hidden, unseen 12.60 ones I will open to you, that you may know that I am the Lord God, who calls your name, the God of Israel. For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen one, I will call you by your name, and I will receive you;” for from these things it has been clearly shown, that on account of the people whom Cyrus benefited, God, though he did not know the Hebrew religion, granted him to rule over many nations; and it is possible to learn these things also from the Greeks who have written about the prophesied Cyrus. Furthermore also in Daniel, when the Babylonians were ruling then under Nebuchadnezzar, the future kingdoms after him are shown; and they are shown through the image: of gold indeed the rule of the Babylonians being named, of silver that of the Persians, of bronze that of the Macedonians, of iron that of the Romans. And again in the same prophet, the things concerning Darius, and Alexander, and the four successors of Alexander the king of the Macedonians, and Ptolemy who ruled Egypt, who was called Lagus, are prophesied thus: “And behold, a he-goat came from the west over the face of the whole earth, and the goat had a horn between its eyes. And he came to the ram that had the horns, which I had seen standing before the Ubal, and he ran at him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close to the ram, and he was enraged against him, and he struck the ram, and broke both his horns, and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, and he cast him on the ground, and trampled him; and there was no one to rescue the ram from his hand. And the he-goat grew very great; and when he was strong, his great horn was broken; and four other horns came up under it toward the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came forth one strong horn, and it grew exceedingly great toward the south and the west.” And what need is there to speak of the prophecies concerning Christ, such as the place of His birth, Bethlehem, and the place of His upbringing, Nazareth, and His withdrawal into Egypt, and the wonders which He performed, and in what manner He was betrayed by Judas, who had been called to the apostolate? For all these things are signs of the foreknowledge of God. But also the Savior Himself says, “When, he says, you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you will know that its desolation has come near.” For He foretold what later came to pass, the end of the destruction of Jerusalem. Since it has therefore been demonstrated by us that God 12.61 has foreknowledge, it is not untimely that we should explain how the stars came to be for signs; it must be understood that the stars were so arranged to move, with the so-called wandering ones moving contrary to the fixed ones, so that, by taking signs from the configuration of all the stars