Shepherd of Hermas: Mandates 8

1_We ought to shun that which is evil, and do that which is good._ “I told you,” said he, “that the creatures of God are double, for restraint also is double; for in some cases restraint has to be exercised, in others there is no need of restraint.” “Make known to me, sir,” say I, “in what cases restraint has to be exercised, and in what cases it has not.” “Restrain yourself in regard to evil, and do it not; but exercise no restraint in regard to good, but do it. For if you exercise restraint in the doing of good, you will commit a great sin; but if you exercise restraint, so as not to do that which is evil, you are practising great righteousness. Restrain yourself, therefore, from all iniquity, and do that which is good.” “What, sir,” say I, “are the evil deeds from which we must restrain ourselves?” “Hear,” says he: “from adultery and fornication, from unlawful revelling, from wicked luxury, from indulgence in many kinds of food and the extravagance of riches, and from boastfulness, and haughtiness, and insolence, and lies, and backbiting, and hypocrisy, from the remembrance of wrong, and from all slander. These are the deeds that are most wicked in the life of men. From all these deeds, therefore, the servant of God must restrain himself. For he who does not restrain himself from these, cannot live to God. Listen, then, to the deeds that accompany these.” “Are there, sir,” said I, “any other evil deeds?” “There are,” says he; “and many of them, too, from which the servant of God must restrain himself—theft, lying, robbery, false witness, overreaching, wicked lust, deceit, vainglory, boastfulness, and all other vices like to these.” “Do you not think that these are really wicked?” “Exceedingly wicked in the servants of God. From all of these the servant of God must restrain himself. Restrain yourself, then, from all these, that you may live to God, and you will be enrolled amongst those who restrain themselves in regard to these matters. These, then, are the things from which you must restrain yourself. “But listen,” says he, “to the things in regard to which you have not to exercise self-restraint, but which you ought to do. Restrain not yourself in regard to that which is good, but do it.” “And tell me, sir,” say I, “the nature of the good deeds, that I may walk in them and wait on them, so that doing them I can be saved.” “Listen,” says he, “to the good deeds which you ought to do, and in regard to which there is no self-restraint requisite. First of all there is faith, then fear of the Lord, love, concord, words of righteousness, truth, patience. Than these, nothing is better in the life of men. If any one attend to these, and restrain himself not from them, blessed is he in his life. Then there are the following attendant on these: helping widows, looking after orphans and the needy, rescuing the servants of God from necessities, the being hospitable—for in hospitality good-doing finds a field—never opposing any one, the being quiet, having fewer needs than all men, reverencing the aged, practising righteousness, watching the brotherhood, bearing insolence, being long-suffering, encouraging those who are sick in soul, not casting those who have fallen into sin from the faith, but turning them back and restoring them to peace of mind, admonishing sinners, not oppressing debtors and the needy, and if there are any other actions like these. Do these seem to you good?” says he. “For what, sir,” say I, “is better than these?” “Walk then in them,” says he, “and restrain not yourself from them, and you will live to God. Keep, therefore, this commandment. If you do good, and restrain not yourself from it, you will live to God. All who act thus will live to God. And, again, if you refuse to do evil, and restrain yourself from it, you will live to God. And all will live to God who keep these commandments, and walk in them.”

Ἔντολὴ η΄. Εἶπόν σοι, φησίν, ὅτι τὰ κτίσματα τοῦ Θεοῦ διπλᾶ ἐστί: καὶ γὰρ ἡ ἐγκράτεια διπλῆ ἐστίν. ἐπί τινων γὰρ δεῖ ἐγκρα- τεύεσθαι, ἐπί τινων δὲ οὐ δεῖ. Γνώρισόν μοι, φημί, κύριε, ἐπὶ τίνων δεῖ ἐγκρατεύεσθαι, ἐπὶ τίνων δὲ οὐ δεῖ. “Axove, φησί. τὸ πονηρὸν ἐγκρατεύου, καὶ μὴ ποίει αὐτό" τὸ δὲ ἀγαθὸν μὴ ἐγκρατεύον, ἀλλὰ ποίει αὐτός. ἐὰν γὰρ ἐγκρα- τεύσῃ τὸ ἀγαθὸν μὴ ποιεῖν, ἁμαρτίαν μεγάλην ἐργάζῃ" ἐὰν] δὲ ἐγκρατεύσῃ τὸ πονηρὸν μὴ ποιεῖν, δικαιοσύνην μεγάλην ἐργάζῃ. ἐγκράτευσαι οὖν ἀπὸ πονηρίας πάσης ἐργαζόμενος τὸ ἀγαθόν. ἸΠοταπαί, φημί, κύριε, εἰσὶν αἱ πονηρίαι ἀφ᾽ ὧν [ἡμᾶς] δεῖ ἐγκρατεύεσθαι; “Axove, φησίν ἀπὸ 3 ἀφέξη) ἀφέξει A. 4.ἐργάσῃ sec.] ἐργάζῃ A. 2 γὰρ... ἐργάζῃ" dar] μοιχείας καὶ πορνείας, ἀπὸ μεθύσματος ἀνομίας, ἀπὸ τρυφῆς πονηρᾶς, ἀπὸ ἐδεσμάτων πολλῶν καὶ πολυτελείας πλούτου καὶ καυχήσεως καὶ ὑψηλοφροσύνης καὶ ὑπερηφανίας, καὶ ἀπὸ ψεύσματος καὶ καταλαλίας καὶ ὑποκρίσεως [καὶ] μνησι- κακίας καὶ πάσης βλασφημίας. ταῦτα τὰ épya πάντων πονηρότατά εἶσιν ἐν τῇ ζωῇ τῶν ἀνθρώπων. ἀπὸ τούτων οὖν τῶν ἔργων δεῖ ὀγκρατεύεσθαι τὸν δοῦλον τοῦ Θεοῦ. ὁ γὰρ μὴ ἐγκρατευόμενος ἀπὸ τούτων οὐ δύναται ζῆσαι τῷ Θεῷ. ἄκουε οὖν καὶ τὰ ἀκόλουθα τούτων. “Ets γάρ, φημί, κύριε, πονηρὰ ἔργα ἐστί; Καί γε πολλά, φησίν, ὄστεν ad’ ὧν δεῖ τὸν δοῦλον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐγκρατεύεσθαι κλέμμα, ψεῦδος, ἀποστέρησις, ψευδομαρτυρία, πλεονεξία, ἐπιθυμία πονηρά, ἀπάτη, κενοδοξία, ἀλαζονεία, καὶ ὅσα τούτοις ὅμοιά εἰσιν. οὐ δοκεῖ cos ταῦτα πονηρὰ εἶναι, καὶ λίαν πονηρά, [φησί,] τοῖς δούλοις τοῦ Θεοῦ; τούτων πάντων δεῖ éyxpa- τεύεσθαι τὸν δουλεύοντα τῷ Θεῷ. ἐγκράτέευσαι οὖν ἀπὸ πάντων τούτων, ἵνα ζήσῃ τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ ἐγγραφήσῃ μετὰ τῶν ἐγκρατευομένων αὐτά. ad ὧν μὲν οὖν δεῖ σε ἐγκρατεύεσθαι, ταῦτά ἐστιν. ἃ δὲ δεῖ σε μὴ ἐγκρατεύεσθα:, φησίν, ἀλλὰ ποιεῖν, ἄκουε. τὸ ἀγαθὸν μὴ ἀγκρατεύου, ἀλλὰ ποίει αὐτό. Καὶ τῶν ἀγαθῶν μοι, φημί, κύριε, δήλωσον τὴν δύναμιν, ἵνα rropevOw ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ δουλεύσω αὐτοῖς, ἵνα ἐργασάμενος αὐτὰ δυνηθῶ σωθῆναι. “Axove, φησί, καὶ τῶν ἀγαθῶν τὰ ἔργα, ἅ σε δεῖ ἐργάζεσθαι καὶ μὴ ἐγκρατεύεσθαι. πρῶτον πάντων πίστις, φόβος Κυρίου, ἀγάπη, ὁμόνοια, ῥήματα δικαιοσύνης, ἀλήθεια, ὑπομονή τούτων ἀγαθώτερον οὐδέν ἐστιν ἐν τῇ ζωῇ τῶν ἀνθρώπων. ταῦτα ἐάν τις φυλάσσῃ καὶ μὴ ἐγκρατεύηται ἀπ᾿ αὐτῶν, μακάριος γίνεται ἐν τῇ ζωῇ αὐτοῦ. εἶτα τούτων τὰ ἀκόλουθα ἄκουσον: χήραις ὑπηρετεῖν, ὀρφανοὺς καὶ ὑστερουμένους ἐπισκέπτεσθαι, ἐξ ἀνωγκῶν λντροῦσθαι τοὺς δούλους τοῦ Θεοῦ, φιλόξενον εἶναι (ἐν γὰρ τῇ φιλοξενίᾳ εὑρίσκεται ἀγαθοποίησίς ποτε), μηδενὶ ἀντιτάσσεσθαε, ἡσύχιον εἶναι, ἐνδεέστερον γίνεσθαι πάντων ἀνθρώπων, πρεσβύτας σέβεσθαι, δικαιοσύνην ἀσκεῖν, abded- φότητα συντηρεῖν, ὕβριν ὑποφέρειν, μακρόθυμον εἶναι, μνησικακίαν μὴ ἔχειν, κάμνοντας τῇ ψυχῇ παρακαλεῖν, ἐσκανδαλισμένους ἀπὸ τῆς πίστεως μὴ ἀποβάλλεσθαι ἀλλ᾽ ἐπιστρέφειν καὶ εὐθύμους ποιεῖν, ἁμαρτάνοντας νουθετεῖν, χρεώστας μὴ θλίβειν ἐνδεεῖς, καὶ εἴ τινα τούτοις ὅμοιά ἐστι. δοκεῖ σοι, φησί, ταῦτα ἀγαθὰ εἶναι; Τί γάρ, φημί, κύριε, τούτων ἀγαθώτερον ; Tlopevouv οὖν, φησίν, ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ μὴ ἐγκρατεύον aw αὐτῶν, καὶ ζήσῃ τῷ Θεῷ. φύλασσε οὖν τὴν ἐντολὴν ταύτην ἐὰν τὸ ἀγαθὸν ποιῆς καὶ μὴ ἐγκρατεύσῃ ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ, ζήσῃ τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ πάντες ζήσονταε τῷ Θεῷ οἱ οὕτω ποιοῦντες. καὶ πάλιν ἐὰν τὸ πονηρὸν μὴ ποιῇς καὶ ἐγκρατεύσῃ ax’ αὐτοῦ, ζήσῃ τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ πάντες ζήσονταε τῷ Θεῷ ὅσοι ἐὰν ταύτας τὰς ἐντολὰς φυλάξωσι καὶ πορευθῶσιν ἐν αὐταῖς.