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you have put on Christ", that is, the Holy Spirit who also changes them all in a manner befitting God with a certain strange and ineffable and divine alteration about which David says: "This is the change of the right hand of the Most High", and the beloved disciple of Christ" "Brothers, now we are children; but it has not yet, he says, been revealed" to those in the world, that is, (195) "what we shall be; but we know" from the Spirit whom He has given us "that, if He is revealed, we shall be like Him". And not only this, but He also bestows on them the mind of Christ, shining above their heads, revealing to them mysteries which it is not lawful for a human tongue to utter. In addition to these things, He gives them new eyes and new hearing. And why should I want to say many things? For it is impossible to say everything. The whole Word of God Himself with the Father and the Spirit dwells in them; therefore each of such men becomes a temple in the perception and knowledge of God and then crying out with boldness he says: "I live no longer, but Christ lives in me", and again: "When I was a child, I thought as a child, I spoke as a child, I reasoned as a child; but when I became a man, I did away with childish things". For this reason I bear all things, I endure all things; and when reviled I bless, and I exhort when blasphemed, and I endure when persecuted, "that the power of Christ, he says, may rest upon me".

This, therefore, is the perfect yet imperfect state of spiritual men; perfect, I say, according to what is possible for us, but imperfect, because its perfection is hidden in God, and the fulfillment of this is death for Christ and His commandments, so that just as He fulfilled the whole law, and for the sake of the whole world delivered Himself up, enduring the cross and death, praying also for those who crucified Him and saying" "Father, forgive them this sin; for they know not what they do", so also we for His sake and for His commandments, and indeed also for the salvation of our (196) brothers ought we to carry about in ourselves the sentence of death, "that we might not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead". For even if it does not befall us to depart this life by a violent death, yet by our resolve, as having already suffered and endured this in deed, it will be reckoned to us by our man-loving God and awarder of prizes, according to the saint who says: "I protest by your love, I die daily". Not as having suffered this often in experience, but in intention, he says, and again: "I press on to lay hold of that for which I was also laid hold of". Furthermore, we ought to pray for all those who for whatever reason grieve or revile us, and for those who are always hostilely disposed toward us from evil intent, but also for all the faithful and the unfaithful, so that they may be delivered from error and come to the true faith.

These things no man could ever conceive of himself or speak or receive by hearing, let alone could he accomplish them in deed, unless the love of God was first poured out richly in his heart and he had as a dweller through it the One who said: "Without me you can do nothing". But no one has obtained such grace and gift, unless he first denied himself, as the Savior commanded and as we have explained in more detail, that is, having served the Lord willingly with his whole heart and having loved Him. If one has not received this inalienably, let no one deceive himself, but let him know this, that he has not been and will never be deemed worthy of the union with God which comes about in noetic perception and knowledge and contemplation. For the men who have been called perfect in the participation of God's grace (197) and who have acquired the spiritual age in the aforementioned perfect measure become wholly with God, seeing Him as much as they themselves are seen by Him. For it remains

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Χριστόν ἐνεδύσασθε", δηλονότι τό Ἅγιον Πνεῦμα ὅ καί ἀλλοιοῖ θεοπρεπῶς ὅλους αὐτούς ξένην τινά καί ἄρρητον καί θείαν ἀλλοίωσιν περί ἧς φησιν ὁ ∆αυίδ· "Αὕτη ἡ ἀλλοίωσις τῆς δεξιᾶς τοῦ Ὑψίστου", καί ὁ ἐπιστήθιος μαθητής τοῦ Χριστοῦ" "Ἀδελφοί, νῦν τέκνα ἐσμέν· ἀλλ᾿ οὔπω, φησίν, ἐφανερώθη" τοῖς ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ δηλονότι (195) "τί ἐσόμεθα· οἴδαμεν δε" ἐκ τοῦ Πνεύματος οὗ δέδωκεν ἡμῖν "ὅτι, ἐάν φανερωθῇ, ὅμοιοι αὐτῷ ἐσόμεθα". Καί οὐ τοῦτο μόνον, ἀλλά χαρίζεται αὐτοῖς καί τόν νοῦν τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὑπέρ κεφαλῆς αὐτῶν λάμποντα, μυστήρια αὐτοῖς ἀποκαλύπτοντα ἅ οὐκ ἐξόν γλώσσῃ φθέγξασθαι ἀνθρωπίνῃ. Πρός τούτοις δίδωσιν αὐτοῖς καινούς ὀφθαλμούς καί καινήν ἀκοήν. Καί τί τά πολλά θέλω λέγειν; Ἀδύνατον γάρ πάντα εἰπεῖν. Ὅλος αὐτός ἐκεῖνος ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος μετά Πατρός καί Πνεύματος οἰκεῖ ἐν αὐτοῖς· γίνεται οὖν ἕκαστος τῶν τοιούτων ναός ἐν αἰσθήσει καί γνώσει Θεοῦ καί τηνικαῦτα μετά παρρησίας λέγων βοᾷ· "Ζῶ μέν οὐκέτι ἐγώ, ζῇ δέ ἐν ἐμοί ὁ Χριστός", καί αὖθις· "Ὅτε ἤμην νήπιος, ὡς νήπιος ἐφρόνουν, ὡς νήπιος ἐλάλουν, ὡς νήπιος ἐλογιζόμην· ὅτε δέ γέγονα ἀνήρ, κατήργηκα τά τοῦ νηπίου". ∆ιά τοῦτο πάντα στέγω, πάντα ὑπομένω· καί λοιδορούμενος εὐλογῶ καί παρακαλῶ βλασφημούμενος καί ἀνέχομαι διωκόμενος, "ἵνα ἐπισκηνώσῃ ἐν ἐμοί, φησίν, ἡ δύναμις τοῦ Χριστοῦ".

