Fragments on the Second Epistle to the Corinthians

^A to him and to those taken as his associates in the ministry. Others say that if perhaps some of his companions suggested certain thoughts to him while he was writing, he was accustomed to add their names as well, thus showing that they also contributed something to the writing; and this he did out of great humility. But whether it can truthfully be said that one who wrote at the prompting of the Holy Spirit stood in need of outside help, consider for yourself. Nevertheless, even if the Epistle is from three, he alone is designated as the apostle of Christ by the will of God, for those who sign with him are disciples of the apostles. The words, "with all the saints," are ambiguous; for it is either, "With us, all the saints greet you," or, "With you, we greet all the saints." It should also be known that ^B in some copies the passage is written as if it were from Paul and Timothy alone.

VERS. 2. Grace to you and peace. The writers pray that grace and peace may come to the Corinthians from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; for it is evident that the same gift is bestowed by the Father and the Son. For just as the works which the Father does, the Son does in like manner; so also the gifts which the Father gives, the Son bestows. For one grace and one peace is given by the Trinity. It must also be said that when they call God their Father, they no longer call their Savior their brother, but their Lord; showing that although created beings may become sons of God, they nevertheless remain servants of the Lord Jesus, who is their creator. For He alone is truly, and not by adoption, the Son of God, and is the Lord of those who are adopted.

VERS. 3. Blessed be God. The holy Scriptures call God blessed, not as if He receives a blessing, but because He bestows it. For just as He alone is holy and good, hallowing and making men good, though He Himself does not become what He makes others; so He alone is blessed, bestowing a blessing but not receiving one. This, therefore, is the blessed God, who is God and Father of the Lord Jesus; God because of the incarnation, but Father of the same insofar as He is the Word and the only-begotten Son. He is Father of mercies by essence, ^C acting as the fountain of them; for He is not found to be such by a choice of virtue, as are those who become merciful. As the heavenly Father is merciful, for the Father of mercies bestows upon those who strive to imitate Him, not that they may be so essentially, but that they may become merciful. Besides this, He is the God of all consolation, clemency, and grace; this is that in which

^A all who are afflicted for the sake of the truth, or rather for the sake of true religion, are refreshed. For thus will these also teach other, weaker persons who are afflicted, to receive comfort under the lash of those who tribulate them.

Verse 6. Whether we are afflicted.

Masters declare themselves to be afflicted for the progress and salvation of their pupils, so that having perfect patience they may be strengthened, while they hope that worthy rewards will be given to the apostles who struggle for the truth, and to their hearers as well.

Verse 7. As you are partners in sufferings.

Since they had been partners in the sufferings on account of which there was consolation, he signifies to them the great tribulation that had befallen him in Asia from the accusation and calumny of Demetrius. And indeed appropriately, since he said he suffered for their consolation and salvation, so that they might acquire the patience which works within those very sufferings, he rightly, I say, manifests to them that he and those with him had suffered persecution and tribulation beyond their strength; so much so that we almost doubted whether the end of life was at hand. ^B He also sets forth the reason why he had almost died, saying: "Because we relied on ourselves, so that we might stand unyieldingly against every tribulation, God being our helper." That we might confidently trust that in Him and through Him we could overcome every hardship, He withdrew His help from us for a short time, persuading us that we must always trust in Him. For such confidence not only preserves the living in life, but also recalls to it those who have lost their lives, God, of course, raising them from the dead. Wherefore we also stir ourselves up, and exhort you, that you should not place your confidence in your own strength, lest we fall away from life, but that we should hope in God, who will make us alive even if we fall into death. Know, however, that even if we had perturbation and agony on account of the most grave tribulation that had befallen us, yet this battle was only in our heart; for we had the sentence of death, judging within ourselves the death down to our thoughts, ^C doing nothing turbulent... Whence we also had a good thought concerning the duty of relying on Him who raises from the dead and delivers from death. Consistent with what is set before us is that which says, "I was troubled and did not speak," and that about Job, that he did not sin with his lips before the Lord, despite the bitter and terrible things that had happened to him. It is evident that these things are not written about the common life or death. For he says: "Who delivered and does deliver us from such and so great a death, in whom we have hoped." For if this discourse were about common death, those who speak thus would never die, once they have departed from the body in the course of time. But those who affirm such things do actually undergo common death. Therefore, they speak of that death ^D which draws the soul away from eternal life.

^A

VERS. 11. *Adjuvantibus et vobis oratione pro nobis.* By these words he teaches that great and truly divine benefits are granted when many pray on behalf of one who has received them. Wherefore, also stirring up their benevolence and affection toward himself, he says: "From such and so great a death I have been delivered by God, with you also assisting by prayer for me," so that for the benefit received by me, who was afflicted, through the prayers of many men, thanks might be given by many; for if many have assisted by prayer in obtaining the grace, it follows that these same should give thanks to God the Giver.

VERS. 12. *Nam gloria nostra haec est, testimonium conscientiae nostrae.* Gloriation in God has witness from the conscience. This is said, however, of the conscience which does not accept persons. This glory, therefore, which is the testimony of our conscience, has caused us to behave in the whole world, and especially among you, not with human discipline, but with holiness and purity; for he who instructs according to the rule of the Gospel does not proclaim human doctrine, but that which the holy Scriptures hand down; which, since it is without any stain, is sincere. He calls "carnal wisdom" that which concerns sensible things, and he who possesses it does not grasp the wisdom of the Spirit, because he considers it to be foolishness. It is the custom of Scripture to call the disciplines of worldly and material things "carnal." So, therefore, it is also called "the prudence of the flesh"; and among the works of the flesh are numbered heresies, sorceries, idolatries; for these are by no means to be called carnal as though the name were taken from sensible flesh, but they are called so rather from material affection, by the norm of which he who works is said to walk according to the flesh, and becomes carnal, having become a captive of sin. Nevertheless, even if we have conducted ourselves in the whole world with holiness and purity, we have done so all the more among you.

VERS. 13. *Non enim alia scribimus vobis, quam quae legitis.* For since you are accustomed to read the Gospels and the Law and the prophets, we indeed write nothing different from what you read; for those things which we trace in our Epistles are likewise divinely inspired. Know this also, therefore, you who have until now had only a partial instruction. We hope, however, with the help of God, that you will come to know even unto the end, that is, perfectly and without any defect. For since you know us in part, by adding to your present knowledge an increase of science and other observations, you will have perfect clarity that we write the same things as Moses and the prophets and the evangelists; for the Word of God, which came to them, also speaks in us, not being alien to Christ. I am confident—

^A—that you are affected by this same spirit, to boast of me. For you are our glory in the day of the Lord, in which He will judge those who are manifested at His judgment seat. And perhaps the illumination which is made in souls by the true light is the day of the Lord.

