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18

His precious blood is light, His resurrection is light, His face is light; His hand, His finger, His mouth is light, His eyes are light; the Lord is light, His voice, as from light, is light, the Paraclete is light; the pearl, the grain of mustard seed, the true vine, the leaven, hope, faith is light.

Therefore these things and others of them, whatever you hear said through the prophets and apostles concerning the ineffable and superessential divinity, understand that it itself essentially is all things, the one super-principle, worshipped in a monad of triadic light. For there is one God in Father and Son and Holy Spirit, being a light unapproachable and pre-eternal, which, being also of many names, is called all the things that have been said and many others than these; and not only is it called these things, but it also energizes, as I have learned from those taught by experience itself and confirmed and assured by contemplation concerning the good things belonging to the super-good God. And that, in addition to what has been said, I may also declare to you some other lights of God, His goodness is light, His mercy, His compassion, His greeting is light, (46) His kindness is light, His rod, His staff and His consolation is light.

But if most or even all of these things are said to be present in us, yet for us they are present as for humans, but for Him these are present as for God. And that I may not hesitate to tell you these things again one by one, God is named Father, and most men are also called fathers; Christ is the Son of God and God, we in turn are sons of men; the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, our souls are also called spirits; God is life, we too are said to live; God is love, and even great sinners have love for one another. What then? Will you call the love of men God? Away with the blasphemy! Or the peace toward one another in not quarreling or disputing about something, would you say this is "the peace that surpasses all understanding"? Not at all. Or the truth of God, your not telling a false word to someone? By no means. For just as the words of men are fleeting and empty, but the Word of God is both living and hypostatic and active, true God, so also the truth, God, is beyond the concept and beyond the word of men; it is immutable, unflowing, and is both hypostatic and living. Thus, therefore, neither is the water with us like that living water, nor is the bread with us like that bread, but as has been said above, all those things are light and God is one light, of which anyone partaking, by that participation, becomes a partaker of both, of all the good things we have mentioned. And one becomes also meek and humble; and these again are light along with the things mentioned, or rather, he who has that light has these things also with the light.

But indeed, along with these, God is also called wakefulness, as rousing to good things the soul of the man in which He dwells, (47) who becomes every good for it; and such a soul, having God as an indweller, is not deprived of any good thing, but is filled and always abounds in all those ineffable good things of God, living and rejoicing together with the orders of the heavenly powers, may it be for all of us also to attain these and to be in rich enjoyment of them, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the power, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

18

τοῦ τιμίου αὐτοῦ αἵματος φῶς, ἡ ἀνάστασις αὐτοῦ φῶς, τό πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ φῶς· ἡ χείρ, ὁ δάκτυλος, τό στόμα αὐτοῦ φῶς, οἱ ὀφθαλμοί αὐτοῦ φῶς· ὁ Κύριος φῶς, ἡ φωνή αὐτοῦ ὡς ἐκ φωτός φῶς, ὁ Παράκλητος φῶς· ὁ μαργαρίτης, ὁ κόκκος τοῦ σινάπεως, ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἀληθινή, ἡ ζύμη, ἡ ἐλπίς, ἡ πίστις φῶς.

Ταῦτα τοιγαροῦν καί ἕτερα τούτων, ὅσα ἄν διά προφητῶν καί ἀποστόλων ἀκούεις λεγόμενα περί τῆς ἀνεκφράστου καί ὑπερουσίου θεότητος, αὐτήν οὐσιωδῶς τά πάντα εἶναί μοι νόει τήν μίαν ὑπεράρχιον ἀρχήν, τήν ἐν μονάδι τριαδικοῦ προσκυνουμένην φωτός. Εἷς γάρ Θεός ἐν Πατρί καί Υἱῷ καί Ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, φῶς ὤν ἀπρόσιτόν τε καί προαιώνιον, ὅ καί πολυώνυμον ὑπάρχον καλεῖται πάντα τά εἰρημένα καί τούτων ἕτερα πλείονα· καί οὐ μόνον ταῦτα καλεῖται, ἀλλά καί ἐνεργεῖ, ὡς παρά τῶν ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς πείρας διδαχθέντων καί τῇ θεωρίᾳ πιστωθέντων καί βεβαιωθέντων περί τῶν προσόντων καλῶν τῷ ὑπεραγάθῳ Θεῷ ἔμαθον. Καί ἵνα πρός τοῖς εἰρημένοις καί ἕτερά σοι φῶτα Θεοῦ παραδηλώσω τινά, ἡ ἀγαθότης αὐτοῦ φῶς, τό ἔλεος αὐτοῦ, ἡ εὐσπλαγχνία, ὁ ἀσπασμός αὐτοῦ φῶς, (46) ἡ χρηστότης αὐτοῦ φῶς, ἡ ῥάβδος, ἡ βακτηρία καί ἡ παράκλησις αὐτοῦ φῶς.

