7

But you, remember here the words of Christ, and marvel at his prediction; for He foretold all these things from the beginning. For he says: Brother will betray brother, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents. He foretold these things then for these three reasons: for one, that we might learn His power, and that He is true God, foreseeing from afar things that have not yet happened. For that He foretold the future for this reason, hear Him saying: For these things I have told you before they come to pass, that when they do come to pass, you may believe that I am. Second, that none of the enemies might say that these things happen because He is ignorant or weak; for He who foresaw them from the beginning could have also prevented them; but He did not prevent them, that the crowns might become more glorious. For this reason He foretold these things, and for a third reason He also spoke beforehand. What is this? That He might make the contest lighter for those in the arena; for unexpected terrors, whatever they may be, seem grievous and unbearable, but those that are expected and premeditated become light and easy. At that time, therefore, the enemies, by commanding these things, both displayed their own cruelty and unwillingly bore witness to the prophecy of Christ, and brothers were betraying brothers, and fathers children, and nature itself warred against itself, and kinship was torn apart against itself, and all laws were overturned from their foundations, and everything was full of a certain clamor and confusion, and the demons then filled the houses with kindred blood. For the father who betrayed his son surely also slew him; for even if he did not thrust the sword, nor with his right hand work the slaughter, yet with his will he accomplished the whole thing; for he who hands over one about to be slain to the slayer, has himself committed the murder.

Let us make them, they say, killers of their children, the demons were saying, let us make the children parricides through betrayal; for such sacrifices were offered to them in olden times, and fathers slaughtered children. And these things the prophet cried out, saying: They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons, and they thirsted for such blood. Since, therefore, Christ had put an end to these accursed and abominable sacrifices, they strove to renew them again, but they did not dare to say shamelessly and openly, "Slaughter your sons"; for no one was going to obey. But they devise the command in another way and contrive the law, commanding through the judges that fathers betray their children; for it makes no difference to us, they say, whether one slaughters, or hands over his son for slaughter; for both this one and that one is a child-killer. It was possible, therefore, to see parricides, child-killers, fratricides. Everything was filled with clamor and confusion; but the women enjoyed a deep calm. For the hope of things to come fortified them on all sides, since even while being in a foreign land they were not in a foreign land; for they had a true fatherland in faith, they had their own city in their confession, and being nourished by good hopes they were not sensible of any of the present things; for they saw only the things to come. While matters were in this state, the father arrives in that city with soldiers for the capture of his prey; the father and husband arrives, father of the daughters, husband of the wife, if indeed one ought to call a father or a 50.638 husband one who serves such things. But rather let us spare him as much as is possible; for he became the father of martyrs, and the husband of a martyr. Let us not make his wound more grievous by our own accusations.

2. But consider for me the intelligence of the women for when it was necessary to flee,

they fled, and when it was necessary to enter into the contests, they stood, and they followed bound by their longing for Christ; for just as one must not draw temptations upon oneself, so, when they come, one must struggle, that we may show moderation on the one hand, and courage on the other; which indeed they then were doing; and they were returning, and

7

Σὺ δέ μοι τῶν ῥημάτων ἐνταῦθα ἀναμνήσθητι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ θαύμασον αὐτοῦ τὴν πρόῤῥησιν· ταῦτα γὰρ πάντα ἄνωθεν προύλεγε· φησὶ γάρ· Ἀδελφὸς ἀδελφὸν παραδώσει, καὶ πατὴρ τέκνον· καὶ ἐπαναστήσονται τέκνα ἐπὶ γονεῖς. Προύλεγε δὲ αὐτὰ τότε διὰ τρία ταῦτα· δι' ἓν μὲν, ἵνα μάθωμεν αὐτοῦ τὴν δύναμιν, καὶ ὅτι ἀληθής ἐστι Θεὸς τὰ μηδέπω συμβάντα προορῶν πόῤῥωθεν. Ὅτι γὰρ διὰ τοῦτο προύλεγε τὰ ἐσόμενα, ἄκουσον αὐτοῦ λέγοντος· ∆ιὰ ταῦτα ὑμῖν εἶπον πρὶν ἢ γενέσθαι, ἵνα ὅταν γένηται πιστεύσητε, ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι. ∆εύτερον δὲ, ἵνα μηδεὶς τῶν ἐχθρῶν λέγῃ, ὅτι ἀγνοοῦντος αὐτοῦ ἢ ἀσθενοῦντος ταῦτα γίνεται· ὁ γὰρ ἄνωθεν προϊδὼν ἠδύνατο καὶ κωλῦσαι· οὐκ ἐκώλυσε δὲ, ἵνα λαμπρότεροι γένωνται οἱ στέφανοι. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ταῦτα προύλεγε, καὶ δι' ἕτερον δὲ τρίτον προεῖπε. Ποῖον δὴ τοῦτο; Ἵνα κουφότερον ποιήσῃ τὸν ἀγῶνα τοῖς ἐν τῷ σκάμματι· τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἀπροσδόκητα δεινὰ, ὁποῖα ἂν ᾖ, χαλεπὰ καὶ ἀφόρητα φαίνεται, τὰ δὲ ἐλπισθέντα καὶ προμελετηθέντα κοῦφα καὶ ῥᾴδια γίνεται. Τότε τοίνυν ταῦτα ἐπιτάττοντες οἱ ἐχθροὶ καὶ τὴν ὠμότητα ἐπεδείκνυντο τὴν ἑαυτῶν, καὶ ἄκοντες ἐμαρτύρουν τῇ τοῦ Χριστοῦ προφητείᾳ, καὶ ἀδελφοὶ παρεδίδοσαν ἀδελφοὺς, καὶ πατέρες τέκνα, καὶ αὐτὴ ἑαυτὴν ἐπολέμει ἡ φύσις, καὶ ἐσχίζετο καθ' ἑαυτῆς ἡ συγγένεια, καὶ πάντες ἐκ βάθρων ἀνετρέποντο οἱ νόμοι, καὶ πάντα θορύβου τινὸς ἔγεμε καὶ ταραχῆς, καὶ αἱμάτων τὰς οἰκίας ἐνέπλησαν συγγενικῶν οἱ δαίμονες τότε. Ὁ γὰρ παραδοὺς πατὴρ τὸν υἱὸν πάντως καὶ ἔσφαξε· κἂν γὰρ μὴ τὸ ξίφος ὠθήσῃ, μηδὲ τῇ δεξιᾷ τὴν σφαγὴν ἐργάσηται, ἀλλὰ τῇ γνώμῃ τὸ πᾶν ἀπήρτισε· καὶ γὰρ ὁ τῷ φονεύοντι παραδοὺς τὸν φονεύεσθαι μέλλοντα, αὐτὸς τὸν φόνον εἰργάσατο.

