222

divisive. For there was a union of fire and iron according to hypostasis, with neither departing from its natural power because of its union with the other; nor indeed possessing this power unrestrained after the union, and separated from that of the composite and co-subsistent thing.

I, therefore, found this precision of the divine dogmas wisely woven into your letters, and having applied my mind to it according to the moderate power of understanding that is in me, I prayed to be made capable of guarding this, and of holding it fast in my thought, so that it might not be circumscribed by any forgetfulness. But you, God-honored Father, have compassion on me your servant, and as one who loves mankind, grant the necessary pardon, to one who is unable to undertake the things commanded. And do not condemn my disobedience; but rather accept me as one who is zealous to become a judge of his own ignorance. For rashness is hateful, and the first offspring of uttermost ignorance; through which the disease of arrogance is wont to appear, creating a godless habit in those possessed by it; and accept my refusal in this, which is pure of all passion; and do not thrust me away when I put forward to you the same words which, in such matters, Moses formerly and Jeremiah later put forward to God; the one saying, I pray, Lord, (596) I am not able, neither from yesterday nor the day before, nor from when you began to speak to me; I am weak-voiced and slow of tongue. And the other, saying, O Existing One, Master Lord, I do not know how to speak, for I am a youth. For in truth I am weak-voiced and slow of tongue, and deprived of the understanding for speaking what is good; having neither a mind that attends to divine things, nor the uttered word that is able to serve the greatness of the things requested. For I am still young in the passions, and I possess the rebellion of the flesh which overcomes the law of the spirit. And even if we should grant by hypothesis that I lack nothing of the power in these things, who is so rash and daring as to legislate in addition to things so hierarchically decreed by divine vote? But rather, I beseech you to clarify for me by definition in your precious letters, what is the energy, and in how many ways is there energy, and what is the effect as distinct from this; and which of these we mean, and the difference between work and action, so that I may be able to know the meaning of what has been written. For I have not yet been able to understand precisely in what way, whether spoken or conceived, one must accept the one energy. For we do not simply utter meaningless sounds, but we signify concepts by sounds. For which reason, I have found the God-inspired Fathers often conceding on terms, but never on concepts; because our mystery of salvation exists not in syllables, but in thoughts and realities. For they did the one, being concerned for peace; but the other, strengthening souls in the truth. And so much for these things.

But I pray, honored Father, your holiness, to kindly receive the divine Fathers who bring this modest letter, who have given themselves to this voyage for a need profitable to the common order of monks; and to deign that all things be done for them, as many as the precise word of the divine commandment desires, for those who long for divine things, and who have the incarnate Word as the sole model of their own life. For they are worthy of your (597) zeal in this, because they draw blamelessly the divine yoke of both virtue and knowledge. But in writing these things I fear that I may incur reproach for untimely boldness and lack of taste from those who do not know you, Father, and have not had experience of your condescension; and that it may be said justly of me, what one of the wise men outside our doctrine said, when he saw one of the tasteless puffed up over something:

222

τμητικήν. Πυρός γάρ καί σιδήρου καθ᾿ ὑπόστασιν γέγονε σύνοδος, μηδετέρου τῆς κατά φύσιν διά τήν πρός θάτερον ἕνωσιν ἐκστάντος δυνάμεως· μήτε μήν ἄφετον ταύτην κεκτημένον μετά τήν ἕνωσιν, καί τῆς τοῦ συγκειμένου καί συνυφεστῶτος κεχωρισμένην.

