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the cause is of the one who wills it, not of 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, so that they, walking aright, may themselves draw near to the fire and one by one, or even all at once, if possible, be set ablaze and shine as gods in our midst, so that the seed of the God of Jacob may be blessed and multiplied and that the Godlike man, shining as a light upon the earth, may not cease to exist.

I, then, think that this is the truth and this is the will of God for us, whom He Himself formed and honored and glorified long ago with the glory of His image; but you, see and test the things spoken by us. And if we do not hold the same beliefs and say the same things as the apostles and the holy and God-bearing fathers, according to what has been said, and if we do not echo what was spoken by God in the holy Gospels; if we do not, through proofs, clearly rekindle in all things the life-giving energy and gift that is in them but was wickedly extinguished by senseless reasonings, as far as it was in their power; and if we do not show the light already shining, establishing and saying everything from the Holy Scriptures themselves, (431) then let me be anathema from the Lord God and Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, as one who teaches contrary to what the divine apostles taught and proclaimed as good news; and you, not only block your ears from listening, but also stone me to death as impious and godless. But if we set aright 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 the mind of those men and of those persuaded by them, and if we exhort them not to expect all things — the resurrection, and incorruption, and life, and the kingdom of heaven, and the eternal goods themselves — in hope alone, but we teach that some things are set before us and are being revealed, appearing and being seen, and given already from now on as a pledge to the elect and those who are to be saved, while we are eager to demonstrate and confirm the things set forth for them after death and the resurrection, ought we not rather to be acceptable to them and to all, and very beloved, as demonstrating a work of perfect love?

For just as one who finds a hidden treasure and keeps it for himself alone is blamed by all and condemned as a lover of money, but one who does not hide it for himself, but shows and reveals it to all and permits each to take as much as he wishes, is certainly praiseworthy and acceptable to God and men, so also shall I be in spiritual matters, speaking as a fool, by the grace of God. For when a treasure hidden (432) in the divine Scriptures was revealed to me by a holy man in a certain place, I did not hesitate to arise and search for it and see it; but asking and taking him as my helper and co-worker, I left behind every other work and pursuit of life. Arriving at the place where that good man indicated to me in writing that the treasure was, with much labor and toil, night and day, I did not cease to dig, to excavate, to throw out the soil, and to make the pit deeper, until the treasure began to shine through from above with the soil. Therefore, having toiled for a long time at digging and casting away the soil, from above I have beheld the entire treasure that lay somewhere below, spread out, as I think, over all the earth, unmixed and clean of all filth. And seeing it, I always cry out, and so to those who disbelieve and are unwilling to toil and dig, I shout aloud: "Come and see, all you who disbelieve the divine Scriptures." And this I do, being entirely persuaded by Solomon

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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 τά μέν προκείμενα καί ἀποκαλυπτόμενα, φαινόμενά τε καί ὁρώμενα καί ὡς ἀρραβῶνας τοῖς ἐκλεκτοῖς καί σωθῆναι μέλλουσιν ἀπεντεῦθεν ἤδη διδόμενα ἐκδιδάσκομεν, τά δέ μετά θάνατον καί τήν ἀνάστασιν εἰς αὐτούς προτιθέμενα ἀποδεῖξαι καί βεβαιῶσαι προτεθυμήμεθα, οὐχί μᾶλλον ἀποδεκτοί αὐτοῖς καί πᾶσιν εἶναι ὀφείλομεν καί λίαν ἀγαπητοί, ὡς τῆς τελείας ἀγάπης ἔργον ἐπιδεικνύμενοι;

Ὥσπερ γάρ ὁ κεκρυμμένον εὑρών θησαυρόν καί ἑαυτῷ μόνῳ τηρήσας αὐτόν, ψεκτός παρά πάντων καί ὡς φιλάργυρος κατακρίνεται, ὁ δέ μή ἑαυτῷ κρύπτων, ἀλλά τοῖς πᾶσιν ὑποκεικνύων καί φανερῶν καί ἀφιείς ἕκαστον λαβεῖν ὅσον βούλεται, πάντως ἐπαινετός καί Θεῷ καί ἀνθρώποις ἀποδεκτέος, οὕτω κἀγώ ἐν τοῖς πνευματικοῖς ἔσομαι παραφρονῶν, λαλῶν Θεοῦ χάριτι. Καί γάρ θησαυρόν ἀποκεκρυμμένον (432) ὑπό τῶν θείων Γραφῶν ὄντα, μηνυθέντα μοι ὑπό ἁγίου ἀνδρός ἐν τόπῳ τινί, οὐ κατώκνησα διεγερθῆναι καί τοῦτον ἐρευνῆσαι καί ἰδεῖν, ἀλλά κἀκεῖνόν μοι βοηθόν γενέσθαι ἐξαιτησάμενον καί συνεργόν καί λαβών, πᾶσαν ἄλλην ἐργασίαν καί πρᾶξιν τοῦ βίου καταλιπών καί τῷ τόπῳ, ἐν ᾧ μοι εἶναι τόν θησαυρόν ὁ ἀγαθός ἐκεῖνος ἀνήρ διά γραμμάτων ἐδήλωσεν, ἐπιστάς, κόπῳ πολλῷ καί μόχθῳ νυκτός καί ἡμέρας ὀρρύσειν, σκάπτειν, τόν χοῦν ἔξω βάλλειν καί εἰς βάθος ποιεῖν οὐκ ἐπαυσάμην τό ὄρυγμα, ἕως ὁ θησαυρός διαυγάζειν σύν τῷ χοΐ ἄνωθεν ἤρξατο. Ἐπί πολύ οὖν κοπιάσας ἐξορύττων καί τόν χοῦν ἀπορρίπτων, ὅλον τόν κάτω που κείμενον θησαυρόν ἔνωθεν, ὡς οἴομαι, πάσης τῆς γῆς καί ἀμιγῆ καί παντός ῥύπου καθαρόν ἐφηπλωμένον τεθέαμαι, καί ὁρῶν ἀεί κράζω καί οὕτω τοῖς διαπιστοῦσι καί κοπιᾶν καί ὀρύσσειν μή θέλουσιν ἐκβοῶ· "∆εῦτε ἴδετε πάντες οἱ τάς θείας διαπιστοῦντες Γραφάς". Τοῦτο δέ ποιῶ τῷ Σολομῶντι πάντως πειθόμενος