143

And that he considers the powers of God to be created, hear him saying this openly. For having brought forward the great Dionysius who says 'the providential powers given forth from the unparticipated God are participated self-being and self-life and self-divinity, by which existing things, participating in a manner proper to themselves, both exist and live and are divine and are said to be, for which reason the Good is said to be primarily their hypostasis,' this man, reasoning from these things in succession, says, 'Therefore, the self-divinity here and the other things, which the great one clearly named powers, do not exist forever, but of these too the Good is the hypostasis'; and again, 'He said that there is a certain thearchy and divinity, from which the principle of all things is exempt, but he by no means said it is eternal; for the cause of all things is also the hypostasis of this'; and again, 'The unparticipated glory of God is eternal, yet not other than the essence, but the participated is other than the essence of God, yet not eternal; for of this too the cause of all things is the hypostasis.' That it is therefore false that the eternal glory of God is the unparticipated essence of God, he showed who said the angels are beholders of eternal glory, which I also said above, by which it is also co-demonstrated that the eternal glory of God is participated; for what is visible of God is in some way also participated. But also the great Dionysius says, 'the divine intellects move cyclically, being united to the beginningless and endless illuminations of the Beautiful and the Good.' How then are these beginningless and endless illuminations not other than the unparticipated essence of God, having a difference from it, even if they are inseparable from it? For first, that is one, but these illuminations are many, being sent forth appropriately in proportion to the participants and being multiplied by their different receptive (p. 672) power; for thus also are the 'distributions of the Holy Spirit,' according to Paul. Then, that is a supra-essential essence, but I think no one would deny that these illuminations are energies or an energy of it, nor that they are participated, while that is unparticipated.

And indeed every union is through contact, sensible in the case of sensible things, intelligible in the case of intelligible things; since there is a union of those illuminations, there is therefore also contact, clearly intelligible, or rather spiritual. But the essence of God is in itself intangible. Furthermore, what else is the union with the illuminations if not vision? Therefore those illuminations are visible to those deemed worthy; but the essence of God is completely invisible; and indeed the beginningless and endless illuminations are a beginningless and endless light. There is therefore an eternal light other than the essence of God, not being itself essence, far from it, but an energy of that supra-essentiality. Since this light is beginningless and endless, it is neither sensible nor properly intelligible, but spiritual and divine, transcendently set apart from all created things; and that which is neither sensible nor intelligible does not fall under sensation as sensation, nor under an intelligible power in itself. Therefore, not only that which is seen, but also the seeing power—that spiritual light—is neither sensation nor intellection, but a certain spiritual power, engendered by grace in pure rational created natures.

For this reason also Gregory the great Theologian said the good angels are not only 'beholders of eternal glory,' but also 'eternally,' showing that the angels behold the eternal glory of God not by a created, natural, and intelligible power, but by an eternal, spiritual, and divine power, 'not so that God may be glorified,' he says, 'for there is nothing that can be added to the full one and (p. 674) the provider of good things to others, but so that the first natures after God might not lack being benefited.' Do you see how they do not have from nature the ability to see eternal glory eternally, but being benefited by the eternal nature they receive this power and vision, just as the saints do? 'For that which is moved by the Holy Spirit an eternal motion, becomes a holy living being' according to the great Basil; 'and man received, the spirit having taken up residence

