提摩太後書講道集 第 8 章

'But know this, that in the last days grievous times shall come.'

'For men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, implacable, without natural affection, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, no lovers of good, traitors, headstrong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.'

If anyone is now vexed at the heretics, let him consider that such things happened even from the beginning, the devil always setting falsehood alongside the truth.

God from the beginning promised good things; the devil also came, making his own promises.

God planted a paradise; the devil deceived, saying, 'You shall be as gods.'

For since he could show nothing by deeds, in words he promises the greater things.

For such are deceivers.

After these came Cain and Abel; then the sons of Seth and the daughters of men; then Ham and Japheth, Abraham and Pharaoh, Jacob and Esau;

and even to the end it is thus: Moses and the magicians, the prophets and the false prophets, the apostles and the false apostles, Christ and antichrist.

Both formerly, then, and at that time the same things existed.

Then there was Theudas, then Simon, when the apostles were; and these men about Hermogenes and Philetus.

There is, therefore, no time when falsehood has not stood alongside the truth.

Let us not, then, be vexed; these things were foretold from of old.

'Know that in the last days grievous times shall come.'

'For men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection.'

For he who is unthankful toward his benefactor, what would he ever become toward others? The unthankful man is implacable, the unthankful man is without natural affection.

For those who are conscious of no good in themselves, having as a kind of consolation the reviling of others' reputations, commit countless offenses and sins.

Without self-control—both of tongue and of belly and of all else.

Hence comes cruelty, hence comes harshness—whenever a man is a lover of money, whenever a man is a lover of self, whenever he is unthankful, whenever he is lustful.

Without love of the good, traitors, headstrong.

'Headstrong'—that is, having nothing steadfast or firmly grounded.

Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.

Having a form of godliness, but having denied its power.

And writing in the Epistle to the Romans he speaks in some such way, saying:

Having the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.

But there he sets it down by way of praise;

whereas here, beyond all the other faults, he shows this sin to be the more grievous.

Why so? Because he did not take it in the same sense.

For just as he often takes 'image' in the sense of likeness, but often in the sense of what is lifeless and worthless—

as, for instance, he himself says, writing to the Corinthians:

For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God;

Nevertheless, man walks about as an image (in a mere phantom).

And Scripture takes the lion at one time in a royal sense—

'He lay down,' it says, 'as a lion, and as a lion's whelp;

who shall rouse him up?'—but at another time in a rapacious sense:

As a lion seizing prey and roaring.

So too we ourselves do the same thing.

For since things are composite and manifold, they are fittingly taken up into many images and illustrations;

for instance, when we wish to admire a beautiful woman, we liken her to paintings; and when we wish to admire paintings, we say that they speak, that they utter sound;

for in the former case it is because the painting came near to likeness, and in the latter because the woman is near to that beauty.

So too with the 'form': there it means a certain pattern and image and instruction and archetype of godliness;

but here it signifies something lifeless and dead, mere shape and outline and pretense.

So then, faith without works is a mere shape without power;

for just as a body that is beautiful and blooming, when it has no strength but resembles painted figures, so too is right faith without works.

For let us suppose that someone is covetous, a traitor, headstrong;

what is the gain, if he has nothing that becomes a Christian? when he does nothing of the things that mark out godliness, but even outdoes the pagans in impiety? when he is bent on the ruin of those about him? when on blasphemy against God? when he brings the doctrine into disrepute by his works? 'And from such,' he says, 'turn away.'

If then in the last times such men shall arise, how does he say, 'And from these turn away'? It is likely that even then there were some such men, though not in excess, yet nonetheless there were;

but in truth, through that instance he exhorts all to turn away from such men.

'For of these,' he says, 'are they that creep into houses and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away by various lusts, ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.'

Do you see them employing the deceit of old, the very weapon which the devil used against Adam? 'Creeping into houses,' he says.

Do you see how by saying 'creeping in' he has disclosed their shamelessness, their baseness, their deceit, their flattery? 'And leading captive silly women.'

So that the 'silly woman' is one easily deceived, and far removed from a man.

It is characteristic of women to be deceived—or rather not even of women, but of silly women.

See from what source it comes about that they too are persuaded: from their sins, from having nothing good on their own conscience.

