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But David says: Before him shall fall all who go down to the earth. But this fall contains true knowledge and pure thoughts. So is a man who does anything without counsel: He called counsel here the heart's inclination toward the better. A whip for a horse and a goad for a donkey, but a rod for a foolish nation (edd. lawless): The rod is now a symbol of punishment. He who sends a message by a foolish messenger brings reproach from his own feet (so also the catena; edd. ways): One must not give what is holy to the dogs, nor cast pearls before swine. Take away the going of legs and a proverb from the mouth of fools: Take away the evil way of a fool, and make false knowledge far from him. He who binds a stone in a sling is like one who gives glory to a fool: Knowledge is not fitting for a fool, nor a worthless stone in a golden sling.

All the flesh of fools suffers much adversity, for their ecstasy is crushed: If the ecstasy of the fools is crushed, by which they were beside themselves from God, becoming pure again they approach God; for all flesh shall see the salvation of God. But here one must note that he called the souls fattened by wickedness the flesh of fools 116; so also the Lord says: My Spirit shall not remain in these men, because they are flesh. As a dog when it returns to its own vomit and becomes hateful, so is a fool having turned back to his own wickedness (edd..): He who casts off his wickedness and turns back to it again is like a dog eating its own vomit. A lazy man hiding his hand in his bosom is not able to bring it up: If from the fruits of righteousness a tree of life grows, everyone who hides righteousness with unrighteousness will not eat from this tree. As one who grabs a dog's tail, so is one who presides over another's judgment: This saying must be used against those who vote for any of the unworthy in the priesthood or in the clergy. But where there is no double-minded man, strife will be quieted: He called the wrathful man double-minded. Smooth lips cover a wicked heart: Grief will not seize a pure heart, for it has pushed away corrupt desires from itself. If your enemy begs you, supplicating (edd. om.) with a loud voice, do not be persuaded by him: Satan begs us, sometimes tickling us through impure thoughts and drawing us on by the smoothness of pleasure, and sometimes even putting forth a voice so articulate, as if defeated, so that we must not be persuaded, since he wages a truceless war against us. For there are seven wickednesses in his heart: These wickednesses are opposed to the seven spirits. A soul that is full mocks honeycombs, but to a soul in want (edd. needy) even bitter things seem sweet: A pure soul delights in knowledge; but an impure soul considers even falsely named knowledge to be true knowledge. So a man is enslaved when he is estranged from his own places: The place of the heart is virtue and knowledge, from which a man, being estranged, falls into wickedness and ignorance and becomes a slave; since everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. The heart is delighted by ointments and wines and incense: A dispassionate mind is delighted by manifold wisdom; but a passionate mind will fall into ignorances.

117 Do not forsake your friend and your father's friend: They have forsaken me, a spring of living water, and have dug for themselves cisterns. And do not enter your brother's house when you are unfortunate: Such was the one who entered the wedding feast not having a wedding garment. Better is a friend who is near than a brother dwelling far away (edd. living): Better is he who is joined to me through true knowledge than he who is joined to me through untrue knowledge. Take away his garment, for a violent man has passed by: This is what is said in the Gospel, that And from him who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken from him. and this reveals, as I think, the intellectual remains of virtues and of the

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∆αυὶδ δὲ φησίν· Ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ προπεσοῦνται πάντες οἱ καταβαίνοντες εἰς γῆν. ἀλλὰ τοῦτο τὸ πτῶμα περιέχει γνῶσιν ἀληθῆ καὶ λογισμοὺς καθαρούς. Οὕτως ἀνὴρ ὃς οὐ μετὰ βουλῆς τι πράσσει: Βουλὴν εἶπεν ἐνταῦθα τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ κρεῖττον ῥοπὴν τῆς καρδίας. Μάστιξ ἵππῳ καὶ κέντρον ὄνῳ, ῥάβδος δὲ ἔθνει ἄφρονι (edd. παρανόμῳ): Ἡ ῥάβδος νῦν σύμβολόν. ἐστι κολάσεως. Ἐκ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ ποδῶν (ita etiam eatena; edd. ὁδῶν) ὄνειδος ποιεῖται ὁ ἀποστείλας λόγον δι' ἀγγέλου ἄφρονος: Οὐ δεῖ τοῖς κυσὶ διδόναι τὰ ἅγια, οὐδὲ βάλλειν τοὺς μαργαρίτας ἔμπροσθεν τῶν χοίρων. Ἀφελοῦ πορείαν σκελῶν καὶ παροιμίαν ἐκ τοῦ στόματος ἀφρόνων: Περίελε ἄφρονος ὁδὸν κακήν, καὶ γνῶσιν ψευδῆ μακρὰν ποίησον ἀπ' αὐτοῦ. Ὃς ἀποδεσμεύει λίθον ἐν σφενδόνῃ, ὅμοιός ἐστιν τῷ διδόντι ἄφρονι δόξαν: Οὐχ ἁρμόσει ἄφρονι γνῶσις, καὶ λίθος ἄτιμος ἐν σφενδόνῃ χρυσῇ.

