putting forward the insolence of his freedom, demands satisfaction for the audacious act, punishing the insolent one with inexorable death; again, one who is distinguished in the governments of the world is insulted by someone of low station and a commoner; and immediately, stung by the insult, he hastens to vengeance, not looking to our common nature and the equal honor of all, but considering the dignity that surrounds him, which, if it were stripped away, it is possible to see the one equal honor of our race, that we were all formed from earth, and to earth we are dissolved; and one is the way into life, and the exit is equal. From clay, he says, you are fashioned, just as I am. But the clay demands such superiority from its peers; but God, who is superior to all, both by nature and by law, and is as much higher as one must understand the creator to be than his creations, being blasphemed and scorned by the ungrateful, is not provoked; for He is impassible; but a little later He punishes those who persist in their foolishness, because He is a judge of truth and an implacable critic. So that all sinners may not be destroyed at once, He postpones the punishment and offers forbearance, in order to draw them to repentance. But let us return to the subject at hand. A man clothed in flesh dared to say: Who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands? But the thrice-blessed children, hearing these things, were not roused by the blasphemy; for they themselves were also nurtured in the long-suffering of God; but taking up the voice of faith against the words of unbelief, they answered the tyrant, dissolving lawlessness by law, and overcoming the threat of injustice with the freedom of righteousness, Be it known to you, O king, they said, that we do not serve your gods, nor do we 56.597 worship the golden image which you have set up. Cease from your folly, O man; be ashamed of the insolent worship of the image. For if you set up the image, how do you worship what you have made? Who ought to be the creators of whom? Men of God, or God of men? For if they were truly gods, the dignity of creation would be fitting for them; but as we have often said before, if art were not available to men, the Greeks would not have had gods; rather, let us also attend to this, that if there were any perception in the idols, it would be fitting for them to worship the men who made them. For it is the law of nature for the creation to worship the creator, not for the creator to submit to his own creation. For this reason we, who are nurtured in piety, following the divine law, do not serve your gods, nor do we worship the golden image which you have set up; but there is a God in heaven, who will deliver us from your hands. Then, lest