but excelling in knowledge? Wherefore the 56.520 loving God, to show our ungratefulness, offers the ant to reprove our sloth, and the bee to reprove our laziness. And it is clear from these things that nothing evil was made by God, but he gave you perception and a discerning mind, to flee from the habits of irrational creatures, but to seize their advantages. For the lion can also be an image of virtue, when you take the image not for tyranny, but for courage; for tyranny is one thing, and courage is another. For this reason also Scripture, announcing the Savior who was to rise from Judah, says: Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouched, he lay down as a lion, and as a lion's whelp. See how great a likeness the divine word constructs from the advantages belonging to irrational creatures. It is possible, then, to imitate a lion with understanding; and it is possible to imitate a serpent, not in its spewing of venom, but in its taking on of prudence; as also the Savior says to the apostles: Be wise as the serpent. Wherefore, if the creature were evil, he would not have called his own image to the imitation of the evil thing, saying, Be wise as a serpent; imitate of the serpent not its venom, not its wrath, but its prudence. For if you imitate the venom, David cries out against you, accusing and saying: Their wrath is like that of a serpent; but if you imitate its prudence, you become a disciple of Christ who said: Be wise as the serpent. For since the serpent is wiser than all the beasts, as was just read, he set wisdom against wisdom, not that you might learn to practice deceit, but that you might learn to avoid deceit. B. For the loving God wishes us not to be evildoers, but shrewd; for shrewdness is one thing, and evildoing is another. The shrewd man, therefore, is so not for practicing evil, but for fleeing evil; and he uses shrewdness not for plotting against others, but for escaping the plots woven by others; but an evildoer is the murderer, the deceitful man, the one who contrives evils for others. Such a wise man was Jacob, wise as the serpent, not venomous as the serpent. For when he was about to meet his brother Esau, who was full of malice and murderous intent, he called upon God, saying, Lord, deliver me from my brother Esau, for I am very afraid of him; and he beseeched God, as though making his prayer against a wicked man. But when he met his brother, with moral behavior and flattery he tamed his wrath, and extinguished his wickedness. For what does he say to Esau? I have seen your face as one sees the face of God. And if Jacob said these things in order to overcome his brother through deceit, he spoke wrongly; but if he said them in order to escape his fear, he used shrewdness well. Be