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An explanation of these things comes more from vision and contemplation of them. For it is absolutely necessary for anyone explaining something—say, a house, or a city, or a palace and the order and condition within it, or again, a theater and the things performed in it—to first see and observe the things in them, and then to speak thoughtfully and reasonably about what he wishes to say. Since, if he does not see it first, what could he say of his own accord? What understanding will he supply from elsewhere while narrating about a thing not yet seen at all? What reflection, tell me, or cleverness or learning, what prudence, consideration, and conception and reasoning will he find in a timely manner to speak about what he does not know? For to say something about things one does not know or has not seen is completely irrational and uneducated. If, therefore, no one can say anything or narrate about visible and earthly things unless he becomes an eyewitness of the matter, how, brothers, could anyone be strong enough to speak or narrate about God and divine matters and of the very saints and servants of God, what a complete relationship they have had toward God, and what the vision of God is that is ineffably generated in them? Which creates an unutterable energy intellectually in their hearts, even if human reason does not grant to say anything more, unless it is first illumined with a light of knowledge, according to the commanding precept.

But when you hear 'light of knowledge'—so that we may enlighten you in all things—do not suppose knowledge to be merely of things spoken, apart from light. For it did not say 'a narration' or 'a word of knowledge,' but 'a light of knowledge' and 'knowledge's light,' as (216) the light, clearly, is what produces the knowledge in us; for otherwise it is not possible for anyone to know God, except through the contemplation of the light sent forth from Him. For just as one who narrates to others about a person or a certain city, he speaks to them what he saw and has seen, but those who listen, not having seen the person or the city about which they are hearing, cannot from hearing alone, like the one who saw and narrates about the person, also know about the city, so also concerning the Jerusalem above and the invisible God who dwells in it, concerning the unapproachable glory of His face, and concerning the energy and power of His all-holy Spirit, or rather light, no one can speak unless he first sees that light itself with the eyes of the soul and knows precisely its illuminations and energies in himself. But even if one hears something through the divine Scriptures spoken through them by those who have seen God, he is taught those things only through the Spirit; whence he cannot say, 'I have come into the knowledge of God through this hearing alone.' For Him whom he has not seen, how is it possible to know? For if sight alone does not produce in us humans a perfect knowledge of what is seen by us, how could hearing alone produce in us the knowledge of God? God is light and the sight of Him is as light; at any rate, in the sight of the light comes the first knowledge that it is God, just as in the case of a man, there is first hearing about him, then sight, and in seeing him comes the knowledge that he is the man about whom they heard. And not even so does the meaning of what is said stand fast; for whatever someone might say to you from hearsay about a person, when you see him, you cannot from hearing alone recognize him precisely and be fully assured that he is the very one about whom you heard, but the soul is divided by doubt and either asks him himself or someone else who recognizes him, and then you learn for certain that he is that very person.

So then, it happens in exactly the same way concerning the invisible God. (217) For when someone beholds Him revealed, he sees light; he marvels upon seeing, but who it is who has appeared he does not know straightaway, nor does he dare to ask Him Himself—for how could he, when he is not even able to look up with his eyes and see what He is like? but he sees only with trembling and great fear as if at His feet, knowing only that it is someone who has appeared before his face. And if there is one who has previously explained these things to him, as one who knew beforehand

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περί τούτων ἐξήγησις ἐκ τῆς ὁράσεως μᾶλλον γίνεται καί τῆς θεωρίας αὐτῶν. Πᾶσα γάρ ἀνάγκη παντί τῷ ἐξηγουμένῳ περί τινος πράγματος, οἴκου φέρε εἰπεῖν ἤ πόλεως, ἤ παλατίου τινός καί τῆς ἐν αὐτῷ τάξεώς τε καί καταστάσεως, ἤ περί θεάτρου πάλιν τινός καί τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ τελουμένων, ἰδεῖν μέν πρότερον καί καταμαθεῖν τά ἐν τούτοις, εἶθ᾿ οὕτως περί οὗ εἰπεῖν βούλεται ἐστοχασμένως καί λελογισμένως εἰπεῖν. Ἐπεί, ἐάν μή πρότερον ἴδῃ, τί ἄν καί οἴκοθεν εἴποι; Ποίαν δέ νόησιν πρός τήν τοῦ μήπω μηδαμῶς ὁραθέντος πράγματος ἄλλοθεν πορίσεται διηγούμενος; Ποίαν, εἰπέ μοι, ἐνθύμησιν ἤ εὐφυΐαν ἤ μάθησιν, ποίαν δέ φρόνησιν, σκέψιν τε καί ἐπίνοιαν καί συλλογισμόν εὑρήσει καιρίως περί οὗ οὐκ οἶδεν εἰπεῖν; Τό γάρ εἰπεῖν τι περί ὧν οὐκ οἶδεν ἤ οὐκ ἐθέασατο πάντως ἄλογον καί ἀπαίδευτον. Εἰ τοίνυν περί ὁρωμένων καί ἐπιγείων οὐδείς εἰπεῖν τι ἤ διηγήσασθαι δύναται, εἰ μή αὐτόπτης τοῦ πράγματος γένηται, πῶς εἰπεῖν τις ἰσχύσειεν ἤ διηγήσασθαι, ἀδελφοί, περί Θεοῦ καί θείων πραγμάτων καί αὐτῶν τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἁγίων καί δούλων, οἵαν ἐκεῖνοι τήν ὁλικήν πρός τόν Θεόν ἐσχήκασι σχέσιν καί οἵαν ἐστίν ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ ὅρασις ἡ ἐν αὐτοῖς ἀρρήτως ἐγγινομένη; Ἥτις ἐνέργειαν ἄφθεγκτον ἐμποιεῖ νοερῶς ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις αὐτῶν, εἰ καί μή πλέον εἰπεῖν τι ὁ ἀνθρώπινος δίδωσι λόγος, μή πρότερον φωτισθείς φῶς γνώσεως, κατά τήν κελεύουσαν ἐντολήν.

