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bringing writings into the middle, but by confronting us with the very sins of the condemned.

4. When, therefore, to release the harsh thunderbolts against the Sodomites

He was about to, and to snatch away peoples and cities from the midst of the land through that terrible flame, when He sent the new and strange rain upon the earth, being more dreadful than the former, which the sun saw for the first and only time; since before bringing on such a punishment as this, He showed us the wickedness of those who were about to be punished, not by reading writings, as I said, but by bringing the sins themselves into the midst. For this reason, then, He sent the angels, not only that they might bring Lot out, but that they might show you their lawlessness; which indeed also happened. For when Lot received them, all besieged the house of the host, surrounding it. And an unnatural lust commanded the siege, and a desire for lawless intercourse, transgressing the limits of both age and nature. For not only young men surrounded it, but already old men too; and neither did gray hair stop the rage, nor did old age 51.341 quench the madness, but it was possible to see a shipwreck in a harbor, a lawless desire in old age. And not even here did they cease from their lawlessness, but when Lot promised to give over his own daughters, not even so did they withdraw, but pressed on, saying they would not depart until they took the men; and they threatened great evils to him who promised to give his own daughters for the sake of honoring the strangers.

Do you see how from all sides He showed the wickedness of the Sodomites, and then brought on the punishment? For so that you might not afterwards, seeing them punished, be broken by the magnitude of the disaster, nor blame God along with them, but rather condemn them along with God, by first presenting the proof of their wickedness, He has stripped away all pity for them, leading us away from sympathy toward them. This very thing He has also now done in the case of the prophet. So that you may not grieve when you see the Jews perishing from famine, He shows you their inhumanity and cruelty, and their lack of hospitality. For not only did they not receive the prophet, but they even threatened to kill him; and this is clear from God's words. For He did not say only, "Depart," but also, "Hide yourself." For flight is not sufficient for your salvation, but it is necessary also to be hidden with great care; for it is a Judaic people, a people thirsting for prophetic blood, and practiced in the slaughters of the saints; they have always stained their right hands with prophetic blood. And when He sent him out of Judea, He says, "Go and hide yourself"; but when He sent him to the widow, He says, "I will command her." Do you see how on the one hand He commands him to flee from there with great caution; on the other hand He bids him to take refuge here with great confidence and courage?

5. But not this only, but something else also has been arranged through the prophet's

presence with the widow. For so that some people afterwards, seeing Christ, after the many and unspeakable good deeds in Judea, after the countless dead whom He raised, after the blind whom He made to see again, after the lepers whom He cleansed, after the demons whom He drove out, after the wonderful and saving teaching, driven out by those who had received His benefits, but honored by those among the nations, who had neither known nor heard anything of the sort, should not wonder, be at a loss, and think the matter unbelievable; from above and long before, through His servants He teaches the Judaic ingratitude, and instructs us in the kindness of the nations. Thus, for instance, Joseph, whom he came to feed

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γράμματα παράγων εἰς μέσον, ἀλλ' αὐτοῖς ἡμᾶς τοῖς τῶν καταδίκων ἐφιστῶν ἁμαρτήμασιν.

δʹ. Ὅτε γοῦν τοὺς χαλεποὺς κεραυνοὺς κατὰ τῶν Σοδομιτῶν ἀφεῖναι

ἤμελλε, καὶ δήμους καὶ πόλεις ἀναρπάζειν ἐκ μέσου τῆς χώρας διὰ τῆς φοβερᾶς φλογὸς ἐκείνης, ὅτε τὸν καινὸν καὶ παράδοξον ὑετὸν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἠφίει, τοῦ προτέρου φρικωδέστερον ὄντα, ὃν πρῶτον καὶ μόνον ἥλιος ἐπεῖδεν· ἐπεὶ τοιοῦτον πρὶν ἢ τὴν κόλασιν ταύτην ἐπαγαγεῖν, ἔδειξε τῶν μελλόντων κολάζεσθαι τὴν πονηρίαν ἡμῖν, οὐχὶ γράμματα ἀναγινώσκων, καθάπερ ἔφην, ἀλλ' αὐτὰ εἰς μέσον παραγαγὼν τὰ ἁμαρτήματα. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο γοῦν ἔπεμψε τοὺς ἀγγέλους, οὐχ ἵνα τὸν Λὼτ ἐξαγάγωσι μόνον, ἀλλ' ἵνα σοι δείξωσι τὴν παρανομίαν ἐκείνων· ὃ δὴ καὶ γέγονεν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ αὐτοὺς ὁ Λὼτ ὑπεδέξατο, τὴν οἰκίαν ἐπολιόρκουν τοῦ ξενοδόχου πάντες, περιιστάντες κύκλῳ. Ἐστρατήγει δὲ τῆς πολιορκίας ἄτοπος ἔρως, καὶ μίξεως ἐπιθυμία παρανόμου, καὶ ἡλικίας καὶ φύσεως ὅρους ὑπερβαίνουσα. Οὐδὲ γὰρ νεανίσκοι περιέστησαν μόνον, ἀλλ' ἤδη καὶ πρεσβῦται· καὶ οὐδὲ ἡ πολιὰ τὴν λύτταν κατέπαυσεν, οὐδὲ τὸ γῆρας 51.341 τὴν μανίαν ἔσβεσεν, ἀλλ' ἦν ἰδεῖν ἐν λιμένι ναυάγιον, ἐν γήρᾳ παράνομον ἐπιθυμίαν. Καὶ οὐδὲ ἐνταῦθα ἔστησαν τῆς παρανομίας, ἀλλὰ τοῦ Λὼτ ὑποσχομένου τὰς ἑαυτοῦ παραδώσειν θυγατέρας, οὐδὲ οὕτως ἀφίσταντο, ἀλλ' ἐπέκειντο, λέγοντες μὴ πρότερον ἀποστήσεσθαι, ἕως ἂν τοὺς ἄνδρας λάβωσι· καὶ μεγάλα ἠπείλουν δώσειν κακὰ τῷ τὰς ἑαυτοῦ θυγατέρας ὑποσχομένῳ δώσειν διὰ τὴν εἰς τοὺς ξένους τιμήν.

