Letter to Peacock. About studying the Holy Scriptures

Brother Ambrose, having delivered your gifts to me, brought at the same time a most pleasant letter, which contained a certificate of your time-tested loyalty and confirmation of your old friendship. This is true affection, sealed by the union of Christ, based not on economic benefit, not on physical co-presence alone, not on cunning and insinuating caresses, but on the fear of God and on zeal for the study of Divine Scripture. In ancient stories we read that some went around the regions, traveled to unknown peoples, swam across rivers in order to personally see those whom they learned about from books. So, Pythagoras visited the priests of Memphis; Plato traveled with the greatest difficulties to Egypt, and to the Tarentine Archytas, and to that part of Italy that was once called Magna Graecia. The great Athenian mentor, whose teachings were heard in the Athenian gymnasiums, becomes a wanderer and a student, wanting to listen modestly to the teachings of others rather than preach his own with arrogant self-confidence. Finally, chasing knowledge, as if scattered throughout the globe, Plato was captured by pirates and sold into citizenship to the cruelest tyrant [Dionysius of Sicily], was a captive, was a prisoner and a slave; but as a philosopher he did not know his rival. We read that some nobles from the regions of Spain (from Hades; now Cadiz) and from the borders of Gaul came to Titus Livy, who emitted a milky source of eloquence; people who were not curious to see Rome were attracted by the fame of one man. Then there was a miracle unheard of in all centuries and a glorious one: people who came to such a city were looking for something other than the city. Apollonius (whether he was a magician, as popular rumor says, or a philosopher, as the Pythagoreans report) was with the Persians, passed through the Caucasus and the possessions of the Albanians, Scythians, Massagetae, made his way through the richest kingdom of India and, in conclusion, crossing the wide river Phison [Indus], reached the possessions of the Brahmins to listen to Giark, sitting on a golden throne, drinking from a spring Tantalus and among the few students expounding the doctrine of the forces of nature and the movement of the planets. And from here, through the countries of the Elamites, Babylonians, Chaldeans, Medes, Assyrians, Persians, Syrians, Phoenicians, Arabs and Palestinians, returning to Alexandria, Apollonius went further to Ethiopia to see the Gymnosophists and the notorious throne of the sun on the sand. The traveler we mentioned found subjects to study everywhere and, constantly traveling, constantly improved himself. Philostratus wrote eight books about him. But why talk about the people of this century? The Apostle Paul, a chosen vessel and teacher of the pagans, who was aware of the presence of a great visitor in himself and spoke about it this way: “You are looking for proof that Christ speaks in me” (2 Cor. 13:3) - this same Paul, having gone around Damascus and Arabia, came to Jerusalem to see the Apostle Peter, and stayed with him for fifteen days. During this mysterious week and week of days, the future teacher of the pagans was to receive preaching education. Fourteen years later, the Apostle Paul, taking Barnabas and Titus with him, again gave an account to the apostles of his gospel, so that it would not flow or leak in vain. A living voice has some kind of hidden energy in it and sounds stronger, transmitted from the lips of the mentor directly to the ears of the student. When in Rhodes they read Demosthenes’ speech against Aeschines and everyone was surprised and praised, Aeschines himself, who was then already a Rhodes exile, said with a sigh: what would happen if you listened to the beast himself, uttering his own words? All of the above was said by me not because I myself could and was capable of teaching you anything, but because your diligence and diligence in learning, apart from any relation to me, is in itself worthy of approval. The ability to teach deserves praise regardless of the merit of the teacher. We pay attention not to what you have purchased, but to what you are looking for. Soft wax is suitable for modeling work, and even if the hands of the artist and sculptor have not touched it, it nevertheless contains within itself everything that can be made from it. The Apostle Paul, according to his own testimony, “at the feet of Gamaliel” studied the law of Moses and the prophets (Acts 22:3), so that, armed with these spiritual arrows, he could confidently say the following: “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds: with them we cast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and we take into captivity all mind in obedience to Christ, and are ready to punish all disobedience when our obedience is fulfilled” (2 Cor. 10:4-6). In a letter to Timothy, who had studied the sacred Scriptures from a young age, the Apostle admonished him to read them diligently, so that he would not neglect the grace that was given to him through sacred ordination. In his letter to Titus, briefly depicting the episcopal virtues, the Apostle among other things mentions the knowledge of Scripture, saying that a bishop needs to be “holding fast to the true word, consistent with the teaching, so that he may be able to instruct in sound doctrine and reprove those who resist” (Titus 1:9). Holy ignorance is useful only for itself, and insofar as it creates the church with a virtuous life, it also harms the church if it does not resist those who destroy it. Haggai was a prophet, and through him the Lord says: “Ask the priests about the law” (Hag.2:11). So, among the duties of a priest is the duty to answer those who ask about the law. And in Deuteronomy we read: “Ask your father, and he will tell you, your elders, and they will tell you” (Deut. 32:7). Also in Psalm 119: “Your statutes were my songs in the place of my wanderings” (Ps. 119:54). Also in the description of the righteous man, whom David compares to the tree of life in paradise, among other virtues the following is mentioned: “His will is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night” (Ps. 1:2). Daniel, at the conclusion of the most sacred vision, says that the righteous shine like the stars, and those who understand, that is, the learned, like the sky. Do you see the difference between righteous ignorance and learned righteousness? Some are compared to the stars, while others are compared to the sky. However, according to the Jewish original, both sayings can be attributed to scientists, because in the Hebrew text we read: “And those who are wise will shine like the lights in the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars, forever and ever” (Dan. 12:3). Why is the Apostle Paul called the vessel of election? No doubt because it serves as the repository of the law and the Holy Scriptures. The Pharisees are amazed at the learning of the Lord and wonder how the apostles Peter and Paul knew the law without studying. For what others had to acquire by labor and daily study in the law, the same was revealed to the apostles by the Holy Spirit, and they were - according to the words of the Holy Scriptures - θεοδίδακτοι [taught by God]. The Savior was twelve years old when He, in the church, asking the elders about the law, admonished them with His wise questions. But can we call Peter or John uneducated, each of whom could say about himself: “Although I am ignorant in speech, yet not in knowledge” (2 Cor. 11:6)? John is uneducated, fisherman, unlearned. But please tell me where this saying comes from: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1)? The Greek word λόγος has many meanings: it means word, reason, calculation, and the cause of any thing through which something happens. We truly see all this in Christ. The learned Plato did not know this, the eloquent Demosthenes did not understand this. “I will destroy,” says the Scripture, “the wisdom of the wise and the understanding of the prudent.” (1 Cor. 1:19). True wisdom will destroy false wisdom. And although in the teaching of the cross there is a riot of preaching, the Apostle Paul says: “But we preach wisdom among those who are perfect, but the wisdom not of this age, and not of the passing powers of this age; but we preach the hidden wisdom of God, hidden, which God ordained before all ages for our glory" (1 Cor. 2:6-7). And the wisdom of God is Christ, "God's power and God's wisdom" (1 Cor. 1:24). This wisdom was hidden in mystery, which is why the inscription of the ninth psalm reads: “About the mysteries of the son,” in whom all the treasures of wisdom and understanding are hidden and who Himself was hidden in the Mystery, presented before the ages. He was foreshadowed and foreshadowed by the Law and the Prophets. Therefore, the prophets are called seers, for they saw Him whom others had not seen. “Abraham your father rejoiced to see My day: and he saw it, and was glad” (John 8:56). The heavens closed for a sinful people are opened for Ezekiel. “Open my eyes,” says David, “and I will see the wonders of Your law” (Ps. 119:18). For the law is spiritual, and revelation is needed so that we can understand it and contemplate the glory of God with open face. The Apocalypse shows a book sealed with seven seals (Rev. 5:1); and if you give it to someone who knows writing to read, he will answer: “I can’t, because this book is sealed.” How many people today imagine themselves to know the writing and, however, hold the sealed book and cannot read it, unless it is opened by “he who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and shuts and no one will open” (Rev. 3:7). In the Acts of the Apostles, the holy eunuch or husband (for he is called by both names in Scripture) when reading St. Isaiah, in response to Philip’s question: “Do you understand what you are reading? - answered: “How can I understand if someone does not instruct me?” (Acts 8:30–31). I - I will say about myself by the way - am no holier and no more diligent than this eunuch, because he, having left the royal court, from Ethiopia, that is, from the last limits of the world, came to the church and loved the law and divine knowledge so much that even in the cart he read the Holy Scriptures and, however, holding a book, reflecting on the words of the Lord, pronouncing them with his tongue and lips, still did not understand Him Whom, without realizing it, he honored in book. Philip came and showed him Jesus, who was hidden, imprisoned in a book. Oh, the amazing power of the teacher! At that same hour the eunuch believes, is baptized, becomes holy and faithful, turns from a student into a teacher, and finds more for himself in the solitary fountain of the church than in the gilded temple of the synagogue. I have written briefly about this (for the narrow confines of writing do not allow further expansion), so that you will understand that in reasoning about the Holy Scriptures one cannot go without a predecessor and a guide. I am silent about grammarians, rhetoricians, philosophers, geometers, dialecticians, musicians, astronomers, astrologers and physicians, whose knowledge is useful for mortals and is divided into three parts: dogma, method and practice. I turn to less significant arts, which are produced not so much by the ear as by the hand. Farmers, masons, artisans, sawyers, woodcutters, wool cutters, fullers and other manufacturers of household utensils and various cheap items cannot do without a teacher. “Treatment is the business of doctors; and only the artist creates the arts of creation” (Horace. Epistles II 1, 115–116, trans. N.S. Ginzburg). It is only the knowledge of the Scriptures that everyone everywhere arrogates to themselves. “We, learned, unlearned, indifferent, write poems all the time” (Ibid., 117). And the talkative old woman, and the extravagant old man, and the long-winded sophist, in a word, all attribute to themselves the knowledge of the Scriptures, torment them and teach others before they themselves learn. Some, taking on an important air and rattling out choice words, among women, wax philosophical about the Holy Scriptures. Others, oh shame! they learn from women what they pass on to men; Moreover, thanks to the ease of language and their courage, they teach others what they themselves do not understand. I am silent about those like me, who, after studying secular literature, turning to the Holy Scriptures and captivating the ears of the people with artificial speech, consider everything they say to be the law of God and are not honored to know the thoughts of the prophets and apostles, but seek inappropriate texts for their own thoughts, as if it were a good thing, and not the most vicious kind of teaching - to distort the thoughts of Scripture and subordinate it to their own arbitrariness, despite the obvious contradictions. As if we had not read the hundred verses of Virgil and Homer and cannot [following arbitrary interpretations] call even Maron, who did not believe in Christ, a Christian, who wrote: “The Virgin is coming to us again, the kingdom of Saturn is coming. Again, a new tribe is sent from the high heavens” (Virgil. Bucolics IV, 6–7; trans. S. Shervinsky), or explain the following verse in the sense of the words of the Father to the Son: “Oh, you, my birth, my strength, my only great power!”, or compare the following verse with the words of the Savior on the cross: “He endured so much in memory and remained strong.” Such attempts are typical of children and charlatans to teach what they do not know, and even, subject to their personal whims and tastes, to be unaware of their own ignorance. The book of Genesis is written most clearly, which talks about the nature of the world, the origin of the human race, the division of the earth, the confusion of languages ​​and the migration of the Jewish tribe to Egypt. Next is the book of Exodus with the ten plagues, the ten chapters, and the mysterious and divine commandments. Then follows Leviticus, in which every sacrifice, almost every syllable - both Aaron's clothes and the entire order of the Levites - breathe heavenly mysteries. And does not the book of Numbers contain in itself the secrets of all arithmetic and the prophecy of Balaam, and the forty-two camps in the wilderness? But does not Deuteronomy - the second law and a foreshadowing of the Gospel law - contain in itself what was already written before, but in such a way that from one old everything becomes new? Here are the Pentateuch, those five words that the Apostle wanted to “speak in the church” (1 Cor. 14:19). Job - a model of patience - what secrets does his speech not contain? He begins in prose, continues in verse, ends in simple speech; fulfills all the laws of dialectics in the introduction, sentence, confirmation and conclusion. Every word in his speech is significant. I will mention one thing, the resurrection of bodies. Job prophesies as clearly and at the same time with restraint as no one else. “I know,” says Job, “my Redeemer lives, and on the last day He will raise this decaying skin of mine from the dust. And I will see God in my flesh. I will see Him myself; my eyes, not the eyes of another, will see Him. My heart is melting in my chest!” ( Job 19:25–27 ). I turn to Joshua, who was a prototype of the Lord not only in deeds, but also in name; he crossed the Jordan, overthrew the kingdoms of the enemies, divided the land to the victorious people and, under the name of various cities, villages, mountains, rivers, springs and borders, describes the spiritual kingdoms of the Church and heavenly Jerusalem. There are so many leaders of the people in the book of Judges, so many types. Ruth the Moabite fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah: “Send lambs to the owner of the land from Selah in the wilderness to the mountain of the daughter of Zion” (Is. 16:1). Samuel in the death of Elijah and in the murder of Saul depicts the end of the Old Testament. And in the person of Zadok and David he indicates the sacraments of the new priesthood and the new kingdom. Malachim, that is, the third and fourth books of Kings, describe the kingdom of Judah from Solomon to Jehoiachin and the kingdom of Israel from Jeroboam the son of Nebat to Uzziah, who was taken into captivity by the Assyrians. If we pay attention to history, the words are simple, but if we delve into the meaning hidden in the writings, we will read the legend about the small number of the church and the