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for what reason, tell me, do the Seraphim put forward their wings? For no other reason than for that apostolic saying, "dwelling in unapproachable light," proclaiming it beforehand by their actions, and not they alone, but also those above them, the Cherubim. For these stand near; but those are the throne of God, not because God needs a throne, but so that through this you might learn the excellence of these powers. Listen, then, to another prophet speaking about them: "And the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the son of Buzi by the river Chebar." And this one was then standing by the river Chebar, and that one by the river Tigris. For whenever God is about to show a marvelous vision to his servants, he leads them out of the cities to a place free from disturbances, so that the soul may not be distracted by anything seen or heard, but, enjoying complete freedom, may be occupied with the contemplation of the things seen. What then did this one see? "Behold, a cloud," he says, "was coming from the north, and a brightness around it and a flashing fire, and in its midst a vision as of amber and a brightness in it, and in the midst the likeness of four living creatures. This was their appearance: they had a human likeness. And each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. And they had height, he says, and they were awesome, and their backs were full of eyes all around the four of them, and a likeness over their heads as of a firmament, like a vision of awesome crystal, stretched out over their heads above, and the wings of each had two, covering their bodies, and above the firmament, as a vision of a sapphire stone; and a likeness of a throne upon it, and upon the likeness of the throne a likeness as the appearance of a man upon it. And I saw as a vision of amber, from the appearance of his waist and upward, and from the appearance of his waist and downward, as a vision of fire, and its brightness was as the appearance of a bow, when it is in the cloud in a day of rain." And after all these things, wishing to show that neither the prophet, nor those powers approached the unmixed substance itself, he says: "This is the vision of the likeness of the glory of the Lord." Did you see condescension both there and here? But nevertheless, these powers themselves also cover themselves with their wings for no other reason than this, although these powers are most wise and most knowing and most pure. How is this clear? From their very names. For just as one is called an angel, because he announces the things of God to men, and one is called an archangel, because he rules the angels, so too do these have names that declare to us their wisdom and their purity; and just as the wings indicate the height of their nature—for Gabriel too appears flying, not because there are wings on the angel, but so that you may