Wisdom And Simplicity

Muscae mortis pollunt oleum compositionis: pretiosa est super sapientiam et gloriam stultitia parva. Exemplum superioris sensus dedit, in quo ait, per unum stultum multa bona posse subverti, quod sic malus mistus bonis contaminet plurimos, quomodo muscae si moriantur in unguento, perdant et odorem illius et colorem. Et quia saepe calliditati mista est sapientia, et habet malitiam prudentia, praecipit ut sapientiam simplicem requiramus, mistaque sit cum innocentia columbarum; prudentes simus ad bonum, simplices autem ad malum. Et est sensus: Convenit justo parum habere simplicitatis, et propter nimiam patientiam, dum ultionem reservat Deo, stultum videri, quam statim se vindicantem sub velamento prudentiae exercere malitiam. Sanctus Hieronymous, Commentarius Ecclesiasten, Cap X Source: Migne PL 23 1090a-b

Dead flies defile the well prepared perfume; a little foolishness is more precious than wisdom and glory. 1 He has given an example of the previous passage's meaning, in which he said that by one fault many goods may be overturned, 2 because evil mixed with goods contaminates many, as flies dying in perfume destroy both its odour and its colour. And because it is often the case that cunning is mixed with wisdom, and prudence bears along with it wickedness, he commands that we seek a simple wisdom, and mix it with the innocence of doves. Let us be prudent in the good, simple in evil. And this is the meaning: it befits the righteous to have a little simplicity and on account of excessive patience, while he reserves vengeance to God, to seem a fool, than to be instantly vindicated under the veil of prudence by doing evil. Saint Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chap 10 1 Eccl 10.1 2 Eccl 9.18

Asking The Way

Notam fac mihi viam in qua ambulem; quia ad te levavi animam meam. Apostolus per speculum et in aenigmate videt, et pro parte scit, et pro parte prophetat. Propheta quoque tamquam per naturam humanae fragilitatis ignorans, notas sibi fieri, in quibus ambulet, vias orat. Non enim hae saeculi viae utiles sunt: spiritales et coelestes ille nosse desiderat. Id enim ait: Quia ad te levavi animam meam. Non in humilibus est anima iliius, sed in excelsis; et idcirco excelsarum viarum postulat notionem. Scit enim esse inimicos sibi, qui se in alias vias avocent, qui in voluntatem alteram deducant. De inimicis istis spiritalibus Apostolus multa et frequenter ingessit. Ab his ergo se eripi orat, et viam illam tribulatam, quae ad coelum  agit, cognoscere rogat, et de voluntate Domini doceri et per Spiritum ejus in terram rectam deduci: id est, ut constituatur in hominem non vitiis perversam. Nam in rectam terram se dirigi quomodo optat, si de elementi hujus creatura dixisse existimabitur: nisi quod secundum primi hominis naturam, cui post peccatum dictum est, Terra es, et in terram ibis, constitui se hominem rectum indeflexumque desiderat? Id enim sub his dictis continetur: Notam fac mihi viam in qua ambulem: quia ad te levavi animam meam. Eripe me de inimicis meis, Domine, ad te confugi: doce me facere voluntatem tuam, quia Deus meus es tu. Spiritus tuus bonus deducet me in terram rectam propter nomen tuum, Domine. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis,Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum CXLII Source: Migne PL 9 841

Make known to me the way in which I should walk, because to you I have lifted up my soul. 1 The Apostle sees though a mirror and mystery, and in part he knows, and in part he makes prophecy. 2 The Psalmist also being ignorant on account of the nature of human fragility, prays that the way in which he should walk be made known to him. For there being no profit in the ways of this world, he desires to know the spiritual and heavenly. For He says, 'Because to you I have lifted up my soul.' Not in base things is his soul but in high things and therefore he asks for the knowledge of heavenly ways. For he knows they are his enemies who call him to other ways, who would lead to another will. And concerning these spiritual enemies the Apostle frequently has spoken at length. From these, then, he prays to be saved, and he asks to know that way of tribulation that leads to heaven, and to be taught the will of the Lord, and to be led by his Spirit into the good land; that is, that he be established in a humanity not perverted by vices. For how does he desire to be led into that good land if the creature to its elements, it is said, shall be judged, unless in that nature of the first man, he who after he sinned was told, 'Earth you are, and into earth you shall go.' 3 he desires to be established unimpaired and immoveable? So below these words: Make known to me the way in which I should walk, because to you I have lifted up my soul,' it continues: 'Seize me from my enemies, Lord, to you I have flown; teach me to do your will, because you are my God. May your good spirit lead me into the right land on account of your name, O Lord.' 4 Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 142 1 Ps 142.8 2 1 Cor 23. 12,9 3 Gen 3.19 4 Ps 142.9-10

Good Teaching

Οὗτος με πρῶτος καὶ μόνος καὶ τὴν Ἐλλήνων φιλοσοφίαν φιλοσοφεῖν προὺτρέψατο, τοῖς ἤθεσι τοῖς ἰδίοις αὐτοῦ, καὶ τοῦ περὶ ἠθῶν ἀκοῦσαι καὶ ἀνασχέσθαι λόγου πείσας, οὐκ ἂν πεισθέντα ὅσον ἐπὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις φιλοσόφοις, παλιν ὁμολογῶ, οὐκ ὀρθῶς μὲν, δυστυχῶς δὲ, μικροῦ δεῖν, ἡμῖν. Οὐ μενοῦν οὐδὲ πλείοσιν ἐνέτυχον τὸ πρῶτον, ὀλίγοις δέ τισι τοῖς διδάσκειν ἐπαγγελλομένοις, ἀλλὰ γὰρ πᾶσι μέχρι ῥημάτων τὸ φιλοσοφειν στήσασιν. Οὗτος δέ με πρῶτος καὶ τοῖς λόγοις φιλοσοφεῖν προυτρέψατο, τοῖς ἔργοις φθάσας τὴν διὰ λόγων προτροπὴν, οὐκ ἀπαγγέλλων μόνον ῥήματα μεμελετημένα, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ λέγειν ἀξιῶν, εἰ μὴ σὺν εἰλικρινεῖ τῇ γνώμῃ καὶ πρᾶξαι τὰ εῑρημένα ἀγωνιουμένῃ τοῦτο ποιοῖ· ἤ τοιοῦτον ἑαυτὸν παρασχέσθαι πειρώμενος, οἶον τοῖς λόγοις διέξεισι τὸν καλῶς βιωσόμενον, καὶ παράδειγμα μὲν, ἐβουλόμην εἰπεῖν, ἐκθέμενος σοφοῦ. Ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ ἀλήθειαν ἡμῖν, οὐ κομψείαν ἐπηγγείλατο ὁ λόγος ἄνωθεν, παράδειγμα μὲν αὐτὸν σοφοῦ οὐδέπω λέγω· καίτοι γε εἰπεῖν ἐθέλων εἶναί τε ἀληθές· ἀλλὰ ἐῶ νῦν τοῦτο. Οὐ παράδειγμα τοίνυν ἀκριβὲς, ἐξομοιοῦν δὲ καὶ ἄγαν ἐθέλοντα, σπουδῆ πάσῃ καὶ προθυμίᾳ βιαζόμενον, εἰ δεῖ λέγειν, καὶ παρὰ τὴν ἀνθρώπων δύναμιν· καὶ μέντοι καὶ ἡμᾶς ἑτέρους τοιούτους πλάττειν, οὐ λόγων ἐγκρατεῖς καὶ ἐπιστήμονας τῶν περὶ ὁρμῶν, τῶν δὲ ὁρμῶν αὐτῶν· ἐπὶ τὰ ἔργα καὶ τοὺς λόγους, ἄγχων, καὶ οὐ μικρὰν μοῖραν ἐκάστης ἀρετῆς, τάχα δὲ καὶ σύμπασαν, εἴπερ ἐχωρήσαμεν, ἐπιφέρων ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ θεωρίᾳ· δικαιοπραγεῖν μὲν καὶ ἀναγκάζων, εἰ δεῖ λέγειν, διὰ τὴν ἰδιοπραγίαν τῆς ψυχῆς, ᾖ προσθέσθαι ἡμᾶς ἔπεισεν· ἀπάγων μὲν τῆς κατὰ τὸν βίον πολυπραγμοσύνης, καὶ τοῦ τῆς ἀγορᾶς ὀχληροῦ, ἑαυτοὺς δὲ περισκοπεῖν ἐπαρας καὶ τὰ αὐτῶν ὄντως πράττειν. Τοῦτο δὲ εἶναι τὸ δικαιοπραγειν, και ταύτην τὴν δικαιοσύνην τήν γε ἀληθῆ, καὶ τῶν ἀρχαίων φιλοσόφων τινὲς εἰρήκασι, τὴν ἰδιοπραγίαν λέγοντες, ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ, καὶ ἀνυσιμώτερον πρὸς μακαριότητα ἑαυτοῖς τε καὶ τοῖς προσιοῦσιν· εἴπερ γε ἐστὶ τῆσδε τῆς ἀρετῆς τὸ κατ' ἀξίαν ἀπονέμειν, καὶ τὰ ἴδια ἐκάστοις. Τί γὰρ ἂν ἴδιον εἴη ψυχῆς ἕτερον; Τί δὲ οὕτως ἄξιον ἤ τὸ ἐπιμέλεσθαι ἑαυτῆς, οὐκ ἔξω βλέπουσαν, οὐδ' ἀλλοτριοπραγοῦσαν, οὐδὲ, συνελόντι εἰπεῖν ἀδικοῠσαν ἑαυτὴν τὴν χειρίστην ἀδικίαν, ἀλλ' ἔνδον πρὸς ἑαυτὴν ἀπεστραμμένην, αὐτὴν ἑαυτῇ ἀποδιδοῦσαν καὶ δικαιοπραγοῦσαν; Οὕτως μὲν δίκαια πράττειν, εἰ δεῖ λέγειν, ἀναγκάζων ἐπαίδευε· προνεῖν δὲ πάλιν οὐχ ἦττον, τὸ πρὸς ἑαυτὴν εἶναι, καὶ ἑαυτοὺς γινώσκειν ἐθέλειν τε καὶ πειρᾶσθαι· τοῦτο δὴ τὸ ἄριστον φιλοσοφίας ἔργον, ὅ δὴ καὶ δαιμόνων τῷ μαντικωτάτῳ ἀνατίθεται ὡς πάνσοφον πρόσταγμα, τὸ, Γνῶθι σαυτον. Τὸ δὲ εἶναι ὄντως ἔργον φρονήσεως, καὶ ταύτην εἴναι τὴν θείαν φρόνησιν, καλῶς τοῖς παλαιοῖς λέγεται· τὴν αὐτὴν ὄντως οὖσαν Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπου ἀρετήν· αὐτῆς τῆς ψυχῆς ἑαυτὴν ὥσπερ ἐν κατόπτρῳ ὁρᾷν μελετώσης, καὶ τὸν θεῖον νοῦν, εἰ ἀξία γένοιτο τῆς κοινωνίας τῆσδε, ἐν αὐτῇ κατοπτριζομένης, ὁδόν τε ἀπόῥῥητόν τινα ταύτης ἀποθεώσεως ἐξιχνευομένης. Ἀκολούως δὲ καὶ σωφρονεῖν, καὶ φρόνησιν τήνδε, τῆς ψυχῆς ἑαυτὴν γινωσκούσης, εἴ ποτε αὐτῇ τοῦτο γένοιτο· ταύτην γὰρ εἶναι πάλιν τὴν σωφροσύνην, σώαν τινὰ φρόνησιν οὖσαν· ἀνδρίζεσθαι δ' ἐπὶ πᾶσιν ἐμμένοντας ταῖς εἰρημέναις ἐπιτηδεύσεσι, καὶ οὐκ ἀποπιπτοντας οὖθ' ἐκουσίως οὔθ ὑπό τινος ἀνάγκης, φυλάσσοντας δὲ καὶ ἐγκρατεῖς τῶν εἰρημένων· καὶ ταύτην εἴναι σώτειράν τινα καὶ φύλακα δογματίζων οὖσαν τὴν ἀρετὴν ταύτην.  Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος ὁ θαυματουργός, Εἰς Ὀριγένην Προσφώνητικος, ΙΑ' Source: Migne PG 10 1081c-1085a

