Virtue as a Shield and the Nature of True Friendship
Having turned away from evil and having prevailed through virtues, he has mastered foolish demons. And such a person will become also a steward of the mysteries of God, giving spiritual knowledge to each of the brothers according to the analogy of their state, sometimes watering the Corinthian with milk, sometimes feeding the Ephesian with firmer food, discussing height and length and breadth and depth, and through these dimensions signifying the division of the logical nature, which contains the discourses concerning the judgment and providence of God, being most profound and fleeing the human condition.
Just so Jesus son of Nun distributed the land of promise to the twelve tribes, which is a symbol of the knowledge of God and of those things having come from Him. However, it must be known that the discourses concerning the incarnation of Christ and His appearance in Judah are held in reserve for knowledge; for in this lot Christ is born. But I consider the discourses concerning providence to be fitting for the state of the hidden Judah and Benjamin, whose names I regard as distinctions of different and pure states, if Judah is interpreted as confessing, and Benjamin as a son of days or a son of the right hand.
An evil man obeys the tongue of the lawless; but a righteous man does not give heed to lying lips. This one obeys the tongues of the lawless, he who receives from them thoughts and hastens to act according to them, whereas the righteous is said not to give heed, that is, not to nourish them any further within himself.
To the faithful belongs the whole world of things; to the unfaithful, not even a mite. The faithful, he says, will see the discourses of this world, which he has figuratively gathered as riches of the mind; but the unfaithful will not know the discourse of even a chance matter because of the impurity of his soul. Since knowledge of God is a wealth of the soul, Paul teaches this through those things in which he writes, 'you were enriched in every way in all knowledge and all wisdom' (Colossians 2:3). And if anyone wishes to show that this is not the meaning of this proverb, let him say where those who passed through became destitute of things, 'in meager things, in skins of goats, being poorly treated, afflicted, and lacking' (2 Corinthians 11:3); and how also the un-
He will not have a single penny, being surrounded by the wealth of many unfaithful ones, I say, many kings and rulers of this world.
Faithful lips do not suit a fool, nor false lips a righteous man: 'For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness, or what communion light with darkness?' (2 Cor 6:14). He who hides wrongdoings seeks friendship; but he who hates hiding distinguishes friends and kinsmen. Through righteousness we hide injustice, through self-control we hide intemperance, again through love we hide hatred, and through freedom from greed we hide avarice. We also hide pride through humility and boldness through meekness, seeking the spiritual friendship, which signifies holy knowledge. And according to Paul, some of the saints are said to have become fellow-citizens and kinsmen of Jerusalem, 'having been built up on the foundation of the apostles and prophets' (Eph 2:20).
He who gives evil instead of good, evil shall not move out from his house. If he who gives evil instead of evil is lawless, how much more the one who gives evil instead of good is more lawless? Such became toward God the Israel of the wilderness, to whom Moses says in Deuteronomy: 'These generations are crooked and perverse, repaying the Lord' (Deut 32:5).
Authority is given by words, the beginning of righteousness; but standing and strife precede need. Knowledge follows righteousness; but wickedness precedes ignorance. He who judges the unrighteous as righteous, and the righteous as unrighteous, is unclean and an abomination before God. Similar is he who calls the bitter sweet and the sweet bitter, and calls the light darkness and the darkness light.
Why did money exist for a fool? For he will not be able to acquire wisdom without a heart. Money belongs to a fool; for regarding each of his matters, there is foolishness; because of these things, having become without a heart, he is unable to acquire wisdom.
He who makes his own house lofty seeks destruction; but he who turns aside from learning will fall into evils. 'He who turns aside from learning,' because 'the Lord opposes the proud' (Prov 16:5), 'will fall into evils' (Prov 24:21). Let a friend be to you at all times; but brothers are useful in necessities.
Greek
ἀποστὰς τῆς κακίας καὶ διὰ τῶν ἀρετῶν κρατήσας δαιμόνων ἀφρόνων κεκράτηκε δεσποτῶν. Ὁ δὲ τοιοῦτος γενήσεται καὶ οἰκονόμος μυστηρίων θεοῦ, κατ' ἀναλογίαν τῆς καταστάσεως ἑκάστῳ τῶν ἀδελφῶν διδοὺς γνῶσιν πνευματικὴν καὶ τὸν μὲν Κορίνθιον γάλα ποτίζων, τὸν δὲ Ἐφέσιον τρέφων στερεωτέρᾳ τροφῇ, περὶ ὕψους καὶ μήκους καὶ πλάτους καὶ βάθους διαλεγόμενος καὶ διὰ τούτων τῶν διαστημάτων τὴν τῆς λογικῆς φύσεως σημαίνων διαίρεσιν, ἥτις τοὺς περὶ κρίσεως καὶ προνοίας τοῦ θεοῦ λόγους ἐμπεριέχει, πάνυ βαθυτάτους ὑπάρχοντας καὶ ἐκφεύγοντας τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην κατάστασιν. Οὕτω καὶ Ἰησοῦς ὁ τοῦ Ναυῆ τὴν γῆν τῆς ἐπαγγελίας ἐμέρισεν ταῖς δώδεκα φυλαῖς, ἥτις ἐστὶν τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τῶν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ γεγονότων γνώσεως σύμβολον. Πλὴν τοῦτο ἰστέον ὅτι οἱ περὶ τῆς σαρκώσεως τοῦ Χριστοῦ λόγοι καὶ τῆς ἐπιδημίας αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ Ἰούδα γνώσει ἐναπόκεινται· ἐν γὰρ τῷ τούτου κλήρῳ γεννᾶται Χριστός. Οἶμαι δὲ τοὺς περὶ προνοίας λόγους εἶναι ἁρμόζοντας τῇ καταστάσει τοῦ κρυπτοῦ Ἰούδα καὶ Βενιαμίν, ἅτινα ὀνόματα διαφόρων καὶ καθαρῶν καταστάσεων ἡγοῦμαι διαγνωρίσματα, εἴγε Ἰούδας μὲν ἐξομολογούμενος ἑρμηνεύεται, Βενιαμὶν δὲ υἱὸς ἡμερῶν ἢ υἱὸς δεξιᾶς. 154 17, 4 κακὸς ὑπακούει γλώσσης παρανόμων· δίκαιος δὲ οὐ προσέχει χείλεσιν ψευδέσιν Οὗτος ὑπακούει ταῖς γλώσσαις τῶν παρανόμων ὁ τοὺς ἀδίκους δεχόμενος παρ' αὐτῶν λογισμοὺς καὶ σπεύδων ἐνεργεῖν κατ' αὐτούς, οἷς ὁ δίκαιος λέγεται μὴ προσέχειν, τουτέστιν μὴ ἐπὶ πλέον τρέφειν ἐν ἑαυτῷ. 155 17, 6α τοῦ πιστοῦ ὅλος ὁ κόσμος τῶν χρημάτων· τοῦ δὲ ἀπίστου οὐδὲ ὀβολός Ὁ πιστός, φησίν, ὄψεται τοὺς λόγους τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, οὕστινας χρήματα τοῦ νοῦ τροπικῶς προσηγόρευσεν· ὁ δὲ ἄπιστος οὐδὲ τοῦ τυχόντος πράγματος γνώσεται τὸν λόγον διὰ τὴν ἀκαθαρσίαν τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ. Ὅτι δὲ πλοῦτος ψυχῆς ἡ γνῶσίς ἐστιν ἡ τοῦ θεοῦ, ὁ Παῦλος διδάσκει δι' ὧν γράφει τὸ «ἐν παντὶ ἐπλουτίσθητε ἐν πάσῃ γνώσει καὶ πάσῃ σοφίᾳ». Εἰ δέ τις βούλοιτο δεῖξαι μὴ ταύτην τὴν ἔννοιαν εἶναι ταύτης τῆς παροιμίας, λεγέτω ποῦ ηὐπόρησαν χρημάτων οἱ περιελθόντες «ἐν μηλωταῖς, ἐν αἰγείοις δέρμασιν, κακουχούμενοι, θλιβόμενοι, ὑστερούμενοι»· πῶς δὲ καὶ ὁ ἄπιστος οὐχ ἕξει ὀβολόν, πολλῶν ἀπίστων περιβεβλημένος πλοῦτον, πολλῶν λέγω δὴ βασιλέων καὶ ἀρχόντων τοῦ κόσμου τούτου. 