Letter 51: The divine nature is unnameable.
Not because the Lord foretold the intention of Judas did that man slip into betrayal, O admirable one, but because the wretch was already in labor with his plot, the Lord, seeing the hidden movements of his heart, disclosed what was to come as though it were already present. Foreknowledge does not cause the deed; it reveals the disposition that will produce it.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
Να'. – ΝΕΙΛΩ.
Περὶ Ἰούδα τοῦ προδότου.
(55) Οὐκ ἐπειδὴ προεἶπεν ὁ Κύριος, ὦ θαυμάσιε,
τὴν τοῦ Ἰούδα προαίρεσιν, ἐκεῖνος πρὸς τὴν προ
δοσίαν ὠλίσθησεν, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ὥδινε τὴν ἐπιβουλὴν ὁ
ἀλιτήριος, ὁρῶν τὰ κρύφια τῆς καρδίας κινήματα,
τὰ μέλλοντα ὡς παρόντα προέφηνε.
Δ. ΕΙΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΝ ΘΕΟΔΩΡΟΥ.
Εἴ τις στέργει καὶ τὴν εἰρήνην τῇ ὁμονο
ΠΕΤΡΩ ΣΧΟΛΑΣΤΙΚΩ.
Περὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ.
Ἡ ἐκ φιλαρχίας, οἶμαι, ἢ ἐκ προλήψεως, δύο
δυσκαταγωνίστων παθῶν, τὰς αἱρέσεις τετέχθαι. Οἱ
μὲν γὰρ ἐν τοῖς ὑπηκόοις μὴ ἀξιώσαντες εἶναι (70),
Β μηδὲ καταδεξάμενοι, νεωτέρας διδασκαλίας σπέρμα
καταβεβλήκασι, τοῖς καθεστῶσιν ἐμμένειν μὴ κατ
αξιώσαντες (71).
ΝΑ΄. – ΤΩ ΑΥΤΩ
Εἰ τοιαύτης ἀρετῆς κατηγόρει κατεγνωκὼς τοῦ ἀδικήματος, οὔτε τῆς ἐνστάσεως ἀπελείφθη, οὔτε τοῦ ὀνόματος μετὰ τὴν βούλησιν πονηρὰν ἐποιήσατο.
ΡΞΗ΄. – ΙΣΙΔΩΡΩ
Οἱ τὰς ἁμαρτίας παρορῶντες, ἑαυτοὺς ἀπάτουσι.
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