Origen was also the first and only one that urged me to study the philosophy of the Greeks, persuading me by his own moral example both to hear and to hold to the doctrine of morals, while as yet I had not been persuaded to that, so far as other philosophers were concerned, again I confess, indeed not rightly but unhappily telling you a little of it. At first I did not associate with many but only with a few who claimed to be teachers, but they all established their philosophy only as far as words, but this man, however, was the first who led me to philosophize by his words, as he put the exhortation in deeds before he gave it in words, and did not merely pronounce well practiced sentences; indeed he did not deem it of any value to speak at all but with a sincere mind striving for the deeds of the things expressed, whence he endeavoured  to show himself as like the one who in his discourses he exhibits as living well, he  himself, I would say, offering the pattern of the wise man. But as our discourse has announced itself as concerned with truth, and not refined speech, I shall not speak here of him as the pattern of the wise man, and yet, if I wished to speak of him so, it would be truth. But for now I go on. I shall not speak of him, then, as a perfect pattern, but as one who truly wishes to imitate it, and strives for it with all zeal and earnestness, even, if I may say so, beyond the ability of men, and, moreover, as one who labours to make us who are so different similar, not mere masters and knowers of the teachings of the movements of the soul, but of the movements themselves. For he drove us to works and words, and not into a small part of each virtue, but, if we could encompass it, into the whole, compelling us, if I may say so, to practice righteousness by the personal action of the soul, persuading us to apply ourselves to it, and leading us away from the many concerns of life and from the troubles of the forum, and lifting us to the nobler vocation of looking into ourselves and to acting concerning the things that truly concern us. Now that this is to practice righteousness and that this is the true righteousness, some also of the ancient philosophers have told, calling it personal action, I think, and they have affirmed that it is more efficacious for blessedness, both for themselves and those with them, if indeed it is of virtue to reward according to merit and each according to what he has done. For what else may be proper to the soul? Or what could be so worthy of it than it have care for itself, not looking outwards, nor busying itself with other affairs, not, to speak shortly, doing the worst injustice to itself, but turning inwardly upon itself, to give itself over to itself, and so act righteously? Thus he taught with a certain compulsion, if I may speak so, the practice of righteousness, not neglecting prudence even so, but teaching us to be with ourselves, and to wish and try to know ourselves, and this is indeed the most excellent work of philosophy, ascribed to the most prophetic of spirits as the command of highest wisdom, 'Know yourself.' And that this is the true work of prudence and that such is the Divine prudence is by the ancients well affirmed, for in this there is one virtue of God and man; the soul exerting itself to see itself as in a mirror, and there the Divine mind, if it be worthy of such relation, in that tracing out a certain inexpressible way to attain a kind of apotheosis. And with this prudence comes also temperance conserving the prudence of the soul that knows itself, if that is to be, for this temperance, again, surely is a stable prudence; and also fortitude is there, for the firm preservation of all that we have spoken of as being befitting, without falling away, either voluntarily or by some force, in the guarding and keeping of what has been taught, for he teaches that this virtue is a kind of protector and guardian. Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus, from the Oration to Origen, Chapter 11

A Philosopher Warned

Κομπάζεις φιλοσοφίαν ἐχθρὰν τῆς ὄντως σοφίας, καὶ αὐτὸ ἀρνούμενος τὸ τοῦ πράγματος ὄνομα. Οὐδὲν γὰρ ἕτερόν ἐστι φιλοσοφία, ἤ τὸ πάντως φιλεῖν τὴν σοφίαν. Εἰ οὖν ὄντως ἐραστὴς εἶναι βούλει σοφίας, τὴν ὄντως ἀγάπα σοφίαν, οὐ τὸν λόγον μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν βίον συμνύνουσαν, καὶ τὴν ἀληθῆ θρησκείαν παιδεύουσαν. Ἥν γὰρ αὐτὸς ἐπαγγέλλῃ, καὶ νῦν ὀφλισκάνει γέλωτα, θεότητας καλοῦσα τὰς πηγὰς τῆς αἰσχρότητος, καὶ ἐν τῳ μέλλοντι τιμωρίαν ὠδίνει, ὅπου σοι τοὺς Κωκυτοὺς καὶ Πυριφλεγέθοντας ὁ Πλάτων ἠπείλησεν. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ϟϚ' Μαξιμῳ Φιλοσοφῳ Ἐλληνι Source:  Migne PG 78. 248d-249a

The philosophy of which you boast is an enemy of true wisdom and denies itself the name of the deed. For philosophy is nothing but to love wisdom. If, then, you really wish to be a lover of wisdom, love the real wisdom, which is not only a word but even an adornment of life, and a preparation for the true religion. For what you now proclaim, even incurring laughter when it names the founts of shame divine, births punishment in the future, where Cocytus and Pyriphelgethon will await you, as Plato warned. 1 Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 96, to Maximus the Philosopher   1 1 Phadeo. 113d

Philosophical Impediments

Et quid mihi proderat quod annos natus ferme viginti, cum in manus meas venissent aristotelica quaedam, quas appellant decem categorias, quarum nomine, cum eas rhetor Carthaginiensis, magister meus, buccis typho crepantibus commemoraret et alii qui docti habebantur, tamquam in nescio quid magnum et divinum suspensus inhiabam, legi eas solus et intellexi? quas cum contulissem cum eis qui se dicebant vix eas magistris eruditissimis, non loquentibus tantum sed multa in pulvere depingentibus, intellexisse, nihil inde aliud mihi dicere potuerunt quam ego solus apud me ipsum legens cognoveram. Et satis aperte mihi videbantur loquentes de substantiis, sicuti est homo, et quae in illis essent, sicuti est figura hominis, qualis sit, et statura, quot pedum sit, et cognatio, cuius frater sit, aut ubi sit constitutus aut quando natus, aut stet an sedeat, aut calciatus vel armatus sit, aut aliquid faciat aut patiatur aliquid, et quaecumque in his novem generibus, quorum exempli gratia quaedam posui, vel in ipso substantiae genere innumerabilia reperiuntur. Quid hoc mihi proderat, quando et oberat, cum etiam te, deus meus, mirabiliter simplicem atque incommutabilem, illis decem praedicamentis putans quidquid esset omnino comprehensum, sic intellegere conarer, quasi et tu subiectus esses magnitudini tuae aut pulchritudini, ut illa essent in te quasi in subiecto sicut in corpore, cum tua magnitudo et tua pulchritudo tu ipse sis, corpus autem non eo sit magnum et pulchrum quo corpus est, quia etsi minus magnum et minus pulchrum esset, nihilominus corpus esset? Falsitas enim erat quam de te cogitabam, non veritas, et figmenta miseriae meae, non firmamenta beatitudinis tuae. iusseras enim, et ita fiebat in me, ut terra spinas et tribulos pareret mihi et cum labore pervenirem ad panem meum. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Confessiones, Liber V, Cap XVI Source: Migne PL 32 704-705

