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and how this in turn begets thoughts that produce humility. And so, becoming aware of these things, with difficulty through all things he comes to compunction and tears. He comes, however, nonetheless through many afflictions, and being humbled the more, he is the more filled with compunction. For humility begets mourning, and mourning nourishes the one who gave it birth and makes it grow. But this work, accomplished through the fulfillment of the commandments, washes out—O the wonder!—all filth from the soul, and drives away every passion and every evil desire—I mean both of the body and of this life. (219) And so the man becomes free in soul from every earthly desire; not only from bodily bonds, but indeed as when someone takes off a garment and becomes completely naked. And rightly so; for the soul first takes off insensibility, which the divine apostle calls a veil, which lies upon the hearts of the unbelieving Jews, but indeed even now everyone who does not do the commandments of the new grace with all his strength and a fervent heart, has such a veil lying upon the intellect of his soul and cannot be raised to the height of the knowledge of the Son of God. Then, just as one who has undressed his body sees the wounds on his body, so also this one then sees clearly the passions present in his soul, such as vainglory, avarice, resentfulness, hatred of brethren, envy, jealousy, strife, conceit, and the rest in order. Applying the commandments, then, as medicines, and temptations as cauteries to these, and being humbled and mourning and fervently seeking God's help, he sees clearly the grace of the Holy Spirit coming and pulling them out one by one and making them disappear, until it renders his soul completely free of all these things. For the visitation of the Paraclete does not deem it worthy of freedom in part, but completely and purely, for along with the aforementioned passions it drives away all despondency, all negligence, all sloth and ignorance and forgetfulness and gluttony and all love of pleasure, and so it renews and restores the man both in soul and in body together, so that such a one seems not to be clothed with a corruptible (220) and heavy body, but a spiritual and immaterial one, and already fit to be caught up. The grace of the Spirit works not only this in him, but it does not even permit such a one to see any of the sensible things, but rather it makes him, in seeing, to remain as not seeing with the senses. For whenever the mind is joined to intelligible things, it becomes wholly outside of sensible things, even if it seems to see sensible things.

Thus, therefore, occupied with these things according to the saint who says: "But our citizenship is in heaven, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen," he is illumined, he is enlightened and every day he grows in spiritual age, abolishing the ways of a childish mind and advancing to manly perfection. Therefore also, according to the measure of his age, his soul's powers and energies are altered, and towards the deeds of God's commandments he becomes more manly and stronger. Fulfilling these daily, therefore, in proportion to the working of them, he is still further purified, made brilliant, enlightened, and is deemed worthy to see revelations of great mysteries, the depth of which no one has ever seen, nor indeed can those see who have not striven to be raised to such purity. And by mysteries I mean the things that are seen by all but are not understood; for he acquires new eyes from the renewing Spirit, and likewise new ears, and for the rest he does not see sensible things sensibly, as a man, but as one who has become more than a man, he sees sensible things spiritually and as images of invisible things, (221) and the forms in them as formless and without shape. And he hears not, as one might say, a man's voice or voices, but only the living Word, when It comes forth through the voice of a man. For this alone, as familiar and beloved