Letter 130: On the Arians and Eunomians.

Many people, not only those who compete in worldly contests but also those who attempt to interpret the divine Scriptures, do not make themselves equally attentive listeners. Some hear with the ears of the body alone, while others hear with the ears of the soul. The former grasp the words; the latter grasp the meaning. Strive to be among the latter, for the letter without the spirit is a body without breath.

ΡΑ'. – ΥΠΑΤΙΟ. Τί κοινὸν παρέχειν ἑαυτὸν, καὶ τὶ ἴσον · καὶ τὶ ἀμφισβητεῖν, καὶ μὴ φιλονεικεῖν· καὶ τὶ εὐφραίνεσθαι· καὶ τί ἥδεσθαι. Πολλοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, οὐ μόνον τῶν ἐν τοῖς ἔξωθεν ἀγῶσιν ἁμιλλωμένων, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν τὰς θείας ἑρμηνεύειν πειρωμένων Γραφὰς (55), οὐχ ὁμοίως ἀκροατὰς παρέχοντες ἑαυτοὺς, πολλῶν καὶ ποικίλων κακῶν αἴτιοι γίνονται· οἱ μὲν γὰρ τῆς ἀληθείας μηδὲν φροντίζοντες, πρὸς χάριν τῶν λεγόντων κροτοῦσιν (34), ὥσπερ ἡνιόχων ἡ ὀρχηστῶν τυγχάνοντες ἐρασταί· οἱ δὲ πρὸς ἔχθραν συρίττουσι· καὶ ταῦτα πολλάκις μηδ' ἀκριβῶς ἐπακούσαντες τῶν λεγομένων, μήτι γε νοήσαντες· καὶ ἐκ τούτων (35) πολλάκις τῶν οὐ σοφῶν, οὐδὲ καλῶς λεγόντων τινές· τυχὸν δὲ καὶ κακῶς φραζόντων· οὐ τὴν τῶν ἀκουόντων εὔνοιαν, οὐ τὴν τῶν πρὸς αὐτοὺς φιλίαν, οὐ τὴν Γ΄. - ΝΕΙΛΩ. Καὶ ἠπείλει πάλαι τοῖς Ἑβραίοις ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ τὰ χρηστὰ ἐπηγγέλλετο. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ μόνον ἀπειλῶν, καὶ τὰ δεινὰ προλέγων, εἰς ἀπόγνωσιν τῶν κρειττόνων ερεθίζει, καὶ παντάπασι τοὺς ἀκροωμένους τοῖς χεί-ροσιν ἐκδοῦναι ἑαυτοὺς ἀναπείθει· ἡ δὲ ἀγαθὴ ἐλπὶς νεύει (2), καὶ πρὸς τὸ κρείττον παρασκευάζει. Ἐν-τεῦθεν πανταχοῦ ἀπειλῶν ἑαὐτοῖς τὴν εἰς Βαβυλῶνα αἰχμαλωσίαν· καὶ τὴν ἐπάνοδον προύλεγον. ΡΜΖ΄. – ΘΕΟΔΩΡΩ Μὴ βιάζεσθαι δοῦναι τὸν λόγον.