Questions and Doubts 1 part 7/9

ANSWER: Since the Word of God is not circumscribed by the things that happen according to history, but, being always in operation, shines forth his own light after the manner of the sun, he was not speaking to the disciples only according to history when he said, "there are some of those standing here," but he speaks also concerning all those in their own time who shone forth by virtue — instead meaning: "of those who, by the foundation of the virtues, have their standing near me."

Now, "they shall not taste death" is said also concerning the apostles, [meaning] that they would not taste natural death until they saw, through the Transfiguration, the image of the brightness that was to be [given] to the saints.

But since our discourse recognizes different kinds of death — for indeed the mortification of the passions is also called death;

but also the one who practices [the practical life], when, having left off the battle against the passions, he comes to natural contemplation, has died to [his] former condition, being occupied with the contemplation of beings, having ceased from the combative struggle in respect of the practical [life];

the Lord will show himself no longer affirmed from the positing of beings, but, by the theology according to negation, showing forth the inaccessible hiddenness of the Godhead.

And the fact that one of the evangelists says "the Son of Man coming in his glory," while the other says "until they see the kingdom of God come in power" — this signifies:

since according to divinity he is the Son of God, but according to the human [nature] he became, for our sake, the Son of Man — inasmuch, then, as he is Son of God, he always possesses glory, but inasmuch as he became Son of Man, he is said to come in his glory.

For thus he glorified the humanity that he had assumed, [in] that just as, while being in a passible body, he was seen transfigured on the mountain, so we too, receiving back an incorruptible body in the resurrection, shall be [likewise glorified];

for to say "come in power" signified that the incorruptible and eternal kingdom of the saints that is hoped for is not yet present in operation.

QUESTION: "And it came to pass after six days, Jesus took Peter and James and John, and brought them up into a high mountain apart, and he was transfigured before them, and his face shone as the sun, and his garments became white as the light."

ANSWER: "After six days" signifies that, since God brought the visible creation into being in six days, those who by the abundance of their virtues and knowledge have passed beyond all visible things, these ascend together with the Word on the mountain of theology.

But since Luke mentions eight days, and it seems to show a contradiction among the evangelists, I think the difficulty finds its resolution in the following, and that the history fittingly coincides with the contemplation [of the spiritual sense];

For just as, according to the history, the one who said "six days" spoke of the [days] in between, while the one who said "eight" signified both the beginning, in which the Lord spoke [the preceding words], and the end, in which the Transfiguration took place, so also according to the contemplation;

for since man, through the transgression, slipped down into that which is contrary to nature, it is necessary that the one who wishes to ascend together with the Word to the mountain of theology should first, as it were, pass through in one day that which is contrary to nature, and as it were in six days pass through nature, and come to be in that which is above nature, which is the eighth [day];

for this [eighth day] transcends time and characterizes the state that is to come.

The face of the Word, which shone like the sun, is the characteristic hiddenness of his essence, upon which it is impossible to gaze fixedly by the interpretation of thoughts, just as [it is impossible to gaze] upon the brightness of the sun, even if one is greatly purified in [one's] power of sight.

But since Scripture also mentioned the garment, it is necessary, following the sequence of the order [of the text], to make mention also of the body.

The body of the Word, then, is the essence of the virtues, such as goodness, gentleness, and the like;

QUESTION: "And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared, talking with him;"

"And Peter answered and said to Jesus:"

"Lord, it is good for us to be here;"

"If you wish, let us make three tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

ANSWER: For those who cross over from the letter to the spirit see both the Law and the Prophets present together with the Word, proclaiming his presence with a piercing voice.

But for what reason did Peter mention tabernacles? Because all knowledge and all virtue, compared with the state that is to come, differ in no way from an easily-dismantled tent, according to the Apostle who says, "whether prophecies shall cease, or knowledge shall be abolished."

the practical, the natural, and the theological;

and he assigned the theological to the Lord as God, the natural contemplation to Moses as the one who wrote of the generation of all things, and the practical to Elijah as a virgin, a zealot, and an ascetic.

QUESTION: What is the reason that Moses and Elijah fasted forty days, and why did the Lord, as though ratifying the [deeds] of [his] servants, also consent himself to remain forty days without food, and what does the number forty signify? ANSWER: The number forty, as [being] afflictive, has been employed many times in the God-inspired Scripture, as [for instance] the Israelites who suffered affliction in the wilderness for forty years, and the same [people] who were enslaved in Egypt for four hundred years.

But indeed this world also, in which we endure affliction, is composed of four elements.

