1

 2

 3

 4

 5

 6

 7

 8

 9

 10

 11

 12

 13

 14

 15

 16

 17

 18

 19

 20

 21

 22

 23

 24

 25

 26

 27

 28

 29

 30

 31

 32

 33

 34

 35

 36

 37

 38

 39

 40

 41

 42

 43

 44

 45

 46

 47

 48

 49

 50

 51

 52

 53

 54

 55

 56

 57

 58

 59

 60

 61

 62

 63

 64

 65

 66

 67

 68

 69

 70

 71

 72

 73

 74

 75

 76

 77

 78

 79

 80

 81

 82

 83

 84

 85

 86

 87

 88

 89

 90

 91

 92

 93

 94

 95

 96

 97

 98

 99

 100

 101

 102

 103

 104

 105

 106

 107

 108

 109

 110

 111

 112

 113

 114

 115

 116

 117

 118

 119

 120

 121

 122

 123

 124

 125

 126

 127

 128

 129

 130

 131

 132

 133

 134

 135

 136

 137

 138

 139

 140

 141

 142

 143

 144

 145

 146

 147

 148

 149

 150

 151

 152

 153

 154

 155

 156

 157

 158

 159

 160

 161

 162

 163

 164

 165

 166

 167

 168

 169

 170

 171

 172

 173

 174

 175

 176

 177

 178

 179

 180

 181

 182

 183

 184

 185

 186

 187

 188

 189

 190

 191

 192

 193

 194

 195

 196

 197

 198

 199

 200

 201

 202

 203

 204

 205

 206

 207

 208

 209

 210

 211

 212

 213

 214

 215

 216

 217

 218

 219

 220

 221

 222

 223

 224

 225

 226

 227

 228

 229

 230

 231

 232

 233

 234

 235

 236

 237

 238

 239

 240

 241

 242

 243

 244

 245

 246

 247

 248

 249

 250

 251

29

I see the Son standing at the right hand of the glory of the Father; and immediately, as one who has spoken blasphemy, he is stoned by the teachers of the law themselves and dies by the law of nature and lives unto the ages. But he was an apostle, and was also sanctified and wholly filled with the All-Holy Spirit, but it was the beginning of the preaching and a multitude of the unfaithful, who, believing in Christ through the apostles, also received the grace that is a gift of faith. But now, what then does this strange thing mean, that is happening in me, and what could be the dread amazement of what is now being accomplished? What is this way of philanthropy now being shown, this strange wealth of goodness, another fount of mercy, (69) having so much more than the things that happened of old? For many were shown mercy by divine philanthropy, yet they themselves also offered something of their own: faith, or other acceptable virtues and deeds; but I, perceiving myself deprived of all these things, am astounded and am not strong enough to bear the things happening to me, the prodigal from the womb, from God who created all creation by a word; which I even shudder to comprehend, and how shall I write it in words? What hand could serve, what pen write, what word express, what tongue declare, what lips will speak, the things that are seen happening in me, accomplished through the whole day? For even in the night itself and in the darkness itself I see Christ fearfully opening the heavens to me, and Himself stooping down and being seen by me together with the Father and the Spirit, in the thrice-holy light, being one in the three and in one the three. They are entirely the light, and the three are one light, which illuminates my soul more than the sun and shines upon my mind that was darkened. For my mind did not see from the beginning the things it sees, but, believe me, I was blind and not seeing, and for this reason the wonder astounds me the more, when it somehow opens the eye of my mind, and somehow gives sight and is seen. For He, light, appears in the light to those who see, and those who see, see Him again in light. For those who see, see in the light of the Spirit, and those who see in this light behold the Son; and he who is deemed worthy to see the Son sees the Father, (70) and he who beholds the Father certainly sees Him with the Son. This very thing, as has been said, is now being accomplished in me, and I somehow learn the incomprehensible things, and now from afar I behold the unseen beauties