therefore wise as the serpent; not wrathful, not venomous, but wise, and innocent as doves. But it is possible to take the dove for both evil and for virtue; and how, listen: If you are irrational and undiscerning, and experienced only in evil, Scripture denounces you as senseless. For Ephraim, it says, is like a silly dove, without a heart. If, therefore, fleeing from silliness, you achieve innocence, you have perfect understanding, not mixing it l. it with evil; and you hear from the Lord, Be wise as the serpent, and innocent as doves. Do not, therefore, brother, simply read the Scriptures, and take the images from it for evil, dividing l. of it dividing this to one, and another to another. Do you wish to learn? Pay close attention to the 56.521 things being said. Scripture calls him a lion: For, it says, Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up; he crouched, he lay down as a lion. Here, "as a lion" signifies courage; for indeed concerning the righteous man it gives the same image: For the righteous man, it says, is confident as a lion. The righteous man, therefore, is courageous, not in doing evil, but in spurning the things brought on by the wicked. It also calls the Savior a lion, because he is from a royal tribe. For just as the lion is king of the quadrupeds, so also he reigned over the Jews

ὑπερέχοντα δὲ τῇ ἐπιστήμῃ; Ὅθεν ὁ 56.520 φιλάνθρωπος Θεὸς εἰς ἔνδειξιν τῆς ἡμετέρας ἀγνωμοσύνης προσφέρει τὸν μύρμηκα ἐλέγχοντα ἡμῶν τὸν ὄκνον, καὶ τὴν μέλιτταν ἐλέγχουσαν ἡμῶν τὴν ῥᾳθυμίαν. Καὶ δῆλον ἐκ τούτων, ὅτι οὐδὲν κακὸν ἐγένετο παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλ' ἔδωκέ σοι αἴσθησιν καὶ νοῦν διακριτικὸν, φεύγειν μὲν τῶν ἀλόγων τὰ ἤθη, ἁρπάζειν δὲ αὐτῶν τὰ πλεονεκτήματα. ∆ύναται γὰρ καὶ ὁ λέων εἰκὼν εἶναι ἀρετῆς, ὅταν μὴ εἰς τυραννίδα τὴν εἰκόνα, ἀλλ' εἰς ἀνδρείαν ἐκλάβῃς· ἄλλο γάρ ἐστι τυραννὶς, καὶ ἕτερον ἀνδρεία. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡ Γραφὴ τὸν ἐκ τοῦ Ἰούδα μέλλοντα ἀνατέλλειν εὐαγγελιζομένη Σωτῆρα, φησί· Σκύμνος λέοντος Ἰούδα· ἐκ βλαστοῦ, υἱέ μου, ἀνέβης· ἀναπεσὼν ἐκοιμήθης ὡς λέων, καὶ ὡς σκύμνος. Ὅρα πηλίκην ὁ θεῖος λόγος ὁμοιότητα κατασκευάζει ἐκ τῶν τοῖς ἀλόγοις προσόντων πλεονεκτημάτων. Ἔστι τοίνυν μιμεῖσθαι λέοντα μετὰ συνέσεως· ἔστι δὲ μιμεῖσθαι καὶ ὄφιν, οὐκ ἐν τῷ ἰοβολεῖν, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ σύνεσιν ἀναλαμβάνειν· καθὼς καὶ ὁ Σωτὴρ τοῖς ἀποστόλοις φησί· Γίνεσθε φρόνιμοι, ὡς ὁ ὄφις. Ὅθεν, εἰ φαῦλον ἦν τὸ κτίσμα, οὐκ ἂν εἰς μίμησιν τοῦ φαύλου προσεκαλεῖτο τὴν ἑαυτοῦ εἰκόνα, Γίνεσθε, λέγων, φρόνιμοι ὡς ὄφις· μίμησαι τοῦ ὄφεως μὴ τὸν ἰὸν, μὴ τὸν θυμὸν, ἀλλὰ τὴν σύνεσιν. Ἐὰν γὰρ τὸν ἰὸν μιμήσῃ, καταβοᾷ σου ∆αυῒδ κατηγορῶν καὶ λέγων· Θυμὸς αὐτοῖς κατὰ τὴν ὁμοίωσιν τοῦ ὄφεως· ἐὰν δὲ τὴν σύνεσιν αὐτοῦ μιμήσῃ, μαθητὴς γίνῃ Χριστοῦ τοῦ εἰπόντος· Γίνεσθε φρόνιμοι ὡς ὁ ὄφις. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὁ ὄφις φρονιμώτερός ἐστι πάντων τῶν θηρίων, ὡς ἀρτίως ὑπανεγνώσθη, ἀντέθηκε τῇ φρονήσει φρόνησιν, οὐχ ἵνα μάθῃς δόλον ποιεῖν, ἀλλ' ἵνα μάθῃς δόλον ἐκκλίνειν. βʹ. Βούλεται γὰρ ἡμᾶς ὁ φιλάνθρωπος Θεὸς οὐχὶ κακούργους εἶναι, ἀλλὰ πανούργους· ἕτερον δέ ἐστι τὸ πανοῦργον, καὶ ἕτερον τὸ κακοῦργον. Πανοῦργος τοίνυν ἐστὶν οὐκ εἰς τὸ μελετᾷν κακίαν, ἀλλ' εἰς τὸ φεύγειν κακίαν· καὶ κέχρηται τῇ πανουργίᾳ οὐκ εἰς τὸ μηχανοῤῥαφεῖν καθ' ἑτέρων, ἀλλ' εἰς τὸ τὰ ὑφ' ἑτέρων πλεκόμενα διαφεύγειν· κακοῦργος δέ ἐστιν ὁ φονεὺς, ὁ δόλιος, ὁ ἑτέροις κακὰ τεκταινόμενος. Τοιοῦτος φρόνιμος ὁ Ἰακὼβ, φρόνιμος ὡς ὁ ὄφις, οὐκ ἰοβόλος ὡς ὁ ὄφις. Ὅτε γὰρ ἔμελλε συμβάλλειν τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ Ἡσαὺ κακίας γέμοντι καὶ φονοκτονίας, παρεκάλει τὸν Θεὸν λέγων, Κύριε, ῥῦσαί με ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ μου Ἡσαὺ, ὅτι φοβοῦμαι αὐτὸν πάνυ· καὶ ἱκέτευε τὸν Θεὸν, ὡς κατὰ πονηροῦ τὴν εὐχὴν τιθέμενος. Ὅτε δὲ συνήντησε τῷ ἀδελφῷ, ἠθικότητι καὶ κολακείᾳ τὸν θυμὸν ἡμέρωσε, καὶ τὴν πονηρίαν ἔσβεσε. Τί γάρ φησι πρὸς τὸν Ἡσαύ; Εἶδόν σου τὸ πρόσωπον, ὡς εἴ τις ἴδοι πρόσωπον Θεοῦ. Καὶ εἰ μὲν ἔλεγεν ὁ Ἰακὼβ ταῦτα, ἵνα διὰ τῆς ἀπάτης νικήσῃ τὸν ἀδελφὸν, κακῶς ἐλάλει· εἰ δὲ εἶπεν, ἵνα τὸν φόβον ἐκφύγῃ, καλῶς ἐχρήσατο τῇ πανουργίᾳ. Γίνεσθε οὖν φρόνιμοι ὡς ὁ ὄφις· μὴ θυμώδεις, μὴ ἰοβόλοι, ἀλλὰ φρόνιμοι, καὶ ἀκέραιοι ὡς αἱ περιστεραί. Ἔστι δὲ τὴν περιστερὰν καὶ εἰς κακίαν καὶ εἰς ἀρετὴν ἐκλαβεῖν· καὶ ὅπως, ἄκουε· Ἐὰν ᾖς ἀλόγιστος καὶ ἀδιάκριτος, καὶ κακίας ἔμπειρος μόνον, διαβάλλει σε ἡ Γραφὴ ὡς ἀσύνετον. Ἐφραῒμ γὰρ, φησὶν, ὡς περιστερὰ ἄνους, οὐκ ἔχουσα καρδίαν. Ἐὰν οὖν τὸ ἄνουν φυγὼν, τὸ ἀκέραιον κατορθώσῃς, ἔχεις τὴν σύνεσιν τελείαν, οὐ συμμιγνὺς αὐτῇ λ. αὐτὴν τῇ κακίᾳ· καὶ ἀκούεις παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου, Γίνεσθε φρόνιμοι ὡς ὁ ὄφις, καὶ ἀκέραιοι ὡς αἱ περιστεραί. Μὴ τοίνυν ἁπλῶς, ἀδελφὲ, τὰς Γραφὰς ἀναγίνωσκε, καὶ τὰς εἰκόνας εἰς κακίας ἐκλάμβανε παρ' αὐτῆς, μερίζουσα λ. μεριζούσης τούτῳ μὲν τοῦτο, τούτῳ δὲ ἕτερον. Θέλεις οὖν μαθεῖν; πρόσεχε ἀκριβῶς τοῖς 56.521 λεγομένοις· Καλεῖ λέοντα ἡ Γραφή· Σκύμνος γὰρ, φησὶ, λέοντος Ἰούδα· ἐκ βλαστοῦ, υἱέ μου, ἀνέβης· ἀναπεσὼν ἐκοιμήθης ὡς λέων. Ὧδε τὸ, Ὡς λέων, τὸ ἀνδρεῖον σημαίνει· καὶ γὰρ καὶ περὶ τοῦ δικαίου τὴν αὐτὴν τίθησιν εἰκόνα· ∆ίκαιος γὰρ, φησὶν, ὡς λέων πέποιθεν. Ἀνδρεῖος τοίνυν ὁ δίκαιος, οὐκ ἐν τῷ δρᾷν κακῶς, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ διαπτύειν τὰ παρὰ τῶν πονηρῶν ἐπαγόμενα. Καλεῖ καὶ τὸν Σωτῆρα λέοντα, διὰ τὸ ἐκ βασιλικῆς εἶναι φυλῆς. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τῶν τετραπόδων ὑπάρχει βασιλεὺς ὁ λέων, οὕτω καὶ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐβασίλευσεν