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.

3. That the Teacher is philanthropic.

Being both man and God, the Lord helps man in everything and makes him happy in everything. Being God, He forgives sins; being a man, He educates him to sinlessness. Therefore man is rightly pleasing to God, (because) he is the creation of God's hands. God produced all other things by His omnipotent word, but created man with His own hands and breathed into him something that is peculiar to Him, God alone. Man, created by the hand of God and in the image of God, created by God Himself, is therefore a creature pleasing to God, either because of himself, or because of something else. If man is pleasing to God because of himself, then the unconditionally good God has decided concerning man in His counsel, which means that there is something good, and the charm of love in man means that there is something that we call the breath of God. But if we suppose that man is pleasing to God because of something else, then God created man for nothing else but because of this something; this means that creation could not be perfect without man: because then it could not have come to the thought of its Creator. Without humans, God would not have created the things He created for humans. Originally, God fulfilled His will hidden in Him alone perfectly through the external act of His creative omnipotence, so that man in himself, therefore, is the cause of his own being. And God saw whom He had in man; and man became what God was pleased to make him. There is nothing that God cannot bring to pass. Consequently, man is God's creation, he is certainly pleasing to God because of himself. But this shows that in general what is dear to someone is worthy of affection and love. If, however, there is nothing worthy of love, which at the same time would not constitute an object of Divine love, and man, as is shown, is a worthy being of love, then it follows that he is also pleasing to God. And how could he not have been loved by God, when for his sake the only-begotten Son of God, the Word (Logos), the object, the abundant source of our faith, the Lord, Who Himself clearly confesses and declares: "The Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me" (John 16:27); and again: "And I loved them, as I loved Me" (John 17:23)? So, what does the Teacher want from us? What does He preach both in word and deed? He gives commandments and prohibitions; some - clearly - for fulfillment, others - to prevent on our part actions that contradict those commandments. But it is equally certain that there is another kind of word, the teaching word; it is addressed to the intellectual faculty, expounds the subtleties, and its content is the contemplation of mysteries. However, this time we will not talk about this word. "But it is fitting that we, for our part, should testify by our very deeds to our love for Him Who so lovingly leads us along the path of perfection; – that we live according to the precepts of His commandments, that we not only do what is commanded, but avoid what is forbidden, but also warn ourselves with examples of moral life, partly encourage ourselves; in this way we will be like the Teacher in our way of acting, and His word about the image and likeness (Gen. 1:26) will be fulfilled as far as possible. Living, we wander as if in thick darkness; Therefore, we need a true and knowledgeable guide to life. But the best guide is, of course, not one of the blind, who, according to the expression of the Scriptures, will lead the blind into a pit, but the Logos, who has a penetrating eye and despises in his heart. - As there is no light that does not shine; just as there is nothing moving that does not move; - no love that would not evoke love: so there is nothing morally good that would not be useful and salutary. And so, let us follow the commandments which the Lord proclaims by His life; for the Logos, clothed with visible flesh, taught this and that virtue both by word and by example. If the Logos is accepted by us as law, then we will learn that His laws and commandments are the shortest and closest paths to heaven. These are the laws of love, not of intimidation.

4. That the Logos is the Teacher of both husbands and wives.

Embracing this good guidance of Love with a love that is ever fuller and stronger, let us trust – clinging to such a strong rope of faith – to the Lord in the conviction that this virtue should be the work of both husbands and wives alike. For if they both have the same God, then it means that they both have one and the same Teacher; this means that they also have one Church; this means that there is one and the same law of proportion for them, the same natural shame, the same food, the same marital relations, the same breathing, sight, hearing, reasoning, hope, Christian love; all this should be equally characteristic of them. But if all the conditions of life are common to them, then they participate in equal measure, which means that they also participate in grace, the path of salvation is the same for them, Christian love is equally valuable to them; and therefore they are subject to one and the same thing, and to their education by the Logos. The children of this world, it is said, marry and are given in marriage (Luke 20:34). Here (on earth) there is a difference between the male and female sexes; but on the other side of the grave there is no such distinction. The reward for a holy life here on earth, a sympathetic life, is promised not to a husband or wife, but to a person in general, a reward where the sexual desires, which here separate the two human sexes, disappear. There is also a common name for husband and wife, this is the word "man". In the same way, the Attics used the word (p a i d a r i o n) (child) to call a creature not only male, but also female; As witnesses to this, we can put forward the comedian Menander, who in his work "Zaushennaya" says: "My daughter; dear child, By nature it is very delicate. In the same way (a r n e V ) (sheep) is a mutual name for sheep both male and female. - So the Lord is our Shepherd forever. Amen. Without a shepherd, neither a sheep nor any other animal can live. In the same way, children cannot live without a Teacher, household members without a Master.

