we will use what was said in due course for the sake of an example, if it should be necessary, that it is possible for someone with the best intention to say things that are in no way advantageous to himself 32.5.57 on account of ignorance. For if it was advantageous for having a part with Jesus to have his feet washed by him, but Peter, not knowing that this was advantageous, first said, as if perplexed and embarrassed, "Lord, are you washing my feet?" and second, "You will never wash my feet," and what he said was an obstacle to the work that would bring him to have a part with the Savior, it is clear that even if he said this with a sound and reverent intention toward 32.5.58 the teacher, he spoke injuriously to himself. And the life of believers is full of this kind of error, of those who intend what is better, but through ignorance say or even do things that lead to 32.5.59 the opposite. And such indeed are those who say, "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch," concerning all things for the corruption and misuse of men, according to a teaching that has fallen far short of 32.5.60 the divine teaching, "As a man, he will die." And what <need I> say about those in the heresies who are tossed by waves and carried about by every wind by the trickery of men, who speak of <as> saving things that are destructive and who, as if out of reverence for Jesus, hold 32.5.61 false opinions about him? And Scripture has often noted Peter to be of this sort, rather fervent in professing what seems better to him; just as also in what was said without examination and in disregard of Jesus’ prophecy concerning the disciples when he said: "All of you will be scandalized because of me this night," and giving the reason in, "For it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered." For without examination of this and in disregard of Jesus’ pronouncement, he said, "Even if all 32.5.62 are scandalized because of you, I will not be scandalized." And this, being still rash in his soul at that time, I think became the cause of his sinning beyond the measure of the scandal of the rest, 32.5.63 by denying Jesus three times before the cock crowed. Therefore, by paying attention to such former rashness of his, he was benefited in the greatest ways, so as to become most steadfast and most patient; which is shown when Paul said to him "before them all: If you, being a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to Judaize?" and what follows; but he, being silent with fortitude and most patiently not presenting the reasonable argument for the situation, 32.5.64 about which one may understand more fittingly in the letter to the Galatians. And in the Acts of the Apostles, his settled state, having been transformed into the same image, will be apparent to those who pay attention and apply themselves to each instance. 32.6.65 And here, then, when Jesus rose from supper and laid aside his garments and girded himself with the towel he had taken, and poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded, all of them offered their feet, considering, in accordance with their preconception about Jesus, that one so great would not wash their feet irrationally and, as many might say, wanting to burden the disciples, but was accomplishing something useful which they expected to understand later, thinking that perhaps these things were being done as a symbol of something; but Peter alone, looking at it in a more superficial way and not comparing any other reasoning with that one, as if revering Jesus did not offer his feet to be washed, but first he tried to shame him by saying, "Lord, are you washing my feet?" and after this, when he ought to have been persuaded by, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this," he says, 32.6.66 "You will never wash my feet." And while the other disciples entrusted themselves to Jesus and contradicted him in nothing, this one, by what he says, even if he seemed to have a sound intention, not only accuses Jesus, as if he had begun to wash 32.6.67 the feet of the disciples

