The Instructor (Paedagogus) 1 part 15/15

But indeed the greetings along the roads to the beloved, full of senseless boldness, on the part of those who wish to be conspicuous to outsiders, do not share in even the least grace.

For if it is right to pray to God mystically in one's chamber, it would follow that one should also greet one's neighbor—whom we are commanded to love second, like God—affectionately within and mystically, redeeming the time.

For we are the salt of the earth; and "he who blesses his friend in the morning with a loud voice," it says, "will seem to differ in nothing from one who curses."

And he seems above all things to have turned away from the sight of women.

For it is possible to sin not only by touching but also by gazing—which most of all he who is genuinely under instruction must flee.

"For let your eyes look straight ahead, and let your eyelids assent to what is just."

For is it not possible even to see and to endure? But the falling (into desire) must be guarded against.

For it is possible to slip after seeing, but it is impossible to desire without seeing.

For it is not enough for the chaste merely to be pure, but one must be zealous also to be beyond reproach, shutting out every occasion of suspicion, for the summing up of purity—so that we may be not only faithful, but may also appear worthy of trust.

For indeed this too must be guarded against, as the Apostle says, lest anyone find fault with us.

"For we take thought for things honorable not only before the Lord, but also before men."

"Turn away your eye from a graceful woman, and do not gaze upon beauty that is another's," says the Scripture.

And if you inquire the reason, it will further explain to you:

"For by the beauty of a woman many have been led astray, and from this, love is kindled like fire"—the love that springs from fire, leading into unquenchable fire because of sin, which they have called eros.

A summary survey, in like manner, of the best life—as many things in the holy Scriptures as characterize the life of Christians.

But I would counsel even those who are married never to kiss their wives at home before the face of the servants.

For neither would Aristotle ever allow one to smile upon slaves; much less, then, should a man be seen showing affection to his wife in their sight.

It is better, beginning at home from marriage itself, to display dignity.

For greatest is the wedlock of self-control, breathing forth a pure pleasure.

Very admirably, at any rate, the tragedy says:

"Alas, alas, women," it says, "how among men, then, neither gold, nor sovereignty, nor the luxury of wealth held pleasures so surpassing as the just and right-minded judgment of a noble man and a godly woman."

These precepts of righteousness, even when proclaimed among those who pursue worldly wisdom, must not be set aside.

Having come to know, then, the work of each, "conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your sojourning, knowing that you were redeemed from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers, not with perishable things, with silver or gold, but with the precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, Christ."

"For the time past suffices," says Peter, "to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in licentiousness, lusts, drunkenness, revelings, carousings, and abominable idolatries."

Let us have as our boundary the cross of the Lord, by which we are fenced and walled about, away from our former sins.

Having been born again, then, let us be nailed fast in the truth, and let us become sober and be sanctified, because "the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears toward their supplication, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

"And who is he who will harm us, if we become zealots of the good?"... And the best discipline is good order, being perfect comeliness and a firm, well-ordered power, fitly rendering things that lie in due succession one after another in action, unsurpassable in virtue.

"These things," says the Instructor, "even if I have dealt rather harshly in dispensing salvation through correction, let them be said by me; since he who reproves with boldness makes peace; but as for you, if you will listen to me, you shall be saved; but if you give no heed to what has been said, it is no concern of mine."

"For he chooses the repentance of the sinner rather than his death."

"But if you hearken to me, you shall eat the good things of the earth," the Instructor again says, naming "the good things of the earth" the fair things of men—beauty, wealth, health, strength, and food.

For the truly good things are those which "neither ear has heard, nor have they ever come up into the heart"—the things truly existing, abiding about the truly existing King and awaiting us.

For he is both the giver and the guardian of good things.

And by participation in those things, the things here share their name, the Word divinely instructing the weakness of men from the things of sense up to the things of mind.

How much, then, must be guarded against at home, and how life must be corrected, the Instructor has discoursed to us sufficiently.

But the things which it pleases him to converse with the children also along the roads, until he brings them to the Teacher—these he sets before us and propounds in summary form, through the Scriptures themselves, presenting the precepts bare, suiting them to the time of guidance, but entrusting their explanations to the Teacher.

