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which he heard concerning his incarnation and his appearance upon the earth. For even this very act of saying "Lord," while seeing him and speaking, has power. For who addresses one whom he does not see as if seeing him? Can one who does not see the earthly king say to him: "O king, I have heard the decrees of your kingdom"? By no means. For he does not say only that he heard his report, but also that "you will be known," he says, "and you will be recognized and revealed," as one who has learned his will with all certainty, clearly, and as if somehow saying to him: "You will do such and such things, just as it has been decreed by your kingdom, master"? Moreover, all the prophetic words hint at this.

Thus, then, the divine Scripture customarily puts the vision of God as hearing, and hearing in place of vision. (159) Thus also the divine Paul fittingly called the ineffable visions and illuminations and the teachings and revelations, which are beyond the measure of human nature and power, "words," and said that he "heard" them, and handed this down in writing. Wherefore he also said: "And because of the abundance of the revelations, that I should not be exalted, a thorn in the flesh was given to me." If, therefore, he heard before, how did he afterwards call what he heard "revelations," unless it is as we have said? For thus also David prays that his eyes might be unveiled to understand the wondrous things of God from his law. He who had previously said, "Whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body, I was caught up," how does he later say that he "heard," unless it is as we have explained in detail above and as the truth of the matter itself holds? Therefore, through the "being caught up," he first indicated the vision, but the things within the vision and the more manifest things of the glory and divinity that shine forth more clearly, as producing knowledge and teaching the one seeing and revealing things that are ineffable and incomprehensible to all, he said he "heard," as if the sense of hearing and the sense of sight are one and the same, clearly, in spiritual matters. Whence he is not able to ever say what even one of the things seen or heard is like, just as he sees and hears them"; for this reason he added that it is impossible to speak of these things with the tongue.

But let us be zealous to purify ourselves through repentance and humility and to unite all the senses as one to the good and supremely good God; and then all these things, which we are not able to speak of and present through many words, you will be taught all at once in the same way, hearing in vision and seeing in hearing, learning in contemplation and again hearing in revelation. There is also another kind of hearing among the exceedingly spiritual. (160) And what is this? The promise of the good things that are to be given. For just as the first coming of the Lord was announced through the prophets, even though it was seen by them and was known accurately, but because it had not yet occurred in their days but was to happen afterwards, they said they "heard" the things revealed and shown to them concerning it, because these things were to be brought into effect afterwards, so also Paul, having seen the good things laid up for the righteous who struggle, and having known and learned accurately that after the second coming of the Lord and the resurrection from the dead, those who have loved God with their whole soul will receive these things, putting them in the category of a promise and a pledge, he cried out: "I heard," he says, "unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter." In what way "words"? Because those good things are in truth certain strange "words" and "discourses" through which every rational nature partakes of the truly inexhaustible and ever-living delight and is divinely quickened and gladdened. For if the Word of God the Father is God, then the illuminations of the Word of God would rightly be called "words"; for a "logos" (discourse) that is poured out into a lengthy narrative is no longer called a "logos," but the "words" of a narrative, as in "Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my cry; attend to the voice of my supplication.

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ἥν περί τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως καί ἐπί τῆς γῆς ἐπιφανείας αὐτοῦ ἤκουσε. Καί γάρ καί αὐτό τοῦτο τό εἰπεῖν· "Κύριε", ὁρῶντος αὐτόν καί λαλοῦντος ἔχει δύναμιν. Τίς γάρ ὅν οὐ βλέπει ὡς βλέπων τούτῳ προσομιλεῖ; Μή ὁ μή βλέπων τόν ἐπίγειον βασιλέα δύναται λέγειν πρός αὐτον· "Ὦ βασιλεῦ, ἤκουσα τά δεδογμένα τῇ βασιλείᾳ σου"; Οὐδαμῶς. Οὐχί γάρ ἀκοῦσαι μόνον λέγει τήν ἀκοήν αὐτοῦ, ἀλλά καί ὅτι γνωσθήσῃ φησί, καί ἐπιγνωσθήσῃ καί ἀναδειχθήσῃ, ὡς τήν αὐτοῦ βουλήν μετά πληροφορίας πάσης δηλονότι μαθών καί οἱονεί πως λέγων αὐτῷ· "Τά καί τά ποιήσεις, καθά τῇ βασιλείᾳ σου, δέσποτα, δέδοκται"; Πλεῖον δέ τούτου καί πάντα τά προφητικά αἰνίττονται ῥήματα.