And very fittingly he said 'laden' (heaped up);

for by this he sets forth the multitude of their sins, and their disorder and confusion.

'Led away by various lusts.'

He did not accuse their nature;

for he did not simply say 'women,' but 'women of this kind.'

What does 'various' mean? Here he hinted at many things—luxury, indecency, lasciviousness.

'By various lusts,' he says—that is, of money, of glory, of luxury, of self-will, of honor.

And perhaps he also hints at other shameful lusts.

'Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.'

Why does he say these things? Not by way of pardoning them, but rather threatening them severely.

For since they buried themselves under those lusts and sins, their understanding was hardened.

And just as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so also do these men resist the truth.

Who are these magicians in the days of Moses? and how is it that their names are nowhere else recorded? Either it was handed down without being written, or it is likely that Paul knew it from the Spirit.

'So also these,' he says, 'shall resist the truth: men corrupted in mind, reprobate concerning the faith;

but they shall proceed no further.'

For their folly shall be made manifest to all, as also that of those men came about.

How then does he say elsewhere that 'they shall proceed further in impiety,'

but here, 'they shall proceed no further'? There he says this—that once they begin

to innovate and lead astray, they will not cease from error, but will ever be devising new deceits and corrupt doctrines;

for error nowhere stands still.

But here he says this—that they shall not deceive, nor sweep men away with them, and even if at the outset they seem to beguile some, yet they shall quickly be found out.

For that it is of this that he speaks, hear what he says:

'For their folly shall be manifest to all,'

'as also that of those men came about.'

For even though the things of error flourish for a while at first, they do not endure to the end.

For such is the nature of things that are not good by nature, but only seem to be good;

for a season it flourishes, and is detected, and perishes.

But our things are not like this;

for our things are not in deceit;

for who would choose even to die for the sake of a deception? 'But you have followed closely my teaching.'

for you did not simply come alongside, but followed closely.

Here he indicates that a long time had passed, from his saying, 'You have followed closely my teaching.'

This is a matter of eagerness and of the resolute firmness of the soul.

'Was I not,' he says, 'speaking these things, yet not doing them, nor practicing philosophy in words alone?'

'How was it,' he says, 'that none of these things disturbed me?'

Toward the heretics I displayed great long-suffering.

By patient endurance, amid the persecutions.

In the persecutions, in the sufferings.

For these two things trouble the teacher: that the heretics are many, and that he does not persevere amid the sufferings.

Nevertheless, concerning these matters he discoursed at length: that such men existed of old and will exist hereafter, that no age is free of them, that they can do us no harm, and that in the world there are vessels of gold and of silver.

Do you see how he goes on to discourse concerning the afflictions? 'What things befell me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra.'

Why then has he mentioned these alone out of many? Because the rest were well known to the man;

and perhaps he recalls these as recent events, not those of long ago;

and he does not enumerate them one kind at a time;

for he is neither vainglorious nor ambitious for honor;

for he speaks for the consolation of the disciple, not for display.

By Antioch he here means the one of Pisidia, and Lystra, from which Timothy came.

Both were for encouragement: that I too showed a noble readiness of spirit, and was not forsaken, and one cannot say that God delivered me up, but rather He wrought for me a more brilliant crown.

'What persecutions I endured,' he says, 'and out of them all the Lord delivered me.'

'And all who wish to live godly in Christ Jesus shall be persecuted.'

'But why do I speak at all of myself?' he says; 'every one of those who wish to live godly shall be persecuted.'

By persecutions he here means the afflictions and the pains.

For it is not possible for a man traveling the road of virtue to be without grief, without affliction, pain, and trials;

for how could it be, seeing that he travels the strait and narrow way? that he has heard, 'In the world you shall have tribulation'? If in that age Job said, 'The life of man upon earth is a trial,' how much more then? 'But evil men and impostors,' he says, 'shall advance to the worse, deceiving and being deceived.'

'Let none of these things disturb you,' he says, 'if those men are in prosperity, but you in trials;

such is the nature of the matter.'

From my own case you can learn that it is not possible for a man who wars against the wicked not to be in affliction.

It is not possible for a boxer to be in luxury, nor for a wrestler to feast at ease.

