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he says; But according to your hardness and impenitent heart you treasure up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. But wise lips are weapons of perception: For nothing wicked opposes wisdom, because it is an unconquerable weapon; for demons are powerless only against it. The houses of the lawless will owe purification: so that having become pure they may see God; for this is the blessed end, which is reserved for every rational nature. But from his thoughts a good man: He now called thoughts the states of the virtues, just as he contrasted them with the ways of the stout-hearted. But the crafty will take hold of perception. He contrasted wickedness with perception; but if wickedness is opposed to virtue, perception now signifies virtue. In abounding righteousness there is much strength: Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees and scribes, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. But those who hate reproofs die disgracefully: He now called the commandments reproofs; for these reprove us when we sin. But the good are always at rest: Rest is abstinence from wickedness. The ways of life are the thoughts of the prudent: He calls "way of life" the practical virtues that lead to knowledge. And through them enemies also become friends: as Paul preached; Those who were once enemies were reconciled 94 to God through the death of his son. but it must be considered whether all enemies become friends through the righteous, so that Christ might say to all; I no longer call you servants, but friends. Divination is on the lips of a king: Christ is the knower of hearts, and he will judge the world in righteousness. The wrath of a king is an angel of death: The angel who knows the reasonings concerning punishment is called the wrath of God. The nests of wisdom are more desirable (cod. τότεραι) than gold: Knowledge of wisdom is above gold, and knowledge of prudence is above silver. But he who keeps reproofs will be made wise: He calls reproofs the commandments of God; for these reprove us when we sin. But the instruction of fools is bad: Unreproved instruction he has now called the instruction of fools; but if the instruction of fools is wickedness, unreproved instruction is folly. But on his lips he will wear discernment: He called knowledge "discernment" from its discerning all things. A perverse man sends forth evils: An account of the demons learning from the devil to attack the saints and to try to separate them from knowledge, which is wont to join them in friendship with the heavenly powers. And this very thing Solomon, as I think, has shown through this proverb, calling the perverse man Satan, and the crafty ones who go about, the evil demons, instead of those who are taught, and friends, the saints who are joined to one another through knowledge. This one is a furnace of wickedness: From this furnace a whistling spirit of dew shakes out the flame. All things come into the bosom for the unjust: It should be noted that here he called "bosom" the hearts of the 95 unjust; and I think that everywhere "bosom" signifies either the mind or knowledge; but if there is also a blameworthy bosom, it will clearly denote ignorance. A prudent servant will rule over foolish masters: If everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin, everyone who has desisted from wickedness and through virtues has prevailed over demons has prevailed over foolish masters; and such a one will also become a steward of the mysteries of God, giving spiritual knowledge to each of the brothers according to the proportion of their state, giving the Corinthian milk to drink, and nourishing the Ephesian with more solid food, discoursing on height and length and breadth and depth; and through these dimensions signifying the division of the rational nature, which contains the doctrines concerning the judgment and providence of God, being very deep and escaping the human condition. so also Jesus the son of

