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Again, concerning the divine things revealed to you, forgive us for thinking it necessary to indicate this also; perhaps you will also erase those things on account of us, who are not capable of reaching the height of your theology, having revised again also this discourse of yours to us. But if after erasing you write at length against us, you will do us the greatest favor; this, however, we neither permit nor forbid; but may you be prepared beforehand not to be angry if any of your own words should be turned against you, for it is your own.

But what is your first and middle and last handle against us? “You,” he says, “exalt yourself, as having encountered things beyond us.” From where can you show this? “From your own,” he says, “words, from which I have noted that the entire introduction was taken by me.” Read your introduction, taken from our words and, as you yourself say, refuting us, so that we may know; and if there is any boasting in our words, we will confess that this accusation of yours against us is just, but if not, you will condemn yourself, turning a much greater retribution upon yourself. “You, having longed for the highest philosophy, or rather having been drawn by the highest love for mankind, and having given up every kind of discourse and the study concerning them, and having already encountered the examples, held back.” For this "having already (p. 454) encountered the examples," I do not recognize, most excellent one, as being from our words; and in this lies the matter of the boast, which you throughout the entire discourse bring against us; not only is this simply different from my words, but it is also one of those things which is quite contrary to them.

For if you here call 'example' what we there more figuratively called 'myrrh', listen now at least with understanding. “We have almost entirely forgotten the sciences concerned with words, and of true wisdom we have grasped nothing or little, but as it were we run to the scent of myrrh, not yet having the myrrh itself in our hands.” Is this not set down there word for word? Clearly therefore you speak falsely against us who have not yet said we have encountered, as if we had said we have encountered. But if you inflict this censure upon us for saying 'we have longed', it does something similar, as if someone should say that a man is proud of his wisdom who says he went to a teacher and for a long time sat beside him as he taught, but through his own slowness of learning was able to retain none of those teachings. The things, therefore, which you have inferred against us from your own addition, I leave it to you to consider upon whom this will now devolve.

And do you, who wished to say against us everything that is to be deprecated, not understand our final prayer, “may He who by an excess of love for mankind put this longing in us also grant its fulfillment through His mercies”? Asking, therefore, for fulfillment, how do we not know ourselves to be unfulfilled with respect to that for which we ask fulfillment? And us, who say we ourselves are unfulfilled, how do you yourself reproach us as though we say we are more than fulfilled? We, good sir, were so far from thinking or calling ourselves perfect, (p. 456) as to say that even the initial desire to touch upon that which leads to the mystical school was not our own, but to attribute it all to the love for mankind from above; but if it is from the love for mankind from above, this is no longer our own work.

To so eagerly make a list against those who have only desired to begin, and who do not think even this beginning is from themselves, as though they were testifying to their own perfection, is this not manifest slander? And who would still believe you to care for the truth, when you are discoursing about greater and difficult-to-see things, while clearly speaking falsely about things so clearly written? And how of the

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αὖθις, περί τῶν θείων ἐκπεφασμένων σοι, σύγγνωθι σημάναι καί περί τούτου δεῖν οἰηθεῖσιν˙ ἴσως κἀκεῖνα δι᾿ ἡμᾶς τούς περί τό ὕψος σοι τῆς θεηγορίας φθάνειν οὐχ ἱκανούς ἀπαλείψεις, ἐπισκευάσας αὖθις καί τόν πρός ἡμᾶς σου τουτονί λόγον. Εἰ δέ μετά τό ἀπαλεῖψαι καθ᾿ ἡμῶν μακρά γράφεις, χαριῇ τά μέγιστα˙ τοῦτο δ᾿ ἡμεῖς μέν ὅμως οὔτ᾿ ἐπιτρέπομεν οὔτε κωλύομεν˙ σύ δ᾿ ὡς προπαρασκευασθείης μή χολᾶν εἴ τί σοι περιτραπείη τῶν σῶν, καί γάρ σόν.

Ἀλλά τίς ἡ πρώτη καί μέση καί τελευταία καθ᾿ ἡμῶν σοι λαβή; «Σύ σαυτόν» φησιν «ἐξαίρεις, ὡς τοῖς ὑπέρ ἡμᾶς ἐντυχών». Πόθεν τοῦτ᾿ ἔχεις δεῖξαι; «Παρά τῶν σῶν» φησι «λόγων, ἐξ ὧν ὑπεσημηνάμην εἰλῆφθαί μοι τό προοίμιον ἅπαν». Ἀνάγνωθι τό σον ἐκ τῶν ἡμετέρων μετειλημμένον καί ἡμᾶς, ὡς αὐτός φῄς, ἐξελέγχον προοίμιον, ἵν᾿ εἰδῶμεν˙ κἄν ἐκ τῶν ἡμετέρων ὑπάρχῃ τις μεγαληγορία, δικαίαν εἶναι τήν καθ᾿ ἡμῶν σου ταύτην κατηγορίαν ὁμολογήσομεν, εἰ δέ μή, σύ σαὐτοῦ καταψηφιῇ, πολυπλασίω περιτρέψας σαυτῷ τήν νέμεσιν. «Σύ μέν τήν ἀνωτάτω ποθήσας φιλοσοφίαν, μᾶλλον δέ παρά τῆς ἀνωτάτω φιλανθρωπίας ἐφελκυσθείς καί λόγων εἴδους παντοίου καί τῆς κατ᾿ αὐτά μελέτης ἀφέμενος καί τοῖς παραδείγμασιν ἤδη ἐντυχών, ἐπίσχες». Τό γάρ τοῖς παραδείγμασιν ἤδη (σελ. 454) ἐντυχεῖν οὐχ ἐπιγινώσκω, βέλτιστε, τῶν ἡμετέρων ὑπάρχον˙ ἐν τούτῳ δέ ἐστι τά τῆς καυχήσεως, ἥν διά παντός ἡμῖν σύ τοῦ λόγου προφέρεις˙ οὐ μόνον δ᾿ ἁπλῶς ἕτερον τοῦτο τῶν λόγων τῶν ἐμῶν, ἀλλά καί τῶν ἐπιεικῶς ὑπερεναντιουμένων ἐκείνοις.