And what did it profit me that, when at just twenty years old, there came into my hands a certain work of Aristotle's which is called the Ten Categories, on whose name I hung, when my master of oratory at Carthage, and other learned men, referred to it with cheeks puffed out with pride, as on something great and divine, and I read it alone and understood it? And when on conferring with others, who said that they scarcely understood it even with the assistance of most capable teachers, who not only spoke, but drew much in the dust, and could tell me no more about it than I had grasped in reading it alone? It seemed to me to speak plainly enough about substances, such as man is, and of the qualities that inhere in them, such as the figure of a man, and of what kind it is; and his stature, how many feet high he is; and his relationship, whose brother he is; or where he is placed, or when born; or whether he stands or sits, or is wearing shoes or armed, or does or suffers something; and whatever innumerable thing might be classed under these nine categories, of which I have given certain examples, or under that chief category of substance. What did this profit me, seeing it even hindered me, when, even you, my God, wondrously simple and unchangeable, I thought something to be comprehended in these ten categories, and so tried to understand you as subject of your greatness and your beauty, so that they should be in you as their subject, as in a body, when you yourself are your greatness and your beauty, and a body in itself is not great or fair because it is a body because even if it were less great and less fair it would nevertheless be a body. A falsehood then it was that I thought of you, not truth, fictions of my wretchedness, not the supports of your blessedness. For you commanded that it should be with me that the earth put forth thorns and thistles, and that with labour I should come to my bread. 1   Saint Augustine of Hippo, Confessions Book 4, Chapter 16 1 Gen 3.18

Seeing And Telling

Pone cor tuum in omnia quae ego ostendam tibi, quia ut ostendantur tibi adductus es huc. Annuntia omnia quae tu vides domui Israel. Pone cor tuum. Ac si dicatur: Considera. Quia ut ostendantur tibi adductus es huc, et annuntia omnia quae vides. Id est, ideo adductus es ut videas, et ideo vides ut annunties, quia quisquis spiritalia videndo proficit, oportet ut haec loquendo etiam aliis propinet. Videt quippe ut annuntiet, qui in eo quod in se proficit etiam de profectu proximi praedicando curam gerit. Unde et alibi scriptum est: Qui audit dicat: Veni. Cui enim jam vox vocantis Dei efficitur in corde, necesse est ut proximis per praedicationis officium erumpat in voce; et idcirco alium vocet, quia jam ipse vocatus est. Unde et sponsus quoque in Canticis canticorum loquitur, dicens: Quae habitas in hortis, amici auscultant, fac me audire vocem tuam. In hortis enim sancta Ecclesia, in hortis unaquaeque anima habitat, quae jam viriditate spei est et bonorum operum charitate repleta. Sicca quippe spes est hujus saeculi, quia omnia quae hic amantur cum festinatione marcescunt; et Petrus nos Apostolus festinare admonet, dicens: In haereditatem incorruptibilem, incontaminatam, immarcescibilem. Quae ergo jam in hortis habitat, oportet ut sponsum suum vocem suam audire faciat, id est canticum bonae praedicationis emittat, in qua ille delectetur quem desiderat, quia amici auscultant, videlicet omnes electi, qui, ut ad coelestem patriam reviviscant, verba vitae audire desiderant. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Secundus, Homilia II  Source: Migne PL 76 950b-951b

Set your heart on everything which I shall show to you, because that they may be shown to you is why you have been brought here. 1 'Set your heart,' as if to say: 'Consider'. 'Because that they may be shown to you is why you have been brought here.' That is, you have been brought here that you might see, and that seeing you might announce it, because whoever profits by the seeing of spiritual things, should hurry to tell such things to others. He sees, then, that he might announce it, so that by that which has profited himself he may have care to bring it in preaching for the profit of his neighbor. Whence it is written in another place, 'He who hears, let him say, Come' 2 For to him whom the speaking voice of God is already wrought in the heart, it is necessary that he proclaim it to his neighbours in the office of preaching, and thus he may call another, because he has been called. Whence the spouse in the Song of Songs speaks, saying, 'She who dwells in the gardens, friends are listening, make me hear your voice.' 3 For in the gardens is the Holy Church, in the gardens dwells whatever soul is full with green and fresh hope and the charity of good works. Certainly the hope of this world is arid, because everything which is loved here withers with great swiftness, and so Peter the Apostle admonishes us to hurry, saying, 'Into an incorruptible, immaculate, immortal inheritance.' 4 So she who already dwells in the garden should make her voice heard to her spouse, that is, she should send forth the song of good preaching, in which he may taste what he desires, because friends are listening, which obviously are the elect, who have been enlivened to the celestial fatherland, desiring to hear the word of life. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 2, from Homily 2 1 Ez 40. 4 2 Apoc 22.17 3 Song 8.13 4 1 Pet 1.4

