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he pours forth tears more abundantly and being washed by their outpouring he shines more brightly; but when, having been wholly set on fire, he becomes as light, then is fulfilled that which says: "God united to gods and also known," and perhaps to the same degree as He has already been united to those joined to Him and has been revealed to those who have known Him.

22. Insofar as God wills to be known by us, to that same degree He is also revealed; and insofar as He is revealed, He is seen by the worthy and is known. But it is not possible for anyone to experience or see such a thing, unless one is first united to the all-holy Spirit, having acquired a humble, pure, simple and contrite heart through toils and sweat.

23. Before mourning and tears, let no one deceive you with empty words, nor let us deceive ourselves; there is no repentance in us, nor true remorse, nor fear of God in our hearts, nor have we condemned ourselves, nor has our soul come to a sense of the judgment to come and of the eternal torments. For if it had acquired these things and been in them, it would at once have brought forth tears also; for without these things, neither can our hard heart ever be softened, nor can our soul acquire spiritual (428) humility, nor will we have the strength to become humble. And one who has not become such cannot be united to the Holy Spirit; and one who is not united to Him through purification, can neither come to be in the vision and knowledge of God, nor is worthy to be taught the mystical virtues of humility.

24. Just as for one just now being taught to spell the letters, one who recounts matters of rhetoric and philosophy will not only not benefit him at all, but will also make him rather neglect what has been begun and give it up, because his mind cannot at all grasp the meaning of what is being said; so too one who speaks of perfection to beginners, and especially to the more lax, will not only not benefit them at all, but will also make them go backward. For gazing at the height of virtue, and understanding how far they fall short of its summit, and thinking that it will be impossible for them to ascend to its peak, they will despise even the partial things they have begun as useless and will sink into despair.

25. When those still held and ruled by the passions hear that the one who is perfect according to God considers himself more unclean than every human and every animal and beast, who also rejoices when dishonored, blesses when reviled, endures when persecuted, and prays for his enemies with tears and anguish of heart, entreating and supplicating God on their behalf; at first they disbelieve, trying to present themselves as equals of those men. Then, being refuted by the divine Scriptures and being overturned by the saints who demonstrated these things in deed, they confess that they do not have the strength to attain these things. But when they also hear that without the fulfillment of these things it is impossible for them to be saved, then, being completely unwilling to make a cutting off (429) of evil and to repent for the things in which they have sinned, they despair of themselves.

26. Those who feign virtue, and who by the sheepskin of their habit appear to be one thing, but are another according to the inner man, filled perhaps with all injustice, full of zeal and contention and the stench of pleasures, most people honor as dispassionate and holy, not having the eye of the soul purified, nor being able to recognize them by their fruits. But those who live in piety and virtue and simplicity of heart, and who are in reality holy, they misjudge as being like the rest of other men, and despising them, they pass them by.

27. The talkative and ostentatious man, such people consider to be more instructive and spiritual; but the silent man and the one who is scrupulous about idle talk, they declare to be rustic and speechless.

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δάκρυα προχέι πλειόνως καί τῇ τούτων ἐκχύσει πλυνόμενος λαμπρότερον ἀπαστάπτει˙ ὅτε δέ ὅλως ἐκπυρωθείς ὡς φῶς γένηται, τότε πληροῦται τό φάσκον˙ «Θεός θεοῖς ἑνούμενός τε καί γνωριζόμενος», καί τοσοῦτον ἴσως ὅσον ἤδη τοῖς συναφθεῖσιν ἡνώθη καί τοῖς ἐγνωκόσιν ἀπεκαλύφθη.

κβ'. Καθόσον γνωσθῆναι βουληθῇ παρ᾿ ἡμῶν ὁ Θεός, κατά τοσοῦτον καί ἀποκαλύπτεται˙ καθόσον δέ ἀποκαλυφθῇ, ὁρᾶται παρά τῶν ἀξίων καί γινώσκεται. Οὔκ ἔστι δέ τοιοῦτόν τι παθεῖν τινα ἤ ἰδεῖν, εἰ μή πρότερον τῷ παναγίῳ Πνεύματι ἑνωθῇ τις, ταπεινήν, καθαράν, ἁπλῆν καί συντετριμμένην καρδίαν ἐκ πόνων καί ἱδρώτων κτησάμενος.

κγ'. Πρό τοῦ πένθους καί τῶν δακρύων, μηδείς ὑμᾶς κενοῖς ἀπατάτω λόγοις μηδέ πλανῶμεν ἑαυτούς, οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἡμῖν μετάνοια οὐδέ ἀληθής μεταμέλεια οὐδέ φόβος Θεοῦ ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν, οὐδέ κατέγνωμεν ἑαυτῶν, οὐδέ ἐν αἰσθήσει τῆς μελλούσης κρίσεως καί τῶν αἰωνίων βασάνων ἐγένετο ἡ ψυχή ἡμῶν. Εἰ γάρ ταῦτα ἐκτήσατο καί ἐν τούτοις ἐγένετο, εὐθύς καί δάκρυα κατήγαγεν ἄν˙ τούτων γάρ χωρίς, οὔτε ἡ σκληρά καρδία ἡμῶν ἁπαλυνθῆναί ποτε δύναται, οὔτε ἡ ψυχή ἡμῶν πνευματικήν (428) ταπείνωσιν κτήσασθαι, οὔτε ταπεινοί γενέσθαι ἰσχύσομεν. Ὁ δέ μή τοιοῦτος γενόμενος ἑνωθῆναι τῷ Πνεύματι τῷ Ἁγίῳ οὐ δύναται˙ ὁ δέ μή τούτῳ ἐκ καθάρσεως ἑνωθείς, οὔτε ἐν θεωρίᾳ καί γνώσει Θεοῦ γενέσθαι δύναται, οὔτε ἄξιός ἐστι τάς τῆς ταπεινώσεως μυστικάς ἀρετάς ἐκδιδάσκεσθαι.

