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thy truth: they have led me, and brought me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles», and indeed also, "the light of thy countenance, O Lord, was signed upon us," presents the same sequence of purpose». And, he says, «to the blessed Paul the light that shone on the road, through which he was also caught up to the third heaven and became a hearer of unutterable mysteries, was not some illumination of thoughts and knowledge, but a hypostatic illumination of the power of the good Spirit in the soul, the excess of whose brilliance the eyes of the flesh, unable to bear, were blinded, through which all knowledge is revealed and God in truth is made known to the worthy and beloved soul».

These things, then, are so; and it is no wonder if the saints, managing their words with discernment and rendering their teaching commensurate with the capacity of their listeners, interpret these visions in many ways. However, the divine and faithful interpreter Symeon, initiated by one who knew well through experience the mystical and perfecting energies of the Spirit, as if speaking from that one again, says, when we hear the word of the kingdom and are moved to tears, let us not remain in these tears of ours, nor in our hearing, as if we have heard well, nor in our eyes, as if we have seen well, and consider ourselves to have enough; «for there are (p. 650) other ears and other eyes and other weepings, just as there is also another mind and another soul, which is the divine and heavenly Spirit itself, which hears and weeps, and prays and knows and does the will of God in truth»; «to those, however, who are perfected in virtue and in whose hearts the noetic light has actively shone, these things become manifest and clear; for, says the blessed Paul, "solid food is for the perfect, for those who by habit have their senses trained for the discernment of both good and evil; but also the divine Peter says, "and you have the prophetic word, to which you do well to pay attention, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts"».

But Barlaam, holding all such things as nothing, and even putting them forward as being the dogma of the Massalians, makes them all collectively the work of their leader Blachernites and, having himself openly declared those to be impious who say there is something eternal besides the essence of God, he attributes the seeing of the eternal glory of God to this Blachernites. For where has that one been found saying not that the essence of God is visible, but the eternal glory? For if he had said this, as one who has learned piety, we would have absolved him of every charge, since Stephen also saw the super-celestial glory of God. For what need was there for the heavens to be opened, if that beholder of it were not to see the glory beyond them? But he also saw with his eyes; for, it says, «gazing intently, he saw». But he also saw it beyond sense; for what strength of sight would be able to reach the super-celestial realms themselves? And Gregory, surnamed the Theologian, when he calls the angels beholders of the eternal glory, was he too the Blachernites from Trapezus? And I think you would easily say that the angels in heaven were also seized by error, (p. 652) you who dared to number with the heterodox those who have chosen to live on earth like them, those indeed who hymn the most monarchical Trinity, as putting forth a natural co-eternal glory, and who long to see the unutterable radiance; or should we not number these too among the Massalians? And as for those who pray to be illumined by the essential splendor of God and so to attain the light-giving radiance, of what splendor and radiance shall we say they are enamored? For it is not knowledge, which you alone say is divine light,

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τήν ἀλήθειάν σου, αὐτά με ὁδηγήσουσι καί ἄξουσιν εἰς ὄρος ἅγιόν σου καί εἰς τά σκηνώματά σου», ἀλλά μήν καί τό, "ἐσημειώθη ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς τό φῶς τοῦ προσώπου σου, Κύριε", τήν αὐτήν ἀκολουθίαν τοῦ σκοποῦ παρίστησι». Καί, «τῷ μακαρίῳ δέ», φησί, «Παύλῳ τό ἐλλάμψαν ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ φῶς, δι᾿ οὗ καί εἰς τρίτον οὐρανόν ἦρται καί μυστηρίων ἀλαλήτων ἀκουστῆς ἐγένετο, οὐ νοημάτων τις καί γνώσεως φωτισμός ἦν, ἀλλά δυνάμεως τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ Πνεύματος καθ᾿ ὑπόστασιν ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ ἔλλαμψις, οὗ τήν ὑπερβολήν τῆς λαμπρότητος οἱ τῆς σαρκός ὀφθαλμοί μή διενεγκότες ἀπετυφλώθησαν, δι᾿ οὗ πᾶσά τε γνῶσις ἀποκαλύπτεται καί Θεός πρός ἀλήθειαν τῇ ἀξίᾳ καί φιλουμένῃ ψυχῇ γνωρίζεται».

