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postulating lakes and wells and seas of rivers; but he asked to learn its nature, its form, its quality, its very quantity and how it moves and from where it has its origin and how it is poured out forever and does not fail. What would you have answered to your questioner concerning these things? I, for my part, think that even if you were most penetrating and most contemplative in mind, you would in no way have been able by word to represent its origin and essence and movement, nor could you in any way have taught one who is inexperienced in the participation and contemplation of such a thing what it is in quantity and quality. But if concerning a flowing and visible and tangible substance we are thus unable to say anything or to interpret by word to our questioners what its nature is and from where or from what forms it has its composition, how would any of the angels or of all the saints ever be able at all to teach those who are ignorant of the things concerning God and what pertains to Him, what He is who gave substance to all things and what are the things of His substance and glory? No one, in any way. But he who has been deemed worthy to see God in some way in the unapproachable glory of His infinite and divine light in the manner we have described, will not need the teaching of another; for he has the whole of Him abiding and moving and speaking in himself and initiating him into His hidden mysteries according to the most holy oracle spoken by Him: "My mystery," He says, "is for me and for mine."

And it is impossible to behold Him otherwise than through the (39) precise keeping of His commandments, not being corrupted, that is, by neglect and contempt of their practice in anything at all, but being preserved and practiced fittingly and diligently. Therefore, "and as many as walk according to this rule" "will not be found far from the kingdom of heaven," but according to the proportion of their zeal and their practice with readiness and in joy, either more quickly or more slowly, more or less, they will receive the reward of the vision of God and will become partakers of the divine nature and will be called gods both by adoption and sons of God in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be the glory and the power with the Father and the all-holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

THEOLOGICAL DISCOURSE THREE (40)

And that, whatever the Father is, this also is the Son, and whatever the Son is, this also is the Holy Spirit, and that these are one spirit of equal honor, of one substance, and on one throne.

Always indeed God is hymned and glorified by us: the Father without beginning, the

co-unoriginate Son of the Father, the co-eternal and consubstantial all-holy Spirit of the Father and the Son, these being one nature and glory and connaturality, the consubstantial Trinity, the one divinity, the essence of equal honor and of three hypostases, the origin and hypostatic and creative power of all things, on one throne, of one glory, one authority and all-ruling lordship and kingdom, one God He both is and is called, who at one time is contemplated and believed in by us monadically and is worshipped as a Monad, and at another time is confessed as a Triad and is hymned triadically in distinct hypostases, as we have been initiated by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the one of the tri-hypostatic divinity, who urged us to baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and again spoke thus: "My Father is greater than I," showing himself to be other than the Father, and "I do nothing of myself," and again: "I will ask the Father, and he will send you another Comforter, the Spirit (41) of

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λίμνας καί φρέατα καί θαλάσσας ποταμῶν ὑποτιθέμενος· ὁ δέ ἤρετο μαθεῖν τήν φύσιν, τήν ἰδέαν, τήν ποιότητα, αὐτήν αὐτοῦ τήν ποσότητα καί πῶς κινεῖται καί πόθεν τήν ἀρχήν ἔχει και πῶς διά παντός ἐκχεῖται καί οὐκ ἐκλείπει. Τί πρός ταῦτα ἄν τῷ πυνθανομένῳ σου ἀπεκρίθης; Ἔγωγε οὖν οἶμαι, κἄν εἰ λίαν διαβατικώτατος ἦσθα καί θεωρητικώτατος τήν διάνοιαν, οὐδαμῶς παραστῆσαι τῷ λόγῳ ἴσχυσας τήν τούτου ἀρχήν καί οὐσίαν καί κίνησιν, οὐδ᾿ ὁποῖόν ἐστι τῇ ποσότητι καί ποιότητι διδάξαι τόν ἀπείρως περί τήν μέθεξιν καί θεωρίαν ἔχοντα τοῦ τοιούτου κἄν ποσῶς ἠδυνήθης. Εἰ δέ περί ῥεούσης καί ὁρωμένης καί κρατουμένης οὐσίας οὕτως οὐκ ἐφικνούμεθά τι εἰπεῖν ἤ διερμηνεῦσαι τῷ λόγῳ τοῖς πυνθανομένοις ἡμῶν, τίς ἐστιν ἡ φύσις αὐτῆς καί πόθεν ἤ ἐκ ποίων εἰδῶν τήν σύστασιν ἔχει, πῶς ἄν τις τῶν ἀγγέλων ἤ τῶν ἁπάντων ἁγίων τούς ἀγνοοῦντας τά περί Θεοῦ καί τά κατ᾿ αὐτόν διδάξαι, οἷός ἐστιν ὁ τό πᾶν οὐσιώσας καί τίνα τά τῆς οὐσίας καί δόξης αὐτοῦ, ἰσχύσει κἄν ὅλως ποτέ; Οὐδείς ἄν οὐδαμῶς. Ὁ δέ γε ἰδεῖν κἄν ποσῶς ἀξιωθείς τόν Θεόν ἐν τῇ ἀπροσίτῳ δόξῃ τοῦ ἀπείρου καί θείου φωτός αὐτοῦ τῷ τρόπῳ ᾧ προειρήκαμεν, διδασκαλίας ἑτέρου οὐ δεηθήσεται· ἔχει γάρ αὐτόν ὅλον ἐν ἑαυτῷ μένοντα καί κινούμενον καί λαλοῦντα καί μυσταγωγοῦντα αὐτόν τά κεκρυμμένα τούτου μυστήρια κατά τό ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ εἰρημένον ὁσιώτατον λόγιον· "Τό μυστήριόν μου, φησίν, ἐμοί καί τοῖς ἐμοῖς".

