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he sets forth an account of true godliness, even if he speaks for a long time, as the holy apostle taught concerning the Lord in the school of Tyrannus for three nights; this man neither says many things, nor is he 93.625 troublesome, but is even insatiable to his listeners. Thus also the books of the divine Scriptures, though they happen to have many lines, are not called many things, but the law of the Lord; since the lawgiver of both Testaments is one, and all things look to one purpose, as our Lord himself also taught, the great Preacher, the wisdom of the Father, saying, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself. For on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Do you see the books of many words summed up in one word, and for this reason not being many? What books, therefore, does the Preacher discourage from being made? Those of the Greeks, who overturn one another's opinions, and have an unceasing war against each other; those of the heretics, who fight against one another; the endless and mythical traditions of the Jews. For pretending to interpret the Scriptures, they turned aside to myths and genealogies, and certain traditions not according to the will of the lawgiver. Much study in such books is a weariness of the flesh, only afflicting the body, and bearing no fruit. But the study of the divine books, in which the holy [David] commands us to be engaged day and night, saying: And in his law to meditate day and night; is not a weariness of the flesh, but a rejoicing of the soul. For even if we sow in sweat and tears, laboring for what is good, in rejoicing we shall reap the glorious fruit of virtue. For of good labors the fruit is glorious. And the Preacher calls the one being admonished his son; wherefore it is fitting for us to keep the paternal dignity, not transgressing the paternal commandments. And the phrase, There is no end, means, an end of the labors concerning vain things; or that it is not possible to find any fruit from them; or that the myriads of books circulating in the world happen to be innumerable. "The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole man; for God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil." But I, he says, show you a summary and most concise way of salvation: Fear God, and keep his commandments; a fear not elementary and passionate on account of punishments, but the pure and purifying fear, which is owed through the affection for the Father who commanded. For if we do not fornicate because of the dread of punishment, it is quite clear that if the things of punishment were not set before us, we would have fornicated, having a fornicating inclination. And so understand this for each of the forbidden