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If therefore he himself is light, and we say that those who put him on do not perceive it, how do we differ from a corpse? If he is the vine, and we are the branches, if we do not at all know the union with him, we are soulless and fruitless and dry wood, material for unquenchable fire. And if those who eat his flesh and drink his blood have eternal life according to his divine saying, but we, eating these things, perceive nothing more happening in us than from sensible food, nor do we receive another life in knowledge, then we have partaken only of bare bread, and not also of God. For if Christ is God and man, and his holy flesh is not flesh only, but flesh and God inseparably, and also unconfusedly, being visible in the flesh, that is, in the bread, to the eyes of sense, but invisible in his divinity to the sensible eyes, yet seen by the eyes of the soul. Wherefore also elsewhere: (316) “He who eats my flesh,” he says, “and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.” And he did not say, he abides in them and they in him, but in me, that is, in my glory, in my light, in my divinity. “For I,” he says, “am in the Father and the Father in me; and I in you and you in me.” If therefore we believe all these things happen in us unknowingly and without perception, who then could worthily lament our insensibility? Truly no one.

But blessed are they who received Christ, who came as light into the darkness, because they became sons of light and of day.

Blessed are they who have now put on his light, because they have already clothed themselves in the wedding garment; whose hands or feet will not be bound, nor will they be cast into the eternal fire.

Blessed are they who have seen Christ himself in the body, but thrice-blessed are they who have seen and worshipped him with the mind and spirit, because they shall not see death for ever. And do not disbelieve this, seeing this also happens in earthly things; for convicts who have been deemed worthy to see the earthly king are immediately released from the sentence that leads to death.

Blessed are they who eat Christ daily with such contemplation and knowledge, as Isaiah the prophet the coal, because they will be cleansed from every stain of both soul and body.

Blessed are they who every hour taste of the ineffable with the mouth of their mind, because they will walk decently as in the day (317) and will continue all the time in gladness.

Blessed are they who have already from here known the light of the Lord as the Lord himself, because they will stand before him without shame in the age to come.

Blessed are they who live always in the light of Christ, because they both now and for ever are and always will be his brothers and co-heirs.

Blessed are they who have now kindled the light in their own heart and have kept it unquenched, because they will go to meet the bridegroom radiantly at their departure from life and will enter with him into the bridal chamber as lamp-bearers.

Blessed are they who have not considered in themselves that people do not receive the assurance of their salvation already from here, but at their departure from life, or even after their departure, because they will strive to receive it now.

Blessed are they who do not doubt any of the things said or suspect that this is false, because they, even if they have none of these things, which I pray they do not, will at any rate be zealous to acquire them.

Blessed are they who with their whole soul seek to come to the light, having despised all other things, because, even if they do not manage while still in the body to enter into the

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Εἰ τοίνυν αὐτός φῶς ἐστι, τούς δέ ἐνδιδυσκομένους αὐτόν μή ἐπαισθάνεσθαι λέγομεν, τί νεκροῦ διαφέρομεν; Εἰ δέ αὐτός μέν ἡ ἄμπελος, ἡμεῖς δέ τά κλήματα, ἐάν μή τήν πρός αὐτόν γινώσκομεν πάντως ἕνωσιν, ἄψυχοι καί ἄκαρποι καί ξύλα ξηρά, ὕλη πυρός ἀσβέστου τυγχάνομεν. Εἰ δέ καί οἱ τρώγοντες αὐτοῦ τήν σάρκα καί πίνοντες αὐτοῦ τό αἷμα ζωήν αἰώνιον ἔχουσι κατά τό θεῖον αὐτοῦ λόγιον, ταῦτα δέ ἡμεῖς ἐσθίοντες οὐδέν τῆς αἰσθητῆς τροφῆς πλέον γενόμενον ἐν ἡμῖν αἰσθανόμεθα οὐδέ ζωήν ἄλλην ἐν γνώσει λαμβάνομεν, ἄρτον λοιπόν μόνον ψιλόν, οὐδέ δέ καί Θεόν μετελάβομεν. Εἰ γάρ Θεός καί ἄνθρωπος ὁ Χριστός, καί ἡ ἁγία σάρξ αὐτοῦ οὐ σάρξ μόνον, ἀλλά σάρξ καί Θεός ἀχωρίστως, ἀλλά καί ἀσυγχύτως, ὁρατός μέν τῇ σαρκί εἴτ᾿ οὖν τῷ ἄρτῳ τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ὑπάρχων, ἀόρατος δέ τῇ θεότητι τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς, τοῖς δέ γε τῆς ψυχῆς ὄμμασι καθορώμενος. ∆ιό καί ἀλλαχοῦ· (316) «Ὁ τρώγων μου τήν σάρκα» φησί «καί πίνων μου τό αἷμα ἐν ἐμοί μένει, κἀγώ ἐν αὐτῷ». Καί οὐκ εἶπεν, ἐν αὐτοῖς μένει καί αὐτά ἐν αὐτῷ, ἀλλ᾿ ἐν ἐμοί, τουτέστιν ἐν τῇ ἐμῇ δόξῃ, ἐν τῷ ἐμῷ φωτί, ἐν τῇ ἐμῇ θεότητι. «Ἐγώ γάρ, φησίν, ἐν τῷ Πατρί καί ὁ Πατήρ ἐν ἐμοί· καί ἐγώ ἐν ὑμῖν καί ὑμεῖς ἐν ἐμοί». Εἰ οὖν ταῦτα πάντα ἀγνώστως καί ἀναισθήτως γίνεσθαι νομίζομεν ἐν ἡμῖν, τίς τήν ἡμῶν ἀναισθήτως γίνεσθαι νομίζομεν ἐν ἡμῖν, τίς τήν ἡμῶν ἀναισθησίαν ἀξίως ἄρα θρηνήσειεν; Ὄντως οὐδείς.

