17

Nevertheless, the wise man, the one powerful in word and deed, the friend of God, the one who commanded creation, the one who worked so many wonders, did not perceive a matter that was easily seen by many men; but his father-in-law, a barbarian and a simple man, perceived it and brought it to light; but he himself did not find it. What then is this? Listen, that you may learn that everyone needs a counselor, even if he be like Moses, and that what often escapes great and wonderful men, often does not escape the small and simple. For when Moses came out of Egypt and was in the desert, the whole people, six hundred thousand, stood near him, and for all of them he settled the disputes of those who contended with one another. Therefore, when his father-in-law Jethro saw him doing this, an unintelligent man who had lived in the desert, and had never 51.135 shared in laws or any civil society, but lived in impiety—what could be a greater proof of unintelligence than this? For there is nothing more unintelligent than the Greeks. But nevertheless that barbarian, that impious, that unintelligent man, seeing him not acting as he ought, corrected Moses, the wise and discerning and friend of God. And saying to him, Why do these people stand before you? and having learned the reason, he says, You have not done this rightly, he says. The counsel was with rebuke; and he was not angered by this, but he, the wise, the discerning and friend of God, who was in charge of so many myriads, endured it. For this is no small thing, to be instructed by a barbarian and an unlearned person. And neither the wonders which he had worked, nor the greatness of his authority lifted him up, nor did being corrected in the presence of his subjects make him blush; but, understanding that even if great signs had been worked by him, nevertheless he partakes of human nature, which many things often escape, he received the counsel with gentleness. But many people, in order not to appear to be in need of counsel from others, have often chosen to betray the benefit that comes from the opinion, rather than receiving the exhortation to correct the error; they have preferred to be ignorant rather than to learn, not knowing that it is not learning that is a fault, but being ignorant that is an accusation; not being taught, but being in ignorance; not being reproved, but sinning uncorrected. For it is possible, it is possible for something needful to be found in a small and simple man, which has often not been found in the wise and great. Therefore, understanding this, Moses listened with all gentleness to him counseling and saying, Make for yourself commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, commanders of tens; and the difficult matter they will bring to you, but the easy matter they will settle themselves. And having heard, he was not ashamed, he did not blush, he was not embarrassed before his subjects, he did not say to himself, My subjects will condemn me, if, being their ruler, I learn what must be done from another; but he was both persuaded and carried out the command, and not only was he not ashamed before those then present, but neither before us who would come after. but as if priding himself on the correction made by his father-in-law, he taught through his writings not only the people then, but also those who have come from that time until today, and those who will be hereafter until the coming of Christ throughout the whole world, both that he himself was not able to perceive what was necessary, and that he accepted the correction from his father-in-law. But we, if we see a person present when we are being reproved and corrected, we become dizzy, we are beside ourselves, we think we have fallen from all life. But not him; but seeing so many thousands present he did not blush, or rather so many myriads then, and those from that time until now throughout the whole earth, but he proclaims to all every day through his writings, that what he himself did not perceive, this his father-in-law perceived. For what reason, then, did he do this, and commit what had happened to memory? That he might persuade us never to

