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of any of the goods of the present age? Who, having the grace of the Spirit in his heart, does not possess the revered Trinity dwelling in him (134), the one who enlightens and makes one a god? Who, having become a god by the grace of the Trinity and been deemed worthy of the glory that is both above and first, could conceive of anything more glorious than to minister to and to see the highest nature, the all-working, the ineffable, the inaccessible to all? Or what more brilliant thing could one desire in life—in this one, consider, the short-lived, or in the other, understand me, the one that has no end? If you knew the hidden depth of the mysteries, you would not have compelled me to speak or write these things. For I shudder with reverence, engraving divine things and sketching in letters things ineffable to all. If you had seen Christ, if you had received the Spirit and been brought to the Father through these two, you would have known what I am saying and what I am explaining to you, and that it is a great and awesome thing and beyond all glory and splendor, rule and authority, wealth and power and every kingdom to minister with a pure conscience of heart to the pure and Holy and undefiled Trinity. For do not speak to me of the sinlessness of the body and, of things whose depth you do not understand, adduce testimonies, but hear and be assured of what God said through the Apostles and Basil the wise, he of the fiery tongue, and the simple testimonies of father Chrysostom and of Gregory who theologized well on these things, of what sort he must be who ministers to God, the creator of all things! And from your worthiness and from your virtue you are able to marvel at the greatness of the dignity. (135) Be not deceived, brothers, do not dare at all to touch or to approach the inaccessible nature. For whoever will not renounce the world and the things in the world and will deny his own soul and body and become entirely dead to all the senses, looking with passion at none of the pleasures of life, desiring absolutely none of the things of the world, nor taking pleasure in the words of any men,

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τινός ἆρα τῶν ἀγαθῶν τοῦ παρόντος αἰῶνος; Τίς τήν χάριν τοῦ Πνεύματος ἔχων ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ οὐχί Τριάδα τήν σεπτήν ἐν αὐτῷ κατοικοῦσαν (134) κέκτηται, τήν φωτίζουσαν καί Θεόν ἐκτελοῦσαν; Τίς δέ Θεός γενόμενος χάριτι τῆς Τριάδος καί δόξης καταξιωθείς τῆς ἄνω τε καί πρώτης, πλέον τι ἐννοήσειεν ἐνδοξότερον ἆρα τοῦ λειτουργεῖν τε καί ὁρᾶν τήν ἀνωτάτω φύσιν, τήν παντουργόν, τήν ἄφραστον, τήν ἀπρόσιτον πᾶσιν; Ἤ τίνος ἐπιθυμήσειε λαμπροτέρου ἐν βίῳ, τῷ τε τούτῳ, λογίσθητι, τῷ ὀλιγοχρονίῳ, ἤ τῷ ἄλλῳ, μοί νόησον, τῷ μή ἔχοντι τέλος; Εἰ ᾔδεις τό κρυπτόμενον βάθος τῶν μυστηρίων, οὐκ ἄν με κατηνάγκαζες ταῦτα λαλεῖν ἤ γράφειν. Φρίττω γάρ εὐλαβούμενος ἐγχαράττων τά θεῖα καί γράμμασι σκιαγραφῶν τά ἀπόρρητα πᾶσιν. Εἰ ἐθεάσω τόν Χριστόν, εἰ ἔλαβες τό Πνεῦμα καί προσηνέχθης τῷ Πατρί διά τούτων τῶν δύο, γινώσκειν εἶχες ἅ λαλῶ καί ἅ σοι ἐξηγοῦμαι, καί ὅτι μέγα καί φρικτόν καί ἐπέκεινα πάσης δόξης τε καί λαμπρότητος, ἀρχῆς καί ἐξουσίας, πλούτου τε καί δυνάμεως καί πάσης βασιλείας τό λειτουργεῖν ἐν καθαρᾷ καρδίας συνειδήσει τῇ καθαρᾷ καί Ἁγίᾳ καί ἀχράντῳ Τριάδι. Μή γάρ μοι εἴπῃς σώματος τήν ἀναμαρτησίαν καί, ὧν τό βάθος οὐ νοεῖς, παράξῃς μαρτυρίας, ἀλλ᾿ ἅπερ εἶπεν ὁ Θεός διά τῶν Ἀποστόλων καί Βασιλείου τοῦ σοφοῦ, τοῦ πυρίνου τήν γλῶτταν, καί Χρυσοστόμου τε πατρός τάς ἁπλᾶς μαρτυρίας καί Γρηγορίου τοῦ καλῶς ταῦτα θεολογοῦντος ἄκουσον καί πιστώθητι, ποταπόν χρή ὑπάρχειν τόν λειτουργοῦντα τῷ Θεῷ, τῷ ποιητῇ τῶν πάντων! Καί ἐκ τῆς καταξιώσεως καί ἐκ τῆς ἀρετῆς σου ἔχεις τοῦ ἀξιώματος τό μέγεθος θαυμάσαι. (135) Μή πλανηθῆτε, ἀδελφοί, μή τολμήσητε ὅλως ἅψασθαι ἤ προσελθεῖν τό ἀπροσίτῳ φύσει. Ὅς γάρ οὐκ ἀποτάξεται κόσμῳ καί τοῖς ἐν κόσμῳ καί τήν ψυχήν ἀρνήσεται τήν ἑαυτοῦ καί σῶμα καί ὅλος γένηται νεκρός ταῖς αἰσθήσεσι πάσαις μηδέν προσβλέπων ἐμπαθῶς τῶν ἡδέων τοῦ βίου, μηδενός ὅλως ἐπιθυμῶν τῶν τοῦ κόσμου πραγμάτων μηδέ ἐνηδυνόμενος λόγοις τισίν ἀνθρώπων,