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but the sons of men, the inferior ones, who were formerly deemed worthy of a voice. The Lord made lands both uninhabited, and the inhabited ends of the earth under heaven. [ξοδ. φ. 41 α.] Do not introduce another creator, even if the uninhabited has no benefit; for this reason He made the ends to be inhabited, he says, so that having learned that the limits and the extremities are the work of God, you might not suspect those things in between; or the ends, the incomprehensible and divine mysteries; just as the lands are the fruitful souls; and the uninhabited, the divine thoughts, which it is not lawful for a man to speak.

CHAPTER 9.

Wisdom has built her house, and has set up seven pillars. [ξοδ. φ. 42 β.] The Son of God, being Wisdom, having become man, constructed a house for himself, the flesh from the Virgin; seven pillars, the spirit of God, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and piety, the spirit of the fear of God, as Isaiah says. Or the house is the Church, and the pillars the apostles; or he says the wise man, because he is secure in himself, self-sufficient and not in need of anything, -The house of wisdom, the Church; pillars, those who seem to be pillars. She has slaughtered her victims. Victims are the divine thoughts, or the interpretations of the Scriptures; and the mixture, the blending of the spiritual sense with the history; for divine things, being unmixed, cannot be contained; for this reason, by dividing the doctrines and interpretations in detail and in various ways, she prepares food for those being taught. -[ξοδ. φ. 33 α.] She has mixed her wine in a bowl. For divine things, being unmixed, she mixed with human voices, which is with the wisdom of men, so that we might be able to contain it. The victims, the blessed prophets, slain in their time by the unbelievers, as it says, that For your sake we are being killed all the day long. [ξοδ. φ. 43 β.] She sent her prophets and apostles with a high proclamation, that is, with doctrines having nothing lowly or abject, calling all the nations to the knowledge of God; and he calls "high" the saying, Their sound has gone out into all the earth. [ξοδ. φ. 44 α.] To the needy, to those not yet possessing the power of the Holy Spirit; or to those who have begun, but are imperfect. Come, know the true and straight way; and Drink wine, and receive the Holy Spirit as wine. Leave foolishness, turn away from the ways of ignorance, and know eternal life; Eat, be strengthened by my words and mysteries. Give an occasion to a wise man. [ξοδ. φ. 45 α.] Therefore rebuke is an occasion, a salutary and useful thing; or he means that which comes through words; for thus he will be exalted to the heights of spiritual understanding. Make known to a just man, that is, to the well-disposed make known the ways of righteousness; and he will add to, instead of he will love you, correcting through rebuke the sins from inattention. The counsel of the holy, is understanding. The counsel of the holy discerns what should and should not be done; for such is counsel with understanding. You will live for a long time. The "long" is used for "infinite"; or lest he ever free us from doubt; for the years of this life are eternal. [ξοδ. 64.681 φ. 45 β.] He who does not use the wisdom of God, shepherds the winds, supposing for himself unsubstantial principles of both things and of the Scriptures. The ways of his own vineyard, he says, is the life according to the Law, leading to Christ; for Israel is the vineyard. -[ξοδ. φ. 46 α.] It is necessary to cultivate, but what does he do? He travels through a desert; for the nature of falsehood is fruitless.

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υἱοὶ δὲ ἀνθρώπων, οἱ καταδεέστεροι, οἱ τέως φωνῆς ἀξιούμενοι. Κύριος ἐποίησε χώρας καὶ ἀοικήτους, καὶ ἄκρα οἰκούμενα τῆς ὑπ' οὐρανόν. [ξοδ. φ. 41 α.] Μὴ ἕτερον ἐπεισαγάγῃς δημιουργὸν, κἂν μηδεμίαν ὄνησιν ἡ ἀοίκητος ἔχει· διὰ τοῦτο δὲ ἐποίησε τὰ ἄκρα οἰκεῖσθαι, φησὶν, ἵνα τὰ πέρατα καὶ τὰς ἐσχατιὰς μαθὼν ἔργον εἶναι Θεοῦ, περὶ τῶν μέσων μὴ ὑποπτεύσῃς· ἢ ἄκρα, τὰ ἀκατάληπτα καὶ θεῖα μυστήρια· ὥσπερ καὶ χώρας μὲν τὰς καρποφόρους ψυχάς· ἀοικήτους δὲ, τὰς θείας ἐννοίας, ἃς οὐκ ἐξὸν ἀνθρώπῳ λαλῆσαι.

ΚΕΦΑΛ. Θʹ.