VERS. 15. *With this confidence I wanted to come to you before.*

By this expression, he shows that he had joy in the benefit of the Corinthians, because he had made them better. Therefore, persevering in this purpose, he wished to come to them again while he was going into Macedonia, and then returning from there, to visit them again, that he might again rejoice in their progress. For it appears from the writing of both Epistles that Paul had been in Corinth; and it is also shown by the words, *but to spare you I came no more to Corinth.*

VERS. 23. *But I call God as a witness to my soul.*

^B Although he is conscious of the word of the Lord in the Gospel, that one ought not to swear, but to speak exactly, namely "yes" when it is so in reality, and "no" when it is not, yet he now appears to affirm with an oath. And this is quite just. For because he is announcing his own affection toward the Corinthians, and this exists only in the mind and the heart, and it was likely that those who were beloved would doubt such a genuine love toward them, he calls God as a witness of his words to his own soul, Who knows even the things hidden within it. For he says: I come to you impelled by the desire for you. And if I do not do this at times, I refrain only in order to spare you. ^C For you know that when I first came to your city, I spent a whole year and six months there, while I gladly watched your daily growth and benefit in Christ. Then, indeed, besides the common doctrine, I also set forth for you mystical traditions; for I indicated this in the previous Epistle, exhorting you to retain what you had received. But because I now know for certain that you are being deceived by some false teachers, who deny the resurrection from the dead and the immortality of the soul, and furthermore subvert the knowledge of indifferent things; for these reasons I have deferred coming to you now, before some remedy which can be effected by letters. But I write these things by Epistle, declaring myself to be the lord of your faith; for we assist in your believing through teaching: ^D and since you have come to the faith through our instruction, just as we taught, so we also remind you that you may remain in the faith which you have rightly received. For although some have been subverted by deceivers, nevertheless I trust that you will be firm in the faith in which you were imbued.

CAP. II, VERS. 3. *My joy is the joy of you all.*

My joy, he says, is the joy of you all because of your good reputation; demonstrating at the same time that

^A it behooved the believers to sympathize with the sorrowing Apostle, so that they might also rejoice together with him when he was joyful. And that I write these things from a genuine disposition, he says, "know that out of much affliction and anguish of heart with many tears I wrote the Epistle." For I would not have wished you to need such rebukes, but rather to have the dogmas of truth demonstrated to you and to be reminded, or better, to be exhorted to perfect virtue.

In the person of Christ.

But when I came to Troas.

^Aceiving God’s doctrine. It seems also that the door of the Word is opened when the hearers are ready for the reception of instruction.

VERS. 15. We are the aroma of Christ to God.

Therefore, he says, God manifests through us the aroma of the knowledge of Christ in every place, since "we are the aroma of Christ." For just as those who participate in his light are the light of the world, so where there is ointment, those who are united to it exhale its fragrance. Now this fragrant exhalation is to some an odor from death to death, but to others an aroma from life to life. Yet one must not blame the fact that it becomes an odor from death to death; for the cause of this is those to whom it happens, just as healthy food seems to harm the sick if it is served at an inopportune time. For as many as are seized by that death which results from sin, and do not receive the divine knowledge with a right judgment, pass from the death of practical sins to the death which follows upon impious opinions. Just as, conversely, those who receive the divine knowledge along with life-giving works are transferred from life to life; for as material ointment, while useful for the health and good condition of the body, harms certain small animals that cannot bear its sharpest fragrance, so the divine aroma benefits and leads to health—or rather, to life—those who retain the image and likeness of God (for these are truly human beings), while those who have transformed the inner man are harmed by it, to such an extent that they are allegorically called "flies that corrupt the composition of the oil of sweetness," as the Ecclesiastes says.

VERS. 17. For we are not as the many, adulterating the word of God.

One must not attend to those heterodox persons who say that the apostles in preaching in Christ spoke of a God other than the Father of the Savior, that is, that we speak things contrary to Him. But when he says "the many," he signifies the deceivers on account of the abundance of people of this kind. For this word, that is, "many," being ambiguous, signifies many things. For it is said sometimes for "certain ones," as when the Lord said: "Many will say to me in that day." But it is also said in a way that distinguishes from the few; as in: "Many are called, but few are chosen." The word also signifies "all," as in: "For as by the disobedience of the one, many were made sinners." For all human beings, because of the disobedience of one, were made subject to sin. It also signifies a great number, as in the present verse; or likewise in these words: "Be not many masters, brethren." It also signifies any multitude whatsoever, as: "Many rise up against me"; and: "Many say to my soul." In the aforementioned expression he says: "We are not as some, adulterating the word of God," that is, mixing water into it through frigid and foolish exegesis; but as from (22) Note well Didymus’s testimony concerning original sin.

^A sincerely and purely we offer it. Do we begin again to commend ourselves? He gently reproves the Corinthians, as if they were still ignorant of the apostolic stature, saying, "As from sincerity, from God, before God we speak," we think it is sufficiently manifest to you what the disposition of our mind is; unless perhaps you are so affected that there is need of an epistle to commend us to you. And our circumstances are so manifest that there is no need for you to commend yourselves to others, nor others to you. For you yourselves are the Epistle of Christ, conceived by us, practically written by the Spirit of God, but not with ink. For words are traced with ink, but the practical and contemplative life is characterized by the Spirit of the living God; so that he who is thus formed lives according to God in the spirit. For the foolish receive the types in their souls as if they were stone tablets from ink; but those who are docile and ready for the assent of divine things, having hearts of flesh, that is, sensible ones, receive the writing from the Spirit of the living God. For the instruction is inscribed threefoldly upon the breadth of the heart, inasmuch as God gives laws when He writes them upon the breadth of the heart.

"And such trust we have," etc. ^B Let no one think that we act stupidly in saying that from sincerity we speak before God in Christ. For we are so disposed toward Him, as God has made us sufficient, having called us to the ministry of the word, "not that we are sufficient to think anything from ourselves as if from ourselves according to divine knowledge," but He Himself who gave us the ministry of the New Testament provided the confidence for speaking. And the ministry that was entrusted to us is of the spirit, but not of the letter; for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life. The New Testament is of the life-giving Spirit, not the Old. For there is no other teaching to come after it in this life; for it has no successor. And the heterodox (24) use this phrase for the disparagement of the Old Testament, saying that that Scripture kills, but the New ^C makes alive as being of the life-giving Spirit. Therefore they must be refuted, as being far from the apostolic mind. For even if the letter kills, yet one must praise the death it brings to those who are slain. For while they lived in ignorance and wickedness before the reception of the legal teaching, upon receiving it they are slain, casting off the wicked life they had. For thus they will be ready to receive the life-giving work of the Spirit; such as he who is in evil, living according to it; he who swerves from it casts off the life he had according to it, intending to come through the doing of good to live blessed. For just as evil and good cannot co-exist, so too both these lives cannot be together. Therefore the letter is not blamed ^D insofar as it puts an end to a wicked life: immediately

^A it will lead to the life that is according to the spirit.

