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they set forth theories. But what they say they heard from some people, I will now relate to you briefly. But I ask you to bear with me and to consider that, since I have never heard such things from any of the hesychasts, I cannot persuade myself that they have heard anything of the sort from any of our own people. Nevertheless, they say (p. 148) that they pretended to be disciples, but not apt ones, for which reason they both begged and persuaded [their teachers] to give in writing the things said to them by their teachers. They write, then, that their teachers said to abstain from all Holy Scripture as from something evil, and to attend only to prayer, through which the evil spirits, being con-substantial with men, are driven out, and they themselves are kindled in a sensory way and leap and take pleasure, with the soul undergoing no change, and that these men see sensible lights, and that they consider the colored whiteness to be a sign of divine things, but the fiery and reddish-yellow color a sign of evil things. They write, then, 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 being impassioned, and this in turn they take as a proof of delusion; and one might observe through many instances that they fall into the very things they accuse others of, especially imitating the many-coiled and crafty nature of the serpent in their own writings, making many turns and uncoiling many coils, and at different times explaining their own positions in different and contradictory ways. For lacking the steadfast and simple nature of the truth, they are easily turned to contradictions, and being ashamed by the reproof of their own conscience, they attempt to hide themselves, just like Adam, in the varied, artful, and ambiguous nature of their words, which are open to different interpretations. But I ask you, father, to make clear what opinion we have concerning the things said by them.

THIRD REPLY

DISCOURSE

IN DEFENSE OF THOSE WHO PRACTICE SACRED HESYCHASM

THE THIRD OF THE FORMER

CONCERNING DIVINE LIGHT AND ILLUMINATION AND SACRED BLESSEDNESS

AND OF PERFECTION IN CHRIST It is not, then, only to the virtues that vices are fixed closely beside, but also to the pious

discourses the impious ones seem to be in such close 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 are unable to perceive the small omission or addition. And this is also a clever artifice of the evil demon, who is resourceful in deception. For by not placing the falsehood far from the truth, he has contrived a double deception: for since the brevity of the difference escapes the notice of the many, one will either consider the falsehood to be truth, or even the truth, as it is similar to the falsehood, to be falsehood; and from either side he will certainly fall away from the truth.

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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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ΚΑΙ ΤΗΣ ΕΝ ΧΡΙΣΤΩ ΤΕΛΕΙΟΤΗΤΟΣ 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 συνορᾶν δυναμένοις. Τέχνη δέ καί τοῦτο δεινή τοῦ πρός ἀπάτην εὐμηχάνου πονηροῦ δαίμονος. Μή μακράν γάρ ἀποστήσας τό ψεῦδος τῆς ἀληθείας διπλῆν συνεσκεάσατο τήν ἀπάτην˙ τῇ γάρ βραχύτητι τῆς διαφορᾶς τούς πολλούς λανθανούσης, ἤ τό ψεῦδος ἡγήσεταί τις ἀλήθειαν ἤ καί τήν ἀλήθειαν, ὡς παραπλησίαν τῷ ψεύδει, ψεῦδος˙ ἑκατέρωθεν δέ πάντως ἐκπεσεῖται τῆς ἀληθείας.