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of those being condemned, but of those having the labors of righteousness and ecclesiastical work, and being fed according to righteousness, but doing this out of an excess of choice. For their divinely-inspired soul longs, established in the fear of God and having possessed from the Holy Spirit the knowledge of heavenly wealth, which is according to righteousness with praise and glory and excellence, which is through divine doctrines and divine study of holy scripture and the oracles of God, and psalmodies and assemblies, and holy fasts and purity and conduct, and of work by the hands for the sake of righteousness with choice. But these same honorable brothers of ours, those in Mesopotamia in monasteries or so-called sheepfolds, were also prefigured in another type, setting forth to wear women's hair and relying on conspicuous sackcloth. But the children of the holy virgin of Christ, 3.492 our mother the church, ought to be dignified, domestic, serving God secretly who knows the secret things and repays in the open, according to what is written, and to walk becomingly for the sake of those outside and not to wish to receive their reward and grace from those who see them. For conspicuous sackcloth and hair not cut off is foreign to the Catholic church, from the preaching of the apostles; "For a man," he says, "ought not to wear long hair, being the image and glory of God." 7. But what is worse and contrary, they cut off the beard, the form of a man, but often wear the hair of the head long. And so concerning the beard, in the Constitutions of the Apostles the divine word and the teaching says not to destroy, that is, not to cut the hairs of the beard, nor to be adorned for companionship, nor to have one's approach be an example of righteousness in arrogance. For this was fitting for Nazirites alone on account of the type. For the ancients were led by a type of what was to be, having long hair on their head on account of the vow, until the vow of the world came and was perfected; and Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, has appeared as the head, and he who always is and was not known by all humanity, or only by some who have believed in him, has been made known to the world, so that when we know the head, we may not "dishonor the head." For he does not speak for the sake of his own head, but from his own, he directs the work of mockery toward Christ, as the Apostle says: "Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair, it is a disgrace to him?" But this disgrace is not praiseworthy like that one, about which the scripture speaks, saying, "despising the shame." For the virtue is not for God's sake, even if it should be supposed to be for God's sake, but the practice is for the sake of contentiousness, now that the type according to the law has passed away and the truth has come. And he says, "If anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God." Therefore he cast out those who work and do such things, being in contentiousness, both from the ordinance of the apostles and from the 3.493 church of God. But we have been compelled to say these things because of the pretext of the aforementioned Massalians, because they too, having received from there the disease of this mindset, and having turned their thought aside, have run aground from the truth, and a heresy has been established in the terribleness of idleness and of the other evils. 8. These are the things which we have heard about these very men, who have become a mockery to the world and who vomit forth a trashy mind and words, being incoherent and without hope and having stepped outside the building of God. Wherefore, having discussed a few things about these men, we shall work again for their overthrow. And first, that for women to be together with men, just reason does not decree, neither from the ancient custom of those who have become natural couples, but for a man to be together with a woman, one with one, as Adam was with Eve, as Sarah was with Abraham, as Rebecca was joined to Isaac. For even if some
