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the chiefest of the apostles for us commands, for he says: "Each one, as he has received a gift, ministering it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, as oracles of God; if anyone serves, as from the strength which God supplies".

(427) Therefore it is the Spirit that speaks, brothers, not I, as the Lord and His faithful disciple have assured us. But if I am lying, where shall I flee the inescapable [judgment] of justice, which sends liars to destruction? "For You will destroy," it says, "all who speak falsehood." Just as he who disbelieves the one speaking through the Spirit sins against and blasphemes the Spirit who speaks, so again he who is deprived of the grace of the Spirit from above, if he should dare to say, "I speak in the Holy Spirit," like Simon Magus and his partisans, he will be an alien and an adversary of God. For he who opposes the words of the Spirit is entirely opposed to God. For God is inseparable and indivisible; for the Holy Spirit is inseparable from the eternity and kingdom of the Father and the Son.

Do not then wish to become fighters against God and adversaries of God, brothers, but come, worship and fall down with us, and do not rise from there until you receive the gift of God, just as we, the unworthy, have received it by His grace. We say nothing against you, brothers, but we show our abundant love towards all of you. If then we were saying that we have received grace freely from the Father of lights from whom comes every perfect gift, but we do not wish you to receive it, we would rightly be hated both by God and by you yourselves; but now, presenting the truth from the divine Scripture and from experience of it and showing you the royal road, how do we wrong you? But if, considering me (428) nameless and obscure and least of all, you do not deign to be taught by me, know and learn that God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and the weak and rejected things, to shame the glorious and the strong.

But perhaps someone, coming forward, might say: "The things said are great and excessive and beyond human power." And I say to you: "They are indeed great and beyond nature, for they are the words of God, as it has been said." "And how is it," he says, "that none of the great fathers has spoken so openly about himself or uttered such words as you speak about yourself?" "You are mistaken, O man. Rather, the apostles and the fathers have spoken things that are in harmony with and that surpass my words, but the credibility of the speakers makes what is said acceptable and believable, while our insignificance makes even things universally acknowledged appear to you as false and abominable."

Nevertheless, I have also another reason to say, for which, even unwillingly, I have revealed these things. And what is it? The false and irrational madness and opinion of those who say that such a man does not now exist on earth and presently in our midst. And behold for me the wickedness, how resourceful it is. For when we do not speak openly, but hasten to conceal the gift, they think they are speaking the truth; but if we, having revealed the truth, should speak, they immediately condemn us as arrogant, being ignorant of the voices of the holy apostles. Which ones then? that "We have the mind of Christ." Do you judge this to be an excess of arrogance, I might say to them? (429) that "By this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit which he has given us"? And how would you take this against the one who says it? But also that "Or do you seek proof of Christ speaking in me," and that "I think that I have the Spirit of God," and that "For we did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, 'Abba, Father,'" and that "The God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' is the one who has shone in our hearts "? Will all these therefore be counted by you as words of arrogance? O, the folly!

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κορυφαιότατος ἡμῖν τῶν ἀποστόλων ἐντέλλεται, φησί γάρ· "Ἕκαστος καθώς ἔλαβε χάρισμα, εἰς ἑαυτούς αὐτό διακονοῦντες ὡς καλοί οἰκονόμοι ποικίλης χάριτος Θεοῦ. Εἴ τις λαλεῖ, ὡς λόγια Θεοῦ, εἴ τις διακονεῖ, ὡς ἐξ ἰσχύος ὡς χορηγεῖ ὁ Θεός".

(427) Τοιγαροῦν τό Πνεῦμα ἐστι τό λαλοῦν, ἀδελφοί, οὐκ ἐγώ, ὡς ὁ Κύριος καί ὁ τούτου πιστός μαθητής ἡμᾶς ἐβεβαίωσαν. Εἰ δέ ψεύδομαι, ποῦ φεύξομαι τό τῆς δίκης ἄφυκτον, τό τούς ψευδομένους εἰς ἀπώλειαν παραπέμπον; "Ἀπολεῖς γάρ, φησί, πάντας τούς λαλοῦντας τό ψεῦδος". Ὥσπερ δέ ὁ τῷ λαλοῦντι διά τοῦ Πνεύματος ἀπιστῶν, εἰς τό Πνεῦμα τό λαλοῦν ἐξαμαρτάνει καί βλασφημεῖ, οὕτω πάλιν ὁ τῆς ἄνωθεν χάριτος ἐστερημένος τοῦ Πνεύματος, ἐάν τολμήσῃ εἰπεῖν ὅτι "Ἐν Ἁγίῳ φθέγγομαι Πνεύματι ", ὡς Σίμων ὁ Μάγος καί οἱ ἐκείνου σύμφρονες ἔσται ἀλλότριος τοῦ Θεοῦ καί ἀντίθετος. Ὁ γάρ τοῖς λόγοις ἀντιπίπτων τοῦ Πνεύματος πάντως ἀντίθεος. Θεός γάρ ἀχώριστος ἐστι καί ἀδιαίρετος· τό γάρ Ἅγιον Πνεῦμα τῆς τοῦ Πατρός καί τοῦ Υἱοῦ ἀϊδιότητός τε καί βασιλείας ἀχώριστον.

