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129. The deer, having devoured snakes, runs to springs of water to quench the venom; but the soul, wounded by divine arrows, unceasingly draws love for the one who wounded it.

130. Bare thoughts spring up in the solitary life; but afterthoughts in the life of duality; but for the multifaceted soul, (1432) thoughts have been driven away; and only intellects bare of bodies approaching it, reveal to it the principles concerning Providence and judgment, as if uncovering some foundations of the earth.

131. Thoughts are neither of the irrational part of the soul, for there is no thought in irrational beings; nor of the intellective part, since they are not even in angels; but being the offspring of the rational part itself, using the imagination as a ladder, they ascend from the senses to the intellect, announcing to it the things from the senses; and they descend to the senses from it, suggesting the things of the intellect.

132. Like some being brought up from the deep, and trying to take hold of something for help, so will evil thoughts be found, like a merchant ship, when wickedness is endangered by a flood of tears.

133. According to the underlying quality of the soul, the thoughts around it are gathered, either as pirates to sink it, or as rowers to help it when in danger; some drawing it towards a sea of notions of unbecoming thoughts; but others, choosing what is nearer, run the intellect aground on calm shores.

134. The thought of vainglory being the seventh, the soul that is eager to cast it off as a final tunic, unless it divests itself of those before it, will not be able to put on an eighth after them. Which the divine Apostle knows to call a heavenly dwelling, and to be put on with groanings by those who for its sake are stripped of material things.

135. To perfect prayer, angelic thoughts are naturally present; to intermediate prayer, spiritual ones; and to introductory prayer, those of natural contemplation.

136. Just as the nobility of the grain is wont to be manifested through the ear of corn, so also the purity of contemplation through prayer; and the one possesses, for turning away the seed-gathering birds, as certain spears, the surrounding awns; and the other, thoughts that philosophize in temptations, for their destruction.

137. The visible things of the soul, for the sake of practice, are like the silvered wings of a dove; (1433) but the intelligible things, that is, its back, for the sake of contemplation, become as if in the paleness of gold; for the soul not so adorned cannot fly up and rest where the dwelling of all who rejoice is.

A meadow here filled with fruits of Spiritual practice and contemplation. 138. The firstfruits of the threshing-floor and winepress, of old the ancients were commanded to offer in the

temple. But now we must offer to God self-control and truth, as the firstfruits of practice; and of contemplative virtue, love and prayer; through the former, cutting off the impulses of irrational desire and anger; and through the latter, empty notions and the plots arising from them.

139. The beginning of practice is self-control and humility, truth, temperance and lowliness of mind; and its end, peace of thoughts and sanctification of body.

140. Practice is, not only to be able to do good things well, but also to do them as one ought, the one who acts bringing the right time and measure to the things to be done.

141. Contemplation is, not only to contemplate bodies as they are by nature, but also toward what their principles look.

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ρκθ΄. Ἡ ἐμφαγούσα μέν ἔλαφος ὄφεις, ἰόν τοῦ σβέσαι, πρός ὑδάτων τρέχει πηγάς· ψυχή δέ ἡ βέλεσι θείοις τρωθεῖσα, ἄπαυστον ἕλκει τόν τρώσαντα ἔρωτα.

ρλ΄. Ψιλοί μέν λογισμοί τῇ μοναδικῇ ζωή ἐπιφύονται· ἐπιλογισμοί δέ τῇ δυαδικῇ· τῇ δέ πολυσχιδεῖ ψυχῇ, (1432) λογισμοί μέν ἀπελήλανται· νόες δέ μόνοι γυμνοί σωμάτων αὐτῇ προσπελάζοντες, τούς περί Προνοίας καί κρίσεως λόγους, ὥς τινα θεμέλια γῆς ἀνακαλύπτοντες, αὐτῇ ἐμφανίζουσιν.

ρλα΄. Οἱ λογισμοί, οὔτε τοῦ ἀλόγου μέρους εἰσί τῆς ψυχῆς· οὐδέ γάρ ἐστι λογισμός ἐν τοῖς ἀλόγοις· οὔτε τοῦ νοεροῦ· ἐπεί μηδέ ἐν ἀγγέλοις· αὐτῆς δέ τῆς λογικῆς ὄντες γεννήματα, ὡς κλίμακι τῇ φαντασίᾳ χρώμενοι, ἀναβαίνουσι μέν πρός τόν νοῦν ἀπό τῆς αἰσθήσεως, τά ἐκείνης αὐτῷ ἀπαγγέλοντες· καταβαίνουσι δέ πρός αὐτήν ἐξ αὐτοῦ τά ἐκείνου ὑποτιθέμενοι.

ρλβ΄. Ὥς τινες ἐκ βυθοῦ ἀναφερόμενοι, καί τινος εἰς βοήθειαν ἐπιλαβέσθαι πειρώμενοι, οἱ πονηροί λογισμοί εὑρεθήσονται, ὁλκάδα καθάπερ, κινδυνευούσης τῆς κακίας δακρύων κατακλυσμῷ.