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κατακρινομένων, ἀλλὰ δικαιοσύνης πόνους καὶ ἐργασίαν ἐκκλησιαστικὴν ἐχόντων καὶ κατὰ δικαιοσύνην σιτουμένων, δι' ὑπερβολὴν δὲ προαιρέσεως τοῦτο αὐτῶν ποιούντων. ἐπιποθεῖ γὰρ αὐτῶν ἡ ἔνθεος ψυχὴ καὶ ἐν φόβῳ θεοῦ ἐστηριγμένη καὶ ἐκ πνεύματος ἁγίου τὴν γνῶσιν κεκτημένη πλούτου ἐπουρανίου, τοῦ κατὰ δικαιοσύνην μετὰ ἐπαίνου καὶ κλέους καὶ ἀριστείας, τοῦ διὰ θείων δογμάτων καὶ θείας μελέτης ἁγίας γραφῆς καὶ λογίων θεοῦ, ψαλμῳδιῶν τε καὶ συνάξεων, ἁγίων νηστειῶν τε καὶ ἁγνείας καὶ πολιτείας καὶ τῆς διὰ χειρῶν ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης μετὰ προαιρέσεως ἐργασίας. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄλλῳ προελήφθησαν τύπῳ οἱ αὐτοὶ τίμιοι ἡμῶν ἀδελφοί, οἱ κατὰ Μεσοποταμίαν ἐν μοναστηρίοις ὑπάρχοντες εἴτουν μάνδραις καλουμέναις, κόμαις γυναικικαῖς χρῆσθαι προβαλλόμενοι καὶ σάκκῳ προφανεῖ ἐπερειδόμενοι. ἔδει δὲ τὰ τῆς ἁγίας παρθένου τοῦ Χριστοῦ, 3.492 τῆς μητρὸς ἡμῶν τῆς ἐκκλησίας τέκνα ὑπάρχειν σεμνά, οἰκουρά, θεῷ λατρεύοντα κρυφίως τῷ εἰδότι τὰ κρύφια καὶ ἀποδιδόντι ἐν τοῖς φανεροῖς, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον, καὶ εὐσχημόνως περιπατεῖν διὰ τοὺς ἔξω καὶ μὴ βούλεσθαι λαβεῖν ἀπὸ τῶν ὁρώντων τὸν μισθὸν καὶ τὴν χάριν. ἀλλότριον γάρ ἐστι τῆς καθολικῆς ἐκκλησίας σάκκος προφανὴς καὶ κόμη μὴ ἐκτεμνομένη ἀπὸ τοῦ κηρύγματος τῶν ἀποστόλων· «ἀνήρ, γάρ φησιν, οὐκ ὀφείλει κομᾶν, εἰκὼν καὶ δόξα θεοῦ ὑπάρχων». 7. Τὸ δὲ χεῖρον καὶ ἐναντίον οἱ μὲν τὸ γένειον, τὴν μορφὴν τοῦ ἀνδρός, ἀποτέμνουσι, τρίχας δὲ τῆς κεφαλῆς πολλάκις κομῶσι. καὶ περὶ μὲν οὖν τοῦ γενείου ἐν ταῖς διατάξεσι τῶν ἀποστόλων φάσκει ὁ θεῖος λόγος καὶ ἡ διδασκαλία μὴ φθείρειν τουτέστι μὴ τέμνειν τρίχας γενείου μηδὲ ἑταιρισμῷ κατακοσμεῖσθαι μήτε ὑπερηφανίας ὑπόδειγμα δικαιοσύνης τὴν προσέλευσιν ἔχειν. ἔπρεπε γὰρ Ναζιραίοις τοῦτο μόνον διὰ τὸν τύπον. τύπῳ γὰρ ἤγοντο οἱ παλαιοὶ τοῦ μέλλοντος ἔσεσθαι, ἔχοντες κόμην ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς διὰ τὴν εὐχήν, ἕως ὅτου ἦλθεν ἡ εὐχὴ τοῦ κόσμου καὶ ἐτελειώθη· κεφαλὴ δὲ πέφηνεν ὁ Χριστός, ὁ μονογενὴς υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ ἐγνώσθη τῷ κόσμῳ ὁ ὢν ἀεὶ καὶ μὴ γινωσκόμενος παρὰ τῇ πάσῃ ἀνθρωπότητι ἢ μόνον ἐνίοις τοῖς εἰς αὐτὸν πεπιστευκόσιν, ἵν' ὅταν γνῶμεν τὴν κεφαλήν, μὴ «καταισχύνωμεν τὴν κεφαλήν». οὐ γὰρ ἕνεκεν τῆς ἰδίας κεφαλῆς λέγει, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῆς ἰδίας εἰς Χριστὸν ἐνσκήπτει τὸ τῆς χλεύης ἔργον, ᾗ φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος «αὐτὴ ἡ φύσις οὐ διδάσκει ὑμᾶς ὅτι ἀνὴρ μὲν ἐὰν κομᾷ, ἀτιμία αὐτῷ ἐστι;» αὕτη δὲ ἡ ἀτιμία οὐκ ἐπαινετὴ ὡς ἐκείνη, περὶ ἧς φάσκει ἡ γραφὴ λέγουσα ὅτι «αἰσχύνης καταφρονήσας». οὐ γὰρ διὰ θεὸν ἡ ἀρετή, κἄν τε διὰ θεὸν ὑποληφθείη, ἀλλὰ διὰ φιλονεικίαν ὁ τρόπος παρελθόντος τοῦ κατὰ νόμον τύπου καὶ ἐλθούσης τῆς ἀληθείας. λέγει δὲ «εἴ τις δοκεῖ φιλόνεικος εἶναι, ἡμεῖς τοιαύτην συνήθειαν οὐκ ἔχομεν οὔτε αἱ ἐκκλησίαι τοῦ θεοῦ». παρεξέβαλεν οὖν τοὺς τὰ τοιαῦτα ἐργαζομένους καὶ ποιοῦντας, ἐν φιλονεικίᾳ δὲ ὄντας ἀπό τε τοῦ θεσμοῦ τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ 3.493 ἐκκλησίας. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα ἠναγκάσθημεν λέγειν διὰ τὴν πρόφασιν τῶν προειρημένων Μασσαλιανῶν, ὅτι καὶ αὐτοὶ λαβόντες ἐκεῖθεν τοῦ φρονήματος τὴν νόσον καὶ ἐκτραπέντες τὴν διάνοιαν ἐξώκειλαν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, καὶ κατέστη αἵρεσις ἐν δεινότητι ἀργίας καὶ τῶν ἄλλων κακῶν. 8. Ταῦτά ἐστιν ἃ περὶ τούτων καὶ αὐτῶν ἀκηκόαμεν τῶν εἰς χλεύην τῷ κόσμῳ καταστάντων καὶ συρφετώδη νοῦν καὶ λόγους ἐξεμούντων, ἀσυστάτων δὲ ὄντων καὶ ἀνελπίστων καὶ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ οἰκοδομῆς ἔξω βεβηκότων. ὅθεν καὶ περὶ τούτων ὀλίγα διαλαβόντες αὖθις εἰς ἀνατροπὴν αὐτῶν ἐργασόμεθα. καὶ πρῶτον μὲν ὅτι γυναῖκας μετὰ ἀνδρῶν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ εἶναι οὔτε ἀπὸ παλαιᾶς συνηθείας τῶν φύσει συζυγιῶν γεγενημένων ὁ δίκαιος ὁρίζει λόγος, ἀλλὰ ἄνδρα πρὸς γυναῖκα ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ εἶναι ἕνα πρὸς τὴν μίαν, ὡς Ἀδὰμ πρὸς τὴν Εὔαν, ὡς Σάρρα πρὸς τὸν Ἀβραὰμ εἶχεν, ὡς Ῥεβέκκα τῷ Ἰσαὰκ συνῆπτο. εἰ γὰρ καί τινες