143

Ὅτι δ᾿ οὗτος τάς δυνάμεις κτιστάς ἡγεῖται τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἄκουσον φανερῶς αὐτοῦ τοῦτο λέγοντος. Προενεγκών γάρ τόν μέγαν ∆ιονύσιον φάσκοντα «μεθεκτῶς αὐτοεῖναι καί αὐτοζωήν καί αὐτοθεότητα τάς ἐκδιδομένας ἐκ Θεοῦ τοῦ ἀμεθέκτου προνοητικάς δυνάμεις, ὧν τά ὄντα οἰκείως ἑαυτοῖς μετέχοντα καί ζῶντα καί ἔνθεα καί ἔστι καί λέγεται, διό καί πρώτως αὐτῶν ὁ ἀγαθός ὑποστάτης λέγεται εἶναι», συλλογιζόμενος ἐκ τούτων ἐφεξῆς οὗτος, «οὐκοῦν», φησίν, «ἡ ἐνταῦθα αὐτοθεότης καί τἄλλα, ἅ σαφῶς δυνάμεις ὁ μέγας ὠνόμασεν, οὐκ ἀεί εἰσιν, ἀλλά καί τούτων ὑποστάτης ἐστίν ὁ ἀγαθός»˙ καί πάλιν, «ἔφη μέν τις θεαρχίαν εἶναί τινα καί θεότητα, ἧς ἐξῃρῆσθαι τήν πάντων ἀρχήν, ἀεί δέ οὐδαμῶς εἶπεν αὐτήν˙ εἶναι γάρ καί ταύτης ὑποστάτιν τήν πάντων αἰτίαν»˙ καί πάλιν, «ἡ μέν ἀμέθεκτος δόξα τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀΐδιον μέν, οὐ μήν ἕτερον τῆς οὐσίας, ἡ δέ μεθεκτή ἕτερον μέν τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ Θεοῦ, οὐ μήν ἀΐδιον˙ καί ταύτης γάρ ὑποστάτις ἐστίν ἡ πάντων αἰτία». Ὅτι μέν οὖν ψεῦδός ἐστιν ὡς ἡ ἀΐδιος δόξα τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡ οὐσία τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστιν ἡ ἀμέθεκτος, ἔδειξεν ὁ θεωρούς δόξης ἀϊδίου τούς ἀγγέλους εἰρηκώς, ὅ καί ἀνωτέρω εἶπον, δι᾿ οὗ καί ὡς ἡ ἀΐδιος τοῦ Θεοῦ δόξα μεθεκτή συναποδείκνυται˙ τό γάρ τοῦ Θεοῦ ὁρατόν ὁπωσδήποτε καί μεθεκτόν. Ἀλλά καί ὁ μέγας ∆ιονύσιος, «κυκλικῶς», φησίν, «οἱ θεῖοι κινοῦνται νόες, ἑνούμενοι ταῖς ἀνάρχοις καί ἀτελευτήτοις ἐλλάμψεσι τοῦ καλοῦ καί ἀγαθοῦ». Πῶς οὖν αἱ ἄναρχοι καί ἀτελεύτητοι ἐλλάμψεις αὗται οὐχ ἕτεραί εἰσι τῆς ἀμεθέκτου οὐσίας τοῦ Θεοῦ, διαφοράν πρός ταύτην ἔχουσαι, εἰ καί ἀχώριστοι αὐτῆς εἰσι; Πρῶτον μέν γάρ ἐκείνη ἕν, αἱ δέ ἐλλάμψεις αὗται πλείους, ἀναλόγως καί τοῖς μετέχουσιν οἰκείως ἐνιέμενοι καί τῇ διαφόρῳ τούτων δεκτικῇ (σελ. 672) δυνάμει πληθυνόμεναι˙ καί γάρ οὕτω καί «Πνεύματος ἁγίου μερισμοί», κατά τόν Παῦλον. Ἔπειτ᾿ ἐκείνη μέν ὑπερούσιος οὐσία, ταύτης δ᾿ εἶναι τάς ἐλλαμψεις ταύτας ἐνεργείας ἤ ἐνέργειαν οὐδένα οἶμαι ἀντερεῖν, ἀλλ᾿ οὐδ᾿ ὅτι μεθεκταί εἰσιν, ἐκείνης οὔσης ἀμεθέκτου.

Καί μήν πᾶσα ἕνωσις δι᾿ ἐπαφῆς αἰσθητῆς μέν ἐπί τῶν αἰσθητῶν, νοερᾶς δ᾿ ἐπί τῶν νοερῶν˙ ἐπεί δ᾿ ἕνωσίς ἐστι τῶν ἐλλάμψεων ἐκείνων, καί ἐπαφή ἄρα, δηλονότι νοερά, μᾶλλον δέ πνευματική. Ἡ δέ οὐσία τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀνέπαφος καθ᾿ ἑαυτήν. Ἔτι ἡ πρός τάς ἐλλάμψεις ἕνωσις, τί γε ἄλλο ἤ ὁρασίς ἐστιν; Ὁραταί ἄρ᾿ εἰσίν ἐκεῖναι αἱ ἐλλάμψεις τοῖς ἠξιωμένοις˙ ἡ δέ οὐσία τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀόρατός ἐστι παντάπασι˙ καί μέν δή αἱ ἄναρχοι καί ἀτελεύτητοι ἐλλάμψεις φῶς εἰσιν ἄναρχον καί ἀτελεύτητον. Ἔστιν ἄρα φῶς ἀΐδιον ἄλλο παρά τήν οὐσίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ, οὐχί οὐσία καί αὐτό ὑπάρχον, ἄπαγε, ἀλλ᾿ ἐνέργεια τῆς ὑπερουσιότητος ἐκείνης. Ἐπεί δ᾿ ἄναρχόν ἐστι καί ἀτελεύτητον τουτί τό φῶς, οὔτε αἰσθητόν ἐστιν οὔτε νοητόν κυρίως, ἀλλά πνευματικόν καί θεϊκόν, τῶν κτιστῶν πάντων ὑπεροχικῶς ἐξῃρημένον˙ τό δέ μήτε αἰσθητόν μήτε νοητόν οὐδ᾿ αἰσθήσει ᾗ αἰσθήσει ὑποπίπτει οὐδέ νοερᾷ δυνάμει καθ᾿ αὑτήν. Οὐκοῦν οὐ μόνον τό ὁρώμενον, ἀλλά καί ἡ ὁρῶσα δύναμις τό πνευματικόν ἐκεῖνο φῶς, οὔτ᾿ αἴσθησίς ἐστιν οὔτε νόησις, ἀλλά πνευματική τις δύναμις, τῶν κτιστῶν λογικαῖς καθαραῖς φύσεσιν ἐγγινομένη χάριτι.

∆ιά τοῦτο καί Γρηγόριος ὁ μέγας θεολόγος οὐ μόνον «θεωρούς δόξης ἀϊδίου» τούς ἀγαθούς ἀγγέλους εἴρηκεν, ἀλλά καί «ἀϊδίως», δεικνύς ὡς οὐ κτιστῇ, φυσικῇ καί νοερᾷ δυνάμει τήν ἀΐδιον δόξαν οἱ ἄγγελοι θεωροῦσι τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλά δυνάμει ἀϊδίῳ, πνευματικῇ καί θεϊκῇ, «οὐχ ἵνα δοξασθῇ Θεός», φησίν, «οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ὅ προστεθήσεται τῷ πλήρει καί (σελ. 674) τοῖς ἄλλοις χορηγῷ τῶν καλῶν, ἀλλ᾿ ἵνα μή λείπῃ τό εὐεργετεῖσθαι καί ταῖς πρώταις μετά Θεόν φύσεσιν». Ὁρᾷς ὡς οὐκ ἀπό φύσεως ἔχουσι τήν ἀΐδιον δόξαν ἀϊδίως ὁρᾶν, ἀλλ᾿ ὑπό τῆς ἀϊδίου φύσεως εὐεργετούμενοι τήν δύναμιν ταύτην καί τήν θεωρίαν προσλαμβάνονται, καθάπερ καί οἱ ἅγιοι; «Τό γάρ κινηθέν ὑπό Πνεύματος ἁγίου κίνησιν ἀΐδιον, ζῶον ἅγιον ἐγένετο» κατά τόν μέγαν Βασίλειον˙ «ἔσχε δέ ἄνθρωπος, πνεύματος εἰσοικισθέντος