Princes Of The World

Ἄρχοντες κατεδίωξαν με δωρεὰν, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν λόγων σου ἐδειλίασεν ἡ καρδία μου, κ.τ.ἑ. Ἄρχοντας λέγει τοὺς κοσμοκράτορας τοῦ σκότους τούτου. Ἔρχεται γὰρ, φησιν, ὁ ἄρχων τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, καὶ ἐν ἐμοὶ εὑρίσκει οὐδέν.  Κόσμον δὲ λέγει οὐ τὸ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς σύστημα, ἀλλὰ τοὺς κοσμικὸν βίον βιοῦντας. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΡΙΗ'

Princes have persecuted me freely, and because of your words my heart was fearful. 1 Princes he calls the rulers of this world of darkness. He says: 'He comes, the prince of this world, and in me he shall find nothing.' 2 The world he names is not that which is bound together with sky and sea, but those who live a worldly life. Origen, On the Psalms, Psalm 118 1 Ps 118.161 2 Jn 14.30

Suffering and Reward

Τίς ἐστιν ἄνθωπος ὁ φοβούμενος τὸν Κύριον; νομοθετήσει αὐτῷ ἐν ὁδῷ ἦ ἠρετίσατο. Ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ ἐν ἀγαθοῖς αὐλισθήσεται, καὶ τὸ σπέρμα αὐτοῦ κληρονομήσει γῆν.  Ἀκουέτω, φησὶ πᾶς ὁ φοβούμενος τὸν Κύριον, μίαν τε ὁδὸν ἤν ἄν ἒλοιτο διαπορευόμενος, τί αὐτὸν περιμένει. Νῦν μὲν κακοπαθήσει, οἴα εἰκὸς, ἐγγυμναζόμενος τοῖς τῆς θεοσεβείας ἄθλοις· ἔσται δὲ καιρὸς ὁπηνίκα ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ ἐν ἀγαθοῖς αὐλισθήσεται· ποίοις δὲ ἀγαθοῖς ἤ περὶ ὦν εἴρηται· Ἄ ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ εἴδε, καὶ τὰ ἐξῆς; Τό γε μὲν σπέρμα, ὅπερ κατεβάλετο ἐν τῇ γῇ καθ' ὄν ἐπολιτεύετο ἐπὶ γῆς χρόνον, πολλοὺς κληρονομήσει, σωτηρίας αἴτιον γινόμενον πολλοῖς. Σπερμα δὲ τί ἂν εἴποις ἢ τὴν διδασκαλίαν καὶ τοὺς λόγους καὶ τὰ συγγράμματα, ἤ τοὺς κατὰ Θεὸν αὐτῷ γεννηθέντας καὶ μαθητευθέντας ἄνδρας; δι' ὦν καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἐν ἀγαθοῖς ἀναπαυσιν αῡτοῦ μυρίοι τῆς παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ κληρονομίας τεύξονται, ἅτε ἀγαθῶν σπερμάτων τυχόντες καὶ ὠφελημένοι τὴν ἔνθεον καρποφορίαν. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους ψαλμους. ψαλμος ΚΔ'

Who is the man that fears the Lord? He shall establish the law in him in the way which he has chosen. His soul in good things shall dwell, and his seed shall inherit the earth. 1  Let him hear, he says, who fears the Lord, that there is one way which he has chosen for entry that these things shall come to be. And now indeed it seems he suffers troubles who is nearing the rewards of piety, but the time will come when his soul dwells in good things. And what may these good things be unless concerning which it is said, 'Which the eye has not seen,' and so on? 2 And the seed, which is thrown down on the earth during his time of struggle in the world, shall inherit much, for it will be a cause of salvation for many. And what would you say the seed is, unless teaching and words and writings by which men are born and educated according to God? Countless numbers established to inherit from God, after he achieves rest in good things, since from good seed rises the reward of those who bear Divine fruit. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, Psalm 24 1 Ps 24.12-13 2 1 Cor 2.9