Ποιήσωμεν οὖν αὐτοὺς, φησὶ, παιδοκτόνους, οἱ δαίμονες ἔλεγον, ποιήσωμεν τοὺς παῖδας πατραλοίας διὰ τῆς προδοσίας· καὶ γὰρ ἐθύοντο αὐτοῖς θυσίαι τοιαῦται τὸ παλαιὸν, καὶ πατέρες ἔσφαττον τέκνα. Καὶ ταῦτα ὁ προφήτης ἐβόα λέγων· Ἔθυσαν τοὺς υἱοὺς αὐτῶν, καὶ τὰς θυγατέρας αὐτῶν τοῖς δαιμονίοις, καὶ τοιούτων ἐδίψων αἱμάτων. Ἐπειδὴ οὖν ἔπαυσε τὰς ἐναγεῖς ταύτας καὶ μυσαρὰς θυσίας ὁ Χριστὸς, ἀνανεώσασθαι πάλιν αὐτὰς ἐφιλονείκουν, ἀλλὰ ἀναισχύντως μὲν εἰπεῖν καὶ φανερῶς, ὅτι σφάξατε τοὺς υἱοὺς ὑμῶν, οὐκ ἐτόλμων· οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἔμελλεν ὑπακούσεσθαι· μεθοδεύουσι δὲ ἑτέρως τὸ πρόσταγμα καὶ σοφίζονται τὸν νόμον, διὰ τῶν δικαστῶν κελεύσαντες πατέρας προδιδόναι παῖδας· οὐδὲν γὰρ ἡμῖν διαφέρει, φησὶν, ἄν τε σφάξῃ τις, ἄν τε παραδῷ πρὸς σφαγὴν τὸν υἱόν· καὶ γὰρ οὗτος κἀκεῖνος παιδοκτόνος ἐστίν. Ἦν τοίνυν ἰδεῖν πατραλοίας, παιδοκτόνους, ἀδελφοκτόνους. θορύβου καὶ ταραχῆς πάντα ἐμπεπλησμένα· ἀλλ' αἱ γυναῖκες γαλήνης βαθείας ἀπήλαυον. Ἐτείχιζε γὰρ αὐτὰς πάντοθεν ἡ τῶν μελλόντων ἐλπὶς, ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐν ξένῃ οὖσαι οὐκ ἦσαν ἐν ξένῃ· εἶχον γὰρ ἀληθινὴν πατρίδα τὴν πίστιν, εἶχον οἰκείαν πόλιν τὴν ὁμολογίαν, καὶ ἐλπίσι συντρεφόμεναι χρησταῖς οὐδενὸς ᾐσθάνοντο τῶν παρόντων· τὰ γὰρ μέλλοντα μόνον ἑώρων. Τῶν δὴ πραγμάτων ἐν τούτοις ὄντων, ἐφίσταται ὁ πατὴρ ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ πόλει στρατιώτας ἔχων πρὸς τὴν σύλληψιν τῆς θήρας· ἐφίσταται ὁ πατὴρ καὶ ἀνὴρ, πατὴρ μὲν τῶν θυγατέρων, ἀνὴρ δὲ τῆς γυναικὸς, εἴ γε πατέρα ἢ 50.638 ἄνδρα τὸν τὰ τοιαῦτα διακονούμενον χρὴ καλεῖν. Μᾶλλον δὲ φεισώμεθα αὐτοῦ καθόσον οἷόν τε· καὶ γὰρ πατὴρ ἐγένετο μαρτύρων, καὶ ἀνὴρ μάρτυρος· μὴ δὴ χαλεπώτερον αὐτοῦ ποιήσωμεν τὸ τραῦμα ταῖς παρ' ἑαυτῶν κατηγορίαις.

ʹ. Σὺ δέ μοι σκόπει τὴν σύνεσιν τῶν γυναικῶν καὶ γὰρ ὅτε φυγεῖν ἔδει,

ἔφυγον, καὶ ὅτε εἰς τοὺς ἀγῶνας ἐμβῆναι ἐχρῆν, ἔστησαν, καὶ ἠκολούθουν δεδεμέναι τῷ τοῦ Χριστοῦ πόθῳ· ὥσπερ γὰρ οὐ δεῖ πειρασμοὺς ἐπισπᾶσθαι, οὕτως, ὅταν ἐπιστῶσιν, ἀγωνίζεσθαι χρὴ, ἵνα καὶ ἐκεῖθεν τὴν ἐπιείκειαν, καὶ ἐντεῦθεν τὴν ἀνδρείαν ἐπιδειξώμεθα· ὃ δὴ καὶ ἐκεῖναι τότε ἐποίουν· καὶ ἐπανῄεσαν, καὶ