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And in this God is nothing, I say, nothing of all things as the creator of all things, but above the all. For who could say what God is, so that he might also say, "He is," by chance this or that? I do not know at all of what kind, how great, of what sort, or how large; I, therefore, who do not know God, of what form, and appearance, the size, the beauty, how shall I interpret his energies, how He is seen, being invisible to all, how He is with all created nature, how He dwells in all the saints, (361) how He fills the all and is nowhere filled, how He is above the all and exists everywhere, for no one at all will be able to say these things. But, O you whom no one among men has ever seen, O universal king, O uniquely most compassionate one, I thank you with all my heart, that you did not overlook me lying below in darkness, but you touched me with your divine hand, which when I saw I immediately arose rejoicing; for it shone even brighter than the sun. I hastened to grasp it, wretched that I am, and it immediately vanished from my eyes, and again I was completely in darkness. I fell to the ground mourning and weeping, rolling about and groaning painfully, longing to see your divine hand again. You stretched it out, it appeared to me more clearly and having embraced it I kissed it repeatedly; O the goodness and great compassion! The creator has given his hand to be kissed, the one holding all things together by its strength; O the grace, O the ineffable gift! And again the maker drew it back, surely testing my eagerness, whether I long for it and its giver, whether I despise all things and prefer it and remain in its love. I immediately left the world and the things of the world, I closed all my senses together, eyes, ears, nose, mouth and lips,

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κἀν τούτῳ οὐδέν ὁ Θεός ἐστι, λέγω, τῶν παντων οὐδέν ὡς τῶν ἁπάντων κτίστης, ἀλλ᾿ ὑπέρ τό πᾶν. Τίς γάρ ἄν εἴποι τί ἐστι Θεός, ἵνα καί Ἔστιν, εἴπῃ, τόδε τυχόν ἤ τόδε; Ἀγνοῶ ὅλως ὁποῖος, ὁπόσος, ποταπός ἤ πηλίκος˙ ὁ οὖν ἀγνοῶν ἐγώ Θεόν, ὁποῖος μορφήν, εἶδός τε, τό μέγεθος, τό κάλλος, πῶς ἑρμηνεύσω τάς αὐτοῦ ἐνεργείας, πῶς μέν ὁρᾶται ἀόρατος ὤν πᾶσι, πῶς δέ σύνεστι τῇ κτιστῇ πάσῃ φύσει, πῶς ἐγκατοικεῖ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἁγίοις, (361) πῶς πληροῖ τό πᾶν καί οὐδαμοῦ πληροῦται, πῶς ὑπέρ τό πᾶν καί πανταχοῦ ὑπάρχει, ταῦτα γάρ οὐδείς ὅλως εἰπεῖν ἰσχύσει. Ἀλλ᾿, ὦ ἀνθρώπων ὅν οὐδείς ὅλως εἶδεν, ὦ παμβασιλεῦ, ὑπερεύσπλαγχνε μόνε, εὐχαριστῶ σοι ἐξ ὅλης μου καρδίας, ὅτι οὐ παρεῖδές με ἐν σκότει κάτω κείμενον, ἀλλ᾿ ἥψω μου χειρί σου θείᾳ, ἥν ἰδών ἐγώ ἀνέστην εὐθύς χαίρων˙ ἔλαμπε καί γάρ φαιδρότερον ἡλίου. Ἔσπευσα κρατῆσαί γε ταύτην, ὁ τάλας, καί ἠφαντώθη εὐθύς ἐξ ὀφθαλμῶν μου, καί πάλιν ὅλος ἐγενόμην ἐν σκότει. Ἔπεσα πρός τοὔδαφος πενθῶν καί κλαίων, κυλινδούμενος καί στενάζων ἐμπόνως, ποθῶν ἰδεῖν σου πάλιν τήν θείαν χεῖρα. Ἥπλωσας αὐτήν, ὤφθη μοι τρανοτέρως καί περιπλακείς κατεφίλησα ταύτην˙ ὤ χρηστότητος καί πολλῆς εὐσπλαγχνίας! Χεῖρα δέδωκεν ἀσπάσαθαι ὁ κτίστης τήν συνέχουσαν τά σύμπαντα τῷ σθένει˙ ὤ χαρίσματος, ὤ δωρεᾶς ἀφράστου! Πάλιν τε ταύτην συνέστειλεν ὁ πλάστης πάντως δοκιμάζων μου τήν προθυμίαν, εἰ ποθῶ ταύτην καί τόν ταύτης δοτῆρα, εἰ καταφρονῶ πάντων καί προτιμῶμαι ταύτην καί μένω ἐν τῇ ταύτης ἀγάπῃ. Ἔλιπον εὐθύς κόσμον καί τά τοῦ κόσμου, ἔμυσα πάσας ὁμοῦ καί τάς αἰσθήσεις, ὀφθαλμούς, ὦτα, ῥῖνα, στόμα καί χείλη,