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fire, water, river, spring of life and stream, bread and wine, the new seasoning of the faithful, the banquet, the delicacy which we mystically enjoy, a sun truly that does not set and an ever-shining star, a lamp shining within the house of the soul. This one is many things, both purifying and creating, this one brought forth all things by the word and by the spirit of power holds all these things together. This one the heaven and the earth from non-being brought forth, gave substance, established ineffably, this one the sun, moon and the stars by its will has made, a new and strange wonder. This one quadrupeds, reptiles and beasts and birds of every kind and all things in the sea by its command brought forth, as they are all seen. And last it made me as a king and all these things it has given to me for service as servants and slavishly fulfilling my need. All things, therefore, of this one God of all, I say, have kept the command and still keep it, and I alone, the wretched one, was shown to be ungrateful, (339) unmindful and disobedient to God, the one who formed me and who provided all these good things abundantly, and having transgressed the commandment I became useless and was revealed to be worse than all the beasts, I, the miserable one, and I was turned aside from the straight and divine path and from the glory given to me I have wretchedly fallen and I was stripped of the luminous and divine garment, and having come to be in the darkness I now lie in the darkness, and I am ignorant that I am deprived of light, and: "Behold," I say, "the sun illumines the day, and I see it; when night comes again it sets, and I light for myself candles and a lamp and I see. And what more than all men does another have than me? For in this way all men see in the world and more than this no man at all perceives. Saying these things, therefore, I lie and mock myself and myself, Savior, I deceive, boasting about myself, not wanting to know myself, that I happen to be blind, not wanting to labor, not wanting to look up, not wanting, I the condemned, to know my blindness. And I say: "Who has seen God, the light of the world?" And saying this, Master, I am completely senseless, not understanding that I reason and speak wrongly. For he who does not see your light, and says that he sees at all, or rather even says it is impossible, to behold, Master, the light of your divine glory, denies all the scriptures of prophets, apostles, and your words, Jesus, and the economy of salvation.

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πῦρ, ὕδωρ, ποταμός, πηγή ζωῆς καί ῥεῖθρον, ἄρτος καί οἶνος, ἡ καινή τῶν πιστῶν καρυκεία, ἡ πανδαισία, ἡ τρυφή ἥν μυστικῶς τρυφῶμεν, ἥλιος ὄντως ἄδυτος ἄστρον ἀειλαμπές τε, λαμπάς ἐντός ἐκλάμπουσα τῆς ψυχικῆς οἰκίας. Τοῦτο τό ἕν πολλά ἐστι καθαιροῦν τε καί κτίζον, τοῦτο τό ἕν τά σύμπαντα παρήγαγε τῷ λόγῳ καί πνεύματι δυνάμεως συνέχει ταῦτα πάντα. Τοῦτο τό ἕν τόν οὐρανόν καί τήν γῆν ἐκ μή ὄντων παρήγαγεν, οὐσίωσε, συνέστησεν ἀρρήτως, τοῦτο τό ἕν τόν ἥλιον, σελήνην καί τά ἄστρα θελήματι πεποίηκε, θαῦμα καινόν καί ξένον. Τοῦτο τό ἕν τετράποδα, ἑρπετά καίθηρία καί πετεινά παντοδαπά καί ἐνάλια πάντα τῇ προστάξει παρήγαγε, καθώς ὁρῶνται πάντα. Ἔσχατον δέ ἐποίησεν ἐμέ ὡς βασιλέα καί πάντα ταῦτα δέδωκεν ἐμοί πρός θεραπείαν ὡς δοῦλα καί τήν χρείαν μοι δουλικῶς ἐκπληροῦντα. Πάντα οὖν τούτου τοῦ ἑνός Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων, λέγω, τό πρόσταγμα ἐφύλαξε καί εἰσέτι φυλάττει, κἀγώ μόνος, ὁ ἄθλιος, ἀχάριστος ἐδείχθην, (339) ἀγνώμων καί ἀνήκοος Θεοῦ, τοῦ πλάσαντός με καί ταῦτα πάντα τά καλά ἀφθόνως παρασχόντος, τήν ἐντολήν τε παραβάς ἀχρεῖος ἐγενόμην καί χείρων πάντων τῶν κτηνῶν ἀπεφάνθην, ὁ τάλας, καί παρετράπην τῆς ὁσοῦ τῆς εὐθείας καί θείας καί τῆς δοθείσης δόξης μοι ἐκπέπτωκα ἀθλίως καί ἐξεδύθην τήν στολήν τήν φωτεινήν καί θείαν, καί ἐν τῷ σκότει γεγονώς νῦν ἐν τῷ σκότει κεῖμαι, καί ἀγνοῶ ὅτι φωτός εἰμί ἐστερημένος, καί˙ Ἴδε, λέγω, ἥλιος τήν ἡμέραν φωτίζει, καί βλέπω τοῦτον˙ τῆς νυκτός ἐλθούσης πάλιν δύνει, κἀγώ ἀνάπτω μοι κηρούς καί λαμπάδα καί βλέπω. Καί τί τῶν πάντων ἔχει μου ἀνθρώπων πλέον ἄλλος; Οὔτως γάρ πάντως βλέπουσιν ἄνθρωποι ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ καί τούτου πλέον οὐδαμῶς καθορᾷ τις ἀνθρώπων. Ταῦτα οὖν λέγων ψεύδομαι καί ἐμαυτόν ἐμπαίζω καί ἐμαυτόν, Σῶτερ, πλανῶ κατ᾿ ἐμαυτόν κομπάζων, μή θέλων γνῶναι ἐμαυτόν, ὅτι τυφλός τυγχάνω, μή θέλων κοπιάσαι τε, μή θέλων ἀναβλέψαι, μή θέλων ὁ κατάκριτος τήν τύφλωσίν μου γνῶναι. Λέγω δέ˙ Τίς ἑώρακε Θεόν, τό φῶς τοῦ κόσμου; Καί τοῦτο λέγων, ∆έσποτα, ἀναισθητῶ εἰς ἅπαν μή συνιείς ὅτι κακῶς λογίζομαι καί λέγω. Ὁ γάρ τό φῶς σου μή ὁρῶν, καί βλέπειν ὅλως λέγων, μᾶλλον δέ καί ἀδύνατον λέγων ὑπάρχειν τοῦτο, τό κατιδεῖν σου, ∆έσποτα, τό φῶς τῆς θείας δόξης, πάσας ἀρνεῖται τάς γραφάς προφητῶν, ἀποστόλων, τούς σούς τε λόγους, Ἰησοῦ, καί τήν οἰκονομίαν.