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one would hear many historical things being discussed. And the form of counsel and that of exhortation, in each of these, both in prophecy and in history. But all these things, as I have already said, look to one thing, the correction of the hearers, so that they might be rightly ordered toward what is necessary, both from the narration of former things, and from counsel and exhortation, and from prophecy. But this was more the work of prophecy, to proclaim beforehand the things to come, whether good or grievous, so that they might win some, and restrain others from wickedness by fear. There is also another form of prophecy, to proclaim beforehand the things concerning Christ; wherein with precision not only concerning the presence, but also concerning what He would do when He came, and concerning the birth, and concerning the generation, and concerning the cross, and concerning the miracles, and concerning the election of the disciples, concerning the New Covenant, concerning the cessation of Jewish things, and concerning the disappearance of Greek things, and concerning the nobility that is in the Church, and concerning all other matters that follow in order. All these things the prophets proclaimed beforehand with all clarity a long time ago, some through types, others through words. For there are two forms of prophecy, proclaiming future things both through deeds and through words; through words, as when, wishing to speak of the cross, they say: As a sheep He was led to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent. This then 56.317 they chose to prophesy through words; but through deeds, when Abraham is seen offering up his son, and slaughtering the ram. For through these events he prefigures the image of the cross, and the slaughter that would be for the sake of the world. And one might find many such types in the Old Testament, and prophecies through deeds. It is the work of prophecy to speak not only of future things, but also of past things, which is more the case with Moses. For when he discusses heaven and earth, he speaks of things that are past and hidden by time, but prophecy utters them. For just as it is the work of prophecy to speak of things that have not yet happened and are still unseen, so also to uncover and bring to light those things that have happened, but are hidden by time, is of the same grace. It is also the work of prophecy to speak of present things, when something is happening but is hidden, as in the case of Ananias and Sapphira. For there it was neither a past nor a future thing, but present, yet unknown. Peter, therefore, by prophecy uncovering these things, brings them to light. And these, as one might say in broad outline, are the things of the Old Testament. But in the New Testament, the things spoken enigmatically in the Old are shown, I mean the prophecies witnessed by deeds, the way of life that touches the heavens, the ineffable future good things, Which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man. For the New, having received man through the Old, somehow proportionately and gently freed from wickedness, leads him up to the way of life of the angels. So that the work of the Old was to make a man, but of the New, to make the man an angel. For since wickedness had caused them to lose even their humanity, leading them down to the ignobility of irrational creatures, and making them beast-like; the Law freed them from that wickedness, but grace adds also this angelic virtue.

And there are also the books of the New Testament, the fourteen Epistles of Paul, the four Gospels, two by the disciples of Christ, John and Matthew, and two by Luke and Mark; of whom the one became the disciple of Peter, and the other of Paul. For the former had become eyewitnesses and had been with Christ; but the latter, having received their accounts from them, brought them forth to others; and the book of the Acts, also by Luke, who recorded the events that took place, and three of the Catholic Epistles.

