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formerly, then to have been so thrust away from this dignity and thus to have become more a thing to be plundered by us, so as to hold altogether hopeless the return to the supercosmic and equal-to-the-angels order, which has been established as promised to us, not only does this race show itself to be these things, but also wallowing at our feet to be trampled by us. She who seeks the true glory upon the last and lowest of rational beings, will also be an unerring teacher concerning the highest and those above us; for that the knowledge of opposites is the same, even sense perception might teach.

Do you see how far this demonstration is from that which is beyond demonstration? Almost as far as truth is from falsehood, and knowledge from ignorance, and light from darkness, if indeed it belongs to a false and foolish and darkened mind to speak of and reckon the demons as being above us, but of a true and enlightened knowledge to know the dignity given to us “to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy.” But what of when it also leads up to the sure and clear and true teaching, that concerning Truth-itself, of the One who is first and only and absolved from the all, and simply and unrestrictedly and self-hyper-essentially existent? (p. 508) What then is this demonstration to us, when it also bestows the unerring opinion concerning this? Who, by preferring to it or even placing on an equal footing with it that which according to Aristotle is, as you yourself say, beyond demonstration, does not bow heaven to earth and rank the holy with the accursed?

For we shall concede that you say the divine is beyond demonstration, yet not insofar as you say this according to Aristotle, as you now claim to say it. For, my good sir, the man’s opinion concerning divine things is groveling and, so to speak, inglorious. For how could it not be, he who, that I may speak according to the Apostle, having known God, did not glorify or worship Him as God, but becoming futile in his own reasonings, he attributed the divine to demons, and to certain creatures he bore witness that they were unbegotten, and from our souls, as far as it depended on him, he stripped away their immortality? For the mind from without is nothing to us; and the potential mind without this is, according to him, again nothing.

Have you understood to what evil friendship leads, not to follow in all things the divinely-inspired Scriptures, but to wish to refute even those who use them against them, while seeking for oneself a piety beyond the fathers? For from this you were incited to write down that you ought to think the foolish wise men enlightened, they who have even made God subject to their own understanding, saying that it is difficult, but not impossible, to comprehend God; these were the secret things into which they were initiated by the one who appeared to them through light. But I was carried away unawares by zeal and by my discourse into lengthy arguments against them, contrary to my recent intention. I shall return, then, and though I still have many things to say about many subjects, I will leave most of them aside; but having added a few words, I will then seal my discourse with the beautiful address of love (p. 512) (for in this way I know I shall have you becoming repentant), having ceased from still ending on ill-omened words.

Those men, then, whom our church is accustomed to call wise men from without, as being, that is, outside the sacred knowledge of God, those men, I say, did not even conceive that God is incomprehensible to men, having called Him difficult to comprehend. But we know God to be incomprehensible, not only to our mind, but also to the minds of those created beings which, removed from all abasement of a worldly life and because of the superlative ascent of those who draw near and minister to the divine majesty, are called thrones. We do not indeed say that because divine things are removed from all things they are also completely removed from demonstration, or rather we do say so, but not of that demonstration which you, although wanting very much to make it venerable, nevertheless to such an extent you say

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πρότερον, εἶτ᾿ ἐπί τοσοῦτο τῆς ἀξίας ταύτης ἀπωσμένον καί οὕτω πρόσυλον μᾶλλον γεγονός ἡμῶν ὡς ἀνέλπιδα τήν εἰς ὑπερκόσμιον καί ἰσάγγελον τάξιν ἐπάνοδον παντάπασιν ἴσχειν, ἥτις ἡμῖν ἐπηγγελμένη καθέστηκεν, οὐ ταῦτα μόνον τουτί τό γένος δείκνυσιν ὄν, ἀλλά καί τοῖς ποσίν ἡμῶν ἐγκαλινδούμενον εἰς τό καταπατεῖσθαι παρ᾿ ἡμῶν˙ ἡ δ᾿ ἐπί τῶν ἐσχάτων καί κατωτάτω λογικῶν οὐσιῶν τήν ἀληθῆ θηρωμένη δόξαν, καί περί τῶν ἀνωτάτω καί ὑπέρ ἡμᾶς ἀψευδής διδάσκαλος ἔσται˙ τῶν γάρ ἐναντίων τήν αὐτήν ἐπιστήμην εἶναι, καί ἡ αἴσθησις ἄν διδάξειεν.

Εἶδες πόσον ἀπέχει τοῦ ὑπέρ ἀπόδειξιν ἐκείνου ἡ ἀπόδειξις αὕτη; Σχεδόν ὅσον ψεύδους ἀλήθεια καί γνῶσις ἀγνοίας καί τοῦ σκότους τό φῶς, εἴπερ ψευδοῦς μέν καί ἀνοήτου καί σκοτεινῆς διανοίας ὑπέρ ἡμᾶς τούς δαίμονας λέγειν τε καί λογίζεσθαι, γνώσεως δ᾿ ἀληθοῦς καί πεφωτισμένης εἰδέναι τήν δεδομένην ἡμῖν ἀξίαν «πατεῖν ἐπάνω ὄφεων καί σκορπίων καί ἐπί πᾶσαν τήν δύναμιν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ»˙ Τί δ᾿ ὅταν καί πρός τήν ἀσφαλῆ καί τρανήν καί ἀληθῆ δίξαν, τήν περί αὐτῆς τῆς αὐτοαληθείας, ἀναβιβάζῃ, τοῦ πρώτου καί μόνου καί ἀπολελυμένου τοῦ παντός καί ἁπλῶς καί ἀπεριορίστως καί αὐθυπερουσίως ὄντος; (σελ. 508) Τί τοίνυν ἡ ἀπόδειξις ἡμῖν αὕτη, ὅτε καί τήν ἁπλανῆ περί τούτου χαρίζεται δόξαν; Τίς αὐτῆς προτιμῶν ἤ καί εἰς ἴσον ταύτῃ τιθείς τό κατ᾿ Ἀριστοτέλην, ὡς αὐτός φῄς, ὑπέρ ἀπόδειξιν, οὐ τόν οὐρανόν εἰς γῆν κλίνει καί τά ἅγια συντάττει τοῖς ἐναγέσιν;

