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it is. For it is said in a psalm: "Our age for the illumination of your face". But the life that is extended by sojourning here is called an age; for "he shall be your servant for the age". "I will never eat meat for the age", instead of "for life". Since, therefore, the time of our life has come to illuminate your face—for we have come to proclaim your presence beforehand—, our whole age has become for the illumination of your face for the sake of illuminating and revealing your coming to men. 6 Remember your compassions, Lord, and your mercies, for they are from of old. For even if I have besought and lifted up my soul to you and deemed the other things worthy to be granted to me from you, yet I do not ask these things according to merit. Pitying and showing mercy you grant these things, in accordance with: "not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy"; for even if we did everything in our power, by the mercy of God we strive to attain their end. As compassionate hear me, as merciful receive my prayers. "and your mercies, for they are from of old". For you did not begin to be merciful yesterday or the day before. You are eternal, you are eternally good. 7 Do not remember the sins of my youth and my ignorances. You see that he prays concerning previous ignorances and sins according to the compassion and mercy of God; for it is no longer repentance that sends up a prayer for sins being committed. Repentances are for things past. For he says: "Do not remember my sins and my ignorances" which I have, but now I do not have, but those of youth. But it is also possible this way: whatever age one is who is ignorant and sins, he is young with the youth of judgment, with the recent establishment of his state. So it is possible to always find those confessing and uttering words of repentance concerning past sins doing this: "we have sinned, we have transgressed, we have acted impiously"; for how is it possible? He who repents asks for virtue. How then can one who is still in his sins have or receive virtue? "Depart" therefore "from evil, and do good". 7 according to your mercy, remember me. Because: "remember me"? - it is an idiom of scripture for "know me". 7 for the sake of your goodness, Lord. Not for the sake of my virtue, remember me. 8 The Lord is good and upright. He who is good with uprightness is good; for often 81 "good" is taken in a negative sense: "evil communications corrupt good manners". Here he does not take "good" in a praiseworthy sense, but instead of "superficial". And again "guileless" similarly: "the guileless believes every word", instead of "simple-minded". And concerning the heterodox Paul writes: "by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple". 8 Therefore he will give a law to sinners in the way. If he were severe, if he were not good, he would not give a law in the way of salvation to sinners, but would deliver them to punishment. Therefore he gives a law to the very ones sinning in the way, so that having traveled this way they might have salvation. And observe: he does not say "those who have sinned", but "those who are sinning". And those still sinning he leads to the way through exhortations, admonitions, and laws. Because: does he mean the written law? -this saying can be understood according to all the meanings of the law. 9 He will guide the meek in judgment. He guides the meek with discernment; for again meekness also seems to many to signify superficiality. But when they are also guided with discernment, they have the perfect virtue which the Savior taught to have, saying: "learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart". And "in judgment" can also be this way: having judged these meek to be able to be helped, he guides them. And the first interpretation especially is in harmony with the text that they come to the way with discernment, having God as their guide. Or does he not guide who says: "learn from me, for I am meek"? 10 All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth. in many places of the scriptures

