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being deposited, but at another time handling the plow of teaching and depositing in the souls of the disciples the seed of divine learning. 8.4 Let us not, therefore, by simply looking at their appearance and the dialect of their tongue, overlook their virtue, but let us learn precisely their angelic life, their philosophical conduct. For all luxury and gluttony has been driven out from them; and not only these but also the rest of the laziness that prevails in the cities, and they eat only as much as can suffice them for the sustenance of life, and for all the remaining time they occupy their mind with hymns and continual prayers, and in this they imitate the angelic conduct. 8.5 For just as for those incorporeal powers this is their one and only work, to hymn the creator of all things perpetually, in the very same way these wonderful men also comfort the need of the body because they are interwoven with flesh, and for all the other time they devote themselves to hymns and prayers, having bid farewell to the fantasies of this life, and through their most excellent way of life they strive to lead their subjects to their own imitation. Who then could bless these men according to their worth, because, though not partaking of external education, they were educated in the true wisdom, showing that apostolic word fulfilled through their works: "for the foolishness of God is wiser than men." 8.6 For when you see this common man and rustic, knowing nothing more than things concerning farming and the care of the earth, taking no account of present things, but with his mind winged toward the good things laid up in heaven and knowing how to philosophize about those ineffable good things and knowing these things with precision, which the philosophers, who think highly of their beard and staff, were never able to even imagine, how will you not receive clear proof of the power of God? For from where else, tell me, comes to these men so great a philosophy of virtue and the not paying attention to visible things but preferring the unseen and invisible and things in hope to things that are apparent and in hand? For this is faith, when someone considers the things promised by God, even if they are not seen by these eyes of the body, to be more trustworthy than things that are seen and lie before our eyes. 8.7 Thus all the righteous were well-pleasing and were deemed worthy of those ineffable good things. Thus the patriarch Abraham was proclaimed by the Lord, having passed over the weakness of human nature and having stretched his whole mind toward the power of the one who promised. Wherefore he is also proclaimed by the divine scripture: "For," it says, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." For this reason also, having heard from the beginning, "Go out from your country and from your kindred and from your father's house, and come to the land that I will show you," he obeyed with much eagerness and put the command into action, and he left his own land where he happened to be dwelling, though he went out not knowing where he would settle. But he preferred what was commanded by the Lord to things that were clear and acknowledged, and not only did he not question the command nor was his reasoning troubled, but looking to the dignity of the one who commanded, having passed over all human hindrances, he was concerned with one thing only, to fall short in nothing of what was commanded. 8.8 And these things happened not for the sake of the righteous man alone, that the greatness of his faith might be shown, but so that we too might become imitators of the patriarch. For since He saw his well-disposed soul, for this reason He wished to transfer him, like a hidden and concealed luminary, to the land of Canaan, so that He might lead by the hand to the word of piety those who were wandering there and who still had their mind maimed by the darkness of ignorance. which indeed happened, and through him, thereafter, not only those inhabiting Palestine

