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has come to man, but from the human it has come to the beastly. And in general, good things are always before the blameworthy. Art must be before bad art; to know something incorrectly is after knowing it correctly; for how can we say at all that this is incorrect, if we did not know the correct way? Therefore, "for a remembrance concerning the sabbath". And since to keep the sabbath is to live in virtue and to live pleasingly to God and to serve doing what God wills, the life of men began from virtue; but this does not appear in the more bodily life; for virtue is something to be recovered by those with a body, it is something to be taught. Whence he who comes to be in the good is reminded. For example: what is thirty-seven? -you are not able to impose it on everyone. Now then someone might say this, that thirty-seven is composed of two holy numbers; for three is also praised in the scripture. Indeed, at any rate, it bears only one of the fruits of the holy land, bearing thirtyfold; for "some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty". And so that we do not always say the same things, it is sufficient to say in all things that the number three is holy, whether it is taken in units, or in tens, or in 260 hundreds. And seven is also holy; for it has often been said of this also that it is incorruptible, it is a virgin, it is fatherless, it is motherless. "Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger nor discipline me in your wrath". He does not refuse to be rebuked or disciplined altogether, but in anger and wrath. But it is possible for one to be disciplined rationally and with knowledge, according to which meaning the holy one prays, saying—or praises and blesses—; "Blessed is the man whom you discipline, Lord, and whom you teach from your law". He showed that this discipline happens according to teaching. And rebuke and discipline also often happen through anger and wrath, through grievous things, through bitter things. And rebuke also often happens when the fault in which he is is shown by word to the one responsible; for this it says: "Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you". The wise man rebukes the lesser man, who is also wise, as one being introduced. And again: "but all things when they are rebuked are made manifest by the light". And many say such things about rebuke, that rebuke is like a syllogism of contradiction. Come, let us say, someone is in wickedness. By adducing syllogistically the reason that divides wickedness from virtue and by knowing the good, one receives a conception of the evil. And this rebuke does not happen in anger, but in discipline; for since the knowledge of opposites is the same, if we know the good, we have knowledge of the evil. And it is possible to take the examples from the scriptures: the Ninevites were in great wickedness, so that "the cry of their wickedness went up" to God, calling for punishment and retribution. But God sent a proclamation of repentance. They accepted the proclamation. They were disciplined, they were rebuked not in wrath or anger. For instance, the Sodomites were rebuked and disciplined in anger and wrath. Therefore he does not wish to be rebuked by these things, though he would not refuse to be rebuked with knowledge. 3 That your arrows have pierced me. For this reason I refuse the rebuke in anger and the discipline in wrath, since "your arrows have pierced me". I received knowledge of the punishments brought upon the undisciplined, upon those not rebuked. And in many places of the divine instruction, the arrows signify punishments; as when Job, being in many grievous things, says that: "the arrows of the Lord are in my body". That terrible ulceration he called "arrows of the Lord" being in his body. And the paradoxical thing is this: he also introduces providence through this word. These painful things, which like arrows wound me, have not come upon me without the decree of God; for they are "arrows of the Lord, whose anger drinks up my blood; when I begin to speak, they pierce me". And see, that he called that painful and evil ulcer "arrows of the Lord". And again in an ode
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εἰς τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐλήλυθεν, ἀλλὰ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀνθρωπίνου εἰς τὸν κτηνώδην ἐλήλυθεν. καὶ ὅλως γε ἀεὶ τὰ καλὰ π̣ρὸ τῶν ψεγομένων ἐστίν. δεῖ τέχνην πρὸ κακοτεχνίας εἶναι, τὸ ἐσφαλμένως εἰδέναι τι μετὰ τὸ ὀρθῶς εἰδέν̣αι ἐστίν· πῶς γὰρ δυνάμεθα ὅλως εἰπεῖν ὅτι ἐσφαλ̣μένος οὗτός ἐστιν, εἰ μὴ τὸ εὐθὲς εἰδυείημεν; διὰ τοῦτο οὖν̣ "εἰς ἀνάμνησιν περὶ σαββάτου". καὶ ἐπειδὴ τὸ σαββατίζειν̣ ἐστὶν̣ τὸ ἐν ἀρετῇ διάγειν καὶ τὸ εὐαρέστως τῷ θεῷ ζῆν καὶ λειτουργεῖν ποιοῦντα ἃ βούλεται θεός, ἀπὸ ἀρετῆς ἠ´̣ρξατο̣ ἡ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ζωή· ἀλλ' οὐ φαίνεται ἐν τῇ σωματικωτέρᾳ ζωῇ τοῦτο· ἀναλημπτὴ γὰρ ἡ ἀρετή ἐστιν τῶν μετὰ σώματος, διδακτή ἐστιν. ὅθεν ἀναμιμνήσκεται ὁ γινόμενος ἐν τῷ καλῷ. ἐπερ · ὁ τριάκοντα ἑπτὰ τί ἐστιν; -οὐ παντὶ ἐπιβάλλειν δύνῃ. νῦν ἄρα τις τοῦτο εἴποι, ὅτι σύνκειται ὁ τριάκοντα ἑπτὰ ἐκ δύο ἁγίων ἀριθμῶν· καὶ ὁ τρία γὰρ ἐπαινεῖται ἐν τῇ γραφῇ. ἀμέλει γοῦν δεδεδεκάτας φέρει μόνον ἕνα τῶν καρπῶν τῆς γῆς τῆς ἁγίας φέρων· "ὃ μὲν" γὰρ "ἑκατόν, ὃ δὲ ἑξήκοντα, ὃ δὲ τριάκοντα". καὶ ἵνα μὴ ἀεὶ τὰ αὐτὰ λέγωμεν, π̣άντα ἐν πᾶσιν ἀρκεστέον εἰπεῖν ὅτι ἅγιός ἐστιν ὁ τρία ἀριθμός, κἂν ἐν μονάσιν, κἂν ἐν δεκάσιν, κἂν ἐν 260 ἑκατοντάσιν λαμβάνεται. ἅγιος δὲ καὶ ὁ ἑπτά· πολλάκις γὰρ καὶ περὶ τούτου ἐλέχθη ὅτι ἀδιάφθορός ἐστιν, παρθένος ἐστίν, ἀπάτωρ, ἀμήτωρ ἐστίν. "κύριε, μὴ τῷ θυμῷ σου ἐλέγξῃς με μηδὲ τῇ ὀργῇ σου παιδεύσῃς με". οὐ καθάπαξ ἐλεγχθῆναι ἢ παιδευθῆναι παραιτεῖται, ἀλλ' ἐν θυμῷ καὶ ὀργῇ. ἔστιν δὲ παιδευθῆναί τ̣ινα λογικῶς καὶ ἐπιστημονικῶς, καθ' ὃ σημαινόμενον ὁ ἅγιος εὔχεται λέγων -ἢ ἐπαινεῖ καὶ μακαρίζει-· "μακάριος ἄνθρωπος, ὃν ἂν σὺ παιδεύσῃς, κύριε, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ νόμου σου διδάξῃς αὐτόν". ἔδειξεν ὅτι ἡ παίδευσις αὕτη κατὰ διδασκαλίαν γίνεται. γίνεται δὲ καὶ πολλάκις ἔλεγχος καὶ παίδευσις διὰ θυμοῦ καὶ ὀργῆς, διὰ ἀνιαρῶν, διὰ πικρ̣ῶν. γίνεται δὲ καὶ ἔλεγχος πολλάκις, ὅταν λόγῳ παραδειχθῇ τῷ ὑπευθύνῳ τὸ ἐν ᾧ ἐστιν σφάλματι· τοῦτο γὰρ λέγει· "ἔλεγχε σοφόν, καὶ ἀγαπήσει σε". ἐλέγχει ὁ σοφὸς τὸν ἐλάττονα σοφὸν καὶ αὐτὸν ὄντα ὡς εἰσαγόμενον. καὶ πα´̣λιν· "τὰ δὲ πάντα ἐλεγχόμενα ὑπὸ τοῦ φωτὸς φανεροῦται". καὶ λέγουσιν πολλοὶ περὶ ἐλέγχου τοιαῦτα, ὅτι ἔλεγχός ἐστιν οἷο̣ν συλλογισμὸς ἀντιφάσ̣ε̣ως. φέρε εἰπεῖν, ἐν κακίᾳ τίς ἐστιν. τὸν διαιροῦντα τὴν κακίαν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρετῆς λόγον συλλ̣ογιστικῶς ἐπιφέρων καὶ γιγνω´̣σκω̣ν τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐνθύμησιν λαμβάνει τοῦ κακοῦ. καὶ ὁ ἔλεγχος οὗτος οὔκ ἐστιν ἐν θυμῷ γινόμενος, ἀλλ' ἐν παιδεύσει· ἐπεὶ γὰρ τῶν ἐναντίων ἡ αὐτή ἐστιν ἐπιστήμη, ἐὰν γνῶμεν τὸ ἀγαθόν, ἔσχομεν γνῶσιν τοῦ κακοῦ. καὶ ἀπὸ γραφῶν ἔστιν λαβεῖν τὰ παραδείγμ̣ατα· οἱ Νινευῖται γεγόνασιν ἐν πολλῇ κακίᾳ, ὡς "τὴν κραυγὴν τῆς κακίας αὐτῶν ἀναβῆνα̣ι" πρὸς τὸν θεὸν τιμωρίαν καὶ ἀνταπόδοσιν ἐκκαλουμένην. ἀλλ' ὁ θεὸς κήρυγμα ἀπέστειλεν μετανοίας. προσήκαντο τὸ κήρυγμα. ἐπαιδεύθησαν, ἠλέγχθησαν οὐκ ἐν ὀργῇ ἢ θυμῷ. οἷον Σοδομῖται ἠλέγχθησαν καὶ ἐπαιδεύθησαν ἐν θυμῷ καὶ ὀργῇ. οὐ βούλεται οὖν τούτοις ἐλεγχθῆναι οὐκ ἂν παραιτησάμενος ἐπιστημονικῶς ἐλεγχθῆναι. 3 ὅτι τὰ βέλη σου ἐνεπάγησάν μοι. διὰ τοῦτο παραιτοῦμαι τὸν ἔλεγχον τὸν ἐν θυμῷ καὶ τὴν ἐν ὀργῇ παίδευσιν, ἐπεὶ "τὰ βέλη σου ἐνεπάγη ἐν ἐμοί". ἔλαβον γνῶσιν τῶν κολάστεων τῶν ἐπιφερομένων κατὰ τῶν ἀπαιδεύτων, κατὰ τῶν ἀνελέγκτων. πολλαχοῦ δὲ τῆς θείας παιδεύσεως τὰ βέλη τὰς κολάσεις σημαίνει· ὡς ἐὰν λέγῃ ὁ Ἰὼβ ἐν ἀνιαροῖς πολλοῖς γενόμενος ὅτι· "βέλη τοῦ κυρίου ἐν τῷ σώματί μού ἐστιν". τὴν ἕλκωσιν ἐκείνην τὴν φοβερὰν "βέλη κυρίου" εἶπεν ἐν τῷ σώματι αὐτοῦ τυγχάνοντα. καὶ τό γε παράδοξον· καὶ πρόνοιαν εἰσηγεῖται διὰ τῆς λέξεως ταύτης. ταῦτα τὰ ἐπίπονα τὰ οἷα βέλη τιτρώσκοντά με οὐκ ἄνευ ψήφου τοῦ θεοῦ ὑπῆρκταί μοι· "βέλη γάρ εἰσιν κυρίου, ὧν ὁ θυμὸς αὐτῶν ἐκπίνει μου τὸ αἷμα· ὅταν ἄρξωμαι λαλεῖν, κεντοῦσίν με". καὶ ὅρα γε, ὅτι τὸ ἐπίπονον καὶ τὸ ἕλκος ἐκεῖνο τὸ πονηρὸν εἶπεν "βέλη κυρίου". καὶ πάλιν ἐν ᾠδῇ