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has not heard, and has not entered into the heart of man; but to us God has revealed it through His Spirit; for the Spirit searches even the depths of God».

One might prove the truth of what is said also from your contradiction, O philosopher. For you, hearing, and often hearing, from those who pursue from experience—in words, in writings, in testimonies, in examples—about a light that is not of sense, not of sense only, but also altogether higher than intellect, which the mind attains and which it becomes in a superior manner, having gone out of and transcended itself and become united with God, you, hearing these things, now, being unable to raise your intellect from the material light, accuse them as speaking of a sensible light, now, from defect, turning aside not to the mean and the true but to excess and falsehood, you throw yourself over another cliff, asserting that they say this is the essence of God and that it can be contemplated; you would not have suffered this, if you had held divine things to be unattainable by human reasonings and had offered faith with reverence as the only thing receptive of such things, and if through works you had sought the more perfect knowledge and built experience upon faith, the roof of grace, which crowns love in the true contemplation of God; thus it surpasses human reasoning, and after it has been given it surpasses human reasoning, and after the gifts of the Spirit have been given. For one who has an accurate comprehension of the teachings, you have little, and that as if untaught, understanding of the spiritual energies—as you yourself might say—not even a moderate one, indeed, even when being taught; rightly so; for the word of the Lord is true, abiding forever and ever, who revealed to John (p. 314) that to the one who lives in a manner pleasing to God is given a white stone, which no one can know, except the one who receives it; and how even he is able, we have been taught by Paul.

After equating the gifts according to nature and above nature, he then at greater length attacks the apostolic command concerning prayer, saying that it is impossible to pray without ceasing, unless we should accept it as he himself explains it; and he explains that the apostle here means by praying not the act of prayer, but the having of the habit of it; «The habit of prayer», he says, «is to think that one can do nothing and bring it to completion, unless God wills it; therefore,» he says, «the one who has this habit prays without ceasing». If praying without ceasing is such a thing, then the philosopher will not even look up from his Greek books and yet he will be praying without ceasing. What then might one say to such a philosopher who prays without ceasing and yet never prays? What the apostle says elsewhere: «praying at all times in the Spirit, and to that end keeping alert». Does he here too introduce this habit, which you speak of, or the activity, although to say 'without ceasing' and 'at all times' is the same thing? And by further enjoining vigilance in prayer, he is clearly commanding that one hold to the activity without ceasing. And the Lord also told a parable to the disciples, according to the evangelist Luke, «that they ought always to pray and not to lose heart». Did He then here too lead them to the habit? But the parable does not show this, but persistent asking; and 'not to lose heart', that is not to cease from constancy because of sloth, shows that the exhortation is not to the habit, and that one which this wise man speaks of, but to the very activity of prayer, namely supplication, which the final word of the Lord in the parable also makes clear; (p. 316) «for God», He says, «will give what is holy to those who ask Him day and night», that is to those who pray thus without ceasing. And we have need of this unceasing supplication, not so as to persuade God, for He is self-moved to entreaty, nor as if we would draw Him down, for He is everywhere, but so as to

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οὐκ ἤκουσε καί ἐπί καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέβη˙ ἡμῖν δέ ἀπεκάλυψεν ὁ Θεός διά τοῦ Πνεύματος αὐτοῦ˙ τό γάρ Πνεῦμα ἐρευνᾶ καί τά βάθη τοῦ Θεοῦ».

Τεκμηριώσαιτο δ᾿ ἄν τις τήν ἀλήθειαν τῶν λεγομένων καί ἀπό τῆς σῆς ἀντιλογίας, ὦ φιλόσοφε. Σύ γάρ ἀκούων, καί συχνῶς ἀκούων, τῶν μετιόντων ἐκ πείρας ἐν λόγοις, ἐν γράμμασιν, ἐν μαρτυρίαις, ἐν ὑποδείγμασι περί φωτός οὐκ αἰσθήσεως οὐκ αἰσθήσεως μόνον, ἀλλά καί διανοίας ὑψηλοτέρου παντάπασιν, οὗ τυγχάνει νοῦς καί ὅ γίνεται κρειττόνως ἐκστάς καί ὑπεραναβάς ἑαυτόν καί Θεῷ συγγενόμενος, σύ τούτων ἀκούων, νῦν μέν, ἐπαναστῆσαι τήν διάνοιαν τοῦ προσύλου φωτός οὐ δυνάμενος, ὡς περί αἰσθητοῦ λεγόντων φωτός κατηγορεῖς, νῦν δ᾿ ἐκ τῆς ἐλλείψεως, οὐκ εἰς τό μέσον καί ἀληθές ἀλλ᾿ εἰς ὑπερβολήν καί ψεῦδος ἐκκλίνων, καθ᾿ ἑτέρου βάλλεις σεαυτόν κρημνοῦ, τήν τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐσίαν τοῦτ᾿ εἶναι καί θεωρητήν ε ἶναι λέγειν ἐκείνους ἰσχυριζόμενος˙ οὐκ ἄν τοῦτο παθών, εἰ λογισμοῖς ἀνθρωπίνοις ἀνέφικτα τά θεῖα ἐδόξαζες καί πίστιν μετ᾿ εὐλαβείας προσῆγες ὡς μόνην δεκτικήν τῶν τοιούτων καί δι᾿ ἔργων τήν τελεωτέραν ἐζήτεις εἴδησιν καί τῇ πίστει τήν πεῖραν ἐπῳκοδόμεις, τόν τῆς χάριτος ὄροφον, τήν ἐν ἀληθεῖ θεωρίᾳ Θεοῦ ἀγάπην ἐπιστεγάζουσαν˙ οὕτως ἀνθρώπινον ὑπερβαίνει λογισμόν καί μετά τό δεδόσθαι τό ἀνθρώπινον ὑπερβαίνει λογισμόν καί μετά τό δεδόσθαι τά τοῦ Πνεύματος δόματα. Ὁ γοῦν ἐν ἀκριβεῖ καταλήψει τῶν μαθημάτων γεγονώς, μικροῦ καί ἀδιδάκτως, ὡς αὐτός ἄν εἴποις, τῶν πνευματικῶν ἐνεργημάτων, οὐδέ μετρίως γοῦν ἐπαΐοις καί διδασκόμενος˙ εἰκότως˙ ὁ γάρ λόγος Κυρίου ἀληθής, διαμένων εἰς αἰῶνα αἰῶνος, ὅς τῷ Ἰωάννῃ (σελ. 314) ἀπεκάλυψεν ὅτι τῷ θεαρέστως ζῶντι δίδοται ψῆφος λευκή, ἥν οὐδείς δύναται γῶναι, εἰ μή ὁ λαβών˙ ὅπως δέ κἀκεῖνος δύναται, παρά τοῦ Παύλους ἐδεδάχθημεν.