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παρακατατιθέμενον, ποτὲ δὲ τὸ τῆς διδασκαλίας ἄροτρον μεταχειρίζοντα καὶ εἰς τὰς τῶν μαθητευομένων ψυχὰς τὸν σπόρον τῶν θείων μαθημάτων ἐναποτιθέμενον. 8.4 Μὴ τοίνυν πρὸς τὸ σχῆμα ἁπλῶς ὁρῶντες καὶ τῆς γλώττης τὴν διάλεξιν παρατρέχωμεν αὐτῶν τὴν ἀρετήν, ἀλλ' ἀκριβῶς αὐτῶν καταμάθωμεν τὸν βίον τὸν ἀγγελικόν, τὴν φιλόσοφον διαγωγήν. Πᾶσα γὰρ τρυφὴ καὶ ἀδηφαγία παρὰ τούτοις ἀπελήλαται· οὐ μόνον δὲ ταῦτα ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ λοιπὴ βλακεία ἡ ἐν ταῖς πόλεσι πολιτευομένη καὶ τοσαῦτα μόνον σιτοῦνται ὅσα πρὸς τὴν τῆς ζωῆς σύστασιν αὐτοῖς ἀρκέσαι δύναται, καὶ τὸν λοιπὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον ἐν ὕμνοις καὶ διηνεκέσιν εὐχαῖς τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἀπασχολοῦσι διάνοιαν καὶ ἐν τούτῳ τὴν ἀγγελικὴν διαγωγὴν μιμούμενοι. 8.5 Καθάπερ γὰρ ἐκείναις ταῖς ἀσωμάτοις δυνάμεσιν ἓν τοῦτο μόνον ἔργον ἐστὶ τὸ διὰ παντὸς ὑμνεῖν τὸν τῶν ὅλων δημιουργόν, τὸν αὐτὸν δὴ τρόπον καὶ οἱ θαυμάσιοι οὗτοι ἄνδρες καὶ τοῦ σώματος τὴν χρείαν παραμυθοῦνται διὰ τὸ σαρκὶ συμπεπλέχθαι, καὶ τὸν ἄλλον ἅπαντα χρόνον τοῖς ὕμνοις καὶ ταῖς εὐχαῖς προσανέχουσι, πολλὰ χαίρειν εἰπόντες ταῖς βιωτικαῖς φαντασίαις καὶ διὰ τῆς ἀρίστης αὐτῶν πολιτείας τοὺς ὑπηκόους εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν μίμησιν ἐναγαγεῖν σπουδάζουσι. Τίς ἂν οὖν κατ' ἀξίαν τούτους μακαρίσειεν ὅτι τῆς ἔξωθεν παιδεύσεως μὴ μετέχοντες τὴν ἀληθῆ σοφίαν ἐπαιδεύθησαν, δεικνύντες ἐκεῖνο τὸ ἀποστολικὸν διὰ τῶν ἔργων πληρούμενον· «ὅτι τὸ μωρὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφώτερον τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐστίν.» 8.6 Ὅταν γὰρ ἴδῃς τὸν ἰδιώτην τοῦτον καὶ ἄγροικον καὶ μηδὲν εἰδότα πλέον ἢ τὰ κατὰ τὴν γεωργίαν καὶ τὴν τῆς γῆς ἐπιμέλειαν τῶν μὲν παρόντων οὐδένα ποιούμενον λόγον, πρὸς δὲ τὰ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς ἀποκείμενα ἀγαθὰ ἐπτερωμένον τὴν διάνοιαν καὶ φιλοσοφεῖν ἐπιστάμενον περὶ τῶν ἀπορρήτων ἐκείνων ἀγαθῶν καὶ ταῦτα μετὰ ἀκριβείας εἰδότα ἅπερ οἱ φιλόσοφοι καὶ μέγα ἐπὶ τῷ πώγωνι καὶ τῇ βακτηρίᾳ φρονοῦντες οὐδὲ φαντασθῆναί ποτε ἠδυνήθησαν, πῶς οὐκ ἐναργῆ λήψῃ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ δυνάμεως τὴν ἀπόδειξιν; Πόθεν γάρ, εἰπέ μοι, ἄλλοθεν τούτοις ἡ τοσαύτη τῆς ἀρετῆς φιλοσοφία καὶ τὸ μὴ τοῖς ὁρωμένοις προσέχειν ἀλλὰ τὰ ἄδηλα καὶ ἀφανῆ καὶ τὰ ἐν ἐλπίσι τῶν φαινομένων καὶ ἐν χερσὶ ὄντων προτιθέναι; Τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι πίστις ὅταν τις τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπαγγελθέντα κἂν μὴ φαίνηται τούτοις τοῖς τοῦ σωμάτος ὀφθαλμοῖς, ἀξιοπιστότερα ἡγῆται τῶν φαινομένων καὶ πρὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν κειμένων τῶν ἡμετέρων. 8.7 Οὕτως οἱ δίκαιοι πάντες εὐδοκίμησαν καὶ τῶν ἀπορρήτων ἐκείνων ἀγαθῶν ἠξιώθησαν. Οὕτως ὁ πατριάρχης Ἀβραὰμ ἀνεκηρύχθη παρὰ τοῦ δεσπότου, τὴν ἀσθένειαν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως παραδραμὼν καὶ πρὸς τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ ἐπαγγειλαμένου πᾶσαν αὐτοῦ τείνας τὴν διάνοιαν. ∆ιὸ καὶ ἀνακηρύττεται ὑπὸ τῆς θείας γραφῆς· «Ἐπίστευσε γάρ, φησίν, Ἀβραὰμ τῷ Θεῷ καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην.» ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἐκ προοιμίων ἀκούσας· «Ἔξελθε ἐκ τῆς γῆς σου καὶ ἐκ τῆς συγγενείας σου καὶ ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ πατρός σου, καὶ δεῦρο εἰς γῆν ἣν ἄν σοι δείξω», μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς προθυμίας ὑπήκουσε καὶ τὸ ἐπιταχθὲν εἰς ἔργον ἤγαγε καὶ κατελίμπανε μὲν τὴν οἰκείαν γῆν ἔνθα κατασκηνώσας ἐτύγχανεν, ἐξείη δὲ οὐκ εἰδὼς ὅπου στήσεται. Ἀλλὰ τῶν δήλων καὶ ὡμολογημένων προετίμα τὸ κελευσθὲν παρὰ τοῦ δεσπότου καὶ οὐ μόνον οὐ περιεργάζετο τὸ πρόσταγμα οὐδὲ ἐταράττετο τὸν λογισμόν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸ ἀξίωμα τοῦ κελεύσαντος ἀφορῶν, πάντα τὰ ἀνθρώπινα κωλύματα παραδραμών, ἑνὸς ἦν μόνου τοῦ μηδὲν ἐλλιπεῖν τῶν προσταχθέντων. 8.8 Ταῦτα δὲ ἐγίνετο οὐ διὰ τὸν δίκαιον μόνον ἵνα δειχθῇ αὐτοῦ τῆς πίστεως τὸ μέγεθος, ἀλλ' ἵνα καὶ ἡμεῖς ζηλωταὶ γενώμεθα τοῦ πατριάρχου. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εἶδεν αὐτοῦ τὴν εὐγνώμονα ψυχήν, διὰ τοῦτο καθάπερ φωστῆρα λανθάνοντα καὶ κεκρυμμένον ἐβουλήθη εἰς τὴν Χαναναίαν αὐτὸν μεταστῆσαι ἵνα τοὺς αὐτόθι πλανωμένους καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ τῆς ἀγνοίας σκότους ἔτι πεπηρωμένην ἔχοντας τὴν διάνοιαν, εἰς τὸν τῆς εὐσεβείας χειραγωγήσῃ λόγον. Ὃ δὴ καὶ γέγονε καὶ δι' ἐκείνου λοιπὸν οὐχ οἱ τὴν Παλαιστίνην μόνον οἰκοῦντες