PEDAGOGUE

BOOK ONE

1. What, openly instructing in this, the Teacher promises to teach.

If in (moral) man we distinguish such three spheres as the inclinations of the will, (external) actions, and passions, then the inclinations of the will belong to the sphere of action of the exhorting Logos. He teaches reverence for God, and, as in a ship, a keel beam, which determines its structure, lays the foundations in the edifice of faith; prompted by it, we renounce old errors; As a result of the perception of new salvific truths, we become spiritually younger, and we add our voice to the prophetic singing:

How merciful is the God of Israel to the upright hearts (Psalm 72:1). - The whole field of human action is ruled by the laws of the decreed Logos. - The healing Logos is the physician of the passions. In essence, all this is one and the same Logos - He frees man from slavery to worldly customs, with which we were previously contented, and educates us for the only possible salvation in the Divine faith. To our heavenly teacher the Logos, since He calls us to salvation, properly speaking, the name of the exhorting Logos is appropriate; but, just as the name of the part is sometimes used to designate the whole, so He is called by this name in general. Because the entire Christian moral teaching has an exhortatory character, awakening in the soul an innate passionate desire for true life both on this side and on the other side of the grave. If, however, this Logos is at one and the same time healing and law-making, (both of them) belong to His task: for He remains in His program, promising us healing from the passions as well. For convenience, we will call Him by one word "Teacher". The field of the Teacher is practice, not theory; not teaching, but moral improvement is His goal; the life of a sage, and not of a scholar, He wants to inscribe before us. In part, the Logos is, of course, also a teacher, but this is not His main purpose. The work of the Logos as a teacher consists, in fact, in the revelation and explanation of the tenets of faith. But since our Pedagogue is a practitioner, He is first of all concerned with the order of the moral life. Therefore, on the one hand. He invites you to perform your duties, communicating the purest concepts of morality; On the other hand. He points out to the modern generation the moral images of times past. Both are very useful. The first: the depiction of duties - it is meant to achieve obedience to them; the second, the indication of moral examples, is intended to strengthen the impression in the same way: partly to encourage to imitate good, partly to frighten away from evil. As a result, thanks to the power of the convincing content of such examples, healing from the passions is also obtained through this. The teacher strengthens the soul with gentle laws as emollient medicines and prepares the sick for full recovery for the truth. Because (spiritual) health and gnosis are not the same thing. The latter is the fruit of teaching, and the former is the consequence of the healing art. None of the sick in soul can make intellectual gains before recovery; both the pupil of the pupil and the pupil of the sick, for they do not benefit from the same things, but try to elevate the one to gnosis, and to bring the other to recovery. Just as a physical illness requires a physician, so spiritual weakness requires a Teacher to tame our passions; Only later is a teacher needed who could lead the soul into pure gnosis, with the acceptance of which it would be able to penetrate into the mysteries of Christian teaching. Since now the Logos, being an all-round friend of people and gradually leading them to salvation, strives to give us a completely perfect education, He acts admirably and very economically; at first He is the Counselor, then the Pedagogue, and finally the Teacher.

2. That the Teacher, because of our sins, has care for us.

Our Teacher, my dear ones, is like God, His Father, to whom He is the Son. He is sinless, blameless, His soul is completely free from passions. This is entirely God, only in human form; it is the doer of the will of the Father, God the Word (Logos), who is in the Father, sitting at His right hand, God in visible form. Such is our irreproachable ideal; we consider it our duty to strive with all our might for a spiritual resemblance to Him. But He is absolutely free from human passions and is therefore our Judge, for He alone is without sin; but we must strive to limit our sinfulness as widely and completely as possible, bringing the inclination to it almost to insignificance. For nothing should be achieved with greater persistence than the liberation of oneself from mental illnesses and passions: this is necessary first of all. Then, one must beware of falling into sins easily and out of habit. The highest degree of perfection is freedom from defects of all kinds. This is peculiar to God alone. The closest to this perfection is not to sin voluntarily; This is what is characteristic of a sage. A further degree of perfection consists in not allowing oneself to have voluntary shortcomings (i.e., sins); this is characteristic of those who enjoy the excellent guidance of the Teacher. The lowest level of perfection is not to persist in sin. And from this state it is still possible to get out to salvation through a change in feelings and disposition and (through) entering into a struggle with sin. Beautifully, I think, says the Pedagogue through the mouth of Moses: "But if someone dies in his presence, suddenly, accidentally, and thereby defiles the head of his Nazariteness, then he must shave his head (Num. 6:9). The Pedagogue here calls involuntary sin sudden death; He speaks of defilement because it leaves a stain on the soul; then immediately He offers a healing remedy, advising you to immediately shave your head. Under the hair, which should be cut. He has in mind the hair of knowledge that obscures reasoning; freed by shaving them as if from the thicket and wilderness of the forest, reasoning, which has its seat in the brain, produces a change in feelings and disposition. Further and further it is said: "But the days that preceded were foolish" (Numbers 6:12). From this it is evident that here we are talking about sins that have their root in the lack of discretion. The moment of non-freedom of will is indicated by the word suddenly, and the moment of committing sin by the word is unreasonable. For this reason, that is, to protect us from the sins of ignorance, the Logos took upon Himself the office of guardian. It is only necessary to pay attention to the further expression in the Scriptures: Therefore thus saith the Lord. That sin was spoken of in the foregoing is proved by the word therefore, through which the condemning sentence is introduced. This is also clearly revealed from the words of the prophets: "If you had not sinned, this threat would not have been expressed"; and again: Therefore thus saith the Lord; and again: And therefore behold, saith the Lord. Wherefore a prophecy is uttered (either rewarding or punishing), according as it is uttered on the occasion of obedience or disobedience; our salvation is accomplished by the one, the other points to the need for the presence of the Teacher with us. "And now on; With his advice, the Pedagogue is a physician for our spiritual illnesses (passions). In the proper sense, the art of medicine means help with bodily illnesses: it is the fruit of human wisdom. The Word of the Father (Logos) is the only Paeonian physician of spiritual infirmities and the heavenly conjurer of the sick soul. Save, O my God, Thy servant, says the Psalmist, who trusts in Thee. Have mercy on me. Lord, for I call upon Thee every day (Psalm 85:2-3). According to Democritus, the art of medicine heals bodily diseases, while wisdom frees the soul from passions. The best Teacher, Wisdom, the Word of the Father (Logos), the Creator of man, takes care of the creation of his hands in all its fullness and integrity; being the chief physician of mankind. As a Savior, He heals both the body of people and the soul. "Get up," He says to the paralytic, "take the stretcher 3 of which you are lying, and go to your house" (Mark 2:11). And to the dead He said: Lazarus, go howling (John 11:43). And the dead man came out of the tomb cave in the condition in which he had been before the sickness. But the soul, taken by itself, He heals with commandments and grace-filled gifts. He is not even in a hurry to present the commandments to her, but He pours out grace on her (immediately) in abundance. "Thy sins are forgiven" (Matt. 9:5; Mk. 2:5), He says, addressing us, sinners. In accordance with His economy, we are His children, and among the works of His creative omnipotence we occupy the most honorable and safest place. By His creative power the edifice of this world, and the firmament, and the disk of the sun, are created; then She is occupied with the paths of the other stars because of man; then She also cares for man himself, to whom Her zeal is directed in full measure; She considers it to be Her greatest deed; She formed his soul according to the rules of reason and wisdom, and the body according to the law of beauty and proportion. Following the actions of mankind and their correctness, She also breathed into it Her own principle of order.