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that men love their own wives and that when they come together with one another, even if they do not wash, they are clean, but a bath does not cleanse an adulterer or fornicator. 30. That it is a custom for both Jews and Greeks to observe natural purifications and to abominate the remains of the dead, but this is foreign to Christians, who ought both to assemble in the cemeteries of the saints and to sing psalms for those who have fallen asleep in faith. Above all, O bishops, guard against the terrible and grievous and lawless heresies, fleeing from them as from a burning fire for those who approach it. Flee also from schisms. For it is not lawful to incline the mind towards unholy heresies, nor to be separated from those of the same mind for the love of power. For in the past certain ones who dared to attempt these things did not escape punishment. For Dathan and Abiram, having stood up against Moses, were swallowed into the earth, and Korah and the two hundred and fifty with him, having risen up against Aaron, became fuel for the fire, and Miriam, having reproached Moses as one who slept with a gentile woman, was cast out of the camp for seven days; for she said that Moses had taken an Ethiopian woman. And not only these, but also Azariah, that is Uzziah, and he was king of Judah, having presumed upon the priesthood and wanting to burn incense, which was not proper for him, being prevented by Azariah the high priest and the eighty priests and not obeying, leprosy broke out on his forehead, and he hurried to go out, because the Lord had rebuked him. Let us therefore consider, beloved, what the fame of the seditious is and what kind of sentence is theirs. For if he who rises up against kings is worthy of punishment, whether he is a son or a friend, how much more he who rises up against priests? For by as much as the priesthood is better than kingship, having its struggle concerning the soul, by so much a heavier punishment does he have who dares to oppose this, than he who opposes kingship. And yet not one goes unpunished; for neither Absalom and Abeddadan remained unpunished, nor Korah and Dathan. For the one party rose up against David concerning the kingdom, and the other against Moses, contending about the primacy. And Absalom spoke evil of David his father as an unjust judge, saying to each one: "Your words are good, and there is no one to hear you and justify you; who will make me a ruler?" But Abeddadan: "I have no part," he says, "in David, nor inheritance in the son of Jesse." It is clear that he was indignant at being ruled by David,

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τοὺς ἄνδρας στέργειν τὰς ἑαυτῶν γαμετὰς καὶ ὅτι συνερχόμενοι ἀλλήλοις, κἂν μὴ λούσωνται, καθαροί εἰσιν, μοιχὸν δὲ ἢ πόρνον λοῦτρον οὐ καθαίρει. λ. Ὅτι ἔθος Ἰουδαίοις τε καὶ Ἕλλησιν παρατηρεῖσθαι τὰς φυσικὰς καθάρσεις καὶ τῶν τεθνεώτων τὰ λείψανα βδελύσσεσθαι, Χριστια νῶν δὲ τοῦτο ἀλλότριον, οὓς δεῖ καὶ συνιέναι ἐν τοῖς κοιμητηρίοις τῶν ἁγίων καὶ ψάλλειν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐν πίστει κεκοιμημένων. Πρὸ πάντων φυλάσσεσθε, ὦ ἐπίσκοποι, τὰς δεινὰς καὶ χαλεπὰς καὶ ἀθεμίτους αἱρέσεις, φεύγοντες αὐτὰς ὥσπερ πῦρ φλέγον τοὺς αὐτῷ πλησιάζοντας. Φεύγετε δὲ καὶ τὰ σχίσματα. Oὔτε γὰρ πρὸς ἀνοσίους αἱρέσεις θεμιτὸν ἐκκλῖναι τὸν νοῦν, οὔτε τῶν ὁμογνωμόνων χωρίζεσθαι διὰ φιλαρχίαν. Ταῦτα γὰρ καὶ τὸ παλαιόν τινες τολμήσαντες ἐπιχειρῆσαι οὐ διέφυγον τὴν τιμωρίαν. ∆αθὰν γὰρ καὶ Ἀβειρὼν ἀντιπρό σωποι γενόμενοι Μωϋσεῖ κατεπόθησαν εἰς γῆν, Κορὲ δὲ καὶ οἱ μετ' αὐτοῦ διακόσιοι πεντήκοντα, τῷ Ἀαρὼν διαστα σιάσαντες, πυρὸς παρανάλωμα γεγόνασιν, Μαριὰμ δὲ ὡς ἑλληνοκοίτην ὀνειδίσασα Μωϋσῆν ἔξω τῆς παρεμβολῆς ἀπε βλήθη ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας· ἔλεγεν γάρ, ὅτι γυναῖκα Μωϋσῆς Aἰθιόπισσαν ἔλαβεν. Oὐ μὴν δὲ ἀλλὰ καὶ Ἀζαρίας ὁ καὶ Ὀζίας, οὗτος δὲ ἦν βασιλεὺς τοῦ Ἰούδα, κατατολμήσας τῆς ἱερωσύνης καὶ θυμιάσαι βουληθεὶς τὸ θυμίαμα, ὃ οὐ προσῆκον ἦν αὐτῷ, κωλυόμενος ὑπὸ Ἀζαρίου τοῦ ἀρχιερέως καὶ τῶν ὀγδοήκοντα ἱερέων καὶ μὴ ὑπακούσας, ἐξανέτειλεν λέπραν ἐν τῷ μετώπῳ καὶ ἔσπευσεν ἐξελθεῖν, ὅτι ἤλεγξεν αὐτὸν ὁ Κύριος. Προσέχωμεν οὖν, ἀγαπητοί, τί τὸ κλέος τῶν στασιασάντων καὶ ποταπὴ ἡ ἀπόφασις αὐτῶν. Eἰ γὰρ ὁ βασιλεῦσιν ἐπεγειρόμενος κολάσεως ἄξιος, κἂν υἱὸς ᾖ, κἂν φίλος, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ὁ ἱερεῦσιν ἐπανιστάμενος; Ὅσῳ γὰρ ἱερωσύνη βασιλείας ἀμείνων, περὶ ψυχῆς ἔχουσα τὸν ἀγῶνα, τοσούτῳ καὶ βαρυτέραν ἔχει τὴν τιμωρίαν ὁ ταύτῃ τολμήσας ἀντομματεῖν, ἤπερ ὁ τῇ βασιλείᾳ. Καίτοιγε οὐδὲ εἶς ἀτιμώρητος· οὔτε γὰρ Ἀβεσσαλὼμ καὶ Ἀβεδδαδὰν ἔμειναν ἀτιμώρητοι, οὔτε Κορὲ καὶ ∆αθάν. Oἱ μὲν γὰρ τῷ ∆αυὶδ περὶ βασιλείας, οἱ δὲ τῷ Μωϋσεῖ περὶ πρωτείων ἐπανέστησαν ἁμιλλώμενοι. Καὶ ἐκακολόγουν ὁ μὲν Ἀβεσσαλὼμ ∆αυὶδ τὸν πατέρα ὡς ἄδικον κριτήν, λέγων ἑκάστῳ· «Oἱ λόγοι σου καλοί, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ ἀκουσόμενός σου καὶ δικαιώσας σε· τίς με ποιήσει ἄρχοντα;» Ὁ δὲ Ἀβεδδαδάν· «Oὐκ ἔστιν μοι, φησί, μερὶς ἐν ∆αυὶδ οὐδὲ κληρονομία ἐν υἱῷ Ἰεσσαί.» ∆ῆλον ὡς ἀναξιοπαθῶν ἄρχεσθαι ὑπὸ ∆αυίδ,