404

This fear is pure, and it will never cease to be; because it is somehow essentially innate in God towards creation, making manifest to all His natural venerability, of His pre-eminence above every kingdom and power.

ο΄. He who does not fear God as judge, but reveres Him for the exceeding pre-eminence of His infinite power, rightly has no lack, being perfect in love, loving God with reverence and fitting veneration; and this is he who has acquired the fear that abides unto the age of ages, and he has no lack whatsoever.

οα΄. From existing things, we know the cause of existing things; and from the difference of existing things, we are taught the hypostatic wisdom of the One who is; and from the natural movement of existing things, we learn the hypostatic life of the One who is, the life-giving power of existing things, the Holy Spirit.

οβ΄. The Holy Spirit is absent from none of the existing things, and especially from those who have in any way partaken of reason. For He is the sustainer of each one's knowledge, that He is God and the Spirit of God, providentially proceeding through all things according to power, and stirring up the principle in each one according to nature, and through it leading the one who perceives to an awareness of things done amiss contrary to the ordinance of nature; and having a will that is yielding to the reception of right thoughts that come from nature. Wherefore we also find many, even of the utterly barbarous and nomadic men, striving after virtue, and setting aside the beastly laws that have long prevailed among them.

ογ΄. (1209) The Holy Spirit is indeed in all things simply, inasmuch as He is the sustainer and provider for all things, and the one who stirs up the natural seeds. But He is specifically also in all those under the law, inasmuch as He is the indicator of the transgression of the commandments, and the illuminator of the promise foretold concerning Christ; and in all those who are in Christ, in addition to the things mentioned, also as adopting them as sons. But as the maker of wisdom, He is not simply in any of the aforementioned, except in those who understand, and have made themselves worthy of His contemplative indwelling through a life in God. For everyone who does not do the divine will, even if he be a believer, has an unintelligent heart, as a workshop of evil thoughts, and a body indebted to sins, as it is constantly subject to the pollutions of the passions.

οδ΄. God, who desires the salvation of all men, and hungers for their deification, withers their conceit by cursing it like the fruitless fig tree, so that, preferring to be righteous rather than to seem to be, having taken off the tunic of hypocritical moral display, and having pursued an unadulterated virtuous life, as the divine word wills, they may lead their life piously, showing the disposition of their soul to God rather than the outward conformity regarding morals to men.

οε΄. The principle of doing is one thing, and the principle of suffering is another; and the principle of doing is the natural power for the working of virtues; but that of suffering is either the grace of things beyond nature, or the occurrence of things contrary to nature. For just as we do not have a natural power for that which is transcendent, so neither do we by nature have the power for that which is not. We suffer deification, therefore, as something that is beyond nature by grace, but we do not do it; for we do not by nature have a power receptive of deification. And again, we suffer vice as something contrary to nature, by will according to occurrence; for we do not have a natural power for the generation of vice. We do the virtues, therefore, being here by nature, having the natural power to do them; but we suffer deification in the future, receiving the grace to suffer this as a gift.

404

οὗτος φόβος ἁγνός, καί οὐκ ἀπογενήσεταί ποτε· διότιπερ οὐσιωδῶς ἐμπέφυκέ πως τῷ Θεῷ πρός τήν κτίσιν, ποιούμενος ἔκδηλον αὐτοῦ πᾶσιν τήν φύσικήν αἰδεσιμότητα, τῆς ὑπέρ πᾶσαν βασιλείαν καί δύναμιν ὑπεροχῆς.

ο΄. Ὁ μή φοβούμενος τόν Θεόν ὡς κριτήν, ἀλλ᾿ αἰδούμενος αὐτόν διά τήν ὑπερβάλλουσαν τῆς ἀπείρου δυνάμεως ὑπεροχήν, οὐκ ἔχει δικαίως ὑστέρημα, τέλειος ὑπάρχων ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ, μετ᾿ αἰδοῦς καί τῆς πρεπούσης σεβασμιότητος ἀγαπῶν τόν Θεόν· καί οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ κτησάμενος τόν διαμένοντα φόβον εἰς αἰῶνα αἰῶνος, καί οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτῷ ὑστέρημα τοπαράπαν οὐδέν.

οα΄. Ἐκ τῶν ὄντων, τόν τῶν ὄντων γινώσκομεν αἴτιον· καί ἐκ τῆς διαφορᾶς τῶν ὄντων, τήν ἐνυπόστατον τοῦ ὄντος διδασκόμεθα σοφίαν· καί ἐκ τῆς τῶν ὄντων φυσικῆς κινήσεως, τήν ἐνυπόστατον τοῦ ὄντος μανθάνομεν ζωήν, τήν τῶν ὄντων ζωοποιόν δύναμιν, τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον.

