The Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Commandment

One who swears to his neighbor and does not break it, thus speaking truthfully so as not to violate the oath, is not to be hated. 'You shall go out from his presence; do not stand in evil speech' 1 Tim 4:16; for he will not do whatever he wishes, as a king exercising authority? It is possible to speak excessively regarding the shameless man, saying, 'You shall go out from his presence.' Get away from the shameless man.

These things can also be applied to the devil himself and to all evil power. For things said about men as being evil or wicked could also be said about the demons and the devil. For what is said about men as being breathing animals is not applied even to the devil or to a demon.

It is also possible to say regarding the king, before whom one must behave correctly, 'You shall go out from his presence,' meaning as one being sent away from him, as we say, 'this one came from the king.' 'Do not stand in evil speech.' This means: even if it should ever happen through ignorance to say something evil, such as a harmful lie, do not stand in it, do not remain in it. Regarding the divine utterances and words, Paul writes, 'be mindful of them' 1 Tim 4:16. Remain in the words of God, which are unsearchable and healthy.

For will he not do whatever he wishes? Will the shameless man not do what he wills? Therefore, flee from his presence. And even if it is regarding God as a king, do not suppose that because he wishes to do something, he will escape from Him if you flee, by fleeing from His knowledge. As a king exercising authority: a king possessing authority is prevented by no one, no one stands against him, but he does whatever he wishes. Therefore, take both sides.

Either regarding the true king, God—for he does what he wishes, and no one resists him; or if it is said regarding the shameless man, it again creates fear in us to flee from him. This has been said: truly the wise man is king. The Stoics indeed say that only the wise man is king, and only the priest. For if the king is the one who rules legally, but only the wise man knows this, then only this one is king. Immediately, regarding Abraham, who was an ordinary man by chance, it was said to the discerning ones, 'You are a king before God among us' Gen 14:18. Even if you are others to others, you are a king before God. For a king is a king...

God is among those who are. If the word is about a shameless person, he himself is like a king exercising authority over those brought under his embassy. 'Let not sin reign in your mortal body' (Rom 6:14). The one who reigned, death, from Adam to Moses, exercises authority over those under his power and his beginning. And who will say to him: 'What will you do?' The one guarding the commandment will not know an evil word. And regarding God, it is true to say that no one says to him: 'What will you do?' And regarding the shameless and impudent king. Perhaps this shameless one may be able to bear the face of the Antichrist. For indeed there in the prophecy about him of Elijah, a certain daughter rose up and thus reproved him, saying him shameless.

The one guarding the commandment will not know an evil word. See: the one knowing the good immediately knows also the evil. But to know in this way does not mean to use, but only to know. For if a commandment is given so that 'we may turn away from evil and do good,' it is necessary also to know the evil, so that we may turn away from it and choose the good. Concerning such things the apostle writes, saying: 'Test all things, hold fast to the good; abstain from every form of evil' (1 Thess 5:21). You see, how the one testing all things knows the good, and that it is to be chosen and kept, and the evil, that it is to be fled from; it is proper to be estranged from it.

If, then, the one knowing the good saw the evil and again saw it, how does he say here that the one guarding the commandment does not know an evil word? Even though the commandment is a good word. But the one knowing the good word knows also the evil word; yet he says that the one guarding the commandment does not know an evil word, that is, he does not say that he does not know, but that he does not use it, not to know it in the way: 'even Jesus did not know the sin' (John 21:22). Thus the guardian of the commandment does not know an evil word. Let the 'not knowing a word' be either an offense or not hearing the word in the way it ought to be heard. The one hearing the word as it ought, has experience of it. But the one guarding the commandment, since he has no experience of the opposite of the commandment, will not know the evil word. And the word is often said instead of the thing. Mary, having heard the word of the angel...