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ἐστιν. εἴρηται γοῦν ἐν ψαλμῷ· "ὁ αἰὼν ἡμῶν εἰς φωτισμὸν τοῦ προσώπου σου". ἡ ζωὴ δὲ ἡ παρεκτεινομένη τῇ ἐνταῦθα ἐπιδιατριβῇ λέγεται αἰών· "ἔσται" γάρ "σοι δοῦλος εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα". "οὐ μὴ φάγω κρέας εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα", ἀντὶ τοῦ "διὰ βίου". ἐπεὶ τοίνυν ὁ χρόνος τῆς ἡμετέρας ζωῆς πρὸς τὸ φωτίσαι τὸ πρόσωπόν σου γεγένηται- ἐληλύθαμεν γὰρ τὴν παρουσίαν σου προαναφωνῆσαι-, ὁ αἰὼν ἡμῶν πᾶς εἰς φωτισμὸν τοῦ προσώπου σου γέγονεν ἕνεκεν τοῦ φωτίσαι καὶ φανερῶσαι ἀνθρώποις τὴν ἐπιδημίαν σου. 6 μνήσθητι τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν σου, κύριε, καὶ τὰ ἐλέη σου, ὅτι ἀπὸ τοῦ αἰῶνός εἰσιν. εἰ γὰρ καὶ παρεκάλεσα καὶ ἦρα τὴν ψυχήν μου πρὸς σὲ καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ἠξίωσα ὑπαρχθῆναί μοι παρὰ σοῦ, ἀλλ' οὐ κατ' ἀξίαν ταῦτα αἰτῶ. οἰκτίρων καὶ ἐλεῶν ταῦτα παρέχεις συμφώνως τῷ· "οὐ τοῦ θέλοντος οὐδὲ τοῦ τρέχοντος, ἀλλὰ τοῦ ἐλεῶντος θεοῦ"· κἂν γὰρ πάντα, ἃ παρ' ἑαυτούς, ἐποιήσαμεν, ἐλέῳ θεοῦ σπουδάζομεν τυχεῖν τοῦ τέλους αὐτῶν. ὡς οἰκτίρ μων ἄκουσόν μου, ὡς ἐλεήμων δέξαι μου τὰς εὐχάς. "καὶ τὰ ἐλέη σου, ὅτι ἀπὸ τοῦ αἰῶνός εἰσιν". μὴ γὰρ χθὲς καὶ πρώην ἤρξω ἐλεήμων εἶναι. ἀίδιος εἶ, ἀιδίως ἀγαθὸς εἶ. 7 ἁμαρτίας νεότητός μου καὶ τὰς ἀγνοίας μου μὴ μνησθῇς. θεωρεῖς ὅτι περὶ προλαβουσῶν ἀγνοιῶν καὶ ἁμαρτημάτων εὔχεται κατ' οἰκτιρμὸν καὶ ἐλεημοσύνην θεοῦ· οὐ γὰρ ἔτι μετάνοιά ἐστιν ἡ ἐπὶ πραττομένοις ἁμαρτήμασιν ἀναπέμπουσα εὐχήν. ἐπὶ παρῳχηκόσιν γίνονται αἱ μετάνοιαι. λέγει γοῦν· "μὴ μνησθῇς τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν καὶ τῶν ἀγνοιῶν μου" ὧν ἔχω, νῦν οὐκ ἔχω δέ, ἀλλὰ τῶν τῆς νεότητος. δυνατὸν δὲ καὶ οὕτως· οἵας ἐὰν ᾖ ἡλικίας ὁ ἀγνοῶν καὶ ἁμαρτάνων, νέος ἐστὶν νεότητι τῆς γνώμης, νεοπαγίᾳν τῆς ἕξεως. εὑρεῖν οὖν ἔστιν ἀεὶ τοὺς ἐξομολογουμένους καὶ μετανοίας λόγους προφέροντας περὶ παρῳχηκότων ἁμαρτημάτων τοῦτο ποιοῦντας· "ἡμαρτήκαμεν, ἠνομήσαμεν, ἠσεβήσαμεν"· πῶς γὰρ οἷόν τέ ἐστιν; ὁ μετανοῶν ἀρετὴν αἰτεῖ. πῶς οὖν δύναται ἀρετὴν ἔχειν ἢ λαβεῖν ὁ ἐν τοῖς ἁμαρτήμασιν ἔτι ὤν; "ἕκκλινον" γοῦν "ἀπὸ κακοῦ καὶ ποίησον ἀγαθόν". 7 κατὰ τὸ ἔλεός σου μνήσθητί μου σύ. ἐπερ · "μνήσθητί μου"; -ἰδίωμά ἐστιν τῆς γραφῆς ἀντὶ τοῦ "γνῶθί με". 7 ἕνεκεν τῆς χρηστότητός σου, κύριε. οὐχ ἕνεκα τῆς ἐμῆς ἀρετῆς μνήσθητί μου. 8 χρηστὸς καὶ εὐθὴς ὁ κύριος. ὁ μετὰ εὐθύτητος ὢν χρηστὸς ἀγαθός ἐστιν· πολλάκις 81 γὰρ τὸ "χρηστὸν" ἐπὶ διαβολῇ λαμβάνεται· "φθείρουσιν ἤθη χρηστὰ ὁμιλίαι κακαί". οὐκ ἐπαινετῶς τὰ χρηστὰ ὧδε λαμβάνει, ἀντὶ τῶν ἐπιπολαίων. καὶ πάλιν τὸ ἄκακον ὁμοίως· "ἄκακος πιστεύει παντὶ λόγῳ", ἀντὶ τοῦ εὐήθης. καὶ περὶ τῶν ἑτεροδόξων γράφει Παῦλος· "διὰ τῆς χρηστολογίας καὶ εὐλογίας ἐξαπατῶσιν τὰς καρδίας τῶν ἀκάκων". 8 διὰ τοῦτο νομοθετήσει ἁμαρτάνοντας ἐν ὁδῷ. εἰ ἦν ἀπότομος, εἰ μὴ ἦν χρηστός, οὐκ ἐνομοθέτει ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ τῆς σωτηρίας τοὺς ἁμαρτάνοντας, ἀλλὰ κολάσει αὐτοὺς παρεδίδου. καὶ αὐτοὺς οὖν τοὺς ἁμαρτάνοντας ἐν ὁδῷ νομοθετεῖ, ἵν' ὁδεύσαντες ταύτην τὴν ὁδὸν σωτηρίαν σχῶσιν. καὶ θεώρει· οὐ λέγει "τοὺς ἡμαρτηκότας", ἀλλὰ "τοὺς ἁμαρτάνοντας". καὶ τοὺς ἔτι ἁμαρτάνοντας διὰ προτροπῶν, νουθεσιῶν, νομοθεσιῶν ἄγει αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν ὁδόν. ἐπερ · τὸν γραπτὸν λέγει; -κατὰ πάντα τὰ σημαινόμενα τοῦ νόμου ἐκλαμβάνεσθαι τοῦτο τὸ ῥητὸν δύναται. 9 ὁδηγήσει πραεῖς ἐν κρίσει. κεκριμένως τοὺς πράους ὁδηγεῖ· δοκεῖ γὰρ πάλιν καὶ ἡ πραότης τοῖς πολλοῖς ἐπιπολαιότητα σημαίνειν. ὅτε δὲ καὶ κεκριμένως ὁδηγοῦνται, τελείαν ἀρετὴν ἔχουσιν ἣν ἐδίδαξεν ἔχειν ὁ σωτὴρ λέγων· "μάθετε ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, ὅτι πραύς εἰμι καὶ ταπεινὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ". δύναται δὲ καὶ τὸ "ἐν κρίσει" οὕτως· κρίνας τούτους τοὺς πραεῖς δυναμένους ὠφεληθῆναι ὁδηγεῖ αὐτούς. καὶ ἡ πρώτη δὲ διάνοια μάλιστα ἔχει ἁρμονίως πρὸς τὴν λέξιν ὅτι κεκριμένως ἔρχονται ἐπὶ τὴν ὁδὸν ὁδηγὸν τὸν θεὸν ἔχοντες. ἢ οὐχ ὁδηγεῖ ὁ λέγων· "μάθετε ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, ὅτι πραύς εἰμι"; 10 πᾶσαι αἱ ὁδοὶ κυρίου ἔλεος καὶ ἀλήθεια. ἐν πολλοῖς τόποις τῶν γραφῶν