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188

having been set aright; and not even so are they able to make the heart pure by themselves, without the presence and activity of the Spirit. For just as the smith (430) shows his art through his tools, but without the energy of the fire he is able to fashion no work at all, so also man does all things and uses the virtues as tools, but without the presence of the spiritual fire they remain inactive and useless, not cleansing the filth and the discharge of the soul.

30. Where there is deep humility, there also is abundant weeping; and where these are, there also is the presence of the Holy and worshipful Spirit. And when this comes to be, all purity and holiness come to be in him who is energized by it, and God is seen by him, and God looks upon him; "For on whom," He says, "shall I look, but on him who is meek and quiet, and who trembles at my words?".

31. Man is able to struggle against the passions, but in no way to uproot them; and he received authority not to do evil, but no longer not to think of it. Piety is not only to do good, but also not to reckon evil things; he who therefore reckons evil things cannot possess a pure heart; for how can he, when it is stained by this as a mirror by mud?

32. This I have supposed a pure heart to be, not only not to be troubled by any passion, but also not to entertain any evil or worldly thought, whenever one wishes, but to have only the memory of God in oneself in unrestrainable love; for in pure light the eye sees God purely, with nothing else intervening in the vision.

33. This I say is dispassion, not only to be outside the practice of the passions, but also to be alienated from their desire, and not this only but also for our mind to be stripped of the thought of them, so that, whenever we wish, we may become above the heavens, becoming outside of all things visible and sensible, with our senses as it were shut up (431) and our mind entering into things beyond sense, powerfully carrying the senses along with itself as an eagle its own wings.

34. The mind does not show its own activities without the senses, and without the mind the senses in no way show theirs.

35. That heart is called and is pure, which finds in itself no thought or worldly reasoning, which is so dedicated and united to God, as to remember neither the sorrows of life nor its joys, but to live as if caught up in contemplation to the third heaven and to paradise and to see the pledges of the good things promised to the saints and from there to infer the eternal good things themselves, insofar as is possible for human nature. This is truly a sign and a sure indication of a pure heart, in which one also knows the measures of purity and sees as in a mirror.

36. Just as one who is outside the house does not see those shut up inside, so also he who is crucified to the world, that is, who has been put to death, possesses no sensation for the things in the world.

37. In the same way that a dead body has no sensation whatsoever either toward the living or toward the dead bodies lying with it, so also he who has come to be outside the world in the Spirit and is with God cannot have sensation for the world or be affected beforehand by its affairs, even if he is subject to the necessities of the body.

38. Before death there is a death, and before the resurrection of bodies there is a resurrection of souls, in deed, power, experience, and truth. For when the mortal mind is made to disappear by the immortal mind and deadness (432) is driven out by life, the soul, having risen as from the dead, confessedly sees itself, just as those who have risen from sleep see themselves; and the one who raised it

188

κατορθωθεῖσα˙ καί οὐδέ οὕτως καθαράν τήν καρδίαν μόναι ποιῆσαι δύνανται, δίχα τῆς παρουσίας καί ἐνεργείας τοῦ Πνεύματος. Καθάπερ γάρ ὁ χαλκεύς τήν μέν τέχνην (430) διά τῶν ἐργαλείων αὐτοῦ ἐπιδείκνυται, δίχα δέ τῆς τοῦ πυρός ἐνεργείας οὐδέν ὅλως εἰς ἔργον κατασκευάσαι δύναται, οὕτω δή καί ὁ ἄνθρωπος πάντα μέν ποιεῖ καί ὡς ἐργαλείοις χρᾶται ταῖς ἀρεταῖς, ἄνευ δέ τῆς τοῦ πνευματικοῦ πυρός παρουσίας ἀνενέργητα μένει καί ἀνωφελῆ, τόν ῥύπον καί τόν ἰχῶρα μή καθαίροντα τῆς ψυχῆς.

λ'. Ὅπου βαθεῖα ταπείνωσις, ἐκεῖ καί δάκρυον δαψιλές˙ ἔνθα δέ ταῦτα, ἐκεῖ καί ἡ παρουσία τοῦ Ἁγίου καί προσκυνητοῦ Πνεύματος. Ταύτης δέ γενομένης, πᾶσα καθαρότης καί ἁγιωσύνη ἐν τῷ ὑπό τούτου ἐνεργουμένῳ γίνεται, καί ὁρᾶται τούτῳ Θεός, καί ὁ Θεός ὁρᾷ ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν˙ «Ἐπί τίνα γάρ», φησίν, «ἐπιβλέψω ἀλλ᾿ ἤ ἐπί τόν πρᾷον καί ἡσύχιον καί τρέμοντά μου τούς λόγους;».

