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and to hear and to speak, we had accustomed our eyes and ears and tongue, so that we might not now have this darkness, and this most heavy silence; but that we too, with the saints, might have enjoyed the light and the Word and the wisdom of God, having become spectators and hearers and singers of the divine glory? If through love we had put to death the voluntary worm of hatred, and through truth we had made falsehood disappear, we would now stand free of this caustic worm, and of the other terrible things that now constrain our life. Just is the judgment of God. We do not find what we did not seek. The door of the kingdom of heaven is not opened for us, because we did not knock on the door of the virtues through action; we do not receive the enjoyment of eternal goods, because we did not ask for the grace of knowledge through prayer. For we had no love for divine things, but having bound our mind to earthly things, we wasted our whole life on them. And all those things have passed away, vanishing like smoke, but the account of the judgment upon them remains forever impassable.

And these things, to put it briefly, they will perhaps say to one another, learning the power of divine justice from what they suffer; but what will become of me, wretched one? Relying on what actions can I hope to be delivered from the fearsome condemnation, being destitute of all virtue and knowledge? I fear lest, with hands and feet bound, I be cast into a gloomy and dark land, into a land of eternal darkness, where there is no light, nor seeing the life of mortals; since I voluntarily bound the practical powers of the soul with the passions, and hindered the steps of the soul from the divine course of the evangelical life. Woe is me for the fearsome shame, which has no end, (389) unless I change and become free from my many evils. Woe is me for the weeping, and the bitter tears, and the gnashing of teeth, unless, becoming sober even late, I shake off the deep sleep of negligence, and put off the filthy garment of sin. Instead of light, darkness; instead of joy, sorrow; instead of rest, punishment and distress will surely receive me. And what is most pitiful of all, or more truly to say, more grievous, at the mere mention of which I am pained—how much more so in suffering it (be merciful, Christ, and save us from this pain)—is the separation from God and his holy powers; and the intimacy with the devil and the wicked demons, remaining forever; and having no expectation of freedom from these terrible things. For with whom we chose by our own will and volition to associate in this age through our wicked practices, with them we shall rightly be condemned to be of necessity in the age to come, even against our will. And it is more punitive and more terrible than any punishment to be forever with those who hate and are hated, even without torments, let alone with them; and to be separated from the one who loves and is loved. For God, judging justly, is hated by those who are judged, although by nature He is and is called love; nor does he hate those who are judged; for He is by nature entirely free from passion.

Believing that these things will truly and without falsehood come to pass, beloved, let us not neglect ourselves; but with all haste, with all our strength, while we have time, let us flee the deceptive world and its ruler. For it passes away, and all things in it wither. For there will truly be a time when a fearsome trumpet will sound, echoing a strange voice, and this whole universe will be dissolved, falling apart from the order now seen in it. And the visible world will pass away, receiving its own consummation; but the now hidden world of intelligible things will be revealed, bringing mysteries altogether strange to eyes and ears and minds. And the trumpet, according to the

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τε καί ἀκούειν καί λαλεῖν, τούς ὀφθαλμούς καί τά ὦττα καί τήν γλῶτταν εἰθίσαμεν, ἵνα μή τοῦτον εἴχομεν νῦν τό ζόφον, καί τήν βαρυτάτην σιγήν· ἀλλά καί ἡμεῖς τοῦ φωτός καί τοῦ λόγου καί σοφίας τοῦ Θεοῦ μετά τῶν ἁγίων ἀπηλαύομεν, ὡς τῆς θείας γενόμενοι δόξης θεαταί καί ἀκουσταί καί ὑμνῳδοί; Εἰ δι᾿ ἀγάπης τόν ἑκούσιον τοῦ μίσους ἐνεκρώσαμεν σκώληκα, καί δι' ἀληθείας τό ψεῦδος ἠφανίσαμεν, νῦν ἄν τούτου τοῦ καυστικοῦ καθειστήκαμεν ἐλεύθεροι σκώληκος, καί τῶν λοιπῶν ὅσα ἡμῶν νῦν συνέχει δεινά τήν ζωήν. ∆ικαία ἡ κρίσις τοῦ Θεοῦ. Οὐχ εὑρίσκομεν, ὅπερ μή ἐζητήσαμεν. Οὐκ ἀνοίγεται ἡμῖν ἡ θύρα τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἐπειδή τήν θύραν τῶν ἀρετῶν διά πράξεως οὐκ ἐκρούσαμεν· οὐ λαμβάνομεν τῶν αἰωνίων ἀγαθῶν τήν ἀπόλαυσιν, ἐπειδή δι᾿ εὐχῆς τήν χάριν τῆς γνώσεως οὐκ ᾐτήσαμεν. Οὐδένα γάρ τῶν θείων ἔσχομεν ἔρωτα, ἀλλά τοῖς γηΐνοις τόν νοῦν καταδήσαντες, πᾶσαν αὐτοῖς ἡμῶν συνεφθείραμεν τήν ζωήν. Κἀκεῖνα μέν πάντα καπνοῦ δίκην ἀφανισθέντα παρῆλθεν, ὁ δέ τῆς ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς δίκης λόγος μένει διά παντός ἀπαρόδευτος.

