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that people from Egypt, so that there might not be for them any fellowship with the evils of the Egyptians according to the error of their life, for this reason that God-fighter, the Pharaoh renowned 95 for every evil, endured and flourished along with the life of those who were being well-treated, so that, as the twofold energy of God was divided upon each of them, Israel might worthily receive knowledge of the two, learning the better part in its own case, and seeing the gloomier part in the case of those being scourged for their wickedness, since God, in the excellence of His wisdom, knows how to handle even evil for cooperation with the good. For the artisan needs (if it is right that the apostolic word be confirmed also by our words), the one who through his art fashions iron into some useful tool for life needs, therefore, not only that which yields easily to the art from some natural softness, but even if the iron is very resistant, even if it is not easily softened by fire and is not able to be fashioned into a vessel for the necessities of life due to its unyielding and hard nature, the art seeks the cooperation of this too; for it will use such a thing as an anvil, so that by the blows upon it the malleable and soft iron may be fashioned into something useful. But someone will say that not all have reaped the fruits of their own wickedness during this life; for neither did those who lived according to virtue in this life enjoy the fruits of virtue's toils; what then, he says, is the usefulness of these things in the case of those who have lived in wickedness unpunished? I will set before you, in response to this, a word higher than human reasonings; for somewhere in his prophecy the great David says that such a thing is a part of the gladness for the virtuous, when they compare their own goods with the destruction of the condemned. 96 For he says, "The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance of the ungodly; he will wash his hands in the blood of the sinner;" not as rejoicing in the pains of those who are grieved, but as then especially recognizing what comes to the worthy from virtue. For by what has been said, he signifies that the juxtaposition of the opposites becomes an addition and an intensification of gladness for the virtuous; for to say, "He washes his hands in the blood of the sinner," presents such a thought, that the cleansing of his activity throughout his life is demonstrated in the destruction of the sinners; for the word "to wash" implies purity, but in blood one is not washed but stained, so that through this it becomes clear that the juxtaposition of the gloomier things shows the blessedness of virtue. The argument must therefore be summarized, so that the thoughts examined may be easy to remember. For the untimely death of infants does not suggest that the one who thus ceased to live is in painful circumstances, nor does it happen on an equal footing with those purified through all virtue in the life here, as the better providence of God prevents the immoderation of evils in the case of those who were going to live in such a way. But the fact that some evil people live on does not overturn the meaning given; for by the grace shown to their parents the evil in their case was prevented; but for those who had no boldness from their parents towards God, this kind of benefit was no longer conveyed to their offspring; or he who was prevented by death from becoming evil would have appeared much worse than those known for wickedness, if he had had his wickedness unhindered, or if some have even advanced to the highest 97 measure of wickedness, the apostolic contemplation consoles the inquiry, as He who does all things in wisdom knows how to work out some good even through evil. And if someone is at the extreme of wickedness and has not been forged by the art of God for any useful purpose according to the example we have mentioned, this becomes an addition to the gladness of those who have lived well, as the prophecy suggests, which one would not reckon a small thing among goods nor unworthy of the providence of God.

