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when it is necessary to be at war, and when to be at peace, and how it might be necessary to ward off all grievous things, brought them great ease for salvation. But since, though they learned, they did not act, for this reason He also took away their learning; which was a sign of God’s great love for mankind, that even foreknowing the future and that they would not use His gifts as they ought, He nevertheless provided all things from Himself. And after the prophet, He says He will take away the diviner. Here it seems to me He means by diviner one who conjectures about future things from great understanding and from experience of the events themselves. For divination is one thing and prophecy another; for the one speaks by a divine Spirit, contributing nothing from himself; but the other, taking his starting points from what has already happened and stirring up his own understanding, foresees many future things, as it is likely for an intelligent man to foresee. But the difference between the one and the other is great, as great as the difference between human understanding and divine grace. And that I might make the argument clear by an example, let us consider Solomon and Elisha; for both brought hidden things to light and uncovered hidden things; but both did not do so with the same power; but the one, from human understanding, having taken his starting points from nature in the case of those harlot women; the other, however, used no reasoning (for what reasoning could have uncovered Gehazi’s theft?), but by divine grace foresaw things that happened far away. And the elder and the captain of fifty. After these, He says He will take away the elder and the captain of fifty; by elder He means not simply one who has grown old, but one who, along with his gray hair, maintains the understanding befitting his gray hair. And when He says captain of fifty, He does not mean one particular captain of fifty, but by this name He alludes to all rulers. For nothing, nothing is more grievous than anarchy, just as nothing would be more perilous than a ship having no helmsman. And He does not stop here, but also threatens to take away another great security, those who know how to give the best counsel, who bring no less a benefit to cities than weapons do. For I will take away, He says, both the wonderful counselor and the wise architect. Not meaning a builder, but one who is experienced in affairs and knows many things and knows how to arrange all the affairs of the city with understanding.

3.3 And after these: And the intelligent hearer. For if this is absent, even if all other things are present, there will be no advantage for the cities, even if there are prophets, or counselors, or potentates, but there is no one who will listen, all is random and in vain. But it seems to me that here He says I will take away, meaning, I will permit and I will let be, just as Paul says: God gave them over to a debased mind; not indicating this, that He cast them into folly, but that He let them go and allowed them to be foolish. And I will set youths as their rulers. This is worse than anarchy and much more grievous. For one who has no ruler is deprived of a guide; but one who has a wicked one has someone to cast him down cliffs. And by youths here He did not speak simply disparaging their age, but He shows their folly from what is prevalent. For it is possible for the young to be intelligent and for the old to live with folly; but since the former is accustomed to happen rarely, while the prevalent thing is the opposite, from that He called them foolish. Since Timothy too was young, and he set the Churches right more wisely than countless old men; and Solomon, when he was twelve years old, conversed with God and enjoyed great boldness, and was proclaimed and crowned, and made a spectacle of his own wisdom for the barbarians, and not only men, but now also women, coming from afar, had this one reason for their journey, to learn something and to hear from his voice; but when he came to old age, he greatly slackened in his virtue. And his father, the blessed David, that grievous sin not when a boy

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δεῖ πολεμίοις πότε δὲ ἡσυχάζειν, καὶ πῶς ἅπαντα τὰ λυπηρὰ διακρούεσθαι δέοι, πολλὴν ἔφερεν αὐτοῖς σωτηρίας εὐκολίαν. Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ μανθάνοντες οὐκ ἐποίουν, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὸ μανθάνειν αὐτῶν ἀφεῖλεν· ὃ πολλῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίας δεῖγμα ἦν, τὸ καὶ προειδότα τὰ μέλλοντα καὶ ὡς οὐ χρήσονται εἰς δέον τοῖς παρ' αὐτοῦ δώροις, τὰ γοῦν παρ' αὐτοῦ ἅπαντα παρασχεῖν. Μετὰ δὲ τοῦ προφήτου καὶ στοχαστήν φησιν ἀναιρεῖν. Ἐνταῦθά μοι δοκεῖ λέγειν στοχαστὴν τὸν ἀπὸ συνέσεως πολλῆς τῶν μελλόντων στοχαζόμενον καὶ ἀπ' αὐτῆς τῶν πραγμάτων τῆς πείρας. Ἕτερον μὲν γὰρ στοχασμὸς καὶ προφητεία ἄλλο· ὁ μὲν γὰρ Πνεύματι θείῳ φθέγγεται, οὐδὲν οἴκοθεν εἰσφέρων· ὁ δὲ τὰς ἀφορμὰς ἀπὸ τῶν ἤδη γεγενημένων λαμβάνων καὶ τὴν οἰκείαν σύνεσιν διεγείρων, πολλὰ τῶν μελλόντων προορᾷ, ὡς εἰκὸς ἄνθρωπον ὄντα συνετὸν προϊδεῖν. Ἀλλὰ πολὺ τὸ μέσον τούτου κἀκείνου καὶ τοσοῦτον, ὅσον συνέσεως ἀνθρωπίνης καὶ θείας χάριτος τὸ διάφορον. Ἵνα δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ ὑποδείγματος τὸν λόγον ποιήσω φανερόν, ἐννοήσωμεν τὸν Σολομῶντα καὶ τὸν Ἐλισσαῖον· ἀμφότεροι γὰρ κεκρυμμένα πράγματα εἰς μέσον ἤγαγον καὶ κεκρυμμένα ἀνεκάλυψαν· ἀμφότεροι δὲ οὐ τῇ αὐτῇ δυνάμει· ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν ἀπὸ συνέσεως ἀνθρωπίνης παρὰ τῆς φύσεως λαβὼν ἀφορμὰς ἐπὶ τῶν πόρνων γυναικῶν ἐκείνων· ὁ δὲ λογισμῷ μὲν οὐδενὶ χρησάμενος (ποῖος γὰρ λογισμὸς ἀνακαλῦψαι δυνατὸς ἦν τοῦ Γιεζῆ τὴν κλοπήν;), θείᾳ δὲ χάριτι τὰ πόρρωθεν γεγενημένα προιδών. Καὶ πρεσβύτερον καὶ πεντηκόνταρχον. Μετὰ δὴ τούτων καὶ πρεσβύτερον καὶ πεντηκόνταρχόν φησιν ἀναιρήσειν· πρεσβύτερον οὐχ ἁπλῶς γεγηρακότα λέγων, ἀλλὰ τὸν μετὰ τῆς πολιᾶς τὴν προσήκουσαν τῇ πολιᾷ διατηροῦντα σύνεσιν. Καὶ πεντηκόνταρχον δὲ ὅταν λέγῃ, οὐχ ἕνα τινὰ πεντηκόνταρχόν φησιν, ἀλλὰ τῷ ὀνόματι τούτῳ τοὺς ἄρχοντας πάντας αἰνίττεται. Οὐδὲν γάρ, οὐδὲν ἀναρχίας χαλεπώτερον, ὥσπερ οὖν οὐδὲ πλοίου τι σφαλερώτερον γένοιτ' ἂν κυβερνήτην οὐκ ἔχοντος. Καὶ οὐδὲ ἐνταῦθα ἵσταται, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑτέραν μεγάλην ἀσφάλειαν ἀναιρήσειν ἀπειλεῖ, τοὺς τὰ ἄριστα βουλεύειν εἰδότας, οἳ τῶν ὅπλων οὐκ ἐλάττονα εἰσφέρουσιν εὐεργεσίαν ταῖς πόλεσιν. Ἀφελῶ γάρ, φησί, καὶ θαυμαστὸν σύμβουλον καὶ σοφὸν ἀρχιτέκτονα. Οὐχὶ τὸν οἰκοδόμον λέγων, ἀλλὰ τὸν τῶν πραγμάτων ἔμπειρον καὶ πολλὰ ἐπιστάμενον καὶ μετὰ συνέσεως ἅπαντα τὰ τῆς πόλεως διατιθέναι πράγματα εἰδότα.

3.3 Καὶ μετὰ τούτων· Καὶ συνετὸν ἀκροατήν. Ἂν γὰρ τοῦτο ἀπῇ, κἂν τἄλλα ἅπαντα παρῇ, πλέον οὐδὲν ἔσται ταῖς πόλεσι, κἂν προφῆται ὦσι, κἂν σύμβουλοι, κἂν δυνάσται, ὁ δὲ ἀκουσόμενος μηδεὶς ᾖ, πάντα εἰκῆ καὶ μάτην. Ἐμοὶ δὲ δοκεῖ ἐνταῦθα τὸ Ἀφελῶ λέγειν, τὸ ἐάσω καὶ ἀφήσω, ὥσπερ ὁ Παῦλός φησι· Παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς ὁ Θεὸς εἰς ἀδόκιμον νοῦν· οὐ τοῦτο δεικνύς, ὅτι ἐνέβαλεν εἰς ἄνοιαν, ἀλλ' ὅτι ἀφῆκε καὶ εἴασεν ἀνοήτους ὄντας. Καὶ ἐπιστήσω νεανίσκους ἄρχοντας αὐτῶν. Τοῦτο ἀναρχίας χεῖρον καὶ πολλῷ χαλεπώτερον. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ οὐκ ἔχων ἄρχοντα, ἀπεστέρηται τοῦ χειραγωγοῦντος· ὁ δὲ πονηρὸν ἔχων τὸν ἐμβάλλοντα εἰς κρημνοὺς ἔχει. Νεανίσκους δὲ ἐνταῦθα οὐχὶ ἁπλῶς τὴν ἡλικίαν διαβάλλων ἔφησεν, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τοῦ πλεονάζοντος τὴν ἄνοιαν αὐτῶν ἐπιδείκνυται. Ἔστι γὰρ καὶ νέους εἶναι συνετοὺς καὶ γεγηρακότας ἀνοίᾳ συζῇν· ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ τοῦτο μὲν σπανιάκις συμβαίνειν εἴωθε, τὸ δὲ πλεονάζον τοὐναντίον ἐστίν, ἐξ ἐκείνου ἀνοήτους ὠνόμασεν. Ἐπεὶ καὶ Τιμόθεος νέος ἦν, καὶ μυρίων γεγηρακότων σοφώτερον τὰς Ἐκκλησίας διώρθωσε· καὶ Σολομῶν ἡνίκα μὲν δωδεκαέτης ἦν, τῷ Θεῷ διελέγετο καὶ πολλῆς ἀπήλαυε παρρησίας, καὶ ἀνεκηρύττετο καὶ ἐστεφανοῦτο καὶ θέατρον ἀπὸ τῶν βαρβάρων τῆς ἑαυτοῦ σοφίας ἐκάθιζε καὶ οὐκ ἄνδρες μόνον, ἀλλὰ ἤδη καὶ γυναῖκες πόρρωθεν ἐπιοῦσαι ταύτην μόνην τῆς ἀποδημίας τὴν ὑπόθεσιν εἶχον, τὸ μαθεῖν τι καὶ ἀκοῦσαι παρὰ τῆς ἐκείνου φωνῆς· ἐπειδὴ δὲ εἰς γῆρας ἦλθε, πολλῷ τῆς ἀρετῆς καθυφῆκε. Καὶ ὁ τούτου δὲ πατὴρ ὁ μακάριος ∆αυῒδ τὴν χαλεπὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐκείνην οὐχ ἡνίκα παῖς