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27. He who has had experience of spiritual benefit and has acquired unadulterated faith, putting God forward as a witness of the truth, said: "I set such a thought within myself as never to ask my father to eat or to drink, or to partake of anything at all without him, until God should fully convince him and command me. And being so disposed, he says, I never failed in my purpose."

28. He who has acquired a clear faith towards his spiritual father, when he sees him, considers that he sees Christ, and being with or following him, he firmly believes he is with and follows Christ. Such a one will never desire to speak with anyone else, nor will he prefer any of the world's affairs over the remembrance and love of him. For what is greater or more beneficial in the present and future life than being with Christ? And what is more beautiful or sweeter than the sight of Him? And if he is also deemed worthy of converse with Him, he surely draws eternal life from it.

29. He who from disposition loves those who revile or wrong or hate and despoil him, and prays for them, ascends to great progress in a short time. For when this is done with a sense of the heart, it brings his reasoning down into an abyss of humility and to springs of tears, in which the tripartite soul is submerged; and it leads the mind up to the heaven of dispassion and renders it contemplative, and by the taste of the goodness from there, it makes him consider all things of the present life as refuse, and not to partake of food and drink with pleasure or too frequently.

30. (391) He showed clear faith who reveres as holy even the place where his guide and father stands, and fervently takes the dust of his feet in his hands and pours it on his own head, and anoints his heart with it, as a cure for his passions and a cleansing for his sins, yet does not dare to approach him himself, nor simply to touch any of his tunics or coverings without his command, and when handling any of his things, does so with fear and reverence, judging himself unworthy not only of seeing and serving these things, but also of living in his cell.

31. Many renounce this life and the affairs of life, but few also renounce their own wills, concerning whom the divine word rightly declares, saying, "Many are called, but few are chosen."

32. When you sit at the table with the whole brotherhood and all things are outlined to your eyes intellectually as a shadow, and you do not perceive the pleasure of the foods, but your whole soul is astonished with wonder and filled with tears, then know that the grace of God is showing you these things in this way on account of your great humility born of fear, so that, seeing the works of God and being taught the inertia of sensible things, you may graft your fear into the love of intelligible things. And this is spiritual knowledge, which you also hear spoken of, which is found between fear and love, and transfers a person from the one to the other imperceptibly and without danger.

33. It is not possible for anyone to acquire perfect and inalienable love for God in any other way except according to the measure of spiritual knowledge; and this grows little by little (392) in each soul that labors in the practical life. For knowing this, the Apostle also said, "For from the greatness and beauty of created things the Creator is known by analogy."

34. The magnitude of heaven and breadth of the earth and the principles of all other things no one is able to comprehend worthily with the physical eyes. For the things that surpass both mind and thought, how will the eyes of the body be strong enough to comprehend? For scarcely

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κζ΄. Ὁ πεῖραν ἐσχηκώς πνευματικῆς ὠφελείας καί ἀνόθευτον πίστιν κτησάμενος, μάρτυρα τῆς ἀληθείας τόν Θεόν προβαλλόμενος εἶπεν «Ἐθέμην τοιοῦτον ἐν ἐμαυτῷ λογισμόν ὡς μήτε φαγεῖν μήτε πιεῖν αἰτήσασθαί ποτε τῷ πατρί μου ἤ πάρεξ αὐτοῦ μεταλαβεῖν τινος τό καθόλου, ἕως ἄν ὁ Θεός πληροφορήσῃ αὐτόν καί προστάξῃ μοι καί οὕτως ἔχων οὐδέποτε, φησί, τοῦ σκοποῦ μου ἀπέτυχον».

κη΄. Ὁ πίστιν κτησάμενος ἐναργῆ πρός τόν κατά Θεόν πατέρα αὐτοῦ, βλέπων αὐτόν, αὐτόν βλέπειν λογίζεται τόν Χριστόν καί συνών ἤ ἀκολουθῶν αὐτῷ, Χριστῷ συνεῖναι καί ἀκολουθεῖν βεβαίως πιστεύει. Ὁ τοιοῦτος οὐκ ἐπιθυμήσει ἑτέρῳ τινί ὁμιλῆσαί ποτε, οὐ προτιμήσει τι τῶν τοῦ κόσμου πραγμάτων ὑπέρ τήν ἐκείνου μνήμην ὁμοῦ καί ἀγάπην. Τί γάρ καί μεῖζον ἤ ὠφελιμώτερον ἐν τῇ παρούσῃ καί ἐν τῇ μελλούσῃ ζωῇ τοῦ συνεῖναι Χριστῷ; Τί δέ καί ὡραιότερον ἤ γλυκύτερον τῆς θέας αὐτοῦ; Εἰ δέ καί ὁμιλίας ἀξιοῦται τῆς παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ, πάντως ζωήν τήν αἰώνιον ἐκ ταύτης ἀρύεται.

κθ΄. Ὁ ἐκ διαθέσεως τούς λοιδοροῦντας ἤ ἀδικοῦντας ἤ μισοῦντας καί ἀποστεροῦντας αὐτόν ἀγαπῶν καί ὑπέρ τούτων εὐχόμενος, εἰς προκοπήν ἐν ὀλίγῳ μεγάλην ἀνέρχεται. Ἐν αἰσθήσει γάρ καρδίας τοῦτο γινόμενον εἰς ἄβυσσον ταπεινώσεως καί εἰς δακρύων πηγάς τό λογιζόμενον καταφέρει, ἐν οἷς καταποντίζεται τό τριμερές τῆς ψυχῆς ἀνάγει δέ εἰς οὐρανόν ἀπαθείας τόν νοῦν καί θεωρητικόν ἀπεργάζεται καί τῇ γεύσει τῆς ἐκεῖθεν χρηστότητος πάντα σκύβαλα τά τοῦ παρόντος βίου ἡγεῖσθαι ποιεῖ καί αὐτήν δέ τήν τροφήν καί τήν πόσιν μή ἐνηδόνως ἤ συχνοτέρως προσίεσθαι.

λ΄. (391) Πίστιν ἐναργῆ ἔδειξεν ὁ καί τό τόπον, ἐν ᾧ ὁ ὁδηγός καί πατήρ αὐτοῦ ἵσταται, ὡς ἅγιον εὐλαβούμενος καί τόν κονιορτόν τῶν ποδῶν αὐτοῦ χερσί λαμβάνων ζεόντως καί ἐπιχέων τῇ ἑαυτοῦ κεφαλῇ καί τῇ καρδίᾳ προσαλείφων, ὡς ἴαμα τῶν τούτου παθῶν καί τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων καθαρτικόν, ἐκείνῳ δέ αὐτῷ μή προσεγγίσαι τολμῶν μηδέ ἁπλῶς προσψαῦσαί τινος τῶν αὐτοῦ χιτώνων ἤ σκεπασμάτων ἄνευ τῆς ἐκείνου προστάξεως καί μεταχειριζόμενός τι τῶν ἐκείνου, μετά φόβου καί μετά αἰδοῦς τοῦτο ποιεῖ, ἀνάξιον ἑαυτόν κρίνων μή μόνον τῆς τούτων θέας καί λειτουργίας, ἀλλά καί τῆς ἐν τῇ κέλλῃ αὐτοῦ διαγωγῆς.

λα΄. Πολλοί μέν τῷ βίῳ τούτῳ καί τοῖς τοῦ βίου πράγμασιν ἀποτάσσονται, ὀλίγοι δέ καί τοῖς θελήμασιν ἑαυτῶν περί ὧν καί ὁ θεῖος λόγος καλῶς ἀποφαίνεται «Πολλοί μέν κλητοί» λέγων «ὀλίγοι δέ ἐκλεκτοί».

λβ΄. Ὅταν μετά πάσης κάθῃ ἐπί τραπέζης τῆς ἀδελφότητος καί νοερῶς σοι σκιά τά πάντα τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ὑπογράφωνται καί τοῦ ἡδέος τῶν βρωμάτων οὐκ ἐπαισθάνῃ, ἀλλ᾿ ὅλην ἔχεις τήν ψυχήν τῷ θαύματι ἔκπληκτον καί τοῖς δάκρυσιν ἔμπλεον, τότε γίνωσκε τήν τοῦ Θεοῦ σοι χάριν οὕτω ταῦτα ὑποδεικνύειν διά τήν ἐκ τοῦ φόβου πολλήν σου ταπείνωσιν, ὅπως, ἰδών τά ποιήματα τοῦ Θεοῦ καί διδαχθείς τῶν αἰσθητῶν τήν ἀδράνειαν, εἰς ἀγάπην τῶν νοητῶν μετεγκεντρίσῃς τόν φόβον σου. Καί αὕτη ἐστίν ἡ πνευματική γνῶσις, ἥν καί λεγομένην ἀκούεις, ἥτις μέσον τοῦ φόβου καί τῆς ἀγάπης εὑρίσκεται καί ἀπό τούτου εἰς ταύτην διαβιβάζει ἀνεπαισθήτως καί ἀκινδύνως τόν ἄνθρωπον.

λγ΄. Οὐκ ἐνδέχεται ἄλλως τήν εἰς Θεόν τελείαν ἀγάπην ἀναφαίρετον κτήσασθαί τινα εἰ μή κατά τό μέτρον τῆς πνευματικῆς γνώσεως αὕτη δέ κατά μικρόν αὐξάνεται (392) τῇ πρακτικῶς πονούσῃ καθ᾿ ἑκάστην ψυχῇ. Τοῦτο γάρ εἰδώς καί ὁ Ἀπόστολος ἔφη «Ἀπό γάρ τοῦ μεγέθους καί τῆς καλλονῆς τῶν κτισμάτων ἀναλόγως ὁ γενεσιουργός θεωρεῖται».

λδ΄. Μέγεθος οὐρανοῦ καί γῆς πλάτος καί τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων τούς λόγους οὐδείς ἀξίως καταμαθεῖν δύναται τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς. Τά γάρ ὑπερβαίνοντα καί νοῦν καί διάνοιαν, πῶς ὀφθαλμοί κατανοῆσαι σώματος ἐξισχύσουσι; Μόλις γάρ