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minding earthly things. And he who is so is an outright enemy of God; for attachment to the world is enmity toward God, as the divine apostle says: "Do not love the world, nor the things in the world," because no one can serve God and live according to man, since all the things of the world are obstacles to the love and pleasing of God.

For who, loving glory and honor from men, will ever hold himself last of all and most lowly, and be humble in spirit or become contrite in heart or ever be able to mourn at all? And who, loving wealth, controlled by love of money and possessiveness, will become merciful and sympathetic, and will not be fiercer and harsher than any wild beast? Who, controlled by vainglory and possessed by conceit, will ever be delivered from envy or malice? And he who is bent toward the passions of the flesh and wallows in the mire of pleasures, when will he ever become pure in heart or when and how will he see God who created him? And how will he be a peacemaker who has alienated himself from God and does not (40) listen to the one who says: "We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: be reconciled to God"? For everyone who through the transgression of the commandments resists and wars against God, even if he makes all people be at peace with one another, he is an enemy of God, because not even for those whom he makes to be at peace with one another does he do this as it pleases God. For being first an enemy of himself and of God, those who are at peace through such means have become his enemies also. For he who is hostilely disposed toward someone certainly does not know how to correctly advise others of the things that seem good and are pleasing to his enemy, and to teach them to do his will, because even this very thing, living separately from him, produces an ignorance of his desires, but also, because he is passionately and hostilely disposed toward him and has a constant practice of walking contrary to his wishes, it creates a certain habit that if he ever should wish to speak to others the things that pertain to that one's service, he is not easily able. And reasonably so. For an unenlightened soul, controlled by passions and especially by envy, having practiced envying someone, cannot bear to hear another speaking in defense of the one envied, let alone to do or even say anything at all for his service. For an old passion acquires the strength of nature, and the practice of evil, having become chronic in a soul, cannot ever be healed. For such people become darkness from light and, falling from goodness into wickedness, they are incurably sick.

But he who is united with God through faith and has known Him through practice has certainly been deemed worthy to see Him through contemplation. (41) And he sees things which I am not able to write. For the mind sees certain strange sights and is all enlightened and becomes like light, but it is not able to understand or speak of these things. For the mind itself is light and sees all things as light, and the light is living and gives life to the one who sees. It sees itself entirely united with the light, and seeing, it shrinks back and is as it was. It perceives the light in the soul and is ecstatic, and being ecstatic it sees it from afar, but turning, it is found again in the midst of the light. And so what it might say or what it might perceive in what is seen, it is at a complete loss for both words and thoughts.

Who then, hearing these very mysteries, will not marvel, and having marveled, run to Christ? Who will not desire to see the wondrous works of God and love the one who freely gives these gifts and strange charisms? Truly, nothing is better, brethren, in the world than to have nothing of the world, nor to want anything more than the necessary need of the body. And the word knows this necessary need: bread and water, a garment and shelter, according to the divine apostle: "Having food and coverings, with these

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φρονοῦντες τά γήϊνα. Ὁ δέ οὕτως ἔχων ἐχθρός ἐστιν ἄντικρυς τοῦ Θεοῦ· ἔχθρα γάρ ἐστιν εἰς Θεόν ἡ τοῦ κόσμου προσπάθεια, καθώς φησιν ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος·"Μή ἀγαπᾶτε τόν κόσμον, μηδέ τά ἐν κόσμῳ", ὅτι οὐδείς δύναται Θεῷ δουλεύειν καί κατά ἄνθρωπον ζῆν, ἐπειδή πάντα τά τοῦ κόσμου ἐμπόδιά εἰσι τῆς πρός Θεόν ἀγάπης καί εὐαρεστήσεως.

