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To speak simply, time will fail me in telling of the divine ascents and revelations of the saints according to the transformation from glory to glory, until each one might receive the fitting deification in his own order. Therefore, knowing that we have the aforesaid natural longing for God, this great teacher both exhorts and calls all through his teaching to the spiritual food of the lamb slain for us, and he proposes that we guard clearly and usefully the harmony of his members—that is, of the lamb's—unbroken and unconfused, so that we may not be condemned as tearing apart and rending the fitting harmony of the divine body, either rashly, as being beyond our power, or unworthily, as being below our power, eating the flesh of the Lamb and Logos; but let each one, according to his own power and order, and the grace of the Spirit that falls to him, partake of the divine Logos according to the concept of each member. For example, he who possesses a faith that has the discourses concerning theology proceeding entirely unmediated from undemonstrable principles will partake of the head, from which the whole body of virtues and of knowledge, being joined together, grows with spiritual growth. And he will partake of the ears who spiritually receives the divine words with knowledge, and through his works becomes, on account of them, compliant and obedient to God, even unto death; and of the eyes, he who spiritually perceives creation, and without stumbling gathers all the principles according to sense and intellect into one fulfillment of the glory of God. And he will partake of the breast who has filled his heart with theological contemplations, according to the great evangelist John, and like an ever-flowing spring piously pours forth for those who learn the principle and the mode that contains the providence for all things. Again, he duly partakes of the hands who performs none of the works according to the commandment laxly and neglectfully, but has the soul's entire energy in respect to action ready and vigorous for the fulfillment of the divine laws; and of the belly, he who has the soul's fertility ever-flowing, and is multiplied in spiritual contemplations, and possesses the unquenchable, most burning love of dispassionate desire for divine intercourse. And he will fittingly partake of the entrails, who by the more hidden inquiry and knowledge of the intellect searches out the depths of God, and is filled with ineffable mysteries. (1365) The discourse will dare something greater. Let him partake with self-control of the lower parts of the Logos, who reasonably stands against matter, and preserves the flesh entirely undefiled with the soul, and wholly without omission forms in it by the virtues the Logos Who became flesh. And he will partake of the thighs who has reason set over the passionate part of the soul, and entirely cuts out its material movement; and of the knees, he who compassionately by providence inclines toward those who are fallen and weak in faith, and imitates the condescension of the Logos toward us. In addition to these, let him partake of the shins and feet, who has the unshakeable and immoveable foundations of the soul on faith and virtue and knowledge, and according to purpose hastens toward the prize of the upward calling, and leaps over and jumps across the mountains of ignorance and the hills of wickedness with the Logos. But who will be able to enumerate all the concepts of our Savior God for our sake, according to which He has made Himself edible and able to be partaken of in proportion to each person. For in addition to all these the Lord has locks of hair, and nostrils, and lips, and a neck, and shoulders, and fingers, and as many parts of our constitution as are said of Him tropologically. Of which they fittingly and usefully partake who appropriate for themselves the spiritual principle signified by each and every member. Thus the Lamb of God is eaten, according to this holy

