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when delight passes to the body, even if it happens to be active in the body, it is nevertheless spiritual. For just as the pleasure that comes from bodies to the mind makes it corporeal, not being improved at all by communion with the superior, but rather imparting to it what is inferior, so that on account of this pleasure the whole man is said to be flesh, according to what was said about those overwhelmed by the wrath of God: "My Spirit shall not remain in these men, because they are flesh," so the spiritual pleasure that comes from the mind to the body, not being made useless at all by communion with the body, transforms the body and makes it spiritual, causing it to cast off evil fleshly desires and no longer drag down the soul, but be carried up with it, so that the whole man is then spirit, according to what is written, "He who is born of the Spirit is spirit." All these things become clear by experience.

But to the one who disputes with words and contentiously objects, it would have been sufficient to say, "we have no such custom, neither the Church of God," to be guided by inactive words; but we honor a word put into practice and a rational practice. But since he has also committed such words to writing, lest he deceive some of the many and seem to say something solemn and draw them to falsehood, we too by our writings make the truth manifest and refute the falsehood, using brief words for these matters, (p. 366) but longer ones for what is more necessary than these, and everywhere showing the fathers to be opposed to the new teacher of inaction, who, since he casts off the good actions performed through the body as being difficult, and reasonably does not accept the spiritual dispositions that are signified in the body, although all holy and God-inspired Scripture is full of such things: for, he says, "my heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God," and "in Him I hoped and I was helped, and my flesh flourished," and again, "how sweet are your words to my throat, more than honey to my mouth." And that he means the perceptible mouth, Saint Isaac also shows clearly, saying that it is a sign of those who are advancing that the words of prayer are sweetened in their mouth. And Saint Diadochus says, "the perception of the soul is one; the very energy of the Holy Spirit engendered in us teaches this, which no one can know, except only those who for the hope of future good things have been freed from the good things of this life; for in these people, the mind, being vigorously moved on account of its freedom from care, itself perceives the divine goodness ineffably and imparts its own goodness to the body according to the measure of its own progress, as David also says: 'my heart hoped in him and I was helped, and my flesh flourished'. Such joy then produced in the soul and in the body is an unerring reminder of the incorruptible life."

But the philosopher says that this pledge of the age to come, this reminder of incorruptibility, this energy of the all-holy Spirit, cannot come from any divine cause, and least of all during noetic prayer. The reasons for which he says that the alterations produced in the body also by the energy of the Spirit are not from God, are about four. First, that "the gifts from God are most perfect; but it is better for the (p. 368) soul in prayers to be beyond sensation than to be active in any way according to sensation; since, therefore, those things are not most perfect, for there is something better than them, they are not from God either." What then, because prophesying is less than speaking in tongues according to the apostle, is the gift of tongues therefore not a gift of God? And because love is the most perfect of the gifts, is this alone and nothing else a divine gift? Not prophecy itself, not the powers, the helps, the administrations, not the gifts of healings, not the word of wisdom and of knowledge in the Spirit, not the discernment of spirits? And even in the prophetic gifts and

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εὐφραινομένης ἐπί τό σῶμα διαβαῖνον, κἄν ἐν σώματι τυγχάνῃ ἐνεργοῦν, ἀλλά πνευματικόν ἐστι. Καθάπερ γάρ ἡ ἀπό σωμάτων ἐπί τόν νοῦν ἰοῦσα ἡδονή σωματοειδῆ ἀπεργάζεται αὐτόν, μηδέν τῇ κοινωνίᾳ τοῦ κρείττονος βελτιωθεῖσα αὕτη, μεταδοῦσα δέ μᾶλλον τοῦ χείρονος αὐτῷ, ὡς δι᾿ αὐτήν καί σάρκα ὅλον λέγεσθαι τόν ἄνθρωπον, κατά τό εἰρημένον περί τῶν ὀργῇ κατακλυζομένων ὑπό τοῦ Θεοῦ ὡς «οὐ μή μείνῃ τό πνεῦμά μου ἐν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τούτοις διά τό εἶναι αὐτούς σάρκας», οὕτως ἡ ἀπό τοῦ νοῦ ἐπί τό σῶμα πνευματική ἐρχομένη ἡδονή, μηδέν αὕτη τῇ κοινωνίᾳ τοῦ σώματος ἀχρειωθεῖσα, μεταστοιχειοῖ τό σῶμα καί πνευματικόν ποιεῖ, τάς σαρκικάς πονηράς ἀποβαλλόμενον ὀρέξεις καί μηκέτι καθέλκον τήν ψυχήν, ἀλλά ταύτῃ συναναφερόμενον, ὡς καί πνεῦμα τότε ὅλον εἶναι τόν ἄνθρωπον, κατά τό γεγραμμένο, «ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ Πνεύματος Πνεῦμά ἐστιν». Ταῦτα δέ πάντα τῇ πείρᾳ δῆλα γίνεται.

Πρός δέ τόν λογομαχοῦντα καί φιλονείκως ἐνιστάμενον ἀπέχρησεν ἄν εἰπεῖν ὡς «ἡμεῖς τοιαύτην οὐκ ἔχομεν, οὐδέ ἠ Ἐκκλησία τοῦ Θεοῦ», λόγοις ἀπράκτως ἄγεσθαι˙ λόγον δέ τιμῶμεν ἔμπρακτον καί πρᾶξιν ἐλλόγιμον. Ἐπεί δέ καί Γραφῇ τούς τοιούτους παραδέδωκε λόγους, ἵνα μή τινα τῶν πολλῶν ἐξαπατήσῃ καί δόξῃ τι σεμνόν λέγειν καί προσαγάγηται τῷ ψεύδει, γράμμασι καί ἡμεῖς τἀληθές ποιοῦμεν φανερόν καί τό ψεῦδος ἐλέγχομεν, μικροῖς μέν πρός ταῦτα, (σελ. 366) μακροτέροις δέ πρός τά τούτων ἀναγκαιότερα χρώμενοι καί τούς πατέρας πανταχοῦ προδεικνύντες, ἀντικειμένους τῷ καινῷ τῆς ἀπραξίας καθηγητῇ, ὅς ἐπεί τάς διά τοῦ σώματος ἀγαθάς πράξεις ὡς δυσχερεῖς ἀποσείεται καί τάς ἐνσημαινομένας πνευματικάς διαθέσεις τῷ σώματι εἰκότως οὐ καταδέχεται, καίτοι πλήρης ἐστί τῶν τοιούτων πᾶσα ἱερά Γραφή καί θεόπνευστος˙ «ἡ καρδία μου» γάρ, φησί, «καί ἡ σάρξ μου ἠγαλλιάσαντο ἐπί Θεόν ζῶντα», καί «ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ ἤλπισα καί ἐβοηθήθην καί ἀνέθαλεν ἡ σάρξ μου», καί πάλιν «ὡς γλυκέα τῷ λάρυγγί μου τά λόγιά σου, ὑπέρ μέλι τῷ στόματί μου». Ὅτι δέ τῷ αἰσθητῷ στόματί φησι, καί ὁ ἅγιος Ἰσαάκ δείκνυσι σαφῶς, σημεῖον εἶναι λέγων προκοπτόντων τό καθηδύνεσθαι ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν τά ρήματα τῆς προσευχῆς. Ὁ δέ ἅγιος ∆ιάδοχος «μίαν εἶναι», φησί, «τήν αἴσθησιν τῆς ψυχῆς, αὐτή ἡ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἡμῖν ἐγγινομένη διδάσκει ἐνέργεια, ἥν οὐδείς δύναται εἰδέναι, εἰ μή μόνοι οἱ τῶν τοῦ βίου καλῶν διά τήν ἐλπίδα τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν ἀπηλλαγμένοι˙ ἐπί γάρ τούτων εὐρώστως ὁ νοῦς διά τήν ἀμεριμνίαν κινούμενος τῆς θείας ἀρρήτως χρηστότητος αὐτός ἐπαισθάνεται καί τῷ σώματι κατά τό μέτρον τῆς ἑαυτοῦ προκοπῆς τῆς οἰκείας χρηστότητος μεταδίδωσιν, ὡς καί ὁ ∆αυίδ λέγει˙ "ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ ἤλπισεν ἡ καρδία μου καί ἐβοηθήθην, καί ἐνέθαλεν ἡ σάρξ μου" . Ἡ δέ τοιαύτη ἐγγινομένη χαρά τότε τῇ ψυχῇ καί τῷ σώματι ὑπόμνησίς ἐστιν ἀπλανής τῆς ἀφθάρτου βιότητος».

Ἀλλ᾿ ὁ φιλόσοφος τόν ἀρραβῶνα τοῦτον τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος, τήν ὑπόμνησιν τῆς ἀφθαρσίας, τήν ἐνέργειαν τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος, οὐκ ἐνδέχεσθαί φησιν ὑπό θείας τινός αἰτίας γίνεσθαι καί πάντων ἥκιστα κατά τήν νοεράν προσευχήν. ∆ι᾿ ἅ δέ φησιν οὗτος οὐκ ἐκ Θεοῦ εἶναι τάς καί τῷ σώματι ἐγγινομένας ὑπό τῆς ἐνεργείας τοῦ Πνεύματος ἀλλοιώσεις, τέτταρα σχεδόν ἐστι ταῦτα. Πρῶτον μέν ὅτι «τά ἐκ Θεοῦ δῶρα τελεώτατα˙ βέλτιον δέ τό ὑπέρ αἴσθησιν εἶναι τήν (σελ. 368) ψυχήν ἐν ταῖς προσευχαῖς ἤ κατ᾿ αἴσθησιν ὁπωσοῦν ἐνεργεῖν˙ ἐπεί τοίνυν μή τελεώτατα ἐκεῖνα, καί γάρ ἐστιν αὐτῶν τι βέλτιον, οὐδ᾿ ἐκ Θεοῦ ἄρα». Τί οὖν, ἐπειδή τό προφητεύειν μεῖον ἤ τό λαλεῖν γλώσσαις κατά τόν ἀπόστολον, ἄρα τό χάρισμα τῶν γλωσσῶν οὐ δῶρον Θεοῦ; Καί ἐπειδή ἡ ἀγάπη τῶν χαρισμάτων τό τελεώτατον, μόνον τοῦτο καί οὐδέν ἕτερον θεῖόν ἐστι δώρημα; Οὐχ ἡ προφητεία αὐτή, οὐχ αἱ δυνάμεις, αἱ ἀντιλήψεις, αἱ κυβερνήσεις, οὐ τά χαρίσματα τῶν ἰαμάτων, οὐχ ὁ τῆς σοφίας καί γνώσεως ἐν Πνεύματι λόγος, οὐχ ἡ τῶν πνευμάτων διάκρισις; Κάν τοῖς προφητικοῖς δέ καί