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and I greatly lament your folly, because you completely and utterly disbelieve that anyone of such a kind as of old can be a saint even now, and numbering yourself with all, as one common among common men, as if speaking by the Holy Spirit like some holy and God-bearing man, you confessed, when pricked by reason, that you do not know at all the things which you said you were not worthy to see, nor hear, nor receive in your heart, these things you are not at all ashamed to interpret and explain as if you knew them, nor do you blush at the laughter of men. For if you have not become dispassionate, as we have said, nor have been counted worthy to have the Holy Spirit (280), nor are a saint, how can you say that you know the things of the Spirit like a saint, "which, as it is written, eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of an earthly man, the good things which God has prepared for those who love him"?

But to us—that I may speak as a fool, being compelled by you—who are the least and have received mercy, through His Spirit, according to His ineffable goodness towards us, He has revealed, through the supplications of our blessed and holy father Symeon, "that we might know," as the Apostle says, "the things that have been freely given to us by God; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. But we," he says, "have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God." And through Him was revealed and made known to us, who are sinful and humble, God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the great God, in Christ and God Himself, whom no man has seen or can see. "For He who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' is the one who has shone in our hearts," of us the worthless and unprofitable, being clearly contained in the earthen vessels of our tabernacles like a treasure, He who is in every way incomprehensible and uncircumscribable, being formed small in us, He who is formless and without shape, yet uncircumscribably filling all things, as He is exceedingly great and superabundant.

But for the truly existing God to be formed in us, what is it if not for us ourselves to be completely remade and refashioned and transformed into the image of His divinity? Such a one, therefore, we have known the holy Symeon the Pious (281) to have become, who practiced asceticism in the monastery of Stoudios, having been assured of these things by experience itself. For by the revelation of the Spirit in him, having sealed our faith in him, we keep it indisputable; or rather, from that same light, as from a torch, having lit the lamp of our soul by transmission, we keep it unquenchable, guarded by his prayers and intercessions, by which our faith in him, being watered, grows and will yet grow—I say it with confidence in God—bearing fruit a hundredfold in that divine light itself. For the fruit of faith is the holy and unwaning light, and holy light is the addition and increase of faith; for in proportion as the light springs forth, faith grows and ascends to a height. And according to the proportion of faith, the fruit of the Spirit clearly abounds; "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control," which things the one who has them knows one by one. For just as one who has pearls and translucent stones, sapphire, amethyst and certain others, knows, unless he is inexperienced, the form and size of each one of them, so also he who has planted the virtues in himself with much toil and tears and has brought forth the fruits of the Spirit, knows both the form and the quality of each one of them and tastes the sweetness of them all; and what is greater and more wonderful, is that he recognizes the same fruit existing in others.

For just as nations are recognized by their dress, but mostly by their voice and words, so also the saints are recognized by their modesty and seemly gait and other external things, but their own particular identifying mark with precision and truth is presented by the word that is born from them.

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καί τήν ἄνοιαν λίαν θρηνῶ, ὅτι ἅγιον μέν εἶναί τινα τοιοῦτον ὡς πάλαι καί νῦν παντελῶς καί καθόλου διαπιστεῖς, τοῖς πᾶσι δέ συναριθμῶν ἑαυτόν οἷα κοινοῖς ὡς κοινόν, καθάπερ Πνεύματι Ἁγίῳ φθεγγόμενος ὥς τις ἅγιος καί θεοφόρος ἀνήρ, ἅ μηδ᾿ ὅλως γινώσκειν ὑπό τοῦ λόγου κεντούμενος ὡμολογήσας καί ἅ μηδέ ἰδεῖν μηδέ ἀκοῦσαι μηδέ καταξιωθῆναι λαβεῖν ἐν καρδίᾳ σου ἔφης, ταῦτα καί διερμηνεύειν καί ὡς εἰδώς σαφηνίζειν ὅλως οὐκ ἐπαισχύνῃ, οὐδέ πρός τόν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐρυθριᾷς γέλωτα. Εἰ γάρ μή ἀπαθής, ὡς εἴπομεν, γέγονας, μηδέ Πνεῦμα Ἅγιον (280) ἔχειν ἠξίωσαι, μηδέ ἅγιος εἶ, πῶς εἰδέναι λέγεις ὡς ἅγιος τά τοῦ Πνεύματος, "ἅ ὡς γέγραπται ὀφθαλμός οὐκ εἶδε καί οὖς οὐκ ἤκουσε καί ἐπί καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου χοϊκοῦ οὐκ ἀνέβη, τά ἀγαθά ἅ ἡτοίμασεν ὁ Θεός τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν";

