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the path of salvation, with the (164) grace of the all-holy Spirit cooperating. Believe therefore first of all with your whole soul that all these things which we have said according to the divine and God-inspired Scriptures are true and so it must be for everyone who believes in the Son of God, since he has given us the power to become sons of God, and if we are willing, there is nothing to prevent it, and that for this reason the whole economy and condescension of the Son of God took place, so that through faith in him and the keeping of his commandments he might make us partakers of his divinity and of his kingdom. For if you do not believe that these things truly happen so, you will certainly not even seek; and if you do not seek, neither will you receive; ‘For seek,’ he says, ‘and you will receive; ask and it will be given to you.’ Believing, therefore, follow the divine Scriptures and do whatever they tell you, and you will find everything without fail just as it is written, or rather, even much more than what is in the divine Scriptures. And what are these things? ‘What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and has not entered into the heart of man,’ the good things ‘which God has prepared for those who love him.’ These things, if you believe firmly, as has been said, you will undoubtedly behold, like Paul and you yourself; and not only this, but you will also hear unutterable words, having been caught up, that is, into paradise. Which one? The one where the thief entered together with Christ and is now there.

But would you like me to tell you in another way what are the good things that eye has not seen and ear has not heard and have not entered into the heart of man? I know that you certainly long to hear things which not even the one who saw them spoke or interpreted. Why this? So that they might not be disbelieved, I think, by those who hear. If, therefore, you too are going to disbelieve what is about to be said, stop here; for it is better for you not to approach what lies ahead at all with the eye of the mind, since, if you disregard (165) what is said to you and disobey my words, or rather the words of God Himself, since both we and our words are His, this Word will judge you on the day of judgment, because even after hearing you disbelieved. But listen without hesitation to our words, or rather, as has been said, to those of God; and learn right away the solution to what you are seeking from those who explain it to you in wisdom.

The unutterable words spoken to Paul in paradise, these very eternal goods, I say, which eye has not seen and ear has not heard and have not entered into the heart of man, which God has prepared for those who love him, are not contained by height, not limited by place, not hidden somewhere in the deep, not held at the end of the earth or sea, but are before you and in front of your eyes. And what are these? Together with the good things stored up in the heavens, the very body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ which we see and eat and drink every day, these are confessedly those good things; and apart from these you will be able to find nowhere a single one of the things spoken of, even if you run through all of creation. But if you wish to know that what is said is true, become holy by the working of God’s commandments and so partake of the holy things; and you will then know precisely the power of what is said to you. But for greater confirmation, listen also to the words of the Lord Himself, speaking thus to the Jews and to His own disciples: ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ They said therefore to him, ‘Lord, give us this bread always.’ Jesus therefore said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; (166) he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven,’ and they were saying, ‘Is this not

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ὁδόν τῆς σωτηρίας, τῆς (164) χάριτος τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος συνεργούσης. Πίστευσον οὖν ἐν πρώτοις ἐξ ὅλης ψυχῆς ὅτι οὕτως ταῦτα πάντα ἅ εἴπομεν κατά τάς θείας καί θεοπνεύστους Γραφάς ἀληθῆ εἰσι καί οὕτως ὀφείλει γενέσθαι πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς τόν Υἱόν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐπειδή ἔδωκεν ἡμῖν ἐξουσίαν υἱούς γενέσθαι Θεοῦ, καί ἐάν θελήσωμεν, τό κωλύον οὐδέν, καί ὅτι διά τοῦτο ἡ πᾶσα οἰκονομία καί συγκατάβασις τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐγένετο, ἵνα διά τῆς πρός αὐτόν πίστεως καί τῆς τηρήσεως τῶν αὐτοῦ ἐντολῶν μετόχους αὐτοῦ τῆς θεότητος καί τῆς βασιλείας ἡμᾶς ἀπεργάσηται. Καί γάρ, εἰ μή πιστεύσεις ταῦτα οὕτως ἀληθῶς γίνεσθαι, πάντως οὐδέ ζητήσεις· εἰ δέ μή ζητήσεις, οὐδέ λήψῃ· "Ζητεῖτε γάρ, φησί, καί λήψεσθε· αἰτεῖτε καί δοθήσεται ὑμῖν". Πιστεύων δέ, ἀκολούθει ταῖς θείαις Γραφαῖς καί ὅσα σοι λέγουσι ποίησον, καί εὑρήσεις πάντα ἀνελλιπῶς καθώς γέγραπται, μᾶλλον δέ καί πολλῷ πλείονα τῶν ἐν ταῖς θείαις Γραφαῖς. Ποῖα δέ ταῦτα; "Ἅ ὀφθαλμός οὐκ εἶδε καί οὖς οὐκ ἤκουσε καί ἐπί καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέβη" τά ἀγαθά "ἅ ἡτοίμασεν ὁ Θεός τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν ". Ταῦτα, εἰ πιστεύσεις βεβαίως, ὡς εἴρηται, θεάσῃ ἀναμφιβόλως ὡς ὁ Παῦλος καί σύ· οὐ μόνον δέ, ἀλλά καί ἀκούσεις ἄρρητα ῥήματα, προαρπαγείς δηλονότι εἰς τόν παράδεισον. Ποῖον τοῦτον; Ὅπου ὁ ληστής μετά τοῦ Χριστοῦ συνεισῆλθε καί νῦν ἐκεῖ ἐστιν.

