The Teacher's Goodness and the Wings of the Soul

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Regarding perfection, you say that his goodness is known when he instructs wise and perfect listeners; then his goodness is multiplied when he also descends to the simple, attempting to lead them into a greater state. Indeed, the teacher of Christianity is a debtor to the wise and the simple, to the Greeks and the barbarians. He is not only a debtor to the wise, but also to the simple.

To the wise he 'speaks wisdom among the perfect' (1 Cor 2:6), but to the simple he does not speak wisdom, but rather proposes those lessons that remove them from thoughtlessness, so that they, no longer being simple, may later receive wisdom. Again, to the Greeks, he speaks as Greeks, those having a refined intellect capable of following; but as for the barbarians, regarding the soul, he says those things that remove the character of a barbarian nation, of such a wild disposition.

But the sons of men hope in the shelter of your wings (Ps 17:8). The sons of these men. If, according to the previous explanation, 'men' are said to be mortal rational animals and 'cattle' are those serving them, then the sons of these men have hope in the shelter of God's wings. These wings are intellectual, lifting the mind upward. Thus the saint says: 'Who will give me wings like a dove?' (Ps 55:6). We do not say that he prays to be given wings of a sensible animal; for this is impossible. And that which is impossible is neither love nor prayer.

'As an eagle upon its young ones has hovered' (Exod 19:4). Then they were winged, they were able to be taken up 'upon the transforming ones' of God. And what is it for us to be thus winged? Listen to what the prophet Isaiah says: 'Those who wait upon God shall renew strength, they shall fly up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary' (Isa 40:31). And another prays saying: 'Your youth shall be renewed like the eagle's' (Ps 103:5).

When the saint says of being winged, his wings are to be understood as virtue, understanding, and wisdom; for these things, as a catapult, lift man upward. 'They shall be covered from the heaviness of your house, they are covered under the wings of God.' Their shelter becomes the wings of God. Then they are covered so that they may become winged, so that they may be made healthy, as they might become under the wings of God. Their shelter becomes the wings of God.

