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temptation. For like some executioner sitting within at the entrails, it tears apart all the members, devouring the body from every side more violently than any fire or beast, providing a certain continuous and unutterable pain. And so that you may learn how great a thing famine is, mothers have often tasted of their own children, not bearing the violence of this evil; and lamenting this calamity the prophet said: The hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children. Mothers devoured those whom they bore, and the womb that bore them became a tomb for the children who were born, and famine overcame nature; or rather, not only nature, but also free will; but it did not overcome the nobility of this holy man. Who would not be astounded hearing these things? And yet what is more powerful than nature? what is more prone to change than free will? But so that you may learn that nothing is stronger than the fear of God, free will appeared stronger than nature, and it convicted mothers, and made them forget their birth-pangs, but it was not strong enough to trip up this holy man, nor did the torment overcome his philosophy, nor did the punishment overcome his manliness; but he remained stronger than any adamant, delighting in good hopes, and glorying in the reason for his struggles, having sufficient comfort in the occasion of his contests, especially hearing Paul say each day: In hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness; and again, To the present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted; for he knew, he knew clearly, that Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. But when the foul demon saw that he did not yield to so great a necessity of the situation, he made the torment even more severe. For taking things sacrificed to idols, and filling the table with them, 50.524 he arranged for it to be placed before his eyes, so that the ready availability might weaken the strength of his resolve.

For we are not so ensnared when the tempting things do not appear, as when they are lying before our eyes; since one might more easily master the desire for women by not looking at a beautiful woman, than by gazing at her constantly. But nevertheless the just man overcame this snare also, and what the devil thought would weaken his courage, this most of all anointed him for the struggles; for not only did he suffer nothing from the sight of the things sacrificed to idols, but he even turned away from them more and hated them; and what we experience with enemies, that the more we look upon them, the more we hate and turn away from them, this he also experienced then with that foul sacrifice; for seeing it, he loathed it the more and recoiled, and the constant sight cast him more into hatred and aversion for the things set before him; and while the famine cried out loudly from within, and commanded him to touch what was set before him, the fear of God held back his hands, and made him forget nature itself; and seeing a foul and accursed table, he remembered another table, the awesome one and full of the Spirit, and was so inflamed as to choose to endure and suffer all things, rather than taste those foul foods. He remembered also that table of the three youths, who, taken as young men, and being destitute of all protection, in a foreign land and a barbarian country, displayed such great philosophy that their courage is sung even to this day. And while the Jews, though they had their own land, acted impiously, and while living in the temple, they practiced idolatry; those young men, carried off to the barbarian land, where there were idols and the occasion for all impiety, continued to keep their ancestral way of life. If, therefore, the captives, and slaves, and youths, before the time of grace, displayed such great philosophy, he says, what pardon would we be worthy of, not being able to attain to the same virtue as they?

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πειρασμόν. Καθάπερ γὰρ δήμιός τις τοῖς σπλάγχνοις ἔνδον καθήμενος ἅπαντα καταξαίνει τὰ μέλη, πυρὸς παντὸς καὶ θηρίου σφο δρότερον κατεσθίων πάντοθεν τὸ σῶμα, διηνεκῆ τινα καὶ ἄῤῥητον παρέχων ὀδύνην. Καὶ ἵνα μάθῃς ὅσον ἐστὶ λιμὸς, καὶ τέκνων ἀπεγεύσαντο μητέρες πολλάκις, τὴν τοῦ κακοῦ τούτου βίαν οὐκ ἐνεγκοῦσαι· καὶ ταύτην τὴν συμφορὰν τραγῳδῶν ὁ προφήτης ἔλεγε· Χεῖρες γυναικῶν οἰκτιρμόνων ἥψησαν τὰ τέκνα αὐτῶν. Οὓς ἔτεκον μητέρες κατήσθιον, καὶ τῶν γεννηθέντων παιδίων ἡ τεκοῦσα γαστὴρ ἐγένετο τάφος, καὶ φύσεως ἐκράτησεν ὁ λιμός· μᾶλλον δὲ οὐ φύσεως μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς προαιρέσεως· τῆς δὲ τοῦ ἁγίου τούτου γενναιότητος οὐκ ἐκράτησε. Τίς οὐκ ἂν ἐκπλαγείη ταῦτα ἀκούσας; Καίτοι τί φύσεως δυ νατώτερον; τί δὲ προαιρέσεως ὀξυῤῥεπέστερον; Ἀλλ' ἵνα μάθῃς, ὅτι τοῦ φόβου τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐδὲν ἰσχυρότερον, προαίρεσις φύσεως εὐτονωτέρα ἐφάνη, καὶ μητέρας μὲν ἤλεγξε, καὶ ὠδίνων ἐπιλαθέσθαι ἐποίησε, τὸν δὲ ἅγιον τοῦτον ὑποσκελίσαι οὐκ ἴσχυ σεν, οὐδὲ περιεγένετο τῆς φιλοσοφίας ἡ κόλασις, οὐδὲ τῆς ἀνδρείας ἐκράτησεν ἡ τιμωρία· ἀλλ' ἔμενεν ἀδάμαντος παντὸς ἰσχυρότερος, ταῖς ἀγαθαῖς ἐντρυ φῶν ἐλπίσι, καὶ τῇ τῶν ἀγώνων ἐγκαλλωπιζόμενος ὑποθέσει, ἱκανὴν παραμυθίαν ἔχων τῶν ἄθλων τὴν ἀφορμὴν, μάλιστα καθ' ἑκάστην ἀκούων Παύλου λέ γοντος· Ἐν λιμῷ καὶ δίψῃ, ἐν ψύχει καὶ γυμνότητι· καὶ πάλιν, Ἄχρι τῆς ἄρτι ὥρας καὶ πεινῶμεν, καὶ διψῶμεν, καὶ γυμνητεύομεν, καὶ κολαφιζό μεθα· ᾔδει γὰρ, ᾔδει σαφῶς, ὅτι Οὐκ ἐπ' ἄρτῳ μόνῳ ζήσεται ἄνθρωπος, ἀλλ' ἐν παντὶ ῥήματι ἐκπο ρευομένῳ διὰ στόματος Θεοῦ. Ὡς δὲ εἶδεν ὁ μιαρὸς δαίμων οὐκ ἐνδιδόντα τῇ τοσαύτῃ τοῦ πράγματος ἀνάγκῃ, ἔτι χαλεπωτέραν ἐποίει τὴν βάσανον. Καὶ γὰρ εἰδωλόθυτα λαβὼν, καὶ τὴν τράπεζαν τούτων 50.524 ἐμπλήσας, πρὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτοῦ τεθῆναι παρ εσκεύασεν, ἵνα τὸ τῆς ἐξουσίας ἕτοιμον ἐκλύσῃ τῆς προθυμίας τὴν εὐτονίαν.

