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not a few things like these. But these things were not enough for this new accuser; and he added, alas, also the things concerning the essence of God. Since he decided to fabricate this also against those men, having considered from where this great and terrible fabrication of slander might get its plausibility, he brought forth the prophetic revelations through light and the supposed antitheses from these, which no one else ever said, except this one who opposes them. Whether, then, he prevails in these things, fighting against himself, or not, is of no concern to us; let us leave him to be struck and beaten by himself.

But after this struggle of slanders, he strips for another, hastening to show that the knowledge of creatures alone is a light for the contemplative mind, so that, this having been shown, everyone who has not studied the natural philosophy of Aristotle and the theology of Plato and the astrology of Ptolemy might be proven to be darkened and impure. For this reason he also insolently attacks and denigrates with vulgar epithets those who do not hold to the illumination through thoughts alone, saying in these very words: "but those concerned with inhalations say that there are two lights shown intelligibly by God to the holy; one of knowledge and another hypostatic, which appears especially to those who have advanced far in inhalations." Let us see, then, who they are whom he disparages with such epithets as heterodox; for when these are shown, it will be proven at the same time that there is a light far better and more godlike than knowledge, revealed only to those who see through the Spirit, not only to those who are still alive, but also to all the saints from eternity. That this man accuses not this one or that one of our contemporaries, but simply all those who embrace the sacred and quiet life, is shown clearly by the written tradition (p. 440) coming down to us from the fathers, which is both praised by those advanced in virtue and by the divine men, as we know, who were formerly from among us, and which demonstrates its usefulness by experience in the case of novices, which he himself first sophistically distorted and slandered, and then from it he names everyone and advances his argument for a common slander.

And since for many of the ancient and venerable saints it was possible through experience to both learn and teach about the light of grace, we, as if advocating for the evangelical commandments, brought forward those sayings for testimony, which also harmonized with the confession of those not brought forward, signifying that the scriptures also teach thus; in the same way here also we will set forth those patristic sayings, which he who reports these things claims were written according to the instruction of all the others. Isaac, then, the faithful and sure interpreter of such things, says that "we possess two spiritual eyes, as the fathers say." Did you hear that all the fathers say this? They say, at any rate, that "we have two spiritual eyes and the need for the vision through each is not the same; for in one eye we see the things hidden in natures, that is, the power of God and His wisdom and His providence for us, which is comprehended from the majesty of His governance over us; and in the other eye we contemplate the glory of His holy nature, when God is pleased to lead us into the spiritual mysteries. Inasmuch, then, as they are eyes, the light is what is seen by them, but inasmuch as the need for the vision through each is not the same, a certain doubleness appears in the contemplation of this light; for by each of the eyes a different light is seen, which is not seen by the other. And what each of these is, this divine Isaac explained to us, calling the one the comprehension of the power and wisdom (p. 442) and providence of God, and simply the knowledge which accrues from created things of the

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τοιαῦτα οὐκ ὀλίγα. Ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ἀπέχρησε ταῦτα τῷ καινῷ τούτῳ κατηγόρῳ˙ προσέθηκε δέ, φεῦ, καί τά περί τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἐπεί δέ καί τοῦτο πλάσασθαι κατά τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐκείνων ἔγνω, διασκεψάμενος πόθεν ἄν σχοίη τό εὐπαράδεκτον τό μέγα τοῦτο καί δεινόν πλάσμα τῆς συκοφαντίας, τάς διά φωτός προφητικάς προήνεγκεν ἀποκαλύψεις καί τάς ἐκ τούτων δῆθεν ἀντιθέσεις, ἅς οὐδείς ποτ᾿ εἶπεν ἄλλος, ὅτι μή ὁ ταύτας ἀντικείμενος οὗτος. Εἴτ᾿ οὖν κρατεῖ κατά ταύτας ἑαυτῷ μαχόμενος, εἴτ᾿ οὔ, λόγος ἡμῖν οὐδείς˙ ἀφῶμεν αὐτόν ὑφ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ πληττόμενόν τε καί κοπτόμενον.

