469

being able to pay no worthy recompense, he offers this which he has, to hymn continually, to spend his whole life for this. Let them hear who are corrupted all day long by business and trade, and not even once turning to prayer, how much they are accountable to God; this is the gain of life, to bless God, for this it is worthwhile to live. Rightly he added, in my life, and, as long as I exist, I will sing psalms to my God. For there is no one in death who remembers him, and in hades who will confess him? Thus was the door of the bridal chamber shut to the foolish virgins, who spent the time of torch- 23.1289 bearing in buying oil. Let my meditation be sweet to him; and I will be glad in the Lord. May it be, he says, that I sing and chant such things, that the fruit of me, my meditation, may be sweet to him; that is, my discourse, my conversation, my praise; for he who sings psalms converses with God. What then is, Let my meditation be sweet to him? May it become well-accepted, may it be received with pleasure, may it appear most sweet and delightful to God. So then prayer is nothing other than a conversation with God. Consider, therefore, psalmody, as having the reward in itself. For what could be equal to conversing with God? Such a soul is freed from disturbances, is translated to heaven, is released from the bonds of the body, takes wing, becomes lighter, puts away the passions, casts off its infirmities. For if one conversing with a prudent and intelligent man departs having gained something from the conversation, consider how much virtue he will reap who speaks with God. Therefore a hymn is this: conversation with God. But how could this be sweet to God? If one's life is pure, if the soul is philosophizing. For when you spend the whole day praying, while your conduct opposes it, you will not be heard easily, not only you yourself, but not even another doing this on your behalf. But I say these things, not that we should not pray, nor that we should not sing psalms, but that along with singing psalms we may also take care of our life and conduct. And you will understand the verse also in this way: Many rashly and divergently bring forth judgments, before a comprehension that comes from sufficient reason and further investigation arises, unexaminedly and precipitously casting their assents concerning each dogma. But the nature of dialectic is especially believed to be able to provide these things, to divide accurately the natures of things and to know similar things, and to distinguish its own. Therefore, being conscious that he