§24Τίς ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ φοβούμενος. Ὁ τοῖς γηΐνοις ἐγκείμενος καὶ οἰκίαν οἰκοδομῶν, καὶ φυτεύων ἀμπελῶνας, ταῖς φιλοσαρκίαις ἡδονῶν ἡττώμενος, ἔσται πάντως δειλός τε καὶ ἄναλκις.
"Who is the man that is afraid?" He who is devoted to earthly things, building a house and planting vineyards, being overcome by the fleshy desires of pleasures, will altogether be cowardly and strengthless.
§25Ἐὰν δέ τινι υἱὸς ἀπειθὴς ᾖ. Οὐχ ἁπλῶς βούλεται ἀναιρεῖσθαι αὐτοὺς παραπικραίνοντας τοὺς γονεῖς· ἀλλʼ ὅταν ἀμφότεροι συμφωνήσωσιν οἱ γονεῖς κατὰ τοῦ παιδός.
"And if anyone has a disobedient son." He does not simply wish them to be destroyed when they embitter their parents, but when both parents agree against the child.
Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἄν τε ὁ πατὴρ ὀργισθῇ, καὶ ἀνελεῖν ὁρμήσῃ τὸν υἱὸν, ἡ μήτηρ ἐπέχει· ἄν τε αὐτὴ παροξυνθῇ, ὁ πατὴρ οὐκ ἐᾷ· καὶ σπάνιον ἔσται συμφωνῆσαι τοὺς γονεῖς κατὰ τοῦ ἰδίου αὐτῶν τέκνου, προστάττει ὁ Θεὸς, ὅταν ἀμφότεροι συμφωνήσωσι κατὰ τοῦ παιδὸς, τότε καταλεύειν αὐτὸν, οὐ τοὺς γεννήσαντας, ἀλλὰ τοὺς λοιπούς.
For since, if the father is angry and rushes to destroy the son, the mother restrains him, and if she is provoked, the father does not allow it, and it is rare for parents to agree against their own child, God commands that when both agree against the child, then the others—not those who begot him—should stone him.
§26Οὐ κατασπερεῖς τὸν ἀμπελῶνά σου διάφορον. Ἴνα μὴ ἀτονωτέρα γένηται ἡ γῆ, ὡς μήτε τὸ σπέρμα πλῆρες ἀπδιδόναι, μήτε τῆς ἀμπέλου τὸν καρπὸν, ἀλλὰ καθʼ ἑαυτοῦ ἕκαστον.
"You shall not sow your vineyard with diverse seeds." Lest the land become weaker, so as neither to yield the seed fully, nor the fruit of the vine, but each by itself.
§27Οὐκ ἀροτριάσεις ἐν μόσχῳ καὶ ὄνῳ ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό. Τὸ γαῦρον τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ φιλόπονον τῷ φιληδόνῳ καὶ παθητικῷ μὴ συζεύξῃς.
"You shall not plow with an ox and an ass together." Do not yoke the noble and industrious part of the soul with that which is pleasure-loving and passionate.
§28Τοῦ αὐτοῦ.
By the same author.
Ἡσαΐας δὲ πάλιν γράφει· « Μακάριοι οἱ σπείροντες ἐπὶ πᾶν ὕδωρ. » Ποῖον ὕδωρ, ἐφʼ ᾧ δεῖ σπείρειν τὸ καλὸν σπέρμα;
Isaiah again writes: "Blessed are those who sow beside all waters." What kind of water is it, upon which one must sow the good seed?
Εἴη δὲ τοῦτο βάπτισμα τῆς σωτηρίας, τὸ λουτρὸν τῆς παλιγγενεσίας.
It would be the baptism of salvation, the washing of regeneration.
Σπεῖρε ἐπὶ τὸ μυστήριον τοῦ λουτροῦ, καὶ γίνῃ μακάριος.
Sow upon the mystery of the washing, and you will be blessed.
Ἐκεῖ βοῦς καὶ ὄνος πατεῖ, βοῦς ὁ καθαρὸς ὁ Ἰσραηλίτης, καὶ ὄνος ἀκάθαρτος ἐκ γένους ὁ ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν· ἵνα σύμβολον ᾖ ἀμφότερα τὰ ζῶα τοῦ λόγου τοῦ τοῖς ἔθνεσι κεκηρυγμένου.
There the ox and the ass tread: the ox is the clean Israelite, and the ass is the unclean by birth from the nations; so that both animals may be a symbol of the word preached to the nations.
Πατεῖ οὖν βοῦς καὶ ὄνος, φησὶ, τοῦτο τὸ ὕδωρ ὅπου σπείρειν θέλομεν.
Therefore, he says, the ox and the ass tread this water where we wish to sow.
§29Ἐὰν δὲ γένηται παῖς παρθένος μεμνηστευμένη ἀνδρί. Τὴν ἤδη μεμνηστευμένην γυναῖκα καλεῖ οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ καὶ τῆς θεοτόκου ἐλέχθη.
"And if there be a young woman, a virgin betrothed to a husband." He thus calls the woman who is already betrothed, and this was also said in the case of Joseph and the Mother of God.
§30Καὶ ἔως εἰς τὸν αἱῶνα. Ἐπειδὴ καὶ οὗτοι ἐκ πορνείας εἰσὶν ἀπὸ τῶν θυγατέρων τοῦ Λώτ· οὐ μόνον δὲ ἕως γενεᾶς δεκάτης ἄδεκτοι τῇ συναγωγῇ τοῦ Ἰσραήλ εἰσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.
"And even to eternity." Since these also are from the fornication of the daughters of Lot; and they are unacceptable to the congregation of Israel not only until the tenth generation, but even to eternity.
Οὕτω βούλεται αὐτοῖς τὴν ἔχθραν ἀῒδιον εἶναι· κατὰ μὲν τὸ νόημα καὶ τὴν ἀληθῆ αἰτίαν τῆς θείας Γραφῆς, ἐπειδὴ τὸν Βαλαὰμ ἐμισθώσαντο, ἐφʼ ᾧτε καταράσασθαι τοῖς Ἑβραίοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς αὐτῶν γυναῖκας καὶ τὰς θυγατέρας, ὅσαι ἦσαν ὡραῖαι τῇ ὄψει καὶ καλαὶ τῷ εἴδει, προέσνησαν τοῦ γένους, ὥστε αὐτὰς δοῦναι πρὸς πορνείαν τοῖς Ἰσραηλίταις, καὶ πορνείαν διὰ τοῦτο χαλεπωτάτην προξενῆςαι τοῖς Ἑβραίοις· αὕτη δὲ ἦν τὸ ἀποστῆναι μὲν τοῦ Θεοῦ, τελεσθῆναι δὲ τῷ Βεελφεγώρ· ὅπερ καὶ γέγονεν.
Thus He wishes their enmity to be everlasting; according to the meaning and the true cause of the divine Scripture, because they hired Balaam to curse the Hebrews, and also set before their race their own wives and daughters, as many as were beautiful in appearance and fair in form, so as to give them over to fornication with the Israelites, and thereby brought about a most grievous fornication for the Hebrews; and this was to depart from God and to be initiated to Baal-peor, which indeed happened.
§31Οὐκ ἐνεχυράσεις μύλον οὐδὲ ἐπιμύλιον. Ὅτι μονόλιθον, φησὶν, ἀδύνατον συντρίψαι τὸν σῖτον· δίδυμον γὰρ ἀῤῥενόθηλυ κατασκευάζεται μύλος.
"You shall not take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge." Because, he says, it is impossible for a single stone to grind the wheat; for a mill is constructed as a double, male and female.
Ἐπεὶ οὖν καὶ Ἰουδαῖοι μίαν διαθήκην ἔχουσιν· ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ πᾶσα αἵρεσις δοκοῦσα ταύτην τὴν καινὴν μόνην ἔχειν, οὐκ ἀλήθουσι ἐν τῷ μυλῶνι τούτῳ, ἵνα γεύσωνται τοῦ ἐπουρανίου ἄρτου· ἐὰν γὰρ, φησὶ, μὴ συντριβῇ καὶ ἀληθῇ ὁ σῖτος, ἄσιτος μένουσιν.
Since, therefore, the Jews also have only one covenant, and likewise every heresy that thinks it has only this new one, they do not grind in this mill-house in order to taste the heavenly bread; for if, he says, the wheat is not crushed and ground, they remain without food.
Ἐκ τούτου οὖν καὶ αὐτὸς ὁρμώμενος τὸν προκείμενον σαφηνίζω νόμον, « Οὐκ ἐνεχυράσεις μύλον, » τουτέστιν, οὐ μὴ βεβηλώσεις τὴν παλαιὰν καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀπώσεις αὐτὴν τῆς σῆς οἰκίας· « οὐδὲ ἐπιμύλιον· » ἀντὶ τοῦ, τὴν καινὴν, « ὅτι ψυχὴν οὗτος ἐνεχυράζει, » τουτέστι τούτοις τρέφεται ἡ ψυχὴ ἀπολαύουσα νοητῶν ἐδεσμάτων.
Starting therefore from this, I myself clarify the proposed law: "You shall not take a millstone to pledge," that is, you shall by no means profane the old covenant and you shall by no means cast it away from your house; "nor the upper millstone," instead of the new one, "for this takes a life to pledge," that is, by these the soul is nourished, enjoying intellectual food.