from the east in Jerusalem, saying:Where is the one born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him. O the paradoxical wonder, O the awesome propitiation, O the incomprehensible mystery. In Bethlehem of Judea the Lord Christ is born, and before all he is seen by Magi; in the days of Herod, and the one without beginning takes a beginning of days; in a cave he is born, and with his hand he holds all things; in a manger he is placed, and he becomes the food of all; he is wrapped in swaddling clothes, and he grants release from sins; from a womb he comes forth, and he keeps his mother a virgin; into Egypt he flees, and to heaven he ascends; as a child he is carried, and as a god he is known; Archelaus he bends, and the devil he strikes; he calls magi, and he repels Jews; he feeds dogs, and the children he strikes. But hearing these things, do not condemn the Lord Christ for lack of compassion, but the indifference of the Jews; for the order was reversed not by nature but by disposition, and the dogs became children, and the children dogs. For the title was changed, because their way of life was also altered; like a dog was the Canaanite woman licking the idolatrous meat-markets, and what a daughter she became by loving Christ and the martyric types of the apostles. For when she adhered to Hellenism, then the Lord said to her reproachfully: It is not right to take the children's bread and give it to the little dogs; but when she was added to Christianity, then she heard with praise:Be of good cheer, daughter, let it be done for you as you wish. And that the children of the Jews were called dogs instead of children, you should not need to learn from me, but from the blessed Paul who was born from a dog:Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers. And that the Hellenic dogs, rather than the Jewish children, both recognized and ran to the Lord Christ, take the proof from what has just been read. The magi were gentiles and the first-fruits of evils, but nevertheless, as soon as they saw the star in the east, they immediately ran down to Jerusalem and endured hardship, in order to see the one who said:Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.And not only did they endure hardships, but they also brought gifts to the Lord Christ, not yet having read the one who said:You shall not appear before your God empty.Behold the faith of the magi; the manger did not scandalize them, the cave did not lead them into disbelief, they did not say to themselves, shaken by the word of doubt: Is this the king of the Jews? From where is this? Instead of purple, he is clothed in a rag; instead of a gold-covered couch, he is cast on the ground; instead of royal courts, he has occupied a hyena's cave.Where is the multitude of bodyguards?Where is the attendance of shield-bearers?Where is the fragrance of joy?No one sits beside him, only one woman attends him, and she seems to be afraid lest the newborn be discovered.He has none of the necessities; we see nothing royal in him; this is the offspring of some poor person. Let us go out, let us return, let us look at the star with precision, lest we worship one for another and lose the profit. But the magi neither said nor thought any of these things; but they only saw the Lord, and immediately they recognized and worshipped and offered gifts. For what persuaded them was not the poverty of the cave, but the richness of the star; the humble sight of the Lord did not lead them to disbelief, but the radiance of the divinity shining around him persuaded them.But some will surely say: What then? Could this prophecy not have been made by Jews, but by gentile magi?Why then does the God of all say he made this prophecy through magi?Why? Listen with understanding.For the condemnation of the Jews; for since they only heard a prophet concerning the

