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a cross and very many other things similar to these. And there is also a story that, when Abgar, who was ruling the city of the Edessenes, sent a painter to paint a likeness of the Lord's icon, and the painter was not able because of the dazzling brightness of His face, He Himself, having placed a cloth upon His own life-giving face, imprinted upon the cloth His own image and thus sent it to the longing Abgar. And that the apostles also handed down very many things unwritten, Paul, the apostle of the gentiles, writes: «Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold our traditions, which you have been taught, whether by word or by our epistle», and to the Corinthians: «Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you». 90 Concerning Scripture There is one God, proclaimed by both the Old and New Testament, who is hymned and glorified in Trinity, as the Lord said: «I came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it» (for He Himself worked our salvation, for which all scripture and every mystery exists), and again: «Search the scriptures; for they testify of me», and as the apostle said: «God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past unto our fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son». Therefore, through the Holy Spirit both the law and the prophets, evangelists and apostles and shepherds and teachers have spoken. «Therefore all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable». Therefore, it is most excellent and most profitable for the soul to search the divine scriptures. For just as a tree planted by the rivers of water, so also the soul, being watered by the divine scripture, is enriched and gives ripe fruit, orthodox faith, and is beautified with ever-green leaves, I mean, by deeds pleasing to God; for we are guided by the holy scriptures toward both virtuous action and pure contemplation. For in them we find exhortation to every virtue and aversion from all evil. If therefore we will be lovers of learning, we shall also be very learned; for by diligence and labor and the grace of the Giver all things are accomplished. «For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened». Let us knock therefore at the most beautiful paradise of the scriptures, the fragrant, the most sweet, the most beautiful, which sounds around our ears with the varied warblings of spiritual, God-bearing birds, which touches our heart, and consoles it when it is grieving, calms it when it is angry, and fills it with eternal joy, which sets our mind upon the golden-gleaming and most brilliant back of the divine dove and with its brightest wings leads it up to the only-begotten Son and heir of the planter of the spiritual vineyard and through Him brings it to the Father of lights. But let us not knock carelessly, but rather eagerly and persistently; let us not grow weary of knocking. For so it will be opened to us. If we read once and twice and do not understand what we are reading, let us not grow weary, but let us persevere, let us meditate, let us inquire: for it says, «ask your father, and he will show you; your elders, and they will tell you». For knowledge is not for all. Let us draw from the spring of this paradise ever-flowing and most pure waters, springing up into eternal life, let us delight, let us revel insatiably; for they possess a grace that is inexhaustible. But if we should be able to reap anything useful even from those outside, it is not forbidden. Let us become approved money-changers, heaping up the genuine and pure gold, but rejecting the counterfeit. Let us take the finest words, but let us cast the ridiculous gods and strange myths to the dogs; for from them we might be able to acquire the greatest strength. But it must be known that there are twenty-two books of the Old Testament, according to the letters of the Hebrew language. For they have twenty-two letters, of which five are doubled, so that they become twenty-seven; for Chaph and Mem and