concerning things that happen both to individuals and in general, they might know—not men, (for it is far beyond human ability to be able to truly grasp from the movement of the stars the particulars concerning each person, whatever they may be doing or suffering;) but the powers, which for many reasons must know these things, as we shall show to the best of our ability in what follows. But men, having understood from certain observations, or also from the teaching of angels who had transgressed their own rank and who taught certain things about these matters for the ruin of our race, thought that the things from which they suppose they receive signs are the causes of those things which the word says they signify, about which we shall also immediately discourse more carefully in summary, according to our ability. These problems will therefore be set forth: how, God having foreknowledge from eternity concerning the things supposed to be done by each person, our free will is preserved; and in what way the stars are not the cause of events among men, but only signify them; and that men cannot have precise knowledge of these things, but the signs are appointed for powers superior to men. For what reason God has made the signs for the knowledge of the powers will be examined as a fourth point. And so let us look at the first, which many of the

ἀποκρύφους, ἀορά 12.60 τους ἀνοίξω σοι, ἵνα γνῷς, ὅτι ἐγὼ Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς, ὁ καλῶν τὸ ὄνομά σου, Θεὸς Ἰσραήλ. Ἕνεκεν τοῦ παιδός μου Ἰακὼβ καὶ Ἰσραὴλ τοῦ ἐκλεκτοῦ μου ἐγὼ καλέσω σε τῷ ὀνόματί σου, καὶ προσδέξομαί σε·» σαφῶς γὰρ καὶ ἐκ τούτων δεδήλωται, ὅτι διὰ τὸν λαὸν ὃν εὐεργέτησεν ὁ Κῦρος, ὁ Θεὸς μὴ γινώ σκοντι αὐτῷ τὴν καθ' Ἑβραίους θεοσέβειαν ἐδωρή σατο ἐθνῶν πλειόνων ἄρξαι· καὶ ἔστι ταῦτα μαθεῖν καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν Ἑλλήνων τῶν ἀναγραψάντων τὰ περὶ τὸν προφητευθέντα Κῦρον. Ἔτι δὲ καὶ ἐν τῷ ∆ανιὴλ, Βαβυλωνίων βασιλευόντων τότε τῷ Ναβουχο δονόσορ δείκνυνται αἱ ἐσόμεναι βασιλεῖαι μετ' αὐτόν· δείκνυνται δὲ διὰ τῆς εἰκόνος· χρυσίου μὲν τῆς Βα βυλωνίων ἀρχῆς ὀνομαζομένης, ἀργυρίου δὲ τῆς Περσῶν, χαλκοῦ δὲ τῆς Μακεδόνων, σιδήρου δὲ τῆς Ῥωμαίων. Καὶ πάλιν ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ προφήτῃ τὰ περὶ ∆αρεῖον, καὶ Ἀλέξανδρον, καὶ τοὺς τέσσαρας διαδόχους Ἀλεξάνδρου τοῦ Μακεδόνων βασιλέως, καὶ Πτολεμαῖον τὸν τῆς Αἰγύπτου ἄρξαντα, τὸν ἐπικα λούμενον Λαγὼν οὕτω προφητεύεται· «Καὶ ἰδοὺ τράγος αἰγῶν ἤρχετο ἀπὸ λιβὸς ἐπὶ πρόσωπον πάσης τῆς γῆς καὶ τῷ τράγῳ κέρας ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν ὀφθαλ μῶν. Καὶ ἦλθεν ἕως τοῦ κριοῦ τοῦ τὰ κέρατα ἔχοντος, οὗ εἶδον ἑστῶτος ἐνώπιον τοῦ Οὐβὰλ, καὶ ἔδραμε πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐνώπιον τῆς ἰσχύος αὐτοῦ. Καὶ εἶδον αὐτὸν φθάνοντα ἕως τοῦ κριοῦ, καὶ ἐξηγριώθη πρὸς αὐτὸν, καὶ ἔπαισε