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5. But it is necessary to prove all these things to you: that the Corinthians were the first to enjoy Paul's teaching then, that they were filled with spiritual gifts, that they also excelled in worldly advantages, that because of these things, having lost their wits, they were torn from one another, and some attached themselves to these men, and others to those. That they were the first, then, to enjoy Paul's teaching, hear how Paul himself hinted at this very thing: For though you might have, he says, many tutors in Christ Jesus, yet you do not have many fathers. For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel; and he who begets is the first to bring the child into the light. And again, I planted, Apollos watered; showing that he was the first to lay down the teaching. And that they abounded in spiritual gifts is clear from this: I thank my God... for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in him, so that you come behind in no gift. And indeed that they partook of 51.152 worldly wisdom, he has made clear to us from the many and long arguments he directs against wisdom. For having nowhere done this so readily in another Epistle, here he employs a great accusation; and with good reason. For since the inflammation arose from this, there he also applied the incision, saying thus: For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. See how great an accusation of worldly wisdom, that not only does it appear to contribute nothing to piety, but it also becomes an impediment and a hindrance. For just as splendid bodies, and faces comely and beautiful, if they receive some external addition of adornment, are injured in the glory of their own beauty, with the highlights and the underdrawings and the other artifice dividing the praise of beauty among themselves; but if you apply nothing to them, you reveal their beauty all the more, as the naked loveliness contends by itself, and reaps the entire wonder; so also in the case of piety and the spiritual bride, if you introduce anything to her from the outside, either wealth, or power, or strength of words, you have emptied her glory, not allowing her whole wonder to appear, but having divided her glory into many parts; but if you let her contend naked by herself, having removed all human things, then all her beauty will appear precisely, then her invincible strength will shine forth clearly, when, needing neither wealth, nor wisdom, nor power, nor noble birth, nor anything else human, she is able to rule and overcome all things, through insignificant and humble and helpless and poor and unlearned men, and impious orators and philosophers and tyrants, and ruling the whole world. Wherefore Paul also said: I came not with excellency of speech... preaching to you the testimony of God; and, God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. He did not say simply, the foolish things, but, The foolish things of the world; not at all that the foolish things of the world are also foolish with God; but many of those who seem to be foolish here, are wiser than all others with God; just as also many of those living in poverty here, are wealthier than all with God. Since also that Lazarus, being poorer than all in the world, was wealthier than all in the heavens. The foolishness of the world, therefore, he calls those not having a sharpened tongue, those not having partaken of worldly wisdom, those deprived of eloquence. And these, he says, God has chosen, to shame the wise. And how, tell me, are they shamed by these? Through the experience of the facts. For when the widow sitting outside and begging, and often also being maimed in body, you should examine concerning

