On Prayer

and gradually withdrawing from men, and everything at once is sought after. 195 Whence also they seem to have a certain consanguinity through these things toward God; and since God knows all things, and nothing of the intellectual order is hidden from Him—for only God the Father and His only-begotten Son, and the Holy Spirit hold not only the knowledge of those things which He created, but also of Himself—yet a rational mind, progressing from small to greater things and from visible to invisible, can attain to a more perfect understanding. For it is placed in the body, and from these very sensible things which are corporeal, it progresses toward the intellectual. But lest it seem to anyone that it is said indecently that intellectual things are invisible, we shall use the example of the sentence of Solomon who says: "Thou shalt find also a divine sense" (Prov. 11:5). In which he shows that it is not by a corporeal sense, but by another certain sense which he calls "divine," that those things which are intellectual are to be sought. But by this sense we must also look into those individual things which we mentioned above regarding rational beings, and by this sense those things which we speak are to be heard, and those things which we write are to be considered. For the divine nature knows even those things which we revolve silently within ourselves. But regarding those things which we have spoken, or the rest which are consequent, one must understand them according to this form which we have set forth above.

ADMONITION REGARDING ORIGEN’S TRACTATE ON PRAYER

196 1. That the tractate *On Prayer* was written by Origen is testified to by the martyr Pamphilus in his *Apology for the Same Origen*: "In so many and such diverse books of Origen, there is never found one book written properly on the soul; just as he has one on martyrdom, or on prayer, or on resurrection." Furthermore, that this book *On Prayer* is the very one which was first brought to light at Oxford in the year 1686 in the Sheldonian Theatre, I believe no one who has tasted even a little bit of critical salt will deny. Besides the fact that the Colbertine manuscript 3607, which exhibits a notable fragment of this work from number 31 to the end, attributes it to Origen, certainly almost every page of this little book proclaims our author, Adamantius. The same piety is perceived there as in his other works, the same humility, the same style, and finally the same things which require either censure or forgiveness: singular opinions on the prayer which is called *proseuche* [prayer], which is not to be directed toward the Son, but to the Father alone through the Son; on animated stars; on the free will to do good or evil, by which he teaches that souls, having attained any status, always continue to enjoy it; on the perpetual ascent of souls to higher places and their fall to lower ones; on the future restoration of all things in the end, and consequently that the salvation of the devil perhaps and the other demons is not to be despaired of if they should wish to be converted; on the spherical shape of bodies in the resurrection, etc. Furthermore, just as most of Origen's works are inscribed under the name of Ambrose, so too this little book is written at the exhortation of Ambrose and Tatiana.

2. Who Ambrose was is known to all who have heard anything about our Origen, and he has spoken of him already above in the first fragment of Origen's letters. But who Tatiana was can scarcely be reached by conjectures. The eulogies which she shares with Ambrose, the common instructions for both, and the obedience rendered by them both at once to Origen would suggest that there was a supreme connection between them, and that they were husband and wife, had it not appeared otherwise from the letter to Africanus, where Ambrose's wife is called Marcella. It seems, therefore, to remain that we should rank Tatiana in the next degree of connection, namely that of a sister: especially since it is established from Origen's *Exhortation to Martyrdom*, which is addressed to Ambrose when he was in chains, that he had not only sons and brothers, but also sisters. Furthermore, Tatiana is described by Origen in number 2 of this book, *On Prayer*, as being of advanced age, and she herself and Ambrose are called *gnēsiōtatoi adelphoi* (dearest siblings) at the end of the work. But although these things are quite probable, I would not wish them to be held as certain. For nothing forbids Ambrose's wife, who is called Marcella in the letter to Africanus, from also having had the name Tatiana. Nor is it of great moment that in number 2 of the book *On Prayer* Tatiana is described as being of advanced age, and at the end of the work she and Ambrose are addressed as *gnēsiōtatoi adelphoi*. For in both places the expression can be figurative, and perhaps they are called "dearest siblings" in no other way than in Christ, in almost the same way as Origen calls Ambrose himself his brother at the beginning of Book II of the *Commentary on John*.

3. Regarding the year in which this tractate *On Prayer* was written, nothing certain can be established. We learn from number 23 that it was written when the books on Genesis had already been published. But since only the first eight books on Genesis were written before the year 231, in which Origen departed from the city of Alexandria, and similarly the four books *On Principles* were written after the first book on Genesis, we rightly conclude that the book *On Prayer* was produced after Origen’s departure from Alexandria, and is later than the four books *On Principles*.

...not in the persuasive words of human wisdom, but in the taught words of the Spirit. ^A Since those things which are the greatest and are situated above humanity and, by a wide interval, surpass our frail nature, are impossible for the rational and mortal race to grasp; yet, by the many and immense graces of God which are poured out upon men by God through Jesus Christ, the minister of the infinite grace toward us, and the Holy Spirit who works with Him, they become possible by the will of God. It is impossible, therefore, for human nature to acquire the wisdom by which all things have been fashioned (for, according to David, "God has made all things in wisdom"); yet it becomes possible from being impossible through our Lord Jesus Christ, who "is made unto us wisdom from God, and justice, and sanctification, and redemption." For what man shall know the counsel of God? Or who shall reflect on what the Lord wills? For the thoughts of mortals are fearful, and our providence is uncertain. For the corruptible body burdens the soul, and the earthly dwelling suppresses the mind that thinks many things. And we guess with difficulty at the things that are on earth; but who has searched out the things that are in heaven? Who would deny that it is impossible for man to search out the things that are in heaven? ^B Yet this impossible thing becomes possible by the exceeding grace of God; for he who was snatched up to the third heaven perhaps searched out the things in the three heavens, since he had heard hidden words which it was not permitted for a man to speak. And who can say that it is possible for the mind of the Lord to be known by man? But even this God grants through Christ. ...the will of their Lord; no longer when He teaches them to be willing of the will of the Lord, ^C but when He changes Himself into a friend of those to whom He was formerly Lord. Furthermore, just as no one of men knows the things of a man, except the spirit of man which is in him; so also no one has known the things of God, except the Spirit of God. But if no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God, it is impossible for man to know the things of God. But mark how this becomes possible. "But we," he says, "have not received the spirit of this world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we may know the things that have been given to us by God; which also we speak, ^D not in words taught by human wisdom, but in the teachings of the Spirit.

^A Yet it is likely, most godly and hardworking Ambrose, and most seemly and courageous Tatiana—from whom, I now rejoice, feminine things have already ceased, just as they had ceased for Sarah—that you might wonder why, since the subject of prayer has been set before us, I should have premised these remarks in the introduction concerning things that are impossible for men but become possible by the grace of God. I am convinced that one of these impossibilities, so far as our weakness is concerned, is to treat the whole matter of prayer accurately and in a manner worthy of God, and to make clear and teach what and how one must pray, what things must be spoken to God in prayer, and what times are suitable for prayer. ... He who, because of the excess of his revelations, was afraid that someone might think of him more than what he saw or heard from Him, confesses that he does not know how one must pray. For "what we ought to pray for," he says, "we do not know as we ought." It is necessary, however, not only to pray, but also to pray as one ought, and to pray for what one ought. For even if we were able to grasp what one ought to pray for, it would be incomplete unless we added "as one ought." But what would it profit us to pray as one ought, if we were ignorant of what we ought to pray for? The one of these, namely praying for what ^B one ought, is the content of the prayer; the other, praying as one ought, is the state of the one praying itself. For example, these are the things one ought to pray for: "Ask for great things, and the small will be added to you"; and, "Ask for heavenly, and earthly things will be added to you"; and, "Pray for those who abuse you"; and, "Beseech the Lord of the harvest, that he may send forth laborers into his harvest"; and, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation"; and, "Pray that your flight may not be in winter, neither on the Sabbath"; and, "When you pray, do not use many words"; and whatever else is similar to these. And as to how one ought to pray: "I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. In like manner also women in decent apparel, adorning themselves with modesty and sobriety, not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly clothing; but (which becomes women professing godliness) with good works." And that which teaches us the manner in which one ought to pray is also this: "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you, leave there your gift before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift." For what gift ^C can be sent up to God from a rational nature that is greater than a sweet-smelling word of prayer offered from a mind that is conscious of no ill-willed sin against anyone? There is also that which concerns the manner in which one ought to pray: "Do not defraud one another, unless it be with consent for a time..."

so that you may have leisure for prayer, and may come together again, lest Satan tempt you for your incontinency." ^B By these words indeed, the way in which one ought to pray is hindered, unless the nuptial act of that secret, concerning which it is most fitting to be silent—and to act more rarely, with a calm mind, and with less passion—is practiced: for that which is here called "consent" renders the discord of the mind's affections feeble, consumes incontinency, and restrains Satan, who rejoices in our evils.

Moreover, regarding how one ought to pray, it teaches this also: "When you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone." ^C And that which Paul has, "Every man praying or prophesying with his head covered, dishonors his head; but every woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered, dishonors her head," ^D provides a manner of praying. Knowing all these things, and being able to set forth many more from the Law, the Prophets, and the fullness of the Gospel, and to expound each one variously and copiously, Paul, with a mind not only modest but truthful, seeing after all these things how far he is from knowing what we ought to pray for as we ought, says: "For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought." This he adds to his discourse, whereby that deficiency may be supplied for him who does not know, yet nevertheless endeavors to show himself worthy so that his deficiency may be supplied. For he says: "The Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to God."

And that Spirit, who cries in the hearts of the blessed, "Abba, Father," knowing well those who have fallen or transgressed, that they are burdened rather than relieved by the groanings brought forth in this tabernacle, makes intercession to God with groanings that cannot be uttered, He Himself taking up our own groanings for His humanity and mercy. Seeing, moreover, by His own wisdom, our soul humbled to the earth and enclosed in the body of humiliation, He makes intercession to God not with just any groanings, but with certain ones that cannot be uttered, akin, that is, to the secret words which it is not lawful for a man to speak. This Spirit, however, not content with merely "making intercession," uses a more intense prayer and "makes exceeding intercession," in my opinion, for those who are "more than," such as was Paul when he said: "But in all these things we are more than conquerors." It is probable, however, that He makes intercession for those alone who are neither such that they are "more than" conquerors, nor such that they are vanquished, but who simply conquer. Furthermore, regarding this passage: "We do not know what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit Himself po-

^A-stulates for us with inenarrable groanings," ^B it is the same as: "I will pray with the spirit, I will pray also with the mind; I will sing with the spirit, I will sing also with the mind." For our mind cannot pray unless the Spirit first pray before it, as it were, with it listening; just as neither can we sing rhythmically, melodiously, metrically, and harmoniously to praise the Father in Christ, unless the Spirit, who searches all things, even the depths of God, has first praised and sung of the depths of the mind and, as He has the power, comprehended them.

I for my part imagine that one of the disciples of Jesus, being conscious of how far human imbecility falls short of the proper way to pray—and especially knowing this, after having heard the learned and great discourses which the Savior had delivered in His prayer to the Father—said to the Lord, when He had finished His prayer: "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."

The sequence of the passage runs thus: "And it came to pass, that, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, one of His disciples said unto Him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples to pray." ^C For would a man nurtured in legal discipline, a frequent listener to prophetic discourses and assiduous in the synagogues, not know how to pray at all, until he saw the Lord praying in a certain place? But it is absurd to say this; for he was indeed praying according to the Jewish custom, but he saw that he was in need of greater knowledge concerning that which pertains to prayer.

And what was it that John himself taught his disciples regarding prayer, when they came to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region round about the Jordan to be baptized? Unless we believe that he, seeing that he was more than a prophet, understood certain things concerning prayer, which it is probable he did not deliver to all who were baptized, but secretly to those who had dedicated themselves to be instructed before baptism.

Such prayers as these are truly spiritual, prayed by the Spirit in the hearts of the saints, and are written full of recondite and wondrous doctrine. In the first ^D book of Kings, the prayer of Hannah is such an instance. For to her, as she multiplied her prayers before the Lord and spoke in her heart, there was no need of writing. In the Psalms, the sixteenth psalm is inscribed "The Prayer of David"; the eighty-ninth, "The Prayer of Moses, the man of God"; and the one hundred and first, "The Prayer of the poor, when he is overwhelmed and poureth out his complaint before the Lord." Since such prayers were truly formed and recited by the Spirit, they are also full of the precepts of Divine Wisdom, so that of those things which are promised in them, it can be said: "Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? Understanding and

knowledge shall discern them?" ^A Since, therefore, it is such a great thing to discourse about prayer, as to require the Father who illuminates us toward this, and the Firstborn Word Himself who teaches, and the Spirit who works within us to conceive and speak worthily of such a momentous subject, I pray as a man—for I do not claim for myself to be able to contain the prayer of the Spirit before I have obtained the understanding of what prayer is—I pray, I mean, that a most full and spiritual knowledge of it may be granted to us, and that the prayers recorded in the Gospels may be made clear. We must, therefore, begin the discourse on prayer. ^B 3. The first instance of the name "vow" (*euchē*), as far as I have observed, I find set down when Jacob, fleeing the anger of his brother Esau, was departing for Mesopotamia according to the instructions of Isaac and Rebecca. So it is that the passage itself runs: "And Jacob made a vow, saying: If the Lord God will be with me, and will keep me in this way in which I am walking, and will give me bread to eat, and a garment to put on, and I return prosperously to the house of my father, the Lord shall be my God, and this stone which I have set up as a pillar shall be for me the house of God; and of all that you give me, I will tithe it to you." ^C Where it is also to be noted that the name of a "vow" (*euchē*) is often taken in a different sense than that of "prayer" (*proseuchē*), namely, for one who, with a vow, promises that he will do such things if he obtains such things from God. Yet that word is also used in the customary way of speaking (for prayer), as we find in Exodus after the plague of frogs, which is the second in order of the ten. "And Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said to them: Pray to the Lord that He may take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord." If, however, anyone finds it difficult to believe that, because that voice "pray" is Pharaoh's, it also has the customary meaning of prayer beyond the prior meaning of a vow, he should observe what follows, which is: "And Moses said to Pharaoh: Appoint for me when ^D I shall pray for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs may be driven away from you and from your people and from your houses and only remain in the river."

We have observed, furthermore, concerning the gnats, which were the third plague, that Pharaoh did not ask for prayer to be made, nor did Moses pray. But concerning the flies, which were the fourth, he says: "Ask for me." When Moses also said: "I will go out from you, and I will pray to the Lord, and the fly will depart from Pharaoh and from his servants and from his people tomorrow." And shortly after: "And Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to God." Again, when, at the fifth and sixth plagues, neither did Pharaoh ask for prayer to be made, nor did Moses pray, at the seventh Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them: "I have sinned this time; the Lord is just, and I and my people are impious. Pray, therefore, to the Lord, and let it cease so that there may be no voices of God, and hail, and fire." And shortly ^B after: "And Moses went out from Pharaoh outside the city and stretched his hands out to the Lord, and the voices ceased." Why, however, is it not said "he prayed," as in the previous ones, but "he stretched his hands out to the Lord," will be examined more opportunely elsewhere. And regarding the eight plague, Pharaoh says: "And pray to the Lord your God, that He may take away from me this death." And Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. We have said in many places that the name of "prayer" is not always used in the common sense, as we saw in the case of Jacob. But also in Leviticus: "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: Whoever makes a vow so that there is a price for his soul to the Lord, the price of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years old shall be fifty silver shekels according to the holy measure." And in Numbers: "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: A man or a woman, whenever they make a vow so that they may be sanctified and wish to consecrate themselves to the Lord, they shall abstain from wine and everything that can inebriate," and the rest concerning him who was called a Nazirite. Then shortly after: "And he shall sanctify his head on that day on which he was sanctified to the Lord, the days of his vow." And again shortly after: "This is the law of him who has vowed; on whatever day he shall fulfill the days of his vow." And at the end, ^C of the numbers of the tribes of the sons of Israel, saying: "This is the word which the Lord commanded: a man, whoever shall make a vow to the Lord, or shall swear an oath, or shall define with a definition concerning his soul, he shall not profane his word; all things whatsoever that shall go forth from his mouth...

he shall do. And if a woman shall vow a vow unto the Lord, or define a definition in the house of her father in her youth, and her father hears her vows and her definitions, which she defined against her soul, and her father shall be silent to her; then all her vows shall stand, and all the definitions ^B which she defined against her soul, shall remain for her. And following these, he gives some legislation concerning such a woman. According to this meaning, it is written in the Proverbs: A snare to a man is to sanctify something of his own in haste; for after he has vowed, it happens that he repents. And in Ecclesiastes: It is better not to vow, than to vow and not pay. And in the Acts of the Apostles: There are with us four men having a vow upon them.

4. It has seemed not unreasonable to me, then, first to distinguish the two meanings that are signified in the Scriptures by the name of "prayer." And likewise, also, of "supplication"; for this word, besides the common and customary usage in which it is often taken, is also set down in the sense in which it is usually used in those things that are said about Anna in the first book of Kings: And Heli the priest was sitting upon a seat by the door-posts of the temple of the Lord, and she being of a bitter soul; and she prayed to the Lord, and wept with weeping, and vowed a vow and said: O Lord of hosts, if looking thou shalt look upon the humiliation of thy handmaid, and shalt remember me, and shalt not forget thy handmaid, and shalt give to thy handmaid a man-child, I will give him to the Lord as a gift all the days of his life; and a razor shall not come up upon his head. Yet someone might not improbably argue, insisting upon these words: "She prayed to the Lord and vowed a vow," to say that if she did both—that is, prayed to the Lord and made a vow—this expression might perhaps be taken for the prayer which we are accustomed to name; ^C but these words are in the same sense as the one in Leviticus and Numbers. For that which says: "I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and a razor shall not come up upon his head," is strictly not prayer, but such a vow as Jephthah vowed, where it is said: Jephthah vowed a vow to the Lord and said: If thou shalt deliver the sons of Ammon into my hands, whoever shall have first come out from the doors of my house, and shall meet me upon my returning...

in peace from the sons of Ammon, it shall be the Lord’s, and I will offer him as a burnt offering. ^A If, therefore, it is necessary after this, as you have requested, to set forth first the plausible arguments of those who think that nothing is achieved by prayers, and who for this reason say that it is superfluous to pray, we shall not hesitate to do this to the best of our ability, having taken the name of prayer in a more common and simple sense.... ^B Such an opinion is so ignoble, and so destitute of illustrious proponents, that one would scarcely find among those who admit providence and set God over the governance of all things, anyone who would reject prayer. For this sentiment is either of those who are entirely without God and deny that God exists, or of those who acknowledge God in name only, but deny his providence.

Already, however, the opposing power, when it wishes to cloth the most impious of doctrines with the name of Christ and the teaching of the Son of God, has been able to persuade some that one should not pray. The leaders of this opinion are those who destroy sensible things altogether, who use neither Baptism nor the Eucharist, and who twist the Scriptures with their cavils, as if they did not wish for such a prayer, but taught something else with a far different meaning. These, however, can be the arguments of those who reject prayers and yet say that God presides over all and assert providence; for it is not presently our purpose to examine the statements of those who totally remove God or providence: God knows all things before they happen, and nothing, when it comes into existence, becomes known to Him for the first time as if it were not already known beforehand.

What need, therefore, is there ^C for the mystery of an ineffable and invisible power to be performed through creatures that fall under the senses and are subject to destruction, and for things that do not fall under thought and are devoid of body to be transacted through those things which are sensible and corporeal? These appear to be the Ascodruli or Ascodrupitae, about whom Theodoret writes in book 1 of his *Heretical Fables*, chapter 10: they say that divine mysteries, which are signs of invisible things, ought not to be performed through visible objects, nor incorporeal things through sensible and bodily ones; but that the perfect redemption is the true knowledge of what is. For all things that are seen, since they consist of ignorance and passion, are destroyed through knowledge. Redemption, therefore, must also be spiritual. For this reason, they neither baptize those who approach, nor is the mystery of Baptism performed among them, for they call the knowledge of all things redemption. ^D They anathematize the laver and the participation of the mysteries, as being done in the name of Sabaoth.

^A What need is there, then, to send up prayer to Him who knows what we need even before we pray? For the heavenly Father knows what we need before we ask Him. But it is reasonable that He, being the Father and Creator of all, loving all things that exist and hating nothing of what He has made, should arrange for every one in a saving manner, even if they do not pray, just as a father provides for his young children—he does not wait for their request, either because they are unable to ask at all, or because through ignorance they often desire to obtain things contrary to what is beneficial and advantageous. We humans, moreover, are more distant from the mind of God than any infancy of children is from the mind of parents. ^B It is credible that God does not merely foresee what things are going to be, but also preordains them, and that nothing happens contrary to what has been preordained by Him. Just therefore as, if someone were to pray for the sun to rise, he would be considered foolish, asking by his own prayers that what would happen even without his prayers might come to pass, so also that man would be senseless who thinks that, because of his own prayer, things come to be that would have come to be even if he had not prayed. Again, surely he would surpass all madness ^C who, because he is troubled and scorched by the sun when it is at the summer solstice, thinks that by his prayers he can make the sun move to the vernal signs, that he might enjoy a temperate air; so, if anyone thinks that he can avoid the necessary afflictions that happen to the human race through prayer, he would surpass all madness. But if sinners are alienated from the womb, and the righteous is set apart from the mother's womb—if, "when they were not yet born, nor had done anything good or bad, in order that the purpose of God according to election might remain," it is said, "not of works, but of Him who calls, that the elder shall serve the younger"—we pray in vain ^D for the remission of sins, or to receive the Spirit of strength, that we might be able to do all things through Christ who strengthens us. For if we are sinners, we are alienated from the womb; and if we are set apart from our mother's womb, the best things will happen to us even if we do not pray. For what prayer had Jacob offered, concerning whom, before he was born, it was prophesied that he would prevail over Esau, and that his brother would serve him? And what impious deed had Esau committed to be hated before he was even born? Why does Moses pray, as is found in the eighty-seventh psalm, if God is his refuge before the mountains were settled and the earth and the world were formed? But regarding all those who are to be saved, it is also written in the Epistle to the Ephesians that the Father chose them in Him—in Christ—before the foundation of the world, that they should be holy and blameless before Him in love, having predestined them to the adoption of sons through Jesus Christ in Him—

^A For if anyone is of those chosen before the foundation of the world, it is impossible for him to fall from that election, and consequently he has no need of prayer; or if he is not chosen nor predestined, he prays in vain, even if he were to pray ten thousand times, since he will not be heard. For those whom God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of the glory of His Son. And those whom He predestined, these He also called; and those whom He called, these He also justified; and those whom He justified, these He also glorified. ^B For why does Josias labor, or why, when praying, is he anxious about whether or not his prayers will be heard, when he was designated by name by the prophet many generations before, and not only was it foreseen what he would do, but it was also predicted to many who heard it? And why does Judas pray, so that even his prayer becomes a sin, when it had been predicted from the days of David that he would lose his episcopacy and another would take it in his place? Hence it is unfitting to pray to God—as if His will could be changed by prayer, or as if He had not disposed all things beforehand but were awaiting the prayers of individuals to beseech Him, so that He might thus arrange each thing as is convenient for the one praying, and then ordain what He had approved as right, having not foreseen it beforehand. I shall set down here in the very words which you inserted into your letter to me. They stand thus: 1st, If God is foreknowing of future things, and they must come to pass, prayer is vain. 2nd, If all things happen according to the will of God, and His decrees are steadfast, and nothing of what He wills can be changed, prayer is vain. These things, I think, may be usefully premised for the sake of dissolving the objections which make a person more sluggish toward prayer.

6. Of those things which are moved, ^C some have the mover from without, as inanimate objects, and are held together by condition alone; and those which are moved by nature and soul are sometimes moved not as such, but in the same way as those held together by condition alone. For stone and wood which have been cut from the quarry, or which have lost their power to grow, are held together by condition alone and have the mover from without. But even the bodies of animals and the portable parts of plants, when they are transferred by someone, are not transferred insofar as they are animals and plants, but in the same way as stones and logs which, having been cut, can no longer grow and be nourished; and if they are moved, since all bodies are transient, they are corrupted, and that movement which occurs in corruption follows. ^D There are also, besides these, other things that are moved, those which are moved by...

^A a nature or soul existing within; and those who use terms more precisely say that these are moved of themselves. The third is the movement of animals, which is called “movement from itself.” But I think that the movement of rational beings is movement through themselves. And if we were to take away from an animal the movement from itself, 45 it could no longer be thought of as an animal, but would be similar either to a plant moved only by nature, or to a stone carried along by something from without. And if anyone follows along with its own movement—since we have termed this “moving through itself”—it is necessary that this be rational. Those, therefore, who wish for nothing to be in our power must necessarily accept something most foolish: first, that we are not living beings, and second, that we are not even rational; but rather, as if moved by something from without, that we are not moved at all by ourselves, but are said to do those things which we are thought to do. Furthermore, let anyone attend to the things he feels within himself, and see if he can, without impudence, deny that he himself wills, that he himself eats, that he himself walks, that he himself gives assent and accepts any sort of opinions, and that he himself rejects other things as false. As, therefore, there are certain opinions to which a man can never be brought to assent, however many proofs he might use, and however much he might say, seeking to persuade: so it is impossible that anyone should so think regarding human affairs as if nothing remained in our power. For who believes that nothing can be grasped by the mind, or lives in such a way as to doubt regarding all things, whatever they may be? Who does not rebuke a servant when he has perceived in his mind the appearance of a sinning slave? And who is there ^C who does not accuse a son for not rendering due obedience to his parents? Or who does not complain of and vituperate an adulterous woman, as having acted basely? For the truth itself exerts force and compels, however much one may wish to quibble, to be carried with a kind of impulse toward praises and vituperations, because it is truly the case that something is in our power, and that it is worthy either of praise or of reproach. Therefore, if our free will is preserved, by which we incline in countless ways either toward virtues or toward vices, or toward those things which are becoming or toward those which deviate from duty, or decline from the same: it is necessary that this, with the rest before it exists, be known to God from the creation and constitution of the world, what sort of thing it will be; and in all things that God has foreordained, it follows that as He saw each thing would be in our power, He also foreordained, as the movement of our free will requires, what ought to correspond to it on the part of providence, and what ought to happen according to the connection of future things: not that the foreknowledge of God is the cause of all those things which are to be, and which, by ^D their own

motion and our free will we shall carry out. For even if (if it be allowed to suppose this) God did not know future things, we should not any the less carry these out, or will these; yet it happens to things, by reason of divine foreknowledge, that by an order most useful for the government of the universe and the state of the world, those things which are in our power are severally disposed. If, therefore, any of those things which are of our free will is known to Him, it is conformable to reason that there should be ordained by providence that which is suitable to each person according to his worth, and that what this or that person will pray for, in what state of mind he will be, how he will believe, and what he will wish to happen to him, is foreknown; and, this being foreknown, something of such a kind is consequently comprehended in the order of providence: ^A that I shall hear this man praying perseveringly, because of that very prayer which he will pour forth; but that I will not hear that one, either because he is unworthy to be heard, or because he is about to ask for things which it is neither expedient for him to receive nor fitting for me to grant. And in accordance with this prayer of his, for example, I will not hear such a one; but in accordance with that, I shall hear ^B him. If any one is troubled by the fact that God, having foreknown future things, cannot be mistaken—as if necessity were brought upon things—one must answer such a person that this very thing is necessarily known to God, namely, that this man does not necessarily or firmly will the better things, or will so will the worse things that he will be incapable of a change for the better. And again, God says, "I will do these things for this man who will pray," for it is fitting for me, since he is not about to pray unworthily, nor to be negligent about his ^C prayer. To him, when he has prayed somewhat, I will grant more abundantly than he asks or understands (cf. Eph. III, 20): for it is fitting for me to overcome him with benefits and to bestow more than he knows how to ask. To this man, since he is about to be such a one, I will send that angel as a minister, who from this time shall begin to labor for his salvation and shall be present with him up to this point; to that man I will send another, for example, one more worthy than the former, since he is about to be better. From this other, who, after he has given himself over to more excellent doctrine, will be broken and will run back to earthly things, I will take away that best helper; and, upon his departing, as he has deserved, a certain most evil power, having found an opportunity to lie in wait for his sloth, will be promptly present and will provoke him to those sins, since he has shown himself prepared to sin. Thus, therefore, he who preordains all things is to be thought of as saying, as it were: ^D "Amos will beget Josiah, who will not emulate the sins of his father, but, having found this way leading to virtue through the aid of those who will be with him, will be a good man; and he will also tear down the altar badly built by Jeroboam." I know also that Judah, when my Son will dwell among men, will be good at the beginning; but that he will become perverse

^A and fall into human sins, for which it will be reasonable for him to suffer certain things. This foreknowledge of his belongs perhaps to all things, but certainly to Judas and other mysteries, and it exists in the Son of God, who, by the contemplation of the test [of what is to come], sees both Judas and the sins that will be committed by him, so that having apprehended him even before Judas was born, [God] said through David: "O God, do not silently pass over my praise," and so forth. Knowing, therefore, the things that are to come, and what tone Paul will have toward piety, [God says]: "Before I create the world, as I set out to the beginning of the world's creation, I will choose him; and as soon as he is born, I will commit him to these powers that assist in the salvation of men, setting him apart from his mother's womb, and permitting him at the beginning, in his youth, to be agitated by a zeal joined with ignorance, under the pretext of piety to persecute those who have believed in my Christ, and to keep the garments of those who were stoning my servant and witness Stephen; so that, after his youthful insolence, having later seized an opportunity and changed for the better, he may not boast before me, but say: 'I am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God.' And perceiving the benefits I am about to bestow upon him after his lapses in youth under the guise of piety, he may say: 'But by the grace of God I am what I am.' And being restrained by the conscience of the things he did against Christ while he was still a youth, he will not be exalted by the greatness of the revelations which he is to receive by my favor."

7. Concerning the sun rising

^A What kind of phantasy can arise in heaven that would be able to disturb and move from its course, which is beneficial to the world, each of the souls that is ordered by the Word and possesses the cause of its own being, and uses such an ethereal and most pure body?

8. Furthermore, it is not unreasonable to make use of such an example as this to urge men to pray and to turn them away from the neglect of prayer. Just as it is impossible to beget children without a woman and the action that is taken as useful for procreation; so too, one would not attain these things unless he prayed in this way, with such a disposition, believing in this manner, and having lived his life in this way before prayer. ^B One should not, therefore, babble, nor ask for small things, nor pray about earthly matters, nor should one approach prayer with anger and troubled thoughts. Moreover, it is not possible for one to conceive of a respite occurring in prayer without purity; nor is it possible for the one praying to obtain forgiveness of sins, unless he has forgiven from the heart the brother who has sinned against him and is asking for pardon.

I consider that the benefit which occurs to the one praying in the manner he ought—or one who is hastening toward this as much as he is able—happens in many ways. For one thing, it will certainly be of some use if, when he has settled his mind toward prayer, he has formed himself through the very state of praying to stand before God and speak to Him as if He were inspecting and present; for just as such phantasies and reminders ^C of certain things, concerning which the reminders have arisen, stain the thoughts that have occurred in these phantasies; in the same way, one must believe that the memory of the God who is trusted—and who discerns the movements in the inmost depths of the soul—is fruitful, when the soul regulates itself to be pleasing to Him, as being present, watching, and reaching into every mind, to Him who tries the hearts and searches the reins. For even if we assume that no other benefit beyond this accrues to the man who has established his mind for prayer, one must understand that he who has thus piously regulated himself at the time of prayer reaps no small fruit. And those who have committed themselves more assiduously to prayer know by experience how often this happens, from how many sins it turns one away, and to how many good deeds it leads. For if the remembrance and reflection upon a man of discernment ^D and one benefited in wisdom provokes us to emulation and often hinders our impulses toward things that are worse, how much more does the memory of God, the Father of all, conjoined with prayer to Him, benefit those who have persuaded themselves that they stand before and speak to God as one who is present and listening.

9. But the things that have been said must be proven from the divine Scriptures in this way: the one praying must lift up holy hands, by forgiving every one of those who have sinned against him, having extinguished the passion of anger from the soul and...

being angry at no one. Again, it is necessary, in order that the mind not be clouded by other thoughts, to forget all those things outside of prayer during the time in which one is praying. How, then, is such a state not most blessed, as Paul teaches in the first Epistle to Timothy, saying: "I desire therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and disputation" (1 Tim. II, 8). ^B Furthermore, a woman, especially when she prays, must be composed and adorned in soul and body, and, above all when she prays, must revere God, and banish every intemperate and feminine recollection from the governing part of her soul; and she should not be adorned with braided hair and gold and pearls or with costly clothing, but with that with which it is suitable for a woman who promises godliness to be adorned. I marvel if anyone would doubt in calling blessed, from this state alone, the woman who has presented herself in such a way for prayer, as Paul taught in the same Epistle, saying: "In like manner also that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broidered hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; but (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works" (1 Tim. II, 9–10). And the prophet David says that the holy man who prays has many other things; and we shall not inopportunely bring these forward, so that it may become manifest to us how very useful—if understood even alone—is the disposition and preparation for prayer of the one who has committed himself entirely to God. He says, therefore: "Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens" (Ps. CXXII, 1); and, "Unto thee, O God, have I lifted up my soul" (Ps XXIV, 1). For when the eyes of the intellect are thus lifted up so as no longer to linger on earthly things, nor be filled with the appearances of those things which consist of matter, and are so high ^C as to look down on everything corruptible, and to be occupied with this one thing, that they may think upon God and address Him, the hearer, with reverence and modesty—why would those eyes not already have profited greatly, "beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord with open face, and being changed into the same image from glory to glory" (2 Cor. III, 18)? For then they participate in the outflow of a certain more divine intelligence, as is clear from these words: "Lord, the light of thy countenance was marked upon us" (Ps. IV, 7). And if the soul, being lifted up and following the Spirit, and being separated from the body—and not only following the Spirit, but also becoming in it (which is indicated by "Unto thee have I lifted up my soul")—why would it not, having laid aside the nature of a soul, become spiritual? But if the forgetting of injuries is a most excellent achievement, ^D insomuch that all the Law is, as it were, contained in it in summary, according to the prophet Jeremiah, to whom He says: "I did not speak unto your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, but this I commanded them: Let no one remember in his heart an injury against his neighbor" (Jer. VII, 22–23; Zach. VIII, 9); and when one approaches prayer with the forgetting of injuries

^A we keep the command of the Savior, who says: "When you stand praying, forgive if you have anything against anyone" (Mark XI, 25). It is clear that when we stand thus disposed to pray, we have already obtained the best things.

And these things are said as a hypothesis; even if nothing else follows for us who pray, we gain the greatest benefits, having understood and successfully performed how one ought to pray. It is clear that he who prays in this way, even while he is still speaking, shall be heard, fixing his gaze upon the power of Him who listens, saying: "Behold, I am here" (Isa. LVIII, 9), having cast aside before prayer every dissatisfaction with Providence. For this is what is signified by: "If you take away from yourself the chain, and the stretching out of hands, and the word of murmuring" (Isa. LVIII, 9); for he who is well-pleased with what happens ^B has become free from every bond, and does not stretch out his hands against God, who arranges what He wills for our training; nor does he murmur even through hidden thoughts that cannot be heard by men. This murmuring, which is like that of wicked servants who do not openly blame the commands of their masters, is practiced by those who, while not daring to curse Providence with their voice and soul regarding what occurs, yet seem to wish to hide from the Lord of all those things of which they are dissatisfied. And I think this is also what is said in Job: "In all these things that happened to him, Job did not sin with his lips before the Lord" (Job I, 22); whereas regarding the temptation that preceded it, it is written: "In all these things that happened to him, Job did not sin before the Lord" (Job II, 10). The command which forbids this ^C says in Deuteronomy: "Take heed lest there be a secret word in your heart, an iniquity, saying: The seventh year approaches" (Deut. XV, 9), and so on.

He who prays in this way, having already received so many benefits, becomes more fit to be blended with the Spirit of the Lord, who has filled the whole dispensation, and with Him who has filled all the earth and heaven, as the prophet says: "Do I not fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord" (Jer. XXIII, 24). Furthermore, by the aforementioned purification, and by the prayer of the Word of God who stands in the midst of those who do not know Him, and is absent from no one's prayers, he will share in the prayer, for He prays to the Father ^D with him for whom He acts as mediator. For the Son of God is the High Priest of our offerings and the Advocate with the Father; He prays for those who pray, and joins in exhortation with those who exhort. Yet He would not pray for those as for familiars, who do not pray through Him assiduously, nor will He be the patron before God for those who do not obey

the teachings which command us to pray always and not to lose heart. For He says, ^A “He told them a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart: There was a judge in a certain city,” and so on. And in the preceding passages: “And He said to them, Which of you will have a friend, and will go to him at midnight (89), and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for my friend has arrived on a journey from me, and I have nothing to set before him’?” And a little later: “I say to you, though he will not give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will arise and give him as much as he needs.” Who among those who believe in truth-speaking Jesus would not be incited to pray without sloth, since He says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; for everyone who asks receives”? ^B For the good Father, when we ask Him for the living bread—and not the stone which the adversary wishes to become food for Jesus and His disciples—gives the good gift from heaven to those who ask Him.

11. Nor does the high priest alone pray with those who pray sincerely, but also the angels who are in heaven rejoice over one sinner who repents more than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance; the souls of the saints, too, who have already fallen asleep (91). This is evident from the fact that Raphael offered the rational service of Tobias and Sarah to God. (For, as the Scripture says, after the prayer of both was heard, the supplication of both before the glory of the great Raphael, he was sent ^C to heal the two.) And Raphael himself, showing his own ministry as an angel according to the command of God toward both, says, “And now, because you prayed (93), you and your daughter-in-law Sarah, I brought the memorial of your prayer before the Holy One.” And a little later: “I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who present the prayers of the saints and enter into the presence of the glory of the Holy One” (94). According to the word of Raphael, therefore, prayer is good with fasting and almsgiving and justice. And regarding Jeremiah, as in the books of the Maccabees, he appeared distinguished by his gray hair and glory, so that a certain wonderful and most magnificent excellence surrounded him; and he extended his right hand and gave to Judas a golden sword (95); ^D of whom another saint, who had died before, testified: “This is he who prays much for the people and the holy city, Jeremiah the prophet.

^A For it is indeed absurd that, while knowledge through a glass and in a riddle now appears to the worthy, but will be revealed face to face in the future, we should not understand that the same proportion applies to the other virtues, especially since those things which are cultivated in this life are perfected there.

Now, one of the most important virtues according to the divine word is love for one's neighbor, which we must believe is possessed much more by the saints who have already fallen asleep toward those who are struggling in this life, than by those who are still subject to human infirmity and who assist their inferiors in their struggle. ^B For not only here does that saying apply to the brotherly, “If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it”; for it is fitting that this also applies to the love of those outside the present life, “The care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is offended, and I do not burn?” especially since Christ has professed that in each of the infirm saints he is himself infirm; and likewise that he is in prison, and naked, and a stranger, and hungry, and thirsty. For who, having read the Gospel, is ignorant that Christ refers to himself the things that happen to believers and counts them as his own sufferings?

