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to those who have no duplicity or double-mindedness or disbelief of soul; as good, to those who do not bring along with the spiritual works of repentance certain bodily or worldly cares and anxieties, and mix and mingle them with these, but approach him naked in mind and in the purpose of their soul, in innocence, and accepting their simplicity, He quickly fills them with every good thing and, upon being revealed and appearing, at once makes them partakers of the good things that are beyond mind and beyond understanding.

"And who," one says, "will recognize such people, if indeed such people exist even now?". He who is illumined from above by the Spirit. But he who speaks and does not know them, why does he deign to accept testimony from others? Does he not know that, if in ignorance he brings a wolf in among the sheep of Christ, he himself will receive the judgment for the sheep? "And who knows," he says; "he is a man and is ignorant of the things in the heart." If he is not blind, he would never be ignorant of such a one. For how will one who sees not distinguish a sheep and a wolf, a robber and a shepherd? But if he is blind to these things, let him seek a guide to lead him by the hand, or rather, let him cease from such work and discernment, neither becoming a guide for others nor appointing a guide for others, even if he has the whole world bearing witness with him. For this I say, that he who sees spiritually and hears likewise, whomever he sees and meets and often converses with, he sees his very soul, if not in its essence, then in its form, of what sort and kind it is. Therefore, if he has been deemed worthy to partake of the Holy Spirit (369), he knows this from his very appearance; but if the one being seen is still imperfect with respect to grace and has not yet become godlike, the one who sees and speaks with him will know it rather through his words - just as our Master and God himself declared, saying, "By their fruits you will know them," and again, "Just as a tree is known by its fruit, so a man is known by his speech, of what sort he is," yet this too by those who have sound reason and the senses of the soul; for the rest of men are disposed insensibly and without discernment even toward the works themselves.

For seeing someone fasting with vainglory, they approve, and they condemn the one eating with humility. Another who practices self-control in humility they consider to be a hypocrite, but the one who eats with gluttony they regard as simple and unaffected, with whom they are more often pleased to eat, consoling their own passions. But indeed, also those who pretend to be fools and speak jests and nonsense unseasonably, and make unbecoming gestures and move others to laughter, considering them to be striving to hide their virtue and dispassion through such supposed practices and gestures and words, they honor as dispassionate and holy, but those who live in piety and virtue and simplicity of heart and are in fact holy, they misjudge and pass over as just one of the other men. Others again consider the talkative and showy person to be more instructive and spiritual, but the silent one who is (370) scrupulous about idle talk they declare to be boorish and mute. Others turn away from the one speaking in the Holy Spirit as being high-minded and proud, being struck by his words rather than moved to compunction, but the one who speaks eloquently from the belly or from learning and speaks falsely about their salvation they excessively praise and accept. And so among such people there is no one who is able to see and discern the matter well and as it is.

For he who is once blind is blind to all things, so also he who is deaf is deaf to all things. For the blind man does not see one person but not another, nor does the deaf man hear the voice of one but not another, but both the one and the other are entirely disabled in their senses.

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τοῖς μηδεμίαν διπλόην ἤ διψυχίαν ἤ δυσπιστίαν ψυχῆς ἔχουσιν· ὡς ἀγαθός, τοῖς τῆς μετανοίας πνευματικοῖς ἔργοις σωματικάς τινας ἤ βιωτικάς μερίμνας καί φροντίδας μή συνεπαγομένοις καί τούτοις ἀναμιγνύουσι καί ἀναφύρουσιν αὐτάς, ἀλλά γυμνοῖς τῇ γνώμῃ καί τῇ τῆς ψυχῆς προθέσει ἐν ἀκακίᾳ προσερχομένοις αὐτῷ, ὧν καί ἀποδεχόμενος τό ἀπερίεργον παντός ἀγαθοῦ συντόμως τούτους ἐμπλίπλησι καί τῶν ὑπέρ νοῦν καί ὑπέρ ἔννοιαν ἀγαθῶν κοινωνούς εὐθύς τῷ ἀποκαλυφθῆναι καί φανῆναι ἀποκαθίστησι.

