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

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, but an instruction of good things; for through the law is the knowledge of sin. For the pleasure of wickedness is as great as that of one loaf of bread. If he is captured by true knowledge, he will put away all false knowledge, he who formerly was stealing, through a lack of knowledge, from the knowledge and wisdom made foolish by our Savior; and he is said to repay sevenfold, that is, to praise God seven times a day; and giving to God all his existing sense faculties, he will deliver himself from the punishments prepared for the devil and his angels. Everyone who has partaken in wickedness, is an adulterer of the devil who first married wickedness, and has been a murderer from the beginning; and with him he acquires destruction for his own soul. Wisdom is our sister, because the Father who made the 17.181 incorporeal nature also made this; but here he calls wisdom not the Son of God, but the contemplation of bodies and incorporeal things, and the judgment and providence inherent in it. He now calls the flesh of man a window; for through this the evil one works deceits for men, for those wishing to travel the broad and wide way, that leads to destruction; and here one must pay attention to what Solomon says about wickedness; that it does not itself in the beginning lead man to the wide place; nor does it compel him to walk through the passages of its houses, or to approach a corner, or to speak in the evening darkness; but if it sees someone giving himself over to pleasures, it immediately meets him, having the appearance of a prostitute, or it makes the hearts of the young to take flight. Those who wander in the public squares, receive thoughts of adultery and fornication and theft; but those wandering outside of these, pursue pleasures contrary to nature, seeking to commit sodomy, and receiving fantasies of certain other forbidden things; but see that this might not be an accusation even of holy men; and someone who is not at rest but wandering, will partake in the accusations of the dishonorable woman. Of thoughts, some are pure, and some are impure; and of lines, some are called straight, and others broken; and a corner is a broken straight line; or, understood intellectually, a corner is an impure thought; therefore, for wickedness to lie in wait at every corner, signifies that it deceives the soul through all impure thoughts. Through the bed-cords and the saffron and the rest, it signifies the deceptive spectacles, or the various passions. -Behold wickedness, not having a beginning from itself, but from the preludes of virtue; for to take part in a sacrifice is a good thing. But when it has wrestled them down, then it injects its poison, enumerating the things desired by lovers, all of which are able to bewitch, not on account of their own nature, but on