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of his fullness we have all received.” Therefore, the essence of God is everywhere; for the Spirit, it says, fills all things according to essence; and deification is also everywhere, (p. 632) existing ineffably in this and being inseparable from that, since it is its natural power. But just as fire is invisible when there is no underlying matter or sense organ to receive its illuminating energy, so also is deification unperceived when there is no underlying matter to receive the divine manifestation; but whenever it takes hold of suitable matter that is uncovered, and such is every purified rational nature not bearing the veil of manifold evil, then it too is seen as a spiritual light, or rather, it makes them a spiritual light. For “the prize,” he says, “of virtue is to become God and to be illumined by the purest light, becoming a Son of that day which is not interrupted by darkness; for another sun makes this day, the one who flashes forth the true light, who, once he has shone upon us, is no longer hidden in sunsets, but having embraced all things with his own illuminating power, he makes the light continuous and unending for the worthy and makes those who partake of that light into other suns.” For then also “the righteous will shine forth as the sun.” As what sun? As that one, presumably, who then and now appears to the worthy.

Do you see how they acquire the very energy of the sun of righteousness? This is why various divine signs and the bestowal of the Holy Spirit are accomplished through them. For “just as this sublunar,” he says, “air, when pushed upward by the force of wind, becomes luminous, being transformed into the pure aether, so also the human mind, having left this murky and squalid life, when it becomes luminous by the power of the Spirit and is mingled with the true and lofty purity, it too somehow shines through in that purity and is filled with rays and becomes light according to the Lord’s promise, who promised that the righteous will shine as the sun.” (p. 634) We see this happening on earth also in the case of a mirror, or of water; for having received the ray of the sun, they produce another ray from themselves. And so we, whether we leave the sublunar darkness and go above, will become luminous, having drawn near to the true light of Christ, or whether the true light, “that which shines in the darkness,” should descend even to us, we too shall be light, just as the Lord says somewhere to the disciples. Thus the deifying gift of the Spirit is an ineffable light and it makes divine light those who have been enriched by it, not only filling them with eternal light, but also bestowing knowledge and a life worthy of God. Thus Paul lived no longer the created life, but “the eternal life of the one who dwelt within” according to the divine Maximus; thus the prophets saw as existing things that had not yet come to be; thus did he see God, whoever saw him spiritually not by an alien, but by a natural symbol; and I do not call a natural symbol of God—which is itself only a symbol—that which is seen or heard by the sense of perception and is activated through the air; since, when an eye sees, it sees not as an eye, but as one opened by the power of the Spirit, it sees God not by an alien symbol, and this we call a sense beyond sense.

A sign, however, of that light, is the cessation of base pleasures and passions arising in the soul, the peace and stability of thoughts, repose and spiritual joy, contempt for human glory, humility joined with ineffable exultation, hatred of the world, love of heavenly things, or rather, of the God of the heavens alone; and in addition to these things, if someone were not only to cover but even to gouge out the eyes of the one seeing at that moment, he sees the light no less clearly. How then could one be persuaded by him who declares this to be visible through the air and of no benefit to the rational soul, as if it pertained to the (p. 636) bodily senses? But the beholder

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πληρώματος αὐτοῦ ἡμεῖς πάντες ἐλάβομεν». Πανταχοῦ μέν οὖν ἡ οὐσία τοῦ Θεοῦ˙ τό γάρ Πνεῦμα, φησί, πληροῖ πάντα κατά τήν οὐσίαν˙ πανταχοῦ δέ καί ἡ θέωσις, (σελ. 632) ἐνυπάρχουσα ἀφράστως ταύτῃ καί ἀχώριστος ἐκείνης οὖσα, ἅτε φυσική δύναμις αὐτῆς. Ἀλλ᾿ ὥσπερ τό πῦρ ἀφανές ἐστι μή προκειμένης ὕλης ἤ αἰσθητηρίου τοῦ χωροῦντος τήν φωτιστικήν ἐνέργειαν αὐτοῦ, οὕτω δή καί ἡ θέωσις ἀθεώρητός ἐστι μή προκειμένης ὕλης τῆς χωρούσης τήν θείαν ἐμφάνειαν˙ ἡνίκα δ᾿ ἄν ἐπιτηδείας ὑλης ἀπερικαλύπτως ἐχούσης ἐπιλάβηται, τοιαύτη δέ ἐστι πᾶσα λογική κεκαθαρμένη φύσις τό τῆς πολυειδοῦς κακίας οὐκ ἐπιφερομένη κάλυμμα, τηνικαῦτα καί αὐτή φῶς πνευματικόν ὁρᾶται, μᾶλλον δέ κἀκείνους φῶς ποιεῖ πνευματικόν. «Ἆθλον» γάρ, φησίν, «ἀρετῆς Θεόν γενέσθαι καί τῷ καθαρωτάτῳ φωτί καταστράπτεσθαι, τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης Υἱόν γενόμενον, ἥ μή διακόπτεται ζόφῳ˙ ἄλλος γάρ ταύτην ποιεῖ ἥλιος, ὁ τό ἀληθινόν φῶς ἀπαστράπτων, ὅς, ἐπειδάν ἅπαξ ἐπιφαύσῃ ἡμῖν, οὐκέτι ἐν δυσμαῖς κρύπτεται, ἀλλά πάντα τῇ φωτιστικῇ ἑαυτοῦ δυνάμει περιπτυξάμενος, διηνεκές καί ἀδιάδοχον τοῖς ἀξίοις τό φῶς ἐμποιεῖ καί αὐτούς τούς μετέχοντας τοῦ φωτός ἐκείνου ἄλλους ἡλίους ἀπεργαζόμενος». Τότε γάρ καί «οἱ δίκαιοι ἐκλάμψουσιν ὡς ὁ ἥλιος». Ὡς ποῖος ἥλιος; Ὡς ἐκεῖνος δήπουθεν ὁ τότε καί νῦν τοῖς ἀξίοις φαινόμενος.