λεγομένοις ἐν καιρῷ χρησόμεθα παραδείγματος ἕνεκεν, εἴ που δέοι, ὅτι ἐστὶν δυνατόν τινα κατὰ πρόθεσιν βελτίστην λέγειν διὰ τὸ ἀνεπίστημον τὰ μηδαμῶς ἑαυτῷ 32.5.57 συμφέροντα. εἰ γὰρ συμφέρον μὲν ἦν πρὸς τὸ ἔχειν μέρος μετὰ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ τὸ νίψασθαι τοὺς πόδας ὑπ' αὐτοῦ, Πέτρος δὲ μὴ ἐπιστά μενος, ὅτι συμφέρον τοῦτο ἦν, πρότερον μὲν εἶπεν οἱονεὶ ἐπαπορῶν δυσωπητικῶς τὸ «Κύριε, σύ μου νίπτεις τοὺς πόδας;» δεύτερον δὲ τὸ «Οὐ μὴ νίψῃς μου τοὺς πόδας εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα», καὶ τὰ λεγόμενα κωλυτικὰ ἦν ἔργου τοῦ φέροντος αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὸ ἔχειν μετὰ τοῦ σω τῆρος τὸ μέρος, δῆλον ὅτι εἰ καὶ ὑγιεῖ προθέσει καὶ σεβασμίῳ πρὸς 32.5.58 τὸν διδάσκαλον τοῦτο ἔλεγεν, ἐπιβλαβῶς ἑαυτῷ ἔλεγεν. τοῦ δὲ τοιούτου εἴδους τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ὁ βίος πεπλήρωται τῶν ἐν τῷ πιστεύειν προτιθεμένων μὲν τὰ κρείττονα, διὰ δὲ ἄγνοιαν τὰ ἐπὶ 32.5.59 τὸ ἐναντίον φέροντα λεγόντων ἢ καὶ πραττόντων. καὶ τοιοῦτοί γέ εἰσιν οἱ τὸ «Μὴ ἅψῃ, μὴ γεύσῃ, μὴ θίγῃς» φάσκοντες περὶ πάντων τῶν εἰς φθορὰν καὶ ἀπόχρησιν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, κατά τινα πολὺ τῆς 32.5.60 θείας ὑποβεβηκυῖαν τῆς «Ὡς ἄνθρωπος ἀποθάνῃ» διδασκαλίαν. τί δὲ <δεῖ> περὶ τῶν ἐν ταῖς αἱρέσεσιν κλυδωνιζομένων καὶ περιφερο μένων παντὶ ἀνέμῳ ἐπὶ τὴν κυβείαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων λέγειν, διαλα λούντων <ὡς> σωτήρια τὰ ὀλέθρια καὶ ὡς ἐπὶ σεβασμῷ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ τὰ 32.5.61 ψευδῆ περὶ αὐτοῦ δοξαζόντων; πολλάκις δὲ τὸν Πέτρον τοιοῦτον ἡ γραφὴ ἐσημειώσατο, θερμότερον εἰς τὸ ἐπαγγέλλεσθαι τὰ φαινόμενα αὐτῷ κρείττονα· καθάπερ καὶ ἐν τῷ ἀνεξετάστως εἰρημένῳ καὶ ἀθε τητικῶς τῆς Ἰησοῦ περὶ τῶν μαθητῶν προφητείας εἰπόντος· «Πάντες «ὑμεῖς σκανδαλισθήσεσθε ἐν ἐμοὶ ἐν τῇ νυκτὶ ταύτῃ», καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν παριστάντος ἐν τῷ «Γέγραπται γάρ· Πατάξω τὸν ποιμένα, καὶ δια «σκορπισθήσεται τὰ πρόβατα τῆς ποίμνης». ἀνεξετάστως γὰρ πρὸς τοῦτο καὶ ἀθετητικῶς τῆς Ἰησοῦ ἀποφάσεως εἶπεν τὸ «Εἰ καὶ πάντες 32.5.62 «σκανδαλισθήσονται ἐν σοί, ἐγὼ οὐ σκανδαλισθήσομαι». καὶ τοῦτο ἔτι τότε προπετὲς ὂν ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ αὐτοῦ αἴτιον οἶμαι γέγονεν τοῦ ὑπὲρ τὸ μέτρον τοῦ τῶν λοιπῶν σκανδαλισμοῦ ἡμαρτηκέναι αὐτόν, 32.5.63 ἀρνησάμενον τὸν Ἰησοῦν τρὶς πρὶν ἀλεκτοροφωνίας. διόπερ ἐπιστή σας τῇ τοιαύτῃ προτέρᾳ ἑαυτοῦ προπετείᾳ ὠφελήθη καὶ τὰ μέγιστα, ὡς γένεσθαι στιβαρώτατος καὶ μακροθυμότατος· ὅπερ δηλοῦται Παύλου μὲν εἰπόντος αὐτῷ «ἔμπροσθεν πάντων· Εἰ σὺ Ἰουδαῖος «ὑπάρχων ἐθνικῶς καὶ οὐκ Ἰουδαϊκῶς ζῆς, πῶς τὰ ἔθνη ἀναγκάζεις «ἰουδαΐζειν;» καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· τοῦ δὲ μετὰ στίβους σιωπήσαντος καὶ τὸ κατὰ τὸν τόπον εὔλογον ἀνεξικακώτατα μὴ παραστήσαντος, 32.5.64 περὶ οὗ ἐν τῇ πρὸς Γαλάτας οἰκειότερόν τις διαλήψεται. καὶ ἐν ταῖς Πράξεσι δὲ τῶν ἀποστόλων τὸ καθεστηκὸς αὐτοῦ, τὴν αὐτὴν εἰκόνα μεταμορφωθέντος, τοῖς ἑκάστῳ ἐφιστᾶσι καὶ προσέχουσι φανεῖται. 32.6.65 Καὶ ἐνθάδε τοίνυν ἐγερθέντι τῷ Ἰησοῦ ἐκ τοῦ δείπνου καὶ θέντι τὰ ἱμάτια καὶ διαζωσαμένῳ ὃ εἴληφεν λέντιον, καὶ βάλλοντι ὕδωρ εἰς τὸν νιπτῆρα καὶ ἀρξαμένῳ τοὺς πόδας νίπτειν τῶν μαθη τῶν καὶ ἐκμάσσειν τῷ λεντίῳ ᾧ ἦν διεζωσμένος, πάντες μὲν παρεῖχον τοὺς πόδας, ἀκολούθως τῇ περὶ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ προλήψει θεωροῦντες ὅτι οὐκ ἂν ὁ τηλικοῦτος ἀλόγως καί, ὡς ἂν οἱ πολλοὶ λέγοιεν, βαρεῖν τοὺς μαθητὰς θέλων, νίπτοι αὐτῶν τοὺς πόδας, ἀλλά τι χρήσιμον ἐπιτελῶν ὃ περιέμενον γνώσεσθαι ὕστερον, ἐννοοῦντες μή ποτε σύμβολόν τινος ταῦτα πράττοιτο· μόνος δὲ ὁ Πέτρος τῷ προ χειροτέρῳ ἐνιδὼν καὶ οὐδένα ἕτερον λογισμὸν ἐκείνῳ παρατιθείς, ὡς σέβων τὸν Ἰησοῦν οὐ παρεῖχεν αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸ νίψασθαι τοὺς πό δας, ἀλλὰ πρότερον μὲν δυσωπεῖν αὐτὸν ἐπειρᾶτο ἐν τῷ «Κύριε, σύ «μου νίπτεις τοὺς πόδας;» μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο δέον αὐτὸν πεισθῆναι τὸ «Ὃ ἐγὼ ποιῶ σὺ οὐκ οἶδας ἄρτι, γνώσῃ δὲ μετὰ ταῦτα», φησὶ τὸ 32.6.66 «Οὐ μὴ νίψῃς μου τοὺς πόδας εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα». ἄλλως δὲ τῶν λοι πῶν μαθητῶν ἐμπιστευσάντων ἑαυτοὺς τῷ Ἰησοῦ καὶ περὶ μηδενὸς ἀντιλεγόντων αὐτῷ, οὗτος δι' ὧν λέγει, εἰ καὶ ὑγιῶς ἔδοξεν προτί θεσθαι, οὐ μόνον τοῦ Ἰησοῦ κατηγορεῖ, ὡς ἀλόγως ἀρξαμένου νίπτειν 32.6.67 τοὺς τῶν