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

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 of grace; but now the mouth of the pious speaks the mind and the heart, as praising God through the lips; but the mouth of the impious that speaks evil things, turns away from God to be with the evil one; see what comes from that one, and what from this one. For having his aim toward the future, the just man, having died, certainly obtains what he expected. Or he refers us to the resurrection; and in his case, what is, remains, and does not disappear; but in that one's case, even what is, is extinguished; for they boast only in the present age; concerning whom it is said: Whose glory is in their shame. He does not say, An impious man is delivered up in his stead, as if the pious man were subject to judgment, but because the snare is from the evil one against the just man, when this one is delivered, the impious man falls into it; the pious man is snatched away by God, but the impious man, being abandoned, falls in; according to, In the works of his own hands the sinner is caught. Or because the just man is subject to some sins as a man, the impious man, having come and done evil to the just man, delivered him from his sins and future punishments, but took the penalties upon himself. But he is delivered up by himself by his own wickedness, as having given himself over to a reprobate mind. Either a discernment concerning what should be done, or not; or so as to manage their own life; for it is a great and unbearable tossing of waves; for such men, being carried about by every wind, make shipwreck of their life or faith, and like the leaves of a tree they fall from God, in whom the wisdom of God does not exist; but if salvation is in counsel, and not simply counsel, but much counsel, then one is not saved in bodies or possessions, nor according to nature; according to those who introduce natures. Here he plainly called the soul a body; and Christ also in the Gospels calls the soul a body; saying, The lamp of the body is the eye; he said the mind is the lamp, for it is receptive of knowledge; and body, the irascible and concupiscible part of the soul, which some call the irrational part, and others the passible part. And he who from the good things he did and taught, from here obtains knowledge of corporeal and incorporeal things, and in the future the kingdom of heaven, procures for himself and for his disciples; but he destroys not only his own body, but also his soul, destroying it along with those who obey him, in the fire. This one unjustly joins hands, who becomes a teacher of evil deeds and doctrines; but this one sows righteousness, who puts forth words concerning virtues and the knowledge of God. To those who sow into their own things, and make more, are opposed those who gather and are diminished; for those who sow their own things, are those who sow into the spirit, and reap life; but