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the commandments were given, they are called testimonies; wherefore also the mind that has received them is named a witness, which, having been false to them, will not be unpunished. But according to his gift He will repay him: Gift he has now called purity of heart; for according to the proportion of our dispassion we are deemed worthy of knowledge. An evil-minded man will suffer great loss: I think the great loss contains the privation of the contemplation of things that have come to be, and the addition for the soul the disappearance of the natural notions about God, when it has fallen completely into irrationality. and the Savior also says in the Gospels; What will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, but loses and suffers the loss of his soul? but here the loss indicates the ignorance of bodies and of incorporeal things; while the damage represents the ultimate irrationality. That you may become wise in your old age: After the right way of life is knowledge; for "at the last" here does not signify time, but the purity after the practical virtues. The fear of the Lord is life to a man, but he who wanders will lodge in places where the eternal one does not watch over: If the fear of the Lord is life to a man, and the fear of the Lord is instruction and wisdom, the life of man is instruction and wisdom. but Christ says; I am the life; Christ therefore is instruction and wisdom. To know instruction and wisdom, therefore, is to know Christ; the fearless man, therefore, will be in wickedness and ignorance, in which Christ is not.

101 He that hides his hands in his bosom unjustly, will not even bring them to his mouth: He who has not lived rightly hides his hands in his soul unjustly, not wanting to work his own land nor to be filled with loaves; for the practical virtues hold the place of hands, offering the bread to our mouth, the one who came down from heaven and gives life to the world. A son who dishonors his father and drives away his mother will be shamed and become a reproach: Through the transgression of the law he dishonors God, and he drives away his mother, who is instruction; if indeed a just man is born to life, and justice is constituted from all the virtues. A son who fails to keep his father's instruction will meditate on evil sayings: Unclean thoughts are evil sayings generated in the soul of one who has not kept the commandments of the heavenly Father. Wine is licentious and drunkenness is insolent: If their wine is the fury of dragons, and wine is licentious, then fury is licentious, making men licentious, and anger is insolent; for this drunkenness is naturally produced from seething anger. and if Nazirites according to the law abstain from wine, then it has been legislated for Nazirites to be outside of anger. The threat of a king is no (LXX not) different from the fury of a lion: Here he has openly called Christ king; for he who provokes him through sins, sins against his own soul. Likewise he who borrows grain at harvest time: If it is possible to borrow grain at harvest time, it is also possible in the age to come to borrow spiritual grain from those who have worked their own land in the six years, and who feed the widow and orphans in the seventh year. He will leave his children blessed: Those whom he has evidently begotten according to virtue. For one who speaks ill of his father or mother, his lamp will be put out: The same Christ can, according to conception, be both father and mother; father of those having the spirit of adoption, but mother of those needing milk and not solid food; for Christ speaking in Paul became a father to the Ephesians, revealing to them mysteries of wisdom, but a mother to the Corinthians, giving them milk to drink. A portion gotten hastily at the beginning: The portion that for a time anoints your throat, you will later find, however, to be more bitter than gall. Do not say: I will take vengeance on the enemy: Do not say, being moved by arrogance; I alone will fight the enemies, 102 but wait for the Lord that he may help you. and David says; Not upon

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ἐδόθησαν αἱ ἐντολαί, λέγονται μαρτύρια· διὸ καὶ ὁ δεξάμενος αὐτὰ νοῦς ὀνομάζεται μάρτυς, ὅστις ψευσάμενος αὐτὰ οὐκ ἀτιμώρητος ἔσται. Κατὰ δὲ τὸ δόμα αὐτοῦ ἀνταποδώσει αὐτῷ: ∆όμα νῦν τὴν καθαρότητα τῆς καρδίας ὠνόμασεν· κατ' ἀναλογίαν γὰρ τῆς ἀπαθείας ἡμῶν καταξιούμεθα γνώσεως. Κακόφρων ἀνὴρ πολλὰ ζημιωθήσεται: Ἐγὼ νομίζω τὴν μὲν πολλὴν ζημίαν στέρησιν περιέχειν τῆς θεωρίας τῶν γεγονότων, τὴν δὲ προσθήκην τῆς ψυχῆς ἀφανισμὸν τῶν φυσικῶν περὶ θεοῦ ἐννοιῶν, παντάπασιν αὐτῆς εἰς ἀλογίαν περιπεσούσης. καὶ ὁ σωτὴρ δὲ ἐν τοῖς εὐαγγελίοις φησίν· Τί ὠφεληθήσεται ἄνθρωπος, ἐὰν τὸν κόσμον ὅλον κερδήσῃ, τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἀπολέσῃ καὶ ζημιωθῇ; ἀλλ' ἐνταῦθα μὲν ἡ ἀπώλεια τὴν ἄγνοιαν σωμάτων καὶ ἀσωμάτων ἐμφαίνει· ἡ δὲ ζημία τὴν ἐσχάτην ἀλογίαν παρίστησιν. Ἵνα σοφὸς γένῃ ἐπὶ γήρως: Μετὰ τὴν ὀρθὴν πολιτείαν ἐστὶν ἡ γνῶσις· τὸ γὰρ Ἐπ' ἐσχάτων ἐνταῦθα οὐ τὸν χρόνον σημαίνει, ἀλλὰ τὴν μετὰ τὰς πρακτικὰς ἀρετὰς καθαρότητα. Φόβος κυρίου εἰς ζωὴν ἀνδρί, ὁ δὲ πλανώμενος αὐλισθήσεται ἐν τόποις οἷς οὐκ ἐπισκοπεῖται ὁ αἰώνιος: Εἰ φόβος κυρίου εἰς ζωὴν ἀνδρί, φόβος δὲ κυρίου παιδεία καὶ σοφία, ζωὴ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς παιδεία ἐστὶν καὶ σοφία. ἀλλὰ Χριστὸς λέγει· Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ζωή· ὁ Χριστὸς ἄρα ἐστὶν παιδεία καὶ σοφία. τὸ οὖν γνῶναι παιδείαν καὶ σοφίαν γνῶναί ἐστιν τὸν Χριστόν· ὁ οὖν ἄφοβος ἔσται ἐν κακίᾳ καὶ ἀγνωσίᾳ, ἐν αἷς οὐκ ἔστιν Χριστός.

