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Since, however, the mind (nous) is not only a light contemplated by the mind, even if it is the last of the things seen in this way, but it is also contemplative, being like the eye of the soul, for 'the vision,' he says, 'of the soul is its connate mind (nous)', just as the vision of the senses would not become active unless light from without shone upon it, so also the mind, possessing intellectual perception, would not see and would not become active in itself, unless the divine light shone around it. And just as sight, when it is active, itself becomes light and is united with the light and sees this very thing first, poured out upon all visible things, in the same way the mind also, when it arrives at the full realization of intellectual perception, is itself entirely as light and is with the light and with the light consciously sees the light, not only beyond the bodily senses, but also beyond everything that is known to us and simply all beings whatsoever. For those who are pure in heart see God, according to the unerring beatitude of the Lord, who, being light, according to the most theological voice of John, the son of thunder, both makes His dwelling and reveals Himself to those who love Him and are loved by Him, according to His own promise to them; and He reveals Himself as in a mirror to the purified mind, being in Himself invisible. For such is the form in a (p. 170) mirror: though appearing it is not seen, and it is almost impossible both to see in a mirror and at the same time to see the very thing that forms the image in the mirror.

Now, in this way, God is seen by those purified in love, but then, he says, 'face to face'. But those who, because they have not experienced or seen the divine things, do not believe at all that God is seen as light beyond light, but is contemplated only rationally, are like blind men, who, perceiving only the heat of the sun, disbelieve those who see that the sun is also bright. And if the blind also attempt to teach those who see that the sun, the most manifest of all things in the sensible world, is not a light, they will be ridiculous to those who see it with their senses. But those who experience similar things concerning the Sun of righteousness established above all, will be lamented not only by those who truly see with the mind, but also by those who believe those who see, not only because they remain unloving towards that love which sees and understands directly, while God, through the excess of His goodness towards us, invisibly condescends from that which is removed from all things, and incomprehensible, and unutterable, to that which is participated in and contemplated by the mind, according to His own