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it is customary for Scripture to call the power of the Spirit, either because this bird is without gall, or because it is an enemy of foul odor, as those who have observed these things say. Therefore, he who has removed himself from all bitterness and fleshly foul odor and has been lifted above all lowly and groveling things, or rather, having become higher than the whole world on the aforesaid wing, that man will find the only thing worthy of desire and he himself will also become beautiful by approaching the beautiful; and having become in it, he will be established as radiant and full of light in the participation of the true light. For just as at night the sudden flashes of the air, which some call shooting stars, those who have philosophized about these things say they are nothing other than air overflowing into the ethereal region by the force of certain winds—for they say this fiery trail is engraved in the sky when the wind is ignited in the ether—just as, therefore, this terrestrial air, pushed up by the force of the wind, becomes full of light by being transformed by the pure ether, so also the human mind, having left this murky and squalid life, whenever, having become pure in the power of the Spirit, it becomes full of light and is mingled with the true and high purity, it itself also shines through in that purity and is filled with rays and becomes light according to the promise of the Lord, who promised that "the righteous will shine like the sun." This we also see happening on earth in the case of a mirror or water or anything else that can gleam because of smoothness; for when one of these receives the sun's ray, it also creates another ray upon itself, something it would not have done if the clean and gleaming quality of its surface were rendered useless by some filth. Therefore, if we should go on high, leaving the earthly darkness, we will become full of light there by approaching the true light of Christ, or if "the true light," that which also shines "in the darkness," should descend even to us, we too shall be light, as the Lord says somewhere to his disciples, unless some filth from evil, plastered onto the heart, should obscure the grace of our light.

11.5 Perhaps, then, the argument has gently led us through examples to the conception of our transformation to what is better, and it has been shown that it is not possible otherwise for the soul to be joined to the incorruptible God, unless it too becomes as pure as possible through incorruptibility, so that through the like it may apprehend the like, having, as it were, placed itself as a mirror to the purity of God, so that by participation and appearance of the archetypal beauty, the form might also be shaped in it. If, then, there is such a person, who is able to leave behind all human things, whether bodies or possessions or pursuits in sciences or arts or whatever is considered right in customs and laws—for about such things is the error of the perception of the beautiful, in which sense becomes the criterion—such a one will be disposed with love and desire toward that alone, which does not have its beauty from another, nor is it ever beautiful in relation to something, but is beautiful from itself and through itself and in itself, being always beautiful and never having become beautiful nor ever not to be beautiful, but always remaining the same, beyond addition and increase, and unreceptive of all change and alteration.

11.6 To the one, therefore, who has cleansed all the powers of his soul from "every form of evil," I dare to say that the only thing beautiful by nature becomes manifest. For just as things in the air are clearly seen by an eye from which the rheum has been wiped away, so also to the soul through incorruptibility comes

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πνεύματος δύναμιν τῇ γραφῇ σύνηθες ὀνομάζειν, εἴτε διότι χολῆς ἐστιν ἄμοιρον τοῦτο τὸ ὄρνεον, ἢ καὶ ὅτι δυσωδίας ἐχθρόν, καθώς φασιν οἱ ταῦτα παρατηρήσαντες. Οὐκοῦν ὁ πάσης πικρίας καὶ σαρκικῆς δυσωδίας ἑαυτὸν ἀποστήσας καὶ πάντων τῶν ταπεινῶν τε καὶ χαμαιζήλων ὑπεραρθείς, μᾶλλον δὲ παντὸς τοῦ κόσμου γεγονὼς ὑψηλό τερος ἐν τῷ προειρημένῳ πτερῷ, ἐκεῖνος εὑρήσει τὸ μόνον ἐπιθυμίας ἄξιον καὶ γενήσεται καὶ αὐτὸς καλὸς τῷ καλῷ προσπελάσας· καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ γεγονὼς λαμπρός τε καὶ φωτοειδὴς ἐν τῇ μετουσίᾳ τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ φωτὸς καταστή σεται. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐν νυκτὶ τὰς ἀθρόας τοῦ ἀέρος ἐκλάμ ψεις, ἅς τινες διᾴττοντας καλοῦσιν ἀστέρας, οὐδὲν ἄλλο φασὶν οἱ ταῦτα φιλοσοφήσαντες ἢ ἀέρα εἶναι ὑπὸ βίας πνευμάτων τινῶν εἰς τὸν αἰθέριον τόπον ὑπερχεόμενον- λέγουσι γὰρ τὸν πυροειδῆ τοῦτον ὁλκὸν ἐκφλογωθέντος ἐν τῷ αἰθέρι τοῦ πνεύματος ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἐγχαράσσεσθαι- ὥσπερ οὖν ὁ περίγειος οὗτος ἀὴρ ἀνωσθεὶς ὑπὸ τῆς βίας τοῦ πνεύματος φωτοειδὴς γίνεται τῷ καθαρῷ τοῦ αἰθέρος ἐναλλοιούμενος, οὕτω καὶ ὁ νοῦς ὁ ἀνθρώπινος καταλιπὼν τὸν θολερὸν τοῦτον καὶ αὐχμώδη βίον, ἐπειδὰν καθαρὸς γενόμενος ἐν τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ πνεύματος φωτοειδὴς γένηται καὶ ἐμμιχθῇ τῇ ἀληθινῇ καὶ ὑψηλῇ καθαρότητι, διαφαί νεται καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν ἐκείνῃ καὶ ἀκτίνων ἐμπίμπλαται καὶ φῶς γίνεται κατὰ τὴν τοῦ κυρίου ὑπόσχεσιν, ὃς «τοὺς δικαίους λάμψειν καθ' ὁμοιότητα τοῦ ἡλίου» κατεπηγγείλατο. Τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ὁρῶμεν γινόμενον ἐπὶ κατόπτρου ἢ ὕδατος ἢ ἄλλου τινὸς τῶν ἀποστίλβειν διὰ λειότητα δυναμένων· ὅταν γάρ τι τούτων δέξηται τὴν τοῦ ἡλίου ἀκτῖνα, καὶ ἄλλην ἐφ' ἑαυτοῦ ἀκτῖνα ποιεῖ, οὐκ ἂν τοῦτο ποιῆσαν εἰ ῥύπῳ τινὶ τὸ καθαρόν τε καὶ στίλβον τῆς ἐπιφανείας ἀχρειωθείη. Εἴτε οὖν ἡμεῖς ἄνω γενοίμεθα καταλιπόντες τὸ περίγειον σκότος, ἐκεῖ φωτοειδεῖς γενη σόμεθα τῷ ἀληθινῷ φωτὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐμπελάσαντες, εἴτε «τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινόν», «τὸ καὶ ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ» λάμπον, καὶ μέχρις ἡμῶν καταβαίη καὶ ἡμεῖς φῶς ἐσόμεθα, καθώς φησι τοῖς μαθηταῖς που ὁ κύριος, εἰ μή τις ἀπὸ κακίας ῥύπος τῇ καρδίᾳ προσπεπλασμένος τὴν χάριν τοῦ ἡμετέρου φωτὸς ἀμαυρώσειε.

