Πρὸς τοὺς ἐν λόγῳ κομψοὺς ὁ λόγος. καὶ ἵνα ἀπὸ
τῆς γραφῆς ἄρξωμαι· Ἴδου ἐγὼ ἐπὶ σὲ τὴν ὑβρίστριαν.
εἰσὶ γάρ, εἰσί τινες, οἱ τὴν ἀκοὴν προσκνώμενοι καὶ τὴν
γλῶσσαν, ἤδη δέ, ὡς ὁρῶ, καὶ τὴν χεῖρα, τοῖς ἡμετέροις
λόγοις, καὶ χαίροντες ταῖς βεβήλοις κενοφωνίαις, καὶ 
ἀντιθέσεσι τῆς ψευδωνύμου γνώσεως, καὶ ταῖς εἰς οὐδὲν
χρήσιμον φερούσαις λογομαχίαις. οὕτω γὰρ ὁ Παῦλος
 1. 2 ὑβρίστριαν] + καὶ παίδευσιν καὶ ἀκοὴν καὶ διάνοιαν bEl || 4 om τοις
ημ...χαιροωτεσ acd 
 1. Gr. complains of the verbosity
and contentiousness of his opponents,
unlike the brevity of St Paul. He
wishes they would turn their attention
to practice. 
 I. πρὸς τοὺς ἐν λόγῳ κομψοὺς ὁ
λόγος] The Eunomians prided themselves
on their dialectical skill. Πρὸς
is not ‘ ’ but ‘ addressed to ’ ;
‘ My argument is addressed to those
who are smart in ’ There
is a shade of sinister suggestion in
the word κομψός. 
 ib. ἀπὸ τῆς γρ.] It is not Gr.'s
usual custom to take a text. 
 2. ἰδοὺ κτλ.] Jer. 1 31 (LXX.
xxvii 31 ). The words added in b and
by Elias appear to be interpretative
addition. But the omission of
words clearly required by the sense
a little below throws some doubt on
the authority of acd when they omit
these here. If genuine, the accusatives
express the departments in
which the Eunomians display their
ὕβρις: ‘ Ο thou most proud — in
training, and hearing, and dis-
positon’ The · ἀκοὴν anticipates
the following reference to St ’s
words. 
 3. τ. ἅκ. προσκνώμενοι] 2 Tim.
iv 3. St ’s word is κνηθόμενοι.
Gr. instinctively substitutes προσκν.
to prepare more easily for τοῖς ἡμ.
λόγοις, ‘ itching for our ’ Of
course they ‘ itch ’ for them in a
different sense from those of whom
St Ρ. speaks. 
 4. τ. χεῖρα] They are prepared
to fight. Elias understands it of
itching to write against Gr. 
 5.βεβ. κενοφ. κτλ.] Ι Tim. vi
20; 2 Tim. ii 16 ; cf. 1 Tim. vi 4 and
2 Tim. ii 14. 

 
καλεῖ πᾶν τὸ ἐν λόγῳ περιττὸν καὶ περίεργον, ὁ τοῦ
συντετμημένου λόγου κῆρυξ καὶ βεβαιωτής, ὁ τῶν ἁλιέων
μαθητὴς καὶ διδάσκαλος. οὗτοι δέ, περὶ ὧν ὁ λόγος,
εἴθε μέν, ὥσπερ τὴν γλῶσσαν εὔστροφον ἔχουσι καὶ δεινὴν
 ἐπιθέσθαι λόγοις εὐγενεστέροις τε καὶ δοκιμωτέροις, οὕτω
τι καὶ περὶ τὰς πράξεις ἠσχολοῦντο μικρὸν γοῦν, καὶ ἴσως
ἧττον ἂν ἦσαν σοφισταὶ καὶ κυβισταὶ λόγων ἄτοποι καὶ
παράδοξοι, ἵν εἴπω τι καὶ γελοίως περὶ γελοίου πράγματος.