learn that he has come to human nature from the highest regions and the dwellings above—, so too in their case the wings indicate nothing other than the height of their nature. As, therefore, the wings indicate the loftiness of their nature, and the throne that God rests upon them, and the eyes their perspicacity, and their being near the throne and their constantly hymning him their watchfulness and wakefulness, so too do their names indicate the wisdom of some, and the purity of others. For what is Cherubim? A fullness of knowledge. And what is Seraphim? Fiery mouths. Do you see how the names have signified both purity and wisdom? If, then, where there is a fullness of knowledge, they are not able to see even a condescension of God with freedom, where there is partial knowledge, as Paul says: "We know in part and through a mirror and in a riddle," of how much madness would it be, to think that things not even visible to them are known and manifest to themselves? That God is comprehensible not only not to the Cherubim nor to the Seraphim, but not to principalities, nor to authorities, nor to any other created power, this too I wished to demonstrate now, but our mind has grown weary, not by the multitude, but by the awe of the things that have been said. For the soul trembles and is greatly astonished, dwelling for long on the things above

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ἕνεκεν, εἰπέ μοι, τὰς πτέρυγας προβάλλονται τὰ Σεραφίμ; ∆ι' οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἀλλ' ἢ δι' ἐκεῖνο τὸ ἀποστολικόν, τὸ «φῶς οἰκῶν ἀπρόσιτον», διὰ τῶν ἔργων αὐτῶν προαναφωνοῦσαι, καὶ οὐκ αὐταὶ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ αἱ τούτων ἀνωτέρω τὰ Χερουβίμ. Αὗται μὲν γὰρ πλησίον ἑστήκασιν· ἐκεῖναι δὲ θρόνος εἰσὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ, οὐκ ἐπειδὴ θρόνου δεῖται ὁ Θεός, ἀλλ' ἵνα διὰ τούτου τὴν ἀρετὴν τῶν δυνάμεων αὐτῶν μάθῃς. Ἄκουσον γοῦν καὶ ἑτέρου προφήτου περὶ ἐκείνων διαλεγομένου· «Καὶ ἐγένετο λόγος Κυρίου πρὸς Ἰεζεκιὴλ υἱὸν Βουζὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ Χοβάρ.» Καὶ οὗτος παρὰ τὸν ποταμὸν Χοβὰρ κἀκεῖνος παρὰ τὸν ποταμὸν Τίγριν τότε εἱστήκει. Ὅταν γὰρ μέλλῃ τινὰ παράδοξον ὄψιν δεικνύναι τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ δούλοις ὁ Θεός, ἔξω τῶν πόλεων αὐτοὺς ἐξάγει εἰς καθαρὸν θορύβων χωρίον, ὥστε μηδενὶ μήτε τῶν ὁρωμένων, μήτε τῶν ἀκουομένων ἐκκρούεσθαι τὴν ψυχήν, ἀλλ' ὅλην αὐτὴν ἀδείας ἀπολαύουσαν πρὸς τὴν τῶν ὁρωμένων ἀσχολεῖν θεωρίαν. Τί οὖν οὗτος εἶδεν; «Ἰδοὺ νεφέλη, φησίν, ἀπὸ βορρᾶ ἤρχετο, καὶ φέγγος κύκλῳ καὶ πῦρ ἀστράπτον, καὶ ἐν τῷ μέσῳ αὐτοῦ ὡσεὶ ὅρασις ἠλέκτρου καὶ φέγγος ἐν αὐτῷ, καὶ ἐν τῷ μέσῳ ὁμοίωμα τεσσάρων ζῴων. Αὕτη ἡ ὅρασις αὐτῶν, ὁμοίωμα ἀνθρώπου ἐπ' αὐτοῖς. Καὶ τέσσαρα πρόσωπα τῷ ἑνί, καὶ τέσσαρες πτέρυγες τῷ ἑνί. Καὶ ὕψος ἦν αὐτοῖς, φησί, καὶ φοβεροὶ ἦσαν, καὶ οἱ νῶτοι αὐτῶν πλήρεις ὀφθαλμῶν κυκλόθεν τοῖς τέσσαρσιν, καὶ ὁμοίωμα ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς αὐτῶν ὡσεὶ στερέωμα, ὡς ὅρασις κρυστάλλου φοβερόν, ἐκτεταμένον ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς αὐτῶν ἄνωθεν, καὶ αἱ πτέρυγες αὐτῶν ἑκάστῳ δύο, καλύπτουσαι τὰ σώματα αὐτῶν, καὶ ὑπεράνω τοῦ στερεώματος, ὡς ὅρασις λίθου σαπφείρου· καὶ ὁμοίωμα θρόνου ἐπ' αὐτῷ, καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ὁμοιώματος τοῦ θρόνου ὁμοίωμα ὡς εἶδος ἀνθρώπου ἐπ' αὐτῷ. Καὶ εἶδον ὡς ὅρασιν ἠλέκτρου, ἀπὸ ὁράσεως ὀσφύος καὶ ἕως ἐπάνω, καὶ ἀπὸ ὁράσεως ὀσφύος καὶ ἕως κάτω, ὡς ὅρασιν πυρός, καὶ τὸ φέγγος αὐτοῦ ὡς ὅρασις τόξου, ὅταν ᾖ ἐν τῇ νεφέλῃ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ὑετοῦ.» Καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα πάντα βουλόμενος δεῖξαι ὅτι οὔτε ὁ προφήτης, οὔτε αἱ δυνάμεις ἐκεῖναι ἀκράτῳ προσέβαλον αὐτῇ τῇ οὐσίᾳ, φησίν· «Αὕτη ἡ ὅρασις ὁμοιώματος δόξης Κυρίου.» Εἶδες κἀκεῖ καὶ ἐνταῦθα συγκατάβασιν; Ἀλλ' ὅμως καὶ αὐταὶ αἱ δυνάμεις καλύπτουσιν ἑαυτὰς ταῖς πτέρυξι δι' οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἢ διὰ τοῦτο, καίτοι γε σοφώταται καὶ γνωστικώταται καὶ καθαρώταταί εἰσιν αἱ δυνάμεις αὗται. Πόθεν δῆλον; Ἀπ' αὐτῶν τῶν ὀνομάτων. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἄγγελος λέγεται, ἐπειδὴ τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἀναγγέλλει καὶ ἀρχάγγελος λέγεται, ἐπειδὴ τῶν ἀγγέλων ἄρχει, οὕτω καὶ αὗται προσηγορίας ἔχουσι τὴν σοφίαν αὐτῶν καὶ καθαρότητα αὐτῶν ἡμῖν δηλούσας καὶ ὥσπερ αἱ πτέρυγες τὸ ὕψος ἐμφαίνουσι τῆς φύσεως-καὶ γὰρ ὁ Γαβριὴλ πετόμενος φαίνεται, οὐκ ἐπειδὴ πτερὰ περὶ τὸν ἄγγελον, ἀλλ' ἵνα μάθῃς ὅτι ἐκ τῶν ὑψηλοτάτων χωρίων καὶ τῶν ἄνω διατριβῶν πρὸς τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην ἀφῖκται φύσιν-, οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἐπὶ τούτων οὐδὲν ἄλλο δηλοῖ τὰ πτερὰ ἢ τὸ τῆς φύσεως ὕψος. Ὥσπερ οὖν αἱ πτέρυγες τὸ τῆς φύσεως ὑψηλὸν δηλοῦσι, καὶ ὁ θρόνος τὸ τὸν Θεὸν αὐτοῖς ἐπαναπαύεσθαι καὶ οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ τὸ διορατικὸν καὶ τὸ ἐγγὺς εἶναι τοῦ θρόνου καὶ τὸ διαπαντὸς αὐτὸν ἀνυμνεῖν τὸ ἄγρυπνον καὶ ἐγρηγορός, οὕτω δὴ καὶ τὰ ὀνόματα τῶν μὲν τὴν σοφίαν, τῶν δὲ τὴν καθαρότητα δηλοῖ. Τί γάρ ἐστι Χερουβίμ; πεπληθυσμένη γνῶσις. Τί δὲ Σεραφίμ; ἔμπυρα στόματα. Εἶδες πῶς καὶ τὴν καθαρότητα καὶ τὴν σοφίαν τὰ ὀνόματα παρεδήλωσεν; Εἰ δέ, ἔνθα πεπληθυσμένη γνῶσις, οὐδὲ συγκατάβασιν Θεοῦ δύνανται ἰδεῖν μετὰ ἀδείας, ἔνθα μερικὴ γνῶσις, καθὼς Παῦλός φησιν· «Ἐκ μέρους γινώσκομεν καὶ δι' ἐσόπτρου καὶ ἐν αἰνίγματι», πόσης ἀπονοίας ἂν εἴη, τὰ μηδὲ ἐκείνοις θεατά, ταῦτα αὐτοῖς νομίζειν εἶναι γνώριμα καὶ καταφανῆ; Ὅτι δὲ οὐ τοῖς Χερουβὶμ οὐδὲ τοῖς Σεραφὶμ μόνον, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ἀρχαῖς, οὐδὲ ἐξουσίαις, οὐδὲ ἄλλῃ τινὶ κτιστῇ δυνάμει κατάληπτός ἐστιν ὁ Θεός, καὶ τοῦτο ἐβουλόμην ἀποδεῖξαι νῦν, ἀλλ' ἔκαμεν ἡμῖν ἡ διάνοια, οὐ τῷ πλήθει, ἀλλὰ τῇ φρίκῃ τῶν εἰρημένων. Τρέμει γὰρ καὶ ἐκπέπληκται ἡ ψυχὴ ἐπὶ πολὺ ταῖς ἄνω ἐνδιατρίβουσα