ACC ~ James 1 v23

THE NEW TESTAMENT MIRRORS PERFECTION. HILARY OF ARLES: There are two kinds of mirrors—large and small. In a small mirror you see small things—this is the Old Testament, which leads no one to perfection. But in a big mirror you see great things—this is the New Testament, because in it the fullness of perfection is seen. INTRODUCTORY TRACTATE ON THE LETTER OF JAMES.

CONFIRM THE WORD. ANDREAS: If someone is a hearer of the word only and does not confirm it by his deeds, he will lose the word as well, for it will slip through his fingers and disappear. CATENA.

FORGETTING THE WORD. OECUMENIUS: James here uses the common mirror as a metaphor for the intellectual mirror, but without going into details. Think of him as saying that someone who hears a sermon but does not put any of it into practice is like a man who having seen himself in the mirror immediately forgets what he looked like. COMMENTARY ON JAMES.

Jas