Mystic Treatises
Mystic Treatises
Isaac of Nineveh
d. c. AD 700
These are the eighty-two treatises of Isaac of Nineveh in the translation of A. J. Wensinck (1923), made from the Syriac text of Paul Bedjan. They deal with prayer, silence, humility, tears, the fear of God, the struggle against the passions, and the mercy of God. Wensinck’s notes are left out as far as possible, and the numbers in the margin of the Syriac edition remain in the text.
Chapter I
Six Treatises on the Behaviour of Excellence The fear of God is the foundation of excellence; for excellence is said to be the offspring of faith. It is sown in a man's heart, when he allows his mind to confine the wandering impulses to continual meditation on the order of things to come, away from the distractions of the world. As to the foundation of z excellence, the first among its peculiar elements is the concentration of the self, by freeing it from practical things, upon the enlightened word of the straight and holy ways, the word that by the inspired Psalmist is called the teacher. There is scarcely to be found a man who is able to bear honours, or possibly such an one exists not; because man is very prone to err, even if he be an angel in his way. The foundation of the way of life consists in accustoming the mind to the words of God and the practice of patience. For the draught provided by the former is helpful towards acquiring perfection in the latter; and, further, increased development towards accomplish:nent in the latter, will cause a heightened desire of the former. And the help provided by both of them will quickly bring about the rise of the whole building. No one is able to come near to God save only he who is far from the world. For I do not call separation the departure from the body, but from the bodily things. Excellence consists therein that a man in his mind be a void as regards the world. As long as the senses are occupied with [outward] things, it is not possible for the heart to rest from
2 imagining them. Nor do the affections cease, nor evil thoughts end except in the desert and the wilderness. 'While the soul has not yet become drunk by the faith in God, in that it has received an impression of its powers, the weakness of the senses cannot be healed and it is not able to tread down with force visible matter which is a screen before what is within and not perceived [by the senses]. 3 Reason is the cause of freedom 1) and the fruit of both liability to err. Without the first, the second cannot be. And where the second fails, there is the third bound as it were with halters. When grace is abundant in man, then the fear of death is despised on account of the love of righteousness. He finds many arguments in his soul [proving] that it is becoming to bear troubles for the sake of the fear of God. And those things which are supposed to injure the body, and to repel nature injustly, which consequently are of a nature to cause suffering, are reckoned in his eye as nothing in comparison with what is expected to be. And his mind convinces him firmly of the fact that it is not possible to recognize truth without gaining experience of the affections, and that God bestows great care upon man, and that he is not abandoned to chance. Especially those who are trained in praying unto Him and who bear suffering for His sake, see [these truths] clearly [as if painted] in colours.
But when little faith takes root in our heart, then all these things are felt as contrary, not as serving for testing us. And that we are not always successful in trusting in God, and that God does not care for thee as it is supposed, is often insinuated by those who lay ambushes and shoot their arrows in the darkness. The foundation of man's true life, is the fear of God. And this does not consent to dwell in the soul as long as there 4 exists the distraction of [outward] things. For the heart, by the service of the senses, is turned away from the delight in God. The inward impulses are bound up in their sensible faculty with the senses administering to them. The doubt of the heart introduces fear into the soul. But faith is able to make manly the mind, even under the cutting off of the limbs. As long as the love of the body is strong in thee, thou art not able to be courageous and without fear
3 because of the many adversaries that are constantly present in the neighbourhood of him who is loved. If any one is fond of honour, he cannot be without causes of distress. There is no man, whose mind suffers not likewise a change with things, in whatever respect it may be. If there is a second apperception of the senses, which generates and gives birth to desire, as Euagrius says, then those who dwell in doubt must keep silence, promising to preserve their mind in peace. Not that one is chaste from whom evil impulses that intended to combat him, are withheld, but he whose uprightness of heart renders chaste the gaze of his mind, so that he does not audaciously enter upon lascivious thoughts; and the saintliness of his heart is testified by the gaze of his pupils, which are guarded faithfully, so that bashfulness screens, like a curtain, the hidden place of his thoughts. So that his purity 1), like that of a chaste virgin, is faithfully guarded for Christ. There is nothing so apt to banish lascivious customs from the soul, and to restrain inciting memories which quicken the wild flames in the body, as burning for the love of teachings, and prosecuting investigations concerning the meaning of the s words of the scriptures. When the impulses are immersed in delight, after [having tasted] the wisdom contained in the [divine] words, by means of the faculty that absorbs information from them, then every man will leave the body behind him.
Forgetting the world and all that is in it, he will also banish from his soul all recollections on which are based the images of the material world. And often the soul in its thoughts during ecstasy will desist from the use of the wonted deliberations - natural practice -by reason of the novel [experiences] which reach it from the sea of their mysteries. Even when the mind is floating on its upper waters, without being able to make its impulses deep as the d e pth of the waters (so that it can see all the treasures in its abysses) -still meditation, by its [power of] love, will have sufficient force to bind the thoughts firmly together with thoughts of ecstasy so that they are checked from thinking of and running after 4 the nature of the body. As one of those, who are clad with God says: " Because the heart is weak, it is not able to bear the evil influences that reach it from without, nor the struggle within. For you know, that the evil thoughts of the body are strong. And if the heart is not accustomed to teachings, it is not possible to bear the troubled thoughts of the body. As the heaviness of the weight [impedes] the quick swaying too and fro of the tongue of the balance in the wild winds, so bashfulness and fear [impede] the aberration of the mind. And that which IS an indication of deficiency in the former, is also a [sign] of the dominion of freedom 1) in the latter. 6 Just as in that case any additional decrease is the cause of the scales swaying too and fro with greater ease, having no solid foundation, so in this case, by the abolition of fear from the soul on account of freedom, the balance of the mind is able to turn aside quickly. So the faculty of emotion comes in the consequence of freedom; and inconstancy of the mind is the consequence of the faculty of aberration z). Be wise enough to lay a foundation for thy course in the way of God; in a few days it will bring thee before the gate of the Kingdom, without windings in the way 3).
