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uprooting and making it disappear, until it renders his soul completely free from all these things. For the visitation of the Paraclete does not deem it worthy of freedom in part, but completely and purely, for along with the aforementioned passions, it also drives away all despondency, all negligence, all sloth and ignorance, and forgetfulness and gluttony and all love of pleasure, and thus it renews and restores the person both psychically and somatically, so that such a one seems to be clothed not with a (220) corruptible and heavy body, but with one that is spiritual and immaterial and already fit to be caught up. Not only does the grace of the Spirit work this in him, but it does not even permit such a one to see any of the sensible things, but rather makes him, while seeing, to continue as if not seeing with the senses. For whenever the mind is joined to the intelligible things, it becomes wholly outside the sensible things, even if it seems to perceive the sensible things.

Thus, then, dwelling on these things according to the saint who says: "But our citizenship is in heaven, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen," he is illumined, enlightened, and each day increases in spiritual stature, putting away the thoughts of infancy, and advancing toward manly perfection. Therefore, according to the measure of his stature, his psychic powers and energies are altered, and he becomes manlier and stronger for the practice of God's commandments. Fulfilling these daily, therefore, in proportion to his work in them, he is again further purified, made brilliant, enlightened, and is deemed worthy to see revelations of great mysteries, the depth of which no one has ever seen, nor indeed can see at all, of those who have not striven to be raised to such purity. And by mysteries I mean those things that are seen by all but not understood; for he acquires new eyes from the renewing Spirit, and likewise new ears, and for the rest he does not see sensible things sensibly as a man, but, having become more than a man, he perceives sensible things spiritually and as images of the invisible things, (221) and the forms in them as formless and without shape. And he hears not, as one might say, the voice or voices of a man, but only the living Word, when it proceeds through the voice of a man. For this alone, as being familiar and beloved, the soul receives through hearing and yields entrance to it, and joyfully embraces it once it is within, as the Lord said: "My sheep hear my voice, and they will not hear a stranger." But all the other words of men he hears but does not receive; nor does he permit them to enter within at all, but turning away he sends them away empty; sometimes he is not even aware of their presence or their knocking, but is disposed toward them as if deaf, not hearing—though he does hear them.

Therefore, when he has become such, God immediately dwells in him and all things he wishes come to be for him, or rather, even more than he wishes. For God, being every good, fills the soul in which He dwells with every good, as far as is possible for our nature, since God is uncontainable and cannot be held by any created nature. And I call those things good, which eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and have not entered into the heart of man, that is, of one who has not become such. Therefore, the God who dwells in such a man also teaches him concerning things future and present, not by word, but by deed and experience and actuality. For by revealing his spiritual eyes, God shows him whatever He wishes and whatever is profitable for him, and persuades him not to search into, nor to seek, nor to be curious about other things, (222) since not even those things which God reveals and shows to him can he ever look upon shamelessly; but stooping to look into the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God, he immediately becomes dizzy and is astounded, considering himself and who he is to have been deemed worthy to become a spectator of such things. For gazing at the greatness of the philanthropy of God and

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ἐξανασπῶσαν καί ἐξαφανίζουσαν, ἕως οὗ τέλεον πάντων τούτων ἐλευθέραν τήν αὐτοῦ ψυχήν ἀπεργάσηται. Οὐδέ γάρ ἐκ μέρους αὐτήν ἡ τοῦ Παρακλήτου ἐπιδημία τῆς ἐλευθερίας ἀξιοῖ, ἀλλά τελείως καί καθαρῶς, μετά γάρ τῶν εἰρημένων παθῶν καί πᾶσαν ἀκηδίαν, πᾶσαν ἀμέλειαν, πᾶσαν ῥᾳθυμίαν καί ἄγνοιαν λήθην τε καί γαστριμαργίαν καί πᾶσαν φιληδονίαν ἀποδιώκει, καί οὕτως ἀνανεοῖ καί ἀνακαινίζει τόν ἄνθρωπον ψυχικῶς τε ὁμοῦ καί σωματικῶς, ὡς δοκεῖν τόν τοιοῦτον οὐ σῶμα (220) φθαρτόν καί βαρύ περικεῖσθαι, ἀλλά πνευματικόν τε καί ἄϋλον καί ἤδη πρός ἁρπαγήν ἐπιτήδειον. Οὐ τοῦτο δέ μόνον ἐργάζεται ἐν αὐτῷ ἡ τοῦ Πνεύματος χάρις, ἀλλ᾿ οὐδέ ὁρᾶν τι τῶν αἰσθητῶν συγχωρεῖ τῷ τοιούτῳ, ποιεῖ δέ μᾶλλον αὐτόν ἐν τῷ ὁρᾶν ὡς μή ὁρῶντα τῇ αἰσθήσει διατελεῖν. Ὁπόταν γάρ ὁ νοῦς τοῖς νοητοῖς συναφθῇ, ἔξω τῶν αἰσθητῶν ὅλος γίνεται, εἰ καί δοκεῖ τά αἰσθητά καθορᾶν.

