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subdividing, he calls them foolish and senseless. It is clear that he called them wise, using the name from their own conceit. As he also 29.445 calls gods those who are not so by nature, following the custom of those who are deceived, so also he called wise those who are foolish and senseless. It is possible, therefore, to distinguish in thought the foolish from the senseless. For a foolish man is one deprived of prudence, and one who does not have insight into common and human affairs. Thus custom also calls prudent those who in the affairs of life distinguish the beneficial from the harmful; as it is also said in the Gospel: For the sons of this age are more prudent than the sons of light in their own generation. For not simply more prudent, but in the conduct of this life in the flesh. And these are called stewards of iniquity, on account of the prudence of the management of their own lives. According to this meaning, serpents are also prudent, preparing lairs for themselves, and in dangers by every means avoiding blows to the head. But a senseless man is said to be one who does not possess the excellent qualities of a man. And these are the understanding of God the Father, and the acceptance of the Word who was in the beginning with God; and the illumination that comes from the Holy Spirit; which mind those possess who are able with Paul to say: But we have the mind of Christ. However, the custom of Scripture also uses these words interchangeably, calling the atheist foolish in, The fool said in his heart: There is no God; and again naming what is harmful to life senseless; as the Apostle says of those who fall into senseless and harmful desires. Thus, however, the foolish and the senseless man are brought down to one common end, destruction. But one might say that he who lives as a Gentile is called foolish, and he who conducts himself as a Jew according to the bare observance of the law is called senseless. For to this foolish man God said, because of his inherent atheism: Fool, this night they require your soul of you. But Israel according to the flesh is called senseless by the prophet, who says: And Ephraim was like a senseless dove; he called upon Egypt, and went to the Assyrians. Therefore, as these are crushed together by their own ignorance, we who are strangers to them become heirs of the wealth. For the commandments are ours, our prophets, 29.448 our patriarchs; ours the righteous from of old. Those perishing in their own folly left their wealth to us. And the houses of these, of the foolish and the senseless, are tombs forever. For of those whose life is filled with the dead works of all sin, their houses are tombs forever. For he who has become dead in his trespasses does not dwell in a house, but