Exposition on Proverbs · §5

Expositio in Proverbia Unit 2 opening

Youth and the divine covenant forgotten; forgetfulness and neglect are secondary to knowledge acquisition; as the ultimate illness of health and the secondary death of life; simultaneously, the same knowledge is called mother, wife, and sister because the teacher begets through it, as Paul says of the Gospel to the Galatians; she is wife because she bears virtues and correct teachings with me, if wisdom begets prudence in a man; she is sister because we both come from the one God and Father; I said, he says, that wisdom is your sister; grace and friendship liberate; virtue and knowledge liberate the rational soul; for grace and friendship are virtue and knowledge; if the hind comes from friendship, the colt comes from graces; therefore the hind is the symbol of theory; the colt, of apathy; for the one is from virtues, the other from knowledge; it comes to pass naturally; the hind is the symbol of theory, of incorporeal things and of God’s knowledge; friendship is the love toward God and neighbor; the colt is apathy; theory concerning God’s knowledge naturally arises from virtues; love comes to pass naturally from wisdom; apathy comes from bodily virtues; she urges us always to associate with such graces; whoever associates with these will not only converse with God but become his housemate; the virtue of rational nature is called friendship and makes those who follow it through God’s knowledge friendly with God; in the friendship of virtue and the company of knowledge, the one who associates is many times among the benefited; some think this concerns external wisdom, which it is not good to linger over due to its deceits; others interpret this concerning wickedness and not being much toward it; thus it is impossible for a man to completely avoid evil thoughts, but not to linger in them is possible; those he calls embraces; every one who guarantees Christ the friend as justice and truth delivers his own soul to enemies, those accustomed to fighting men, through friendship with the Savior; friendship is spiritual, knowledge of God, by which the saints are called friends of God, as John the Baptist was friend of the bridegroom, Moses and the apostles; no longer, he says, do I call you servants, but friends; do you see struggle and vigilance?

sleep is the active sin of the soul; drowse is the first impure thought gathered in the soul; post-drowse is the inclination toward worse things; therefore the law forbids sleep, the Gospel forbids drowse, if the former cuts off active sin, the latter the first evil thought gathered by reason; it was said to the ancients, do not be angry; but I say to you, do not be provoked; note here that the harmonious motion of the ant’s nature is called wisdom; for the wiser of the wise is called wiser; how then is it not under a master, if all things are slaves of God?

or perhaps God is called master in two ways, as creator and as known; therefore Paul writes: now having been freed from sin, and having been enslaved to God (obviously according to virtue and knowledge), you have your fruit for sanctification, and the end eternal life; but if the ant, being irrational, lacks share in such end and knowledge, it is clear that it is also free from such servitude; well then it is said that the ant is not under master according to this lordship; but again it is said to be under lordship, under God, as under creator; through the ant Solomon seems to inscribe for us the practical way; through the fleecing, the theory.

