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the activity according to it is common to soul and body. And this sympathy of these does not become a nail for the soul towards earthly and bodily thoughts, and does not fill it with darkness, as the philosopher says, but is a certain ineffable bond and union with God, and it wonderfully raises up the body itself from evil and earthly passions; "for the mighty ones of God," to speak prophetically, "have been greatly exalted from the earth." Such are the ineffable activities which you hear are performed in the body of those who piously embrace the sacred quietude throughout their life, and what seems irrational in them is better than reason, and it transcends and escapes the mind of the one who examines them by reason, but does not seek knowledge by action and the experience that comes through it, and if this one does not bring forth faith, which alone is receptive of the truth that is beyond reason, by taking the sacred things in an unholy way, alas, he impiously reviles the holy things.

For after this he brought forward for us the apostle, as I also said before, saying that he did not know during that extraordinary rapture "whether he was in the body or out of the body," (p. 374) as though the spirit instilled a forgetfulness of all things related to the body. "But if it is of all things," says the philosopher, "and also of the ineffable sweetnesses and warmths which I learned are performed among the hesychasts, the Holy Spirit, when It comes, will cause a forgetfulness of these, but will not provide them; for of necessity, if the things that happen to them are gifts of God, it is wrongly said that one who truly prays must be forgetful of all things; for the things given to him by God for his good must not escape anyone's notice; but if it is necessary to be forgetful of these things, how is it not absurd to directly attribute to God these things, whose absence and stillness are better for prayer?". Now, that most of the gifts of the Spirit and almost all of them come to the worthy at the time of prayer, every right-thinking person knows precisely ("ask," for the Lord says, "and it will be given to you"), not only the rapture, and this up to the third heaven, but each of the gifts of the Spirit. But that some of these are also worked through the body, is shown by the kinds of tongues and their interpretations, which Paul also commands to be received through prayer; "for he who speaks in tongues," he says, "should pray that he may interpret"; and not only these things, but also the word of teaching and the gifts of healings and the working of miracles and the laying on of Paul's hands, through which the Holy Spirit was given. Therefore, the word of teaching, and the grace and interpretation of tongues, even if they arise through prayer, perhaps operate from the soul when prayer is absent. But healings and miracles would never come into operation, unless the soul of the one working each of them were praying, especially mentally, and at times with the body also resounding in harmony. And the transmission of the Spirit is not only effected when prayer is present in the soul and (p. 376) prayer mystically accomplishes the union of the one praying with the inexhaustible spring of this great gift, not only, therefore, when prayer is active in the mind, since the apostles are not recorded to have said anything with their mouth on this matter, not only, therefore, is that transmission effected when the soul is praying mentally, but at the same time as the body is active through the hands, which by touch transmit the Spirit to the one held by them. What then of these gifts? are they not gifts of the spirit, nor given for the good of those who ask and pray, because those who are caught up to the third heaven must be forgetful of all things that are through the body?

Rather, let us here add those very words of the philosopher: "If the things that happen to them during prayer, such as these powers and gifts, are gifts of God, it is wrongly said that one who prays mentally must be forgetful of all things; for the things given to him by God for his good must not escape anyone's notice; if

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ἡ κατ᾿ αὐτό ἐνέργεια ψυχῆς καί σώματος ἐστι κοινή. Καί ἡ συμπάθεια τούτων αὕτη οὐχ ἧλος γίνεται τῇ ψυχῇ πρός τά γήϊνά τε καί σωματικά φρονήματα, καί σκότους αὐτήν ἀναπίπλησιν, ὡς ὁ φιλόσοφός φησιν, ἀλλά σύνδεσμός τις ἀπόρρητος καί ἕνωσίς ἐστι πρός τόν Θεόν καί αὐτό τό σῶμα θαυμασίως ἀπανιστᾶσα τῶν πονηρῶν καί γηΐνων παθημάτων˙ «οἱ γάρ κραταιοί τοῦ Θεοῦ», προφητικῶς εἰπεῖν, «τῆς γῆς σφόδρα ἐπήρθησαν». Τοιαῦταί εἰσιν ἅς ἀκούεις ἀπορρήτους ἐνεργείας τελουμένας ἐν σώματι τῶν ἱερῶς διά βίου τήν ἱεράν ἡσυχίαν ἀσπαζομένων, καί τό δοκοῦν ἐν αὐταῖς ἄλογον λόγου κρεῖττόν ἐστι καί τοῦ λόγῳ ταύτας ἀνετάζοντος, ἀλλά μή πράξει καί τῇ δι᾿ αὐτῆς πείρᾳ τήν εἴδησιν ζητοῦντος, ὑπερβαῖνον διαφεύγει τήν διάνοιαν, καί οὗτος ἄν μή πίστιν προσαγάγῃ, τήν μόνην τῆς ὑπέρ λόγον ἀληθείας δεκτικήν, ἀνιέρως ἐκλαμβάνων, φεῦ, τά ἱερά, οὐχ ὁσίως διασύρει τά ὅσια.

