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You seek rest, why did you strip yourself? Why did you raise your hands? And how do I not raise them now, he says? When you do not control your desires, when you do not fight against the violence of nature. But you, continue in what you have learned and have been assured of, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. What is this? Just as the prophet David advised, saying, 'Do not be envious of evildoers,' so he himself advises, saying: But you, continue in what you have learned and have been assured of. Not simply, 'You learned,' but also, 'You were assured,' that is, 'You believed.' What then did I believe? That this is life. If, then, you see things here contrary to what you have believed, do not be disturbed, since Abraham also saw contrary things, but suffered nothing; he heard, 'In Isaac shall your seed be called,' and he was commanded to slay Isaac, and he was not disturbed nor troubled. Let no one be scandalized by the wicked; Scripture has said this from the beginning. What then, when the good rejoice, and the wicked are punished? The one is likely to happen, but the other not so; for it is possible for the wicked to be punished, but it is not possible for the good always to rejoice. No one was equal to Paul, but nevertheless he spent all his time in affliction, in tears, in groanings night and day. For 'with tears,' he says, 'night and day for three years I did not cease to admonish;' and again, 'My daily concern,' he says. It was not that he rejoiced today and grieved tomorrow, but daily he did not cease from being in pain. How then does he say, 'Wicked men will go on from bad to worse?' He did not say that they obtain rest, but, 'They will go on to the worse;' this progress is to the worse. He did not say, 'They will be in prosperity.' And if they are punished, they are punished for this reason, that you may not think sins go unpunished. For since Gehenna is not strong enough to keep us from wickedness, in sparing us He rouses and awakens us. If no wicked person were punished, no one would think that God presides over human affairs; if all were punished, no one would have expected there to be a resurrection, as all would be receiving their due here. For this reason He both punishes, and does not punish; for this reason the righteous are afflicted here, because they are sojourners, because they are strangers, because they are in a foreign land. The righteous, therefore, endure these things for the sake of testing; for hear God saying to Job, 'Do you think that I have dealt with you in any other way than that you might be shown to be righteous?' But sinners, if they ever endure anything of the sort, pay the penalty for their sins. In all things, therefore, let us give thanks to God, whether it be this way or that way; for both are useful. He does nothing out of hatred or aversion to us, but does both while caring for and being concerned for us. 