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that those writing against the hesychasts are ungrateful, but also completely ignorant of the patristic words. Puffed up without reason, according to the apostle, and intruding into things they have not seen, by the mind of their flesh, they have turned aside from the straight path to such an extent as to slander them openly, and not to agree with themselves in any way; for this reason, attempting to speak about illumination, they forbid as an error every illumination perceptible by the senses, but these same men also say that every divine illumination is perceptible by the senses, asserting that those under the old law before the coming of Christ among the Jews and their prophets were symbolic, but clearly sensible the one on Tabor at the Transfiguration of the Savior and the one at the descent of the Holy Spirit and as many as are like them. But they say that the only illumination beyond sense is knowledge, for which reason they declare this to be greater than the light and the end of all contemplation. And what they say they have heard from some, I will now relate to you briefly. But I ask you to bear with me and to consider that, as I have never heard such things from any of the hesychasts, I cannot persuade myself that they have heard any such thing from any of our people. Nevertheless they say (p. 148) that they pretended to be disciples, but were not quick to learn, for which reason they begged and persuaded to have what was said to them by their teachers given to them in writing. They write, therefore, that their teachers said to abstain from all Holy Scripture as if it were wicked, and to attend only to prayer, through which evil spirits, which are consubstantial with men, are driven out, and they themselves are sensibly set on fire and leap and take pleasure, with the soul being in no way altered, and that these men see sensible lights, and to consider the colored whiteness a sign of divine things, but the fiery and reddish-yellow a sign of evil things. So they write that their teachers said these things, but they themselves declare all this to be demonic. And if anyone contradicts them on any of the things said, they take this as a sign of passion, and this in turn they take as a proof of error; and through many things one might examine them falling into what they accuse, and especially imitating in their own writings the much-coiling and crafty nature of the serpent, turning many twists and unfolding many coils and at different times explaining their own things differently and contrarily. For not having the stable and simple quality of the truth, they are easily turned to contraries, and being shamed by the reproof of their own conscience, they attempt to hide themselves like Adam with the variegated and specious and ambiguous nature of their words towards different meanings. But I ask you, father, to clarify how we hold the opinion concerning the things said by them.

THIRD RESPONSE

THE THIRD OF THE EARLIER DISCOURSES IN DEFENSE OF THE HOLY HESYCHASTS

CONCERNING DIVINE LIGHT AND ILLUMINATION AND SACRED BLESSEDNESS AND PERFECTION IN CHRIST

Not only, therefore, are vices fixed alongside virtues, but also to the pious

discourses the impious seem to be so much in the neighborhood, that through a very small addition or subtraction they easily change into one another and the meaning of the words shifts to the complete opposite; from this, almost every false opinion bears the mask of truth to those who do not the small lack or addition

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ἀνεπιγνώμονας ὄντας τούς κατά τῶν ἡσυχαζόντων γράφοντας, ἀλλά καί τῶν πατερικῶν λόγων ἀνηκόους παντάπασιν. Εἰκῇ δή φυσιούμενοι, κατά τόν ἀπόστολον, καί ἅ μή ἑωράκασιν ἐμβατεύοντες, ὑπό τοῦ νοός τῆς σαρκός αὐτῶν, εἰς τοσοῦτον ἐξετράπησαν τῆς εὐθείας, ὡς ἐκείνους μέν συκοφαντεῖν φανερῶς, ἑαυτοῖς δέ μηδ᾿ ὁπωσοῦν συμφωνεῖν˙ διό καί περί φωτισμοῦ λέγειν ἐπιχειροῦντες ἀπαγορεύουσι μέν ὡς πλάνην πάντα φωτισμόν αἰσθήσει ληπτόν, οἱ αὐτοί δέ καί πάντα φωτισμόν θεῖον αἰσθήσει λέγουσι ληπτόν, συμβολικούς μέν φάσκοντες τούς ἐν τῷ πάλαι νόμῳ πρό τῆς Χριστοῦ παρουσίας ἐν Ἰουδαίοις καί τοῖς ἐξ αὐτῶν προφήταις γενομένους, αἰσθητόν δέ σαφῶς τόν ἐν Θαβωρίῳ ἐπί τῇ μεταμορφώσει τοῦ Σωτῆρος καί τόν ἐπί τῆς τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος καθόδου καί ὅσοι κατ᾿ αὐτούς. Ὑπέρ αἴσθησιν δέ φωτισμόν τήν γνῶσιν μόνην λέγουσι, διό καί ταύτην κρείττω τοῦ φωτός καί τέλος πάσης ἀποφαίνονται θεωρίας. Ἅ δέ φασι παρά τινων ἀκοῦσαι, νῦν ὡς ἐν βραχεῖ σοι διηγήσομαι. Παρακαλῶ δ᾿ ἀνέχεσθαί μου καί διανοεῖσθαι ὡς, παρ᾿ οὐδενός ἐγώ ποτε τοιαῦτ᾿ ἀκούσας τῶν ἡσυχαζόντων, οὐ δύναμαι πείθειν ἐμαυτόν ὡς ἐκεῖνοι τοιοῦτό τι παρά τινος ἀκηκόασιν τῶν ἡμετέρων. Λέγουσι δ᾿ ὅμως (σελ. 148) ὑποκριθῆναι μέν μαθητιῶντας, ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ εὐμαθεῖς, διό γραφῇ διδόναι τά παρά τῶν διδασκάλων πρός αὐτούς λεγόμενα λιπαρῆσαί τε καί πεῖσαι. Γράφουσιν τοίνυν φάναι τούς διδάσκοντας αὐτούς πάσης μέν Γραφῆς ἱερᾶς ὡς πονηρᾶς ἀφεῖσθαι, προσανέχειν δέ μόνῃ τῇ εὐχῇ, δι᾿ ἧς ἀπελαύνεσθαι μέν τά πονηρά πνεύματα, συνουσιωμένα ὄντα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, ἐκπυροῦσθαι δέ τούς αὐτούς αἰσθητῶς καί σκιρτᾶν καί ἥδεσθαι, μηδέν ἀλλοιουμένης τῆς ψυχῆς, βλέπειν δέ φῶτα τούτους αἰσθητά σημεῖον δ᾿ ἡγεῖσθαι τῶν μέν θείων τήν ἐπικεχρωσμένην λευκότητα, τῶν δέ πονηρῶν τό οἷον πυρῶδες καί ξανθόν. Τούς μέν οὖν διδάσκοντας αὐτούς φάναι ταῦτα γράφουσιν, αὐτοί δέ δαιμονιώδη τοῦτ᾿ εἶναι πάντα ἀποφαίνονται˙ κἄν τις ἐπί τινος τῶν εἰρημένων ἀντιλέγῃ τούτοις, σημεῖον μέ τοῦτο τίθενται τῆς ἐμπαθείας, τήν δ᾿ αὖθις δεῖγμα τίθενται τῆς πλάνης˙ καί διά πολλῶν ἄν τις ἐπισκέψαιτο περιπίπτονας οἷς κατηγοροῦσι καί μάλιστα τό πολυέλικτον καί δολερόν τοῦ ὄφεως ἐν τοῖς ἑαυτῶν μιμουμένους γράμμασι, πολλάς τε στροφάς στρεφομένους καί πολλάς ἐξελίττοντας πλοκάς καί ἄλλοτε ἄλλως καί ἐναντίως τά σφῶν αὐτῶν ἐξηγουμένους. Τό γάρ ἑδραῖον καί ἁπλοῦν οὐκ ἔχοντες τῆς ἀληθείας εὐεπίτρεπτοί εἰσιν εἰς τἀναντία, καί τῷ ἐλέγχῳ τοῦ οἰκείου συνειδότος αἰσχυνόμενοι κρύπτειν ἑαυτούς ὡς καί ὁ Ἀδάμ ἐπιχειροῦσι τῷ ποικίλῳ καί γραφοειδεῖ καί ἀμφιρρεπεῖ πρός διάφορα νοήματα τῶν λόγων. Σέ δ᾿ ὅπως ἡμεῖς ἔχομεν δόξης περί τῶν ὑπ᾿ἐκείνων εἰρημένων ἀξιῶ, πάτερ, σαφηνίσαι.

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Οὐκ ἄρα μόνον ταῖς ἀρεταῖς αἱ κακίαι παραπεπήγασιν, ἀλλά καί τοῖς εὐσεβέσι

λόγοις ἐπί τοσοῦτον οἱ δυσσεβεῖς ἐν γειτόνων εἶναι δοκοῦσιν, ὡς διά μικρᾶς πάνυ προσθήκης ἤ ἀφαιρέσεως μεταβάλλειν εἰς ἀλλήλους ρᾳδίως καί πρός πᾶν τοὐναντίον μεταχωρεῖν τήν τῶν ρημάτων διάνοιαν˙ ἐντεῦθεν ψευδοδοξία σχεδόν πᾶσα προσωπεῖον φέρει τῆς ἀληθείας τοῖς μή τήν μικράν ἔλλειψιν ἤ προσθήκην