Miscellanies 5.1.2

“Blessed is he who speaks into the ears of those who hear”; and faith is the ears of the soul. The Lord hints at this faith when he says, “Let the one who has ears to hear, hear,” so that, having believed, he may understand what he says, as he says it. Homer too, the oldest of the poets, using “hearing” for perceiving, the specific for the general, writes: “And most of all they themselves heard.” For in general the harmony and concord of the faith of both comes to one end, salvation. The apostle is our unerring witness, saying: “For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you; that is, that we may be encouraged together among you through our mutual faith, both yours and mine.” And again, going on, he adds: “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.” The apostle, then, appears to proclaim a twofold faith, or rather one that admits growth and perfection. For the common faith underlies as a foundation (at any rate to those who longed to be healed, moved by faith, the Lord said, “Your faith has saved you”); but the excellent faith, built on it, is perfected together with the believer, and is completed by what comes from learning and from fulfilling the commandments of the Word; such were the apostles, of whose faith it is said that it could move mountains and transplant trees.