Let none, therefore, of those who contend seek relaxation, let none seek to be at ease.

Again, the present life is a contest, a war, an affliction, a straitness, a trial—the arena of the contests.

The seasons of relaxation are other;

this is the season of sweat, this is the season of toil.

No one who has stripped and anointed himself seeks relaxation.

You seek relaxation—why then did you strip? why did you raise your hands to fight?

'And how am I not raising my hands even now?' he says. When you do not master your desires, when you do not fight against the violence of nature.

'But you, abide in the things you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from a babe you have known the sacred writings which are able to make you wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus.'

What is this? Just as the prophet David exhorted, saying, 'Fret not thyself because of evildoers,' this same thing he too exhorts, saying:

'But you, abide in the things you have learned and been assured of.'

Not simply 'You have learned,' but also 'You have been assured,' that is, 'You have believed.'

'And what indeed have I believed? That this is the life.'

Even if, then, you see here things contrary to what you have believed, be not troubled; for Abraham also saw contrary things, yet suffered nothing;

he heard, 'In Isaac shall your seed be called,' and yet he was commanded to slay Isaac, and he was neither troubled nor disturbed.

Let no one be offended at the wicked;

this the Scripture said from of old.

What then, when both the good rejoice and the wicked are punished? The one is likely to come to pass, but the other no longer so;

for it is possible that the wicked be punished, but it is not possible that the good should always rejoice.

No one was equal to Paul, and yet he passed all his time in affliction, in tears, in groanings night and day.

'For with tears,' he says, 'night and day for three years I ceased not to admonish;'

and again, 'My daily pressure of care,' he says.

He did not rejoice today and grieve tomorrow, but day by day he ceased not to be in pain. How then does he say, 'The wicked shall advance to the worse'? He did not say that they attain to relaxation, but 'They shall advance to the worse;'

this advancement is to the worse.

He did not say, 'They shall be in prosperity.'

But if they are also punished, they are punished for this reason: that you may not suppose sins to go unpunished.

For since hell does not avail to restrain us from wickedness, God, sparing us, rouses and raises us up.

If no wicked man were punished, no one would think that God presides over human affairs;

if all were punished, no one would expect there to be a resurrection, as though all received their recompense here.

For this reason He both punishes and does not punish;

for this reason the righteous are afflicted here, because they are sojourners, because they are strangers, because they are in a foreign land.

The righteous, then, endure these things for the sake of testing;

for hear God saying to Job, 'Do you think I have dealt with you for any other reason than that you might be shown to be righteous?' But the sinners, if ever they endure any such thing, pay the penalty of their sins.

In all things, therefore, let us give thanks to God, whether it be thus or otherwise;

He does nothing out of hatred, nor because He turns away from us, but ordering both out of care and solicitude for us.

'Knowing,' he says, 'that from a babe you have known the sacred writings.'

That is, 'From your earliest age you learned the sacred writings.'

And by 'sacred writings' he calls the divine Scriptures.

In these you were nurtured, so that through them your faith ought to be firm, and you ought to suffer no harm.

For the root lies deep, not nourished over a long time;

nothing can turn it aside.

Having said 'the sacred writings,' he added, 'which are able to make you wise;'

that is, 'They do not permit you to suffer anything foolish, or such as the multitude suffer.'

For he who knows the Scriptures as one ought to know them is offended at none of the things that happen, but bears all things nobly, committing some to faith and to the incomprehensibility of God's economy, and knowing the reasons of others, and finding examples in the Scriptures.

Since even not to pry into everything, and not to wish to know everything, is a great proof of knowledge.

And if you wish, I will speak by way of an example.

Let there be a river—or rather, let there be rivers (I speak not by way of concession, but of what rivers actually are);

not all happen to be equal in depth, but some have a shallower bed, while others are deep and sufficient to drown one who does not know it;

And here indeed there are whirlpools, but there none any longer.

To be willing to attempt all things alike is a good thing; and not to wish to know all the depths is no small proof of knowledge.

For he who is willing to venture across every part of the river is precisely the one who does not know the peculiarities of rivers, and will often perish through that very rashness by which he ventured into the depths—the same boldness by which he was crossing where it was not deep.

