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57. In the same way that a roofless house, left as such through the neglect of its builder, is not only useless, but also brings ridicule upon its builder, so also he who has laid the foundations of the practice of the commandments and raised the walls of high virtues, if he does not also receive the grace of the Spirit in contemplation and knowledge of soul, is incomplete and pitied by the perfect. For he is certainly deprived of this from two causes: either he has neglected repentance, or, having despaired at the collection of virtues as at an infinite matter, he has left out something of those things which seem to us very small, but are necessary for the completion of the house of virtues, so that without those things it cannot be roofed through the grace of the Spirit.

58. If for this reason the Son of God and God came down to the earth, so that through Himself He might consciously reconcile us who were enemies to His own Father and consciously unite us to Himself through His Holy and consubstantial Spirit, he who falls away from this grace, of what other will he partake? Certainly he has not been reconciled to Him, nor has he had the union with Him through the participation of the Spirit.

59. (439) "If someone brings fire into his bosom," says the Wise Man, "will he not burn his clothes?" But I say: who, having received the unroofed and heavenly fire in his heart, will not be set on fire and be illumined and he himself flash forth the lightnings of divinity in proportion to his purification and participation in the fire; for participation follows upon purification, and purification follows upon participation; and when this has happened, man becomes wholly God by grace.

60. He who has partaken of the Holy Spirit is freed from passionate desires and pleasures, but he is not separated from the bodily necessities of nature. And as one freed from the bonds of passionate appetite and united to the immortal glory and sweetness, he unceasingly strains to be above and to live with God and not even for a moment to depart from the contemplation of Him and insatiable delight; but as one bound to the body and to corruption, he is dragged down and drawn by it and is turned back to earthly things, receiving so much grief over this at that time, as I think a sinner's soul has when it is separated from the body.

61. Just as for one who loves the body and loves life, one who loves pleasure and loves the world, separation from such things is death, so for one who loves purity and loves God, one who loves what is immaterial and loves virtue, truly death is the slight departure of the mind from such things. For if he who sees this perceptible light, if for a little while he closes his eyes or has them covered by another, is distressed and grieved and cannot bear this at all, and especially if he was seeing certain necessary and wondrous things; how much more will he who is illumined in the Holy Spirit and sees those good things, in reality and intellectually, waking and sleeping, which eye has not seen and ear has not heard and have not entered into the heart of man, (440) into which things angels desire to look, be grieved and afflicted if he should be torn away from the contemplation of such things by something? For this seems to him death and, reasonably, alienation from eternal life.

62. Man being twofold, having his composition from soul and body, a world similar to him has also been made, visible and invisible, the works and the concerns of the works having been suitably assigned for each of these, clearly. Hence also concerning visions and dreams I have supposed this to be true: for in whatever things the soul is occupied while awake or delves into, in these things also during sleep it is either occupied with vanities or philosophizes; for whether it cares for human affairs, being occupied with vanities it is occupied with dreams, or meditating on divine and heavenly things it delves into sights and visions, according to what was said by the Prophet, it philosophizes, "and the young men

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νζ'. Ὅν τρόπον ἡ ἄστεγος οἰκία ἡ ὑπό ἀμελείας τοῦ κτίσαντος οὕτως ἐαθεῖσα οὐ μόνον ἄχρηστός ἐστιν, ἀλλά καταγέλωτα τῷ κτίσαντι προξενεῖ, οὕτω καί ὁ τούς θεμελίους τῆς ἐργασίας τῶν ἐντολῶν καταβαλλόμενος καί τοίχους ὑψηλῶν ἀρετῶν ἀναστήσας, ἐάν μή καί τήν χάριν τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐν θεωρίᾳ καί γνώσει ψυχῆς λήψεται, ἀτελής ἐστι καί παρά τῶν τελείων κατελεούμενος. Ἐκ γάρ τῶν δύο τούτων αἰτιῶν ταύτης πάντως ἐστέρηται˙ ἤ γάρ τῆς μετανοίας ἠμέλησεν, ἤ πρός τήν τῶν ἀρετῶν συλλογήν ὡς πρός ἄπειρον ὕλην ἀπειρηκώς, ἐνέλειψέ τινα τῶν δοκούντων μέν ἡμῖν ἐλαχίστων, ἀναγκαίων δέ ὄντων πρός τόν ἀπαρτισμόν τοῦ οἴκου τῶν ἀρετῶν, ὡς μή δύνασθαι ἄνευ ἐκείνων διά τῆς τοῦ Πνεύματος χάριτος στεγασθῆναι αὐτόν.

νη'. Εἰ διά τοῦτο ἐπί τῆς γῆς ὁ Υἱός τοῦ Θεοῦ καί Θεός κατῆλθεν ἵνα δι᾿ ἑαυτοῦ καταλλάξῃ γνωστῶς ἡμᾶς ἐχθρούς ὄντας τῷ ἰδίῳ Πατρί καί συνάψῃ γνωστῶς ἡμᾶς ἑαυτῷ διά τοῦ τοῦ Ἁγίου καί ὁμοουσίου αὐτοῦ Πνεύματος, ὁ ταύτης ἐκπίπτων τῆς χάριτος ἄλλης ποίας τεύξεται; Πάντως οὐδέ κατηλλάγῃ αὐτῷ οὐδέ τήν μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἕνωσιν διά τῆς μετουσίας τοῦ Πνεύματος ἔσχηκεν.

νθ'. (439) «Εἰσαγάγῃ τις πῦρ ἐν κόλπῳ», φησίν ὁ Σοφός, «τά δέ ἱμάτια οὐ κατακαύσει;» Ἐγώ δέ φημί˙ τίς τό ἄστεκτον καί οὐράνιον πῦρ ἐν καρδίᾳ δεξάμενος, οὐ πυρωθήσεται καί λαμπρυνθήσεται καί τάς τῆς θεότητος αὐγάσει καί αὐτός ἀστραπάς κατά ἀναλογίαν τῆς καθάρσεως καί τῆς μετοχῆς τοῦ πυρός˙ ἡ γάρ μετοχή τῇ καθάρσει, τῇ δέ μεθέξει συνέπεται κάθαρσις˙ τούτου δέ γενομένου, Θεός ὅλος κατά χάριν ὁ ἄνθρωπος γίνεται.

ξ'. Τῶν μέν ἐμπαθῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν καί ἡδονῶν ὁ μετασχών τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἀπαλλάττεται, τῶν δέ τῆς φύσεως σωματικῶν ἀναγκῶν οὐ χωρίζεται. Καί ὡς μέν ἐλευθερωθείς τῶν δεσμῶν τῆς ἐμπαθοῦς ὀρέξεως καί συναφθείς τῇ ἀθανάτῳ δόξῃ τε καί γλυκύτητι, ἀδιαλείπτως ἄνω τε βιάζεται εἶναι καί σύν Θεῷ διάγειν καί μηδέ πρός βραχύ τῆς ἐκείνου θεωρίας καί ἀκορέστου τρυφῆς ἀφίστασθαι˙ ὡς δέ τῷ σώματι καί τῇ φθορᾷ ἐμπεδούμενος, ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ κατασπᾶται καί σύρεται καί πρός τά γήϊνα ἐπιστρέφεται, τοσαύτην ὑπέρ τούτου τηνικαῦτα τήν λύπην δέχεται, ὅσην οἶμαι ἁμαρτωλοῦ ψυχήν ἔχειν χωριζομένην ἀπό τοῦ σώματος.

ξα'. Ὥσπερ τῷ φιλοσωμάτῳ καί φιλοζώῳ, τῷ φιληδόνῳ καί φιλοκόσμῳ, ὁ χωρισμός τῶν τοιούτων θάνατός ἐστιν, οὕτως τῷ φιλάγνῳ καί φιλοθέῳ, τῷ φιλαΰλῳ καί φιλαρέτῳ, θάνατος τῷ ὄντι ἡ ἐκ τῶν τοιούτων μικρά τῆς διανοίας διάστασις. Εἰ γάρ ὁ τόν αἰσθήτον τοῦτο φῶς ὁρῶν, ἐάν πρός μικρόν μύσῃ τούς ὀσθαλμούς ἤ κατακαλυφθῇ τούτους ὑφ᾿ ἑτέρου, ἄχθεται καί λυπεῖται καί φέρειν ὄλως τοῦτο οὐ δύναται, καί μάλιστα ἐάν ἀναγκαῖά τινα καί παράδοξα ἦν ὁρῶν˙ πόσῳ μᾶλλον ὁ ἐν Ἁγίῳ φωτιζόμενος Πνεύματι καί τά ἀγαθά ἐκεῖνα ὁρῶν, ὕπαρ καί νοερῶς, γρηγορῶν καί καθεύδων, ἅ ὀφθαλμός οὐκ εἶδε καί οὖς οὐκ ἤκουσε καί ἐπί καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέβη, (440) εἰς ἅ παρακύψαι καί ἄγγελοι ἐπιθυμοῦσιν, ἐάν ἀποσπασθῇ ἐκ τῆς τῶν τοιούτων θεωρίας ὑπό τινος, λυπηθήσεται καί θλιβήσεται; Θάνατος γάρ αὐτῷ δοκεῖ τοῦτο καί ἀλλοτρίωσις εἰκότως τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς.

ξβ'. ∆ιπλοῦς ὤν ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ἐκ ψυχῆς καί σώματος τήν σύστασιν ἔχων, καί κόσμος αὐτῷ παρόμοιος γέγονεν ὁρατός καί ἀόρατος, ἑκάστῳ δηλονότι τούτων τά ἔργα καί αἱ φροντίδες τῶν ἔργων ἁρμοδίως ἀφορισθεῖσαι.Ἔνθεν τοι καί περί ὄψεων καί ὀνειράτων τοῦτο ἀληθές εἶναι ὑπέλαβον˙ ἐν οἷς γάρ ἡ ψυχή ἐνασχολεῖται γρηγοροῦσα ἤ ἐμβατεύει, ἐν τούτοις καί κατά τούς ὕπνους ἤ ἐμματαιάζει ἤ ἐμφιλοσοφεῖ˙ εἴτε γάρ περί ἀνθρωπίνων φροντίζει πραγμάτων ἐμματαιάζουσα ὀνείροις ἐνασχολεῖται εἴτε περί θείων καί οὐρανίων ἐμμελετῶσα ὄψεσιν ἐμβατεύει καί ὁράσεσι, κατά τό ὑπό τοῦ Προφήτου λεγόμενον, ἐμφιλοσοφεῖ, «καί οἱ νεανίσκοι