Conscious of the limitations of my mind and the lack of skill of my language, I, O blessed ones, did not dare to undertake anything beyond my strength, like some proud and brave man, and to venture the impossible, for I see the danger threatening those who dare to do anything of the kind. If this divine Moses, the lawgiver, who renounced all human spectacle, who abandoned the troubles of life, who freed himself from all material manifestations, who purified his spiritual sight and thereby became capable of contemplating God; if he who has been vouchsafed to see the humane descent of God the Word to us and His supernatural incarnation — in the bush and the immaterial fire, with which the thorns burned and burned, but in such a way that, perceiving the brilliance of the fire, he was not burned, destroyed by it, and was not deprived of his inherent nature; if he who was first consecrated in the name of the Existent — and truly being above all essence — who received from God the intercession of his fellow-countrymen, called himself a stiff and tongue-tied (Exodus 1:10), and therefore unable to serve the divine will, to declare it [publicly] and to become a mediator between God and man, then how can I, stained with every kind of sin, bearing within myself a rebellious storm of thoughts, without purifying my mind and reason to become a mirror of God and Divine manifestations, not possessing a word that could sufficiently express my thoughts, how can I speak of the Divine and ineffable, surpassing the comprehension of any rational creature? Reflecting on this, I did not dare to speak, and was afraid of the commissioner, lest, to tell the truth, I should be subjected to a double ridicule — for ignorance, and at the same time, what is most grievous, for madness, for the guilt of ignorance is still excusable, if it does not arise from negligence. But in ignorance to imagine that one has knowledge is a grievous guilt, which is reprehensible, unworthy of any leniency, and is a sign of much greater, not to say the most extreme ignorance. But since the fruit of disobedience is death, while the humble and obedient imitator of Christ ascends to the heights and receives from God the light-guiding grace, and when he opens his mouth, he is filled with the Spirit, purifies his heart, enlightens his mind, and receives the word in the opening of his mouth (Eph. 6:19), not caring what he says, being the organ of the Spirit speaking through him, then, in obedience to Christ, Who is the hierarch in your person, I obey the command and open my mouth, hoping that by the power of your prayers they will be filled with the Spirit, and that I will utter words that will not be the fruit of my understanding, but the fruit of the Spirit, which enlightens the blind, accepting what He gives, and setting forth just this.

And first of all, I will offer what is best among the Hellenic sages, knowing that if there is anything good in them, it is given to people from above by God. For every good gift and every perfect gift comes from the Father of lights (James 1:17). If anything is contrary to the truth, then it is a dark invention of satanic error and an invention of an unfortunate reason, as the great theological Gregory said. Therefore, imitating the image of the bee, I will use that which is close to the truth, and from the enemies themselves I will receive the fruit — salvation; on the contrary, I will reject everything that is worthless and contains falsely named knowledge. Then I will expound the absurd teachings of the God-hating heresies that adhere to this, so that, having known the lie, we may hold on to the truth more firmly. After this, with the help of God and His grace, I will reveal the truth, the destroyer of error and the banisher of falsehood, adorned and adorned, as if with some kind of gold trimming, by the words of the inspired prophets, the God-taught fishermen, and the God-bearing shepherds and teachers. The glory of this truth, shining from within, enlightens with its rays those who approach it with due purification, renouncing vain thoughts. As for my own, as I have said, I will say nothing, but, having gathered together as far as possible what has been obtained by the labors of the most reliable teachers, I will briefly state it, following your command in all things. But I beseech you, revered ones, to be lenient to me, who obey your precepts, and, accepting obedience from me, to repay me with the help of your prayers.