Μή οὖν θεομάχοι καί ἀντίθεοι γενέσθαι θελήσητε, ἀδελφοί, ἀλλά δεῦτε προσκυνήσατε καί προσπέσατε σύν ἡμῖν καί μή ἀναστῆτε ἐκεῖθεν μέχρις ἄν λάβητε τήν δωρεάν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὡς καί ἡμεῖς ἐλάβομεν οἱ ἀνάξιοι ταύτην τῇ αὐτοῦ χάριτι. Οὐδέν ἐναντίον λέγομεν πρός ὑμᾶς, ἀδελφοί, ἀλλά τήν ἀγάπην ἡμῶν δεικνύομεν πλουσίαν πρός πάντας ὑμᾶς. Εἰ οὖν ἐλέγομεν ὅτι ἡμεῖς μέν ἐλάβομεν χάριν δωρεάν παρά τοῦ Πατρός τῶν φώτων ὅθεν πᾶν δώρημα τέλειον, ὑμᾶς δέ λαβεῖν οὐ βουλόμεθα, δικαίως ἄν καί ἐκ Θεοῦ καί ἐξ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν ἐμισούμεθα· νυνί δέ τήν ἀλήθειαν ἀπό τῆς θείας Γραφῆς καί ἀπό τῆς πείρας αὐτῆς παριστῶντες καί τήν βασιλικήν ὑποδεικνύοντες ὑμῖν ὁδόν, τί ὑμᾶς ἀδικοῦμεν; Εἰ δέ ὡς ἀνώνυμόν με (428) καί ἀφανῆ καί ἐλάχιστον λογιζόμενι οὐ καταδέχεσθε παρ᾿ ἐμοῦ ἐκδιδάσκεσθαι, γνῶτε καί μάθετε ὅτι τά μωρά τοῦ κόσμου ὁ Θεός ἐξελέξατο, ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τούς σοφούς καί τά ἀσθενῆ καί ἀπερριμένα, ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τά ἔνδοξα καί ἰσχυρά.

Ἀλλ᾿ ἴσως παρελθών τις εἰς μέσον εἴποι· "Μεγάλα καί ὑπερβολικά καί ὑπέρ ἀνθρωπίνην δύναμιν τά λεγόμενα". Κἀγώ σοι λέγω· "Μεγάλα τῷ ὄντι καί ὑπέρ φύσιν εἰσί, Θεοῦ γάρ εἰσι λόγοι, καθώς εἴρηται""Καί πῶς οὐδείς, φησί, τῶν μεγάλων πατέρων οὕτως ἀναφανδόν περί ἑαυτοῦ ἀπεφήνατο ἤ τοιούτους λόγους λελάληκεν, οἵους λαλεῖς σύ, περί ἑαυτοῦ;""Λέληθας σεαυτόν, ὦ ἄνθρωπε. Μᾶλλον μέν οὖν οἱ ἀπόστολοι καί οἱ πατέρες συνᾴδοντά μου τοῖς λόγοις καί ὑπερβαίνοντα λελαλήκασιν, ἀλλά τό ἀξιόπιστον τῶν λεγόντων εὐπαράδεκτα καί πιστά ποιεῖ τά λεγόμενα, ἡ δέ ἡμετέρα εὐτέλεια καί τά πᾶσιν ὡμολογημένα ὡς ψευδῆ καί βδελυκτά ὑμῖν ποιεῖ καταφαίνεσθαι".

Ὅμως ἔχω καί ἄλλην αἰτίαν εἰπεῖν, δι᾿ ἥν ταῦτα καί μή βουλόμενος ἐξεκάλυψα. Τίς δέ αὕτη ἐστίν; Ἡ τῶν λεγόντων μή εἶναι τά νῦν τοιοῦτον ἐπί τῆς γῆς καί ἐν μέσῳ ἡμῶν ἄρτι ἄνθρωπον ψευδής καί παράλογος ἄνοια καί ὑπόληψις. Καί ὅρα μοι τήν κακίαν, ὅπως ἐστί πολυμήχανος. Μή φανερῶς γάρ λεγόντων ἡμῶν, ἀλλ᾿ ὑποκρύβειν σπευδόντων τό χάρισμα, ἀληθεύειν ἐκεῖνοι νομίζουσιν· ἐάν δέ ἡμεῖς ἐκκαλύψαντες 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!