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"is that which, being entirely without form, will present the mind to God and is ready to be imprinted only with His types, through which He is wont to become manifest." Where are those who contend that God is known only through the knowledge of beings, while neither knowing nor accepting the manifestation that comes from union, and this when God says through one of the God-bearers, "learn not from man, not from a tablet, but from My very own illumination and radiance in you"? For how is the formless mind, which is also imprinted with divine types, not superior to the knowledge that comes from beings?

But also the imprinting of the mind with the divine and ineffable types of the spirit differs greatly from the ascent of the intellect to God through negations. And theology is as far removed from this vision of God in light and as separate from communion with God as knowing is distinct from (p. 238) possessing; for to say something about God and to encounter God are not the same thing. For the former requires speech, that is, the spoken word, and perhaps also the art pertaining to it, if one is not only to have but also to use and transmit the knowledge, and furthermore, syllogisms of every kind of matter and the necessities of proof and worldly examples, of which all or most are gathered from seeing and hearing and are almost among the things that revolve in this world and could indeed belong even to the wise of this age, even if they are not purified in life and soul. But to possess God in oneself and to be purely united with God and to be mingled with the most pure light, as far as is possible for human nature, is among the impossibilities, unless, in addition to purification through virtue, we go outside, or rather above, ourselves, leaving behind all that is of the senses along with sense-perception, being raised above reasonings and thoughts and the knowledge that comes through them, becoming wholly of the immaterial and intellectual energy in prayer and attaining an ignorance beyond knowledge and being filled in it with the super-luminous splendor of the spirit, so as to behold invisibly the prizes of the nature of the immortal world. Do you see where the much-vaunted philosophy of words has been left below, since it has its principles from sense-perception, and its end is the knowledge of its most diverse forms, a knowledge not found through purity, nor purifying from passions? But of spiritual contemplation, the principle is the good, acquired through purity of life, and the true and genuine knowledge of beings for those who have it, since it has appeared not from passions but from purity, being alone able to discern what is truly good and beneficial and what is not such, and the end is the pledge of the age to come, the ignorance beyond knowledge and the knowledge beyond thought, the hidden participation in the hidden and the inexpressible vision, (p. 240) the mystical and ineffable contemplation and taste of the eternal light.

That this is the light of the age to come and that the very light that shone around the disciples at the Transfiguration of Christ now illumines the mind purified through virtue and prayer, you will know if you listen with understanding. For by Dionysius the Areopagite it is clearly stated that the bodies of the saints in the age to come will be adorned and illumined by the light of Christ that appeared on Tabor. And the great Macarius says, "the soul united to the light of the heavenly image, is now initiated into the knowledge of mysteries in hypostasis, and on the great day of the resurrection its body also will be illumined by the same heavenly image of glory;" and he said "in hypostasis" lest anyone think that this illumination is through knowledge and thoughts. Besides, the spiritual man consists of three things: the grace of the heavenly Spirit, a rational soul, and an earthly body. Listen then again to the same: "the godlike image of the Spirit, being now as it were imprinted within, will then make the body godlike and heavenly on the outside." And again: "God, being reconciled to humanity, restores the one who has believed in

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«ἐστίν ἡ παντάπασιν ἀνείδεον παραστήσεται τόν νοῦν τῷ Θεῷ καί μόνοις τοῖς αὐτοῦ ἕτοιμον ἐνσημαίνεσθαι τύποις, δι᾿ ὧν ἐμφανής πέφυκε γίνεσθαι». Ποῦ εἰσιν οἱ διά μόνης τῆς τῶν ὄντων γνώσεως τόν Θεόν ἰσχυριζόμενοι γινώσκεσθαι, τήν δ᾿ ἀπό τῆς ἑνώσεως ἐμφάνειαν μήτ᾿ εἰδότες μήτε προσιέμενοι, καί ταῦτα τοῦ Θεοῦ διά τινος τῶν θεοφόρων λέγοντος, «μάθετε οὐκ ἀπ᾿ ἀνθρώπου, οὐκ ἀπό δέλτου, ἀλλ᾿ ἀπ᾿ αὐτῆς τῆς ἐμῆς ἐν ὑμῖν ἐλλάμψεως καί ἡλιοβολίας»; Πῶς γάρ ὁ ἀνείδεος νοῦς, ὁ καί τοῖς θείοις ἐνσημαινάμενος τύποις, οὐχ ὑπεράνω τῆς ἀπό τῶν ὄντων γνώσεως;

