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to men, so do not let the hair of your head grow long, but rather cut it short and keep it clean, so that while being itchy and keeping your head untended, or by being perfumed, you do not draw to yourself women who are hunted in this way, or who are hunting. Nor should you use elaborate clothing for deception, nor artfully stitch up trousers or sandals for your feet, but only what is for modesty and necessity; nor put a gold-wrought ring on your fingers, because all these things are signs of harlotry, which if you practice them contrary to what is proper, you will not be acting righteously. For to you, being a faithful man and a man of God, it is not permitted to grow the hair of your head and to make a forelock, which is a luxury, or to let it hang loose, or to keep it parted; nor indeed to puff it up by combing it through and shaping it, arranging it in curls, or to dye it yellow, since the Law also forbids it, saying in Deuteronomy: ‘You shall not make for yourselves a forelock nor trousers.’ And one must not destroy the hair of the beard and change the form of a man contrary to nature. ‘For you shall not make your beards bald,’ says the Law. For God the creator made this comely for women, but deemed it unseemly for men; but you, doing these things for the sake of pleasing others and opposing the law, will become an abomination before God who created you in His own image. If therefore you wish to please God, abstain from all that He hates, and do nothing of the things that displease Him. You shall not be as one flying about and wandering in the streets, an untimely observer of those who live wickedly, but attending to your craft or to your work, seek to do the things dear to God, and constantly remembering the oracles of Christ, meditate. For the scripture says to you, that: ‘On His Law you shall meditate day and night, walking in the field and sitting in the house, and lying down and rising up, so that you may have understanding in all things.’ But if you are rich, having no need of a craft for sustenance, do not become a rover nor one who walks about at the wrong time; but either go to the faithful and those of like opinion, and contributing, converse with life-giving words. But if not, sitting indoors, read the Law, the Books of Kings, the Prophets, sing the Hymns, go through carefully the Gospel, the fulfillment of these. From all the books of the gentiles, abstain. For what have you to do with alien words or laws or false prophets, which indeed

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πρὸς ἀνθρώπους, οὕτως τὴν τρίχα σου τῆς κόμης μὴ παρατρέφων, μᾶλλον δὲ συγκόπτων καὶ καθαιρῶν αὐτήν, ἵνα μὴ κατακνιζομένου σου καὶ ἄσκυλτον τηροῦντος τὴν κεφαλὴν ἢ καταμεμυρισμένου σου ἐπαγάγῃς σεαυτῷ τὰς οὕτως ἀγρευομένας ἢ ἀγρευούσας γυναῖκας. Μηδὲ ἐπιτετηδευμένῃ σοὶ τῇ ἐσθῆτι χρήσῃ εἰς ἀπάτην, μηδὲ ἀναξυρίδας ἢ κρηπῖδάς σου τοῖς ποσὶ κακοτέχνως ὑπορ ράψῃς, ἀλλὰ τὸ τῆς σεμνότητος καὶ τῆς χρείας μόνον· μηδὲ χρυσήλατον σφενδόνην τοῖς δακτύλοις σου περιθῇς, ὅτι ταῦτα πάντα ἑταιρισμοῦ τεκμήρια ὑπάρχει, ἅπερ παρὰ τὸ προσῆκον ἐπιτηδεύων οὐ ποιήσεις δικαίως. Πιστῷ γάρ σοι ὄντι καὶ ἀνθρώπῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐκ ἔξεστίν σοι τρέφειν τὰς τρίχας τῆς κεφαλῆς καὶ ποιεῖν σισόην, ὅ ἐστιν σπατάλιον, ἢ ἀπόχυμα ἢ μεριστὴν τηρεῖν· οὐδὲ μὴν ὀγκοποιεῖν διαξαίνειν τε καὶ πλάσσοντα οὔλην διατιθεῖν ἢ ξανθοποιεῖν αὐτήν, ἐπείπερ καὶ ὁ νόμος ἀπαγο ρεύει φάσκων ἐν τῷ ∆ευτερονομίῳ· «Oὐ ποιήσετε ὑμῖν σισόην οὐδὲ ἀναξυρίδας.» Χρὴ δὲ οὐδὲ γενείου τρίχα διαφθείρειν καὶ τὴν μορφὴν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου παρὰ φύσιν ἐξαλλάσσειν· «Oὐκ ἀπομαδαρώσετε γάρ, φησὶν ὁ Νόμος, τοὺς πώγωνας ὑμῶν.» Τοῦτο γὰρ γυναιξὶν εὐπρεπὲς ὁ κτίσας ἐποίησεν Θεός, ἀνδράσι δὲ ἀνάρμοστον ἐδικαίωσεν· σὺ δὲ ταῦτα ποιῶν διὰ ἀρέσκειαν ἐναντεούμενος τῷ νόμῳ, βδελυκτὸς γενήσῃ παρὰ Θεῷ τῷ κτίσαντί σε κατ' εἰκόνα ἑαυτοῦ. Ἐὰν οὖν θέλῃς Θεῷ ἀρέσκειν, ἀπόσχου πάντων ὧν μισεῖ αὐτός, καὶ μηδὲν πρᾶσσε τῶν αὐτῷ ἀπαρεσκόντων. Oὐκ ἔσῃ ὡς πετόμενος καὶ ἀλώμενος ἐν ταῖς ·ύμαις, ἀκαιροεπόπτης τῶν κακῶς ζώντων, ἀλλὰ τῇ τέχνῃ σου ἢ τῷ ἔργῳ σου προσέχων τὰ τῷ Θεῷ φίλα ἀναζήτει ποιεῖν, καὶ τὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ λόγια ἀναμιμνησκόμενος διηνεκῶς μελέτα. Λέγει γὰρ ἡ γραφή σοι, ὅτι· «Ἐν τῷ Νόμῳ αὐτοῦ μελετήσεις ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός, περιπατῶν ἐν ἀγρῷ καὶ ἐν οἴκῳ καθήμενος, καὶ κοιταζόμενος καὶ διανιστάμενος, ἵνα συνιῇς ἐν πᾶσιν.» Ἀλλ' εἰ καὶ πλούσιος ὑπάρχεις, χρείαν τέχνης πρὸς τὸ τρέφεσθαι οὐκ ἔχων, ·εμβὸς μὴ γίνου μηδὲ ἀκαιρο περιπάτητος· ἀλλ' εἴτε προσέρχῃ τοῖς πιστοῖς τε καὶ ὁμοδόξοις, συμβάλλων τὰ ζωοποιὰ προσομίλει ·ήματα. Eἰ δὲ μή, καθεζόμενος ἔνδον ἀναγίνωσκε τὸν Νόμον, τὰς Βασιλείους, τοὺς Προφήτας, ψάλλε τοὺς "Υμνους, διέρχου ἐπιμελῶς τὸ Eὐαγγέλιον τὸ τούτων συμπλήρωμα. Τῶν ἐθνικῶν βιβλίων πάντων ἀπέχου. Τί γὰρ σοὶ καὶ ἀλλοτρίοις λόγοις ἢ νόμοις ἢ ψευδοπροφήταις, ἃ δὴ