The Fount Of Knowledge

Ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ: πᾶς ὁ πίνων ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος τούτου διψήσει πάλιν: ὃς δ' ἂν πίῃ ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος οὗ ἐγὼ δώσω αὐτῷ, οὐ μὴ διψήσει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, ἀλλὰ τὸ ὕδωρ ὃ δώσω αὐτῷ γενήσεται ἐν αὐτῷ πηγὴ ὕδατος ἁλλομένου εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον. Πρῶτον ὡς ἐπὶ σωματικοῦ ἢ καὶ τάχα τὸ δηλούμενόν ἐστιν ὅτι κἂν πρὸς τὸ παρὸν κορεσθῇ, ἀλλ’ εὐθέως ὑποβιβασθέντος τοῦ ποτοῦ τὸ αὐτὸ πάθος πείσεται ὁ πιών, τουτέστι διψήσει πάλιν, εἰς ὅμοιον τῷ ἀρχῆθεν ἀποκαταστάς. ἐπιφέρει οὖν τὸ Ὃς δ’ ἂν πίῃ ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος οὗ ἐγὼ δώσω αὐτῷ, γενήσεται πηγὴ ἐν αὐτῷ ὕδατος ἁλλομένου εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον. Τίς δὲ ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἔχων πηγὴν διψῆσαι οἱός τε ἔσται; τὸ μέντοι γε προηγουμένως δηλούμενον τοιοῦτον ἂν εἴη· ὁ μεταλαμβάνων, φησί, βάθους λόγων, κἂν πρὸς ὀλίγον ἀναπαύσηται, παραδεξάμενος ὡς βαθύτατα τὰ ἀνιμώμενα καὶ εὑρίσκεσθαι δοκοῦντα νοήματα, ἀλλά γε πάλιν δεύτερον ἐπιστήσας ἐπαπορήσει περὶ τούτων, ὅσοις ἐπανεπαύσατο, τρανὴν καὶ ἔκτυπον περὶ τῶν ζητουμένων κατάληψιν οὐ δύναται τὸ νομιζόμενον ὑπ’ αὐτοῦ βάθος παρασχεῖν. διόπερ κἂν συναρπασθεὶς συγκαταθῆταί τις τῇ πιθανότητι τῶν λεγομένων, ἀλλά γε ὕστερον εὑρήσει τὴν αὐτὴν ἀπορίαν τυγχάουσαν έν αὐτῷ, ἥνπερ εἶχεν πρὶν τάδε τινὰ μαθεῖν· ἐγὼ δὲ τοιοῦτον ἔχω λόγον, ὥστε τὴν πηγὴν γενέσθαι τοῦ ζωτικοῦ πόματος ἐν τῷ παραδεξαμένῳ τὰ ὑπ’ ἐμοῦ ἀπαγγελλόμενα· καὶ ἐπὶ τοσοῦτόν γε ὁ λαβὼν τοῦ ἐμοῦ ὕδατος εὐεργετηθήσεται, ὥστε πηγὴν εὑρετικὴν πάντων τῶν ζητουμένων ἀναβλυστάνειν ἐν αὐτῷ ἄνω πηδώντων ὑδάτων, τῆς διανοίας ἁλλομένης καὶ τάχιστα διϊπταμένης ἀκολούθως τῷ εὐκινήτῳ τούτῳ ὕδατι, φέροντος αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἅλλεσθαι καὶ πηδᾶν ἐπὶ τὸ ἀνώτερον, ἐπὶ τὴν αἰώνιον ζωήν. οἷον τὴν τοῦ ἁλλομένου, ὥς φησιν, εἶναι τὴν αἰώνιον ζωήν· ὥσπερ δὴ περὶ τοῦ νυμφίου ἐν τῷ ᾄσματι τῶν ᾀσμάτων διαλεγόμενος Σολομῶν φησιν· Ἰδοὺ οὑτος ἥκει πηδῶν ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη, διαλλόμενος ἐπὶ τοὺς βουνούς. ὡς γὰρ ἐκεῖ ὁ νυμφίος ἐπὶ τὰς μεγαλοφυεστέρας καὶ θειοτέρας πηδᾷ ψυχὰς ὄρη λεγομένας, ἐπὶ δὲ τὰς ὑποδεεστέρας διάλλεται βουνοὺς ὀνομαζομένας, οὕτως ἐνταῦθα ἡ γενομένη ἐν τῷ πιόντι ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος, οὗ δίδωσιν ὁ Ἰησοῦς, πηγὴ ἅλλεται εἰς τὴν αἰώνιον ζωήν. τάχα δὲ καὶ πηδήσει μετὰ τὴν αἰώνιον ζωὴν εἰς τὸν ὑπὲρ τὴν αἰώνιον ζωὴν πατέρα· Χριστὸς γὰρ ἡ ζωή· ὁ δὲ μείζων τοῦ χριστοῦ, μείζων τῆς ζωῆς. Ὠριγένης, Των Εῑς Το Κατά Ιὠάννην Εὐαγγέλιον Εξηγητικόν, Τομός ΙΓ Source: Migne PG 14.401d-404c

Jesus answered her, 'Everyone who drinks from this water will thirst again, but he who drinks the water which I shall give him will not thirst ever again. The water which I shall give to him will be a fount of water within him, leaping up to eternal life.' 1 Firstly as this pertains to the low and corporeal sense, openly it declares that it may satisfy for the present the one who drinks, soon however, the drink passing away, he is struck by the same passion and again thirsts, with that same thirst that he had before being refreshed, as it says, 'He who drinks from the water which I shall give to him, shall have in him a fount of water welling up to eternal life.' Who can thirst having a fount in himself? Now this may be declared clearly by saying that he who partakes of the depth of reason, rests for a little while, receiving the things drawn from the depths of profound intellect in which he discovers great thoughts, but again second thoughts come to him concerning those things in which he had rest, and regarding those things which he looked into he becomes troubled and then by himself he is not able to grasp clearly and distinctly the depths. And even if someone corrects a verisimilitude of theirs which has been spoken, however soon he shall find that the same doubt returns, which he had even before he had begun to learn anything. But Christ says: I have the reason which is the fount of the living waters in which those who receive it will have the things promised by me and he will find in himself a gushing fount of waters, discoverer of all things. And perhaps there shall be an ascent by the effortless movement of this water, that in its gushing and pouring forth it bears a man into the heights, right up to eternal life. Similarly in the Song of Songs, concerning the Spouse, Solomon says, 'Behold, he comes leaping on the mountains, skipping over the hills' 2 for here the Spouse leaps on the more generous and more divine souls, which are named mountains, however the lower ones, named hills, he skips over, and so by the fount that is made in him who drinks from the water which Jesus gives, a man leaps to eternal life, and perhaps he shall leap beyond eternal life, even to the Father who is beyond eternal life. For Christ is the life, whence he who is greater than Christ is greater than life. 3 Origen, from the Commentary on The Gospel Of Saint John, Book 13 1 Jn 4. 13-14 2 Song 2.8 3 Jn 11.25, 14.6

Alms And Cleansing

Dicit Scriptura divina: Sicut aqua exstinguit ignem, ita eleemosyna exstinguit peccatum. Magna plane et cunctis ambienda sententia, quae hominibus pene jam mortuis, et peccatorum suorum incendio arefactis, redivivum quoddam beneficium pollicetur, ut interveniente eleemosyna, sicut aqua intermortuis succus, refrigerium arescentibus infundatur; hoc est, ut miseri homines, qui in peccatis aruerant, ad vitam eleemosynis reviviscant; sitque illis misericordia fons salutis, quibus avaritia fuerat mortis incendium; ut flammas quas sibi peccando incenderant largiendo restinguant; atque utiliore commercio, qui pecuniam quondam dederat ut adulterium perpetraret, nunc pecuniam eroget, ut adulter esse jam desinat; et emat sibi quodammodo innocentiam, qui sibi emerat aliquando peccatum; dicit enim Dominus ad discipulos suos: Date eleemosynam et ecce omnia munda sunt vobis. Quamvis ergo pollutus, quamvis multis criminibus circumseptus, si eleemosunas feceris, innocens coepisti; abstergit enim eleemosyna quod avaritia polluebat; et maculam quam res alienas diripiendo contraxeras tuas erogando purificas. Vide ergo quae sit misericodiae gratia, quae una, et sola virtus cunctorum est redemptio peccatorum. Videamus namque interpretationem ipsius divinae sententiae, ut intelligamus cui rei eleemosyna comparetur; ait enim: Sicut aqua exstinuit ignem, ita eleemosyna exstinguit delictum. Aqua ergo misericordiae comparatur: sed aquam invenio de fonte misericordiae; necesse mihi est misericordiae fontem quaere; invenio plane fontem misericordiae; fons, de quo dicit propheta: Quoniam apud te est fones vitae, et in lumine tuo videbimus lumen. Ipse, inquam, est fons, qui in Evangelio a Samaritana muliere, sicut lectum nuper audivimus, aquam postulat, sed peccata condonat; aquam putei reprobat, sed fontem vitae perennis indulget; ait enim: Omnis qui biberit ex aqua hac, sitiet iterum, qui autem biberit ex aqua quam dabo illi, non sitiet in aeternum. Aquam ergo Salvator a muliere postulat, et sitire se simulat, ut sitientibus aeternam gratiam largiatur.  Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia XCVII, De eleemosynis et de muliere Samaritana Source: Migne PL 57. 477C-479A

