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again the divine Maximus: "Nothing created is by nature productive of deification, and deification is in no way an achievement of the natural power." You then guard for me this good deposit of the fathers: that divine grace is uncreated as an energy of the nature of God and according to Saint Isaac "as the glory of His nature." But if one says God alone is uncreated, he has included all His natural energies. What then is there still to seek and to divide?

But this empty-minded man, initiated into the depths of Satan and impiously holding the divine energies to be created, deceitfully preaches one uncreated divinity alone, the divine nature, so that he might be easily accepted by those who do not know the scriptures well, declaring the divine energies to be created, and especially wrongly dividing the deifying grace of the All-Holy Spirit from that super-essential nature. We therefore, not ignorant of such villainy, by no means agreed with what was proposed by him, or rather, we did not deign to say anything before a precise investigation; but we challenged him to a discussion, so that the pious mind might become manifest. But he cowered and did not dare, believe me, to utter a syllable, with many present. But if now on this account he preaches evil things (p. 616) against us there, he becomes for us a cause of joy and of a great reward in the heavens. Wherefore also to him who proclaimed these things we say, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against him', even if we are pained on account of those who are harmed. Nearly all those here will bear witness that this is so.

However, after our journey to the Holy Mountain where we also composed a Tome in seven chapters against the things written by him against the Orthodox, signed by the most venerable Protos and the abbots and the notable elders and the most holy bishop of Hierissos, with all of them agreeing with us and declaring not to receive into communion anyone who does not agree, whoever he may be—after this, then, it was possible for us to proceed straight to Constantinople; but first I considered that the God of the fathers would raise up even there those who would speak on their behalf, and then I said this to myself: "let us allow that wretched man to breathe a little with at least empty hopes, lest he even commit suicide." For I heard from his own mouth when he was present here that he was often in danger of bursting from perplexity, I suppose, and from anger. At which point, pitying him, I also said to him that nothing else compelled us to contradict him vehemently than that he calls the monks heretics, and if he would abandon this and the writings on this subject, and say that he is not fully convinced of their views, the matters of controversy will cease; for our argument with him is short. This I said to him. And he praised it and promised to do so. And in the presence of the grand administrator, who was with us on purpose, he also insisted that he would revise the writings against the monks, and that first of all he would show me the revised versions in draft, and if they still seemed to me to need some revision, so as to offend no one, (p. 618) he would obey and refashion them. (For he was not yet openly raging against me then), but he undertook these things, yet has written what you see; for from that time he has flowed entirely and particularly against me; and we have these things with us and examine them, as if we had taken the children of foreigners captive. But time will fail me to narrate what happened in between, and how he was not strong enough to escape my hands. Therefore he has now shown by deed that he who, using a more vehement opposition, will utterly tear apart these evil writings, will be doing him a great mercy; for he will not rest, being pricked by them and expecting to harm certain people.

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θεῖον πάλιν Μάξιμον «θεώσεως οὐδέν γενητόν κατά φύσιν ἐστί ποιητικόν, καί τῆς κατά φύσιν δυνάμεως οὐδαμῶς ἡ θέωσις ὑπάρχει κατόρθωμα». Σύ δή φύλαττέ μοι τήν καλήν ταύτην τῶν πατέρων παρακαταθήκην ὅτι ἄκτιστος ἡ θεία χάρις ὡς φύσεως ἐνέργεια Θεοῦ καί κατά τόν ἅγιον Ἰσαάκ «ὡς δόξα τῆς φύσεως αὐτοῦ». Μόνον δέ ἄκτιστον εἰπών τις τόν Θεόν, καί τάς αὐτοῦ φυσικάς ἐνεργείας συμπεριείληφεν ἁπάσας. Τί οὖν ἔτι δεῖ ζητεῖν καί διαιρεῖν;

Ἀλλ᾿ ὁ κενόφρων οὗτος, τά βαθέα τοῦ Σατανᾶ μεμυημένος καί κτιστάς δυσσεβῶς δοξάζων τάς θείας ἐνεργείας, μίαν ἄκτιστον δολίως κηρύττει θεότητα μόνην, τήν θείαν φύσιν, ὡς εὐπαράδεκτος εἴη τοῖς μή καλῶς εἰδύσι τάς φραφάς κτιστάς ἀποφαινόμενος τάς θείας ἐνεργείας, μάλιστα δέ τήν θεοποιόν χάριν τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος κακῶς διαιρῶν τῆς ὑπερουσίου φύσεως ἐκείνης. Μή ἀγνοήσαντες οὖν ἡμεῖς τήν τοιαύτην πανουργίαν ἥκιστα συνεθέμεθα τοῖς ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ προτεινομένοις, μᾶλλον δέ οὐδέ φάναι τι πρό τῆς ἀκριβοῦς ἐρεύνης ἠξιώσαμεν˙ προὐκαλεσάμεθα δέ αὐτός εἰς λόγους, ἵνα φανερά γένηται ἡ εὐσεβής διάνοια. Ὁ δέ ὑπέπτηξε καί οὐδέ γρύξαι, πίστευσον, ἐτόλμησε, πολλῶν παρόντων. Εἰ δέ νῦν πονηρά διά τοῦτο κηρύττει (σελ. 616) καθ᾿ ἡμῶν αὐτόσε, χαρᾶς ἡμῖν πρόξενος γίνεται καί μισθοῦ πολλοῦ τοῦ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. ∆ιό καί τῷ ἐπαγγειλαμένῳ ταῦτα λέγομεν 'Κύριε, μή στήσῃς αὐτῷ τήν ἁμαρτίαν ταύτην', εἰ καί διά τούς βλαπτομένους ὀδυνώμεθα. Τοῦθ᾿ οὕτως ἔχειν σχεδόν πάντες οἱ ἐνταῦθα συμμαρτυρήσουσι.

