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People chatter pleasantly, after the horse-races, and the theaters, and the songs, and the belly, and the things under the belly; for whom this too is a part of luxury, the quibbling about these things and the elegance of their antitheses. But about what must we philosophize, and to what extent? As much as is attainable for us, and as far as the hearer's condition and capacity can reach; so that we do not, just as excessive sounds or foods injure hearing or bodies, —or if you will, as burdens beyond their strength injure those who carry them, or the more violent rains injure the earth— so too these men, being pressed down and weighed down by the solid food, so to speak, of doctrines, should be injured even in their original capacity.

4 And I do not say this to mean that we should not always be mindful of God. Let not those who are ready for anything and quick to pounce attack us again. For we must be mindful of God more than we breathe; and, if one may say so, we should do nothing else. And I am one of those who praise the word which commands us to meditate day and night, and to declare it evening and morning and at noon, and to bless the Lord at all times; if I must also quote Moses, when you lie down, when you rise up, when you walk on the way, or whatever else you are doing, and to be molded by the memory for the sake of purity. So it is not the being continually mindful that I forbid, but the theologizing; nor theology, as if it were impious, but its unseasonableness; nor the teaching, but the lack of measure. Or does not a surfeit and satiety of honey cause vomiting, even though it is honey, and is there not a season for every matter, as it seems to Solomon and to me, and is not the beautiful thing not beautiful, when it is not done beautifully, like a flower in winter, completely out of season, and manly adornment for a woman, or womanly for a man, and geometry at a time of mourning, and a tear at a drinking party, and shall we here alone dishonor the season, where its timeliness is most to be honored?

5 By no means, O friends and brothers; for I still call you brothers, though you are not behaving like brothers; let us not think this way, nor like hot-blooded and unruly horses, throwing off our rider, reason, and spitting out the bridle of piety that properly restrains us, run far from the goal; but let us philosophize within our own boundaries, and not be carried off to Egypt, nor be dragged away to the Assyrians, nor sing the Lord's song in a foreign land, by which I mean any hearing, both foreign and our own, hostile and friendly, well-disposed and ill-disposed, which watches our affairs too carefully, and would wish the spark of evil among us to become a flame, and secretly kindles and fans it and raises it to heaven with its own breezes, and makes it higher than the Babylonian flame that burns all around. For since they do not have strength in their own doctrines, they hunt for it in the unsoundness of ours, and for this reason, just as flies attack wounds, so they attack our affairs—whether one should call them misfortunes or sins. But let us not be ignorant of ourselves any longer, nor dishonor the propriety concerning these matters; but if it is not possible to put an end to the enmity, let us at least agree on this with one another, to speak of the mysteries mystically, and of holy things holily, and not to cast before profane ears things that should not be brought forth, nor let us show the worshippers of demons and the ministers of shameful myths and deeds to be more reverent than ourselves, who would sooner share their own blood than certain of their doctrines with the uninitiated. But let us know that, just as there is a certain decorum in dress and diet and laughter and gait, so there is also in speech and silence, because we also reverence the Word among the other titles and powers of God. Let even our contentiousness be within the law.

6 What does the bitter hearer of what is said hear of a generation and creation of God, and of a God from things that are not, and of a cutting and a division and an analysis? Why do we make the accusers our judges? Why do we put swords into the hands of our enemies? How, do you think, will he receive the

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φλυαρεῖται ἡδέως, μετὰ τοὺς ἱππικούς, καὶ τὰ θέατρα, καὶ τὰ ᾄσματα, καὶ τὴν γαστέρα, καὶ τὰ ὑπὸ γαστέρα· οἷς καὶ τοῦτο μέρος τρυφῆς, ἡ περὶ ταῦτα ἐρεσχελία καὶ κομψεία τῶν ἀντιθέσεων. τίνα δὲ φιλοσοφητέον, καὶ ἐπὶ πόσον; ὅσα ἡμῖν ἐφικτά, καὶ ἐφ' ὅσον ἡ τοῦ ἀκούοντος ἕξις ἐφικνεῖται καὶ δύναμις· ἵνα μὴ καθάπερ αἱ ὑπερβάλλουσαι τῶν φωνῶν, ἢ τῶν τροφῶν, τὴν ἀκοὴν βλάπτουσιν ἢ τὰ σώματα, -εἰ βούλει δέ, τῶν φορτίων τὰ ὑπὲρ δύναμιν τοὺς ὑποβαίνοντας, ἢ τὴν γῆν τῶν ὑετῶν οἱ σφοδρό τεροι, -οὕτω δὴ καὶ οὗτοι τοῖς στερροῖς, ἵν' οὕτως εἴπω, τῶν λόγων καταπιεσθέντες καὶ βαρυνθέντες ζημιωθεῖεν καὶ εἰς τὴν ἀρχαίαν δύναμιν.