And the angels of God came and ministered unto Jesus; it is not fitting for us to think that the ministry of the angels toward Jesus was for a short time, during his bodily sojourn among men, and while he was still in the midst of the believers, not as one reclining, but as one serving. ^C How many angels is it likely are ministering to Jesus, who desires to gather the children of Israel one by one and to collect them from the dispersion, and who saves those who fear and call upon him, and are working more than the apostles for the increase and multiplication of the Church, to the extent that John in the Apocalypse says that certain angels preside over the Churches? For it is not in vain that the angels of God ascend and descend upon the Son of man, being seen by those whose eyes are illuminated with the light of knowledge. They, therefore, at the very time of prayer, being reminded by the one who is praying of what he needs, perform what they can, as if having received a general command.

We must also use a certain image in this discourse to help us grasp what we have understood. ^D Let us suppose a doctor who is zealous for justice is present with a sick man who is praying for his health, and who knows in what way he ought to heal the disease for which the man is pouring out his prayers. It is clear that he will be moved to heal him who is praying, suspecting—not perhaps in vain—that this is the mind of God, since he has heard the prayers of him who asks to be freed from his disease. Or let one of those who abound in the necessities of life, being of a liberal spirit, hear the prayer of a poor man.

^A who is bringing his petition to God regarding his needs; it is clear that he too will fulfill the things of prayer for the poor man, becoming a servant of the paternal will, which at the time of the prayer brings together the one who is able to provide with the one who is praying, because he who is able to receive help in these certain matters cannot look past the one in need. Just as, therefore, these things are not to be thought to happen by chance when they do happen—since He who has numbered all the hairs of the head of the saints has harmoniously brought together at the time of prayer the one who is to be the servant of the one needing kindness from Him, hearing the one who has faithfully petitioned—so it must be understood that the arrival of the angels who oversee and serve God is sometimes brought about for one of those who are praying, so that they may join in the petition with what the one praying has asked for. But even each man’s angel, and [the angel] of the little ones in the Church, always seeing the face of the Father who is in heaven, and beholding the divinity of our Creator, prays with us and labors together in whatever is possible regarding what we are praying for.

^B Furthermore, I believe that the words of the saints' prayer are filled with power, especially when those praying, pray in spirit and with the mind, with a light rising from the intellect of the one praying and proceeding from his mouth, to loosen by the power of God the intelligible [foe] cast by the opposing powers into the directing faculty of those who neglect to pray and do not keep the "Pray without ceasing," which is said according to the exhortations of Jesus by Paul. For just like a dart from the soul of the one praying, it advances by knowledge, and by word, or by faith, from the saint, wounding for the overthrow ^C and destruction of the spirits hostile to God, which wish to ensnare us in the bonds of sin. And he prays without ceasing who joins to the works of virtue—which are the part of the commandments performed that are taken up into prayer—the prayer, and to the prayer the appropriate actions. For in this way alone can we accept the precept "Pray without ceasing" in the way that it is possible, namely, if we say that the whole life of the saint is one great, continuous prayer, of which that which is habitually called prayer is also a part, and which ought to be performed no less than three times each day—which is manifest ^D from Daniel, who, when such danger was hanging over him, prayed three times per day. And Peter, ascending into the upper

^A chamber to pray at the sixth hour—at which time a vessel coming down from heaven, let down by four 10 corners, also signifies the middle prayer of the three, the one before it called upon by David 13: "In the morning you shall hear my voice; in the morning I will stand before you and look up"—and the last being made manifest through: "The lifting up of my hands is an evening sacrifice." But neither should we properly pass the time of night without this kind of prayer, since David says: "At midnight I rose to acknowledge you regarding the judgments of your righteousness"; and Paul, as it is said in the Acts of the Apostles, prayed and sang hymns to God at midnight together with Silas in Philippi, so that those who were in custody heard them.

^B But if Jesus prays, and, not praying in vain, obtains what he asks through praying—since perhaps he would not have received them without prayer—who of us would neglect to pray? For Mark says that "In the morning, rising very early, he went out and departed into a desert place, and there he prayed." And Luke: "And it came to pass that when he was in a certain place praying, as he ceased, one of his disciples said to him"; and in another place: "And he was spending the night in the prayer of God." And John records his prayer, saying: "These things spoke Jesus, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said: Father, the hour is come, glorify your Son, that your Son also may glorify you." And the saying: "And I knew that you always hear me," recorded by the same evangelist as spoken by the Lord, shows that he who always prays is always heard.

^C And why is there a need to enumerate those who, because they prayed as they ought, attained the greatest benefits from God? For it is easy for anyone to select more for themselves from the Scriptures. For Anna ministered to the generation of Samuel, who is numbered with Moses, because when she was not bearing children, she believed and prayed to the Lord. And Hezekiah, while he was still childless and had learned from Isaiah that he would die, having prayed, was admitted into the genealogy of the Savior. ^D And when the people were already about to perish under a single decree from the plot of Haman, the prayer of Mordecai and Esther conjoined with fasting was heard, and beyond the feasts established by Moses, it produced the Mordecaic day of gladness for the people. But also Judith, having offered a holy prayer, overcame Holofernes with God aiding, and one woman of the Hebrews inflicted a stain upon the house of Nebuchadnezzar. Ananias, Azarias, and Misael were heard, and merited to receive a wind of dew blowing and restraining the powers of the fire.

while the lions in the Babylonian pit are muzzled by the prayers of Daniel. And Jonas, too, not despairing of being heard from the belly of the whale that had swallowed him, fulfilled the prophetic mission to the Ninevites which he had previously begun, once he had emerged from the belly of the whale. And how many things is each of us able to recount, if only with a grateful heart he is mindful of the benefits he has received and wishes to send up praises to God for them? For souls that have long remained without offspring, having perceived the sterility of that part which ought to be the leader within them and the emptiness of their own mind ^A, having been impregnated by the Holy Spirit through assiduous prayer, have brought forth salvific words filled with the knowledge of truth. And how many of us have often been delivered from myriads of opposing powers that were warring against us and wishing to make us disappear from the divine faith? We, having taken heart that "some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we in the name of the Lord our God"—calling upon Him, we see that "the horse is a fallacious thing for safety." But even the commander-in-chief of the adversary, that deceitful and persuasive speech which strikes terror into many even of those who are thought to have believed, is often slain by him who trusts in the praises of God; for Judith is interpreted as "praise." And how many are there who, when they had fallen into temptations difficult to overcome and hotter than any flame, suffered nothing from them, but emerged entirely unharmed, not even receiving the slightest damage from the scent of the enemy's fire? ^B What need is there to mention other things, and how many times, encountering beasts raging against us—namely, evil spirits and savage men—they have often muzzled their mouths with their prayers, since they were not able even to bring their teeth toward these limbs of ours that have been made members of Christ? For often for the sake of any of the saints the Lord has broken the molars of the lions, "and they have come to nothing like water that flows away." We also know of many fugitives from the divine commandments who, having been initially conquered and swallowed by death, were saved from such great evil through repentance; even though death already held them in its belly, they did not despair of being able to be saved: "For death, having prevailed, has swallowed," and again "God has taken away every tear from every face." ^C It seemed necessary to me, after the enumeration of those things in which prayer has availed, to say these things so as to turn away those who desire the spiritual life in Christ from asking in prayer for small and earthly things, and to exhort the readers of this writing toward those mystical things of which the things I have mentioned before were images. For every prayer regarding the aforementioned spiritual and mystical matters is always brought to perfection by him who does not war according to the flesh, but by the Spirit mortifies the deeds of the flesh, and considers those things ^D

^A which the anagogical sense reveals to those who inquire, rather than the benefit which appears to have happened to those who pray according to the letter. For we, too, must take care that our soul is not barren, but that we hear the spiritual law with spiritual ears, so that we may cease to be barren, and that we may be heard, even as Anna and Hezekiah were heard; and furthermore, that we may be delivered from the insidiously attacking spiritual foes of wickedness, just as Mordecai, and Esther, and Judith were. And since Egypt is an iron furnace, being a figure of all earthly places, whoever has escaped the wickedness of human life and has not been inflamed by sin, nor has a heart like an oven full of fire, let him return no less gratitude than those who experienced the dew in the midst of the fire. Moreover, whoever, when praying and saying, "Do not deliver to the beasts the soul that confesses to thee," ^B is heard, and is harmed in no way by the asp and the basilisk, because he has walked upon them by that virtue of Christ, and has trampled down the lion and the dragon, and having used the excellent power given by Christ to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and having suffered no injury from them, let him give more abundant thanks than Daniel, as having been delivered from more terrible and more harmful beasts. Beyond this, he who is persuaded of what whale that which swallowed Jonah was a type, and understands also that it is of that one of whom Job speaks: "Let him who curses that day curse it, he who is able to overpower the great whale," if by any slip of infidelity he should arrive in the belly of the whale, let him pray in repentance, and he will depart from thence; ^C and having departed, if he persists in obeying the commandments of God, he will be able, by prophesying through the favor of the Spirit, to be an opportunity of salvation even now for the perishing Ninevites; nor, however, will he be vexed at the goodness of God, nor will he wish for Him to retain a will to destroy against those who repent. Furthermore, what Samuel is said to have accomplished in the greatest way through prayer, this any of those who are truly devoted to God can now also perform spiritually, inasmuch as he has become worthy to be heard; for it is written: "But even now stand still and see this great word which the Lord performs before your eyes. Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call upon the Lord, and he will give voices and rain." And a little later: "And Samuel," he says, "called upon the Lord; and the Lord gave voices and rain on that day." For it is said by the Lord to all the holy ^D and legitimate disciples of Christ: "Lift up your eyes and see the regions, for they are already white for harvest. And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit unto eternal life." In this time of harvest, therefore, the Lord performs a great thing in the sight of those who heed the prophets: for when he who cleaves to the Holy Spirit cries out to the Lord, God gives from heaven

voices and the rain that waters the soul, so that he who was formerly in wickedness may fear the Lord greatly, and may see the minister of God’s bounty revealed as someone to be revered and honored because of the things for which he is heard. Elijah, too, after the heaven had been shut for three years and six months against the impious, opens it hereafter by divine command—a thing that is always accomplished by everyone who, through prayer, receives the rain of the soul, which was previously denied to him on account of sin.

^B Now that we have explained what we have concerning the benefits that the saints received through their prayers, let us understand the saying: "Ask for the great, and the small shall be added unto you; and ask for the heavenly, and the earthly shall be added unto you." All signs and images, in comparison with those things that are true and spiritual, are small and earthly. Wherefore, it is fitting that when the Word of God exhorts us to imitate the prayers of the saints, that we might ask in reality for that which they attained only in figures, he calls heavenly and great things those which were foreshadowed by earthly and paltry matters. It is as if he were saying: "You who wish to be spiritual, ask through prayers for heavenly things, so that having attained them, you may be as those who are heavenly, heirs of the kingdom of heaven; and being great, you may enjoy the greatest goods. But as for the earthly and small things for which you have need for the sake of the body's necessities, the Father shall provide them for you according to the measure of your need."

^C Since, however, four names referring to four matters akin to this discourse on prayer are mentioned in the Apostle’s first Epistle to Timothy, it will be useful, with the text itself set before us, to look at each of those four, to see if we can rightly perceive how each is properly understood. He speaks as follows: "I exhort therefore that first of all supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men," and the rest. I consider, therefore, that a *supplication* (deēsis) is a prayer sent forth by someone in a suppliant manner, so that he may obtain that of which he stands in need; that *prayer* (proseuchē) is what one offers regarding greater matters with a loftier

^A frame of mind to God glorifying Him; that *postulation* (aitēsis) is a request made to God by one who uses a certain greater confidence; that *thanksgiving* (eucharistia) is a confession of benefits obtained from God, joined with prayers, when the magnitude of the benefit is acknowledged through the confession, or, appearing to him who has received it, it is taken in place of the benefit itself. Examples of the first kind are: that of Gabriel to Zacharias, who, as is likely, had prayed regarding the birth of John; the discourse holds thus: "Do not fear, Zacharias, because your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will call his name John"; and what is written in Exodus after the golden calf in this manner: "And Moses besought the Lord God, and said: Why, O Lord, are you indignant with wrath against your people, whom you led out of the land of Egypt with great strength?" And in Deuteronomy: "And I besought before the Lord a second time, just as before, forty days and forty nights, I did not eat bread nor drink water, for all your sins which you have sinned." And in Esther: Mordecai besought God, remembering all the works of the Lord, and said: "Lord, Lord, King Almighty." And Esther herself besought the Lord God of Israel, and said: "Lord, our King." ^B Examples of the second kind are in Daniel: "And Azarias standing prayed thus; and opening his mouth in the midst of the fire, he said." And in Tobit: "And I prayed with sorrow, saying: You are just, O Lord, and all your works, all your ways are mercy and truth, and true and just judgment you judge for all eternity." But since the passage cited from Daniel is marked with an obelus because it does not exist in the Hebrew, and the Jews reject the book of Tobit as not canonical, I shall adduce that of Hannah from the first book of Kingdoms [1 Kings]: "And she prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly and prayed a prayer, and said: Lord of hosts, if regarding you will look upon the affliction of your handmaid"; and the rest. Likewise in Habakkuk: "Prayer of Habakkuk the prophet with a song. O Lord, I have heard your voice, and I feared. O Lord, I contemplated your works, and I was amazed. In the midst of two living beings you shall be known; when the years draw near, you shall be known." But this strongly manifests the definition of prayer, namely that prayer is sent up to the one praying together with ^C the praises of God. But also in Jonah: "Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the whale, and said: I cried in my affliction to the Lord my God, and he heard me; from the belly of Hades you heard the voice of my cry; you cast me into the deeps of the heart of the sea, and the rivers surrounded me." An example of the third kind is with the Apostle, who most rightly assigns prayer and postulation to the Spirit, as the one who is more excellent and [has] confidence. ^D

toward the One to whom he makes intercession. ^B For "what we should pray for," he says, "as we ought, we do not know, but the Spirit itself intercedes with sighs too deep for words to God." And He who searches hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because it intercedes for the saints according to God. For the Spirit both intercedes and makes postulation, while we pray.

It seems to me that what was said by Jesus concerning the standing still of the sun against Gabaon is also a postulation: "Then Jesus spoke to the Lord on the day that God delivered the Amorite into subjection to Israel, when He crushed them in Gabaon, and they were crushed before the face of the children of Israel. And Jesus said: Let the sun stand against Gabaon, and the moon against the valley of Elon." And in the book of Judges, I think that Samson, when he made a postulation, said: "Let my soul die with the foreigners," when he shook [the pillars] mightily, and the house fell upon the princes and all the multitude that was in it.

Even though it is not written that Josue and Samson "made a postulation," but only that they spoke, it seems that their speech was a postulation, which we consider to be distinct from prayer, if indeed the terms are understood properly. Furthermore, an example of thanksgiving is that voice of our Lord, saying: "I confess to You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them to little ones." For that word, "I confess" (*exomologoumai*), is equivalent to "I give thanks."

It is not absurd to offer supplication, postulation, and thanksgiving even to the saints; and two of these—I mean postulation and thanksgiving—not only to the saints but also to [other] men; but supplication only to the saints, if some Paul or Peter be found, that they might help us and make us worthy to enjoy the power given to them to forgive sins. Unless perhaps if we have done an injury to someone who is not a saint, it is also granted to us, when we have become aware of our sin against him, to beseech even him, that he might grant us pardon for the injury. ^C But if those prayers must be offered to holy men, how much more must thanks be given to Christ, from whom we have received so many and such great benefits by the will of the Father? But one must also make postulation to Him, as Stephen did when he said: "Lord, do not hold this sin against them"; and imitating the father of the lunatic, we shall say: "I beseech You, Lord, have mercy either on my son, or on me myself, or whoever it may be."

15. But if we understand what prayer is, perhaps it should not be offered to any of those who are generated, and not even to Christ ^D

^A himself, but only to the God and Father of all, to whom even the Savior himself prayed, as we have already set forth, and as he teaches us to pray. For when he heard, "Teach us to pray," he did not teach them to pray to him, but to the Father, saying: "Our Father who art in heaven," and so forth. For if, as is shown elsewhere, the Son is ^B another than the Father according to substance and subject, then we must pray either to the Son and not to the Father, or to both, or only to the Father. Now, that one should pray to the Son and not to the Father, everyone will admit to be most absurd and spoken contrary to evidence. But if one should pray to both, it is clear that we would have to offer our requests in the plural, saying in our prayers, "Grant ye," "Do good ye," "Provide ye," "Save ye," and whatever else of this kind there may be—which is itself also ^C absurd, nor can anyone point out in the Scriptures that this was said by anyone. It is settled, therefore, to pray only to the God and Father of all; yet not without the high priest who was established with an oath by the Father according to that which is said: "The Lord has sworn and will not repent: You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek." Therefore, when the saints offer thanks to God in their prayers, they render them to him through Christ Jesus. And just as it does not befit him who wants to pray properly to pray to the one who prays, but to him whom our Lord Jesus has taught us to call upon in our prayers—namely, the Father—so there is no prayer to be offered to the Father without him. Which he himself shows clearly when he says: "Amen, amen I say to you, if you ask the Father anything, he will give it to you in my name. Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name; ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full." For he did not say, "Ask me," nor simply "Ask the Father," but "If you ask the Father anything, he will give it to you in my name." For until Jesus taught these things, no one had asked the Father in the name of the Son; and it was true what was said by Jesus: "Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name," but also true was that: "Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full." ^D Now if anyone, thinking that one ought to pray to Christ himself, being confused by the meaning of 'worship' (proskunein), brings forward to us the text, "Let all the angels of God worship him," which is admittedly said concerning Christ in Deuteronomy, we must answer him that the Church also, called Jerusalem by the prophet, is said to be worshipped by kings and queens who are to be her foster-fathers and foster-mothers in these words: "Behold, I lift up my hand to the nations, and I will raise my standard to the islands; and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters they shall carry upon their shoulders. And kings shall be thy foster-fathers, and their queens thy foster-mothers. Upon the face of the earth they shall worship thee, and"

thou shalt lick the dust of their feet. And thou shalt know that I am the Lord, and thou shalt not be ashamed. ^B But how is it not the case, according to him who said: "Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one God, the Father," that he should say: "Why pray ye to me? Ye ought to pray to the Father alone, to whom I also pray"—which statement you learn through the Holy Scriptures; for to the High Priest who has been appointed for us by the Father, and who has received from the Father to be an Advocate, we ought not to pray, but he should be the one through whom we pray to the Father—he who can sympathize with our weaknesses, having been tempted in all things like us, but, through the gift of the Father, tempted without sin. Learn, therefore, how great a gift you have received from my Father, through the regeneration in me, having received the spirit of adoption, so that you may be called sons of God, and brethren of mine. For you have read the voice spoken by me through David concerning you unto the Father: "I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the Church will I praise thee." ^C But for those who have been deemed worthy of one and the same Father to pray to a brother is not reasonable; for to the Father alone, with me and through me, must prayer be sent up by you.

