Seeing Clearly

Ὑποκριτά, ἔκβαλε πρῶτον τὴν δοκόν ἐκ τοῦ ὀφθαλμοῦ σοῦ, καὶ τότε διαβλέψεις ἐκβαλεῖν τὸ κάρφος ἐκ τοῦ ὀφθαλμοῦ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου Ἔκβαλε πρῶτον τὴν δοκόν ἐκ τοῦ ὀφθαλμοῦ σοῦ τουέστι σαυτὸν ἐπίδειξον καθαρὸν τῶν μεγάλων ἁμαρτημάτων, καὶ τότε σύμβουλος ἔσῃ τῷ πταίοντι μικρόν. Εἰ δ' οὐκ ἐκβάλλεις τὴν δοκὸν κατακρίνεις δὲ τὸν ἔχοντα τὸ κάρφος, εὐλόγως ἀκούσῃ τὸ ἀποστολικόν· ὁ λέγων μὴ μοιχεύειν μοιχεύεις; ὁ λέγων μὴ κλέπτειν, κλέπτεις; Oὐκοῦν ἑαυτῷ μὲν ἔσται διδάσκαλος ὁ σοφός, ἕτερον δὲ οὐ κατακρινεῖ. Tοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ὁ νόμος διὰ Μωσέως παραγγέλλει λέγων· Πρόσεχε σεαυτῷ. Σεαυτῷ φησιν, οὐχ ἑτέρῳ. Tὸ δὲ πρόσεχε ἀντὶ τοῦ Παραβλέπου τὰ κατὰ σαυτόν· ὁ μὲν δὴ συνετὸς οὕτως ἑαυτὸν παιδαγωγήσει οὐκ εἰς τὰ ἑτέρων ἀποβλέπων πταίσματα, ἀλλὰ τὰ οἰκεῖα περιεργαζόμενος καὶ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν μεταγινώσκων Θεῷ. Eἰσὶ δέ τινες οἵτινες τὰ μὲν ἑαυτῶν οὐχ ὁρῶσιν ὀλισθήματα, ἐπὶ δὲ τοῖς ἑτέρων προσκόμμασι γελῶσι πλατύ, οἳ χαμαὶ κείμενοι τοὺς ἑστῶτας ἐπιχλευάζουσιν, οἳ ἀπὸ ποδῶν ἕως κε φαλῆς βορβόρῳ κατεχρισμένοι τοὺς ὀλίγον ἔχοντας ῥύπον καταδικάζουσιν. Λέγουσι γὰρ ἔσθ' ὅτε περί τινος· ὁ δεῖνα σκληρός, ἀπάνθρωπος, αἰσχροκερδής, φιλάργυρος, ὠμός, ἀνόητος, εἶτα ταῦτα περιτιθέντες ἑτέροις οὐκ αἰσθάνονται τὸν ἑαυτῶν ζωγραφοῦντες τρόπον. Ὅσην δὲ ζημίαν ἔχει τὸ κατακρίνειν ἑτέρους, διὰ τοῦ ἐξουθενοῦντος τὸν τελώνην Φαρισαίου μεμαθήκαμεν. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐξὴγησις Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον Εὐάγγελιον Source: Migne PG 72.386b-c

Hypocrite, first take the plank from your own eye, and then you shall see to take the speck from your brother's eye. 1 'First take the plank from your own eye,' that is, show yourself clean of grave sins, and then you may give counsel concerning minor mistakes. But if you do not take out the plank and you condemn one who has a speck, the Apostle speaks well of you: 'You who say do not commit adultery, are you an adulterer? And you who preach against theft, are you a thief?' 2 Therefore he who shall be a wise teacher of himself, does not condemn another. And this is proclaimed by the law of Moses, when it says: 'Look to yourself.' 3 'To yourself', he says, not to another. And he sets down the 'Look to' to be toward yourself. He who understands shall attend to himself, not looking on the errors of others, but being concerned with his own, and being penitent for them before God. There are some who, not seeing their own falls, laugh long at the stumbling of others, who when others fall in mud, stand by jeering, and so they who are covered from head to foot in filth condemn those who have a little mud on them. For when they say of someone, 'Here is a hard man, inhuman, greedy for gain, a lover of money, cruel, unthinking,' attributing these things to others, they are not aware that they are painting the image of their own conduct. How great the ruin this condemning of others brings, we learn from the Pharisee's contempt of the Publican. 4 Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Fragment 1 Mt 7.5 2 Rom 2.21 3 Deut 27.9 4 Lk 18.10-14