unformed souls

Greek

τελείου λέγῃς, ὅτι ἡ ἀγαθότης αὐτοῦ γνωρίζεται, ὅταν σοφοὺς καὶ τελείους ἀκροατὰς παιδεύῃ· τότε δὲ πληθύνεται αὐτοῦ ἡ ἀγαθότης, ὅταν καὶ τοῖς ἀνοήτοις συνκαταβαίνῃ, πειρᾶται εἰσάγειν αὐτοὺς εἰς μείζονα κατάστασιν. αὐτίκα γοῦν ὁ διδάσκαλος τοῦ χριστιανισμοῦ "σοφοῖς καὶ ἀνοήτοις, Ἕλλησιν καὶ βαρβάροις ὀφειλέτης ἐστίν". οὐ μόνον σοφοῖς ὀφειλέτης ἐστίν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀνοήτοις. καὶ τοῖς μὲν σοφοῖς "λαλεῖ ἐν τοῖς τελείοις σοφίαν", τοῖς δὲ ἀνοήτοις οὐ τὴν σοφίαν λαλεῖ, ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνα προτείνει τὰ μαθήματα τὰ ἀφιστῶντα αὐτοὺς ἀνοησίας, ἵνα μηκέτι ἀνόητοι ὄντες δέχωται λοιπὸν τὴν σοφίαν. πάλιν Ἕλλησιν, τοῖς Ἕλληνα νοῦν ἔχουσιν ἠκριβωμένον καὶ δυνάμενον παρακολουθεῖν ὡς Ἕλλησιν λαλεῖ. τοῖς δὲ βαρβάροις οὖσιν κατὰ τὴν ψυχὴν ἐκεῖνα λέγει τὰ ἀφιστῶντα τοῦ βαρβάρου ἔθνους, τῆς γνώμης τῆς τοιαύτης τῆς ἀγριωτέρας. 8 οἱ δὲ υἱοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐν σκέπῃ τῶν πτερύγων σου ἐλπιοῦσιν. οἱ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τούτων υἱοί. ἐὰν μὲν οὖν καὶ κατὰ τὴν προτέραν ἐξήγησιν λέγωνται ἄνθρωποι τὰ θνητὰ λογικὰ ζῷα καὶ κτήνη τὰ αὐτοῖς ὑπηρετοῦντα, τούτων τῶν ἀνθρώπων οἱ υἱοὶ ἐν σκέπῃ τῶν θεοῦ πτερύγων τὴν ἐλπίδα ἔχουσιν. πτέρυγες αὗται νοηταί εἰσιν μ̣ετεωρίζουσαι τὸν νοῦν. οὕτω γοῦν ὁ ἅγιος λέγει· "τίς δώσει μοι πτέρυγας ὡσεὶ περιστερᾶς"; οὐχ οὕτω λέγομεν ὅτι αἰσθητοῦ ζῴου δοθῆναι αὐτῷ πτέρυγας εὔχεται· τοῦτο γὰρ ἀδύνατον. ἀδυνάτων δὲ οὐδὲ ἔρως ἐστὶν οὔτε εὐχή. "ὡς ἀετὸς ἐπὶ τοῖς νεοσσοῖς αὐτοῦ ἐπεπόθησεν". τότε ἐπτερώθησαν, ἠδυνήθησαν "ἐπὶ τῶν μεταφρένων" τοῦ θεοῦ ληφθῆναι. τί δὲ ἐφ' ἡμῖν ἐστιν τὸ οὕτω πτερωθῆναι; ἄκουε τί φησιν ὁ προφήτης Ἰσαίας· "οἱ ὑπομένοντες τὸν θεὸν ἀλλάξουσιν ἰσχύν, πτεροποιήσουσιν ὡς ἀετοί, δραμοῦνται καὶ οὐ κοπιάσουσιν". καὶ ἄλλος ἐπεύχεται λέγων· "ἀνακαινισθήσεται ὡς ἀετοῦ ἡ νεότης σου". ὅταν γοῦν ὁ ἅγιος λέγῃ ἐπτερῶσθαι, τὰ πτερὰ τούτου ἀρετὴν καὶ σύνεσιν καὶ σοφίαν ἐκλημπτέον· ταῦτα γὰρ μετάρσιον μετεωρίζει τὸν̣ ἄνθρωπον. σκεπασθήσονται ἀπὸ τῆς πιότητος τοῦ οἴκου σου σκεπάζονται ὑπὸ τὰς πτέρυγας τοῦ θεοῦ. σκέπη αὐτῶν γίνεται τῶν πτερύγων τοῦ θεοῦ. τότε δὲ σκεπάζονται, ἵνα πτεροποιήσωσιν, ἵνα νοσσοποιηθῶσιν, ὡς ᾠὰ γένωνται ὑπὸ τὰς πτέρυγας τοῦ θεοῦ. σκέπη αὐτῶν γίνεται τῶν πτερύγων τοῦ θεοῦ. τότε δὲ σκεπάζονται, ἵνα