Ὑπέρ ἀπόδεξιν μέν γάρ λέγειν σε τό θεῖον καί ἡμεῖς συγχωρήσομεν, οὐχ ἕως μέντοι κατ᾿ Ἀριστοτέλην τοῦτο λέγεις, ὡς νῦν τοῦτο φῄς λέγειν˙ χαμερπής γάρ, ὦ τάν, ἡ περί τῶν θείων τοῦ ἀνδρός δόξα καί ὡς εἰπεῖν ἄδοξος˙ πῶς γάρ οὐ, ὅς ἵνα κατά τό ἀποστολικόν εἴπω, γνούς τόν Θεόν, οὐχ ὡς Θεόν ἐδόξασεν ἤ ἐσεβάσθη, ματαιωθείς δ᾿ ἐν τοῖς οἰκείοις διαλογισμοῖς, δαίμοσι μέν ἐπεφήμισε τό θεῖον, κτίσμασι δ᾿ἔστιν οἷς προσεμαρτύρησε τό ἀγένητον, ψυχῶν δέ τῶν ἡμετέρων, τό γε εἰς αὐτόν ἧκον, ἀπεσύλησε τό ἀθάνατον; Ὁ γάρ θύραθεν νοῦς οὐδέν πρός ἡμᾶς˙ ὁ δέ δυνάμει τούτου χωρίς καί κατ᾿ ἐκεῖνον αὖθις οὐδέν.

Συνῆκας ᾗ κακοῦ φέρει φιλότης, τό μή πάντα στοιχεῖν ταῖς θεοπνεύσταις Γραφαῖς, ἀλλά καί τούς ἐπ᾿ αὐτάς αὐταῖς χρωμένους ἐξελέγχειν ἐθέλειν αὐτόν δέ ζητεῖν τήν ὑπέρ τούς πατέρας εὐσέβειαν; Ἐντεῦθεν γάρ τούς μεμωραμένους σοφούς δεῖν οἴεσθαι πεφωτισμένους ἀναγράφην ἐπήρθης, οἵ καί τόν Θεόν ὑπό τήν σφῶν αὐτῶν πεποίηνται νόησιν, χαλεπόν εἶναι λέγοντες, ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ἀδύνατον, νοῆσαι Θεόν˙ ταῦτ᾿ ἐμυήθησαν τά ἀπόρρητα ὑπό τοῦ διά φωτός ἐπιφανέντος αὐτοῖς. Ἀλλά γάρ ἔλαθον ὑπό τοῦ ζήλου καί τοῦ λόγου συναρπασθείς πρός τούς κατ᾿ αὐτῶν μακρούς λόγους παρά τήν ἡμετέραν ἀρτίως πρόθεσιν. Ἐπάνειμι τοίνυν, καί πολλά καί περί πολλῶν ἔτ᾿ ἔχων λέγειν καταλείψω τά πλείω˙ μικρά δέ προσειπών, ἔπειτα τῷ καλῷ τῆς ἀγάπης προσρήματι τόν λόγον ἐπισφραγίσομαι (σελ. 512) (ταύτῃ γάρ οἶδα καί σέ μετάμελον ἐσόμενον ἕξων), τοῦ λήγειν ἔτ᾿ ἐπί δυσφήμων ἀφέμενον.

Ἐκεῖνοι μέν οὖν, οὕς ἔξω σοφούς τῇ καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς ἐκκλησίᾳ νενομισμένον καλεῖν, ὡς ἔξω δηλαδή καθεστῶτας τῆς ἱερᾶς περί Θεοῦ γνώσεως, ἐκεῖνοι τοίνυν, οὐδ᾿ ὅτι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἀκατάληπτος ὁ Θεός ἐνενόησαν, δυσκατάληπτον εἰπόντες αὐτόν˙ ἡμεῖς δέ, μή ὅτι τῷ καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς νῷ, ἀλλά καί αὐτοῖς τοῖς ἀπεξῃρημένης πάσης περιπεζίας ὑφέσεως καί διά τό ὑπεναναβεβηκός τῶν ἐγγιζόντων καί λειτουργούντων τῇ θείᾳ μεγαλειότητι κτισμάτων νοῖς, θρόνοις ὀνομαζομένοις, ἀκατάληπτον ἴσμεν τόν Θεόν. Οὐ μή τῷ πάντων ὑπεξῃρῆσθαι τά θεῖα καί ἀποδείξεως τελέως ὑπεξῃρῆσθαι λέγομεν, μᾶλλον μέν οὖν λέγομεν μέν, ἀλλ᾿ οὐ ταύτης ἥν σύ, καίτοι θέλων ἐς τά μάλιστα ἀποσεμνύνειν, ὅμως ἐπί τοσοῦτο λέγεις