Ἡ σοφία ᾠκοδόμησεν ἑαυτῇ οἶκον, καὶ ὑπήρεισε στύλους ἑπτά. [ξοδ. φ. 42 β.] Σοφία ὢν ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, γενόμενος ἄνθρωπος, αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ κατεσκεύασεν οἶκον, τὴν ἐκ Παρθένου σάρκα· στύλους ἑπτὰ, πνεῦμα Θεοῦ, πνεῦμα σοφίας καὶ συνέσεως, πνεῦμα βουλῆς καὶ ἰσχύος, πνεῦμα γνώσεως καὶ εὐσεβείας, πνεῦμα φόβου Θεοῦ, ὥς φησιν Ἡσαΐας. Ἢ καὶ οἶκον τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν, στύλους δὲ τοὺς ἀποστόλους· ἢ τὸν σοφὸν ἄνδρα φησὶν, ὅτι ἀσφαλής ἐστιν ἑαυτῷ αὐτάρκης καὶ μὴ προσδεόμενός τινος, -Οἶκος τῆς σοφίας, ἡ Ἐκκλησία· στύλοι, οἱ δοκοῦντες εἶναι στύλοι. Ἔσφαξε τὰ ἑαυτῆς θύματα. Θύματα τὰ θεῖα νοήματα, ἢ τὰς ἑρμηνείας τῶν Γραφῶν· κρᾶμα δὲ, τὸ συμμιγνύναι τῇ ἱστορίᾳ τὴν ἀναγωγήν· ἄκρατα γὰρ ὄντα τὰ θεῖα, χωρηθῆναι οὐ δύναται· διὰ τοῦτο λεπτομερῶς καὶ ποικίλως τὰ δόγματα καὶ τὰς ἑρμηνείας διαιροῦσα, τροφὴν τοῖς μαθητευομένοις ἐργάζεται. -[ξοδ. φ. 33 α.] Ἐκέρασεν εἰς κρατῆρα τὸν οἶνον ἑαυτῆς. Ἄκρατα γὰρ ὄντα τὰ θεῖα, φωναῖς ἀνθρωπίναις ἐκέρασεν, ὅ ἐστιν σοφίᾳ ἀνθρώπων, ἵνα χωρῆσαι αὐτὴν δυνηθῶμεν. Τὰ θύματα, τοὺς μακαρίους προφήτας, κατὰ καιρὸν ἀναιρουμένους ὑπὸ τῶν ἀπίστων, καθὼς λέγει, ὅτι Ἕνεκα σοῦ θανατούμεθα ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν. [ξοδ. φ. 43 β.] Ἀπέστειλε τοὺς ἑαυτῆς προφήτας καὶ ἀποστόλους μετὰ ὑψηλοῦ κηρύγματος, τουτέστι μετὰ δογμάτων οὐδὲν ταπεινὸν ἐχόντων καὶ καταβεβλημένον, ἐκκαλουμένους πάντα τὰ ἔθνη εἰς τὴν γνῶσιν τοῦ Θεοῦ· ὑψηλὸν δέ φησι τὸ, Εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ἐξῆλθεν ὁ φθόγγος αὐτῶν. [ξοδ. φ. 44 α.] Τοῖς ἐνδεέσι, τοῖς μήπω κεκτημένοις τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος· ἢ τοῖς ἀρξαμένοις μὲν, ἀτελέσι δέ. ∆εῦτε, ἐπίγνωτε τὴν ἀληθῆ καὶ εὐθεῖαν ὁδόν· καὶ Πίετε οἶνον, καὶ λάβετε Πνεῦμα ἅγιον ὡς οἶνον. Ἀπολίπετε ἀφροσύνην, ἐκκλίνατε τὰς ὁδοὺς τῆς ἀγνωσίας, καὶ ἐπίγνωτε τὴν αἰώνιον ζωήν· Φάγετε, ῥώσθητε ὑπὸ τῶν ἐμῶν λόγων καὶ μυστηρίων. ∆ίδου σοφῷ ἀφορμήν. [ξοδ. φ. 45 α.] Ἄρα ἀφορμὴ ὁ ἔλεγχος, σωτήριον πρᾶγμα καὶ χρήσιμον· ἢ τὴν διὰ τῶν ῥημάτων λέγει· οὕτω γὰρ ὑψωθήσεται πρὸς τὰς τῆς ἀναγωγῆς ἀκρότητας. Γνώριζε δικαίῳ, ἤτοι τῷ εὐγνώμονι γνώριζε τὰς τῆς δικαιοσύνης ὁδούς· καὶ προσθήσει, ἀντὶ τοῦ ἀγαπήσει σε, τὰ ἐξ ἀπροσεξίας ἁμαρτήματα, διὰ τοῦ ἐλέγχου διορθούμενος. Βουλὴ ἁγίων, σύνεσις. Βουλὴ ἁγίων διακρίνουσα τὰ πρακτέα καὶ μή· τοιαύτη γὰρ ἡ μετὰ συνέσεως βουλή. Πολὺν ζήσεις χρόνον. Τὸ πολὺν ἀντὶ τοῦ ἀπείρου κεῖται· ἢ μή ποτε ἀμφιβολίας ἡμᾶς ἀπαλλάττῃ· τὰ γὰρ ἔτη τῆς ζωῆς ταύτης αἰώνια. [ξοδ. 64.681 φ. 45 β.] Ὃς οὐ χρῆται τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφίᾳ, ποιμαίνει ἀνέμους, ἀνυποστάτους ἀρχὰς ἑαυτῷ καὶ τῶν πραγμάτων καὶ τῶν Γραφῶν ὑποτιθέμενος. Ὁδοὺς τοῦ ἑαυτοῦ ἀμπελῶνος, τὴν νομικὴν πολιτείαν φησὶν, ἐπὶ Χριστὸν ὁδηγοῦσαν· ἄμπελος γὰρ ὁ Ἰσραήλ. -[ξοδ. φ. 46 α.] ∆έον γεωργεῖν, ὁ δὲ τί ποιεῖ; ∆ιαπορεύεται δι' ἐρήμου· ἄκαρπος γὰρ ἡ φύσις τοῦ ψεύδους.