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and you should approach saying thus: Behold, Savior, now a heart (116) and soul broken and terribly punished and vehemently burning! Behold, Master, me naked, behold me bereft of every virtue, a stranger and exceedingly poor in these things and having nothing to give for Your ransom, O Word, and have mercy on me, my only forbearing God. For what worthy thing shall I find in the world, O my God, which I may give in Your honor, You who made all things? For what did the harlot give, what did the thief offer, and the prodigal, my Christ, what wealth did he bring to You? Say these things, and you will hear: Yes, they offered me gifts, yes, they offered me wealth; having given what they had, they received the pearl better than the whole world. These things you too, if you wish, bring to me and you will certainly receive. With these things approach me and I will immediately show you the pearl which they received, and you will rejoice; and if you give your very soul, (117) you will consider it nothing worthy, you will reckon as nothing worthy, whatever you have paid at all. For I, if you approach as the harlot approached me, certainly have authority, certainly have pearls, which if the world receives, and with this world myriads of other worlds, not one single pearl will be exhausted from my treasures, and I will provide you a gift as well, just as I provided for her. God would say these things to you
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καί προσέλθῃς λέγων οὕτως˙ Ἴδε, Σῶτερ, νῦν καρδίαν (116) καί ψυχήν συντετριμμένην καί δεινῶς κολαζομένην καί σφοδρῶς ἐκκαιομένην! Ἴδε, ∆έσποτα, γυμνόν με, ἴδε με ἠπορημένον ἀρετῆς ἁπάσης ξένον καί πτωχόν ἐν τούτοις λίαν καί μή ἔχοντά τι δοῦναι εἰς ἐξώνησίν σου, Λόγε, καί ἐλέησόν με, μόνε ἀνεξίκακε Θεέ μου. Τί γάρ ἄξιον εὑρήσω ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, ὦ Θεέ μου, ὅπερ δώσω εἰς τιμήν σου, τοῦ ποιήσαντος τά πάντα; Τί γάρ ἔδωκεν ἡ πόρνη, τί δέ ὁ λῃστής παρέσχεν, ὁ δέ ἄσωτος, Χριστέ μου, ποῖον πλοῦτόν σοι προσῆξε; Ταῦτα λέξον, καί ἀκούσῃ˙ Ναί, προσέφερόν μοι δῶρα, ναί, προσέφερόν μοι πλοῦτον˙ δεδωκότες ἅπερ εἶχον, ἔλαβον τόν μαργαρίτην τοῦ παντός κρείττω τοῦ κόσμου. Ταῦτά μοι καί σύ, εἰ βούλει, κόμισον καί λήψῃ πάντως. Μετά τούτων πρόσελθέ μοι καί εὐθύς σοι ὑποδείξω, ὅνπερ ἔλαβον ἐκεῖνοι μαργαρίτην, καί χαρήσῃ˙ καί ψυχήν αὐτήν εἰ δώσεις, (117) ἄξιον οὐδέν νομίσεις, ἄξιον οὐδέν λογίσῃ, ὅ,τι ὅλως κατεβάλου. Ἐγώ γάρ, ἐάν προσέλθῃς, ὡς ἡ πόρνη μοι προσῆλθε, πάντως ἔχω ἐξουσίαν, πάντως ἔχω μαργαρίτας, οὕς ὁ κόσμος, ἐάν λάβῃ, καί σύν κόσμῳ τούτῳ ἄλλαι μυριάδες ἄλλων κόσμων, οὐκ ἐκλείψει μαργαρίτης μόνος εἷς ἐκ θησαυρῶν μου, καί παρέξω σοι καί δῶρον, ὡς ἐκείνῃ παρεσχόμην. Ταῦτά σοι Θεός προσείπῃ