to make. 34 However many thoughts one has that are opposed to piety, they are many Babylonians; whom must be destroyed, being sinners of the earth. from which things the one who is pure comes to be in the city of the God who avenges the insolence of Babylon; for she thought she had conquered by her own power and she boasted against God. For when the temple was burned, the sacred vessels were given to the concubines for their use. Therefore, he consumed the fruitless nation with fire just as a forest. For this reason indeed he says: behold, I am against you, O insolent one, says the Lord of hosts. 35 He prophesies that the consummation will happen all at once; "for just as in the days of the flood" and "in the days of Lot" everyone was doing the things of this life, "until the flood and the fire came and took them all away," so will be the suddenness of the consummation. Of which, indeed, a symbol was Jericho, which fell all at once at only the sound of trumpets. And at the time of the saving passion, Babylon suddenly fell, when Christ abolished the doctrines concerning the idols of the nations and delivered those from the nations who believed. 36 The cup of Nebuchadnezzar is golden for the deception of men, so that receiving it they might drink, seeing the gold "that it is good for the eyes to see and beautiful to contemplate," but not considering the judgment in it. For his wicked doctrines are adorned with fine language, enticing with the beauty of the phrasing and by the skillful method. And every poet, seeming to be excellent, has fashioned a golden cup, putting into it the poison of idolatry, obscene speech, and all the evils of the soul. But Jesus did not provide a golden cup, lest it should even seem to be like that one (for which reason "we have this treasure in earthen vessels"), but of the salvation in it. But the golden cup, Babylon, when it comes for vengeance, is in the hand of the Lord, which once touched Job, making the whole earth drunk from wrath, from grief, from lusts, from vainglory (for as many as are the sins, so many are the instances of drunkenness), just as from wine all things are shaken and have nothing stable. But the righteous man is not earth; for being on earth, he has his "citizenship in heaven" and would not hear, "you are earth and to earth you will return," but rather, it is likely: you are heaven and to heaven you will return, for you bear "the image of the heavenly one," and you stand firm. 37 But if Babylon is not despaired of (for he would not have said: if somehow she will be healed), of what other soul shall we despair? But if she has not been saved, this has happened because of her, so that the best physicians make their defense and say: We treated Babylon, and she was not healed; let us abandon her. For it is not because of them, nor because of the medical art, nor because of the resin that she is not healed. And the physicians are angels, being under the great physician, God, and willing to heal those who obey. But if not, they will say: Let us abandon her, let each of us go away to his own land and his own place and his own business, because her judgment has drawn near to heaven, condemning her as incurable and about to suffer the consequences of despair. For physicians of bodies also abandon the incurable, lest they die in their hands; which indeed the angels do. And inasmuch as we sin, our judgment increases, and it rises up to the stars, that is, the saints. And then God brings forth his judgment for the humbling of the judgment that was exalted by sin, humbling the sin and rendering what is according to worth. 38 And Isaiah prophesied: "Raise a standard on a level mountain, lift up your voice to them; beckon with the hand." And the prophets urged these things on the Persians and Medes, that since they would already conquer Babylon, they should raise the signal of war upon its walls, as it was about to be captured, by which they indicate the assault to the soldiers. And he commands them to have their weapons in readiness; he speaks of the bows for the Medes. 39 And in agreement with "every man became foolish from knowledge," Paul says: "Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?" but the time

ποιήσασθαι. 34 Ὅσους τις ἔχει λογισμοὺς ἀνθεστηκότας θεοσεβείᾳ, πολλοί εἰσι Βαβυλώνιοι· οὓς ἀναιρετέον ἁμαρτωλοὺς ὄντας τῆς γῆς. ἐξ ὧν ὁ καθαρεύσας ἐν τῇ πόλει γίνεται τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἐκδικοῦντος τῆς Βαβυλῶνος τὴν ὕβριν· ᾤετο γὰρ οἰκείᾳ δυνάμει κεκρατηκέναι καὶ κατηλαζονεύετο τοῦ θεοῦ. ἐμπρησθέντος γὰρ τοῦ ναοῦ, τὰ σκεύη τὰ ἱερὰ ταῖς παλλακαῖς εἰς χρῆσιν ἐδόθη. διόπερ πυρὶ τὸ ἄκαρπον ἔθνος καθάπερ δή τινα δρυμὸν κατηνάλωσε. ταύτῃ τοί φησιν· ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐπὶ σὲ τὴν ὑβρίστριαν, λέγει κύριος τῶν δυ νάμεων. 35 Προφητεύει τὴν συντέλειαν ἀθρόως γενηθησομένην· «ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ» καὶ «ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις τοῦ Λὼτ» τὰ βιωτικὰ πάντες ἐποίουν, «ἕως ἦλθεν ὁ κατακλυσμὸς καὶ τὸ πῦρ καὶ ἦρεν ἅπαντας», οὕτως ἔσται τὸ τῆς συντελείας αἰφνίδιον. οὗ δὴ σύμβολον ἦν ἡ ἀθρόως πεσοῦσα φωνῇ καὶ μόνῃ σαλπίγγων Ἱεριχώ. καὶ παρὰ τὸν καιρὸν δὲ τοῦ σωτηρίου πάθους ἄφνω ἔπεσε Βαβυ λών, Χριστοῦ τὰ περὶ τῶν ἐθνικῶν εἰδώλων καταργήσαντος δόγ ματα καὶ τοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν ῥυσαμένου πιστεύσαντας. 36 Χρυσοῦν ἐστι τοῦ Ναβουχοδονόσορ τὸ ποτήριον εἰς ἀπάτην ἀνθρώπων, ἵνα δεξάμενοι πίωσιν, ὁρῶντες τὸν χρυσὸν «ὅτι καλὸν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἰδεῖν καὶ ὡραῖον τοῦ κατανοῆσαι», τὸ δὲ κρίμα τὸ ἐν τούτῳ μὴ λογιζόμενοι. τὰ μοχθηρὰ γὰρ αὐτοῦ δόγματα καλ λιλεξίᾳ κεκόσμηται, τῷ τῆς φράσεως δελεάζοντα κάλλει καὶ τῇ με θόδῳ τῇ τεχνικῇ. καὶ πᾶς δὲ ποιητὴς ἄκρος εἶναι δοκῶν ποτήριον χρυσοῦν κατεσκεύασε, δηλητήριον ἐμβαλὼν εἰδωλολατρείας, αἰσχρο λογίας, καὶ τῶν ψυχικῶν ἁπάντων κακῶν. ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς οὐ χρυσοῦ ποτηρίου προενοήσατο, μήποτε καὶ δόξῃ ἐκείνῳ ὅμοιον εἶναι (διόπερ «ἔχομεν τὸν θησαυρὸν τοῦτον ἐν ὀστρακίνοις σκεύεσιν»), ἀλλὰ τῆς ἐν αὐτῷ σωτηρίας. τὸ δὲ χρυσοῦν ποτήριον, ἡ Βαβυλών, ὅταν ἐπὶ τὴν ἐκδίκησιν ἔλθῃ, ἐν χειρὶ κυρίου γίνεται, τῇ ἁψαμένῃ ποτὲ τοῦ Ἰώβ, μεθύσκον πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ἀπὸ ὀργῆς, ἀπὸ λύπης, ἐρώτων, κενοδοξίας (ὅσα γὰρ ἁμαρτήματα, τοσαῦται καὶ μέθαι), καθάπερ ἐξ οἴνου πάντων σαλευομένων καὶ βέβαιον ἐχόντων οὐδέν. ὁ δὲ δίκαιος οὐκ ἔστι γῆ· ὢν γὰρ ἐπὶ γῆς, ἔχει «ἐν οὐρανοῖς τὸ πολίτευμα» καὶ οὐκ ἂν ἀκούσειε· «γῆ εἶ καὶ εἰς γῆν ἀπελεύσῃ», ἀλλ' ἐκ τῶν εἰκότων· οὐρανὸς εἶ καὶ εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἀπελεύσῃ, φορεῖς γὰρ «τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ ἐπουρανίου», καὶ πάγιος ἕστηκας. 37 Εἰ δὲ Βαβυλὼν οὐκ ἀπέγνωσται (οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἔλεγεν· εἴ πως ἰαθήσεται), ποίαν ψυχὴν ἑτέραν ἀπογνωσόμεθα; εἰ δὲ μὴ σέσωσται, τοῦτο γέγονε παρ' αὐτήν, ὡς τοὺς ἀρίστους ἰατροὺς ἀπολο γεῖσθαι καὶ λέγειν· ἰατρεύσαμεν τὴν Βαβυλῶνα, καὶ οὐκ ἰάθη· ἐγκαταλείπωμεν αὐτήν. οὐ παρ' αὐτοὺς γάρ, οὐδὲ παρὰ τὴν ἰατρικὴν οὐδὲ παρὰ τὴν ῥητίνην τὸ μὴ ταύτην θεραπεύεσθαι. ἰατροὶ δὲ ἄγγελοι, ὑπὸ τὸν μέγαν ὄντες ἰατρὸν τὸν θεὸν καὶ θερα πεῦσαι τοὺς πειθομένους ἐθέλοντες. εἰ δὲ μή, ἐροῦσιν· ἐγκαταλί πωμεν αὐτήν, ἀπέλθωμεν ἕκαστος εἰς τὴν γῆν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸν οἰκεῖον τόπον καὶ τὴν οἰκείαν πρᾶξιν, ὅτι ἤγγικεν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν τὸ κρίμα αὐτῆς, καταδικάσαντες αὐτὴν ὡς ἀνίατον καὶ πεισομένην τὰ τῆς ἀπογνώσεως. καὶ οἱ τῶν σωμάτων γὰρ ἰατροὶ τοὺς ἀνιάτους ἐγκαταλείπουσι, μήπως ἐν ταῖς αὐτῶν χερσὶ τελευ τήσωσιν· ὃ δὴ ποιοῦσιν οἱ ἄγγελοι. ὅσῳ δὲ ἁμαρτάνομεν, τὸ κρίμα ἡμῶν αὔξει, καὶ ἐξαίρει ἕως τῶν ἄστρων, τῶν ἁγίων δηλαδή. καὶ τότε ὁ θεὸς ἐκφέρει τὸ κρίμα αὐτοῦ εἰς ταπείνωσιν τοῦ ὑψωθέντος κρίματος ἀπὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας, ταπεινῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν καὶ τὰ πρὸς ἀξίαν ἀποδιδούς. 38 Καὶ Ἡσαΐας ἐθέσπισεν· «ἐπ' ὄρους πεδινοῦ ἄρατε σημεῖον, ὑψώσατε τὴν φωνὴν αὐτοῖς· παρακαλεῖτε τῇ χειρί». ταῦτα δὲ Πέρσαις καὶ Μήδοις οἱ προφῆται παρεκελεύοντο, ὡς κρατήσουσιν ἤδη Βαβυλῶνος, ἐπὶ τῶν αὐτῆς τειχῶν ὡς ἁλωσομένης ἀνατείνειν τοῦ πολέμου τὸ σύνθημα, δι' οὗ δηλοῦσι τοῖς στρατιώταις τὴν ἔφοδον. καὶ τὰ ὅπλα ἔχειν ἐν ἑτοίμῳ παρακελεύεται· τὰ τόξα τοῖς Μή δοις φησίν. 39 Συμφώνως δὲ τῷ ἐμωράνθη πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ἀπὸ γνώσεως ὁ Παῦλός φησιν· «οὐχὶ ἐμώρανεν ὁ θεὸς τὴν σοφίαν τοῦ κόσμου τούτου;» καιρὸς δὲ