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he works with his tongue, emitting a voice sweeter and more useful than any cithara player, and any music. His stage is the whole heaven; his theater, the inhabited world; his spectators 59.26 and audience, all the angels, and of men as many as happen to be angels, or desire to become so. For these alone could accurately hear this harmony, and demonstrate it in their works, and be the kind of hearers one ought to be. Whereas all the rest, just like little children, hear but do not know what they hear, but are distracted by cakes and childish toys; so also these, laughing, living in luxury, and for wealth, and power, and their belly, sometimes hear what is said, but they show nothing great or lofty in their deeds, having once and for all nailed themselves to brick-making and to clay. To this apostle the powers from above stand by, astonished at the beauty of his soul and his understanding, and the bloom of his virtue, through which he drew Christ himself to him, and has received spiritual grace. For just as one having prepared a well-tuned and jewel-inlaid lyre with golden notes, so having prepared his own soul, he gave it to the Spirit to sound through it something great and lofty. 2. As therefore not of the fisherman, nor of the son of Zebedee, but of him who knows the depths of God, I mean the Spirit, playing upon this lyre, so let us listen. For he will tell us nothing human, but from the spiritual depths, whatever he may say, from those secrets, which not even angels knew before they came to be; For indeed with us they too through the voice of John, and through us, learned what we have come to know. And this another apostle declared, saying: That now unto the principalities and powers might be known through the Church the manifold wisdom of God. If, then, principalities and powers and the Cherubim and the Seraphim learned these things through the Church, it is quite clear that they too have earnestly applied themselves to this hearing with much vehemence. For indeed in this we have been honored not a little, that with us the angels learned what they did not know; but that it was also through us, I do not yet say for now. Let us therefore also maintain great silence with good order, not only today, nor on the day in which we are listening, but through our whole life; since it is good to listen to him always. For if we desire to know the things that happen in palaces; for example, what the king has said, what he has done, what he plans concerning his subjects, although these things are often of no concern to us; how much more desirable is it to hear what God has said, especially when all things are of consequence to us. And all these things this man will tell us with accuracy, being a friend of the king himself; or rather, having the King himself speaking in him, and hearing all things from him, which He heard from the Father; For