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consumes my flesh with pains, and indeed lays hold of the very bones? and if we men, when we die, are dissolved into nothingness, or is there some other life after the departure from here? These things and what follows them I desired to learn. But Barlaam gave such answers to these things: The good hope, which I have mentioned, is of the kingdom of heaven; but this is altogether inexpressible by a mortal tongue; for the Scripture says: What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and has not entered into the heart of man, what God has prepared for those who love him. But when we are deemed worthy, having put off this thick flesh, to attain that blessedness, then he himself, who deemed us worthy not to fail of the hope, will teach and make known the glory of those good things which surpasses all understanding, the ineffable light, the uninterrupted life, the life with angels. for if we are deemed worthy to be with God as far as is possible for human nature, we shall know all things from him which we do not now know. For I, having been initiated into the teaching of the divinely inspired Scriptures, 104 above all things consider the kingdom of heaven to be this: to draw near to the vision of the holy and life-giving Trinity, and to be illuminated by its unapproachable light, and more clearly and more purely and with unveiled face to reflect its ineffable glory. And if it is not possible to represent in word that glory and the light and the secret good things, it is no wonder; for they would not be great and excellent, if indeed to us, who are earthly and corruptible and are clothed with this heavy and passionate flesh, they were apprehended by reason and represented by word. Knowing therefore thus about these things by faith alone, accept without doubt that it contains nothing fabricated, and through good works hasten to take hold of that immortal kingdom, of which when you attain it, you shall learn the perfect thing. But concerning what you asked, how we have heard the words of the incarnate God, know that through the holy Gospels we have learned all things of the divine-human economy. For so that holy book is called, as one bringing the good news of immortality and incorruption and eternal life and remission of sins and the kingdom of heaven to us mortals and corruptible and earthly ones, which the eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word wrote, whom I mentioned above, that our Savior Christ chose as disciples and apostles; and they handed down to us in writing, after the glorious ascension of the Master into heaven, both his teachings and his miracles of his life on earth, as much as it was possible to commit to writing. For thus at 106 the end of the account the excellent one of those divine evangelists has said: There are, he says, also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I do not think the world itself could contain the books that would be written. In this most divine Gospel, therefore, is contained the history of his incarnation, of his manifestation, of his miracles, and of his deeds, written by the Spirit of God, then also concerning the immaculate passion which the Lord endured for us, and of the holy and three-day resurrection, and of the ascension into heaven, and moreover also of his glorious and fearful second coming. For the Son of God is to come again upon the earth, with ineffable glory and a multitude of the heavenly host, to judge our race and to render to each according to his works. For God, having formed man from the earth in the beginning, as indeed I told you before, breathed into him a breath, which is called a rational and intelligent soul; but since we were condemned to death, we all die, and it is not possible for any of men to escape this cup; and death is the separation of the soul from the body. That body, therefore, which was formed from the earth, having been separated from the soul, returns to the earth, from which it was also taken,