attacks on it by heretics. The twelve prophets, contained within the narrow confines of one volume, prefigure much more than the literal meaning gives. Hosea often mentions Ephraim, Samaria, Joseph, Israel, the harlot wife and the children of fornication, the adulteress imprisoned on her husband’s bed, who sits for a long time as a widow and waits in mournful clothes for her husband’s return. Joel, the son of Bethuel, depicts the land of the twelve tribes, devastated by locusts, worms and bread rust, and prophesies how, after the death of the previous generation, the Holy Spirit will be poured out on the servants and handmaids of God, that is, on one hundred and twenty names of believers who were to be filled with the Holy Spirit in the upper room of Zion; these one hundred and twenty ascend, gradually rising, from the first to the fifteenth degree, which are mysteriously indicated in the Psalter. Amos - shepherd, farmer, sycamore grower - cannot be summarized in short words. For who can satisfactorily express three or four crimes of Damascus, Gaza, Tire and Idumea, the children of Ammon and Moab, and the seventh and eighth of Judah and Israel? Amos addresses his speech to the fat cows located on Mount Samaria, and prophesies about the destruction of the house of the greater and the lesser. Amos himself sees the one producing locusts, and the Lord standing on a poured or adamantine mountain, and a basket of fruits bringing punishment on sinners and a famine on the earth, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but hearing the word of God. Obadiah, whose name means “servant of God,” thunders against bloody Edom and earthly man. With a spiritual spear he strikes the one who is always jealous of brother Jacob. Jonah - the “dove” - most beautiful with his shipwreck, depicts the suffering of the Lord, calls the world to repentance and, under the name of Nineveh, proclaims salvation to the pagans. Micah the Morasthite, “joint heir” of Christ, proclaims the ruin of the thief’s daughter and lays an ambush against her because she struck the judge of Israel on the cheek. Nahum, the “comforter” of the earth, prophesies a hail of blood and after its destruction says: “Behold, on the mountains are the feet of the evangelist who brings peace” (Nahum.1:15). Habakkuk, a “fighter” courageous and firm, stands on his guard and strengthens his foot in order to contemplate Christ on the cross and say: “His majesty covered the heavens, and the earth was filled with His glory. Its shine is like sunlight; from His hand are the rays, and here is the hiding place of His power!” (Hab.3:3-4). Zephaniah, a “contemplator” and knower of the mysteries of the Lord, hears a cry at the fish gate and crying in another part of the city and great destruction on the hills. He also commands the inhabitants of the ravine to weep, because the entire people of Canaan fell silent, and all those laden with silver perished. Haggai - “solemn” and joyful, who sowed with tears to reap with joy, renews the ruined church and introduces the Lord the Father, saying: “Once again, and this will be soon, I will shake heaven and earth, sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and the One desired by all nations will come” (Hag.2:6-7). Zechariah, “who remembers his Lord,” manifold in prophecy, contemplates Jesus, clothed “in filthy robes,” and the stone with “seven eyes” (Zech. 3:3, 9), and a golden lampstand, and as many lamps as there are eyes on the stone, and two olive trees on it, one on the right and the other on the left (Zech. 4:2–3). And after the vision of black horses, white and piebald, and scattered chariots from Ephraim, and a horse from Jerusalem, he foresees and predicts a pale king sitting on a colt, the son of a donkey. Malachi openly, in the conclusion of all the prophets, speaks of the rejection of Israel and the calling of the Gentiles: “My favor is not with you, says the Lord of hosts, and the offering from your hands is not pleasing to Me. For from the east of the sun to the west my name will be great among the nations, and in every place they will offer incense to my name, a pure sacrifice” (Mal. 1:10-11). Who can understand or expound the teachings of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel? Of these, the first, it seems to me, wrote not a prophecy, but a Gospel. The second sees a walnut cane and a cauldron boiling from the north, and a leopard stripped of its colors; and in different meters composes the fourfold alphabet [book of lamentations]. The third [Ezekiel] at the beginning and end of his prophecies contains so much that is hidden that among the Jews these chapters, as well as the beginning of the book of Genesis, were not allowed to be read until the age of thirty. And the last of the four prophets, who knows the times and the whole world φιλοίστωρ [expert], with clear speech proclaims about a stone that, without the help of hands, tore itself from the mountain and overthrew all kingdoms. David - our Simonides, Pindar and Alcaeus, also Flaccus, Catullus and Serenius - sounds about Christ on the lyre and on the ten-stringed psalter evokes his resurrection from the grave. The peace-loving and God-loving Solomon corrects morals, studies nature, unites Christ with the Church and sings the sweet wedding song (epithalamium) of the Holy Matrimony. Esther, prefiguring the Church, delivers the people from danger and, as a result of the execution of Haman, whose name is “iniquity,” gives the offspring a lot in the feast and a