great and wonderful things with which I was unacquainted? And I felt myself vile, considering myself to be earth and ashes."[1] For he who, being in a state of ignorance, is sinful, "is earth and ashes;" while he who is in a state of knowledge, being assimilated as far as possible to God, is already spiritual, and so elect. And that Scripture calls the senseless and disobedient "earth," will be made clear by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, in reference to Joachim and his brethren, "Earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord; Write this man, as man excommunicated."[2] And another prophet says again, "Hear, O heaven; and give ear, O earth,"[3] calling understanding "ear," and the soul of the Gnostic, that of the man who has applied himself to the contemplation of heaven and divine things, and in this way has become an Israelite, "heaven." For again he calls him who has made ignorance and hardness of heart his choice, "earth." And the expression "give ear" he derives from the "organs of hearing," "the ears," attributing carnal things to those who cleave to the things of sense. Such are they of whom Micah the prophet says, "Hear the word of the Lord, ye peoples who dwell with pangs."[4] And Abraham said, "By no means. The Lord is He who judgeth the earth;"[5] "since he that believeth not, is," according to the utterance of the Saviour, "condemned already."[6] And there is written in the Kings[7] the judgment and sentence of the Lord, which stands thus: "The Lord hears the righteous, but the wicked He saveth not, because they do not desire to know God." For the Almighty will not accomplish what is absurd. What do the heresies say to this utterance, seeing Scripture proclaims the Almighty God to be good, and not the author of evil and wrong if indeed ignorance arises from one not knowing? But God does nothing absurd. "For this God," it is said, "is our God, and there is none to save besides Him."[8] "For there is no unrighteousness with God,"[9] according to the
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THE MISCELLANIES.
[Book iv.
