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De spiritu sancto

OF THE SAME, A DISCOURSE ON THE HOLY SPIRIT. David through himself makes every occasion of a festival brighter, always suitably retuning that many-stringed lyre to the need. Therefore, let the same Prophet brighten for us the great festival of Pentecost, striking up the melody with the plectrum of the Spirit on the chords of wisdom. Let him say, therefore, from that divinely inspired melody, what is suitable to the present grace, that "Come, let us rejoice in the Lord."

First, it is necessary to know the grace, what it is, and then to apply the appropriate voice from the prophecy to the subject; and permit me, as far as it is possible, to clarify the discourse concerning these things through a certain logical order. In the beginning, humanity had gone astray regarding the understanding of God, and having abandoned the Lord of creation, some through deception submitted to the elements of the world, while others made the nature of demons an object of worship, and to many, the divine also seemed to be the man-made form of idols, to which altars, and temples, and rites, and sacrifices, and sacred precincts, and consecrated statues, and all such things were dedicated by them for the worship of falsely-named gods. The Master of nature, therefore, saw with the eye of loving-kindness the corruption of human nature, and through a certain sequence, He leads human life back from error to the knowledge of the truth. For just as those who, with a certain medical knowledge, revive men wasted by a long famine, do not bring them at once to satiety, sparing them because of their weakness; but when their strength has been restored to them through moderate nourishment, then they permit them to be filled to satiety at will; 46.697 in the same way, since human nature had been consumed by a terrible famine, the participation in the nourishment of the mysteries is dispensed to them by the divine economy; so that by a certain logical order, always receiving what is more perfect, they might thus arrive at the end of perfection.

For that which saves us is the life-giving power, believed in in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. But those incapable of receiving the whole, because of the weakness that had come upon them from the famine of their souls, were first turned from polytheism by the prophets and the law, and are accustomed to look to one Godhead, and in the one Godhead they perceive only the power of the Father, being, as I said, incapable of the perfect nourishment. Then through the Gospel, the only-begotten Son is also revealed to those who have been prepared through the law; after this comes to us the perfect nourishment of our nature, the Holy Spirit, in whom is life. This is the subject of the festival; for these reasons it is fitting for us, having become dancers of the Spirit, to obey the leader of this spiritual chorus, David, who says: "Come, let us rejoice in the Lord." And "the Lord is the Spirit," as the Apostle says.

For today, as the yearly period of the year of Pentecost is being completed, at this very hour, if indeed we are about the third hour of the day, the inexpressible grace occurred. For the Spirit was again mingled with men, which formerly had departed from our nature because man had become flesh; and through that mighty wind, the spiritual powers of wickedness and all the unclean demons having been scattered from the air, at the descent of the Spirit, full of the divine power, in the form of fire, those who were in the

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De spiritu sancto

ΤΟΥ ΑΥΤΟΥ ΛΟΓΟΣ ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΑΓΙΟΝ ΠΝΕΥΜΑ. Πᾶσαν ἑορτῆς ὑπόθεσιν φαιδροτέραν ὁ ∆αβὶδ δι' ἑαυτοῦ ἀπεργάζεται, τὴν πολυαρμόνιον ἐκείνην κιθά ραν προσφόρως ἀεὶ τῇ χρείᾳ μεθαρμοζόμενος. Οὐκ οῦν καὶ τὴν μεγάλην τῆς Πεντηκοστῆς ἑορτὴν φαι δρυνέτω ἡμῖν ὁ αὐτὸς Προφήτης, τῷ πλήκτρῳ τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐν ταῖς χορδαῖς τῆς σοφίας τὸ μέλος ἀνακρουόμενος. Εἰπάτω τοίνυν ἐκ τῆς ἐνθέου μελ ωδίας ἐκείνης, τὸ τῇ παρούσῃ χάριτι πρόσφορον, ὅτι ∆εῦτε, ἀγαλλιασώμεθα τῷ Κυρίῳ.

