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living these things according to virtue; later he is sick; he is rich, then he is poor. And what is the reason for this? Because if we humans were to foresee what is going to happen to us, the divine fear would not exist. But being enclosed by uncertainty, we both fear God and know that from Him alone is the release from evils. And no one is able to heal the perversion in men, except He alone. Therefore, the seeming disharmony is harmony, and the inequality is equality, driving all alike through uncertainty to the divine fear. Then he adds: "I have seen all things in the day of my vanity." These things, he says, I considered as a wise man, in the days of vanity. And he calls the present life a day of vanity; first, because many men do not pursue what is just in it; then, because it also passes away. For this reason, stirring us to a longing for the future and unending age, he says, "Be not righteous over much, and do not make yourself overwise, lest you be astonished; do not be wicked over much, and do not be harsh, that you may not die before your time." To each virtue, which is symmetrical, vices lie adjacent through deficiency and excess. Therefore, he says, be not righteous over much, instead of, do not, through an excess of hatred for evil, become unsympathetic toward sinners, and harsh, and inhuman. But neither make yourself overwise, lest you be astonished. For superfluous are the things outside of the divine teaching. Therefore, he says, whatever the divine Word has profitably hidden from us, let us not seek out. For to seek these things is astonishment and madness of mind. But neither be very wicked concerning doctrines, instead of. for too long. But be diligent to find the truth, and to redeem your faults by repentance. And do not be, he says, harsh, that is, unyielding, and resisting the teaching of the Spirit. Then he adds in general, That you may not die before your time. He dies before his time who has not been perfected in virtues, but has lived 93.569 and died with vice. But he who has been brought to fruition with virtues dies like ripe wheat. "It is good that you should take hold of this; and from that withdraw not your hand, for he who fears God will come forth with them all." Having taught about vice and virtue, he added that it is good to hold fast to virtue, and not to defile one's action (called a hand) with vice. Then concerning the pure and purifying fear of God he says that He who fears God will come forth with them all, going through every action according to virtue, and being perfected by progress, and escaping every temptation. "Wisdom will help the wise man more than ten rulers who are in the city, because there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin." Wisdom