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And "abyss," the overlying ignorance upon the habit of evil, on which it stands as if on earth, the seas of evil; or "earth," he called the firm habit of evil; and "eternal bars," the impassioned strivings for material things that hold together the worst habit.

Tess. anoik. 3. The endurance of the saints consumes the evil power that attacks; as it persuades its ministers to glory in the toils for the sake of truth, and teaching them to be enlarged more by sufferings than by reliefs, they who care exceedingly for the life in the flesh, making for them the occasion of transcendent power according to the spirit out of the natural weakness of the flesh in respect to suffering. For see how the natural weakness of the saints is the occasion for the exceedingly divine power, than which the Lord showed the proud devil to be weaker.

Tess. anoik. 4. The word of grace, through many temptations to human nature, that is, the Church of the Gentiles, just as Jonah, passing through many afflictions to Nineveh, the great city, persuaded the reigning law of nature to rise from its throne, that is, from the former habit regarding evil according to sense, and to take off its robe, I mean, to put away the pride of worldly glory in its morals, and to put on sackcloth, that is, mourning and the difficult and harsh discipline of suffering hardship, and a conduct fitting for a life according to God; and to sit on ashes; and ashes are poverty of spirit, on which everyone sits who is taught to live piously, having the scourge of conscience for his transgressions, which torments him.

Tess. anoik. 5. See how he says the king is the natural law; and the throne, the impassioned habit according to sense; and the robe, the display of vainglory; and the sackcloth, the mourning of repentance; and the ashes, humility; and human beings, those concerned with reason; and cattle, those concerned with desire; and oxen, those concerned with anger; and sheep, those who stumble in the contemplation of visible things.

Tess. anoik. 6. He who for the sake of lawful virtue forgets the passions in the flesh as things on the left, and for the sake of unerring knowledge is not captured by the disease of puffing-up conceit over his achievements as things on the right, has become a man who does not know his right hand, as not loving a glory that is dissolved, nor his left, as not being aroused by the passions of the flesh. The word therefore, as it seems, called the right hand the vainglory over supposed achievements; and the left hand, the licentiousness in shameful passions. (1348) For the principle of virtue does not know the sin of the flesh as of a left hand; and the principle of knowledge does not know the evil of the soul as of a right hand.

Tess. anoik. 7. The knowledge of the virtues according to reason, that is, the true recognition in act of the cause of the virtues, is by nature wont to produce complete ignorance of the excess and deficiency on the right and on the left, lying on either side of the mean of the virtues. For if nothing irrational is by nature in the Logos, clearly he who has been raised up to the principle of the virtues will in no way recognize the position of irrational things. For it is not possible to contemplate both opposites at the same time, and with the one to know the other appearing together.

Tess. anoik. 8. If there is no account of unbelief in faith, nor is light by nature the cause of darkness, nor is the devil wont to be shown together with Christ, it is clear that the irrational does not at all co-exist with the Logos. But if the irrational is completely unable to be with the Logos, he who has been raised up to the principle of the virtues will in no way recognize the position of irrational things, knowing virtue only as it is, but not as it is reputed to be; and for this reason, knowing neither the right hand through excess, nor the left through deficiency. For in both the irrational is clearly seen.

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ἄβυσσον δέ, τήν ἐπικειμένην ἄγνοιαν τῇ ἕξει τῆς κακίας, ἐφ᾿ ᾗ βέβηκε καθάπερ γῇ, τά τῆς κακίας πελάγη ἤ γῆν, τήν παγίαν τῆς κακίας ἕξιν εἶπεν· αἰωνίους δέ μοχλούς, τάς συγκρατούσας τήν χειρίστην ἕξιν ἐμπαθεῖς προσπαθείας τῶν ὑλικῶν.

τέσσ. ἀνοικ. γ΄. Ἡ τῶν ἁγίων ὑπομονή, τήν πονηράν δύναμιν προσβάλλουσαν, δαπανᾷ· ὡς πείθουσα τοῖς ὑπέρ ἀληθείας ἐγκαλλωπίζεσθαι πόνοις, τούς αὐτῆς διακόνους, καί πλέον ἐμπλατύνεσθαι διδάσκουσα τοῖς παθήμασιν, ἤ ταῖς ἀνέσεσιν, οἱ τῆς ἐν σαρκί ζωῆς ἄγαν φροντίζοντες, ὑπόθεσιν αὐτοῖς ὑπερβαλλούσης κατά πνεῦμα δυνάμεως ποιουμένη, τήν κατά φύσιν τῆς σαρκός περί τό πάσχειν ἀσθένειαν. Ὅρα γάρ ὅπως τῆς καθ᾿ ὑπερβολήν θείας δυνάμεως ἐστιν ὑπόθεσις, ἡ κατά φύσιν τῶν ἁγίων ἀσθένεια, ἧς ἥττονα τόν ὑπερήφανον διάβολον Κύριος ἔδειξεν.