29

Ὁρῶ ἑστῶτα τόν Υἱόν ἐκ δεξιῶν τῆς δόξης τῆς τοῦ Πατρός˙ καί παραυτά ὡς βλάσφημα λαλήσας λιθοβολεῖται πρός αὐτῶν τῶν νομοδιδασκάλων καί θνῄσκει νόμῳ φύσεως καί ζῇ εἰς τούς αἰῶνας. Πλήν ἦν αὐτός ἀπόστολος, ἦν καί ἁγιασμένος καί ἔμπλεως τοῦ Πνεύματος ὅλος τοῦ Παναγίου, ἀρχή δέ τοῦ κηρύγματος καί πλῆθος τῶν ἀπίστων, οἵ τῷ Χριστῷ πιστεύοντες διά τῶν ἀποστόλων καί τήν χάριν ἐλάμβανον πίστεως οὖσαν δῶρον. Νῦν δέ, τί ἄρα βούλεται τό ξένον τοῦτο πρᾶγμα, τό ἐν ἐμοί γινόμενον, τί δέ ἄν θέλοι εἶναι ἡ φοβερά κατάπληξις τοῦ νυνί τελουμένου; Τίς ὁ ἄρτι δεικνύμενος τρόπος φιλανθρωπίας, ξένος πλοῦτος χρηστότητος, ἄλλη πηγή ἐλέους, (69) πολύ τό πλέον ἔχουσα τῶν πάλαι γεγονότων; Πολλοί γάρ ἠλεήθησαν θείᾳ φιλανθρωπίᾳ, πλήν καί αὐτοί προσέφερον ἴδιόν τι τήν πίστιν, εἴτε καί ἄλλας ἀρετάς καί πράξεις ἀποδέκτους˙ ἐγώ δέ πάντων ἐμαυτόν τούτων ἐστερημένον κατανοῶν ἐξίσταμαι καί φέρειν οὐκ ἰσχύω τά εἰς ἐμέ γινόμενα, τόν ἄσωτον ἐκ μήτρας, παρά Θεοῦ τοῦ κτίσαντος λόγῳ τήν πᾶσαν κτίσιν˙ ἅπερ καί φρίττω ἐννοεῖν, πῶς δέ καί λόγῳ γράψω; Ποία χείρ λειτουργήσειε, ποῖος κάλαμος γράψει, ποῖος λόγος ἐκφράσειε, ποία γλῶσσα ἐξείποι, ποῖα χείλη λαλήσουσιν, ἅ ἐν ἐμοί ὁρῶνται γινόμενα, τελούμενα δι᾿ ὅλης τῆς ἡμέρας; Καί γάρ καί ἐν αὐτῇ νυκτί καί ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ σκότει βλέπω Χριστόν τούς οὐρανούς φρικτῶς ἀνοίγοντά μοι, αὐτόν τε παρακύπτοντα καί καθορώμενόν μοι ἅμα Πατρί καί Πνεύματι, φωτί τῷ τρισαγίῳ, ἕν ὄν ἐν τοῖς τρισί καί ἐν ἑνί τά τρία. Αὐτά τό φῶς πάντως εἰσί, καί τό φῶς ἕν τά τρία, ὅ καί ὑπέρ τόν ἥλιον φωτίζει τήν ψυχήν μου καί καταλάμπει μου τόν νοῦν ὄντα ἐσκοτισμένον. Οὐ γάρ ἑώρα μου ὁ νοῦς ἐξ ἀρχῆς, ἅ ἑώρα, ἀλλά τυφλός, πιστεύσατε, ὑπῆρχον καί μή βλέπων, καί διά τοῦτο πλέον με τό θαῦμα καταπλήττει, ὅταν πώς μου τόν ὀφθαλμόν τοῦ νοός διανοίγῃ, καί πως τό βλέπειν δίδωσι καί βλεπόμενον ἔστιν. Αὐτός γάρ φῶς ἐν τῷ φωτί φαίνεται τοῖς ὁρῶσι καί οἱ ὁρῶντες ἐν φωτί αὐτόν βλέπουσι πάλιν. Ἐν φωτί γάρ τοῦ Πνεύματος βλέπουσιν οἱ ὁρῶντες, καί οἱ ἐν τούτῳ βλέποντες τόν Υἱόν καθορῶσιν˙ ὁ δέ Υἱόν ἀξιωθείς ἰδεῖν Πατέρα βλέπει, (70) Πατέρα δέ ὁ θεωρῶν σύν Υἱῷ πάντως βλέπει. Ὅπερ καί νῦν, ὡς εἴρηται, ἐν ἐμοί ἐκτελεῖται, καί τά ἀκατανόητα ποςῶς καταμανθάνω, καί νῦν μακρόθεν καθορῶ τά ἀθέατα κάλλη