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making trustworthy through deeds, with which you first taught 107.3 yourselves, so that you might also make disciples of others. For even while being silent you hold fast 107.3 in the manner of the sun, which in silence teaches all people everywhere; for as soon as it rises, being silent, it teaches everyone again their skills. 107.4 And when you hand down the benefit of all these things to your own children, or rather most faithful brothers, you lead them on to walk on the earth, but to have their "citizenship in heaven," 107.5 and you engender in the majority the zeal of monks. Through the steadfastness in you and your unfeigned faith, hating heretics, muzzling Manichaeans and Marcionites and others like them, you drive them out of God's fold, refuting and silencing all their pretexts. 107.6 For how many things do they dare to utter against God and against his holy prophets, being frivolous and empty of the Holy Spirit, and they blaspheme against the creator of all things and whatever good things God has graciously given to all people by prophecy in spirit through his holy prophets, these men hate, and the deepest things of the Law and the Prophets, being as it were earthly and 107.7 carnal, judging psychically they do not understand. But they blaspheme in vain. Do not hesitate immediately to shake off their error from your hearers, refuting them with true proofs. For by such words the foolish-minded are carried down like twigs in the current of a great river. 108.1 They have said that the God of the Law is good, who, not knowing where Adam was, asked, saying, "Adam, where are you?" and to Cain he says, "Where is Abel your brother?" and to Abraham, "Where is Sarah your wife?" 108.2 and many other such things. But they who say such things believe in God the Savior with the mouth and not in truth, though he is God and has foreknowledge, and who similarly to the Old [Testament] asks the same things: "Where have you laid Lazarus?" and "Who touched me?" and "Do you have loaves with 108.3 you?" and "Whom do you want?" or "Whom do you seek?". The refutation against these men is therefore easy and simple. For as the Son asks, having foreknowledge, so also the Father himself also asks in the Law, 108.4 being always the same and not changing. For if he says, "Where have you laid Lazarus?" * he is ignorant neither of the gospel nor of the old testament. For he says "Where have you laid him?", wishing to expose those who had not even brought forth faith equal to the Shunammite woman, although she had it towards a man, that is, Elisha the holy 108.5 prophet, while Martha and her companions had it towards God. And if he says, "Who touched me?" he does not say it out of ignorance, but that he might persuade the woman to confess on her own, so that the Son of God might not testify about himself, 108.6 but be glorified by others. And when he says, "Do you have loaves with you?" he says it for this reason, that the small number of the loaves might be made known to all, and the magnitude of his miracle-working might be marveled at, by so great a crowd being fed with so few 108.7 loaves. And when he says, "Whom do you seek?" he shows that the seekers are deceived and are "seeking Jesus," which is interpreted as healer and savior, so that when they kill him, they might cease from his salvation. 109.1 As therefore we have shown that the things concerning the economy of our Lord are spoken in a human way, but are not without foreknowledge —for no one of sound mind would say he did not know where they had laid Lazarus, being near the place, even if he asked for the reason we have stated, having been formerly far away in Galilee and having shown from himself that Lazarus was dead— so also concerning the Old Testament we soundly analyze these things. 109.2 The