things. But if not because of the threat of punishment, but having hated the evil things themselves, 93.628 we abstain from these things, through love for the one who legislated this, we work the commandments, and we fear lest we fall away. For in fearing is working, and in working is fearing, lest we overlook any of the things commanded. This fear happens to be pure, coming into being for the sake of the good itself, and it purges our souls, being equivalent to love. And he who has this fear, and keeps the commandments, this is every wise man, meaning, the perfect and complete man. These things, he says, do securely, knowing that every rational creature, which has also been honored with free will, God will bring into judgment, demanding from us an account of things done, or even of things overlooked, whether good or evil. And things overlooked are often both voluntary and often also involuntary. Sometimes when I am able to do good, I overlook it and put it off; and yet, with knowledge of the good, this is a voluntary oversight; if being able to do good, I did not do it through ignorance, this is involuntary. Sometimes we even do good unwillingly, and often willingly, and again the opposite; sometimes we do something evil with full knowledge, disregarding

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ἀληθοῦς θεοσεβείας ἐκτιθῆται λόγον, κἂν ἐν πολλῷ τῷ χρόνῳ διαλέγηται, ὡς ὁ ἱερὸς ἀπόστολος ἐν τῇ σχολῇ τυράννου ἐπὶ τρεῖς νύκτας ἐδίδασκε τὰ περὶ τοῦ Κυρίου· οὗτος οὔτε πολλὰ λέγει, οὔτε ὀχληρός 93.625 ἐστι, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀκόρεστος τοῖς ἀκούουσιν. Οὕτω καὶ τὰ τῶν θείων Γραφῶν βιβλία πολύστιχα τυγχάνοντα, οὐ πολλὰ λέγονται, ἀλλὰ νόμος Κυρίου· ἐπειδὴ εἷς ἀμφοτέρων τῶν ∆ιαθηκῶν ὁ νομοθέτης, καὶ πρὸς ἕνα σκοπὸν ἅπαντα βλέπουσιν, ὡς καὶ αὐτὸς ἡμῶν ὁ Κύριος ἐδίδαξε, ὁ μέγας Ἐκκλησιαστὴς, ἡ σοφία τοῦ Πατρὸς, Ἀγαπήσεις, λέγουσα, Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου, καὶ τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς ἑαυτόν. Ἐν γὰρ ταύταις ταῖς δυσὶν ἐντολαῖς ὅλος ὁ νόμος, καὶ οἱ προφῆται κρέμανται. Ὁρᾷς ἐν ἑνὶ λόγῳ τὰ πολυεπῆ βιβλία συγκεφαλαιούμενα, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο μὴ ὄντα πολλά; Ποῖα τοιγαροῦν ὁ Ἐκκλησιαστὴς ἀποτρέπει βιβλία ποιεῖν; Τὰ τῶν Ἑλλήνων, τῶν τὰς ἀλλήλων ἀνατρεπόντων δόξας, καὶ ἀκήρυκτον πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς ἐχόντων πόλεμον· τὰ τῶν αἱρετικῶν, τῶν ἀλλήλοις ἀντιμαχομένων· τὰς τῶν Ἰουδαίων δευτερώσεις τὰς ἀπεράντους καὶ μυθικάς. Ἑρμηνεύειν γὰρ σχηματιζόμενοι τὰς Γραφὰς, εἰς μύθους καὶ γενεαλογίας ἐξετράπησαν, καὶ παραδόσεις τινὰς οὐ κατὰ τὸ τοῦ νομοθέτου βούλημα. Ἡ ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις βιβλίοις πολλὴ μελέτη κόπωσίς ἐστι σαρκὸς, μόνον τὸ σῶμα ταλαιπωροῦσα, καὶ καρπὸν μηδένα φέρουσα. Ἡ δὲ περὶ τὰ θεῖα βιβλία μελέτη περὶ ἣν ἡμᾶς ἐνασχολεῖσθαι ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς ὁ ἅγιος [∆αυῒδ] ἐγκελεύεται λέγων· Καὶ ἐν τῷ νόμῳ αὐτοῦ μελετῆσαι ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός· οὐ κόπωσις ὑπάρχει σαρκὸς, ἀλλὰ ψυχῆς ἀγαλλίασις. Κἂν γὰρ ἐν ἱδρῶσι καὶ δάκρυσι σπείρωμεν, φιλοπονοῦντες περὶ τὸ καλὸν, ἐν ἀγαλλιάσει θερίσομεν τὸν εὐκλέα τῆς ἀρετῆς καρπόν. Ἀγαθῶν γὰρ πόνων εὐκλεὴς ὁ καρπός. Υἱὸν δὲ ἑαυτοῦ τὸν νουθετούμενον ὁ Ἐκκλησιαστὴς καλεῖ· διὸ προσήκει τὸ πατρικὸν ἡμᾶς φυλάττειν ἀξίωμα, μὴ παραβαίνοντας τὰς πατρικὰς ἐντολάς. Τὸ δὲ, Οὐκ ἔστι περασμὸς, ἀντὶ τοῦ, πέρας τῶν πόνων περὶ τὰ μάταια· ἢ ὅτι τινὰ ἐξ αὐτῶν καρπὸν οὐκ ἔστιν εὑρεῖν· ἢ ὅτι ἀναρίθμητοι αἱ μυριάδες τῶν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ φερομένων βιβλίων τυγχάνουσιν. "Τέλος λόγου τὸ πᾶν ἄκουε· τὸν Θεὸν φοβοῦ, καὶ τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ φύλασσε, ὅτι τοῦτο πᾶς ἄνθρωπος· ὅτι σύμπαν τὸ ποίημα ἄξει ὁ Θεὸς ἐν κρίσει, ἐν παντὶ παρεωραμένῳ, ἐὰν ἀγαθὸν καὶ ἐὰν πονηρόν." Ἐγὼ δέ σοι, φησὶ, κεφαλαιώδη καὶ ἐπιτομωτάτην σωτηρίας ὁδὸν ὑποδείκνυμι· Τὸν Θεὸν φοβοῦ, καὶ τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ φύλασσε· φόβον οὐ τὸν εἰσαγωγικὸν καὶ ἐμπαθῆ διὰ τὰς κολάσεις, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἁγνὸν καὶ ἁγνοποιὸν, τὸν διὰ τὴν στοργὴν τοῦ προστάξαντος πατρὸς ὀφειλόμενον. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ διὰ τὸ δέος τῆς κολάσεως μὴ πορνεύσωμεν, εὔδηλον ὡς εἰ μὴ προέκειτο τὰ τῆς τιμωρίας, ἐπορνεύσαμεν ἂν, πορνικὴν ἔχοντες προαίρεσιν. Καὶ οὕτως ἐφ' ἑκάστου τῶν ἀπηγορευμένων νόει. Ἐὰν δὲ μὴ διὰ τὴν ἀπειλὴν τῆς κολάσεως, ἀλλ' αὐτὰ μισήσαντες τὰ φαῦλα, 93.628 τούτων ἀποσχώμεθα, φιλίᾳ τῇ πρὸς τὸν τοῦτο νομοθετήσαντα, ἐργαζόμεθα τὰς ἐντολὰς, καὶ φοβούμεθα μὴ παραῤῥυῶμεν. Ἐν γὰρ τῷ φοβεῖσθαι τὸ ἐργάζεσθαι, καὶ ἐν τῷ ἐργάζεσθαι τὸ φοβεῖσθαι μή τι τῶν ἐντεταγμένων παρίδωμεν. Οὗτος ὁ φόβος ἁγνὸς τυγχάνει δι' αὐτὸ τὸ καλὸν γινόμενος, καὶ ἀφανίζει τὰς ἡμετέρας ψυχὰς, ἰσοδύναμος ὢν τῇ ἀγάπῃ. Ὁ δὲ τοῦτον ἔχων τὸν φόβον, καὶ τὰς ἐντολὰς φυλάσσων, οὗτός ἐστι σοφὸς πᾶς ἄνθρωπος, ἀντὶ τοῦ, ὁ τέλειος καὶ ἀνελλιπής. Ταῦτα δὲ, φησὶ, ποίει ἀσφαλῶς, ἐπιστάμενος ὅτι πᾶν τὸ λογικὸν ποίημα, τὸ καὶ αὐτεξουσίῳ προαιρέσει τετιμημένον, ἄξει ὁ Θεὸς εἰς κρίσιν, λόγους ἡμᾶς ἀπαιτῶν τῶν πεπραγμένων, ἢ καὶ παρεωραμένων, ἐάν τε ἀγαθῶν, ἐάν τε πονηρῶν. Παρεωραμένα δέ εἰσι πολλάκις μὲν καὶ τὰ ἑκούσια, πολλάκις δὲ καὶ τὰ ἀκούσια. Ἔσθ' ὅτε δυνάμενος εὖ ποιῆσαι, παρορῶ καὶ ὑπερτίθεμαι· καίτοι γε ἐν εἰδήσει τοῦ καλοῦ τοῦτο ἑκούσιον παρόραμα· εἰ δυνάμενος εὖ ποιῆσαι, κατὰ ἄγνοιαν οὐκ ἐποίησα, τοῦτο ἀκούσιον. Ἔσθ' ὅτε καὶ ἄκοντες εὖ ποιοῦμεν, πολλάκις δὲ καὶ ἑκόντες, καὶ πάλιν ἐκ τῶν ἐναντίων· ἔσθ' ὅτε φαῦλόν τι ἐργαζόμεθα ἐν συνειδήσει, ἀθετοῦντες