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by this method of the devil were they harmed, who had God dwelling and abiding in them.

For he who has either preserved for himself from above the "in the image and likeness" or has recalled and recovered it, has also recovered sight according to nature. Therefore, such a one also walks honorably as in the day; he sees all things as they are by nature; he does not marvel at their colors and splendors, but observing their substance and quality, he remains unshaken, paying attention only to the things that are established and abiding. He sees gold and does not pay attention to its brilliance, but understands its matter, that it is from the earth and is dust or stone, never able to be changed into anything else. He sees silver, (234) pearls, all precious stones and his sense is not deceived by their beautiful colors, but he sees all stones as one of all stones and at the same time considers them clay. He sees luxurious garments and does not marvel at their variety, but understands that they are the dung of worms, and he pities those who delight in them and treat them as precious. He sees someone being glorified, sitting upon a throne, paraded by a great crowd along the roads or even being puffed up with pride, and seeing this as a dream, so is he disposed, laughing and marveling at the ignorance of men. He sees the world and is in the midst of a great city and walks—the Lord who works these things in us is witness—as if he were alone in the whole world; and as if living in a desert inaccessible to men and as if having nothing in common with anyone or knowing any of the men on earth, so is he disposed.

Such a one, therefore, seeing a woman who has beauty of body, does not see the blooming comeliness of her appearance, but sees her as putrefaction or filth and as already dead and having become wholly what she indeed becomes; the mind would never gaze upon her outward flower, but upon the material corruption existing within, from which the whole body is composed. For what else is a body but the juice of chewed food? And if he should wish to study the outward beauty, he knows to marvel at the Creator by analogy from His creatures, but not to worship the creation rather than the Creator; for thus from the greatness and from the beauty of creatures he recognizes the Maker and his mind is led up to the contemplation of Him and he kindles his soul to the understanding of the Poet, through which he is then moved to divine desire and tears and becomes wholly outside the things that are seen and is separated from creatures.

(235) For just as the light of the perceptible eyes is sent everywhere by us and, going over all the things set before the power of sight, is not at all defiled by them, even if the things seen are exceedingly ugly, but again we turn it undefiled to other things, so also the mind of the saints, even if it should stoop to look into filthy and shameful passions, is not defiled. For their mind is naked and alien to every passionate desire. For if he should ever wish to enter into the contemplation of such things, he does not do this for any other reason than to examine and learn the passionate movements and energies of the passions and from where they receive their causes and by what remedies they are again made to disappear, just as we hear physicians do and have heard concerning those of old. For they dissected the dead, so that they might understand the disposition of the body, in order that from them they might know the inner parts of living men and attempt to heal in others the passions that are not seen. The spiritual physician who wishes to heal the passions of the soul with experience surely does something of this sort; and in order that I may demonstrate to you his skillful healing in my discourse, I will make the narrative a practical one.

Someone comes to the spiritual physician, sick, stupefied by his passion, wholly disturbed in his mind, seeking instead of a cure things that are harmful, that is, things that increase the passion and in a moment draw on death. He sees this one

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μεθόδου ταύτης τοῦ διαβόλου ἐκεῖνοι παρεβλάβησαν, τόν Θεόν ἔχοντες ἐν ἑαυτοῖς οἰκοῦντα καί μένοντα.

Ὁ γάρ τό κατ᾿ εἰκόνα καί καθ᾿ ὁμοίωσιν ἤ τηρήσας ἑαυτῷ ἄνωθεν ἤ ἀνακαλεσάμενος καί ἀπολαβών, καί τό βλέπειν κατά φύσιν ἀπέλαβεν. Τοιγαροῦν καί ὡς ἐν ἡμέρᾳ εὐσχημόνως ὁ τοιοῦτος περιπατεῖ, βλέπει τά πράγματα πάντα καθώς ἔχουσι φύσεως· οὐ τάς χροιάς θαυμάζει καί τάς στιλπνότητας, ἀλλά τήν τούτων οὐσίαν τε καί ποιότητα καθορῶν, μένει ἀσάλευτος, μόνοις τοῖς ἑστῶσι προσέχων καί μένουσι. Ὁρᾷ τόν χρυσόν καί οὐ τήν λαμπρότητι τούτου προσέχει, ἀλλά κατανοεῖ τήν ὕλην ὅτι ἀπό τῆς γῆς καί χοῦς ἤ λίθος ἐστί, μηδέποτε εἰς ἕτερόν τι μεταβληθῆναι δυνάμενος. Βλέπει τόν ἄργυρον, (234) τόν μαργαρίτην, τούς λίθους ἅπαντας τούς τιμίους καί οὐ ταῖς εὐχροίαις τήν αἴσθησιν κλέπτεται, ἀλλά λίθους ἅπαντας ὡς ἕνα τῶν ἁπάντων λίθων ὁρᾷ καί πηλόν ἅμα ταῦτα λογίζεται. Ὁρᾷ ἱμάτια πολυτελῆ καί οὐ θαυμάζει τήν ποικιλίαν, ἀλλ᾿ ὅτι σκωλήκων κόπρος εἰσίν ἐννοεῖ, καί τούς τερπομένους εἰς αὐτά καί περιποιουμένους ταῦτα ὡς τίμια ἐλεεῖ. Ὁρᾷ τινα δοξαζόμενον, ἐπί θρόνου καθήμενον, ὑπό λαοῦ πολλοῦ κατά τάς ὁδούς πομπευόμενον ἤ καί φυσώμενον, καί ὡς ὄναρ βλέπων οὕτω διάκειται, γελῶν καί θαυμάζων τῶν ἀνθρώπων τήν ἄγνοιαν. Βλέπει τόν κόσμον καί ἐν μέσῳ πόλεως ὑπάρχει καί βαδίζει μεγάλης - μάρτυς ὁ ταῦτα ἐν ἡμῖν ἐνεργῶν Κύριος , ὡς μόνος ὤν ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ κόσμῳ· καί ὡς ἐν ἐρήμῳ διάγων ἀνθρώποις ἀβάτῳ καί ὡς μηδέν μετά τινος ἔχων ἤ γνωρίζων τινά τῶν ἐπί γῆς ἀνθρώπων, οὔτω διάκειται.

