one will recognize, "the certainty of the words concerning which he was instructed," having understood the word of the gospel. 2.12 "And they were both righteous," it says. Those who wish to defend their own sins think it impossible for anyone to be entirely sinless, and they use the words of Job: "No one is clean from filth." But sinlessness is understood in two ways: one is in having never sinned, the other in no longer sinning. Therefore, from the standpoint of having never sinned, no one would be sinless; for all humans have sinned at some time, and <even if> later they become "righteous." 2.13 But it is possible from no longer sinning to be called sinless; for thus also Christ "presented to himself the church, not having spot or wrinkle," not that the church member has never been spotted or been in the wrinkle of the "old man," but that he no longer has a "wrinkle." And an example of a person being able to be called sinless by no longer sinning is the case of Zacharias and Elizabeth. "For," it says, "they were righteous and walking blamelessly." 2.14 It could have been written: "They were righteous in the commandments," but now the addition "before God" is necessary. For it is possible for someone to be righteous in appearance before men, but in the secret of his mind not to be such, possessing evil thoughts lurking within. For when a man has nothing evil to say about me, but observing my visible actions praises them, I am righteous "before" men. But men do not know my secret, when I have sinned by looking 2.15 at a woman so as to lust, so that adultery in the heart is reckoned to me. Paul also indicates something of this sort, when he says about certain ones: "whose praise is not from men, but from God." For men do not know how to praise according to merit, but God alone knows how to praise the praiseworthy worthily and to make a worthy judgment of the blameworthy. 2.16 Necessarily is added: "they were righteous before God." To which Solomon also exhorts, saying, "Provide for honest things, before the Lord and men." Let us see the praise of these blessed ones: "walking in the commandments," it says, "and ordinances of the Lord." When we judge rightly concerning others, we walk "<in> the ordinances of the Lord," but when we do these or those things, we walk "<in> the commandments of God." Therefore, perhaps Luke, knowing this difference, since they lived according to these things, assigned this praise: "walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." Perhaps someone will say: why is "blameless" added to this? For it would have been sufficient for them "to walk in all the ways of God and ordinances," unless it is possible to walk "in all the commandments and 2.17 ordinances," but not "blamelessly." How then [it says] is it possible to "walk in all the commandments," but not "blamelessly"? But I say to him, therefore, that if this were not so, it would not have been said: "that which is altogether just shalt thou follow," since even the good is not good when it is not done in a good way. When therefore we do the commandments, so as to have in our conscience the filth of vainglory or of pleasing men or of some other such thing, 2.18 even if we seem to do the commandment, we do not do it "blamelessly." It is a task, therefore, to walk "in the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly" according to the praise to be rendered by God in the divine tribunal. 3.19 Sensible things, in order to be seen, do nothing, but the healthy eye being present, whether the sensible thing wants to be seen or not, sees it. But divine things are not such, nor are they seen at present without their own activity. And so by grace God "was seen" by Abraham or by one of the saints, not with the eye of Abraham's soul alone being the cause of God being seen by him, but with God having presented himself for appearance to the righteous man, who had become worthy of the vision of him. 3.20 But indeed even an angel, insofar as he does not wish to be seen by any of us, though present is not seen. And do not be surprised at present, if God, wishing, "was seen" by Abraham, but not wishing, was not "seen" by so-and-so, and "an angel

ἐπιγνώσεταί τις, «περὶ ὧν κατηχήθη λόγων τὴν ἀσφά λειαν», συνεὶς τὸν λόγον τοῦ εὐαγ γελίου. 2.12 «Ἦσαν δὲ δίκαιοι», φησίν, «ἀμ φότεροι». Οἱ θέλοντες συναγορεύειν ἑαυτῶν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις οἴονται ἀδύ νατον εἶναι πάντῃ ἀναμάρτητον εἶναί τινα, καὶ χρῶνται τὰ τοῦ Ἰώβ· «Οὐδεὶς καθαρὸς ἀπὸ ῥύπου». Τὸ δὲ ἀναμάρτητον δισσῶς νοεῖ ται· τὸ μὲν ἐν τῷ μηδέποτε ἡμαρ τηκέναι, τὸ δὲ ἐν τῷ μηκέτι ἁμαρ τάνειν. Ἐκ μὲν οὖν τοῦ μηδέποτε ἁμαρτῆσαι οὐδεὶς ἂν εἴη ἀναμάρ τητος· πάντες γὰρ ἄνθρωποί ποτε ἥμαρτον, καὶ <ἂν> ὕστερον «δίκαιοι» γένωνται. 2.13 ∆υνατὸν δὲ ἐκ τοῦ μηκέτι ἁμαρ τάνειν χρηματίσαι ἀναμάρτητον· οὕτω γὰρ καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς «παρέστη σεν ἑαυτῷ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν μὴ ἔχουσαν σπῖλον ἢ ῥυτίδα», οὐχ ὅτι οὐδέποτε ἐσπίλωται ὁ ἐκκλησιαστικὸς ἢ γέγονεν ἐν ῥυτίδι τοῦ «παλαιοῦ ἀνθρώπου», ἀλλὰ ὅτι οὐκ ἔχει ἔτι «ῥυτίδα». Παράδειγμα δὲ τοῦ δύνασθαι ἄν θρωπον παρὰ τὸ μηκέτι ἁμαρτάνειν χρηματίζειν ἀναμάρτητον τὰ κατὰ τὸν Ζαχαρίαν καὶ τὴν Ἐλισάβετ. «Ἦσαν», γάρ φησι, «δίκαιοι καὶ πορευόμενοι ἄμεμπτοι». 