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when he blasphemes, he will never harm that nature in any way, being much greater and higher than to receive any injury, but he sharpens the sword against his own head, having become ungrateful to his benefactor. Let those who meddle with the blessed substance of the Godhead, and say that incomprehensible nature is comprehensible, hear, so that they may know that it is not possible for a man to see even the substance of an angel without fear. The holy prophet Daniel, the friend of God, who had great boldness toward him, fasted for three weeks of days, and ate no pleasant bread, neither did wine nor meat enter his mouth, nor did he anoint himself with ointment; and when his soul was more fit for the reception of such a vision, having been made lighter and more spiritual by the fast, then he saw the angel, and says: My inward parts were turned within me at my vision, and no breath was left in me, nor strength; and my glory was turned into corruption. For since the young man was comely, the fear of the angel's presence affected him just as those who are expiring, spreading a great pallor, and consuming the flower of his youth, and wasting all the healthy color of his appearance, for this reason he says: My glory was turned into corruption. So the angel raised him up, but he arose trembling; and as the angel began to speak to him, he fell again to the earth; and just as those who have fainted from fear, when roused and having come back to themselves and looking up, while we are holding them and sprinkling their face with cold streams, often faint away again in our very hands; so also the prophet was affected. For the soul, having been terrified, and not bearing the sight of the presence of its fellow servant, nor being able to endure that light, was agitated, as if hastening to tear itself away from the bond of the flesh as from some chain; but he held it fast. But if Daniel, whom the eyes of lions respected, Daniel who was able to do superhuman things in a human body, who was attested for wisdom and righteousness and for many other achievements, could not endure the presence of a fellow servant, but lay breathless; what will they suffer, who are so far removed from the virtue of the righteous man, and meddle with the Lord of the angels, and promise to know with all exactness the very substance, that is highest and first and brought forth the myriads of these angels, one of whom Daniel was not strong enough to see? For just as the blind man does not know the unapproachableness of the sun's rays in the same way as the one who sees; so also we do not know the incomprehensibility of God in the same way as the angelic powers, inasmuch as they are purer and wiser and more discerning than human nature; for as great as the distance between a blind man and one who sees, so great is