For his law too wishes to relax fear, freeing the willing element unto faith.

"Hear," he says, "O child well instructed, the chief points of salvation; for I will lay bare my own character, and will set before you these good commandments, by which you will arrive at salvation."

"And I lead you along the saving way."

"Depart from the ways of error, for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, and the way of the ungodly shall perish."

"Follow, then, O child, the good way which I shall explain to you, lending me your hearing ears; and I will give you treasures dark, hidden, invisible to the nations, but visible to us."

And the treasures of wisdom are inexhaustible, at which the Apostle marvels, saying, "O the depth of the riches and the wisdom!"

And the treasures, being many, are supplied by one God: some are revealed through the Law, some through the prophets, some by the divine mouth, and another by the sevenfold (gift) of the Spirit singing in tune.

And, being one, the Lord through all these is the same Instructor.

There is, then, straightway a summary injunction and an exhortation for life, comprehending all things:

"As you wish that men should do to you, do you also to them."

And it is possible to comprehend the commandments also by means of two, as the Lord says:

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength, and your neighbor as yourself."

Then upon these he adds, "On these the whole Law and the prophets hang."

Indeed, also to the one who asked, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" he answered, "You know the commandments."

And when the man affirmed it, "Do this," he says, "and you shall be saved."

(There is) an ungrudging arrangement of the Scriptures, and a finding of salvation more readily at hand.

We have the Decalogue given through Moses, hinting in a simple and singular figure at a saving designation, circumscribing sins.

"You shall not commit adultery; you shall not worship idols; you shall not corrupt boys; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness;"

"Honor your father and your mother," and what follows upon these.

These things we must observe, and whatever else is enjoined in the readings of the books.

And he enjoins also through Isaiah:

"Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean, take away the wickednesses from your souls before my eyes;"

"Learn to do good, seek out justice, rescue the wronged, judge for the orphan, plead for the widow;"

"And come, and let us reason together," says the Lord.

And we might find many injunctions also among the other (Scriptures), for instance, concerning prayer:

"Good works," it says, "are an acceptable prayer to the Lord," says the Scripture.

And the manner of prayer is prescribed:

"If you see one naked," it says, "clothe him, and you shall not overlook those of your own seed."

"Then shall your light break forth early, and your healings shall speedily spring up, and your righteousness shall go before you, and the glory of God shall encompass you."

What, then, is the fruit of this prayer? "Then you shall call, and God will hearken to you."

And concerning fasting: "Why do you fast for me?" says the Lord.

"This is not the fast I have chosen, even a day for a man to humble his soul;"

"nor though you bow down your neck like a ring and spread sackcloth and ashes under you—not even thus will you call it an acceptable fast."

What, then, does the fast intimate? "Behold, this is the fast which I have chosen," says the Lord:

"Loose every bond of injustice, undo the knots of forced contracts, release the broken in forgiveness, and tear up every unjust document."

"Break your bread to the hungry, and bring the poor without shelter into your house;"

"if you see one naked, clothe him."

"What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?" says the Lord.

"I am full of whole burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of lambs and the blood of bulls and goats I do not desire, nor that you should come to appear before me."

"For who has required these things at your hands? You shall no more tread my court;"

"if you bring fine flour, it is vain;"

"incense is an abomination to me;"

"your new moons and your sabbaths I cannot endure."

How, then, shall I sacrifice to the Lord? "A sacrifice to the Lord," it says, "is a broken spirit."

How, then, shall I crown or anoint with myrrh? Or what shall I burn as incense to the Lord? "A savor of sweet smell to God," it says, "is a heart that glorifies him who fashioned it."

These are the crowns and sacrifices and aromatics and flowers of God.

"If your brother sins," it says, "rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him."

"If he sins against you seven times in the day, and seven times turns again to you, saying (I repent)"...

And to the soldiers, through John, he enjoins to be content with their wages alone; and to the tax collectors, to exact nothing more than what is appointed;

and to the judge he says, "You shall not respect persons in judgment, for gifts blind the eyes of those who see and pervert just words."

But also to those who manage households:

"Possession that is hastily gathered with lawlessness becomes less."

