On Ideas

Ideas are distinguished into sensory and abstract, according to the objects from which they are derived; and these in turn are divided into theoretical, ethical, and emotional; from notions there are generated (1) theoretical ideas, namely those of immortality, holiness, monarchy, etc.; (2) ethical ideas, namely those of justice, virtue, reverence toward God, etc.; and (3) emotional ideas, namely those of the beautiful, the useful, the true, the perfect. The human person regulates his own life according to these ideas. According to these ideas he manifests the practical element that follows from him, that is, the element of desire; and harmony with these is called ideational and practical, or appetitive; and what follows from the appetitive element of the human being is material; hence works and sciences, if they possess the ideational character, are truly spiritual sciences and arts; but if they are deprived of the ideational character of the human person, they become themselves material and lifeless. The human person rises to his proper stations toward the Creator and discovers the Absolute, and attributes to it all absolute properties and all absolute blessedness. Through reason he comprehends his own nature and the nature around him, and hastens toward the worship of the Absolute and toward the wonder which the absolutely ideational inspires; they are truly spiritual sciences, experiences, and living presence of the human person before God. Through the ideational, the human person rising to his own stations toward the Creator, and through reason comprehending his own nature and the nature around him, hastens toward the worship of the Absolute and toward the wonder which the absolutely ideational inspires, ascends to the divine within himself, and God grants him a rational and immortal soul; and God breathed into his face the breath of life, and the human person became a living soul. (Gen. 2:7)

Michael Psellos speaks the following concerning reason: “Having brought the human person naked into life, he consoled him through the abundance of reason; for in reason he also possesses the power to rule all things; through reason he brings down the birds from the air; through reason he draws the fish up from the depths of the sea; Do not be downhearted, therefore, O human, that you lack visible wings, since God has granted you an intellect far superior to all birds and even to the very winds. Wherever you nod your head, it happens immediately; and bound in flesh you traverse the heavens, and contemplate the beauties there. Why then does the lack of visible wings grieve and trouble you, you who possess such intellectual powers and surpass the winged creatures so readily? Your body is earthbound, yet through wisdom you hunt the air-dwelling birds; you dwell on the earth, yet you draw the fish up from the waters with a small hook and bait; and why should I say much? You can do all the rest whatever pertains to the maintenance of your life—build houses, make clothing and cloaks, forge weapons, and all such things; for it is on account of this that God has given you hands, so that unhindered you might execute the reason that belongs to you and accomplish all that you desire.”

And the great Basil, in his commentary on the prophet Isaiah, speaks the following about this: “To irrational animals he gave to sustain their life spontaneous foods and shelter; and he granted them clothing of hair; the all-governing power secured it. But having brought forth the human naked, he gave him reason in place of all things, through which resourceful arts were established—building, weaving, household management, agriculture, and others—the soul making up through the abundance of reason what the body lacks.”

How much the deprivation of reason debases and humbles the animal! How much the lack of ideas diminishes the circle of the animal’s knowledge! How poor and naked it presents itself! What an incomparable difference distinguishes it from the human person!