Εἶδες πῶς πανταχόθεν ἔδειξε τῶν Σοδομιτῶν τὴν κακίαν, καὶ τότε τὴν τιμωρίαν ἐπήγαγεν; Ἵνα γὰρ μὴ μετὰ ταῦτα ὁρῶν κολαζομένους αὐτοὺς κατακλασθῇς διὰ τὸ μέγεθος τῆς συμφορᾶς, μηδὲ μετ' ἐκείνων ἐγκαλῇς τῷ Θεῷ, ἀλλὰ μετὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ κατακρίνῃς ἐκείνους, προλαβὼν τῇ τῆς πονηρίας ἀποδείξει, πάντα προανήρπασεν αὐτῶν τὸν ἔλεον, τῆς πρὸς αὐτοὺς συμπαθείας ἀπαγαγὼν ἡμᾶς. Ὃ δὴ καὶ νῦν ἐπὶ τοῦ προφήτου πεποίηκεν. Ἵνα μὴ θεωρῶν ὑπὸ τοῦ λιμοῦ διαφθειρομένους τοὺς Ἰουδαίους ἀλγῇς, δείκνυσί σοι τὴν ἀπανθρωπίαν αὐτῶν καὶ τὴν ὠμότητα, καὶ τῆς φιλοξενίας τὴν σπάνιν. Οὐ γὰρ δὴ μόνον οὐχ ὑπεδέξαντο τὸν προφήτην, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀποκτείνειν ἠπείλουν· καὶ τοῦτο δῆλον ἐκ τῶν Θεοῦ ῥημάτων. Οὐ γὰρ εἶπεν, Ἀναχώρησον, μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ, Κρύβηθι. Οὐκ ἀρκεῖ γάρ σοι πρὸς σωτηρίαν ἡ φυγὴ, ἀλλὰ δεῖ καὶ λαθεῖν μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς ἀκριβείας· δῆμος γάρ ἐστιν Ἰουδαϊκὸς, δῆμος αἱμάτων διψῶν προφητικῶν, καὶ ταῖς τῶν ἁγίων ἐμμελετήσας σφαγαῖς· ἀπὸ τῶν προφητικῶν αἱμάτων ἀεὶ τὰς ἑαυτῶν ᾕμαξαν δεξιάς. Καὶ, ὅτε μὲν ἐκ τῆς Ἰουδαίας αὐτὸν ἐξέπεμψεν, Ἄπελθε καὶ κρύβηθι, φησίν· ὅτε δὲ πρὸς τὴν χήραν ἀπέστελλεν, Ἐγὼ, φησὶν, ἐντελοῦμαι αὐτῇ. Ὁρᾷς πῶς ἐκεῖθεν μὲν φεύγοντα μετὰ πολλῆς ἀσφαλείας τοῦτο ποιῆσαι προστάττει· ἐνταῦθα δὲ καταφεύγοντα μετὰ πολλῆς παῤῥησίας καὶ τοῦ θάῤῥους ἀπιέναι κελεύει;

εʹ. Οὐ τοῦτο δὲ μόνον, ἀλλά τι καὶ ἕτερον ᾠκονόμηται διὰ τῆς τοῦ προφήτου

πρὸς τὴν χήραν παρουσίας. Ἵνα γὰρ μὴ μετὰ ταῦτα ὁρῶντές τινες τὸν Χριστὸν μετὰ τὰς πολλὰς καὶ ἀφάτους εὐεργεσίας τὰς ἐπὶ τῆς Ἰουδαίας, μετὰ τοὺς μυρίους νεκροὺς, οὓς ἀνέστησε, μετὰ τοὺς τυφλοὺς, οὓς ἀναβλέψαι ἐποίησε, μετὰ τοὺς λεπροὺς, οὓς ἐκάθηρε, μετὰ τοὺς δαίμονας, οὓς ἀπήλασε, μετὰ τὴν θαυμαστὴν καὶ σωτήριον διδασκαλίαν, παρὰ μὲν τῶν εὐεργετηθέντων ἐλαυνόμενον, παρὰ δὲ τῶν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσι τιμώμενον, οὐδὲν τοιοῦτον εἰδότων οὔτε ἀκηκοότων, θαυμάζωσι, διαπορῶσι, καὶ ἄπιστον τὸ πρᾶγμα εἶναι νομίζωσιν· ἄνωθεν καὶ πρὸ πολλοῦ τοῦ χρόνου διὰ τῶν δούλων τὴν Ἰουδαϊκὴν ἀγνωμοσύνην διδάσκει, καὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν φιλοφροσύνην ἡμᾶς παιδεύει. Οὕτω γοῦν τὸν Ἰωσὴφ, οὓς παρεγένετο θρέψων