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and you love me as none of those who are with you. For who rejoices in his heart at my name and is immediately stirred to love or longing? Who, upon hearing the mention of me spoken many times, has wept from his soul, remembering me alone? Who has sought with zeal to learn and keep my divine words or my commandments? Who has considered me, as you have, God above all (168) and immediately desired to serve me alone, and for this reason so disregarded parents and brothers and house, and land together with relatives and neighbors and friends, and so came to me, as if he had never seen any of these, nor known a person on earth in the world, but as if entering a certain foreign land and a city having all who speak a different language and are barbarians, so to live and be disposed among his usual acquaintances and friends, his own people and the rulers and the rich of the world, while being in their midst? But these are mere words and small to the insensitive, but great and lofty to me who oversees these things. Who of the great powers and thrones on earth or of those who say they rule and reign through me or of those who represent my divine apostles has either thought this or been able to keep it, so that at the time of keeping my commandment and law he sees all as one, relatives and strangers, rich and poor together, glorious and inglorious, and the powerful then with the more humble? Who is the one who has judged dispassionately, looking smoothly upon these things? If I should find a soul that has kept these things in the world, especially in the present generation and day, I will glorify it equally with my apostles and prophets, and it will sit with me at my coming, for it will judge then as it would have justly on earth and will bear away the glory of a judge of the dead and the living. It is good to seek these things and the rest with them and to observe them, as much as one is able, and to keep them exactly; and not to investigate my nature, son of man, nor my energies, of the Holy Spirit, (169) how it is shown as a sun, how it is seen as a star and appearing somewhere from afar and passing over mountains, and by being hidden from your eyes, causing you inconsolable affliction and grief, and while you think it will no longer be seen by you, it is found within in your heart and bestows on you astonishment and joy unexpectedly; nor that it is shown to you as a flame, radiance and fire are seen, should you marvel or investigate, for this is not good for you!

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καί ἀγαπᾷς με ὡς οὐδείς τῶν μετά σοῦ συνόντων. Τίς γάρ μου τῷ ὀνόματι γάννυται τήν καρδίαν καί διεγείρεται εὐθύς πρός ἀγάπην ἤ πόθον; Τίς ἀκούσας τήν μνείαν μου πολλάκις λαλουμένην ἐδάκρυσεν ἀπό ψυχῆς ἐνθυμηθείς με μόνον; Τίς δέ τούς θείους λόγους μου ἤ τίς τάς ἐντολάς μου μετά σπουδῆς ἐζήτησε μαθεῖν τε καί φυλάξαι; Τίς ἐλογίσθη με ὡς σύ Θεόν ἐπάνω πάντων (168) καί ἐπεθύμησεν εὐθύς ἐμοί μόνῳ δουλεύειν καί διά τοῦτο καί γονεῖς καί ἀδελφούς καί οἶκον, γῆν τε ὁμοῦ καί συγγενεῖς καί γείτονας καί φίλους οὕτως παρελογίσαντο καί οὕτως μοι προσῆλθεν, ὡς μηδέ θεασάμενος ποτέ τινα ἐκ τούτων, μηδέ γνωρίσας ἐπί γῆς ἄνθρωπον ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, ἀλλ᾿ ὥσπερ ξένην ἐπιβάς χώραν τινά καί πόλιν ἑτερογλώσσους ἔχουσαν πάντας τε καί βαρβάρους, οὕτως ἐν τοῖς συνήθεσι γνωρίμοις τε καί φίλοις, ἰδίοις τε καί ἄρχουσι καί πλουσίοις τοῦ κόσμου διάγειν καί διακεῖσθαι μέσον τούτων τυγχάνων; Ἀλλά ψιλά ταῦτα λεγόμενα καί μικρά ἀναισθήτοις, μεγάλα δέ καί ὑψηλά ἐμοί ἐπόπτῃ τούτων. Τίς τῶν μεγάλων ἐπί γῆς ἐξουσιῶν καί θρόνων ἤ τῶν λεγόντων δι᾿ ἐμοῦ ἄρχειν καί βασιλεύειν ἤ τῶν ἐκπροσωπούντων μου τούς θείους ἀποστόλους τοῦτο ἤ ἐνενόησεν ἤ ἴσχυσε φυλάξαι, ἵν᾿ ἐν καιρῷ τηρήσεως ἐντολῆς μου καί νόμου ὡς ἕνα βλέπει ἅπαντας, συγγενεῖς τε καί ξένους, πλουσίους, πένητας ὁμοῦ, ἐνδόξους καί ἀδόξους, τούς δέ γε δυνατούς ἄρα μετά εὐτελεστέρων; Τίς ὁ δικάσας ἀπαθῶς, λεῖα βλέπων ἐν τούτοις; Ταῦτα ψυχήν εἰ εὕροιμι φυλάξασαν ἐν κόσμῳ, ἐν τῇ παρούσῃ μάλιστα γενεᾷ καί ἡμέρᾳ, ἴσα τῶν ἀποστόλων μου καί προφητῶν δοξάσω, καί συγκαθήσει μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ ἐν τῇ ἐμῇ ἐλεύσει, κρινεῖ γάρ ὡς ἐπί τῆς γῆς δικαίως ἄν καί τότε καί δόξαν ἀπενέγκηται κριτοῦ νεκρῶν καί ζώντων. Ταῦτα καλόν τό ἐκζητεῖν καί τά λοιπά σύν τούτοις καί τηρεῖν, ὅση δύναμις, καί ἀκριβῶς φυλάττειν˙ καί τήν ἐμήν μή ἐκζητεῖν φύσιν, υἱέ ἀνθρώπου, μηδέ τάς ἐνεργείας μου, Πνεύματος τοῦ Ἁγίου, (169) ὅπως δείκνυται ἥλιος, ὅπως ὁρᾶται ἄστρον καί μακρόθεν που φαινόμενον καί ὑπερβαῖνον ὄρη, ἐκ δέ τῷ ἀποκρύπτεσθαι ἀπό τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν σου, θλῖψιν ἀπαραμύθητον προξενοῦν σοι καί λύπην, καί ἐν τῷ σέ λογίζεσθαι μηκέτι σοί ὀφθῆναι ἔνδοθεν εὑρισκόμενον ἐν τῇ σῇ καρδίᾳ καί ἔκπληξίν σοι καί χαράν νέμον ἀπροσδοκήτως˙ μηδ᾿ ὅτι φλόξ σοι δείκνυται, αἴγλη καί πῦρ ὁρᾶται, θαυμάζῃς ἤ ἐξερευνᾷς, οὐ γάρ καλόν σοι τοῦτο!