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acquired a habit by virtues, and has become a partaker of the wisdom spoken among the perfect; but neither does the one who is progressing lack any of the good things imposed upon him for his rank, even if he has not yet acquired the same preeminent knowledge of divine things as the perfect.

And again, let those who manfully pursue the practical philosophy, not yet having released their soul from fear and memory of the future divine tribunals, be understood by us as those who fear; lacking nothing at all, according to the blessed David, of those who struggle for the truth against the opposing power, yet nevertheless still falling short of the pure communication of mystical visions according to the intellect of the perfect. But those already mystically deemed worthy of theoretical theology, and having established their intellect pure from all material fantasy, and an image bearing the complete and unfailing imitation of the divine beauty, let them be for us those who love.

There is therefore no lack for those who fear, according to the blessed David, as those who fear, even if the one who fears does not have the full and perfect immediate union with the Word (288) in the same measure as those who love the Lord. For each one in his own order, according to the mansion appointed to him, has what is perfect; even if one is higher than another in the quality or quantity of spiritual age. And since fear is twofold, according to: Fear rather him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell; and according to: The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever and ever; and: He is great and terrible over all those around him; it must be investigated, how love casts out fear, if indeed it endures forever and ever; and how God is enduringly terrible for endless ages over all those around him? Or rather, since, as I said, fear is twofold, one pure, the other not pure; for instance, the fear arising from transgressions in expectation of punishment, having sin as the cause of its own generation, as it is not pure, will not be forever; being destroyed along with sin through repentance; but the pure fear, which always subsists without the memory of transgressions, will never cease to be; because it is essential. It is somehow innate in God towards creation, making manifest to all His natural reverence from His preeminence over all kingdom and power. He therefore who does not fear God as a judge, but reveres Him for the surpassing preeminence of His infinite power, justly has no lack, being perfect in love, loving God with reverence and fitting veneration; and this is he who has acquired the fear that endures forever and ever, and there will be for him no lack whatsoever.

Therefore the prophet and the evangelist are in harmony with each other; the one, saying that there is no lack for those who fear the Lord according to pure fear; the other, that the one who fears, as a judge, because of a defiled conscience, is not perfect in love; according to this interpretation then, God is also terrible over all those around him; as He makes the love of those who love Him, and who will be around Him, tempered with fear. For love separated from fear in itself, is wont for the most part to fall into contempt; as the boldness naturally born from it is not, as it were, bridled by fear; but let us consider, if you please, what is meant by the phrase, around him.

For he who is encircled has those encircling him both in front, and behind, and on the right, and on the left. Since therefore the Lord also has those encircling Him, let us understand those behind as those who have journeyed blamelessly after the Lord God through the commandments according to practical virtue (292), and those on the left as those who have achieved the natural contemplation in spirit along with the pious reception of the judgments. For Proverbs says concerning Wisdom

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ἀρεταῖς ἕξιν ἐκτήσατο, καί τῆς ἐν τοῖς τελείοις λαλουμένης σοφίας γέγονε μέτοχος· ἀλλ᾿ οὐδέ ὁ προκόπτων, τῶν ἐπιβεβλημένων αὐτῷ τῷ βαθμῷ καλῶν τινος ὑστερεῖ· κἄν τήν αὐτήν οὔπω τοῖς τελείοις ὑπερέχουσαν τῶν θείων ἐκτήσατο γνῶσιν.

Καί πάλιν, οἱ μέν τήν πρακτικήν ἀνδρικῶς μετιόντες φιλοσοφίαν, φόβου καί μνήμης τῶν μελλόντων θείων δικαιωτηρίων οὔπω τήν ψυχήν ἀπολύσαντες, νοείσθωσαν ἡμῖν οἱ φοβούμενοι· μηδενός μέν, κατά τόν μακάριον ∆αβίδ, ὑστεροῦντες καθάπαξ τῶν ὑπέρ ἀληθείας ἀγωνιζομένων κατά τῆς ἀντικειμένης δυνάμεως· ὅμως δ᾿ οὖν ἔτι λειπόμενοι τῆς κατά νοῦν τῶν τελείων ἀκραιφνοῦς τῶν μυστικῶν θεαμάτων διαδόσεως. Οἱ δέ τῆς θεωρητικῆς ἤδη μυστικῶς ἀξιωθέντες θεολογίας, καί πάσης φαντασίας ὑλικῆς τόν νοῦν καθαρόν καταστήσαντες, καί εἰκόνα τῆς θείας ὡραιότητος ὅλην ἀνελλιπῶς φέρουσαν τήν ἐκμίμησιν, ἔστωσαν ἡμῖν οἱ ἀγαπῶντες.

