὀχυρωμάτων· λογισμούς καθαιροῦντες, καί πᾶν ὕψωμα ἐπαιρόμενον κατά τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ, καί αἰχμαλωτίζοντες πᾶν νόημα εἰς τήν ὑπακοήν τοῦ Χριστοῦ.
Παροιμ. ιε΄. Ὁδοί ζωῆς διανοήματα συνετοῦ· ἀπό τῶν διανοημάτων αὐτοῦ πλησθήσεται ἀνήρ ἀγαθῶν.
Παροιμ. ιβ΄. Λογισμοί δικαίων κρίματα.
Παροιμ. ιθ´. Πολλοί λογισμοί ἐν καρδίᾳ ἀνδρός· ἡ δέ βουλή τοῦ Θεοῦ κρατήσει εἰς τόν αἰῶνα.
Σιράχ κζ´. Ἐν σείσματι κοσκίνου διαμείνει κοπρία· οὕτως σκύβαλα ἀνθρώπου ἐν λογισμῷ αὐτοῦ.
Βασιλ. Ἐκ λογικοῦ γάρ καί ἀλόγου, κατά τό Ἑλληνικόν πρός φυσιολογίαν πλάσμα, ὥσπερ τινά κένταυρον, συνθείς ὁ ∆ημιουργός ὅλον τόν ἄνθρωπον τῷ ἀνθρωπομόρφῳ ἀπό κεφαλῆς ἕως στέρνων ἄνωθεν μέρει, τό ἀπό ὀμφαλοῦ ἕως ὀσφύος καθάπερ ἵππου, φύσιν [πρός τε τάς γαστρός ἡδονάς κτηνῶδες ὑπάρχον, καί πρός τάς μίξεις ἀλόγως κινούμενον] κάτωθεν φέρον προσήρμοσεν· οὐχ ὐπό τοῦ ἀλόγου μέρους τό λογικόν ἐξαρπάζεσθαι βουληθείς, ἀλλά τῷ λογικῷ ὑποβεβλημένον ἔχοντι τό ἄλογον μέρος, ἡνιοχεῖσθαι πρός τάς τῆς φύσεως ἀνάγκας, πανσόφως ἐνθείς.
Τοῦ αὐτοῦ. Ὁ τήν θείαν ἀπάθειαν κατορθῶσαι σπουδάζων, ἀδούλωτον παντί πάθει ὀφείλει φυλάξαι τόν ἑαυτοῦ λογισμόν.
Θεολόγου. Κρείσσων λογισμός πράξεων ἤ χρημάτων· τά μέν γάρ τῆς φθορᾶς ἐστιν, ὁ δέ ἵσταται.
Χρυσοστ. ∆ιά τοῦτο πτερά τοῖς στρουθίοις, ἵνα φύγῃ παγίδα· καί διά τοῦτο λογισμός τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἵνα ἐκφύγωσιν ἁμαρτήματα.
Οὐ παύεται λογισμούς ἡ διάνοια τίκτουσα· σύ δέ, τούς μέν φαύλους ἔκτιλλε, τούς δέ ἀγαθούς γεώργει.
Κλήμεντ. Οὐχ ἡ τῶν πράξεων ἀποχή δικαιοῖ τόν πιστόν, ἀλλ ἡ τῶν ἐννοιῶν ἁγνεία καί εἰλικρίνεια.
Πλουτάρχ. Ἐπισκοτεῖ τῷ μέν ἡλίῳ πολλάκις τά νέφη· τῷ δέ λογισμῶ, τά πάθη.
(981) Ἐκ μέν τοῦ ποδός τήν ἄκανθαν, ἐκ δέ τῆς ἀλόγου ψυχῆς, τήν ἄγνοιαν ὑπεξελέσθαι δεῖ.
Φιλήμονος. Ὁ τῷ λογισμῷ πάντα παρ᾿ ἑαυτῷ σκοπῶν, τό κακόν ἀφαιρεῖ, τἀγαθόν δέ λαμβάνει.
Ἰσοκράτους. Ἅ ἄν σοι λογιζομένῳ βέλτιστα, ταῦτα τοῖς ἔργοις ἐπιτέλει.
∆εῖ ὥσπερ ἐξ εὐνομουμένης πόλεως φυγαδεύειν στασιαστήν ἄνθρωπον, οὕτως ἐκ τῆς ψυχῆς τόν πρός τά φαῦλα κεκλικότα λογισμόν.
Τῷ γάρ πάθει τοῦ σώματος, καί τό νοερόν τῆς ψυχῆς συνομολογεῖν ἀνέχεται.