possessed the divine dialectic, David said, Let my meditation be sweet to you. For the dialectic of those who approach matters contentiously and argumentatively is not sweet, but rather exasperating. That a word looking to uprightness is therefore sweet to God, he himself says in the Song: Your lips drop honeycomb, my sister, my bride; honey and milk are under your tongue. But that he who is accustomed to speak coldly is ungraceful, the psalmody presents: For their throat, it says, is an open sepulchre. But I will be glad in the Lord. I pray, he says, that this hymnody and discourse of mine may appear most sweet to God. For when this has happened, I will reap cheerfulness from it, and I will be glad in the Lord, that is, in worship, in adoration and in his commands, in having such a master. For the things seen are also beautiful, and the heaven delights, and the sun gladdens, and the earth sends forth seeds and plants; but I rejoice more than in all these things in the one who made them. This is my delight, this my gladness, this my pleasure, this my countless good things. 23.1292 Let sinners fail from the earth and the lawless, so that they be no more. At that time, clearly, for they will hear, Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you did not give me to eat; I was thirsty,

469

ἀντίδοσιν οὐδεμίαν ἀξίαν δυνάμενον καταβαλεῖν, ἣν ἔχει, ταύτην κατατίθησι, τὸ διηνεκῶς ὑμνεῖν, τὸ πᾶσαν εἰς τοῦτο δαπανῆσαι τὴν ζωήν. Ἀκουέτωσαν οἱ πραγματείαις καὶ καπηλείαις διὰ πάσης κατασηπόμενοι τῆς ἡμέρας, καὶ οὐδὲ ἅπαξ εἰς εὐχὴν τρεπόμενοι, ὅσον εἰσὶν ὑπεύθυνοι τῷ Θεῷ· τοῦτο τῆς ζωῆς τὸ κέρδος, τὸ εὐλογεῖν τὸν Θεὸν, ἐπὶ τούτῳ καὶ ζῇν ἄξιον. Εἰκότως δὲ προσέθηκε, ἐν τῇ ζωῇ μου, καὶ τὸ, ἕως ὑπάρχω, ψαλῶ τῷ Θεῷ. Οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἐν θανάτῳ ὁ μνημονεύων αὐτοῦ, ἐν δὲ τῷ ᾅδῃ τίς ἐξομολογήσεται; Οὕτως ἀπεκλείσθη ταῖς μωραῖς παρθένοις τοῦ νυμφῶνος ἡ θύρα, τὸν τῆς λαμπα 23.1289 δηφορίας καιρὸν εἰς ἀγορασίαν ἐλαίου δαπανώσαις. Ἡδυνθείη αὐτῷ ἡ διαλογή μου· ἐγὼ δὲ εὐφρανθήσομαι ἐπὶ τῷ Κυρίῳ. Εἴη, φησὶ, τοιαῦτά με ᾆσαι καὶ ψάλαι, ὡς ἡδυνθῆναι αὐτῷ τὸν ἐμοῦ καρπὸν, τὴν διαλογήν μου· τουτέστι τὴν διάλεξίν μου, τὴν ὁμιλίαν μου, τὴν αἴνεσιν· ὁ γὰρ ψάλλων Θεῷ διαλέγεται. Τί δέ ἐστιν, Ἡδυνθείη αὐτῷ ἡ διαλογή μου; εὐπρόσδεκτος γένοιτο, ἀρέσαι δεχθείη, ἡδίστη καὶ τερπνοτάτη ὀφθείη τῷ Θεῷ. Ἄρα ἡ εὐχὴ οὐδὲν ἕτερόν ἐστιν ἢ διάλεξις πρὸς Θεόν. Ἐννόησον τοίνυν τὴν ψαλμῳδίαν, ἐν αὐτῇ τὴν ἀμοιβὴν ἔχουσαν. Τί γὰρ ἴσον γένοιτ' ἂν τοῦ Θεῷ διαλέγεσθαι; Ἡ τοιαύτη θορύβων ἀπαλλάττεται ψυχὴ, εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν μεθίσταται, τῶν συνδέσμων τοῦ σώματος ἀπολύεται, πτεροῦται, κουφοτέρα καθίσταται, ἀποτίθεται τὰ πάθη, ἀποδύεται τὰ νοσήματα. Εἰ γὰρ ἀνθρώπῳ τις συνετῷ καὶ νοῦν ἔχοντι διαλεγόμενος, ἀπὸ τῆς ὁμιλίας τι κερδάνας ἀπέρχεται, ὁ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ὁμιλῶν, ἐννόησον πόσην καρπώσεται τὴν ἀρετήν. Ἄρα ὕμνος τοῦτό ἐστιν ἡ πρὸς Θεὸν ὁμιλία. Πῶς δ' ἂν αὕτη ἡδυνθείη τῷ Θεῷ; Εἰ βίος εἴη καθαρὸς, εἰ ψυχὴ φιλοσοφοῦσα. Ὅταν γὰρ πᾶσαν ἀναλώσῃς τὴν ἡμέραν εὐχόμενος, τῆς πολιτείας ἀντιπραττούσης, οὐκ ἀκουσθήσῃ ῥᾳδίως, οὐ μόνον αὐτὸς, ἀλλ' οὐδ' ἕτερος ὑπὲρ σοῦ τοῦτο ποιῶν. Ταῦτα δὲ λέγω, οὐχ ἵνα μὴ προσευχώμεθα, οὐδ' ἵνα μὴ ψάλλωμεν, ἀλλ' ἵνα μετὰ τοῦ ψάλλειν καὶ βίου καὶ πολιτείας ἐπιμελώμεθα. Νοήσεις δὲ τὸν στίχον καὶ οὕτως· Πολλοὶ κατὰ συναρπαγὴν παρηλλαγμένως τὰς κρίσεις ἐκφέρουσι, πρὸ καταλήψεως τῆς ἐξ ἱκανοῦ λόγου, καὶ ἐπιπλεῖον ἐρευνηθέντος, ἐγγινομένης, ἀβασανίστως κατὰ προπέτειαν τὰς περὶ ἑκάστου δόγματος ῥιπτοῦντες συγκαταθέσεις. Ἡ δὲ τῆς διαλεκτικῆς φύσις μάλιστα πεπίστευται ταῦτα παρέχειν δύνασθαι, διαιρεῖν ἀκριβῶς τὰς τῶν πραγμάτων φύσεις καὶ τὰ ὅμοια γνωρίζειν, καὶ τὰ ἑαυτῆς διακρίνειν. ∆ιόπερ συνειδὼς ἑαυτῷ τὴν θείαν διαλεκτικὴν ἔχοντι, ἔλεγεν ὁ ∆αυῒδ τὸ, Ἡδυνθείη σοι ἡ διαλογή μου. Ἡ γὰρ τῶν ἐριστικῶς καὶ φιλονείκως ἐπεμβαινόντων τοῖς πράγμασι διαλεκτικὴ, οὐχ ἡδεῖα, ἀλλὰ παραπικραίνουσά τίς ἐστιν. Ὅτι μὲν οὖν ἡδὺς Θεῷ λόγος ὁ εἰς ὀρθότητα βλέπων, αὐτὸς ἐν τῷ ᾄσματι λέγει· Κηρίον ἀποστάζουσι χείλη σου, ἀδελφή μου νύμφη· μέλι καὶ γάλα ὑπὸ τὴν γλῶσσάν σου. Ὅτι δὲ ὁ ψυχρολογεῖν εἰωθὼς ἀκαλλὴς, ἡ ψαλμῳδία παρίστησι· Τάφος γὰρ, φησὶν, ἀνεῳγμένος ὁ λάρυγξ αὐτῶν. Ἐγὼ δὲ εὐφρανθήσομαι ἐπὶ τῷ Κυρίῳ. Εὔχομαι, φησὶ, ταύτην μου τὴν ὑμνῳδίαν καὶ διάλεξιν ἡδίστην ὀφθῆναι τῷ Θεῷ. Τούτου γὰρ γενομένου, ἐγὼ τὴν ἐντεῦθεν εὐθυμίαν καρπώσομαι, καὶ εὐφρανθήσομαι ἐπὶ τῷ Κυρίῳ, τουτέστιν ἐπὶ τῇ λατρείᾳ, ἐπὶ τῇ προσκυνήσει καὶ τοῖς ἐπιτάγμασι τοῖς αὐτοῦ, ἐπὶ τῷ τοιοῦτον ἔχειν δεσπότην. Καλὰ μὲν γὰρ καὶ τὰ ὁρώμενα, καὶ τέρπει ὁ οὐρανὸς, καὶ εὐφραίνει ὁ ἥλιος, καὶ γῆ ἀνίησι σπέρματα καὶ φυτά· ἀλλ' ἐγὼ τούτων πάντων ἐπὶ τῷ ποιήσαντι πλέον εὐφραίνομαι. Τοῦτό μοι τρυφὴ, τοῦτό μοι εὐφροσύνη, τοῦτο ἡδονὴ, τοῦτο τὰ μυρία ἀγαθά. 23.1292 Ἐκλίποισαν ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἄνομοι, ὥστε μὴ ὑπάρχειν αὐτούς. Ἐν ἐκείνῳ δηλονότι τῷ καιρῷ, ἀκούσονται γὰρ, Πορεύεσθε ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, οἱ κατηραμένοι, εἰς τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον, τὸ ἡτοιμασμένον τῷ διαβόλῳ καὶ τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ. Ἐπείνασα γὰρ, καὶ οὐκ ἐδώκατέ μοι φαγεῖν· ἐδίψησα,