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those who have already labored enjoying the luxury of the good things that are hoped for, will be sent somehow more eagerly to the contests, not arrayed against men, nor beating the air, nor leading ploughing oxen under a yoke, and with these cutting the furrows of the earth, nor sailing the surge of the sea's expanses, but contending against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of darkness, and rejoicing to be struck, and gathering wealth by being stripped bare, and against the triple waves of the world, and the spirits of wickedness that move them, setting the rudder of the cross, and driving away beasts as it were roaring and seizing by the power of the Spirit, and into the hearts of men, as into certain furrows, sowing the word of piety, and reaping for the Master the abundant ear of corn. But let us return to the subject at hand. 15. Then Moses, as was likely, declared. Hear, O spiritual Israel, what perceptible Israel has not been able to hear. The Lord your God, the Lord is one. For one God is known in three hypostases. For there is one essence of divinity of the one who bears witness, and of the Son who is witnessed to, and of the overshadowing Spirit. This is he who is now witnessed to by the Father, the life of men. The ungrateful will see this life hanging on a tree, and will not believe in their life. Then Elijah also replied: This is he whom I formerly beheld as incorporeal in the spirit as in a gentle breeze. For 96.569 no one has ever seen God, as he is by nature. And what one has seen, one has beheld this in spirit. This is the change of the right hand of the Most High. These are the things which eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and have never entered into the heart of man. Thus in the age to come we shall always be with the Lord, seeing Christ flashing with the light of the Godhead. 16. And what of Peter, having become a spectator of this divine revelation? As if inspired in the spirit, he said to the Lord, "It is good for us to be here." For who exchanges light for darkness? See this sun, how good, how beautiful, how pleasant, how desirable, how flashing and radiant it is, and life, how sweet and lovely, to which all cling, and they do all things so as not to miss it; how much more, do you think, is light itself, from which all light is illumined, more desirable and sweeter, life itself, from which all life is given life and is imparted, in which we all live and move and have our being? how much more lovely and pleasant? No desire at all, nor any thought conjecturing the measure of its excellence. It overcomes all comparison, and is not contained by measures. For how could the uncircumscribable be measured, and the incomprehensible by the thoughts themselves? This light holds the victory over all of nature. This is the life that has conquered the world; how then is it not good not to be separated from the good? Therefore Peter did not speak absurdly; but since "all things are beautiful in their time," and "there is a time for every matter," as Solomon declared; it was necessary for the good not to be enclosed only for those there, but for the good to be poured out upon all, that is, those who believe, and to make its way, so that there might be more who would partake of the benefit; and this the cross, and passion, and death were about to accomplish, it was not good for him who was to redeem his own creation with his own blood, for which he had also been made flesh, to remain there. If you had remained on Mount Tabor, the promise to you would not have come to fulfillment. For you would not have become the key-bearer of the kingdom; paradise would not have been opened to the thief; the arrogant tyranny of death would not have been abolished; the kingdoms of Hades would not have been given as plunder; patriarchs, and prophets, and the righteous would not have been released from the recesses of Hades; nature would not have incorruptibility

