Crushed = wholly sick; tongue-cut = cannot confess; wart/mange growing sin
Cyril: …again, the one having been sick wholly, and having healthy altogether nothing, nor indeed being able to walk-straight, or being strong to do some of the good things, and being altogether worsted of the well-strength in Christ and in Spirit, and something such have suffered, those about whom it has been written, through one of the holy prophets: ‘Thus says Lord: Behold I give upon this people a weakness, and they will be weak in it fathers and sons together; neighbor and his neighbor will perish.’ (Jeremiah 6:21) But the divine Melodist for us has brought-in cheerful those having been justified in the faith the in Christ, both psalming and saying: ‘Bless, my soul, the Lord, the one healing all your diseases, the one ransoming from corruption your life.’ (Psalm 103:2-4) And tongue-cut, as I at least think, the one not knowing to speak-rightly, nor indeed being strong to cry-up the word of the faith which we proclaim according to the having-been-written, the question from a good conscience unto God (1 Peter 3:21), yet that also such a disease again they will beat-off, in a presence of Christ, the prophet will clarify saying: ‘And tongues the stammering will quickly learn to speak peace.’ (Isaiah 32:4) So then tongue-cut the still stammering, and not yet having been taught to speak the peace from above for us and from Father, that is, Christ, or the things upon him. And warted and mangy, and having lichens we say those, who ever would have at least in themselves a passionate mind, and having been sick-in with much the corruption in sins, not indeed that one must also lead them toward the lesser thinking-through, but rather releasing them to creep-through unto the more shameful, and to be widened toward the worse. For a wart and a wild mange, and indeed also a lichen, always appear going toward increase, and having been distributed toward having worse… those in a reputation on the one hand of manliness the unto virtue, not indeed still also energetic toward boasts of virtue, and dry as it were and fruitless, and having been taken-away many-manneredly from the being able to bear-fruit. For as great as most a people of unholy passions forces us unto the strengthless and inactive, and still with this the not being strong to bear-fruit. In this way, as I at least think, also with many names the
Greek
νον δὲ αὖ, τὸν ὁλοτρόπως ἠῤῥωστηκότα, καὶ ὑγιὲς ἔχοντα παντελῶς οὐδὲν, οὔτε μὴν ὀρθοποδεῖν δυνάμενον, ἤγουν δράσαι τι τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἰσχύοντα, εὐρωστίας δὲ τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ καὶ ἐν Πνεύματι παντελῶς ἡττώμενον, πεπόνθασι δέ τι τοιοῦτον, οἱ περὶ ὧν γέγραπται, δι' ἑνὸς τῶν ἁγίων προφητῶν· «Τάδε λέγει Κύριος· Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ δίδωμι ἐπὶ τὸν λαὸν τοῦτον ἀσθένειαν, καὶ ἀσθενήσουσιν ἐν αὐτῇ πατέρες καὶ υἱοὶ ἅμα· γείτων καὶ ὁ πλησίον αὐτοῦ ἀπολοῦνται.» Ἀλλ' ὅγε θεῖος ἡμῖν Μελῳδὸς, τοὺς ἐν πίστει τῇ ἐν Χριστῷ δεδικαιωμένους, εἰσκεκόμικεν ἱλαροὺς, ψάλλοντάς τε καὶ λέγοντας· «Εὐλόγει, ἡ ψυχή μου, τὸν Κύριον, τὸν ἰώμενον πάσας τὰς νόσους σου, τὸν λυτρούμενον ἐκ φθορᾶς τὴν ζωήν σου.» Γλωσσότμητόν τε, καθάπερ ἐγῷμαι, τὸν ὀρθοεπεῖν οὐκ εἰδότα, οὔτε μὴν ἀναφωνεῖν ἰσχύοντα τὸ ῥῆμα τῆς πίστεως ὃ κηρύσσομεν κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον, τὸ ἐξ ἀγαθῆς συνειδήσεως ἐπερώτημα εἰς Θεὸν, πλὴν ὅτι καὶ τὴν τοιάνδε πάλιν ἀποκρούσονται νόσον, ἐν παρουσίᾳ Χριστοῦ, σαφηνιεῖ λέγων ὁ προφήτης· «Καὶ γλῶσσαι αἱ ψελλίζουσαι ταχὺ μαθήσονται λαλεῖν εἰρήνην.» Γλωσσότμητος οὖν ὁ ψελλίζων ἔτι, καὶ λαλεῖν οὔπω δεδιδαγμένος τὴν ἄνωθεν ἡμῖν καὶ παρὰ Πατρὸς εἰρήνην, τοῦτ' ἔστι, Χριστὸν, ἤτοι τὰ ἐπ' αὐτῷ. Μυρμηκιῶντάς γε μὴν καὶ ψωραγριῶντας, καὶ λειχῆνας ἔχοντας εἶναί φαμεν τοὺς, οἵπερ ἂν ἔχοιεν ἔν γε δὴ σφίσιν αὐτοῖς ἐμπαθῆ τὸν νοῦν, καὶ πολλὴν ἐγκατηῤῥωστηκότας τὴν ἐν ἁμαρτίαις φθορὰν, οὐ μὴν ὅτι χρὴ καὶ πρὸς τὸ μεῖον ἄγειν αὐτοὺς διενθυμουμένους, ἐφιέντας δὲ μᾶλλον διέρπειν ἐπὶ τὸ αἴσχιον, καὶ κατευρύνεσθαι πρὸς τὸ χεῖρον. Μυρμηκία τε γὰρ καὶ ἀγρία ψώρα, καὶ μὴν καὶ λειχὴν, ἀεὶ πρὸς ἐπίδοσιν ἰόντα φαίνεται, καὶ πρὸς τὸ χειρόνως ἔχειν διανένευκέ πως, καὶ ὅλην κατὰ βραχὺ διανέμεται τὴν σάρκα. Τοιαῦτα δὲ καὶ τὰ ἐν ταῖς ἡμετέραις ψυχαῖς οὐκ ἀνακοπτόμενα τῶν παθῶν, ἀσχέτῳ δὲ ὥσπερ ὁρμῇ πρὸς τὸ χεῖρον ἀεὶ διεκτρέχοντα. Ὠτότμητον δὲ, πρός γε δὴ τούτῳ τὸν κολοβόκερκον, τὸν δυσπειθῆ καὶ ἀνήκοον, καὶ τὸν μὴ μέχρι παντὸς εὐσχήμονα κατασημήνειεν ἄν. Ἢ οὐχὶ τὸ βλάβος εἰς ἀκοὴν, τοῖς γε τὸ οὖς ἀποκεκομμένοις;
{ΠΑΛΛ.} Καὶ μάλα.
{ΚΥΡ.} Τὰ δὲ τῶν ζώων τὴν κέρκον οὐκ ἔχοντα, δοίης ἂν αὐτὸς ἔν γε τῷ καλλίστῳ σχήματι; Οὐδαμῶς· νοσεῖ γὰρ ἐφ' ἑαυτῶν πολὺ δὴ λίαν τὸ ἀπρεπές. Οὐκοῦν ἀσχήμων καὶ ἀκαλλὴς ὁ ὡς ἐν ζώῳ τυχὸν τῷ τὴν κέρκον οὐκ ἔχοντι πλαγίως ὑποδηλούμενος. Ἀπόβλητον δὲ ποιεῖται τὸ ἄρσεν μὲν, ὅσον ἧκεν εἰς φύσιν, ἐνεργεῖν δὲ τὰ ἀρσένων οὐ δυνάμενον, θλαδίαν δὴ λέγω καὶ ἐκτομίαν· εἶεν δ' ἂν οἱ τοιοίδε πάλιν, οἱ ἐν ὑπολήψει μὲν ἀνδρείας τῆς εἰς ἀρετὴν, οὐ μὴν ἔτι καὶ ἐνεργοὶ πρὸς ἀρετῆς αὐχήματα, ξηροὶ δὲ ὥσπερ καὶ ἄκαρποι, καὶ τὸ δύνασθαι καρποφορεῖν πολυτρόπως παρῃρημένοι. Πλεῖστος γὰρ ὅσος ἡμᾶς ἀνοσίων παθῶν καταβιάζεται δῆμος εἰς τὸ ἄναλκί τε καὶ ἀδρανὲς, καὶ προσέτι τούτῳ τὸ μὴ ἰσχύσαι καρποφορεῖν. Ταύτῃτοι, καθάπερ ἐγῷμαι, καὶ πολλοῖς ὀνόμασι τὸ
About this text
Cyril continues the dialogue with Palladius. Book 15 of a seventeen-book dialogue — not the whole work.
English follows Migne PG 68 (Aubert reprint). The PDF and a cleaned text of the same print were checked against each other. This page is Book 15 of seventeen. This is a reading translation for study, not a new critical edition of the Greek.
Witnesses
- Copy-text Migne PG 68 De adoratione Book 15 (Aubert reprint) (Greek · Book 15)
- Checked print PDF of PG 68 De adoratione (Greek · Book 15)
English is newly prepared for study from the stated edition. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.