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the mouth of her conscience, it will certainly tell you the truth; for it will not be ashamed of you, but will convict you and what you have put away beforehand and have in yourself, whether good or evil, it will show you. For in her conscience you will find whether you loved the world, or preferred God to it, whether you sought the glory of men, or longed only for that which is given from God; by stooping down into yourself as into a chest and feeling what lies within, bringing out the stored items one by one, you will know all things clearly. For suppose for me that there lie stored within, in the first place, a love of ambition and vainglory, a form of men-pleasing, the sweetmeats of praise from men, the garment of hypocrisy, a hidden seed of love of money, and simply many things lying within it and one covered up by another, and above all these let puffing-up be laid up for "knowledge," it says, "puffs up," along with it, conceit and the puffed-up thought of seeming to be something when one is nothing. Therefore, with these things lying upon all the others which we have mentioned before, how will you be able, tell me, to behold these things? You will certainly say: in no way.

Tell me then now this also. If you are not persuaded that some veil of such things lies upon your heart, but are unbelieving, just as the Hebrews, when Paul said this very thing to them, are unbelieving, and if you do not remove this veil from your heart, so that you may both see the passions covered by it and pity your wretched (103) soul and hasten to cleanse it and wash its spiritual eyes and its face with hot tears, having cast away behind you all external wisdom and knowledge, being persuaded by Paul, so that you may become a fool in this world, in order that you may become wise in Christ, how, tell me, while you are a fool, shall I explain to you the things concerning God and divine matters, since they are hidden and invisible? Will you not yourself condemn me as one doing an unworthy thing and rightly say within yourself: "This man," he says, "is truly foolish, who to me, a fool, explains the things that are invisible and incomprehensible to every breath under heaven and to all creation that is above the heavens"? For if even the angels of God do not know the things that are then to come to pass, just as they did not know of what sort His presence on earth would be, or when or at what time He was to come down and become man, how much more must they be ignorant of His final glorious presence, when it will be and how great, or what things He will then bestow on His saints? And that these things are truly so, Paul declared, saying: "so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities," and the Lord concerning His presence, that "the powers of the heavens will be shaken," that is, they will be astounded and will marvel, suddenly seeing what they had certainly not seen until then. If, therefore, the powers of the heavens are ignorant, how do you dare at all to say that the saints will not know one another in the kingdom of God, when they will be in the vision of Him? And you, who in turn oppose this and say: "Indeed they must see and know one another," where have you learned this?

O ignorance and madness and darkening! Do you not shudder, do you not fear? (104) For by your words you both will be condemned by the just and impartial judge. For to those who say that the saints do not see nor know one another, but see only Him, being supposedly united to Him, whole to whole, with all their senses, He will somehow speak and say: "Have you known Me, O you people? Have you seen My light? Have you received Me in yourselves? Have you learned by experience the energies of My Holy Spirit, or not?" They will not dare to answer back, I think, and say: "Yes," he says, "Master." For if they say this, He will say in reply to them: "How then, if you have experience of these things, do you say that those who will have me in themselves will not know one another? I

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συνειδότος αὐτῆς στόμα, ἐρεῖ σοι πάντως τό ἀληθές· οὐ γάρ αἰδεσθήσεταί σε, ἀλλ᾿ ἐλέγξει σε καί ἅ προαπέθου καί ἔχεις ἐν ἑαυτῷ, εἴτε ἀγαθά, εἴτε φαῦλα, ὑποδείξει σοι. Ἐν γάρ τῷ συνειδότι αὐτῆς εὑρήσεις, εἴτε τόν κόσμον ἠγάπησας, εἴτε τούτου προετίμησας τόν Θεόν, εἴτε τήν τῶν ἀνθρώπων δόξαν ἐζήτησας, εἴτε τήν ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ διδομένην μόνον ἐπόθησας· ἐν ἑαυτῷ παρακύψας ὡς ἐν κιβωτίῳ καί τό ὑποκείμενον ἀναψηλαφῶν, ἕν ἕν τῶν ἀποκειμένων ἐκβάλλων, πάντα γνωρίσεις τρανῶς. Ὑπόθου μοι γάρ ἐν πρώτοις ἐναποκεῖσθαι φιλοδοξίας καί κενοδοξίας ἔρωτα, εἶδος ἀνθρωπαρέσκειας, ἡδύσματα τῶν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἐπαίνων, ὑποκρίσεως ἔνδυμα, σπέρμα φιλαργυρίας ἐγκεκρυμμένον, καί ἁπλῶς πολλά ἐγκείμενα ἐν αὐτῷ καί ἕτερον ὑφ᾿ ἑτέρου συγκαλυπτόμενον, ἐπάνω δέ τούτων ἁπάντων ἔστω ἀνακειμένη φυσίωσις ἡ γάρ γνῶσις, φησί, φυσιοῖ , σύν ταύτῃ οἴησις καί τό δοκεῖν εἶναί τι μηδέν ὄντα τόν πεφυσιωμένον τόν λογισμόν. Τούτων τοιγαροῦν ἐπικειμένων τοῖς ἄλλοις οἷσπερ προείπομεν ἅπασι, πῶς ἰσχύσεις, εἰπέ μοι, ταῦτα θεάσασθαι; Πάντως ἐρεῖς· οὐδαμῶς.

