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a mystery revealing the great counsel of God, pre-existing infinitely before the ages; of which the very Word of God according to essence became messenger, having become man; and making manifest, if it is right to say, the inmost depth of the Father's goodness, and showing in Himself the end for which created things clearly received their beginning of being. For because of Christ, that is, the mystery according to Christ, all the ages, and the things in the ages, have received in Christ the beginning of their being and their end. For a union was preconceived before the ages, of limit and of limitlessness, and of measure and of measurelessness, and of finitude and of infinity, and of Creator and of creation, and of rest and of motion; which came to be in Christ, who was manifested in the last times; giving fulfillment through itself to the foreknowledge of God; so that things naturally moved might come to rest around that which is in every way immovable according to essence, having completely transcended their motion both toward themselves and toward one another, and might receive by experience the knowledge in act of Him in whom they were deemed worthy to come to rest, which is unchangeable and always the same, providing the enjoyment of that which has been made known to them.

For the word knows a twofold knowledge of divine things: the one, relative, as consisting in word and concepts alone; and not having the perception according to actuality of the known through experience, by which we are governed in the present life. The other, which is truly true, is in experience alone, according to actuality, without word and concepts, providing the whole perception of the known through participation by grace; by which, at the future cessation, we receive a deification beyond nature, unceasingly actualized; and they say that the relative knowledge, as consisting in word and concepts, is causative of the desire for knowledge according to actuality by participation; but that the knowledge according to actuality, providing the perception of the known through experience by participation, is destructive of the knowledge that consists in word and concepts.

(624) For the wise say that it is impossible for the word about God to coexist with the experience of God; or for the concept about Him to coexist with the perception of God; and by "word about God," I mean the analogy from existing things of the contemplative knowledge concerning Him; and by "perception," the experience upon participation of the goods beyond nature; and by "concept," the simple and unified knowledge about Him from existing things. And perhaps this is known in every other case as well; if indeed the experience of a certain thing makes the word about it to cease; and the perception of a certain thing renders the concept about it idle. And by "experience," I mean the very knowledge according to actuality, which comes after every word; and by "perception," the very participation in the known, which is manifested after every concept. And perhaps teaching this mystically the great Apostle says, "Whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away;" clearly speaking about the knowledge that consists in word and concepts.

This mystery was foreknown before all the ages by the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. By the one, according to good pleasure; by the other, according to His own operation; and by the other, according to cooperation. For the knowledge of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is one, because their essence and power is also one. For the Father was not ignorant of the incarnation of the Son, nor was the Holy Spirit; because in the whole Son, who Himself worked the mystery of our salvation through incarnation, is the whole Father according to essence; not being incarnate, but taking good pleasure in the incarnation of the Son; and the whole Holy Spirit was in the whole Son according to essence; not being incarnate, but cooperating with the Son in the ineffable incarnation for our sake.

Therefore, whether one speaks of Christ, or the mystery of Christ, the foreknowledge of this is held by essence only by the Holy Trinity, Father and Son and Holy Spirit. And let no one be perplexed as to how Christ, being one of the Holy Trinity, is foreknown by it; knowing that Christ was not foreknown as God, but as man; that is, the according to

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ἀπείρως προϋπάρχουσαν τῶν αἰώνων μεγάλην τοῦ Θεοῦ βουλήν ἐκφαῖνον μυστήριον· ἧς γέγονεν ἄγγελος αὐτός κατ᾿ οὐσίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος γενόμενος ἄνθρωπος· καί αὐτόν, εἰ θέμις εἰπεῖν, τόν ἐνδότατον πυθμένα τῆς Πατρικῆς ἀγαθότητος φανερόν καταστήσας, καί τό τέλος ἐν αὐτῷ δείξας, δι᾿ ὅ τήν πρός τό εἶναι σαφῶς ἀρχήν ἔλαβον τά πεποιημένα. ∆ιά γάρ τόν Χριστόν, ἤγουν τό κατά Χριστόν μυστήριον, πάντες οἱ αἰῶνες, καί τά ἐν αὐτοῖς τοῖς αἰῶσιν, ἐν Χριστῷ τήν ἀρχήν τοῦ εἶναι καί τό τέλος εἰλήφασιν. Ἕνωσις γάρ προϋπενοήθη τῶν αἰώνων, ὅρου καί ἀοριστίας, καί μέτρου καί ἀμετρίας, καί πέρατος καί ἀπειρίας, καί κτίστου καί κτίσεως, καί στάσεως καί κινήσεως· ἥτις ἐν Χριστῷ ἐπ᾿ ἐσχάτων τῶν χρόνων φανερωθέντι γέγονε· πλήρωσιν δοῦσα τῇ προγνώσει τοῦ Θεοῦ δι᾿ ἑαυτῆς· ἵνα περί τό πάντη κατ᾿ οὐσίαν ἀκίνητον στῇ τά κατά φύσιν κινούμενα, τῆς πρός τε αὐτά καί πρός ἄλληλα παντελῶς ἐκβεβηκότα κινήσεως, καί λάβῃ τῇ πείρᾳ τήν κατ᾿ ἐνέργειαν γνῶσιν τοῦ, ἐν ᾧ στῆναι κατηξιώθησαν, ἀναλλοίωτον καί ὡσαύτως ἔχουσαν, τήν τοῦ γνωσθέντος αὐτοῖς παρεχομένην ἀπόλαυσιν.

