Moreover, the presence of women in society must be avoided and diligently avoided meeting them; To bring sin into one's soul, touch is not at all necessary; even a simple look can be sinful. Let your eyes look straight ahead, and let your eyelashes be directed straight before you (Proverbs 4:23). It is possible, of course, to remain firm when you see it, but you should still beware of danger. It is possible to slip with your eyesight; but it is impossible that desire should be born in anyone without taming that which may be the object of it. It is not enough for the wise to have a pure heart; they must strive to be above all blame in their outward behavior, and to remove every reason to suspect themselves, so that their irreproachability may be complete; we should not only be faithful, but also prove to be so, and, moreover, prove worthy to be faithful. Beware, says the Apostle, lest we be reproached by anyone, for we strive for good not only before the Lord, but also before men (2 Corinthians 8:20, 21). And the Scripture says: "Turn away thy eye from a beautiful woman, and gaze not at the beauty of others" (Sir. 9:8). And in order that you may know the reason for this, it added: because many have gone astray through the beauty of a woman; from it, like fire, love burns (Sir. 9:9); but when it turns into sin, it leads into even an inextinguishable fire; that inclination is kindled by this fire, which is called "love."

12. A further sketch of the best (ideal) way of Christian life, compiled on the basis of various passages of the Holy Scriptures. Hagiographa.

And I would advise married men (Gal. 7:10) never to kiss their wives in the presence of servants. Aristotle does not even allow masters to smile in front of servants; it is all the more impermissible to embrace wives in their presence. It is much better even at home, starting with marital relations, to behave sedately. Holy morals in marital relations with the hosts spread the fragrance of pure joys throughout the house. This is beautifully described in one tragedy:

Alas, how little influence you wives have on our happiness! For it is not gold, not power, and not the glitter of riches that brings into the common life of people a complete abundance of pure joys, And a good man by honesty

And a moral wife with caring love for him. Why do we neglect these commandments of wisdom and righteousness, which are expressed even by the children of worldly wisdom? Understand each of you your duty, and spend the time of your pilgrimage with fear, says Peter, knowing that you have not been redeemed from the vain life handed down to you from your fathers, but by the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without blemish (1 Peter 1:17-19). For it is involuntary that in the past time of life, the Apostle continues, you walked in the water of the heathen, giving yourselves up to uncleanness, lusts (sodomy, bestiality, thoughts), excess in food and drink, and absurd idolatry (1 Peter 4:3). The pitiful image of our former life is opposed by a barrier, the cross of the Lord; through which we are fenced off and separated from our former sins by a kind of front garden. Regenerated, let us therefore nail ourselves to the cross of life corresponding to the truth (our name, our dual nature, the agreement between word and deed); let us enter into ourselves and be zealous for the holiness of life. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are on their cry. But the Lord's lime tree is against those who do evil (Psalm 33:16, 17). And who will do you evil, if you are zealous for good (1 Peter 3:13)?

The best way of life is orderliness, i.e., propriety irreproachable in all things, and beauty in all things, which has entered into certain norms, and moral strength which is stable in itself, so that everything in the way of thinking and acting receives its proper place, and the virtue of man becomes invincible. "And if I have spoken to you about this truth a little severely," says the Pedagogue, "it is only out of zeal for your good and improvement. The severity of My words is the greatest proof of the goodness of My heart, for whoever condemns with frankness is ready for peace (Proverbs 10:10). Therefore, if you obey Me, you will be saved. And if you do not follow what you have said, I will suffer nothing from it; or not: all this will concern Me, as it is written: Do I desire the death of the wicked? saith the Lord God. Is it not that he should turn from his ways and live?" (Ezekiel 18:23). Again, therefore, the Pedagogue repeats: "If ye will and obey, ye shall partake of the good things of the earth" (Isaiah 1:19). By the blessings of the earth He means human happiness: beauty, wealth, health, bodily strength, material means of life. But in addition to these blessings, true happiness awaits us, of which it is written: eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor entered into the heart of man (1 Corinthians 2:9), true happiness is with the true King, who is the Giver, but also the Guardian of this happiness. But by encouraging us to strive to achieve this happiness on the other side of the grave. He speaks of earthly happiness: the Divine Logos, as a Teacher, raises our human weakness for spiritual speculation through sensual images.