Do not in the way of those who are educated by teachers look at the words which in the way of test, are intended to elevate thy behaviour, in order that thy soul may be elevated by the height of sight that is in them. Distinguish the purport of the word in all the stories thou findest in the scriptures; so thou wilt be able to make thy soul deep so that it may dwell with the great wisdom that is in the writings of enlightened men. Those who, by grace, are directed in their behaviour towards illumination, perceive constantly as it were an intelligible ray running between the words [of the scriptures]. This ray distinguishes for the mind the simple speech from those things that are said in spiritual loftiness in order to expand the soul. He who simply reads lofty words, his heart will also remain simple and devoid of the holy power, that imparts to the heart a sweet taste by the meanings that stupefy the soul. 7 All things are accustomed to move towards that which is
5 akin [to them]. And the soul that possesses something of the spirit, on hearing anything wherein a spiritual force is hidden, fervently embraces that which it hears; and yet a tale that is told spiritually and wherein a great force is hidden, is not able to arouse every one unto admiration. A word concerning excellence requires a heart free from the earth and earthly occupations. If a man's mind is beset with care for transitory things, tales concerning excellence will not incite his thought to the desiring of its possession. Solution from matter precedes the bonds in God 1). And though, as if by Providence of Grace, in some people the latter precede the former, so that love covers love, in the usual order of Providence the common sequence is otherwise. So thou hast to keep the common order. If Grace in thee comes first, it is for its own sake. If it does not, then, along the way that every man goes by tradition, ascend the spiritual tower. Everything which is mentally performed and the commandment of which is. fulfilled thus also, is entirely invisible to the eyes of the flesh; whereas every thing which is performed in practice, is wholly of a composite nature. For it is only one commandment that necessitates these two, viz. theory and performance. Because corporeity and non-corporeity and the adap-8 tation of the two belong to all.
Therefore the enlightened intellect - as has been ordered formerly by the blessed Moses - understands in a twofold way the commandment [lying at the bottom of theory and practice]: the simple as well as the complex is understood. Works performed carefully by the pure, do not remove the impression of the recollection of previous reprehensible things; but they abolish in the mind the painful nature of recollection, so that what has passed through the mind often enough, now becomes something excellent. The longing of the soul for the acquiring of excellence vanquishes the desire of its partner 2) for visible things. 6 All things have their mean. Lacking that, even those things the use of which is apt to help, may turn aside and become harmful without meeting any obstacle. If thou wishest to have mental communion with God, by acquiring the impression of that delight that is not subject to the senses, then cling to mercy. For the holy beauty is formed by that element within thee, which resembles mercy 1). And all the practices of mercy bring the soul, immediately, into communion with the unique splendour of the divine glory 2). Spiritual unification is a perpetual recollection, that is vivid in the heart without variation, with burning love. By constancy 9 in clinging to the commandments, it acquires the force to remain in union; and there is found, in a way neither secondary nor natural, matter for spiritual vision, in which the soul may confide absolutely. So a man is drawn towards ecstasy by the closing of the two classes of senses: those of the flesh and those of the soul. There is no other way towards spiritual love which is modeller of invisible images, than to begin in the first place with mercy in accordance with the word of our Lord who commands it to those who obey him, in connection with the perfection of the Father, the foundation. Very different is the word of practice from words of beauty.
Even without experience wisdom knows how to adorn its words and to speak the truth even without having any acquaintance with it, and to express itself concerning excellence without any experience of [practical] performance. A word proceeding from practice, is a treasure to confi d e in. But idle wisdom is a pawn causing shame; it is as when an artist paints water on walls, without being able to quench his thirst by it; or as a man who dreams beautiful dreams. He who from practical experience speaks about excellence, brings the word to his hearers as it were from the capital won by his own commerce; and, as from the stock of his soul, sows his teachings in the ears of his audience. He opens his mouth freely before his spiritual sons, in the manner of old Jacob before chaste Joseph, [saying]: I have given thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow 3).
So every man whose behaviour is stained, will love temporal life; so will also he who falls short of knowledge. Some one has well said: The fear of death distresses a fleshly man. But he who has a good witness in himself, will desire it as life. Do not reckon as a truly wise man that one whose mind is subject to fear on account of temporal life. All good and evil things which befall the body have all of them, to be reckoned by thee as dreams, which thou canst escape from not only by death, but which often leave thee even before death and disappear. If thy soul is bound to some of them, then estimate them as thy possession for ever, accompanying thee also in the world to be. If they are beautiful, then rejoice and thank God in thy mind. If they are evil, then be sorry an d sigh an d seek to be delivered from them while being in the body. If any good is done to thee, open or concealed, then be sure that thy mediators concerning it have been baptism and faith, by which thou wert called in Jesus Christ unto good works; to whom and to the Father and to the Holy Ghost belong praise, honour and adoration, now and always and for ever and ever. Amen.
Chapter II
11 Gratefulness on the part of the recipient spurs on the giver to bestow gifts larger than before. He who embezzles petty things is also false and fraudulent concerning things of importance. The sick one who is acquainted with his sickness is easily to be cured; and he who confesses his pain is near to health. Many are the pains of the hard heart; and when the sick one resists the physician, his torments will be augmented. There is no sin which cannot be pardoned except that one which lacks repentance, and there is no gift which is not augmented save that which remains without acknowledgement. For the portion of the fool is small in his eyes. Think constantly of those who are superior to thee in excellence, so thou mayest see thyself at all times as being less than they are. And be aware at all times of the heavy troubles of those whose vexations are difficult and serious, so that thou mayest become grateful for the small ones found with thyself and thou mayest be able to bear them with joy.
