Letter 7: Concerning the Mother of God.

To Heracleides the Bishop. Why Daniel was not condemned along with the others. To Athanasios. Concerning temperance. Whoever has beheld the admirable and surpassingly beautiful beauty of temperance and has not been conquered by its charm, let such a person be written down in my judgment as one who has no love for what is noble. To the same. If we display those who are difficult in their own cares, instead of being eager to alleviate their troubles, not by those who seem to happen to become better, but by daring to use impulses contrary to expectation for doing injustice, not being prepared, but rather doing what is agreed upon by those who are recognized — yet it is terrible to quibble about these things, especially when one must use proofs against those who are unacknowledged, particularly since he created the entire world, while they labor to produce evil deeds, and the rest must of necessity be negligent before they were raised up like the good through virtue. But whenever someone, seeing himself being led to faith, wishes through zeal for it to stumble, he will by no means neglect to pursue the benefit that belongs to him. To the same. You should have known that our soul is full of virtue and strives toward the highest things, so to speak, and that we would never have accepted being a slave to pleasure. To Calliopios the Bishop. I shall not refuse to write; yet neither do I persuade myself that what is written will cause distress. But what is written grieves through the affairs themselves. To Agapetos. The occasions of scandals must be removed. To Herminos, Dorotheos, and Hierax, most distinguished men. Do not cry out against divine providence, most excellent ones, because it did not command Zosimus to serve as priest, yet it did not prevent him either. Rather, marvel at its wisdom. To Lampretios the Deacon. Great indeed is the exactness of the divine judge, and a single word shall be scrutinized. To the same. Even concerning bodily wars, those who have greater power should not be confident as though victory were manifest; for many unexpected things have often occurred, and what seemed yielding was suddenly beyond hope, while what seemed strong was quickly reversed. The resurrection is nothing other than the restoration to the original state, and the judging of the living and the dead; that both soul and body shall come to judgment — both those who pursued the ever-living and God-beloved life, and those who were dead through their sins, whether those who were left alive or those who had already fallen asleep before them.

Concerning the Mother of God. The holy book of the Gospels, recording the genealogy to Joseph, who derives kinship from David, was pleased[30] to show through him that the Virgin was also of the same tribe of David; just as the divine law prophesied, the pair came from the same tribe. And the interpreter of heavenly doctrines, the great Apostle Paul, openly makes the truth quite clear, testifying that the Lord would be a descendant from Judah. Because you know these things more keenly[31], do not feign ignorance with respect to the questioning. For by doing this,[32] you are shown to be pursuing shabbiness.[33]