'Knowing,' he says, 'that from a child you have known the sacred writings.' That is, from your earliest age you have learned the sacred writings. And by sacred writings he means the divine Scriptures. In these you were brought up, so that through these your faith ought to be firm, and not be harmed in any way. For the root lies deep, not having been nourished over a long time; nothing can turn it aside. And having said, 'The sacred writings,' he added, 'Which are able to make you wise;' that is, they do not allow you to suffer anything foolish, and as the many do. 4. For he who knows the Scriptures, as one ought to know them, is not scandalized by any of the things that happen, he bears all things nobly, committing some things to faith and to the incomprehensible economy of God, and knowing the reasons for others, and finding examples in the Scriptures. Since both not to be overly curious about all things, and not to wish to know all things, is a great proof of knowing. And if you wish, I will speak by way of example. Let there be a river, or rather, let there be rivers (I do not speak by way of concession, but of what rivers are); not all happen to be equal in depth, but some have shallower ground, others are deep and able to drown one who is ignorant; and in this place there are whirlpools, but in that place no longer. Therefore, not to

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ἄνεσιν ἐπιζητεῖς, τί ἀπεδύσω; τί τὰς χεῖρας ἀντῆρας· Καὶ πῶς οὐκ ἀνταίρω, φησὶ, νῦν; Ὅταν τῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν μὴ κρατῇς, ὅταν πρὸς τὴν βίαν τῆς φύσεως μὴ μάχῃ. Σὺ δὲ, μένε ἐν οἷς ἔμαθες καὶ ἐπιστώθης, εἰδὼς παρὰ τίνος ἔμαθες, καὶ ὅτι ἀπὸ βρέφους τὰ ἱερὰ γράμματα οἶδας τὰ δυνάμενά σε σοφίσαι εἰς σωτηρίαν, διὰ πίστεως τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ. Τί ἐστι τοῦτο; Καθάπερ ὁ προφήτης ∆αυῒδ παρῄνεσε, Μὴ παραζήλου, εἰπὼν, ἐν πονηρευομένοις, τοῦτο καὶ αὐτὸς παραινεῖ λέγων· Σὺ δὲ, μένε ἐν οἷς ἔμαθες καὶ ἐπιστώθης. Οὐχ ἁπλῶς, Ἔμαθες, ἀλλὰ καὶ, Ἐπιστώθης, τουτέστιν, Ἐπίστευσας. Τί δαὶ καὶ ἐπίστευσα; Ὅτι αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ζωή. Κἂν ἐναντία τοίνυν ὁρᾷς ἐνταῦθα ὧν ἐπίστευσας, μὴ θορυβοῦ, ἐπεὶ καὶ ὁ Ἀβραὰμ ἐναντία ἑώρα, ἀλλ' οὐδὲν ἔπαθεν· ἤκουσεν, ὅτι Ἐν Ἰσαὰκ κληθήσεταί σοι σπέρμα, καὶ τὸν Ἰσαὰκ σφάξαι ἐκελεύετο, καὶ οὐκ ἐθορυβεῖτο οὐδὲ ἐταράττετο. Μηδεὶς σκανδαλιζέσθω ἐπὶ τοῖς πονηροῖς· τοῦτο ἄνωθεν εἶπεν ἡ Γραφή. Τί οὖν, ὅταν καὶ ἀγαθοὶ εὐφραίνωνται, καὶ πονηροὶ κολάζωνται; Τὸ μὲν ἕτερον εἰκὸς γενέσθαι, τὸ δὲ ἄλλο οὐκέτι· πονηροὺς μὲν γὰρ κολάζεσθαι ἔνι, ἀγαθοὺς δὲ εὐφραίνεσθαι ἀεὶ οὐκ ἔνι. Οὐδεὶς Παύλου ἴσος ἦν, ἀλλ' ὅμως ἐν θλίψει τὸν πάντα διῆγε χρόνον, ἐν δάκρυσιν, ἐν στεναγμοῖς νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας. Μετὰ δακρύων γὰρ, φησὶ, νύκτα καὶ ἡμέραν τριετίαν νουθετῶν οὐκ ἐπαυσάμην· καὶ πάλιν, Ἡ ἐπισύστασίς μου ἡ καθ' ἡμέραν, φησίν. Οὐ σήμερον μὲν ἔχαιρεν, αὔριον δὲ ἤλγει, ἀλλὰ καθ' ἡμέραν οὐ διελίμπανεν ὀδυνώμενος Πῶς οὖν φησι, Πονηροὶ προκόψουσιν ἐπὶ τὸ χεῖρον; Οὐκ εἶπεν, ὅτι ἀνέσεως τυγχάνουσιν, ἀλλ', Ἐπὶ τὸ χεῖρον προκόψουσιν· εἰς τὸ χεῖρον ἡ προκοπὴ αὕτη. Οὐκ εἶπεν, Ἐν εὐθηνίᾳ ἔσονται. Εἰ δὲ καὶ κολάζονται, διὰ τοῦτο κολάζονται, ἵνα μὴ νομίσῃς ἀτιμώρητα εἶναι τὰ ἁμαρτήματα. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἡ γέεννα οὐκ ἰσχύει κωλῦσαι ἡμᾶς τῆς κακίας, φειδόμενος ἡμῶν διυπνίζει καὶ διανίστησιν ἡμᾶς. Εἰ μηδεὶς πονηρὸς ἐκολάζετο, οὐδεὶς ἂν ἐνόμιζεν ἐφεστάναι τὸν Θεὸν τοῖς ἀνθρωπίνοις πράγμασιν· εἰ πάντες ἐκολάζοντο, οὐδεὶς ἂν προσεδόκησεν ἔσεσθαι ἀνάστασιν, ὡς πάντων ἐνταῦθα ἀπολαμβανόντων. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ κολάζει, καὶ οὐ κολάζει· διὰ τοῦτο ἐνταῦθα δίκαιοι θλίβονται, ὅτι πάροικοί εἰσιν, ὅτι ξένοι, ὅτι ἐν ἀλλοτρίᾳ εἰσίν. Οἱ δίκαιοι τοίνυν δοκιμῆς ἕνεκεν ταῦτα ὑπομένουσιν· ἄκουε γὰρ τοῦ Θεοῦ λέγοντος πρὸς τὸν Ἰὼβ, Οἴει με ἄλλως σοι κεχρηματικέναι, ἢ ἵνα ἀναφανῇς δίκαιος; Οἱ δὲ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἐὰν καί ποτέ τι τοιοῦτον ὑπομείνωσι, δίκην τιννύουσι τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν. Ἐν πᾶσι τοίνυν εὐχαριστῶμεν τῷ Θεῷ, εἴτε οὕτως, εἴτε ἐκείνως· ἀμφότερα γὰρ χρήσιμα. Οὐδὲν μισῶν, οὐδὲ ἀποστρεφόμενος ἡμᾶς ποιεῖ, ἀλλ' ἀμφότερα φροντίζων καὶ κηδόμενος. Εἰδὼς, φησὶν, ὅτι ἀπὸ βρέφους τὰ ἱερὰ γράμματα οἶδας. Τουτέστιν, Ἐκ πρώτης ἡλικίας τὰ ἱερὰ γράμματα ἔμαθες. Ἱερὰ δὲ γράμματα τὰς θείας καλεῖ Γραφάς. Ἐν ταύταις ἀνετράφης, ὥστε καὶ διὰ τούτων στερεὰν εἶναί σοι τὴν πίστιν χρὴ, καὶ μηδὲν παραβλάπτεσθαι. Κατὰ βάθους γὰρ ἡ ῥίζα κεῖται, οὐ χρόνῳ τραφεῖσα πολλῷ· οὐδὲν αὐτὴν παρατρέψαι δύναται. Εἰπὼν δὲ, Τὰ ἱερὰ γράμματα, ἐπήγαγε, Τὰ δυνάμενά σε σοφίσαι· τουτέστιν, Οὐκ ἀφιᾶσιν ἀνόητόν τι παθεῖν, καὶ οἷον οἱ πολλοί. δʹ. Ὁ γὰρ τὰς Γραφὰς εἰδὼς, ὡς εἰδέναι χρὴ, οὐδενὶ τῶν γινομένων σκανδαλίζεται, πάντα φέρει γενναίως, τὰ μὲν τῇ πίστει ἐπιτρέπων καὶ τῷ ἀκαταλήπτῳ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ οἰκονομίας, τῶν δὲ καὶ λόγους εἰδὼς, καὶ παραδείγματα εὑρίσκων ἐν ταῖς Γραφαῖς. Ἐπεὶ καὶ τὸ μὴ πάντα περιεργάζεσθαι, καὶ τὸ μὴ πάντα θέλειν εἰδέναι, μέγα τοῦ εἰδέναι τεκμήριον. Καὶ εἰ βούλεσθε, ἐπὶ παραδείγματος ἐρῶ· Ἔστω ποταμὸς, μᾶλλον δὲ ἔστωσαν ποταμοὶ (οὐ κατὰ συγχώρησιν λέγω, ἀλλ' ὅπερ εἰσὶν οἱ ποταμοί)· οὐ πάντες κατὰ βάθος ἴσοι τυγχάνουσιν, ἀλλ' οἱ μὲν ψιλότερον τὸ ἔδαφος ἔχοντες, ἕτεροι βαθὺ καὶ ἱκανὸν ἀποπνίξαι τὸν ἀγνοοῦντα· καὶ ἐνταῦθα μὲν ἴλιγγοι, ἐκεῖ δὲ οὐκέτι. Τὸ οὖν μὴ