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and a mixture of these came to be, when God came down. For then my Savior united the things that were separated, but the blind did not see the union, and the dead say they have had no perception of it at all, and they think they are alive and can see, O utmost madness, and disbelieving they say: "No one has known this by experience or has undergone it, has not seen it in perception, but it comes about by hearing and teaching of words alone." But O my Christ, teach me what to say to these things and to snatch them from their great ignorance and disbelief and grant them to see You, the light of the world! Hear and understand, fathers, the divine words and you will know the union which comes about in knowledge and in perception in every way and by experience and by vision. God is invisible, but we are in every way visible; if therefore He by His will is united to the visible, then a union of both takes place in knowledge. But if you should say this happens unknowingly and without perception, (274) it is surely a union of the dead and not of life with the living. God is the creator of created things, and we likewise are created; if therefore God the creator condescends to the creature and is united and the creature becomes as the creator, they would truly have a perception of true contemplation, that the created has been ineffably united to the creator. But if we do not grant this, faith is lost and the hope of things to come has vanished completely, there will be no resurrection nor the judgment of all. Since we, the creatures, as you say, are united to the maker without perception, understanding nothing consciously, then, according to you, God is in danger of not being life nor, by uniting with us, does He provide life. Again, the creator is incorruptible, but the creatures corruptible; for those who have sinned have introduced corruption not only to the body, but also to their very souls, and in body and soul, according to this reasoning, we are corruptible, as we are all held together by the corruption of intelligible death and of sin. If therefore the one who is by nature incorruptible is united with me who am corruptible, truly one of these things will happen, which I am about to tell you: for either He will change me and make me incorruptible or the incorruptible one will be changed toward corruption; and thus perhaps I will not know that he has suffered

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καί μίξις τούτων γέγονε, ὅτε Θεός κατῆλθε. Τά διεστῶτα τότε γάρ ἥνωσεν ὁ Σωτήρ μου, ἀλλ᾿ οἱ τυφλοί τήν ἕνωσιν οὐκ εἶδον, οἱ νεκροί δέ λέγουσι ταύτης αἴσθησιν μηδ᾿ ὅλως ἐσχηκέναι, καί ζῆν καί βλέπειν οἴονται, ὤ μανίας ἐσχάτης, καί ἀπιστοῦντες λέγουσιν˙ Οὐδείς τῇ πείρᾳ τοῦτο ἔγνωκεν ἤ ἔπαθεν, οὐκ εἶδεν ἐν αἰσθήσει, ἀλλ᾿ ἀκοῇ καί διδαχῇ λόγων γίνεται μόνων. Ἀλλ᾿ ὦ Χριστέ μου, δίδαξον εἰπεῖν με τί πρός ταῦτα καί τῆς ἀγνοίας τῆς πολλῆς καί ἀπιστίας τούτους ἐκσπᾶσαι καί χαρίσασθαι ἰδεῖν σε, φῶς τοῦ κόσμου! Ἀκούσατε καί σύνετε, πατέρες, θείους λόγους καί γνώσεσθε τήν ἕνωσιν ἐν γνώσει γινομένην καί ἐν αἰσθήσει ἐκ παντός καί πείρᾳ καί ὁράσει. Θεός ἐστιν ἀόρατος, ὁρατοί δ᾿ ἡμεῖς πάντως˙ εἰ οὖν αὐτός τοῖς ὁρατοῖς θελήματι ἑνοῦται, ἕνωσις ἄρα γίνεται ἀμφοτέρων ἐν γνώσει. Εἰ δέ ἀγνώστως εἴποιας τοῦτο καί ἀναισθήτως, (274) πάντως νεκρῶν ἡ ἕνωσις καί οὐ ζωῆς πρός ζῶντας. Κτισμάτων κτίστης ὁ Θεός, κτιστοί δ᾿ ἡμεῖς ὡσαύτως˙ εἰ οὖν τῷ κτίσματι Θεός ὁ κτίσας συγκατέλθῃ καί ἑνωθῇ καί γίνηται ὡς ὁ κτίστης τό κτίσμα, αἴσθησιν ὄντως λάβοιεν ἀληθοῦς θεωρίας, ὅτι τῷ κτίστῃ τό κτιστόν ἀπορρήτως ἡνώθη. Εἰ δέ μή τοῦτο δώσομεν, ἀπόλωλεν ἡ πίστις καί ἡ ἐλπίς ἠφάνισται τῶν μελλόντων εἰς ἅπαν, ἀνάστασις οὐκ ἔσεται οὐδ᾿ ἡ καθόλου κρίσις. Ἐπειδή καί τά κτίσματα, ὡς λέγεις, ἀναισθήτως τῷ ποιητῇ ἑνούμεθα μηδέν γνωστῶς νοοῦντες, καί κινδυνεύει γε Θεός κατά σέ, ὡς οὐκ ἔστι ζωή οὐδέ ζωήν ἡμῖν ἑνούμενος παρέχει. Πάλιν ὁ κτίστης ἄφθαρτος, τά κτίσματα φθαρτά δέ˙ καί γάρ οἱ ἁμαρτήσαντες οὐχί τό σῶμα μόνον, ἀλλά καί τάς ψυχάς αὐτάς εἰς φθοράν παρεισῆξαν, καί σώματι καί ψυχῇ κατά τόν λόγον τοῦτον φθαρτοί ἐσμεν, ὡς τῇ φθορᾷ τοῦ νοητοῦ θανάτου κρατηθέντες ὁμοῦ πάντες καί τῇ τῆς ἁμαρτίας. Εἰ οὖν ὁ φύσει ἄφθαρτος ἑνωθῇ τῷ φθαρτῷ μοι, ὄντως ἕν τούτων ἔσεται, ὧνπερ λέγει σοι μέλλω˙ ἤ γάρ ἐμέ μεταβαλεῖ καί ἄφθαρτον ποιήσει ἤ πρός φθοράν μεταβληθῇ ὁ ἄφθαρτος˙ καί οὕτως ἴσως ἐγώ οὐ γνώσομαι ἐκείνου πεπονθότος