I have called you friends, He says, for all things that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. Just as, then, if we suddenly saw someone peeking down from the height of heaven, and promising to tell the things there with accuracy, we would all have run to him; so let us also be disposed now. For from there this man speaks to us. For he is not of this world, as Christ himself also says: You are not of this 59.27 world; and he has the Paraclete speaking in him, who is present everywhere, who knows the things of God as accurately as the soul of man knows its own things; the Spirit of holiness, the upright Spirit, the governing Spirit, the one who leads to the heavens, the one who makes other eyes, the one who prepares one to see future things as present, the one who grants us even in the flesh to behold the things in the heavens. Let us therefore maintain great quietness for him through all our life; let no one sluggish, no one drowsy, no one filthy, entering here remain so; but let us transport ourselves to heaven; for there he utters these things to those who are citizens there. And if we remain on earth, we will gain nothing great from this. For nothing to those not willing to be set free

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γλώττῃ ἐργάζεται, παντὸς μὲν κιθαριστοῦ, πάσης δὲ μουσικῆς ἡδίω καὶ χρησιμωτέραν φωνὴν ἀφιείς. Ἔστι δὲ αὐτῷ προσκήνιον μὲν, ὁ οὐρανὸς ἅπας· θέατρον δὲ, ἡ οἰκουμένη· θεαταὶ 59.26 δὲ καὶ ἀκροαταὶ, πάντες ἄγγελοι, καὶ ἀνθρώπων ὅσοιπερ ἄγγελοι τυγχάνουσιν ὄντες, ἢ καὶ γενέσθαι ἐπιθυμοῦσιν. Οὗτοι γὰρ μόνοι ταύτης ἀκριβῶς ἐπακοῦσαι δύναιντ' ἂν τῆς ἁρμονίας, καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἔργων αὐτὴν ἐπιδείξασθαι, καὶ ἀκροατὰς εἶναι, οἵους εἶναι χρή. Ὡς οἵ γε ἄλλοι πάντες, καθάπερ τὰ παιδία τὰ μικρὰ, ἀκούουσι μὲν, οὐκ ἴσασι δὲ ἅπερ ἀκούουσιν, ἀλλὰ περὶ πλακοῦντας ἐπτόηνται καὶ ἀθύρματα παιδικά· οὕτω δὴ καὶ οὗτοι γελῶντες, τρυφῶντες, καὶ πλούτῳ, καὶ δυναστείᾳ, καὶ τῇ γαστρὶ ζῶντες, ἀκούουσι μὲν ἔσθ' ὅτε τῶν εἰρημένων, μέγα δὲ οὐδὲν οὐδὲ ὑψηλὸν ἐπὶ τῶν ἔργων ἐνδείκνυνται, τῷ καθάπαξ τῇ πλινθείᾳ καὶ τῷ πηλῷ προσηλοῦν ἑαυτούς. Τούτῳ τῷ ἀποστόλῳ αἱ ἄνωθεν δυνάμεις παρεστήκασιν, ἐκπληττόμεναι τὸ κάλλος αὐτοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ τὴν σύνεσιν, καὶ τὴν ὥραν τῆς ἀρετῆς, δι' ἧς καὶ αὐτὸν ἐπεσπάσατο τὸν Χριστὸν, καὶ τὴν πνευματικὴν εἴληφε χάριν. Καθάπερ γάρ τινα λύραν εὐάρμοστον καὶ λιθοκόλλητον χρυσοῦς ἔχουσαν φθόγγους, οὕτω τὴν αὑτοῦ παρασκευάσας ψυχὴν, ἔδωκε δι' αὐτῆς μέγα τι καὶ ὑψηλὸν ἐνηχῆσαι τῷ Πνεύματι. βʹ. Ὡς οὖν οὐκέτι τοῦ ἁλιέως, οὐδὲ τοῦ υἱοῦ Ζεβεδαίου, ἀλλὰ τοῦ τὰ βάθη τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰδότος, τοῦ Πνεύματος λέγω, ταύτην ἀνακρουομένου τὴν λύραν, οὕτως ἀκούωμεν. Οὐδὲν γὰρ ἀνθρώπινον ἡμῖν ἐρεῖ, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῶν ἀβύσσων τῶν πνευματικῶν, ἅπερ ἂν εἴπῃ, ἀπὸ τῶν ἀποῤῥήτων ἐκείνων, ἃ μηδὲ ἄγγελοι πρὶν ἢ γενέσθαι ᾔδεισαν· Μεθ' ἡμῶν