161

we may speak the truth, they immediately condemn us as arrogant, ignoring the voices of the holy apostles. Which are these? The one saying, "We have the mind of Christ". Do you judge this to be an excess of arrogance, I would say to them? (429) the saying, "By this we know that he abides in us, from the Spirit which he has given us"? How would you take this against the one who says it? But also the saying, "Or do you seek proof of Christ speaking in me", and, "I think I have the Spirit of God", and, "For we have not received the spirit of slavery again unto fear, but the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father", and, "God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, who has shined in our hearts"? Will all these sayings then be considered words of arrogance by you? O what foolishness!

But if you wish to learn the way of illumination, which comes to those who love the Lord, hear Paul himself saying: "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels," that is, in our bodies. "But if," he says, "there is no such person now, what then?". Why is there not, tell me? "Because," he says, "I think that even one who wishes cannot become such a person now, just as one who does not wish, does not become one either." If, then, you say that even one who wishes cannot, where shall we place the saying, "But as many as received him, to them he gave power to become children of God", and, "If you wish it, you are gods and all sons of the Most High, and, "Be holy, because I am holy"? But if you say that one who does not wish does not become one either, see that you have condemned yourself, not wishing nor choosing to become one; for if you wish to become one, you can.

But if you are not such, yet there are very many others, God willing, whom you yourself do not know. For if in the time of Elijah God had seven thousand who had not bent the knee to Baal, (430) how much more so now, when he has poured out his Holy Spirit richly upon us. But if someone does not strip off everything and approach naked and seek to receive, the cause lies with the one who is unwilling, not with God. For just as fire eagerly and, so to speak, naturally takes hold of matter, so also the grace of the all-holy and adorable Spirit seeks to touch our souls, so that it may shine for those in the world and, through those in whom it shines, direct the steps of the many, that they too, walking rightly, may draw near to the fire and, one by one, or even all together, if possible, be kindled and shine as gods in our midst, so that the seed of the God of Jacob may be blessed and multiplied, and that a godlike man, shining as a light upon the earth, may not fail.

I, then, think that this is the truth and that this is the will of God for us, whom he himself formed and honored and glorified of old with the glory of his image; but you, see and test what is said by us. And if we do not think and say the same things as the apostles and the holy and God-bearing fathers according to what has been said, and if we repeat the things spoken by God in the holy Gospels, if we do not, through proofs, clearly rekindle in all things the life-giving energy and gift which is in them but which has been wrongly extinguished by foolish reasonings, as far as they are concerned, and show the light already shining, establishing and saying everything, of course, from the holy Scriptures themselves, (431) then let me be anathema from the Lord God and Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, as one teaching contrary to what the divine apostles taught and preached, and you, not only block your ears to hearing, but also stone me to death as impious and godless. But if we are setting right the Lord's and the apostles' doctrines, which are being distorted by some, gathering again from the divine Scriptures themselves the things that support and correct their understanding and that of those who are persuaded by them, we advise them not to expect the resurrection and incorruption and life and the kingdom of heaven and the eternal good things themselves all in hopes, but

161

τήν ἀλήθειαν εἴπωμεν, ὡς ὑπερηφάνων ἡμῶν αὐτίκα καταγινώσκουσιν, ἀγνοοῦντες τάς τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων φωνάς. Ποίας δή ταύτας, τό "Ἡμεῖς νοῦν Χριστοῦ ἔχομεν". Ἆρα ὑπερβολήν κρίνετε, πρός αὐτούς ἄν εἴποιμι, τοῦτο ὑπερηφανίας; (429) τό "Ἐκ τούτου γινώσκομεν ὅτι ἐν ἡμῖν ἐστιν, ἐκ τοῦ Πνεύματος οὐ δέδωκεν ἡμῖν"; Τοῦτο δέ πῶς ἐκλάβοιτε κατά τοῦ λέγοντος; Ἀλλά καί τό "Ἤ δοκιμήν ζητεῖτε τοῦ ἐν ἐμοί λαλοῦντος Χριστοῦ", καί τό "∆οκῶ Πνεῦμα Θεοῦ ἔχειν ", καί τό "Ἡμεῖς δέ οὐκ ἐλάβομεν πνεῦμα δουλείας πάλιν εἰς φόβον, ἀλλά Πνεῦμα υἱοθεσίας, ἐν ᾧ κράζομεν· Ἀββᾶ ὁ Πατήρ", καί τό "Ὁ Θεός ὁ εἰπών ἐκ σκότους φῶς λάμψαι, ὅς ἔλαμψεν ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν "; Ταῦτα οὖν πάντα ὑπερηφανίας ὑμῖν λογισθήσονται ῥήματα; Ὤ τῆς εὐηθείας!

Εἰ δέ καί τόν τῆς ἐλλάμψεως τρόπον βούλῃ μαθεῖν, τόν ἐγγινόμενον τοῖς ἀγαπῶσι τόν Κύριον, ἄκουε αὐτοῦ τοῦ Παύλου λέγοντος· "Ἔχομεν δέ τόν θησαυρόν τοῦτον ἐν ὀστρακίνοις σκεύεσιν", εἴτ᾿ οὖν σώμασιν. "Εἰ δέ μή ἔστι, φησί, τοιοῦτος τά νῦν, τί;". ∆ιατί οὐκ ἔστιν, εἰπέ; "Ὅτι καί θέλοντά τινα, φησί, μή δύνασθαι οἴομαι γενέσθαι τοιοῦτον τά νῦν, ὡς καί μή θέλοντα, μηδέ γίνεσθαι". Εἰ τοίνυν καί θέλοντα λέγεις μή δύνασθαι, ποῦ θήσομεν τό "Ὅσοι δέ ἔλαβον αὐτόν ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν τέκνα Θεοῦ γενέσθαι", καί το "Εἰ θέλετε, θεοί ἐστε καί υἱοί Ὑψίστου πάντες, καί τό "Γίνεσθε ἅγιοι, ὅτι ἐγώ ἅγιός εἰμι"; Εἰ δέ καί μή θέλοντα μηδέ γίνεσθαι, ἴδε ὅτι σύ σεαυτόν κατεδίκασας, μή θέλων μηδέ προαιρούμενος γενέσθαι· εἰ γάρ θέλεις γενέσθαι, δύνασαι.

