Expositio in Proverbia

 the things that have fallen, that is, from the pretext of Uriah. How then does Solomon say before: “He who rejoices 17.165 at another's destruction wi

 would have difficulty, just as the desire for money a pure mind draws near to wisdom since it knows well but the impure will be far from it. Adam i

 but here, that he names the mind a good gift, on account of the one who unjustly receives gifts in his bosom, and is not prospered for those unjust g

 of virtue And this persuades me, in a small way, that the rich man being judged in Hades for his wickedness was not completely given over to every ev

 to you, You shall not be angry. It must be noted here that he calls the natural harmonious movement of the ant, wisdom for indeed one wiser than a wi

 for he was the lamp that was burning and shining a light, the New Testament For I, he says, am the light of the world a refutation of evil things,

 of the kemphos fish in the sea, flying in schools here and there which the sailors, having baited a many-hooked line, catch and not only does it not

 come to the introductions but when they become wise, and are strengthened, reprove them. And Christ, when his disciples were still young, did not rep

 of the evil one. But the impious who sin will not only fall from the kingdom, but they will inhabit the fire and not the earth. Instead of, he is full

 be not silent to me, says David, and I will be like those who go down into the pit. A lawless man will be passed over in silence by God, that is, he w

 sinning. Here he calls the senses ways but he who guards them, keeps his own soul from death unto life for life is the Holy Trinity that gives life

 afflicted, distressed? And how will the unbeliever not have an obol, when many unbelievers are clothed with much wealth, I mean kings and rulers of th

 the love of God for humanity which also brings us to God the Father himself, as sons weaned, and desiring spiritual solid food so that just as his S

 your eyes, say: for many, even without having begun virtue, not only advise others to act rightly, but also compel and exhort them. Here he says man

 body is profitable to the foolish man for he will trample it underfoot, being a pleasure-loving pig and by sensible luxury his flesh will be moved t

 that is, to imitate the virtues of the righteous and prophets who shone in the six ages before the coming of Christ, who also feed the widow and orpha

 of the Lord, is the knowledge of the Lord, and the light of the Lord is the breath of men, therefore the knowledge of the Lord is the breath of men b

 He calls the mind a horse, which is warred against by the devil, and which wars in return For you will mount, he says, upon your horses and your rid

 he slanders us to God, taking from us the virtues which he has not given us, so also we slander him taking from him the vices which we have not given

 But do not enter into the land of those who have orphaned themselves from God, who possess wickedness as the property of demons, on account of which t

 but vice diminishes virtue, and virtue obviously corrupts vice and this will happen in the age to come, until vice ceases for shall be defiled, in

 earth-born nations, and having strengthened them with virtues in faith in him, Christ the God, and having stored up the heavenly water that which flo

 is, the law given to us by him in righteousness and those who gouge out the eyes of the impious, he called ravens but those who devour him whole, he

 of lands, he keeps his own justly. Cast a precious sardius into a golden earring, and the wisdom of the Lord into a dispassionate and obedient mind to

 defines servants or those under his hand for the rod is a symbol of punishment. From his own feet, etc. Here he calls servants 'feet' and from them

 to the devil who made it, to yield as to a brother, so as to be destroyed with him. -Better is he who is joined to me through true knowledge, than he

 lawless, are the doctrines of demons, which the instructed son does not obey and by son he means the mind but he who restrains his mind from being c

 of blood are the demons, who killed those living in Christ by the shedding of blood but the upright will seek out his soul these are they who wish t

 a soul of abundance for its bodily house. He says that the soul of the diligent man has the Church as a tree of knowledge and a tree of life of knowl