Οὐ γὰρ οὕτως ἁλισκόμεθα μὴ φαινομένων τῶν δελεαζόντων πραγμάτων, ὡς πρὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν κειμένων· ἐπεὶ καὶ τῆς γυναικῶν ἐπιθυμίας εὐκολώτερον ἄν τις κρατήσειε μὴ βλέπων γυναῖκα εὔμορφον, ἢ συνεχῶς εἰς αὐτὴν ἀτενίζων. Ἀλλ' ὅμως καὶ ταύτης ἐκράτησε τῆς ἐνέδρας ὁ δί καιος, καὶ ὅπερ ἐνόμιζεν ὁ διάβολος ἐκλύσειν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀνδρείαν, τοῦτο μάλιστα αὐτὸν ἤλειψε πρὸς τοὺς ἀγῶνας· οὐ γὰρ μόνον οὐδὲν ἔπαθεν ἀπὸ τῆς ὄψεως τῶν εἰδωλοθύτων, ἀλλὰ καὶ μᾶλλον αὐτὰ ἀπεστρέ φετο καὶ ἐμίσει· καὶ ὅπερ ἐπὶ τῶν ἐχθρῶν πάσχομεν, ὅσῳπερ ἂν αὐτοὺς ἐμβλέψωμεν, τοσούτῳ μᾶλλον αὐτοὺς μισοῦμεν καὶ ἀποστρεφόμεθα, τοῦτο καὶ ἐκεῖνος ἐπὶ τῆς μιαρᾶς ἐκείνης ἔπασχε θυσίας τότε· μᾶλλον γὰρ αὐτὴν ὁρῶν ἐβδελύττετο καὶ ἀπεπήδα, καὶ ἡ συνεχὴς ὄψις μᾶλλον αὐτὸν εἰς μῖσος καὶ ἀπο τροπὴν τῶν προκειμένων ἐνέβαλλε· καὶ τοῦ λιμοῦ μέγα ἔνδοθεν ἐμβοῶντος, καὶ τῶν προκειμένων κε λεύοντος ἐφάπτεσθαι, ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ φόβος τὰς χεῖρας ἀνέστελλε, καὶ τῆς φύσεως αὐτῆς ἐπιλαθέσθαι παρ εσκεύαζε· καὶ τράπεζαν ὁρῶν μιαρὰν καὶ ἐναγῆ, τραπέζης ἐμνήσθη ἑτέρας τῆς φρικώδους καὶ Πνεύ ματος γεμούσης, καὶ οὕτως ἐπυροῦτο, ὡς ἑλέσθαι πάντα ὑποστῆναι καὶ παθεῖν, ἢ τῶν μιαρῶν ἐκείνων ἀπογεύσασθαι ἐδεσμάτων. Ἀνεμνήσθη καὶ τῆς τρα πέζης ἐκείνης τῶν τριῶν παίδων, οἳ νέοι ληφθέντες, καὶ πάσης ἔρημοι προστασίας ὄντες, ἐν ἀλλοτρίᾳ γῇ καὶ βαρβάρῳ χώρᾳ τοσαύτην ἐπεδείξαντο φιλοσο φίαν, ὡς μέχρι νῦν ᾄδεσθαι τὴν ἀνδρείαν αὐτῶν. Καὶ οἱ μὲν Ἰουδαῖοι καὶ τὴν οἰκείαν ἔχοντες γῆν ἠσέβη σαν, καὶ ἐν τῷ ναῷ διατρίβοντες εἰδωλολάτρουν· οἱ δὲ νέοι ἐκεῖνοι εἰς τὴν βαρβαρικὴν ἀπενεχθέντες γῆν, ἔνθα εἴδωλα καὶ πάσης ἀσεβείας ὑπόθεσις, τὴν πα τρῴαν διετέλεσαν φυλάττοντες πολιτείαν. Εἰ τοίνυν οἱ αἰχμάλωτοι, καὶ δοῦλοι, καὶ νέοι πρὸ τῆς χάριτος τοσαύτην ἐπεδείξαντο φιλοσοφίαν, φησὶ, ποίας ἂν εἴημεν ἡμεῖς συγγνώμης ἄξιοι, μηδὲ πρὸς τὴν αὐτὴν ἐκείνοις ἀρετὴν φθάσαι δυνηθέντες;