Πᾶσα μὲν οὖν ἀλήθεια καὶ πᾶς λόγος δυστέκμαρτός τε καὶ δυσθεώρητος· καὶ οἷον ὀργάνῳ μικρῷ μεγάλα δημιουργοῦμεν, τῆ ἀνθρωπτίνῃ σοφίᾳ τὴν τῶν ὄντων γνῶσιν θηρεύοντες, καὶ τοῖς νοητοῖς προσβάλλοντες μετὰ τῶν αἰσθήσεων, ἢ οὐκ ἄνευ αἰσθήσεων, ὑφ’ ὧν περιφερόμεθα καὶ πλανώμεθα, καὶ οὐκ ἔχομεν γυμνῷ τῷ νοὶ γυμνοῖς τοῖς πράγμασιν ἐντυγχάνοντες μᾶλλόν τι προσιέναι τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, καὶ τὸν νοῦν τυποῦσθαι ταῖς καταλήψεσιν. ὁ δὲ περὶ θεοῦ λόγος, ὅσῳ τελεώτερος, τοσούτῳ δυσεφικτότερος, καὶ πλείους τὰς ἀντιλήψεις ἔχων καὶ τὰς λύσεις ἐργωδεστέρας. 2 καὶ πάσαν] διὸ καὶ πάσαν e: ο καὶ ‘Reg. a duo Colb.’ || 4 ἱσταμένην] e ǁ 7 om ἅπερ d || ὡς] ισως ‘Reg. Cypr.’ || 8 α] ἅπερ d ΙΙ 9 om κάτω def 21. 14 προσβάλλοντες] προβ. c2 || 15 περιφερομεθα και πλανώμεθα] περιπλανωμεθα καὶ περιφερόμεθα f 3. ἔσοπτρα κ. τ. αἰν.] 1 Cor. xiii 12. 4. ἰνδάλμασιν] ‘figures,’ ‘repre- sentations.’ 5. περιττὸς κ. περίεργ.] Cp. i 1. 7. ὑπῃνίσσετο ‘darkly intimated’; in John xvi 12. 8. τρανωθησόμενα] Cp. § 4. 9. χωρῆσαι τὸν κ.] John xxi 25. By a strange oversight, Gr. confounds the Forerunner with the Divine. φωνή, perh. with ref. to John i 23. 10. διωρίζετο] ‘to define’; so ‘to affirm.’ 21. All abstract ruth is hard to attain with such instruments as we possess, but above all the truth about God. So Solomon and St Panl confessed; and David, who despaired of knowing even himself. 14. προσβάλλοντες] Cp. § 16. Μετὰ τῶν αἰ., cp. §§ 12 § 26. 18. τὸν νοῦν τυπ. τ. κατ.] ‘to have our minds fashioned by what we perceive.’ 19. δυσεφικτ.] ‘harder to come at’ (ἐφικνεῖσθαι). 20. ἀντιλήψεις] From the general notion of ‘catching hold’ of a thing come the opposite meanings of ’helping’ (e.g. 1 Cor. xii 28), and (as here) of ‘objections,’ ‘difficulties.’ Plut. de Def. Orac. (11 438 D) has the expression ὡς ἔχοντα πολλὰς ἀντιλήψεις καὶ ὑπονοίας πρὸς τοὐναντίον. πᾶν γὰρ τὸ ἐνιστάμενον, κἂν βραχύτατον ἦ, τὸν τοῦ λόγου δρόμον ἐπέσχε καὶ διεκώλυσε, καὶ τὴν εἰς τὸ πρόσω φορὰν διέκοψεν· ὥσπερ οἱ τοὺς ἵππους τοῖς ῥυτῆρσιν ἀθρόως μεθέλκοντες φερομένους, καὶ τῷ ἀδοκήτῳ τοῦ τιναγμοῦ περιτρέποντες. οὕτω Σολομὼν μέν, ὁ σοφισάμενος περισσὰ ὑπὲρ πάντας τοὺς γενομένους ἔμπροσθεν καὶ καθ’ ἑαυτόν, ᾧ τὸ τῆς καρδίας πλάτος δῶρον θεοῦ, καὶ ἡ ψάμμου δαψιλεστέρα χύσις τῆς θεωρίας, ὅσῳ πλέον ἐμβατεύει τοῖς