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being carried aside or setting his gaze opposite the one guiding him, cuts a new path for himself, not the one the guide points out. Therefore he says to the one being guided: my face will not be seen by you, that is: do not be face to face with the one guiding. For the course will certainly be toward the opposite. For good does not look opposite to good, but follows. 2.254 But that which is understood as opposite to the good becomes face to face with it. For evil looks opposite to virtue. But virtue is not beheld opposite to virtue face to face. Therefore Moses does not look opposite to God, but he sees his back parts. For the one who looks opposite will not live, as the divine voice testifies, that: no one will see the face of the Lord and live. 2.255 You see how great a thing it is to learn to follow God, that after those lofty ascents and the fearful and glorious theophanies, somewhere near the end of his life, he who has learned to come after God is with difficulty deemed worthy of this grace. But for the one who thus follows God, none of the offenses due to evil any longer opposes him. 2.256 For after these things envy springs up against him from his brethren, envy, the primal evil passion, the father of death, the first entrance of sin, the root of evil, the genesis of grief, the mother of misfortunes, the foundation of disobedience, the beginning of shame. Envy drove us out from paradise, becoming a serpent against Eve. Envy walled us off from the tree of life and stripping us of the holy garments brought us under shame with fig leaves. 2.257 Envy armed Cain against nature and devised the sevenfold-avenged death. Envy made Joseph a slave. Envy, the death-bearing sting, the hidden weapon, the disease of nature, the bitter poison, the willing consumption, the bitter arrow, the nail of the soul, the fire in the heart, the flame burning in the inward parts, 2.258 for whom misfortune is not one's own evil, but another's good, and success, again, on the contrary, is not one's own good, but a neighbor's evil. Envy, the one that is pained by the successes of men and gloats over their misfortunes. They say that the corpse-eating vultures are destroyed by myrrh. For their nature is accustomed to the foul and corrupt. And the one who is overcome by this disease is destroyed by the prosperity of his neighbors as by the application of some myrrh, but if he should see some suffering from misfortune, he swoops down upon it and brings his hooked beak, pulling out the hidden parts of the misfortune. 2.259 Envy vanquished many of those before Moses. But being brought against this great man, like some earthenware vessel dashed against a rock, it is shattered against itself. For in this was especially shown the profit of the journey with God which Moses made, he who ran to the divine place and stood upon the rock and was contained in its space and was sheltered by the hand of God and followed behind the guide, the one not looking opposite, but seeing the back parts.

