Andrew Louth - Syriac Christian Church
Andrew Louth - Syriac Christian Church Andrew Louth - Syriac Christian Church
1177A B C TEXTS 135 behind all these things. For though he cannot accomplish the complete transition with his mind, or receive without intermediary the object of his desires which he knows through the mediation of its effects, he can readily put away the error that the world is without beginning, as he reasons truly that everything that moves must certainly begin to move. No motion is without beginning, since it is not without cause. For motion has a beginning, and a cause from which it is called and an end to which it is drawn. If the beginning of the movement of every moving thing is its motion, and its end the cause to which what is moved is borne (for nothing is moved without cause), then none of the beings is unmoved, except that which moves first (for that which moves first is completely unmoved, because it is without beginning), and none of the beings then is without beginning, because none is unmoved. 96 For every kind of being is moved, except for the sole cause which is unmoved and transcends all things, those beings that are intelligent and rational in a way in accordance with knowledge and understanding, because they are not knowledge itself or understanding itself. For neither is their knowledge or understanding their being, but something they acquire as they consider their being with correct judgment in accordance with mind and reason (what I call their constituent powers 97 ). 37 Contemplation of being, quantity and quality But that which is simply called being itself is not only the being of those things subject to change and corruption, moved in accordance with change and corruption, but also the being of all beings whatever that have been moved and are moved in accord ance with the reason and mode of expansion and contraction. For it is moved from the most universal kind through the more universal kinds to the forms, by which and in which everything is naturally divided, proceeding as far as the most specific forms, by a process of expansion [diastolê], circumscribing its being towards what is below, and again it is gathered together from the most specific forms, retreating through the more universal, up to the most universal kind, by a process of contraction [systolê], defining its being towards what is above. 98 Thus it can be described either way, either from above or from below, and is shown as possessing both beginning and end, not at all capable of being defined by
D 1180A 136 DIFFICULTY 10 B limitlessness. So it has quantity, not just the quantity of those things subject to change and corruption which are perceived to increase and decrease in every way naturally, but also every kind of quantity that can be circumscribed when it is moved by tightening and loosening and given form according to expansion by partial differences, without however flowing out into limitlessness, and again gathered together as it retreats in accordance with its kind, without however losing its natural form. Similarly with quality which is not just that moved by change in beings subject to change and corruption, but every kind of quality, moved according to difference in what is changeable and soluble, and receptive of expansion and contraction. For no-one can say that anything that can naturally be scattered and gathered together again either by reason or force can reasonably be thought to be completely unmoved. If it is not unmoved, it is not without beginning. If it is not without beginning, then clearly it is not ingenerate, but just as everyone knows that the motion of what is moved must have had a beginning, so anything that has come into being must have begun to come into being, receiving its being and movement from the sole One who has not come into being and is unmoved. That which has begun to come into being could not in any way be without beginning. 38 Proof that everything apart from God exists in a place 99 I should say, too, that the fact that beings exist in a certain way and not simply—that this, indeed, is the first form of circumscription—is a powerful factor in proving that beings have a beginning in respect of being and generation. Who is ignorant of the fact that every kind of being whatever, apart from the divine and unique being, which properly speaking exists beyond being itself, is already thought of as being somewhere, and that, together with this, it is necessarily thought of as certainly existing at some time? For space cannot be thought of, separate from and deprived of time (for they go together and one cannot be without the other), C nor can time be separated from and deprived of space, for they are naturally thought of together. By space, we mean that everything is shown as being in a place. For the totality of everything is not beyond the universe (for it is irrational and impossible to conceive of the universe itself as being beyond
- Page 93 and 94: 84 LETTER 2 D 397A B C grace, throu
- Page 95 and 96: 86 LETTER 2 401A C D B Perhaps it w
- Page 97 and 98: 88 LETTER 2 C D 405A B particular t
- Page 99 and 100: 90 LETTER 2 B and the same thing, t
- Page 101 and 102: 92 DIFFICULTY 10 veil describes for
- Page 103 and 104: 94 DIFFICULTY 10 1108A B C 1 Introd
- Page 105 and 106: 96 DIFFICULTY 10 D 1112A B C to mak
- Page 107 and 108: 98 DIFFICULTY 10 C D 1116A Spirit o
- Page 109 and 110: 100 DIFFICULTY 10 C unshakeable lan
- Page 111 and 112: 102 DIFFICULTY 10 D 1121A B 9 Conte
- Page 113 and 114: 104 DIFFICULTY 10 C D 1125A finding
- Page 115 and 116: 106 DIFFICULTY 10 1128A B C diligen
- Page 117 and 118: 108 DIFFICULTY 10 D 1132A B by natu
- Page 119 and 120: 110 DIFFICULTY 10 B C D 1136A diffe
- Page 121 and 122: 112 DIFFICULTY 10 1137A B C into th
- Page 123 and 124: 114 DIFFICULTY 10 D 1141A B their c
- Page 125 and 126: 116 DIFFICULTY 10 C D 1145A B which
- Page 127 and 128: 118 DIFFICULTY 10 B C D 22 Twofold
- Page 129 and 130: 120 DIFFICULTY 10 D 1152A B invisib
- Page 131 and 132: 122 DIFFICULTY 10 C D 1156A circums
- Page 133 and 134: 124 DIFFICULTY 10 1157A B C corrupt
- Page 135 and 136: C D 1161A 126 DIFFICULTY 10 B 31 Fu
- Page 137 and 138: 128 DIFFICULTY 10 B C D 1165A which
- Page 139 and 140: 130 DIFFICULTY 10 1168A B C through
- Page 141 and 142: 132 DIFFICULTY 10 C D 1172A B sense
- Page 143: 134 DIFFICULTY 10 B 1176B C D heap.
