Wisdom's Mixing

Κρατῆρα λόγων, ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφία, ὦ φιλομαθέστατε, τὰς θείας ἐκέρασε Γραφὰς, κρατῆρα, οὐ μέλιτος, οὐ γάλακτος, οὐκ οἴνου, ἀλλὰ παιδείας καὶ φιλοσοφίας πεπληρωμένον, καὶ θείοις χαρίσμασιν ἐστεμμένον, ὅστις τοὺς χρωμένους εἰς ἀρετὴν καὶ εὐσέβειαν προτρέπει, τῶν μὲν ἐπιγείων ἀμελεῖν παρασκευάζων, τῶν δὲ οὐρανίων εἴσω χωρεῖν· κρατῆρα, οὐ μεθόδους περιέχοντα, οὐδὲ σοφίσμτα, οὐδὲ φυσιολογίας ἀτόμους καὶ ἀπείριος, ἀλλ' ἔργα ἀνδρῶν ὀνομαστοτάτων καὶ ἐνδοξοτάτων, οἶς ὅμοια καὶ πράττων καὶ λέγων, ἀρετῆς κόσμον ἔξεις. Ἀλλ' οὐδε τῶν πταισάντων τοὺς βίους καὶ τὰς τιμωρίας ἀπεσιώτησαν· ὅπως μαθὼν, τὰ μὲν καλὰ ἔχιος, εἰ θέλοις, ζηλοῦν· τὰ δὲ φαῦλα, φεύγειν. Ὅσον μὲν οὖν χρήσιμον εἰς τὴν καθ' ἡμᾶς φιλοσοφίαν ἐκ τῆς ἐξωθεν παιδεύσεως, ὥσπερ ἡ μέλιττα, δρεψάμενος, πολλὰ γὰρ, εἰ γὰρ τὰληθῆ λέγειν, ἀρετῆς ἔνεκεν πεφιλοσοφήκασι, τὸ λοιπὸν ἄπαν χαίρειν ἔα· μάλιστα ὁρῶν αὐτοὺς κατ' ἀλλήλων διαπρύσιον κεκινηκότας πόλεμον. Ἀριστοτέλης μὲν γὰρ ἐπανέστη Πλάτωνι· οἱ Στωϊκοὶ δὲ πρὸς τοῦτον ἐφράξαντο. Τοῖς δὲ θείοις χρησμοῖς διὰ βίου δίδου σαυτόν. Οὕτω γὰρ καὶ ἐξ ἐκείνων καὶ ἐκ τούτων ὠφελούμενος, μέγὰ καὶ σαυτῷ καὶ πᾶσιν ἔσῇ χρῆμα. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ βούλε τί ἐστιν, Ἐκέρασεν ἡ σοφία τὸν ἑαυτῆς οἶνον, καὶ δι' ἤν αἰτίαν, οὐκ ἄκρατον αὐτὸν προϋθηκε, μάνθανε δι' ὀλίγων πολλά· Τὰ θεϊα καὶ ὑπερφυῆ παιδεύματα, λόγοις καὶ παραδείγμασι σωματικοῖς ἐκέρασεν. Οὐ γὰρ οἷον τε ἦν ἡμᾶς ἄλλως νοῆσαι. Τὴν γοῦν ἔνωσιν τῶν θείων νοημάτων καὶ τῶν ἐπιγείων λόγων, κρᾶσιν οὐκ ἀπεικότως ἐκάλεσε. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Δεύτερον, Ἐπιστολὴ Γ’ Τιμοθεῳ Αναγνωστῃ Source: Migne PG 78.457b-460a

The bowl of words, O lover of learning, which the wisdom of God mixes is the Divine Scriptures, a bowl, I say, not full with honey or milk or wine but with teaching and philosophy, and garnished with Divine grace, which things are used to exhort to virtue and piety, and prepare us to neglect the things of the world, and to seek the things of heaven. It is not a bowl, I say, of sophistry and deceit, nor of the absurd and interminable investigations of natures, but the deeds of most celebrated and most famous men. Which if you imitate with your actions and your words, you shall adorn yourself with virtue. But the lives and punishments of the wicked are not wrapped in silence, that learning of them it might please you to adhere to good things and fly from what is vile. As much as there is anything beneficial to be gathered up in other learning, so much it leads to our philosophy, for often, if we speak truly, they philosophised over virtue, but bid farewell to the rest, certainly seeing that they are the cause of endless combats with one another. Even Aristotle made attacks on Plato, and again the Stoics take up arms against him. Give yourself to the Divine oracles for your whole life. For if from these and from those, you take up what is useful, it will be great to you and beneficial to all. Since this is what is wished with, 'Wisdom has mixed her wine,' 1 and for this reason, that it not be beyond our capability. With few words receive much. So she mixes the teaching of the Divine and high nature with corporeal words and examples. For it was not possible that we could understand in any other way. Whence the joining of Divine thoughts with earthly words is not unreasonably called mixing. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 2, Letter 3, to Timotheus the Lector