16. Hearing Jesus saying these things, let us pray to God through him, speaking the same thing all of us, and not be divided concerning the manner of prayer. For are we not divided if some pray to the Father, and others pray to the Son? Through excessive simplicity, men fall into a foolish kind of sin, who, without weighing or examining the matter, pray to the Son, either with the Father or without the Father. Let us pray, therefore, as to God; let us beseech as to the Father; let us entreat as to the Lord; and let us give thanks as to God and Father and Lord, yet not altogether as to the Lord of slaves. For the Father can rightly be considered Lord of the Son, and Lord of those children who have been made children through him. ^D As he is not the God of the dead, but of the living, so he is not the Lord of ignoble slaves, but of those who, having been enslaved at first out of fear on account of their infancy, afterwards serve him through love, a slavery more blessed than that which is through fear. For there are in the soul, visible to him alone who beholds the heart, the characters of the slaves of God and of his sons. Whosoever, therefore, asks for earthly and small things from God, disobeys him who commanded to ask for heavenly and great things from him who knows how to bestow nothing earthly. But if anyone objects concerning the body...

given to the saints through prayer, and also ^A to the voice of the Gospel teaching that earthly things are added to you, and small things also; one must answer him that just as, when someone gives us any body whatsoever, one ought not to say that he gave us the shadow of the body—since he intended not to give two things, body and shadow, but proposed to give only the body, yet with the body given it follows that we receive its shadow as well—so if, with a slightly more noble mind, we consider the gifts conferred upon us by God, we will most fittingly say that things bodily are consequences of the great and heavenly spiritual gifts, given for the utility of the saints either according to the proportion of faith, or as he who bestows wills; and he wills wisely, even if we are not able to assign, for each of the things given, a cause and reason worthy of the giver. Therefore, it is to be thought that the soul of Hannah, healed from a certain sterility, was ^B more fruitful than her body which was pregnant with Samuel; rather, Hezekiah brought forth divine offspring in his mind than progeny from bodily seed. Esther and Mordecai and the people were released from spiritual snares more than from [the snares of] Haman and those who conspired for their destruction; and (Judith more powerfully) cut down the strength of the prince desiring to corrupt her soul, than that of Holofernes. And who would not confess that the spiritual blessing pronounced by Isaac over all the saints when he says to Jacob, "May God give you of the dew of heaven" (Gen. XXVII, 28), was possessed by Ananias and his companions more abundantly than the bodily dew by which the flame of Nebuchadnezzar was overcome? Daniel stopped the mouths of invisible lions, lest they be able to do anything to his soul, ^C more than of the visible ones, about which all we who read the Scripture have received [account]. Who so escaped the belly of the whale—that [creature] subdued by Christ our Savior and swallowing all who flee from God—as Jonah, when he became capable of the holy Spirit, insofar as he was made holy himself?

Nor is it to be wondered at if not to all who receive, if I may so speak, the bodies that produce such shadows is a similar shadow given, but to some a shadow is given in the same way, while to others no shadow at all is given; for this is clearly manifest to those who contemplate gnomonic problems and the ratio of shadows to the illuminating body, occurring also in the case of bodies. For there are some [styles of] gnomons that lack a shadow at a certain time; to others, the style has a short shadow, and in others one longer than in others. ^D

^A Nor, therefore, will it be a great thing if, by His counsel, in bestowing upon us the principal gifts according to certain hidden and secret reasons, in accordance with the capacity of the recipient and the time, He brings it about that when the principal gifts are given, no shadows at all follow; at other times they are not for all, but for some, and at other times they are smaller in comparison with greater ones that follow. Just as, therefore, to him who seeks the solar rays, once he has attained them, the shadow of the body is neither pleasant nor troublesome, whether it be present or absent, since he possesses that which is most necessary, irrespective of whether he is deprived of a shadow or has more or less of it; so, if spiritual things are present to us, and we are illuminated by God for the absolute comparison of true goods, we shall not seek after a trifling matter, the shadow, with a small mind. For all material and corporeal things, whatever they may happen to be, have the character of a light and fragile shadow, and are in no way to be compared with the salutary and holy gifts of the God of all. For what comparison can there be of corporeal riches with those by which we are enriched in every word and in all wisdom?* Who, unless he were ^B mad, would compare the health of flesh and bones with the health of the mind, the steadfastness of the soul, and the proper composition of thoughts? For all these things, if they are tempered by the Word of God, cause all corporeal afflictions to be considered as a slight prick, or if we deem anything lighter than a prick. But he who has conceived in his mind what is the beauty of that bride—whom the bridegroom, who is the Word of God, loves—I mean the beauty of a soul blooming with supercelestial and supermundane beauty, will be ashamed even to honor with the same name of beauty the corporeal beauty of a woman, a boy, or a man; for flesh is not capable of true beauty, being in its entirety a disgrace. For all flesh is like grass, and its glory, which that which is called the beauty of women or children exhibits to the eyes, is compared to a flower, according to the prophetic discourse saying: All flesh is grass, ^C and all the glory of it as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away; but the word of the Lord endureth for ever.** Who, moreover, would properly call that nobility which is accustomed to be called nobility among men, if he has once known the nobility of the sons of God? And when the mind has contemplated the unshaken kingdom of Christ, how would it not despise, as of no value, every earthly kingdom? Likewise, when the mind of man, even while still bound to the body, has contemplated, as much as it is able, the army of angels and, among them, the leaders of the hosts of the Lord, the archangels, and the thrones, and dominions, and principalities, and supercelestial powers, and has grasped that it is possible to attain to equal honor from the Father with those—how would it ^D not deem even a shadow to be more sluggish than these?

^A And if all these things were granted, would it not scorn them in order not to miss the true rule and the more divine powers? We must pray, therefore, we must pray for those things which are primary and truly great and heavenly; what pertains to the shadows which follow the primary things must be left to God, who knows what we need for our corruptible body before we even ask him. He knows, before we ask him.

^B Now that we have, according to the grace given to us, reached as far as we were able by God through his Christ (would that it were also in the Holy Spirit—and whether or not that is the case, you will judge when you have read through these matters), and have sufficiently considered the argument concerning prayer, we shall now gird ourselves for the next task: to consider with what power the prayer described by the Lord is filled. And first of all, it must be observed that Matthew and Luke might seem to many to have described the same form of prayer that we are to follow. The words of Matthew are of this kind: *Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Give us this day our supersubstantial bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.* ^C But those of Luke are these: *Father, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come. Give us this day our supersubstantial bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us; and lead us not into temptation.* To those who suspect this, it must be said, first, that the words, although they have some things in common, appear in many respects to be different, as we shall show by examining them; and second, that it is impossible that the same prayer was spoken on the mountain—where, seeing the crowds, he went up, and when he had sat down, his disciples came to him, and opening his mouth he taught them (for it is in that series of discourse in which the beatitudes are announced and the following precepts are given that this is written in Matthew)—and that it was also spoken when he was in a certain place praying, as he ceased, to one of his disciples who had requested to be taught to pray, just as John also taught his disciples. For how is it possible ^D that the same words should, without any prior questioning, be spoken in a continuous series, and then be brought forth at the request of one disciple? But perhaps someone might say that those prayers signify the same thing, and that they were spoken as one, both in a more lengthy discourse and to one of the disciples requesting it—assuming that he had not been present when those things were spoken which Matthew recorded, or

that he did not retain the memory of what had been said long ago. Yet perhaps it is better to consider these prayers as distinct, though they possess certain parts in common. And having inquired in Mark whether any prayer of this kind was set down in the same sense, we found not even a trace of one there. ^A

19. And since, as we have said above, it is necessary first to establish how the one who prays should be disposed, and then to pray, let us see what our Savior had said before the prayer set down in Matthew. The passage runs thus: *When you pray, you will not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and at the corners of the streets, so that they may be seen by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. But you, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and having closed your door, pray to your Father in secret, and your Father who sees you in secret will repay you. But when you pray, do not speak much, as the Gentiles do. For they think that they will be heard in their much speaking. Therefore, do not be likened to them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Thus, therefore, pray you.* Our Savior seems to have attacked the desire for glory in many places as a ^B pernicious disease; which He also did here, forbidding us to imitate the deeds of hypocrites during the time of prayer. For it is characteristic of hypocrites to wish to boast among men under the name of piety or generosity. But, being mindful of this sentence: *How can you believe, who receive glory from one another, and do not seek the glory which is from God alone?* we ought to despise all glory that proceeds from men—even if it seems to happen on account of something beautiful—and seek that which is properly and truly glory, which is given by Him who alone adorns what is worthy of glory in a manner worthy of Himself and far above the merit of the one who is adorned. That very thing, therefore, which might have been thought beautiful and worthy of praise is then defiled when it is done by us so that we may be seen by men and receive glory from men. Wherefore, no reward follows from God for this. For since every word of Christ is true, that word is, if it is ^C right to say, even more true, which He uttered with His accustomed oath. For regarding those who appear to do good to their neighbor for the sake of human glory, or who pray in the synagogues and corners of the streets so that they may be seen by men, He says this very thing: *Amen I say to you, they have received their reward.* For just as that rich man mentioned in ^D

Luke had received good things in his mortal life, and therefore could not obtain them any longer after the present life, so he who receives his reward, whether by giving something to someone or by praying, since he has not sown in the Spirit but in the flesh, will reap corruption and not eternal life. Now he sows in the flesh who, in the synagogues and streets, in order to be glorified by men, gives alms with a trumpet sounding before him, or he who loves to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the corners of the streets, so that, being seen by men, he may be thought by those who see him to be a pious and holy man. ^B But also, everyone who travels the broad and spacious road that leads to destruction, which has nothing straight and upright, but is entirely crooked and angular (for the straight line is broken in it for the most part), does not stand well in it, praying at the street corners and, through love of pleasure, coming to be not in one, but in many streets; among whom those who die as men, because they have fallen away from the Divinity, end up glorifying and calling blessed those whom they think act piously in the streets. But there are many who, when appearing to pray, are lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, acting drunkenly in prayer in the midst of dinner parties and cups, truly standing and praying at the corners of the streets. For everyone who lives according to pleasure and has loved the broad road has fallen away from the narrow and constricted way of Jesus Christ, which does not have even the slightest turn, and has no angle at all.

^C Now if there is some difference between the Church and the Synagogue—the Church properly so called having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but being holy and blameless, into which enters neither one born of a harlot, nor a eunuch, whether his testicles are crushed or amputated, nor even an Egyptian or an Idumean, if not that, once children have been born to them, they can barely qualify for the Church by the third generation; nor the Moabite and Ammonite, unless the tenth generation is fulfilled and the age is accomplished; and the Synagogue, on the other hand, being built by the centurion who was doing this in the times before the coming of Jesus, when he had not yet been attested to have such faith as the Son of God did not even find in Israel—then he who loves ^D to pray in the synagogues is not far from the corners of the streets, and he prays in the corners of the streets for no other reason than out of vainglory.

near the corners of the streets. But the holy man is not of this kind; for he does not merely like to pray, but he loves it; and not in synagogues, but in churches; and not at the corners of the streets, but in the rectitude of the narrow and compressed way; and he does not so perform it that he might appear before men, but that he might be seen in the sight of the Lord God. For he is a male, mindful of the acceptable year of the Lord, ^A and keeping that commandment: *Three times in the year shall all thy males appear before the Lord God.* (Deut. xvi, 16). We must, however, diligently understand that expression, *that they may appear.* For since nothing that appears is beautiful, as if it were beautiful only in appearance and not truly, it deceives the mind with a false and empty image, and does not model things precisely and truly. Just as the actors of certain dramas in the theaters are not what they say they are, nor what they appear to be on account of the mask they wear, so too all those who ^B adorn themselves with the appearance of good, are not just, but are actors of righteousness, themselves also acting in their own theater—namely, in the synagogues and at the corners of the streets. But he who is not a hypocrite, but has laid aside every foreign ornament and is eager to please himself, in that theater which is far more excellent than those aforementioned, enters into his chamber, where, besides the heaped-up riches, he has enclosed for himself the treasure of wisdom and knowledge. He neither looks outside nor pants for external things; and having locked all the doors of the senses, so that he may not be distracted by them, nor the images of those outward things ^C be introduced into his mind, he prays to the Father who does not flee from such a hidden place, nor abandon it, but dwells within it, accompanied also by the Only-Begotten. *For I*, He says, *and the Father will come unto him, and will make our abode with him.* (John xiv, 23). It is plain that if we pray in this way, we shall treat with not only God, but also the Father, as children who are not forsaken, but who have Him present in our hidden parts, and seeing that hidden place, and increasing the goods stored up in our chamber, if only we have locked its door.

21. Furthermore, when we pray, let us not speak vainly, but let us speak theologically. We speak vainly when we do not strictly examine ourselves or the words sent forth by us in prayer, ^D but speak of corrupt things, or bring forth conversations and thoughts that are abject and worthy of reproach, and alien to the purity of the Lord. Now, he who speaks vainly in prayer is in a worse condition than those whom we said above were addicted to the synagogue, and he walks a path more difficult than the corners of the streets, since he does not keep even a trace of good, even by pretense. For only the heathens, according to the Gospel text, speak vainly, not having even a fantasy of great or hea-

heavenly petitions, but making all their prayer about bodily and external things. ^A Thus, he who asks for lower things from the Lord who dwells in the heavens and above the heights of the heavens is like the heathen who speaks vainly. Furthermore, to speak nonsense seems to be the same thing as to speak much; for nothing is one in matter and in bodies, but whatever is thought to be one, is cut and divided and separated into many things, which have lost their unity. For good is one, but the things that are base are many; truth is one, but the things that are false are many; true justice is one, but many habits simulate it; the wisdom of God is one, but there are many wisdoms of this age and of the rulers of this age, which are being destroyed; and the Word of God is one, but those alien to God are many. For this reason, no one will escape sin by speaking much, and no one who thinks he will be heard because of his much speaking can be heard. Therefore, we should not make our ^B prayers similar to those of the heathens who speak vainly, or speak much, or do anything whatsoever according to the likeness of the serpent. For the God of the saints, being Father, knows what his children have need of, since these things are worthy of paternal knowledge. But if someone is ignorant of God, he is also ignorant of the things of God, and he is ignorant of the things which he has need of. For the things which he thinks he has need of are faulty. But he who has contemplated those better and more divine things which he needs, will obtain from God and the Father those things which he has perceived, which are known to the Father even before he asks. Since these things have been said regarding what precedes the prayer in Matthew, let us now consider what is declared by the prayer itself.

"Our Father who art in heaven." It is worth observing more carefully the so-called Old Testament, to see if it is possible to find therein a prayer of anyone calling God Father; for in our present, as far as we were able to examine, we have not found it. And we do not say this—that God is not called Father, or that those who are thought to have believed in God have not been named children of God—but that we have nowhere found in ^C prayer that confidence proclaimed by the Savior of naming God "Father." Moreover, that God is called Father, and those who have approached the Word of God are called children, can be seen in many places, as in Deuteronomy: "You abandoned God who begot you, and forgot God who nourishes you." And again: "Is not this himself your father who possessed you, and made you, and created you?" And again: "Children in whom there is no faith." And in Isaiah: "I have begotten and exalted children, but they have rejected me." And in Malachi: "A son will glorify his father, and a servant his master. And if I am a father, where is my glory? And if I am a master, where is my fear?" Although however, Father is called

God, and they who are born by the word of faith in him are called sons; yet a firm and stable sonship is not found among the ancients. ^A Indeed, the very passages we have cited show that those who were called sons were in subjection; since, according to the Apostle, "as long as the heir is a child, he differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed by the father." Now, the "fullness of the time" is in the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, when those who will may receive adoption, as Paul teaches with these words: "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." And in the Gospel according to John: "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." ^B And because of this Spirit of adoption of sons, we have learned in the Catholic Epistle of John concerning those who are born of God, that "whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." If, therefore, we understand what that is which is written in Luke, "When ye pray, say, Father," we shall fear—if we are not legitimate sons—to offer this utterance to him, lest in addition to our other sins we become liable also to the charge of impiety. Now this is what I mean: Paul says in the first Epistle to the Corinthians, "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost; and no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed." For he calls the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of God the same thing. ^C But what it is to say "in the Holy Spirit, Lord Jesus," is not altogether clear, since this utterance is put forth by countless hypocrites, by very many heterodox, and sometimes even by demons who are overcome by the power in the name. Therefore, no one would dare to affirm that any of these speaks "in the Holy Spirit, Lord Jesus." Wherefore, they indeed would not even wish to say "Lord Jesus," since only those speak "Lord Jesus" who serve the Word of God from the heart, and who—in any matter whatever that has to be done—proclaim no one else as Lord. But if they are such who say, "Lord Jesus," perhaps whoever sins, by his transgression anathematizing the divine Word, cries out by his very deeds, "Anathema Jesus." ^D As, therefore, such a one says, "Lord Jesus," and he who is disposed in the contrary way, "Anathema Jesus," so every one who is born of God and does not commit sin, because he is a partaker of the divine seed which turns one away from every sin, says by the things that he does: "Our Father who art in heaven," while the Spirit himself bears witness.

^A to their spirit that they are children of God, and his heirs, and joint-heirs with Christ, since they suffer with him and rightly hope to be glorified together. But that such persons may not say "Our Father" only in part, their heart—the source and beginning of good works—believes unto righteousness, to which the mouth confesses unto salvation. Therefore every work of theirs, and word, and thought, being formed by the only-begotten Word according to him, has imitated the image of the invisible God and has become according to the image of the Creator, who makes his sun to rise upon the evil and the good, and sends rain upon the just and the unjust; so that there is in them the image of the heavenly one, [the Word] himself being the image of God. Since, therefore, the saints are an image of an image—the image being the Son—they express sonship, becoming conformed not only to the glorious body ^B of Christ, but also to him who is in the body. Moreover, they become conformed to him who is in the body of glory, being transformed by the renewing of the mind. If, then, those who are altogether such as these are say: "Our Father who art in heaven," it is manifest that he who commits sin, as John says in his Catholic Epistle, is of the devil, because the devil sins from the beginning. And just as the seed of God, remaining in him who is born of God, is the cause of his being unable to sin—which happens to him who is formed according to the only-begotten Word—so in everyone who commits sin, the seed of the devil is present, as much as exists in the soul, not allowing the one who possesses it to be able to accomplish that which is right. But since for this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil, it is possible, by the coming of the Word of God into our soul, ^C when the works of the devil have been destroyed, that the evil seed planted in us should vanish, and we should become children of God. Let us not, therefore, think that we are taught to say these words at some fixed time of prayer; but if we understand what we have previously examined regarding "Pray without ceasing," our whole life—we who pray unceasingly—should say: "Our Father who art in heaven," having our citizenship in no way upon earth, but in every way in heaven, which are the thrones of God, because the kingdom of God is established in all those who bear the image of the heavenly one, and have therefore become heavenly.