Ὁρᾷς ὅπως αὐτήν προσκτῶνται τήν ἐνέργειαν τοῦ ἡλίου τῆς δικαιοσύνης; ∆ιό καί θεοσημίαι διάφοροι καί χορηγία Πνεύματος ἁγίου τελεῖται δι᾿ αὐτῶν. «Ὡς γάρ καί ὁ περίγειος», φησίν, «οὗτος ἀήρ ἀνωσθείς ὑπό τῆς βίας τοῦ Πνεύματος φωτοειδής γίνεται, τῷ καθαρῷ τοῦ αἰθέρος ἐναλλοιούμενος, οὕτω καί ὁ νοῦς ὁ ἀνθρώπινος, καταλιπών τόν θολερόν τοῦτον καί αὐχμώδη βίον, ἐπειδάν τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ Πνεύματος φωτοειδής γένηται καί ἐμμιχθῇ τῇ ἀληθινῇ καί ὑψηλῇ καθαρότητι, διαφαίνεταί πως καί αὐτός ἐν ἐκείνῃ καί ἀκτίνων ἐμπίπλαται καί φῶς γίνεται κατά τήν τοῦ Κυρίου ὑπόσχεσιν, ὅς τούς δικαίους λάμψειν ὡς ὁ ἥλιος ἐπηγγείλατο». (σελ. 634) Τοῦτο καί ἐπί γῆς ὁρῶμεν γινόμενον ἐπί κατόπτρου, ἤ ὕδατος˙ δεξάμενα γάρ τήν τοῦ ἡλίου ἀκτῖνα, ἄλλην ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτῶν ἀκτῖνα ποιεῖ. Καί ἡμεῖς τοίνυν, εἴτε καταλιπόντες τό περίγειον σκότος ἄνω γενοίμεθα, φωτοειδεῖς γενησόμεθα, τῷ ἀληθινῷ φωτί τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐμπελάσαντες, εἴτε τό φῶς τό ἀληθινόν, «τό ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ λάμπον», καί μέχρις ἡμῶν καταβαίη, καί ἡμεῖς φῶς ἐσόμεθα, καθά πού φησι τοῖς μαθηταῖς ὁ Κύριος. Οὔτως ἡ θεοποιός δωρεά τοῦ Πνεύματος φῶς ἐστιν ἀπόρρητον καί φῶς ποιεῖ θεῖον τούς πλουτήσαντας αὐτήν, οὐ φωτός μόνον πληρώσασα τούτους ἀϊδίου, ἀλλά καί γνῶσιν καί ζωήν θεοπρεπῆ χαρισαμένη. Οὕτως ὁ Παῦλος οὐκέτι τήν κτιστήν ζωήν, ἀλλά «τήν τοῦ ἐνοικήσαντος ἀΐδιον ζωήν» κατά τόν θεῖον ἔζη Μάξιμον˙ οὕτως οἱ προφῆται ὡς ὄντα ἑώρων τά μήπω γεγονότα˙ οὕτως εἶδε τόν Θεόν ὅστις οὐκ ἀλλοτρίῳ, ἀλλά φυσικῷ συμβόλῳ πνευματικῶς ἑώρακεν αὐτόν˙ οὐ φυσικόν δέ λέγω σύμβολον Θεοῦ - ὅ καί τοῦτ᾿ αὐτό μόνον σύμβολόν ἐστιν - ὅπερ ἄν αἰσθήσει ᾖ αἰσθήσει βλέπηταί τε ἤ ἀκούηται καί δι᾿ ἀέρος ἐνεργῆται˙ ἐπεί, ὅταν ὀφθαλμός ὁρῶν οὐχ ὡς ὀφθαλμός ὁρᾷ, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ Πνεύματος διανοιχθείς, οὐκ ἀλλοτρίῳ σύμβόλῳ τόν Θεόν ὁρᾷ, καί τοῦθ᾿ ἡμεῖς αἴσθησιν ὑπέρ αἴσθησίν φαμεν.

Γνώρισον μέντοι τοῦ φωτός ἐκείνου, κατάπαυσις τῶν μή καλῶν ἡδονῶν τε καί παθῶν ἐγγινομένη τῇ ψυχῇ, λογισμῶν εἰρήνη καί κατάστασις, ἀνάπαυσις καί χαρά πνευματική, περιφρονήσις ἀνθρώπων δόξης, ταπείνωσις ἀγαλλιάσει ἀπορρήτῳ συνημμένη, κόσμου μῖσος οὐρανίων ἔρως, μᾶλλον δέ μόνου τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν οὐρανῶν˙ πρός δέ τούτοις, εἰ καί τούς ὀφθαλμούς τοῦ βλέποντος οὐ περικαλύψειέ τις τινηκαῦτα μόνον, ἀλλά καί ἐξορύξειεν, οὐδέν ἧττον τηλαυγῶς ὁρᾷ τό φῶς. Πῶς ἄν οὖν πεισθείη τις τῷ δι᾿ ἀέρος ὁρατόν τοῦτο ἀποφαινομένῳ καί μηδέν λογικῇ ψυχῇ λυσιτελές, ὡς ταῖς (σελ. 636) σωματικαῖς αἰσθήσεσι προσῆκον; Ἀλλ᾿ ὁ θεατής