203

50.

On the vision of God and of divine things and of the paradoxical energy of the Holy Spirit; and on the properties of the Holy and consubstantial Trinity; and that he who has not managed to enter into the kingdom of heaven will profit nothing, even if he should be outside the torments of Hades. (358)

What is this that has been wrought in me by you, O God, cause and ruler of all? For what shall I say, or what then shall I think? Great to me is the wonder that is seen, but it is unknown and invisible to all. What is this, tell me? I will speak faithfully: by darkness and shadow, by perceptible things and by sense, by material creation, by blood and flesh I am held, I am intermingled, O Savior, I the wretched one. And while being in these things, unhappily and miserably, astonishment seizes me as I wish to speak: I see with my mind; where, what, or how, I do not know. For the 'how' is utterly inexpressible, but the 'where' seems to me both known and unknown: known, because it is seen within me and is shown again from afar, but unknown, nevertheless, as it leads me away with itself into a place that is nowhere at all, and provides me with forgetfulness of perceptible things, and leads me out naked of all material and visible things, and of my body. (359) What then is it that works these things in me, which I also said I see? I am not able to say. Nevertheless, listen and you will understand the matter: it is then in every way ungraspable by all, it is also graspable and able to be participated in by the worthy, imparting itself, joined ungraspably, united to the pure without confusion, and mingled in an unmingled mixture, whole to the whole of those who live blamelessly. This shines in me like a lamp, or rather, it is first seen in the heavens and immeasurably above the heavens, it is seen very dimly, invisibly. But when I seek it out laboriously and persistently ask it to shine, it is either seen more clearly there and separates me from the things below and joins me to its splendor ineffably, or it is suddenly shown whole within me, a sphere-like light, both serene and divine, formless, shapeless in a formless form,

203

Ν'.

Περί θεωρίας Θεοῦ καί θείων πραγμάτων καί Ἁγίου Πνεύματος παραδόξου ἐνεργείας˙ καί περί τῶν ἰδίων τῆς Ἁγίας καί ὁμοουσίου Τριάδος˙ καί ὅτι ὁ μή φθάσας εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τήν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν οὐδέν ὠφεληθήσεται, κἄν ἐκτός γένηται τῶν τοῦ ᾅδυο κολάσεων. (358)

Τί τό ἐν ἐμοί παρά σοῦ εἰργασμένον, ὦ τῶν πάντων αἴτιε Θεέ καί μέδον; Τί γάρ καί εἴπω, τί δ᾿ ἄρα ἐννοήσω; Μέγα μέν ἐμοί τό ὁρώμενον θαῦμα, ἄγνωστον δ᾿ ἐστί καίἀόρατον πᾶσι. Ποῖον τοῦτο, λέξον μοι; Πιστῶς ἐξείπω˙ σκότει καί σκιᾷ, αἰσθητοῖς καί αἰσθήσει, κτίσει ἐνύλῳ, αἵματι καί σαρκί τε κρατοῦμαι, συμπέρφυρμαι, Σῶτερ, ὁ τάλας. Ἐν τούτοις δ᾿ ὄντα δυστυχῶς καί ἀθλίως ἔκπληξις συνέχει με θέλοντα φράσαι˙ βλέπω νοερῶς˙ ποῦ, τί ἤ πῶς, οὐκ οἶδα. Τό γάρ πῶς ἀνέκφραστόν ἐστιν εἰς ἅπαν, τό δέ ποῦ γνωστόν καί ἄγνωστον δοκεῖ μοι˙ γνωστόν μέν, ὅτι ἐν ἐμοί καθορᾶται καί μακρόθεν δείκνυται αὐτό γε πάλιν, ἄγνωστον δ᾿ ὅμως ὡς κἀμέ συναπάγον ἐν τῷ μηδαμοῦ μηδαμῶς ὅλως τόπῳ καί τῶν αἰσθητῶν λήθην μοι ἐμπαρέχον καί τῶν ὑλικῶν πάντων καί βλεπομένων ἔξω με γυμνόν καί σώματος ἐξάγον. (359) Τί οὖν ἐστι τό ἐνργοῦν μοι ταῦτα, ὅπερ καί βλέπειν εἶπον; Εἰπεῖν οὐκ ἔχω. Ὄμως ἄκουε καί συνήσεις τό πρᾶγμα˙ ἔστιν οὖν ἀκράτητον τοῖς πᾶσι πάντῃ, ἔστι καί ληπτόν καί μεθεκτόν ἀξίοις, μεταδοτικόν, συνημμένον ἀλήπτως, ἥνωμένον τε καθαροῖς ἀσυγχύτως, ἀνακεκραμμένον τε ἀμίκτῳ μίξει ὅλον ὅλοις γε τοῖς ἀμέμπτως βιοῦσι. Τοῦτο ἐν ἐμοί δίκην λαμπάδος φαίνει, μᾶλλον δέ πρῶτον εἰς οὐρανούς ὁρᾶται καί τῶν οὐρανῶν ἀμέτρως ὑπεράνω, ἀμυδρῶς πάνυ ἀοράτως ὁρᾶται. Ὅτε δέ ἐγώ ἐμπόνως ἐκζητήσω καί ἐπιμόνως αἰτήσομαι τοῦ λάμψαι, ἤ τρανότερον ἐκεῖσε καθορᾶται κάμέ τῶν κάτω χωρίζει καί συνάπτει τῇ ἐκείνου λαμπρότητι ἀρρήτως, ἤ ἐντός μου δείκνυται ἀθρόον ὅλον, φῶς σφαιροειδές, γαληνόν τε καί θεῖον, ἄμορφον, ἀνείδεον μορφῇ ἀμόρφῳ,