οβ΄. Τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον οὐδενός ἄπεστι τῶν ὄντων, καί μάλιστα τῶν λόγου καθ᾿ ὁτιοῦν μετειληφότων. Συνεκτικόν γάρ ὑπάρχει τῆς ἑκάστου γνώσεως, ὅτι Θεός καί Θεοῦ Πνεῦμα, κατά δύναμιν προνοητικῶς διά πάντων χωροῦν, καί τόν ἐν ἑκάστῳ λόγον κατά φύσιν ἀνακινοῦν, καί δι᾿ αὐτοῦ πρός συναίσθησιν τῶν πλημμελῶς παρά τόν θεσμόν τῆς φύσεως πεπραγμένων, ἄγον τόν αἰσθανόμενον· καί τήν προαίρεσιν εὔεικτον ἔχοντα, πρός ὑποδοχήν τῶν ἐκ φύσεως ὀρθῶν λογισμῶν. ∆ιό καί πολλούς εὑρίσκομεν καί τῶν ἄγαν βαρβάρων καί νομάδων ἀνθρώπων, καλοκαγαθίας μεταποιουμένους, καί τούς ἀνέκαθεν κρατήσαντες ἐν αὐτοῖς θηριώδεις ἀθετοῦντας νόμους.

ογ΄. (1209) Ἔστι μέν ἐν πᾶσιν ἁπλῶς τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον, καθό πάντων ἐστί συνεκτικόν καί προνοητικόν, καί τῶν φυσικῶν σπερμάτων ἀνακινητικόν. Προσδιωρισμένως δέ, καί ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἐν νόμῳ, καθότι τῆς τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐστιν ὑπεοδεικτικόν παραβάσεως, καί τῆς κατά Χριστόν προαγορευθείσης ἐπαγγελίας, φωτιστικόν· ἐν δέ πᾶσι τοῖς κατά Χριστόν πρός τοῖς εἰρημένοις, καί ὡς υἱοθετικόν. Ὡς δέ σοφίας ποιητικόν, ἐν οὐδενί τῶν εἰρημένων ἐστίν ἁπλῶς, πλήν τῶν συνιέντων, καί ἑαυτούς διά τῆς ἐνθέου πολιτείας ἀξίους ποιησαμένων τῆς αὐτοῦ θεωτικῆς ἐνοικήσεως. Πᾶς γάρ μή ποιῶν τά θεῖα θελήματα, κἄν πιστός ᾗ, ἀσύνετον ἔχει τήν καρδίαν, ὡς πονηρῶν λογισμῶν ἐργαστήριον, καί τό σῶμα κατάχρεων ἁμαρτίαις, ὡς διαπαντός μολυσμοῖς παθῶν ἐνεχόμενον.

οδ΄. Ὁ τῆς σωτηρίας ὀρεγόμενος πάντων ἀνθρώπων Θεός, καί πεινῶν αὐτῶν τήν ἐκθέωσιν, τήν τούτων οἴησιν ὡς τήν ἄκαρπον καταρώμενος ἀποξηραίνει συκῆν, ὅπως τοῦ δοκεῖν εἶναι δίκαιοι, τό εἶναι μᾶλλον προκρίνατες, τόν μέν καθ᾿ ὑπόκρισιν τῆς ἠθικῆς ἐπιδείξεως ἐκδυσάμενοι χιτῶνα, τόν ἐνάρετον δέ, καθώς ὁ θεῖος βούλεται λόγος, ἀνοθεύτως μετελθόντες βίον, εὐσεβῶς τήν ζωήν διενέγκωσι, Θεῷ μᾶλλον τῆς ψυχῆς τήν διάθεσιν, ἤ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τόν ἐκτός ἐπιδεικνύμενοι περί τά ἤθη σχηματισμόν.

οε΄. Ἕτερός ἐστιν ὁ τοῦ ποιεῖν, καί ἕτερος ὁ τοῦ πάσχειν λόγος· καί ὁ μέν τοῦ ποιεῖν λόγος ἐστίν, ἡ φυσική πρός ἀρετῶν ἐνέργειαν δύναμις· ὁ δέ τοῦ πάσχειν, ἤ χάρις τῶν ὑπέρ φύσιν, ἤ σύμβασις τῶν παρά φύσιν. Ὡς γάρ τοῦ ὑπερόντος φυσικήν οὐκ ἔχομεν δύναμιν, οὕτως οὔτε τοῦ μή ὄντος ἔχομεν φύσει τήν δύναμιν. Πάσχομεν οὖν ὡς ὑπέρ φύσιν οὖσαν κατά χάριν, ἀλλ᾿ οὐ ποιοῦμεν τήν θέωσιν· οὐ γάρ ἔχομεν φύσει δεκτικήν τῆς θεώσεως δύναμιν. Καί πάσχομεν πάλιν ὡς παρά φύσιν, γνώμῃ κατά σύμβασιν τήν κακίαν· οὐ γάρ ἔχομεν πρός γένεσιν κακίας φυσικήν δύναμιν. Ποιοῦμεν οὖν ἐνταῦθα φύσει ὄντες τάς ἀρετάς, πρός τό ταύτας ποιεῖν ἔχοντες φυσικήν τήν δύναμιν· πάσχομεν δέ κατά τό μέλλον τήν θέωσιν, τήν πρός τό παθεῖν ταύτην κατά δωρεᾶς χάριν δεχόμενοι.