8 When thou art in a state of subjection and languid and dejected, and thou art bound and fettered before thy foe in mournful wretchedness and laborious service of sin, then recall to thy mind the previous times of firmness: how thou shewest painstaking even concerning small things and how thou wert moved with zeal against the obstructors in thy course: how 12 thou utteredst sighs on account of the small things which ·were despised by thee as accidental and thy whole person was winding a wreath of victory over these things. Then, by these and similar recollections, thy soul will be aroused as from the depth, and be clad with the flame of zeal; and it will rise from its immersion as if from the dead, and stretch itself and return to its former state, in hot strife against Satan and sin. Recollect the fall of the strong, that thou mayest remain humble under thy virtues. And think of the heavy sins of those who fell and repented; and of the praise and honour they received afterwards, so that thou mayest acquire courage during thy repentance. Be a persecutor of thy self; then thy foe will be driven away from thee. Be on peaceful terms with thy soul; then heaven and earth will be on peaceful terms with thee. Be zealous to enter the treasury within thee; then thou wilt see that which is in heaven. For the former and the latter are one, and entering thou wilt see both.
The ladder unto the Kingdom is hidden within thee and within thy soul. Dive into thyself [freed] from sin; there thou wilt find steps along which thou canst ascend. What the things of the world-to-be are, the scriptures do not explain. H ow we may acquire the faculty to perceive their delight even now, without change of nature or local transition, they teach us plainly. Though they call these things by beloved names of glorious things which are delightful and esteemed by us, in order to spur us on, still by saying that the eye has not seen, nor •3 the ear heard 1) and soon, they show us that the things-to-be are not equal to any of the present things, by their being incomprehensible. They have to be reckoned by us as giving us even now spiritual delight, not the enjoyment of those things in themselves, such as are found outside the being of the
9 receivers and promised us for the future state. Otherwise " The Kingdom of God is within you" 1) and " Thy Kingdom come" z) would teach us that we possess within us a pledge of the delight which is in those things. For it is necessary that there be a resemblance between these and the pledge, partial for the present though it be, yet to be complete in the future. Again the word " as through a glass' ' 3) shows us the comparability anyhow, even if they are not one in essence. If now, according to the trustworthy testimonies of the commentators of the scriptures, this is due to an intelligible influence of the Holy Ghost, and is a part of that total one, then - apart from the spiritual influence that by intelligible apprehension forms a communication between the Holy Ghost and those who are influenced - the delight of the saints in the world is not occasioned by any sensible mediator, be it senses or sense-organs, save only the wombs which contain all in defined order, which we may call the profusion of light, though not the intelligible profusion. A friend of excellence is not he, who zealously practices beautiful things, but who gladly accepts the evil things adhering to him. Patiently to bear troubles for the sake of excellence, is not so great as this that through the determination of the good will, the mind be not confused by the allurements of exciting things.
For repentance which comes after the taking away of freedom, ' 4 never can be a source of joy nor can it be reckoned as a redemption of those who rue. Protect the sinner without doing him wrong. But strengthen his courage for life; then the mercy of the Lord will bear thee "). Support with thy word the weak and the distressed in spirit whenever thou canst; then the hand that bears the universe will support thee. Participate with those who are suffering in heart, in passionate prayer and mourning of the heart; then before thy demand a fountain of grace will be opened. Be strenuous in prayer at all time before God, with a heart full of chaste deliberations mingled with passion; then He will preserve thy mind from impure thoughts, so that the way of God be not disordered in thee. Occupy thy gaze with constant 10 intercourse with intelligent recitation [of the scriptures], lest, on account of idleness, the sight of foreign things defile thy look. Do not tempt thy mind, for the sake of examination, by consideration of impure seductive thoughts, thinking that thou shalt not be vanquished. Even wise men have been perturbed in this place and deviated. Do not take fire in thy bosom, as hath been said 1). \Without severe bodily trouble, it is hard for the untrained youth to be bound under the yoke of saintliness. The sign of the beginning of darkness of mind manifests itself in the soul by dejection, in the first place with regard to service and prayer. For it is not possible that the way in thy soul towards error should be ·opened if thou hast not fallen in rs this point first. Then, being bereft of God's help - which [else] affords a way unto Him - thou wilt easily fall into the hands of the foes. And further, being without care for the matters of excellence, thou wilt be carried towards the contrary things in every manner. Departing, from any side, is the beginning [of approaching] to the opposite one. Let the service of excellence be firm in thy soul; meditate on it and soon. Show thy weakness before God at all times, lest strangers come to examine thy strength while thou art separated from thy helper. The service of the cross is a double one. And this is in accordance with its twofold nature which is divided into two parts:
patience in face of bodily troubles, which is accomplished through the instrumentality of the anger of the soul 2); this is called 8) practice. And: the subtle intellectual service, in intercourse with God, constant prayer and soon, which is performed with the desiring part 2) and called theory. The one purifies the affectable part 2) by the strength of zeal; the other clears the intellectual part 2) by the influence of the love of the soul, which is the natural appetite. Every one, who, before being trained in the former part, passes to the latter, on account of the pleasures it affords, desiringly 4) - or rather negligently - causes [God's] anger to 1 6 blow against him because, before having mortified his members 11 on the earth 1), i. e. before healing the illness of his deliberations by endurance under the labours and the shame of the cross, he has dared to occupy his mind with the glory of the cross. This is what has been said by the ancient saints: If the mind desires to ascend the cross before the senses have become silent on account of weakness, the anger of God will strike it. By the fact of the ascension of the cross causing anger he does not point to the first part, namely, the bearing of troubles patiently (which is the crucifying of the body) but to the theoretical ascension which is the second part, and which is [truly] subsequent to the healing of the soul.