itself, our Lord Jesus Christ, helps the one who believes in him and becomes wise through faith, more than the ten commandments that were in the city of the Jews. For even if someone kept the ten commandments of the law, still it was not possible for a human being not to slip; and the law justified no one; but our Lord Jesus Christ himself has become for us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. Otherwise: Man is a small world, now called a city, having five senses in the body, and five in the soul. Therefore, even if a man strives to help himself through the ten senses which rule him, but does not have the aid from Christ, the true wisdom, he will be unable to be saved. For being a man, he will not be able to not sin. "And do not set your heart on all the words that the wicked will speak, so that you do not hear your servant cursing you; because many times he will do evil to you, and in many ways will harm your heart, because you also have cursed others." Here he introduces not bearing grudges, more commonly calling the revilers and sinners 'wicked'. Then, establishing from abundance that one must not pay attention to revilings, he says that not even if your servant curses you, should you be moved to anger; for indeed he is able to plot against you in various ways. For this is what,

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ταῦτα κατὰ ἀρετὴν ζῶν· ὕστερον νοσεῖ· πλουτεῖ, εἶτα πένεται. Καὶ τίς ὁ τούτου λόγος; ὅτι εἰ προείδοιμεν οἱ ἄνθρωποι τὰ μέλλοντα ἡμῖν ἔσεσθαι, οὐκ ἂν ὁ θεῖος ὑφίστατο φόβος. Τῇ δὲ ἀδηλίᾳ συγκλειόμενοι, καὶ Θεὸν φοβούμεθα, καὶ ἴσμεν ὅτι παρ' αὐτοῦ καὶ μόνου ἡ τῶν κακῶν λύσις. Καὶ οὐδεὶς δύναται τὴν ἐν ἀνθρώποις διαστροφὴν ἰάσασθαι, εἰ μὴ μόνον αὐτός. Σύμφωνος οὖν ἐστιν ἡ δοκοῦσα ἀσυμφωνία, καὶ ἰσότης ἡ ἀνισότης, πάντας ὁμοίως τῇ ἀδηλίᾳ πρὸς τὸν θεῖον συνελαύνουσα φόβον. Εἶτα ἐπάγει· "Σύμπαντα εἶδον ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ματαιότητός μου." Ταῦτα, φησὶ, κατεσκεψάμην οἷα σοφὸς, ἐν ταῖς τῆς ματαιότητος ἡμέραις. Ἡμέραν δὲ ματαιότητος τὸν παρόντα βίον καλεῖ· πρῶτα μὲν, διὰ τὸ τοὺς πολλοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐν αὐτῷ τὸ δίκαιον μὴ μεταδιώκειν· ἔπειτα ὅτι καὶ παρέρχεται. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο εἰς πόθον ἡμᾶς ἐρεθίζων τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος καὶ ἀτελευτήτου, φησὶ, "Μὴ γίνου δίκαιος πολὺ, καὶ μὴ σοφίζου περισσὰ, μήποτε ἐκπλαγῇς· μὴ ἀσεβήσῃς πολὺ, καὶ μὴ γίνου σκληρὸς, ἵνα μὴ ἀποθάνῃς ἐν οὐ καιρῷ σου." Ἑκάστῃ ἀρετῇ συμμέτρως οὔσῃ κατ' ἔλλειψιν καὶ ὑπερβολὴν αἱ κακίαι παράκεινται. Μὴ γίνου οὖν, φησὶ, δίκαιος πολὺ, ἀντὶ τοῦ, Μὴ δι' ὑπερβολὴν τοῦ πρὸς τὸ κακὸν μίσους, ἀσυμπαθὴς γένῃ πρὸς τοὺς ἁμαρτάνοντας, καὶ σκληρὸς, καὶ ἀπάνθρωπος. Ἀλλὰ μηδὲ σοφίζου