God's Creation and Transformation of Evil
“He is peace and one who creates new things out of evils.” And according to what is at hand, we say this: He proves to be a providential one over all things, and he gives peace to them and creates new things out of the evils. And in another way the expression was made clear to us thus: he creates evils as though it were an unclean creation., so that it might no longer be unclean; he creates, so that it might become pure, and he creates the two into one new man within him. He creates evils so that they might no longer be evils; for example, he creates evil men so that they might no longer be evil.
Question: Regarding the quality? —the quality in the sense of being like it; “for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Eph 2:10). Regarding the workmanship, he has not said “for good works,” but rather for the sake of being. But they are created “for good works,” so that they might do good works. Question: so that the formation is from the quality? —in such a way as is possible; for the essence was formed from the heart. And the heart is the mind.
And the name of creation is extended even to the sensible things: “and having created the world out of formless matter.” Question: regarding the rational things by analogy? —yes, regarding the rational in general. An extension is also found regarding the irrational souls, the one understanding all their works. He understands the works, because he knows the heart, and the beginnings of the happening works are taken from perception.
Among us, many receive people from what is within them; and those becoming imitators of God do so for no other reason than that “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35); for giving is like God, but receiving is not; for each of those receiving is a recipient of something. But being a recipient is a deficiency, and that is to say, the saying that it is good “to give rather than to receive.”
Again: “blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matt 5:7). There is a certain lesser progress here; for in order to receive mercy, one must show mercy. Another, out of compassion, shows mercy, fearing that a man being so might fall into such states. Thus also Christians, out of compassion, nourish those in prison. Others again, having seen someone sometimes struck by disease, pity him because he has become ill. And again others do this even for the sake of the pursuit of glory, so that they might be glorified. But each of these, not being perfect, receives the more and the less; for the perfect is only that which does not seek...
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Greek
εἰρήνην καὶ κτίζων κακά". καὶ κατὰ τὸ πρόχειρον μὲν τοῦτο λέγομεν· προνοητὴς τῶν πάντων τυγχάνων καὶ τὴν εἰρήνην αὐτοῖς δίδωσιν καὶ κτίζ̣ει τὰ κακά. καὶ ἄλλῃ διανοίᾳ ἐσαφηνίσθη ἡμῖν ἡ λέξις οὕτως· κτίζει κακὰ ὡς τὴν ἀκάθαρτον κτίσιν, ἵν̣α μηκέτι ᾖν ἀκάθαρτος, κτίζει, ἵνα καθαρὰ γένηται, καὶ κτίζει τοὺς δύο εἰς ἕνα καινὸν ἄν̣θρωπον ἐν αὐτῳ῀̣. κτίζει τὰ κακά, ἵνα μηκέτι ὦσιν κακά· οἷον τοὺς κακοὺς ἀνθρώπους κτίζει, ἵνα μηκέτι ὦσιν κακοί. ἐπερ · τὴν ποιότητα; –τὴν ὡσανεὶ ποιότητα· "αὐτοῦ γάρ ἐσμεν ποίημα, κτισθέντες ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ ἐπὶ ἔργοις 106 ἀγαθοῖς". ε᾿̣πὶ τοῦ ποιήμ̣ατος οὐκ εἴρηκεν τὸ "ἐπὶ ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς", ἀλλὰ ἐπὶ τῷ εἶναι. κτίζονται δὲ "ἐπὶ ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς", ἵνα ἀγαθὰ ἔργα ποιῶσιν. ἐπερ · ἵνα ἡ πλάσις ἀπὸ τῆς ποιότητος ᾖ; –οὕτως ὡς εἶδός ἐστιν· καρδίας γὰρ ἡ οὐσία ἐπλα´̣σθη. ἡ δὲ καρδία νοῦς ἐστιν. τὸ δὲ τῆς κτίσεως ὄνομα παρατείνει καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν αἰσθητῶν· "καὶ κτίσασα τὸν κόσμον ἐξ ἀμόρφου ὕλης". ἐπερ · ἐπὶ τῶν λογικῶν ἐκ παραλλήλου; –ναί, ἐπὶ τῶν λογικῶν καθόλου. εὑρίσκεται παρατεῖνον καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀλόγων ψυχῶν. 