For he who hastens to meditate with his heart vain imaginations concerning future things, while his mind is still stained by reprehensible passions, will be reduced to silence on his way by punishment, because, before having purified his mind by means of the trials met in subduing the carnal desires, on account of what he has heard and read merely, he has hastened headlong to tread a path full of darkness, being blind - a way which exposes to danger day and night even those whose sight is sound and full of light, and who possess Grace as their guide, while their eyes are full of tears, and with prayer and weeping they convert night into day, on account of the danger of the course and the hard rocks they meet, and the phantoms of sham truth that are frequently found on the way among those who pretend to be true. For divine things present themselves spontaneously, without thy perceiving them, if the place of the heart' be pure and undefiled. •7 If the small pupil of thy soul has not been purified, do not venture to look at the globe of the sun, lest thou be bereft even of the usual sight, which is simple faith and humbleness and confession of the heart and light service in accordance with thy power "), and thou be cast into one of the intelligible places, which is the darkness without God, like him who ventured to go to the meal in sordid habits 3).
but with the impulses of gnosis - what the term world means, how many different meanings the word conveys. Then thou wilt be able thyself to know, in how far thou art distant from or connected with the world. If a man know not first what the world is, he cannot understand with how many limbs he is bound to or far from it. There are many who think themselves wholly devoid of the world in their behaviour because on two or three points they refrain from it. [This is] because they have not understood nor perceived with discernment that they are dead to the world in one or two limbs, while others are living in the body of the O�EJ oVr(IJ net/ Erl {.J.iJ... Aov r�v &;;..�GEtav oVx 'iu·nv ldE7Y U.u9EvE7 xal.iduvirt;J T8 dtaYOfCf. Basilius must also have been acquainted with it; in the collection of sentences by Antonius and l\Iaximus it occurs on his name in this form: eldivtu O ef; E!J..oruv a xpl1 J..aJ<.{iv xal £: XPl1 uu,.nrfiv. oU y.Xp?r.fvra P11r«. ri1; yJ..iHnng TO:: roil 9Eoil, l'vv.: {./..� 6 voii� J<tdi?rEp Oq;9aJ..t.tO� OJ..o v rOv fiJ.. toY 9b.fAJv ii7fo(3J..brEtv &:7roJ..io:� 0 ixEt Cf;W;. But we can even go back to Plotinus (Enneades I, 6 § g): f:Xv dE '1';1 � &a-Oev�� &vav'Opff(-, oV E7rl r�v 6/av J.."ftdiJv xczKfat� xal o� XEKa1xprdvo� duvtf(.LEVO� rX 7r&vv J..t�p.7rpX (3J..i?rEtY, oUd£v (3J..{?rEt, K£v «.J..J..o� dEtKvrJ� 7rxpWv TO 6px1j:jvxt duvi.f.UVOV. cr TO rXp OpWii 7rp0�,.a Opc:;fi.EYOv a-uyyevE� Kxi Ot.Lotov 7rOt}1 it.LEYOY dei E7rt(3.:iJ..J.. EtY T� SEer-. 0� y:Xp £y 7r;;7r0TE EidE'I o:p�aJ..t.LO� l,fJ..tov 4J..JOEtd�� f.L� YEYEV'I'ff.Livo� olf�E TO xxJ..011 {;ty '!dot o/ux� f.L� KXA� (EVO(.Liv'l'f. rEvia-8UJ d� 1rpWrov OeoEJd�� 1ri� xxi x:xAO� 1r2i� el {.LiAAEt Se&.a-a.a-Sxt Sdv rE xxl xa.A6v. Probably, however, Isaac did not borrow the sentence from any of these three authorities, but from the works of Dionysius, where it occurs (Ecc!esiastica Hitrarclda, p. 7 5) in this form: x:d fJ.Ot f.L 'I'f'OEi� &riJ..ea-ro; E7rl r�v Six:; lirUJ x:d yXp oUdE T:li; 4AtoreUwrot; aUya7; Ev &rrGevirrt x6pat� &vrw7rEiv &x!\.iduvol' oUdE Toi; V7r£p 4t..c.CC:; Eyxetpeiv &{3Aa{3i�.
13 world. Therefore they even cannot perceive their affections and because they do not perceive them they are not anxious to be cured from them. The world is said by speculative examination to be the extension of a common name unto distinct affections. If we wish to call the affections by a common name we call them world; if we mention the affections separately, we call them by their separate names. The affections are p a rts of the usual current of the world. Where they have ceased, there the world 's current has ceased. They are: love of riches; gathering of possessions; fatness of the body giving rise to the tendency towards carnal desire; love of honour which is the source of envy; exercising government; 1 9 pride and haughtiness of magistracy; folly; glory among men, which is the cause of choler, bodily fear. \V here their current has been dammed, there the world, after their example, has to some extent ceased to be maintained and to exist. In the same way as some of the saints, who though being alive, yet are dead; for they are alive bodily, but they do not live carnally. See in which of those thou art alive; then thou shalt know in how many parts thou art living to the world and in how many thou art dead. \When thou hast learned what the world is, thou wilt be instructed in these distinctions and also concerning thy being bound to the world or thy being free from it. In short:
the world is bodily behaviour and carnal thoughts. For the overcoming of the world is also to be recognised in these two: viz. from the change of behaviour an d from the alteration of the impulses. From the impulses of thy mind to the things towards which its impulses go astray, thou canst understand the measure of thy behaviour: viz. to which things thy nature turns without labour; which are the constant inclinations and which are those set into motion fortuitously; whether the mind is the agent for the apprehension of incorporeal impulses only, or whether it works wholly through matter; whether this materiality is an affected state, or whether the impulses are but the stamps of the mind's service to the body, so that the mind, not of its own will, is hallucinating concerning those faculties by which it performs virtues and from which, in a sound state, it derives zo its motive for fervour and concentration of thought, so that the mind can act corporeally, even with the loftiest aim, be-
14 cause of its lack of experience, even though it be in no affected state; and whether the mind is not distressed by the unseen touch of the stamps of the imaginations, in view of its excessive radiance in God, which is wont to cut off vain recollections. The short descriptions of this chapter are sufficient for a man's illumination if he be quiet and intelligent; and they outweigh many books. Bodily fear is strong in man, so strong that it often withholds him from praiseworthy and honourable things. But when it is face to face with psychic fear it is absorbed by it as coldness by the force of a flame.
Chapter III
The soul whose nature is not greatly solicitous for the gathering of possessions, does not require great diligence in order to find within itself impulses of wisdom unto God. For freedom from connection with the world will naturally set in motion flashes of intuition from which it can exalt itself unto God and remain in ecstasy. When the waters from without do not enter the fountain of the soul, its natural waters will arise, viz. the wonderful intuitions which are moving towards God at all time. 21 As often as the soul is found not to be in this state, it has either found a starting point in foreign recollections, or the senses have caused it to be troubled by the touch of [outward] things, when the senses are fenced in by solitude without a break and recollections have grown dim by its helpful influence - then thou wilt see what the nature of the deliberations of the soul, and what the nature of the soul is, and what treasures are collected in it. These treasures are incorporeal intuitions which arise from the soul without care or labour being spent on them. Nay, a man does not even know that such deliberations could arise in human nature, nor does he know who was his teacher, or how he has found that which he cannot describe to his companion, or who has been his guide towards that which he has not learned from another 1).
