On the Few Who Can Listen

Cibus in somnis simillimus est cibis vigilantium, quo tamen dormientes non aluntur: dormiunt enim (Confessions, III, 6.10).
"Food in dreams is very similar to the food of those who are awake, yet sleepers are not nourished by it, for they are asleep."This passage from Saint Augustine resonates in certain ways with Heraclitus’ fragment: τοίς έγρηγορόσιν ένα καί κοινόν κόσμον είναι, των δέ κοιμωμένων έκαστον εις ίδιον άποστρέφεσθαι  (DK fr. 89).
"For those who are awake, there is one and common world, but for those who are asleep, each turns away into his own [world]".
In both cases, Saint Augustine and Heraclitus suggest that the awake and the asleep share the same reality, yet the nature of that reality—whether it is a place of truth or illusion—depends on one’s inherent fabric. This underscores a recurring theme in their works: not all individuals possess the same capacity to perceive reality, as their fabric differs from the very origin.
Both thinkers emphasise that only a few have the talent to discern the extraordinary within the ordinary. Heraclitus asserts εἶναι γὰρ καὶ ἐνταῦθα θεούς (Aristoteles, de part. animo A5. 645 a 17 sqq) "Even here, there are gods". This implies a divine presence in the mundane, accessible to those who can unveil it. Similarly, Saint Augustine notes Multi enim vocati, pauci vero electi: sed quoniam secundum propositum vocati sunt, profecto et electi sunt per electionem, ut dictum est, gratiae, non praecedentium meritorum suorum; quia gratia illis est omne meritum (De Correptione et  Gratia 7. 13)"Many indeed are called, but few truly chosen; yet since they are called according to purpose, they are certainly also elected by election - namely, as has been said, by grace, not by any preceding merits of their own; for to them, all merit is grace."
He suggests that divine insight is a prevenient grace bestowed upon the chosen.For Saint Augustine, those capable of listening to the voice of God are the elect, whose inherent fabric allows them to receive His grace and attain truth. For Heraclitus, those who can listen to and interpret the Logos are the awakened, gaining wisdom through their innate capacity to engage with the Logos. In both philosophies, the ability to perceive a deeper reality - whether through the divine voice or the Logos - distinguishes a select few from the masses, marking a divide between ordinary people and the enlightened.