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ἀκούσειεν ἂν πολλὰ ἱστορικὰ διαλεγομένων. Καὶ τὸ τῆς συμβουλῆς δὲ εἶδος καὶ τὸ τῆς παραινέσεως, ἐν ἑκατέρῳ τούτων, ἔν τε τῇ προφητείᾳ, ἔν τε τῇ ἱστορίᾳ. Πάντα δὲ ταῦτα, ὥσπερ ἔφθην εἰπὼν, εἰς ἓν βλέπει, τὴν τῶν ἀκουόντων διόρθωσιν, ὥστε καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν προτέρων διηγήσεως, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς συμβουλῆς καὶ τῆς παραινέσεως, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς προφητείας ῥυθμίζεσθαι πρὸς τὸ δέον. Προφητείας δὲ τοῦτο ἔργον μᾶλλον ἦν, τὸ τὰ μέλλοντα προαναφωνεῖν, εἴτε χρηστὰ, εἴτε λυπηρὰ, ἵνα τοὺς μὲν ἀποσπάσωνται, τοὺς δὲ τῷ φόβῳ τῆς κακίας ἀπείρξωσιν. Ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἕτερον προφητείας εἶδος, τὸ τὰ περὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ προαναφωνῆσαι· ἔνθα μετ' ἀκριβείας οὐ περὶ τῆς παρουσίας μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ ὧν ἔμελλε παραγενόμενος πράττειν, καὶ περὶ τοῦ τόκου, καὶ περὶ τῆς γεννήσεως, καὶ περὶ τοῦ σταυροῦ, καὶ περὶ τῶν θαυμάτων, καὶ περὶ τῆς τῶν μαθητῶν ἐκλογῆς, περὶ τῆς Καινῆς ∆ιαθήκης, περὶ τῆς παύσεως τῶν Ἰουδαϊκῶν, καὶ περὶ τοῦ ἀφανισμοῦ τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν, καὶ περὶ τῆς εὐγενείας τῆς κατὰ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν, καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων τῶν καθεξῆς ὄντων πραγμάτων. Ταῦτα πάντα μετὰ σαφηνείας ἁπάσης πρὸ πολλοῦ τοῦ χρόνου προανεφώνησαν οἱ προφῆται, τὰ μὲν διὰ τύπων, τὰ δὲ διὰ ῥημάτων. Καὶ γὰρ δύο προφητείας εἴδη, καὶ διὰ ἔργων καὶ διὰ λόγων προαναφωνεῖν τὰ μέλλοντα· διὰ λόγων μὲν, ὡς ὅταν τὸν σταυρὸν βουλόμενοι εἰπεῖν, λέγωσιν· Ὡς πρόβατον ἐπὶ σφαγὴν ἤχθη, καὶ ὡς ἀμνὸς ἐναντίον τοῦ κείροντος αὐτὸν ἄφωνος. Τοῦτο μὲν οὖν 56.317 διὰ λόγων εἷλον προφητεῦσαι· δι' ἔργων δὲ, ὅταν Ἀβραὰμ φαίνηται τὸν υἱὸν ἀναφέρων, καὶ τὸν κριὸν κατασφάττων. ∆ιὰ γὰρ τῶν πραγμάτων προανατυποῖ τοῦ σταυροῦ τὴν εἰκόνα, καὶ τὴν ὑπὲρ τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐσομένην σφαγήν. Καὶ πολλοὺς ἄν τις εὕροι τοιούτους τύπους ἐν τῇ Παλαιᾷ, καὶ προφητείας διὰ πραγμάτων. Οὐ μόνον δὲ τὰ μέλλοντα προφητείας ἐστιν εἰπεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ παρελθόντα, ὅπερ μᾶλλόν ἐστι παρὰ Μωϋσῇ. Ὅταν γὰρ περὶ οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς διαλέγηται, παρελθόντα μὲν λέγει πράγματα καὶ κεκρυμμένα τῷ χρόνῳ, προφητεία δὲ αὐτὰ φθέγγεται. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὰ μηδέπω γενόμενα, καὶ ἀφανῆ ἔτι τυγχάνοντα, προφητείας ἐστὶν εἰπεῖν, οὕτω τὰ γενόμενα μὲν, κεκρυμμένα δὲ τῷ χρόνῳ, ταῦτα ἀνακαλύψαι καὶ εἰς μέσον ἀγαγεῖν τῆς ἴσης χάριτός ἐστιν. Ἔστι δὲ καὶ τὰ παρόντα προφητείας εἰπεῖν, ὅταν τι γίνηται μὲν, κρύπτηται δὲ, οἷον ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἀνανίου καὶ τῆς Σαπφείρης. Ἐκεῖ γὰρ οὔτε παρελθὸν, οὔτε μέλλον ἦν, ἀλλὰ παρὸν μὲν, ἄδηλον δέ. Ὁ τοίνυν Πέτρος προφητείᾳ αὐτὰ ἐκκαλύψας, εἰς μέσον ἄγει. Καὶ τὰ μὲν τῆς Παλαιᾶς, ὡς ἄν τις ἁδρομερῶς εἴποι, ταῦτα. Ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς Καινῆς τὰ ἐν τῇ Παλαιᾷ αἰνιγματωδῶς εἰρημένα, ταῦτα δείκνυται, τὰς προφητείας λέγω τὰς διὰ τῶν ἔργων μαρτυρουμένας, τὴν τῶν οὐρανῶν ἁπτομένην πολιτείαν, τὰ ἀπόῤῥητα τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθὰ, Ἃ ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ εἶδε, καὶ οὖς οὐκ ἤκουσε, καὶ ἐπὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέβη. Παραλαβοῦσα γὰρ τὸν ἄνθρωπον διὰ τῆς Παλαιᾶς ἡ Καινὴ, συμμέτρως πως καὶ τῆς κακίας ἠρέμα ἀπαλλαγέντα, πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἀγγέλων ἀνάγει πολιτείαν. Ὥστε τῆς μὲν Παλαιᾶς ἔργον ἦν ποιῆσαι ἄνθρωπον, τῆς δὲ Καινῆς τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐργάσασθαι ἄγγελον. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἡ κακία καὶ τὸ ἀνθρώπους εἶναι ἐποίησεν ἀπολέσαι, εἰς ἀλόγων δυσγένειαν καταγαγοῦσα, καὶ θηριώδεις ἐργασαμένη· ὁ μὲν νόμος ἐκείνης μὲν ἀπήλλαττε τῆς κακίας· ἡ δὲ χάρις καὶ ταύτην τὴν ἀγγελικὴν προστίθησιν ἀρετήν.

Ἔστι δὲ καὶ τῆς Καινῆς βιβλία, αἱ Ἐπιστολαὶ αἱ δεκατέσσαρες Παύλου, τὰ Εὐαγγέλια τὰ τέσσαρα, δύο μὲν τῶν μαθητῶν τοῦ Χριστοῦ, Ἰωάννου καὶ Ματθαίου, δύο δὲ Λουκᾶ καὶ Μάρκου· ὧν ὁ μὲν τοῦ Πέτρου, ὁ δὲ τοῦ Παύλου γεγόνασι μαθηταί. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ αὐτόπται ἦσαν γεγενημένοι, καὶ συγγενόμενοι τῷ Χριστῷ· οἱ δὲ παρ' ἐκείνων τὰ ἐκείνων διαδεξάμενοι, εἰς ἑτέρους ἐξήνεγκαν· καὶ τὸ τῶν Πράξεων δὲ βιβλίον, καὶ αὐτὸ Λουκᾶ, ἱστορήσαντος τὰ γενόμενα, καὶ τῶν καθολικῶν Ἐπιστολαὶ τρεῖς.