Εἰ γάρ τοῦτο παράδειγμα ἐνταῦθα λέγεις, ὅ μύρον ἡμεῖς ἐκεῖ τροπικώτερον εἴπομεν, ἄκουσον νῦν γοῦν συνετῶς. «Ἡμεῖς τῶν μέν περί λόγους ἐπιστημῶν ἐπιλελήσμεθα σχεδόν παντάπασιν, τῆς δέ ἀληθινῆς σοφίας οὐδέν ἤ μικρόν κατειλήφαμεν, ἀλλ᾿ οἷον εἰς ὀσμήν μύρου τρέχομεν, αὐτό τό μύρον οὐκ ἐν χερσῖν ἔχοντές πω». Ἆρ᾿ οὐ ταῦτ᾿ ἐπί λέξεως ἐκεῖ κεῖται; Σαφῶς οὖν ἡμῶν καταψεύδῃ τῶν μήπω λεγόντων ἐντυχεῖν ὡς ἐντυχεῖν εἰπόντων. Εἰ δ᾿ ὡς 'ἐποθήσαμεν' εἰποῦσι ταύτην ἐπιτρίβεις τήν μέμψιν, ὅμοιόν τι ποιεῖ, ὥσπερ ἄν εἴ τις μέγα φρονεῖν ἐπί σοφίᾳ λέγῃ τόν ἐς διδασκάλου φάμενον φοιτῆσαι καί συχνόν τούτῳ χρόνον παρακαθίσαι διδάσκοντι, τῇ δ᾿ οἰκείᾳ δυσμαθείᾳ μηδέν σχεῖν παρακατασχεῖν τῶν διδαγμάτων ἐκείνων. Ἅ τοίνυν καθ᾿ ἡμῶν ἐκ τῆς σαυτοῦ προσθήκης συνήγαγες, τοῦτ᾿ ἐφ᾿ ὅν ἀρτίως μεταχωρήσει σοί σκοπεῖν ἀφίημι.

Καί τῆς τελευταίας δέ ἡμῶν οὐκ ἐπαΐεις εὐχῆς ὁ πᾶν ὅ τι τῶν ἀπευκτῶν ἐθελήσας καθ᾿ ἡμῶν εἰπεῖν, «ὁ τόν πόθον τοῦτον ἡμῖν ὑπερβολῇ φαλανθρωπίας ἐνθείς καί τέλος διά τούς οἰκτιρμούς αὐτοῦ παράσχοι»; Τέλος τοίνυν αἰτοῦντες πῶς οὐκ ἀτελεῖς ἑαυτούς ὄντας ἴσμεν κατ᾿ ἐκεῖνο οὗ τό τέλος αἰτοῦμεν; Τούς δ᾿ ἀτελεῖς ἡμᾶς αὐτούς εἶναι λέγοντας πῶς αὐτός ὡς ὑπερτελεῖς εἶναι λέγοντας ὀνειδίζεις; Ἡμεῖς δ᾿ , ὦγαθέ, τοσοῦτον ἀπέσχομεν τελείους ἑαυτούς ἤ νομίσαι ἤ προσειπεῖν, (σελ. 456) ὡς καί τό τήν ἀρχήν ὅλως προθυμηθῆναι τῆς πρός τό μυστικόν διδασκαλεῖον ἅψεσθαι φερούσης οὐχ ἠμῶν αὐτῶν φάναι, πρός δέ τήν ἄνω φιλανθρωπίαν ἅπαν ἀνενεγκεῖν˙ εἰ δ᾿ ἐκ τῆς ἄνω φιλανθρωπίας, οὐκ ἔτ᾿ ἔργον ἡμέτερον οὐδέ τοῦτο.

Τῶν οὖν προθυμηθέντων ἄρξασθαι μόνον καί μηδέ τήν ἀρχήν ταύτην οἴκοθεν οἰομένων, ὡς τό τέλειον ἑαυτοῖς προσμαρτυρούντων ἐσπουδασμένως οὕτω καταλογογραφεῖν, ἆρ᾿ οὐ συκοφαντίας περιφανοῦς; Τίς δέ σοι πιστεύσειεν ἔτι τῆς ἀληθείας φροντίζειν, περί τῶν κρειττόνων καί δυσθεωρήτων διεξιόντι, καταψευδομένῳ σαφῶς τῶν οὕτω σαφῶς ἀναγεγραμμένων; Πῶς δ᾿ ἄν καί τῆς