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your ships.” Flee, therefore, from communion with them, and be strangers to peace with them; for concerning them the prophet declared, saying, “There is no joy for the ungodly, says the Lord.” For these are the hidden wolves, the dumb dogs that cannot bark, who now are few, but as time advances and the consummation draws near, they will be more numerous and more dangerous, concerning whom the Lord said, “When the Son of man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” And: “Because lawlessness will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold, and false Christs and false prophets will arise and will give signs in heaven, so as, if possible, to deceive even the elect.” From their error the Lord God will deliver us through Jesus Christ, our hope. For we also, going through the nations and strengthening the Churches, some who were on the point of dying by deceit we have healed and restored with much admonition and healing word, but those who were incurable we have cast out from the flock, lest they should transmit their scabby disease to the healthy lambs, but that it may remain pure and unspotted, healthy and undefiled for the Lord God. And these things we have done in every city everywhere throughout the whole inhabited world, leaving to you the bishops and the other priests this catholic teaching, worthily and justly, as a memorial for the strengthening of those who have believed in God, having sent it by our fellow-minister Clement, our most faithful and like-minded child in the Lord, together also with Barnabas and Timothy our most beloved son and Mark our true son, with whom we also make known to you Titus and Luke, and Jason and Lucius and Sosipater. Through whom we also beseech you in the Lord to abstain from old habits and vain bonds, from separations, observances, distinctions of foods, daily baptisms; “For the old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new.” For knowing God through Jesus Christ and his entire dispensation which has been from the beginning, that he has given a simple law to help the natural law, pure, saving, holy, in which also he placed his own name, perfect, without defect, full of ten oracles, blameless, converting souls, of which he also reminds the Hebrews who had forgotten it through Malachi the prophet, saying: “Remember the law of Moses, the man of God, who commanded

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αἱ νῆές σου.» Φεύγετε οὖν τῆς κοινωνίας αὐτῶν, καὶ τῆς πρὸς αὐτοὺς εἰρήνης ἀλλότριοι τυγχάνετε· περὶ αὐτῶν γὰρ ὁ προφήτης ἀπεφήνατο, λέγων, ὅτι «Oὐκ ἔστιν χαίρειν τοῖς ἀσεβέσιν, λέγει Κύριος.» Oὗτοι γάρ εἰσιν οἱ κρύφιοι λύκοι, οἱ ἐνεοὶ κύνες οἱ οὐ δυνάμενοι ὑλακτεῖν, οἳ νῦν μὲν εἰσὶν ὀλίγοι, προκόψαντος δὲ τοῦ χρόνου καὶ τῆς συντε λείας ἐγγιζούσης πλείονες καὶ χαλεπώτεροι ἔσονται, περὶ ὧν ὁ Κύριος ἔλεγεν, ὅτι «Ἀρα ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐλθὼν εὑρήσει τὴν πίστιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς;» Καί· «∆ιὰ τὸ πλη θυνθῆναι τὴν ἀνομίαν ψυγήσεται ἡ ἀγάπη τῶν πολλῶν, καὶ ἐλεύσονται ψευδόχριστοι καὶ ψευδοπροφῆται καὶ δώσουσι σημεῖα ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, ὥστε εἰ δυνατὸν καὶ τοὺς ἐκλεκτοὺς ἀπατῆσαι.» Ὣν τῆς πλάνης ῥύσεται ἡμᾶς Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, τῆς ἐλπίδος ἡμῶν. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἡμεῖς, διερχόμενοι τὰ ἔθνη καὶ ἐπιστη ρίζοντες τὰς Ἐκκλησίας, τοὺς μὲν ἐν πολλῇ νουθεσίᾳ καὶ λόγῳ ἰατικῷ ὑγιάσαντες ἐπανηγάγομεν μέλλοντας ὅσον οὐδέπω θνήσκειν ἀπάτῃ, τοὺς δὲ ἀνιάτως ἔχοντας ἐξεβά λομεν τῆς ποίμνης, ἵνα μὴ ψωραλέας νόσου μεταδῶσιν καὶ τοῖς ὑγιαίνουσιν ἀρνίοις, ἀλλὰ καθαρὰ καὶ ἄχραντα, ὑγιῆ καὶ ἄσπιλα διαμείνῃ Κυρίῳ τῷ Θεῷ. Καὶ ταῦτα κατὰ πόλιν πανταχοῦ εἰς ὅλην τὴν οἰκουμένην τοῦ κόσμου πεποιή καμεν, καταλιπόντες ὑμῖν τοῖς ἐπισκόποις καὶ τοῖς λοιποῖς ἱερεῦσιν τήνδε τὴν καθολικὴν διδασκαλίαν ἀξίως καὶ δικαίως εἰς μνημόσυνον ἐπιστηρισμοῦ τοῖς πεπιστευκόσι Θεῷ, διαπεμψάμενοι διὰ τοῦ συλλειτουργοῦ ἡμῶν Κλήμεντος τοῦ πιστοτάτου καὶ ὁμοψύχου τέκνου ἡμῶν ἐν Κυρίῳ, ἅμα καὶ Βαρνάβᾳ καὶ Τιμοθέῳ τῷ ποθεινοτάτῳ υἱῷ καὶ Μάρκῳ τῷ γνησίῳ, σὺν οἷς καὶ Τίτον ὑμῖν γνωρίζομεν καὶ Λουκᾶν, Ἰάσωνά τε καὶ Λούκιον καὶ Σωσίπατρον. ∆ι' ὧν καὶ παρακαλοῦμεν ὑμᾶς ἐν Κυρίῳ, ἀπέ χεσθαι παλαιᾶς συνηθείας καὶ δεσμῶν ματαίων, ἀφορισμῶν, παρατηρήσεων, βρωμάτων διορισμοῦ, βαπτισμάτων καθη μερινῶν· «Τὰ ἀρχαῖα γὰρ παρῆλθεν, ἰδοὺ γέγονεν καινὰ τὰ πάντα.» Γνόντες γὰρ Θεὸν διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ τὴν σύμπασαν αὐτοῦ οἰκονομίαν ἀρχῆθεν γεγενημένην, ὅτι δέδωκεν νόμον ἁπλοῦν εἰς βοήθειαν τοῦ φυσικοῦ, καθαρόν, σωτήριον, ἅγιον, ἐν ᾧ καὶ τὸ ἴδιον ὄνομα ἐγκατέ θετο, τέλειον, ἀνελλειπῆ, δέκα λογίων πλήρη, ἄμωμον, ἐπιστρέφοντα ψυχάς, οὗπερ καὶ ἐπιλαθομένους Ἑβραίους ὑπομιμνήσκει διὰ Μαλαχίου τοῦ προφήτου λέγων· «Μνή σθητε νόμου Μωϋσῆ, ἀνθρώπου τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὃς ἐνετείλατο