95

greater and beyond him the promise. What he did not take for himself, this the Lord granted. For He said to him: Go and say to this people. Yet the one saying, "Behold, it is I," already confident, as if having partaken of the One Who Is, dares to count himself among those who exist; and he said this after his lips were cleansed. But he who is in iniquities and not deemed worthy of the knowledge of the One Who Is, cannot bear witness for himself, "Behold, it is I." And since God appointed first apostles, second prophets, for this reason Isaiah also first receives the grace of apostleship. And Moses is also one of the Apostles; for "Come," He says, "I will send you to Pharaoh, king of Egypt." And Jeremiah also hears that "To all to whom I shall send you, you shall go." 6.186 Go and say to this people: Hearing you will hear, and you will not understand; and seeing you will see, and you will not perceive. For the heart of this people has grown dull, and with their ears they have heard heavily, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I should heal them. This saying Luke recorded in the Acts. And one of the Seraphim was sent to me. That the Seraph is a certain super-mundane power, a purifier of iniquities, entrusted with a ministry, the written words show. Therefore these ministering spirits are sent forth for us, who are to inherit salvation. But they do not come authoritatively, nor of their own will to visit us; for their primary and natural life is to gaze on the beauty of God and to glorify Him continually; but their turning and care for us humans is a certain circumstantial activity. For this reason, "One of the Seraphim," it says, "was sent to me." And it seems that the Prophet, when he saw the activity of the Seraphim, who were doing nothing else than hallowing God, then came to a consciousness of the impurity in his own lips, because he also speaks human things, and had often defiled his own tongue with words about the vanity of the world. Therefore, being pricked by the comparison with them (and that they utter nothing else than crying out the holiness of the Godhead, while he for the most part has his own voice occupied with human affairs), for this reason he said: "Woe is me, for I am pierced to the heart, for being a man and having unclean lips, I dwell in the midst of a people having unclean lips." Thus also Moses for a time was not aware of himself being weak of voice and slow of tongue, who indeed had been educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and surpassed them all in talent and understanding; but when he heard the one delivering the oracle, then he saw his own weakness. And Abraham, when God appeared to him, then called himself earth and ashes. Similarly to these, therefore, Isaiah also, after seeing the one sitting on a throne high and lifted up, and beholding the glory that had filled the whole house of the world, and the Seraphim around him, raising that voice with astonishment, then called himself wretched, then recognized the impurity on his lips, for which reason he was also deemed worthy of the purification through the Seraphim. But observe that his transgressions were not poured out upon every deed and action, but were confined only to his lips and words. 6.187 And in his hand he had a coal, which he took with tongs from the altar and touched my mouth. It seems, as regards the literal text, that the word is about the altar in the temple, from which the Seraph took into its hand a coal from the altar of whole burnt offerings; but as regards the truth, because the Jewish worship serves as a pattern and shadow of the heavenly things, one must understand a certain heavenly altar, that is, a place of purification for souls, from whence the purifying fire is sent forth to the sanctified powers. With such a fire the heart of Cleopas and Simon was burning, when the Lord opened to them the Scrip

95

μεῖζον καὶ ὑπὲρ αὐτὸν τὸ ἐπάγγελμα. Ὅπερ οὐκ ἔλαβεν ἑαυτῷ, τοῦτο ὁ Κύριος ἐχαρίσατο. Εἶπε γὰρ αὐτῷ· Πορεύθητι καὶ εἶπον τῷ λαῷ τούτῳ. Ὁ μέντοι λέγων· Ἰδού εἰμι ἐγὼ, τεθαῤῥηκὼς ἤδη, ὡς μεταλαβὼν τοῦ Ὄντος, ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν ἀριθμεῖν ἑαυτὸν ἀποτολμᾷ· καὶ τοῦτο εἶπε μετὰ, τὸ καθαρθῆναι αὐτοῦ τὰ χείλη. Ὁ δὲ ἐν ἀνομίαις τυγχάνων καὶ τῆς ἐπιγνώσεως τοῦ Ὄντος μὴ καταξιούμενος, οὐ δύναται ἑαυτῷ μαρτυρεῖν τὸ Ἰδού εἰμι ἐγώ. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἔθετο ὁ Θεὸς πρῶτον Ἀποστόλους, δεύτερον Προφήτας, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Ἡσαΐας πρῶτον τὸ τῆς ἀποστολῆς δέχεται χάρισμα. Καὶ Μωϋσῆς δὲ τῶν Ἀποστόλων ἐστί· ∆εῦρο γὰρ (φησὶν) ἀποστελῶ σε πρὸς Φαραὼ, βασιλέα Αἰγύπτου. Καὶ Ἱερεμίας δὲ ἀκούει, ὅτι Πρὸς πάντας, οὓς ἂν ἐξαποστείλω σε, πορεύσῃ. 6.186 Πορεύθητι καὶ εἶπον τῷ λαῷ τούτῳ· Ἀκοῇ ἀκού σετε καὶ οὐ μὴ συνῆτε, καὶ βλέποντες βλέψετε καὶ οὐ μὴ ἴδητε. Ἐπαχύνθη γὰρ ἡ καρδία τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου καὶ τοῖς ὠσὶ βαρέως ἤκουσαν καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν ἐκάμμυ σαν, μήποτε ἴδωσι τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς καὶ τοῖς ὠσὶν ἀκού σωσι καὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ συνῶσι καὶ ἐπιστρέψωσι, καὶ ἰάσο μαι αὐτούς. Τοῦτο τὸ ῥητὸν ἀνέγραψεν ὁ Λουκᾶς ἐν ταῖς Πράξε σι. Καὶ ἀπεστάλη πρός με ἓν τῶν Σεραφίμ. Ὅτι δύναμίς τίς ἐστιν ὑπερκόσμιος, καθαρτικὴ ἀνομιῶν, διακο νίαν πεπιστευμένη, τὸ Σεραφεὶμ τὰ γεγραμμένα παρίστησιν. Ἀπέσταλται οὖν ταῦτα τὰ λειτουργικὰ πνεύματα πρὸς ἡμᾶς, τοὺς μέλλοντας κληρονομεῖν σωτηρίαν. Ἔρχεται δὲ οὐκ αὐθεντικῶς, οὐδὲ αὐτεξουσίως ἐπισκεπτόμενα ἡμᾶς· καὶ γὰρ προηγουμένη μὲν αὐτῶν ζωὴ καὶ κατὰ φύσιν, τῷ κάλλει τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐνατενίζειν καὶ αὐτὸν δοξάζειν διηνεκῶς· περι στατικὴ δέ τίς ἐστιν ἐνέργεια ἡ πρὸς ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐπιστροφὴ καὶ ἐπιμέλεια. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο Ἀπεστάλη (φησὶ) πρός με ἓν τῶν Σεραφίμ. Ἔοικε δὲ ὁ Προφήτης, ὅτε εἶδε τῶν Σεραφὶμ τὴν ἐνέρ γειαν, οὐδὲν ἄλλο ποιούντων ἢ ἁγιαζόντων τὸν Θεὸν, τότε εἰς συναίσθησιν τῆς ἐν τοῖς ἰδίοις χείλεσιν ἀκαθαρσίας ἐληλυθέναι, ὅτι καὶ ἀνθρώπινα λαλεῖ, καὶ ἐμόλυνεν ἑαυτοῦ τὴν γλῶσσαν πολλάκις τοῖς περὶ τῆς ματαιότητος τοῦ κόσμου ῥήμασι. Τῇ οὖν πρὸς ἐκεῖνα συγκρίσει κατανυγεὶς (καὶ ὅτι τὰ μὲν οὐδὲν ἕτερον φθέγγεται, ἢ τὸν ἁγιασμὸν τῆς θεότητος ἐκβοᾷ, αὐτὸς δὲ τὸ πλεῖστον τοῖς ἀνθρωπίνοις πράγμασι τὴν ἑαυτοῦ φωνὴν ἐνασχολουμένην ἔχει) διὰ τοῦτο εἶπεν· Ὢ τάλας ἐγὼ, ὅτι κατανένυγμαι, ὅτι ἄνθρωπος ὢν καὶ ἀκάθαρτα χείλη ἔχων, ἐν μέσῳ λαοῦ οἰκῶ, ἀκάθαρτα χείλη ἔχοντος. Οὕτω καὶ Μωϋσῆς τέως οὐκ ᾐσθάνετο ἑαυτοῦ ἰσχνοφώνου ὄντος καὶ βραδυ γλώσσου, ὅς γε πάσῃ σοφίᾳ Αἰγυπτίων πεπαίδευτο καὶ διέβαινε πάντας αὐτοὺς τῇ εὐφυΐᾳ καὶ τῇ συνέσει· ὅτε δὲ ἤκουσε τοῦ χρηματίζοντος, τότε εἶδεν ἑαυτοῦ τὴν ἀσθέ νειαν. Καὶ Ἀβραὰμ, ὅτε ὤφθη αὐτῷ ὁ Θεὸς, τότε εἶπεν ἑαυτὸν γῆς καὶ σποδόν. Παραπλησίως οὖν τούτοις καὶ ὁ Ἡσαΐας, μετὰ τὸ ἰδεῖν τὸν καθήμενον ἐπὶ θρόνου ὑψηλοῦ καὶ ἐπηρμένου καὶ θεωρῆσαι τὴν δόξαν τὸν σύμπαντα οἶκον τοῦ κόσμου πεπληρωκυῖαν καὶ τὰ κύκλῳ αὐτοῦ Σεραφὶμ, μετὰ ἐκπλήξεως ἐκείνην τὴν φωνὴν ἀναφέροντα, τότε ἑαυτὸν ταλαίπωρον προσηγόρευσε, τότε τὴν ἐν τοῖς χείλεσιν ἑαυτοῦ ἀκαθαρσίαν ἐπέγνω, διὸ καὶ ἠξιώθη τῆς διὰ τῶν Σεραφὶμ καθάρσεως. Παρατήρει δὲ, ὅτι οὐκ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν πρᾶξιν καὶ ἐνέργειαν ἦν αὐτοῦ τὰ παραπτώματα κεχυμένα, ἀλλὰ μέχρι χειλέων καὶ λόγων ὑπῆρχε μόνον συνεσταλμένα. 6.187 Καὶ ἐν τῇ χειρὶ εἶχεν ἄνθρακα, ὃν τῇ λαβίδι ἔλαβεν ἀπὸ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου καὶ ἥψατο τοῦ στόματός μου. Ἔοικε μὲν, ὡς πρὸς τὸ ῥητὸν, περὶ τοῦ ἐν τῷ ναῷ θυσιασ τηρίου ὁ λόγος εἶναι, ἀφ' οὗ ἔλαβε τὸ Σεραφεὶμ εἰς τὴν χεῖρα ἑαυτοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου τῶν ὁλοκαρπωμάτων ἄνθρακα· ὡς δὲ πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν, διὰ τὸ τὴν Ἰουδαϊκὴν λατρείαν ὑποδείγματι καὶ σκιᾷ τῶν ἐπουρανίων λατρεύειν, ἐπουρά νιόν τι χρὴ νοεῖν θυσιαστήριον, τουτέστι χωρίον καθα ρισμοῦ ψυχῶν, ὅθεν ἐκπέμπεται ταῖς ἁγιαζομέναις δυνάμεσι τὸ καθάρσιον πῦρ. Τοιούτῳ πυρὶ Κλεόπα καὶ Σίμωνος ἐκαίετο ἡ καρδία, ὅτε διήνοιγεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Κύριος τὰς Γρα