τέσσ. ἀνοικ. δ΄. Ὁ λόγος τῆς χάριτος, διά πολλῶν πειρασμῶν πρός τήν τῶν ἀνθρώπων φύσιν, ἤγουν τήν τῶν ἐθνῶν Ἐκκλησίαν, ὥσπερ Ἰωνᾶς διά πολλῶν θλίψεων πρός Νινευί διαβάς τήν πόλιν τήν μεγάλην, ἔπεισε τόν βασιλεύοντα νόμον τῆς φύσεως ἐξαναστῆναι τοῦ θρόνου, τῆς προτέρας δηλαδή περί τό κακόν κατά τήν αἴσθησιν ἕξεως, καί περιελέσθαι τήν στολήν αὐτοῦ, τόν ἐπί τοῖς ἤθεσι λέγω τῆς κοσμικῆς δόξης ἀποθέσθαι τῦφον, καί περιβαλέσθαι σάκκον, τό πένθος δηλαδή καί τήν δυσχερῆ καί τραχεῖαν τῆς κακοπαθείας, καί βίῳ τῷ κατά Θεόν πρέπουσαν ἀγωγήν· καί καθίσαι ἐπί σποδοῦ· σποδός δέ ἐστιν ἡ πτωχεία τοῦ πνεύματος, ἐφ᾿ ἧς καθέζεται πᾶς εὐσεβῶς ζῇν διδασκόμενος, καί τήν μάστιγα τῆς συνειδήσεως ἔχων ἐπί τοῖς πλημμεληθεῖσιν, αὐτόν καταικίζουσαν.

τέσσ. ἀνοικ. ε΄. Ὅρα ὅπως βασιλέα μέν εἶναι λέγει, τόν φυσικόν νόμον· θρόνον δέ, τήν ἐμπαθῆ κατ᾿ αἴσθησιν ἕξιν· τήν δέ στολήν, τήν τῆς κενῆς δόξης προβολήν· τόν δέ σάκκον, τό κατά τήν μετάνοιαν πένθος· τήν δέ σποδόν, τήν ταπεινοφροσύνην· ἀνθρώπους δέ, τούς περί τόν λόγον· κτήνη δέ, τούς περί τήν ἐπιθυμίαν· βόας δέ, τούς περί τόν θυμόν· πρόβατα δέ, τούς περί τήν θεωρίαν τῶν ὁρατῶν πταίοντας.

τέσσ. ἀνοικ. στ΄. Ὁ διά τήν ἔννομον ἀρετήν τῶν ἐν σαρκί παθῶν ὠς ἀριστερῶν ποιούμενος λήθην, καί διά τήν ἄπταιστον γνῶσιν, ἐπί τοῖς κατορθώμασι τῇ νόσῳ τῆς φυσιούσης οἰήσεως ὡς δεξιᾶς οὐχ ἁλισκόμενος, ἀνήρ γέγονε, μή γινώσκων δεξιάν αὐτοῦ, ὡς δόξης οὐκ ἐρῶν λυομένης, οὐδέ ἀριστεράν, ὡς τοῖς τῆς σαρκός οὐκ ἐρεθιζόμενος πάθεσι. ∆εξιάν οὖν, ὡς ἔοικεν, εἶπεν ὁ λόγος, τήν ἐπί τοῖς δῆθεν κατορθώμασι κενοδοξίαν· ἀριστεράν δέ, τήν ἐπί τοῖς αἰσχροῖς πάθεσιν ἀκολασίαν. (1348) Ὁ γάρ τῆς ἀρετῆς λόγος, τῆς σαρκός ὡς ἀριστερᾶς οὐκ οἶδεν ἁμαρτίαν· ὁ δέ τῆς γνώσεως, τήν ψυχῆς ὡς δεξιᾶς οὐ γινώσκει κακίαν.

τέσσ. ἀνοικ. ζ΄. Ἡ κατά λόγον γνῶσις τῶν ἀρετῶν, ἤγουν ἡ κατ᾿ ἐνέργειαν ἀληθής τῆς τῶν ἀρετῶν αἰτίας ἐπίγνωσις, ἄγνοιαν παντελῆ πέφυκε ποιεῖν, τῆς δεξιᾶς καί ἀριστερᾶς ἑκατέρωθεν παρακειμένης τῇ μεσότητι τῶν ἀρετῶν ὑπερβολῆς καί ἐλλείψεως. Εἰ γάρ οὐδέν ἐν τῷ λόγῳ παντελῶς πέφυκεν εἶναι παράλογον, σαφῶς ὁ πρός τόν λόγον τῶν ἀρετῶν ἀναχθείς, τήν τῶν παραλόγων οὐδαμῶς ἐπιγνώσεται θέσιν. Οὐ γάρ δυνατόν ἄμφω κατά ταὐτόν ἅμα καταθρῆσαι τά ἀντικείμενα, καί θατέρῳ ἅμα τό ἕτερον γνῶναι συνεμφαινόμενον.

τέσσ. ἀνοικ. η΄. Εἰ ἀπιστίας ἐν τῇ πίστει λόγος οὐδείς, οὐδέ σκότους αἰτία κατά φύσιν ὑπάρχει τό φῶς, οὐδέ Χριστῷ συνενδείκνυσθαι πέφυκεν ὁ διάβολος, δῆλον ὡς οὐδέ τῷ λόγῳ τοπαράπαν συνυπάρχει τό παράλογον. Εἰ δέ τῷ λόγῳ συνεῖναι παντελῶς οὐ δύναται τό παράλογον, ὁ πρός τόν λόγον τῶν ἀρετῶν ἀναχθείς, τήν τῶν παραλόγων οὐδαμῶς ἐπιγνώσεται θέσιν, μόνην ὡς ἔστιν, ἀλλ᾿ οὐχ ὡς νομίζεται γινώσκων τήν ἀρετήν· καί διά τοῦτο μήτε δεξιάν διά τῆς ὑπερβολῆς, μήτε ἀριστεράν διά τῆς ἐλλείψεως ἐπιστάμενος. Ἐπ᾿ ἀμφοῖν γάρ θεωρεῖται σαφῶς τό παράλογον.