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of life and of the future one which according to perfection comes to be for those who encounter the truth face to face, the mercy of God is better by its existing through itself and in itself in the lives of the one who is led up to them. For not according to the worthiness of action and contemplation but by the goodness and mercy of God does one come to live according to both lives. And the mercy is said to be better than them, as a cause is than an effect. See whether the mercy spoken of here is not other than the Word of God, about whom it is written, God sent forth his mercy and his truth. 639a Ps 62,6 See if the fat that fills the soul are the victims which wisdom slaughtered, and the true food is the flesh of the Word and the richness that gladdens the inner man is the wine harvested from the true vine, and the true drink of wisdom is the blood. For the one who says these things was called to partake of the table prepared by wisdom who slaughtered her own victims and mixed her own wine. Having already been sated by the divine banquet and expecting to be sated yet more, he said thus: As with fat and richness may my soul be filled. And since the one who partakes of this feast is always hungry because of the insatiability of the mind's desire, he said "May it be filled" and not "My soul has been filled," although he had already partaken abundantly of the food and the drink. Let them be ashamed also from this saying, those who after the resurrection dream of sensible food and drunkenness. For he did not say the flesh or the body but that the soul would be filled with fat and richness, with God filling the desire of the soul with good things, as he said in another psalm. And being filled with gladness, he thankfully exults to the one who offered the food, saying, And lips of exultation will praise your name, about which he said, My lips will praise you. And virtue happens to be lips of exultation. For just as members of folly are spoken of, as in, For the feet of folly lead down those who use her, so perhaps there might be lips of exultation, unless perhaps one might say that in these things too those who have the states are indicated through the states, as it was said about the foolish one, that he has feet that lead down to hades those who use them, and about the one who exults, that with lips of exultation he praises the name of God. 640a Ps 62,7 And he can say these things who devotes himself to celibacy, so that by caring for the things of the Lord he may please him, and he who has an undefiled marriage bed by honorably being with his wife according to the holy men. 641a Ps 62,9.10a And just as it is possible for one running toward virtue and piety to reach the