they seem either to be tempting God, or to be despising the fire in the hope of being delivered, they immediately add: And if not, that is, even if He does not deliver us, but allows our bodies to be burned by the fire, not even so will we depart from piety; for we do not worship God for a reward, but we gratefully confess the truth. And when he heard this profession of faith, the tyrant was further enraged, and commanded the furnace to be heated seven times more; for it was necessary for the most refined silver to be purified sevenfold; For the words of the Lord are pure words, silver refined in a furnace on the earth, and purified sevenfold; therefore the furnace was heated sevenfold, that the saints might be purified sevenfold. And that the men of God are called silver, remember Wisdom saying: The tongue of the just is as choice silver; and hear the prophet Jeremiah, saying concerning those rejected from piety: Call them rejected silver, for God has rejected them. And if the imperfect are unrefined silver, then the perfected are clearly most refined silver; for as much as the furnace was kindled, so much did the desire for martyrdom shine forth. For these three holy children, entering with faith, trod down the flame, breathing a fine and dewy air in the very midst of the fire's height. For He who makes and remakes all things

τῆς ἐλευθερίας τὴν ὕβριν προβαλλόμενος, δίκην ἀπαιτεῖ τοῦ τολμήματος, ἀπαραιτήτῳ θανάτῳ κολάζων τὸν ὑβρίζοντα· ὑβρίζεται πάλιν τις ὑπὸ εὐτελοῦς καὶ ἰδιώτου, αὐτὸς ἐν ταῖς τοῦ κόσμου πολιτείαις ἐξεταζόμενος· καὶ εὐθέως ὑπὸ τῆς ὕβρεως δακνόμενος ἐπὶ τιμωρίαν σπεύδει, εἰς μὲν τὴν κοινὴν φύσιν καὶ τὸ πάντων ἰσότιμον οὐκ ἀφορῶν, εἰς δὲ τὴν περικειμένην ἀξίαν ἀποβλέπων, ἧς περιαιρεθείσης μίαν ἔστιν ἰδεῖν τὴν τοῦ γένους ἰσοτιμίαν, ὅτι πάντες ἐκ γῆς ἐπλάσθημεν, καὶ εἰς γῆν διαλυόμεθα· μία δὲ ἡ ὁδὸς ἡ εἰς τὸν βίον, ἔξοδός τε ἴση. Ἐκ πηλοῦ, φησὶ, διήρτησαι σὺ, ὡς κἀγώ. Ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν πηλὸς τοιαύτην ἀπαιτεῖ παρὰ τῶν ὁμοτίμων τὴν ὑπεροχήν· ὁ δὲ Θεὸς πάντων ὑπερέχων, καὶ φύσει, καὶ νόμῳ, καὶ τοσοῦτον ἀνώτερος ὢν, ὅσον ὑψηλότερον δεῖ νοεῖν τὸν ποιητὴν τῶν ποιημάτων, βλασφημούμενος καὶ ἐξουθενούμενος παρὰ τῶν ἀγνωμόνων, οὐ παροξύνεται μέν· ἀπαθὴς γάρ· τιμωρεῖται δὲ μικρὸν ὕστερον τοὺς ἐπιμένοντας τῇ ἀφροσύνῃ, διότι δικαστής ἐστιν ἀληθείας καὶ κριτὴς ἀδυσώπητος. Ἵνα μὴ ἀθρόως ἅπαντες οἱ ἁμαρτάνοντες ἐξολοθρεύωνται, ὑπερτίθεται τὴν τιμωρίαν, καὶ προσφέρει τὴν ἀνεξικακίαν, ἵνα ἐφελκύσηται πρὸς μετάνοιαν. Ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τὸ προκείμενον ἐπανέλθωμεν. Ἐτόλμησεν εἰπεῖν ἄνθρωπος σάρκα περικείμενος. Τίς ἐστι θεὸς, ὃς ἐξελεῖται ὑμᾶς ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν μου; Οἱ δὲ τρισμακάριοι παῖδες τούτων ἀκούσαντες οὐκ ἐξανέστησαν ἐν τῇ βλασφημίᾳ· σύντροφοι γὰρ ἦσαν καὶ αὐτοὶ τῆς Θεοῦ μακροθυμίας· ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰ τῆς ἀπιστίας ῥήματα πίστεως φωνὴν ἀναλαβόντες ἀντεφθέγγοντο τῷ τυράννῳ, νόμῳ τὴν ἀνομίαν ἐκλύοντες, καὶ ἐλευθερίᾳ δικαιοσύνης τὴν ἀπειλὴν τῆς ἀδικίας ἐκνικῶντες, Γνωστόν σοι ἔστω, βασιλεῦ, λέγοντες, ὅτι τοῖς θεοῖς σου οὐ λατρεύομεν, καὶ τῇ εἰκόνι τῇ χρυσῇ, ᾗ ἔστησας, οὐ 56.597 προσκυνοῦμεν. Παῦσαι τῆς ἀνοίας, ἄνθρωπε· αἰδέσθητι τὴν ἐφύβριστον τῆς εἰκόνος προσκύνησιν. Εἰ γὰρ σὺ τὴν εἰκόνα ἔστησας, πῶς προσκυνεῖς οἷς ἐποίησας; τίνες τίνων ὀφείλουσιν εἶναι δημιουργοί; ἄνθρωποι Θεοῦ, ἢ Θεὸς ἀνθρώπων; Εἰ γὰρ ἀληθῶς θεοὶ, αὐτοῖς ἁρμόττει τὸ τῆς δημιουργίας ἀξίωμα· ἀλλ' ὅπερ πολλάκις ἔφθημεν εἰπόντες, εἰ τέχνη μὴ προσῆν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, Ἕλληνες θεοὺς οὐκ ἂν εἶχον· μᾶλλον δὲ κἀκείνῳ προσχῶμεν, ὅτι εἴ τις αἴσθησις ἦν τοῖς εἰδώλοις, αὐτοῖς ἔπρεπε προσκυνεῖν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τοὺς ἐργαζομένους αὐτά. Νόμοι γὰρ φύσεως, τὸ ποίημα προσκυνεῖν τὸν πεποιηκότα, οὐ τὸν δημιουργὸν ὑποκύπτειν τῇ ἑαυτοῦ δημιουργίᾳ. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἡμεῖς οἱ σύντροφοι τῆς εὐσεβείας θείῳ νόμῳ ἑπόμενοι, Τοῖς θεοῖς σου οὐ λατρεύομεν, καὶ τῇ εἰκόνι τῇ χρυσῇ ᾗ ἔστησας, οὐ προσκυνοῦμεν· ἀλλ' ἔστιν ὁ Θεὸς ἐν οὐρανῷ, ὃς ἐξελεῖται ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν σου. Εἶτα ἵνα μὴ δόξωσιν ἢ τὸν Θεὸν πειράζειν, ἢ ἐλπίδι τοῦ ῥυσθήσεσθαι καταθαῤῥεῖν τοῦ πυρὸς, εὐθέως ἐπάγουσι· Καὶ ἐὰν μὴ, τουτέστι, κἂν μὴ ῥύσηται, ἀλλὰ συγχωρήσῃ κατακαῦσαι τὰ σώματα ἡμῶν τῷ πυρὶ, οὐδὲ οὕτως ἀφιστάμεθα τῆς εὐσεβείας· οὐ γὰρ ἐπὶ μισθῷ θεοσεβοῦμεν, ἀλλ' εὐγνωμόνως τὴν ἀλήθειαν ὁμολογοῦμεν. Ὡς δὲ ταύτης ἤκουσε τῆς πίστεως τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν, πυροῦται μᾶλλον ὁ τύραννος, καὶ κελεύει τὴν κάμινον ἑπταπλασίως ἐξαφθῆναι· ἔδει γὰρ τὸ ἀργύριον τὸ δοκιμώτατον ἑπταπλασίως καθαρθῆναι· Τὰ γὰρ λόγια Κυρίου λόγια ἁγνὰ, ἀργύριον πεπυρωμένον δοκίμιον τῇ γῇ, καὶ κεκαθαρισμένον ἑπταπλασίως· διὸ ἑπταπλασίως ἡ κάμινος ἐξεκαύθη, ἵνα ἑπταπλασίως οἱ ἅγιοι καθαρθῶσιν. Ὅτι δὲ ἀργύριον κέκληνται οἱ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἄνθρωποι, μνημόνευε τῆς Σοφίας λεγούσης· Ἄργυρος πεπυρωμένος γλῶσσα δικαίου· καὶ τοῦ προφήτου Ἱερεμίου ἄκουσον, λέγοντος περὶ τῶν ἀποδοκιμαζομένων ἀπὸ τῆς εὐσεβείας· Ἀργύριον ἀποδεδοκιμασμένον καλέσατε αὐτοὺς, ὅτι ἀπεδοκίμασεν αὐτοὺς ὁ Θεός. Εἰ δὲ οἱ ἀτελεῖς ἀργύριον ἀδόκιμον, οἱ δὲ τετελειωμένοι δηλονότι ἀργύριόν εἰσι δοκιμώτατον· ὅσον γὰρ ἡ κάμινος ἐξήπτετο, τοσοῦτον ὁ τοῦ μαρτυρίου πόθος ἐλαμπρύνετο. Εἰσελθόντες γὰρ οἱ ἅγιοι τρεῖς οὗτοι παῖδες μετὰ πίστεως κατεπάτουν τὴν φλόγα, λεπτὸν ἀέρα καὶ ἔνδροσον ἐν αὐταῖς μέσαις ταῖς ἀκμαῖς τοῦ πυρὸς ἀναπνέοντες. Ὁ γὰρ πάντα ποιῶν καὶ μετασκευάζων