Vers. 7. *But if the ministration of death, in letters, engraved upon stones, etc.*

He compares both Testaments, the New and the Old, attributing to each the honor of divine origin. ^B Yet even though both are glorious, nevertheless that which is spiritual has greater glory. If, therefore, upon comparison the glory of the Spirit is greater, the one to which it is compared is not blameworthy; for it is the good added to the good—the greater good. For the ministration of death, in letters engraved upon stones, is the law through Moses, ministering the death which we said the letter brings. Just as that [law], therefore, was the productive cause of the aforementioned death, so the ministration of the Spirit is the provider of the life that follows that death. He attempts to bring forth a proof that the ministration of the Spirit is in glory, constructing the argument from the lesser: for he says: If the ministration of condemnation had such glory, that by no means could all the children of Israel look to the perfection—for they could barely bear it even when veiled—how much more will the spiritual ministration be in glory? He makes another argument of the same kind, saying: The former Scripture, condemning those who were worthy of the life they had according to sin, so that they experienced the aforementioned death, was given until a certain time; for it is succeeded by the evangelical teaching, which itself has no successor. ^C If, therefore, that which is being nullified has an end in glory, much more does that which remains have greater glory; the expression "is nullified" is not used insultingly. For indeed, the knowledge and prophecy of the saints which is "in part" shall also be nullified, not absolutely, but with the arrival of the knowledge of the truth. And just as if we were to say that elementary training is nullified by the knowledge of perfect doctrines, this would not be said insultingly; for by the aforementioned expression is demonstrated the office of Paul, who introduces [them] to the Gospel. Therefore, having such confidence, as having been established as ministers of the New Testament, presenting the doctrine without any veil, we use great boldness, inasmuch as we are teachers of perfect hearers; for the instruction we present does not need external glory, since it has it as its own. For Moses, indeed, wore a veil over his face when he spoke to the multitude of the people; for they were not equal to the sublimity of the doctrine. But yet, when speaking to the elders and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to any other equal to these, he showed the glory unveiled. Now this and many other things were done symbolically by Moses: for this man bears the person of the Law. And since the Law, as much in sense as in words, was spoken to men who could comprehend only the letter and the word, wrapped in shadows and figures, it now approaches those who have ascended to higher things, delivering those things which were spoken by spiritual allegory without any veil. Although, therefore, it is veiled to some, ^D not by him, but by those who are unable without

^A a veil to behold his glory, the blame is not his, but rather theirs who cannot look upon his glory without a veil. Otherwise, Jesus himself would have to be blamed for not revealing the mysteries to all. For he spoke to those outside through parables; and thus the evangelical doctrine was spoken coveredly to those who were on the outside, but openly to those who had penetrated into the mystical meaning, providing an explanation of the parables. For he says to those who entered his house: "To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom, but to those who are outside, all things are done in parables." Therefore, the aforementioned words show that Moses veiled the glory of his face because the minds of those people were blinded, so that they could not gaze upon it naked. It is clear from the context of all that has been said that Moses is cited by Paul as representing the Law.

VERS. 17. *Now where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty, etc.*

By these words the fable of those who divide the Scripture of God is overturned. For it is one, sometimes veiled in types and shadows, and sometimes appearing without veils, since we receive the revelation of it from the Spirit of the Lord, firmly believing that the Spirit of the Lord is liberty.

CAP. IV, VERS. 4. *In whom the god of this world, etc.*

They say that the devil is the god of this world; just as also the demons are the gods of the gentiles, and the belly is the god of the gluttons. But some make a punctuation after "in whom God." Then they read as if from the beginning: "Of this world, he has blinded the minds of the unbelievers." Yet what they say is easily refuted. For if some are unbelievers of this world, surely other unbelievers would be found who do not belong to this world; for every unbeliever belongs to this world. For no one who has transcended it and has been deemed worthy of the world to come is blinded in his mind, but rather has enlightened eyes. I have known some who explained the passage before us by saying that the Gospel is not veiled for those who are entirely unbelievers—for they have no experience of it, either as veiled or as naked. But these interpreters were saying that by "those who are perishing," for whom the Gospel is veiled, we should understand those who have indeed received it, but who have not approached it without a veil; just like those who heard the ^C words of Jesus in parables. And they thought that the term "perishing" was used of them for the sake of demonstrating their changeability—for such are those who progress, always rendering themselves different from what they were. Wherefore they believed that the term "perishing" was not placed there in the way of reproach, but in the same manner as the phrases "the heavens shall perish" and "we are perishing into the age." For these terms of perishing are used for the sake of signifying progress, by passing from one state to another.

VERS. 5. *For we do not preach ourselves.*

The passage before us has a reference to the phrase: "Not that we have dominion over your faith." For it might follow consistently with that saying: "We do not preach ourselves; therefore we do not..."

^A have dominion over your faith." For we preach Jesus Christ as God and Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Christ’s sake; so that it is not we, but He who has dominion over your faith, accepting or judging you according to it. Furthermore, the saying, "For God, who commanded light to shine out of darkness," must be joined with the other: "But we all, with open face, behold as in a glass the glory of the Lord." For light shines out of darkness to him who comes from ignorance to the recognition of the truth. We say, therefore, that from an ignorant and unwise person, one becomes wise and learned. Since therefore ignorance and wickedness, which are called darkness, had preoccupied men, God made the light of practical and theoretical virtue to shine in their hearts, that men might acquire knowledge of the glory of Christ in His own person—the glory, indeed, by which they have faith toward Him, or the glory by which we recognize Him as glorified.

VERS. 7. "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels."

He calls "earthen vessels" the humble style of speaking and the simplicity of his interpretation. For if the preachers of the Gospel had proclaimed the truth according to human philosophy, it would have been suspected whether men had been brought under the yoke of saving doctrine by human artifice rather than by the power of God. But since the ministers were unlettered and ignorant men, the excellence of the power of the treasure of knowledge will be considered to be from God and not from mortal strength. Consonant with this is the saying: "Though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge"; and that: "My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom." ^B For he had the treasure of knowledge—in which he was not ignorant—in earthen vessels, inasmuch as he was ignorant in speech. [Some, however, say that the earthen vessels are the bodies with which we are clothed while we dwell in sensible things. And the meaning is: Since we are still surrounded by the flesh, which hinders the contemplation of truth, we nevertheless have knowledge of the Trinity; but the sublimity of the greatness of this knowledge is recognized by us to be produced not from ourselves, but from the power of God.] Thus also Cyril.

VERS. 8. "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed."

Certainly, because of the bitterness of the surrounding evils, we would have been in despair and would have perished; but with God consoling us, everything leads toward our salvation. If, therefore, we are troubled in every matter, yet by the fortitude of our souls we are not reduced to straits. And although some think us ^C destitute of all help, and therefore persecute and harass us, yet we are altogether cheerful, and we do not tremble, nor do we perish, nor are we cast down. For while the wicked try to overthrow us, we stand immobile, we resist our persecutors bravely, and all things abound for us toward salvation. It must be known that the word "to be distressed" sometimes signifies "to be troubled," and sometimes something ^D else. For when both words are used, it signifies, on the one hand,

external aggression, but "to be distressed" signifies to be hesitant in the counsel of the mind. And when both are not taken together, they signify the same thing in parallel. ^B

VERS. 11. *For we who live are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake.*

The words "always" and "continually," set down in the passage before us, do not signify that which is without end and without beginning—as we speak of the eternal—but rather that which is incessant and without interval. For he who does not bear the mortification of Jesus in his body at one time and not at another, but carries it about, will say that he does this "always." But he also who possesses life and piety and the diligence to struggle for the truth without interval will say: "We who live," in the manner spoken of—that is, without interruptions—"are being given up to death." You will take in this sense also what was said by Stephen to the Jews: "You always resist the Holy Spirit." For he conjoined to it the question, "Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?" The meaning is the same for the words: "I said: They always go astray in their heart," that is, not at one time and not at another, but without interval. The phrase, "I kept silence, shall I keep silence always?" signifies the boundless and incessant. For even if now, he says, I am long-suffering toward you who sin, the delay of punishment will not be infinite; for after much long-suffering, those who persevere in malice will be punished.

*Having the same spirit of faith.*

He calls the "spirit of faith," he says, that [life] which possesses the faith which one has.

Our earthly house

The scripture before us signifies two different houses: one earthly and made by hand, which is this visible world brought into being by the hands of God. For the Psalmist, showing all sensible things, says: "Your hand made all these things." But that other saying, "The works of your hands are the heavens," contains the same meaning. We understand "a house not made by hands that is in the heavens" to be the world other than this one. Since, therefore, upon this sensible world being dissolved, the figure of heaven and earth does not pass away—as though led to non-existence—men change that which had previously dwelt in the dissolved earthly house, and the future and eternal [house] shall receive them. And he says: "We have a house not made by hands, eternal in the heavens," showing that it has long since been prepared for those worthy to attain it. ^C Indeed, the things promised in it, which "eye has not seen, nor has any other sense or intellect grasped," are said to be prepared by God for those who love Him. And the Savior says: "Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." This so-called sensible dwelling is not simply called "our house," but that "of our tabernacle"; for in reality the heavenly house is our primary dwelling place. ^D

^A For even if, at the resurrection, the tabernacle of the soul is given back, so that it too may be in the heavenly house, yet this occupation is primarily that of the soul, and only incidentally that of the tabernacle which surrounds it. Just as the earthly house is, in the primary sense, the house of the tabernacle, and in a secondary sense, that of the soul dwelling in the body. I have read somewhere that the earthly house of the tabernacle is what is called the body, composed of bones and flesh. And the tabernacle in this house is the form of the inner man, which is a luminous and organic body; those who interpret it in this way say, therefore, that upon the dissolution of this house of the coarse body, the soul migrates to the heavenly realm, which is called an eternal house not made with hands. Yet the soul will recover the body it had laid aside, now become heavenly, which is called a dwelling from heaven. ^B VERS. 2. *For in this we groan, desiring to be super-clothed with our habitation which is from heaven.* Even if, upon the dissolution of the aforementioned house of the tabernacle, we are encompassed by the tabernacle, and pass with it into the heavenly house, nevertheless, while in it we groan, longing to be super-clothed with the habitation from heaven; that is, with that body we had laid aside, which will at some time exist from heaven, when it is clothed with incorruption and immortality. But although we desire this habitation, consider whether he who is clothed with it is thereby entirely covered. For this is what the words signify: "If so be that being clothed, we shall not be found naked." But he is not found naked who has been clothed with it, if he has certainly been a faithful and holy person, specifically if he has previously clothed himself with the Lord Jesus, and the armor of light, and the bowels of mercy. ^C For the faithless and wicked man, even if he happens to obtain the spiritual body which is called a dwelling from heaven, will nevertheless be found naked, because he did not labor to have the garments of the inner man. While things are thus, we who are in the tabernacle groan, being burdened; since the earthy tabernacle weighs down a mind full of many cares. Yet although we are burdened by having it, we do not desire to cast it off, but rather to be clothed with the habitation which is from heaven: *that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.* For life will not destroy our tabernacle when we have clothed ourselves with immortality, but will swallow it up, inasmuch as its quality becomes more powerful than that of the one in which we are mortal.

VERS. 12. *For whether we are beside ourselves, it is to God; or whether we are sober, it is for you.*

Let them be refuted by you concerning these things; he is speaking, of course, about the false apostles. But we do these things for your sake and because of you. ^D For even if, being outside of human things, we are beside ourselves unto God, nevertheless we are sober for your sake, since ecstasy possesses not madness, but sobriety. Nor should we pay attention to the followers of the Phrygians, who say that the apostles and prophets were beside themselves in such a way as to be delirious. For what they said and did, they understood perfectly well.

^A For the term "ecstasy" does not only signify derangement and distraction, but also amazement at some wonder. For in this way Isaac was in a great ecstasy. And "some shall stand in awe of the Lord and of His blessings," according to the prophet. But if the word signifies other things as well, let him who applies himself to the Scriptures take note.

For the love of Christ urges us.

From now on we know no one according to the flesh.

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature.

^A Since it states, "the old things have passed away, the new have come into existence"—if he means the legal and prophetic things, these have passed away, the Gospels having succeeded them; these old and new things differ not in subject matter, but in our conception of them. For the teaching of the two Testaments is the same, whether it was proposed veiled or openly. Therefore, those things which are called veiled are old. But if one should say that the customs and state prior to the faith were the "old," these have passed away, having ceased, with the teaching according to the Gospel now present. The saying, "All things are from God" (34), will apply to the former account as well. For the law, the prophets, and the Gospels are from God, according to the subsequent narrative, with all the new things being from God, although the things which have passed away are not so; but all things are from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ. For we were very much enemies, mastered by error and sins; but we have been reconciled to him, having received forgiveness from him and through him; and he reconciled us to himself through the Lord who died and rose again for us. ^B But so that we might not be unfeeling toward so great a benefit of God, he has given the teaching concerning reconciliation to the apostles (35), so that, being instructed by them, we might remain in our existence in Christ; for through him, the friendship with God that has come into being after the reconciliation will be enduring.

VERSE 21. *For him who did not know sin.* He says "did not know" instead of "did not experience sin." For he does not mean that he was ignorant of its nature (in fact, the Savior knew it better than anyone), but that he was without experience of it. For in this way, even he who keeps a commandment is said not to "know" an evil word.

CHAPTER VI, VERSE 3. *Giving no offense in anything.* Since God, having heard in an acceptable time and a day of salvation, helped us by sending his own Son and handing him over for our sake, let no one in any way become an offense of unbelief, lest the ministry of the evangelical teaching have a blemish. ^C Whence it must be diligently sought to commend ourselves by good works, even if they are laborious. This will happen if, possessing patience, we bear tribulations, necessities, and distresses and things of that kind courageously, enduring even bonds and prisons cheerfully. For thus it will come about that our soul is sanctified, thinking and acting rightly. "Purifying," he says, "our souls in obedience to the truth" (36). But also, the fear of the Lord, being holy, confers every holiness upon those who have received it.

VERSE 7. *Through the weapons of righteousness of the right and the left.* Perhaps the "weapons of righteousness of the right and the left" refers to the person who conducts himself so justly in sensible matters that he would rather suffer injustice and plunder than commit these things ^D

^A For he is indeed fortified by the weapons of justice on his right side. He who retains justice toward God—which we call holiness—by giving to God the things that are God’s, carries His right-hand weapons. In other passages, these are called the "weapons of light," as it is said: "Put on the armor of light." These weapons of warfare are not carnal, that is to say, human, but powerful through God. See if he who is justified in the shadow of the law is able to possess the weapons of justice of the left hand, while he who is perfected according to the justice that comes through Jesus Christ unto all who believe possesses the weapons of the right hand. This is the justice regarding which the Savior said to the disciples: "Unless your justice exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Furthermore, he who pursues what is just in human dealings is armed with the left-hand weapons of justice; but he who does this according to the dogmas of truth, sustaining persecution for the sake of becoming a son of justice, carries her right-hand weapons. Observe alongside what has been said whether what I am about to say holds weight: he who is abused for the sake of piety, and is defamed and considered an impostor, yet bears these things gallantly and praiseworthily, uses the left-hand weapons of justice while being protected by her right-hand weapons, in case any praise or other fame and commendation should, like the semblance of truth, make him swollen and proud. Apply this mode of thought to each of the following statements, as each one also is expressed with the same antithesis.

VERS. 10. *As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.* ^B We who are believed to be sorrowful, and poor, and having nothing, rejoice on account of that poverty which we profess, because we are rich in good works, and in every word and every thought; so much so that we enrich others also with that kind of wealth which perceives sharply; for he who possesses such wealth abstains from everything, being content with these things. Yet it can be rightly said in every trial, just as that saying: "In things excellent and salutary, this has been said to me."

VERS. 11. *Our mouth is open to you.* He who has taken to himself great boldness in speaking will also anticipate the will of his auditors. "Our mouth is open, and our heart is enlarged in reflection toward you, O Corinthians." Therefore, you are also narrowed in your affections due to the annoyance of ignorance; yet this does not happen because of us. We ask you as children to reward us by enlarging your own minds for the reception of the education which we offer you. ^C Here, one must understand "viscera" (bowels/heart) not as material things; for the discourse is not about bodily matters, but about spiritual ones.

VERS. 14. *Do not bear the yoke with unbelievers.* By ecclesiastical—or rather, scriptural—custom, married women are spoken of as being yoked to their husbands. Therefore, he forbids marriages with outsiders in these words, saying: "Do not bear the yoke with unbelievers." This is almost explicitly

saying: "Let not a faithful man take to wife an unbelieving woman; for you are under the sweet yoke of Jesus, but she is under the yoke of some wicked one." Conversely, let not a woman who has the faith be joined to an idolater. He exhorts, therefore, that marriage with those who are alien to the faith be avoided, setting forth what will inevitably follow, saying: "For what participation has righteousness with iniquity?" and the rest. ^A For since the believer has righteousness and is the light of the world, living under Christ, while the unbeliever is full of iniquity and for this reason is darkness, being subject to Belial (and he is a wicked one), the believer must not have a portion with an unbeliever. For he himself has been fashioned into a temple of God, but the unbeliever into one of idols. Whence, since righteousness has no part in iniquity, and light has no communion with darkness, and there is no harmony between Christ and Belial, nor any agreement of the temple of God with a temple of idols, such a marriage must not be approached ^B. For one who acts thus harms himself, the believer, while he becomes a participant in wickedness—nay, more, he communicates with darkness, deserts to Belial, and chooses the unbelieving part. Let us, therefore, flee all the aforementioned things, we who are the temple of God who says: "I will dwell in them and walk among them." For if you are sons and daughters of God, being separated from the unclean unbelievers, beware lest you be brought again under the same yoke; so that you may obtain these sacred rewards, if you have purged yourselves from all defilement of carnal marriages with aliens. For then at last you will perfect the sanctification of the spirit in mind and in work.

CHAP. VII, VER. 1. Having therefore these promises, etc.

VER. 2. Receive us, etc. About to speak with confidence, along with the sender of this Epistle...

he says to the Corinthians: ^A “Receive us,” that is, “Bear with us as we make our defense; for we have wronged no one, nor corrupted, nor exploited any among you.” I speak with such confidence ^B not because I wish to judge you; for I have previously testified that you are so prepared that you would even die for us; for we are likewise prepared for you. For such a readiness of zeal has been established in our hearts as in yours. Therefore, having much boasting on your behalf, I am full of consolation, and our joy and gladness superabound in all things because of the hardship we have suffered for the truth. For when we came to Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, with temptations continually assailing us. Yet even if the flesh has no rest, we are valiant in spirit; because we are not straitened, even if we are troubled on every side.” And explaining what the afflictions were, he added, “Without were fightings, within were fears.” This is understood in two ways. First, it must be said that “without were fightings” for the apostles, coming from those unbelievers who wished to persecute and harass them. “Within were fears” refers to those who seemed to be within the Church and the faith, but were unstable and insecure. For he feared the inconstancy of the Corinthians, because they were easily led away from the dogmas of the truth; whence he says to them, “I fear lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted.” ^C Alternatively, “Without were fightings” may be understood thus: the uprisings that occur against us afflict our outward parts, but they do not penetrate to the point of troubling the heart. Even if the soul is untroubled, there are nevertheless inward fears regarding [the possibility of] a change; for we are mutable.

VER. 6. But God, who comforts those who are cast down. The God who gives grace to the humble comforts them, offering consolation so that they may bear their hardships patiently. He also comforted us in the return of Titus to us from you. And not only did his presence comfort us, but also the report concerning you. For he spoke of the zeal you showed toward him according to God; and this increased our joy, as we know what great longing and overflowing affection he preserves toward you; in addition to this, he reported your zeal, your sorrow, and your longing for me, so that I no longer hesitate about the fact that I caused you sorrow by the rebukes in my previous Epistle. ^D For I learned from his words that the sorrow which existed for a little while on account of my writing has become the seed and form of the greatest joy.

VER. 12. Even if I wrote, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong. He calls the one who had his father’s wife the “wrongdoer,” and he calls the one who suffered the wrong either the father whose wife he had, even if he be dead, or the one who prevents such a marriage

For ^A it was possible, if the address was principally for their sake, to make the Epistle not common, but looking toward them alone. Therefore, it should be considered that the aforementioned address was not inscribed for their sake, but for the sake of making your zeal for obedience known. For I always boast of this to the Macedonians, inciting them to the same zeal. I was afraid, indeed, that I might be put to shame, if you had not received the sorrow in the proper way. Since, therefore, it has not turned out so, but you have grieved according to God, in such a way that much repentance has followed, I rejoice, being confident in all such things in you.

VERS. 13. *And we rejoiced the more abundantly, etc.*

In addition to this joy, our refreshment and consolation were increased, [he] testifying joyfully concerning your holy zeal: for he says that his spirit has been refreshed by your obedience; because he found you such as they constantly reported your obedience to be. But the spirit of anyone rests ^B when it receives the causes of rest, namely, works of piety and virtue, and a mind faithful according to the truth: but those who receive the pleasures of life from their well-wishers rest according to the flesh, and not according to the spirit. For Titus refreshes us greatly, constantly reporting your obedience toward good works; and this itself becomes a cause of joy, because we have been seen to speak the truth always, just as in other matters.

CHAP. VIII, VERS. 13. *For it is not that there should be relief for others, and tribulation for you.*

The doctrine of religion does not compel one to give what one does not have, but to give readily what one does have. But this will be done more easily if we consider who these are to whom we impart from our own: for they are holy and are servants of God; wherefore we also hope that there will be a recompense for us: for they are able to recompense spiritual things in return for the material things which they receive. Thus, therefore, there will be equality even in the present time. As happened in the granting of the manna, when neither did it fail for him who had little, nor did it abound for him who had much. For inequality remains ^C when, while the holy ones possess heavenly and great things, and you possess earthly and small things, no exchange takes place. Wherefore, sow carnal things, favoring the needs of the holy ones, that you may reap spiritual things from them. For thus there will be equality, you receiving from them the great, and they in turn receiving the small; for you shall have the great with the small, and they in turn the small with the great. And this equality will be established according to the corrective law.

VERS. 20. *Avoiding this, that no one should blame us, etc.*

I say these things not to apologize to you (for I know how you are affected toward me), but that we might be seen to manage our affairs well not only before the Lord, but also before men. For that God is a witness of our eager service toward you, there is no doubt; but ^D there must also be regard for men, lest perhaps

they be deceived by those who are crafty and sophistical. ^A One must know that he who proposes to please God primarily, and then men, is not a man-pleaser, but one who has fixed his mind on this alone; whereas he who chooses only to live in a way acceptable to mortals, even if God does not approve, is of the number of those who study only to please men.

VERSE 22. *Our brother whom we have proved.* Having praised him for his own accomplishments, he also extols him for his love toward those, sowing beforehand the seeds of love toward the Corinthians, so that by this the offering might also become greater. And finally, since he has demonstrated their virtue, he prays that things may go well with them as well.

CHAPTER X, VERSE 1. *But I myself, Paul, beseech you.*

^B I, your master, who write these things, beseech you by the virtue which Christ has granted me (which is meekness and gentleness), that I may not have to be bold when absent, but that when present among you I may appear humble. For when I come to you and find my exhortations translated into deeds, I will abide with you in a modest spirit and with much meekness. Wherefore I ask that I may not be forced, when present, to be bold in such a way as to assume the guise of an accusing and chastising master, and to be forced by the confidence of a master's authority to act harshly toward some who think that we walk according to the flesh. Or would anyone think that we live according to the flesh, if he should happen to suppose that we have not written these things for the sake of the matter itself, but so that we might appear to be some great ones, while you were becoming subject to us and contributing more? But God is witness, and ^C the greater number of men, that this advice was given in order that the ministry might be bountiful, and not for the sake of any other human consideration.

VERS. 3. *For walking in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.*

These words contain the same meaning as what is written in another Epistle, which is as follows: *Walking on earth, we have our citizenship in heaven.* For indeed, walking according to the flesh is the same as walking on earth; and conversely, not to war according to the flesh is the same as to have one's citizenship in heaven. By "to war according to the flesh," he does not mean those who are prepared for war in the general sense, but rather carnal men and those who are therefore sold under sin, such as those were of whom it was said: *My Spirit shall not remain in these men, because they are flesh.* ^D Those who have risen above these, as regards the mind and the works of the flesh, in their turn war according to the spirit for the King of all, Christ. Therefore, in order to please their Emperor, they do not entangle themselves in the affairs of this life, that is, in material things. Indeed, the weapons they carry are not sensible and bodily (for these are weak), but are mighty before God. Therefore, those who use these weapons destroy the strongholds of deceitful arguments constructed very sophistically by the heterodox, but also the high things in those arguments that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God. For those who...

^A appear to have been instructed, as it were, and who put forward with a show of proof what is actually a vain height—which is puffed up with false knowledge—falsely think it rises above the ecclesiastical mind, which is called the knowledge of God; for He is the one who grants it to those who are worthy of it. Therefore, for the sake of tearing down the aforementioned heights and fortresses, having put on the armor of God according to the spirit, let us fight in the way we have described. Let us dissolve their sophistic arguments, and let us refute their dogmas; let us take captive, I say, every thought of those who have been led astray by these deceivers and placed under the yoke of error; and let us cause the inhabitants of their region to submit to the obedience of Christ.

The saying of the Apostle can also be understood in this way: that is, any opinion expressed in any doctrine we must necessarily and forcefully bring into subjection so that we may fully persuade them to the obedience of Christ. For indeed, the inscription on the altar in Athens, which suggested the understanding of a plurality of gods, the author of this ^B Epistle took and transferred to the one true God, saying: "What therefore you worship without knowing, this I announce to you" —and indeed, the epigram indicated a multitude of gods under the name "unknown." When, therefore, every intellect is taken captive in the obedience of Christ, then we shall be ready to exact vengeance against every disobedience. Just as those who have taken captives, having defeated a certain nation, confidently hurry to lay waste to that region.

He adds these things to what he had written: "When your obedience has been fulfilled, look at what is according to the face." Now this expression may be understood in various ways. For if it is spoken in the imperative, it signifies this: "When your obedience has been fulfilled through assent to the divine teaching, O Corinthians, then examine what is according to the face." For in this way you will recognize ^C men clothed in sheep’s skins, who are inwardly ravenous wolves. Likewise, you will distinguish the genuine teachers, to whom it was said: "You are the light of the world." With you observing in this way, the deceivers will be known, whom you will also cast out, and (you will know) the true apostles of Christ, whom you will also willingly desire to obey. This is in harmony with the saying: "By their fruits you will recognize them."

But if "look at what is according to the face" is pronounced in the indicative mood, it conveys a sense of this kind: "You judge the quality of the teachers and the character of the disciples, always looking at the face of those who speak, and are deceived by those who take care only for outward appearance." If, therefore, someone who is a wolf pretends only to be a sheep by wearing its skin, treat him as a false apostle; but treat him who is a prophet as an apostle and a prophet. Indeed, some who pretend to be disciples of Christ, but in actual truth are companions ^D of him who transforms himself into an angel of light...

have persuaded some of you, as if there were no resurrection of the dead, nor that the rational soul survives after its separation from the body. Since, therefore, it is ambiguous how the phrase ^A “Do you look according to the face?” is to be understood, it is better to have it taught by the master.

Vers. 17. *But he who gloateth, let him gloat in the Lord.* Having sufficiently reproved those who were teaching the opposite, and who were boisterously claiming in vain to be of Christ, he necessarily added that he who desires glory blamelessly and purely must gloat in the Lord. For he who shows himself off as approved ^B is not necessarily so, but only he whom the Lord has commended by His testimony. Certainly, the saying of the Pharisee, when he said, "I am not as the rest of men," did not appear as approved, but rather as disapproved; whereas the publican, who had confessed his own sins, was justified before Him. Indeed, the saints are approved and beyond controversy, if they are commended by God. And to the author of this epistle, the Lord did bear witness, speaking of him to Ananias: "He is to me a vessel of election." Moreover, for all the apostles, the election made by the Savior testifies that they did not commend themselves, but received this gift from God.

CAP. XI. VERS. 1. Would that you could bear with me a little in my foolishness!

VERS. 7. Or did I commit a sin, humbling myself? Do you think that because I ministered the Gospel to you for free, I sinned by humbling myself? I accused myself, so that you might appear to be exalted, by truthfully saying that I had sinned, because I did not accept a reward for the Gospel. But you know that not only when I departed from you did I refuse to accept anything, but even while present in my home country

when I lacked the necessities that had run out, I have not been a burden; other Churches ^A have supplied my need. For the brothers who came to me from Macedonia provided what was necessary for my needs. This confidence is maintained for me before all the Churches of Achaia; and I will maintain this very intention, so that in all things I have kept myself, and will keep myself, free from burden.

VERS. 12. *That I may cut off an opportunity from those who want an opportunity.*

We do not do this out of hatred, but that we might cut off every pretext for those who are looking for opportunities to find cause for slander; so that if these impostors, by chance, should receive nothing from anyone, they might be found to be like us. For we are not like them, but they will be found to be like us. ^B Yet if the truth must be spoken freely, they will be found to be like us only in appearance. For we pursue the aforementioned economy with a sincere intention; they, however, having assumed a feigned persona of honesty, are eager not to be such, but to appear so.

VERS. 13. *For such pseudapostles are deceitful workers.*

True apostles, workers without any adjective, are spoken of in the passage: "Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he may send out workers" [Matt. IX, 38]; and further: "The worker is worthy of his food" [1 Tim. V, 18]. But those about whom I write are here called deceitful workers; in another Epistle they are termed evil workers [Phil. III, 2]. They therefore transform themselves into apostles of Christ, not being such, but deceiving by appearance alone; ^C having the same intention as the pseudoprophets, who, while in their mind being ravenous wolves, wrap themselves in sheepskins so that they might appear to be sheep. By saying this concerning them, he shows that what is said is not paradoxical. For if he who happens to be the cause of their being such (this being the devil) pretends to be an angel of light, being himself of darkness, consequently those who are moved by him to deceive transform themselves, so that they might be thought by the simple-minded to be ministers of righteousness.

It should be known, however, that it is only improperly said that Satan is transformed into an angel of light. For strictly speaking, transformation is asserted of bodies that change into other bodies. Therefore this expression ^D signifies rather him who masks himself as light, while otherwise being full of ignorance and darkness. If anyone thinks that he who transforms himself into an angel of light is constituted of darkness, let him take care not to assume that he is such substantially; for such an opinion is impious, being Manichaean. For the devil is evil and darkness by his own intention; wherefore, of his own volition, in order to deceive others, he simulates light, so that he may be believed to possess virtue and knowledge. Even if, therefore, pseudapostles have deceived some by transforming themselves into the aforementioned forms, they will nevertheless obtain an end equal to their deeds, since as his ministers they will depart with the devil into eternal fire.

^A

FRAGMENTS ON THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS

CAP. XII, VERS. 2. *I know a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, etc.* He proceeds to announce the visions and revelations that had been offered to him; and while he manifests these from the greatness of God, he does not attribute them to himself, but narrates them as if they concerned another, even though he had set the boastings of infirmity in his own person. He rightly attributes the present vision to the man who was in Christ, so that he may demonstrate that no one can be worthy of such things unless he is occupied in God the Word, and in wisdom, and truth, and holiness; for Christ is all these things. This man in Christ was caught up to the third heaven and into paradise. "Whether in the body or out of the body, I know not." And indeed, someone might say that what is written is possible in either way. For Elijah was caught up ^B while still existing in the body; and Habakkuk was translated from Jerusalem to Babylon while carrying his body, being raised aloft by an angel by the will of God. Another interpreter says: Just as someone walking on earth can have his citizenship in heaven, and indeed even sit with Christ in the heavenly places, so too can someone, while still clothed in his body, be led by a vision of the mind into heaven and dwell in paradise. Another will say that the words "whether in the body or out of the body" are not written by Paul concerning his own body, by which the soul is surrounded, but concerning the universe; so that the sense of this saying is: He was caught up into the third heaven and into paradise; but whether these are bodies or otherwise, I know not: for the knowledge of these things pertains to God, the Father of wisdom. The words "up to the third heaven" also possess ambiguity. For ^C by this ambiguity it is signified at one time that there are multiple heavens, and that Paul came up to the third, so that he might behold the affairs of that place (and this third is counted from the firmament, which is the first heaven for those who calculate everything); otherwise, if one heaven is believed to exist, it is understood that he reached up to its third part. But the truer opinion is beyond this; God certainly knows, as does he to whom He revealed it. At the same time, two raptures are demonstrated, namely, up to the third heaven and up to paradise. Furthermore, it must be said that Paul says nothing about the third heaven, as if he had heard or seen anything there. For regarding what he announces he heard there, ^D "ineffable words," he uses the word "heard" as referring to a revelation, as if he had received the knowledge of those things by way of hearing. Such is that of the prophet: "Who has believed our report?"—the prophet calling the revelation a "report," through which he received the knowledge of those matters as if through some hearing; and he says the "words" are "things," for it is likely that he saw the beauty of paradise, and the choirs of the saints in it, and the all-harmonious voice of their hymnody.

^A "Unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter." Or should one take "I heard unspeakable words in the third heaven or of the heaven, and in paradise" as being in common? However it may be, it is declared that paradise is a school of divine learning. But what is meant by the expression "unspeakable words"? One must know that in so far as he who utters them does not use syllables and sounds, they are "unspeakable"; but in so far as they possess truth, having subsistence in divine intelligence, they are "words." And these are heard not by the apprehension of the senses, but by the contemplation of divine intellect. Indeed, God the Word himself, who is Christ, does not speak to Paul, but in Paul; and in like manner he taught, being present also in each of the prophets. If, therefore, the Savior speaks in the saints, the things spoken are unspeakable; for if they were utterable, he would have struck their hearing and spoken not in them, but unto them.

But if it is also said, "not lawful for a man to speak"—for it is possible for a man having an enlightened intellect to hear, but impossible to speak them with sounds and syllables, for these are the organs of men who speak. The word "lawful" is used instead of "possible," not here alone, but also in other Epistles of him who writes these things; for "All things are lawful, but not all things are expedient" is equivalent to "All things are possible, but not all things are expedient." ^B Having related the divine revelations and visions, he necessarily added: "On behalf of such a one I will boast in Christ; but on my own behalf, I will boast only in my infirmities already mentioned." But saying these things, he is no other than he who beheld the visions. Yet although he is the same person, he differs in conception, at one time being considered as a weak man for the sake of the purpose of humility, and at another time, as having ascended on high and being "a man in Christ" on account of the contemplation. ^C

OF ALEXANDER, BISHOP OF NICAEA: WHAT?

How is "things which it is not lawful to speak" to be understood? Is it as though the Divine did not reveal such things to any other person? And that it was for the sake of Paul himself, and because he displayed a zeal and a proclamation beyond that of an average man? Or as if Paul, fearing to speak the things he had heard, kept them unutterable to all because of their greatness? But in the case of the Divine, this would have no place to stand, to whom it is permitted to reveal and show forth the greatness of his unsurpassable power to anyone who clarifies his virtue according to Paul. And how could Paul, boasting on his own behalf, say this, he who came to say these things by necessity, and who called the boasting about them "foolishness," and who, having kept silent about these things for a very long time, demonstrated his moderation throughout by the many things said in these matters? ^D Therefore, regarding the Divine, one would not piously accept these things; but regarding Paul, this way of thinking would be very appropriate: that he himself heard these things from the Divine, but kept them unutterable to the many, either because of the magnitude of what was heard, or because others were not worthy of such hearing beyond that of a man, or because they had not purified their life as he had—for they would have been deemed worthy of the rapture to the third heaven and of paradise and of the unspeakable miracles in the same way. There is also the wish to invite them to the same path and manner, for which reason he said this, as if others would not have been deemed worthy of the same revelations, and had not looked toward the same teaching, and the same boldness of speech, and the same asceticism. Or perhaps he says that the Divine alone is worthy of the manifestation of such words; but that the generated and mortal nature is incapable of bringing them forth and illuminating them to men, as they are greater than can be told. It is, moreover, proper to the moderation of Paul that he should rank himself with the others and demonstrate no difference at all—lest perhaps he might also provoke the rashness of base teachers through these things; for since he renders them unworthy of hearing the unspeakable things, how much more so of the rapture and the other vision and revelation beyond man?

⦑A⦒ VERS. 7. *Ne magnitudo revelationum extollat me, etc.* Others, however, not wishing to give an occasion, nor to yield in any way to the devil to devise infirmities, nor even tolerating that perfect men should set much store by the health of the body (for they know that they struggle against painful things), will say: If anyone receives many great visions, unless he is pricked by human infirmity, he might think highly of himself. And how would he not have room, if the power of God, which guards our ruling faculty, often prudently manages that the one being guarded should be outside of His protection, so that human thought may find an entry? And since perfect men avert their gaze even from a stain in the mind, they think they receive a great blow, even if a Satanic angel enters only into their thought. They pray, therefore, eloquently to be cleansed also from hidden things, and to have nothing evil in their conscience. And that this is so, Paul, being struck, knew to take refuge with God, as he shows by writing: *For this troublesome Satanic angel, I besought the Lord three times that he might depart from me.* And the Lord whom I besought said to me: *My grace is sufficient for thee;* for through this you will be made certain that perfection comes not from your own powers, but from My help. But as for the statement, *I besought three times*, someone will think that it is said for "often"; for plurality begins from the number three; for three are many.

VERS. 19. *Again, do you think that we are making our defense to you?* ⦑B⦒ Do not think that we are making our defense to you; for it is not our intention to please men primarily, but God. For we provide good things before God, and secondly before men, that we may be manifest to God, persuading men rightly by a way of life and a word that is appropriate. For in Christ, speaking before God, as those who see His thought, we do and say all things. I am confident, therefore, that having genuinely read also this Epistle, you will refrain from detraction, having renounced whispering as slavish; for this is the boldness of slavish and murmuring men; but also turn away from rivalries, and the strifes and contentions arising from them; for thus will follow [the result], *You find me such as you desire.* For a teacher is lifted up and greatly exults when he abounds in listeners to whom he can speak wisdom; just as, in turn, he is humbled and cast down when his hearers must be rebuked and corrected for the things they do wickedly. ⦑C⦒ For if, while practicing fornication and uncleanness and the following wantonness, they do not repent, they have died the death of the soul; so that he who has a providential care for them grieves for them more than those who build cenotaphs for those who have departed to the philosophers. ⦑D⦒

those who desert philosophy. For a sense is wont to be stirred in sinners when others mourn and lament on their behalf. According to this meaning, it is possible that the Savior called those who weep blessed, since after the affliction of mourning they will be comforted by God. But when He says, "Lest, when I come again, I be humbled," He reveals that in his previous visit to them also he experienced the same thing, although he had strongly exhorted them to repentance. Consequently, he necessarily added: "Behold, this is the third time I am coming to you," so that you may be confirmed, having the third ^A coming in place of three witnesses. For if every word that brings condemnation stands—that is, is held to be sufficiently suitable and firm—on the mouth of two or three witnesses, so it was necessary that, through the two visits I have made, you should be rendered firm. But since you still need to be confirmed, I have decided to meet you a third time.

CAP. XIII, VER. 11. Finally, brethren, rejoice, be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

After every exhortation, he advises that, by fostering concord, they should strive toward the happy end, perfected by the acquisition of genuine virtue and faith. For if they are of this mind, they will attain stability, living in peace, because the charity of God will lodge among them. For the presence of peace will establish for them a constant state. So that each one, imitating the master, may say: "Who shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus?" and the rest.

QUÆSTIONES AC VINDICIÆ DIDYMIANÆ SIVE DIDYMI ALEXANDRINI ENARRATIO IN EPISTOLAS CATHOLICAS LATINA Græco exemplari magnam partem e Græcis scholiis restituta, EDIDIT GODOFR. CHR. FRIDERICUS LÜCKE THEOLOGIE DOCTOR ET PROFESSOR PUBLICUS ORDINARIUS. (Particulæ quatuor Gottingæ 1829-1832, in-4.) COMMENTATIO CRITICA PRÆVIA.

I. About three years ago, when I was examining the Epistles of S. [Paul], I happened upon—among other things, toward the end of my work in interpreting the Fathers to see if any of them had written commentaries on these Epistles—and when I had almost completed [my study of] that somewhat obscure work which is attributed to Didymus of Alexandria, the *Enarration on the Epistles*