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drove away sleep, but sent up the hymn more earnestly. The day again, showing a gloomy sky, and struck with unceasing lightning and thunder, moved everyone to extraordinary trembling and a very great cry. The earth, being shaken, wrought great agitation in their souls. All the infants, running in fear to the bosoms of their mothers, and weeping in their arms, caused unspeakable lamentation and wailing for those who saw. Herds of cattle and sheep, and all grazing animals, kept from pasture and water, and uttering a different sound, moved even souls of adamant to weeping. And with the threat and the fear agitating from every side, they did not bear to cast away their good hope. For who knows, he says, if God will repent, 64.429 and will turn from the anger of his wrath, and we shall not perish? Therefore, from the deepest heart they cried out to God: O King, Lord of life and death, we are worthy of the sentence with which you have threatened us, and we owe every penalty, having been ignorant of you, the true God, and having lived a corrupt life. But you, using the sea of your mercies, stop the punishment against us; overcome what is just with goodness, and our ignorance with your love for mankind; if you had brought the plague suddenly, the matter of the punishment would have reason, and you would have killed us as strangers and wicked; but now, having given a deadline through your goodness, if you should slay us after we have changed, you destroy not strangers, but your own. You watched over us when we were impious, and now do you destroy us when we are becoming faithful? You saved us when we were evil, and now do you slay us when we are doing good? You enlarged the city when it was dedicated to idols, and made it a queen, and do you destroy it now that it has become yours? Not knowing you, through you we ruled the world, and now worshiping you are we cast out even from life itself? Spare your name, O King, lest by demanding penalties from the Ninevites, you make piety something to be fled from as useless; lest by justly punishing us, you close the door of repentance to men.

For if, having obtained a lawgiver and teachers, we advanced into great wickedness, destroy us without excuse, grant no pardon to those who beseech you, bring on a penalty more severe than that with which you threatened us; but if, having not learned nor been instructed, we continued in wickedness and impiety, do not condemn us, O King, to so great a destruction for our ignorance. You justly destroyed men of old with a flood; for they did not heed Noah as he taught; you foretold their destruction, and they did not flee from sin. You reasonably burned the Sodomites, for they were not willing to receive the counsels of Lot. The Egyptians were fittingly swallowed up with Pharaoh, for they were not persuaded by Moses teaching, though struck many times and having had experience of your right hand. Or did we dare to gainsay anyone? You have now sent only one to us, and not even him as a teacher, but as a messenger of evils, and believing, with the whole people we honor your worship. You have given us a short deadline, and in it we have shown the greatest change. When destruction was preached to us, we did not despair of your love for mankind. When the prophet announced the catastrophe, we hoped in your mercy. Do not disappoint our hopes, O good one! Do not stop tongues wishing to hymn your goodness! Do not kill men who are eager to proclaim all your goodness! Do not prevent us from becoming teachers of piety to all our people! Do not continue decreeing in the same way against those who have no longer remained in the same things! We have changed, be reconciled. Stop your anger, as we have our error.

Stop the punishment yourself, as we have our wickedness. You have sufficiently disciplined us with fear; give us time henceforth to show our love for you. 64.432 Spare the cattle lowing from hunger; spare the sinless children choking with weeping. Spare the tender infants faint from fasting. Do not

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τὸν μὲν ὕπνον ἐδίωκε, σπουδαιότερον δὲ τὸν ὕμνον ἀνέπεμπεν. Ἡμέρα πάλιν ζοφερὸν δεικνύουσα τὸν οὐρανὸν, καὶ ἀστραπαῖς ἀπαύστοις καὶ βρονταῖς κτυπουμένη εἰς τρόμον ἐξαίσιον καὶ βοὴν μεγίστην πάντας ἐκίνει. Ἡ γῆ σειομένη κλόνον πολὺν εἰργάζετο ταῖς ψυχαῖς. Τὰ νήπια πάντα τοῖς κόλποις ὑπὸ δέους προστρέχοντα τῶν μητέρων, καὶ ταῖς ἀγκάλαις κλαυθμυριζόμενα ἄφατον ἐποίει θρῆνον καὶ ὀδυρμὸν τοῖς ὁρῶσι. Ἀγέλαι βοῶν καὶ προβάτων, καὶ θρέμματα πάντα νομῆς, καὶ ὑδάτων κεκωλυμένα, καὶ διάφορον φωνὴν ἀφιέντα, εἰς κλαυθμὸν καὶ ἀδαμαντίνους ἐκίνει ψυχάς. Πανταχόθεν δὲ τῆς ἀπειλῆς καὶ τοῦ δέους ταράσσοντος, οὐκ ἠνέχοντο τὴν ἐλπίδα τὴν χρηστὴν ἀποῤῥίψαι. Τίς οἶδε γὰρ, φησὶν, εἰ μετανοήσει ὁ Θεὸς, 64.429 καὶ ἀποστρέψει ἀπὸ ὀργῆς θυμοῦ αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐκ ἀπολώμεθα; Ἐκ βαθυτάτης τοίνυν καρδίας πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἀνεβόων· Βασιλεῦ, ζωῆς Κύριος καὶ θανάτου, ἡμεῖς μὲν ἧς ἠπείλησας ἀποφάσεως ἄξιοι, καὶ δίκην τὴν ἑκάστην ὀφείλομεν, σὲ τὸν ἀληθινὸν Θεὸν ἀγνοήσαντες, καὶ διεφθαρμένον ζήσαντες βίον. Αὐτὸς δὲ τῷ πελάγει τῶν σῶν οἰκτιρμῶν κεχρημένος παῦσον τὴν καθ' ἡμῶν τιμωρίαν· νίκησον τὸ μέσον δίκαιον ἀγαθότητι, τὴν δὲ ἡμῶν ἀγνωμοσύνην φιλανθρωπίᾳ· εἰ μὲν ἐξαίφνης ἐπήγαγες τὴν πληγὴν, λόγος τὰ τῆς κολάσεως εἶχε, καὶ ἀλλοτρίους ὄντας καὶ φαύλους ἀπέκτενες· νῦν δὲ προθεσμίαν διὰ χρηστότητα δοὺς, ἂν μεταβληθέντας φονεύσῃς, οὐκ ἀλλοτρίους, ἀλλὰ σοὺς ἀπολλύεις. Ἀσεβοῦντας ἐφύλαξας, καὶ νῦν φθείρεις πιστοὺς γινομένους; πονηροὺς ὄντας διέσωσας, καὶ ἀγαθοεργοῦντας νῦν ἀναιρεῖς; εἰδώλοις ἀνακειμένην τὴν πόλιν ηὔξησας, καὶ βασιλίδα πεποίηκας, καὶ καταστρέφεις σὴν γενομένην; Οὐκ εἰδότες σε διὰ σοῦ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐκρατήσαμεν, καὶ προσκυνοῦντές σε νῦν καὶ τῆς ζωῆς αὐτῆς ἐκβαλλόμεθα; Τοῦ σοῦ, Βασιλεῦ, ὀνόματος φεῖσαι, μὴ Νινευΐταις ἀπαιτῶν δίκας, φευκτὴν ὡς ἀνόνητον τὴν εὐσέβειαν ποιήσῃς· μὴ δικαίως ἡμᾶς κολάζων τῆς μετανοίας τοῖς ἀνθρώποις κλείσῃς τὴν θύραν.

Εἰ μὲν γὰρ νομοθέτου, καὶ διδασκάλων τυχόντες εἰς πολλὴν κακίαν προήλθαμεν, ἀπαραιτήτως διάφθειρον, ἱκετεύουσι συγγνώμης μὴ μετάδος, χαλεπωτέραν ἧς ἠπείλησας ἐπάγαγε δίκην· εἰ δὲ οὐ μαθόντες, οὐδὲ παιδευθέντες ἐν φαυλότητι, καὶ ἀσεβείᾳ διετελοῦμεν, μὴ τοσοῦτον ὄλεθρον, Βασιλεῦ, τῆς ἀγνοίας ἡμῶν καταψηφίσῃ. Κατακλυσμῷ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους διέφθειρας πάλαι δικαίως· διδάσκοντι γὰρ οὐ προσεῖχον τῷ Νῶε· προεῖπας τὴν ἀπώλειαν, καὶ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν οὐκ ἔφυγον. Σοδομίτας εὐλόγως ἀνέπρησας, δέξασθαι γὰρ τοῦ Λὼτ τὰς συμβουλίας οὐκ ἠθέλησαν. Αἰγύπτιοι κατεπόθησαν εἰκότως μετὰ τοῦ Φαραὼ, Μωσέως γὰρ διδάσκοντος οὐκ ἐπείθοντο πληγέντες πολλάκις, καὶ τῆς σῆς δεξιᾶς πεῖραν λαβόντες. Ἢ παρά τινος ἀντειπεῖν ἐτολμήσαμεν; Ἕνα νῦν μόνον ἀπέστειλας πρὸς ἡμᾶς, οὐδὲ τοῦτον διδάσκαλον, ἀλλὰ καὶ κακῶν μηνυτὴν, καὶ πιστεύσαντες πανδημὶ τὴν σὴν λατρείαν τιμῶμεν. Προθεσμίαν ἡμῖν μικρὰν δέδωκας, καὶ μεταβολὴν ἐν αὐτῇ μεγίστην ἐδείξαμεν. Ἀπωλείας ἡμῖν κηρυχθείσης τὸ σὸν φιλάνθρωπον οὐκ ἀπέγνωμεν. Τοῦ προφήτου τὴν καταστροφὴν καταγγείλαντος, εἰς τὸ σὸν ἠλπίσαμεν ἔλεος. Μὴ ψεύσῃς ἡμῶν, ἀγαθὲ, τὰς ἐλπίδας! Μὴ παύσῃς γλώττας ἀνυμνεῖν σου τὴν χρηστότητα βουλομένας! Μὴ ἀποκτείνῃς ἄνδρας κηρύξαι σου τὴν ἀγαθότητα πάντα σπεύδοντας! Μὴ κωλύσῃς ἡμᾶς διδασκάλους τοῖς ἡμετέροις πᾶσιν εὐσεβείας γενέσθαι! Μὴ διαμείνῃς ὁριζόμενος ὁμοίως πρὸς τοὺς οὐκέτι τοῖς αὐτοῖς διαμείναντες! Ἠλλάγημεν ἡμεῖς, διαλλάγηθι σύ. Στῆσον τὴν ὀργὴν, ὥσπερ τὴν πλάνην ἡμεῖς.

Παῦσον τὴν τιμωρίαν αὐτὸς, ὥσπερ ἡμεῖς τὴν κακίαν. Ἐξεπαίδευσας ἡμᾶς ἱκανῶς τῷ φόβῳ, δὸς καιρὸν λοιπὸν ἡμῖν τὸ περί σε φίλτρον ἐνδείξασθαι. 64.432 Φεῖσαι θρεμμάτων διὰ λιμὸν μυκωμένων· φεῖσαι παίδων ἀναμαρτήτων ὑπὸ κλαυθμοῦ πνιγομένων. Φεῖσαι νηπίων ἀώρων ὑπὸ νηστείας ἐκλελυμένων. Μὴ