Οὐκ ἔστιν οὖν ὑστέρημα τοῖς φοβουμένοις, κατά τόν μακάριον ∆αβίδ, ὡς φοβουμένοις, κἄν οὐκ ἔχῃ τό πλῆρες καί τέλειον τῆς ἀμέσου πρός τόν λόγον (288) ἑνώσεως κατά τό ἴσον τοῖς ἀγαπῶσι τόν Κύριον, ὁ φοβούμενος. Ἕκαστος γάρ ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ τάγματι, κατά τήν ἠφωρισμένην αὐτῷ μονήν, ἔχει τό τέλειον· κἄν ἄλλος ἄλλου κατά ποιόν ἤ ποσόν τῆς πνευματικῆς ἡλικίας ἐστίν ὑψηλότερος. Ἐπειδή δέ διττός ἐστιν ὁ φόβος, κατά τό· Φοβήθητε μᾶλλον τόν δυνάμενον καί ψυχήν καί σῶμα ἀπολέσαι ἐν γεέννῃ· καί κατά τό· Ὁ φόβος Κυρίου ἁγνός, διαμένων εἰς αἰῶνα αἰῶνος· καί· Μέγας, καί φοβερός ἐστιν ἐπί πάντας τούς περικύκλῳ αὐτοῦ· ζητητέον, πῶς ἔξω βάλλει τόν φόβον ἡ ἀγάπη, εἴπερ εἰς αἰῶνα αἰῶνος διαμένει· πῶς δέ φοβερός ἐστι διαμένων ὁ Θεός, εἰς τούς ἀπείρους αἰῶνας ἐπί πάντας τούς περικύκλῳ αὐτοῦ; Ἤ μᾶλλον, ἐπειδή, καθώς ἔφην, διττός ἐστιν ὁ φόβος, ὁ μέν ἁγνός, ὁ δέ οὐχ ἁγνός· οἷον, ὁ μέν ἐπί πλημμελήμασι κατ᾿ ἐκδοχήν κολάσεως συνιστάμενος φόβος, αἰτίαν ἔχων τῆς οἰκείας γενέσεως τήν ἁμαρτίαν, ὡς οὐχ ἁγνός, οὐκ ἔσται διαπαντός· τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ διά τῆς μετανοίας συναφανιζόμενος· ὁ δέ ἁγνός φόβος, ὁ δίχα τῆς ἐπί πλημμελήμασι μνήμης ἀεί συνεστώς, οὐκ ἀπογεννήσεταί ποτε· διότιπερ οὐσιωδῶς. Ἐμπέφυκέ πως τῷ Θεῷ πρός τήν κτίσιν, ποιούμενος ἔκδηλον αὐτοῦ πᾶσι τήν φυσικήν αἰδεσιμότητα τῆς ὑπέρ πᾶσαν βασιλείαν τε καί δύναμιν ὑπεροχῆς. Ὁ τοίνυν μή φοβούμενος τόν Θεόν ὡς κριτήν, ἀλλ᾿ αἰδούμενος αὐτόν διά τήν ὑπερβάλλουσαν τῆς ἀπείρου δυνάμεως ὑπεροχήν, οὐκ ἔχει δικαίως ὑστέρημα, τέλειος ὑπάρχων ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ, μετ᾿ αἰδοῦς καί τῆς πρεπούσης σεβασμότητος ἀγαπῶν τόν Θεόν· καί οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ κτησάμενος τόν διαμένοντα φόβον εἰς αἰῶνα αἰῶνος, καί οὐκ ἔσται αὐτῷ ὑστέρημα τό παράπαν οὐδέν.

Συνᾴδουσιν οὖν ἀλλήλοις ὅ τε προφήτης καί ὁ εὐαγγελιστής· ὁ μέν, λέγων μή εἶναι τοῖς κατά τόν ἁγνόν φόβον τόν Κύριον φοβουμένοις ὑστέρημα· ὁ δέ, τόν φοβούμενον, ὡς κριτήν, διά τήν ἐῤῥυπωμένην συνείδησιν, μή εἶναι τέλειον ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ· κατά ταύτην τήν ἐκδοχήν λοιπόν, καί ἐπί πάντας τούς περικύκλῳ αὐτοῦ φοβερός ἐστιν ὁ Θεός· ὡς ἐγκεκραμένην φόβῳ ποιῶν τήν τῶν ἀγαπώντων αὐτόν, καί περί αὐτόν γενησομένων, ἀγάπην. Φόβου γάρ καθ᾿ ἑαυτήν κεχωρισμένη ἡ ἀγάπη, εἰς καταφρόνησιν πέφυκεν ὡς τά πολλά μεταπίπτειν· μή οἷον στομουμένης φόβῳ τῆς ἐξ αὐτῆς τικτομένης φυσικῶς παῤῥησίας· τί δέ βούλεται τό, περικύκλῳ αὐτοῦ, λεγόμενον, εἰ δοκεῖ, κατανοήσωμεν.

Ὁ γάρ κυκλούμενος καί ἔμπροσθεν, καί ὄπισθεν, καί ἐκ δεξιῶν, καί ἐξ ἀριστερῶν ἔχει τούς περικυκλοῦντας αὐτόν. Ἐπειδή τοίνυν καί ὁ Κύριος ἔχει τούς περικυκλοῦντας, νοήσωμεν τούς μέν ὀπίσω, τούς διά τῶν ἐντολῶν κατά τήν πρακτικήν ἀρετήν (292) ἀμέπτως ὀπίσω Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ πορευθέντας τούς ἐξ ἀριστερῶν δέ, τούς τήν φυσικήν ἐν πνεύματι θεωρίαν μετά τῆς τῶν κριμάτων εὐσεβοῦς ἀναλήψεως κατορθώσαντας. Φησί γάρ περί τῆς Σοφίας ἡ τῶν Παροιμιῶν