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and elder and wise master builder and an intelligent hearer; and I will set youths as their rulers, and mockers shall rule over them”. This prophetic oracle overtook the multitude of the Jews; and in a desolation of understanding, in a desolation of a prophet showing the things that save, they made their own wise traditions disappear and they despised the curses and, for the rest, the just ordinances of the law were endangered. As therefore they altered the scriptures and set aside the interpretation of those wise men, persuaded by the change of a certain proselyte to the rejection of so many men and curses, so also they corrupted the fixed date of the Passover.

15

We have wise Hebrew witnesses such as Philo and Josephus and some others, who in their own writings affirm that the Passover cannot accurately occur otherwise than after the spring equinox has arrived; and these men decree that from of old such a sequence has been observed with the fourteenth day of the lunar month, as has often been said. But these men clearly, as all Jews know, came to be long after the passion of the Savior, having lived much later in time, so that it is clear that the Savior also suffered at the Passover of the Jews after the equinox. You have, therefore, even from the testimony of the wise, the Jews who are now cast out, who from the beginning celebrated the Passover of the lamb after the equinox on the fourteenth day of the moon. Let this stand for now, so that from this what is proposed may be shown. For henceforth the Jews celebrate the Passover before the equinox indifferently, unless, when an intercalary month occurs, they are involuntarily extended beyond the equinox, but this is not by design but simply by happenstance. For instance, now in the present time they celebrate before the equinox, and they are accused by the wise Jews as transgressors of the †anointing†.

17

But we have the power of the mystery inviolate. For the time at which the Savior suffered has not been ignored; for the records of the events under Pilate also contain the fixed date of the Passover. At any rate, it is recorded that the Savior suffered on the eighth day before the Kalends of April; this fixed date at any rate occurs after the equinox, and has been apprehended by those who are precise. And hold to this rule, that you may see that Christ suffered on this fixed date and that, knowing this, you may always keep the Passover after the equinox, imitating Christ, and that you may flee the lawlessness of the heretics, and seek the reasons for the times; and I will now try to enumerate these in order, that I may show the harmony of the mystery with the ancient institution.

18

Christ suffered after the equinox and he suffered on the Preparation day, as we know and the scriptures have declared, with the Preparation day coinciding with the fourteenth day of the lunar month. For he suffered at the Passover of the Jews; and the Passover of the Jews at that time brought together all the times for the passion: the preceding equinox and the present fourteenth day and the Preparation day and the Sabbath and the Lord's day fitting together. Why did these things happen and for what reason? Now I must speak and give the interpretation of each of the foregoing matters, the account not being improvised from my own tongue, but the account being shown to be faithful from faithful facts.

19

For that the equinox stands at the beginning of the truly first season, this is clear from God's creation. For we seek the first month on account of the first season; and the first season must have as its beginning the first day and night arranged in equality. For no other beginning was fitting for the first season than the equality of the things mentioned; for it was necessary, when time was about to be created and day and night had just come into being, that their existences should be shown to be defined in equality, and then afterward for the inequality to be committed to motion; for if motion held the inequality, the creation had to show the equality. Nevertheless I wish to establish this from scripture; "In the beginning," it says, "God made the heaven and the earth," then

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καὶ πρεσβύτερον καὶ σοφὸν ἀρχιτέκτονα καὶ συνετὸν ἀκροατήν· καὶ ἐπιστήσω νεανίσκους ἄρχοντας αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐμπαῖκται κυριεύ σουσιν αὐτῶν". Τοῦτο τὸ προφητικὸν λόγιον κατέλαβε τὴν τῶν Ἰουδαίων πληθύν· καὶ ἐρημίᾳ συνέσεως, ἐρημίᾳ προφήτου ὑποδεικνύντος τὰ σώζοντα καὶ τὰς τῶν ἰδίων σοφῶν παραδόσεις ἠφάνισαν καὶ τῶν ἀρῶν κατεφρόνησαν καὶ τὰ τοῦ νόμου λοιπὸν ἐκινδύνευσε δίκαια. Ὡς οὖν τὰς γραφὰς μετεκίνησαν καὶ τὴν ἑρμηνείαν τῶν σοφῶν ἐκείνων ἠθέτησαν ἑνός τινος προσηλύτου πεισθέντες μεταβολῇ ἐπ' ἀ θετήσει τοσούτων ἀνδρῶν καὶ ἀρῶν, οὕτω καὶ τὴν προθε σμίαν τοῦ πάσχα διέφθειραν.

15 Ἔχομεν μάρτυρας σοφοὺς Ἑβραίους οἷον Φίλωνα καὶ Ἰώσηπον καὶ ἄλλους τινάς, οἵτινες ἐν τοῖς οἰκείοις συγγράμ μασι διαβεβαιοῦνται ὅτι οὐ δύναται ἀκριβῶς ἄλλως τὸ πάσχα γενέσθαι ἢ μετ' ἐαρινὴν ἰσημερίαν ἐνστᾶσαν· καὶ ὁρίζονται οὗτοι ἀνέκαθεν τὸν τοιοῦτον εἱρμὸν τετηρῆσθαι μετὰ τῆς κατὰ σελήνην τεσσαρεσκαιδεκάτης, ὡς πολλάκις ἐρρήθη. Οὗτοι δὲ σαφῶς, ὡς πάντες Ἰουδαῖοι ἐπίστανται, μετὰ τὸ πάθος τοῦ σωτῆρος ἐγένοντο πολλῷ τῷ μετέπειτα χρόνῳ βιώσαντες, ὥστε δῆλον εἶναι ὅτι καὶ ὁ σωτὴρ ἐν τῷ πάσχα τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἔπαθε μετ' ἰσημερίαν. Ἔχεις τοίνυν καὶ ἐκ τῆς μαρτυρίας τῶν σοφῶν Ἰουδαίους τοὺς νῦν ἀποβλήτους, ἐξ ἀρχῆς μετ' ἰσημερίαν τεσσαρεσκαιδεκάτῃ σελήνης τὸ πάσχα τοῦ προβάτου τελέσαντας. Τοῦτό μοι 16 ἱστάσθω τέως, ἵν' ἐκ τούτου δειχθῇ τὸ προκείμενον. Λοιπὸν γὰρ Ἰουδαῖοι ποιοῦσι τὸ πάσχα πρὸ ἰσημερίας ἀδιαφόρως, ἐκτὸς εἰ μή, ἐμβολίμου μηνὸς ἐνστάντος, ἀκουσίως μετ' ἰση μερίαν παραταθῶσιν, τοῦτο δὲ οὐκ ἔστι σκοποῦ ἀλλ' ἁ πλῶς τοῦ συμβάντος. Αὐτίκα γοῦν νῦν εἰς τὸ ἐνεστὸς πρὸ ἰσημερίας ποιοῦσιν, καὶ κατηγοροῦνται ὑπὸ τῶν Ἰουδαίων σοφῶν παραβάται τοῦ †χρίσματος†.

17 Ἔχομεν δὲ ἡμεῖς τοῦ μυστηρίου τὴν ἰσχὺν ἀσύλητον. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ χρόνος καθ' ὃν ἔπαθεν ὁ σωτὴρ οὐκ ἠγνόηται· τὰ γὰρ ὑπομνήματα τὰ ἐπὶ Πιλάτου πραχθέντα καὶ τὴν προθεσμίαν περιέχει τοῦ πάσχα. Ἱστορεῖται γοῦν ὅτι τῇ πρὸ ὀκτὼ καλανδῶν ἀπριλίων ἔπαθεν ὁ σωτήρ· αὕτη γοῦν ἡ προθεσμία μετ' ἰσημερίαν συνίσταται, καὶ τοῖς ἀκριβοῦσι κατείληπται. Καὶ ἔχε τοῦτον τὸν κανόνα, ἵνα ἴδῃς ὅτι Χριστὸς ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ προθεσμίᾳ ἔπαθε καὶ ἵνα εἰδὼς τηρῇς ἀεὶ μετ' ἰσημερίαν ποιεῖν τὸ πάσχα Χριστὸν μιμούμενος, καὶ φεύγῃς μὲν τὴν τῶν αἱρετικῶν παρανομίαν, ζητῇς δὲ τὰς αἰτίας τῶν χρόνων· πειράσομαι δὲ ἤδη ταύτας ἀπαριθμῆσαι κατὰ τόπον, ἵν' ἁρμονίαν δείξω τοῦ μυστηρίου πρὸς τὴν ἀρχαίαν κατάστασιν.

18 Ἔπαθεν ὁ Χριστὸς μετ' ἰσημερίαν καὶ τῇ παρασκευῇ ἔπαθεν, ὡς ἴσμεν καὶ αἱ γραφαὶ μεμηνύκασιν, τεσσαρεσκαι δεκάτῃ κατὰ σελήνην τῆς παρασκευῆς συντρεχούσης. Ἐν γὰρ τῷ πάσχα τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἔπαθεν· τὸ δὲ πάσχα τῶν Ἰουδαίων τότε πάντας τοὺς χρόνους πρὸς τὸ πάθος συνήγαγε καὶ ἰσημερίαν προλαμβάνουσαν καὶ τεσσαρεσκαι δεκάτην ἐνεστῶσαν καὶ παρασκευὴν καὶ σάββατον καὶ κυριακὴν συναρμοζόμενα. ∆ιὰ τί ταῦτα γέγονε καὶ τίνος ἕνεκεν; ἤδη ὀφείλω λέγειν καὶ ἑκάστου τῶν προκειμένων τὴν θεωρίαν ἀποδοῦναι, οὐκ ἀπὸ γλώττης ἐμῆς σχεδιαζο μένου τοῦ λόγου, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ πιστῶν πραγμάτων πιστοῦ δεικνυμένου τοῦ λόγου.

19 Ὅτι μὲν γὰρ ἡ ἰσημερία προέστηκε τοῦ ἀληθῶς πρώτου χρόνου, τοῦτο δῆλον ἐπὶ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ δημιουργίας ἐστίν. Πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ μῆνα ζητοῦμεν διὰ τὸν πρῶτον χρόνον· ὁ δὲ πρῶτος χρόνος ἀρχὴν ὀφείλει ἔχειν τὴν πρώτην ἡμέραν καὶ νύκτα ἐν ἴσῳ διαταχθεῖσαν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἄλλη ἥρμοζεν ἀρχὴ τῷ πρώτῳ χρόνῳ ἢ ἰσότης τῶν εἰρημένων· ἔδει γάρ, δημιουργεῖσθαι μέλλοντος χρόνου καὶ ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς ἄρτι παραγενομένων, τὰς ὑπάρξεις τούτων ὡρισμένας δειχθῆναι ἐν ἴσῳ, εἶθ' οὕτω τῇ κινήσει τὴν ἀνωμαλίαν ἐπιτραπῆναι· εἰ γὰρ ἡ κίνησις τὸ ἀνώμαλον ἔσχεν, ἡ 20 δημιουργία ὤφειλε τὴν ἰσότητα δεῖξαι. Ὅμως δὲ βούλομαι τοῦτο ἐκ τῆς γραφῆς παραστῆσαι· "Ἐν ἀρχῇ", φησίν, "ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν", εἶτα