Expositio in Proverbia

 the things that have fallen, that is, from the pretext of Uriah. How then does Solomon say before: “He who rejoices 17.165 at another's destruction wi

 would have difficulty, just as the desire for money a pure mind draws near to wisdom since it knows well but the impure will be far from it. Adam i

 but here, that he names the mind a good gift, on account of the one who unjustly receives gifts in his bosom, and is not prospered for those unjust g

 of virtue And this persuades me, in a small way, that the rich man being judged in Hades for his wickedness was not completely given over to every ev

 to you, You shall not be angry. It must be noted here that he calls the natural harmonious movement of the ant, wisdom for indeed one wiser than a wi

 for he was the lamp that was burning and shining a light, the New Testament For I, he says, am the light of the world a refutation of evil things,

 of the kemphos fish in the sea, flying in schools here and there which the sailors, having baited a many-hooked line, catch and not only does it not

 come to the introductions but when they become wise, and are strengthened, reprove them. And Christ, when his disciples were still young, did not rep

 of the evil one. But the impious who sin will not only fall from the kingdom, but they will inhabit the fire and not the earth. Instead of, he is full

 be not silent to me, says David, and I will be like those who go down into the pit. A lawless man will be passed over in silence by God, that is, he w

 sinning. Here he calls the senses ways but he who guards them, keeps his own soul from death unto life for life is the Holy Trinity that gives life

 afflicted, distressed? And how will the unbeliever not have an obol, when many unbelievers are clothed with much wealth, I mean kings and rulers of th

 the love of God for humanity which also brings us to God the Father himself, as sons weaned, and desiring spiritual solid food so that just as his S

 your eyes, say: for many, even without having begun virtue, not only advise others to act rightly, but also compel and exhort them. Here he says man

 body is profitable to the foolish man for he will trample it underfoot, being a pleasure-loving pig and by sensible luxury his flesh will be moved t

 that is, to imitate the virtues of the righteous and prophets who shone in the six ages before the coming of Christ, who also feed the widow and orpha

 of the Lord, is the knowledge of the Lord, and the light of the Lord is the breath of men, therefore the knowledge of the Lord is the breath of men b

 He calls the mind a horse, which is warred against by the devil, and which wars in return For you will mount, he says, upon your horses and your rid

 he slanders us to God, taking from us the virtues which he has not given us, so also we slander him taking from him the vices which we have not given

 But do not enter into the land of those who have orphaned themselves from God, who possess wickedness as the property of demons, on account of which t

 but vice diminishes virtue, and virtue obviously corrupts vice and this will happen in the age to come, until vice ceases for shall be defiled, in

 earth-born nations, and having strengthened them with virtues in faith in him, Christ the God, and having stored up the heavenly water that which flo

 is, the law given to us by him in righteousness and those who gouge out the eyes of the impious, he called ravens but those who devour him whole, he

 of lands, he keeps his own justly. Cast a precious sardius into a golden earring, and the wisdom of the Lord into a dispassionate and obedient mind to

 defines servants or those under his hand for the rod is a symbol of punishment. From his own feet, etc. Here he calls servants 'feet' and from them

 to the devil who made it, to yield as to a brother, so as to be destroyed with him. -Better is he who is joined to me through true knowledge, than he

 lawless, are the doctrines of demons, which the instructed son does not obey and by son he means the mind but he who restrains his mind from being c

 of blood are the demons, who killed those living in Christ by the shedding of blood but the upright will seek out his soul these are they who wish t

 a soul of abundance for its bodily house. He says that the soul of the diligent man has the Church as a tree of knowledge and a tree of life of knowl