So it is also in the case of God: he who wishes to know all things and boldly ventures upon all, this very man does not know at all what God is.

But in rivers the greater part is safe, and few are the whirlpools and depths;

whereas in the case of God the greater part is hidden, and it is impossible to trace out his works.

Why then do you force yourself to plunge headlong to your ruin? Know only this: that God orders all things, that he provides for all, that we are endowed with free will, that some things he works and others he permits, that he wills nothing evil to come to pass, that not all things happen from his will but also from ours—all evils from ours alone, all good things from both ours and his inclination toward us—and that nothing escapes his notice.

Then, knowing this, do you reckon up which things are good, which are evil, and which are indifferent;

for example: virtue is a good thing, baseness is an evil thing; indifferent are wealth, poverty, life, death.

If you know these things, you will know together with them that the righteous are afflicted for this reason, that they may be crowned, and the sinners, that they may pay the penalty of their sins;

yet not all sinners pay the penalty here, lest the many should disbelieve in the resurrection, just as not all the righteous are afflicted, lest you should suppose that wickedness is praiseworthy rather than virtue.

These are the rules and the definitions;

bring whatever you will to them, and you will not be at a loss.

For just as among schoolmasters there is the number of six thousand, and under it all things are reckoned, and it is possible to divide and multiply all things by the rule of the six thousand, and through this number everything is worked out, and all who have learned letters know this;

so if a man knows these rules, which again I will state more concisely, he is never made to stumble.

What then are they? That virtue is good, that vice is evil, that indifferent are sicknesses, poverty, plots, slanders, and all such things;

that the righteous are afflicted here;

but if some also fare well, it is that virtue may not seem to be hateful;

that the wicked rejoice, that they may be punished there;

but if some are also punished, so that wickedness may not seem to be a good thing, nor that deeds go unpunished;

that not all are punished, lest the time of the resurrection should be disbelieved;

that among the good there are some who have base deeds, and here they lay them aside, and among the wicked some who have worthy deeds, and here they receive their recompense, that there they may be punished;

that the greater part of God's works are incomprehensible;

that great is the distance between us and him, and as great as cannot be told.

If we take these things into account, nothing will be able to trouble us.

If we hearken continually to the Scriptures, we shall find also many such examples;

'The things,' he says, 'that are able to make you wise unto salvation.'

For indeed the Scriptures set forth both what is to be done and what is not to be done;

for hear this blessed man saying elsewhere: 'You are confident that you yourself are a guide of the blind, a light of those in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes.'

Do you see that the Law is a light to those in darkness? But if he who displays the letter is a light—the letter that kills—what then is he who displays the Spirit that gives life? If the Old Covenant is a light, what is the New, where so much has been unfolded? where the distance is as great as if to those who knew nothing beyond the earth one should open the heaven, and cause them to survey all things.

Concerning hell we have learned, concerning the kingdom, concerning the judgment.

Let us not put our trust in irrational things.

'Why then,' he says, 'do they speak, and it comes to pass?' Because you believe it—if indeed it does come to pass.

He has taken you captive; he is master of your life; he orders it as he wills.

Tell me: if some robber-chief should have under his hands and in his power a king's son who had fled to him for refuge and had come to love the wilderness and dwelling together with him, would he be able to tell whether he shall die or live? Assuredly he would be quite able.

How so? Not because he foreknows the future, but because he has become master of either outcome—of destroying and of saving the boy—since that one has made him master.

For he will be able to slay, if he wishes, and likewise to release, if he should so choose;

if he says that you will be rich or poor, he himself is master of both.

The greater part of the world have given themselves over into the hands of the devil.

And in another way too: when a man has become accustomed to believe, this also contributes much to those deceivers;

for no one pays attention to the failures, but only if somewhere they should succeed.

But if they have any power of foreknowledge, bring them to me, who am a believer.

For to be delivered from these things is no matter of boasting.

For I am full of sins;

yet on account of these I would not be cast down;

by the grace of God I laugh all these things to scorn.

Bring to me the man who is a magician; if he has any power of foreknowledge, let him tell what shall befall me, what shall be mine tomorrow.

For I am under the authority of the King, and he has neither dominion over me nor my subjection;

I dwell far from his lurking-places and his caverns; I serve as a soldier under the King.

