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on his head he received the scourges from the deicides, the crown of thorns, the cross, which he also bore, who bears all things by his word; and simply to say, when one considers how he was led outside the city to the place of the Skull, with executioners and soldiers surrounding him, along with countless crowds following for the (266) spectacle, and in addition to these things, angels above shuddering, and God the Father seeing his consubstantial Son, who shares his throne and honor, suffering these things from the impious Jews, and being hung naked on a cross and having his hands and feet nailed, and his side being pierced with a lance, and being given gall to drink with vinegar, and not only bearing all things with long-suffering, but also praying for those who were crucifying him, how will he not love him with all his soul?

For when he considers that, being God without beginning from a Father without beginning, co-natural and consubstantial with the all-holy and worshipful Spirit, invisible and incomprehensible, came down, was incarnate, and became man, and suffered all the things that have been said and many others for his sake, so that he might deliver him from death and corruption and make him a son of God and a god like himself, surely, if he is harder than stone and colder than crystal, will his soul not be softened and his heart warmed to the love of God? I say so, and confessedly so is the truth, that if anyone believes all these things from his heart and from the depths of his soul, he will immediately have the love for God in his heart.

For just as they say that the pearl in the oyster, when it is opened, is conceived in it from the dew of heaven and from the lightning, so also consider the love for God to be sown in us. For the soul, hearing of his aforementioned sufferings and believing little by little, is opened in proportion to its faith, having previously been secured by unbelief; and when it is opened, like a heavenly dew, the love of God, which is joined to ineffable light, falling into our hearts intellectually like lightning, is formed as a shining pearl, about which the Lord also says that, (267) which the merchant, having found, went and sold all his possessions and bought that one pearl. Therefore, the one who has been deemed worthy to believe thus, as we have said, and to find in himself the intellectual pearl of the love of God, cannot bear not to despise all things and distribute all his possessions to the poor, or otherwise allow those who wish to seize them, so that he may keep the love for God inviolate and wholly undiminished. For this, growing daily in the heart of him who prefers it to all things, becomes a wonder of wonders in him, in every way inexpressible and altogether indescribable, neither comprehensible by the mind nor utterable by word; and being ecstatic at the indescribable and incomprehensible nature of the matter, and having his mind preoccupied with it, he is entirely outside the world, not in body but in all his senses; for these too depart with the mind towards that which is seen within him.

Therefore he who is in this 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, three in it, that through which, and in which, and to which. And having seen 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, unto whom is the Father." But as he was more perplexed, "Behold," the Father says again, "you see." "And I," says the Son, "am in the Father." And the Spirit said: "Indeed, it is I; for through me, he who sees, sees the Father and the Son, and seeing, is ecstatic at the things seen." Where are they? "In that which no one knows, neither of men nor of angels, except this very one unity of mine, a substance and nature beyond substance." But in me, he says, how? "Wholly, in every way;

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κεφαλῆς αὐτοῦ τάς μάστιγας παρά τῶν θεοκτόνων ἐδέχετο, τόν ἀκάνθινον στέφανον, τόν σταυρόν, ὅν καί ἐβάσταζεν ὁ διαβαστάζων λόγῳ τά σύμπαντα· καί ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν, ὅταν ἐννοήσῃ ὅπως ἔξω τῆς πόλεως ἤγετο ἐπί τόν Κρανίου τόπον, τῶν δημίων καί τῶν στρατιωτῶν περιστοιχούντων αὐτόν μεθ᾿ ἅμα ὄχλων ἀπείρων ἐπί τήν (266) θεωρίαν ἐφεπομένων, καί ἐπί τούτοις, ἀγγέλων μέν ἄνωθεν φριττόντων, τοῦ Θεοῦ δέ καί Πατρός ὁρῶντος τόν ὁμοούσιον Υἱόν καί ὁμόθρονον καί ὁμότιμον ταῦτα πάσχοντα παρά τῶν ἀσεβῶν Ἰουδαίων, καί γυμνόν ἐπί σταυροῦ ἀναρτώμενον καί ἥλοις τάς χεῖρας καί τούς πόδας ἡλούμενον, λόγχῃ τε τήν πλευράν τιτρωσκόμενον, καί χολήν ποτιζόμενον μετά ὄξους, καί πάντα οὐ μόνον μακροθύμως φέροντα, ἀλλά καί τῶν σταυρούντων ὑπερευχόμενον, πῶς οὐκ ἀγαπήσει αὐτόν ἐξ ὅλης ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ;

Ὅταν γάρ ἐνθυμηθῇ ὅτι, Θεός ὤν ἄναρχος ἐξ ἀνάρχου Πατρός, συμφυής καί ὁμοούσιος τοῦ παναγίου καί προσκυνητοῦ Πνεύματος, ἀόρατος καί ἀνεξιχνίαστος, κατελθών ἐσαρκώθη καί ἄνθρωπος γέγονε καί πάντα τά εἰρημένα καί πολλά ἕτερα ἔπαθε δι᾿ αὐτόν, ἵνα τοῦ θανάτου καί τῆς φθορᾶς ἀπαλλάξῃ αὐτόν καί υἱόν Θεοῦ καί θεόν ὅμοιον αὐτοῦ ἀπεργάσηται, ἆρά γε, εἰ λίθου σκληρότερος ᾖ καί κρυστάλλου ψυχρότερος, οὐ μαλαχθήσεται τήν ψυχήν καί διαθερμανθήσεται τήν καρδίαν πρός ἀγάπην Θεοῦ; Ἐγώ οὕτω λέγω καί ὁμολογουμένως οὕτως ἐστίν ἡ ἀλήθεια ὅτι, ἐάν πιστεύσῃ τις ἀπό καρδίας ταῦτα πάντα καί ἐκ βαθέων ψυχῆς, εὐθύς ἕξει καί τήν πρός Θεόν ἀγάπην ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ.

Ὥσπερ γάρ λέγουσιν ἐν τῇ κόχλῳ τόν μαργαρίτην, ἀνεῳγμένης ἐκείνης, ἐκ τῆς δρόσου τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καί ἐκ τῆς ἀστραπῆς ἐν αὐτῇ συλλαμβάνεσθαι, οὕτω καί τήν πρός Θεόν ἀγάπην λογίζου ἐν ἡμῖν σπείρεσθαι. Ἀπό γάρ τῶν εἰρημένων αὐτοῦ παθημάτων ἀκούουσα ἡ ψυχή καί κατά μικρόν πιστεύουσα, ἀναλόγως τῆς πίστεως αὐτῆς διανοίγεται, ὑπό ἀπιστίας ἠσφαλισμένη πρότερον οὖσα· ἐπάν δέ διανοιχθῇ, ὥσπερ δρόσος οὐράνιος, ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀγάπη ἥτις ἐστίν ἀρρήτῳ φωτί συνημμένη, δίκην ἀστραπῆς νοερῶς ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν ἐμπίπτουσα, ὡς μαργαρίτης ἀποτελεῖται φαεινός, περί οὗ καί ὁ Κύριος λέγει ὅτι, (267) ὅν εὑρών ὁ ἔμπορος, 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·