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to disciples already being perfected the Lord says, "No longer do I call you servants, but friends; for the servant does not know what his master is doing." It is, therefore, the mark of a perfect man to recognize the one who is truly beloved. And in reality, only the saints are friends of God and of one another; but no one who is wicked and ignorant is a friend. For the beauty of friendship does not fall into a wicked disposition; because nothing shameful and disharmonious can enter into the harmony of friendship. For evil is not only contrary to the good, but also to itself. But now let us proceed to the examination of the words. "My heart has brought forth a good word." Now, some have thought that these things were said from the person of the Father 29.393 concerning the Word who was in the beginning with Him, whom, they say, He brought forth from, as it were, His heart and His very bowels; and from a good heart a good word came forth. But to me it seems that these things refer to the prophetic person. For what follows in the passage no longer smooths the way for us in the same manner for the interpretation concerning the Father. For the Father would not have said of His own tongue, "My tongue is the pen of a swift writer. Fair in beauty beyond the sons of men." For He does not have the preeminence of beauty from a comparison with men. And proceeding, he says, "Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness." For he did not say, "I, God, have anointed you," but "He has anointed you;" so that from this it is established that the person speaking is another. Who then is this, but the Prophet who received the energy of the Holy Spirit which came into him? "My heart," he says, "has brought forth a good word." For since a belch is a hidden breath, breathed upwards as bubbles burst during the digestion of food, he who is fed with the living bread that came down from heaven and gives life to the world, and who is filled with every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, according to the usual tropological sense of Scripture, the soul that is fed with sacred teachings sends forth a belch appropriate to the food. For this reason, since the food was rational and good, the Prophet belches forth a good word. For the good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good. Let us therefore also seek the food from the word for the filling of our souls (for "the righteous," it says, "eats and fills his soul"), so that according to the measure of what we are fed, we may send up not just any word, but a good one. For the wicked man, having been brought up on evil doctrines, belches forth from his heart a wicked word. Do you not see what things the mouths of the heretics belch forth? How grievous and foul-smelling, accusing the wretched of a deep-seated disease? For the wicked man out of the wicked treasure of his heart brings forth what is wicked. Do not then, having an itching ear, heap up for yourself teachers who are able to work a disease in your inward parts, and to cause you a belching of wicked words, for which you will be condemned on the day of judgment. For by your words, he says, you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. "I speak of my works to the king." This saying also brings us very close to the mind of the prophetic person: "I speak of my works to the king;" instead of, "I will confess to the judge, and I anticipate the accuser, through the declaration of my own works." For we have received a commandment 29.396 that says, "Declare your iniquities first, that you may be justified." "My tongue is the pen of a swift writer." Just as the pen is a writing instrument, which the hand of the expert moves for the notation of what is written, so also the tongue of the righteous, which the Holy Spirit moves, inscribes the words of eternal life in the hearts of those who believe; being dipped not in ink, but in the Spirit of the living God. The Holy Spirit, therefore, is the scribe, because He is wise and teaches all things; and a swift writer, because the swiftness of the mind is