I) T he passage reminds in a remarkable w a y of Plotinus' description of t he spontaneous character of the illumination. Zeller, Phi!. d. Griechen', III, z, p. 672 describes it thus: ohne Vermittlung und Vorbereitung, durch eine pliitzliche Erleuchtung geht es in der Seele auf, sie kann nicht sagen woher es kommt, ob von innen oder von aussen, ja es kommt streng genommen, gar nicht, sondern es ist unmittelbar da. 15 This is the nature of the soul. So the affections are additions, entering the soul on account of [certain] causes. But naturally the soul is not affectable 1). When thou find{'st psychic or corporeal affections here or there in the scriptures, such things are said concerning those · causes. But the soul naturally has no affections. But the philosophers who are without do not believe this; neither do those who are their followers. But we believe that God has not made His image affectable. With His image I do 22 not mean the body but the soul which is invisible 1). Every image is a copy in which the prototype is depicted. A n d a visible image cannot be the copy of something invisible. So we believe that the affections of the soul are not natural as they say. If any one likes to dispute concerning this point we will ask him: What is natural to the soul? To be without affections, full of light, or moved by the affections and dark? Now if the nature of the soul is to be clear and a receptacle of the blessed light, it will be found in this condition when it returns unto its original state. But when it is moved by the affections, all the members of the church confess it to have abandoned its nature. Consequently the affections are later accessions to the nature of the soul. And it is not at all becoming to think the affections to be psychic.
If the soul be moved by them, nevertheless it is clear that it is moved by something outside it, not by what is its own. And if these [affections] are thought to be natural, because the soul is moved by them through the intermediary cause of the body, then hunger, thirst and sleep would also be natural to the soul because it is affected and brought to rest by them along with the body. And this would also be true for the amputation of limbs, fever, pains, illnesses and soon, by which the body is affected be-. cause of its connection with the soul and the soul because of its connection with the body, being affected with joy because of bodily experiences, and receiving distress, along with the torments of the body. W h at is n at u r a l to t he s o u l; w h at is e x t e r n a l to an d w h at is a b o v e it s n at u r e 2). 23 Natural to the soul is the understanding of all created things,
I) Cf. Introduction. 2) This terminology occurs in Stoic writings. Cf. Zellcr, Fln'lo.rop!tic der Griecht�l\ 111, I, p. 264. 16 sensible and intelligible. Above its nature its being moved by divine contemplation; external to its nature its being excited emotionally by the affections. Also the light of the world, the victorious Basilius, says thus: when the soul is in its natural order, it is found above; ·when it has abandoned its nature, it is found beneath and on the earth. There are no affections above, where also the place of the soul is said to be. But when its nature abandons its order, it becomes affectable. Where then are the affections of the soul, now that it appears that they do not belong to its nature? It is clear that the soul is moved by the reprehensible affections which are in the body, as also it is moved by hunger and thirst on account of the body. But because there are no laws concerning these, the soul is not reprehensible on account of them. Just as, sometimes, a man is ordered by God to do those things which are blameworthy and he receives, instead of blame and reprehension, good reward, as Hosea the prophet who contracted an unlawful marriage and as Elijah who committed slaughter in his zeal for God and as those, who on Moses' order, stabbed with swords their kindred. But it is said that, apart from what belongs to the nature of the body, the soul has also that which belongs to its nature, viz. anger and choler; and these are its passions. S e c on d q u e s t i on.
We ask: when the desire of the soul is kindled to a flame by divine things, does this belong to its 2 4 nature, or rather when it is set upon earthly and bodily things? And when it is said that the nature of the soul is on fire for the sake of those things which excite its zeal, is then this passion natural when it goes hand in hand with bodily desire, envy, glory and soon, or when it goes in the direction opposite to them? We shall answer the disputed question and we too shall enquire into it. The holy writ says many things allegorica]ly 1); and often it uses metaphorical 2) terms. Many times it applies to the soul that which belongs to the body and to the body that which belongs to the soul without distinguishing between the two, for the sake of succinctness. Now the intelligent understand what they read, viz. the aim of scripture. In the things related to the divinity of our Lord for instance, in a high and elevated
17 way, applies to His humanity, that which does not suit human nature and to His divinity what does not suit it. And many who do not understand the aim of the language of scripture have stumbled here so that they never could rise again. - So it is also with the things which concern soul and body. If excellence is the natural health of the soul, the affections however ailments accustomed to oppress it and to bereave it of its health, it is clear that health is prior in nature to accidental illnesses. And if this be so (as it is indeed true) then excellence necessarily must be natural to the soul and the accidental external to its nature. For it is not possible that what is prior should not be natural. z s T h i r d q u e s t i on. The affections of the body are they naturally inherent in it or of a secundary nature? And those which affect the soul, by the intermediary of the body, are they secondary or natural? To call those of the body not natural, is impossible. As to the soul - because it is known and universally confessed that purity belongs to. its nature - no one will venture in view of this fact to maintain that it is primarily affectable; for it is generally conceded that ailment is secondary to health and it is not possible that one and the same things should be a good and an evil nature.
