3

the one who is witnessed is not a mere man. O the exultation granted to us beyond understanding! 96.552 O the blessedness beyond hope! O the gifts of God that conquer desire! O the graces not yielding to the measures of our asking! O the giver, abundant and transcendent, possessing transcendent magnificence! O a gift worthy, not of the one receiving, but most of all of the one giving! O strange exchanges! O one giving power, and receiving weakness! O one showing man to be without beginning, in that the one without beginning begins by being created in the body! For if man is deified in God becoming human, and he is shown to be the one God and man; therefore the same one, being man, is without beginning in his divinity, and being God, has a beginning in his humanity. 4. For of old, on Mount Sinai, smoke, and storm, and darkness, and fire covered that terrifying summit's condescension, proclaiming the lawgiver unapproachable, and showing his back parts in a shadowy way, and revealing the master craftsman from his own creations. But now all things are filled with light and splendor. For the craftsman and Lord of all himself has come from the Father's bosom, not departing from his own foundation, that is, his session in the Father's bosom, but condescending to his servants, and taking the form of a servant, and becoming man in nature and form, so that God, incomprehensible to men, might be comprehended, showing through himself and in himself the brilliance of the divine nature. For previously, in the union of his own grace, he made man God, when he breathed the spirit of life into the newly formed man from dust, and imparted of the better part, and honored him with his own image and likeness, and made him a citizen of Eden, and made him a companion of angels; but since we had darkened and confused the likeness of the divine image with the mire of the passions, the compassionate one has shared a second communion with us, much safer and more paradoxical than the first. For he himself, while remaining in the pre-eminence of his own divinity, partakes of the lesser, deifying in himself that which is human, and the archetype is mingled with the image, and today he shows forth his own beauty in it. And his face shines like the sun; for it is identified hypostatically with immaterial light, and from this he has become the sun of righteousness; and his garments become as white as snow; for it has been glorified by what surrounds it, not by union, but by relation, and no longer hypostatically. And a cloud of light overshadowed, depicting the brightness of the Spirit. For thus the divine Apostle said, that the sea bears an image of the water, and the cloud of the Spirit. And all things are bright and radiant to those receptive of light, and who have not polluted their soul with the filth of conscience. 5. Come, therefore, let us also emulate the obedience of the disciples, 96.553 and eagerly follow Christ who calls us, and shake off the crowd of passions, and unashamedly confess the Son of the living God, and having become worthy of the promise, let us ascend to the mountain of virtues, to love, and let us become spectators of the glory, and hearers of the ineffable things. For truly blessed, as the Lord said, are the eyes of those who see, because they see, and the ears, because they hear, what many prophets and kings desired to see and hear, and did not obtain their desire. Come then, let us, unfolding the sayings of the divine oracles as is possible, set a table for ourselves, the good banqueters, who stretch out all our longing for divine things. Let us set a table suitable for our desire. Let us set a table of divine oracles seasoned with the grace of the Spirit, not priding itself on the wisdom of Greek words; since we have not been initiated much into the knowledge of these, but of him who gives

