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Barnabas (Lightfoot)

19.

1. Ἡ οὖν ὁδὸς τοῦ φωτός ἐστιν αὕτη· ἐάν τιςθέλων ὁδὸν ὁδεύειν ἐπὶ τὸν ὡρισμένον τόπον, σπεύσῃ τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῦ. ἔστιν οὖν ἡ δοθεῖσα ἡμῖνγνῶσις τοῦ περιπατεῖν ἐν αὐτῇ τοιαύτη. 2. ἀγαπήσειςτὸν ποιήσαντά σε, φοβηθήσῃ τόν σε πλάσαντα,[P. 402]()δοξάσεις τόν σε λυτρωσάμενον ἐκ θανάτου·ἔσῃ ἁπλοῦς τῇ καρδίᾳ καὶ πλούσιος τῷ πνεύματι·οὐ κολληθήσῃ μετὰ τῶν πορευομένων ἐν ὁδῷθανάτου, μισήσεις πᾶν, ὃ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀρεστὸν τῷθεῷ, μισήσεις πᾶσαν ὑπόκρισιν· οὐ μὴ ἐγκαταλίπῃςἐντολὰς κυρίου. 3. οὐχ ὑψώσεις σεαυτόν,ἔσῃ δὲ ταπεινόφρων κατὰ πάντα· οὐκ ἀρεῖς ἐπὶσεαυτὸν δόξαν. οὐ λήμψῃ βουλὴν πονηρὰν κατὰτοῦ πλησίον σου, οὐ δώσεις τῇ ψυχῇ σου θράσος. 4. οὐ πορνεύσεις, οὐ μοιχεύσεις, οὐ παιδοφθορήσεις.οὐ μή σου ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ ἐξέλθῃ ἐν ἀκαθαρσίᾳτινῶν. οὐ λήμψῃ πρόσωπον ἐλέγξαι τινὰἐπὶ παραπτώματι. ἔσῃ πραΰς, ἔσῃ ἡσύχιος, ἔσῃτρέμων τοὺς λόγους οὓς ἤκουσας. οὐ μνησικακήσειςτῷ ἀδελφῷ σου. 5. οὐ μὴ διψυχήσῃς, πότερον ἔσται¹ ἢ οὔ. οὐ μὴ λάβῃς ἐπὶ ματαίῳ τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου.ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὑπὲρ τὴν ψυχήν σου.οὐ φονεύσεις τέκνον ἐν φθορᾷ, οὐδὲ πάλινγεννηθὲν ἀποκτενεῖς. οὐ μὴ ἄρῃς τὴν χεῖρά σουἀπὸ τοῦ υἱοῦ σου ἡ ἀπὸ τῆς θυγατρός σου, ἀλλὰἀπὸ νεότητος διδάξεις φόβου θεοῦ. 6. οὐ μὴγένῃ ἐπιθυμῶν τὰ τοῦ πλησίον σου, οὐ μὴ γένῃπλεονέκτης. οὐδὲ κολληθήσῃ ἐκ ψυχῆς σου μετὰὑψηλῶν, ἀλλὰ μετὰ ταπεινῶν καὶ δικαίων ἀναστραφήσῃ.τὰ συμβαίνοντά σοι ἐνεργήματα ὡςἀγαθὰ προσδέξῃ, εἰδώς, ὅτι ἄνευ θεοῦ οὐδὲνγίνεται. 7. οὐκ ἔσῃ διγνώμων οὐδὲ γλωσσώδης,² [P. 404]()ὑποταγήσῃ κυρίοις ὡς τύπῳ θεοῦ ἐν αἰσχύνῃ καὶφόβῳ· οὐ μὴ ἐπιτάξῃς δούλῳ σου ἡ παιδίσκῃ ἐνπικρίᾳ, τοῖς ἐπὶ τὸν αὐτὸν θεὸν ἐλπίζουσιν, μήποτε οὐ μὴ φοβηθήσονται τὸν ἐπ̓ ἀμφοτέροιςθεόν· ὅτι οὐκ ἦλθεν κατὰ πρόσωπον καλέσαι, ἀλλ̓ἐφ̓ οὓς τὸ πνεῦμα ἡτοίμασεν. 8. κοινωνήσεις ἐνπᾶσιν τῷ πλησίον σου καὶ οὐκ ἐρεῖς ἴδια εἶναι·εἰ γὰρ ἐν τῷ ἀφθάρτῳ κοινωνοί ἐστε, πόσῳ μᾶλλονἐν τοῖς φθαρτοῖς; οὐκ ἔσῃ πρόγλωσσος· παγὶςγὰρ τὸ στόμα θανάτου. ὅσον δύνασαι, ὑπὲρ τῆςψυχῆς σου ἁγνεύσεις. 9. μὴ γίνου πρὸς μὲν τὸλαβεῖν ἐκτείνων τὰς χεῖρας, πρὸς δὲ τὸ δοῦναι³ συσπῶν. ἀγαπήσεις ὡς κόρην τοῦ ὀφθαλμοῦ σουπάντα τὸν λαλοῦντά σοι τὸν λόγον κυρίου. 10. μνησθήσῃ ἡμέραν κρίσεως νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας,καὶ ἐκζητήσεις καθ̓ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν τὰ πρόσωπατῶν ἁγίων, ἢ διὰ λόγου κοπιῶν καὶ πορευόμενοςεἰς τὸ παρακαλέσαι καὶ μελετῶν εἰς τὸ σῶσαιψυχὴν τῷ λόγῳ, ἢ διὰ τῶν χειρῶν σου ἐργάσῃεἰς λύτρωσιν ἁμαρτιῶν σου. 11. οὐ διστάσεις⁴ δοῦναι οὐδὲ διδοὺς γογγύσεις· γνώσῃ δέ, τίς ὁ τοῦμισθοῦ καλὸς ἀνταποδότης. φυλάξεις ἃ παρέλαβες,μήτε προστιθεὶς μήτε ἀφαιρῶν. εἰς τέλος⁵ μισήσεις τὸ πονηρόν. κρινεῖς δικαίως. 12. οὐποιήσεις σχίσμα, εἰρηνεύσεις δὲ μαχομένουςσυναγαγών. ἐξομολογήσῃ ἐπὶ ἁμαρτίαις σου.οὐ προσήξεις ἐπὶ προσευχὴν ἐν συνειδήσει πονηρᾷ.αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ὁδὸς, τοῦ φωτός.P. 406

