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we had accustomed our eyes and our ears and our tongue, so that we would not now have this gloom, and this most heavy silence; but we too would have enjoyed the light and the word and the wisdom of God with the saints, having become spectators and hearers and singers of the divine glory? If through love we had put to death the voluntary worm of hatred, and through truth had annihilated falsehood, now we would have stood free of this burning worm, and of the other terrible things that now constrain our life. The judgment of God is just. We do not find what we did not seek. The gate of the kingdom of heaven is not opened for us, because we did not knock on the door of the virtues through our deeds; we do not receive the enjoyment of the eternal goods, because through prayer we did not ask for the grace of knowledge. For we had no love for divine things, but having bound our mind to earthly things, we wasted our whole life with them. And all those things have passed away, vanishing like smoke, but the accounting of the judgment for them remains forever inescapable.

And those ones, learning the power of divine justice from what they suffer, to put it briefly, will perhaps say these things to one another; but what will become of me, the wretched one? Relying on what deeds shall I hope to be delivered from the terrible condemnation, being destitute of all virtue and knowledge? I am afraid lest, bound hand and foot, I be cast into a murky and dark land, into a land of eternal darkness, where there is no light, nor seeing the life of mortals; since I willingly bound with the passions the active 15Β_046 powers of the soul, and hindered the steps of the soul from the divine path of the evangelical life. Woe to me for the terrible shame, that which has no end, 0389 unless I change and become free of my many evils; Woe to me for the weeping, and the bitter tears, and the gnashing of teeth, unless becoming sober, even late, I shake off the deep sleep of sloth, and put off the filthy garment of sin. Instead of light, darkness; instead of joy, sorrow; instead of rest, punishment and distress will surely receive me. And that which is more pitiful than all, or to speak more truly, more grievous, which I am pained merely by saying; how much more so by suffering (be merciful, Christ, and save us from this pain) the separation from God and His holy powers; and the intimacy with the devil and the wicked demons, remaining forever; and having the freedom from these terrible things unexpected. For with those with whom we deliberately chose by our will to be in this age through our wicked practices, with these we will rightly be condemned to be by necessity in the age to come, even unwillingly. And it is more punishing and more terrible than any punishment, to be forever with those who hate and are hated, even without torments, let alone with them; but to be separated from the one who loves and is loved. For God, who judges justly, is hated by those who are judged, though by nature He is and is called love; nor does He hate those who are judged; for His nature is entirely free from passion.

Believing that these things will truthfully and unfailingly come to pass, beloved, let us not neglect ourselves; but with all haste, with all our strength, while we have time, let us flee the deceitful world and the world-ruler. For it is passing away, and all things in it are withering. For there will be, truly, there will be a time, when a certain terrible trumpet will cry out, sounding a strange voice, and this whole universe will be dissolved, falling away 15Β_048 from the order now seen in it. And the visible world will pass away, receiving its own consummation; but the now hidden world of intelligible things will appear, bringing mysteries altogether strange to eyes and ears and minds. And the trumpet, crying out according to the divine command, the countless

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ὀφθαλμούς καί τά ὦττα καί τήν γλῶτταν εἰθίσαμεν, ἵνα μή τοῦτον εἴχομεν νῦν τό ζόφον, καί τήν βαρυτάτην σιγήν· ἀλλά καί ἡμεῖς τοῦ φωτός καί τοῦ λόγου καί σοφίας τοῦ Θεοῦ μετά τῶν ἁγίων ἀπηλαύομεν, ὡς τῆς θείας γενόμενοι δόξης θεαταί καί ἀκουσταί καί ὑμνῳδοί; Εἰ δι᾿ ἀγάπης τόν ἑκούσιον τοῦ μίσους ἐνεκρώσαμεν σκώληκα, καί δι' ἀληθείας τό ψεῦδος ἠφανίσαμεν, νῦν ἄν τούτου τοῦ καυστικοῦ καθειστήκαμεν ἐλεύθεροι σκώληκος, καί τῶν λοιπῶν ὅσα ἡμῶν νῦν συνέχει δεινά τήν ζωήν. ∆ικαία ἡ κρίσις τοῦ Θεοῦ. Οὐχ εὑρίσκομεν, ὅπερ μή ἐζητήσαμεν. Οὐκ ἀνοίγεται ἡμῖν ἡ θύρα τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἐπειδή τήν θύραν τῶν ἀρετῶν διά πράξεως οὐκ ἐκρούσαμεν· οὐ λαμβάνομεν τῶν αἰωνίων ἀγαθῶν τήν ἀπόλαυσιν, ἐπειδή δι᾿ εὐχῆς τήν χάριν τῆς γνώσεως οὐκ ᾐτήσαμεν. Οὐδένα γάρ τῶν θείων ἔσχομεν ἔρωτα, ἀλλά τοῖς γηΐνοις τόν νοῦν καταδήσαντες, πᾶσαν αὐτοῖς ἡμῶν συνεφθείραμεν τήν ζωήν. Κἀκεῖνα μέν πάντα καπνοῦ δίκην ἀφανισθέντα παρῆλθεν, ὁ δέ τῆς ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς δίκης λόγος μένει διά παντός ἀπαρόδευτος.

