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and I was beholding from afar, and I do not know how to tell you the paradox of the manner; (251) for I was not able to know, nor do I now know at all, how he entered, how he was united. And having been united, how shall I tell you who it is who was united to me, and to whom I was united? I shudder and I am afraid lest, if I speak, disbelieving you may fall into blasphemy out of ignorance and destroy your soul, my brother. Nevertheless, since I and he to whom I was united have become one, what shall I call myself? God, being double in nature but one in hypostasis, has made me double. And having made me double, he has given me double names, as you see. See the division! I am a man by nature, but God by grace. See what grace I mean: the union with him both sensibly and intellectually, both essentially and spiritually! But the intellectual union I have explained to you in different and various ways, but the sensible one I call that of the mysteries. For having been purified by repentance and by the streams of tears, partaking of a deified (252) body as of God, I also become God by the ineffable union. See the mystery! The soul therefore and the body, that I may say these things again out of great joy, one in two substances; these one two things, therefore, having partaken of Christ and drunk of the blood with both substances

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καί μακρόθεν ἐθεώρουν, καί οὐκ οἶδα, πῶς σοι φράσω τό παράδοξον τοῦ τρόπου˙ (251) οὐ γάρ ἠδυνήθην γνῶναι, οὐδέ νῦν γινώσκω πάντως, πῶς εἰσῆλθε, πῶς ἡνώθη. Ἑνωθείς δέ, πῶς σοι εἴπω τίς ἐστιν ὁ ἑνωθείς μοι, τίνι δέ κἀγώ ἡνώθην; Φρίττω καί φοβοῦμαι μήπως, ἐάν εἴπω, ἀπιστήσας περιπέσῃς βλασφημίᾳ ἐξ ἀγνοίας καί ψυχήν σου ἀπολέσῃς, ἀδελφέ μου. Ὅμως ἕν ἐγώ κἀκεῖνος, ᾧ ἡνώθην, γεγονότες, τίνα ἐμαυτόν καλέσω; Ὁ Θεός διπλοῦς τήν φύσιν, τήν ὑπόστασιν εἷς ὤν, διπλοῦν με εἰργάσατο. Ἐργασάμενος διπλοῦν δέ διπλᾶ καί ὀνόματα, ὡς ὁρᾷς, παρέσχε μοι. Βλέπε τήν διαίρεσιν! Ἄνθρωπός εἰμι τῇ φύσει, Θεός δέ τῇ χάριτι. Ὅρα ποίαν χάριν λέγω ἕνωσιν τήν μετ᾿ ἐκείνου αἰσθητῶς καί νοερῶς τε, οὐσιωδῶς καί πνευματικῶς τε! Ἀλλά τήν μέν νοεράν ἐξεῖπον ἕνωσίν σοι διαφόρως καί ποικίλως, αἰσθητήν δέ τήν τῶν μυστηρίων λέγω. Καθαρθείς γάρ μετανοίᾳ καί τοῖς τῶν δακρύων ῥείθροις, σώματος τεθεωμένου (252) ὡς Θεοῦ μεταλαμβάνων Θεός κἀγώ γίνομαι τῇ ἑνώσει τῇ ἀφράστῳ. Ὅρα τό μυστήριον! Ἡ ψυχή οὖν καί τό σῶμα, ἵνα ταῦτα πάλιν εἴπω ἐκ πολλῆς περιχαρείας, ἕν ἐν οὐσίαις ταῖς δυσί˙ ταῦτα οὖν τά ἕν δύο τοῦ Χριστοῦ μεταλαβόντα καί τοῦ αἵματος πιόντα ἀμφοτέραις ταῖς οὐσίαις