101 Ὁ ἐγκρύπτων χεῖρας αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν κόλπον ἀδίκως, οὐδὲ τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ οὐ μὴ προσαγάγῃ αὐτάς: Ο μὴ ὀρθῶς βιοὺς κρύπτει ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ αὐτοῦ τὰς χεῖρας ἀδίκως, τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γῆν ἐργάσασθαι μὴ βουλόμενος μηδ' ἐμπλησθῆναι ἄρτων· αἱ γὰρ πρακτικαὶ ἀρεταὶ χειρῶν ἐπέχουσι λόγον, τὸν ἄρτον τῷ στόματι ἡμῶν προσφέρουσαι, τὸν ἀπὸ τῶν οὐρανῶν καταβάντα καὶ ζωὴν διδοῦντα τῷ κόσμῳ. Ὁ ἀτιμάζων πατέρα καὶ ἀπωθούμενος μητέρα υἱὸς αἰσχυνθήσεται καὶ ἐπονείδιστος ἔσται: ∆ιὰ τῆς παραβάσεως τοῦ νόμου τὸν θεὸν ἀτιμάζει, καὶ τὴν μητέρα δὲ ἀπωθεῖται, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἡ παιδεία· εἴπερ ἀνὴρ δίκαιος γεννᾶται εἰς ζωήν, ἡ δὲ δικαιοσύνη ἀπὸ πασῶν συνίσταται τῶν ἀρετῶν. Υἱὸς ἀπολειπόμενος φυλάξαι παιδείαν πατρὸς μελετήσει ῥήσεις κακάς: Οἱ ἀκάθαρτοι λογισμοὶ ῥήσεις εἰσὶ κακαὶ ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ γεννώμεναι τοῦ μὴ τετηρηκότος τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ ἐπουρανίου πατρός. Ἀκόλαστον οἶνος καὶ ὑβριστικὸν μέθη: Εἰ θυμὸς δρακόντων ὁ οἶνος αὐτῶν, ἀκόλαστον δὲ ὁ οἶνος, ἀκόλαστον ἄρα ὁ θυμός, ἀκολάστους τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ποιῶν, καὶ ὑβριστικὸν ἡ ὀργή· αὕτη γὰρ ἡ μέθη ἀπὸ ζέοντος τοῦ θυμοῦ πέφυκε γίνεσθαι. εἰ δὲ οἴνου ναζιραῖοι κατὰ τὸν νόμον ἀπέχονται, θυμοῦ ἄρα τοὺς ναζιραίους ἐκτὸς εἶναι νενομοθέτηται. Οὐδὲν (LXX οὐ) διαφέρει ἀπειλὴ βασιλέως θυμοῦ λέοντος: Ἐνταῦθα τὸν Χριστὸν ἄντικρυς εἴρηκε βασιλέα· ὁ γὰρ τοῦτον διὰ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν παροξύνων ἁμαρτάνει εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχήν. Ὡσαύτως ὁ δανιζόμενος σῖτον ἐν ἀμητῷ: Εἰ ἔστιν ἐν ἀμητῷ σῖτον δανείσασθαι, ἔστιν καὶ ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τῷ μέλλοντι νοητὸν σῖτον δανείσασθαι παρὰ τῶν ἐργασαμένων ἐν τοῖς ἓξ ἔτεσι τὴν ἑαυτῶν γῆν, καὶ τρεφόντων ἐν τῷ ἑβδόμῳ ἔτει χήραν καὶ ὀρφανούς. Μακαρίους τοὺς παῖδας αὐτοῦ καταλείψει: Οὓς κατ' ἀρετὴν δηλονότι γεγέννηκεν. Κακολογοῦντος πατέρα ἢ μητέρα σβεσθήσεται λαμπτήρ: ∆ύναται ὁ αὐτὸς Χριστὸς κατ' ἐπίνοιαν καὶ πατὴρ εἶναι καὶ μήτηρ· πατὴρ μὲν τῶν πνεῦμα ἐχόντων υἱοθεσίας, μήτηρ δὲ τῶν δεομένων γάλακτος καὶ οὐ στερεᾶς τροφῆς· καὶ γὰρ ὁ ἐν Παύλῳ λαλῶν Χριστὸς πατὴρ μὲν τῶν Ἐφεσίων ἐγίνετο, σοφίας αὐτοῖς ἀποκαλύπτων μυστήρια, μήτηρ δὲ Κορινθίων, γάλα ποτίζων αὐτούς. Μερὶς ἐπισπουδαζομένη ἐν πρώτοις: Ἣ πρὸς καιρὸν λιπαίνει μερὶς σὸν φάρυγγα, ὕστερον μέντοι πικρότερον χολῆς εὑρήσεις. Μὴ εἴπῃς· Τίσομαι τὸν ἐχθρόν: Μὴ εἴπῃς καθ' ὑπερηφανίαν κινούμενος· Ἐγὼ μόνος τοῖς ἐχθροῖς 102 πολεμήσω, ἀλλ' ὑπόμεινον τὸν κύριον ἵνα σοι βοηθήσῃ. καὶ ὁ ∆αυὶδ φησίν· Οὐκ ἐπὶ