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are brought forward clearly and soundly} And being in this state, he has not yet known that he was created as an overseer of the visible creation and an initiate of the intelligible, but being in honor, he was compared with and made like unto the senseless and burden-bearing beasts, and having been made like them, he remains as such, not yet having turned back, not having been called back, or raised to the first dignity according to the gift of the economy of our Master and Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

7. Being below, do not search out the things above} and before you are above, do not be overly curious about the things below, lest, having slipped, you fall away from both, or rather, be left behind with the things below.

8. Just as one who from extreme poverty has been raised to wealth by the king, and to a conspicuous dignity, and clothed by him in a robe (415), and commanded to stand before his face, both sees the king himself with longing and loves him exceedingly as a benefactor, and he clearly perceives the robe with which he was clothed, and recognizes the dignity, and knows the wealth given to him, so also a monk who has truly withdrawn from the world and the things in it and has approached Christ, having been called back with full awareness and raised to the height of spiritual contemplation through the practice of the commandments, both sees God unerringly and clearly perceives the change that has occurred in him} for he always sees the grace of the Spirit shining around him, which is called a garment and a royal purple robe, or rather, that which Christ Himself is, since those who believe in Him put Him on.

9. He who has been enriched with the heavenly wealth, I mean the presence and indwelling of the One who said} “I and the Father will come and make our home with him,” knows in the knowledge of his soul how much grace he has enjoyed, and how great and of what kind is the bliss he carries in the palace of his heart} for, as a friend conversing with a friend, with God, he stands with boldness before the face of the One who dwells in unapproachable light.

10. Blessed is he who believes these things, thrice-blessed is he who hastens through practice and sacred struggles to attain the knowledge of what has been said} an angel, that I may not say anything more, is he who has arrived through contemplation and knowledge at the height of this state and has become near to God as a son of God.

11. In the same way that one standing by the seashore sees the boundless expanse of the waters, yet cannot grasp their limit, but sees only a certain part, so also he who has been deemed worthy to gaze through contemplation into the boundless expanse of the (416) glory of God and to perceive it with his mind, sees not how great it is, but as much as is possible for the intelligible eyes of his soul to see.

12. Just as one standing by the sea not only sees it, but also enters its waters as much as he wishes, so also in the light of God, those who desire spiritual things, in participation and at the same time contemplation, insofar as they press on through desire, come to be with knowledge.

13. Just as one standing by the shores of the sea, as long as he is outside the waters, sees all things and perceives the expanse of the waters, but when he begins to enter into the waters and to be immersed in them, to the degree that he descends, to that same degree he is deprived of the vision of the things outside, so also those who have come to be in participation of the divine light, insofar as they advance into divine knowledge, they fall rather, in proportion, into unknowing.

14. Just as one who has entered the waters of the sea up to his knees or his waist clearly sees all the things that are outside the waters, but when he descends into the abyss and is entirely under the waters, he can no longer see any of the things outside, except he knows only this, that he is entirely in the depth of the sea, so it happens

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τετρανωμένα καί ὑγιῆ ἐπιφέρεται} οὕτως δέ ἔχων οὔπω ἔγνω ὅτι ἐπόπτης ἐκτίσθη τῆς ὁρωμένης κτίσεως καί μύστης τῆς νοουμένης, ἀλλ᾿ ἐν τιμῇ ὤν, παρασυνεβλήθη καί ὡμοιώθη τοῖς ἀνοήτοις καί ἀχθοφόροις κτήνεσι καί ὁμοιωθείς μένει τοιοῦτος ἔτι μή ἐπαναστραφείς, μή ἐπανακληθείς, ἤ ἐπί τό πρῶτον ἀξίωμα ἀναχθείς κατά τήν δωρεάν τῆς οἰκονομίας τοῦ ∆εσπότου καί Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ.

ζ'. Κάτω ὤν μή ἐρεύνα τά ἄνω} πρό δέ τοῦ γενέσθαι σε ἄνω, μή πολυπραγμονήσῃς τά κάτω, ἵνα μή ὀλισθήσας ἀμφοτέρων ἐκπέσῃς, μᾶλλον δέ συναπολειφθῇς τοῖς κάτω.

η'. Καθάπερ ὁ ἀπό πτωχείας ἐσχάτης ὑπό τοῦ βασιλέως εἰς πλοῦτον ἀνενεχθείς, καί περιφανές ἀξίωμα στολήν τε (415) παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἐνδυθείς καί πρό προσώπου αὐτοῦ ἵστασθαι κελευσθείς, αὐτόν τε τόν βασιλέα μετά πόθου ὁρᾷ καί ὡς εὐεργέτην ὑπεραγαπᾷ, τήν στολήν τε ἥν ἐνεδύσατο τρανῶς κατανοεῖ καί τό ἀξίωμα ἐπιγινώσκει καί τόν δοθέντα αὐτῷ πλοῦτον ἐπίσταται, οὕτω καί μοναχός ὁ ἀληθῶς ἀπό τοῦ κόσμου καί τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ πραγμάτων ἀναχωρήσας καί προσελθών τῷ Χριστῷ, ἀνακληθείς τε εὐαισθήτως καί πρός ὕψος πνευματικῆς θεωρίας διά τῆς τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐργασίας ἀνενεχθείς, αὐτόν τε τόν Θεόν ἀπλανῶς ὁρᾷ καί τήν γενομένην εἰς αὐτόν ἀλλοίωσιν τρανῶς κατανοεῖ} βλέπει γάρ ἀεί τήν χάριν τοῦ Πνεύματος τήν περιλάμπουσαν αὐτόν, ἥτις ἔνδυμα καλεῖται καί βασίλειος ἁλουργίς, μᾶλλον δ᾿ ὅπερ αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ Χριστός, εἴπερ αὐτόν οἱ εἰς αὐτόν πιστεύοντες ἐπενδύονται.