"Love," it says, "covers a multitude of sins."

"Render to Caesar the things of Caesar, and to God the things of God."

And concerning the oath and the remembrance of wrongs:

"Did I command your fathers, when they went out of the land of Egypt, to offer me whole burnt offerings and sacrifices?"

"But this I commanded them:"

"Let none of you bear malice against his neighbor in his heart, and let none love a false oath."

But he threatens also against liars and the puffed-up—to the former somewhat thus,

(calling) bitter sweet; to the latter thus:

"Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight!"

"He who humbles himself shall be exalted, and he who exalts himself shall be humbled."

And the merciful he calls blessed, because they shall obtain mercy; but anger Wisdom counts wretched, since indeed it "will destroy even the prudent."

And further, he commands us to love our enemies, and to bless those who curse us, and to pray for those who spitefully use us.

"To him who strikes you on the cheek," he says, "offer the other also; and if anyone takes away your tunic, do not withhold your cloak either."

"All things, whatsoever you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive," he says.

And "to the faithless nothing is faithful," according to Pindar.

And we must treat servants as ourselves;

for they are human beings, even as we are;

for God, if you consider, is the same to all, both to the free and to slaves.

And one must not punish the servants who do wrong, but admonish them;

for "he who spares the rod," it says, "hates his own son." Further, he rejects ambition utterly:

"Woe to you, Pharisees," he says, "because you love the chief seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces."

But the repentance of the sinner he welcomes, loving the repentance that follows upon sins;

for he alone is without sin, the Word himself.

For to sin is innate and common to all, but to run back from sin is not of any chance man, but of one worthy of esteem.

And concerning sharing: "Come to me," he said, "all you blessed, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."

"For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; naked, and you clothed me; sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me."

And when did we ever do any of these things for the Lord? Again the Instructor himself will say, lovingly transferring to himself the kindness shown also to the brethren, and saying:

"Inasmuch as you did it to these least ones, you did it to me."

"And such shall depart into eternal life."

Such, then, are the rational laws, the words of exhortation, not written on tablets of stone with the finger of the Lord, but inscribed upon the hearts of men—those alone which do not admit corruption.

For this reason indeed the tablets of the hard-hearted were broken, that the faith of the babes might be imprinted upon soft understandings.

And both laws ministered to the Word for the instruction of mankind—the one through Moses, the other through the apostles.

Of what sort, then, is the instruction given also through the apostles?

"It seems to me necessary to discourse also about this kind"—or rather, calling myself to mind—the Instructor himself says, "I will once more set forth the precepts seminally;"

"Putting away falsehood, let each one speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another."

"Let not the sun go down upon your wrath, neither give place to the devil."

"Let him who steals steal no more, but rather let him labor, working what is good, that he may have something to share with the one in need."

"Let all bitterness and anger and wrath and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice."

"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."

"Be, then, prudent and imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, even as Christ also loved us."

"Let wives be subject to their own husbands, as to the Lord; and let husbands love their own wives, even as Christ also loved the church."

"Let those who are joined together, then, love one another as their own bodies."

"Children, obey your parents."

"Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and admonition of the Lord."

"(Serve) with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as to Christ, serving from the soul with goodwill."

"And masters, do good to your servants, forbearing threatening, knowing that both their Lord and yours is in heaven, and there is no respect of persons."

"If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit."

"Let us not become vainglorious, provoking one another, envying one another."

"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

"Do not be deceived; God is not mocked."

"Let us not grow weary in doing good;"

"for in due season we shall reap, if we do not faint."

"And we exhort you, brethren, admonish the disorderly, comfort the fainthearted, support the weak, be longsuffering toward all."

"See that none render to anyone evil for evil."

"Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophesyings;"

"but test all things; hold fast that which is good;"

"abstain from every form of evil."

"Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving."

"Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time."

"Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one."

"Be nourished in the words of faith;"

"exercise yourself toward godliness."

"For bodily exercise profits little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come."

"Let those who have believing masters not despise them because they are brethren, but rather serve them, because they are faithful."

"Let him who gives, give in singleness; he who presides, in diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness."

