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receiving the word of the parables with full assurance they might see the truth itself and the clear outcome of the events in them. For these parables are images of the things that are happening; and how, listen. The mustard seed is the all-holy Spirit; for understand this to be for me the kingdom of heaven and nothing else. But a man (153) is every believer who desires through the working of the commandments to receive this seed. And the garden is no other place than the heart of each of us, where we take this one seed—not the many, for it is not from things that are divided, being uncuttable by nature and indivisible—and hide it in it; and while we keep and guard ourselves with all vigilance, it grows as we know not, and having sprung up it is seen and having grown greatly it is recognized by those in whom it sprang up, and having become a tree and made many branches, it produces an ineffable joy in the one possessing it. Therefore, just as without the seed the garden brings forth nothing useful except only thorns and wild plants, and the seed without being cast into a garden does not bear fruit, but remains alone as it is, so also truly our souls without the divine seed remain and become fruitless and thorn-bearing. For the divine seed, before being cast in us, that is in our hearts, remains itself as wholly God, receiving no addition nor indeed enduring any subtraction at all, but in us it neither sprouts at all nor does it receive growth. For how will that which is separated by connection show a power of growth equal to those joined to it? In no way, just as fire never ignites a whole of which it has not touched, nor is matter set ablaze unless it is united to the fire in substance.

Therefore, just as with the divine gospels, some things are said to us obscurely, as has been stated, and through parables, and others plainly and without veils, so also with the apostolic and divinely inspired sayings, not all things are said to us manifestly and without some curtain, but sometimes they require much examination and interpretation, bearing a depth of thoughts and mysteries somehow in the (154) utterance. And, if it seems good, let us take up one of the subjects and contemplations of the apostolic sayings and we shall see what are the depths of the Spirit, since according to the divine oracle, "The Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God."

What then is this and of what sort is the beginning of the contemplation of the word? The unutterable sayings which the divine Paul heard when he was caught up to the third heaven. But let us first inquire from their very prefaces what a saying is, so that thus proceeding in order we may know well the power of the apostolic sayings. Therefore a saying is a word, just as a word is also called a saying; for he says, "Speak a word and my servant will be healed." And in Job: "Speak some saying to the Lord and die." And elsewhere: "The sayings of his mouth." And the sayings and the words of men are spoken by the mouths of men and are likewise heard by human ears, but the saying of God and His word, proceeding from His mouth, is completely ineffable to the human tongue and entirely incomprehensible to the carnal ear, not only that, but also unable to come into its perception, since perception, clearly, is not strong enough to perceive the things beyond perception.

Therefore, as saying and word, according to the first approach of contemplation, we know none other than the Son of God and the Father, Himself our Lord Jesus Christ who is truly existing God; and His mouth that speaks the unutterable sayings is none other than the Holy and consubstantial Spirit Himself, as the prophet says: "For the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things," instead of the Spirit of the Lord. Therefore the mouth of God is the Holy Spirit, and the saying and word is His Son and God. And why is the Spirit called the mouth of God, and the Son saying and word? Because, just as through our mouth (155) the word

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μετά πληροφορίας τόν λόγον δεχόμενοι τῶν παραβολῶν αὐτήν τήν ἀλήθειαν καί τήν τῶν πραγμάτων ἐναργῆ θεάσωνται ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς ἔκβασιν. Αἱ γάρ παραβολαί αὗται εἰκόνες τῶν γινομένων πραγμάτων εἰσί· καί ὅπως, ἄκουε. Ὁ κόκκος τοῦ σινέπεως τό πανάγιον Πνεῦμά ἐστι· τοῦτο γάρ καί τήν βασιλείαν μοι νόει εἶναι τῶν οὐρανῶν καί οὐχ ἕτερόν τι. Ἄνθρωπος δέ (153) ἐστιν ὁ πᾶς πιστός καί βουλόμενος διά τῆς ἐργασίας τῶν ἐντολῶν τοῦτον τόν κόκκον λαβεῖν. Κῆπος δέ οὐδείς ἕτερος τόπος ἐστίν εἰ μή ἑκάστου ἡμῶν ἡ καρδία, ἔνθα τόν ἕνα κόκκον τοῦτον - οὐ τούς πολλούς, οὐδέ γάρ ἀπό τῶν διχοτομουμένων ὑπάρχει , τόν ἄτμητον ὄντα τῇ φύσει καί ἀδιαίρετον λαμβάνοντες, κρύβομεν ἐν αὐτῇ· πάσῃ δέ φυλακῇ τηροῦντες ἑαυτούς καί φυλάττοντες, αὐτός αὐξάνει ὡς οὐκ ἴσμεν ἡμεῖς καί φυείς ὁρᾶται καί αὐξηθείς ἐπί πολύ ἐπιγινώσκεται παρά τῶν ἐν οἷς ἐφύη καί εἰς δένδρον γενόμενος καί κλάδους ποιήσας πολλούς ἄφραστον τῷ κεκτημένῳ αὐτόν ἐμποιεῖ τήν χαράν. Ὥσπερ οὖν δίχα τοῦ σπόρου οὐδέν ὁ κῆπος χρήσιμον προφέρει εἰ μή μόνον ἀκάνθας καί βοτάνας ἀγρίας καί ὁ σπόρος δίχα τοῦ βληθῆναι εἰς κῆπον οὐ καρποφορεῖ, ἀλλά μένει μόνος οἷόν ἐστιν, οὕτω δή καί ἡμῶν ἀληθῶς αἱ ψυχαί δίχα τοῦ θείου σπόρου ἄκαρποι καί ἀκανθηφόροι διατελοῦσι καί γίνονται. Ὁ γάρ θεῖος σπόρος, πρό τοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν ἤγουν ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν ἐμβληθῆναι, αὐτός μένει μέν οἷος ὅλος ὑπάρχει Θεός, μήτε προσθήκην δεχόμενος μήτε μήν ὕφεσιν ὑπομένων τό σύνολον, ἐν ἡμῖν δέ οὔτε φύει ὅλως οὔτε αὔξησιν ἐπιδέχεται. Πῶς γάρ ὁ κατά συνάφειαν διεστώς ἴσα τοῖς συναφθεῖσιν αὐτῷ τήν αὐξητικήν δύναμιν ἐπιδείξεται; Οὐδαμῶς, ὥσπερ οὐδέ τό πῦρ ὅλην ἀνάπτει ποτέ ἧς μή προσψαύσειεν, οὐδέ ὕλη ἐμπίπραται, εἰ μή τῷ πυρί ἑνωθῇ καθ᾿ ὑπόσταστιν.

Τοίνυν καί καθάπερ τά τῶν θείων εὐαγγελίων, τά μέν συνεσκιασμένως, ὡς εἴρηται, καί διά παραβολῶν λέγεται πρός ἡμᾶς, τά δέ παρρησίᾳ καί ἀπερικαλύπτως, οὕτω καί τά τῶν ἀποστολικῶν καί θεοφράστων ῥημάτων οὐ πάντα φανερῶς καί ἄνευ παραπετάσματός τινος λέγεται πρός ἡμᾶς, ἀλλ᾿ ἔσθ᾿ ὅτε πολλῆς τῆς ἐξετάσεως καί ἑρμηνείας δεόμενα, βάθος νοημάτων καί μυστηρίων ἐν τῷ (154) ῥητῷ πως ἐπιφερόμενα. Καί, εἰ δοκεῖ, μιᾶς τῶν ἀποστολικῶν ῥημάτων ὑποθέσεώς τε καί θεωρίας ἁψώμεθα καί ὀψόμεθα τί τά βάθη τοῦ Πνεύματος, ἐπειδή κατά τό θεῖον λόγιον "Τό Πνεῦμα πάντα ἐρευνᾷ καί τά βάθη τοῦ Θεοῦ".

Τίς οὖν ἐστιν αὕτη καί ὁποία τῆς θεωρίας τοῦ λόγου ἀπαρχή; Τά ἄρρητα ῥήματα ἅ εἰς τρίτον οὐρανόν ὁ θεῖος ἁρπαγείς Παῦλος ἀκήκοεν. Ἀλλά γάρ ἐκ προοιμίων αὐτῶν τί ἐστι ῥῆμα πρῶτον ζητήσωμεν, ἵν᾿ οὕτω καθ᾿ ὁδόν ἐρχόμενοι τήν δύναμιν γνῶμεν τῶν ἀποστολικῶν ῥημάτων καλῶς. 'Ρῆμα τοιγαροῦν ὁ λόγος ἐστίν, ὥσπερ οὖν καί ὁ λόγος ῥῆμα καλεῖται· "Εἰπέ" γάρ, φησί, "λόγον καί ἰαθήσεται ὁ παῖς μου". Καί ἐν τῷ Ἰώβ· "Εἰπέ ῥῆμά τι πρός Κύριον καί τελεύτα". Καί ἀλλαχοῦ· "Τά ῥήματα τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ". Καί τά μέν ῥήματα καί οἱ λόγοι τῶν ἀνθρώπων στόμασι λαλοῦνται ἀνθρώπων καί ὠσίν ὡσαύτως ἀνθρωπίνοις ἀκούονται, τό δέ ῥῆμα τοῦ Θεοῦ καί ὁ λόγος αὐτοῦ, διά τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ ἐξερχόμενος, ἄφραστός ἐστι παντελῶς ἀνθρωπίνῃ γλώσσῃ καί ἀκοῇ σαρκίνῃ πάντῃ ἀχώρητος, οὐ μόνον δέ, ἀλλά καί εἰς αἴσθησιν αὐτῆς μή δυνάμενος ἐλθεῖν, τῆς αἰσθήσεως δηλονότι μή ἰσχυούσης αἰσθανθῆναι τά ὑπέρ αἴσθησιν.

'Ρῆμα οὖν καί λόγον κατά πρώτην ἐπιβολήν θεωρίας οὐδένα ἄλλον γινώσκομεν ἤ τόν Υἱόν τοῦ Θεοῦ καί Πατρός, αὐτόν τόν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν τόν ὄντως ὄντα Θεόν· στόμα δέ αὐτοῦ τό λαλοῦν τά ἄρρητα ῥήματα οὐδέν ἕτερον ἤ αὐτό τό Ἅγιον καί ὁμοούσιον Πνεῦμα, καθώς ὁ προφήτης φησί· "Τό γάρ στόμα Κυρίου ἐλάλησε ταῦτα" ἀντί τοῦ τό Πνεῦμα Κυρίου. Στόμα τοίνυν Θεοῦ τό Ἅγιον Πνεῦμά ἐστιν, ῥῆμα δέ καί λόγος ὁ Υἱός αὐτοῦ καί Θεός. ∆ιά τί δέ τό Πνεῦμα στόμα καλεῖται Θεοῦ, ὁ δέ Υἱός ῥῆμα καί λόγος; Ἐπειδή, ὥσπερ διά τοῦ στόματος (155) ἡμῶν ὁ λόγος