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15∆_204 4.17 (ιζ΄) Just as it is not possible for an eye to perceive sensible things without sunlight, so without spiritual light the human mind will never receive spiritual contemplation. For sensible light, according to nature, illuminates the senses for the perception of bodily things; but spiritual light, for contemplation, illumines the mind for the understanding of things beyond sense.

4.18 (ιη΄) The nature of men possesses essentially, implanted in it by the Creator at its very coming into being, the powers for seeking and searching out divine things; but the revelations of divine things are brought about by grace, by the power of the all-holy Spirit which comes upon it. But since, in the beginning, through sin, the evil one nailed these powers to the nature of visible things, and there was no one who understood or sought after God, since all who partook of nature had their intellectual and rational power circumscribed by the surface of sensible things, and possessed no concept of things beyond sense, rightly the grace of the all-holy Spirit, for those who did not willingly by intention fall under the deception, un-nailing it from material things, restored the power that had been nailed down; 1312 which, having received it pure through grace, they first sought and searched, and thus they sought out and searched out, that is, through the same grace of the Spirit.

4.19 (ιθ΄) The salvation of souls, that is, is properly the end of faith. And the end of faith is the true revelation of that which was believed. And the true revelation of that which was believed is the ineffable indwelling of the thing believed in, in proportion to the faith in each person. And the indwelling of the thing believed in constitutes the return to the beginning, according to the end, of those who have believed. And the return of those who have believed to their own beginning, according to the end, is the fulfillment of desire. And the fulfillment of desire 15∆_206 is the ever-moving stability of those who desire around the object of desire. And the ever-moving stability of those who desire around the object of desire is the continuous and uninterrupted enjoyment of the object of desire. And the continuous and uninterrupted enjoyment of the object of desire constitutes the participation in divine things beyond nature. And participation in divine things beyond nature is the likeness of the participants to that which is participated in. And the likeness of the participants to that which is participated in is the identity, possible through likeness, of the participants with that which is participated in, according to energy. And the possible identity of the participants according to energy through likeness is the deification through likeness to that which is participated in, of those who are deemed worthy of deification.

4.20 (κ΄) Nature does not possess the principles of things beyond nature, just as it does not possess the laws of things contrary to nature. By "beyond nature" I mean the divine and inconceivable pleasure which God by nature is wont to produce, being united by grace to the worthy; and by "contrary to nature," the unspeakable pain constituted by the privation of this, which God by nature is wont to produce, being united apart from grace to the unworthy. For according to the underlying quality of each one's disposition, God, uniting Himself to all, as He Himself knows, provides to each the sensation, just as each has been formed by himself for the reception of Him who will in every way be united to all at the end of the ages.

1313 4.21 (κα΄) Those who seek out in spirit the salvation of souls, and search out the spiritual principles and ways of this salvation, the Holy Spirit guides to understanding, not allowing the power through which they are naturally equipped to seek out divine things to remain for them motionless and inactive.

4.22 (κβ΄) First one seeks by his will to put sin to death, and his will to sin; and thus he searches out how and in what manner he must put them to death for each other. And again after the 15∆_208 perfect putting to death of these for each other,

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15∆_204 4.17 (ιζ΄) Ὥσπερ οὐκ ἔστι χωρίς ἡλιακοῦ φωτός ὀφθαλμόν ἀντιλαμβάνεσθαι τῶν αἰσθητῶν, οὕτω δίχα πνευματικοῦ φωτός νοῦς ἀνθρώπινος οὔποτ᾿ ἄν δέξεται θεωρίαν πνευματικήν. Τό μέν γάρ αἰσθητόν φῶς, κατά φύσιν φωτίζει τήν αἴσθησιν πρός τήν τῶν σωματικῶν ἀντίληψιν· τό δέ πνευματικόν, πρός τήν θεωρίαν τόν νοῦν καταυγάζει πρός κατανόησιν τῶν ὑπέρ αἴσθησιν.

4.18 (ιη΄) Τάς μέν ζητητικάς τε καί ἐρευνητικάς τῶν θείων δυνάμεις οὐσιωδῶς ἔχει καταβεβλημένας αὐτῇ παρά τοῦ Κτίσαντος κατ᾿ αὐτήν τήν εἰς τό εἶναι πάροδον, ἡ τῶν ἀνθρώπων φύσις· τάς δέ τῶν θείων ἀποκαλύψεις, κατά χάριν ἡ τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος ἐπιφοιτῶσα ποιεῖται δύναμις. Ἐπειδή δέ κατ᾿ ἀρχάς διά τῆς ἁμαρτίας, τῇ φύσει τῶν ὁρατῶν ταύτας ὁ πονηρός προσήλωσε τάς δυνάμεις, καί οὐκ ἦν ὁ συνιών ἤ ἐκζητῶν τόν Θεόν, πάντων τῶν μετειληφότων τῆς φύσεως, τήν νοεράν τε καί λογικήν δύναμιν ἐχόντων περιγεγραμμένην τῇ ἐπιφανείᾳ τῶν αἰσθητῶν, καί μηδεμίαν κεκτημένων ἔννοιαν τῶν ὑπέρ αἴσθησιν, εἰκότως ἡ τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος χάρις, τοῖς μή κατά πρόθεσιν ἐνδιαθέτως ὑπό τήν ἀπάτην γενομένοις, τῶν ὑλικῶν ἀφηλώσασα, τήν προσηλωμένην 1312 ἀποκατέστησεν δύναμιν· ἦν καθαράν ἀπολαβόντες διά τῆς χάριτος, πρῶτον ἐζήτησαν καί ἠρεύνησαν, καί οὕτως ἐξεζήτησαν καί ἐξηρεύνησαν, διά τῆς αὐτῆς δηλαδή τοῦ Πνεύματος χάριτος.