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φησίν· Κατὰ δὲ τὴν σκληρότητά σου καὶ ἀμετανόητον καρδίαν θησαυρίζεις σεαυτῷ ὀργὴν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ὀργῆς καὶ ἀποκαλύψεως δικαιοκρισίας τοῦ θεοῦ. Ὅπλα δὲ αἰσθήσεως χείλη σοφά: Οὐκ ἀντιτάσσεται γὰρ τῇ σοφίᾳ οὐδὲν πονηρόν, διότι ὅπλον ἐστὶν ἀκαταμάχητον· μόνον γὰρ πρὸς αὐτὴν ἀδυνατοῦσιν οἱ δαίμονες. Οἰκίαι παρανόμων ὀφειλήσουσι καθαρισμόν: Ἵνα καθαροὶ γενόμενοι ὄψωνται τὸν θεόν· τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τὸ μακάριον τέλος, ὅπερ πάσῃ λογικῇ φύσει τετήρηται. Ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν διανοημάτων αὐτοῦ ἀνὴρ ἀγαθός: ∆ιανοήματα νῦν εἶπεν τὰς ἕξεις τῶν ἀρετῶν, ὥσπερ ταῖς ὁδοῖς τοῦ θρασυκαρδίου ἀντέθηκεν. Οἱ δὲ πανοῦργοι κρατήσουσιν αἰσθήσεως Ἀντέθηκεν τὴν κακίαν τῇ αἰσθήσει· εἰ δὲ ἡ κακία τῇ ἀρετῇ ἀντίκειται, ἡ αἴσθησις νῦν σημαίνει τὴν ἀρετήν. Ἐν πλεοναζούσῃ δικαιοσύνῃ ἰσχὺς πολλή: Ἐὰν μὴ περισσεύσῃ ὑμῶν ἡ δικαιοσύνη πλέον τῶν φαρισαίων καὶ γραμματέων, οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθητε εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν. Οἱ δὲ μισοῦντες ἐλέγχους τελευτῶσιν αἰσχρῶς: Ἐλέγχους νῦν τὰς ἐντολὰς εἶπεν· αὗται γὰρ ἡμᾶς ἐλέγχουσιν ἁμαρτάνοντας. Οἱ δὲ ἀγαθοὶ ἡσυχάζουσι διὰ παντός: Ἡσυχία ἐστὶν ἀποχὴ κακίας. Ὁδοὶ ζωῆς διανοήματα συνετοῦ: Ὁδὸς ζωῆς λέγει τὰς πρακτικὰς ἀρετὰς τὰς φερούσας ἐπὶ τὴν γνῶσιν. ∆ιὰ δὲ αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ ἐχθροὶ φίλοι γίνονται: Παύλου κηρύξαντος· Οἱ ποτὲ ὄντες ἐχθροὶ κατηλλάγησαν 94 τῷ θεῷ διὰ τοῦ θανάτου τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ. πλὴν προσεκτέον εἰ πάντες οἱ ἐχθροὶ διὰ τῶν δικαίων φίλοι γίνονται, ἵνα καὶ πᾶσιν εἴπῃ ὁ Χριστός· Οὐκέτι ὑμᾶς καλῶ δούλους, ἀλλὰ φίλους. Μαντεῖον ἐπὶ χείλεσι βασιλέως: Καρδιογνώστης ἐστὶν ὁ Χριστός, καὶ κρινεῖ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ. Θυμὸς βασιλέως ἄγγελος θανάτου: Ὁ ἄγγελος ὁ τοὺς περὶ κολάσεως ἐπιστάμενος λόγους θυμὸς τοῦ θεοῦ καλεῖται. Νοσσιαὶ σοφίας αἱρετώτεραι (cod. τότεραι) χρυσίου: Γνῶσις σοφίας ὑπὲρ χρυσίον, γνῶσις δὲ φρονήσεως ὑπὲρ ἀργύριον. Ὁ δὲ φυλάσσων ἐλέγχους σοφισθήσεται: Ἐλέγχους λέγει τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ θεοῦ· αὗται γὰρ ἡμᾶς ἐλέγχουσιν ἁμαρτάνοντας. Παιδεία δὲ ἀφρόνων κακή: Τὴν παιδείαν τὴν ἀνεξέλεγκτον νῦν παιδείαν ἀφρόνων ὠνόμασεν· εἰ δὲ παιδεία ἀφρόνων ἡ κακία ἐστίν, ἡ ἀνεξέλεγκτος παιδεία ἡ ἀφροσύνη ἐστίν. Ἐπὶ χείλεσι δὲ φορέσει ἐπιγνωμοσύνην: Τὴν γνῶσιν ἐπιγνωμοσύνην εἶπεν παρὰ τὸ πάντα αὐτὴν ἐπιγινώσκειν τὰ πράγματα. Ἀνὴρ σκολιὸς διαπέμπεται κακά: Λόγος τοὺς δαίμονας παρὰ τοῦ διαβόλου μανθάνοντας ἐπιχειρεῖν τοῖς ἁγίοις καὶ πειρᾶσθαι χωρίζειν αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς γνώσεως, ἥτις πέφυκεν συνάπτειν αὐτοὺς πρὸς φιλίαν ταῖς ἐπουρανίοις δυνάμεσι. τὸ δ' αὐτὸ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Σολομὼν ὡς οἶμαι διὰ ταύτης τῆς παροιμίας δεδήλωκεν, σκολιὸν μὲν ἄνδρα λέγων τὸν σατανᾶν, πορευομένους δὲ δόλους τοὺς κακοὺς δαίμονας ἀντὶ τοὺς διδασκομένους, καὶ φίλους τοὺς ἁγίους τοὺς διὰ τῆς γνώσεως συναπτομένους ἀλλήλοις. Οὗτος κάμινός ἐστιν κακίας: Ταύτης τῆς καμίνου ἐκτινάσσει τὴν φλόγα πνεῦμα δρόσου διασυρίζον. Εἰς κόλπον ἐπέρχεται πάντα τοῖς ἀδίκοις: Σημειωτέον ὅτι κόλπον ἐνταῦθα τὰς καρδίας εἴρηκε τῶν 95 ἀδίκων· οἶμαι δὲ ὅτι καὶ πανταχοῦ ὁ κόλπος ἤτοι τὸν νοῦν ἢ τὴν γνῶσιν σημαίνει· εἰ δ' ἔστιν καὶ κόλπος ψεκτός, τὴν ἀγνωσίαν δηλονότι δηλώσει. Οἰκέτης νοήμων κρατήσει δεσπότων ἀφρόνων: Εἰ πᾶς ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν δοῦλός ἐστι τῆς ἁμαρτίας, πᾶς ὁ ἀποστὰς τῆς κακίας καὶ διὰ τῶν ἀρετῶν κρατήσας δαιμόνων ἀφρόνων κεκράτηκε δεσπότων· ὁ δὲ τοιοῦτος γενήσεται καὶ οἰκονόμος μυστηρίων θεοῦ, κατ' ἀναλογίαν τῆς καταστάσεως ἑκάστῳ τῶν ἀδελφῶν διδοὺς γνῶσιν πνευματικήν, καὶ τὸν μὲν Κορίνθιον γάλα ποτίζων, τὸν δὲ Ἐφέσιον τρέφων στερεωτέρᾳ τροφῇ, περὶ ὕψους καὶ μήκους καὶ πλάτους καὶ βάθους διαλεγόμενος· καὶ διὰ τούτων τῶν διαστημάτων τὴν τῆς λογικῆς φύσεως σημαίνων διαίρεσιν, ἥτις τοὺς περὶ κρίσεως καὶ προνοίας τοῦ θεοῦ λόγους ἐμπεριέχει, πάνυ βαθυτάτους ὑπάρχοντας καὶ ἐκφεύγοντας τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην κατάστασιν. οὕτω καὶ Ἰησοῦς ὁ τοῦ