When it is said that the Father of the saints ^D is in heaven, it is not to be supposed that he is circumscribed by a bodily shape and dwells in the heavens; for if he were contained, God would be found lesser than the heavens, since the heavens would be containing him; whereas, on the contrary, it is necessary to believe that by the ineffable power of his divinity he includes and holds all things together. And, in general, those words which, taken literally, seem to the simpler sort to place God in a location

^A must be understood worthily according to the great and spiritual conceptions concerning God; such as these are in the Gospel according to John: "Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end." And after a few things: "Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God." And after other things: "Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father." And again after other things: "But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?" For if these things are to be accepted as regarding a location, it is clear that ^B the following must also be accepted in the same sense: "Jesus answered and said unto them, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." But these things do not come to pass through a transition of the Father and the Son to him who loves the word of Jesus, understood as being from place to place; therefore neither are those to be accepted as regarding a location. But the Word of God, accommodating himself to us, and, in accordance with his own dignity, insofar as he is among men, being humbled, is said to depart from this world unto the Father, so that we too might there behold him in his perfection—returned from the emptiness in which he emptied himself among us ^C back to his own fullness; where, using him as our leader, we ourselves shall be filled and freed from all emptiness. Let the Word of God, therefore, having left the world, depart to him who sent him, and let him go to the Father. And that which is written at the end of the Gospel according to John: "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father," let us seek to understand more mystically, and let us conceive the ascension of the Son to the Father in a more divine way with holy clarity, such that it is the mind rather than the body that ascends in that ascension. I have thought it necessary to discuss these things alongside "Our Father who art in heaven," in order to lift the lowly opinion concerning God held by those who think that he is in heaven as if in a place, ^D and so that no one might suppose God to be in a corporeal place. For it would consistently follow that one must say that he is a body, from which follow the most impious dogmas, namely to believe that he is divisible and material and corruptible; for every body is divisible and material and corruptible. Or let them tell us, if they are not led by vain affections but assert that they clearly understand, how it is possible for him to be of a nature other than material. But since many of those things which were written before the bodily advent of Christ seem to say that God is in a corporeal place, it does not seem alien to my purpose to set forth a few of those as well, so that all doubt may be removed from those who, by reason of their ignorance, conclude that God, who surpasses all things, is contained in a small and narrow place. And first, since

it is said in Genesis: "Adam and Eve heard the voice of the Lord God walking in paradise in the evening, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God in the midst of the tree of paradise," we shall ask those who are unwilling to enter the treasuries of the Scripture, and not even knocking at its door, whether they are able to demonstrate that the Lord God, who fills heaven and earth, is contained by such a small place—if, as they suppose, He uses the heaven as a corporeal throne and the earth as a footstool for His feet—that, in such a brief comparison with the whole of heaven and earth, it is as if the corporeal paradise which they imagine for themselves is not filled by God, but that He is merely so much greater in magnitude that He even contains Him while He is walking, and the sound of the sole of His feet is heard. ^B Furthermore, it is even more absurd in their opinion that Adam and Eve, fearing God because of their transgression, hid themselves from the face of God in the midst of the tree of paradise; for it is not said that they merely wished to hide themselves, but that they truly hid themselves. And how, according to them, does God question Adam, saying: "Where art thou?" We have discussed these matters more fully when we expounded Genesis; but now, lest we pass over so great a question in total silence, it will suffice to remember this sentence: "I will dwell in them and walk in them," which is spoken by God in Deuteronomy. For whatever his walking is among the saints, such also it is in paradise, when anyone who sins hides himself from God and flees from His inspection and departs from His intimacy; for thus also Cain went out from the face of God and dwelt in the land of Nod, opposite Eden. ^C As, therefore, He dwells in the saints, so also in heaven, that is, in every saint and one who bears the image of the heavenly one, or in Christ, in whom are all the saved, the lights and stars of heaven; or He dwells there because the saints live in heaven. But what is said: "To Thee have I lifted up my eyes, who dwellest in heaven"; and what is contained in Ecclesiastes: "Be not hasty to utter a word before the face of God; for God is in heaven above, and thou art on earth below," intends to signify how great is the distance from those who are in the body of humility to Him who is with the angels—who themselves are exalted by the aid of the Word—and with the holy powers, or with Christ Himself. ^D For it is not absurd that He is properly the throne of the Father, and that the heaven is called so more allegorically; while the Church is called the earth and is the footstool of His feet. We have added these few passages from the Old Testament, which are thought to place God in a location, so that we may persuade the reader, by the ability granted to us, to understand Scripture in a higher and more spiritual sense when it appears to teach that God is in a location. It was incumbent upon me to discuss these things regarding the words: "Our Father, who art in heaven," so that we might [understand the divine...]*

*Note: the last bracketed phrase completes the Latin sentence fragment "ut Dei es- sacram" which appears to have been slightly cut off or abbreviated in the source text; the translation here aligns with the intended theological sense of the passage.*

^A 491] nature as being separate from all generated things. For those with whom He does not communicate, there is a certain glory of God and His power and, if I may so speak, an efflux of His divinity that reaches them.

24. Hallowed be thy name. Whether [the name] refers to that which has not yet come to pass for which one prays, or whether, if one has already attained it, one asks that that which does not abide may be preserved, it is manifest, as far as the words are concerned, that we are commanded, according to Matthew and Luke, to say: "Hallowed be thy name," as if the name of the Father were not yet hallowed. But, you will ask, how does a man ask for the name of God to be hallowed, as if it were not already holy? Let us understand what the name of the Father is, and what it is for it to be hallowed. A name, therefore, is a concise designation that sets forth the proper quality of the thing named. For example, there is a certain proper quality of Paul the apostle: one is of the soul, according to which he is such as he is; another is of the mind, according to which he is capable of conceiving such things; another is of the body itself, according to which it is such as it is. Therefore, that which is proper to these qualities, and which cannot belong to any other (for there is no other human being in the nature of things who does not differ at all from Paul), is expressed by the name "Paul." However, among men, since those proper qualities are in a certain way changed, their names also are rightly changed according to Scripture; for when the quality of Abram was changed, he was called Abraham; and when the quality of Simon was changed, he was named Peter; likewise, when the quality of Saul, who persecuted Christ, was changed, he was called Paul. But in God, who is Himself always unchangeable and immutable, there is always one and the same name, as it were—that is, "He who is," as it is said in Exodus, or whatever else might be said to be similar. Since, therefore, as often as we think about God, we form for ourselves some notion of Him, but not all of us know what He truly is (for there are few, and, if I may so speak, fewer than few, who can comprehend His property in all things), we are deservedly taught that our notion of God is sound if we look upon the property of Him who creates, provides, judges, chooses, abandons, embraces, rejects, and rewards or punishes each one according to merit. For in these things [^D and in those similar to them is expressed, if I may so speak, the proper quality of God, which I believe is called the name of God according to the Scriptures; for in Exodus [it is written]: "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain," and in Deuteronomy: "Let it be expected,"

^A as rain my utterance; let my words descend as dew; as a downpour upon the herb, and as a snow-drift upon the grass; because I have called the name of the Lord." And in the Psalms: "They shall be mindful of thy name in every generation and generation." For he who applies the concept of God to things to which it does not befit, takes the name of the Lord God in vain. But he who is able to utter things which, as rain, conduce to the fertility of the souls of the hearers, and brings forward comforting words like dew, and by the rush of the edification of his discourses brings a most useful downpour to the hearers, or a most effective snow-drift, is able to do these things for this reason. Having devised these things, and knowing himself to be in need of the God who perfects him, he calls upon Him who is the Giver of the aforementioned things in the true sense, and every one who makes clear even what pertains to God, is reminded rather than learning, even if he seems to hear from someone, or supposes he is discovering the mysteries of piety.

And just as it is necessary for him who is praying to understand the things here, [namely] to ask that the name of God be sanctified, so also in the Psalms it is said: "Let us exalt his name together," it being ordered by the Father, with all harmony in the same mind, and in the same opinion, to reach the true and high knowledge of the distinctiveness of God. For this is what it is to exalt the name of God together: when someone, having partaken of the effluence of divinity, because he has been taken up by God and has prevailed over his enemies—who were unable to rejoice at his fall—exalts that very power of God of which he has become a partaker; which is declared in the twenty-ninth ^B Psalm by the words: "I will exalt thee, O Lord, for thou hast taken me up, and thou hast not made my enemies to rejoice over me." A person also exalts God by dedicating a house to Him within himself, since indeed the inscription of the psalm is thus: "A Psalm of a song of the dedication of the house of David."

Furthermore, concerning the [petition], "Hallowed be thy name," and the rest which follow that are spoken in the imperative mood, it must be said that the interpreters frequently used imperatives in place of optatives; as in the Psalms: "Let the deceitful lips be silenced, which speak iniquity against the righteous," for "may they be silenced," and, "Let the creditor search out all that he has, let there be no helper for him," in the hundred-eighth [psalm] concerning Judas; for the whole psalm is a petition concerning Judas, that certain things of this kind might happen to him. But Tatian, not understanding that the word "let it be" is not always optative, but sometimes imperative, devised most impious things about God when he said: "Let there be light," as if He had wished [it] rather than commanded light to come into being, ^C therefore... ^D

^A he who says this impiously suggests that God was in darkness; to whom it must be said, how will he be interpreted in the case of: "Let the earth bring forth the herb of grass"; and, "Let the water be gathered together under the heaven"; and, "Let the waters bring forth creeping things of living souls"; and, "Let the earth bring forth a living soul"? For does He pray in order that the water under the heaven might stand upon a firm footing [to be] gathered into one gathering? Or does He pray, "Let the earth bring forth," in order that He might enjoy those things which the earth germinates? And what similar need does He have, as if He were in need of light, for the aquatic, or winged, or terrestrial creatures, that He should pray concerning these as well? But if, according to him, it is absurd to say that God prayed for these things, which are expressed in imperative terms, why should not the same be said concerning, "Let there be light," that it was spoken not optatively, but imperatively? ^B It seemed necessary to me, since this prayer was enunciated in imperative terms, to recall his perverse interpretations for the sake of those whom he has deceived, and who have admitted his impious teaching, into which we too have sometimes fallen.

25. THY KINGDOM COME

If the Kingdom of God, according to the word of our Lord and Saviour, "comes not with observation," nor will they say: "Lo here, or lo there; but the Kingdom of God is within us," for "the word is very nigh unto us, in our mouth, and in our heart": without doubt, he who prays for the Kingdom of God to come, prays rightly for the Kingdom of God which he has within himself, that it might arise, and bear fruit, and be perfected. ^C For in every one of the saints God reigns, and every saint obeys the spiritual laws of God who dwells in him, as in a well-governed city. The Father is present to him, and Christ reigns together with the Father in that perfect soul, according to that which was mentioned a little before: "We will come unto him, and make our abode with him." And I think that the Kingdom of God is to be understood as the blessed state of the superior part of the soul, and its composed and wise thoughts; but the Kingdom of Christ [is to be understood as] the words which are brought forth for the salvation of those who hear, and the deeds of justice and the rest of the virtues which are performed; for the Word and justice is the Son of God. ^D On the other hand, the prince of this world exercises tyranny over all sinners; for every sinner is enslaved to the present evil world, since he does not give himself to Him who "gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, and deliver us according to the will of God and our Father," according to those things which are said in the Epistle to the Galatians. But he who suffers the tyranny of the prince of this world [does so] by the free choice of sin.

For he who is under the tyranny of the prince of this world is also ruled under the tyranny of sin; wherefore we are commanded by Paul no longer to submit to sin as it wishes to reign over us. And through these words we are instructed: ^A “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.” But someone might say regarding both these petitions, “Hallowed be thy name,” and “Thy kingdom come,” that if the one praying, prays in order to be heard, and is indeed heard at some time, it is clear that the name of God, by which the kingdom of God also shall be established, will one day be hallowed for someone, according to the things aforementioned. If, then, these things shall be his, how will he still appropriately pray for things that are present, as if they were not present, saying, “Hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come”? If this is the case, would it not be an obligation at some point to cease saying, “Hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come”?

To these points it must be said that, just as he who prays to obtain the word of knowledge and the word of wisdom will rightly pray for these things always—since, even if he is heard and receives many notions of wisdom and knowledge, he yet knows only in part whatever he is able to grasp in the present; for that which is perfect, and which does away with that which is in part, shall then be revealed, when the mind, face to face, shall contemplate the intelligible realities without the senses—so too, the perfection of the name of God being hallowed for each of us, and of His kingdom being established, cannot occur unless there shall also come the perfection regarding knowledge and wisdom, and perhaps also the other virtues. We are journeying toward that perfection if, reaching forward to the things that are before, we forget the things that are behind. ^B Therefore, the kingdom of God shall be established within us as we advance unceasingly toward the summit, when that which was said by the Apostle is fulfilled: that Christ, when all enemies have been put in subjection under Him, shall deliver the kingdom to God and the Father, that God may be all in all. For this reason, praying unceasingly with a disposition made divine by the Word, let us say to our Father who is in heaven: “Hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come.”

Regarding the kingdom of God, one must also grasp this: just as there is no participation of righteousness with lawlessness, nor fellowship of light with darkness, nor agreement of Christ with Belial, so also it is impossible for the kingdom of sin to coexist with the kingdom of God. If, therefore, we wish to be reigned over by God, ^C let sin by no means reign in our mortal body, nor let us obey its precepts, which provoke our soul to the works of the flesh and to things alienated from God; but rather let us mortify our members which are upon the earth, and let us bring forth fruit in the Spirit, so that God may walk in us as in a spiritual paradise, and may reign alone in us, along with His Christ, who sits within us at the right hand of ^D

^A that spiritual power which we pray to receive, and who sits until all His enemies within us are made the footstool of His feet, and every rule, authority, and power is abolished from us. For it is possible for these things to be accomplished in each of us, and for the last enemy, death, to be abolished, so that it may be said by Christ even in us: O death, where is your sting? O hell, where is your victory? Let our corruptible nature then now put on holiness and incorruption in chastity and all purity; and let our mortal nature, once death is abolished, put on the paternal immortality; so that, with God reigning in us, we may already be living in the blessings of regeneration and resurrection.

26. *Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth*. Luke, having omitted this, placed after *Thy kingdom come*: *Give us this day our daily bread*. Since, therefore, the aforementioned words are found only in Matthew, let us examine them in sequence to what has preceded. While we who pray are still on earth, and understand that the will of God is done in heaven by all the household of heaven, let us pray that the will of God may be done by us also who are on earth, in everything, just as it is for them; which will come to pass if we do nothing contrary to His will. But when, as the will of God is in heaven, it shall also be fulfilled by us on earth, then, being made like the heavenly beings—inasmuch as we bear, in like manner to them, the image of the Heavenly One—we shall be heirs of the kingdom of heaven, and those who succeed us on earth will then pray to be made like those of us who have already been received into heaven. ^B It is also possible, according to Matthew alone, that the phrase *As in heaven, so on earth* should be taken as common to all [the preceding petitions], so that what we are commanded to say in the prayer is of this kind: "Hallowed be Thy name, as in heaven, so on earth. Thy kingdom come, as in heaven, so on earth. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth." For the name of God has been hallowed by those who are in heaven, and the kingdom of God has come to them, and the will of God has been done in them; and all these things are lacking to us who are on earth, yet they can be present if we show ourselves worthy to be heard by God concerning all these matters. One might ask, on account of the phrase, *Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth*, how the will of God is done in heaven, where there are the spiritual hosts of wickedness, by ^C which the sword of God will be made drunk even in heaven. If we pray for the will of God to be done on earth as it is in heaven, ^D

^A is there not a danger that we might unwarily pray that those things which are contrary to us should remain on earth, since they also come from heaven, because many on earth have fallen into vices through the force of the spiritual hosts of wickedness which are in the heavenly places? Now, whoever, interpreting heaven allegorically, says that it is Christ, and the earth the Church (for who is a throne of the Father as worthy as Christ? And what footstool of the feet of God is like the Church?), will easily resolve the questions by saying that each of those who are of the Church ought to pray to receive the Father’s will in the same manner as Christ received the will of his Father, and brought it entirely to fulfillment. For it is possible for us, by adhering to him, to become one spirit with him, and thus to receive his will, so that, as it is fulfilled in heaven, it may also be fulfilled on earth: for he that is joined unto the Lord, according to Paul, is one spirit. And I think that this interpretation will not be despised by one who examines it with greater care. But if anyone should contradict it, he will adduce what is said by the Lord at the end of this Gospel after the resurrection to the eleven disciples: “All authority has been given to me, as in heaven, so also on earth.” For having the authority of those things that are in heaven, he says that he has additionally received the authority of those things that are on earth: since those things which are in the heavens have already been illuminated by the Word; but at the consummation of the age, those things which are on earth also, through the authority given to the Son of God, imitate those things which are perfected in heaven, and of which the Savior has received the authority. ^B He wishes, therefore, through prayer to take the disciples as co-workers with himself toward the Father, so that when those things which are on earth have been directed after the likeness of those things which are in the heavens—subjected to the truth and the Word—he may, by the authority which he received as in heaven so also on earth, lead them to the most blessed end of those who are under his authority. But he who wishes the Savior himself to be heaven, and the earth the Church, asserting that the firstborn of all creation, in whom the Father rests as on a throne, is heaven, will assert that the man whom he had put on, having been adorned with his power, because he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, said after the resurrection: “All authority has been given to me, as in heaven, so also on earth”; ^C since the man who is in the Savior has received the authority of the things that are in heaven, such as those which exist in the Only-begotten, that he might partake of it, and be united to his divinity. Moreover, in the second opinion, ^D while the question has not yet been resolved as to how the will of God is done in heaven, when the spiritual hosts of wickedness which are in the heavenly places struggle against those who are on earth:

^A from this the question may be resolved. Just as someone who is still on earth, not because of his location but because of his disposition, has his citizenship in heaven and treasures up in heaven, having his heart in heaven and bearing the image of the Heavenly One, is no longer of the earth or of the lower world, but of heaven and of this better heavenly world; so too, those spiritual hosts of wickedness which still dwell in the heavenly places, ^B who have their citizenship on earth and through whom they struggle and plot against men, treasuring up on earth and bearing the image of the earthly man—who is the beginning of the Lord’s creation, made to be mocked by the angels—are not heavenly, nor do they dwell in the heavens because of their wicked disposition. Therefore, when it is said, "Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth," one must not even reckon that those beings are in heaven, since in their mindset they have fallen with him who fell from heaven like lightning.

And perhaps the Savior, when He taught us to pray that the will of the Father be done on earth as it is in heaven, ^C does not command prayers to be made entirely on behalf of those in the place of earth, so that they may be made like those who are in the place of heaven; but the instruction of the prayer is for Him, desiring that all things that are on earth—that is, the inferior things and those attached to earthly matters—be made similar to the better things, and to those who have their citizenship in heaven, having become heaven in their entirety. For he who sins, wherever the earth may be, if he does not repent, will be dissolved into his kindred earth. But he who does the will of God, and does not disobey the saving spiritual laws, is heaven. Whether, therefore, we are still earth because of sin, we pray ^D that the will of God may extend to us also for our amendment, just as it has already reached those who became heaven before us, or who are heaven; or whether we have already been accounted by God not as earth but as heaven, we pray that just as in heaven, so also on earth—I mean, in terms of those who are inferior—the will of God may be fulfilled for their, so to speak, "heaven-making," so that there may no longer be earth anywhere, but all things may become heaven. For if, as in heaven, according to the interpretation given, the will of God is thus done on earth, the earth will not remain earth. To speak more clearly [alt-version omitted] using another example: if, just as the will of God is done in chaste men, it were done in the unchaste, the intemperate would be chaste; or if, just as the will of God is done in the just, it were done in the unjust, the unjust would be just. Therefore if, just as in heaven the will of God is done, so it is done on earth...

we shall all be heaven. For flesh, which does not profit, and the blood related to it, cannot possess the kingdom of God; yet they shall be able to possess it, if they are changed from flesh, and earth, and dust, and blood, into the heavenly substance. ^D

27. Give us our daily bread today, or as Luke says: Give us our daily bread from day to day. Since some suppose that we are bidden to pray for material bread, it is right, having removed their false opinion, to set forth the true view concerning the substantial bread. We must therefore ask them: how can He who says that heavenly and great things are to be requested, and who commands prayers to be offered to the Father for earthly and small things—as if He had forgotten what He had taught—be consistent, when the bread which is consumed into our flesh is neither heavenly, nor is a request for it a great petition? But we, following the Master Himself as He teaches the things that pertain to bread, will explain these matters more fully. He says in the Gospel according to John to those who had come to Capernaum to seek Him: "Amen, amen I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled." For he who has eaten of the loaves which Jesus blessed, and has been filled by them, seeks all the more perfectly to apprehend the Son of God, and hastens toward Him. Wherefore He rightly commands, saying: "Labor not for the food which perishes, but for the food which remains unto eternal life, which the Son of man will give you." To these words, when those who had heard Him inquired and said, "What shall we do that we may work the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them: "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." Now God sent His Word, and healed them, as it is written in the Psalms, namely those who had been infirm. By that Word, they who believe work the works of God, which are the food that remains unto eternal life. And: "My Father," He says, "gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." ^D Now the true bread is that which nourishes the true human, he who was made according to the image of God; he who is nourished by it becomes also according to the likeness of the Creator. What, moreover, is more nourishing to the soul than the Word? What is more precious to the mind of him who can grasp it than the Wisdom of God? What is more convenient to a rational nature than the Truth? To these things, if anyone objects—if these things were so, it would not have been that Christ taught us to pray for substantial bread as if it were something different from Himself—

let him hear that even in the Gospel according to John, He speaks ^A sometimes as if of someone different from Himself, and sometimes as if He Himself were the bread. As of someone else, He says there: *Moses gave you bread from heaven, not the true, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.* But as if of Himself, he says to those who had said to him, *Always give us this bread:* *I am the bread of life; he that comes to me shall not hunger, and he that believes in me shall never thirst.* And a little further on: *I am the bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he shall live ^B forever; and the bread which I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.* Since all food is called bread according to Scripture—as is clear from what is written concerning Moses: *He ate no bread for forty days and did not drink water*—and the nourishment of the Word which can sustain is varied and diverse, since not all are able to be nourished by the solidity and firmness of divine disciplines, therefore, wishing to present the food fitting for the more perfect and athletic, He says: *And the bread which I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.* And a little further on: *Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life ^C in you. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me, he also will live because of me.* This food—the flesh of Christ—which, while being the Word, became flesh according to the saying: *And the Word became flesh,* is the true food; when it is eaten by us, then He has dwelt in us. But when it is distributed, that which is written is fulfilled: *And we beheld his glory.* This is the bread which came down from heaven; not as the ^D fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever. But Paul, speaking to the Corinthians, who were infants and walking according to the flesh, says: *I gave you milk to drink, not food; for you were not yet able, nor even now are you able; for you are still carnal.* And in the Epistle to the Hebrews: *And you have become such as have need of milk, not of solid food; for everyone that partakes of milk is inexperienced in the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for those who are perfect, for those who by custom have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.* Indeed, regarding the passage, *One believes he may eat all things; but he who is weak eats herbs,* I think he did not speak primarily of bodily foods, but of the words of God by which the soul is nourished.

For the most faithful and perfect person is able to partake of all, which he indicates by the phrase, *One believes he may eat all things.* But the weaker and less perfect person is content with simpler teachings that do not produce great intensity; this is whom he wishes to signify when he says, *But he who is weak eats herbs.*

And I think that what is said by Solomon in the Proverbs teaches that it is better for one who cannot grasp more intense and greater doctrines due to simplicity, yet who holds opinions that are not erroneous, than for one who is sharper and more acute and applies himself more vigorously to matters, but who does not clarify the reason for the peace and concord of all. The text goes as follows: *Better is a dinner of herbs with friendship and grace than a stalled ox with enmity.* 48 Often, indeed, we have welcomed a common and simpler meal with a good conscience when hosted by those who could not provide more for us, rather than [welcoming] those who rise up towards the knowledge of God with heights of words, who with great plausibility preach a doctrine foreign to the Father of our Lord Jesus, who gave the Law and the Prophets.

Therefore, that our soul may not grow sick through lack of food, ^B or die of the famine of the word of the Lord to God, let us ask from the Father for the living bread—which is the same as the *epiousios* (substantial)—by obeying our teacher and Savior, and by believing and living more uprightly.

Now, we must understand what *epiousios* signifies. First, it must be known that the word *epiousios* has been used by none of the Greeks, whether wise men or common people, and it is not worn out by common usage, but appears to have been coined by the evangelists. Matthew and Luke, at any rate, agreed concerning it, bringing it forth without any difference. Those who interpreted the Hebrew Scriptures did the same thing in other cases. For what Greek ever used the expression *“enōtizou”* (give ear) or *“akoutisthēte”* (be heard) instead of “receive into your ears” and “cause to hear” 17?

There is a word of similar formation to *epiousios* written by Moses, spoken by God: *“And you shall be for me a peculiar (periousios) people.”* 49 And it seems to me that each word has been formed from *ousia* (substance); the one indicating the bread that contributes to our substance, 18 and the other [indicating] the people who are about the substance. ^C And indeed, whatever is properly called *substance* by those who say that it is the principal subsistence of incorporeal things, is considered to reside with those incorporeal beings which have their own fixed existence, and do not admit of addition or suffer diminution; for this is characteristic of bodies, in which there is both growth and corruption, since they are flowing, being in need of something else that enters to support and nourish them—which indeed, if at any time it is more than what has flowed out,

^A growth occurs; but if it is less, diminution. Perhaps some even receive nothing of what enters, and are, so to speak, in a state of pure loss. Others, believing the substance of incorporeal things to be merely consequent, while that of corporeal things is primary, define it thus: Substance is the first matter of things, and that from which things are; the matter of bodies, and that from which bodies are; that of those which are named, and that from which those which are named are; or that which first subsists, being devoid of quality; or that which pre-exists things; or that which receives all mutations and alterations, while being itself invariable in its own nature; or that which is subject to every alteration and mutation. According to these, substance is without quality and without figure according to its own nature; nor does ^B it have a determined magnitude, but it is subject to every quality as if it were a place prepared for it.

They call qualities, in an extended sense, the acts and actions in general by which it comes about that both motions and habits are contained. For they deny that substance participates in any of these according to its own proper nature; yet they declare it to be always so affected that it cannot be separated from any of these, and yet that it is nonetheless apt to receive all the acts of the efficient cause. For there is present in it a certain force that pervades all things, which is the cause of all quality and of every dispensation concerning it. They affirm it to be mutable through all things and divisible through all things, and that any substance can be with any other, namely, as united.

Since, however, we have said these things in our inquiry into substance—on account of the ^C "substantial" bread and the "peculiar" people—to distinguish the various meanings of substance, and since the bread in the preceding passages was the intellectual bread which we ought to seek: it is necessary to understand the substance as akin to the bread, so that just as corporeal bread, when it is introduced into the body of the one who is nourished, passes into its very substance, so the living bread which descended from heaven, when introduced into the mind and soul, may communicate its own power to the one who has offered himself to it to be nourished. And thus, that which we seek will be the substantial bread. Again: just as according to the quality of the food, which is either solid and suitable for athletes, or resembles milk and vegetables, the powers of the one nourished are different; so also it follows that when the word of God is presented as milk to children, or as a vegetable suitable for the ^D weak, or as meat useful for those who are struggling, each of those who are being nourished, according to the proportion in which they have presented themselves to the Word, effects this or that, and becomes this or that. Furthermore, some foods are thought to be deadly, some generate diseases, and some cannot even be taken: which

γάλακτος ^A given appropriately to children, or as a vegetable to those who are weak, or as meat to those 25 who are striving, according to the analogy of each of those being nourished, to whom he offers himself as the Word, to be able to do this or that, and to become this or that. There is, however, some supposed food that is poisonous, and another that is disease-causing, and still another that cannot even be assimilated; all of which must also be transferred by analogy to the differences of the supposed nourishing teachings. The bread that is supersubstantial, therefore, which by nature is most suited to the rational nature, and which is akin to the very substance of truth, provides both health and sound condition and strength to the soul, and communicates its own immortality (for the Word of God is immortal) to the one who eats of it. ^B This supersubstantial bread seems to me, in the Scripture, to be called by another name: the tree of life, upon which one who extends his hand and takes from it shall live forever 50. And by a third name, this tree is called the wisdom of God by Solomon in these words: It is a tree of life to all who grasp it, and safe 27 for those who lean upon it as upon the Lord 51.

Since angels also are nourished by the wisdom of God, receiving strength from the true contemplation accompanied by wisdom in order to fulfill their own works, it is said in the Psalms that the angels are also nourished, and that men of God—who are called Hebrews—share with the angels and become, as it were, their fellow diners. Such is the saying: “Man ate the bread of angels 52.” Let our mind not be so poverty-stricken as to think that it was some corporeal bread—that which is recorded to have descended from heaven upon those who had gone out of Egypt—that the angels partake of for their nourishment, and that the Hebrews were, at the same time, participants in this with the angels, the ministering spirits ^C of God.

And as we seek the supersubstantial bread, and the tree of life, and the wisdom of God, and the common food of holy men and angels, it is not irrelevant to attend also to the things written in Genesis: that three men were brought down to Abraham, and partook of three measures of fine flour mixed for the making of hearth-cakes 53. Perhaps these things were said not literally, but figuratively, so that the saints might be able to share spiritual and rational food not only with men, but also with divine powers—either for their benefit, or as a demonstration of the most nourishing things they have been able to procure for themselves. The angels, of course, rejoice and are nourished by such a demonstration, and they become more prepared to cooperate and conspire in every way, so that the one who has been prepared by his previous instruction may conceive more and greater things, ^D rejoicing in the higher nourishing disciplines which he has acquired, and, so to speak, nourishing them. Nor is it a wonder that the angels are nourished by man, when Christ himself even confesses that he stands at the door and knocks, so that he may enter to the one who has opened to him, and dine with him from the things that he has, intending himself afterward to give from his own goods to the one who first received the Son of God into a feast according to his means 54. Therefore, whoever strengthens his heart through the participation of the supersubstantial bread becomes a son of God; but whoever, from the supper of

the dragon, feeds—he is none other than the intelligible Ethiopian—by transmuting himself, through the snares of the dragon, into a serpent, so that when he is rebuked by the Word, even if he says he wishes to be baptized, he hears: "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" ^B David also speaks thus regarding the dragon-like body fed upon by the Ethiopians: "You crushed the heads of the dragons upon the water. You crushed the heads of the dragon, you gave him as food to the Ethiopian peoples." If it is not absurd that the Son of God subsists substantially, and the adversary also subsists, why should we hesitate to admit that each of them becomes food for this person or that, and that there is the capacity for every one of us to be nourished by all these powers, whether they be better or worse?

Consequently, when Peter was about to commune with the centurion Cornelius and those gathered with him in Caesarea, and afterwards to share the words of God with the Gentiles, he sees a vessel let down from heaven by four corners in which were all the four-footed animals and creeping things and beasts of the earth. When he is also commanded to rise and kill and eat, being ordered, after he had refused and said, "Lord, for never has anything common or unclean entered my mouth," to call no man common or unclean, because it was not proper for Peter to call common what God had purified. For the text says: "What God has purified, you must not call common." ^C Therefore, the clean and unclean food, which according to the law of Moses is distinguished by the names of many animals and refers to the various characters of rational beings, teaches that some foods are useful to us and others are the opposite, until God has purified all, or at least some, of every kind and made them useful. Since these things are so, and there is such a variety of foods, there is one bread, besides all those enumerated, the substantial bread, for which we must pray that we may be deemed worthy of it, and, being nourished by that Word which in the beginning was God with God, we may be transformed into God.

Someone might say that *epiousios* ("supersubstantial") is formed from *epienai* ("to approach"), so that we are commanded to ask for the bread of the future age, that God may now bestow it upon us by anticipation, and that what was to be given as if "tomorrow" may be granted "today"; for "today" is received for the present age, "tomorrow" for the future. ^D But since the former understanding is, in my judgment, better, let us evaluate this "today" which is added to it in Matthew, or what is written in Luke, "day by day." It is the custom of Scripture to call the whole of an age "today" in many places, as in the passage: "This is the father of the Moabites even unto this day."

And: "This is the father of the Ammonites even unto this day." And: "This word was spread abroad among the Jews even unto this day." And in the Psalms: "Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." And in Joshua this is stated most clearly in this way: "Do not depart from the Lord in these days of today." If, then, the whole of this age is "today," perhaps the age which has passed is "yesterday." We assume this from the Psalms and from Paul in the Epistle to the Hebrews. In the Psalms it is thus: "A thousand years in thy sight are as yesterday, which is passed." Whatever that famous millennium ^B may be, or whether it is likened to the yesterday that is distinguished from today. And in the Apostle it is written: "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and for ever." Nor is it any wonder, if in the eyes of God the whole age is said to occupy the space of one of our days; indeed, I think it is even less. And it must be examined whether the accounts of the feasts or assemblies recorded by days, or months, or seasons, or years, refer to ages. For if the law has a shadow of the things to come, it is necessary that those many Sabbaths should be the shadow of many days, and that the new moons should recur at certain intervals of time, by the conjunction of I know not what moon with a certain sun. ^C But if the first month, and its tenth day up to the fourteenth, and the feast of unleavened bread from the fourteenth to the twenty-first, contains a shadow of future things, who is so wise and friend of God as to see the beginning of the many months, and its tenth day, and the things that follow? And what need is there for me to speak of the feast of the seven weeks of days, and of the seventh month, whose new moon is the day of trumpets; and the tenth day is the day of atonement: things which are known only to that God who ordained them? Who has grasped the mind of God to such an extent as to perceive the seven years of the freedom of Hebrew slaves, of the remission of debt, and of the rest from the cultivation of the Holy Land? There is also the feast above the seven years, which is called the jubilee; concerning which, to form for oneself a clear representation, or to understand how its laws are to be truly fulfilled, belongs to no one except him who has contemplated the will of the Father concerning the disposition of all ages, according to His inscrutable judgments and untraceable ways. ^D

Many times it has occurred to me ^B to be perplexed, clashing two Apostolic expressions: how is it the "end of the ages," at which Jesus has appeared once for the putting away of sins, if there are ages to come after this one? His words are as follows: in the Epistle to the Hebrews, "But now once at the end of the ages he has appeared for the putting away of sins through his sacrifice"; and in the Epistle to the Ephesians, "That he might show in the ages to come the exceeding ^C riches of his grace in kindness towards us." And speculating about things of such magnitude, I think that just as the last month is the end of the year, after which the beginning of another month sets in, so perhaps the present age is the end of more ages, as if a "year of ages" were being completed, after which some future ages will set in, the beginning of which is the age to come; and in those ages to come, God will demonstrate the riches of His ^D grace in kindness. The one who is most sinful and who has blasphemed against the Holy Spirit is held by sin in the whole of this present age, and from the beginning until the end, in the age that follows after this one, how he will be dealt with, I do not know. He, therefore, who has seen these things, and has grasped in his mind a week of ages, so as to contemplate a certain holy Sabbath, and a month of ages, so as to see the holy new moon of God, and a year of ages, so as to see the first of many months, and the friend of God, so as to see the feasts of the year, when one must

^A appear before the Lord God. And the years proportional to such ages, so that he may reach the seventh holy year; and the seventh weeks of ages, so that he may sing to Him who legislated such things, having examined how one can be pedantic about the least particle of an hour of the day of such an age, and not do everything so that, having become worthy through the preparation here to obtain the substantial bread this day, he may receive it also day by day?

Now, since it has become clear from what has been said before, regarding "day by day"—for to God, who is from infinite to infinite, the one praying to-day, not only regarding this day, but also in some way regarding the "day by day," will be able to receive beyond what we ask or think because of the One who is able to grant it, so that—to speak hyperbolically—he may receive things which eye has not seen, and things which ear has not heard, and things which have not ascended into the heart of man. And these things also seem to me most necessary to have been examined, so that both "today" and "day by day" may be understood, when we pray for the substantial bread to be given to us by His Father. For even if we considered our book last before this—since it is said not, "Give us our substantial bread today," but, "Give us our substantial bread—day by day"—nevertheless, it must be examined how this bread is ours. The Apostle teaches ^B that, whether life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all are the saints'; it is not necessary to speak of this at present.

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors; or, as Luke says: And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also have forgiven every one who is indebted to us.

Concerning debts

^A not to wear out the flesh of the body through the love of pleasure; but we owe it also to the soul to bring to bear this care, and to make provision for the sharpness of the mind, and of the word, so that it may be without a sting (61) and useful, and in no way idle. For when we do not perform what is owed by us to ourselves, the debt becomes heavier for us. And above all these things, since we are the greatest work and fabrication of God, we owe it to Him to preserve a certain disposition toward Him (63), and love with all our heart, and with all our strength, and with all our mind; if we do not fulfill these things, we remain debtors to God, sinning against the Lord. And who will pray for us concerning these things? "For if a man sins against a man, he will pray for him. But if he sins against the Lord, who will pray for him?" as Eli says in the first book of Kings (64). ^B But we are also debtors to Christ, who redeemed us with His own blood, just as every servant is a debtor to the purchaser who paid so much money for him. There is also a certain debt of ours to the Holy Spirit, which we then repay when we do not grieve Him, in whom we were sealed for the day of redemption; and not grieving Him, we bring forth the fruits that are required of us (65), while He assists us and vivifies our soul. Furthermore, although we do not know precisely who the angel is of each one of us (66) that always beholds the face of the Father who is in heaven, it is nevertheless manifest to anyone who considers it that we are debtors to him also. Likewise, if we are a spectacle to the world and to angels and to men, it must be known that just as one who comes forth to be watched is bound to say or do this or that in the eyes of the spectators, which, if he does not do, he pays the penalty as one who has insulted the whole theater; so also do we owe to the whole world, to all the angels, and to the human race those things which wisdom, if we wish, will teach us. ^C Besides all these things, which pertain more to all, there is a certain debt of the widow whom the Church cares for; likewise another of the deacon, another of the presbyter; and lastly, the debt of the bishop is very grave, which, if it is not rendered, the Savior of the whole Church will demand in judgment. Now indeed the Apostle has named a certain common debt of husband and wife, when he says: "Let the husband render the debt to the wife; and likewise also the wife to the husband." And he adds: "Do not defraud one another." But what need is there for me to say [more], as to how many debts we are burdened with, by which we shall either be held if we do not pay them, or be liberated if we do pay them, when every reader can collect his own debts from those things which have been said? Indeed, it is certainly impossible that he who is in this life should not be in debt at every hour of the day and night. But when anyone is in debt, or pays the debt, ^D

in the matter of owing, either someone pays, or he defrauds the debt; and it is indeed possible in this life to pay, and it is also possible to defraud. And some owe nothing to anyone, while others, by paying off the greatest part, owe only a little; and perhaps there is one who pays nothing, but owes everything. Yet he who pays everything, so as to owe nothing, achieves this only in time, needing forgiveness for the debts he owed previously—a forgiveness which he can reasonably obtain if he has striven from a certain time to become such that he owes nothing of the things incumbent upon him as if they were unpaid. These lawless actions ^B are inscribed in the ruling faculty of our soul and become the handwriting against us, by which we shall be judged, like books written by the hand of all men, so to speak, which shall be brought forth when we all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or evil. Regarding these debts, it is said in the Proverbs: "Give not thyself into pledge, fearing the face of the man; for if thou hast not whereof to pay, they will take thy bed from under thy ribs" (Prov. XXII, 27).

If we are in debt to so many, surely there are also some who are in debt to us. For some owe debts to us as humans, others as citizens, others as fathers; and some as sons; and after these, wives to husbands, or friend to friend. ^C When, therefore, some of our many debtors conduct themselves rather lazily regarding the payment of their obligations to us, we shall act more humanely, being resentful of no wrongs towards them, and remembering our own debts, which we have frequently omitted paying not only to men, but also to God Himself. For, mindful of those things which, when we were debtors, we did not pay, but instead defrauded our neighbor by letting pass the time in which we should have done certain things, we shall be more gentle toward those who have incurred debts to us and have not paid the debt; and especially if we do not forget the things we have transgressed against the Divine, and the iniquity spoken by us against the Most High, either through ignorance of the truth or ^D through dissatisfaction with the circumstances that have befallen us.