Μετά δή τήν τῶν κατά φύσιν τε καί ὑπέρ φύσιν δώρων ἐξίσωσιν, διά πλειόντων ἐπιτίθεται τῇ περί προσευχῆς ἀποστολικῇ ἐντολῇ, λέγων ἀδύνατον εἶναι τό ἀδιαλείπτως προσεύχεσθαι, εἰ μή ὡς αὐτός ἐξηγεῖται παραδεξαίμεθα˙ ἐξηγεῖται δέ προσεύχεσθαι ἐνταῦθα λέγειν τόν ἀπόστολον οὐ τό ἐνεργεῖν τήν προσευχήν, ἀλλά τό τήν ἕξιν ἔχειν αὐτῆς˙ «ἕξις δέ ἐστι», φησί, «προσευχῆς τό μηδέν δύνασθαι πράττειν οἴεσθαι καί εἰς πέρας ἄγειν, μή βουλομένου Θεοῦ˙ ὁ τοίνυν», φησί, «ταύτην τήν ἕξιν ἔχων ἀδιαλείπτως προσεύχεται». Τοιοῦτον δ᾿ ὄν τό ἀδιαλείπτως προσεύχεσθαι, καί τῶν ἑλληνικῶν ἄρα βιβλίων ὁ φιλόσοφος οὐκ ἀνακύψει καί ἀδιαλείπτς προσεύξεται. Τί οὖν ἄν εἴποι τις πρός τόν ἀδιαλείπτως καί μηδέποτε προσευχόμενον τοιοῦτον φιλόσοφον; Ὅπερ ὁ ἀπόστολος ἀλλαχοῦ λέγων˙ «προσευχόμενοι ἐν παντί καιρῷ ἐν πνεύματι καί εἰς αὐτό τοῦτο ἀγρυπνοῦντες». Ἆρα κἀν τούτῳ τήν ἕξιν ταύτην εἰσηγεῖται, ἥν αὐτός λέγεις, ἤ τήν ἐνέργειαν, καίτοι ταὐτόν ἐστιν ἀδιαλείπτως τε εἰπεῖν καί ἐν παντί καιρῷ; Προσεπισκήψας δέ τήν ἐπί τῷ προσεύχεσθαι ἀγνυπνίαν, δῆλός ἐστιν ἀδιαλείπτως ἔχεσθαι τῆς ἐνεργείας ἐπιτάττων. Ἔλεγε δέ καί ὁ Κύριος παραβολήν τοῖς μαθηταῖς, κατά τόν εὐαγγελιστήν Λουκᾶν, «πρός τό δεῖν πάντοτε προσεύχεσθαι καί μή ἐκκακεῖν». Ἆρ᾿ οὖν κἀνταῦθα πρός τήν ἕξιν ἐνῆγεν; Ἀλλ᾿ οὐ τοῦτο ἡ παραβολή δείκνυσιν, ἀλλά τήν ἐπίμονον αἴτησιν˙ καί τό μή ἐκκακεῖν δέ, τουτέστι μή ἐφίεσθαι τῆς προσεδρείας ὑπό ρᾳθυμίας, δείκνυσι τήν προτροπήν οὖσαν οὐ πρός τήν ἕξιν, καί ταῦθ᾿ ἥν ὁ σοφός οὗτος λέγει, ἀλλά πρός τήν αὐτήν τήν ἐνέργειαν τῆς προσευχῆς, δηλαδή τήν δέησιν, ὅ καί τό ἐπιτελεύτιον ἐν τῇ παραβολῇ ρῆμα τοῦ Κυρίου δηλοῖ˙ (σελ. 316) «δώσει γάρ», φησίν, «ὁ Θεός ἅγιον τοῖς αἰτοῦσι αὐτόν ἡμέρας καί νυκτός», τουτέστι τοῖς ἀδιαλείπτως οὕτω προσευχομένοις. ∆εόμεθα δέ τῆς ἀδιαλείπτου ταύτης δεήσεως οὐχ ὥστε πεῖσαι Θεόν, αὐτοπαράκλητος γάρ, οὐδ᾿ ὡς ἐφελκυσόμενοι τοῦτον πανταχοῦ γάρ, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς