About definitions

The treatise “On Definitions” is essentially a paraphrase (in places verbatim) of the 2nd chapter of the work of St. Anastasia Sinaita "Guide". The author consistently analyzes the arguments of monothelites and monoenergists, proving the need to recognize two natures (Divine and human) in Christ, each of which has its own will and energy. The essay pays special attention to the explanation of such key concepts as “hypostasis”, “nature”, “will”, “energy”, “action”, “essence”, etc. In the arguments presented, the author relies on the texts of the Holy Scriptures, quotes from the works of the Church Fathers, as well as decisions of the Ecumenical Councils. Contents From the translator I. II. About will, special property, energy and about unity and consubstantiality III. What is a special property? IV. About energy V. About unity VI. About the Consubstantial VII. About the soul and mind VIII. About the perishable IX. Why is He called “Original” X. What is a word and how many meanings does it have XI. What [the word] Christian means XII. About the soul The problem of authorship. The treatise “On Definitions” 1 was for a long time attributed to St. Athanasius the Great, although it was placed in the category of spuria (false works) in the Minya patrolology 2. In a short preface to it, the publishers noted that its falsity is visible both from the reference to St. Gregory of Nyssa, and from the style and peculiarities of the use of words and expressions. In Clavis Patrum Graecorum (“Key of the Greek Fathers”) 3 this treatise is also attributed to St. Athanasius the Great. Nevertheless, it is reported there that there is a different review of the definitions by the Monk Anastasius Sinaite (c. 675–753) in the “Guide” (see PG 89, 52–88). After even a superficial comparison of the “Guide” with the content of the treatise “On Definitions”, it turns out that the latter is a paraphrase, in some places verbatim, of the second chapter of the “Guide”, given with some abbreviations. This is indicated by almost the same content (only some points are missing or changed places), the presence of the above-mentioned reference to St. Gregory of Nyssa in the Guide, the same etymological calculations, and much more. In all likelihood, the second chapter of the “Guide” served as a model for the creation of the treatise “On Definitions” 4. Nevertheless, these facts do not exclude the possibility that the author of the treatise “On Definitions” did not simply retell a chapter from the “Guide” word for word, but independently revised and supplemented it. The last part of the treatise “On Definitions” about the soul is completely absent in the second chapter of the “Guide”. Thus, with a certain degree of probability, it is possible to exclude St. Athanasius the Great from the number of possible authors of the treatise “The Guide,” as well as other authors who lived before the 7th century. The true author of the treatise “On Definitions” is most likely the Monk Anastasius of Sinaite 5 or someone from his inner circle. 1. Various definitions, according to the tradition and faith of the Universal Church, collected from Clement 6 and other reverend men and blessed Fathers, which should be studied before all other sciences and in them taught to a person who wants, with the help of God, to be guided by the Word of truth, who thinks about everything Orthodoxy, who has pure faith in God. 2. In relation to accurate tradition, one should know that every sought-after or question has three [aspects] of research and study: what this thing is, according to what it is called that way, and [how many meanings] this concept has. And when we ask “what is it,” it is obvious that we are looking for the definition of a thing, and whenever we say “why is it called that,” we turn to the etymology of the concept. When we say, “[how many meanings] does this concept have,” it is clear that we are looking for distinctive features of this concept. Of course, [every person] who tries to assert something about definitions outside the [concept of] species is no different from a blind traveler wandering first in one direction and then in the other. So, it should be said how research is conducted according to the three above-mentioned methods. 3. Definition of definitions 7 is the One who determines everything, but He Himself is not determined by anything, so God is the only definition of definitions. A definition is a brief concept that explains the nature of the thing to be [defined] 8 . They are called definitions as glances and eyes turned to objects, and as concisely dividing the content of the intelligible. For example, a person is an entity consisting of body and soul, mind and blood, elements and many other [component parts]. We limit this and by means of a definition we briefly say that “Man is a rational mortal animal, capable of knowledge and understanding” 9. It is also said that a person's full name is “upright.” Those who gave such a name avoided verbosity and called him a man for the sake of brevity. Man is called upright because irrational animals, when they walk, tilt their heads and look down at the ground; a person, moving, sees and contemplates what is above. It is abbreviated as “man”. He is also called a man because he raises his face upward, that is, because our eyes have the activity of contemplating what is above, because the eye and mind always see what is above 10. And the definition is said in order to limit and shorten the verbosity and make the extensive saying concise. 