But if we are unwilling to be gentle toward those who have incurred debts to us, we shall suffer the things of him who did not forgive his fellow servant the hundred denarii. When the debt had been forgiven him, according to the parable set out in the Gospel, the Lord then orders him to be bound, and demands from him what He had previously forgiven, saying: "Thou wicked and slothful servant, oughtest not thou also to have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? Cast him into prison, till he should pay all the debt" (Matt. XVIII, 32). To these things, moreover, the Lord adds: "So also shall My heavenly Father do"

^A to you, if you do not forgive each one his brother from your hearts." Nevertheless, one must forgive those who repent of having sinned against us, even if our debtor does this often. For if "seven times in the day he sins against you," He says, "and seven times turns again, saying: I repent, you shall forgive him." But we are not harsh toward those who do not repent, but such people are evil to themselves; "for he who refuses instruction hates his own soul" (Prov. XV, 32). Nevertheless, even in the case of those who do so, we must seek in every way to ensure that a cure is found for one who is so perverted in all things that he does not even perceive his own evils, and is drunk with a drunkenness more destructive than that from wine, blinded by the darkness of malice.

As for what Luke says: "Forgive us our sins" (since sins consist of the fact that we owe things and do not pay them), he says the same thing as Matthew, who does not seem to give room to one who wishes to forgive only those debtors who repent, since the Savior prescribed that we should add to our prayer: "For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us." ^B We all, therefore, have the power to forgive sins committed against us, as is manifest from these words: "As we also forgive our debtors," and from those others: "For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us." But he into whom Jesus breathed, as He did into the apostles, and who can be known by his fruits to have received the Holy Spirit and to have become spiritual—because he is led by the Spirit of God, after the manner of the Son of God, to all those things which must be done according to reason—he forgives what God would forgive, and retains sins that are incurable, serving (as the prophets served God, speaking not their own words, but those of the divine will) God, who alone has the power to forgive.

^C Now, in the Gospel according to John, the words concerning the remission to be granted by the apostles are as follows: "Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven them, and whose you retain, they are retained" (John XX, 23). But if these things are taken without examination, the apostles will seem to be open to accusation, because they do not forgive all, so that all might be forgiven, but retain the sins of some, so that through them they are retained even before God. It will be helpful to take an example from the law, so that the remission of sins that happens to men by God through men may be understood. The priests according to the law are forbidden to offer sacrifice for certain transgressions, so that the transgressions may be forgiven to those for whom the sacrifices are offered. Nor will a priest, who has ^D the power of forgiving certain involuntary acts or of offering for sins, ever offer a holocaust or sacrifice for sin in the case of adultery, or voluntary murder, or any other more serious crime. Thus, therefore, the apostles, and those who are priests like the apostles, according to the great high priest, [exercise] the discipline of...

the healing that comes from God, knowing—being taught by the Spirit—for which [sins] it is necessary to offer sacrifices, and when, and in what manner, and they know for which it is not necessary to do this. The priest Eli, for instance, knowing that his sons Ophni and Phinees were sinning, confessed that he was unable to cooperate in the forgiveness of their sins, and [confessed] that he despaired that this would [be possible], saying: "If a man sins against a man, they shall pray for him; but if he sins against the Lord, who shall pray for him?" I do not know how some take it upon themselves to claim authority beyond their priestly rank, perhaps not even understanding the priestly discipline accurately, and boast as if they were able to grant pardon even for idolatry, adultery, and fornication, as if through their prayer for those who have dared to commit such things, even the "sin unto death" were [to be] loosed. For do they not read: "There is a sin unto death; I do not say that one should ask concerning that"? Nor should the most courageous Job be passed over, who offered sacrifice for his sons, saying: "Perhaps my sons have thought evil things in their minds against God." For he offers sacrifice for those sins which he doubts may have been committed, and which have not even reached to the lips.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. But the phrase, "but deliver us from evil," is omitted in Luke. If the Savior does not command us to pray for impossible things, it seems to me a question worth asking how we are commanded to pray not to enter into temptation, ^B since the whole life of men upon earth is a trial, for which we are commanded to pray...

not to enter into temptation. For we are on earth, clothed with the flesh that wars against the spirit, whose mindset is enmity toward God, being in no way able to be subject to the law of God, and in this way we are in ^A temptation. That every human life upon earth is a trial, we have learned from Job through these words: "Is not the life of man upon earth a trial?" And from the seventeenth psalm the same is made clear in the passage: "I shall be rescued from the trial." But Paul, too, writing to the Corinthians—not that we should not be tempted, but that we should not be tempted beyond our strength—says that God grants this, saying: "No temptation has overtaken you except what is human; but God is faithful, who will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." For whether our wrestling is against the flesh, which desires and wars against the spirit, or against the soul of all flesh, which is called by the name of the body in which it dwells, the governing part, which is called the heart (which is the struggle for those who are tempted by human trials), or whether it is as for those more advanced and perfect athletes, who no longer wrestle with flesh and blood, nor are they examined by the human trials which they have ^B trampled underfoot, but our contests are now against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual wickedness—we are not immune to temptations. How then does the Savior command us to pray not to enter into temptation, seeing that God in a certain way tempts all? For remember (says Judith, not to the elders of that time only, but to all who would read her book) all that He did with Abraham, and all that He visited upon Isaac, and all that happened to Jacob in Mesopotamia of Syria while he was tending the sheep of his mother’s brother Laban; for not as He tried them in the testing of their hearts does He also avenge us, whom the Lord flagellates for our amendment as we draw near to Him. And David also declares this in general concerning all the righteous, saying: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous." And the Apostle in the Acts: "That through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God." And if we understand nothing beyond the common interpretation regarding the prayer [to be kept from] entering into temptation, it would have to be said that the apostles, when they prayed, were not heard, having suffered ^C countless evils throughout their whole life—in labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in deaths often. And Paul individually received from the Jews forty stripes save one. Thrice he was beaten with rods, once he was stoned, thrice he suffered shipwreck, a night and a day he was in the deep; a man having suffered in all things tribulation, being perplexed, having suffered persecution, cast down, who confesses this: "Even to this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place."

And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it; being defamed, we entreat." But since the apostles did not obtain [what they sought] while praying, what hope is there for any of those who are inferior to them to obtain a hearing from God when they pray? ^B And as for that which is in the twenty-fifth Psalm: "Prove me, O Lord, and try me; purify my reins and my heart," one who does not accurately understand what the intention of the Savior's command is might reasonably surmise that it is contrary to what our Lord taught concerning prayer. But when has anyone thought that men are without the temptations which He knew and which He had calculated? And what time is there in which one has been secure, as if there were no need to fight so as not to sin? Is someone in need? Let him be on his guard, lest perhaps, having stolen, he might blaspheme the name of God. But is he wealthy? Let him not be arrogant; for, being filled, he might become a liar, and, having been exalted, say, "Who sees me?" Even Paul, though rich in every word and in all knowledge, was not exempt from the danger of being exalted because of these things and [thereby] sinning, but had need of a "thorn of Satan" to buffet him, so that he might not be exalted. And if anyone is well satisfied with himself and has escaped evils, let him read what is said in the second book of Chronicles concerning Hezekiah, who is said to have fallen from the height of his heart. ^C And if, because we have not spoken more about the poor person, someone should despise this, as if poverty were not a temptation, let him know that the ensnarer is plotting to cast down the poor and needy person, especially since, according to Solomon, the poor man does not withstand a threat. And what need is there to speak of as many as, through carnal wealth—not having administered it well—have received the place in punishment with the rich man in the Gospel? And as many as, bearing poverty ignobly, living in a more servile and humble manner than is fitting for the saints, have fallen away from the heavenly hope? Nor are those who are in between these two, wealth and poverty, entirely exempt from sinning in their moderate possessions. But does someone who is healthy in body and in good condition assume that he is outside of every temptation because of that very health and well-being? And whose is the sin of defiling the temple of God, if not that of those who are in good condition and healthy? One would not dare, because it is open to all, to speak clearly about what follows from this. ^D Yet, who among the sick has escaped the incitements to defile the temple of God, being at leisure at that time, and quite readily receiving thoughts about unclean things? And as for how many there are besides these that disturb him, if he does not with all diligence guard his heart, what is the need to speak? For many, overcome by calamities and not knowing how to bear their illnesses manfully, have been discovered to be more sick in soul than in body. Many also, in order to avoid infamy, have been ashamed to bear the name of Christ generously, and have fallen into everlasting reproach. Does anyone believe that there will be

^B rest for him, when he has been honored by men; and that the harsh word, "They have received their reward from men," is not pronounced over those who are puffed up by the estimation of the vulgar, as if by some good thing? How much more stupendous is the word: "How can you believe, who receive glory from one another, and do not seek the glory that is from God alone?" What need is there for me to enumerate the various falls into pride of those who are thought to be noble, or, likewise, of those who are called ignoble, the fawning submission born of ignorance, turning them away from God, by which they prostrate themselves before those who seem to be their superiors—people who indeed possess no sincere friendship, but merely simulate that which is most beautiful in men, charity? ^C Therefore, as was said above, the whole life of man upon the earth is a trial. Wherefore, let us pray to be delivered from trial, not in such a way that we are not tried (for this is impossible, especially while we are upon the earth), but that we might not succumb while being tried. He who does succumb to trial, I consider to have entered into trial, being caught by its nets; into which nets, for the sake of those who were already ensnared in them, the Savior entered, looking through them as if through lattices, according to what is said in the Song of Songs, and He answers those who are already ensnared and have entered into trial, saying to them as to His own bride: "Arise, come, my neighbor, my beautiful one, my dove."

I shall add this also, to show that there is no time for men that is empty of trial: not even he who meditates on the law of the Lord day and night, and strives to fulfill what is said, "The mouth of the just shall meditate on wisdom," is exempt from trial. For how many who are addicted to the study of the sacred books, but have received what was promised in the Law and the prophets incorrectly, and have implicated themselves in impious, foolish, and ridiculous dogmas—what is the need to mention them, when countless people, whom a negligent reading does not seem to reproach, have nevertheless fallen into these same errors? The same thing happens to many with the apostolic and evangelical Scriptures, who, because of their own foolishness, have fashioned for themselves a Son or a Father other than He who is preached by the saints and is understood according to the truth. For he who does not think the truth concerning God or His Christ has fallen away from the true God and His Only-begotten, and does not truly adore the Father and Son whom his own folly has fashioned for him; he has suffered this because he did not notice the trial from which the reading of the sacred books is not free, nor did he stand armed as if for an impending struggle. Therefore, we must pray, ^D not that we are not tried—for that is impossible—but that we are not circumvented by trial; which happens to those who are held and conquered by it. Since, therefore, it is written outside of the prayer: "That you may not enter into trial," which it will be possible to see is plain from the things said, but in the prayer itself we ought to say to God the Father: "Do not"

^A lead us into trial." It is worth investigating how we must understand God involving in trial him who does not pray, or him who is not heard. For it is inconsistent to think, when he who is overcome enters into trial, that God leads anyone into trial, as if giving him over so that he might be defeated; and the same inconsistency meets anyone who might explain the words "Pray that you may not enter into trial" in any other way. For if falling into trial is an evil—something we pray we might not suffer—how is it not absurd to think that the good God, who cannot bear evil fruits, exposes anyone to evils?

Therefore, it is useful to adduce here what was said in the Epistle to the Romans by Paul in this manner: "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of the image of a corruptible man, and of birds, and of four-footed beasts, and of creeping things; wherefore God gave them up in the desires of their hearts unto uncleanness, to dishonor their own bodies among themselves." And a little later: "For this cause God gave them up unto shameful passions; for even their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature; and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust," and the rest. And again a little ^B later: "And even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up unto a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting."

All these things must be pressed upon those who divide the divinity, and it must be said to those who think the good Father of our Lord is different from the God of the Law: if the good God leads him who does not obtain his prayer into trial; and if the Father of the Lord gives them up in the desires of their hearts if they have previously sinned in something, unto uncleanness, so that their bodies are dishonored in themselves; and if, as they themselves say, he (being exempt from judging and punishing) gives them up unto shameful passions and unto a reprobate mind to do things not fitting—then they would not have been in the desires of their hearts without having been given up to them by God; nor would they have fallen into shameful passions had they not been given up by God to them; nor would they have fallen into a reprobate mind without those thus condemned having been given over to it by God.

I know well that these things will trouble them greatly. ^C For this reason, because they devised another God beside the maker of heaven and earth, since they found many such things in the law and the prophets, they stumbled at this, so that they did not think him good who had uttered such words. But to us, because of the doubts we have raised concerning these words, "Lead us not into trial," for which we have brought forward also the voices of the Apostle, it must be considered whether we find solutions worthy of those things which appear to conflict. I think that God so manages individual rational souls that he looks toward their eternal life; for they always have free choice, and of their own will are either in better things and ascend until they have arrived at the pinnacle ^D of good things, or by negligence...

^A descend in various ways into such a heap of evils. But since a swifter and more compendious healing produces in some a contempt for the diseases into which they have fallen—as if they were easy to cure—so that they fall into the same evils over again after having been healed, it will not be unreasonable if God overlooks their wickedness and allows it to grow and spread until it becomes incurable, so that, by lingering longer in the evil and, having desired the sin, being gorged to the point of nausea, they may at last perceive their loss, and may hate that which they previously embraced, and, once healed, may be able to retain more firmly the recovered health of their souls. Thus, the "mixed multitude" that was among the children of Israel "fell a-lusting," and they sat and wept, and the children of Israel said: "Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; and the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic. But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, besides this manna, before our eyes." ^B And then, a little later, it is said: "And Moses heard them weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent." And again, after a little, the Lord says to Moses: "And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to-morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; but even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?" Let us see, therefore, whether we have usefully brought you this history for the solution of those things which seem to conflict in this: "Lead us not into temptation," ^C and in the words of the Apostle. The "mixed multitude" that was among the children of Israel fell a-lusting, and the children of Israel also wept with them. It is clear that as long as they lacked the objects of their desire, they could not lose their appetite for them, nor be freed from the disease; but the good and kind God, while granting them what they desired, did not wish to grant it in such a way that the desire would remain within them. Wherefore He says they will not eat flesh for one day; for the disease would have remained in their soul, kindled and inflamed, had they been partakers of the flesh for a short time. Nor does He grant their wish for two days, but that he might make the thing loathsome to them, He seems not so much to promise, as to threaten—to one who has the capacity to understand—that He will grant it, when He says: You shall not spend only five days eating ^D flesh, nor twice that much, nor twice that many again, but—

^B only to that extent will you eat, for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils with the choleraic disease—that which you regard as good, and its blameworthy and shameful desire. I shall remove you from life, no longer desiring anything, so that, having departed in such a state—purified, that is, from desire, and mindful through what labors you were delivered from it—you may be able either not to fall into it thereafter, or, if at some point this should happen after long periods of time, having forgotten what you suffered because of desire, if you do not pay attention to yourselves and accept the Word which perfectly delivers from every disease, you might fall into evils. Later, indeed, when the desire for birth comes upon you, you may pray to obtain the desired things again, and, having come to hate what was desired, thus return again to better things and to heavenly food, which you once neglected when you craved worse things.

The same things, then, will be suffered by those who exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, ^C and of birds, and of four-footed animals, and of reptiles, because they were abandoned and delivered in the desires of their hearts unto uncleanness, to the dishonoring of their bodies—they who, for a body bereft of soul and sense, transferred the name of Him who granted to all perceptive, rational beings not only sense and rational sense, but also to some, even perfect and virtuous sense and understanding. And it is reasonable that such men are delivered by the God who was abandoned by them, being in turn abandoned by Him, unto the passions of dishonor, receiving the just retribution of their error, by which they loved an unclean pleasure. For a more just retribution for error befalls them when they are delivered unto the passions of dishonor, than if ^D they were purified by spiritual fire, and were being required in prison to pay back every debt even to the last farthing. For when delivered unto the passions of dishonor, they are polluted not only by those which are in accord with nature, but also by very many which are contrary to nature, and they become thickened in flesh, as if they no longer had a soul or a mind, but were entirely flesh. But in the fire and in the lack they do not receive a retribution for error, but a benefit, when they are purified by salutary hardships and are delivered from those evils which follow the lovers of pleasure—namely, the filth and blood by which they were defiled and infected, so that they could not even consider how they might be saved from their destruction. God will therefore wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Zion; and He will cleanse the blood from their midst in a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning. For He enters as a refiner's fire, and as a fuller's herb, washing and cleansing those who require such medicines, because they did not approve of having God in their knowledge; and to those who willingly deliver themselves to such things, they will hate a reprobate mind (for God does not will that good be done by anyone as if by necessity, but by will); since there are perhaps some who, because of long-standing custom in vices, scarcely perceive their own turpitude.

and to such an extent are they deceived by them as by a false appearance of good. ^A Observe, however, whether this may be the reason why God hardens Pharaoh’s heart, so that he who said "he is not hardened" might be able to say, "The Lord is righteous, but I and my people are wicked." But he requires a greater hardening, and to suffer something more, lest, if the hardening should cease too soon, he should spurn it as if it were a bad thing, and thus become worthy of being hardened the more. Therefore, if nets are not spread unjustly for birds, as is said in the Proverbs, but God rightly leads us into a snare, according to him who said, "You have brought us into the snare," and if without the will of the Father not even the lowliest of winged birds falls into a trap (since he who falls into it falls precisely because he did not correctly use the power granted to him for flying upward), let us pray that we may in no way commit anything for which we might deservedly be led into temptation by the just judgment of God. For he is led into temptation whoever is surrendered by God to the desires of his own heart into impurity, and whoever is surrendered into dishonorable passions, and whoever, just as he did not approve of having God within himself, has been surrendered to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not fitting. ^B Furthermore, this is the utility of temptation: those things which are received in our soul and are hidden from all but God, and even from ourselves, become manifest through temptations, so that we may no longer remain ignorant of what kind we are, but, knowing who we are, we may perceive if we desire our own evils, and may also give thanks for the good things that are revealed to us through temptations. That temptations come precisely so that it may appear who we are, or that the things hidden in our heart may be known, is declared by what the Lord says in the book of Job, and by what is written in Deuteronomy, which read as follows: "Do you think that I have answered you otherwise than so that you might appear righteous?" And in Deuteronomy: "He afflicted you and let you hunger, and fed you with manna, and he led you in the desert, where there was an attacking serpent and a scorpion and a dipsas, so that those things might be known which are in your heart." If we wish to recall the history, there is no doubt that Eve’s reason was corrupted, and she was not easily deceived only at that time when, having despised God’s edict, she listened to the serpent; but those things which were previously inherent were then made manifest, when the serpent came to her precisely because it had detected her weakness by its own cunning. Nor did Cain begin to be evil only when he killed his brother, for already before that, God, the inspector of hearts, had not looked upon Cain and his sacrifices: his malice only came to light when he slew Abel. Had Noah not drunk the wine he had planted, and had he not been intoxicated and stripped naked, there would not have appeared either the insolence of Ham and his impiety toward his father, nor the ^C becoming flesh. But in the fire and in the prison, they are not receiving the reward of their deception, but a benefit for the purification of the evils in that deception, along with saving labors following those who are lovers of pleasure; they are stripped of all filth and blood, in which, being dirtied and defiled, they were not even able to think about being saved, because of their own destruction. Therefore, God will wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Zion, and will cleanse the blood from their midst by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning; for he enters as the fire of a refiner, and as the soap of those who wash, cleansing and purifying those who have been subjected to such poisons, because they did not wish to have God in their knowledge despite being tested; those who abandon them will willingly hate the reprobate mind. God does not wish for good to happen to anyone as if by necessity, but voluntarily; perhaps because some, from having frequently consorted with wickedness, have hardly grasped its ugliness, and are turning away from it because they had falsely assumed it to be good. But consider whether it is for this reason that God also hardens Pharaoh’s heart, so that, what he said [would happen] if he were not hardened, he might be able to say: "The Lord is righteous, but I and my people are wicked." But he needs to be hardened even more, and to suffer something more, so that, lest he should cease from being hardened too quickly and might despise the hardening as a bad thing, he may become worthy of being hardened more often. If, therefore, nets are not unjustly extended for those with wings, according to what is said in the Proverbs, but God reasonably leads them into the snare, according to him who said: "You have brought us into the snare," and without the will of the Father not even the more worthless of winged sparrows falls into the snare (the one falling into the snare falls for this reason, because he did not well use the power given for being lifted up); let us pray that we do nothing worthy of being brought by the just judgment of God into temptation; everything being brought [upon us] which is surrendered by God into the desires of his own heart unto impurity; and everything surrendered unto passions of dishonor; and everything, just as he did not approve of having God in himself, surrendered to a reprobate mind to do things which are not fitting. Such is the need for being tempted. What our soul received, hidden from all except God, and even from ourselves, becomes manifest through temptations, so that we may no longer be ignorant of what kind we ever are, but, recognizing it ourselves, we may also perceive—if we wish—our own evils, and give thanks for the good things manifested to us by temptations. That the temptations which occur are for the sake of our being manifest as to what kind we are, or of diagnosing the things ^D hidden in our heart, is shown by what the Lord said in Job...

and what is written in Deuteronomy, which read as follows: "Do you think that I have dealt with you otherwise than that you should be shown to be righteous?" And in Deuteronomy thus: "He humbled you and let you hunger, and fed you with manna, and led you through the wilderness, where there is a biting serpent, and a scorpion, and thirst, so that the things in your heart might be known." ^A And if we wish to be reminded also by history, one must know that the susceptibility to deception and the instability of Eve's understanding did not come into being when, having disobeyed God, she heard the serpent; but rather, that she was proved to be such even before this—the serpent having come to her for this reason—since she took hold of her own weakness in her own conceit. Nor did wickedness begin to exist in Cain when he killed his brother; for even before this, God, who knows the heart, did not pay regard ^B to Cain and his sacrifices; but his malice was made manifest when he slew Abel. And indeed, had Noah not drunk the wine of which he was the planter, and become drunk and uncovered, neither the rashness of Ham and his impiety toward his father would have been revealed, nor the modesty of his brothers and their reverence toward him who begat them. And the plot of Esau against Jacob seemed to have as its pretext the taking away of the blessing; yet before this, his soul already possessed the roots of being a fornicator and a profane person. And we would not have known the brilliance of the chastity of Joseph, who was prepared not to be overcome by any desire, had his mistress not fallen in love with him. ^C For this reason, in the intermediate times of the succession of trials, let us stand ready for the things that are upon us, and let us prepare ourselves for all that can happen, so that whatever may come to pass, we may not be proven to be unprepared, but may be revealed as having composed ourselves most diligently. For what is lacking due to human weakness, when we have performed all that is within our own power, God will fulfill, who works all things together for good for those who love him, as he has foreseen, according to his unfailing foreknowledge, whatever they are to be in their own regard.