πτεροποιήσουσιν ᾠὰ δέ εἰσιν αἱ ἄπλαστοι ψυχαὶ αἱ μήπω μόρφωσιν Χριστοῦ λαβοῦσαι. ὅταν οὖν ὑπὸ τὰς πτέρυγας αὐτοῦ γεγόνωσιν, τότε μορφοῦνται καὶ ζῷα γίνονται κα̣τὰ ἀλλ̣ηγορίαν κατὰ τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον. οὐ τοῦτο λέγει· "υἱοὶ τῶν θνητῶν ζῴων", ἀλλὰ τῶν φυλαττόντων ἀληθῶς τὸν ἄνθρωπον τὸν "κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωσιν" θεοῦ. δύναται δὲ καὶ παραφραστικῶς εἰρῆσθαι "υἱοὶ ἀνθρώπων" ἀντὶ τοῦ "οἱ ἄνθρωποι". 9 μεθυσθήσονται ἀπὸ πιότητος τοῦ οἴκου σου. 238 οὐ πᾶσα μέθη ψέγεται. "μὴ μεθυσθήσεσθε", φησίν, "οἴνῳ, ἐν ᾧ ἐστιν ἀσωτία". καὶ κατὰ τὸ πρόχειρον μὲν δύναται τὴν πολυοινίαν εἰρῆσθαι ἀσωτίας οἶνον· βλάπτει γὰρ τὰς φρένας, παραπεσεῖν ἔσθ' ὅτε ποιεῖ. ψέγεται οὖν αὕτη ἡ μέθη. καὶ περὶ τῶν ἑτερογνωμονούντων καὶ δόγματα ἄθεα εἰσαγόντων ὥσπερ τροφὴν καὶ οἶνον αὐτὰ προτεινόντων λέγεται· "οἵδε δὲ σιτοῦνται σῖτα ἀσεβείας". καὶ τὰ σῖτα τῆς ἀσεβείας ἐσθίοντες καὶ ζητοῦντες ἐκεῖνοί εἰσιν περὶ ὧν εἴρηται· "ἔδωκας αὐτὸν βρῶμα λαοῖς τοῖς Αἰθίοψιν"· ὡς γὰρ τρέφονται τῷ σώματι Χριστοῦ οἱ τὰ δόγματα τῆς εὐσεβείας προσηκάμενοι, οὕτως τὰς σάρκας τοῦ δράκοντος, τοῦ διαβόλου αὐτοῦ, ἐσθίουσιν οἱ 157 ἀθέοις δόγμασιν σιτούμενοι καὶ πίνοντες τὸν κατάλληλον οἶνον, οἶνον ἀσ̣ωτίας. "μὴ μεθυσθήσεσθε" οὖν "οἴνῳ, ἐν ᾧ ἐστιν ἀσωτία". ἀσεβῶν δέ ἐστιν τὸ τοῦτον πίνειν τὸν οἶνον· "οἴνῳ γὰρ παρανόμῳ μεθυσθήσονται". ἡ δὲ καὶ ἐπαινετὴ μέθη καί, ἵνα ὥς τινες εἶπον, εἴπω, νηφάλιος μέθη νήφειν ποιοῦσα τοὺς πεπωκότας. ἐν τῷ ᾄσματι γοῦν τῶν ᾀσμάτων ὁ Ἰησοῦς πρὸς τοὺς ἑταίρους ἑαυτοῦ ἔλεγεν· "φάγετε, πίετε, μεθύσθητε, ἀδελφοί". τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ἑαυτοῦ ὁ θεὸς λόγος λέγει ταῦτα· ἐνανθρωπήσας γὰρ ἔσχεν ἀδελφοὺς τοὺς κατ' αὐτὸν πολιτευομένους, τοὺς τὰ μαθήματα αὐτοῦ δεχομένους καὶ υἱοποιουμένους. "φάγετε" οὖν, "πίετε, μεθύσθητε". φάγετε τῆς πνευματικῆς τροφῆς ἧς εὐτρέπισεν ὑμῖν ἡ σοφία· "ἡτοιμάσατο" γὰρ "τὴν ἑαυτῆς τράπεζαν". καὶ πίετε ἐκεῖνον τὸν οἶνον τὸν εἰς μέθην νη´̣φ̣ουσαν ἄγοντα. καὶ ἐνταῦθα οὖν οὐ καθάπαξ εἶπεν, ἀλλὰ "μεθυσθήσονται ἀπὸ πιότητος τοῦ οἴκου σου". κατὰ μίαν ἀπόδοσιν ἡ ἐκκλησία "οἶκος θεοῦ" λέγεται· εἴρηται γὰρ Τιμοθέῳ ὑπὸ Παύλου· "ἐὰν βραδύνω, ἔγραψά σοι, πῶς δεῖ σε ἐν οἴκῳ θεοῦ ἀναστρέφεσθαι, ἥτις

About this text

Didymus the Blind on the Psalms.

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