9. The accusation shews the mind of the accusers.

Now if they had been of sound mind, they would have seen that they were in this strait, and that they were falling foul of their own arguments. But since they have lost all judgment, they are still led on to persecute, and seek to destroy, and yet perceive not their own impiety. It may be they even venture to accuse Providence itself (for nothing is beyond the reach of their presumption), that it does not deliver up to them those whom they desire; certain as it is, according to the saying of our Saviour, that not even a sparrow can fall into the snare without our Father which is in heaven40    Matt. x. 29.. But when these accursed ones obtain possession of any one, they immediately forget not only all other, but even themselves; and raising their brow in very haughtiness, they neither acknowledge times and seasons, nor respect human nature in those whom they injure. Like the tyrant of Babylon41    Encyc. 5., they attack more furiously; they shew pity to none, but mercilessly ‘upon the ancient,’ as it is written, ‘they very heavily lay the yoke,’ and ‘they add to the grief of them that are wounded42    Is. xlvii. 6; Ps. lxix. 26..’ Had they not acted in this manner; had they not driven into banishment those who spoke in my defence against their calumnies, their representations might have appeared to some persons sufficiently plausible. But since they have conspired against so many other Bishops of high character, and have spared neither the great confessor Hosius, nor the Bishop of Rome, nor so many others from the Spains and the Gauls, and Egypt, and Libya, and the other countries, but have committed such cruel outrages against all who have in any way opposed them in my behalf; is it not plain that their designs have been directed rather against me than against any other, and that their desire is miserably to destroy me as they have done others? To accomplish this they vigilantly watch for an opportunity, and think themselves injured, when they see those safe, whom they wished not to live.

9 Εἰ μὲν οὖν ἔσῳζον τὰς φρένας, ἔβλεπον ἑαυτοὺς ἐν τού τοις συνεχομένους καὶ τοῖς ἑαυτῶν προσκόπτοντας λογισμοῖς. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ τὸ σωφρονεῖν ἀπώλεσαν, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ διώκοντες ἐξάγονται, καὶ ζητοῦντες ἀνελεῖν οὐχ ὁρῶσιν ἑαυτῶν τὴν ἀσέβειαν. Τάχα γὰρ καὶ τὴν Πρόνοιαν αὐτὴν αἰτιᾶσθαι τολμῶσιν (οὐδὲν γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἀτόλμητον), ἐφ' οἷς αὐτοῖς οὐ παραδίδωσι, προδήλου τούτου τυγχάνοντος κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Σωτῆρος φωνήν, ὅτι μηδὲ στρουθίον ἄνευ τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν τοῦ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς ἐμπεσεῖν εἰς παγίδα δύναται. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ὅτε παραλαμβάνουσιν οἱ ἀλάστορες, εὐθὺς ἐπιλανθάνονται τῶν τε ἄλλων καὶ πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων ἑαυτῶν· καὶ μόναις ταῖς ἀλαζονείαις τὰς ὀφρῦς ἀνασπάσαντες, οὔτε καιρὸν γινώσκουσιν οὔτε ἀδικοῦντες ἀνθρώπους αἰδοῦνται τὴν φύσιν, κατὰ δὲ τὸν τύραννον τῆς Βαβυλῶνος ἀγριώτερον ἐπιφύονται καὶ οὔτε τινὰς ἐλεοῦσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ «τοῦ πρεσβυτέρου τὸν ζυγὸν ἐπιβαρύνουσι» καὶ «ἐπὶ τὸ ἄλγος τῶν τραυμάτων», ὡς γέγραπται, προστιθέα σιν οἱ ἀνηλεεῖς. Εἰ μὲν οὖν μὴ ταῦτα δράσαντες ἦσαν, εἰ μὴ τοὺς κατὰ τῆς συκοφαντίας αὐτῶν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν λέγοντας ἐξορίσαντες ἦσαν, πιθανῶς ἂν λέγοντες παρά τισιν ἐνομίσθησαν· ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἄλλοις τοσούτοις καὶ τηλικούτοις ἐπισκόποις ἐπεβούλευσαν, καὶ οὔτε τοῦ μεγάλου καὶ ὁμολογητοῦ Ὁσίου, οὔτε τοῦ ἐπισκόπου Ῥώμης οὔτε τοσούτων ἀπὸ τῶν Σπανίων καὶ Γαλλίων καὶ τῆς Αἰγύπτου καὶ Λιβύης καὶ τῶν ἄλλων μερῶν ἐπισκόπων ἐφείσαντο, ἀλλὰ τοσαῦτα πεποιήκασι κατὰ τῶν ὅλως ἐλεγξάντων αὐτοὺς ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, πῶς οὐχὶ μᾶλλον ἡμᾶς πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων ἐβουλεύσαντο, καὶ μετ' ἐκείνους ἐπιθυμοῦσι δὲ κἀκεῖσε ἀνελεῖν; Εἰς τοῦτο γὰρ ἀγρυπνοῦσι καὶ νομίζουσιν ἀδικεῖ σθαι, ἂν βλέπωσι σῳζομένους οὓς οὐκ ἐβούλοντο ζῆν.