105

utterly inexperienced, utterly artless, he who by choice is both Satan and cunning and skillfully finds every deceit? Nevertheless, he deceives and wounds everyone; no one has escaped his hands, nor passed through untasted and unwounded by his arrows and the poison in them. We have all sinned and fall short of your glory, O Christ, the ineffable and divine, and we entreat you freely to save and justify by grace and mercy, which you have now poured out on me richly, (194) about which I will not hesitate to speak and write. For how could I endure in silence the things that happen every hour, O my God, and are done in me, the wretched one? For in truth they are unspeakable, incomprehensible beyond mind, beyond reason; and how can I speak of these things or how express them? But then, not bearing to be silent, I will now say: You alone are God without beginning, uncreated, in Son and Spirit, Holy Trinity, you are incomprehensible, unapproachable, creator of the visible and intelligible creation, and you are Lord and Master, above the heavens and all that is in heaven; you alone happen to be the maker of heaven, you alone have authority, you alone carry all things by your command and hold all things together by your will alone. You have about you myriads of angels, and thousands of thousands of archangels, thrones, innumerable dominions, you have powers, the many-eyed Cherubim and Seraphim, principalities and authorities and many other ministers and friends, You have a glory that is exceedingly glorified, so that none of these dare to gaze fearlessly upon it, O my God, nor are they able to bear the flashing splendor of your face when it appears. For how will the created thing be strong enough (195) to see the whole creator, to comprehend the whole? In no way do I think this is possible, but the maker, insofar as he may wish, appears and is seen by whom he wishes, and the creature is known and knows, and is seen and sees as much as the maker might give it to see.

105

ὅλως ἀπείρους, ὅλως ἀπανουργεύτους, ὁ προαιρέσει καί Σατᾶν καί πανοῦργος καί πάντα δόλον εὐμηχάνως εὑρίσκων; Ὅμως ἅπαντας ἀπατᾷ καί τιτρώσκει, οὐδείς τάς τούτου ὑπεξέφυγε χεῖρας, οὐδέ τῶν αὐτοῦ βελῶν καί τοῦ ἐν τούτοις ἰοῦ ἄγευστος καί ἄτρωτος διῆλθε. Πάντες ἐξημάρτομεν καί ὑστεροῦμεν δόξης σου, Χριστέ, τῆς ἀρρήτου καί θείας, καί δωρεάν σε δυσωποῦμεν τοῦ σῶσαι καί δικαιῶσαι χάριτι καί ἐλέει, ὅ ἐξέχεας ἐπ᾿ ἐμέ νῦν πλουσίως, (194) περί οὗ λέγειν καί γράφειν οὐκ ὀκνήσω. Πῶς γάρ δυναίμην σιωπῇ ὑποφέρειν τά γινόμενα καθ᾿ ὥραν, ὦ Θεέ μου, καί πραττόμενα ἐν ἐμοί τῷ ἀθλίῳ; Ἄφραστα καί γάρ εἰσιν ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, ἀκατάληπτα ὑπέρ νοῦν, ὑπέρ λόγον˙ καί πῶς ἐξείπω ταῦτα ἤ πῶς ἐκφράσω; Ἀλλ᾿ οὖν, μή φέρων σιωπᾶν, ἄρτι λέξω˙ Θεός ἄναρχος, ἄκτιστος, μόνος πέλεις, ἐν Υἱῷ καί Πνεύματι Τριάς Ἁγία, ἀκτάληπτος, ἀπρόσιτος ὑπάρχεις, κτίστης ὁρωμένης τε καί νοουμένης κτίσεως καί Κύριος σύ καί ∆εσπότης, ὑπεράνω τε τῶν οὐρανῶν καί πάντων τῶν ἐν οὐρανῷ, τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τυγχάνεις μόνος ποιητής, μόνος ἐξουσιάζων, μόνος τά πάντα φέρων προστάγματί σου καί θελήματι συνέχων πάντα μόνῳ. Ἔχεις περί σέ μυριάδας ἀγγέλων, ἀρχαγγέλων τε χιλίας χιλιάδας, θρόνους, κυριότητας ἀναριθμήτους, ἔχεις δυνάμεις, Χερουβίμ Σεραφίμ τε πολυόμματα, ἀρχάς καί ἐξουσίας καί πλείους ἄλλους λειτουργούς τε καί φίλους, Ἔχεις τήν δόξαν ὑπερδεδοξασμένην, ὥστε μή τολμᾶς ἀδεῶς ἀτενίσαι τινάς ἐκ τούτων πρός αὐτήν, ὦ Θεέ μου, μηδέ δύνασθαι φαινομένην ἐνέγκαι τοῦ προσώπου σου τήν ἀστράπτουσαν αἴγλην. Πῶς γάρ ἰσχύσει τό ποίημα τήν κτίστην (195) ὅλον κατιδεῖν, ὅλον κατανοῆσαι; Οὐδαμῶς οἶμαι δυνατόν εἶναι τοῦτο, ἀλλ᾿ ὁ ποιητής, καθ᾿ ὅσον ἄν ἐθέλῃ, φαίνεται καί βλέπεται, παρ᾿ ὧν ἐθέλει, καί γινώσκεται καί γινώσκει τό κτίσμα, καί καθορᾶται καί καθορᾷ τοσοῦτον ὅσον δώσειεν ὁ ποιητής τοῦ βλέπειν.