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

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 to do and to understand their own things to be done and understood. Truly the foolish man has his temper unrestrained; but this one stores it up in part, that is, being angry at just things. And this must be said to the more simple; but to the zealous, he who through long-suffering consumes his anger in part. For those who have kept the law, the Lord will be an interpreter in the kingdom; but for those who have transgressed the law, he will not be an interpreter, but he will be a punisher. That no one is hard by nature, is shown by, For even if he understands, he will not obey; for he who is hard by nature would never understand anything correctly; and I say this because of Pharaoh, who was hardened against Israel, and was disciplined not by words but by scourges. If to be wasteful causes one to sin, and everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin, then everyone who is wasteful is a slave of sin; and on the last day he will be pained not a little on his own account. The Lord humbles the insolent, but to the humble he gives glory. —He calls wickedness insolence; and wickedness brings insolence and the humiliation of destruction to those who practice it, on the day of judgment; but the glory with which they glorified God in hymns and in keeping his commandments, will glorify the humble-minded; 17.249 for the glory of God is to do his commandments; as the Lord himself says, but, Those who glorify me I will glorify; but wickedness causes insolence of the rational soul. He calls no other a thief, if not the devil; but the one who is divided, that is, keeping part of God's commandments, but doing part of the evil one's, this one hates his own soul; for the devil, having stolen him when he is almost perfect, will sacrifice him to himself. For the thief, he says, does not come, except to steal and to sacrifice, and to destroy. —He called the law an oath; for just as an oath places God in the soul, so also the law brings God into the soul; and in the same way again that perjury removes God from the soul, so also transgression casts God out from it. If therefore, he says, having heard the law laid down they do not confess their own sins, being afraid and ashamed of men, they will be tripped up into destruction; so also David says: I said: I will confess my iniquity against myself to the Lord, and you forgave the impiety of my heart; and: Tell your sins first, that you may be justified; and again Solomon says: He who covers his own impiety will not prosper; but he who explains and reproves will be loved. As many of us as keep the commandments, we serve the angels; for they are our leaders, having received us from the beginning, when the Most High divided the nations, and he established the