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proof of power? For not only did He convert the adversary, and the leader of your battle; and yet, if He had done only this, it was of the greatest power to take the enemy and adversary captive; but now He has not only worked this, but something much greater than this. For not only did He convert him, but He made him so much His own, He so drew him to His own good will, as to entrust all the affairs of the Church to him. For he is a chosen vessel to me, He says, to bear my name before the Gentiles 51.122 and kings, and to persuade him to labor more than the apostles for the Church which was formerly warred against by him. 6. Do you want to learn how He converted him? how He made him His own? how He drew him in? how He numbered him among the first of His friends? To no man did He venture to speak so many ineffable things as to Paul. And from where is this clear? I heard inexpressible words, he says, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Did you see, the enemy, the adversary, how much good will he showed? For this reason it is necessary to speak also of his former life; for it shows us the love for mankind and power of God; love for mankind, because He wished to save the one who had wrought so many evils, and to draw him to Himself; and power, because having wished it, He was able. And this also shows the soul of Paul, that he did nothing out of contentiousness, nor was he prejudiced by human opinion, like the Jews; but was inflamed with zeal, not a right one, but zeal nevertheless; which he himself also cried out, saying, For this reason I received mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief; and being amazed at the love of God for mankind, he said: That in me first Christ might show all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting; and elsewhere again he said, that He showed the working of His power especially to us who believe. Did you see how the former life of Paul showed both the love of God for mankind, and His power, and the incorruptibility of his own judgment? At any rate, writing to the Galatians, he brought this forward as proof, that he had not changed for the sake of men, but had been transformed by divine power. For if I were pleasing men, he says, I should not be a servant of Christ. And from where is it clear that not to please men, you converted to the preaching? You have heard, he says, of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the Church of God beyond measure, and wasted it. But he would not have converted to the faith, if he had wished to please men. Why? He was honored among the Jews, and enjoyed much freedom, and was thought worthy of the chief seats; he would not then have converted to the perilous life of the apostles, one full of defamation, one filled with misfortunes; so that his (sic) sudden change and conversion, and the leaving of the honor among the Jews and the peaceful life, and exchanging it for the life of the apostles, which had ten thousand deaths, became the greatest proof that Paul was not converted for any human reason. For this reason we too wished to bring his former life into the midst, and to show the fiery zeal against the Church, so that when you see the great eagerness for the Church, you may marvel at God who does and transforms all things. For this reason also the disciple of Paul narrated to us the former things with accuracy, and with much emphasis, saying thus: But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples 51.123 of the Lord. I myself wished then to begin the preface today, I wished to enter into the beginning of the narrative, but I see a sea of thoughts from the name alone. For consider how great a question this, 'Saul', immediately raises for us; for in the Epistles I see another name written: Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, a called apostle; Paul and Sosthenes; Paul

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ἀπόδειξις τῆς δυνάμεως; Οὐ γὰρ μόνον μετέστησε τὸν πολέμιον, καὶ ἀρχηγὸν τῆς μάχης ὑμῶν· καίτοι εἰ καὶ τοῦτο μόνον ἐποίησε, μεγίστης δυνάμεως ἦν τὸ τὸν ἐχθρὸν καὶ πολέμιον λαβεῖν αἰχμάλωτον· νῦν δὲ οὐχὶ τοῦτο μόνον εἰργάσατο, ἀλλὰ καὶ τούτου πολλῷ μεῖζον. Οὐ γὰρ μόνον μετέστησεν, ἀλλ' οὕτως οἰκεῖον ἐποίησεν, οὕτως ἐπεσπάσατο πρὸς τὴν εὔνοιαν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ, ὡς καὶ αὐτῷ πάντα τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τὰ πράγματα ἐγχειρίσαι. Σκεῦος γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐκλογῆς μοί ἐστιν οὗτος, τοῦ βαστάσαι τὸ ὄνομά μου ἐνώπιον ἐθνῶν 51.122 καὶ βασιλέων, καὶ πλείονα τῶν ἀποστόλων πεῖσαι καμεῖν ὑπὲρ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τῆς πρότερον ὑπ' αὐτοῦ πολεμουμένης. ςʹ. Βούλει μαθεῖν πῶς αὐτὸν μετέστησε; πῶς αὐτὸν ᾠκειώσατο; πῶς αὐτὸν ἐπεσπάσατο; πῶς εἰς τοὺς πρώτους τῶν φίλων κατέλεξεν; Οὐδενὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τοσαῦτα ἐθάῤῥησεν εἰπεῖν ἀπόῤῥητα, ὅσα τῷ Παύλῳ. Καὶ πόθεν τοῦτο δῆλον; Ἤκουσα ἄῤῥητα ῥήματα, φησὶν, ἃ οὐκ ἐξὸν ἀνθρώπῳ λαλῆσαι. Εἶδες, ὁ ἐχθρὸς, ὁ πολέμιος πόσην εὔνοιαν ἐπεδείξατο; ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἀναγκαῖον καὶ τὸν πρότερον βίον αὐτοῦ εἰπεῖν· καὶ γὰρ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ δείκνυσιν ἡμῖν φιλανθρωπίαν καὶ δύναμιν· φιλανθρωπίαν μὲν, ὅτι ἐβουλήθη τὸν τοσαῦτα κακὰ ἐργασάμενον σῶσαι, καὶ πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἐπισπάσασθαι· δύναμιν δὲ, ὅτι βουληθεὶς ἴσχυσε. Καὶ τὴν Παύλου δὲ τοῦτο δείκνυσι ψυχὴν, ὅτι οὐδὲν πρὸς φιλονεικίαν ἐποίει, οὐδὲ ἀνθρωπίνῃ προκατειλημμένος δόξῃ, καθάπερ οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι· ἀλλὰ ζήλῳ πεπυρωμένος, οὐκ ὀρθῷ μὲν, ζήλῳ δὲ ὅμως· ὅπερ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐβόα λέγων, ὅτι ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἠλεήθην, ὅτι ἀγνοῶν ἐποίησα ἐν ἀπιστίᾳ· καὶ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίαν ἐκπληττόμενος ἔλεγεν· Ἵνα ἐν ἐμοὶ πρώτῳ ἐνδείξηται Χριστὸς τὴν ἅπασαν μακροθυμίαν, πρὸς ὑποτύπωσιν δὲ τῶν μελλόντων πιστεύειν ἐπ' αὐτῷ εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον· καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ πάλιν ἔλεγεν, ὅτι Τὴν ἐνέργειαν τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ μάλιστα ἔδειξεν εἰς ἡμᾶς τοὺς πιστεύοντας. Εἶδες πῶς καὶ τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν ἔδειξε τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τὴν δύναμιν, καὶ τὸ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ γνώμης ἀδέκαστον ὁ πρότερος Παύλου βίος; Τοῦτο γοῦν Γαλάταις γράφων εἰς ἀπόδειξιν παρήγαγε, τοῦ μὴ δι' ἀνθρώπους μεταβαλέσθαι, ἀλλὰ θείᾳ μετενενῆχθαι δυνάμει. Εἰ γὰρ ἀνθρώποις, φησὶν, ἤρεσκον, Χριστοῦ δοῦλος οὐκ ἂν ἤμην. Καὶ πόθεν δῆλον ὅτι οὐκ ἀνθρώποις ἀρέσκων, πρὸς τὸ κήρυγμα μετέστης; Ἠκούσατε, φησὶ, τὴν ἐμὴν ἀναστροφήν ποτε ἐν τῷ ἰουδαϊσμῷ, ὅτι καθ' ὑπερβολὴν ἐδίωκον τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ἐπόρθουν αὐτήν. Οὐκ ἂν δὲ, εἰ ἀνθρώποις ἀρέσκειν ἤθελε, μετέθετο πρὸς τὴν πίστιν. ∆ιὰ τί; Ἐτιμᾶτο παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις, καὶ ἀδείας ἀπήλαυε πολλῆς, καὶ προεδρίας ἠξιοῦτο· οὐκ ἂν οὖν πρὸς ἐπικίνδυνον μετέστη βίον τὸν τῶν ἀποστόλων, τὸν δυσφημίας γέμοντα, τὸν συμφορῶν ἐμπεπλησμένον· ὥστε αὐτὴν (sic) ἀθρόᾳ μεταβολῇ καὶ μεταστάσει, καὶ τὸ καταλιπεῖν μὲν τὴν παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις τιμὴν καὶ τὸν ἀπόλεμον βίον, ἀνταλλάξασθαι δὲ τὴν τῶν ἀποστόλων ζωὴν, τὴν μυρίους ἔχουσαν θανάτους, μεγίστη γέγονεν ἀπόδειξις τοῦ μὴ δι' ἀνθρωπίνην τινὰ πρόφασιν μετατεθῆναι τὸν Παῦλον. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐβουλήθημεν τὸν πρότερον αὐτοῦ βίον εἰς μέσον ἀγαγεῖν, καὶ δεῖξαι τὸν πεπυρωμένον ζῆλον τὸν κατὰ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, ἵν', ὅταν ἴδῃς τὴν πολλὴν προθυμίαν τὴν ὑπὲρ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, θαυμάσῃς τὸν ποιοῦντα πάντα καὶ μετασκευάζοντα Θεόν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ μαθητὴς ὁ Παύλου τὰ πρότερα ἡμῖν μετ' ἀκριβείας διηγήσατο, καὶ πολλῆς ἐμφάσεως, οὕτως εἰπών· Σαῦλος δὲ ἔτι ἐμπνέων ἀπειλῆς καὶ φόνου εἰς τοὺς μαθητὰς 51.123 τοῦ Κυρίου. Ἐβουλόμην μὲν οὖν καὶ αὐτὸς ἄρξασθαι τοῦ προοιμίου σήμερον, ἐβουλόμην ἐμβαλεῖν εἰς τὴν ἀρχὴν τοῦ διηγήματος, ἀλλ' ὁρῶ πέλαγος νοημάτων ἀπὸ τοῦ ὀνόματος μόνον. Ἐννόησον γὰρ ὅσον εὐθέως ἡμῖν κινεῖ ζήτημα, τὸ, Σαῦλος, τοῦτο· ἐν γὰρ ταῖς Ἐπιστολαῖς ἕτερον ὄνομα ὁρῶ κείμενον· Παῦλος δοῦλος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, κλητὸς ἀπόστολος· Παῦλος καὶ Σωσθένης· Παῦλος