a tomb, his own soul having been put to death. For Jacob, guileless in character and simple, dwells in a house, of whom it is written, that he was an unfeigned and good man, dwelling in a house; but the utterly wicked man dwells in a tomb, not even laying a foundation of repentance from dead works, but resembling a whitewashed tomb; which on the outside appears beautiful, but inside is full of the bones of the dead and all uncleanness. Wherefore such a man when he speaks does not open a mouth for the word of God, but his throat is an open tomb. If, therefore, anyone believing in Christ does not render his deeds in accordance with his faith, this one, because he has adhered to wicked doctrines and because he misinterprets the will of Scripture, hews out for himself a monument in the rock. Their dwellings for generation and generation; that is, their tombs are their houses forever. Then, explaining what he wishes the tombs to be, to show that he is speaking of the bodies, in which the souls deadened by wickedness dwell, he added to them: Their dwellings for generation and generation, according to the custom of human bodies always being called dwellings. And these also call their names upon their lands. For it is not written

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ὑποδιαιρῶν, ἄφρονας καὶ ἄνους λέγει. ∆ῆλον ὅτι σοφοὺς μὲν αὐτοὺς εἶπεν, ἀπὸ τῆς οἰήσεως τῆς ἐκείνων συγχρησάμενος τῷ ὀνόματι. Ὡς καὶ 29.445 θεοὺς ὀνομάζει τοὺς μὴ φύσει ὄντας, τῇ συνηθείᾳ τῶν ἠπατημένων ἑπόμενος, οὕτω καὶ σοφοὺς εἶπε τοὺς ἄφρονας καὶ ἀνοήτους. ∆υνατὸν οὖν τῇ ἐπινοίᾳ διελεῖν τὸν ἄφρονα ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀνοήτου. Ἄφρων μὲν γάρ ἐστιν ὁ ἐστερημένος φρονήσεως, καὶ ὁ πρὸς τὰ κοινὰ καὶ ἀνθρώπινα διορατικῶς μὴ ἔχων. Οὕτω καὶ ἡ συνήθεια φρονίμους καλεῖ τοὺς ἐν τοῖς κατὰ τὸν βίον πράγμασι τὸ ὠφέλιμον καὶ βλαβερὸν διακρίνον τας· καθὸ εἴρηται καὶ ἐν τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ· Ὅτι οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου φρονιμώτεροι ὑπὲρ τοὺς υἱοὺς τοῦ φωτὸς εἰς τὴν γενεὰν τὴν ἑαυτῶν εἰσιν. Οὐ γὰρ ἁπλῶς φρονιμώτεροι, ἀλλ' εἰς τὴν διεξαγωγὴν τῆς ζωῆς ταύτης τῆς ἐν τῇ σαρκί. Οὗτοι δὲ καὶ οἰκονόμοι ἀδικίας λέγονται, διὰ τὸ φρό νιμον τῆς περὶ τὸν ἑαυτῶν βίον οἰκονομίας. Κατὰ τοῦτο τὸ σημαινόμενον, φρόνιμοί εἰσιν καὶ οἱ ὄφεις, καταδύσεις ἑαυτοῖς εὐτρεπίζοντες, καὶ ἐν τοῖς κινδύ νοις παντὶ τρόπῳ τὰς ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν πληγὰς ἀπο φεύγοντες. Ἄνους δὲ λέγεται ὁ οὐκ ἔχων τὰ τοῦ ἀν θρώπου ἐξαίρετα. Ταῦτα δέ ἐστι Θεοῦ Πατρὸς κατα νόησις, καὶ ἡ τοῦ ἐν ἀρχῇ ὄντος πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν Λόγου παραδοχή· καὶ ὁ παρὰ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἐγγινόμενος φωτισμός· ὅντινα νοῦν ἔχουσιν οἱ δυνά μενοι μετὰ Παύλου λέγειν· Ἡμεῖς δὲ νοῦν Χρι στοῦ ἔχομεν. Κέχρηται μέντοι καὶ ἐνηλλαγμέ νως τοῖς ῥήμασι τούτοις ἡ συνήθεια τῆς Γραφῆς, τὸν μὲν ἄθεον ἄφρονα λέγουσα ἐν τῷ, Εἶπεν ἄφρων ἐν καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ· Οὐκ ἔστι Θεός· καὶ πάλιν τὸ περὶ τὴν ζωὴν βλαβερὸν ἀνόητον ὀνομάζουσα· ὡς ὁ Ἀπόστολος περὶ τῶν ἐμπιπτόντων εἰς ἐπιθυ μίας ἀνοήτους καὶ βλαβεράς. Οὕτω μέντοι ὁ ἄφρων καὶ ὁ ἄνους πρὸς ἓν κοινὸν τέλος τὴν ἀπώ λειαν καταφέρονται. ∆ύναται δέ τις εἰπεῖν ἄφρονα μὲν ὠνομάσθαι τὸν ἐθνικῶς ζῶντα, ἄνουν δὲ τὸν Ἰουδαϊκῶς κατὰ τὴν ψιλὴν τοῦ νόμου τήρησιν πολι τευόμενον. Τούτῳ γὰρ τῷ ἄφρονι εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς διὰ τὴν ἐνυπάρχουσαν αὐτῷ ἀθεότητα· Ἄφρον, ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ νυκτὶ τὴν ψυχήν σου ἀφαιροῦσιν ἀπὸ σοῦ. Ἄνους δὲ ὁ κατὰ σάρκα Ἰσραὴλ ὠνόμασται κατὰ τὸν προφήτην, ὅς φησι· Καὶ ἦν Ἐφραῒμ ὡς περιστερὰ ἄνους· Αἴγυπτον ἐπεκαλεῖτο, καὶ εἰς Ἀσσυρίους ἐπορεύετο. Τούτων οὖν κοινῇ ὑπὸ τῆς ἰδίας ἀγνοίας συντριβομένων, ἡμεῖς οἱ ἀλ λότριοι αὐτῶν κληρονόμοι τοῦ πλούτου γινόμεθα. Ἡμῶν γὰρ αἱ ἐντολαὶ, ἡμέτεροι οἱ προφῆται, 29.448 ἡμῶν οἱ πατριάρχαι· ἡμῶν οἱ ἀπ' αἰῶνος δίκαιοι. Ἡμῖν κατέλιπον τὸν πλοῦτον ἑαυτῶν οἱ ἐν τῇ ἀφροσύνῃ ἑαυτῶν ἀπολλύμενοι. Τούτων δὲ αἱ οἱ κίαι, τοῦ ἄφρονος καὶ τοῦ ἀνοήτου, τάφοι εἰσὶν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. Ὧν γὰρ ὁ βίος νεκρῶν ἔργων τῶν ἀπὸ πάσης ἁμαρτίας πεπλήρωται, τούτων τάφοι εἰσὶν αἱ οἰκίαι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. Ὁ γὰρ νεκρὸς γενό μενος τοῖς παραπτώμασιν οὐκ οἰκίαν οἰκεῖ, ἀλλὰ τάφον, τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ψυχῆς νενεκρωμένης. Οἰκίαν μὲν γὰρ οἰκεῖ ὁ ἄδολος τὸ ἦθος καὶ ἁπλοῦς Ἰακὼβ, περὶ οὗ γέγραπται, ὅτι ἦν Ἄνθρωπος ἄπλαστος καὶ ἀγαθὸς, οἰκῶν οἰκίαν· τάφον δὲ οἰκεῖ ὁ παμπό νηρος, μηδὲ θεμέλιον μετανοίας καταβαλλόμενος ἀπὸ νεκρῶν ἔργων, ἀλλὰ παροιμοιάζων τάφῳ κεκο νιαμένῳ· ὃς ἔξωθεν μὲν ἐμφανὴς ὢν, ἔσωθεν δὲ γέμων ὀστέων νεκρῶν καὶ πάσης ἀκαθαρσίας. ∆ιόπερ ὁ τοιοῦτος φθεγγόμενος οὐχὶ στόμα ἀνοίγει λόγῳ Θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ τάφον ἔχει ἀνεῳγμένον τὸν λάρυγγα αὐτοῦ. Εἴ τις οὖν εἰς Χριστὸν πιστεύων, μὴ ἀκολού θως τῇ πίστει τὰς πράξεις ἀποδίδωσιν, οὗτος διὰ τὸ μοχθηροῖς δόγμασι προσεσχηκέναι, καὶ διὰ τὸ παρ εκδέχεσθαι τὸ βούλημα τῆς Γραφῆς, λατομεῖ ἑαυτῷ ἐν τῇ πέτρᾳ μνημεῖον. Σκηνώματα αὐτῶν εἰς γενεὰν καὶ γενεάν· τουτέστιν, οἱ τάφοι οἰκίαι αὐτῶν εἰσιν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. Εἶτα ἑρμηνεύων τίνας βούλεται εἶναι τάφους, ἵνα δείξῃ, ὅτι περὶ τῶν σωμάτων λέγει, οἷς αἱ διὰ τὴν πονηρίαν ἐναπονεκρωθεῖσαι ψυχαὶ ἐνοικοῦσι, προσ έθηκεν αὐτοῖς· Σκηνώματα αὐτῶν εἰς γενεὰν καὶ γενεὰν, κατὰ τὴν συνήθειαν, σκηνωμάτων τῶν ἀν θρωπίνων σωμάτων ἀεὶ λεγομένων. Οὗτοι δὲ καὶ ἐπικαλοῦνται τὰ ὀνόματα αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τῶν γαιῶν. Οὐ γὰρ ἐγγράφεται