4. There are countless definitions for every thing. Out of many, due to human laziness, we choose some of the most important. First of all, you should know and believe that a hardworking person, by practicing definitions, can easily silence speakers and skilled talkers in conversations. For whenever one who is asked: “what is a definition” and “according to what is a definition” and “[how many meanings] does a definition have” finds himself in a difficult situation due to an opposing opinion regarding these [questions], he is ultimately put to shame as knowing nothing. 5. For people there are three unknowable and indefinable in essence [subjects]: God, angel and soul, cognizable in essence by God alone. What is definite and what is indefinite, what is difficult to define and what is easy? The definite is an unchanging state, like heaven and earth and the sea, that is, that which does not go beyond its limits. The indefinite is only the Uncreated, that is, God. What is difficult to define is something created and indefinable, such as an angel, a soul and a demon, or something that is not known in whole, but in part, for example, the tree of life. It is easy to define what is tangible and visible, for example, bread and so on. 6. What is God and why is it called so, and how many meanings does the name God have? God is an essence without a cause, and the all-essential Cause 11 of every essence, and is called [so] from [the verb] to flee 12. Running should be understood not as a transition from place to place, but as God’s providence and energy that extends to everything. Or [God is called so] from the verb to burn or to burn, or from to contemplate everything, since her contemplative power extends to everything that exists 13. The naming of God in the Holy Scriptures has a double meaning - by nature and by grace. God is God both by nature and essence, but by grace and conditionally the righteous are called gods. For the Holy Scriptures also say: I said: you are gods and sons of the Most High (Ps 81:6). [God] is called Father, either as one who protects everything, or as one who protects and instructs his own children, as a father. [God] is called the Son, as if you could say: “As the Father is in essence, so is the Son: either uncreated from uncreated, or mortal from mortal.” The spirit is called every wave that quickly flows and moves everywhere. Spirit is spoken of in the Scriptures in four senses: the Holy Spirit, the spirit as an angel, the spirit as the soul, and the spirit as the wind; it happens that the mind is also called spirit. 7. That which is always moving is eternal. What is eternal is not [always] called beginningless, but what is without beginning is [necessarily] eternal. Beginningless is that which has no beginning, that is, God. Therefore He is called beginningless and eternal, that is, unceasing. Angels and souls are not called without beginning, for they received a beginning and were created by God. However, they are called eternal because they are immortal and will live [forever]. A special property is something that exists in a special way in the nature of [one] and does not exist in other entities in any way, as, for example, in a person [the ability] to laugh 14, since no other nature has laughter. 8. What is called nature? Nature is what is born and exists as an entity, as existing and truly knowable. Nature is also called from [verb] to grow and grow. Nature, essence, genus and sign are one. A face, an outline, a hypostasis, a distinctive property and an individual are one and the same. After all, one is nature, and the other is hypostasis. If someone asked you how many natures you recognize in the Divinity, say one, but three Hypostases. If anyone asks you about the Economy of the Incarnate [Son of God], how many natures you recognize, say two, but one Hypostasis. For Christ had two essences and natures, unchangeable 15 and unmixed, Divine and human in one Hypostasis, being perfect God and perfect man. And therefore we recognize in relation to the incarnation of our Lord and God Jesus Christ two natures in one Hypostasis. In the theology of the Holy Trinity we recognize one nature, but three Persons. After all, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one nature and one essence, one power, one Kingdom, one Power, but three Hypostases, three Marks and three Persons, that is, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are One Deity, cognizable in three Persons. It should be said in a more general sense what is essence and what is hypostasis. As we have already said, essence, genus, nature, form are one thing, but face, image, individual, distinctive property are another. After all, nature can contain many hypostases. For we humans, being from one body and one breath, are one nature and essence. There are many hypostases. For hypostasis is called so from [the expression] “to exist as an independent entity.” Nature and essence are called general, and hypostasis - individual 16. General is that which completely embraces and embraces everything; individual is that which has some part of its essence. For example, if you said man, you would call every person, because this [definition] is universal and essential, and all [creatures] of the same essence are called people. If you say Peter, Paul or John, then you mean one person, because it is singular. For the general is when you say man, since all people are called that way, since the particular is the name of everyone. It is proper for [anyone] who wants to know the nature of things to know what the individual is and what the general is. After all, this can be found not only in humans, but also in every thing, heavenly and earthly. Let us be clearer, since it is necessary for those who want to know. We will say this way. If you say angel, you denote the whole essence of angels, for for angels this is a common and essential name, and they are all called angels. If you say Michael, Gabriel, you name one hypostasis, that is, one angel. After all, “angelicity” is called nature, and the name of each individual angel is hypostasis. And therefore, humanity is a single common nature, while hypostasis is Peter, Paul, Thomas and other persons and images. Nature is the mistress and parent of hypostases 18. And therefore we will say again: if you say angel - good nature, you will designate their entire essence. If you say great Gabriel, you are naming one hypostasis out of many. And if you say bird, you are indicating the whole essence of birds, but if you say dove, dove, nightingale, peacock, swan, this is the essence of the hypostasis. The same rule of definitions is suitable not only for thinking, rational, animate [creatures], but also for every inanimate and devoid of feelings and motionless nature. I mean, if you say that “God created the light,” behold, you have identified the entire essence of the luminaries. Then, the essence itself is divided into its hypostases, since it is divided into the sun, moon and stars, lamps and candles and various other [objects]. In the same way, for blows [winds], if you say wind, you denote the entire nature of the winds. If you say south wind or north wind or northeast wind, they themselves are hypostases. And again, if you say tree, you designate the entire essence of trees, but if you say fig tree, walnut, chestnut or almond, you name one hypostasis of trees. And again, if you say water, you will name the whole nature of water; if you said sea, lake, well or spring, you would name one of the hypostases of water. And again, if he said river, he would name all the rivers; if he said Meander, Euphrates or Nile, then he would name one hypostasis of rivers. And in other [cases] everything should be examined in a similar way, and according to this image it was prescribed to reflect and cognize, and discern what is nature and what is hypostasis. For nature is the root and source of things, and hypostasis is a part of 19 nature. For this is necessary for those who want to accurately know and explore what is in the world. II. About will, special property, energy and about unity and consubstantiality What is will? Will is the desire of a thinking and rational entity for what is pleasing to the soul. After all, it is clear that everything rational is at the same time volitional, for it is called will, from [the expression] to quickly escape, or the realization of what is desired, or the possession of it. There are three types of will: Divine, angelic and spiritual, since only these three natures are volitional. We find in the Holy Scriptures three meanings of will: Divine, natural, or average, and the third, carnal, that which denotes the devil. The divine will is the commands of God. Doing the will of God is natural will. And disobedience to the Divine law is a carnal will. Man has all these three wills. There is also another natural will, which is called common to all people. This is the love of life 20. After all, all people love life and love to see the light. This is the common will. There are also other volitions in us, which are called elective. For one person wants to live separately [from others], another wants to farm, one wants to swim, another wants to rest, another wants to travel, one wants to stay awake and another wants to sleep, and so on; people have many choosing wills 21 . We have one natural will - love of life, or immortality, which we received from the beginning. III. What is a special property? A property is called special because “special ones exist together,” since their special properties are inseparable from natures and hypostases. A special property is something that is known in nature in a special way and is not found in another 22. This is what I mean when I say: “In God it is pre-eternal, uncreated, unlimited,” that is, everything that is not in any other essence. The angels have a special feature - dispassion, immortality, composition of hymns, continuous chanting [of God]. The special property of man is mainly that he consists of a mortal and immortal nature, which is not cognizable in any other essence. And these are natural features, but other distinctive [features], such as whiteness, blackness, size, mutilation, glaucoma, ugliness, lethargy and the like, which cannot be found in every person 23. For not all people are ugly and not all are beautiful. Natural features are equally found in all forms; after all, all people are equally mortal, perishable, reasonable, have flat nails 24, and walk upright. There are other [special properties] that are not primarily called special, but incidental. They are sometimes present, sometimes absent, such as infancy, health, illness, warmth, coldness; and simply everything that is capable of change is called incidental properties. Energy is, as St. Gregory of Nyssa says, the natural force and movement of everyone 25. And therefore, each [entity] has its own energy, as, for example, thinking have thinking, feeling - feeling, moving - movement, flying - the ability to fly, floating - the ability to swim, growing - the ability to grow, crawling - the ability to crawl, luminous - light, giving birth - birth. If their energy is taken away, nature collapses and dies. After all, if the heat is taken away, the fire goes out, if movement is taken away from an animal, it dies, if the ability to think is taken away, then the thinking of the soul and its mind perish. It is unusual that certain different natures, deprived of their natural energies, give rise to other energies. Just like, for example, a heated stone loses its natural energy, becomes inextinguishable, and acquires burning energy. And the cedar, also deprived of the energy to grow, acquired medicinal properties, producing resin that destroys worms 26. Therefore, one should wisely pay attention to the naming of things and distinguish, as far as possible, how many energy names each existing thing has, and not [how many] natural names - after all, [things] receive these names from their own energies, have them and are called [according to them]. And therefore, as we have already said, God is called so because He contemplates everything, and the angel because of his activity and service as a messenger, and man because he directs his gaze upward; same for the rest. Virgo is called so because of the mortification of carnal inflammation. The pigeon is so called because it flies confidently. Deer because it catches snakes. Swallow, as the lips fluctuate in conversation. The serpent, that is, the one who speaks or addresses Eve. Gazelle, from the ability to see or look keenly. Turtle dove – “guardian of birth”, or its kind. The nightingale, because it always sings, both in the heat and in the cold; kite because it conquers heights. The horse is because it is controlled by its legs. The eagle is, that is, “eternal,” because it is often reborn and lives for many years. A bird like a lifting wing; river as having potable energy. An unfreezing stream because it flows in winter; nature - because it produces hypostases 27; grass because it stretches upward; in the same way a person does so because he looks or gazes upward. And the soul, from its inherent activity, has the name soul, since to give life [otherwise] is called animate, therefore, from life-giving activity, it is called soul, because [the soul] gives life to the body. There are also many other things that we will omit so as not to call everything by its proper names. What is unity and how many meanings does this unity have? Unity is, on the one hand, the gathering together of separate things; and on the other hand, unity is called so from [the verb] to unite, that is, to push and mix things. Unity has five meanings: there is unity as mixture, as division, relative, composite and holy unity of Christ, which above is called hypostatic unity 28. For example, the unity of wine and water is called mixed. Divided unity is like the unity of man with man. Relative is the same as gold with gold. The unity of Christ according to hypostasis is called beyond those. Unity by hypostasis is the original union of two natures in the womb of the Holy Mother of God, for neither the body existed there independently before God the Word, nor the soul, but at the same time both flesh and God the Word. In Him, the animate and rational flesh received hypostatic existence, just as, as it seems to me, at the time of our conception, the independently existing soul is united with the body, 29 since neither the body exists in itself, nor the soul exists before the body, being a prototype of the unity of the Lord. What is consubstantial and why is it called consubstantial, and how many meanings does consubstantial have? Consubstantial is that which remains unchanged in essence and energy. After all, it is precisely because it is called consubstantial that it has the same essence and power. There are five types of consubstantial things: proper consubstantial, only-begotten, akin, consubstantial, consubstantial and consubstantial. Consubstantial is that which exists in the same essence, but has some difference, such as, for example, a stone destroyed [by time] and a strong stone 30; they are consubstantial, that is, they belong to the same essence. There is the date palm and the ebony tree, likewise the flesh of the camel and the flesh of the fish. They are called consubstantial because they belong to the same essence. Likewise, all people are of the same essence, but have differences in terms of being: one is big, another is crippled, a third is strong, and the fourth is unfortunate. But they are all of the same essence, I mean souls and bodies. What is called heterogeneous is something that is involved in another essence and is completely unlike the other, but is completely alien and unlike the other in all respects, like water and fire, since one essence is with fire and the other with water. And therefore, things that are alien and foreign in nature are called heterogeneous, such as man, God, angel, dirt, sun, grass. After all, they are not all equal in all respects to each other, which is why they are called alien, and also because one is not involved in the essence of the other, but the essence is different for one and different for the other, as has already been said. There are two types of soul, one is unreasonable, or the one that animals have, the other is rational, or the one that people have. And the soul of the animals took its origin from the earth according to the command of God, as the Holy Scriptures say: And God said: Let the earth bring forth living things that creep (Genesis 1:20). This is how animals received souls from the earth. Therefore, they only strive for earthly things and are directed entirely [towards it], without thinking about what is above. Let's say how their soul came out of the earth. The earth, at the command of God, gave flesh to animals, and flesh created blood, and blood became the animal soul for a living creature, so that when a living creature dies, the congealed blood again turns into flesh. The flesh, having decayed, again decomposes and becomes earth. And therefore they do not know and do not think about what is above. Man received his soul from the Divine inspiration, and therefore he cognizes the Divine, and strives for what is above, and thinks about the heavenly, and is rational and thinking. But let no one suppose that the spirit which God breathed into man then became a soul. This is not so, but the Spirit then created the soul. If then the Spirit in man became a soul, then the soul would perhaps have to come directly from the essence of God. If the soul arose from the essence of God, then why is it not always unchanging, unshakable like God? For He says that: I am the Lord, I do not change (Mal 3:6). The soul is sometimes stupid, and sometimes reasonable, and sometimes sinned, and sometimes righteous, and sometimes a believer, and sometimes not a believer, and sometimes ignorant, and sometimes knowledgeable, and sometimes it is zealous, and sometimes lazy. How can it be said that she, having such [properties], comes from the essence of God? It's not like that, it's not like that. This inspiration created in man a soul, rational and thinking. Therefore, the soul mentally imagines what is above, and seeks, strives for, and desires what [comes] from there, because it came from there. The soul of irrational animals does not [behave] in this way, but, being earthly, desires only earthly things, and therefore dies along with the body. The human soul is ever-living and eternal. The soul has three parts: rational, volitional and lustful 32. And through the rational part she loves God, through the strong-willed part she fights with demons, becoming courageous against them, and through the concupiscible part she desires eternal blessings. A person has five bodily senses and five mental ones. Bodily senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. With the help of vision, [a person] distinguishes between white and black, with the help of hearing - high and low sounds, smell - fragrant and fetid, taste - sweet and bitter, touch - hard and soft, warm and