but here, that he names the mind a good gift, on account of the one who unjustly receives gifts in his bosom, and is not prospered; for those unjust gifts, he means the deeds of the evil one, which the mind, receiving, is not prospered in its ways. A crown of graces are the commandments of God, which in return provide the crown of the kingdom to those who do them; and a crown of delight is the knowledge of God, which, defending us, repels every passionate thought, and all false knowledge. These many ways lead to one way, the one that said: I am the way; and he has spoken of many ways, the virtues that lead to the knowledge of God. And the years of life will be multiplied for the one who hears the heavenly Father through the prophets, and who receives His words through the only-begotten Son, so as to be directed in the ways of the righteousness of life, in order that he may be saved unto everlasting life. The place of this army is wickedness and falsely called knowledge, and whatever is unacceptable to God; for impious thoughts are enemies, killing souls. To his beloved the Lord gives sleep; but the impious are not his beloved; therefore to the impious the Lord does not give sleep; and from this it is possible to show persuasively, that demons are not by nature meant to sleep. Our virtues go before us, and enlighten us in the present life, which in comparison to the future one, which is day, is called night; until the day dawns in which the sun of righteousness rises. Or instead of, until they establish us in safety, they do not depart; for this is proper to the day, to disperse the darkness; which is what Christ also said: He who walks in the day does not stumble; but the opposite is true for the impious; since therefore they did not know nor understand, they walk in darkness; they stumble, but they do not have forgiveness as if stumbling in ignorance; for they have wrought darkness for themselves; but see how virtue has made light even in darkness, while wickedness has made darkness even in light. -Neither do the impious understand the manner in which they sin; nor do they know the cause, from where they stumble; but they do not even know this very thing, that they are transgressing the law; which is a sign of the utmost wickedness. He calls the virtues springs, from which is born the living water of the divine sayings, which is the knowledge of Christ. And David: For the springs of the waters were seen, he says, and the foundations of the world were uncovered, clearly by the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. Let your eyes, he said, look right on, that 17.173 is, those things alone dear to God, that is, the things made clear to us by the prophets concerning Christ alone and his disciples; and whatever might be spoken by anyone to Christ, appropriating it to him alone. In agreement with these is, Unless the Lord builds the house, and guards the city; that is, unless the Lord gives us strength to direct our steps toward him, we labor in vain, we who do not call upon him in prayer, but attempt it in self-will. For both the manifest harlots and the teachings of the heterodox are garrulous, deceiving the hearts of the innocent through fine-sounding words; therefore the greatest safety is not to be caught in the first place; for having been caught, it is difficult to escape. As far as their hearing, that which is good. And fatness signifies pleasure, from which is born impurity; its offspring, wickedness and ignorance; of which nothing more bitter is to be found among created things on the day of judgment. From this we know that the spirited part prevails in demons; For their passion, he says, is merciless, and their anger sharp; for they hunt to destruction those who obey them; for thus do they honor those who honor them. Through wickednesses the evil ones wear down the flesh of Christ, and consume his blood. considering it common; For he who eats my flesh, he says, and drinks my blood, has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day; but he who unworthily eats the body and drinks the blood of the Lord, eats and drinks judgment to himself. There was when evil was not, and there will be when it will not be; for the seeds are indelible

