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with the world itself, I say, and considering all those in the world as not existing in perception from the soul and having been separated from the world by such a disposition, he was seen by me, whole to whole, he was united to me, whole to whole, he who is outside the world and carries the world around with all things in the world and holds together by his hand alone the visible with the invisible. He therefore, hear me, meeting me found me; from where, how he came, I do not know. For how was I to know from where he came, whom no man has ever seen, nor known where he exists, where he pastures, where he rests? For he is not seen at all, not perceived at all, but he dwells in unapproachable light and is light (230) of three hypostases ineffably in uncircumscribed spaces, my uncircumscribed God, one Father, Son likewise, with the Divine Spirit, the three are one and the three are one God inexpressibly. For reason does not have the strength to express the inexpressible, nor the mind to perceive clearly; for I barely have strength to tell you in some way the things in us, but neither I nor any other will have the strength to interpret these things to you at all. How God is outside of all things, in essence and in nature,

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σύν αὐτῷ τῷ κόσμῳ λέγω, καί τούς ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ πάντας ὡς μή ὄντας ἐν αἰσθήσει λογιζόμενον ἐκ ψυχῆς καί τοῦ κόσμου χωρισθέντα τῇ τοιαύτῃ διαθέσει, ὅλος ὅλῳ μοι ὡράθη, ὅλος ὅλῳ μοι ἡνώθη ὁ τοῦ κόσμου πέλων ἔξω καί τόν κόσμον περιφέρων μετά τῶν ἐν κόσμῳ πάντων καί χειρί συνέχων μόνῃ ὁρατά σύν ἀοράτοις. Οὗτος οὖν, ἀκούσατέ μου, συναντήσας εὕρατό με˙ πόθεν, πῶς ἐλθών, οὐ οἶδα. Πῶς γάρ ἔμελλον εἰδέναι, πόθεν ἦλθεν, ὅν ἀνθρώπων οὐδείς πώποτε οὐκ εἶδεν, οὔτε ἔγνω ποῦ ὑπάρχει, ποῦ ποιμαίνει, ποῦ κοιτάζει; Ὅλως γάρ οὐ καθορᾶται, ὅλως οὐ κατανοεῖται, ἐνοικεῖ δέ ἀπροσίτῳ ἐν φωτί καί φῶς ὑπάρχει (230) τρισυπόστατον ἀφράστως ἐν ἀπεριγράπτοις χώροις, ἀπερίγραπτος Θεός μου, εἷς Πατήρ, Υἱός ὡσαύτως, σύν τῷ Πνεύματι τῷ Θείῳ, ἕν τά τρία καί τά τρία εἷς Θεός ἀνερμηνεύτως. Λόγος γάρ οὐκ ἐξισχύει τά ἀνέκφραστα ἐκφράσαι, οὐδέ νοῦς σαφῶς νοῆσαι˙ τά γάρ ἐν ἡμῖν σοι μόλις ἐξειπεῖν ποσῶς ἰσχύω, ἑρμηνεῦσαι δέ σοι ταῦτα οὔτ᾿ ἐγώ, οὔτε τις ἄλλος τοῦτο ὅλως ἐξισχύσει. Πῶς Θεός τῶν πάντων ἔξω, τῇ οὐσίᾳ καί τῇ φύσει,