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called intellection, has a certain pretext and mask, its homonymy, but he who does not place it even above the intellectual energies does not even have a sophism; for that could least of all be called an intellectual energy. But indeed, in that most blessed life in the unending age, the sons of the resurrection will have need of none of the things that constitute life in this age, not of air, not of light, not of place and such things, but “the divine nature will be for us in place of all things,” according to Gregory of Nyssa, and according to Saint Maximus, the deification of the soul and of the body at that time “will grant cessation from all natural energies according to intellect and sense, so that God may appear through both the soul and the body, the natural characteristics (p. 486) having been overcome by the excess of glory.” What, then, is the light seen by the bodily eyes, without air and not sensible, beyond all natural knowledge? Is it not the glory of God that shines around and shines within? And what is it that makes us contemplative beyond all sense and intellection? Is it not the Spirit of God, which will then make not only our mind, but also our body spiritual? How then is there no vision beyond intellection, nor any other light of the heart, except knowledge?

But I, in another way, also posit our holy faith as a vision of our heart beyond all senses and all intellections, as it surpasses all the intellectual powers of our soul; and by faith I mean not the pious confession, but the unshakeable establishment in it and in the things promised by God. For how through it do we see the things promised in that future unending age? By the senses? But “faith is the substance of things hoped for,” and by sense there would be no means to see the future and hoped for; wherefore the Apostle added, “the evidence of things not seen.” Will an intellectual power, then, see the things hoped for? And how, things which have in no way entered into the heart of man? What then, do we not see through faith the things promised to us by God, since it transcends all sensory and intellectual energies? But did not all those from the beginning of time who sought the heavenly homeland through works, according to the divine Apostle, die without having received the promises, but seeing them from afar and embracing them. There is, therefore, also a vision and intellection of the heart beyond all the intellectual energies; for that which is beyond the mind is not mindless, unless by way of superiority, since that which is without mind by way of deficiency is of such a kind.

Nevertheless, since all “who were witnessed to through (p. 488) faith did not receive the promise, God having foreseen something better for us, so that they should not be made perfect without us,” will these not, then, when they are perfected, see the things promised? Or will they see, but not see beyond all intellection? Or even beyond all intellection, but in the same way as before they were perfected? And how could this be reasonable? Therefore they will see, and they will see beyond all intellection, and not as they formerly saw, but in such a way that the vision is the enjoyment of the things promised. There is, therefore, a vision beyond all intellection, and even beyond this; for this faith is a vision beyond the mind, but the enjoyment of the things believed is a vision beyond that vision which is beyond the mind. There is indeed also that which is seen and enjoyed according to it, which, existing beyond all sensible and intelligible things, is not the essence of God, but the essence of God is transcendentally set apart even from this. For such is the entire substance of the good things to come. Do you understand how much of the God-befitting majesty those who do not know this vision beyond intellection take away, and how much beyond themselves they magnify God, who have either tasted of this moderately through purity of heart and have received the pledge of the age to come in themselves, or have received it by faith, which in many ways is the procurer of the ineffable good things? But the philosopher, not comprehending the height of this thought, neither worshiped nor glorified God worthily of himself in the Spirit, and those who glorify God in the Spirit, every...

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νόησιν καλούμενον, ἔχει τι πρόσχημα καί προσωπεῖον, τήν ὁμωνυμίαν, ὁ δέ μηδ᾿ ὑπέρ τάς νοεράς ἐνεργείας ἐκεῖνο τιθέμενος οὐδέ σοφίσασθαι γοῦν ἔχει˙ νοερά γάρ ἐνέργεια ἐκεῖνο ἥκιστα κληθείη ἄν. Ἀλλά γάρ ἐν τῇ μακαριωτάτῃ ἐκείνῃ κατά τόν ἄληκτον αἰῶνα διαγωγῇ τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς ἀναστάσεως οὐδενός δεήσει τῶν κατά τόν αἰῶνα συνιστώντων τόν βίον, οὐκ ἀέρος, οὐ φωτός, οὐ τόπου καί τῶν τοιούτων, ἀλλ᾿ «ἀντί πάντων ἡμῖν ἡ θεία γενήσεται φύσις» κατά τόν Νύσσης Γρηγόριον, καί κατά τόν ἅγιον Μάξιμον ἡ τῆς ψυχῆς τότε καί τοῦ σώματος θέωσις «παςῶν τῶν κατά νοῦν τε καί αἴσθησιν φυσικῶν ἐνεργειῶν χαρίσεται τήν ἀπόπαυσιν, ὡς τόν Θεόν διά τε τῆς ψυχῆς καί τοῦ σώματος φαίνεσθαι, νικηθέντων τῇ ὑπερβολῇ τῆς δόξης τῶν φυσικῶν (σελ. 486) γνωρισμάτων». Τί τοίνυν τό διά τῶν σωματικῶν ὀφθαλμῶν, ἄνευ ἀέρος καί οὐκ αἰσθητόν, ὑπέρ πᾶσαν γνῶσιν φυσικήν ὁρώμενον φῶς; Οὐχ ἡ περιαυγάζουσά τε καί ἐναυγάζουσα δόξα τοῦ Θεοῦ; Τί δέ τό ὑπέρ πᾶσαν αἴσθησίν τε καί νόησιν θεωρητικόν ἡμᾶς ἀπεργαζόμενον; Οὐ τό Πνεῦμα τοῦ Θεοῦ, τό μή τόν νοῦν μόνον, ἀλλά καί τό σῶμα τόθ᾿ ἡμῶν πνευματικόν ποιῆσον; Πῶς οὖν οὐδεμία ὅρασίς ἐστιν ὑπέρ τήν νόησιν, οὐδέ φῶς τῆς καρδίας ἕτερον, ὅτι μή ἡ γνῶσις;

Ἐγώ δέ καί τήν ἱεράν ἡμῶν πίστιν ὑπέρ πάσας τάς αἰσθήσεις καί πάσας τάς νοήσεις ὅρασιν τῆς ἡμετέρας ἕτερον τρόπον τίθεμαι καρδίας, ὠς ὑπερβαίνουσαν τάς νοεράς πάσας δυνάμεις τῆς ἡμῶν ψυχῆς˙ πίστιν δέ λέγω οὐ τήν εὐσεβῆ ὁμολογίαν, ἀλλά τήν ἐπ᾿ αὐτῇ καί τοῖς ὐπό τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπηγγελμένοις ἀμετάπειστον ἵδρυσιν. Πῶς γάρ δι᾿ αὐτῆς ὁρῶμεν τά ἐπηγγελμένα κατά τόν μέλλοντα ἐκεῖνον ἄληκτον αἰῶνα; Ταῖς αἰσθήσεσιν; Ἀλλά «πίστις ἐστί ἐλπιζομένων ὑπόστασις», αἰσθήσει δέ τό μέλλον τε καί ἐλπιζόμενον οὐδ᾿ ἰδεῖν γένοιτ᾿ ἄν τις μηχανή˙ διό καί ὁ ἀπόστολος προσέθηκε, «πραγμάτων ἔλεγχος οὐ βλεπομένων». Ἆρ᾿ οὖν νοερά τις δύναμις ὄψεται τά ἐλπιζόμενα; Καί πῶς, ἅ μηδαμῶς ἐπί καρδίαν ἀναβέβηκεν ἀνθρώπου; Τί οὖν, οὐχ ὁρῶμεν διά τῆς πιστεως τά ἐπηγγελμένα ἡμῖν παρά Θεοῦ, ἐπειδήπερ ὑπεραναβαίνει τάς αἰσθητικάς καί νοεράς πάσας ἐνεργείας; Ἀλλά μή πάντες οἱ ἀπ᾿ αἰῶνος τήν ἐπουράνιον δι᾿ ἔργων ἐπιζητήσαντες πατρίδα, κατά τόν θεῖον ἀπόστολον, ἀπέθανον μή κομισάμενοι τάς ἐπαγγελίας, ἀλλά πόρρωθεν αὐτάς ἰδόντες καί ἀσπασάμενοι. Ἔστιν ἄρα καί ὅρασις καί νόησις καρδίας ὑπέρ πάσας τάς νοεράς ἐνεργείας˙ τό γάρ ὑπέρ νοῦν, εἰ μή καθ᾿ ὑπεροχήν, οὐκ ἀνόητον, ἐπεί τοιοῦτο τό κατ᾿ ἔλλειψιν ἄνουν.

Οὐ μήν ἀλλ᾿ ἐπεί πάντες «οἱ μαρτυρηθέντες διά τῆς (σελ. 488) πίστεως οὐκ ἐκομίσαντο τήν ἐπαγγελίαν, τοῦ Θεοῦ περί ἡμῶν κρεῖττόν τι προβλεψαμένου, ἵνα μή χωρίς ἡμῶν τελειωθῶσι», τελειωθέντες ἆρ᾿ οὗτοι τά ἐπηγγελμένα οὐκ ὄψονται; Ἤ ὄψονται μέν, ἀλλ᾿ οὐχ ὑπέρ πᾶσαν νόησιν ὄψονται; Ἤ καί ὑπέρ πᾶσαν νόησιν, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς καί πλίν ἤ τελειωθῆναι; καί πῶς ἄν ἔχοι τοῦτο λόγον; Οὐκοῦν ὄψονται καί ὑπέρ πᾶσαν νόησιν ὄψονται καί οὐχ ὡς πρότερον ἑώρων, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς ἀπόλαυσιν τῶν ἐπηγγελμένων εἶναι τήν ὅρασιν. Ἔστιν ἄρα ὅρασις ὑπέρ πᾶσαν νόησιν καί ἔτι ὑπέρ τοῦτο˙ καί γάρ ἡ μέν πίστις αὕτη ὑπέρ νοῦν ὅρασίς ἐστιν, ἡ δέ τῶν πιστευθέντων ἀπόλαυσις, ὅρασις ὑπέρ τήν ὑπέρ νοῦν ὅρασιν ἐκείνην. Ἔστι δή καί τό κατ᾿ αὐτήν ὁρατόν τε καί ἀπολαυστόν, ὅ ὑπέρ πάντα τά αἰσθητά καί νοητά ὑπάρχον οὐσία τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν, ἀλλ᾿ ὑπεροχικῶς καί αὐτοῦ ἐξήρηται ἡ οὐσία τοῦ Θεοῦ. Τοιαύτη γάρ πᾶσα ἡ τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν ὑπόστασις. Συνῆκας ὅσον τῆς θεοπρεποῦς μεγαλειότητος περιαιροῦνται οἱ ταύτην μή γινώσκοντες τήν ὑπέρ νόησιν ὅρασιν, ὅσον δ᾿ ὑπέρ αὐτούς μεγαλύνουσι Θεόν οἱ ταύτης ἤ διά καθαρότητα καρδίας μετρίως γευσάμενοι καί τόν ἀρραβῶνα σχόντες ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος, ἤ παραδεξάμενοι πίστει τῇ πολυτρόπως προξένῳ τῶν ἀπορρήτων ἀγαθῶν; Ἀλλ᾿ ὁ φιλόσοφος τό ὕψος τῆς διανοίας ταύτης οὐ χωρήσας, οὔτε τόν Θεόν προσεκύνησεν ἤ ἐδόξασεν ἀξίως ἑαυτοῦ ἐν Πνεύματι καί τούς ἐν Πνεύματι Θεοῦ δοξάζοντας πᾶν