Ἡμῖν δέ, ἵνα παραφρονῶν εἴπω, ὑπό σοῦ βιαζόμενος, διά τοῦ Πνεύματος αὐτοῦ, ἐσχάτοις οὖσι καί ἠλεημένοις, κατά τήν ἄφατον πρός ἡμᾶς αὐτοῦ ἀγαθότητα ἀπεκάλυψεν ἱκεσίαις τοῦ μακαρίου καί ἁγίου πατρός ἡμῶν Συμεών, "ἵνα εἰδῶμεν" καθώς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος "τά ὑπό τοῦ Θεοῦ χαρισθέντα ἡμῖν· τό γάρ Πνεῦμα ἐρευνᾷ καί τά βάθη τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἡμεῖς δέ - φησίν - οὐκ ἐλάβομεν τό πνεῦμα τοῦ κόσμου, ἀλλά τό Πνεῦμα τό ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ". Καί δι᾿ αὐτοῦ ἀπεκαλύφθη καί ἐπεγνώσθη ἡμῖν, ἁμαρτωλοῖς οὖσι καί ταπεινοῖς, ὁ Θεός καί Πατήρ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ καί σωτῆρος, τοῦ μεγάλου Θεοῦ, ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ Χριστῷ καί Θεῷ, ὅν οὐδείς ἀνθρώπων εἶδεν οὐδέ ἰδεῖν δύναται. "Ὁ γάρ εἰπών ἐκ σκότους φῶς λάμψαι, αὐτός ἐστιν ὅς καί ἔλαμψεν ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν", τῶν εὐτελῶν καί ἀχρείων, τοῖς ὀστρακίνοις σκεύεσι τῶν σκηνωμάτων ἡμῶν ὥσπερ θησαυρός δηλονότι ἐμπεριεχόμενος, ὁ πάντῃ ἀπερίληπτός τε καί ἀπερίγραπτος, μικρός μέν ἐν ἡμῖν μορφούμενος, ὁ ἄμορφος καί ἀνίδεος, τά σύμπαντα δέ ἀπεριγράπτως πληρῶν, ὡς ὑπερμεγέθης καί ὑπερπλήρης.

Τό δέ μορφοῦσθαι ἐν ἡμῖν τόν ὄντως ὄντα Θεόν, τί ἐστιν εἰ μή τό ἡμᾶς αὐτούς πάντως μεταποιεῖν τε καί ἀναπλάττειν καί εἰς τήν τῆς θεότητος αὐτοῦ εἰκόνα μεταμορφοῦν; Οἷον ἔγνωμεν ἄρα γεγονότα καί τόν ἅγιον Συμεώνην τόν Εὐλαβῆ, (281) τόν ἐν τῇ μονῇ τῶν Στουδίου ἀσκήσαντα, τῇ πείρᾳ αὐτῇ τά περί τούτου βεβαιωθέντες. Τῇ γάρ ἀποκαλύψει τοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ Πνεύματος τήν εἰς αὐτόν πίστιν ἐπισφραγίσαντες, ἀναντίρρητον ταύτην φυλάττομεν· μᾶλλον δέ ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ φωτός, ὡς ἐκ λαμπάδος τινός, τόν τῆς ψυχῆς ἡμῶν λύχνον μεταδοτικῶς ἀνάψαντες, ἄσβεστον διατηροῦμεν, ταῖς ἐκείνου εὐχαῖς καί πρεσβείαις φρουρούμενοι, ἐξ ὧν ἀρδουμένη αὐξάνει ἡ πίστις ἡμῶν ἡ πρός αὐτόν καί ἔτι αὐξήσει ἐν Θεῷ θαρρῶν λέγω , ἑκατονταπλασίονα τόν καρπόν φέρουσα ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ θείῳ φωτί. Καρπός γάρ πίστεως τό ἅγιον καί ἀνέσπερον φῶς, φῶς δέ ἅγιον προσθήκη καί αὔξησις πίστεως· καθόσον γάρ τό φῶς πηγάζει, ἡ πίστις αὐξάνει καί εἰς ὕψος ἀνέρχεται. Κατά δέ τήν ἀναλογίαν τῆς πίστεως ὁ καρπός ἀριδήλως βρίθει τοῦ Πνεύματος· "Ὁ δέ καρπός τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐστιν ἀγάπη, χαρά, εἰρήνη, μακροθυμία, χρηστότης, ἀγαθωσύνη, πίστις, πρᾳότης, ἐγκράτεια", ἅπερ καθ᾿ ἕν ὁ ἔχων ἐπίσταται. Ὥσπερ γάρ ὁ μαργαρίτας ἔχων καί λίθους διαφανεῖς, σάπφειρον, ἀμέθυσον καί ἄλλους τινάς, οἶδεν, εἰ μή ἀπείρως ἔχει, ἑνός ἑκάστου αὐτῶν τό εἶδος, τό μέγεθος, οὕτω καί ὁ τάς ἀρετάς μετά πόνου καί δακρύων πολλῶν ἐν ἑαυτῷ φυτεύσας καί τούς καρπούς ἐνεγκών τούς τοῦ Πνεύματος, ἐπίσταται καί τό εἶδος καί τήν ποιότητα ἑνός ἑκάστου αὐτῶν καί τῆς ἁπάντων αὐτῶν γλυκύτητος ἀπογεύεται· καί τό δή μεῖζον καί θαυμαστότερον, ὅτι καί ἐν ἄλλοις ὄντα τόν αὐτόν ἐπιγινώσκει καρπόν.

Καθάπερ γάρ τά ἔθνη ἀπό τῆς στολῆς, τό δέ πλεῖστον ἀπό τῆς φωνῆς καί τῶν λόγων ἐπιγινώσκονται, οὕτω δή καί οἱ ἅγιοι γνωρίζονται μέν ἀπό τῆς κοσμιότητος αὐτῶν καί τοῦ εὐσχήμου βαδίσματος καί τῶν ἄλλων τῶν ἔξωθεν, τό δέ γνώρισμα μετά ἀκριβείας καί ἀληθείας τό ἴδιον αὐτῶν ὁ λόγος ὁ γεννώμενος ἐξ αὐτῶν παρίστησιν.