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the absurdity of sin, and they consider their shame as glory. And why do they suffer this? Because they are ignorant of the sweet and graceful nature of complete purification, or rather they disbelieve and persuade themselves that it is impossible for a man to be completely cleansed from the passions and to receive the whole Paraclete essentially in himself.

Therefore, they always speak and act against their own salvation, shutting upon themselves the gates of the kingdom of heaven and hindering all others who wish to enter. And if they hear of anyone else who has lawfully striven in the commandments of the Lord and become humble in heart and mind, and being cleansed from all kinds of passions and proclaiming to all the great things of God, that is, all that God has done for him according to His unfailing promises, and how, he says for the benefit of his hearers, he was deemed worthy to see the light of God and God in the light of glory, and how he consciously knew in himself the visitation and energy of the Holy Spirit and became holy in the Holy Spirit, immediately, like rabid dogs, they bark at him and hasten to devour, if possible, the one who says these things, saying, "Cease, you deceived and arrogant one. Has such a one now become as the holy fathers were? (285) And who has seen God or is able in any way to see him? Who has received the Holy Spirit to such a degree as to be worthy through Him to see the Father and the Son? Cease, lest we have you stoned."

I do not think it right not to answer them in a manner worthy of their foolishness; for the most wise Solomon says: "Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him, but answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own sight." Among you, O you men, as you yourselves say, there is no one at all; but of those who choose to take up the cross and to travel the narrow way and to lose their own souls for the sake of eternal life, many have seen both before, and more, I think, see even now, and each of those who wish will see, even if you, by the dullness of your mind and the wickedness of envy, are not able to see them. And see what the evangelist says: "As many as received him, to them he gave power to become children of God; who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." If, therefore, you were not born of God, then you are clearly not His child, nor have you received Him beforehand, nor have you received Him in yourself, and for this reason He has neither given you authority nor can you become a child of God; and not having become a child of God, how then will you see God your Father in heaven? No one has ever seen his own father before being born, and no man will see God unless he is first born of Him. For this reason the Lord also said: "Unless one is born from above, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven," and again: "That which is born of the flesh," (286) he says, "is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit," that is, holy from holy; "and the Spirit searches even the depths of God." But you, if you have been born only of the flesh and do not yet know the birth from the Spirit, nor have you yourself become spirit by being born, how then can you search the depths of God, or rather how can you see God? In no way at all, you yourself, even unwillingly, will confess, O brother.

So be it. What then? "But you," he says, "are you such a one yourself? And from where will we know that you are such a one?" I, without the grace from above, am not able to say this, nor even Paul himself, I think, and John; but nevertheless I groan at the hardness of the hearts of those who propose these things to me and seek from where to know the one who has attained to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of Jesus. From where, if you wish to learn, the blind recognize other men; from where Isaac

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ἁμαρτίας ἀτόπημα, καί τήν αἰσχύνην αὐτῶν ὡς δόξαν λογίζονται. ∆ιά τί δέ πάσχουσι τοῦτο; Ἐπειδή ἀγνοοῦσι τῆς παντελοῦς καθάρσεως τό ἡδύ τε καί χαρίεν, μᾶλλον δέ ἀπιστοῦσι καί ἀδύνατον εἶναι ἑαυτούς πείθουσι τό καθαρεῦσαι ἄνθρωπον τελείως ἀπό παθῶν καί ὅλον οὐσιωδῶς ἐν ἑαυτῷ δέξασθαι τόν Παράκλητον.

∆ιά τοῦτο τοίνυν καί κατά τῆς ἑαυτῶν ἀεί σωτηρίας λαλοῦσι καί πράττουσι, κλείοντες ἐφ᾿ ἑαυτοῖς τάς πύλας τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν καί πάντας ἄλλους τούς εἰσελθεῖν βουλομένους κωλύοντες. Εἴ που δέ καί ἀκούσουσι περί ἑτέρου τινός νομίμως ἀγωνισαμένου ἐν ταῖς ἐντολαῖς τοῦ Κυρίου καί ταπεινοῦ τῇ καρδίᾳ καί τοῖς φρονήμασι γενομένου, καθαρεύοντός τε ἀπό παντοίων παθῶν καί πᾶσι τά μεγαλεῖα κηρύττοντος τοῦ Θεοῦ ὅσα δηλονότι ἐποίησεν ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός κατά τάς ἀψευδεῖς ὑποσχέσεις αὐτοῦ καί ὅπως μέν, λέγοντος πρός ὠφέλειαν τῶν ἀκουόντων, κατηξιώθη φῶς ἰδεῖν Θεοῦ καί Θεόν ἐν φωτί δόξης, ὅπως δέ γνωστῶς ἔγνω ἐν ἑαυτῷ τήν ἐπιφοίτησιν καί ἐνέργειαν τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος καί ἅγιος ἐν Ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι γέγονεν , εὐθύς ὥσπερ κύνες λυσσῶντες καθυλακτοῦσιν αὐτοῦ καί κατεσθίειν, εἰ δυνατόν, τόν ταῦτα λέγοντα σπεύδουσι, "Παῦσαι, λέγοντες, πεπλανημένε καί ὑπερήφανε σύ. Τί ἄρα τοιοῦτος ἄρτι γέγονεν ὡς οἱ ἅγιοι πατέρες ἐγένοντο; (285) Τίς δέ Θεόν εἶδεν ἤ ἰδεῖν κἄν ὁπωσοῦν δύναται; Τίς Πνεῦμα Ἅγιον ἐπί τοσοῦτον ἔλαβεν, ὡς δι᾿ αὐτοῦ τόν Πατέρα καί τόν Υἱόν ἀξιωθῆναι ἰδεῖν; Παῦσαι μή σε τοῖς λίθοις καταλευσθῆναι ποιήσωμεν".