One of the two, in any case, must be the prior of the other; and that which is the older one, is also the natural. Whatever is accidental, cannot be said to be natural and essential; but it is an irruption from without. And all accident and obtrusion is connected, whenever it be, with variation and change. Nature, however, does not change or vary. All 1) existing affections are given to be a help to each of the natures to which they naturally belong and for the growth of which they were given by God. The bodily affections are placed by God in the body for the sake of profit and growth of the body; and the psychic affections, i. e. the psychic powers, for the sake of the growth and profit of the soul. And when the body is compelled to desist from its affectable nature, by withdrawing from the affections, and to follow the nature of the soul, it is injured. And when the soul leaves its own nature and follows that of the body, it is injured. Because, according to the word of the Apostle, the spirit desires that which harms
18 26 the body and the body desires that which harms the spirit 1). And these two are naturally opposites to one another. There· fore no one shall abuse God because He has implanted in our nature affections and sins. For, when He set in order each nature, He implanted in it that which gives it growth. But if one connects itself with the other, it is no longer in its own domain, but in a foreign one. If these affections naturally belonged to the soul, why then should the soul be injured when using them? For that which is the property of nature, does not injure it. And how is it, that the accomplishment of the bodily affections is profitable and helpful to the body, whereas those of the soul injure the soul, if they belong to it? And why should, if this be true, excellence torment the body, but be beneficial unto the soul? Thou seest how what is external to their nature injures every one of these natures. For every one of these natures exults when it is near to what is its own. If thou art desirous to know what are the properties of every one of these natures, thou must observe that its properties are those things by the use of which it profits. And if it is tormented by [the use of] any of these things, then know that it is influenced by what is not its property. \We conclude:
If it is known, that the affections of every one of these natures are each other's opposites, then, consequently, all that gives profit and rest to the body when used by the soul has not to be reckoned as belonging to the soul. Because what is natural to the soul is fatal to the body, except those things which are connected with the soul in some secondary way. Because of the weak-27 ness of the flesh the soul can absolutely not be freed from them, as long as it is clad with t he flesh. For its nature is connected with the troubles of the flesh because of the union of its impulses with the carnal senses, with which they are interwoven by the inscrutable wisdom. And, though intermingled in. this way, nevertheless impulses are distinguished from impulses, and will from will, viz. the carnal from the spiritual one. And nature is not at all composite nor does it disavow what is its property. And though man renders the impulses in a high degree equal to each other, by sin or by excellence, at certain times every on e exerts its will and shows its power.
19 But when bodily thoughts have to some extent been lifted up, then their impulses manifest themselves wholly in the spiritual sphere, swimming in the heart of heaven with incomprehensible things. But even then the body cannot remain without some memory of what its own is, even as, when the impulses are in the domain of sin, the beautiful emotions of the soul are not brought to silence in the mind. W h at is p u r it y of m in d? Not that one who does not know evil things, is pure of mind - that were to be a brute. Nor do we call pure of mind those whom nature has placed in the age of boyhood; that were to postulate that man should not belong to the class of created beings. But purity of mind consists in being captivated by divine things, [a state] that is only reached when many virtues have been practised. We do not venture to say that he that has reached it, has acquired it without the experience of contrary deliberations. Else he would not be clad with a body. For we do not think 2s that before the world-to-be nature can be purged from contrary [inclinations]. The temptation of the deliberations is not, in my opinion this, that one surrenders to them, but the beginning of the struggle within the deliberations which begins in the mind on account of the four kinds of bases which are the root of movement to all kinds of affections.
So that in this life there is not found anyone exalted above earthly recollections, even if he belong to the masters of the battle and, like Paul, be reputed perfect. But while the body by means of its impulses, in accordance with the order of nature, and the world by its natures through the intermediation of the senses, and the soul by deliberations, recollections and powers of deviation, and the demons by the co-operating forces of the things mentioned - while 1) the power of these fourfold affections is experienced by him 2), he will be troubled to a small degree only 3) and be drawn towards the excellent things which are seen by intuition. Decide thou, whether it is possible that one of these four be annihilated before the annihilation of the world, or by the transition that takes places at death; or whether the body can elevate itself wholly above its needs, without nature's urging it to seek any
20 of the worldly things. If now this is deemed absurd, so long as these [four powers] exist, it is necessary that also the affections move themselves in all beings clad with a body, and consequently caution must be practised by every one. By the affections I do not understand one or two, but all the different ones which [occur in] those clad with flesh. But if a man should 29 venture [to say that he experiences only] weak impulses and harmless strife, we would say that, whoever such people may be, they do not require works but great watchfulness. W h at is t he d i ff e r e n c e be t w e e n p u r it y of m in d 1) an d p u r it y of he a r t. Purity of mind is something other than purity of heart, just as there is a difference between one of the members of the whole body and the whole body. The mind is one of the senses of the soul. The heart is the central organ 2) of the inward senses; this means the sense of senses, because it is the root 3). A n d if the root is holy, so also are all the branches. But this is not so if it is holy in one of the branches only.