Εἰ δέ καί ἐν ἡμῖν τά πλείονα τούτων ἤ καί πάντα προσεῖναι λέγονται, ἀλλ᾿ ἡμῖν μέν ὡς ἀνθρώποις, ἐκείνῳ δέ ταῦτα πρόσεστιν ὡς Θεῷ. Καί ἵνα μή κατοκνήσω καθ᾿ ἕν σοι ταῦτα πάλιν εἰπεῖν, Πατήρ ὀνομάζεται ὁ Θεός, πατέρες καλοῦνται καί τῶν ἀνθρώπων οἱ πλείονες· Υἱός Θεοῦ ὁ Χριστός καί Θεός, υἱοί πάλιν ἀνθρώπων ἡμεῖς· Πνεῦμα Θεοῦ τό πανάγιον Πνεῦμα, πνεύματα λέγονται καί ἡμῶν αἱ ψυχαί· ζωή ὁ Θεός, ζῆν λεγόμεθα καί ἡμεῖς· ἀγάπη ὁ Θεός, ἀγάπην ἔχουσιν εἰς ἀλλήλους καί οἱ λίαν ἁμαρτωλοί. Τί οὖν; Τήν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀγάπην καλέσεις Θεόν; Ἄπαγε τῆς βλασφημίας! Ἀλλ᾿ εἰρήνην τήν εἰς ἀλλήλους ἐν τῷ μή διαμάχεσθαι ἤ ἀμφιβάλλειν περί τινος, τοῦτο εἴποις εἶναι "εἰρήνην τήν ὑπερέχουσαν πάντα νοῦν"; Οὔμενουν. Ἀλλά ἀλήθειαν Θεοῦ τό μή εἰπεῖν σε λόγον ψευδῆ πρός τινα; Οὐδαμῶς. Ὥσπερ γάρ λόγοι μέν ἀνθρώπων ῥευστοί καί διακενῆς, ὁ δέ τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος ζῶν τέ ἐστι καί ἐνυπόστατος καί ἐνεργής, Θεός ἀληθής, οὕτω δή καί ἡ ἀλήθεια, ὁ Θεός, ὑπέρ ἔννοιαν καί ὑπέρ λόγον ἀνθρώπων ἐστίν· ἄτρεπτος, ἄρρευστος, ἐνυπόστατός τε ὑπάρχει καί ζῶν. Οὕτω τοιγαροῦν οὔτε τό ὕδωρ τό παρ᾿ ἡμῖν ὡς τό ὕδωρ ἐκεῖνο τό ζῶν, οὔτε ὁ ἄρτος ὁ παρ᾿ ἡμῖν ὡς ἐκεῖνος ὁ ἄρτος ἐστίν, ἀλλά καθάπερ ἄνωθεν εἴρηται, ἅπαντα φῶς ἐκεῖνα καί φῶς ἕν ὁ Θεός, οὗ μετασχών τις τῇ μετοχῇ ἐκείνου μέτοχος ἀμφοῖν γίνεται πάντων ὧν εἴπομεν ἀγαθῶν. Γίνεται δέ καί πρᾷος καί ταπεινός· ταῦτα δέ πάλιν φῶς σύν τοῖς εἰρημένοις εἰσί, μᾶλλον δέ σύν τῷ φωτί ἔχει καί ταῦτα ὁ ἔχων ἐκεῖνο τό φῶς.

Ἀλλά γάρ συνάμα τούτοις καί ἐγρήγορσις λέγεται ὁ Θεός, ὡς διεγείρων πρός τά καλά τήν ψυχήν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐφ᾿ ἥν κατοικεῖ, (47) ὅς αὐτῇ γίνεται πᾶν ἀγαθόν· καί οὐχ ὑστερεῖται, ἔνοικον ἔχουσα τόν Θεόν ἡ τοιαύτη, παντός ἀγαθοῦ, ἀλλ᾿ ἐμπίπλαται καί περισσεύει ἀεί ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἀπορρήτοις ἐκείνοις ἀγαθοῖς τοῦ Θεοῦ, συνδιαιτωμένη καί συνευφραινομένη ταῖς τάξεσι τῶν οὐρανίων δυνάμεων, ὧν γένοιτο καί πάντας ἡμᾶς ἐπιτυχεῖν καί ἐν ἀπολαύσει τούτων πλουσίᾳ γενέσθαι, χάριτι καί φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ᾧ ἡ δόξα καί τό κράτος σύν τῷ Πατρί καί τῷ Ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, νῦν καί ἀεί καί εἰς τούς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων· ἀμήν.