lawless, are the doctrines of demons, which the instructed son does not obey; and by son he means the mind; but he who restrains his mind from being cast aside in the wickedness of the evil nation, procures for his 17.245 own soul to receive an incorruptible ornament like a necklace from the hand of the Lord. He who cleanses himself from the passions, and works the commandments of God, will be filled with the soul-nourishing bread of wisdom and knowledge of God; but he who pursues leisure so as not to do the commandments of God, will be filled with poverty. Those who are now merciful, in the age to come having received mercy from God, and having become angels, will rule over the envious and rich impious ones; and such a dignity the Lord promised to give also to his own disciples, that they would sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel; and a throne is that on which the mind sits, full of spiritual knowledge, gathering together those who have strayed from godliness; and to judge here, signifies to teach; as also, "Open your mouth with the word of God, and judge all things soundly," instead of, "teach"; and at the same time this too must be known, that the merciful man who has prevailed over the envious man, will not himself become envious, but will rather make the envious man merciful. If the impious cast off being impious, they will become righteous; for destruction now signifies the removal of impiety; thus also the Lord, having destroyed Matthew the tax-collector, bestowed righteousness on him; for the righteous are multiplied, when the impious abandon their impiety, and with the righteous will become righteous; and the righteous groan and are in pain, seeing the impious standing in the place of impiety, and not repenting. For better is a man who reproves in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, than he who with a hard heart exhorts and promises to enjoy with him the things in wickedness; for when he is suddenly inflamed in the desire for passions, death, which is over all, coming upon their accomplices, there is no healing for their soul; but he did not say that when the flame has ceased there will be no healing, but that while he is inflamed there will be no healing, as he clearly has the kindling of the passions, wood, hay, stubble; since also for those who are cauterized, health is wont to come after the cautery. When the righteous are praised by the Lord on the day of judgment, the peoples of their portion will rejoice; but as many as are under the principalities and the powers, and the world-rulers of this world, these will surely groan then. Here he calls God the Father; and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, beholding those who are named after Christ, following and imitating him in work and word and wisdom, rejoices over them; and a good shepherd is a mind, possessing dispassionate thoughts; and if this is so, then a kid is a passionate thought; and a sheep is a dispassionate thought; wherefore also the Lord places the kids 17.248 on the left, but the sheep on the right; calling kids those who possess passionate thoughts; thus also those who have the tares, he called tares; and those who have the wheat, wheat, naming them from the worst and best disposition; Such also is what is said by Paul: "Love is not boastful," instead of, "he who has love." Christ on the one hand raises up the rational nature through his commandments; but the lawless Antichrist, provokes the race of men to destruction. In every case "to judge" is said to mean "to teach"; for he who judges between two or even more concerning one matter, teaches what is just, and to abstain from injustice; likewise also in the case of virtues, and in the case of any good thing whatsoever, "to judge" has been said to mean "to teach"; and by "a man to judge nations" here, he means Peter, who taught the whole world the faith and piety towards Christ; and Paul, and the other teachers afterwards; and by "a worthless man," those like Theudas and Judas, and the Samosatene, and those of like mind with them; and concerning the worthless man David says: "And they will laugh at him, and will say: Behold the man, who did not make God his helper." Men