∆ιττήν γάρ οἶδε τήν τῶν θείων γνῶσιν ὁ λόγος· τήν μέν, σχετικήν, ὡς ἐν μόνῳ λόγῳ κειμένην καί νοήμασι· καί τήν κατ᾿ ἐνέργειαν τοῦ γνωσθέντος διά πείρας οὐκ ἔχουσαν αἴσθησιν, δι᾿ ἧς κατά τήν παροῦσαν ζωήν οἰκονομούμεθα. Τήν δέ κυρίως ἀληθῆ ἐν μόνῃ τῇ πείρᾳ κατ᾿ ἐνέργειαν δίχα λόγου καί νοημάτων, ὅλην τοῦ γνωσθέντος κατά χάριν μεθέξει παρεχομένην τήν αἴσθησιν· δι᾿ ἧς κατά τήν μέλλουσαν λῆξιν τήν ὑπέρ φύσιν ὑποδεχόμεθα θέωσιν ἀπαύστως ἐνεργουμένην· καί τήν μέν σχετικήν ὡς ἐν λόγῳ κειμένην καί τοῖς νοήμασι, κινητικήν εἶναί φασι τῆς πρός τήν μεθέξει κατ᾿ ἐνέργειαν γνῶσιν ἐφέσεως· τήν δέ κατ᾿ ἐνέργειαν, διά τῆς πείρας μεθέξει παρεχομένην τοῦ γνωσθέντος τήν αἴσθησιν, ἀφαιρετικήν εἶναι τῆς ἐν λόγῳ κειμένης καί νοήμασι γνώσεως.

(624) Ἀμήχανον γάρ εἶναί φασιν οἱ σοφοί, συνυπάρχειν τῇ πείρᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ, τόν περί Θεοῦ λόγον· ἤ τῇ αἰσθήσει τοῦ Θεοῦ, τήν περί αὐτοῦ νόησιν· λόγον δέ περί Θεοῦ φημι, τήν ἐκ τῶν ὄντων ἀναλογίαν τῆς περί αὐτοῦ γνωστικῆς θεωρίας· αἴσθησιν δέ, τήν ἐπί τῇ μεθέξει πεῖραν τῶν ὑπέρ φύσιν ἀγαθῶν· νόησιν δέ, τήν ἐκ τῶν ὄντων περί αὐτοῦ ἁπλῆν καί ἐνιαίαν γνῶσιν. Τάχα δέ καί ἐπ᾿ ἄλλου παντός τοῦτο γνωρίζεται· εἴπερ ἡ τοῦδε τοῦ πράγματος πεῖρα, τόν περί αὐτόν καταπαύει λόγον· καί ἡ τοῦδε τοῦ πράγματος αἴσθησις, τήν περί αὐτοῦ σχολάζουσαν ἐργάζεται νόησιν. Πεῖραν δέ λέγω, αὐτήν τήν κατ᾿ ἐνέργειαν γνῶσιν, τήν μετά πάντα λόγον ἐπιγινομένην· αἴσθησιν δέ, αὐτήν τήν τοῦ γνωσθέντος μέθεξιν, τήν μετά πᾶσαν νόησιν, ἐκφαινομένην. Καί τοῦτο τυχόν μυστικῶς διδάσκων ὁ μέγας Ἀπόστολος, φησίν, Εἴτε προφητεῖται καταργηθήσονται, εἴτε γλῶσσαι παύσονται, εἴτε γνώσεις καταργηθήσονται· περί τῆς ἐν λόγῳ κειμένης καί νοήμασι γνώσεως δηλονότι φάσκων.

Τοῦτο τό μυστήριον προεγνώσθη πρό πάντων τῶν αἰώνων τῷ Πατρί καί τῷ Υἱῷ καί τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι. Τῷ μέν κατ᾿ εὐδοκίαν· τῷ δέ, κατ᾿ αὐτουργίαν· τῷ δέ, κατά συνέργειαν. Μία γάρ ἡ Πατρός καί Υἱοῦ καί ἁγίου Πνεύματος γνῶσις, ὅτι καί μία οὐσία καί δύναμις. Οὐ γάρ ἠγνόει τοῦ Υἱοῦ τήν σάρκωσιν ὁ Πατήρ, ἤ τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον· ὅτι ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ Υἱῷ τό μυστήριον αὐτουργοῦντι τῆς ἡμῶν σωτηρίας διά σαρκώσεως, ὅλος κατ᾿ οὐσίαν ὁ Πατήρ· οὐ σαρκούμεος, ἀλλ᾿ εὐδοκῶν τοῦ Υἱοῦ τήν σάρκωσιν· καί ὅλον ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ Υἱῷ τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον κατ᾿ οὐσίαν ὑπῆρχεν· οὐ σαρκούμενον, ἀλλά συνεργοῦν τῷ Υἱῷ τήν δι᾿ ἡμᾶς ἀπόῤῥητον σάρκωσιν.

Εἴτε οὖν Χριστόν εἴποι τις, εἴτε μυστήριον τοῦ Χριστοῦ, τούτου τήν πρόγνωσιν μόνη κατ᾿ οὐσίαν ἔχει ἡ ἁγίας Τριάς, Πατήρ καί Υἱός καί ἅγιον Πνεῦμα. Καί μηδείς διαπορήσει, πῶς ὁ Χριστός εἷς ὤν τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος, ὑπ᾿ αὐτῆς προγινώσκεται· γινώσκων ὅτι οὐχ ὡς Θεός ὁ Χριστός προεγνώσθη, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς ἄνθρωπος· ἤγουν ἡ κατ᾿