91

superior to all knowledge and the contemplation that comes from knowledge, if indeed nothing is higher than, nor equal to, nor near to the indwelling and manifestation of God in us. But we know that the fulfillment of the commandments of God provides both knowledge and true knowledge; for through this alone health comes to the soul. But what health of soul could there be, when its faculty of knowledge is sick? We understand, therefore, that the commandments of God provide knowledge, but not knowledge alone, but also deification; and this we obtain when we have perfectly acquired and seen in ourselves the glory of God in the Spirit, whenever God is pleased to lead us forward into the Spiritual mysteries, according to this aforementioned saint.

And since he has put forward the fathers as saying this, let us also, leaving aside all those after him, look at some of those before him, what they say is the glory of God seen mystically and ineffably by the initiated alone, and before the others, the eyewitnesses and apostles of the only God our Father, Jesus Christ, through whom every family in the fullness of the holy Church is named, and before the apostles, again, their chief, Peter, who says: "For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty." What glory, then, of the Lord Jesus Christ did he behold? Let another apostle come forward to show: "for when they were fully awake," he says, (p. 448) "Peter and those with him saw the glory of Christ." What glory? Let another of the evangelists come forward again to bear witness with him: "his face," he says, "shone like the sun, and his garments became white as the light"; and he showed them that he is, according to the psalm, the God "who wraps himself in light as in a garment." Wherefore also Peter, after saying that he beheld the glory of Christ "on the holy mountain," the light which, though it is marvelous to say, also illumined their hearing (for they also saw there a bright cloud from which words resounded), after seeing this glory of Christ, then, he also says, "and we have the prophetic word more sure." What prophetic word do you hold as more sure from the vision of the light, O you who have seen God? What other than that God "is wrapped in light as in a garment"? "To this prophetic word," he says, "you do well to pay attention, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns." What day? Surely the one that dawned on Tabor. "And the morning star rises." What morning star? Surely he who shone there with James and John. Until this morning star rises where? "In your hearts." Do you see that this light now shines in the hearts of the faithful and perfect? And do you see how much it surpasses the light of knowledge? Not that from Hellenic studies (for that is not even worthy of the name of light, being entirely false or mixed with falsehood and more like darkness than light), not this, therefore, but also from the knowledge of the divine Scriptures the light of this contemplation differs so much, that the light according to that knowledge is compared to a lamp shining in a dark place, but the light according to this mystical contemplation is like the morning star shining in the day, which is the sun.

"But how," he says, "is this light, even if it is divine, comparable to the sensible sun?". You, the most contemplative of all, (p. 450) are you ignorant and unable to take it paradigmatically, but not comparatively, that God shines like the sun or beyond the sun? And yet, even if a second luminary with equal light appeared during the day, the light of this day would become double and each of the two suns, appearing in so much light, would seem less bright. He, therefore, who then shone like the sun, outshining the sun, does not shine as the sun, but beyond the sun; thus, even when spoken of in terms of likeness, He has no equality, and when compared paradigmatically, He has no similarity of equal rank. But that it is not sensible

91

πάσης γνώσεως καί τῆς κατά γνῶσιν θεωρίας διαφερόντων ὑπερτέραν, εἴπερ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ μονῆς ἐν ἡμῖν καί ἐμφανείας ὑψηλότερον οὐδέν, οὐδ᾿ ἴσον, οὐδ᾿ ἐγγύς. Ἡμεῖς δέ καί γνώσεως καί ἀληθοῦς γνώσεως ἴσμεν παρεκτικήν οὖσαν τήν τῶν ἐντολῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐκπλήρωσιν˙ διά γάρ ταύτην μόνης ὑγίεια τῇ ψυχῇ προγίνεται. Τίς δ᾿ ἄν εἴη ψυχῆς ὑγίεια, τό γνωστικόν νοσούσης; Παρεκτικάς μέν οὖν ἐπιστάμεθα τάς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐντολάς καί γνώσεως, ἀλλ᾿ οὐχί γνώσεως μόνης, ἀλλά καί θεώσεως˙ ταύτης δέ τυγχάνομεν τελείως κτησάμενοι καί ἰδόντες ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τήν δόξαν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν Πνεύματι, ὁπηνίκα εὐδοκήσει ὁ Θεός εἰς τά Πνευματικά μυστήρια προαγαγεῖν ἡμᾶς κατά τόν προειρημένον τοῦτον ἅγιον.

