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the results of the works to be seen with eyes for not a long time. Therefore, from that time, throughout the whole inhabited world of men, from all the nations the symbols of the kingdom of God were seen through His Churches, with myriads living in them according to the saving Gospel, striving to worship God in like manner as the ancient prophets and Abraham himself and Isaac and Jacob; since they too, having preceded the laws of Moses in time, shone forth in the life and manner according to the Gospel, having condemned the polytheistic error that had come to them from their fathers, and having received the knowledge of the God over all. Therefore indeed it is said that many of the nations will come from the east and the west, and will become of equal honor with the blessed men around Abraham on account of their life being equal to theirs; but their own descendants and successors, called sons of the kingdom on account of their forefathers; for by potential they too had a share in the heavenly kingdom, just like their forefathers. How they have become cast out from the promises, a clear proof is the desolation of the city, the siege of the temple, and their own dispersion into all the nations, and their slavery under their enemies, and in addition to these things, the deprivation of their worship according to their laws, and the ignorance of Christ, and the alienation from the evangelical teachings; for all these things would be clear signs of the darkness that has taken hold of them, into which they have fallen on account of their opposition to the saving light. By which it seems to me to suggest the mark of the kingdom itself, that the inscription of the denarius signifies an impressed image of a king. Since, therefore, it was just for all those who had come to the vineyard and the polity of piety, having undertaken one and the same labor, to partake of the same kingdom, for this reason he reasonably gives to all the symbol of the kingdom, the denarius, of whom some were called in youth, others around the middle of a man's life, others having already reached the perfect and surpassing man, and others at the time of old age itself, now aged and at the setting of their life. And one might say, explaining in another way, that the things shown through the parable apply to those who from the beginning, from the first station of life until the end, are deemed worthy of the divine calling; as if to say that those who were first justified at the beginning of life were called to the work of piety early in the morning; and second, those around Enoch and Noah; 24.572 those about the third hour, those around Abraham; those about the sixth hour, those around Moses and Joshua and the judges; those about the ninth hour, those in the times of the prophets; and those about the eleventh hour, those after the saving theophany; all of whom would be deemed worthy of one and the same reward indicated by the denarius, which referred to the kingdom of God. You will not see me until the time comes when you say: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. For those very men, to whom he spoke then, being present with them, when they see him with his divine glory and coming from the heavens with a guard of angels, will be compelled to confess that he is the blessed one who comes in the name of the Lord his own Father. A certain man made a great supper, and invited many. This parable is different from the one in Matthew. For there it is a king, and the wedding of a king's son, and many invited guests, and those who were invited did not go away, but even insulted and killed the servants, and an army being moved against those who had killed the servants, and the one who was cast out of the wedding because of his filthy garment; but here a mere man is introduced, and simply a supper, and one is sent out for the invitation, and those invited only refuse the invitation, making the excuse of being busy. And the main point is that that one was spoken in the temple to the chief priests and elders of the people, but this one in Galilee in the house of a certain ruler