day of celebration. The book of Chronicles, that is, επιτομή [abbreviation] of ancient documents, is such that if anyone, without knowing it, wants to appropriate the knowledge of the Scriptures to himself, he laughs at himself. In almost every name and in every combination of words, stories missed in the books of Kings are touched upon and countless gospel questions are presented. Ezra and Nehemiah, that is, “the helper and comforter of the Lord,” are contained in one volume; they build the church, build the walls of the city; the whole crowd of people returning to their homeland, the census of the Levites, Israel and strangers, the division of labor in the construction of walls and towers - this is what Ezra and Nehemiah partly depict on the tree bark, and partly store in the core of the tree. You see that, carried away by the love of writing, I went beyond the usual dimensions of writing and still did not write everything I wanted. It was only about what we should know and what to desire, so that we too could say: “My soul is weary of the desire of Your judgments for all time” (Ps. 119:20). However, let the saying of Socrates be fulfilled on us: “I only know that I know nothing.” I will briefly touch on the New Testament. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the chariot of the Lord and are truly cherubim, which means “a multitude of knowledge”, filled with eyes throughout their whole body, shining like sparks, swift like lightning, having straight feet and directed towards the mountain: they are winged and capable of flying, they support each other, are mutually connected to each other, and like wheels drawn one after another, they strive where the wind of the Holy Spirit directs them. The Apostle Paul wrote to seven Churches (for the eighth letter to the Hebrews is not included in this number by many). He gives instructions to Timothy and Titus, intercedes with Philemon on behalf of the runaway slave [Onesimus]. But about the Apostle Paul, I think, it is better to remain silent than to write little. The book of the Acts of the Apostles appears to contain a simple history and set forth the infancy of the nascent church; but if we take into account that the author of this book is the physician Luke, who is “praised in the Gospel,” then we will also see here that all his words provide healing for the weak soul. The apostles James, Peter, John and Jude issued seven epistles, so mysterious, so compressed and brief and at the same time extensive - short in words, but extensive in thoughts - that hardly anyone's spiritual gaze will not be amazed when reading these messages. The Apocalypse of John contains as many sacraments as there are words. I have said little, but compared to the merits of the book, all praise is insufficient, for every word contains many meanings. Please tell me, dear brother: to live among the Divine Scriptures, to study in them, to know nothing else and not to seek anything else - doesn’t this already mean here on earth to be an inhabitant of the Kingdom of Heaven? Do not be tempted in the Holy Scriptures by the simplicity and seemingly rudeness of the words, which occurred either as a result of the translators’ errors, or as a result of a deliberate adaptation to the edification of the common people; In one and the same saying, the learned will hear something different, and the unlearned will hear another. I am not so bold and stupid as to attribute to myself knowledge of the Scriptures and boast of the ability to pluck fruits on earth, while the roots are established in heaven; but I confess, I want to know the Scriptures, I don’t want to sit in one place: by refusing to be a teacher, I promise to be a companion. To him who asks it is given, to him who knocks it is revealed, to him who seeks he finds. Let us learn on earth what the knowledge of which will be inseparable from us in heaven. I accept you with open arms and (I will say inappropriately and with the eloquence of Hermagorus) whatever you ask, I will try to find out together with you. You have your most dear brother Eusebius, who doubled the pleasure I received from your letter by talking about the honesty of your morals and contempt for this age, about loyalty in friendship, about love for Christ. In addition to the testimony of Eusebius, your letter itself made clear your prudence and eloquence. Hurry up, I ask you, and quickly cross, and do not untie the rope of the boat lowered into the sea. No one, intending to renounce the world, can profitably sell what he has previously despised. If you suffer any loss, write it down as an acquisition. There is an old saying: “For a stingy person, what he has does not exist as much as what he does not have.” For a believer, the whole world is full of riches, but an unbeliever even needs an obol. Let us live as having nothing and possessing everything. Clothes and food - these are Christian riches! If you have any thing in your hands, sell it; If you don’t have it, don’t worry about acquiring it. The one who takes away the robe must also be given the underwear. If you, constantly putting off until tomorrow, dragging out day after day, carefully and little by little sell your possessions, then Christ will not have anything to feed his poor. He who sacrificed himself gave everything to God. The apostles leave the ship and nets. The widow puts two mites into the treasury and is considered superior to the rich. He who always thinks about his death easily despises everything. You might be interested in: