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and likeness. For these myrrhs compounded by human hands and making your senses fragrant with the aroma of the myrrh, repaint and, as it were, wisely intimate your creation. For just as the hands of ointment-makers form myrrhs compounded from different kinds and make one form from many, so too the hands of God formed you, wisely compounded and harmoniously fitted with the intelligible members of the intelligible myrrh, or rather, with the charisms of the life-creating and all-working Spirit, and you should emit the fragrance of His knowledge and wisdom, so that those who hear the words of your teaching may be perfumed in the senses of their soul and rejoice with a spiritual joy. But the crowds gathered to you and singing aloud to God show you the heavenly orders and the innumerable powers of the angels, who sing hymns to the heavenly Master for your salvation. And the praise and the hymn, (370) melodiously sung by them, alludes to that mystical hymn which the holy angels unceasingly sing, so that you too may make yourself such a one and, as an earthly angel, with the immaterial mouth of your heart you may unceasingly hymn mystically the God who has fashioned you. And indeed the friends and acquaintances and the rulers who are present teach you by their presence that through every work of the commandments and through the wealth of virtues you must become counted among and sharing the life of the apostles, prophets, martyrs, and all the saints. If you reason thus while celebrating and have become such a one as the discourse has portrayed, you celebrate a spiritual feast in what you do while feasting and you celebrate together with the powers of the angels above. But if not so, and you have not made yourself such a one through the working of the commandments, what is the profit for you in celebrating? There is a fear lest you too, like the Jews of old, should hear: "I will turn," He says, "your feasts into mourning and I will change your joy into sorrow." What then? Shall we not celebrate bodily and sensibly, if we are not able to become such as you have shown us in the discourse? By all means. "Celebrate," it says, and perform what is for the honor of God and His saints, as much as you are able, and call together everyone, if possible, kings, rulers, high priests, levites, monks, laymen, so that through all God may be glorified through you, and their glory, being offered up to God as from you alone, will be reckoned to you and you will be well-pleasing to Him. But do not think that by this you glorify God and His saints or add anything to their glory. For how could you? "For," it says, "that which was glorified has no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excels," (371) nor are the saints in need of earthly and human glory. But so that you may obtain mercy from God through their intercession, celebrate. But do not even so suppose that what is happening is a true feast for you, but rather reckon it a type and a shadow and a symbol of a feast. For tell me, what communion could sensible and inanimate things, completely devoid of sense, ever have with intelligible and divine and ensouled things, or rather to say, spiritual and living things that provide eternal life? Let the feast for you, celebrating thoughtfully and piously, be not the light of lamps that is extinguished in a short time, but purely the lamp of your soul itself, which is the knowledge of divine and heavenly things, granted by the Holy Spirit to the Israelite mind. Let this shine forth for you through all your life, appearing beyond the rays of the sun to all those in the universal house, a pure light of the word seasoned with the salt of the Spirit, according to the commanding precept: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