Ταῦτα μέν ταύτη θαυμαστόν δέ οὐδέν εἰ ἐν κρίσει τούς λόγους οἰκονομοῦντες οἱ ἅγιοι καί τῇ τῶν ἀκροωμένων δυνάμει σύμμετρον τήν διδασκαλίαν ἀποδιδόντες πολυτρόπως τάς ὁράσεις ταύτας διερμηνεύουσιν. Ὁ μέντοι θεῖος καί πιστός ἑρμηνεύς Συμεών, ἐκ τοῦ διά πείρας καλῶς εἰδότος τάς μυστικάς καί τελεστικάς ἐνεργείας τοῦ Πνεύματος μυηθείς, ὡς ἀπ᾿ ἐκείνου πάλιν φησίν, ἀκούοντες τοῦ λόγου τῆς βασιλείας καί πρός δάκρυα καταγόμενοι, μή τοῖς ἡμετέροις τούτοις ἐναπομείνωμεν δάκρυσι, μηδέ τῇ ἡμῶν ἀκοῇ, ὡς καλῶς ἀκούσαντες, μηδέ τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς, ὡς καλῶς ἰδόντες, καί ἀρκούντως ἔχειν ἑαυτούς λογισώμεθα˙ «καί γάρ εἰσίν (σελ. 650) ἕτερα ὦτα καί ἕτεροι ὀφθαλμοί καί κλαυθμοί ἕτεροι, ὡς δέ καί διάνοια καί ψυχή ἑτέρα, ὅπερ ἐστίν αὐτό τό θεϊκόν Πνεῦμα καί ἐπουράνιον, τό ἀκοῦόν τε καί κλαῖον, εὐχόμενόν τε καί γινῶσκον καί τό τοῦ Θεοῦ θέλημα ἐν ἀληθείᾳ ποιοῦν»˙ «τοῖς μέντοι τήν ἀρετήν ἄκροις καί ὧν ἐνεργῶς τό νοερόν φῶς ταῖς καρδίαις ἐνέλαμψεν ἐπίδηλα ταῦτα καί καταφανῆ γίνεται˙ "τελείων" γάρ, ὁ μακάριός φησι Παῦλος, "ἡ στερεά τροφή, τῶν διά τήν ἕξιν αἰσθητήρια γεγυμνασμένων πρός τήν τοῦ καλοῦ τε κακοῦ διάκρισιν˙ ἀλλά καί ὁ θεῖος Πέτρος φησί, "καί ὑμεῖς ἔχοντες τόν προφητικόν λόγον, ᾧ καλῶς ποιεῖτε προσέχοντες, ὡς λύχνῳ φαίνοντι ἐν αὐχμηρῷ τόπῳ, ἕως οὗ ἡμέρα διαυγάσῃ καί φωσφόρος ἀνατελεῖ ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν"».

Ὁ δέ Βαρλάαμ, τά τοιαῦτα πάντα παρ᾿ οὐδέν θέμενος, ἀλλά καί προθέμενος ὡς τοῦ Μασσαλιανῶν ὑπάρχοντα δόγματος, τοῦ προστάτου τούτων Βλαχερνίτου ποιεῖται συλλήβδην ἅπαντα καί, ἀσεβεῖς αὐτός φανερῶς ἀποφηνάμενος εἶναι τούς ἀΐδιον ἄλλο τι παρά τήν οὐσίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ λέγοντος, τό τήν ἀΐδιον δόξαν τοῦ Θεοῦ ὁρᾶν τῷ Βλαχερνίτῃ τούτῳ φέρων χαρίζεται. Ποῦ γάρ ἐκεῖνος εὕρηται μή τήν οὐσίαν ὁρατήν λέγων τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλά τήν ἀΐδιον δόξαν; Εἰ γάρ τοῦτ᾿ εἶπεν, ὡς μεταμαθόντα τήν εὐσέβειαν, πάσης ἄν ἡμεῖς τοῦτον ἀπελύσαμεν αἰτίας, ἐπεί καί Στέφανος τήν ὑπερουράνιον εἶδε δόξαν τοῦ Θεοῦ. Τίς γάρ ἦν χρεία τούς οὐρανούς διανοιγῆναι, εἰ μή τήν ὑπέρ αὐτούς δόξαν ὁ θεατής αὐτῆς ἐκεῖνος ὁρᾶν; Ἀλλά καί τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς εἶδεν˙ «ἀτενίσας γάρ», φησίν, «εἶδεν». Ἀλλά καί ὑπέρ αἴσθησιν ἑώρακεν αὐτήν˙ ποία γάρ ὄψεως ἰσχύς μέχρις αὐτῶν ἐλθεῖν τῶν ὑπερουρανίων δυνηθείη ἄν; Γρηγόριος δέ ὁ τῆς θεολογίας ἐπώνυμος λέγων τῆς ἀϊδίου δόξης τούς ἀγγέλους θεωρούς, μή καί αὐτός τραπεζούντιος ὁ Βλαχερνίτης ἦν; Ρᾳδίως δ᾿ ἄν αὐτός οἶμαι καί τούς ἐν οὐρανοῖς ἀγγέλους ὑπό τῆς πλάνης ἁλῶναι φαίης, (σελ. 652) ὁ τούς κατ᾿ ἐκείνους ἐν γῇ βιοῦν ᾑρημένους ἐγκρίναι τοῖς κακοδόξοις τολμήσας, τούς γε μήν ἐξυμνοῦντας τήν μοναρχικωτάτην τριάδα, ὡς φυσικήν συναΐδιον δόξαν προβαλλομένην καί ἐπιποθοῦντας τήν ἄφθεγκτον ἰδεῖν αὐγήν˙ ἤ μή καί τούτους τοῖς Μασσαλιανοῖς ἐναριθμήσωμεν; Τούς δ᾿ ἐπευχομένους ὑπό τῆς οὐσιώδους αἴγλης καταυγασθῆναι τοῦ Θεοῦ καί τυχεῖν οὕτω τῆς φωτοδότιδος αὐγῆς, ποίας ἐροῦμεν αὐτούς αἴγλης καί αὐγῆς ἐρᾶν; Οὐ γάρ ἡ γνῶσις, ἥν σύ μόνην λέγεις θεῖον φῶς,