Λέγε μοι οὖν ἄρτι καί τοῦτο. Μή πειθομένου σου ὅτι κάλυμμά τι τῶν τοιούτων ἐπίκειται τῇ καρδίᾳ σου, ἀλλ᾿ ἀπιστοῦντος, καθά δή καί Ἑβραῖοι, τοῦτο αὐτό τοῦ Παύλου λέγοντος πρός αὐτούς, ἀπιστοῦσι, καί μή περιαιροῦντός σου τό κάλυμμα τοῦτο ἐκ τῆς καρδίας σου, ἵνα καί τά ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ καλυπτόμενα πάθη ἴδῃς καί τήν ταλαίπωρόν σου (103) ψυχήν οἰκτειρήσῃς καί σπεύσῃς αὐτήν ἐκκαθᾶραι καί τούς νοερούς αὐτῆς ὀφθαλμούς καί τό πρόσωπον δάκρυσι θερμοῖς ἀπονίψῃς, πᾶσαν ἀπορριψάμενος ὄπισθεν σοφίαν καί γνῶσιν τήν ἔξωθεν, Παύλῳ πειθόμενος, ὡς ἄν γένῃ μωρός ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ τούτῳ, ἵνα γένῃ φρόνιμος ἐν Χριστῷ, πῶς, εἰπέ, μωροῦ ὄντος σου, τά περί Θεοῦ σοι καί τῶν θείων ἐκδιηγήσομαι, ἀποκεκρυμμένων ὄντων καί ἀοράτων αὐτῶν; Οὐκ αὐτός σύ καταγνώσεις μου ὡς ἀνάξιον πρᾶγμα ποιοῦντος καί ἐν σεαυτῷ δικαίως ἐρεῖς· "Οὗτος, φησίν, ὄντως ἄφρων ἐστίν, ὁ ἐμοί τῷ ἄφρονι τά περί τῶν ἀοράτων και ἀκαταλήπτων πάσῃ πνοῇ τῇ ὑπό τόν οὐρανόν καί πάσῃ κτίσει τῇ ὑπεράνω οὔσῃ τῶν οὐρανῶν διηγούμενος"; Εἰ γάρ τά τότε μέλλοντα γενέσθαι οὐδέ οἱ ἄγγελοι ἐπίστανται τοῦ Θεοῦ, καθώς οὐδέ τήν ἐπί γῆς αὐτοῦ παρουσίαν ὁποία ἤ ποταπή, ἤ πότε ἤ ὅτε κατελθεῖν ἔμελλε καί ἄνθρωπος γενέσθαι ἐγίνωσκον, πόσῳ μᾶλλον τήν μετά δόξης αὐτοῦ παρουσίαν ἔσχατον ἀγνοεῖν ὀφείλουσιν, ὁπότε γενήσεται καί ὁπόση, ἤ τίνα ἅπερ τότε τοῖς ἁγίοις αὐτοῦ μέλλει χαρίζεσθαι; Καί ὅτι ταῦτα οὕτως ἔχει ἐπί τῆς ἀληθείας, ὁ μέν Παῦλος ἐδήλωσεν εἰπών· "Ἵνα γνωρισθῇ νῦν ταῖς ἀρχαῖς καί ταῖς ἐξουσίαις διά τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἡ πολυποίκιλος σοφία τοῦ Θεοῦ", ὁ δέ Κύριος περί τῆς παρουσίας αὐτοῦ ὅτι "καί αἱ δυνάμεις τῶν οὐρανῶν σαλευθήσονται", ἀντί τοῦ ἐκπλαγήσονται καί θαυμάσουσιν, αἴφνης θεώμεναι ἅπερ μέχρι τότε πάντως οὐκ εἶδον. Εἰ τοίνυν αἱ δυνάμεις ἀγνοοῦσι τῶν οὐρανῶν, σύ, πῶς ὅλως ἀποτολμᾶς καί λέγεις ὅτι οὐ μή γνωρίζουσιν ἀλλήλους οἱ ἅγιοι ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὁπόταν ἐν τῇ θεωρίᾳ τούτου γενήσονται; Ὁ δέ γε τούτῳ πάλιν ἀντιπίπτων, σύ, καί φάσκων· "Ὄντως ὁρᾶν καί γνωρίζειν ἀλλήλους ὀφείλουσι", πόθεν τοῦτο μεμάθηκας;

Ὤ ἄγνοια καί μανία καί σκότωσις! Οὐ φρίττετε, οὐ φοβεῖσθε; (104) Ἐκ γάρ τῶν λόγων ὑμῶν ἀμφότεροι καταδικασθήσεσθε παρά τοῦ δικαίου καί ἀπροσωπολήπτου κριτοῦ. Πρός γάρ τούς λέγοντας μή ὁρᾶν μηδέ γνωρίζειν ἀλλήλους τούς ἁγίους, ἀλλά μόνον ἐκεῖνον ὁρᾶν, ταῖς αἰσθήσεσι πάσαις ὅλους ὅλῳ δῆθεν ἑνουμένους ἐκείνῳ, φθέγξεταί πως καί εἴπῃ· "Ἔγνωτέ με, ὦ οὗτοι; Εἴδετέ μου τό φῶς; Ἐνδέξασθέ με ἐν ὑμῖν; Τάς ἐνεργείας τοῦ Πνεύματός μου τοῦ Ἁγίου αὐτῇ τῇ πείρᾳ ἐμάθετε ἤ οὔ;" Οἵ οὐ μή τολμήσωσιν ἀντιφθέγξασθαι, οἶμαι, καί εἰπεῖν· "Ναί, φησί, ∆έσποτα". Εἰ γάρ τοῦτο ἐροῦσιν, ἀντερεῖ πρός αὐτούς· "Πῶς οὖν, εἰ τούτων ἐν πείρᾳ γεγόνατε, τούς ἐμέ ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἔχειν μέλλοντας μή γνωρίζειν ἀλλήλους λέγετε; Ἐγώ