τὸν κριὸν, καὶ συνέτριψεν ἀμφότερα τὰ κέρατα αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐκ ἦν ἰσχὺς τῷ κριῷ στῆναι ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔῤῥιψεν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν, καὶ συνεπάτησεν αὐτόν· καὶ οὐκ ἦν ὁ ἐξαι ρούμενος τὸν κριὸν ἐκ χειρὸς αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ὁ τράγος τῶν αἰγῶν ἐμεγαλύνθη ἕως σφόδρα· καὶ ἐν τῷ ἰσχῦ σαι αὐτὸν συνετρίβη τὸ κέρας αὐτοῦ τὸ μέγα· καὶ ἀνέβη ἕτερα τέσσαρα κέρατα ὑποκάτω αὐτοῦ εἰς τοὺς τέσσαρας ἀνέμους τοῦ οὐρανοῦ. Καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἑνὸς ἐξῆλθε κέρας ἓν ἰσχυρὸν, καὶ ἐμεγαλύνθη περισσῶς πρὸς τὸν νότον καὶ τὴν δύσιν.» Τί δὲ δεῖ λέγειν τὰς περὶ Χριστοῦ προφητείας, οἷον τόπον γενέσεως αὐτοῦ Βηθλεὲμ, καὶ τόπον ἀνατροφῆς αὐτοῦ Ναζαρὲτ, καὶ εἰς Αἴγυπτον ἀναχώρησιν, καὶ τεράστια ἃ ἐποίησε, καὶ τίνα τρόπον ὑπὸ Ἰούδα τοῦ εἰς ἀποστολὴν κε κλημένου προεδόθη; Πάντα γὰρ ταῦτα σημεῖά ἐστι τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ προγνώσεως. Ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ Σωτὴρ, «Ὅταν, φησὶν, ἴδητε κυκλουμένην ὑπὸ στρατοπέδων τὴν Ἱερουσαλὴμ, τότε γνώσεσθε, ὅτι ἤγγικεν ἡ ἐρή μωσις αὐτῆς.» Προεῖπε γὰρ τὸ ὕστερον συμβεβηκὸς τὸ τέλος τῆς κατασκαφῆς Ἱερουσαλήμ. Ἀποδεδειγμένου τοίνυν ἡμῖν περὶ τοῦ προγνώστην 12.61 εἶναι τὸν Θεὸν, οὐκ ἀκαίρως, ἵνα διηγησώμεθα πῶς οἱ ἀστέρες γίνοντα· εἰς σημεῖα, νοητέον τοὺς ἀστέρας οὕτω τετάχθαι κινεῖσθαι ἐναντιοφορούντων τῶν κα λουμένων πλανωμένων τοῖς ἀπλανέσιν, ἵνα, σημεῖα ἀπὸ τοῦ σχηματισμοῦ τῶν ἀστέρων πάντων τῶν περὶ ἕκαστον γινομένων καὶ τῶν καθόλου λαμβάνοντες, γινώσκωσιν, οὐχὶ οἱ ἄνθρωποι, (πολλῷ γὰρ μεῖζον ἢ κατὰ ἄνθρωπον τὸ δύνασθαι κατὰ ἀλήθειαν ἐκλαμ βάνειν ἀπὸ τῆς κινήσεως τῶν ἀστέρων τὰ περὶ ἑκά στου τῶν ὅ τι ποτὲ ἐνεργούντων ἢ πασχόντων·) ἀλλ' αἱ δυνάμεις, ἃς ἀναγκαῖον διὰ πολλὰ ταῦτα γινώ σκειν, ὡς κατὰ δύναμιν διὰ τῶν ἑξῆς δείξομεν. Συν έντες δὲ οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἔκ τινων τηρήσεων, ἢ καὶ ἐκ διδασκαλίας ἀγγέλων τὴν ἰδίαν τάξιν παρα βεβηκότων, ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ γένους ἡμῶν ἐπιτριβῇ διδα ξάντων περὶ τούτων τινὰ, ᾠήθησαν τοὺς ἀφ' ὧν τὰ σημεῖα οἴονται λαμβάνειν, αἰτίους ὑπάρχειν τούτων, ἃ σημαίνειν ὁ λόγος φησὶ, περὶ ὧν καὶ αὐτῶν ὡς ἐν ἐπιτομῇ κατὰ δύναμιν ἐπιμελέστερον εὐθέως διαλη ψόμεθα. Προκείσεται τοίνυν ταῦτα τὰ προβλή ματα, πῶς, προγνώστου ὄντος ἐξ αἰῶνος τοῦ Θεοῦ περὶ τῶν ὑφ' ἑκάστου πράττεσθαι νομιζομένων, τὸ ἐφ' ἡμῖν σώζεται· καὶ τίνα τρόπον οἱ ἀστέρες οὔκ εἰσι ποιητικοὶ τῶν ἐν ἀνθρώποις, σημαντικοὶ δὲ μόνον· καὶ ὅτι ἄνθρωποι τὴν περὶ τούτων γνῶσιν ἀκριβῶς ἔχειν οὐ δύνανται, ἀλλὰ δυνάμεσιν ἀνθρώ πων κρείττοσι τὰ σημεῖα ἔγκειται. Τίς γὰρ ἡ αἰτία τοῦ τὰ σημεῖα τὸν Θεὸν πεποιηκέναι εἰς γνῶσιν τῶν δυνάμεων, τέταρτον ἐξετασθήσεται. Καὶ τοίνυν ἴδωμεν τὸ πρῶτον, ὅπερ εὐλαβηθέντες πολλοὶ τῶν