Enduring Troubles

Ἐν παντὶ θλιβόμενοι, ἀλλ' οὐ στενοχωρούμενοι.  Ὅσον ἐπὶ τῇ πικρότητι τῶν περιεστηκόντων ἀπηυδήσαμεν ἂν καὶ ἀπωλόμεθα· ὅσον δὲ ἐπὶ τῷ παρακαλοῦντι Θεῷ, πάντα ἡμῖν πρὸς σωτηρίαν εὐμαρῆ. Κᾶν ἐν παντὶ οὖν πράγματι θλιβώμεθα, γενναιάζοντες οὐ στενοχωρούμεθα· κἂν ὡς ἀπόρους ἡμᾶς τινες ὑπολαμβάνωσι, διώκοντες καὶ ἀνατρέποντες, ἀλλ' οὖν ἡμευῖς ἐν ἄπασιν εὐποροῦντες οὐκ εξαπορούμεθα, οὐκ ἀπολλύμεθα, οὐ καταβαλλόμεθα. Ἀνατρεπόντων γὰρ τῶν πονηρῶν, στήκομεν ἁκλόνητοι· διωκόμενοι γενναιάζομεν, πορίμων ἡμῖν πάντων ὄντων πρὸς σωτηρίαν. Ἰστέον, ὅτι τὸ στενοχωρεῖσθαι ὁτε μὲν ταυτόν ἐστι θλίβεσθαι, ὁτὲ δὲ ἕτερον. Ὅταν γὰρ ἀμφότερα λέγηται, δηλοῖ τὸ μὲν θλίβεσθαι τὴν ἔξωθεν περίστασιν· τὸ στενοχωρεῖσθαι, τὸ ὀκλάζειν τῇ προαιρέσει καὶ λογισμῳ. Ὅταν δὲ μὴ ἀμφότερα λαμβάνηται, ἐκ παραλλήλου δηλοῦσι τὸ αὐτό. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Την Δευτεραν Ἐπιστολήν Παυλου Αποσλολου Προς Κορινθίους

In every tribulation, but we do not anguish. 1 That is, in bitter circumstances we do not in despair wish to perish, but, on account of the consolation of God, everything tends to salvation for us. Even if, then, in everything we are troubled, yet resisting we do not anguish. And when as if destitute of all resource they think us, and they persecute and threaten us, we however in everything rich and not at a loss, are not overrun, nor are we cast down. For while the wicked try to overturn us, we stand unmoved, bravely resisting our persecutors, all we have supporting us to salvation. And let it be known that the word anguish has a different meaning to tribulation. When both words are placed together, tribulation signifies external aggression whereas anguish concerns hesitation in the deliberations of the mind. But when they are not used together they signify similar things. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on Second Corinthians, Fragment 1 2 Cor 4. 8

Bad Books

Τίς σε οὐ κωμῳδήσει; τίς σε οὐκ ἐλεήσει, ἐν γαλήνῃ φιλοσοφίας τῶν τοῦ Κυρίου μαθητῶν καθεζόμενον, καὶ θόρυβον καὶ βρασμὸν Ἑλληνικῶν  συγγραφέων καὶ ποιητῶν ἐφελκόμενον; Τί γὰρ, εἰπε μοι, παρ' ἐκείνοις τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς προτισμότερον; Τί δὲ οὐ ψεύδους γέμει καὶ γέλωτος, ὦν ἐκεινοι σπουδάζουσιν; Οὐχ αἱ θεότητες ἐκ παθῶν; Οὐχ αἱ ανδρεῖαι ὑπὲρ παθῶν; Οὐχ οἱ ἀγῶνες ὑπὲρ παθῶν; Φεῦγε τοίνυν καὶ τὴν ἀνάγνωσιν τῆς αἰσχρότητος. Δεινῶς γὰρ οἶδεν ἀναστομοῦν τοὺς τῶν τραυμάτων συνουλώσαντας μώλωπας· μήποτε ὑποστρεψῃ τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς πονηρίας σφοδρότερον, καὶ χείρονά σοι τὴν ἥτταν τῆς προτέρας ἀγνοίας ἤ ῥᾳθυμίας ἐργάσηται. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΞΓ' Θαλελαιῳ Μονακῳ Source: Migne PG 78.224c