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καί ὁμοίωσιν. Ταῦτα γάρ τά ὑπό τῶν χειρῶν τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων συντεθέντα μύρα καί τῇ εὐωδίᾳ τοῦ μύρου εὐωδιάζοντά σου τάς αἰσθήσεις τήν σήν πλάσιν ἀναζωγραφοῦσι καί οἷον σοφῶς ὑπεμφαίνουσι. Καθάπερ γάρ τά ὑπό διαφόρων εἰδῶν συντιθέμενα μύρα χεῖρες πλάττουσι μυρεψῶν καί ἕν ἐκ πολλῶν εἶδος ἀποτελοῦσιν, οὕτω καί σέ χεῖρες Θεοῦ ἔπλασαν, συντεθέντα σοφῶς καί συναρμολογηθέντα τοῖς νοητοῖς μέλεσι τοῦ μύρου τοῦ νοητοῦ, εἴτ᾿ οὖν τοῖς χαρίσμασι τοῦ ζωοποιοῦ καί παντουργοῦ Πνεύματος καί μυρίζειν σε χρή τήν εὐωδίαν τῆς γνώσεως καί τῆς σοφίας αὐτοῦ, ἵνα οἱ ἀκούοντες τῶν λόγων τῆς διδασκαλίας σου εὐωδιάζωνται τά αἰσθητήρια τῆς ψυχῆς καί εὐφραίνωνται εὐφροσύνην πνευματικήν. Τά δέ συναθροισθέντα σοι πλήθη καί ᾄδοντα μεγαλοφώνως Θεῷ, τά οὐράνιά σοι τάγματα παραδηλοῦσι καί τάς ἀναριθμήτους τῶν ἀγγέλων δυνάμεις, τάς ἐπί τῇ σῇ σωτηρίᾳ τόν οὐράνιον ἀνυμνούσας ∆εσπότην. Ὁ αἶνος δέ καί ὁ ὕμνος, (370) ὁ δι᾿ αὐτῶν μελῳδούμενος, τόν ὕμνον ἐκεῖνον τόν μυστικόν, ὅν ἀσιγήτως οἱ ἅγιοι ἀναμέλπουσιν ἄγγελοι, ὑπαινίττεται, ὡς ἄν καί αὐτός ἑαυτόν τοιοῦτον ἀποτελέσῃς καί ὡς ἐπίγειος ἄγγελος τῷ ἀΰλῳ στόματι ἀκαταπαύστως τῆς καρδίας σου ἀνυμνῇς τόν πεποικότα σε Θεόν μυστικῶς. Οἱ δέ γε φίλοι καί γνωστοί καί τῶν ἀρχόντων οἱ συμπαρόντες διδάσκουσί σε διά τῆς παρουσίας ὅτι δεῖ σε συναρίθμιον καί ὁμοδίαιτον διά πάσης ἐργασίας τῶν ἐντολῶν καί διά τοῦ πλούτου τῶν ἀρετῶν ἀποστόλων, προφητῶν, μαρτύρων καί πάντων γενέσθαι ὁσίων. Ἐάν οὕτως ἑορτάζων λογίζῃ καί τοιοῦτος γέγονας οἷον ὁ λόγος ἀναζωγράφησεν, ἑορτήν ἑορτάζεις ἐν οἷς ποιεῖς ἑορτάζων πνευματικήν καί συνεορτάζεις ταῖς ἄνω τῶν ἀγγέλων δυνάμεσι. Εἰ δέ οὐχ οὕτως οὐδέ τοιοῦτον σεαυτόν διά τῆς ἐργασίας τῶν ἐντολῶν ἀπειργάσω, τί σοι τό ὄφελος ἑορτάζοντι; ∆έος μή καί σύ, ὡς οἱ πάλαι Ἰουδαῖοι, ἀκούσῃς «Μεταστρέψω, φησίν, εἰς πένθος τάς ἑορτάς σου καί τήν χαράν σου εἰς λύπην μεταβαλών». Τί οὖν; Οὐχ ἑορτάσομεν σωματικῶς τε καί αἰσθητῶς, εἰ μή τοιοῦτοι δυνηθῶμεν γενέσθαι οἵους ἡμῖν τῷ λόγῳ ὑπέδειξας; Καί πάνυ μέν οὖν. «Ἑόρταζε» φησί, καί τά πρός τιμήν Θεοῦ καί τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ ἐπιτέλει, ὅση σοι δύναμις, καί πάντας, εἰ οἷόν τε, συγκάλει, βασιλεῖς, ἄρχοντας, ἀρχιερεῖς, λευΐτας, μοναστάς, λαϊκούς, ἵνα διά πάντων δοξασθῇ ὁ Θεός διά σοῦ καί τούτων ἡ δόξα, ὡς ἐξ ἑνός σοῦ ἀναφερομένη πρός τόν Θεόν, σοί λογισθήσεται καί αὐτῷ εὐαπόδεκτος ἔσῃ. Μή οἵου δέ ὡς ἐντεῦθεν τόν Θεόν καί τούς ἁγίους δοξάζειν αὐτοῦ ἤ προσθήκην τινά τῆς δόξης αὐτοῖς ἐμποιεῖν. Πῶς γάρ; «Οὐ γάρ δεδόξασται, φησί, τό δεδοξασμένον ἕνεκα τῆς ὑπερβαλλούσης δόξης αὐτοῦ», (371) οὐδέ ἐνδεῶς ἔχουσιν οἱ ἅγιοι δόξης ἐπιγείου καί ἀνθρωπίνης. Ἀλλ᾿ ὅπως ἐλέους τύχῃς ἀπό Θεοῦ διά τῆς ἐκείνων πρεσβείας, ἑόρταζε. Ἀλλά μηδέ οὕτως ἑορτήν σοι ἀληθινήν εἶναι τό γινόμενον ὑποτόπαζε, τύπον δέ μᾶλλον καί σκιάν καί σύμβολον ἑορτῆς τοῦτο λογίζου. Ποίαν γάρ, εἰπέ μοι, κοινωνίαν σχοῖέν ποτε τά αἰσθητά καί ἄψυχα καί πάντῃ αἰσθήσεως ἄμοιρα πρός τά νοητά καί θεῖα καί ἔμψυχα, ἤ πνευματικά μᾶλλον εἰπεῖν καί ζῶντα καί ζωῆς αἰωνίου παρεκτικά; Ἔστω σοι ἑορτή, λελογισμένως καί εὐσεβῶς ἑορτάζοντι, μή λαμπάδων φῶς εἰς τό ὀλίγον σβεννύμενον, ἀλλά αὐτή καθαρῶς ἡ τῆς ψυχῆς σου λαμπάς, ἥτις ἡ γνῶσις ὑπάρχει τῶν θείων καί οὐρανίων πραγμάτων, ἡ ὑπό τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος χορηγουμένη τῷ Ἰσραηλιτικῷ τήν διάνοιαν. Αὕτη ἔστω σοι διά πάσης ἐκλάμπουσα τῆς ζωῆς σου, ὑπέρ τάς τοῦ ἡλίου ἀκτῖνας φαίνουσα πᾶσι τοῖς ἐν τῇ παγκοσμίῳ οἰκίᾳ, φῶς καθαρόν τοῦ λόγου ἠρτυμένον τῷ τοῦ Πνεύματος ἅλατι, κατά τήν κελεύουσαν ἐντολήν «Λαμψάτω τό φῶς ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὅπως ἴδωσι τά καλά ἔργα ὑμῶν καί δοξάσωσι τόν Πατέρα ὑμῶν τόν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς».