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daring those things, or rather, even much more lawless things than those; for they drive away from all sides those leading men to our philosophy, and with many a threat they forbid them entirely from speaking out, or ever teaching any man any such thing. Upon hearing this, I therefore cried out at once, and I kept asking the one who told me if he was not joking in saying these things. But he said, "Away with the thought! For I would never joke about these things, nor would I even speak them, or fabricate such things in my speech, which I would have paid a great price, and often prayed, not to have received even now that it has happened, even by hearing alone." Then indeed, groaning more bitterly, I said, "Truly, these things are so much more unholy than the things dared by Mithridates and all those men, by as much as this temple is much more august and holier than that one. But who, tell me, and from where are those who have dared these things? and why, and for 47.321 what cause, and with what in view do they cast stones on high, and hurl their arrows at heaven, and make war on the God of peace? For Sameas and the Pharathaeans and the rulers of the Assyrians and all those men were barbarians, as one can see even from their very names, and they lived far from the Jewish polity, and dwelling near them, they did not wish to see the people growing; for they thought that their power was henceforth overshadowed by their own authority. But these men, with what liberty of theirs being diminished, with what security being cut off, with which of the rulers cooperating with them, have dared these things? For those men had the kings of the Persians wanting the same things as them; but our rulers, as I persuade myself, both desire and pray for the opposite of these things. Whence also I am filled with great perplexity, that while the emperors are living in piety, you say such things are dared in the midst of the cities." But he says, "And you might learn what is even more paradoxical than this, that those who do these things both wish to be pious, and call themselves Christians, and many of them are also of those already initiated; and one of these very men, with much of the devil breathing into him, dared to say through that defiled tongue that he would even apostatize from the faith and sacrifice to demons; for seeing free and noble men, who are able to live in luxury, being led to this harsh life, he felt choked. When I heard these things, I was struck a most grievous blow, and conjecturing how many evils would come from this, I mourned for the whole inhabited world, and said to God: "Take my soul from me, and lead me out of my distresses, and release me from this fatal life, and transfer me to that place where no one else will say any such thing, nor will I hear it. For I know that for one departing from here the outer darkness will follow, where there is much weeping and gnashing of teeth; but it is more pleasant for me to hear the gnashing of teeth than words that sound like these." And when he saw me mourning vehemently, he said, "But now is not the time for these things; for indeed you will never be able to win back with these tears those who are lost and perishing; for I think the terrible thing will not cease. But we must see how we might extinguish the fire, and stop the plague, at least for our part; and if you would be persuaded by me at all, leaving off these laments, compose a discourse containing an exhortation for those who are sick and in sedition, for their own salvation, and for the common salvation of all men. And I, taking this book, will place it in the hands of the weary as a medicine in place of any other; for I have many friends who are sick with such things, and they will endure to go through it once and twice and many times, and I know that they will quickly be rid of the plague." I said, "You measure the things of our ability according to the measure of your love; but for my part, I have no strength in speaking, and I am ashamed to use what little I seem to have for such a subject, not so much before anyone else, but before all the Greeks, both those who are and those who will be, whom I always used to revile for the laxity of their life no less than for their doctrines, 47.322 but now I am forced to teach them our own evils. For if

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τολμῶντας ἐκείνοις, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ παρανομώτερα ἐκείνων πολλῷ· τοὺς γὰρ εἰς τὴν καθ' ἡμᾶς φιλοσοφίαν ἄγοντας πάντοθεν ἐλαύνειν, καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς ἀπειλῆς ἀπαγορεύειν καθόλου μὴ φθέγγεσθαι, μηδὲ διδάσκειν μηδένα ποτὲ ἀνθρώπων τοιοῦτον μηδέν. Ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν ἀνέκραξά τε εὐθέως ἀκούσας, καὶ τὸν εἰπόντα συνεχῶς ἀνηρώτων, εἰ μὴ παίζοι ταῦτα λέγων. Ὁ δὲ, Ἄπαγε, ἔφη· μὴ γὰρ ἄν ποτε παίζοιμι ταῦτα, μηδ' ἂν εἰπεῖν, καὶ πλάσαι τοιαῦτα τῷ λόγῳ, ἃ πολλοῦ ἂν ἐτιμησάμην, καὶ πολλάκις ηὐξάμην μηδὲ νῦν, ὅτε γέγονεν, ἐν ἀκοῇ γοῦν δέξασθαι μόνῃ. Τότε δὴ καὶ πικρότερον ἀνοιμώξας, Ὄντως, ἔφην, τῶν τῷ Μιθριδάτῃ καὶ πᾶσιν ἐκείνοις τολμηθέντων τοσούτῳ ταῦτα ἀνοσιώτερα, ὅσῳ καὶ σεμνότερος πολλῷ καὶ ἁγιώτερος ὁ ναὸς οὗτος ἐκείνου. Ἀλλὰ τίνες, εἰπέ μοι, καὶ πόθεν οἱ ταῦτα τολμήσαντες; καὶ διὰ τί, καὶ ἐκ 47.321 ποίας αἰτίας, καὶ πρὸς τί βλέποντες τοὺς λίθους εἰς τὸ ὕψος βάλλουσι, καὶ πρὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀκοντίζουσι τὰ βέλη, καὶ τῷ τῆς εἰρήνης πολεμοῦσι Θεῷ; Σαμέας μὲν γὰρ καὶ οἱ Φαραθαῖοι καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες Ἀσσυρίων καὶ πάντες ἐκεῖνοι βάρβαροί τε ἦσαν, ὡς καὶ ἀπ' αὐτῶν τῶν ὀνομάτων ἔστιν ἰδεῖν, καὶ τῆς Ἰουδαϊκῆς μακρὰν ἤσκηντο πολιτείας, καὶ οὐκ ἐβούλοντο προσοικοῦντες αὐτοῖς ἀνθρώπους αὐξομένους ὁρᾷν· τὴν γὰρ δύναμιν τὴν ἐκείνων τῇ σφῶν αὐτῶν ἐξουσίᾳ λοιπὸν ἐπισκοτεῖν ᾤοντο· οὗτοι δὲ ποίας αὐτοῖς ἐλευθερίας ἐλαττουμένης, ποίας ἐκκοπτομένης ἀδείας, τίνας τῶν κρατούντων συμπράττοντας ἔχοντες, ταῦτα ἐτόλμησαν; Ἐκεῖνοι μὲν γὰρ εἶχον τοὺς Περσῶν βασιλεῖς ταυτὰ βουλομένους αὐτοῖς· οἱ δὲ ἡμέτεροι τἀναντία τούτων, ὡς ἐμαυτὸν πείθω, καὶ ἐπιθυμοῦσι καὶ εὔχονται. Ὅθεν καὶ πολλῆς ἐμπέπλησμαι τῆς ἀπορίας, ὅτι τῶν βασιλέων ἐν εὐσεβείᾳ ζώντων, τοιαῦτα σὺ λέγεις ἐν μέσαις τολμᾶσθαι ταῖς πόλεσιν. Ὁ δέ φησιν· Ἂν καὶ τὸ τούτου παραδοξότερον μάθῃς, ὅτι καὶ οἱ ταῦτα δρῶντες εὐσεβεῖς τε εἶναι βούλονται, καὶ Χριστιανοὺς καλοῦσιν αὑτοὺς, πολλοὶ δὲ αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν ἤδη μεμυημένων εἰσί· καί τις αὐτῶν δὴ τούτων πολλοῦ τοῦ διαβόλου πνεύσαντος εἰς αὐτὸν, διὰ τῆς μιαρᾶς γλώσσης ἐκείνης ἐτόλμησεν εἰπεῖν, ὅτι καὶ τῆς πίστεως ἀποστήσεται, καὶ θύσεται δαίμοσιν· ἀποπνίγεσθαι γὰρ ὁρῶν ἀνθρώπους ἐλευθέρους καὶ εὐγενεῖς καὶ δυναμένους ἐν τρυφῇ ζῇν, ἐπὶ τὸν σκληρὸν τοῦτον ἀγομένους βίον. Ταῦτα ἀκούσας ἐγὼ ἐπλήγην τε πληγὴν χαλεπωτέραν, καὶ ὅσα ἀπὸ τούτου κακὰ στοχαζόμενος, τήν τε οἰκουμένην ἐθρήνουν ἅπασαν, καὶ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἔλεγον· Ἆρον τὴν ψυχήν μου ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἀναγκῶν μου ἐξάγαγέ με, καὶ ἀπάλλαξον τῆς ἐπικήρου ταύτης ζωῆς, καὶ πρὸς τὸν χῶρον μετάστησον ἐκεῖνον, ἔνθα τοιοῦτον οὐδὲν οὔτε ἕτερος ἐρεῖ τις, οὔτε ἀκούσομαι ἐγώ. Οἶδα μὲν γὰρ, ὅτι ἀπελθόντα ἐντεῦθεν τὸ σκότος διαδέξεται τὸ ἐξώτερον, ἔνθα πολὺς ὁ κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων· ἀλλ' ἥδιον ἐμοὶ βρυχόντων ἀκούειν ὀδόντων, ἢ τοιαῦτα ἠχούντων ῥήματα. Ἰδὼν δέ με πενθοῦντα ἐκεῖνος σφοδρῶς, Ἀλλ' οὐ τούτων, φησὶν, ὁ καιρὸς νῦν· οὐδὲ γὰρ δὴ τοὺς ἀπολωλότας καὶ ἀπολλυμένους τοῖς δάκρυσι τούτοις ἀνακτήσασθαι δυνήσῃ ποτέ· καὶ γὰρ οἶμαι μὴ στήσεσθαι τὸ δεινόν. Χρὴ δὲ ὁρᾷν ὅπως σβέσωμεν τὴν πυρὰν, καὶ στήσωμεν τὸν λοιμὸν, τό γε ἡμέτερον μέρος· καὶ εἴ γέ μοί τι πείθοιο, τῶν ὀδυρμῶν τούτων ἀφέμενος, ἔργασαι λόγον παραίνεσιν ἔχοντα τοῖς νοσοῦσι καὶ στασιάζουσι, πρός τε τὴν ἑαυτῶν, πρός τε τὴν κοινὴν ἁπάντων σωτηρίαν ἀνθρώπων. Καὶ τὸ βιβλίον ἐγὼ τοῦτο λαβὼν, ἀντ' ἄλλου τινὸς φαρμάκου ταῖς τῶν καμνόντων ἐνθήσω χερσί· καὶ γάρ εἰσί μοι τῶν τὰ τοιαῦτα νοσούντων φίλοι πολλοὶ, καὶ ἀνέξονται ἐπελθεῖν καὶ ἅπαξ καὶ δὶς καὶ πολλάκις, καὶ οἶδα ὅτι ταχέως ἀπαλλάξονται τοῦ λοιμοῦ. Σὺ μὲν, ἔφην, πρὸς τὸ μέτρον τῆς ἀγάπης καὶ τὰ τῆς δυνάμεως τῆς ἡμετέρας μετρεῖς· ἐμοὶ δὲ οὔτε πάρεστί τις λόγων ἰσχὺς, τῇ τε εἶναι δοκούσῃ χρήσασθαι εἰς ὑπόθεσιν τοιαύτην αἰσχύνομαι, ἄλλον μὲν οὐδένα τοσοῦτον, Ἕλληνας δὲ ἅπαντας, τούς τε ὄντας τούς τε ἐπιγινομένους, οὓς ἀεὶ τῶν δογμάτων οὐχ ἧττον ἐπὶ 47.322 τῇ τοῦ βίου διασύρων ῥᾳθυμίᾳ, νῦν τὰ ἡμέτερα ἀναγκάζομαι διδάξαι κακά. Εἰ γὰρ