παράνομον, τὰ δόγματα τῶν δαιμόνων ἐστὶν, οἷς οὐχ ὑπακούει ὁ παιδευθεὶς υἱός· υἱὸν δὲ τὸν νοῦν φησιν· ὁ δὲ ἐποχὴν ποιῶν τοῦ νοῦ τοῦ μὴ παραρίπτεσθαι ἐν τῇ τοῦ πονηροῦ ἔθνους κακίᾳ, ὡς περιτραχήλιον κόσμον προξενεῖ λαβεῖν τῇ 17.245 ἰδίᾳ ψυχῇ ἄφθαρτον ἐκ χειρὸς Κυρίου. Ὁ καθαίρων ἑαυτὸν ἐκ τῶν παθῶν, καὶ ἐργαζό μενος τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ Θεοῦ, τοῦ ψυχοτρόφου ἄρτου σοφίας καὶ γνώσεως Θεοῦ ἐμπλησθήσεται· ὁ δὲ διώ κων σχολὴν τοῦ μὴ ποιεῖν τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ Θεοῦ, πλησθήσεται πενίας. Οἱ νῦν ἐλεήμονες, ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τῷ μέλλοντι ἐλεη θέντες ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ γενόμενοι ἄγγελοι, ἄρξουσι τῶν βασκάνων καὶ πλουσίων ἀσεβῶν· τοιοῦτον δὲ ἀξίωμα καὶ τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὑτοῦ ὑπέσχετο δώσειν Κύριος, τὸ καθίσαι αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ δώδεκα θρόνων, κρί νοντας δώδεκα φυλὰς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ· θρόνος δέ ἐστιν ἐν ᾧ ὁ νοῦς καθέζεται, πλήρης γνώσεως πνευματι κῆς, τοὺς πλανηθέντας ἀπὸ τῆς θεοσεβείας ἐπισυν άγουσα· τὸ δὲ κρίνειν ἐνταῦθα, τὸ διδάσκειν σημαί νει· ὡς καὶ τὸ, Ἄνοιγε σὸν στόμα λόγῳ Θεοῦ, καὶ κρῖνε πάντα ὑγιῶς, ἀντὶ τοῦ, δίδασκε· ἅμα δὲ καὶ τοῦτο ἰστέον, ὅτι ὁ ἐλεήμων κρατήσας τοῦ βασκάνου, αὐτὸς μὲν οὐ γενήσεται βάσκανος, ἐλεήμονα δὲ μᾶλ λον ποιήσει τὸν βάσκανον. Ἐὰν ἀποθῶνται οἱ ἀσεβεῖς τὸ εἶναι ἀσεβεῖς, γε νήσονται δίκαιοι· ἡ γὰρ ἀπώλεια νῦν τὴν ἀναίρεσιν τῆς ἀσεβείας σημαίνει· οὕτω καὶ Ματθαῖον τοῦ τελωνείου ἀπολέσας ὁ Κύριος, δικαιοσύνην αὐτῷ ἐχαρίσατο· πληθύνονται γὰρ οἱ δίκαιοι, ὅταν οἱ ἀσε βεῖς καταλείψωσι τὴν ἀσέβειαν, καὶ σὺν τοῖς δι καίοις γενήσονται δίκαιοι· στένουσι δὲ καὶ οἱ δίκαιοι καὶ ὀδυνῶνται, ὁρῶντες τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς ἐν τόπῳ τῆς ἀσεβείας ἱσταμένους, καὶ μὴ μετανοοῦντας. Κρείσσων γὰρ ἀνὴρ ὁ ἐν παιδείᾳ καὶ νουθεσίᾳ Κυρίου ἐλέγχων, ἢ ὁ ἐν σκληρᾷ καρδίᾳ παραινῶν καὶ ὑπισχνούμενος συναπολαῦσαι αὐτῷ τῶν ἐν κα κίᾳ· ἐξαπίνης γὰρ φλεγομένου αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ ὀρέξει τῶν παθῶν, ὁ ἐπὶ πάντας θάνατος, ἐπελθὼν ἐπὶ τοὺς κατ' αὐτῶν συμπράκτορας, οὐκ ἔστιν ἴασις τῇ ψυχῇ αὐτῶν· οὐκ εἶπεν δὲ, ὅτι