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wise in your own conceits. For though you be wise ten thousand times, and discern what is needful, yet you are a man, and have need of a counselor. For God alone is self-sufficient, and He alone has no need of a counselor. Wherefore it is said of Him alone: For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has become His counselor? But we men, though we be wise ten thousand times, are ten thousand times reproved, and the weakness of our nature is revealed. For it is not possible for all things to be in men, he says. Why? Because the son of man is not immortal. What is brighter than the sun? But even this suffers eclipse. Just as, therefore, that brilliant light, its flashing ray, darkness coming upon it conceals; so often also our understanding, shining and appearing as if at a steady midday, coming upon it, foolishness has often concealed; and the wise man did not see what was needful, but he who was far inferior to him perceived this more keenly than he. And this happens, so that neither the wise man may be puffed up, nor the humble man deem himself wretched. It is a great good to be able to bear reproofs, a great good to be able to reprove; this is of the greatest care. But now if we see a man with his tunic undone at the sides, or his other garment badly arranged, we correct and remind him; but if we see his life undone, we do not utter a word. If we see his life being unseemly, we pass by; and yet the matter of garments leads only to laughter, but that of the soul leads to danger and punishment. You see your brother, tell me, being carried down a cliff, having a neglected life, not perceiving what is needful, and you do not stretch out a hand, you do not raise him from his fall? you do not rebuke and reprove? but you prefer not to offend him 51.134 and to appear burdensome over his salvation? And what pardon will you have from God? what defense? Have you not heard what God commanded the Jews: not to overlook the beasts of burden of their enemies wandering astray, nor to pass by them when they have fallen? So then, the Jews are commanded not to overlook the irrational animals of their enemies, but shall we overlook the souls of our brothers being tripped up every day? And how is this not of the utmost cruelty and savagery, not to bestow even as much care on men as they did on irrational animals? This has overturned all things, this has thrown our life into confusion, that we neither bear being reproved nobly, nor do we wish to reprove others; for because of this we are also burdensome when reproving, since we become savage when we are reproved. For if your brother knew that, having reproved you, he would be praised by you, he himself being reproved would have given the same recompense. 