Καί ταῦτα μέν ἐκεῖνοι, τῆς θείας δικαιοσύνης μεταμανθάνοντες ἐξ ὧν πάσχουσι τήν δύναμιν, ὡς τύπῳ περιλαβεῖν, ἀλλήλοις τυχόν διαλεχθήσονται· ἐγώ δέ τίς γένομαι ὁ τάλας; Τίσιν ἑρειδόμενος πράξεσιν, ἐλπίσω τῆς φοβερᾶς ἐξαιρεθῆναι κατακρίσεως, πάσης ἀρετῆς καί γνώσεως, ὑπάρχων ἔρημος; ∆έδοικα μή δεθείς χεῖρας καί πόδας, ῥιφῶ εἰς γῆν γνοφεράν καί σκοτεινήν, εἰς γῆν σκότους αἰωνίου, ἔνθα οὐκ ἔστι φέγγος, οὐδέ ὁρᾷν ζωήν βροτῶν· ὡς δήσας τοῖς πάθεσιν ἑκουσίως τάς πρακτικάς 15Β_046 τῆς ψυχῆς δυνάμεις, καί ἀπό τοῦ θείου δρόμου τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς πολιτείας κωλύσας τῆς ψυχῆς τά διαβήματα. Οἴμοι τῆς φοβερᾶς αἰσχύνης, τῆς μηδέποτε πέρας, 0389 ἐχούσης, εἰ μή μεταβαλών, τῶν πολλῶν μου κακῶν ἐλεύθερος γένομαι· Οἴμοι τοῦ κλαυθμοῦ, καί τῶν πικρῶν δακρύων, καί τοῦ βρυγμοῦ τῶν ὀδόντων, εἰ μή νήψας κἄν ὀψέ ποτε τόν βαθύν ὕπνον τῆς ῥᾳθυμίας ἀποτινάξωμαι, καί τό ῥυπαρόν ἔνδυμα τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἐκδύσωμαι. Ἀντί φωτός, σκότος· ἀντί χαρᾶς, λύπη· ἀντί ἀνέσεως, κόλασις καί στενοχωρία με πάντως ὑποδέξονται. Καί τό δή πάντων ἐλεεινότερον, ἤ βαρύτερον εἰπεῖν ἀληθέστερον, ὅ καί λέγων μόνον ὀδυνῶμαι· πόσῳ γε μᾶλλον πάσχων (ἰλάσθητι, Χριστέ, καί σῶσον ἡμᾶς ταύτης τῆς ὀδύνης) ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ καί τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ δυνάμεων χωρισμός· καί ἡ πρός διάβολον, καί τούς πονηρούς δαίμονας οἰκείωσις εἰς ἀεί διαμένουσα· καί τήν ἐκ τούτων ἐλευθερίαν τῶν δεινῶν ἀπροσδόκητον ἔχουσα. Οἷς γάρ κατά τόν αἰῶνα τοῦτον διά τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων ἡμῶν τῶν πονηρῶν συνεῖναι κατά θελητόν γνωμικῶς ἐπελεξάμεθα, σύν τούτοις εἰκότως ἐξ ἀνάγκης εἶναι κατά τόν αἰῶνα τόν μέλλοντα καί μή θέλοντες κατακριθησόμεθα. Καί ἔστι πάσης κολάσεως κολαστικώτερόν τε καί δεινότερον, τό διά παντός συνεῖναι τοῖς μισοῦσι καί μισουμένοις, καί βασάνων χωρίς, μή ὅτιγε σύν ταύταις· κεχωρίσθαι δέ τοῦ ἀγαπῶντός τε καί ἀγαπωμένου. Θεός γάρ μισεῖται κρίνων δικαίως ὑπό τῶν κρινομένων, κατά φύσιν ἀγάπη καί ὤν καί καλούμενος· οὔτε μισεῖ τούς κρινομένους· πάντως γάρ φύσιν ὑπάρχει πάθους ἐλεύθερος.

Ταῦτα κατ᾿ ἀλήθειαν ἀψευδῶς ἔσεσθαι πιστεύοντες, ἠγαπημένε, μή ἀμελήσωμεν ἑαυτῶν· ἀλλά σπουδῇ πάσῃ, καθ᾿ ὅλην τήν δύναμιν, ὡς ἔχομεν καιρόν, τόν πλάνον φύγωμεν κόσμον καί κοσμοκράτορα. Παρέρχεται γάρ, καί τά ἐν αὐτῷ πάντα μαραίνεται. Ἔσται γάρ ὠς ἀληθῶς, ἔσται καιρός, ὅτε φοβερά τις βοήσει σάλπιγξ, ξένην ἠχοῦσα φωνήν, καί τό πᾶν τοῦτο λυθήσεται, διαπίπτον 15Β_048 τῆς ἐν αὐτῷ νῦν ὁρωμένης διακοσμήσεως. Καί ὁ μέν φαινόμενος κόσμος παρελεύσεται, τήν οἰκείαν λαμβάνων συντέλειαν· ὁ δέ νῦν κρυπτόμενος τῶν νοητῶν φανήσεται κόσμος, ὀφθαλμοῖς καί ἀκοαῖς καί διανοίαις ξένα παντάπασιν κομίζων μυστήρια. Καί ἡ μέν σάλπιγξ κατά τό θεῖον βοῶσα πρόσταγμα, τάς ἀπείρους