superessential and ineffable power, but also because, unwilling to follow the saints who out of love for mankind guide them towards that light through their words, they carry themselves down precipices and attempt to drag down with them those who are persuaded, so that they might have companions when 'they see as fire,' according to Gregory the Theologian, 'Him whom they did not know,' nor believe, 'as light'. But indeed that fire is dark, or rather, identical with the threatened darkness. And these things have been prepared beforehand for the devil and his angels (p. 172) according to the word of the Lord. Therefore, this darkness is neither simply sensible, for it has been prepared for the wicked angels who are devoid of sense, nor is it simply ignorance, for those who are now persuaded by the heirs of that darkness will not be more ignorant of God then than now; rather, they will know Him even better; for, it says, 'every flesh shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father,' amen. Therefore, that light is not properly sensible, nor indeed is it knowledge, if the darkness set in opposition to it is not ignorance. But if that light is not knowledge, but rather productive of the mystical and ineffable knowledge of the mysteries of God, and the pledge now seen within by those pure in heart is not simply knowledge, but a giver of analogous knowledge, while it is itself an intelligible and intellectual, or rather a spiritual, light, spiritually produced and seen, pre-eminently removed from all knowledge and virtue and of the here according to

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Ἐπεί δέ μή μόνον φῶς ἐστιν ὁ νοῦς νῷ θεωρητόν, εἰ καί ἔσχατον τῶν τοῦτον τόν τρόπον ὁρωμένων, ἀλλά καί θεωρητικόν, οἷον ὀφθαλμός ὑπάρχων τῆς ψυχῆς, «ὄψις» γάρ, φησί, «τῇ ψυχῇ ὁ συμφυής αὐτῇ νοῦς», ὥσπερ ἡ κατ᾿ αἴσθησιν ὄψις οὐκ ἄν ἐνεργείᾳ γίγνοιτο, μή ἔξωθεν ἐπιλάμψαντος αὐτῇ φωτός, οὕτω καί ὁ νοῦς οὔκ ἄν ᾖ νοεράν ἔχων αἴσθησιν ὁρῴη καί καθ᾿ ἑαυτόν ἐνεργείᾳ γίγνοιτο, μή τοῦ θείου περιλάμψαντος αὐτόν φωτός. Ὥσπερ δέ ἡ ὄψις, ὅταν ἐνεργῇ, φῶς αὐτή τε γίνεται καί μετά τοῦ φωτός συγγίνεται καί τοῦτ᾿ αὐτό πρῶτον ὁρᾷ πᾶσι τοῖς ὁρωμένοις περικεχυμένον, τόν αὐτόν τρόπον καί ὁ νοῦς, ἠνίκ᾿ ἄν εἰς ἐντελέχειαν ἀφίκοιτο τῆς νοερᾶς αἰσθήσεως, αὐτόν ὅλος οἷον φῶς ἐστι καί μετά τοῦ φωτός ἐστι καί σύν τῷ φωτί γνωστῶς ὁρᾷ τό φῶς, οὐχ ὑπέρ τάς σωματικάς αἰσθήσεις μόνον, ἀλλά καί ὑπέρ πᾶν ὅ τι τῶν ἡμῖν γνωρίμων καί ἁπλῶς τῶν ὄντων πάντων. Θεόν γάρ ὁρῶσιν οἱ κεκαθαρμένοι τήν καρδίαν, κατά τόν ὑπό τοῦ Κυρίου ἀψευδῆ μακαρισμόν, ὅς φῶς ὧν, κατά τήν θεολογικωτάτην Ἰωάννου τοῦ τῆς βροντῆς υἱοῦ φωνήν, οἰκίζει τε καί ἐμφανίζει ἑαυτόν τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν καί ἀγαπηθεῖσιν ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ κατά τήν πρός αὐτούς ἑαυτοῦ ἐπαγγελίαν˙ ἐμφανίζει δέ ὡς ἐν ἐσόπτρῳ τῷ κεκαθαρμένῳ νῷ, τό καθ᾿ ἑαυτόν ἀόρατος ὑπάρχων. Τοιοῦτον γάρ ἡ ἐν (σελ. 170) ἐσόπτρῳ μορφή˙ φαινομένη οὐχ ὁρᾶται καί σχεδόν ἀδύνατόν ἐστιν ὁρᾶν τε ἐν ἐσόπτρῳ καί αὐτό κατά ταὐτό τό μορφοῦν τό ἔσοπτρον ὁρᾶν.

