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shining brighter than the sun. But, as I was saying before (for we must not, having been carried out into the sea of the prophet's praises, forget our subject), he also demonstrates what was said in the case of Moses. For since it was likely that, being puffed up by his achievements, he would not be very forgiving to the multitude, see what God does: He allows him to be stripped of His grace, so that his weakness might be shown; or rather, it is first necessary to show how he was not very forgiving. For when he had shut up the heaven, and made the earth barren, and there was a famine, a most bitter famine of all things, and the waters were consumed, and all vegetation withered, and the rivers failed, and the face of the earth was dreadful, threatening death, and the famine 63.465 coming on devoured everything, bringing a most piteous death; not even then did he relent, but went and sat on a mountain top, having delivered the people of the Jews to this harsh wasting away.

But the benevolent God, and His unspeakable goodness, could not endure this austerity; but since he was unwilling of his own accord to be persuaded to end the calamity, and He again, for His part, was unwilling to do this without him, see what happens: first He communicates with him, and then He sends the rain. Did you see God’s goodness and benevolence in this, and His honor for the holy man? For He did not release the reins of the rains before He spoke with him and told him what was to be, and sent him as a herald of the coming abundance. For since the grim events had come about through him, He wished him also to be the messenger of good things, and bringing him down from the mountain, He sent him to announce everywhere in that land the coming of the rains and the end of the famine. But nevertheless, when the rain had indeed come down, and in a brief moment of time plenty had returned, he brought the four hundred priests of Baal, and the four hundred and eighty, and slaughtered them, and let loose torrents of blood.

4. What then do these things have to do with the subject at hand? Do not be troubled, beloved;

for I will now proceed to the very end of what has been said. For when he had brought down that torch, and won the victory, and set up a splendid trophy, and accomplished the slaughter of the priests, he went away rejoicing, and being very proud of what had happened. The wife of Ahab, a base and contemptible little harlot, sent to him, saying: So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life tomorrow as the life of one of these priests. And he was afraid, and fled a journey of forty days. What then? That soul that reached to heaven, he who looked down upon the whole world, who scorned so great a famine, and rose up against so tyrannical a king, who shut up the heaven and opened it, who now brought down rain, and now a torch, who trampled on the necessities of nature, the dauntless, the everywhere courageous; this man suddenly, after so many achievements, after such great boldness, could not bear the verbal threat of a single prostituted girl, but becomes at once a fugitive and an exile, and flees to the desert, and departs a journey of forty days. What ever, then, is the cause? God stripped him of His grace, and the weakness of his nature was shown; He showed the prophet, and He showed the man, so that they might learn that what had happened then was also the work of grace. And He did these things both to make him forgiving to the multitude, and by cutting down and preventing the arrogance that arises from achievements. For that he had great and fanciful thoughts about himself, and rose up against all others, I will offer you this man himself as a witness.

For when God came to him, and asked the reason for his stay there, saying: What are you doing here, Elijah? and, What are you doing here? he asked, not wishing to learn, but

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ὑπὲρ τὸν ἥλιον λάμπον. Ἀλλ', ὅπερ ἔφθην εἰπὼν (οὐ γὰρ δεῖ τῆς ὑποθέσεως ἐπιλαθέσθαι εἰς τὸ πέλαγος ἐξενεχθέντας τῶν ἐγκωμίων τοῦ προφήτου), καὶ οὗτος δείκνυσι τὰ ἐπὶ τοῦ Μωϋσέως εἰρημένα. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εἰκὸς ἦν ὑπὸ τῶν κατορθωμάτων αὐτὸν ἐπαρθέντα, οὐ σφόδρα εἶναι τοῖς πολλοῖς συγγνωμονικὸν, ὅρα τί ποιεῖ ὁ Θεός· Ἀφίησιν αὐτὸν γυμνωθῆναι τῆς παρ' αὐτοῦ χάριτος, ὥστε δειχθῆναι αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀσθένειαν· μᾶλλον δὲ πρότερον ἀναγκαῖον δεῖξαι πῶς οὐ σφόδρα ἦν συγγνωμονικός. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἔκλεισε τὸν οὐρανὸν, καὶ τὴν γῆν ἐποίησεν ἄγονον, καὶ λιμὸς ἦν, λιμὸς ἁπάντων ὁ πικρότατος, καὶ ἀνάλωτο ὕδατα, καὶ ἐξηράνθη βοτάνη πᾶσα, καὶ ἐπέλιπον ποταμοὶ, καὶ φοβερὸν τῆς γῆς τὸ πρόσωπον ἦν, θάνατον ἀπειλοῦν, καὶ πάντα ὁ λιμὸς 63.465 ἐπιὼν ἐπενέμετο, θάνατον ἐπάγων τὸν οἴκτιστον· οὐδὲ οὕτως ἐνεδίδου, ἀλλ' ἀπελθὼν ἐπὶ κορυφῆς ὄρους ἐκάθητο, τῇ χαλεπῇ ταύτῃ τηκεδόνι τῶν Ἰουδαίων τὸν δῆμον παραδούς.

