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ever." Oh, the darkness! Who said this, tell us. "The only-begotten Son," he says, "who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him." Truly you speak, and your testimony is true indeed, but against your own soul. For if I show you the same Son of God telling you this is possible, what will you say? For he says: "He who has seen me has seen the Father." But this he did not say according to the vision of the flesh, but according to the revelation of the divinity. For if we understand this as having happened according to the bodily form, then even those who crucified and spat upon him have seen the Father; and thus there will be no difference or preference between unbelievers and believers, but all equally will have clearly obtained (211) and will obtain the desired blessedness. But these things are not so, they are not, as indeed he himself again shows when conversing with the Jews and saying: "If you had known me, you would have known my Father also."

But that it is possible for us to behold God, as it is possible for a man to see, hear Christ himself, the Son of God, saying again: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." What then will you say to this? But I know, he who disbelieves the good things at hand and is not eager to receive them will pass on to the things to come and will answer and say: "Yes, truly the pure in heart shall see God, but this will happen in the future and not in the present age." Why or how will this be, beloved? For if he said that God will be seen through a pure heart, then surely when purity is acquired, the vision follows it. And if you had ever cleansed it, you would have known that what is said is true; but since you have not set this in your heart nor believed it to be true, for this reason you have both despised purification and missed the vision. For if the purification is here, the vision will also be here; but if you say the vision is after death, you will surely also place the purification after death, and thus it will happen that you will never see God, since you have no work after your departure through which you will find purification. But what does the Lord also say? "He who loves me will keep my commandments, and I will love him and manifest myself to him." When then will his manifestation take place? Here or in the future? Clearly here. For where there is the precise keeping of the commandments, there also will be the manifestation of the Savior, and after the manifestation, perfect love is acquired in us. For if this does not happen, we can neither believe nor love him as we should; for it is written: "He who does not love (212) his brother whom he sees, how can he love God whom he does not see?" In no way.

Therefore, he who is not able to love is clearly not able to believe; and hear Paul saying these things: "And now these three remain: faith, hope, love; but the greatest of all is love." If then faith is joined to hope, and hope follows love, he who does not have love does not possess hope, and he who is without hope, is clearly also without faith. For how, when the causes of love are not present, is it possible for love itself to be present? For just as a roof of a house does not stand without foundations, so also it is not possible for the love of God to be found in the soul of a man without faith and sure hope; and he who does not have love is not benefited by any of the other virtues nor will he be benefited without it, as Paul himself also testifies in writing. And concerning seeing God from here on, hear him saying again: "Now I see in a mirror and in a riddle, but then face to face" and again: "Now I know in part, but then I shall know fully, even as I also have been fully known." But he, he says, was Paul. But was not Paul in all things a man, of like nature to us and a fellow servant? "And who is equal to Paul, O you proud and senseless one," he says, "that you would make him equal with us men?" To whom not we, but Paul himself cries out with a loud voice, saying thus: "Christ came, hear, to save sinners, of whom I am the first."

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πώποτε". Ὤ τῆς σκοτώσεως! Τίς τοῦτο εἶπε, λέξον ἡμῖν. "Ὁ μονογενής, φησίν, Υἱός ὁ ὤν εἰς τόν κόλπον τοῦ Πατρός ἐκεῖνος ἐξηγήσατο". Ἀληθῶς λέγεις καί ἡ μαρτυρία σου ἀληθής μέν, ἀλλά κατά τῆς σεαυτοῦ ψυχῆς. Ἐάν γάρ ἐγώ δείξω σοι τόν αὐτόν Υἱόν τοῦ Θεοῦ λέγοντά σοι δυνατόν εἶναι τοῦτο, τί ἐρεῖς; Φησί γάρ· "Ὁ ἑωρακώς ἐμέ ἑώρακε τόν Πατέρα". Τοῦτο δέ οὐ κατά τήν τῆς σαρκός εἶπε θεωρίαν, ἀλλά κατά τήν τῆς θεότητος ἀποκάλυψιν. Εἰ γάρ κατά τήν σωματικήν ἰδέαν τοῦτο γενόμενον ἐννοήσωμεν, λοιπόν καί οἱ τοῦτον σταυρώσαντες καί ἐμπτύσαντες τόν Πατέρα ἑωράκασι· καί οὕτως οὐδεμία ἔσται διαφορά ἤ προτίμησις ἀπίστων τε καί πιστῶν, ἀλλά πάντες ἐξ ἴσης τοῦ πεποθημένου μακαρισμοῦ ἔτυχόν τε (211) δηλονότι καί τύχωσιν. Ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ἔστι ταῦτα, οὐκ ἔστι, καθά δή καί αὐτός πάλιν δείκνυσιν Ἰουδαίοις διαλεγόμενος καί λέγων· "Εἰ ἐγνώκειτέ με, καί τόν Πατέρα μου ἐγνώκειτε ἄν".