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ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν, ἐπιλείψει με ὁ χρόνος λέγοντα τάς θείας τῶν ἀγίων ἀναβάσεις τε καί ἀποκαλύψεις κατά τήν ἀπό δόξης εἰς δόξαν ἀλλοίωσιν, ἕως ἕκαστος τήν ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ τάγματι, ἁρμόζουσαν δέξοιτο θέωσιν. Τόν τοίνυν προῤῥηθέντα περί Θεοῦ φυσικόν πόθον ἔχοντας ἡμᾶς εἰδώς οὗτος ὁ μέγας διδάσκαλος προτρέπει τε πάντας καί καλεῖ διά τῆς αὐτοῦ διδασκαλίας πρός τήν πνευματικήν βρῶσιν τοῦ ὑπέρ ἡμῶν σφαγιασθέντος ἀμνοῦ, φυλάξαι τε εὐκρινῶς καί εὐχρήστως ὑποτίθεται τῶν αὐτοῦ, τοῦ ἀμνοῦ δηλονότι, μελῶν τήν ἁρμονίαν ἄθραυστον καί ἀσύμφυρτον, ἵνα μή κατακριθῶμεν ὡς διασπῶντες καί διασπαράττοντες τήν εὔθετον ἁρμονίαν τοῦ θείου σώματος, ἤ θρασέως, ὡς ὑπέρ δύναμιν, ἤ ἀνιέρως, ὡς παρά δύναμιν, τοῦ ἀμνοῦ καί Λόγου τάς σάρκας ἐσθίοντες· ἀλλ᾿ ἕκαστος κατά τήν αὐτοῦ δύναμίν τε καί τάξιν, καί τήν ἐπιβάλλουσαν αὐτῷ χάριν τοῦ Πνεύματος, μεταλαμβανέτω τοῦ θείου Λόγου κατά τήν ἑκάστου μέλους ἐπίνοιαν. Οἷον κεφαλῆς μέν ὁ ἐξ ἀναποδείκτων ἀρχῶν ἀφέτους παντελῶς ἔχουσαν τούς περί θεολογίας λόγους πίστιν κεκτημένος μεταλήψεται, ἐξ ἧς τό πᾶν σῶμα τῶν ἀρετῶν τε καί τῶν γνώσεων συμβιβαζόμενον αὔξει τήν πνευματικήν αὔξησιν. Ὤτων δέ μεταλήψεται ὁ τούς θείους λόγους πνευματικῶς μετ᾿ ἐπιστήμης ὑποδεχόμενος, καί εὐπειθής καί ὑπήκοος Θεῷ δι᾿ αὐτούς μέχρι θανάτου διά τῶν ἔργων γινόμενος· ὀφθαλμῶν δέ, ὁ τήν κτίσιν πνευματικῶς κατανοῶν, καί πάντας τούς κατ᾿ αἴσθησίν τε καί νοῦν λόγους ἀπροσκόπως εἰς μίαν δόξης θεοῦ συνάγων ἐκπλήρωσιν. Στήθους δέ μεταλήψεται ὁ τήν καρδίαν θεολογικῶν πληρώσας θεωρημάτων, κατά τόν μέγαν εὐαγγελιστήν Ἰωάννην, καί πηγῆς ἀεννάου δίκην τόν περιεκτικόν τῆς τοῦ παντός προνοίας εὐσεβῶς προχέων τοῖς μανθάνουσι λόγον τε καί τρόπον. Χειρῶν δ᾿ αὖ μεταλαμβάνει δεόντως ὁ μηδέν τῶν κατ᾿ ἐντολήν ἀνειμένως ἔργων καί ἠμελημένως ἐπιτελῶν, ἀλλ᾿ ὅλην ἔχων ἑτοίμην καί εὔτονον πρός ἐκπλήρωσιν τῶν θείων νόμων τῆς ψυχῆς τήν κατά τήν πρᾶξιν ἐνέργειαν· κοιλίας δέ, ὀ τό γόνιμον τῆς ψυχῆς ἀείβλυστον ἔχων, καί πληθυνόμενος τοῖς πνευματικοῖς θεωρήμασι, καί ἀκατάσβεστον τόν καυστικώτατον τῆς πρός τήν θείαν συνουσίαν ἀπαθοῦς ἐφέσεως ἔρωτα κεκτημένος. Ἐνδοσθίων δέ μεταλήψεται προσηκόντως, ὁ τῇ κρυφιωτέρᾳ ζητήσει τε καί γνώσει τοῦ νοῦ τά βάθη τοῦ Θεοῦ διερευνώμενος, καί ἀποῤῥήτων ἐμφορούμενος μυστηρίων. (1365)Τολμήσει τι μεῖζον ὁ λόγος. Τῶν κάτω τοῦ Λόγου μερῶν μεταλαμβανέτω σωφρόνως, ὁ λογικῶς κατά τῆς ὕλης ἱστάμενος, καί παντάπασιν ἀμόλυντον μετά τῆς ψυχῆς τήν σάρκα διατηρῶν, καί ὅλον ἀπαραλείπτως αὐτῇ τόν Λόγον ταῖς ἀρεταῖς διαμορφῶν σάρκα γενόμενον. Μηρῶν δέ μεταλήψεται ὁ τόν λόγον ἐπικείμενον ἔχων τῷ τῆς ψυχῆς παθητικῷ μέρει, καί παντελῶς ἐκτέμνων αὐτῆς τήν πρόσυλον κίνησιν· γονάτων δέ, ὁ πρός τούς κειμένους καί ἀσθενοῦντας τῇ πίστει συμπαθῶς κατά πρόνοιαν ἐπικλινόμενος, καί τήν πρός ἡμᾶς τοῦ Λόγου μιμούμενος συγκατάβασιν. Κνημῶν δέ καί ποδῶν μεταλαμβανέτω πρός τούτοις, ὁ ἐπί τῆς πίστεως καί τῆς ἀρετῆς καί τῆς γνώσεως ἀσαλεύτους ἔχων τῆς ψυχῆς τάς βάσεις καί ἀκλονήτους, καί κατά σκοπόν πρός τό βραβεῖον τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως ἐπειγόμενος, καί τῆς ἀγνοίας τά ὄρη καί τούς βουνούς τῆς κακίας ὑπερπηδῶν μετά τοῦ Λόγου καί διαλλόμενος. Ἀλλά τίς δυνήσεται πάσας τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Θεοῦ τάς δι᾿ ἡμᾶς ἐπινοίας ἐξαριθμῆσαι καθ᾿ ἅς ἐδώδιμον ἑαυτόν καί μεταληπτόν ἀναλόγως ἑκάστῳ πεποίηκεν. Ἔτι γάρ ἔχει πρός τούτοις πᾶσιν ὁ Κύριος βοστρύχους, καί ῥῖνας, καί χείλη, τράχηλόν τε, καί ὤμους, καί δακτύλους, καί ὅσα τῆς ἡμετέρας κατασκευῆς ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῦ λέγεται τροπολογικῶς. Ὧν προσφυῶς τε καί εὐχρήστως μεταλαμβάνουσιν οἱ πρός ἕκαστον καί δι᾿ ἑκάστου μέλους σημαινόμενον πνευματικόν μεταποιούμενοι λόγον. Οὕτως ὁ ἀμνός τοῦ Θεοῦ βιβρώσκεται, κατά τόν ἅγιον τοῦτον