ρλγ΄. Κατά τήν ὑποκειμένην ποιότητα τῆς ψυχῆς, ἤ ὡς πειραταί καταποντίζειν, ἤ ὡς ἐρέται συμβοηθεῖν κινδυνευούσῃ, οἱ περί αὐτήν συνάγονται λογισμοί· οἱ μέν πρός πέλαγος ἐννοιῶν ἕλκοντες τῶν ἀπρεπῶν λογισμῶν· οἱ δέ τήν ἆσσον παρεκλεγόμενοι, καί πρός γαληνίους ἀκτάς τόν νοῦν ἐποκείλουσιν.

ρλδ΄. Ἕβδομον τόν τῆς κενοδοξίας λογισμόν ὄντα, ἡ ἐφεμένη ὡς ἔσχατον ἀποβαλέσθαι χιτῶνα ψυχή, εἰ μή τούς πρό αὐτοῦ ἀπεκδύσηται, οὐ δυνήσεται μετ᾿ αὐτούς ὄγδοον ἐπενδύσασθαι. Ὅν καί οἰκητήριον οὐράνιον καλεῖν οἶδεν ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολος, καί διά στεναγμῶν ἐπενδύεσθαι τούς δι᾿ αὐτό τῶν ὑλικῶν γυμνητεύοντας.

ρλε΄. Τῇ μέν τελείᾳ εὐχῇ, ἄγγελοι παραβάλλειν πεφύκασι λογισμοί· τῇ δέ μέσῃ, πνευματικοί· τῇ δέ εἰσαγωγικῇ, οἱ φυσιολόγοι.

ρλστ΄. Ὥσπερ τό εὐγενές τοῦ κόκκου διά τοῦ στάχυος, οὕτω καί τό εἰλικρινές τῆς θεωρίας διά προσευχῆς εἴωθεν ἐμφανίζεσθαι· κέκτηται δέ ὁ μέν, εἰς ἀποτροπήν τῶν σπερμολόγων ὀρνέων, οἷά τινα δόρατα, τούς περιστοιχοῦντας ἀνθέρικας· τό δέ, τούς φιλοσοφοῦντας ἐν πειρασμοῖς λογισμούς, πρός τήν ἐκείνων ἀναίρεσιν.

ρλζ΄. Τά μέν ὁρώμενα τῆς ψυχῆς, διά τήν πρᾶξιν, περιστερᾶς περιηργυρωμένα καθάπερ εἰσί πτερά· (1433) τά δέ νοουμένα, φημί δή τά μετάφρενα, διά τήν θεωρίαν ὡς ἐν χλωρότητι χρυσίου καθίσταται· ἡ γάρ μή οὕτως ὡραιωθεῖσα ψυχή, πετασθῆναι καί καταπαῦσαι οὐ δύναται, ἔνθα πάντων εὐφραινομένων ἡ κατοικία ἐστίν.

Λειμών ἐνθάδε καρπῶν πεπληρωμένος, Πνευματικῆς πράξεως καί θεωρίας. λρη΄. Ἀπαρχάς ἅλωνος καί ληνοῦ, πάλαι μέν τοῖς παλαιοῖς προσφέρειν ἐν τῷ

ναῷ προσετέτακτο. Νυνί δέ ἡμᾶς, πρακτικῆς μέν ἀπαρχάς, ἐγκράτειαν δεῖ Θεῷ προσφέρειν καί τήν ἀλήθειαν· θεωρητικῆς δέ ἀρετῆς, ἀγάπην καί προσευχήν· δι᾿ ἐκείνων μέν, ἀλόγου ἐπιθυμίας καί τοῦ θυμοῦ τάς ὁρμάς ἀνακόπτοντας· διά τούτων δέ, ἐννοίας κενάς, καί τάς ἐκ τούτων ἐπιβουλάς.

ρλθ΄. Πρακτικῆς ἀρχή μέν, ἐγκράτεια καί ταπείνωσις, ἀλήθεια, σωφροσύνη καί ταπεινοφροσύνη· τέλος δέ αὐτῆς, λογισμῶν εἰρήνη καί ἁγιασμός σώματος.

ρμ΄. Πρᾶξίς ἐστιν, οὐ τό πράττειν καλῶς δύνασθαι μόνον τά καλά, ἀλλά καί τό ὡς δεῖ πράττειν αὐτά, τόν καιρόν καί τό μέτρον πρός τά πρακτέα συνεπιφερομένου τοῦ πράττοντος.

ρμα΄. Θεωρία ἐστίν, οὐ τό θεωρεῖν μόνον ὡς ἔχουσι τά σώματα φύσεως, ἀλλά καί τούς λόγους αὐτῶν πρός τί βλέπουσιν.