15 ὁ συνιεὶς πάντα τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν. τὰ ἔργα συνίει, ἐπεὶ τὴν καρδίαν ἐπίσταται, αἱ ἀρχαὶ δὲ τῶν γινομένων ἔργων ἀπὸ τῆς αἰσθήσεως λαμβάνονται. παρ' ἡμῖν πολλοὶ δεξιοῦνται ἐκ τῶν ἐνόντων ἀνθρώπους, καὶ οἱ μὲν μιμηταὶ τοῦ θεοῦ γινόμενοι οὐ δι' ἄλλο ἢ ὅτι "ἀγαθόν ἐστιν διδόναι μᾶλλον ἢ λαμβάνειν"· ὁμοιοῖ γὰρ τῷ θεῷ τὸ διδόναι, τὸ λαμβάνειν δὲ οὔ· ἕκαστος γὰρ τῶν λαμβανόν των ἐστὶν δεκτικός τινος. παρεκτικὸς δέ ἐστιν, καὶ τουτέστιν τ̣ὸ λέγεσθαι ἀγαθὸν εἶν̣αι "τὸ διδόναι μᾶλλον ἢ λαμβάνειν". πάλιν· "μακάριοι οἱ ἐλεήμονες ὅτι αὐτοὶ ἐλεηθήσονται". ἔστιν προκοπή τις ἐλάττω· ἵν' ἐλεηθῇ γάρ, ἐλεᾷ. ἄλλος διὰ συνπάθειαν ἐλεᾷ εὐλαβούμενος μὴ τοῖς τοιούτοις περιπέσῃ ἄνθρωπος ὤν. οὕτω γοῦν καὶ τοὺς ἐν δεσμωτηρίοις τρέφουσιν Χριστιανοὶ κατὰ συνπάθειαν. ἄλλοι πάλιν ἑωρακότες ἐνίοτε βεβλημένον νόσῳ οἰκτίρουσιν διὰ τὸ κεκακῶσθαι ἐκεῖνον. καὶ πάλιν ἄλλοι καὶ ἐπὶ θήρᾳ δόξης τοῦτο ποιοῦσιν, ἵνα δοξασθῶσιν. ἕκαστον δὲ τούτων οὐκ ὂν τέλειον δ̣έχεται τὸ μᾶλλον καὶ τὸ ἧττον· τὸ τέλειον γάρ ἐστιν μόνον τὸ μὴ ἐπιδεχόμενον τὸ μᾶλλον καὶ τὸ ἧττον, τὸ δεξιὸν καὶ σ̣καιόν. ἕκαστον δὲ τούτων ἄπειρον ἔχει διαφοράν. οὐ μόνον δὲ κατὰ τὴν ἐπίτασιν τὸ μᾶλλον καὶ τὸ ἧττον, ἀλλὰ καὶ κατὰ τὸν χρόνον λαμβάνεται. ἡ ἀπειρία οὖν αὕτη μόνη θεῷ καταλαμβάνεται. μόνος αὐτὸς τοῦτο ἐπίσταται. διὰ τοῦτο ἑκάστου τὴν καρδίαν οἶδεν. καὶ δύσκολόν ἐστιν εὑρεῖν τάχα ἀπαράλλακτον καρδίαν πρὸς ἄλλην καρδίαν. ἡμεῖς οὖν ταῦτα, ἃ εἰρήκαμεν, ἐπιτελοῦμε̣ν̣ κατὰ κενοδο180 ξίαν, κατὰ συνπάθειαν. ἄλλο δὲ τὸ δεξιοῦσθαι ἁγίους. οὐ λέγεται οὖν ἐλεημοσύνη ἐπὶ τῶν ἁγίων· "ταῖς" γὰρ "χρείαις τῶν ἁγίων κοινωνοῦντες". ὕπαρξιν λαμβάνειν δεῖ μᾶλλον ὁ διδοὺς ἁγίῳ ἤπερ δίδει. 16 οὐ σῴζεται βασιλεὺς διὰ πολλὴν δύναμιν. καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ῥητοῦ ἀληθές ἐστιν τοῦτο. πολλοὶ μεγάλην ἔχοντες δύναμιν καὶ χεῖρα στρατιωτῶν πολλὴν ἑάλωσαν, καὶ οὐ πάντως τὸ πλῆθος τῶν στρατιωτῶν σῴζει τὸν βασιλέα. ὁ Φαραὼθ μετὰ πολλῆς δυνάμεως ἐξῆλθεν διώκειν τοὺς Ἑβραίους, καὶ οὐκ ἐσώθη διὰ τὴν πολλὴν δύναμιν αὐτοῦ· τὰ γὰρ "ἅρματα Φαραὼθ καὶ τὴν δύναμιν αὐτοῦ ἔριψεν εἰς θάλασσαν". εὑρίσκομεν δὲ καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἄλλαις ἱστορίαις τῶν γραφῶν ὀλίγους πολλάκις περιγενομένους πολλῶν. καὶ καθόλου προφητείας τρόπῳ εἴρηται τοῖς Ἑβραίοις· "εἷς" ἐξ ὑμῶν "διώξεται χιλίους καὶ δύο μετακινήσουσιν μυριάδας", "καὶ διὰ φωνὴν πέντε φεύξονται πολλοί". σῴζεται οὖν καὶ τὸ τῆς ἱστορίας. καὶ ἡ ἀναγωγὴ δὲ ἀκολουθίαν ἔχει πολλήν· πολλοὶ δοκοῦντες παρασκευὴν ἔχειν λόγων καὶ δύναμιν συνκεκροτημένην σφάλλον̣ται, ὑπ' αὐτῆς τῆς ἀληθείας ἐλέγχονται, καὶ κατὰ τοῦτο λέγομεν ὅτι· κἄν τις αὐχῇ βασιλέιαν διὰ ἄλλην παρασκευήν, διὰ ἄλλην δεινότητα, διὰ προισταμένων, οὐ σῴζεται πάντως ἐν τῇ πολλῇ ταύτῃ δυνάμει. δυνατὸν δὲ καὶ οὕτως λαβεῖν· ἐπεί εἰσίν τινες κατὰ ἀλληγορίαν βασιλεῖς, ὡς ἦσαν Κορίνθιοι, περὶ ὧν λέγε̣ι ὅτι ἐβασίλευον–καὶ ὁ Ἀβραὰμ δὲ "βασιλεὺς παρὰ θεοῦ" ἦν–, ὁ δοὺς ἑαυτῷ ἐκ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ δυνάμεως τὸ τοιούτως βασιλεύει̣ν καὶ μὴ ἐκδεξάμενος τὸν ἐλεῶντα θεόν, οὐ σῴζεται ἐν τῇ ἑαυτοῦ δυνάμει· ὥσπερ οὐδὲ ἡ φρουρουμένη πόλις ἄνευ θεοῦ συνεργείας ἀβλαβὴς μένει οὐδὲ ὁ οἶκος ὁ οἰκοδομούμενος μὴ συνλαμβανομέν̣ου τοῦ ἀρχιτέκτονος τῶν
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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