Μετά μέντοι τήν πρός τό ἅγον ὄρος ἡμῶν ἀποδημίαν ἐν ᾧ καί Τόμον ἐν ἑπτά κεφαλαίοις πρός τά παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ κατά τῶν ὀρθοδόξων γεγραμμένα πεποιήκαμεν ὑπογεγραμμένον παρά τε τοῦ ὁσιωτάτου πρώτου καί τῶν ἡγουμένων καί τῶν λογάδων γερόντων καί τοῦ ἱερωτάτου ἐπισκόπου Ἱερισσοῦ, συμφωνούτων πάντων ἡμῖν καί ἀποφηναμένων μή παραδέξασθαι εἰς κοινωνίαν τόν μή συμφωνοῦντα, ὅστις ἄν ᾖ, μετά τοῦτο τοίνυν, ἐνῆν ἡμῖν εὐθύ τῆς Κωνσταντίνου χωρεῖν˙ ἀλλά πρῶτον μέν ἐπί νοῦν ἐβαλόμην ὡς ὁ τῶν πατέρων Θεός ἐγερεῖ κἀκεῖ τούς ὑπέρ αὐτῶν λαλήσοντας, ἔπειτα καί τοῦτ᾿ ἔλεγονἐπ᾿ ἐμαυτοῦ˙ "δῶμεν ἐκείνῳ τῷ ταλαιπώρῳ ταῖς γοῦν κεναῖς ἐλπίσιν ἀναπνεῦσαι μικρόν, μή καί αὐτόχειρ γένηται". Καί γάρ λέγοντος ἤκουσα παρόντος ἐνταυθοῖ διά στόματος, ὡς πολλάκις ἐκινδύνευσε διαρραγῆναι τῇ ἀμηχανίᾳ δήπου καί τῷ θυμῷ. Ἡνίκα καί πρός αὐτόν, αὐτόν ἐλεήσας, εἶπον μηδέν ἕτερον εἶναι τό βιαζόμενον ἡμᾶς σφοδρῶς ἀντιλέγειν ἤ ὅτι αἱρετικούς λέγει τούς μοναχούς, κἄν τοῦτο μέν ἀφῇ καί τά ἐπί τούτῳ συγγράμματα, φῇ δέ μή πληροφορεῖσθαι πρός τά ἐκείνων, στήσεται τά τοῖς ἀντιλογίας˙ αὐτοῦ γάρ βραχύς ἡμῖν ὁ λόγος. Τοῦτο μέν ἐγώ πρός αὐτόν εἶπον. Ὁ δ᾿ ἐπῄνεσε καί ὑπέσχετο πράξειν. Ἐπί δέ τοῦ μεγάλου διοικητοῦ, συνόντος ἐπίτηδες ἡμῖν, καί διετείνατο μεταποιῆσαι μέν τά κατά τῶν μοναχῶν συγγράμματα, πρώτῳ δέ πάντων εν σχεδίοις ὑποδεικνύειν ἐμοί τά μετασκευασμένα, κἄν ἔτι μοι δοκῶσι δεῖσθαί τινος μεταποιήσεως, ὥστε μηδένα πλήττειν, (σελ. 618) πείθεσθαι καί μεταπλάττειν. (Οὔπω γάρ τότε φανερός ἦν καί κατ᾿ ἐμοῦ μεμηνώς), ἀλλ᾿ ὑπέστη μέν ταῦτα, γέγραφε δέ οἷα βλέπεις˙ ἐξ ἐκείνου γάρ ὅλος ἰδίως ἐρρύη κατ᾿ ἐμοῦ˙ ταῦτα δέ καί ἡμεῖς παρ᾿ ἡμῖν αὑτοῖς ἔχομέν τε καί ἀνετάζομεν, καθάπερ ἀλλοφύλων τέκνα ζωγρήσαντες. Ἐπιλείψει δέ με ὁ χρόνος τό μεταξύ διηγούμενον, καί ὅπως τάς ἐμάς διαδράναι χεῖρας οὐκ ἴσχυσεν. Ἔργῳ τοίνυν ἀναπέφηνε νῦν ὡς ἐκεῖνος ποιήσει μέγα ἔλεος μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ, ὅς σφοδροτέρᾳ χρησάμενος ἀντιθέσει τά πονηρά ταυτί συγγράμματα διασπάσει τελέως˙ οὐ γάρ ἠρεμήσει νυττόμενος ὑπ᾿ἐκείνων καί προσδοκῶν τινας διαθήσειν κακῶς.