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her own under her wings, and you were not willing. Behold, your house is left to you desolate.” And let us see if we should not say, in these matters, that the Savior speaks the truth, but that the Scriptures are not found which declare the things related by the Savior; for those who build the tombs of the prophets, and adorn the monuments of the righteous, condemning the things dared by the elders against 11.69 the righteous and against the prophets, say: “If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in the blood of the prophets.” Let someone therefore tell us, in the blood of which prophets? For where is anything of the sort written about Isaiah, or Jeremiah, or any of the twelve, or Daniel? But also concerning Zechariah, son of Barachiah, who was murdered between the sanctuary and the altar, we have learned from Jesus, but we have not known it from any other Scripture. Therefore, I think nothing else has been managed than that the supposed wise men, and rulers, and elders of the people removed such things as contained an accusation against them before the people. It is therefore not surprising if those who were not far from the disposition of those elders stole and removed from the Scriptures the story about Susanna, which happens to be true, who was plotted against by licentious elders. And in the Acts of the Apostles, Stephen, testifying 11.72 before many, says these things: “Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you have now become betrayers and murderers?” For everyone who accepts the Acts of the Apostles will confess that Stephen speaks the truth; but to demonstrate also from the Old Testament how he reasonably finds fault with the fathers of those who disbelieve in Jesus, as having persecuted and killed the prophets, is not possible from the received books of the New Testament; and Paul in the first epistle to the Thessalonians, testifying these things about the Jews, says: “For you became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus; for you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Jews, who killed both the Lord and the prophets, and have driven us out, and do not please God and are hostile to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved.” And I think I have shown in what has been set forth that it is not at all strange that the story happened, and that the cruelty with much licentiousness was dared by the elders of that time against Susanna, and that it was written by the providence of the Spirit, but was removed, as the Spirit might say, by the rulers of Sodom. In addition to these things, you said that Daniel is said by this Scripture to have been seized by the Spirit and cried out that the verdict was unjust, but the Scripture admittedly by him contains him prophesying in another way, that is by visions, and dreams, and the appearance of an angel, but nowhere by prophetic inspiration. But you seem to me not to have observed at all the saying, “God, who in various parts and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,” not only in all of them, but also in each one. But if you observe, you will find for the same holy ones both divine dreams occurring and angelic appearances, and inspirations. But it is sufficient for the present to use as testimonies the things written about Jacob; who concerning divine dreams relates such things: “And it came to pass, at the time the sheep were conceiving, that I saw them with my eyes in a dream, and behold, the he-goats and the rams mounting the sheep and the goats were white-streaked, and speckled, and ash-colored spotted. And the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘What is it?’ And he said, ‘Lift up your eyes and see the he-goats and the rams mounting the