Divine Scripture says: 'As water extinguishes fire, so alms extinguish sin.' 1 Clearly great is the meaning that surrounds all this, which to men already dead, those who have been dried up by the fire of their sins, already promises the good of revival, that alms intervening, like liquid to those perishing, floods their burning with refreshment, that is, men who are merciful, who by sin are burnt up, are returned to life by charity, and by mercy the fount of life may be theirs to whom avarice was the fire of death, and that flame which blazed up in them to sin may be extinguished by largess, and in more useful commerce, they who had given money that they may commit adultery, may now expend money that they abstain from adultery and buy for themselves a certain innocence, who had for a time had bought themselves sin, for the Lord says to His disciples, 'Give alms and behold all that is yours will be made clean.' 2 Thus, although polluted, although hemmed in with many crimes, if you give alms, you have begun to be innocent, for alms clean that which avarice has polluted, and your giving will purify the stain that the taking of the things of another has contracted. See, then, the grace of mercy, which is the one and only virtue for the redemption of all sinners, for it says, 'As water extinguishes fire, so alms extinguish sin.' Water, then, is compared to mercy, but water I find is from the fount of mercy, and necessary, then, it is for me to seek the fount of mercy, and clearly I find the fount of mercy, the fount concerning which the Psalmist says, 'Because with you is the fount of mercy and in your light we see light.' 3 He, I say, is the fount, who in the Gospel, which we recently heard, asks for water from the Samaritan woman, but He who forgives sin, reproves the water of the well, and would grant the fount of eternal life, for He says, 'Everyone who drinks from this water, shall thirst again, but he who drinks from the water which I shall give to you, he shall not thirst unto eternity.' 4 Water, then, the Saviour asks from the woman, saying that He thirsts, that He give to those who thirst for eternal grace. Saint Maximus of Tours, from Homily 97 On Almsgiving and the Samaritan Woman 1.Sirach 3.33 2 Lk 11.21 3 Ps 35.9 4 Jn 4.13

Philosophy And The World

Ἀλλ᾿ οὐ πάντες, φησί, φιλοσοφοῦμεν. Μήτι οὖν οὐδὲ πάντες τὴν ζωὴν μετερχόμεθα; τί σὺ λέγεις; πῶς οὖν πεπίστευκας; πῶς δὲ ἔτι ἀγαπᾷς τὸν Θεὸν καὶ τὸν πλησίον σου μὴ φιλοσοφῶν; πῶς δὲ σεαυτὸν ἀγαπᾷς, εἰ μὴ φιλοζωεῖς; γράμματα, φησίν, οὐκ ἔμαθον. Ἀλλ᾿ εἰ μὴ τὸ ἀναγιγνώσκειν ἔμαθες, τὸ ἀκούειν ἀναπολόγητον, ὅτι μὴ διδακτόν· πίστις δὲ οὐ σοφῶν τῶν κατὰ κόσμον, ἀλλὰ τῶν κατὰ θεόν ἐστιν τὸ κτῆμα· ἣ δὲ καὶ ἄνευ γραμμάτων ἐκπαιδεύεται, καὶ τὸ σύγγραμμα αὐτῆς τὸ ἰδιωτικὸν ἅμα καὶ θεῖον ἀγάπη κέκληται, σύνταγμα πνευματικόν. Ἐξὸν δὲ ἀκροᾶσθαι μὲν σοφίας θεϊκῆς, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολιτεύσασθαι ἐξόν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ ἐν κόσμῳ κοσμίως κατὰ Θεὸν ἀγαγεῖν οὐ κεκώλυται. Καὶ ὁ πωλῶν τι ἢ ὠνούμενος μή ποτε εἴπῃ δύο τιμάς, ὧν ἂν ἢ ὠνῆται ἢ πιπράσκῃ, ἁπλῆν δὲ εἰπὼν καὶ ἀληθεύειν μελετῶν, ἂν μὴ τυγχάνῃ ταύτης, τυγχάνων τῆς ἀληθείας πλουτεῖ τῇ διαθέσει τῇ ὀρθῇ. Ἔπαινος δὲ ὅρκος τε περὶ παντὸς τοῦ πωλουμένου ἀπέστω, ἀπέστω δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὁ ὅρκος. Καὶ ταύτῃ φιλοσοφούντων οἱ ἀγοραῖοι καὶ οἱ κάπηλοι· οὐ γὰρ λήψῃ τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου ἐπὶ ματαίῳ, οὐ γὰρ μὴ καθαρίσῃ Κύριος τὸν λαμβάνοντα τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ ματαίῳ. Τοὺς δὲ παρὰ ταῦτα πράττοντας, τοὺς φιλαργύρους, τοὺς ψεύστας, τοὺς ὑποκριτάς, τοὺς καπηλεύοντας τὴν ἀλήθειαν, τῆς πατρῴας ἐξέβαλεν αὐλῆς ὁ Κύριος, μὴ βουλόμενος ἀδίκου ἐμπορίας ἢ λόγων ἢ τῶν ἐξ ὕλης κτημάτων οἶκον εἶναι τὸν οἶκον τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸν ἅγιον. Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Ὁ Παιδαγωγός, Λογὸς Τρίτος, Κεφ. ΙΑ' Source: Migne PG 8 656b-657b

But it is said that we do not all philosophize. Do we not all, then, go after life? What do you say? How have you been faithful? And how indeed do you love God and your neighbour without philosophizing? And how do you love yourself, if you do not love life? It is said, 'I have not learned letters.' But if you have not learned to read, you have no such excuse with hearing, for that is not taught. And faith is not for those wise according to the world, but of those according to God; and it is taught without letters, and its text, at once rude and Divine, is called love, a spiritual book. Let there be attention to Divine wisdom, and let there be an ordering of one's life, for no one is prohibited from conducting affairs sensibly in the world  according to God. Let not he who sells or buys name two prices for what he buys or sells; one being what he would sell at and the other buy, but take care to speak the simple truth, and if a deal is not made yet truth is acquired and he is enriched with righteousness. But, above all, let an oath on account of all that is offered for sale be far from you; and swearing, too. And thus those who  frequent the market and the shop philosophize. 'For you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain.' 1 But those who act contrary to these things, the avaricious, the liars, the hypocrites, those who make merchandise of the truth, the Lord cast out of His Father's court, not willing that the holy house of God should be the house of unrighteous traffic either in words or in material things. 2 Clement of Alexandria, from The Teacher, Book 3, Ch 11 1 Exodus 20.7 2 Mt 21.12-13

Knowledge And Deeds

Τὰ δὲ ῥήματα μου τηρείτω σὴ καρδία. Μετὰ τὰ προστακτικὰ καὶ ἀπαγορευτικὰ τοῦ νόμου τοῦ Θεοῦ, τὰ ῥήματα τῆς σοφίας τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀπαγγέλλει τὴν τῶν ὄντῶν γνῶσιν ἀψευδῆ. Τοιοῦτόν ἐστι καὶ τὸ Ἐκ Σιὼν ἐξελεύσεται ὁ νόμος, καὶ λόγος Κυρίου ἐξ Ἰερουσαλήμ. Ὁ γὰρ τηρῶν τοὺς νόμους ἀναλήψεται τὴν σοφίαν. Σπείρατε γὰρ, φησὶν, ἑαυτοῖς δικαιοσύνην τρυγήσατε εἰς καιρὸν ζωῆς. Εἶθ' ἐξῆς τῷ πρακτικῷ ἐπιφέρεται· Φωτίσατε ἑαυτοῖς φῶς γνώσεως. Ὠριγένης, Ἐκλογαὶ Εἰς Παροιμίας, Κεφ Γ' Source: Migne PG 13 30a

Let your heart guard my words. 1 After the prescriptions and prohibitions of the Divine law, the words of the wisdom of God proclaim faultless knowledge of truth. So it is that: 'The law has gone forth from Sion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.' 2 For he who keeps the law acquires wisdom. Thus it says, 'Sow for yourselves righteousness and gather life in season.' Then after the deed it is added: 'Light for yourselves the light of knowledge.' 3 Origen, On Proverbs,  Chap 3, Fragment 1 Prov 3.1 2 Isaiah 2.5 3 Hosea 10.11-12 LXX

A Reader Questioned

Ἡδέως ἂν ἐροίμην σε Γραφικῶς τὸν Αἰθίοπα τὴν γνώμην· Ἆρα γε γίνώσκεις ἂ ἀναγινώσκεις; Ὥς τινες γάρ φασι, ρήμάτων μνημονεύεις τινῶν τοῦ θεοπνεύστον Πατρὸς ἡμῶν Βασιλείου, οὗ τῶν πραγμάτων κατ' οὐδὲν μνημονεύεις. Εἰ δὲ ἀληθὴς εἶ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἐραστὴς, ἔογοις τοὺς ἐκείνου λόγους ἐπίδειξαι, δι' ὦν τὰ ἤθη κανόνι φιλοσοφίας ἐῥῥύθμισεν. Εἰ γὰρ τὴν κατὰ μεθυόντων τοῦ ἀνδρὸς μετεχειρίσω πυκτίδα, σαυτὸν εὑρήσεις ἐκεῖ, τὸν μυρίον ἐσμὸν τῶν αἰσχυνῶν ὑπομένοντα. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, ΞΑ' Ζωσιμῳ Source:  Migne PG 78. 221, 224

Cheerfully I might inquire of you who have an Ethiopian mind, 'Do you understand what you read?' 1 For some say that you remember some of the words of our divinely inspired father Basil but have no mind to practice the deeds. If truly you would be a lover of that man, then show his words in deeds, by whom was composed a wisdom loving rule for the direction of life. For if the writings of the man opposed to the drunkenness of men you merely hold in your hands you shall find there but myriad reasons for the tribulations of disgrace. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 61, To Zosimus 1 Act 8.27

Freedom And Knowledge

Quid enim aliud dicendum est eis, qui cum sint iniqui et impii, liberaliter sibi videntur eruditi, nisi quod in litteris vere liberalibus legimus: Si vos Filius liberaverit, tunc vere liberi eritis? Per eum namque praestatur ut ipse etiam, quae liberales disciplinae ab eis qui in libertatem vocati non sunt appellantur, quid in se habeant liberale noscatur. Neque enim habent congruum libertati, nisi quod habent congruum veritati: unde ille ipse Filius: Et veritas, inquit, liberabit vos. Non ergo illae innumerabiles et impiae fabulae, quibus vanorum plena sunt carmina poetarum, ullo modo nostrae consonant libertati; non oratorum inflata et expolita mendacia; non denique ipsorum philosophorum garrulae argutiae, qui vel Deum prorsus non cognoverunt vel cum cognovissent Deum, non sicut Deum glorificaverunt, aut gratias egerunt, sed evanuerunt in cogitationibus suis, et obscuratum est insipiens cor eorum, et dicentes se esse sapientes, stulti facti sunt. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis, Epistola CI, Memorio, Capuae episcopo

For what should we say to those who, though they are iniquitous and impious, consider themselves learned in the liberal arts, but what we read in those writings which truly are liberal: 'If the Son shall make you free, then truly you shall be free.' ? 1 For it is through Him that they may come to know anything which deserves the name in those liberal studies which by those who have not be called to liberty are termed liberal. For they have nothing that befits liberty, unless they have which befits the truth; whence the Son Himself has said: 'The truth shall make you free.' 2 Therefore the innumerable and impious fables with which the verses of vain poets are full have nothing in common with our liberty, nor do the bombastic and finely polished lies of orators, nor again do the verbose subtleties of philosophers, who either did not know God, or when they knew God, did not glorify Him as God, nor gave thanks, but they became vain in their own thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened, and declaring themselves to be wise, they became fools. 3 Saint Augustine of Hippo, from Letter 101, to Memorius Bishop of Capua 1 Jn 8.36  2 Jn 8.38 3 Rom 1.21-23