account of the foolishness of those who hear; but according to the spiritual sense, wickedness seeks to shame our face, through the bed-cords and the couch, and the coverlets, and the saffron, and the cinnamon; which signify evil and various passions of pleasures that come into being among the inventors of evil things. The phrase "after many days he will return to his house," Paul, gazing very spiritually at the divine economy, says that the last enemy to be destroyed is death; whom Solomon also prefigured to be the husband of wickedness; who has taken humanity in his hand like a purse of silver, even if again in sinning it is not possible to foresee the fear of God; because he cares for, bearing with the race of men; since if he did not foresee the fear of God, he would have violently destroyed them all. There are three kinds of herons, namely the kemphos, and the 17.184 leukos, and the one called asteriskos; of these, the kemphos, being unrestrained concerning copulation, mates and copulates with difficulty, and it cries out, and while mating it emits blood from its eyes, and gives birth poorly and painfully; and the Scripture seems, from the natural history of this animal, to say that those who obey wickedness are made kemphos-like and are made like the birds through licentiousness; and there is also another kind

ἐκεῖνος γὰρ ἦν ὁ λύχνος ὁ καιόμενος καὶ φαίνων· φῶς, ἡ Νέα ∆ιαθήκη· Ἐγὼ γὰρ, φησὶν, εἰμὶ τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου· ἔλεγχος μὲν τῶν κακῶν, παιδεία δὲ τῶν ἀγαθῶν· διὰ γὰρ νόμου ἐπίγνωσις ἁμαρτίας. Τοσαύτη γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ἡδονὴ τῆς κακίας, ὅση καὶ ἑνὸς ἄρτου. Ἐὰν ἁλῷ ὑπὸ γνώσεως ἀληθοῦς, ἀποθήσεται πᾶ σαν γνῶσιν ψευδῆ, ὁ πρότερον κλέπτων, δι' ἔνδειαν γνώσεως, ἀπὸ τῆς μωρανθείσης ὑπὸ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν γνώσεως καὶ σοφίας· ἀποτίσειν δὲ λέγεται ἑπταπλασίονα, τὸ ἑπτάκις τῆς ἡμέρας αἰνεῖν τὸν Θεόν· καὶ πάντα τὰ ὑπάρχοντα αὐτῷ αἰσθητήρια δοὺς τῷ Θεῷ, ῥύσεται ἑαυτὸν ἐκ τῶν ἡτοιμα σμένων τῷ διαβόλῳ καὶ τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ τιμω ριῶν. Πᾶς ὁ κοινωνήσας τῇ κακίᾳ, μοιχός ἐστι τοῦ διαβόλου τοῦ πρώτου γήμαντος τὴν κακίαν, καὶ ἀπ' ἀρχῆς γεγονότος ἀνθρωποκτόνου· καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ ἀπώλειαν τῇ ψυχῇ αὑτοῦ περιποιεῖται. Ἀδελφὴ ἡμῶν σοφία ἐστὶ, διότι ὁ ποιήσας τὴν 17.181 ἀσώματον φύσιν Πατὴρ, καὶ ταύτην πεποίηκεν· σο φίαν δὲ ἐνταῦθα λέγει οὐ τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ τὴν θεωρίαν τῶν σωμάτων καὶ ἀσωμάτων, καὶ τῆς ἐν αὐτῇ κρίσεως καὶ προνοίας ἐγκείμενα. Τὴν σάρκα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου θυρίδα ὀνομάζει νῦν· διὰ γὰρ ταύτης ὁ πονηρὸς τὰς ἀπάτας τοῖς ἀνθρώ ποις ἐργάζεται, τοῖς βουλομένοις ὁδεύειν τὴν πλα τείαν ὁδὸν καὶ εὐρύχωρον, καὶ ἀπάγουσαν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀπώλειαν· ἐνταῦθα δὲ προσεκτέον τί φησιν ὁ Σολο μῶν περὶ τῆς κακίας· ὅτι οὐκ αὐτὴ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐν ἀρχαῖς ἐπὶ τὴν πλατεῖαν ἄγει· οὐδὲ ἀναγκάζει πορεύεσθαι διόδοις οἴκων αὐτῆς, ἢ προσεγγίζειν γω νίᾳ, ἢ λαλεῖν ἐν σκότει ἑσπερινῷ· ἀλλ' ἐὰν ἴδῃ τινὰ ἑαυτὸν ἐπιδιδόντα ταῖς ἡδοναῖς, εὐθὺς συναντᾷ αὐτῷ τὸ εἶδος ἔχουσα πορνικὸν, ἢ ποιεῖ τὰς νέων ἐξίπτασθαι καρδίας. Οἱ μὲν ἐν ταῖς πλατείαις ῥεμβόμενοι, μοιχείας καὶ πορνείας καὶ κλοπῆς λαμβάνουσι λογισμούς· οἱ δὲ ἔξω τούτων ῥεμβόμενοι, τὰς παρὰ φύσιν ἡδονὰς μετέρχονται, ἀρσενοκοιτεῖν ἐπιζητοῦντες, καὶ ἄλλων τινῶν ἀπαγορευομένων πραγμάτων φαντασίας λαμ βάνοντες· ὅρα δὲ μὴ κατηγόρημα εἴη τοῦτο καὶ ἁγίων ἀνδρῶν· καί τις μὴ ἡσυχάζων ἀλλὰ ῥεμβόμε νος, τοῖς κατηγορήμασι κοινωνήσει τῆς ἀτίμου γυ ναικός. Τῶν λογισμῶν, οἱ μὲν καθαροί εἰσιν, οἱ δὲ ἀκά θαρτοι· καὶ τῶν γραμμῶν αἱ μὲν εὐθεῖαι καλοῦνται· αἱ δὲ κεκλασμέναι· γωνία δέ ἐστι κεκλασμένη εὐθεῖα· ἢ γωνία νοητῶς ἐστιν ὁ ἀκάθαρτος λογισμός· τὸ οὖν παρὰ πᾶσαν γωνίαν ἐνεδρεύειν τὴν κακίαν, δηλοῖ τὸ διὰ πάντων τῶν ἀκαθάρτων λογισμῶν αὐτὴν ἐξαπα τᾷν τὴν ψυχήν. ∆ιὰ τῶν κειριῶν καὶ τοῦ κρόκου καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν, τὰ ἀπατηλὰ θεωρήματα, ἢ τὰ διάφορα πάθη σημαί νει. -Ὅρα τὴν κακίαν, οὐκ ἔχουσαν ἀφ' ἑαυτῆς ἀρχὴν, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῶν τῆς ἀρετῆς προοιμιαζομένων· τὸ γὰρ κοινωνὸν λαβεῖν θυσίας, ἀγαθόν. Ὅτε δὲ αὐτοῖς κατεπάλαισε, τότε ἐνίησι τὸν ἰὸν, τὰ τοῖς ἐρῶ σιν ἐπιθυμητὰ καταλέγουσα, ἃ πάντα ἱκανὰ κατα γοητεῦσαι, οὐ περὶ τὴν οἰκείαν φύσιν, ἀλλὰ περὶ τὴν τῶν ἀκουόντων ἀφροσύνην· κατὰ δὲ διάνοιαν ἡ κα κία ζητεῖ τὸ πρόσωπον ἡμῶν καταισχῦναι, διὰ τῶν κειριῶν καὶ τῆς κλίνης, καὶ τῶν ἀμφιτάπων, καὶ τοῦ κρόκου, καὶ τοῦ κινναμώμου· ἅπερ κακὰ καὶ διάφορα πάθη σημαίνει ἡδονῶν παρὰ τοῖς ἐφευρεταῖς τῶν κακῶν γινόμενα. Τὸ δι' ἡμερῶν πολλῶν ἐπανήξει εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐ τοῦ πάνυ πνευματικῶς ἐνατενίσας τῇ οἰκονομίᾳ ὁ Παῦ λος, ἔσχατον ἐχθρὸν λέγει καταργεῖσθαι τὸν θάνατον· ὃν καὶ ἄνδρα εἶναι τῆς πονηρίας Σολομῶν προδιέ γραψε· τὸν ὡς βαλαντίον ἀργυρίου λαβόντα ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὑτοῦ τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα, εἰ καὶ αὖθις ἐν τῷ ἁμαρτάνειν οὐ πάρεστι προβλέπειν τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ φό βον· διότι κήδεται ἀνεχόμενος τοῦ γένους τῶν ἀν θρώπων· ἐπεὶ εἰ μὴ τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ φόβον προέβλεπε, ῥυζηδὸν πάντας ἂν ἀπώλετο. Τῶν ἐῤῥωδιῶν τρία γένη εἰσὶν, ὅ τε κέμφος, καὶ ὁ 17.184 λευκὸς, καὶ ὁ ἀστερίσκος καλούμενος· τούτων ὁ κέμ φος ἀκρατῶς ἔχων περὶ τὰς μίξεις, χαλεπῶς εὐνάζε ται καὶ ὀχεύει, κράζει τε, καὶ ὀχεύων αἷμα ἀφίησιν ἐκ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν, καὶ τίκτει φαύλως καὶ ὀδυνηρῶς· ἔοικε δὲ ἡ γραφὴ ἀπὸ τῆς ἱστορίας τοῦ ζώου τούτου, τοὺς πειθομένους τῇ πονηρίᾳ κεμφωμένους καὶ ἐξ ωμοιωμένους τῶν ὀρνέων δι' ἀκολασίαν· ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἄλλο εἶδος