cold. The senses of the soul are: mind, reason, opinion, idea and feeling. The organ of each individual sense is called a sensorium, named because the sentient being retains feeling. You should also know that all flesh is called body, but not all body is called flesh. Stars are called celestial bodies, not celestial flesh. There are two types of bodies: the material body and the subtle body. A material body is one that can be grasped by the hand, subject to death and decay, but a light body is imperceptible and intangible, like the body of the sun, moon, stars 33. The dense and material body, which is called flesh, consists of four elements: blood, phlegm (mucus), moisture, bile, or from air, earth, fire and water, that is, from warm, cold, dry and wet. The sun gives birth to a warm and vital element, air - warm and moist, earth - dry, water - a moist element. These are the [elements] of which man, or rather the flesh of man, is composed; therefore, after death, it again disintegrates into them. What is perishable and why is it called perishable and how many meanings does perishable have? Corruption has two types: bodily and mental 34. Spiritually, when someone sins, it is said that he has become corrupt, as the Holy Scriptures say: They have become corrupt, they have committed vile deeds (Ps 13:1). Corporal [corruption] is of three types: corruption, decay and complete decay. Corruption is the separation of the soul from the body and death; decay is when the body is eaten by worms and only bones remain. It is called complete decay when the bones themselves rot, decompose, and completely disappear. I say about Our Lord Jesus Christ that He experienced only corruption, that is, death. His all-holy Body did not experience corruption or complete decay at all, but He rose again on the third day, becoming the firstborn from the dead 35 . IX. Why is He called “The Firstborn” 36 Because He was the first to rise from hell, just as we will be resurrected at His second coming. But if Lazarus and the daughter of Jairus, and many others, were resurrected before Him, why was not one of them called the firstborn? - Because after they rose from the dead, they died again. Christ, having risen, died no more. And everything that was with Him 37 will be with us in the resurrection. For He was the first to rise 38 from the dead by an incorruptible resurrection, which we also hope to taste in the future and which does not accept death. X. What is a word and how many meanings does it have? The word is of three types: 1) the essential word, that is, God the Word, 2) the internal word, that is, angelic, and also pronounced in our mind, and 3) the word spoken through the tongue, which is called the messenger of thought 39 . XI. What [the word] Christian means? A true Christian is the rational house of Christ, consisting of good deeds and correct teachings. A heretic is one who oppresses and blasphemes the truth. The false assumption of something that does not exist is heresy. The unchangeable is that which always exists in the same way. The natural is that which rests in nature, or that which is true, which is truly known. The anti-natural is that which God did not create as such [as it is now], or that which He did not create at all, such as sin and death. In man there are called three [ways of existence]: in accordance with nature, anti-natural, supernatural. For example, what is in accordance with nature is marriage, what is contrary to nature is fornication, and what surpasses nature is virginity. Also, wealth acquired justly is in accordance with nature, covetousness is contrary to nature, and non-acquisitiveness is beyond nature. Likewise, moderate consumption of food is in accordance with nature, gluttony is contrary to nature, and fasting is beyond nature. In the same way, according to nature, calmness, anxiety is contrary to nature, and love for enemies surpasses nature. So it is in other cases. Etymology is the correct interpretation of the power of a name, derived from the very meaning [of it] 40. Like for example [when asked]: where does the word world come from? – From what calms the mind, just as anxiety comes from [the phrase] “being easily embarrassed,” and wandering because “the mind maneuvers.” Prudence - either from [the phrase] “to think about the whole,” or from [the expression] “to protect the body from defilement.” Fornication - either from the “burning of youth”, or from a “damaged”, or “blinded mind”, or from [the expression] “bending to one side”. And similar in everything else. The body, consisting of elements, undergoes decomposition and disappears. Therefore, the bodies of both people and animals, consisting of the four elements, I mean earth, water, fire and air, are easily subject to decay and death. And that which is composed of them constantly arises and is destroyed, when the combination of the elements disintegrates, and each one is added to its natural place 41 . The elements themselves, being simple and without composition, have strength and indestructibility until the end of [the age]. We will say about the soul that it has five affects, which are called mental affects. They are: anger, sadness, fear, concern and envy. With common sense, you can restrain them. The soul itself is hot, like a blazing fire. Just as fire burns what is thrown into a pot, so the fiery soul crushes incoming food in the belly and digests [it]. The soul is called so not because its essence is cold, as some of the simpletons have believed, but because it turns moisture into steam due to intense heat, as clearly happens from the action of the sun, which evaporates moisture with heat, for it (the sun), being heat and being fiery, dries up the swamp and evaporates all the water. You can understand that the soul is heat by nature from the example of the dying. Indeed, at the time when the soul is separated from the body, all members become cold and frozen, no worse than from the winter cold. When the soul has food in sufficient quantity, the body blooms and grows stronger 43. When [the soul] needs food, it begins to eat and destroy the body itself. After all, a body cannot withstand the heat of the soul without food, just as a copper vessel standing in a furnace cannot withstand the power of fire without water, and therefore it dries out and is completely destroyed. Likewise, a vessel of the body that does not have food, being burned by the fiery soul, is completely destroyed. And if someone argues with you about the soul, ask him: “Tell me, is the human soul in the whole body or in some part of it?” If he tells you that in the whole body, tell him: “And how [can it happen that] they cut off a person’s arm or leg and do not cut off part of the soul, but the person lives again and does not die?” If he answers: “It is in one place,” say again: “How can the rest of a person live without a soul? And how can a person have an inanimate member of the body? And how can he live without a soul? After all, everything that does not have a soul is dead, and you do not know what you are saying.” I tell you in what place, how and where the soul is placed. It is placed in three parts of the body, and just as a ray of the sun is directed to one place and, entering [part of] a house, illuminates the whole house, so the soul, being placed in three parts of the body, gives life to the whole house of the body. The soul inhabits the heart, the back of the head, which is called the goblet, and the royal veins. The soul lives in these three parts. Therefore, while the heart is pierced, or a lot of blood flows from the royal vein, or the head is struck and cut off with a sword, the soul is immediately separated from the body and the body becomes dead. The soul living in these three parts imparts its own life force to the whole body. In some manuscripts this treatise also has the following title: “Some chapters that should be known to those who, as far as the human mind allows, want to know the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word.” Brepols-Turnhout, 1979. T. 2. P. 48. In addition, in the treatise “On Definitions” there are certain parallels with the treatises of St. John of Damascus, such as “Dialectics, or philosophical chapters” and “Introduction to the foundations of dogmatic theology,” but there are immeasurably fewer parallels than the parallels with the “Guide.” This opinion is shared by G. Weiss, see Weiss G. Studien zum Leben, zu den Schriften zum den Theologie des Patriarchen Anastasius I von Antiochien (559–598) // Studia Anastasiana, I. Munchen, 1965. S. 74–84. Most likely, this means Clement of Alexandria. An allusion to Aristotle’s “form of forms”: “Thus, just as the hand is an instrument of tools, so the mind is a form of forms” (On the Soul, 432a, 2). Wed. “Dialectics” by St. John of Damascus, ch. VIII, on definition (PG 94, 552D). This example of a definition is also given by Sextus Empiricus (Pyrrhonian Essays, II, 5), who notes that it is quite common. In addition, it is present in the works of St. Gregory of Nyssa (Refutation of the Confession of Eunomius, 60), St. Gregory the Theologian (Homily on the Holy Spirit, 31, 24), Nemesius of Emesa (On the Constitution of Man, I), John Philoponus (Comments on the Categories of Aristotle. Vol. 13.1. P. 14. Line 8) and in “Dialectics” by St. John of Damascus, ch. VIII. Both of the above interpretations, as well as those given below, cannot be considered as etymologies in a strict linguistic sense; These are rather metaphorical constructions aimed at explaining meaning through sound analogies, a kind of mnemonics. This technique is quite often found in the corpus of patristic works and is therefore worthy of careful study, but it seems hardly acceptable for modern authors. – Ed. Pseudo-Dionysius uses a similar expression as a definition of the Trinity (On the Heavenly Hierarchy, IV, 1) “the