ἀνατολῶν ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις λέγοντες·Ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ τεχθεὶς βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων; Εἴδομεν γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὸν ἀστέρα ἐν τῇ ἀνατολῇ καὶ ἤλθομεν προσκυνῆσαι αὐτῷ. Ὢ τοῦ παραδόξου θαύματος, ὢ τοῦ φρικτοῦ ἱλαστηρίου, ὢ τοῦ ἀκαταλήπτου μυστηρίου. ἘνΒηθλεὲμ τῆς Ἰουδαίας ὁ δεσπότηςΧριστὸς γεννᾶται,καὶ πρὸ πάντων ὑπὸ μάγων ὁρᾶται· ἐν ἡμέραις Ἡρῴδου, καὶ ἀρχὴν ἡμερῶν λαμβάνει ὁ ἄναρχος· ἐν σπηλαίῳ τίκτεται, καὶ τῇ χειρὶ τὰ πάντα βαστάζει· ἐν φάτνῃ τίθεται, καὶ τροφὴ πάντων γίνεται· σπαργάνοις κατειλεῖται, καὶ λύσιν ἁμαρτιῶν δωρεῖται· ἐκ μήτρας προέρχεται, καὶ τὴν μητέρα παρθένον τηρεῖ· εἰςΑἴγυπτον φεύγει, καὶ εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἀνάγει· ὡς παιδίον βαστάζεται, καὶ ὡς θεὸς γνωρίζεται· Ἀρχέλαον κάμπτει,καὶ τὸν διάβολον τύπτει· μάγους προσκαλεῖται, καὶ Ἰουδαίους ἀπωθεῖται· κύνας τρέφει, καὶ τὰ τέκνα τύπτει. Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα ἀκούων μὴ ἀσπλαγχνίαν τοῦ δεσπότουΧριστοῦ καταψηφίσῃ, ἀλλὰ ῥᾳθυμίαν τῶν Ἰουδαίων· ἀντεστράφη γὰρ ἡ τάξις οὐ τῇ φύσει ἀλλὰ τῇ γνώμῃ, καὶ γέγοναν οἱ κύνες τέκνα, τὰ δὲ τέκνα κύνες. Ἠμείφθη γὰρ ἡ προσηγορία, ἐπειδὴ καὶ ἠλλοιώθη ἡ πολιτεία· οἵα κύων ἡΧαναναία γυνὴ τοὺς εἰδωλικοὺς μακέλλους ἐκλείχουσα, καὶ οἵα θυγάτηρ γέγονε τὸνΧριστὸν καὶ τοὺς μαρτυρικοὺς τύπουςτῶν ἀποστόλων ἀγαπήσασα. Ὅτε μὲν γὰρ τῷ Ἑλληνισμῷ προσεῖχεν, τότε ἔλεγε πρὸς αὐτὴν ὁ κύριος ὀνειδιστικῶς·Οὐκ ἔστι καλὸν λαβεῖν τὸν ἄρτον τῶν τέκνων καὶ δοῦναι τοῖς κυναρίοις· ὅτε δὲ τῷΧριστιανισμῷ προσετέθη, τότε ἤκουσεν ἐγκωμιαστικῶς·Θάρσει, θύγατερ, γενηθήτω σοι ὡς θέλεις. Ὅτι δὲ καὶ Ἰουδαίων παῖδες ἀπὸ τέκνων κύνες προσηγορεύθησαν, μὴ παρ' ἐμοῦ δεηθήσῃ μαθεῖν, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τοῦ μακαρίου Παύλου τοῦ ἀπὸ κυνὸς γεγενημένου·Βλέπετε τοὺς κύνας, βλέπετε τοὺς κακοὺς ἐργάτας. Ὅτι δὲ μᾶλλον τῶν Ἰουδαϊκῶν τέκνων οἱ Ἑλληνικοὶ κύνες καὶ ἐπέγνωσαν καὶ ἐπέδραμον τῷ δεσπότῃΧριστῷ, ἐκ τῶν ἀρτίως ἀναγνωσθέντων λάμβανε τὴν ἀπόδειξιν. Οἱ μάγοι ἐθνικοὶ ὑπῆρχον καὶ ἀκροθήνιοι τῶν κακῶν, ἀλλ' ὅμως μόνον εἶδον τὸν ἀστέρα ἐν τῇ ἀνατολῇ, εὐθέως ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις κατέδραμον καὶ κόπον ὑπέμειναν, ἵνα θεάσωνται τὸν εἰρηκότα·∆εῦτε πρός με πάντες οἱ κοπιῶντες καὶ πεφορτισμένοι, κἀγὼ ἀναπαύσω ὑμᾶς.Καὶ οὐ μόνον κόπους ὑπέμειναν, ἀλλὰ καὶ δῶρα προσήνεγκαν τῷ δεσπότῃΧριστῷ μηδέπω ἀνεγνωκότες τὸν εἰρηκότα·Μὴ ὀφθῇς ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ σου κενός.Βλέπε μάγων πίστιν· οὐκ ἐσκανδάλισεν αὐτοὺς ἡ φάτνη, οὐκ ἤγαγεν αὐτοὺς εἰς ἀπιστίαν τὸ σπήλαιον,οὐκ εἶπον ἑαυτοῖς τῷ τῆς ἀμφιβολίας λόγῳ κλονούμενοι· Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων;Πόθεν τοῦτο; Ἀντὶ πορφύρας ῥάκκος περιβέβληται· ἀντὶ χρυσοστρώτου κλίνης εἰς τοὔδαφος ἔρριπται· ἀντὶ βασιλικῶν αὐλῶν σπήλαιον ὑαίνης κατέλαβεν.Ποῦ τῶν δορυφόρων τὸ πλῆθος;Ποῦ τῶν ὑπασπιστῶν ἡ θεραπεία;Ποῦ τῆς χαρμοσύνης ἡ εὐωδία;Οὐδεὶς αὐτῷ παρακαθέζεται, μία μόνη γυνὴ παρέπεται καὶ αὐτὴ δεδοίκουσα φαίνεται μὴ γνωσθῇ ὁ τεχθείς.Οὐδὲν τῶν ἐπιτηδείων ἔχει· οὐδὲν βασιλικὸν ὁρῶμεν ἐν αὐτῷ· πτωχοῦ τινός ἐστι τοῦτο τὸ γέννημα. Ἐξέλθωμεν, ὑποστρέψωμεν, τὸν ἀστέρα μετὰ ἀκριβείας ἴδωμεν, μὴ ἄλλον ἀντ' ἄλλου προσκυνήσωμεν καὶ τὸ κέρδος ἀπολέσωμεν. Ἀλλ' οὐδὲν τούτων οἱ μάγοι οὔτε εἶπον οὔτε ἐνενόησαν· μόνον δὲ εἶδον τὸν δεσπότην, εὐθέως καὶ ἐπέγνωσαν καὶ προσεκύνησαν καὶ δῶρα προσεκόμισαν. Ἔπειθε γὰρ αὐτοὺς οὐχ ἡ πτωχότης τοῦ σπηλαίου,ἀλλ' ἡ τοῦ ἀστέρος πλουσιότης· οὐκ ἤγαγεν αὐτοὺς εἰς ἀπιστίαν ἡ εὐτελὴς τοῦ κυρίου τῆς ὁράσεως θέα, ἀλλ' ἔπειθεν αὐτοὺς ἡ περιαστράπτουσα αὐτὸν τῆς θεότητος αἴγλη.Ἐροῦσι δὲ πάντως τινές· Τί οὖν; Ἡ προφητεία αὕτη οὐκ ἠδύνατο ὑπὸ Ἰουδαίων γενέσθαι, ἀλλ' ὑπὸ ἐθνικῶν μάγων;∆ιὰ τί οὖν φησιν ὁ τῶν ὅλων θεὸς διὰ μάγων τὴν προφητείαν ταύτην ἐποιήσατο;∆ιὰ τί; Ἄκουε συνετῶς.Πρὸς κατάκρισιν τῶν Ἰουδαίων· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ μόνον ἤκουον προφήτου περὶ τῆς