Φῶς δέ γνώσεως ὅταν ἀκούσῃς, ἵνα σε διά πάντων φωταγωγήσωμεν, μή ὑπολάβῃς γνῶσιν εἶναι μόνην τῶν λεγομένων δίχα φωτός. Οὐ γάρ εἶπε διήγησιν ἤ λόγον γνώσεως, ἀλλά φῶς γνώσεως καί γνώσεως φῶς, ὡς τοῦ (216) φωτός δηλονότι ἐμποιοῦντος τήν γνῶσιν ἡμῖν· ἄλλως γάρ οὐκ ἔστι γνῶναί τινα τόν Θεόν, εἰ μή διά τῆς θεωρίας τοῦ ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἐκπεμπομένου φωτός. Ὥσπερ γάρ ὁ περί ἀνθρώπου ἤ περί πόλεώς τινος πρός τινας διηγούμενος, ἐκεῖνος μέν ἅ εἶδε καί ἅ ἑώρακε λαλεῖ πρός αὐτούς, οἱ δέ ἀκούοντες μή θεασάμενοι τόν ἄνθρωπον ἤ τήν πόλιν περί ἧς καί ἀκούουσιν, οὐ δύναται ἀπό τῆς ἀκοῆς μόνης, ὡς ὁ ἰδών καί διηγούμενος τά περί τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, γινώσκειν καί τά περί τῆς πόλεως, οὕτως καί περί τῆς ἄνω Ἱερουσαλήμ καί τοῦ ἐν αὐτῇ κατοικοῦντος ἀοράτου Θεοῦ, περί τῆς ἀπροσίτου δόξης τε τοῦ προσώπου αὐτοῦ καί περί τῆς ἐνεργείας καί δυνάμεως τοῦ παναγίου αὐτοῦ Πνεύματος, εἴτ᾿ οὖν φωτός, οὐδείς εἰπεῖν δύναται, εἰ μή πρῶτον αὐτό τό φῶς ἴδῃ ψυχῆς ὀφθαλμοῖς καί ἀκριβῶς γνῷ τάς αὐτοῦ ἐλλάμψεις καί ἐνεργείας ἐν αὐτῷ. Ἀλλ᾿ εἰ τι καί διά τῶν θείων ἀκούοι Γραφῶν λαλοῦντας δι᾿ αὐτῶν τούς τόν Θεόν ἰδόντας, διά τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐκεῖνα καί μόνα διδάσκεται· ὅθεν οὐδέ δύναται λέγειν ὅτι ἐν γνώσει γέγονα τοῦ θεοῦ διά μόνης ταύτης τῆς ἀκοῆς. Ὅν γάρ οὐχ ἑώρακε πῶς γινώσκειν ἐνδέχεται; Εἰ γάρ ἡ ὅρασις μόνη τελείαν τήν γνῶσιν τοῦ ὁρωμένου παρ᾿ ἡμῶν ἀνθρώπων οὐκ ἐμποιεῖ ἐν ἡμῖν, πῶς ἡ ἀκοή μόνη τήν τοῦ Θεοῦ γνῶσιν ἡμῖν ἐμποιήσειε; Φῶς ὁ Θεός καί ὡς φῶς ἡ θέα αὐτοῦ· ἐν γοῦν τῇ τοῦ φωτός θέᾳ γνῶσις πρώτη ὅτι Θεός, καθά καί ἐπί τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἀκοή πρῶτον περί αὐτοῦ, εἶτα ὅρασις, καί ἐν τῷ αὐτόν ἰδεῖν γνῶσις ὅτι ἄνθρωπός ἐστι περί οὗ ἤκουον. Καί οὐδέ οὕτως ἵσταται τοῦ λεγομένου ἡ ἔννοια· ὅσα γάρ ἄν ἐξ ἀκοῆς σοί τις εἴπῃ περί ἀνθρώπου, ὅτε ἴδῃς αὐτόν, ἀπό μόνης τῆς ἀκοῆς γνωρίσαι αὐτόν ἀκριβῶς καί πληροφορηθῆναι, ὅτι αὐτός ἐκεῖνός ἐστι περί οὗ ἤκουες, οὐ δύνασαι, ἀλλά ἀμφιβολίᾳ ἡ ψυχή διαμερίζεται καί ἤ ἐκεῖνον αὐτόν ἐρωτᾷ ἤ ἕτερόν τινα τόν γνωρίζοντα αὐτόν, καί τότε βεβαίως μανθάνεις ὅτι αὐτός ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν.

Οὕτως οὖν καί περί τοῦ ἀοράτου Θεοῦ ἀπαραλλάκτως γίνεται. (217) Ὅταν γάρ ἀποκαλυφθέντα θεάσηταί τις αὐτόν, φῶς ὁρᾷ· θαυμάζει μέν ἰδών, τίς δέ ὁ φανείς οὐκ οἶδεν εὐθύς, ἀλλ᾿ οὐδέ αὐτόν ἐρωτῆσαι τολμᾷ, πῶς γάρ, ὅν οὐδέ ἀναβλέψαι τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς καί ἰδεῖν δύναται ποταπός; βλέπει δέ μόνον ἐν τρόμῳ καί φόβῳ πολλῷ οἱονεί πρός τούς πόδας αὐτοῦ, εἰδώς ὅτι ὅλως τίς ἐστιν ὁ φανείς πρό προσώπου αὐτοῦ. Καί εἰ μέν ὑπάρχει ὁ περί τούτων προεξηγησάμενος αὐτῷ, ὡς προεγνωκώς