boundaries of the nations according to the number of his angels; and in our serving our leading angels, in the will of the Lord, justice will be ours from the Lord in the judgment on that day, when he will judge the world in righteousness, if indeed the Father has given all judgment to the Son. Courage is an excellent disposition of the rational soul, according to which it has prevailed over opposing enemies. Having conquered the opposing power, we despoil it, learning the words concerning it; so that, having made its evils clear, they may remain un-entrapped, not only the more simple, but also those who have been gathered may easily escape from it. The soul ruminates on wool and flax, exercising the arguments concerning animate and inanimate things; or examining the arguments concerning the practical and the natural; or drawing the theory concerning bodies and incorporeal things to itself through a practical disposition. Or also the sun of righteousness, the bridegroom, finds watchful the soul that rises from the night; and certainly also praying not to fall into temptation, saying, I have kept watch and have become like a sparrow alone upon the housetop; and the food of the soul is the study of the divine words; and its works, the virtues; 17.252 and its handmaidens, the senses; these things, therefore, she who is more precious than stones provides

αἱμάτων οἱ δαίμονές εἰσιν, οἱ τοὺς ἐν Χριστῷ ζῶντας ἐκχύσει αἵματος ἀποκτείναντες· οἱ δὲ εὐθεῖς ἐκζητήσουσι ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ· οὗτοι οἱ τὰ αὐτῶν πρακτέα καὶ νενοημένα ποιῆσαι καὶ νοῆσαι βουλόμενοι. Ὄντως ὁ ἄφρων ἀκράτητον ἔχει τὸν θυμὸν αὑτοῦ· οὗτος δὲ ταμιεύεται κατὰ μέρος, ἤγουν ἐπὶ τοῖς δι καίοις ὀργιζόμενος πράγμασι. Καὶ πρὸς μὲν τοὺς ἁπλουστέρους λεκτέον τοῦτο· πρὸς δὲ τοὺς σπου δαίους, ὁ διὰ τῆς μακροθυμίας καταναλίσκων τὸν θυμὸν κατὰ μέρος. Τοῖς μὲν φυλάξασι τὸν νόμον ὑπάρξει ἐξηγητὴς ὁ Κύριος ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ· τοῖς δὲ παρανομήσασιν, ἐξ ηγητὴς μὲν οὐχ ὑπάρξει, κολαστὴς δὲ ὑπάρξει. Ὅτι οὐδεὶς κατὰ φύσιν σκληρὸς, παρίστησι τὸ, Ἐὰν γὰρ καὶ νοήσῃ οὐχ ὑπακούσεται· ὁ γὰρ κατὰ φύσιν σκληρὸς, οὐκ ἂν ὀρθόν τι νοήσοι ποτέ· τοῦτο δὲ λέγω διὰ τὸν Φαραὼ σκληρυνθέντα ἐπὶ τὸν Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ οὐ λόγοις ἀλλὰ μάστιξι παιδευθέντα. Εἰ τὸ κατασπαταλᾷν, ἁμαρτάνειν ποιεῖ, πᾶς δὲ ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν δοῦλός ἐστι τῆς ἁμαρτίας, πᾶς ἄρα ὁ σπαταλῶν δοῦλός ἐστι τῆς ἁμαρτίας· ἐν δὲ τῇ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ οὐκ ὀλίγα ἐφ' ἑαυτῷ ὀδυνηθήσεται. Ὑβριστὰς ταπεινοῖ Κύριος, ταπεινοῖς δὲ δίδωσι δόξαν. -Ὕβριν τὴν κακίαν φησίν· ὕβριν δὲ καὶ τα πείνωσιν ἀπωλείας προξενεῖ ἡ κακία τοῖς πράττου σιν αὐτὴν, ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς κρίσεως· τοὺς δὲ τα 17.249 πεινόφρονας ἡ δόξα, ἢν ἐδόξαζον τὸν Θεὸν ἐν ὕμνοις καὶ τηρήσει τῶν ἐντολῶν αὐτοῦ, δοξάσει αὐτούς· δόξα γὰρ Θεοῦ τὸ ποιεῖν τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ· καθὼς αὐτός φησιν ὁ Κύριος ἀλλ' ἢ, Τοὺς δοξάζοντάς με δοξάσω· ἡ δὲ κακία ὕβριν λογικῆς ψυχῆς προξενεῖ. Κλέπτην οὐκ ἄλλον τινὰ, εἰ μὴ τὸν διάβολον λέγει· ὁ δὲ μεριζόμενος, ἤγουν μέρος μὲν τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ προσταγμάτων τηρῶν, μέρος δὲ τοῦ πονηροῦ ποιῶν, οὗτος μισεῖ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχήν· μικρὸν γὰρ ὅσον καὶ τέλειον αὐτὸν κλέψας ὁ διάβολος, θύσει ἑαυτῷ. Ὁ κλέπτης γὰρ, φησὶν, οὐκ ἔρχεται, εἰ μὴ ἵνα κλέψῃ καὶ θύσῃ, καὶ ἀπολέσῃ. -Ὅρκον εἶπε τὸν νόμον· ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ ὅρκος τίθησι τὸν Θεὸν ἐν ψυχῇ, οὕτω καὶ ὁ νόμος εἰσάγει Θεὸν εἰς ψυχήν· καὶ ὃν τρόπον πάλιν ἀναιρεῖ ἡ ἐπιορκία Θεὸν ἐκ ψυχῆς, οὕτω καὶ ἡ παρανομία ἐκβάλλει Θεὸν ἀπ' αὐτῆς. Ἐὰν οὖν, φησὶ, νόμου τεθέντος ἀκούσαντες μὴ ἐξαγορεύσωσιν ἑαυτῶν τὰς ἁμαρτίας, φοβηθέντες καὶ αἰσχυνθέντες ἀνθρώ πους, ὑποσκελισθήσονται πρὸς ἀπώλειαν· οὕτω φησὶ καὶ ὁ ∆αυΐδ· Εἶπα· Ἐξαγορεύσω κατ' ἐμοῦ τὴν ἀνο μίαν μου τῷ Κυρίῳ, καὶ σὺ ἀφῆκας τὴν ἀσέβειαν τῆς καρδίας μου· καί· Λέγε σὺ πρῶτος τὰς ἁμαρ τίας σου, ἵνα δικαιωθῇς· καὶ πάλιν ὁ Σολομῶν φησιν· Ὁ ἐπικαλύπτων ἀσέβειαν αὑτοῦ, οὐκ εὐοδωθήσεται· ὁ δὲ ἐξηγούμενος καὶ ἐλέγχων ἀγαπηθήσεται. Ὅσοι κατορθοῦμεν τὰς ἐντολὰς, θεραπεύομεν τοὺς ἀγγέλους· αὐτοὶ γάρ εἰσιν οἱ ἡγούμενοι ἡμῶν, ἀπ' ἀρχῆς λαβόντες ἡμᾶς, ὅτε διεμέριζεν ὁ Ὕψιστος ἔθνη, καὶ ἔστησεν ὅρια ἐθνῶν κατὰ ἀριθμὸν ἀγγέλων αὐτοῦ· ἐν δὲ τῷ θεραπεύειν ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἡγουμένους ἡμῶν ἀγγέλους, ἐν τῷ θελήματι τοῦ Κυρίου, ἐν τῇ κρίσει δίκαιον ὑπάρξει ἡμῖν παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ, ὅτε κρινεῖ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐν δι καιοσύνῃ εἴ γε πᾶσαν τὴν κρίσιν ὁ Πατὴρ δέδωκε τῷ Υἱῷ. Ἀνδρεία ἐστὶν ἕξις ἀρίστη λογικῆς ψυχῆς, καθ' ἣν τῶν ἀντικειμένων αὕτη κεκράτηκεν ἐχθρῶν. Νικήσαντες τὴν ἀντικειμένην δύναμιν, σκυλεύομεν αὐτὴν, τοὺς περὶ αὐτῆς λόγους μανθάνοντες· ἵνα τὰ κατ' αὐτὴν φαῦλα δῆλα ποιήσαντες, ἀπαγίδευτοι μέ νωσι, μὴ μόνον οἱ ἁπλούστεροι, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ συλλαγω γηθέντες ῥᾳδίως ἐκφεύγωσιν ἀπ' αὐτῆς. Μηρύεται τὸ ἔριον καὶ λίνον ψυχὴ, τοὺς περὶ ἐμψύ χων καὶ ἀψύχων λόγους γυμνάζουσα· ἢ τοὺς περὶ πρακτικῆς καὶ φυσικῆς ἐξετάζουσα λόγους· ἢ τὴν περὶ σωμάτων καὶ ἀσωμάτων θεωρίαν διὰ τῆς πρακτι κῆς ἕλκουσα πρὸς αὐτὴν ἕξεως. Ἢ καὶ τὴν ἐκ νυκτὸς ἀνισταμένην ψυχὴν, γρηγο ροῦσαν εὑρίσκει ὁ τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἥλιος νυμφίος· πάντως δὲ καὶ προσευχομένην τοῦ μὴ ἐμπεσεῖν εἰς πειρασμὸν, λέγουσαν τὸ, Ἠγρύπνησα καὶ ἐγενόμην ὡς στρουθίον μονάζον ἐπὶ δώματος· βρῶμα δέ ἐστι ψυ χῆς, ἡ μελέτη τῶν θείων λόγων· ἔργα δὲ, αἱ ἀρεταί· 17.252 θεραπαινίδες δὲ, αἱ αἰσθήσεις· ταῦτ' οὖν παρέχει ἡ τιμιωτέρα λίθων