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by the given hand of faith and being compelled to follow, where he, seeing well, lifted up his feet and passed through the stones and pits and stumbling blocks, leaping over them all, it happened that I would stumble upon and fall into these things, and I endured many toils and many injuries and afflictions. But he indeed washed and bathed himself on his own at every spring and fountain hour by hour, but I, not seeing, passed most of them by. For if he had not held my hand and stood me by the spring and guided the hands of my mind, I would not have been able to find where the fountain of water was. And when he showed me and often permitted me to wash, along with the clean water, I also gathered up in my palms some mud lying near the spring and perhaps mire, and I defiled my face, but also often, while groping to find the fountain of water, I would drag down the dirt and stir up the mire, and not seeing at all, defiling my face with the mire as if with water, I thought I was being washed clean.

(452) How shall I again recount the necessity and force resulting from this? And not only this, but also of those who often protested and advised and said to me daily: "Why do you labor in vain, acting foolishly, and follow this mocker and deceiver, expecting vainly and uselessly to regain your sight? For it is not possible now. Why do you follow, stumbling and bloodying your feet? Why do you not rather go to merciful men, who invite you to rest and be nourished and well cared for? For it is not possible for you to be freed from the leprosy of the soul, nor to ever regain your sight now. For from where has this mocker just appeared as a wonder-worker, promising you things that are impossible for all men of the present generation? Woe to you, for you will lose the care given to you by Christ-loving and brother-loving and compassionate men, and you will endure the injuries and afflictions which you suffer for vain hopes, and you will truly fall short of the things promised to you by that imposter and deceiver. For what power does he have at all? And without us, do you not reason within yourself, nor have sense? What then? Do not all of us also see? Or are we blind, as that deluded one himself tells you? Truly we all see, and there is no other recovery of sight greater than this, make no mistake." But from all these men, you who are merciful and compassionate, from these true imposters and deceivers who give their neighbor a turbid subversion to drink, you rescued me through the faith and hope granted to me by you, through which you strengthened me to endure the things said and many others.

(453) But indeed, as I persevered in all these things and did not turn away, thus somehow turbidly and gropingly washing myself daily and seemingly bathing myself, as your apostle and disciple was teaching me, once while I was walking and running toward the spring, you yourself again, who had formerly drawn me out of the mire, met me on the way. And then for the first time you shone around my weak eyes with the immaculate splendor of your face, and what light I thought I had, even that I lost, being unable to recognize you. And how could I have been able, when I was not strong enough even to see the splendor of your face, nor to perceive or understand it, to see you yourself or to know who you were? From then on, therefore, as I stood more frequently at the spring itself, you, the humble one, did not disdain to come down, but coming and first holding my head, you would dip it in the waters and make me see the light of your face more clearly. And immediately you would fly away, not allowing me to understand who you yourself were, who was doing these things, or from where you had come or where you had gone, for you no longer granted me this. And so as you came and went for a time, little by little you appeared more and

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δοθείσῃ χειρί τῆς πίστεως καί ἀκολουθεῖν ἀναγκαζόμενον, ἔνθα βλέπων ἐκεῖνος καλῶς τούς πόδας ἀνελάμβανε καί διά τῶν λίθων καί βοθύνων καί σκανδάλων διήρχετο ἁπάντων ὑπεραλλόμενος, ἐμέ εἰς ταῦτα προσκρούειν καί ἐμπίπτειν συνέβαινε, καί πολλούς πόνους καί πολλάς κακώσεις καί θλίψεις ὑπέμεινα. Ἀλλά γάρ ἐκεῖνος μέν ἐν πάσῃ πηγῇ καί βρύσει ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ καθ᾿ ὥραν ἐνίπτετο καί ἐλούετο, ἐγώ δέ μή βλέπων παρηρχόμην τάς πλείω. Εἰ μή γάρ ἐκεῖνος τῆς χειρός ἐκράτησέ μου καί πρός τῇ πηγῇ ἔστησε καί τάς χεῖρας ὡδήγησέ μου τοῦ νοός, οὐδ᾿ ὅπου ποτέ οὖσαν ἠδυνάμην εὑρεῖν τήν βρύσιν τοῦ ὕδατος. Ὑποδείξαντος δέ καί πολλάκις ἐάσαντός με τοῦ νίψασθαι, σύν τῷ καθαρῷ ὕδατι καί πηλόν που προσπαρακείμενον τῇ πηγῇ καί βόρβορον ἴσως ἐν ταῖς παλάμαις συνανελάμβανον καί τό πρόσωπόν μου ἐμόλυνον, ἀλλά καί τήν βρύσιν πολλάκις ψηλαφῶν τοῦ ὕδατος εὑρεῖν συγκατέσπων τόν χοῦν καί τόν βόρβορον ἀνετάρασσον καί μή βλέπων ὅλως, μολύνων τῷ βορβόρῳ τό πρόσωπον ὥσπερ ἐν ὕδατι, καθαρῶς ἐνόμιζον ἀποπλύνεσθαι.