Now with but little acquaintance with the scriptures and a little exercise in fasting and solitude, the mind forgets its former occupation and is cleansed, while it refrains from foreign habits. But is also easily defiled. The heart is purified through great trouble and by being deprived of all association with the world, together with a complete mortification in every point. And when it has been purified, its purity is not defiled by the touch of insignificant [worldly] things; this means: it has no fear even before severe struggles. For it possesses a sound stomach that easily digests all sorts of food which are difficult for others who are sick in their interior. F or the physicians say: A l l meat which is difficult of digestion, increases the forces of the sound body, because it is taken up by a strong stomach. In the same way every 30 purification that is brought about easily, in a short time and by small labours, is easily defiled again. But the purity that is acquired through great troubles and after a long time by the highest part of the soul, is not endangered by insignificant touches of the [worldly] things. Quiet senses give birth to peace in the soul, because they do not allow it to experience strife. But since the soul has no
21 sensation of a n y thing, it is a victory without struggle. But when it becomes negligent, it is not able to remain steadfast, and when it strives to ged rid of apprehension after the latter has got accession, the soul destroys its previous properties, viz. serenity and natural perfection. For the majority of men, and possibly the whole world, leave their first state on account of this cause 1). Only one out of many returns to his first place when he has once adopted the second habit. Much better is simplicity than the different kinds of forgiveness. Human nature needs fear in order to guard against the borders of the commandments being crossed, [it needs] love to excite the desire of good things, for the sake of which man hastens to perform beautiful things. Spiritual knowledge is posterior to the performance of excellence. Prior to both are love and fear. And fear is prior to love. Every one who ventures to acquire the latter things before the former, undoubtedly lays a perishable foundation in his soul. For they are placed by God in such an order, that these proceed from those. Do not interchange the love of thy neighbour with the love of [worldly] things, for that which is precious above all things, is hidden in it. 3x A material object which is a mark for the eyes of the flesh, is also of such a nature as to affect the hidden visual powers;
and the affections which cloud the second natural contemplation, acts in the same manner for the natural steadfastness. They are related to one another in the same way, up to where ceases the current of all kinds of contemplation. When the mind 2) is in a state of natural steadfastness, it is in angelic contemplation, which is the first and natural contemplation which is also named naked mind. \When the mind is in the second state of natural knowledge, it sucks and is sustained by the milk from the corporeal breasts; this state is called the last garment of the afore-mentioned state; it is placed after [the state of] purity, which the mind enters first. It is prior in being, for it is the first stage of knowledge, although posterior in honour. On this account, therefore, it is also called the second one, as also on account of the indications of some of t he tokens by which the mind is purified and trained for the ascent to a second order, which is the perfection of the intel-
I) ·Negligence. z) �om 22 lectual impulses, and the stage which is near divine contemplation 1). The last garment of the mind are the senses. Its state of nakedness is its being moved by kinds of non-material contemplation. Leave the small things in order to find the honoured ones. Be dead in life, then thou wilt not live in death. Let thyself die in integrity, but not live in guiltiness Not only those who s u ffer death for the sake of the faith in Christ are martyrs, but also those who die for the sake of keeping his commandments. 32 Be not inept in thy petitions, lest thou grieve God by thy ignorance. Learn to pray with prudence, that thou mayest be esteemed worthy of glorious things. Seek well-esteemed things from Him, who does not withhold; then thou wilt receive honour from Him, because of the choice of thy wise will. Solomon sought wisdom and he received, apart from it, the earthly kingdom, because he knew how to ask wisely viz. great things from the King. Elisha sought one or two parts of the spirit that was upon his master and his request was not withheld from him. The honour of the King is lessened by him who seeks con temptible things. Israel sought despicable things; it gained the anger of God. It neglected to wonder at the workings and terrible effects of His deeds and it sought the desires of its belly. And while their food was still in their mouth, the anger of God reached them. Present thy requests unto God in accordance with His glorious being, in order that thy honour be great in His eyes and He rejoice in thee. When a man seeks from a king a measure full of dung he will not only be despised on account of his despicable request,
23 exposing thus his ignorance, but he also insults the king by his insipid demand: such also is he who in prayer asks cor poreal things from God. Lo, the angels and the archangels which are the chiefs of the angels look at thee in the time of prayer, [in order to know] which prayer thou wilt present unto their Lord. And they wonder at thee when they see the corporeal one leaving his dunghill and asking heavenly things. 33 Do not seek from God that which He is anxious to give us even if we do not beg for it, which He withholds not from his housemates and not even from those who are wholly foreign to the knowledge of Him, nay who do not even know that He is. Use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do 1). What is this " as the heathen''? The corporeal things are sought by the peoples of the earth; but give ye no thought saying what shall we eat, or what shall we drink or wherewithal! shall we be clothed? For your Father knoweth that ye also have need of all these things 2). A son does not ask bread from his father, but makes supplication concerning the great portions in store for him in the house of his father. That which our Lord has commanded concerning daily bread, namely that we pray for it, is a petition which he handed down to the common people, because of the weakness of their minds.
Regard that which he commands to those who are perfect in knowledge and sound of soul, viz.: ye shall not take thought of food or raiment. If your Father bestows care upon the fowls that have no soul, how much more upon you. But ask from God the Kingdom and righteousness, then he will add these things too. If He is slow in granting thy request, when thou askest without receiving promptly, then be not distressed. For thou art not wiser than God. \When thou remainest as thou art 3), [it is] either because thy behaviour does not agree with thy request; or because the ways of thy heart diverge from the aim of thy prayer; or because thy inner state is childish in comparison with the greatness of the thing. It is not becoming that great things should fall into our 3 4 hands easily: lest the gift of God should be thought to be
mean because of its being acquired without difficulty. 1) M atthew 6, 7 · z) �bt t he w G, 3 1 sq. 3) T he pr;:tyer no t L e in g hc:u J. 24 All that is acquired with labour, is guarded with caution. Thirst after Jesus; then he will satisfy thee with his love. Shut thy eyes to the precious things of the world; then thou wilt be deemed worthy of a peace given by God to reign in thy heart. Restrain thyself from the allurements that are shining for the eyes; then thou wilt be deemed worthy of spiritual joy. If thy behaviour is not worthy of God, do not ask from Him praised things, lest thou appear as a man who tries God. Prayer accords strictly with behaviour. No man desires heavenly things as long as he is bound with ties [impeding] his will, on account of the body. And no man asks divine things while he is occupied with earthly things. The desire of every man is known from his works; and that which he cares for, he will be anxious to seek in prayer. And he will be zealous in showing by his outward deeds that which he asks for in his prayer. He who desires great things, has no intercourse with mean ones. Be free even while thou art bound in the body and show submission in thy freedom for the sake of Christ; and be wise in thy innocence, lest thou be beguiled. Love humility in thy dealings, that thou mayest be freed from the imperceivable snares which are continually to be found by the side of the paths on which the humble walk.
Do not reject the troubles, by means of which thou art led towards knowledge. Do not fear temptations by means of which thou wilt find precious things. 35 Pray that thou mayest not be led into temptations of the soul. To those of the body thou shalt prepare thyself with all thy force and with all thy limbs thou shalt swim in them. For without them it is impossible for thee to approach unto God. For beyond them lies divine rest. Who flees from temptations, flees from excellence; not from the temptations of desires, but from [those of] troubles. How does the sentence "pray, that ye enter not into temptation" 1) concord with " strive to enter in at the strait gate" 2) and " fear not them which kill the body" 3) and " he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it"? 4) I) Matthew 26 1 4 1. 2) Luke I 3 1 24. 3) Matthew 101 28. 4) Matthew I D, 39.
