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by nature unrestrained and always flowing through corruption and alteration, and escaping the hands of those who think they possess it more quickly than an unsubstantial dream for one who sees it.

From the same discourse, on the text, "For Christ does not often love being stolen, even if He is exceedingly philanthropic."

Why indeed, say some, coming to this point of the discourse, if God is exceedingly philanthropic, and an inexhaustible spring of philanthropy, so as not to be diminished in any way by those who draw from it, does He not love being stolen? For thus He would have shown His philanthropy more, (1352) not being diminished by giving opportunity to those who wish to steal, and especially a salutary theft, and as often as they might wish. To whom we say, by God's gracious word, that this very thing is full of philanthropy, or rather, is philanthropy itself, and for those who wish to steal something, it is the clearest indication of good providence, not to permit those who wish, that the appropriation of salvation should become very easy, and likely also the loss of what was given, as something that can be easily received again, and that the recipients of the gift might be shown to be ignorant of the unchangeable and firm possession in what is good, having a mind prone to fall into evil on account of the ease of acquiring the good, which is despised because it is cheap.

From the same [author], from the discourse on Pascha, on the text, "Naked in simplicity and artless life, and without any covering and screen. For such it was fitting for the one from the beginning to be."

What this great teacher secretly reveals through these things, I say that only those know who have received a gift of wisdom and of knowledge equal to his, who, by having laid aside all the rheum from the passions and every material attachment from their spiritual eyes, were able to receive the ray of true knowledge in all things, according to which, having withdrawn their mind from the many things by a simple and, as far as possible, unitive reason, they embraced all scientific knowledge of beings with simple understanding. But we, over whom the darkness of ignorance still stands in the way of the comprehension of the true, because of the mind's turning about only the things that are shaken, just as a blind man touching a heap of matter with both his hands often finds something of value, so also do we attempt, with our own weakness, to say something concerning the question before us. And indeed we say absolutely nothing other than what God may deliver into our hands, as it is written, to nourish you, our good fathers, according to our ability, I mean by the groping reason of our noetic power a simple and plain contemplation, both commensurate to us and calling forth a paternal blessing, lest, by ineptly traversing the field of sensible things in a sensible way like Esau, we be deprived through slowness of the ready blessing of the father who is being fed, or again, through high-mindedness seeking something greater than our power from those who still inhabit our mountain of contemplation, we be wounded like Israel, concerning whom the law says that some, forcing their way, went up into the mountain, and the Amorite who lived in that mountain came out and wounded them. I suppose, therefore, that the teacher says these things, wishing to point out the difference of the (1353) constitution of the human body in the forefather Adam before the transgression from the one now observed in us and prevailing, as then indeed of the

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ἀκράτητον κατά φύσιν ὑπάρχουσαν καί ἀεί διά φθορᾶς καί ἀλλοιώσεως ῥέουσαν, καί θᾶττον τάς τῶν ἔχειν νομιζόντων χεῖρας διαφεύγουσαν ἤ ὄναρ ἀνυπόστατον βλέποντα.

Ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ λόγου, εἰς τό, " Οὐ γάρ πολλάκις Χριστός φιλεῖ κλεπτόμενος, καί εἰ λίαν ἐστί φιλάνθρωπος."

Τί δήποτε, φασίν ἐνταῦθα τοῦ λόγου γενόμενοί τινες, εἰ λίαν ἐστί φιλάνθρωπος ὁ Θεός, καί πηγή φιλανθρωπίας ἀνέκλειπτος, ὥστε μηδ᾿ ὁτιοῦν ὑπό τῶν ἀρυομένων ἐλαττοῦσθαι, μή φιλεῖ κλεπτόμενος; Οὕτω γάρ ἄν μᾶλλον τό φιλάνθρωπον ἐπεδείκνυτο, (1352) μή ἐλαττούμενον διά τοῦ διδόναι χώραν τοῖς ἐθέλουσι κλέπτειν, καί μάλιστα κλοπήν σωτήριον, καί ὁσάκις ἄν θέλοιεν. Πρός οὕς Θεοῦ λόγον χαριζομένου φαμέν, ὅτιπερ αὐτό τοῦτο φιλανθρωπίας πλῆρες ἐστι, μᾶλλον δέ αὐτό φιλανθρωπία, καί τούς περί τι κλέπτειν ἐθέλοντας, ἀγαθῆς προμηθείας ἔνδειξις σαφεστάτη, τό μή συγχωρεῖν τοῖς ἐθέλουσι τυγχάνοντος τοῦ σφετερισμοῦ τῆς σωτηρίας ῥᾴστη γένηται κατά τό εἰκός καί ἡ τοῦ δωρηθέντος ἀποβολή, ὡς εὐμαρῶς πάλιν ληφθῆναι δυναμένου, καί τῆς ἐν τῷ καλῷ ἀμεταθέτου καί παγίας ἕξεως ἀμαθεῖς ἀποφανθῶσιν οἱ τυγχάνοντες τῆς δωρεᾶς, εὐέμπτωτον εἰς κακίαν τήν γνώμην ἔχοντες διά τήν εὐμάρειαν τῆς τοῦ καλοῦ κτήσεως, τῷ εὐώνῳ καταφρονουμένης.

Τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐκ τοῦ εἰς τό Πάσχα λόγου, εἰς τό, " Γυμνόν τῇ ἁπλότητι καί ζωῇ ἀτέχνῳ, καί δίχα παντός ἐπικαλύμματος καί προβλήματος. Τοιοῦτον γάρ ἔπρεπεν εἶναι τόν ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς."

Τί μέν διά τούτων ὁ μέγας οὗτος διδάσκαλος κρυφίως ἀποκαλύπτει, μόνους ἐκείνους εἰδέναι φημί τούς τό ἴσον αὐτῷ τῆς σοφίας εἰληφότας καί τῆς γνώσεως χάρισμα, οἵ διά τό πᾶσαν τήν ἐκ παθῶν καί πάσης ὑλικῆς προσπαθείας λήμην ἀποθέσθαι τῶν νοερῶν ὀμμάτων τήν ἀκτῖνα τῆς ἐν ὅλοις ἀληθοῦς γνώσως χωρεῖν ἐδυνήθησαν, καθ᾿ ἥν τῷ ἁπλῷ κατά τό ἐφικτόν καί ἑνοειδεῖ λόγῳ τόν νοῦν ἀπό τῶν πολλῶν περιστείλαντες πᾶσαν τήν ἐπιστημονικήν τῶν ὄντων ἁπλῇ συνέσει περιέλαβον εἴδησιν. Ἡμῖν δέ οἷς ὁ ζόφος ἔτι τῆς ἀγνοίας ἐπιπροσθεῖ πρός τήν τοῦ ἀληθοῦς κατανόησιν, διά τήν περί μόνα τά σαλευόμενα τοῦ νοῦ συστροφήν, ὥσπερ τυφλός ἄμφω τώ χεῖρε φορυτόν ὕλης ἀφάσσων εὑρίσκει πολλάκις τι τῶν τιμίων, οὕτως ἐπιχειροῦμεν καί ἡμεῖς μετά τῆς ἑαυτῶν ἀσθενείας εἰπεῖν τι περί τοῦ προκειμένου ζητήματος. Καί δή λέγομεν ἄλλο τό παράπαν οὐδέν ἤ ὅπερ ὁ Θεός ἐν χερσίν ἡμῶν παραδῷ κατά τό γεγραμμένον, πρός τό θρέψαι κατά δύναμιν ἡμῶν τούς καλούς πατέρας ὑμᾶς, λέγω δέ τῷ ψυλαφητικῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἐν ἡμῖν νοερᾶς δυνάμεως ἁπλοῦν καί ἀπέριττον θεώρημα καί ἡμῖν σύμμετρον, καί πατρικήν εὐλογίαν προσκαλούμενον, μήπως ἀφυῶς τόν ἀγρόν τῶν αἰσθητῶν αἰσθητῶς κατά τόν Ἡσαῦ περιοδεύοντες στερηθῶμεν διά βραδύτητα τῆς ἑτοίμης τοῦ τρεφομένου πατρός εὐλογίας, ἤ πάλιν δι᾿ ὑψηλοφροσύνην τι μεῖζον τῆς δυνάμεως ἡμῶν ἐπιζητοῦντες ἐκ τῶν οἰκούντων ἔτι τό ὄρος ἡμῶν τῆς θεωρίας, τρωθῶμεν κατά τόν Ἰσραήλ, περί ὧν ὁ νόμος φησίν ὅτι παραβιασάμενοί τινες ἀνέβησαν εἰς τό ὄρος, καί ἐξῆλθεν ὁ Ἀμοιῤῥαῖος ὁ οἰκῶν ἐν τῷ ὄρει ἐκείνῳ καί ἐτίτρωσκεν αὐτούς. Ὑπονοῶ τοίνυν ὅτι τήν διαφοράν τῆς (1353) πρό τοῦ παραπτώματος κράσεως τοῦ ἀνθρωπίνου σώματος ἐν τῷ προπάτορι Ἀδάμ πρός τήν νῦν θεωρουμένην ἐν ἡμῖν καί κρατοῦσαν ἐνδείξασθαι βουλόμενος ταῦτά φησιν ὁ διδάσκαλος, ὡς τότε δηλαδή τοῦ