κδ'. Ὥσπερ τῷ συλλαβίζειν ἄρτι παιδευομένῳ τά γράμματα ὁ τά τῆς ρητορικῆς καί φιλοσοφίας ἐκδιηγούμενος οὐ μόνον οὐδέν ὠφελήσει, ἀλλά καί τῶν ἐναρχθέντων μᾶλλον κατολιγωρῆσαι αὐτόν καί ἀποστῆναι ποιήσει, διά τό μή χωρεῖν τήν διάνοιαν αὐτοῦ τῶν λεγομένων ὅλως τήν δύναμιν, οὕτω καί ὁ τοῖς εἰσαγωγικοῖς τά περί τελειότητος λέγων, καί μᾶλλον τοῖς χαυνοτέροις, οὐ μόνον οὐδέν ὠφελήσει ἀλλά καί εἰς τά ὀπίσω ὑπάγειν ποιήσει. Πρός γάρ τό ὕψος τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀποβλέψαντες καί ὅσον ἀπολείπονται τῆς κορυφῆς αὐτῆς ἐννοήσαντες καί ὡς ἀδύνατον αὐτοῖς ἔσται τό πρός τό ἄκρον αὐτῆς ἀνελθεῖν οἰηθέντες, καί τῶν μερικῶς ἐναρχθέντων ὡς ἀνωφελῶν καταφρονήσουσι καί πρός ἀπόγνωσιν καταδύσουσι.

κε'. Ὅταν οἱ ἔτι κεκρατημένοι καί βασιλευόμενοι ὑπό τῶν παθῶν ἀκούσωσιν ὅτι ὁ κατά Θεόν τέλειος παντός ἀνθρώπωου καί παντός ζῴου καί θηρίου ἀκαθαρτότερον ἑαυτόν ἡγεῖται, ὅς καί ἀτιμαζόμενος χαίρει, λοιδορούμενος εὐλογεῖ, ἀνέχεται διωκόμενος καί ὑπέρ τῶν ἐχθρῶν αὐτοῦ εὔχεται μετά δακρύων καί πόνου καρδίας, παρακαλῶν τόν Θεόν καί ἱκετεύων ὑπέρ αὐτῶν, ἐν πρώτοις μέν ἀπιστοῦσιν, ἑαυτούς ἴσους ἐκείνων συστῆσαι πειρώμενοι˙ ἔπειτα ὑπό τῶν θείων Γραφῶν ἐλεγχόμενοι καί ὑπό τῶν ταῦτα ἔργῳ ἐπιδειξαμένων ἁγίων ἀνατρεπόμενοι, μή ἰσχύειν ἐν τούτοις ἐφικέσθαι ὁμολογοῦσιν˙ ὅταν δέ καί δίχα τῆς τούτων ἐκπληρώσεως ἀδύν ατον ἀκούσωσι σωθῆναι αὐτούς, τότε τελείως μή θέλοντες ἐκκοπήν ποιήσασθαι (429) τοῦ κακοῦ καί μετανοῆσαι, ἐφ᾿ οἷς ἥμαρτον, ἀπογινώσκουσιν ἑαυτῶν.

κστ'. Τούς ὑποκρινομένους τήν ἀρετήν καί τῷ μέν κωδίῳ τοῦ σχήματος ἄλλο φαινομένους, ἄλλο δέ ὄντας κατά τόν ἐντός ἄνθρωπον, πάσης τάχα πεπληρωμένους ἀδικίας, μεστούς ζήλου καί ἐριθείας καί ἡδονῶν δυσωδίας, ὡς ἀπαθεῖς οἱ πλείους καί ἁγίους τιμῶσι, μή κεκαθαρμένον ἔχοντες τόν τῆς ψυχῆς ὀφθαλμόν μηδέ ἐπιγνῶναι δυνάμενοι αὐτούς ἐκ τῶν καρπῶν αὐτῶν˙ τούς δέ εὐλαβείᾳ καί ἀρετῇ καί ἀφελότητι καρδίας διάγοντας καί ἁγίους ὄντας τῷ ὄντι, ὡς τούς λοιπούς τῶν ἄλλων ἀνθρώπων, παραλογίζονται καί καταφρονοῦντες αὐτῶν παρατρέχουσιν.

κζ'. Τόν λάλον καί ἐπιδεικτικόν διδακτικόν μᾶλλον καί πνευματικόν εἶναι οἱ τοιοῦτοι λογίζονται˙ τόν δέ σιωπηλόν καί περί ἀργολογίαν ἀκριβαζόμενον ἀγροῖκον καί ἄφωνον ἀποφαίνονται.