Questions and answers to Thalassia

Work of St. Maximus the Confessor “Questions to Thalassius” was written in North Africa in 630-634. The essay is addressed to St. Thalassia Libyan and African, abbot of one of the monasteries, located near Carthage. This is an extensive exegetical work (65 questions, 63 in the publication), each of which raises a complex theological problem concerning the interpretation of Holy Scripture (anagogical method), dogmatics, ethics, spiritual life and cosmology. In the 42nd question and answer, the concept of προαίρεσις (deliberate choice) is applied to Christ. A significant part of the questions is devoted to Christological doctrine, especially the two natures of Christ (Divine and human) and their relationship. St. Maximus the Confessor examines in detail the controversial passages of Scripture concerning the nature of Christ, striving for clarity and avoidance of heretical interpretations (for example, monothelitism). The work raises questions about the nature of sin, its consequences for human nature and methods of salvation. The author emphasizes the role of human free will in choosing between good and evil and focuses on the gracious help of God necessary to achieve salvation. St. Maxim reflects on the path of spiritual improvement, the need to cleanse the soul of passions and acquire virtues. He reveals the nature of various virtues (for example, love, humility, prayer) and shows how they help a person draw closer to God. The work also contains reflections on the creation of the world, its structure and ultimate purpose. The author examines the relationship between man and the cosmos and talks about the transformation of all creation in the Kingdom of Heaven. “Questions to Thalassia” is one of the most important works of St. Maximus the Confessor. It had a significant influence on various areas of theology, especially Christology, asceticism and cosmology. Contents Preface by the translator Introduction. Maximus of the monk to Thalassius, the most pious presbyter and abbot, on various difficult passages of Holy Scripture Question 1. Are passions in themselves evil or are they evil due to their abuse? I mean pleasure and sorrow, desire and fear and [all] the following [passions]. Question 2. If the Creator created all kinds of [creatures] in six days, then what does the Father do after this? For the Savior says: My Father works until now, and I work (John 5:17). However, is He talking about the preservation of immediately occurring species? Question 3. Who is this in the Gospel who carries a jug of water into the city, with whom the disciples sent by Christ meet and whom they are commanded to follow? Who is the owner of the house? And why don’t the evangelists mention his name? And what is the large and furnished upper room, in which the terrible mystery of the Divine Supper is celebrated (Luke 22:7-13; Mark 14:13-16)? [273] Question 4. How the Lord commanded the disciples not to acquire two clothes (Matt. 10:10; Mark 6:9; Luke 9:3), but He Himself had five, according to the holy Evangelist John (John 19:23), what is clear from those who separated them? And what kind of clothes are these? Question 5. What is the earth cursed in the deeds of Adam according to sublime speculation and what does it mean to eat it in sorrow? What do they mean after the words: thorns and thistles will grow for you - the words: grass? And finally, what does it mean to eat your bread by the sweat of your brow (Gen. 3:17-19)? After all, it has never been seen that a person ate earth or grass; likewise, those who eat bread [never] eat it, literally, by the sweat of their brow. Question 6. If, according to St. John, he who is born of God commits no sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin (1 John 3:9), and he who is born of water and the Spirit (John 3:5) is born of God, how can we, who are born of God through [Holy] Baptism, sin? Question 7. What does it mean: For this purpose was preached to the dead also, so that they, having been judged according to man in the flesh, might live according to God in the Spirit (1 Peter 4:6)? How are the dead judged according to the flesh? Question 8. Since Saint John says that God is light (1 John 1:5), and after a little more: if we walk in the light, as He is in the light (1 John 1:7), then how is it that One and the same is called [light], and is in the light, as another is in another? [285] Question 9. In what sense does Saint John still say: Beloved! we are now children of God; but it has not yet been revealed what we will be (1 John 3:2)? If it has not yet been revealed what we will be, then why does St. Paul say: God has revealed this to us by [His] Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God (1 Cor. 2:10)? Does he also speak in the same way about “what we will be”? Question 10. If the one who fears is imperfect in love (1 John 4:18), then why should those who fear Him suffer hardships (Ps. 33:10)? If there is no deprivation, then it is clear that [the one who fears] is perfect. In what way is the one who fears imperfect? Question 11. What is the “beginning” of the angels who did not observe it, and what is the dwelling that they left? What are the “eternal bonds” and what is the “obscurity” under which they are kept? What will they suffer at the great day of judgment (Jude 1:6)? Question 12. What is the garment that is defiled by the flesh (Jude 1:23)? Question 13. What does it mean: His invisible things, His eternal power and Godhead, have been visible from the creation of the world through the consideration of creation (Rom. 1:20)? What is the invisible of God and what is His eternal power and Godhead? Question 14. What does it mean: they worshiped and served the creature instead of the Creator (Rom. 1:25)? What is honor and what is service? Question 15. What does it mean: incorruptible for Your Spirit is in everyone. Do you also gradually reprove those who err (Wis. 12:1)? If [St. Scripture] speaks of the Holy Spirit, then how can wisdom not enter into a foolish heart, and dwell below in a body guilty of sin (Wisdom 1:4)? We took note of this because [before] it simply says [that the Spirit is] “in all.” Question 16. What is a cast calf and why is the calf spoken of in the singular, but in the words: These are your gods, O Israel (Ex. 32:4) - the plural is used? And what does it mean to wipe away and scatter on water (Ex. 32:20)? And what are earrings and other jewelry (Ex. 32:2-3)? Question 17. If God sent Moses to Egypt, then for what reason did the Angel of God seek to kill the one sent by God, and would have killed if the wife had not rushed to circumcise her son, and [only] thanks to her the Angel’s desire was stopped (Ex. 4:24–25)? And if it was necessary to circumcise the son, then why did not God, before sending Moses, command him to circumcise his son with meekness? Why, finally, even if he committed a crime, did not the good Angel meekly instruct the one who was sent by God to such service? Question 18. If, according to the apostle, those who do the law will be justified (Rom. 2:13), then why does he also say this: those who are justified by the law... have fallen from grace (Gal. 5:4)? Question 19. What does it mean: Those who, not having the law, sinned, are outside the law and will perish; and those who have sinned under the law will be condemned under the law (Rom. 2:12)? And how does [the apostle] again say: When, according to my gospel, will God judge the secret affairs of men through Jesus Christ (Rom. 2:16)? If they are condemned through the law, then why is it said that through Jesus Christ? Question 20. What does the withered fig tree mentioned in the Gospel (see Matt. 21:18–21; Mark 11:12–14) unreasonably mean, as it seems to the outside eye? What is the immoderation of hunger that seeks fruit at the wrong time? And why curse an insensitive object? Question 21. What does it mean: He has taken away the principalities and powers (Col. 2:15) and further? How then was [the Lord], born without sin, fully clothed with them? Question 22. If God will reveal His exceeding riches in the coming ages (Eph. 2:7), then how will [this happen] as a [instruction] for those who have reached the last ages (1 Cor. 10:11)? Question 23. If David reigned over only Israel in the flesh, and Israel in the flesh rejected the Kingdom of Christ - which is why it passed to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46) - then how will the saying of the Archangel be fulfilled: [325] And the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and will he reign over the house of Jacob forever (Luke 1:32–33)? Question 24: What is the meaning of what is said about Peter in Acts: When they had passed through the first and second watch, they came to an iron gate (Acts 12:10)? Question 25. What does it mean: I also want you to know that the head of every husband is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered disgraces his head. And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered disgraces her head, for it is as if she were shaved (1 Cor. 11:3-5)? And what else does it mean: Therefore, a woman should have on her head a sign of authority over her, for the Angels (1 Cor. 11:10)? Question 26. If the king of Babylon is allegorically interpreted as the devil, then what is the word that, through the prophet Jeremiah, threatens the kings of the tongues and the king of Judah with a yoke, bonds, hunger, death, sword and captivity, if they do not serve the king of Babylon, and those who voluntarily serve him, [were promised] along with relief [of hardships] and stay in their land (Jer.27:1-11)? And why [this word], calling this king a slave, reads: ... I gave all this land in the hand of Nebuchadnezzar [341] to the king of Babylon, that they should work for him, and the beasts of the countryside should work for him (Jer. 27:6)? What kind of service to the devil is this, what kind of beasts are they, what are the six types of threats, what are the kings of the tongues and who is the king of the Jews? Question 27. If the Lord after the Resurrection clearly commanded: teach all nations (Matthew 28:19), then why was Peter afraid of the revelation about Cornelius regarding the nations (Acts 10:11-48)? And why did the apostles in Jerusalem, having heard about what happened to Cornelius, reproach Peter (Acts 11:2)? Question 28. To whom does God address, saying: Come, let us go down there and confound their language (Gen. 11:7)? Question 29. What do the words in Acts mean: They, by the inspiration of the Spirit, told Paul not to go up to Jerusalem (Acts 21:4)? Why didn't he listen to the Spirit and go? [365] Question 30. What do the words mean: Can you drink the cup that I drink and be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized? (Mark 10:38). What is the difference between the cup and baptism? Question 31. If God does not live in churches made with hands (Acts 17:24), then why did He dwell in the church of the Jews? Question 32. 1. What does the words mean: will they not feel and find God (Acts 17:27)? How can one find God by feeling? Question 33. What do the words mean: Truly I say to you, if anyone says to this mountain, “Be taken up and cast into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, whatever he says will be done for him (Mark 11:23)? What does it mean: “will not doubt”? Question 34. What do the words mean: Therefore I say to you: whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you receive it, and it will be done for you (Mark 11:24)? How can anyone believe that he receives everything he asks for, when only God knows whether what he asks is beneficial or not? And if, due to [his] ignorance, he asks for something that is not useful to [him], how is it given? And if what he asks for is not given out of ignorance, but is not useful, how can one believe [him] in every request that he receives and will be given it? Question 35. Since the Word became flesh (John 1:14), and not only flesh, but also blood and bones, and we are commanded to eat [the Lord's] flesh and drink [His] blood (John 6:53), but not to crush [His] bones, I ask that you teach me what [this] tripartite power of the Word made man is. Question 36. What are the bodies and blood of foolish animals, through which the Israelites served [God], when they ate the bodies, but did not partake of the blood, shedding it around the base of the altar (Deut. 12:27)? Question 37. Acts says about Paul: so that handkerchiefs and aprons were placed on the sick from his body, and their illnesses ceased (Acts 19:12). [384] Did this happen to the unbelievers as a result of the ministry, or was it accomplished due to the sanctification of [their] body from his body? And if the second and [the apostle] did not suffer any harm from the viper (Acts 28:3-6), then why did the saint’s body not succumb to the creature’s poison, but fall under the sword? I ask the same thing about Elisha's body. And what are the belts? Question 38. Did the Sadducees, who asked [the Lord] about the seven brothers who [had] one wife (Matthew 22:23-28), [ask the question] by chance or does it have a deeper meaning? If he has, then who are the brothers and who is their wife? Question 39. What are these three days during which the people stayed with the Lord in the wilderness (Matthew 15:32)? Question 40. What does the number of six water bearers mean at the marriage in Cana of Galilee (John 2:6)? Question 41. What do the five husbands of the Samaritan woman and the sixth, who is not her husband, mean (John 4:16-18)? Question 42. How is it said about us that we commit sin and know [about it], but about the Lord it is said that He became sin, but does not know it? Isn’t it more serious to become [sin] and not know [it] than to commit [sin] and know [about it]? For He made him who knew no sin to be sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). Question 43. If Scripture says that wisdom is the tree of life (Prov. 3:18), and the work of wisdom is to discern [412] and know the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:9), then how does [the latter] differ from the tree of life? Question 44. To whom does God address, saying: Behold, Adam was one of Us (Gen. 3:22)? If He addresses the Son, then how can Adam be compared with God, not being of His essence? And if [God turns] to the Angels, then, again, how is the Angel compared with Him, speaking as if with an equal in essence: as one from Us? Question 45. What do the breasts of laying on and the breast of sharing (Lev. 7:34) offered as a sacrifice to God by the priests mean in Leviticus? Question 46. What is the difference between a mirror and fortune telling (1 Cor. 13:12)? Question 47. What is the voice of one crying in the wilderness and what follows? What does the desert mean, what is the path of the Lord here and what is its preparation? What are His paths and what does it mean to make them straight? What are the debts and what does every debt be filled mean? What are the mountains and hills and what is their depression? What do curvatures mean and how do they straighten? What are the rough paths and how can they be made smooth? And what do [the words spoken] mean after all these: and all flesh will see the salvation of God? (Luke 3:4-6). Question 48. The Second Book of Chronicles says about Uzziah that he did what was right before the Lord, and did not seek the Lord in the days of Zechariah, which is understood in the fear of the Lord. And God bless him. And Uzziah built pillars in Jerusalem, and over the corner gate, and over the corner of the valley, and over the corners, and fortified them. And you built pillars in the wilderness, and many treasures of fossils, [433] having many cattle in Sephil and in the fields, and vineyard workers in the mountains and in Carmel, even farmers (2 Chron. 26:4-10). What are these pillars, the pillar above the gate of the corner, the pillar above the gate of the valley and the corner itself? And what are corners and pillars in the desert? What are dug treasures and cattle? What is Sephila, the plain and the vine workers? What is a mountainous country and Carmel and what do [the words mean]: be a farmer? Question 49. What do the words mean in the same book: And Hezekiah saw Sennacherib come, and his face went to war against Jerusalem. And he took counsel with his elders and with the mighty, so that the waters of the springs that flow outside the city may be contained, and he will do what he pleases. And gathered together many people, and brought in the waters of the springs, and a stream flowing in the midst of the city (2 Chronicles 32:2-4)? What does [Holy Scripture] want to designate with these [words], according to [spiritual] contemplation? Question 50. What do the words mean in the same book: And Hezekiah the king, and Isaiah the son of Amoz the prophet, prayed for these, and cried out to heaven. And the Lord sent an angel, and struck down all the brave men and warriors, and commanders and commanders in half the army of the king of Assyria: and return his face with shame to his land (2 Chronicles 32:20-21)? Question 51. Question 52. Question 53. Again about Hezekiah [Scripture] says: And he buried him at the rising of the graves of the sons of David; and all Judah, and them that dwell in Jerusalem, gave him glory and honor at his death (2 Chron. 32:33). What does it mean at the rising of the graves of the sons of David and what follows? Question 54. In the First Book of Ezra it is written about Zerubbabel: And when this young man went out, he lifted up his face toward heaven directly toward Jerusalem, and blessed the King of Heaven, saying: From Thee is victory, and from Thee is wisdom, and Thine glory, and I am Thy servant. Blessed are you, who gave me wisdom, and we will confess to you, Lord of the fathers (2 Ezra 4:58-60). What do the words mean: raised his face to heaven directly to Jerusalem and the following? Question 55. All the beahu from Israel, from twelve years old and upward, besides slaves and women, are fourty-three thousand, three hundred and sixty; these male servants and female servants, seven thousand three hundred and forty seven; singers and singers, eight hundred fifty-five. Camel four hundred and thirty-five; seven thousand seven hundred thirty-six horses; Moscow eight hundred and fourty-five; five thousand five hundred twenty-five (2Ezra 5:41-42). Show love [and explain] these great and sublime words spoken by the Holy Spirit through the prophets about the exodus of [Israel] from captivity [of Babylon]. Why is this narrative written with such inappropriate simplicity, unworthy of the Spirit, and the exact number of camels, horses, mules, donkeys and the like is mentioned here? Question 56. And again in the Second Book of Ezra it is written: “And the enemies of the tribe of Judah and Benjamin heard, and came to test the rumor, and learned that [those who had returned] from captivity were building a church to the Lord God of Israel. They came to Zerubbabel, and to Joshua, and to the heads of the generations, and said to them: We also will build with you, because we, like you, obey your Lord and offer sacrifices to Him since the days of Asphakath, king of Assyria, who brought you here. [577] And Zerubbabel and Joshua and the heads of the generations said to them, “You shall not build a house for the Lord our God with us; we alone will build a house for the Lord God of Israel” (1 Ezra 4:1-3). What does this mean, and especially [what is this] envy, because of which [the Jews] did not want to build [the church] together with others who worship the same God? Question 57. Question 58. [It is said]: In this you rejoice, having now been grieved a little, if necessary, by various temptations (1 Peter 1:6). How can one who grieves in temptations rejoice over the fact that he grieves? Question 59. Towards this salvation, study the prophets who foretold the grace appointed for you, searching to what and at what time the Spirit of Christ who was in them pointed, when He foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glory that would follow them (1 Pet. 1:10-11). If the blessed prophets themselves, taught by the Holy Spirit, left us in writing what they were taught for research and exploration, then how could they, taught by the Holy Spirit and writing down what was revealed to them, explore and explore anything? Question 60. Christ as a spotless and spotless Lamb, foreknown before the creation of the world, but who appeared in the last times for us (1 Pet. 1:19-20). Foretold by whom? Question 61: For it is time that judgment should begin at the house of God; But if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the Gospel of God? And if the righteous can barely be saved, where will the wicked and sinful appear? (1 Pet. 4:17–18). What do [the words] mean: it is time for judgment to begin from the house of God and if the righteous can barely escape? Question 62. What does the holy prophet Zechariah mean when he says: And I lifted up my eyes, and saw: I saw a sickle flying: twenty cubits in length, and ten cubits in breadth. And he said to me: this is the oath that goes forth on the face of the whole earth. And a little further: And I will carry him away, says the Lord Almighty, and the thief will enter into the house of him who swears in My name to lie, and will dwell in the midst of his house, and will put an end to him and his stone (Zech. 5:1-4). What is a sickle and what is a measure of longitude and latitude? And why is [sickle] flying? Who is the thief and who is the swearer? What is home? And what – wood and stone? [648] Question 63. The same prophet wrote: And he said to me: what have you seen? And he said: I saw, and behold, the whole candlestick was golden, and the lamp on top of it, and the seven lamps on top of it, and the seven bowls for the lamp on top of it. And two olive trees were on top of it, one on the right hand of its lamp, and one on the side (Zech. 4:2-3). What is a priest? And why is he gold? What is the light above it? What are the seven lamps and what are the seven bowls of the seven lamps? What are two olives? Why is one at the right hand of the luminary, and the other at the left? Question 64. What is the meaning of the statement of the prophet Jonah, who speaks of Nineveh: In it live more than twelve men who have not known their right hand, below their own (Jon. 4:11)? For in the literal interpretation [of this passage] I find no consolation. After all, the prophet does not speak here about children and does not mean infants, but speaks about people. And what kind of person, if his mind is intact, does not know his right hand and his power? Therefore, tell me which people, which right hand and which shuytse are being discussed here according to the meaning of spiritual interpretation. Question 65. In the Second Book of Samuel it is written: And there was a famine in the land in the days of David for three years, one summer after another. And the Lord said: Saul and his house were offended by the death of his blood, since the Gibeonites were killed. And King David called the Gibeonites, and said to them... what will I do to you? and how do I pray, may you bless the property of the Lord? ...And he decided to the king: the man who committed against us and was persecuted, whoever intended to consume us, we will consume him, will not be in all the borders of Israel. Give us seven men from his sons, and we will hang them in the sun of the Lord on Mount Saul... And the king took the two sons of Respha to the daughter of Aiah, the daughter of Saul... and the five sons of Mer, to the daughter of Saul, whom Esdriel bore... and gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites. And I was hanged in the sun on the mountain before the Lord. And these fell seven together: and these fell in the first days of the harvest, at the beginning of the barley harvest. And Respha took sackcloth for Ain, and put it on the stone, until the water of God fell on them from heaven... And the king did all the great commandments. And the God of the earth obeyed to this day (2 Samuel 21:1-14). [261] Maxim the monk prologue In memory of the outstanding modern church scientist and Christian Alexei Ivanovich Sidorov (11.27.1944–03.23.2020) On February 23, 2020, at the 76th year of his life, the beloved and dear professor Alexei Ivanovich Sidorov, candidate of historical sciences, candidate of theology, doctor of church history, who was rightfully considered a leading and authoritative scientist-patrologist in modern post-Soviet Russia and undoubtedly influenced its development, passed away untimely from us. In the seventies, an unaccountable craving for “higher things” in the conditions of the stuffy atheistic Soviet reality prompted many Soviet people of that time to seek the meaning of life through self-development and education. Therefore, in 1969 A.I. Sidorov entered the Faculty of History of Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov, who graduated in 1975 from the Department of History of the Ancient World and the Department of Ancient Languages. After graduating from the university, he worked as a junior researcher, researcher and senior researcher at the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences. At the same time, he completed a correspondence postgraduate course at the Institute of General History of the Russian Academy of Sciences and in 1981 defended his PhD thesis on the topic “The Problem of Gnosticism and Syncretism of Late Antique Culture.” Since the mid-eighties, A. I. Sidorov, under the influence of his wife Svetlana Viktorovna, became a sincere believer and church person, being nourished by famous (now departed to the Lord) spiritual elders - Archimandrites John (Krestyankin), Venedikt (Penkov) and Naum (Bayborodin). It was with the blessing of these elders that, according to him, he abandoned the study of his fruitless Gnosticism and discovered the heritage of the holy fathers of the Church, to which he devoted the rest of his life. Another of his professional interests was the history of the Ancient Church. This led to his invitation in 1988 to teach the history of the Ancient Church, and then patrolology at the Moscow Theological Academy and Seminary, from which he graduated as an external student in 1990 and 1991. Since 1993, A. I. Sidorov worked at the Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences as a leading researcher, heading the group of Byzantine literature, taught at the Russian Orthodox University of St. John the Theologian, at the Orthodox St. Tikhon's Theological Institute, at the Sretensky Theological Seminary, teaching courses in patrolology and church history there. During his long scientific and church activity, A. I. Sidorov published more than a hundred scientific articles and reviews. It is especially worth noting his dedicated work in translating and publishing the works of the holy fathers and church writers, equipped with his prefaces and commentaries. Holy Orthodoxy was a great value for the deceased. Any deviation from him - whether doctrinal or moral - aroused rejection in him. He had no sympathy for ecumenism, Westernism, and was opposed to schisms and divisions in church life, as well as a kind of “intellectualism” in patrolology—transforming the study of the Holy Fathers into a kind of para-church intellectual “bead game,” an abstract philosophy that does not lead to salvation. The book now offered to the attention of readers contains a translation with comments of all sixty-five “Questions and Answers to Thalassius” - the result of almost thirty years of work by A. I. Sidorov on this work. About a quarter of a century ago, the first part of the translation of “Questions to Thalassius” was published by the Rev. Maximus the Confessor 1. The translation of this one of the main works of the reverend father was begun even before the revolution by the outstanding Orthodox scholar S.L. Epifanovich 2. Continuing his endeavor, which, unfortunately, was interrupted at the 25th “question-answer”, we published the first part of the translation of “Question-answers”. Subsequently, we continued this translation, and individual “questions” were published in various periodicals. However, a heavy teaching load and numerous other matters did not allow us to put together these individual publications, review them and prepare them for publication. The impetus for this collection was the publication of three volumes of “Questions and Answers” ​​in the well-known “Christian Sources” series, which presented a critical text of this work with a French translation, an extensive introductory article and commentary; The publication was carried out by a deep connoisseur of creativity, Rev. Maxima J.-C. Larcher in collaboration with F. Vinel 3. Taking this edition into account, we decided to revise our translation (along with commentaries) and publish it. “Questions and Answers” ​​undoubtedly deserve the closest attention. The work is addressed to Rev. Thalassia (Libyan, or African), known for his ascetic essay “On Love,” included in the “Philokalia” 4. He was one of the leaders of the Orthodox monks forced by the invasion of the Persians and Arabs to emigrate from the Greek East to North Africa, where Thalassius became the abbot of one of the monasteries 5. The “Questions and Answers” ​​date back to the period before 633/634. 6 From a formal point of view, they can be attributed to the “Questions and Answers” ​​genre, which was very widespread in Byzantium, but, as J.-C. Larchet, the work should have been called “Answers to Thalassia”, since the reverend himself. Maxim does not ask any questions in it 7. It is generally accepted that this work is an exegetical work. And indeed, the Holy Scriptures by St. Maxim, like the vast majority of the Church Fathers, played a huge role, determining the entire life and worldview of the reverend father 8. In general, the exegesis of Rev. The maxim is in the spirit of the Alexandrian tradition with its emphasis on spiritual (“anagogical”) explanation and pronounced Christocentrism 9 . However, one important circumstance should be taken into account here. As we wrote at one time, “for Rev. Maxim, the interpretation of Scripture is not the study and research of some text objectified by us and external to us, but the word of God addressed to us, living in us and leading us to salvation. It actively teaches us and determines the most important and main guidelines of Christian life and the Christian knowledge inseparably associated with it, primarily the knowledge of God. The goal of Christian life and knowledge is salvation and the acquisition of a blessed destiny in the Kingdom of the next century” 10. This essential feature of the exegesis of the reverend father determines the nature of the “Questions and Answers”, and therefore this work is both an exegetical work and a secret-visual-ascetic treatise 11. Moreover, this nature of the interpretations of Rev. Maxim also reveals the most important feature of his entire theology: despite all its sublimity, richness and sometimes complexity of thought, it is in no way an intellectual “game of glass beads,” as some Western and pro-Western Russian researchers sometimes portray it, but is an “intelligent reflection” of the whole life and thinking in Christ. It may be noted that the notes of S.L. We designated Epifanovich (until the 26th “question answer”) as S.E., and our own as A.S. As for the scholia, they belong to anonymous authors and most of them already existed around 800; It is not unlikely that some scholia belonged personally to the Venerable. Maxim is 12. A few words should be said about the principles of the publication. Important and often used by Rev. Maxima, the Greek term λόγος, translated (including by S.L. Epifanovich) usually as a tracing paper of the Greek word “logos” 13, in the plural – “logoi”, we considered it necessary to most often translate by other terms, for example “meaning”, “meanings”. Since there is a lot of literature about Rev. Maxime (especially the literature of the last century) refers to the publication of “Patrology” by Minh, then we considered it necessary to indicate in square brackets in the text the numbers of columns (columns of the Greek text) for this edition. In addition, given the vastness of many of the “questions and answers,” we considered it necessary, to facilitate reading and reference to the text during further citation, to provide them with chapter numbering according to the English edition of the “Questions and Answers”: St. Maximus the Confessor. On Difficulties in Sacred Scripture: The Responses to Thalassios. Translated by F. Maximos Constas // The Fathers of The Church. New translation. Vol. 136. The Catholic University of America press. Washington, DC. 2018. Introduction. Maximus of the monk to Thalassius, the most pious presbyter and abbot, on various difficult passages of Holy Scripture 1. To the most reverend servant of God, Mr. Thalassius, presbyter and abbot, Maximus, a humble monk, wishes good health. 2. Having rationally separated 14 the soul from attachment to the flesh 15 and with the spirit completely distracted 16 the mind 17 from feeling, you, a man of God, have made the flesh the fertile mother of virtues, while the mind has shown the ever-flowing source of Divine knowledge, using the union of the soul with the flesh only for the creation of a better [245] and using feeling as a tool for comprehending the majestic structure of visible existence. The flesh 18 [you made] practically receptive 19 and revealing the glory of the soul in virtue, visibly imprinting it through [good] character 20 so that we, as an image of virtue, would have your life set forth for [everyone] to imitate. And the feeling 21 [you showed] symbolically inscribing on the images 22 of visible existence the meanings 23 of intelligible being 24 and elevating the mind through them, with its complete renunciation of all diversity and complexity of visible being, to the simplicity of mental contemplation, so that your infallible knowledge 25 would be for us the path of truth for the transition to intelligible being. 3. Therefore, after completely putting aside your partial disposition towards feeling and flesh, zealously setting sail with a skilled mind in the boundless sea of ​​words of the Spirit, you will experience the depths of the Spirit with your spirit 26. And, having received from Him the clarification of 27 hidden mysteries, out of great, apparently humility, filling the charter with many perplexing questions from the Holy Scriptures, you sent [it to me], asking me, devoid of all virtue and knowledge, for a written answer to each question in accordance with sublime contemplation. 28 4. Having received and read this charter, I was amazed in mind, hearing, and thought, and with a prayer I asked you for forgiveness for deviating from this assignment, saying that such questions are barely accessible to research even for those who are highly successful in contemplation and have almost reached the limit of the highest and inaccessible to others knowledge - not so for me, committed to the earth and, like a serpent under an ancient curse (Gen. 3:14 ), having no other food than the land of passions, and, like a worm, reptiles in the corruption of pleasures. And I asked you about this often and for a long time, but, finding you not accepting my petition, I was afraid that the work of love, united with each other by which we have one soul, although we wear two bodies, would suffer damage, if you (which is possible) would take this deviation as a manifestation of disobedience. Therefore, I decided, albeit against my will, to do something that exceeded [my] strength, preferring better to be accused of insolence and ridiculed by those who wished, than to allow any hesitation or derogation in love, more precious than which there is nothing that is after God, for those with intelligence. It is better to say: there is nothing more dear to God [than love], for it brings the divided together 29 and can create a single and undisturbed identity in spirit 30 in many or all [people]. 5. And you yourself, honest father, are the first to forgive me for undertaking such a thing, [248] and ask others to forgive my rashness, and through your prayers make God merciful to me, so that He may also become an assistant in [my] speeches, or better yet, the giver of a complete and right answer to every question, for from Him, as the source and Father of all enlightening knowledge and powers, accordingly given to the worthy, every good gift and every perfect gift (James 1:17). For, trusting in you, I accepted your command, expecting to receive through you Divine favor as a reward for obedience. 6. Having posed each of the questions in the connection and order as they were written by you, I will give a relevant answer, as briefly and as limited as possible - as soon as I am able and receive from God the grace and power to think and speak piously - so as not to burden the ears of the readers with an abundance of words, especially since I offer [my] speech to you, truly speculative 31 and accurate contemplatives of [things] Divine, who have already passed through the confusion of passions and leaving behind all attachment to nature 32. For you, having acquired the mind as a leader to what is due and the most righteous judge, and the mind through some better thoughtlessness 33, having brought it to the inner place of Divine silence, where you can in an unknown way perceive only divine joy, which has as a teacher of its greatness the experience of those worthy of it, - therefore, regarding the questions under investigation, you need only a small explanation that can give a hint of the all-luminous beauty of the mysterious contemplations contained in the Divine words and their inherent spiritual sublimity of thoughts, if, of course, I am allowed to say this to you, who, as a result of the wealth of virtue and the abundant outpouring of knowledge, have become the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-14), according to the word of the Lord, and cleansing in others with exploits 34 virtues the abscesses of passions and the light of knowledge enlightening ignorance, this blindness of the soul. 7. I ask you, the most holy ones, and everyone who will read this work, not to make what I say the limit of spiritual interpretation of [these] issues, for I am too far from understanding Divine words and for this I need teaching from others. But if you yourself or with the help of others manage to conjecture or find out something, then in fairness consider it for the best and adhere to the highest and true understanding, the fruit of which is the fullness of conviction in the hearts of those who seek spiritual comprehension of difficult to understand issues. 8. After all, the Divine Word is like water 35. Like [water] for plants and shoots of all kinds and various animals, I mean people who are watered by the Word Himself, in proportion to their receptivity, it is sometimes manifested speculatively, sometimes it is actively revealed as fruit in virtues 36 [249] in accordance with the quality of virtue and knowledge, and through some it becomes manifest in others. For It is never described [in anything] alone and, due to [Its] natural infinity, cannot be contained within the limits of [one] thought. 9. You commanded first to speak about the passions that plague us: how many there are and what they are 37 , from what beginning they 38 , what end they will reach through their own moderation 39 and how each of them, growing from one or another power of the soul or part of the body 40 , invisibly forms the mind, and through sinful thoughts makes the body [an instrument] that denigrates, like paint, the entire unfortunate soul. [You also ordered to describe] the meaning of the name 41 and the action of each [passion], the times 42 and their external manifestations 43, as well as the machinations of unclean demons 44 produced through them and the invisible entanglements and hypocritical tricks [of them] and how they imperceptibly through one offer another 45 and insinuatingly entice one to one through another 46. [You also ordered to describe] their subtleties and smallness, greatness and cumbersomeness 47, their [false] compliance and rapid attacks and attacks, fast or slow retreats and reductions 48, their persistence in the siege [of the human soul] and, for example, as if [undertaken] in court litigation with the soul and supposedly sentences passed in thoughts, visible defeats and victories; and what is the disposition of each [of them] 49 and for what reason are they allowed to induce many passions on one soul, and moreover, either separately or together with others; for which reason they, in a timeless manner, bring with them their own substances 50, through which they secretly wage a cruel war with us, so that we work intensely, as if on something real 51, on something completely non-existent and, for example, we strive for things or avoid them, undergoing the first for the sake of pleasure, and the second for the sake of suffering 52. [You also asked to describe] the manner of their existence in us and the complex and varied dreaming [produced by them] in sleep during dreams: whether they are attached to any part of the soul or body or to the whole soul or the whole body and, or being inside, by natural passions they encourage the soul to attract to itself through the body what is outside of it, and mislead it, forcing it to belong entirely to one sense and leave what is peculiar to [it] by nature, or, being outside, through external contact with the body, they form an invisible soul in the image of material [things], imposing on it a complex appearance and sticking to it the appearance of matter perceived in the imagination; and is there order and order in them 53, insidiously invented in order to first encroach on the soul through some passions, and then successively wage war on it through others; and who precedes whom and, conversely, who follows or accompanies whom 54, or they randomly and mixedly, at random, disturb the soul with various passions 55; and whether, apart from [God’s] Providence, the soul is allowed to endure such things from them or according to Providence, and what is the purpose of Providence when leaving the soul in each passion. What is also the method of destroying each of the listed passions and by what deeds, [252] words or thoughts 56 the soul is freed from them and removes filth from its conscience? By contrasting which passion with which virtue, will it achieve victory, so as to drive away the evil demon, completely destroying along with it the very movement of passion? And how, after liberation from passions, will the soul be able to clearly consider what is characteristic of itself? 57 By what reasoning and methods [of implementing the virtues] 58 does she, having mastered, thanks to reason corresponding to nature, the dispassionate relationship of sensory being to the feelings 59 , transform them for virtues, just as she herself was previously transformed by passions for sin? How does the soul make this good change, using what it previously sinned for the birth and strengthening of virtues? How also, having freed itself from these relations 60, will the soul begin to skillfully collect 61 through natural contemplation in the spirit the meanings of created existence, already free from the bonds of sensory symbols? And how, again, after these [meanings], turning to intelligible [entities], the soul will perceive with a mind pure from sensory thought simple speculations 62 and comprehend simple knowledge connecting everything with each other in the original Word of Wisdom 63, after which, having passed through all existing things with their corresponding speculations, it, having completely renounced the very ability of thinking, experiences the premental union with God Himself and, by virtue of this union 64 receiving inexpressibly from Him, like a seed 65 , the teaching of real truth, will no longer turn to sin, since there will no longer be room for the devil to cunningly entice her to evil due to the ignorance of Him Who is Good by nature and Who adorns everything capable of participating in Him. 10. Since you wished that the meanings, methods and reasons for [all] this and the like be explained to you specifically 66, then, at your command, let the word about this wait a little for now. It, God willing, will be more timely explored and more carefully studied in other [works], if at all I feel in my mind the strength that will allow me to boldly set sail on such a great and deep sea. For I am not ashamed to say that I have not yet learned the indestructible tricks and inventions of unclean demons, since the dusty cloud of matter still darkens the eyes of [my] soul and does not allow me to purely contemplate the nature of the things that have arisen and to distinguish with reason from the [truly] existing that which only seems to exist, 67 but only misleads an unreasonable feeling. Because truly investigating and speaking about such things is characteristic only of [people who] are highly contemplative and high in thought, who, through rich [spiritual] experience, have received the knowledge of what is beautiful and what is not, and - best and most precious of all - [253] who have received from God the grace and strength for a perfect understanding and a clear presentation of what is understood. However, so that in this work the discussion about this does not remain completely neglected, I, having said a little about the origin of passions, and, moreover, as much as is necessary to show speculators like you the end from the beginning, in order I will also offer an explanation of the questions that follow. 11. Evil 68 was not, is not and will not be independently existing by its own nature, for it does not have [for itself] in beings exactly any essence, nature, hypostasis, power or activity; it is neither quality, nor quantity, nor relation, nor place, nor time, nor position, nor action, nor movement, nor possession, nor suffering, so that by nature it is contemplated in any of the existing 69; it does not exist at all in all this by natural assimilation 70; it is neither the beginning, nor the middle, nor the end, 71 but - embracing everything with a [single] definition - evil is a lack of activity of the forces inherent in nature in relation to [their] goal and is absolutely not anything else. 12. Or again: evil is the unreasonable movement of natural forces, guided by erroneous judgment, towards [something] other than the goal. I call the goal the Cause of existing things, towards Which everything naturally rushes, although the evil one, having carefully covered envy with the guise of benevolence and deceiving a person, [managed] to direct the attraction to something else from the existing besides the Cause and produce ignorance of It 72. 13. Having neglected the movement of natural forces towards the Goal, the first man fell ill with ignorance of his own Cause, recognizing, on the advice of the serpent, as god what the word of the Divine Commandment commanded to be considered forbidden. And, having thus become a criminal and ignorant of God, he firmly tied all [his] thinking power with all feeling and introduced a complex 73 and destructive knowledge of sensual [things] that incites passion, and was attached to senseless cattle and became like them (Ps. 49:13), acting in every possible way, seeking and desiring the same thing as they, and even surpassing them in foolishness, for he exchanged reason consistent with nature for that which is contrary to nature. 14. To the extent that a person cared about the knowledge of visible [things] only by feeling, so much did he strengthen his ignorance of God 74 . Since he tightened the bonds of this ignorance, he established himself experimentally in the sensual enjoyment of known material [things]; satiated with this [pleasure], he kindled in himself the love passion of the self-love that was born from him, 75 and carefully observing the love passion of self-love, he invented many ways to maintain pleasure - this real generation and goal of self-love. And since it is inherent in every evil to be destroyed along with the ways that form it, then [man], [256] being convinced from experience itself that every pleasure is followed by suffering, 76 had a complete desire for pleasure, and avoided suffering in every possible way, struggling with all his might for the first and diligently defeating the second. At the same time, he believed (which was impossible) that through such tricks they could be separated from each other and have self-love, combined with pleasure alone and completely inaccessible to suffering, not knowing under the influence of passion that it is impossible to have pleasure without suffering. After all, the burden of suffering is already mixed with pleasure, although it seems hidden from those who have [this pleasure] due to the predominance of pleasure in passion, since the predominant one tends to be more noticeable and obscure the sensation of what coexists with it. 15. It is from here that many and countless accumulations of passions have corrupted human life. Hence, our life has become much lamentable, honoring the reasons for its destruction and seeking and acquiring for itself reasons for corruption. Hence, the single nature was divided into thousands of parts, and although we belong to one nature, we ourselves, like reptiles and beasts, became prey for each other. For, competing [with each other] out of pride for pleasure and trying for the same reason to avoid suffering, we invent countless types of destructive passions 77 . Thus, if we care about self-love for the sake of pleasure, then we give rise to gluttony, pride, vanity, arrogance, love of money, greed, violence, arrogance, boasting, recklessness, madness, conceit, arrogance, contempt, impudence, vulgarity, cheating, licentiousness, unbridledness, frivolity, exaltation, stupidity, pretense, mockery, verbosity, untimely speaking, shameful speaking and everything else of this kind. If, on the contrary, our self-loving disposition is oppressed by suffering, then we give birth to anger, envy, hatred, enmity, resentment, reproach, slander, slander, sadness, despair, hopelessness, aversion from [God's] Providence, carelessness, negligence, despondency, depression, cowardice, untimely lamentation, crying, lamentation, a pitiful cry, jealousy, envy, rivalry and [all] other [passions] that are characteristic of [our] state of mind when we are deprived of the basis for pleasure. From the mixture of pleasure and suffering that occurs for some other reason, that is, from meanness 78 - for this is what some call the composition of evil from opposite parts 79 - we give birth to hypocrisy, pretense, deception, duplicity, flattery, man-pleasing and all sorts of other tricks of [this] mixed evil. However, to list all [these passions] now and talk about them along with their signs, ways [of manifestation], causes and times is unbearable, [257] especially since the study of them, if God grants the power, will be carried out in a special work. 16. So 80, evil, as I said, is ignorance of the good Cause of beings. This ignorance, crippling the human mind and clearly opening up feeling, made it completely alien to Divine knowledge and [on the contrary,] filled it with passionate knowledge of sensory [things]. Abundantly 82 tasting this knowledge for the senses alone, like unreasonable animals, and finding from experience that tasting 83 sensory existence can serve to maintain his visible and bodily nature, man, of course, as having already sinned [in the knowledge of] the intelligible beauty of the Divine splendor, mistakenly accepted the visible creature for God, deified it, since it was useful for maintaining the body, and, of course, He also loved his body, which is related by nature to the creation recognized as God, worshiping the creature with all diligence instead of the Creator (Rom. 1:25) through care and concern for the body alone 84. For one can serve the creature only by taking care of [one’s] body, and one cannot serve God otherwise than by purifying the soul with virtues. Performing corruptive service to this body and becoming selfish in relation to it, man continually had pleasure and suffering active within himself, so that he always ate from the tree of disobedience 85 , which, according to sensory experience, contained a mixed knowledge of good and evil 86 . 17. And if, perhaps, someone says 87 that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the visible creation, then he will not sin against the truth, for this creation naturally receives pleasures and suffering 88 . 18. And 89 more. Since the visible creation 90 possesses spiritual meanings that nourish the mind, and a natural force that delights the senses and distorts the mind, it is called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that is, as having the knowledge of good when contemplated spiritually, and the knowledge of evil when perceived bodily. For it becomes a teacher of passions for those who perceive it bodily, bringing upon them oblivion of [things] Divine. That is probably why God forbade man from eating it, postponing it for a while, so that man first - which was very fair - would know through the grace-filled communion 91 his Cause and through such eating would strengthen the immortality given [to him] by grace in impassivity and immutability, and then, having become as if a god by virtue of deification, harmlessly and safely, together with God, contemplated the creation of God and received [260] knowledge of them as God, and not as man, having by grace the same wise knowledge of beings with God thanks to the transformation of mind and feeling to deification 92 . 19. Thus, one must understand the tree [of knowledge] in accordance with the spiritual interpretation available to everyone, 93 presenting a more mysterious and better meaning to people with occult thoughts, but on one’s own account honoring it with silence. Now I mentioned the tree of disobedience in passing, wanting to show how ignorance of God led to the deification of the creature, the obvious service of which is the bodily pride of the human race. It is around this self-love that there exists, as a kind of mixed knowledge, the experience of pleasure and suffering, through which all the mud of evils has penetrated into human life. It is difficult even to express this in words 94, it is formed in different ways, in various forms and in a variety of ways, since each of those who participate in human nature has in himself a quantitatively and qualitatively living and active attachment to his visible part, that is, to the body, forcing him servilely, out of a desire for pleasure or out of fear of suffering, to invent many types of passions, depending on the confluence of times and circumstances and depending on the method [manifestations] of such. And this is in order to be able to lure pleasure into constant cohabitation and remain completely inaccessible to suffering. [But this attachment] teaches one to strive for the impossible and impracticable within the limits of the intended goal. For since the whole nature of bodies is perishable and subject to decay, then no matter how anyone tries to support it, he only increases its corruption; always, albeit involuntarily, fearing the beloved 95, he would imperceptibly and against his will cherish the unloved for the sake of the beloved, depending on what by nature cannot be stable, 96 and therefore would change his mental disposition along with the decaying matter, submitting to its unstable flow, and would not notice his own destruction due to the complete blindness of the soul in relation to the truth. 20. Deliverance from all these evils and a short path to salvation are true and consistent with [spiritual] knowledge of love for God 97 and complete renunciation of spiritual love for the body and this world. Thanks to this renunciation, we, rejecting the lustful desire for pleasure and the fear of suffering, are freed from evil pride; having ascended to the knowledge of the Creator and having received, instead of evil self-love, good, spiritual self-love, separated from bodily love, we unceasingly serve God with this beautiful self-love, always seeking from God the order of the soul. This is the true and truly pleasing service to God - strict care for the soul through virtues. 21. Therefore, whoever does not strive for bodily pleasure and is not at all afraid of suffering has become dispassionate towards them; together with the self-love [261] that gives birth to them, he killed all the passions [arising] through them and from them, together with ignorance - the most primal of evils - and completely surrendered himself to the stable, abiding and always identical Good by nature, completely remaining with Him motionless, with an open face, as in a mirror, looking at the glory (2 Cor. 3:18) of God and contemplating from light-like radiance within oneself, Divine and unapproachable glory. 22. So, after the word 98 has shown us the straight and easy path of those who are being saved, let us, as much as we have strength, renounce the pleasures and sufferings of this life and, with much admonition, instruct those led by us in the same things - and then we will be completely freed and free [others] from all carnal thoughts and demonic malice. Let us strive only for Divine love, and no one will be able to separate us from God: neither sorrow, nor distress, nor hunger, nor danger, nor the sword (Rom. 8:35) and nothing else listed by the holy Apostle in the [indicated] place, for through effective knowledge 99, with the unshakable abiding of love in us, we will receive from Him eternal and ineffable joy and affirmation of the soul. Having been rewarded with this, we will have a saving ignorance in relation to this world and will no longer [allow ourselves], as before, with the open face of feeling, without prudent reasoning, to look, as if at the glory [of the Lord], at the manifestation of sensory [things], around which passions arise, but, on the contrary, with the open face (2 Cor. 3:18) of thought, devoid of any sensory cover, we will look as in a mirror ( 2 Cor. 3:18), to the glory of God [shone] in virtues and spiritual knowledge, thanks to which [our] union by grace with God occurs, awakening the mind from all ignorance and fall. For just as, not knowing God, we made a creature sweetly known by sense as God for the sake of the structure of the body [communicated] by it, so, receiving the effective knowledge of God accessible to thought, for the sake of the structure of the soul for being, well-being 100 and eternity 101 we will not know 102 any experience of any sense. Since God was pleased to instill in you [the idea] to command me to write down and send you the notes I have on problematic issues, I preceded them with an introduction that seemed to me most necessary. [269] 1. Are passions in themselves evil or are they evil due to their abuse? I mean pleasure and sorrow, desire and fear and [all] the following [passions]. 2. These passions, like others, were not originally created with human nature, otherwise they would have been included in the definition of [this] nature 103. Having learned from the great Gregory of Nyssa, I say that they were introduced [into human nature] as a result of a fall from perfection, having grown into the most unreasonable part of nature 104. Through them, instead of the Divine and blessed image, 105 immediately, along with the transgression [of the commandments], the likeness to irrational animals became clear and clearly visible in man. For it was necessary that, with the darkening of the dignity of reason, human nature deservedly received punishment from those very signs of unreason 106 which it attracted to itself of its own free will. God so wisely arranged for man to come to the consciousness of his rational superiority. 3. However, among those who are zealous [in virtue] 107 their passions become beautiful when they, having wisely removed them from bodily [things], direct them to the acquisition of heavenly [goods] 108 . For example, when they make desire a swift movement of spiritual attraction to the Divine, pleasure - the gracious joy of the active admiration of the mind for Divine gifts, 109 fear - protective care against future punishment for sins, sadness - corrective repentance for present evil. In short, like wise doctors who, with the body of the poisonous animal viper, destroy a real or threatened infection, [zealous in virtue] use these passions to destroy real or expected evil and to acquire and preserve virtue and knowledge. So, these passions, as I said, become beautiful through the use of them by those who take captive every thought to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5). 4. If [the name] of any of these passions is used in Scripture 110 in relation to God or to the saints, then in relation to God - for our sake, since the Providence of [God] in the appropriate way for us reveals [His] saving and beneficial ways under the guise of our passions; in relation to saints 111 - because they cannot otherwise express in bodily language their spiritual relationships and dispositions towards God, as through passions known to nature. [272] 1. If the Creator created all kinds of [creatures] in six days, then what does the Father do after this? For the Savior says: My Father works until now, and I work (John 5:17). However, is He talking about the preservation of immediately occurring species? 2. God, having immediately 112 formed, as He Himself knows, the meanings of [everything] that has happened and the general essences of existence 113, still still carries out not only the preservation of them for existence, but also the creation, emergence and arrangement of the parts contained in them in the potential 114. In addition, God, through [His] Providence, likens individual beings to general species 115 until, through the movement of individual beings towards well-being, He unites their arbitrary striving with the general meaning of the rational essence [inherent in them] by nature and makes them identically moving and consonant with each other and the whole so that individual beings do not have arbitrary 116 differences in relation to the general species 117, but so that one and the same meaning was contemplated by everyone, not being shared by the ways [of implementation] of those in whom it is equally expressed 118, and until He shows effective the grace that deifies everyone. For the sake of this grace, God and the Word, having become Man, says: My Father works until now, and I work (John 5:17); The Father is willing, the Son is self-acting, and the Holy Spirit is essentially fulfilling in all the good will of the Father and the self-action of the Son, so that through all and in all the One God in the Trinity may appear, respectively contemplated by each of those worthy of [this] by grace and by all of them together, just as the soul abides by nature without diminution both in the whole body and in each of its members 119 . 1. Who is this in the Gospel who carries a jug of water into the city, with whom the disciples sent by Christ meet and whom they are commanded to follow? Who is the owner of the house? And why don’t the evangelists mention his name? And what is the large and furnished upper room, in which the terrible mystery of the Divine Supper is celebrated (Luke 22:7–13; Mark 14:13–16)? [273] 2. Scripture is silent not only about the name of the man to whom the Savior sent two of His disciples to prepare the Passover, but also about the name of the city to which they were sent. Hence, according to the first contemplation 120, I assume that by “city” here the sensory world is designated, and by “man” - the general human nature, to which they are sent, like disciples of God and the Word and His forerunners, the preparers of His mystical supper with human nature - the law of the first Testament and the law of the New [Testament]. One cleanses [human] nature from all defilement with active philosophy 121, and the other speculatively raises the mind through contemplative secrecy to related visions of intelligible [things] 122. And proof of this is the fact that the disciples sent were Peter and John. For Peter is a symbol of doing, and John is a symbol of contemplation 123. 3. Therefore, 124, as it should be, the first to come out to meet them is carrying a jug of water, denoting all who, in accordance with active wisdom, carry on the shoulders of virtue the grace of the Spirit, preserved as if in a vessel, in the mortification of the earthly members (Col. 3:5) of the body, cleansing them through faith from filth. Then 125, after the one carrying the water, the owner of the house is second, showing the carpeted upper room, teaching in the same way about all those who, in accordance with [spiritual] contemplation of God, have appropriately covered with knowledgeable speculations and dogmas, like an upper room, the tops of their pure and sublime thoughts for the reception of the great Word. House 126 is a habit of piety, and the active mind makes its way towards it, striving for virtue. And it is owned, as having acquired what already belongs to it by nature, that mind that is enlightened by the Divine light of mysterious knowledge and therefore, together with the active mind, is rewarded with the supernatural coming and supper of the Savior of the Word. 4. So, [in the Gospels] it is said about one person 127 and about two, since it is written about one that he carries a jug, and the other is called the master of the house. It is said about one, as I said, probably because of the unity of [human] nature, and about two - because this nature is divided into people active in piety and people contemplative; having mixed them again through the Spirit, the Word calls and makes them one man. 5. If anyone wishes to consider what has been said in relation to an individual person, he will not fall away from the truth 128. For the city is the soul of each person individually, and into it are constantly sent, as disciples of God and the Word, the meanings of virtue and knowledge. Carrying a jug of water [276] is a strong character and thought, holding intact on the shoulders of abstinence the grace of faith given at baptism. A home is a virtuous state and habit, built, as if from stones, from many and varied firm and courageous morals and thoughts. The upper room is a broad and spacious thought and activity of knowledge, adorned with Divine contemplations of mysterious and ineffable dogmas. The owner of the house is a mind, according to the splendor of his house - virtue, height, beauty and greatness of [his] knowledge - ready for a wide reception [of guests]; coming to him with His disciples, that is, with the first and spiritual thoughts about nature and time, 129 the Word teaches [him] Himself. For truly Easter is the passage of the Word to the human mind, thanks to which the Word of God, coming in a mysterious way, grants to all those worthy the fullness of the communion of its own blessings. 1. How the Lord commanded the disciples not to acquire two clothes (Matthew 10:10; Mark 6:9; Luke 9:3), but He Himself had five, according to the holy Evangelist John (John 19:23), what is clear from those who separated them? And what kind of clothes are these? 2. The Savior did not have five tunics 130, but only one, which was on the body, and [also] outer clothing; Of these garments, the underwear that is on the body is called a tunic, and the outer clothing is called a cloak. However, the great evangelist John, through the [Holy] Spirit, mysteriously taught [here] in the historical narrative the ineffable secret of [spiritual] contemplation, in order, with the help of what is narrated, to lead our mind to the truth of the intelligible. The whole tunic of the Savior woven from above, which was not torn apart by the crucifixors, although they were allowed to pull it off, is a mutual and non-spatial connection and interweaving of virtues 131 - this befitting cover for the Word, [woven] together by [all] of us, or the grace of a new person in Christ, woven from above by the Spirit. Outer clothing is the sensory world, divided by the four elements; it is divided, like four garments, by the Lord who spiritually crucify us within us. [277] So, the demons divide into parts the visible creation [consisting of] the four elements, preparing us to see [it only] with our senses to excite passion, not knowing the Divine meanings contained in it 132. As for the robe of virtues, although [demons] take it off us due to [our] failure to do good, they cannot convince [us] that virtue is evil. 3. Therefore, let us not make the five garments of the Savior a reason for our greed, but let us understand what the intention of Scripture is in this case, and how in us, with our negligence for good, the Lord is crucified, and how He is exposed due to our failure to do good, and the demons, in order to serve the passions through us, divide, like [His] garments, His creation. [Having known all this], we will become unshakable guardians of the blessings given to us from God; Let us contemplate creation with inner nobility only to glorify Him, and through diligence in good deeds, let us keep intact the tunic of the Word of knowledge - I mean virtues 133. 4. If, in addition to what has been said, you wish to understand the world of incorporeal and intelligible entities by the tunic woven on top, and by the outer garment, which Scripture has divided into four parts, as into elements, to think of the corporeal nature, then you will not sin against the truth. Of these two worlds, [the demons] destroyed the body through corruption, having gained power against us in breaking the law of the commandment, but they did not tear the soul, as akin to the heavenly world, to pieces 134. 1. What is the earth cursed in the deeds of Adam according to sublime speculation and what does it mean to eat it in sorrow? What do they mean after the words: thorns and thistles will grow for you - the words: grass? And finally, what does it mean to eat your bread by the sweat of your brow (Gen. 3:17–19)? After all, it has never been seen that a person ate earth or grass; likewise, those who eat bread [never] eat it, literally 135, by the sweat of their brow. 2. The earth, cursed in the deeds of Adam, is the flesh of Adam as a result of his deeds 136, that is, the passions of the earthly mind, 137, always subject to curse in the form of sterility of virtues - these deeds of God. Adam eats this flesh with much suffering and sorrow, enjoying only a small amount of pleasure from it. And for such perishable pleasure, this flesh cultivates for him cares and worries, like “thorns,” and great temptations and dangers, like “thistles,” painfully stinging him from all sides - both in reason, and in furious [beginning], and in [beginning] desiring 138 - so that he can barely obtain and taste, that is, receive, the health and well-being of the flesh, like withered grass, and then, after much cycles of terrible [suffering], in the sweat of the brow, that is, in the hard work of useless consideration of sensory existence in sensory [experience], to have, like bread, a basis for maintaining this life, either through craft, [280] or through some other sophistication invented for [maintaining] life. 3. Or 139 better: “earth” is the heart of Adam, which accepted the “curse” - deprivation of heavenly blessings - as a crime [commandments]. [Man] eats this land in many sorrows through active wisdom, cleansing it from the “curse” of conscience - shameful deeds. And then, purifying with his mind the reflections on the origin of bodily existence that grow in it, like “thorns,” and, like “thistles,” dry 140 reasoning about providence and judgment regarding non-corporeal [entities], he tastes, like “grass,” spiritual contemplation. And so, as if “by the sweat of his brow,” through skillful skill in knowledge, [a person] eats the incorruptible bread of theology, which alone is truly life-giving and preserves the incorruptibility of the being of those who partake 141. So, the eaten “earth” in a good sense is the purification of the heart through [spiritual] work, the “grass” is the knowledge of created [beings, achieved] in natural contemplation, and the “bread” is the true secret knowledge of theology. 1. If, according to Saint John, he who is born of God commits no sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin (1 John 3:9), and he who is born of water and the Spirit (John 3:5) is born of God, then how can we, who are born of God through [Holy] Baptism, sin? 2. The image of our birth from God 142 is twofold: one gives to those who are born the [constantly] present grace of adoption in a state of possibility, while the other brings all this grace into a state of reality and through it morally transforms 143 all the will of the one being born in relation to the giving birth to God. The first image of birth contains grace in a state of possibility 144, in faith alone, while the other - above faith, according to effective knowledge 145 - brings about in the one who knows the Divine similarity to the Known. In those in whom the first image of birth is contemplated, in those there is still present (if, of course, they so desire) the possibility of the fall, because their will has not yet become pure from carnal addiction to such an extent as to be determined by the Spirit in the most actual participation in the known Divine mysteries. For the Spirit does not give birth to an unwilling will, but He only transforms a willing [will] for deification 146 . One who participates in this [deification] in experimental knowledge can no longer deviate from what was once actually known in practice 147 and [281] [clean] to something else besides it and pretending to be it, just as an eye that has once seen the sun cannot mistake the moon or any stars in the sky for it. And for those in whom the Holy Spirit, having accepted at birth all their will, moved [it] entirely from earth to heaven and, through real and true knowledge, transformed [their] mind in the blessed rays of God and the Father so that this mind was considered for another god 148 and experienced through grace-filled communion what God [Himself] is in essence (and does not experience) 149 - with such [people] will clearly became sinless in their skill in virtue and knowledge, for they can no longer renounce what they have effectively and experimentally learned 150. So, although we have the Spirit of adoption (Rom. 8:15), which is the seed that reproduces in those who are born the likeness of Him who sowed it, but since we do not provide Him with our will, free from inclination and disposition towards others [that is, towards sin], therefore, even after birth by water and the Spirit we sin according to our own desire. And if we consciously 151 prepared the will to accept them, that is, water and the Spirit, then the mysterious water 152 would purify [our] conscience through active wisdom and the life-giving Spirit would produce in us immutable perfection in goodness through experienced knowledge. Thus, each of us, who is still capable of sin, lacks the desire to purely and of our own free will give ourselves completely to the Spirit. [284] 1. What does it mean: For for this purpose the gospel was preached also to the dead, so that they, having been judged according to man in the flesh, might live according to God in the Spirit (1 Peter 4:6)? How are the dead judged according to the flesh? 2. In the [Holy] Scripture there is a custom of changing tenses and putting one in place of the other, taking the future for the past and the past for the future, using the present tense instead of the one before or after it - and this is clear to those who are experienced in the Holy Scriptures. Some say that Scripture calls “dead” people who died before the Coming of Christ, for example, those who were at the flood, during the pandemonium, in Sodom, Egypt, as well as others who at different times and in different ways accepted diverse retribution and terrible misfortunes of Divine sentences. These people were punished not so much for ignorance of God, but for the insults they caused each other. It was to them that the gospel was preached, according to [St. Peter], the great preaching of salvation - when they were already condemned according to man in the flesh, that is, through life in the flesh they received punishment for crimes against each other - in order to live according to God in the spirit, that is, being in hell, they accepted the preaching of the knowledge of God, believing thanks to the Savior, who descended into hell to save even the dead. So, in order to understand [this] passage [of Holy Scripture], let us understand it this way: this is why the gospel was preached to the dead, who were condemned according to man in the flesh, so that they might live according to God in the spirit 153 . 3. Or, perhaps, [Holy Scripture] secretly calls “dead” those who bear in their body the death of the Lord Jesus (2 Cor. 4:10) and to whom, truly, thanks to their works, the Divine Gospel was given (for the Gospel establishes the renunciation of the carnal life and the confession of the spiritual); those who always die according to man, that is, for human life in the flesh and according to this age, but live according to God only by spirit, like the divine apostle (see Gal. 2:20, 5:25) and his colleagues, who do not live their own life, but have only Christ living in them 154. Thus are those who are dead for God's sake judged in the flesh in this age, being subjected to many sorrows, torments and hardships and joyfully enduring persecution (see Rom. 8:35) and thousands of types of temptations. 1. Since Saint John says that God is light (1 John 1:5), and after a little more: if we walk in the light, as He is in the light (1 John 1:7), then how is it that One and the same is called [light], and is in the light, as another is in another? [285] 2. God, being truly in essence light, is present in those who have truly become light through virtues. Just as all saints - this is “light by communion” - through love of God find themselves in the Light in essence, so Light in essence becomes, through [Its] love for mankind, light “in light by communion.” And if, by virtue and knowledge, we are in God, as in Light, then God Himself abides in us, as Light in light. For God, being Light by nature, manifests himself in light by imitation, as a Prototype in an image. Or better: Light is God and the Father, [absiding] in the Light, that is, in the Son and the Holy Spirit, existing not as another, another and another Light, but as the One and the Same in essence, and in the image of being - Triscendent 155. 1. In what sense does Saint John also say: Beloved! we are now children of God; but it has not yet been revealed what we will be (1 John 3:2)? If it has not yet been revealed what we will be, then why does St. Paul say: God has revealed this to us by [His] Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God (1 Cor. 2:10)? Does he also speak in the same way about “what we will be”? 2. The holy evangelist John says that he does not know the image of the future deification of those who have become children of God here through [performing] virtues by faith, because the apparently self-existent presence of future blessings has not yet appeared 156. For here we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7) 157. Saint Paul says that by revelation he comprehended the Divine goal regarding future blessings, but does not [say] that he recognized the very image of deification corresponding to [this] Divine goal. Therefore, clearly interpreting himself, he says: I strive for the goal, for the honor of the high calling (Phil. 3:14), of course wanting to know by experience the image of the actual fulfillment of God and the goal of the deifying Power that is worthy, known to him here through revelation. So, despite the apparent disharmony in teaching, [both apostles] are completely in tune and unanimous with each other, as moved by the same Spirit. For one confesses ignorance of the image of the future grace-filled deification, and the other majestically introduces knowledge of the [Divine] goal [of it] 158 . And that it was precisely this way of thinking that the great apostle adhered to, he himself is a witness to this through all his Divine words: either saying that all knowledge and prophecy will be abolished (see 1 Cor. 13:8), then saying that he does not consider himself to have achieved (Phil. 3:13), then - that he sees the future as if through a dark glass, fortune-telling, and that there will be a time when he will taste the great face to face (1 Cor. 13:12). [288] and the premeditated grace of the desired [goods], then confessing that he knows in part and prophesies in part (1 Cor. 13:9), then clearly expressing that he must know, just as he himself is known (see 1 Cor. 13:12) as not yet knowing what will be known. And, in short, the words of the apostle: When the perfect comes, then what is in part will cease (1 Cor. 1:10) - seem to me identical [to the words] of the Theologian: it has not yet been revealed what we will be (1 John 3:2) 159. 1. If the one who fears is imperfect in love (1 John 4:18), then why should those who fear Him suffer deprivation (Ps. 33:10)? If there is no deprivation, then it is clear that [the one who fears] is perfect. In what way is the one who fears imperfect? 2. The beautiful order of the Divine Scriptures, determining according to the saving law of the Spirit the degrees of those who are directed from the external multiplicity of passions to the Divine Unity, calls “those who fear” those who are introduced [into piety] and are still on the threshold of the Divine Church of virtues; those who have acquired the appropriate skill in virtuous thoughts and morals 160 are usually called “successful”, and those who have already reached the very pinnacle of Truth manifested in virtues by speculative means are called “perfect” 161. So, no one who fears the Lord, who has completely turned away from the old life in the corruption of passions and, out of fear [of God], has devoted all his spiritual disposition to the Divine commandments, is not deprived of any of the blessings befitting those introduced [to piety], although he has not yet acquired skill in virtues and has not become a partaker of the wisdom preached among the perfect (1 Cor. 2:6); neither the successful one is deprived of any of the benefits related to his degree, although he has not yet acquired the very knowledge of the Divine [secrets] that distinguishes the perfect. 3. Again, those who courageously undergo active philosophy as having not yet freed their souls from fear and remembrance of future Divine punishments, let us recognize them as “those who fear,” who, according to blessed David, are not at all deprived of what is necessary for the struggle for the truth with an opposing force, although they lack the mysterious contemplations given from above and spreading in the mind, [characteristic] of the perfect. And those who have already been worthy of the mystical image of contemplative theology, who have cleansed the mind of all material ideas and bear the impeccable image and likeness of Divine beauty, let them be “beloved” for us. So, according to blessed David, those who fear, because they fear, suffer deprivation, 162 although the “fearer” does not have the fullness and perfection of immediate union with the Word, [289] on an equal basis with those who “love” the Lord. For each in his own order (1 Cor. 15:23) and in the abode designated for him has perfection, although one, in comparison with the other, is more exalted in the quality or quantity of spiritual maturity. 4. Since fear can be twofold, according to what is written: fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Matt. 10:28), and: the fear of the Lord is pure, abiding forever (Ps. 19:10), and: great and terrible is over all those around Him (Ps. 89:8), then we must examine how love casts out fear (1 John 4:18), if it abides in the age of the century, and also how God will remain in the endless centuries, terrible for all who are around Him. 5. Or better: since fear, as I said, can be twofold, one pure, the other unclean, it means that fear, which, being unclean, arises during misdeeds and in anticipation of punishment, has the cause of its origin in sin, and therefore will not always remain, destroyed along with sin through repentance; pure fear, which always arises regardless of memory in the event of misdeeds, is never destroyed 163. Because it was in some essential way implanted by God into creation, making clear to all the natural venerability of His supremacy, which surpasses all kingdom and power. Therefore, he who does not fear God as a Judge, but fears Him because of the exceeding superiority of [His] infinite power, justly has no deprivation, being perfect in love, although he loves God with reverent fear and due admiration. Such a person has acquired the fear that endures forever, and he will not be deprived of anything. 6. Thus, the prophet and the evangelist are in tune with each other: one, saying that there is no hardship for those who fear the Lord through pure fear, and the other, that he who fears Him as a Judge due to a polluted conscience is imperfect in love. According to this understanding, God is terrible for everyone who is around Him, as if mixing fear with love among those who love Him and find themselves around Him (Ps. 88:8). For love in itself, without fear, tends to become contempt, as often happens if the intimacy it naturally generates is not restrained by the bridle of fear. 7. If you wish, let us examine what it means around Him (Ps. 88:8). The surrounded person has those around him in front, behind, to the right and to the left. Since the Lord has those around [Him], then by “those who are behind” we mean those who, through the commandments and in accordance with active virtue, [292] immaculately followed the Lord God; under “those on the left” - those who successfully carry out natural contemplation in the spirit with the help of pious comprehension of [God’s] judgments, for the Book of Proverbs speaks of wisdom: In wisdom is its wealth and glory (Proverbs 3:16); under “those on the right” - those who have received the knowledge of intelligible [beings] pure from sensory dreams and immaterial, for the years of life are in her right hand ( Proverbs 3:16 ); under “those in front” - those who, due to an overwhelming and spiritually passionate attraction to Divine Beauty, were awarded the pleasure [of contemplating God] face to face. 8. If this expression contains another, more sublime and deeper meaning, then it is available to you and divine men like you. 1. What is the “beginning” of the 164 angels who did not observe it, and what is the habitation that they left? What are the “eternal bonds” and what is the “obscurity” under which they are kept? What will they suffer at the Great Day of Judgment (Jude 1:6)? 2. An accurate understanding of this will be observed only by those who are equal to the apostles in understanding, who are directly taught by the Word [of God] to the correct knowledge of things and [to comprehend] the good and righteous way of the all-wise Providence about things, since they do not have in [their] minds any interfering mediastinum between themselves and the Word. 3. As for me, lowly and having many obstacles to the Word coming to me, then, I think, the “beginning” of the Angels who did not observe it is the meaning 165 in accordance with which they were created, or the natural power given to them by grace for deification, 166 or the order of their standing according to the dignity of grace. “Their dwelling” is either heaven, or wisdom, [achieved] by the natural property of preconceived goods, for which they were created to dwell - for sometimes Scripture also calls wisdom home (see Proverbs 9:1), - [293] or the care of the most immaculate Divinity, protecting the natural and acquired blessings given to them, which they, in rebellion, lost. And the “eternal bonds” are their complete and constant immobility regarding the good, [carried out] voluntarily 168, by virtue of which they in no way and never enjoy Divine peace; or - the providential power of God, restraining their fury against us for the sake of our salvation and not allowing their malice to build traps for us. “Darkness” is a complete and complete ignorance of Divine grace, completely imbued with it by choice 169 they lost the blissful and all-bright gift of pure light, wasting the mental power bestowed upon them by nature on non-existent things. And what they will endure on the terrible day of Judgment is known by one righteous Judge (2 Tim. 4:8), who assigns a righteous reward to each according to his merits, determines the type of condemnation commensurate with evil, and righteously pronounces the appropriate sentence for endless centuries with His good commands. 1. What is a garment that is defiled by the flesh (Jude 1:23)? 2. She is a life stained by many sins of carnal passions. After all, each person usually shows by his clothes the way of life he leads: whether he [a person] is righteous or unrighteous, for the first has clean clothes - a virtuous life, and the second acquires a life defiled by evil deeds. 3. Or, better, clothing, which is defiled by the flesh, is an internal mood and disposition that forms the soul in accordance with the [evil] conscience, remembering the evil movements and actions of the flesh. Seeing this mood and disposition constantly covering her like clothes, the soul is filled with the stench of passions. For just as from the Spirit, through the rational interweaving of [various] virtues into a single fabric, a robe of incorruptibility is obtained for the soul, putting on which it becomes beautiful and glorious, so from the flesh, through the unreasonable interweaving of passions with each other, some kind of unclean and defiled robe is obtained, revealing the soul recognizable in itself 170 and giving it a different form and image instead of the Divine 171. 1. What does it mean: His invisible things, His eternal power and Godhead, have been visible from the creation of the world through the consideration of creation (Rom. 1:20)? What is the invisible of God and what is His eternal power and Godhead? 2. The meanings of beings, before the ages [296] prepared in God, as [only] He Himself knows, are usually called by divine men also the good wills of God 172, and they, although invisible, are mentally contemplated 173 [by us through viewing] creations. For all the creations of God, which we speculatively contemplate with due skill in accordance with nature, secretly proclaim to us the meanings in accordance with which they received existence, and together with themselves they reveal in each creation the purpose of Divine Providence. Therefore, the heavens will tell the glory of God, but the firmament will proclaim His handiwork (Ps. 18:2). And [His] eternal power and Divinity is [God’s] Providence, which embraces [all] beings, and His deifying action of those under his care. 3. Or, perhaps, the “invisible of God” is nothing other than His eternal power and Divinity, having as their loud heralds the majestic splendors of the created world. For just as, starting from existing [things] 174 , we believe that there is a truly existing God, and based on the essential difference between the types of existing things, we learn about the Wisdom innate to Him by essence, which lies at the basis of 175 existing things, and embraces them. And again, based on the essential movement of the species of beings, we recognize the Life inherent in Him in essence, [also] underlying the beings and filling them. And thus, on the basis of a wise contemplation of creation, we comprehend the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, that is, [the doctrine of] the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit 176. For the Word, as consubstantial, is the eternal Power of God, and the consubstantial Holy Spirit is the eternal Divinity. 4. Therefore, cursed are those who have not learned to comprehend 177 from the contemplation of beings their Cause and the natural properties of this Cause 178, that is, Power and Divinity. For the creation calls out by its deeds and, as it were, proclaims to those who have spiritual hearing its own Cause, trinitarianly sung, that is, God and the Father, and His ineffable Power and Divinity, that is, the Only Begotten Word and the Holy Spirit. This is the “invisible of God,” mentally contemplated from the creation of the world. 1. What does it mean: they worshiped and served the creature instead of the Creator (Rom. 1:25)? What is honor and what is service? 2. Reverence is the worship of the Divine with faith, and service is pleasing [Him] with deeds. It is this veneration, that is, faith, that people transferred to the creature and began to worship it instead of the Creator [297], believing in demons, serving them and taking care of [their] bad deeds 179 . We, honoring God by faith in Him, will hasten to offer Him pure service—our life brought to perfection through virtues. 1. What does it mean: incorruptible for Your Spirit is in everyone. Do you also gradually reprove those who err (Wis. 12:1)? 180 If [St. Scripture] speaks of the Holy Spirit, then how can wisdom not enter into a foolish heart, and dwell below in a body guilty of sin (Wisdom 1:4)? We took note of this because [before] it simply says [that the Spirit is] “in all.” 2. The Holy Spirit is present in every being, especially in those who in any way participate in the Word 181. For He, being God and the Spirit of God, contains in Himself knowledge about everyone, 182 providentially penetrates into everyone, as far as possible, awakens in everyone the natural mind, through which He brings to the consciousness of the sinfulness of what has been done contrary to the law of nature, everyone who is able to feel [it] and has a sound will to perceive correct natural thoughts. And in fact, even among the extremely rude barbarians and nomads, we find many who have acquired high moral nobility 183 and rejected the brutal laws that have prevailed among them since ancient times. 3. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is present in all [people] in a similar way. And in particular, and according to a different reasoning, [He] is also in everyone [living] according to the law, as the Lawgiver and Forerunner of future sacraments, 184 awakening in them the awareness of the transgression of the commandments and the knowledge of the perfection foretold regarding Christ. From here and among them we find many who, leaving the old and shadowy ministry, zealously turned to the new and mysterious. 4. In addition to the indicated modes of action, [the Holy Spirit] is also in all who have inherited through faith the truly Divine and deifying name of Christ, 185 not only as preserving and providentially exciting the natural mind, not only as detecting the violation and observance of the commandments and proclaiming the foreshadowing according to Christ, but also as bringing about the adoption of sons granted by grace through faith. For, as the producer of wisdom, He exists only in those who are pure in soul and body thanks to the strictly ascetic fulfillment of the commandments - with them [the Holy Spirit] communicates as with his own through simple and immaterial knowledge and pure speculation about the ineffable, forms their mind for deification. 5. So, [the Holy Spirit] generally dwells in everyone, since he contains everyone, provides for everyone, and arouses the natural seeds [of good] in everyone. And in particular, [He abides] [300] in all who are under the Law, since He convicts the violation of the commandments and enlightens with prophetic promise regarding Christ; in all who [live] according to Christ, [He abides], in addition to what has been said, also as an Adoptive Father. And as the producer of wisdom [He does not abide] in any of those named, except only those who possess spiritual understanding and have made themselves, thanks to the divine life, worthy of His deifying habitation. For everyone who does not do Divine wills, even if he is a believer, has a foolish heart as a den of evil thoughts, and his body is burdened with sins as constantly possessed by the defilements of passions. 1. What is a molten calf and why is the calf spoken of in the singular, but in the words: These are your gods, O Israel (Ex. 32:4) - the plural is used? And what does it mean to erase and scatter on water (Ex. 32:20)? And what are earrings and other jewelry ( Ex. 32:2–3 )? 2. A mind that, like Israel, emerges from the Egypt of sin and contains in itself a sensual dream, emerging with it from sinful wandering 186, like a statue of evil imprinted in thought - such a mind, succumbing to a little negligence, is deprived of the rational ability of discrimination and, like in ancient times, the Israel of Moses, erects for itself a calf-like state of unreason 187, which is the mother of all passions. [For this purpose they use,] like earrings, the meanings that he naturally comprehends regarding theology, based on pious reflection on beings; like necklaces, godly opinions about beings, arising from natural contemplation; like wrists on the hands, the natural implementation of virtues according to active wisdom. [And all this] the mind melts in the furnace, that is, in the fiery boil of a passionate disposition of feelings and lust, and in accordance with the dream and image of evil present in thought, it actively realizes the sin of this [disposition], which always dissipates and along with itself scatters the sin-committing mind, and also cuts it off from a single identity in truth and divides it into multiple and flabby dreams and opinions about non-existents [things]. Such an unreasonable state erases and scatters on the water the coming of the Divine Word, which, with the subtlety of contemplation, fragments the dullness of thought [gravitating] towards feeling in the manifestation of passions, 188 clearly distinguishes the transformation into each other and the fusion of natural forces [of the soul] that occurred as a result of passion, and again raises them to their own beginning of knowledge. So, I think, [should be understood] “scatter on the water.” 3. So, [our previous] reasoning concisely outlined the whole meaning of what is being narrated in this place. And in order to make this place clearer, let us consider, if you like, each part of it separately. 4. The cast calf is a mutual mixture and fusion of the natural forces [of the soul], or rather [301] a passionate and unreasonable combination of them, which results in the unreasonable activity of unnatural passions. [This] Taurus is one, because one is a stable state of evil, which dissipates into many types of evil. Taurus - due to endurance, hard work, involvement in cultivating the land, and especially the ability to easily digest and receptivity, as with chewing gum, a vicious disposition to passions. And cast - because the passionate state of vicious dreaming, which was previously in thought as a figurative representation, is brought into action and fulfilled. The words: These are your gods, O Israel, are said in the plural because evil by nature is capable of dispersal, unstable, diverse and dividing. If good by nature tends to unite what is divided and embrace [it], then evil, obviously, tends to divide what is united and destroy [it]. 5. And the “earrings” are the truths of theology 189, naturally existing in the mind and [arising] from pious reflection; and “neck ornaments” are the essence of right teachings about beings in accordance with natural contemplation; “wrists” are the implementation of virtues according to [spiritual] work. Or: “earrings” are the innate mind, for the ear is a symbol of the mind 190; “necklaces” is the furious beginning [of the soul] 191, for the neck is an image of majesty and tyranny; “Wrists” on the hands are the desired beginning [of the soul], revealed in a lustful act. The mind, throwing all this into the fire of passions, in the sense indicated for each thing, forms an unreasonable and meaningless state of ignorance, the mother of all evils. And he “erases” this ignorance when, having examined in thought the plumpness of passion [attractive] to the senses, he identifies the individual parts that make up its composition and raises each to its beginning. And thus the mind “scatters them on the water,” that is, according to the knowledge of the truth, it separates and removes from each other what is intertwined together in a vicious combination. 6. To say, for example, every passion is necessarily formed from the combination of something sensual, feeling and natural ability, that is, the violent principle [of the soul], the desirable principle [of it] and the mind, deviated from what is characteristic of it by nature. If the mind, having considered the result of such a combination of the sensory, feeling and the corresponding natural ability, can, by separating each of these [component parts], raise them to its own natural meaning and subject the sensory object to contemplation in itself, without its connection with the feeling, and consider the feeling independently of its affinity with the sensory object; if he can consider desire or any other natural ability outside of their passionate inclination towards a feeling or a sensual object, which becomes a kind of movement that prepares the consideration of the passion [itself], then the mind grinds and crushes the composition of the “calf”, that is, any passion that has occurred, and scatters [it] across the water of knowledge, completely destroying the very simple dream of passions through the restoration of their constituent things to their natural state. [304] Let us also try, by grinding the molten calf in the soul, to destroy [it] so that in it there is only one genuine Divine image, not at all desecrated by anything external. 7. The words: And Moses gave it to the children of Israel to drink (Exodus 32:20) - designate a method of teaching that destroys passions 192 taught by teachers to students. 1. If God sent Moses to Egypt, then for what reason did the Angel of God seek to kill the one sent by God, and would have killed if the wife had not rushed to circumcise her son, and [only] thanks to her the Angel’s desire was stopped (Ex. 4:24–25)? And if it was necessary to circumcise the son, then why did not God, before sending Moses, command him to circumcise his son with meekness? Why, finally, even if he committed a crime, did not the good Angel meekly instruct the one who was sent by God to such service? 2. Whoever, with the fear of God, explores the meaning of the mysterious passages of Holy Scripture and for the sake of Divine glory alone removes the letter from the spirit like a veil, he, according to the word of Wisdom, will gain all rights (see Proverbs 8:9) 193, because he will not encounter any obstacle in the impeccable movement of thought towards the Divine. So, we will omit the history that was already fulfilled in the time of Moses; Let us consider the spiritual meaning of history with our intelligent eyes, for it is constantly repeated in reality and, because of this, appears with even greater force 194. 3. Therefore, the desert from which Moses is sent to Egypt to bring out the children of Israel is either human nature, or this world, or a state devoid of passion. In such a state and in this world, the mind, having learned to know through the contemplation of beings, receives from God in the depths of the heart a hidden and mysterious authority - to bring out of Egypt, that is, from [under the control of] the flesh and feelings, like the Israelites, the divine speculation about beings, meaninglessly working on clay, that is, on the passions of the flesh. The mind, invested with trust in such divine service, together with the wisdom united with it by knowledge like a wife, and with the noble disposition and thought of a pious lifestyle born from it, certainly follows the path of virtues. This path does not allow any standing still for those walking along it, but [requires] constant and rapid movement of those who have the goal of their souls to honor the highest calling (Phil. 3:14), since stopping in virtue is the beginning of vice 195. 4. For the mind, passionately carried away by any of the material objects lying on both sides of the path, makes [in such a case] even a completely circumcised disposition and thought of a pious lifestyle uncircumcised and vile. That is why he soon sees, like an Angel, the inner voice 196 of conscience denouncing him, threatening him with death 197 and testifying that the cause of the threat is a stop on the [path] of virtue, which causes the thought of uncircumcision. [305] He is confused by the cohabitant of the mind - wisdom, cutting off, like Zipporah, with a stone, that is, the word of faith, the material dream that appeared in the son, that is, thoughts 198 and drying up every thought about sensory life. For [Holy Scripture] says: one hundred is the blood of the circumcision of the son (Ex. 4:25) 199, that is, the passionate life, dreaming and movement ceased, after the defiled thought was purified by faith by wisdom. After this cleansing, the inner voice calms down, like some kind of Angel, through conscience, scourging the sinning mind and condemning every thought that moves contrary to what is proper. Indeed, truly, the path of virtues is filled with many holy Angels, that is, meanings and ways that produce every type of virtue, as well as Angels who invisibly help us towards good and arouse similar inner voices in us. 5. So, the word of Holy Scripture is beautiful and majestic, always offering, instead of what is narrated, what is intelligible to those who have acquired sound eyes of the soul, and at the same time this word does not contain any slander either against God or against His holy Angels. For Moses, sent by God, did not, according to the intelligible sense of Scripture, have an uncircumcised son, or a thought, since otherwise [God] would first have ordered circumcision, [and then would have sent]. And the Divine Angel was not cruel, informing Moses about the threat of death for his mistaken stop on the path of virtue, for this death was caused by lethargy on such a path. 6. Of course, having examined the narrative more carefully, you will undoubtedly discover that not at the beginning, not in the middle and not at the end of the journey, but at the camp, an Angel met [Moses], threatening [him] with death for the passion that had secretly crept into his thought, so that if he had not stopped on the way and had not interrupted the journey, he would not have been exposed and would not have received through the Angel terrible indignation for the uncircumcision of his son. 7. So let us beg God, if only we are truly on the path of the commandments, so that with every crime He does not cease to send, like a certain Angel, the inner voice of conscience, announcing death for this crime, so that we, having mastered the feelings, learn, with the help of innate prudence, to cut off, like uncircumcision, the impurity of passions that has crept up on us secretly on the path of life. 1. If, according to the apostle, those who do the law will be justified (Rom. 2:13), then why does he also say this: those who are justified by the law... have fallen from grace (Gal. 5:4)? 2. Not in general the doers of the law will be justified, but [the doers] of the spiritual law (see Rom. 7:14) and understood spiritually; fulfilling the spiritual law according to the inner man (Rom. 7:22) in the spirit, they will be justified without falling from grace, thanks to the descent of the Word [308] into the depths of the soul due to [its] purification. Those who serve the bodily visible side of the law, of course, fall from Divine grace, not knowing the perfection of the spiritual law in grace that cleanses the mind from all filth and the end [of it] - Christ (see Rom. 10:4) 201 1. What does it mean: Those who, not having the law, sinned, are outside the law and will perish; and those who have sinned under the law will be condemned under the law (Rom. 2:12)? And how does [the apostle] say again: when, according to my gospel, will God judge the secret affairs of men through Jesus Christ (Rom. 2:16)? If they are condemned through the law, then why is it said that through Jesus Christ? 2. The Word of God Jesus Christ, as the Creator of all things, is also the Creator of natural law. And as a Provider and Legislator, He is undoubtedly the Giver of both written and spiritual, that is, grace-filled law 202. The end of the law is Christ (Rom. 10:4): [implied] obviously, [the end] of the written law, comprehended spiritually. If, however, the natural, written, and gracious law is raised to Christ as the Creator, Provider, Legislator and Propitiator, then the divine apostle speaks the truth, affirming that God will judge the secret affairs of men according to His gospel, that is, as He preached through Jesus Christ the Only Begotten and essentially His own Word, penetrating into everyone, and denouncing some, appropriately accepting and accepting others. giving what is worthy to those who live according to nature, law and grace, through the Only Begotten and Ineffable Word inherent in Him. For the Word of God is the Creator of every nature, law, institution and order, and the Judge of all who are under nature, law, institution and order, for without the establishing Word there is no law. So, whether someone is judged under the law, he will be judged in Christ, or outside the law, he will again be judged in Him. After all, the Word, as the Creator, is the beginning, middle and end of all existing, intelligible and verbal. 1. What does the withered fig tree mentioned in the Gospel (see Matt. 21:18–21; Mark 11:12–14) mean, unreasonably, as it appears to the outside eye? What is the immoderation of hunger that seeks fruit at the wrong time? And why curse an insensitive object? 2. God the Word, who wisely arranges everything for the sake of the salvation of people, initially educated [human] nature through the Law, which contains primarily bodily service, for it could not accept the truth without figurative coverings 203 due to the ignorance and alienation that appeared in it from the Prototype of Divine things. Then He, having become Man through Himself, clearly came, taking on flesh, [309] possessing a thinking and rational soul, and as the Word [of God] directed nature [human] to immaterial and speculative service in the spirit, and, of course, He did not want that, while the truth was revealed in life, the shadow [of truth], of which the fig tree is the image, should have power. That's why [St. Scripture] and says: returning from Bethany to Jerusalem (Matthew 21:18; Mark 11:12) 204, that is, after His figurative and shadow coming, hidden in the Law, [God the Word] again comes to human nature through the flesh. For this is how the words should be understood: returning, I saw a fig tree along the road, only having leaves (Matthew 21:18; Mark 11:13), that is, of course, the bodily service of the Law concluded in shadows and images, lying, as on the way, on an unstable and fleeting tradition and consisting of only transitory images and institutions. Seeing this ministry, like a fig tree, richly and intricately decorated, as if with leaves, the outer coverings of bodily observances of the Law, and not finding fruit, that is, righteousness, He cursed it as not nourishing the Word [of God]. Moreover, He ordered that the truth should no longer be hidden under the dominion of the images of the Law - which happened, as the course of things showed, when the legal splendor, which had its existence only in external forms, completely dried up, and with it the arrogance of the Jews faded away 205. For it was unwise and untimely that, after the truth of the fruits of righteousness had been manifestly revealed, [the service of the Law] should deceptively excite the appetite of those who walk the path of the present life, inducing them to abandon the edible fruitfulness of the Word. Therefore [the Holy Scripture] says: it was not the time of gathering figs (Mark 11:13), that is, the time in which the Law ruled over human nature, was not [the time] of the fruits of righteousness, but depicted, as a shadow 206, the fruits of righteousness and seemed to point to the future saving Divine and ineffable grace for all, without achieving which the old people perished through unbelief. For the divine apostle says: Israel, who sought the law of righteousness, that is, [the Law given] in shadow and types, did not reach the law of righteousness (Rom. 9:31), that is, [did not achieve] the perfect [law] in the spirit according to Christ. 3. Or again: since a crowd of priests, scribes, lawyers and Pharisees, sick with vanity, believed that by flaunting invented morals, supposedly piously adopted by them, they were introducing the truth, feeding arrogance with their conceit, then Scripture calls their conceit a barren fig tree, showing off only its leaves. Cursing her as barren, she is dried up by [the Lord], who thirsts for the salvation of all people and hungers for their deification, so that they, instead of considering themselves righteous, would prefer to be so, taking off the hypocritical robe of ostentatious morality, and, as the Divine Word wishes, immaculately strive for virtue and piously lead their lives, rather showing before God the inner disposition of the soul than before people the outer decency of morals. [312] 4. If among us Christians there are some who pretend to show decency of morals without righteous deeds, then we will expect that the Word [of God], as a Lover of mankind, hungry for our salvation, will dry up the seed of evil in the soul - conceit, so that it no longer bears the fruit of corruption - man-pleasing. 5. Here, according to my poor strength, is the meaning of the story. From this explanation it is clear in what sense the Lord justly hungers, [how] he prudently curses the fig tree and withers it up in good time, which hinders the truth - whether we understand by it the old tradition of bodily images according to the Law or the Pharisaic and our moral conceit. 1. What does it mean: He pulled away 207 principalities and powers ( Col. 2:15 ) and further? How then was [the Lord], born without sin, fully clothed with them? 2. The God-originating Word, like us in everything except sin (see Heb. 4:15), immutably clothed in our nature and becoming perfect Man, had [in Himself] the first Adam (see 1 Cor. 15:45), who manifested itself in Him both in the manner of origin 208 and in the manner of birth 209. Since the first man, having received existence from God and originated [from Him], by the very origin of [his] existence was free from corruption and sin, for they were not created with him, then when he, having transgressed the commandment, sinned, then as a result of this he was condemned to birth, which arose through passion and sin. Therefore, sin in the passion [that appeared] because of it 210 already had its origin, as it were, according to the law of nature. Because of this passion, no one is without sin, [313] for [everyone] is by nature subject to the law of birth, 211 introduced due to sin after the [original] origin. 3. So, through the crime of [Adam] sin entered into human nature, and through sin - passion by birth 212. And since, along with this passion, birth flourished through sin and the first crime, then for [human] nature, inextricably bound by its own will with evil bonds, there was no hope of salvation. For the more zealous it was in strengthening itself through birth, the more it bound itself to the law of sin, possessing an effective crime due to passion. After all, containing in passion itself, due to natural-forced circumstances, an increase in sin, it, due to generational sin [nesting] in passion, was subject to the influence of all heavenly forces, principles and authorities, [manifested] through unnatural passions 213 and hidden in natural passions 214; through them every evil force acted, according to the passion of nature, prompting the will through natural passions [to turn] to the corruption of unnatural passions 215. 4. Therefore, the Only Begotten Son of God and the Word, having become, through [His] love for mankind, a perfect Man, in order to deliver human nature from this evil hopelessness, received sinlessness by origin from the first dispensation of Adam and had it without incorruptibility, and from birth, which was subsequently introduced into nature by 216 sin, 217 received only passion, without sin. And since, as I said, the evil forces, due to sin, exerted [various] influences on Adam’s passion, invisibly hidden in the compulsory law of nature 218, then they, of course, contemplating the natural passion of Adam because of the flesh in the Savior God and believing that the Lord, as a simple man, with compulsory necessity brought upon Himself the law of nature, and is not moved by self-determination 219 will, attacked Him, hoping to convince and introduce unnatural passions into His imagination through natural passions 220, and thereby do something pleasing to them 221. At the first test [through] the temptations of pleasures, allowing them to play with their machinations, He pulled them away from Himself and cast them out of nature, [Himself] remaining inaccessible and inaccessible to them, clearly not for Himself, but for us, gaining victory and presenting as Good everything that He had achieved to those for whose sake He became Man. For He Himself, being God, the Master and free by nature from any passion, did not need temptation, but [allowed] it in order to, having lured [to Himself] with our temptations 222 the evil power, to defeat it with [one] contact [with Himself], killing the one that hoped to destroy Him, as in the beginning [destroyed] Adam 223. 5. Thus, at the first temptation, He pulled away from Himself the principles and powers that attacked [Him], driving them far from [human] nature, healing [his] passion in relation to pleasure and erasing in Himself the handwriting (Col. 2:14) of Adam 224, [consisting] in voluntary consent to the passions of pleasure; [316] by virtue of this manuscript, man, having a will inclined to pleasure, even silently proclaimed the evil despotism over himself by deeds, without freeing himself from the yoke of pleasure for fear of death. 