Αὕτη τοιγαροῦν ἡ τελεία τῶν πνευματικῶν ἀνδρῶν ἀτέλεστος ἡλικία· τελεία μέν, κατά τό ἡμῖν ἐφικτόν λέγω, ἀτέλεστος δέ, ὅτι ἡ τελειότης αὐτῆς ἐν τῷ Θεῷ ἀποκεκρυμμένη ἐστί, πλήρωμα δέ ταύτης ὁ ὑπέρ Χριστοῦ καί τῶν ἐντολῶν αὐτοῦ θάνατος, ἵνα ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνος ἅπαντα μέν τόν νόμον ἐτέλεσεν, ὑπέρ παντός δέ τοῦ κόσμου παρέδωκεν ἑαυτόν, σταυρόν καί θάνατον ὑπομείνας, εὐχόμενος καί ὑπέρ τῶν σταυρωσάντων αὐτόν καί λέγων" "Ἄφες αὐτοῖς, πάτερ, τήν ἁμαρτίαν ταύτην· οὐ γάρ οἴδασι τί ποιοῦσιν", οὕτω καί ἡμεῖς ὑπέρ ἐκείνου καί τῶν αὐτοῦ ἐντολῶν, ἀλλά μήν καί ὑπέρ τῆς σωτηρίας τῶν ἀδελφῶν (196) ἡμῶν τό ἀπόκριμα τοῦ θανάτου ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ὀφείλομεν περιφέρειν, "ἵνα μή ὦμεν πεποιθότες ἐφ᾿ ἑαυτοῖς, ἀλλ᾿ ἐπί τῷ Θεῷ τῷ ἐγείροντι τούς νεκρούς". Εἰ γάρ καί μή συναντήσει τοῦτο ἡμῖν τό βιαίῳ θανάτῳ τόν βίον ὑπεξελθεῖν, ἀλλά τῇ προαιρέσει, ὡς ἔργῳ τοῦτο ἤδη παθόντες καί ὑπομείναντες, λογισθήσεται ἡμῖν ὑπό τοῦ φιλανθρώπου Θεοῦ ἡμῶν καί ἀγωνοθέτου κατά τόν λέγοντα ἅγιον· "Νή τήν ὑμετέραν ἀγάπην, καθ᾿ ἡμέραν ἀποθνῄσκω". Οὐχ ὡς τῇ πείρᾳ τοῦτο πολλάκις παθών, ἀλλά τῇ προθέσει, φησί, καί πάλιν· "∆ιώκω εἰ καί καταλάβω, ἐφ᾿ ᾧ καί κατελήφθην". Ἔτι δέ καί ὑπέρ πάντων ὀφείλομεν τῶν δι᾿ ἥντινα αἰτίαν λυπούντων ἤ λοιδορούντων ἡμᾶς καί ὑπέρ τῶν ἐχθρωδῶς πρός ἡμᾶς ἐκ πονηρᾶς προθέσεως διακειμένων ἀεί, ἀλλά καί ὑπέρ τῶν πιστῶν ἁπάντων καί ἀπίστων προσεύχεσθαι, ὡς ἄν οἱ τῆς πλάνης ἀπαλλαγῶσι καί τῇ ἀληθινῇ πίστει προσέλθωσι.

Ταῦτα οὐδείς ποτε ἀνθρώπων ἐννοῆσαι ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ ἤ εἰπεῖν ἤ ἀκοῇ παραδέξασθαι, μἠ ὅτι γε ἔργῳ αὐτά διαπράξασθαι ἠδυνήθη, εἰ μή ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Θεοῦ πρότερον ἐξεχύθη πλουσίως ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ καί ἔνοικον ἔσχε δι᾿ αὐτῆς τόν εἰπόντα· "Οὐ δύνασθε χωρίς ἐμοῦ ποιεῖν οὐδέν". Ἀλλ᾿ οὐδέ τῆς τοιαύτης χάριτος καί δωρεᾶς ἔτυχέ τις, εἰ μή πρότερον ἑαυτόν ἀπηρνήσατο, καθώς ἐνετείλατο ὁ Σωτήρ καί ἡμεῖς λεπτότερον ἐδηλώσαμεν, τῷ Κυρίῳ δηλονότι ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ εὐπροθύμως δουλεύσας καί ἀγαπήσας αὐτόν. Εἰ δέ μή ταύτην ἀναφαίρετον εἴληφε, μηδείς ἑαυτόν ἀπατάτω, γινωσκέτω δέ τοῦτο, ὡς οὐδέ τῆς μετά Θεοῦ ἑνώσεως τῆς ἐν νοερᾷ αἰσθήσει καί γνώσει καί θεωρίᾳ γινομένης κατηξιώθη ἤ καταξιωθήσεται πώποτε. Οἱ γάρ χρηματίσαντες ἄνδρες τέλειοι ἐν τῇ μεθέξει τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ χάριτος (197) καί τήν πνευματικήν ἡλικίαν ἐν τῷ ῥηθέντι μέτρῳ τελείαν κτησάμενοι ὅλοι γίνονται μετά τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὁρῶντες αὐτόν τοσοῦτον ὅσον ὁρῶνται καί αὐτοί ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ. Μένει γάρ