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1. Having discoursed concerning bishops, concerning deacons, men, women, concerning widows, concerning presbyters, concerning all the others, and having shown how many the bishop is lord over, when he was speaking about judgment, he added: I charge you in the presence of God and our Lord 62.587 Jesus Christ and the elect angels, that you keep these things without prejudice, doing nothing by partiality. And he commands dreadfully, then; for he was not ashamed because Timothy was his beloved child. For he who was not ashamed to say of himself, I am afraid that after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified, much more would he not be ashamed or embarrassed concerning Timothy. But he rightly takes the Father and the Son as witnesses; but for what reason the elect angels? From great reasonableness; since Moses also speaks thus: I call heaven and earth to witness against you, because of the great reasonableness of the Master; and again, Hear, O valleys, the foundations of the earth. And he calls the Father and the Son as witnesses of what has been said, making his defense to them for the day to come, if anything should happen contrary to what is right, as having done all he could. That you keep these things, he says, without prejudice, doing nothing by partiality. That is, that you may be impartial and equal to those being judged, to those being tried before you, that no one might preoccupy you, nor win you over beforehand. But who are the elect angels? Is it as if there were some who are not such? Since Jacob also takes God as his own witness, and the heap. So also we often take both superior and inferior persons as witnesses; so great a thing is testimony, as if he were to say: I call God and his Son and his servants as witnesses, that I have commanded you; behold, in their presence I command you. He puts Timothy in fear. Then, having said this, which was the most opportune of all things, he added also that which most holds the Church together, that of ordinations. For, he says, Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others. What is, Hasty? Not from a first examination, nor a second, nor a third, but after having considered many times and examined accurately; for the matter is not without danger. For you who gave him the authority will suffer punishment both for his sins, both for his past sins and for those to come. For by untimely dismissing his former sins, you will be responsible for his future ones as well, for the latter as being the cause, you having brought him into authority, and for the former as not having allowed him to mourn them, nor to come to compunction. For just as you share in the good deeds, so also in the sins. Keep yourself pure. He speaks here concerning chastity. No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments. But if he commands a man who has devoted himself to fasting to such an extent, and used water for so long as to be weak, and frequently weak, to be chaste, and he does not refuse; much more should we not be displeased when we hear an admonition from someone. Why then did he not strengthen his stomach? Not as being unable, but managing some great thing from this also; for he whose garments raised the dead, it is clear that he was able to do this also. For what reason then? So that, if we now see great and virtuous men being sick, we may not be scandalized; for that too happened for a purpose. For if a messenger 62.588 of Satan was given to him, that he might not be exalted, much more to Timothy; for the signs were sufficient to lift him into arrogance. For this reason he allows him to be subject to the law of medicine, so that he himself might be moderate, and others might not be scandalized, and they might learn that they too, being of our nature, accomplished what they accomplished. But he seems to me to be sickly in other ways too, and he shows this by saying: For your frequent ailments, both of your stomach, and of your other parts. He did not, however, allow him to be filled with wine without restraint, but