2.260 It shows, therefore, that the one who has become himself is blessed by following God, and that he appeared higher than the bowshot. For envy sends its arrow against him too, but the shot does not reach the height, where Moses was. For the bowstring of wickedness was too weak to shoot the passion so far, that from those already sick it might pass even to him. But Aaron and Miriam were wounded by the passion of envy and become like a bow of envy, shooting forth the word against him instead of an arrow. 2.261 But he was so far from sharing in the sickness, that he even heals the passion of those who were sick, not only himself remaining unmoved toward defending against those who had grieved him, but even now propitiating God on their behalf, showing, I think, through what he did, that he who is well fenced around with the shield of virtue is not scratched by the points of the arrows. 2.262 For the strength of the armor blunts the point and turns it back. And the armor that is a protection from such arrows would be God himself, whom

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παραφερόμενος ἢ ἀντιπρόσωπον φέρων τῷ ὁδηγοῦντι τὸ βλέμμα ἄλλην ἑαυτῷ καινοτομεῖ πορείαν, οὐχ ἣν ὁ ὁδηγὸς ὑποδείκνυσι. ∆ιό φησι πρὸς τὸν ὁδηγούμενον ὅτι· τὸ πρόσωπόν μου οὐκ ὀφθήσεταί σοι, τουτέστι· μὴ ἀντιπρόσωπος γίνου τῷ ὁδηγοῦντι. Πρὸς γὰρ τὸ ἐναντίον πάντως ὁ δρόμος ἔσται. Ἀγαθὸν γὰρ ἀγαθῷ οὐκ ἀντιβλέπει, ἀλλ' ἕπεται. 2.254 Τὸ δὲ ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου νοούμενον τῷ ἀγαθῷ ἀντιπρόσωπον γίνεται. Ἡ γὰρ κακία ἐξ ἐναντίου τῇ ἀρετῇ βλέπει. Ἀρετὴ δὲ οὐκ ἀντιθεωρεῖται τῇ ἀρετῇ ἀντιπρόσωπος. Ὁ οὖν Μωϋσῆς οὐκ ἀντιβλέπει τῷ Θεῷ, ἀλλὰ τὰ ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ βλέπει. Ὁ γὰρ ἀντιβλέπων οὐ ζήσεται, καθὼς μαρτυρεῖται ἡ θεία φωνή, ὅτι· οὐδεὶς ὄψεται τὸ πρόσωπον Κυρίου καὶ ζήσεται. 2.255 Ὁρᾷς ὅσον ἐστὶ τὸ μαθεῖν ἀκολουθῆσαι τῷ Θεῷ, ὅτι μετὰ τὰς ὑψηλὰς ἐκείνας ἀναβάσεις καὶ τὰς φοβεράς τε καὶ ἐνδόξους θεοφανείας πρὸς τῷ τέλει που τῆς ζωῆς μόγις ταύτης ἀξιοῦται τῆς χάριτος ὁ μαθὼν κατόπιν γενέσθαι Θεοῦ. Τῷ δὲ οὕτως ἑπομένῳ τῷ Θεῷ οὐκέτι τῶν διὰ κακίας προσοχθισμάτων ἀντιβαίνει οὐδέν. 2.256 Μετὰ ταῦτα γὰρ φθόνος αὐτῷ παρὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἐπιφύεται, φθόνος τὸ ἀρχέκακον πάθος, ὁ τοῦ θανάτου πατήρ, ἡ πρώτη τῆς ἁμαρτίας εἴσοδος, ἡ τῆς κακίας ῥίζα, ἡ τῆς λύπης γένεσις, ἡ τῶν συμφορῶν μήτηρ, ἡ τῆς ἀπειθείας ὑπόθεσις, ἡ τῆς αἰσχύνης ἀρχή. Φθόνος ἡμᾶς τοῦ παραδείσου ἐξῴκισεν, ὄφις κατὰ τῆς Εὔας γενόμενος. Φθόνος τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς ἀπετείχισε καὶ τῶν ἱερῶν ἐνδυμάτων γυμνώσας τοῖς τῆς συκῆς φύλλοις δι' αἰσχύνης ὑπήγαγε. 