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went and sold all that he had and bought that one pearl. Therefore, he who has been deemed worthy to believe in this way, as we have said, and to find within himself the spiritual pearl of the love of God, cannot bear not to despise all things and to give away all his possessions to the poor and otherwise allow those who wish to seize them, so that he might preserve his love for God inviolate and wholly undiminished. For this love, increasing daily in the heart of the one who prefers it above all else, becomes a wonder of wonders within him, utterly inexpressible and entirely indescribable, neither comprehensible to the mind nor expressible in words; and being ecstatic at the indescribable and incomprehensible nature of the matter and having his mind preoccupied with it, he becomes entirely outside the world, not in body but in all his senses; for they too go away with the mind toward that which is seen within him.

Therefore, one who is in such a state understands how to see, and he sees, and behold, light; and the light seems to him to have its beginning from above. Seeking, therefore, he finds that this has neither a beginning of an end nor possesses a middle; and as he is perplexed at these things, behold, there are three in it: that through which and in which and to which. And seeing these things, he asks to learn and hears clearly: ‘Behold, I am the Spirit through Whom and in Whom is the Son’ and ‘Behold, I am the Son into Whom is the Father.’ And as he was further perplexed, ‘Behold,’ says the Father again, ‘you see.’ ‘And I,’ says the Son, ‘am in the Father.’ And the Spirit said: ‘Truly, I am; for through me, the one who sees, sees the Father and the Son, and seeing, is entranced by what is seen.’ Where are they? ‘In that which no one knows, not of men, not of angels, except that one essence and unity of mine, which is beyond essence and nature.’ But in me, He says, how? ‘Whole and entire; for I am (268) in every way inseparable and indivisible, having the one even in the hypostases. If, therefore, you exist somehow or somewhere in me, you would say that no one knows. Insofar as you are a human and one circumscribed being, I am as in a circumscription and a place, for the one of us also became circumscribed when He became mortal; but according to the nature dwelling in me, I am entirely invisible, uncircumscribed, unformed, intangible, impalpable, motionless, ever-moving, filling all things and being absolutely nowhere, not in you, not in any other of the angels or prophets of old or of now who approach, to whom I was not seen at all, nor am I ever seen.’

He, therefore, who mystically sees these things and is initiated into what is beyond angels, what is beyond human comprehension, will such a one have the strength at all to be with men in his senses or in his thought? For if one deemed worthy to speak with a mortal king and to stand in his presence at some time forgets all other things and hangs entirely on the king's words, how much more will he who has been deemed worthy to see, as is possible for a human, that very creator and master and Lord of all, ‘whom no man has seen or can see,’ and to converse with Him and to hear His voice, who is to judge the living and the dead, not be ecstatic and truly become entirely outside the world and the flesh and long to be with Him, but instead, departing from one so great and of such a kind, who is beyond all that is so great and of such a kind, come to the cares of this life and be concerned with things that are altogether perishing or passing away and flowing? I think that no one of sound mind would ever condescend to come to this.

For the beautiful things in this life admittedly have consequences and have sorrow and despondency and pain allotted to them, but life (269) with God and conversation with Him and the contemplation of His ineffable good things surpasses all blessedness and is above all glory and good repute and joy and repose, as it exceeds every honor and delight and enjoyment of every supposed good of the present life. For just as much as resting on a luxurious and soft couch surpasses lying on a red-hot brazier, so