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αʹ. ∆ιαλεχθεὶς περὶ ἐπισκόπων, περὶ διακόνων, ἀνδρῶν, γυναικῶν, περὶ χηρῶν, περὶ πρεσβυτέρων, περὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων, καὶ δείξας ὅσων ἐστὶν ὁ ἐπίσκοπος κύριος, ὅτε περὶ κρίσεως ἔλεγεν, ἐπήγαγε· ∆ιαμαρτύρομαι ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Κυρίου 62.587 ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν ἀγγέλων, ἵνα ταῦτα φυλάξῃς χωρὶς προκρίματος, μηδὲν ποιῶν κατὰ πρόσκλισιν. Καὶ φρικτῶς παραγγέλλει λοιπόν· οὐ γὰρ ἐπειδὴ Τιμόθεος ἦν τὸ τέκνον τὸ ἀγαπητὸν, ᾐδέσθη. Ὁ γὰρ περὶ ἑαυτοῦ μὴ αἰσχυνθεὶς εἰπεῖν, Φοβοῦμαι μή πως ἄλλοις κηρύξας, αὐτὸς ἀδόκιμος γένωμαι, πολλῷ μᾶλλον περὶ Τιμοθέου οὐκ ἂν ᾐδέσθη οὐδὲ ᾐσχύνθη. Ἀλλὰ τὸν μὲν Πατέρα καὶ τὸν Υἱὸν καλῶς παραλαμβάνει εἰς μαρτυρίαν· τοὺς μέντοι ἐκλεκτοὺς ἀγγέλους τίνος ἕνεκεν; Ἀπὸ πολλῆς ἐπιεικείας· ἐπεὶ καὶ Μωϋσῆς οὕτω φησί· ∆ιαμαρτύρομαι ὑμῖν τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν, διὰ τὴν πολλὴν ἐπιείκειαν τοῦ ∆εσπότου· καὶ πάλιν, Ἀκούσατε, φάραγγες, θεμέλια τῆς γῆς. Καλεῖ δὲ μάρτυρα τὸν Πατέρα καὶ τὸν Υἱὸν τῶν λεχθέντων, εἰς τὴν μέλλουσαν ἡμέραν ἀπολογούμενος αὐτοῖς, εἴ τι γένοιτο παρὰ τὸ δέον, ὡς τὸ πᾶν ἀποδυσάμενος. Ἵνα ταῦτα, φησὶ, φυλάξῃς χωρὶς προκρίματος, μηδὲν ποιῶν κατὰ πρόσκλισιν. Τουτέστιν, ἵνα κοινὸς ᾖς καὶ ἴσος τοῖς δικαζομένοις, τοῖς ἐπὶ σοῦ κρινομένοις, ἵνα σε μηδεὶς προκαταλάβῃ, μηδὲ προοικειώσηται. Τίνες δέ εἰσιν οἱ ἐκλεκτοὶ ἄγγελοι; Ἄρα ὡς ὄντων τινῶν οὐ τοιούτων. Ἐπεὶ καὶ ὁ Ἰακὼβ τὸν Θεὸν λαμβάνει ἰδίᾳ μάρτυρα, καὶ τὸν βουνόν. Οὕτω καὶ ἡμεῖς πολλάκις καὶ ὑπερέχοντα καὶ ἐλάττονα πρόσωπα εἰς μαρτυρίαν λαμβάνομεν· οὕτω μέγα ἐστὶν ἡ μαρτυρία, ὡς ἂν εἰ ἔλεγε· Μάρτυρα καλῶ τὸν Θεὸν καὶ τὸν Υἱὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ τοὺς δούλους αὐτοῦ, ὅτι παρήγγειλά σοι· ἐπ' αὐτῶν ἰδού σοι παραγγέλλω. Φοβεῖ τὸν Τιμόθεον. Εἶτα τοῦτο εἰπὼν, ὃ πάντων μάλιστα καιριώτατον ἦν, ἐπήγαγε καὶ ὃ μάλιστα συνέχει τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν, τὸ τῶν χειροτονιῶν. Χεῖρας γὰρ, φησὶ, ταχέως μηδενὶ ἐπιτίθει, μηδὲ κοινώνει ἁμαρτίαις ἀλλοτρίαις. Τί ἐστι, Ταχέως; Μὴ ἐκ πρώτης δοκιμασίας, μηδὲ δευτέρας, μηδὲ τρίτης, ἀλλὰ πολλάκις περισκεψάμενος καὶ ἀκριβῶς ἐξετάσας· οὐ γὰρ ἀκίνδυνον τὸ πρᾶγμα. Τῶν γὰρ ἡμαρτημένων ἐκείνῳ καὶ σὺ δίκην ὑφέξεις ὁ τὴν ἀρχὴν παρασχὼν, καὶ τῶν παρελθουσῶν ἁμαρτιῶν καὶ τῶν γενησομένων. Ἀφεὶς γὰρ τὰς πρώτας ἀκαίρως, ὑπεύθυνος ἔσῃ καὶ τῶν ἐσομένων, τούτων μὲν ὡς αἴτιος ὢν σὺ τοῦτον ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀγαγὼν, τῶν δὲ παρελθουσῶν ὡς οὐκ ἀφεὶς αὐτὰς πενθῆσαι, οὔτε ἐν κατανύξει γενέσθαι. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τῶν κατορθωμάτων κοινωνεῖς, οὕτω καὶ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων. Σεαυτὸν ἁγνὸν τήρει. Περὶ σωφροσύνης φησὶν ἐνταῦθα. Μηκέτι ὑδροπότει, ἀλλ' οἴνῳ ὀλίγῳ χρῶ διὰ τὸν στόμαχόν σου καὶ τὰς πυκνάς σου ἀσθενείας. Εἰ δὲ ἀνδρὶ μέχρι τοσούτου νηστείαις προσεσχηκότι, καὶ ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ὕδατι χρησαμένῳ, ὡς καὶ ἀσθενεῖν, καὶ πυκνῶς ἀσθενεῖν, παραγγέλλει σωφρονεῖν, καὶ οὐκ ἀναίνεται ἐκεῖνος· πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἡμεῖς, ὅταν ἀκούσωμεν νουθεσίαν παρά τινος, οὐκ ὀφείλομεν δυσχεραίνειν. Τί δήποτε δὲ οὐκ ἔῤῥωσεν αὐτοῦ τὸν στόμαχον; Οὐχ ὡς ἀδυνατῶν, ἀλλὰ μέγα τι καὶ ἐντεῦθεν οἰκονομῶν· οὗ γὰρ τὰ ἱμάτια νεκροὺς ἀνίστη, εὔδηλον ὅτι καὶ τοῦτο ἐδύνατο. Τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν; Ἵνα, κἂν νῦν ἴδωμεν ἄνδρας μεγάλους καὶ ἐναρέτους ἀσθενοῦντας, μὴ σκανδαλιζώμεθα· καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνο συμφερόντως ἐγένετο. Εἰ γὰρ αὐτῷ ἐδόθη ἄγγελος 62.588 Σατᾶν, ἵνα μὴ ὑπεραίρηται, πολλῷ μᾶλλον Τιμοθέῳ· ἱκανὰ γὰρ ἦν τὰ σημεῖα εἰς ἀπόνοιαν ἆραι. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο νόμῳ ἰατρείας ἀφίησιν αὐτὸν δουλεῦσαι, ἵνα καὶ αὐτὸς μετριάζῃ, καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι μὴ σκανδαλίζωνται, καὶ μάθωσιν, ὅτι τῆς φύσεως ὄντες κἀκεῖνοι τῆς ἡμετέρας, οὕτω κατώρθουν ἅπερ κατώρθουν. ∆οκεῖ δέ μοι καὶ ἄλλως ἐπίνοσος εἶναι, καὶ τοῦτο δείκνυσι λέγων· ∆ιὰ τὰς πυκνάς σου ἀσθενείας, ἀπό τε σοῦ στομάχου, ἀπό τε τῶν ἄλλων μερῶν. Οὐ μὴν ἀνῆκεν αὐτὸν ἀνέδην ἐμφορεῖσθαι τοῦ οἴνου, ἀλλ'