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28 So that having heard from what bonds he was unexpectedly delivered, they might give themselves more to the preaching of the faith, being strengthened by the hope of miracles, and at the same time those who had recently departed from the Jewish faithlessness, and being enlightened by the light of the knowledge of God, might be restored and recalled, from the doubt lingering within them concerning the divine faith and might remain more steadfast toward the good. But O, the hardness of soul, which, having passed through the very intellectual senses of Herod, made him wholly disobedient and unreasoning toward the power of the apostolic wonders.

29 For he should have been convinced by the extraordinary deliverance of the apostle, from the guards, from the chains, from the sealed gates, and, as it was not through negligence that something occurred which grieved his soul, to have been ashamed, to have veiled himself, and if not to have marveled at the wonderworking openly, because of the madness of the Jews against the apostle, at least, being amazed at this by himself and in his soul, to have refrained from the slaughter of the guards.

30 But he, so that his beastliness and inhumanity might increase even more, submits the guiltless to the sentence of death, and this [φ. 166 ρο] though they had in no way been remiss concerning the guard and security; for because he was not strong enough to vent his anger against him, and to fill his own belly with apostolic flesh, he madly brings death upon the guards; But if, because they were condemned on his account, the apostle, working a miracle, did not deliver them from death. The explanation of the solution has a twofold reason; one, that they had treated the apostle inhumanly and beastly, sleeping with him and inflicting scourges from their words, sharper than the bonds, and being no less mad and minded against him than Herod; another, that they had not used such beastliness only against the chief, for they would have been deemed worthy of kindness, having slipped once in such a fall.

31 But since they also used the same rage against the other apostles, and afflicted others of the faithful with persecutions and punishments and all kinds of tortures, and set up traps of death for them on all sides, for this reason they were condemned to death, paying the price for an old and ingrained and incurable wickedness.

32 This is the most manifest trophy of the chief of the disciples against the devil [φ. 166 ῃο]. This is the most extraordinary wonderworking of the miracles accomplished for him. What shall I first admire in this apostle? The fiery passion of his longing for Christ? But O, the revelation made to him from above by the Father! His wishing to die with the teacher, and not to be torn away from him even when he died? But O, the threefold question after the resurrection, by which he not only made clear his heartfelt love for him, but also foreshadowed the circumstances of his death through his youth and old age and being girded by another, signifying the form of the inverted crucifixion.

33 This man, by an abundance of faith having received the revelation from God the Father, clearly proclaimed Christ as the Son of the Living God and confirmed the truth of the two natures. This man, being consumed with a longing for the teaching, when Jesus from afar foreshadowed the things of his passion. “Mercy on you, he says, Lord, this shall not be to you.” And being rebuked as one who thinks the things of men and not the things of God, he was taught to be silent concerning this.

34 This man also sent the teacher away from the boat, being exceedingly astounded by the surpassing nature of the miracle, and putting forward as the reason for the expulsion that he himself was a sinner. This man [φ. 167 ρο] was also present with Christ when he was transfigured and

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28 Ἵν' ἀκούσαντες ἐξ οἵων δεσμῶν ἀνελπίστως ἐρρύσθη πλειόνως ἐπιδοῖεν ἑαυτοὺς πρὸς τὸ τῆς πίστεως κήρυγμα, τῇ τῶν θαυμάτων ἐλπίδι νευρούμενοι, καὶ ἅμα οἱ τῆς ἰουδαϊκῆς ἀποστάντες ἄρτι κακοπιστίας, καὶ τὸ τῆς θεογνωσίας πεφωτισμένοι φωτὶ ἀναρρωσθεῖεν καὶ ἀνακληθεῖεν, τῆς ἐνδομυχούσης αὐτοῖς περὶ τὴν θείαν πίστιν ἀμφιβολίας καὶ παγιώτεροι πρὸς τὸ καλὸν διαμείνοιεν. Ἀλλ' ὢ πωρώσεως ψυχικῆς, ἥτις δι' αὐτῶν τῶν νοητῶν αἰσθητηρίων τοῦ Ἡρώδου χωρήσασα, ὅλον ἀπειθῆ καὶ ἀσυλλόγιστον πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἀποστολικῶν θαυμασίων πεποίηκε δύναμιν.

29 Ἐχρῆν γὰρ τὴν παράδοξον ἀπολύτρωσιν τοῦ ἀποστόλου, ἔκ τε τῶν φρουρῶν, ἔκ τε τῶν ἁλύσεων, ἔκ τε τῶν ἐσφραγισμένων πυλῶν πιστωθέντα, καὶ ὡς οὐ δι' ἀμέλειάν τι συμβέβηκε τῶν αὐτοῦ τὴν ψυχὴν ἀνιώντων ἐπαισχυνθῆναι, ἐγκαλυφθῆναι καὶ εἰ μὴ διαρρήδην διὰ τὸ τῶν Ἰουδαίων κατὰ τοῦ ἀποστόλου μανιῶδες θαυμάσαι τὸ τερατούργημα, ἀλλ' οὖν καθ' ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ τοῦτο ἐκπλαγέντα, τῆς τῶν φρουρούντων ἀποσχέσθαι σφαγῆς.

30 Ὁ δὲ, ἵνα καὶ μᾶλλον αὐτῷ τὸ θηριῶδες καὶ ἀπάνθρωπον αὔξοιτο, τῇ τοῦ θανάτου ψήφῳ τοὺς ἀνευθύμους ὑπάγει, καὶ ταῦτα [φ. 166 ρο] μηδὲν περὶ τὴν φυλακὴν καὶ ἀσφάλειαν κατοκλάσαντας· ὅτι γὰρ μὴ κατ' ἐκείνου ἴσχυσε τῷ θυμῷ ἀποχρήσασθαι, καὶ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γαστέρα ἀποστολικῶν ἐμπλῆσαι σαρκῶν, κατὰ τῶν φρουρούντων μανιωδῶς ἐπάγει τὸν θάνατον· εἰ δ' ὅτι δι' αὐτὸν κατακέκριντο, μὴ τοῦ θανάτου θαυματουργήσας τούτους ἐξείλετο ὁ ἀπόστολος. ∆ιττὸν ἔχει τὸν τῆς ἐπιλύσεως λόγον· ἕνα μὲν τὸν ἀπανθρώπως καὶ θηριωδῶς τούτους κεχρῆσθαι τῷ ἀποστόλῳ, συγκοιμωμένους αὐτῷ καὶ δριμυτέρας τῶν δεσμῶν, τὰς ἐκ τῶν λόγων προσφέροντας μάστιγας, καὶ οὐχ ἧττον Ἡρώδου κατ' αὐτοῦ μεμηνότας τε καὶ φρονοῦντας· ἕτερον δὲ τὸ μὴ πρὸς μόνον τὸν κορυφαῖον τῇ τοσαύτῃ χρήσασθαι θηριωδίᾳ, ἢ γὰρ ἂν καὶ φιλανθρωπίας ἠξίωντο ἅπαξ τῷ τοιούτῳ παρωλισθηκότες πτώματι.

31 Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ καὶ πρὸς τοὺς λοιποὺς ἀποστόλους τῇ αὐτῇ λύσσῃ ἐχρῶντο, καὶ ἄλλους τῶν πιστῶν διωγμοῖς καὶ κολάσεσι καὶ παντοδαπαῖς βασάνοις αὐτοὺς περιέβαλον, καὶ θανάτου θήρατρα πανταχόθεν αὐτοῖς περιεπήγνυον τοῦθ' ἕνεκα τὴν ἐπὶ θανάτῳ κατεκρίθησαν, παλαιᾶς καὶ συντεθραμμένης καὶ ἀνιάτου κακίας τιννύντες ἀντέκτησιν.

32 Τοῦτο τοῦ κορυφαίου τῶν μαθητῶν τὸ κατὰ τοῦ διαβόλου [φ. 166 ῃο] περιφανέστατον τρόπαιον. Τοῦτο τῶν εἰς αὐτὸν τελεσθέντων θαυμάτων τὸ ὑπερφυέστατον τερατούργημα. Τί πρῶτον τοῦ ἀποστόλου τούτου θαυμάσω; τὸ τοῦ πόθου διάπυρον πρὸς Χριστόν; Ἀλλ' ὢ τῆς διὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἄνωθεν γεγονυίας αὐτῷ ἀποκαλύψεως! Τὸ συνθανεῖν ἐθέλειν τῷ διδασκάλῳ, καὶ μηδὲ θανόντι συναπορρήγνυσθαι; Ἀλλ' ὢ τῆς μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν τριττῆς ἐρωτήσεως, δι' ἧς οὐ μόνον τὸν ἐκείνου πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐγκάρδιον διετράνωσεν ἔρωτα, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ τῆς τελευτῆς προηνίξατο διὰ τῆς νεότητος καὶ τοῦ γήρως καὶ τοῦ ἀλλοτρίου περιζώματος, τὸ τῆς ἀντιστρόφου σταυρώσεως ὑποσημηνάμενος σχῆμα.

33 Οὗτος περιουσίᾳ πίστεως τὴν ἐκ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς δεξάμενος ἀποκάλυψιν, Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ Ζῶντος τὸν Χριστὸν τρανῶς ἀνεκήρυξε καὶ τὸ τῶν δύο φύσεων ἀληθὲς ἐπιστώσατο. Οὗτος τῇ διδασκαλικῷ κατεμπιπράμενος πόθῳ πόρρωθεν τὰ τοῦ πάθους τοῦ Ἰησοῦ προαινιττομένου. «Ἵλεώς σοι, φησὶ, Κύριε, οὐ μὴ ἔσται σοι τοῦτο». Καὶ ὡς τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων φρονῶν καὶ οὐχὶ τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπιτιμηθεὶς τὴν περὶ τούτου σιγὴν ἐδιδάσκετο.

34 Οὗτος καὶ τοῦ πλοίου τὸν διδάσκαλον ἀπεπέμπετο τῷ ὑπερβάλλοντι τοῦ θαύματος ὑπερεκπληττόμενος, καὶ τῆς ἐκβολῆς αἰτίαν, τὸ ἑαυτὸν ἁμαρτωλὸν εἶναι προβαλλόμενος. Οὗτος [φ. 167 ρο] καὶ μεταμορφουμένῳ παρῆν τῷ Χριστῷ καὶ