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.