6. So, the Lord, having undergone the first temptation of pleasures 225, exhausted the evil forces, principles and powers. Then He allows them to make a second attack 226 and inflict [Him] another test with temptations - through torment and suffering, so that, having completely exhausted in Himself the destructive poison of their malice, as fire exhausts, He completely destroys [it] in [human] nature and strips Himself of principle and power during the death on the cross. Remaining irresistible to suffering and, moreover, appearing terrible for death, [the Lord] expelled from [human] nature passion in relation to pain, from which the will of man cowardly fled, due to which he was constantly and against his will oppressed by the fear of death, adhering to the slavery of pleasure in order to live. 7. Therefore, the Lord stripped Himself of principle and power during the first test of temptation in the desert, healing the passion of the whole nature in relation to pleasure 227. He again pulled them away from Himself at the time of death, similarly expelling passion in relation to pain from nature, out of His love for mankind, making Himself responsible for our correction and, moreover, even imputing to us as Good the glory of what [He] has accomplished. And since, like us, having accepted the passion of nature, with the exception of sin, with the help of which every evil and destructive force was in the habit of producing its actions, He stripped them from Himself at the time of death, triumphing over them (Col. 2:15), when they approached Him for intrigues, and made them a laughing stock on the cross at the departure of the soul, after they had found nothing at all in His passion, anything characteristic nature 228, although they especially expected to find [in Him] something human in view of the natural passion for the flesh. Therefore, of course, He, by His power and through His holy flesh [received] from us, as through a certain “firstfruits” (see. Col. 1:18), freed all human nature from the evil that had mixed into it through passion, subordinating to this very passion of nature the evil dominion that once reigned in it, that is, in passion, over nature 229. 8. It would be possible to consider this place differently, in a more mysterious and sublime sense. But in view of the fact that the most ineffable [secrets] of Divine dogmas, as you know, should not be put on display 230 , having captured them in writing 231 , we will be content with what has been said, which confuses the restless thought. And if God pleases us to see [this with spiritual] eyes, then together we will carefully examine the apostolic thought. [317] 1. If God will reveal His exceeding riches in the coming centuries (Eph. 2:7), then how will [this happen] as a [instruction] for those who have reached the last ages (1 Cor. 10:11)? 2. He who founded the existence of every creature, visible and invisible, with a single wave of the will, before all ages and the very origin of created existence, ineffably had the most good advice about it, which consisted in 232 that He Himself should immutably mingle 233 with human nature through a true union according to hypostasis and invariably unite human nature with Himself, so that He Himself could become human, as He Himself knows, to make man a god through union with Himself 234. [Precisely for this purpose] He wisely divided the centuries, destining some for the realization of His becoming man, and others for the realization of making man a god 235 . 3. As for the ages predetermined for the accomplishment of His becoming man, their ends have reached us (see 1 Cor. 10:11), since the Divine intention received real fulfillment in the Incarnation [of God the Word] 236. Considering this according to [God's] plan for the ages, which consists in God becoming man, and turning his gaze to the end, [realized] through the Incarnation of God and the Word, 237 the divine apostle says that the ends of the ages have reached us - not in general the ages we can imagine, but those, of course, which, being intended for the implementation of the sacrament of the Incarnation, have reached their own limit according to the intention of God. 4. Since the centuries predetermined by [God’s] intention for the realization of God becoming man have reached their end in us, when God truly realized and fulfilled His perfect Incarnation, then we must already expect other centuries that are coming for the realization of the mysterious and ineffable deification of people. In these centuries, God will show us the exceeding riches of His goodness (see Eph. 2:7), perfecting deification in those worthy. For if He Himself, at the Incarnation, achieved the completion of the mysterious action, [320] in every possible way, with the exception of sin alone, by becoming like us and descending into the nether regions of the earth (Eph. 4:9), where man was pushed by the tyranny of sin, then, of course, in the mysterious realization of the deification of man He will reach the end, when in every way, with the exception of only one, of course, identity with Himself in essence, He will liken man to Himself 238 and will raise him above all the heavens, where the greatness of grace abiding there by nature and calls upon [his] boundless goodness the person lying down 239. Mysteriously teaching this, the great apostle says that in the coming centuries the riches of God's goodness will appear in us in abundance (Eph. 2:7) 240. 5. So, we will also divide the centuries in thought and define some as relating to the mystery of the Divine Incarnation, and others as relating to the grace of human deification; [then] we will find that the first are already at their end, and the second have not yet arrived. In short, some of the centuries refer to God's condescension towards people, while others refer to the ascension of people to God. Thinking this way, we will not stumble over the obscurity of Divine words, believing that the Divine Apostle accidentally repeated himself. 6. Or better: since the beginning, middle and end of all ages, past, present and future, is our Lord Jesus Christ, then, of course, the end of the ages, which in reality for each individual will come by grace with the deification of the worthy, has reached us in a possible way thanks to faith. 7. Or again: since the internal meaning of activity differs from the internal meaning of the passive state, the divine apostle mysteriously and wisely distributed them between past and future centuries 242. Indeed, the ages of the flesh in which we now live - after all, Scripture also knows temporary ages: And he will labor for an age, and will live to the end (Ps. 48: 9-10) - have as their property activity; The centuries of the Spirit, which will come after this life, refer to the passive transformation [of us]. Therefore, being active here, we will reach the end of the ages, when our power and action will reach the limit of [our ability to] produce. In the centuries to come, while undergoing transformation to deification by grace, we do not act, but are in a suffering state and do not cease to be subject to deification 243. For then the passive state, which exceeds nature, has no limiting limit 244 for the Divine action directed at those experiencing it. After all, we act as long as we possess by nature a rational and effective force that produces virtues, which can accommodate all knowledge, which is capable of uncontrollably passing through every intelligent nature of beings and knowables, leaving centuries behind it. And we experience a passive state when, having completely gone through the meanings of that which is not existing, [321] we in an unknown way reach the Cause of what exists and, together with what we have gone through by nature, we calm down our powers, becoming something that in no way can be the work of natural power, because nature has not acquired the power that can embrace the supernatural. For nothing created by its nature produces deification, since it is not able to embrace God. Divine grace alone has the nature, according to the receptivity of beings, to bestow deification, illuminating nature with a supernatural Light and making it, by the abundance of glory, exceed its own limits. 8. Therefore, the ends of the ages have reached us (1 Cor. 10:11), since we have almost already received through grace in Christ the gift of transcendent and supernatural blessings. Their imprints 246 and predestination are the images [of the implementation] of virtues and the meanings of what is accessible to knowledge by nature, through which God always deigns to become a man in worthy [people] 247 . And blessed is he who wisely made God a man in himself and realized such a mystery in himself, passionately becoming God by grace, because he will never reach the limit of always becoming such. For He who makes this grace worthy of those who are worthy, being essentially limitless, has a power that is boundless and exceeds all limitlessness, accomplishing this [good deed], which will never reach the end along with what comes from it, as happens with us, but which, on the contrary, holds together with itself those who receive being from it and cannot exist without it. That is why [the apostle] said about the wealth of goodness 248 that the Divine and all-blessed disposition towards us of goodness never ceases during the transformation of [us] to deification. [324] 1. If David reigned over only Israel according to the flesh, and Israel according to the flesh rejected the Kingdom of Christ - which is why it passed to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46) - then how will the saying of the Archangel be fulfilled: [325] And the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and will he reign over the house of Jacob forever (Luke 1:32–33)? 2. This difficult point, it seems to me, has a completely clear and understandable explanation. For if not all those Israelites who are of Israel, and not all the children of Abraham who are of his seed, but the children of the promise are recognized by God as seed... and even though the children of Israel were in number as the stars of heaven and as the sand of the sea, only a remnant will be saved (Rom. 9:6-8, 27) 249, then it is clear that Israel is a faithful people who, through righteous works and through the true knowledge of faith, “sees God” 250 whether according to the flesh he will descend from Israel or be from among the Gentiles. For whoever carries within himself the clear and pure outline of the faith of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is not alienated from the calling and grace of true Israel. 3. But blessed David himself reigned [only] over the faithful in Israel. Therefore, Israel, as soon as it extinguished the light of faith in itself, immediately fell away from the kingdom of David 251. So, [here we must understand] the spiritual throne of David, the intelligible kingdom of rational souls, the faithful house of Jacob, the holy and great nation, which God prophetically promised to Moses to establish in place of the corporeal and murmuring Israel - him or the One who is symbolically understood by this people. [For God] says: Leave Me, and I will consume this people at once, and I will make you into a tongue greater and more terrible than these (Deut. 9:14) 252. But not the unfaithful and murmuring house of Jacob, and not a sinful people, and not the evil seed, and not the sons of wickedness, and not the princes of Sodom and the people of Gomorrah, and not those who turned away with evil disgust, forsook the Lord, grieved the Holy One of Israel, did not know and did not understand God, smitten with the incurable wound of unbelief, which does not accept any reasonable method. healing that heals the unbelief of the soul. For [the Holy Scripture] says: Alas, the sinful tongue, the wicked seed, the sons of iniquity, have forsaken the Lord, and have angered the Holy One of Israel. Why are you still wounded by committing iniquity? There is no plaster to apply, lower than oil, lower than duty (Is. 1:4–6) 253. Not those [here we must understand] who limped on both sides (1 Kings 18:21), turned away from the truth and were cast out from the Divine inheritance, like Cain, Ishmael, Esau, Reuben, Er, Onan, Manasseh, Eliath and Amnon, the firstborn of the patriarchs and prophets, cast out and rejected. For [the Lord] says: My son is the firstborn Israel (Exod. 4:22 ) 254 ; but [does not say] “the only one,” since there was hope in him for the adoption of the Divine and pious people, [328] created according to God and brought to adoption in grace through the rejection of the firstborn and unfaithful people of Israel, who rebelled out of envy against the spiritual Abel and killed [him], like Cain, who mocked the divine disposition of the spiritual Isaac, like Ishmael, who raged against the spiritual Jacob, like Esau, who poured out the seed of faith and righteousness according to it onto the land of error and passions, like Er and Onan, who renounced the Church of God, like they did from Tamar, who adopted oblivion of virtues, like Manasseh, who was annoyed out of pride at the acceptance of the kingdom by the spiritual David and for that despised, like Eliath, and who became the creator of unheard-of lawlessness, like Amnon 255. Not these sons of strangers who are lame from their paths (Ps. 17:46), breathing madness and murder, truly carnal and sons of the flesh alone, alien to grace, whose god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame (Phil. 3:19), the memory of whose unbelief perishes with a noise (Ps. 9:7), but, as I said, faithful and spiritual Israel, seeing God through faith, gathered from all nations according to the election of grace (Rom. 11:5), people taken for an inheritance, a holy nation, a royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9), and God promised prophecy through the Angel to the Virgin to give the One who would be born of Her to be the Savior of all. All this, in the very course of things, received confirmation when the Lord fulfilled the promises [given] to the fathers, blessed and adopted all nations in the spiritual Abraham, established Abraham himself in spirit and through faith as the father of all nations, sat on the spiritual throne of David and reigns over the faithful house of Jacob forever, a Kingdom that has no end. 1. What does it mean about Peter in Acts: After passing through the first and second watch, they came to an iron gate (Acts 12:10)? 2. The faithful and active mind 256, [329] being captured, like Peter, by Herod, or by the “law of skin” - for Herod is interpreted as “skinned” 257 - that is, by the wisdom of the flesh 258, is locked under two guards and behind one iron door, subjected to struggle from the effective manifestation of passions and from the conscious inclination of the will to passion 259 . Having passed through them, like guards or outposts, thanks to the teaching of active wisdom, as with the help of an Angel, he comes to the iron gates leading to the city, that is, to the firm, severe and irresistible attachment of the senses to sensual [things]. It is revealed by the teaching of natural contemplation in the spirit, which naturally and without fear sends the mind, free from the fury of Herod, to a kindred intelligible being. 1. What does it mean: I also want you to know that the head of every husband is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered disgraces his head. And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered disgraces her head, for it is the same as if she were shaven (1 Cor. 11:3-5)? And what else does it mean: Therefore, a woman should have on her head a sign of authority over her, for the Angels (1 Cor. 11:10)? 2. You need to know that the divine apostle, having said that Christ is the head of every man, showed that Christ is the head of a faithful man, [zealous] in doing the Divine commandments and contemplating pious dogmas, and therefore the general meaning of this word does not include unfaithful men. Indeed, how could Christ be the head of unbelievers? 3. So, at the first comprehension of [this place], approaching the meaning of spiritual interpretation 260, we say that the “man” is an active mind 261, having as its head the word of faith; looking at this word as if at Christ 262, the mind supports its life, building it up through [spiritual] work from the grace-filled gifts of the commandments. And at the same time, he does not disgrace his head 263, that is, faith, with any of the external and material covers, since he does not consider anything temporary and subject to termination 264 to be superior to faith. “The wife” of this mind we call [332] the skill itself for [spiritual] work, overgrown and covered, as if with long hair, by many and various ascetic thoughts and morals and, even moreover, having the mind itself as its own head, covered with the density and decency of these thoughts and morals. Christ is, as we believe, hypostatic faith 265, the head of which God clearly appears, to Him [Christ] and raises the word of faith 266, showing to the erected [mind] the one in whom God is by nature. 4. And again: “man” is the mind 267, caring for natural contemplation in the Spirit 268 and having as its head the Word - the Producer of everything, revealed by faith from the ordered structure of visible [things]; His mind does not dishonor, as if hiding and hiding under anything visible, for it does not put anything else above this Word. The “wife” of this mind is the feeling cohabiting with it 269, through which it moves through the sensory nature and collects the Divine meanings found in it, without allowing the feeling, stripped of its rational veils, to become a servant of unreason and sin and, through the rejection of Divine meanings as veils, to receive the passion of unreason as its head instead of the mind 270. The head of Christ 271, that is, the creative Word, proportionately manifested in beings during natural contemplation of them by faith, is the Mind 272, ineffably giving birth to Him in essence. To Him the Word through Himself delivers through pious contemplation of beings the intellect that is being built, supplying it with speculative reflections of [things] Divine, commensurate with the knowledge of visible [things]. 5. On the other hand, the “husband” is a mind that finds itself inside a mysterious theology 273 and has as its head the uncovered Christ, in an unknown way comprehended by the mind in unprovable mysteries 274; or, to be more precise, the Word of faith 275, cognizable apart from the mind, above which none of the existing things is believed: neither feeling, nor reason, nor intellect, nor thinking, nor knowledge, nor cognizable, nor conceivable by the mind or reason, nor perceived by the senses or sensed. [In other words, it is] a mind 276 striving in a praiseworthy, completely superior to itself and those existing and in the highest degree deifying renunciation [of everything] 277. The “wife” of this mind 278 is thought, pure from any sensual dreaming, having as if the head of [its] mind, shrouded in beginningless and transcending thinking contemplations 279 of ineffable and unknown dogmas. The Head of Christ, that is, according to the greatness of [His] mysteriously revealed Word, is the Mind 280, absolutely and in all respects infinitely removed from everything; The intelligible Christ makes it cognizable for the worthy, being by nature the Word of the Mind. For [Holy Scripture] says: He who has seen Me has seen the Father (John 14:9). Indeed, the speculation of the Word becomes the clear knowledge of the Mind that gave birth to It, since the Word reveals the Mind that exists in It in essence, to which It raises the [human] mind, [333] striving towards identity by grace with God, 281 freed in speculation from the difference and plurality of beings and united with the God-like Unit in the identity and simplicity of stable ever-movement around God 282. 6. So, every active mind, praying or prophesying 283, that is, asking either [for comprehension of] the meanings of the virtues (for this is how “praying” should be understood), or [for the granting of] images of the implementation of these virtues, revealed in deeds (for this is how “prophesying” should be perceived) - [such a mind] should see only one undisguised Word of faith; he should not comprehend or do anything 284 from passion that covers his head, and should not believe anything else above this Word. And every woman, that is, skill [in virtue] of an active mind, praying and prophesying, or secretly moved by internal disposition and forming virtue in external morals, without reasonable distinction, disgraces her head, pursuing good for the sake of passion and being deprived of reason, which adorns her like a veil. Every mind that strives in natural contemplation, prays and prophesies with its head covered, 285 that is, speculatively exploring the meanings of things or communicating them as a teacher to others, together with one way or another manifesting an inclination towards something else without a pious goal, disgraces its head by placing something of the transitory [things] above right and pious knowledge. And every wife, that is, feeling, who naturally perceives sensual [things], but does not have the mental meanings of visible [things] enveloping her on her head, disgraces her head, bringing contemplation closer to passion due to natural attachment to the visible. Every mind that has become a lover of mysterious theology, praying and prophesying with its head covered, that is, entering in an unknown way into the sacred contemplations and teaching and introducing others into the mystery of theology, if its contemplation has any form, when [he himself] is introduced into the sacraments of the Word that surpasses thinking, or [others] introduces [him], shames his head, putting Him who is simple and behind beyond all speculation, below any of the existing and knowable. He must blindly 286 see the true God the Word Himself, naked from all [veils] of thought and knowledge, clearly recognizing 287 how the negative judgments regarding God expressed by virtue of His superiority correspond to reality, and how 288 they reveal the positive affirmation of the Divine [being] 289 through complete detachment from existing [things] 290 . And every woman, that is, the thought of such a mind, praying or prophesying with her head uncovered or freed from the mental power that covers her with a thick veil of many mysterious visions, disgraces her head, rejecting, like the mind that covers the head, divine and ineffable knowledge. 7. Therefore, every man, or active, natural and theological mind, [336] praying or prophesying, that is, being taught and teaching, let him have his head uncovered, that is, Christ: active - preferring nothing to faith or virtue; natural - not placing anything higher than the first Word; theological - without forming the One who is above speculation and knowledge, in the image of beings accessible to speculation. And let every wife, that is, the skill of the active [mind], the feeling [of the mind] of the natural or the wise thought of the theological mind, cover the chapter: active skill - carrying on herself a reasonable discrimination of what should and should not be done 291; feeling - [carrying] the cognizing power of the mind, [directed] at visible [things]; thought is [carrying] completely unprovable knowledge that exceeds thinking. For every skill, or feeling, or thought that is not covered in the indicated way is no different from the shorn, that is, it does not possess any word of virtue, piety, mysterious knowledge or divine love. 8. So, every wife, naturally, should have the power of reason at her head; I mean reasonable management. [And this should be] especially for the sake of the Angels, watching our obvious and hidden movements [of the soul] and recording every [our] thought and every action for praising or denouncing us on the terrible day of Judgment 292; and for the sake of conscience regarding what we have done, by which figuratively are meant the same Angels 293 who condemn or justify us now and [will do this] later, on the Day of Judgment; also for the sake of the evil angels, who watch over our skill, feeling and thought, so that as soon as they see them naked from reasonable and intelligent distinction 294, piety and knowledge, they immediately strive to raid and create [for us] the opposite - I mean the lack of [reasonable] distinction, wickedness and ignorance, through which it is common for the crafty demons to set in motion vice, error and godlessness. 9. The Head of Christ is called God, as by nature the Mind of the Word and as by reason [His] Beginning. [340] 1. If the king of Babylon is allegorically interpreted 295 as the devil, then what is the word that, through the prophet Jeremiah, threatens the kings of the tongues and the king of Judah with a yoke, chains, hunger, death, sword and captivity, if they do not serve the king of Babylon, and those who voluntarily serve him, [were promised] along with relief [of hardships] and stay in their land ( Jer.27:1–11)? And why [this word], calling this king a slave, says: ... I gave all this land in the hand of Nebuchadnezzar [341] to the king of Babylon, that they should work for him, and that the beasts of the village should work for him (Jer. 27:6)? What kind of service to the devil is this, what kind of beasts are they, what are the six types of threats, what are the kings of the tongues and who is the king of the Jews? 2. The devil is both the enemy and the avenger of God 296; the enemy, when, as a hater of God, it seems as if he has some kind of destructive love for us, convincing our will, through the enjoyment of [various] ways of voluntary passions, to prefer temporary goods to eternal ones, thanks to which, plundering all the [spiritual] impulses of the soul, he removes us completely from Divine love, turning [us] into voluntary enemies of the Creator; and an avenger, when, revealing [his] hatred towards us, as those who have already become subject to him through sin, he demands punishment for us. For nothing pleases the devil more than the sight of a person being punished. Having received permission for this, [the devil] invents one after another attacks of involuntary passions and, like a cruel tornado, falling on those against whom, by God’s permission, the power of the devil is directed, wishing not to fulfill the Divine command, but seeking to satiate his own passionate hatred of us, so that the soul, powerlessly bent under the yoke of painful misfortunes, is cut off from themselves divine hope, instead of exhortation making the invasion of painful troubles the cause of godlessness 297 . 3. For God, being good and wanting to completely tear out the seed of evil from us, that is, pleasure, which takes away the mind from Divine love, allows the devil to bring torment and punishment upon us, thereby, through the torment of the soul, eradicating the poison of pleasure 298, which had already taken possession of it, and also [instilling] in us complete disgust and hatred for these [things], transitory and caressing only the senses, because there is no there is no benefit in using it other than punishment 299 . [God still] wants to create and make the punitive and misanthropic power of the devil a forced reason for turning to virtue for those who have voluntarily fallen away from it. 4. Therefore, since the devil, by [God’s] permission, punishes sinners, he was called “the servant of God,” being an apostate, a crafty thief, and possessing a will 300 that is fully consistent with those who voluntarily fell away from God through pleasure—for the devil also punishes a righteous man in a fitting manner for the evil pledges of voluntary sins he willingly accepts from him. Thus, the devil is both a sower of pleasure through voluntary passions, and a causative agent of torment through involuntary [passions]. [344] 5. Consequently, when those who inhabit Judea and Jerusalem, that is, those who have mastered the skill of [spiritual] work and achieved contemplative knowledge, seek them for the sake of human glory, then they only externally create the illusion of virtuous morals 301 and chatteringly utter words of wisdom and knowledge without righteous deeds, revealing to others, as if for the sake of virtue and knowledge, [only their] arrogance. [Such people] rightly surrender to the sorrows appropriate to them and through suffering learn humility, something previously unknown to them due to vain vanity. Knowing this, the wondrous apostle handed over the Corinthian, who had transgressed the law, to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit might be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 5:5). Therefore, the king of Judea and Jerusalem is given over to the king of the Assyrians, that is, the contemplative and speculative mind is given over to the devil for punishment, who rightly brings upon him torment and misfortune, so that, while suffering, he learns more courageous patience and begins to philosophize about [worthy] enduring of sorrows, rather than in vain and arrogantly indulge in vanity in the non-existent. 6. Anyone who suffers sorrow as a result of the awareness of the [evil] he has committed must voluntarily 302 and with due gratitude accept the hardships and attacks of involuntary temptations, without abandoning grace and skill in virtue and knowledge, like the ancient [residents of] Judea and Jerusalem. As one who voluntarily submitted to the yoke of the king of Babylon and accepted the onslaught of torment as due retribution, he, being in them, pays the king of Babylon a reward with forced sorrows from the passionate beginning of [his] nature and, as a debtor to them due to the anticipation of sins, [gives him his] mental permission for them. But [at the same time] he brings to God through true service - I mean humble disposition - the correction of sins. 7. And whoever does not accept with gratitude the misfortunes brought upon him through involuntary temptations by God’s permission and for the sake of correction, and in repentance does not suppress the vanity of imaginary righteousness, he, like the ancient inhabitants of Judea, resists the Divine prophecies about righteous condemnations 303 . And whoever does not voluntarily submit to the yoke of the king of Babylon in accordance with the Divine command, he is given into captivity to this king with chains, stocks, death, hunger and sword and is completely expelled from his land, that is, [expelled] from the imaginary skill in virtue and knowledge: through captivity he is condemned to falling away from the Divine, through stocks - to a false idea of \u200b\u200bbeings, through bonds - to complete inactivity in the beautiful, through hunger - to deprivation of Divine teachings, through death - to complete coarseness and insensibility to the beautiful, through the sword - to passionate and unbridled thoughts that destroy memories of [things] Divine 304 [345] 8. For all this and more than these is suffered by the one who is expelled, as if from his own land, from the habit of virtue and knowledge, because he does not want, due to arrogance and absurd vanity, to voluntarily accept [just] punishments in retribution for his sins in adversity, in need, in difficult circumstances (2 Cor. 6:4), according to the divine Apostle, although through righteousness he is freed from any [own] debt in this. After all, the great apostle knew that humility, which arises externally in relation to the body through labor, preserves Divine treasures in the soul, 305 and therefore he endured in love, through his example and to others, offering an example of virtue and faith, so that even when they suffered as guilty, like the reproached Corinthian, they would have as a consolation and reminder of the patience of the innocent Sufferer. 9. And the kings of the tongues in this passage of Scripture mean, as I think, stewards over other passions of dishonor, who are justly subject to punishment for their own debts, and therefore are handed over to the king of Babylon as a punishing power, rejoicing in the torment of the [human] nature. After all, the king of Egypt is a lustful and unbridled mind, the king of Moab is a sybaritic and pampered 306 mind, the king of Amman is a self-seeking mind, the king of Syria is a superstitious and dialectical mind (for it is written that only a Syrian opposed Solomon, that is, peace and wisdom), 307 the king of Tire is attached to worldly things and cheerful mind 308 . And also all the other kings whom [man] knows, worthy of knowledge through their own meanings, based either on the interpretation of names, or on the arrangement of places, or on the tribal tradition prevailing in them, or on their activities in relation to each other, or on one or another of their antipathy towards Israel. After all, they are not always understood unambiguously and as identical to each other, but in accordance with the existing necessity and meaning of the prophecy. It is known that sometimes Scripture understands Pharaoh as the devil, when he becomes the destroyer of Israel, and sometimes as a law of nature, when Joseph, according to [God’s] Economy, serves him, prophetically signifying God the Word, who voluntarily entered into the service of our passions and nature, with the exception of one sin. In the same way, the king of Tire is thought of as the devil when he fought with Israel through Sisera (see Judges 4:2–3); but it is also understood as a natural law, when it made peace with David and greatly assisted Solomon in the construction of the church of God (see 2 Samuel 5:11). And each of the kings listed in Scripture is understood in many other senses, according to the meaning contained in the prophecy. 10. The beasts that God gives to the king of Babylon are demons, each of which, in accordance with its inner inclination, [348] serves to induce one temptation or another. For each produces some kind of vice, and one is clearly more disgusting than the other, being suitable precisely for this type of evil. After all, the demons themselves, without God’s permission, cannot serve the devil, the founder of evil, in any way, and therefore God, as He Himself knows with His proper love for mankind and good Providence, allows the devil, through his minions, to inflict [us] various punishments for our sins. And this is clearly manifested in the story about Job (see Job 1:6–12), where it is described that the devil could not approach Job at all without God’s permission. 11. However, Nebuchadnezzar himself, king of Babylon, [in the Holy Scriptures] is often understood as a natural law. This is revealed by those who write to those who are in Jerusalem, [that is,] those who were not able to love the spiritual law, and therefore were carried away into the land of Babylon - I mean [carried away] by the skill of mixing with matter: And pray for the life of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and for the life of Belshazzar his son (meaning the natural law 309 and the effective skill in it, under whose power they then found themselves), let their days be like the days of heaven on earth (Bar.1:11). With these words they ask to pray those who have remained steadfast in the dispassion of virtue and in the truth of knowledge, so that the speculations of the natural law and the effective skill in it, in which they find themselves after leaving the spiritual law and its Divine speculations, may be [always with them]. Moreover, they call speculation “days”, and spiritual law “heaven”. For they asked that the natural and laborious law to which they found themselves subject should not deviate from the spiritual law 310 . 12. Connected with this is what was mysteriously said to Nebuchadnezzar by the great Daniel, who, in accordance with the Divine threat, interpreted what he saw in a dream: You will be married to men, and your life will be with marvelous beasts, and you will be fed with grass like oxen, and your body will be watered with the dew of heaven, and seven times will change over you, until you are weighed, for the Most High possesses the kingdom. to mankind, and to him he desires, he will give it. And he said: leave the rooting of the tree (in the earth), your kingdom will be yours, from which you have weighed the power of heaven (Dan.4:22-23) 311. Perhaps he is talking about the expulsion and ejection of [people] from paradise into this world as a result of the transgression of [the commandments], as well as about the alienation of [them] from cohabitation with the Angels. Or, rather, [about the alienation of] nature from spiritual speculation and connection with the sense of the law, denoting with the words “dwelling with the beasts of the field” being, dwelling and communicating with passions and the demons that produce them. The grass that they fed him - of course, it was fed by people, and not by the animals with whom he lived, for they do not feed, [349] but tear to pieces - is a natural perception of revealed [things], consistent with feeling, and virtuous work associated with hard efforts, which are supplied to people, like grass, by Angels. “Irrigation with heavenly dew” means constancy in these [things] thanks to the Providence [of God], for Scripture calls Providence “the dew of heaven”; with the help of this Providence, man, or natural law, while preserving the listed [things], is not subject to complete destruction in this century. Or perhaps [“the dew of heaven” means 312] the proportionate knowledge of intelligible [things] through the [things] revealed, which occurs by the grace of God, thanks to which man here is strengthened in [his] hope for future [goods]. “Seven times will pass over you” means the sevenfold duration of time in this age, under which the natural law found itself, leaving the protection of its own skill and action. At the end of it, in accordance with the expected resurrection, through the rejection of unreasonable properties, he again ascends to himself, receiving back the original prosperity of the Kingdom and knowing, thanks to the providential Economy in this age, the power of the true Kingdom. And “it was commanded to leave the main root in the ground” means that the seed of nature and the powers of goodness were not completely destroyed through the transgression [of the commandments]; thanks to them, [nature] grows again, reaching its former state, and through the resurrection it returns to its [former] greatness and beauty. 13. But it is better for us, having gone through the school of the law of commandments, to educate ourselves through voluntary labors to destroy the carnal mind. And not only is it better, but this is very wise and appropriate for those who make [our] innate reason the ruler over the passions. If not this 313, then the following: involuntarily brought up, with befitting gratitude let us love the will [of God] that educates us, accepting punishment for sins, like the yoke of the king of Babylon. And the spiritual king of Babylon will not remove our minds from our land, that is, [from the land of] faith, hope and virtuous practice. 14. In accordance with the above method [of interpretation], the devil is called the servant of God, and the kings of the nations, the king of the Jews, and the beasts of the field are given over to him. [352] 1. If the Lord after the Resurrection clearly commanded: teach all nations (Matthew 28:19), then why was Peter afraid of the revelation about Cornelius regarding the nations (Acts 10:11–48)? And why did the apostles in Jerusalem, having heard about what happened to Cornelius, reproach Peter (Acts 11:2)? 2. Of course, All-Holy Peter, the head of the apostles, was afraid of the Divine revelation about tongues. For he did not know that by faith there is no difference between circumcision and uncircumcision, and clearly did not know that the Lord spoke about the teaching of tongues apart from the manifest service of the law, until the mystery of the ineffable counsel [of God] was revealed to him by revelation and he was convinced by the graphic example of the linen [descended from heaven] 314 and by the grace of the Holy Spirit equally bestowed upon him and pagans according to the same faith that in Christ there is no difference between Jew and Greek (Rom. 10:12). The apostles in Jerusalem, also not knowing this, reproached him until they, too, recognized the hidden wealth of God’s goodness, which extends to all people. For besides the legalistic [ministry there occurred] the introduction of the Divine life 315 and a new ministry; for the soul, voluntarily freeing itself from the body, the opportunity to learn by will was presented, and [it received] a model for another, more divine beginning of [its] birth or the grace of preaching. [353] Therefore, those who were entrusted with [such] service needed instruction regarding every word from the One who entrusted [it to them]. 3. If this does not seem excessive than it should be, then [it can be said that] every word of the Divine commandment 316 requires, of course, a specific image of teaching and revelation. For in general it is impossible to know the image of the word without the revelation of the one who spoke the word. Knowing this, the all-praised Peter, who had already received from the Lord the word about preaching among the tongues, did not [immediately] set to work, but awaited teaching from the One who gave the word regarding the manner [of its implementation]. 4. Perhaps there was something else that, in addition to what was indicated, the great Peter was taught through the linen lowered from heaven, and through the various animals in it. In particular, that the entire human race or [a certain person] in it, having received by faith [knowledge] of Divine greatness, clearly assimilates [the need] for the complete suppression of his feelings, as a result of which, constantly seeing the appearance of [things], he considered the creation of God in itself to be corruptible, unable to be purified from corruption and confusion. Through the canvas and the animals in it, the manifest world was shown, comprehended by thought in its meanings thanks to the invisible, or the invisible world, revealed in the impressions of sensory [things], - the one that exists for a knowledgeable person and is suitable for spiritual food 317. Therefore, a voice was given to him: Arise, Peter, kill and eat (Acts 10:13). Where is [him] commanded to rise from? [It is clear that Peter is commanded to rise] from habit in feeling and attachment to it, or from a base disposition towards beings, or from a practiced righteousness according to the law, so that with a mind alone, freed from all sensual dreaming, he could contemplate the meanings of sensual things 318, stripped of their garments, 319 and understand that nothing that God has produced is unclean. For he who contemplates the visible creation, manifested in meanings from the intelligible world, or the imprints of intelligible [things] from the order of manifested [things], like a sheet lowered from heaven, will assure that nothing visible is unclean, and will not perceive any antipathy [that could] be revealed in the meanings of existence. After all, corruption and warfare with each other occur [only] in feelings, and in the meanings [of things] any opposition is completely absent 320. 5. The canvas is a sensory world, [consisting] of four principles, as of elements, and it is held [by them] 321. And reptiles, animals and birds [of heaven] are different meanings of things that have happened, which are unclean to the senses, but pure, nutritious to the mind and serve to support mental life. The voice heard three times teaches active, natural and theological wisdom. For the rebel must [hear it] not once, but twice and thrice 322; [he must] sacrifice the creature of revealed [things] and eat it speculatively, since he follows God entirely and sincerely. [356] After all, he who rose from a passionate disposition towards revealed [things] sacrificed their movements and, having successfully completed active [philosophy], tasted virtue; having risen from a false opinion about beings, he sacrificed the external forms of revealed [things] and, tasting the invisible logoi, successfully completed natural contemplation in the spirit; having risen from the lie of polytheism, he sacrificed the very essence of beings and tasted by faith the Cause of these beings, saturated with theological power. Every contemplative mind, having a spiritual sword, which is the Word of God (Eph. 6:17), kills in itself the movement of the revealed creation, successfully implements virtue and, cutting off from itself the dream of the forms of sensory [things], finds truth in the logoi of existence. According to this truth, natural contemplation is formed, and one who finds himself above the essence of beings acquires the radiance of the Divine and impregnable Unity, in Which the sacrament of true theology is created. 6. Or, perhaps, the supreme apostle, the all-glorious Peter, was ordered by God to rise from the strength commensurate with nature for a blessed inheritance, in order, with the help of God, to sacrifice the vicious passions of man with the sword of reason and to prepare good food, consistent with the Word and produced for spiritual digestion, through renunciation of the former life, passionate and bestial. For they say that blood is the symbol of life, and when an animal is slaughtered, the blood must usually flow out completely. And the difference in the named living beings perhaps indicates the diversity of human passions. For reptiles indicate those who are completely possessed by a desirable principle, crawling with difficulty among earthly [things]; animals - on the insanely arousing [in themselves] all the furious beginning to destroy each other; birds - on those who exalt all their rational principles for the sake of the insolence of arrogance and the arrogance that comes from it, and speak unrighteousness on high, placing their lips in heaven (Ps. 73:8-9). And God’s co-worker, the great Peter, sacrificing all this by the word of the Spirit, made some thirsty for heavenly things, others meek, loving and restrained towards each other, and others loving God and humble. 7. Let us consider what [Holy Scripture] intends to reveal through the interpretation of the name “Joppa” (see Acts 10:8) - the city in which All-Holy Peter, the great founder of the Church, saw this vision. “Joppa” is interpreted as “observation” 323, [357] denoting the vigilance befitting those who strive in active philosophy. Situated on an elevated seashore, it would be overwhelmed by waves if the location of this city were not so high. For this reason, it seems to me that [Joppa] exhibits virtue, built like a city on the heights of knowledge, located not far from involuntary temptations; she has near her, like the sea, an attachment to feelings that has not yet been completely extorted and therefore needs observation, so that unclean demons, hiding under the guise of involuntary temptations, do not cause an attack of free passions. But since Joppa belongs to the inheritance of the tribe of Issachar - and “Issachar” is interpreted as “bribe” and “torment” 324 - then, in addition, it is allowed to think that Joppa is a protective skill of active [philosophy], protecting [the soul] from the invisible attacks of evil spirits. And the great apostle was commanded, probably having risen from this [skill], to transfer [his] mind to heavenly knowledge. 8. Therefore, he who has settled on the heights of active wisdom, which allows for observation, let him be called living in Joppa 325. He who dwells in Zion of Jerusalem, that is, who has climbed the watchtower for the sake of “seeing the world” 326 - for this is how “Jerusalem” is interpreted - finds himself far from any sensual attachment, since in the literal sense of the word 327 the sea is located [far] from Zion. And he, being at the pinnacle of knowledge, perceives with [spiritual] vision only the intelligible ideas of beings, separating them in his mind from the externally manifested forms of these beings, and perceives the images of Divine [things], as far as they are allowed to be visible, which form his mind 328 for the more divine. Therefore, one who settles in Joppa is one who strives in active philosophy, vigilantly watching for the traps of enemies, and one who lives in Zion is a speculative person, contemplating with only his mind the beauty of Divine [objects]. 9. If the vessel of linen again rises into heaven (see Acts 10:11), then we must understand by this that after the great Peter perceived the spiritual meanings of sensible [things] existing together with intelligible [things] 329 , God again takes them to Himself, thereby teaching that there is nothing at all impure among sensible things, the meanings of which are near Him. Therefore, the great apostle, knowing the meaning of visible [things], was taught that no person should be called unclean (see Acts 10:28) and that there is no partiality with God (see Acts 10:34) - that partiality that produces an unjust division among those who exist. And, without hesitation at all, [the apostle] fulfilled the Divine command, sacrificing for the sake of spiritual life those who voluntarily circumcised the heart with the help of the Word of grace, as well as those who renounced, as if from the foreskin, all uncleanness of the vices of unbelief and ignorance, but did not circumcise anything belonging to the nature of the flesh - that which arose from God's creation, and was not formed as a result of a passionate will. [360] For nothing corresponding to nature is unclean, because it owes its existence to the Divine Cause. 1. To whom does God address, saying: Come, let us go down there and confound their language (Gen. 11:7) 330? 2. We find that the Holy Scriptures describe God according to the disposition of each of those who are under [God's] care. Hence it is said of a lion, a bear, a leopard, a panther, a man, a bull, a sheep, the sun, a star, fire, wind, and countless other [things] which in no way are God, and the meaning of each such word is accessible [only] through spiritual interpretation 331 . Therefore, God, appearing to Abraham, who had perfect knowledge, taught him, having a mind already completely separated from matter and material impressions, that the word about the Unit contains the immaterial word 332 about the Trinity - and therefore [God] appeared to [Abraham] in the form of three, and spoke as one (see Gen. 18: 2-15) 333. [361] But to Lot, who had not yet made [his] mind pure from bodily existence, but was dependent on bodies consisting of matter and species, and who believes that God is the Creator of only visible creation, God appears not in a trinitarian image, but in a binary one, showing by means of which He formed Himself externally that the mind raised [to Him] has not yet left the limits of matter and species 334 . Therefore, if you carefully and knowledgeably examine the sayings corresponding to each passage of Scripture that describes God in many different ways, you will find that the cause of many changes in Divine manifestations is the disposition of those who are under [God's] care. 3. Since those who built the tower first moved from the east - the region of the world (I mean [the region] of the only and true knowledge of God), and [then] came to the land of Shinar (see Gen. 11: 2-4), which is interpreted as “blasphemous lips,” they fell into a diversity of opinions about the Divine and, laying together, like bricks, the speeches of each opinion, they began to build, like a tower, polytheistic atheism. Of course, God, destroying the confession of the vicious consonance of erring people, names Himself in a plural way, based on the spiritual disposition of those under his care, scattered and divided into countless opinions, and thereby shows that, being One, He is divided into many in them. Thus He appears to Adam, saying: Behold Adam is as one of Us (Gen. 3:22). Therefore God is either represented in the plural in the sayings of the Scriptures, or is brought together [by Them]. 4. As for the one to whom God is speaking, it is common in Scripture to depict physically the inexpressible and secret counsels of God, so that we can comprehend with our minds Divine [things] from speeches and sounds that are akin to [us], since God is an unknown Mind, an ineffable Word and an incomprehensible Life; He, being in essence Self-Word and Self-Will 335, can neither speak out nor be expressed. And if we understand the sound of Divine words in this way, then we will not stumble over anything written [in the Holy Scriptures], considering it unclear. 5. If someone says that the plural is not used as a reproach in relation to God, and to confirm his position he cites the [words] that God spoke: Let us make man in Our image and likeness (Gen. 1:26), and therefore we should not think that the mere sound of the phrase casts a shadow of suspicion of polytheism on [the entire given] narrative, then we will answer the following: when the Holy Scripture is pious and [addressing] the pious uses plural in relation to God, then it reveals the All-Holy Trinity of Hypostases, mysteriously denoting the image of existence of the All-Holy and beginningless Unit, since the all-honored, worshiped and All-Holy Trinity of Hypostases is essentially Unity, for Unity in Trinity and Trinity in Unity is our God 336. And when [Holy Scripture] speaks of God in the plural, [addressing] the wicked, then it, [364] I think, refutes their reprehensible idea of ​​​​the Divinity. For they believe that the difference in properties is natural, and not hypostatic, and, thinking this way about the Divinity, they undoubtedly introduce the lie of polytheism 337. 6. If even in saying this we are not convincing, then since the Spirit and those who love the Spirit do not like bickering 338, then we will be in tune with each other and accept the Holy Scripture, which sometimes represents the All-Holy Trinity in Unity as the Creator, saying: Let us create man, for it is clear that the existence of beings 339 is the work of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; sometimes [presents Her] as the Advocate of those who piously live according to Her laws, and as the Provideress of those who have received from Her the beginning of [their] existence - for example, appearing in a trinitarian way to Adam and speaking in a single way [to him]; and sometimes [presents Her] as the Punisher and Judge of those who pervert the laws of nature, and the Corrector of those who deviate from the proper law of nature, as evidenced by the words: Come, let us go down there and confound their language (Gen. 11:7). For the Holy and Consubstantial Trinity is not only the Creator of beings, but She contains them in Herself and distributes them to each according to his dignity, since She exists as the One God, who by nature is the Creator, Provider and Judge of Her creatures. After all, it is common for the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit to both create and judge and provide wisely for creatures. 1. What do the words in Acts mean: They, by the inspiration of the Spirit, told Paul not to go up to Jerusalem (Acts 21:4)? Why didn't he listen to the Spirit and go? [365] 2. The holy prophet Isaiah in his prophecy says that seven spirits will rest on the Savior, who grew from the root of Jesse (see Is. 11: 1-3) 340, but he does not know the seven spirits of God and does not teach others to perceive it this way, but calls “spirits” the actions of the one and the same Holy Spirit, because in every action the active one is fully 341 fully and proportionately present Holy Spirit 342. And the divine apostle calls the different actions of the one and the same Holy Spirit different gifts (see 1 Cor. 12:4), since they are the results of the action of one and the same Spirit. If the manifestation of the Spirit is given according to the measure of faith of each, in the communion of such a gift by each of the believers, then it is clear that in proportion to the faith and the spiritual disposition of the believer, the action of the Spirit is perceived, granting him skill in one or another commandment 343, consonant with [this] action. 3. Therefore, just as one receives the word of wisdom, another - the word of knowledge, a third - [the word of] faith, and a fourth - any of the other gifts of the Spirit enumerated by the great Apostle (see 1 Cor. 12:8 ff.), so one receives through the Spirit, in proportion to [his] faith, the gift of perfect, immediate and immaterial love for God, another, through the same Spirit, receives the gift of perfect love for his neighbor, and, as I said, each has his own a gift, the cause of which is the action of the Spirit Himself. And I think that if anyone, following Saint Isaiah, calls these gifts “spirits,” then he will not fall away from the truth. For in every gift, greater or less, the Holy Spirit is fully and proportionately present. 4. Therefore, the truly great [apostle] Paul, who became a minister of superhuman mysteries, directly received, in proportion to his faith, the spirit of perfect grace in relation to the love of God, and did not listen to those who received the gift of perfect love for him 344 and spoke through the spirit, that is, through the gift of love for him, produced by the Spirit (for, as I said, this spirit is received from the prophet as a gift), so that he would not go to Jerusalem. [The Apostle] gave preference not to their spiritual love for himself, but to Divine and divine love, [considering] them incomparable; and he did not go [to Jerusalem] as a disobedient one, but he tried to draw them, prophesying through the action of the Spirit proportionately given to them as a gift, by his example to a love 345 that exceeds everything. So, the great Paul did not disobey the Spirit, but taught those who prophesied about Him through the gift of love regarding the fact that they must [ascend] from lesser things to communion with what is higher. 5. And again, if the prophetic gift is significantly inferior to the apostolic gift, [368] then it was not the work of the Word that governs everything, since each has its own rank, so that the best is inferior to the worse, but, on the contrary, the worst should follow the best. For then those who prophesied through the prophetic spirit in them, and not through the apostolic spirit, showed St. Paul the image of the suffering for the Word that would happen to him 346. He, turning his gaze only to the Divine goal, considered everything in between 347 as nothing, being jealous not to endure [everything] that would happen to him, but to become another Christ and, in imitation of Christ (see 1 Cor. 11:1), to successfully bring to the end everything for the sake of which Christ lovingly lived his life in the flesh according to God’s economy. 6. Therefore, the apparent disobedience of the great apostle is [in fact] the preservation of the deanery, which governs and organizes everything Divine, and also makes sure that everyone does not change his [proper] place of residence. It is also a clear teaching that the degrees of the church hierarchy 348, marvelously distributed by the Spirit, should in no case be confused with each other. 1. What do the words mean: Can you drink the cup that I drink and be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized? (Mark 10:38). What is the difference between the cup and baptism? 2. The Baptism of the Lord 349 is an image of our voluntary labors according to the [inner] inclination [of the soul] for the sake of virtue; By clearing through them the stains on [our] conscience, we accept the voluntary death of [our] will in relation to revealed [things] 350. [369] And the cup is an image of voluntary temptations erected on us for the truth from an external combination of circumstances beyond [our] will 351 ; through them and the divine love inherent in our nature, we voluntarily become above the random death of nature. 3. This is the difference between baptism and the cup, because baptism, for the sake of virtue, produces a deadness of will in relation to the pleasures of bodily life, and the cup convinces the pious to prefer truth to nature itself. The cup [in the words of the Lord] is placed before baptism, because virtue is for the sake of truth, and not truth for the sake of virtue 352. Therefore, the one who strives in virtue for the sake of truth is not wounded by the stings of vanity, but the one who devotes himself to truth for the sake of virtue has vanity and conceit as his cohabitants 353. 1. If God does not live in churches made with hands (Acts 17:24), then why did He dwell in the church of the Jews? 2. God, who wisely and proportionately cares for those under His care, initially guided the governed through images akin to feeling, and led them to the truth, mixing Himself with all [these] images given to the old people, and accomplishing [thus] the ascent of those educated [to the truth]. Therefore, God dwelt in the church of the Jews figuratively, and not truly 354, describing by such dwelling in the church the ineffable advice of any secret education of the wards 355. The most suitable for the dwelling of God is only the pure mind; for his sake [God] agreed to build a figurative church, wanting to extract the mind of the Jews, [372] which had become fleshly much more than insensitive images, from matter. But God saw it as unsuitable for His habitation, since [this mind] was committed to matter, incompatible [with God’s Providence] and fully sympathized with what naturally cohabits with it 356. 3. Without knowing this, the Jew, who knows only through [false] piety to feed [his] arrogance with arrogance 357, rightly loses both his image and maliciously alienates himself from the truth. [373] 1. What do the words mean: will they not feel and find God (Acts 17:27) 358? How can one find God by feeling? 2. He who does not behold with his senses every bodily service of the Law, but with contemplations of the mind 359 examines each of the visible symbols, will recognize the divinely perfect meaning hidden in a separate symbol, and will find God in this sense. For the sake of a good purpose, touching [Him] with mental power, as if [being] in the mud of the matter of legalistic precepts, will he not find somewhere hidden in the flesh of the Law - the Word, which completely eludes the senses. In the same way, whoever does not determine the nature of visible [things] by feeling alone, but with his mind wisely seeks the meaning in each creature, finds God and learns, based on the splendor of beings produced by [God], to [cognize] their Cause. 3. Therefore, since the ability of discrimination is inherent in the sensory person, the one who, as a knower, comprehends legalistic symbols and knowingly contemplates the manifest nature of beings, distinguishes both Scripture, and creation, and himself: Scripture [he divides] into letter and spirit, creation into meaning and external appearance, himself into mind and feeling 360. Comprehending the spirit of Scripture, the meaning of creation and the mind of himself, inextricably united with each other, he, as a knower, finds God, as it should be - God, who is in the mind, and in the sense, and in the spirit; he is removed from everything that misleads and plunders [us] into countless opinions: I am talking about the letter [of Scripture], appearance [of creation] and feeling, in which there is a different opposition of quantity and unit. And if anyone confuses the letter of the Law, the appearance of visible [things] and his own feeling, intertwining them with each other, then he is blind, has closed his eyes (2 Pet. 1:9) and is sick with the ignorance of things. 1. What do the words mean: Truly I say to you, if anyone says to this mountain, “Be taken up and cast into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him whatever he says (Mark 11:23)? What does it mean: “will not doubt”? 2. The divine and great apostle, defining what faith is, says: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen (Heb. 11:1). If anyone defines it as internal good or true knowledge, showing ineffable blessings, he will not sin against the truth. The Lord, teaching about ineffable, invisible and hoped-for blessings, says: The Kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21). Therefore, faith in God is the same as the Kingdom of God, and they are only mentally different from each other. For faith is the formless Kingdom of God, and the Kingdom [of God] is faith that divinely takes on [its] forms 361. So, according to this saying, faith is not outside [but inside] us, which, being brought into action by the Divine commandments, becomes the Kingdom of God, cognizable only by those who possess [It]. If the Kingdom of God is faith brought into action and it directly unites those who reign in it with God, then faith clearly appears as a binding force or effective connection of the supernatural, immediate and perfect union of the believer with God, in whom he believes 362. 3. Since a person consists of soul and body, he depends on two laws - I mean from the [law of] the flesh and from the [law of the] spirit. And the first acquires action according to feeling, and the second - according to the mind; it is inherent in the one who acts by feeling to combine flesh with matter, and it is inherent in the one who acts by the mind to carry out a direct union with God 363. Of course, one who does not doubt in his heart, that is, who does not doubt in his mind and does not cut off the direct union with God that arose through faith, as a dispassionate one, or rather, as one who has already become God in this union through faith, commands this mountain to move, and it will move. With these [words] [the Lord] points to the carnal mind and reveals the law of the flesh, truly heavy and immovable, and in relation to natural force - completely motionless and unshakable. 4. For the power of unreason is so deeply rooted in the nature of men through feeling [376] that many believe that man is only flesh, possessing feeling as the ability to enjoy this life. So, everything is possible to the one who believes (Mark 9:23) and does not doubt, 364 that is, who does not destroy, through the connection of the soul with the body according to the feeling, the unity with God in the mind that has arisen in him as a result of faith. And to the extent that he makes [his] mind alien to the world and the flesh, to that extent he draws closer to God, becoming completely good in [his] deeds. 1. What do the words mean: Therefore I say to you: whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you receive it, and it will be done for you (Mark 11:24)? How can anyone believe that he receives everything he asks for, when only God knows whether what he asks is beneficial or not? And if, due to [his] ignorance, he asks for something that is not useful to [him], how is it given? And if what he asks for is not given out of ignorance, but is not useful, how can one believe [him] in every request that he receives and will be given it? 2. All these questions have been briefly resolved before. After all, only those who know how one should believe know how and what one should ask for [in prayer]. For knowledge is not in everyone, and faith is not in everyone (2 Thess. 3:2). In addition, the Lord, saying: Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33), that is, [teaching] first of all about the knowledge of the truth (Heb. 10:26) and then about the appropriate methods of asceticism, clearly showed that believers should seek only one Divine knowledge and the virtue that adorns this knowledge with deeds. [377] And since on the path to the knowledge of God and virtue a lot happens to believers and they encounter deliverance from passions, steadfast endurance of temptations, the meanings of virtues, methods of [their] implementation, removal from the spiritual predisposition to the flesh, alienation from the connection of feelings with sensory [things], a complete withdrawal of the mind from everything created and simply [to say]: everything that relates to abstinence from evil and ignorance and that relates to successful completion of knowledge and virtue, - this is why the Lord said: And whatever you ask in faith, you will receive (Matthew 21:22) 365. He says that the pious in general should seek and ask with faith and knowledge only that which has as its goal the knowledge of God and virtue. 3. After all, [only] this brings benefit and [only] this the Lord gives to those who ask 366. And whoever, through faith alone, that is, through direct union with God, seeks everything related to [this] union, will certainly receive. But whoever, without this basis, demands either any of the above, or something else, will not receive it. For he does not believe, but, as an unbeliever, [only] strives [to acquire] his own glory through the Divine. 1. Since the Word became flesh (John 1:14), and not only flesh, but also blood and bones, and we are commanded to eat [the Lord's] flesh and drink [His] blood (John 6:53), but not to crush [His] bones, I ask that you teach me what [this] tripartite power of the Word made man is. 2. Wanting to come to the essence [of the created world], the super-essential Word and Creator of all things Himself brought [into being], as He Himself knows, the natural meanings of all manifest and intelligible [things] together with the incomprehensible thoughts of His Divinity; of these, the meanings of intelligible things will be, as it were, the blood of the Word, and the meanings of sensible [things] will be the manifest flesh of the Word. Since the Word is a Teacher, [instructing] us both regarding the spiritual meanings that are in manifest [things], and regarding the meanings that are in [things] intelligible, then He appropriately and proportionately bestows [to people] worthy both the knowledge [contained] in the meanings of visible [things], - like eating the flesh [of the Lord], and the knowledge [contained] in the meanings intelligible [things] - like drinking the blood [of the Lord]: Wisdom prepared them long ago and in a mysterious way through the cup and sacrifices, [as evidenced by] Proverbs [of Solomon] 367 . But bones, that is, pre-thought meanings related to the Divine, which are equally infinitely removed from any created nature, He does not bestow, since the nature of beings does not have any possibility of having a perceptive connection with them. 3. And one more thing: the flesh of the Word is true virtue, the blood is infallible knowledge, and the bones are ineffable theology 368. For just as blood changes its form and turns into flesh, knowledge is transformed into virtue through action; and like bones, which are the basis of blood and flesh, [380] the meanings related to the Divine, pre-thought, [although] contained in beings, also in an unknown way create the essences of beings and strengthen their being, producing all knowledge and every virtue 369 . 4. If anyone says that the logoi of Judgment and Providence, which will all one day certainly be eaten and drunk, are flesh and blood, and the [other] meanings hidden in them related to the Divine are bones, then he will not go beyond the limits of reason 370. 5. It is also possible that the flesh of the Word is a perfect, through virtue and knowledge, return to itself and restoration of [human] nature in itself 371; blood 372 is future deification, which through grace unites this nature with eternal well-being; bones are an unknown force that connects nature with eternal well-being through deification. 6. If someone, perceiving even more subtle shades [of thought], says that flesh is the voluntary mortification of [passions] by virtues, blood is perfection [achieved] in difficult circumstances for the sake of truth [even] through death, and bones are the first and inaccessible to us meanings related to the Divine, then he will speak correctly and will not sin against proper reasoning. 1. What are the bodies and blood of foolish animals, through which the Israelites served [God], when they ate the bodies, but did not partake of the blood, shedding it around the base of the altar (Deut. 12:27)? 2. The image of those who were [yet] introduced into piety were the old [Israelites], who served God according to the law in the shadows 373 and could hardly comprehend the very revealed instructions of figurative symbols 374 . Since it was not to them, but to us, that the law was originally given, which we spiritually carry out according to Christ, we will piously consider the meaning of the sacrifices then [made]. 3. He who is led into piety and taught concerning works of righteousness, performs with all obedience and faith only one work, [381] tasting, like flesh, the [commandments] of virtues 375; the meaning of the commandments, in which the knowledge of the perfect consists, he yields to God through faith, being unable to expand over the entire extent of knowledge. The symbol of God is the altar, and to Him we all offer ourselves as a spiritual sacrifice and yield to Him the knowledge of what exceeds our strength, so that we may live. The image of faith in Him is the foundation of the altar. For faith is the cornerstone, and the entire edifice of divine acts and speculations is based on it; and everyone who cannot prudently taste the drink from the cup of God’s Wisdom, according to knowledge, does the right thing by pouring onto this foundation the meanings of knowledge inaccessible to him, that is, yielding to faith the knowledge of meanings that exceed his strength. 4. Therefore, the old people are the image of those led into piety, and those who eat the flesh of sacrificed [animals] and shed blood 376 on the foundation of the altar [are] those who are not able, due to [their] infantile understanding, to achieve the mysterious knowledge of created [things]. But Christ, the High Priest of future blessings, having come (Heb. 9:11) and having made an ineffable sacrifice, gives Himself, along with [His] flesh and blood, to those whose senses of the soul, due to their perfection, are accustomed to distinguish between good and evil (Heb. 5:14). For the perfect one, having surpassed not only the rank of those introduced [to piety], but also those who succeed [in it], does not remain ignorant of the meanings of created [beings] who, according to the commandment, are subordinate to him 377; he, having first drunk these meanings in spirit and tasted all the flesh of virtues with his deeds, elevates the sensual movement of created being to mental knowledge. 5. Many other arguments can be given on this topic, very appropriate for you, most pious 378. But now they are omitted due to their multiplicity. 1. In Acts it is said about Paul: so that handkerchiefs and aprons from his body were laid on the sick, and their illnesses ceased (Acts 19:12). [384] Did this happen to the unbelievers as a result of the ministry, or was it accomplished due to the sanctification of [their] body from his body? 379 And if the second and [the apostle] did not suffer any harm from the viper (Acts 28:3-6), then why did the body of the saint not succumb to the poison of the creature, but fell under the sword? I ask the same thing about Elisha's body. And what are the belts? 2. Not only through the holiness of Saint Paul and not only through the faith of those who perceived the surface of his body performed healings 380 through handkerchiefs and aprons, but also because the grace of God, devoting itself to both him and them, and also lovingly acting in them through faith, made the holiness of the apostle effective. And again, by the will of grace, his body remained not subject to suffering and was not killed by the poison of the creature, 381 either because the poison lost its destructive properties, or because the body of the saint exhausted this [power of] corruption, or because of some method of the Economy, which is known [only] to God, who produces and changes it. Also, by the will of grace, [the body of the saint] fell under the sword. For it was not by nature immortal, although it worked miracles as a result of grace. If it were immortal by nature, then we could justifiably seek the reason why it fell under the sword contrary to nature. And if [this body] remained mortal by nature even after holiness, then there is no need to investigate the reason why the divine apostle ended his life in the flesh this way and not otherwise. For in the same way that God, before [all] centuries, determined the life of each [person] for his benefit, in the same way He deigns to lead everyone to the appropriate end of [his] life - righteous or unrighteous. 3. If the meaning of nature and grace were the same, then it would be worthy of surprise and amazement [385] to happen in accordance with nature, but contrary to grace, or in accordance with grace, but contrary to nature. However, since the meaning of nature and the meaning of grace differ from each other, it is clear and obvious that as saints they performed miracles as a result of grace, and as people they endured suffering as a result of nature, for grace does not destroy the passive principle of nature and the meanings of nature and grace are in no way confused with each other. And let us understand that the grace of God, according to the Economy, regarding those who are under the guidance of Providence, accomplishes everything in the saints, the living and the dead, providing for the salvation of others [through them], as through its own instruments 383; but the saints do this in others not according to the [laws of] nature, but thanks to grace. This also applies to Elisha's body. 4. But since the soul of lovers of God is more pleased with the imagined [meanings of things] than with the narrated [facts] 384, then we say that the surface of the body is the piety of the great apostle, because of which it is for some a savor of life unto life, for others a savor of death unto death (2 Cor. 2:16) 385; scarves - the meanings of his speculative contemplation becoming clear; and aprons are sublime ways of [implementing] virtuous and active wisdom, for they say that aprons are worn in the hands. And those who perceive these meanings and methods, which, like a fragrance, emit from the surface of the body, that is, the piety of the blessed apostle, receive healing from the infirmity that oppresses them. Some banish the disease of ignorance through the meanings of contemplation, as if through handkerchiefs; others completely destroy the disease of vice through virtuous methods of [spiritual] activity. In the same way, in my judgment, the harsh winter that befell the apostle is a burden of involuntary temptations; the island is a solid and unshakable skill in divine hope; fire is a skill in conducting; brushwood - the nature of visible [things], which he, having collected with his hand - I mean [gathered] with the sensory power of the mind in contemplation - imbued with the help of the speculations arising from this contemplation a skill in knowledge, which heals the despondency caused to thoughts by the winter cold of temptations; viper - an evil and destructive force imperceptibly hidden in the nature of sensory [things], stinging the hand, that is, the feeling action of contemplation in the mind, but not damaging the vigilant mind, [388] which immediately throws, as if into fire, into the light of knowledge this destructive force, clinging to the active movement of the mind as a result of contemplation of sensory [things]. 5. I think the same way about Elisha 386. Because anyone who has become dead regarding sins, when he is laid in the prophet’s coffin, in which [his] body was, that is, [in contact with] the memory that preserves the memories of the prophetic life and holyly observes the body of virtues 387, [such a person] is quickened by behavior that imitates the morals of [the prophet] and moves from the deadening of vicious passions to a virtuous life. [389] 1. Did the Sadducees, who asked [the Lord] about the seven brothers who [had] one wife (Matthew 22:23–28), [ask the question] by chance or does it have a deeper meaning? If he has, then who are the brothers and who is their wife? 2. Some say that the words of Scripture relating to unworthy persons 388 should not be interpreted allegorically. However, since it is better to be hardworking and constantly ask God for the gift of wisdom and strength for the spiritual comprehension of all Scripture, then, trusting in your prayers, I say the following about the difficulty that has arisen. 3. The Sadducees, according to the meaning of spiritual interpretation, are demons or thoughts that introduce the spontaneous action of natural forces 389; the wife is human nature, and the seven brothers are the laws of righteousness, given to her by God from time immemorial, each in due time, for education and fertility; She, cohabiting with them as husbands, did not have a son from either one, since she was deprived of the fruit of righteousness. The first law was the law given to Adam in paradise, the second was given to him after paradise as penance, the third was given to Noah in the ark, the fourth was the law of circumcision [given] to Abraham, the fifth was [given] to him about the sacrifice of Isaac, the sixth was the Law of Moses, and the seventh was the law of foreshadowing grace or prophetic inspiration. For [human] nature has not yet been so constituted through faith as to conform to the Gospel and to live [with Him as] the Man abiding for all ages. 4. And the demons, by means of thoughts always putting these [questions] before our minds, wage a struggle with faith in a way that outwardly seems reasonable, and, based on what is written, they express this kind of doubt: “If there is a resurrection of the dead and we must, after [the life] of this present, perceive a different kind of life, then by what law, given from the ages, will human nature be governed?” And, [luring us into a trap], in order to receive an answer that one of the named [laws], they give the following argument: “Therefore, human life will again be vain and useless, not getting rid of past evils, if nature again falls into the traps of the same things.” And this, undoubtedly, introduces the spontaneous action of natural forces and rejects [God's] Providence for beings. But the Lord and the saving Word completely silences these demons and these thoughts, showing the incorruptibility of nature, which will later be revealed according to the Gospel, and revealing human nature not governed by any of the previously received laws, but already deified and by the Spirit 390 [392] betrothed to the Word Himself and God, from Whom and in Whom it has received and will perceive the beginning and end of [its] existence. 5. If anyone understands men as seven thousand years or [seven] centuries, with which human nature was brought into being, then he will comprehend this passage [of the Holy Scriptures] quite rationally and with proper contemplation. The [human] nature in the future life will not be the wife of any of these [ages], since the temporary nature has come to an end and will be taken [as a wife] by the eighth husband - an endless and limitless age. 1. What are these three days during which the people stayed with the Lord in the wilderness (Matthew 15:32)? 2. The desert is human nature or this world, in which those who endure hardships for the sake of faith and hope for future blessings abide together with the Word of virtue and knowledge. Three days, according to one way of considering them, are three powers of the soul, thanks to which they abide with the Divine Word of virtue and knowledge; With one [force] they seek, with another they thirst, and with a third - fighting [for the truth], they perceive incorruptible food that nourishes the mind with the knowledge of created [things] 391. 3. According to another way [of consideration], three days designate the three most general laws, 392 I mean the written, natural and spiritual, or the law of grace. After all, every law enlightens human nature according to itself, having as the Creator of light the Sun of righteousness (Mal. 4:2). For just as without the sun it is completely impossible for there to be a day, so without the essential and existing Wisdom 393 there cannot be a law of righteousness, since She creates the sunrise in every law and fills the spiritual eyes of the soul with intelligent light. Seeing this, blessed David says: Your law is a lamp to my feet and a light to my paths (Ps. 119:105). He calls the lamp 394 the written law, which skillfully, with the help of various signs of bodily symbols, allegories and images, like a burning fire, gives signals about vicious passions to those who, through [spiritual] work, hasten [to battle] with opposing forces, accelerating the steps of [their] soul. And by light [he calls] the spiritual law of grace, which artlessly and without [any] sensory symbols 395 indicates the eternal paths; and the contemplative mind, making its way along these paths, is led to the highest limit of [all] good things - God, without limiting thoughts to any of the existing ones. For the light of the law of grace is non-evening, and there is no knowledge that could set boundaries for its all-light rays. The prophet probably calls the feet the entire path of life according to God, or the movement of good thoughts in the soul, the path of which is indicated, like a lamp, by the light [flickering] in the letter of the law. [393] Paths [he calls] the ways [of practicing] virtues in accordance with the natural law and the meanings of knowledge in accordance with the spiritual law, becoming apparent thanks to the coming of God the Word 396 and raising the nature [human] to itself and to the Cause [of everything] 397 through virtue and knowledge. 4. And those who strive for salvation, in these three days, that is, in the three laws, being with God the Word and zealously bearing hard labor for the sake of each [of these laws], are not sent away hungry, but eat abundant Divine food: for the sake of the written law - complete deliverance from unnatural passions; for the sake of natural [law] - the steady action of natural [passions], thanks to which [their] mutual connection arises, eliminating all otherness and division that corrupt nature; for the sake of the spiritual [law] - union with God Himself 398, according to which those who come out of all created things perceive a supernatural glory, thanks to which only God, shining in them, is known. 5. You will find a more extensive interpretation of this in the “Explanation of difficult passages” relating to the Word on Pentecost of St. Gregory 399. [396] 1. What does the number of six water bearers mean at the marriage in Cana of Galilee (John 2:6)? 2. God, who created human nature, gave him existence combined with will, and combined with this will the creative ability to [carry out] the proper 400. And the six water carriers are the ability corresponding to nature to do the Divine commandments; people, having exhausted [their] knowledge of this [ability] for the sake of vain concern for material things, had it [already] empty and devoid of water, and therefore did not know how to be clean from the filth of vice. For [a person] devoid of knowledge does not know the way in which virtue cleanses from vice. [In this state] he remains until the Word, the Creator of nature, comes and fills the 401 named creative abilities [to carry out] knowledge appropriate to nature. In the same way It turns the law and meaning of nature into wine, I mean into the supernatural meaning of knowledge. Those who drink this meaning are removed from the nature of all things and ascend to the hidden place of the Divine depth, in which they taste joy and delight that exceed all knowledge - good wine (John 2:10) 402, which accomplishes deification. They taste such an ineffable meaning [of knowledge] after all the dispensations according to the Providence of [God] regarding [all] human things. 3. The creative power of nature is understood as the number six, not only because in six days God created heaven and earth, but also because only this number of [all] numbers is the most perfect and consisting of its own parts 403. Scripture speaks of waterpots containing two or three measures (John 2:6), since they, according to the nature of the active force, contain, according to natural contemplation, like two measures, the total knowledge of created [things] or the knowledge that embraces corporeal and incorporeal [things], that is, corporeal natures [consisting] of matter and species, and intelligible beings [consisting] of essence and non-essential property 404. According to the theological mystery 405 accessible to [human] nature, [they contain], like three measures, knowledge and spiritual illumination regarding the Holy Trinity: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 4. You, as those who know, consider the rest: how the generic power of nature, which creates the best, is divided into six ways of virtues 406, also generic; what is the power of nature, which corresponds to the general creative [ability] of virtues and is the general and most generic virtue of [all] others - it, divided into six, also generic, types, is brought into harmony with the power of nature, so that it can be comprehended using the methods of [implementation] of the latter; [397] who are the “servants who drew water” in addition to them, who is the “groom”, who is the “bride”, who is the “steward” (see John 2:9) and who is the Mother who frankly told the Word: they have no wine (John 2:3). All this remains for consideration by the initiate [into the mysteries] of Divine words and speculations and their interpreter 407, if only, of course, it gives him joy [to use] the method of spiritual interpretation [of the Holy Scriptures] 408. However, so that our discussion at the moment does not remain completely silent, I, delving into such questions and not giving, at least partially, spiritual food to those who nobly hunger for it, will continue my speech as much as possible. I don’t promise, of course, to reveal the full meaning of what was said, for my mind is weak and is not able to comprehend [the depth] of these [words], but I will try to [explain them] as much as my thought can accommodate them. 5. They say that the most important 409 virtue is love, and the most important force of nature that creates this [virtue] is reason: having touched its Cause 410, it is put into action and divided into six more generic ways, containing types into which the meaning of love is inherent in being divided 411; them - the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the weak and [those] in a foreign land - is preserved physically and spiritually by [the mind]. For the meaning of virtue is not limited to bodies alone, and the power of nature is not concerned with feelings alone. Therefore, the most important force of nature becomes species-forming for the most important virtue, dividing virtue in its six ways into the same number of species, through which nature is united with the unity of will, 412 revealing the equally indivisible and indivisible logos of creation, 413 brought together to itself through the creation and reception of good. Through proper work, having returned to itself this unshakable meaning, the mind cuts off all the excesses and shortcomings of nature, which the selfishness of each will has invented, making the meekest nature beast-like and dividing the single essence (nothing worse can be said!) into many opposite and mutually destructive parts 414. Nevertheless, they demonstrate stability, creating moderation 415, according to which the natural laws of virtues were originally inscribed by the will of God. It is possible that, in showing this sacrament, Scripture presents six empty and waterless waterpots, for they reveal the inactivity of the natural and most important power regarding good. Consequently, the most important natural force, divided into six ways of doing, forms the same number of types from the most important virtue, containing it all in itself. Having arisen in accordance with this [power] 416, nature perceives its main law - the infallible judge of truth, whom Scripture calls the steward. He clearly recognizes 417 that the “good wine” which the Word, through His Coming, prepared for the end, had to be drunk from the beginning and it should have intoxicated human nature (see John 2:10) 418. I mean that first one should be initiated [400] into the best and highest logos, relating to God, and then, as if [tasting the worst] wine, one should become initiated into the logoi of created [things], inferior to the first logos. For the most just and proper thing is the initial initiation into the logos, which serves as the cause of the emergence of nature, and only then can one examine the logoi [of things] that arose as the consequences of this nature 419. 6. “They who drew water” are the servants of the Old and New Testaments. I mean the holy patriarchs, legislators, military leaders, judges, kings, prophets, evangelists and apostles, by whom the water of knowledge is drawn and returned to nature. This [water of knowledge] is transformed into the grace of deification by the Word as the good Creator of nature, deifying it with grace through [His] love for mankind. If anyone says that ministers are knowledgeable and pious in thoughts, who, at the command of the Word, draw the water of knowledge from the well-being of those who exist, then, I think, he will not fall away from the truth. 7. The groom, as it is quite obvious, is the human mind leading to the crown, like a bride, virtue. And the called Word 420, showing respect to their marriage, graciously comes [to the wedding], strengthening the bond of spiritual marriage and with His wine spiritually inflaming their impulse towards spiritual fertility. 8. The mother of the Word is true and undefiled faith 421. For just as the Word, as God, is by nature the Creator of the Mother who gave birth to Him in the flesh, whom He made such through [His] love for mankind, taking birth from Her as a man, so in us the Word, having first created faith, then becomes the Son of our faith, incarnate from it in virtues according to [spiritual] work. Thanks to this faith, we do everything [good], receiving charisms from the Word for [our] salvation. For without faith, of which the Word is God by nature and Son by grace, it is completely impossible to have boldness 422 to address petitions to Him. 9. Let us always gather for such a wedding, and let Jesus be present with His Mother, so that He may restore our knowledge, which flowed through sin, to its original state. And may He transform this knowledge into deification, expelling the mind from the [created] existence of beings, strengthening and, as it were, impelling to immutability, like water strengthened by the quality of wine, the knowledge of [our] nature. [404] 1. What do the five husbands of the Samaritan woman and the sixth, who is not her husband, mean (John 4:16–18)? 2. The Samaritan woman and the woman, according to the Sadducees, who married seven brothers (see Matt. 22:25–28), the one with the issue of blood (see Matt. 9:20), and also the crooked woman (see Luke 13:11), the daughter of Jairus (see Mark 5:22 ff.) and the Syrophoenician (see Mark 7:25 ff.), - [all they] reveal both the nature of people and the soul of an individual person, each designating, according to the existing passionate disposition, this [general] nature and [individual] soul. For example, the wife of the Sadducees is a nature or soul that cohabits fruitlessly with all the Divine laws given from time immemorial, but does not perceive the aspirations of future [goods]. In the same way, the bleeding is the nature or soul, pouring out the power given to it for the birth of righteous deeds and speeches in passionate devotion to the substance. The Syrophoenician is the same nature or soul of an individual [person], having, like a daughter, a thought, which in the despair of an epileptic fit is painfully torn by love for matter. In the same way, the daughter of Jairus is a nature or soul that depends on the Law 423, but completely died as a result of non-fulfillment of its commandments and inaction in the implementation of Divine instructions. And a crooked woman is nature or soul, which, through the temptations of the devil, inclines all the power of spiritual activity to matter. The Samaritan woman, like these listed women, represents the nature or soul of every person, cohabiting without prophetic charisma, as if with husbands, with all the laws given to nature; of these, five are already dead, and the sixth, although alive, was not a man of nature or soul, since he does not give birth to righteousness from it, which is the guarantee of complete salvation. 3. The first law that nature possessed was the law [given] in paradise; the second is the law after heaven; the third is the law given to Noah at the flood; fourth, the law of circumcision given to Abraham; fifth is the law of the sacrifice of Isaac. Nature, having received them, rejected them all, and they perished in sterility regarding the deeds of virtue. Having the sixth law, [given] through Moses, [nature] seemed to not have it, either because it did not fulfill the righteous deeds prescribed by him, or because he had to pass, as to a husband, to another law - the Gospel, which was not given, like the [previous] law, to the nature of men through [this] age, but according to the Economy [of God] was given for the education of a better and more mysterious one. For this reason, as I believe, the Lord says to the Samaritan woman: And the one whom you now have is not your husband (John 4:18). For He saw that [human] nature had to move to the Gospel. Therefore, around the sixth hour, when the soul is especially illuminated on all sides by the rays of knowledge as a result of the coming to it of the Word and when the shadow of the Law disappears [in these rays, the Lord] spoke to her, [405] standing with the Word at Jacob’s well, 424 that is, at the source of speculation relating to the Holy Scriptures. 4. Let this be said about it for now. 1. How is it said about us that we commit sin and know [about it], but about the Lord it is said that He became sin, but does not know it? 425 Isn’t it more serious to become [sin] and not know [it] than to commit [sin] and know [about it]? For He made him who knew no sin to be sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). 2. When in former times the will of the natural mind in Adam underwent corruption, then nature also decayed along with it, having renounced the grace of incorruptibility. Then sin arose, the first and worthy of reproach, that is, the falling away of will from good to evil; through the first [sin arose] and the second - a change in nature from incorruption to corruption that cannot cause censure 426. For two sins arose in [our] forefather as a result of the transgression of the Divine commandment: one is worthy of censure, and the second, which had its cause in the first, cannot cause censure; the first - from will, which voluntarily renounced the good, and the second - from nature 427, following the will, involuntarily renounced immortality. Correcting this alternating corruption and change of nature, our Lord and God took on all this nature entirely, 428 and in the perceived nature He also had a passionate principle, adorned [by Him] with incorruption at will. Therefore, as a result of the passionate principle, He became sin by [human] nature for our sake, not knowing the voluntarily chosen sin thanks to the immutability of will 429. With this immutability of will [the Lord] corrected the passionate beginning of nature, making its end (I mean death 430) the beginning of transformation to incorruption. And just as through one man (see: Rom. 5:12), who voluntarily turned his will away from good, the nature of all people changed from incorruption to corruption, so through one Man Jesus Christ, [408] who did not turn [His] will away from good, the restoration of nature from corruption to incorruption took place for all people (see 1 Cor. 53:54). 3. So, the Lord did not know my sin 431, that is, the change in my will; He did not accept my sin and did not become [it], but for my sake He became sin, that is, He became corruption of nature, [arising] through a change in my will, taking [it upon Himself]. For our sake, He became a passionate man by nature, with the help of sin [that arose] through me, destroying my own sin 432. And just as in Adam the inclination of his personal will towards evil deprived [human] nature of the general glory, since God judged that it was not good for a person who had mistreated his will to have an immortal nature, so in Christ the inclination of His personal will towards good deprived all of [human] nature of the general shame of corruption, when at the time of the resurrection 433 nature was transformed through the immutability of will into incorruption, since God wisely judged that a person who does not change his will can again receive back his immortal nature. “Man” I call the incarnate God the Word, Who through the Incarnation 434 hypostatically united with Himself rational and animate flesh. For if the change of will in Adam introduced passion, corruption and mortality into [human] nature, then the immutability of will in Christ again restored impassibility, incorruptibility and immortality to this nature through the resurrection. 4. Thus, the change of [human] nature to passion, corruption and death is a condemnation for the voluntarily chosen sin of Adam. And man began to have what he, created from the beginning by God, did not possess; he made this change and was aware of it, creating through disobedience a voluntarily chosen sin, the product of which, as is obvious, is the condemnation of [him] to death. The Lord, having taken [on Himself] this condemnation for my voluntary sin - I mean taking the passion, corruption and mortality of [human] nature - became for my sake sin according to passion, corruption and mortality, voluntarily putting on my condemnation by nature, although [He Himself] was uncondemned by choice, in order to condemn my voluntary and natural sin and condemnation. Thus, sin, passion, corruption and death were expelled from nature, and from [God’s] love for mankind a new sacrament arose - pertaining to me and for my sake, who fell as a result of disobedience, the Economy of Him who, because of my salvation, voluntarily assimilated my condemnation through [His] death, granting by this death to me a spiritual rebirth to immortality 435. 5. I think that it was shown in many different ways how the Lord, who does not know sin, became one, and how man, who knows and creates sin, did not become one, [having gotten rid of both voluntary sin, which he himself initiated, and [from sin] [409] natural, which for his sake the Lord took upon Himself, completely free from the first [sin] 436. So, according to the presented and comprehended meaning of this reasoning, making a proper distinction regarding the homonymy of “sin,” [it can be said that] doing and knowing sin is no better than becoming [sin]. For the first 437 separates [us] from God when the will voluntarily rejects the Divine, and the second 438 often becomes an obstacle to evil, not allowing us to actually carry out, due to natural weakness, the vicious inclination of the will 439 . 1. If Scripture says that wisdom is the tree of life (Prov. 3:18), and the work of wisdom is to discern [412] and know the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:9), then how does [the latter] differ from the tree of life? 2. The teachers of the Church, who, by virtue of the grace [dwelling] within them, are able to say a lot on this subject, considered it necessary to rather pass over this place in silence, since [human] thought cannot reach the depth of much of what is written [in Scripture], and therefore they refrained from uttering something profound. And if some [of the fathers] spoke out [on this matter], then first they determined the ability [of perception of their] listeners, and then they expressed for the benefit of those being taught only a certain part [of this secret], leaving most of [it] unexplored. And I would rather have decided to pass over this passage in silence if I had not guessed that [such silence] would depress your God-loving soul. Therefore, only for your sake I will say what is accessible to everyone and what is useful for the understanding of both small and great. 3. The tree of life and the tree that is not; that which is called the “tree of life” in itself, and that which is not the tree of life, but only the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, [these two trees] have many inexpressible differences. For the tree of life, of course, is the tree that creates life, and the tree of unlife is the tree that creates death. For it is obvious that a tree that does not create life, since it is not called the tree of life, will create death, since nothing else [except death] is opposed to life as its opposite. 4. Moreover, the tree of life, as wisdom, has the greatest difference from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which is not wisdom and is not called wisdom. Wisdom is characterized by mind and reason, and the state opposite to wisdom is characterized by unreason and feeling. Therefore, since man was brought into being consisting of an intelligent soul and a sensory body, let the tree of life, according to one contemplation, be the mind of the soul, in which wisdom is located 440. Accordingly, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil [will then be] the sense of the body, in which, as is obvious, the movement of unreason occurs. And the person who accepted the Divine commandment - not to touch this tree in an experimental and effective way, did not keep it. 5. According to Scripture, both trees are the powers of discerning certain [things], or [they are] mind and understanding. Thus, the mind has the ability to distinguish between intelligible and sensible, transitory and eternal [things]; Moreover, this ability, being the discriminating ability of the soul, convinces the latter to adhere to some things and avoid others 441. The sense has the ability to distinguish between bodily pleasure and bodily pain 442; Moreover, being the distinguishing faculty of animate and sensible bodies, it convinces [them] to be attracted to one, and to turn away from the other 443. And if a person’s existence is determined only by the sensory and bodily distinction between pleasure and pain, then he, breaking the Divine [413] commandment, eats from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that is, he eats foolishness by feeling, possessing only the distinction that preserves [our] bodies; and in accordance with this distinction he adheres to pleasure as good and avoids pain as evil. And if his existence is completely determined by spiritual discernment, separating the transitory from the eternal, then, observing the Divine commandment, he eats from the tree of life - I mean the wisdom that is formed in the mind - possessing only the discernment that preserves [our] soul; in accordance with this distinction, he adheres to the glory of eternal [things] as good and turns away as from evil from the corruption of transitory [things]. 6. So, many people differ between the two trees: both by the distinction inherent in their nature, and by the meaning inherent in each, acquiring an outwardly similar sound, in which there is no distinction between the concepts of good and evil 444 and which can cause great confusion among those who listen to the words of the Spirit 445 without [proper] wisdom and caution. However, you, being wise through grace, know that what is simply called evil is not always evil, but in relation to one it is evil, and in relation to another it is not such 446; in the same way, what is simply called good is not always good, but in relation to one thing it is good, and in relation to another it is not so. [Knowing this,] you will be protected from harm that has its origins in the same name 447. 1. To whom does God address, saying: Behold, Adam was one of Us (Gen. 3:22)? If He addresses the Son, then how can Adam be compared with God, not being of His essence? And if [God turns] to the Angels, then, again, how is the Angel compared with Him, speaking as if with an equal in essence: as one from Us? 2. I have already said in the chapter on the erection of the [Babel] tower 448 that Scripture describes God in accordance with the spiritual disposition of [each] of those who are under [God's] care, and through our natural ways [of perception] hints at the Divine will. From here Scripture shows God not simply saying: Behold Adam was one of Us, but (of course, after the transgression [commandment]) also adds [an indication of] the reason for [such] a statement, which you missed by not including in the question and which, however, makes the whole thought clear. For the Scripture, saying: [416] behold Adam was one of Us, also adds: understand good and evil. And now let him stretch out his hand and take from the tree of life, and cut it down, and live forever (Gen. 3:22). After all, since the devil, together with [his] advice, taught man polytheism, saying: in the same day you cut down the tree, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil (Gen. 3:5) 449, so God, as if playing along 450, ironically and reproaching, to expose the person who believed the devil speaks in the plural: to be as one from Us, [expressing] regarding the thought of the Divine, inspired in Adam by the deception of the serpent 451. 3. And one must not think that the type of ironic statements is usually alien to Scripture. For he who listens to the Scripture, which speaks from the person of God to Israel: If you come to Me wickedly, I will also come to you wickedly (Lev.26:27) 452, sees that the word “wickedness” is used here in an ironic sense. Again [he who listens to the Scripture] finds [irony in the description] how [God] prepared a trap for Ahab, presenting to him a lie as truth 453 and through those [false prophets] through whom [Ahab] sinned, giving him righteous punishment. If Scripture represents God as saying that He is one of Us, not in relation to the error of Adam, then why is it added: understand good and evil, as if [God] has a complex knowledge made up of opposites? It is impossible not only to dare to say, but even to think such things about God, Who alone is simple in essence, power and knowledge and has only knowledge of good 454; moreover, He is Self-existence, [Self]power and [Self]knowledge. And not a single one of those rational beings 455 who [came] from God and after God, also for the same reason, has in the simple movement of [their] thoughts a complex knowledge formed from a combination of opposites. Because knowledge that [comprehends] one of the opposites tends to produce ignorance of the other. For the knowledge of opposites is unalloyed 456 and completely incompatible, since the knowledge of one of the opposites leads to the emergence of ignorance of the other; this is similar to how the eye cannot look both up and down at the same time, see things above and below together, without turning to one and without completely disconnecting from the other. 4. Therefore, Scripture, presenting God as having adopted the passion of Adam, refutes Adam, [heeding] the advice of the serpent, leading him to the realization of the nonsense of polytheism imposed on him, which has its source in lies. And if what is said is correct, then it is sufficient to answer the questions posed. And then you yourself, having discovered something more significant [in Scripture], will communicate to me a particle of Divine grace, granting you [knowledge] of the things that exist 457. [417] 5. In the words: And now, lest he stretch out his hand 458, and take from the tree of life, and bear it, and live forever, - as I think, a providential distinction is made, according to the work, between [things] incompatible, so that evil does not become immortal, preserved by participation with good. For the Creator of man desires that he, [having already tasted] knowledge that combines opposites, should be unalloyed in relation to himself 459. 1. What do the breasts of laying on and the breast of sharing (Lev. 7:34) offered as a sacrifice to God by the priests mean in Leviticus? 2. I think that “chest” denotes the best and sublime contemplation, and the word “ramo” refers to doing 460 (or the property and implementation of thinking), knowledge and virtue, since by knowledge the mind is directly brought to God Himself, and virtue [carried out] in [spiritual] doing removes it from all [fluid] becoming of beings. This is what the Word assigned to the priests, who had acquired only God as their inheritance and had acquired nothing earthly. 3. Or again: since the hearts of some [people] 461 through the Word of teaching are completely determined by knowledge and virtue, which makes them accepting the spirit of piety and faith, [420] and since they, in their skill and ability for spiritual work, have abandoned [all] worldly care for the corruptible nature, [completely] devoting themselves to the implementation of supernatural and incorruptible goods, to that extent the Word commands for the priests to sacrifice to God the breast of those brought, that is, their heart, and their frame, that is, their work. 1. What is the difference between a mirror and fortune telling (1 Cor. 13:12)? 462 2. The mirror, if we try to define it, is conscience, which, according to [spiritual] work, purely reflects the image of all goods and through which it is inherent for a person who has a pure thought to see God. Or: [the mirror is] a skill in spiritual work, uniformly combining all the virtues with each other and, as it were, enclosing [them] in a [single] divine face. Fortune telling is knowledge [acquired] through complete, as far as is accessible to [human] nature, comprehension in the contemplation of Divine meanings and possessing a reflection of what exceeds thinking 463. And to put it simply: the mirror is a skill that reveals the future image of the prototype of virtues, revealed in worthy [people], for the future goal of active wisdom is, as it were, vaguely discerned in those who possess the “mirror.” And fortune telling is a manifestation of the prototype of what is comprehended by the mind during knowledge 464. 3. So, any righteousness here here, in comparison with the future, has, if we adhere to the statement about the “mirror,” an image of primitive things, and not these things themselves, existing as they are 465. And every local knowledge of things above, in comparison with the future, is “fortune telling”, which has a reflection of the truth, and not the truth itself, which is to become apparent in the future. For since Divine [things] are encompassed by virtue and knowledge, the “mirror” reveals primitive [things] in accordance with virtue, and “divination” reveals primitive [things] in accordance with knowledge 466 . This is the difference between “mirror” and “fortune-telling,” since the “mirror” indicates the future goal of active [philosophy], and “fortune-telling” reveals the secret of contemplative [theology]. [421] 1. What is the voice of one crying in the wilderness and what follows? What does the desert mean, what is the path of the Lord here and what is its preparation? What are His paths and what does it mean to make them straight? What are the debts and what does every debt be filled mean? What are the mountains and hills and what is their depression? What do curvatures mean and how do they straighten? What are the rough paths and how can they be made smooth? And what do [the words spoken] mean after all these: and all flesh will see the salvation of God? (Luke 3:4-6). 2. The voice that cried from the beginning in the wilderness, that is, in human nature or in this world, is obviously every saint of God the Word; or [he is the one who], like Abel (see Gen. 4:4), brings from the purity of [the heart] the first movements of the contemplating soul, weaned in virtues; or [he is the one who], like Enos (see Gen. 4:26), with the help of the firm hope of faith, comprehends the future blessings 468 for which he hoped, and who acquires strong prayer 469; or [he is the one who], like Enoch (see Gen. 5:19-24), through all-pleasing virtue, completely cuts off [his] mind from attachment to beings 470 and from knowledge of them, transferring [it] directly to the most premeditated Cause [of everything]; or [he is the one who], like Noah (see Gen. 6:14-22), contemplating by faith the future types of the Divine Judgment, prepares for himself, like an ark, an ascetic life 471, strengthened on all sides by the fear of God and saving him from future wrath (Matt. 3:7; Luke 3:7) 472; or [he is the one who] like Abraham (cf. Gen. 12:1–9, 22:1–14), beholds with the pure eye of faith the splendor of future blessings, heeding [the voice of the Lord] and zealously leaving [his] land, kinship and the house of his father [his] 473, that is, leaving attachment and addiction to the flesh, feelings and sensual [things] and during temptations and struggles becoming higher than nature, preferring to it the Reason [of this] nature, as the great Abraham [preferred] God to Isaac; or [he is the one who], like Isaac, through the highest dispassion and good insatiability of the soul in contemplation, possessing a skill in virtue and knowledge that cannot depart from the truth 474 (although evil spirits fight with him); or [he is the one who] like Jacob (cf. Gen. 27:11–16, 27:43–28:5), cleanses [his] mind from the shaggyness of material things and mixing with them and thanks to this becomes smooth, and by applying goat skins (I mean by imposing on the flesh the severity of life according to God) he acquires for himself, despite the thoughts of the flesh, power from God and due to the fear of the rebellion of passions and the desire for higher learning through the acquisition of [spiritual] experience moves to Harran - I mean: he moves on to natural contemplation, from which he acquires through active labors all the spiritual knowledge of the visible world, concentrating it in various reasonings and speculations, [424] and then returns again (see Gen. 31:17-21) to his own and fatherly land, that is, he returns to the knowledge of intelligible things, bringing with him, like wives and maidservants 475 , the unshakable skills born by him and the implementation of active and contemplative [philosophy], as well as the sons begotten by the latter are the fruits [of this wisdom]. And simply [to say] - so that [our] speech does not be verbose beyond what is necessary, telling about the life of each [saint] - every saint 476 who has become one through his way of life, as containing within himself the Word 477 loudly uttering commands to other people, is undoubtedly the voice and forerunner of the Word in proportion to the righteousness and faith in him 478 . But of all [these saints], the greatest voice and forerunner of the Word is the great John, without images or symbols, pointing to the true coming of God, proclaiming and revealing Him to [people] unbelievers and openly showing Him who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), and for the Economy [of God], in fulfillment of the mysteries, making a contribution to His ministry at Baptism [Gentlemen] 479 . 