3

μὴ ψιλὸς, ὑπάρχει ὁ μαρτυρούμενος. Ὢ τῆς ὑπὲρ νοῦν ἡμῖν δωρηθείσης ἀγαλλιά 96.552 σεως! ὢ τῆς ὑπὲρ ἐλπίδα μακαριότητος! ὢ δωρημάτων Θεοῦ νικώντων τὴν ἔφεσιν! ὢ χαρισμάτων οὐχ ὑπεικόντων μέτροις τῆς αἰτήσεως! ὢ δοτῆρος ἀφθόνου καὶ ὑπερφυοῦς, ὑπερφυᾶ κεκτημένου μεγαλοπρέπειαν! ὢ δωρεᾶς ἀξίας, οὐ τοῦ λαμβάνοντος, τοῦ διδόντος δὲ μάλιστα! ὢ ξένων συναλλαγμάτων! ὢ διδόντος δύναμιν, καὶ δεχομένου ἀσθένειαν! ὢ δεικνύντος ἄνθρωπον ἄναρχον, ἐν τῷ τὸν ἄναρχον σωματικῶς κτιζόμενον ἄρχεσθαι! Εἰ γὰρ θεοῦται μὲν ἄνθρωπος ἐν τῷ Θεὸν ἀνθρωπίζεσθαι, αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ εἷς Θεός τε καὶ ἄνθρωπος δείκνυται· ἄρα ὁ αὐτὸς, ἄνθρωπος ὢν, ἄναρχός ἐστι τῇ θεότητι, καὶ Θεὸς ὢν, τῇ ἀνθρωπότητι ἄρχεται. δʹ. Πάλαι μὲν οὖν ἐν ὄρει Σινᾷ καπνὸς, καὶ θύελλα, καὶ γνόφος, καὶ πῦρ δειματοῦν τὴν ἄκραν ἐκείνην ἐκάλυπτε συγκατάβασιν, ἀπρόσιτον τὸν νομοδότην κηρύττοντα, καὶ σκιωδῶς παραδεικνύντα αὐτοῦ τὰ ὀπίσθια, καὶ ἐκ τῶν οἰκείων κτισμάτων τὸν ἀριστοτέχνην δημοσιεύοντα. Νῦν δὲ πάντα φωτὸς καὶ αἴγλης πεπλήρωται. Αὐτὸς γὰρ ὁ τοῦ παντὸς τεχνίτης καὶ Κύριος ἐκ κόλπων πατρικῶν παραγέγονεν, οὐ μεταβὰς τῆς οἰκείας ἱδρύσεως, ἤτοι τῆς ἐν κόλποις τοῖς πατρικοῖς ἐνιζήσεως, συγκαταβὰς δὲ τοῖς δούλοις, καὶ δούλου μορφὴν μορφωσάμενος, καὶ φύσει, καὶ σχήματι γενόμενος ἄνθρωπος, ὡς ἂν χωρηθείη Θεὸς ἀνθρώποις ἀχώρητος, δι' ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ἐν ἑαυτῷ δεικνὺς τῆς θείας φύσεως τὴν λαμπρότητα. Τὸ πρὶν μὲν γὰρ ἐν ἑνώσει τῆς οἰκείας χάριτος Θεὸν καθίστησι τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ὅτε νέῳ ἐκ χοὸς πλαττομένῳ πνεῦμα ζωῆς ἐνεφύσησε, καὶ τοῦ κρείττονος μεταδέδωκε, καὶ εἰκόνι οἰκείᾳ καὶ ὁμοιώσει τετίμηκε, καὶ τῆς Ἐδὲμ πολίτην εἰργάσατο, καὶ ἀγγέλων ἐποίησε σύντροφον· ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ τῆς θείας εἰκόνος τὴν ὁμοιότητα τῇ τῶν παθῶν ἰλύϊ ἐζοφώσαμέν τε καὶ συνεχέαμεν, δευτέραν κοινωνίαν ὁ συμπαθὴς ἡμῖν κεκοινώνηκε, πολὺ τῆς προτέρας ἀσφαλεστέραν τε καὶ παραδοξοτέραν. Αὐτὸς γὰρ ἐν ὑπεροχῇ μένων τῆς οἰκείας θεότητος, μεταλαμβάνει τοῦ χείρονος, ἐν αὐτῷ θεουργῶν τὸ ἀνθρώπινον, καὶ τῇ εἰκόνι τὸ ἀρχέτυπον μίγνυται, καὶ τὸ οἰκεῖον κάλλος ἐν ταύτῃ παραδείκνυσι σήμερον. Καὶ λάμπει μὲν τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ὡς ὁ ἥλιος· φωτὶ γὰρ ἀΰλῳ ταυτίζεται καθ' ὑπόστασιν, κἀντεῦθεν δικαιοσύνης γεγένηται ἥλιος· ὡς δὲ χιὼν λευκαίνεται τὰ ἱμάτια· περιβολῇ γὰρ, οὐχ ἑνώσει δεδόξασται, σχέσει δὲ, καὶ οὐκέτι καθ' ὑπόστασιν. Νεφέλη δὲ φωτὸς ἐπεσκίασε, τὸ σέλας ζωγραφοῦσα τοῦ Πνεύματος. Ὧδε γάρ πως ὁ θεῖος ἔφη Ἀπόστολος, τοῦ μὲν ὕδατος εἰκόνα φέρειν τὴν θάλασσαν, τὴν δὲ νεφέλην τοῦ Πνεύματος. Πάντα δὲ φωτεινὰ καὶ ὑπέρλαμπρα τοῖς δεκτικοῖς φωτὸς, καὶ μὴ τὴν ψυχὴν τῷ ῥύπῳ μεμολυσμένοις τῆς συνειδήσεως. εʹ. ∆εῦτε τοίνυν, καὶ ἡμεῖς τῶν μαθητῶν ζηλώσω 96.553 μεν τὸ ὑπήκοον, καὶ καλοῦντι Χριστῷ προθύμως ἑψώμεθα, καὶ τῶν παθῶν τὸν ὄχλον ἐκτιναξώμεθα, καὶ Θεοῦ ζῶντος Υἱὸν ἀνεπαισχύντως ὁμολογήσωμεν, καὶ τῆς ἐπαγγελίας γεγονότες ἐπάξιοι, πρὸς τὸ ὄρος τῶν ἀρετῶν τὴν ἀγάπην ἀναφοιτήσωμεν, καὶ θεαταὶ τῆς δόξης, καὶ ἀκουσταὶ τῶν ἀποῤῥήτων γενώμεθα. Ὄντως γὰρ μακάριοι, ὡς ὁ Κύριος ἔφησεν, οἱ τῶν ὁρώντων ὀφθαλμοὶ, ὅτι βλέπουσι, καὶ τὰ ὦτα, ὅτι ἀκούουσιν, ἃ πολλοὶ προφῆται καὶ βασιλεῖς ἐπεθύμησαν ἰδεῖν καὶ ἀκοῦσαι, καὶ οὐκ ἔτυχον τῆς ἐφέσεως. ∆εῦτε οὖν, τῶν θείων λογίων τὰς ῥήσεις ὡς ἐνὸν ἀναπτύξαντες παραθήσωμεν τράπεζαν τοῖς καλοῖς δαιτυμόσιν ἡμῖν, καὶ πρὸς τὰ θεῖα τὴν ἅπασαν ἀνατείνουσιν ὄρεξιν. Παραθήσωμεν τράπεζαν τῇ ἐφέσει κατάλληλον. Παραθήσωμεν τράπεζαν θείων λογίων τῇ τοῦ Πνεύματος κεκαρυκευμένην χάριτι, οὐ σοφίᾳ λόγων Ἑλληνικῶν ἐναβρυνομένην· ἐπεὶ μηδὲ λίαν τῆς τούτων μεμυήμεθα γνώσεως, ἀλλὰ τοῦ διδόντος