δὲ ἐνταῦθα, ὅτι δῶρον ἀγαθὸν ὀνομάζει τὸν νοῦν, διὰ τὸν λαμβάνοντα δῶρα ἐν κόλπῳ ἀδίκως, καὶ μὴ κατευοδούμενον· ἐκεῖνα γὰρ δῶρα ἄδικα, τὰ πράγματα λέγει τοῦ πονηροῦ, ἅπερ ὁ νοῦς δεχόμε νος, οὐ κατευοδοῦται ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτοῦ. Στέφανος χαρίτων αἱ ἐντολαὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰσιν, αἵτινες τὸν στέφανον τῆς βασιλείας ἀντιπαρέχουσι τοῖς ποιοῦσιν αὐτάς· στέφανος δὲ τρυφῆς ἡ γνῶσις ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἥτις ὑπερασπίζουσα ἡμῶν, πάντα λογισμὸν ἐμπαθῆ, καὶ πᾶσαν γνῶσιν ψευδῆ ἀπωθεῖται. Αὗται αἱ πολλαὶ ὁδοὶ εἰς μίαν ἄγουσιν ὁδὸν, τὴν εἰποῦσαν· Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδός· πολλὰς δὲ εἴρηκεν ὁδοὺς, τὰς ἀρετὰς τὰς φερούσας ἐπὶ τὴν γνῶσιν τοῦ Θεοῦ. Πληθυνθήσεται δὲ ἔτη ζωῆς τοῦ ἀκούοντος διὰ τῶν προφητῶν τοῦ ἐπουρανίου Πατρὸς, καὶ δεχομένου διὰ τοῦ μονογενοῦς Υἱοῦ τοὺς λόγους αὐτοῦ, εἰς τὸ κατ ευθυνθῆναι ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς τῆς δικαιοσύνης τοῦ βίου, ὅπως ἀποσωθῇ εἰς τὴν ἀείζωον ζωήν. Τούτου τοῦ στρατοῦ ὁ τόπος ἐστὶν ἡ κακία καὶ ἡ ψευδώνυμος γνῶσις, καὶ πᾶν ὁτιοῦν ἄδεκτον τῷ Θεῷ· πολέμιοι γάρ εἰσιν οἱ ἀσεβεῖς λογισμοὶ, ψυχὰς ἀπο κτείνοντες. Ἐν τοῖς ἀγαπητοῖς αὐτοῦ δίδωσιν ὁ Κύριος ὕπνον· οἱ δὲ ἀσεβεῖς οὐκ εἰσὶν αὐτοῦ ἀγαπητοί· τοῖς ἀσε βέσιν ἄρα οὐ δίδωσιν ὕπνον ὁ Κύριος· ἐντεῦθεν δὲ ἔστι καὶ πειθανῶς δεῖξαι, ὅτι οὐ καθεύδειν πεφύκασι δαίμονες. Προπορεύονται ἡμῶν αἱ ἀρεταὶ, καὶ φωτίζουσιν ἡμᾶς ἐν τῷ παρόντι βίῳ, ὃς πρὸς τὸν μέλλοντα, ἡμέ ραν ὄντα, νὺξ λέγεται· ἕως κατορθώσει ἡ ἡμέρα ἐν ᾗ ὁ τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἥλιος ἀνατέλλει. Ἢ ἀντὶ τοῦ, ἕως ἡμᾶς ἐν ἀσφαλείᾳ καταστήσουσιν, οὐκ ἀφίσταν ται· τοῦτο γὰρ ἡμέρας ἴδιον, τὸ σκότος διαλύειν· ὅπερ οὖν καὶ Χριστὸς ἔλεγεν· Ὁ περιπατῶν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ οὐ προσκόπτει· τοὐναντίον δὲ αἱ τῶν ἀσε βῶν· ἐπεὶ οὖν οὐκ ἔγνωσαν οὐδὲ συνῆκαν, ἐν σκότει διαπορεύονται· προσκόπτουσιν, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔχουσι συγγνώμην ὡς ἀγνοίᾳ προσπταίοντες· αὐτοὶ γὰρ ἑαυτοῖς τὸ σκότος εἰργάσαντο· ὅρα δὲ ὡς ἡ μὲν ἀρετὴ καὶ ἐν σκότει φῶς ἐποίησεν· ἡ δὲ κακία καὶ ἐν φωτὶ σκότος. -Οὐδὲ τὸν τρόπον πῶς ἁμαρτά νουσιν, οἱ ἀσεβεῖς ἐπίστανται· οὐδὲ τὴν αἰτίαν γι