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πιστοποιοῦντες διὰ τῶν πράξεων, οἷς ἑαυτοὺς πρῶτον ἐδι107.3 δάξατε, ἵνα καὶ ἑτέρους μαθητεύσητε. ἐπέχετε γὰρ καὶ σιωπῶντες 107.3 τρόπον ἡλίου τοῦ καὶ σιωπῇ πάντας πανταχοῦ διδάσκοντος· εὐθὺς γὰρ ἀνατέλλων καὶ σιωπῶν τὰς τέχνας αὐτῶν πάντας ἀναδιδάσκει. 107.4 καὶ ὅταν μὲν τούτων ἁπάντων τὴν ὠφέλειαν τοῖς ἑαυτῶν τέκνοις εἴτ' οὖν ἀδελφοῖς πιστοτάτοις παραδῶτε, προβιβάζετε μὲν αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ γῆς μὲν βαδίζειν, «ἐν οὐρανῷ» δὲ ἔχειν «τὸ πολίτευμα», μοναχῶν 107.5 δὲ ζῆλον τοῖς πλείστοις ἐγγεννᾶτε· διὰ τῆς ἐν ὑμῖν στερρότητος καὶ ἀνυποκρίτου πίστεως αἱρεσιώτας στυγοῦντες, Μανιχαίους φιμοῦντες Μαρκιωνιστάς τε καὶ λοιποὺς ὁμοίους αὐτῶν, τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ μάνδρας ἀπελαύνετε, πάσας αὐτῶν τὰς προφάσεις παραλύοντες καὶ ἐπιστομί107.6 ζοντες. πόσα γὰρ κατὰ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ κατὰ τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ προφητῶν τολμηρῶς καταφθέγγονται, κοῦφοι ὄντες καὶ κενοὶ ἀπὸ ἁγίου πνεύματος, εἴς τε τὸν τῶν ὅλων δημιουργὸν βλασφημοῦσι καὶ ὅσα καλὰ διὰ τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ προφητῶν τοῖς πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις κατὰ προφητείαν ἐν πνεύματι ὁ θεὸς ἐχαρίσατο, οὗτοι μισοῦσι τά τε βαθύτατα τοῦ νόμου καὶ τῶν προφητῶν οἷα δὴ γεώδεις ὄντες καὶ 107.7 σωματικοί, ψυχικῶς ἀνακρίνοντες οὐ νοοῦσι. μάτην δὲ βλασφημοῦσιν. εὐθὺς τὴν αὐτῶν πλάνην μὴ ὀκνεῖτε ἀπὸ τῶν ἀκουόντων ἀποσείεσθαι ἐλέγχοντες αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν ἀληθινῶν ἀποδείξεων. διὰ γὰρ τῶν τοιούτων ῥημάτων οἱ ματαιόφρονες ὥσπερ φρύγανα ἐν ῥεύματι πλουσίου ποταμοῦ καταφέρονται. 108.1 Εἴπασι δὲ ὅτι καλὸς ὁ θεὸς τοῦ νόμου, ὃς τὸν Ἀδὰμ ἀγνοῶν ποῦ ἐστιν ἠρώτα λέγων «Ἀδὰμ ποῦ εἶ;» καὶ τῷ Κάϊν λέγει «ποῦ Ἄβελ ὁ ἀδελφός σου;» καὶ πρὸς τὸν Ἀβραάμ «ποῦ Σάρρα ἡ γυνή σου;» 108.2 καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ τοιαῦτα. αὐτοὶ δὲ οἱ τοιαῦτα λέγοντες πιστεύουσι τῷ σωτῆρι θεῷ στόματι καὶ οὐκ ἀληθείᾳ, θεῷ ὄντι καὶ πρόγνωσιν ἔχοντι, τὰ δὲ αὐτὰ τῇ παλαιᾷ ὁμοίως ἐπερωτῶντι «ποῦ τεθείκατε τὸν Λάζαρον;» καί «τίς μου ἥψατο;» καὶ ὅτι «ἔχετε ἄρτους μεθ' 108.3 ἑαυτῶν;» καί «τίνα θέλετε;» ἤ «τίνα ζητεῖτε;». εὐχερὴς λοιπὸν καὶ ῥᾴδιος ὁ πρὸς τούτους ἔλεγχος. ὡς γὰρ ἐπερωτᾷ ὁ υἱὸς πρόγνωσιν ἔχων, οὕτως καὶ ὁ πατὴρ καὶ αὐτὸς καὶ ἐν τῷ νόμῳ ἐπερωτᾷ, ὁ 108.4 αὐτὸς ὢν ἀεὶ καὶ μὴ μεταλλασσόμενος. ἐὰν γὰρ εἴπῃ «ποῦ τεθείκατε τὸν Λάζαρον;» * οὔτε τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ἀγνοεῖ οὔτε τὴν παλαιὰν διαθήκην. «ποῦ τεθείκατε» γάρ «αὐτόν;» λέγει, ἐξελέγξαι θέλων τὰς μηδὲ τὴν ἴσην πίστιν ἐξενηνοχυίας πρὸς τὴν Σουμανῖτιν, καίτοι γε ἐκείνης πρὸς ἄνθρωπον ἐχούσης, τουτέστιν Ἐλισσαῖον τὸν ἅγιον 108.5 προφήτην, τῶν δὲ περὶ Μάρθαν ἐχουσῶν πρὸς τὸν θεόν. καὶ ἐὰν εἴπῃ «τίς μου ἥψατο;» οὐκ ἀγνοῶν λέγει, ἀλλ' ἵνα πείσῃ τὴν γυναῖκα ἀφ' ἑαυτῆς ὁμολογῆσαι, ἵνα μὴ περὶ ἑαυτοῦ μαρτυρῇ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, 108.6 ἀλλ' ὑπὸ ἄλλων δοξάζηται. καὶ ὅταν εἴπῃ «ἔχετε ἄρτους μεθ' ἑαυτῶν;» ἐπὶ τούτῳ λέγει, ἵνα τὸ βραχὺ τῶν ἄρτων πᾶσι σημανθῇ καὶ τὸ μέγεθος τῆς αὐτοῦ θαυματουργίας θαυμασθῇ, διὰ τοσούτων 108.7 ἄρτων τοσούτου τραφέντος ὄχλου. καὶ ὅταν εἴπῃ «τίνα ζητεῖτε;» τοὺς ζητοῦντας δείκνυσιν ἠπατημένους ὄντας καὶ «Ἰησοῦν ζητοῦντας», τὸν ἰατρὸν ἑρμηνευόμενον καὶ σωτῆρα, ἵν' ὅταν ἀποκτείνωσιν αὐτόν, τῆς τούτου σωτηρίας λήξωσιν. 109.1 Ὥσπερ οὖν τὰ περὶ τῆς τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν οἰκονομίας ἐδείξαμεν λεγόμενα μὲν ἀνθρωπίνως, οὐκ ἄμοιρα δὲ προγνώσεως οὐδὲ γάρ τις τῶν εὖ φρονούντων εἴπῃ ἀγνοεῖν αὐτὸν ποῦ τεθείκασι Λάζαρον, ἐγγὺς ὄντα τοῦ τόπου, εἰ καὶ δι' ὃν εἴπομεν τρόπον ἠρώτα, πόρρω ἐπὶ Γαλιλαίας πρώην ὄντα καὶ δείξαντα ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ ὅτι τέθνηκε Λάζαρος, οὕτω καὶ περὶ τῆς παλαιᾶς διαθήκης ταῦτα εὐφρόνως ἀνα109.2 λύομεν. τὸ