Who will not mark you as a comic figure? Who will not have you as a subject of tragedy, you who may sit in the peace of a disciple of the philosophy of Christ, yet you drag yourself off into the clamour and tumults of pagan tales and poetry? Why, tell me, do you prefer them to our works? Because there is no deceit and laughter on which they are so keen? Do Divine things come from depraved passions? Does fortitude over passion? Do struggles over passion? Since fearfully over the open wound the hard scab has already formed, flee your shameful reading, lest with greater vehemence the wicked spirit bear down on you, and on account of your prior ignorance and neglect, you be set to work on something worse and more wicked. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 63, To Thalelaios the Monk

Bad Influences

Διὸ καὶ αὐτὸς πάλιν προϊὼν λέγει· Οὐκ ἐκάθισα μετὰ συνεδρίου ματαιότητος, καὶ μετὰ παρανομούντων οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθω. Καὶ ὁ Ἰερεμίας δὲ μακαρίζει τὸν κατὰ μόνας καθεζόμενον, καὶ αἴροντα τὸν ζυγὸν ἐκ νεότητος. Καὶ αἱ Παροιμίαι πολὺν ὑπὲρ τούτου ποιοῦνται λόγον, πᾶσι παραινοῦσαι καὶ λέγουσαι μὴ μόνον ἐκκλίνειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀποπηδᾷν ἀπὸ τῶν πονηρὰ συμβουλευόντων, καὶ μηδὲ ἐγχρονίζειν αὐτοῖς. Εἰ γὰρ τὰ φυσικὰ μεταβάλλεται πολλάκις ἡμῖν ἀπὸ κακῆς ὁμιλίας· πόσῳ μᾶλλον τὰ τῆς προαιρέσεως; Τό τε γὰρ χρῶμα κατὰ φύσιν ἡμῖν πρόσεστι, καὶ τὸ ὑγιαίνειν· ἀλλ' ἔστιν ὅτε διαφθείρεται ταῦτα ἐξ ἑτέρας ἔξεως ἐναντίας· καὶ τὸ ὀρέγεσθαι πάλιν σιτίων· καὶ τοῦτο πολλάκις ἀπωλέσαμεν ἀπὸ κακίας νοσημάτων· καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ τοιαῦτα ἔστιν ἰδεῖν συμβαίνοντα. Εἰ δὲ τὰ τῆς φύσεως κινεῖται, πολλῷ μᾶλλον τὰ τῆς προαιρέσεως, ὅσῳ καὶ εὐκολωτέραν ἔχει τὴν ἐπὶ θάτερα μεταβολήν. Μὴ δὴ μικρὸν εἶναι νομίζωμεν τὴν τῶν κακῶν συνουσίαν εἰς βλάβην, ἀλλὰ πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων ἀπάντων φεύγωμεν τοὺς τοιούτους, κἂν γυναϊκες ὧσι, κἂν φίλοι, κἂν ὁστισοῦν. Ἐπεὶ καὶ τοὺς μεγάλους ἐκείνους τοῦτο ἀπώλεσε, Σολομῶντα λέγω καὶ Σαμψών· καὶ ἔθνος δὲ ὁλόκληρον τὸ Ἰουδαῖκὸν οὕτω διέφθαρτο. Οὐ γὰρ οὕτω θηρία πλήττειν εἴωθεν, ὡς πονηρία ἀνθρώπων. Ἐκεϊνα μὲν γὰρ φανερὸν ἔχει τὸν ἰόν· οὗτοι δὲ ἀνεπαισθήτως καὶ ἀψοφητὶ καθ' ἐκάστην ἡμέραν ἐνιᾶσι τὴν λύμην, κατὰ μικρὸν ὑποσύροντες τὸ εὕτονον τῆς ἀρετῆς.  Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, Εἰς Τον Δ' Ψαλμον