the difference between us and them; so that even if you hear the prophet saying, I saw the Lord, do not suppose that he saw that substance, but the condescension, and this, too, more dimly than the powers above. And this is also clear from the apostles. For, it says, Jesus went up on the mountain, and was transfigured before them. What is, He was transfigured? He opened up a little of his divinity, and showed them the indwelling God. And his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as the light. The evangelist wished to show his brightness, and says, He shone. He shone, how? He shone intensely. Tell me, and how? Like the sun. You say, like the sun? Yes. Why? I have no other star so bright and white. He was white as snow; I have no other whiter substance; for that he did not shine just so, is shown from what follows. And the disciples fell on the ground. But if he had shone like the sun, the disciples would not have fallen; for they looked at the sun every day, and did not fall; but since he shone brighter than the sun, and whiter than the snow, for this reason, not bearing the brightness, they fell down. But what am I to do? I am a man and I speak to men; I possess a tongue of clay; I ask pardon from the

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βλασφημῶν, ἐκείνην μὲν οὐδὲν παραβλάψει ποτὲ, πολλῷ μείζονα οὖσαν καὶ ὑψηλοτέραν ὥστε δέξασθαί τινα βλάβην, κατὰ δὲ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ κεφαλῆς τὸ ξίφος ἀκονᾷ, ἀγνώμων περὶ τὸν εὐεργέτην γενόμενος. Ἀκουέτωσαν οἱ τὴν μακαρίαν τῆς θεότητος οὐσίαν περιεργαζόμενοι, καὶ τὴν ἀκατάληπτον ἐκείνην φύσιν καταληπτὴν εἶναι λέγοντες, ἵνα γνῶσιν, ὡς οὐδὲ ἀγγέλου οὐσίαν δυνατὸν ἀνθρώπῳ μετὰ ἀδείας ἰδεῖν. Ὁ ἅγιος προφήτης ∆ανιὴλ, ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ φίλος, ὁ ἔχων παῤῥησίαν πολλὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν, τρεῖς ἑβδομάδας ἐνήστευσεν ἡμερῶν, καὶ ἄρτον ἐπιθυμιῶν οὐκ ἔφαγεν, οὐδὲ οἶνος καὶ κρέας οὐκ εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ, οὐδὲ ἄλειμμα ἠλείψατο· καὶ ὅτε ἐπιτηδειοτέρα αὐτῷ ἦν ἡ ψυχὴ πρὸς τὴν τῆς τοιαύτης θεωρίας ὑποδοχὴν, ὑπὸ τῆς νηστείας κουφοτέρα καὶ πνευματικωτέρα γενομένη, τότε τὸν ἄγγελον εἶδεν, καί φησιν· Ἐστράφη τὰ ἐντός μου ἐν τῇ ὁράσει μου, καὶ πνοὴ οὐχ ὑπελείφθη ἐν ἐμοὶ οὔτε ἰσχύς· καὶ ἡ δόξα μου μετεστράφη εἰς διαφθοράν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εὐπρεπὴς ἦν ὁ νεανίας, ὁ δὲ φόβος τῆς παρουσίας τοῦ ἀγγέλου, καθάπερ τοὺς ἐκπνέοντας, οὕτως αὐτὸν διέθηκε, πολλὴν κατασκεδάσας τὴν ὠχρίαν, καὶ ἀναλώσας τὸ ἄνθος τῆς ὥρας, καὶ δαπανήσας τὴν εὔχροιαν τῆς ἐπιφανείας ἅπασαν, διὰ τοῦτό φησι· Μετεστράφη ἡ δόξα μου εἰς διαφθοράν. Ἀνέστησε τοίνυν αὐτὸν ὁ ἄγγελος, ὁ δὲ ἀνέστη ἔντρομος· καὶ ἀρχομένου τοῦ ἀγγέλου διαλέγεσθαι πρὸς αὐτὸν, πάλιν κατέπεσεν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν· καὶ καθάπερ οἱ ἀπὸ τοῦ φόβου