Οὕτως οὖν ἐν τούτοις ἐνδιατρίβων κατά τόν λέγοντα ἅγιον· "Ἡμῶν δέ τό πολίτευμα ἐν οὐρανοῖς ὑπάρχει, μή σκοπούντων ἡμῶν τά βλεπόμενα ἀλλά τά μή βλεπόμενα", καταλάμπεται, φωτίζεται καί καθ᾿ ἑκάστην αὐξάνει τήν πνευματικήν ἡλικίαν, καταργῶν μέν τά τοῦ νηπιώδους φρονήματος, προκόπτων δέ ἐπί τήν ἀνδρικήν τελειότητα. ∆ιό καί κατά τό μέτρον τῆς ἡλικίας ἀλλοιοῦται τάς ψυχικάς δυνάμεις καί ἐνεργείας, καί πρός τάς πράξεις τῶν ἐντολῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀνδρειότερος καί κραταιότερος γίνεται. Ταύτας οὖν ὁσημέραι πληρῶν, κατά ἀναλογίαν τῆς ἐργασίας αὐτῶν ἔτι καθαίρεται αὖθις, λαμπρύνεται, φωτίζεται καί μυστηρίων μεγάλων ἀποκαλύψεις καταξιοῦται ὁρᾶν, ὧν οὐδείς ποτε εἶδε τό βάθος, οὔτε μήν ὅλως ἰδεῖν δύναται, τῶν μή εἰς τοιαύτην καθαρότητα ἀνενεχθῆναι ἀγωνισαμένων. Μυστήρια δέ λέγω τά παρά πάντων ὁρώμενα μέν μή καταλαμβανόμενα δε· καινούς γάρ παρά τοῦ καινοποιοῦ Πνεύματος κτᾶται ὀφθαλμούς, ὦτα δέ ὡσαύτως καινά, καί τοῦ λοιποῦ οὐχ ὡς ἄνθρωπος βλέπει τά αἰσθητά αἰσθητῶς, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς ὑπέρ ἄνθρωπον γεγονώς, τά αἰσθητά πνευματικῶς καθορᾷ καί ὡς εἰκόνας τῶν ἀοράτων, (221) καί τάς ἐν τούτοις μορφάς ὡς ἀμόρφους καί ἀνειδέους. Ἀκούει δέ οὐχ, ὡς ἄν τις εἴπῃ, ἀνθρώπου φωνῆς ἤ φωνῶν, ἀλλά μόνου τοῦ ζῶντος Λόγου, ὅταν διά τῆς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου φωνῆς προέλθῃ. Τοῦτον γάρ καί μόνον, ὡς γνώριμον καί προσφιλῆ πέλοντα, διά τῆς ἀκοῆς εἰσδέχεται ἡ ψυχή καί τήν εἴσοδν τούτῳ παραχωρεῖ, καί ἀσμένως ἔνδοθεν γενόμενον κατασπάζεται, καθώς ἔφη ὁ Κύριος· "Τά πρόβατα τά ἐμά τῆς φωνῆς μου ἀκούει, ἀλλοτρίων δέ οὐκ ἀκούσονται". Τούς δέ γε λοιπούς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἅπαντας λόγους ἀκούει μέν οὐ προσδέχεται δε· ἀλλ᾿ οὐδέ ἔνδοθεν εἰσελθεῖν τούτους ὅλως ἐᾷ, κενούς δέ ἀποστρεφόμενος αὐτούς ἀποπέμπεται· ἔστιν ὅτε οὐδέ τῆς παρουσίας ἤ τῶν κρουσμάτων αὐτῶν ἐπαισθάνεται, ἀλλ᾿ ὡσεί κωφός οὐκ ἀκούων - καίτοι γε ἀκούων αὐτῶν , οὕτω πρός τούτοις διάκειται.

Τοιγαροῦν καί τοιούτου γενομένου αὐτοῦ, εὐθύς οἰκεῖ ὁ Θεός ἐν αὐτῷ καί γίνεται αὐτῷ πάντα ὅσα ἄν θέλῃ, μᾶλλον δέ καί ὑπέρ ἅ θέλει. Πᾶν γάρ ἀγαθόν ὤν ὁ Θεός, τήν ἐν ᾗ οἰκήσῃ ψυχήν παντός ἐμπίπλησιν ἀγαθοῦ κατά τό ἐγχωροῦν τῇ φύσει ἡμῶν, ἐπειδή πάσῃ κτιστῇ φύσει ἀχώρητός ἐστιν ὁ Θεός καί ἄστεκτος. Ἀγαθά δέ ἐκεῖνα λέγω, ἅ ὀφθαλμός οὐκ εἶδε καί οὖς οὐκ ἤκουσε καί ἐπί καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέβη, τοῦ μή γενομένου δηλονότι τοιούτου. Τοιγαροῦν καί διδάσκει τόν τοιοῦτον ἄνθρωπον ὁ οἰκήσας ἐν αὐτῷ Θεός περί τῶν μελλόντων καί ἐνεστώτων, οὐ λόγῳ ἀλλ᾿ ἔργῳ καί πείρᾳ καί πράγματι. Ἀποκαλύπτων γάρ τούς νοερούς αὐτοῦ ὀφθαλμούς, δείκνυσιν αὐτῷ ὅσα βούλεται ὁ Θεός καί ὅσα συμφέρει αὐτῷ, τά δ᾿ ἄλλα πείθει μή ἐρευνᾶν μηδέ ζητεῖν μηδέ πολυπραγμονεῖν, (222) ἐπειδή οὐδέ ἅπερ Θεός αὐτῷ ἐκκαλύπτει καί ὑποδείκνυσιν, ἀναιδῶς ποτε δύναται καθορᾶν· ἀλλά παρακύπτων εἰς τό βάθος τοῦ πλούτου καί τῆς σοφίας καί τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ, εὐθύς ἰλιγγιᾷ καί καταπλήττεται, ἐννοῶν ἑαυτόν καί τίς ὤν τίνων θεατής γενέσθαι ἠξίωται. Εἰς γάρ τό μέγεθος τῆς φιλανθρωπίας τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀποβλέπων καί