3. And since, due to the richness of grace, each, even random letter 480 of Divine Scripture can be comprehended in many different ways for the benefit of those seeking virtue and knowledge, then let us, as far as possible for us, consider the questions posed in a different way. 4. So, the desert, as I said, is the nature of people, this world and the soul of every person, which became barren as a result of the original transgression [of the commandments]. A crying voice is the perception of the Word by the conscience of every sinner, which, as it were, cries out in the recesses of the heart: prepare the way of the Lord. It is obvious and undeniable that the preparation of the Divine path consists of turning to the better and correcting thoughts and morals, as well as cleansing from previous defilements. The beautiful and glorious path is a virtuous life; along it, as if along a path, the [God] Word completes His procession of salvation in each [of us], indwelling [in us] through faith and entering through various institutions and teachings of virtue and knowledge 481. Paths are different ways of [implementing] virtues and different movements of life according to God or morals according to God, which are made straight by those who strive for virtue and care about God’s words, 482 not for the sake of glory, profit, ingratiation, people-pleasing or showing off [their righteousness and learning], but do, speak and think everything for the sake of God. For it is not proper for the Divine Word to remain indirect, even if It discovers a prepared path in someone. What I’m talking about is this: [let’s imagine that] someone fasts, abstains from a lifestyle that excites passion, and is able to do [many] other things that help get rid of vice, and thereby prepared the named path. But he indulges in such methods [of practicing virtue] not in order to do something pleasing to God, but for the sake of vanity, profit, ingratiation, people-pleasing, or for some other reason - such a person did not [425] make the paths of God straight: although he endured the [great] labor of preparing the path, he did not find God walking along his paths. Therefore, the path of the Lord is virtue, and the “straight path” is the correct and truthful way to [implement] this virtue. 5. Let every debt be filled (Isaiah 40:4; Luke 3:5) - of course, [will be filled] with those who have rightly prepared the way for the Lord and made His paths straight, for not just every [debt] and not everyone: after all, [we are not talking about the fate of] those who have not prepared the way for the Lord and have not made His paths straight. Dol 483 is the flesh of each [person], cut by a stormy stream of passions 484, which breaks its connection and combination with the soul according to the spiritual law of the uniting God. Under the valley one can also think of the soul 485, washed away by the showers of ignorance and deprived of the plain splendor in the spirit through the vice of beauty. Therefore, every valley, that is, the flesh or soul of those who prepared the way for the Lord and made His paths straight, will be filled through the rejection of passions that make their valleys uneven, and, acquiring its naturally inherent appearance through the introduction of virtues, it will be leveled in spirit. 6. Let every mountain and hill be made low. The valleys seem to have the ability to contribute in some natural way to the creation of mountains and hills. A mountain is every exalted thing that rebels against the knowledge of God (2 Cor. 10:5), and a hill is every vice that opposes virtue. If the mountains are spirits that produce ignorance, and the hills are [spirits] that create vice, then it is obvious that when every valley, that is, as I said, the flesh or soul of those who prepared the way for the Lord and made His paths straight, is filled with knowledge and virtue thanks to the presence in them of God the Word through [the implementation of] the commandments 486, then all the spirits of false knowledge and spirits of vice will be humbled. They are trampled and subdued by the Word, which overthrows the ascended evil power of human nature and, as it were, tears down to the foundation the greatness and height of the mountains and hills, filling the valleys 487. And indeed, if someone, by the power of the Word, takes possession of everything that is captured contrary to nature by demons who create unnatural ignorance and vice, then the peak of ignorance and vice will never rise, just as there would not be a mountain or a hill of sensually manifested [things], if people had a mechanism for comparing such mountains and hills and for filling the valleys. 7. The lowering of 488 conceivable and evil mountains and hills is a return 489 to their original state of the natural forces of the flesh and soul. As a result of such a return, the God-loving mind, naturally aligned with the wealth of [428] virtue and knowledge, passes with a measured step through this age and without looking back is directed towards the unfading and incorruptible world of intelligible and holy Powers, without wandering due to the voluntary passions of the flesh, which through pleasure lead [us] onto winding [paths], without being tormented by the torment of involuntary temptations and not, out of pity for the flesh, abandoning the path of the commandments as difficult to pass due to the harsh labors of the flesh. 8. Curvatures are straightened 490 when the mind, having freed the members of the body from passions, that is, having cut off the senses and other [bodily structure] from lustful action, teaches them to be set in motion according to the simple meaning of nature, directing them to the Cause from which they originated. Rough paths 491, that is, the onslaught of involuntary temptations, will become smooth paths when the mind, having graciously accepted [all] infirmities, sorrows and needs, [does not cease to be in spiritual] joy and complacency and through involuntary labors deprives the dominion of voluntary passions of all strength. For he who strives for true life knows that any labor 492, voluntary or involuntary, becomes death for pleasure - the mother of death 493; therefore, he will joyfully accept all the rough paths, that is, the onslaughts of involuntary temptations, and, thanks to patience, remaining in joy, he makes sorrows easy and smooth paths, unerringly leading to the honor of the high calling (Phil. 3:14) and among sorrows, piously paving [his] God's path. Thus, he, having completely freed himself by abstinence from the tortuous and confused pleasure, intertwined in many different ways with the senses, 494 makes the rough paths smooth. And with his patience, trampling on the difficult and severe onslaught of [ascetic] labors, he makes the crooked paths smooth. As a result, [such a person], as a reward for virtue 495 and for hard efforts for its sake, since he fought well and lawfully (2 Tim. 2:5), by the desire for virtue conquering pleasure, by the love of knowledge trampling pain and with the help of both 496 courageously enduring Divine struggles, he will see the salvation of God. For it is said: And all flesh shall see the salvation of God (Is. 40:5; Luke 3:6) - of course, all believing flesh, according to [the words]: I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh (Acts 2:17), that is, on believing [flesh]. After all, not all flesh will see the salvation of God, since [this will not happen] with the flesh of the wicked, as the true Word makes clear: Let the wicked be lifted up, and not see the glory of the Lord (Isa. 26:10), but, to clarify, [only] all believing flesh. The Holy Scripture, speaking in particular about the flesh, usually denotes the whole person 497 and, as if exclaiming, [says]: and every man will see the salvation of God - of course, every man who heard the voice crying in the wilderness, prepared the way for the Lord in accordance with the meaning of contemplation given to [him], made His paths straight, filled [his] through tearing down the imaginable and evil mountains. dol - the soul, which, as a result of the transgression of the Divine commandment [429], with its own depression, caused the ascension and elevation of the said evil mountains and hills, 498 with such filling it brought about a decrease in the evil forces, straightened through abstinence the crookedness of voluntary passions, that is, the movement of pleasure, and through patience leveled and made smooth the uneven paths of involuntary temptations that happened to him. Naturally, such a person, having acquired a pure heart, will see God’s salvation. As a result of virtues and pious speculations, he will see God with his heart at the end of [his] zealous deeds, according to [what has been said]: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God (Matthew 5:8) - instead of working for the sake of virtue, perceiving the grace of dispassion, which is most inherent in revealing God to those who possess [it] 499. 9. For those seeking the heights of speculation, another consideration of this is possible: in a soul devoid of passions, as in the desert, [sounds] thanks to the virtues the voice of the secretly crying Divine wisdom and knowledge 500, since the One and Same Word becomes all for everyone (1 Cor. 9:22), adapting to everyone, extending to everyone and bestowing grace in advance, like a voice - a forerunner preparing everyone for His coming. In some it becomes repentance, as a precursor of future righteousness, in others, virtue, as a pre-production of expected knowledge, and in others, knowledge, as an image of the future divine state. And for the contemplative mind, speculatively making the divine ascents of the Word and adapting to each His amazing and humane manifestations, according to which He becomes all things to all, in order to save all (1 Cor. 9:22) through the riches of His goodness (Rom. 2:4), there is simply not enough time [to comprehend all this] 501. [432] 1. The Second Book of Chronicles says about Uzziah that he did what was right before the Lord, and did not seek the Lord in the days of Zechariah, which is understood in the fear of the Lord. And God bless him. And Uzziah built pillars in Jerusalem, and over the corner gate, and over the corner of the valley, and over the corners, and fortified them. And you built pillars in the wilderness, and many treasures of fossils, [433] having many cattle in Sephil and in the fields, and vine workers in the mountains and in Carmel, for you were a farmer (2 Chronicles 26:4-10) 502. What are these pillars, the pillar above the gate of the corner, the pillar above the gate of the valley and the corner itself? And what are corners and pillars in the desert? What are dug treasures and cattle? What is Sephila, the plain and the vine workers? What is a mountainous country 503 and Carmel and what do [the words mean]: be a farmer? 2. Come, O most praiseworthy Word of God, grant us a revelation of Your sayings commensurate with us and, having removed the whiteness of [bodily] coverings, show us, Christ, the beauty of the spiritual meaning 504. Take our right hand, that is, the mental strength that is in us, and guide us in the path of Your commandments (Ps. 119:35); lead [us] to Your wondrous place of habitation, even to the house of God 505, in the voice of joy and confession of the noise of the celebrants (Ps. 42:5), so that we, through confession in [spiritual] work and through joy in contemplation, may be worthy to enter Your indescribable place of meal, join the noise of those spiritually celebrating there, silent with the voices of the mind, chanting the knowledge of the unspeakable. And forgive me, O Christ, and have mercy on me, who dared, for the sake of the commandment of Thy worthy servants, to exceed [my] strength. Enlighten my unenlightened thought to contemplate what is before us, so that I may be even more glorified by You, who opens the eyes of the blind and makes clear the tongue of the wicked (see Is. 35: 5–6). 3. I believe that just as Solomon was for the time being a kind of prototype of Christ God, so Uzziah was a kind of prototype of the Savior. Translated into Greek, the name Uzziah means “the power of God,” and our Lord Jesus Christ, the stone who was at the head of the corner (Ps. 117:22), that is, [at the head] of the Church, is the natural Power and hypostatic Power of God and the Father. For just as an angle becomes the connection of two walls, so the Church of God becomes the unity of two peoples: a people who are from the tongues, and a people who are from the Jews, having as the bond of Christ 506, who created the pillars in Jerusalem (2 Chron. 26:9), that is, the vision of the world 507, or the first, Divine and indestructible, meanings of the dogmas about the Divinity, which are strongholds; and also [who erected pillars] over the gates of the corner 508, that is, the meanings of the dogmas about the Incarnation. For the gate and door of the Church is Himself who says: I am the door (John 10:9); gates that have pillars, that is, strongholds of the Divine dogmas about the Incarnation, - through them, guarding the corner, that is, the Church, those who want to believe correctly must enter. After all, [a person], protected by the pillars of Divine dogmas, as strongholds of truth, is not afraid of slandering speeches or slandering demons. [436] 4. And above the vale angle 509. The vale is flesh, and the angle is the connection of this flesh with the soul by combination in the spirit 510. Pillars are erected on the vale, that is, strongholds of the commandments, and on them are dogmas, accepted through careful study 511 in order to preserve the connection of soul with flesh, indissoluble, like an angle. 5. And over the corners he created pillars (2 Chronicles 26:9). Perhaps the Scriptures call the angles 512 the various unions of separated creatures carried out by Christ. For He united man, mysteriously eliminating by the Spirit the difference between the male and female sexes and making the meaning of nature (which is the same in both man and woman) free from passionate properties. He united the earth, banishing the difference between the sensory paradise and the inhabited earth. He also united earth and heaven, showing that the single nature of sensory [things] gravitates towards itself. He also united sensible and intelligible [things], revealing the one existing nature of creatures, combined together by some mysterious reason. Finally, He united the created nature with the uncreated 513 in accordance with the supernatural meaning and method. And over each connection, that is, the corner, He erected pillars 514 - connecting and combining strongholds of Divine dogmas 515. 6. And you built pillars in the wilderness (2 Chronicles 26:9) 516. The desert is the nature of visible [things] or this world, in which it is proper for the Word to erect pillars. It grants to those who ask pious opinions about beings, that is, [grants] in the spirit the right meanings of dogmas relating to natural contemplation. 7. And there were many treasures of fossils, for there were many cattle in Sephil and in Polya; and the vineyard workers on the mountains and on Carmel, who are farmers (2 Chronicles 26:9). Treasures 517 The Lord digs in the desert, I mean - in the world and human nature, digging up the hearts of the worthy, cleansing [them] from material heaviness and [carnal] thoughts, making them spacious for receiving the Divine rains of wisdom and knowledge, so that the cattle of Christ, that is, those who, due to the infancy of [their] soul, need moral teaching 518, may drink from [these treasures]. 8. Cattle in Sephil 519. Sephila is interpreted as “tight tub.” It denotes those who are cleansed by involuntary temptations and whitened 520 from mental and physical filth - they need to be watered, like water, with the teaching of patience and endurance. 9. And on poly 521; these are those who dwell on the plain of right deeds, [437] quickly achieving prosperity, or those who achieve success in the [list of] virtues and dispassionately flourish in the law of the commandments - they also need to be imbued with the word about humility, compassion for the weaker and thanksgiving for the benefits given [to them]. 10. And the vine workers on the mountains and on Carmel. The vinedressers who are in the mountainous country 522 are those who, on the heights of contemplation, diligently cultivate the Divine, emanating from the knowledge and heart, the joyful teaching 523 . The vinedressers who are on Carmel 524 are those who, in accordance with sublime contemplation, strive in the doctrine of complete purification and complete renunciation of existing things. For "Carmel" is interpreted as "the knowledge of circumcision"; the cultivator of the vineyard at Carmel cultivates the mysterious doctrine of circumcision, circumcising the mind from matter and material [things] according to knowledge, but not counting shame as glory in the Jewish way 525. Scripture says that these [cultivators] also need the moisture of God’s Wisdom, [obtained] from a spring cut out in the desert, so that everyone, in proportion to [their] faith, receives the necessary understanding from those who believe in the grace of the teaching of the saving Word. Through this, our Lord Jesus Christ, who exists and has always been a wonderful and knowledgeable Farmer, nobly cares for every soul, accomplishing everything indicated for the sake of our salvation. 11. This is how we briefly examined, according to one method [of contemplation], the questions proposed [to us], pointing to our Lord Jesus Christ. According to another way [of contemplation], these [questions], considered in the meaning inherent in each of them separately, have the deepest meaning for the achievement of perfection by those who are protected by the fear and love of the Lord. Before I come into contact with their contemplation, I am faced with one difficulty and wonder how Uzziah, being, according to the historical narrative, the king of Judah, could have cultivators of grapes on Carmel, which does not belong to the kingdom of Judah, but belongs to the kingdom of Israel; the city of the kingdom of Israel itself was built near this mountain. But it seems that Scripture, [440] urging our sluggish mind to investigate the truth, mixed [in this case] something non-existent into the fabric of the historical narrative 526 . 12. Therefore, Uzziah is a mind that has acquired Divine power for [spiritual] work and contemplation; for, as I said, [the name Uzziah] is interpreted as “the power of God.” [The Scripture] says: And Uzziah sought the Lord in the days of Zechariah, knowing in the fear of the Lord (2 Chronicles 26:5). [Name] Zechariah is interpreted as “remembrance of God.” Therefore, the mind, since the remembrance of God is alive in it, seeks the Lord through contemplation; and not just [seeks], but seeks in the passion of the Lord 527, that is, in doing the commandments. After all, he who seeks the Lord by contemplation without doing does not find Him, because he did not seek the Lord in the fear of the Lord. 13. And the Lord prosper him. For the Lord is favorable to everyone who accomplishes [spiritual] work with the help of knowledge, teaching him the ways of [implementing] the commandments and revealing to him the true meanings of things. 14. Uzziah built pillars in Jerusalem. He who successfully succeeds in seeking the Lord through contemplation and with the help of the appropriate fear [of God], that is, with the help of doing the commandments, creates pillars 528 in Jerusalem, that is, he erects the meanings of the Divine according to the simple and calm dispensation of [his] soul. 15. And above the gate of the corner. The gate of the corner, that is, church faith, is pious living, through which we inherit a good destiny. On this life, the knowing mind builds, like powerful and impressive pillars, strongholds of the Divine dogmas about the Incarnation, composed, as if from certain stones, from various speculations, and also erects methods of [implementing] virtues, intended to protect the work of the commandments. 16. And over the valley corner. The vale is the flesh, and the angle is its connection with the soul through the law of commandments. On it is erected, like a pillar, the faculty of discernment, which, according to the law of the Spirit, subordinates the flesh to the soul. 17. And over the corners. [Scripture] says that there are many corners over which a mind strong in God erects pillars. After all, an angle is not only a connection, in accordance with the meaning of being, of parts with common [principles] relating to the same nature, such as, for example, [the connection] of individuals with the species to which they belong, of species with genera and genera with essence, when these parts, being extremely distant from each other, are combined with each other as something single, and in them the meanings of universality are manifested 529, which, like angles, create numerous and diverse connections of separated [parts], but [the angle] is also a connection of the mind with feeling, heaven with earth, sensible [things] 530 with intelligible things, and nature with [its] meaning - having rooted in all of them, according to its own knowledge, true opinions about each, the contemplative mind erects spiritual pillars, that is, teachings about connections, which are the connecting principle of these connections. [441] 18. And strengthen, and build pillars in the wilderness, and many treasures of fossils. One who has been able to withdraw the senses from passions and separate the soul from attachment to the senses becomes strong enough to wall off the mind from the invasion of the devil through the senses. Therefore, he is in the desert, that is, in natural contemplation, and erects, like unshakable pillars, pious ideas about beings. He who has found refuge in them is no longer afraid of the 531 demons who indulge in robbery in this desert, that is, in the nature of visible [things], through the senses misleading the mind and drawing it into the darkness of ignorance. 19. And there are many treasures of fossils - of course, [having acquired] various skills at the best, capable of accommodating the sciences given by God in knowledge 532. 20. Since there were many cattle in Sephila and in the fields, and vineyard workers in the mountains and in Carmel, he was a farmer. He who legitimately fights for the truth, striking enemies on the right and on the left, [draws] from various skills in virtue and knowledge, as if from dug out tanks 533, exercises for the endurance of cattle in Sephila, that is, the movements of the body and soul developed and tested through involuntary temptations, and infuses the meanings of patience 534. He also waters the [cattle] for the poly, that is, the movements of the soul that prosper in the field of virtues thanks to right [deeds]; It will also impart the meaning of humility and moderation in passions in order not to fall [into the hands of enemies] who are on the left, and to be impregnable for [the enemies] who are on the right. 21. And the vineyard workers on the mountains and on Carmel. The vineyard workers on the mountains are pious thoughts, abiding at the height of contemplation and striving for ecstatic and ineffable knowledge 535 . And [the grape makers] on Carmel are thoughts that cultivate the mind, achieve its complete dispassion and remove from it, like the foreskin on the reproductive member of the soul, all sorts of [sensual sensations] - they mentally circumcise the mind, completely [freeing it] from attachment to material [things]. For Carmel is the knowledge of circumcision. 22. [Scripture] says that Uzziah is a farmer, since every mind that has the power of God for contemplation is also a true farmer, diligently and diligently protecting the pure and Divine seeds of goods from the tares, having to the end the remembrance of God preserving it. For it is said: And in the days of Zechariah he sought the Lord in the fear of the Lord. Scripture implies that [name] Zechariah translated into Greek [means] “remembrance of God.” Therefore, we should always ask the Lord to ensure that the remembrance of Him is preserved in us and that the successes achieved do not corrupt the soul, raised to heights and, like Uzziah, striving to encroach on what is above nature. [445] 1. What do the words mean in the same book: And Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib came, and his face went to war against Jerusalem. And he took counsel with his elders and with the mighty, so that the waters of the springs that flow outside the city may be contained, and he will do what he pleases. And gathered together many people, and brought in the waters of the fountains, and a stream flowing in the midst of the city (2 Chronicles 32:2-4)? What does [Holy Scripture] want to designate with these [words], according to [spiritual] contemplation? 2. Hezekiah is a mind that, with the help of knowledge, diligently engages in active philosophy and is surrounded, for protection from the opposing force, with all the divine faculty of discernment [448] in accordance with its name, interpreted as “Divine power”; therefore he reigns over Jerusalem, that is, over the soul 536, and over the vision of the world, that is, over speculative contemplation, detached from passions. When he saw an opposing force moving against him, he duly began to consult with the elders and his strongmen in order to contain the waters of the springs that were outside the city. And the leaders 537 of such a mind are the word of faith, the word of hope and the word of love, which, by seniority, rule over all Divine speculations and thoughts in the soul and give wise advice to the mind, therefore they assist in the fight against the opposing force, indicating ways to destroy it. Without faith, hope and love (see 1 Cor. 13:13), none of the evils is completely destroyed and no good [deed] is accomplished at all. For faith convinces the mind involved in [spiritual] warfare to resort [for help] to God 538, and it becomes for it consolation and firm hope [for the strength] of the incorporeal armor prepared [for the battle]. Hope finds its lasting existence in the mind from the Divine most unfalse guarantee and help, promising the destruction of opposing forces. Love prepares the mind to rest firmly on Divine love, without retreating a single step from it [in the heat of spiritual] warfare, and nails down all the strength of its aspiration to divine attraction. 3. These words also correspond to the names of the chiefs, subject to [correct] interpretation. Hezekiah’s leaders at that time were Eliakim, the son of Hilkiev, a builder, and Somnas, a book reader, and Isah, the son of Asaph, a writer (see 2 Kings 18:18). “Eliakim” is interpreted as “The Resurrection of God” 539, and [the name of] his father, “Helki”, is interpreted as “a part of God.” Therefore, the first and only son of “God’s part,” that is, true knowledge, is the doctrine of our Divine resurrection corresponding to faith, which, with the help of a strategy 540 appropriate to knowledge, or discernment, successfully dispels [the forces of] rebellious temptations, voluntary or involuntary. And the name of Somnas, the scribe, is interpreted as “conversion” 541, clearly indicating the abundant word of Divine hope, without which it is in no way possible for anyone to turn to God, because the property of hope is teaching or instruction, it makes the future visible as if it were the present, and convinces those with whom the opposing force is fighting not to depart from the shield of God covering them [449] for the sake of Whom and because of Whom [spiritual] warfare is waged with the saints. [The name of] Joah, the writer, is interpreted as “the brotherhood of God,” and the name of his father, Asaph, as “the congregation” 542. Therefore, from the gathering together around Divine [objects] and the unity of spiritual forces, that is, the strength of reason, desire and fury, love is born. As a result of this love, those who have already acquired, through grace, equality of honor with God, imprint in [their] memory the beauty of Divine maturity - for it is obvious that brotherhood means the grace of equality - and have in the ruling principle of the writing and imprinting soul an inescapable impulse towards the pure beauty of Divine love. 4. And since this is the case with this, then from the interpretation of the names the word of truth is discerned: every mind that, like Hezekiah, is girded with God's power, acquires rational strength for itself, like certain elders and rulers 543; from it is inherent to be born a knowing faith, according to which [the mind] ineffably learns about the ever-present God and through hope communicates with the future as with the present. [The mind also acquires] the desired force, thanks to which Divine love arises - through this love, voluntarily nailed by an attraction to the pure Divinity, [the mind] has an indissoluble attraction to the Desired. Finally, [the mind] also acquires a fierce strength, thanks to which it firmly holds on to the Divine world, strengthening [with it] the movement of desire towards Divine love. And every mind has these powers that assist it in the destruction of vice, as well as in the formation and preservation of virtue; they are like elders because they are the first and fundamental parts of the essence of the soul; They are also similar to leaders, for they rule over mental movements that take their source in them 544, and thanks to the will of the moving mind, they have power over the actions produced by these forces 545. They give advice to the mind and strengthen [it], telling [it] that the waters of the springs should be contained, that is, those waters that are outside the city. For always that which is past in the plane of history becomes, through [spiritual] contemplation, as if present in a mystical image. Possessing these healthy and not subject to deception [forces, the mind] gathers many people, that is, pious and natural impulses and thoughts that originate from these [forces]. The waters that are outside the city 546, that is, outside the soul, producing a stream flowing in the middle of the city, are thoughts corresponding to natural contemplation: they are transmitted through each of the senses from [any] sensory [thing] into this [contemplation] and flow into the soul. From these, a teaching about the knowledge of sensual [things] is formed that passes, like a stream, through the [entire] soul, as if through a city, and as long as the soul has this teaching passing through it, it does not reject from itself the images and representations of sensual [things], through which it is inherent in the evil and destructive force to raise a battle against it. [452] Therefore Hezekiah says: Let the king of Assyria not come, and find much water, and be strong (2 Chronicles 32:4); With these words, the discriminating mind seems to turn to its powers during the uprising of the passions: “Let us refrain from natural contemplation 547 and turn to prayer alone and the mortification of the body in accordance with active wisdom (the image of their prayer is the ascent of the king to the church of God, and the image of bodily mortification is the clothing of [Hezekiah] in sackcloth)” (see. 2 Kings 19:1), so that the insidiously lurking evil one does not mix 548 into the speculations of sensible things the images and types of them, through which passions 549 are usually formed, [arising] around the external faces of visible [creatures], when the action of our mind finds peace around intelligible [things], passing [to them] through the senses, and so that [this evil one] having grown stronger, he did not devastate the city, that is, the soul, and did not drag [it with him] to Babylon, that is, into a confusion of passions. 5. Therefore, whoever, during the uprising of passions, courageously closed his senses, completely rejecting daydreaming and remembering about sensory [things], and completely humbled the natural movements of the mind [directed] to the study of external things, he, like Hezekiah, shut up the waters of the springs that were outside the city, stopped the stream flowing in the middle of the city, and strengthened himself in this city along with the named forces and the multitude of people gathered (I mean the pious thoughts of each force). Thus, having won victory with the help of the right hand of God, he disgraced the evil and tyrannical power that had risen against him, by the command of God, striking, as if by some Angel, with reason, which is inherent in destroying passions, one hundred and eighty-five thousand (see 2 Kings 19:35), that is, a skill that produces depravity, through the senses, counterintuitively fused with the three forces of the soul 550, as well as the action of the senses carried out in these [forces]. 6. So, at a time when evil demons are attacking [the soul], one must not give freedom to natural contemplation so that the knowing mind can avoid invisible entanglements 551, and one must not do anything else, but must only pray, tame the body with labor, with all diligence mortify the earthly mind and guard the walls of the city (I mean virtues that protect souls or ways of preserving virtues 552, that is, abstinence and patience) through innate good thoughts 553 so that not a single thought at all conflicts with any of the thoughts of [our] spiritual enemies coming from without 554, and so that the mind, deceived by [the enemies standing] on the right hand 555, does not fall away from God. [453] Otherwise, the military commander of the Assyrian king Sennacherib, Rapsaks, who speaks Hebrew (see 2 Kings 18:26) and fills the soul with muddy corruption (Hab. 2:15), secretly stealing the desire [for the Divine], will carry away the thought that seeks the beautiful to the worse, offering it [instead of genuine goods] false benefits. [Name] “Rapsak” is interpreted as “one who kisses many” or “who has strong kisses.” For the crafty demon, accustomed to fight with the mind through the successes achieved and “speaking Jewish” through virtue, taken for such, but is not it, intoxicates the soul with muddy corruption, showing it deceptive and destructive friendship - and [as is known,] wounds inflicted by a friend are better than such caresses, for it is said: The wounds of a friend are more reliable than a free kiss enemy (Proverbs 27:6) 556. [Name] "Sennacherib" is interpreted as "the temptation of dryness" or "sharpened teeth" 557; he is the devil, who, with the help of thoughts sharpened for evil (it seems to me that they are precisely “sharpened teeth”), drying up the stream flowing from the Divine keys of knowledge in us, receives the appropriate sound of the name according to the action it produces in those who allow it. For it truly exists and is called “the temptation of dryness,” since it deprives those who fall into its traps of any distribution of spiritual and life-giving [moisture]. 7. Or it is possible that Sennacherib, that is, the devil, is called “the temptation of dryness” 558 because he is poor, meager and deprived of all his own power to rebel against us and without sensory [things], through which he usually wages war with the soul, he cannot harm us in any way. Therefore, for the planned tyranny over us, he needs sources outside the city, that is, in material thoughts, along with which visible forms and types of sensory [things] tend to invade the soul. The feeling that they form through its natural connection [with these things] often becomes for the devil an evil and destructive weapon that destroys the divine beauty of the soul, and through the flattery of pleasure it delivers into the hands of the enemy all the power of the Word that is in us 559 . 8. But the one who courageously closes his senses through rational abstinence 560 and with the help of spiritual powers protects his mind with a wall from the invasion of external forms of sensory [things], he easily destroys the crafty siege weapons of the devil. With shame, he returns the devil to the path that he walked - and this path 561 along which the devil walked are material things that seem to serve for the formation of the body 562 - [and forces him to go] to his own land (I mean [material and sinful] confusion) 563. He kills the devil with the help of evil thoughts generated by the devil himself, moving them [to an area] close to [spiritual] peace 564. For whoever was able to defeat the devil with the help of his own thoughts, using them in contemplation to [achieve] the best, kills Sennacherib through his sons and expels them into the land of Armenia 565, moving, of course, to the [region] close to [spiritual] peace, thoughts that confuse the soul through feeling. For “Armenia” is interpreted as “[a region] close to [spiritual] peace” 566. And this area is the implementation of 567 divine virtues; [456] the mind, moving into it the thoughts that once attracted it to the dishonest passions of feeling, kills the devil, who gave birth to these thoughts for the destruction of human nature. 9. Therefore, Hezekiah acted correctly, wisely and in accordance with the intelligible meaning of Scripture, by shutting up the waters of the springs that were outside Jerusalem, in view of the [invasion] of Sennacherib, king of Assyria. The sources that were outside the city, that is, outside the soul, are all sensible [things]; the waters of these sources are thoughts about the sensory; the stream flowing in the middle of the city is the knowledge collected during natural contemplation 568 from thoughts about the sensory, which passes through the middle of the soul and is the boundary between the mind and feeling. After all, knowledge of sensory [things] is not something completely alien to mental power; although it does not relate entirely to the action of feeling, it represents a kind of intermediate link that allows the mind to come into contact with feeling and feeling with mind and produces their combination with each other; according to the feeling and according to the [material] image 569 it is imprinted by the [external] forms of sensory [things], and according to the mind it changes the external images [of these things] into the meanings of the forms 570. Therefore, such knowledge of visible things is quite rightly called a stream flowing in the middle of a city, since it is something intermediate between the extreme limits (I mean between the mind and the senses). Locking this knowledge during the harassment of passions, in view of the damage caused by the invasion of the mind by the forms of material [things], the one who, together with knowledge, dissolves the invisible tangles of crafty demons, kills one hundred eighty-five thousand (I mean - kills the skill that produces depravity and is counterintuitively fused, as I said, through sensory [things] with the three forces of the soul, as well as the action of the senses, carried out in these [forces], that is, the counter-rational action of natural forces on the senses). For the sixfold number 571, composed either of units, or tens, or hundreds, or some other number, denotes a skill that produces either virtue or vice, in proportion to the multiplication of the combination, representing to those knowledgeable in the science of numbers the mental disposition corresponding to this or that skill. The number five, when combined, added or added to the number six, denotes the feelings or the strength, skill and action of these feelings: these strength, skill and action are either combined, or applied or added to the natural forces of the soul 572. For example, if the number five combines in units with six, as a prime with a prime, then it represents an inclination that acts creatively on the senses through [natural] force 573; if the simple number five, consisting of units, is added to the complex number six, consisting of many [numbers], then it denotes a skill that, in accordance with [natural] force, acts on the senses; and if the complex number five, consisting of many [numbers], is also added with the complex number six, again consisting of many [numbers], then it denotes an activity carried out in the senses according to strength, skill and action, or it denotes the completion of a virtue or vice. Therefore, the number can be used [457] both in a commendable and in a shameful sense - in relation to the passage of Scripture under consideration or being studied. 10. A sixfold number made up of tens produces [the number] sixty; and sixty, tripled due to the three generic forces of the soul, and by adding [the number] five, due to innate [us] feelings, produces the number one hundred and eighty-five. It denotes, in relation to this passage of Scripture, a vicious habit of natural forces acting on the senses: this habit is killed with the help of the word of knowledge, as if with the help of some angel, by a mind that trusts more in prayer than in its own power, and considers God alone to be the cause of all success [in spiritual progress] and all victory over demons. Therefore, the one who, during the uprising of temptations, abstains from natural contemplation and only intensifies in prayer, gathering his mind together and turning it to God, such a person kills the vicious habit of natural forces that move contrary to nature and act on the feelings, and with shame puts the devil to flight, rejecting the said skill, after which he confidently and with his inherent arrogance entered the soul [the evil one] through arrogant thoughts exalted above the truth. 11. Probably the great David, who has rich experience in spiritual warfare, knowing about this, experiencing and doing it, says: When the sinner stood before me, I was dumb and humbled, and kept silent from good things (Ps. 39: 2-3). Following him, the divine Jeremiah commands [his] people not to come out of the city, because the sword of the enemy dwells around (Jer. 6:25). And if blessed Abel had observed this and had not gone out with Cain into the field 574, that is, had not gone out onto the plain of natural contemplation before [achieving] dispassion, then Cain, who exists and is called the law of the flesh, would not have rebelled and killed him (see Gen. 4:8) with the help of deception, luring him to [do] good deeds in accordance with the contemplation of existing until [acquiring] perfect skill [in virtues]. The first man Adam, who gave birth to the law of sin, which God did not create for him in paradise, also acquired the first fruit of crime - according to the meaning of the name “Cain”, for this name is interpreted as “acquisition” 575. Likewise, Dinah, the daughter of the great Jacob, if she had not gone out with the daughters of the natives, that is, with sensual dreams, then Shechem, the son of Hamor, would not have attacked her and would not have humiliated her (see Gen. 34: 1–2). [460] [Name] "Shechem" is interpreted as "back", and [name] "Hemor" - as "donkey", that is, "body". And the back, that is, Shechem, is the rear, and not the front, law of Hamor, that is, the body; it follows [after the body], and is not primary [in relation to it] 576. For at the beginning or in advance, before the transgression of the Divine commandment occurred, this human body, that is, Hamor, did not have the law of sin, I mean Shechem, but subsequently, as a result of the transgression, this law of sin was attached to the body. The True Word 577, having seen this law, called it, because of its later occurrence, Shechem, that is, back or back, since back, according to the natural order of things, means back. Therefore, before [achieving] perfect skill [in the virtues], we should not begin natural contemplation, lest we, rushing from visible creatures in search of spiritual meanings, unnoticedly gather passions. For among [people] who have not achieved perfection, the external forms of visible [things] dominate the senses rather than the meanings of creatures hidden in these forms control the soul. [466] 1. What do the words mean in the same book: And Hezekiah the king, and Isaiah the son of Amoz the prophet, prayed for these, and cried out to heaven. And the Lord sent an angel, and struck down all the brave men and warriors, and commanders and commanders in half the army of the king of Assyria: and return his face with shame to his land (2 Chronicles 32:20-21)? 2. Although the word of Holy Scripture is described in letter, finding its end along with the times in which historical events took place, in spirit it always remains indescribable thanks to the contemplation of intelligible [things] 578 . And none of those who are dissatisfied can doubt this 579, knowing that the God who speaks [in Scripture] is by nature indescribable. Therefore, those who sincerely desire to understand the meaning of Scripture should believe that the Word spoken by God is very like Himself. For it is clear that if the speaking God is essentially indescribable 580 , then the Word spoken by Him is also indescribable 581 . 3. Therefore, spiritually considering what happened educationally 582 in the time of Hezekiah and which found [its natural] limit, contemplating the fulfillment of the events narrated, we will be amazed at the wisdom of the writing Holy Spirit 583: how consonant and appropriate for each of those participating in human nature is the meaning of what is written! Therefore, anyone who wants to become a disciple of God the Word and does not recognize anything that is fleetingly existing and finite as equal to virtue, can be in the spirit of Hezekiah and another Isaiah; [he can] freely raise his prayers and his voice to heaven, be heard and receive from God [sent to him] through an Angel [help], bringing death and destruction to those who wage spiritual warfare with him. And the one who speculatively and according to Christ receives the Holy Scripture into his soul should work diligently on the interpretation of the names: from this interpretation the whole thought of what is written can be explained, unless, of course, the subject of concern [of the student] is the exact comprehension of the written words and he does not strive, in a Jewish way, to bring down to earth and to the body the heights of the Spirit and limit the divine and pure promises of intelligible goods to the corruption of transitory [things], as [do] some of our [468] so-called Christians 584 . They, having secretly accepted [this Jewish understanding], blaspheme the falsely appropriated name of Christ, and by their actions completely and clearly deny the meaning of this name, following the path opposite to Christ, which [our] word will briefly show... 585 4. For, together with other sacraments inaccessible to reason, God, who became man, came into this [sacrament] to spiritually fulfill the Law, abolishing the letter, and to raise up and make manifest its life-giving [principle] (I mean the Law), having taken away [the] killing [principle]. After all, according to the divine Apostle, the killing [beginning] of the Law is the letter, and its life-giving [beginning] is the spirit, according to the words: the letter kills, but the spirit gives life (2 Cor. 3:6). There is no doubt that they chose a destiny opposite to Christ, and did not recognize the whole mystery of His Incarnation, those who buried the power of their thoughts in the letter, not wanting to be in the image 586 and in the likeness of God (Gen. 1:26), but striving, at the threat of [God], to be earth and to go into earth (see Gen. 3:19). After all, the letter is connected with the earth, and the spirit with the sky: in the air, that is, in the mental illumination, in the clouds, that is, in sublime contemplations, they will be caught up to meet the Lord, and so they will always be with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:17) 587 only those who, thanks to knowledge, prefer [the spirit to the letter]. It is fair to grieve for those who, out of ignorance, took upon themselves the unbearable punishment of falling away from the truth, and one should grieve for the fact that they give rise to the strengthening of Jewish unbelief. We, having allowed them to do as they want, move on to our discussion, beginning our study with the interpretation of names. 5. [Name] "Hezekiah" is interpreted as "the power of God", [the name of] his father, "Ahas" 588 - "power". [Name] “Isaiah” is interpreted as “the ascension of God,” that is, “the height of God,” and [the name of] his father, “Amos,” is interpreted as “the people of labor.” Therefore, virtue becomes the “power of God,” destroying passions and protecting virtuous thoughts; “power”, understood spiritually 589, [is that power] through which we, with the assistance of God (or rather, by the power of God alone), destroy the forces that are contrary to good and evil. And the “height of God” is the knowledge 590 of truth, which gives rise to the work of contemplating created [things]; exploits of virtues during [spiritual] work become the fathers of labor 591, and through this [doing] [469] the power of lies, which is opposite to the truth, is completely destroyed: these exploits humble and overthrow all exaltation that rebels against the knowledge of God (2 Cor. 10:5), evil spirits. 6. Prayer is asking for those [goods] that it is inherent in God to bestow on people for their salvation. And this is absolutely fair. For if prayer is a promise of good [deeds] brought to God by people under vow, then prayer, in all likelihood, will undoubtedly be a request for those benefits that are provided to people from God for their salvation: it rewards [a hundredfold] those who pray for their good spiritual disposition 592. 7. The cry is an increase and increase during the uprising of the crafty demons of virtuous methods corresponding to [spiritual] work, and knowledgeable speculations corresponding to contemplation - it is especially heard naturally by God, who, instead of a loud voice, perceives the spiritual disposition of those who care about virtue and knowledge. 8. In the Holy Scriptures, God Himself is often called heaven, as the great herald of Truth John the Baptist says: A person cannot take upon himself anything unless it is given to him from heaven (John 3:27), that is, from God. Because every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights (James 1:17); in accordance with this, the previous passage of Scripture must be understood in a similar way. But Scripture also designates the heavenly powers with the word “heaven,” according to the saying: Heaven is My throne (Is. 66:1), since [God] rests among the holy and incorporeal natures. And if someone also calls the human mind, purified from all material dreams and adorned with the Divine meanings of intelligible [things], heaven, then, it seems to me, he will not deviate from the truth. If someone designates [the word] “heaven” the height of intellectual knowledge in people, then he will again not sin against proper [understanding]. And indeed, the true knowledge of God 593 becomes, as it were, the throne of God, receiving God ascending to the throne, in accordance with the unchanging habit of sublime and unshakable striving for the beautiful. And the pure doing of virtues is called, as it were, the footstool [of God], since it takes upon itself the Divine feet, not allowing them to be at all defiled by [contact with] the impurities of the body, as if by [contact with] the earth. 9. Consequently, King Hezekiah bears [on himself] the image of virtue according to the interpretation of his name, for in Greek it means “the power of God,” and virtue alone is this power that can withstand opposing forces; [the name] of Hezekiah’s father, “Ahas,” is interpreted as the “power” that the Word, anticipating [enemy attacks], provided [to man] for [spiritual work], - from it it is inherent in the Divine power to be born according to virtue. [472] The name of the prophet Isaiah means knowledge of things above, since it is interpreted as “the height of God,” and represents the height of knowledge according to God: it is born of labor, based on various speculations regarding things, for, as was said earlier, [the name] “Amos” means “people of labor.” And if this is the meaning and meaning of the names, then it is obvious that every wise and pious [man] 594, vigilant with the help of virtue and knowledge, action and contemplation, when he sees the evil power rising against him through the passions, as the king of Assyria [revolted] against Hezekiah, for liberation from evils, he trusts in the help of God, and he propitiates God, all the time strengthening, accordingly virtue and knowledge, your inexpressible [prayerful] cry [to Him]. Then he receives an Angel as an ally and for his salvation, that is, a more powerful word of wisdom and knowledge, striking all the brave men and warriors, and the commanders and commanders in the half-guild 595 of the king of Assyria: and return his face with shame to his land (2 Chronicles 32:20-21). 10. The evil and destructive kingdom of the devil, [symbolically] depicted by the Assyrian kingdom, goes to war against people, fighting against virtue and knowledge; it plots to put the soul to flight through the forces innate to people: it irritates desire, [transforming it] into a desire for the unnatural, and inclines to prefer sensory [things] to intelligible ones; rage excites her to fight for the sensual object chosen by desire, and the rational principle teaches her to invent ways of sensual pleasures; and so that sensible [things] may rule and rule over the powers, that is, over the powers of the soul, it ordains the earthly law. 11. Scripture calls a brave man a wicked demon who attaches himself to desire and inflames it to indecent desires for shameful pleasures, for there is nothing stronger and more compelling than a natural desire 596. Scripture calls a demon who is beset by rage and is ready to constantly fight for pleasure. The boss is called [a demon] who invisibly grows together with the phenomena of sensory [things] and through each feeling cunningly attracts the desire of the soul to itself. Scripture called him a leader, since a sensual thing that has grown [to the soul] is inherent in ruling over every passion. For without this thing 597 passion can never arise, attracting the forces of the soul to itself through one or another feeling. [Scripture] calls a governor a demon who abuses the power of the thinking [part of] the soul to invent vices and to find all sorts of ways to [satisfy] them. 12. The face of the devil is the smoothness of pleasure 598, thanks to which he tends to have dominion over every soul possessed by him and preferring sensual [things], which lead to temptation, sensations, to contemplation, which feeds the mind with spiritual [food]. This person is put to shame by the one who [473] through prayer [always] cares about the word of wisdom [sent] from God and defeating every evil power, that is, completely destroying the evil tyranny that torments the soul. For Scripture says “destroyed,” and not “blotted out,” since “blotting out” 599 is the abolition of the mere implementation of a passionate action, and “destroying” is the complete destruction of evil impulses in thought. 13. The land of the king of Assyria (I mean [the land] of the crafty demon - the ancestor of evil 600) is a harsh and tough habit in vice and ignorance 601, devoid of any vital warmth of virtue and any intelligent light of knowledge; the lonely devil returns to this land, who, after an [unsuccessful] attempt to conquer, could not resettle Jerusalem into his own habit, that is, a God-loving and most dispassionate soul, having in itself, like Hezekiah, the perfect word of action and, like Isaiah, possessing a mind, enlightened knowledge: they propitiate God and with the help of an Angel destroy the evil power. 14. This is how I understand these passages [of Holy Scripture] - according to my inherent ability [of understanding]. If anyone can perceive what has been said in a more sublime sense, let him please both himself and us by presenting, as he should, this more valuable meaning of what is written. For, as I have already said, the essence of Holy Scripture is indescribable: on the contrary, it describes all those who speak, while itself remaining indescribable for them 602. Therefore, even if I said something in accordance with my ability [of understanding], then this [in itself] is bold. But I by no means grasped [with my mind] the entire meaning of what was written, since this meaning infinitely exceeds my strength. [476] 1. And the Shah brought many gifts to the Lord in Jerusalem, and Hezekiah's gifts to the king of Judah, and he became exalted above the scale of all tongues (2 Chronicles 32:23). What are gifts and what are giving? Why are gifts [brought] to God, and donations to the king? And what do [the words] mean: he was exalted before the sweep of all tongues? 2. God brought into being all visible nature, but He did not allow it to be moved in accordance with feeling alone, but sowed into each of the species that constitute this nature the spiritual meanings of Wisdom and ways of polite behavior, so that not only through silent creatures the Creator of them, who is the meaning of [His] creatures, would be eloquently proclaimed, but also so that man, brought up by natural laws and ways [behavior], could easily find the path of righteousness leading to Him 603. 3. For it was characteristic of the highest Goodness [of God] not only to establish the divine and incorporeal essences of intelligible [things] as likenesses 604 of the ineffable and Divine glory, perceiving, as far as is permitted and proportionate to them, the incomprehensible maturity of unattainable beauty, but also to mix with the sensible [things], which are in great need of intelligible essences, reflections 605 of their greatness, able to deliver the human mind, which they raise, directly to God. [And then] this mind is above [all] visible [creatures], since it [immediately] ascends to the highest Bliss and leaves behind all the intermediate [entities] 606 through which it makes its way. But not only [for this purpose was this created], but also so that none of those who serve the creation instead of the Creator (Rom. 1:25) would have any reason to justify themselves 607 by [their] ignorance, [477] hearing the voice of every creature clearly proclaiming its Creator. 4. So, since the nature of visible [creatures] contains both the spiritual meanings of Wisdom and the ways of polite behavior naturally sown in it by the Creator, every mind, of course crowned with virtue and knowledge, receives as its inheritance, like the great Hezekiah, reign over Jerusalem, that is, over the skill of perceiving only the world, or over the spiritual structure, devoid of all passions - for “Jerusalem” is interpreted as “a vision of the world.” Such a mind has in its subordination the entire creation (thanks to the species that make up this creation), through it bringing to God, like gifts 608, the spiritual meanings of knowledge [hidden] in creation 609, and offering to the mind itself, like gifts, ways [of realizing] virtue contained in creation in accordance with the natural law. As a result of both 610 [creation] accepts one and the other who can best distinguish himself in both, I am talking about a wise mind that has achieved perfection in word and life, deed and contemplation. Scripture definitively called gifts offered to the Lord, and gifts - those brought to the king, since, as people knowledgeable in this say, gifts metaphorically designate what is delivered [to people] who do not need [anything], and donations - what is given to those in need. Therefore, in ordinary usage, what is brought to kings is called gifts, since here we mean that there is no need for those receiving it. 5. And if anyone says that it is for this reason that everything generously brought by the Magi to the Lord (see Matt. 2:11), according to [His] love for mankind [480] born for us, was called gifts, then he will not deviate from the truth in any way. 6. So, by bringing spiritual meanings from created [things] to the Lord, we bring [Him] gifts, since He by nature does not need all this. For we do not bring to the Lord the meanings of things as someone in need of others, but we do [this in order] so that we ourselves, as far as possible, may glorify Him, who gives us a loan from His creatures. And he who zealously seeks divine wisdom accepts donations, as needing by nature both methods [of implementing the commandments] for virtue, and meanings [of creatures] for knowledge. 7. However, one can interpret [the word] “gifts” differently. Since the gift is given to those who have previously brought nothing, the knowing mind receives the gifts from the contemplation of things, 611 that is, [it accepts] the fundamental teachings of faith 612 presented through it without [any] rational proof, beyond which no one ever brings anything [to God] 613. Naturally and without any skillful logical devices 614 seeing its Creator, as far as His creation reveals Him (what can be compared with faith 615 offered first, for it is offered to God as a debt, and not as a gift?), [the mind] accepts as gifts the natural laws of beings, reproducing them in the ways [of realizing virtue]. That is, before acquiring [giving], making a contribution in the form of works of repentance, thanks to which it is inherent in him to put off the former, old man, and then begin to collect the fruits of righteousness, collecting the ways created by [God] in those who exist for the implementation of virtue. But [the mind] cannot approach them until, through much labor and then, it removes and throws off the old skin, the old man, like a snake. Therefore, the knowing mind accepts, as gifts to God, the fundamental teachings of faith 616, without bringing or bestowing anything [to Him] before them (for it is said: Who gave Him in advance that He should repay? - Rom. 11:35), and as gifts it accepts the natural laws of beings, reproducing [them] in the ways [of exercising virtue]. 8. I am talking about the following: the discriminating mind, in accordance with nature, reproducing the heavenly law 617, accepts donations, always having and maintaining in itself an even and the same movement of virtue and knowledge, which revolves around beings, like luminous and brilliant stars, their meanings. Imitating the natural law of the sun 618, which moves from one place to another for the benefit of the entire universe, he accepts another gift - understanding, which allows him to properly and wisely bring all occurring events into harmony, without losing the identity of virtue and knowledge that enlightens him. 9. And from the eagle 619 [the mind] perceives the directness of the eyes’ gaze on the Divine radiance of pure Light, [481] and at the same time the all-light ray [of Light] does not burn the intelligent eye 620. 10. [The knowing mind] imitates the deer 621, like it rushing to the high mountains of Divine speculation, and with the mind, which has the highest ability of discrimination, it destroys the passions that, like poisonous reptiles, have burrowed into the nature of beings; with the help of memory 622 he calms down the [harmful effect] of the poison of vice, which accidentally fell into many different sources of knowledge. 11. He also imitates the vigilance of a gazelle 623 and the stability [in flight] of a bird, thanks to virtue [from afar] distinguishing the net of fighting demons and [easily] jumping over them like a gazelle, and thanks to knowledge flying over the traps of the spirits fighting [with him] like a bird. 12. Some say that if you hit the bones of a lion 624 against each other, you can make fire. It is also in the nature of the knowing and God-loving mind to imitate the lion, since it, exploring the truth, strikes pious thoughts against each other like bones and thus produces the fire of knowledge. 13. The knowing mind becomes wise, like a serpent, and simple, like a dove (Matthew 10:16) 625, always maintaining faith, like an indestructible head, and wisely removing from itself, like a dove, the irritation of rage, and therefore it does not remember evil to [its] offenders and oppressors. 14. From the turtledove 626 he perceives, as if giving, an image of chastity, performing of his own free will all the deeds that are characteristic of the natural course of things. 15. And so the wisest mind, with the help of knowledge, passing through the existence of beings according to the meaning and mode of [existence] of each nature, accepts, as one who knows, like gifts, their spiritual meanings brought to God from creation; and as one who strives in [spiritual] work, he accepts, like gifts, the natural laws of beings 627, reproducing [them] in the ways [of implementing virtue]. And in himself he reveals all the splendor of God’s Wisdom, invisibly brought into existing [things] during [here] life. 16. If anyone says that Scripture, speaking about offering gifts to God, differentiates them so that the infinity of God’s goodness is revealed, for before our offerings it receives gifts from us as gifts, imputing everything to us as payment of taxes, then someone who speaks in this way will not go beyond the bounds of proper [understanding]. For he will show the greatness and indescribability of the goodness of God, which extends to us, since God accepts as ours what belongs to Him, but is brought to Him from us and is counted to us in payment of the debt 628. 17. And Hezekiah was exalted before the sweep of all tongues. He who, through action and contemplation, reaches the heights of virtue and knowledge like Hezekiah, of course, rises above all languages. I mean that, according to action, he turns out to be above carnal and shameful passions, and according to contemplation, he is above [484] the so-called natural bodies 629; or, to put it simply and briefly, above all sensible species, having speculatively gone through all the species that are in them. In Scripture they are figuratively called tongues, for by nature they are foreign and foreign to the soul and mind. And God, of course, does not command to fight with them if they themselves do not fight wisely 630. 18. For we are not commanded to fight with the creatures that surround the senses from the outside, but we are commanded to always fight with the unnatural passions of dishonor that dwell in us, in the land of [our] heart, until we eradicate them from it and become the only owners of this land, which will find serenity thanks to the destruction of alien passions. Therefore, where it is said about bringing gifts to God and giving to the king, the sayings of Scripture are very precise: it does not say that everyone brought gifts to God and giving to the king, but [only] many, that is, not all nations, but only many nations. From this it is clear that there are nations from whom nothing is brought to God or the king. After all, of course, we are talking about the fact that the creatures that constitute the nature of created [things] should present to God as gifts only Divine logoi, as originating from God, since in accordance with these logoi they were created; and as donations to the king [creatures must bring] the laws that belong to them by nature as approved by him - then the human mind, brought into harmonious consonance with these laws, forms the basic images of virtue. But one cannot bring to God or people the untrue existence of the 631 peoples existing within us, that is, passions that God did not create, since they did not originate from God. For the passions of dishonor were brought into existence not by God, but by us, who disobeyed God’s commandment; and from them [the mind] never brings anything to God, since they do not contain any logos of wisdom or knowledge at all, but acquired their existence in spite of it, by rejecting both wisdom and knowledge. 19. By saying that King Hezekiah was exalted before the hairs of all tongues, it is figuratively shown that the one who, as a result of the labors of [spiritual] work that fell to his lot, settles in dispassion, as if in Jerusalem, gets rid of sinful anxiety; his actions and words breathe peace, he listens to the world and reflects on the world 632; then he comprehends, with the help of natural contemplation, the nature of visible [things], through which he brings to the Lord, like gifts, Divine meanings and presents to himself, like gifts to the king, the laws contained in this nature. [Therefore, such a person] is exalted above the hairs of all tongues, through action becoming above all carnal passions, and through contemplation, being above natural bodies and all sensory species 633, since he has passed through all the spiritual meanings and ways [of being] that are in them 634. This is how I understand the words: there are many offerings to the Shah - many, but not all, that is, peoples that are outside [us], or creatures, and not peoples within us, or passions. For all the creatures that fill the world [485] sing praises to God and glorify Him with silent voices (see Ps. 19:1-5). And their song of praise becomes our song. Therefore, the great Gregory, named after theology, says: “Through [God’s] creations I understand how God should be praised.”635 20. So, as has been shown, Holy Scripture openly offers its [true] meaning to everyone who wants to be saved, and it is not at all confined to [any] one person. For everyone can become Hezekiah, imitating him in spirit, in order to lift up his call to God through prayer, to be heard by Him and to receive an Angel [from Him] - I mean to receive the word of the highest wisdom and knowledge during the uprising of crafty demons and to defeat all the brave men and warriors, and rulers and commanders (2 Chron. 32:21), that is, passionate movements of desire and rage, as well as addiction to sensual things [things] and, like a commander, an understanding that invents ways of sin. In the same way, [everyone] finds peace [of soul] through getting rid of passions and devoting himself to the contemplation of things, in order to perceive the comprehensive meanings of knowledge, like gifts, and the basic methods of virtues, like gifts, brought to him from all creation for the glorification of God and for his own [spiritual] prosperity. After this, he is properly exalted above all tongues, that is, in virtue he is above all passions, and in knowledge - above all creatures, and through [his] humility he preserves grace, without suffering what, according to Scripture, followed this 636. [489] 1. And Hezekiah was not rewarded according to the reward God had given him, but his heart was lifted up, and wrath came upon him, and on Judah, and on Jerusalem. And Hezekiah humbled himself from the height of his heart, and they that dwelt in Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord should not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 32:25-26). What is retribution and what follows it? 2. Since after many and various benefits that God timely showed to Hezekiah, saving him and delivering him from all needs and vicissitudes, he did not impute all the grace of salvation, as it should, to God, but some human uncleanness arose in him and the power of the successes gained was divided, then, of course, not according to the reward that God had given him, he rewarded Hezekiah. For for his Divine successes he did not give thanks [to God] with [due] prudence, but his heart was lifted up, and therefore he did not escape [Hezekiah] the disease of pride, which boasts of virtue and knowledge. 3. And wrath came upon him, and on Judah, and on Jerusalem. The wrath of God is, according to one interpretation, a painful feeling of those raised. And the feeling becomes painful due to the induction of involuntary hardships. Through such guidance God often brings the mind, which boasts of virtue [492] and knowledge, to humility and humiliation, giving it knowledge of itself and consciousness of its own weakness. Having felt them, the mind leaves the vain ascension of the heart. For [Scripture] says that after the wrath of [God] came, Hezekiah humbled himself from the height of his heart, and those who dwelt in Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord would not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah. 4. Or again: the wrath of the Lord is the cessation of the bestowed Divine charisms, which happens to every arrogant and arrogant mind (for its own benefit), boasting of the blessings bestowed from God, as if it were its own achievements. It is also worthy of consideration and understanding why the wrath [of the Lord] came not only to Hezekiah alone, who was lifted up in heart, but also to Judah and Jerusalem. This [place] will especially convince those who strictly adhere to only the letter of Scripture that lovers of God should turn all their zeal to the spiritual consideration of what is written, if, of course, the mind of truth is most valuable to them. For if we follow only one letter, then naturally we will accuse the Divine court of great injustice, since it unrighteously punishes, along with the sinner, those who have not sinned. And will the Scripture then be true, which says: Let not the fathers die for the sons, and let not the sons die for the fathers; Let every one die for his sin (Deut. 24:16). Also: The soul that sins will die (Ezek.18:20). And one more thing: You reward everyone according to his deeds (Ps. 61:13), as David said when turning to God. 5. [Scripture] says: Hezekiah's heart was exalted. But it does not add: “and the heart of those who inhabit Jerusalem and Judah.” How the innocent were punished along with the guilty - I cannot comprehend this, if we take these words literally. After all, it is said: And Hezekiah’s heart was lifted up, and wrath was upon him, and on Judah, and on Jerusalem, but it is not written about them in Scripture that they were lifted up [in heart]. So, since those who defend the letter [of the Holy Scripture] and the thoughts [it] prefer it are not able to explain these causing difficulties [words], we turn to the spiritual interpretation of what is written and there we will try without difficulty to find the truth hidden by the letter, for this truth, like light, illuminates the path of those who love it. [493] 6. Every knowledgeable and wise mind contains within itself both Judas and Jerusalem. By Judas, based on spiritual comprehension, we understand the image of the commandment or the skill of repentance, together with the thoughts that it contains; this skill actively increases along with success as the mind of grief rises, for Judas is interpreted as “confession” 638. And Jerusalem, according to the allegorical understanding, means the peaceful skill of dispassion together with the divine speculations that constitute this skill 639. Or, to put it briefly, the [knowing] mind has Judas, that is, active wisdom, and Jerusalem, that is, contemplative secrecy. Therefore, when a God-loving mind, by the grace of God, repels every opposing force with the help of virtue and knowledge [acquired] in active and contemplative wisdom, then it is crowned with perfect strength against the spirits of wickedness. However, if at the same time he does not give due thanks to God, the author of [his] victory, but his heart is lifted up, for he recognizes [only] himself as the cause of all success, then, since he has not repaid God according to the reward given to him, he accepts the wrath of God-forsakenness 640 not only on himself, but also on Judas and Jerusalem, that is, on the skill of [spiritual] work and on the skill contemplation. And then, by God’s permission, the passions of dishonor immediately rise up against the work, desecrating the hitherto pure conscience, and false thoughts are intertwined with the contemplation of things, distorting the hitherto right opinion of knowledge 641. 7. After all, the Divine institution 642 and the [Divine] law 643 truly exist according to the Providence of [God] in those who exist, so that by them, turning to the thought of God, those who, in a favorable [course of life] show ingratitude [to God], and so that, [giving them] the experience of the opposite, give rise to the knowledge of the Divine power - the accomplisher of [all] good things. For otherwise, succumbing to conceit, which does not submit to [God’s] Providence under favorable circumstances, we fall into the ungodly disposition of pride, believing that the acquisition of virtue and knowledge is inherent in us by nature, and is not a gift of grace. In this case, it turns out that we use good to give birth to evil and through that, thanks to which the Divine knowledge in us should have been strengthened and remained indestructible, through this we become completely unduly ill with ignorance of the Divine. 8. For one, considering that he has achieved the goal of virtue, will no longer seek the Cause and Source of [all] goods, confining only in himself the power of aspiration [towards the Divine] and, as a result of himself, losing the law of salvation, that is, God 644. Another, on the contrary, [constantly] feeling his natural need for goods, does not cease to strenuously strive for the One who can fill his lack. 9. Therefore, the proud mind is righteously [fallen] by anger, that is, God’s abandonment or toleration [of God], due to which he is besieged by demons both during [spiritual] work, like Judas, and during contemplation, like Jerusalem, [496] so that he feels his own natural weakness and knows the Divine power and God’s grace, which protects him and provides him with everything benefits; and so that he humbles himself, completely rejecting alien and unnatural exaltation. Then another wrath [of the Lord] will not come upon him, that is, deprivation of the bestowed charisms, just as it did not come upon Hezekiah, who, after the first wrath occurred, that is, abandonment of God, immediately humbled himself and felt the Giver of blessings. For [the Scripture] says: And wrath came upon him, and on Judah, and on Jerusalem. And Hezekiah himself, and those living in Jerusalem, humbled himself from the height of his heart, and the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah, that is, another wrath did not come - the deprivation of charisma - because the first abandonment of God taught [Hezekiah] wonderful good thoughts. For it is obvious that those who are not admonished by the first type of wrath [of God], that is, abandonment of God, and who are not humbled, take upon themselves the second wrath, which deprives him of the [graceful] action of [Divine] charisma and takes away from him the power that has protected him until now. “I will take away its fence,” says God about ungrateful Israel, “and it will be plundered; and I will destroy its wall, and it will be trampled under foot. And I will leave My grapes, and whoever is not pruned will dig deep, and thorns will grow up on it, like on an ice loaf; and a cloud commanded that no rain should fall on it (Is. 5:5-6), which is what is reported to have happened to Saul, the first king of Israel. For he, along with the kingdom, received through the anointing and grace of prophecy, but when he did not preserve it, he took upon himself the first wrath [of God] - the action of the evil spirit. When he did not realize [this guilt], having been saved for another anger, he found his end with him 645, lost [the royal throne] and, through his madness, found himself facing death without any piety. This is revealed [by Saul himself] when, suffering, he was first possessed by a demon, and then, with the help of a sorceress, he voluntarily ran over to the demons and, like the atheists, served these demons through sorcery 646. 10. So, by Hezekiah we understand the wise mind, by Judah - [spiritual] work, and by Jerusalem - contemplation. And when we mentally perceive that the mind in some way undergoes something, we are convinced that its active and contemplative faculties co-suffer along with it, due to the ideas that combine them together. For when the subject undergoes, it is impossible for those [forces] that [are] in this subject not to suffer along with it. 11. The meaning of [such] spiritual interpretation 649 fully corresponds to the words of Scripture, since it does not imply a reproach for the verdict of God's judgments and does not encourage the overthrow of another [Divine] commandment. Indeed, according to the above interpretation, when Hezekiah alone, that is, the mind, ascends, boasting of [his] achievements, then it is [impossible] for Judah and Jerusalem, [497] that is, work and contemplation, not to ascend with him, [497] that is, work and contemplation, for they cannot be considered as having a hypostatic being 650. And the wrath of [God] falls not only on Hezekiah alone, that is, on the mind, but also on Judah and Jerusalem, since when the mind is defiled by something, then along with it [spiritual] work and contemplation become dirty, even if they do not participate in what gave rise to the wrath. 12. Therefore, we should adhere to the meaning, [and not the letters] of what is written. For if what once happened educationally in history, but for our sake was written down for spiritual instruction (1 Cor. 10:11) 651 (and this written down constantly corresponds to what is happening), then when the opposing force is arrayed in spiritual warfare against us, we must, if possible, transfer all Scripture into [our] mind. Then our mind will be enlightened by divine speculations, the body will be adorned with images [of virtues arising as a result of] comprehension of Divine meanings, which will make this body a rational workshop 652 by rejecting innate passions 653. 13. So, every God-loving and virtuous person girdles himself, like Hezekiah, with spiritual strength 654 [to fight] against demons; and if there is an attack of evil spirits, who invisibly enter into battle with him in his mind 655, then through prayer he will receive [help in the form of] an Angel sent to him from God. I mean - he will receive a powerful word of wisdom that will scatter and destroy all the phalanxes of the devil. However, if he does not recognize God as the cause of this victory and salvation, but attributes the entire victory to himself, then such a person has not repaid God according to His reward, for the fullness of thanksgiving is not equal to the greatness of salvation and the spiritual disposition [of the saved] does not compensate for the good deeds of the Savior. After all, reward is the spiritual disposition of the saved person towards the Savior, [manifesting] in deeds commensurate [with the good deed]. On the contrary, when such a [person] is lifted up in heart and boasts of the gifts he has received, as if he were something not received, then the wrath of [God] 656 rightly falls upon him, since God allows the devil to invisibly 657 intertwine with him, to shake to the ground the images of virtues [carried out in spiritual] work, and to make the enlightened meanings of knowledge [acquired] in contemplation, so that, having recognized his own weakness, he would achieve an understanding of that only Power that overthrows passions in us, and, having repented, humble himself and reject the arrogance of pride. [Only then] will he appease God and avert from himself the wrath that falls upon the unrepentant, robbing the soul of the grace that protects it and leaving the ungrateful mind abandoned. 14. The Scriptures probably call the days of King Hezekiah various insights that are perceived by every pious and God-loving mind, indulging in the contemplation of created [things] in order to comprehend the Wisdom [of God], which is manifested in various ways through all [creatures]. And as long as doing and contemplating 658 are in harmony with these [insights], they are not deprived of virtue and knowledge, since the Sun of Truth (Mal. 4:8) 659 with His rising [always] creates these “days” in such a mind. [501] 1. Again about Hezekiah [Scripture] says: And he buried him at the rising of the graves of the sons of David; and glory and honor were given unto him at his death by all Judah, and them that dwell in Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 32:33). What does it mean at the rising of the graves of the sons of David and what follows? 2. Spiritual David is our Lord Jesus Christ 660, the stone that the builders - the priests and leaders of the Jews rejected, the same one became the head of the corner (Matthew 21:42), that is, the [Head] of the Church. For, according to Scripture, the “corner” is the Church. After all, just as an angle connects two walls, fastening them to each other with an indissoluble bond, so the Holy Church became a union of two peoples - those from the pagans and those from the Jews; by the single teaching of faith She binds them to each other and combines them for [indissoluble] unanimity 661; Its cornerstone is Christ, as the Head of the whole Body (see Col. 1:18). For the name “David” is interpreted as “humiliation,” and [the Lord is He], who, being the Word of God and the Son of God, for my sake put on the form of a servant (Phil. 2:7), became the reproach of people who do not believe in the Truth, and the humiliation of people (Ps. 21:7), filled with sins, but the good Shepherd, laying down His life for the sheep ( John 10:11), that is, for us. He beat the lion and the bear (1 Samuel 17:36), that is, he drove out from [human] nature rage and lust, tormenting the rational 662 image of the image of God in us. He [was] blackened as a result of the suffering of a mortal and with good eyes (1 Samuel 16:12), that is, he possessed the glory of the sublime meanings of Providence and Judgment, for Providence and Judgment are, as it were, the eyes of the Word, through which [the Lord], and enduring for our sake, observes everything 663. He is the One who defeated the spiritual Goliath, that is, the devil, five cubits in height 664 due to the five-fold passion of our feelings, because to such a magnitude and growth is depravity raised by the devil to which the power of feeling in us expands, through [external] sensations brought into a passionate state. He is the King of true Israel, [that is, Israel] who sees God, even if Saul, that is, the old people, [living] according to the law [of Moses] 665, because of unbelief, goes mad, exhausted by envy, being unable to bear the loss of passing glory. And David, my King, even when persecuted, takes away the spear and the vessel of water (cf. 1 Samuel 26:1-12) 666 from Saul, that is, the power of active virtue and the grace of speculative contemplation 667 - after all, He takes them away only in order [504] to give them to those Jews who turn to Him by faith, who in the future will inherit salvation by accepting the preaching of the Kingdom [of God]. Again, [David] in cave 668 cuts off the hem of [Saul’s] garment, who sat down out of necessity, that is, good behavior achieved by moral wisdom, or the sublimity of speculation concerning the shell of symbols and allegories of the law. For He judged that [everything] decays through use (Col. 2:22), and therefore the Jewish people, crouched in the cave of this age or in the dark letter of the Law, wholly devoted to earthly and bodily [existence], limiting the Divine promises of the incorruptible to the corruption of transient [things], in justice and dignity should not possess, like the hem of a garment, the spiritual goodness of the commandments of the law, comprehended in a mysterious sense. 3. Such is the spiritual David, the true Shepherd and King 669, the destroyer of opposing forces. He is the Shepherd of those who still indulge in active wisdom and graze in the pasture of natural contemplation; The King of those who, with the help of spiritual laws and meanings, having renewed the beauty of the given [original] image, corresponding to the Prototype, approach the Great King of Ages in the direct vision of the mind 670 and, if I may say so, reflects in themselves, as if in a mirror, the unapproachable Beauty. 4. Now the sons of this David are all the saints from the ages, begotten by Him in the Spirit. The coffins of these sons are memories of their life according to God on earth. And the rising of the graves is the height of their knowledge of God and love for God - there all Judah and those living in Jerusalem give [them] funeral honors. And it is there, in accordance with the dignity of the place, that the ways of 671 blessed monastic life, in accordance with [spiritual] work, 672 find their home, and the meanings of knowledge, in accordance with true contemplation, dwell. They bury the mind, which has died worthily for all beings, for for sensual [things] it dies due to the rejection of all sensory activity, and for [things] spiritual – due to the cessation of all spiritual movement 673. 5. So, they bury Hezekiah, [whose name] is interpreted as “the power of God,” that is, they bury the mind, mighty in [spiritual] work and majestic in knowledge, who died 674, that is, voluntarily withdrew from all things, coming to Him who is higher than these things. And all Judah and those living in Jerusalem bury him, that is, work corresponding to virtue, and true contemplation corresponding to knowledge. At the rising of the graves of the sons of David, that is, at the height of memory of [all] saints from the ages; You will give him both glory and honor—glory as one who, according to spiritual knowledge, is above all the meanings of things, and honor 675—as one who has become pure from all passions and has acquired by feeling a movement not bound by the natural laws [acting] in things. 6. Perhaps one of the very venerable Philokalia 676 [505] will say that glory is the highest beauty in the image, and honor 677 is the complete likeness in the likeness 678. It is inherent in one [that is, the image] to accomplish true contemplation of spiritual meanings, and the other [that is, the likeness] is to fulfill the exact and impeccable performance of the commandments. And the great Hezekiah, who possessed them, was buried at the rising of the graves of the sons of David. Therefore, for a clearer understanding of the meaning of what was said, instead of burying it at the sunrise of the tombs of the sons of David, one can say: “And they erected a monument to Hezekiah on the height of the memory of the saints from the ages.” 7. Let us consider [now] why it is not said: “in the tombs of David,” but [written]: at the rising of the tombs of David. After all, the very meaning and way of life according to the Lord’s flesh is completely incomprehensible and incomparable with [other] existing things - not only with people, but also with Angels, not to mention the fact that His Divinity is [completely] inaccessible to comprehension by thought. Therefore, although the greatness [of the words] “in the graves of the sons of David” is more kind to every knowledgeable [person], but the best [for him] is at the rising of the graves of the sons of David. For the Scripture does not report that anyone was buried in the tombs of David 679, let alone [of burial] at the rise of the tombs of David. After all, as I said, the meaning and way of life according to the flesh of the Lord God and our Savior are in no way comparable [with any of the existing ones]. For it is said: The heavens covered His virtue (Hab. 3:3), that is, it says here that the righteousness itself according to the humanity of the Lord, [manifested] through the flesh, with its superiority and abundance in everything, according to righteousness, covered the heavenly Powers. After all, He was not just a man, but God, who became human in order, through Himself and in Himself, to renew the nature of man, which in itself had already grown old, and to make him a partaker of the Divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). At the same time, of course, [human] nature put aside all corruption and change, thanks to which it, becoming like animals, had a feeling that suppresses reason 680. 8. To the Lord be the glory forever. Amen. [508] 1. In the First Book of Ezra 681 it is written about Zerubbabel: And when this young man went out, he lifted up his face toward heaven directly toward Jerusalem, and blessed the King of Heaven, saying: From Thee is victory, and from Thee is wisdom, and Thine glory, and I am Thy servant. Blessed are you, who gave me wisdom, and we will confess to you, Lord of the fathers (2 Ezra 4:58–60) 682. What do the words mean: raised his face to heaven directly to Jerusalem and the following? 2. [The name] “Zerubbabel,” if one strictly follows the [rules] of the Hebrew language, can be pronounced with or without aspiration, [509] separately or together, and also be grammatically ordered 683 . Aspirated it means “the sown seed of confusion,” unaspirated it means “the rising of confusion,” together it means “the rising in confusion,” separately it means “the rising of dispersion,” and when used in a grammatically ordered form it means “self-rest.” 3. Zerubbabel is a wise man. He, firstly, sows the seed of righteousness, repenting of his confusion with passions and captivity by them; secondly, it is the “sunrise of confusion”, since it makes obvious the shame of the passions mixed [with it]; thirdly, he is “rising in confusion,” through knowledge enlightening the action of the senses, which [are] in confusion and directed towards sensory things, not allowing it to come into contact with these things apart from the mind; fourthly, it is the “sunrise of dispersion,” since it causes the rise of righteous deeds in the forces of the soul, scattered in sensual [things] - thanks to this rise, [spiritual] activity is formed, combined with the mind and not devoid of speculative contemplation, elevating the scattered forces [of the soul] to the intelligible. Finally, [this mind] is “rest itself,” since it creates every world and combines the active principle [in man] with Good by nature, and the contemplative principle with Truth by nature 684. For it is inherent in every [spiritual] activity to arise thanks to goodness, and every contemplation strives for knowledge thanks to truth alone 685. And when they reach completion, then there will no longer be anything that strikes the active principle of the soul or pierces its contemplative principle with alien speculations. Then the soul, finding itself on the other side of everything existing and conceivable, will approach God Himself - the only good and true One, Who is above all essence and all thinking 686. 4. Such a mind, having succeeded in various virtues, when after the victory departs from King David, that is, from the natural law, shows him the power of love and truth, comparing virtues with passions 687. And having legally received the decision [of the king] confirming his nomination and canceling the nomination of others 688, he correctly recognizes where the grace of victory came to him. Therefore, he raised his face to heaven directly to Jerusalem, bless the King of Heaven. 5. The face 689 of this mind is the disposition of the soul, comprehended by thought, hidden in its secret places, which contains all the distinctive features of the virtues. His mind raises him to heaven, that is, to the height of contemplation, directly to Jerusalem, [512] that is, according to the skill of dispassion. Or another 690: to heaven directly to Jerusalem means aspiration [of the mind] to the heavenly dwelling and to the city written in the heavens (Heb. 12:23) 691, about which the glorious verb was spoken (Ps. 87:3), as David says. For it is impossible to bless God 692 otherwise than by raising to the height of contemplation and knowledge in accordance with the skill of dispassion, that is, a carefree and peaceful state 693, a face of spiritual disposition, which is formed from many and various virtues, similar to the distinctive features [of the human face]. 6. And what does he say, raising his face? Victory is from You, showing that by victory is meant the end of active [philosophy] directed against the passions, and [this end] is, as it were, a reward for the divine feats of struggle against sin 694. From You is wisdom, that is, the completion of knowledge achieved through contemplation, that completion that puts an end to all ignorance of the soul. And Your glory - here glory is called the beauty of divine maturity revealed by them in a lawful way, which is the combination of victory and wisdom, action and contemplation, virtue and knowledge, goodness and truth. For, united with each other, they radiate the one glory and radiance of God. Therefore, Zerubbabel appropriately adds to what has been said: I am Your servant, knowing that it is God who accomplishes in us, as in [His] instruments, all work and contemplation, all virtue and knowledge, all victory and wisdom, all goodness and truth; we participate in this only through our voluntary disposition, desiring the good 696. Having such a disposition, the great Zerubbabel adds, turning to God: Blessed are you, who gave me wisdom, and we will confess to you, Lord of the fathers. As a prudent servant, he imputes everything to God, giving thanks to Him, the Lord of the fathers, for the power of the blessings bestowed. He calls God blessed, since He possesses infinite wisdom, or rather, Self-wisdom 697; having received grace from God, he gives [Him] praise. Zerubbabel also calls God the Lord of the fathers, wanting to show that all the [spiritual] achievements of the saints are the charisms of God. For no one has anything other than the good bestowed by the Lord God, which is commensurate with the kindness and good-naturedness of the one who receives it. [And a person] acquires only that and as much as he gives to the bestowing Lord 698. And [Zerubbabel] calls [all] the saints from the ages 699 fathers, whose faith he accepted and whose life he reproduced. After all, he achieved spiritual success by desiring to be born of them in the Spirit and becoming a freely chosen son of freely chosen parents, which is just as valuable to God in comparison with involuntarily becoming fathers and children in the flesh, as the soul differs in superiority of essence from the body 700. 7. This Zerubbabel, being one of the young men who appeared before King Darius, that is, before the natural law, in two of his speeches described the power of Divine blessings in people, refuting the rash speeches of others [youths]. Thus, he attracted to himself [513] the reigning law of nature, prophetically predicting the liberation of the forces of the soul captured in slavery to the [constant] variability of passions 701. For the other two standing [before the king of the youths], who seemed to [defend] the materiality of the body 702, are two crafty spirits and the very property of this number shows passion and corruption. And the mind, which protects the essentially simple soul, being united, bears the image of an indivisible Unit, with which death does not come into contact at all, since It cannot be divided or dismembered 703. 8. For one, that is, the first young man, presenting [the benefits of] the passionate well-being of the body, says: Wine is stronger (2 Ezra 3:10). He descriptively calls wine, giving at the same time its definition 704, any insanity and intoxication with the pleasures of the passions, which drives thought into a frenzy and makes the natural use of thoughts false 705. After all, [Scripture] says: The wrath of serpents is their wine, and the rage of asps is incurable (Deut. 32:33), calling the wine of serpents the boiling of carnal pleasures, and the wine of asps - tyrannical and arrogant contempt, [arising from] disobedience. For this beast, as they say, in comparison with all the beasts of the earth is [most] deaf to [any] chants and, due to its arrogance, takes precedence over the spellcasters. 9. Another, that is, the second [young man], says: The king is mightier (2 Ezra 3:11), calling king all vain boasting of wealth, power and other [earthly] distinctions, which gives rise to ignorance, from which comes the dispersion of [human] nature [into many] parts. Because everyone who is ignorant of the eternal glory of God and despises its power does not know each other, everyone falls upon everyone, obsessed with the desire to glorify themselves before each other through power, wealth, luxury or other means. And the named young men, having described, so to speak, with their proofs, the entire depth of the depths (Ps. 68:3) of unnatural passions, made King David, or the law ruling over nature, the judge of their speeches, hoping to persuade him to their teachings. 10. The third [young man], who is the mind - the defender of virtue and knowledge, who wanted the soul to be freed from the evil slavery of passions, says: Women are stronger than all, but truth conquers most of all (2 Ezra 3:12). He calls wives the adoring virtues, from which arises the love that unites people with God and with each other. It delights the soul from everything that is under the power of generation and corruption, as well as from intelligible essences that exceed these [perishable things]; merges, as far as human nature is possible, in a kind of loving embrace with God Himself, mysteriously creating a pure and Divine coexistence [with Him] 706. And by truth he calls the one and only Cause of beings - the Beginning, the Queen, the Power and the Glory of them, [516] from Which and as a result of Which they came and come; By Her and through Her their existence is preserved, and for Her sake the lovers of God remain in their zealous zeal. And to put it briefly, [with the word] “wife” the third young man points to love as the end of the virtues - this end is impeccable pleasure and inseparable unity with the Good by nature of those who participate in It. [With the word] “truth” 707 he designates the final Limit of all knowledge and those who know themselves - to Him, as to the Beginning and Limit of all beings, the natural movements [of these beings] are drawn together, thanks to some universal law 708; It - as the Truth, the Beginning and the Limit of beings - is all-conquering, attracting the movement of creatures to Itself. 11. Thus the wise mind converses with the natural law, overthrowing all the lies instilled in it by evil spirits. He convinces this law to decide the matter in favor of the thoughts and forces of the soul captured in the slavery of passions 709; to proclaim liberation and deliverance to those imprisoned in darkness (see Is. 9: 1-3), that is, in addiction to sensual [things], so that they, having come to Judea, that is, to virtue, built in Jerusalem, that is, in the skill of dispassion, the church of the Lord, that is, knowledge, containing wisdom. 12. So, Zerubbabel is wise, and very wise, since he received wisdom from God, thanks to which he was able to counter [convincing] arguments to every position put forward for the destruction of the human race by the crafty demons who protect the body; to defeat, refute and, with your objections, completely nullify the arguments of opponents, and thereby free the soul from the evil slavery of passions 710. For if demons, with the help of wine, strive to honor the boiling of carnal pleasures, and with the help of the king, to approve the power of worldly glory, then Zerubbabel, with the help of wives, represents spiritual and boundless pleasure, and with the help of truth shows unshakable power, convincing us to despise transitory blessings and adhere to future [goods]. 13. This, it seems to me, is the correct and wise meaning of the answer to the questions posed, worthy of the Spirit and being recorded in writing for our edification. And if someone, in accordance with the Divine ability of understanding given to him, is able to comprehend the more sublime meaning of what is written, then there is no envy [in our heart]. For it is not inherent for the grace of the Spirit to be diminished in those who participate in it (such diminishment usually gives rise to the passion of envy), even if one possesses it to a greater extent and another to a lesser extent. After all, everyone acquires the manifested action of the Spirit in proportion to his faith, and therefore everyone is a steward of his own grace 711, and if he is well-minded, he will never envy another, [517] glorified by gifts of grace, since he himself has an internal disposition to accept Divine blessings 712. 14. However, let us now proceed to another mysterious consideration [of the said passage of Scripture], which reveals the original truth of what is written. According to this consideration, Zerubbabel is the true, new 713 and through the old, the Lord and God our Jesus Christ is indicated in a representative manner. He, taken into the confusion of our nature, conceived and born in it, became a man perfect by nature, in order to raise to Himself this nature, separated from the mixture 714. Not being a captive with us 715 and not transported into a confusion of passions, for He committed no sin, and there was no flattery in His mouth (1 Pet. 2:22; Is. 53:9), - He was born among us captives, as a captive, and together with us was numbered among the evildoers (Luke 22:37; Is. 53:12). Through [His] love for mankind 716 He was born in the likeness of the flesh of sin and because of sin (Rom. 8:3) 717. In the likeness of the flesh of sin - because, being by nature impassive God, [the Lord] immutably, according to [God's] Economy, deigned to become a man, passionate by nature. And because of sin 718 - because as a result of our sins He went to death, suffered for us, was wounded for our sins and was tormented for our iniquities, so that by His stripes we would be healed (see Is. 53: 2-5) 719. For [the Scripture] says: The spirit of our face, the anointed Lord, was in their corruption, and concerning Him we said: in His shadow we will dwell among the nations (Lam. 4:20). 15. He is the righteous sunrise 720, dispelling our sin, and about Him the Holy Spirit through the prophet says that He will raise up for us the righteous east (Jer. 23:5), and behold, the east is His name, and under Him it will shine (Zech. 6:12), and also: the Sun of righteousness will shine, and healing will be in His wings (Mal. 4:2). The expression under Him shows the inexpressible mystery of the Incarnation of the Word 721, from which the salvation of all took place. And the wings of the Sun of Truth 722 are two Testaments, thanks to which the Word that has flown to us heals the wound caused by the transgression [of the commandments] and strengthens [us] in perfect virtue: through the Old [Testament] It overthrows vice, and through the New it establishes virtue. Or in other words: the wings are the Providence and Judgment [of God], thanks to which the soaring Word in an unknown way descends on those who exist, healing with the meanings of Wisdom those who desire [this], and healing those who are slow in regard to virtue with the methods of [severe] education 723 - from the first It cleanses away the [sinful] filth of the flesh, and from the second it heals the ulcers of the soul. 16. It was this Word that brought true Israel 724 out of captivity: not from land to land, as the ancient Zerubbabel did, transferring [his] people from Babylon to Judea, [520] but from earth to heaven, from vice to virtue, from ignorance to the knowledge of the truth of God, from corruption to incorruption, and from death to immortality. Or, to put it more briefly, [the Word brought true Israel] from the world of sensually manifested and flowing into the permanent and spiritual world, from a life that ceases to a life that is indissoluble and [eternally] abiding. It is the true architect of the rational church 725, washed away by [streams of] sins and set on fire by alien fire, with which we are burned, approaching the light of our fire and the flame that scorches us - thereby we not only prepare the intellectual principle of the soul to slavishly follow carnal thoughts 726, but also [with our] action we ignite the matter of passions. 17. It was this Word that convinced King Darius with [His] wisdom, that is, the law of nature. After all, it is impossible in this place [of the Scriptures] to understand Darius as the devil, since he voluntarily contributed to grace in the deliverance of the people [Israel from captivity], believing that there is nothing stronger and more useful for the salvation of nature [human] than faith and a good conscience. For faith also contains the inner meaning of truth 727, and a good conscience introduces into the place of Divine love, which is allegorically designated by the word “wives” - [one who is] in such love cannot transgress God’s commandment at all. 18. This Word erects in Himself, according to ineffable and inseparable unity, the fallen tabernacle of David (Am.9:11; Acts 15:16), that is, [human] nature, destroyed by death due to sin. 19. It is Zerubbabel, who restored with glory the prostrate house of God, about whom the Holy Spirit says: Beyond great glory the last glory of this church will be greater than the first (Hag. 2:10). For the Word joined [Himself] to [human] nature by a second communication, much more unusual than the first 728, since He first gave [to this nature] from the best [part of His] 729, and then, of His Own will, took on the worse, in order to save [His own image], make the flesh immortal 730 and, uniting with the [human] nature, completely destroy the word serpent, to restore this nature again to its original purity, [free] from vice, and, thanks to deification, to make it even more excellent 731 than the first creation 732. And just as [the Word] gave [the flesh] existence, which originally did not exist, so it restored the corrupted one, thanks to its immutability, blocking the path to a new fall, and fulfilled in relation to it, by the power of [His] Incarnation, all the advice of God and the Father. For [Scripture] says: The hand of the spiritual Zerubbabel founded this church, that is, man, and his hand will finish it (Zech. 4:9) - we are talking about the previous creation [of man] and about his revival by the Word according to ineffable unity. 20. Such is the true Zerubbabel, the deliverer of the captives, having in [His] hand a stone like pure tin, adorned with the seven eyes of the Lord, with which God looks upon the whole earth (Zech. 4:10). [521] After all, if we follow the literal interpretation, then Zerubbabel could not possibly hold in his hand a stone of pure tin, which has the seven eyes of the Lord looking at the whole earth. And since such an interpretation is impossible, we [again] turn to the [spiritual] meaning of what is written. 21. Zerubbabel is, as has often been said, the Lord our God Jesus Christ. His stone is faith in Him, and [the words] in the hand 734 mean that faith in Christ becomes manifest through the fulfillment of the commandments. For faith without works is dead (James 2:26), as are works without faith 735. After all, it is obvious that the hand is a symbol of doing 736. Therefore, the Lord, carrying a stone in his hands, teaches us to have active faith in Him, adorned with the seven eyes of the Lord, that is, the seven energies of the Holy Spirit 737. 22. Further [the Scripture] says: And the Spirit of God will rest on him, the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of understanding, the spirit of knowledge, the spirit of knowledge, the spirit of counsel, the spirit of strength, the spirit of the fear of God (Is. 11:2) 738. The spirit of the fear of God is abstinence from the active implementation of evil; the spirit of fortress - bold aspiration and movement towards [spiritual] work and implementation of the commandments; the spirit of counsel is the skill of discernment, thanks to which we wisely fulfill God’s commandments, separating the worst from the best (see Heb. 5:14); the spirit of knowledge is the unmistakable knowledge of the ways of [spiritual] doing in accordance with virtue: by measuring our actions with these methods, we will never fall away from the correct judgment of reason; the spirit of knowledge is the comprehension of the meanings [contained] in the commandments, in accordance with which the methods of virtues are formed 739; the spirit of reason [524] is the internal acceptance of the ways and meanings of the virtues 740 or, better said, their assimilation, due to which the natural forces [of the soul] merge with the ways and meanings of the commandments 741. And the spirit of wisdom is the ascension to the Cause of the spiritual meanings [contained] in the commandments, and the union with It. According to this Reason, we, in an unknown way initiated (as far as is allowed to people) into the mystery of the simple meanings of things that are in God, proclaim from the heart, as if from some well-flowing source, to other people the truth, which [manifests itself] in many different ways in everything. Thus, we ascend from finite [entities] remote from God, but close to us, to first [entities] remote from us, but close to God - [and this ascent is carried out] consistently and in order 742. 23. For from inaction in relation to evil due to fear [of God] 743 we move with the help of strength to the active implementation of virtues; from the implementation of virtues - to the distinction of advice; from difference - to the skill of virtues, that is, to knowledge; from the skill of virtues - to knowledge of the meanings that are in the virtues; from this knowledge - to a skill capable of transforming the known meanings of virtues, I mean - reason 744; from it - to simple and strict contemplation of the truth, which [is] in all [beings]; prompted by him, we will give many different pious explanations about the truth, based on the wise contemplation of the sensory and intelligible essences of beings. Ascending through these eyes of faith, that is, through insights, we gather together in the Divine Unit of Wisdom 745, concentrating the difference of charismas that has occurred for us in their [single] Cause through gradual ascents through each of the virtues 746. And with the assistance of God, we must not miss any of the above, so that, gradually falling into carelessness, we do not turn our faith into blind and eyeless 747, lacking the insights of the Spirit [acquired] through works. For in this case, we will rightly be subjected to punishment for endless centuries, since both in ourselves and in what concerns us by faith, we have blinded the divine eyes 748. 24. After all, anyone who, as a result of inaction [in implementing] the commandments, has torn out such eyes of faith from himself, 749 naturally becomes condemned, since he does not have God looking at him. And I think that for the reason that in Scripture faith is called a stone of pure tin, that it is both punishing those who do not adorn it with the commandments, and saving those who keep it shining with the help of the energies of the Spirit. For the great Simeon, speaking about the Lord, said that He would be for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel (Luke 2:34) - for the fall of the unbelievers and for the rising of the believers. For, as some say, tin is composed of silver and lead. And lead is a symbol of education, punishment, punishment and the severity of condemnation; silver is an image of radiance, glory and splendor. [525] If this is so, then faith, signified by tin 750, on the one hand, by the weakness of the flesh 751, as if by lead, educates, punishes, punishes and condemns those who, due to [their] inaction [in the implementation of] the commandments, turned out to be unfit for it - but this flesh received strength thanks to the union with [God] the Word. On the other hand, this same faith makes to shine, glorifies, enlightens and leads to deification of those who, as a result of the fulfillment of the commandments, have been tested in it, possessing, like silver, the Divinity of the Word, which, as completely as possible, illuminates the worthy 752. 25. Some understood the stone of pure tin as [the image of] our Lord Jesus Christ, consisting of two natures - Divinity and humanity. And if anyone wants to consider faith in Christ or Himself in a more spiritual way, then both faith and Christ Himself will appear before him, on the one hand, as lead, educating the soul, punishing the flesh, punishing passions and condemning demons, and on the other, like silver, covering the mind with the radiance of virtues, glorifying it with knowledge and, thanks to deification, making it [entirely] light - a similarity to the First Light 753. According to this understanding, [the meaning of the words] “fall” and “rebellion”, the cause of which is the Lord, is also comprehended. For He causes the fall of the flesh or carnal thoughts, sins and demons, and the rising of the mind or spiritual thoughts, natural virtues and thoughts, [in their totality] embracing knowledge 754. And to put it briefly, the Word brings about in the worthy the fall of the old man according to Adam and the letter of the law and the rise of the new man according to Himself and the law of the Spirit. 26. Perhaps in Scripture faith is compared to a stone of pure tin because those who possessed it and denigrated [their vices] 755 its virtue and knowledge can, through repentance and in accordance with action and contemplation, again make it shine and immediately return the bright radiance of life characteristic of it. [536] 1. All the children of Israel, from twelve years old and upward, besides slaves and women, were fourty-three thousand, three hundred and sixty; these male servants and female servants, seven thousand three hundred and forty seven; singers and singers, eight hundred fifty-five. Camel four hundred and thirty-five; seven thousand seven hundred thirty-six horses; Moscow eight hundred and fourty-five; under the yoke five thousand five hundred twenty-five 756 (2Ezra 5:41–42). Show love [and explain] these great and sublime words spoken by the Holy Spirit through the prophets about the exodus of [Israel] from captivity [of Babylon]. Why is this narrative written with such inappropriate simplicity, unworthy of the Spirit, and the exact number of camels, horses, mules, donkeys and the like is mentioned here? 2. An accurate explanation of this is the lot of only those who, due to the great purity of [their] minds, have received from above all, as far as is available to people, the grace of the Spirit 757. Accordingly, speculatively crossing the [boundless] sea of mysterious contemplations 758, they see only the meanings of what is written, naked from the written signs superimposed on them 759, and do not pay attention at all to any of the symbols that give external form to these meanings 760, unless, of course, they want, with their inherent wisdom, to physically imprint these meanings for those who, due to the infancy of [his] mind, cannot be above feelings 761. [Then they do this] so that such [babies in Christ], having first trained in images corresponding to feeling, would then desire to turn to prototypes that [exist] in addition to feeling, that is, to meanings 762. There is nothing unusual in the intention to strive for the heavenly through the ability of knowledge of Divine [things] naturally bestowed upon us, and from this intention in [people] who have truly acquired the Divine, [arises] reverence for the two manifested blessings. For he who purposefully pursues the path to the Divine either reaches the truth of intelligible [things] and joyfully offers a sacrifice of praise (Ps. 49:23) 763 - thanksgiving [537] to Him who has given the knowledge of what is sought, or acquires the elusive meaning of what is written [in the Holy Scriptures] and reverently honors the Divine, having comprehended that which exceeds his own strength. And I, only in a fortune-telling way, 764 turning to the questions posed, call upon God for help, so that He may become an assistant [to me in explaining] what has been said, since the power of my own thought is weak, trying in any way to gain the [unattainable] height of the allegories of Scripture. And if I manage to achieve it, then all the credit for this belongs to God, who through the comprehension of [the heavenly mysteries] brings me to thanksgiving. And if not, then again the beauty of incomprehensibility belongs to God, since He righteously and providentially suppresses in advance in me the pride that knowledge can give rise to, and His incomprehensibility becomes in me a guarantee of humility 765. 