156 17, 7 οὐχ ἁρμόσει ἄφρονι χείλη πιστὰ οὐδὲ δικαίῳ χείλη ψευδῆ «Τίς 13 γὰρ μετοχὴ δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ ἀδικίᾳ ἢ τίς κοινωνία φωτὶ πρὸς σκότος;» 157 17, 9 ὃς κρύπτει ἀδικήματα ζητεῖ φιλίαν· ὃς δὲ μισεῖ κρύπτειν, διΐστησιν φίλους καὶ οἰκείους ∆ιὰ μὲν τῆς δικαιοσύνης τὴν ἀδικίαν κρύπτομεν, διὰ δὲ τῆς σωφροσύνης τὴν ἀκολασίαν καὶ πάλιν διὰ τῆς ἀγάπης τὸ μῖσος καὶ διὰ τῆς ἀφιλαργυρίας τὴν πλεονεξίαν. Κρύπτομεν δὲ καὶ διὰ τῆς ταπεινοφροσύνης τὴν ὑπερηφανίαν καὶ διὰ τῆς πραΰτητος τὴν θρασύτητα, ζητοῦντες τὴν πνευματικὴν φιλίαν, ἥτις τὴν ἁγίαν γνῶσιν σημαίνει. Καὶ παρὰ τῷ Παύλῳ δὲ συμπολῖταί τινες τῶν ἁγίων λέγονται γεγονέναι καὶ οἰκεῖοι τῆς Ἱερουσαλήμ, «ἐποικοδομηθέντες ἐπὶ τῷ θεμελίῳ τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ προφητῶν». 158 17, 13 ὃς ἀποδίδωσιν κακὰ ἀντὶ ἀγαθῶν, οὐ κινηθήσεται κακὰ ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου αὐτοῦ Εἰ ὁ κακὰ ἀντὶ κακῶν ἀποδιδοὺς παράνομος, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ὁ κακὰ ἀντὶ ἀγαθῶν ἀποδιδοὺς παρανομώτερος; Τοιοῦτος δὲ ἐγένετο κατὰ τὴν ἔρημον πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ὁ Ἰσραήλ, πρὸς ὃν Μωσῆς ἐν τῷ ∆ευτερονομίῳ φησίν· «γενεὰ σκολιὰ καὶ διεστραμμένη ταῦτα κυρίῳ ἀνταποδίδοτε.» 159 17, 14 ἐξουσίαν δίδωσιν λόγοις ἀρχὴ δικαιοσύνης· προηγεῖται δὲ τῆς ἐνδείας στάσις καὶ μάχη ∆ικαιοσύνῃ ἕπεται γνῶσις· προηγεῖται δὲ τῆς ἀγνοίας κακία. 160 17, 15 ὃς δίκαιον κρίνει τὸν ἄδικον, ἄδικον δὲ τὸν δίκαιον, ἀκάθαρτος καὶ βδελυκτὸς παρὰ θεῷ Ὅμοιός ἐστιν τούτῳ ὁ λέγων τὸ πικρὸν γλυκὺ καὶ τὸ γλυκὺ πικρὸν καὶ τὸ μὲν φῶς ὀνομάζων σκότος, τὸ δὲ σκότος φῶς. 161 17, 16 ἵνα τί ὑπῆρξε χρήματα ἄφρονι; κτήσασθαι γὰρ σοφίαν ἀκάρδιος οὐ δυνήσεται Χρήματα ἄφρονός ἐστιν αἱ περὶ τὰ καθ' ἕκαστον αὐτοῦ πράγματα ἀφροσύναι· διὰ ταύτας γὰρ καὶ ἀκάρδιος γεγονὼς κτήσασθαι σοφίαν ἀδυνατεῖ. 162 17, 16α ὃς ὑψηλὸν ποιεῖ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ οἶκον, ζητεῖ συντριβήν· ὁ δὲ σκολιάζων τοῦ μαθεῖν ἐμπεσεῖται εἰς κακά «Ὁ δὲ σκολιάζων τοῦ μαθεῖν», ὅτι «κύριος ὑπερηφάνοις ἀντιτάσσεται», «ἐμπεσεῖται εἰς κακά». 163 17, 17.1–2 εἰς πάντα καιρὸν φίλος ὑπαρχέτω σοι· ἀδελφοὶ δὲ ἐν ἀνάγκαις χρήσιμοι
About this text
Evagrius's short notes on Proverbs, turning each proverb toward the fight against temptation.
Original English Translation of Evagrius Ponticus’s Scholia in Proverbia — new OET from PG 40 Greek.
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG 40 (Khazarzar) (Greek)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.