Ἀλλά καί τῆς δι᾿ ἀποφάσεων πρός Θεόν ἀνόδου τῆς διανοίας τό θείοις καί ἀπορρήτοις τόν νοῦν ἐνσημαίνεσθαι τοῦ πνεύματος τύποις κατά πολύ διενήνοχε. Θεολογία δέ τοσοῦτο τῆς ἐν φωτί θεοπτίας ταύτης ἀπέχει καί τοσοῦτο τῆς πρός Θεόν ὁμιλίας κεχώρισται, καθ᾿ ὅσον καί τό εἰδέναι τοῦ (σελ. 238) κεκτῆσθαι διώρισται˙ περί Θεοῦ γάρ τι λέγειν καί Θεῷ συντυγχάνειν οὐχί ταὐτόν. Ἐκεῖνο μέν γάρ καί λόγου δεῖται, τούτου τοῦ προφερομένου δηλαδή, ἴσως δέ καί τῆς κατά τοῦτον τέχνης, εἰ μή μέλλει τις ἔχειν μόνον, ἀλλά καί χρῆσθαι καί διαδιδόναι τήν εἴδησιν, ἔτι δέ συλλογισμῶν παντοδαπῆς ὕλης καί τῶν ἐξ ἀποδείξεως ἀναγκῶν καί τῶν κατά κόσμον παραδειγμάτων, ὧν ἐκ τοῦ ὁρᾶν καί ἀκούειν τό πᾶν ἤ πλεῖστον ἀθροίζεται καί σχεδόν τῶν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ τούτῳ στρεφομένων ἐστί καί γένοιτ᾿ ἄν δήπου καί τοῖς τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου σοφοῖς, κἄν μή κεκαθαρμένοι τόν βίον ὦσι καί τήν ψυχήν. Θεόν δ᾿ ἐν ἑαυτῷ κτήσασθαι καί Θεῷ καθαρῶς συγγενέσθαι καί τῷ ἀκραιφνεστάτῳ φωτί κραθῆναι, καθ᾿ ὅσον ἐφικτόν ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει, τῶν ἀδυνάτων ἐστίν, εἰ μή πρός τῇ δι᾿ ἀρετῆςκαθάρσει καί ἡμῶν αὐτῶν ἔξω, μᾶλλον δέ ὑπεράνω, γενοίμεθα, καταλιπόντες μέν πᾶν ὅ τι τῶν αἰσθητῶν μετά τῆς αἰσθήσεως, ὑπεραρθέντες λογισμῶν καί διανοιῶν καί τῆς διά τούτων γνώσεως, ὅλοι δέ γενόμενοι τῆς ἀΰλου καί νοερᾶς κατά τήν προσευχήν ἐνεργείας καί τυχόντες ὑπέρ τήν γνῶσιν ἀγνοίας καί πλησθέντες ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ τοῦ πνεύματος ὑπερφαοῦς ἀγλαΐας, ὡς ἀθανάτου κόσμου γέρα φύσεως ἀοράτως καθορᾶν. Συνορᾷς οὗ κατελείφθη κάτω τά τῆς πολυθρυλήτου τῶν λόγων φιλοσοφίας, εἴπερ ἐκείνη μέν ἐξ αἰσθήσεως ἔχει τάς ἀρχάς, τέλος δέ τῶν διαφορωτάτων ταύτης εἰδῶν ἡ γνῶσίς ἐστι, καί γνῶσις μή διά καθαρότητος εὑρημένη, μηδέ καθαίρουσα παθῶν; Τῆς δέ πνευματικῆς θεωρίας ἀρχή μέν τἀγαθόν, διά καθαρότητος βίου πεπορισμένον, καί γῶσις τῶν ὄντων ἀληθής καί γνησία τῶν ἐχόντων, ἅτε μή ἐκ παθημάτων ἀλλ᾿ ἐκ καθαρότητος ἀναφανεῖσα, μόνη δυναμένη διακρίνειν τί τό ὡς ἀληθῶς καλόν τε καί λυσιτελές καί τί τό μή τοιοῦτον, τέλος δέ ὁ ἀρραβών τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος, ἡ ὑπέρ γνώσιν ἄγνοια καί ὑπέρ ἔννοιαν γνῶσις, ἡ κρυφία τοῦ κρυφίου μετουσία καί ὅρασις ἀνέκφραστος (σελ. 240) ἡ μυστική καί ἀπόρρητος τοῦ αἰωνίου φωτός θεωρία τε καί γεῦσις.

Ὅτι δέ τοῦτό ἐστι τό τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος φῶς καί ὡς αὐτό τό τούς μαθητάς περιαστράψαν ἐν τῇ τοῦ Χριστοῦ μεταμορφώσει φῶς καί τόν δι᾿ ἀρετῆς καί προσευχῆς κεκαθαρμένον ἀρτίως καταυγάζει νοῦν, συνετῶς ἀκούων εἴσῃ. ∆ιονυσίῳ μέν γάρ τῷ Ἀρεοπαγίτῃ τῷ ἐν Θαβωρίῳ φανέντι τοῦ Χριστοῦ φωτί τά σώματα τῶν ἁγίων ἐπί τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος κοσμεῖσθαί τε καί περιαστράπτεσθαι σαφῶς εἴρηται. Μακάριος δέ ὁ μέγας «ἡ τῷ τῆς ἐπουρανίου», φησίν, «εἰκόνος ἑνωθεῖσα φωτί ψυχή, καί νῦν μέν μυστηρίων γνῶσιν ἐν ὑποστάσει μυεῖται, ἐν δέ τῇ μεγάλῃ τῆς ἀναστάσεως ἡμέρᾳ τῇ αὐτῇ ἐπουρανίῳ τῆς δόξης εἰκόνι καί τό σῶμα ταύτης καταυγασθήσεται»˙ «ἐν ὑποστάσει» δέ εἶπεν, ὡς ἄν μή τις νομίςῃ διά γνώσεως καί νοημάτων εἶναι τοῦτον τόν φωτισμόν. Ἄλλως τε καί ὁ πνευματικός ἄνθρωπος ἐκ τριῶν ὑφέστηκε˙ χάριτος Πνεύματος ἐπουρανίου, ψυχῆς λογικῆς καί γηΐνου σώματος. Ἄκουε δή πάλιν τοῦ αὐτοῦ˙ «ἡ θεοειδής τοῦ Πνεύματος εἰκών νῦν ἔνδον ὥσπερ ἐντυπωθεῖσα, καί τό σῶμα θεοειδής ἔξω τότε καί οὐράνιον ἀπεργάσεται». Καί πάλιν˙ «τῇ ἀνθρωπότητι καταλλαγείς ὁ Θεός, ἀποκαθίστησι τήν πιστεύσασαν ἐν