A Philosophical Mother

Atque ego rursus exordiens: Beatos esse nos volumus, inquam? Vix hoc effuderam, occurrerunt una voce consentientes. Videturne vobis, inquam, beatus esse qui quod vult non habet? Negaverunt. Quid? omnis qui quod vult habet, beatus est? Tum mater: Si bona, inquit, velit et habeat, beatus est; si autem mala velit, quamvis habeat, miser est. Cui ego arridens atque gestiens: Ipsam, inquam, prorsus, mater, arcem philosophiae tenuisti. Nam tibi procul dubio verba defuerunt, ut non sicut Tullius te modo panderes, cuius de hac sententia verba ista sunt. Nam in Hortensio, quem de laude ac defensione philosophiae librum fecit: Ecce autem, ait, non philosophi quidem, sed prompti tamen ad disputandum, omnes aiunt esse beatos qui vivant ut ipsi velint. Falsum id quidem: Velle enim quod non deceat, id est ipsum miserrimum. Nec tam miserum est non adipisci quod velis, quam adipisci velle quod non oporteat. Plus enim mali pravitas voluntatis affert, quam fortuna cuiquam boni. In quibus verbis illa sic exclamabat, ut obliti penitus sexus eius, magnum aliquem virum considere nobiscum crederemus, me interim, quantum poteram, intellegente ex quo illa, et quam divino fonte manarent. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, De Beata Vita

And again I began: 'Shall I say that we all wish to be happy?' Scarcely had I spoken, than they all agreed with one voice. 'And does it seem to you,' I said, 'that he is happy who does not have what he wishes?' They denied it. 'Why, then,' I said, 'is everyone who has what he wishes happy?' My mother said, 'If he wants good things and he has them, he is happy, if however he wants bad things, although he has them, he is wretched.' And I smiling and gesturing at her said, 'Swiftly you have taken up the bow of philosophy, mother. For far from you was want of words for doubt, and so not in the manner of Cicero did you reveal what you did, but far more concisely than him. In the Hortensius, which is a book he composed in praise and defense of philosophy, he said, 'It is not the philosophical man but the one too hasty in discussion who says that all are happy who live as they wish. It is false, for a man may wish for what is indecent, that is, most wretched. For not so wretched is that one who does not obtain what he wants, than he who acquires what he wishes to have but should not have. The depravity of the will brings more evils to a man than fortune goods.' 1 And so because of the words she spoke, we utterly forgot her sex, and we believed that we were in the presence of a great man, and I meanwhile, as much as I was able, contemplated what she said as that which pours forth from a Divine spring.   Saint Augustine of Hippo, from On The Blessed Life 1 Cicero Hortensius, fragment 39

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Ἐβάφης τὸν λογισμὸν τῷ ὀφιώδει φθόνῳ τῇ τε πικρίᾳ τῆς βασκανίας· ἀλλ' ἔχεις ξύλον τίμιον τὸν σταυρὸν τοῦ Κυρίου, ἐὰν θελήσῃς, δυνάμενον γλυκᾶναι τὸ πικρὸν ὕδωρ τοῦ ἤθους σου. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ μέγας Μωσῆς ξύλον ἐμβαλὼν εἰς τὸ πικρότατον ὕδωρ τῆς Μεῥῥᾶς γλυκὺ εὐθέως καὶ προσηνὲς λίαν τοῦτο ἀπειργάσατο. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΡϚ' Καπιτωνι Διακονῳ Source: Migne 79 128

Your mind has been struck with the envy of the serpent and the bitterness of malice, but you have the precious cross of Christ, which if you will, is able to turn the bitterness of your state into sweet water. For the great Moses, dipping the wood in the most bitter waters of Mara, made it sweet and clear. 1 Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 106, To Capiton the Deacon 1 Exod 15.23

Changing For The Better

Ἡ δὲ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀλλοιωθησομένων ἐπιγραφὴ τοῦτόν μοι δοκεῖ τὸν νοῦν ἔχειν, ὅτι μόνη κρείττων ἐστὶ τροπῆς τε καὶ ἀλλοιώσεως ἡ θεία φύσις· οὐ γὰρ ἔχει πρὸς ὅ τι χρήσεται τῇ τροπῇ, τοῦ μὲν κακοῦ ἀνεπίδεκτος οὖσα καθόλου, πρὸς δὲ τὸ κρεῖττον τραπῆναι μὴ δυναμένη· οὐκ ἔστι γὰρ πρὸς ὅ τι δέξεται τὴν ἀλλοίωσιν· οὐ γὰρ ἔχει τὸ ἑαυτῆς κρεῖττον, πρὸς ὃ μεταβήσεται. ἡμεῖς δὲ οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἐν τροπῇ τε καὶ ἀλλοιώσει κείμενοι κατ' ἀμφότερα διὰ τῆς ἀλλοιωτικῆς ἐνεργείας ἢ χείρους ἢ βελτίους γινόμεθα· χείρους μέν, ὅταν τῆς μετουσίας τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀπορρέωμεν, ἀμείνους δὲ πάλιν, ὅταν πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον ἀλλοιούμενοι τύχωμεν. ἐπεὶ οὖν τῷ κακῷ διὰ τῆς τροπῆς συνηνέχθημεν, χρεία τῆς ἀγαθῆς ἡμῖν ἀλλοιώσεως, ὡς ἂν διὰ ταύτης γένοιτο ἡμῖν ἡ πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον μεταβολή· καὶ τοῦτο δῆλόν ἐστιν ἐκ τῆς συμφράσεως τῶν τοῖς ἀλλοιωθησομένοις συγγεγραμμένων· οὐ γὰρ μόνον τὸ δεῖν ἀλλοιωθῆναι συμβουλεύει ὁ λόγος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τρόπον τινὰ ὑποτίθεται, ὅπως ἂν τὸ τοιοῦτον κατορθωθείη, δι' ὑποδειγμάτων τινῶν τὴν πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον μεταβολὴν προδεικνύων. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς τας Επιγραφάς των Ψαλμών, Το Δεύτερον Βιβλίον, Κεφ' Δ' Source: Migne PG 44 500

The superscription 'For those who will be changed,' 1 seems to me to signify that only the Divine nature is beyond all alteration and change, for there can be no profitable change in that which never has the capacity for evil, and truly what is better cannot change, for it is not something which may receive something different, having nothing better than itself to which it might change. We men, however, are placed in change and alteration and according to both the potential and power of change we are taken to better or worse, worse when we are cut off from the communion of goods, better when we make a change to that which is better. When, therefore, we fall into some evil work it is necessary for us to change to the differing good, that we pass over to that which is better, and this is made clear by the body of the Psalms under the subscription 'for those who will be changed,' for not only does it persuade us that it is necessary that we change, but a way is proposed and instructions on how it might be are given, and examples of the change into what is better. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On the Superscriptions of the Psalms, Second Tractate, Chapter 4 1 Ps 44.1, 68.1, 79.1