Moses, then, as the first to give the law, and having handed down the law to the Jews who were still infants, fasts forty days, signifying that the legislation according to him legislates abstinence from sins [committed] in deed;

for every sin naturally arises from sensible things and the senses.

But Elijah, bearing the type of the prophetic gift, as one who has ascended above the precepts of the Law, fasts forty days, signifying that the prophetic gift legislates abstinence from [sinful] consents.

But the Lord, as the fulfiller of the Law, and the only one who takes away the sin of the world, having fasted the forty days, has given us the power not only to abstain from sins of deed and of consent, but also to become superior to the bare fancies themselves.

Of what time [does this pertain]? Of the Passion at the cross, so that also through involuntary and painful trials, as he [the adversary] supposed, assailing the Lord, he might be able to find in him some [trace] of the human passions;

but he was repelled also through these, and, having been triumphed over on the cross, was brought to nought.

QUESTION: Since John has been testified to by the Lord himself to have become greater than all those born [of women] — for indeed his life was pure and separated from all sin — in what does he fall short? SERIES A OF QUESTIONS-AND-ANSWERS: various questions, and selections of various disputed chapters. QUESTION 1: Which are the virtues of the soul, and which of the body? ANSWER: The virtues of the soul are these:

love, humility, gentleness, longsuffering, forbearance, unmindfulness of wrongs [suffered], freedom from anger, freedom from despondency, freedom from envy, freedom from [rash] judgment, freedom from vainglory, almsgiving, self-control, freedom from love of money, compassion, freedom from conceit, freedom from arrogance, compunction.

But the virtues of the body are these:

fasting, sleeping on the ground, vigil, self-mastery, non-possession, freedom from distraction.

QUESTION 1. What is meant by what is said in the Apostle, 'I will sing psalms with the spirit, and I will sing psalms also with the mind'? ANSWER: One sings with the spirit whenever he merely produces the utterance of the things sung by means of the tongue;

and he sings with the mind whenever, knowing the meaning of the things sung, he rejoices in contemplation.

'In iniquities was I conceived, and in sins did my mother conceive me'? ANSWER: Since God's foremost purpose was that we should not be born through marriage and corruption, but the transgression of the commandment introduced marriage because Adam broke the law — that is, set aside the law given to him by God — therefore all who are born of Adam are conceived in iniquities, falling under the condemnation of the forefather.

And 'in sins did my mother conceive me' signifies that Eve, the mother of us all, was first to conceive sin, as it were craving pleasure with desire.

'I was praying,' he says, 'to be handed over by Christ to the devil, so as to be scourged and to endure the punishments owed on Israel's behalf — which they justly owed because of their unbelief toward God — only that they might be saved;'

in the same manner that the Lord also handed himself over and became a curse for us.

QUESTION 1. In how many ways does a man sin? ANSWER: I think that a man sins in four ways: through being carried away, through deceit, through ignorance, and through disposition.

And the first three easily come to recognition and repentance, but he who sins from disposition, and comes to repentance neither by experience nor by time, has incurable punishment.

QUESTION 1. What does the Lord mean in the Gospel when he says that two sparrows are sold for an assarion? ANSWER: They say that the assarion is worth ten nummi;

and by the ten is signified the letter iota;

and this is the beginning of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, through the name of the Lord, the old people and the new people are redeemed, and the inner man and the outer man.

QUESTION 1. What is the meaning of what was said by Elisha, when Elijah was taken up, 'Where is the God — aphpho'? ANSWER: It is interpreted according to three senses:

either, 'Where is the God of my father?' or, 'Where is the God of my great one?' or, 'Where is the God of him who was hidden?' QUESTION 1. In how many ways are there allegories, and what is tropology? ANSWER: Allegory is that which concerns inanimate things, such as mountains, hills, trees, and the rest;

and tropology is that which concerns our own members, such as the head, the eyes, and the rest;

for tropology is named from 'being turned'.

QUESTION 1. What is meant by what is said in the psalm, 'Sitting, you spoke against your brother, and against your mother's son you laid a stumbling block'? ANSWER: He who slanders the conduct of one who shares his faith, and, as it were, sits entrenched in reviling him, is rightly said to speak against his brother.

And he who, driven by envy, slanders the son who is adorned by wisdom, and causes all to stumble, this is 'the one who lays a stumbling block for the son of the mother.'

ANSWER: Those who have acquired the perfection of love toward God, and have raised the wing of the soul aloft through the virtues, are, according to the Apostle, caught up in the clouds, and do not come into judgment.

Others come there too, being as it were tried by fire through the comparative examination of good and base deeds, and if the scale of good deeds outweighs, they are cleansed of punishment.

QUESTION 1. Concerning the different kinds of righteousness.

ANSWER: Those wise in divine things say there are three kinds of righteousness: human, angelic, and divine;

and they say that human righteousness is equitable distribution and fair-mindedness in the sensible things of this world, while angelic righteousness is the ungrudging communication of divine knowledge;

and they define divine righteousness as suffering on behalf of sinners.

QUESTION 1. For what reason, when rebuking Peter, did the Lord call him Satan? ANSWER: The Lord does not call Peter 'Satan' abusively, as some suppose, but because the privations of the Lord became settled possessions for us — for instance, his death became life for us, his dishonor became glory for us.

So then the apostle Peter, when the Lord said that he was about to suffer, supposed, following the nature of things, that it was impossible for life to die, or for such great glory to be dishonored.

The Lord, therefore, refuting this suspicion — since one ought not seek the sequence of nature in things above nature, for having accomplished these things through their opposites, he had willed life through death, glory through dishonor — since, then, this supposition was opposed to his purpose, he says:

'Get behind me,' instead of, 'Follow my counsel, and do not run ahead seeking the logical sequence of things.'

And they say that the name 'Satan' is interpreted as 'adversary';

which the Lord did not utter abusively, but as if saying, 'You who are opposed to my purpose.'

QUESTION 1. How ought we piously to understand the saying of the Gospel, that the Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, and how, in another place, he says, 'I judge no one, but the word that I have spoken, that will judge him'? ANSWER: Insofar as he is God, neither the Father nor the Son judges anyone;

for a man does not become a judge of irrational creatures, but of men.

But the Father has given judgment to the Son, not insofar as the Son is God, but insofar as he became man.

And he will judge all by comparing his own manner of life as man with ours.

Again, his word will judge — that is, his teaching, which he demonstrated through deeds, according to what is written: 'the things which Jesus began both to do and to teach.'

QUESTION 1. What does the riddle of Proverbs mean, 'If your enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink;'

'for in doing this you will heap coals of fire upon his head'? ANSWER: We have as an enemy against the soul our own body, which continually wars against us through the uprising of the passions.

If, then, the mind of the flesh, being pressed by conscience, hungers — that is, longs for salvation — or thirsts for divine knowledge, it must be fed through self-control and labors, and given drink through the study of the divine oracles.

For thus it is heaped upon his head, that is, upon the mind;

coals of fire — divine and spiritual thoughts.

ANSWER: This pelican is a bird;

and the serpent is greatly hostile to its young.

What then does it contrive? It fixes its nest on high, fencing it round on every side because of the serpent.

What then does the evil-devising serpent do? It looks about to see from where the wind blows, and from there breathes its venom upon the young, and they die.

The pelican then comes and sees that its children have died, and it looks for a cloud, and flies up on high, and strikes its own sides with its wings, and blood comes out, and through the cloud it drips this blood upon them, and they are raised up.

The pelican, then, is taken to signify the Lord;

and its young are Adam and Eve, that is, our nature; and its nest is paradise; and the serpent is the apostate devil.

The serpent, then, the originator of evil, breathed upon the first-formed through disobedience, and they became dead in sin.

Our Lord and God, therefore, out of love for us, was lifted up on the precious cross, and, pierced in the side, bestowed on us eternal life through the cloud of the Holy Spirit.

'...there the sparrows will make their nests'? ANSWER: By 'sparrows' he means either souls or the various virtues.

'...the heron's dwelling is chief among them'? ANSWER: They say the heron is a bird that lives with such great self-control, that when it is about to come together for mating, it mourns for forty days, and again afterward for another forty days.

And it builds its nest in trees where it is not overshadowed by anything, but has clear air.

By these things it signifies self-control;

for this is chief of all the virtues;

and it is set apart also from things perceived by sense, being overshadowed by nothing transient;

for the number forty contains within it the perfection of each of the four elements.

QUESTION 1. What is meant by, 'rendering the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of those who hate me'? ANSWER: We have understood the first generation to be the sowing of evil, that is, the assault; the second, the desire; the third, the settled state of evil, that is, the assent; and the fourth, the operation, that is, the deed.

It is rendered, then, unto the third and fourth generation, that is, on account of the assent and the deed;

for the assault and the desire are not culpable, since the evil has not proceeded to completion.

QUESTION 1. What does 'for three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not turn away' signify? ANSWER: I think the prophetic word hints at four transgressions: these are the assault, the desire, the settled state of evil, and the operation.

For the first and the second, that is, the assault and the desire, God exercises forbearance, since the evil has not advanced to completion;

But for the third and the fourth transgressions, that is, the settled state and the operation — namely, the assent and the confinement — the word fittingly indicates the threat.

That Christ cannot be said [to be the cause] of the Spirit, as is said in the case of the Father and the Son, since it is said indifferently 'the Spirit of God' and 'the Spirit of Christ'.

ANSWER: As the mind is the cause of the word, so also of the breath, but through the mediation of the word;

and as we cannot say that the word is [the cause] of the voice, so neither can we say that the Son is [the cause] of the Spirit.

QUESTION 1. What does what is said by the Lord signify, 'If your eye, or your hand, or your foot causes you to stumble, cut them off and cast them from you'? ANSWER: It is possible, according to the obvious sense, to understand this parable as hinting at friends, who are like our eyes; and relatives, who, being necessary to us, are like hands; and companions, who serve us in the manner of feet;

whom, if they cause stumbling and harm the soul, the saying commands to be cut off.

But it is also possible to understand the precept in another way, according to the mode of the anagogical sense;

if you have contemplative knowledge as an eye, but it lifts you up to conceit and pride, cut it off;

and if also a virtuous deed becomes for you a cause of self-exaltation, cut it off as well.

Likewise too, if you have capacity for service, which is the foot, and as a result of this you become puffed up, quench yourself of it.

For it is better for you to be without these seeming virtues than, through elation and arrogance, to proceed to complete destruction.

QUESTION 1. What does "the sun was lifted up and the moon stood in her order" signify? ANSWER: Whenever the sun of righteousness is exalted in us through good works and true knowledge, then the moon stands in her order, that is, our nature, which is subject to change and alteration, receives a stable order.

QUESTION 1. What is that which is written in the Catholic Epistle of Peter, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit? ANSWER: Since this is said concerning those who perished in the flood, and these had complete ignorance of God and lived together in wicked practices, as many sins therefore as they committed against one another through the trials that befell them daily — wars, calamities, and various misfortunes — he forgave them;

But the sins concerning ignorance and impiety toward him he did not forgive them, so that through faith in him — when, out of love for mankind, he should come into the region of Hades — as many as should believe, the sin of impiety might be forgiven them and they might live according to God in the spirit, having indeed been judged in the flesh, as has been said, for the offenses against men.

QUESTION 1. What is that said in the Psalms, "Be still, and know that I am God"? ANSWER: There are six restings, by rightly accomplishing which we are able to come to know God:

the first is resting from the operation of sin, the second from an inflammatory diet, the third from the place where one mingles with those who live carelessly, the fourth from an occupation unsuited to a life according to God, the fifth from possessions that are of ill repute and that draw the mind out into many distractions, the sixth is to have no will of one's own at all.

And this is both the true renunciation and the true subjection, that which is according to God.

The one is culpable, the other blameless; and the one is within our power, the other not within our power.

And that which is culpable and within our power is ignorance concerning virtue and piety;

but that which is blameless and not within our power is whatever, though we wish to know it, we do not know — such as things happening far away, or things about to happen.

If, then, in the holy prophets things far off were discerned, and this not by our own power but by grace, how much more did the Son of God know all things, and on this account also the human nature — not by nature, but by union with the Word? For just as iron that has been set aglow has all the properties of fire (for it gives light and burns), yet is not fire by nature but iron, so also the humanity of the Lord, in respect of that whereby it was united to the Word, knew all things, and all things befitting God were displayed in it; but in respect of that whereby human nature was united in him, it is said to be ignorant.

QUESTION 1. What does the monastic habit signify, and before this, what is the shearing of the hair? ANSWER: Just as the head takes precedence over all the members in the body, so also in the soul the mind holds the place of a head;

this head, then, must be shorn of all worldly thoughts.

And the sleeveless tunic, since it covers the whole body but bares only the hands, signifies that we must be clothed in moral philosophy, having stripped away the practical operations of sin;

for the hands are, admittedly, a symbol of action and operation.

And the belt, since it is made from dead skins and girds tight the loins and navel, signifies the putting-to-death effected through self-control, and [teaches] that this must always be laid upon the power and operation of evil;

and the sportive mockeries are the various operations of fornication.