παυσαμένης τῆς φλογὸς οὐκ ἔσται ἴασις, ἀλλὰ φλεγομένου αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔσται ἴασις, ὡς ἔχοντος δηλονότι τὰ τῶν παθῶν ὑπεκκαύ ματα, ξύλα, χόρτον, καλάμην· εἴπερ καὶ τοῖς καιο μένοις μετὰ τὸν καυτῆρα πέφυκεν ἡ ὑγίεια προσγί νεσθαι. Ἐγκωμιαζομένων τῶν δικαίων ὑπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου ἐν τῇ τῆς κρίσεως ἡμέρᾳ, οἱ τῆς αὐτῶν μερίδος λαοὶ εὐφρανθήσονται· ὅσοι δέ εἰσιν ὑπὸ τὰς ἀρχὰς καὶ τὰς ἐξουσίας, καὶ τοὺς κοσμοκράτορας τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, οὗτοι πάντως τότε στένουσιν. Πατέρα ἐνταῦθα τὸν Θεόν φησιν· ὁ δὲ Θεὸς καὶ Πατὴρ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, τοὺς κατὰ Χριστὸν ἐπονομαζομένους, ἐν ἔργῳ καὶ λόγῳ καὶ σοφίᾳ ἑπομένους τε καὶ μιμουμένους αὐτὸν, θεωρῶν αὐτοὺς, εὐφραίνεται ἐπ' αὐτοῖς· ποιμὴν δέ ἐστιν ἀγαθὸς νοῦς, ἀπαθεῖς λογισμοὺς κεκτημένος· εἰ δὲ τοῦτο, οὐκοῦν ἔριφός ἐστι λογισμὸς ἐμπαθής· καὶ πρόβατόν ἐστι λογισμὸς ἀπαθής· διὸ καὶ τοὺς ἐρί 17.248 φους ὁ Κύριος ἵστησιν ἐξ ἀριστερῶν, τὰ δὲ πρόβατα ἐκ δεξιῶν· ἐρίφους λέγων τοὺς κεκτημένους λογι σμοὺς ἐμπαθεῖς· οὕτω καὶ τοὺς ἔχοντας τὰ ζιζάνια, ζιζάνια προσηγόρευσε· καὶ τοὺς τὸν σῖτον ἔχοντας, σῖτον, ἀπὸ τῆς χειρίστης καὶ ἀρίστης ἕξεως ὀνομάσας αὐτούς· τοιοῦτόν ἐστι καὶ τὸ παρὰ τῷ Παύλῳ λεγό μενον· Ἡ ἀγάπη οὐ περπερεύεται, ἀντὶ τοῦ, ὁ ἔχων τὴν ἀγάπην. Ὁ μὲν Χριστὸς ἀνίστησι τὴν φύσιν τὴν λογικὴν διὰ τῶν ἐντολῶν αὐτοῦ· ὁ δὲ παράνομος Ἀντίχριστος, πρὸς ἀπώλειαν ἐρεθίζει τὸ γένος τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Ἐν παντὶ τὸ κρίνειν, διδάσκειν λέγεται· καὶ γὰρ ὁ μεταξὺ δύο ἢ καὶ πλειόνων, περὶ ἑνὸς πράγματος κρίνων, διδάσκει τὸ δίκαιον, καὶ ἀπέχεσθαι ἀδικίας· ὡσαύτως καὶ ἐπὶ ἀρετῶν, καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶν ὁτιοῦν ἀγαθὸν, τὸ κρίνειν διδάσκειν λέλεκται· ἄνδρα δὲ ἐνταῦθα κρί νειν ἔθνη, τὸν Πέτρον φησὶ, τὸν τὴν οἰκουμένην δι δάξαντα τὴν εἰς Χριστὸν πίστιν καὶ εὐσέβειαν· καὶ Παῦλον, καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς μετέπειτα διδασκάλους· ἄνδρα δὲ φαῦλον, τοὺς κατὰ Θευδᾶν καὶ Ἰούδαν, καὶ Σαμοσατέα, καὶ τοὺς τούτων ὁμόφρονας· ἐπὶ δὲ τὸν φαῦλόν φησιν ὁ ∆αυΐδ· Καὶ ἐπ' αὐτὸν γελά σονται, καὶ ἐροῦσιν· Ἰδοὺ ἄνθρωπος, ὃς οὐκ ἔθετο τὸν Θεὸν βοηθὸν αὐτοῦ. Ἄνδρες