Εἰ δέ σύ μή τοιοῦτος, ἀλλ᾿ ἕτεροι πλεῖστοι, Θεοῦ βουλομένου, οὕς αὐτός ἀγνοεῖς. Εἰ γάρ ἐπί τοῦ Ἠλιοῦ ἑπτακισχιλίους εἶχεν ὁ Θεός τούς μή κάμψαντας γόνυ τῇ Βαάλ, (430) πολλῷ μᾶλλον νῦν, ὅτε τό Πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ τό Ἅγιον πλουσίως ἐξέχεεν ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς. Εἰ δέ μή ἀποδύεταί τις πάντα καί γυμνός προσέρχεται καί ζητεῖ τοῦ λαβεῖν, τοῦ μή βουλομένου τό αἴτιον, οὐ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ὥσπερ γάρ τό πῦρ προθύμως τῆς ὕλης, ἵν᾿ εἴπω, καί φυσικῶς ταύτης ἐπιλαμβάνεται, οὕτω και ἡ χάρις τοῦ Παναγίου καί προσκυνητοῦ Πνεύματος τῶν ἡμετέρων ψυχῶν ζητεῖ ἅψασθαι, ἵνα καί τοῖς ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ λάμψῃ καί κατευθύνῃ δι᾿ ὧν λάμπει τά τῶν πολλῶν δαβήματα, ὡς ἄν καλῶς ὁδεύοντες καί αὐτοί πλησιάσωσι τῷ πυρί καί εἷς καθ᾿ εἷς ἤ καί πάντες, εἰ οἷόν τε, ὁμοῦ, ἀναφθῶσι καί ὡς θεοί λάμψωσιν ἐν μέσῳ ἡμῶν, ἵνα ἐπευλογῆται καί πληθύνηται τό σπέρμα τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἰακώβ καί μή ἐκλείψῃ θεοειδής ἄνθρωπος, λάμπων ὡς φῶς ἐπί γῆς.

Ἐγώ μέν οὖν οὕτως οἴομαι τήν ἀλήθειαν ἔχειν καί εἶναι τό βούλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰς ἡμᾶς, οὕς αὐτός ἔπλασε καί ἐτίμησε καί ἐδόξασε πάλαι τῇ δόξῃ τῆς εἰκόνος αὐτοῦ· ὑμεῖς δέ ἴδετε καί δοκιμάσατε τά λεγόμενα παρ᾿ ἡμῶν. Καί εἰ μή τά αὐτά τοῖς ἀποστόλοις καί τοῖς ἁγίοις καί θεοφόροις πατράσι φρονοῦμεν καί λέγομεν κατά τά εἰρημένα, καί τά τῶν ἁγίων Εὐαγγελίων ῥηθέντα παρά τοῦ Θεοῦ καί ἡμεῖς δευτεροῦμεν, εἰ μή τήν ἐν αὐτοῖς οὖσαν, κακῶς δέ ἀποσβεσθεῖσαν ὑπό συλλογισμῶν ἀσυνέτων, ὅσον τό ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς, ζωοποιόν ἐνέργειάν τε καί δωρεάν διά ἀποδείξεων ἐν πᾶσι τρανῶς ἀνάπτομεν καί τό φῶς ἤδη λάμπον ὑποδεικνύομεν, ἐξ αὐτῶν δηλονότι τῶν ἁγίων Γραφῶν πάντα καί συνιστῶντες καί λέγοντες, (431) ἔστω μέν ἐμοί ἀνάθεμα ἀπό Κυρίου Θεοῦ καί Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ διά Πνεύματος Ἁγίου, ὡς διδάσκοντι παρ᾿ ὅ οἱ θεῖοι ἀπόστολοι ἐδίδαξαν καί εὐηγγελίσαντο, ὑμεῖς δέ μή μόνον τά ὦτα πρός τήν ἀκρόασιν ἀποφράξητε, ἀλλά κἀμέ λίθοις βαλόντες ὡς ἀσεβῆ καί ἄθεον ἀποκτείνατε. Εἰ δέ τά ∆εσποτικά καί ἀποστολικά δόγματα, διαστρεφόμενα παρά τινων, ἀνορθοῦμεν, ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν θείων πάλιν Γραφῶν τά ὑποστηρίζοντα καί διορθοῦντα τήν ἐκείνων καί τῶν πειθομένων αὐτοῖς διάνοιαν συλλεγόμενοι, τήν ἀνάστασίν τε καί τήν ἄφθαρσίαν καί τήν ζωήν καί τήν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν καί αὐτά τά αἰώνια ἀγαθά μή ἐν ἐλπίσιν αὐτοῖς ἅπαντα προσδοκᾶν παραινοῦμεν, ἀλλά