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that the human mind is not by nature able to perceive divine and intelligible things without divine light.

For just as it is not possible for the eye to perceive sensible things without the light of the sun; so without spiritual light, the human mind could never receive spiritual contemplation. For the one, according to nature, illuminates the sense for the perception of bodies; while the other, illumines the mind toward contemplation for the understanding of things beyond sense. And the salvation of souls is properly the end of faith. And the end of faith is, the true revelation of what is believed. And the true revelation of what is believed is, the ineffable indwelling of what has been believed, according to the proportion of faith in each person. And the indwelling of what has been believed is established as, the return of those who have believed to their own [Reg. Et. Fr. non habent οἰκείαν] beginning at the end. And the return of those who have believed to their own beginning at the end is, the fulfillment of desire. And the fulfillment of desire is, the ever-moving rest of those who desire around the desired object. And the ever-moving rest of those who desire around the desired object is, the continuous and uninterrupted enjoyment of the desired object, and the continuous and uninterrupted enjoyment of the desired object, is established as the participation in the divine things beyond nature. And participation in the divine things beyond nature is the likeness of the participants to the participated. (609) And the likeness of the participants to the participated is, the possible identity of the participants with the participated itself according to energy through likeness. And the possible identity of the participants with the participated according to energy through likeness is, the deification of those deemed worthy of deification; and deification is, according to a descriptive account, the comprehension and limit of all times and ages, and of the things in time and age. And the comprehension and limit of times and ages, and of all things in them, is the unmediated unity of the pure and proper beginning with the proper and pure end in those who are saved; and the unmediated unity of the pure beginning and end in those who are saved is, the departure from things according to nature which is superior to those essentially measured by beginning and end. And the departure from things according to nature which are circumscribed by beginning and end is, the immediate and infinite, and infinitely prolonged all-powerful and super-potent energy of God in those deemed worthy of the departure from things according to nature understood in a superior way. And the immediate and infinite, and infinitely prolonged all-powerful and super-potent energy of God is, the ineffable and unutterable pleasure and joy of those who are being energized, according to the unutterable union beyond understanding; of which it is not possible to find at all mind or reason, or thought or speech in the nature of beings.

For nature does not have the principles of things beyond nature; just as neither does it have the laws of things contrary to nature. And by "beyond nature" I mean, the divine and inconceivable pleasure, which God is by nature disposed to create, being united with the worthy according to grace; and by "contrary to nature," the unspeakable pain which consists in the privation of this; which God is by nature accustomed to create, being united with the unworthy contrary to grace; for according to the underlying quality of the disposition of each, God, being united to all, as he himself knows, provides the perception to each, as each one is fashioned by himself for the reception of him who will in every way be united to all at the end of the ages.

And the salvation of souls, as I think, perhaps, the chief of the apostles, Peter, called the end of faith, the participation in things beyond nature. Concerning which salvation, that is, clearly through the Holy Spirit, prophets inquired and searched, into what person or what time was indicated by the Spirit of Christ within them, when it testified beforehand [Seg. Fr. μαρτυρόμενον] the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that would follow. Therefore, those who seek in the Spirit the salvation of souls, and who search out the spiritual principles and ways of this salvation, guides toward understanding the

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ὅτι μηδέ πέφυκεν ὁ ἀνθρώπινος νοῦς ἀνευ θείου φωτός τῶν θείων καί νοητῶν ἀντιλαμβάνεσθαι.