Thus, the Divine Pedagogue teaches us everything: which virtues we should especially love and observe, and which of the vices we should abhor and avoid. To correct us. He penetrates even into our homes, teaching us the rules of how to behave and arrange our lives here. He treats us, first of all, the same way He treats little boys when they are taken to school. As the main rules of their conduct during the study before them are usually instilled in them along the way, so in the Scriptures only short and main rules are set forth and offered in it according to the brevity of the path (earthly pilgrimage), the further development of which is left to the Teacher (in heaven). Indeed, the Teacher is a little willing. Loosening the bonds of the law. He desires only one thing, that we should not fear Him (Romans 8:15), but that we should love Him, following Him willingly and without resistance, according to the strength of the freedom of voluntary faith granted to us. "If thou wilt be well-mannered," says He, "then hear, My child, hearken, and learn the chief of the saving laws. I will reveal before your eyes the commandments of My moral law and set forth its main propositions before your face: by keeping them you will reach heaven. The way in which I shall lead you is the only way of salvation; Therefore, leave the ways of error. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked perisheth (Psalm 1:6). And so, My child, follow the good path which I have shown you. Incline thy ear (Psalm 44:11) to hear Me, and I will give thee the treasures that are kept in darkness, hidden and hidden from the Gentiles (Isaiah 45:3), known to us, treasures of wisdom "that do not fail" (Luke 12:33). Astonishing at them, the Apostle cries: "O abyss of riches and wisdom" (Romans 11:33). By the gift of innumerable treasures, God alone seeks us. Some He reveals to us through the law, others through the prophets, others through the mouth of His Divine Son, and the fourth in a seven-tone chord the Holy Spirit sings to us (Isaiah 11:2, 3). But in all this, the one Lord of all people, the same Teacher of them, reveals Himself. Thus, one of His commandments contains, as it were, in the seed all the rules and regulations of His Divine morality: "As I would that men should do to you, do ye also to them" (Luke 6:31). The two commandments below contain all the others, as the Lord Himself told us in these words: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments, He added, hang all the law and the prophets (Matt. 22:37, 39, 40; Lk. 10:27). And when someone asked Him, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" He, in turn, asked: Do you know the commandments? And when the questioner answered in the affirmative. He said: "Do this, and thou shalt live" (Luke 18:18, 20; 10:25-28). But we should also know the special love of humanity of our Teacher, which is manifested in an innumerable number of various salvific commandments, scattered throughout the Scriptures, so that we may be able to find here all the more easily and in all abundance all that we need for salvation, and so that we may use the totality of the Scriptures more willingly, each time finding something salvific for ourselves in them. Especially important here is the Decalogue given through Moses, which, in a simple homogeneous ten commandments, describes the realm of salvation through the naming of sins that must be avoided. These are: "Do not violate marital fidelity, do not indulge in idolatry, do not encroach on boys (Lev. 18:22), thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt honor thy father and mother," etc. (Exodus 20:13-16; Deut. 5). Such are the commandments, the observance of which is obligatory for us, but also many other things, the fulfillment of which in other places the Scriptures command us. Through the mouth of Isaiah the prophet, God addressed us with the following words: Wash yourselves, be cleansed; remove your evil deeds from my eyes; stop doing evil; learn to do good; seek the truth; save the oppressed; protect the orphan; intercede for the widow; then come, and let us reason, saith the Lord (Isaiah 1:16-18).