Νῦν μέν οὕτω τοῖς ἐν ἀγάπῃ καθαρθεῖσιν ὁ Θεός ὁρᾶται, τότε δέ, φησί, «πρόσωπον πρός πρόσωπον». Οἱ δέ τῷ μή παθεῖν τά θεῖα μηδ᾿ ἰδεῖν μηδαμῶς πιστεύοντες ὡς φῶς ὑπέρ φῶς ὁρᾶσθαι τόν Θεόν, ἀλλά λογικῶς μόνον θεωρεῖσθαι, τυφλοῖς ἐοίκασιν, οἵ τῆς τοῦ ἡλίου θέρμης μόνης ἀντιλαμβανόμενοι τοῖς ὁρῶσιν ἀπιστοῦσιν ὅτι καί φαιδρός ἐστιν ὁ ἥλιος. Εἰ δέ καί τούς ὁρῶντας οἱ τυφλοί μεταδιδάσκειν ἐγχειροῦσιν, ὡς οὐ φῶς ἐστιν ὁ ἐν αἰσθητοῖς φανότατος ἁπάντων ἥλιος, καταγέλαστοι μέν οὗτοι τοῖς αἰσθητῶς ὁρῶσιν ἔσονται. Ἐκεῖνοι δ᾿ οἱ τά παραπλήσια πάσχοντες περί τόν τοῦ παντός ὑπερανιδρυμένον τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἥλιον, οὐ παρά τῶν νοερῶς ὡς ἀληθῶς ὁρώντων μόνον, ἀλλά καί παρά τῶν πιστευόντων τοῖς ὁρῶσι θρηνηθήσονται, μή μόνον ὅτι τοῦ Θεοῦ δι᾿ ὑπερβολήν τῆς περί ἡμᾶς ἀγαθότητος, ἐκ τοῦ πάντων ἐξῃρημένου καί ἀλήπτου καί ἀφθέγκτου, πρό τό νῷ μεθεκτόν τε καί θεωρητόν ἀοράτως συγκαταβαίνοντος καθ᾿ ὑπερούσιον ἑαυτοῦ δύναμιν ἀνεκφοίτητον, αὐτοί μένουσιν ἀνέραστοι πρός τόν αὐτοπτικόν καί αὐτονόητον ἐκεῖνον ἔρωτα, ἀλλ᾿ ὅτι καί τοῖς πρός τό φῶς ἐκεῖνο χειραγωγοῦσι διά τῶν λόγων ὑπό φιλανθρωπίας ἁγίοις οὐκ ἐθέλοντες ἕπεσθαι, κατά κρημνῶν φέρουσιν ἑαυτούς καί συγκατασπᾶν ἐπιχειροῦσι τούς πειθομένους, ὡς ἄν δήπου κοινωνούς σχοῖεν ὅταν «ὡς πῦρ ἴδωσι» κατά τόν θεολόγον Γρηγόριον «ὅν ὡς φῶς οὐκ ἐγνώρισαν», οὐδέ ἐπίστευσαν. Ἀλλά γάρ καί τό πῦρ ἐκεῖνο σκοτεινόν, μᾶλλον δέ τῷ ἠπειλημένῳ σκότει ταὐτόν. Ταῦτα δέ τῷ διαβόλῳ καί τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ (σελ. 172) προητοίμασται κατά τόν τοῦ Κυρίου λόγον. Οὐκοῦν οὔτε αἰσθητόν ἁπλῶς, ἀμοιροῦσι γάρ αἰσθήσεως προητοίμασται τοῖς πονηροῖς ἀγγέλοις, οὔθ᾿ ἁπλῶς ἄγνοια τουτί τό σκότος, οὐ γάρ ἀγνοήσουσι τότε μᾶλλον τόν Θεόν ἤ νῦν οἱ νῦν τοῖς κληρονόμοις τοῦ σκότους ἐκείνου πεπεισμένοι, μᾶλλον μέν οὖν καί βέλτιον εἴσονται˙ «πᾶσα» γάρ, φησί, «σάρξ ἐξομολογήσεται ὅτι Κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός εἰς δόξαν Θεοῦ Πατρός», ἀμήν. Οὐκ ἄρ᾿ οὐδέ τό φῶς ἐκεῖνο αἰσθητόν κυρίως, οὐδέ μέν οὖν γνῶσις, εἴπερ μηδέ ἄγνοια τό ἀντιδιαστελλόμενον πρός τοῦτο σκότος. Εἰ δέ μή τό φῶς ἐκεῖνο γνῶσις, παρεκτικόν δέ μᾶλλον τῆς μυστικῆς καί ἀπορρήτου γνώσεως τῶν μυστηρίων τοῦ Θεοῦ, καί ὁ ἀρραβών νῦν τοῖς κεκαθαρμένοις τήν καρδίαν ἐνορώμενος, οὐ γνῶσίς ἐστιν ἁπλῶς, ἀλλ᾿ ἀναλόγου μέν γνώσεως χορηγός, αὐτός δέ φῶς νοητόν καί νοερόν μᾶλλον δέ πνευματικόν, πνευματικῶς ἐγγινόμενός τε καί ὁρώμενος, ὑπεροχικῶς ἐξηρημένος πάσης γνώσεως καί ἀρετῆς καί τῆς ἐνταῦθα κατά