And so we read “ye shall eat the old and older yet, but also bear out the old from the face of the new” (Lev. 26:10). The meaning is this. We must not indeed reject any learning that has grown grey through time, nay, we should make it our aim to read the writings of the sages and listen to proverbs and old-world stories from the lips of those who know antiquity, and ever seek for knowledge about the men and deeds of old. For truly it is sweet to leave nothing unknown. Yet when God causes the young shoots of self-inspired wisdom to spring up within the soul, the knowledge that comes from teaching must straightway be abolished and swept off. Ay, even of itself it will subside and ebb away. God’s scholar, God’s pupil, God’s disciple, call him by whatever name you will, cannot any more suffer the guidance of men.
On the Sacrifices of Abel and Cain 23
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