Βούλει δέ καί ἄλλως εἴπω σοι τίνα εἰσί τά ἀγαθά ἅ ὀφθαλμός οὐκ εἶδε καί οὖς οὐκ ἤκουσε καί ἐπί καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέβη; Οἶδα ὅτι πάντως ἐπιποθεῖς ἀκοῦσαι ἅ οὐδέ αὐτός ὁ ἰδών εἶπεν ἤ διηρμήνευσεν. Τί τοῦτο; Ἵνα μή παρά τῶν ἀκουόντων, ὡς οἶμαι, ἀπιστηθῇ. Εἰ τοίνυν μέλλεις καί σύ ἀπιστεῖν τοῖς ῥηθησομένοις, στῆθι μέχρι τούτου· συμφέρει σοι γάρ καί μή προσβῇς τῷ τῆς διανοίας ὀφθαλμῷ ὅλως τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν, ἐπειδή, εἰ τά λεγόμενά σοι (165) ἀθετήσεις καί παρακούσεις τῶν λόγων μου, μᾶλλον δέ τῶν λόγων αὐτοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐπειδή καί ἡμεῖς καί οἱ λόγοι ἡμῶν αὐτοῦ εἰσιν, ὁ Λόγος οὗτος κρινεῖ σε ἐν τῆ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς κρίσεως, ὅτι καί ἀκούσας ἠπίστησας. Ἀλλ᾿ ἄκουε ἀδιστάκτως τῶν λόγων ἡμῶν, μᾶλλον δέ, ὡς εἴρηται, τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ· καί μάνθανε αὐτόθεν τοῦ ζητουμένου τήν λύσιν παρά τῶν ταύτην ἐν σοφίᾳ διατρανούντων σοι.

Τά ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ λαληθέντα τῷ Παύλῳ ἄρρητα ῥήματα, αὐτά δή τά αἰώνια, φημί, ἀγαθά ἅ ὀφθαλμός οὐκ εἶδε καί οὖς οὐκ ἤκουσε καί ἐπί καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέβη, ἅ ἡτοίμασεν ὁ Θεός τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν, οὐχ ὕψει περιέχονται, οὐ τόπῳ περιορίζονται, οὐ βάθει που κρύπτονται, οὐκ ἐν ἐσχατιᾷ γῆς ἤ θαλάσσης κατέχονται, ἀλλ᾿ ἔμπροσθέν σου καί πρό τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν σού εἰσι. Ποῖα δή ταῦτα; Μετά τῶν ἀποκειμένων ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς ἀγαθῶν, αὐτό τό σῶμα καί αἷμα τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἅ καθ᾿ ἑκάστην ὁρῶμεν καί ἐσθίομεν καί πίνομεν, ταῦτα ὁμολογουμένως τά ἀγαθά ἐκεῖνά εἰσι· ἐκτός δέ τούτων οὐδαμοῦ τῶν ῥηθέντων οὐδέ ἕν εὑρεῖν ἐξισχύσεις, κἄν πᾶσαν διαδράμῃς τήν κτίσιν. Εἰ βούλει δέ γνῶναι ὡς ἀληθῆ τά λεγόμενα, γενοῦ τῇ ἐργασίᾳ τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐντολῶν ἅγιος καί οὕτω μετάλαβε τῶν ἁγίων· καί γνώσεις τηνικαῦτα τῶν λεγομένων σοι τήν δύναμιν ἀκριβῶς. Ἀλλά γάρ πρός τήν περισσοτέραν πίστωσιν ἄκουσον καί αὐτοῦ ἐκείνου τοῦ Κυρίου τῶν λόγων, οὕτω λέγοντος πρός τούς Ἰουδαίους καί τούς ἰδίους αὐτοῦ μαθητάς· "Ἁμήν ἀμήν λέγων ὑμῖν· οὐ Μωσῆς δέδωκεν ὑμῖν τόν ἄρτον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, ἀλλ᾿ ὁ πατήρ μου δίδωσιν ὑμῖν τόν ἄρτον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τόν ἀληθινόν. Ὁ γάρ ἄρτος τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστιν ὁ καταβαίνων ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καί διδούς τῷ κόσμῳ ζωήν. Εἶπον οὖν πρός αὐτόν· Κύριε, πάντοτε δός ἡμῖν τόν ἄρτον τοῦτον. Εἶπεν οὖν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς· (166) ὁ ἐρχόμενος πρός με οὐ μή πεινάσῃ καί ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμέ οὐ μή διψήσῃ πώποτε. Ἐγόγγυζον οὖν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι περί αὐτοῦ, ὅτι εἶπεν· Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἄρτος ὁ καταβάς ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καί ἔλεγον· Οὐχ οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