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εʹ. ∆εῖ δὲ ταῦτα ἀποδεῖξαι ὑμῖν πάντα, ὅτι πρῶτοι Παύλου τῆς διδασκαλίας Κορίνθιοι τότε ἀπήλαυσαν, ὅτι χαρισμάτων ἦσαν πνευματικῶν πεπληρωμένοι, ὅτι καὶ βιωτικοῖς πλεονεκτήμασιν ἐκράτουν, ὅτι διὰ ταῦτα ἀπονοηθέντες ἀλλήλοις ἀπεῤῥάγησαν, καὶ οἱ μὲν τούτοις, οἱ δὲ ἐκείνοις προσένεμον ἑαυτούς. Ὅτι μὲν οὖν πρῶτοι τῆς Παύλου διδασκαλίας ἀπήλαυσαν, ἄκουσον πῶς αὐτὸ τοῦτο ὁ Παῦλος ᾐνίξατο· Ἐὰν γὰρ, φησὶ, πολλοὺς παιδαγωγοὺς ἔχητε ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, ἀλλ' οὐ πολλοὺς πατέρας. Ἐν γὰρ Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ διὰ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου ἐγὼ ὑμᾶς ἐγέννησα· ὁ δὲ γεννήσας πρῶτος εἰς φῶς ἄγει τὸ τεχθέν. Καὶ πάλιν, Ἐγὼ ἐφύτευσα, Ἀπολλὼς ἐπότισε· δεικνὺς ὅτι πρῶτος τὴν διδασκαλίαν κατεβάλλετο. Ὅτι δὲ χαρίσμασιν ἐκόμων πνευματικοῖς, ἐκεῖθεν δῆλον· Εὐχαριστῶ τῷ Θεῷ μου ἐπὶ τῇ χάριτι τοῦ Θεοῦ, τῇ δοθείσῃ ὑμῖν ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, ὅτι ἐν παντὶ ἐπλουτίσθητε ἐν αὐτῷ, ὥστε ὑμᾶς μὴ ὑστερεῖσθαι ἐν μηδενὶ χαρίσματι. Καὶ μὴν ὅτι σοφίας μετεῖχον 51.152 τῆς ἔξωθεν, ἐξ ὧν πολλοὺς καὶ μακροὺς κατὰ τῆς σοφίας ἀποτείνει λόγους, δῆλον ἡμῖν ἐποίησεν. Οὐδαμοῦ γὰρ αὐτὸ ταχέως ἐν ἑτέρᾳ ποιήσας Ἐπιστολῇ, ἐνταῦθα καὶ πολλῇ κέχρηται τῇ κατηγορίᾳ· καὶ μάλα εἰκότως. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἐντεῦθεν ἡ φλεγμονὴ γέγονεν, ἐκεῖ καὶ τὴν τομὴν ἐπήγαγεν, οὕτω λέγων· Οὐ γὰρ ἀπέστειλέ με Χριστὸς βαπτίζειν, ἀλλ' εὐαγγελίζεσθαι, οὐκ ἐν σοφίᾳ λόγου, ἵνα μὴ κενωθῇ ὁ σταυρὸς τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ὅρα πόση κατηγορία τῆς ἔξωθεν σοφίας, ὅτι μὴ μόνον μηδὲν φαίνεται συντελοῦσα πρὸς τὴν εὐσέβειαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐμπόδισμα καὶ κώλυμα γίνεται. Καθάπερ γὰρ τὰ λαμπρὰ τῶν σωμάτων, καὶ τῶν ὄψεων εὐειδεῖς καὶ καλαὶ, ἂν μέν τινα καλλωπισμοῦ προσθήκην ἔξωθεν λάβωσιν, εἰς τὴν τῆς οἰκείας εὐμορφίας βλάπτονται δόξαν, τῶν ὑπογραμμάτων καὶ τῶν ὑπογραφῶν καὶ τῆς ἄλλης ἐπιτεχνήσεως μεριζομένων πρὸς ἑαυτὰς τὸν τοῦ κάλλους ἔπαινον· ἂν δὲ μηδὲν ἐπαγάγῃς αὐταῖς, μᾶλλον αὐτῶν ἐκφαίνεις τὴν εὐμορφίαν, γυμνῆς καθ' ἑαυτὴν τῆς ὥρας ἀγωνιζομένης, καὶ ὁλόκληρον καρπουμένης τὸ θαῦμα· οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς εὐσεβείας καὶ τῆς νύμφης τῆς πνευματικῆς, ἂν μέν τι τῶν ἔξωθεν ἐπεισαγάγῃς αὐτῇ, ἢ πλοῦτον, ἢ δυναστείαν, ἢ λόγων ἰσχὺν, ἐκένωσας τὴν δόξαν αὐτῆς, οὐκ ἀφεὶς ὁλόκληρον αὐτῆς φανῆναι τὸ θαῦμα, ἀλλ' εἰς πολλὰ καταμερίσας αὐτῆς τὴν δόξαν· ἐὰν δὲ ἀφῇς γυμνὴν καθ' ἑαυτὴν ἀγωνίζεσθαι, πάντα ἀποστήσας τὰ ἀνθρώπινα, τότε ἀκριβῶς αὐτῆς φανεῖται τὸ κάλλος ἅπαν, τότε ἐκλάμψει σαφῶς ἡ ἄμαχος ἰσχὺς, ὅταν μήτε πλούτου, μήτε σοφίας, μήτε δυναστείας, μήτε εὐγενείας, μήτε ἄλλου τινὸς τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων δεηθεῖσα, πάντων δύνηται κρατεῖν καὶ περιγίνεσθαι, δι' ἀνθρώπων εὐτελῶν καὶ ταπεινῶν καὶ ἠπορημένων καὶ πενήτων καὶ ἰδιωτῶν, καὶ ἀσεβῶν ῥητόρων καὶ φιλοσόφων καὶ τυράννων, καὶ τῆς οἰκουμένης κρατοῦσα ἁπάσης. ∆ιὸ καὶ Παῦλος ἔλεγεν· Οὐκ ἦλθον καθ' ὑπεροχὴν λόγου, κηρύττων ὑμῖν τὸ μαρτύριον τοῦ Θεοῦ· καὶ, Τὰ μωρὰ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεὸς, ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τοὺς σοφούς. Οὐχ ἁπλῶς εἶπε, τὰ μωρὰ, ἀλλὰ, Τὰ τοῦ κόσμου μωρά· οὐ πάντως δὲ, ὅτι τὰ τοῦ κόσμου μωρὰ, καὶ παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ μωρά· ἀλλὰ πολλοὶ τῶν ἐνταῦθα δοκούντων εἶναι ἀνοήτων, παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ πάντων εἰσὶ τῶν ἄλλων σοφώτεροι· ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ πολλοὶ τῶν ἐν πενίᾳ ζώντων ἐνταῦθα, πάντων εἰσὶν εὐπορώτεροι παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ. Ἐπεὶ καὶ ὁ Λάζαρος ἐκεῖνος πάντων πτωχότερος ὢν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, πάντων ἦν εὐπορώτερος ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. Μωρίαν τοίνυν τοῦ κόσμου καλεῖ τοὺς οὐκ ἔχοντας γλῶτταν ἠκονημένην, τοὺς τῆς ἔξωθεν οὐ μετεσχηκότας σοφίας, τοὺς εὐγλωττίας ἀπεστερημένους. Καὶ τούτους ἐξελέξατο, φησὶν, ὁ Θεὸς, ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τοὺς σοφούς. Καὶ πῶς, εἰπέ μοι, διὰ τούτων ἐκεῖνοι καταισχύνονται; ∆ιὰ τῆς τῶν πραγμάτων πείρας. Ὅταν γὰρ τὴν χήραν τὴν ἔξω καθημένην καὶ προσαιτοῦσαν, πολλάκις δὲ καὶ τὸ σῶμα ἀνάπηρον οὖσαν ἐξετάσῃς περὶ