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God, however, longs for a contrite spirit and a contrite and humbled heart and for our heart to always speak to Him with a dejected mind: "Who am I, my Lord, master and God, that You descended and became incarnate and died for me, so that you might deliver me from death and corruption and make me a sharer and partaker of Your glory and divinity together?". For when you are thus disposed according to the unseen movements of your heart, you will immediately find Him mystically embracing and kissing you and granting you an upright spirit in your inward parts, a spirit of freedom and remission of your sins, and not only this, but also crowning you with His gifts and making you glorious through wisdom and knowledge.

For what else is so dear and well-pleasing to God as a contrite and humbled heart and a dejected mind in a spirit of humility? For in such a state of soul God Himself dwells and rests, and every machination of the devil remains completely ineffective, and all the corrupting passions of sin completely disappear, and only the fruit of the Holy Spirit abounds in it, which is love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, faith, meekness, humility, and all-encompassing self-control, which are beautifully followed in sequence by divine knowledge, the wisdom of the Word (271), and the abyss of the hidden meanings and mysteries of Christ; in which one who has arrived and been formed, is changed by a good alteration and from a human becomes an angel, here conversing with men in the body, but in heaven roaming in spirit and living with the angels and being enlarged by unspeakable joy into the love of God; to which none of men would ever draw near, unless he first purifies his own heart through repentance and many tears and drives it into the depth of humility and becomes pregnant with the all-holy Spirit, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father be glory, honor, might, with the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages; amen.

DISCOURSE IX. (272)

Concerning true knowledge and that the knowledge of God does not come from learning, but from purity and from grace from above to the zealous; and that it is difficult to judge; and a refutation of those who think they know the things of the Spirit without the Spirit; in which also is a discussion of the holiness of the Father; and what a good thing faith is and what is its fruit and how it increases; and that those who have the treasure of the Spirit in themselves also recognize it when it is in others; and what are the signs of the saints and how and to whom they are made known; and that one who has not been born from above cannot see God who has begotten him, nor recognize one who has attained this through the Spirit.

Now it is fitting to speak opportunely with David and to proclaim even more loudly:

"The Lord looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there is anyone who understands or seeks after God," then: "They have all turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one." "For where," so that I may weave in the Apostle's words with what has been said, "is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age?

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Θεός, πνεῦμα δέ συντετριμμένον καί καρδίαν συντετριμμένην καί τεταπεινωμένην ἐπιποθεῖ καί τό ἀεί ἐν καταβεβλημένῳ φρονήματι λαλεῖν τήν καρδίαν ἡμῶν πρός αὐτόν· "Τίς εἰμι ἐγώ, Κύριέ μου δέσποτα καί Θεέ, ὅτι κατῆλθες καί ἐσαρκώθης καί ἀπέθανες δι᾿ ἐμέ, ἵνα με τοῦ θανάτου καί τῆς φθορᾶς ἀπαλλάξῃς καί τῆς σῆς δόξης ὁμοῦ καί θεότητος κοινωνόν ἀπεργάσῃ καί μέτοχον;". Ὁπηνίκα γάρ οὕτως ἕξεις κατά τάς ἀφανεῖς κινήσεις τῆς καρδίας σου, εὐθύς εὑρήσεις αὐτόν ἐναγκαλιζόμενόν σε μυστικῶς καί κατασπαζόμενον καί χαριζόμενόν σοι πνεῦμα εὐθές ἐν τοῖς ἐγκάτοις, πνεῦμα ἐλευθερίας καί ἀφέσεως τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων σου, οὐ μόνον δέ, ἀλλά καί τοῖς χαρίσμασιν αὐτοῦ καταστεφανοῦντά σε καί ἔνδοξόν σε διά σοφίας καί γνώσεως ἀπεργαζόμενον.