4.19 (ιθ΄) Σωτηρία δηλαδή ψυχῶν, κυρίως ἐστί, τό τέλος τῆς πίστεως. Τέλος δέ πίστεώς ἐστιν, ἡ τοῦ πιστευθέντος ἀληθής ἀποκάλυψις. Ἀληθής δέ τοῦ πιστευθέντος ἐστίν ἀποκάλυψις, ἡ κατά ἀναλογίαν τῆς ἐν ἑκάστῳ πίστεως ἄῤῥητος τοῦ πεπιστευμένου περιχώρησις. Περιχώρησις δέ τοῦ πεπιστευμένου καθέστηκεν, ἡ πρός τήν ἀρχήν κατά τό τέλος τῶν πεπιστευκότων ἐπάνοδος. Ἡ δέ πρός τήν οἰκείαν ἀρχήν κατά τό τέλος τῶν πεπιστευκότων ἐπάνοδός ἐστιν, ἡ τῆς ἐφέσεως πλήρωσις. Ἐφέσεως δέ πλήρωσίς 15∆_206 ἐστιν, ἡ περί τό ἐφετόν τῶν ἐφιεμένων ἀεικίνητος στάσις. Ἀεικίνητος δέ στάσις περί τό ἐφετόν τῶν ἐφιεμένων ἐστίν, ἡ τοῦ ἐφετοῦ διηνεκής τε καί ἀδιάστατος ἀπόλαυσις. Ἀπόλαυσις δέ διηνεκής τε καί ἀδιάστατος τοῦ ἐφετοῦ, ἡ τῶν ὑπέρ φύσιν θείων καθέστηκε μέθεξις. Μέθεξις δέ τῶν ὑπέρ φύσιν θείων ἐστίν, ἡ πρός τό μετεχόμενον τῶν μετεχόντων ὁμοίωσις. Ἡ δέ πρός τό μετεχόμενον τῶν μετεχόντων ὁμοίωσίς ἐστιν, ἡ κατ᾿ ἐνέργειαν πρός αὐτό τό μετεχόμενον τῶν μετεχόντων δι᾿ ὁμοιότητος ἐνδεχομένη ταυτότης. Ἡ δέ τῶν μετεχόντων ἐνδεχομένη κατ᾿ ἐνέργειαν δι᾿ ὁμοιότητος ταυτότης, ἡ δι᾿ ὁμοιότητος πρός τό μετεχόμενόν ἐστι θέωσις τῶν ἀξιουμένων θεώσεως.

4.20 (κ΄) Οὐκ ἔχει ἡ φύσις τῶν ὑπέρ φύσιν τούς λόγους, ὥσπερ οὐδέ τῶν παρά φύσιν τούς νόμους. Ὑπέρ φύσιν δέ λέγω, τήν θείαν καί ἀνεννόητον ἡδονήν, ἥν ποιεῖν πέφυκεν ὁ Θεός φύσει, κατά χάριν τοῖς ἀξίοις ἑνούμενος· παρά φύσιν δέ, τήν κατά στέρησιν ταύτης συνισταμένην ἀνεκλάλητον ὀδύνην, ἥν ποιεῖν εἴωθεν ὁ Θεός φύσει, παρά τήν χάριν τοῖς ἀναξίοις ἑνούμενος. Κατά γάρ τήν ὑποκειμένην ἑκάστῳ ποιότητα τῆς διαθέσεως, ὁ Θεός τοῖς πᾶσιν ἑνούμενος, ὡς οἶδεν αὐτός, τήν αἴσθησιν ἑκάστῳ παρέχεται, καθώς ἐστιν ἕκαστος ὑφ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ διαπεπλασμένος, πρός ὑποδοχήν τοῦ πάντως πᾶσιν ἑνωθησομένου κατά τό πέρας τῶν αἰώνων.

1313 4.21 (κα΄) Τούς ἐκζητοῦντας ἐν πνεύματι τήν τῶν ψυχῶν σωτηρίαν, καί ἐξερευνῶντας τούς ταύτης πνευματικούς τῆς σωτηρίας λόγους τε καί τρόπους, ὁδηγεῖ πρός κατανόησιν τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον, οὐκ ἐῶν ἀκίνητον αὐτοῖς μένειν, καί ἀνενέργητον τήν δι᾿ ἧς τά θεῖα ἐκζητεῖν πεφύκασι δύναμιν.

4.22 (κβ΄) Πρῶτόν τις ζητεῖ τῇ προαιρέσει νεκρῶσαι τήν ἁμαρτίαν, καί τήν προαίρεσιν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ· καί οὕτως ἐρευνᾷ, πῶς δεῖ καί ποίῳ τρόπῳ νεκρῶσαι ταύτας ἀλλήλαις. Καί πάλιν μετά τήν 15∆_208 τούτων ἀλλήλαις τελείαν νέκρωσιν,