Letter 319

To Hilarion the Monk. "From the head of Sanir and Hermon," says the Song of Songs [Song of Songs 4:8]. Now Sanir is interpreted as "the way of the lamp," and Hermon as "a thing dedicated" [an offering set apart for God]; by "the head" Solomon hints at our rational faculty. Let us therefore dedicate our whole selves to God, journeying without hesitation on foot along the narrow and long road that lies before us, with the eyes of the soul illumined by the radiance of the divine commandments.

«Ἀπὸ κεφαλῆς Σανὶρ, καὶ Ἑρμὼν, » φησὶ τὸ τῶν ἀσμάτων ᾆσμα. Σανὶρ δὲ ἑρμηνεύεται ὁδὸς λύχνου, Ἑρμὼν δὲ ἀράθημα· διὰ τῆς κεφαλῆς τὸ λογιστικὸν ἡμῶν ὁ Σολομῶν αἰνιξάμενος. Ὅλους τοίνυν ἑαυτοὺς τῷ Θεῷ ἀναθῶμεν πεζοποροῦντες ἀόκνως τὴν προκειμένην ἡμῖν στενήν, καὶ μακρὰν ὁδὸν πεφωτισμένοις τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς τῆς ψυχῆς τῇ λαμπηδόνι τῶν θείων προσταγμάτων.