Ὅτι δέ δυνατόν ἡμῖν ἐστι τό κατιδεῖν τόν Θεόν, ὡς ἀνθρώπῳ ἰδεῖν ἐφικτόν, ἄκουσον αὐτοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ πάλιν λέγοντος· "Μακάριοι οἱ καθαροί τῇ καρδίᾳ ὅτι αὐτοί τόν Θεόν ὄψονται". Τί οὖν ἐρεῖς πρός ταῦτα; Ἀλλ᾿ οἶδα, ὁ τά ἐν χερσίν ἀπιστῶν ἀγαθά καί λαβεῖν ταῦτα μή προθυμούμενος ἐπί τά μέλλοντα μεταβήσεται καί ἀποκριθείς ἐρεῖ· "Ναί, ὄντως οἱ καθαροί τῇ καρδίᾳ τόν Θεόν ὄψονται, ἀλλ᾿ ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι τοῦτο καί οὐκ ἐν τῷ νῦν αἰῶνι γενήσεται". ∆ιά τί ἤ πῶς τοῦτο ἔσται, ἀγαπητέ; Εἰ γάρ διά τῆς καθαρᾶς καρδίας τόν Θεόν εἶπεν ὄψεσθαι, πάντως ὅτε ἡ καθαρότης προσγένηται, καί ἡ θεωρία συνέπεται αὐτῇ. Καί εἰ ταύτην ποτέ ἐκαθάρισας, ἔγνως ἄν ὡς ἀληθῆ τά λεγόμενα· ἐπεί δέ οὐκ ἔθου τοῦτο ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου οὐδέ εἶναι ἀληθές ἐπίστευσας, διά τοῦτο καί τῆς καθάρσεως κατεφρόνησας καί τῆς θεωρίας διήμαρτες. Εἰ γάρ ἐνταῦθα ἡ κάθαρσις, καί ἐνταῦθα ἔσται ἡ ὅρασις· εἰ δέ μετά θάνατον εἴπῃς τήν ὅρασιν εἶναι, θήσεις πάντως καί τήν κάθαρσιν μετά θάνατον, καί οὕτω σοι γενήσεται τό μηδέποτε ἰδεῖν τόν Θεόν ἐν τῷ μή εἶναί σοι ἐργασίαν μετά τήν ἔξοδον δι᾿ ἧς εὑρήσεις τήν κάθαρσιν. Ἀλλά καί ὁ Κύριος τί φησιν; "Ὁ ἀγαπῶν με τάς ἐντολάς μου τηρήσει καί ἐγώ ἀγαπήσω αὐτόν καί ἐμφανίσω αὐτῷ ἐμαυτόν". Πότε οὖν ἡ ἐμφάνεια τούτου γενήσεται; Ἐνταῦθα ἤ ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι; Εὔδηλον ὅτι ἐνταῦθα. Ὅπου γάρ ἡ ἀκριβής τῶν ἐντολῶν φυλακή, ἐκεῖ ἔσται καί ἡ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἐμφάνεια, μετά δέ τήν ἐμφάνειαν ἡ τελεία ἐν ἡμῖν ἀγάπη προσγίνεται. Εἰ γάρ μή τοῦτο γένηται, οὔτε πιστεύειν, οὔτε ἀγαπᾶν αὐτόν ὡς χρή δυνάμεθα· γέγραπται γάρ· "Ὁ μή ἀγαπῶν (212) τόν ἀδελφόν αὐτοῦ ὅν ὁρᾷ, τόν Θεόν ὅν οὐ βλέπει πῶς δύναται ἀγαπᾶν;" Οὐδαμῶς.

Ὁ τοίνυν μή δυνάμενος ἀγαπᾶν, οὐδέ πιστεύειν δύναται δηλονότι· καί ταῦτα Παύλου λέγοντος ἄκουε· "Μένει δέ τά τρία ταῦτα, πίστις ἐλπίς, ἀγάπη· μείζων δέ πάντων ἡ ἀγάπη". Εἰ οὖν ἡ πίστις τῇ ἐλπίδι συνέζευκται, ἡ δέ ἐλπίς τῇ ἀγάπῃ συνέπεται, ὁ μή ἔχων ἀγάπην ἐλπίδα οὐ κέκτηται, ὁ δέ ἐλπίδος ἐκτός, δηλονότι καί πίστεως. Πῶς γάρ, τῶν αἰτιῶν τῆς ἀγάπης μή ὄντων, αὐτήν ἐκείνην παρεῖναι ἐνδέχεται; Ὡς γάρ θεμελίων ἐκτός ὄροφος οἴκου οὐχ ἵσταται, οὕτως οὐδέ πίστεως καί ἐλπίδος βεβαίας χωρίς ἀγάπην Θεοῦ ἐν ψυχῇ ἀνθρώπου εὑρεθῆναι δυνατόν· ὁ δέ μή τήν ἀγάπην ἔχων οὐδέν ἐκ τῶν λοιπῶν ἀρετῶν ὠφελεῖται ἤ χωρίς ταύτης ὠφεληθήσεται, καθά δή καί αὐτός Παῦλος γράφων διαμαρτύρεται. Περί δέ τοῦ ἀπ᾿ ἐντεῦθεν ὁρᾶν τόν Θεόν ἄκουε αὐτοῦ πάλιν λέγοντος· "Νῦν βλέπω ἐν ἐσόπτρῳ καί ἐν αἰνίγματι, τότε δέ πρόσωπον πρός πρόσωπον" καί πάλιν· "Νῦν γινώσκω ἐκ μέρους, τότε δέ ἐπιγνώσομαι καθ᾿ ὅ καί ἐπεγνώσθην". Ἀλλ᾿ ἐκεῖνος, φησί, Παῦλος ἦν. Παῦλος δέ οὐχί κατά πάντα ἄνθρωπος ἦν, ἡμῖν ὁμοιοπαθής τε καί σύνδουλος; Καί τίς Παύλου ἴσος, ὦ ὑπερήφανε σύ καί ἀπονενοημένε, φησίν, ὅτι τοῦτον ἡμῖν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις συνεξισάζοις; Οἷς οὐχ ἡμεῖς, αὐτός δέ ὁ Παῦλος μεγάλῃ βοᾷ τῇ φωνῇ, οὕτω λέγων· "Χριστός ἦλθεν ἀκούσατε ἁμαρτωλούς σῶσαι ὧν πρῶτός εἰμι ἐγώ".