It seems to me that Luke, by the words, "And lead us not into temptation," has also taught by implication: "Deliver us from the evil one." And it is likely that the Lord spoke more concisely to the disciple, as one who had already made progress, but more clearly to the multitude, who stood in need of a more distinct ^D teaching. God delivers us from the evil one, not when the enemy in no way approaches us—wrestling against us through whatever methods of his own, and as a minister of his will—but when we conquer by standing bravely against the things that happen. Thus we have also understood the saying: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, and from them all he delivers them." For God delivers from afflictions, not in the sense that afflictions no longer occur, since even Paul says, "In every way we are afflicted, as though we were never not afflicted," but when, being afflicted, we are not straitened by the help of God. For "to be afflicted" at a certain ancestral usage among the Hebrews is signified as referring to the external circumstance which happens without our choice, while "to be straitened" is said of the person who voluntarily yields to the affliction and is conquered by it. Hence

the deliverance from the evil one is also properly understood, as Paul well says: "In all things we are afflicted, but not straitened." I think that what is said in the Psalms is similar to this: "In affliction you have made room for me." For by the cooperation and presence of the Word of God, who consoles and saves us, the cheerfulness and joy of our mind in the time of tribulations, which comes from God, is called "enlargement." Therefore, to be delivered from the evil one must be understood in the same way. God delivered Job, ^B not by not having given authority to certain tempters to cast him into these or those temptations (for He had given it), but because in all the things that happened to him he did not sin at all before the Lord, but appeared righteous. For he who had said, "Does Job reverence the Lord for nothing? Have you not hedged around all that covers the outside of him, and the inside of his house, and everything that is around him on every side? You have blessed the works of his hands, and you have made his cattle many upon the earth. But send forth your hand, and touch all that he has; surely he will curse you to your face." ^C He was covered with shame, as one who at that time also had lied against Job. For while he had suffered so much, Job did not, as the adversary said, curse God to His face, but even when delivered to the tempter he persevered in blessing the Lord, rebuking his wife who said, "Say some word against the Lord and die," and chiding her by saying, "You have spoken like one of the foolish women. If we have received good things from the hand of the Lord, shall we not endure evil things?" And a second time the devil said to the Lord concerning Job: ^D "Skin for skin, all that a man has he will give for his soul. But send forth your hand, and touch his bones and his flesh; surely he will curse you to your face." But having been conquered by this athlete of virtue, he is shown to be a liar; for although he had suffered the most cruel things, he persevered in not sinning at all with his lips before God. Job engaged in two contests and, having been victorious in both, he did not enter into a third contest of this kind; for it was fitting that that threefold struggle should be reserved for Christ, which is described in the three Gospels: for the Savior, whom we understand according to His humanity, conquered the enemy three times. Therefore, since we are to ask God with knowledge not to enter into temptation, but to be delivered from the evil one, after we have examined these things and searched them out within ourselves, having become worthy through listening to God to be heard by Him, let us entreat that when we are tempted we may not be put to death, and that we may not be set on fire by the fiery darts of the wicked one. For all those whose hearts, according to one of the twelve prophets, have become like an oven are set on fire.

but they are not set on fire who, with the shield of faith, extinguish all the fiery darts sent against them by the wicked one, since they have within themselves rivers of water springing up into everlasting life, ^A which do not allow the things of the wicked one to prevail, but easily dissolve them by the deluge of divine and saving thoughts, which are impressed by the contemplations of truth upon the soul of one who trains himself to be spiritual. ^B 31. Nor does it seem to me absurd after this, in order to complete the argument regarding prayer, to discuss somewhat more introductively concerning the disposition and posture that he who prays ought to have, and the place where one ought to pray, and the quarter of the world toward which one should look, without any obstacle, and the time suitable and exceptional for prayer, and whatever else is similar to these. The disposition is to be referred to the soul, the posture to the body. Paul, therefore, says, as we mentioned above, describing the disposition: "that men should pray without wrath and doubting," and the posture: "lifting up holy hands," which it seems to me he took from the Psalms, where it is thus: "The lifting up of my hands is as an evening sacrifice." As to the place: "I will therefore that men pray everywhere." And as to the quarter of the world, it is said in the Wisdom of Solomon: "That it might be known that we must prevent the sun to give thee thanks, and at the dayspring pray unto thee." ^C It seems to me, therefore, that he who is about to come to prayer, if he pauses for a little while and composes himself, becomes more prompt and attentive throughout the whole of the prayer; also if he has cast away all anxieties of mind and perturbations of thoughts, and has reminded himself according to his power of the majesty of Him to whom he approaches, and how impious it is for him to present himself lax and slack and as if contemptuous; if, in short, he has laid aside all things alien, thus to come to pray: to extend—if I may so speak—the soul before the hands, and before the eyes to direct the mind toward God; and before he stands, to rouse the superior part of the soul from the ground, and to station it before the Lord of all; and, in short, to lay aside every memory of injuries that he seems to have suffered from anyone, to such a degree ^D as one wishes God to be unmindful of the things he himself has done wickedly, and in which he has sinned against many of his neighbors, or whatever things he is conscious of having done in any way contrary to right reason. For one should not doubt that, there being infinite postures of the body, that posture which involves the extension of the hands and the lifting up of the eyes is to be preferred above all; as if it bears in the body as it were an image of those things which the soul through...

during prayer. We say this, however, that it must be done primarily when there is no impediment; for with an impediment it is permitted, when appropriate, to pray while sitting, because of some ailment of the feet that is not to be slighted, or even while lying down because of fevers or such like ^A infirmities. And also because of an obstacle, for example, if we are sailing, or if business does not allow us to withdraw to perform the required prayer, it is permitted to pray even while not observing any such posture. One must also know that the bending of the knees is necessary when someone is about to confess his own sins before God as a suppliant, beseeching God for healing from them and for their forgiveness; for it is a figure of one who has fallen down and submitted himself, as Paul says: "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father, of whom the whole family in heaven and on earth is named" (Eph. iii, 14). But the Apostle seems to me to indicate the spiritual genuflexion, so named because everything that exists worships God in the name of Jesus and humbly submits itself to Him, in these words: "That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth" (Phil. ii, 10). For one should not by any means think that the bodies of celestial beings are so formed that they have bodily knees, since their bodies have been demonstrated to be spherical by those who have treated these matters accurately. ^B He who is unwilling to admit this, unless he impudently resists reason, will be compelled to admit also the purpose of the individual members, so that nothing in them may have been made in vain by the supreme Artificer, God; faltering on both sides: whether he says that the parts of the body were given to them by God in vain and not for the proper work of each, or whether he says that the viscera and the rectum perform their own functions in celestial bodies; but he will act most foolishly who thinks that they, like statues, have the human form only on the surface and not also in their inner parts. I have said these things while weighing genuflexion and seeing that: "In the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth." The same is also true of what is written in the prophet: "Unto me every knee shall bow" (Isa. xlv, 24). Furthermore, regarding place, it should be known that every place is made suitable for prayer by one who prays correctly: for, "In every place incense shall be offered unto me," saith the Lord (Mal. i, 11); ^C likewise: "I will therefore that men pray every where" (I Tim. ii, 8). Each person may also choose a certain and defined place in their private homes, if there is space, a place "more holy," so to speak, where he might complete his prayers more quietly and with less distraction, and pray there; provided, however, that before that...

he examine the general question regarding this place, and look to see whether any wicked deed has ever been committed therein, or anything done contrary to right reason. For one who has done such a thing has made not only himself, but even the place of his own prayer, such that God turns His gaze away from it. Yet, as I look more fully into the matter, something occurs to me to say regarding that place, which may seem unpleasant, but which, perhaps, when examined more carefully, is not to be despised. One must inquire, namely, whether it is holy and pure to pray to God in a place where intercourse has occurred—not indeed illicitly, but that which is granted "by way of concession, not by way of command," according to the apostolic words (1 Cor. vii, 5). For if one cannot attend to prayer as one ought unless, by mutual consent, one devotes oneself to it for a time, perhaps the question of the place ^B and whether it is fitting should also be considered. There is, indeed, something pleasant and beneficial about a place of prayer—namely, the place where the faithful gather together for the same purpose; for it is credible that angelic powers are present at the assemblies of the faithful, as well as the power of our Lord and Savior Himself, and indeed also the spirits of the saints, and, I think, even those who have fallen asleep; for regarding those still living, it is manifest, though it is not easy to say how they are present.

And as for the angels, it may be reasoned thus: If "the angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear him, and shall deliver them" (Ps. xxxiii, 8), and Jacob speaks the truth when, not regarding himself alone but all who are devoted to God, he says to the one who understands, "The angel who redeems me out of all evils" (Gen. xlviii, 16), it is probable that when many are gathered ^C genuinely for the glory of Christ, the angel of each one encamps round about each of those who fear Him, together with that man whose care and custody has been entrusted to him; so that there is, as it were, a twofold church among the holy ones gathered together, one of men and another of angels. And if Raphael says that he brought the prayer of Tobias alone as a memorial, and then that of Sarah, who had become his daughter-in-law by having been married to Tobias (Tob. xii, 12), what must be said of many who are running together with the same intent and sentiment, and are constituting one body in Christ?

Furthermore, concerning the power of Christ being present with the Church, Paul says: "When you are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of the Lord Jesus" (1 Cor. v, 4); implying that the power of the Lord Jesus is joined not only ^D with the Ephesians, but also with the Corinthians. But if Paul, while still clothed in the body, thought he could be present in spirit with the Corinthians in their common assembly, it is not to be despaired of that those also who have departed from this life, the blessed ones, might attend the churches in spirit, and perhaps more effectively than he who is in the body. Therefore, the prayers that take place in those gatherings are not to be despised, for they bring something exceptional to those who are gathered according to the law. But just as the power of Jesus and the spirit of Paul and those like him, and the angels of the Lord keeping watch round about each of the saints, run together and convene with those who are gathered in a lawful manner; so too...

we must consider whether anyone, being unworthy of a holy angel, delivers himself up to a devilish angel by the things in which he transgresses by sinning. For one who is such, even if there be few who are like him, will not long escape the providence ^B of the angels, who, ministering to the divine will, keep watch over the church and bring the transgressions of such a one to the notice of the many. If, however, a multitude of such persons come together in the manner of human associations, and treat of matters more bodily, they will not be watched over; which is declared in Isaiah, the Lord saying: "Not even if you come to appear before me; for I will turn," He says, "my eyes away from you; and if you multiply your prayer, I will not hear you." For perhaps, in place of that twofold company which we have mentioned—of holy men and blessed angels—there is once again a twofold meeting—of impious men and evil angels—concerning which meeting it may be said by holy angels and pious men: "I have not sat with the council of vanity, and with them that act unjustly I will not enter. I have hated the church of the malignant, and with the impious I will not sit." For this reason I think that those peoples who were in Jerusalem and in all Judea, having abandoned the law and being laden with many sins, were delivered into the hands of their enemies, because they were abandoned by God, and by the angels who protect them, and were destitute of the assistance of holy men. For thus, sometimes, complete congregations are permitted to fall into temptations, so that even that which they seem to have may be taken away from them, and, like the fig tree that was cursed and plucked up by the roots ^C because it did not give fruit to the hungering Christ, they wither, and if they possessed any small amount of life-giving power according to faith, they are deprived of it. These things seem to me to have been necessarily said, when examining the place of prayer, and establishing that the principal place is the gathering of the saints piously meeting together in the church.

32. Now, concerning the part of the world toward which one should face when praying, a few things must be said. Since there are four parts—toward the north, and the south, and the west, and the east—who would not immediately admit that the east clearly indicates that we ought to pray turned that way symbolically, as the soul looks toward the rising of the true light? For if anyone should pray toward any ^D part, he ought to take care, lest—if he be unworthy of a holy angel—he should deliver himself up to a devilish angel by the things in which he sins and transgresses in contempt of God.

And if Paul, while still encompassed by the body, thought that his own spirit ought to share the labor in Corinth, it is not to be disbelieved that even the blessed ones who have departed reach out with their spirit, perhaps even more than he who is in the body, to the churches. Therefore, the prayers in them are not to be despised, as they possess something special for those who genuinely gather there. And as the power of Jesus, and the spirit of Paul and of those like him, and the angels of the Lord who keep watch round about each of the saints, accompany and concur with those who are genuinely gathered together; so it must be surmised, lest, if anyone be unworthy of a holy angel, he deliver himself to a devilish angel by the things in which he transgresses by sinning; for such a person, even though those like him are rare, will not long go unnoticed by the providence of the angels, who, in the service of the divine will, keep watch over the church, bringing the transgressions of such a one to the knowledge of the many. If, however, a multitude of such people come together in the manner of human societies, and gather while dealing with matters more carnally, they will not be watched over; which is disclosed in Isaiah, the Lord saying: "Not even if you come to appear before me. I will turn away," says He, "my eyes from you; and if you multiply the supplication, I will not hear you." For perhaps, instead of the aforementioned double gathering—of holy men and blessed angels—a double meeting comes together for the same purpose—of impious men and evil angels; and it would be said concerning the congregation of such people, both by holy angels and by holy men: "I have not sat with the council of vanity, and with those who act lawlessly I will not enter; I have hated the church of those who do evil, and with the impious I will not sit." For this reason I think that those who were in Jerusalem and in all Judea, having fallen into many sins, became subject to their enemies, because those who had abandoned the law had been abandoned by God, and by the angels who defend them, and by the salvation of holy men. For thus even whole assemblies are sometimes left to fall into temptations, so that even what they seem to possess may be taken away from them; and, similarly to the cursed fig tree

(of which the Savior spoke)

32. Now also, regarding the region toward which one ought to look when praying, a few things must be said. Since there are four regions—that toward the north, and the south, and that toward the west, and the east—who would not immediately admit that the east clearly shows that we ought to pray looking thither symbolically, as the soul looks toward the rising of the true light,

^A or to make their prayers? If anyone, however, ^B wishes to offer his supplications rather in the direction of the open door of the house, saying that this view toward the sky entices him more toward itself than does the view of the wall, if it should happen that the openings of the house do not face toward the east, one must reply to him that while the buildings of men are, by design, opened toward these or those regions, the east is naturally preeminent over the remaining regions; therefore, that which is natural must be preferred to that which is by design. Moreover, for one who wishes to pray in a field, what reason is there to pray toward the east rather than toward the west? If, in that place, one must prefer the east for a rational cause, why should this not be done everywhere? And these things concerning this matter are sufficient.

^A 53. Since I have still more to say concerning the places of prayer, I think I should bring my discourse to a close in this way. There are four places that seem to me to be noted, which I have found scattered throughout the Scriptures, and for each of these one must construct a prayer. And these are the places ^B. According to one's ability, glory must be given to God in the beginning and at the opening of the prayer, through Christ ^C who is glorified together ^D with Him, and hymned in the Holy Spirit. And after this, each person must set in order their own thanksgivings.

^A And those for which he has privately obtained benefits from God. But after the thanksgiving, it seems to me that one ought to become a bitter accuser of one's own sins before God, first asking for the remedy by which one may be freed from the habit that impels one to sin, and secondly, for the remission of past deeds. After the confession, it seems to me that a fourth part should be added: the petition for great and heavenly things, both for oneself and for all, and for one's relatives and friends. And above all these, the prayer ought to end in the glorification of God through Christ in the Holy Spirit. We have found these parts, as we have said, scattered throughout the Scriptures; the part concerning glorification in the hundred and third Psalm: "O Lord my God, you have been greatly magnified; you have put on confession and majesty, clothing yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heaven like a curtain; who covers his upper chambers with waters, who makes the clouds his ascent, who walks upon the wings of the winds; who makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flaming fire; who establishes the earth upon its stability, it shall not be shaken forever and ever. ^B The abyss is his garment, his covering; waters shall stand upon the mountains. At your rebuke they shall flee; at the voice of your thunder they shall be afraid." And the greatest part of this Psalm contains a glorification of the Father. It is possible for anyone who gathers more for himself to see how this part pertaining to glorification is spread out in many places. Let this be an example of thanksgiving placed in the Second Book of Kings, uttered by David after the promises made to him through Nathan, ^C when he was astonished at the gifts of God and was giving thanks for them in these words: "Who am I, my Lord, O Lord, and what is my house, that you have loved me up to this point? And I was brought low a little before you, my Lord; and you have spoken concerning the house of your servant into the far future. This is the law of man, my Lord, O Lord. And what more shall David say to you? And now you know your servant, O Lord; because of your servant you have done [this], and according to your heart you have done all this greatness, to make it known to your servant, that you might magnify yourself, my Lord, O Lord." An example of confession: ^D "Deliver me from all my iniquities"; and in other places: "My wounds have become putrid and corrupt because of my foolishness. I have become miserable and am bowed down even to the end; I went about mourning all the day." And of petitions, in the twenty-seventh Psalm: "Do not draw me away together with sinners, and do not destroy me with the workers of iniquity," and whatever is similar to these. It is right, moreover, that the prayer which began with glorification should end by concluding with glorification, praising and glorifying the Father of all, through