118

crying out in humility to the good Master, the merciful God, the only lover of mankind. (216) And He will surely hear and surely have mercy and surely be revealed and surely manifest and surely show us His own radiant light. Why do you hesitate, humble ones, why are you lazy, why do you prefer the comfort of the body and glory, the dishonorable and inglorious, the empty and vain? Why do you say the virtuous life is without care? It is not so, brothers, it is not, do not be deceived, but just as those who have a life and a wife and children and strive for wealth and for temporal glory hasten and run to fulfill what seems good, so also everyone who repents and everyone who serves God ought to hasten and always be full of care, so that his repentance may be well-pleasing to Him and his service may become perfectly well-pleasing, and then, having been wholly reconciled to God through these things, he is wholly united and sees Him face to face and receives boldness before Him accordingly, insofar as he hastens to fulfill His will, which may we also be counted worthy to do and to share in His mercy with all the saints, now indeed as far as is possible in this age, but there we shall receive the whole Christ, the whole Divine Spirit, in the Father for ages of ages; amen.

28.

Concerning the intelligible revelation of the energies of the divine light and the noetic and divine work of the virtuous life. (217)

Leave me shut up alone in my cell, let me be with God the only lover of mankind, stand away, go far off, let me die alone before God who fashioned me. Let no one knock on the door, let no one utter a sound, let none of my relatives or friends visit me, let no one draw my mind away and distract it from the contemplation of the good and beautiful Master, let no one give me food, let no one bring me drink. For it will be enough for me to die before my God, the merciful God, the God who loves mankind, who came down to earth to call sinners and to bring them with Him into the divine life.

118

ἐν ταπεινώσει κράζοντες πρός τόν καλόν ∆εσπότην, τόν φιλοικτίρμονα Θεόν, τόν φιλάνθρωπον μόνον. (216) Καί πάντως εἰσακούσεται καί πάντως ἐλεήσει καί πάντως ἀποκαλυφθῇ καί πάντως ἐμφανίσει καί φῶς ἡμῖν τό ἑαυτόῦ φαιδρόν καθυποδείξει. Τί κατοκνεῖτε ταπεινοί, τί καταρρᾳθυμεῖτε, τί προτιμᾶσθε ἄνεσιν τοῦ σώματος καί δόξαν, τίν ἄτιμον καί ἄδοξον, τήν κενήν καί ματαίαν; Τί λέγετε ἀμέριμνον τόν ἐνάρετον βίον; Οὐκ ἔστιν οὕτως, ἀδελφοί, οὐκ ἔστι, μή πλανᾶσθε, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς οἱ βίον ἔχοντες καί γυναῖκα καί τέκνα καί πλούτου ἐφιέμενοι καί δόξης τῆς προσκαίρου σπουδάζουσι καί τρέχουσι τό δοκοῦν ἐκπληρῶσαι, οὕτω καί πᾶς μετανοῶν καί πᾶς Θεῷ δουλεύων ὀφείλει σπεύδειν καί ἀεί ἐμμέριμνος ὑπάρχειν, ὅπως εὐπρόσδεκτος αὐτοῦ ἡ μετάνοια ἔσται καί ἡ δουλεία γένηται εὐάρεστος τελεία, καί τότε ὅλως τῷ Θεῷ οἰκειωθείς ἐκ τούτων ὅλος ἑνοῦται καί αὐτόν κατά πρόσωπον βλέπει καί παρρησίαν πρός αὐτόν ἀναλόγως λαμβάνει, καθ᾿ ὅσον σπεύδει τό αὐτοῦ θέλημα ἐκπληρῶσαι, ὅπερ ἀξιωθείημεν καί ἡμεῖς τοῦ ποιῆσαι καί τοῦ ἐλέους μετασχεῖν μετά πάντων ἁγίων, νῦν μέν καθ᾿ ὅσον ἐφικτόν ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ, ἐκεῖ δέ ὅλον τόν Χριστόν, ὅλον τό Θεῖον Πνεῦμα, ἐν τῷ Πατρί ληψόμεθα εἰς αἰῶνας αἰώνων˙ ἀμήν.

ΚΗ'.

Περί νοητῆς ἀποκαλύψεως τῶν ἐνεργειῶν τοῦ θείου φωτός καί ἐργασίας νοερᾶς τε καί θείας τῆς ἐναρέτου ζωῆς. (217)

Ἐάσατε τῇ κέλλῃ με μόνον ἐγκεκλεισμένον, ἄφετέ με μετά Θεοῦ τοῦ μόνου φιλανθρώπου, ἀπόστητε, μακρύνατε, ἐάσατέ με μόνον ἀποθανεῖν ἐνώπιον Θεοῦ τοῦ πλάσαντός με. Μηδείς τῇ θύρᾳ κρούσειε, μηδείς φωνήν ἀφήσῃ, μηδείς ἐπισκέψατω με τῶν συγγενῶν ἤ φίλων, μηδείς μου τήν διάνοιαν ἑλκύσας ἀποσπάσῃ τῆς θεωρίας τοῦ καλοῦ καί ὡραίου ∆εσπότου, μηδείς μοι βρῶμα δώσειε, μή πόμα μοι κομίσῃ. Ἀρκέσει γάρ μοι τό θανεῖν ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ Θεοῦ μου, Θεοῦ τοῦ ἐλεήμονος, Θεοῦ τοῦ φιλανθρώπου, τοῦ κατελθόντος ἐπί γῆς ἁμαρτωλούς καλέσαι καί σύν αὐτῷ εἰς τήν ζωήν εἰσαγαγεῖν τήν θείαν.