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most perfect gifts. But it is better for the (p. 368) soul to be beyond sense-perception in its prayers than to be active in any way according to sense-perception. Since, therefore, those things are not most perfect, for there is something better than them, then they are not from God." What then, since prophesying is less than speaking in tongues according to the apostle, is the gift of tongues therefore not a gift of God? And since 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 healing, not the word of wisdom and knowledge in the Spirit, not the discernment of spirits? And among the prophetic, and healing, and discerning, and simply all those graced by the divine Spirit, each of these gifts has a greater and a lesser form; as Paul also gives thanks to God, speaking in tongues more than all, but he who has the lesser also has a gift of God. For "Desire," says the same apostle again, "the better gifts," as there are also lesser ones. For if "star differs from star in glory," that is, in abundance of light, yet none of the stars is without light. Therefore, that which was put forward by the philosopher, from which he here attacks the hesychasts, is not true, namely, that the gifts of God are most perfect. For the brother of God among the apostles said, "every perfect gift is from above," not "most perfect." But this man, daring to add his own words to the oracles, naturally proceeds also against those who read those things through practice. I will ask him, therefore: will not the saints in the age to come advance infinitely in the vision of God? It is clear to everyone, I suppose, that it is infinitely; for Dionysius, the interpreter of heavenly things, also teaches that the angels always receive an increase in it, being made more receptive by their previous state for the clearer (p. 370) illumination. But neither have we seen or heard of anyone in all time who has been blessed with this on earth who did not long for it yet more perfectly. If, therefore, the desire of those who attain it does not cease, and the preceding grace empowers them for the reception of greater things, and He who gives Himself is infinite and provides lavishly and abundantly, what way is left for the sons of the age to come not to advance in it infinitely, receiving grace from grace and delightfully ascending the tireless ascent? Therefore, "every perfect gift is from above," but not most perfect; for the most perfect does not admit of addition.

Such, then, is the philosopher's first argument; his second is more forceful: "this nails the soul to the body and fills it with darkness, to love the activities that are common to its passionate part and the body." What pain, what pleasure, what motion in the body, is not a common activity of soul and body? It seems to me, therefore, that the philosopher has delivered this verdict also without due consideration, making a universal statement about things that are not universal. For there are also blessed passions and common activities of soul and body where the spirit is not nailed to the flesh, but which draw the flesh up close to the dignity of the Spirit and persuade it also to incline upwards. Which are these? The spiritual ones, which do not go from the body to the mind, as we said before, but pass from the mind to the body, and through these activities and passions they transform it for the better and deify it. For just as the divinity of the incarnate Word of God is common to the body and the soul, having deified the flesh through the soul, so that the works of God were accomplished through it, so in spiritual men the grace of the Spirit, being conveyed through the (p. 372) soul to the body,

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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 ἰαματικοῖς καί διακριτικοῖς καί ἁπλῶς τοῖς κεχαριτωμένοις ὑπό τοῦ θείου Πνεύματος ἅπασι, κατά τούτων ἕκαστον τῶν χαρισμάτων ἐστί μείζων τε καί ἐλάττων˙ ὡς καί ὁ Παῦλος εὐχαριστεῖ τῷ Θεῷ, πάντων μᾶλλον γλώσσαις λαλῶν, ἀλλά καί ὁ τό ἔλαττον ἔχων, δῶρον ἔχει Θεοῦ. «Ζηλοῦτε» γάρ, αὖθις ὁ αὐτός ἀπόστολος, «τά χαρίσματα τά κρείττονα», φησίν, ὡς καί ἐλαττόνων ὄντων. Εἰ γάρ «καί ἀστήρ ἀστέρος διαφέρει ἐν δόξῃ», τουτέστι φωτός περιουσίᾳ, ἀλλ᾿ οὐδείς τῶν ἀστέρων ἀφώτιστος. Οὐκ ἀληθές ἄρ᾿ ἐκεῖνο τό παρά τοῦ φιλοσόφου προτεταγμένον, ἀφ᾿ οὗ κατά τῶν ἡσυχαζόντων ἐνταῦθ᾿ ἐστιν ὡρμημένος, ὅτι τά τοῦ Θεοῦ δῶρα τελεώτατα. Καί ὁ τῶν ἀποστόλων γάρ ἀδελφόθεος «πᾶν δώρημα τέλειον ἄνωθεν» εἶπεν, οὐ "τελεώτατον". Οὗτος δέ τοῖς λογίοις παρ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ προστιθέναι τολμῶν, εἰκότως καί κατά τῶν διά πράξεως ἀναγινωσκόντων ἐκεῖνα χωρεῖ. Ἐρήσομαι τοίνυν αὐτόν˙ οὐκ ἐπ᾿ ἄπειρον οἱ ἅγιοι κατά τήν θεοπτίαν ἐπί τοῦ μέλλοντος προκόψουσιν αἰῶνος; Παντί που δῆλον ὡς ἐπ᾿ ἄπειρον˙ καί τούς ἀγγέλους γάρ ὁ τῶν οὐρανίων ὑποφήτης ∆ιονύσιος ἐπίδοσιν ἀεί κατ᾿ αὐτήν λαμβάνειν παραδίδωσι, χωρητικωτέροις ὑπό τῆς προλαβούσης ἐπιτελουμένους πρός τήν τρανοτέραν (σελ. 370) ἔλλαμψιν. Ἀλλ᾿ οὐδέ τῶν ταύτης εὐμοιρηκότων ἐπί γῆς ἐκ τοῦ παντός αἰῶνος εἴδομέν τινα ἤ ἀκηκόαμεν μή τελεωτέρας ἔτι ταύτης ἐφιέμενον. Εἰ τοίνυν ἡ μέν ἔφεσις τῶν ἐπιτυγχανόντων οὐχ ἵσταται, ἡ δέ προλαβοῦσα χάρις δυναμοποιός ἐστιν αὐτοῖς πρός τήν τῶν μειζόντων μετάληψιν, ὁ δ᾿ ἐπιδιδούς ἑαυτόν ἄπειρός ἐστι καί δαψιλῶς καί ἀφθόνως χορηγεῖ, τίς ὑπολέλειπται τρόπος μή οὐχί προκόπτειν τούς υἱούς τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος κατ᾿ αὐτήν ἐπ᾿ ἄπειρον, χάριν ἐκ χάριτος κομιζομένους καί τήν ἀκάματον ἐπιτερπῶς ἀνιόντας ἄνοδον; Οὐκοῦν «πᾶν δώρημα τέλειον ἄνωθεν», ἀλλ᾿ οὐ τελεώτατον˙ τό γάρ τελεώτατον προσθήκην οὐκ ἐπιδέχεται.

Τό μέν οὖν πρῶτον τῶν ἐπιχειρημάτων οὕτως ἔχει τῷ φιλοσόφῳ˙ δεύτερον δέ αὐτῷ γενναιότερον, ὅτι «τοῦτο προσηλοῖ τήν ψυχήν τῷ σώματι καί σκότους αὐτήν ἀναπίμπλησι, τό ἀγαπᾶν τάς ἐνεργείας, ὅσαι κοιναί εἰσι τοῦ παθητικοῦ αὐτῆς καί τοῦ σώματος». Τί δ᾿ ἄλγος, ποία δ᾿ ἡδονή, τίς δέ κίνησις ἐν σώματι, οὐ κοινή ἐνέργεια ψυχῆς ἐστι καί σώματος; ∆οκεῖ μοι τοίνυν ἀπερισκέπτως ὁ φιλόσοφος καί ταύτην τήν ψῆφον ἐνεγκεῖν, καθόλου περί τῶν μή καθόλου ἀποφηνάμενος.Ἔστι γάρ καί πάθη μακάρια καί κοιναί ἐνέργειαι ψυχῆς καί σώματος οὐ προσηλοῦται τῇ σαρκί τό πνεῦμα, ἀλλ᾿ ἐγγύς τῆς τοῦ Πνεύματος ἀξίας ἀνέλκουσαι τήν σάρκα καί ἄνω νεύειν καί αὐτήν ἀναπείθουσαι. Τίνες αὗται; Αἱ πνευματικαί, οὐκ ἀπό τοῦ σώματος ἐπί τόν νοῦν ἰοῦται, ὅ καί πρότερον εἴπομεν, ἀλλ᾿ ἀπό τοῦ νοῦ ἐπί τό σῶμα διαβαίνουσαι καί τοῦτο διά τῶν ἐνεργημάτων τε καί παθημάτων τούτων ἐπί τό κρεῖττον μετασκεύαζουσαι καί θεουργοῦσαι. Καθάπερ γάρ κοινή ἐστι σώματος καί ψυχῆς ἡ τοῦ ἐνανθρωπήσαντος λόγου τοῦ Θεοῦ θεότης, διά μέσης ψυχῆς θεώσασα τήν σάρκα, ὡς καί Θεοῦ ἔργα ἐκτελεῖσθαι δι᾿ αὐτῆς, οὕτως ἐπί τῶν πνευματικῶν ἀνδρῶν ἡ τοῦ Πνεύματος χάρις, διά μέσης (σελ. 372) ψυχῆς πρός τό σῶμα διαπορθμευομένη,