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οὐ πολὺν χρόνον ὀφθαλμοῖς ὁρᾶσθαι τῶν ἔργων τὰ ἀποτελέσματα. Καθ' ὅλης οὖν ἐξ ἐκείνου τῆς τῶν ἀνθρώπων οἰκουμένης ἐκ μὲν ἁπάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν τὰ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ βασιλείας σύμβολα διὰ τῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν αὐτοῦ ἐθεωρεῖτο, μυρίων ἐν αὐταῖς κατὰ τὸ σωτήριον Εὐαγγέλιον βιούντων, τοῖς τε παλαιοῖς προφήταις καὶ αὐτῷ γε τῷ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ τῷ Ἰακὼβ ὁμοίωςθεοσεβεῖν φιλοτιμουμένων· ἐπεὶ κἀκεῖνοι, προλαβόντες τοῖς χρόνοις τοὺς Μωϋσέως νόμους, τῷ κατὰ τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον βίῳ τε καὶ τρόπῳ διέλαμψαν, τῆς μὲν ἐκ πατέρων ἡκούσης εἰς αὐτοὺς πολυθέου πλάνης κατεγνωκότες, τοῦ δ' ἐπὶ πάντων Θεοῦ τὴν γνῶσιν ἀνειληφότες. ∆ιὸ δὴ τῶν ἐθνῶν οἱ πολλοὶ ἀπ' ἀνατολῶν καὶ δυσμῶν ἥξειν εἴρηνται, καὶ ἰσότιμοι γενήσεσθαι τοῖς ἀμφὶ τὸν Ἀβραὰμ μακαρίοις ἀνδράσι διὰ τὴν ἴσην ἐκείνοις ζωήν· οἱ δ' αὐτῶν ἐκείνων ἀπόγονοί τε καὶ διάδοχοι, υἱοὶ τῆς βασιλείας διὰ τοὺς προπάτορας ὠνομασμένοι· δυνάμει γὰρ καὶ αὐτοῖς μετουσία ἦν ὁμοίως τοῖς προπάτορσι τῆς οὐρανίου βασιλείας· ὅπως ἀπόβλητοι τῶν ἐπαγγελιῶν γεγόνασι, δεῖγμα ἐναργὲς τῆς πόλεως ἡ ἐρημία, τοῦ ἱεροῦ ἡ πολιορκία, καὶ αὐτῶν ἡ εἰς πάντα τὰ ἔθνη διασπορὰ, καὶ ἡ ὑπὸ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς δουλεία, καὶ ἐπὶ τούτοις ἡ στέρησις τῆς κατὰ τὰ νόμιμα αὐτῶν θρησκείας, τοῦ τε Χριστοῦ ἡ ἀγνωσία, καὶ τῶν εὐαγγελικῶν μαθημάτων ἡ ἀπαλλοτρίωσις· ταῦτα γὰρ ἅπαντα σημεῖα ἐμφανῆ εἴη ἂν τοῦ διαλαβόντος αὐτοὺς σκότους, ᾧ περιπεπτώκασι διὰ τὴν τοῦ σωτηρίου φωτὸς ἐναντίωσιν. ∆ι' οὗ δοκεῖ μοι τὸ γνώρισμα τῆς βασιλείας αὐτῆς ὑποφαίνειν, ὅτι δὴ βασιλέως ἐντετυπωμένην εἰκόνα τοῦ δηναρίου τὸ χάραγμα σημαίνει. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν πάντας τοὺς ἐπὶ τὸν ἀμπελῶνα καὶ τὸ τῆς θεοσεβείας πολίτευμα παρελθόντας, μιᾶς τε καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς ἐργασίας ἁψαμένους, τῆς αὐτῆς βασιλείας μετασχεῖν ἦν δίκαιον, τούτου χάριν εἰκότως τοῖς πᾶσι τῆς βασιλείας τὸ σύμβολον τὸ δηνάριον ἀποδίδωσιν, ὧν οἱ μὲν ἐν νεότητι ἐκλήθησαν, οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν μέσον τῆς ἀνθρώπου ζωῆς χρόνον, οἱ δὲ τὸν ἄνδρα τέλειον ἤδη καὶ ὑπερβεβηκότα ἀνειληφότες, οἱ δὲ κατὰ τὸν πρεσβύτην αὐτὸν γηραλέοι λοιπὸν καὶ περὶ δυσμὰς ἔχοντες τοῦ βίου. Εἴποι δ' ἄν τις καὶ ἑτέρως ἐξηγούμενος ἐφαρμόττειν τὰ διὰ τῆς παραβολῆς δηλούμενα τοῖς ἀνέκαθεν ἐκ πρώτης τοῦ βίου στάσεως μέχρι συντελείας καταξιουμένοις τῆς ἐνθέου κλήσεως· ὥσπερ ἅμα πρωῒ κεκλῆσθαι λέγειν ἐπὶ τὴν θεοσεβείας ἐργασίαν τοὺς κατὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν τοῦ βίου πρώτους δικαιωθέντας· δευτέρους δὲ τοὺς ἀμφὶ τὸν Ἐνὼχ καὶ Νῶε· 24.572 τοὺς περὶ τὴν τρίτην τοὺς ἀμφὶ τὸν Ἀβραάμ· τοὺς δὲ περὶ τὴν ἕκτην τοὺς ἀμφὶ τὸν Μωϋσέα καὶ Ἰησοῦν καὶ κριτάς· τοὺς δὲ περὶ τὴν ἐννάτην τοὺς ἐν τοῖς χρόνοις τῶν προφητῶν· τοὺς δὲ περὶ τὴν ἑνδεκάτην, τοὺς μετὰ τὴν σωτήριον θεοφάνειαν· οὓς δὴ πάντας καταξιωθήσεσθαι ἑνὸς καὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ μισθοῦ τοῦ κατὰ τὸ δηνάριον δεδηλωμένου, ὅπερ εἰς τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ βασιλείαν ἀνεφέρετο. Οὐ μή με ἴδητε ἕως ἂν ἥξῃ ὅτε εἴπητε· Εὐλογη μένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου. Αὐτοὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι, οἷς τότε παρὼν παροῦσι διελέγετο θεώμενοι αὐτὸν μετὰ τῆς ἐνθέου δόξης, καὶ σὺν ἀγγέλων δορυφορίᾳ ἐρχόμενον ἐξ οὐρανῶν, ὁμολογεῖν ἀναγκασθήσονται αὐτὸν εἶναι τὸν εὐλογημένον τὸν ἐρχόμενον ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου τοῦ ἑαυτοῦ Πατρός. Ἄνθρωπός τις ἐποίησε δεῖπνον μέγα, καὶ ἐκάλεσε πολλούς. Ἀλλοτρία αὕτη ἡ παραβολὴ πρὸς τὴν παρὰ τῷ Ματθαίῳ. Ἐκεῖ μὲν γὰρ βασιλεὺς, καὶ γάμοι υἱοῦ βασιλέως, καὶ κλήτορες πολλοὶ, καὶ οἱ κληθέντες οὐκ ἀπῆλθον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς δούλους ὕβρισαν καὶ ἀπέκτειναν, καὶ στράτευμα κινούμενον κατὰ τῶν ἀνῃρηκότων τοὺς δούλους, καὶ ὁ διὰ τὴν ῥυπαρὰν ἐσθῆτα ἐκβαλλόμενος τοῦ γάμου· ὧδε δὲ ἄνθρωπος εἰσάγεται ψιλὸς, καὶ δεῖπνον ἁπλῶς, καὶ εἷς ἐπὶ τὴν κλῆσιν ἐκπέμπεται, καὶ οἱ κληθέντες παραιτοῦνται μόνον τὴν κλῆσιν, ἀσχολίαν σκηπτόμενοι. Τὸ δὲ κεφαλαιωδέστερον, ὅτι ἐκείνη μὲν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ λέλεκτο πρὸς τοὺς ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ πρεσβυτέρους τοῦ λαοῦ, αὕτη δ' ἐπὶ τῆς Γαλιλαίας ἐν οἰκίᾳ τινὸς ἄρχοντος