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and to come to the other, is in every way for men impossible and unattainable. For those who walk outside this straight way and order wander greatly. For just as it is not possible to ascend to a high house without a ladder, (326) or to be found inside that very royal bedchamber, where the king himself abides, before being in the royal forecourts themselves, so it is impossible for the one who has not walked according to the said order to enter into the kingdom of heaven; for all such are outside the royal way, let no one deceive them, they proceed imperceptibly in error.

But O Lord, the guide of the wandering, the unerring way of those who come to you, turn all of us and set us at this your ladder and, that we may take hold of it, with your hand guide our hands and strengthen us to be lifted from the earth and to step on the first rung, so that we may know that somewhere we have grasped something and have been lifted a little from the earth. For we must first ascend a little toward you, so that you, the good Master, may descend greatly and be united with us. Show, Master, the forecourt gate of your kingdom, so that persisting at it we may knock, until the gate is opened to us through death according to choice, and having come inside and knocking at one gate and opening these, you yourself, having heard our groans and the beatings of our breasts, may hasten to descend from your high upper chambers, O most compassionate and merciful God, and we may hear the sound of your all-pure feet and know that you are opening the inner gates, which are closed to us sinners, and coming to us you may say: “Who is it that is knocking?”. And answering with shouting and wailing, let us say to you with fear and joy. We are they, Master, we your unworthy, poor, rejected, and wicked servants, we who until now have been wandering wretchedly in mountains and cliffs and chasms; (327) we are they who foolishly defiled your holy baptism, who denied our covenants with you; we are they who fled and willingly deserted to your enemy and the plotter against our souls. Now, therefore, remembering you and your love for mankind and goodness, having fled from there and grown weary, we have come in great fear and trembling.

Forgive and be not angry with us, Master, but having pitied and had mercy on us wretched ones, open to us, Lord, and do not remember our evil deeds; nor bear a grudge for our ingratitude—for we stand knocking for a long time—nor ignore us, your servants, lest we grow disheartened and turn back. We have grown weary knocking at the gates of the forecourts of your kingdom; open to us, you who are by nature a lover of mankind, having compassion on us. For if opening little by little you open to us the door of your mercy, who seeing you will not shudder? Who in fear and trembling will not fall down and beg for mercy? Who, seeing you, who have myriads of angels and thousands of thousands of archangels and thrones and authorities, leaving the things above and descending to us and coming to meet us and opening, and benevolently receiving and falling upon our necks and kissing us, will not immediately be amazed and be undone as if dead? And his bones will be poured out like water on the earth and he will weep night and day, contemplating the sea of your compassion and goodness and beholding in a mirror the glory and splendor of your face. Glory to you, who have so ordered things. Glory to you, who have been pleased to be seen by and united with us. Glory to you, who through much compassion are revealed and seen by us, you who are invisible by nature even to the (328) very

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καί πρός τήν ἑτέραν γενέσθαι, πάντῃ παρά ἀνθρώποις ἀμήχανον καί ἀδύνατον. Οἱ γάρ τῆς εὐθείας ταύτης ὁδοῦ καί τάξεως ἔξω βαίνοντες πλανῶνται πολλά. Ὡς γάρ οὐκ ἔστι δίχα κλίμακος εἰς οἶκόν ποτε ἀνελθεῖν ὑψηλόν, (326) ἤ ἔνδον ἐκείνου αὐτοῦ εὑρεθῆναι τοῦ βασιλικοῦ κοιτῶνος, ἔνθα ὁ βασιλεύς αὐτός καταμένει, πρό τοῦ γενέσθαι ἐν τοῖς αὐτοῖς βασιλικοῖς προαυλίοις, οὕτως ἀδύνατον τόν μή κατά τήν εἰρημένην τάξιν βαδίσαντα εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τήν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν· ἔξω γάρ οἱ τοιοῦτοι πάντες τῆς βασιλικῆς ὁδοῦ, μηδείς αὐτούς πλανάτω, ἀνεπαισθήτως τῆς πλάνης πορεύονται.

Ἀλλ᾿ ὦ Κύριε, ὁ ὁδηγός τῶν πεπλανημένων, ἡ ἀπλανής ὁδός τῶν πρός σέ ἐρχομένων, ἐπίστρεψον πάντας ἡμᾶς καί πρός ταύτῃ σου τῇ κλίμακι στῆσον καί, πρός τό ταύτης κρατῆσαι, τῇ χειρί σου τάς χεῖρας ἡμῶν εὔθυνον καί ἀπό τῆς γῆς ἀρθῆναι καί τῇ πρώτῃ ἐπιβῆναι θαθμῖδι ἐνίσχυσον, ὡς ἄν γνῶμεν ὅτι πού ποτέ τινος ἐδραξάμεθα καί ἀπό τῆς γῆς μικρόν ἤρθημεν. ∆εῖ γάρ ἡμᾶς ἀνελθεῖν μικρόν πρῶτον πρός σέ, ἵνα οὕτως σύ κατέλθῃς πολύ ὁ καλός ∆εσπότης καί ἑνωθῇς ἡμῖν. Ὑπόδειξον, ∆έσποτα, τήν πύλην τῆς βασιλείας σου τήν προαύλιον, ὅπως ἐγκαρτερήσαντες ἐν αὐτῇ κρούσωμεν, ἕως ἄν διά τοῦ κατά προαίρεσιν θανάτου ἀνοιγῇ ἡμῖν ἡ πύλη, καί ἔνδον γενόμενοι καί κατά μίαν κρούοντες πύλην καί ταύτας ἀνοίγοντες, αὐτός ἀκούσας τούς στεναγμούς καί τάς στερνοτυπίας ἡμῶν, σπεύσας κατέλθῃς ἀπό τῶν ὑψηλῶν ὑπερῴων σου, ὁ πολυεύσπλαγχνος καί οἰκτίρμων Θεός, καί ἀκούσωμεν τούς κρότους τῶν παναχράντων ποδῶν σου καί γνῶμεν ὡς διανοίγεις τάς ἐνδοτέρας πύλας, κεκλεισμένας οὔσας ἡμῖν τοῖς ἁμαρτωλοῖς, καί παραγενόμενος πρός ἡμᾶς εἴπῃς· «Τίς ὁ κρούων ἐστί;». Καί ἀποκριθέντες ἐν ἀλαλαγμῷ καί θρήνοις εἴπωμεν σύν τρόμῳ πρός σέ καί χαρᾷ. Ἡμεῖς ἐσμεν, ∆έσποτα, ἡμεῖς οἱ ἀνάξιοι, οἱ πτωχοί, οἱ ἀπερριμένοι καί πονηροί δοῦλοί σου, ἡμεῖς οἱ μέχρι τοῦ νῦν εἰς ὄρη καί κρημνούς καί βάραθρα ἀθλίως περιπλανώμενοι· (327) ἡμεῖς ἐσμεν οἱ τό βάπτισμά σου τό ἅγιον ἀφρόνως μολύναντες, οἱ τάς πρός σέ συνθήκας ἀπαρνησάμενοι· ἡμεῖς ἐσμεν οἱ ἀποφυγόντες καί πρός τόν σόν ἐχθρόν καί ἐπίβουλον τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν ἑκουσίως αὐτομολογήσαντες. Νῦν οὖν, μνησθέντες σοῦ καί τῆς σῆς φιλανθρωπίας καί ἀγαθότητος, ἀποφυγόντες ἐκεῖθεν καί κοπιάσαντες, ἤκομεν ἐν φόβῳ καί τρόμῳ πολλῷ.

Συγχώρησον καί μή ὀργισθῆς ἡμῖν, ∆έσποτα, ἀλλά οἰκτειρήσας καί ἐλεήσας τούς ταλαιπώρους ἡμᾶς ἄνοιξον ἡμῖν, Κύριε, καί μή μνησθῇς τῶν ἡμετέρων κακῶν· μηδέ μνησικακήσῃς τῇ ἀγνωμοσύνῃ ἡμῶν - πολλήν γάρ ὥραν ἱστάμεθα κρούοντες - μηδέ παρακούσῃς ἡμῶν, τῶν δούλων σου, μήποτε ὀλιγωρήσαντες ὑποστρέψωμεν. Ἐκοπιάσαμεν κόπτοντες εἰς τάς θύρας τῶν προαυλίων τῆς βασιλείας σου· ἄνοιξον ἡμῖν, ὁ φύσει φιλάνθρωπος, σπλαγχνισθείς ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς. Εἰ γάρ κατά μικρόν ἀνοίγων ἀνοίξεις ἡμῖν τήν θύραν τοῦ ἐλέους σου, τίς ἰδών σε οὐ φρίξει; Τίς ἐν φόβῳ καί τρόμῳ οὐ προσπέσῃ καί τόν ἔλεον ἐξαιτήσεται; Τίς σέ, τόν μυριάδας ἀγγέλων καί χιλίας χιλιάδας ἀρχαγγέλων καί θρόνων καί ἐξουσιῶν ἔχοντα, ἰδών τά ἄνω ἀφέμενον καί πρός ἡμᾶς κατελθόντα καί προσυπαντήσαντα καί ἀνοίξαντα, εὐμενῶς τε ὑποδεξάμενον καί ἐπί τούς τραχήλους ἡμῶν ἐπιπεσόντα καί καταφιλοῦντα ἡμᾶς, οὐκ εὐθύς ἐκπλαγήσεται καί ὡσεί νεκρός ἐκλυθήσεται; Καί τά ὀστᾶ αὐτοῦ ὡς ὕδωρ εἰς γῆν ἐκχυθήσονται καί κλαύσῃ νυκτός καί ἡμέρας, ἀναλογιζόμενος τό πέλαγος τῆς σῆς εὐσπλαγχνίας καί ἀγαθότητος καί ἐνοπτριζόμενος τοῦ προσώπου σου τήν δόξαν τε καί λαμπρότητα. ∆όξα σοί, τῷ οὕτως οἰκονομήσαντι. ∆όξα σοί, τῷ θεαθῆναι καί ἑνωθῆναι ἡμῖν εὐδοκήσαντι. ∆όξα σοί, τῷ διά πολλήν εὐσπλαγχνίαν ἀποκαλυπτομένῳ καί βλεπομένῳ ἡμῖν, τῷ ἀοράτῳ φύσει καί αὐταῖς (328) ταῖς