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they longed to have a teacher to whom the Lord and Savior said: “You call me, the Lord and the Teacher, and you say well; for so I am.” 3.3 This gift will be ours also through the unceasing prayer of those who send them up on our behalf, wisdom and “a word in the opening of the mouth,” so that blamelessly and as is proper we may understand the following things of the prophet before us, beginning from this point. 3.4 Zach. VIII, 16-17: These are the words that you shall do: Speak truth each to his neighbor, and judge a peaceful judgment in your gates. And let each of you not devise evil in your hearts against his neighbor, and do not love a false oath, because all these things I have hated, says the Lord Almighty. 3.5 Of the words of God, those concerning ethical and practical virtue can be done, while the gnostic and contemplative ones are to be contemplated by contemplative and discerning men. 3.6 Indeed, when God through the hierophant Moses commanded many things so that deeds according to virtue might be done, those who understood the given words confessed with a loud voice to turn into deeds the things that had been commanded, saying to the minister of the divine oracles: “All that God has said, we will do and we will hear.” 3.7 And since it is fitting, in addition to doing the ethical words, to also have an understanding of them, so that what is just may be pursued justly, and moderation temperately, and courageous and prudent things courageously and prudently—for in this way the practical virtues may be rightly accomplished with understanding—indeed, one must also hear and do the words of Jesus, as he himself declares this: “He who comes to me and hears my words and does them will be like a wise man,” and what follows. 3.8 And the words are especially done by the hearers when the teacher practices what he tells others; concerning such a one the Lord says: “Whoever does and teaches them to men, he will be called great in the kingdom of heaven,” while the one who does not practice what he urges others to do is the least, since while saying not to commit adultery he does it, and forbidding theft is guilty of it, but also commits sacrilege while abominating idols; 3.9 or does he not commit sacrilege who harms 3.9 through scandal those who have dedicated themselves to piety, like living divine statues? For he who harms such people with the worst action and with impious thoughts truly commits sacrilege by transgressing the law in which he seems to boast, dishonoring God. Therefore, so that one may not be a bad teacher, let him show by deeds the ethical lessons he teaches; for thus he will be “a worker who has no need to be ashamed.” 3.10 With this mind the Apostle writes to his disciple to “have incorruptibility, gravity, sound speech that cannot be condemned.” Or does he not have sound, irreproachable speech? For by practicing what he dictates to others and thinking what he prepares others to believe, he has a sound and irreproachable word of teaching. 3.11 This life, I mean the practical and the gnostic, the prophet following the one before us—Malachi is his name—wishes the true servant of God to claim; and his text is as follows: “The lips of a priest will guard knowledge, and they will seek the law from his mouth,” desiring to learn from a divine teacher what orthodox dogmas and mysteries of the kingdom must be known, and a law forbidding injustices and commanding the disciplines of the virtues. 3.12 Having learned which words are practically done by those who have received them, let us consider which ones pertain to knowledge and truth. 3.13 Moses, teaching that “in the beginning God made the heaven and the earth,” said this word so that we might truly know the creation and its creator; and however many other words of the Cosmogony were written, they were said not so that we might do them but so that we might contemplate them; and in all the divinely inspired scripture this instruction is confirmed. 3.14 And the Savior himself, indeed, in the Gospels, where on the one hand