'But so-and-so stole,' he says, 'and so-and-so informed against him.'

In the first place, this is not even everywhere true, but a laughing-stock and a falsehood;

but if they know anything, they ought rather to tell their own affairs: how the many votive offerings of the idols were stolen, how the great store of gold was melted down.

Why did they not foretell it to their own priests? So then, they know nothing;

but for the sake of money they could not even speak, when their idol-temples were being burned and many were perishing along with them.

Why do they not spare their own salvation? But the thing is mere chance, if ever they foretell anything.

There are prophets among us, but they do not fail;

they do not say this thing truly while lying about that, but they speak the truth in all things;

for this is the mark of foreknowledge.

Cease at length from this madness, I beseech you, if indeed you believe in Christ;

but if you do not believe, why do you tear yourselves apart, why do you deceive yourselves? How long will you go limping upon both your hams? For what reason do you approach him? What do you ask? The moment you approached, the moment you asked, you made yourself subject to bondage.

'No,' he says, 'it is not because I believe him to speak truly, but to put him to the test.'

But to test whether he speaks truly does not belong to one convinced that he lies, but to one who is still in doubt.

For what reason then do you ask what shall be? For if he says this—that such a thing shall be, do this and you shall escape—assuredly not even so ought one to worship idols; nevertheless the folly is not so great;

but if they foretell things to come, the one who learns gains nothing else than superfluous grief;

for the thing did not come to pass, yet he endured the grief and pickled himself in it.

If this were expedient, he would not... he provides for all, that we are endowed with free will, that some things he works and others he permits, that he wills nothing evil to come to pass, that not all things happen from his will but also from ours—all evils from ours alone, all good things from both ours and his inclination toward us—and that nothing escapes his notice.

Then, knowing this, do you reckon up which things are good, which are evil, and which are indifferent;

for example: virtue is a good thing, baseness is an evil thing; indifferent are wealth, poverty, life, death.

If you know these things, you will know together with them that the righteous are afflicted for this reason, that they may be crowned, and the sinners, that they may pay the penalty of their sins;

yet not all sinners pay the penalty here, lest the many should disbelieve in the resurrection, just as not...

All the righteous are afflicted, that you may not suppose vice to be praiseworthy, but virtue.

These are rules and definitions;

apply them to whatever case you wish, and you will be at no loss.

For just as among the arithmeticians there is the number six thousand, and under it everything is reckoned, and it is possible to divide and multiply all things by the rule of the six thousand, and by this number everything is worked out—and all who have learned their letters know these things—

so too, if anyone knows these rules—which I will again state more briefly—he is never made to stumble.

What then are they? That virtue is good, that vice is evil, that indifferent things are sickness, poverty, plots, slanders, and all such things;

that the righteous are afflicted here;

and if some also prosper, it is that virtue may not seem to be hateful;

that the wicked rejoice, that they may be punished there;

and if some are also punished, it is that vice may not seem to be good, nor that these matters go unavenged;

that not all are punished, lest the appointed time of the resurrection be disbelieved;

that even among the good there are some who have wicked works, and here lay them aside; and among the wicked there are some who have good works, and here receive their recompense, that there they may be punished;

that most of God's works are incomprehensible;

that great is the distance between us and Him, so great as cannot be told.

If we ponder these things, nothing will be able to trouble us.

If we hear the Scriptures continually, we shall find many such examples too;

'The things,' he says, 'that are able to make you wise unto salvation.'

For the Scriptures set forth both the things to be done and the things not to be done;

for hear this blessed man saying elsewhere: 'You are confident that you yourself are a guide of the blind, a light of those in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes.'

Do you see that the Law is a light to those in darkness? But if he who displays the letter is a light—the letter that kills—what then is he who displays the Spirit that gives life? If the Old Testament is a light, what is the New, where so many things have been unfolded? where the distance is as great as if to those who knew nothing beyond the earth one should open the heaven and enable them to survey all things.

Concerning hell we have learned, concerning the kingdom, concerning the judgment.

Let us not put our trust in irrational things;

'Why is it then,' someone says, 'that they speak and it comes to pass?' It is because you believe—if indeed it does come to pass at all.