Τί γάρ ἕτερον οὕτω Θεῷ φίλον καί εὐαπόδεκτον, ὡς καρδία συντετριμμένη καί τεταπεινωμένη καί φρόνημα καταβεβλημένον ἐν πνεύματι ταπεινώσεως; Ἐν γάρ τοιαύτῃ καταστάσει ψυχῆς οἰκεῖ μέν αὐτός ὁ Θεός καί ἐπαναπαύεται πᾶσα δέ μηχανή τοῦ διαβόλου εἰς ἅπαν ἄπρακτος διαμένει καί πάντα τά φθοροποιά πάθη τῆς ἁμαρτίας τέλεον ἀφανίζεται καί βρίθει μόνος ἐν αὐτῇ ὁ καρπός τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος, ὅς ἐστιν ἡ ἀγάπη, ἡ χαρά, ἡ εἰρήνη, ἡ ἀγαθωσύνη, ἡ χρηστότης, ἡς πίστις, ἡ πραότης, ἡ ταπεινοφροσύνη καί ἡ περιεκτική ἐγκράτεια, οἷς ἀκολούθως ἕπεται ὡραίως ἡ γνῶσις ἡ θεία, ἡ σοφία τοῦ Λόγου (271) καί ἡ ἄβυσσος τῶν κεκρυμμένων νοημάτων καί μυστηρίων Χριστοῦ· ἐν οἷς ὁ φθάσας γενέσθαι καί ποιωθείς, τήν καλήν ἀλλοίωσιν ἀλλοιοῦται καί ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἄγγελος γίνεται, ὦδε μέν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις συναναστρεφόμενος σώματι, ἐν οὐρανοῖς δέ περιπολεύων τῷ πνεύματι καί τοῖς ἀγγέλοις συνδιαιτώμενος καί ὑπό τῆς ἀφράστου χαρᾶς πλατυνόμενος εἰς τήν ἀγάπην τοῦ Θεοῦ· εἰς ἥν οὐδείς ἄν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐγγίσει ποτέ, εἰ μή διά μετανοίας πρότερον καί δακρύων πολλῶν τήν ἑαυτοῦ καθαριεῖ καρδίαν καί εἰς βυθόν ἐλάσει ταπεινοφροσύνης καί ἐγκύμων τοῦ παναγίου γένηται Πνεύματος, χάριτι καί φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, μεθ᾿ οὗ τῷ Πατρί δόξα, τιμή, κράτος, σύν Ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, νῦν καί ἀεί καί εἰς τούς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων· ἀμήν.

ΛΟΓΟΣ Θ΄. (272)

Περί γνώσεως ἀληθινῆς καί ὅτι ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ γνῶσις οὐκ ἐκ μαθημάτων, ἀλλ᾿ ἐκ καθαρότητος καί τῆς ἄνωθεν χάριτος ἐπιγίνεται τῷ σπουδαίῳ· καί ὅτι χαλεπόν τό κρίνειν· καί ἔλεγχος τῶν οἰομένων εἰδέναι τά τοῦ Πνεύματος χωρίς Πνεύματος· ἐν ᾧ καί περί τῆς τοῦ Πατρός ἁγιωσύνης· καί οἷον ἀγαθόν ἐστιν ἡ πίστις καί τίς ὁ ταύτης καρπός καί ὅπως αὐξάνεται· καί ὅτι οἱ τόν θησαυρόν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἐσχηκότες τοῦ Πνεύματος καί ἐν ἄλλοις ὄντα γνωρίζουσι· καί τίνα τῶν ἁγίων τά σημεῖα καί πῶς καί τίσι γνωρίζονται· καί ὅτι ὁ μή γεννηθείς ἄνωθεν οὐ δύναται ἰδεῖν τόν γεγεννηκότα Θεόν οὐδέ γνωρίσαι τόν εἰς τοῦτο πεφθακότα διά τοῦ Πνεύματος.

Νῦν εὐκαίρως καλόν εἰπεῖν μετά τοῦ ∆αυίδ καί οὕτω γεγωνότερον φθέγξασθαι·

"Κύριος ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ διέκυψεν ἐπί τούς υἱούς τῶν ἀνθρώπων τοῦ ἰδεῖν εἰ ἔστι συνιῶν ἤ ἐκζητῶν τόν Θεόν", εἶτα· "Πάντες ἐξέκλιναν ἅμα ἠχρειώθησαν· οὐκ ἔστι ποιῶν χρηστότητα, οὐκ ἔστιν ἕως ἑνός". "Ποῦ γάρ" ἵνα τοῖς εἰρημένοις καί τά τοῦ Ἀποστόλου συνείρω "σοφός; Ποῦ γραμματεύς; Ποῦ συζητητής τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου;