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the hopes of salvation; and James likewise is beheaded with a sword in Jerusalem; and John was condemned to live on the island of Patmos; and others, having shown in different ways the pure and sincere obedience to his words, endured different ends to their lives. And they did not suffer these things unwillingly, but considered the hope of the promises of salvation sweeter than any pleasure; for when the rulers of the Jewish nation once seized them and subjected them to the torments of scourging, as the history concerning them testifies, they then went out from the council rejoicing, because they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the 24.540 name of Christ. And they did this, fulfilling his command, since he taught them to rejoice when suffering for his sake. And he showed them to be of equal honor with the prophets, saying according to Matthew: For so they persecuted those who were before you; as if these were also prophets, though later in time, yet made equal to them through similar suffering. For of those, one was killed by the sword, another by stones, another was thrown to lions, and another was cast into a pit of mire; and another's body was sawn asunder with a saw; and others were shut up in a fiery furnace. Therefore the Savior urged his disciples to be of good courage in the endurance of terrible things, reminding them in due time of what the prophets of God had suffered; so that through the comparison with them, they too might subscribe to the same hopes for themselves; For when, he says, they falsely accuse you, rejoice; since the prophets also endured the same thing. And all the people who heard, and the tax collectors, justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the counsel of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him. And he alludes to both of these groups when he says in a parable: What do you think? A certain man had two children; and he came to the first and said, 'Child, go, work today in my vineyard.' But he answered and said, 'I will not'; but afterward he repented and went. And he came to the other and said likewise; and he answered and said, 'I go, sir'; and did not go. Which of the two did the will of the father? They say to him, 'The first.' For here, having presented in his discourse two groups, one the Israelite, and the other that of the foreign nations signified by the tax collectors, he called both the two children of one father, since all are from one God, both Jews and Greeks. And he called those from the nations first, and those of the circumcision second; since the nations existed before Israel, and to the nations first, when there was not yet even the name of Israelite among men, the oracles of God and the theophanies were given. For Enoch was a Gentile, being uncircumcised, who received as a prize for his pleasing God his translation from among men; and Noah, having become righteous in his generation, was counted worthy of the oracles of God, he also being uncircumcised; and Melchizedek, having been older than the people of the circumcision, was named priest of the most high God; and Abraham and Isaac and Jacob were counted worthy of the oracles of God before Israel; and plainly also Job, being an Edomite of the sons of Esau, shone with valiant deeds of piety. The remaining order of the nations, being commanded by natural laws to work in the vineyard, which was the polity of piety, refused and spoke against the fatherly command, practicing idolatry all the 24.541 time; yet in the end it showed obedience; but the Jewish nation, which was the second child, after the refusal of the first, having been called to the same work through Moses and the prophets, showed eagerness in word; for they said, "All things we will do and we will hear"; but in deed entirely the opposite. Therefore the Savior asks the chief priests: Which then of these two did the will of the father? And when they acknowledged that it was the first, he clarifies who this first one was, saying: The tax collectors and the harlots and the whole order of the unbelieving nations bring you to the love of God. You

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τὰς σωτηρίους ἐλπίδας· Ἰάκωβός τε ὁμοίως ξίφει τὴν κεφαλὴν ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις ἀποτέμνεται· καὶ Ἰωάννης νῆσον οἰκεῖν Πάτμον κατεκρίνετο· καὶ ἄλλος ἄλλως τὸ καθαρὸν καὶ ἄπλαστον τῆς τῶν αὐτοῦ λόγων ὑπακοῆς ἐνδειξάμενοι, διάφορον ὑπέμειναν τοῦ βίου τελευτήν. Καὶ ταῦτ' οὐ παρὰ γνώμην ἔπασχον, πάσης δὲ ἡδονῆς ἡδίω τιθέμενοι τὴν τῶν σωτηρίων ἐπαγγελιῶν ἐλπίδα· ἐπεὶ γοῦν ποτε συλλαβόντες αὐτοὺς οἱ τοῦ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνους ἄρχοντες μαστίγων αἰκίαις ὑπέβαλον, ὡς ἡ περὶ αὐτῶν ἱστορία μαρτυρεῖ, ὡς ἄρα προῄεσαν ἐκ τοῦ συνεδρίου χαίροντες, ὅτι κατηξιώθησαν ὑπὲρ τοῦ 24.540 ὀνόματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἀτιμασθῆναι. Καὶ τοῦτ' ἔπραττον, αὐτοῦ παράγγελμα πληροῦντες, ἐπειδὴ χαίρειν ἐδίδασκεν ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ πάσχοντας. Ἰσοτίμους δ' αὐτοὺς τοῖς προφήταις ἀπέφαινε, λέγων κατὰ Ματθαῖον· Οὕτω γὰρ ἐδίωξαν τοὺς πρὸ ὑμῶν· ὡς καὶ τούτων μὲν ὄντων προφητῶν, λειπομένων δὲ χρόνῳ, ἐξισουμένων γε μὴν ἐκείνοις διὰ τὴν ὁμοιοπάθειαν. Ἐπεὶ κἀκείνων ὁ μέν τις ἀνῃρεῖτο ξίφει, ὁ δὲ λίθοις, ὁ δὲ λέουσι παρεβάλλετο, ὁ δὲ ἐν λάκκῳ βορβόρου ἐβάλλετο· καὶ ἄλλος πρίονι τὸ σῶμα κατετέμνετο· οἱ δ' ἐν πυρὸς καμίνῳ συνεκλείοντο. ∆ιὸ δὴ θαῤῥεῖν ὁ Σωτὴρ ἐν τῇ τῶν δεινῶν ὑπομονῇ τοῖς κατ' αὐτοῦ παρεκελεύετο γνωρίμοις, κατὰ καιρὸν ὑπομνήσας ὧν οἱ τοῦ Θεοῦ προφῆται πεπόνθασι· ὅπως διὰ τῆς ἐκείνων παραθέσεως καὶ αὐτοὶ τὰς αὐτὰς ὑπογράψοιεν αὐτοῖς ἐλπίδας· Ὅταν γὰρ, φησὶ, συκοφαντήσωσιν ὑμᾶς, χάρητε· ἐπειδὴ καὶ οἱ προφῆται τὸ αὐτὸ ὑπέστησαν. Καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ἀκούσας, καὶ οἱ τελῶναι ἐδικαίωσαν τὸν Θεὸν, βαπτισθέντες τὸ βάπτισμα Ἰωάννου. Οἱ δὲ Φαρισαῖοι καὶ οἱ νομικοὶ τὴν βουλὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἠθέτησαν εἰς ἑαυτοὺς, μὴ βαπτισθέντες ὑπ' αὐτοῦ. Ἑκατέρους δὲ τούτους αἰνίττεται καὶ ὅταν ἐν παραβολῇ λέγῃ· Τί ὑμῖν δοκεῖ; Ἄνθρωπός τις εἶχε τέκνα δύο· καὶ προσελθὼν τῷ πρώτῳ εἶπε· Τέκνον, ὕπαγε, σήμερον ἐργάζου ἐν τῷ ἀμπελῶνί μου. Ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν, Οὐ θέλω· ὕστερον δὲ μεταμεληθεὶς ἀπῆλθε. Καὶ προσελθὼν τῷ ἑτέρῳ ὁμοίως εἶπεν· ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν, Ἐγὼ, κύριε· καὶ οὐκ ἀπῆλθε. Τίς ἐκ τῶν δύο ἐποίησε τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πατρός; λέγουσιν αὐτῷ, Ὁ πρῶτος. Ἐνταῦθα γὰρ δύο τάγματα τῷ λόγῳ παραστησάμενος, ἓν μὲν τὸ Ἰσραηλιτικὸν, ἕτερον δὲ τὸ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων ἐθνῶν διὰ τῶν τελωνῶν δηλούμενον, ἄμφω δύο τέκνα ἑνὸς πατρὸς ὠνόμαζεν, ἐπεὶ ἐξ ἑνὸς Θεοῦ πάντες, Ἰουδαῖοί τε καὶ Ἕλληνες. Καὶ πρώτους μὲν ἐκάλεσε τοὺς ἐξ ἐθνῶν, δευτέρους δὲ τοὺς ἐκ περιτομῆς· ἐπειδὴ πρὸ τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ὑπῆρχε τὰ ἔθνη, καὶ τοῖς ἔθνεσι πρώτοις, μήπω μηδὲ ὀνόματος ὄντος ἐν ἀνθρώποις Ἰσραηλιτικοῦ, οἱ χρησμοὶ παρείχοντο τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ αἱ θεοφάνειαι. Ὅ τε γὰρ Ἐνὼχ ἐθνικὸς ἦν ἀπερίτμητος ὢν, ὃς ἔπαθλον εἴληφε τῆς εὐαρεστήσεως τὴν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων μετάθεσιν· καὶ Νῶε δίκαιος ἐν τῇ γενεᾷ αὐτοῦ γεγονὼς, χρησμῶν Θεοῦ κατηξιώθη, ἀπερίτμητος ὢν καὶ αὐτός· καὶ Μελχισεδὲκ παλαιότερος γεγονὼς τοῦ ἐκ περιτομῆς λαοῦ, ἱερεὺς τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ὑψίστου κεχρημάτικε· καὶ Ἀβραὰμ δὲ καὶ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακὼβ πρὸ τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ χρησμῶν Θεοῦ κατηξιώθησαν· ἄντικρυς δὲ καὶ ὁ Ἰὼβ, Ἰδουμαῖος ὢν τῶν υἱῶν Ἠσαῦ, θεοσεβείας ἀνδραγαθήμασι διέλαμψε. Τὸ μὲν λοιπὸν τάγμα τῶν ἐθνῶν κελευόμενον φυσικοῖς νόμοις ἐργάζεσθαι εἰς τὸν ἀμπελῶνα, τοῦτο δ' ἦν τὸ τῆς θεοσεβείας τὸ πολίτευμα, ἀνένευσε καὶ ἀντεῖπε τῷ προστάγματι τῷ πατρικῷ, πάντα τὸν 24.541 χρόνον εἰδωλολατροῦν· πλὴν ἐπὶ τέλει τὴν ὑπακοὴν ἐνεδείξατο· τὸ δὲ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνος, ὅπερ ἦν τὸ δεύτερον τέκνον, μετὰ τὴν ἀνάνευσιν τοῦ προτέρου κληθὲν ἐπὶ τὴν αὐτὴν ἐργασίαν διὰ Μωϋσέως καὶ τῶν προφητῶν, λόγῳ μὲν τὴν προθυμίαν ἐνεδείξατο· εἶπον γὰρ, ὅτι Πάντα ποιήσομεν καὶ ἀκουσόμεθα· ἔργῳ δὲ πᾶν τοὐναντίον. ∆ιὸ πυνθάνεται τῶν ἀρχιερέων ὁ Σωτήρ· Τίς ἄρα τῶν δύο τούτων ἐποίησε τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πατρός; Ἐκείνων δὲ ὁμολογησάντων, ὅτι ὁ πρῶτος, τίς ἦν οὗτος ὁ πρῶτος διασαφεῖ λέγων· Οἱ τελῶναι καὶ αἱ πόρναι καὶ πᾶν τὸ τῶν ἀπίστων ἐθνῶν τάγμα προσάγουσιν ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ὑμᾶς