5. That all who seek the truth are children of God.

That pedagogy is bringing children to something is revealed from this very word. It is therefore recommended that they do not lose sight of the children spoken of in the Scriptures, and then assign a Pedagogue to them. Children are us. Scripture often calls us by this honorific name; still more often it expresses this simple religious concept symbolically, alternately using various other words for this. Thus, the Gospel says: Standing and guarding, the Lord called out to the disciples who were finishing the fish: Children! Do you have any food? (John 21:5) He calls the men who were in the position of disciples children. - It is also said that children were brought to Him to lay His hands on them, and to pray; But Jesus said, "Let the little children go, and forbid them not to come to me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 19:13-14). What the Lord wanted to say by this, He Himself interpreted in the words: "Except ye be converted, and be as little children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matt. 18:3). He does not speak allegorically about regeneration here, but recommends to us to imitate the simplicity of childish feeling. - And the Prophetic Spirit calls us children. Children, He says, plucked branches from olive trees and palm trees, and went to meet them. They cried out to the Lord: Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord (Matt. 21:9; John 12:13), i.e. "light, glory and praise with humble supplication to the Lord," for such is the meaning of the word "Hosanna" in translation. And it seems to me that by the reminder in this place of prophecy the Scripture wants to make the rebuke light-hearted. Have you never read, "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou made praise"? (Matt. 21:16; Psalm 8:3) Urging the disciples to be attentive to Him, since He wants to return to the Father; by the announcement that He would soon be separated from them, arousing in the hearers a jealousy that they should all the more abundantly store up the fruit from the tree of truth, plucking it from it in great numbers as never before that moment. On this occasion, the Lord again calls them children in the Gospel. Children! He says, "I will not be long with you" (John 13:33). And again He compares the kingdom of heaven to children who sit in the street and say: We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; We sang to you songs of lamentation, and you did not grieve; and He adds something like this. And it is not only the Gospel that thinks so, but David also says: "Praise the Lord, little children, praise the name of the Lord" (Psalm 112:1). And through Isaiah the Lord says: "Behold, I am, and the children whom the Lord hath given me" (Isaiah 8:18). Are you surprised to hear that men of age, and of Gentiles at that, are called children by the Lord? But it turns out that you are bad, it means that you know the Attic dialect, in which beautiful and blooming girls, and namely free ones, are called p a i d i s k a i, and those belonging to the slave class are called p a i d i s k a r i a; As long as they are still girls, they are called by this flattering and honorable name in relation to the flourishing state of childhood. And when the Lord says: "Let the lambs stand at my right hand" (Matt. 23:33), by this word He means children with their simple minds, because by nature children are lambs, and not men or sheep. He gives preference to lambs, highly appreciating in people innocence and simplicity of mind, the gentleness of their nature. And again, speaking of the calves that still feed on milk (Amos 6:4), He has us in mind; and when He speaks of guileless and gentle doves (Matt. 10:16), He has us in mind. Through Moses (Leviticus 15:29; 12:8; Luke 2:24) He commands the sacrifice of two young pigeons or a pair of turtledoves, which means that God is pleased with the innocence of these tender creatures, the simplicity and ability to forgive that is characteristic of these young animals. What makes people like these animals equally pleasing to God is their reconciliation with Him through the cleansing of sins. Further, by its timidity, the turtledove symbolically depicts the nature of sin, which inspires terror. And that by the chicks He means us, the Scripture testifies to this, saying: "As a bird gathereth His Shevks under her wings" (Matt. 23:37). Therefore, we are the Lord's chicks. - In an amazing and mysterious way, the Lord denotes the simplicity of the soul through childhood. He calls us, now children, sometimes chicks, sometimes infants, in other places sons, often youths, and young people, or new people. "My servants," He says, "will be given a new name (new, i.e., young, heavenly, unused, simple, childish, true name), which will be blessed on earth (Isaiah 63:15). Again He figuratively calls us foals, who did not bear the yoke of sin, free from the bonds of evil; in the prostate of the senses aspiring to the Father; not horses neighing at his neighbor's wife (Jeremiah 5:8), but free and newborn; playing with the joy of faith, galloping forward to the truth; moving swiftly on the path to salvation, trampling and crushing the things of this world with their feet. Rejoice with joy, O daughter of Zion; Rejoice, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee, righteous and saving, meek, sitting on a donkey and on a colt (Zech. 9:9; Gen. 49:I). He was not satisfied with the expression on the ass, but added on the young one, and by this he points to the rejuvenation of mankind brought about by Christ, and to the never-aging heavenly existence of simple feelings.

As such foals, therefore, as small ones, our Divine Foal Tamer brings us up. And if the young animal of which the Scripture speaks is an ass, how much more is the colt of an ass. He binds his colt to a grape dose, it is said; i.e. a simple people who were in childhood. He tied to the Logos, which is symbolically called the vine. Wine flows in the vine, blood flows in Christ. Both serve as a drink for a person that gives him life; wine for the body, blood for the spirit. That the Lord also calls us lambs, the Holy Spirit is a reliable witness to this in the Prophet Isaiah: "As a shepherd He shall shepherd His flock, and will take the lambs in His arms" (Isaiah 40:11). He makes the sheep still tender a symbol of simplicity of morals.