Ἀλλ' ὁ φιλάνθρωπος Θεὸς, καὶ ἡ ἄφατος ἀγαθότης, οὐκ ἠνείχετο τῆς αὐστηρότητος ταύτης· ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ αὐτὸς αὐτὸν οἴκοθεν παρακαλέσαι οὐκ ἠβουλήθη λῦσαι τὸ δεινὸν, αὐτός τε αὖ πάλιν χωρὶς ἐκείνου τοῦτο ποιῆσαι οὐκ ἤθελεν, ὅρα τί γίνεται· πρότερον αὐτῷ κοινοῦται, καὶ τότε ἀφίησι τὸν ὑετόν. Εἶδες Θεοῦ καὶ ἐν τούτῳ ἀγαθότητα καὶ φιλανθρωπίαν καὶ εἰς τὸν ἅγιον τιμήν; Οὐδὲ γὰρ πρότερον ἀφῆκε τὰς ἡνίας τῶν ὄμβρων, ἕως ὅτε αὐτῷ διελέχθη καὶ εἶπε τὸ μέλλον ἔσεσθαι, καὶ κήρυκα αὐτὸν τῆς μελλούσης εὐπορίας ἀπέστειλεν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ δι' αὐτοῦ τὰ σκυθρωπὰ γέγονεν, ἠβουλήθη καὶ τῶν χρηστῶν αὐτὸν ἄγγελον γενέσθαι καὶ καταγαγὼν ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄρους, ἔπεμψεν ἀπαγγέλλοντα πανταχοῦ τῆς γῆς ἐκείνης τὴν τῶν ὄμβρων παρουσίαν καὶ τὴν τοῦ λιμοῦ λύσιν. Ἀλλ' ὅμως κατενεχθέντος δὴ τοῦ ὑετοῦ, καὶ ἐν βραχείᾳ καιροῦ ῥοπῇ τῆς εὐθηνίας ἐπανελθούσης, ἀγαγὼν τοὺς ἱερεῖς τοῦ Βάαλ τοὺς τετρακοσίους, καὶ τοὺς τετρακοσίους ὀγδοήκοντα, κατέσφαξε, καὶ χειμάῤῥους ἀφῆκεν αἱμάτων.

δʹ. Τί οὖν ταῦτα πρὸς τὴν προκειμένην ὑπόθεσιν; Μὴ θορυβηθῇς, ἀγαπητέ·

πρὸς γὰρ αὐτὸ βαδιοῦμαι λοιπὸν τὸ πέρας τῶν εἰρημένων. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τὴν λαμπάδα κατήνεγκεν ἐκείνην, καὶ τὴν νίκην ἤρατο, καὶ λαμπρὸν τὸ τρόπαιον ἔστησε, καὶ τὴν σφαγὴν τῶν ἱερέων εἰργάσατο, ἀπῄει χαίρων, καὶ μέγα φρονῶν ἐπὶ τοῖς γεγενημένοις. Ἀπέστειλε πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡ γυνὴ τοῦ Ἀχαὰβ, πορνίδιον εὐτελὲς καὶ εὐκαταφρόνητον, λέγουσα· Τάδε ποιήσειάν μοι οἱ θεοὶ, καὶ τάδε προσθείησαν, ἐὰν μὴ θῶ τὴν ψυχήν σου αὔριον ὡς ἑνὸς τῶν ἱερέων τούτων. Καὶ ἐφοβήθη, καὶ ἔφυγεν ὁδὸν ἡμερῶν τεσσαράκοντα. Τί οὖν; ἡ οὐρανομήκης ἐκείνη ψυχὴ, ὁ τοῦ κόσμου παντὸς ὑπερορῶν, ὁ λιμοῦ τοσούτου καταφρονήσας, καὶ βασιλέως οὕτω τυραννικοῦ κατεξαναστὰς, ὁ κλείσας τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ ἀνοίξας, ὁ νῦν μὲν ὑετὸν, νῦν δὲ λαμπάδα κατενεγκὼν, ὁ τὰς ἀνάγκας τῆς φύσεως καταπατήσας, ὁ ἀκατάπληκτος, ὁ πανταχοῦ θαῤῥῶν· οὗτος ἀθρόον, μετὰ τοσαῦτα κατορθώματα, μετὰ τηλικαύτην παῤῥησίαν, μιᾶς κόρης πορνευομένης ἀπειλὴν οὐκ ἤνεγκε τὴν διὰ ῥημάτων, ἀλλὰ λοιπὸν φυγὰς καὶ ἄπολις γίνεται, καὶ δραπετεύει πρὸς τὴν ἔρημον, καὶ τεσσαράκοντα ἡμερῶν ὁδὸν ἀναχωρεῖ. Τί ποτε ἄρα τὸ αἴτιον; Ἐγύμνωσεν αὐτὸν ὁ Θεὸς τῆς χάριτος, καὶ ἐδείχθη τῆς φύσεως ἡ ἀσθένεια· ἔδειξε τὸν προφήτην, ἔδειξε καὶ τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἵνα μάθωσιν, ὅτι καὶ τὰ γενόμενα τότε τῆς χάριτος γέγονεν ἔργον. Ταῦτα δὲ ἐποίει συγγνωμονικόν τε αὐτὸν κατασκευάζων τοῖς πολλοῖς, καὶ τὴν ἐκ τῶν κατορθωμάτων ἐγγινομένην ἀπόνοιαν ὑποτεμνόμενος καὶ κωλύων. Ὅτι γὰρ μεγάλα περὶ ἑαυτοῦ ἐφρόνει καὶ ἐφαντάζετο, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων κατεξανίστατο, αὐτὸν ὑμῖν τοῦτον παρέξομαι μάρτυρα.

Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἦλθε πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ ἠρώτα τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς αὐτόθι διατριβῆς, λέγων· Τί σοι ὧδε, Ἠλία; καὶ, Τί σοι ὧδε; ἠρώτα, οὐ μαθεῖν θέλων, ἀλλὰ