ΗΡΑΚΛΙΔΗ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΩ. Λιὰ τὶ οὐ συγκατεδικάσθη Δανιὴλ. Ζ΄. – ΑΘΑΝΑΣΙΩ. Περὶ σωφροσύνης. Ὅστις τὸ ἀπόβλεπτον καὶ ὑπέρκαλον τῆς σωφρο- σύνης κάλλος θεασάμενος, οὐκ ἐδαμάσθη τῷ φίλτρῳ, οὗτος ἀνέραστος τῶν καλῶν παρ᾿ ἐμοὶ κριτῇ γε γράφθω. Α. ΕΙΣ ΤΟΝ ΑΥΤΟΝ. Εἰ τοὺς δυσχερεῖς ἐφ' ἑαυτῶν ταῖς φροντίσιν ἐπιδεικνύμεθα, ἀντὶ τοῦ σπουδάζειν τὰς ἀνίας, οὐχ οἷς δοκεῖ τυγχάνειν βελτίους γενέσθαι, τοῦ τολμᾷ ἀδικῆσαι ταῖς παρὰ δόξαν ὁρμαῖς χρῆσθαι μὴ παρεσκημένως, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἀναγνωρισίμοις τὰ ὁμολογούμενα πράττειν. Ἀλλὰ καὶ δεινὸν περὶ τούτων σμικρολογεῖσθαι, ἐπειδὰν καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἀνωμολογήτους ἐλέγχοις χρῆσθαι, καὶ μάλιστα οἷα ἔκτισεν ἅπαντα τὸν κόσμον πρὸς ἃ πεποιήκασι πονεῖν κακουργήματα, τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐξ ἀνάγκης τὸ ἀμελεῖν, πρὶν ὁμοίως τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς ἤρθησαν διὰ τὴν ἀρετὴν χρήσασθαι. Ἀλλὰ ὅταν τὶς ἑαυτὸν πρὸς πίστιν χειραγωγεῖσθαι κατιδὼν διὰ τοὺς ταύτης σπουδὴν ἐπισφάλλειν ἐθέλειν, οὐ μὴ ὀλιγωρήσῃ τῆς εἰς ἑαυτὸν προσηκούσης ὠφελείας ἐφίεσθαι. Ζ΄. – ΤΩ ΑΥΤΩ Ἔδει εἰδέναι τὴν ἡμετέραν ψυχὴν ἀρετῆς μεστὴν, καὶ πρὸς τὰ ἀκρότατα, ὡς εἰπεῖν, φιλοπονοῦσαν, καὶ ὅτι οὐκ ἂν ἐδεξάμεθα δοῦλον εἶναι τῆς ἡδονῆς. ΑΖ΄. – ΚΑΛΛΙΟΠΙΩ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΩ. Εγὼ μὲν γράφειν οὐκ ἀρνήσομαι· οὐδὲ μέντοι ἐμαυτὸν ἀναπείθω ἀχθεσθήσεσθαι τῷ γραφομένῳ. Ἀλλ' ὁ γραφόμενος ἀνιᾷ τοῖς τοῖς πράγμασιν. ΡΟΔ΄. – ΑΓΑΠΗΤΩ Τὰς ἀφορμὰς τῶν σκανδάλων ἀφαιρετέον. ΤΝG'. - ΕΡΜΙΝΩ, ΔΩΡΟΘΕΩ, ΙΕΡΑΚΙ ΛΑΜ- ΠΡΟΤΑΤΟΙΣ, Μὴ καταβοᾶτε, ω βέλτιστοι, τῆς θείας προνοίας, ὅτι Ζώσιμον, εἰ καὶ μὴ κεκέλευκέν, ἀλλὰ γε οὐκ ἑκώλυσεν ἱερᾶσθαι. Ἀλλὰ θαυμάζετε αὐτῆς τὴν ``` ΤΖΕ. - ΛΑΜΠΡΕΤΙΩ ΔΙΑΚΟΝΟ. Πολλὴ μὲν τοῦ θείου δικαστοῦ ἡ ἀκρίβεια, καὶ ῥή- ΦΘ. – ΤΟ ΑΥΤΟ. Εἰ καὶ περὶ τῶν σωματικῶν πολέμων, οὐ χρὴ τοὺς μείζω δύναμιν ἔχοντας, ὡς φανερᾶς οὔσης τῆς νἱ- κης, διαβεβαιοῦσθαι· πολλὰ γὰρ παράδοξα πολλάκις ἐγένετο· καὶ τὸ μὲν εἶξαν εὐθὺς ἀνέλπιστον, τῷ δὲ Р. 151. LIB. I, EP. 69. Initium hujus epistolæ apud catenæ auctorem est hujuscemodi, Εἴσελθε εἰς τὴν κιβωτόν. Cf. p. 22, lit. C, lin. 5; et sinis, τὸ γένος τὸ θεοσεβές. Cf. lit. D, lin. 2, 3. Alia omnia omisit. ΤΖ΄. – ΕΛΕΩ Catene auctor omisit lineas 24. Incipit enim in hunc moduin : Πῶς ὁ Ἠλεὶ, κ. τ. λ., μ. 647, lit. C, lin. 8. P. ead., lit. C, lin. 9. φήσαιμι deest in cat. ΛΕ΄. Ὁ βίος αὐτοῦ μία νη- στεία ἦν, οὐ τράπεζαν εἶ- χεν, οὐ γῆν ἀροσίμην, οὐκ ἀροτῆρα βοῦν, οὐ σἱ- τον, οὐ σιτοποιόν· διὰ ταῦτα τοίνυν μείζων ἐν γεννητοῖς γυναικῶν ὁ Ἰω- άννης· μείζων καὶ διὰ τοῦ- το ἐπειδὴ ἐξ αὐτῆς νηδύος μητρικής προεφήτευσε, καὶ ἐν σκότει κρυπτόμε νος τὸ φῶς ἐλθὸν οὐκ ἠγνό ησεν. P. 67, lit. A, lin. 9. Χριστὸς deest in cat. ibid. 9. ἑαυτοῦ deest in cat. - Lit. B, lin. 3. P. ἀπ· έθετο, cát, ὑπέθετο. P. 683. Ἔστιν ἡ ἀνάστασις οὐκ ἄλλο τι, εἰ μὴ ἡ εἰς τὸ ἀρ- χαῖον ἀποκατάστασις, καὶ τὸ κρίνεσθαι ζῶντας καὶ νεκρούς· τὸ καὶ ψυχὴν καὶ σῶμα εἰς κρίσιν ἐλεύ σεσθαι, ἢ τοὺς τὸν ἀείζωον καὶ θεοφιλή βίον μετελ- θόντας καὶ τοὺς νεκρωθέντας τοῖς ἁμαρτήμασιν, εἰ καὶ τοὺς ζῶντας καταλειφθέντας, καὶ τοὺς ἤδη πρὸ αὐτῶν κοιμηθέντας.