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τοὺς προπεπονηκότας τῶν ἐλπιζομένων ἀγαθῶν τῆς χλιδῆς ἐναπολαύοντας, ἐκθυμότερόν πως πρὸς τοὺς ἀγῶνας σταλήσονται, οὐκ ἀνθρώποις παρατασσόμενοι, οὐδὲ ἀέρα δέροντες, οὐδὲ βόας ἀροτῆρας ὑπὸ ζυγὸν ἄγοντες, καὶ τούτοις γῆς τοὺς αὔλακας τέμνοντες, οὐδὲ θαλαττίων πελαγῶν σάλον πλέοντες, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰς ἀρχὰς, πρὸς τὰς ἐξουσίας, πρὸς τοὺς κοσμοκράτορας τοῦ σκότους ἀνταγωνιζόμενοι, καὶ τὸ τύπτεσθαι χαίροντες, καὶ τὸ γυμνοῦσθαι πλοῦτον ἀθροίζοντες, καὶ ταῖς τοῦ κόσμου τρικυμίαις, καὶ τοῖς ταύτας κινοῦσιν τῆς πονηρίας πνεύμασι τὸ τοῦ σταυροῦ πηδάλιον παραβαλλόμενοι, καὶ θῆρας ὥσπερ ὠρυομένους τε καὶ ἁρπάζοντας τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ Πνεύματος ἀπελαύνοντες, καὶ ταῖς ἀνθρώπων καρδίαις, ὥσπερ τισὶν αὔλαξι τὸν λόγον τῆς εὐσεβείας ἐνσπείροντες, καὶ πολύχουν τῷ ∆εσπότῃ τὸν στάχυν προσαμώμενοι Ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τὸ προκείμενον ἐπανέλθωμεν. ιεʹ. Τότε Μωσῆς μὲν, οἷα εἰκὸς, ἀπεφθέγξατο. Ἄκουε, νοητὲ Ἰσραὴλ, ἃ ὁ αἰσθητὸς Ἰσραὴλ οὐκἀκούειν δεδύνηται. Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου, Κύριος εἷς ἐστιν. Εἷς γὰρ Θεὸς ἐν τρισὶν ὑποστάσεσι γνωριζόμενος. Μία γὰρ οὐσία θεότητος τοῦ μαρτυροῦντος, καὶ τοῦ μαρτυρουμένου Υἱοῦ, καὶ τοῦ ἐπισκιάζοντος Πνεύματος. Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ὑπὸ Πατρὸς νῦν μαρτυρούμενος, ἡ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ζωή. Ταύτην ἐπὶ ξύλου κρεμαμένην οἱ ἀγνώμονες ὄψονται, καὶ τῇ ζωῇ αὐτῶν οὐ πιστεύσουσιν. Ἐντεῦθεν Ἠλίας τε ἀντέφησεν· Οὗτός ἐστιν, ὃν ὡς ἐν λεπτῇ αὔρᾳ τῷ πνεύματι ἀσώματον τὸ πάλαι τεθέαμαι. Θεὸν μὲν γὰρ 96.569 οὐδεὶς ἑώρακε πώποτε, καθὸ πέφυκε φύσεως. Καὶ ὃ δὲ ἑώρακε, ἐν πνεύματι τοῦτο τεθέαται. Αὕτη ἡ ἀλλοίωσις τῆς δεξιᾶς τοῦ Ὑψίστου. Ταῦτά ἐστιν, ἃ ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ εἶδε, καὶ οὖς οὐκ ἤκουσε, καὶ ἐπὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέβη πώποτε. Οὕτως ἐν αἰῶνι τῷ μέλλοντι πάντοτε σὺν Κυρίῳ ἐσόμεθα, Χριστὸν ὁρῶντες τῷ φωτὶ ἀστράπτοντα τῆς θεότητος. ιϛʹ. Τί δὲ ὁ Πέτρος τῆς θείας ταύτης ἀποκαλύψεως θεατὴς γενόμενος; Ὥσπερ ἔνθους τῷ πνεύματι, Καλόν ἐστιν ἡμᾶς ὧδε εἶναι, τῷ Κυρίῳ ἔφησε. Τίς γὰρ ζόφον φωτὸς ἀνταλλάσσεται; Ὁρᾶτε τὸν ἥλιον τοῦτον ὡς καλὸς, ὡς ὡραῖος, ὡς ἡδὺς, ὡς ποθεινὸς, ὡς ἐξαστράπτων καὶ ἔκλαμπρος, καὶ τὴν ζωὴν ὡς γλυκεῖά τε καὶ ἐπέραστος, ἧς πάντες ἀντέχονται, καὶ πάντα δρῶσιν ὡς ἂν ταύτης μὴ ἀστοχῆσαι· πόσῳ μᾶλλον δοκεῖτε αὐτὸ φῶς, ἐξ οὗ φῶς ἅπαν φωτίζεται, ποθεινότερον καὶ γλυκύτερον, τὴν αὐτοζωὴν, ἐξ ἧς ζωὴ ἅπασα ζωοῦται, καὶ μεταδίδοται, ἐν ᾗ πάντες ζῶμεν, καὶ κινούμεθα, καὶ ἐσμέν; πόσῳ πλέον ἐρασμιώτερον καὶ ἡδύτερον; Οὐχ ὅλως ἐπιθυμία, οὐκ ἔννοια τῆς ὑπεροχῆς τὸ μέτρον εἰκάζουσα. Νικᾷ σύγκρισιν πᾶσαν, καὶ μέτροις οὐχ ὑπερβάλλεται. Πῶς γὰρ ἂν μετρηθείη τὸ ἀπερίγραπτον, καὶ διανοίαις αὐταῖς τὸ ἀπερίληπτον; Τοῦτο τὸ φῶς κατὰ πάσης τῆς φύσεως ἔχει τὰ νικητήρια. Αὕτη ἡ ζωὴ, ἡ τὸν κόσμον νικήσασα· πῶς οὖν οὐ καλὸν τοῦ καλοῦ μὴ χωρίζεσθαι; Οὐκ ἀτόπως οὖν ὁ Πέτρος ἐφθέγξατο· ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ πάντα καλὰ ἐν καιρῷ αὐτῶν, καὶ καιρὸς τῷ παντὶ πράγματι, ὁ Σολομῶν ἀπεφθέγξατο· ἔδει δὲ μὴ μόνον τοῖς αὐτόθι τὸ καλὸν περικλείεσθαι, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ πάντας, δηλαδὴ τοὺς πιστεύοντας, χεθῆναι καὶ ὁδεῦσαι τὸ ἀγαθὸν, ὡς πλείονας εἶναι τοὺς τῆς εὐεργεσίας μεθέξοντας· τοῦτο δὲ σταυρὸς, καὶ πάθος, καὶ θάνατος ἐκπεραίνειν ἔμελλεν, οὐ καλὸν μένειν αὐτόθι τὸν τῷ ἰδίῳ αἵματι πλάσμα τὸ οἰκεῖον ἐξαγοράσοντα, ἐφ' ᾧ καὶ σεσάρκωτο. Εἰ ἐν ὄρει Θαβὼρ μεμενήκατε, οὐκ ἂν εἰς πέρας ἡ πρὸς σὲ ἐπαγγελία ἐκβέβηκεν. Οὐ γὰρ κλειδοῦχος τῆς βασιλείας γεγένησο· οὐκ ἂν λῃστῇ ἠνέῳκτο ὁ παράδεισος· οὐκ ἂν ἡ γαυρὸς τυραννὶς τοῦ θανάτου κατήργητο· οὐκ ἂν εἰς προνομὴν τὰ τοῦ ᾅδου βασίλεια δέδοτο· οὐκ ἂν πατριάρχαι, καὶ προφῆται, καὶ δίκαιοι τῶν ᾅδου μυχῶν ἀπηλλάγησαν· οὐκ ἂν ἡ φύσις τὴν ἀφθαρσίαν