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kings and private citizens partake for health Through the ant Solomon seems to describe to us the practical way, but through the bee he signifies the contemplation of created things and of the Creator himself, of which both the pure and the impure and the wise and the foolish partake for the health of the soul. And the wax seems to me to represent the principle of these things, but the honey stored in it is a symbol of their contemplation. And the wax will pass away; "for heaven," he says, "and earth will pass away"; but the honey will not pass away. For neither will the words of our savior Christ pass away, about which Solomon says: "Good words are a honeycomb, and their sweetness is healing for the soul"; and David: "How sweet," he says, "are your words to my throat, more than honey to my mouth." 73 He has called the result of labor, labor. 74 6,09 How long, sluggard, will you lie down? When will you arise from sleep? This sleep is by nature wont to happen only to a rational soul; for here it signifies wickedness and ignorance, wakefulness from which makes someone "like a lonely sparrow on a rooftop". 75 6, 11 then poverty comes upon you like an evil wayfarer, and want like a good runner Poverty is the privation of knowledge; and want is the lack of virtues. 76 6, 13 but he winks with the eye, signals with the foot, teaches with the nods of his fingers Here one must pay attention lest perhaps through such movements of the body the adversaries know their own thoughts being nourished in us, since we have believed God alone to be the knower of hearts. 77 6, 17 an insolent eye, an unjust tongue, hands that shed righteous blood Everyone who eats the flesh of Christ and drinks his blood acquires righteous blood, being deprived of which a rational soul is said to die; "For the soul," he says, "that sins, it shall die." But if there is righteous blood, there is clearly also unrighteous blood, which those gather in themselves who eat the food given to the Ethiopian peoples and are fed with the bread of falsehood. And those who sacrifice to foreign gods consume their own righteous blood; but those who offer themselves as a sacrifice to the only God destroy the unrighteous blood. And the generation of righteous blood will certainly follow the destruction of the unrighteous blood, and the generation of unrighteous blood will follow the destruction of righteous blood. But this is now its nature to be, but from the beginning it was not so; for righteousness did not arise from the destruction of wickedness, just as health did not arise from the destruction of disease, since children are born with health from the beginning. 78 6, 19 An unjust witness kindles falsehoods and sends judgments among brothers Brothers are those who have the gift of adoption and are under the same father, Christ, whom the witness of injustice attempts to separate, by casting quarrels and judgments among them. But the word "kindles," I think, has been added because of the passionate thoughts that ignite temper to anger and hatred, and desire to shameful deeds. These thoughts Saint Paul also called the flaming arrows of the evil one that wound the soul and work death. 79 6, 20 Keep, my son, the laws of your father and do not reject the ordinances of your mother ... 6, 22.1 when you walk, bring her with you, and let her be with you He commands to bring the mother, who is wisdom, who begets us according to God. And yet he should have said the father; for he is more suitable for being with the son. But since it is not possible to know God before the contemplation of created things, for this reason he commands to bring the mother and not the father, so that through the mother the son may see the father; for if she does not beget him, he does not see the light, which is the knowledge of God himself. 80 6, 23 for a lamp is the commandment of the law, and a light and a way of life, reproof and instruction That the commandment of the law is a lamp and a light. And perhaps the lamp is the Old Testament; "for he was the

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βασιλεῖς καὶ ἰδιῶται πρὸς ὑγείαν προσφέρονται ∆ιὰ μὲν τοῦ μύρμηκος ἔοικεν ὁ Σολομὼν τὴν πρακτικὴν ὁδὸν ἡμῖν ὑπογράφειν, διὰ δὲ τῆς μελίσσης τὴν θεωρίαν τῶν γεγονότων σημαίνειν καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ποιήσαντος, ἥντινα καὶ καθαροὶ καὶ ἀκάθαρτοι καὶ σοφοὶ καὶ ἀνόητοι πρὸς τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς ὑγείαν προσφέρονται. Καὶ φαίνεται μέν μοι ὁ κηρὸς αὐτῶν τῶν πραγμάτων λόγον ἐπέχειν, τὸ δ' ἐναποκείμενον αὐτῷ μέλι σύμβολον εἶναι τῆς θεωρίας αὐτῶν. Καὶ ὁ μὲν κηρὸς παρελεύσεται· «ὁ οὐρανὸς γάρ, φησίν, καὶ ἡ γῆ παρελεύσεται»· τὸ δὲ μέλι οὐ παρελεύσεται. Οὐδὲ γὰρ οἱ λόγοι παρελεύσονται τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Χριστοῦ, περὶ ὧν λέγει ὁ Σολομών· «κηρία μέλιτος λόγοι καλοί, γλύκασμα δὲ αὐτῶν ἴασις ψυχῆς»· καὶ ὁ ∆αυίδ· «ὡς γλυκέα, φησί, τῷ λάρυγγί μου τὰ λόγιά σου, ὑπὲρ μέλι τῷ στόματί μου.» 73 Τὸ ἀποτέλεσμα τοῦ πόνου πόνον ὠνόμασεν. 74 6,09 ἕως τίνος, ὀκνηρέ, κατάκεισαι; πότε δὲ ἐξ ὕπνου ἐγερθήσῃ; Ὁ ὕπνος οὗτος μόνῃ πέφυκεν ἐπισυμβαίνειν ψυχῇ λογικῇ· σημαίνει γὰρ ἐνταῦθα κακίαν καὶ ἀγνωσίαν, ὧν ἡ ἀγρυπνία ποιεῖ τινα «ὡς στρουθίον μονάζον ἐπὶ δώματι». 75 6, 11 εἶτ' ἐμπαραγίνεταί σοι ὥσπερ κακὸς ὁδοιπόρος ἡ πενία καὶ ἡ ἔνδεια ὥσπερ ἀγαθὸς δρομεύς Πενία ἐστὶ στέρησις γνώσεως· ἔνδεια δὲ σπάνις τῶν ἀρετῶν. 76 6, 13 ὁ δ' αὐτὸς ἐννεύει ὀφθαλμῷ, σημαίνει δὲ ποδί, διδάσκει δὲ ἐννεύμασιν δακτύλων Προσεκτέον ἐνταῦθα μήποτε ἄρα διὰ τῶν τοιούτων κινημάτων τοῦ σώματος γινώσκουσιν οἱ ἀντικείμενοι τοὺς ἑαυτῶν λογισμοὺς ἐν ἡμῖν τρεφομένους, ἐπιδὴ καρδιογνώστην μόνον τὸν θεὸν πεπιστεύκαμεν εἶναι. 77 6, 17 ὀφθαλμὸς ὑβριστοῦ, γλῶσσα ἄδικος, χεῖρες ἐκχέουσαι αἶμα δίκαιον Πᾶς ὁ τρώγων τὰς σάρκας τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ πίνων τὸ αἷμα αὐτοῦ κτᾶται αἷμα δίκαιον, οὗ στερισκομένη λέγεται ἀποθνῄσκειν ψυχὴ λογική· «ψυχὴ γάρ, φησίν, ἡ ἁμαρτάνουσα αὐτὴ ἀποθανεῖται.» Εἰ δέ ἐστιν αἷμα δίκαιον, ἔστιν δηλονότι καὶ αἷμα ἄδικον, ὅπερ συνάγουσιν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς οἱ κατεσθίοντες τὸ δεδομένον βρῶμα λαοῖς τοῖς Αἰθίοψιν καὶ τρεφόμενοι τῷ ἄρτῳ τοῦ ψεύδους. Καὶ οἱ μὲν θύοντες θεοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις τὸ δίκαιον ἑαυτῶν αἷμα καταναλίσκουσιν· οἱ δὲ ἑαυτοὺς θυσίαν προσάγοντες τῷ μόνῳ θεῷ τὸ ἄδικον διαφθείρουσιν αἷμα. Ἀκολουθήσει δὲ πάντως τῇ μὲν φθορᾷ τοῦ ἀδίκου αἵματος ἡ γένεσις τοῦ δικαίου αἵματος καὶ τῇ φθορᾷ τοῦ δικαίου αἵματος ἡ γένεσις τοῦ ἀδίκου αἵματος. Ἀλλὰ τοῦτο μὲν νῦν γενέσθαι πέφυκεν, ἀπ' ἀρχῆς δὲ οὐχ οὕτως· οὐ γὰρ κατὰ φθορὰν κακίας ὑπέστη δικαιοσύνη, ὡς οὐδὲ κατὰ φθορὰν νόσου ὑγεία, τῶν παιδίων μετὰ τῆς ὑγείας ἀπ' ἀρχῆς τικτομένων. 78 6, 19 ἐκκαίει ψεύδη μάρτυς ἄδικος καὶ ἐπιπέμπει κρίσεις ἀνὰ μέσον ἀδελφῶν Ἀδελφοί εἰσιν οἱ τὸ τῆς υἱοθεσίας ἔχοντες χάρισμα καὶ ὑπὸ τὸν αὐτὸν ὄντες πατέρα Χριστόν, οὓς χωρίζειν ἐπιχειρεῖ ὁ μάρτυς τῆς ἀδικίας, ταραχὰς ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐμβάλλων καὶ κρίσεις. Τὸ δὲ ἐκκαίει, ὡς οἶμαι, προστέθειται διὰ τοὺς ἐμπαθεῖς λογισμοὺς ἀνάπτοντας θυμὸν μὲν πρὸς ὀργὴν καὶ μῖσος, ἐπιθυμίαν δὲ πρὸς αἰσχρὰς ἐργασίας. Τούτους τοὺς λογισμοὺς καὶ ὁ ἅγιος Παῦλος ὠνόμασεν τοῦ πονηροῦ βέλη πεπυρωμένα τιτρώσκοντα τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ θάνατον ἐργαζόμενα. 79 6, 20 φύλασσε, υἱέ, νόμους πατρός σου καὶ μὴ ἀπώσῃ θεσμοὺς μητρός σου ... 6, 22.1 ἡνίκα ἂν περιπατῇς, ἐπάγου αὐτήν, καὶ μετὰ σοῦ ἔστω Τὴν μητέρα προστάσσει ἐπάγεσθαι, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἡ σοφία γεννῶσα ἡμᾶς κατὰ θεόν. Καίτοι ἐχρῆν αὐτὸν εἰπεῖν τὸν πατέρα· οὗτος γὰρ πρὸς τὸ συνεῖναι τῷ υἱῷ μᾶλλον ἐπιτηδειότερος. Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ οὐ δυνατὸν αὐτὸν γνῶναι τὸν θεὸν πρὸ τῆς τῶν γεγονότων θεωρίας, τούτου χάριν τὴν μητέρα καὶ οὐ τὸν πατέρα προστάσσει ἐπάγεσθαι, ἵνα διὰ τῆς μητρὸς ὁ υἱὸς ἴδῃ τὸν πατέρα· ἐὰν γὰρ αὐτὴ μὴ γεννήσῃ αὐτόν, οὐ βλέπει τὸ φῶς, ὅπερ ἐστὶ ἡ γνῶσις αὐτοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ. 80 6, 23 ὅτι λύχνος ἐντολὴ νόμου καὶ φῶς καὶ ὁδὸς ζωῆς, ἔλεγχος καὶ παιδεία Ὅτι ἡ ἐντολὴ τοῦ νόμου λύχνος ἐστὶ καὶ φῶς. Καὶ τάχα λύχνος ἐστὶν ἡ παλαιὰ διαθήκη· «ἐκεῖνος γὰρ ἦν ὁ