περισσὰ, μήποτε ἐκπλαγῇς. Περιττὰ δέ εἰσι τὰ ἔξωθεν τῆς θείας διδασκαλίας. Ὅσα οὖν, φησὶ, συμφερόντως ἡμῖν ὁ θεῖος ἀπέκρυψε Λόγος, μὴ ἐπιζητήσωμεν. Τὸ γὰρ ταῦτα ζητεῖν, ἔκπληξις καὶ μανία φρενός. Ἀλλὰ μηδὲ περὶ δόγματα πολὺ ἀσεβήσῃς, ἀντὶ τοῦ. ἐπιπολύ. Ἀλλὰ σπούδαζε τὸ ἀληθὲς εὑρεῖν, καὶ τῇ μετανοίᾳ λυτροῦσθαι τὰ πταίσματα. Καὶ μὴ γίνου, φησὶ, σκληρὸς, τουτέστιν ἀμάλακτος, καὶ ἀντιπίπτων τῇ τοῦ Πνεύματος διδασκαλίᾳ. Εἶτα κατὰ κοινοῦ ἐπάγει, Ἵνα μὴ ἀποθάνῃς ἐν οὐ καιρῷ σου. Ἐν οὐ καιρῷ ἀποθνήσκει ὁ μὴ τετελειωμένος ταῖς ἀρεταῖς, ἀλλὰ 93.569 κακίᾳ συζήσας καὶ ἀποθανών. Τελευτᾷ δὲ ὥσπερ σῖτος ὥριμος ὁ ταῖς ἀρεταῖς τελεσφορηθείς. "Ἀγαθὸν τὸ ἀντέχεσθαί σε ἐν τούτῳ· καί γε ἀπὸ τούτου μὴ μιάνῃς τὴν χεῖρά σου, ὅτι ὁ φοβούμενος τὸν Θεὸν, ἐξελεύσεται τὰ πάντα." Περὶ κακίας καὶ ἀρετῆς διδάξας ἐπήγαγε, ὅτι ἀγαθὸν ἀντέχεσθαι τῆς ἀρετῆς, μὴ μιαίνειν δὲ τὴν πρᾶξιν (χεῖρα ὀνομαζομένην) ἀπὸ τῆς κακίας. Εἶτα περὶ τοῦ ἁγνοῦ καὶ ἁγνοποιοῦ φόβου τοῦ Θεοῦ φησι, ὅτι Ὁ φοβούμενος τὸν Θεὸν ἐξελεύσεται τὰ πάντα, πᾶσαν πρᾶξιν κατὰ ἀρετὴν διεξερχόμενος, καὶ ταῖς προκοπαῖς τελειούμενος, καὶ πάντα διεκδύνων πειρασμόν. "Ἡ σοφία βοηθήσει τῷ σοφῷ, ὑπὲρ δέκα ἐξουσιάζοντας τοὺς ὄντας ἐν τῇ πόλει, ὅτι ἄνθρωπος δίκαιος οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν τῇ γῇ, ὃς ποιήσει ἀγαθὸν, καὶ οὐχ ἁμαρτήσει." Ἡ αὐτοσοφία ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς τῷ εἰς αὐτὸν πιστεύοντι, καὶ διὰ πίστεως σοφῷ γινομένῳ, βοηθεῖ, ὑπὲρ τὰς δέκα ἐντολὰς τὰς οὔσας ἐν τῇ πόλει τῶν Ἰουδαίων. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ τὰς δέκα τις ἐφύλαξε νομικὰς ἐντολὰς, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἦν ἄνθρωπον ὄντα μὴ παρολισθαίνειν· καὶ ὁ νόμος οὐδένα ἐδικαίου· ὁ δὲ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς αὐτὸς γέγονεν ἡμῖν σοφία, δικαιοσύνη τε, καὶ ἁγιασμὸς, καὶ ἀπολύτρωσις. Ἄλλως· Μικρός τίς ἐστι κόσμος ὁ ἄνθρωπος, πόλις νῦν ὀνομαζόμενος, πέντε μὲν αἰσθήσεις ἔχων ἐν σώματι, πέντε δὲ ἐν ψυχῇ. Κἂν φιλονεικήσῃ τοίνυν ὁ ἄνθρωπος διὰ τῶν δέκα αἰσθήσεων τῶν ἐξουσιαζουσῶν αὐτοῦ βοηθῆσαι ἑαυτῷ, τὴν δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ τῆς ἀληθινῆς σοφίας μὴ ἔχει ἐπικουρίαν, ἀδυνατήσει τοῦ σώζεσθαι. Ἄνθρωπος γὰρ ὢν οὐ δυνήσεται μὴ ἁμαρτάνειν. "Καί γε εἰς πάντας λόγους οὓς λαλήσουσιν ἀσεβεῖς, μὴ θῇς τὴν καρδίαν σου· ὅπως μὴ ἀκούσῃς τοῦ δούλου σου καταρωμένου σε· ὅτι πλειστάκις πονηρεύσεταί σε, καὶ καθόδους πολλὰς κακώσει καρδίαν σου, ὅτι ὡς καί γε σὺ κατηράσω ἑτέρους." Ἐνταῦθα τὸ ἀμνησίκακον εἰσηγεῖται, ἀσεβεῖς κοινότερον τοὺς λοιδοροὺς καὶ ἁμαρτωλοὺς ἀποκαλῶν. Εἶτα ἐκ περιουσίας κατασκευάζων τὸ μὴ δεῖν προσέχειν ταῖς λοιδορίαις, φησὶν ὅτι μηδ' ἂν ὁ δοῦλός σου καταράσηταί σε, κινηθῇς εἰς θυμόν· μάλιστα μὲν γὰρ καὶ ποικίλως δύναταί σοι ἐπιβουλεύειν. Τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τὸ,