Ἄλλως δέ θεάσασθαι τοῦτον ἀμήχανον εἰ μή διά τῆς (39) τῶν ἐντολῶν αὐτοῦ ἀκριβοῦς φυλακῆς, μή παραφθειρομένης δηλονότι τῇ ἀμελείᾳ καί καταφρονήσει τῆς ἐργασίας αὐτῶν ἐν μηδενί μηδαμῶς, ἀλλά διατηρουμένης καί ἐργαζομένης ἐμμελῶς καί σπουδαίως. Τοιγαροῦν "καί ὅσοι τῷ κανόνι τούτῳ στοιχήσουσιν" "οὐ μακράν εὑρεθήσονται τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν" ἀλλά κατά ἀναλογίαν τῆς σπουδῆς καί τῆς μετά προθυμίας καί ἐν χαρᾷ ἐργασίας αὐτῶν, ἤ συντομώτερον ἤ βραδύτερον, πλεῖον ἤ ἔλαττον, τόν μισθόν τῆς θεοπτίας κομίσονται καί κοινωνοί θείας γενήσονται φύσεως καί θεοί καί θέσει καί υἱοί Θεοῦ χρηματίσουσιν ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, ᾧ ἡ δόξα καί τό κράτος σύν τῷ Πατρί καί τῷ παναγίῳ Πνεύματι, νῦν καί ἀεί καί εἰς τούς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων· ἀμήν.

ΘΕΟΛΟΓΙΚΟΣ ΤΡΙΤΟΣ (40)

Καί ὅτι, εἴ τι ὁ Πατήρ, τοῦτο καί ὁ Υἱός, καί εἴ τι ὁ Υἱός, τοῦτο καί τό Πνεῦμα τό Ἅγιον, καί ὅτι ἕν ταῦτα πνεῦμα ὁμότιμον, ὁμοούσιον καί ὁμόθρονον.

Ἀεί μέν ὁ Θεός ὑμνούμενός τε καί παρ᾿ ἡμῶν δοξαζόμενος ὁ ἄναρχος Πατήρ, ὁ

συνάναρχος Υἱός τοῦ Πατρός, τό συναΐδιον καί ὁμοούσιον τοῦ Πατρός καί τοῦ Υἱοῦ πανάγιον Πνεῦμα, ἡ μία ταῦτα φύσις καί δόξα καί συμφυΐα, ἡ ὁμοούσιος Τριάς, ἡ μία θεότης, ἡ ὁμότιμος οὐσία καί τρισυπόστατος, ἡ τῶν ὅλων ἀρχή καί ὑποστατική καί δημιουργός δύναμις, ἡ ὁμόθρονος, ἡ ὁμόδοξος, ἡ μία ἐξουσία καί παντοκρατορική κυριότης καί βασιλεία, εἷς Θεός καί ἔστι καί λέγεται, ὅς ποτέ μέν μονάς θεωρούμενός τε καί πιστευόμενος μοναδικῶς παρ᾿ ἡμῶν καί λατρεύεται, ποτέ δέ τριάς ὁμολογούμενος τριαδικῶς ἀνυμνεῖται ἐν διῃρημέναις ταῖς ὑποστάσεσιν, ὡς παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἑνός τῆς τρισυποστάτου θεότητος Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ μεμυσταγωγήμεθα, βαπτίζειν προτρεπομένου εἰς ὄνομα Πατρός καί Υἱοῦ καί Ἁγίου Πνεύματος καί πάλιν οὕτω λέγοντος· "Ὁ Πατήρ μου μείζων μού ἐστιν" ἕτερον ἑαυτόν παρά τόν Πατέρα δεικνύντος, καί "Ἐγώ ἀπ᾿ ἐμαυτοῦ ποιῶ οὐδέν" καί πάλιν· "'Ερωτήσω τόν Πατέρα καί ἄλλον παράκλητον πέμψει ὑμῖν τό Πνεῦμα (41) τῆς