Ἀλλά μετά τόν ἐκ συκοφαντιῶν ἀγῶνα τοῦτον πρός ἕτερον ἀποδύεται, δεῖξαι σπεύδων ὡς φῶς νῷ θεωρητικόν ἡ γνῶσις μόνη τῶν κτισμάτων ἐστίν, ἵνα, τούτου δειχθέντος, ἐσκοτισμένος καί ἄναγνος ἀποδειχθῇ πᾶς ὁ μή τήν Ἀριστοτέλους φυσιολογίαν καί τήν Πλάτωνος θολογίαν καί τήν Πτολεμαίου ἀστρολογίαν ἐκμελετήσας. ∆ιά τοῦτο καί τούς μή τόν διά νοημάτων μόνον φωτισμόν πρεσβεύοντας ὑβριστικῶς ἐπεξέρχεται καί φαύλαις ἐπωνυμίαις διασύρει, φάσκων ἐπί λέξεως οὕτως˙ «ἀλλ᾿ οἱ περί τάς εἰσπνοάς δύο λέγουσιν εἶναι τά δεικνύμενα ὑπό τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῖς ὁσίοις φῶτα νοητῶς˙ ἕν τό τῆς γνώσεως καί ἕτερον ἐνυπόστατον, ὅ διαφερόντως τοῖς πόρρω ἐλθοῦσι τῶν εἰσπνοῶν φαίνεσθαι». Ἴδωμεν οὖν τίνες οὕς δι᾿ ἐπωνυμιῶν τοιούτων ἐκφαυλίζει ὡς ἑτερόφρονας˙ τούτων γάρ δειχθέντων, συναποδειχθήσεται ὡς καί τῆς γνώσεως ἔστι τι μακρῷ κρεῖττον καί θεοειδέστερον φῶς, μόνοις τοῖς διά τοῦ Πνεύματος ὁρῶσιν ἀποκαλυπτόμενον, οὐ τοῖς ἔτι περιοῦσι μόνον, ἀλλά καί τοῖς ἐξ αἰῶνος ἅπασιν ἁγίοις. Ὅτι δ᾿ οὗτος καί τῶν ἐφ᾿ ἡμῶν οὐ τόν δεῖνα ἤ τόν δεῖνα, πάντας δ᾿ ἁπλῶς αἰτιᾶται τούς τόν ἱερόν καί ἡσύχιον ἀσπαζομένους βίον, δείκνυσι τρανῶς τό παράδοσιν ἔγγραφον (σελ. 440) ἀπό τῶν πατέρων ἐς ἡμᾶς κατιοῦσαν, ἐπαινουμένην τε παρά τῶν ἐπ᾿αρετῇ προηκόντων καί τῶν πρῴην ἐξ ἡμῶν γεγονότων, ὡς ἴσμεν, θείων ἀνδρῶν καί τό λυσιτελές ἐπί τῶν εἰσαγομένων διά πείρας ἐπιδεικνυμένην, διαστρέψαντά τε καί διαβαλόντα πρότερον σοφιστικῶς αὐτόν, εἶτ᾿ ἀπ᾿ αὐτῆς ὀνομάζειν ἅπαντας καί τόν λόγον ἐπί διαβολῇ κοινῇ προάγειν.

Ἐπεί δέ καί τῶν ἐκ παλαιοῦ προσκυνητῶν ἡμῖν ἁγίων πλείστοις ἐξεγένετο διά πείρας μαθεῖν τε καί διδάξαι περί τοῦ φωτός τῆς χάριτος, ἡμεῖς, ὥσπερ ταῖς εὐαγγελικαῖς συνηγοροῦντες ἐντολαῖς, ἐκείνας παρηγάγομεν πρός μαρτυρίαν τάς ρήσεις, αἵ καί τήν ὁμολογίαν συνεπεφώνουν τῶν μή παραγομένων ὡς καί τά λόγια οὕτω διδάσκει προσημαίνουσαι˙ τόν αὐτόν κἀνταῦθα τρόπον ἐκεῖνα τῶν πατερικῶν προθήσομεν ρημάτων, ἅ καί κατά τήν ὑφήγησιν τῶν ἄλλων πάντων γεγράφθαι ὁ ταῦτα ἐξαγγέλλων ἰσχυρίζεται. Φησί τοίνυν Ἰσαάκ, ὁ πιστός τῶν τοιούτων καί ἀσφαλής ἐξηγητής, ὅτι «δύο ὀφθαλμούς κεκτήμεθα ψυχικούς, καθώς λέγουσιν οἱ πατέρες». Ἤκουσας ὅτι οἱ πατέρες πάντες τοῦτο λέγουσι; Λέγουσι γοῦν ὅτι «δύο ψυχικούς ἔχομεν ὀφθαλμούς καί οὐχ ἡ αὐτή χρεία τῆς δι᾿ ἑκατέρου θεωρίας˙ ἐν ἑνί μέν γάρ ὀφθαλμῷ τά κεκρυμμένα ἐν ταῖς φύσεσιν ὁρῶμεν, ἤγουν τήν δύναμιν τοῦ Θεοῦ καί τήν σοφίαν αὐτοῦ καί τήν περί ἡμᾶς πρόνοιαν αὐτοῦ τήν καταλαμβανομένην ἐκ τῆς μεγαλειότητος τῆς κυβερνήσεως αὐτοῦ εἰς ἡμᾶς˙ καί ἐν τῷ ἑτέρῳ ὀφθαλμῷ θεωροῦμεν τήν δόξαν τῆς φύσεως αὐτοῦ τῆς ἁγίας, ὅτε εἰς τά μυστήρια τά πνευματικά εὐδοκήσει ὁ Θεός εἰσάξαι ἡμᾶς.Ἧ μέν οὖν ὀφθαλμοί, φῶς τό ὑπ᾿αὐτῶν ὁρωμένον, ᾗ δέ οὐχ ἡ αὐτή χρεία τῆς δι᾿ ἑκατέρου θεωρίας, διπλόη τις φαίνεται ἐν τῇ τοῦ φωτός τούτου θεωρίᾳ˙ ἑκατέρῳ γάρ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἄλλο φῶς ὁρᾶται, ὅ θατέρῳ οὐχ ὁρᾶται. Τούτων δ᾿ ὅ τί ποτέ ἐστιν ἑκάτερον ἐξηγήσατο ἡμῖν ὁ θεῖος οὗτος Ἰσαάκ, τό μέν κατάληψιν εἰπών τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ δυνάμεως καί σοφίας (σελ. 442) καί προνοίας καί ἁπλῶς τήν ἀπό τῶν κτισμάτων προσγινομένην γνῶσιν τοῦ