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But neither was that perceptible simply, even if it appeared on the prophetic face, since the saints now receive the glory of the light of Moses' face in the soul, according to Saint Macarius. This same thing he also calls the glory of Christ and considers it beyond sense, even if it appeared according to sense, putting forward that apostolic [saying] with a small addition: «"But we all, with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord"», that is, His noetic light, "are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory", that is, by the abundance of the splendor within us, proceeding by the divine light ever toward what is more brilliant». For what does Saint Diadochos say? «One must not doubt that, when the mind begins to be frequently energized by the divine light, it becomes entirely transparent, so that it sees its own light richly; for this happens completely when the power of the soul has mastered the passions». What, again, [says] the divine Maximus? «The human mind would not have had such strength to ascend as to apprehend a divine illumination, unless God Himself had drawn it up and enlightened it with divine rays». What, again, along with the great Basil, does Nilus, the renowned pillar of truth, say? «The Cappadocian Basil, he says, strengthens human knowledge by study and exercise, but that which comes from the grace of God, by righteousness and mercy; and it is possible for even those with passions to receive the former, but only the passionless are receptive of the latter, who also at the time of prayer behold the proper radiance of the mind shining around them». Do you understand clearly, brother, that a mind freed from passions sees itself as light during prayer and is illumined by divine light? Now therefore, lending an obedient ear, listen again also (p. 166) to Macarius, aptly so-named, whom Nilus, great in divine things, called a chosen vessel, who says in the Chapters translated by the Metaphrast: «the perfect illumination of the spirit is not only a revelation of thoughts, but a sure and perpetual illumination of hypostatic light in souls; for, "He who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts", and, "enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep in death", and, "send out Your light and Your truth, they shall lead me to Your holy mountain", and, "the light of Your face has been signed upon us", and all such similar things, represent the same thing». And he said "hypostatic", in order to stop the mouths of those who think illumination is only knowledge and who pervert the thought of the many, and above all their own, being misled into taking for knowledge whatever anyone might say about that light. But I also know knowledge to be called light derivatively from that, as being supplied by it, which I also said above.

Therefore no one has ever called the information that comes from the senses light, although it is sometimes a very certain knowledge, but only that which comes from the mind and reason. For we see nothing having the power of reason, which is not noetic light. For the angels are like an immaterial and incorporeal fire; what else is this but noetic light? And the mind itself, seeing itself, sees as light; what then does it also see, if not itself as noetic light? And God Himself, who is beyond all noetic light and has supra-essentially transcended all essence, named fire by the sacred theologians, has, according to the faint image of fire among sensible things, that which is hidden and unseeable in itself, when no matter (p. 168) is present that can receive the divine manifestation; but whenever it takes hold of suitable matter that is openly available—and such is every purified noetic nature, not bearing the [stain] of evil