Οἷς μή ἀνταποκριθῆναι ἀξίως τῆς αὐτῶν ἀφροσύνης οὐκ οἴομαι δεῖν· φησί γάρ ὁ σοφώτατος Σολομῶν· "Μή ἀποκρίνου ἄφρονι κατά τήν ἐκείνου ἀφροσύνην, ἵνα μή ὅμοιος γένῃ αὐτῷ, ἀλλά ἀποκρίνου ἄφρονι πρός τήν ἀφροσύνην αὐτοῦ, ἵνα μή φαίνηται σοφός παρ᾿ ἑαυτῷ". Ἐξ ὑμῶν μέν, ὦ οὗτοι, ὡς αὐτοί φατε, οὐδείς οὐδαμῶς· ἐκ δέ τῶν προαιρουμένων τόν σταυρόν ἆραι καί τήν στενήν ὁδεῦσθαι ὁδόν καί τάς ἑαυτῶν ἀπολέσαι ψυχάς ἕνεκεν τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς, πολλοί μέν εἶδον καί πρότερον, πλείους δέ, οἶμαι, ὁρῶσι καί νῦν, καί τῶν βουλομένων ἕκαστος ὄψεται, κἄν ὑμεῖς σκαιότητι γνώμης καί βασκανίας φαυλότητι τούτους ἰδεῖν οὐκ ἰσχύετε. Καί ὅρα τί φησιν ὁ εὐαγγελιστής· "Ὅσοι ἔλαβον αὐτόν ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν τέκνα Θεοῦ γενέσθαι· οἵ οὐκ ἐξ αἱμάτων οὐδέ ἐκ θελήματος σαρκός, οὐδέ ἐκ θελήματος ἀνδρός, ἀλλ᾿ ἐκ Θεοῦ ἐγεννήθησαν". Εἰ οὖν οὐκ ἐγεννήθης ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ σύ, οὐδέ τέκνον ὑπάρχεις αὐτοῦ δηλονότι, οὐδέ προλαβών ἐδέξω αὐτόν, οὐδέ ἔλαβες αὐτόν ἐν σεαυτῷ, καί διά τοῦτο οὔτε ἐξουσίαν σοι δέδωκεν οὔτε δύνασαι τέκνον γενέσθαι Θεοῦ· τέκνον δέ Θεοῦ μή γενόμενος, πᾶς ἄρα τόν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς θεάσῃ Θεόν καί Πατέρα σου; Οὐδείς πρό τοῦ γεννηθῆναι τόν ἑαυτοῦ πατέρα ποτέ τεθέαται, καί οὐδείς ἀνθρώπων τόν Θεόν ὄψεται, ἐάν μή πρότερον ἐξ αὐτοῦ γεννηθῇ. ∆ιά τοῦτο καί ὁ Κύριος ἔλεγεν· "Ἐάν μή τις γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν, οὐ δύναται εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τήν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν", καί πάλιν· "Τό γεννώμενον ἐκ τῆς σαρκός, (286) φησί, σάρξ ἐστι, τό δέ γεννώμενον ἐκ τοῦ Πνεύματος πνεῦμά ἐστιν", ἐξ ἁγίου ἅγιον δηλονότι· "τό δέ Πνεῦμα ἐρευνᾷ καί τά βάθη τοῦ Θεοῦ". Σύ δέ, εἰ ἀπό σαρκός μόνον γεγέννησαι καί οὔπω τήν ἐκ τοῦ Πνεύματος γέννησιν ἔγνως, οὐδέ Πνεῦμα αὐτός σύ γεννηθείς γέγονας, πῶς ἄρα δύνασαι τά βάθη τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐρευνᾶν, μᾶλλον δέ πῶς δύνασαι ὁρᾶν τόν Θεόν; Πάντως οὐδαμῶς, αὐτός σύ, καί μή βουλόμενος, καθομολογήσεις, ὦ ἀδελφέ.

Εἶεν. Τί δαί; "Ἀλλά σύ" φησί "τοιοῦτος ὑπάρχεις αὐτός; Καί πόθεν σε τοιοῦτον εἶναι ἐπιγνωσόμεθα;" Ἐγώ μέν ἄνευ τῆς ἄνωθεν χάριτος οὐχ οἷός τέ εἰμι τοῦτο εἰπεῖν, ἀλλ᾿ οὐδέ Παῦλος αὐτός, οἶμαι, καί Ἰωάννης· πλήν ὅμως στενάζω ἐπί τῇ πωρώσει τῶν καρδιῶν τῶν ταῦτα προτεινομένων μοι καί ζητούντων πόθεν ἐπιγνῶναι τόν εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον, εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας πεφθακότα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ. Ὅθεν, εἰ βούλει μαθεῖν, οἱ τυφλοί τούς ἄλλους τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐπιγινώσκουσιν· ὅθεν ὁ Ἰσαάκ