essential divine power that brought the essence of things into being.” A similar etymology of the name “God” is found in St. Gregory the Theologian in the 30th Word (2nd about the Son) and St. Maximus the Confessor in the fifth chapter of “Mystagogy.” St. John of Damascus classifies laughter as an unimportant sign or property (see Dialectics, chapter VIII, XIV). The term of the Chalcedonian oros. The same word usage is used by St. John of Damascus (Dialectics, chapter XXX). mљroj ‘part’ is not an exact definition of the individual, for the hypostasis does not possess a part of the essence, but the whole essence. This statement is true only for creatures, for the Trinity - the Hypostasis of God the Father is the cause of the rest. The position of the author of “On Definitions” on this issue coincides with the view of St. Maximus the Confessor (see Orlov I. Works of St. Maximus the Confessor on the disclosure of the dogmatic doctrine of two wills in Christ. Historical and dogmatic study. St. Petersburg, 1888. pp. 119–123). The division into natural and elective will can be found in St. John of Damascus (Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, II, 22) and St. Maximus the Confessor (Various Definitions, XX-XXI). See St. John of Damascus (An exact exposition of the Orthodox faith, I, 14). Wed. Venerable John of Damascus (Dialectics, Chapter V). platuТnucoi is a characteristic of a person found in St. Gregory of Nyssa (PG 45, 1320B), St. Anastasius of Sinai (PG 89) and St. John of Damascus (Dialectics, ch. VIII and XIV). A similar statement is not found in St. Gregory of Nyssa, but these definitions are found separately in his writings (Against Eunomius 2, 1; 3, 6; Dialogue on the Soul and Resurrection 36, 7; On the Inscriptions of Psalms, p. 7). See also St. John of Damascus (An exact exposition of the Orthodox faith, II, 23). Oil was extracted from cedar to protect against rotting. This statement is true only for created nature. Expression of St. Maximus the Confessor (Questions to Thalassia, 60, 10). We can conclude that the author of this treatise adheres to the theory according to which the soul of each person is created by God at the moment of conception. In the Latin translation of the “Guide”, given by J.P. Min in parallel to the Greek text, this statement is translated as follows: “a stone destroyed by old age, and a stone just cut [from solid rock].” In the Synodal translation - water. See Plato. State, 439e, 4; 440e, 8; Aristotle. Topeka, 129a, 11; About the soul, 432a, 25. The division into physical and mental corruption can also be found among the works of St. John of Damascus (On the Two Wills in Christ, 28, 63; An Exact Statement of the Orthodox Faith, 72, 6). And He is the head of the body of the Church; He is the firstfruits, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He might have the preeminence (Col. 1:18). There is a chapter with this title in the “Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith” by St. John of Damascus, but there this term is understood from the point of view of the relationship of Jesus Christ to God the Father and the human race. See: For if we are united to Him in the likeness of His death, we must also be united in the likeness of His resurrection (Rom. 6:5). See: But Christ has risen from the dead, the firstborn of those who have fallen asleep (1 Cor 15:20). Wed. with the definition of St. John of Damascus (Exact exposition of the Orthodox faith, I, 13). The modern linguistic term etymology means the proven origin of a word from another word, carried out in accordance with the laws of language. – Ed. Aristotle. Physics, 205a 10–20: “It is inherent in everything that is perceived by the senses to be somewhere by nature, and for each thing there is a certain place, and it is the same for the part and for the whole, for example, for the whole earth and for one lump, for fire and for a spark.” An attack against Origen, who believed that at first souls were minds, then they sinned and cooled down, for which they received a new name. Justinian. Letter to Patriarch Mina (p. 212, 3-8): “From the second word of the book “On Beginnings,” how the mind became the soul, and the purified soul becomes the mind. With the removal and cooling from that [time], life appeared in the spirits, now called the soul, awaiting the return [to the state] that was for it in the beginning. This, I believe, was said by the prophet in the words Return, my soul, to your rest (Ps. 115:7 ), because all this is mind." A similar idea is present in Nemesius of Emesa in his treatise “On the Nature of Man,” I, 195. The human body, consisting of four elements, has properties similar to them - variability and fluidity. Fluidity is expressed in the exhaustion (emptying) of the body. “Because of this, it is necessary either to replace something equal to the depleted one, or to destroy a living being due to a lack of replenishing elements.”