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ANF Pseudo-Clementine The Clementine Homilies
“And do not say He acted impiously towards the wise in hiding these things from them. Far be such a supposition from us. For He did not act impiously; but since they hid the knowledge of the kingdom,[1389] and neither themselves entered nor allowed those who wished to enter, on this account, and justly, inasmuch as they hid the ways from those who wished, were in like manner the secrets hidden from them, in order that they themselves might experience what they had done to others, and with what measure they had measured, an equal measure might be meted out to them.[1390] For to him who is worthy to know, is due that which he does not know; but from him who is not worthy, even should he seem to have any thing it is taken away,[1391] even if he be wise in other matters; and it is given to the worthy, even should they be babes as far as the times of their discipleship are concerned.
“But if one shall say nothing was concealed from the sons of Israel, because it is written,[1392] ‘Nothing escaped thy notice, O Israel (for do not say, O Jacob, The way is hid from me),’ he ought to understand that the things that belong to the kingdom had been hid from them, but that the way that leads to the kingdom, that is, the mode of life, had not been hid from them. Wherefore it is that He says, ‘For say not that the way has been hid from me.’ But by the way is meant the mode of life; for Moses says,[1393] ‘Behold, I have set before thy face the way of life and the way of death.’ And the Teacher spoke in harmony with this:[1394] ‘Enter ye through the strait and narrow way, through which ye shall enter into life.’ And somewhere else, when one asked Him,[1395] ‘What shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ He pointed out to him the commandments of the law.
“From the circumstance that Isaiah said, in the person of God,[1396] ‘But Israel hath not known me, and the people hath not understood me,’ it is not to be inferred that Isaiah indicated another God besides Him who is known;[1397] but he meant that the known God was in another sense unknown, because the people sinned, being ignorant of the just character of the known God, and imagined that they would not be punished by the good God. Wherefore, after he said, ‘But Israel hath not known me, and the people hath not understood me,’ he adds, ‘Alas! a sinful nation, a people laden with sins.’ For, not being afraid, in consequence of their ignorance of His justice, as I said, they became laden with sins, supposing that He was merely good, and would not therefore punish them for their sins.
“And some sinned thus, on account of imagining that there would be no judgment[1398] because of His goodness. But others took an opposite course. For, supposing the expressions of the Scriptures which are against God, and are unjust and false, to be true, they did not know His real divinity and power. Therefore, in the belief that He was ignorant and rejoiced in murder, and let off the wicked in consequence of the gifts of sacrifices; yea, moreover, that He deceived and spake falsely, and did every thing that is unjust, they themselves did things like to what their God did, and thus sinning, asserted that they were acting piously. Wherefore it was impossible for them to change to the better, and when warned they took no heed. For they were not afraid, since they became like their God through such actions.
“But one might with good reason maintain that it was with reference to those who thought Him to be such that the statement was made, ‘No one knoweth the Father but the Son, as no one knoweth even the Son, but the Father.’ And reasonably. For if they had known, they would not have sinned, by trusting to the books written against God, really for the purpose of trying. But somewhere also He says, wishing to exhibit the cause of their error more distinctly to them, ‘On this account ye do err, not knowing the true things of the Scriptures, on which account ye are ignorant also of the power of God.’[1399] Wherefore every man who wishes to be saved must become, as the Teacher said, a judge of the books written to try us. For thus He spake: ‘Become experienced bankers.’ Now the need of bankers arises from the circumstance that the spurious is mixed up with the genuine.”
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