3. So, turning, as has been said, only in a guessing manner to the meaning of what is written, I begin with the previous sayings of Scripture. And in the previous chapter it is written about Zerubbabel: And when the young man (this one) went out, he lifted up his face toward heaven directly to Jerusalem, and blessed the King of Heaven (2 Ezra 4:58). It is clear that after the dispute that took place in the presence of Darius, the young man withdrew from the presence of King Darius. And Darius, as was already said in the previous presentation, is the law dominating over nature 766. This is clearly confirmed by the interpretation of his name. For it, as those who know exactly the meaning of this name say, means “birth,” “genealogy,” or “leading [one’s] genealogy.” And the concepts of “birth” and “genealogy” reflect the properties of natural law. For “kind”, “leading [their] genealogy” or “genealogy” refer to nature and are the properties of those [beings] that are subject to nature 767. Therefore Darius is rightly understood as a law of nature. After all, this law embraces the genera and species that are dependent on nature, and what is contemplated around nature; I mean time and place. Therefore, existing [things] cannot be considered outside of natural birth. 4. Therefore, Darius is, as has been said, the law of nature. And Zerubbabel is the contemplative mind that came from Darius, [540] that is, from the law of nature, which turned out to be above the order of created being, subject to time and place, and raising the face of the knowing disposition [of the soul], corresponding to virtue, to heaven, that is, to the height of intelligible entities, directly opposite the heavenly Jerusalem, which is comprehended [only] by thought 768. I'm talking about that Jerusalem, whose walls are written in the hands of the Lord (see Isa.49:16) and in which is the dwelling of all those who rejoice (Ps.86:7). And it is there that the true exodus of the captives takes place, seeking, according to the divine apostle, a dwelling in heaven (2 Cor. 5:2) 769. Together with the great David, they can say: If I forget you, O Jerusalem, my right hand will be forgotten. Cling my tongue to my throat, lest I remember you (Ps. 137:5-6). Here he calls the right hand spiritual activity, [manifesting] in divine and praiseworthy [virtues], and the tongue stuck to the larynx - the knowing action of the mind in us, due to ignorance stuck to the throat, that is, to the passion that has become a lump in the throat 770, and therefore prevents us from striving for ineffable blessings and tasting the goodness of the Lord (see. Ps.33:9; 1Pet.2:3). 5. If Zerubbabel, hastening to Jerusalem, derives meanings from time and nature 771, [then this means] either the haste of our contemplating mind, or [the haste of] the Creator Word, Who is above us, but for our sake and in us became like us; He became man for this purpose, so that through [His] Incarnation he could raise to Himself those who had cast themselves out of life and dispassion into passion and death of the flesh. And, of course, having become, as far as is permissible, close to Him 772, He brings them out with Him [from captivity] and brings them to heavenly Jerusalem. Scripture, symbolically embellishing the height of their virtue and knowledge, compares them with the mentioned species and numbers [of people and animals]. For every God-loving and righteous person, ascending in an intelligible way to the heavenly Jerusalem, completes [with himself] the named numbers of various types, bringing the meanings of each type and number 773 into the fullness of a single virtue and knowledge. 6. This is clearly evidenced by the passage of Scripture offered to us for consideration, which says: And all the bahu from Israel, from twelve years old and upward, besides slaves and women, were fourty-three thousand, three hundred and sixty. Excellent is the precision of the words of the [Holy] Spirit! After all, it is noted here that none of those who came from Babylon (by which I mean the confusion of this age) to Israel, the number of whom is named, was under twelve years of age. Thus, Scripture mysteriously shows that only the one who is above feelings and time (these are designated by the number twelve, consisting of five - the number indicating feelings, and seven - the number indicating time) and cuts off the connection of the soul with them, comes from their confusion, rushing to the city above and having, [541] besides slaves and slaves, forty-three thousand three hundred and sixty. 7. Slaves 774 are probably the thoughts of natural, impeccable 775 and passions 776 independent of us. And wives 777 are ideas, natural desires and pleasures, which do not serve as a reproach to those who possess them, since they are a necessary consequence of natural desire. For natural pleasure produces, even if we do not want it, the first food that comes along, which alleviates the [acute] need for it, and drink, which repels the annoying attacks of thirst, and sleep, which refreshes the strength exhausted by wakefulness, and everything else that is natural in us, necessary for maintaining [our] nature and useful for the acquisition of virtues by those who are zealous for it 778. And although they are not counted among men, they are nevertheless brought out along with every mind that flees from the confusion of sin, so that through them it does not remain in slavery to the unnatural passions that depend on us, worthy of reproach and having no other beginning in us than the movement of natural passions. They are not counted among [men] 779 because the passions that support [our] nature for this life are not inherent in passing with us into the immortal and everlasting life. 8. And four ten thousand are the four cardinal virtues 780: having passed through nature and time through them, the mind again finds 781 the blissful lot of dispassion. For [the number] of ten thousand is recognized only thanks to the letter of the unit 782, since it absolutely cannot be denoted by another letter, being identical in its substrate to the unit, although purely mentally one can comprehend their difference - the difference of the end in relation to the beginning 783. For ten thousand is the end of one, and one is the beginning of ten thousand, or, to put it more precisely, a unit set in motion is ten thousand, and a stationary ten thousand is one. In the same way, each of the main virtues has as its beginning and end the Divine and ineffable Unity, that is, God 784, since it begins with Him and ends in Him, being identical with God and differing [from Him] only according to the meaning of thought, from which, in which and in relation to which every formation of virtue 785 is obvious. 9. Or perhaps the Scripture says that the four ten thousand are the four stages of progress in the ten Divine commandments of those who have advanced into the vast space of contemplation and knowledge. Thus, the first stage is simply the doing of the commandments by those who are introduced [to this contemplation and knowledge] after they have fled from vice 786, and such doing produces the fullness of the first ten, which is also one. The second stage of success is the cumulative comprehension of the others, achieved through the implementation of each commandment, which makes the ten a hundred, formed through the action of the commandments on each other. For ten times ten makes a hundred. The third stage of success is an increase in this centenary tenfold in accordance with the law of nature. After all, the law of nature is tenfold, since it consists of ten. [544] I refer to the three powers of the soul [plus] the five senses, the power of speech, and the natural power of fertility. [Man] uses the rational power of the soul to search for [the Cause of everything] and the benefits that are around this Cause; he uses the desirable force for a yearning attraction to the sought [goods], and the violent force - for preserving [them] and for [maintaining his] love [for God]. He uses the senses for a five-part distinction [of all sensory existence], and such a distinction is itself also divided, from which knowledge usually arises 787. For the general distinction makes a division between [entities] that had a beginning and [entities] that did not have it, between the intelligible and the incomprehensible, the intelligible and the ineffable, the created and the uncreated, the corruptible and the incorruptible 788 . The ability to speak [he uses] to express [thoughts], and the fruitful power - for the growth of sought, desired, loved and known goods. For a hundred, multiplied ten times according to the law of nature, becomes a thousand. The fourth stage of success is the ascent to the highest meaning of each commandment, corresponding to this division, carried out through contemplation and knowledge of natural law. According to this ascent, the ten thousand are considered as something gathered together, being knowable in the letter of the First Unit 789. 10. For he who simply carries out the commandments, when he carries out each of the commandments, adds others to it, and by embracing them, he connects with them the distinction of the natural law. Raising this law speculatively to the meaning of each commandment, he brings together four tens of thousands. And at each stage of success they are given honor to the mystery of the Unit, in which the meaning of the ten thousand is concentrated. 11. Or again: four tens of thousands denote the four main dispassions 790. The first dispassion 791 is complete abstinence from the implementation of evil in practice, and it is observed among beginners; the second dispassion 792 is the complete rejection in thought of [all] consent to evil thoughts among those who participate in virtue together with reason; third dispassion 793 - complete immobility of the desired principle [of the soul] relative to the passions of those who, through visible images of things, penetrate their meanings with mental vision; the fourth dispassion 794 is complete purification from the simple idea of ​​passions in the imagination of those who, through knowledge and contemplation, have made the ruling principle of their soul 795 a pure and transparent mirror of God. 12. Therefore, having cleansed himself from the action of passions, freed himself from mental consent to them, calmed the movement of the desired principle in relation to them and made his mind pure even from the simple idea of ​​them - such a [man] withdraws from matter and material [things] four tens of thousands and brings them to the divine and peaceful destiny of intelligible [things]. This is how we understand [the number] four tens of thousands. And three thousand 796 designate the perfect, [545] right and pious theological teaching about the Holy and Consubstantial Trinity. According to this teaching, we glorify the Holy Trinitarian Unity as God and believe in Her as God 797. 13. And the number three hundred here reveals the teaching of [God’s] Providence - not only because the appearance of the letter 798 denotes a force that extends from top to bottom and embraces the lateral ends on both sides (this inexpressibly indicates the Providence [of God] that combines all [being] together), but also because this number is honored to be the image of the Cross, in which the great, first and hidden sacrament of Providence was fulfilled. For the ineffable method of Providence became the great mystery of the Incarnation of God 799. Thanks to the image of this [Cross], as well as the name of Him who was nailed to Him for our sake, the great patriarch Abraham, together with three hundred and eighteen [slaves], that is, together with the image and name of Jesus, dared to go out and overcome the opposing forces, which are represented in the form of kings (see Gen. 14: 1-16) 800 . After all, as is known, Scripture often reveals its meaning through the appearance of letters to those who have become pure to perceive it. 14. And if anyone wants, based on the number, to examine the intention of the Holy Scripture and thus [comprehend] the Providence [of God] revealed through this number, then he will find that the work of Providence is not only the preservation of nature undiminished, in accordance with the meaning of its existence, but also the manifestation of this nature as perfect, in accordance with the meaning of goodness acquired by grace 801. If you add one hundred to two hundred, you get [the number] three hundred, which represents nature and virtue. For they say that the number two hundred often denotes a nature consisting of matter and species, and matter is fourfold due to the four elements, while species is fivefold due to the feeling, which shapes and gives appearance to the material mass. And if you multiply forty by five or fifty multiply by four, you get two hundred. The number one hundred denotes perfect virtue, since it contains the Divine Ten Commandments 802, multiplied ten times. Having achieved this virtue, Abraham became the father of the great Isaac (cf. Gen.21:1–5); dead by nature, he became in spirit the parent of life and joy. And when adding the numbers one hundred and two hundred, the number three hundred is obtained, revealing [God’s] Providence, which embraces [all] nature in accordance with the meaning of goodness. 15. And [the number] sixty denotes the creative and natural power of the commandments, made perfect through the meanings of the virtues. For if six denotes the creative power of nature, since this number is perfect and consists of its own parts (therefore, as it is written, God created the world in six days), then ten represents the perfection of virtues, manifested in the commandments. From this it is clear that sixty 803 clearly indicates the power that can naturally accommodate the Divine meanings that are [contained] in the commandments. 16. So, four ten thousand, added to three thousand three hundred and sixty, reveal the perfect meaning of virtue, the reverently revered sacrament of theology, [548] the true goal of Providence and the effective power of nature, which finds quality in the virtues. Together with them, the one who, through the Spirit, distinguishes the mind from the carnal sense and the world, comes out and leaves, as the ancient [Jews left] Babylon, the confusion and confusion of [this] world, hastening to the mountainous City and having a mind free from any connection with anything [down]. 17. These male servants and female servants, seven thousand three hundred and forty seven. The law, defining the provisions for male and female slaves, states that Jewish male and female male and female slaves must serve for six years and be set free in the seventh year, and foreign male and female slaves must serve forever; I think that the age here is the fiftieth year, when they were released (see Deut. 15:12, 17; Lev. 25:10, 40-41). The Jewish slave and the Jewish slave are minds and thoughts that have been in the service of active wisdom for six years in order to achieve moral decency and acquire the methods of virtue. For reason and thought, like a male and female slave, work hard for everyone who strives in active wisdom, seeking and creating ways to implement virtues, and with all their strength they resist the spirits of wickedness that are hostile to [spiritual] work. Having completed active philosophy, which is indicated by the number six (since, as they say, it denotes this active philosophy), they are released into freedom and, already free, ascend to spiritual contemplation of the meanings of existence that are akin to them 804. And when the seventh year comes, that is, the skill of dispassion [805] comes, for the sake of which the mind and the thought connected with it labored, then passions depart and are removed from the soul. 18. Foreign slaves and slaves are the fierce and desirable principles of the soul, which the contemplative mind completely subordinates to the dominion of reason to serve the virtues through courage and chastity. And he does not release them until the law of nature is completely absorbed by the law of the spirit, just as the death of pitiful flesh is absorbed by boundless life 806, and until the entire image of the beginningless Kingdom 807 is revealed in its pure form, through imitation having the appearance of a Prototype. Finding itself in this Kingdom, the contemplative mind releases the furious and desirable principles of the soul 808, transforming desire into immaculate pleasure and untainted charm of Divine love, and changing rage into spiritual boiling, fiery dream-movement and chaste madness 809. And the great Apostle Paul, a powerful ray of immaculate Light, finding himself, as it seems to me, in such a state, heard, according to the testimony of Acts, from King Agrippa: you are crazy, Paul (Acts 26:24) 810. And again, turning to the Corinthians, he wrote about himself: If we lose our temper, it is for God; if you are modest, then for you (2 Cor. 5:13). Here he calls chaste madness a frenzy for God, [549] since it takes the chaste mind, which is in this state, beyond the limits of existing 811 . 19. And the number of these [slaves and female slaves] denotes, as I assume, the Providence [of God], which extends to temporary life in proportion to reason and the methods of dispassion combined with it 812. According to this Providence, the mind, in [spiritual] work, commands the mind and thought that serve it like Jewish slaves and slaves, sets the limits of their service for [acquiring] virtue, and then moves them [to the area of] contemplation. And he takes care of the fierce and desirable principles of the soul, like foreign slaves and slaves, like a master about [his] slaves, and leads them according to the goal 813 to equal freedom 814: the mind makes desire a sweet aspiration towards the Divine, and rage - the indomitable tension of this aspiration 815. Thus, he transforms foreign slaves into true Jews by grace. 20. Singers and female singers, eight hundred fifty-five 816. Singers 817 are those who sing praises to God the Word [only] in the ways of virtues, without contemplation. Singers 818 are those who glorify God’s Word in the ways of virtues, together with the sweetness of knowledge bestowed in contemplation, and introduce others into the mystery, delighting their spiritual ears. And the number of these [singers and singers] reveals the knowledge of the eternal 819 accessible to people. For eight hundred reveals the future meanings of knowledge, and fifty – the future meanings of virtues 820. As for five, this number indicates knowledge manifested in these senses, as we showed a little earlier. 21. Camel four hundred and thirty-five. The camels that went along with the children of Israel, who were delivered from painful captivity and found freedom, are various contemplations of visible [things], like a camel, having near the senses, as if near the feet, the unclean phenomena 821 of these visible things, and near the mind, as if near the head, their pure and sublime in spirit meanings. 22. And the great Isaiah, prophetically foreshadowing the glory of intelligible Jerusalem, said about these camels: And the camels of Midianstia and Gepharstia (Is. 60:6) 822 will cover you, that is, spiritual contemplations of natural passions. For "Midian" is interpreted as "excretion", or as "blood-red clay", or as "the sweat of man and mother." And “Gefar” - as “acquired by the ridge,” which means the contemplation of carnal passions built by grief; the backbone of the soul is the flesh, since it is behind. And Scripture says that with these contemplations, like walls, the spiritual destiny of peaceful and serene conduct of mysterious speculations is protected, like a holy city. [552] 23. The indicated meaning is also revealed by the number [of camels] 823, denoting the rational movement taking place around nature and time. 24. Horses seven thousand seven hundred thirty six. The horse is the one who, striving in life's lists of virtues 824, possesses the intense strength of the fierce principle of the soul. For they say that horse bile naturally [accumulates] in wounds on the legs. Therefore, of all other domestic animals domesticated by people, [the horse] is considered the most fit and capable of running. And the great prophet Habakkuk, speaking with the help of the Spirit, compares the great apostles to horses: And you brought your horses upon the sea, troubling many waters (Hab. 3:15). He calls horses the saints and blessed apostles, bearing in the face of nations and kings the saving teaching of truth, spreading it throughout the whole world, which [the prophet] figuratively 825 calls the sea 826. And he compares the nations to waters, thrown into confusion and disturbance by the great power of the Spirit [contained] in the teaching [of Christ]; Thanks to such a saving shock, [the peoples] move from unbelief to faith, from ignorance to knowledge [of the truth], and from vice to virtue. 25. And the number of horses reveals this 827, imprinting the skill of virtue [acquired] in active wisdom. For the number seven thousand seven hundred, as related to time, denotes rapid advancement in virtues, and the number thirty-six is ​​the action of nature accompanying the virtues. 26. Moscow eight hundred and fourty five. According to the most praiseworthy meaning, the mule is a perfect skill in combating vice. Therefore, it is correct and fully consistent with the spirit of Scripture that the one who has received royal power over Israel as an inheritance is placed, at the command of [David], not on a horse, but on a mule (see 1 Kings 1:33). This indicates that the contemplative mind, which reigns over speculation and contemplation of beings, as well as over its own movements, must have the skill of combating vices, that is, that skill that does not conceive or give birth to vice at all. Based on this skill, the mind should turn to contemplation and engage in it until, having acquired the spiritual knowledge of beings, it no longer blindly stumbles upon any of the evil spirits, which are inherent in corrupting the immaculate purity of the heart through the senses. 27. However, we know that in Scripture [the word] “mule” is also used in a reproachful sense, as, for example: Do not be like a horse and a horse that has no understanding (Ps. 31:9). Here horse is the skill of neighing, [inherent] in passionate pleasures, and mesk is a skill that does not conceive or give birth to good 828. And Scripture forbids those who seek salvation to have both these habits, since one produces vice, and the other is ineffective in relation to virtue. And Absalom’s mule (see 2 Samuel 18:9) should be understood in a reproachful sense, [553] for, riding on a mule, he went [on a campaign], seeking the death of his parent. By this the Spirit shows how [a person], wounded by a certain vanity because of virtue and knowledge, in vain grows the artificially braided hair of self-conceit and displays [his] moral life like a mule to deceive the audience. Exalting himself with his hair 829, he expects to overcome his father, who gave birth to him by teaching the word, and in his arrogance wants to tyrannically take possession of all the glory of virtue and knowledge given by God and belonging to his father. But such a [proud person], going out into the expanse 830 of natural contemplation in the spirit for a reasonable battle for the truth, as a result of a living feeling, becomes entangled in the thick branches of an oak tree with the hair of material contemplation, and since he is possessed by empty conceit, his fetters that suffocate the mind, he hangs between heaven and earth. For the vain person does not have that knowledge that, like heaven, could withstand the conceit that drags him down; He also does not have [spiritual] work based on humility, which, like the earth, would pull him down, [confronting] the pride that ascends upward. And the teacher who gave birth to him mourns him, who perished, in his love for mankind, as a lover of God, imitating God: I do not want the death of a sinner, but to be converted... and I live to be him (Ezek. 33:11) 831. 28. If we consider this passage [of Scripture] in another way, then, according to this image, David clearly represents the active mind, and Absalom the conceit generated by him in cohabitation with feeling. For feeling is the daughter of the king of Geshur, whom David took as his wife and begat Absalom. “Gessur” is interpreted as “the leader of the wall” 832. The wall is the body, and its leader is the law of the body or feeling, from which Absalom is born; [name] is interpreted as “considering himself to be his father’s world,” which clearly indicates conceit. After all, believing that we have pacified passions, we prove our conceit. The great David knew about this conceit that had risen up against him, since he carried out [spiritual] work with the help of knowledge. [And, having learned about this,] he left [his] house, Jerusalem and Judah, fleeing beyond the Jordan into the land of Gilead (see 2 Samuel 15:13–17, 17:22), that is, into the exile of contrition, or into the exile of testimony, or into the discovery of them 833. He considered himself unworthy [556] due to the rebel conceit of the holy house, that is, mysterious theology, Jerusalem, that is, the peaceful and capable of contemplating the divine skill of knowledge, and Judea, that is, the joyful confession of [God by spiritual] work. For the mind sends its own forces into the expulsion of contrition when it realizes [its] recently committed [bad] deeds, which is, as it were, evidence; and he remembers each of his individual sins, which is the discovery of them 834. Or simply say: when he mentally finds himself in a time before grace (this is the borders of the Jordan), during which he was alienated from the grace of virtue and knowledge, then the mind, having recognized its own weakness, acquires humility, opposed to conceit and stronger than it. It is this humility, through awareness of what is inherent in [the mind], that comes to him, who is in noble contrition. After this, the mind kills the tyrant - conceit 835, regains its own glory, becomes the ruler of the land of Judea, reigns in Jerusalem and performs pure and impeccable worship in the holy house of God. 29. However, let us return to the number of mules belonging to the Jews released from captivity, and, if possible, consider the spiritual meaning of this number. [Scripture] says: Moscow eight hundred and fourty-five. This number shows a skill of the mind that is sterile in relation to vice, that is, a skill that does not give rise to evil, or complete dispassion for sensual [things] and feelings. For eight hundred, understood in a praiseworthy sense, denotes the dispassion characteristic of the future age; forty denotes sensual [things], and five - feelings 836. 30. Under-yoke five thousand five hundred twenty-five. The yoke is the body, which submits to the yoke of the soul to endure labor and torment for the sake of virtue in [spiritual] work, which is the body’s skill in virtue. And, having donkeys as such, the sons of Jacob transported bread from Egypt to the Promised Land (see Gen. 42:25-28), that is, they transferred from natural contemplation, as if from Egypt, into the future life the spiritual knowledge contained in the bags of thoughts, placing it through work on bodies. The number of these yokes, being entirely spherical 837, indicates the uniform movement of the bodily skill in virtue around [spiritual] work, which [fully] corresponds to the meaning of knowledge. For people who are versed in this call only spherical motion unchanging, since it is the most uniform in comparison with other [types of] movements of beings 838 . 31. This is how we considered it necessary to say this, in accordance with our weak ability to think and speak. [557] Perhaps someone will see in the quoted words [of Scripture] a representative indication of the Church, implying different degrees of believers 839, or, so to speak, their different internal states. Then the men here are those who have come, as far as is achievable, to the measure of the full stature of Christ (Eph. 4:13) and with the help of good will and love have achieved virtue 840. Boys and young women 841 are those who, out of fear of threatening eternal punishments, place the burden of active wisdom on their shoulders. Singers are those who expound well the teachings related to [spiritual] work and heal the passions of others; singers are those who, through contemplation, show the beauty of knowledge of Divine meanings, dispelling, like darkness, the ignorance of others. Camels are those who, with the help of reason, soften the corruption of the will, making it suitable for [cultivating] virtue. Horses are those who run the race of life according to God with dignity. Mules are those lay people who, even while living in society, impeccably display a wise disposition 842. Donkeys, or bearers, are those who, patiently enduring the hard labor of [spiritual] work, achieve and receive through contemplation the Word [of God]. After all, if anyone gathers them [all] together, he will gather the fullness of the Holy Church, adorned with the help of many [people] with many beauties of virtue 843. 32. So, it seems to me, the spiritual interpretation of [these] perplexing [words of Holy Scripture] has come to its limit. Perhaps someone, thanks to the acquired wealth of the magnificent hair of knowing grace, like the great Samuel, having surveyed the preceding with a spiritual eye, will clearly reveal to us the thought hidden in these inscribed words, speculatively radiating to everyone the heavenly light of Truth and convincing those who can understand this, that there is nothing inappropriate and in vain in what is written by the Holy Spirit 844. And although we cannot fully comprehend such a thought, let us perceive everything in a mysterious way, in good time and for the sake of human salvation, the beginning and end of which is wisdom. When it arises, it first creates fear, and then, when completed, it creates the [Divine] yearning of love 845. Or rather, this wisdom from the beginning, for our sake, economically itself becomes fear 846 so that the one who loves [God] 847 would stop [doing] evil; later, at the [very] end, it naturally turns out to be a [divine] yearning of love, in order to fill with spiritual joy those who preferred cohabitation with it to all things 848. 33. Such, in my opinion, are those whom the Spirit designates as men, boys and girls, singers and singers, camels and horses, mules and donkeys. And the Holy Spirit knows how to designate them in writing, and such a designation cannot comprehend the bodily sense - it is perceived only by a pure mind, since it is imprinted with the pen of grace. [576] 1. And again in the Second Book of Ezra 849 it is written: “And the enemies of the tribe of Judah and Benjamin heard, and came to test the rumor 850, and they learned that [those who had returned] from captivity were building a church to the Lord God of Israel. They came to Zerubbabel, and to Joshua, and to the heads of the generations, and said to them: We also will build with you, because we, like you, obey your Lord and offer sacrifices to Him since the days of Asphakath, king of Assyria, who brought you here. [577] And Zerubbabel and Joshua and the heads of the generations said to them, “You shall not build a house for the Lord our God with us; we alone will build a house for the Lord God of Israel” (1 Ezra 4:1–3). What does this mean, and especially [what is this] envy, because of which [the Jews] did not want to build [the church] together with others who worship the same God? 2. “Judas” is interpreted as “confession” 851. The meaning of this word is dual: one meaning correlates with thanksgiving for the blessings given, and the other with the exposure and condemnation of [one’s own] atrocities. After all, confession refers to both the grateful enumeration of Divine blessings by those who have experienced them, and the disclosure of their evil deeds by those who are guilty of them. Both of these [types of confession] create humility 853, for both the one who thanks [for blessings] and the one who examines his misdeeds are humbled: one by the fact that he considers himself unworthy of the benefits given to him, and the other by the fact that he needs remission of sins. “Benjamin”, according to the exact meaning of the Hebrew word, is interpreted as “contrition”, or “mother’s groaning”, or “mother’s measure”, or “son of the right hand”, or “house of the people” 854. 3. Therefore, anyone who confesses in accordance with one of the above methods belongs to the tribe of Judah. And everyone who is contrite for the sake of virtue and has righteousness like a mother, which skillfully guides his life and word, or whose path to salvation and edification is extensive, due to the abundance of virtue and the abundance of teaching in the word [of God], belongs to the tribe of Benjamin 855. Scripture 856 knows such [ascetics] who free themselves from the captivity of passions, move away from attachment to sensual things and are able, in accordance with the skill of dispassion, to build a house for the Lord. “Home” I call the mind, which is created from various virtues and teachings in [spiritual] work and contemplation in order to become the dwelling place of God in the Spirit (see Eph. 2:20). 4. The enemies of such [ascetics] are the four nations resettled into the land of Israel by Asphakath, king of Assyria 857. After all, he was the first to settle in the land of Israel people from Babylon, and from Khuf, and from Hamath, and from Eva (see 2 Kings 17:24). [580] “People from Babylon” denotes pride 858, which is interpreted as “nature thrown into confusion” 859. And “the people of Khuf” signify vanity, 860 because [they mean those] who transfer their reason from the [region of] virtue to [the land of] sterile conceit. For the interpretation of this name implies the meaning of “alienation from something” 861. “The people of Hamath” denote people-pleasing 862 . For Hamath is interpreted as “the vision of visible things”; it is the reason that abundant profit goes to those who hypocritically strive for virtue for the sake of honors from people. "People from Evai" denotes the lie of hypocrisy 863. For [this expression] is interpreted as “serpentine,” since such people, like the first serpent, with the help of deception and feigned friendship, drive out of virtue, like Adam, those who trusted them. And Asfaqaf, who resettled them in the land of Israel, is interpreted as “taking captives by sneaking up from behind,” that is, sneaking up secretly and unnoticed, or as “capturing with bonds.” It is clear that Asfaqaf means the devil, who secretly commits his atrocities for the sake of destroying the human race and who tightly binds every person with the bonds of his sins. He resettles into the land of Israel, that is, into the habit of virtue and knowledge, [various sins:] pride, vanity, man-pleasing and hypocrisy, instilling them in virtuous and knowledgeable people 864 in order to secretly steal the [fruits] of labor from those who labor in good [deeds], sophistically 865 leading them to another goal besides Him Who is the Cause of all that exists 866. 5. The Divine Apostle, knowing that crafty demons [always] pursue virtuous people, convinced the Corinthians 867 and wrote to them that he had no words of endearment before them, like a hypocrite (probably they considered him such); there were no types of self-interest, like a people-pleaser, [581] and he did not seek glory from anyone (see 1 Thess. 2:5-6), like a vain one. He kept silent about pride, since humility of mind was clearly characteristic of [everyone], the countless persecutions [to which he was subjected for his faith], bodily suffering, the greatest non-covetousness and simplicity in speech were obvious: Although I am ignorant in speech, I am not in knowledge (2 Cor. 11:6) 868. 6. “Those who heard the sound of the trumpets came to test their hearing and learned that [those who had returned] from captivity were building a church to the Lord of Israel” 869. The trumpets, the sound of which was heard by unclean demons, are words of virtue and knowledge 870. The sound of these words is the virtuous deeds and firmness of [good] morals of those who, through repentance, ascend from vice to virtue and from ignorance to the knowledge of God 871. 7. “They came to Zerubbabel and to Joshua and to the heads of the generations and said to them, “We will also build with you, because we, like you, obey your Lord and offer sacrifices to Him.” 8. Zerubbabel 872 is a mind that devotes itself to [spiritual] work, and Jesus is a mind that devotes itself [entirely] to contemplation 873. The heads of generations are the forces of the soul, which are set in motion by the ways of virtue and the meanings of knowledge 874. And unclean demons of pride and vanity, man-pleasing and hypocrisy come to them, saying: “We will build with you a church to the Lord.” Not one of these crafty demons can ever hinder the zeal of a virtuous person; Therefore, demons, insidiously passing over in silence the shortcomings in the virtues of the ascetics, with feigned ardor assist their efforts in order to completely subjugate the thoughts of the ascetics and, upsetting the balance of the scales of humility, secretly lead them to another monastery, and not to the one they were going to achieve. That is why the evildoers say: “We, like you, obey your Lord.” They do not hate chastity and they do not disdain fasting, nor the distribution of property, nor love of hobbies, nor psalmody, nor the practice of reading [the Holy Scripture], nor the highest of sciences, nor sleeping on the bare ground, nor wakefulness, nor anything else that determines life according to God, as long as the goal and reason for what is happening is directed towards themselves. For the ascetic quickly recognizes other demons and easily avoids the destruction caused by them - but these, who supposedly assist him in the lists of virtue and seem to want to build a church for the Lord with him, can a mind, even one that has reached the very heights [of success], recognize them apart from the Word, which passes through all [creatures], living, always in action and penetrating to the division of soul and spirit (see Heb. 4:12)? 875 In other words, [is it possible to know without this Word] which of the deeds and thoughts are spiritual, that is, natural forms, and movements of virtue, and which are spiritual, that is, exceeding nature and inherent in God, and therefore given to nature [human only] by grace? 876 [584] [The word also penetrates to] joints and marrow (Heb. 4:12) 877 - by these we should understand in general the appropriate or inappropriate combination of the methods of virtues with spiritual meanings 878. And he judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Heb. 4:12) 879, that is, the invisible and deep relationships to the named [meanings], as well as their invisible causes in the soul 880. And there is no hidden creature - of course, this is said about us, to whom it seems that [they manage to] hide something - everything is naked and open (Heb. 4:13), that is, not only what we have done and thought is naked and open, but also what we will do and think in the future. Saying: And there is no hidden creature, Scripture probably means future deeds and thoughts, and not those that have already happened, for those that have happened are obvious to ourselves and to others, not to mention God, who has foreknowledge of all ages: past, present and future. He anticipates natural knowledge concerning the origin of everything, and he anticipates this knowledge, proceeding not from existing things, but from Himself. For God alone, as the Author of all things, is natural knowledge; Moreover, He is Self-Knowledge, as having by nature knowledge of Himself, and this knowledge of Him exceeds [every] reason. By His infinity, He completely and in all things infinitely surpasses the most infinite reason 881, as a result of which He, in every sense and in every way, is the Creator of knowledge, thus defined, and is inaccessible to any knowledge comprehended by the mind or expressed in word 882. Who, if he does not have the Word settled in the depths of his heart, will be able, having escaped the traps of hypocritical demons set for us, to stand and build within himself a church to the Lord, being only one and not mixing with anyone? 883 Who will be like the great Zerubbabel, Jesus and the heads of generations who clearly declare with a loud voice to the deceivers - the demons of pride, vanity, man-pleasing and hypocrisy: “You shall not build with us a house for the Lord our God; we alone will build a house for the Lord God of Israel? [After all, a spiritually experienced ascetic] knows that mixing with these demons entails the death and destruction of the entire house [of God], and is also fraught with the theft of the grace and splendor of Divine gifts. For no one can, if any of the named demons walks along with virtue, build a house for the Lord, since in this case he cannot consider God the goal of created beings, striving towards which he strives in virtue, but will consider the passion that arose through virtue to be such a goal. After all, those who came out of captivity did not accept the people from Babylon, Khuth, Hamath and Evai, who wanted to build the church of the Lord with them, because they were jealous of them, but because they knew about the cunning of demons, under the guise of friendship they plotted intrigues and wanted, under the cover of imaginary good, to prepare for them a sinful death. 9. And if the spirits of malice, hiding behind the guise of spiritual friendship, invisibly approach us, saying: “We too will build with you a church to your Lord,” [585] we should always answer them: “You should not build with us a house for the Lord our God; we alone will build a house for the Lord God of Israel.” Some - because we, having freed ourselves and left those spirits [of malice] who are at war [with people], taking advantage of their lack of virtue, do not want to again find ourselves in the power of those spirits who encourage us to exalt ourselves with an excess of virtue, and thereby fall into a sin more serious than the previous one 884; for [with that sin] the hope of returning [to a heavenly state] 885 was more accessible, if, of course, [one’s own weakness] was realized; and with this sin, although hope will also be available, pride will serve as an obstacle blocking the path to it, which will begin to inspire us that we, having acquired [some] virtues, [can do on our own] something more virtuous 886. However, we are still not alone, because we have holy Angels helping us in the creation [of good deeds]; Moreover, our helper is God Himself, who reveals Himself in us through righteous deeds, creating us as a church for Himself - a church holy and free from all passion. [589] 1. The fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much (James 5:16). What does "reinforced" mean? 2. I think that the prayer of the righteous becomes 887 effective in two ways. The first is when the person praying brings this prayer to God along with [righteous] deeds according to the commandment [of the Lord]; prayer should not be simply verbal, turning into an empty shaking of the air (for then it becomes useless and untenable), but active and living, animated by [various] ways of [implementing] the commandments 888. For the essence of prayer and supplication is clearly revealed in the fulfillment of virtues 889; and therefore the righteous person has strong and omnipotent prayer, because it is aided by the commandments. The second way is when the one who needs the prayer of the righteous person himself carries out the works of prayer, [592] correcting his previous life and making the prayer of the righteous person strong, since it gains [even greater] power thanks to his good change in the way of his life 890 . 3. After all, there is no benefit in the prayer of a righteous person if the one who needs this prayer indulges in sins with greater pleasure than in virtues. The once great Samuel grieved over the sinning Saul, but could not appease God, because he did not find an assistant to his contrition in the proper correction of the sinner. Therefore, God stopped the useless contrition of His servant, saying to him: As long as you weep for Saul, I who have humiliated him shall not reign in Israel (1 Samuel 16:1) 891. 4. And again, the most compassionate Jeremiah, praying for the Jewish people, possessed by demonic lies, was not heard [by God], for he had no assistance 892 for his prayer in converting the godless Jews from lies [to the truth]. Therefore, he prayed in vain, and God took him away [from such a vain prayer], saying: Do not pray for these people, and do not ask to be shown mercy to them, and do not pray, come to Me for them, lest I hear you (Jer. 7:16) 893. 5. After all, true stupidity, not to say insanity, is [the desire] to achieve salvation through the prayer of the righteous of one who, according to the inner disposition of his soul, gladly indulges in harmful [sins, just as madness is the desire of one], who is voluntarily and intentionally defiled by sins, to ask the righteous to [beg God] to forgive their sins 894. For in order for the prayer of the righteous not to turn out to be useless and inactive, it is necessary for the one who needs it not only to be imbued with genuine hatred of vices, but also to make the prayer of the righteous effective, strong, inspired by his own virtues, reaching the One who can grant forgiveness of sins. 6. So, the prayer of a righteous person can do a lot in two cases: either when it becomes effective thanks to the righteous person himself who creates it, or thanks to the one who asks the righteous person for it. In the first case, this prayer gives the righteous man boldness so that he can bring petitions [to God, characteristic of men] to the righteous; in the second case, it turns away from the former depravity the one who asks the righteous for prayers, changing the inner disposition of his soul and turning him to virtue 895. 1. [It is said]: In this you rejoice, having now been grieved a little, if necessary, by various temptations (1 Peter 1:6). How can one who grieves in temptations rejoice over the fact that he grieves? 2. The Word of Truth knows two types of sorrow: one, which is in the soul, is invisible, and the other, which is in the senses, is obvious. The first embraces the entire depth of the soul, torturing it with the scourge of conscience 896; the second embraces the whole feeling 897, turning the [soul] away from physical pleasures 898 with the weight of [bodily] torment. The end of the one is sensual pleasure, [593] and the end of the other is the joy of the soul 899 . One happens as a result of voluntarily chosen [by the soul] sensual passions, and the other arises as a consequence of the action of these passions against its will 900. For sorrow, it seems to me, is a state of deprivation of pleasures. And this deprivation of pleasure appears when attacks of [all sorts of] diseases occur; diseases arise, as is obvious, with a deficiency or absence of a [healthy] state of nature; this lack, in turn, is the passion of the natural force that determines the state [of nature]; This passion is an abuse of natural action, and such abuse of the method of [natural] action appears when the movement inherent in any force [of nature] is directed towards the unnatural 901. 3. Since the Word [of Truth], as I said, knows two types of sorrow 902, this Word also knows about two ways of temptation: the way of voluntarily chosen temptations and the way of temptations occurring against the will; the first is the creator of voluntary pleasures, and the second is the culprit of involuntary torment. For it is obvious that temptation, which occurs by will, creates voluntary and freely chosen pleasures; temptation, which occurs against the will, gives rise to painful and involuntary illnesses beyond [the person’s] will. The first is the cause of sorrow in the soul, and the second is the cause of sorrow in the feeling 903. 4. As a result, as I think, our Lord and God, teaching His disciples regarding how one should pray, speaks about the type of voluntary temptations, saying: and lead us not into temptation (Matthew 6:13) 904. In admonishing His disciples regarding voluntary, freely chosen, and pleasurable temptations, He urges them to pray that they will not experience [this kind of temptation] 905 . The great James, called the brother of the Lord, teaching those who strive for the Truth not to be lost in the face of involuntary temptations, says: Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations (James 1:2) 906. It is clear that he means involuntary and non-elective temptations that produce painful illnesses 907. And it is also clear why the Lord [to the above words] adds: But deliver us from evil, and the great Jacob adds: knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience; But let patience have its perfect work, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing (James 1:3–4) 908. The perfect [Christian] is the one who, through abstinence, fights against voluntary temptations and courageously endures involuntary temptations through patience; the whole is the [Christian] 909 who successfully succeeds in [spiritual] work, accompanied by knowledge and whose contemplation is not inactive 910. 5. So, since pain and pleasure are divided between the soul and the senses, then the one who acquires the pleasure of the soul and [patiently] accepts the pain of the flesh becomes experienced, perfect and whole 911. Tested because he has gained experience of the opposites inherent in feeling 912; perfect, because with the help of abstinence and patience [596] he inexorably fights both with carnal pleasure and with the sorrow of the flesh; integral, because, dealing with opposing dispositions of feeling warring against each other, he retains unshakable and unsullied [spiritual] skills, which always remain identical to his meaning. I mean [that state of the soul when] doing and contemplation are closely united and are in no way separated from each other, but doing, through its means [of realizing virtue], reveals the knowledge inherent in contemplation, and contemplation, clothed in the armor of doing, guards virtue with the same zeal. 6. Therefore, since the Word [of Truth] has shown the existence of two kinds of pain and pleasure - one kind pertaining to the soul, and the other pertaining to the senses - we should consider their causes as carefully as possible. [In particular, we can say that] the method of spiritual grief is dual: one image of it arises as a result of one’s own sins, and the other as a result of the sins of others. It is clear that the cause of such grief is either the sensual pleasure of the mourner himself, or the same pleasure received by those for whom he mourns 914. Strictly reasoning, we can say 915 that sin would be completely absent in people if it did not take its origin in the unreasonable attachment of the soul, for the sake of pleasure, to feeling 916. And the reason for mental pleasure, as is obvious, is the sorrow of feeling in one who [usually is able] to rejoice and enjoy his own and others’ virtues 917. And again, upon careful reflection, [it can be said] that virtue would be almost completely absent in people if it did not have its origin in the deliberate aversion of the soul to feeling 918. 7. And when the soul acquires this aversion to feeling for the sake of virtue, then the feeling itself will necessarily experience painful torment, not having the ability of the soul to invent pleasures, connected with it by the relation of will 919. On the contrary, then the soul, through abstinence, courageously suppresses the rebellion [of its urges] to natural pleasures 920, through patience remains completely unshakable in relation to the onslaught of unnatural and involuntary torments and does not renounce the godly dignity and glory inherent in it through virtue for the sake of pleasure that does not have the existence of 921. And although the flesh strives to avoid the painful labors associated with the feeling of torment, the soul, however, does not fall from the pinnacle of virtue. 8. After all, constant preoccupation with what is natural to the soul becomes a cause of sorrow for the feeling 922. And the unnatural movement of the soul, as is obvious, is the basis of sensual pleasure, for it cannot take the beginning of its development in anything other than the rejection of what is inherent in the soul by nature 923. Mind and feeling have actions opposite to each other due to the extreme difference and otherness of their objects 924. For the mind has as its object intelligible and incorporeal entities, which it inherently tends to comprehend; feeling is sensual and incorporeal natures, which it perceives naturally 925. 9. However, it is impossible for the mind to reach the intelligible entities akin to it [597] except through the contemplation of created sensible things. In turn, this contemplation cannot arise apart from the sensation of sensory things that is combined with it and similar in nature 926. And it goes without saying that if the mind is in the power of the phenomena of visible objects, then it is inclined to consider the feeling combined with it as its natural action 927; falling away from the intelligible things corresponding to his nature, he, so to speak, grabs with both hands the [things] bodily, unnatural for him, and, brought into action by them contrary to his idea, is overcome by feeling. Then the mind becomes the parent of spiritual sorrow, which constantly torments [the person] with the scourge of conscience; it is also clear that he becomes a creator of sensual pleasure, becoming fattened with thoughts about images [of existence] capable of preserving the flesh 928. And if the mind stops in itself [passionate attachment] to feeling, along with its aspiration to the manifestation of visible objects, then it will contemplate the spiritual meanings of beings, purified from the external forms of these beings, and will generate joy in the soul, without being overcome by anything that is comprehended by the senses. However, the feeling will be plunged into sorrow, for it will naturally be deprived of all sensory things. After all, when reason leads over feeling in the contemplation of visible things 929, then the flesh is deprived of all natural pleasure for it, for there is no longer in it the licentiousness of feeling, freed from rational bonds to serve sensual pleasures 930. 10. Therefore, as I said, it is inherent in sensual pleasure to produce sorrow or dejection (for they are identical to each other) of the soul, and it is characteristic of spiritual pleasure to produce sorrow or dejection in the flesh. In justice, the one who places the hope of life in God and our Savior Jesus Christ through the resurrection from the dead [who regenerated us] to an incorruptible, pure, unfading inheritance, kept in heaven (1 Pet. 1:3) 931 - he rejoices in soul and rejoices with unspeakable joy, constantly enjoying the hope of future blessings, but grieves in the flesh and senses, since through various temptations it becomes dejected and plunges into [bodily] torment. For pleasure and dejection accompany every virtue: dejection comes from the flesh, deprived of pleasant and tender feelings, and pleasure comes from the soul, enjoying in the spirit meanings pure from everything sensual 932. 11. So, it is necessary for the mind in the present life (by which I mean what is “now”), which grieves in the flesh for the sake of virtue as a result of many depressions arising from temptations, to always rejoice and be glad, trusting in eternal blessings, even if the feeling undergoes torment 933. For the divine apostle says: the sufferings of this present time are not worth anything in comparison with the glory that will be revealed in us (Rom. 8:18) 934. 12. Therefore, it seems to me possible for a person to rejoice in what causes him sorrow. Sad in the flesh due to depression for the sake of virtue, [600] in his soul he rejoices in virtue itself, contemplating the beauty of future [goods] as the present. For the sake of this splendor, according to the great David, he is voluntarily put to death every day (see Ps. 43:23; 1 Cor. 15:31) 935 by the death of the flesh, and in the soul he is always renewed by spiritual birth, since he has both saving pleasure and useful sorrow 936. By this grief we do not understand that counter-rational grief common to many, which destroys the soul when a person is deprived of passions or material things that produce unnatural desires for what one should not strive for, 937 forcing one to avoid what one should not avoid, 938, but that reasonable and characteristic of wise [men] grief, which they recognize as a Divine cause and which points to real evil 939. Real evil, as they say, is the sorrow that arises in the soul when sensual pleasure dominates the ability of [spiritual] discrimination, and exists in the feeling when the procession of the soul in virtue occurs unhindered 940. After all, as strong as the onslaught of dejection is on the feeling, so [deeper] does joy and pleasure seize the soul as it approaches God through illumination akin to virtue and knowledge 941 . [601] 1. Towards this salvation, study the prophets who foretold the grace appointed for you, searching to what and at what time the Spirit of Christ who was in them pointed, when He foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glory that would follow them (1 Pet. 1:10-11). If the blessed prophets themselves, taught by the Holy Spirit, left us in writing what they were taught for research and exploration, then how could they, taught by the Holy Spirit and writing down what was revealed to them, explore and explore anything? 2. Human nature, when it is brought into being, already contains in its essence the abilities that seek and explore the Divine, which were provided to it by the Creator. And revelations about the Divine are produced by the power of the All-Holy Spirit visiting [it] by grace. When at the beginning the evil one, through sin, nailed these abilities to the nature of visible [things], there was no one who understood or sought God (cf. Ps. 13:2, 52:3), for all those who participated in [this] nature possessed such a thinking and rational ability, which was limited by the appearance of sensory [things], and therefore could not acquire any thought regarding what is above the senses 942. And of course, the grace of the All-Holy Spirit, having freed the ability nailed to material [things], restored it to its original state in those who, not due to their inner disposition, were plunged into deception. Having received it back pure, they, again with the help of the same grace of the Spirit, first of all began to seek and seek [the Divine], and then explore and seek 943. 3. It cannot be said that grace by itself, without the [participation of] natural abilities that can perceive knowledge, brings about the knowledge of the sacraments in the saints 944, for in such a case we represent the holy prophets as not understanding that they have been granted from the All-Holy Spirit the power of enlightening knowledge 945. And how truly the word [of God] says: a wise man will understand even from his own mouth (Prov. 16:23). But it also cannot be said that without the grace of the All-Holy Spirit, but only by exploring [the Divine] with the help of their natural ability, they acquired the true knowledge of beings, since then it would be discovered that for the saints the visitation 946 of the Spirit is unnecessary, which does not contribute to them in any way in revealing the truth 947 . [605] After all, as the Scripture correctly says: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights (James 1:17) 948. And again: To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the benefit: to one is given the word of wisdom by the Spirit; to another a word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith, with the same spirit; to others gifts of healings, and so on; and it is added: But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He pleases (1 Cor. 12:7-11). And He pleases, of course, [only] what is useful to everyone to certify the dispassionate striving of those who seek the Divine 949. For he who dispassionately seeks the Divine will certainly receive what he seeks. He who asks with [admixture of] any passion will not find what he seeks, as if he seeks it badly. After all, it is said: You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly (James 4:3) 950. 4. Therefore, the grace of the Holy Spirit does not produce wisdom in the saints apart from the mind that perceives this wisdom, nor knowledge apart from the power of reason that is capable of accommodating it, nor faith without the certainty of future [goods] corresponding to the mind and reason, which are still unknown to everyone, nor gifts of healing without the love of mankind corresponding to nature, nor any of the other gifts apart from the skill and strength that are able to perceive them 951. On the contrary, a person is not able to acquire any of the listed gifts only through his natural ability without God’s Power, which communicates [these grace-filled gifts] 952. 5. This is clearly demonstrated by all the saints who seek after the revelation of the Divine [mysteries] and the meanings revealed to them. After all, Abraham, having accepted the promise of inheriting the land indicated to him, when God said to him: I am the God who knew you from the land of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit (Gen. 15:7) 953, was not content with what he was looking for, leaving the land of the Chaldeans, but, filled with a thirst for knowledge, tried to comprehend the method of inheritance, asking God: How, Lord, How can I understand what imam will inherit? (Gen.15:8) 954. And Moses, having comprehended the power of signs and wonders, tried to be taught regarding the methods and meanings according to which he was supposed to verify the signs given to him 955. As the great David says: Place in them the words of Your signs, and Your wonders in the land of Ham (Ps. 104:27) 956. And about himself he speaks, crying out to God: Open my eyes, and I will understand the wonders of Your law (Ps. 119:18) and the Lamp of my feet is Your law and the light of my paths (Ps. 119:105) 957. Also, Daniel, the man of desires (Dan.10:11) and divine visions, seeking the meaning of which he spent three weeks of days without food (see Dan.10:2-3) 958, heard the voice of an Angel saying to another Angel: [608] Tell him the vision (Dan.8:16) 959. And the great prophet Zechariah, throughout the entire prophecy, turns to the Angel talking to him, showing him visions and teaching him about the meanings of the visions, saying: “And the Angel showed me, speak in me” (cf. Zech. 1:9), And the Angel spoke to me, speak in me (Zech. 1: 14, 17), “and said to the Angel speaking in me: What is this?” (cf. Zech. 2:2). 6. From here it is clear that all the saints both received revelations from the Spirit and sought the meanings of what was revealed to them. It is also obvious that the grace of the Spirit by no means abolishes the power of [human] nature; on the contrary, this power is abolished by unnatural methods of its use, but when natural methods are used, it acts and is realized, introducing [man] into the understanding of Divine things 960. After all, the Holy Spirit seeks and searches in us the knowledge of things, but He seeks what is sought not for His own sake, because He is God and [is] beyond all knowledge, but for the sake of us, who need this knowledge. Just as the Word became flesh, of course, not for His own sake, but for our sake he performed the sacrament of the Incarnation. After all, It could not carry out in a godly manner what corresponds to the nature of the flesh, without this flesh itself, rational and animated 961. In the same way, the Holy Spirit brings into the saints knowledge of the [Divine] mysteries, not without the power inherent in [human] nature, seeking and exploring this knowledge. 7. Therefore, the saints, seeking and searching or searching and seeking, had the grace of the Spirit, setting in motion the thinking and rational power of their souls so that this seeking and searching would serve for the salvation of souls. Without the Spirit, contemplation of the spiritual is impossible, because it is not inherent in the human mind [by itself], without God's Light, to cognize the Divine and intelligible 962. After all, just as without sunlight the eye cannot perceive sensual things, so without spiritual Light the human mind is not able to acquire spiritual contemplation 963. One Light naturally illuminates the sense so that it perceives bodies, and another Light enlightens the contemplating mind so that it comprehends [things] that transcend sense. 8. In the proper sense, the salvation of souls is the result of faith (see 1 Peter 1:9), and the result of faith is the true revelation of what [the believer] has believed. The true revelation of what [the believer] believed in is an ineffable interpenetration, proportionate to the faith of each 964, with what he believed. Interpenetration with what he believed in occurs as the final return of the 965 believers to the beginning. In turn, such a final return of believers to their own beginning is the satisfaction of desire. And the satisfaction of desire is ever-moving peace near the object of desire of those striving towards it 966. Ever-moving peace around the object of desire is constant and continuous enjoyment of the Desired 967. This constant and continuous enjoyment of the Desired consists in a participation in the Divine that exceeds [human] nature, which is the likeness of those who partake of the Participant. [609] And this similarity is the identity of those participating with the Participant, actually perceived by them through the similarity. The same identity of those who participate with the Participant, actually perceived by them through similarity, is the deification of those worthy of deification 968. And deification is, to put it in the most general terms, the totality and limit of all times and centuries, as well as what is contained in time and in the century 969. The totality and limit of all times and ages, as well as what is contained in time and in an age, are the continuous connection in those being saved of the pure and genuine Beginning with the pure and genuine End 970. This continuous connection in those being saved of a pure and genuine Beginning with a pure and genuine End is the outcome of natural [beings] from what was essentially measured by the beginning and the end. The same outcome of natural [beings] from what was limited by the beginning and the end 971 is the omnipotent and omnipotent, immediate and limitless action of God, [extending] to infinity in those who were worthy of a similar outcome, surpassing [everything] comprehended by the mind. And the omnipotent and omnipotent, immediate and limitless action of God, extending to infinity, is the ineffable and super-ineffable pleasure and joy generated by the inexpressible and pre-conceivable union [with God] of those who are [worth] this action; the meaning and reason for such joy, incomprehensible to the mind and inexpressible, cannot be found in the nature of beings. For nature does not have supernatural meanings, just as it does not have the meanings of unnatural laws. Supernatural I call the divine and incomprehensible pleasure, which by nature it is inherent in God to produce, uniting by grace with the worthy; and I call unnatural the indescribable torment that arises as a result of the deprivation of this pleasure, which is usually produced by nature by God, uniting in spite of grace with the unworthy. Indeed, according to the available quality of the [spiritual] disposition of each [person], God unites with everyone in the way that He Himself knows, giving to each the feeling that an individual person creates [during his earthly life] for the acceptance of the One who will completely unite with everyone at the end of the ages 972. 9. And I believe that Peter, the most excellent of the apostles, perhaps understood by the salvation of souls, which is the goal of faith, a participation in the supernatural when he said: To this salvation (of course, salvation through the Holy Spirit) belonged the researches and investigations of the prophets ... to which and for what time the Spirit of Christ who was in them pointed out, when He foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glory that would follow ( 1 Peter 1:10–11). Therefore, seeking in the Spirit the salvation of souls and exploring the meanings and methods of this salvation, the Holy Spirit leads them to understanding [the mysteries], not allowing their ability, which is inherent in comprehending the Divine, to remain immobile and inactive. First of all, He teaches them to seek how one should [612] mortify sinful will, or to mortify sin by choice 973, and then to seek rebirth to a virtuous life through free will, or to a freely chosen life determined [entirely] by virtue 974. Then - explore ways of killing sinful will, or killing sin according to will. Also: explore the meaning of the resurrection of virtuous will, or the resurrection of virtue by choice. I mean that through these methods and meanings, the mortification of sinful will, or sin by will, as well as the resurrection of virtuous will, or virtue by will, usually occurs. And it is clear that this resurrection presupposes in this age (which Scripture calls “[the present] time” 975) the suffering of nature for Christ or for the sake of Christ; the Holy Spirit foretold them in advance [to the Lord's disciples], so that they would be united with Him in the likeness of death, putting to death sin, and in the likeness of resurrection (Rom. 6:5), realizing virtue 976. After all, the one who [strives] to be saved must mortify not only sin by will, but also will itself by sin 977; and not only to resurrect the will with virtue, but also virtue itself with the will, so that all dead will, crushed by all dead sin, loses the ability to feel [anything], and all living will, [resurrected] by all living virtue, acquires this ability according to the inseparable union 978. 10. And, first of all, seeking and seeking this with the help of the Holy Spirit, the saints successfully exercised active wisdom; then, as if having become pure and free from all filth, they, with the help of the same Holy Spirit, turned the intelligent eye of the soul 979 to the Goal of [all] beings, seeking after the voluntary resurrection of the incorruptibility of nature and exploring the ways and meanings of God-worthy immortality, consistent with this incorruption 980. Now they no longer sought the resurrection of the will, which they had already received from the Spirit in active [philosophy], and they did not look for ways of this resurrection, but investigated and sought out what they did not yet have: the incorruptibility of nature, as well as the methods and meanings of deification in accordance with it, to which they hastened, desiring the glory corresponding to deification in Christ. And this is so that, having suffered together with Christ in this age (which, as I said, the Scripture calls “[the present] time” 981), we may be glorified with Him in the age to come, becoming by grace and above nature, heirs of God and by the Economy, by the power of the Incarnation [of God the Word], who appropriated to Himself all [human] nature, - joint heirs of Christ 982. For Christ, being God and Man, is inherited by us as God by supernatural grace and by ineffable communion. For our sake and in human form 983, He, as a Man, having assimilated us to Himself, inherits Himself with us according to an unthinkable condescension 984. Secretly and with the help of the Spirit, perceiving this condescension, the saints were taught what is necessary before [being worthy] through virtue of the glory that will appear in Christ in the future, [suffering] according to Him in the present life of suffering for the sake of virtue. After all, as [the apostle] says, they examined to what and at what time the Spirit of Christ who was in them pointed, when He foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glory that would follow them (1 Pet. 1:11) 985. 11. So, [the saints] investigated and sought not only the incorruptibility of nature and the meaning of the deification corresponding to it 986, but also the time when the test of suffering for the sake of this deification would occur 987. The test makes clear both the internal disposition of those truly seeking deification, and the flaunted intention of those hypocritically striving for it. [The saints also explored and sought] another time or age in which deification would be manifest [already] in all its reality 988. It, transforming everyone into the likeness of God, transforms everyone in proportion to his ability to perceive this deification, which [Holy] Scripture calls the glory that follows labor for the sake of virtue. In this way one can answer the question why Scripture speaks not simply of seeking and searching, but also of searching and seeking [the Divine], showing the accessible meaning [of these sayings]. 12. I know another explanation for them, heard from a certain wise man. He said that the words "seeking" and "investigation" in a more mysterious sense correspond to the beginning and the end: "seeking" is naturally associated with the beginning, and "inquiry" with the end. No one naturally explores the beginning, just as no one seeks the end in the same natural way, but he seeks the beginning and explores the end. As a result, according to him, when a person, through a transgression [of the commandments], left behind his beginning along with being, he could no longer penetrate with an searching gaze into what was left behind. Since the beginning naturally determines the movement of what comes from it, it is, of course, called the end, in which, as the cause of the movement of the movable, their running finds its limit 989. Therefore, a person, exploring his end, reaches the beginning, which is naturally contained in the end. Having abandoned the search for the beginning, he comes to the study of the same beginning, but as being the end by nature. After all, the beginning cannot escape the limitation of the end, which surrounds it on all sides and limits its movement. Man could not, as was said, seek his beginning, which was left behind, but he was able to explore the end, which was in front, in order to know through it the beginning he left behind, since before that he had not known the end from the beginning. Perhaps the wise master Solomon speaks about this: What was, also is, will be: [616] and what was created, also will be created (Eccl. 1:9), as if clearly showing [with these words] the end from the beginning. After all, after the transgression [of the commandments], the end is not revealed from the beginning, but the beginning from the end, and no one seeks the meanings of the beginning, but explores those meanings that move towards the end and lead to it. 13. If someone, [seeing] that Scripture often speaks of seeking, such as, for example: Seek peace and marriage (Ps. 33:15) 990 and Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33) 991, does not consider this thought to be undoubted, then here he should prudently trust the words bequeathed [by the Lord]. For the Scripture says: Seek peace, and marriage, and commanding to seek the beginning at the end. It also urges to explore the Kingdom [of God], which is the beginning, through righteousness as the end of this Kingdom. For the Kingdom of God is first of all truth; moreover, it is, in the proper sense of the word, Truth Itself 992 - to this Truth as to the end every movement of a zealot [of Truth] rushes. For truth (justice - Ed.) is the distribution of equal [good] according to the dignity of each; The kingdom is legitimate power. Therefore, truth is identical with the Kingdom; through the truth as through the end it is easy for those who wish [to follow this path] to the Kingdom as to the beginning. For righteousness is an effective kingdom, and a kingdom is righteousness confirmed by deeds. After all, to legitimately rule over beings means to give to each what corresponds to his dignity; and conversely, to give to each what corresponds to his dignity means legitimate power over beings. Therefore, for those who wisely reflect on Divine things, the discrepancy in the literal sayings of Holy Scripture does not at all violate the equality of their meaning 993. 14. If someone wishes to perceive seeking and searching, research and searching in a different way, then he will discover that searching and searching are what moves around the mind, and searching and searching are what moves around the mind 994. For it is by nature of the mind to seek, and the mind to seek 995. If we try to give a brief definition of this, we can say this: seeking is a simple movement of the mind through [its inherent] desire for something knowable; searching is a simple reasoning of the mind through thought of something that correlates with something knowable 996. And research is a corresponding knowledge and cognizing movement of the mind through some (or, more precisely, a specific) desire for something cognizable; research is the study of something that is correlated with something knowable, actively carried out by the mind through some (or, more precisely, a specific) thought. And if we apply these definitions to the realm of the Divine, then we can say that seeking is the first and simple movement of the mind through [its inherent] desire towards its own Cause; search is the first and simple reasoning of the mind through the thought of what relates to its own Cause. And research is a corresponding knowledge and cognizing movement of the mind through a certain ardent desire towards its own Cause 997; research is, corresponding to the implementation of virtues, the study through prudent and wise thought of that [617] that relates to the own Cause [of all things] 998 . 15. Therefore, the holy prophets, exploring and seeking what pertains to the salvation of the soul, possessed an ardent and ardent desire, directing their minds to God through knowledge and knowledge; They also possessed, according to the implementation of [virtues], reasonable and wise reasoning regarding Divine [subjects] inherent in their mind. And those who imitate them also investigate through knowledge and knowledge what relates to the salvation of the soul, and seeking [this salvation] through prudence and wisdom, they seek [spiritual] reasoning in the affairs of God. 1. Christ, as a spotless and spotless Lamb, foreknown even before the creation of the world, but who appeared in the last times for us (1 Pet. 1:19–20) 999. Foretold by whom? 2. The word of Scripture called the sacrament of Christ Christ. And the great apostle, clearly testifying to the same thing, says: a mystery hidden from generations, but now revealed (Col. 1:26) 1000, meaning the mystery of Christ, or the mystery according to Christ. This sacrament, as is obvious, is an ineffable and incomprehensible hypostatic union of Divinity and humanity, which in every way leads, thanks to the [very] meaning of hypostasis, humanity to identity with the Divine and from both creates a complex hypostasis 1001, but in no way reduces their essential and natural difference. Therefore, as I said, one hypostasis of these natures arises, and their natural difference remains intact, as a result of which, even after unification, the number of these natures, even combined, remains undiminished. After all, when the process of union does not entail any change or alteration of those united at all, then the essential logos of each of the two united [natures] remains intact. And for those [creatures] whose logos of essence remains intact even after the union, their natures also remain intact in all respects, without losing anything that belongs to them as a result of the union 1002. 3. For the Creator of all things, who became according to the Economy in relation to nature what He was not, [621] befits to preserve immutable both Himself, as He was by nature before that, and what came into existence according to the Economy in relation to nature 1003 . After all, no change can be noticed in God, just as it is completely impossible to conceive of any movement in Him, thanks to which a change occurs [in created beings] set in motion 1004. This is a great and hidden mystery. This is the Divine end, for the sake of which everything [created existence] arose. This is the Divine purpose, conceived by [God] even before the beginning of beings, which we define in this way: it is the end thought out in advance by [God], for the sake of which all [created things] exist, but which itself does not exist for the sake of any one of them 1005. With this end in mind, God brought into existence the essence of [all] beings. This is, in the true sense of the word, the limit of Providence, as well as those [creatures] about which He provides - the limit according to which the leadership in God of [all creatures] created by Him occurs 1006. This is a mystery that embraces all ages, revealing the super-infinite and great Council of God 1007, infinitely and infinitely pre-existing to the ages, the Angel of which 1008 was the very essence of the Word of God, who became Man. It revealed, if I may say so, the deepest foundation of Fatherly Goodness and showed in itself the End, for the sake of which, as is obvious, creatures accepted the beginning of their existence. 4. For through Christ, or through the sacrament according to Christ, all ages and what is in these ages have received both the beginning and the end of their existence 1009. After all, even before the centuries, [God] thought out the combination of limit and infinity, measure and immensity, edge and boundlessness, Creator and creation, rest and movement 1010 - that connection that was revealed in Christ at the end of time and fulfilled the foreknowledge of God, so that around that which is in its essence motionless, things moving by nature [things, however, remained], completely leaving the movement in relation to themselves and to each other. to a friend. [This also happened so that rational beings] would experience the active knowledge of Him in Whom they were worthy to abide - knowledge that is unchangeable and identical [always to itself], giving them [spiritual] pleasure in the Known 1011. 5. Scripture knows a twofold knowledge of the Divine 1012: one, relative, as existing only in reason and speculation, does not have an active and acquired through experience sensation of the cognizable - we are guided by this knowledge in real life. Another knowledge, truly true, active and [acquired] only through experience, apart from reason and speculation, grants, by grace and communion, a complete sensation of the Known 1013, thanks to which in the future [heavenly] destiny we will perceive supernatural deification, operating continuously 1014. Relative knowledge, which resides in reason and speculation, is, as they say, the driving principle of the desire for knowledge, which is participatory and active 1015. And this knowledge, which gives through experience and communion the sensation of the cognizable, eliminates, in turn, the knowledge that resides in reason and speculation. [624] 6. The wise [men] say that it is impossible for the understanding of God to exist together with the experience of God, and for thinking regarding Him to exist with the sensation of Him. By understanding regarding God I call proportionality [arising from] those who exist in the knowing contemplation of Him; sensation - the experience of supernatural benefits, depending on communion [to them] 1016; thinking is the simple and only knowledge regarding God that comes from beings. Perhaps the same thing can be observed in relation to everything else: when there is an experimental [consciousness] of a certain thing, understanding regarding it ceases, and when it is felt, then thinking regarding it is inactive. Experience I call effective knowledge that surpasses all understanding; and by sensation - the very communion of the knowable, which is above all thinking 1017. And this, it seems, is what the great apostle secretly teaches about, saying: although prophecies will cease, and tongues will be silent, and knowledge will be abolished (1 Cor. 13:8), speaking about that knowledge that abides in reason and speculation 1018. 7. This sacrament was foreshadowed before all ages by the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; By the Father - by good will, by the Son - by self-action, and by the Holy Spirit - by assistance. For the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit have one knowledge, because there is one essence and one power. After all, [it cannot be said that] the Father or the Holy Spirit did not know about the Incarnation of the Son, because in the whole Son, through the Incarnation self-fulfilling the mystery of our salvation, the whole Father essentially [dwelt] - not incarnate [Himself], but favoring the Incarnation of the Son; also the whole Holy Spirit was present in an essential way in the whole Son - not incarnate [Himself], but assisting the Son in His Incarnation for our sake 1019. Whether they call it “Christ” or “the sacrament of Christ,” all the same, only one Holy Trinity has the essential foreknowledge of this: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit 1020. And one cannot be perplexed as to how Christ, being one of the Holy Trinity, is foreseen by Her, for it is known that He was foreseen not as God, but as Man, that is, His Incarnation according to the Economy was foreseen for the sake of [the salvation of] man. After all, the Ever-Present, [which originated] in a super-causal and super-reasonable manner from the Ever-Present, is never foreseen. Foreknowledge concerns [only] that which had the beginning of its existence due to [any] cause. 8. And Christ was foreknown not in what He was in Himself by nature, but in what He later became for our sake according to the Economy 1021. For it was necessary that the one who is truly by nature the Creator of the essence of beings should also become the Self-Act of the deification of creatures by grace, so that the Giver of being would also appear as the Giver of eternal goodness 1022. Since none of the existing things has knowledge of what it is itself or another in its essence [625], then, of course, none of the existing things has by nature and foreknowledge of what will [ever] be brought into being; the exception, of course, is God, Who is above all things: He both knows Himself in His essence and has foreknowledge of the existence of everything created by Him even before it is brought into existence. Moreover, in the future, God will honor those who exist with knowledge by grace regarding what they and others are in essence, revealing to them also the meanings of bringing them into being - meanings that uniformly pre-exist in Him 1023. 9. Some argue that Christ was foreknown before the creation of the world by those to whom He appeared later at the end of time, suggesting that they existed even before the creation of the world along with the Christ whom they foreknew 1024 . We reject this teaching as alien to the Truth, for it represents the essence of rational [creatures] coeternal with God. After all, it is absolutely impossible [for anyone] to be with Christ as He is, and then someday be completely separated from Him, if it is true that in Him the consummation of centuries takes place and the peace of the moving is achieved, thanks to which there will never be any change in existing things. 10. And the word of Scripture called Christ pure and undefiled, since He by His nature was completely alien in soul and body from corruption [arising] as a result of sin. For His soul had [no] shame of blemish, and His body had [no] stain of sin. [628] 1. For it is time that judgment begin at the house of God; But if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the Gospel of God? And if the righteous can barely be saved, where will the wicked and sinful appear? (1 Peter 4:17–18). What do [the words] mean: it is time for judgment to begin from the house of God and if the righteous can barely escape? 2. God, having created the nature of men, did not create with it either sensual pleasure or sensual torment 1025, but He created in the mind of this nature a certain power for [spiritual] pleasure, thanks to which [man] could in an indescribable way [constantly] experience His sweetness 1026. This power, that is, the aspiration towards God corresponding to the nature of the mind, the first man, as soon as he was created, transferred to feeling, [and then began to carry out] in this power the first movement towards sensory [things and] had through feeling pleasure, brought into action contrary to nature 1027. Therefore, the One who cares and provides for our salvation has introduced another force [into human nature], like some kind of punisher 1028 - torment. And in accordance with this torment, He wisely rooted the law of death in the nature of the body, setting limits to the insane aspiration of the mind, which, contrary to nature, moves [it] towards sensual [things]. 3. Therefore, as a result of the pleasure that penetrated into [human] nature, contrary to the meaning of [this nature] 1029, it began to be counteracted by torment consistent with the meaning - through suffering, during which and from which death [emerges], and the unnatural pleasure is destroyed 1030. However, [pleasure itself] is not completely destroyed, for as a result of the destruction of [unnatural pleasure] the grace of Divine pleasure is revealed in the mind. Since every toil 1031 has the cause of its occurrence through actual pleasure, then this toil, of course, is for [such] a reason a natural debt, which all those involved in [human] nature are [obliged] to pay. For unnatural pleasure inevitably and naturally follows trouble for all those for whom the law of pleasure without cause preceded birth. I call causeless pleasure that arose as a result of a transgression [commandment] and was not a successor to the toil that preceded it. 4. Therefore, after the transgression [of the commandment], the natural birth of all people is preceded by pleasure, and there was not a single person who was by nature free from [this] passionate birth. And as it is necessary, everyone naturally pays [for this pleasure] with labor, and after them they are subject to death 1032. And there was absolutely no available way of liberation for those who were under the tyrannical rule of unjust pleasure and were naturally under the power of just labor [arising] as a result of this pleasure and the most just death that followed them 1033. It was necessary to destroy the most unjust pleasure and the most just toils [that arose] as a result of it, which tormented the suffering person, who begins his birth according to pleasure in corruption and ends his life also in corruption through death 1034. To correct the suffering nature [it is thought] toil and death must be invented, both unjust and causeless. Unreasonable, because they in no way had at their origin anticipatory pleasure, [629] and unjust - because they are not at all the successors of [any] passionate life, so that, finding themselves in the middle between unjust pleasure and the most just toil and death, 1035 the most unjust toil and death completely destroy the unjust principle of nature, [arising] from pleasure, and the most righteous end of this nature, [occurring] through death, [occurring] as a result of pleasure 1036. And the human race again became free from pleasure and pain, having received back the original blissful lot of [its] nature, not defiled by any of the signs introduced [into this nature by shameful] origin and corruption. 5. As a result, God the Word, being by nature a perfect God, became a perfect man by nature, consisting of a thinking soul and a body subject to suffering, 1037 [that is, a man], similar to us [in everything], with the exception of sin. However, He in no way had any pleasure at all, [arising] as a result of the transgression [of the commandment], which would have preceded His birth in time from the Wife; at the same time, He accepted, voluntarily and out of [His] love for mankind, torment, which is a consequence of pleasure and the end of nature. And this is so that, by unjustly suffering, He could destroy the principle of birth that tyrannically rules over [human] nature. The death of the Lord was not for this principle as if it were paid [to this principle] for the enjoyment of debt, like [the death] of other people, but, on the contrary, it became [a weapon] directed against it. And through death [His Lord] destroyed the just end of [human] nature, not having that [pleasure] thanks to which [death] entered [the world]; [so] He righteously punishes unlawful pleasure as the cause of existence [of the fallen state of the human race] 1038. 6. After all, it should have been (and truly should have been) that the Lord, being by nature Wise, Righteous and Strong, would not be ignorant, like the Wise One, regarding the method of healing [people]; as the Righteous One, He did not tyrannically force the salvation of a person captured by his [own] free will by sin, 1039 and as the All-Powerful One, He did not weaken in performing the healing of [people]. Therefore, He made clear the meaning of [His] Wisdom in the method of healing, becoming Man without transformation or any change. He revealed the impartiality of [His] righteousness in the greatness of the descent 1040, voluntarily putting on [our] nature condemned to suffering and making this condemnation itself a weapon for the destruction of sin, and after it death, that is, pleasure and the torment that arose as a result of it - this was the power of sin and death, the tyranny of the sin corresponding to pleasure and the dominion of the corresponding torment of death. For it is obvious that the power of pleasure and pain is contained in the passion of nature. And, wanting to avoid the painful sensation of torment, we seek refuge in pleasure, trying to console the nature suppressed by the violence of torment 1041. By strenuously taking care to dull the movements of torment with pleasure, we further confirm the handwriting [of pleasure] against us, [attracting] pleasure against these movements, [632] since we are unable to separate pleasure from torment and torment. [The Lord] revealed the power of [His] abundant power 1042, bringing about for [human] nature a birth [into eternal life], which became immutable [and inaccessible] to the opposites from which He Himself suffered. He again restored [human] nature, giving it dispassion through [His] suffering, rest through [His] labors, and eternal life through [His] death. By His deprivations in the flesh He restored the [original] possessions 1043 of [our] nature, and by His Incarnation He bestowed on this nature supernatural grace—deification 1044 . 7. Therefore, God truly became man and gave to [human] nature the beginning of the second birth, which through labor leads to the enjoyment of the future life. After all, [our] forefather Adam, having transgressed the Divine commandment, formed another birth, [derived] from pleasure, and instead of the first [birth], he introduced into nature that which through effort ends in death, and, on the advice of the serpent, he invented pleasure, which is not a successor to the previous effort, but, on the contrary, ends with this effort. Therefore, all those born of him according to the flesh, as a result of this unrighteous beginning, [arising] from pleasure, are justly brought together with him to the [common] end, that is, to death through toil. So the Lord, who became man, created for [human] nature another beginning of the second birth from the Holy Spirit, having accepted the most just death of Adam through labor, which in Him became, of course, the most unjust, since the beginning of His Own birth was not the most unrighteous pleasure [arising] as a result of the disobedience of [our] forefather. The Lord destroyed both extremes: I mean the beginning and the end of human birth, which initially did not exist from God. And He made all those spiritually regenerated by Him free from the guilt that lay upon them, because they, being from Adam, do not possess the pleasure of birth [arising] from him, but possess only torment [arising] as a result of [the sin of] Adam, which acts in them not as a debt for sin, but, according to the Dispensation and as a result of the state that naturally happened to them, against sin, [that is, they possess only] death 1045. That death, which does not have as its mother the pleasure that gave birth to it, and which became the punisher of this pleasure; this death undoubtedly becomes the father of eternal life 1046. For just as the life of Adam, according to pleasure, became the mother of death and corruption, so the death of the Lord for the sake of Adam, being free from pleasure, became the parent of eternal life. 8. Therefore, as I believe, the Word [of God] rightly distinguishes how the birth through pleasure from Adam, which tyrannically rules over [human] nature, provides food for death [that arose] as a result of it, and how the birth of the Lord in the flesh, which occurred as a result of [God's] love for mankind, destroys both, that is, the pleasure [that arose] from Adam, and death for Adam's sake, destroying along with Adam's sin and his punishment 1047. [633] For it was impossible to condemn a birth to decay through death at the end, unaffected by the fact that its final consequence was death 1048 . Since, as I said, the Word [of God] distinguishes [the named things], it can be believed that as long as only those signs that were inherent in Adam at the beginning and end (that is, at birth and corruption) tyrannically ruled over [human] nature, the time could not come for the complete condemnation of sin. He who appeared to us through the flesh and became a perfect man, with the exception of only sin, that is, the Word of God alone, by [Own] will, had in the flesh of Adam the nature of punishment; and the Righteous One, who innocently suffered for the unrighteous, condemned sin in the flesh. He overthrew the custom of death 1049, having carried out such a condemnation of sin, but not a condemnation of nature. And after the reversal of death, the time has come for the beginning of the judgment to [finally] condemn sin. 9. So, what are we talking about? That sin, which initially seduced Adam, convinced him to transgress the Divine commandment 1050. As a result of this [crime, sin] established pleasure, and through it he pierced into the very foundation of the nature of Adam and himself, [and thereby] condemned all nature to death, driving, through man, the nature of those produced into the world to disappear in death 1051. For this was arranged by the seed of sin and the father of evil - the crafty devil, who, due to pride, deprived himself of being in the Divine glory, and because of envy of us and God, expelled Adam from paradise in order to destroy the works of God and dissolve what was formed for being 1052. After all, the most vile one envies not only us because of the virtue [we acquire in feat], [which gives us] glory in God, but also [Himself] God because of [His] all-praised Power, [acting] for the sake of our salvation 1053. 10. Death, which ruled because of the crime [commandments], dominated over all of [human] nature, the basis of its power having pleasure [arising] from crime, which laid the foundation for all natural birth and because of which death itself was determined as a punishment for [human] nature. The Lord, having become a man, did not accept the unrighteous pleasure that preceded His birth in the flesh, as a result of which a just sentence was pronounced over [human] nature in the form of death, but, having voluntarily accepted natural death itself into the passionate [beginning of His human] nature, He, of course, endured [it] 1054, however, reversed the habit of death, which was in Him, as is quite obvious, not by condemnation nature, but by condemnation of sin. Indeed, in the One who was not born from pleasure, death could not be a condemnation of nature, but [it could only be] the destruction of the sin of the progenitor, thanks to which the fear of death ruled over [human] nature. For if in Adam death was the condemnation of nature, having the pleasure of the beginning of its origin, then in Christ death became, of course, the condemnation of sin, [636] since the [human] nature again found a birth in Christ, pure from pleasure 1055. And this is so that just as in Adam sin, [arising] as a result of pleasure, condemned human nature through death to corruption and the time has come for condemning [this] nature to death as a result of sin, so in Christ nature, as a result of [its] righteousness, condemned sin through death, and the time has come for condemning sin to death because of the righteousness of nature 1056, which is in Christ birth from pleasure was completely removed from itself, and [it is known that] because of it, death from condemnation necessarily pursued all [people] as [something] due. Therefore, the same death, which in Adam, as a result of sin, was the condemnation of nature, was in Christ, as a result of righteousness, the condemnation of sin. For the first, suffering as a result of sin for the condemnation of nature, justly suffered death; Christ, not suffering as a result of sin, but rather bestowing, according to the Economy, grace on [human] nature, voluntarily, in condemnation of sin, accepted the death [arising] as a result of [this] sin in order to destroy it. 11. Therefore, through Adam’s disobedience, the law of birth was established according to pleasure, as a result of which [human] nature was condemned to death, and all [people] who received existence from Adam according to this law of birth from pleasure, necessarily had, without wanting it, the death associated with birth, to which nature was condemned. This was the time of condemnation of nature due to sin, since the law of generation, according to pleasure, ruled over [human] nature. In the same way, through Christ, who was completely free from the natural law of birth according to pleasure and the custom of death, to which nature was condemned as a result of this law, but who voluntarily accepted [death] for the sole condemnation of sin, [received being] all those who, of their own free will, are reborn by Christ in the spirit through the bath of rebirth. Through grace they remove from themselves the first birth of Adam according to pleasure and preserve through the law of the Gospel commandments the grace of a sinless state [given] in the [Sacrament] of Baptism 1058, also observing the undiminished and unblemished power of the sacramental adoption in the Spirit. Of course, they have [in themselves] the habit of death, which acts to condemn sin, using the convenient moment for [this] condemnation of sin in the flesh (see Rom. 8:3); in general, [this is] by nature and thanks to the grace [given] as a result of the great sacrament of the Incarnation, the very time that [began] from the Incarnation of the Word, and in particular, by implementation and thanks to grace, this is the [time] from which each [person] received through the [Sacrament of] Baptism the grace of adoption 1059. As a result of this grace operating in the commandments, they, voluntarily having only one birth in the Spirit, [courageously] endure for the sake of condemnation of sin the custom of death, which brings much suffering. After all, he who has received [Holy] Baptism and observes its [ineradicable] power in [the implementation of] the commandments is plunged into death not as something due as a result of sin and because of it, but he accepts the custom of death for the condemnation of [the] sin itself, [and therefore] death mysteriously sends him into the Divine and endless life. [637] The saints, having courageously completed their life's journey through many sufferings for the sake of Truth and Righteousness, in themselves free [human] nature from the condemnation of death [arising] as a result of sin, and the weapon of death, [intended] for the destruction of [this] nature, they, like Jesus, the Founder of their own salvation, use to destroy sin. For if sin had death in those who, like Adam, were subjected to it as a weapon for the destruction of nature, then much more will nature have this death in those who, through faith, realize the truth in Christ as a weapon for the destruction of sin. 12. Therefore, from the emergence of the mystery of the Incarnation, God incarnate completely destroyed in those who were born after Him in the Spirit, the birth of nature according to the law of pleasure. As [the apostle] said, the time has come for judgment to begin from the house of God (1 Pet. 4:17), that is, [the time has come] for the condemnation of sin and the beginning of this condemnation was made through suffering by believers who knew the Truth and, thanks to Baptism, postponed birth according to pleasure. They were called the house of God, as the most divine Apostle Paul testifies: Christ... is in His house. We are His house (Heb. 3:6) 1060. And the head of the apostles Peter himself represents this with the following words: But if the judgment begins with us first (the judgment begins, of course), then what will be the end of those who do not obey the Gospel of God? (1 Peter 4:17). This is the same as if he said: if we, who by the grace of the Spirit have been worthy to become the house of God, must show such great patience in enduring suffering for the sake of the Truth and for the condemnation of sin and, being good, willingly give ourselves up to death like evildoers, then what is the end of those who disobey the Gospel of God? That is, what will be the end (or judgment) of those who not only with zeal have in themselves, in soul and in body, by free will, the origin of nature living and acting to the end, according to the pleasure that took possession of Adam, but did not even accept God and the Father, calling [them to Himself] through the incarnate Son? What will be the end of them, who did not accept the Mediator Himself and the Son, who is a messenger on behalf of the Father 1061 for the sake of reconciling us with Him, Who, on the advice of the Father and according to [his own] will, gave Himself up to death for us, in order to glorify us with Himself, shining with the beauty of His Divinity, to the extent that He Himself accepted for our sake the wickedness of our sufferings? For the Gospel of God is, as I believe, the message of God and calls to people through the incarnate Son, who gives [to all] those who believe in Him the reward of reconciliation with the Father [and] unborn deification 1062. [640] 13. Therefore, the great apostle, further indignant at the unbelievers, says: And if the righteous can barely be saved, where will the wicked and sinful appear? (1 Peter 4:18). He [here calls] righteous, of course, a believer who preserves the grace given in the [Sacrament] of Baptism and preserves, among many sufferings, indelible adoption [received] through the [Holy] Spirit, as well as salvation, [that is] the grace of deification, bestowed by God in the fullest measure [only] on those worthy - it can be achieved with difficulty [only] by those who strive towards the Divine at the highest limit [of all] their strength]. And he calls the one who is alien to the grace of the Gospel ungodly and sinful: he is wicked due to unbelief in Christ, and he is sinful because in him there is a living birth in accordance with the corruption of the passions of the old humanity. Or, perhaps, Scripture called the wicked one who is completely deprived of the only [true] knowledge of Christ, and the sinful one who believes, but transgresses, like me 1063, the Gospel commandments, thanks to which the robe of incorruptibility granted by holy Baptism is preserved pure. Their position (I mean the wicked and sinful) is comprehended by those who care at least a little about mysterious knowledge. For [the word] “where” clearly indicates a position that is by no means devoid of spatial describability 1064 and to which the position of the righteous is contrasted. However, [one should know that] the righteous will not be completely “where”, in [some specific] position, since his position, by grace [of God], is above “where” and, as promised, [is] God Himself. For God is not [measured with] “where,” but immeasurably exceeds [every] “where”; and in it all the saved find their place, according to what is written: Be in God's Protector and in the place to save me firmly (Ps. 71:3) 1065. And anyone who, for this reason, does not participate in some way and to the extent of [his] strength in well-being, will be like a member of the body completely devoid of the vital energy that is in the soul 1066. 14. Or again: since God will be the place of all the saved, an indescribable place, unextended and limitless, then He becomes all to all (see 1 Cor. 15:28) in proportion to the righteousness [of each], but rather in proportion to the sufferings here knowingly endured for the sake of righteousness, giving Himself to each, as the soul gives itself to the members of the body in proportion to the strength contained in each member, revealing itself acting and uniting for existence these members, which are held together [by it] for the sake of life. And where will the wicked and sinful appear, being deprived of such grace? After all, being unable to perceive the presence of God, [641] which is brought into action in proportion to goodness, where will he appear when he has fallen from the Divine life that transcends age, place and time? 15. So, according to the first, affirmative understanding [of the words] “where will the wicked and sinful appear?” , [we can say that such a person] will not be completely free from life outlined by limits, not having that Life that eludes all description and which [sits] beyond the boundaries of any place 1067. According to the second, negative [understanding of words] “where will he appear?” [it can be said that the wicked] does not have God, who contains [all] life [only] for the sake of good and becomes the place [of rest] for all the elect. After all, how will [the wicked] [live] without having God as a place, abode and affirmation of well-being, which [again can only be] in God? And to say simply: if a righteous person is saved after many painful sorrows, what will happen or what will happen to the one who during this life did nothing for piety and virtue? 1. What does the holy prophet Zechariah mean when he says: And I lifted up my eyes, and saw: I saw a sickle flying: twenty cubits in the longitude, and ten cubits in the breadth. And he said to me: this is the oath that goes forth on the face of the whole earth. And a little further: And I will carry him away, says the Lord Almighty, and the thief will enter into the house of him who swears in My name to lie, and will dwell in the midst of his house, and will kill him, and his stone (Zechariah 5:1-4) 1068. What is a sickle and what is a measure of longitude and latitude? And why is [sickle] flying? Who is the thief and who is the swearer? What is home? And what – wood and stone? [648] 2. God said: I multiplied the visions, and became like them in the hands of the prophets (Hos. 12:10). He presented in advance in symbols various prototypes 1069 of His amazing Coming through the flesh for the salvation of people, showing each through one prophet or another how much each of them could accommodate. Therefore, to the great prophet Zechariah He gave the Revelation of His secrets and, as if through a vision, allowing him to comprehend the power of His future Coming through the flesh, He wisely allowed him to contemplate the sickle. [By this God] teaches that He Himself, depicting Himself in many faces in the secret visions of the prophets, intends to voluntarily and truly descend into the created being of our nature, so that the Truth, previously indicated in images, would be revealed as truly existing 1070. 3. The sickle is our Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God and the Word of God, Who in Himself is by nature simple, [eternally] existing and ever-abiding, but for my sake, by taking on animate and thinking flesh, became, as [only] He Himself knows, complex in hypostasis 1071. At the same time, He does not perceive fusion in one nature due to [His] extreme unity in hypostasis with the flesh, but also does not split into two sons due to [His] extreme difference in nature compared to the flesh. I call, on the one hand, the ultimate inseparability of the hypostatic unity, and on the other hand, I speak about the ultimate, implying the complete unfusion and immutability of the natural difference [of the natures of Christ] 1072, because the mystery of the Divine Incarnation does not at all entail with it any difference in hypostasis, [arising] thanks to the otherness of the natures from which [the one Christ] was formed, nor fusion into one nature thanks to hypostatic unity. And this is so that, on the one hand, the sacrament of the [Holy] Trinity does not receive [any] addition 1073, and on the other, so that nothing is the only begotten and consubstantial in nature with the Trinity. After all, two natures correspond to [one] hypostasis, but there was no fusion in relation to one nature 1074 so that the one in hypostasis would be revealed as complete in unity due to the natures combined with each other and so that the difference of the natures united in an inseparable unity would be accepted with confidence by [us] who abides, according to natural originality, without any change and fusion. 4. After all, if [two] natures merged so that [one] nature arose, then the mystery of our salvation would become completely incomprehensible to us 1075. Then it would be impossible to understand where or how God’s condescension 1076 to us came from, and also [unknown to us], whether the flesh changed into God’s nature as a result of Divine unity, or God’s nature turned into the essence of flesh, or both [these natures] merged for the sake of the emergence of something else along with them in some kind of mixture, [as a result of which] the essential meaning of each of the merged natures is not remained undamaged. For [in this case] either the flesh changed into the nature of the Divinity, or the nature of the Divinity changed into the flesh, or the method of union caused these natures to merge into one nature and [caused] the emergence of a single nature along with them. [649] And therefore I [if I reason like this] do not understand the mystery of the Divine Incarnation, not finding in it after the unification a natural difference between the flesh and the Divinity. If in Christ after the union there is a natural difference of flesh and divinity, since they are never identical in essence, then the result of the unity of the combined [natures] can never be one nature, but [only] one hypostasis, in which we will not find any difference in Christ. For by hypostasis the Word is identical with its own flesh. For by virtue of whatever difference Christ perceives, He cannot be one in all respects. And due to which He does not perceive any difference at all, due to this, this oneness is contained in Him in every possible way and is always contained, being [really] existing and piously expressed [about Him] 1077. 5. So, since every difference, precisely as a difference, has its basis in the quantity of what differs, for outside of quantity there can never be a difference, then, of course, this quantity is not revealed apart from the number 1078. Therefore, we would do well if we recognized the number only in order to reveal the difference in the natures of which Christ [consists] after unity, indicating by this that [His] natures remain immutable. However, by [such a] number we do not separate the unity of [them], united into one hypostasis, and, thinking this way, we in no way introduce the number into the meaning of the hypostasis 1079. For in that in which no difference is observed at all, [no] quantity cannot be introduced into it. And in that into which [no] quantity is not introduced, it does not receive [any] number that reveals the difference. Therefore, [the Lord is] complex in hypostasis, in which both identity and perfect singularity are observed, so that, on the one hand, we can preserve this identity and singularity of hypostasis, and on the other, we can confess the difference of natures united into one Hypostasis. Therefore, the Lord is the One whom the wonderful Zechariah saw flying like a sickle. [In addition, we can say that the Lord is a sickle,] since the Word of God is able to cut off at the root every vice and every ignorance. 6. The length is twenty cubits, and the width is ten cubits. It is inherent in Christ, as God and the Word, according to the [certain] method of Providence [of God] and according to the outflow of [God's grace], to expand 1080 by ten cubits, that is, to the active and Divine commandments. For the Word of God expands into ten commandments, which legislate both activity in relation to what is due and inaction in relation to what is not due - they embrace every movement of the spontaneous will of those for whom [God] provides. And the Word, having become flesh and become perfectly human, is lengthened by ten cubits due to the combination of the elements with the senses [necessary] for the emergence of the body. For there are five senses and four elements, from the combination of which human nature is formed. And it is clear that five multiplied by four produces the number twenty. And Scripture calls the method of the House of God long, [652] since the sublime and Divine mystery of the Incarnation of God exceeds all nature. Flying - because it has nothing earthly due to its speed and high speed, or, to put it briefly and in a few words, due to the fact that it limits the entire salvation of people, consisting only in faith and a good conscience, only by the heart of those saved 1081. For there is nothing quicker than faith, and nothing easier than confessing with the lips the grace of Him in whom one believes 1082. After all, one shows the living love of the believer for the Creator, and the other shows the God-loving disposition [of the soul of the believer] towards his neighbor. Love and sincere disposition, or faith and a good conscience, are, as is obvious, a matter of the invisible movement of the soul, which does not at all require external substance for its emergence. For [Scripture] says: The Lord will create a shortened word on the earth (Rom.9:28; Is.10:12) 1083. 7. This Word is the curse which God and the Father sent upon the face of the whole earth; truly a curse because of a true [curse] 1084. For since Adam’s disobedience through transgression became a curse, preventing the commandment from increasing to produce the fruits of righteousness, so that the creation would receive the blessing, the blessing of God and the Father corresponding to nature is realized in the curse of Adam, becoming a curse from the curse of sin to destroy disobedience, which increases in the fruiting of unrighteousness, so that the creation is deprived of this increase in sin. After all, according to the divine apostle, for my sake He became an oath and a sin, He who breaks my oath and takes upon Himself the sin of the world 1085. After all, I have two curses. One is the fruit of my will, that is, it is sin, as a result of which the fruitful [seed] of the soul, [intended for the birth of] virtue, fell to the ground 1086. The other is a fair condemnation due to my will of nature to death - it necessarily draws nature against its desire to the place where the movement of my will was voluntarily sown 1087. 