those who gather and are diminished, are those who sow into the flesh, and gather corruption for themselves. The divine word is the grain, which the Jews, having hidden, left for the nations. -Similar to this is also what is said by our Savior in the Gospels; the, No one, having lit a lamp, puts it under a bushel, but on a lampstand, to give light to all who are in the house; for just as grain is food for the body, so is divine knowledge for the soul; but he who has the food of both and does not provide it, but for these things demands payment from those who do not have it to give, would leave it to the demons. He also writes him as publicly cursed, because by the people of angels and of all the just on the day of judgment, he will be accursed. The spiritual craft is the practical working of good virtues; and he who does what is owed to God seeks God-pleasing men, who receive what is owed to God, so that just as he, they also may trade; but those who seek not good things, but evil things, he will pass by. This is the tree of life that was planted in the midst of paradise, which Adam was forbidden to touch after the sin, having cast away the seeds of righteousness, from which grows the tree of life. Lest ever

τοῦ πονηροῦ. Οἱ δὲ ἀσεβεῖς ἁμαρτάνοντες οὐ μό νον ἐκπεσοῦνται τῆς βασιλείας, ἀλλὰ τὸ πῦρ καὶ οὐ τὴν γῆν οἰκήσουσιν. Ἀντὶ τοῦ, χάριτος ἀνάπλεώς ἐστιν· εὐσεβοῦς δὲ στόμα νῦν τὸν νοῦν λέγει καὶ τὴν καρδίαν, ὡς διὰ τῶν χειλέων ὑμνοῦσαν τὸν Θεόν· τὸ δὲ λαλοῦν πονηρὰ στόμα τῶν ἀσεβῶν, ἀποστρέφεται ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰς τὸ εἶναι τῷ πονηρῷ· ὅρα δὲ τί ἀπ' ἐκείνου, τί δὲ ἀπὸ τούτου. Ἔχων γὰρ πρὸς τὰ μέλλοντα τὸν σκοπὸν, τυγχάνει πάντως ὧν προσεδόκησε τελευτήσας ὁ δίκαιος. Ἢ εἰς τὴν ἀνάστασιν ἡμᾶς παραπέμπει· καὶ ἐπὶ τούτου μὲν μένει τὰ ὄντα, καὶ οὐκ ἀφανίζεται· ἐπ' ἐκείνου δὲ καὶ τὰ ὄντα σβέννυται· ἐν γὰρ τῷ παρόντι μόνον αἰῶνι καυχῶνται· περὶ ὧν εἴρηται· Ὧν ἡ δόξα ἐν τῇ αἰσχύνῃ αὐτῶν. Οὐχ ὡς ὑποκειμένου τοῦ εὐσεβοῦς τῇ δίκῃ φησὶ τὸ, Ἀντ' αὐτοῦ παραδίδοται ἀσεβὴς, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ἡ παγίς ἐστιν ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ κατὰ τοῦ δικαίου, τούτου ῥυο μένου περιπίπτει ταύτῃ ὁ ἀσεβής· ἐξαρπάζεται ὁ εὐσεβὴς ὑπὸ Θεοῦ, ὁ δὲ ἀσεβὴς ἐγκαταλειφθεὶς, περι πίπτει· κατὰ τὸ, Ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ συνελήφθη ὁ ἁμαρτωλός. Ἢ ἐπειδὴ ὁ δίκαιος ὑπό κειταί τισιν ὡς ἅνθρωπος ἁμαρτήμασιν, ἐλθὼν ὁ ἀσε βὴς καὶ κακοποιήσας τὸν δίκαιον, τῶν μὲν ἁμαρτιῶν καὶ τῶν κολάσεων τῶν μελλουσῶν ἐῤῥύσατο, εἰς ἑαυ τὸν δὲ τὰς τιμωρίας ἀνεδέξατο. Παραδίδοται δὲ ὑφ' ἑαυτοῦ ὑπὸ τῆς ἰδίας κακίας, ὡς παραδοὺς ἑαυτὸν εἰς ἀδόκιμον νοῦν. Ἤτοι διάκρισις ἡ περὶ τῶν πρακτέων, ἢ μή· ἢ ὥστε τὸν ἑαυτῶν βίον οἰκονομεῖν· κλυδώνιον γάρ ἐστι μέγα καὶ ἀφόρητον· οἱ τοιοῦτοι γὰρ παντὶ ἀνέμῳ περιφερόμενοι ναυαγοῦσι περὶ τὸν βίον ἢ τὴν πίστιν, καὶ ὡς φύλλα δένδρου πίπτουσιν ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ, οἷς μὴ ὑπάρχει σοφία Θεοῦ· εἰ δὲ ἡ σωτηρία ἐστὶν ἐν βουλῇ, καὶ οὐχ ἁπλῶς βουλῇ, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλῇ, οὐκ ἄρα ἐν σώμασιν ἢ χρήμασιν, οὐδὲ κατὰ φύσιν τις σώζεται· κατὰ τοὺς τὰς φύσεις εἰσάγοντας. Ἐνταῦθα τὴν ψυχὴν ἄντικρυς προεῖπεν σῶμα· καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς δὲ ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις, σῶμα τὴν ψυχὴν ὀνομάζει· Ὁ λύχνος, λέγων, τοῦ σώματός ἐστιν ὁ ὀφθαλμός· λύχνον μὲν εἶπε τὸν νοῦν· αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστι γνώσεως δεκτικός· σῶμα δὲ τὸ θυμικὸν καὶ ἐπι 17.192 θυμητικὸν μέρος τῆς ψυχῆς· ὅπερ τινὲς μὲν, ἄλογον· τινὲς δὲ, παθητικὸν μέρος καλοῦσιν. Ὁ δὲ ἐξ ὧν ἐποίει καὶ διδάσκει ἀγαθῶν, ἐντεῦθεν μὲν γνῶσιν σω μάτων καὶ ἀσωμάτων ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι δὲ βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν, περιποιεῖται ἑαυτῷ καὶ τοῖς μαθητιῶσιν· ἐξολλύει δὲ οὐ μόνον τὸ ἑαυτοῦ σῶμα, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν, σὺν τοῖς πειθομένοις αὐτῷ, τῷ πυρὶ συναπόλ λυσιν. Οὗτος χειρὶ χεῖρας ἐμβάλλει ἀδίκως, ὁ κακῶν γινό μενος πραγμάτων καὶ δογμάτων διδάσκαλος· οὗτος δὲ σπείρει δικαιοσύνην, ὁ περὶ ἀρετῶν καὶ Θεοῦ γνώ σεως προϊέμενος λόγους. Τοῖς εἰς τὰ ἴδια σπείρουσι, καὶ πλείονα ποιοῦσιν, ἀντίκεινται οἱ συνάγοντες καὶ ἐλαττούμενοι· οἱ γὰρ τὰ ἴδια σπείροντες, εἰσὶν οἱ εἰς τὸ πνεῦμα σπείροντες, καὶ ζωὴν θερίζοντες· οἱ δὲ συνάγοντες καὶ ἐλαττού μενοι, εἰσὶν οἱ εἰς τὴν σάρκα σπείροντες, καὶ φθορὰν συνάγοντες ἑαυτοῖς. Σῖτος ὁ θεῖος λόγος, ὂν κατακρύψαντες οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι, κατέλιπον αὐτὸν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν. -Ὅμοιόν ἐστι τούτῳ καὶ τὸ ὑπὸ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις λεγόμενον· τὸ, Οὐδεὶς λύχνον ἅψας, τίθησιν αὐ τὸν ὑπὸ τὸν μόδιον, ἀλλ' ὑπὸ τὴν λυχνίαν, τοῦ φαίνειν πᾶσι τοῖς ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ· ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ σῖτος τροφή ἐστι τῷ σώματι, οὕτως ἡ θεία γνῶσις τῇ ψυχῇ· ὁ δὲ τὴν τῶν ἀμφοτέρων τροφὴν ἔχων καὶ μὴ παρέχων, ἀλλ' ὑπὲρ τούτων μισθὸν ἀπαιτεῖ τοῖς οὐκ ἔχουσι δοῦναι, ὑπολίποιτο αὐτὸν τοῖς δαίμοσιν. Γράφει δὲ καὶ δημοκατάρατον, ὅτι ὑπὸ τὸν δῆμον τῶν ἀγγέ λων καὶ πάντων τῶν δικαίων ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς κρίσεως, ἐπικατάρατος ἔσται. Τεκτονική ἐστι κατὰ πνεῦμα ἡ πρακτικὴ τῶν ἀγα θῶν ἀρετῶν ἐργασία· ὁ δὲ τὰ Θεῷ ἐποφειλόμενα πράττων, ζητεῖ θεαρέστους ἄνδρας, δεχομένους τὰς Θεῷ ἐποφειλὰς, ἵνα ὥσπερ αὐτὸς καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐμπο ρεύωνται· τοὺς δὲ μὴ τὰ καλὰ, ἀλλὰ τὰ κακὰ ζητοῦν τας, παρήσεται. Τοῦτο τὸ δένδρον τῆς ζωῆς ἐστι τὸ φυτευθὲν ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ παραδείσου, οὗ ἅψασθαι μετὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐκωλύθη ὁ Ἀδὰμ, τὰ σπέρματα τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἀπο βαλὼν, ἀφ' ὧν φύεται τὸ δένδρον τῆς ζωῆς. Μήποτε