Πολλὰ χειμάζεται πᾶσα σὰρξ ἀφρόνων, συντρίβεται γὰρ ἡ ἔκστασις αὐτῶν: Ἐὰν συντριβῇ ἡ ἔκστασις τῶν ἀφρόνων, καθ' ἣν ἐξέστησαν θεοῦ, πάλιν καθαροὶ γενόμενοι προσέρχονται θεῷ· πᾶσα γὰρ σὰρξ ὄψεται τὸ σωτήριον τοῦ θεοῦ. προσεκτέον δὲ ἐνταῦθα ὅτι τὰς παχυνθείσας ψυχὰς ἀπὸ τῆς κακίας σάρκας ἀφρόνων 116 ὠνόμασεν· οὕτω καὶ ὁ κύριος φησίν· Οὐ μὴ καταμείνῃ τὸ πνεῦμά μου ἐν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τούτοις, διὰ τὸ εἶναι αὐτοὺς σάρκας. Ὥσπερ κύων ὅταν ἐπέλθῃ ἐπὶ τὸν ἔμετον ἑαυτοῦ καὶ μισητὸς γένηται, οὕτως ἄφρων τῇ ἑαυτοῦ κακίᾳ ἀποστρέψας (edd..): Ὁ ἀποβαλὼν κακίαν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐπιστρέψας πάλιν πρὸς αὐτὴν ὅμοιός ἐστιν κυνὶ ἐσθίοντι τὸν ἑαυτοῦ ἔμετον. Κρύψας ὀκνηρὸς τὴν χεῖρα ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ αὐτοῦ οὐ δύναται ἐπενεγκεῖν: Εἰ ἀπὸ καρπῶν δικαιοσύνης φύεται δένδρον ζωῆς, πᾶς ὁ κρύπτων τὴν δικαιοσύνην τῇ ἀδικίᾳ οὐ βρώσεται ἐκ τούτου τοῦ δένδρου. Ὥσπερ ὁ κρατῶν κέρκου κυνός, οὕτως ὁ προεστὼς ἀλλοτρίας κρίσεως: Χρηστέον τούτῳ τῷ ῥητῷ πρὸς τοὺς ψηφιζομένους τινὰς τῶν ἀναξίων ἐν ἱερωσύνῃ ἢ ἐν κλήρῳ. Ὅπου δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν δίθυμος, ἡσυχασθήσεται μάχη: Τὸν θυμώδη δίθυμον εἶπεν. Χείλη λεῖα καρδίαν καλύπτει πονηράν: Καρδίαν καθαρὰν οὐ καταλήψεται λύπη, ἐπιθυμίας γὰρ φθαρτὰς ἀπώσατο ἀπ' αὐτῆς. Ἐάν σου δέηται ὁ ἐχθρὸς ἱκετεύων (edd. om.) μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ, μὴ πεισθῇς αὐτῷ: ∆έεται ἡμῶν ὁ σατανᾶς ποτὲ μὲν διὰ τῶν ἀκαθάρτων λογισμῶν γαργαλίζων ἡμᾶς καὶ τῷ λείῳ τῆς ἡδονῆς ἐπισπώμενος, ποτὲ δὲ καὶ φωνὴν οὕτως ἔναρθρον ὡς ἡττηθεὶς προβαλλόμενος, ὡς οὐ δεῖ πείθεσθαι ἄσπονδον ἔχοντι τὸν πόλεμον τὸν πρὸς ἡμᾶς. Ἑπτὰ γάρ εἰσι πονηρίαι ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ: Τοῖς ἑπτὰ πνεύμασιν ἀντίκεινται αὗται αἱ πονηρίαι. Ψυχὴ ἐν πλησμονῇ οὖσα κηρίοις ἐμπαίζει, ψυχῇ δὲ ἐν ἐνδείᾳ (edd. ἐνδεεῖ) καὶ τὰ πικρὰ γλυκέα φαίνεται: Ψυχὴ καθαρὰ κατατρυφᾷ γνώσεως· ψυχὴ δὲ ἀκάθαρτος καὶ τὴν ψευδώνυμον γνῶσιν ἀληθῆ γνῶσιν νομίζει. Οὕτως ἄνθρωπος δουλοῦται, ὅταν ἀποξενωθῇ ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων τόπων: Τόπος τῆς καρδίας ἐστὶν ἀρετὴ καὶ γνῶσις, ἀφ' ὧν ἀποξενωθεὶς ἄνθρωπος ἐμπίπτει εἰς κακίαν καὶ ἀγνωσίαν καὶ γίνεται δοῦλος· ἐπειδὴ πᾶς ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν δοῦλός ἐστιν τῆς ἁμαρτίας. Μύροις καὶ οἴνοις καὶ θυμιάμασι τέρπεται καρδία: Νοῦς ἀπαθὴς πολυποικίλῳ τέρπεται σοφίᾳ· νοῦς δὲ ἐμπαθὴς ἐν ἀγνωσίαις πεσεῖται.

117 Φίλον σὸν καὶ φίλον πατρῷον μὴ ἐγκαταλείπῃς: Ἐμὲ ἐγκατέλιπον πηγὴν ὕδατος ζῶντος, καὶ ὤρυξαν ἑαυτοῖς λάκκους. Εἰς δὲ τὸν οἶκον τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου μὴ εἰσέλθῃς ἀτυχῶν: Τοιοῦτος ἦν ὁ εἰσελθὼν εἰς τοὺς γάμους καὶ μὴ ἔχων ἔνδυμα γάμου. Κρεῖσσον φίλος ἐγγὺς ἢ ἀδελφὸς μακρὰν ἀποικῶν (edd. οἰκῶν): Κρεῖσσον ὁ συναπτόμενός μοι διὰ τῆς ἀληθοῦς γνώσεως ὑπὲρ τὸν συναπτόμενόν μοι διὰ τῆς μὴ ἀληθοῦς γνώσεως. Ἀφελοῦ τὸ ἱμάτιον αὐτοῦ, παρῆλθεν γὰρ ὑβριστής: Τοῦτ' ἔστιν τὸ ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ λεγόμενον, τὸ Καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ μὴ ἔχοντος καὶ ὃ δοκεῖ ἔχειν ἀρθήσεται ἀπ' αὐτοῦ. δηλοῖ δὲ τοῦτο, ὡς οἶμαι, τὰ κατὰ διάνοιαν λείψανα τῶν ἀρετῶν καὶ τῆς