8. And God, who brought [all] nature into being, voluntarily submitted to the curse to which [human] nature was condemned, that is, death. He killed the condemnation of sin that lived in me at will, killing it with His own death on the Cross. Both my condemnation and my death became the condemnation of my God, not allowing the crime of [the first man] to produce the fruits of unrighteousness; [on the contrary, this condemnation of my God gave rise to] the blessing of God's truth and endless life. 9. This sickle, that is, our Lord and God Jesus Christ, puts an end to the thief and the perjurer and destroys his house and overthrows his trees and his stones (Zechariah 5:4). For the crafty and deceitful devil is truly a thief and an oathbreaker 1088. A thief - as someone who, with the help of cunning deception, stole a person - a precious work, creation and good of God - from paradise, bringing him to this place of misery, [653] staining the image of Divine glory with many stains of sins, 1089, and also seeking to make someone else's wealth his property, maliciously seeking other people's goods not for the purpose of preserving them, but in order to steal, sacrifice and destroy them 1090. And [the devil] is an oathbreaker as a liar and deceiver. Promising to give Adam the glory of the Divine, he cast him into the ignominy of foolish beasts and into pride. And to be more precise, he made [Adam] more inglorious than any beast 1091: [man], as a result of [his] pride, is so superior to cattle in foolishness, as much as what is unnatural is more abominable than what corresponds to nature. Having made Adam alien to immortality, [the devil] desecrated him by clothing him with corruption. 10. The abode of this thief and oathbreaker became the current world of decay and incessant confusion, which he may have captured by robbing man. In this world he was allowed to plunder (for reasons that God knows, who allowed him [to commit such acts]) 1092 as long as the circular movement of time 1093 exists. Having settled in this world, as if in a house, thanks to His ineffable Incarnation, the Word of God imprisoned the devil, destroyed the trees and stones of this world, completely put an end to [pagan] images and altars, and also completely destroyed and destroyed the pedestals of idols - those idols through which the deluded [pagans] brought the worship of God (as they believed) diverse and monstrous - the father of lies, the devil; he, being even more insane than they, makes from their madness a substance for his glory 1094. For what could be more unreasonable than when [someone] seems to be [something] but is not [that in reality]? 11. So, having settled through the flesh in this abode of the thief and perjurer of the devil, that is, in this world, the humane Redeemer of our souls and bodies completely changed 1095 what [existed in him] according to the method of the first deception 1096, and also restored [in him] the meaning of true knowledge. And to put it simply, having driven out the robber who [stole] someone else’s property, He again began to rule through virtue as Ruler over those who belong to Him, majestically erecting the holy Church throughout the whole of heaven. 12. Or, perhaps, the devil is a thief, because through deception and cunning he still arranges to redirect [all] the aspirations of each [person] towards himself. He is an oathbreaker, a liar and a deceiver because, with the help of the hope for the best, [he instills in people] empty, he convinces them to abandon the blessings they have; in addition, he, taking advantage of what [these people falsely] consider sweet, secretly arranges painful and painful trials for [them] convinced by him. The home of this thief and liar is the heartfelt location of each of the sin-loving people; the stones [of which it is built] are insensitivity and insensitivity to good, and the wooden parts [of this dwelling] are the excited thoughts [of such people, generated by] the impure incitement of passions. 13. Or perhaps Scripture sometimes allegorically calls desire wood pieces? [656] For the first tree damaged, as it is written, the movement of this desire, [directing it] contrary to nature 1097, and therefore this power of the soul became capable of perceiving every passion, just as the substance of a tree is capable of perceiving fire. And stones probably mean the hardness and insensibility of violent movements [that] do not obey the word of virtue. All these movements, together with their abode, that is, the [internal] disposition [of the soul], are destroyed and stopped by the appeared God the Word, expelling, first of all, through faith, from the said disposition the devil who once settled in it with the help of lies. God the Word bound with indissoluble bonds the one who seemed strong, and he ruined his house, at the same time expelling from the [human] heart the skill of igniting passions along with the fossilization [of the soul] in relation to the good. 14. Or, perhaps, the stones are the negligence of the soul, insensitive to virtues, regarding the good, and the wooden parts are its zeal for the vicious 1098. Having cast all this out of the hearts of believers, the Word does not cease to create the world 1099 and again reconciles in a single body the virtue of those who are far away and those who are close, destroying the mediastinum, that is, sin 1100; It abolishes the handwriting [signed by our] will, which [has itself fallen into the bondage of] vice 1101, by subordinating the carnal mind to the law of the Spirit. After all, It called upon distant ones, which are, as I believe, sensual movements that are by nature distant and completely alien to the law of God; [It also called] its neighbors, that is, the mental movements of the soul, which are not far from the Word due to their similarity to Him 1102, just as It, after the dissolution of the carnal law, unites them with the help of the Spirit to each other according to the method of virtue 1103. The mediastinum, as I believe, is the name given to the natural law of the body, [its] connection with the passions, that is, with sin. For the mere connection of the law of nature, that is, the passionate part of nature, with despicable passions becomes the wall that fences off the body from the soul and from the meaning of the virtues and which does not allow [this meaning of the virtues] to make the transition in [spiritual] work through the mediation of the soul to the flesh 1104. 15. The Word [of God] came and overcame the law of nature, that is, the passionate [beginning] of nature, abolishing its connection with unnatural passions. This is my Lord and my God, Christ Jesus, whom the prophet saw like a sickle, twenty cubits in length, for He embraces every sensible action contained in sensible [things], and ten cubits in breadth, for my God and Savior determines every rational movement. After all, they say that counting is inherent in nature only to rational beings, and ten is the totality and end of every number. However, the Word of God embraces not only sensory powers, but also mental actions, since [657] It is the Creator not only of corporeal [things], but also of incorporeal [entities]. In the [prophetic] vision, [God the Word] is called a sickle, not only because it compresses the vice of the rational nature, which He did not sow, and gathers up the nature, which He did not scatter, but also because, like the Reaper, He puts those who are being saved into Divine granaries. In addition, He easily comes into contact with virtuous actions, as being akin to the active abilities of the soul 1105. 16. And if it seems to anyone that in the words of Scripture: And the thief will enter into the house, and into the house of him who swears in my name to lie - we are talking about two persons and about their houses that are destroyed by the sickle, then in fact we should know that [under the guise of] two persons here two main ones are designated, encompassing all other actions of the devil's delusion or the methods of these actions. And Scripture calls the two main houses, which determine the rest, the spiritual dispositions of mankind in relation to [the devil's] delusion. For example, when, by deception and cunning, the evil one seizes the knowledge inherent in [human] nature regarding God and appropriates it to himself: in this case, he is a thief trying to transfer the reverent veneration of God to himself. [In the same way] he diverts the mental contemplation of the soul from the spiritual meanings that exist in [all] created things, limiting the mental power of [man] to contemplating the external appearance of sensory things 1106. Further, abusing natural movements, he sophistically attracts the active power of the soul to the unnatural also through what is [ghostly] considered good, and, seducing the desire of the soul with pleasure, leads this desire to the worse; finally, falsely swearing in the name of the Lord, he leads the soul convinced [by him] to something completely different from what was promised. [Therefore, the devil] is a thief, as one who steals the knowledge of nature and appropriates it to himself 1107; With his home he has the [spiritual] disposition of the erring, [gravitating] towards ignorance. And he is an oathbreaker because he forces the active [beginning] of the soul to work in vain, convincing [him to follow] the unnatural; With his home he has the sin-loving disposition of the will of those possessed [by him] whom he holds [in his power]. 17. Consequently, the devil, as I said, is a thief, since he perverts the knowledge of nature; and he is an oathbreaker because he turns away the virtuous action of this nature from [spiritual] work. The dwelling of the thief is the [internal] disposition [of the soul], based on an erroneous understanding of knowledge, and the dwelling of the perjurer is that state [of it] that is created by the shame of the passions of infamy. The saving Word of God, by [His] love for mankind, having penetrated into these dwellings, makes them through the Spirit the abode of God, creating [in them] instead of error and ignorance, the knowledge of the Truth, and instead of vice and guile, virtue and righteousness: through them it is inherent in Him to reveal Himself to [people] worthy. Therefore, Scripture named the methods of various atrocities of one and the same evil devil as faces, and it called the [spiritual] dispositions of [people] under the influence of [the evil one] dwellings akin to these devilish actions [660]. 18. It can also be said that the tatem is the one who, deceiving those who listen to him, is sophisticated in Divine words, the meaning of which, cognizable [only] through [his own] deeds, he does not understand: by simply pronouncing [these words] he gains [ghostly] glory, and by speech that comes only from his tongue, he strives to achieve praise for himself from listeners who consider him to be a righteous man 1108. Or, to put it simply, a thief is one whose life does not correspond to his word and whose spiritual disposition is opposite to knowledge - by taking advantage of other people's benefits, he dishonestly becomes famous. And of course, the words are addressed to him: But to the sinner God said: What kind of justifications will you tell and accept My covenant with your lips? (Ps. 49:16) 1109. 19. Or again: a thief is one who outwardly [decent] manner [behavior] and [hypocritical] morals hides the secret crime of the soul, covering the [vicious] internal disposition [of it] with plausible counterfeits 1110 - he is the same thief as the one who [by simple] uttering words of knowledge steals the thought of the listeners. The same can be said about the one who, through hypocritical morals, [deceives] those who see [him] 1111. In the same way, it will be said to him: Be ashamed, all who are clothed in strange garments (Zeph.1:8) 1112 and the Lord will reveal their shame on that day (Is.3:17). After all, it seems to me that every day I hear in the hidden workshop of the heart 1113 these words of God, clearly convicting me of both. 20. An oathbreaker, or one who falsely swears in the name of the Lord, is one who makes a vow to God to live a virtuous life, but indulges in what is alien to his vow, and leads a lifestyle contrary to the promised one; he breaks, as [I do] 1114, the vow of a holy life, not fulfilling [God’s] commandments. Or, to put it briefly, [everyone] who chooses life according to God, but does not completely mortify himself for the present life 1115 is a liar and an oathbreaker; having sworn to God, that is, having made a vow that he would complete [his life’s] path flawlessly in divine struggles, but having not fulfilled it, he is therefore unworthy of praise. Everyone who swears by Him will boast (Ps. 63:12), that is, everyone who has sworn to God to [lead] a pious life and has fulfilled the vows of [his] good vow with truly righteous deeds. If the one who fulfills his promises is worthy of praise, as one who has made a vow to God and confirmed it, then it is obvious that one who breaks his vows is worthy of blame and dishonor, as one who has sworn to God and treacherously deceived [Him]. 21. Entering into the hearts of such [people], or into the inner disposition [of the soul] of each, as if into a house, the sickle, that is, the Word of God and the Father, Which is the essential Knowledge and the essential Virtue, leads them to complete perfection, abolishing the previous state of the heart of each through a change for the better and making each of the two a partaker of the good that he lacks. It transforms the thief of knowledge [661] into an impeccable worker of virtue, the thief of outwardly humble [image] of morals into a knowledgeable cultivator of the hidden disposition of the soul, and the liar into a true guardian of his own vows, by the implementation of the commandments forcing one to believe [in the strength of] his promises. 1. The same prophet wrote: And he said to me: what have you seen? And he said: I saw, and behold, the whole candlestick was golden, and the lamp on top of it, and the seven lamps on top of it, and the seven bowls for the lamp on top of it. And two olive trees were on top of it, one was on the right hand of its lamp, and one was on the side (Zech. 4:2-3). What is a priest? And why is he gold? What is the light above it? What are the seven lamps and what are the seven bowls of the seven lamps? What are two olives? Why is one at the right hand of the luminary, and the other at the left? 2. The Word [of God], delineating from afar and symbolically to the prophet the multi-luminous and surpassing all radiance splendor of the Holy Church, thus embellished [his] vision, teaching thereby, as I think, regarding the power of the new sacrament. Therefore, the entire priesthood of gold is the All-Holy Church of God, pure and unsullied, immaculate and unadulterated, not diminished by anything and receiving the true Light 1116. For they say that genuine gold, when it is buried in the ground, does not turn black and is not damaged; melted completely on fire, it does not decrease; to this we can also add that, thanks to some of its natural energy, it strengthens and restores the ability of vision in those who closely examine it. In the same way, it is inherent in the All-Holy Church of God, for those very reasons, to be similar to the purest nature of gold. It is genuine because in the sacrament of [its] theology according to faith it has nothing at all alien or mixed [to this theology]; pure, because it shines and is famous for the lordship of virtues; unsullied, since no dirt of passions defiles it; blameless because she is not touched by any evil spirits and because she does not allow material circumstances to tarnish her with any vice; undiminished and undiminished, since, thrown at times into the crucible of persecution and periodically subjected to testing during the uprisings of heresies, it steadfastly withstands the pressure and does not yield to the severity of temptations, [remaining unchanged] both in its understanding and in life, that is, in faith and life. Therefore, by the grace of [God], it makes every thought strong in those who piously comprehend it. After all, she, to whom the light of true knowledge has been granted, calls [to herself] the wicked; She also protects those who love to contemplate her mysteries and keeps the eye of their thoughts intact. [668] She again calls those who have undergone any hesitation [in faith] to her and with a word of exhortation restores [in spiritual health] the suffering thought. This is how we understand, at first glance, the testament seen by the prophet. 3. And the luminary above it is the Father's true Light, which enlightens every person who comes into the world (John 1:9) 1117, our Lord Jesus Christ, who, as a result of receiving [human nature] from us and our flesh, became the luminary and is called by it, that is, [by it is called] by nature the hypostatic Wisdom and Word of God and the Father; It is proclaimed in the Church of God in accordance with pious faith, virtuous life and rises high above the pagans and by keeping the commandments it shines among them, shining to everyone in the house, that is, in the world. I mean what is said by God Himself and the Word: Having lit a lamp, they do not put it under a bushel, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to everyone in the house (Matthew 5:15). It is obvious that He calls Himself a lamp as being by nature God and as having become flesh through the dispensation; such essential Light is not limited to being concentrated in the soul, as fire is concentrated in a wick, but is contained in the clay vessel of the flesh. This, I think, was also implied by the great David, calling the Lord a lamp 1118: Thy law is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my paths (Ps. 119:105). For my Savior and God is [our] Deliverer from the darkness of ignorance and wickedness, and therefore is called a lamp in Scripture. After all, a lamp is called a lamp because [its light] dissolves the [darkness] of the night 1119 ([for] those who diligently study literature call the darkness night). And [you should know that] only one Savior, having broken apart, like a lamp, the darkness of ignorance and the darkness of vice, became the path of salvation for everyone (see Acts 16:17). With the help of virtue and knowledge, He brings to the Father those who want to follow Him through the Divine commandments, the path of righteousness (see 2 Pet. 2:21). 4. And the Holy Church [is called] a candlestick - on it the Word of God shines with [inexhaustible] preaching, illuminating everyone in this world, as if in a house, with the rays of truth and filling the thoughts of everyone with Divine knowledge. And the vessel 1120 in a symbolic manner was called the synagogue of the Jews or the bodily service of the law, which, through the gross materiality of the symbols [669] found in the letter 1121, makes the light of true knowledge, [appearing] in [spiritual] speculations, completely indistinguishable. The Word [of God] does not at all want to be placed under a vessel, wanting to be erected on the heights and greatness of the beauty of the Church. For the Word [of God], placed under the letter of the Law, as if under a vessel, as if deprives of eternal Light, without granting spiritual contemplation, all those who diligently try to extract [from Scripture] only what is perceived by the senses, false and accepting only lies, as well as [who strive to comprehend] only the corruption of bodies related [to the perceived senses]. But, [placed] on a candlestick, that is, in the Church, [the Word of God bestows] reasonable ministry in the Spirit to enlighten everyone, teaching [those living] throughout the world to live and be guided by [spiritual] reason alone 1122; to take care of bodies in such a way as to try to completely break their connection with the soul; work hard to not allow any material dreams to reach the soul at all; [to try equally hard not to allow] having extinguished with reason and the unreason of pleasure, which at the beginning rejected [this spiritual] reason and which, perceived by the senses, crawls on the earth like a serpent 1123 - in condemnation of this pleasure, a death sentence was rightly passed on [the person] in order to close the devil's entrance into the soul 1124. Sense, being one in genus, is divided into five types according to the action perceived in each type; this feeling convinces the deluded soul to love instead of God that sensory thing that is more akin to it 1125. Therefore, the one who wisely follows the Word of [God] voluntarily pronounces the death sentence on [his sinful] flesh even before forced death overtakes him, contrary to his [own] will; and [thus] he completely separates his will from feeling. 5. Therefore, the one who adheres to only one letter of Scripture has only one feeling that rules over [his entire] nature, as a result of which [in such a person] it is common for only the connection of the soul with the flesh to manifest itself. For the letter, not comprehended [by the mind] spiritually, is limited in its expression to feeling alone; and [the] feeling itself does not allow the meaning of what is written to reach the mind 1126. If the letter has an affinity with feeling alone, then everyone who, in the Jewish way, perceives the letter in only one historical sense, lives according to the flesh, every day voluntarily dying, as a result of [their] abundantly alive sensuality, a sinful death, since [such people] are not able in spirit to mortify the actions of the body in order to live a blessed life in the Spirit. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if you put to death the deeds of the flesh in the Spirit, you will live (Rom. 8:13), says the divine apostle 1127. Therefore, when lighting the divine candle, that is, the enlightening word of knowledge through contemplation and action, let us not place it under a vessel. And so as not to be condemned as those who limit the incomprehensible power of Wisdom to the letter, [we should light a candle] on a candlestick (by which I mean the Holy Church), lighting for everyone the light of Divine dogmas at the height of true contemplation. [672] 6. Perhaps the Law, prophetically proclaiming this Holy Church, prescribed that the candlestick should be all gold and minted (see Is. 25:31): one [indicates that the Church] has nothing empty and devoid of the power of the Word, and the other [that] it lacks anything earthly and is completely devoid of any material excesses 1128. The Great Zechariah, looking at her in surprise, said, stepping back a little from the candlestick: And there was a seventh lamp on top of it. We should comprehend these seven lamps here in a different way than the lamp that was previously discussed in the Gospel. For not all [names] and not all [titles] having the same pronunciation are to be understood entirely in the same way, but every word spoken [in Holy Scripture] in relation to a particular subject shows that the meaning [of it] must be understood according to the [particular] passage of Scripture, if we intend to correctly discern the meaning of what is written 1129 . I believe that by lamps the Holy Scripture here means the [seven] operations or gifts of the [Holy] Spirit, which it is proper for the [God] Word, as the Head of the whole Body, to bestow upon the Church. And the Spirit of God will rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and piety; the Spirit of the fear of God will fill him (Is.11:2–3) 1130. 7. If the Head of the Church is Christ according to the imagination of humanity, then the Church has received the One who, being God by nature, possesses the Spirit and the energies of the Spirit 1131. For for my sake the Word became man, for my sake all salvation is arranged, and through what belongs to me He gives me in return what is characteristic of Him by nature. Because of this, [the Word] became Man, and, taking on [human nature] because of me, [It] reveals what is characteristic of [It]; Considering, as a Lover of Mankind, His own grace as mine, [God the Word] attributes to me the power of accomplishment inherent in Him by nature. As a result of which it is said that [He] even now receives that which by nature belongs [to Him] without beginning and that exceeds [every] word. For just as the Holy Spirit by nature and essence exists [as the Spirit] of God and the Father, so He by nature and essence is the [Spirit] of the Son, since He ineffably proceeds from the Father in an essential way, through the begotten Son, giving to the priest, that is, the Church, his own actions, like lamps 1132. After all, just as a lamp dispels darkness, so it is inherent in every action of the Spirit to drive out and cast out from the Church the manifold existence of sin. Wisdom destroys folly, reason destroys misunderstanding, counsel destroys lack of prudence, strength drives out weakness, knowledge destroys ignorance, godliness destroys wickedness, also pursuing those acts of depravity that follow this wickedness, and the fear [of God] drives away insensitive contempt. For not only the commands of the Spirit are light, but also His actions. [673] 8. Again, the lamps are those who throughout this world kindle the light of salvation through the Church and constitute the degrees of deanery in it. For example, a sage, [skilled] in Divine and sublime dogmas, and a teacher of the mysteries is a lamp that reveals what was not revealed to many before. And the one who listens with understanding and knowledge to the wisdom spoken among the perfect 1133 is another lamp, like an understanding listener, preserving in himself the light of truth [communicated] by those who speak. One who thoughtfully distinguishes the times corresponding to things and ponders the ways befitting the meanings [of these things], preventing them from dangerously colliding with each other and merging - such a [person], like a wonderful adviser, is also a lamp. He who with unshakable courage endures the onslaught of involuntary temptations, like blessed Job and the noble martyrs, is a powerful lamp that retains within itself the unquenchable light of salvation, preserved by him with the courage of patience; he has [in himself] the Lord as Strength and Praise. He who knows about the wiles of the evil one and is not ignorant of the [cruelty] of hand-to-hand combat in invisible battles - he, illuminated by the light of knowledge, is another lamp [able] to speak appropriately after the great apostle: we are not ignorant of his devices (2 Cor. 2:11). The one who piously follows [in all things] life according to [God’s] commandment, guided by virtues, is also a lamp, like a pious [person] who fearfully commits himself to piety through the ways [of implementing the commandments]. The one who, in anticipation of the [Last] Judgment, fences himself off with a wall of abstinence from passions, not allowing them to penetrate into the soul, is again a lamp: he diligently and with the fear of God cleanses himself from the stains of passions that depress him and throws out [from the soul all] unnatural defilements, making [his] life bright and sparkling [purity]. 9. Therefore, the Holy Spirit, through fear [of God], piety and knowledge, produces in [people] worthy purification, [arising from] purity of virtues 1134. Thanks to the power, will and understanding of the Light, those worthy are given the enlightenment of knowledge of the meanings of beings, according to which these beings exist. And the perfection [arising from] deification is bestowed upon the worthy, as far as is accessible to man, by the all-light, simple and whole Wisdom, Which raises them in every way directly to the Cause of beings; they learn about [God's] Goodness based on Divine properties. According to this [Wisdom], they know themselves from God, and from themselves - God, since there is no mediastinum between them and God, for there is nothing in between 1135 between Wisdom and God. When they completely overcome all the middle [things] 1136, fraught with the danger that [a person] will be deceived in his knowledge, then they acquire unchangeable immutability 1137. And to it, boundless and limitless, and also to perfection, which by nature is limitless and infinitely surpasses everything inexpressible and incomprehensible, [675] they are raised by grace through silence and ineffable silence. 10. And seven bowls for the lamp above. It seems to me that the consideration of this statement should be twofold: one touching the lamps, and the other touching the cups; Let's start with the second one. They say that a cup is a shield-shaped vessel into which people usually pour oil for lamps so that they shine and do not go out. Therefore, according to the spiritual meaning, the cups of the seven lamps on the candlestick seen by the [prophet] are the skills and inner disposition [of the soul] of those who receive the distribution of spiritual gifts in the Church; they can contain various words, ways [of behavior] and morals that saturate [with oil] and support [burning] the seven lamps, that is, the actions of the [Holy] Spirit 1138. For, just as without oil it is impossible to keep [the burning] of a lamp unquenchable, so it is impossible to keep the light of spiritual gifts unquenched without skill that nourishes the benefits of [the Church] with useful words, ways and morals, as well as with proper speculations and thoughts. After all, every spiritual gift needs a skill fused with it, which constantly pours spiritual substance into it, like oil, so that what is received constantly remains in accordance with [this] rooted skill. Therefore, the seven cups of the seven lamps of the priest are the skills inherent in the Divine gifts of the Holy Church, from which the wise and vigilant guardians of the bestowed blessings, like the wise virgins [about whom they speak] in the Gospel, pour, as if from certain vessels, into the lamps of the gifts of the oil of [spiritual] joy 1139 . 11. And two olive trees were on top of it, one on the right hand of its lamp, and one on the side. Beautifully, absolutely correctly and measuredly, the Word [of God] arranges everything in a vision that is in agreement with itself. After all, having spoken about the candlestick, the luminary, lamps and cups, [the prophet] adds two olives 1140. And indeed, along with the light, one should naturally think of the cause that generates the force that preserves this light, so that it does not disappear from the lamp, going out due to the lack of combustible material. Therefore, the two olive trees of the golden candlestick, that is, the Holy Church, are two Testaments 1141: from them, as if from certain olive trees, the power of speculation, feeding the light of Divine gifts, stands out, like oil squeezed out with the help of pious research and research; [such power] fills the skill of each [person], in proportion to [his] own ability, and preserves the unquenchable light of grace corresponding to it. [This light] is kept [always burning, nourished] like oil by speculation [obtained] from the Scriptures. [677] After all, just as without an olive tree it is never possible to obtain genuine and natural olive oil, and just as without a vessel it is impossible for the one who received it to preserve this oil (if you do not add oil to the lamp, then its light, of course, will go out), so without the Holy Scriptures the truly divine power of speculation is unthinkable. And without skill, which, like a vessel, receives speculation, a [genuinely] Divine thought can never be formed: the light of grace-filled knowledge 1142, not nourished by Divine thoughts, cannot be preserved unquenchable by those who possess [this knowledge]. 12. Therefore, the Word [of God] allows us to elevate [prophetic] vision to spiritual contemplation: the priest [is related to] the Church; luminary - with the incarnate God, who immutably clothed Himself in hypostasis in our nature 1143; the seventh lamp - with the gifts or actions of the Spirit, as the great Isaiah clearly showed; seven cups of lamps - with skills capable of receiving these Divine gifts ([we are, of course, talking about those] who accept these gifts); two olive trees - with two Testaments, from which the power of Divine speculation inherently comes and by which it is wisely put into action: with this power the light of the Divine mysteries is nourished and preserved unquenchable. 13. One is on the right hand of his lamp, and one on the side. As I think, the prophet calls the more spiritual part of the Word on the right hand, and the more bodily [part of It] on the left. If the left signifies the more corporeal part of the Word, and the right signifies the more spiritual [part of It], then the olive tree, which is on the left, means, as I believe, the Old Testament, and it mentally foreshadows primarily active wisdom; The olive tree, which is on the right hand, means the New Testament - the teacher of the new sacrament, which creates a contemplative skill in each of the believers. For those who philosophize about the Divine, the first gives images of [the implementation of] virtue, and the second - the meaning of knowledge. One, delighting the mind from the darkness of visible [things], raises it, which has become pure from all material dreams, to the akin 1144; the other, cleansing him of addiction to material things, as if with some kind of hammer, knocks out the nails that attach our will to the body. The Old [Testament] brings the body, with the help of virtues, to the soul, preventing [at the same time] the mind from descending down to the body, and the New [Testament] raises [this mind], ignited by the fire of [spiritual] love, to God. The first makes the body identical in mind, movement and disposition 1145 ; the second likens the mind to God according to the property of grace, [and then] this mind acquires such a strong similarity with God that through it God is known, Who in Himself is never known by nature by anyone, just as [is unknowable by nature] the Prototype from some image 1146. This is how it should be understood. 14. If anyone wants to comprehend the meaning of the above statements [of the prophet] in relation to an individual person, then here too there will be no shortage of good and pious speculation. Indeed, in this case, the priest can be thought of as the soul of each [person]; [680] it is entirely golden, since by nature it is intelligent and reasonable, incorruptible and immortal; the soul was honored by the most royal power of autocracy, having on itself the luminary of faith, since it firmly believed in the Word made flesh and truly worshiped Him. The word of knowledge is attached to it, according to the teaching and admonition of God and the Word Himself. For he says: When they light a candle, they do not put it under a basket, but on a candlestick, and it gives light to everyone in the house (Matthew 5:15). A candle here is probably called a word of knowledge corresponding to [spiritual] work and [carried out] in the spirit; the vessel is the earthly mind of the flesh, or the passionate law of the body: the law of grace cannot be placed under it, but [it should be placed] on the soul, a truly golden candlestick, so that, illuminating with the radiance of righteous deeds and wise speculations all those in the house (that is, in the Church, or in this world), it makes those who see [this radiance] imitators of Good. [They must] glorify with their virtuous deeds (and not just words) the Heavenly Father 1147, that is, God, who is [contemplated] on the heights of the mysterious speculations of knowledge and who gives birth in the saints to the greatness of works of righteousness, manifested in accordance with virtue, so that, as [the Lord] says, they will see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father (Matthew 5:16). 15. In a similar way one can think about the visions [of the prophet] regarding the priest and the luminary. In the above interpretation it is shown that the seven lamps are various gifts [of the Holy Spirit], which rest in a mysterious way on [man] attaining perfection according to Christ, and enlighten him. Since the Word [of God] considers as “Christ” (anointed) [everyone] who lives according to Christ and differs, as far as is permissible to man, in the same ways [behavior] and speeches 1148, then he also has wisdom, reason, advice, strength of knowledge, piety and fear [of God], through which, as if with the help of spiritual eyes, God, as they say, looks at the whole earth of every heart. For [the prophet] says: This is the seventh tow of the Lord, which looks upon the whole earth (Zechariah 4:10) 1149. 16. And seven bowls for the lamp above. The cups are the skills of [spiritual] work and contemplation of those [people] who are worthy of the distribution of Divine gifts; pouring from them, as if from certain vessels, the power of mysterious speculation, like oil, they keep unquenchable the light of the gifts of the [Holy] Spirit. By two olive trees one should understand, as was said, two Testaments: the Old Testament, located at the right hand of the luminary, generates, like oil, with the help of the knowing and contemplative [principles] of the soul [681], the ways of virtues corresponding to [spiritual] work 1150, and the New Testament, located at the right hand of the luminary, inexhaustibly generates, like oil, with the help of passionate, or active, [beginnings] of the soul 1151 spiritual meanings of knowledge corresponding to contemplation. And so, through both, the light of theology, like a lamp, together with the inherent gifts of the Spirit that are associated with it, more powerful, bringing from the Old Testament ways that magnify knowledge through action, and from the New Testament meanings that enlighten the practice of virtues through spiritual contemplation, composes both of them into one beautiful sacrament of our salvation. Then the word is proven by life 1152, and this word becomes the glory of life, [spiritual] work becomes realized contemplation, and contemplation becomes secretly guided work 1153. And to put it briefly: virtue becomes a manifestation of knowledge, and knowledge produces the power that preserves virtue. And through both, that is, through virtue and knowledge, a single wisdom is formed and manifested, so that we know that the two Testaments are completely consonant with each other, by grace forming a single sacrament, just as the soul and body at the birth of a single person are [mysteriously] combined with each other 1154. 17. If someone, striving for [exalted] mental contemplations, says that two olive trees are two laws, that is, natural and spiritual, then he will not go beyond the limits of truth. For the natural law 1155, which is located on the side of the luminary, that is, the incarnate God of the Word, is conceived [as a law] leading to the Word, methods related to virtue and [being] among sensible [things]; [he does this] through a feeling akin to [such things]. The mental or spiritual law, located at the right hand, collects 1156 the meanings related to spiritual knowledge that are in existing [things]; [he does this] through speculation, akin to [such things]. Thanks to these two laws, we, filling the various skills of spiritual gifts, like seven bowls of lamps - with speculations related to doing and knowing, keep the light of Truth unquenchable. 18. Perhaps this passage of Scripture should be understood in a more speculative sense, namely: by the two olive trees, one at the right hand, the other at the left, Providence and Judgment are meant, in the midst of which is placed, as if on a golden candlestick, that is, on the Holy Catholic Church or on the soul of each individual saint, the light of Truth, showing the way to everyone - God the Word, Who embraces everything; He reveals the true and most general meanings of [the entire] totality of things according to Providence and Judgment: in accordance with these meanings, the sacrament of our salvation was arranged, predetermined before all ages and fulfilled in recent times (see 1 Pet. 1:20) 1157. Of these, we consider, calling on faith alone for help, Providence (like an olive tree located at the right hand of the luminary), correlating it with the ineffable way of the hypostatic union of God the Word with rational and animate flesh, and we inexpressibly comprehend Judgment (like an olive tree located at the right hand) in correlation with the mystery of the life-giving suffering of God incarnate for us 1158. [The Word] became one mainly by the will of [God the Word], since He, as good, is by nature the Savior of all; the other [He] voluntarily endured as a result of [His] meekness as the Redeemer of all 1159. After all, God became man not primarily in order to suffer, but in order, through [His] suffering, to save man, who, being initially impassive, [684] fell [684] to [the power of] these sufferings as a result of the transgression of God’s commandment. 19. Therefore, according to the Providence of [God], the sacrament of the Incarnation is located at the right hand as realizing the deification predetermined before the ages and supernatural by grace of those being saved 1160, and no understanding of beings in general is capable of comprehending this by [its created] nature. And at the forefront, as it is obvious, is the mystery of the passions of God, who desired to suffer according to the flesh 1161 according to the Judgment [of God]. This sacrament, on the one hand, carried out the complete destruction of all unnatural properties and movements introduced into nature as a result of disobedience, and on the other hand, it produced a complete restoration of the original properties and movements [inherent in this nature]: according to such restoration, in the sense of [each of] beings, nothing false will be found at all 1162. From them, that is, from Providence and Judgment or from the Incarnation and [salvific] suffering [of the Lord], came forth with the help of the firmness of purity and immaculateness of manly virtue and immutability 1163 in [spiritual] work, as well as with the help of the transparency and lightness of mysterious contemplation and knowledge, the holy quaternity of the Gospels, like four chariots from the middle of two copper mountains (see Zech. 6:1) 1164. These Gospels, having spread throughout the whole earth and circumnavigated it, heal the wound inflicted [on humanity] by the crime of Adam, and through faith and good living consistent with faith, the Spirit of God rests on the northern land (see Zech. 6: 8), [685] that is, on the pagans, among whom the darkness of ignorance prevailed and over whose nature the darkness of sin tyrannically ruled 1165. Or again: through the Holy Gospels, the power of the four main virtues, equal in number to them, completely embraces, as if the earth, the heart of the faithful, bypasses the wound inflicted on them by the passions of wickedness, and through the active implementation of the commandments rests the Spirit of God on the northern earth, that is, on the flesh, making manifest through deeds of righteousness the law of the Spirit (see Rom. 8:2) 1166. 20. Or again: the two olive trees should be understood as contemplation and doing. Providence allows the meaning of contemplation to shine in accordance with the Incarnation, and the Judgment [of God] allows the way of doing to be carried out according to the [salvific] suffering of [the Lord] 1167, since the meaning of contemplation, relating to the soul, is at the right hand of the Word, and the way of doing, relating to the body, remains at the left. One calls the mind to affinity with God, and the other sanctifies the feeling with the help of the Spirit and rids it of the imprints of passions. 21. Or again: by two olive trees one should understand faith and a good conscience, in the middle of which is the Word; the faithful worship Him rightly, guided by faith, and guided by a good conscience, they serve [Him] piously by pleasing one another. 22. Moreover, the Word [of God] can depict two peoples under two olive trees: the pagans and the Jews, who, according to the etymology of the word “olive,” are called “sons of anointing” 1168 due to the birth in the Spirit and the grace of adoption, [leading] to deification. In the middle of them is the incarnate God, [rising] as if on a candlestick, on the one and only Catholic Church; He reconciled these two peoples with Himself and with each other (see 2 Cor. 5:19) and gave birth to the light of virtue and knowledge. 23. It is possible that the Word [of God] mysteriously hints that the two olive trees are to be understood as soul and body; the soul is covered with the meanings of true knowledge, like an olive tree with a lush crown, and the body is clothed with virtuous deeds. 24. If the word of Scripture, by means of two olive trees, indicates two worlds, the intelligible and the sensible, then such an understanding is also quite acceptable. In the middle of the two worlds is God the Word: He outlines and makes the intelligible world appear in the sensory world through [His] impressions, and also teaches us to comprehend the sensory world in the intelligible world through [His] meanings 1169. 25. If the [prophetic] vision captured the present life and the future life [in the image of] olive trees, then this way of viewing [this vision] is also good. In the middle of them is the Word, which leads us away from the present life through virtue, and leads us to the future life through knowledge. Probably the wonderful Habakkuk, mentally comprehending this, says: [688] In the midst of two animals you will be known (Hab. 3:2) 1170. Here he calls “lives” (just as the great Zechariah speaks of copper mountains and olive trees) either two worlds (or ages) or the lives inherent in them; or doing and contemplating; or skill in goodness and its implementation; or the law and the prophets; or the entire Old and New Testament; or two peoples - pagans and Jews; or two laws - natural and spiritual; or faith and good conscience. In the middle of them is the Word, glorified and sung by all, Who, as the God of all, leads everyone to a single agreement of good, and therefore makes everyone [such], so that It becomes for all an indissoluble bond of [their common] identity in good, corresponding to the unity of [their] with each other. 26. The Word [of God] in [this prophetic] vision perhaps calls the Church and the soul a candlestick as having the acquired and restored Light of grace, because God alone is Good by nature, and by Him all those [beings] who are capable by [their] nature of perceiving Light and Goodness are already illuminated and made good by communion. 27. This is [our reasoning] about it within reasonable limits. You yourself, holy father, with the help of God, in your mental contemplation you will see what is better than these [reasonings], and you will enlighten my blind soul with the bringing rays of your thoughts. [693] 1. What is the meaning of the statement of the prophet Jonah, who speaks of Nineveh: In it live more than twelve men who have not known their right hand, who are lower than their own (Jon. 4:11)? For in the literal interpretation [of this passage] I find no consolation. After all, the prophet does not speak here about children and does not mean infants, but speaks about people. And what kind of person, if his mind is intact, does not know his right hand and his power? Therefore, tell me which people, which right hand and which shuytse are being discussed here according to the meaning of spiritual interpretation. 2. Nothing that is described in Scripture: be it persons, places, times or other things, animate and inanimate, sensory and intelligible, can always be thought in the same way so that narrative and speculation are in complete agreement with themselves. Therefore, one who infallibly exercises himself in the divine knowledge of the Holy Scriptures should, [immersing] himself in the variety of events and narratives, perceive [them] differently, [considering separately] each of the things told, and properly apply speculation, coordinating it with place and time. For each of the names indicated in Scripture has many meanings according to the meaning of the Hebrew word. We undoubtedly find this in the above text. 3. After all, [the name] “Jonah”, according to various pronunciations [of it], is interpreted as “rest” and “the habitation of God”, as “healing of God”, “the grace of God [given] to them”, as “the work of God”, as “dove”, as “flight from beauty” and as “their toil” 1172. Jonah finds himself in Joppa, and in the sea, and in the [belly of] a whale, and in Nineveh, and under a pumpkin. “Joppa” is interpreted both as “looking at joy”, and as “wonderful beauty”, and as “intense joy”. 4. And the prophet Jonah bears the imprint of Adam, and of the general nature [of humanity], and of Christ, and of prophetic grace, and of the Jewish people, whom [God constantly] transformed with every good thing, but who remained ungrateful and always slandered the Divine mercies [shown to him]. For example, Jonah bears the imprint of Adam and the general [human] nature when he flees from Joppa into the sea, and therefore, according to [one of the] meanings of his name, he is designated as “flight from beauty.” Joppa reveals the paradise imprinted in it, [696] which truly exists and is called “looking at joy”, “intense joy” and “wonderful beauty” due to [the presence of] the wealth of incorruptibility in it; whatever paradise was, planted by the hand of God. For [Scripture] says: And the Lord God planted a paradise in Eden... and brought in there the man he had created (Gen. 2:8); [He also planted] certain trees in it - either contemplated or comprehended by the mind; [He also planted] in the middle of paradise a certain tree of life. Adam was commanded to eat from all the trees [except the tree of knowledge,] but perhaps [he was forbidden] to touch them 1173. After all, it is said: You shall bring food from every tree that is in paradise (Gen. 2:16). 5. Again "Joppa" signifies "virtue" and "knowledge," and also "the wisdom that is in them." [It is] virtue when interpreted as “wonderful beauty,” and knowledge when it is comprehended [in the sense of] “looking at joy”; It becomes wisdom when it means intense joy. A person who improves in this [wisdom] acquires indescribable joy - strong and truly embracing in itself the Divine and according to God's dispensation of man, if indeed wisdom - the tree of life is for all who hold on to it, according to what is written, and who worship it, as to the Lord, is solid (Prov. 3:18) 1174. We see that human nature, through disobedience, like Adam in paradise, always runs away (due to the fact that its thoughts are diligently immersed in wickedness) from Joppa, that is, from the habit of virtue and knowledge, as well as from the grace of wisdom that is in them, and is voluntarily drawn into the sea, that is, into the salt water of sin. And just as the forefather Adam fell from paradise into this world, so this nature, having fallen down into the instability of material [things], rushes (and is thrown) from one error to another and carefully cherishes confusion 1175. Those who are attached to such [mixture] find only drowning and being swallowed up by a whale [as they say]: Water poured out on me until my soul, the last abyss of my life, until my head was buried in the clefts of the mountains, sank into the earth, even its ropes were sealed for eternity (John 2:6-7). This earth is dark and gloomy, the abyss of the last abyss, where there is no light, below the belly of man (see Job 10:22) 1176, as the great Job, who labored in strong struggles for the Truth, says somewhere. 6. So the prophet signifies Adam or the general nature of people, mysteriously imprinting them in each [of the words of his vision]. He designates nature [as] a nature escaping, as if from Joppa, from the Divine blessings [given to him]; it is carried away, as if into the sea, into the suffering of this life and drowns in the raging waves of the ocean of addiction to material [things]; is swallowed up by a spiritual whale and an insatiable monster - the devil. [697] This nature is immersed right down to the soul in the water of evil temptations that surrounds [it] on all sides, since [human life is usually] overwhelmed by [waves] of temptations; it circles, dragging it to the deepest abyss, that is, the [human] mind is imprisoned in complete ignorance, and the understanding is flooded with the weight of vice; [his] head is squeezed in the crevices of the mountains, that is, the first teaching of faith about the Unity, as the head of the entire body of virtues, is squeezed, as if in the dark crevices of the mountains, in the thoughts of evil forces and is divided into many opinions and dreams 1177. Scripture calls the clefts of the mountains of thoughts [circling] around error, as well as the spirits of wickedness, located somewhere in the depths of the ultimate abyss of ignorance. And [human nature] descended into this earth, the constipations of which forever hold it back, that is, it descended into the habit of [sin], devoid of any Divine feeling and any living movement of virtues 1178; here there is no feeling of goodness and movement [of the soul] rushing towards God. [On the contrary, here] the darkness of ignorance extends, [attracting to itself] like an abyss, and a destructive abyss of vice opens up 1179. [In this same land] mountains of error take root, that is, spirits of wickedness, into the crevices of which human nature first sank, and then became [here], as a result of [its] habit in the worst, a support and recipient of the error and wickedness of these spirits. [In addition, this land] has, like eternal constipation, internal attachments to material [things], which do not allow thought to get rid of the darkness of ignorance and see the light of true knowledge 1180. This skill, which I spoke about a little earlier, was called by the great Job a dark and gloomy land and a land of eternal darkness (see Job 10:21–22). Dark - because it lacks all true knowledge and contemplation, and gloomy - because it is devoid of all virtue and all [spiritual] work. Where there is no light, he says, that is, knowledge and truth, below the human belly (Job 10:22), that is, the way of life befitting rational [creatures] 1181. 7. Probably, a prophet finds himself in [all] this when, imprinting in himself the passions of humanity, the pitiful fate of which it has prepared for itself, he has internalized what is inherent in the general [human nature]; and to him, imprinting Adam, the meaning of [his] name, explained as “flight from beauty,” properly corresponds. However, when he foreshadows God, who for our sake was born through animate and intelligent flesh in that, with the exception of sin alone, belongs to us and corresponds to us 1182, and when he foreshadows the sacrament of the Economy and the economic passion [of the Lord], then he signifies the descent of [God] from heaven into this world through the transition from Joppa to the sea 1183. And the mystery of death, burial and Resurrection [of the Lord’s prophet] is revealed by the fact that, having been swallowed up by a whale, after three days and three nights he was ejected by it intact. Therefore, the meaning of the name [“Jonah”, understood] as “the rest and healing of God” and “the grace of God” is appropriately correlated with these [events]; and it is rightly called “God’s toil” [700] because of voluntary suffering. For the prophet mysteriously destined, through his own misfortunes, the rest of those burdened with torment, the healing of those stricken with diseases, and also the grace of remission of sins, [which is] Christ Jesus, the true God 1184. After all, our Lord and God became man and dwelt in the depths of our worldly sea; He came down from heaven, as if from Joppa, which is explained as “beholding joy,” into this sea of ​​this world, according to what is written: Who, for the joy that was due to Him, endured the cross, despising the shame (Heb. 12:2); He voluntarily descended into the heart of the earth, where the enemy who had consumed us through death kept us imprisoned. [And then,] by means of [His] Resurrection, having pulled [us out of there], He, being truly Restoration, Healing and Grace, raised all the conquered [human] nature to heaven. [The Lord] is Rest as the one who dissolves through [this] transitory life the law of casual slavery in the flesh 1185; [He is] Healing as Healing [us] through [His] Resurrection from the destruction of death and corruption, and Grace as distributing sonship in the Spirit through faith and the grace of deification according to the dignity of each. For it was necessary (and truly necessary!) for the Light and Power of God and the Father to appear in that land in which darkness and eternal constipations abided, so that [the Lord], breaking [the bonds] of the darkness of ignorance, as spiritual Light, and crushing the constipations of evil, as the hypostatic Power of God, freed nature, imprisoned by the evil one in a terrible prison, and gave it the unquenchable light of true knowledge and indestructible the power of virtue. 8. When [Jonah] imprints in himself the prophetic grace that left, as if from a certain Joppa, from the previously considered glorious service of the Law and, accordingly, the Gospel, passed on to the pagans, depriving the Jewish people of grace-filled joy for their unbelief; and also when he imprints in himself the Church of the pagans turning, like Nineveh, to God, who [were worthy of this] through many sorrows, dangers, vicissitudes, toil, persecution and death - then the representative meaning of the prophet’s exodus from Joppa 1186 is revealed. Having left the service according to the Law, he denotes the grace of prophecy, which found itself in a sea of ​​involuntary misfortunes, in a storm of misfortunes from persecution, accompanied by struggles, toils and dangers, and also swallowed up by the whale of death, but not completely destroyed. For nothing that exists [here] is able to hinder the procession of grace, proclaimed in the Gospel to the pagans: neither tribulation, nor distress, nor persecution, nor famine, nor danger, nor sword (see Rom. 8:35). On the contrary, grace is strengthened through this, overcoming all those who rebel [against it]; enduring, she conquers them even more and turns [human] nature, which has fallen into error, to the living and true God, [701] as Jonah [turned] Nineveh 1187 . And even if it seems that through the malice arising from persecution, the evil one [completely] hides grace, like the whale [hid] the prophet, yet it is impossible for him to retain [it] to the end, since he is not able to change the power of the Power that brings grace into action. As a result, he makes this grace, after testing it with his opponents, even more radiant and makes it appear in his disciples to the extent that he himself exhausted his own strength in [his] attacks 1188. [And the evil one] sees that grace is not only invulnerable to him, but also that the natural weakness of the saints who proclaim it among the pagans becomes a power that destroys his strength and completely destroys [himself], who exalts himself above all heights against the knowledge of God (cf. 2 Corinthians 10:5); [he also sees that] in one who seems to be physically stricken by malice, [grace] spiritually becomes stronger. 9. Having learned about this in the renewal of the Spirit, and not in the decay of the letter (see Rom. 7:16), and also from suffering in [a similar] trial, Paul, the great trumpet of Truth 1189, who became a minister of prophetic grace in Christ to the Gentiles, says: We have this treasure in earthen vessels (2 Cor. 4:7). He calls the word of grace a treasure, and a clay vessel this body, subject to suffering 1190. Or [it means] what is considered ignorance (see 2 Cor. 11:6) in [the art of] making speeches - [that ignorance] which conquers all the wisdom of the world [this] 1191 or contains [in itself], as far as is accessible, the Wisdom of God, completely incomprehensible to the world, and fills the entire universe with the light of Her true knowledge. So that the superabundant power is attributed to God and not to us. We are oppressed on every side, but not constrained; we are in desperate circumstances, but we do not despair; we are persecuted, but not abandoned; we are cast down, but we do not perish. We always carry in our body the death of the Lord Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are continually being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal flesh, so that death works in us and life in you (2 Cor. 4:7–12) 1192. After all, the heralds of the Word of grace, who innocently and willingly undergo death in suffering for the Truth, produce in the Gentiles, according to the knowledge of the Truth, life in the Spirit, 1193 as this grace was mysteriously represented by the suffering Jonah, who withstood [and overcame] so many dangers in order to turn the Ninevites from error to God. Therefore, according to the inner meaning of [his] name, he is correctly interpreted as “the gift of God” and “the work of God.” After all, [he is] the gift and gift of God, loving and well-disposed [to all people], and God’s praiseworthy work is like the [praiseworthy] grace of prophecy [addressed] to the pagans. [This grace is] a gift as giving the light of true knowledge and communicating the incorruptibility of life to those who perceive it, and God’s work - [704] as convincing his servants to be glorified by labors for the sake of the Truth and teaching them both [in periods of] suffering [for the faith] and [in periods of] indulgences to extend [their preaching] even more to those who are still very concerned about life according to the flesh. [As a result] the natural weakness of the flesh in relation to suffering becomes for these ministers the basis of abundant spiritual strength 1194. 10. For the Word of grace, having come through many temptations to human nature, that is, to the Church of the Gentiles (just as Jonah came through many tribulations to Nineveh, the great city), convinced the reigning law of nature to rise from [its] throne, that is, to [rise] from its previous habit of evil, [inherent in] the senses, to take off its vestments, that is, to disperse the arrogance of worldly glory, associated with morals, put on sackcloth, that is, in contrition, in the heaviness and severity of suffering, which appropriately leads to life according to God, and sit on ashes 1195. Ashes are poverty of spirit 1196, in which there is everyone who is taught a pious life and has [always with him] the scourge of conscience, [painfully] whipping him when he sins. And the Word of grace, proclaiming [the Truth], convinces to believe in God not only the king, but also men, who, of course, constitute [together] human nature, assuring [them that they should] confess the One God, the Creator and Creator of all things, and preparing [them to the fact that they should] declare their complete renunciation of the former evil morals. [It convinces them all], from the least to the greatest, to put on sackcloth and diligently strive for the suffering that mortifies the passions 1197: under “small” and “great,” as I believe, in Scripture, according to the spiritual meaning, those convicted by the Word are some of lesser, and others of greater vice. 11. And the men of Nineveh believed in God, and commanded fasting, and put on sackcloth, from their greatest to their smallest. And the word came to the king of Nineveh, and he rose from his throne, and took off his robe, and put on sackcloth, and was gray in ashes. And it was preached, and it was spoken in Nineveh by the king and his nobles, saying: Men, and cattle, and oxen, and sheep, let them not eat foul things, let them not graze, let them drink below the water (Jon. 3:5-7). The king (that is, the king of nature) is the law of nature, the leaders of this [nature] are the rational, violent and desirable [principles of the soul]; The men who inhabit this city, that is, nature, are, at first glance, those who are mistaken in [their] mind and have erroneous knowledge regarding God and [things] Divine. Cattle are those who sin in their desired beginning and bear a heavy burden of bodily passions; oxen - those who direct all the movement of their furious beginning downwards, that is, towards the acquisition of earthly [things], for they say that drinking the blood of an ox [705] immediately causes death to the one who drinks it; It is obvious that blood is a symbol of the violent principle. Sheep (of course, blameworthy sheep) are those who, unreasonably and according to feeling alone, feed, like grass, on the contemplation of visible [things leading] to passion 1198. All this, as we assume, is used in the said passage of Scripture in a shameful sense, and this until the Word, having received them, transforms them into something better. Let them not eat foul things, let them not graze, let them not drink below the water (John 3:7) - [here it is implied that] in each of the named [individuals] the causes leading to the formation of passions are dissolved. After their destruction, [the Word], showing a change for the better of those who were previously in the power of evil morals, adds: And they put on sackcloth, men and beasts, and cried out diligently to God: and each one returned from the way of his evil one, and from the iniquity that is in their hands (John 3:8). As I have already said, by humans we understand those who are possessed by spiritual passions and who [fall into] the erroneous judgment of [their own] mind, and by beasts - those who, being possessed by bodily passions, are nailed to pleasure, abusing [their] violent and desirable [forces of the soul] 1199. [708] All [of them], clothed, as in sackcloth, in the mortification of [their] earthly members, that is, [in the mortification of] the earthly law and thoughts, diligently raise their voice [to God], that is, with a loud voice and boldly proclaim liberation from punishment for past sins, turning away, as if from a certain path, from the usual [for them] field of unrighteousness and from carrying out unrighteous deeds. 12. Thus, Nineveh, conceived in spiritual terms, always reveals Jonah preaching in it, that is, in the common nature or Church of the Gentiles - this is the word of prophetic grace, every day turning the lost to God. If we consider Nineveh in relation to each [person], then [we can] say that [by it is meant] the soul of each [person] is a great city; to her, who acts unlawfully, the Word of God is sent, proclaiming repentance for [gaining true] life. By the king of this [city] we mean the mind; under the bosses there are innate [soul] powers; under people - passionate thoughts; under cattle - lustful excitement associated with the body; under the oxen - movements of the furious principle [of the soul], hungry for material [things]; under the sheep - the impulses of the senses [striving] to perceive sensory [things] apart from thought. And the king-mind, rising, as if from some throne, from the habit of former ignorance, throws off from himself, like a robe, a false opinion regarding the existing ones, puts on, as if in sackcloth, repentance for [his past] bad thoughts and sits down, as if in ashes, in the habit of poverty in spirit 1200. He commands people, cattle, oxen and sheep to fast, that is, not to eat the food of vice and not to drink the water of ignorance, or to abstain from evil deeds and [vicious] contemplation, which misleads the senses; [he also commands] to put on sackcloth, that is, a skill that mortifies unnatural passions and creates virtues and knowledge; [he also commands] to cry out diligently to God and diligently confess to Him, who can grant forgiveness for past [sins], past [one’s bad deeds], to appease him with [one’s] humility, to ask Him to give the ability to carry out the best [accomplishments] and the power that keeps [our good] will unchanged - Him, who willingly gives these [benefits] to those who ask. [And all this is necessary in order] to prevent thought [from walking] as if on an evil path, [trodden] by previous errors, and also not to allow it [to carry out] the sophisticated skill of vice with the active forces of the soul. 13. In this great city, that is, in the general human nature, or in the Church consisting of pagans, or in the soul of every person - [in this city] saved by the word of virtue and knowledge or by faith and a good conscience, there were many or twelve myriads of people who knew neither their right hand nor their judgment 1201. As I assume, by the twelve myriads, according to the spiritual interpretation of Scripture, the meanings of time and nature are meant here - those meanings without which it is impossible to achieve knowledge regarding the visible nature 1202. The number twelve is made up of five and seven; nature is fivefold due to feeling, and time is sevenfold; as a result of which nature and time [together] clearly reveal the number twelve 1203. [In Scripture] it is said with meaning about more than twelve myriads of people, so that we may know both this descriptive number and that which infinitely surpasses [it] in its multitude, which produces a quantity beyond the number twelve. 14. However, it is obvious that the all-praised Church of God, possessing meanings of virtue and knowledge that surpass the meanings of time and nature and reach the greatness of eternal and intelligible [things], has in itself more than twelve myriads of people who do not know either their right hand or their shuytsa 1204. For the one who, through virtue, in accordance with the [spiritual] law 1205, consigns carnal passions to oblivion as related to shuytse, and through unstumbling knowledge, in accordance with [spiritual] success, does not fall into the disease of arrogant pride, has become a man who does not know [neither] his right hand, that is, he has become a man freed from the love of glory, nor his scum, that is, he became a husband who escaped the confusion of carnal passions. So, as it seems, the Word [of God] calls vainglorious exaltation of [one’s own spiritual] accomplishments the right hand, and the licentiousness of shameful passions the shuitz. 15. And every soul, enlightened by the contemplation of intelligible [things], found the men discussed above, that is, those who know neither their right hand nor their craft. After all, every soul that diverts [its] thinking power from the contemplation of what relates to [created] nature and time has, like men, natural meanings that go beyond the number twelve: it ceases to bother itself with those meanings that are subject to nature and time, but turns to those meanings that relate to the knowledge of Divine mysteries, [709] as a result of which they do not know either their right hand or shuytsy. For the knowledge of the virtues, which is proportionate to the Word [of God], or the effective knowledge of the Cause of the virtues 1206, is inherent in producing complete ignorance (like the right hand and the right hand) of excess and deficiency, located on both sides of the middle path of virtue. 16. If in reason there is nothing by nature counter-rational, then it is clear that anyone who is raised to the reason of virtues will in no way be able to know the state of counter-reasonable [things]. After all, it is impossible to immediately and simultaneously take in the gaze of opposite [things] and mentally comprehend them as appearing one together with the other 1207. If there is no word of unbelief in faith 1208, and also if light by nature is not the cause of darkness, and it is not inherent for the devil to appear along with Christ, then it is obvious that nothing contrary to reason can coexist with reason 1209. If it is completely impossible for the counter-rational to coexist along with reason, then, as I have already said, one raised to the reason of virtues cannot know the state of counter-reason [things]: he knows only virtue, and he knows it as it is, and not as it is supposed to be 1210. And therefore he does not know either the right hand, [which occurs] as a result of abundance, nor the shuytsia, [which occurs] as a result of lack, for he sees the foolishness of these extremes. If reason is the limit and measure of beings, then in the same way that which moves contrary to the limit and measure, or beyond the limit and measure, leads to unreason, and therefore [it reaches] the counter-rational 1211. And for those [beings] who move either in one direction or the other, for both of them this entails equally a falling away from what truly exists. For [on the one hand, deviation to the right] encourages people to move along an unclear and uncertain path, the goal and predetermined end of which is not God, due to the immoderation of [their] mind, and therefore they begin to wander, more and more deviating to the right 1212; [on the other hand, the deviation on the other hand] encourages people to go contrary to the goal, moving towards only feeling, and to consider, due to the weakness of [their] mind, that which is limited by feeling as a predetermined end [of the path]. The one who is combined with the mind of virtue alone does not know either the right hand or the shuytsa and does not suffer [anything] from them, limiting with this mind all the movements of his mental power, and therefore he cannot think either that which exceeds the mind, or that which goes against it. 17. If someone, filled with zeal, wants to comprehend with his mind a more sublime meaning [of these words], then by the right hand he should understand the meanings of incorporeal [things], and by shuytsa - the meanings of bodily [things]. However, the mind, irresistibly striving for the Cause of existing things, will have no knowledge of these beings at all, since it will not see any [created] meaning in God, Who, if related to any [created] cause, exceeds all meaning 1213. [Such a mind], having focused on God and [having renounced] all things, does not know any meaning of those [things] from which it has withdrawn: in an inexplicable way, it sees only the Word, finding itself by grace next to Him 1214. [712] 18. God, knowing about them, spares these and similar people, and through them spares the whole world; He spares them as men who truly have not known either the worthy reproach of their right hand, or the same swindle. After all, [you should know that] almost everything in Scripture is perceived either in a praiseworthy sense or in a reproachable sense 1215. [God spares such people] even if the reckless, ungrateful and misanthropic Jewish people are the evil enemy of all love of mankind, for whom the salvation of people causes [only] annoyance, is indignant, rejects [divine] life and grieves over the salvation of the pagans in Christ 1216. This people, due to their ignorance, considers the pumpkin better than the salvation of the pagans, and, seeing that it has dried up because the worm [has undermined it], they are upset 1217. I have already said before that the great Jonah prefigures madness in himself, but [does not prefigure it as if] he himself had suffered something characteristic of the Jews (in no case!), but prefigures it in such a way that he exposes in advance the Jewish wickedness, as a result of which they fell away, as if from Joppa, from their former glory. 19. Therefore the Holy Spirit mysteriously called him by this name [Jonah], which can be interpreted in different ways depending on the disposition of all those whom he represents. Therefore, when in himself he demonstratively exposes the folly of the Jews - that folly that mourns the salvation of the pagans, is confused by the paradox of [their] calling, blasphemously rejects the Divine will and, in spite of it, prefers death to life (as indicated by the dried pumpkin), - then [the name of Jonah] is interpreted as “their trouble.” As if nailing this recklessness to the pillory 1218, the Word [of God] says: And God saw their deeds - meaning, naturally, the Ninevites - as if they had turned from their wicked ways: and they repented [God of evil, the hedgehog verb] did it to them, and did not do it (Jon. 3:10). And Jonah was saddened... and said: Now, Sovereign Lord, accept my soul, for I must die rather than live (Jon. 4:1-3). And further: And the Lord God commanded the worm early in the morning, and to eat the pumpkin, and from it. And suddenly the sun came to shine, and God commanded the scorching wind, and strike the sun on Jonah’s head, and you were faint-hearted, and denied your soul, and said: I must die rather than live (Jon. 4:7-8). 20. Nineveh is the Church of the Gentiles, which received the Word of grace, turned away from the former lie of idolatry and, as a result, was worthy of heavenly glory. The tabernacle that Jonah made for himself upon leaving the city depicts the city of Jerusalem and the man-made church in it. The pumpkin represents the transitory shadow of bodily service to the Law, which consists in [comprehension of only one] letter [of it] and has nothing at all lasting and capable of enlightening the mind. The worm is our Lord and God Jesus Christ, who speaks about Himself through the prophet David: I am a worm, and not a man (Ps. 21:7). [713] He truly became a worm and is called one because he took on flesh without [male] seed 1219 . For just as a worm does not have intercourse and [carnal] mixture does not precede its birth, so a similar mixture did not precede the birth of the Lord in the flesh. Moreover, the Lord planted His flesh, like bait, on the hook of the Divinity to deceive the devil, so that this insatiable spiritual dragon, having devoured in its mouth flesh that was easily vulnerable due to its nature, would be caught on the hook of the Divinity and so that it would completely vomit (thanks to the holy flesh of the Word [received] from us) the human nature already absorbed by it 1220 . For just as before [the devil] swallowed a man, planting as a bait [for him] the hope of [gaining] a deity, so later, being himself deceived by the perception of humanity, he vomited out the deity deceived by the expectation, since he himself was deceived by the expectation of humanity. And the surpassing [all] Power of the Divine was revealed through the weakness of the weakest nature, defeating [through this weakness] the strength of the victorious [evil one]. It became obvious that God, who took advantage of the cover of the flesh, won, and not the devil, who promised man deity 1221. He is the worm that struck the pumpkin and dried it up, that is, abolished the legalistic ministry like a shadow, and dried up the exaltation of the Jews who were proud of this ministry 1222. 21. And the sun never came to shine (John 4:8). Together 1223 because after the representative riddles of the law had passed and a certain time of bodily service under the law had passed, the grace of a new sacrament arose, bringing about a new day, [that is, the day of] higher knowledge and Divine virtue - [that grace that] deifies those who hold it. After all, after this worm struck the pumpkin and the sun [began to scorch Jonah’s head]… 1224 For [the Lord] Himself is a worm and the Sun of righteousness (Mal.4:2) 1225. On the one hand, [He is a worm] since he was born without seed according to the flesh and [His] conception cannot be comprehended by [human] thought; on the other hand, [He is the Sun] because He found himself underground for my sake through the mystery of death and the grave: being by His nature eternal Light, He rose from the dead through [His] Resurrection. And God commanded the burning heat of the wind, and strike the sun on Jonah's head (John 4:8). For with the rising of the Sun of righteousness, that is, after the Resurrection and Ascension of the Lord, He, who burns and scorches with the heat of temptation [human sins], turned on the unrepentant Jews and began to strike [the rays of His] righteous judgment on their heads, turning, according to what is written, their illness on their heads (cf. Ps. 7:17), - as they themselves wished on their own heads, crying out: His blood be on us and on our children (Matthew 27:25) 1226. For it is clear that after the Resurrection and Ascension of the Savior, a scorching wind of extreme power, or punishment through the pagans, befell them. And, having struck [with its rays] the glory and power of the entire people, like the head, my Sun [of truth] defeated [them], since [the Jews] closed their mental eyes to Him and did not recognize the Light of truth. [716] 22. Or in other words: the scorching wind that scorches the Jews 1227 who do not believe in the Word of grace is God-forsakenness 1228, which does not allow the rain of knowledge to [fall], [destroying] the dew of prophecy and drying up the natural source of pious thoughts in the heart. This abandonment of God righteously befell the Jews as having stained their hands with innocent blood, betraying the truth for the sake of lies and rejecting God the Word, who immutably came in the form of Man 1229 for the salvation of the human race. Therefore, they were given over to the self-legislation of error 1230, in which it is in no way possible to detect [signs of] an internal disposition [of the soul, at least somehow] moistened by piety and fear of God, but [in which only a hard and dry will is manifested 1231. It is characterized by arrogance - a cursed passion that arose from the combination of two vices: pride and vanity 1232. Moreover, pride denies the Reason for virtue and nature, and vanity through adultery corrupts virtue and nature itself 1233. After all, not a single proud person does [anything] according to God, and not a single vain [person] acts in accordance with nature. From the mixture of [these vices, as was said] arrogance arises. In relation to God, it is characterized by contempt, from which stems a blasphemous rejection of [God's] Providence, and in relation to nature, it is characterized by alienation, which leads to the fact that the natural, through abuse [of it] 1234, turns into the unnatural, destroying the splendor of nature. 23. And to briefly say: the thought of the Jewish people, as a result of [their] unbelief in Christ, was, by [God’s] permission, fettered by the destructive demon [pride] 1235, and [the Jews] equally hated both God and people. God - because they considered Him lower than carnal pleasure, as a result of which they rejected [all] ministry in the Spirit; people - because they believed that [other peoples] do not descend from Jacob, and therefore are alien to the Creator. [They also believed that] the shedding of Christian blood is a desire to please the Divine. The vain [this people], due to [their] senselessness, did not know how it seems that it is not so much the body and [bodily] origin that lead to intimacy with God, but rather the soul, which takes care that all other people have the same characteristic property of faith and internal identity with everyone regarding goodness, [achieved by the effort of] will 1236. According to this [identity], the law of the flesh is completely extinguished; on the contrary, the Word of God alone is clearly revealed through the Spirit, leading to the uniformity of all believers in [their] intellectual beginning for a single knowledge of God and for a single [for all] love and agreement with each other. And although [believers] are physically and spatially far from each other, yet, being in this [love], they are not spiritually separated from one another. 24. So, the sultry wind is arrogance [717] - a passion that is both God-hating and man-hating. After all, this passion dries up the hearts of unbelievers and, like heat, with its heat destroys pious thoughts about the Divine [in the soul] and leads to the withering of the correct meanings of nature. They say that such a sultry wind arises from the mixing of the east and south winds, and therefore it dries up the moisture scattered across the earth. This wind is called "Eurocleidon" or "Typhonic" 1237. The first name comes from the fact that it causes confusion everywhere - both on land and at sea, and the second name - because this wind produces dusty darkness. Arrogance does the same, for it brings great confusion to the soul, and fills the thought with the darkness of ignorance. God awakens this sultry wind after the atrocities [of the Jews] against Christ, that is, He [does not prevent] the spiritual disposition appropriate for such atrocities from coming to the Jews and so that their choice regarding God and people becomes obvious to everyone. As a result, they, oppressed by the darkness of ignorance, voluntarily went into a destiny opposite to God. And they had no choice but to suffer and be tormented, seeing the salvation by faith and the glory that befell the lot of the pagans, and also [grieving over] the destruction of their legalistic [institutions] according to the flesh, saying: And now, Lord, take my life from me, for I must die rather than live (Jon. 4:3). [Their grief is explained by the fact that] the pumpkin was dried up, that is, the ministry of the law, which was in the shadows, was abolished; This service took place under the cover of night, which came and went, and it was limited to only riddles and images of symbols, not containing any intelligent light that could enlighten the light of the soul 1238. 25. We spiritually, through faith and the truth that accompanies it, joyfully welcome spiritual Nineveh - I mean the Church of the Gentiles, which truly is, as it is written, a great city of God (see Jon. 3:3); [this city] was saved by [its zealous] repentance during the three days assigned to it for conversion. And we must try with all our might to become citizens of this great city to God through repentance and change for the better. For Scripture deliberately calls this city of God great, saying: Nineveh was a great city of God (John 3:3). 26. Where will a Jew who cares about the truth of below Jerusalem find in Scripture such a saying relating to this [below Jerusalem]? Having read all of Holy Scripture many times, I have never come across the statement: [720] “And Jerusalem is a great city of God” 1239. Who, boldly trusting in the power of [his] reason and in the wealth of [his] speculations, will be able to embrace and measure the greatness of that city that exists and is called the great city of God? For me this is completely inaccessible, but I believe that it is also inaccessible for every reasonable [person] who even a little feels the Divine greatness; in addition, one should not remain ignorant of the fact that Divine courts are similar to God 1240. How could the first city of the Assyrians, where the confusion of deception triumphed and where idolatry madness reigned, be a great city of God, and which is far removed from the land called holy and promised to bodily Israel? And only one thing can be assumed: God saw [this city] in the greatness of the faith of the Church of the pagans - a faith indescribable and [not expressible] by any word; seeing the future as already revealed, He made His own that which had hitherto been alien to [Him] 1241. And that which was formerly, as a result of atheism, the most evil, became, thanks to the Word [of God], Divine and the most honorable; [it also became] one whose greatness cannot be defined by any [human] word. This was clearly stated by the prophet: Nineveh was a great city to God (John 3:3). A word of prophetic grace was sent to her, which announced the blessed destruction of [her]: Three more days, and Nineveh will be transformed (Jon. 3:4). 27. Having reached this passage [of Scripture concerning] the appointed [three] days, I think not to enter into speculation about what can be said [more clearly by people] who are able to reason about the sublime meaning of [this passage. I leave myself] only to consider the exact meaning of what is written, [assuming] to pay attention to what does not go (as far as possible) beyond the limits of truth. 28. So, heeding the clearly proclaimed words of the prophet: Three more days, and Nineveh will be transformed, I understand them to mean that [here we are talking about] the sentence of Nineveh that is not subject to appeal, or, more precisely, about the future [Divine] visitation of this city. For I think that after the three days that the prophet prophetically spent in the belly of the whale, prefiguring in himself the three-day stay in the tomb and the Resurrection of the Lord, Scripture suggests three more days on which the light of Truth and the true implementation of the sacraments should be revealed, and also the complete destruction of the city should occur 1242. These three days no longer foretell the future truth of the Sepulcher and Resurrection of the Savior, [721] but clearly demonstrate this truth as realized in practice; its destiny and anticipation was the three-day stay of Jonah in the belly of the whale. For if every type [comes] from the expected truth 1243, and also if Jonah typologically spent three days in the belly of the whale, then it is clear that the type must actually reveal the mystery that follows [and is] a completely new image, namely, the truth that the Lord spent three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The Lord Himself spoke about this: just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights, so the Son of man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights (Matthew 12:40). The words: three more days mean in their innermost meaning that three days have passed, otherwise the expression would not have stood yet, that is, three days will have to pass and Nineveh will be destroyed. Therefore, it was not the type that destroyed Nineveh according to God’s word, but the truth, about which it is said: three more days. [This verb of God] seemed to say: three more days of the most mysterious burial of [the Lord and His] Resurrection will pass, in accordance with the prototype I perceived, and Nineveh will be destroyed. However, perhaps someone, perplexed [by such reasoning], will say: is God worthy of trust, who condemned [Nineveh] to destruction and did not fulfill His sentence? To this we answer that in fact [God] both destroys and saves it. He destroys [this city] by destroying lies, and saves by guiding [its inhabitants] to the acquisition of true knowledge. Or, [to say] better, He destroys falsehood with the help of faith that has regained life, and He brings about salvation through the killing of falsehood. After all, [the word] “Nineveh” is interpreted both as “dirty blackness” and as “delicate beauty.” And therefore, in consonance with the interpretation of [this word, it can be said that] the Lord, after three days of [His stay in the] tomb and the Resurrection, overthrew that dirty blackness of lies that joined [human] nature as a result of the crime [of the commandments], and restored the most tender beauty of [this] nature through the obedience of faith. In addition, after the Resurrection, He revealed in this nature the meekest beauty of incorruptibility, which in no way involved the coarseness of matter. This statement applies to the common nature, and to the Holy Church, and to the soul of each [person], which through faith and good conscience has put aside the old Adam and the image of the earthly, and has also clothed itself in the image of the heavenly (1 Cor. 15:49) 1244. 29. Thus, it is clearly shown that the prophet [Jonah] can be considered in a variety of ways, according to the meaning of [his] name, in [spiritual] contemplation, and that [this diverse] manifestation of [the meaning of the name] when interpreted is completely consistent with the [various] passages of the same Scripture. After all, [the name “Jonah”], interpreted as “flight from beauty,” signifies Adam and the general [human] nature 1245. It, explained as “the rest and healing of God,” and also as “the work of God,” means, according to the meaning of the interpretation we gave above, our Lord and God; understood as “the grace of preaching,” [it] indicates the riches of the Spirit that are contained in this [grace]. [Jonah] is also called a dove, the gift of God and the work of God due to the many struggles that those who become ministers of this true calling [raise]. In addition, [the name “Jonah,”] explained as “their toil,” shows the madness of the Jews who [revolted] against the truth, their envy of the benefits [poured out] to strangers, and the sorrow generated by this envy that befalls those who envy. Such evil became the second nature of the Jews, who hated God and people; As a result, they [constantly] strive to destroy [human] nature through bloodshed and murder [of other peoples]. 30. However, our presentation omitted consideration of the three days' journey. For [the Scripture] says: Nineveh was a great city of God, like a journey of three days (John 3:3). If allowed, we will make up for this deficiency. The path of three days should be understood as different [types of] life and procession according to God or [as a certain] way of life appropriate to each of the general laws. And by these general laws I mean first of all the natural law, then the written law and, finally, the law of grace 1246. Each of them has a unique way of life and a corresponding [life] procession, because it has a different mental disposition arising from it, corresponding to the will of those walking [in one way or another]. For it is inherent in every law to create a certain mental disposition of each [person]. 31. For example, the natural law, when it does not allow the feeling to make exorbitant demands on the mind, then, without training, inclines [a person] to treat all [people] with welcoming love as related, of the same tribe and having the same nature; [thus this law] becomes a teacher, convincing us to help those in need and to desire for everyone what everyone wants to receive for themselves 1247. The Lord also teaches this, saying: As you want people to do to you, do so to them (Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31) 1248. For those in whom nature is guided by reason - those, of course, also have one spiritual disposition. And those who have the same spiritual disposition tend to have both the same image of morality and the same way of moving through the field of life. And those [people] who possess this unity by will have, as is obvious, something that unites them with each other with a single spiritual connection [of love], leading them all voluntarily to a single meaning of nature, [725] in which there is absolutely no division that now dominates [human] nature due to self-love 1249 . 32. And the written law 1250, restraining the disorderly impulses of [people] foolish with the help of fear of punishment, accustoms them [through constant] teaching to only one thing: [never] to lose sight of the equal distribution [of goods among people]; thanks to this, the power of truth strengthens in them over time, becoming their second nature, which slowly and gradually transforms [such] fear through a volitional striving for good 1251 into an internal disposition [of the soul]. This same disposition becomes a stable habit, purified by the oblivion of previous [sins] and at the same time giving birth to mutual love, according to which it, being the fulfillment of the law (see Rom. 13:10), harmoniously combines everyone with each other. After all, the fulfillment of the law becomes the mutual connection of love of all those participating in [human] nature, crowning the meaning of [this] nature with the [spiritual] yearning of [brotherly] love 1252, and by the addition of this yearning the law of nature is brightly decorated. For the law of nature is a natural law, which [by its] ways [of being] makes feeling subject to [itself]. The written law, or the fulfillment of the written law, is a natural meaning, which adds [to itself] a spiritual meaning in order to assist the mutual connection of the related. Therefore [the Lord] says: Love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31); but [He] does not say, “Take your neighbor as yourself.” For one indicates the [internal] connection [of people with each other] only for one existence, and the other means the Providence [of God] for well-being 1253. 35. Стало быть, если смысл [учения] о трех законах подразумевает такой способ [понимания его], то под градом великим Богу разумеется либо Церковь , либо душа каждого отдельного [человека], а под шествием пути трех дней разумеется то, что вмещает и принимает в себя правду, соответствующую естеству, закону и Духу 1258 . These three laws encompass the entire beautiful structure of the Church; описуемое по ширине, оно соответствует добродетели, описуемое по длине – ведению, а описуемое по глубине – мудрости таинственного богословия. 36. Поэтому не будем в своем внутреннем расположении отделяться, наподобие народа иудейского, от этого града, возлюбив, словно кущу (см. Ион.4:5 ), тело и радуясь, словно тыкве (см. Ион.4:6 ), преходящему телесному наслаждению, чтобы не напал на нас червь совести, погубив наше внутреннее расположение, обольщенное наслаждением, а также чтобы не постигло нас, дурно проводивших жизнь свою, возмездие невольных искушений, подобных ветру знойну ( Ион.4:8 ), и мы, надломленные жизнью, не вознегодовали на Суд Божий. For each of us, having submitted to the charms of material things and rejoicing in bodily pleasures, receives the Word of God like a worm, striking to [the very depths of] the conscience and eating, like a pumpkin root, everyone’s attachment to pleasure. And thus, thanks to the full rising and shining of the words of the Spirit, the action of sin is dried up; and with the heat of the Spirit, [that is] the memory of eternal punishments, [this Word of God] strikes, like the head of [Jonah], the beginning of vicious passions - sensual adjectives 1259. [And this is in order] for us to learn the meanings of Providence and Judgment, [forcing us] to give preference to the eternal over [things] transitory, the deprivation of which the human race usually mourns 1260. 37. For if the word of Scripture represented man as being grieved over the tabernacle and the pumpkin, I mean the flesh and carnal pleasure, and it showed God as caring for Nineveh, then it is clear that what is pleasing to God is far better and more valuable than anything that exists in any way, which is pleasing to people and is revered by them as something valuable. This is especially true for those things that are not truly existing, but only seem to be so as a result of an erroneous and biased judgment: they do not have any meaning of their existence at all - the ghost [of their existence] deceives the mind and the empty appearance of the non-existent, and not real existence, inspires [us] passion 1261. [736] 1. In the Second Book of Samuel it is written: And there was a famine in the land in the days of David for three years, one summer after another. And the Lord said: Saul and his house were offended by the death of his blood, since the Gibeonites were killed. And King David called the Gibeonites, and said to them... what will I do to you? and how do I pray, may you bless the property of the Lord? ...And he decided to the king: the man who committed against us and was persecuted, whoever intended to consume us, we will consume him, will not be in all the borders of Israel. Give us seven men from his sons, and we will hang them in the sun of the Lord on Mount Saul... And the king took the two sons of Respha to the daughter of Aiah, the daughter of Saul... and the five sons of Mer, to the daughter of Saul, whom Esdriel bore... and gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites. And I was hanged in the sun on the mountain before the Lord. And these fell seven together: and these fell in the first days of the harvest, at the beginning of the barley harvest. And Respha took sackcloth for Ain, and put it on the stone, until the water of God fell on them from heaven... And the king did all the great commandments. And the God of the earth obeyed until now (2 Samuel 21:1–14) 1262. Why, after the death of Saul, when famine swept the land, retribution was exacted from David and he even handed over to the Gibeonites seven men from Saul’s seed to die? What is the meaning of these words and how can we look at them spiritually? [737] 2. Accurate knowledge of the words of the Spirit is usually revealed only to those worthy of the Spirit, who, having cleansed [their] mind from the soot of passions with much zeal for virtues 1263 and [having made it] like a pure and transparent mirror, perceive the knowledge of Divine [things], and it already at the first touch [to it] takes possession of them and imprints on them, as it were, [its] face. However, for [people] like me, whose life has stained them with passions, it is hardly possible, even from some plausible considerations, to present evidence of [their] knowledge of Divine [things], much less to presumptuously think and say that one can accurately express such knowledge. And I truly know, honest father, that you yourself, having experienced the Divine more, know about it and have experimentally acquired an exact knowledge of these [things], unlike me, who only talks about knowledge, but cannot say [anything] about the Divine [things] based on [their] experience [them] 1264. However, I cannot reject what is within my power, much less refuse you your demands, although you have entrusted me with the hard work of speaking about what exceeds my strength. 3. So, Saul in this passage of Scripture is the law reigning through the letter and in the meaning of the carnal commandment over the carnal Jews, or the bodily image [of living] and bodily thinking, reigning over those who are guided only by the letter of the Law 1265. Indeed, according to one interpretation, [the name] “Saul” is understood as “asked for hell”; The Jewish people, preferring a voluptuous life to a life spent in the Spirit of God and accordingly to virtue, demanded that ignorance reign over them instead of knowledge. For everyone who has fallen away from Divine love has the carnal law as king over him through pleasure, since he cannot or does not want to keep any of God’s commandments. 4. According to another way of interpretation, [the name] "Saul" is explained as "loaned at interest" or "loan." For the written law was not given to those who received it for [full] possession for [their] enrichment, but it was given for training in the expected promise. Therefore, God, having given the kingdom to Saul, did not promise in His covenant with him that it would be eternal. For every loan is not for the one who took it a possession for enrichment, but [is given] as a pledge of hard work and effort for collecting [future] abundance. 5. And the [name] of Saul’s concubine Respha 1266 is interpreted as “the field of the mouth.” The field of the mouth is learning, [consisting] in the mere utterance of the words of the law; he is illegally settled by one [740] who cherishes only bodily service to the Law, and [from such service] nothing pious or God-loving is born. For the one who strives in the physical study of the Law alone, [relying on the external] sound of the word [of it], does not have legal cohabitation with [this] word, or teaching, of the Law 1267. And therefore his offspring became base and despicable. After all, from Respha were born to Saul through illicit intercourse [two sons] - Hermoni and Mephibosheth (see 2 Sam. 21:8), which means “anathema to them” and “disgrace to their lips.” After all, “Hermonius,” according to one interpretation, is explained as “their anathema,” and “Mephibosheth” as “the disgrace of their lips.” And “their anathema” is destruction [inflicted] by the action of passions through sinful lips. And “Mephibosheth” is an unnatural movement towards vice or a thought in the mind plotting evil - it is and is called the disgrace of the mind 1268. 6. Or again: “their anathema” is the place of punishment that now has power over nature, that is, this world, which, as a result of sin, has become an area of ​​death and corruption 1269. It was into this region that the first man fell from paradise after breaking God’s commandment. And it is common for one who in his mind does not pass on to the divine beauty [hidden] within the letter of the Law, to generate from the learning [consisting] in the mere utterance of [the words] of the Law, this world corresponding to lustful attachment [to the flesh], or to generate worldly addiction 1270. And “the disgrace of their lips” is the constant zeal of the mind about thoughts passionately attached to the world and the body 1271. In this care [about the carnal] 1272, corresponding to conscious attachment [to it] 1273, it is inherent in the world or the spiritual disposition that loves 1274 the world to be born from the outwardly visible and bodily form of the Law; Naturally, along with such a disposition, a constant zeal of the mind about thoughts passionately attached to the world and the body is born. 7. Or “their anathema” is a crudely material, devoid of beauty and formless movement of passions; “disgrace of the lips” is a movement of the mind that gives an image to passions and creates beauty in pleasure in accordance with feeling 1275. After all, passion cannot be put into action and take shape without the imaginative faculty of the mind 1276. 8. Therefore, he who limits the power of the Divine promise to the letter of the Law alone, has the teaching of this Law as a concubine, and not as a lawful wife. As a result, such teaching gives rise to anathema and shame not in itself, but because of the person who perceives it in a bodily way or who is related [to a similar bodily perception of a person]. For the one who believes that God established sacrifices and holidays, Sabbaths and new moons [741] for the sake of bodily pampering and [carnal] peace, becomes obsessed with the action of passions, defiled by shame and the impurities of shameful thoughts. He will [always] be in subjection to [this] corruptible world and with his thoughts remain in body-loving reflection 1277, [will always be in subordination] to matter and to [various] types of passions and [will not have the strength to] consider as something valuable something that goes beyond the limits of perishable [things]. And perhaps this is why [Saul] unjustly begat Merib, who in turn bore five sons to Esdriel 1278. “Merov” is interpreted as “satiation of the throat,” which is gluttony. For it was precisely this gluttony, filled with impunity in the Jewish manner and [carried out] contrary to the commandment, that gave rise to ways of abusing the [five] senses for Esdriel, that is, for the contemplative part of the soul. After all, “Esdriel” is interpreted as “Divine power”, “strong intercessor” or “powerful vision”; and this is the mind created in the image of God, which was convinced to coexist with gluttony - a product of the law according to the commandment of the flesh, that is, [the law of the] letter. After all, the mind was convinced that the decree of the Divine commandment is, according to the law of the letter, carnal bliss, and [the mind] does not accept another cohabitant besides her 1279; and therefore, considering this bliss to be Divine and the product of the reigning law, he formed from it methods [of base living] corresponding to the abuse of the senses. After all, when the contemplative principle of the soul, guided by the law of the letter, as if by a Divine commandment, lovingly accepts [carnal] bliss as a cohabitant, it begins to use feelings contrary to nature, not allowing any realization of their natural use to manifest itself. 9. Therefore, the one who practices the bodily teaching of the Law has the knowledge of Divine [things] as a concubine, and not as a legal wife 1280, from her the anathema of the active implementation of passions and the shame of disgusting thoughts associated with these passions. And from Mer, the daughter of Saul, that is, from gluttony, he receives offspring - ways of [realizing] feelings, [arising] as a result of the abuse [of these feelings], which tend to kill, like the Habanians, the meanings and thoughts that correspond to nature and are in beings. “The Gibeonites” are interpreted as “mountainous” or “highly exalted,” and therefore denote the most sublime meanings [acquired] in natural contemplation, or they denote the thoughts corresponding to nature that are in us, which Saul put to death 1281. And if now someone appears as some other Saul in his inner disposition, then he, falsely adhering to the letter of the Law, will not refuse to drive away from himself and pervert the meanings corresponding to nature. [744] After all, no one [of those] who adheres to the bodily service of the law can perceive natural meaning or thought at all, since symbols are not at all identical with nature 1282. If the symbols are not identical with nature, then the one who cleaves to the symbols of the Law as if to prototypes can no longer clearly see the natural origin of beings, and therefore he unreasonably rejects the meanings [of these beings] corresponding to nature 1283. And he does not argue that those saved by Joshua [Joshua], for whose sake he waged such a terrible war against the five kings who rebelled against them, should be preserved; in this war, heaven itself fought with hail stones together with Jesus against those who rebelled against the Gibeonites 1284, whom the incarnate Word made woodcutters and water-bearers (see Joshua 9:27) 1285 of God's tabernacle, that is, the Holy Church, prefigured by this tabernacle. It, this Word, is Joshua [Joshua]; It is precisely It that kills the passionate and sensual ways [of temptation], as well as the thoughts that rebel against the Gibeonites. For Jesus, the Word of God, always preserves the meanings corresponding to natural contemplation, having previously made them woodcutters and water-bearers of the divine tabernacle of His sacraments as givers 1286 of the substance that ignites the radiance of Divine knowledge, as well as the purification that frees us from passions, and lays the foundation for the dispensation of vital [energy] in the spirit. For without natural contemplation, the power of the sacraments is completely and in no way inherent in being preserved in anyone. 10. And if the Gibeonites represent the portion of the pagans, approaching the one who received the divine promises of Jesus as an inheritance, [and therefore] being saved, then [such an explanation also] does not represent something unusual and alien to piety. [For this people] were taught to carry wood and water, that is, to actively carry everywhere on the shoulders of virtues the mysterious and saving teaching of the Cross and Divine regeneration through water, and also to deliver to the Divine ark of pious faith through [spiritual] work the mortification of earthly members, and through contemplation - a stream of knowledge in the Spirit, which is like water. 11. So, the Gibeonites represent either the meanings corresponding to natural contemplation, or the lot of the pagans, saved through faith; the enemy and adversary of [this] saved [destiny] is the one who chooses to live according to the Jewish [custom] in accordance with the Law, [limited] by the letter 1287 only. After all, the one who considers [his] belly to be God (see Phil. 3:19) and who prides himself on [his own] shame as if by some kind of glory - he recognizes only the passions of dishonor as [something] Divine. And therefore, they value only the temporary, that is, matter and form, and also [highly venerate] the abuse of the fivefold action of the senses 1288. The first [that is, matter and species] are like the children of Respha, and the second [that is, the five actions of the senses when they are abused] are like the offspring of Mer - the daughter of dishonor 1289. For feeling, when combined and mixed with matter and appearance, produces passion, [as a result of which it is inherent in it] [745] to kill and destroy thoughts that correspond to nature. And the meaning of nature is generally not inherent in being revealed together with passion, just as passion cannot be born and occur together with nature 1290. 12. Therefore, the one who, like Saul, adheres to only the letter of Scripture, rejecting the meanings corresponding to nature, does not also accept the mysteriously proclaimed calling of the pagans, he, like a [stupid] swindler, is [attached] to carnal pleasure, which, in his opinion, corresponds to the Law. And when this bodily disposition [of the soul], in tune with the Law, completely dominates those who live only a sensual life, then no hunger [hungering] for Divine knowledge in the spirit 1291 can be detected in them. After all, [such] hunger is truly a [feeling] of a lack of goods, cognizable through experience itself, as well as a shortage and complete need for spiritual food, which supports the existence of the soul 1292. For how can anyone consider hunger or [feel] deficient [in something] when the absence of this is not understood by them at all? As a result, there is no famine during Saul’s life, because as long as the letter of the law lives and reigns over the Jews immersed in matter, [among them] the need for spiritual knowledge does not arise. When, after the death of Saul, that is, after the death of the letter, the dawn of Gospel grace shone and the kingdom over the thoughts of [people] spiritual was accepted by the all-praised David, that is, the spiritual law (for [the name] “David” is interpreted as “contempt” and as “strong of sight”: one implies the predominance of the letter over the spirit, as was the case among the Jews, and the other, expressed in relation to Christians, means the victory of the spirit over the letter) 1293, then a hunger for spiritual knowledge will be recognized both in general among all believing people, and in the soul of each individual [believer]. And [this happens] whenever the external manifestation of the letter is preferred to the mysterious contemplation in the spirit, that is, the soul of Scripture is considered something less valuable than its body 1294. 13. For the people who believe and know the truth, as well as the soul of every believer, are truly hungry when they, having abandoned spiritual and grace-filled contemplation, become slaves to the types of the letter, not feeding the mind with sublime speculations, but [only] filling the senses with passionate dreams along with the bodily imprints of the symbols of Scripture. Therefore, according to Divine knowledge, there was a famine for three summers, one summer after another. After all, anyone who does not flow to the spiritual contemplation of Divine Scripture thereby rejects, like the Jews, the natural law, and also does not know the law of grace, which grants deification to [all] those guided by this law 1295. 14. So, the three-year famine [which is discussed in this passage of Scripture] reveals that hunger that manifests itself in those who do not care about their [spiritual] ascent when contemplating [Scripture]: it becomes apparent in three laws - natural, written and grace-filled, in proportion to the need for knowledge inherent in everyone 1296. After all, one who rejects the natural meanings of things, [available to us] in [spiritual] contemplation, and who, stubbornly adhering only to material symbols, cannot comprehend the spiritual greatness [contained] in them, cannot at all care about the knowledge of Scripture. For when the historical narrative of the Scriptures alone rules [748] over the mind, then the power of transient and temporary [things] 1297 that dominates thoughts does not disappear. [And thus,] the children and descendants of the deceased Saul still remain alive, numbering seven, that is, the bodily and transitory service of the law remains, from which, for the reason given above, a passionate disposition [of the soul] is usually born in people who love the body, which has as [its] assistant [in the multiplication of] lies, the order that is revealed in symbols 1298. For this reason, I think, there was no famine in the days of Saul, that is, during the legalistic ministry of the flesh, the need for spiritual knowledge could not be found [in the Jews]. However, during the time of Gospel grace, when the dominion of the letter has already passed, and we nevertheless do not perceive all Scripture spiritually, then, of course, we experience hunger, not tasting the mystical service in the spirit that is appropriate for Christians. And as soon as we, feeling [being], like David, seek the face of the Lord 1299, we [immediately] clearly learn that since we do not perceive the meanings [of things] corresponding to nature in order to ascend to mysterious contemplation in the spirit, but still adhere to the bodily thoughts of the literal law, the grace of knowledge is taken away [from us]. 