Ἀλλά μακάριοι οἱ ὡς φῶς ἐλθόντα τόν Χριστόν ἐν τῷ σκότει δεξάμενοι, ὅτι αὐτοί υἱοί φωτός καί ἡμέρας ἐγένοντο.

Μακάριοι οἱ τό φῶς αὐτοῦ νυνί ἐνδυσάμενοι, ὅτι τό τοῦ γάμου ἤδη περιεβάλοντο ἔνδυμα· οἵ οὐ δεθήσονται χεῖρας ἤ πόδας, οὐδέ εἰς τό πῦρ τό αἰώνιον ἐμβληθήσονται.

Μακάριοι οἱ ἐν σώματι τόν αὐτόν Χριστόν θεασάμενοι, τρισμακάριοι δέ οἱ νοερῶς αὐτόν καί πνευματικῶς ἰδόντες καί προσκυνήσαντες, ὅτι εἰς τόν αἰῶνα οὐ μή ὄψονται θάνατον. Καί μή ἀπίστει τοῦτο, ὁρῶν καί ἐν τοῖς ἐπιγείοις τοῦτο γινόμενον· οἱ γάρ τόν ἐπί γῆς βασιλέα ἰδεῖν καταξιωθέντες κατάδικοι, τῆς ἐπί θάνατον ἀγούσης ἀποφάσεως εὐθύς ἀπαλλάσσονται.

Μακάριοι οἱ τόν Χριστόν καθ᾿ ἑκάστην μετά τοιαύτης ἐσθίοντες θεωρίας καί γνώσεως, ὡς Ἠσαΐας ὁ προφήτης τόν ἄνθρακα, ὅτι αὐτοί καθαρθήσονται ἀπό παντός ῥύπου ψυχῆς τε καί σώματος.

Μακάριοι οἱ καθ᾿ ὥραν τοῦ ἀρρήτου γευόμενοι τῷ στόματι τοῦ νοός αὐτῶν, ὅτι αὐτοί ὡς ἐν ἡμέρᾳ εὐσχημόνως (317) περιπατήσουσι καί τόν ἅπαντα χρόνον ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ διατελέσουσι.

Μακάριοι οἱ τό φῶς τοῦ Κυρίου ὡς αὐτόν ἐκεῖνον ἀπ᾿ ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη γνωρίσαντες, ὅτι αὐτοί ἀνεπαισχύντως αὐτῷ ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τῷ μέλλοντι παραστήσονται.

Μακάριοι οἱ ἐν τῷ φωτί τοῦ Χριστοῦ διάγοντες πάντοτε, ὅτι αὐτοί καί νῦν καί εἰς τούς αἰῶνας ἀδελφοί καί συγκληρονόμοι αὐτοῦ εἰσί τε καί ἀεί ἔσονται.

Μακάριοι οἱ τό φῶς ἐν τῇ ἑαυτῶν καρδίᾳ νυνί ἀνάψαντες καί ἄσβεστον τοῦτο διαφυλάξαντες, ὅτι αὐτοί τῷ νυμφίῳ ἐν τῇ τοῦ βίου ἐξόδῳ φαιδροί προσυπαντήσουσι καί μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ εἰς τόν νυμφῶνα λαμπαδοῦχοι συνεισελεύσονται.

Μακάριοι οἱ μή ἐν ἑαυτόῖς λογισάμενοι ὅτι οὐχί ἀπ᾿ ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη οἱ ἄνθρωποι τήν πληροφορίαν τῆς ἑαυτῶν σωτηρίας, ἀλλ᾿ ἐν τῇ ἐξόδῳ τοῦ βίου, ἤ καί μετά τήν ἔξοδον, ταύτην λαμβάνουσιν, ὅτι αὐτοί ταύτην νυνί λαβεῖν ἀγωνίσονται.

Μακάριοι οἱ ἐπί μηδενί τῶν εἰρημένων διστάζοντες ἤ ψευδές εἶναι τοῦτο ὑπονοήσαντες, ὅτι αὐτοί, εἰ καί μηδέν τούτων ἔχουσιν, ὅπερ ἀπεύχομαι, ἀλλά γε πάντως σπουδάσουσι κτήσασθαι.

Μακάριοι οἱ ὅλῃ ψυχῇ ἐκζητοῦντες ἐλθεῖν πρός τό φῶς, τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων καταφρονήσαντες, ὅτι, εἰ καί μή φθάσουσιν ἔτι ἐν σώματι ὄντες εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τό