4 Καὶ οὐ λέγω τοῦτο μὴ δεῖν πάντοτε μεμνῆσθαι θεοῦ. μὴ πάλιν ἐπιφυέσθωσαν ἡμῖν οἱ πάντα εὔκολοι καὶ ταχεῖς. μνημονευτέον γὰρ θεοῦ μᾶλλον ἢ ἀναπνευστέον· καί, εἰ οἷόν τε τοῦτο εἰπεῖν, μηδὲ ἄλλο τι ἢ τοῦτο πρακτέον. κἀγὼ τῶν ἐπαινούντων εἰμὶ τὸν λόγον, ὃς μελετᾶν ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς διακελεύεται, καὶ ἑσπέρας καὶ πρωὶ καὶ μεσημβρίας διηγεῖσθαι, καὶ εὐλογεῖν τὸν κύριον ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ· εἰ δεῖ καὶ τὸ Μωυσέως εἰπεῖν, κοιταζόμενον, διανιστά μενον ὁδοιποροῦντα, ὅ τι οὖν ἄλλο πράττοντα, καὶ τῇ μνήμῃ τυποῦσθαι πρὸς καθαρότητα. ὥστε οὐ τὸ μεμνῆσθαι διηνεκῶς κωλύω, τὸ θεολογεῖν δέ· οὐδὲ τὴν θεολογίαν, ὥσπερ ἀσεβές, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀκαιρίαν· οὐδὲ τὴν διδασκαλίαν, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀμετρίαν. ἢ μέλιτος μὲν πλησμονὴ καὶ κόρος ἔμετον ἐργάζεται, καίπερ ὄντος μέλιτος, καὶ καιρὸς τῷ παντὶ πράγματι, ὡς Σολομῶντι κἀμοὶ δοκεῖ, καὶ τὸ καλὸν οὐ καλόν, ὅταν μὴ καλῶς γίνηται, ὥσπερ ἄνθος ἐν χειμῶνι παντελῶς ἄωρον, καὶ γυναιξὶ κόσμος ἀνδρεῖος, ἢ γυναικεῖος ἀνδράσι, καὶ πένθει γεωμετρία, καὶ πότῳ δάκρυον, ἐνταῦθα δὲ μόνον τὸν καιρὸν ἀτιμάσομεν, οὗ μάλιστα τιμητέον τὸ εὔκαιρον;

5 Μηδαμῶς, ὦ φίλοι καὶ ἀδελφοί· ἀδελφοὺς γὰρ ὑμᾶς ἔτι καλῶ, καίπερ οὐκ ἀδελφικῶς ἔχοντας· μὴ οὕτω διανοώμεθα, μηδὲ καθά περ ἵπποι θερμοὶ καὶ δυσκάθεκτοι, τὸν ἐπιβάτην λογισμὸν ἀπορρί ψαντες, καὶ τὴν καλῶς ἄγχουσαν εὐλάβειαν ἀποπτύσαντες, πόρρω τῆς νύσσης θέωμεν· ἀλλ' εἴσω τῶν ἡμετέρων ὅρων φιλοσοφῶμεν, καὶ μὴ εἰς Αἴγυπτον ἐκφερώμεθα, μηδὲ εἰς Ἀσσυρίους κατασυρώ μεθα, μηδὲ ᾄδωμεν τὴν ᾠδὴν κυρίου ἐπὶ γῆς ἀλλοτρίας, πάσης ἀκοῆς λέγω, ξένης τε καὶ ἡμετέρας, ἐχθρᾶς καὶ φιλίας, εὐγνώμονος καὶ ἀγνώμονος, ἣ λίαν ἐπιμελῶς τηρεῖ τὰ ἡμέτερα, καὶ βούλοιτο ἂν τὸν σπινθῆρα τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν κακῶν γενέσθαι φλόγα, ἐξάπτει τε καὶ ἀναρριπίζει καὶ εἰς οὐρανὸν αἴρει ταῖς παρ' ἑαυτῆς αὔραις λανθάνουσα, καὶ ποιεῖ τῆς Βαβυλωνίας φλογὸς τὰ κύκλῳ καταφλε γούσης ὑψηλοτέραν. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ οὐκ ἐν τοῖς ἑαυτῶν δόγμασιν ἔχουσι τὴν ἰσχύν, ἐν τοῖς ἡμετέροις σαθροῖς ταύτην θηρεύουσι, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο, ὥσπερ αἱ μυῖαι τοῖς τραύμασιν, οὕτω τοῖς ἡμετέροις ἐπιτίθενται-εἴτε ἀτυχήμασι χρὴ λέγειν, εἴτε ἁμαρτήμασιν. ἀλλ' ἡμεῖς γε μὴ ἐπὶ πλεῖον ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς ἀγνοήσωμεν, μηδὲ τὸ περὶ ταῦτα κόσμιον ἀτιμάσωμεν· ἀλλ' εἰ μὴ τὴν ἔχθραν καταλύσασθαι δυνατόν, ἐκεῖνό γε συμβῶμεν ἀλλήλοις, μυστικῶς τὰ μυστικὰ φθέγγεσθαι, καὶ ἁγίως τὰ ἅγια, καὶ μὴ ῥίπτειν εἰς βεβήλους ἀκοὰς τὰ μὴ ἔκφορα, μηδὲ σεμνοτέρους ἡμῶν ἀποφαίνωμεν τοὺς προσκυνοῦντας τοῖς δαιμονίοις καὶ τῶν αἰσχρῶν μύθων καὶ πραγ μάτων θεραπευτάς, οἳ θᾶττον ἂν τοῦ αἵματος ἢ λόγων ἔστιν ὧν μεταδοῖεν τοῖς ἀμυήτοις. ἀλλ' εἰδῶμεν, ὥσπερ ἐσθῆτος καὶ διαίτης καὶ γέλωτος καὶ βαδίσματος οὖσάν τινα κοσμιότητα, οὕτω καὶ λόγου καὶ σιωπῆς, ὅτι καὶ λόγον πρεσβεύομεν μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων τοῦ θεοῦ προσηγοριῶν καὶ δυνάμεων. ἔστω καὶ τὸ φιλόνεικον ἡμῶν ἔννομον.

6 Τί γέννησιν ἀκούει θεοῦ καὶ κτίσιν, καὶ θεὸν ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων, καὶ τομὴν καὶ διαίρεσιν καὶ ἀνάλυσιν, ὁ πικρὸς τῶν λεγομένων ἀκροατής; τί δικαστὰς τοὺς κατηγόρους καθίζομεν; τί τὰ ξίφη τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ἐγχειρίζομεν; πῶς, οἴει, δέξεται τὸν