The Immortality of the Soul and Heart
It is signified: for if I say that the Savior is righteousness, I do not say him as a person, nor as a disposition; and if I say him just—'but you have denied the just one' (Matt 23:35)—I do not say the one who performs it, but the righteousness. Thus also we say of God in general. I do not say that God is just in the sense of participating in righteousness, but in the sense of providing righteousness. And the soul according to essence does not receive the more or the less. But that soul, by which some are called beautiful-souled, does receive it. Therefore, the disposition is called 'soul' in the same way as the essence.
The heart and the mind mean the same thing; for when it is said: 'Where your treasure is, there also your heart will be' (Matt 6:21), there also is your mind. 'Blessed are the pure in heart' (Matt 5:8). Therefore, to say mind and heart is the same. Not concerning all things, however, but concerning men. See: the soul and the mind of man are immortal. If it is immortal, it is sought, or it is something else and another thing.
And the sinner, having an immortal soul, is never destroyed; for one should not pay attention to those saying that the souls of the wicked turn into non-existence, as the Stoics wish among the Greeks, and the Hieracites among the Christians. Therefore the soul is immortal and has a natural life according to which it is moved. And the sinner also has this life according to which he is immortal.
He does not speak now about this natural life saying: 'their hearts shall live' (Ps 42:5)—but according to that life which the believer has and the one knowing God has. If the hearts live unto the age of ages according to the blessed life, it is evident that they also remain always according to the essential life, which is common to sinners and to the diligent. And just as I say that everyone has sight when animals have sight, I say that the one seeing well previously had sight; for he would not have seen well if he did not have the seeing, and again he would not have seen badly if he did not have the seeing. Therefore both the soul and the heart have life forever, whether it be wicked or diligent. And natural life anticipates; for he would not have been able to live according to God and to live according to faith, if he were not immortal, if he did not have essential life. Therefore the hearts of these, those having eaten and having been filled, those fearing God and...
Greek
36 σημαίνεται· ἐὰν γὰρ λέγω ὅτι ὁ σωτὴρ δικαιοσύνη ἐστίν, οὐχ ἕξιν αὐτὸν λέγω, οὐ διάθεσιν, καὶ ἐὰν λέγω αὐτὸν δίκαιον–"ὑμεῖς δὲ τὸν δίκαιον ἠρνήσασθε"–, οὐ τὸν ποιὸν λέγω, ἀλλὰ τὴν δικαιοσύνην. δίκαιον οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ θεοῦ καθόλου λέγομεν. οὐ λέγω τὸν θεὸν δίκαιον εἶναι τῷ μετέχειν δικαιοσύνης, ἀλλὰ τῷ χορηγεῖν δικαιοσύνην. καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ δὲ ἡ κατ' οὐσίαν οὐ δέχεται τὸ μᾶλλον καὶ τὸ ἧττον. ἐκείνη δὲ ἡ ψυχή, καθ' ἣν λέγονταί τινες καλόψυχοι, δέχεται. ἡ διάθεσις ἄρα ὁμωνύμως τῇ οὐσίᾳ "ψυ χὴ" καλεῖται. ἡ καρδία καὶ ὁ νοῦς ταὐτὸν σημαίνει· ὅταν γὰρ λέγῃ· "ὅπου ὁ θησαυρός, ἐκεῖ καὶ ἡ καρδία σου ἔσται", ἐκεῖ καὶ ὁ νοῦς σου. "μακάριοι οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ". ταὐτὸν οὖν ἐστιν εἰπεῖν νοῦν καὶ καρδίαν. οὐκ ἐπὶ πάντων δέ, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων. ἴδε· ἡ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ψυχὴ καὶ ὁ νοῦς ἀθάνατά ἐστιν. εἰ ἀθάνατόν ἐστιν, ζητεῖται, ἢ ἕτερον καὶ ἕτερόν ἐστιν. καὶ ὁ ἁμαρτωλὸς δὲ ἀθάνατον ἔχων ψυχὴν οὐδέποτε ἀπόλλυται· οὐ γὰρ προσεκτέον τοῖς λέγουσιν ὅτι αἱ τῶν φαύλων ψυχαὶ εἰς τὸ μὴ ὂν καταστρέφουσιν, ὡς βούλονται παρ' Ἕλλησιν Στοϊκοί, παρὰ δὲ δῆθεν Χριστιανοῖς οἱ Ἱερακαῖται. ἀθάνατος οὖν ἐστιν ἡ ψυχὴ καὶ ἔχει φυσικὸν ζῆν καθ' ὃ κινεῖται. ἔστιν δὲ καὶ τὸν ἁμαρτωλὸν ἔχειν ταύτην τὴν ζωὴν καθ' ἣν ἀθάνατός ἐστιν. οὐ περὶ ταύτης νῦν τῆς ζωῆς τῆς φυσικῆς λέγει ὅτι· "ζήσονται αἱ καρδίαι αὐτῶν", ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὴν ζωὴν ἐκείνην, ἣν ὁ πιστεύων ἔχει καὶ ὁ γιγνώσκων τὸν θεὸν ἔχει. εἰ ζῶσιν αἱ καρδίαι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος κατὰ τὴν μακαρίαν ζωήν, φανερὸν 54 ὅτι καὶ καὶ κατὰ τὴν οὐσιώδη ζωὴν ἀεὶ μένουσιν, ἥτις κοινὴ ἁμαρτωλῶν καὶ σπουδαίων ἐστίν. καὶ ὥσπερ λέγω πάντας ὄψιν ἔχειν, ὅταν ζῷα ὦσιν ὄψιν ἔ χοντα, λέγω δὲ ὄψιν ἔχειν προηγουμένως τὸν καλῶς ὁρῶντα, οὐκ ἂν δὲ καλῶς ἐθεώρει, εἰ μὴ εἶχεν τὸ ὁρᾶν, καὶ πάλιν οὐκ ἂν κακῶς ἐθεώρει, εἰ μὴ εἶχεν τὸ ὁρᾶν. ἔχει τοίνυν καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ καὶ ἡ καρδία τὸ ζῆν ἀεί, κἂν φαύλη κἂν σπουδαία ᾖ. προλαμβάνει δὲ τὸ φυσικὸν ζῆν· οὐκ ἂν γὰρ ἠδύνατο κατὰ θεὸν ζῆν καὶ κατὰ πίστιν ζῆν, εἰ μὴ ἦν ἀθάνατος, εἰ μὴ εἶχεν ζωὴν οὐσιώδη. αἱ καρδίαι οὖν αὐτῶν τούτων τῶν φαγόντων καὶ ἐνπλησθέντων, τῶν φοβουμένων τὸν θεὸν καὶ
About this text
Didymus the Blind on the Psalms.
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Khazarzar scan
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- Copy-text PG (Khazarzar) (Greek)
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