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ἀπελθών ἐπώλησε πάντα τά ὑπάρχοντα αὐτοῦ καί ἠγόρασε τόν ἕνα μαργαρίτην ἐκεῖνον. Τοίνυν καί ὁ καταξιωθείς οὕτω πιστεῦσαι, καθώς εἴπομεν, καί τόν νοητόν μαργαρίτην ἐν ἑαυτῷ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀγάπης εὑρεῖν, οὐκ ἀνέχεται μή καταφρονῆσαι πάντων καί πάντα διαδοῦναι τά ὑπάρχοντα αὐτοῦ πένησι καί τοῖς βουλομένοις ἄλλως ἀφῆσαι διαρπάσαι αὐτά, ἵνα τήν πρός Θεόν ἀγάπην ἄσυλόν τε καί ὅλως ἀμείωτον διαφυλάξῃ. Αὕτη γάρ καθ᾿ ἑκάστην αὐξανομένη ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ τοῦ ἀντί πάντων προτιμῶντος αὐτήν γίνεται θαῦμα θαυμάτων ἐν αὐτῷ, ἀνέκφραστόν τε πάντῃ καί παντάπασιν ἀδιήγητον, μήτε νῷ καταληπτόν μήτε λόγῳ ῥητόν· καί τῷ ἀνεκδιηγήτῳ καί ἀκατανοήτῳ τοῦ πράγματος ἐξιστάμενος καί πρός ἐκεῖνο ἔχων ἀδολεσχοῦντα τόν νοῦν, ὅλως ἔξω τοῦ κόσμου οὐ τῷ σώματι ἀλλά ταῖς αἰσθήσεσι πάσαις γίνεται· συναπίασι γάρ τῷ νῷ καί αὗται πρός τό ἐντός αὐτοῦ καθορώμενον.

Τοιγαροῦν καί κατανοεῖ τοῦ ἰδεῖν ὁ οὕτως ἔχων καί ὁρᾷ καί ἰδού φῶς· τό δέ φῶς ἄνωθεν ἔχειν δοκεῖ αὐτῷ τήν ἀρχήν. Ζητῶν οὖν εὑρίσκει τοῦτο μήτε ἀρχήν τέλους ἔχον μήτε μεσότητα κεκτημένον· ὡς δέ ἐπί τούτοις ἐξαπορεῖ, καί ἰδού τρία ἐν αὐτῷ, τό δι᾿ οὗ καί ἐν ᾧ καί εἰ ὅν. Καί ταῦτα ἰδών, μαθεῖν ἐρωτᾷ καί ἀκούει τρανῶς· "Ἰδού ἐγώ τό Πνεῦμα δι᾿ οὗ καί ἐν ᾧ ὁ Υἱός" καί "Ἰδού ἐγώ ὁ Υἱός εἰς ὅν ὁ Πατήρ". Ἐπί πλεῖον δ᾿ ἐπαποροῦντος αὐτοῦ, "Ἰδού" πάλιν φησίν "ὁρᾷς" ὁ Πατήρ. "Καί ἐγώ" φησίν ὁ Υἱός "ἐν τῷ Πατρί". Καί τό Πνεῦμα ἔλεγεν· "Ὄντως ἐγώ· δι᾿ ἐμοῦ γάρ τόν Πατέρα καί τόν Υἱόν ὁ βλέπων ὁρᾷ καί ὁρῶν τῶν ὁρωμένων ἐξίσταται". Ποῦ ὄντας; "Ἐν ᾧ οὐδείς οἶδεν οὐκ ἀνθρώπων, οὐκ ἀγγέλων, πλήν αὐτῆς τῆς μιᾶς ἐμοῦ καί ἑνάδος καί ὑπέρ οὐσίαν οὐσίας καί φύσεως". Ἐν ἐμοί δέ, φησί, πῶς; "Ὅλη καθόλου· ἀχώριστος γάρ εἰμι (268) πάντῃ καί ἄτμητος, τό ἕν κἀν ταῖς ὑποστάσεσιν ἔχουσα. Εἰ οὖν ἐν ἐμοί πως ἤ που πέλεις, μή εἰδέναι φαίης τινά. Καθό μέν ἄνθρωπος καί περιγραπτός εἷς, ὡς ἐν περιγραφῇ πέλω καί τόπῳ, περιγραπτός γάρ γέγονε βροτωθείς καί ὁ εἷς ἐξ ἡμῶν· κατά δέ τήν ἐνοῦσάν μοι φύσιν πάμπαν ἀόρατος, ἀπερίγραπτος, ἀσχημάτιστος, ἀναφής, ἀψηλάφητος, ἀκίνητος, ἀεικίνητος, πάντα πληροῦσα καί οὐδαμοῦ τό σύνολον οὖσα, οὐκ ἐν σοί, οὐκ ἐν ἄλλῳ τινί τῶν πάλαι ἤ τῶν νῦν ἐγγιζόντων ἀγγέλων ἤ προφητῶν, οἷς οὐδ᾿ ὡράθην ὅλως, οὐδ᾿ ὁρῶμαί ποτε".

Ὁ γοῦν ταῦτα μυστικῶς ὁρῶν καί μυούμενος τά ὑπέρ ἀγγέλους, τά ὑπέρ τήν ἀνθρωπίνην κατάληψιν, ἆρα μετά ἀνθρώπων εἶναι ὁ τοιοῦτος τῇ αἰσθήσει ἤ τῇ διανοίᾳ ὅλως ἰσχύσει; Εἰ γάρ ὁ βασιλεῖ προσομιλῆσαι θνητῷ καί παρεστάναι ποτέ καταξιωθείς, τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων ἐπιλανθάνεται καί ὅλος τοῖς τοῦ βασιλέως ἀποκρέμαται ῥήμασι, πόσῳ γε μᾶλλον ὁ αὐτόν ἐκεῖνον τόν ποιητήν καί δεσπότην καί Κύριον τοῦ παντός "ὅν οὐδείς εἶδεν ἀνθρώπων οὐδέ ἰδεῖν δύναται" βλέπειν καταξιωθείς, ὡς ἀνθρώπῳ ἐφικτόν, καί προσομιλῆσαι αὐτῷ καί φωνῆς ἐκείνου ἀκούειν τοῦ μέλλοντος κρῖναι ζῶντας καί νεκρούς, οὐκ ἐκστήσεται ἑαυτοῦ καί ὅλος ἔξω κόσμου καί σαρκός ὄντως γένηται καί μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἐπιποθήσει συνέσεσθαι, ἀλλά ἀποστάς τοῦ τοιούτου καί τηλικούτου, τοῦ ὑπέρ πᾶν τοιοῦτον ὄντος καί τηλικοῦτον, ἐπί μερίμνας ἔλθῃ βιωτικάς καί φθειρομένων ὅλως ἤ παρερχομένων καί ῥεόντων πραγμάτων φροντίσειεν; Οὐδαμῶς οἶμαι τῶν εὖ φρονούντων τινά εἰς τοῦτο ὅλως ἐλθεῖν καταδέξασθαι.

Τά μέν γάρ ἐν τῷ βίῳ τούτῳ καλά συνεπομένων ὁμολογουμένως ἔχουσι καί συγκεκληρωμένην αὐτοῖς τήν λύπην καί τήν ἀθυμίαν καί τήν ὁδύνην, ἡ δέ μετά τοῦ Θεοῦ διαγωγή (269) καί ἡ ὁμιλία καί ἡ θεωρία τῶν ἀπορρήτων αὐτοῦ ἀγαθῶν πᾶσαν ὑπερβαίνει μακαριότητα καί πάσης ὑπέρκειται δόξης καί εὐκληρίας καί χαρᾶς καί ἀνέσεως, ὡς πάσης ὑπεραίρουσα τιμῆς καί τρυφῆς καί ἀπολαύσεως τοῦ νομιζομένου παντός ἀγαθοῦ τῆς παρούσης ζωῆς. Καθόσον γάρ ὑπερέχει τό ἐν πολυτελεῖ καί ἁπαλῇ στρωμνῇ ἀναπαύεσθαι ὑπέρ τό ἐν ἐσχάρᾳ πεπυρακτωμένῃ ἀνακεῖσθαι, κατά