Ὁ τοιοῦτος καί γυναῖκα τοίνυν ὁρῶν κάλλος ἔχουσαν σώματος, οὐ τῆς ὄψεως ὁρᾷ τήν ἐπανθοῦσαν εὐπρέπειαν, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς σαπρίαν ἤ βόρβορον καί ὡς ἤδη θανοῦσαν καί γεγονυῖαν ὅλην ὅπερ καί γίνεται, οὕτω ταύτην ὁρᾷ· ἧς οὐκ ἄν ποτε τό ἔξωθεν ἄνθος ὁ νοῦς περιβλέψῃ, ἀλλά τήν ἔνδοθεν ὑπάρχουσαν ὑλώδη φθοράν, ἐξ ἧς τό ὅλον σῶμα συνίσταται. Τί γάρ καί ἄλλο ἐστί σῶμα ἤ διαμασηθείσης τροφῆς χυλός; Εἰ δέ καί τό ἔξωθεν κάλλος καταμαθεῖν θελήσειεν, οἶδεν ἐκ τῶν κτισμάτων ἀναλόγως θαυμάζειν τόν γενεσιουργόν, οὐχί δέ λατρεύειν τῇ κτίσει παρά τόν κτίσαντα· οὕτω γάρ ἀπό τοῦ μεγέθους καί ἀπό τῆς καλλονῆς τῶν κτισμάτων ἐπιγινώσκει τόν δημιουργόν καί πρός τήν ἐκείνου θεωρίαν ὁ νοῦς ἀνάγεται καί τήν ψυχήν ἀνάπτει πρός τήν τοῦ ποιητοῦ κατανόησιν, δι᾿ ἧς ἄρα καί πρός θεῖον κινεῖται πόθον καί δάκρυα καί ὅλως ἔξω τῶν ὁρωμένων γίνεται καί ἀπό τῶν κτισμάτων ἀποχωρίζεται.

(235) Καθάπερ γάρ τό φῶς τῶν αἰσθητῶν ὀφθαλμῶν πανταχοῦ παρ᾿ ἡμῶν πέμπεται καί, τά προκείμενα πάντα τῇ ὀπτικῇ δυνάμει περιερχόμενον, τό σύνολον ἐξ αὐτῶν οὐ μολύνεται, κἄν ὦσι λίαν δυσειδῆ τά ὁρώμενα, ἀλλά πάλιν ἀμόλυντον αὐτό πρός ἕτερα περιφέρομεν, οὕτω καί ἡ τῶν ἁγίων διάνοια, κἄν εἰς βορβορώδη πάθη καί αἰσχρά παρακύψειεν, οὐ μολύνεται. Γυμνός γάρ ὑπάρχει ὁ νοῦς αὐτῶν καί πάσης ἐπιθυμίας ἐμπαθοῦς ἀλλότριος. Εἰ γάρ καί εἰς τήν τῶν τοιούτων θεωρίαν εἰσελθεῖν ποτε βουληθείη, οὐ δι᾿ ἕτερόν τι τοῦτο ποιεῖ, ἀλλ᾿ ἤ ἵνα σκοπήσῃ καί καταμάθῃ τῶν παθῶν τάς ἐμπαθεῖς κινήσεις καί ἐνεργείας καί πόθεν λαμβάνουσι τάς αἰτίας καί διά ποίων φαρμάκων πάλιν ἐξαφανίζονται, καθά καί ἰατρούς ποιοῦντας ἀκούομεν καί περί τῶν παλαιῶν ἀκηκόαμεν. Ἀνέτεμον γάρ τούς νεκρούς, ἵνα τήν θέσιν κατανοήσωσι τοῦ σώματος, ὅπως ἐξ ἐκείνων γινώσκοντες ὦσι τῶν ζώντων ἀνθρώπων τά ἔνδοθεν καί ἰατρεύειν ἐν ἄλλοις ἐπιχειρῶσι τά μή ὁρώμενα πάθη. Τοιοῦτόν τι πάντως ἐργάζεται καί ὁ πνευματικός ἰατρός ὁ τά τῆς ψυχῆς πάθη ἐμπείρως ἰατρεύειν βουλόμενος· ἵνα δέ σοι τήν ἔντεχνον αὐτοῦ ἰατρείαν τῷ λόγῳ καθυποδείξω, πραγματικήν ποιήσομαι τήν διήγησιν.

Ἔρχεταί τις πρός τόν πνευματικόν ἰατρόν ἄρρωστος, κεκαρωμένος τῷ πάθει, τεταραγμένος ὅλος τόν νοῦν, ἀντί ἰατρείας τά βλάπτοντα ἐπιζητῶν, τά τό πάθος δηλονότι αὐξάνοντα καί τόν θάνατον ἐν ἀκαρεῖ ἐπισπώμενα. Βλέπει τοῦτον ὁ