And the cross-strap, since it bears the cross both in front and behind, signifies that, according to the Apostle, we must not only be crucified to the world but the world also to us, so that, as we flee the world, we may have nothing hindering us, nor be held fast in our relation to it through the deceit that shows itself attractive, nor again, being pursued from behind by the world, may we slacken the tension of piety because of involuntary trials, but may we remain unfeeling and dead alike to involuntary and to voluntary passions.

And the cowl signifies the grace of God that guards and covers our mind.

For he who has shorn away the thoughts of the world receives the helmet of salvation.

And the sandals have this rationale:

since they are made from dead skins and are placed beneath only a small part of the body, in the same manner that the whole body stands in relation to the soles of the sandal, so must the soul make use of the body, and use this body as dead to the passions contrary to nature.

And the cloak, since it is square, and the world too consists of four elements, signifies that we must be clothed with natural contemplation, so that we may not look at visible things according to sense-perception and passion, but through the inner principle within them be led up to their Maker.

And the leaving of the left hand bare signifies that good deeds must be manifested in us, according to the saying of the Savior, that men may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

And the garments being black signifies that we must be unseen to the world, as having our citizenship in heaven.

But if someone should also take the pallium, being square, as referring to the four generic virtues, he will not fall short of what is reasonable.

ANSWER: [The priest proclaims peace to the Church from the height of the throne, imitating the Lord who, being taken up from the throne, both left and gave his own peace.

And the response of the people, "And with your spirit," signifies this:

"You have granted us peace, Lord, and concord with one another;

but grant us the peace that is undivided union with you, that being at peace by your Spirit, which you implanted in us at the beginning of creation, we may be found inseparable from your love."] QUESTION 1.

ANSWER: ["If the dead are not raised at all, why then are people even baptized on their behalf?" — so the divine Apostle said.

He means: if our bodies do not rise at all, why do we also believe that, in being baptized, they are transformed into incorruption?] QUESTION 1.

ANSWER: [If you seek an explanation of the musical instruments in Scripture, it must be understood thus:

"Praise the Lord with the sound of the trumpet";

this refers to the remembrance of the resurrection, when the earth is shaken by a trumpet, as it is written.

"Praise him with psaltery and harp";

this refers to our tongue and mouth being struck by the Spirit as though by some plectrum.

"Praise him with timbrel and dance";

this refers to flesh and soul, from which, like choruses, prayers pass over to God.

"Praise him with strings and pipe";

this refers to the heart and every inward organ and the sinews, which he has called an "instrument."

"Praise him with resounding cymbals";

this refers to the lips, through which the harmonious melodies of psalmody are woven together.] QUESTION 1. Since, according to some of the copies of the Apostle, it is contained that "we shall all sleep, but not all be changed," while according to others, that "we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed," I beg to learn which of the readings one ought to accept, and what is signified by these. ANSWER: I think that, according to either reading — since even the ancient copies contain both — one who receives it piously will not fall short of the apostolic purpose.

According to "we shall all sleep, but not all be changed," it must be understood thus: that we shall all undergo the sleep that comes through death, but not all of us shall exchange it for glory and boldness of speech;

which the same Apostle sets forth more clearly elsewhere, saying, "if indeed, having put it on, we shall not be found naked."

According to "we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed," it must be understood thus: that we shall not all undergo the temporal sleep, such as requires burial and dissolution into corruption;

but those who are found alive at that time shall undergo a swift death, having no need of the temporal sleep, because of the resurrection that occurs immediately;

but all shall be changed, that is, they shall put on incorruption.

But there is also another application of contemplation concerning this:

"not all of us shall sleep" — having brought about a cessation and inactivity with respect to sins, nor shall we lull our own passions to sleep, according to "I sleep, but my heart is awake";

for he who wrote the Song of divine loves signifies that he who has become entirely inactive toward all things, both sensible and intelligible, is wakeful in heart alone, delighting only in the contemplation of God.

And "but we shall all be changed" signifies the common change into incorruption.

QUESTION 1. What is that which is said in the Apostle, "I would that they were even cut off"? ANSWER: This is said in place of "they shall lament and beat themselves," coming to repentance for the sins by which they threw the faithful into turmoil.

QUESTION 1. For what reason are the Moabites and Ammonites forbidden to enter the temple of the Lord until the third and fourth and tenth generation, and even forever? ANSWER: Since "Moabite" is interpreted "bowel of the father," and "Ammonite," "father of the mother," it is signified through these that whoever receives from another an example of evil has manifested the bowel of the father;

but whoever begets sin from himself is "father of the mother," that is, of his own sin.