γὰρ δὴ καὶ οὗτοι διὰ τῆς Ἰωάννου φωνῆς, καὶ δι' ἡμῶν ἔμαθον ἅπερ ἔγνωμεν. Καὶ τοῦτο ἐδήλωσεν ἀπόστολος ἕτερος, εἰπών· Ἵνα γνωρισθῇ νῦν ταῖς ἀρχαῖς καὶ ταῖς ἐξουσίαις διὰ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἡ πολυποίκιλος σοφία τοῦ Θεοῦ. Εἰ τοίνυν καὶ ἀρχαὶ καὶ ἐξουσίαι καὶ τὰ Χερουβὶμ καὶ τὰ Σεραφὶμ διὰ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἔμαθον ταῦτα, εὔδηλον ὅτι καὶ αὗται μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς σφοδρότητος περὶ ταύτην ἐσπούδασαν τὴν ἀκρόασιν. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ τούτῳ τετιμήμεθα οὐ μικρῶς, τῷ μεθ' ἡμῶν τοὺς ἀγγέλους μαθεῖν ἅπερ ἠγνόουν· τὸ δὲ καὶ δι' ἡμῶν, οὔπω τέως φημί. Πολλὴν οὖν παρέχωμεν καὶ ἡμεῖς τὴν σιγὴν μετὰ τῆς εὐκοσμίας, μὴ σήμερον μόνον, μηδὲ κατὰ τὴν ἡμέραν ἐν ᾗ ἀκούομεν, ἀλλὰ διὰ παντὸς τοῦ βίου· ἐπειδὴ καὶ διὰ παντὸς ἀκούειν αὐτοῦ καλόν. Εἰ γὰρ τὰ ἐν βασιλείοις γινόμενα ποθοῦμεν εἰδέναι· οἷον, τί εἶπε, τί πεποίηκε, τί βουλεύεται περὶ τῶν ἀρχομένων ὁ βασιλεύων, καίτοι γε πολλάκις οὐδὲν πρὸς ἡμᾶς ὄντα· πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἅπερ ὁ Θεὸς εἶπε ποθεινὸν ἀκοῦσαι, καὶ μάλιστα ὅταν ἡμῖν ἅπαντα διαφέρῃ. Ταῦτα δὲ ἅπαντα μετὰ ἀκριβείας ἡμῖν οὗτος ἐρεῖ, φίλος αὐτοῦ τοῦ βασιλεύοντος ὤν· μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ αὐτὸν ἔχων ἐν ἑαυτῷ λαλοῦντα, καὶ παρ' αὐτοῦ πάντα ἀκούων, ἃ παρὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐκεῖνος· Ὑμᾶς γὰρ εἴρηκα φίλους, φησὶν, ὅτι πάντα, ἃ ἤκουσα παρὰ τοῦ Πατρός μου, ἐγνώρισα ὑμῖν. Ὥσπερ οὖν εἴ τινα ἄνωθεν ἐκ τῆς κορυφῆς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ διακύψαντα ἀθρόον εἴδομεν, καὶ ἐπαγγελλόμενον τὰ ἐκεῖ μετὰ ἀκριβείας ἐρεῖν, πάντες ἂν ἐπεδράμομεν· οὕτω καὶ νῦν διατεθῶμεν. Ἐκεῖθεν γὰρ ἡμῖν ὁ ἀνὴρ οὗτος διαλέγεται. Οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, καθώς φησι καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ Χριστός· Ὑμεῖς οὐκ ἐστὲ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου 59.27 τούτου· καὶ τὸν Παράκλητον ἔχει φθεγγόμενον ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὸν πανταχοῦ παρόντα, τὸν οὕτως ἀκριβῶς εἰδότα τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὡς τὰ ἑαυτῆς οἶδεν ἡ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ψυχή· τὸ Πνεῦμα τῆς ἁγιωσύνης, τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ εὐθὲς, τὸ ἡγεμονικὸν, τὸ χειραγωγοῦν εἰς τοὺς οὐρανοὺς, τὸ ποιοῦν ὀφθαλμοὺς ἑτέρους, τὸ παρασκευάζον τὰ μέλλοντα ὡς τὰ παρόντα ὁρᾷν, τὸ καὶ μετὰ σαρκὸς τὰ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς κατοπτεύειν παρέχον. Πολλὴν τοίνυν παρέχωμεν τὴν ἡσυχίαν διὰ παντὸς αὐτῷ τοῦ βίου· μηδεὶς νωθὴς, μηδεὶς ὑπνηλὸς, μηδεὶς ῥυπώδης ἐνταῦθα εἰσιὼν μενέτω· ἀλλὰ μεταστήσωμεν ἑαυτοὺς πρὸς τὸν οὐρανόν· ἐκεῖ γὰρ ταῦτα φθέγγεται τοῖς ἐκεῖ πολιτευομένοις. Κἂν μείνωμεν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, οὐδὲν κερδανοῦμεν ἐντεῦθεν μέγα. Οὐδὲν γὰρ πρὸς τοὺς οὐ βουλομένους ἀπαλλαγῆναι