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ἑαυτῆς ὑπὸ τὰς πτέρυγας, καὶ οὐκ ἐθελήσατε· ἰδοὺ ἀφίεται ὑμῖν ὁ οἶκος ὑμῶν ἔρημος.» Καὶ ἴδωμέν γε εἰ μὴ λεκτέον, ἐν τούτοις, τὸν μὲν Σωτῆρα ἀληθεύειν, οὐχ εὑρίσκεσθαι δὲ τὰς Γραφὰς, ὅσαι δηλοῦσι τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἱστορούμενα· οἱ γὰρ οἰκοδομοῦντες τοὺς τάφους τῶν προφητῶν, καὶ κοσμοῦντες τὰ μνημεῖα τῶν δι- καίων, καταγνόντες τῶν ὑπὸ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων εἰς 11.69 τοὺς δικαίους καὶ εἰς τοὺς προφήτας τετολμημένων, φασίν· «Εἰ ἦμεν ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν, οὐκ ἂν ἦμεν κοινωνοὶ αὐτῶν ἐν τῷ αἵματι τῶν προφητῶν.» Λεγέτω τις οὖν ἡμῖν, ποίων προφητῶν τῷ αἵματι; Ποῦ γὰρ ἀναγέγραπταί τι τῶν τοιούτων περὶ Ἡσαΐου, ἢ Ἱερεμίου, ἢ τινὸς τῶν ιβʹ, ἢ τοῦ ∆ανιήλ; Ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ τοῦ Ζαχαρίου υἱοῦ Βαραχίου φονευθέντος μεταξὺ τοῦ ναοῦ καὶ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου, ἀπὸ μὲν Ἰησοῦ μεμαθήκαμεν, ἀπ' οὐδεμιᾶς δὲ ἄλλης Γραφῆς ἔγνωμεν. ∆ιὸ οὐδὲν οἶμαι ἄλλο οἰκονομεῖσθαι, ἢ τοὺς νομιζομένους σοφοὺς, καὶ ἄρχοντας, καὶ πρεσβυτέρους τοῦ λαοῦ ὑπεξελεῖν τὰ τοιαῦτα, ὅσα περιεῖχεν αὐτῶν κατηγορίαν παρὰ τῷ λαῷ. Οὐδὲν οὖν θαυμαστὸν, εἰ καὶ ἀληθῆ τυγχάνουσαν τὴν περὶ Σωσάνναν ἐπιβουλευθεῖσαν ὑπὸ ἀκολάστων πρεσβυτέρων ἱστορίαν οἱ μὴ μακρὰν τυγχάνοντες τῆς προαιρέσεως τῶν πρεσβυτέρων ἐκείνων ἐξέκλεψαν, καὶ ὑφεῖλον ἀπὸ τῶν Γραφῶν. Καὶ ἐν ταῖς Πράξεσι δὲ τῶν ἀποστόλων ὁ Στέφανος μαρτυρῶν 11.72 ἐπὶ πολλοῖς, καὶ ταῦτα λέγει· «Τίνα τῶν προφητῶν οὐκ ἐδίωξαν οἱ πατέρες ὑμῶν, καὶ ἀπέκτειναν τοὺς προκαταγγείλαντας περὶ τῆς ἐλεύσεως τοῦ ∆ι- καίου, οὗ νῦν ὑμεῖς προδόται καὶ φονεῖς ἐγένεσθε;» Ἀληθεύειν μὲν γὰρ τὸν Στέφανον πᾶς ὁστισοῦν τῶν προσιεμένων τὰς Πράξεις τῶν ἀποστόλων ὁμολογήσει· ἀποδεῖξαι δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς παλαιᾶς ∆ιαθήκης, πῶς εὐλόγως μέμφεται τοῖς πατράσι τῶν εἰς τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἀπιστούντων, ὡς διώξασι τοὺς προφήτας καὶ ἀποκτείνασιν, οὐ δυνατὸν ἀπὸ τῶν φερομένων βιβλίων τῆς Καινῆς ∆ιαθήκης· καὶ ὁ Παῦλος ἐν τῇ προτέρᾳ τῆς πρὸς Θεσσαλονικεῖς ἐπιστολῆς ταῦτα περὶ Ἰουδαίων μαρτυρῶν φησίν· «Ὑμεῖς γὰρ μιμηταὶ ἐγενήθητε τῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ, τῶν οὐσῶν ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ· ὅτι καὶ ὑμεῖς τὰ αὐτὰ ἐπάθετε ὑπὸ τῶν ἰδίων συμφυλετῶν, καθὼς καὶ αὐτοὶ ὑπὸ τῶν Ἰουδαίων, τῶν καὶ τὸν Κύριον ἀποκτεινάντων, καὶ τοὺς προφήτας, καὶ ἡμᾶς ἐκδιωξάντων, καὶ Θεῷ μὴ ἀρεσκόντων, καὶ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις ἐναντίων· κωλυόντων ἡμᾶς τοῖς ἔθνεσι λαλῆσαι, ἵνα σωθῶσι.» Καὶ οἶμαι δὲ ἀποδεδειχέναι ἐν τοῖς προκειμένοις, ὅτι οὐδὲν ἄτοπόν ἐστι, γεγονέναι μὲν τὴν ἱστορίαν, καὶ τὴν μετὰ πολλῆς ἀκολασίας ὠμότητα τετολμῆσθαι τοῖς τότε πρεσβυτέροις κατὰ τῆς Σωσάννης, καὶ γεγράφθαι μὲν προνοίᾳ τοῦ Πνεύματος, ὑπεξαιρεῖσθαι δὲ, ὡς ἂν εἴποι τὸ Πνεῦμα, ὑπὸ τῶν ἀρχόντων Σοδόμων. Πρὸς τούτοις ἔφασκες, ὅτι ὁ ∆ανιὴλ ὑπὸ μὲν τῆς Γραφῆς ταύτης λέγεται Πνεύματι ληφθεὶς ἐκβεβοηκέναι, ὡς ἀδίκως ἡ ἀπόφασις ἔχοι, ἡ δὲ φερομένη ὁμολογουμένως ὑπ' αὐτοῦ Γραφὴ ἄλλῳ τρόπῳ περιέχει αὐτὸν προφητεύοντα, τουτέστιν ὁράμασι, καὶ ὀνείροις, καὶ ἀγγέλου ἐπιφανείᾳ· οὐδαμοῦ δὲ ἐπιπνοίᾳ προφητικῇ. Σὺ δέ μοι ἔοικας μὴ πάνυ τετηρηκέναι τὸ, «Πολυμερῶς καὶ πολυτρόπως πάλαι τὸν Θεὸν λελαληκέναι τοῖς πατράσιν ἐν τοῖς προφήταις,» οὐ μόνον ἐν τοῖς πᾶσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τοῖς καθ' ἕνα. Παρατηρήσας δὲ εὑρήσεις τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἁγίοις καὶ ἐνύπνια γενόμενα θεῖα καὶ ἐπιφανείας ἀγγελικὰς, καὶ ἐπιπνοίας. Ἀρκεῖ δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος μαρτυρίαις χρήσασθαι τοῖς περὶ τοῦ Ἰακὼβ γεγραμμένοις· ὃς περὶ μὲν θείων ἐνυπνίων τοιαῦτα διηγεῖται· «Καὶ ἐγένετο, ἡνίκα ἐνεκίσσων τὰ πρόβατα, καὶ εἶδον ἐν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς μου αὐτὰ ἐν ὕπνῳ, καὶ ἰδοὺ οἱ τράγοι καὶ οἱ κριοὶ ἀναβαίνοντες ἦσαν ἐπὶ τὰ πρόβατα καὶ τὰς αἶγας, διάλευκοι, καὶ ποικίλοι, καὶ σποδοειδεῖς ῥαντοί. Καὶ εἶπέ μοι ὁ ἄγγελος τοῦ Θεοῦ καθ' ὕπνον· Ἰακώβ. Ἐγὼ δὲ εἶπον· Τί ἐστι; καὶ εἶπεν· Ἀνάβλεψον τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς σου, καὶ ἴδε τοὺς τράγους καὶ τοὺς κριοὺς ἀναβαίνοντας ἐπὶ τὰ