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Ἀλλ᾿ οὐδ᾿ ἐκείνη αἰσθητή ἁπλῶς ὑπῆρχεν, εἰ καί τῷ προφητικῷ ἐπεφαίνετο προσώπῳ, εἴπερ τήν δόξαν τοῦ φωτός τοῦ προσώπου Μωϋσέως νῦν ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ, κατά τόν ἅγιον Μακάριον, δέχονται οἱ ἅγιοι. Τό αὐτό δ᾿ οὗτος καί δόξαν τοῦ Χριστοῦ καλεῖ καί ὑπέρ αἴσθησιν ἡγεῖται, εἰ καί κατ᾿ αἴσθησιν ἐφάνη, τό ἀποστολικόν ἐκεῖνο προβαλλόμενος μετά μικρᾶς προσθήκης˙ «"ἡμεῖς δέ πάντες ἀνακεκαλυμμένῳ προσώπῳ τήν δόξαν Κυρίου"», τουτέστι τό νοερόν φῶς αὐτοῦ, " κατοπριζόμεθα τήν αὐτήν εἰκόνα μεταμορφούμενοι ἀπό δόξης εἰς δόξαν", τῇ περιουσίᾳ δηλαδή τῆς ἐν ἡμῖν λαμπρότητος, ὑπό τοῦ θεϊκοῦ φωτός προϊούσης ἐπί τό τηλαυγέστερον ἀεί». Τί γάρ καί ὁ ἅγιος ∆ιάδοχος λέγει; «Οὐ δεῖ ἀμφιβάλλειν ὡς, ὅταν ὁ νοῦς ἄρξηται πυκνῶς ὑπό τοῦ θείου φωτός ἐνεργεῖσθαι, διαφανής τις ὅλος γίνεται, ὥστε τό ἑαυτοῦ φῶς αὐτόν πλουσίως ὁρᾶν˙ τοῦτο γάρ ὅλως γίνεται, ὅταν ἡ δύναμις τῆς ψυχῆς κατακυριεύσῃ τῶν παθῶν». Τί δ᾿ αὖθις ὁ θεῖος Μάξιμος; «Οὐκ ἄν τοσοῦτον ἴσχυσεν ἀναδραμεῖν ἀνθρώπινος νοῦς ὡς ἀντιλαβέσθαι θείας ἐλλάμψεως, εἰ μή αὐτός ὁ Θεός ἀνέσπασεν αὐτόν καί ταῖς θείαις αὐγαῖς κατεφώτισε». Τί δ᾿ αὖθις σύν τῷ μεγάλῳ Βασιλείῳ Νεῖλος ὁ περιβόητος τῆς ἀληθείας φησίν ὁ στῦλος; «Ὁ καππαδόκης Βασίλειος, φησί, τήν μέν ἀνθρωπίνην γνῶσιν μελέτη καί γυμνασία κρατύνει, τήν δέ ἐκ Θεοῦ χάριτος ἐγγινομένην, δικαιοσύνη καί ἔλεος˙ καί τήν μέν προτέραν δυνατόν καί τούς ἐμπαθεῖς ὑποδέξασθαι, τῆς δέ δευτέρας οἱ ἀπαθεῖς μόνοι εἰσί δεκτικοί, οἵ καί παρά τόν καιρόν τῆς προσευχῆς τό οἰκεῖον φέγγος τοῦ νοῦ περιλάμπον αὐτούς θεωροῦσι». Συνῆκας, ἀδελφέ, σαφῶς ὅτι νοῦς παθῶν ἀπαλλαγείς ὡς φῶς αὐτός ἑαυτόν κατά τήν προσευχήν ὁρᾷ καί θείῳ περιλάμπεται φωτί; Νῦν οὖν πειθήνιον ὑπέχων οὗς αὖθις ἄκουε καί (σελ. 166) τοῦ φερωνύμως Μακαρίου, ὅν σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς ὁ πολύς τά θεῖα Νεῖλος προσηγόρευσεν, ὅς φησιν ἐν τοῖς ὑπό τοῦ Μεταφραστοῦ μεταφρασθεῖσι Κεφαλαίοις˙ «ἡ τελεία τοῦ πνεύματος ἔλλαμψις οὐχ οἷον νοημάτων μόνον ἀποκάλυψίς ἐστιν, ἀλλ᾿ ὑποστατικοῦ φωτός ἐν ταῖς ψυχαῖς βεβαία καί διηνεκής ἔλλαμψις˙ τό γάρ, "ὁ εἰπών ἐκ σκότους φῶς λάμψαι, ὅς ἔλαμψεν ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν", καί τό, " φώτισον τούς ὀφθαλμούς μου μήποτε ὑπνώσω εἰς θάνατον", καί τό, "ἐξαπόστειλον τό φῶς σου καί τήν ἀλήθειάν σου, αὐτά με ὁδηγήσουσιν εἰς ὄρος ἅγιόν σου", καί τό ἐσημειώθη ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς τό φῶς τοῦ προσώπου σου", καί πάνθ᾿ ὅσα τούτοις παραπλήσια, τό αὐτό παρίστησιν». Ὑποστατικόν δέ εἶπεν, ἵν᾿ ἐμφράξῃ τά στόματα τῶν τήν γνῶσιν μόνον οἰομένων φωτισμόν καί περιτρεπόντων τήν τῶν πολλῶν διάνοιαν, καί πρό τῶν ἄλλων τήν οἰκείαν, τῷ μεταλαμβάνειν εἰς τήν γνῶσιν παρεξηγουμένους πᾶν ὅ,τιπερ ἄν εἴποι τις περί ἐκείνου τοῦ φωτός. Ἐγώ δέ καί τήν γνῶσιν παρωνύμως ἀπ᾿ ἐκείνου λεγομένην οἶδα φῶς, ὡς ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ χορηγουμένην, ὅ καί ἀνωτέρω εἶπον.

∆ιόπερ οὐδέ τήν ἀπό τῶν αἰσθήσεων προσγινομένην εἴδησιν, καίτοι γνῶσιν οὖσαν ἔστιν ὅπου καί ἀσφαλεστάτην, φῶς πώποτέ τις προσηγόρευσεν, ἀλλά μόνην τήν ἀπό τοῦ νοῦ καί λογικήν. Οὐδέν γάρ ὁρῶμεν λόγου δύναμιν ἔχον, ὅ μή νοερόν ἐστι φῶς. Οἵ τε γάρ ἄγγελοι, πῦρ οἷον ἄυλον καί ἀσώματον˙ τί δ᾿ ἄλλο τοῦτό ἐστιν ἤ φῶς νοερόν; Ὅ τε νοῦς αὐτός ἑαυτόν ὁρῶν, ὡς φῶς ὁρᾷ˙ τί τοίνυν καί οὗτος, εἰ μή νοερόν ἑαυτόν βλέπει φῶς; Καί αὐτός δέ ὁ παντός νοεροῦ φωτός ἐπέκεινα Θεός καί πάσης οὐσίας ὑπερουσίως ἐκβεβηκώς, πῦρ παρά τῶν ἱερῶν θεολόγων ὠνομασμένος, ἔχει μέν, ὡς κατά τήν τοῦ πυρός ἀμυδράν ἐν αἰσθητοῖς εἰκόνα, τό κρύφιόν τε καί ἀθεώρητον καθ᾿ ἑαυτόν, μή προκειμένης ὕλης (σελ. 168) τῆς χωρούσης τήν θείαν ἐμφάνειαν˙ ἡνίκα δ᾿ ἄν ἐπιτηδείας ὕλης ἀπερικαλύπτως ἐχούσης ἐπιλάβηται, τοιαύτη δέ ἐστι πᾶσα νοερά κεκαθαρμένη φύσις, τό τῆς κακίας οὐκ ἐπιφερομένη