We find various commandments in the Scriptures, applied in different states. Thus here we find the commandments concerning prayer, its nature, image, and fruits. "Prayer to God is a good deed," says the Scriptures. But both the kind and the manner of prayer are shown here. Divide thy bread with the hungry, and bring the wandering poor into the house; says the Scriptures, when you see a naked one, clothe him, and do not hide yourself from your kinsman. Then thy light shall be revealed like the dawn, and thy healing shall soon increase, and thy righteousness shall go before thee, and the glory of the Lord shall follow thee (Isaiah 58:7-8). And what is the fruit of this prayer? You will call, and the Lord will hear; cry out, and He will say, "Here I am!" But with regard to fasting, the commandment is also given: Is this the fast which I have chosen, says the Lord, the day on which a man weary his soul, when he bends his head like reeds, and covers rags and ashes under him? Can you call this fasting and a day pleasing to the Lord? What kind of fasting is pleasing to God? This is the fast which I have chosen, saith the Lord, loose the bands of iniquity, loose the bands of the yoke, and set the oppressed set free, and break every yoke; Divide thy bread with the hungry, and bring the wandering poor into the house; when you see the naked, clothe him. (Isaiah 58:5-7). The same applies to sacrifices. Why do I need a multitude of your sacrifices? saith the Lord. I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fattened cattle; I do not want the blood of bulls, or lambs, or goats. When you come to appear before me, who requires you to trample down my courts? Bear no more vain gifts; smoking is abhorrent to Me; New moons and Sabbaths, festive gatherings I cannot endure: iniquity and feasting (Isaiah 1:11-13). What sacrifices should we offer to the Lord? Sacrifice to God, it is said, is a contrite spirit (about sin) (Psalm 50:19). Why, therefore, should I adorn myself with a wreath, anoint myself with incense, and burn incense before the Lord? "The heart is already fragrant before the Lord, glorifying its Creator," says the Scriptures. Here is the wreath, here is the sacrifice, here is the fragrance and fragrance of flowers before God.

There are sayings in the Scriptures that inspire us with patience. But if thy brother sins against thee, saith he, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and seven times a day turns and says, "I repent," forgive him (Luke 17:3, 4). Further, through the mouth of John, the Lord announces to the soldiers that they should be content with their wages (Luke 3:14); to the tax collectors, so that they do not demand anything more than what is determined for them (Luke 3:13); To the judges: Do not distinguish between persons in judgment (Deuteronomy 1:17); Do not accept gifts: for gifts make blind those who see, and transform the cause of the righteous (Exodus 23:8), instead of freeing the oppressed (Isaiah 1:17), freeing those who commit crimes. Further, the Scripture says to the householders: "Wealth is exhausted by worldliness" (Proverbs 13:11); and about Christian love: Love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8); and about civil duties: Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's (Matt. 22:21). Of oath and rancor: For I did not speak to your fathers, nor did I give them a commandment in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices (Jeremiah 7:22); but this commandment He gave them: "Let not any of you think evil in his heart against his neighbor, neither shall ye love a false oath" (Zech. 8:17).

To liars and arrogant He threatens in this way. First: Woe to those who consider bitter things sweet, and sweet bitter (Isaiah 5:20). Last: "Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their sight" (Isaiah 5:21); for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled; but he who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 14:11; 18:14). He calls the merciful blessed, for they shall obtain mercy (Matt. 3:7); but Wisdom complains of anger, because (anger destroys even the prudent) (Proverbs 15:1). It commands us to love our enemies, and to bless those who curse us, to pray for those who offend us. To him who struck you on the cheek, turn the other cheek; and he who takes away your outer garment shall not hinder him from taking even your shirt (Matt. 5:40;

Lux. 6, 27-29). And about faith: "And whatsoever ye ask in prayer with faith, ye shall receive" (Matt. 21:22); "but he who is distrustful, according to Pindar, is not trustworthy." He makes it our duty to treat our servants as we would treat ourselves, because they are men like us; and both masters and servants have one and the same God as their Lord (Col. 4:7; Eph. 6:9). Erring brothers should not be punished, but rebuked (2 Tim. 4:2). In this sense it is said: "He who has compassion for the fallen, hates his son" (Proverbs 12:24). And He condemns the pursuit of vain differences: "Woe to you, Pharisees, for you love the presiding over the synagogues and saluting in the assemblies of the people" (Luke 11:43). But He willingly accepts the repentance of the sinner (Ezekiel 18:23); He rejoices in repentance as the epilogue of a sinful deed. He is sinless (i.e. by nature), for only the Logos. Sin is a kind of common inheritance; but to turn after sin, not everyone is able to do this, but only the honest.

He also motivates us to do good with rewards. Come, he said, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you received me; I was naked, and you clothed me; was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto Me (Matt. 25:34-6). And when have we done any of these things to the Lord? Again, let the Teacher himself tell us about this. Attributing the loving beneficence of the brethren to His Own Person, He says: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me: and the righteous shall go away into eternal life" (Matt. 25:40, 46). Such are the commandments of the Logos, such are His reminders. They are not inscribed with the finger of the Lord on tablets of stone (2 Corinthians 3:3), but on linen tablets of hearts, so long as these are not broken. The tablets of hard-hearted Jews are broken precisely because these truths of faith were to be imprinted on the hearts of young Christians. But both laws serve the Logos in the education of mankind, the one through Moses, the other through the apostles.

For this reason I now find it necessary to present in general terms pedagogy and the apostles, or, rather, the Pedagogue himself speaks through me, offering here the seeds of the commandments. Having rejected falsehood, speak the truth each one to his neighbor, for we are members of one another. When you are angry, do not sin: let not the sun go down on your anger; And don't give room to the devil. Whoever has stolen, do not steal forward, but rather labor, doing with your own hands what is useful, so that you may have something to give to the needy (Ephesians 4:25-28). Let all anger and wrath, and wrath, and shouting, and slander, with all malice, be removed from you. But be kind to one another, compassionate, forgive one another, as God also in Christ forgave you (Ephesians 4:31-32). Therefore be wise (Matt. 10:6), imitate God as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ also loved us (Ephesians 5:1-2). Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands as to the Lord (Ephesians 5:22). Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25). Those who are united in marriage must love each other as their bodies (Ephesians 5:28). Children, obey your parents in the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the teaching and instruction of the Lord. Servants, obey your masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling, in the simplicity of your heart, as to Christ, not only with visible helpfulness, as men-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart (Ephesians 6:1:4-3). And you, gentlemen, do the same to them, moderating your severity, knowing that the Lord is in heaven both over you and over them, who has no respect of persons (Ephesians 6:9). If we live in the spirit, then we must act in the spirit. Let us not be vain, irritate each other, envy each other. (Gad. 5:23-26). Bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2). Do not be deceived: God is not mocked (Gal. 6:7). In doing good, let us not lose heart, for in due time we shall reap, if we do not faint. (Gal. 6:9). Be at peace with one another. We also beseech you, brethren: admonish the disorderly, comfort the faint-hearted, support the weak, be long-suffering towards all. See that no one repays evil for evil to anyone (1 Thess. 5:13-15). Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Try everything, stick to the good. Abstain from every kind of evil (1 Thess. 5:19-22). Be constant in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving (Col. 4:2). Treat external ones wisely. Let your word always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how to answer each one (Col. 4:5, 6). Feed on words of faith and good doctrine. Exercise yourself in piety. For bodily exercise is of little use, but godliness is profitable in all things, having the promise of life, present and future (1 Tim. 4:6-8). Those who have believers as lords should not treat them carelessly, because they are brethren, but all the more should serve them because they are faithful (1 Tim. 6:2). If you are a dispenser, distribute in simplicity; if you are a ruler, rule with diligence; if you are a benefactor, do good with cordiality. Let love be unfeigned; turn away from evil, cleave to good; be brotherly to one another with tenderness, warn one another in reverence, do not weaken in diligence; burn with the Spirit; Serve the Lord; be comforted in hope; be patient in tribulation, constant in prayer; take part in the needs of the saints; be zealous for the hospitality of strangers (Romans 12:8-13).

This is a few of the many, quickly running through the Holy Scriptures. For the sake of the Scriptures, the Pedagogue offers an example to his children, with the help of this, uprooting evil from them, so to speak, and enclosing sin within boundaries. But there is in the Holy Scriptures. There are many commandments intended for individuals: bishops, presbyters, deacons, widows, about which we can talk about another time. Much in Scripture is symbolically expressed, and much in parables; Such parables are very useful for those who come across them on occasion. "But it is not My business," says the Pedagogue, "to talk about this; for the exposition of those holy teachings we need a Teacher, to whom we now have to turn (go)" The task of the Teacher is now finished for me; now we have to listen to the Teacher. With you, who have been instructed in good teachings by the Teacher, the Teacher will now converse in a scientific manner. The Church is the perfect guide in the understanding of these spiritual things, and the only Teacher in them is her Bridegroom, the (personified) will of the Father, true wisdom, the sanctification of all our knowledge. And He is sin for our sins, as John says of Him. He heals our spirit and body, the whole person. This is Jesus, (propitiation) for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world. And that we have come to know Him, we know from the fact that we keep His commandments. Whoever says, "I have come to know Him," but does not keep His commandments, is a liar and there is no truth in him. And whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God is truly finished; from this we know that we are in Him. Whoever says that he abides in Him must act as He did (1 John 2:3-6).