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σταυρὸν καὶ ἕτερα πλεῖστα τούτοις ὅμοια. Φέρεται δὲ καί τις ἱστορία, ὡς ὁ κύριος τῷ Αὐγάρῳ τῆς Ἐδεσσηνῶν πόλεως βασιλεύοντι ζωγράφον ἀποστείλαντι τὴν τοῦ κυρίου ὁμοιογραφῆσαι εἰκόνα μὴ δυνηθέντος τοῦ ζωγράφου διὰ τὴν ἀποστίλβουσαν τοῦ προσώπου λαμπρότητα αὐτὸς ἱμάτιον τῷ οἰκείῳ καὶ ζωοποιῷ προσώπῳ ἐπιθεὶς ἐναπομάξασθαι τῷ ἱματίῳ τὸ ἑαυτοῦ ἀπεικόνισμα καὶ οὕτως ἀποστεῖλαι ποθοῦντι τῷ Αὐγάρῳ. Ὅτι δὲ καὶ πλεῖστα οἱ ἀπόστολοι ἀγράφως παραδεδώκασι, γράφει Παῦλος ὁ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἀπόστολος· «Ἄρα οὖν, ἀδελφοί, στήκετε καὶ κρατεῖτε τὰς παραδόσεις ἡμῶν, ἃς ἐδιδάχθητε εἴτε διὰ λόγου εἴτε δι' ἐπιστολῆς ἡμῶν», καὶ πρὸς Κορινθίους· «Ἐπαινῶ δὲ ὑμᾶς, ἀδελφοί, ὅτι πάντα μου μέμνησθε καί, καθὼς παρέδωκα ὑμῖν, τὰς παραδόσεις κατέχετε». 90 Περὶ γραφῆσ Εἷς ἐστιν ὁ θεὸς ὑπό τε παλαιᾶς διαθήκης καὶ καινῆς κηρυττόμενος, ὁ ἐν τριάδι ὑμνούμενός τε καὶ δοξαζόμενος, τοῦ κυρίου φήσαντος· «Οὐκ ἦλθον καταλῦσαι τὸν νόμον, ἀλλὰ πληρῶσαι» (αὐτὸς γὰρ τὴν ἡμῶν σωτηρίαν εἰργάσατο, ὑπὲρ ἧς πᾶσα γραφὴ καὶ ἅπαν μυστήριον), καὶ πάλιν· «Ἐρευνᾶτε τὰς γραφάς· αὗται γὰρ μαρτυροῦσι περὶ ἐμοῦ», καὶ τοῦ ἀποστόλου εἰπόντος· «Πολυμερῶς καὶ πολυτρόπως πάλαι ὁ θεὸς λαλήσας τοῖς πατράσιν ἡμῶν ἐν τοῖς προφήταις, ἐπ' ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν τούτων ἐλάλησεν ἡμῖν ἐν υἱῷ». ∆ιὰ πνεύματος τοίνυν ἁγίου ὅ τε νόμος καὶ οἱ προφῆται, εὐαγγελισταὶ καὶ ἀπόστολοι καὶ ποιμένες ἐλάλησαν καὶ διδάσκαλοι. «Πᾶσα τοίνυν γραφὴ θεόπνευστος πάντως ὠφέλιμος». Ὥστε κάλλιστον καὶ ψυχωφελέστατον ἐρευνᾶν τὰς θείας γραφάς. Ὥσπερ γὰρ δένδρον παρὰ τὰς διεξόδους τῶν ὑδάτων πεφυτευμένον, οὕτω καὶ ψυχὴ τῇ θείᾳ ἀρδευομένη γραφῇ πιαίνεται καὶ καρπὸν ὥριμον δίδωσι, πίστιν ὀρθόδοξον, καὶ ἀειθαλέσι τοῖς φύλλοις, ταῖς θεαρέστοις φημὶ ὡραΐζεται πράξεσι· πρός τε γὰρ πρᾶξιν ἐνάρετον καὶ θεωρίαν ἀθόλωτον ἐκ τῶν ἁγίων γραφῶν ῥυθμιζόμεθα. Πάσης γὰρ ἀρετῆς παράκλησιν καὶ κακίας ἁπάσης ἀποτροπὴν ἐν ταύταις εὑρίσκομεν. Ἐὰν οὖν ἐσόμεθα φιλομαθεῖς, ἐσόμεθα καὶ πολυμαθεῖς· ἐπιμελείᾳ γὰρ καὶ πόνῳ καὶ τῇ τοῦ διδόντος χάριτι κατορθοῦνται ἅπαντα. «Ὁ γὰρ αἰτῶν λαμβάνει καὶ ὁ ζητῶν εὑρίσκει καὶ τῷ κρούοντι ἀνοιγήσεται». Κρούσωμεν τοίνυν εἰς τὸν κάλλιστον παράδεισον τῶν γραφῶν, τὸν εὐώδη, τὸν γλυκύτατον, τὸν ὡραιότατον, τὸν παντοίοις νοερῶν θεοφόρων ὀρνέων κελαδήμασι περιηχοῦντα ἡμῶν τὰ ὦτα, τὸν ἁπτόμενον ἡμῶν τῆς καρδίας, καὶ λυπουμένην μὲν παρακαλοῦντα, θυμουμένην δὲ κατευνάζοντα καὶ χαρᾶς ἀιδίου ἐμπιπλῶντα, τὸν ἐπιβιβάζοντα ἡμῶν τὴν διάνοιαν ἐπὶ τὰ χρυσαυγῆ μετάφρενα τῆς θείας περιστερᾶς καὶ ὑπέρλαμπρα καὶ ταῖς φανωτάταις αὐτῆς πτέρυξι πρὸς τὸν μονογενῆ υἱὸν καὶ κληρονόμον τοῦ φυτουργοῦ τοῦ νοητοῦ ἀμπελῶνος ἀνάγοντα καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ τῷ πατρὶ τῶν φώτων προσάγοντα. Ἀλλὰ μὴ παρέργως κρούσωμεν, προθύμως δὲ μᾶλλον καὶ ἐπιμόνως· μὴ ἐκκακήσωμεν κρούοντες. Οὕτω γὰρ ἡμῖν ἀνοιγήσεται. Ἐὰν ἀναγνῶμεν ἅπαξ καὶ δὶς καὶ μὴ διαγνῶμεν, ἃ ἀναγινώσκομεν, μὴ ἐκκακήσωμεν, ἀλλ' ἐπιμείνωμεν, ἀδολεσχήσωμεν, ἐρωτήσωμεν· «ἐπερώτησον» γάρ, φησίν, «τὸν πατέρα σου, καὶ ἀναγγελεῖ σοι, τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους σου, καὶ ἐροῦσί σοι». Οὐ γὰρ πάντων ἡ γνῶσις. Ἀρυσώμεθα ἐκ τῆς τούτου τοῦ παραδείσου πηγῆς ἀένναα καὶ καθαρώτατα νάματα ἁλλόμενα εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον, ἐντρυφήσωμεν, ἀπλήστως κατατρυφήσωμεν· τὴν γὰρ χάριν ἀδάπανον κέκτηνται. Εἰ δέ τι καὶ παρὰ τῶν ἔξωθεν χρήσιμον καρπώσασθαι δυνηθείημεν, οὐ τῶν ἀπηγορευμένων ἐστί. Γενώμεθα δόκιμοι τραπεζῖται τὸ μὲν γνήσιον καὶ καθαρὸν χρυσίον σωρεύοντες, τὸ δὲ κίβδηλον παραιτούμενοι. Λάβωμεν λόγους καλλίστους, θεοὺς δὲ γελοίους καὶ μύθους ἀλλοτρίους τοῖς κυσὶν ἀπορρίψωμεν· πλείστην γὰρ ἐξ αὐτῶν ἰσχὺν κτήσασθαι δυνηθείημεν. Ἰστέον δέ, ὡς εἴκοσι δύο βίβλοι εἰσὶ τῆς παλαιᾶς διαθήκης κατὰ τὰ στοιχεῖα τῆς Ἑβραΐδος φωνῆς. Εἴκοσι δύο γὰρ στοιχεῖα ἔχουσιν, ἐξ ὧν πέντε διπλοῦνται, ὡς γίνεσθαι αὐτὰ εἴκοσι ἑπτά· διπλοῦν γάρ ἐστι τὸ Χὰφ καὶ τὸ Μὲμ καὶ