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to converse at some time, he will not prefer any of the world's affairs above the remembrance of him together with love. For what is greater or more beneficial in the present and in the future life than to be with Christ? And what is more beautiful or sweeter than the sight of him? And if he is also deemed worthy of conversation from him, he certainly draws eternal life from it.

29. He who from his 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 in the perception of the heart, it brings the reasoning faculty down into an abyss of humility and to springs of tears, in which the tripartite nature of the soul is submerged, and it leads the mind up to the heaven of dispassion and makes it contemplative, and by the taste of the goodness from there makes it 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 has shown clear faith who reveres as holy even the place in which his guide and father stands, and ardently taking the dust of his feet in his hands and pouring it on his own head and anointing his heart with it, as a cure for his passions and a purification for his sins, and not daring to approach the man himself nor simply to touch any of his tunics or coverings without his command, and when handling something of his, he does this with fear and with reverence, judging himself unworthy not only of seeing and serving these things, but also of dwelling 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 "For many are called, but few are chosen."

32. When you sit at the table with the whole brotherhood and all things are depicted as a shadow to your eyes in your mind, and you do not perceive the sweetness of the foods, but you have your whole soul astounded in wonder and filled with tears, then know that the grace of God is thus showing these things to you because of your great humility from fear, so that, having seen the works of God and having been taught the inertness of sensible things, you may graft your fear onto the love of intelligible things. And this is the spiritual knowledge, which you hear spoken of, which is found between fear and love and transports a person from the one to the other imperceptibly and without danger.

33. It is not possible for anyone to possess perfect and inalienable love for God otherwise than according to the measure of spiritual knowledge; and this increases little by little (392) for the soul that labors in practice each day. For knowing this the Apostle also said, "For from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator."

34. The size of heaven and the breadth of the earth and the principles of all other things no one can worthily learn with the sensible eyes. For things that surpass both mind and intellect, how will the eyes of the body be able to comprehend? For with difficulty even a mind that has been purified of thoughts and freed from prejudices, and enlightened by the mercy and grace of God, according to the measure of its enlightenment, will be able to perceive worthily the contemplation of existing things.

35. Just as at night with our sensible eyes we see only in that place where we might light a lamp of light, and the rest of the whole world is night for us, so for those sleeping in the night of sins the good Master becomes a small light, being a God incomprehensible to all, sparing our weakness. And then suddenly the person, looking up and contemplating the nature of beings, as

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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 καί νοῦς καθαρθείς λογισμῶν καί ἐλευθερωθείς τῶν προλήψεων, ἐλέει τε καί χάριτι Θεοῦ φωτισθείς, κατά τό μέτρον τοῦ φωτισμοῦ καί τήν θεωρίαν τῶν ὄντων ἀξίως δυνήσεται κατιδεῖν.

λε΄. Ὥσπερ ἐν νυκτί τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ τόπῳ βλέπομεν μόνον ἔνθα ἄν τοῦ φωτός τόν λύχνον ἀνάψωμεν, ὁ δέ λοιπός ἅπας κόσμος τό καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς νύξ ἐστιν, οὕτω τοῖς ἐν νυκτί ἁμαρτημάτων καθεύδουσιν ὁ ἀγαθός δεσπότης φῶς μικρόν γίνεται, Θεός ὤν τοῖς πᾶσιν ἀχώρητος, φειδόμενος τῆς ἀσθενείας ἡμῶν. Καί τότε αἴφνης ἀναβλέπων ὁ ἄνθρωπος καί θεωρῶν τήν φύσιν τῶν ὄντων, ὡς