The Great Wrath and the Great Mind
The afflictions are like a help for the improvement of those asking for it, for the purpose of ceasing sin and the diseases and wounds from it. It is his to hear 'the one desiring to save all and to come to the knowledge of truth' (1 John 5:20); 'When the wrath of my spirit arises, I will heal again', as he says graciously, having been tested for healing through painful discipline: 'I will bless you, Lord, because you were angry with me; you turned away your wrath and had mercy on me' (Psalm 102:13).
A soul thus benefited praises the one surrounding her with affliction, saying: 'Let not my enemy rejoice over me, for I have fallen, but I shall arise; I will endure the wrath of the Lord because I have sinned against him, until he justifies my judgment, and he will execute my sentence, and he will bring me out into the light. I shall see his righteousness, and my enemy shall see it, and she shall be clothed in shame, she who says to me: Where is the Lord your God? My eyes shall see him; now he shall be a footstool' (Micah 7:8-9). The wrath of the Lord, leading to so many goods, proves not harmful, but beneficial, being skillfully led by a physician of souls 'healing every disease and weakness'. For how is it not salvific to be brought out into the light toward which the merciful God was angry, so as to finally behold the envenomed evil power falling into shame, having been clothed in it because it has become a footstool?
Since the cause of all goods brings about the unpleasing and painful things like a skillful physician, the prophet speaks as a theologian: 'And he himself was wise against them, and his word shall never be set aside' (Job 5:12). If, for the sake of the word of the only wise God not being set aside, he brings about afflictions, then the wrath that brings these about is not a passion or a change. The wrath of the only merciful one is presented as not a desire for punishment, and from what is said by the theophany Moses toward the one being glorified in a triumphal song against Pharaoh and his army: 'You sent out your wrath and consumed them like a reed' (Psalm 105:39). And wrath being sent out so that it might consume the reeds shown to be through fruitlessness, is not a passion having desire in the one being angry, vanishing when it goes out from the one being angry; therefore, the wrath sent out is not a passion, but a painful discipline.
When the great wrath from the Lord Pantokrator has occurred, the reason is given: 'For it shall be,' says he, 'in such a way that they, transgressing his law and casting his words behind them, shall cry out thus, having fallen under punishment, and I will not listen to them, says the Lord Pantokrator.' Similarly, it is said in the writing of Moses by the righteous judge: 'They went toward me obliquely, and I will go toward them in oblique wrath.'
What then shall they suffer, those having fallen under great wrath? 'I will cast them out into the nations which they did not know,' he says, not having experienced the trial of their ferocity and crudity; but the Assyrians and Babylonians and all other barbarians to whom Israel sins and is ungodly is delivered, having fallen by their hands into the captivity of the law.
Regarding those who have thus, through crudity and beastliness, and incorporeal opposing powers, having been inhumanly roused against the captured captives, the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Egyptians are found by way of an ascent. For they are not mortal Assyrians, of whom the so-called great mind rules, concerning which it has been written in Isaiah: 'The Lord will strike upon the great mind, the ruler of the Assyrians' (Isa 5:5).
Concerning this also it was said in the prophet Nahum—and this is the seventh of the twelve: 'Woe to them! because your shepherds have entered into them, the Assyrian king has made your mighty ones sleep' (Nah 3:8). And a great mind was forbidden to the king of the Assyrians because of the malice and the terror of his wiles, as if not many saw his methods, or only those able to say: 'For we do not ignore his thoughts,' but we are able to grasp and refute them.
For so also, having seen the sophistical manner of his servant Elymas the sorcerer, he who does not ignore the thoughts of the devil strongly brought the refutation, saying: 'O full of all deceit and of all mischief, son of the devil, enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?' (Acts 13:10). This mind, ruling and reigning, is the Assyrians according to allegory; by another thought, it is the Babylonians of malice; and by another, the Egyptians, those of the spiritual ascent, the Egyptians and the Babylonians.