νώσκουσι, πόθεν προσκόπτουσιν· ἀλλ' οὐδὲ αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἴσασιν, ὅτι παρανομοῦσιν· ὅπερ ἐστὶν γνώ ρισμα τῆς ἐσχάτης κακίας. Πηγὰς λέγει τὰς ἀρετὰς, ἀφ' ὧν γεννᾶται τὸ ὕδωρ τὸ ζῶν τῶν θείων ῥημάτων, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἡ γνῶσις τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Καὶ ὁ ∆αυΐδ· Ὤφθησαν γὰρ, φησὶν, αἱ πηγαὶ τῶν ὑδάτων, καὶ ἀνεκαλύφθησαν τὰ θεμέλια τῆς οἰκουμένης, παρὰ τὴν ἐπιδημίαν δηλονότι τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Οἱ ὀφθαλμοί σου, εἶπεν, ὀρθὰ βλεπέτωσαν, τουτ 17.173 έστι τὰ Θεῷ μόνα φίλα, ἤγουν τὰ παρὰ τῶν προ φητῶν ἡμῖν σαφηνισθέντα περὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ μόνου καὶ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ· καὶ ὅσα παρά τινος πρὸς τὸν Χριστὸν οἰκειοῦντα λαληθείη καὶ μόνον. Συμφωνεῖ τούτοις τὸ, Ἐὰν μὴ Κύριος οἰκοδομήσῃ οἶκον, καὶ φυλάξῃ πόλιν· τουτέστιν ἐὰν μὴ Κύριος δώῃ ἡμῖν ἰσχὺν τοῦ κατευθῦναι τὰ πρὸς αὐτὸν δια βήματα, μάτην ἡμεῖς κοπιῶμεν, οἱ μὴ ἐν παρακλή σει αὐτὸν ἐπικαλούμενοι, ἀλλ' ἐν αὐθαδείῃ ἐπιχει ροῦντες. Στωμυλεύονται γὰρ αἵτε πρόδηλοι πόρναι, καὶ αἱ τῶν ἑτεροδόξων διδασκαλίαι, ἀπατῶσαι διὰ τῆς χρηστολογίας τὰς τῶν ἀκάκων καρδίας· μεγίστη οὖν ἀσφάλεια τὸ μὴ ἁλῶναι τὴν ἀρχήν· ἁλόντα γὰρ, δύσκολον διαφυγεῖν. Μέχρι μὲν τῆς ἀκοῆς αὐτῶν, τὸ καλόν. Σημαίνει δὲ τὸ λῖπος τὴν ἡδονὴν, ἀφ' ἧς τίκτεται ἡ ἀκαθαρ σία· ἧς ἔκγονον, κακία καὶ ἄγνοια· ὧν οὐδὲν ἔστι πικρότερον ἐν τοῖς γεγονόσιν εὑρεῖν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρί σεως. Ἐντεῦθεν γινώσκομεν ὅτι τὸ θυμικὸν μέρος ἐπι κρατεῖ ἐν τοῖς δαίμοσιν· Ἀνελεήμων γὰρ, φησὶ, θυ μὸς, καὶ ὀξεῖα ὀργὴ αὐτῶν· θηρεύουσι γὰρ εἰς ἀπώ λειαν τοὺς πειθαρχοῦντας αὐτοῖς· οὕτω γὰρ τιμῶσι τοὺς τιμῶντας αὐτούς. ∆ιὰ τῶν κακιῶν οἱ πονηροὶ κατατρίβουσι τὰς σάρκας τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ τὸ αἷμα καταναλίσκουσι. κοινὸν αὐτὸ ἡγησάμενοι· Ὁ τρώγων γάρ μου, φησὶ, τὴν σάρκα, καὶ πίνων μου τὸ αἷμα, ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον, κἀγὼ ἀναστήσω αὐτὸν ἐν ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ· ὁ δὲ ἀναξίως ἐσθίων τὸ σῶμα καὶ πίνων τὸ αἷμα τοῦ Κυρίου, κρῖμα ἑαυτῷ ἐσθίει καὶ πίνει. Ἦν ὅτε οὐκ ἦν κακὸν, καὶ ἔσται ὅτε οὐκ ἔσται· ἀνεξάλειπτα γὰρ τὰ σπέρματα