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Isaac? The body is purified by fire, it is released from the pleasures of the flesh, it will depart from 56.548 life, but it will be at home with the Lord. With such reasonings having strengthened the symptoms of nature, he hastens to the sacrifice, having saddled the donkey, sharpened the knife, prepared the wood and the fire, leading his son like a lamb, and he did not speak the divine voice to anyone, he did not communicate it to friends, nor even to her who shared in his parenthood, not hating his wife, but fearing the serpent, lest on the pretext of love for her child she should blunt the earnestness of his piety. O utmost faith! O insurmountable wisdom! The patriarch considered how many evils would occur, if the divine command became known, how much lamentation there would be, how much wailing, how many tears. For this reason he kept silent, quenching with silence a great flame of lamentations. For what do you think Sarah would have done, hearing about the slaying of the child? would she not have immediately embraced Isaac, contriving to hide him inside her womb again, if it were possible, saying, dearest child, you are perishing, are we besieged by sacrifices? Sooner would she have given up, I think, her own soul, than to have given up the boy; and it was necessary for one of two things to happen, either for the sacrifice not to take place, or for the mother to be sacrificed with the child. And she would have said some such words to Abraham: Be sensible, O husband, be sensible, interpreter of a philanthropic God. A divine voice commands nothing against a human being; an evil demon envies you for your good fortune in children, and wishes to overturn the grace of God, bringing on the curse of child-murder under the pretext of piety. Do you not know the wondrous Melchizedek, the priest of God most high? Learn from him the laws of sacrifices, learn in what sacrifices God delights, and yet long ago he initiated you into the priesthood when you were returning from the slaughter of the five kings. Were not bread and wine for him, holy offerings, bloodless and pure sacrifices? not a calf? not a sheep? not a child? For he did not at all suppose that God is pleased with blood. Shall God eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God a sacrifice of praise, and pay your vows to the Most High. But if it is truly God who appeared, understand, husband, the will of the one who appeared. God is testing your disposition toward the boy, He wants you to be known, how you feel about your offspring; if you love your son, if you are fatherly disposed, if you are overcome by the affections of nature, if you have chosen to die for your child. He wants you to become a good example of love for one's child to the Canaanites, therefore not to obey, but