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παιδευτὴν ἐπόθησαν ἔχειν οἷς ὁ Κύριος καὶ Σωτὴρ εἶπεν· «Ὑμεῖς φωνεῖτέ με· ὁ Κύριος καὶ ὁ ∆ιδάσκαλος, καὶ καλῶς λέγετε· εἰμὶ γάρ.» 3.3 Ὑπάρξεται ἡ δωρεὰ αὕτη καὶ ἡμῖν διὰ ἀδιάλειπτον εὐχὴν τῶν ἀναπεμπόντων ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, σοφία καὶ «λόγος ἐν ἀνοίξει τοῦ στόματος», ὥστ' ἀμέμπτως καὶ ὡς δεῖ ἐκλαβεῖν τὰ ἑξῆς τοῦ ἐκκειμένου προφήτου, ἀρχόμενα ἐνθένδε. 3.4 Zach. VIII, 16-17: Οὗτοι οἱ λόγοι οὓς ποιήσετε· λαλεῖτε ἀλήθειαν ἕκαστος πρὸς τὸν πλησίον αὐτοῦ καὶ κρίμα εἰρηνικὸν κρίνατε ἐν ταῖς πύλαις ὑμῶν. Καὶ ἕκαστος τὴν κακίαν τοῦ πλησίον αὐτοῦ μὴ λογίζεσθε ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν, καὶ ὅρκον ψευδῆ μὴ ἀγαπᾶτε, διότι ταῦτα πάντα ἐμίσησα, λέγει Κύριος παντοκράτωρ. 3.5 Τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ λόγων οἱ περὶ ἠθικῆς καὶ πρακτικῆς ἀρετῆς ὄντες ποιεῖσθαι δύνανται, τῶν γνωστικῶν καὶ ἐποπτικῶν ἐχόντων τὸ θεωρεῖσθαι πρὸς τῶν ἐποπτικῶν καὶ διορατικῶν ἀνδρῶν. 3.6 Θεοῦ γοῦν διὰ τοῦ ἱεροφάντου Μωϋσέως πολλὰ ἐντειλαμένου ἵνα ἔργα κατὰ ἀρετὴν γίνωνται, οἱ συνέντες τοὺς δοθέντας λόγους μεγαλοφώνως ὡμολόγησαν μεταβαλεῖν εἰς ἔργα τὰ παρηγγελμένα, φήσαντες τῷ διακόνῳ τῶν θείων χρησμῶν· «Πάντα ὅσα εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς ποιήσομεν καὶ ἀκουσόμεθα.» 3.7 Ἐπειδὴ δὲ προσήκει τοὺς ἠθικοὺς λόγους πρὸς τῷ ποιεῖν καὶ νόησιν αὐτῶν ἔχειν, ἵνα δικαίως τὸ δίκαιον διωχθῇ, καὶ σωφρόνως τὸ σωφρονεῖν, ἀνδρείως τε καὶ φρονίμως τὰ ἀνδρεῖα καὶ φρόνιμα, -οὕτω γὰρ κατορθωθείη σὺν νοήσει ἀνύεσθαι τὰς πρακτικὰς ἀρετάς-ἀμέλει γοῦν καὶ τοὺς Ἰησοῦ λόγους ἀκούειν καὶ ποιεῖν δεῖ, αὐτοῦ τοῦτο διαγορεύοντος· «Ὁ πρὸς ἐμὲ ἐρχόμενος καὶ ἀκούων τοὺς λόγους μου καὶ ποιῶν αὐτοὺς ὁμοιωθήσεται ἀνδρὶ φρονίμῳ», καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. 3.8 Τότε δὲ μάλιστα τὸ γίνεσθαι ἔχουσιν οἱ λόγοι ὑπὸ τῶν ἀκροωμένων, ὅταν ὁ παιδευτὴς πράττῃ ἃ ἑτέροις λέγει· περὶ τοῦ τοιούτου ὁ Κύριος λέγει· «Ὃς ἂν ποιήσῃ καὶ διδάξῃ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, οὗτος μέγας κληθήσεται ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν», τοῦ μὴ πράττοντος ἃ ἑτέροις παρακελεύεται ποιεῖν ἐλαχίστου τυγχάνοντος, ἐπείπερ λέγων μὴ μοιχεύειν τοῦτ' ἐνεργεῖ καὶ κλοπὴν ἀπαγορεύων ἐνέχεται αὐτῇ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἱεροσυλεῖ τὰ εἴδωλα βδελυσσόμενος· 3.9 ἢ οὐχ ἱεροσυλεῖ ὁ βλάπτων 3.9 διὰ σκανδάλου τοὺς ἀναθέντας ἑαυτοὺς τῇ θεοσεβείᾳ δίκην ἐμψύχων θείων ἀγαλμάτων; Ὁ γὰρ βλάπτων τοὺς τοιούτους πράξει χειρίστῃ καὶ ἀσεβέσι φρονήμασι ἀληθῶς ἱεροσυλεῖ διὰ τοῦ παραβαίνειν τὸν νόμον ἐν ᾧ καυχᾶσθαι δοκεῖ, τὸν Θεὸν ἀτιμάζων. Ἵν' οὖν μὴ κακός τις ᾖ διδάσκαλος, ἃ παιδεύει ἠθικὰ μαθήματα ἔργοις ἐπιδεικνύσθω· οὕτω γὰρ ἔσται «ἐργατὴς ἀνεπαίσχυντος». 3.10 Ταύτῃ τῇ γνώμῃ γράφει τῷ ἑαυτοῦ μαθητῇ ὁ Ἀπόστολος «ἀφθορίαν ἔχειν, σεμνότητα, λόγον ὑγιῆ, ἀκατάγνωστον». Ἢ οὐχ ὑγιῆ, ἀκατάγνωστον λόγον ἔχει; πράττων γὰρ ἃ ἄλλοις ὑπαγορεύει καὶ φρονῶν ἃ ἄλλους δοξάζειν παρασκευάζει, ὑγιῆ, ἀκατάγνωστον ἔχει τῆς διδασκαλίας τὸν λόγον. 3.11 Τούτου τοῦ βίου, τοῦ πρακτικοῦ καὶ γνωστικοῦ φημι, μεταποιεῖσθαι βούλεται τὸν ἀληθῆ θεραπευτὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸ ἑξῆς τῷ προκειμένῳ προφήτῃ, Μαλαχίας ὄνομα αὐτῷ· ἔχει δὲ ἡ λέξις αὐτοῦ οὕτως· «Χείλη ἱερέως φυλάξεται γνῶσιν, καὶ νόμον ἐκζητήσουσιν ἐκ στόματος αὐτοῦ», μαθεῖν ποθοῦντες παρὰ θείου διδασκάλου ἃ δεῖ γινώσκειν ὀρθόδοξα δόγματα καὶ μυστήρια τῆς βασιλείας καὶ νόμον ἀπαγορεύοντα τὰς ἀδικίας καὶ προστάττοντα τὰ τῶν ἀρετῶν παιδεύματα. 3.12 Μαθόντες ποῖοι οἱ λόγοι γίνονται πρακτικῶς ὑπὸ τῶν προσηκαμένων, ἐπιστήσωμεν ποῖοι πρὸς γνῶσιν καὶ ἀλήθειαν ἔχουσιν. 3.13 ∆ιδάσκων Μωϋσῆς ὅτι «ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν», εἶπεν τὸν λόγον τοῦτον ἵν' ἀληθῶς γινώσκωμεν τὴν κτίσιν καὶ τὸν δημιουργὸν αὐτῆς· καὶ ὅσοι ἄλλοι λόγοι τῆς Κοσμοποιίας ἀνεγράφησαν, οὐχ ἵνα ποιῶμεν ἀλλ' ἵνα θεωρῶμεν αὐτοὺς, εἴρηνται· καὶ ἐπὶ πάσης δὲ τῆς θεοπνεύστου γραφῆς ἔρρωται ἡ παίδευσις αὕτη. 3.14 Καὶ αὐτὸς γοῦν ὁ Σωτήρ, ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις, ὅπου μὲν