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he said; not the one who receives the vote from men, but the one predestined and appointed for this from God. For those who are from men and through men are thieves and robbers, as the Lord said: "I am the door. All who came and come not through Me, but climbing in some other way, are thieves and robbers."

(367) Do not be deceived, therefore, brothers, he who lives in darkness is outside the door, and he who thinks he has entered but has not entered through the light, he too is outside the sheepfold. For if Christ is the light of the world and the door, He is certainly a luminous door and not merely a door, and he who has entered through it has entered into the light of the world. But He is the light of the world not as seen by the senses, but as contemplated by the mind. For the physical sun only illumines the bodily eyes not only of men but also of irrational animals, of quadrupeds as well as birds; but the intelligible sun, who has appeared in the world, only rational souls. But not even these does He illumine all indiscriminately and unworthily; for He is not without a soul or, rather, He is not lifeless, just as He is not a slave or a creature appointed to the service of others, like this physical sun rising on the just and the unjust and on the evil as well as the good. But though He is called light and named sun, He is also above all light and above the sun, as the maker and Master of light and sun, He is life and life-giver, truth, righteousness, sanctification, simple, uncompounded, good and every good and above every good. As, therefore, He is and is called truth, to those who truly turn to Him, He becomes truth; and as He is righteousness, to those who have hated all unrighteousness He is righteousness; as sanctification, to those who have been washed and purified through tears; as simple, to those who carry no wickedness or malice within; as uncompounded, (368) to those who have no duplicity or double-mindedness or distrust of soul; as good, to those who do not attach any bodily or worldly cares and concerns to the spiritual works of repentance and mix and confuse them with these, but approach Him naked in mind and in the soul's purpose, in guilelessness, and accepting their simplicity He quickly fills them with every good thing and makes them partakers of good things beyond mind and beyond thought, immediately upon being revealed and appearing.

"And who," he says, "will recognize such men, if indeed such men exist even now?". He who is illumined from above by the Spirit. But he who speaks and does not know them, why does he condescend to accept the testimony of 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 of 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 fail to recognize such a person. For how will one who sees not distinguish a sheep from a wolf, a robber from a shepherd? But if he is blind to these things, let him seek a guide to lead him by the hand and a director, or rather, let him cease from such a task and discernment, neither becoming a guide for others nor appointing a guide for others, even if he has the whole world testifying 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, though not in its essence, but in its form, of what sort and quality 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 observed is still imperfect in regard to grace and has not yet become godlike, the one who sees and speaks with him will recognize him 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 from its fruit, so a man from his word, what sort he is

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εἶπεν· ὁ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων τήν ψῆφον δεχόμενος, ἀλλ᾿ ὁ ἐκ Θεοῦ εἰς τοῦτο προορισθείς καί προχειρισθείς. Οἱ γάρ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων καί δι᾿ ἀνθρώπων κλέπται εἰσί καί λησταί, καθώς εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος· "Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ θύρα. Πάντες ὅσοι ἦλθον καί ἔρχονται οὐ δι᾿ ἐμοῦ, ἀλλά ἀλλαχόθεν ἐπιβαίνοντες, κλέπται εἰσί καί λησταί".

(367) Μή οὖν πλανᾶσθε, ἀαδελφοί, ὁ ἐν σκότει διάγων ἔξω τῆς θύρας ἐστίν, ὁ δέ δοκῶν εἰσελθεῖν καί οὐ διά τοῦ φωτός εἰσελθών, ἔξω καί αὐτός τῆς μάνδρας ἐστίν. Εἰ γάρ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου καί θύρα ὁ Χριστός, φωτοειδής πάντως θύρα ἐστί καί οὐχί θύρα μόνον ἁπλῶς, καί ὁ ἐν ταύτῃ γεγονώς ἐν τῷ τοῦ κόσμου φωτί γέγονε. Φῶς δέ τοῦ κόσμου ἐστίν οὐχ ὡς αἰσθητῶς ὁρώμενος, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς νοερῶς θεωρούμενος. Ὁ γάρ αἰσθητός ἥλιος μόνον φωτίζει τά σωματικά ὄμματα οὐκ ἀνθρώπων ἀλλά καί ἀλόγων ζῴων, τετραπόδων ἅμα καί πετεινῶν· ὁ δέ νοητός ἥλιος, ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἐπιφανείς, ψυχάς λογικάς μόνον. Ἀλλ᾿ οὐδέ ταύτας ἀκρίτως πάσας καί ἀναξίως φωτίζειν οἶδεν· οὐ γάρ ἄψυχος ἤ, μᾶλλον εἰπεῖν, οὐκ ἄζωός ἐστιν, ὥσπερ οὐδέ δοῦλος ἤ κτίσμα εἰς ὑπηρεσίαν ἄλλων ταχθείς, καθά δή ὁ αἰσθητός οὗτος ἥλιος ἀνατέλλων ἐπί δικαίους καί ἀδίκους καί ἐπί πονηρούς ἅμα καί ἀγαθούς. Ἀλλ᾿ εἰ καί φῶς καλεῖται καί ἥλιος ὀνομάζεται, ἀλλά καί ὑπέρ φῶς ἅπαν καί ὑπέρ ἥλιον, ὡς φωτός καί ἡλίου ποιητής καί ∆εσπότης, ὑπάρχει ζωή καί ζωοποιός, ἀλήθεια, δικαιοσύνη ἁγιασμός, ἁπλοῦς, ἀσύνθετος, ἀγαθός καί πᾶν ἀγαθόν καί ὑπέρ πᾶν ἀγαθόν. Ὡς οὖν ἀλήθεια καί ὤν καί καλούμενος, τοῖς ἀληθῶς ἐπιστρέφουσιν ἀλήθεια γίνεται· ὡς δέ δικαιοσύνη ὑπάρχων, τοῖς πᾶσαν ἀδικίαν μισήσασι δικαιοσύνη ἐστίν· ὡς ἁγιασμός , τοῖς ἐκπλυθεῖσι καί καθαρθεῖσι διά δακρύων· ὡς ἁπλοῦς, τοῖς μηδεμίαν πονηρίαν ἤ κακίαν ἔνδοθεν ἐπιφέρουσιν· ὡς ἀσύνθετος, (368) 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