βάθεσι, τοσούτῳ πλέον ἰλιγγιᾷ, καὶ τέλος τι ποιεῖται σοφίας εὑρεῖν ὅσον διέφυγεν. Παῦλος δὲ πειρᾶται μὲν ἐφικέσθαι, οὔπω λέγω τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ φύσεως, τοῦτο γὰρ ᾔδει παντελῶς ἀδύνατον ὄν, ἀλλὰ μόνον τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ κριμάτων· ἐπεὶ δὲ οὐχ εὑρίσκει διέξοδον οὐδὲ στάσιν τῆς ἀναβάσεως, οὐδὲ εἴς τι φανερὸν τελευτᾷ πέρας ἡ πολυπραγμοσύνη τῆς διανοίας, ἀεί τινος ὑποφαινομένου τοῦ λείποντος· ὢ τοῦ θαύματος ἵνα καὶ αὐτὸς πάθω τὸ ἴσον)· ἐκπλήξει περιγράφει τὸν λόγον, καὶ πλοῦτον θεοῦ καὶ 11 οὔπω] + δε e || 12 om ὂν c || μόνον] μόνων c2e ǁ 14 πολυπραγμοσύνη] + τῃ e 1. ἐνιστάμενον] ‘obstruction.’ 2. ἐπέσχε κτλ.] ‘gnomic’ aorists: ‘it lets and hinders.’ 3. ῥυτῆρσιν] ‘reins’: ἀθρόως, suddenly, cp § 2. 5. σοφισάμενος] 1 Kings iv 31 (LXX. 111 Kings iv 27 Swete) ascent never stops,’ i.e. i ἐσοφίσατο virkp π. 6. τοὺς γεν. ἔμπροσθεν] 1 Kings iii 12. Καθ’ ἑαυτόν might be (as in § 19) ‘after his pattern’; but the connexion is in favour of ‘in his time.’ 7. καρδίας πλάτος] 1 Kings iv 29 (iv 25 Swete). Sw. reads χύμα καρδίας; and Gr.'s χύσις directly after seems to show that he read the same, πλάτος being his interpretation. Χύσις, ‘spread,’ ‘expanse.’ 9. ἰλιγγιᾷ] ‘reels.’ ib. τέλος τι π. σοφίας] ‘makes it as it were the end (perfection) of wisdom to find henv far it ὁ περὶ θ. λόγος) has escaped him.’ Gr. refers to such passages as Eccl. vii 23 foll., viii 17, and perh. xii 12 foll. 13. κριμάτων] Rom. xi 33. ib. στάσιν τῆς ἀν.] ‘that the ascent never stops,’ i.e. is endless. 15. ἀεί τινος ὑποφ. τ. λ.] lit. ‘something remaining ever dimly disclosing itself.’ 16. ἴνα κ. αὐτός] By his exclamation, Gr. has dramatically put himself beside St P. 17. περιγράφει τὸν λ.] ‘He concludes his discourse with astonishment.’ βάθος τὸ τοιοῦτο καλεῖ, καὶ ὁμολογεῖ τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ κριμάτων τὸ ἀκατάληπτον, μονονουχὶ τὰ αὐτὰ τῷ Δαβὶδ φθεγγόμενος, ποτὲ μὲν ἄβυσσον πολλὴν ὀνομάζοντι τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ κρίματα, ἦς οὐκ ἔστι τὴν ἕδραν ἢ μέτρῳ ἢ αἰσθήσει λαβεῖν, ποτὲ δὲ τεθαυμαστῶσθαι τὴν γνῶσιν ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ συστάσεως λέγοντι, κεκραταιῶσθαί τε πλέον ἢ κατὰ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ δύναμιν καὶ περίδραξιν.