Ἐπεί δέ τούς πατέρας οὗτος προὐβάλετο τοῦτο λέγοντας, καί ἡμεῖς τούς μετ᾿ αὐτόν ἅπαντας ἀφέντες ἐνίους ἴδωμεν τῶν πρός αὐτοῦ, τίνα λέγουσι δόξαν Θεοῦ τοῖς μύσταις μόνοις μυστικῶς καί ἀπορρήτως ὁρωμένην, καί πρό τῶν ἄλλων τούς αὐτόπτας καί ἀποστόλους τοῦ μόνου Θεοῦ Πατρός ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, δι᾿ οὗ πᾶσα πατριά ἐν τῷ τῆς ἱερᾶς Ἐκκλησίας ὀνομάζεται πληρώματι, καί πρό τῶν ἀπστόλων αὖθις τόν κορυφαῖον ἐκείνων Πέτρον, ὅς φησιν˙ «οὐ σεσοφισμένοις μύθοις ἐξακολουθήσαντες ἐγνωρίσαμεν ὑμῖν τήν τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ δύναμιν καί παρουσίαν, ἀλλ᾿ ἐπόπται γενηθέντες τῆς ἐκείνου μεγαλειότητος». Τίνα τοίνυν δόξαν οὗτος ἐπώπτευσε τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἕτερος ἀπόστολος παρίτω δείξων˙ «διαγρηγορήσαντες» γάρ, φησίν, (σελ. 448) «ὁ Πέτρος καί οἱ σύν αὐτῷ, εἶδον τήν δόξαν τοῦ Χριστοῦ». Ποίαν δόξαν; Ἕτερος αὖθις παρελθέτω τῶν εὐαγγελιστῶν συμμαρτυρήσων˙ «ἔλαμψε», φησί, «τό πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ὡς ὁ ἥλιος καί τά ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ ἐγένοντο λευκά ὡς τό φῶς»˙ καί ἔδειξεν αὐτοῖς ὅτι αὐτός ἐστι κατά τό ψαλμικόν «ὁ τό φῶς ὡς ἱμάτιον ἀναβαλλόμενος» Θεός. ∆ιό καί ὁ Πέτρος μετά τό εἰπεῖν ὅτι ἐπώπτευσε τήν δόξαν τοῦ Χριστοῦ «ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῷ ἁγίῳ», τό φῶς τό καί τάς ἀκοάς, εἰ καί θαυμαστόν εἰπεῖν, περιαυγάζον (καί νεφέλην γάρ φωτεινήν λόγους ἐνηχοῦσαν ἐθεάσαντο ἐκεῖ), μετά τό ἰδεῖν τοίνυν ταύτην τήν δόξαν τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καί «ἔχομεν» φησί, «βεβαιότερον τόν προφητικόν λόγον». Ποῖον προφητικόν λόγον βεβαιότερον ἀπό τῆς θέας τοῦ φωτός ἔχεται μαθόντες, ὦ θεόπται; Ποῖον ἕτερον ἤ ὅτι ὁ Θεός «ὡς ἱμάτιον τό φῶς ἀναβάλλεται»; «Τούτῳ δέ», φησί, «καλῶς τῷ λόγῳ τῷ προφητικῷ ποιεῖτε προσέχοντες, ὡς λύχνῳ φαίνοντι ἐν αὐχμηρῷ τόπῳ, ἕως οὗ ἡμέρα διαυγάσει». Ποία ἡμέρα; Πάντως ἡ διαυγάσασα ἐν Θαβωρίῳ. «Καί φωσφόρος ἀνατελεῖ». Ποῖς φωσφόρος; Πάντως ὁ καταλάμψας αὐτός ἐκεῖ σύν Ἰακώβῳ καί Ἰωάννῃ. Ἕως ἄν ἀνατείλῃ ὁ φωσφόρος οὗτος, ποῦ; «Ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν». Ὁρᾷς ὅτι τό φῶς τοῦτο ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἀρτίως φαίνει τῶν πιστῶν καί τελείων; Ὁρᾷς δ᾿ ὅσον ὑπερέχει τοῦ φωτός τῆς γνώσεως; Οὐχί τῆς ἀπό τῶν ἑλληνικῶν μαθημάτων (ἐκείνη γάρ οὐδέ τῆς φωτός ἐπωνυμίας ἀξία, ψευδής οὖσα πᾶσα ἤ τῷ ψεύδει συμμιγής καί σκότει μᾶλλον ἤ φωτί παραπλησία), οὐ ταύτης οὖν, ἀλλά καί τῆς ἀπό τῶν θείων Γραφῶν γνώσεως τοσοῦτο διενήνοχε τό φῶς τῆς θεωρίας ταύτης, ὡς τό μέν κατ᾿ ἐκείνην φῶς λύχνῳ παρεικάζεσθαι φαίνοντι ἐν τόπῳ αὐχμηρῷ, τό δέ κατά τήν μυστικήν ταύτην θεωρίαν φῶς ἐν ἡμέρᾳ λάμποντι φωσφόρῳ, ὅς ἐστιν ὁ ἥλιος.

«Ἀλλά πῶς», φησί, «παραβλητόν ἡλίῳ αἰσθητῷ, εἰ καί θεϊκόν ἐστι τουτί τό φῶς;». Σύ ὁ θεωρητικώτατος ἁπάντων (σελ. 450) ἀγνοεῖς καί οὐχ ἔχεις παραδειγματικῶς ἐκλαμβάνειν, ἀλλ᾿ οὐ συγκριτικῶς, τό τόν Θεόν λάμπειν ὡς τόν ἥλιον ἤ ὑπέρ τόν ἥλιον; Καίτοι καί φανέντος καί δευτέρου τό ἴσον ἔχοντος φωστῆρος ἐν ἡμέρᾳ, διπλάσιον ταύτης γενήσεται τό φῶς καί τοῖν ἡλίοιν ἑκάτερος ἐν τοσούτῳ φαινόμενος φωτί ἀλαμπέστερος φανεῖται. Ὁ τοίνυν ὡς ἥλιος τότε λάμπων τόν ἥλιον ὑπερλάμπων, οὐχ ὡς ὁ ἥλιος λάμπει, ἀλλ᾿ ὑπέρ τόν ἥλιον˙ οὕτω καί ὁμοιωματικῶς λεγόμενος οὐδεμίαν ἔχει τήν ἰσότητα, καί παραδειγματικῶς συγκρινόμενος οὐδεμίαν ἔχει ὁμοιότητα ὁμότιμον. Ἀλλ᾿ ὅτι μέν οὐκ αἰσθητόν