25 In all these places our Lord recommends to us temptations; but in that he orders us to pray that we enter not into temptation. What kind of excellence can be accomplished without temptations? Or what kind of temptation is stronger than the which he orders us to undergo for His sake? And " he that taketh not his cross and followeth after me, is not worthy of me" 1). " Pray that ye enter not into temptation", but entering into temptations occurs everywhere in his teachings. And he has said: without temptations the Kingdom of heaven is not found. 0 how strait is the way of thy teachings, our Lord! A n d he who does not discriminate with knowledge, as he reads, will always remain without it, as far as his insight is concerned. When the sons of Zebedee and their mother desired of him to sit with him in the Kingdom, he postulated this: Are ye able to suffer gladly the cup of temptations? Are ye able to 36 drink of the cup that I shall drink of and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with 2)? And how orderest Thou here, 0 our Lord: pray that ye enter not? \V h i c h a r e t he t e m p t at i on s in to w h i c h w e s h a l l p r a y no t to e n t e r.
Pray that thou enterest not into temptation concerning thy belief. Pray that thou enterest not into temptation through mental presumtion, with the demon of abuse and haughtiness. Pray that thou enterest not, under [God's] admission, into the manifest temptations of the senses, which Satan is able to instill unto thee with God's permission, on account of the foolish thoughts thou hast cherished. Pray that the witness of chastity be not taken away from thee lest thou be tempted in the flames of sin without him. Pray that thou enterest not into the temptation of abusing anything. Pray therefore, that thou enterest not into psychic temptations, namely those which lead the soul into struggle, doubt and allurements. But prepare for the bodily ones with thy whole body and swim in them with all thy limbs, thy eyes full of tears, that thou be found amidst of them with thy guardian. For without temptations God's care cannot be perceived and familiarity of speech with Him cannot be acquired and
And further: pray that thou enterest not into temptations for the sake of thy self-exaltation, but for the sake of thy love of God, that His power may be conspicuous in thee. Pray that thou enterest not into such on account of the folly of thy thoughts and deeds, but in order that thou provest to be a friend of God and His power be glorified in thy endurance. O n t he m e r c y of o u r L or d in t h is m at t e r, w h o m easures his word r n accorda n ce with h u m an w e a k n e s s. Further he deals [with us] in this matter compassionately. If thou considerest bodily things [it appears that God], also in this point has remembered the weakness of nature; it was possible that, on account of the wretchedness of the body, we should not find fortitude against the power of the temptations whenever it should present itself, and consequently we should even leave [the path of] truth, being overcome by troubles. Therefore he orders us that, as much as possible, we should avoid entering wilfully into temptation. And not only this, but [he even says]: Pray that you be not found in it without just cause, if it be- possible to please God without temptation.
But if very great excellence is desired, when temptations assail and that most terribly, and if that excellence cannot be accomplished without a man's bearing them, in that case it is not becoming to spare ourselves or anyone. Even on account of fear thou shalt not shrink from that great thing upon which the life of thy soul depends, putting forward as an apology 3s for thy laxness: Pray that ye enter not into temptation. For such are those, concerning whom it is said that they sin secretly by [fulfilling] the commandments. If one of the divine commandments comes to be dissociated from a man, be it the state of chastity, or the habit of holiness, or the confession of faith, or the testimony concerning the word 27 of God, or the cautiously · guarding of the other prescriptions of the Law -- it is impossible that he should not fall if he be afraid of temptations. Therefore he has to despise the body with complete confidence, and to entrust God with its soul and to proceed in the name of the Lord. And He that was with Joseph in the land of Egypt and who was the witness of his chastity, and who was with Daniel in the pit of lions, and with Hananja and his companions in the furnace, and with Jeremia in the pit of mire and who saved him and made him an object of compassion in the midst of the camp of the Chaldaeans; who was with Peter in the prison and brought him out of it through shut g-ates; and with Paul in the synagogues of the Jews; in short, He who in all generations was with His servants always and everywhere and showed in them His power and made them victorious and guarded them miraculously so that they saw His salvation manifestly at the time of their troubles, He will strengthen and guard him in the midst of the storms which surround him.
Therefore he shall arm himself against the invisible foe and his hosts with the zeal of the Maccabees and of the other holy prophets, apostles, martyrs, confessors and recluses who have maintained the divine laws and the spiritual commandments in frightful places and 3 9 among difficult and fearful temptations and who have thrown the world and the body behind them and clung to the truth in them without giving way to the constraint pressing both body and soul and endured as heroes; in short, whose names are written in the book of life until the coming of our Lord. A n d their deeds are preserved in the book by God's decree for our instruction and encouragement according to the testimony of the blessed Apostle, so that we may get insight from them and learn the way of God, placing their stories before our mental eyes as living images, that we may resemble them and conform the ways of our behaviour unto theirs, after the pattern of the Ancients. To the soul endowed with mind the words of God are delightful as oily food which makes fat the body, to the palate of those who are healthy. The stories of the just are as desirable to the ear of the perfect, as a constant watering to young plantations. Listening to God 's providential leading of the Ancients be estimated by thee as precious drugs for weak eyes. A n d let
28 the recollection of it be kept with thee at all times of the day. Meditate and think of it and learn wisdom from it, that thou be able to receive in thy soul with honour the recollection of God's greatness and find for thyself everlasting life in Jesus Christ, the mediator of God and mankind, who was one in his two natures. Though the legions of the angels are not able to look upon the glory surrounding His majestic throne, yet for thy sake He has appeared before the world the most contemptible and humble of man; without form or comeliness; 40 and while His invisible nature was not within the reach of the apprehension of created beings, He accomplished His providential dealings by [covering Himself] with a veil [made of the stuff] of our limbs, in order to save the life of all. This is he through whom He has purified many peoples 1) and on whom the Lord has laid the sin of us all 2), as Jesaja says. It pleased the Lord to humble him and to put him to grief 3). Sin has been placed in him who knew no sin 4). To whom, for his providential dealings in all generations for our sake, be glory and praise and thanksgiving and adoration from all, now and at all time and for ever and ever. Amen.