Do not come near; loose the sandal; Law’s way not clean
—Moses is barred from drawing near to God: ‘Do not come near here,’ it says. For the good is unapproachable through Law; and the power of the way of life according to Moses is not very sufficient unto being able to carry one to God. But Christ presents him through sanctification. For those eager to be glued to the holy God must be holy: ‘For you will be holy,’ it says, ‘because I am holy.’ And that the manner of the way of life according to Law is not altogether blameless, he taught at once, saying: ‘Loose the sandal from your feet; for the place on which you stand is holy earth.’ For he has commanded the hierophant Moses to loose the sandal of the foot, showing the journey of the life according to Law not yet clean, nor altogether freed from works from corruption and deadness. And from the Greeks’ custom divine Moses was being taught for us that it is not lawful to draw near to God for the one being in remnants of deadness and corruption. For they were not going in sanctuaries wearing upon the feet sandals from dead animals. And the thing was written as a manner of pollution by those laws. And Law did not free us, friend, from deadness and corruption and uncleanness of things come to that — nor a journey of life according to the Mosaic letter — but rather faith in Christ, and the most perfect cleansing of the evangelical way of life.
Or the weakness of the understanding, somehow not remaining toward God, nor even able to see his glory, according to what is hymned in the Psalms: ‘Let their eyes be darkened from not seeing,’ or that, ‘Behold a foolish and heartless people; they have eyes, and they do not see.’ But we, approaching the words about the ineffable nature with clean and illuminated eyes, behold in the Son the beauty of God and Father—
Greek
εἴργεται Μωσῆς πλησιάζειν Θεῷ· «Μὴ ἐγγίσῃς γὰρ ὧδε,» φησίν. Ἀπρόσιτον γὰρ διὰ νόμου τὸ ἀγαθόν· καὶ τῆς κατὰ Μωσέα πολιτείας ἡ δύναμις οὐχ ἱκανὴ λίαν εἴς γε τὸ ἀποκομίζειν δύνασθαι τῷ Θεῷ. Παρίστησι δὲ αὐτῷ δι' ἁγιασμοῦ Χριστός. Ἁγίους γὰρ εἶναι πρέπει τοὺς τῷ ἁγίῳ Θεῷ κολλᾶσθαι σπουδάζοντας· «Ἅγιοι γὰρ ἔσεσθε, φησὶν, ὅτι ἐγὼ ἅγιός εἰμι.» Ὅτι δὲ τῆς κατὰ νόμον πολιτείας ὁ τρόπος οὐκ ἀμώμητος παντελῶς, εὐθὺς ἐδίδαξεν, εἰπών· «Λύσαι τὸ ὑπόδημα ἐκ τῶν ποδῶν σου· ὁ γὰρ τόπος, ἐν ᾧ σὺ ἕστηκας, γῆ ἁγία ἐστίν.» Ἀπολύειν γὰρ τὸ ὑπόδημα προστέταχε τοῦ ποδὸς τὸν ἱεροφάντην Μωσέα, οὔπω καθαρὰν, οὐδὲ τῶν ἀπὸ φθορᾶς καὶ νεκρότητος ἔργων εἰσάπαν ἀπηλλαγμένην, τῆς κατὰ νόμον ζωῆς τὴν πορείαν ἀποδεικνὺς, ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς παρ' Ἕλλησι συνηθείας ὁ θεῖος ἡμῖν ἐπαιδεύετο Μωσῆς, ὅτι μὴ θέμις ἐγγίζειν Θεῷ, τὸν ἐν λειψάνοις ὄντα νεκρότητος καὶ φθορᾶς. Οὐ γὰρ ἐφοίτων ἐν ἱεροῖς τὰ ἐκ τεθνεώτων ζώων ὑποδήματα τοῖς ποσὶν ἐνδυόμενοι. Μολυσμοῦ δὲ τρόπος τοῖς ἐκείνων νόμοις τὸ χρῆμα ἐγράφετο. Νεκρότητος δὲ καὶ φθορᾶς καὶ τῶν εἰς τοῦτο ἡκόντων ἀκαθαρσίας ἀπέλυσεν ἡμᾶς οὐχ ὁ νόμος, ὦ τᾶν, οὐδὲ πορεία ζωῆς τῆς κατὰ τὸ γράμμα τὸ Μωσαϊκὸν, πίστις δὲ μᾶλλον ἡ ἐν Χριστῷ, καὶ τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς πολιτείας ἡ τελειοτάτη κάθαρσις. Ἢ οὐκ ἀληθὲς ὅ φημι;
{ΠΑΛΛ.} Πῶς γὰρ οὔ;
{ΚΥΡ.} Ἀπολύσαντι δὲ τὸ ὑπόδημα τοῦ ποδὸς, προσθέοντί γέ τε λοιπὸν, καὶ ἀγχοῦ γεγονότι, προσεφώνει Θεός· «Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ Θεὸς τοῦ πατρός σου, Θεὸς Ἀβραὰμ, καὶ Θεὸς Ἰσαὰκ, καὶ Θεὸς Ἰακώβ. Ἀέστρεψε δὲ Μωσῆς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ, φησίν· ηὐλαβεῖτο γὰρ κατεμβλέψαι ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ.» Ἀποθέμενοι γὰρ φρόνημα τὸ νεκρὸν, καὶ οἱονεὶ καθαρῷ τε καὶ ἐλευθέρῳ ποδὶ τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ πολιτείας διαστείχοντες τὴν ὁδὸν, ἐσόμεθα μὲν ἀγχοῦ τῷ Θεῷ, κατὰ σχέσιν δὲ δηλονότι τὴν πνευματικὴν, καὶ οὐχὶ κατά γε τὴν ἐν τόπῳ διάστασιν. Τύποι γὰρ ἐκεῖνα καὶ σκιὰ τὰ Μωσέως, οὕτω τε λοιπὸν τοὺς περὶ τῆς ἄνω μυσταγωγίας καταπλουτήσομεν λόγους, καὶ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ γνῶσιν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς συλλέξομεν, ἑαυτὸν ἡμῖν ἐμφανίζοντος ἐν Υἱῷ τοῦ Πατρός. Ὀψόμεθα γὰρ αὐτὸν, καὶ ἀσυγκρίτως ἄμεινον, ἢ ὁ πάλαι λαὸς, ὡς ἐν προσώπῳ Μωσέως. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἀπέστρεψε τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ· ηὐλαβεῖτο γὰρ κατεμβλέψαι ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ. Δι' οὗ σημαίνεται τῶν ἐν νόμῳ παιδαγωγουμένων, τὸ τῆς διανοίας ἀσθενὲς, οὐκ ἀναμενούσης τρόπον τινὰ πρὸς Θεὸν, οὔτε μὴν οἵας τε ἰδεῖν τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ, κατά γε τὸ ἐν Ψαλμοῖς ὑμνούμενον· «Σκοτισθήτωσαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτῶν τοῦ μὴ βλέπειν,» ἤγουν ἐκεῖνο, τὸ «Ἰδοὺ λαὸς μωρὸς καὶ ἀκάρδιος· ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῖς, καὶ οὐ βλέπουσιν.» Ἡμεῖς δὲ τοῖς περὶ τῆς ἀῤῥήτου φύσεως προσιέντες λόγοις, καθαροῖς καὶ πεφωτισμένοις ὄμμασιν, ἐν Υἱῷ διαπρέπον τὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς
About this text
Cyril continues the dialogue with Palladius on worship in spirit and truth. Book 2 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 2 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 2 (Aubert reprint) (Greek · Book 2)
- Checked print PDF of PG 68 De adoratione (Greek · Book 2)
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.