And so again later it is said, 'I have not sat in the council of the vain, and I did not go among those who act wickedly. 1 And Jeremiah calls him blessed who sits alone, and who puts on the yoke from his youth. 2  And Proverbs has many passages about this, saying and exhorting everywhere, that we should not only decline from those who counsel evil but even recoil from them. For if we observe that natural things often change their nature on account of bad influence, how much more our own wills? Color and health inhere in us by nature, but these are not uncommonly corrupted by some contrary thing from outside, and again the desire for food in us is often ruined by some fault of sickness, and many other things like this we see happen. And if it is so with natural things, that they are changed, so much more with our wills, which are more easily turned to anything. Not few, we think, have suffered harm by pernicious company, so before everything we should flee such folk as these. For this has ruined even great men, Solomon, I say, and Samson, and the whole Jewish people were so destroyed. For not like a wild beast does the wickedness of men come against one, but the former openly bear their threat and the latter strike without a sound, working in their evil every day, and little by little the strength of virtue withers.  Saint John Chrysostom, from the Exposition of the Psalms, Psalm 4  1 Ps 25.4  2 Lam 3.27.28

Works and Knowledge

Ἀρχὴ σοφίας φόβος θεοῦ σύνεσις δὲ ἀγαθὴ πᾶσι τοῖς ποιοῦσιν αὐτήν εὐσέβεια δὲ εἰς θεὸν ἀρχὴ αἰσθήσεως σοφίαν δὲ καὶ παιδείαν ἀσεβεῖς ἐξουθενήσουσιν. Ἀληθὴς γὰρ φόβος, ἡ κατὰ σεβὰσμον εὐλαβεια· σύνεσις δὲ, ἀγαθή. Εἰς τόδε ὑποστικτέον. Οὐκ ἀρκεί γὰρ εἰς μακαριότητα τὸ εἰδῆναι τὸ αγαθὸν εἰ μὴ καὶ πράττοι τις αὐτό· εὐσέβεια δὲ εἰς Θεὸν, ἀρχὴ συνέσεως. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Παροιμιας

The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God and there is good understanding to all that practice it, and piety toward God is the beginning of discernment, but the ungodly will reject wisdom and instruction. 1 For true fear in religion is reverence, and good is the understanding. Here one must pause. For one does not rise to blessedness by the knowledge of goodness if one does not practice it. So reverence to God is the beginning of knowledge. Didymus the Blind, On Proverbs, fragment 1 Proverbs 1.7

Deeds And Food

Ἐὰν καλὰ πράττῃς ἔργα, καὶ μιμῇ τὸ πρᾶον τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἔθρεψας αὐτὸν βουτύρῳ καὶ μέλιτι· ἐὰν δὲ ὀργίλος μένῃ, καὶ φαύλων ἐργάτης πράξεων, λέξει εὐλόγως καὶ περὶ σου Ἰησοῦς, ὅτι, Ἔδωκεν οὕτος εἰς τὸ βρῶμα μου χολὴν, καὶ εἰς τὴν δίψαν μου ἐπότισέ με ὄξος. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΝΑ', Τευκρῳ Διακονῳ Source: Migne PG 79.176b

If you do good works and you emulate the meekness of Jesus, you shall feast on butter and honey. 1 If you persist in wrath and take to wretched deeds, then Jesus spoke well of you, that 'They gave me gall for food, and for my drink they gave me vinegar.' 2 Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 251, To Teucer the Deacon 1 Isaiah 7.15 2 Ps 68.22

A Higher Feast

Καὶ ἐνέγκαντες τὸν μόσκον τὸν σιτευτὸν καὶ φαγόντες εὐφρανθώμεν. Εἰ δὲ χρὴ τὸν τόπον καὶ ὑψηλότερον θεωρῆσαι, προκατάρχεται λόγων, ἠθικῶν μὲν, οἶον τροφῆς, ἐν τῷ φαγόντες, ἐποπτικῶν δὲ, οἶον ποτοῦ, ἐν τῷ εὐφρανθῶμεν. Οἶνος γὰρ ἀρχὴ εὐφροσύνης, ὡς γέγραπται. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Το Κατα Λουκαν Εὐαγγελιον, Κεφ ΙΕ'