λα'. Καταγωνίσασθαι μέν ἄνθρωπος τά πάθη δύναται, ἐκριζῶσαι δέ αὐτά οὐδαμῶς˙ καί μή ποιῆσαι μέν τό πονηρόν ἐξουσίαν ἔλαβε, μή ἐνθυμηθῆναι δέ αὐτό οὐκέτι. Εὐσέβεια δέ ἐστιν οὐ τό ποιῆσαι μόνον τό ἀγαθόν, ἀλλά καί τό μή λογίζεσθαι πονηρα˙ ὁ οὖν πονηρά λογιζόμενος καρδίαν καθαράν κτήσασθαι οὐ δύναται˙ πῶς γάρ, μολυνομένης ἐκ τούτου ὡς ὑπό πηλοῦ κάτοπτρον;

λβ'. Καρδίαν καθαράν τοῦτο εἶναι ὑπείληφα, οὐ τό μή ὀχλεῖσθαι ὑπό πάθους μόνον τινός, ἀλλά καί τό μή ἐννοεῖν πονηρόν τι ἤ βιωτικόν, ὅτε ἄν βουληθῇ τις, ἔχειν δέ μόνην ἐν ἑαυτῷ τήν τοῦ Θεοῦ μνήμην ἐν ἀκατασχέτῳ τῷ ἔρωτι˙ ἐν γάρ φωτί καθαρῷ καθαρῶς ὁρᾷ Θεόν ὀφθαλμός, μηδενός ἑτέρου τῇ θεωρίᾳ μεσάζοντος.

λγ'. Τοῦτο λέγω εἶναι ἀπάθειαν οὐ τό ἔξω μόνον γενέσθαι τῆς πράξεως τῶν παθῶν, ἀλλά καί τό ἀλλοτριωθῆναι τῆς ἐπιθυμίας αὐτῶν, καί οὐδέ τοῦτο ἀλλά καί τό γυμνωθῆναι ἡμῶν τόν νοῦν ἐκ τῆς ἐννοίας αὐτῶν, ὡς ἄν, ὅτε βουλόμεθα, γινώμεθα ὑπεράνω τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἔξω πάντων γινόμενοι ὁρατῶν τε καί αἰσθητῶν, οἱονεί ἀποκλειομένων (431) ἡμῶν τῶν αἰθήσεων καί τοῦ νοός ἡμῶν εἰς τά ὑπέρ αἴσθησιν ἐμβατεύοντος, συνεπιφερομένου δυνάμει τάς αἰσθήσεις μεθ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ ὥσπερ τις ἀετός τάς ἑαυτοῦ πτέρυγας.

λδ'. Νοῦς αἰσθήσεων δίχα τάς ἰδίας ἐνεργείας οὐκ ἐπιδείκνυται καί ἄνευ νοός αἱ αἰσθήσεις τάς ἑαυτῶν οὐδαμῶς.

λε'. Καρδία ἐκείνη λέγεται καί ἔστι καθαρά, ἡ μηδεμίαν ἔννοιαν ἤ βιωτικόν λογισμόν ἐν ἑαυτῇ εὑρίσκουσα, ἡ Θεῷ οὕτως ἀνακειμένη καί συνηνωμένη, ὡς μήτε τῶν ἀνιαρῶν μεμνῆσθαι τοῦ βίου μήτε τῶν τούτου χαροποιῶν, ἀλλά διάγειν ὡς εἰς τρίτον ἐν θεωρίᾳ τόν οὐρανόν καί εἰς παράδεισον ἁρπάζεσθαι καί βλέπειν τούς ἀρραβῶνας τῶν ἐπηγγελμένων τοῖς ἁγίοις καλῶν καί αὐτά τά αἰώνια ἀγαθά κατά τό ἐγχωροῦν τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει ἐκεῖθεν τεκμαίρεσθαι. Τοῦτο καρδίας καθαρᾶς ἐπ᾿ ἀληθῶς σημεῖον καί ἔνδειγμα βέβαιον, ἐν ᾧ τις καί τά μέτρα γινώσκει τῆς καθαρότητος καί ὡς ἐν κατόπτρῳ καθορᾷ.

λστ'. Ὥσπερ ὁ ἔξω τῆς οἰκίας ὤν τούς ἐνδοθεν ἐγκεκλεισμένους οὐχ ὁρᾷ, οὕτως οὐδέ ὁ ἐσταυρωμένος τῷ κόσμῳ, ἤτοι νενεκρωμένος, αἴσθησίν τινα πρός τά ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ πράγματα κέκτηται.

λζ'. Ὅν τρόπον τό νεκρόν σῶμα οὔτε πρός τά ζῶντα οὔτε πρός τά σύν αὐτῷ νεκρά κείμενα σώματα τήν οἱανοῦν αἴσθησιν ἔχει, οὕτως οὐδέ ὁ ἔξω τοῦ κόσμου ἐν Πνεύματι γεγονώς καί σύν Θεῷ ὤν δύναται πρός τόν κόσμον αἴσθησιν ἔχειν ἤ προπάσχειν τοῖς τούτου πράγμασιν, εἰ καί ὑπόκειτα ταῖς ἀνάγκαις τοῦ σώματος.

λη'. Πρό θανάτου θάνατος, καί πρό τῆς ἀναστάσεως τῶν σωμάτων ψυχῶν ἀνάστασις γίνεται, ἔργῳ, δυνάμει, πείρᾳ καί ἀληθείᾳ. Τοῦ γάρ θνητοῦ φρονήματος ὑπό τοῦ ἀθανάτου νοός ἐξαφανιζομένου καί τῆς νεκρότητος (432) τῆς ζωῆς ἐκδιωκομένης, ἡ ψυχή ὡς ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστᾶσα ἑαυτήν ὁμολογουμένως ὁρᾷ, καθάπερ οἱ ἐξ ὕπνου ἀνστάντες βλέπουσιν ἑαυτούς˙ καί τόν αὐτήν ἀναστήσαντα