(452) Πῶς δέ τήν ἐκ τούτου πάλιν ἀνάγκην καί βίαν ἐκδιηγήσομαι; Οὐ μόνον δέ ἀλλά καί τῶν πολλάκις διαμαρτυρουμένων καί ὑποτιθεμένων καί καθ᾿ ἑκάστην λεγόντων μοι· "Τί ματαιοπονεῖς, ἀφρόνως ποιῶν, καί τῷ ἐμπαίκτῃ τούτῳ καί πλάνῳ ἀκολουθεῖς, ἀναβλέψαι ματαίως καί ἀνωφελῶς προσδοκῶν; Οὐδέ γάρ νῦν δυνατόν. Τί καί τούς πόδας προσκρούων καί αἱμάσσων ἀκολουθεῖς; Τί δέ μή μᾶλλον ἐλεήμοσι προσέρχῃ, παρακαλοῦσι τοῦ ἀναπαύειν καί διατρέφειν καί καλῶς θεραπεύειν σε; Οὐ γάρ ἐνδέχεταί σε τῆς λέπρας ἀπαλλαγῆναι τῆς ψυχικῆς, οὐδέ νῦν ἀναβλέψαι ποτέ. Πόθεν γάρ ὁ ἐμπαίκτης αὐτός ἀνεφάνη ἄρτι θαυματουργός, ὑπισχνούμενός σοι τά παρά πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις τῆς νῦν γενεᾶς ὄντα ἀδύνατα; Οὐαί σοι, ὅτι καί τήν διδομένην σοι θεραπείαν παρά τῶν φιλοχρίστων καί φιλαδέλφων καί συμπαθῶν ἀνδρῶν ἀπολέσεις καί τάς κακώσεις καί θλίψεις, ἅς ὑφίστασαι ἐπί ματαίαις ἐλπίσιν, ὑπομενεῖς καί τῶν ἐπαγγελλομένων σοι ὑπό τοῦ ἀπατεῶνος καί πλάνου αὐτοῦ ἐπ᾿ ἀληθείας ἐκπέσῃς. Τί γάρ καί ἰσχύει ὅλως; Καί ἡμῶν δίχα σύ οὐ συλλογίζῃ ἐν σεαυτῷ, οὐδέ φρονεῖς; Τί δαί; Οὐχί καί ἡμεῖς πάντες βλέπομεν; Ἤ τυφλοί, ὡς ὁ πεπλανημένος αὐτός σοι λέγει, ὑπάρχομεν; Ὄντως βλέπομεν ἅπαντες, καί οὐκ ἔστιν ἄλλη μείζων ταύτης, μή ἀπατῶ, ἀνάβλεψις". Ἀλλά τούτων με πάντων, σύ ὁ ἐλεήμων καί εὔσπλαχνος, τῶν ὄντως ἀπατεώνων καί πλάνων, τῶν ἀνατροπήν θολεράν τόν πλησίον ποτιζόντων, ἐρρύσω με διά τῆς χαρισθείσης μοι παρά σοῦ πίστεως καί ἐλπίδος, δι᾿ ἧς καί τά ῥηθέντα καί ἄλλα πλείονα ἐνίσχυσας, ὑπομεῖναί με.

(453) Ἀλλά γάρ ἐν ἅπασι τούτοις καρτερήσαντι καί μή ἀφισταμένῳ μοι, οὕτω πως τεθολωμένους καί ψηλαφητῶς καθ᾿ ἑκάστην ἀπονιπτομένῳ καί τῷ δοκεῖν ἀπολουομένῳ, ὡς ὁ ἀπόστολός σου καί μαθητής με ἐδίδασκε, ποτέ περιπατοῦντι καί πρός τήν πηγήν τρέχοντι, αὐτός σύ πάλιν, ὁ καί πρῴην ἐκ τοῦ βορβόρου ἐκσπάσας με, ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ προσυπήντησας. Καί τότε πρῶτον τῇ τοῦ προσώπου σου ἀχράντῳ αἴγλῃ τά ἀσθενῆ μου περιήστραψας ὄμματα, καί ὅ ἔχειν ἐδόκουν φῶς κἀκεῖνο ἀπώλεσα, γνωρίσαι σε μή δυνηθείς. Καί πῶς ἀν ἠδυνήθην, οὗτινος οὐδέ τήν τοῦ προσώπου αἴγλην ἰδεῖν, οὐδέ καταμαθεῖν ἤ κατανοῆσαι ἐξίσχυσα, σέ αὐτόν ἰδεῖν ἤ γνῶναι, ὅστις ποτέ ᾖς; Ἔκτοτε οὖν συχνοτέρως καί πρός αὐτῇ τῇ πηγῇ ἱσταμένου μου, ὁ ἀνυπερήφανος οὐκ ἀπηξίους κατέρχεσθαι, ἀλλά παραγινόμενος καί κρατῶν μου πρῶτον τήν κεφαλήν, ἐνέβαπτες αὐτήν ἐν τοῖς ὕδασι καί καθαρώτερον ἐποίεις ὁρᾶν με τό φῶς τοῦ προσώπου σου. Εὐθύς δέ ἀφίπτασο, μή διδούς ἐννοεῖν με ὅστις αὐτός ᾖς, ὁ ταῦτα ποιῶν, ἤ ὅθεν τε ἦλθες ἤ ποῦ ἀφίκεσαι, οὐδέ γάρ ἔτι τοῦτο ἐδίδως μοι. Οὕτω δέ ἐρχομένου ἐπί χρόνον και ἀπιόντος σου, κατ᾿ ὀλίγον ἐφαίνου πλέον καί