And bringing out the fattened calf and eating they made merry. 1   If one wishes to contemplate this passage in a more sublime sense, have words and morals for the food when it says 'eating', and knowledge of the mysteries as the drink when it says 'they made merry.' Certainly wine is the beginning of joy, as it is written. 2 Origen, Commentary On Luke, Chap 15, Fragment 1 Lk 15. 23 2 Sirach 31.35

The Wisdom of the Age

Et veniat super me misericordia tua, Domine, salutare tuum secundum eloquium tuum, et respondebo exprobrantibus mihi verbum quia speravi in sermonibus tuis et ne auferas de ore meo verbum veritatis usquequaque quia in iudiciis tuis speravi, et custodiam legem tuam semper in aeternum et in saeculum saeculi et ambulabam in latitudine quia mandata tua exquisivi, et loquebar de testimoniis tuis in conspectu regum et non confundebar et meditabor in mandatis tuis quae dilexi nimis et levavi manus meas ad mandata tua quae dilexi vehementer et exercebor in tuis iustificationibus. Plures secundum Apostolum sunt qui sapientiam saeculi sequentes, sapientiam Dei reprobaverunt : ob quod stultam fecit Deus saeculi sapientiam. Quid enim infidelibus stultius est, qui praeter illum communem irreligiosorum errorem etiam hoc adjiciunt piaculi, ut divina Scripturarum eloquia putent perfectae doctrinae carere ratione? Et quia pro impietate ingenii sui divinorum dictorum capaces esse non possunt, ad contumeliam coelestium verborum pro excusatione hebetudinis suae prorumpunt, dicentes, nihil in his rationabile, nihil esse perfectum: volentes ea quae a se dicantur, sola esse erudita, et doctrinis verae prudentiae expolita; stulti Deo negantes, quae assumere ipsi sibi audent. Nec mirum est, si irreligiose de eis opinantur, quorum pecudeae hebetudinis modo, intelligentiam non consequnntur. Verum quamvis in eo sermone, quem superius habuimus, his qui sapientiam Dei sequuntur, cognitam dictorum coelestium perfectionem existimam, nihilque eorum esse, quod non consummatum atque omni ex parte perfectum sit. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis,Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum LVIII

And your mercy came upon me, O Lord, your salvation according to your word and I shall reply to those who reproached me because I hoped in your words and you did not take from my mouth the word of truth at all because in your judgements I have hoped, and I shall guard your laws always, into eternity, and I walked in freedom because your commandments I sought out, and I spoke concerning your testimony in the sight of kings and I was not confounded, and I meditated on your commandments which I loved deeply and I rose up my hands to your commandments with I loved zealously and I exerted myself in your justifications. 1 Many, according to the Apostle, are those who following the wisdom of the age have reproved the wisdom of God, 2 on account of which God has made foolish the wisdom of the age. For what is more stupid than the unfaithful who after their common error of impiety, thrust forward another fault, that they think that the speech of Divine Scripture lacks the reason of perfect teaching? And because on account of the impiety of their own minds they are not able to grasp the Divine words, with excuse of its dullness they burst forth in contumacious attack on the heavenly words, saying that nothing in these things is reasonable, nothing perfect, wishing that only the things that they say be learned and that they possess the refined and true and most wise teaching, these fools refusing God, who dare to claim these things as their own. But it is no wonder, if the irreligious think such things, for just like dull cattle, they do not have understanding. Truly, though, in the passage which we have given above, I judge that the perfect knowledge of the celestial speech is given to those who follow the wisdom of God and nothing of it is flawed, and in every part it is perfect. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, from Homilies on the Psalms, Psalm 58 1 Ps 118 41 - 48 2 1 Cor 1. 19-20