Τίς γάρ, ἀγαπῶν τήν δόξαν καί τήν παρά ἀνθρώπων τιμήν, ἔσχατον πάντων καί εὐτελέστερον ἕξει ποτέ ἑαυτόν καί ταπεινός τῷ πνεύματι ἤ τήν καρδίαν συντετριμμένος γενήσεται ἤ πενθῆσαί ποτε κἄν ὅλως δυνήσεται; Τίς δέ πλοῦτον ἀγαπῶν φιλαργυρίᾳ τε καί φιλοκτημοσύνῃ κρατούμενος, ἐλεήμων γένηται καί συμπαθής καί οὐχί παντός θηρίου ἀγριώτερος ἔσται καί ἀπηνέστερος; Τίς κενοδοξίᾳ κρατούμενος καί οἰήσει κατεχόμενος, φθόνου ποτέ ἤ βασκανίας ἀπαλλαγήσεται; Ὁ δέ καί πρός τά τῆς σαρκός πάθη καμπτόμενος καί τῷ βορβόρῳ τῶν ἡδονῶν καλινδούμενος, πότε καθαρός ἄρα τῇ καρδίᾳ γενήσεται ἤ πότε καί πῶς τόν Θεόν τόν δημιουργήσαντα αὐτόν ὄψεται; Εἰρηνοποιός δέ πῶς ἔσται ὁ ἀπαλλοτριώσας ἑαυτόν τοῦ Θεοῦ καί μή (40) ἀκούων τοῦ λέγοντος· "Ὑπέρ Χριστοῦ πρεσβεύομεν, ὡς τοῦ Θεοῦ παρακαλοῦντος δι᾿ ἡμῶν· καταλλάγητε τῷ Θεῷ"; Πᾶς γάρ ὁ διά τῆς τῶν ἐντολῶν παραβάσεως ἀνθιστάμενος καί πολεμῶν τῷ Θεῷ, οὗτος κἄν εἰρηνεύειν ἅπαντας πρός ἀλλήλους ποιῇ ἐχθρός ἐστι τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐπειδή οὐδέ αὐτούς οὕς εἰρηνεύειν πρός ἀλλήλους ποιεῖ, ὡς ἀρέσκει τῷ Θεῷ ποιεῖ τοῦτο. Ἐχθρός γάρ αὐτός πρῶτος ὤν ἑαυτοῦ καί τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐχθροί καθεστήκασιν αὐτοῦ καί οἱ διά τῶν τοιούτων εἰρηνεύοντες. Οὐ γάρ ἐπίσταται πάντως ὁ ἐχθρωδῶς πρός τινα διακείμενος τά τῷ ἐχθρῷ δοκοῦντα καί ἀρεστά ἑτέροις συμβουλεύειν ὀρθῶς καί τά ἐκείνου διδάσκειν αὐτούς ποιεῖν θελήματα, ἐπειδή καί αὐτό τοῦτο, τό ἀποκεχωρισμένως διάγειν ἐξ αὐτοῦ, ἄγνοιαν ἐμποιεῖ τῶν ἐκείνου καταθυμίων, οὐ μήν ἀλλά καί, διά τό ἐμπαθῶς καί ἀπεχθῶς διακεῖσθαι πρός αὐτόν μελέτην τε ἀένναον ἔχειν ἐναντίως τῶν ἐκείνου θελημάτων πορεύεσθαι, ἐθισμόν τινα ποιεῖ τοῦ εἰ καί ποτε θελήσει οὗτος ἑτέροις λαλῆσαι τά πρός θεραπείαν ἐκείνου τελούμενα μή εὐκόλως δύνασθαι. Καί εἰκότως. Ψυχή γάρ ἀφώτιστος, ὑπό τῶν παθῶν καί μάλιστα ὑπό τοῦ φθόνου κρατηθεῖσα καί φθονεῖν τινι μελετήσασα, οὐδέ ἑτέρου τινος ὑπερλαλοῦντος τοῦ φθονουμένου ἀκοῦσαι ἀνέχεται, μή ὅτι γε πρός θεραπείαν ἐκείνου καί διαπρᾶξαί τι ἤ κἄν ὅλως εἰπεῖν. Φύσεως γάρ ἰσχύν λαμβάνει παλαιωθέν πάθος καί κακοῦ μελέτη χρονίσασα εἰς ψυχήν, ὡς μή δύνασθαι τοῦτο ἐξιαθῆναί ποτε. Ἐκ γάρ φωτός σκότος γίνονται οἱ τοιοῦτοι καί, ἐξ ἀγαθότητος εἰς πονηρίαν μεταπίπτοντες, νοσοῦσιν ἀνίατα.

Ὁ δέ γε Θεῷ συγκραθείς διά πίστεως καί ἐπιγνούς αὐτόν διά πράξεως, καί βλέπειν αὐτόν πάντως διά θεωρίας ἠξίωται. (41) Βλέπει δέ ἅ μή γράφειν ἰσχύω. Ὁρᾷ γάρ ξένα τινά θεάματα ὁ νοῦς καί ὅλος φωτίζεται καί φωτοειδής γίνεται, νοεῖν δέ ἤ λαλεῖν ταῦτα οὐκ ἰσχύει. Αὐτός μέν γάρ ὁ νοῦς φῶς ἐστι καί βλέπει τά πάντα φῶς, καί τό φῶς ζῶν ἐστι καί ζωήν τῷ ὁρῶντι παρέχει. Βλέπει ἑαυτόν καθόλου τῷ φωτί ἡνωμένον, καί ὁρῶν συστέλλεται καί ἔστιν ὡς ἦν. Κατανοεῖ τό φῶς ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ καί ἐξίσταται, καί ἐξιστάμενος βλέπει τοῦτο μακράν, στραφείς δέ μέσον πάλιν εὑρίσκεται τοῦ φωτός. Καί οὕτως τί εἴπῃ ἤ τί ἐν τῷ ὁρωμένῳ κατανοήσῃ, ὅλως ἀπορεῖ καί λόγων καί νοημάτων.

Τίς οὖν ἀκούων ταῦτα δή τά μυστήρια οὐ θαυμάσει καί θαυμάσας προσδράμῃ Χριστῷ; Τίς Θεοῦ τερατουργίας μή ποθήσῃ ἰδεῖν καί ἀγαπήσει τόν δωρεάν διδόντα τά δῶρα ταῦτα καί ξένα χαρίσματα; Ὄντως κρεῖττον οὐδέν, ἀδελφοί, ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ὡς τό μηδέν ἔχειν τοῦ κόσμου, μηδέ θέλειν τι πλέον τῆς ἀναγκαίας χρείας τοῦ σώματος. Χρείαν δέ ἀναγκαίαν ταύτην οἶδεν ὁ λόγος, ἄρτον καί ὕδωρ, ἱμάτιον καί σκέπην, κατά τόν θεῖον ἀπόστολον· "Ἔχοντες διατροφάς καί σκεπάσματα, τούτοις