15. [Scripture] reads: And David asked 1300 the face of the Lord. And the Lord said: Saul and his house were offended by the death of his blood, even though the Gibeonites were killed (2 Samuel 21:1). David is every mind that has a clear spiritual vision according to Christ 1301, which always seeks the face of the Lord. And the face of the Lord is true contemplation and knowledge of Divine [things acquired] in accordance with virtue; he who seeks this contemplation also learns about the reason due to which the lack and need of knowledge is felt. And [the king] was commanded to put to death the two sons of Saul by his concubine Respha, and the five sons of Mer, his daughter. Saul is, as I said, “demanded hell,” or “coveted ignorance.” It is obvious that ignorance is coveted, [that is, coveted is] the legalistic letter or the bodily power of serving in the Law, which is the corporeal [beginning] of the Law, or the mind, with the feeling of the body clinging only to the substance of the letter 1302. “Respha,” according to the interpretation of its [name], is “the field of the mouth,” or the teaching of the Law, which comes down to only the [external] pronunciation of its words. And the one who is alien to the spiritual contemplation of the Law has only the “field of the mouth”, [being not involved in the movement of] thought. Respha has two sons, Hermonius and Mephibosheth. Hermonius is “their anathema,” that is, the destruction of the passions, carried out in sin through the body; or [this name means] a place, that is, the world, where punishment for the crime [of the commandments] was sent down to [man], that is, a voluptuous internal attachment to the world or, perhaps, an ugly and formless movement of passions committed to matter 1303. “Mephibosheth” is “the disgrace of their lips,” which means an unnatural movement of the mind around vice 1304, or a mental representation of passions, and perhaps [passionately attached] to the world and the body, zeal for thoughts 1305. Or [the name "Mephibosheth" implies] the movement of the mind which gives an image to the passions, and also the movement which forms beauty for sensual pleasure. Such children from the teaching of the Law, which is reduced [749] to only the [external] pronunciation of its words, are inherent in giving birth to the written law and the meaning of this Law, clinging to only one letter. Merova, the daughter of Saul, is, according to the interpretation of her [name], “the satiety of the throat,” that is, the passion of gluttony. For the literal Law, enclosing [in its] symbols those who serve according to it, knows only one thing: to generate bodily bliss and such a mental disposition that tends to enjoy only material [things]; and the mind, due to a life passionately attached to the flesh, limits [itself] to the images of the written law. The five sons of Mer, the daughter of Saul, are five passionate ways of abusing the five senses: these methods usually give rise to Esdriel, that is, [our] contemplative part, a spiritual disposition, which, due to [carnal] bliss corresponding to the law, cares about only the body. 16. These two sons of Saul, that is, matter and form 1306, and his five grandsons, that is, five ways of abusing the senses regarding matter and form (I mean the passionate and unnatural connection of the senses with sensible [things] that are in the power of time and change) 1307 - after the death of Saul (that is, after passing through the bodily service of the Law in letter and through ignorance) and betrayed by God's decision the wonderful David to the death of the Gibeonites; that is, the spiritual law, or mind, [transferred] to sublime meanings and thoughts corresponding to natural contemplation, for destruction and mortification [manifesting] in symbols, the very universal connection of what is under the power of time, together with feeling and body. This refers to those meanings and thoughts that are on the hill of Saul, that is, on the hill of the law of spiritual contemplation. For if someone, without naturally and first of all considering the dissimilarity of symbols with Divine and intelligible [things], desires to come in the mind to the beauty of the intelligible, completely leaving the senses outside the Divine sanctuary, then he will not be able to immediately destroy the bodily diversity [revealed] in the impressions 1308. [Being] in this diversity 1309 and for a long time stubbornly adhering to the letter [of Scripture, man] naturally did not avoid the need [arising] from hunger [and the need for spiritual] knowledge. [Thereby] he condemned himself, like the liar serpent, to eat the earth of Scripture 1310, that is, he fed on the body [of this Scripture], but did not partake of the meaning of Christ, or the spirit and soul of Scripture - that heavenly and angelic bread (I mean the spiritual contemplation and knowledge of the Scriptures in Christ), which God abundantly bestows and supplies to those who love Him, according to what is written: Bread heavenly give them. The bread of angels is before man (Ps. 77:24–25). 17. Thus, if we strive to be satisfied with God's grace, we should destroy through natural contemplation (and as if being on the mountain of spiritual interpretation of Divine verbs) the sensory and bodily perception of Scripture, since it gives rise to a [spiritual] disposition closely connected with temporary and transitory [things], and also destroy the passionate action of the senses aimed at sensory [objects] - destroy as children and descendants of Saul. For if, according to the Divine saying, regarding Saul and his house [it is said that he acted] unrighteously, [752] not killing the Gibeonites, then it is clear how unjustly in relation to the Truth he acts who thinks of the law only according to the letter. [Here we should understand] the people of Judah or [every person] mentally imitating this people (such as Scripture means by the house of Saul) and limiting the meaning of the law to only one letter. [Such a person] does not perceive natural contemplation, which is in the middle between prototypes and truth, [and does not want] to make explicit the knowledge mysteriously hidden in the letter, [while it] leads those who succeed from these prototypes and leads to the truth. On the contrary, [limiting the meaning of the Law to the letter alone] completely denies this [contemplation] and makes it external to the arcane knowledge of the Divine. Those who care about Divine mysteries should, as if [having ascended] the mountain of sublime knowledge, put to death through natural contemplation this corporeal and transitory understanding of the Law, since it is subject to time and is fluid. 18. [Scripture] reads: And David called the Gibeonites, and said to them: What will I do to you? and how do I pray, may you bless the property of the Lord? And he decided to the king: Let us consume the man who has perpetrated against us and persecuted us, and who has plotted to consume us, so that he may not be found in all the borders of Israel. Give us seven men from his sons, and with them we will appease the Lord on the hill of David. And the king took two sons from Respha to the daughter of Aia, the daughter of Sauli, Hermoniah, and Mephibosheth, and five sons of Mer, and to the daughter of Sauli he bore them to Esdriel. And he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonite, and they died in the days of the harvest, at the beginning of the barley harvest (2 Samuel 21:2–9) 1311. Where in the literal narrative do we find [a description of the fact that] the Gibeonites destroyed [the tribe of] Saul so that it was not [at all] found in all the borders of Israel? For Marivaal, the son of Jonathan, who was the son of Saul 1312, was saved by King David, and many other relatives of Saul were also saved, as is given in the Book of Chronicles (see 1 Chronicles 12:2). [753] How could [the Gibeonites], having taken seven men from the seed of Saul, [could say], “Let us consume him, that he may not be found in all the coasts of Israel,” when he himself had died long before that time? However, it seems that something contrary to reason was mixed into the literal meaning of the story, [and this happened in order] for us to try to find the true meaning of what was written. 19. Therefore, [trying to comprehend it, we can say that] the one who completely destroys from all the borders of Israel the corporeal meaning of the Scripture (that is, Saul) is the one who by [spiritual] work and through natural contemplation (as if through certain Gibeonites) destroys the voluptuous connection of the soul, born from the written law and clinging to the body, with impermanent and [ever] flowing matter. And [such a person] sacrifices [his] base idea of ​​the Law, like the children and offspring of Saul, through natural contemplation and, [being] at the height of knowledge, as if on a mountain, reveals before the face of the Lord through confession [his] former bodily perception of the Law. This is how [people] who are inquisitive can understand [the words]: hanging before the Lord, which means those who bring into the light [of God] (bring out, of course, through knowledge) [their former] erroneous idea of ​​the Law, corresponding to the letter [of it] 1313. For anyone who kills the bodily thought of the Law kills and destroys, as is obvious, the letter of the Law, so that it does not exist in all the borders of Israel, that is, it does not exist in every mysterious image and sense of spiritual contemplation 1314. After all, if “Israel” is interpreted as “the mind that sees God” 1315, then it is clear that for those who prefer the spirit to the letter, the corporeal [beginning] of the Law cannot at all and in any way be the basis of spiritual contemplation, since it is written: God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth (John 4:24); but not [it is said that He must be worshiped] in the letter, because the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Cor. 3:6). Therefore, that which by nature kills must itself be put to death by the life-giving Spirit. For it is absolutely impossible to coexist with each other in the same way, effectively and simultaneously, the corporeal [beginning] of the law and the [beginning] of the Divine, that is, the spirit and the letter, because it is impossible to be in consonance [with each other] with that which by its nature usually bestows life, and with that which denies this life 1316. [756] 20. Therefore, if we take this passage literally, we will not find the truth of Scripture. For how did the Gibeonites wipe out Saul from every coast of Israel, when we find many of his descendants among the people [of Judah]? However, thinking according to [spiritual] contemplation, we find that at the height of knowledge, thanks to natural contemplation, the written law or the bodily institution [manifested] in the symbols of the [Jewish] cult completely disappears. Where is the circumcision of the flesh when the law is understood spiritually? Where are Saturdays and new moons? Where are the national celebrations? Where is the tradition about sacrifices, about the rest of the earth and [everything] else connected with the bodily service of the Law? We, considering things in their natural state, know that taking something away from the impeccable [integrity] corresponding to the nature bestowed by God does not lead to perfection 1317. For nature, subjected to artificial cutting, does not produce perfection, but, on the contrary, deprives itself, by [some empty] invention, of what is given to it by God and is due to it in accordance with the meaning of creation. [This should be firmly known] so as not to introduce to us [a certain] art more powerful than God, and [not intended] to strengthen His righteousness, and also so as not to make up for us [a certain] fictitious lack of nature created in [God's] righteousness. On the contrary, by educationally perceiving the ruling on the beheading of the foreskin 1318, we are taught to explain it in a spiritual way - as a circumcision of the passionate disposition of the soul 1319; in accordance with this, [our] will comes into harmony with nature and coincides with it, correcting the passionate law, which has a later origin. For circumcision, [understood] in a mysterious way, is the complete removal of the passionate disposition of [our] mind, which occurred [and invaded us] from without. The Sabbath is the complete inactivity of the passions and the complete cessation of the movement of the mind around created [things] and its complete transition to God 1320. In Him, whom we reach through virtue and knowledge (as far as this is accessible [to man]), no substance can be conceived that inflames passions; also, no meanings of nature can be found in Him 1321 so that [we], like the Hellenes, do not dogmatize about God as delighting in passions or as being measured by the limits of nature. After all, He was proclaimed by perfect silence and He is represented by complete and sublime ignorance 1322. 21. As for the new moons, they, in our opinion, are various insights [received] by us on the list of days of virtue and knowledge; and, quickly walking in these insights throughout all centuries, we reach the favorable year of the Lord, being adorned with a crown of goodness (see Ps. 64:12). The crown of goodness is pure faith, adorned, as if with precious stones, with sublime dogmas, as well as spiritual words and speculations; this faith closely embraces, like a head, a God-loving mind. Or else: the crown of goodness is the Word of God itself, which, by a variety of ways corresponding to the Providence and Judgment [of God], or by abstinence from voluntary passions and patience of involuntary passions, limits the mind, like a head, and thanks to the participation of the grace of deification makes this mind more beautiful than itself 1323. [757] Of the holidays, the first is a symbol of active wisdom, which transports from sin (as if [leading people] out of Egypt) to virtue those who follow this [path of good]. The second [holiday] is an image of natural contemplation in the spirit, which brings to God, like the firstfruits of a harvest, a pious opinion of those who exist. Finally, the third [feast] is the sacrament of theology, a speculative skill regarding all the spiritual meanings that [are] in created [things], and perfect sinlessness [acquired] through grace according to the Economy of the Incarnate Word; this sinlessness that follows such holidays embraces in a good [person] a perfect and immortal immutability as the one that creates the sound of trumpets, propitiation and the Feast of Tabernacles. 22. This, according to one consideration, is the supposition concerning the honor given to days. After all, God commanded to honor the Sabbath, new moons and holidays not because He wanted days to be honored by people. Then He would have taught by the commandment of the law to serve the creature more than the Creator (Rom. 1:25) 1324 those who believed that days are by nature sacred, therefore they should be worshiped 1325. On the contrary, [God] symbolically showed [them] through the days that they should honor [only] Himself. He is the Sabbath as a rest from the hard efforts of the soul [suffered by it] in the flesh, and as a cessation of labor for the sake of [God's] righteousness 1326. [God] is Easter as the liberator from the painful slavery of those under the power of sin 1327. [He is] Pentecost as the Beginning and the End of things, and also as the Word, through Whom everything came into being by nature 1328. For if Pentecost in itself is what follows the period of seven weeks, then it is equally clear that it is ten multiplied by five. 23. Again, it is obvious that the nature of beings, fivefold in the very meaning of its existence due to the [five] senses, after the natural passage of time and centuries will end up in God, who by [His] nature does not accept [any] limits, is One and has absolutely no extension. For some say that the Word is a Unit, and this Word, as Providence, expands according to [Its] origin 1329 with the help of the ten commandments. When nature by grace is combined with the Word, then that without which movement does not exist will no longer exist when the changeable movement of nature ceases. After all, a limited state, in which movement usually arises with necessity due to changes in moving things, should find an end with the appearance of an unlimited state, in which [every] movement of moving things is inherent in stopping. Where there is a natural limit, there is usually (as is self-evident) a changeable movement of those who are within these limits; and where such a natural limit is absent, there, naturally, no changeable movement can be recognized. Therefore, the world is a limited place and a describable state, and time is a limited movement; That is why here there is a changeable movement of the living. Therefore, when nature passes, in reality or in thought, through place and time (or through that without which there is no [760] limited state and movement), then it is combined directly with Providence and acquires the simple, motionless and without any limitation meaning of this Providence, and therefore [does not find here] any movement. Also, nature, which exists temporarily in the world, has a changeable movement due to the limited position of the world and due to the flow of time [accompanied by] change. Having found itself in God, [this nature], due to the natural Unity of the One in Which it found itself, will have an ever-moving rest and a motionless identity of movement 1330, taking place around the Same One, the One and Only; [this identity of movement] knows the Word as that which is the immutable foundation and immediate being surrounding the First Cause of the creatures created by God 1331. 24. The sacrament of Pentecost is a direct union with the Providence of those for whom He provides, or a union of nature with the Word through the inspiration of Providence, as a result of which any manifestation of time and formation is absent. Our trumpet is the Word, preserving for us Divine and ineffable knowledge 1332; propitiation is [this Word], which has become like us, as dissolving our crimes in Himself and, by bestowing grace in the Spirit, deifying the sinful nature of [man]; finally, the Tabernacle is [the same Word] as that which strengthens the godlike habit in immutable goodness, and as the all-embracing connection of transformation into immortality. We do not believe that God is pleased with the slaughter of dumb animals and the sprinkling of blood as a reward for [our] veneration of [Him], given by those who offer for the remission of their sins - which they do, naturally relying on Scripture 1333. And this [our conviction is important] so that we, secretly not honoring God as passionate [and not thinking of Him] as the One who cares with much zeal and passion about the same [things] to which, if we even see people passionately attracted, we scold them as licentious. We know that sacrifices are spiritual 1334; We not only mortify the passions, stabbing them with the spiritual sword, which is the Word of God 1335, and consciously drain all carnal life, as if we [were] blood, but we also offer to God, reverently honoring Him, [our] wise skills and [all] natural powers, and also carry out burnt offerings in the fire of spiritual grace to [gain] God's inheritance 1336. 25. And, naturally considering in this way each of the symbols given in Scripture, we, as if at the pinnacle of mysterious contemplation, kill the temporary and transitory tradition of the Law, like the seven men of the sons of Saul, and we also destroy Saul himself, that is, the earthly mind, [trusting] in the [literal] saying of Scripture alone, so that he would not be in all the borders of Israel, that is, he would not be in the form of spiritual contemplation. This [graceful mind], living in reality, ceases, persecutes and destroys the meanings and thoughts corresponding to nature, limiting the Law to the flesh alone [761] and honoring the passions of dishonor as something Divine 1337 . And thoughts corresponding to nature, having acquired freedom of action due to the law of the Spirit, in the same way destroy and put to death these passions at the beginning of the barley harvest. The harvest of barley is the gathering of virtues in active wisdom, [carried out] together with proportionate [spiritual] reason; It is inherent in such a gathering to destroy earthly things in Scripture and destroy every earthly movement [in us]. And at the same time that a person rationally devotes himself to wisdom [in doing] virtues, he naturally transfers the interpretation of the Scriptures [from the realm of the letter] to [the realm of] the Spirit - so he serves God in the newness of the Spirit, that is, in the implementation of spiritual work 1338, as well as through sublime contemplations. [In other words, he no longer serves Him] in the decay of the letter through a sensual and bodily-base perception of the law, having become, like the Jews, a feeder of passions and a servant of sin 1339. For to carry out spiritual work through thoughts corresponding to nature, one should place one’s hands on the passionate and bodily thought of the law, as is narrated in Scripture: And the king took the two sons of Respha, the daughter of Aijah, the daughter of Saul... Hermoniah, and Mephibosheth, and the five sons of Mer, the daughters of Saul, whom he bore to Esdriel... and gave them into the hands of the Gibeonite. (2 Samuel 21:8-9). The hand of the Gibeonites is the doing of natural thoughts, corresponding to virtue, thanks to which the sons of Respha, Hermonius and Mephibosheth, that is, the action of passions arising from the bodily teaching of the law (and this consists in the mere utterance of words), as well as the unbridled movement of thoughts, are put to death. In addition, [they are joined] by the five sons of Merov, that is, five unbridled ways of unnatural abuse of the five senses generated by luxury. It is also inherent in every exalted and high-flying mind in God to kill them at a height similar to the mountain of spiritual contemplation at the beginning of the barley harvest, which is the prelude to virtuous deeds or pious contemplation, corresponding to nature; in the same way [this mind] destroys the action of passions and the obscene movement of thoughts. [This is our reasoning] regarding the unbridled ways of abuse of the senses. 26. And these seven falls together; And they died in the first days of the harvest, at the beginning of the barley harvest. And Resfa took sackcloth for Ain, and put it on himself at the stone, until the water of God fell on them from heaven. “Respha,” as I have already said, is interpreted as “the race of the mouth,” which is the bodily teaching of the law, [consisting] in the mere utterance of words; after the death of the passions born from it, which happened at the highest peak of natural contemplation in the heart of each of those who were previously embraced by this teaching, it spreads repentance on the stone like sackcloth (by which I mean the word of faith in the Lord), having care in the spirit [764] and through repentance about the laws according to Christ 1340. Day and night she has before her eyes, like the memory of [lost] children, the former education in the flesh of the Law 1341 until the waters of God pour out from heaven, that is, until the Divine knowledge of the Scriptures is sent to her from the height of spiritual contemplation, which quench passions and renew virtues 1342. After all, it is inherent in the teaching of the Law, which approaches Christ, the true and solid Rock through repentance (see 1 Cor. 10:4), to receive the Divine rain of spiritual knowledge of the Scriptures at the command of King David, that is, at the command of the sight of a strong mind. After all, he says: And the king made all the great commandments, and the God of the earth obeyed until now (2 Samuel 21:14). 27. So, according to the commandment of King David (that is, the spiritual law or the sight of a strong mind), the teaching of the Holy Scriptures through repentance, the symbol of which is sackcloth, and accordingly the practice of virtues is characteristic, when it is transferred to the stone, that is, to Christ, to call upon the Divine rain of knowledge. Usually [such teaching] convinces God to listen to the earth of the heart, to shed Divine showers of [graceful] gifts, to bring an abundance of fruits in [God's] righteousness, to stop the previous ignorance of the Divine, which is like hunger, and to fill the region [of our soul] with spiritual blessings. Then the soul is endowed with bread, wine and oil: bread - as strengthened by the word of active knowledge, wine - as amused by the Divine and renewing attraction and ardent desire for union with God, oil - as rejoicing in a smooth and even, light and illuminated, free from any earthly movement, way and meaning of dispassion; [all of them] gladden the face of virtues 1343. 28. We, too, like the great David, will uproot Saul from every border of Israel, that is, we will uproot the earthly and bodily establishment of the Law, or the Jewish way of serving; Let us also tear away from any method of contemplative mysteries the literal, superficial and crudely corporeal meaning of all Scripture and move on to the spiritual deification of what is comprehended by the mind 1344. And let us preserve the Gibeonites, that is, the meanings of things that Joshua [Joshua], the true distributor of Divine promises, preserved dispassionately 1345; Thanks to these meanings, destroyed by Saul, God withheld the Divine shower of mysterious knowledge. Through the same Gibeonites, that is, through natural contemplation, let us kill, like seven men from the sons of Saul, the passionate, material and temporal understanding of the Law, which was generated by Respha, which is the “field of the mouth” (that is, the bodily teaching of the law), as well as Mer, interpreted as “the satiety of the throat,” that is, the luxury of the womb. The first gives birth to Memphis and Hermonius (one is interpreted as “the shame of the lips”, and the other as “their anathema”), that is, skill in the passions and their implementation, and the second gives birth to Esdriel, [765] that is, the contemplative part of the soul, five passionate ways of [acting] our feelings, [arising] as a result of the abuse of these feelings. By destroying such [methods] with the help of natural contemplation, we appease the angry God, transferring from the letter to the spirit; in addition, we call upon the Divine showers of knowledge and taste the abundant fruits of righteousness that [grew] from this knowledge. For by elevating the letter of the Law, like a certain Saul, through natural contemplation to the pinnacle of spiritual mystery, and also by elevating the material perception of the [Scripture] born from the letter, inherent in the thought of earthly people, like the children and descendants of Saul, we kill every corporeal and temporal (or, better said, every earthly) understanding of the Law. If we, together with God, hated Saul, that is, the carnal and ostentatious way of [explaining] Scripture, or Judaism, and despised him so that he would not reign over Israel (see 1 Samuel 16:1), then we [thereby] rejected his reign over our mental power, so that it would not be in slavery to the flesh. 29. For one should hate Saul, that is, the bodily establishment of the Law, and reject [his] kingdom, like Agag, king of Amalek, and also reject fat sheep, oxen, grapes and olives [his] - I mean reject the agents of rage and lust, who also create the causes of bliss 1346; Agag himself, kept alive, should be transferred to the land of promise, that is, the calf, or the dusty thought of the flesh, should be transferred (see Rom. 8:6) to the place of Divine knowledge, that is, to the heart. After all, “Agag” is interpreted as “calf” - probably [we are talking about] the calf that stupid and ignorant Israel deified by casting it in the desert (see Exodus 32:4), and thereby preferred the pleasure of the womb to Divine service 1347. It was this calf that Moses and Samuel destroyed: the first crushed it into dust and scattered it on the water (see 1 Samuel 32:20), and the second killed [Agag] with a spiritual sword (see 1 Samuel 15:32–33). The first, associated with Moses, means the living and active grace of Holy Baptism, and the second, associated with Samuel, is obedience to God through [the implementation of] the commandments, since [the name] “Moses” is interpreted as “seething water”, and [the name] “Samuel” - as “obedience to God,” which is true faith and life in God. [768] 30. Therefore, the grace of Holy Baptism is inherent in destroying the power of sin, or the carnal mind (see Rom. 8:6), and active obedience to the Divine commandments kills [this power] with the sword of the spirit (see Eph. 6:17), that is, [kills] with the word of Divine knowledge in the spirit, mysteriously turning to the passion of sin as the great Samuel turned to Agag: Your weapon has made you lose children in your wives, so now your mother will lose children in your wives (1 Sam. 15:33). For the passion of gluttony, with the smoothness of the thought of pleasure, as if with the [smoothness] of a sword, makes many virtues despairing: it kills the seeds of chastity through intemperance, the equality of justice destroys through selfishness, [our] connection of philanthropy, [arising] from [community] of nature, it cuts through selfishness. And to put it briefly, the passion of gluttony is detrimental to all the products of virtue 1348. And as I already said, this passion is destroyed by the grace of Baptism and living in obedience to God’s commandments. God, having anointed the law of the letter to be king over Israel, which preserves this passion, repents and transfers the power of the kingdom, giving it to David (of course, the gospel and spiritual law), that is, the son of Jesse; “Jesse” is interpreted as “the work of God.” 31. So, the Holy Gospel is the product of creativity [of God], or the product of God’s work through the flesh 1349, the kingdom of which [extends] to endless centuries - in it we have indissoluble joy and gladness, like an unevening and endless day 1350. For [Scripture] says: This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it (Ps. 117:24). By day here we mean Gospel grace or the very sacrament of Him who bestows this grace; He wants us all on this day, according to the divine apostle, to behave decently (Rom. 13:13), as on the day of knowledge and truth. After all, Christ is the day of eternal Light, in which all who believe in Him should find a good life through the discipline of virtues. [769] He alone is created by God [the Father] according to the flesh without seed [male] 1351 and, having made new the laws of natural bonds, prepared before the face of all nations light for the enlightenment of the Gentiles and the glory of the people of Israel (Luke 2:31) 1352. After all, our Lord is truly the Light of the peoples, opening through true knowledge their mental eyes, closed in the darkness of ignorance; He prepared Himself as a good Model of Divine life and virtue for all believing peoples, becoming for them an Example and Mark of the face of virtue, looking to Him as the Leader of salvation (Heb. 2:10), through doing we succeed, by imitation, in virtues, as much as possible for us 1353. But the same God the Word is the glory of the people of Israel, enlightening the mind with the Divine Light of knowledge through mysterious contemplation. Or perhaps the Word [of God] calls peoples the meanings corresponding to nature, and the face of these meanings is the true and impeccable glory relative to beings, 1354 the preparation for the clear knowledge of which is the Word Himself as the Creator of nature; pagans are unnatural passions: [God the Word] reveals them, hiding [in darkness], giving the light of knowledge, [and thereby He] completely expels them from nature. The Word becomes the glory of Israel as purifying the mind from unnatural passions and decorating it with meanings corresponding to nature; and in addition, It also crowns [the mind] with a diadem of immutability according to deification 1355. For It truly is the glory of Israel as deliverance from unnatural passions, success [in comprehending] meanings corresponding to nature, and the acquisition of supernatural benefits. 32. He who welcomes this spiritual David and, becoming the object of Saul’s envy, does not fall into the snare [of enmity], but, on the contrary, possessing dispassion and much love for mankind, heals with the help of the cithara of the Spirit an enemy strangled by an evil spirit (see 1 Samuel 20:30–33), he makes this enemy prudent, freeing him, as if from an evil demon, from evil epilepsy of the evil mind. After all, every [person] who, out of envy, hates, slanderes and speaks evil of another [person], who is stronger than [him] in deeds of virtue and abounds in the word of spiritual knowledge, is Saul, suffocated by an evil spirit: he cannot bear the blessed glory of the best in virtue and knowledge, and therefore is enraged because he is not able to lay hands on the benefactor. Often with hatred he sends away his beloved Jonathan, that is, the thought of conscience inherent in [us], for he exposes the unrighteous hatred of the old and truly insane Saul and speaks with love of the truth about the successes of the one whom Saul hates. [Therefore,] addressing him as a transgressor of God’s commandments, Samuel says: It has become folly for you, because you have not kept my commandments even as God commanded you (1 Samuel 13:13). 33. As I have already said, Saul is the written law or the Jewish people living according to [this] Law. After all, from both, intertwined with each other in a dusty way, [772] the Spirit of the Lord retreated, that is, spiritual contemplation and knowledge, and, on the contrary, an evil spirit came [to them], that is, a material way of thinking, which, through the turmoil and whirling of [earthly existence, which is] under [the power of] birth and corruption, suffocates them, like epileptics, with restlessness of thoughts. For the Law, comprehended only in a divine way and literally, is [as if] suffering from epilepsy, since it is shaken by countless contradictions and does not have any [internal] consonance with itself; and the Judaizing mind, driven into a mad frenzy by the restless circulation of material [things], necessarily itself has a restless disposition [of the soul], changing along with [these things]. And when the true and by nature musician David, that is, our Lord Jesus, delights both the Law and the Jew with singing with the help of the spirit of speculative contemplation, He makes one spiritual instead of earthy, and leads the other to faith from unbelief. Therefore, both the Law and the Jewish people are, like Saul, [at the same time] both subject to epilepsy and wise. For, as has already been said, the Law is subject to epilepsy when it is comprehended in a dusty way, and the Jew is subject to the same epilepsy when he wants to worship God in a similar way. And again, the Law becomes wise if it is comprehended spiritually, and a Jew becomes wise if he turns from bodily worship of God to spiritual service to Him. 34. It should be noted that Saul kills those saved by Jesus. After all, it is inherent in the letter to kill those who turn to the spirit of Scripture. Therefore, God repented that he anointed him - I mean the written law, understood by the Jews in a carnal way - to reign over Israel and gave royal power to the spirit, which was close to the letter, but surpassed it in [its] goodness 1356. [Scripture] reads: And he will give the kingdom to your neighbor who is better than you (1 Samuel 15:28). Just as David was Saul's neighbor, so the spirit undoubtedly adheres to the letter of the Law, and it is inherent in this spirit to manifest itself after the death of the letter 1357. 35. Let us also call on the spiritual David 1358 so that He may play the lyre of spiritual contemplation and knowledge and [calm] our mind, suffering from epilepsy [from complete immersion in] material [things], and drive out the evil spirit of material circling around the senses. [And this is so that] we can comprehend the Law in a spiritual way, gain the mysterious meaning [hidden in it] and make it forever an acquisition and provisions for eternal life. Also, so that we, suffering from a lack of grace-filled knowledge in the Spirit, do not have the symbolic law lent to the letter 1359, and, being blind and not possessing our own all-luminous knowledge of the truth of the mysterious words of the [Spirit], love only one questioning about Divine [things]. [Name] “Saul”, when related to the Greek language, has a dual meaning. After all, [this name], according to what has already been said, is interpreted as “loaned at interest,” but at the same time as “questioning.” [773] Both are written laws: the first, because it is not the proper property of nature and does not at all extend to the being corresponding to this nature, and the second, because it revolves us around true knowledge and primitive wisdom - us, who do not consider that questioning is the comprehension of the sought-after primitive of Divine [things], but only aspiring through the bodily symbols of the Law, as if through some questioning, to comprehend Divine blessings. And this is so that we, having stopped caring about questioning, which often seems to lead to error, find ourselves in the truth of the sought-after Divine [goods] and are transformed by their blessedness, invariably revealed to us through communion, acquiring a form corresponding to this blessedness, that is, a sign of our being in Christ Jesus our God and Savior, to Him be glory forever. Amen. [261] Maxim the monk prologue To the scholia placed in the margins 1360 1. Intelligent [creatures] are characterized by natural beauty - meaning 1361. The beauty of meaning is the understanding of 1362 verbal [creatures] strictly consistent with reason; the beauty of understanding is the fruitful skill of verbal beings of virtue under the guidance of reason. And the beauty of this skill is the unmistakable contemplation that arises around true knowledge 1363, the goal of which is wisdom, this clearest completion of understanding 1364, which represents, as it were, the mind brought to a state of perfection by nature, which is the pure mind 1365, which, in union with the Cause, has reached the preconceived state 1366. In this state 1367, having put to rest his manifold natural movement and attitude towards everything, [264] that after the Cause, he in an unknown way adheres to only this one Cause, surrendering in silent peace 1368 to the pre-thought all-blessed silence, which neither word nor speculation can explain, but only the experience of the communion of those who have been awarded the pre-conceived pleasure - clear and a public sign of such an experience is complete insensitivity and the departure of 1369 the soul from this age. 2. And from here comes the knowledge that for verbal [creatures] there is nothing more akin to reason than reason, and for lovers of God there is nothing more worthy of praise than exercise in it and understanding [of it] - I do not mean that word 1370, which is exquisitely woven by art into an eloquent phrase to delight the ear 1371, in which even unfit men would be ready to exercise 1372, but that reason, which [human] nature essentially and without teaching has hidden in itself for the unmistakable consideration of beings and for the perception of the truth [contained] in all [creatures]. The Holy Spirit of God, having beautifully adorned this mind with virtues, usually leads it to cohabitation [with Himself] and makes it a divine statue of God-like beauty, not deprived by grace of anything that is inherent in God by nature. For [this mind] is an organ 1373 that skillfully 1374 collects all the manifestations of Divine Goodness that have mentally shone into being, through which it, entering the majestic structure of being, rushes and takes with it to the Productive Cause of existence those who have completely determined 1375 with this mind all the aspirations of the attraction inherent in them by nature 1376, not being held back by anything that is after Reason. 3. [This is the mind] by cherishing which we become tamers of all evil passions, without being enslaved by anything unnatural, and we show ourselves to be doers of Divine virtues, if only, of course, with every good [deed] we cleanse the material ugliness from the soul, [revealing its] spiritual beauty. For where reason reigns, there the power of the sensual usually ceases, to which the power of sin 1377 is somehow mixed, dragging the soul to pity [in relation to] the flesh akin to it in hypostasis 1378 through pleasure. As a result of this pleasure, she, taking up, as her natural business, passionate and voluptuous care for the flesh, distracts [the soul] from life in accordance with nature and convinces it to become the creator of evil that has no real existence 1379. For for the thinking soul, oblivion of natural goods, which comes from passionate attachment to the flesh and the world, is evil. This connection is destroyed by the mind-governor 1380, exploring according to all the rules of spiritual science the origin and nature of the world and the flesh, and then he leads the soul to the related area of mental existence 1381, into which the law of sin 1382 does not make its raids, no longer having a feeling 1383 that carries it to the mind, like a bridge, already torn away from the connection with the soul and represented by the sensual contemplations that the mind does not feel at all, surpassing attachment [to the flesh and the world] and [their] nature 1384. [265] 4. Understanding the matter as stated, I considered it necessary to support the reasoning of this work with scholia placed in the margins, so that they would complete the word itself to [proper] beauty and present the readers 1385 with a more refined treat of speculation, and would also generally clarify the idea of the work. 5. Having read the entire work 1386 after publication, I found that some places needed explanation 1387, others needed additional reasoning, and others needed some minor justification 1388, supplementing the text of the publication. As a result, I wrote this series of scholia, adapting an appropriate explanation to each place. And therefore I ask everyone who reads and rewrites [this work] to also read and attach a number of scholia standing outside [it] in accordance with the sign [available with each] so that the reasoning is understandable in all respects and is not distorted by any errors. See: Works of St. Maximus the Confessor. Book II. Questions and answers to Thalassia. Part 1. Questions I–LV / Transl. from Greek and comment. S.L. Epifanovich, A.I. Sidorova. M.: Martis, 1994. About him, see our preface to his wonderful book: Sidorov A.I. Epifanovich and his book about St. Maxim the Confessor // Epifanovich S.L. St. Maximus the Confessor and Byzantine theology. M., 1996. P. 5–9; and in addition: Dobrotsvetov P.K. Epifanovich // Orthodox Encyclopedia. T. 18. M., 2008. pp. 586–587; It's him. S.L. Epifanovich - “advocate of faith and science” // Epifanovich S.L. Lectures on patrolology. M., 2010. pp. 3–24. See: Maxime le Confesseur. Questions à Thalassios. T. 1. Introduction et notes par Jean-Claude Larche, traduction par François Vinel // Sources chrétiennes. No. 529. Paris, 2010. T. 2 // Sources chrétiennes. No. 554. Paris, 2012. T. 3 // Sources chrétiennes. No. 569. Paris, 2015. See reprint: Philokalia in the Russian translation of St. Theophan, the Recluse of Vyshensky. T. III. M., 1998. pp. 309–341. See: Jankowiak M., Booth Ph. A New Date-List of the Works of Maximus the Confessor // The Oxford Handbook of Maximus the Confessor / Ed. by P. Allen and B. Neil. Oxford, 2015. P. 25. See: Maxime le Confesseur. Questions à Thalassios. T. 1. P. 9. On this subject, see the large section “The World of Scripture in the Works of Rev. Maximus the Confessor" in the published collection of unpublished materials of the master's thesis of S.L. Epifanovich: Epifanovich S.L. St. Maximus the Confessor, his life and work. T. 2. St. Petersburg; Kiev, 2013. pp. 264–350. See: Sidorov A.I. Patristic heritage and church antiquities. T. 5. M., 2017. pp. 566–567. See a number of valuable observations by J.-C. Larcher: Maxime le Confesseur. Questions à Thalassios. T. 1. P. 19–21, 26–81. See: Maxime le Confesseur. Questions à Thalassios. T. 1. P. 22. See how S.L. Epifanovich reveals the meaning of this fundamental thing for the system. The maxim of the term: “the logos (λόγος) of any object or action is the principle that forms it, the meaning, the law of its existence; it constitutes the inner and spiritual (mental) essence (idea) of it. All logoi (λόγος) are nothing more than ideas (thoughts) of God, containing the existence of the world. The logoi that we comprehend become ideas (thoughts) of our mind, denoting for us the meaning and essence of the subject and the Divine idea about it. It is easy to see from here that the term λόγος can most closely be conveyed by the word “idea”” (see p. 512 of this edition). Greek λογικῶς, that is, under the guidance of reason. Reason is the ordering ability of the human spirit, guiding mainly the moral activity of man, although it is also important in the cognitive field. – S.E. Greek τῆς σαρκὸς κατὰ τὴν σχέσιν; σχέσις means the Rev. The maxim is a relationship, connection, state, but in particular - close to the Stoic meaning of this word - the disposition of the will, attachment and in this sense is used (synonymously) next to γνώμη (“will”) and προσπάθεια (“predilection”, “passionate attraction”), differing from them in that it means attachment in general, and not the inclination of one rational will ( γνώμη is ἕξις [“property”, “skill”, “state”] in relation to will) or the attraction of the passionate forces of the soul (προσπάθεια). In this case, σχέσις (κατὰ σχέσιν) has a double meaning: on the one hand, in contrast to ὁλικῶς (“wholly”), it serves to highlight the idea that in practical achievements detachment from the flesh is achieved only partially, and not completely, as in contemplation; on the other hand, this word indicates that area, those relationships which, in fact, this renunciation of the flesh in the ascetic life concerns; in this regard, it singles out attachment to the flesh as an object of ascetic influence. The latter will be discussed in the following discussion, why we prefer the second meaning to the first, despite its undoubted significance in the construction of speech in this case. – S.E. By spirit here, of course, we do not mean the lower power of the soul, but spiritual consciousness, the power of spiritual vision and life, conditioned by the grace-filled gift of knowledge. The verb ἐκσπάω (“distract”; lit.: pull out, pull out) resembles the interpretation that Rev. Maxim (see: Ambigva to John, 1 // PG. T. 91. Col. 1068) gave the significant words of St. Gregory the Theologian (see: Homily 14, 6–7 // PG. T. 35. Col. 865) about the bonds [of the flesh] that “captivate or hold” a person on earth. The difference between these verbs is Rev. Maxim explains with an example: in his opinion, the bonds of pleasing the body keep the flesh in its power, they hold back the practical ascetic who has not yet renounced the flesh; The bonds of sensual dreams drag down, dragging away the mind of the contemplator, who has already managed to renounce attachment to the flesh, soaring to spiritual contemplations. Rev. Thalassius stood above both. – S.E. Mind is the highest ability of direct, mental (intuitive) cognition. The word νοῦς, as well as λόγος, is sometimes used to designate the generally rational part of the soul; the mind is also interpreted as the entire rational part of the soul in comparison with the irrational. This is because all abilities are represented in the soul as if descending down from one beginning: reason - from the mind, the unreasonable part - from the rational; because of this, some abilities can be united in any one concept, just as they are all united together in the concept of the soul. – S.E. Scholium 1: “The flesh, he says, is capable of perceiving in visible morals the virtuous disposition of the soul, being associated with the soul itself as an organ for the manifestation of virtue.” Greek πρακτικῶς, that is, in active feat, in external works of virtue. – S.E. Eriugena gives a slightly different (also possible) version of the translation: “The flesh actively, through [good] morals, received glory for the formation of the [good] face of the soul in virtue.” Scholium 2: “He calls feeling that which sends to the mind ideas about visible being in order to comprehend the meanings found in this being, [that is, feeling is] a means of transition of the mind to intelligible being.” Greek σχῆμα (“appearance”, “cover”) includes the concepts of position (θέσις), shape (μορφή), outline or relief (τύπωσις) and sensually represented appearance (φαντασία). – S.E. Logos (λόγος) of any object or action is the beginning that forms it, the meaning, the law of its existence; it constitutes the inner and spiritual (mental) essence (idea) of it. All logoi (λόγοι) are nothing more than ideas (thoughts) of God, containing the existence of the world. The logoi that we comprehend become ideas (thoughts) of our mind, denoting for us the meaning and essence of the subject and the Divine idea about it. It is easy to see from here that the term λόγος can most closely be conveyed by the word “idea”. – S.E. Unlike S. L. Epifanovich, we believe that the very ambiguity of this concept in its specific application by Rev. Maxim (the doctrine of logoi) prevents us from trying to find a single adequate term in the Russian language (which is hardly possible), and therefore, as indicated, we often convey it in several terms, although sometimes we simply give a tracing paper from Greek. Greek νοητά - mental (intelligible, spiritual) being - consists of Angels and the souls of people. Due to the harmonious and symbolic relationship between sensory existence and the spiritual in the ideas of the visible world, one can contemplate the invisible world. The subject of such contemplation in the spiritual and moral world is mainly the ideas of Divine Providence and judgment. – S.E. Spiritual knowledge is called ἀπλανής because it is free from sensory delusion, which forces a person to consider an imaginary sensory existence as real. – S.E. See 1 Corinthians 2:10. At St. The Apostle Paul before this says that our faith is not based on human wisdom, but on the power of God, and therefore we preach the wisdom of God, secret, hidden. God revealed it to us by His Spirit, and we received not from the spirit of this world, but the Spirit from God, so that we might know what was freely given to us from God (1 Cor. 2:12). Father Chrysostom emphasizes that “Paul honors us by showing that we not only learned, and moreover, together with the Angels, but also learned from the Spirit Himself. Further, showing the importance of knowledge, he says that if the Spirit, who knows the mysteries of God, had not revealed this to us, then we would not have known” (St. John Chrysostom. Conversations on the First Epistle to the Corinthians. Conversation 7, 4 // Complete collection of the works of St. John Chrysostom. T. X. Book 1. M., 2004. P. 63). Greek φανέρωσιν (“detection”, “appearance”, “disclosure”). This is exactly what Eriugena translates: apertionem. Greek κατὰ τὴν ἀναγωγικὴν θεωρίαν. This expression is used by Rev. Maxim, like other Church Fathers, points to the discovery of the spiritual meaning of Holy Scripture. Scholium 3: “It is characteristic of love, he says, to reveal one disposition of the will in those who seek it.” The scholiast uses the term γνώμη, which is very rich in shades of meaning: “thought”, “consciousness”, “understanding”, “belief”, “decision”, “will”, etc. Eriugena translates it: “opinion, that is, will” ( sententiam, id est voluntatem); He also adds the following phrase to the scholium: “so that all who participate in it [love] think alike.” In this case, it is better to translate the expression κατὰ τὴν γνώμην. The reverend himself Maximus says that he, turning to the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Fathers, “found among them the word γνώμη in eighteen meanings, for it does not indicate the peculiarity of something general or particular, but the meaning intended by the speaker, and is determined by what is said either before or immediately after. Therefore, one cannot limit such a word to only one meaning” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Dispute with Pyrrhus // Dispute with Pyrrhus. St. Maximus the Confessor and Christological disputes of the 7th century / Responsible editor: D.A. Pospelov. M., 2004. P. 181). Greek τοὺς γνωστικούς, that is, those who have been awarded the gift of mental vision, the gift of spiritual knowledge. – S.E. This attachment is expressed in the fact that a person accepts suffering with displeasure, showing himself to be spiritual in this regard. Another kind of detachment from nature takes place in the act of mystical contemplation. – S.E. Scholia 4: “Because the mind, having passed through the essence of intelligible [things], becomes thoughtless, clinging to God, who exists above all essence, knowledge and thinking.” Eriugena adds: “About this thoughtlessness the apostle says: the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God (1 Cor. 3:19).” The word τρόπος means the way of implementing virtue, its external side. – S.E. Scholium 5: “Because the Word of God, in relation to the disposition of souls, distinguishes the gifts of those who receive Him.” Eriugena makes the following addition to this scholia: “After all, just as water, through the secret cycle of nature, is poured over all born bodies and the plant world to multiply bodies, so the Word of God [is poured] in an invisible and incomprehensible way over all rational creatures to increase the rational meanings and virtuous powers of things (virtutes rerumque rationes); and while nature is indivisible, it is divided.” Rev. Maxim, juxtaposing γνωστικῶς καὶ πρακτικῶς (“speculative and active”), once again emphasizes the unity of “doing” and “knowing” - a motif that is constantly found in his works. In the subsequent speech, we think, Thalassius’ questions are not so much presented as questions posed by the Venerable himself in order to reveal them. Maximus, outlining in this case the plan of his asceticism. This is evident, firstly, from the coincidence of this plan (especially in its second part, concerning moral success) with the plan outlined by the reverend father in his previously written works; secondly, from the orderliness of the questions, which we do not notice at all in other questions of Thalassia; finally, thirdly, from the structure of the speech: the period that began with Ἐπειδή remained unfinished, which indicates that the reverend father actually had few ascetic questions from Thalassius, and he himself was not going to first set milestones for such a disclosure of such questions; this thought captivated him later, during the process of work itself, and forced him to violate the previously accepted structure of speech. – S.E. The answer to these questions is given by Rev. Maxim below. As for the questions proposed further, namely questions related to the fight against demons, the answer to them must be sought in the ascetic literature on these issues, which the reverend father undoubtedly had in mind in this case, that is, in the “Life of St. Anthony" written by St. Athanasius and in the “Chapters on the Active Life to Anatoly” by Evagrius. – S.E. Greek διὰ τῆς οἰκείας μεσότητος. What is meant here is the definition of passion and virtue, according to which passion is recognized as either a deficiency or an excess in the manifestation of human life, and virtue is the middle between them, the moderation of both. – S.E. Ascetics recognize the fulcrum for the development of passions as the passionate part of the soul and the senses of the body (Evagrius). – S.E. Greek προσηγορίας; in fact, a counter greeting. The types and manifestations of passions are described by Evagrius in his essay “On Eight Thoughts to Anatoly.” The first sign of approaching passion is the appearance of some persistent thought, especially in a dream. – S.E. Eriugena translates προσηγορίας literally as “name” (appellatione). – A.S. And we choose this reading for the second edition. – Ed. Different passionate thoughts are aroused at different times: every ascetic should observe the time of their appearance in himself (Evagrius). The thought of despondency usually attacks around noon, which is why it is called midday. – S.E. Greek σχήματα (Eriugena: figuras) S.L. Epifanovich translates as “signs” and says (referring to Evagrius): “Signs of passions hiding in a person’s soul are either a spoken word or a movement performed by the body, from which demons learn about our weaknesses in order to make them a weapon of their attack to kindle sinful passions in us.” A sign of the approach of a demon is the internal anxiety and fear that appears in the human soul. However, only those who have achieved dispassion can recognize the machinations of demons (Evagrius). Rev. Anthony easily recognized the demons that were bothering him and drove them away; he even possessed the gift of sensual vision of spirits. – S.E. For example, demons, taking a pretext from the Scriptures, manage to captivate the mind of the ascetic reading them to evil thoughts (Evagrius). Sometimes they support our good thoughts, only to later lead us to vanity. Sometimes they deliberately encourage an ascetic to do the impossible, even reproach him for a lack of zeal, in order to plunge the soul into despair or encourage vanity (Life of St. Anthony). – S.E. For example, they suggest that a monk, who has fallen into irritation, leave the monastery to become a hermit, or they talk to him about philanthropy in order to encourage him to go out into the world to serve the needs of humanity. In fact, in both cases they want to arouse and strengthen either the passion of anger or the addiction to carnal pleasures (Evagrius). – S.E. Demons, wanting to either seduce or confuse the ascetic, or somehow distract his attention, sometimes appear to him extremely small, sometimes in the form of giants (Life of St. Anthony), sometimes they commit small pranks (they make noise, mimic), sometimes they make noise, roar, like an earthquake, and intimidate with terrible ghosts. Rev. The demon of fornication appeared to Anthony in the form of a black dwarf, and other demons appeared in the form of animals, reptiles, and giants. Rev. Macarius saw demons attacking monks during prayer in the form of mosquitoes. – S.E. There are demons who crouch near the ascetic and wait for a reason to distract his thoughts to evil thoughts; they, for example, cause yawning when reading the Scriptures, and one must protect the mouth from them with the sign of the cross (Evagrius). But there are also those who attack only at times: some of them are extremely fast-moving, but at the same time heavy, such as the demon of fornication and the demon that delights us to blasphemy; Anger flares up very quickly too. Demons of spiritual passions (for example, anger and vanity) persistently disturb the soul until death; the demons of bodily passions depart more quickly. – S.E. The location of each demon is recognized by the thoughts that are aroused along with its approach. For example, if the face of the offender appears to the tempted person, then it means that he is exposed to the spirit of remembrance. – S.E. Evagrius, under whose influence this passage was written, understands by ὕλαι ideas about sensory things, passionate thoughts about them. – S.E. That is why, probably, these “substances” do not obey the law of time (ἀχρόνως), because they seem to represent a kind of “immaterial matter”. Scholium 6: “Because demons wage invisible warfare against us in thought, as if over real things.” Scholium 7: “He says that for the sake of pleasure we love the passions and because of pain we shun virtue.” Lit.: plexus, cohesion (εἱρμός); Eriugena translates: “row”, “row” (series). Observing this order and knowing it is one of the most important duties of the ascetic (Evagrius). Usually the demon of gluttony is followed by the demon of fornication, then - love of money, anger, sadness, pride (St. Neil of Sinai). Fornication and anger, desecrating the soul, make it accessible to the demon of despondency. In an ascetic, vanity usually appears on the corpses of all other (reflected) passions. Sometimes one demon, weakened in the struggle, gives way to another, the most cruel one; in this respect there is also continuity (Evagrius). After the demons of free passions, a demon is allowed to attack sinners, causing them involuntary suffering. – S.E. There are attacks of this kind (Evagrius), and sometimes even opposing and incompatible demons rush towards one ascetic, for example, fornication and vanity. – S.E. Evil thoughts are usually stopped by good ones (Evagrius, St. Nile of Sinai). To drive away the “wandering” thought, you only need to notice where and how it carried our thoughts away during previous temptations, so that with a new attack you can immediately convict it of treachery and drive it away from you in shame. Every evil thought in general must be broken down into its constituent elements through, so to speak, scientific reasoning about objects that evoke passion, and thus destroy the seduction of passion it creates; if this is difficult, then you can hit the demon with reasoning about his sinfulness, about the evil of demons, about their falling away from God, which reasoning is intolerable for demons and serves to drive them away. You can also take advantage of the enmity between demons and skillfully contrast one inspired thought with another, the opposite, for example, the thought of vanity - the thought of fornication. – S.E. Greek τὰ οἰκεῖα. Virtues are inherent in the soul, innate. The task of asceticism comes down mainly to the removal of unnatural passions; virtues then develop from natural inclinations. – S.E. Lit.: through logos and tropos (διὰ ποίων λόγων ἣ τρόπων); This refers to the internal laws of a virtuous life and the external means of implementing these laws. Scholium 8: “Because just as reason, ruling over the passions, makes feelings an instrument of virtue, so passions, ruling over reason, form feelings for sin.” Greek τῶν σχέσεων. One of the manuscripts contains a brief explanation: “of course, from feelings.” Greek ἐπιστημονικῶς ἀναλέξηται. Another possible translation: “read with knowledge.” Alien (due to their abstraction) diversity and complexity of sensory experience. – S.E. Greek κατὰ τὸν ἀρχικὸν τῆς σοφίας λόγον. Most likely, this refers to God the Word, the supreme Logos (Reason), serving as the focus of all existence, both sensory and intelligible. Scholium 9: “Because the soul, after liberation from natural attachment to beings, united in [its] stable state with God, acquires unchanging firmness in good.” Analogies with marriage when describing higher mystical states are common among mystics. Wed: St. Methodius of Patara. Feast of the Ten Virgins, III, 8. – S.E. In later usage, ἔγγραφος (“written”, “recorded”) also acquired the meaning κεχωρισμένος (“unstuck” [So in the publication - Ed. AB], “separated”). – S.E. But translation is also possible: “in writing”; this is, at least, how Eriugena translates (scribens). Scholium 10: “He calls the essences of beings beings; apparent being - [different] in quality and quantity [types of] flow and outflow [of substances], around which the delusion of the senses arises, producing sin." Eriugena adds to this scholium: “For essences do not experience increase or decrease. And their accidents, that is, quantities, qualities, and the like, are constantly experiencing changeable movement.” Here begins the extensive and important excursion of the Rev. Maxim into the problem of evil. In Minh's "Patrology" it is distinguished by a special subtitle "Definition of Evil", which belongs to the pen of a later copyist. I. Dalme calls this excursion “the most complete synthesis that Rev. Maxim ever gave regarding the problem of the Fall of Adam and its consequences for humanity” (Dalmais I. N. La fonction unificatrice du Verbe Incarné d’après les œuvres spirituelles de saint Maxime le Confesseur // Sciences Ecclésiastiques. 1962. Vol. 14. R. 450). The negative definition of evil is made in the spirit of Dionysius the Areopagite (“On the Divine Names,” IV). Rev. Maxim claims that none of Aristotle’s ten categories, which embrace all of existence, is applicable to evil as such. – S.E. Greek φυσικὴ οἰκείωσις. “Natural assimilation” is called one in which an object is assimilated that which is inherent to it by nature. It differs from moral or relative (σχετική) assimilation, by which an object is assimilated that which is unusual and alien to it by nature, that has no real existence in it; This occurs, for example, in the case when doctors internalize the suffering of a patient. – S.E. The concepts of beginning, middle and end come closer together in Rev. Maxim with the concepts of essence, force and activity (οὐσία, δύναμις, ἐνέργεια). – S.E. Scholium 11: “Since man, being the middle between God and matter, rushed towards matter, and not towards God as the cause and goal of his existence, he, of course, did not know God, grounding his mind with a gravitation towards matter.” Scholium 12: “He called the sensory experience of sensory [things] complex knowledge as giving by nature pleasure when arising and suffering when destroyed.” S.L. Epifanovich notes in this regard: “Sensual knowledge is called complex because it gives mixed knowledge of pleasure and suffering.” Wed. at St. Athanasius the Great: “The human soul, not content with conceiving evil, gradually began to delve into even worse things. Having learned the differences in pleasures, having established itself in oblivion of the Divine, enjoying bodily passions and having in mind only the present and respect for it, the soul thought that there is nothing more than what is visible, but only what is transitory and bodily is good for it” (St. Athanasius the Great. Word against the pagans, 8 // St. Athanasius the Great. Creations. Vol. I. M., 1994. P. 134). Greek φιλαυτία (“carnal pride”, “pleasing the flesh”). – S.E. At Rev. Maxim (who here follows Aristotle) ​​also has a positive assessment of φιλαυτία as “spiritual (νοεράν) self-love,” noble self-love, identical to the highest love for God. But basically he considers “philautie,” born from ignorance, to be the mother of all vices (see: Hausherr I. Philautie. De la tendresse pour soi à la charité selon saint Maxime le Confesseur. Roma, 1952. R. 49:59). The polarity of love and selfishness (ἀγάπη –φιλαυτία) is, according to Rev. Maxim, the main and decisive dilemma of human existence in this world (see: Heinzer F. Die leidende Menschheit Christi als Quelle des Heils nach Maximus Confessor // Christusglaube und Christusverehrung. Neue Zugange zur Christusfrommigkeit / Hrsg. von L. Scheffczyk. Aschaffenburg, 1982. S. 77). Rev. Maxim uses the pair of opposites “pleasure - suffering” (ἡδονή – ὀδύνη), which is very often found in his works. Wed. The reverend father has a similar reasoning in his “Epistle to John Cubicularius on Love,” which says: “Since at first the devil, who deceived man, through selfishness maliciously [lured] him into a skillfully thought-out trap, deceiving him with the attack of pleasure, he separated our will from God and from each other. Having diverted [man, the evil one] from the straight path, he divided the way of being of his nature, dividing him into many opinions and ideas; over time, he established as a law the search and discovery of all evil, using for this the strength of our [soul], and for the constant presence of evil in all [people] he laid an evil foundation - the intransigence of the will" (Selected works of St. Maximus the Confessor. M., 2004. P. 203). Greek μοχθηρίας. Μοχθηρός means “mean”, primarily in the sense of “poor”, “unhappy”, “humiliated”; further - in the sense of “sycophant”, “seeker” and, finally, in general “a morally unworthy person”. In this case, apparently, what is meant is vile seekiness. – S.E. That is, pleasure and pain. It is unknown who the Rev. is quoting in this case. Maxim. We did not find a similar explanation of this word in Hesychius and Svida. Probably Rev. Maxim (his source) derived the word μοχθηρός from μόγος (μόχθος) – “labor”, “suffering” and θήρ – “beast”. The name, therefore, denotes a person, on the one hand, suffering (and having every incentive to get out of an oppressed situation), and on the other, stalking, like an animal, the prey of pleasure; in a word, combining both the impulse to passions - the fear of suffering and the desire for pleasure. – S.E. In some manuscripts the title was written by a copyist: “Another Definition of Evil.” Eriugena's translation adds the clarification: "I mean mind" (dico intellectum). – A.S. Eriugena, probably confusing ἀνέδην (“abundantly”) and ἀνείδεος (“formless”, “ugly”), translates: “perceiving the ugliness (deformitatem) of this knowledge.” The word μετάληψις also has the meaning of “acceptance”, “perception”, “community”, “involvement”; Eriugena therefore translates: “perception (comprehension) of sensory [things]” (sensibilium perceptionem). Under the “tree of disobedience” St. Maxim here means a feeling that gives a person the knowledge of pleasure and pain (good and evil). – S.E. Rev.'s train of thought Maximus is very much in tune with some of the theological intuitions of St. Athanasius the Great and, quite possibly, depends on them. How does martyr sum up these intuitions? I.V. Popov, they boil down to the following: “On the advice of the serpent, man abandoned the thought of God and turned to what was closer to him - to his body and the pleasures inherent in it. As soon as the thought settled on sensual movements, they began to grow and strengthen, encouraged by the imagination. The man noticed that the satisfaction of passion is accompanied by pleasure, and this was a good thing in his eyes. A desire arose to artificially evoke and repeat these pleasures. But the needs of the body are manifold, and its desires are numerous. A vast field of pleasures has opened up before man, which he now begins to pursue. The human spirit by its very nature is an active principle. While he indulged in the contemplation of God, he found complete satisfaction for himself in the infinite. When he turned to the sensual, not a single private pleasure could satiate him completely, and there was nothing left for him to do but try to replace the fullness of a single good with a multitude of imaginary goods and hasten to move one by one from one pleasure to another. Thus, having abandoned the contemplation of God, man first of all lost the unity of his mental life, was exchanged for small change and lost in the variety of sensual pleasures” (Popov I.V. The religious ideal of St. Athanasius of Alexandria // Popov I.V. Works on patrolology. T. I. Sergiev Posad, 2005. pp. 76–77). Wed. at St. Gregory of Nyssa, who believes that the tree of life in paradise fed the first man with wholeness (τὸ πᾶv), and this tree is contrasted with another, “the food from which is the knowledge of good and evil and which does not bear fruit from each of the named opposites, but from mixed opposite qualities produces a merged and mixed fruit, from which the Chief of life forbids to eat, but the serpent advises to arrange the entrance death. And the person who advised gains confidence by coloring the fruit beautifully and pleasantly, so that it is pleasant to look at and arouses the desire to taste.” He further says: “This fruit, which has the serpent as its protector, is mixed from opposites - probably for the reason that simple evil as such does not appear in plain sight, manifested in its own nature. After all, evil would be ineffective if it were not embellished with any good that attracts the deceived to desire evil. And so the nature of evil is mixed, in the depths it has a hidden deception of destruction, and by the deceitfulness of its appearance (κατὰ τὸ φαινόμενον) it shows some illusion of good” (St. Gregory of Nyssa. On the dispensation of man, 20 // Like in the saints of our father Saint Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, Ob structure of man. St. Petersburg, 1995. P.763:765). The title of this paragraph was given by the hand of the scribe: “Consideration of the Tree of Disobedience.” This understanding of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, following St. Maxim holds St. John of Damascus. – S.E. Again the title of the scribe: “Another consideration of the tree of disobedience.” Scholium 13: “The visible creature, he says, has both spiritual meanings for the mind and natural strength for feeling. And the speculations of both are, like a tree, in the middle of the heart, figuratively understood as paradise.” Greek διὰ τῆς ἐν χάριτι μετοχῆς, that is, through direct mystical communication with God. – S.E. Compare: “The name of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, no doubt, refers to the effect that it could produce in man. However, it could not be a source of knowledge, because the image of the Creator was in man the source of reason or knowledge (Col. 3:10), and the whole world presented him with images of good. So, this tree was supposed to constitute only a means and an opportunity for experimental knowledge or a real feeling of the difference between good and evil” (St. Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna. Notes guiding a thorough understanding of the Book of Genesis. Part 1. M., 1867. P. 41). Also: “By its nature the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was not deadly; on the contrary, it was “good,” like everything created by God; only God chose it as a means for testing man’s obedience to God” (Rev. Justin Popovich. Dogmatics of the Orthodox Church. Part 2 // Collection of works of St. Justin (Popovich). T. II. M., 2006. P. 226). Greek κατὰ τὴν πάσιν ἁρμόσαι δυναμένην ἀναγωγήν. One example of the use of the term “anagoge” to denote the spiritual understanding of the Holy Scriptures and existence in general (from the verb ἀνάγω – “to raise”, “to lead upward”). Eriugena gives another, also possible translation: “how incomprehensible it is by reason” (ut nulla intellexerit ratio). Greek τὸ στεργόμενον, that is, delivering pleasure to the body. – S.E. Of course matter, substance. – S.E. Love for God must be preceded by spiritual knowledge, knowledge of Divine blessings, according to the word of Scripture: taste and see that the Lord is good (Ps. 33:9). – S.E. Greek λόγος in this case can mean: 1) mind; 2) thought; 3) human word; 4) idea, law; 5) the word of God; 6) Holy Scripture; 7) the writer’s speech in general. In this case, the latter meaning is also possible, in addition to the one we accepted. – S.E. Eriugena translates: “by reason” (ex ratione). Greek Eriugena translates: “through the action of knowledge” (per operationem scientie). True knowledge is called effective, first of all, as (founded and) combined with good activity, that is, deeds of virtues, as opposed to incomplete, partial knowledge, without doing, with insufficient ascetic preparation; further, it is called as a truly real perception of Divine insights, deeply and directly experienced by the ascetic in his spiritual mood, as opposed to the theoretical and superficial assimilation of knowledge in words, without an internal heartfelt attitude to its content and without a real feeling of all the grace-filled power of heavenly insights and the sweetness of communication with God. The latter understanding is a further revelation of the first. Real knowledge is possible only with a virtuous speculative person. – S.E. Greek εὖ εἶναι (“well-being”) is being in accordance with the ideal purpose of rational being, with its eternal goal - good. In other words, godlike existence and the corresponding bliss. – S.E. Greek ἀεὶ εἶναι - this concept is closely related to the previous one and means being accessible to man at the level of his mystical union with God. Scholium 14: “He is ignorant of the sensory experience of pleasure and pain who becomes free from bodily attachment when he cleaves his mind to God.” The premise of this thought by Rev. Maximus is found in St. Basil the Great, who notes: “It is not the passions that are contained in the image of God, but reason, the ruler of the passions” (St. Basil the Great. Conversation I on the creation of man in the image, 8 // St. Basil the Great. Creations. M., 2008. P. 435). In the Latin translation there is a note in the margin: “For example, what is a person? “A rational animal.” That is, to the body and feelings. At Rev. Maxim, by the way, feelings are called ἄλογος αἴσθησις. St. Gregory of Nyssa, by the irrational (dumb) part of human nature, means the present coarse composition of human flesh, acquired by man along with the bestial image of birth due to the Fall, and the irritable and desirable (lustful) power of the soul that was attached to him. – S.E. Probably Rev. Maximus refers to one place from the essay “On Virginity”, where the Saint of Nyssa says: “In this living being, passion and corruption [exist] not by nature and are not originally united with it.” Further, the saint describes the entry of this passion (or evil) as a result of man’s abuse of his free will, and then states: “But when the corrupting habit of sin entered human life in the indicated way, and from a small beginning, immense evil arose in man, and that god-like beauty of the soul, created in the likeness of the prototype, was covered, like iron, with the rust of sin, then the beauty of the image belonging to the soul by nature could no longer preserved intact, but changed into a vile form of sin" (St. Gregory of Nyssa. On virginity, 12 // St. Gregory of Nyssa. Ascetic writings and letters. M., 2007. pp. 102–104). The image of God in man is in the mind. – S.E. A thought very common in the patristic works. So, for example, Rev. Nikita Stifat reflects on this matter, drawing an analogy with the Holy Trinity: “The image of God is a rational soul, mind and reason, a single and indivisible nature, identical in nature, consubstantial and indivisible. After all, mind and intelligence belong to the soul, incorporeal and immortal, Divine and intelligent; they are consubstantial and co-eternal with it, never cutting off each other and incapable of separation, just as the Father can never be cut off or separated from those who are consubstantial and co-eternal with Him, namely the Son and the Holy Spirit" (Venerable Nikita Stifat. On the soul V, 22 // Venerable Nikita Stifat. 1. Theological works. Sergiev Posad, 2011. P. 23). Under the signs of bestial life in this place, according to Rev. Maxim, you need to understand the passions of pleasure and suffering in general. Humanity, torn and divided by them, suffers from them. For the most part, as the main and initial signs of the old man, they are noted by St. Maxima birth (associated with pleasure) and decay (associated with suffering). With every pleasure, suffering is associated with the truth of God as punishment. All people, as participants in the pleasure of birth, are subject to suffering and decay. It can therefore be rightly said that humanity suffers from these two signs of unreason - birth and decay and the passions associated with them and dependent on them. – S.E. Greek ἐν τοῖς σπουδαίοις; spudei (“student”) is the technical name for students of higher education. Σπουδαῖον were with St. Sofia, under the Jerusalem Patriarchate. These, apparently, were something like school monasteries. The Spudei are known for their concern for worship (see about this: Skaballanovich M.N. Explanatory Typikon. T. 1. P. 260). From the usage of words by Rev. Maximus shows that simple monks and zealots of piety in general were also called spudei. – S.E. Side note: “When and how do these passions become beautiful?” Greek ? Eriugena translates: “the innocent joy of the nourishing action of the mind” (voluptatem vero innocuam nutritie animi). Scholia 1: “Because Scripture figuratively represents the various ways of [God’s] Providence for us under the guise of passions known to us.” Scholium 2: “Because by these names Scripture designates a certain relationship of the saints to God.” Eriugena combines both scholia into one. Rev. Maxim, obviously, adheres to the view of St. Gregory of Nyssa (“Defensive presentation on the Sixth Day”) that “God suddenly and in an instant laid the foundation for the causes and powers of all beings” (potentially created the world instantly), after which individual types of being began to appear in a certain order. – S.E. If λόγος is the formative principle of the species, then οὐσία represents matter, so to speak, a formless substance, to which λόγος gives appearance (εἶδος) or form, type. This is how we present it to Rev. Maxim the relationship between “logos” and “ousia” by analogy with the philosophical constructions of the Neoplatonists (borrowed by them from the Stoics) due to the coincidence of St. Maxim with the Neoplatonists in philosophical terminology. However, the doctrine of logoi was directly gleaned from St. Maximus, as he himself makes clear, in Dionysius the Areopagite. – S.E. Among other predecessors of the doctrine of logoi, St. Maximus is also indicated by Clement of Alexandria and Evagrius of Pontius, who here, however, had much less influence than Dionysius the Areopagite (see: Dalmais I. H. La théorie des “logoi” des creatures chez S. Maxime le Confesseur // Revue des Sciences Philosophiques et Théologiques. 1952. T. 36. R. 244. – A.S. Greek ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν κατ’ ἐνέργειαν τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς δυνάμει μερῶν δημιουργίαν πρόοδόν τε καὶ σύστασιν. The concepts of δυνάμει and ἐνεργείᾳ are terms of Peripatetic philosophy, also adopted by the Neoplatonists. Rev. Maxim complements the thought of Rev. Thalassia agrees with Nemesius: the latter proves against the Peripatetics that Providence extends not only to species, but also to individual beings. – S.E. Scholium 1: “In matter, that is, in the general essence, in a state of possibility, there exist individual beings arising piecemeal from matter, the origin of which, as he says, obviously depends on God.” General essences (οὐσίαι), which were discussed at the beginning of the Second Question-Answer, are identified in the scholia with ὕλη - matter (in the Aristotelian sense). By the latter we mean the formless basis of being, which takes one form or another depending on one or another formative principle. In this sense, it is subject, so to speak, to contraction (συστολή) and expansion (διαστολή), that is, movement from the generic genus itself to the specific species itself (to a separate individual or creature) and back. In the strict sense of the word, it cannot be identified simply with matter, for “usia” is also a substrate for spiritual-mental beings, formed by their logos. – S.E. Μέρη, μερικά mean private, individual being, in contrast to τὰ καθόλου, that is, species. Both species and individuals (separate beings) are formed according to a certain logos - a fundamental principle (an idea consistent with the thought and will of God); both have their own logos. Thus, there are individual logoi and general, specific logoi. The latter, of course, exist in the former, as the general in the particular. Each individual object has within itself, in its individual logos, a general logos. This general logos is what is meant in the following presentation. Since in this case we are talking, in fact, about people, then they are needed from the reverend. Maxim is understood by “individual beings”, as well as by “general species” - human nature. The term “general appearance” in the following words receives a new definition: “logos (fundamental principle) of rational essence,” that is, in this case, the logos of human nature. Both terms are correlative concepts and therefore are used one instead of the other. However, this does not mean their identity: the concept of nature includes the concept of “logos” of nature as a part. The logos of human nature for our ordinary knowledge means the totality of essential features that form the concept of man; for external reality and for the mysterious knowledge of the speculative, it is a creative spiritual force that preserves the existence of nature within the framework defined for it. The Logos of nature is the same in everyone, for it is equally inherent in everyone by nature, just as the nature is the same in everyone. If further we are talking about the assimilation of everyone to a common species or about unification with the common logos of nature, then the speech, obviously, concerns not nature, but the will of man and those frequent deviations from the norm of nature that the sinful human will allows. – S.E. Scholium 2: “He calls the assimilation of individual beings to a general species the union of all people in a single movement of the will towards the meaning of nature. This union is providentially effected by God, so that the will and nature of all may become one, when all are united, through the [Holy] Spirit, with God and with each other.” Greek γνώμη is will, arbitrariness; more precisely (as a moment of the volitional process), the inclination or disposition of the will to a certain decision after a previous struggle of motives, an act of self-determination. Usually the Rev. Maxim, this term is used to designate a will that does not have (de facto) ideal foundations, constantly fluctuating between good and evil, constantly facing the choice of one or the other, and for the most part depending on motives and impulses of a private and random nature - various kinds of predilections, sympathies, moods, everyday relationships. In this sense, γνώμη in Rev. The maxim is opposed to nature and natural will, which always strives for good without hesitation, and is considered a sign not of nature, but of hypostasis, that is, it is recognized as a special kind of way (different for everyone) of the manifestation of natural will in man, or rather, its perversion in fallen nature. This γνώμη creates all the clashes and divisions between people. Therefore, it is necessary to subordinate it to the logos of nature, the general form or, more simply, the community of nature and to harmonize with it in everything in order to unite people with each other and with the logos of nature (the species principle inherent in everyone), and at the same time with its source - God. This is a necessary condition for deification. – S.E. One can pose the question: how does the logos of nature find application in the moral life of people and how, in particular, does the unification of each person (by will) with the logos, or the general principle of nature, take place? At Rev. Maxim, we find the following answer: in the logos of nature, when it is comprehended by a person with the inner eye, two sides are clearly cognized: 1) its complete dependence in being on God (logos is the energy of God) and independence from the conditions of external existence; 2) its sameness in all individual creatures of the same genus. Hence, from the direct spiritual contemplation of the logos of nature, a person is convinced of the need: a) to seek the support of being and goodness only in God and to be indifferent to the conditions of external existence as standing below the ideal of nature, and, moreover, temporary and perishable, and b) to adhere in relations with people to the same unity that is given in the community of their nature. The latter is expressed in loving everyone with equal love and in no case breaking the unity of nature, and at the same time unity with the logos of nature, various kinds of manifestations of hatred and division, these expressions of gnomic (personally spontaneous) egoistic will, but, on the contrary, coordinating will (γνώμη) with nature and to the same extent expressing in it the community of nature, in how it, in addition to will, is realized in nature, in order to at the same time raise it to the ideal of natural will. Thus, according to the teachings of Rev. Maxima, unification with the logos of nature, present in every person, is achieved by love for people. Along with this unification, his unification with other people, that is, with all nature, is also achieved. – S.E. That is, people to whom the logos of rational essence (idea of ​​man) equally applies as an essential feature. – S.E. In this case, Rev. Maxim also contrasts this general logos with the tropos (way, way of being) in which the individual characteristics of each person are manifested. The soul abides equally in all members of the body as a vitalizing principle. If she had not come into contact with any of his members, he would not have been alive, but dead. So in the future deification the Divinity will completely embrace the nature of those being saved. – S.E. Greek ἐπιβολή means “speculation”, “guess”. In contemplation (θεωρία) of the mysteries of Scripture, the word “contemplation” that we have adopted for translation will be more appropriate. We use the latter in a broad sense - the process of contemplation (θεωρία) and in a narrow sense - its individual act (ἐπιβολή), inspiration. – S.E. Eriugena also translates ἐπιβολή as theoriam (“contemplation”). Active philosophy, or practical philosophy, in short - doing, is called by the saint. Maxim is an exercise in various kinds of exploits with the goal of liberation from passions and acquiring true spiritual life. In ascetic life, this is the first stage of a person’s spiritual moral development, preparing him for spiritual contemplation (the second stage). The content of practical philosophy is formed by the feats of mortification of the flesh, the bearing of labor and suffering, voluntary (fasting, vigil, sleeping on the ground, etc.) and involuntary (disasters, insults), the acquisition of the virtues of abstinence, chastity, non-covetousness, humility, patience, meekness, love, the struggle with thoughts contrary to them, spiritual sobriety and prayer (see in our brochure: Epifanovich S.L. Rev. Maxim the Confessor and Byzantine theology. Kyiv, 1915. pp. 95–104). – S.E. This stage of spiritual life is more often called by St. Maxim by natural (that is, in agreement with nature) spiritual contemplation. He who has achieved it receives the ability of spiritual vision, which reveals to him the inner mysterious essence of existence - its spiritual principles (logoi), or ideas of God. – S.E. Judging by this brief remark, the Apostle John has in the eyes of St. Maxim has a higher meaning than the Apostle Peter (as contemplation is higher than doing). A note in the margin of one manuscript (also translated by Eriugena): “discussion concerning the bearer of a pitcher of water.” A similar note: “consideration regarding the one who has a furnished upper room.” Another note: “examination of the house in which there was an upper room.” Matthew 26:18 does not mention a man with a pitcher of water. – S.E. Mentioned in Mark 14:13 and Luke 22:10. Note in the margin: “a different view of the city, the upper room, the bearer of the jug and the owner of the house.” This refers to the most general contemplations about created being, about its most general and necessary forms. Having passed through them and risen above them, thought already approaches, so to speak, the boundaries of the existence of the Divine, enters the realm of the supernatural and achieves a pre-mindful and mysterious union with God. – S.E. Eriugena's translation: "did not have two tunics" (duas non habuit tunicas). The idea of ​​the unity of all virtues is clearly visible in previous church theology. See, for example: “The virtues are in mutual agreement with each other” (Clement of Alexandria. Stromata II, 9, 45 // Clement of Alexandria. Stromata. Books 1–3. St. Petersburg, 2003. P. 285). Also: “All virtues are interconnected, like links in a spiritual chain, dependent on one another: prayer from love, love from joy, joy from meekness, meekness from humility, humility from service, service from hope, hope from faith, faith from obedience, obedience from simplicity” (Venerable Macarius the Great. Spiritual conversations (Collection II). Conversation 40, 1 // Works of the venerable Macarius of Egypt. M., 2002. P. 435). The sensual side of the world hides its inner spiritual side: the principles, laws, ideas of God. The true consideration of existence consists in, without paying attention to its sensual side, which only seduces the senses and arouses passions, to ascend to spiritual ideas that truly nourish the mind. Demons strive to attract a person to the external, material side of the world in order to draw him into the abyss of passions, and for this purpose they move matter with them. – S.E. Spiritual knowledge during the mysterious incarnation of Christ in the soul of the ascetic forms, as it were, the soul of the Lord, and virtues form His flesh. In each of the logoi of contemplation, in each idea, the Logos (Word) indwells, as in His energy, the soul of the ascetic; and the entire totality of ideas, all knowledge, perceives Him as if completely. – S.E. Rev. Maxim here proceeds from the idea of ​​man as a microcosm, which is similar to and closely related to the macrocosm, consisting of the intelligible and sensory worlds corresponding to the soul and body of man. – A.S. Greek κατὰ τὴν ἀπόφασιν τῆς ἱστορίας. Eriugena translates this expression literally: "according to the judgment of history" (iuxta iudicium historiae). Scholium 1: “He calls shameful passions the works of Adam (Rom. 1:26), for only God produces virtues in those who want [it], using, as an instrument, only the inclination of those who want to manifest them.” Eriugena translates the expression τοῦ γεωθέντος νοῦ as “the knowing mind” (cognoscentis animi). Λόγος, θυμός, ἐπιθυμία (“reason,” “rage,” “lust”) is a psychological scheme primarily characteristic of Plato, but also found among other philosophers (Aristotle, Neoplatonists). It is also common among church writers - the Alexandrians and Cappadocians. – S.E. One and the same place of Holy Scripture can be, according to Rev. Maxim, interpreted both in a good (ἐπαινετῶς) and in a bad, reproachful sense. In this case, Rev. Maxim, after interpreting Genesis 3:19 in a reproachful sense, proceeds to explain the same passage in a laudable sense, finding in it an indication of the spiritual growth of man, which occurs, as it should, in complete (but inverse) analogy with the course of his moral decline. – S.E. Thorns and thistles, when applied to contemplation, indicate the difficulty with which the mind of fallen man, who has lost almost all the power of his spiritual vision, cognizes the spiritual principles (logoi) of being, which determine its origin and essence, as well as the norms (logoi) that govern the spiritual and moral world and serve as an expression of the Providence and Judgment of God. – S.E. “Sacramental theology” is the third (after active wisdom and natural contemplation), and the highest, stage of a person’s spiritual and moral life. On it, the ascetic in ecstasy is awarded direct union and knowledge of God, like, for example, Moses on Mount Sinai, or the apostles at the Transfiguration, or the Apostle Paul in the third heaven. The ascetic, awarded such a state, achieves deification in the rays of Divine light. – S.E. Scholium 1 (Er.): “In one thing only the grace of the possibility of sonship is given. After all, in general, all those who are baptized are given the opportunity to be sons of God. [The Lord Jesus Christ] says: Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God (John 3:5). And also [the Apostle John says]: And to those who received Him...he gave power to become children of God (John 1:12). In the other [image of birth] the perfection of sonship itself is granted, through the implementation of the commandments and knowledge of the truth, that is, the impossibility of sin, not yet contained in the first image, is given through deification. For in him the capacity for sin is not yet cut off by free will, since man has not yet gratefully turned all his love towards God.” Greek γνωμικῶς Eriugena translates: “consciously”, “knowable” (cognoscibiliter). Scholium 2: “Inactive faith, he says, has the grace of adoption [only] in possibility, since those who possess it are not set in motion through [the implementation of] the commandments.” Greek κατ’ ἐπίγνωσιν ἐνεργοῦσαν; effective knowledge is the real and direct knowledge of the Divine in the mystical act of sacramental theology. It is available only to those who have entered the world of virtues. – S.E. It is very characteristic to emphasize the free will of man in his spiritual rebirth. Can be compared with St. Gregory of Nyssa, who also says that a birth of this kind does not occur as a result of alien pressure from the outside (οὐκ ἐξ ἀλλοτρίας ἐστὶν ὁρμῆς), but by one’s own will (ἐκ προαιρέσεως) born, and therefore here we become, as it were, our own parents. And this will helps us during birth pangs (see: St. Gregory of Nysse. On the life of Moses II, 1–8 // St. Gregory of Nysse. On the life of Moses the Lawgiver, or On perfection in virtue. M., 1999. pp. 30–31. Russian translation corrected according to the edition: Grégoire de Nysse. La vie de Moise / Éd. par J. Danielou // Sources chrétiennes. No. 1 ter. 1968. R. 108). That is, from God, known in the blissful ecstasy of mystical theology. – S.E. A person in close communion with God receives (of course, not in essence, but by grace, by communion) Divine properties: Divine knowledge, love and especially eternity. Partial deification is realized during this life - in those who have been awarded the highest mystical states of union with God - but will be fully achieved by the righteous after the resurrection in the future life. The doctrine of deification as the ultimate goal of human life was quite often put forward by the ancient fathers. Rev. Maxim adheres to the teachings of St. Gregory the Theologian and Dionysius the Areopagite. – S.E. The human mind, like the whole person, in the state of deification only experiences (or “endures” - παθόντα) thanks to grace what God is in essence (ὑπάρχων κατ’ οὐσίαν), but He “does not experience” (οὐ πάσχων), for Any suffering state is alien to God. Wed. at Rev. Macarius: “Even in Christianity, a person can taste the grace of God, for it is said: Taste and see that the Lord is good (Ps. 33:9); this tasting is undoubtedly the active power of the Spirit, performing ministry in the heart. For those who are the sons of the Light and the service of the New Testament do not learn anything from people as taught by the Spirit. Grace itself writes the laws of the Spirit on their hearts. Therefore, not only in the Scriptures, written in ink, should they find confirmation for themselves, but also on the tablets of the heart, the grace of God writes the laws of the Spirit and heavenly mysteries; because the heart is sovereign and kingly in the whole bodily joint. And when grace takes possession of the pastures of the heart, then it reigns over all members and thoughts, for there is the mind, and all the thoughts, and the aspirations of the soul. Why grace penetrates into all members of the body" (St. Macarius the Great. Spiritual conversations (Meeting III). Conversation 15, 18 // Works of St. Macarius of Egypt. M., 2002. pp. 334–335). Greek γνωστικῶς; translation option: “understanding”, “spiritually”. Eriugena translates: scientur (“knowing”). Lit. : mystical water. Eriugena translates it this way: mystica aqua. The opinion has long been established in the Church that the Lord descended into hell in order to bring the souls of the Old Testament righteous out of the underworld. See, for example: “The Lord descended into the underworld, preaching here about His Coming and declaring remission of sins to those who believe in Him. All who trusted in Him believed in Him, that is, the righteous, prophets and patriarchs who foretold His Coming and served His orders” (St. Irenaeus of Lyons. Against heresies IV, 27, 2 // St. Irenaeus of Lyons. Creations. M., 1996. pp. 391–392). According to Metropolitan Macarius, “if some of the ancients sometimes expressed the idea that Christ brought from hell not just the Old Testament righteous, but many others or even all the captives of hell, then they expressed it only in the form of fortune-telling, a private opinion” (Makariy, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna. Orthodox Dogmatic Theology. T. II. M., 1996. P. 173). This kind of “fortune telling” or private opinion is cited here by Rev. Maxim, who regards this opinion rather detachedly (“some say”). Another thing is fundamentally important: the Rev. Maxim (like all the holy fathers) emphasizes the moment of faith (πιστεύσαντες) among those saved and brought out of hell. As the modern Serbian Father of the Church rightly notes, “The humane Lord, while in hell, preached the Gospel to all human souls, not excluding the most sinful: after all, the holy Apostle especially points out that the Savior preached to the souls of those who suffered for their depravity before the flood (see 1 Pet. 3:20). Undoubtedly, souls in hell could respond to the Savior’s preaching either by accepting it or rejecting it, because immortal human souls even in the kingdom of death are human precisely because they possess human feelings, human reason, human free will. And moreover, with feelings, reason and free will, carrying in themselves the experience, trace and imprint of earthly life, which probably influenced the choice either in favor of Christ’s preaching or against it” (Rev. Justin Popovich. Dogmatics of the Orthodox Church. Soteriology // Collection of works of St. Justin (Popovich). Vol. III. M., 2006. P. 194). The point is very important that Christ could not bring everyone out of hell, since he could not commit violence against the free will of those who did not want to be saved. Wed. interpretation of Father Chrysostom: “Just as sin, having taken possession of a person, itself lives in him, directing his soul according to its desire, in the same way, if with the mortification of sin a person does what is pleasing to Christ, then such a life is no longer the life of a person, but living in us, that is, the active and governing (Christ)” (St. John Chrysostom. Interpretation of the Epistle to the Galatians 2, 8 // Complete collection of works of St. John Chrysostom. T. X. Book 1. M., 2004. P. 771). It is advisable to cite a number of very important observations by N. Sagarda about the meaning of the word “light” in St. John the Theologian. He proceeds from the biblical point of view, according to which light “is generally the principle of spiritual enlightenment, knowledge and truth, and by virtue of the inner connection between knowledge and behavior - the principle of good conduct and life - both these sides - intellectual and ethical - are united in expression in the most intimate way ... Because of such a richness of its content, in which the main point is the idea of ​​​​perfection, the symbol of light in the Old Testament is especially often used where the Supreme Being is spoken of. In order to present God as an immaterial, all-penetrating, reviving and illuminating Being, the Old Testament writers depict Him as luminous... And in the New Testament God, as the primary truth and absolute holiness, is perfect light, and every reasonable light of spiritual creation is only a reflection of the absolute light that makes up the Divine Being.” At St. John contrasts light with darkness, which “is the sinful atmosphere that has enveloped the world.” In contrast to darkness, light “is the area of ​​moral purity, holiness, cleansing from everything sinful, the area of ​​doing good deeds... In the light, a person’s spiritual gaze is purified and clarified; he sees himself in his true light, knows his purpose and cheerfully walks along the path to its implementation. The sinful world lacked all this, and all this was given to it by Christ, the light of the world, embodied holiness, perfect moral purity. He brought into the world true knowledge of God and the purpose of man, holiness and purity, and showed people the true path from the darkness of alienation to the light of communion with God.” It follows that “fellowship with God, Who is light, requires walking in the light, fellowship with brothers, confession of sins and cleansing from them by the Blood of Christ, keeping the commandments, and in particular the commandment of love for brothers; whereas the opposite of it is walking in darkness, that is, living in sin and unrepentance, lies and hatred” (Sagarda N. The First Council Epistle of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian: Isagogical-exegetical study. Poltava, 1913. pp. 304–308). Rev. Maximus generally follows this tradition of Scripture in his understanding of “light.” He only makes a distinction between “light by essence (κατ’ οὐσίαν)” and “light by communion (κατὰ μέθεξιν)” in order to show the whole difference between God and man. However, such a difference is not an impassable abyss, and therefore Rev. Maxim, along with the difference between the two “lights,” also emphasizes their unity. Greek τῆς αὐθυπάρκτου κατὰ τὸ εἶδος τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν ὑποστάσεως (lit.: does not know the self-existent hypostasis of future benefits). Eriugena translates “hypostasis” here as substantia. Rev. Maxim adds the word “here” to the quote. As noted by J.-C. Larshe, the concept of “deification” (θέωσις) in the Rev. The maxim is not unambiguous. On the one hand, it means both the process of deification itself and its ultimate goal, and on the other hand, it is applied to various stages of spiritual success (see: Larchet J.-C. La divinization de l'homme selon saint Maxime le Confesseur. Paris, 1996, pp. 641–642). See the interpretation of this passage from Rev. Justin Popovich: “The children of God are the children of God in that they grow with the stature of God (Col. 2:19), into a perfect man, to the measure of the full stature of Christ (Eph. 4:13), and they grow in the Church and by the Church, they grow in the Body of the Church with all the saints (Eph. 4:11–16; Col. 2:19). The Savior gives us in His Theological Body all the Divine life-giving powers we need for Christification and Christification, for churching and churching: let us be like Him (ὅμοιοι αὐτῷ ἐσόμεθα). This Christification, this Christlikeness gives man a complete vision of the God-man, in the full radiance of His theanthropic perfections, because we will see Him as He is - καθώς ἐστι. The most complete and the most real and the only possible knowledge of Christ occurs through Christification, through Christification, through Christlikeness. For only by acting as He acted (see 1 John 2:6) do we become like Him” (Archimandrite Justin (Popovich). Interpretation of the Epistles of St. John the Theologian. Munich, 2000. pp. 43–44). Greek ἕξιν τῶν κατὰ τὴν ἀρετὴν λόγων τε καὶ τρόπων (lit.: skill of logos and methods corresponding to virtue). S.L. Epifanovich points out that a similar teaching about the three ranks of those being saved in patristic writing is found in Clement of Alexandria, St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory of Nyssa, Rev. Mark the Ascetic and Rev. Abba Dorotheus of Gaza. It should be noted that this teaching is fundamentally different from the Gnostic theory (Valentinian, etc.) of three kinds of people: carnal, mental and spiritual. In the latter, salvation does not depend on a person’s virtuous life, but on this or that “nature” originally given to him, which determines his belonging to any of the three kinds of people. The word ὑστέρημα in Greek means “lack”, “lack”, “need”. The definition of “pure” (ἁγνός) with the concept of “fear” also implies the meaning of “immaculate” and “righteous.” The difference between the two “fears” is also observed in another work by Rev. Maxim: “The fear of God is twofold: one is born in us from the threat of punishment, and thanks to it, abstinence, patience, trust in God and dispassion appear in us, in order, from which love [emerges]; the other is associated with love itself, producing reverence in the soul, so that it, taking advantage of the trusting attitude of love, would not fall into disdain for God. Perfect love casts out (see 1 John 4:18) the first fear from the soul that has acquired it and is no longer afraid of punishment; the second fear, as was said, is always associated with itself.” In the commentary we point to a similar teaching by Abba Dorotheus and Nikita Stifat (see: St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on Love I, 82 / Translated from Greek and commentary by A.I. Sidorov. M., 2013. pp. 177–178). You can also point out the discussion about two “fears” of the Rev. John Cassian (see: St. John Cassian the Roman. Interviews XI, 13 // St. John Cassian the Roman. Scriptures. Sergiev Posad, 1993. pp. 379–381). In the Russian translation, the Greek word ἀρχή is rendered as “dignity”; in the Church Slavonic translation - as “bosses”. But Rev. Maxim, judging by the further context, takes the original and direct meaning of this concept - “beginning”. According to Rev. Maxim, Angels, like all other created beings, have logos, that is, an internal meaning, idea, principle of their existence. – A.S. It is noteworthy that, according to Rev. Maximus and the Angels were granted by grace the natural power to deify φυσικὴ δυναστεία). Probably this thought is connected with his teaching that, according to God’s plan, all creation was to become deified through man. Regarding this teaching, see: Larche J.-C. La divinization de l'homme. R. 105–112. Greek Eriugena translates ἐπισκοπή as “protection” (protectio). Greek Eriugena translates κατὰ γνώμην as “intentionally”, “consciously” (per sententiam). Greek γνωμικῶς ποιωθέντες; lit.: Angels were “qualitatively defined” by ignorance. So, it seems, it is better to translate the expression γνώριμον τὴν ψυχήν (lit.: known, accessible soul; Eriugena gives such a literal translation: notatam animam). The idea that vices (passions) are closely interconnected with each other, as well as virtues, can be traced in St. Macarius (see: St. Macarius the Great. Spiritual conversations (Collection II). Conversation 40, 1 // Works of St. Macarius of Egypt. M., 2002. P. 435). Rev. Mark the Ascetic expresses it in the following form: “Evil one receives strength from the other: in the same way, good increases one from another and the one in whom it is, encourages to greater things” (Our Venerable and God-bearing Father Mark the Ascetic Moral Ascetic Words. Sergiev Posad, 1911. P. 18). See: Dionysius the Areopagite. About the divine names V, 8. – S.E. The expression of St. Apostle Paul: νοούμενα καθορᾶται – suggests such a translation. Scholium 1: “He says that from the things that exist we know their Cause, and from the difference of things that exist we learn about the hypostatic Wisdom of things that exist; finally, based on the natural movement of beings, we recognize the hypostatic Life of beings, their life-giving Power, the Holy Spirit.” So, I think, it is better in this case to translate ὑφεστῶσαν (Eriugena: subsistentem). The last word has many meanings; among them the most important are: “existing”, “substantial”, “having independent existence”, “existing in hypostasis”, “hypostatic” (see: Lampe G.W.H. A Patristic Greek Lexicon. Oxford, 1978. R. 485–486). Leonty of Byzantium was the first to give this term, usually used in the sense of the truth and reality of being, a Christological meaning (see: Sokolov V. Leonty of Byzantium. His life and literary works. Sergiev Posad, 1916. P. 317). As can be seen from the following below, Rev. Maximus identifies Wisdom with the Logos, or Son. Rev. Maxim derives the concept of trinity from the contemplation of the three essential signs of created being, traceable to its Cause: being, difference and movement. Their cause and source is the self-existent Being, Wisdom and Life. This original attempt at a philosophical elucidation of the mystery of the Trinity was also used by Eriugena. – S.E. Greek Οἱ μὴ συνδιδαχθέντες; strictly speaking, those who “have not learned to understand one thing together with another.” Scholium (Er.): “He calls the Father the cause, whose properties are Power and Divinity, that is, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Rev. Maxim, calling Power and Divinity (the Son and the Holy Spirit) τὰ κατὰ φύσιν τῆς αἰτίας ἴδια (“properties of the Cause by nature”) (Eriugena: propria), does not at all fall into modalism. Ἴδια here means that which belongs by nature to the Father and is one with Him in essence, but at the same time possesses hypostatic existence. See explanation: “They changed what truly belongs to God and added it to false gods. They worshiped instead of “gave honor.” And they served - instead of “rendered service by deeds,” for “to serve” means an honor rendered in deed” (Blagovestnik, or Interpretation of Blessed Theophylact, Archbishop of Bulgaria. Vol. 3. Kiev, 2006. P. 16). Text quoted by Rev. Maxim, is somewhat different from the Septuagint: instead of κατ’ ὀλίγον it has κατὰ μικρόν, which does not change the meaning. Phrase: τῶν λόγου καθοτιοῦν μετειληφότων – S.L. Epifanovich translates: “whoever is involved in the mind in any way.” But, I think, here we are talking about involvement in the Supreme Mind (Logos), that is, God the Word. Scholia 1: “Because the Holy Spirit, as the one who creates all and providentially cares for all, is in all.” Rev. Maxim uses here the term καλοκἀγαθία, which has its origins in deep antiquity (see about this concept: Losev A.F. History of ancient aesthetics. Sophists. Socrates. Plato. M., 1969. pp. 288–294). Scholium 2: “For the Holy Spirit is the Lawgiver and Forerunner among [those who live] according to the Law.” Scholia 3: “Because the Holy Spirit, as the one who works the Divine adoption, dwells chiefly in Christians.” Greek πλάνη - seduction of the senses, due to which a person mistakenly looks at external existence as a self-existent truth, becomes attached to it, seeks affirmation in it, and in the pursuit of the blessings of the world is torn by sinful passions. Due to attachment to feelings, the law and wisdom of the flesh, in other words, “unreason” (ἀλογία), is deeply rooted in human nature. At every opportunity, this “unreason” - a disposition alien to spiritual interests, able to live only according to the instructions of feelings, like unreasonable animals - is reflected in all its strength. The manifestation of this basic sinful power by St. Maximus sees in the retreat of Israel, when he set himself a sensual god in the form of a cast calf. – S.E. Below, this state is more precisely defined as ἄγνοια - spiritual ignorance, inability to perceive spiritual and divine things due to the earthing of the mind and enslavement to its feelings; it is also understood as φαντασία - “dreaming” (sinful, sensual). – S.E. Passion is always caused by a sensual object, its external material side, and arises precisely when the passionate, unreasonable forces of the soul - lust and irritability - are carried away by the desire to achieve one or another sensual pleasure represented by the object and remove all obstacles to achieving it. Spiritual analysis of passion leads to its cessation, revealing the sensory shell of things, revealing their logos and curbing the unreasonable movements of the passionate forces of the soul. – S.E. This idea can be illustrated by Rev. Maxim with another statement of his: “All passionate thoughts either irritate the desirable part of the soul, or confuse the violent one, or darken the rational one. This results in blindness of mind both in relation to spiritual contemplation and in relation to prayerful ascension to God. Therefore, a monk, especially a silent one, must pay the closest attention to thoughts and cut off their causes” (Reverend Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on Love III, 20 / Translated from Greek and commentary by A. I. Sidorova. M., 2013, pp. 90–91). Greek οἱ περὶ θεολογίας λόγοι. Another translation is possible: “theological judgments.” Greek λόγος is both “reason” and “word”, and the latter is precisely what our organ of hearing perceives. See note. 4 to Question Answer 5. In this case, Rev. Maximus uses the term τὸ θυμικός, denoting the active principle of the sensible soul; Eriugena translates it with the concept animosum, suggesting fullness of life, sharpness, swiftness, courage. Greek Eriugena, confusing καθαιρέω (“to destroy”) and καθαίρω (“to purify”), translates inaccurately: “a method of teaching that purifies passions” (modum purgatorie passionum doctrine). So in the Church Slavonic translation; in the synodal: “all of them [the words of my mouth] are clear.” In the context of the thought of Rev. The maxim implies that the meaning of the mysterious passages of Scripture is perfectly clear to one who examines them from a spiritual point of view. Rev. here. Maxim expresses one of the most important provisions of his exegesis. The real events described in the Old Testament, according to him, have already been fulfilled, and therefore their literal and direct meaning (“history”) has already become a thing of the past. Only their spiritual meaning remains enduring (ἀεὶ γινομένην), the existence of which is constantly and even all the time intensifying and reaching ever greater flourishing (τὸ γίνεσθαι πλέον ἀκμάζουσιν); Eriugena translates: "[becomes] younger (renewed)" (plus renovatam). But this does not mean disdaining the “history” (or “letter” and “flesh”) of Holy Scripture as something unclean. The search for the spiritual meaning and meaning of “history” only cleanses it of everything accidental and exposes its inner core. On this see: Groce V. Tradizione e ricerca. Il metodo teologico di san Massimo il Confessore. Milano, 1974. R. 43. Rev. here. Maxim almost literally repeats St. Gregory of Nysse, who in “The Life of Moses” says: “A stop in movement on the path of virtue is the beginning of movement on the path of vice” (Grégoire de Nysse. La vie de Moise (Sources chrétiennes, t. 1). Paris, 1968. R. 48). S.L. Epifanovich translates λόγος as “thought,” indicating that the Rev. Maxim this concept is sometimes identified with λογισμός. But, as can be seen from the following context, in a particular case, both terms are different. Eriugena translates: "condemning word" (reprehendens verbum). We left the translation to S.L. Epifanovich, but the phrase: κατὰ τὴν συνείδησιν θάνατον ἀπειλοῦντα - may have a slightly different meaning: “in conscience (in conscience, as a result of conscience) threatening death.” This is exactly what Eriugena translates: per conscientiam mortem minans. St. Gregory of Nyssa (“On the Life of Moses”) by the uncircumcision of his son means the erroneous opinions of Hellenic philosophy, which, in general, with the exception of these opinions, is useful for piety. – S.E. See: St. Gregory of Nyssa. On the life of Moses II, 192–200 // St. Gregory of Nyssa. About the life of Moses the Lawgiver, or about perfection in virtue. M., 1999. pp. 74–76. Russian translation corrected according to the edition: Gregoire de Nysse. La vie de Moise / Éd. par J. Danielou // Sources chrétiennes. No. 1 ter. Paris, 1968, pp. 126–130. The words of Zipporah by Rev. Maxims are given, as in one of the codes, without adding “mine”. – S.E. According to the above-mentioned main feature of the exegesis of St. Maxim, the spiritual sense (“intelligible”) of Holy Scripture is preferable to the historical or literal sense (“narrative”). This idea is expressed here once again: Wed. interpretation of this passage: “If Christ is the goal of the law, then he who does not have Christ, even if he thought that he had righteousness, nevertheless does not have it, but he who has Christ, even if he did not fulfill the law, has achieved everything. The goal of healing is health. Just as the one who can make healthy, even if he does not know the art of medicine, has everything, and the one who does not know how to cure, even if he thinks that he follows the art, loses everything, so it is with regard to the law and faith: whoever has faith has achieved the goal of the law, and whoever is outside of faith is alien to both faith and law” (St. John Chrysostom. Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians. Conversation 17, 1 // Complete Collection of Works St. John Chrysostom. T. IX. Book. 2003. P. 710). G. Balthasar notes that of these three laws (natural, written and gracious), the first two, representing “Revelation in nature” and “Revelation in history,” are, as it were, two mutually limiting poles. The third law synthesizes them (see: Balthasar H. U. Kosmische Liturgie. Maximus der Bekenner: Hohe und Krise des griechischen Weltbildes. Freiburg im Br., 1941. S. 290–291). Greek γυμνὴν τυπικῶν προκαλυμμάτων δέξασθαι τὴν ἀλήθειαν. This phrase shows that for Rev. Maxim, the “typological interpretation” of the Holy Scriptures, which became especially widespread in the works of the early Church Fathers, was organically and inextricably linked with “spiritual interpretation.” Quote is free; probably Rev. Maxim quoted Holy Scripture from memory. Scholium 1 (Er.): “The legal splendor and arrogance of the Jews did not possess anything solid and substantial, besides only the outer form, which was abolished by the coming of the Lord.” The word εἰκονιστικός (“reproducing an image”, “depicting”) by G. Lampe, who specifically points to this place in the “Questions and Answers”, is translated as significant - meaning, representative of - a representative of something, as a shadow or reflection - as a shadow or reflection (see: Lampe G.W.N. Op. cit. R. 410). The word ἀπεκδυσάμενος in this place is understood in its literal meaning - “to remove” - which is quite accurately conveyed by the Church Slavonic translation. Scholium 1: “He calls by origin the first formation of man by God, and by birth he calls the [corporal] succession from each other that appeared later, as a conviction for a crime.” Greek γένεσις – the original creation of man in the image of God and in likeness. By the power of this creation, man was originally free from sin and corruption; his flesh was passionless, alien to physical needs, illnesses and any struggle of the elements; The very reproduction of man was supposed to be in a special spiritual way, and not through marriage. The Fall introduced γέννησις - birth in the likeness of animals. Sin was already associated with birth, and it was precisely in the sinful sweetness of pleasure that preceded birth. Along with the condemnation of man to bestial birth, a transformation of the composition of his carnal nature took place in the image of the coarse and plump flesh of animals, due to which his body became subject to various bodily needs, various deprivations, infirmities, in a word - impeccable, or natural, passions. All this was for man a slow decay of nature, which ultimately ended in death. It is clear how great the difference is between γένεσις and γέννησις. The first embraces everything natural in man, everything good and beautiful that was the work of God, while the second is synonymous with original sin in all its bad consequences. Both appeared in the first Adam. The same thing was revealed in the New Adam - Christ, but only in such a way that the Lord had the sinlessness characteristic of the first Adam, without, however, his incorruptibility; and had the corruption to which Adam fell with the condemnation of birth, without, however, his sin, for sinful sweetness did not precede His unmarried birth. The difference between γένεσις and γέννησις was clarified by Rev. Maxima in Ambigvae to John, 103 (see: PG. T. 91. Col. 1316d–1317b). – S.E. Greek παθητόν - passion, susceptibility to suffering, natural passions: hunger, thirst, fatigue and other manifestations of decay in a person from birth to death. This passion was introduced due to sin in the condemnation of the law of sin - pleasure as punishment by suffering for pleasure as a sin of nature, which was a necessary consequence of the sin of will; however, for the sinful egoistic will (γνώμη) of man, it served mainly as a basis for the development of sin. Man tried in every possible way to use the passion of the flesh so that by satisfying its needs he could obtain as much pleasure as possible and, if possible, avoid suffering. This lustful disposition of the will in relation to the passion of the flesh constituted the power of sin. Hence, natural, impeccable passions have always formed the basis for unnatural sinful passions. And for the sinful will of a person, this kind of state of affairs was in its own way a natural necessity: passion bound a person by will with insoluble bonds, constituting in him, as it were, a new “natural law”, which lay on him with all the weight of necessity. According to the teachings of Rev. Maximus, the Lord also perceived this passion, but without the sin of birth, and in such a way that all manifestations of corruption were controlled in Him by will, were voluntary and did not affect Him with the force of necessity. This is the usual patristic point of view - about the freedom of the passion of Christ. – S.E. Everyone is subject to the law of birth, and at the same time to passion and sin in it. – S.E. Here is a clear echo of the words of St. Apostle Paul in Romans 5:12. But if the apostle says that death entered through sin, then St. Maxim emphasizes another point: through sin enters “passion by birth” (τὸ παθητὸν κατὰ γέννησιν), which is naturally associated with death. A certain distant prototype of this thought by Rev. Maxim can be found at blzh. Theodoret: “Adam, already under a death sentence, in this state gave birth to Cain, Seth and others. And therefore, everyone, as having descended from one condemned to death, had a mortal nature. And such a nature needs a lot: food, drink, clothing, housing, and various arts. The need for all this irritates passions to the point of immoderation, and immoderation gives rise to sin. Therefore, the divine apostle says that when Adam sinned and because of sin became mortal, both of these things spread to the whole race” (Blessed Theodoret of Cyrus. Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, 5 // Works of Blessed Theodorit, Bishop of Cyrus. M., 2003. P. 129). Scholium 2 (Er.): “He speaks of vices in which the spirit of the unclean operates. There are two kinds of passions: one kind of those passions that are unnatural, they are vices, always oppose virtues and can never motivate them; another kind of those passions which, although they were not created by God in human nature, clung to it immediately after the Fall and therefore, considered in themselves, are evil, but nevertheless can be turned for good by those who use them well. Such are the essence of pleasure and sorrow, desire and fear; they hide vices for those who are in the habit of committing unrighteous acts that are not in accordance with [natural] forces.” Scholium 3 (Er.): “He speaks of the movements of the soul, that is, of pleasure and sorrow, desire and fear, which are acquired for both good and evil and in which vices tend to hide.” According to J.-C. Larcher, who also refers to this place, “Reverend Maximus the Confessor represents the will in general as inclined to evil - sometimes through the actions of demons the very state of passion, strenuously seeking how to achieve pleasure and avoid suffering (the desire in which evil passions are born), but it is not entirely determined by this. It also represents a weakened and corruptible will, balancing between good and evil, but not completely evil and powerless. It turns out, according to St. Maximus, that demons who act in the passion of nature do not determine a person to do evil, but tempt with persuasion and resort to deceit. Thus, fallen man remains, in principle, a certain field of freedom and some opportunity to do good. But we must admit that this field is extremely limited" (Larchet J.-C. St. Maximus the Confessor - a mediator between East and West. M., 2004. P. 125). But I think that this wonderful connoisseur of creativity, Rev. Maxima in this case overexaggerates the emphasis on human weakness, supposedly inherent in the reverend father, even using the completely inadequate term “pessimism” in relation to his worldview. Ascetic creations of St. Maxim clearly refute such a judgment. Scholium 4 (Er.): “Birth introduced into nature, he calls the succession of generations of people [born] like animals through bodily intercourse. After all, if human nature had not sinned in the first man, then the multiplication of the human race would not have occurred through bodily intercourse, which is the punishment for sin, but in a miraculous and Divine manner, without any action of [male] seed.” Scholium 5 (Er.): “He speaks of the succession of human births through intercourse and from [male] seed, which is not inherent in [human] nature, but was introduced into it as a punishment for sin.” That is, in passion, in the totality of impeccable passions. – S.E. The expression: τῷ περιστατικῷ νόμῳ τῆς φύσεως – can also be translated as “in the random (unforeseen, caused by circumstances, accidental) law of nature.” Rev. here. Maxim most likely emphasizes that “passion” is not a substantial property of human nature. Eriugena translates: “in the law of nature subject to temptation” (temtabili lege nature). Rev. here. Maxim uses the term γνώμη, to which he generally attached a reprehensible meaning. In this case, the word γνώμη rev. Maxim notes the moment of voluntariness of all “passions” in Christ as God, in contrast to their necessity among us, ordinary people. This use of words is all the more permissible since the term γνώμη, as the reverend father himself admits, has very many meanings. It goes without saying that the use of this term in relation to Christ the Savior does not give the right to accuse St. Maximus is in contradiction to the clearly revealed teaching that in Christ according to humanity there was no γνώμη, that is, a spontaneous will inclined to one decision or another after choosing various motives, after hesitating between good and evil. Such (gnomic) will could not exist in Christ, for otherwise a special human person would be introduced along with it, personally deciding on certain actions and at the same time gradually developing in the determination of his will. Of course, in this place we are not talking about such a will. And in general, Rev. Maxim only once used the not entirely appropriate term προαίρεσις (close to the concept of γνώμη) in relation to Christ according to humanity, but subsequently he himself made an explanation on this issue, indicating that in relation to Christ he understands this term in the sense of natural, impersonal will. In the place under consideration, the reverend father speaks of γνώμη in relation to the deity of Christ. Note that in this, apparently, sense, the Monothelites also spoke about the gnomic or arbitrary will of Christ. At least, in the argumentation of their teaching, they liked to emphasize the voluntariness of the “passions” of Christ, their dependence on the autocratic will of the Divine. – S.E. Scholium 6 (Er.): “Unclean spirits are in the habit of seducing people by insidiously presenting to them unnatural passions under the guise of natural passions.” According to the teachings of Rev. Maxim, the Lord accepted our impeccable passions by natural assimilation, that is, quite realistically, as something inherent to Him by nature; reproachful passions - by relative assimilation (κατ’ οἰκείωσιν σχετικήν), so to speak, by sympathy (“by love for mankind”), as if transferring to Himself (this is the thought of St. Eulogius of Alexandria in St. Photius in the “Library”) as to the head of all humanity tormenting him passions (sin, oath, disobedience, ignorance, abandonment of God). In both cases, this perception by the Lord of our passions had its deep meaning; it brought us dispassion - incorruptibility of the flesh and freedom from sinful passions. This is the usual soteriological point of view of the holy fathers on the passion of Christ. For example, according to the teachings of St. Cyril of Alexandria, this is why the Lord allowed the manifestation of various passions in Himself, in order to destroy them in Himself: “Just as death would not have been abolished if He had not died, so it would have been with each of the carnal passions: if He had not experienced fear, then [our] nature would not have been freed from fear. “Carnal passions were revealed in Christ, not so that they could then have the same power as in us, but so that what was discovered would be abolished by the power of the Word inherent in the flesh, after a change in nature for the better.” In this case, we are talking about a natural passion - the desire for food after fasting - and a reproachful one - the temptation to carnal pleasure. The manifestation of the first is real in full force, the manifestation of the second is only conceivable οἰκείωσιν σχετικήν, as a conditional allowance by the Lord, out of compassion for us, of a disgusting satanic attack on our weakness. For the Lord, this is not His own (inherent by nature), but our temptation, compassionately assimilated by Him. – S.E. Scholium 7: “[The Lord], being by nature dispassionate in relation to pleasure, even as a man, to lure the tempter, assimilates our temptation with pleasures. For He was flesh, subject to suffering by nature like a man, due to mortality, but was not passionate by will, like a sinless one.” The idea of ​​the Lord’s humanity as “bait” for the evil one was also expressed by the previous fathers of the Church. In particular, St. Gregory of Nyssa, contrasting in this regard the devil with the incarnate Word of God, notes: “One used deception to corrupt nature, and the Just, at the same time Good and Wise, used the invention of deception to save the corrupted, thereby benefiting not only the lost, but also the one who himself caused our destruction” (St. Gregory of Nyssa. Great Announcement word, 26 // Like the saints of our father Gregory of Nyssa, Great Catechetical Word, Kiev, 2003. P. 202). Col. 2:14 (by analogy with Eph. 2:15) by “handwriting” is sometimes (incorrectly) understood as the Law of Moses. – S.E. Scholium 8 (Er.): "He speaks of the temptations which the devil brought upon the Lord in the desert, in the church, and on the high mountain." Scholium 9 (Er.): "He speaks of [the Lord's] agony on the cross, in which the devil was completely defeated, and human nature was freed from death and sin." Scholia 10 (Er.): “One is the passion of pleasure, and the other is the passion of the flesh; the passion of pleasure, that is, sin, was not in Christ, but the passion of the flesh, that is, the possibility of death, was present in Him.” Scholium 11: “He called the inclination of the will to sin due to its weakness inherent in nature. The Lord did not have such an inclination by nature and in the flesh, for even in the flesh He was essentially sinless.” All attacks of demons are carried out using the passion of nature. But the Lord destroyed in this passion the power of sin - the inclination to pleasure. Therefore, a true ascetic in Christ easily drives away all the attacks of demons and always victoriously, by the power of Christ, draws them off from himself as vanquished (see Eph. 6:12–18), putting aside in Christ (in Baptism) the body of sinful flesh (see Col. 2:11) and killing the odors that are on the earth ( Col. 3:5). – S.E. Scholium 12 (Er.): “No one who piously explains the Holy Scriptures should define anything as if It could not be understood in any other way.” A. Neander thinks that the more sublime meaning of Col. 2:15, according to Rev. Maximus, consisted in the doctrine of the final redemption of fallen spirits. This scientist holds this assumption because he believes the Rev. Maximus is a supporter of the Origenistic doctrine of apocatastasis. It is known, however, that Rev. Maximus definitely condemned Origen and his opinions and did not at all teach that all people, with the restoration of the natural powers of the soul, will achieve bliss in union with God; It is precisely in bliss, in his opinion, that sinners will have no participation, for whom a graceless union with God will be a source of torment. For the participation of evil spirits, see above, Question and answer 11. It is possible that in this case, Rev. Maxim had in mind Christ’s passage through the air spaces during his ascension to heaven and His defeat of the demons. – S.E. About the attitude of Rev. Maxim to Origenism, see: Sidorov A.I. Some remarks on the biography of Maximus the Confessor // Byzantine Temporary. 1986. T. 47. pp. 118–124. Scholium 1: “The union of the Word with the flesh according to hypostasis revealed the ineffable intention of the Divine Council in that it did not mix up the essence of the flesh during the union and even in the Incarnation revealed one Hypostasis of the Word; and this is so that the flesh remains flesh in essence and becomes Divine in hypostasis.” The verb ἐγκεράννυμι used here by Rev. The maxim to denote the union of Divinity and humanity in Christ should not lead to confusion. In this case, it does not have any heretical connotation, that is, it does not mean “confusion” in the spirit of Apollinaris of Laodicea or Eutyches, who taught about the “one nature” of God the Word. St. Gregory of Nysse also in Christology repeatedly used the terms μῖξις and κρᾶσις (mixture), giving them a completely Orthodox meaning and meaning (see: Bouchet J. R. La vocabulaire de l’union et du rapport des natures chez saint Grégoire de Nysse // Revue Thomiste. 1968. Vol. 68. R. 544–551). Here at Rev. Maxim is the application of the patristic soteriological principle: “The Word became human so that we might be deified” (St. Athanasius the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian). – S.E. As noted by J.-C. Larchet in a note to this place, the Incarnation of God the Word marks the boundary of two most important periods in the history of the House of Salvation: the Old Testament (preparation for the Incarnation) and the New Testament (the realization of deification by grace). It is characteristic that Rev. Maxim calls them “centuries” (τοὺς αἰῶνας), emphasizing their “epochal” nature. Scholium 2: “Of the centuries,” he says, some have made the Divine Incarnation manifest, and their ends have reached us; others discover our deification - the wealth of their glory has not yet been revealed.” In the Greek text there is a lacuna; we focus on the translation of Eriugena. Scholium 3: “A firm guarantee, he says, of the hope of deification for the nature of men is the Incarnation of God, which makes man a god as much as He Himself became a man. For it is clear that He who became Man without sin will deify [human] nature without transforming into Divinity and will exalt [it] as much for His own sake as He lowered Himself for the sake of man.” Deification is expressed in the achievement of the god-like immutability of the soul and the incorruptibility of the body, or eternity, by virtue of union with God, the source of all good. Deification was fully realized in the humanity of Christ due to the close union of the Divinity with him. Our deification is an imitation of this highest deification. – S.E. This is how Rev. quotes this passage. Maxim. Scholium 4: “Contemplation by which he shows that in Christ, according to the description, the beginning, middle and end of the ages are inseparably contained. He reached us, through the Incarnation, as the end of the ages, having by nature the fullness of the Father’s goodness, of which He established for us to be partakers by grace in Himself, placing hope in the affirmation of faith.” In the first sentence of this scholium, the expression κατὰ περιγραφήν (“according to description”) is problematic; S.L. Epifanovich translates it with the verb “are covered.” But, I think, this expression denotes the humanity of the Lord and the fact of His Incarnation. Therefore, it is the incarnate God the Word who is the focus of all ages, containing their beginning, middle and end. Scholia 5: “The internal meaning of activity (ὁ τοῦ ποιεῖν λόγος) is the natural ability to implement virtues, and the internal meaning of the suffering state (ὁ τοῦ πάσχειν λόγος) is either supernatural grace, or an unnatural attack [of passion]. For just as we do not have a superior power, so by nature we do not have the power of a non-existent. So, we passively experience, and do not actively produce deification as existing by grace above nature, because by nature we do not possess the power that can accommodate deification. In the same way, we painfully experience the attack of vice, [taking hold] of the will contrary to nature, because we do not have the natural ability to generate vice. That is why he says that we, being here, actively produce virtues, since by nature we have the strength to do so. And in the future we will painfully experience deification, accepting the gift of grace in order to experience it.” Scholium 6: “We, he says, will cease to perform virtues after this life, but we will not cease, as a reward for them, to suffer deification through grace. For the passive state that exceeds nature (τὸ ὑπὲρ φύσιν πάθος) is limitless, because it is powerful, and the unnatural is devoid of existence, because it is powerless.” In Eriugena’s translation, one sentence of this scholium takes on a different meaning: “After all, the passive state that exceeds nature is limitless, because the active one is limitless.” Greek μηδένα λόγον ἔχον ὁριστικόν; the concept of “logos” (Eriugena: rationem) here means “limit”. Scholium 7: “Guided by the violent and desirable principles,” he says, reason creates virtues; the mind, comprehending the meanings of created [things], collects infallible knowledge. When the mind, having rejected the opposites, acquires the Desired by nature, and the mind, after passing through [everything] knowable, reaches the Cause that exceeds the essence and knowledge, then the passive state of deification by grace begins, leading the mind from natural discrimination to where there is no discernible, and the mind calming from natural speculation where there is no knowable, and making the one who has been rewarded god by the identity of peace Divine Communion." Scholium 8: “The imprints (τύπους) of Divine goods, he says, are the images [of the implementation of] virtue and the meanings of beings in which God always becomes man. He has the images of virtues as a body, and the meanings of knowledge in the spirit as a soul. With them He deifies the worthy, giving them the truly existing mark (χαρακτῆρα ἐνυπόστατον) of virtue and providing the essential being (ἐνούσιον ὕπαρξιν) of infallible knowledge.” God inhabits man in the commandments, which are a reflection of His energies-ideas (cf.: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 39). – S.E. Scholium 9: "The wealth of goodness, according to its interpretation, is the good disposition of God towards us." This is how Rev. quotes this passage. Maxim, inserting into it a phrase from Hebrews 11:12. According to Rev. Maxim, the word “Israel” means “mind that sees God” in Hebrew. We find this interpretation of the name in ancient Greek dictionaries of biblical names. Another production at St. Justina (Dialogue with Tryphon, 125): “a man who conquers force.” – S.E. St. Melito of Sardis, on the contrary, is close to St. Maxim. In the essay “On Easter,” he, addressing the Jewish people, says: “You did not turn out to be Israel, for you did not see God” (St. Meliton of Sardis. About Easter, 82). As O. Perler points out, this etymology of the word “Israel” goes back to Philo of Alexandria. Among the early Christian authors, it was used by St. Irenaeus of Lyons and St. Hippolytus of Rome (see: Méliton de Sardes. Sur la Pâque et fragments. Introduction, texte critique, traduction et notes par O. Perler (Sources chrétiennes. No. 123). Paris, 1966. P. 106, 185). Scholium 1: “Under Jeroboam, Israel fell away from the house of David, not believing God.” Quote from Rev. The Maxima is very different from the Septuagint text. Rev. Maxim makes some abbreviations in the quote. Scholium 2: “The number of the rejected firstborn from the ages, to whom the people of Israel are like. And if we admit that it was politely said about him: My son is the firstborn Israel (Ex. 4:22), then nevertheless he, as the firstborn, was rejected through the calling of the people of the tongues adopted after him by faith.” Scholium 3: “The brothers, who were subjected to the insidious plans of the firstborn, are, he says, the image of the Lord and the new people according to faith.” That is, one who practices ascetic life and activity. – S.E. The name Herod is most likely Greek (from ἥρως - “hero”), but the Rev. Maximus, following the ancient dictionaries of Hebrew proper names, considers it Hebrew and conveys δερμάντινος, as it is transmitted and interpreted in “Onomastica sacra”, obviously with a root derivative from er - “skin”. – S.E. In another essay by Rev. Maxim - “Questions and Difficulties” - we find a similar interpretation: “Herod is interpreted as “skinned”; one should turn away from carnal thoughts that seek to tear the mind away from active virtue” (Maximi Confessoris Quaestiones et dubia / Ed. J. N. Declerck. Turnhout, 1982. P. 54). “Herod” means a sensual loving mood in a person, which binds him to carnal thoughts and sinful pleasures and is in him the law of the flesh, firmly rooted due to the predominance of feelings and sensual attractions of the unreasonable (passionate) forces of the soul. – S.E. Scholium 1: “He called the stable state of evil and its implementation in practice guardians, for the conscious inclination of the will to action is an external manifestation of [such] properties. Under their protection, the evil one begins to fight with the saints. The iron door [he called] the natural attachment of the senses to sensual [things], from which he extracts the truly faithful, like an Angel, teaching (λόγος; Eriugena: sermo) of active knowledge.” We are again talking about spiritual (anagogical) interpretation (τῷ τῆς ἀναγωγῆς προσβαίνοντες λόγῳ). Scholia 1: “Because a man is a mind that follows [the path of] active wisdom.” Faith is Christ, mysteriously indwelling a person and developing in him like a mustard seed. – S.E. Scholium 2: “He calls Christ the head as the realization (ὑπόστασιν; Eriugena: substantiam) of future benefits. For, according to the divine apostle, faith is the substance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen (Heb. 11:1), which is He Himself in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:3).” The faith of Christ must also be honored and preferred to everything, like the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, without placing any worldly interests above it. – S.E. Scholia 3: “Anehypostatic faith is [faith] tireless and active, according to which the Word of God is embodied in ascetics [carrying out the Divine] commandments. Through these commandments, He, as the Word, raises ascetics to [His] Father in that which corresponds to nature.” The main thing for an active ascetic is the grace-filled power of faith, which is externally confessed in its content in the word (teaching) of faith. Essentially, this grace-filled power of faith is nothing more than a manifestation of the Hypostatic Faith - Christ, indwelling faith in the ascetic and bringing with Him all the benefits of faith, potentially already experienced by the believer and essentially contained in Christ. In the same way, the word of faith is nothing more than a reflection in the believing consciousness of the Hypostatic Word of faith, the second Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity, revealed in creation, providence and the Economy of the Incarnation; it also contains the revelation of truth, just as the Hypostatic Word contains it in essence. In view of this correlation of these concepts, Rev. Maxim, without any special distinction, uses them (“faith” and “word of faith”) in their subjective (“human condition”) and objective (“blessed energy of the Logos”) meaning. – S.E. Scholia 4: “Because the “man” is [also] a mind that piously strives in natural contemplation, which has as its head the Word of God contemplated by thought through faith as the Reason for the existence of visible [things].” Natural contemplation is the second stage in a person’s spiritual development after practical asceticism. – S.E. It should be noted that the word αἴσθησις in Greek is feminine. Unreason manifests itself in a person when feelings and passionate forces of the soul predominate in him and, looking at the external side of things, he acquires a lustful disposition towards this or that object, guided by sensual attractions, like unreasonable animals. – S.E. Scholium 5: “Since, he says, the mind is conceived together with the Word - the Producer of things, and reason is connected with the mind as [its] cause, then the head of Christ he called the Father, Who by nature is the Parent of [Him], as the mind [is the parent] of the mind.” Here the published translation and commentary by S.L. ends. Epifanovich. What follows is only our translation and commentary. The designation of the Father as "Mind" (corresponding to the designation of the Son as Logos, that is, both Word and Reason) was widespread in patristic theology (especially the Alexandrian school), starting with Clement of Alexandria. For examples, see: Lampe G.W.N. Op. cit. R. 926. Scholium 6: “Because the “husband” is also the mind taught in mysterious theology.” Greek ταῖς ἀναποδείκτοις μυσταγωγίαις. In this case, mystagogy should probably be understood as both the totality of church Sacraments (Baptism, Eucharist, etc.) and the divine service itself. Only in them and through them is the highest knowledge of God available (“sacramental theology” - the third and highest stage of spiritual life); they include both spiritual teaching and mystical experience; grant a person Revelation outside and beyond his rational thinking, apart from any evidence (ἀγνώστως, ἀνοήτως). Eriugena in his translation somewhat narrows and rationalizes this expression, conveying “mystagogies” only as “teachings” - “unprovable teachings” (indemonstrabilibus doctrinis). Scholium 7: “Consider “beyond the mind” (τὸ ἀνοήτως) in the sense of superiority, for the object of faith, that is, God, exceeds thought.” Scholium 8: “He says that whoever, in an unknown way, thanks to the most abundant renunciation of [all] created being (τῶν γενητῶν) achieves a direct vision of the Word, which is beyond all reason, has as his head the only Word above Whom, with Whom and after Whom, by nature, there was no other word at all. His parent by nature is the Mind - to Him as the Head [the Word] through the Spirit, which is akin in essence, and raises the [human] mind that follows Him.” So, I think, in this case it is better to translate the word στέρησις (literally: deprivation, loss, deprivation). Scholium 9: “The wife of one who strives in active philosophy is, he says, a skill that gives rise to virtuous morals; The [wife] of one who strives in natural contemplation is feeling, ennobled by spiritual logoi and giving rise to dispassionate ideas about beings; the wife of one who strives in mysterious theology is pure thought, perceiving the Tri-radiant Light as Unity.” A similar translation of the term ἐπιβολαῖς is also observed in Eriugena (contemplationibus). Scholium 10: “He calls Christ the super-essential and super-essentially incarnate Word, because the mind does not comprehend His Incarnation in a natural way. His head, he says, is the Mind, which is by nature the Cause [of the Word] and is comprehended by thought together with the Word according to natural causality. For the one who in a timeless way beholds the Word by faith, at the same time in a mysterious way beholds, together with the Word, the Mind - His Parent, according to the essence of Being in Him. Some argue that “Christ” refers to the humanity of Christ, which is the head of everything, that is, the totality of nature. But it is clear that the head of this humanity is the Divinity of Christ. After all, those who think correctly from the name of the whole derive the names of the parts.” Scholium 11: “The identity with God of the mind, made perfect by grace, is a simple and inseparable movement around the Self-identical by nature (Eriugena adds: “that is, God”), in which there is no perception of intelligible [things] both quantitatively and qualitatively different in essence and power; [such movement] is [only spiritual] pleasure (ἀπόλαυσις), possessing a transcendental feeling.” It can be noted that in the Areopagitica there are three types of movement of the soul, of which the first is circular movement (hereinafter - in a spiral and in a straight line). About the first it is said: “It (the soul. - A.S.) is given the ability to enter into itself from the outside and unite its mental powers as if in a certain circle, which gives it stability, turns it away from the multitude of what is outside of it, and first concentrates it in itself, and then, as it becomes united, unites it with the only united forces and thus is brought to the Beautiful and the Good, Which is above all that exists, one, identical, beginningless and infinite" (Dionysius the Areopagite. On the Divine Names 4, 9 // Dionysius the Areopagite. Works. Maximus the Confessor. Interpretations. St. Petersburg, 2002. P. 321). The reverend himself Maxim also speaks about the “incessant movement of the soul relative to the Divine,” which is a “natural action” for it (see: St. Maxim the Confessor. Letter 6, 5 // St. Maxim the Confessor. Letters / Translated from Greek. E. Nachinkina. St. Petersburg, 2007. P. 112). It seems to us that it is more harmonious and correct to translate as follows: “everyday movement around the Divine.” Scholium 12: “He calls the prayer of one who strives in active philosophy the petition for virtues, and the prophecy - the true teaching regarding the meanings [contained] in them. The prayer of one who strives in natural contemplation, according to him, is a request for firm (ἐπιστημονικῆς) knowledge of beings, and prophecy is the transfer of this knowledge to others in true teaching. And the prayer of one who strives in sacramental theology is, according to him, ineffable silence, in which the mind, in a way that surpasses everything (ὑπεροχικῶς), thanks to the renunciation of beings, becomes worthy of a union [with God] that surpasses thinking and knowledge; prophecy is the introduction of others into this sacrament (περὶ ταύτην μυσταγωγίαν). After all, prayer connects the one praying with God, and prophecy for the sake of God convinces the one prophesying to share the benefits he receives with people.” Scholium 13 (Er.): “He who comprehends the Word of God with his mind, no longer thinks about anything that can be comprehended by the mind; He does not reason about anything that is accessible to reasoning, that is, what can be accessible to opinion; and he does not do anything that comes [in the area of] birth and corruption and that is called creation in the proper sense of the word - but he believes that only the Word [of God] has [true] value.” Greek κατὰ κεφαλῆς ἔχων. In this case, it seems to us that the translation of Eriugena is accurate: velatum caput habens - “having his head covered.” Greek ἀνομμάτως (“eyeless”, “closed eyes”); this word is also found in Dionysius the Areopagite (On mystical theology 1, 1) (see: Lampe G.W.N. Op. cit. R. 147) At the stage of mystical theology, speculation loses all “imagery,” for it enters the realm of the “formless” and “indescribable.” Scholium 14: “According to him, when we express positive judgments about the Divine, we think of Him together with existing things, but [only] as their creative Cause. When we express completely negative judgments about Him, correlating them with beings, we do not think of Him together with them, because, to tell the truth, the Divine has no connection with beings, thanks to which it is inherent in us to correlate thought with both members of this connection. So, a good theologian expresses a judgment of true knowledge of God in the sense of ultimate ignorance, since [the Divine] is completely inaccessible to thought.” Scholium 15 (Er.): “He says that negative judgments [made about God due to His] superiority carry little positive (tantillam positionem). After all, they can only show by denial that God is something other than those [beings] that are accessible to the perception of the mind and reason or about which something can be said.” Greek τὴν θείαν θέσιν. It can be noted that apophatic contains an element of cataphatic, and vice versa. Both of these elements of Christian theology are in close dialectical unity. This reasoning is an example of apophatic theology, which is inherent in St. Maxim, like many Church Fathers. Moreover, cataphatics is organically included in this apophatic. In the works of Rev. Maxim, you can find a lot of this kind of reasoning. See, for example, the statement about God in “Mystagogy”, where it is said that He “by His nature does not correspond at all to any category of existence. And therefore, due to the super-existence of God, the definition “Nothingness” is more appropriate for Him. For we must know (if we really need to know the difference between God and creatures) that the affirmation of the Superexistent is the negation of the existing, and the affirmation of the existing is the negation of the Superexistent. And both of these judgments about God - I mean designating Him as being and as non-being - are rightfully permissible, and neither of them is possible in the strict sense of the word. Both judgments are fair, since the affirmation that He exists has a basis in Him as the Cause of beings, and the denial of His existence is fair, since He surpasses every cause of beings. And vice versa, none of these judgments are valid, because they do not express the very essence and nature of what constitutes the content of the being of the thing under study. For nothing in general, whether existing or non-existent, is connected with God by nature by a causal connection; and with Him, of course, it is impossible to compare anything that exists or is expressed, or anything that is non-existent or unspeakable. Because He possesses a simple being, unknown and inaccessible to everyone, inexpressible and standing above all affirmation and denial” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Mystagogy. Introduction // Selected works of St. Maximus the Confessor. P. 214). Greek ἐν τῇ φοβερᾷ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς διαγνώσεως (lit.: on the terrible day of discernment). Blzh. Theodoret also calls the Day of Judgment “the day of discrimination” (see: Lampe G.W.N. Op. cit. R. 345). Here at Rev. Maxim expresses the well-known idea that the voice of conscience in us is the voice of God. The adverb τροπικῶς can also be translated as “symbolically”, “spiritually”, that is, subjective-psychological “reasonings (λογισμούς) according to conscience” of a person are inextricably linked with the objective spiritual world and are part and manifestation of it. Greek τῶν ποιητέων καὶ οὐ ποιητέων. Probably what is meant here is that which serves and promotes spiritual activity, and that which, on the contrary, hinders it. Greek ἀλληγορεῖται. According to S.L. Epifanovich, for Rev. Maxim's allegory is not “a simple gymnastics of thought, but a full-life stream of a rich idealistic spirit, the life of the heart in God” (Epifanovich S.L. St. Maximus the Confessor and Byzantine theology. Kyiv, 1915. P. 114). It should be noted that if in classical antiquity the concept of “allegory” meant the connection between the literal meaning of a word and the possible metaphorical meanings of the same word, then in Christian writing this concept acquired a different meaning. Here, allegory meant the connection between the historical (literal) meaning of an event and the possible deeper (spiritual) meanings of the same event. Therefore, the content of Christian allegory was often the reality of the future, and it had a dogmatic meaning. Pope Gregory the Great, for example, said that “allegory builds faith.” Together with the terms ἀναγωγή (“elevation”, “anagogy”) and τροπολογία (“tropology”), the concept of “allegory” often denoted the spiritual meaning of Holy Scripture (Origen, Didymus the Blind, St. Gregory of Nyssa, bl. Jerome of Stridon) (see: Tigcheler J. N. Didyme l’Aveugle et l’exégèse allégorique. Nijmegen, 1977. R. 22–28). Scholium 1: “He talks about how the devil is the enemy and avenger of God.” In Eriugena this scholia is given an interrogative form. Scholia 2 (Er.): “The soul, seduced by the devil, not knowing or removing [from itself] through temptation the Divine admonition, that is, punishment, from this admonition creates the cause of atheism. She leaves God and resorts to the devil, considering the enemy as a liberator.” Scholium 3: “He says that torment cleanses the soul, corroded by the rust of the dirt of pleasure, and completely frees it from connection with material [things], teaching it about the punishment that follows from loving them. For this reason, God allows the devil to torture people with suffering according to a fair trial.” It should be noted that the word πόνος in Greek has the meaning of “torment”, “pain”, “sorrow”, and “labor”, “effort”. It is in the latter sense that Eriugena (labor) translates. Scholium 4 (Er.): “He says that nothing is punished more than greed, since it highly honors the possession of [things] transitory and the pleasure of feeling alone.” Greek Γνώμην; see note. 5 to Question Answer 2 and notes. 11 to Question Answer 21. Eriugena translates sententiam with a term as polysemantic as the indicated Greek concept (not only “decision”, “will”, “intention”, but also “opinion”, “way of thinking”, etc.). Greek ἤθη μὲν ἀρετῶν τῷ φαινομένῳ τρόπῳ σκιαγραφοῦντες. The verb σκιαγραφέω literally means creating an approximate sketch, a preliminary sketch, but in a figurative sense it is used to mean creating the appearance, illusion of something. Scholium 5: “He says that he who suffers because of [his] crime against the grace of God, if he has cognized the meaning (λόγον) of God’s Providence healing him, gratefully accepts misfortune, rejoicing in it as something that educates [him] and corrects [him] sin. And he who is insensitive to such healing is rightly removed from the bestowed grace and indulges in a confusion of passions, left to actually accomplish what he had an inner inclination to.” In the essay “Ten Chapters on Virtue and Vice,” Rev. Maxim notes: “If we must certainly suffer as a result of the pleasure mixed by our forefathers into [human] nature, then we will courageously endure temporary suffering, which dulls the sting of pleasure in us and frees us from the eternal torment that it entails” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Ten chapters on virtue and vice, 10 // Selected works of St. Maximus Confessor, p. 350). In this place at Rev. Maxim sounds similar to the well-known comparison of human earthly existence with the existence of prisoners chained at the bottom of a cave, which Plato makes at the beginning of Book VII of his Republic. However, these motives are skillfully included by Rev. Maxim into the general melody of Orthodox doctrine, without disturbing its harmony and harmony. Humility, “formed outside the body” (τὴν ἐκτὸς περὶ τὸ σῶμα συνισταμένην), according to Rev. Maxim, is like an external fence that protects both body and soul from the attacks of the evil one. Greek βάκηλος. As a noun, the word means a eunuch minister; Eriugena translates as "stupid" (stultus). Rev. Maximus is referring to Razon, Solomon’s opponent, who became king of Syria (see 1 Kings 11:23–25). He, according to Rev. Maxim, there is δεισιδαίμων καὶ διαλεκτικὸς νοῦς; the first adjective means not only “superstitious”, but also “pious”, “God-fearing” (Eriugena: religiosus), however, judging by the context, this adjective has a negative meaning. The second adjective should also be understood in a negative sense: a mind “skilled in [empty] verbal debate.” That is why the king of Syria opposes Solomon, interpreted as “peace (Greek εἰρήνη - “peace”) and wisdom,” for wisdom is alien to any fussiness of a mind sophisticated in dialectical balancing act. Scholia 6: “Solomon had peace by virtue of [his] name; he had wisdom by God’s gift, as the fruit of prayer.” Greek ὁ φιλόκοσμος νοῦς καὶ φιλόζωος; both adjectives also have negative associations, denoting a passionate attachment to the earthly, sinful world. Similar usage is repeatedly found in patristic writing (see: Lampe G.W.H. Op. cit. R. 1478–1479). Scholium 7: “Nebuchadnezzar is here conventionally accepted as a natural law, and his son Belshazzar as a skill in this natural law.” Scholium 8: “From the prayer, according to him, it is clear that Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar here do not signify the devil, but the natural law and the habit generated by it. For, of course, no one will ask for the devil, and since the prophetic word does not reject this prayer, it cannot be considered that it was offered to God for the devil.” This is how Rev. quotes this passage. Maxim, replacing the expression: τὴν ἐξουσίαν τὴν οὐράνιον – in Theodotion’s translation to: τὴν βασιλείαν τὴν ἐπουράνιον. Some manuscripts contain the note: “Another consideration of the dew of heaven.” Scholium 9 (Er.): “He says that if we cannot make the innate, that is, natural, reason the ruler over the passions - and this is our first [work] - then something else follows: our love, with [appropriate] thanksgiving, for the Divine teachings.” Rev. Maximus replaces the word ὀθόνη (“linen”) in Acts 10:11 and Acts 11:5 with the similar meaning σινδών (“fine cloth,” muslin or muslin). Scholium 1: “He speaks of the change of life, the angelic service, the voluntary alienation of the soul from the body, and the emergence of the Divine transformation [of man] in the Spirit, [which] is announced by the mystery of the New Testament.” Scholium 2: “He says that the word (“logos”) of the commandment is one thing, but the image of the execution (τοῦ γίνεσθαι) of the commandment is another. The Great Peter, having received the commandment of preaching among tongues, did not know the manner [of implementing] the commandment, regarding which he was taught through [the example of] the linen, [that is] that in addition to the bodily customs of the laws, the calling of tongues should occur. For Scripture (ὁ λόγος) taught about spiritual circumcision, [that is] about the removal of passionate attachment to the body." This whole phrase resonates in Mystagogy: “To those who have [spiritual] vision, the entire intelligible world appears mysteriously imprinted on the entire sensory world by means of symbolic images. And the entire sensory world, with spiritual speculation, appears to be contained in the entire intelligible world, being known [there] thanks to its logoi. For the sensible world exists in the intelligible through its logoi, and the intelligible in the sensible through its impressions” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Mystagogy, 2 // Works of St. Maximus the Confessor. Book 1. pp. 159–160). Scholium 3: “Whoever is not satisfied with the external forms of visible things [cognizable] by the senses, but seeks their meanings with the mind as impressions of intelligible [things] or contemplates the meanings of sensory creatures, he learns that nothing visible is unclean. For all things were created very well (Gen. 1:31).” Greek σχημάτων γυμνούς. Sensual and visible forms of things, according to Rev. Maxim, are, as it were, vestments of their logoi, that is, ideas, their semantic content. The intelligible, spiritual world is a kingdom of peace and harmony. There is no “antipathy” there, and Hegel’s law of the struggle of opposites does not apply to it. We encounter it only at the level of the phenomenal, sensory world. But even here it contradicts the essential idea of ​​this world, the bearers of which are logoi. That is why all creation is not unclean, for it is God’s creation and is good in its essence. However, “by itself (without λόγοι) all the sensory appearance of the world constitutes one non-existence, μὴ ὄѵ. Real truth lies in intelligible λόγοι, alien to all confrontation and corruption, and therefore represents true being” (Epifanovich S.L. Op. cit. p. 53). Greek Καὶ αὐτὸς κρατούμενος. The "Shepherd of Hermas" (Visions III, 13) says: "The world is held together by four elements (ὁ κόσμος διὰ τεσσάρων στοιχείων κρατεῖται)" (Hermas. Le Pasteur / Éd. par R. Joly (Sources chrétiennes. Paris, 1958. R. 130–132). Probably Rev. Maxim expresses the same idea here. Scholium 4: “One, he says, does not change simultaneously with the movement of sensible [things], practicing the genuine doing of virtues; another does not imprint [his] mind on the external forms of these [sensible things], receiving a true opinion about beings; the third, like the best theologian, quickly runs his thoughts through the very essence of beings and after that, in an unknown way, cleaves to the Unity. So, the third, having sacrificed the creation of visible [things] within himself, becomes worthy of the rank of the perfect.” Rev. Maxim interprets the message that was heard three times to St. Peter's voice (see Acts 10:13–16) as teaching in the three main parts of Christian philosophy. The scholiast dismembers these parts by relating them to individual people. However, similar divisions are made below by the reverend himself. Maxim. Greek Eriugena translates κατασκοπή as speculatio (“contemplation”, “speculation”). See Gen. 30:18; but Rev. Maxim adds the word κάματος (“hard work,” “effort,” “torment,” “fruit of toil”) to the quote. Scholium 5: “According to him, “Joppa” is a skill in virtue that protects nearby sensory [things] from harm; and “Zion” is a speculative skill that vigilantly guards the receptacle of intelligible gifts.” Greek κατὰ τὴν ὅρασιν τῆς εἰρήνης. We are talking about a guard vigilantly guarding peace from the heights of a tower. Greek ἱστορικῶς, that is, according to the literal interpretation. Greek τὸ ἡγεμονικόν. A Stoic term designating the mind as the ruling principle of the soul. Spiritual meanings (logoi) belong to the intelligible world and, apparently, constitute only a part of it. Rev. Maxim omits “there” in this quote and uses the word “language” in the plural. The phrase: κατὰ τὴν ἑκάστης φωνῆς ἐπίνοιαν θεωρούμενος is quite difficult to translate. The verb θεωρέω is used by a number of Christian authors (Origen, Eusebius of Caesarea, St. John Chrysostom) to denote an allegorical interpretation, comprehension of the hidden meaning of the Holy Scripture (see: Lampe G.W.N. Op. cit. R. 647). In this case, we refrained from any decoding of the concept of λόγος. Eriugena translates it, as usual, with the term ratio. Scholium 1: “He says that God appears to every [person] in accordance with the idea he has (δόξαν) of God. To those who, in a [spiritual] impulse, have overcome the materiality of existence (τὴν ὑλικὴν σύνθεσιν) and brought the forces of the soul into balance with each other in accordance with the one and same ever-movement around God, He is revealed both as a Unit and as a Trinity, in order to simultaneously show His own existence (ὕπαρξιν), and mysteriously instruct regarding the image of this being. And to those whose aspirations do not go beyond the limits of material existence and who have acquired [only] the powers of the soul that are not connected with each other, He appears not as He is, but as they themselves are, showing that they grabbed with both hands only the material two (τῆς ὑλικῆς δυάδος), in accordance with which the corporeal world was formed, consisting of matter and species." The last phrase is an undoubted echo of the ideas developed in late Platonism and neo-Pythagoreanism and going back to the “unwritten teaching” of Plato, where “one” and “two” (= matter) are recognized as the fundamental principles of being (see: Dillon J. The Middle Platonists. A Study of Platonism 80 V. C. to A. D. 220. London, 1977. R. 1–5, 12 etc.). Naturally, the Christian worldview assimilates only the external form of these ideas, but here a radical transformation of their essential content occurs, for matter (“two”), being created, cannot be considered here as the first principle of existence. Like all the holy fathers, Rev. Maximus the Confessor rated the Old Testament righteous people quite highly. In particular, he says: “Each of the saints who lived before the Coming of the Lord and practiced virtue, knew the mystery of the Economy, if not entirely, then [at least] in part, and, being moved by nature, hoped and hoped that the One who created [human] nature, having undergone corruption, would Himself restore [to incorruption]” (Rev. Maximus Confessor. Questions and difficulties, 60 / Translation from Greek, entry by P. K. Dobrotsvetova. A special place among such righteous people is given to Abraham, for in him the best “that was in our nature and that was wasted by our forefathers in disobedience, was again saved through knowledge, for God gave him the promise that he would become the father of many nations (Gen. 17:5) and through knowledge he would achieve likeness with Him and adoption as sons to Him” (Reverend Maximus the Confessor. Questions and difficulties, 168. P. 210). The comparison of Abraham and Lot is also noteworthy: “Abraham, as perfect and superior [in his knowledge to everything] revealed and enlightened by the knowledge (gnosis) of the Holy Trinity and Unity, why he received [another] alpha in addition to his name as one on one (ὡς μόνος τῷ μόνῳ) approaching [to God] in knowledge, clearly saw three Angels. Lot, however, had not yet overcome the visible in knowledge, but from [the knowledge of] visible [things], while performing the veneration of the Divine and not comprehending anything more than two [in his knowledge], except matter and eidos, of which everything that is revealed consists, he did not embrace the knowledge of the Trinity and the Unity, and therefore saw [only] two Angels" (ibid., 39. pp. 92-93). The concepts αὐτόλογος (“The Word in Itself”) and αὐτοβουλή (“Council in Itself”) designate God as the absolute Word (Reason) and as the absolute Will (Council). It is characteristic that in patristic literature the first term is usually applied to Christ as the second Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity (see: Lampe G.W.N. Op. cit. R. 271). Rev. Maxim, as is clear from the context, is not inclined in this case to such word usage, differing here, for example, from Origen, for with these terms he designates the first Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity. Many Church Fathers have spoken about the fact that the phrase in Genesis 1:26 refers to the Holy Trinity. One of the first among them is St. Irenaeus of Lyons, who notes that with God the Father “there is always present the Word and Wisdom, the Son and the Spirit, through whom and in whom He freely and of His own free will created all things and to whom He says: Let us make man in Our image and likeness (Gen. 1:26), Himself borrowing from Himself the essence of creatures and the pattern of created things and the design of ornaments in the world” (St. Irenaeus of Lyons. Against heresies IV, 20, 1 // St. Irenaeus of Lyons. Works. M., 1996. pp. 368–369). Scholium 2: “According to him, he who calls the difference of properties in God natural, and not hypostatic, is a polytheist, and not a pious [person], for he asserts that the Divinity allows [relative to Himself] the calculation of the properties of essences, and not hypostases.” Under τοῖς τὸ πνεῦμα φιλοῦσιν rev. Maxim most likely means the authors of the Holy Scriptures, and not at all those who “introduce the lie of polytheism.” Greek ἡ τῶν ὄντων ὑπόστασις. Eriugena translates: “substance of beings” (eorum que sunt substantia). These gifts of the Holy Spirit are listed in pairs: “the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and piety.” The seventh is the fear of the Lord, but “one might think that the prophet, for his part, placed the fear of God at the basis of other gifts, as if the foundation of piety” (Explanatory Bible. Vol. 5. St. Petersburg, 1908. P. 300). Scholium 1: “What acts in a different way resides entirely in each of those experiencing this action and at the same time is not divided in all. For, according to him, being unmixed and inseparably in each and every one, the active Holy Spirit is manifested [in them] according to one and the same power, because He fills all that exist. After all, God, being super-essential, is incomprehensible to all existing things.” It should be noted that the question of the seven “energies” of the Holy Spirit arose again during the hesychast disputes. John Cantacuzene (in monasticism Joasaph), defender of the teachings of St. Gregory Palamas, wrote a special treatise (though not yet published) on the uncreated nature of these “energies”. For an indication of this, see: Iohannis Cantacuzeni Refutationes duae Prochori Cydonii et Disputatio cum Paulo Patriarcha Latino Epistulis septem tradita. Nunc primum edit ac curantibus E. Voordeckerset F. Tinnefeld (Corpus Christianorum. Series Graeca. Vol. 16). Turnhout, 1987. R. XII. Scholium 2: “He says that every skill in the commandment produced by the Spirit is a gift.” Scholium 3: “He says that he who loves God with all his heart, soul and strength (see Matt. 22:37-38) is greater than he who loves his neighbor. For it is not reasonable that the worse should make laws for the better, but rather that the lesser should be guided by the greater. Therefore, the divine apostle, in justice, did not agree that the apostolic dignity and rank should be governed by those degrees over which they rule, so that the harmony of all things and especially the harmony of Divine [things] would not be dissolved.” In this scholium there is a hidden quotation from a fragment of the sophist Gorgias (Diehls - Kranz. fragm. 11), one of the sophists of the 5th century. BC Rev. here. Maxim does not use the term ἀγάπη, but the concept πόθος, meaning a yearning attraction, the utmost intensity of love. To denote spiritual love, this concept was used by many Christian authors, including Clement of Alexandria and St. John Moschus (see: Lampe G.W.H. Op. cit. R. 1107). Rev. Simeon the New Theologian, developing his teaching about “ecstasy,” also often speaks of “love desire” (πόθος) for unity with God (see: Archbishop Vasily (Krivoshein). Rev. Simeon the New Theologian. Paris, 1980. P. 303). There is a gap in the text that makes it difficult to understand. The translation of the phrase: ὑπὲρ τοῦ λόγου seems particularly difficult. It is clear that Rev. Maximus again makes his usual distinction between logos and tropos. Prophesying St. Paul was revealed only the image of being (tropos) of the coming suffering, but ὑπὲρ τοῦ λόγου suggests several interpretations: 1) suffering will occur for the sake of the Word [of God]; 2) its method will, as it were, replace the meaning (logos) of this torment, or 3) will exceed this meaning. Of these possible interpretations, we have chosen the last one: the disciples of St. Paul, when warning him, probably believed that future suffering had no raison d’être; in their prophetic vision they saw only their outer side (tropos). Scholium 4: “He calls the average those types of temptations that were seen through the Spirit prophesying to St. Paul regarding the test for the truth [that awaited him]. But he did not pay attention to them, hastening to unite with Christ through the hypostasis of visible blessings, after he had already passed through [all] existing things through faith.” Greek τῆς ἐκκλησίας βαθμούς. In this expression, Rev. Maxim puts a broad meaning of church deanery, in particular the idea of ​​​​the superiority of the apostolic degree (rank) over the prophetic. Scholium 1: “The Baptism of the Lord, according to him, is the complete mortification of our will in relation to the sensory world, and the cup is our renunciation of this very life for the sake of truth.” It is probably assumed that our will after the Fall gravitates primarily towards the created world, making a choice only between its various parts and things. Wed. one reasoning of the reverend father: “Nowadays a person moves either around wordless fantasies (περὶ φαντασίας ἀλόγους - “around unreasonable dreams.” - A.S.) passions due to the seduction of voluptuousness, or around the logoi of the arts (i.e. crafts. - Trans.) due to needs caused by circumstances, or around natural logos from [among] the laws of nature for the sake of teaching, none of which in the beginning, of course, attracted man to himself, for he was above all this. For such was it fitting to be [created] from the beginning, absolutely not carried away by anything from among that which is lower than him, or around him, or in him [himself], but striving for only the perfection of irresistible movement towards that which is above him - I mean God - with all the power of [his] love" (Venerable Maximus the Confessor. Ambigva to John, 115 // Venerable Maximus the Confessor. About various perplexities among Saints Gregory and Dionysius (Ambigva) / Trans. from Greek archim. Nectaria. M., 2006. P. 321). Although these temptations are “voluntary,” they are παρὰ προαίρεσιν, το, that is, they are not the result of our conscious choice, but arise ἐκ περιστάσεως (“from circumstances”). Scholium 2: “He says that truth is divine knowledge, and virtue is the exploits that those who belong to him indulge in for this knowledge. And whoever, for the sake of knowledge, endures the labors of virtues, does not become vain, knowing that truth by nature is not limited to [these] labors, for the first by nature is not described by the secondary. The one who zealously devotes himself to knowledge because of deeds for his sake is naturally vain, since he believes that [the winner] is crowned with wreaths through hard effort by the sweat of his brow, and does not see that labor is for the sake of wreaths, and not wreaths for the sake of labor. After all, every path of knowledge (μέθοδος) by its nature remains neglected by those who are in the habit of putting an end to what they still need to strenuously strive for, or by those who believe that they have put such an end.” According to Rev. Maxim, in the hierarchy of values, virtue occupies a lower place than truth (knowledge, gnosis), just as active philosophy is a preparatory stage for natural contemplation. But at the same time, vita practica and vita contemplativa (active life and contemplative life) are closely interconnected and inseparable from each other. Therefore, the first in the teaching of Ven. Maxima acquires much greater significance than that of Evagrius of Pontus. As the first stage of the tripartite scheme of spiritual progress, culminating in mystical theology, vita practica is decisive and determining for the two subsequent stages (see: Thunberg L. Microcosm and Mediator. The Theological Anthropology of Maximus Confessor. Lund, 1965. pp. 352-363). Greek τυπικῶς ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἀληθῶς. Rev. here. Maximus can be compared to St. Melito of Sardis, who says: “For both the salvation of the Lord and the truth were foretold (προετυπώθη) among the [Israelite] people, and the dogmas of the Gospel were foretold by the law. After all, [this] people were like a pre-image of a sketch (τύπος προκεντέματος), and the law was like the letter of a parable; but the Gospel is the explanation and fulfillment of the law, and the Church is the repository of truth. The pre-image (τύπος) was valuable before the truth, and the parable was worthy of surprise before interpretation. And so it is: the people [Israel] were valuable before the Church was erected, and the law was a wonder until the light of the Gospel shone. But when the Church was erected and the Gospel appeared, the pre-image was exhausted, transferring [its] power to the truth, and the law was fulfilled, transferring [its] power to the Gospel" (St. Meliton of Sardes. About Easter, 39-43 // Méliton de Sardes. Sur la Pâque. R. 80-82). Greek πάσης τῆς μυσταγωγουμένης τῶν προνοουμένων παιδαγωγίας. Eriugena translates: “ineffable advice for the education of those under guardianship in every mysterious teaching” (omnis mystice doctrine provisorum pedagogie ineffabile concilium). Scholium 1 (Er.): “He says that [this mind] was unworthy to become the church of God due to the materiality of the body and the fleshiness of the soul. After all, these are the essence of dumb symbols, dissimilar to God, and therefore one should build a church to Him from [things] that are naturally appropriate and similar to themselves.” Scholium 2: “According to him, he who cares only about one external form (μορφήν) of knowledge, which is simply a word (ψιλὸς λόγος), and who cares about [only one] image (εἰκόνα) of virtue, which is simply a habit (ψιλὸν ἦθος), are Jews and boast [only] of images (τύποις) of truth.” So quotes Rev. Maxim is a place of Holy Scripture. Translating the phrase: ταῖς κατὰ νοῦν ἐφόδοις (lit.: by means or methods of the mind) – we follow Eriugena (secundum intellectum contemplationibus). Scholium 1: “He says that whoever sees the spirit of Scripture without [Its] images and the meanings of creation without [their] external faces with the mind alone, free from the actions of the senses, he finds God, who abides in the spirit of Scripture as the Cause of goodness, in the meanings of existing [things] - as the Cause of power, and in himself - as the Cause of wisdom. For the meanings that originated from the Existing One tell about the power of the Creator and the spirit of Scripture; they openly proclaim the wisdom of the Creator, raise the lost to deification, proclaim the goodness of the One who wrote [the Scriptures] and our speculative ability, which in a non-spatial way contains the logoi of created [things].” Scholium 1: “He calls the formless Kingdom [of God] simple faith, which does not possess the Divine likeness [arising] from the virtues; and [simply] the Kingdom [of God] he calls faith, which through works has acquired the Divine face of goodness.” Scholium 2: “He says that faith is unprovable knowledge. If knowledge is unprovable, then faith is a supernatural connection through which we are united in an unknown and unprovable way with God in premental unity.” Scholium 3: “The mind, perceiving immediate union with God, has a power completely devoted, in accordance with nature, to thinking and being thought. And when he dissolves it, thinking about something that is after God, he falls into doubt, cutting through the preconceived connection, thanks to which he was hitherto united with God above nature and, having become god by communion, moved the law of his nature like a mountain.” Scholium 4: “He says that by everything is possible for a believer (Mark 9:23), one must also understand that which alienates the mind from the world and the flesh. For this is within the realm of possibility for a believer who [stays] near God.” Rev. Maxim omits the words in prayer in this phrase. Compare: “If we abide inseparably with God, having undoubted faith in relation to goods, then we will receive what is useful at our request, for the Lord gives good, not evil” (The Good News, or Interpretation of Blessed Theophylact, Archbishop of Bulgaria. Vol. 1. Kiev, 2006. P. 159). Rev. Maximus is referring to Proverbs 9:1–2. He organically combines a typological interpretation (the indicated narrative is an image or type of the Eucharist) with an anagogical interpretation (the Eucharist itself raises a person to comprehend the logoi of all existence). Scholium 1: “Ineffable theology is complete ignorance due to excess, which does not know as much as it has learned much from what is known naturally.” Thus, according to Rev. Maxim, the meanings related to the Divine (τοὺς περὶ θεότητος λόγους) are the final basis, as it were, the skeleton of all existence. They should be distinguished from the meanings of intelligible things and the meanings of sensible things and, probably, should be understood as the thoughts of God, pre-existing being. Highlighting also the meanings of Judgment and Providence (τοὺς περὶ κρίσεως καὶ προνοίας λόγους), Rev. Maximus designates them as predominantly eschatological realities, as indicated by the use of the future tense (βρωθησομένους καὶ ποθησομένους). However, this does not exclude the possibility (and even presupposes it) that these meanings determine the existence of the real world. In this case, Rev. Maxim uses the term “apokatastasis” (ἀποκατάστασις), connecting it with the concept ἐπάνοδος (“ascension”). Here one should not see traces of Origen’s concept of “universal apocatastasis,” the metaphysical basis of which was the thesis: “Only good exists in its own sense.” According to this theory, in the future, evil spirits will return to a good state again and even the devil will be restored to his original form. The concept of “apocatastasis” was also used by St. Gregory of Nyssa, who believed that the resurrection would resemble the original heavenly state. “However, it would be unfair to think that by the “restoration” of sinful humanity to a primitive state one must imagine something already completed or, in other words, a complete return, both in relation to the body and soul of all humanity, to a primitive innocent state.” According to St. Gregory of Nyssa, the bodily nature of all people will indeed reach its primitive beauty, but in relation to the soul people will differ (see: Oksiyuk M.F. Eschatology of St. Gregory of Nyssa. Kiev, 1914. S. 184–193, 401–403). In a number of its moments, the theory of “apocatastasis” of St. Gregory of Nyssa was outwardly close to Origen’s (see: Nesmelov V. The Dogmatic System of St. Gregory of Nyssa. Kazan, 1887. pp. 617–622), but their internal intentions were significantly different from each other. As for Rev. Maximus, he tried to interpret some of the dubious statements of St. Gregory of Nyssa in a purely Orthodox sense. According to Rev. Maxim, St. Gregory “recognized only the physical restoration of a person’s spiritual powers, perverted by passions, their purification through corrective torment and at the same time the oblivion of evil and the theoretical recognition of good, although without participation in bliss” (see S. L. Epifanovich’s review of the indicated book by M. F. Oksiyuk: A separate reprint from the Proceedings of the Kiev Theological Academy, 1915. pp. 21–23). Scholium 2: “He understands blood as deification, which will be the life of those who are worthy of it. For blood is a symbol of life." Greek ἐν σκιᾷ. The concept of “shadow” (or “canopy”) already in the New Testament (see Heb. 8:5, 10:1) denotes the Old Testament ministry and emphasizes its incompleteness in comparison with the truth of the teachings of Christ. Speaking about the very manifest instructions of figurative symbols (αὐτὰ τὰ φαινόμενα τῶν τυπικῶν συμβόλων διατάγματα [ Corrected by us from διατάγμα in the edition - Ed. AB ]), Rev. Maximus probably means that the precepts of the Law of Moses belong to the category of Old Testament types (types), which were realized and found their true meaning in the New Testament. Scholium 1: “He calls moral education the manifested [commandments] of virtues.” Scholium 2: “According to [this] consideration, he understands the blood to be knowledge, since it nourishes the body of virtues.” Rev. Maximus probably refers to the narrative in Gen. 1:26. Eriugena translates φιλοθεωτάτοις as "lovers of contemplation" (contemplationum amatoribus). The word χρώς, which is translated simply as “body” in Acts, literally means the surface of the body, the skin. Scholium 1: “He says that the faith of those in need of healing called forth the power of the Spirit in the saints, so that through faith the hitherto hidden power would become manifest and the secret faith become visible to all. For the true form of healing can only be revealed when the power of those who heal, brought into action by the Spirit, completely coincides with the faith of those being healed.” Scholium 2: “He says that he who, by the effort of his own will, becomes clean from the corruption that has arisen as a result of sin, destroys the corruption of that which is inherent in corruption. For it is inherent in the incorruptibility of will to restrain the corruption of nature, since according to the Providence [of God] and through the grace of the Spirit, which [is contained] in this incorruptibility, it does not allow the opposite qualities to dominate over it.” Scholium 3: “He says that since the logos of nature and the logos of grace are not the same, it does not cause bewilderment how some of the saints sometimes overcome the passions, and sometimes fall under the power of them, for we know that a miracle [is a property of] grace, and passion is a [property of] nature.” The phrase “as through one's own instruments” (ὡς ἐν ὀργάνοις οἰκείοις) suggests that saints are “instruments” or “instruments” of grace. However, this does not mean that the saints are passive. For, according to the teaching of the holy fathers, “the harmonious combination of the Divine and the human with the predominance of the first with the free and active subordination of the second is the norm of the relationship between Divine grace and our human powers - in the accomplishment of our salvation” (Katansky A. The doctrine of the grace of God in the works of the ancient holy fathers and teachers of the Church until St. Augustine. St. Petersburg, 1902. P. 13). And according to Rev. Maxim, each ascetic “seems to represent Christ, the divine side of which is formed by the grace of the sacraments, and the human side by the imitation of the life of the Savior” (Epifanovich S.L. Op. op. p. 111). Therefore, the term “organon” in this case cannot be attributed to the meaning of “passive instrument”. It should be noted that this term was also used by some ancient philosophers in an anthropological context (the body is the “organon of the soul”). It was adopted by the early fathers and teachers of the Church, who used this concept, in addition to anthropology, in Christology (the humanity of Christ as the “organon” of the Logos). But even here, as a rule, it did not have the connotation of a “passive instrument”, but denoted only the dominant position of the Divine nature in the God-man Christ (see: Metzger W. Der Organongedanke in der Christologie der griechischen Kirchenväter. Münsterschzach, 1968). The phrase: τῶν ἱστορουμένων τὰ νοούμενα μᾶλλον εὐφραίνει - once again emphasizes the constant preference that Rev. Maxim gives spiritual interpretation of the Holy Scriptures before literal interpretation. Scholium 4: “The apostle was [the aroma] of life unto life, since by his example he prepares the faithful to strive through [spiritual] work towards the fragrance of virtues, or, like a herald, he directs those convinced by the word of grace from the sensual life to the spiritual life; [it was] a deadly smell to death for those who rush from the death of unbelief, giving them the feeling of the judgment awaiting them. Or again: a savor of life to life [it is] for those who are elevated from doing to contemplation, and a savor of death to death - for those who from the mortification of earthly members through sinful laziness pass on to the mortification [they praise], [arising from] passionate thoughts and dreams.” The reshuffle in this quote by the Rev. himself. Maxima. From the spiritual interpretation of Acts 28 by St. Maximus proceeds to the same interpretation of 2 Kings 13:20–21. Scholium 5: “He says that he who remembers the conversion of the saints through imitation rejects from himself the deadness of passions, accepting a virtuous life.” Most likely, a reference to Evagrius of Pontus: “Do not make the words of people worthy of reproach the subject of allegorical interpretation and do not look for a spiritual [meaning] in them, except in those cases when God acted for the sake of the Economy, as was the case with Balaam (see Num. 22:17-19) and Caiaphas (see John 11:49-51), so that one [prophetically] predicted about the birth of our Savior, and the other about His death.” See: our translation: Evagrius Ponticus. Speculative, 21 // Works of Abba Evagrius. M., 1994. P. 21. The concept of αὐτοματισμός (“spontaneity”, “automatism”) in patristic literature was often used in relation to the teaching of the Epicureans, who denied Divine Providence and believed that everything happened by itself (see: Lampe G.W.N. Op. cit. R. 271). In this case, the Holy Spirit is probably meant, and not the human spirit, although in the text this word is written with a lowercase letter. Scholium 1: “He speaks of reason, the fierce and desirable principles [of the soul]; for with reason we seek, with a desire we thirst for the good we seek, and with a spirit we fight [for it].” Scholium 2: “He calls the powers of the soul days, as being able to contain the light of the Divine commandments, and the three most general laws, as enlightening the souls that contain [these commandments]. For as the Book of Genesis calls the light day, saying: And God saw the light, that it was good; and God called the light day, and again speaks of the illuminated air: And there was evening, and there was morning: one day (Gen. 1:4-5), so he also calls days not only the powers of the soul, but also the laws that enlighten these [the powers of the soul]. For the complete interpenetration (περιχώρησις) of them into each other produces a complex day of virtues, where there is no separation between the Divine light according to the Word [of God] and the forces created entirely by Him.” By the essential and existing Wisdom (τῆς οὐσιώδους καὶ ὑφεστώσης σοφίας), judging by the context, one should understand God the Word, the second Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity. Scholia 3: “The lamp itself is at the same time light, the Word of God, as illuminating the natural thoughts of the faithful, as burning unnatural [thoughts], as dispelling the darkness of the sensual life of those who strive through [the fulfillment of] the commandments to the desired life, and as punishing with the heat of judgment those who, by the will and as a result of the lust of the flesh, stubbornly cling to this dark night of [here] life.” Scholium 4: “He says that the law, comprehended by the mind with the help of symbols, is a lamp that destroys the depravity of the passions through action; and [the law], comprehended without symbols, is light, leading through contemplation to a divine affinity in grace of those whom it guides.” The expression: τῇ παρουσίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγου - can also be translated as “thanks to the presence of God the Word.” The very word “parousia” (παρουσία) can also mean advent (adventus), but only in a figurative sense. “The proper meaning of the word - from παρά - a preposition indicating proximity, and εἰμί - am - is presence, and, moreover, a close, personal phenomenon. According to use by ap. Paul, when he speaks about Christ, this word generally means His second coming. Nowhere in the New Testament is it used about the Incarnation of Christ, even in 2 Peter 1:16 "(Explanatory Bible. Vol. 8. St. Petersburg, 1911. P. 365). However, in subsequent patristic vocabulary this concept is also used to designate the Incarnation (see: Lampe G.W.N. Op. cit. R. 1044). Rev. Maxim in the specific case of parousia (παρουσία) clearly does not mean the Second Coming of the Lord. But the meanings of “coming” in the sense of the Incarnation and its presence in the specified sentence are most likely inextricably linked with each other. Scholium 5: “According to him, whoever, through the rejection of unnatural passions, has not first returned to himself, will not be able to return to his Cause, that is, to God, through the acquisition of grace above natural goods. For whoever is united in thought with God must separate himself from created [creatures].” Scholium 6: “The work of the written law, as it says, is deliverance from the passions; [a matter of] natural [law] - equality of rights for all people; [the work] of the spiritual law is perfection according to God and assimilation [to Him] as much as is possible for man.” Rev. Maxim clearly refers readers to his other work – “Ambigua”. However, it cannot be said that in this place “Ambigw” is given a “more extensive interpretation.” Here three days correspond “to those who patiently endure the labor of acquiring enlightenment and knowledge in what pertains to moral, natural and theological wisdom. Or three days, perhaps, point to the natural, written and spiritual law, for each of them gives to the hardworking the enlightenment of the most spiritual logos in accordance with it.” For details see: Rev. Maxim the Confessor. Ambigva to John, 170–173 // Venerable Maximus the Confessor. About various perplexities among Saints Gregory and Dionysius (Ambigwa). pp. 366–370. Scholium 1: “Ability he calls the movement essentially sown in nature towards the implementation of virtues, which is voluntary (γνωμικῶς) revealed when used (κατὰ τὴν χρῆσιν) according to the will of the one who has acquired it.” Scholium 2: “The Word of God, having become man, again filled [human] nature with knowledge, which had exhausted the knowledge given to [him], and, strengthening it for immutability, deified [it] not by nature, but by quality, completely imprinting it with His Spirit and mixing it, like water, with the quality inherent in wine to [give it] strength.” Scholium 3: “He calls good wine the meaning of nature, which prompts [man] to deification, which Adam’s crime [the commandments] had previously prevented him from drinking; Christ (αὐτός) as God, having exhausted Himself through [His] love for mankind, then through the Incarnation, with the help of grace, made [this meaning] drinkable in the way that He alone knows. For He is both Providence, as the connection of all [beings], and the Word of Providence, as the way of healing those for whom He provides, and the Provider, as holding everyone in the meanings of their own existence.” The symbolism of numbers generally played a significant role in the worldview of St. Maxim and is difficult to adequately decipher. Perhaps we are dealing here with the Pythagorean tradition, assimilated and transformed by patristic thought. But in ancient Pythagoreanism the most perfect number was the quaternary, which “is the source of all corporeality, its formative number. It is also the number of true truth and all-round equality; it measures space and parts of the world. The whole secret of number is contained in it, and Pythagoras, according to legend, called himself the herald, “hierophant of the quaternary,” to which the later Pythagoreans swore as the greatest shrine.” As for the six, in Pythagoreanism it, unlike the five, which connects the opposites of even and odd only externally, reconciles the enmity of these opposites. Therefore, “the power of the five determines the external material properties of the physical body; the six is ​​his inner being, his life; it is the animating force of bodies, the number of growth and reproduction of creatures” (Trubetskoy S.N. Metaphysics in Ancient Greece. M., 1910. S. 186–187). Rev.'s phrase The maxim about the six (ἐστι τελειότατος καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων συνιστάμενος μερῶν) should probably be understood as meaning that 1+2+3=6 and 1x2x3=6. In this case, Rev. Maxim uses well-known concepts of Peripatetic philosophy: form and matter (ἐξ ὕλης καὶ εἴδους), substance and accident (ἐξ οὐσίας καὶ συμβεβηκότος); It is characteristic that the first pair of concepts applies to “corporeal natures”, and the second to “intelligible beings (or essences). Scholium 4: “He says that the power of the mind by nature [is] containing the knowledge of [things] corporeal and incorporeal, but by grace alone it perceives the reflections (ἐμφάσεις) of the Holy Trinity, because [here] it is only a believer and does not dare to investigate according to the essence.” Scholium 5: “Because the general power of nature is divided into six ways and implementations [of virtues], and universal love is divided into six types of virtues. For [the Lord], in a bodily or spiritual way, alleviating hunger, thirst, nakedness, living in a foreign land, weakness and imprisonment of those who were overtaken by them, filled [them] with love for God and for neighbor, consisting of six virtues as created by God alone, thereby preserving [thereby the high] aspiration of the soul.” Rev. Maximus uses the terms μύστης (“initiated into the sacraments”) and μυσταγωγός (“introducing into the sacraments”), which go back to ancient times. Assimilated by Christian theology, they acquired a number of new semantic shades. As for the first concept, in addition to its direct meaning (“initiated”), it was also applied to a person to whom spiritual truth is revealed, and in general to a person as a spiritual being; to Adam before his fall, etc. In Clement of Alexandria, Didymus the Blind, Palladius of Helenopolis and Dionysius the Areopagite, μύστης also designates a person who has full knowledge, and is applied to those people who interpret the inner, spiritual meaning of the Holy Scriptures; It is precisely this meaning that the reverend perceives here. Maxim. The concept of μυσταγωγός in Christian writing had the meaning of “spiritual teacher” and “interpreter of the sacrament” (see: Lampe G.W.H. Op. cit. R. 891:893). Free translation; in the text: εἴπερ πάντως τῷ τῆς ἀναγωγῆς κατὰ νοῦν ἥδεται τρόπῳ (lit.: unless, of course, he rejoices in the way of ascension according to the mind). Greek γενικοτάτην (lit.: most ancestral); Eriugena translates: generalissimam. The theme of love is one of the leading themes in the work of Rev. Maxim is, as it were, the center of his ascetic teaching. In addition to the “Chapters on Love” and the “Epistle to John Cubicularius on Love,” this theme is constantly heard in other works of the holy father (see: Dalmais I. Saint Maxime le Confesseur. Docteur de la Charité // La Vie Spirituelle. 1948. T. 2. R. 296). Scholium 6: “He calls God the cause of reason; and man received the power of reason to seek Him.” Scholia 7: “The being of love is divided into these [species] in which it is present (ἐν οἷς καὶ συνίσταται).” The expression λόγος τῆς ἀγάπης (“meaning”, “essence”, “idea of virtue”) is replaced in the scholia by the vague τὸ τῆς ἀγάπης χρῆμα (“thing”, “object”, “deed of virtue”; in our translation is “creature”). Eriugena translates this scholia as follows: “Such are the kinds of love into which it is divided and in which it consists (consistit).” Greek τῷ τῆς γνώμης μοναδικῷ. On the concept of γνώμη (“will”, “volition”) in Rev. Maxim, see note. 5 to Question Answer 2 and notes. 13 to Question Answer 21. Scholium 8: “He says that he who, through the effort of the will, becomes equal with everyone in virtue, reveals in himself the impartial God, both creating the one nature of all in accordance with the same logos, and establishing as a law [obligatory] for all, a single movement of the will, thanks to which the logos of nature, outwardly seeming scattered, is inherent in gathering together.” This scholia emphasizes the unity of human nature, which goes back to God Himself - the Creator of this nature. The Holy Fathers drew a parallel between the consubstantial unity of the Persons of the Holy Trinity and the unity of human nature, renewed by Jesus Christ and realized in the Church. Without such unity, deification is also impossible (see: V. Troitsky. The Trinity of Divinity and the unity of humanity // Separate reprint from the “Voice of the Church.” 1912. No. 10. pp. 1–20). The term πλάσις (“creation”) is clearly used here as a synonym for φύσις (“nature”), denoting created human nature. Eriugena translates: texture. Self-love (“philautia” - φιλαυτία) as an “arch-vice” underlies all divisions among people and their various clashes (uprisings, wars, etc.). About this Rev. Maximus speaks more than once in his works, and in particular in the “Epistle to John Cubicularius on Love,” where he writes: “Since in the beginning the devil, who deceived man, through selfishness maliciously [lured] him into a skillfully invented trap, deceiving him with the attack of pleasure, he separated our will from God and from each other. Having turned away from the straight path [man, the evil one] divided the image of his nature, dividing it into many opinions and ideas; over time, he established as a law the search and discovery of all kinds of evil, using for this the strength of our [soul], and for the constant presence of evil in all [people] he laid an evil foundation - the intransigence of the will. Thanks to her, [the devil] immediately convinced a person to turn away from the movement corresponding to nature and direct his desire from the permitted to the forbidden. Thus, three greatest and primary vices arose in man, which are, to put it simply, the parents of all vice: ignorance, selfishness and tyranny, dependent on each other and arising from each other. For from ignorance of God selfishness [is born], from selfishness - tyranny over one’s relatives (one cannot object to this); their underlying foundation is the way we have acquired of abusing our own powers, that is, reason, desire and violent principles” (Selected works of St. Maximus the Confessor. pp. 203–204). Scholium 9: “He calls moderation a state that eliminates unnatural passions, but does not yet perceive supernatural benefits. It reveals the will as equal to nature, having nothing spontaneous and dissimilar to the meaning of nature, and therefore recognizing all people as one and possessing the law of nature, like a God-written book.” The phrase: καθ’ ἣν γενομένη should probably be correlated with the “most important strength”, and not with the “most important virtue”. Eriugena translates: “through which it was created” (per quam facta est). Scholium 10: “Because we have a natural ability of discernment (κριτήριον) - a law corresponding to nature, teaching us that before [knowing] the Wisdom that is in all [beings], we must strive for the mystery of the Creator of all things.” Wed. in this regard, a remark: “The word “get drunk” too roughly conveys the thoughts of the original, in which the verb μεθύεσθαι rather indicates a slight excitement from wine rather than complete intoxication with it” (Silchenkov K. New commandment. St. Petersburg, 1993. P. 37). This verb and words derived from it are better understood and translated as rapture. It is in this sense that one should perceive the rapture of deification that awaited man before the Fall. In other words, Rev. Maxim here affirms a catagogical way of cognition: from Cause to Effect. But since the Word (Logos) is the beginning (ἀρχή) and the goal (τέλος) for the world, which exists through participation in the Divine logos or energies (see: Florovsky G.V. Byzantine Fathers of the V-VIII centuries. Paris, 1931. P. 204), then this catagogical method does not exclude, but presupposes an anagogical method: from consequences – to the Cause (ascent from logoi to Logos). In one of the manuscripts there is a note (also translated by Eriugena): “Who [is] the Mother of the Word, according to spiritual interpretation, who, having first been created, then gives birth to the Word who created Her, embodied in virtues?” The word παρρησία (Eriugena: “confidence” - fiduciam) was very often used by the Church Fathers to mean trust, courage, freedom of approach. Used to denote a person’s relationship to God, it indicated the state before the Fall or the state of the soul that had reached the heights of spiritual success, etc. Greek κατὰ τὸν νόμον; This refers to human nature and soul, living in the Old Testament Law, although neglecting it. Eriugena translates: “nature and soul [existing] through the law” (per legem natura et anima). Scholium 1: “The well of Jacob is the Scripture, the water is the knowledge contained in the Scripture, the depth [of the well] is the inexpressible statement (δυσδιεξίτητος θέσις) of the allegories of the Scriptures, the bucket [draws up water] is the teaching of God the Word, [achieved] through literacy; The Lord did not have it, being the Word Himself, who bestows knowledge on the faithful not through teaching and exercise, but brings as a gift to the worthy through spiritual grace inexhaustible and never ceasing wisdom. After all, the bucket, that is, learning, draws only a small fraction of knowledge; yet it cannot be comprehended by any reason. And knowledge by grace and without teaching has all the wisdom available to people, which in its diversity is abundantly poured out for the benefit of [people].” The phrase: κύριος γενέσθαι μὲν ἁμαρτία - at first glance causes bewilderment. But then there is a reference to 2 Cor. 5:21, which shows that Rev. Thalassius, in raising this question, follows St. the Apostle Paul, saying that God made Christ “who knew no sin” to be “sin” for us (Russian translation: “made for us a sacrifice for sin” - inaccurate). In other words, God “laid on Christ the sins of the whole world and dealt with Him as a real sinner” (Explanatory Bible. Vol. 11. Pg., 1913. P. 153). Rev. Maximus designates the first sin as εὐδιάβλητος (“blameworthy”, “reproachable”), since it was the result of a conscious volitional act of the first man. The second sin, in contrast to the first, is, as it were, “innocent” (ἀδιάβλητος), since it is an unexpected and unforeseen consequence of the first. It is characteristic that in the patristic vocabulary the adjective ἀδιάβλητος (in the sense of “immaculate”) is very often applied to the human passions of Christ (see: Lampe G.W.N. Op. cit. R. 32). Rev. Anastasius Sinait, polemicizing against the Monothelites, uses this adjective in a slightly different context. He distinguishes in man “the God-created and God-given will of our rational soul” and the “carnal, devilish and material will” that arose as a result of sin. “And the holy fathers define the carnal will as alien and unbecoming of Christ, and the carnal and passionate action of sin [according to the fathers] is not natural and God-created and is not an immaculate and impeccable (ἄμωμον καὶ ἀδιάβλητον) action and will [created] in the image and likeness God" (Rev. Anastasy Sinait. Three words about the structure of man in the image and likeness of God, 2 // Anastasii Sinaitae Sermones duo in constitutionem hominis secundum imaginem Dei necnon Opuscula adversus monotheletas / Editit K. N. Uthemann. Turnhout; Leuven, 1985, p. 63). Scholium 1: “According to him, the sin of nature is death, as a result of which we, even without wanting it, leave being; the sin of will is an unnatural choice, as a result of which we, of our own free will, fall away from well-being.” Scholium 2: “Because the Lord, having become incarnate, was by nature corruptible, like man, which is why it is said that He became sin; but by nature [He was] incorruptible by will, as sinless.” In other words, the Lord did not know the sin that arose as a result of the “gnomic” will. Scholium 3: “He says that the death of the Lord became the beginning of incorruption for all [human] nature.” Marginal note (translated by Eriugena): “Because the Lord and as Man was by nature sinless.” Scholium 4: “Sin [arising] through us is the corruption of nature, and our sin is the variability of will. Therefore, man became mortal, having undergone natural death according to the righteous judgment for the destruction of mortal will.” Greek κατὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν; possible translation: “due to (according to, according to) the Resurrection.” Eriugena translates: per resurrectionem. In this sentence, the expression: δι’ ἥν seems difficult to understand. The feminine gender probably implies here the word σάρκωσις (“Incarnation”) or ἐνανθρώπησις (“Incarnation”). In our translation we follow Eriugena, who directly refers to the Incarnation (per quam, videlicet incarnationem). Greek τὴν πρὸς ἀθανασίαν ἀνάκλησιν; about the meaning of the word ἀνάκλησις (lit.: recall, call back; Eriugena: revocationem) see: Lampe G.W.N. Op. cit. R. 107. Scholium 5: “He calls the first sin a change of will, which the Lord did not possess, although He truly accepted passion by nature, which was the punishment for the changed will of Adam. Therefore, He alone is free among the dead (Ps. 88:6), not having sin through which death arose.” Note in the margin: “Of course, to create and commit sin at will.” A similar note: “Of course, Adam became passionate by nature as a punishment for the sin of will. Without knowing it, the Lord became sin, having, as a man, received in the flesh the natural passion that occurred as a result of the sin of will.” The essence of these thoughts by Rev. The maxim probably boils down to the fact that the corruption and mortality of our nature (that is, the second sin), which gives rise to physical weakness, often becomes an obstacle to the implementation of our vicious inclinations and thoughts. Therefore, becoming a sin, that is, inheriting the passion inherent in human nature after the Fall (τὸ παθητόν - in the sense of the ability to endure something, suffering), corruption and mortality, is better than creating and knowing sin, that is, carrying out a vicious will, becoming like the forefather Adam. It is characteristic that St. Gregory Palamas, like many other Greek Church Fathers, believed that we inherited death from Adam, not guilt. Therefore, Adam's sin was not a collective sin of the human race, but something like a corruption of human nature. The personal responsibility of men is taken into account only in so far as they imitate Adam; their innate inheritance from him is only corruption and death, which, in turn, lead them to sin. Thus, people are drawn into a kind of vicious circle of death and sin (see: Meyendorff J. A Study of Gregory Palamas. Aylesbury, 1975. R. 125). It is in the sense of imitation of Adam that one should understand the easy transition to the first person, which is observed in this “question” by the Rev. Maxim (“my sin”, etc.). Lit.: in which the subject (τὸ χρῆμα) of wisdom exists. Note in the margin: “[Stick to] intelligible and eternal [things], and [avoid] sensible and transitory things.” The pair of opposites ἡδονή (“pleasure”) – ὀδύνη (“pain”, “sorrow”) is constantly found in the works of St. Maxima. It, in its associated inseparability, constitutes an essential property of human existence after the Fall and is the result of man’s voluntary renunciation of his Creator (see: Schönborn Ch. Plaisir et douleur dans l’analyse de S. Maxime, d’après les Quaestiones ad Thalassium // Maximus Confessor. Actes du Symposium sur Maxime le Confesseur. Friborg, 1982. R. 273–284). Note in the margin: “[To be attracted], of course, to pleasure and [to turn away] from pain.” Rev.'s thought The maxim is probably that both trees are “trees,” that is, they have a homonymous sound (ὁμωνύμως ἐκφωνηθείσης), although their semantic meaning is deeply different. In the patristic tradition there is another interpretation of this passage of Holy Scripture, where both trees are not opposed, but are considered as completely consonant with each other. For example, the “Epistle to Diognetus” says: “But it is not the tree of knowledge that destroys, but disobedience. For it is clearly written: God from the beginning planted in the middle of paradise the tree of knowledge and the tree of life, pointing to knowledge as the path to life (διὰ γνώσεως ζωήν) ... After all, neither life without knowledge, nor knowledge without true life is fragile. That is why another tree was planted one next to the other” (Epistle to Diognete, 12 // A Diognete / Introd., édition critique, traduction et commentaire de N. I. Marrou (Sources chrétiennes No. 33 b). Paris, 1965. R. 82). By τοῖς λόγοις τοῦ πνεύματος the Holy Scripture is clearly meant. Scholium 1: “For the mind, good is a dispassionate disposition towards the Spirit, and evil is a passionate attachment to feeling; for feeling, good is a passionate movement towards the body for the sake of pleasure, and evil is a state that arises as a result of the absence of such movement.” As the previous Scholium shows, the very concepts of “good” and “evil” do not say anything: what is important is the content that is put into them. Rev. Maxim refers to Question Answer 28 of this essay. In this quote, Rev. Maxim replaces “from him” with “from the tree”. The expression: μεθ’ ὑποκρίσεως should be understood not in the sense of hypocrisy, which is naturally alien to God, but in the sense of “playing along” with God, who has descended to the level of a person deceived by the devil. The pairing of this expression with εἰρωνευτικήν (“ironically”) further enhances this impression. For “irony” is “the word with which the Greek designates mystification and especially the half-joking feigning of modesty or “self-abasement” and which represents the extreme opposite of pompous boasting and what the Greeks called ἀλαζονεία (“arrogance”)” (T. Gompertz. Greek thinkers. Vol. 2. St. Petersburg, 1913. P. 35). Continuing this centuries-old tradition of the Greek understanding of this word, Rev. Maxim seems to contrast the “irony” of God with the implied “arrogance” of the devil. Scholium 1: “Because, in accordance with the thought of the Divine that Adam, taught by the devil, had, God converses with him.” We find a completely different understanding and interpretation of the passage of Holy Scripture in question in the “Commentary on the Book of Genesis” by Didymus the Blind, a work found among other works by Didymus and Opigen in 1941 in Tours (near Cairo). Here Didymus says: “Many understand this speech of God to Adam as spoken in a mocking tone, but such an opinion does not correspond to God. For it is also uncharacteristic for a person who is zealous for virtue (σπουδαίῳ ἀνθρώπῳ) to mock the fall of another - even more so it is uncharacteristic of God. Since, as [who holds a similar opinion] says, the serpent promised this to the woman, saying: God knows, for if you take away the day from him, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil (Gen. 3:5), so God said to Adam who transgressed the commandment: Behold, Adam was one of Us (Gen. 3:22). We, eliminating and driving away such a thought from God, understand the indicated passage in the sense appropriate to the intention of the inspired Scripture. The devil is neither by nature nor by essence evil; he was beautiful and good, but, having changed in himself, he became the devil, Satan and the evil one. Previously, he was good and beautiful, belonging to the rank of Angels, but then he separated from them, casting himself to the ground, as a result of the arrogance he cherished. And [God] did not say to Adam: Behold, as one of Us (ὡς εἷς ὑμῶν), but as one, [coming] from Us (ὡς εἷς ἐξ ὑμῶν). One, who has fallen from the heavenly [angelic ranks, is] the devil, as the Psalmist teaches, saying: I said: Ye are gods, and all are sons of the Most High. But you, like men, are dying, and like one you are falling from princes (Ps. 82:6-7). For the devil, being a “prince” and “god” not in essence, but in deification (κατὰ θεοποίησιν), fell away, just like those about whom it is said: “They begat sons and were exalted, but they rejected Me” (Is. 1:2). Saying: behold, Adam was one of Us, [Holy Scripture] adds: understand good and evil. For this alone is possessed by those who do not follow the dictates of virtue, who only know that good and evil exist, but who do not know how to distinguish between how one should choose good and avoid evil. They use things indiscriminately, like those unfortunate people about whom it is said: Woe to those who say evil good, and evil good, who put light into darkness and light into darkness (Is. 5:20). Thus, God says: one from Us - to His Angels, like a king to his bodyguards. Because it is known from Scripture that God makes Himself a fellow (κοινοποιεῖν) of His creatures” (Didymus the Blind. Commentary on the Book of Genesis (3:22) // Didyme l’Aveugle. Sur la Genèse. Texte inèdit d’après un papyrus de Toura / Introd., édit., trad. et notes par P. Nautin. T. 1 (Sources chrétiennes. No. 233. Paris, 1976. R. 254–258). Both Church Slavonic and Russian translations of this passage of Holy Scripture do not adequately reflect the text of the Septuagint. But also Rev. Maxim quotes it in a slightly modified form, which is why our change in translation is connected. Scholium 2: “He who loves a lie [himself] gives himself up to destruction, so that, suffering, he may know what he has voluntarily acquired, and so that he may learn by experience how he surrendered himself to oblivion [of the best], opening his arms to death instead of life.” Scholium 3: “Because God has only one knowledge of good, being essentially nature and knowledge of good; He does not know evil, because He is not capable of it. For He has essentially acquired the knowledge of that which He by nature possesses the power of.” Scholium 4: “Because the depravity observed in rational [beings] is something that happens by unnatural passion, and not by natural force.” Scholium 5: “He says that the existence of opposites is inherent in being observed in those who perceive [them] alternately.” It seems that initially Rev. Maxim ended his answer to the delivered speech with this phrase. Thalassie asked the question, but then decided to add another clarification. Scholium 6: “Whoever inclines his conscience to possess the worst and [considers] such an act to be good by nature, such a [person], stretching out the active principle (τὸ πρακτικόν), like the hands of the soul, shamefully takes from the tree of life, considering the worst to be good by nature. Therefore, God, putting in man’s conscience a natural aversion to evil, separated him, who had become evil by choice, from life, so that, by doing evil, he could not convince his conscience that what is worst by nature is good.” Eriugena translates: “He who created man for knowledge desires that man in relation to himself should be pure from communication with the opposite.” Although this phrase causes difficulties in translation, the thought of the Rev. The maxim is quite transparent: a person who had already eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and for this fell under the power of death, could no longer “stretch out his hands” to the tree of life, for this would entail the participation of evil with immortality, that is, it would further aggravate the sad situation of man. Scholia 1: “The symbol of contemplation is the breast, and the symbol of doing is the frame. For it is inherent in contemplation to be a property of thinking (ἕξις τοῦ διανοητικοῦ), and to doing - its implementation (ἐνέργεια) of it; for both are characteristic of the true priesthood.” Scholium 2: “Whoever, through pious reason, sacrifices to God the hearts of others [people], which he compares to the “breast,” and the power of their [spiritual] work, compared to “ramo,” separating them through the implementation of the commandments, he has become a priest, accepting both “breast” and “ramo” from those who sacrifice themselves to God.” We translate the concepts of τὸ ἔσοπτρον (“mirror”) and τὸ αἴνιγμα (lit.: vague speech, riddle, allegory) based on the context of the interpretation of St. Maxim, somewhat differently than in the Synodal translation. The Church Slavonic translation in this case is more correct. Wed. interpretation: “Since the mirror still somewhat represents the visible object, he adds: in fortune telling, to show that real knowledge is extremely incomplete” (St. John Chrysostom. Conversations on the First Epistle to the Corinthians. Conversation 34, 2 // Complete collection of the works of St. John Chrysostom. T. X. Book 1. M., 2004. pp. 342–343). Greek τὴν τῶν ὑπὲρ νόησιν ἔμφασιν ἔχουσα. Eriugena translates ἔμφασιν as notitiam (“knowledge”, “idea”), that is, as if intellectualizes this concept. Scholium 1: “Because the “mirror” reflects the benefits inherent in active [philosophy], and “fortune telling” points to future mysteries manifested in knowledge.” Lit.: by type (κατ’ εἶδος; Eriugena: per species); What is meant here, most likely, is the existence of things in their inherent “face” or form. Since the concept of εἶδος in this case is contrasted with the term εἰκών (“image as reflection”), it should probably be understood as the original (archetype, prototype). In a note to this passage, as well as in his book on deification (La divinization de l’homme selon saint Maxime le Confesseur. R. 466–477), J.-C. Larshe writes that for Rev. Maxim, in contrast to Evagrius of Pontus, virtue is not simply a condition of knowledge and is not just a stage of spiritual life, which must be overcome upon reaching a higher stage, that is, gnosis, but is constantly associated with knowledge and represents, in such conjugation, the most necessary condition for deification and acquisition of the likeness of God. The essay “To Theopemptus the Scholastic” says: “For those who have the Word as something to be worshiped, for them life, the interpreter of the Word, is something virtuously accomplished, so that they, having received the seal of true knowledge from [spiritual] work, learn, thanks to what they have experienced, how much more important it is to be than to know. And to be always [will be] more important and greater than to know, until the [complete] assimilation [of those striving] to the Cause of [everything] is successfully accomplished” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Selected Creations. P. 274). Scholia 1: “Whoever strives for knowledge that is fattened with virtues, that is, active, becomes Abel, having before him God, who has respected his gifts.” Scholium 2: “He who knows and truly hopes for future [goods] never ceases in [spiritual] work to call on these good things in which he trusts, and becomes a new Enos, calling on God.” Lit.: call (ἐπίκλησιν; Eriugena: vocationem), but here most likely means invoking the name of God in prayer. Scholium 3: “Whoever pleases God through [spiritual] work, by means of contemplation, of course, transfers [his] mind into the realm of intelligible [things], so that through a certain bodily impression (διὰ φαντασίας τινός) he does not see death [hidden] in sensual passions, since he is not in the power of any of those [demons] who want to catch him.” Lit.: life and asceticism (πολιτείαν καὶ ἄσκησιν). Scholium 4: “He says that whoever, in view of the future wrath, floats away from evil deeds, has become Noah and, by constraining [his] flesh, avoids the coming judgment of the wicked.” Scholium 5: “He calls the flesh earth, kinship the feeling, father’s house the sensory world, from which the patriarch came, having suppressed the attachment of his soul to them.” Scholium 6: “As it is written [in the Holy Scriptures], Isaac alone did not migrate from the Promised Land, unlike his father Abraham, who left Mesopotamia and came to Egypt, and his son Jacob, who was forced to leave for Mesopotamia, and then migrated to Egypt, where he died.” Scholium 7: “Wives are related to the skills of virtue and knowledge, maids - to their implementation, from which he gives birth, like sons, to logoi [existing] in nature and time.” Eriugena translates: spiritus (“every spirit or soul,” “personality”). Compare: “Each of the saints who lived before the Coming of the Lord, no matter what virtue he pursued, although he did not know the whole mystery of God’s Economy, but, naturally moved from private [knowledge], he hoped and expected that the damaged nature would be saved by Him who created it” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Questions and Perplexities, 60 // St. Maximus the Confessor. Questions and perplexities. M., 2010. pp. 112–113). Rev. Maxim here emphasizes the special place of St. John the Baptist among the Old Testament saints. As Bishop Cassian notes, “by sealing repentance with baptism, John was the Forerunner of the Messiah on the paths of the Old Testament. The truth that Christ fulfilled when he accepted the baptism of John was the truth of the Old Testament. The Promised Messiah demonstrated the connection between the New Testament He affirmed and the Old Testament. By accepting the baptism of repentance, He expressed His unity with the people, whose sins He took upon Himself” (Cassian, Bishop Christ and the First Christian Generation. Paris, 1950. P. 11). Lit.: syllable, sound combination (συλλαβή). By θεσμοῖς here we mean the moral foundations and laws of Christian life, and by δόγμασι - the doctrinal aspects of Christian life. Caring for “God’s words” (τῶν θείων λόγων) can be understood in two ways: both as a diligent and zealous study of the Holy Scriptures, and as an equally zealous comprehension of the Divine meanings (logoi), which are revealed to the eye during natural contemplation. But ultimately, both of these aspects of God’s words are inextricably linked to each other. Actually, the direct meaning of the Greek word φάραγξ is “gorge”, “precipice”, “abyss”; to understand the interpretations of Rev. Maximum this value should also be taken into account. Greek τῷ πολλῷ ῥεύματι τῶν παθῶν ἐκχαραδρωθείσα; the verb ἐκχαραδρόω (in the passive voice) means "to be crossed by currents or channels." It is characteristic that Procopius of Gaza uses this verb in a metaphorical sense, speaking in an almost identical manner to the Venerable. Maxim (one can assume the dependence of the latter on the first σαρκός (see: Lampe G.W.Н. Op. cit. R. 443). Scholium 8: “Just as the flesh, immersed in a stormy stream of passions, becomes a “vale,” so, he says, the soul becomes a valley, cut by the streams of evil thoughts.” For Rev. Maximus, as he himself says, “the essence of every virtue is the one Word of God (for the essence of all virtues is our Lord Jesus Christ Himself)”, and therefore “every person who participates in virtue through firm skill in it undoubtedly participates in God” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Ambigva to John, 2 // St. Maximus the Confessor. On various perplexities among Saints Gregory and Dionysius (Ambigva). P. 69). Scholium 9: “The rejection of unnatural passions and the attraction of virtues corresponding to nature fill the soul that becomes flat and humble the dominion of evil spirits, which has ascended like a mountain.” The concept ταπείνωσις, in addition to the indicated meaning, also has the meaning of “humility”. Rev. here. Maxim again uses the term “apocatastasis,” which, naturally, does not have any Origenist connotations for him. Scholium 10: “He calls curvatures the unnatural movements of the senses, which are straightened when the mind learns to bring them into conformity with nature and [direct] them to their own Cause, that is, to God.” Scholium 11: “Rough paths he calls the accidents of involuntary temptations, which are made smooth through patience through thanksgiving.” The concept of πόνος, as already indicated, means not only “labor”, “effort”, “work”, but also “torment”, “pain”, “sorrow”. Scholium 12: “Pleasure is the mother of death, and labor, voluntary or involuntary, is death to pleasure.” It is characteristic that already Clement of Alexandria, highlighting the three main sinful passions - lust (ἐπιθυμία), fear (φόβος) and pleasure (ἡδονή), considers the latter to be the “worst passion” (see: D. Mirtov. Moral teaching of Clement of Alexandria. St. Petersburg, 1900. P. 10). J.-C. Larchet, in a note to this passage, indicates that we are talking about spiritual death here. It seems that not only: for example, the pleasure received from food (gourmetism) often leads a person to the passion of gluttony, and this passion hurts not only his soul, but also his body. Numerous diseases appear, the result of which is usually death. The unity of spiritual and physical reverence. Maxim constantly emphasizes. In particular, he says: “Initially, stolen by the charm of pleasure, we preferred death to truly existing life. And therefore, with thanksgiving we bear bodily labor, which mortifies this pleasure, so that, by its very death, having abolished death along with it, we may receive back the life that has returned to us, [once] sold to pleasure, and [now] redeemed by the small labors of the flesh. If the flesh prospers, then the power of sin usually increases. And therefore it is clear that when the flesh suffers, virtue naturally tends to increase. And we must courageously endure the suffering of the flesh, since it cleanses the filth of the soul and ensures future glory" (St. Maximus the Confessor. Ten chapters on virtue and vice, 3–4 // Selected works of St. Maximus the Confessor. P. 349). The concept τὸ αἰσθητήριον is used here in the literal sense as a “sense organ” (Eriugena: sensibus). Scholium 13: “He who loves virtue voluntarily extinguishes the flame of pleasure, and he who has made his mind [perfect] through the knowledge of truth does not involuntarily linger on the works [of virtue], since in his desire for God he is carried away by the ever-moving [towards Him].” This implies attraction (πόθος) to virtue and love (ἔρος [So in the ed. vm. ἔρως. - Ed. AV.]) to knowledge. Rev. here. Maxim captures an essential feature of biblical anthropology. It received its clearest expression from St. Apostle Paul, for whom “if flesh is matter, then it still cannot be imagined separately, existing by itself. She, this flesh, is connected with the soul, and so closely that one without the other is unthinkable” (Cyprian (Kern), archimandrite. Anthropology of St. Gregory Palamas. Paris, 1950. P. 76). Scholia 14: “Because through the transgression of [the commandments], the soul, dug out by demons, seemed to [itself] allow the mountains to rise, that is, it gave [demons] power against itself.” The acquisition of dispassion (ἀπάθεια) in Christian asceticism, starting with Clement of Alexandria, is a necessary condition for a truly Christian life. As S. Zarin notes, dispassion has two main aspects: negative, that is, the actual struggle with passions, and positive, that is, the acquisition of virtues: both of these aspects are inextricably linked with each other (see: Zarin S. Asceticism according to Orthodox Christian teaching. M., 1996. pp. 305–308). Rev. Maxim also emphasizes another important point of dispassion: it is not just a moral category, but also an essential condition for knowledge of God. Scholia 15: “Virtue produced by [spiritual] activity becomes the voice of knowledge crying out, as if in the desert, in a soul that has reached a state of devoid of passions; for virtue is the forerunner of true wisdom, pointing to the truth that must appear after it according to [God’s] Economy, and existing before this truth in accordance with the Cause [of all things].” The last phrase (πρὸ αὐτῆς κατ’ αἰτίαν ὑπάρχουσαν) probably points to God, Who is the highest Cause of the entire world order, including the internal order of spiritual success. In this sentence, difficult to translate and understand, the connection with the previous train of thought of the reverend is unclear. Maxima. First of all: in what sense should we understand “lack of time” in the contemplative mind (ἁπλῶς ἐπιλείψει τὸν θεωρετικὸν νοῦν ὁ χρόνος)? It is possible that Rev. Maxim, completing his answer, points to his personal lack of time, and then the translation of the phrase will be as follows: “And there is simply not enough time [to] talk about the contemplative mind that accomplishes...” But it is possible that here we are talking about the short time allotted for the “preparing” itself. The second difficulty is related to the translation of the term ἐπινοίας (lit.: thoughts; in our case - “manifestations”). It seems that in this case Rev. Maxim puts into it the meaning that it often had in Origen, who denoted with it various aspects of the saving activity of Christ (see: Lampe G.W.H. Op. cit. R. 528). For Origen, the concept of ἐπίνοιαι emphasized the multiplicity of manifestations of a single essence. When applied to Christ, it denotes various “activities”, “virtues” (ἀρεταί, δυνάσεις, ἐνέργειαι) of Him (see: Gruber G. Ζωή. Wesen, Stufen und Mitteilung des wahren Lebens bei Origenes. München, 1962. S. 241–267). The quotation is given in the form (with omissions and changes) in which it is given in the text by Rev. Maxima. This is the direct meaning of the term ἡ ὀρεινή, which in Church Slavonic and Russian translations is given as “mountains”. The beginning of the answer is very typical for the teacher. Maxima. He turns with a prayer request to our Lord Jesus Christ, God the Word, for the sending of Revelation for the correct understanding and interpretation of the cited passage of Holy Scripture, for the sayings of this Scripture are the sayings of the Lord Himself. According to Rev. Maxim, only through Revelation can one see the beauty of the spiritual meaning (τὸ κάλλος τῶν νοουμένων; lit.: the beauty of intelligible things), hidden in the Holy Scriptures under the plumpness of the letter (τὴν τῶν ἐπικαλυμμάτων παχύτητα). Scholium 1: “He calls the holy flesh of God, which is from us and which seedlessly received being in Him, a wondrous dwelling; and home [he calls] the thinking soul of the Lord. For the Word, having become man, inexpressibly united with Himself the flesh endowed with a thinking soul, purifying like with like. The place is the Word Itself, which by hypostasis has immutably made [human] nature unshakable in Himself. So, we come to this village, that is, into the flesh [of the Lord], sanctifying our flesh with virtues, through which it is inherent in it to become, by the grace of the Spirit, conformed to His glorious body (Phil. 3:21); and to the house of God, [that is] through pure contemplation in simple and indivisible knowledge we reach the very thinking soul of the Lord, so that, according to the Apostle, we too may have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16) and, thanks to the communion of the Spirit, become through Him by grace what [the Lord] Himself became for us by nature according to the Economy [of God]." Scholium 2: “He calls the cornerstone the bond (σύνδεσμον) of the corner, that is, the Church.” In the corresponding note, J.-C. Larchet points out that “Jerusalem” etymologically means “city of peace.” Scholium 3: “He calls the Incarnation, which is the gate of the Church, the gate of the corner, and the right dogmas about the Incarnation as the pillars.” In this quote from Rev. Maximus instead of ἐπὶ τὴν πύλαν τῆς φάραγγος (over the vale gates) of the text of the Septuagint stands ἐπὶ τὴν γωνίαν τῆς φάραγγος. Scholium 4: “He calls the vale angle the natural union of flesh with the soul or the union in spirit of the soul with this flesh as a servant of virtue.” Under κατὰ τὴν ἐν πνεύματι συνάφειαν rev. Maxim probably means that union with God that embraces the whole person, both in his bodily part and in his spiritual part. So, I think, it is better to translate the expression: κατὰ τὴν διάκρισιν δόγματα. Scholium 5: “He simply calls angles the various combinations of beings or the combination of different and main natures into a single union.” As noted by Fr. I. Meyendorff, lecturer Maxim distinguishes the following opposites in the entire totality of existence: uncreated - created, heaven - earth, paradise - world, spirit - matter, man - woman. “In creating these opposites, God had in mind harmony, not division and enmity. Their union and completeness were to be realized through a person bearing the image of God” (John Meyendorff, Archpriest Introduction to Patristic Theology. New York, 1985. P. 307). But since man was not up to the task, our Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God, took upon Himself the work of unification. Scholium 6: “Because each combination of the named creatures has a meaning of Wisdom in accordance with which it came into being, and these meanings Scripture calls the pillars of the corners. For the stronghold and stronghold of each of the existing ones is the essential meaning of knowledge that they possess and which combines them all into a single union.” These five fundamental differences are discussed in detail and carefully by Rev. Maxim in his work “Ambigvy” (see: St. Maximus the Confessor. Ambigvy, 101 // St. Maximus the Confessor. On various perplexities among Saints Gregory and Dionysius. pp. 277–285). Scholium 7: “He calls the meanings of nature pillars in the desert.” Scholium 8: “He calls treasures the hearts that receive the heavenly charisms of holy knowledge, dug up in the firm word of the commandments; from them, like solid rock, lust and the attachment of nature to feelings are thrown out, and they are filled with knowledge in the spirit brought from above, cleansing from passions, life-giving and nourishing virtues.” To understand this scholium and the text of the Venerable himself. Maxim, one must take into account the fact that wells in the desert were usually filled with rainwater. In other words, Rev. Maxim understands by treasures to be people who have already sufficiently succeeded in spiritual work, who are watered from above by the life-giving moisture of Revelation, bestowing wisdom and knowledge. It is from these wells that the “cattle of Christ” drink, that is, the beginners who have just embarked on the path of spiritual achievement. Scholium 9: “The cattle in Sephile, according to him, are those who undergo education in moral wisdom through many sorrows and need the patience of those who pronounce instructive speeches.” Rev. Maxim uses here the consonance of the words λεκάνη (“basin”, “tub”) and λευκαινομένους (“becoming white”, “bleached”). Scholium 10: “He calls those who achieve success in the [list of] virtues and remain dispassionate about the worst, needing [only] words and teachings regarding thanksgiving, as cattle of the field.” Scholium 11: “He simply calls a mountainous country the sublime contemplation of nature in the spirit; it is cultivated by those who are not involved in sensory dreams and who, through virtues, ascend to the intelligible meanings of sensory [things].” Under ἐκστατικὸν τῆς γνώσεως καὶ τῆς καρδίας λόγον rev. Maxim most likely understands the fullness of the revealed teaching, which becomes visible in mystical contemplation, inseparable from ecstasy. Scholia 12: “Carmel is the exaltation of knowledge through circumcision; circumcision is either liberation from a natural disposition towards [created] being, or deliverance of the mind from attachment to beings by disposition. And it is obvious that the vineyard at Carmel is the Word of Providence, bestowing a prudent ecstasy from the [creative] dispensation; it is cultivated by men and thoughts that move around the single, simple and beginningless Unit. For he who moves only towards Her cuts off, like the foreskin, his disposition towards beings, which closes [from him] the Cause of being.” Just like St. the Apostle Paul (see Col.2:11; Phil.3:3) and all the holy fathers, Rev. Maxim understands circumcision as spiritual circumcision, which he contrasts with Jewish circumcision (οὐκ ἰουδαικῶς), which is purely carnal and therefore prefers “shameful glory” (τὴν αἰσχύνην δόξαν). A remark quite typical for understanding the entire style of exegesis by Rev. Maxima. The nuances of contradictions in the historical narrative of Holy Scripture as such do not interest him (unlike modern exegetes). Moreover, Rev. Maxim declares such contradictions simply non-existent (τὸ μηδαμῶς ὑπάρχον), for they are only antinomies of thought, reason (τῆς διανοίας). Colliding with them encourages sluggish human thought to work, and this work (ideally) should raise the mind to the level of spiritual contemplation, where these antinomies are removed by themselves. Scholium 13: “He calls active wisdom the fear of the Lord; the end is from the beginning, for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 1:7).” Scholia 14: “The sublime meaning of the Divine is a pillar strengthened in the soul by the implementation of the commandments.” Scholium 15: “He says that the meanings of the parts, united with the meanings of the whole, produce connections between the separated [things], because the meanings, which have greater universality, uniformly embrace the meanings of the partial [things], which are naturally related to them.” Scholium 16: “Because these [things] also have a certain meaning that relates them to the Spirit and connects them with each other.” Scholium 17: “He who has acquired a pious idea of ​​each [of existence] is no longer afraid of demons who mislead people through visible [things].” Under skills in the best [things] (τῶν κρειττόνων [Corrected by us from the κρειττόντων edition. - Ed. AV.] ἕξεις) prep. Maxim, most likely, implies the assimilation of the tropos of virtues, which allow a person to contain “given by God according to the knowledge of science” ( μαθημάτων). Here it is once again emphasized that contemplation and knowledge are impossible without spiritual activity. According to V.N. Lossky, “doing and contemplation in Christian knowledge are inseparable from each other; knowledge is personal and conscious experience of spiritual things, it is gnosis (ἡ γνῶσις). St. Maximus the Confessor says that contemplation without doing, a theory not substantiated by practice, is no different from imagination, from ephemeral fantasy (ἀνυπόστατος φαντασία); also, doing, if it is not animated by contemplation, is fruitless and motionless, like an idol” (Lossky V. Essay on the mystical theology of the Eastern Church // Theological Works. M., 1972. T. 8. P. 106). The term λάκκος (Church Slavonic translation: “treasury”), in addition to meaning “reservoir”, “pool”, also has the meaning “cistern” (for storing oil, wine, etc.); this is how he appears in the translation of Eriugena (cisternis). The meanings related to patience (or “around, around patience”: τοὺς περὶ καρτερίας λόγους; Eriugena: circa tolerantiam rationes) should probably be understood as those meanings of moral life that determine the content of this particular virtue. Scholia 18: “Grapes produce wine, wine intoxicates, and intoxication [generates] frenzy. Consequently, active reason, which is grapes cultivated by virtues, gives rise to knowledge, knowledge - a beautiful frenzy that takes the mind beyond the limits of attachment to feeling.” Scholium 1: “The unfalse contemplation of beings needs a soul, which is called Jerusalem because of perfect virtue and immaterial knowledge; such a soul is born after the loss of not only passions, but also sensual dreams - Scripture called them the waters of springs, like those outside the city.” Speaking about “chiefs”, Rev. Maximus refers to 2 Chronicles 32:6. Scholium 2: “Faith comforts the mind engaged in [spiritual] warfare and strengthened by the support of hope. Hope, leading with visible and faith-inspiring help, repels the onslaught of enemies. And love takes away life from the onslaught of enemies on the God-loving mind, completely diminishing its aspiration towards God.” Scholium 3: “He says that faith is the first resurrection in us of God, killed by our ignorance, successfully created by the fulfillment of the commandments.” In this case, it seems best to translate the word οἰκονομία. Scholium 4: “He says that things correspond to [their] names; for without hope, heavy or light, no one can turn to good.” Scholium 5: “He says that nothing but love brings together divided [people] and creates in them a single will governed by consent; thanks to her, a wonderful mood of equality arises [in people." Scholium 6: “Because without intelligent power, as he says, there is no knowing knowledge; without knowledge, faith is not formed, from which a beautiful offspring is born - hope, and in accordance with it, the believer communicates with future [goods] as if with the present; without the desired force, attraction, the culmination of which is love, is not formed - after all, loving someone is characteristic of desire; Without a fierce force that impels desire to unite with a dear heart, peace in no way arises, unless peace is truly serene and complete possession of the beloved.” Scholium 7: “Reason,” he says, “rules over the knowing thoughts, just as rage and desire rule over the violent and desiring [thoughts].” These are the thoughts of Rev. Maxim organically fit into the Orthodox ascetic tradition. As noted by S.M. Zarin, “according to the patristic view... mind and will are actually one ability-mind in various relationships and manifestations... Possessing this ability, man has a different attitude towards his natural aspirations, compared to animals. Animals are completely and completely controlled and determined by their natural inclinations, the aspirations that arise in them; they cannot contradict them, since they have neither the strength nor the motivation for this, since they are unreasonable (ἄλογα). Man, having reason, controls his own nature and can either follow the aspirations of his nature, or - in some cases - suppress them" (Zarin S.M. Asceticism according to Orthodox Christian teaching. T. 1. Book 2. St. Petersburg, 1907. P. 80). Scholium 8: “According to the spiritual interpretation, in Hezekiah he sees a philosophical mind laboring in [spiritual] work; in the city - the soul; in the sources there are variegated types of sensory [things]; in the waters - ideas or speculations about these [things]; in the stream is the opinion or assumption [arising] from them: and the senses must be completely closed to them when the passions rebel against reason.” Scholium 9: “He says that [a person] who has not been cleansed of passions cannot accept natural contemplation due to the images of sensory [things] that can form the mind for passion in one who has not [yet] gotten rid of passions.” Translating συνεισβάλῃ this way, we follow Eriugena (commisceat). Scholium 10: “The mind, given over to daydreaming and, as a result of feeling, satisfied with the external faces of sensory [things], becomes the creator of impure passions, since it does not pass through contemplation to intelligible [things] that are akin to [it].” Scholium 11: “When reason becomes senseless, rage unbridled, and desire unreasonable, then ignorance, tyranny and self-will begin to rule over the soul; they set in motion a vicious habit, intertwined with various lusty feelings. This skill reveals the number of one hundred and eighty-five thousand [of those killed], for three times sixty, added up as a result of the perfect movement of each force in the [sphere] of evil, and plus another five, [the number that arose] due to the implementation of lust in the senses, make up this number, denoting the skill that produces vice. Possessing it, the devil tyrannically merges with the soul, and God kills this same skill through the mind [experienced] in knowing wisdom, as if through an Angel, saving the soul, the true Jerusalem, and making the mind that is in the soul not enslaved to vice.” By τὰς ἀοράτους συμπλοκάς we should probably understand those invisible “attacks” that are intertwined with the mind during natural contemplation and entail images and types of sensory things that are intermediaries in the emergence of passions. Lit.: methods that protect virtues (Eriugena: artes - “arts”). This refers to the area of ​​doing and the skills acquired during this doing. It is noteworthy that Evagrius of Pontus says: “Work is a spiritual method that purifies the passionate part of the soul” (Évagre le Pontique. Traitè pratique ou le Moine. Vol. 2 (Sources chrétiennes. No. 171). Paris, 1971. R. 666). Scholium 12: “He calls the people on the walls innate thoughts.” We are talking about the practice of contradiction (ἀντίρρησις - “objection”, “refutation”), developed by ancient monks, starting with St. Antonia. According to it, ascetics usually responded to the attacks of demons, expressed in the attack of evil thoughts and arousal of passions, with various quotations from the Holy Scriptures. This practice was summarized and clearly stated in the work of Evagrius of Pontus, Antirrhetic, preserved in a Syriac translation. Here, in eight books, 498 excerpts from Scripture are collected, directed against the eight main sins: gluttony, fornication, love of money, etc. For details, see: Evagrius of Pontus. Talking Back. A Monastic Hand book for Combating Demons / Translated with Introduction by David Brakke. Collegville, 2009, pp. 1–40. So, in our opinion, the phrase can be translated: διὰ τῶν δεξιῶν ἀπατήσας. Scholia 13: “Here the friend is the Lord, and the wounds inflicted by Him are measures of education applied to each [person] for his salvation, punishing the flesh or the carnal mind, so that the spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord (1 Cor. 5:5). The enemy is the devil, and his kisses are [various] types of sensual pleasures; deceiving the soul with them, he convinces it to separate from the love of its Creator.” Expression: ὀδόντες ἠκονημένοι – Eriugena translates as “imaginary teeth” (dentes imaginati). Scholium 14: “Sennacherib is interpreted as the “temptation of dryness,” firstly, because he dries up the hearts of those possessed by him, separating them from the source of the grace of holy thoughts, and secondly, because he himself is dry, since he is poor, meager and has nothing of his own, and therefore insidiously hides, like a thief, in the external manifestations of sensory [things] to rebel against us.” By τοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν λόγου τὴν δύναμιν we should understand that power of the Divine Word (Logos), which in man manifests itself as reason, that is, the logos principle. The expression: διὰ τῆς λελογισμένης ἐγκρατείας is very characteristic. Judging by the context, we are talking about bodily abstinence, which should be deliberate (or verified and, as it were, clearly calculated) in nature. Rev. here. Maxim follows the pan-Orthodox ascetic tradition (St. Gregory of Nyssa and others), emphasizing moderation, non-violence of ascetic labors and restraining from the extremes of asceticism. According to the holy fathers, abstinence “its necessary, main and basic assumption is the observation of the human mind over the state of its psychophysiological forces and needs in order to keep them within proper limits and, when it seems necessary, in the form of moral improvement, even to deny them satisfaction” (Zarin S.M. Op. cit. p. 613). Scholium 15: “They say that any excess that exceeds the measure of what is necessary is natural intemperance; it becomes the devil’s path to the soul. Through abstinence, which educates the nature, the devil is returned to his own land in disgrace. Or: the path is the natural passions themselves, which, when they are used in a way that exceeds the measure of what is necessary, lead the devil to the soul, and when they are used in a way that corresponds to necessity, they themselves return him to his own land. The land of the devil is a stable habit in vice and confusion [with matter], which serves as his stronghold, into which he leads those who succumb to the feeling of love for material [things].” The expression that material things (or: “elements, elements of matter” - τὰ ὑλικά) only “appear” (εἶναι δοκοῦντα) to form a body should probably be understood in the sense that the true formative principle of every corporeal creature is its logos, or meaning. The term σύγχυσις among the Church Fathers, among other meanings, also denoted a characteristic property of matter; it was used to denote primordial chaos, as well as earthly life (see: Lampe G.W.H. Op. cit. R. 1276). Rev. Maximus in Letter 4 speaks of the “evil confusion of passions that has taken possession”, which prepares “the devil’s trap” for the ascetic mind. In another work, he also speaks about the “mixture of passions,” but here this term is also combined with the concept of “life” (meaning local, sinful life). For example, “every person who finds himself [immersed] in the confusion of life makes his soul a church of Baal, that is, the devil” (Maximi Confessoris Quaestiones et Dubia. R. 19). Thus, the specified term in Rev. The maxim relates primarily to the area of ​​sinful existence and carnal lust. So, I think, it is better to translate the phrase μεταφέρων αὐτοὺς πρὸς τὴν παράθεσιν τῆς ἀναπαύσεως. The concept of ἀνάπαυσις in ascetic writing had the meaning of the result of ascetic labor (the practical implementation of virtues) and consisted of spiritual perfection (see: Lampe G.W.N. Op. cit. R. 115). In 2 Kings 19:35–37, to which Rev. Maxim, stands “in the land of Ararat.” Scholium 16: “Thoughts transferred to [the area of] virtue are pacified, moving away from the restless confusion of passions.” Eriugena translates the concept ἡ προβολή as “acceptance” (receptio). Scholium 17: “The mind, naturally combining feeling with itself through reason, collects from natural contemplation true knowledge, which is called the stream that divides the soul with the help of thought present in feeling.” Eriugena has a small explanation at the end of this scholium: “that is, [the flow] which separates the mind from the feeling.” So, I think, it is better to translate the expression κατ’ εἶδος. The phrase: εἰς λόγους τῶν σχημάτων τοὺς τύπους μεταβιβάζουσα - involves the transformation of external images or images into meanings (logoi), each of these images probably has its own logos. Thanks to this, the interconnection of the intelligible and sensory worlds occurs, carried out through the logos principle in man, manifested mainly in natural contemplation or knowledge of sensory things. Under ἐξαδικός (“consisting of six”) Rev. Maxim implies the number 180,000 (6x3=18). Scholia 18: “Naturally combined with will (disposition - τῇ γνώμῇ) is the power of inclination (ἡ κατ’ ἐπιτηδειότητα δύναμις); skill is attached, because it arises following inclination; and with skill is constantly added action, even if it is not always easily detected due to the frequent resistance of material [things].” Scholium 19: “He calls the combination (συνάφειαν) of a number the expression (ἐκφώνεσιν) of prime numbers within the decimal, distinguished by the conjunction “and,” for example, six and five; it denotes an inclination depicted in writing and related either to evil or to good, which, with the help of [natural] force, creates either virtue or vice. By addition (πρόσθεσιν) of a number he calls the application of a prime number consisting of units to a number multiplied in itself (τῷ πολυπλασιασθέντι εἰς ἑαυτὸν ἀριθμῷ), distinguished [also] by the conjunction “and,” for example, sixty and five or one hundred and twenty and five (this is the number in question); it denotes not only the doing carried out with the help of inclination in the senses, but also the skill in virtue or vice acting on the senses. And by addition (σύνθεσιν) of a number he calls the connection with each other of numbers that have multiplied in themselves, distinguished by the conjunction “and,” for example, fifty and sixty or six hundred and five hundred and similar numbers; it denotes not only doing according to inclination through [natural] force or skill, but also the action of virtue or vice, in accordance with skill, on the feelings. Therefore, having learned the meaning of each number within the ten, namely, having known that one denotes the unmixed (τὸ ἀμιγές; Eriugena: simplicitatem - “simplicity”), two - different, that three is equal and intelligible, four - sensory, five - sentient and circular, six - active and perfect, seven - round and unmixed, eight is clear (βάσιμος; Eriugena: stabilis - “constant”) and motionless, nine is intermediate between matter and appearance or between sensible [things] and feeling, and ten is the most complete - so, he who knows all this will also know what each number means in Scripture, [used there] either by combination or by addition or addition." Scholia 20: “Cain is the law of the flesh - he was first begotten by Adam, who transgressed the Divine commandment. And Abel is a spiritual thought generated by Adam after repentance - this is a thought that began natural contemplation before [acquiring] perfect skill [in virtues], and Cain kills. And God says: Whoever kills Cain will have revenge seven times (Gen. 4:15). In the Gospels He also calls Cain an evil spirit, who took with him seven other spirits more evil than himself (Matthew 12:45). Perhaps this refers to a selfish or gluttonous thought, which is naturally followed by the thought of fornication, the thought of the love of money, the thought of sadness, the thought of anger, the thought of despondency, the thought of vanity and the thought of pride. Consequently, he who kills Cain according to God’s judgment, that is, gluttony, kills along with him the passions that arose due to this gluttony, according to the words: “Whoever kills Cain will take revenge seven times.” This scholium traces the pattern of eight sinful thoughts, which became widespread in ascetic writing. For more information about this, see: Zarin S.M. Decree. op. pp. 258–353. In some manuscripts, instead of “acquisition” (κτῆσις) there is “creation” (κτίσις); It is precisely such a manuscript tradition that he focuses on in his translation of Eriugena (creatura enim interpretatur Cain). A somewhat different, although close, interpretation of Cain and Abel is given in Questions and Difficulties. The “question” itself (77) is: “What is the spiritual consideration of what pertains to Abel and Cain?” Rev. on him. Maximus gives the following answer: “Cain is understood as being “carnally minded” (Rom. 8:6), and Abel is understood as “sorrow” or “repentance.” When the mind, which has not yet acquired perfect skill in [spiritual] work, is subjected to ridicule from the carnal mind and goes out with it into the field (see Gen. 4:8), that is, onto the plain of natural contemplation, then it is killed, being unable to overcome the manifestation of beings and being satisfied only with it. Whoever kills Cain, that is, the carnal mind, which is consent [to passion] (συγκατάθεσις) - for he who mortifies sorrow agrees to vice - will take revenge seven times (Gen. 4:15), that is, he destroys the seven evil spirits or the seven vicious passions produced by these spirits. And the curse of groaning (see Gen. 4:12), [which fell on the head of] Cain, means the rebellion of the conscience of one who constantly tramples and crushes his [righteous] thought” (Maximi Confessoris Quaestiones et dubia. R. 58). It should be noted that the concept of συγκατάθεσις, which appears in this text, had a stable meaning in ascetic literature, characterizing the third moment of the development of passion, when “a person takes a new - decisive and important - step towards approaching sinful passion, since in his soul, precisely at this moment, a strong-willed determination is brewing to achieve one or another use of the object of passionate thought, using this the goal is all means depending on the person himself” (Zarin S.M. Op. cit. P. 256). Scholium 21: “He says that the bodily law was later added to human nature for birth and corruption; in accordance with this law we are born and give birth, through the transgression [of the commandments] without preserving the deifying law of the spirit [given] according to the first commandment.” By ὁ ἀληθὴς λόγος most likely means Holy Scripture. Rev. Maximus here contrasts the limitedness (περιγραφή) of Holy Scripture in its literalness and the unlimitedness (ἀπερίγραφος) of its spiritual meaning. Referring to this “issue”, M.D. Muretov summarizes the essence of the exegesis of Rev. Maxim as follows: “Described and limited in letter and history, the Word of God is indescribable and limitless in its spiritual-contemplative side, just as God, who spoke it, is indescribable and limitless in essence. Therefore, it must be explained and studied according to Christ, that is, under the guidance of the idea of ​​God-manhood, and according to the high ideals of the spirit, and not, in the Jewish way, reduced to the body and earth, that is, to the letter and history, as some of the false Christians do. The mystery of God-manhood (New Testament) is the spiritual fulfillment of the law (Old Testament) through the abolition of the deadly letter and the manifestation of the life-giving spirit. Literalist historians do not understand the mystery of the Incarnation and do not want to be in the image and likeness of God, that is, they do not strive for deification, God-manhood and God's perfection. On the contrary, they want to be earth and go into the earth instead of ascending in spirit to heaven - to God, into the air - to spiritual light, on the clouds - in high contemplations, to meet the Lord and for constant coexistence with Him through spiritual contemplation. The literal-historical meaning is the external and visible side of the Word of God, its clothing, and the spiritual-contemplative meaning, or the theology of the idea, is its internal, hidden, invisible side - its body or being: that closes the inner meaning of Scripture, this opens. So it is in objects of nature: the images and types that are subject to vision are the external side, clothing, and the ideas (“logoi”), according to which they are created, are bodies and essences: these cover, and these reveal. Those who, in a pagan way, serve the creature instead of the Creator, recognizing nothing higher than the visible and more beautiful than the sensible, or, in the Jewish way, looking at one letter, value only the body, idolize the womb, consider shame to be glory, and thus become deicides, become the murderers of the Word. The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life, for in itself, as self-sufficiency and an end in itself, the beloved letter kills for those who love it the Word-Mind existing in it, just as the beauty of creatures, seen not for the glory of the Creator, but in itself, deprives the audience of reasonable piety.” According to M.D. Muretov, Rev. Maxim, “the great Christian theologian,” expresses “the basic principles of interpretation of Scripture by the most glorious fathers and teachers of the Church, either who directly built the system of New Testament-church-Christian theology, or in successive interpretations of the sacred text, who put in first place the disclosure of the ideological and theological side of the New Testament: Origen, Athanasius the Great, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, Gregory of Nyssa, Cyril of Alexandria, John Chrysostom, Dionysius the Areopagite, Ambrose, Augustine and many others. On the contrary, the interpretations of the Antiochians - the literalist Theodore of Mopsuestia, Pelagius, Jerome and others - are extremely poor, lacking in content and mediocre, - limited almost exclusively to periphrasis" (Muretov M.D. The New Testament as a subject of Orthodox theological study. Sergiev Posad, 1915. pp. 72–73). Eriugena translates this phrase as follows: “And none of the teachers hesitates regarding this,” rendering δυσανασχετῶν as doctorum. Whom Rev. What Maxim means by “dissatisfied” is not entirely clear. It is possible that opponents of the spiritual interpretation of Holy Scripture Scholium 1: “For just as God is not essentially subject to [human] knowledge, so His Word is not comprehended by our knowledge.” The idea of ​​the “indescribable” (ἀπερίγραπτος, ἀπερίγραφος) of God was a common place in patristic writing (see: Lampe G.W.N. Op. cit. R. 183). In Christology, it was reflected in the opposition between the “indescribable” of the Divine nature and the “describable” of the Human nature of Christ, which St. Gregory the Theologian: The Lord is “subject to suffering in the flesh, impassive in the Divine, describable in the body, indescribable in the spirit” (Grégoire de Nazianze. Lettres Théologiques // Sources chrétiennes. No. 208. Paris, 1974. R. 42). Later, iconoclasts tried to use this Christological antithesis (by misunderstanding it) to their advantage. Without making a distinction between “nature” and “person,” they transferred the properties of personality to nature. Orthodox theologians, in particular Rev. Theodore the Studite, gave a clear answer to this: the icon depicts not nature, but a person. According to St. John of Damascus, “if in the Old Testament direct Divine Revelation to people was carried out in word, then in the New Testament it is carried out both in word and in image, for the Invisible became visible, the Indescribable became describable. Now God reveals himself to people not only in word, through the prophets: He Himself appears to them in the Person of the incarnate Word” (Uspensky L.A. Theology of the icon of the Orthodox Church. Paris, 1989. P. 16, 94–95). This problem has not yet faced the Rev. Maximus, and he applies the traditional Christological antithesis (in the spirit of St. Gregory the Theologian and other Orthodox thinkers) to exegesis: the “body” of Holy Scripture (“the letter”), like the human nature of the Lord, is describable, but the “spirit” of Scripture, like the Divine nature of Christ, is indescribable. The adverb τυπικῶς (in our translation: “proformative”, but can also mean “symbolically”) indicates a typological interpretation of the Old Testament, which has become widespread since the first centuries of the existence of the Church. The purpose of this method was to identify the internal connection of the two Testaments. In the light of this typological exegesis, the historical existence of humanity was considered quite seriously, for it was the stage on which the action of Divine Providence was carried out. Equally serious attention was paid to the literal meaning of Holy Scripture (see: Kelly J.N.D. Early Christian Doctrines. L., 1960. R. 71–72). The fact that the Holy Spirit is designated as γράψαντος (“writing”) indicates the unshakable postulate of the Christian doctrine about the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, the true author of which is God. Scholium 2: “He says that those who are attached to [merely] the letter [of the Holy Scripture] think in a Jewish way and perceive the promises of pure goods in proportion to this world, not knowing about the goods corresponding to the nature of the soul.” This sentence is broken off in the text. Scholium 3: “He who bears the image of heaven constantly and diligently strives to follow the spirit of Holy Scripture, in which, through virtue and knowledge, the [integrity of] the soul is preserved; and the one who bears the image of earth (1 Cor. 15:49) values ​​only the letter, in which sensual service to the body is formed, creating passions.” Rev. Maxim freely quotes this passage of Scripture. Scholium 4: “He says that [spiritual] activity begets virtue, just as Ahas [began] Hezekiah.” Or: “understood in an allegorical sense” (τροπικῶς νοουμένη). Scholium 5: “According to him, contemplation begets knowledge, just as Amos [begat] Isaiah.” Here is a hidden quotation from Hesiod's Works and Days (289). The distinction between προσευχή (“prayer”) and εὐχή (“supplication”) is made by Rev. Maxim also in his “Interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer,” where he says: “For our God-inspired fathers define prayer this way: prayer is asking for what God, in His own way, usually gives to people. And prayer is defined as a promise or vow that people who serve God sincerely bring to Him” (St. Maximus the Confessor. Interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer // Works of St. Maximus the Confessor. Book 1. M., 1993. P. 189). Making this distinction, Rev. Maximus follows Origen and Evagrius of Pontus (see: Dalmais I.-N. Un traité de théologie contemplative / Le Commentaire du Pater de S. Maxime le Confesseur // Revue d’ascétique et de mystique. 1953. Vol. 29. R. 131–132). However, as for Evagrius, his terms προσευχή (“prayerful request”), δέησις (“prayer”), εὐχή (“vow”) and ἔντευξις (“supplication”) denote not so much different types of prayers, but different aspects of a prayer that is united in its essence (see: Bunge G. Évagre le Pontique et les deux Macaire // Irenikon. 1983. No. 3. R. 3430). Scholia 6: “Whoever cognizes with [spiritual] activity and strives together with knowledge, he is the throne and footstool of God: the throne is due to knowledge and the footstool is due to doing.” In this scholia, emphasizing the unity of gnosis and doing, the preposition μετά is used, which can also mean “through”, “with the help of”, “according to”. But what is emphasized here is mainly the participation and sharing of knowledge and practice. Eriugena also retains this emphasis: cum actione cognoscit... et cum scientia agit. The combination φιλόσοφος καὶ εὐσεβής (“wise and pious”) is characteristic here. For Rev. Maxim, as for many holy fathers (starting with St. Justin Martyr), Christianity is a true philosophy, which is determined primarily by internal activity, a pious disposition of the soul, leading to the creation of good deeds and, as a consequence of this, allowing one to achieve the heights of contemplation. Compare: “For those are the true sages, warriors, men of goodness and wise men of God, who are guided by the inner man and controlled by God’s power” (Venerable Macarius the Great. Spiritual Conversations (Collection II). Conversation 17, 10 // Our Venerable Father Macarius of Egypt Spiritual Conversations, Message and Words. Sergiev Posad, 1904. P. 153). The personification of this true philosophy was predominantly monastic life (see: Monachisme // Dictionnaire de Spiritualité. Vol. 10, fasc. LXVIII–LXIX. Paris, 1979. R. 1555–1556). Scholium 7: “The army of the king of Assyria is a gathering of evil thoughts, in which the brave man is the thought that carries away natural desires to pleasure; brannik - a thought that encourages the furious [beginning of the soul] to protect pleasures; the boss is a thought that irritates the senses with the appearance of visible [things], and the commander is a thought that shapes passions and invents [various images] of substances and methods of their actions.” As above, Rev. Maxim speaks of ὄρεξις (“desire,” “desire,” or “appetite”). This concept itself goes back to the psychology of Aristotle, who puts ὄρεξις at the basis of all human action. At Rev. Maxim's scheme of Aristotle's psychology of action changes significantly: he places ὄρεξις between choice (decision - προαίρεσις) and action (see: Gauthier R.A. Saint Maxime le Confesseur et la psychologie de l'aсte humaine // Recherches de Théologie Ancienne et Médiévale. 1954. T. 21. R. 58–72). Scholium 8: “He says that outside a sensible thing (χωρὶς αἰσθητοῦ πράγματός φησιν) passion does not arise. For when there is no woman, there is no fornication; in the absence of food, there is no gluttony, and when there is no gold, then there is no passion for avarice. Therefore, the sensual [thing] rules over every passionate movement of our natural forces, and through it the demon incites the soul to sin.” A peculiar expression: τὸ λεῖον τῶν ἡδονῶν – occurs three times in the bl. Diadoche of Photikiysky. He, for example, says: “Thus our mind, according to the Apostle (see Rom. 7:22), always finds pleasure in the laws of the Spirit, and the senses of the flesh are inclined to be carried away [sliding] along the smooth surface of pleasures” (or: “willingly to be carried away by the smoothness of pleasures”) (Diadoque de Photice. Œuvresuelles (Sources spirit chrétiennes. No. 5 ter.). Paris, 1966. R. 137). As K. Popov notes, this expression was also used by St. Basil the Great, according to whom a vicious life, in contrast to a virtuous life, is a smooth (flat, easily traversed) path that leads many to destruction, because vice is caught by the “smoothness of pleasure.” Therefore, this expression from St. Vasily also meant in a figurative sense “the sweetness of unreasonable pleasures.” In a similar sense this expression was also used by St. Athanasius the Great and Gregory of Nyssa (see: Popov K. Blessed Diadochos (5th century), Bishop of Photiki of Ancient Epirus and his creations. T. 1. Kyiv, 1903. pp. 437–438). Thus, Rev. Maxim relies on the stable patristic tradition of using this expression. Its direct dependence on the blzh is quite possible. Diadoche, with whose works he was well acquainted (see: Des Places E. Maxime le Confesseur et Diadoque de Photice // Maximus Confessor. Actes du Symposium sur Maxime le Confesseur. R. 29–36). Scholium 9: “He says that “blotting out” destroys the effective implementation of vice, and “destroying” destroys the very thought of vice.” Rev. Maximus, and after him the scholiast, distinguish between the verbs τρίβω and ἐκτρίβω, which are similar in meaning (“to grind”, “to destroy”, etc.), together with the corresponding nouns (τρίψις and ἔκτριψις), emphasizing that the second of them means complete eradication of evil in the soul. The adjective ἀρχέκακος in patristic literature (St. Basil the Great and others) was often used to designate the devil (see: Lampe G.W.H. Op. cit. R. 232). Scholium 10: “For, according to him, just as the north lacks the warmth of the sun, so the vicious habit in which the devil dwells does not receive the light of knowledge.” Rev. Maxim, in a slightly different aspect, highlights the thoughts expressed at the beginning of the Question: the essence (λόγος) of Scripture is not only indescribable (ἀπερίγραφος), but itself describes (or, as it were, limits - περιγράφων) all interpreters (τοὺς λέγοντας). Apophatic theology, characteristic of the worldview of St. The maxim, as for all the Fathers of the Church, naturally extends to exegesis, since Scripture is inspired by God and His logos (essence) is as incomprehensible as the Divinity Itself is incomprehensible. The world as God's creation is not a chaotic cohesion of material things governed only by sensory laws (κατὰ μόνην κινεῖσθαι αἴσθησιν). It contains, on the one hand, the “meanings of Wisdom” (by σοφίας, most likely, one should understand God the Word, the Logos, the second Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity), and on the other, ways of polite behavior (ἀγωγῆς ἀστείας τρόπους), that is, as it were, images civilized existence. Consequently, the difference and combination of logos and tropos ultimately ascend to God and determine the entire existence of the world, including the human world. Accordingly, the laws of human society also have their source in God, and they are necessary for the education of man τρόποις παιδαγωγούμενον) and instructing him on the true path of virtues. The general Christian idea of ​​the wisdom and goodness of God’s entire creation (see: Golubinsky F.A. The wisdom and goodness of God in the destinies of the world and man. St. Petersburg, 1894. pp. 19–80) Rev. Maxim here shades and deepens with new shades inherent in his theological system with its distinction between logoi and tropos. In this case, it is partly determined by the Stoic doctrine of “seed logoi” (λόγοι σπερματικοί), adopted and radically revised by St. Justin the Philosopher and other early Church Fathers. If in Stoicism these logos are considered as sown into all things by the faceless Logos and play a predominantly cosmological role, then in St. Justin, for example, these logoi are the seeds of God the Word (Logos), that is, the Divine Person - the second Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity, which are “sown” mainly in the souls of people, and therefore play a predominantly anthropological role. In addition, at St. Justina, the seeds of the Logos are identified with the seeds of Truth, and this Stoic concept is transformed from an active to a passive meaning (see: Spanneut M. Le Stoicisme des Pères de l’Église. De Clément de Rome à Clément d’Alexandrie. Paris, 1957. R. 315–323). Having accepted this radically modified Stoic teaching from St. Justin, Clement of Alexandria and other previous fathers, Venerable. Maxim develops and deepens it. Rev. Maxim uses the term ἀπεικόνισμα, which in patristic vocabulary was used both to designate icons, and to identify the relationship between the Persons of the Holy Trinity (the Son is the “likeness, image” of the Father), and to define man as the image of God (see: Lampe G.W.H. Patristic Greek Lexicon. R. 179). In the latter sense, this concept is used by the Rev. himself. Maximus, who says in one of his epistles (see: PG. T. 91. Col. 409) that God created our nature as “a clear likeness of His own goodness.” Lit.: echoes, echoes (ἀπηχήματα; Eriugena translates: sonos); these “echoes” (or “reflections”) are a kind of vehicle for the mind (ἐποχούμενον) in its ascension to God. Scholia 1: “Intermediate between God and people are sensual and intelligible [entities]. The human mind, going to God, turns out to be superior to them: it is not enslaved by sensual [entities] in [its spiritual] activity and does not fall under the power of intelligible [entities] in contemplation.” Scholium 2: “He says that creation becomes a denouncer of wicked people, for it, through the meanings that are in it, proclaims the Creator and through the natural laws contained in it, educates each individual person [in the spirit of] virtue. After all, meanings are cognized in a [general] connection, [communicating] eternity to each species, and laws are manifested in the identity of the action of each species. Those who do not understand them with the help of our [inherent] mental power do not recognize the Cause of existence, clinging to unnatural passions.” Verb φέρω (“to bring”) Rev. Maxim in this case replaces the verb προσκομίζω with a similar meaning, which in combination with δῶρα (“gift”) acquires a clear “liturgical” connotation (proskomedia). This does not mean that the act of knowledge (gnosis) itself replaces the Eucharist; on the contrary, this knowledge appears as if “liturgical” in its deep essence. For liturgical contemplation crowns the entire unified process of spiritual knowledge, being its highest stage, completing natural contemplation and contemplation of Scripture (ἡ γραφικὴ θεωρία) (see: Bornert R. Les commentaires byzantines de la divine Liturgie du VIIe aux XVe Siècle. Paris, 1966. R. 94–95). Scholium 3: “Man, comprehending the spiritual meanings of visible [creatures], learns [to believe that] there is a certain Creator of visible [things], but the idea of ​​what He is like eludes [man] as inaccessible and inaccessible to research. For the creation [of God] wisely allows us to comprehend that the Creator exists, but does not allow us to know what He is like. Therefore, Scripture called the meanings of visible [things] gifts, since they reveal the dominion of [God] over all [creatures]; And by giving [the Scripture called] their natural laws, by means of which it is known what each of the existing things is like according to [its] kind. This teaches a person not to damage natural [law] through a law alien to [nature].” By "both" are meant meanings or logos (gifts) and ways or tropos (giving). Rev. Maxim (see below) distinguishes between them: gifts are brought to God Himself (through the mind), and giving is given to the mind. At the same time, Rev. Maxim emphasizes that such a difference goes back to the Holy Scriptures, in which these concepts are used in a distinctive sense (προσδιωρισμένως), while in ordinary usage (ἡ καθόλου συνήθεια τῶν ἀνθρώπων) it often gets lubricated. Therefore, based on Holy Scripture, Rev. Maxim correlates gifts with contemplation, and giving with spiritual activity, again emphasizing their unity. Scholium 4: “He says that as a gift we have received faith in God, which is knowledge directly and firmly rooted near God (γνῶσιν ὑπάρχουσαν ἀμέσως περὶ θεὸν ἱδρυμένην), possessing unprovable knowledge (ἀναπόδεικτον ἔχει τὴν ἐπιστήμην). For faith is the substance of things hoped for (Heb. 11:1), which is not comprehended by the knowledge of things.” So, I think, it is better to translate the expression: συνεκτικοὺς λόγους τῆς πίστεως. Scholium 5: “According to him, faith is presented to [God] before virtue, virtue before knowledge, but nothing is presented before faith. After all, faith is the beginning of [everything] good in people, and without it nothing can be offered by us [to God].” So, in our opinion, it is better to translate the expression: δίχα πάσης τῆς ἐν λόγοις τεχνικῆς μεθοδείας, which, like the similar phrase found above (ἄνευ λογικῆς ἀποδείξεως), indicates the path of rational knowledge of God. Probably, in meaning, both expressions are close to the concept of τεχνολογία (“empty rhetoric”) which St. Gregory the Theologian applied Eunomius to the teachings, accusing the latter of excessive dialectical subtlety, relying on the power of logical evidence alone in resolving theological issues (see: St. Gregory the Theologian. Homily 31, 18 // Grégoire de Nazianze. Discourse 27–31 (Discoursé thèologiques) (Sources chrétiennes. No. 250). Paris, 1978. R. 310). For St. Gregory, the heresy of Arianism (especially Anomaeism) consisted primarily in the depravity of the theological method, the essence of which was the reduction of theology to “technology” (see: Plagnieux J. Saint Grégoire de Nazianze Théologien. Paris, 1952, pp. 17–20). Scholium 6: “He says that there is nothing equal to faith.” Scholium 7: “According to him, the knowing mind perceives the meanings of beings that confirm faith in God, but do not create it. For the meanings of creatures are not the beginning of faith, since the object of faith will then be describable. After all, that, the beginning of which is comprehended by knowledge, is, of course, by its nature and comprehensive knowledge.” In this scholia, the fundamental teachings of faith are identified with the meanings of things that confirm faith in God ὄντων λόγους); they do not create (οὐ ποιητικοῖς) the faith itself, for it is primary in relation to them, but they only confirm or, as it were, defend it. The definition διαγνωστικός (“discriminating”), applied to the mind, in this case is almost identical to γνωστικός (“leading”), only more strongly emphasizes the point of the ability of discrimination (and judgment) inherent in such a mind. Characteristic in this regard is the use of the concept of διάγνωσις (lit.: recognition, discernment) in one place “Ambigua”, where it is said that people in whom [the skill] is born of rejecting carnal impulses (τὰ κινήματα) and restraining the inclination of the soul towards them, the Word of God fills “with all true discernment" (πάσης πληροῦν ἀληθοῦς διαγνώσεως) (see: St. Maximus the Confessor. Ambigva to John, 19 // PG. T. 91. Col. 1125). Scholium 8: “The heavenly law is a circular and [always] identical rotation; the one who knows [the mind] from it perceives an unshakable movement in good, imitating the ever-moving heaven in its rotation around the self-identical essence of virtue (περὶ τὸ ταὐτὸν τῆς ἀρετῆς).” Scholium 9: “The natural law of the sun is to make the difference of times by its movements; from him the speculator perceives his ability to bring into harmony with himself all the various events that happen to him, with his mind maintaining the lightness of virtue, not overshadowed by any involuntary [temptation] that happened to him.” Scholium 10: “It is natural for the eagle to perceive the rays of the sun with its [open] eye; from him the knowledgeable [man] perceives that ability, thanks to which his) mind is always illuminated by the Divine Light.” Speaking about Angels, or “heavenly minds” (τῶν οὐρανίων νοῶν), mysteriously depicted in the form of certain animals, Dionysius the Areopagite notes that the image of an eagle “means royal dignity, the ability to soar, swiftness of flight, vigilance, vigilance, speed and skill in obtaining food that strengthens strength, and, finally, the ability, with strong visual strain, to look freely, directly and without deviation at the generous and multi-colored ray flowing from the Divine Sun" (Dionysius the Areopagite. On the celestial hierarchy 15, 8 // Denys L’Aréopagite. La hiérarchie céleste (Sources chrétiennes. No. 58 bis). Paris, 1970. R. 186). It is characteristic that Rev. Maxim applies this image not to an Angel, but to a person. This reflects his point of view (naturally, completely coinciding with the general patristic one), according to which a person is capable, even here on earth, of acquiring through deeds of virtue and leading an equal life with the angels (see: Thunberg L. Man and the Cosmos. The Vision of St. Maximus the Confessor. N. Y., 1985. P. 85–86). Scholium 11: “What does the knowledgeable [man] learn from the natural law of the deer when he considers the nature of beings?” The image of a deer is inspired by Ps.41:2 and Ps.103:18. Origen, St. Athanasius of Alexandria, St. Basil the Great and other Christian authors, interpreting these passages of Holy Scripture, spoke in a similar way, correlating them with the search for the heights of spiritual life (see: Lampe G.W.N. Patristic Greek Lexicon. R. 446). It is not entirely clear what the meaning of the reverend is. Maxim in the word τῇ μνήμῃ, but, most likely, remembrance of God is meant here. Scholia 12: “Whoever makes the path of knowledge in accordance with [spiritual] work and by imitation perceives something from the gazelle and the bird, maintains the inaccessibility of virtue.” Wed. at St. Gregory of Nyssa: “The gazelle denotes the vigilance [of a person capable of] seeing everything, for, as they say, this animal received its name from the supernatural power of vision” (Gregorii Nysseni In Canticum Canticorum / Ed. N. Langerbeck. Leiden, 1960. R. 141). Scholium 13: “What good does he learn who philosophizes about the Divine, by his own will and intelligence transferring into himself the natural contemplation of the lion?” Scholia 14: “How should one who imitates the serpent and the dove become wise?” Scholium 15: “What benefit can we derive from the turtle dove?” Scholium 16: “He who by imitation relates his own law to the laws of beings is virtuous, for he also takes into account the [disorderly] movement of [beings] devoid of reason; and the one who, by imitation, changes his [law] to the laws of other [creatures] is passionate, for he turns the power of reason into unreason.” This paragraph, in fact, is a development of the thought of St. Apostle Paul, expressed in one phrase: What do you have that you did not receive? (1 Cor. 4:7). Scholium 17: “He calls natural bodies everything that is subject to birth and decay.” Scholium 18: “The right warning, because we must fight not with the creature, the creator of which is God, but with the disorderly and unnatural movements and actions regarding it of the forces that are inherent in us.” The concept of παρυπόστασις (Eriugena translates it simply as substantia) in this case literally means “dependent existence.” Dionysius the Areopagite, who is partially followed here by Ven. Maximus used this concept to characterize evil, saying: “Evil does not have being (ὑπόστασιν), but untrue (or: dependent) being” (παρυπόστασιν) (quoted from: Lampe G. W.H. Patristic Greek Lexicon. R. 1046). Just below Rev. Maxim uses the verb παρυφίστημι to denote the emergence of the passions of dishonor, emphasizing the “antithetical”, that is, contradictory to true being, way of their appearance. About addiction Rev. For the maxim of the Areopagitik in these terms, see: Völker W. Der Einfl uss des Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagita auf Maximus Confessor // Studien zum Neuen Testament und zur Patristik. Erich Klostermann zu 90. Geburtstag dargebracht. Bonn, 1961. S. 345. The concept of “world” (εἰρήνη) played a significant role in the theological system of St. Maxim, denoting the highest state of spirit achieved in the feat of fighting passions and knowledge, which is characterized by the reconciliation of opposites inherent in the created world (see: Balthasar. Kosmische Liturgie. Das Weltbild Maximus des Bekenners. S. 352). In this place, this concept is clearly colored by the flavor that it acquired in ascetic writing. See, for example, blzh. Diadoche of Photica: “So, with everyone, but especially with the peace of mind, we must rest the Holy Spirit, so that we always have with us a shining lamp of knowledge.” Greek scholiast Bl. Diadochos asserts that “peace in the soul occurs when passions do not fight against it.” He is completely unanimous with Rev. Mark the Ascetic, who defines this world as “liberation from passions” (see: Popov K. Blessed Diadoch. P. 91). Scholium 19: “He says that active wisdom places the one who strives in it above the passions, and contemplation places the speculative above visible [things], elevating the mind to intelligible [things] akin to it.” The idea that dispassion, achieved through spiritual activity and inextricably linked with purity of heart, is the basis of contemplation and subsequent mystical union with God, was most clearly first expressed by Evagrius of Pontus, who summarized the spiritual experience of previous ascetic fathers. It runs like a leitmotif through the entire subsequent tradition of Orthodox monasticism, one of the most prominent representatives of which is St. Maxim (see: Rousseau O. Le rôle important du monachisme dans l’Église d’Orient // Il monachismo orientale. Atti del convegno di studi orientali che sul predetto tema si tenne a Roma, sotto la dibezione del Pontificio Istituto Orientale. Roma, 1958. R. 40–41). See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 44, 11 (see: PG. T. 36. Col. 620). What is meant, most likely, is the pride into which Hezekiah then fell, and the wrath of God that fell as a result of it (see: 2 Chronicles 32:24–25). This point is addressed in the next Question. The word “God” is absent in this place in the text of the Septuagint and, accordingly, in the Church Slavonic and Russian translations. In this interpretation of the name of Judas, St. Maxim follows St. Basil the Great (see: PG. T. 30. Col. 524). According to Rev. Maxim, without dispassion it is impossible to achieve true knowledge. “Just as a sparrow, tied by the leg and trying to fly, falls to the ground, drawn by a rope, so the mind, which has not yet acquired dispassion, but is trying to soar to the knowledge of heavenly [things], falls to the ground, pulled down by passions. When the mind is completely freed from passions, then it moves without looking back to the contemplation of beings, paving its way to the knowledge of the Holy Trinity" (St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on Love I, 85 // St. Maximus the Confessor. Chapters on Love. M., 2013. pp. 36–37). Wed. also from Evagrius: “Those who abuse the feeding of the flesh and turn care for it into lust (see Rom. 13:14), let them reproach themselves, and not it. And those who, through this body, acquire dispassion and strive, to one degree or another, to contemplate the things that exist, know the grace of the Creator” (Evagrius of Pontus. A Word on Spiritual Work, 53 // Works of Abba Evagrius. P. 105). As in the “Chapters on Love” (II, 67 and IV, 96), here the concepts of “forsakenness” (ἐγκατάλειψις) and “permission [of God]” (παραχώρησις or συγχώρησις) are practically synonymous. Scholia 1: “Because [God’s] righteous judgment allows the one who exalts himself [with his spiritual] work to accept the wickedness of passion, and the one who prides himself on knowledge to suffer defeat in the true contemplation of [beings].” The concept of ὅρος (lit.: limit; Eriugena translates: definitio – “definition”) is identical with St. The maxim in this case is the concept of “law”. A similar identification is found more than once in the patristic vocabulary (see: Lampe G.W.H. Patristic Greek Lexicon. R. 975). Scholium 2: “He calls [God’s] Providence, which embraces [all] beings, the institution and the law, which are Divinely present in beings. This Providence, according to [God’s] righteous Judgment, bringing up the poverty of goods, leads to the good-will of those who have shown their ingratitude towards the Organizer of this, despite the abundance of such goods. And through [the feeling of] the opposite, Providence leads them to a feeling that allows them to recognize the Giver of blessings. After all, conceit, [elevating] with [possessing] virtue and remaining ignorant, is inherent in giving birth to the disease of pride, and it in turn produces a spiritual disposition that is opposed to God.” Scholium 3: “He says that he who knows the infinity of virtue will never stop [his] march along [the path] of it, so as not to lose the beginning and end of virtue, that is, God, by locking the movement of aspiration [towards the Divine] in himself, and so as not to forget [about Him], considering himself to have achieved perfection and falling away from the truly Existent, to which every virtuous person strives.” Scholium 4: “According to him, the direct road to atheism is insensibility to the loss of virtues. For [man], who, as a result of bodily pleasures, is accustomed to disobeying God, will deny Him under every pretext, preferring the carnal life, caring only about the pleasures of the flesh and considering them better than Divine commands.” We are talking about Saul’s appeal to the sorceress of Endor (see 1 Samuel 28:7–25). According to Rev. Maxim, this meant the final fall of Saul and his transition to the side of the dark forces, for he took part in the false sacrament of sorcery τελετήν). Interpretation of this passage of Holy Scripture by Rev. Maximus differs from the interpretation of Origen, St. Eustathius of Antioch and St. Gregory of Nyssa. However, some aspects of the interpretation of the latter have similarities with the interpretation of St. Maxima. St. Gregory, for example, considers Saul a victim of the devil’s deception, the purpose of which is to turn people away from the “life-giving God” and force them to become voluntary defectors to the camp of disastrous death (see: Origenes, Eustathius von Antiochien und Gregor von Nyssa über die Hexe von Endor / Hrsg. von E. Klostermann. Bonn, 1912. S. 64–65). So in this case it seems best to translate the phrase: κατὰ τοὺς συνεκτικοὺς αὐτῶν λόγους. But another translation option is also possible: “according to their fundamental principles.” Eriugena translates: per suas continuatiuas rationes (“through his continuous rational principles”). Scholium 5: “He calls the subject (ὑποκείμενον) the mind as containing virtue and knowledge, and [located] in the mind is doing and contemplation, which are related to the mind as accidental properties. That is why they endure with those who endure, for any movement of it is for them the beginning of their own change.” This expression (τῆς θεωρίας ὁ λόγος) indicates specifically a spiritual (anagogical) interpretation. Wed. at St. Gregory of Nyssa: “He who has undergone instruction in the Divine mystery of our faith does not remain ignorant of how anagogical contemplation corresponds to history” (St. Gregory of Nyssa. On the life of Moses II, 217 // St. Gregory of Nyssa. On the life of Moses the Lawgiver, or On perfection in virtue. M., 1999. P. 80–81. Russian translation corrected from: Grégoire de Nysse. La vie de Moise / Éd. par J. Danielou // Sources chrétiennes. No. 1 ter. It is characteristic that Origen used, along with others (νοῦς, βουλή, etc.), to designate the Divine meaning of Scripture, the concept of λόγος. See M. Arles's introduction to the edition of the text of Origen's Philocalia: Origène. Philocalie, 1–20. Sur les Écritures (Sources chrétiennes. No. 302). Paris, 1983. R. 102. The mind is the subject (or subject; Greek τὸ ὑποκείμενον), and doing and contemplation are its random (accidental) properties (accidents; Greek συμβεβηκότα). Therefore, they are καθ’ ἑαυτὰς ὑποστατικῶς μὴ θεωρούμεναι (they cannot be considered as having hypostatic existence). Based on the context of the thought of Rev. Maxim, we have changed the synodal translation of 1 Cor. (which, by the way, is not entirely accurate). Here the adverb τυπικῶς (“proformative”) in combination with κατὰ τὴν ἱστορίαν (“in accordance with the historical narrative”) indicates a representative (typological) interpretation of the Old Testament (see note 5 to Question Answer 50), which was outlined in principle features of St. the Apostle Paul, laying the foundations for all subsequent Christian exegesis (see: Grant R. M. The Letter and the Spirit. L., 1957. R. 47–57; Prat F. La théologie de saint Paul. T. 1. Paris, 1913. R. 40–41). The principles of this exegesis were adopted and developed in the writings of apostolic men and apologists (see: Van Den Eynde D. Les normes de l'enseignement chrétien dans la littérature patristique des trois premiers siècles. Gembloux; Paris, 1933, pp. 21–27). They remained effective for subsequent Church Fathers. So, for example, St. Gregory the Theologian says that “what is done educationally” by members of the Old Testament Church “is restored for us in its mysterious-spiritual significance (μυστικῶς δὲ ἡμῖν ἀποκαθιστάμενα)” (see: St. Gregory the Theologian Word 41, 5 // PG. T. 36. Col. The typology also embraced the entire spiritual meaning of the Holy Scriptures, and this essential feature can be traced among representatives of both the Alexandrian and Antiochene exegetical schools. As for the second, Diodorus of Tarsus already believed that the Old Testament, as the “shadow”, “image” and “type” of the new grace-filled time, contains τυπολογία and there is a lot of allegory (ἀλληγορούμενα). Moreover, his typology, combined with θεωρία, “lives next to the firm consciousness that the narrative and words of the Bible also have direct historical meaning” (Fetisov N. Diodorus of Tarsus: Experience in a church-historical study of his life and work. Kyiv, 1915. pp. 316–317). Theodore of Mopsuestia also sought to find, in addition to the literal, a “typical” meaning, “consisting not in the words of the text of Scripture, but in things, persons and events designated through these words” (see: Guryev P. Theodore, Bishop of Mopsuestia. M., 1890. pp. 225–227). Finally, and for the darling. Theodoret, although “the law represented grace” and “was an image of the spiritual,” it did not lose its historical significance. “The old must be explained typically, in application to its implementation, but one should not forget its direct and historical meaning” (Glubokovsky N. Blessed Theodoret, Bishop of Kirre. T. 2. M., 1890. P. 43–46). Thus, for the Antiochians, “type,” although vaguely, still reflects the future truth, and therefore the literal meaning is closely related to the spiritual, “history” to “theory” (see: Devreesse R. Essai sur Théodore de Mopsueste. Citta del Vaticano, 1948. P. 89–91; Ashby G. W. The Hermeneutic Approach of Theodoret of Cyrrhus to the Old Testament // Studia Patristica. Vol. 1. 1984. R. 131–135; Kihn N. Theodor von Mopsuestia und Junilius Africanus als Exegeten. Therefore, typological exegesis among the Antiochians was not so much an interpretation of the text as such, but an interpretation of historical realities, and had a pronounced eschatological overtones: Christ fulfilled the Old Testament “types,” but this “fulfillment” will appear before us in its utmost expression only in the future (see: Greer R.A. Theodore of Mopsuestia. Exeget and Theologian. Westminster, 1961. R. 93–97; Schablin Chr. Untersuchungen zu Methode und Herkunft der antiochenische Köln, 1974. S. 167–168). In general, the Alexandrian exegesis proceeds from the same premises of the typology, which, having overcome the extremes of interpretation of Origen, in the person of St. Athanasius and Cyril reaches its mature fullness. Here the main emphasis is placed on the spiritual meaning itself, and not on isolating its subtle connections with “history”; the eschatological moment recedes into the shadows, but the Christological aspect of exegesis comes to the fore: the interpretation of Holy Scripture has as its constant goal the sacrament of Christ and outside of this sacrament it loses all meaning and significance (see: Sieben N. J. Herméneutique de l’exégèse dogmatique d’Athanase // Politique et théologie chez Athanase d’Alexandrie. Actes du Colloque de Chantilly ed. Paris, 1974. R. 195–214; Revue Théologique. 1980. T. 102. R. 400–425). But, despite certain differences and mutual polemics, both schools have a substantial unity, the basis of which is typology (see: Guillet J. Les exégètes d’Alexandrie et d’Antioche: confl it ou malentendu? // Recherches de Science Religieuse. 1947. T. 34. R. 257–302). Rev. Maximus, as already indicated, is in the tradition of Alexandrian exegesis, and one passage in the Ambigvae well shows his understanding of the relationship between the “typical” and the “spiritual.” Considering the question of how one can imitate the saints who lived before and after the Law of Moses, he says: “Each of us, if desired, can transfer into himself all the saints, spiritually transforming (πνευματικῶς μορφούμενος) himself in the image of each of them; and [we must proceed] from what is written educationally about this saint in the historical narrative γεγραμμένων)" (St. Maximus the Confessor. Ambigva to John, 33 // PG. T. 91. Col. 1149). Thus, according to Rev. Maximus, “history,” or the literal meaning of Holy Scripture, serves only as a starting point for its spiritual understanding, which is impossible without the internal transformation of man. Rev. Maximus calls the body τὸ λογικὸν ἐργαστήριον, that is, the place (or “laboratory”) where virtue is produced and developed. The concept of τὸ ἐργαστήριον was used in patristic writing in a variety of contexts. For example, St. John of Damascus calls the Most Holy Theotokos “The Workshop of our salvation” (Die Schriften des Johannes von Damaskos. Bd. V / Hrsg. von B. Kotter. Bonn; N. Y., 1985. S. 554). Rev. Macarius speaks of the “hidden workshop of the heart” or the depths of the heart, where the “workshop of truth and untruth” is located (Makarios/Symeon. Reden und Briefen. Bd. I. S. 12; Bd. II. S. 27). The expression “hidden workshop of the heart” is also found in the “Life of St. Hypatia" (see: Callinicos. Vie d’Hypatios (Sources chrétiennes. No. 177). Paris, 1971. R. 280). But Rev. Maxim most likely depends in specific word usage on St. Gregory of Nysse, who calls the ascetic life, subject to the strict rhythm of ascetic discipline, “masterful virtue” (see: St. Gregory of Nysse. On virginity 23, 1 // Grégoire de Nysse. Traité de virginité (Sources chrétiennes. No. 119). Paris, 1966. R. 522). Scholium 6: “The innate passions of the body, governed by the mind, should not be an object of disgust; however, when set in motion apart from reason, they inspire disgust. And therefore, as he says, the latter must be rejected, since their innate movement, not controlled by reason, often becomes unnatural use. The phrase: γνωστικῶς τὸ κατὰ δαιμόνων διαζωσάμενος κράτος - indicates a Christian who has already come to the measure of the stature of Christ (Eph. 4:13 ), a mature husband, that is, a speculative or Gnostic (in the church sense of the word), ready, fully armed with spiritual experience and knowledge, to wage war with demons. As repeatedly in the works of St. Maxim, here we are talking about the ideal of a “true Gnostic”, most clearly outlined for the first time by Clement of Alexandria, who himself relied on church Tradition, going back to the very origins of Christianity (see: Mortley R. Connaissance religieuse et herméneutique chez Clément d’Alexandrie. Leiden, 1973, pp. 143–146). Rev. Maxim uses military symbolism, common in patristic works. Therefore, the expression: πρὸς αὐτὸν συμπλεκόντων τὸν πόλεμον - indicates hand-to-hand combat. Scholium 7: “Saving anger is God’s permission, allowing demons to wage war on the ascended mind through passions, so that he, boasting of virtues, would suffer dishonor and know who is the Giver of these virtues, having lost what did not belong to him, which he considered his own. Translating the adverb νοητῶς (“intelligible”) in this way, we follow Eriugena (invisibiliter – “invisible”). Scholium 8: “He calls Judea and Jerusalem “doing and contemplation” in accordance with the meaning of spiritual interpretation (κατὰ τὸν ἀναγωγῆς λόγον). Scholia 9: “The Sun of Truth is the Lord Jesus Christ, God and Savior of all.” David is the “type” (type) of Christ, and the spiritual type (lit.: intelligible; Greek νοητός), that is, the “type” that is comprehended by “smart vision” during the spiritual interpretation of the Holy Scriptures. A similar juxtaposition of the Lord and David is also found in Origen, who, referring to Eze. 34:23, says that Christ “is also called David,” for it was not the patriarch David who was appointed “to shepherd the saints,” but Christ. Further, Origen speaks of the Lord as a “Stone” (see: Origène. Commentaire sur saint Jean. Vol. 1 (Sources chrétiennes. No. 120). Paris, 1966. R. 134–136). In this case, Rev. Maxim develops the idea of ​​Christians as a “third people” along with Jews and pagans, which was already clearly expressed in the works of apostolic men and apologists (see: Bardy G. La Théologie de l’Église de saint Clément de Rome à saint Irénée. Paris, 1945. R. 60–62). A little later, the same idea was developed by Clement of Alexandria, whose entire religious-historical philosophy “is entirely rooted in the idea of ​​two peoples - the Greeks and the Jews, who, educated by God, must rise to unity in a third nation” (V. Troitsky. Essays on the history of the dogma of the Church. Sergiev Posad, 1912. P. 97). This is how we translate the expression: κατὰ τὸν λόγον, following Eriugena (rationabilem). The phrase: ποιεῖται τοῦ παντὸς τὴν ἐπισκοπήν - is associated with the idea of God (or Christ) as the “Bishop of all”, which goes back to the New Testament (cf. 1 Pet. 2:25) and develops apostolic men. For example, St. Clement of Rome calls God “the Creator and Bishop (Guardian) of every spirit” (see: Die Apostolischen Väter / Hrsg. von J. A. Fischer. Darmstadt, 1981. S. 100). St. Ignatius the God-Bearer, cut off from his native Antiochian church, entrusts it to the supervision of the Lord (μόνος αὐτὴν Ἰησοῦς Χριστός ἐπισκοπήσει) (see: St. Ignatius the God-Bearer. Epistle to the Trallians, 7. Polycarpe de Smyrne. Sources Chrétiennes. No. 116). In this place, the Septuagint (cf. 1 Samuel 17:4) reads: four cubits and a span in height. Rev. Maxim, apparently, simply rounds this figure. In Church Slavonic and Russian translations: six cubits and a span. Scholium 1: “He says that the devil [is] five cubits tall because of his feelings. For without these [feelings] the unreasonable movement of his anger around the soul is not perceived [by it] and does not increase, turning into sin." Contrasting Saul and David, Rev. Maxim, in their image, contrasts the old Israel that has gone into the past with the true, spiritual, new people of God, that is, Christianity. Scholium 2: “According to him, the spear is the power of virtuous [doing], and the vessel with water is evidence (τεκμήριον; Eriugena: argumentum) of the sacrament [comprehended] according to knowledge.” It is characteristic that Rev. Maxim here speaks of τὴν χάριν τῆς γνωστικῆς θεωρίας (the gift of gnostic or knowing contemplation), emphasizing that the highest, truly spiritual knowledge is the gift and mercy of God. A comparison can be made with Evagrius: “The knowledge that comes to us from the outside tries to represent material [things] through meanings ὕλας); knowledge, which happens [to us] by the grace of God, directly presents things to the mind’s eye, and the mind, looking at them, perceives their meanings” (Evagrius of Pontius. Speculative, 3 // Évagre le Pontique. Le Gnostique (Sources chrétiennes. No. 356). Paris, 1989. P. 92). Evagrius clearly distinguishes between spiritual knowledge, which comes from the grace of God, and external knowledge. In another of his works he says: “The knowledge of God requires not a dialectical soul, but a soul possessing [spiritual] knowledge.” Therefore, this knowledge requires purity of mind and is inaccessible to “the wise men of this world” (see: Les six centuries des “Kephalaia Gnostica” d’Évagre le Pontique // Patrologia orientalis. 1958. T. XXVIII, fasc. 1. R. 174–175, 226–227). Scholium 3: “He calls this world and the letter of the Law a cave; Saul is the Jewish people, whose mind, having turned away from the Divine Light of intelligible [things], settled in the darkness of the senses and in the shadow of the letter, giving rise to corruption in the creation of God and in the Law. For the one who limits the immortal promises to the letter and the external manifestation of sensible [things] alone is like [a man] excreting from himself excrement corresponding to perishable food, and with these final [waste] making manifest the original beginning of his idea of ​​​​God. He calls the garment the allegory of the Law, and its edge is the sublimity of speculation during spiritual contemplation, which is cut off from those who perceive Scripture only in a sensual way.” Scholia 4: “For the Lord is called the Shepherd [of the verbal sheep] who are led through natural contemplation to the fold above; [He is called] the King of those who obey the spiritual law and who, through simple comprehension of the mind in indivisible knowledge, approaches the throne of God’s grace.” The scholium uses the concept μάνδρα (“corral”, “stall”, “fence”), which the Venerable himself. Maxim uses it in relation to the Church, calling it in the “Epistle to Bishop Nikander” (see: St. Maximus the Confessor. Dogmatic and polemical works, 8 // PG. Vol. 91. Col. 92) “Stronghold” and “high fence” (τόπον ὀχυρὸν καὶ μάνδραν ὑψηλὴν τὴν καθολικὴν Ἐκκλησίαν) (cf. Ps. 71:3; Ezek. 34:14). The expression: ἀμέσως κατὰ νοῦν παρισταμένων - indicates the inherent ability of contemplation of the mind. This is what distinguishes the Greek term from modern “intelligence,” which presupposes knowledge through concepts. However, it can be assumed that this direct intuition is not yet an eschatological vision face to face, for people who have acquired such intuition only reflect in themselves, as in a pure mirror (ἐσοπτριζομένων), Divine beauty. Similar thoughts are expressed by Evagrius, who also calls the mind a mirror that reflects God in itself (see: Bunge G. Das Geistgebet. Studien zum Traktat De Oratione des Evagrios Pontikos. Köln, 1987. S. 69). Scholium 5: “He calls those who inhabit Judea the ways of virtuous practice, and the meanings of knowledge, with images of contemplation, those who live in Jerusalem.” This is how we understand the expression: τῆς μακαρίας μόνης οἱ τε κατὰ πρᾶξιν τρόποι. The meaning of this phrase, difficult to understand and translate, becomes clear from the previous context. We are talking about the height (or sublimity) of the knowledge of God and the love of the saints for God (τὸ ὕψος τῆς αὐτῶν περὶ θεὸν γνώσεως καὶ ἀγάπης), which is the completion and result of their spiritual success or ascent (the concept of ἀνάβασις in the Septuagint is rendered in the Church Slavonic translation as sunrise). This ascent is carried out both through spiritual activity (practice) and through contemplation (theory), but finds its completion in hesychia, which is what St. Maxim. At this (highest) stage of spiritual success, all sensory activity associated with the ways (tropos) of implementing virtues ceases, and all mental movement carried out in the senses of knowledge calms down. The stages of spiritual progress outlined here are generally characteristic of Orthodox asceticism and usually have a three-degree sequence, clearly expressed already in the Areopagitics (purification - enlightenment - perfection). As Archimandrite Cyprian notes, these “steps are concepts of a purely spiritual-hierarchical order, and not at all clerical-canonical. There is and cannot be any visible initiation into these stages of mystical maturation, as, for example, among the mystics and hierophants of the ancient Hellenistic mysteries. It is also impossible to connect this spiritual gradualism with strictly established church hierarchical ranks and degrees of deacon, priest and bishop or monastic and schema tonsure. God does not give spirit and pour out His gifts to the extent of these differences and ranks, not at all in accordance with seniority in hierarchical production, but only to the extent of the spiritual giftedness of each person. A simple monk or layman may be more mystically gifted than the abbot of a monastery, bishop or patriarch.” But at the same time, these steps are unthinkable outside the Church and its Sacraments. “No gag, spiritual self-affirmation or opposition of one’s experience to the experience of the Church is possible. For an ascetic, everything is checked by a sense of churchliness, and the measure of churchliness is the Eucharistic life" (Cyprian (Kern), archimandrite. Spiritual ancestors of St. Gregory Palamas (experience of mystical genealogy) // Theological Thought. Paris, 1942. pp. 113–116). Scholium 6: “He calls the praiseworthy death of the mind its voluntary dying in relation to all beings, after which, by [God’s] grace, it is inherent in him to perceive the Divine life, since in an incomprehensible way he receives the Cause of these beings instead of beings.” Scholium 7: “He calls glory the boundless knowledge, not limited by any meaning [of existing things], and honor [is called] the irresistible movement of the will towards nature, corresponding to virtue.” The word φιλόκαλος (lit.: lover of the beautiful or good, lover of good) in patristic vocabulary had two main meanings: it denoted those who devoted their lives to asceticism (St. Athanasius uses this meaning in his “Life of St. Anthony” to designate “father of monasticism”), as well as those who devoted themselves to research, and in general bookworms (see: Lampe G.W.H. Patristic Greek Lexicon. R. 1473). The latter meaning is what is meant here. St. Epiphanius of Cyprus uses this word in a similar sense when, for example, he says that the district epistles of St. Alexander of Alexandria in his time was still preserved among the “philanthropists” (παρὰ φιλοκάλοις ἔτι σώζονται) (see: St. Epiphanius of Cyprus. Panarius 49, 3 // Epiphanius. Werke. Bd. III / Hrsg. von K. Holl und J. Dummer. Berlin, 1985. S. 155). St. Gregory the Theologian identifies φιλόκαλος with φιλομαθής (“lover of knowledge”). A similar word “philokalia” (φιλοκαλία) has its origins in the terminology of ancient librarians, where it meant collections of texts, anthologies; see, for example, “Philocalia” or “Philokalia” in Origen (see: Origène. Philocalie, 1–20. R. 34). Eriugena translates this expression as “one of the polishers” (politorum), meaning by such, probably, lovers of belles-lettres. Scholium 8: “He says that indelible knowledge, possessing in the mind a preconceived movement around the Divine infinity, [with its] infinity creates an image of the super-infinite glory of Truth. And voluntary imitation, according to the Providence of [God], of the all-wise Goodness brings honor, that is, the perfect likeness of the mind to God, as much as possible [for people], corresponding to the inner disposition.” The distinction between the concepts of “image” and “likeness” is quite common in patristic writing. One of the first to conduct it is St. Irenaeus of Lyons, who says: “When this spirit, united with the soul, is united with creation, then man becomes, due to the outpouring of the Spirit, spiritual and perfect, and this is [man] created in the image and likeness of God. If there is no Spirit in the soul, such a [man] is truly spiritual and, remaining carnal, will be imperfect: he has the image [of God] in creation, but does not receive the likeness through the Spirit, and therefore he is imperfect" (St. Irenaeus of Lyons. Against heresies V, 6, 1 // St. Irenaeus of Lyons. Five books against heresies. M., 1868. P. 590). Thus, for St. Irenaeus’s similarity correlates with the spiritual perfection of man, which lies in the acquisition of the Holy Spirit, and the image is a certain given inherent in man as a creation of God. Developing these thoughts, St. Basil the Great points out that we have an image thanks to creation (τῇ κτίσει ἔχομεν), and we achieve likeness by will (ἐκ προαιρέσεως κατορθοῦμεν), when it the will contained within us potentially (δυνάμει) is realized. Such a realization occurs when a person from just Homo sapiens becomes a Christian (see: St. Basil the Great. Discourse I on the creation of man in the image, 16 // Basile de Cesarée. Sur l’origine de l’homme (Sources chrétiennes. No. 160). Paris, 1970. R. 206–208). Subsequently, similar thoughts were expressed by St. John of Damascus, for whom “in the image” meant the rational and autocratic principle in man, and “in the likeness” - possible likeness to God through virtue (see: Hieromonk Panteleimon (Uspensky). Anthropology according to the works of St. John of Damascus. Sergiev Posad, 1914. P. 14). However, the distinction between image and likeness is not characteristic of all Church Fathers. Yes, St. Athanasius of Alexandria, unlike Origen, does not make this distinction (see: Kannengiesser Ch. Athanasius of Alexandria and the Foundation of Traditional Christology // Theological Studies. 1973. Vol. 34. R. 109). It is also absent from Rev. Macarius of Egypt and St. Gregory of Nyssa (see: Davids E. A. Das Bild vom Neuen Menschen. Ein Beitrag zum Verständnis des Corpus Macarianum. Salzburg; München, 1968. S. 41; Balthasar N.U. Presence et pensée. Essai sur la philosophie religieuse de Grégoire de Nysse. Paris, 1942. R. 152). Rev. In his works, Maxim more than once refers to this distinction, but in this case he uses it in a very specific aspect, correlating the image with contemplation, and the likeness with spiritual activity. Scholium 9: “According to the spiritual interpretation, he says that David is the Christ, and his tomb is a memory of the righteousness of [the Lord], incomparable with [the righteousness of] any rational nature. For the Word of God, having become Man, did not measure [His] righteousness with natural laws, but carried it out, associated with Him in a natural way, as with God, through the flesh, which was not deprived of its natural action.” In the last paragraph of this Question Answer, Rev. Maxim clearly highlights one of the essential features of patristic Christology - the uniqueness and uniqueness of the humanity of Christ, whose logos and tropos (His existence in the flesh) were incomparable with the existence of other rational beings. This uniqueness, first of all, lies in the fact that Christ is not just a man, but the God-man, that is, He does not possess a human hypostasis, but His humanity was “hypostatized” by the pre-existing Hypostasis of God the Word. Therefore, the entire humanity of Christ and His actions are sealed by this Hypostasis of the Word (see: Heinzer F. Gottes Sohn als Mensch. Die Struktur des Menscheins Christi bei Maximus Confessor. Freiburg, 1980. S. 139). However, this does not mean that the humanity of Christ was deprived of its natural action, as indicated in the previous scholium. This action is only in complete harmony with the action of the Divine nature. The uniqueness of the humanity of Christ in patristic thought is organically combined with the “catholicity” of this humanity, which allows all human individuals to be in Christ. This “catholicity” is based on the Hypostasis of the Word, that is, it has a basis in the Divine Being itself, and the Catholic Church on earth is called upon to reflect it (see: Meyendorff J. Christ’s Humanity: The Paschal Mystery // St. Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly. 1987. Vol. 31. R. 32). Rev. Maxim quotes the non-canonical Book of Ezra, which in our Bible is called “The Second Book of Ezra” (see: Explanatory Bible. T. 3. St. Petersburg, 1906. pp. 290–293). Despite its non-canonical nature, this book enjoyed great authority among the fathers and teachers of the Church from the first centuries of the existence of Christianity. Both eastern (Origen, St. Athanasius of Alexandria) and western (St. Cyprian of Carthage, Blessed Augustine) representatives of patristics turned to it, including to resolve controversial dogmatic issues and expose heretics (see: Sharapov A. The Second Book of Ezra: Historical-Critical Introduction to the Book. Sergiev Posad, 1910. P. 270–273). In the last sentence of Rev. Maxima stands δέσποτα τῶν πατέρων (“Lord of the Fathers”), exactly corresponding to the text of the Septuagint. In Church Slavonic and Russian translations: Lord, God of our fathers. This is how we understand the words of Rev. Maxima: στιχισμόν. Rev. Maxim, using the various meanings of the name “Zerubbabel,” here describes the process of spiritual advancement. It comes from the state of man after the Fall, which the monk defines by the term “confusion” (σύγχυσις) and which he in his 4th epistle (see: PG. T. 91. Col. 413) also designates as “the established evil confusion (confusion) of passions.” The first stage of this success is repentance, and the final stage is spiritual peace and peace, found in the unity of the active and contemplative principles in a person with God. The last stage of the prep. Maxim correlates with the interpretation of the name Zerubbabel as “self-rest” (αὐτὸς ἀνάπαυσις), using the concept ἀνάπαυσις, widely known in ascetic writing. It often denoted a state of spiritual perfection, and already Clement of Alexandria speaks of the “rest” of a perfect person, that is, a Gnostic (see: Clemens Alexandrinus. Protrepticus und Paedagogus. S. 110). St. Gregory of Nyssa, interpreting the Song of Songs, figuratively calls this state “midday rest”: one who is not worthy of it cannot become “the son of light and day” (see: Gregorii Nysseni in Canticum Canticorum. R. 62). For Abba Dorotheos, “rest” is the lot of the saints, and he calls on the brothers to exploits in order to be worthy of staying “in a place of blessed bliss and their rest” (Venerable Abba Dorotheos of Gaza. Soulful teachings 17, 179 // Dorothée de Gaza. Œuvres spirituelles (Sources chrétiennes. No. 92). Paris, 1963. R. 484). Finally, Rev. John Climacus closely combines the concept of “rest” with hesychia as the highest stage of monastic life, emphasizing in the spirit of the early desert fathers that the state of rest is quite rare in spiritual life and it does not save the ascetic from demonic temptations (see: Völker W. Scala Paradisi. Eine Studie zu Johannes Climacus und zugleich eine Vorstudie zu Symeon dem Neuen Theologen, 1968, pp. 288–290). Scholium 1: “The goal of active virtue is said to be good, and it is the fulfillment of the Divine action. To this fulfillment [God] leads the rational principle of the soul, which, in accordance with nature, uses the violent and desirable principles, and in it it is inherent in beauty to manifest itself “in its likeness.” And the goal of contemplative wisdom, as they say, is truth, which is the uniform and indivisible knowledge of everything that is around God. The pure mind is brought to this truth, having completely extinguished all sensory judgment. It is in such conduct that genuine dignity “in the image” is revealed.” This scholium most likely belongs to the Venerable himself. Maximus, since it manifests the specified specific feature of his distinction “in the image” (correlating with gnosis or contemplation) and “in the likeness” (correlating with doing). Expression: παντὸς ἐπέκεινα γενομένης καὶ ὄντος καὶ νοουμένου, - used by Rev. The maxim in relation to the soul that has achieved union with God goes back to the tradition of Platonism and Neoplatonism, assimilated and reworked by patristic thought. Moreover, in the course of such assimilation, the meaning of this and similar expressions changed radically. If, for example, for Plotinus God is a certain faceless Absolute, residing on the other side of all things (τὸ ἐπέκεινα πάντων), then St. Gregory the Theologian addresses Him as Personal God (ὦ πάντων ἐπέκεινα) (see: Delfgaauw V. Gregor von Nazianz: Antikes und Christliches Denken // Eranos; Jahrbuch, 1967. Bd. 36. S. 128–130). Even earlier, St. Athanasius of Alexandria defined God as “the One who exists above all essence and human thought” ἐπινοίας ὑπάρχων), emphasizing in this definition, first of all, the difference between the Creator and the creature. And as E. Meyering notes, despite the external similarity of this expression with the language of the Neoplatonists, the theology of St. Athanasia does not feed on the juices of the Platonic tradition, but relies primarily on the Holy Scriptures, theologically (and philosophically) comprehended in the previous St. Athanasius of the Christian tradition (St. Justin and Irenaeus) (see: Meijeing E. R. Orthodoxy and Platonism in Athanasius. Synthesis or Antithesis? Leiden, 1968. R. 6–7). Scholium 2: “He considers women as virtues, the accomplishment of which is love, and interprets truth as immeasurable (ἄποσον) knowledge. The law that reigns over nature, having recognized the distinctive properties of love and knowledge, rejects, like wine, the pleasure of carnal passions, and also rejects, like royal power, the infuriating, intoxicating and uncontrollable love of glory.” This scholia interprets the narrative of the speeches of the three young bodyguards in 2Ezra 3–4. It is characteristic that knowledge here is called ἄποσον - a word that in the patristic vocabulary was usually applied to God (see: Lampe G.W.H. Patristic Greek Lexicon. R. 208). Rev. Maxim uses concepts that go back to the terminology of ancient democracy (ψῆφον, προβολήν, ἐπικουροῦσαν - pebble for voting in elections). Zerubbabel appears as if he were a candidate running for election and receiving an overwhelming majority of votes. Scholium 3: “He says that the face of the contemplative mind is [its] virtuous disposition, which rises, as if to heaven, to the height of true knowledge.” Scholium 4: “A different consideration of the same thing. According to this consideration, he says, those who give themselves entirely to the pen of the [Holy] Spirit are written in heaven. For the Holy Spirit writes in heaven [only the names of those who surrender to God] of their own free will, and not under compulsion.” The theme of the Heavenly Jerusalem in connection with Hebrews 12:22–23 was developed quite often in ascetic and hagiographic writing. For example, Rev. Macarius of Egypt identifies it with paradise and exhorts: “Try to be registered in the Church in heaven along with the firstborn, so that you may find yourself at the right hand of the majesty of the Most High. Try to enter the holy city, peaceful and heavenly Jerusalem, where paradise is located" (Venerable Macarius the Great. Spiritual conversations (Collection I). Conversation 14, 7 // Die 50 geistlichen Homilien des Makarios / Hrsg. von N. Dörries, E. Klostermann, M. Kroeger. Berlin, 1964. S. 203). A similar connection between paradise and heavenly Jerusalem is observed in St. Mark of the Ascetic, but he places greater emphasis on the connection of this heavenly Jerusalem with the Sacrament of Baptism: all who have been granted the grace of Baptism and who fulfill the commandments of the Lord can achieve it (see: Markus Eremita. Asketische und dogmatische Schriften. Eingeleitet, übersetzt und mit Anmerkungen versehen von O. Hesse. Stuttgart, 1985. S. 149–152). Oh St. Martyr Nikita of Ancyra (XIII century) in his Life it is said that he “zealously directed his eyes to the heavenly Jerusalem, to the Church of the firstborn, to the true and indissoluble Fatherland” (Hagiographia inedita decem e codicibus eruit F. Halkin. (Corpus christianorum. Series Graeca, t. 21). Turnhout, 1989. R. 130). Scholium 5: “He says that one cannot truly bless God without sacrificing the body to virtues and without enlightening the soul with knowledge.” The concept of κατάστασις in ascetic writing, in particular in Evagrius and Abba Dorotheus, often denoted inner peace and peace of mind (see: Regnault L. Théologie de la vie monastique selon Barsanuphe et Dorothée // Théologie de la vie monastique. Études sur la tradition patristique. Paris, 1961. R. 322). Rev. Maxim strengthens this meaning with the corresponding adjectives (τῆς ἀπήμονος καὶ εἰρηνικῆς καταστάσεως). Scholium 6: “According to him, victory is the end of the Divine exploits of the active principle of the soul, and this end is unalloyed good. And wisdom is the end of the mysterious visions of the knowing principle of the soul, and this end is the simple truth. The mind, cleared of sensory ideas, leads the mind to them, also subjugating the vital principle of the soul. The combination of them, that is, victory and wisdom or goodness and truth, reveals one glory “in the likeness”, shining in those in whom it is born.” Implied: representing victory and wisdom. About people as “instruments” or “instruments” of God’s grace, see note. 5 to Question Answer 37. In this case, Rev. Maxim emphasizes the importance of a person’s internal disposition, which depends on his free will (τῆς θελούσης τὰ καλὰ διαθέσεως). It is precisely this disposition and his inner feat that make a person a sensitive “instrument” in the hands of God, producing beautiful sounds. Therefore, Rev. Nikita Stifat in “The Life of St. Simeon the New Theologian” says about his spiritual mentor that he was “an instrument on the strings of which the Spirit mysteriously struck from above” (ὄργανον τοῦ πνεύματος μυστικῶς κρουόμενον ἄνωθεν), also calling it “the polyphonic instrument of the Spirit” (see: Un grand mystique byzantin. Vie de Syméon le Nouveau Théologien (949–1022) par Nicétas Stéthatos / Éd. par I. Hausherr // Orientalia Christiana. 1928. Vol. XII. No. 45. R. 50: 128). The concept of αὐτοσοφία in patristic vocabulary was used both in relation to God the Father and in relation to the Son (see: Lampe G. W.H. Patristic Greek Lexicon. R. 272). It was used in the first meaning before Rev. Maximus, for example, St. Gregory of Nyssa, who, changing the words of St. Apostle Paul (see 1 Cor. 1:30), says that God is Self-Wisdom, Sanctification, Truth, Joy, Peace and the like (see: St. Gregory of Nysse. On virginity 17, 2 // Grégoire de Nysse. Traité de la virginité. R. 456–458). These statements by Rev. Maximus can be seen as a development of the thought expressed by St. by the Apostle Paul in one phrase: What do you have that you did not receive? (1 Cor. 4:7). Rev. Maxim shifts the center of gravity of this thought to the aspect that receiving spiritual benefits from God depends on a person’s spiritual nobility, love, devotion and gratitude to God (this is how one can also convey the concepts he uses εὐγνωμοσύνη and εὔνοια). And the more a person gives himself to God and people, the more he himself receives. Scholium 7: “He says that spiritual fathers, desiring through teaching to become fathers of [their spiritual] children who want this, raise them according to God in word and life. And spiritual children, desiring voluntarily through training to become the chosen children of their own chosen fathers, are consciously raised by the word and life according to the God of these fathers. For the grace of the Spirit brings about the conscious and voluntary birth of those who give birth and those who are born according to it. Fathers according to the flesh do not possess this, [often] being involuntary fathers of involuntary sons. For the birth of those who naturally give birth and those who are born is a matter of nature, and not of the will.” Here at Rev. Maxim, as in the above scholia, we are talking about spirituality - the most essential and inseparable feature of the existence of every genuine Christian. The cradle and main carrier of this most important phenomenon in the history of the Church was primarily monasticism, although its foundations were laid already in the early Christian community - by the first apostles and disciples of the Lord, whose successors in this regard were the Desert Fathers (see: Lilienfeld F. Anthropos Pneumatikos - Pater Pneumatophoros: Neues Testament und Apophtegmata Patrum // Studia Patristica. 1962. Vol. V, pt. 3. R. 382–392). In the works of early ascetic writing, the theme of the spiritual father and spiritual son and the question of their relationship are constantly brought to the fore. Yes, Rev. Macarius points out that monastic life begins with the fact that the novice monk, leaving his carnal parents and everything earthly, entrusts his soul to his voluntarily chosen spiritual father, an experienced ascetic. Disobedience to the latter is considered as sacrilege, for the disobedient spiritual child thereby sins against God, taking away from Him what is given to Him, since he fell at the feet of the confessor with the words: “Take my soul and bring it to God” (see: Macarii Anecdota. Seven Unpublished Homilies of Macarius / Ed. by C. G. L. Marriot. Cambridge, 1918. R. 32–33). A student of both Macarii (Egyptian and Alexandrian), Evagrius of Pontus, who went through a severe school of asceticism with them and only after that became an “abba,” repeatedly turns in his writings to the topic of spirituality, emphasizing that only a true ascetic who has acquired the charisms of the Holy Spirit (primarily the gifts of prayer and discernment of spirits) can become a true Gnostic, that is, the spiritual leader of others (see: Bunge G. Geistliche Vaterschaft. Christliche Gnosis bei Evagrios Pontikos, 1988. S. 19–44). The essence of clergy was briefly formulated by St. Basil the Great in his advice to ascetics to “give birth to children spiritually” (see: Ponomarev P. Dogmatic foundations of asceticism according to the works of eastern ascetic writers of the 4th century. Kazan, 1899. P. 182). This statement by Ven. is also found in this tradition of ancient monasticism. Maxim, who, considering Zerubbabel as a prototype of a Christian ascetic, emphasizes that spiritual fatherhood and sonship far exceed the carnal relationship between son and father. A similar idea was also widespread in patristic writings (especially hagiographic and ascetic ones). So, for example, St. Theodore the Studite called only his spiritual father, St. Plato, and Photina called the carnal parent (ὁ γεννήσας) his mother’s husband (see: Hausherr I. Direction spirituelle en Orient autrefois. Roma, 1955. R. 19). However, such a high position of clergy required both the confessor (elder) and the child great spiritual achievement. The confessor had to have great holiness, be spirit-bearing and have various spiritual gifts, and his child was obliged to completely renounce his own will and acquire the valuable gift of obedience (see: Smirnov S. Spiritual father in the ancient Eastern Church (History of spirituality in the East). Part 1. Sergiev Posad, 1986. pp. 38–75). Liberation of the ancient Jews from captivity by the Babylonian venerable. Maxim interprets it as deliverance from the slavery of passions. It is characteristic that in relation to the latter he uses the concept ἀλλοίωσις (“change”), which the Church Fathers often used to designate created being. It is in this meaning that it is used, for example, by St. Gregory of Nyssa, pointing out that if uncreated nature is not susceptible to any movement, transformation and change, then everything created is akin to change (συγγενῶς πρὸς τὴν ἀλλοίωσιν ἔχει) (see: St. Gregory of Nysse. Great catechetical word, 6 // Grégoire de Nysse. Discours catéchetique / Éd. par L. Meridier. Paris, 1908. R. 38). Scholium 8: “The dual here denotes matter and species: their combination leads to the emergence of the body, and their dissolution is inherent in its corruption. Therefore, beings consisting of matter and species naturally have in their end a certain opposite to the beginning, since corruption is the destruction of birth. And two forces [of the soul] protect birth and corruption: desire and violent [force] - the first, by the force of its attraction, forces becoming to turn into being, and the second militantly reflects the dissolution that occurs from corruption. The intercessors of these forces are crafty demons who offer the law of nature: some, in accordance with the desired principle of the soul, a frenzy that leads away from [things] Divine (the symbol of this frenzy is wine), and others - the tyranny of violent power over material [things] (the image of this tyranny is the kingdom); at the same time, the demons want [the law of nature] to give its voice in favor of a passionate life, corresponding to the named [forces of the soul]. The unit designates the soul, simple in [its] essence, which is an image of the Tri-hypostatic Unit, supernatural in essence. And the mind of this soul, being its only protector, shows to the law of nature faith in God, [symbolized by] truth, and love for Him, [personified by] women, persuading the law to cast its vote in favor of their power.” In this case, as in a number of others, Rev. Maxim, there is an echo of the well-known arrhythmological (i.e., associated with the philosophy or mysticism of numbers) ideas about the “monad” and “dyad”, which originated in ancient Pythagoreanism, and then developed in neo-Pythagoreanism, late Platonism and Neoplatonism. A systematic exposition of this doctrine of numbers in general and the doctrine of one and two in particular was found in the treatise “Theologumen of Arithmetic” (or “Arithmetic Theology”) (see: Losev A.F. History of Ancient Aesthetics. Recent Centuries. Book 1. M., 1988. pp. 218–222). The philosophical problem of “The One and the Many” was partly inherited by early Christian thinkers, but it, as can be seen in the example of Clement of Alexandria, was not so relevant for them, since it was relatively easily solved by the experience of faith, and not by rational thinking, which led even outstanding ancient philosophers to a dead end (see: Osborn E.F. The Philosophy of Clement of Alexandria. Cambridge, 1957. R. 17–37). So, I think, it is better to translate the phrase: ὁμοῦ κατὰ περιγραφήν. Here we are talking about shameful and negative intoxication with passions. However, it should be noted that already in ancient culture and Hellenistic Judaism (Philo of Alexandria) the theme of “spiritual, or Divine, intoxication” (θεία μέθη), comparable with mystical ecstasy and spiritual joy, emerged. It found continuation and new understanding in patristics, starting with Origen, Eusebius of Caesarea and St. Gregory of Nyssa. This theme sounds most clearly in the works of St. Symeon the New Theologian, who considers such “spiritual intoxication” and mystical joy a gift of the Holy Spirit, which transforms the whole person (see: Archeveque Basile (Krivocheine). La thème de l’ivresse spirituelle dans la mystique de saint Syméon le Nouveau Théologien // Bulletin of the Russian Western European Exarchate. 1960. No. 35. P. 14–18). Among the many pages dedicated to the works of St. Maxim on the theme of love (“agape”), these lines are among the most striking. According to the description of S.L. Epifanovich, for the monk, divine love is a consequence of dispassion and knowledge: thanks to them, “the fertile flame of divine love kindles, which, growing gradually and capturing all the powers of the soul in one aspiration towards God, finally reaches the highest mystical states of ecstatic “eros”. The soul, renounced from the world and embraced by this love, attaches itself to God and puts nothing above Him and only loves His creations in Him. As the highest virtue, love embraces all the virtues leading to it, is their animating principle and the life-giving force of a person’s entire moral life” (Epifanovich S.L. St. Maximus the Confessor and Byzantine theology. pp. 103–104). Among the Fathers of the Church, the predecessors of St. Maximus, we can mention St. Ignatius the God-Bearer, for whom the concept ἀγάπη and the verb ἀγαπάω are among the most beloved and most frequently encountered (see: Liebaert J. Les enseignements moraux des pères apostoligues. Gembloux, 1970. R. 58). The theme of love for God also occupies a large place in the works of St. Macarius of Egypt, who, like St. Maxim uses the analogy of the love of a man and a woman (see: Popov I.V. Mystical justification of asceticism in the works of St. Macarius of Egypt. Sergiev Posad, 1905. pp. 67–72). This theme reaches its greatest strength and expressiveness in the works of Rev. Simeon the New Theologian (see: Archbishop Vasily (Krivoshein). Rev. Simeon the New Theologian. pp. 323–343). Indicative in this regard is one place in his “Hymns”, where he speaks of his love for God: “Therefore I am wounded by love for Him, and until I see Him, I melt inside, and, burning in mind and heart, I go here and there with sighs, and, scorched, I search here and there, nowhere finding the Beloved of my soul, and often I look around in the hope that I will not see my Desired" (Divine hymns of St. Simeon the New Theologian. Sergiev Posad, 1917. pp. 47–48). Scholium 9: “He says that, due to the absence of plurality, it primarily belongs to Truth to appear as One and Only; She covers with Her the cognitive abilities of all who can think or be comprehended by thought, since in Her existence she is subsisting, surpassing both thinking and conceivable [entities]; with infinite power She describes the edges of beings, their beginning and end, and draws to Herself every movement of all of them: imparting to some clear knowledge, the grace of which is strengthened by Her, to others, according to the ineffable feeling, which has a striving for goodness, clear and obvious knowledge by participation.” This is how it seems best to translate the phrase in a particular case: γενικῷ τινι λόγῳ. This universal (or generic) law can probably be considered inseparable from the Logos - the Word of God. Scholia 10: “He understands the people in Babylon allegorically as thoughts captured in the slavery of passions; Darius - as a natural law; Zerubbabel - as a knowing mind; Judaism - as a virtue; Jerusalem - as a skill in dispassion; the church is like knowledge containing wisdom, and the exodus from Babylon to Judea is like a transition from the physical to the spiritual through repentance of thought.” Spiritual warfare is understood here by Rev. Maxim as a dispute between a knowing and spiritually wise mind and demons. It is characteristic that Evagrius of Pontus wrote a work (preserved only in the Syriac translation) called “Antirrhetic,” i.e., “Objector” or “Disproverger” (Ἀντιῤῥητικός). The main part of his eight books consists of excerpts from the Holy Scriptures, which a monk must read when the thought of any of the eight major sins arises (gluttony, love of money, etc.). These passages of Holy Scripture are powerful counterarguments that completely refute all thoughts inspired by demons (see: Quasten J. Patrology. Vol. III. The Golden Age of Greek Patristic Literature. Utrecht; Аntwerp, 1975. R. 171–172). Scholium 11: “According to him, the reason for the distribution of Divine blessings is the measure of everyone’s faith, for as we believe, so we achieve success in the zeal of [good] doing. Therefore, the one who does [good deeds] in proportion to the work reveals the measure of [his] faith, perceiving the measure of grace in the same way as he believes. And the one who does not create [them], in proportion to his inaction, reveals the extent of [his] unbelief, depriving himself of grace in the same way that he does not believe. Therefore, the envious person acts badly when he denigrates the [spiritually] successful, since in him, and not in another, is invested [the ability] to choose faith, [good] deeds and the perception of grace in proportion to [his] faith.” You can compare these thoughts of Rev. Maxim with one passage from the “Great Epistle” by Rev. Macarius of Egypt, which says: “For the Divine Intercessor Spirit [ours], given to the apostles, and through them placed in the service of the only true Church of God, from the moment of Baptism, in proportion to faith, in many different ways comes to the aid of everyone who with pure faith approaches Baptism” (Venerable Macarius the Great. Great Epistle II, 3 // Makarios/Symeon. Epistola Magna. S. 92). The idea of proportionality (κατὰ τὴν ἀναλογίαν) of the grace-filled gifts of the Spirit to the faith of every Christian, traced in both Church Fathers, is closely connected with the idea of deification and reveals an essential aspect of Orthodoxy as a religion of personal spiritual experience (see: Meyendorff J. The Byzantine Legacy in the Orthodox Church. N. Y., 1982. R. 160–162). The idea that the Lord is “new” (νέος), organically flowing from the idea of ​​the New Testament, is found already in the first monuments of Christian writing. For example, in the “Epistle to Diognetus” it is said about God the Word: “It (the Word), which was from the beginning, appeared new (καινός); being found ancient, it is always born new (νέος) in the hearts of the saints” (Epistle to Diognete, 11 // A Diognete. R. 80). As above (see note 4 to this Question and Answer), Rev. Maxim uses the term σύγχυσις, which in this case does not have a connotation of a specific Christological meaning (“confusion” of natures in Christ). This meaning, used by the Monophysites, was rejected by St. Maxim, as well as all the Orthodox Fathers of the Church. Scholium 12: “The given image completely coincides with the truth. After all, just as Zerubbabel was not a captive, but was only born of the captives [Jews], who then fell into Babylonian slavery, and then became their deliverer, so the Lord, being sinless, was considered from us and in us as one of us, voluntarily donning the passionate principle of our nature. Therefore, having truly endured [all] our natural weakness, He freed us from corruptive dominion and raised us from earth to heaven. By the power of His Incarnation, [the Lord], through ineffable unity, immaculately took into Himself all [our] nature, and by the calling of grace [delivered] only those who accepted this calling with great joy and reverently honored the grace of rebirth with [their] deeds.” The theme of Christ, the Deliverer of people from captivity of passions and death, is heard quite often in Christian writing. For example, in modern rev. Maximus, a monument entitled “The Teaching of James,” written by a converted Jew, says: “For Christ disarmed (Greek ἐσκύλευσεν; lit.: removed the armor from the slain enemy) death and hell and freed the captives from the hands of the devil” (La Didascalie de Jacob / Éd. par F. Nau // Patrologia orientalis. 1983. T. VIII, fasc. 5. No. 40. R. 37). Since the time of Philo of Alexandria, the concept of love for mankind (φιλανθρωπία) has become a very common term to designate one of the properties of God and was accepted as such by the Fathers of the Church. But for them, this love of God for mankind finds its highest expression in the Incarnation of the Word, which is the apogee of the Divine Economy for us. This idea runs like a red thread through all the patristic works, and already at the end of Byzantine patristics it was expressed with utmost clarity by St. Nikolai Kavasila, largely based on the writings of St. Maxima (see: Völker W. Die Sakramentmystik des Nikolaus Kabasilas. Wiesbaden, 1977. S. 26–44). Scholia 13: “The flesh of sin is the flesh that has received birth from the seed of a man. Indeed, as a result of this, it has sin in the possibility and corruption in nature: the first - as the beginning, and the second - as the end of its own existence. And in the likeness of the flesh of sin there is the flesh of the Lord, formed without the male seed: it has corruption by nature, thanks to which He was like us, but by nature it is sinless even in possibility, thanks to which He was not like us. In this case, we are replacing the Synodal translation (sin offering) with a more accurate one. In the “Explanatory Bible” the expression περὶ ἁμαρτίας is translated as “for the sake of sin” and, with reference to Ekumenia, it is said: “This expression generally indicates the reason for which the sending of the Son of God took place” (Explanatory Bible. Vol. 10. St. Petersburg, 1912. P. 465). St. Theophan the Recluse, interpreting the Church Slavonic translation (about sin, condemn sin in the flesh), also indicates primarily the cause of sin, although he notes possible nuances of the translation, which, however, do not conflict with the main meaning. In addition, he notes: the Lord “showed that sin was sin by revealing sinless flesh. Due to sinfulness everywhere, they could think that sin is inevitable - the flesh is so constructed that it is impossible not to sin; therefore sin is sinless. The Lord, having revealed sinless flesh, showed that sin is not from the nature of the flesh, but from evil will and therefore sinful, is subject to judgment and condemnation” (Creations like those of our holy father Theophan the Recluse. Interpretation of the Epistles of the Apostle Paul. Epistle to the Romans. M., 1996. P. 457–458). In the ancient Church, the prophecy in Is. 53 was usually viewed as a typological image of the Incarnation, death and Resurrection of Christ and was correlated with the “kenosis” in Phil. 2 (see: Breck J. The Relevance of Nicene Christology // St. Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly. 1987. Vol. 31. R. 46-47). In a close Christological and soteriological context, this passage of the Old Testament is also used by the anonymous author of an anti-Jewish treatise of the 9th–10th centuries, who also indicates that the Lord endured all this in order to free everyone from the deserved, long and terrible condemnation to hell and death (see: Anonymi auctoris Theognosiae (saec. IX/X) Dissertatio contra iudaeos. Cuius editionem principem curavit M. Hostens. (Corpus Christianorum. Series Graeca. Vol. 14; Leuven, 1986. P. 125). The first of the Church Fathers to designate Christ as the “rising” was St. Justin the Philosopher, who correlated this name (see Zech. 6:12) with the star seen by the wise men at the Nativity of Christ (see: Grillmeier A. Christ in Christian Tradition. Vol. 1. L.; Oxford, 1975. R. 66–67). Scholium 14: “He says that after pure and highest theology, the second is the doctrine of the Incarnation [of the Word]. For the sublime teaching of the first has as its subject the essence [of God], and the second embraces the highest action [of God] according to Providence, therefore in the spiritual sense it is called “the east, which is lower.” After all, the doctrine of the Divine Incarnation covers the existence of centuries and that which is in the centuries, as well as the life of beings that extends by grace into infinity, which exceeds [all] centuries.” The scholiast here distinguishes the area of ​​theology proper and oikonomia, based on the difference between the essence and energy of God. This distinction was common in Byzantine theology and dates back to the 3rd–4th centuries. (see: Lossky V. In the Image and Likeness of God. L.; Oxford, 1974. R. 14–15). The image of the wings of God was often used in a variety of contexts by the Fathers of the Church and Eastern Christian writers, symbolizing the “powers of the Providence of God” (Eusebius of Caesarea), the “directing (or: supervising; Greek: ἐπισκοπικήν) power of God” (St. Athanasius of Alexandria), etc. (See: Lampe G.W.H. Patristic Greek Lexicon. R. 1204). Scholia 15: “He who loves [spiritual] goods is voluntarily led, according to [God’s] Providence, by the meanings of Wisdom to the grace of deification. And the one who does not love them is involuntarily removed, according to the righteous Court, by methods of [harsh] education from vice. The first, as a lover of God, is deified by Providence, and the second, as a lover of matter (φίλυλος), is not allowed by the Court to take the path leading to [eternal] condemnation.” The idea of ​​the “true Israel” was quite clearly formulated from the very first steps of Christian writing, primarily in polemics with Judaism. Among other things, she relied on the thesis about the primacy of Christianity in relation to Judaism, according to which the religion of Christ goes back to the very sources of the Revelation of God, to the forefather Abraham. The period between him and Christ, which included the historical existence of Old Testament Israel, was sometimes presented as a period of deviation and even apostasy from God (see: Simon M. Verus Israel. Étude sur les relations entre chrétiens et juifs dans l’Empire Romain (135–425). Paris, 1948, pp. 105–111). Expression: λογικοῦ ναοῦ – Rev. Maxim emphasizes the idea of ​​believers (and in general of all people) as “churches of God,” which is widespread in the patristic works. For example, St. Ignatius the God-Bearer says about the Lord: “Let us do everything as if He dwells in us, so that we are His churches, and He is our God in us” (Ignace d’Antioche. Polycarpe de Smyrne.