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μαθηταῖς ἤδη τελειουμένοις ὁ Κύριος, Οὐκέτι, φησὶν, ὑμᾶς λέγω δούλους, ἀλλὰ φίλους· ὅτι ὁ δοῦλος οὐκ οἶδε τί ποιεῖ ὁ κύριος αὐτοῦ. Τελείου τοίνυν ἐστὶ τὸ τὸν ὄντως ἀγαπητὸν ἐπιγνῶναι. Καὶ τῷ ὄντι μόνοι φίλοι Θεοῦ καὶ ἀλλήλοις οἱ ἅγιοι· οὐ δεὶς δὲ τῶν πονηρῶν καὶ ἀμαθῶν φίλος. Οὐδὲ γὰρ πίπτει τὸ τῆς φιλίας καλὸν εἰς μοχθηρὰν διάθεσιν· διότι οὐδὲν αἰσχρὸν καὶ ἀνάρμοστον εἰς συμφωνίαν δύναται χωρῆσαι φιλίας. Τὸ γὰρ κακὸν οὐ τῷ ἀγαθῷ ἐναντίον ἐστὶ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸ ἑαυτῷ. Ἤδη δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν ἐξέτασιν τῶν ῥημάτων προΐωμεν. Ἐξηρεύξατο ἡ καρδία μου λόγον ἀγαθόν. Ἤδη μέν τινες ᾠήθησαν ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ Πατρὸς 29.393 λέγεσθαι ταῦτα περὶ τοῦ ἐν ἀρχῇ ὄντος πρὸς αὐτὸν Λόγου, ὃν ἐκ τῆς οἱονεὶ καρδίας καὶ αὐτῶν τῶν σπλάγχνων, φασὶ, προήγαγε· καὶ ἀπὸ ἀγαθῆς καρδίας ἀγαθὸς λόγος προῆλθεν· ἐμοὶ δὲ δοκεῖ ταῦτα ἐπὶ τὸ προφητικὸν ἀναφέρεσθαι πρόσωπον. Τὰ γὰρ ἐφεξῆς τοῦ ῥητοῦ οὐκέτι ὁμοίως ἐξομαλίζει ἡμῖν τὴν περὶ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐξήγησιν. Οὔτε γὰρ ἂν περὶ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ γλώσσης ὁ Πατὴρ εἶπεν, ὅτι Ἡ γλῶσσά μου κάλαμος γραμματέως ὀξυγράφου. Ὡραῖος κάλλει παρὰ τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Οὐ γὰρ ἐκ τῆς πρὸς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους συγκρίσεως τὴν ὑπεροχὴν τοῦ κάλλους ἔχει. Καὶ προϊών φησι· ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἔχρισέ σε ὁ Θεὸς, ὁ Θεός σου, ἔλαιον ἀγαλλιάσεως. Οὐ γὰρ εἶπεν· Ἔχρισά σε ἐγὼ ὁ Θεὸς, ἀλλ', Ἔχρισέ σε· ὥστε ἐκ τούτου παρίστασθαι ἕτερον εἶναι τὸ διαλε γόμενον πρόσωπον. Ποῖον οὖν ἐστι τοῦτο ἢ ὁ Προ φήτης ὁ χωρήσας τὴν τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος εἰς αὐτὸν γενομένην ἐνέργειαν; Ἐξηρεύξατο, φησὶν, ἡ καρδία μου λόγον ἀγαθόν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἡ ἐρυγή ἐστι πνεῦ μα κρύφιον κατὰ τὴν ζέσιν τῆς τροφῆς ἀποῤῥηγνυ μένων τῶν πομφολύγων ἐπὶ τὸ ἄνω διαπνεόμενον, ὁ τραφεὶς τῷ ζῶντι ἄρτῳ τῷ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβάντι καὶ διδόντι ζωὴν τῷ κόσμῳ, καὶ ὁ ἐμπλησθεὶς παντὶ ῥήματι ἐκπορευομένῳ διὰ στόματος Θεοῦ, κατὰ τὴν τῆς Γραφῆς συνήθη τροπολογίαν, ἡ τραφεῖσα τοῖς ἱεροῖς μαθήμασι ψυχὴ, πρόσφορον τοῖς βρώμασι προΐεται τὴν ἐρυγήν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο, ἐπειδὴ λογικὴ ἦν καὶ ἀγαθὴ ἡ τροφὴ, λόγον ἀγαθὸν ἐξερεύγεται ὁ Προ φήτης. Ὁ γὰρ ἀγαθὸς ἄνθρωπος ἐκ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ θησαυροῦ τῆς καρδίας αὐτοῦ προφέρει τὸ ἀγαθόν. Ζητήσωμεν οὖν καὶ ἡμεῖς τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ λόγου τροφὴν εἰς πλήρωσιν τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν (∆ίκαιος γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐσθίων, ἐμπίπλησι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ), ἵνα κατὰ τὴν ἀναλογίαν ὧν τρεφόμεθα, οὐ τὸν τυχόντα λόγον, ἀλλὰ ἀγαθὸν ἀναπέμπωμεν. Ὁ γὰρ πονηρὸς ἄνθρω πος, ὑπὸ μοχθηρῶν δογμάτων ἀνατραφεὶς, ἐξερεύ γεται τῇ καρδίᾳ λόγον πονηρόν. Οὐχ ὁρᾷς ὁποῖα τὰ στόματα τῶν αἱρετικῶν ἀπερεύγεται; ὡς χαλεπὰ καὶ δυσώδη, πολλήν τινα τὴν ἐν τῷ βάθει νόσον τῶν ἀθλίων κατηγοροῦντα; Ὁ γὰρ πονηρὸς ἄνθρωπος ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ θησαυροῦ τῆς καρδίας αὐτοῦ προ φέρει τὸ πονηρόν. Μὴ δὴ οὖν, κνηθόμενος τὴν ἀκοὴν, ἐπισωρεύσῃς σεαυτῷ διδασκάλους, νόσον ἐνεργάσασθαι τοῖς σπλάγχνοις σου δυναμένους, καὶ πονηρῶν σοι ῥημάτων ἐρυγὴν προξενῆσαι, δι' ὧν μέλλεις ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς κρίσεως καταδικάζεσθαι. Ἐκ γὰρ τῶν λόγων σου, φησὶ, δικαιωθήσῃ, καὶ ἐκ τῶν λόγων σου καταδικασθήσῃ. Λέγω ἐγὼ τὰ ἔργα μου τῷ βασιλεῖ. Πάνυ προσάγει ἡμᾶς τῇ διανοίᾳ τοῦ προ φητικοῦ προσώπου καὶ τοῦτο τὸ ῥῆμα· Λέγω ἐγὼ τὰ ἔργα μου τῷ βασιλεῖ· ἀντὶ τοῦ, Ἐξομολογήσομαι τῷ κριτῇ, καὶ προλαμβάνω τὸν κατήγορον, διὰ τῆς περὶ τῶν ἰδίων ἔργων ἀπαγγελίας. Ἐντολὴν γὰρ εἰ 29.396 λήφαμεν τὴν λέγουσαν· Λέγε σὺ πρῶτος ἀνομίας σου, ἵνα δικαιωθῇς. Ἡ γλῶσσά μου κάλαμος γραμματέως, ὀξυγράφου. Ὥσπερ ὁ κάλμος ὄργανόν ἐστι γραφικὸν, τῆς χειρὸς τοῦ ἐπιστήμονος κινούσης αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν περὶ τῶν γραφομένων ἀποση μείωσιν· οὕτω καὶ ἡ τοῦ δικαίου γλῶσσα, κινοῦντος αὐτὴν τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος, ἐγγράφει τὰ ῥήματα τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς ταῖς καρδίαις τῶν πιστευόντων· βαπτο μένη οὐ μέλανι, ἀλλὰ Πνεύματι Θεοῦ ζῶντος. Γραμ ματεὺς οὖν τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα, διότι σοφόν ἐστι καὶ διδακτικὸν ἁπάντων· ὀξυγράφον δὲ, διότι ὀξεῖα τῆς διανοίας ἡ