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I. The man who fears God seeks diligently in Holy Scripture for a
knowledge of His will. And when he has become meek through piety, so
as to have no love of strife; when furnished also with a knowledge of
languages, so as not to be stopped by unknown words and forms of
speech, and with the knowledge of certain necessary objects, so as not
to be ignorant of the force and nature of those which are used
figuratively; and assisted, besides, by accuracy in the texts, which
has been secured by skill and care in the matter of correction; when
thus prepared, let him proceed to the examination and solution of the
ambiguities of Scripture. And that he may not be led astray by
ambiguous signs, so far as I can give him instruction (it may
happen, however, that either from the greatness of his intellect, or
the greater clearness of the light he enjoys, he shall laugh at the
methods I am going to point out as childish), but yet, as I was
going to say, so far as I can give instruction, let him who is in
such a state of mind that he can be instructed by me know, that the
ambiguity of Scripture lies either in proper words or in metaphorical,
classes which I have already described in the second book.
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