Ταύτην μέν οὖν εὗρον ἐγώ τοῖς ὑμετέροις γράμμασι σοφῶς ἐνυφανθεῖσαν τήν τῶν θείων δογμάτων ἀκρίβειαν, ἧς κατά τήν ἑνοῦσάν μοι περί τό νοεῖν μετρίαν δύναμιν ἐπιστήσας τόν νοῦν, ηὐξάμην ἱκανωθεῖναι ταύτην φυλάξαι, καί τῇ διανοίᾳ κατασχεῖν, ὑπό λήθης τινός μή δεχομένην περιγραφήν. Σύ δέ, θεοτίμητε Πάτερ, συμπάθησόν μοι τῷ σῷ δούλῳ, καί τήν δέουσαν ὡς φιλάνθρωπος παράσχου συγγνώμην, ἀδυνατοῦντι πρός τήν τῶν κεκελευσμένων ἐγχείρησιν. Καί μή μου καταγνῶς ἀπείθειαν· ἀλλά μᾶλλον ἀπόδεξαί με τῆς οἰκείας ἀμαθίας ἐπιγνώμονα γενέσθαι σπουδάζοντα. Μισητόν γάρ τό προπετές, καί πρῶτον τῆς ἐσχάτης ἀγνοίας γέννημα· καθ᾿ ὅ πέφυκεν ἡ τῆς ὑπερηφανίας διαφαίνεσθαι νόσος, ἕξιν δημιουργοῦσα τοῖς αὐτῇ κατειλημμένοις ἀντίθεον· καί δέξαι μου παντός πάθους καθαράν τήν ἐπί τοῦτο παραίτησιν· καί μή ἀπώσῃ με τούς αὐτούς σοι προβαλλόμενον λόγους, οὕς ἐπί τοῖς τοιούτοις πρός τόν Θεόν Μωϋσῆς πρότερον καί Ἱερεμίας ὕστερον προὐβάλλοντο· ὁ μέν, ∆έομαι, Κύριε, (596) λέγων, οὐχ ἱκανός εἰμι πρό τῆς χθές οὐδέ πρό τῆς τρίτης ἡμέρας, οὐδέ ἀφ᾿ οὗ ἤρξω λαλεῖν πρός με· ἰσχνόφωνος καί βραδύγλωσσος ἐγώ εἰμι. Ὁ δέ, Ὁ ὤν, ∆έσποτα Κύριε, φάσκων, οὐκ ἐπίσταμαι λαλεῖν, ὅτι νεώτερός εἰμι. Ἐπ᾿ ἀληθείας γάρ ἰσχνόφωνος εἰμι καί βραδύγλωσσος, καί τῆς ἐπί τῷ λαλεῖν τά καλά συνέσεως ἐστερημένος· μήτε τόν νοῦν ἔχων ἐπιβάλλοντα τοῖς θείοις, μήτε τόν κατά προφοράν λόγον, ἐξυπηρετεῖσθαι τῷ μεγέθει τῶν ζητηθέντων δυνάμενον. Νεάζω γάρ ἔτι τοῖς πάθεσι, καί πλεονεκτοῦσαν τόν νόμον τοῦ πνεύματος κέκτημαι τῆς σαρκός τήν ἐπανάστασιν. Ὁπόταν καί εἰ δῶμεν καθ᾿ ὑπόθεσιν μηδέν λείπεσθαί με τῆς ἐν τούτοις δυνάμεως, τίς οὕτω θρασύς ὑπάρχει καί τολμηρός, ὥστε τοῖς οὕτω κατά θείαν φῆφον ἱεραρχικῶς θεσπισθεῖσιν, ἐπιδιατάττεσθαι; Παρακαλῶ δέ μᾶλλον τιμίοις σου γράμμασιν ὁρισμῷ μοι διασαφῆσαι, τίς ἡ ἐνέργεια, καί ποσαχῶς ἡ ἐνέργεια, καί τί παρά ταύτην ἐπί τό ἐνέργημα· καί τίνα τούτων φαμέν, πρός τε τό ἔργον καί τήν πρᾶξιν τήν διαφοράν, ἵνα ἔχω τῶν γραφέντων γινώσκειν τήν δύναμιν. Οὔπω γάρ ἀκριβῶς ἐπιστῆσαι δεδύνημαι, τίνα καί πῶς λεγομένην ἤ νοουμένην ἐκδέξασθαι χρή τήν μίαν ἐνέργειαν. Οὐχ ἁπλῶς γάρ φωνάς ἀσήμους προφέρομεν, ἀλλ᾿ ἐννοίας ταῖς φωναῖς διασημαίνομεν. ∆ι᾿ ἥν αἰτίαν, φωνάς μέν πολλάκις πραχωροῦντας εὗρον τούς θεηγόρους Πατέρας, ἐννοίας δέ οὐδαμῶς· ὅτι μή ἐν συλλαβαῖς, ἀλλ᾿ ἐν νοήμασί τε καί πράγμασι τό τῆς σωτηρίας ἡμῶν ὑπάρχει μυστήριον. Τό μέν γάρ ἐποίουν, εἰρήνην φροντίζοντες· τό δέ, ψυχάς τῇ ἀληθείᾳ στηρίζοντες. Καί ταῦτα μέν περί τούτων.

∆έομαι δέ, Πάτερ τίμιε, τῆς σῆς ἁγιότητος, εὐμενῶς τούς τοῦτο τό μέτριον ἐπιφερομένους γράμμα θείους προσδέξασθαι Πατέρας, διά χρείαν λυσιτελοῦσαν τῷ κοινῷ τάγματι τῶν μοναχῶν, ἑαυτούς εἰς τοῦτον πλοῦν ἐπιδεδωκότας· καί πάντα γενέσθαι αὐτοῖς καταδέξασθαι, ὅσα τῆς θείας ἐντολῆς ὁ ἀκριβής βούλεται λόγος, τούς τῶν θείων ἐφιεμένου, καί μονώτατον τοῦ οἰκείου βίου τόν σαρκωθέντα Λόγον ἔχοντας ὑποτίπωσιν. Ἄξιοι γάρ τυγχάνουσι τῆς (597) ὑμετέρας ἐπί τοῦτο σπουδῆς, ὅτι τόν θεῖον ἕλκουσιν ἀμέμπτως τῆς ἀρετῆς τε καί τῆς γνώσεως ζυγόν. ∆έδοικα δέ ταῦτα γράφων μή παῤῥησίας ἀκαίρου καί ἀπειροκαλίας παρά τοῖς οὐκ εἰδόσι σε, Πάτερ, καί τῆς σῆς πεῖραν οὐκ εἰληφόσι συγκαταβάσεως, ὄνειδος ἀπενέγκωμαι· καί λεχθῇ καί περί ἐμοῦ δικαίως, ὅπερ τις τῶν ἔξω τοῦ καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς λόγου σοφῶν ἔφη, θεασάμενος ἐπί τινι φυσηθέντα τινά τῶν ἀπειροκάλων·