θ'. Ὁ τόν οὐράνιον πλοῦτον πεπλουτηκώς, τήν παρουσίαν λέγω καί κατασκήνωσιν τοῦ εἰπόντος} «Ἐγώ καί ὁ Πατήρ ἐλευσόμεθα καί μονήν παρ᾿ αὐτῷ ποιήσομεν», ἐν γνώσει ψυχῆς ἐπίσταται ὅσης ἀπέλαυσε χάριτος καί ὅσον καί οἷον ἐπιφέρεται ὄλβον κατά τά ἀνάκτορα τῆς καρδίας αὐτοῦ} ὡς γάρ φίλος φίλῳ διαλεγόμενος τῷ Θεῷ, πεπαρρησιασμένος παρίσταται πρό προσώπου τοῦ ἐν ἀπροσίτῳ κατοικοῦντος φωτί.

ι'. Μακάριος ὁ πιστεύων τούτοις, τρισμακάριος ὁ σπεύδων διά πράξεως καί ἀγώνων ἱερῶν καταλαβεῖν τήν γνῶσιν τῶν εἰρημένων} ἄγγελος, ἵνα μή τι πλέον εἴπω, ὁ πεφθακώς διά θεωρίας καί γνώσεως ἐν τῷ ὕψει ταύτης τῆς στάσεως καί πλησίον Θεοῦ ὡς υἱός Θεοῦ γεγονώς.

ια'. Ὅν τρόπον ὁ παρά τόν αἰγιαλόν τῆς θαλάσσης ἱστάμενος βλέπει μέν τῶν ὑδάτων τό ἄπειρον πέλαγος, οὐ μέντοι τό πέρας τούτων καταλαβεῖν δύναται, ἀλλά μέρος τι καθορᾷ, οὕτω καί ὁ εἰς τό ἄπειρον πέλαγος τῆς τοῦ (416) Θεοῦ δόξης διά θεωρίας ἐνατενίσαι ἀξιωθείς καί κατιδεῖν αὐτό νοερῶς, οὐχ ὅσον ἐστίν, ἀλλ᾿ ὅσον ἐφικτόν τοῖς νοεροῖς ὄμμασιν αὐτοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς καθορᾷ.

ιβ'. Ὥσπερ ὁ παρά τήν θάλασσαν ἑστηκώς οὐ μόνον αὐτήν ὁρᾷ, ἀλλά καί εἰς τά ὕδατα αὐτῆς εἰσέρχεται ὅσον βούλεται, οὕτω καί ἐν τῷ φωτί τοῦ Θεοῦ οἱ βουλόμενοι τῶν πνευματικῶν ἐν μεθέξει ἅμα καί θεωρίᾳ, καθόσον δι᾿ ἐφέσεως ἐπειχθῶσι, μετά γνώσεως γίνονται.

ιγ'. Καθάπερ ὁ παρά τάς θαλαττίας ὄχθας ἱστάμενος, ἕως μέν ἔξω τῶν ὑδάτων ἐστίν, ἅπαντα καθορᾷ καί τό πέλαγος τῶν ὑδάτων κατανοεῖ, ἐπάν δέ ἄρξηται εἰσέρχεσθαι ἐν τοῖς ὕδασι καί ἐν ἐκείνοις βαπτίζεσθαι, καθόσον κατέρχεται κατά τοσοῦτον καί τῆς θεωρίας τῶν ἔξω ἀπολιμπάνεται, οὕτω καί οἱ τοῦ θείου φωτός ἐν μεθέξει γενόμενοι, καθόσον εἰς γνῶσιν προκόπτουσι θείαν, εἰς ἀγνωσίαν μᾶλλον κατά ἀναλογίαν ἐμπίπτουσιν.

ιδ'. Ὥσπερ ὁ εἰς τά ὕδατα τῆς θαλάσσης μέχρι γονάτων ἤ τῆς ὀσφύος γενόμενος ἅπαντα τρανῶς τά ἔξωθεν ὄντα τῶν ὑδάτων ὁρᾷ, ἐπάν δέ εἰς τήν ἄβυσσον κατέλθῃ καί ὅλος αὐτός ὑπό τά ὕδατα γένηται, οὐκέτι τῶν ἔξωθεν ὁρᾶν τι δύναται, εἰ μή τοῦτο μόνον οἶδεν ὅτι ὅλος ἐν τῷ βυθῷ τῆς θαλάσσης ἐστίν, οὕτω συμβαίνει