ἐκλελυμένοι, διεγερθέντες καὶ εἰς ἑαυτοὺς ἐπανελθόντες καὶ διαβλέψαντες, κατεχόντων ἡμῶν αὐτοὺς καὶ ῥαινόντων τὸ πρόσωπον ψυχροῖς νάμασιν, ἐν αὐταῖς ἡμῶν πολλάκις ἐκλύονται μεταξὺ ταῖς χερσίν· οὕτω καὶ ὁ προφήτης ἔπασχεν. Ἡ γὰρ ψυχὴ φοβηθεῖσα, καὶ τὴν ὄψιν τῆς παρουσίας οὐ φέρουσα τοῦ συνδούλου, οὐδὲ τὸ φῶς ἐκεῖνο δυναμένη βαστάζειν, ἐθορυβεῖτο καθάπερ τινὸς ἁλύσεως τοῦ δεσμοῦ τῆς σαρκὸς ἑαυτὴν ἀποῤῥῆξαι ἐπειγομένη· ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνος κατεῖχεν. Εἰ δὲ ὁ ∆ανιὴλ, ὃν ᾐδέσθησαν ὀφθαλμοὶ λεόντων, ∆ανιὴλ ὁ τὰ ὑπὲρ ἄνθρωπον ἐν ἀνθρωπίνῳ σώματι δυνηθεὶς, ὁ ἐπὶ σοφίᾳ καὶ δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ ἐπὶ πολλοῖς ἑτέροις μαρτυρηθεὶς κατορθώμασι. συνδούλου παρουσίαν οὐκ ἤνεγκεν, ἀλλ' ἄπνους ἔκειτο· οἱ τοσοῦτον τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀφεστηκότες τοῦ δικαίου, καὶ τὸν τῶν ἀγγέλων ∆εσπότην περιεργαζόμενοι, καὶ αὐτὴν ὑπισχνούμενοι τὴν οὐσίαν εἰδέναι μετὰ ἀκριβείας ἁπάσης, τὴν ἀνωτάτω καὶ πρώτην καὶ τὰς μυριάδας τῶν ἀγγέλων τούτων παραγαγοῦσαν, ὧν ἕνα ὁ ∆ανιὴλ ἰδεῖν οὐκ ἴσχυσε, τί πείσονται; Καθάπερ γὰρ τὸ τῶν ἀκτίνων τῶν ἡλιακῶν ἀπρόσιτον οὐχ οὕτως οἶδεν ὁ τυφλὸς, ὡς ὁ βλέπων· οὕτω καὶ τὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀκατάληπτον οὐχ οὕτως ἡμεῖς ἴσμεν, ὡς αἱ τῶν ἀγγέ 63.700 λων δυνάμεις, ὅσῳ καθαρώτεραι καὶ σοφώτεραι καὶ διορατικώτεραι τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης εἰσὶ φύσεως· ὅσον γὰρ τυφλοῦ καὶ βλέποντος τὸ μέσον, τοσοῦτον ἡμῶν κἀκείνων τὸ διάφορον· ὥστε κἂν τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος ἀκούσῃς, Εἶδον τὸν Κύριον, μὴ τοῦτο ὑποπτεύσῃς ὅτι τὴν οὐσίαν εἶδεν ἐκείνην, ἀλλὰ τὴν συγκατάβασιν, καὶ ταύτην δὲ ἀμυδρότερον ἤπερ αἱ ἄνω δυνάμεις. Τοῦτο δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀποστόλων φανερόν. Ἀνέβη γὰρ, φησὶν, εἰς τὸ ὄρος ὁ Ἰησοῦς, καὶ μετεμορφώθη ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν. Τί ἐστι, Μετεμορφώθη; Παρήνοιξεν ὀλίγον τῆς θεότητος, καὶ ἔδειξεν αὐτοῖς τὸν ἐνοικοῦντα Θεόν. Καὶ ἔλαμψε τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ὡς ὁ ἥλιος, καὶ τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο λευκὰ ὡς τὸ φῶς. Ἠθέλησε δεῖξαι τὴν λαμπηδόνα αὐτοῦ ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς, καὶ λέγει, Ἔλαμψεν. Ἔλαμψε, πῶς; Ἔλαμψε σφοδρῶς. Εἰπέ μοι, καὶ πῶς; Ὡς ὁ ἥλιος· Ὡς ὁ ἥλιος λέγεις; Ναί; ∆ιὰ τί; Οὐκ ἔχω ἄλλο ἄστρον φαιδρὸν καὶ λευκόν. Λευκὸς ἦν ὡς χιών· οὐκ ἔχω ἄλλην ὕλην λευκοτέραν· ὅτι γὰρ οὐχ οὕτως ἔλαμψεν, ἀπὸ τοῦ ἑξῆς δείκνυται. Καὶ ἔπεσον χαμαὶ οἱ μαθηταί. Εἰ δὲ ὡς ὁ ἥλιος ἔλαμψεν, οὐκ ἔπιπτον οἱ μαθηταί· ἥλιον μὲν γὰρ ἔβλεπον καθ' ἡμέραν, καὶ οὐκ ἔπιπτον· ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ὑπὲρ τὸν ἥλιον ἔλαμψε, καὶ ὑπὲρ τὴν χιόνα, διὰ τοῦτο μὴ φέροντες τὴν λαμπηδόνα, κατέπεσον. Ἀλλὰ τί πάθω; ἄνθρωπός εἰμι καὶ ἀνθρώποις διαλέγομαι· πηλίνην κέκτημαι γλῶτταν· συγγνώμην αἰτῶ παρὰ τοῦ