Greek

νεότητος, καὶ διαθήκην θείαν ἐπιλελησμένη· λήθη δὲ καὶ ἀπόλειψις, γνώσεως κτήσεως δεύτεραι· ὥσπερ καὶ ὑγείας νόσος ἐσχάτη, καὶ ζωῆς θάνατος δεύτερος· ἅμα δὲ καὶ τούτοις τε, ὅτι ὅπερ ἡ αὐτὴ γνῶσις, καὶ μήτηρ λέγεται καὶ γυνὴ καὶ ἀδελφή· μήτηρ μὲν, ἐπειδὴ ὁ διδάξας με, δι' αὐτῆς με γεγέν νηκεν, ὡς Παῦλος διὰ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου Γαλάτας· γυνὴ δὲ, ὅτι συνοῦσά μοι τίκτει τὰς ἀρετὰς καὶ δόγματα ὀρθά· εἴ γε ἡ σοφία ἀνδρὶ τίκτει φρόνησιν· ἀδελφὴ, ὅτι ἐγώ τε καὶ αὕτη ἐκ τοῦ ἑνὸς γεγόναμεν Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρός· Εἶπον γὰρ, φησὶ, τὴν σοφίαν, σὴν ἀδελ φὴν εἶναι. Ἡ χάρις καὶ ἡ φιλία ἐλευθεροῖ· ἡ δὲ ἀρετὴ καὶ γνῶσις ἐλευθεροῦσι ψυχὴν λογικήν· ἡ χάρις γὰρ καὶ ἡ φιλία, ἀρετὴ καὶ γνῶσίς ἐστιν· εἰ δὲ ἔλαφος ἐκ τῆς φιλίας, ὁ πῶλος ἐκ τῶν χαρίτων γεννᾶται· ἡ οὖν ἔλαφός ἐστι τῆς θεωρίας σύμβολον· ὁ δὲ πῶλος, τῆς ἀπαθείας· ἡ μὲν γὰρ, ἐξ ἀρετῶν· ἡ δὲ, ἐκ τῆς γνώσεως γίνεσθαι πέφυκεν. –Ἡ μὲν ἔλαφός ἐστιν θεωρίας σύμβολον, σωμάτων καὶ ἀσωμάτων καὶ γνώσεως Θεοῦ· ἡ δὲ φιλία, τῆς πρὸς Θεὸν καὶ τὸν πλησίον ἀγάπης· ὁ δὲ πῶλος, τῆς ἀπαθείας· καὶ ἡ μὲν θεωρία τῆς πρὸς Θεὸν γνώσεως, ἐξ ἀρετῶν εἴωθε γίνεσθαι ψυχικῶν· ἡ δὲ ἀγάπη, ἐκ τῆς σοφίας γί νεσθαι πέφυκεν· ἡ δὲ ἀπάθεια, ἐκ τῶν τοῦ σώματος ἀρετῶν· παραινεῖ δὲ ἡμᾶς ταῖς τοιαύταις χάρισιν ἀεὶ προσομιλεῖν· ὁ δὲ τούτοις ἐμφιλοχωρῶν, οὐ μόνον τῷ Θεῷ προσομιλήσει, ἀλλὰ καὶ σύνοικος γενήσεται αὐτῷ. –Ἰδία τῆς λογικῆς φύσεώς ἐστιν ἡ ἀρετὴ, ἥτις καλεῖται φιλία, καὶ συμφιλιάζει τῷ Θεῷ τοὺς ἑπομένους αὐτῇ διὰ τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ. –Ἐν γὰρ τῇ τῆς ἀρετῆς φιλίᾳ καὶ τῇ τῆς γνώσεως, ὁ συμπεριφερόμενος πολλοστός ἐστι τῶν ὠφελουμέ νων. Τινὲς μὲν τοῦτο περὶ τῆς ἔξωθεν σοφίας νομίζου σι λέγεσθαι, πρὸς ἣν χρονίζειν οὐ καλὸν διὰ τὰς ἐν αὐτῇ ἀπάτας· τινὲς δὲ περὶ τῆς κακίας καὶ τὸ μὴ πολὺν εἶναι πρὸς αὐτὴν, ἑρμηνεύουσιν οὕτως· ὅτι ἀδύνατον μὲν παντάπασιν ἀπέχεσθαι ἄνθρωπον πονη ρῶν λογισμῶν· μὴ ἐγχρονίζειν μέντοι ἐν αὐτοῖς, δυνα τόν· οὓς καὶ ἀγκάλας καλεῖ. Πᾶς ὁ τὸν φίλον τὸν Χριστὸν ἐγγυώμενος, ὡς δικαιοσύνην καὶ ἀλήθειαν, παραδίδωσι τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὴν τοῖς ἐχθροῖς, τοῖς εἰωθόσι πολεμεῖν τοῖς ἀνθρώ ποις, διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὸν Σωτῆρα φιλίαν· φιλία γάρ ἐστι πνευματικὴ, γνῶσις Θεοῦ, καθ' ἣν καὶ οἱ ἅγιοι φίλοι Θεοῦ χρηματίζουσιν, ὡς ὁ Ἰωάννης ὁ Βαπτι στὴς φίλος ἦν τοῦ νυμφίου, Μωϋσῆς τε καὶ οἱ ἀπόστο λοι· Οὐκέτι γὰρ, φησὶν, ὑμᾶς καλῶ δούλους, ἀλλὰ φίλους. Ὁρᾷς ἀγῶνα καὶ ἀγρυπνίαν; Ὕπνος μέν ἐστι ψυ 17.177 χῆς ἡ κατ' ἐνέργειαν ἁμαρτία· νυσταγμὸς δὲ, τὸ πρῶτον ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ συνιστάμενον ἀκάθαρτον νόημα· ἐπινυσταγμὸς δὲ ἡ πρὸς τὰ χείρω ῥοπή· κωλύει οὖν ὁ μὲν νόμος τὸν ὕπνον· τὸν δὲ νυσταγμὸν τὸ Εὐαγγέ λιον· εἴ γε ὁ μὲν περικόπτει τὴν κατ' ἐνέργειαν ἁμαρ τίαν· τὸ δὲ, τὴν κατὰ διάνοιαν πρῶτον συνισταμέ νην κακίαν· Ἐῤῥέθη γὰρ, φησὶ, τοῖς ἀρχαίοις, Οὐ φο νεύσεις· ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν, Οὐκ ὀργισθήσῃ. Σημειωτέον ἐνταῦθα, ὅτι τὴν τοῦ μύρμηκος φυσι κὴν ἐναρμόνιον κίνησιν, σοφίαν καλεῖ· καὶ γὰρ ὁ σοφώτερος σοφοῦ, σοφώτερος λέγεται· πῶς δὲ καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ὑπὸ δεσπότην, εἴ γε τὰ σύμπαντα δοῦλα τοῦ Θεοῦ; ἢ μήποτε ὁ Θεὸς λέγεται δεσπότης διχῶς, ὡς δημιουργὸς, καὶ ὡς γινωσκόμενος; ∆ιὸ καὶ Παῦ λος γράφει· Νυνὶ δὲ ἐλευθερωθέντες ἀπὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας, δουλωθέντες δὲ τῷ Θεῷ (δηλονότι κατ' ἀρετὴν καὶ γνῶσιν) ἔχετε τὸν καρπὸν ὑμῶν εἰς ἁγιασμὸν, τὸ δὲ τέλος ζωὴν αἰώνιον· εἰ δὲ τοῦ τοιούτου τέλους καὶ τῆς γνώσεως ἄμοιρός ἐστιν ὁ μύρμηξ, ἄλογος ὢν, δῆλον ὅτι καὶ τῆς τοιαύτης δου λείας ἐλεύθερος· καλῶς οὖν λέγεται μὴ εἶναι ὁ μύρ μηξ ὑπὸ δεσπότην, κατὰ ταύτην τὴν δεσποτείαν· εἶναι δὲ πάλιν ὑπὸ δεσποτείαν λέγεται, ὑπὸ τὸν Θεὸν, ὡς ὑπὸ δημιουργόν. ∆ιὰ μὲν τοῦ μύρμηκος ἔοικεν ὁ Σολομῶν τὴν πρακτικὴν ὁδὸν ἡμῖν ὑπογράφειν· διὰ δὲ τῆς με λίσσης, τὴν θεωρίαν

About this text

Origen of Alexandria, Expositio in Proverbia (Greek).

Catalogue & scope

Khazarzar scan

Witnesses

Copy-text PG 13 (Khazarzar) (Greek)

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