Οὕτω τοίνυν ἡ θεία Γραφή καί τήν θεωρίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀκοήν καί τήν ἀκοήν ἀντί θεωρίας συνήθως τίθησιν. (159) Οὕτω καί Παῦλος ὁ θεῖος, τάς ἀνεκλαλήτους θεωρίας καί ἐλλάμψεις καί τάς ὑπέρ τό μέτρον τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως καί δυνάμεως διδασκαλίας καί ἀποκαλύψεις, ῥήματα εἰκότως ἐκάλεσε καί ἀκοῦσαι ταῦτα εἶπε καί γραφῇ παραδέδωκε. ∆ιό καί ἔλεγεν· "Ἐν δέ τῇ ὑπερβολῇ τῶν ἀποκαλύψεων, ἵνα μή ἐπαίρωμαι, ἐδόθη μοι σκόλοψ τῇ σαρκί". Εἰ οὖν ἤκουσε πρότερον, πῶς μετά ταῦτα ἀποκαλύψεις εἶπεν ἅ ἤκουσεν, εἰ μή καθώς εἴπομεν; Οὕτω γάρ καί ὁ ∆αβίδ ἀποκαλυφθῆναι τούς ὀφθαλμούς εὔχεται εἰς τό κατανοῆσαι τά θαυμάσια τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐκ τοῦ νόμου αὐτοῦ. Ὁ πρότερον εἰπών· "Εἴτε ἐν σώματι οὐκ οἶδα, εἴτε ἐκτός τοῦ σώματος, ἡρπάγην", πῶς ὕστερον φησιν ὅτι "ἤκουσα", εἰ μή ὡς ἀνωτέρω λεπτομερῶς ἐδηλώσαμεν καί αὐτῇ τοῦ τοῦ πράγματος ἡ ἀλήθεια ἔχει; Τοιγαροῦν καί διά μέν τῆς ἁρπαγῆς τήν θεωρίαν πρῶτον ἀδήλωσε, τά δέ ἐντός τῆς θεωρίας καί τά ἐκφαντικώτερα τῆς τρανότερον ἐξαστραπτούσης δόξης τε καί θεότητος, ὡς γνῶσιν ἐμποιοῦντα καί τόν ὁρῶντα διδάσκοντα καί δηλοῦντα τά πᾶσιν ἀπόρρητά τε καί ἀκατάληπτα, ἀκοῦσαι εἶπεν, ὡς ἕν οὔσης τῆς τε ἀκουστικῆς καί θεωρητικῆς δηλονότι αἰσθήσεως ἐπί τῶν πνευματικῶν. Ὅθεν οὐδέ ἕν τῶν βλεπομένων ἤ ἀκουομένων, καθώς ταῦτα ὁρᾷ καί ἀκούει, οἷόν ἐστι καί οἷα εἰπεῖν ποτε δύναται" διά τοῦτο καί γλώσσῃ ταῦτα λαλῆσαι ἀδύνατον εἶναι προσέθηκεν.

Ἀλλά σπουδάσωμεν ἑαυτούς ἐκκαθᾶραι διά μετανοίας καί ταπεινώσεως καί τάς αἰσθήσεις πάσας ὡς μίαν τῷ ἀγαθῷ καί ὑπεραγαθῷ ἑνῶσαι Θεῷ· καί τότε ταῦτα πάντα, ἅ διά πολλῶν λόγων εἰπεῖν ἡμεῖς καί παραστῆσαι οὐκ ἐξισχύομεν, ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ ὁμοῦ ἅπαντα ὑμεῖς διδαχθήσεσθε, ἐν τῇ ὁράσει ἀκούοντες καί ἐν τῇ ἀκοῇ ὁρῶντες, ἐν τῇ θεωρίᾳ μανθάνοντες καί ἐν τῇ ἀποκαλύψει πάλιν ἀκούοντες. Ἔστι δέ τις καί ἄλλη ἐν τοῖς ὑπέρ λίαν πνευματικοῖς ἀκοή. (160) Ποία δέ αὕτη; Ἡ ἐπαγγελία τῶν μελλόντων δίδοσθαι ἀγαθῶν. Ὥσπερ γάρ ἡ πρώτη παρουσία τοῦ Κυρίου διά τῶν προφητῶν καταγγελλομένη, εἰ καί ὡρᾶτο παρ᾿ αὐτῶν καί ἀκριβῶς ἐγινώσκετο, ἀλλά διά τό μήπω ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείνων γενέσθαι αὐτήν, μέλλουσαν δέ μετά ταῦτα, τά περί αὐτῆς ἀποκαλυπτόμενα αὐτοῖς καί δεικνύμενα ἔλεγον ἀκούειν ἐκεῖνοι διά τό μετά ταῦτα εἰς ἔργον μέλλειν αὐτά ἐξενεχθήσεσθαι, οὕτω καί ὁ Παῦλος, τά ἀποκείμενα τοῖς ἀγωνιζομένοις δικαίοις ἰδών ἀγαθά καί γνούς καί μαθών ἀκριβῶς ὅτι μετά τήν δευτέραν τοῦ Κυρίου παρουσίαν καί τήν ἐκ νεκρῶν ἐξανάστασιν ταῦτα λήψονται οἱ τόν Θεόν ἐξ ὅλης ἠγαπηκότες ψυχῆς, ὡς ἐν τάξει ἐπαγγελίας καί ὑποσχέσεως ταῦτα θείς, ἐξεβόησεν. "Ἤκουσα, φήσιν, ἄρρητα ῥήματα ἅ οὐκ ἐξόν ἀνθρώπῳ λαλῆσαι". Τίνα δέ τρόπον ῥήματα, ἐπειδή τά ἀγαθά ἐκεῖνα ῥήματά τινα ξένα ἐπ᾿ ἀληθείας εἰσί καί λόγοι δι᾿ ὧν πᾶσα λογική φύσις ἐντρυφᾷ τήν ὄντως ἀκένωτον καί ἀείζωον τρυφήν καί ζωοῦται θείως καί ἐπευφραίνεται. Εἰ γάρ Θεός ὁ Λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ καί Πατρός, δικαίως ἄν αἱ τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγου ἐλλάμψεις κληθήσονται ῥήματα· ὁ γάρ λόγος εἰς μῆκος διεκχυνθείς διηγήσεως οὐκέτι λόγος, ἀλλά διηγήσεως ῥήματα λέγεται, ὡς τό "Τά ῥήματά μου ἐνώτισαι Κύριε· σύνες τῆς κραυγῆς μου· πρόσχες τῇ φωνῇ τῆς δεήσεώς μου.