Clouds and Prophets

Σκοτεινὸν ὕδωρ ἐν νεφέλαις ἀέρων ἀπὸ τῆς τηλαυγήσεως ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ αἱ νεφέλαι διῆλθον ̓Εν πολλοῖς τόποις τῆς γραφῆς τὰς νεφέλας ἀλληγορικῶς φερομένας εὑρίσκομεν. Τὸν γὰρ οι κον τοῦ ̓Ισραὴλ ἀμπελῶνα εἰπών, νεφέλας ἐντολὰς λαμβανούσας μὴκ' ετι βρέχειν αὐτόν, οὐκ αλλας η τοὺς προφήτας εὑρίσκομεν. Οὐκ ετι γοῦν παρ' ἐκείνοις τὸ Τάδε λέγει κύριος, καὶ τὸ ̓Εγένετο λόγος κυρίου πρός με· μέχρι τούτων τῶν νεφελῶν ἡ ἀλήθεια λάμπει. Αὐται γοῦν αἱ νεφέλαι ψυχαῖς ῥέουσαι πνευματικῶν λόγων ὑετὸν οὐ γῆς ἀλλ' ἀέρος εἰσίν· τοῖς γὰρ ἐπιγείοις ἀποταξάμεναι καὶ μηκέτ' αὐτὰ φρονοῦσαι, μετεωριζόμεναι καὶ ἐπαιρόμεναι ὑπὸ τῆς σφῶν ἀρετῆς καὶ τοῦ ἐνεργοῦντος πνεύματος ἀέρος εἰσίν. Τὸ ἐν αὐταῖς οὖν ὐδωρ, πρὶν ὑπὸ ̓Ιησοῦ ἐκβάσεως καὶ σαφηνείας τυχεῖν, διὰ τὸ τοῖς πολλοῖς δυσθεώρητον σκοτεινὸν ει ναι λέγεται. Ὁταν δὲ λαλήσαντος τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν τῷ υἱῷ ἐπ' ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν πληρωθῶσιν ὁ νόμος καὶ οἱ προφῆται, ̓Απὸ τῆς τηλαυγήσεως (τουτέστιν ἐπιλάμψεως αὐτοῦ) ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ συνελεύσονται, νεφέλαι φανεραὶ καὶ ἀρίδηλοι γινόμεναι διὰ τὸ παρεῖναι τὸν προαναφωνηθέντα ὑπ' αὐτῶν. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΙΖ'

Dark waters in the clouds of heaven; before the brightness of His face the clouds pass. 1 In many places of the Scriptures we find that clouds allegorically indicate the prophets. For calling the house of Israel a vine, the clouds receive the command not to rain on it, and so we do not find prophets there, nor things such as: 'These things says the Lord,' nor, 'And the word of the Lord came to me,' until the truth brightens the clouds. These clouds, then, are the souls flowing with spiritual speech, water not of the earth, but of the air, pouring in drops onto the earth, and not, as they are disposed, with the appropriate power and spirit within that allows them to be suspended in the air. Such, then, was the moisture among them in that time before the descent and revelation of the Saviour by which they spoke obscurely to many. For with the speech of God in the Son in recent times, fulfilled were the Law and the Prophets, and so before the brightness of His face the clouds pass, and through His presence brighter are made the things they preached about him.  Didymus the Blind, Commentary on the Psalms, Psalm 17 1 Ps 17. 12-13

Darkness and Revelation

Ipse revelat profunda et abscondita, et novit in tenebris constituta, et lux cum eo est.   Cui Deus revelat profunda, et potest dicere: O profundum divitiarum sapientiae et scientiae Dei, iste, habitante in se Spiritu scrutatur etiam profunda Dei, et in profunda animae suae fodit altissmos puteos, et omnem terram egerit, quae profundas aquas operire consuevit: servatque mandatum Dei, dicens: Bibe aquam de tuis vasis, et de puteorum tuorum fonte. Quodque sequitur: Novit in tenebris constituta, et lux cum eo est: tenebrae significant ignorantiam, et lux scientiam atque doctrinam. Itaque Deum ut perversa non capiant, ita recta ambiunt, atque circumdant, Sive interpretandum est, quod tenebrosa mystica quaeque et profunda significet, juxta illud quod legimus in Proverbiis: Intelligit quoque parabolam et tenebrosum sermonem, hoc ipsum significat quod in Psalmis legimus: Tenebrosa aqua in nubibus aeris. Qui enim ad excelsa conscendit, et terrena deserens, instar avium tenuissimum aerem et aetherea quaeque desiderat, iste nubes efficitur, ad quam veritas Dei pervenit, et quae super sanctos pluere consuevit: repletusque multitudine scientiae, habet multas aquas in corde suo tenebrosas et involutas caligine, quam solus Moyses ingreditur et loquitur Deo facie ad faciem, de quo scriptum est: Posuit tenebras latibulum suum. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentaria in Daniel, Caput II

It is He who reveals deep and hidden things, and He knows what is placed in darkness, and with Him is light. 1 A man to whom God makes profound revelations and who can say, 'O the depth of the riches of the knowledge and wisdom of God', 2 he is one who, having the Spirit in himself, inquires into the deep things of God, and digs the deepest of wells in the depths of his soul, and he carries off all the earth which is accustomed to conceal the deep waters, and he observes the command of God, which says: 'Drink water from your vessels and from the spring of your wells' 3. As for the words which follow: 'He knows what is placed in the darkness, and with Him is the light,' the darkness signifies ignorance, and the light signifies knowledge and learning. Therefore as wrong cannot hide God away, so right encompasses and surrounds Him. Or we should interpret it to mean all obscure mysteries and deep things, according to what we read in Proverbs: 'He understands also the parable and the dark saying,'  and this meaning is the same as that line we find in the Psalms: 'Dark waters in the clouds of the sky.' 4 For one who ascends to the heights and forsakes the things of earth is like a bird desiring the most rarefied atmosphere and things ethereal, and he becomes like a cloud into which the truth of God penetrates and which is accustomed to rain upon the saints. Replete with a plenitude of knowledge, he has in his heart many dark waters enveloped with deep darkness, which only Moses can penetrate and speak with God face to face, concerning which it is written: 'He has made darkness His hiding-place'. 4 Saint Jerome, from the Commentary on Daniel, Chapter 2 1 Dan 2.22 2 Rom. 11.33 3 Prov. 5.15 4 Ps. 17.12

Light And Revelation

Ἔφαναν αἱ ἀστραπαὶ αὐτοῦ τῇ οἰκουμένῃ εἶδεν καὶ ἐσαλεύθη ἡ γῆ.   Οἱ φωτινοὶ λόγοι τῆς θείας διδασκαλίας αὐτοῦ ἀστραπῶν τρόπῳ ἔφαναν πάσῃ τῇ οἰκομένῃ καταυγάζοντες καὶ φωτίζοντες αὐτὴν, ἐπὶ τῳ ἔχειν φῶς γνώσεως. Ἀλλ' ἡ γῆ ταύτας τὰς ἀστραπὰς ἰδοῦσα, κλονηθεῖσα μετέβαλεν, ἀποβαλοῦσα τὴν γεώδη ποιότητα, ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀναλαβεῖν τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ ἐπουρανίου. Ἰδουσα τοὺς ἀνθρωπίνους νόμους, καὶ τά κατάλληλα τούτοις ἔθη, πάντες οἱ ἄνθρωποι τα σφέτερα πάτρια καταλιπόντες, τῇ εὐαγγελικῇ παιδεύσει προσεληλύθασιν. Ἀλλὰ οἰκουμένη ἰδοῦσα τὰς ἀστραπὰς τοῦ Κυρίου, ἐλλάμπεται. Ἡ δὲ γῆ  σαλεύεται διὰ τοῦ κλόνου, ἀρχὴν λαμβάνουσα πρὸς τὸ καὶ αὐτὴν οἰκουμένην χρηματίσαι, ἵνα φανῶσιν αὐτῇ τοιαύτῃ γεγενημένῃ αἱ θεῖσα τοῦ Κυρίου ἀστραπαί Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος  ϞϚ'

His lightning revealed the world, and the earth saw and trembled. 1 The shining words of His Divine teachings are lightning revealing the whole world, illuminating and enlightening it that it receive the light of knowledge. Which lightning the earth seeing, it is shaken and changed, casting off terrestrial deeds, that it put on the image of heaven. Seeing the laws of men and the associated customs, all men shall abandon such an inheritance for the teaching of the Gosepl. For the world beholding the lightening of the Lord is illuminated. The earth is shaken with tumult grasping the deeds of the world, which are revealed in the divine lighting of God. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 96 1 Ps 96.4

Mercy and Enlightenment

Post misericordiam enim et benedictionem id sequitur: Illuminet vultum suum super nos, et miseratur nobis. Benedictione Dei opus est, ut nos vultus ejus illuminet ut tenebrosa corda nostra cognitionis suae lumen irradiet, ut majestatis suae Spiritus lucem obscuratis intelligentiae nostrae sensibus tribuat; et gloriari deinceps liceat, dicentes: Designatum est super nos lumen vultus tui Domine. Hanc autem illuminationem vultus sui super nos misericordia ipsius, quae in peccati remissione in nobis est coepta, largitur. In quem autem profectum illuminationem vultus Dei super se precentur, sermo consequens docet: Ut cognoscamus in terra viam tuam, in omnibus gentibus salutare tuum. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis,Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum LXVIII

And after mercy and blessing it follows: Let the light of your face shine upon us and be merciful to us. 1 In the blessing of God is the work that his face shine upon us and enlighten with the light of His knowledge our dark hearts, that he give to the darkened understanding of our minds the light of his majestic spirit, that then we be able to glory, saying, Sealed upon us is the light of your face, O Lord. 2 This light of His face upon us is His mercy poured forth, which undertakes the forgiveness of sin among us. And that they pray for this coming illumination of the face of God upon them, the next verse teaches, saying: 'That we might know on earth your way, among all the peoples your salvation.' 3 Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, Psalm 66  1 Ps 66.1 2 Ps 4.7 3 Ps 66.3

Mercy and Friendship

Οὔτε λύκος προβάτῳ ποτὲ φιλικῶς προσωμίλησεν, οὔτε ἄσπλαγχνος καὶ ἄπληστος λογισμὸς τῇ ἀγαθοθελείᾳ φιλιοῦσθαι ἀνέχεται. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΣϟΗ' Εὐηθιῳ Τριβουνῳ.

As the wolf will never enter into a state of friendship with the lamb, nor will he who is merciless, ceaseless in his calculations, come into friendship with a good will. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 298, To Euethius the Tribune

Mercy and Faith

Ἐλεημοσύναι καὶ πίστεις μὴ ἐκλιπέτωσάν σε ἄφαψαι δὲ αὐτὰς ἐπὶ σῷ τραχήλῳ καὶ εὑρήσεις χάριν. Ἐν ἔξει τὰς ἀρετὰς ἔχων, μὴ ἐπιπολαίως καταῥῥᾳθυμῶν αὐτῶν, οὗτος ἔχει αὐτὰς γεγραμμένας ἐπὶ πλακὸς τῆς ἑαυτοῦ καρδίας, ἐπὶ τοῦ βάθους δηλαδή τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ψυχῆς, ἢτοι τῆς διηνεκοῦς ἐπιθυμήσεως, ἵνα ὁ ἐξ ἐναντίας μὴ παρατρέπῃ σε. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Παροιμιας

Mercy and faith do not neglect to hang upon your neck and you shall find grace. 1 He who has the habit of the virtues does not ordinarily neglect them, for he has them inscribed on the tablets of his heart, evident in the depths of his soul, lest the one who opposes him, who always desires it, overthrow him. Didymus the Blind, On Proverbs, fragment  1 Prov 3.3