Matthew 10:16
He wants them to be prudent: to teach the doctrines of piety openly, and, knowing the malice of the base, not to resist if some come against them, but to leave and not rush thoughtlessly toward suffering.
He likens them to serpents, teaching that they must be quick to flee if some come wanting to kill them; and to doves, since that bird does not remember evil, loves to stay in the places it is used to, and turns back to the same spot when the one driving it out stops.
So the word teaches that one must not leave the persecutors altogether, but yield for a little and return again to admonish them when the anger ceases. Christ himself did this with them: being persecuted, withdrawing from Judea, and returning again (Matthew 10:16).
Greek
Φρονίμους εἶναι βούλεται αὐτούς, ἵνα διδάσκωσι μὲν τὰ τῆς εὐσε βείας δόγματα ἀπαρακαλύπτως καὶ διὰ τὸ μὴ ἀγνοεῖν τὰς τῶν φαύλων κακουργίας, εἰ δέ τινες ἐπέλθοιεν μὴ ἀντιστατεῖν, ἀπελθεῖν δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν καὶ μὴ ἀπερισκέπτως ἐπιστρέφειν πρὸς τὸ παθεῖν. ὄφεσιν δὲ παρεικάζει διδάσκων, ὅτι δεῖ αὐτοὺς ὀξεῖς εἶναι πρὸς φυγὴν εἴ γέ τινες ἐπέλθοιεν θανατῶσαι θέλοντες, περιστεραῖς δέ, ἐπειδὴ ἀμνησίκακον τὸ στρουθίον καὶ ἐμφιλοχωροῦν ἀεὶ πρὸς οἷς εἴθισεν τόποις καὶ ἐπανακάμπτον ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό, ὅταν ὁ ἐκδιώκων παύσηται. διδάσκει οὖν ὁ λόγος, ὅτι οὐ δεῖ ὁλοτελῶς τῶν διωκόντων ἀποφοιτᾶν, ἀλλ' ἐνδόντας πρὸς βραχὺ πάλιν ἐπὶ τὸ νουθετεῖν αὐτοὺς ἐπανέρχεσθαι, ὅταν τὰ τῆς ὀργῆς παύσηται. οὕτως καὶ αὐτοῖς ὁ Χριστὸς ἐποίησεν διωκόμενος μὲν καὶ ὑποχωρῶν ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰουδαίας καὶ πάλιν ἐπανερχόμενος.