"Καί τίς, φησί, τούς τοιούτους, εἰ ἄρα τοιοῦτοί εἰσι καί νῦν, ἐπιγνώσεται;". Ὁ ἄνωθεν ὑπό τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐλλαμπόμενος. Ὁ δέ λέγων καί μή γινώσκων αὐτούς, τί καί μαρτυρίαν παρά ἄλλων καταδέχεται δέξασθαι; Οὐκ οἶδεν ὅτι, κἄν ἀγνοῶν εἰσαγάγῃ λύκον εἰς τά πρόβατα τοῦ Χριστοῦ, αὐτός τῶν προβάτων τό κρῖμα λήψεται; "Καί τίς γινώσκει, φησίν· ἄνθρωπος ὑπάρχει καί ἀγνοεῖ τά ἐν καρδίᾳ". Εἰ μή τυφλός ἐστιν, οὐκ ἄν ἀγνοήσῃ τόν τοιοῦτόν ποτε. Πῶς γάρ ὁ βλέπων οὐ διαχωρίσει πρόβατον καί λύκον, ληστήν καί ποιμένα; Εἰ δέ τυφλός ἐστι πρός ταῦτα, χειραγωγόν καί ὁδηγόν ἐπιζητησάτω, μᾶλλον καί τῆς τοιαύτης ἐργασίας καί διακρίσεως παυσάσθω, μήτε ὁδηγός ἄλλων γενόμενος μήτε ὁδηγόν ἑτέροις ἀποκαθιστῶν, κἄν ὅλον ἔχῃ τόν κόσμον συμμαρτυροῦντα αὐτῷ. Τοῦτο γάρ ἐγώ λέγω, ὅτι ὁ βλέπων πνευματικῶς καί ἀκούων ὡσαύτως, ὅν ἄν ἴδῃ καί συντύχῃ καί πολλάκις προσομιλήσῃ, αὐτήν αὐτοῦ βλέπει τήν ψυχήν, εἰ καί μή κατ᾿ οὐσίαν, ἀλλά κατ᾿ ἰδέαν, ὁποία ἐστί καί ποταπή. Τοίνυν, εἰ καί Πνεύματος Ἁγίου (369) μεταλαβεῖν κατηξιώθῃ, ἐξ αὐτῆς αὐτοῦ τῆς ὄψεως τοῦτο γινώσκει· εἰ δέ ἔτι ἀτελής ὁ βλεπόμενος πρός τήν χάριν ἐστί καί οὕπω θεοειδής ἐχρημάτισε, διά τῶν λόγων αὐτοῦ μᾶλλον ὁ τοῦτον βλέπων καί ὁμιλῶν ἐπιγνώσεται - καθά δή καί αὐτός ὁ ∆εσπότης ἡμῶν καί Θεός ἀπεφήνατο εἰπών· "Ἐκ τῶν καρπῶν αὐτῶν ἐπιγνώσεσθε αὐτούς", καί πάλιν· "Ὥσπερ δένδρον ἐκ τοῦ καρποῦ, οὕτως ἄνθρωπος ἐκ τοῦ λόγου αὐτοῦ ὁποῖός ἐστι γινώσκεται", πλήν καί οὗτος παρά τῶν ὑγιαινόντων τόν λόγον καί τά τῆς ψυχῆς αἰσθητήρια· οἱ γάρ λοιποί τῶν ἀνθρώπων καί πρός αὐτά τά ἔργα ἀναισθήτως καί ἀδιακρίτως διάκεινται.

Νηστεύοντα γάρ τινά μετά κενοδοξίας ὁρῶντες ἀποδέχονται, καί τόν ἐσθίοντα μετά ταπεινώσεως κατακρίνουσιν. Ἄλλον ἐν ταπεινώσει ἐγκρατευόμενον ὑποκριτήν εἶναι λογίζονται, τόν δέ μετά γαστριμαργίας ἐσθίοντα ὡς ἁπλοῦν ἡγοῦνται καί ἀνεπιτήδευτον, ᾧ καί συνεσθίειν συχνοτέρως ἡδύνονται, τά ἑαυτῶν πάθη παραμυθούμενοι. Ἀλλά γάρ καί τούς τόν σαλόν ὑποκρινομένους καί ἀστεῖα καί φλυαρίας λέγοντας ἀκαίρως, σχήματά τε ἀπρεπῆ διαπραττομένους καί τούς λοιπούς κινοῦντας πρός γέλωτα, ὡς τήν ἀρετήν αὐτῶν καί ἀπάθειαν διά τῶν τοιούτων δῆθεν ἐπιτηδευμάτων καί σχημάτων καί λόγων καλύπτειν σπουδάζοντας λογισάμενοι, ὡς ἀπαθεῖς καί ἁγίους τιμῶσι, τούς δέ ἐν εὐλαβείᾳ καί ἀρετῇ καί ἀφελότητι καρδίας διάγοντας καί ἁγίους τῷ ὄντι πέλοντας, ὡς οἷα δή τῶν ἄλλων ἀνθρώπων ἕνα παραλογίζονταί τε καί παρατρέχουσιν. Ἄλλοι πάλιν τόν λάλον καί ἐπιδεικτικόν διδακτικόν μᾶλλον καί πνευματικόν εἶναι λογίζονται, τόν δέ σιωπηλόν καί (370) περί ἀργολογίαν ἀκριβαζόμενον ἄγροικον καί ἄφωνον ἀποφαίνονται. Ἕτεροι τόν ἐν Πνεύματι Ἁγίῳ φθεγγόμενον ὡς ὑψηλόφρονα καί ὑπερήφανον ἀποστρέφονται, τοῖς λόγοις αὐτοῦ πληττόμενοι μᾶλλον ἤ κατανυσσόμενοι, τόν δέ ἀπό κοιλίας ἤ ἐκ μαθημάτων τορνολογοῦντα καί τῆς αὐτῶν σωτηρίας καταψευδόμενον ὑπερεπαινοῦσι καί ἀποδέχονται. Καί οὕτως οὐδείς ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις ἐστίν ὁ καλῶς καί ὡς ἔχει τό πρᾶγμα ἰδεῖν καί διακρῖναι δυνάμενος.

Ὁ γάρ ἅπαξ τυφλός πρός πάντα τυφλός ἐστιν, οὕτω καί ὁ κωφός ὤν πρός πάντα κωφός ἐστιν. Οὐ γάρ ὁ τυφλός τόν μέν ὁρᾷ, τόν δέ οὔ, οὐδέ ὁ κωφός τοῦ μέν ἀκούει τῆς φωνῆς, τοῦ δέ οὔ, ἀλλά καθόλου κἀκεῖνος καί οὗτος πηροί τάς αἰσθήσεις εἰσίν.