Unit 3 rem early

It follows, then, that no one is preserved in bodily things or in material possessions, nor even according to nature itself. This is because those who introduce or bring about natures—meaning, those who shape or define what things are by their essence—are the ones who determine preservation. At this point, the soul is directly called “body” by the one who speaks plainly. And Christ, too, in the Gospels, refers to the soul as a body—saying, “The lamp,” he declares, “the eye is the body of it.” He called the lamp the mind, for it is inherently receptive of knowledge. But the body, he says, is the spirited and passionate part of the soul—what some call the irrational part, and others, the emotional or suffering part of the soul. Now, the one who, from the things he makes and teaches, produces good outcomes—first, he gains knowledge of both intelligible and immaterial things in the life to come; and in the age to come, he obtains the kingdom of heaven, securing it for himself and for those who learn from him. He does not merely destroy his own body, but also the soul, along with those who follow him, in the fire of shared destruction. This man—this one who wrongly thrusts hand into hand with violence—is the teacher of evil deeds and false doctrines. But this other one—this one who sows righteousness—is the one who advances in speech concerning virtues and the knowledge of God. To those who sow for their own private gain, and who multiply their holdings, stand opposed those who gather and diminish—because those who sow for themselves are, in fact, those who sow into the spirit and reap life; but those who gather and diminish are those who sow into the flesh and thus gather corruption for themselves. The divine word is like grain: which the Jews, having hidden it away, left behind for the Gentiles. —And this is just like what our Savior says in the Gospels: “No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a bushel basket, but on the lampstand, so that it may give light to all in the house.”

Just as grain serves as nourishment for the body, so divine knowledge sustains the soul. Yet the one who possesses the sustenance of both body and soul but refuses to impart it, instead demanding payment from those who lack it, will be abandoned to the demons. Moreover, he writes a curse upon himself, declaring that he will stand under the judgment of the people of the angels and all the righteous on the day of reckoning, and thus he shall be accursed. The practical cultivation of virtues according to the Spirit is a spiritual craft; but the one who performs what is owed to God seeks out delightful companions—those willing to receive what is due to God—so that, just as he himself engages in exchange, they too may engage in mutual giving. As for those who seek not the good but the evil, they shall be left aside. This tree of life is the one planted in the midst of Paradise, whose fruit Adam was forbidden to touch after his sin, having cast away the seeds of righteousness from which the tree of life grows. Lest you remain silent toward me, says David, and I shall become like those who descend into the pit. A lawless person who falls silent will be forsaken by God—that is, hated and not shown mercy—when he renders the rewards due to those who have received the grace of his incarnate economy, as he says in the Gospels: “And grace for grace.” The wealth of the wicked is evil. But the righteous shall consume them, evidently through wholesome teaching; therefore, even in the age to come, having become fifteen cities, they shall inherit the heavenly inheritance which the impious, having surrendered themselves to impiety, were about to receive—but the righteous shall possess it, as Paul also says in 17:193: “But according to your hardness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation and of God’s righteous judgment.”

The good one will act as an heir for those who obey him as sons obey their father, and he will adopt them into the heavenly kingdom. For they are invincible, just as weapons produce safety; for nothing evil can stand against wisdom, because it is an unconquerable weapon; only against this are the demons powerless. But to the foolish, both visible things and incorporeal things are entirely opposed. Here he speaks of the bodies as houses; for houses are the dwellings of souls, and they are owed by those who know piety and possess theoretical knowledge. The lawless must learn not only the knowledge of God, but also every commandment of the life-giving ones, so that, having become pure, they may see God with their intellectual eyes. For this is the blessed end, which every rational nature has preserved. And the houses of the righteous are ready to receive all, as the Lord commands. Now he has spoken of the intentions as the divine visions and the dispositions of the virtues, which he set against the ways of the bold-hearted mind. For from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, as the Lord said; not to do evil, but to do good, the good man intends in his mind. But the bold-hearted, acting and speaking like a fool, will be filled with scourgings, and with the loss of things, and finally will lose his own soul. Now he has spoken of the rebukes as the commandments; for these reprove us when we sin. And those who hate them,