Πρότερον χρὴ γνῶναι τὴν χάριν, ἥτις ἐστὶν, εἶθ' οὕτως τὴν κατάλληλον ἐκ τῆς προφητείας ἐφαρμόσαι τῇ ὑποθέ σει φωνήν· καί μοι δότε, καθὼς ἂν ᾖ δυνατὸν, διά τινος ἀκολούθου τάξεως διασαφῆσαι τὸν περὶ τούτων λόγον· Πεπλάνητο κατ' ἀρχὰς τὸ ἀνθρώπινον, πρὸς τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ κατανόησιν, καὶ καταλιπόντες τὸν τῆς κτίσεως Κύριον, οἱ μὲν τοῖς τοῦ κόσμου στοιχείοις δι' ἀπάτην ὑπέκυπτον, ἄλλοι δὲ τὴν τῶν δαιμό νων φύσιν ἐποιοῦντο σεβάσμιον, πολλοῖς δὲ τὸ Θεῖον ἐδόκει καὶ ἡ χειροποίητος τῶν εἰδώλων μορφὴ, οἷς βωμοί τε, καὶ ναοὶ, καὶ τελεταὶ, καὶ θυσίαι, καὶ τε μένη, καὶ ἀφιδρύματα, καὶ πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα παρ' αὐτῶν ἀνετίθετο εἰς θεραπείαν τῶν ψευδωνύμων θεῶν. Εἶδε τοίνυν τῷ τῆς φιλανθρωπίας ὀφθαλμῷ τὴν τῆς φύσεως τῶν ἀνθρώπων διαφθορὰν ὁ ∆εσπότης τῆς φύσεως, καὶ διά τινος ἀκολουθίας ἀπὸ τῆς πλάνης ἐπανάγει τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην ζωὴν πρὸς τὴν τῆς ἀλη θείας ἐπίγνωσιν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ οἱ τοὺς ἐν λιμῷ χρονίῳ συντετηκότας, μετά τινος ἰατρικῆς ἐπιστήμης ἀνα λαμβάνοντες, οὐκ ἀθρόως ἐπὶ τὸν κόρον προάγου σι, φειδοῖ τῆς ἀσθενείας αὐτῶν· ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς συμμέτρου τροφῆς ἀναληφθείσης αὐτοῖς τῆς δυνά μεως, τότε συγχωροῦσι κατ' ἐξουσίαν ἐμφορεῖσθαι 46.697 τοῦ κόρου· κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον τῷ φοβερῷ λιμῷ τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως δαπανηθείσης, τεταμιευμένη γίνεται αὐτοῖς παρὰ τῆς οἰκονομίας ἡ τῆς τῶν μυστη ρίων τροφῆς μετουσία· ὥστε διά τινος ἀκολούθου τάξεως ἀεὶ τὸ τέλειον προσλαμβάνοντας, οὕτως ἐπὶ τὸ πέρας φθάσαι τῆς τελειότητος.

Τὸ μὲν γὰρ σῶζον ἡμᾶς ἡ ζωοποιός ἐστι δύναμις, ἐν ὀνόματι Πατρὸς, καὶ Υἱοῦ, καὶ ἁγίου Πνεύματος πιστευομένη. Οἱ δὲ τοῦ παντὸς ἀχώρητοι διὰ τὴν γεγενημένην αὐτοῖς ἐκ τοῦ λιμοῦ τῶν ψυχῶν ἀσθένειαν, πρότερον ἐκ τῆς πολυθεΐας ὑπὸ τῶν προφητῶν τε, καὶ τοῦ νόμου με τατεθέντες, εἰς μίαν θεότητα βλέπειν ἐθίζονται, καὶ ἐν τῇ μιᾷ θεότητι μόνην τὴν τοῦ Πατρὸς δύναμιν κα τανοοῦσιν, ἀχώρητοι, καθὼς εἶπον, ὄντες τῆς τελείας τροφῆς. Εἶτα διὰ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου καὶ ὁ μονογενὴς Υἱὸς τοῖς διὰ τοῦ νόμου προτετελειωμένοις ἀπο καλύπτεται, μετὰ τοῦτο παραγίνεται ἡμῖν ἡ τελεία τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν τροφὴ, τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ἐν ᾧ ἐστιν ἡ ζωή. Αὕτη τῆς ἑορτῆς ἡ ὑπόθεσις· διὰ ταῦτα καλῶς ἔχει, χορευτὰς ἡμᾶς γενομένους τοῦ Πνεύμα τος, πείθεσθαι τῷ κορυφαίῳ τῆς πνευματικῆς ταύ της χοροστασίας ∆αβὶδ τῷ λέγοντι· ∆εῦτε, ἀγαλλιασώμεθα τῷ Κυρίῳ· Ὁ δὲ Κύριος τὸ πνεῦμά ἐστι, καθώς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος.

Σήμερον γὰρ κατὰ τὴν ἐτήσιον τοῦ ἔτους περίοδον τῆς πεντηκοστῆς συμπληρουμένης, κατὰ τὴν ὥραν ταύτην, εἴγε περὶ τὴν τρίτην ὥραν τῆς ἡμέρας ἐσμὲν, ἐγένετο ἡ ἀνεκδιήγητος χάρις. Κατεμίχθη γὰρ πάλιν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὸ Πνεῦμα, ὅπερ πρότερον διὰ τὸ γενέσθαι σάρκα τὸν ἄνθρωπον τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν ἀπεφοίτησε· καὶ διὰ τῆς βιαίας ἐκείνης πνοῆς, τῶν πνευματικῶν τῆς πονηρίας δυνάμεων, καὶ πάντων τῶν ῥυπαρῶν δαιμονίων ἀποσκεδασθέντων ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀέρος, ἐν τῇ καθόδῳ τοῦ Πνεύματος, πλήρεις τῆς θείας δυνάμεως, ἐν εἴδει πυρὸς, οἱ ἐν τῷ