"Abhorring evil, cleaving to that which is good;"

"in brotherly love being tenderly affectionate one to another, in honor preferring one another, in diligence not slothful, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer, pursuing hospitality, sharing in the needs of the saints."

These few things out of many, by way of example, the Instructor sets before his own children, having gone through them from the divine Scriptures themselves; by these, so to speak, vice is utterly cut off and injustice is circumscribed.

And countless are the injunctions that, addressed to chosen persons, are inscribed in the holy books—some to presbyters, some to bishops and deacons, others to widows—concerning which there would be another time to speak.

And much profit can be gained by those who read, through riddles and through parables.

"But it is not mine," says the Instructor, "to teach these things any longer; we have need of a Teacher for the exposition of those holy words, to whom we must make our way."

"And indeed it is time for me to cease from the instruction, and for you to listen to the Teacher."

"And he, receiving you, who have been brought up under a good training, will teach you fully the oracles."

And the school is this church, and the bridegroom is the one and only Teacher, the good will of the good Father, the genuine Wisdom, the sanctuary of knowledge.

"And he himself is the propitiation for our sins," as John says—he who heals both our body and soul, the whole man, Jesus—"and not for ours only, but also for the whole world."

"And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments."

"He who says, 'I have come to know him,' and does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;"

"but whoever keeps his word, truly in him the love of God has been perfected."

"By this we know that we are in him."

He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as that One walked.

O nurslings of the blessed instruction!

Let us, the little children, run to our mother; and when we have become hearers of the Word, let us glorify the blessed dispensation, through which man is instructed and is sanctified as a child of God, and being instructed on earth has his citizenship in heaven, and there receives a Father, whom on earth he learns to know.

The Word does all things: He both makes, and teaches, and instructs.

A horse is led by the bridle, and a bull is led by the yoke, a wild beast is caught in a snare; but man is transformed by the Word, by which wild beasts are tamed, and the creatures of the water are lured, and the birds of the air are drawn down.

This is He who in truth devises the bridle for the horse, the yoke for the bull, the snare for the wild beast, the rod for the fish, ... the trap for the bird.

This is He who orders the state and tills the soil, who rules and serves, and who creates all things.

"On it He wrought the earth, and on it the heaven, and on it the sea, and on it all the constellations with which heaven is crowned."

O the divine works of creation! O the divine commandments!

"Let this water surge within itself;"

"let this fire restrain its wrath; let this air wander into the upper sky;"

"and let the earth both be made firm and be borne along, whenever I will."

"I still wish to fashion man."

"If you come to know Me, even the fire shall serve you."

So great is this Word, the Instructor, the Maker of the world and of man, and now for man's sake also the Instructor of the world;

by whose command we both consist together, awaiting the judgment.

For "the Word that has voice does not bear in itself anything stealthily deceitful for mortals; the Word shall be wisdom," ... as Bacchylides says.

And as the blameless and pure and spotless children of God, according to Paul, "in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, shine like luminaries in the world."

Therefore, for what remains, at such a festal assembly of the Word, let us pray to the Word:

Be gracious, O Instructor, to Your children, O Father, Charioteer of Israel, Son and Father, both one, O Lord.

Grant us, who follow Your commandments, to fulfill the likeness of the image, and to perceive with all our strength that God is good and a judge not harsh; and do You Yourself supply all things, to us who live our citizenship in Your peace, who are translated into Your city, who have sailed without storm across the flood of sin, who, growing calm, are borne along together by the Holy Spirit, by the inexpressible Wisdom;

by night and by day, unto the perfect day, praising with thankful praise the only Father and Son, Son and Father, the Son our Instructor and Teacher, together with the Holy Spirit.

All things to the One, in whom are all things; through whom all things are one; through whom is eternity; whose members are we all; whose glory are the ages. All things to the Good, all things to the Beautiful, all things to the Wise, to the Just are all things.

To whom be the glory both now and unto the ages.

And since the Instructor, having set us in the Church, has committed us to Himself, to the teaching and all-overseeing Word, it would be well that, having come to this point, we should send up to the Lord a hymn—a reward of just thanksgiving befitting His gracious instruction.