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he is taught and speaks and writes for all others and sets forth doctrines worthy of God, as all the holy fathers who have gone before teach. For thus they formulated the divine symbol, and having become such men, as we said, they too, with God, uttered and spoke the things of God. For who has theologized about the Triadic Monad or who has turned back heresies without having become such a man, or who has been called holy without partaking of the Holy Spirit? No one, ever. Thus also the intelligible light is naturally added with perception to those to whom it will be added. But those who say they partake of this without perception, they in reality call themselves imperceptive, and we call them dead and deprived of life, even if they still seem to live, O delusion, O madness! But, O light, shine upon them, shine, so that seeing they may be truly persuaded that you are the true light, and that those with whom you unite, you make like yourself, as light. I shine as I always do before the face of the blind, but they do not wish to see; rather they shut their eyes and do not want to look up at me, O child. And furthermore they turn their eyes elsewhere, and I turn around with them; I stand before them, and they again send their gaze elsewhere and do not see the light of my face at all. Some of these cover their eyes with veils, and others even flee away, having utterly hated me. (277) What then should I do with them? I am at a complete loss. For to save them unwillingly and perhaps by force, this too would seem an affliction, since they do not want to be saved. For what is good by will shall be truly good, but an unwilling good will not be a good. And for this reason I both see and am seen by those who are willing, and I make them co-heirs of my kingdom. But those who are unwilling, I allow them to be willingly in the world, and they become their own judges before the judgment, because while I, the unapproachable light, was shining forth, they alone procured the darkness for themselves, not having wanted to see the light and having remained in darkness.

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διδάσκεται καί φθέγγεται καί πᾶσιν ἄλλοις γράφει καί δόγματα θεοπρεπῆ ἐκτίθεται, ὡς πάντες οἱ προλαβόντες ἅγιοι διδάσκουσι πατέρες˙ οὕτως γάρ ἐδογμάτισαν τό σύμβολον τό θεῖον, τοιοῦτοί τε γενόμενοι, ὡς εἴπομεν, κἀκεῖνοι μετά Θεοῦ τά τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐφθέγξαντο καί εἶπον. Τίς γάρ ἐθεολόγησε τριαδικήν μονάδα ἤ τίς αἱρέσεις ἔτρεψε μή γεγονώς τοιοῦτος ἤ τίς ἐκλήθη ἅγιος μή μετασχών Ἁγίου Πνεύματος; Οὐδείς πώποτε. Ὥς καί τό φῶς αἰσθήσει τό νοητόν προσγίνεσθαι πέφυκεν, οἷς προσέσται. Οἱ δ᾿ ἀναισθήτως λέγοντες τούτου μεταλαμβάνειν, αὐτοί τῷ ὄντι ἑαυτούς καλοῦσιν ἀναισθήτους, ἡμεῖς δέ καί νεκρούς ὄντας ζωῆς ἐστερημένους, εἰ καί δοκοῦσιν ἔτι ζῆν, ὤ πλάνης, ὤ μανίας! Ἀλλ᾿, ὦ φῶς, λάμψον εἰς αὐτούς, λάμψον, ὅπως ἰδόντες πεισθῶσιν ὄντως ὅτι φῶς σύ ἀληθές ὑπάρχεις, καί οἷς ἑνοῦσαι, ὥσπερ φῶς, ὁμοίους σοι ἐργάζῃ. Λάμπω καθώς καί πάντοτε τῶν τυφλῶν πρό προσώπου, ἀλλά ἰδεῖν οὐ βούλονται, καμμύουσι δέ μᾶλλον καί ἀναβλέψαι πρός ἐμέ οὐ θέλουσιν, ὦ τέκνον. Πρός δέ καί ἀποστρέφονται τάς ὄψεις ἀλλαχόθεν, κἀγώ συμπεριστρέφομαι, τούτων ἔμπροσθεν στήκω, κἀκεῖνοι πάλιν ἀλλαχοῦ ἐκπέμπουσι τό ὄμμα καί ὅλως τοῦ προσώπου μου τό φῶς οὐ καθορῶσι. Τούτων οἱ μέν καλύπτονται καλύμμασι τάς ὄψεις, οἱ δέ καί ἔξω φεύγουσι μισήσαντές με πάντως. (277) Τί οὖν τούτους ποιήσαιμι, ἀξαπορῶ εἰς ἅπαν˙ τό ἀβουλήτως γάρ αὐτούς καί βίᾳ τάχα σῶσαι, καί τοῦτο θλῖψις δόξειε, μή θέλοντας σωθῆναι. Τό γάρ καλόν θελήματι ἔσται καλόν τῷ ὄντι, τό δ᾿ ἀβουλήτως ἀγαθόν οὐκ ἀγαθόν ὑπάρξει, καί διά τοῦτο θέλοντας καί ὁρῶ καί ὁρῶμαι καί βασιλείας τῆς ἐμῆς ποιῶ συγκληρονόμους, τούς δέ μή θέλοντας ἐῶ θέλοντας ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, καί γίνονται κριταί αὐτοί ἑαυτῶν πρό τῆς δίκης, ὅτι ἐμοῦ ἐκλάμποντος φωτός τοῦ ἀπροσίτου αὐτοί τό σκότος ἑαυτόῖς προεξένησαν μόνοι, φῶς ἰδεῖν μή θελήσαντες καί μείναντες ἐν σκότει.