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“they were naked and were not ashamed.” And they being naked and not blind *. For you cannot deny this, and confess that they did not see. For, it says, “Eve saw that the tree was good for food and a delight to behold.” Therefore, they certainly saw and knew. And knowing and seeing, they recognized one another. But it was after a long time that the Scripture says, “and Adam knew Eve his wife.” But the first knowledge and sight he speaks of as knowledge consisting in seeing and in thought, but the second knowledge he reports as knowledge through use; as also the divine Scripture says concerning David when he grew old: “And David grew old and could not get warm, and his servants said to him: Let a virgin be sought for the king, and Abishag the Shunammite was found.” and it says, “she cherished him, and lay with him, and David did not know her.” How did he not know her who shared his body and his bed? But here it relates not the knowledge through thought, but that through use. For it is also so in the case of Jacob; for he happened to be shepherding for seven years with Rachel and Leah, and he knew them. But when it relates the consummation of their solemn marriage, it says, “he knew Leah his wife.” Because the first knowledge was through thought and through sight, but the second knowledge and knowing was through use and 3.194 action. Thus also in the divine Scripture, “The Lord knows those who are his,” not as if he is ignorant of those who are not, but it signifies the active nature of the Lord's acknowledgment. And, “Depart from me, you workers of iniquity, I never knew you.” Did he then not know them according to knowledge? But since they were not worthy of him, he removes the practical aspect from them. And in another place, “You only have I known of all the nations.” For are all the nations and the number of all humanity omitted from his knowledge, and are not rather the hairs of every human head, both of those who serve him and of those who disobey him, known by him? And, “For God knows the ways of the right hand.” Is he then ignorant of those of the left hand? And how many such things are there to say concerning knowledge and knowledge? 47. Thus also the only-begotten Son of God. For since it says, “the Father has given judgment to the Son,” he has already referred the knowledge of knowing and use back to the Father. That “no one knows the day except the Father” is in two ways: that he knows when it is coming—for the day and hour comes by his authority—and he knows it in terms of action; for it has already been accomplished by him, the judgment having been handed over to the only-begotten. So also in the only-begotten Son of God, being God and in no way different from the Father, is the same knowledge. For he himself knows it, and he himself leads it and brings it and accomplishes it and judges, and without him it does not come. But he has not yet known it in terms of action, that is, he has not yet judged. For still the impious act impiously and the unjust are greedy and fornicators and adulterers and idolaters act lawlessly and the devil is at work and heresies arise and error is active, until the only-begotten Son of God brings that day and renders to each his due; and * he will know it, that is, he will do it in power. And in the Father it is fulfilled in two ways, but in the Son it exists according to knowledge and is not unknown, but according to action it has not yet been accomplished, since he has not yet judged. But from the holy angels it is withheld in two ways, * and in that they have not yet known it according to action, that is, to accomplish it. For they have not yet been commanded to go out and gather the impious, like the tares, in bundles, and prepare them to be burned in the fire. And you see, O beloved and servants of God, that 3.195 in vain has each one of those who, according to some preconception, bring terrible things upon themselves, waged war, each in different ways against himself, by attempting to blaspheme inferior and diminished things against the Son of God. 48. But having sufficiently dealt with this expression, let us again turn our mind to their other words, with the power of God. The

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«γυμνοὶ καὶ οὐκ ᾐσχύνοντο». γυμνῶν δὲ αὐτῶν ὄντων καὶ οὐ τυφλωττόντων *. οὔτε γὰρ τοῦτο ἀρνήσασθαι δύνασθε, μὴ βλέποντας αὐτοὺς ὁμολογῆσαι. «εἶδε» γάρ, φησιν, «Εὔα τὸ ξύλον ὅτι καλὸν εἰς βρῶσιν καὶ ὡραῖον τοῦ κατανοῆσαι.» ἄρα γοῦν εἶδον καὶ ᾔδεισαν. εἰδότες δὲ καὶ ὁρῶντες ἀλλήλους ἐπεγίνωσκον. ἦν δὲ μετὰ πολὺν χρόνον ὅτε φησὶν ἡ γραφή, «καὶ ἔγνω Ἀδὰμ Εὔαν τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ». ἀλλὰ τὴν μὲν πρώτην εἴδησιν καὶ βλέψιν περὶ εἰδήσεως δι' ὁράσεως συνισταμένης λέγει καὶ διὰ ἐννοίας, περὶ δὲ τῆς δευτέρας γνώσεως περὶ εἰδήσεως διὰ χρήσεως ἀπαγγέλλει· ὡς καὶ περὶ ∆αυὶδ γηράσαντος λέγει ἡ θεία γραφή· «καὶ ἐγήρασε ∆αυὶδ καὶ οὐκ ἐθερμαίνετο, καὶ εἶπον αὐτοῦ οἱ παῖδες αὐτῷ· ζητηθήτω τῷ βασιλεῖ παρθένος, καὶ εὑρέθη Ἀβισὰκ ἡ Σωμανῖτις.» καί φησιν «ἔθαλπεν αὐτὸν, καὶ συνεκοιμᾶτο αὐτῷ, καὶ οὐκ ἔγνω αὐτὴν ∆αυίδ». τὴν σύσσωμον καὶ σύμπλευρον πῶς οὐκ ᾔδει; ἀλλ' ἐνταῦθα εἴδησιν οὐ τὴν δι' ἐννοίας διηγεῖται, ἀλλὰ τὴν διὰ χρήσεως. καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἰακώβ· ὅτι μὲν γὰρ ἑπτὰ ἔτη ἐτύγχανε ποιμαίνων μετὰ Ῥαχὴλ καὶ Λείας, καὶ ᾔδει αὐτάς. ὅτε δὲ περὶ τῆς συναφείας τῆς τοῦ σεμνοῦ αὐτῶν γάμου διηγεῖται, φησίν «ἔγνω Λείαν τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ». ὅτι ἡ μὲν πρώτη εἴδησις δι' ἐννοίας ἦν καὶ δι' ὁράσεως, ἡ δὲ δευτέρα γνῶσις καὶ εἴδησις διὰ χρήσεως καὶ 3.194 ἐνεργείας. οὕτω καὶ ἐν τῇ θείᾳ γραφῇ «ἔγνω κύριος τοὺς ὄντας αὐτοῦ», οὐχ ὡς ἀγνοοῦντος τοὺς μὴ ὄντας, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐνεργὲς τῆς τοῦ κυρίου ἀντιλήψεως σημαίνει. καὶ «ἀπόστητε ἀπ' ἐμοῦ οἱ ἐργάται τῆς ἀνομίας, οὔπω ἔγνων ὑμᾶς». ἆρα οὐκ ᾔδει αὐτοὺς κατὰ εἴδησιν; ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ οὐκ ἦσαν ἄξιοι αὐτοῦ, τὸ πρακτικὸν ἀπ' αὐτῶν ἀναιρεῖ. καὶ ἐν ἄλλῳ τόπῳ «ὑμᾶς ἔγνων ἐκ πάντων ἐθνῶν». ἆρα γὰρ τὰ ἔθνη πάντα καὶ ὁ ἀριθμὸς πάσης ἀνθρωπότητος ἀπὸ τῆς αὐτοῦ γνώσεως παραλέλειπται, καὶ οὐχὶ μᾶλλον αἱ τρίχες ἑκάστης κεφαλῆς ἀνθρώπου, τῶν τε αὐτῷ δουλευόντων καὶ τῶν αὐτῷ ἀπειθούντων, ὑπ' αὐτοῦ γινώσκονται; καὶ «ὁδοὺς γὰρ τὰς ἐκ δεξιῶν οἶδεν ὁ θεός». ἆρα γὰρ ἀγνοεῖ τὰς ἐξ ἀριστερῶν; καὶ πόσα ἐστὶ τοιαῦτα εἰπεῖν περὶ εἰδήσεως καὶ εἰδήσεως; 47. Οὕτω καὶ ὁ μονογενὴς υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ. ἐπειδὴ γάρ φησιν «ὁ πατὴρ τὴν κρίσιν δέδωκε τῷ υἱῷ», τὴν τῆς γνώσεως καὶ χρήσεως γνῶσιν ἀπέδωκεν ἤδη τῷ πατρί. ὅτι «οὐδεὶς οἶδε τὴν ἡμέραν εἰ μὴ ὁ πατήρ» κατὰ δύο τρόπους· ὅτι οἶδε, πότε ἔρχεται καὶ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῇ αὐτοῦ ἐξουσίᾳ ἡ ἡμέρα καὶ ὥρα ἔρχεται, καὶ οἶδεν αὐτὴν κατὰ πρᾶξιν· ἤδη γὰρ πέπρακται αὐτῷ, παραδεδομένη ἡ κρίσις τῷ μονογενεῖ. οὕτω καὶ ἐν τῷ μονογενεῖ υἱῷ τοῦ θεοῦ, θεῷ ὄντι καὶ μηδὲν ἀπὸ πατρὸς παρηλλαγμένῳ, ἡ αὐτὴ εἴδησις. αὐτὸς γὰρ οἶδεν αὐτήν, καὶ αὐτὸς ἄγει αὐτὴν καὶ φέρει καὶ τελεῖ καὶ κρίνει καὶ ἄνευ αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔρχεται. οὔπω δὲ ἔγνω αὐτὴν κατὰ πρᾶξιν, τουτέστιν οὔπω ἔκρινεν. ἔτι γὰρ ἀσεβεῖς ἀσεβοῦσι καὶ ἄδικοι πλεονεκτοῦσι καὶ πόρνοι καὶ μοιχοὶ καὶ εἰδωλολάτραι ἀνομοῦσι καὶ ὁ διάβολος ἐνεργεῖ καὶ αἱρέσεις ἐπανίστανται καὶ ἡ πλάνη ἐργάζεται, ἕως ἐνέγκῃ αὐτὴν τὴν ἡμέραν ὁ μονογενὴς υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὸ δίκαιον ἑκάστῳ ἀπονείμῃ· καὶ * γνώσεται αὐτήν, τουτέστι πράξει αὐτὴν δυνάμει. καὶ ἐν μὲν πατρὶ κατὰ δύο τρόπους πεπλήρωται, ἐν δὲ τῷ υἱῷ κατὰ εἴδησίν ἐστι καὶ οὐκ ἀγνοεῖται, κατὰ δὲ πρᾶξιν οὔπω ἐτελέσθη, ἐπειδὴ οὔπω κέκρικεν. ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν ἁγίων ἀγγέλων κατὰ δύο τρόπους παραλέλυται, * καὶ ἐν τῷ μηδέπω κατὰ πρᾶξιν ἐγνωκέναι αὐτούς, τουτέστιν ἐπιτελέσαι. οὔπω γὰρ προσετάχθησαν ἐξελθεῖν καὶ συναγαγεῖν τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς, ὡς τὰ ζιζάνια, δεσμὰς δεσμάς, καὶ ἑτοιμάσαι εἰς τὸ πῦρ κατακαῆναι. καὶ ὁρᾶτε, ὦ ἀγαπητοὶ καὶ τοῦ θεοῦ δοῦλοι, ὅτι 3.195 μάτην ἕκαστος τῶν κατά τινα πρόληψιν ἑαυτοῖς τὰ δεινὰ ἐπισπωμένων ἐστρατεύσατο, διαφόρως ἕκαστος καθ' ἑαυτοῦ εἰς τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ τὰ ἥσσονα καὶ ἠλαττωμένα βλασφημεῖν ἐπιχειροῦντες. 48. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ταύτης ἱκανῶς τὴν φράσιν πεποιημένοι ἐπ' ἄλλας πάλιν αὐτῶν λέξεις δῶμεν τὸν νοῦν σὺν τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ δυνάμει. οἱ