by the discipline of the flock and the staff of the herdsman. Surely a man betrays his ignorance if he prefer unlettered hearers! What goldsmith does not try to procure the very purest gold? What shoemaker does not try to obtain the finest leather? Let us likewise be children of light and wise in our generation, and let us pray that schools may supply us with as many educated hearers as possible.
17. And suffer not envy to enter into your hearts, O servants of the living God, but rather lead others to that charity that envies not, seeks not its own advantage, and thinks no evil. Let envious thoughts arise if others originate schemes that have never entered into your minds, but be content to learn from others; in order that (as Gregory says) all, being full of faith, may praise God, and may be instrumental in spreading the truth.
18. But to you, in particular, do I direct my prayers, ye rulers and magistrates, who, in God’s name, preside over human affairs. To you, as to Noah, it has been entrusted from on high to build an ark for the preservation of the Word of God in this terrible deluge of disasters (Gen. vi.) It is your duty, as it was that of the princes of old, to aid in the building of the sanctuary, and to see that no obstacle be placed in the way of the artificers whom the Lord has filled with His Spirit and has taught to devise ingenious plans (Exod. xxxvi.) You, like David and Solomon, should summon architects to build the temple of the Lord, and should supply them with the necessary materials (1 Kings vi.; 1 Chron. xxix.) You are those centurions whom Christ will love if you have loved His little ones, and erected schools for them (Luke vii. 5).
19. For Christ’s sake, for the sake of our children’s salvation, I beseech you to listen to me. This is a weighty question, and concerns the glory of God and the salvation of mankind. Well do I know how much you love your country. If a man came to you and promised to tell you how all your towns might be fortified at a slight cost, how all your youths might be instructed in the art of warfare, how your rivers might be made navigable and be filled