end, according to what was said, I have finished the race, and, Without iniquity I ran and directed my course (for "I ran" is the word of one who has finished), so he who follows God according to Jeremiah, But I have not grown weary following after you, and according to Hosea, I will go after the Lord, and as Moses says, You shall walk after the Lord your God, might someday complete the journey after God, having arrived at the very end of blessedness when he will hear from God, But you, stand here with me. For it is no longer the voice of one who is journeying. Having arrived at this state after journeying behind, so as to cleave to the one he followed, he says, My soul has cleaved to you, the word "cleaved" meaning "was united." For thus also must be understood, Abhorring what is evil, cleaving to what is good. It also indicates union with God, and He who cleaves to the Lord is one spirit; which must be examined if it is the same as 'My soul has cleaved after you', since 'to have cleaved to the Lord' and 'for the soul of someone to have cleaved after another' are not the same, as he wishes the end to be to have cleaved to the Lord himself. For the end of journeying after the Lord is for the soul of the one journeying to cleave after him; but even if the end of the journey is for one who has arrived to be united after, nevertheless, even more perfect than this is to cleave to the Lord so as to become one spirit with him. But however you may receive the things of contemplation,

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ζωῆς καὶ τῆς μελλούσης ητις κατὰ τὴν τελειότητα γίνεται τοῖς προσβάλλουσι τῇ ἀληθείᾳ πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον κρεῖσσόν ἐστι τὸ ελεος τοῦ θεοῦ τῷ δι' αὐτὸ καὶ καθ' αὐτὸ γίνεσθαι ἐν ταῖς ζωαῖς τὸν εἰς αὐτὰς ἀναγόμενον. οὐ γὰρ κατ' ἀξίαν πράξεως καὶ θεωρίας ἀλλ' ἀγαθότητι καὶ ἐλέου θεοῦ ερχεταί τις ἐπὶ τὸ ζῆν κατ' ἀμφοτέρας τὰς ζωάς. κρεῖσσον δὲ αὐτῶν ειρηται τὸ ελεος ὡς αιτιον αἰτιατοῦ. Ορα γε μὴ τὸ λεγόμενον ἐνταῦθα ελεος οὐχ ετερόν ἐστι τοῦ θεοῦ λόγου, περὶ ου γέγραπται ̓Εξαπέστειλεν ὁ θεὸς τὸ ελεος αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν αὐτοῦ. 639a Ps 62,6 Ορα εἰ στέαρ ἐστὶ πληροῦν τὴν ψυχὴν α εσφαξε θύματα ἡ σοφία καὶ ἡ ἀληθινὴ βρῶσις σὰρξ τοῦ λόγου καὶ πιότης εὐφραίνουσα τὸν εσω ανθρωπον ὁ τρυγώμενος οινος ἐκ τῆς ἀμπέλου τῆς ἀληθινῆς καὶ ἡ ἀληθινὴ πόσις τῆς σοφίας τὸ αιμα. κληθεὶς γὰρ ὁ ταῦτα λέγων εἰς τὸ μετασχεῖν τῆς ἑτοιμασθείσης τραπέζης ὑπὸ τῆς σοφίας σφαξάσης τὰ ἑαυτῆς θύματα καὶ τὸν ἑαυτῆς κερασάσης οινον. ̓Εμφορηθεὶς ηδη τῆς θείας ἑστιάσεως καὶ ετι ἐμφορηθήσεσθαι προσδοκῶν ουτως ειπεν· ̔Ωσεὶ στέατος καὶ πιότητος ἐμπλησθείη ἡ ψυχή μου. καὶ ἐπεὶ ἀεὶ ὁ ταύτης τῆς εὐωχίας μεταλαμβάνων πεινᾷ διὰ τὸ τῆς ὀρέξεως τοῦ νοῦ ἀκόρεστον ̓Εμπλησθείη ειπεν καὶ οὐκ ̓Ενεπλήσθη ἡ ψυχή μου, καίπερ ηδη δαψιλῶς μετειληφὼς τῆς τροφῆς καὶ τοῦ πόματος. ̓Εντρεπέσθωσαν καὶ ἐκ ταύτης τῆς λέξεως οἱ μετὰ ἀνάστασιν αἰσθητὴν τροφὴν καὶ μέθην ὀνειροπολοῦντες. οὐ γὰρ ειπε τὴν σάρκα η τὸ σῶμα ἀλλὰ τὴν ψυχὴν ἐμπλησθήσεσθαι στέατος καὶ πιότητος, πληροῦντος τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν ἀγαθοῖς τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς ἐπιθυμίαν ὡς ειπεν ἐν ἑτέρῳ ψαλμῷ. Πληρωθεὶς δὲ τῆς εὐφροσύνης χαριστηρίως ἀγαλλιᾷ τῷ ὀρέξαντι τὴν τροφήν, λέγων Καὶ χείλη ἀγαλλιάσεως αἰνέσει τὸ ονομά σου, περὶ ων ελεγε Τὰ χείλη μου ἐπαινέσουσί σε. Χείλη δὲ ἀγαλλιάσεως τυγχάνει ἡ ἀρετή. ὡς γὰρ λέγεται ἀφροσύνης μέλη ὡς ἐν τῷ Τῆς γὰρ ἀφροσύνης οἱ πόδες κατάγουσι τοὺς χρωμένους αὐτῇ, ουτω μήποτε καὶ τῆς ἀγαλλιάσεως ειη χείλη, εἰ μὴ αρα καὶ ἐν τούτοις ειπῃ τις τοὺς εχοντας τὰς εξεις δηλοῦσθαι διὰ τῶν εξεων, ὡς περὶ τοῦ αφρονος εἰρῆσθαι, ὡς εχει πόδας τοὺς κατάγοντας εἰς τὸν ᾳδην τοὺς χρωμένους αὐτοῖς, καὶ περὶ τοῦ ἀγαλλιῶντος ὡς χείλεσιν ἀγαλλιάσεως αἰνοῦντος τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ προσηγορίαν. 640a Ps 62,7 ∆ύναται δὲ ταῦτα λέγειν ὁ ἀγαμίᾳ σχολάζων, ινα μεριμνῶν τὰ τοῦ κυρίου ἀρέσῃ αὐτῷ, καὶ ὁ κοίτην ἀμίαντον εχων τῷ κατὰ τοὺς ἁγίους ανδρας τιμίως συνεῖναι τῇ γαμετῇ. 641a Ps 62,9.10a Ωσπερ δέ ἐστι τὸν τρέχοντα ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρετὴν καὶ τὴν εὐσέβειαν τέλος ἐπιθεῖναι κατὰ τὸ λεχθὲν Τὸν δρόμον τετέλεκα, καὶ τὸ Ανευ ἀνομίας εδραμον καὶ κατεύθυνα (τελέσαντος γάρ ἐστι τὸ Εδραμον), ουτως ὁ ἑπόμενος θεῷ κατὰ τὸν ̔Ιερεμίαν ̓Εγὼ δὲ οὐκ ἐκοπίασα κατακολουθῶν ὀπίσω σου, καὶ κατὰ τὸν ̔Ωσηὲ ̓Οπίσω κυρίου πορεύσομαι, καὶ καθά φησιν Μωυσῆς ̓Οπίσω κυρίουτοῦ θεοῦ σου πορεύσῃ, τελέσοι αν ποτε τὴν ὀπίσω τοῦ θεοῦ πορείαν ἐπ' αὐτὸ φθάσας τὸ τῆς μακαριότητος τέλος οτε ἀκούσεται πρὸς θεοῦ Σὺ δὲ αὐτοῦ στῆθι μετ' ἐμοῦ. Οὐ γὰρ ετι πορευομένου φωνή. εἰς ταύτην τὴν κατάστασιν μετὰ τὸ πορευθῆναι ὀπίσω καταφθάσας ὡς κολληθῆναι ὀπίσω ου ειπετό φησιν ̓Εκολλήθη ἡ ψυχή μου ὀπίσω σου, δηλούσης τῆς φωνῆς τῆς ̓Εκολλήθη τὸ ̔Ηνώθη. ουτω γὰρ ἀκουστέον καὶ τοῦ ̓Αποστυγοῦντες τὸ πονηρόν, κολλώμενοι τῷ ἀγαθῷ. ενωσιν τὴν πρὸς θεὸν δηλοῖ καὶ τὸ ̔Ο κολλώμενος τῷ κυρίῳ εν πνεῦμά ἐστιν· οπερ ζητητέον εἰ ταὐτόν ἐστι τῷ ̓Εκολλήθη ἡ ψυχή μου ὀπίσω σου, ὡς μὴ διαφθείρειν τὸ κολληθῆναι τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ τὸ κολληθῆναι τὴν ψυχήν τινος ὀπίσω ἑτέρου οὐ ταὐτὸν ειναι βουλομένου τῷ τέλει τὸ αὐτῷ τῷ κυρίῳ κολληθῆναι. τέλος μὲν γὰρ τοῦ ὀπίσω κυρίου πορευθῆναι τὸ κολληθῆναι τὴν ψυχὴν τοῦ πορευομένου ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ· πλὴν εἰ καὶ τέλος πορείας τὸ φθάσαντα ἑνωθῆναι ὀπίσω, ἀλλ' ουν ετι τούτου τελειότερον τὸ κολληθῆναι πρὸς τὸν κύριον ἐπὶ τῷ εν πνεῦμα πρὸς αὐτὸν γενέσθαι. Οπως δ' αν δέχῃ τὰ τῆς θεωρίας,