Μετά τοῦτο γάρ τόν ἀπόστολον, ὅ καί πρότερον εἶπον, παρήγαγεν ἡμῖν οὐκ εἰδέναι λέγοντα κατά τήν ἐξαισίαν ἐκείνην ἁρπαγήν «εἴτε ἐν σώματι ἦν εἴτε ἐκτός τοῦ σώματος», (σελ. 374) ὡς τοῦ πνεύματος λήθην ἐνιέντος τῶν κατά τό σῶμα πάντων. «Εἰ δέ τῶν πάντων ἐστί», φησίν ὁ φιλόσοφος, «καί ἅς ἐπυθόμην ἐν τοῖς ἡσυχασταῖς τελεῖσθαι ἀπορρήτους γλυκύτητάς τε καί θερμότητας, καί τούτων λήθην ἐμποιήσει τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον ἐπιδημῆσαν, ἀλλ᾿ οὐ ταῦτα παρέξει˙ καί γάρ ἐξ ἀνάγκης, εἰ μέν δῶρα Θεοῦ τά συμβαίνοντα αὐτοῖς, κακῶς λέγεται τό πάντων ἐπιλελῆσθαι δεῖν τόν ἀληθῶς προσευχόμενον˙ οὐδένα γάρ λανθάνειν δεῖ τά πρός Θεοῦ πρός καλοῦ αὐτῷ διδόμενα˙ εἰ δέ τούτων ἐπιλελῆσθαι χρεών, πῶς οὐκ ἄτοπον τούτων προσεχῶς αἰτιᾶσθαι Θεόν, ὧν ἡ ἀπουσία καί ἠρεμία βελτίω πρός τήν προσευχήν;». Ὅτι μέν οὖν τά πλείω τῶν χαρισμάτων τοῦ Πνεύματος καί σχεδόν ἅπαντα τοῖς ἀξίοις κατά τόν καιρόν τῆς προσευχῆς ἐγγίνεται, πᾶς τις εὖ φρονῶν οἶδεν ἀκριβῶς ( «αἰτεῖτε» γάρ, φησίν ὁ Κύριος, «καί δοθήσεται ὑμῖν») οὐχ ἡ ἁρπαγή μόνον, καί ταῦτα μέχρι τρίτου οὐρανοῦ, ἀλλ᾿ ἕκαστον τῶν χαρισμάτων τοῦ Πνεύματος. Ὅτι δ᾿ ἔνια τούτων καί διά τοῦ σώματος ἐνεργεῖται, δηλοῦσι τά γένη τῶν γλωσσῶν καί αἱ τούτων ἑρμηνεῖαι, ἅς καί διά τῆς προσευχῆς λαμβάνειν παραγγέλλει ὁ Παῦλος˙ «ὁ γάρ λαλῶν γλώσσαις», φησί, «προσευχέσθω ἵνα διερμηνεύῃ»˙ οὐ ταῦτα δέ μόνον, ἀλλά καί ὁ τῆς διδαχῆς λόγος καί τά χαρίσματα τῶν ἰαμάτων καί τά ἐνεργήματα τῶν δυνάμεων καί αἱ τῶν τοῦ Παύλου χειρῶν ἐπιθέσεις, δι᾿ ὧν ἐδίδοτο τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον. Ὁ μέν οὖν τῆς διδαχῆς λόγος, ἥ τε χάρις καί ἡ ἑρμηνεία τῶν γλωσσῶν, εἰ καί διά τῆς προσευχῆς ἐγγίνονται, ἀλλ᾿ ἴσως ἐνεργοῦσιν ἐκ τῆς ψυχῆς τῆς προσευχῆς ἀπούσης. Τά δέ ἰάματα καί αἱ δυνάμεις οὔποτ᾿ ἄν εἰς ἐνέργειαν ἀφίκοιντο, μή τῆς ψυχῆς τοῦ ἐνεργοῦντος ἑκάτερον αὐτῶν, μάλιστα μέν νοερῶς προσευχομένης, ἔστι δ᾿ ὅτε καί τοῦ σώματος συνυπηχοῦντος. Ἡ δέ διάδοσις τοῦ Πνεύματος, οὐ μόνον τῆς προσευχῆς ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ παρούσης ἐνεργεῖται καί (σελ. 376) προσευχῆς ἕνωσιν τελούσης τοῦ προσευχομένου μυστικῶς πρός τήν τῆς μεγαλοδωρεᾶς ταύτης ἀνέκλειπτον πηγήν, οὐ μόνον τοίνυν εὐχῆς ἐνεργουμένης νοερῶς, ἐπεί μηδέ λέγειν ἐπί τούτου τι διά στόματος οἱ ἀπόστολοι ἱστόρηνται, οὐ μόνον τοίνυν τῆς ψυχῆς νοερῶς προσευχομένης ἐνεργεῖται ἡ διάδοσις ἐκείνη, ἀλλ᾿ ἅμα καί τοῦ σώματος ἐνεργοῦντος διά τῶν χειρῶν τῇ ἁφῇ διαπεμπουσῶν τό Πνεῦμα ἐπί τόν ὑπ᾿ αὐτῶν ἐχόμενον. Τί οὖν τά χαρίσματα ταῦτα; οὐ τοῦ πνεύματος δόματα οὐδέ τοῖς αἰτιοῦσι καί προσευχομένοις πρός καλοῦ δίδοται, διότι τοῖς μέχρι τρίτου οὐρανοῦ ἁρπαζομένοις πάντων ἐπιλελῆσθαι τῶν διά σώματος δεῖ;

Μᾶλλον δέ ἐκεῖνα αὐτά τοῦ φιλοσόφου τά ρήματα προσπαραθῶμεν ἐνταῦθα˙ «εἰ μέν δῶρα Θεοῦ τά συμβαίνοντα αὐτοῖς κατά τήν προσευχήν, οἷον αἱ δυνάμεις αὗται καί τά δόματα, κακῶς λέγεται τό δεῖν ἐπιλελῆσθαι πάντων τῶν νοερῶς προσευχόμενον˙ οὐδένα γάρ λανθάνει δεῖ τά ὑπό Θεοῦ πρός καλοῦ αὐτῷ διδόμενα˙ εἰ