I. Philosophical Chapters

Chapter I. On Cognition. There is nothing more valuable than knowledge, for knowledge is the light of the rational soul. On the contrary, ignorance is darkness. Just as the deprivation of light is darkness, so the absence of knowledge is the darkening of the mind. Ignorance is characteristic of irrational beings, and knowledge is characteristic of rational beings. Therefore, whoever is naturally capable of knowledge and knowledge (episthmonikw) does not have it, although he is naturally intelligent, nevertheless in negligence and weakness of soul is worse than the foolish. As for knowledge, I mean true knowledge of things, because knowledge concerns things. False knowledge, which is, as it were, knowledge of things that do not exist, is more ignorance than knowledge, for falsehood is nothing but non-existent. Since we do not live with one soul, but our soul, as if hidden by a veil of flesh, has a likeness of an eye, a seeing and knowing mind, which perceives the knowledge and knowledge of things, and this knowledge and knowledge it does not have from the very beginning, but needs a teacher, let us come to the true teacher, the truth. But Christ is hypostatic wisdom and truth, in Whom all the treasures of reason are created, Who is the wisdom and power of God and the Father. Therefore, let us listen to His voice speaking to us through the Holy Scriptures, and learn the true knowledge of all things. As we approach, let us approach diligently and with a pure heart, not allowing the passions to dull the mental eye of our soul. For hardly anyone will be able to clearly contemplate the truth even with the purest and clearest eye. If the light that is in us, that is, our mind, is darkness, then how much darkness? Let us approach with all our soul and with all our thoughts. For just as it is impossible for the eye, which is often shifted from one object to another, and turning here and there, to contemplate clearly what is seen, but it is necessary that the eye should keep a close eye on the object to be examined, so we, having renounced all agitation of the mind, shall approach the truth immaculately. And when we approach and reach the gates, let us not confine ourselves to this, but knock loudly, so that when the doors of rest are opened to us, we may see its inner beauty. Scripture, then, is the gate; and the rest behind the gates signifies the beauty of thoughts hidden in the Scriptures, i.e., the Spirit of truth. Let us knock loudly, that is, let us read once or twice, let us read often, and thus going deeper, we will find the treasure of knowledge and abound in riches. We will search, investigate, look out, ask. For everyone who asks receives, and seeks, finds, and to him who interprets it will be opened. And also, Inquire of thy father, and he shall tell thee, and thy elders are in knowledge, and shall speak unto thee. Therefore, if we are inquisitive, we will also know many things; for all things are attained by diligence and labor, and also, and this first and after all, by the grace of the Giver of God.

On the other hand, since the Apostle says: "Hold fast to all that is good that is tried," let us also examine the teachings of the pagan sages. Perhaps among them we will find something useful and acquire something useful for the soul, for every artist needs some tools for the accomplishment of what is being arranged. And it is common for the queen to use the services of maids. Therefore we will borrow such doctrines as are ministers of the truth, but we will reject the wickedness that cruelly possessed them, and we will not take advantage of what is badly good, and we will not use the art of proofs to deceive the simple. Although the truth does not need a variety of proofs, nevertheless we will use them to refute dishonest opponents and falsely named knowledge.

With this we shall begin, as with the letters, precisely with that which befits those who are still in need of milk, calling upon Christ as our guide, the hypostatic Word of God, by Whom every good gift is given and every gift is perfected.

Those who will read this book should direct their minds to the blissful goal of ascending through the senses to Him (pros ton) Who is above sense and perception. Who is the Author of everything, the Creator and Organizer. For from the beauty of His creatures the creator of them is comparatively known, and His invisible essence from the creation of the world is seen by the creatures. Therefore, we achieve what we want by striving for knowledge with an indifferent and humble mind. For ye cannot believe in me, said Christ, the truth, receive glory from men. And also: everyone who is exalted will humble himself, and he who humbles himself will be lifted up.

Chapter II: What is the purpose of this work? For anyone who undertakes a task without a definite goal wanders, as it were, in darkness; Since he who labors without a goal begs in everything, we will first of all speak about the purpose set for this book, so that what is said in it will be more easily assimilated. The aim is to begin with philosophy and briefly outline in this book as much knowledge as possible. Therefore, it should be called the "Source of Knowledge". Therefore I will say nothing of my own behalf, but I will set forth in a coherent manner what has been said in various places by divine and wise men. And it is better to define first of all what philosophy is.