rather to speak against the slaughter of the child, to see grey hairs being torn out, bitter tears flowing, to appear through these things a lover of children. I fear that you may incur the blame of child-murder from the Philanthropic One for the assent alone. Husband, be persuaded by me, Be not righteous over much. God will praise this disobedience of yours. And if God truly wants to sacrifice Isaac, groan bitterly, supplicate, fall down before him, shed tears upon the words of your supplication. He who asks for the sacrifice is good, much more philanthropic than a Father; he will change his decree, he will change his judgment. The race of men would never have perished by the flood, if the transgressors had washed themselves with tears of supplication. Sodom would still exist, if they had propitiated the judge with groaning of heart. If then he pities transgressors, how much more you, a righteous man. You once saved Lot from the divinely sent fire, by praying to the judge; save now also your child from the propitiatory fire, by beseeching God. You supplicated for the Sodomites, unjust men, and justly about to perish many times over, and will you not supplicate for a blameless child? Use your boldness of speech again; say, By no means; shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? You will not destroy the righteous with the wicked. Remember the old desire for children which you had, when you did not have a child. For before you received Isaac, these were the splendid promises of your Master: possession of a sweet land, a great abundance of money and possessions, an increase of your race so great, that it would be numbered with the innumerable natures, the sand of the seashore, and the stars of heaven;

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Ἰσαάκ; Καθαίρεται τῷ πυρὶ τὸ σῶμα, λύεται τῶν τῆς σαρκὸς ἡδονῶν, ἐκδημήσει τοῦ 56.548 βίου, ἀλλ' ἐνδημήσει πρὸς Κύριον. Τοιούτοις λογισμοῖς τὰ τῆς φύσεως νευρώσας συμπτώματα, ἐπὶ τὴν θυσίαν ἐπείγεται, ἐπισάξας τὴν ὄνον, θήξας τὴν μάχαιραν, τὰ ξύλα, τὸ πῦρ εὐτρεπίσας, τὸν υἱὸν ὡς ἀμνὸν ἐπαγόμενος, καὶ οὐδενὶ τὴν θείαν ἐξεῖπε φωνὴν, οὐκ ἀνεκοινώσατο φίλους, οὐδὲ αὐτῇ κοινωνῷ τῆς γονῆς, οὐ μισῶν τὴν σύζυγον, ἀλλὰ τὸν ὄφιν φοβούμενος, μὴ προφάσει φιλοτεκνίας ἀμβλύνῃ θεοσεβείας σπουδήν. Ὢ πίστεως ἄκρας! ὢ σοφίας ἀνυπερβλήτου! Ἐνενόησεν ὁ πατριάρχης πόσα συμβήσεται κακὰ, ἐκπύστου γινομένου τοῦ θείου προστάγματος, πόσος ἔσται θρῆνος, πόσος κλαυθμὸς, πόσα δάκρυα. ∆ιὰ τοῦτ' ἐχεμυθεῖ, σιωπῇ σβεννύων μεγάλην ὀδυρμῶν φλόγα. Τί γὰρ οἴει δρᾶσαι τὴν Σάῤῥαν ἀκούσασαν περὶ τῆς ἀναιρέσεως τοῦ τέκνου; οὐ περιεπλάκη ἂν εὐθὺς τῷ Ἰσαὰκ, ἔνδον αὐτὸν πάλιν, εἰ οἷόν τε ἦν, τῇ γαστρὶ κατακρύψαι μηχανωμένη, τέκνον φίλτατον ἀπόλλυσαι, λέγουσα, ἐν θυσίαις πολιορκούμεθα; Θᾶττον ἂν ἀφῆκεν, οἶμαι, τὴν ἰδίαν ψυχὴν, ἢ τὸν παῖδα προέδωκε· καὶ ἦν ἀνάγκη δυοῖν θάτερον, ἢ μὴ γενέσθαι τὴν θυσίαν, ἢ τὴν μητέρα συγκαρπωθῆναι τῷ τέκνῳ. Εἶπε δ' ἂν καὶ πρὸς τὸν Ἀβραὰμ τοιούτους τινὰς λόγους· Σωφρόνησον, ὦ ἄνερ, σωφρόνησον, ὑποφῆτα φιλανθρώπου Θεοῦ. Οὐδὲν κατὰ ἀνθρώπου προστάσσει θεία φωνή· βασκαίνει σοι τῆς εὐπαιδίας πονηρὸς δαίμων, καὶ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ χάριν ἀνατρέψαι βούλεται, ἐν εὐσεβείας προσχήματι παιδοκτονίας προσάγων ἀράν. Οὐκ οἶσθα τὸν θαυμάσιον Μελχισεδὲκ τὸν ἱερέα τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ὑψίστου; Μάθε παρ' αὐτοῦ θυσιῶν νόμους, μάθε ποίαις Θεὸς ἐπαγάλλεται θυσίαις, καίτοι πάλαι σε πρὸς ἱερωσύνην ἐμυσταγώγησεν ἀπὸ τῆς κοπῆς τῶν πέντε βασιλέων ἐπανιόντα. Οὐκ ἄρτος οὖν ἦσαν αὐτῷ καὶ οἶνος, εὐαγεῖς προσφοραὶ, ἀναίμακτοι καὶ καθαραὶ θυσίαι; μὴ μόσχος; μὴ πρόβατον; μὴ τέκνον; Αἵματι γὰρ Θεὸν ὅλως οὐκ ᾤετο τέρπεσθαι. Μὴ φάγεται Θεὸς κρέα ταύρων, ἢ αἷμα τράγων πίεται; Θῦσον τῷ Θεῷ θυσίαν αἰνέσεως, καὶ ἀπόδος τῷ Ὑψίστῳ τὰς εὐχάς σου Εἰ δὲ ὁ Θεός ἐστιν ἀληθῶς ὁ φανεὶς, σύνες, ἄνερ, τοῦ φανέντος τὸ βούλημα. Ἀποπειρᾶταί σου ὁ Θεὸς τῆς περὶ τὸν παῖδα διαθέσεως, γνωσθῆναί σε θέλει, πῶς ἔχεις περὶ γέννημα· εἰ φιλεῖς τὸν υἱὸν, εἰ διάκεισαι πατρικῶς, εἰ τοῖς σπλάγχνοις τῆς φύσεως ἥττησαι, εἰ θανεῖν ἀντὶ τοῦ τέκνου προῄρησαι. Θέλει σε καὶ φιλοτεκνίας καλὸν γενέσθαι τοῖς Χαναναίοις παράδειγμα, τοιγαροῦν οὐχ ὑπακοῦσαι, ἀντειπεῖν σε μᾶλλον περὶ τῆς σφαγῆς τοῦ τέκνου, ἰδεῖν πολιὰς τιλλομένας, πικρὰ ῥέοντα δάκρυα, φανῆναι διὰ τούτων φιλόπαιδα. ∆έδοικα μὴ τεκνοκτονίας μέμψεις ὑποσχῇς παρὰ τῷ φιλανθρώπῳ διὰ μόνην τὴν συγκατάθεσιν. Ἄνερ, πείσθητί μοι, Μὴ γίνου δίκαιος πολύ. Ταύτην σου τὴν παρακοὴν Θεὸς ἐπαινέσεται. Εἰ δὲ καὶ Θεὸς ἀληθῶς θέλει καρπωθῆναι τὸν Ἰσαὰκ, στέναξον πικρῶς, ἱκέτευσον, πρόσπεσον, ἐπιδάκρυσον τῆς ἱκετηρίας τοῖς ῥήμασιν. Ἀγαθός ἐστιν ὁ τὴν θυσίαν αἰτῶν, πολὺ Πατρὸς φιλανθρωπότερος· ἀλλάξει τὴν ψῆφον, ἀλλάξει τὴν κρίσιν. Οὐκ ἂν ἀπώλετο κατακλυσμῷ τὸ γένος τῶν ἀνθρώπων ποτὲ, εἰ δάκρυσιν ἱκετηρίοις οἱ παρανομοῦντες ἐλούσαντο. Ἦν ἂν ἔτι τὰ Σόδομα, εἰ στεναγμῷ καρδίας τὸν κριτὴν ἐξιλάσαντο. Εἰ οὖν ἐλεεῖ παρανόμους, πολλῷ πλέον τὸν δίκαιον σέ. Ἔσωσάς ποτε τὸν Λὼτ τοῦ θεηλάτου πυρὸς, εὐξάμενος τῷ κριτῇ· σῶσον καὶ νῦν τὸν παῖδα τοῦ ἱλαστηρίου πυρὸς, δεηθεὶς τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ὑπὲρ Σοδομιτῶν ἱκέτευσας, ἀνδρῶν ἀδίκων, καὶ πολλάκις ἀπολωλέναι μελλόντων δικαίως, καὶ ὑπὲρ παιδὸς οὐχ ἱκετεύσεις ἀμώμου; Χρῆσαι πάλιν τῇ παῤῥησίᾳ· εἰπὲ, Μηδαμῶς· ὁ κρίνων πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν, οὐ ποιήσεις κρίσιν; Οὐκ ἀπολέσεις δίκαιον μετὰ ἀσεβοῦς. Ὑπομνήσθητι τῆς παλαιᾶς φιλοτεκνίας, ἧς εἶχες, ὅτε οὐκ εἶχες τέκνον. Πρὶν γὰρ λάβῃς τὸν Ἰσαὰκ, ὑποσχέσεις αὗταί σου τοῦ ∆εσπότου λαμπραί· γῆς κατάσχεσις γλυκείας, χρημάτων καὶ κτημάτων περιουσία πολλὴ, αὔξησις τοῦ γένους τοσαύτη, ὡς καὶ ταῖς ἀναριθμήτοις αὐτὸ συναριθμεῖσθαι φύσεσιν, ἄμμῳ παραλίᾳ, καὶ ἄστροις οὐρανοῦ·