- Page 147 and 148: 138 DIFFICULTY 10 C D 1184A B uncir
- Page 149 and 150: B C D 1188A 140 DIFFICULTY 10 compa
- Page 151 and 152: 142 DIFFICULTY 10 B C D with the in
- Page 153 and 154: 144 DIFFICULTY 10 D 1193A B C unnat
- Page 155 and 156: 146 DIFFICULTY 10 C D 1197A Trinity
- Page 157 and 158: 148 DIFFICULTY 10 B D 1201A the spi
- Page 159 and 160: 150 DIFFICULTY 10 1204A B C 50 Cont
- Page 161 and 162: 152 DIFFICULTY 10 for whose sake th
- Page 163 and 164: 154 TEXTS The structure of the Diff
- Page 165 and 166: 156 TEXTS B C D no longer tied to e
- Page 167 and 168: 158 TEXTS 1312A D B C (Heb. 9:24),
- Page 169 and 170: 1316A 160 TEXTS C D earth (Col. 1:2
- Page 171 and 172: 162 TEXTS 1408C D 1409A B TEXT Of t
- Page 173 and 174: 164 TEXTS C D 1413A —we dare to t
- Page 175 and 176: 166 TEXTS B C D Another contemplati
- Page 177 and 178: 168 TEXTS B C stop the movement of
- Page 179 and 180: 170 TEXTS 1048A B C D Since, accord
- Page 181 and 182: 172 TEXTS D 1052A B C specified in
- Page 183 and 184: 174 TEXTS 1056A D B shows that what
- Page 185 and 186: 1060A 176 TEXTS C D energy, have ac
- Page 187 and 188: 178
- Page 189 and 190: 180 OPUSCULE 7 C D 72A B to his mys
- Page 191 and 192: 182 OPUSCULE 7 D 76A B C imperfect
- Page 193 and 194: 184 OPUSCULE 7 80A C B C has a natu
D<br />
1180A<br />
136 DIFFICULTY 10<br />
B<br />
limitlessness. So it has quantity, not just the quantity of those<br />
things subject to change and corruption which are perceived<br />
to increase and decrease in every way naturally, but also every<br />
kind of quantity that can be circumscribed when it is moved by<br />
tightening and loosening and given form according to<br />
expansion by partial differences, without however flowing out<br />
into limitlessness, and again gathered together as it retreats<br />
in accordance with its kind, without however losing its natural<br />
form. Similarly with quality which is not just that moved by<br />
change in beings subject to change and corruption, but every<br />
kind of quality, moved according to difference in what is<br />
changeable and soluble, and receptive of expansion and<br />
contraction. For no-one can say that anything that can<br />
naturally be scattered and gathered together again either by<br />
reason or force can reasonably be thought to be completely<br />
unmoved. If it is not unmoved, it is not without beginning. If it<br />
is not without beginning, then clearly it is not ingenerate, but<br />
just as everyone knows that the motion of what is moved must<br />
have had a beginning, so anything that has come into being<br />
must have begun to come into being, receiving its being and<br />
movement from the sole One who has not come into being and<br />
is unmoved. That which has begun to come into being could<br />
not in any way be without beginning.<br />
38<br />
Proof that everything apart from God exists in a<br />
place 99<br />
I should say, too, that the fact that beings exist in a certain<br />
way and not simply—that this, indeed, is the first form of<br />
circumscription—is a powerful factor in proving that beings<br />
have a beginning in respect of being and generation. Who is<br />
ignorant of the fact that every kind of being whatever, apart<br />
from the divine and unique being, which properly speaking<br />
exists beyond being itself, is already thought of as being<br />
somewhere, and that, together with this, it is necessarily<br />
thought of as certainly existing at some time? For space<br />
cannot be thought of, separate from and deprived of time (for<br />
they go together and one cannot be without the other), C nor<br />
can time be separated from and deprived of space, for they are<br />
naturally thought of together. By space, we mean that<br />
everything is shown as being in a place. For the totality of<br />
everything is not beyond the universe (for it is irrational and<br />
impossible to conceive of the universe itself as being beyond