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ὀδύναις δαπανᾷ μου τὰς σάρκας, καὶ αὐτῶν δὴ τῶν ὀστέων καθάπτεται; καὶ εἰ τεθνηξόμενοι εἰς τὸ μὴ ὂν διαλυθῶμεν οἱ ἄνθρωποι, ἢ ἔστιν ἄλλη τις βιοτὴ μετὰ τὴν ἐντεῦθεν ἐκδημίαν; ταῦτα καὶ τούτοις ἑπόμενα μαθεῖν ἐπεθύμουν. Ὁ δὲ Βαρλαὰμ τοιαύτας τούτοις ἐδίδου τὰς ἀποκρίσεις· Ἡ μὲν ἀγαθὴ ἐλπίς, ἣν εἴρηκα, τῆς βασιλείας ἐστὶ τῶν οὐρανῶν· αὕτη δὲ γλώσσῃ βροτείᾳ τὸ παράπαν ὑπάρχει ἀνέκφραστος· φησὶ γὰρ ἡ Γραφή· Ἃ ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ εἶδε, καὶ οὖς οὐκ ἤκουσε, καὶ ἐπὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέβη, ἃ ἡτοίμασεν ὁ Θεὸς τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν. ὅταν δὲ ἀξιωθῶμεν, τὸ παχὺ τοῦτο ἀποθέμενοι σαρκίον, τῆς μακαριότητος ἐκείνης ἐπιτυχεῖν, τότε αὐτός, ὁ καταξιώσας ἡμᾶς μὴ διαμαρτεῖν τῆς ἐλπίδος, διδάξει καὶ γνωριεῖ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐκείνων τὴν πάντα νοῦν ὑπερέχουσαν δόξαν, τὸ ἄφραστον φῶς, τὴν μὴ διακοπτομένην ζωήν, τὴν μετὰ ἀγγέλων διαγωγήν. εἰ γὰρ ἀξιωθῶμεν Θεῷ συγγενέσθαι καθ' ὅσον ἐφικτὸν ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει, πάντα εἰσόμεθα παρ' αὐτοῦ ἃ νῦν οὐκ ἴσμεν. τοῦτο γὰρ ἐγώ, ἐκ τῆς τῶν θεοπνεύστων Γραφῶν μεμυημένος 104 διδαχῆς, πάντων μάλιστα βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν τίθεμαι, τὸ πλησίον γενέσθαι τῇ θεωρίᾳ τῆς ἁγίας καὶ ζωαρχικῆς Τριάδος, καὶ τῷ ἀπροσίτῳ φωτὶ αὐτῆς ἐλλαμφθῆναι, τρανότερόν τε καὶ καθαρώτερον καὶ ἀνακεκαλυμμένῳ προσώπῳ τὴν ἄρρητον αὐτῆς δόξαν κατοπτρίζεσθαι. εἰ δὲ μὴ δυνατὸν τὴν δόξαν ἐκείνην καὶ τὸ φῶς καὶ τὰ ἀπόρρητα ἀγαθὰ παραστῆσαι λόγῳ, θαυμαστὸν οὐδέν· οὐκ ἂν γὰρ ἦσαν μεγάλα καὶ ἐξαίρετα, εἴ γε ἡμῖν, τοῖς ἐπιγείοις καὶ φθαρτοῖς καὶ τὸ βαρὺ τοῦτο καὶ ἐμπαθὲς σαρκίον περικειμένοις, τῷ λογισμῷ τε κατελαμβάνοντο καὶ τῷ λόγῳ παριστῶντο. οὕτω μὲν οὖν δὴ περὶ τούτων εἰδὼς τῇ πίστει μόνῃ, δέχου ἀνενδοιάστως μηδὲν πεπλασμένον ἔχειν, καὶ δι' ἔργων ἀγαθῶν ἐπείχθητι τῆς ἀθανάτου βασιλείας ἐκείνης ἐπιλαβέσθαι, ἧσπερ ὅταν ἐπιτύχης, μαθήσῃ τὸ τέλειον. Περὶ ὧν δὲ ἠρώτησας, πῶς ἡμεῖς τοὺς λόγους τοῦ σαρκωθέντος Θεοῦ ἀκηκόαμεν, διὰ τῶν ἱερῶν Εὐαγγελίων ἴσθι πάντα τὰ τῆς θεανδρικῆς οἰκονομίας ἡμᾶς μεμαθηκέναι. οὕτω γὰρ ἡ ἁγία δέλτος ἐκείνη κέκληται, ὡς ἅτε ἀθανασίαν καὶ ἀφθαρσίαν καὶ ζωὴν αἰώνιον καὶ ἁμαρτιῶν ἄφεσιν καὶ βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν τοῖς θνητοῖς ἡμῖν καὶ φθαρτοῖς καὶ ἐπιγείοις εὐαγγελιζομένη ἥνπερ γεγράφασιν οἱ αὐτόπται καὶ ὑπηρέται τοῦ Λόγου, οὓς ἀνωτέρω εἴρηκα, ὅτι μαθητὰς καὶ ἀποστόλους ὁ Σωτὴρ ἡμῶν Χριστὸς ἐξελέξατο· καὶ παρέδωκαν ἡμῖν ἐγγράφως, μετὰ τὴν ἔνδοξον τοῦ ∆εσπότου εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἄνοδον, τῆς ἐπὶ γῆς αὐτοῦ πολιτείας τάς τε διδασκαλίας αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ θαύματα, κατὰ τὸ ἐγχωροῦν γραφῇ παραδοῦναι. οὕτω γὰρ πρὸς 106 τῷ τέλει τοῦ λόγου ὁ ἐξαίρετος τῶν θείων ἐκείνων εὐαγγελιστῶν εἴρηκεν· Ἔστι, φησί, καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ ὅσα ἐποίησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς, ἅτινα ἐὰν γράφηται καθ' ἓν οὐδὲ αὐτὸν οἶμαι τὸν κόσμον χωρῆσαι τὰ γραφόμενα βιβλία. Ἐν τούτῳ οὖν τῷ θειοτάτῳ Εὐαγγελίῳ ἐμφέρεται τῆς τε σαρκώσεως, τῆς τε ἀναδείξεως, τῶν τε θαυμάτων, τῶν τε πραγμάτων αὐτοῦ ἡ ἱστορία Πνεύματι Θεοῦ γεγραμμένη, ἔπειτα καὶ περὶ τοῦ ἀχράντου πάθους οὗπερ ὑπέμεινε δι' ἡμᾶς ὁ Κύριος, τῆς τε ἁγίας καὶ τριημέρου ἐγέρσεως, καὶ τῆς εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἀνόδου, πρὸς δὲ καὶ τῆς ἐνδόξου καὶ φοβερᾶς αὐτοῦ δευτέρας παρουσίας. μέλλει γὰρ πάλιν ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, μετὰ δόξης ἀρρήτου καὶ πλήθους τῆς οὐρανίου στρατιᾶς, κρῖναι τὸ γένος ἡμῶν καὶ ἀποδοῦναι ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ. τὸν γὰρ ἄνθρωπον ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὁ Θεὸς ἐκ γῆς διαπλάσας, καθὰ δὴ καὶ προλαβὼν εἶπόν σοι, ἐνεφύσησεν εἰς αὐτὸν πνοήν, ἥτις ψυχὴ λογική τε καὶ νοερὰ προσαγορεύεται· ἐπεὶ δὲ θάνατον κατεκρίθημεν, ἀποθνήσκομεν πάντες, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτό τινα τῶν ἀνθρώπων παραδραμεῖν· ἔστι δὲ ὁ θάνατος χωρισμὸς ψυχῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ σώματος. ἐκεῖνο μὲν οὖν τὸ ἐκ γῆς διαπλασθὲν σῶμα, χωρισθὲν τῆς ψυχῆς, εἰς γῆν ὑποστρέφει, ἐξ ἧσπερ καὶ ἐλήφθη,