2.14 Ἐδύνατο δὲ γεγράφθαι τό· «Ἦσαν δίκαιοι ἐν ταῖς ἐντολαῖς», νῦν δὲ ἡ προσθήκη ἀναγκαία τοῦ «ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ». Ἐνδέχεται γὰρ κατὰ μὲν τὸ φαινόμενον δίκαιον εἶναί τινα ἐνώπιον τῶν ἀνθρώπων, κατὰ δὲ τὸ κρυπτὸν τῆς διανοίας μὴ εἶναι τοιοῦτον ἐμ φωλεύοντας κεκτημένον λογισμοὺς πονηρούς. Ὅταν γὰρ ἄνθρωπος μηδὲν ἔχῃ φαῦλον λέγειν περὶ ἐμοῦ, ἀλλὰ τὰ βλεπόμενά μου κατανοῶν ἐπαινεῖ, δίκαιός εἰμι «ἐνώπιον» ἀνθρώπων. Οὐκ οἴδασι δὲ οἱ ἄνθρωποι τὸ κρυ πτόν μου, πότε ἥμαρτον ἐμβλέψας 2.15 γυναῖκα εἰς τὸ ἐπιθυμῆσαι, ὥστε λο γισθῆναί μοι τὴν ἐν καρδίᾳ μοιχείαν. Τοιοῦτόν τι καὶ ὁ Παῦλος δηλοῖ, ὅταν λέγῃ περί τινων· «ὧν ὁ ἔπαινος οὐκ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλ' ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ». Οἱ γὰρ ἄνθρωποι οὐκ οἴδασι κατ' ἀξίαν ἐπαινεῖν, μόνος δὲ ὁ θεὸς οἶδεν ἀξίως καὶ ἐπαινέσαι τὸν ἐπαινετὸν καὶ τοῦ ψεκτοῦ τὴν κρίσιν ἀξίως ποιῆσαι. 2.16 Ἀναγκαίως πρόσκειται τό· «ἦσαν δίκαιοι ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ». Πρὸς ὃ προκαλεῖται καὶ ὁ Σολομῶν· «προνοοῦ καλά», λέγων, «ἐνώπιον κυρίου καὶ ἀνθρώπων». Ἴδωμεν δὲ τῶν μακαρίων τούτων τὸν ἔπαινον· «πορευόμενοι ἐν ταῖς ἐντολαῖς», φησί, «καὶ δικαιώμασι τοῦ κυρίου». Ὅταν μὲν κρίνωμεν περὶ τῶν ἑτέρων κα λῶς, «<ἐν> δικαιώμασι κυρίου» πο ρευόμεθα, ὅταν δὲ ποιῶμεν τάδε ἢ τάδε, «<ἐν> ἐντολαῖς θεοῦ» πο ρευόμεθα. Μήποτε οὖν ταύτην τὴν διαφορὰν ἐπιστάμενος ὁ Λουκᾶς, ὡς κατ' αὐτὰ τούτους βιοῦντας, τὸν ἔπαινον τοῦτον ἀπέδωκεν· «πορευό μενοι ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ἐντολαῖς καὶ δικαιώμασι τοῦ κυρίου ἄμεμπτοι». Ἴσως ἐρεῖ τις· διὰ τί πρόσκειται τούτοις τό· «ἄμεμπτοι»; Ἤρκει γὰρ αὐτοῖς «πορεύεσθαι ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ὁδοῖς τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ δικαιώμασιν», εἰ μὴ ἄρα ἔστιν πορεύεσθαι «ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ἐντολαῖς καὶ 2.17 δικαιώμασιν», οὐκ «ἀμέμπτως» δέ. Πῶς τοίνυν [φησὶν] ἔστι «πο ρεύεσθαι ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ἐντολαῖς», οὐκ «ἀμέμπτως» δέ; Φημὶ δὲ οὖν πρὸς αὐτόν, ὅτι, εἰ μὴ ἦν τοῦτο, οὐκ ἂν ἐλέγετο· «δικαίως τὸ δίκαιον διώξῃ», ἐπεὶ καὶ τὸ καλὸν οὐ καλόν, ὅταν μὴ καλῶς γίνηται. Ἐπὰν οὖν ποιῶμεν τὰς ἐντολάς, ὥστε ἐν τῷ συνειδότι ῥύπον κενο δοξίας ἢ ἀνθρωπαρεσκείας ἢ ἑτέ ρου τινὸς τοιούτου ἔχειν, 2.18 κἂν δοκῶμεν ποιεῖν τὴν ἐντολήν, οὐκ «ἀμέμπτως» ποιοῦμεν. Ἔργον οὖν ἐστιν πορεύεσθαι «ἐν ταῖς ἐντολαῖς καὶ δικαιώμασι τοῦ κυρίου ἀμέμπτως» κατ' ἔπαινον ἀποδοθησόμενον ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν τῷ θείῳ δικαστηρίῳ. 3.19 Τὰ αἰσθητά, ἵνα βλέπηται, οὐδὲν ἐνεργεῖ, ἀλλ' ὁ ὑγιὴς ὀφθαλμὸς τα θείς, εἴτε βούλεται τὸ αἰσθητὸν βλέπεσθαι εἴτε μή, βλέπει αὐτό. Οὐ τοιαῦτα δὲ τὰ θεῖα, οὐδ' ἐν τῷ παρόντι ὁρώμενα χωρὶς τῆς ἑαυ τῶν ἐνεργείας. Καὶ γοῦν χάριτι θεὸς «ὤφθη» τῷ Ἀβραὰμ ἤ τινι τῶν ἁγίων, οὐ τοῦ ὀφθαλμοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ μόνου αἰτίου γενομένου τοῦ βλέπε σθαι αὐτῷ τὸν θεόν, ἀλλὰ τοῦ θεοῦ παρασχόντος ἑαυτὸν εἰς ἐμφανισ μὸν τῷ δικαίῳ, ἀξίῳ γενομένῳ τῆς ὀπτασίας αὐτοῦ. 3.20 Ἀλλὰ γὰρ καὶ ἄγγελος, ὅσον οὐ βούλεται βλέπεσθαί τινι ἡμῶν, παρ ὼν οὐ βλέπεται. Καὶ μὴ θαυμάσῃς ἐπὶ τοῦ παρ όντος, εἰ ὁ θεὸς θέλων «ὤφθη» τῷ Ἀβραάμ, μὴ θέλων δὲ οὐκ «ὤφθη» τῷ δεῖνι, καὶ «ἄγγελος