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of us all which has come to be by command! But having come here, speak about death, philosophize on many and necessary things, useful for friends and relatives alike, for the rich likewise and for the renowned. And with all things, for you the one explaining, it will suffice for you until the end to speak about such many and necessary things, and these things will benefit you after death. Then see the earthly world, the kinds of all sorts of living creatures in its midst, and the varied appearances of the winged creatures, and at the same time the voices of the humble sparrows, marvel at the breadths and magnitudes and boundaries of the sea, be amazed, declare it intensely! (160) O the depth of the riches and of the divine knowledge, O Your wisdom, my all-merciful God! Come and withdraw from external things, gather your mind, understand yourself, or rather philosophize about your own affairs and yourself, and as for whatever you see, you might find in the visible things each one a teacher for you of virtue or portraying a passion of vice, so that from the magnitude and beauty of created things you may learn the incomprehensible wisdom of God and the intelligible war, which the creator of all prefigured, and that as a serpent you may indeed acquire prudence, but vomit out the venom of wickedness! And as a horse may you run on the righteous path, but by no means neigh towards the female! You shall become a cat watching for the intelligible mouse, not seizing at all the things of your neighbor, nor stealing the portions of your brothers, but also like a fly you shall drive away all the opposing mice from your house! But you shall not become a wolf, but you shall flee wolves, but rather you shall become a dog of the Master and breathe out all your anger against them and track the ways of your Master; until you find, until you seize the divine door, do not turn back,

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ἡμῶν ἁπάντων προστάξει γεγονυῖαν! Ἐνταῦθα δ᾿ ἐλθών εἰπέ περί θανάτου, φιλοσόφησον πολλά καί ἀναγκαῖα, χρήσιμα φίλοις ἅμα καί συγγενέσιν, τοῖς πλουσίοις ὡσαύτως καί τοῖς ἐνδόξοις. Καί μετά πάντων σοί τῷ ἐξηγουμένῳ μέχρι τελευτῆς ἀρκέσει σοι τοῦ λέγειν περί τοιούτων πολλῶν καί ἀναγκαίων, καί ὠφελήσει σε μετά θάνατον ταῦτα. Ἔπειτα ἴδε τόν περίγειον κόσμον, τά μέσον τούτου παντοίων ζῴων γένη, τῶν πτηνῶν τε τάς ποικίλας ὁράσεις, ἅμα καί φωνάς τῶν εὐτελῶν στρουθίων, θαλάσσης πλάτη καί μεγέθη καί ὅρους θαύμασον, ἐκπλάγηθι, φράσον συντόνως! (160) Ὤ βάθος πλούτου καί γνώσεως τῆς θείας, ὤ σοφίας σου, Θεέ μου πανοικτίρμον! ∆εῦρο καί συστάληθι ἀπό τῶν ἔξω, σύναξον τόν νοῦν, σεαυτόν κατανόει, μᾶλλον δέ τά σά καί σαυτόν φιλοσόφει, καί ὅσα βλέπεις, εὕροις ἐν ὁρωμένοις ἕκαστον διδάσκαλον τῆς ἀρετῆς σοι ἤ τῆς κακίας ἐξεικονίζον πάθος, ἵν᾿ ἐκ μεγέθους καί καλλονῆς κτισμάτων τήν ἀκατανόητον Θεοῦ σοφίαν καί τόν νοητόν πόλεμον καταμάθοις, ὅν προεξεικόνισεν ὁ πλάστης πάντων, καί ὡς μέν ὄφις φρόνησιν πάντως κτήσῃ, τόν δέ ἰόν ἐμέσῃς τόν τῆς κακίας! Ὡς δ᾿ ἵππος δράμῃς ἐν ὁδῷ τῇ δικαίᾳ, οὐ χρεμετίσῃς πάντως δέ πρός τό θῆλυ! Κάττα γενήσῃ μῦν νοητόν τηροῦσα, οὐχ ἁρπάζουσα ὅλως τά τοῦ πλησίον, οὐδέ κλέπτουσα μοίρας τῶν ἀδελφῶν σου, ἀλλά καί μυΐ μύας διώξῃς πάντας τούς ἐναντίους ἀπό τῆς σῆς οἰκίας! Λύκος οὐ γενήσῃ δέ, λύκους δέ φύγῃς, μᾶλλον δέ κύων γενήσῃ τοῦ ∆εσπότου καί πνεύσῃς ὅλον θυμόν σου κατ᾿ ἐκείνων καί ἀνιχνεύσῃς ὁδούς τοῦ σοῦ ∆εσπότου˙ ἕως ἄν εὕροις, ἕως ἄν καταλάβοις θύραν τήν θείαν, μή στραφῇς εἰς τοὐπίσω,