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and pursues the Divine Spirit: one who disbelieves does not ask, not asking he does not receive, not receiving he is dead. (331) And who will not weep for the dead, because being dead he seems to live? The dead are not yet able at all to see or mourn the dead: the living, seeing them, mourn. For they see a strange wonder, the dead living, and also walking about, the blind seeming to see and the deaf, truly being so, and thinking they hear: for they live and see and hear like beasts, as senseless they understand with insensible sense, in a deadened life. For it is possible to be alive while not living, it is possible to see while not seeing nor to hear while hearing. How, tell me? I will say quickly: all who live according to the flesh, all who see the things here and with fleshly ears alone listen to divine words, these are all deaf, blind, and dead according to the spirit. For they have not been born of God at all, that they might also live, but neither did they receive the Spirit nor did they lift up their eyes, (332) they did not see the divine light: and since this was not known, they remained deaf forever. But such men, tell me, how can they be called Christians? Listen to the divine Paul clearly declaring these things to you,

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καί διώκει Πνεῦμα Θεῖον˙ ἀπιστῶν τις οὐκ αἰτεῖται, μή αἰτῶν οὐδέ λαμβάνει, μή λαβών νεκρός ὑπάρχει. (331) Τόν νεκρόν δέ τίς μή κλαύσει, ὅτι ζῆν δοκεῖ νεκρός ὤν; Οἱ νεκροί νεκρούς οὐδέπω οὔτ᾿ ἰδεῖν οὔτε θρηνῆσαι ὅλως δύνανται˙ οἱ ζῶντες τούτους βλέποντες πενθοῦσι. Θαῦμα γάρ ὁρῶσι ξένον, ζῶντας τούς νενεκρωμένους, ἀλλά καί περιπατοῦντας, τούς τυφλούς βλέπειν δοκοῦντας καί κωφούς δέ ὄντως ὄντας καί ἀκούειν οἰομένους˙ ζῶσι γάρ καί καθορῶσι καί ἀκούουσιν ὡς κτήνη, ὡς ἀνόητοι νοοῦσιν ἐν αἰσθήσει ἀναισθήτῳ, ἐν ζωῇ νενεκρωμένη. Ἔστι γάρ καί ζῆν μή ζῶντα, ἔστι βλέποντα μή βλέπειν μηδ᾿ ἀκούοντα ἀκούειν. Πῶς, εἰπέ μοι; Λέξω τάχος˙ ὅσοι ζῶσι κατά σάρκα, ὅσοι βλέπουσι τά τῇδε καί ὠσί σαρκίνοις μόνοις θείων λόγων ἀκροῶνται, οὗτοι κατά πνεῦμα πάντες κωφοί, τυφλοί καί νεκροί γε. Οὐδέ γάρ ἐκ Θεοῦ γεγέννηνται ὅλως, ἵνα καί ζῶσί γε, ἀλλ᾿ οὐδ᾿ ἔλαβον τό Πνεῦμα οὐδ᾿ ἀνέβλεψαν τάς κόρας, (332) οὐ κατεῖδον φῶς τό θεῖον˙ τούτου δέ μή γνεομένου ἔμειναν κωφοί εἰς ἅπαν. Οἱ τοιοῦτοι δέ, εἰπέ μοι, πῶς Χριστιανοί κληθῶσιν; Ἄκουε τοῦ θείου Παύλου ταῦτά σοι σαφῶς δηλοῦντος,