2.257 Φθόνος τὸν Κάϊν κατὰ τῆς φύσεως ὥπλισε καὶ τὸν ἑπτάκις ἐκδικούμενον ἐκαινοτόμησε θάνατον. Φθόνος τὸν Ἰωσὴφ δοῦλον ἐποίησε. Φθόνος τὸ θανατηφόρον κέντρον, τὸ κεκρυμμένον ὅπλον, ἡ τῆς φύσεως νόσος, ὁ χολώδης ἰός, ἡ ἑκούσιος τηκεδών, τὸ πικρὸν βέλος, ὁ τῆς ψυχῆς ἧλος, τὸ ἐγκάρδιον πῦρ, ἡ τοῖς σπλάγχνοις ἐγκαιομένη φλόξ, 2.258 ᾧ ἀτύχημα μέν ἐστιν οὐ τὸ ἴδιον κακόν, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἀλλότριον ἀγαθόν, κατόρθωμα δὲ πάλιν ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου οὐ τὸ οἰκεῖον καλόν, ἀλλὰ τὸ τοῦ πέλας κακόν. Φθόνος ὁ ταῖς εὐπραγίαις τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐποδυνώμενος καὶ ταῖς συμφοραῖς ἐπεμβαίνων. Φθείρεσθαι τοὺς νεκροβόρους γύπας τῷ μύρῳ λέγουσι. Πρὸς γὰρ τὸ δυσῶδες καὶ διεφθορὸς αὐτῶν ἡ φύσις ᾠκείωται. Καὶ ὁ τῇ νόσῳ ταύτῃ κρατούμενος τῇ μὲν εὐημερίᾳ τῶν πέλας οἷόν τινος μύρου προσβολῇ καταφθείρεται, εἰ δέ τι πάθος ἐκ συμφορᾶς ἴδοι, πρὸς τοῦτο καθίπταται καὶ τὸ ἀγκύ λον ἐπάγει στόμα, τὰ κεκρυμμένα ἐξέλκων τοῦ δυστυχήματος. 2.259 Πολλοὺς ὁ φθόνος τῶν πρὸ Μωϋσέως κατηγωνίσατο. Τῷ δὲ μεγάλῳ τούτῳ προσενεχθείς, οἷόν τι πλάσμα πήλινον πέτρᾳ προσαραχθέν, ἑαυτῷ περιτρίβεται. Ἐν τούτῳ γὰρ μάλιστα διεδείχθη τῆς μετὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ πορείας τὸ κέρδος ἣν ἐποιεῖτο Μωϋσῆς, ὁ ἐν τῷ θείῳ τόπῳ δραμὼν καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς πέτρας ἑστὼς καὶ τῷ χωρήματι ταύτης περιεχόμενος καὶ τῇ χειρὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ σκεπαζόμενος καὶ κατόπιν τῷ ἡγουμένῳ ἑπόμενος, ὁ μὴ ἀντιβλέπων, ἀλλὰ τὰ ὀπίσθια βλέπων.

2.260 Τὸν οὖν ἐφ' ἑαυτοῦ γενόμενον μακαριστὸν τῷ ἕπεσθαι τῷ Θεῷ ἀποδείκνυσι καὶ τὸ φανῆναι αὐτὸν τῆς τοῦ τόξου βολῆς ὑψηλότερον. Πέμπει γὰρ καὶ κατ' ἐκείνου τὸ βέλος ὁ φθόνος, ἀλλ' οὐ καθικνεῖται ἡ βολὴ τοῦ ὕψους, ἐν ᾧ ἦν Μωϋσῆς. Ἠτόνησε γὰρ ἡ νευρὰ τῆς πονηρίας τοσοῦτον ἀποτοξεῦσαι τὸ πάθος, ὡς ἀπὸ τῶν προνενοσηκότων καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν διαβῆναι. Ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν Ἀαρὼν καὶ ἡ Μαριὰμ τῷ πάθει τῆς βασκανίας ἐτρώθησαν καὶ οἷόν τι τόξον τοῦ φθόνου γίνονται, ἀντὶ βέλους τὸν κατ' αὐτοῦ λόγον ἀποτοξεύσαντες. 2.261 Ὁ δὲ τοσοῦτον ἀπέσχεν ἐν κοινωνίᾳ γενέσθαι τοῦ ἀρρωστήματος, ὥστε καὶ θεραπεύει τῶν νενοσηκότων τὸ πάθος, οὐ μόνον αὐτὸς πρὸς τὴν ἄμυναν τῶν λελυπηκότων μένων ἀκίνητος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν Θεὸν ἤδη ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἱλεού μενος, δεικνύς, οἶμαι, δι' ὧν ἐποίησεν, ὅτι ὁ καλῶς τῷ θυρεῷ τῆς ἀρετῆς περιπεφραγμένος ταῖς ἀκίσι τῶν βελῶν οὐκ ἀμύσσεται. 2.262 Ἀμβλύνει γὰρ τὴν αἰχμὴν καὶ εἰς τὸ ἔμπαλιν ἀποστρέφει ἡ τοῦ ὅπλου στερρότης. Ὅπλον δ' ἂν εἴη τῶν τοιούτων βελῶν φυλακτήριον αὐτὸς ὁ Θεός, ὃν