Καί ταῦτα μέν ἐκεῖνοι, τῆς θείας δικαιοσύνης μεταμανθάνοντες ἐξ ὧν πάσχουσι τήν δύναμιν, ὡς τύπῳ περιλαβεῖν, ἀλλήλοις τυχόν διαλεχθήσονται· ἐγώ δέ τίς γένομαι ὁ τάλας ; Τίσιν ἑρειδόμενος πράξεσιν, ἐλπίσω τῆς φοβερᾶς ἐξαιρεθῆναι κατακρίσεως, πάσης ἀρετῆς καί γνώσεως, ὑπάρχων ἔρημος ; ∆έδοικα μή δεθείς χεῖρας καί πόδας, ῥιφῶ εἰς γῆν γνοφεράν καί σκοτεινήν, εἰς γῆν σκότους αἰωνίου, ἔνθα οὐκ ἔστι φέγγος, οὐδέ ὁρᾷν ζωήν βροτῶν· ὡς δήσας τοῖς πάθεσιν ἑκουσίως τάς πρακτικάς τῆς ψυχῆς δυνάμεις, καί ἀπό τοῦ θείου δρόμου τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς πολιτείας κωλύσας τῆς ψυχῆς τά διαβήματα. Οἴμοι τῆς φοβερᾶς αἰσχύνης, τῆς μηδέποτε πέρας, (389) ἐχούσης, εἰ μή μεταβαλών, τῶν πολλῶν μου κακῶν ἐλεύθερος γένομαι· Οἴμοι τοῦ κλαυθμοῦ, καί τῶν πικρῶν δακρύων, καί τοῦ βρυγμοῦ τῶν ὀδόντων, εἰ μή νήψας κἄν ὀψέ ποτε τόν βαθύν ὕπνον τῆς ῥᾳθυμίας ἀποτινάξωμαι, καί τό ῥυπαρόν ἔνδυμα τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἐκδύσωμαι. Ἀντί φωτός, σκότος· ἀντί χαρᾶς, λύπη· ἀντί ἀνέσεως, κόλασις καί στενοχωρία με πάντως ὑποδέξονται. Καί τό δή πάντων ἐλεεινότερον, ἤ βαρύτερον εἰπεῖν ἀληθέστερον, ὅ καί λέγων μόνον ὀδυνῶμαι· πόσῳ γε μᾶλλον πάσχων (ἰλάσθητι, Χριστέ, καί σῶσον ἡμᾶς ταύτης τῆς ὀδύνης) ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ καί τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ δυνάμεων χωρισμός· καί ἡ πρός διάβολον, καί τούς πονηρούς δαίμονας οἰκείωσις εἰς ἀεί διαμένουσα· καί τήν ἐκ τούτων ἐλευθερίαν τῶν δεινῶν ἀπροσδόκητον ἔχουσα. Οἷς γάρ κατά τόν αἰῶνα τοῦτον διά τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων ἡμῶν τῶν πονηρῶν συνεῖναι κατά θελητόν γνωμικῶς ἐπελεξάμεθα, σύν τούτοις εἰκότως ἐξ ἀνάγκης εἶναι κατά τόν αἰῶνα τόν μέλλοντα καί μή θέλοντες κατακριθησόμεθα. Καί ἔστι πάσης κολάσεως κολαστικώτερόν τε καί δεινότερον, τό διά παντός συνεῖναι τοῖς μισοῦσι καί μισουμένοις, καί βασάνων χωρίς, μή ὅτιγε σύν ταύταις· κεχωρίσθαι δέ τοῦ ἀγαπῶντός τε καί ἀγαπωμένου. Θεός γάρ μισεῖται κρίνων δικαίως ὑπό τῶν κρινομένων, κατά φύσιν ἀγάπη καί ὤν καί καλούμενος· οὐτε μισεῖ τούς κρινομένους· πάντως γάρ φύσιν ὑπάρχει παθοῦς ἐλεύθερος.

Ταῦτα κατ᾿ ἀλήθειαν ἀψευδῶς ἔσεσθαι πιστεύοντες, ἠγαπημένε, μή ἀμελήσωμεν ἑαυτῶν· ἀλλά σπουδῇ πάσῃ, καθ᾿ ὅλην τήν δύναμιν, ὡς ἔχομεν καιρόν, τόν πλάνον φύγωμεν κόσμον καί κοσμοκράτορα. Παρέρχεται γάρ, καί τά ἐν αὐτῷ πάντα μαραίνεται. Ἔσται γάρ ὠς ἀληθῶς, ἔσται καιρός, ὅτε φοβερά τις βοήσει σάλπιγξ, ξένην ἠχοῦσα φωνήν, καί τό πᾶν τοῦτο λυθήσεται, διαπίπτον τῆς ἐν αὐτῷ νῦν ὁρωμένης διακοσμήσεως. Καί ὁ μέν φαινόμενος κόσμος παρελεύσεται, τήν οἰκείαν λαμβάνων συντέλειαν· ὁ δέ νῦν κρυπτόμενος τῶν νοητῶν φανήσεται κόσμος, ὀφθαλμοῖς καί ἀκοαῖς καί διανοίαις ξένα παντάπασιν κομίζων μυστήρια. Καί ἡ μέν σάλπιγξ κατά τό