Wonder And Knowledge

Διὸ παραινῶ φεύγειν αὐτῶν τὴν μανίαν· μανίας γὰρ ἐσχάτης φιλονεικεῖν εἰδέναι τί τὴν οὐσίαν ἐστὶν ὁ Θεὸς. Καὶ ἵνα μάθῃς ὅτι μανίας ἐσχάτης τοῦτο, ἀπὸ τῶν προφητῶν ὑμῖν τοῦτο ποιήσω φανρόν· οἱ γὰρ προφῆται οὐ μόνον τί τὴν οὐσίαν ἐστὶν ἀγνοοῦντες φαίνονται, ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ τῆς σοφίας αὐτοῦ πόση τίς ἐστιν ἀποροῦσι· καίτοι γε οὐχ ἡ οὐσία ἀπὸ τῆς σοφίας, ἀλλ' ἡ σοφία ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας. Ὅταν δὲ μηδὲ ταύτην δύνωνται καταλαμβάνειν οἱ προφῆται μετ' ἀκριβείας, πόσης ἂν εἴη μανίας τὸ τὴν οὐσίαν αὐτὴν νομίζειν δύνασθαι τοῖς οἱκείοις ὑποβάλλειν λογισμοῖς; Ἀκούσωμεν τοίνυν τί φησιν ὁ προφήτης περὶ αὐτῆς· Ἐθαυμαστώθη ἡ γνῶσις σου ἐξ ἐμοῦ. Μᾶλλον δὲ ἀνωτέρω τὸν λόγον ἀγάγωεν. Ἐξομολογήσομαι σοι, ὅτι φοβερῶς ἐθαυμαστώθης. Τί ἔστι φοβερῶς; Πολλὰ θαυμάζομεν νῦν, ἀλλ' οὐ μετὰ φόβου, οἴον κιόνων κάλλη, τύπων ζωγραφίας, ἄνθη σωμάτων· θαυμάζομεν πάλιν τῆς θαλασσης τὸ μέγεθος, καὶ τὸν ἄπειρον βυθὸν, ἀλλὰ μετὰ φόνου, ὅταν πρὸς τὸ βάθος κατακύψωμεν. Οὔτω τοίνυν καὶ ὁ προφήτης πρὸς τὸ ἄπειρον καὶ ἀχανὲς πέλαγος τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ κατακύψας σοφίας, καὶ ἰλιγγιάσας, μετὰ φόβου πολλοῦ θαυμάσας ἀνεχώτησε βοῶν καὶ λέγων· Ἐξομολογήσομαι σοι, ὅτι φοβερῶς ἐθαυμαστώθης· θαυμάσια τὰ εργὰ σου· καὶ πάλιν· Ἐθαυμαστώθη ἡ γνῶσις σοῦ ἐξ ἐμοῦ, ἐκραταιώθη, οὐ μὴ δύνυμαι πρὸς αὐτὴν.   Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος Περὶ Ἀκαταληπτου, Λόγος Πρῶτος Migne PG 48 705

Thus I exhort flight from their madness, for it is most extreme madness to strive to know what God is in His essence. And that you know that this is the most extreme madness I shall make it clear to you from the Prophets, for not only is it apparent that the Prophets were ignorant of the Divine essence but they were also unknowing of how vast His wisdom is, yet essence does not come from wisdom, but wisdom from essence. And when the Prophets are not able to grasp His wisdom accurately, how great is the madness of those who think they are able to make His essence a subject of their thoughts? Let us listen, then, to what a Prophet says about this, 'Your knowledge is too wonderful for me.' 1 And a little further on we have the passage: 'I give you thanks, for you are fearfully wondrous.' 2 And why fearfully? We wonder greatly but not fearfully at the beauty of columns, visual art, the blossoming of the body, and again we wonder at the vastness of the sea and its limitless depths, and then with fear when we incline to think of its depths. And thus did the Prophet incline considering the limitless and vast sea of God's wisdom, and so with swimming head, beset with wonder, he drew back and cried out in a loud voice: ' 'I will give thanks to you, for your are fearfully wondrous; wondrous are your works,' 2 and again, 'Your knowledge is too wondrous from me, so great that I am not able to draw near it.'  1 Saint John Chrysostom, On The Incomprehensible, from the First Homily 1 Ps 138.6 LXX 2 Ps 138.14