Chapter III: On Philosophy. Philosophy is the cognition of existence as such, i.e., the cognition of the nature of being. And again: philosophy is the knowledge of Divine and human things, i.e., the visible and the invisible. Moreover, philosophy is the thought of death, both voluntary and natural. For there are two kinds of life: natural, by which we live, and voluntary, by virtue of which we are passionately attached to the present life. There are also two kinds of death: natural death, which is the separation of the soul from the body. and voluntary death, by which we, neglecting the present life, strive for the next. Then, philosophy is likeness to God. We become like God through wisdom, that is, through the true knowledge of good, and also through justice, which gives to each his own and judges impartially; finally, through holiness, which is higher than justice, i.e., through goodness and retribution with good to those who offend. Philosophy is the art of the arts and the science of the sciences. For philosophy is the beginning of all art: every art and every science were invented by it. Art, in the opinion of some, sins in some ways; science does not err in anything: but philosophy alone does not err (in general). According to others, art is something that is performed with the help of hands. A science will be any intellectual art: grammar, rhetoric, and the like. Moreover, philosophy is the love of wisdom; God is true wisdom. Thus the love of God is a true philosophy. Philosophy is divided into theoretical and practical. The theoretical, in turn, is divided into theology, physiology, and mathematics, and the practical into ethics, economics, and politics. Theoretical philosophy tends to adorn knowledge. At the same time, theology tends to consider the incorporeal and immaterial: first of all, God, the truly immaterial, and then the angels and the soul. Physiology is the knowledge of what is material and immediately accessible to us, for example, animals, plants, stones, etc. Mathematics is the knowledge of that which in itself is incorporeal, but is contemplated in the body, that is, of numbers, I say, and of the harmony of sounds, and, in addition, of the figures and movements of the luminaries. At the same time, the consideration of numbers is arithmetic, the consideration of sounds is music, and the consideration of figures is geometry; and finally, the consideration of the luminaries, astronomy. All this occupies a middle place between bodies and incorporeal things. In fact, the number itself is incorporeal, but is considered in the body, in bread, for example, or in wine, or in something like that. Practical philosophy is concerned with virtues, for it regulates morals and teaches how one's life should be organized. At the same time, if it proposes laws to one person, it is called ethics; if the whole house, it is the economy; if it is cities and countries, it is politics.

Some have tried to eliminate philosophy, saying that there is no philosophy, nor is there any knowledge or comprehension. To them we say: on what grounds do you say that there is no philosophy, no knowledge or comprehension? Is it because it has been known and comprehended by you, or because it has not been known and comprehended? If because it has been attained, then this is knowledge and comprehension for you; but if it is because it has not been known, no one will believe you, because you are reasoning about a subject of which you have not received any knowledge.

Thus, in view of the fact that there is philosophy and there is knowledge of being, we will speak of what is. But it must be known that we shall first deal with the logical part of philosophy: the latter is rather an instrument of philosophy than a part of it, for (philosophy) uses it in every proof. So, we will first talk about simple words that denote simple things through simple meanings. And having first explained the meaning of words (lexews), let us consider in the same way what concerns speeches.

Chapter IV: Of Being, Substance, and Accident Being (to on) is a common name for everything that exists. It is divided into substance and accident. Substance (ousia) is something most important, since it has existence in itself, and not in another. Accident (sumbebhkos) is that which cannot exist in itself, but is contemplated in substance. Substance is the subject (upokeimenon), as it were, the matter of things. Now accident is that which is contemplated in substance as a subject, e.g., copper and wax are substances, and figure, form, and colour are accidents, and body is substance, and its colour is accident. It is not the body that is in color, but the color in the body, and not the soul in knowledge, but knowledge in the soul, and not brass and wax in figure, but figure in wax and brass. They do not speak; the body of color, but the color of the body; not the soul of knowledge, but the knowledge of the soul; not a wax figure, but a wax figure. Color, knowledge, and figure change, but body, soul, and wax remain the same, because the substance does not change. Moreover, the substance and matter of the body are one: the colors are many. It is the same with everything else: the subject is substance; That which is contemplated in the subject, i.e., substance, is an accident.

Substance is defined in this way: substance is a self-existent thing that does not need another for its existence. Accident, on the other hand, is that which cannot exist in itself, but has its existence in another. Thus the substance will be God and all creation, although God is a pre-existent substance. There are also essential qualities that we will talk about.

Chapter V. About sound. Since we intend to reason about every purely (aplws) philosophical sound (fwnh), we must first determine what sound philosophy deals with. Beginning our speech with the consideration of sound, we say: a sound can be either insignificant (ashmos) or significant (shmantikh). An insignificant sound is one that does not mean anything; significant — the one that signifies something. Further, an insignificant sound, in turn, can be either inarticulate or articulate. An inarticulate sound is one that cannot be written; articulate is that which can be written. Thus there is an inarticulate and insignificant sound, such as that produced by stone or wood, for it cannot be written down, and signifies nothing. There is a sound that is insignificant and articulate, for example, "skindaps": for it can be written, but it does not mean anything; There was no Skindaps, and there is none. Philosophy does not care about insignificant sounds, whether inarticulate or articulate. In turn, a significant sound can be either articulate or inarticulate. An inarticulate significant sound would be, for example, the barking of dogs: it denotes a dog, since there is a dog's voice; in the same way it signifies someone's presence; But this is an inarticulate sound, so it is not written. And this sound of philosophy does not care. An articulate significant sound can be either general or particular [singular]. A common sound would be, for example, "man"; private — Peter, Paul. And there is no concern for the particular sound of philosophy. But (philosophy deals) with a sound that is significant, articulate, conciliar, i.e., general, expressed in application to many objects.