He has taken you captive; he is lord of your life; he manages it as he will.

Tell me, if some robber-chief should have under his hand and power a king's son who had fled to him and loved the wilderness and the dwelling with him, would he be able to say of him whether he shall die or shall live? Yes, indeed, he will be very well able.

How so? Not because he foreknows the future, but because he becomes lord of both—to destroy and to save the child—the child having made him lord.

For he will be able to slay him if he wishes, and likewise, if he chooses, he will be able to let him go;

if he says that you shall be rich or poor, he himself is lord of both.

The greater part of the world have given themselves into the hands of the devil.

And in another way too, when a man has become accustomed to believing, this also greatly contributes to those deceivers;

for no one pays attention to their failures, but only to when they happen to succeed.

But if they have any power of foreknowledge, bring them to me, the believer.

For to be freed from these things is not a matter of boasting.

For I am full of sins;

yet on account of these things I would not be brought low;

by the grace of God I laugh them all to scorn.

Bring to me the man who is a magician; if he has any power of foreknowledge, let him tell me what shall befall me, what shall be mine tomorrow.

For I am under the authority of the King, and he has no dominion over me nor any subjection of me;

I am far from his lurking-places and his caves; I serve as a soldier under the King.

'But so-and-so,' he says, 'committed a theft, and so-and-so gave information about him.'

First of all, this is not even everywhere true, but a laughing-stock and a lie;

but if they know anything, they ought rather to have told their own affairs—how the

many votive offerings of the idols were stolen, how the great quantity of gold was melted down.

Why did they not foretell it to their own priests? So then they know nothing;

but for the sake of money they were not even able to speak, when their idol-temples were being burned and many were perishing along with them.

Why do they not spare their own salvation? But the thing is merely a matter of chance success, if perchance they do foretell anything.

Among us there are prophets, but they do not fail;

they do not speak this truly and lie in that, but they speak the truth in all things;

for this is what belongs to foreknowledge.

Cease at last from this madness, I beseech you, if indeed you believe in Christ;

but if you do not believe, why do you tear yourselves apart, why do you deceive yourselves? How long will you halt upon both your knees? For what purpose do you go to them? What do you ask? The moment you approached, the moment you asked, you made yourself their slave.

'No,' he says, 'I do not go believing that he speaks the truth, but to test him.'

But to test whether he speaks the truth is not the mark of one convinced that he lies, but of one still in doubt.

For what purpose then do you ask what shall be? For if he says this, that such-and-such shall happen, do such-and-such and you shall escape it—first of all, not even so ought one to worship idols, yet at least the folly is not so great;

but if they foretell the things to come, the one who learns gains nothing else than superfluous grief;

for the thing did not come to pass, yet he endured the grief and pickled himself in it.

If this were profitable, God would not have grudged it to us;

He who told us the things in the heavens would not have begrudged it.

'For all things,' He says, 'that I heard from the Father I have made known to you; and all things whatsoever I heard from the Father I have declared to you';

and, 'I call you not servants, but friends.'

Why then did He not make these things known to us?

Because He wills that we should take no account of them.

Since, to show that He does not begrudge it, to the ancients these things were told, both concerning an ass and certain other matters, because they were babes;

but to us, since He wills that we should have no concern about them, He did not even lay upon Himself this care of making them known to us.

But what do we learn? That which those did not learn;

and the things which we have learned are these: that we shall be raised, that we shall be immortal, that we shall be incorruptible, that life has no end, that all things shall pass away, that we shall be caught up in the clouds, that the wicked shall pay the penalty—and countless other things besides these, and none of it is false.

Is it not far better to know these things than that the lost ass has been found? Behold, you have got the ass, behold, you have found it;

what is the gain? Do you not again lose it in another way? For even if it does not leave you, you will leave it at your death;

but the things which I have spoken of, if we are willing to hold fast to them, we possess perpetually.

Let us therefore pursue those things, let us cleave to those things which abide, which are sure.

Let us not give heed to soothsayers, nor to dealers in oracles, nor to charlatans, but only to God, who knows all things clearly, who possesses the knowledge of all that is.

And thus shall we know all things, whatever we ought to know, and shall attain unto all good things.