,

Humility, therefore, of the intelligible and wicked mountains and hills is the restoration of the powers of the flesh and of the soul according to nature to themselves; by which the God-loving mind, being naturally directed by the wealth of virtue and of knowledge, passes smoothly through this age and is borne headlong toward the ageless and incorruptible world of the intelligible and holy powers, neither being led astray by the voluntary passions of the flesh through pleasure which is made crooked in many ways, nor being roughened by involuntary temptations through pain, refusing the way of the commandments as impassable on account of the roughness of the pains of the flesh through sparing of the flesh.

The crooked things, then, are made straight, when the mind, having freed the members of the body from the passions, that is, having cut off the senses and the other activities related to pleasure, would teach them to be moved according to the simple principle of nature, directing them toward the cause for which they came to be. And the rough places, that is, the assaults of involuntary temptations, will become smooth ways, when the mind, especially rejoicing and being glad, is well-pleased in weaknesses and afflictions and necessities, removing the entire dominion of the (14B_300> voluntary passions through involuntary pains. For he who desires the true life, knowing that every pain, whether voluntary or involuntary, becomes the death of pleasure, the mother of death, will receive all the rough assaults of involuntary temptations with gladness, rejoicing through patience, making the afflictions easy and smooth ways that unerringly escort him toward the prize of the upward call as he piously runs the divine race in them. Therefore, everyone who has dissolved by self-control the much-coiled and complex pleasure that is interwoven in many ways with all the senses together has made the crooked things straight. And he who has trodden upon the impassable and rough assault of pains through patience has made the rough places into smooth ways. Whence, as a prize of virtue and of the labors for it, as one who has contended well and lawfully and has conquered pleasure by the desire for virtue and has trodden on pain by the love of knowledge and through both has nobly endured the divine contests, he will see the salvation of God. And he says, for all flesh will see the salvation of God; all flesh, that is, faithful, according to I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh, that is, upon those who have believed. Therefore, not simply all flesh will see the salvation of God, for neither will the flesh of the ungodly, if the saying that declares Let the ungodly be taken away, that he may not see the glory of the Lord is true, but specifically all faithful flesh. But by the part of the flesh the scriptural word usually signifies the whole human being, as if crying out and every human being will see the salvation of God, every human being, that is, who has heard the voice crying in the wilderness, and according to the rendered principle of contemplation has prepared the way of the Lord, and has made his paths straight, and, through the casting down of the intelligible and wicked mountains and hills, has filled (14B_302> the ravine of the soul, which through its own hollowness at the transgression of the divine commandment had provided the said wicked mountains and hills their height and stature, and working the humiliation of the wicked powers by its filling, and having straightened the crooked things of the voluntary passions, that is, the movements of pleasure, through self-control, and having smoothed the rough calamities of involuntary temptations, that is, the modes of pain, through patience and having made them into smooth ways; such a one will rightly see the salvation of God, having become pure in heart; by which purity, through the virtues and the pious contemplations, he sees God at the completion of the contests, according to Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God, having received in exchange for the pains for virtue the grace of dispassion, than which nothing more manifests God to those who have it.

Ταπείνωσις οὖν ἐστι τῶν νοητῶν καὶ πονηρῶν ὀρέων καὶ βουνῶν ἡ τῆς σαρκός τε καὶ τῆς ψυχῆς πρὸς ἑαυτὰς τῶν κατὰ φύσιν δυνάμεων ἀποκατάστασις· καθ᾽ ἣν φυσικῶς ἰθυνόμενος τῷ πλούτῳ τῆς ἀρετῆς καὶ τῆς γνώσεως ὁ φιλόθεος νοῦς ὁμαλῶς διαπορεύεται τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦτον καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἀγήρω καὶ ἄφθαρτον προτροπάδην φέρεται κόσμον τῶν νοητῶν καὶ ἁγίων δυνάμεων, μήτε τοῖς ἑκουσίοις τῆς σαρκὸς πάθεσι διὰ τῆς πολυτρόπως σκολιευομένης πλανώμενος ἡδονῆς, μήτε τοῖς ἀκουσίοις πειρασμοῖς διὰ τῆς ὀδύνης τραχυνόμενος, τῇ περὶ τὴν σάρκα φειδοῖ τὴν ὁδὸν τῶν ἐντολῶν ὡς δύσβατον διὰ τὴν τραχύτητα τῶν πόνων τῆς σαρκὸς παραιτούμενος.

Ἰθύνεται μὲν οὖν τὰ σκολιά, ὅταν ὁ νοῦς, τὰ μέλη τοῦ σώματος τῶν παθῶν ἐλευθερώσας, ἤγουν τὰ αἰσθητήρια καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ τῆς καθ᾽ ἡδονὴν ἐκκόψας ἐνεργείας, κατὰ τὸν ἁπλοῦν τῆς φύσεως λόγον αὐτὰ κινεῖσθαι διδάξειεν, ἰθύνων πρὸς τὴν ἐφ᾽ ᾗ γεγόνασιν αἰτίαν. Αἱ δὲ τραχεῖαι, τουτέστιν αἱ τῶν ἀκουσίων πειρασμῶν ἐπιφοραί, ἔσονται εἰς ὁδοὺς λείας, ὅταν μάλιστα χαίρων καὶ εὐφραινόμενος ὁ νοῦς ἐν ἀσθενείαις εὐδοκῇ καὶ θλίψεσι καὶ ἀνάγκαις, διὰ τῶν ἀκουσίων πόνων τὴν ὅλην τῶν (14Β_300> ἑκουσίων παθῶν ἀφαιρούμενος δυναστείαν. Ὁ γὰρ τῆς ἀληθινῆς ἐφιέμενος ζωῆς, γνοὺς ὅτι πᾶς πόνος, εἴτε ἑκούσιος εἴτε ἀκούσιος, τῆς τοῦ θανάτου μητρὸς ἡδονῆς γίνεται θάνατος, πάσας τὰς τραχείας τῶν ἀκουσίων πειρασμῶν ἐπιφορὰς δέξεται μετ᾽ εὐφροσύνης, χαίρων διὰ τῆς ὑπομονῆς, ὁδοὺς εὐμαρεῖς τε καὶ λείας τὰς θλίψεις ποιούμενος καὶ πρὸς τὸ βραβεῖον τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως ἀπλανῶς παραπεμπούσας αὐτὸν εὐσεβῶς ἐν αὐταῖς τὸν θεῖον δρόμον ποιούμενον. Πᾶς τοιγαροῦν τὴν πολυέλικτόν τε καὶ πολύπλοκον ἡδονὴν καὶ πᾶσιν ὁμοῦ τοῖς αἰσθητηρίοις πολυτρόπως συμπεπλεγμένην τῇ ἐγκρατείᾳ διαλύσας τὰ σκολιὰ εἰς εὐθεῖαν ἐποίησεν. Καὶ ὁ τὴν δύσβατον καὶ τραχεῖαν τῶν πόνων ἐπιφορὰν δι᾽ ὑπομονῆς πατήσας τὰς τραχείας ἐποίησεν εἰς ὁδοὺς λείας. Ὅθεν, ὥσπερ ἔπαθλον ἀρετῆς καὶ τῶν ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς καμάτων, οἷα καλῶς τε καὶ νομίμως ἀθλήσας καὶ τὴν ἡδονὴν νικήσας τῷ πόθῳ τῆς ἀρετῆς καὶ τὴν ὀδύνην πατήσας τῷ τῆς γνώσεως ἔρωτι καὶ δι᾽ ἀμφοτέρων γενναίως τοὺς θείους διενέγκας ἀγῶνας, ὄψεται τὸ σωτήριον τοῦ Θεοῦ. Καὶ ὄψεται γάρ φησιν πᾶσα σὰρξ τὸ σωτήριον τοῦ Θεοῦ· πᾶσα σάρξ, δηλονότι πιστή, κατὰ τὸ ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ Πνεύματός μου ἐπὶ πᾶσαν σάρκα, δηλαδὴ τὴν πιστεύσασαν. Οὐχ ἁπλῶς οὖν πᾶσα σὰρξ ὄψεται τὸ σωτήριον τοῦ Θεοῦ, οὔτε γὰρ ἡ τῶν ἀσεβῶν σάρξ, εἴπερ ἀληθὴς ὁ ἀποφαινόμενος λόγος ἀρθήτω ὁ ἀσεβής, ἵνα μὴ ἴδῃ τὴν δόξαν Κυρίου, ἀλλὰ προσδιωρισμένως πᾶσα πιστὴ σάρξ. Ἐκ μέρους δὲ τῆς σαρκὸς τὸν ὅλον ἄνθρωπον σημαίνει συνήθως ὁ γραφικὸς λόγος, οἱονεὶ βοῶν καὶ ὄψεται πᾶς ἄνθρωπος τὸ σωτήριον τοῦ Θεοῦ, πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ἀκούσας δηλαδὴ τῆς ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ βοώσης φωνῆς, καὶ κατὰ τὸν ἀποδοθέντα τῆς θεωρίας λόγον ἑτοιμάσας τὴν ὁδὸν Κυρίου, καὶ εὐθείας ποιήσας τὰς τρίβους αὐτοῦ, καὶ πληρώσας διὰ τῆς τῶν νοητῶν καὶ πονηρῶν ὀρέων καὶ βουνῶν καθαιρέσεως (14Β_302> τὴν διὰ τοῦ ἰδίου κοιλώματος παρασχομένην κατὰ τὴν παράβασιν τῆς θείας ἐντολῆς τοῖς εἰρημένοις πονηροῖς ὄρεσι καὶ βουνοῖς τὸ ὕψος καὶ τὸ ἀνάστημα φάραγγα ψυχήν, καὶ τὴν ταύτης ἀναπλήρωσιν τῶν πονηρῶν δυνάμεων ταπείνωσιν ἐργαζόμενος, καὶ τὰ σκολιὰ τῶν ἑκουσίων παθῶν, ἤγουν τῆς ἡδονῆς τὰ κινήματα, διὰ τῆς ἐγκρατείας εὐθύνας, καὶ τὰς τραχείας τῶν ἀκουσίων πειρασμῶν συμφοράς, ἤγουν τοὺς τρόπους τῆς ὀδύνης, διὰ τῆς ὑπομονῆς ὁμαλίσας καὶ εἰς ὁδοὺς λείας καταστήσας· ὁ τοιοῦτος εἰκότως ὄψεται τὸ σωτήριον τοῦ Θεοῦ, καθαρὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ γενόμενος· καθ᾽ ἣν διὰ τῶν ἀρετῶν καὶ τῶν εὐσεβῶν θεωρημάτων ὁρᾷ τὸν Θεὸν ἐπὶ τέλει τῶν ἄθλων, κατὰ τὸ μακάριοι οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ, ὅτι αὐτοὶ τὸν Θεὸν ὄψονται, τῶν ὑπὲρ ἀρετῆς πόνων τῆς ἀπαθείας τὴν χάριν ἀντιλαβών, ἧς οὐδὲν πλέον τὸν Θεὸν ἐμφανίζει τοῖς ἔχουσι.