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Αἰγύπτου τὸν λαὸν ἐκεῖνον, ὡς ἂν μή τις αὐτοῖς γένοιτο τῶν Αἰγυπτίων κακῶν κατὰ τὴν τοῦ βίου πλάνην κοινωνία, τούτου χάριν ὁ θεομάχος ἐκεῖνος, ὁ ἐπὶ παντὶ κακῷ 95 ὀνομαστὸς Φαραὼ τῇ ζωῇ τῶν εὐεργετουμένων συνανέσχεν τε καὶ συνήκμασεν, ὡς ἂν τῆς διπλῆς τοῦ θεοῦ ἐνεργείας ἐφ' ἑκατέρων μεριζομένης ἀξίως τῶν δύο λάβῃ τὴν γνῶσιν ὁ Ἰσραήλ, τὸ μὲν κρεῖττον ἐφ' ἑαυτοῦ διδασκόμενος, τὸ δὲ σκυθρωπότερον ἐπὶ τῶν διὰ κακίαν μαστιγουμένων ὁρῶν, ὡς τῷ ὑπερβάλλοντι τῆς σοφίας εἰδότος τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὸ κακὸν ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ συνεργίᾳ μεταχειρίζεσθαι. χρεία γὰρ τῷ τεχνίτῃ (εἰ χρὴ τὸν ἀποστολικὸν λόγον καὶ διὰ τῶν ἡμετέρων λόγων βεβαιωθῆναι), χρεία τοίνυν τῷ διὰ τῆς τέχνης πρός τι τῶν βιωφελῶν ἐργαλείων τυποῦντι τὸν σίδηρον οὐ μόνον τοῦ εὐκόλως τῇ τέχνῃ εἴκοντος ἔκ τινος φυσικῆς ἁπαλότητος, ἀλλὰ κἂν λίαν ἀντίτυπος ὁ σίδηρος ᾖ, κἂν μὴ ῥᾳδίως διὰ πυρὸς ἐκμαλάσσηται καὶ πρὸς τὸ σκεῦος τῶν ἀναγκαίων τοῦ βίου τυπωθῆναι τῷ ἀνυπείκτῳ τε καὶ στερρῷ μὴ οἶός τε ᾖ, καὶ τούτου ἡ τέχνη ἐπιζητεῖ τὴν συνεργίαν· ἄκμονι γὰρ χρήσεται τῷ τοιούτῳ, ὡς ταῖς ἐπὶ τούτου πληγαῖς τὸν εὐεργῆ τε καὶ ἁπαλὸν πρός τι τῶν χρησίμων ἀποτυποῦσθαι. Ἀλλ' ἐρεῖ τις, ὅτι οὐ πάντες παρὰ τὸν βίον τοῦτον τῆς ἑαυτῶν μοχθηρίας ἀπέλαυσαν· οὐδὲ γὰρ οἱ κατ' ἀρετὴν βιοτεύοντες ἐν τῇ ζωῇ ταύτῃ τῶν τῆς ἀρετῆς ἱδρώτων ἀπώναντο· τί οὖν, φησί, τούτων εἶναι τὸ χρήσιμον ἐπὶ τῶν ἐν κακίᾳ ἀτιμωρήτως βεβιωκότων; παραθήσομαί σοι καὶ πρὸς τοῦτο λόγον τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων λογισμῶν ὑψηλότερον· φησὶ γάρ που τῆς ἑαυτοῦ προφητείας ὁ μέγας ∆αβὶδ μέρος τι τοῖς ἐναρέτοις εὐφροσύνης καὶ τὸ τοιοῦτον εἶναι, ὅταν ἀντιπαραθεωρῶσι τοῖς οἰκείοις ἀγαθοῖς τὴν τῶν κατακρίτων 96 ἀπώλειαν· Εὐφρανθήσεται, γάρ φησι, δίκαιος, ὅταν ἴδῃ ἐκδίκησιν ἀσεβοῦς· τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ νίψεται ἐν τῷ αἵματι τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ· οὐχ ὡς ἐπιχαίρων ταῖς τῶν ἀνιωμένων ὀδύναις, ἀλλ' ὡς τότε μάλιστα γνωρίζων τὸ ἐξ ἀρετῆς τοῖς ἀξίοις παραγινόμενον. σημαίνει γὰρ διὰ τῶν εἰρημένων, ὅτι προσθήκη τῆς εὐφροσύνης καὶ ἐπίτασις τοῖς ἐναρέτοις γίνεται ἡ τῶν ἐναντίων ἀντιπαράθεσις· τὸ γὰρ εἰπεῖν, ὅτι Τὰς χεῖρας ἐν τῷ αἵματι τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ νίπτεται, τοιαύτην παρίστησι τὴν διάνοιαν, ὅτι τὸ καθαιρόμενον αὐτοῦ τῆς κατὰ τὴν ζωὴν ἐνεργείας ἐν τῇ ἀπωλείᾳ τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν διαδείκνυται· ἡ γὰρ τοῦ νίψασθαι λέξις καθαρότητος ἔμφασιν διερμηνεύει, ἐν αἵματι δὲ οὐχὶ νίπτεταί τις ἀλλὰ μολύνεται, ὥστε διὰ τούτου δῆλον γενέσθαι, ὅτι ἡ τῶν σκυθρωποτέρων ἀντιπαράθεσις τὴν τῆς ἀρετῆς μακαριότητα δείκνυσιν. Συναπτέον τοίνυν ἐπὶ κεφαλαίῳ τὸν λόγον, ὡς ἂν εὐμνημόνευτα γένοιτο τὰ ἐξητασμένα νοήματα. ἡ γὰρ ἄωρος τελευτὴ τῶν νηπίων οὔτε ἐν ἀλγεινοῖς εἶναι τὸν οὕτω τοῦ ζῆν παυσάμενον νοεῖν ὑποτίθεται οὔτε κατὰ τὸ ἴσον τοῖς διὰ πάσης ἀρετῆς κατὰ τὸν τῇδε βίον κεκαθαρμένοις γίνεται, προμηθείᾳ κρείττονι τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν τῶν κακῶν ἀμετρίαν κωλύοντος ἐπὶ τῶν μελλόντων οὕτω βιώσεσθαι. τὸ δὲ ἐπιβιῶναί τινας τῶν κακῶν οὐκ ἀνατρέπει τὴν ἀποδοθεῖσαν διάνοιαν· τῇ γὰρ πρὸς τοὺς γεννησαμένους χάριτι τὸ κακὸν ἐπ' ἐκείνων ἐνεποδίσθη· οἷς δὲ οὐκ ἦν τις ἐκ γονέων πρὸς τὸν θεὸν παρρησία οὐδὲ τοῖς ἐξ ἐκείνων τὸ τοιοῦτον ἔτι τῆς εὐεργεσίας εἶδος συμπαρεπέμφθη· ἢ πολλῷ χαλεπώτερος τῶν ἐπὶ κακίᾳ γνωρίμων ὁ κωλυθεὶς διὰ τοῦ θανάτου γενέσθαι κακὸς ἐφάνη ἄν, εἴπερ ἀκώλυτον ἔσχε τὴν πονηρίαν, ἢ εἴ τινες καὶ εἰς τὸ ἀκρότατον 97 τῆς πονηρίας μέτρον προεληλύθασιν, ἡ ἀποστολικὴ θεωρία παραμυθεῖται τὸ ζήτημα, ὡς εἰδότος τοῦ πάντα ἐν σοφίᾳ ποιοῦντος καὶ διὰ τοῦ κακοῦ τι τῶν ἀγαθῶν κατεργάσασθαι. εἰ δέ τις καὶ ἐν πονηρίᾳ τὸ ἄκρον ἔχει καὶ ἐπ' οὐδενὶ χρησίμῳ κατὰ τὸ ῥηθὲν ἡμῖν ὑπόδειγμα παρὰ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ τέχνης κατεχαλκεύθη, τοῦτο προσθήκη τῆς εὐφροσύνης τῶν εὖ βεβιωκότων γίνεται, καθὼς ἡ προφητεία νοεῖν ὑποτίθεται, ὅπερ οὐ μικρὸν ἐν ἀγαθοῖς ἄν τις λογίσαιτο οὐδὲ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ προμηθείας ἀνάξιον.