17

ὅμως ὁ σοφὸς, ὁ δυνατὸς ἐν λόγῳ καὶ ἔργῳ, ὁ φίλος τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὁ τῇ κτίσει ἐπιτάξας, ὁ τοσαῦτα θαυματουργήσας, οὐ συνεῖδε πρᾶγμα πολλοῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων εὐσύνοπτον· ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν κηδεστὴς αὐτοῦ, βάρβαρος ἄνθρωπος καὶ εὐτελὴς, συνεῖδεν αὐτὸ, καὶ εἰς μέσον ἤγαγεν· ἐκεῖνος δὲ αὐτὸ οὐχ εὗρε. Τί οὖν ἐστι τοῦτο; Ἀκούσατε, ἵνα μάθητε, ὅτι ἕκαστος συμβούλου δεῖται, κἂν κατὰ Μωϋσέα γένηται, καὶ ὅτι τὰ τοὺς μεγάλους λανθάνοντα καὶ θαυμαστοὺς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, τοὺς μικροὺς καὶ εὐτελεῖς πολλάκις οὐκ ἔλαθεν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἐξῆλθεν ὁ Μωϋσῆς ἐξ Αἰγύπτου, καὶ ἦν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, εἱστήκει πλησίον αὐτοῦ ὁ λαὸς ἅπας, ἑξακόσιαι χιλιάδες, καὶ πᾶσι διέλυσε τὰ ἐγκλήματα τοῖς πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἀμφισβητοῦσιν. Ἰδὼν τοίνυν αὐτὸν ὁ κηδεστὴς τοῦτο ποιοῦντα ὁ Ἰοθὼρ, ἄνθρωπος καὶ ἀνόητος καὶ ἐν ἐρήμῳ βεβιωκὼς, καὶ οὔτε 51.135 νόμων οὔτε πολιτείας τινὶ κοινωνήσας ποτὲ, ἀλλ' ἐν ἀσεβείᾳ ζῶν, οὗ τί γένοιτ' ἂν μεῖζον ἀνοίας τεκμήριον; Οὐδὲν γὰρ Ἑλλήνων ἀνοητότερον. Ἀλλ' ὅμως ἐκεῖνος ὁ βάρβαρος, ὁ ἀσεβὴς, ὁ ἀνόητος, ἰδὼν οὐ δεόντως αὐτὸν ποιοῦντα, διώρθωσε τὸν Μωϋσέα, τὸν σοφὸν καὶ συνετὸν καὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ φίλον. Καὶ εἰπὼν πρὸς αὐτὸν, Τί οὗτοι ἑστήκασιν ἐνώπιόν σου; καὶ μαθὼν τὴν αἰτίαν λέγει· Οὐκ ὀρθῶς σὺ τοῦτο ἐποίησας, φησί. Μετ' ἐπιτιμήσεως ἡ συμβουλή· καὶ οὔτε οὕτως ἠγρίανεν ἐκεῖνος, ἀλλ' ἠνείχετο ὁ σοφὸς, ὁ συνετὸς καὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ φίλος, τοσαύταις ἐφεστηκὼς μυριάσιν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ τοῦτο μικρὸν, τὸ παρὰ τοῦ βαρβάρου καὶ ἰδιώτου παιδεύεσθαι. Καὶ οὔτε τὰ θαύματα, ἅπερ εἰργάσατο, οὔτε τὸ μέγεθος τῆς ἀρχῆς αὐτὸν ἐπῆρεν, οὔτε τὸ παρόντων τῶν ὑπηκόων διορθοῦσθαι, ἐρυθριάσαι ἐποίησεν· ἀλλ' ἐννοήσας ὅτι εἰ καὶ μεγάλα αὐτῷ εἴργασται σημεῖα, ἀλλ' ὅμως ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως μετέχει, ἣν πολλὰ λανθάνει πολλάκις, μετ' ἐπιεικείας ἐδέξατο τὴν συμβουλήν. Πολλοὶ δὲ πολλάκις ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ φανῆναι δεόμενοι συμβουλῆς τῆς παρ' ἑτέρων, εἵλοντο προδοῦναι τὴν ὠφέλειαν τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς γνώμης, ἢ δεξάμενοι τὴν παραίνεσιν διορθῶσαι τὸ ἁμάρτημα· μᾶλλον ἀγνοεῖν ἢ μαθεῖν κατεδέξαντο, οὐκ εἰδότες ὅτι οὐ τὸ μαθεῖν ἔγκλημα, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἀγνοεῖν κατηγορία· οὐ τὸ διδάσκεσθαι, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐν ἀμαθείᾳ εἶναι· οὐ τὸ ἐλέγχεσθαι, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἁμαρτάνειν ἀδιόρθωτα. Ἔστι γὰρ, ἔστι καὶ παρὰ ἀνθρώπῳ μικρῷ καὶ εὐτελεῖ εὑρεθῆναί τι τῶν δεόντων, ὃ παρὰ τῷ σοφῷ καὶ μεγάλῳ πολλάκις οὐχ εὕρηται. Ὅπερ οὖν συνιδὼν ὁ Μωϋσῆς ἤκουε μετὰ πάσης ἐπιεικείας ἐκείνου συμβουλεύοντος, καὶ λέγοντος· Ποίησόν σοι χιλιάρχους, ἑκατοντάρχους, πεντηκοντάρχους, δεκάρχους· καὶ τὸ ῥῆμα τὸ βαρὺ ἀνοίσουσιν ἐπὶ σὲ, τὸ δὲ κοῦφον αὐτοὶ διαλύσονται. Καὶ ἀκούσας οὐκ ᾐσχύνθη, οὐκ ἠρυθρίασεν, οὐκ ᾐδέσθη τοὺς ὑπηκόους, οὐκ εἶπε πρὸς ἑαυτὸν, ὅτι Καταγνώσονταί μου οἱ ἀρχόμενοι, εἰ ἄρχων ὢν παρ' ἑτέρου μανθάνω τὰ δέοντα· ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπείσθη καὶ ἐποίησε τὸ πρόσταγμα, καὶ οὐ μόνον ἐκείνους οὐκ ᾐσχύνθη τοὺς τότε, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ἡμᾶς τοὺς μετὰ ταῦτα ἐσομένους· ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἐγκαλλωπιζόμενος τῇ διορθώσει τῇ παρὰ τοῦ κηδεστοῦ γενομένῃ, οὐ τοὺς τότε μόνον ἀνθρώπους, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἐξ ἐκείνου μέχρι σήμερον γενομένους, καὶ τοὺς αὖθις ἐσομένους μέχρι τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσίας κατὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἅπασαν διὰ τῶν γραμμάτων ἐδίδαξε, καὶ ὅτι αὐτὸς τὸ δέον συνιδεῖν οὐκ ἠδυνήθη, καὶ ὅτι τὴν διόρθωσιν ἐδέξατο παρὰ τοῦ κηδεστοῦ. Ἡμεῖς δὲ, ἐὰν ἄνθρωπον ἴδωμεν παρόντα ἐλεγχομένων ἡμῶν καὶ διορθουμένων, ἰλιγγιῶμεν, ἐξιστάμεθα, νομίζομεν τῆς ζωῆς ἐκπεπτωκέναι πάσης. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐκεῖνος· ἀλλ' ὁρῶν τοσαύτας χιλιάδας παρούσας οὐκ ἠρυθρίασε, μᾶλλον δὲ τοσαύτας μυριάδας τότε, τὰς ἐξ ἐκείνου μέχρι νῦν κατὰ τὴν γῆν ἅπασαν, ἀλλὰ κηρύττει πᾶσι καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν διὰ τῶν γραμμάτων, ὅτι ὅπερ αὐτὸς οὐ συνεῖδε, τοῦτο ὁ κηδεστὴς συνεῖδε. Τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν τοῦτο ἐποίησε, καὶ μνήμῃ παρέδωκε τὸ γεγενημένον; Ἵνα ἡμᾶς πείσῃ μηδέποτε ἐφ'