Ὡς γάρ οὐκ ἔστι χωρίς ἡλιακοῦ φωτός ὀφθαλμόν ἀντιλαμβάνεσθαι τῶν αἰσθητῶν· οὕτω δίχα πνευματικοῦ φωτός, νοῦς ἀνθρώπινος οὔποτ᾿ ἄν δέξαιτο θεωρίαν πνευματικήν. Τό μέν γάρ, φωτίζει κατά φύσιν τήν αἴσθησιν πρός τήν τῶν σωμάτων ἀντίληψιν· τό δέ, τήν πρός θεωρίαν τόν νοῦν καταυγάζει πρός κατανόησιν τῶν ὑπέρ αἴσθησιν. Σωτηρία δέ τῶν ψυχῶν κυρίως ἐστί τό τέλος τῆς πίστεως. Τέλος δέ πίστεώς ἐστιν, ἡ τοῦ πιστευθέντος ἀληθής ἀποκάλυψις. Ἀληθής δέ τοῦ πιστευθέντος ἐστιν ἀποκάλυψις, ἡ κατά ἀναλογίαν τῆς ἐν ἑκάστῳ πίστεως ἄῤῥητος τοῦ πεπιστευμένου περιχώρησις. Περιχώρησις δέ τοῦ πεπιστευμένου καθέστηκεν, ἡ πρός τήν οἰκείαν [Reg. Et. Fr. non habent οἰκείαν] ἀρχήν κατά τό τέλος τῶν πεπιστευκότων ἐπάνοδος. Ἡ δέ πρός τήν οἰκείαν ἀρχήν κατά τό τέλος τῶν πεπιστευκότων ἐπάνοδός ἐστιν, ἡ τῆς ἐφέσεως πλήρωσις. Ἐφέσεως δέ πλήρωσίς ἐστιν, ἡ περί τό ἐφετόν τῶν ἐφιεμένων ἀεικίνητος στάσις. Ἀεικίνητος δέ στάσις περί τό ἐφετόν τῶν ἐφιεμένων ἐστίν, ἡ τοῦ ἐφετοῦ διηνεκής καί ἀδιάστατος ἀπόλαυσις, ἀπόλαυσις δέ διηνεκής καί ἀδιάστατος τοῦ ἐφετοῦ, ἡ τῶν ὑπέρ φύσιν θείων καθέστηκε μέθεξις. Μέθεξις δέ τῶν ὑπέρ φύσιν θείων ἐστίν ἡ πρός τό μετεχόμενον τῶν μετεχόντων ὁμοίωσις. (609) Ἡ δέ πρός τό μετεχόμενον τῶν μετεχόντων ὁμοίωσίς ἐστιν, ἡ κατ᾿ ἐνέργειαν πρός αὐτό τό μετεχόμενον τῶν μετεχόντων δι᾿ ὁμοιότητος ἐνδεχομένη ταυτότης. Ἡ δέ τῶν μετεχόντων ἐνδεχομένη κατ᾿ ἐνέργειαν δι᾿ ὁμοιότητος πρός τό μετεχόμενον ταυτότης ἐστίν, ἡ θέωσις τῶν ἀξιουμένων θεώσεως· ἡ δέ θέωσίς ἐστι, καθ᾿ ὑπογραφῆς λόγον πάντων τῶν χρόνων καί τῶν αἰώνων, καί τῶν ἐν χρόνῳ καί αἰῶνι περιοχή καί πέρας. Περιοχή δέ καί πέρας τῶν χρόνων καί τῶν αἰώνων ἐστί, καί πάντων τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς, ἡ τῆς ἀκραιφνοῦς καί κυρίως ἀρχῆς, πρός τό κυρίως τέλος καί ἀκραιφνές ἐν τοῖς σωζομένοις ἀδιάστατος ἑνότης· ἀδιάστατος δέ τῆς ἀκραιφνοῦς τε καί ἀρχῆς καί τέλους ἑνότης ἐν τοῖς σωζομένοις ἐστίν, ἡ κρείττων τῶν οὐσιωδῶς ἀρχῇ τε καί τέλει μεμετρημένων τῶν κατά φύσιν ἔκβασις. Ἔκβασι δέ τῶν κατά φύσιν τῶν κατ᾿ ἀρχήν τε καί τέλος περιγεγραμμένων ἐστίν, ἡ ἄμεσος καί ἄπειρος, καί ἐπ᾿ ἄπειρον ἐν τοῖς ἀξιωθεῖσι τῆς κατά τό κρεῖττον νοουμένης τῶν κατά φύσιν ἐκβάσεως, ἐνέργεια τοῦ Θεοῦ πανσθενής καί ὑπερδύναμος. Ἄμεσος δέ καί ἄπειρος καί ἐπ᾿ ἄπειρον ἐνέργεια τοῦ Θεοῦ πανσθενής ἐστι καί ὑπερδύναμος, ἡ κατά τήν ἄφθεγκτον καί ὑπέρ νόησιν ἕνωσιν, ἄῤῥητός τε καί ὑπεῤῥάρητος ἡδονή καί χαρά τῶν ἐνεργουμένων· ἧς οὐκ ἔστι νοῦν ἤ λόγον παντάπασιν, ἤ νόησιν ἤ ῥῆσιν ἐν τῇ φύσει τῶν ὄντων εὑρεῖν.

Οὐκ ἔχει γάρ ἡ φύσις τῶν ὑπέρ φύσιν τούς λόγους· ὥσπερ οὐδέ τῶν παρά φύσιν τούς νόμους. Ὑπέρ φύσιν δέ λέγω, τήν θείαν καί ἀνεννόητον ἡδονήν, ἥν ποιεῖν πέφυκεν ὁ Θεός φύσει, κατά τήν χάριν τοῖς ἀξίοις ἑνούμενος· παρά φύσιν δέ, τήν κατά στέρησιν ταύτης συνισταμένην ἀνεκλάλητον ὀδύνην· ἥν ποιεῖν εἴωθεν ὁ Θεός φύσει, παρά τήν χάριν τοῖς ἀναξίοις ἑνούμενος· κατά γάρ τήν ὑποκειμένην ἑκάστῳ ποιότητα τῆς διαθέσεως ὁ Θεός τοῖς πᾶσιν ἑνούμενος, ὡς οἶδεν αὐτός, τήν αἴσθησιν ἑκάστῳ παρέχεται, καθώς ἐστιν ἕκαστος ὑφ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ διαπεπλασμένος πρός ὑποδοχήν τοῦ πάντως πᾶσιν ἑνωθησομένου κατά τό πέρας τῶν αἰώνων.

Σωτηρίαν δέ ψυχῶν, ὡς οἶμαι, τυχόν ὁ τῶν ἀποστόλων ἀκρότατος ἔφη Πέτρος, ὡς πίστεως τέλος, τῶν ὑπέρ φύσιν τήν μέθεξιν. Περί ἧς σωτηρίας, διά Πνεύματος ἁγίου δηλαδή σαφῶς, ἐξεζήτησαν προφῆται, καί ἐξηρεύνησαν, εἰς τίνα ἤ ποῖον καιρόν ἐδήλου τό ἐν αὐτοῖς Πνεῦμα Χριστοῦ, προμαρτυρούμενον [Seg. Fr. μαρτυρόμενον] τά εἰς Χριστόν παθήματα, καί τάς μετά ταῦτα δόξας. Οὐκοῦν τούς ἐκζητοῦντας ἐν Πνεύματι τήν τῶν ψυχῶν σωτηρίαν, καί ἐξερευνῶντας τούς ταύτης πνευματικούς τῆς σωτηρίας λόγους τε καί τρόπους, ὁδηγεῖ πρός κατανόησιν τό