11.5 Τάχα τοίνυν ἡμᾶς ἠρέμα διὰ τῶν ὑποδειγμάτων ὁ λόγος προσήγαγε τῇ ἐπινοίᾳ τῆς πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον ἡμῶν ἀλλοιώσεως, καὶ ἐδείχθη μὴ δυνατὸν ἑτέρως εἶναι συνα φθῆναι τὴν ψυχὴν τῷ ἀφθάρτῳ θεῷ, μὴ καὶ αὐτὴν ὡς οἷόν τε καθαρὰν γενομένην διὰ τῆς ἀφθαρσίας, ὡς ἂν διὰ τοῦ ὁμοίου καταλάβοι τὸ ὅμοιον, οἱονεὶ κάτοπτρον τῇ καθα ρότητι τοῦ θεοῦ ἑαυτὴν ὑποθεῖσα, ὥστε κατὰ μετοχὴν καὶ ἐμφάνειαν τοῦ πρωτοτύπου κάλλους καὶ τὸ ἐν αὐτῇ μορφω θῆναι. Εἰ δή τις τοιοῦτός ἐστιν, οἷος ἤδη πάντα καταλιπεῖν τὰ ἀνθρώπινα, εἴτε σώματα εἴτε χρήματα εἴτε τὰ ἐν ἐπιστήμαις ἢ τέχναις ἐπιτηδεύματα ἢ καὶ ὅσα ἐν ἔθεσι καὶ νόμοις δεξιὰ θεωρεῖται-περὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα γὰρ ἡ πλάνη τῆς τοῦ καλοῦ κατανοήσεως, ἐν οἷς ἡ αἴσθησις κριτήριον γίνεται-, ὁ τοιοῦτος πρὸς ἐκεῖνο μόνον ἐρωτικῶς τε καὶ ἐπιθυμητικῶς ἕξει, ὃ οὐχ ἑτέρωθεν ἔχει τὸ καλὸν εἶναι οὐδὲ ποτὲ ἢ πρός τι τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν, ἀλλ' ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ καὶ δι' ἑαυτοῦ καλὸν καὶ ἐν ἑαυτῷ τοιοῦτον, ἀεὶ καλὸν ὂν καὶ οὐδέποτε καλὸν γενόμενον ἢ ποτὲ οὐκ ἐσόμενον, ἀλλὰ πάντοτε ὡσαύτως ἔχον προσθήκης τε καὶ αὐξήσεως ὑπεράνω καὶ ἀνεπίδεκτον πάσης τροπῆς τε καὶ ἀλλοιώσεως.

11.6 Τῷ τοίνυν πάσας ἑαυτοῦ τὰς τῆς ψυχῆς δυνάμεις ἐκ «παντὸς εἴδους κακίας» ἀποκαθάραντι τολμῶ καὶ λέγω ὅτι ἐμφανὲς γίνεται τὸ μόνον τῇ φύσει καλόν. Καθάπερ γὰρ ὀφθαλμῷ τὴν λήμην ἀπορρυψαμένῳ τὰ ἐν τῷ ἀέρι τηλαυγῶς καθορᾶται, οὕτω καὶ τῇ ψυχῇ διὰ τῆς ἀφθαρσίας παραγίνεται