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The Epistle of Barnabas

Chapter XIX.--The way of light.

The way of light, then, is as follows. If any one desires to travel to the appointed place, he must be zealous in his works. The knowledge, therefore, which is given to us for the purpose of walking in this way, is the following. Thou shalt love Him that created thee: ¹ thou shalt glorify Him that redeemed thee from death. Thou shalt be simple in heart, and rich in spirit. Thou shalt not join thyself to those who walk in the way of death. Thou shalt hate doing what is unpleasing to God: thou shalt hate all hypocrisy. Thou shalt not forsake the commandments of the Lord. Thou shalt not exalt thyself, but shalt be of a lowly mind. ² Thou shalt not take glory to thyself. Thou shalt not take evil counsel against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not allow over-boldness to enter into thy soul. ³ Thou shalt not commit fornication: thou shalt not commit adultery: thou shalt not be a corrupter of youth. Thou shalt not let the word of God issue from thy lips with any kind of impurity. ⁴ Thou shalt not accept persons when thou reprovest any one for transgression. Thou shalt be meek: thou shalt be peaceable. Thou shalt tremble at the words which thou hearest. ⁵ Thou shalt not be mindful of evil against thy brother. Thou shalt not be of doubtful mind ⁶ as to whether a thing shall be or not. Thou shalt not take the name ⁷ of the Lord in vain. Thou shalt love thy neighbour more than thine own soul. ⁸ Thou shalt not slay the child by procuring abortion; nor, again, shalt thou destroy it after it is born. Thou shalt not withdraw thy hand from thy son, or from thy daughter, but from their infancy thou shalt teach them the fear of the Lord. ⁹ Thou shalt not covet what is thy neighbour's, nor shalt thou be avaricious. Thou shalt not be joined in soul with the haughty, but thou shalt be reckoned with the righteous and lowly. Receive thou as good things the trials ¹⁰ which come upon thee. ¹¹ Thou shalt not be of double mind or of double tongue, ¹² for a double tongue is a snare of death. Thou shalt be subject ¹³ to the Lord, and to [other] masters as the image of God, with modesty and fear. Thou shalt not issue orders with bitterness to thy maidservant or thy man-servant, who trust in the same [God ¹⁴ ], lest thou shouldst not ¹⁵ reverence that God who is above both; for He came to call men not according to their outward appearance, ¹⁶ but according as the Spirit had prepared them. ¹⁷ Thou shalt communicate in all things with thy neighbour; thou shalt not call ¹⁸ things thine own; for if ye are partakers in common of things which are incorruptible, ¹⁹ how much more [should you be] of those things which are corruptible! ²⁰ Thou shalt not be hasty with thy tongue, for the mouth is a snare of death. As far as possible, thou shalt be pure in thy soul. Do not be ready to stretch forth thy hands to take, whilst thou contractest them to give. Thou shalt love, as the apple of thine eye, every one that speaketh to thee the word of the Lord. Thou shalt remember the day of judgment, night and day. Thou shalt seek out every day the faces of the saints, ²¹ either by word examining them, and going to exhort them, and meditating how to save a soul by the word, ²² or by thy hands thou shalt labour for the redemption of thy sins. Thou shalt not hesitate to give, nor murmur when thou givest. "Give to every one that asketh thee," ²³ and thou shalt know who is the good Recompenser of the reward. Thou shalt preserve what thou hast received [in charge], neither adding to it nor taking from it. To the last thou shalt hate the wicked ²⁴ [one]. ²⁵ Thou shalt judge righteously. Thou shalt not make a schism, but thou shalt pacify those that contend by bringing them together. Thou shalt confess thy sins. Thou shalt not go to prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of light. ²⁶