Greek
τὰ κακωτικὰ ὑπὲρ βελτιώσεως τοῖς τούτων δεομένοις βοηθήματος δίκην, ὑπὲρ τοῦ παύσασθαι τὴν ἁμαρτίαν καὶ ἀπὸ ταύτης νοσήματά τε καὶ τραύματα. Αὐτοῦ γοῦν ἔστιν ἀκοῦσαι «τοῦ πάντας σῶσαι θέλοντος καὶ εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας ἐλθεῖν»· «Ὅταν ὀργὴ τοῦ θυμοῦ μου γένηται, πάλιν ἰάσομαι», ὡς τὸν ἰάσεως πειραθέντα διὰ τῆς ἐπιπόνου ἀγωγῆς χαριστηρίως λέγειν· «Εὐλογήσω σε, Κύριε, ὅτι ὠργίσθης μοι· 61 ἀπέστρεψας τὸν θυμόν σου καὶ ἐλέησάς με.» 2.197 Ἡ οὕτω ὠφεληθεῖσα ψυχὴ ὑμνεῖ τὸν κακώσει περιβαλόντα φάσκουσα· «Μὴ ἐπίχαιρέ μοι ἡ ἐχθρά μου, ὅτι πέπτωκα, καὶ ἀναστήσομαι· ὀργὴν Κυρίου ὑποίσω ὅτι ἥμαρτον αὐτῷ, ἕως οὗ δικαιῶσαι τὴν κρίσιν μου, καὶ ἀποίσει τὸ κρίμα μου, καὶ ἐξάξει με εἰς τὸ φῶς. Ὄψομαι τὴν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὄψεται ἡ ἐχθρά μου, καὶ περιβαλεῖται αἰσχύνην, ἡ λέγουσα πρός με· Ποῦ Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου; Οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου ὄψονται αὐτήν· νῦν ἔσται εἰς καταπάτημα.» 2.198 Ἡ τοσαύτην φορὰν ἀγαθῶν ἀγαγοῦσα ὀργὴ Κυρίου, οὐ βλαπτική, ἀλλ' ὠφελητικὴ τυγχάνει, ὑπὸ ἰατροῦ τῶν ψυχῶν «πᾶσαν νόσον καὶ μαλακίαν θεραπεύοντος» ἐπιστημονικῶς ἐπαγομένη. Πῶς γὰρ οὐ σωτηριῶδες τὸ ἐξαχθῆναι εἰς τὸ φῶς τὸν ᾧ ὠργίσθη ὁ ἵλεω Θεός, ὡς λοιπὸν θεάσασθαι τὴν ἐχθραίνουσαν πονηρὰν δύναμιν αἰσχύνῃ ὑποπεσοῦσαν, περιβεβλημένην αὐτὴν διὰ τὸ εἰς καταπάτημα γεγονέναι; 2.199 Ὅτι δὲ ἐπιστήμονος ἰατροῦ δίκην ἐπιφέρει ὁ πάντων ἀγαθῶν αἴτιος τὰ ἀηδῆ καὶ ἐπίπονα, ὁ προφήτης θεολογῶν φάσκει· «Καὶ αὐτὸς σοφὸς ἦγεν ἐπ' αὐτοὺς κακά, καὶ ὁ λόγος αὐτοῦ οὐ μὴ ἀθετηθῇ.» Εἰ ἕνεκα τοῦ μὴ ἀθετηθῆναι τὸν λόγον τοῦ μόνου σοφοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπάγεται τὰ κακωτικά, οὐ πάθος ἢ τροπὴ ἡ ἐπακτικὴ τούτων ὀργὴ Θεοῦ. Παρίσταται ὡς οὐκ ὄρεξις τιμωρίας ἐστὶν ἡ τοῦ μόνου ἵλεω ὀργὴ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ λεγομένου πρὸς τοῦ ἱεροφάντου Μωϋσέως πρὸς τὸν δοξολογούμενον ἐν ἐπινικίῳ ᾠδῇ κατὰ Φαραὼ καὶ τῆς στρατιᾶς αὐτοῦ· «Ἐξαπέστειλας τὴν ὀργήν σου καὶ κατέφαγεν αὐτοὺς ὡς καλάμην.» 2.200 Ὀργὴ δ' ἐξαποστελλομένη ἵνα καταφάγῃ τοὺς δι' ἀκαρπίαν ἀποδειχθέντας καλάμην, οὐκ ἔστιν ὄρεξις παθητικὴ ἔχουσα τὸ εἶναι ἐν τῷ ἀγανακτοῦντι, ἀφανιζομένη ὅταν ἔξω γένηται τοῦ ὀργιζομένου· διὸ ἡ ἐκπεμπομένη οὐ πάθος ἐστίν, ἀλλ' ἐπίπονος ἀγωγή. 2.201 Τῆς μεγάλης ὀργῆς παρὰ Κυρίου παντοκράτορος γεναμένης, ἑξῆς ἡ αἰτία ἀποδίδοται· «Ἔσται γάρ, φησίν, ὃν τρόπον οὐκ ἤκουσαν αὐτοῦ, παραβαίνοντες αὐτοῦ τὸν νόμον, ἐκβαλόντες τοὺς λόγους αὐτοῦ εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω, οὕτω κεκράξονται κακώσει ὑποπεσόντες καὶ οὐκ εἰσακούσομαι αὐτῶν, λέγει Κύριος παντοκράτωρ.» Παραπλησίως τούτῳ λέγεται ἐν τῇ Μωϋσέως γραφῇ ὑπὸ τοῦ δικαίου κριτοῦ· «Αὐτοὶ ἐπορεύθησαν πρὸς ἐμὲ πλάγιοι, κἀγὼ πορεύσομαι πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἐν θυμῷ πλαγίῳ.» 2.202 Τί δὲ πείσονται οἱ ὀργῇ μεγάλῃ ὑποπεσόντες; «Ἐκβαλῶ, φησίν, αὐτοὺς εἰς τὰ ἔθνη ἃ οὐκ ἔγνωσαν», πεῖραν τῆς ἀγριότητος καὶ ὠμότητος αὐτῶν οὐκ ἐσχηκότες· Ἀσσύριοι δὲ καὶ Βαβυλώνιοι καὶ ὅσοι ἄλλοι βάρβαροι οἷς ὁ Ἰσραὴλ ἁμαρτάνων καὶ ἀσεβῶν παραδέδοται, ὑποπεσὼν ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτῶν νόμῳ αἰχμαλωσίας. 2.203 Πρὸς τοῖς οὕτως ἔχουσιν ἀνθρώποις δι' ὠμότητα καὶ θηριωδίαν, καὶ ἄσαρκοι ἀντικείμεναι δυνάμεις, ἀπανθρώπως ἐξηγριωμέναι κατὰ τῶν ἑαλωκότων αἰχμαλώτων, Ἀσσύριοι καὶ Βαβυλώνιοι Αἰγύπτιοί τε κατ' ἀναγωγὴν τυγχάνουσιν. Οὐ γὰρ θνητοὶ Ἀσσύριοί εἰσιν ὧν ἄρχει ὁ καλούμενος νοῦς μέγας, περὶ οὗ γέγραπται ἐν Ἠσαΐᾳ· «Ἐπάξει Κύριος ἐπὶ τὸν νοῦν τὸν μέγαν τὸν ἄρχοντα τῶν Ἀσσυρίων.» 2.204 Περὶ τούτου καὶ ἐν τῷ Ναοὺμ τῷ προφήτῃ εἴρηται, –ἕβδομος δὲ τῶν ∆ώδεκα οὗτος–· «Οὐαὶ αὐτοῖς· ὅτι ἐνύσταξαν οἱ ποιμένες σου, βασιλεὺς Ἀσσύριος ἐκοίμησεν τοὺς δυνάστας σου.» Μέγας δὲ νοῦς προσηγόρευται ὁ τῶν Ἀσσυρίων βασιλεὺς διὰ κακεντρέχειαν καὶ δεινότητα πανουργευμάτων, ὡς μὴ πολλοὺς φωρᾶν αὐτοῦ τὰς μεθοδείας, ἢ μόνους τοὺς δυναμένους εἰπεῖν· «Οὐ γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὰ νοήματα ἀγνοοῦμεν», ἀλλὰ καταλαμβάνειν καὶ διελέγχειν αὐτὰ δυνάμε̣θ̣α. 2.205 Οὕτω γὰρ καὶ τοῦ ὑπηρέτου αὐτοῦ Ἐλύμα τοῦ μάγου φωράσας τὸν σοφιστικὸν τρόπον ὁ μὴ ἀγνοῶν τὰ νοήματα τοῦ διαβόλου, ἰσχυρῶς τὸν ἔλεγχον προσάγων εἶπεν· «Ὦ πλήρης παντὸς δόλου καὶ πάσης ῥᾳδιουργίας, υἱὲ διαβόλου, ἐχθρὲ πάσης δικαιοσύνης, οὐ παύσει διαστρέφων τὰς ὁδοὺς Κυρίου τὰς εὐθείας;» Οὗτος ὁ κρατῶν καὶ βασιλεύων νοῦς μέγας τῶν κατὰ 62 ἀλληγορίαν Ἀσσυρίων, κατ' ἄλλην ἐπίνοιαν πονηρίας κρατεῖ Βαβυλωνίων, καὶ καθ' ἑτέραν Αἰγυπτίων, τῶν κατὰ ἀναγωγὴν πνευματικῶς Αἰγυπτίων καὶ Βαβυλωνίων
About this text
Didymus the Blind on Zechariah.
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Khazarzar scan
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- Copy-text PG (Khazarzar) (Greek)
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