2. Do you wish to learn that even if you are exceedingly intelligent, even if you are exceedingly perfected, even if you come to the very summit of virtue, you have need of a counselor, both to correct and to reprove? Listen to an ancient story. There was none equal to Moses. For he was, it says, the meekest of all men, and a friend to God, and he was filled with secular philosophy, and was full of spiritual understanding. For Moses, it says, was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. Have you seen his perfected education? And he was mighty in word, and in other virtue. But hear also another testimony. To many prophets, it says, God spoke, but to none did He speak thus; but to the others in riddles and through dreams, but to Moses face to face. What greater proof of his virtue do you seek than this, when the Master of all converses with His servant as with a friend? He was, therefore, wise in both secular and sacred learning; he was mighty in word and deed; he commanded creation itself, since he was a friend of the Master of creation; he led out so great a people from Egypt; he parted the sea, and brought it together again; and it was possible to see a wondrous miracle. For then for the first time the sun looked down upon a sea not being sailed, but being traversed on foot, a deep not being crossed with oars and ships, but by the feet of horses. But

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φρόνιμοι παρ' ἑαυτοῖς. Κἂν γὰρ μυριάκις εἶ σοφὸς, καὶ τὰ δέοντα συνορῶν, ἀλλ' ἄνθρωπος εἶ, καὶ χρείαν ἔχεις συμβούλου. Ὁ Θεὸς γὰρ μόνος ἐστὶν ἀνενδεὴς, καὶ μόνος οὐ δεῖται συμβούλου. ∆ι' ὃ καὶ περὶ ἐκείνου μόνου λέγεται· Τίς γὰρ ἔγνω νοῦν Κυρίου, ἢ τίς σύμβουλος αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο; ἄνθρωποι δὲ, κἂν μυριάκις ὦμεν σοφοὶ, μυριάκις ἐλεγχόμεθα, καὶ τὸ τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν ἀσθενὲς διαφαίνεται. Οὐ γὰρ δύναται πάντα εἶναι ἐν ἀνθρώποις, φησί. ∆ιὰ τί; Ὅτι οὐκ ἀθάνατος υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου. Τί φωτεινότερον ἡλίου; Ἀλλ' ὅμως καὶ τοῦτο ἐκλείπει. Καθάπερ οὖν ἐκεῖνο τὸ φῶς τὸ λαμπρὸν, τὴν ἀπαστράπτουσαν ἀκτῖνα σκότος ἐπελθὸν ἀποκρύπτει· οὕτω πολλάκις καὶ τὴν σύνεσιν τὴν ἡμετέραν, καθάπερ ἐν σταθηρᾷ μεσημβρίᾳ λάμπουσαν καὶ διαφαινομένην, ἐπελθοῦσα ἄνοια ἀπέκρυψε πολλάκις· καὶ ὁ μὲν σοφὸς τὸ δέον οὐ συνεῖδεν, ὁ δὲ ἐλάττων ἐκείνου πολλῷ ὀξύτερον ἐκείνου τοῦτο ἐφώρασε. Καὶ τοῦτο γίνεται, ἵνα μήτε ὁ σοφὸς ἐπαίρηται, μήτε ὁ εὐτελὴς ἑαυτὸν ταλανίζῃ. Μέγα ἀγαθὸν ἐλέγχους δύνασθαι φέρειν, μέγα ἀγαθὸν δύνασθαι ἐλέγχειν· τοῦτο κηδεμονίας μεγίστης. Νυνὶ δὲ ἂν μὲν ἴδωμεν ἄνθρωπον τὸν χιτωνίσκον ἔχοντα παραλελυμένον ἐκ πλαγίων, ἢ τὴν ἄλλην στολὴν κακῶς περικειμένην, διορθοῦμεν καὶ ὑπομιμνήσκομεν· ἂν δὲ ἴδωμεν αὐτοῦ τὴν ζωὴν παραλελυμένην, οὐδὲ λόγον προϊέμεθα. Ἂν ἴδωμεν αὐτοῦ τὸν βίον ἀσχήμονα ὄντα, παρατρέχομεν· καίτοι τὰ μὲν τῶν ἱματίων, μέχρι γέλωτος, τὰ δὲ τῆς ψυχῆς, μέχρι κινδύνου καὶ τιμωρίας ἐστίν. Ὁρᾷς τὸν ἀδελφὸν, εἰπέ μοι, κατὰ κρημνοῦ φερόμενον, ἠμελημένον ἔχοντα βίον, οὐ συνορῶντα τὸ δέον, καὶ οὐκ ὀρέγεις χεῖρα, οὐκ ἀνιστᾷς ἐκ τοῦ πτώματος; οὐκ ἐγκαλεῖς, καὶ ἐλέγχεις; ἀλλὰ τὸ μὴ προσκροῦσαι αὐτῷ 51.134 καὶ φανῆναι ἐπαχθὴς προτιμᾷς τῆς ἐκείνου σωτηρίας; Καὶ ποίαν ἕξεις συγγνώμην παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ; τίνα ἀπολογίαν; Οὐκ ἤκουσας τί τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ἐκέλευσεν ὁ Θεός· τὰ ὑποζύγια τῶν ἐχθρῶν μὴ περιορᾷν πλανώμενα, μηδὲ παρατρέχειν πεπτωκότα; Εἶτα Ἰουδαῖοι μὲν τὰ ἄλογα κελεύονται μὴ περιορᾷν τῶν ἐχθρῶν, ἡμεῖς δὲ τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν ἀδελφῶν καθ' ἑκάστην ὑποσκελιζομένας ἡμέραν περιοψόμεθα; Καὶ πῶς οὐκ ἐσχάτης τοῦτο ὠμότητος καὶ θηριωδίας, μηδὲ τοσαύτην ἀπονέμειν ἀνθρώποις πρόνοιαν, ὅσην τοῖς ἀλόγοις ἐκεῖνοι; Τοῦτο πάντα ἀνέτρεψε, τοῦτο τὸν βίον ἡμῶν συνέχεεν, ὅτι οὔτε ἐλεγχόμενοι φέρομεν γενναίως, οὔτε ἑτέρους ἐλέγχειν βουλόμεθα· διὰ γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ ἐπαχθεῖς ἐσμεν ἐλέγχοντες, ἐπειδὴ ἐκθηριούμεθα ἐλεγχόμενοι. Εἰ γὰρ ᾔδει ὁ ἀδελφὸς, ὅτι ἐλέγξας σε ἐπῃνεῖτο παρὰ σοῦ, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐλεγχόμενος τὴν αὐτὴν ἀμοιβὴν ἀπέδωκεν ἄν. βʹ. Βούλει μαθεῖν ὅτι κἂν σφόδρα συνετὸς ᾖς, κἂν σφόδρα ἀπηρτισμένος, κἂν πρὸς αὐτὴν τὴν ἄκραν κορυφὴν ἔλθῃς τῆς ἀρετῆς, χρείαν ἔχεις συμβούλου, καὶ διορθοῦντος καὶ ἐλέγχοντος; Ἄκουσον ἱστορίαν παλαιάν. Οὐδὲν Μωϋσέως ἦν ἴσον. Καὶ γὰρ πραότατος, φησὶν, ἦν πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἐκεῖνος, καὶ τῷ Θεῷ φίλος, καὶ τῆς ἔξωθεν φιλοσοφίας ἐνεπέπληστο, καὶ τῆς πνευματικῆς πλήρης ἦν συνέσεως. Ἐπαιδεύθη γὰρ, φησὶ, Μωϋσῆς πᾶσαν σοφίαν Αἰγυπτίων. Εἶδες ἀπηρτισμένην αὐτοῦ τὴν παίδευσιν; Καὶ ἦν δυνατὸς ἐν λόγῳ, καὶ ἄλλῃ ἀρετῇ. Ἀλλ' ἄκουσον καὶ ἑτέραν μαρτυρίαν. Πολλοῖς, φησὶ, προφήταις ὡμίλησεν ὁ Θεὸς, ἀλλ' οὐδενὶ οὕτως ὡμίλησεν· ἀλλὰ τοῖς μὲν ἄλλοις ἐν αἰνίγμασι καὶ δι' ὀνειράτων, τῷ δὲ Μωϋσῇ πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον. Τί μεῖζον τούτου ζητεῖς τεκμήριον τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐκείνου, ὅταν ὁ πάντων ∆εσπότης τῷ δούλῳ ὡς φίλῳ διαλέγηται; Ἦν τοίνυν σοφὸς καὶ τὴν ἔξω καὶ τὴν ἔσω παιδείαν· ἦν δυνατὸς ἐν λόγῳ καὶ ἔργῳ· ἐπέτασσεν αὐτῇ τῇ κτίσει, ἐπειδὴ φίλος ἦν τοῦ ∆εσπότου τῆς κτίσεως· ἐξήγαγε λαὸν τοσοῦτον ἐξ Αἰγύπτου· τὴν θάλασσαν ἔσχισε, καὶ πάλιν συνήγαγε· καὶ ἦν ἰδεῖν θαῦμα παράδοξον. Τότε γὰρ πρῶτον ἐπεῖδεν ἥλιος θάλασσαν οὐ πλεομένην, ἀλλὰ πεζευομένην, πέλαγος οὐχὶ κώπαις καὶ πλοίοις, ἀλλὰ ποσὶν ἵππων περώμενον. Ἀλλ'