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not having enjoyed these things, because they neither clearly knew the doctrine of the resurrection nor saw things happening contrary to the promises of God, they were not scandalized, they were not disturbed, nor were they troubled, but they yielded to His incomprehensible providence, being in no way scandalized by the things that happened contrary to expectation, but knowing the resourcefulness and ingenuity of His wisdom, they awaited the end; or rather, even before the end, whatever was dared against them, they bore with thanksgiving and continued to glorify God who allowed these things to happen. Perhaps this discourse seems unclear to you; therefore, I will try to make it clearer.

10.t Ch. 10. That the ancients also awaited the ends of things

10.1 When Abraham had once become an old man and was henceforth dead to childbearing because of his age—for in respect to becoming a father, though living he was in no better state than the dead—while the just man, then, was old and had by a long margin surpassed the limits of natural childbearing, and also had as his wife Sarah, more barren than a rock, God promises to make him a father of so many descendants that their multitude would be equal to the multitude of the stars. 10.2 But he, with such impediments existing, with his age already descended into extreme old age and his wife impaired both by age and by nature—for not only did old age prevent it, but also the defectiveness of her nature itself; for even when she was young, the workshop of nature was useless, for the woman was barren. 10.3 Wherefore Paul also, signifying this very thing, spoke thus: "And the deadness of Sarah's womb." He did not say the deadness of Sarah simply, lest you should suspect it was her age only, but also the deadness of the womb itself, which had come about not only from time, but also from nature; but nevertheless, with such great impediments existing, as I said, knowing what the promise of God is, how resourceful and ingenious it is, and not hindered by the laws of nature, nor by the difficulty of circumstances, nor by anything else, but proceeding through contraries and bringing the thing promised to accomplishment, 10.4 he accepted what was said and believed the promise, and not allowing the disturbance from his reasonings to be stirred up at all, he judged the power of the one who had promised to be trustworthy, as indeed it is, for the fulfillment of the promise, not examining how and in what way these things would be, and for what reason not in youth, but in old age and so late and slowly. 10.5 Wherefore Paul also proclaims him with a clear voice, saying thus: "Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations." What is "against hope, in hope"? Against human hope, in the hope of God, which conquers all, is able to do all, overcomes all. And he believed not only in becoming a father, but of so many nations, he, an old and childless man, who had a wife who was barren and had grown old, according to what was said: 10.6 "So shall your seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform." And what he says is this: Leaping up and bounding immediately from human weakness and running up to the height of the one who had promised, and conceiving His unspeakable power, he was clearly persuaded that what was said would certainly come to pass. 10.7 And in this especially he glorified God, by not being overly curious, nor meddlesome, but by yielding to the incomprehensibility of His wisdom and power and not doubting at all concerning what had been said. Do you see that this is especially what it means to glorify God, to always yield to the incomprehensibility of His providence and to the unspeakable

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τούτων μὴ ἀπολελαυκότες, ὅτι μήτε τὸν περὶ ἀναστάσεως σαφῶς εἰδότες λόγον καὶ τὰ ἐναντία τῶν ἐπαγγελιῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ συμβαίνοντα ὁρῶντες ἐπὶ τῶν πραγμάτων, οὐκ ἐσκανδαλίζοντο, οὐκ ἐθορυβοῦντο, οὐδὲ ἐταράττοντο, ἀλλὰ παρεχώρουν αὐτοῦ τῇ ἀκαταλήπτῳ προνοίᾳ, οὐδὲν ἐκ τῶν ἐναντίως γινομένων σκανδαλιζόμενοι, ἀλλ' εἰδότες αὐτοῦ τὸ εὔπορον καὶ εὐμήχανον τῆς σοφίας, τὸ τέλος ἀνέμενον, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ πρὸ τοῦ τέλους πᾶν ὅπερ εἰς αὐτοὺς ἐτολμᾶτο, ἔφερον εὐχαρίστως καὶ τὸν συγχωροῦντα ταῦτα γίνεσθαι Θεὸν δοξάζοντες διετέλουν. Τάχα ἀσαφὴς ὁ λόγος οὗτος ὑμῖν εἶναι δοκεῖ· οὐκοῦν σαφέστερον αὐτὸν ποιῆσαι πειράσομαι.

10.t Κεφ. ιʹ. Ὅτι καὶ οἱ παλαιοὶ τὰ τέλη τῶν πραγμάτων ἀνέμενον

10.1 Γέροντι γενομένῳ ποτὲ τῷ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ πρὸς παιδοποιίαν ἐκ τῆς ἡλικίας

νεκρωθέντι λοιπόν-εἰς γὰρ τὸ γενέσθαι πατὴρ οὐδὲν ἄμεινον τῶν τετελευτηκότων διέκειτο ζῶν- γέροντι τοίνυν ὄντι τῷ δικαίῳ καὶ τῆς φυσικῆς παιδοποιίας ὑπερβάντι τοὺς ὅρους ἐκ πολλοῦ τοῦ περιόντος, ἔχοντι δὲ καὶ σύνοικον πέτρας ἀγονωτέραν τὴν Σάρραν, ἐπαγγέλλεται πατέρα ποιήσειν ὁ Θεὸς τοσούτων ἐκγόνων αὐτὸν ὡς παρισοῦσθαι αὐτῶν τὸ πλῆθος τῷ πλήθει τῶν ἄστρων. 10.2 Ὁ δὲ, τοιούτων κωλυμάτων ὄντων, τῆς ἡλικίας ἤδη εἰς ἔσχατον γῆρας κατενεχθείσης καὶ τῆς γυναικὸς ἀπό τε τῆς ἡλικίας, ἀπό τε τῆς φύσεως πεπηρωμένης· οὐ γὰρ τὸ γῆρας διεκώλυε μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτῆς τῆς φύσεως ἡ πήρωσις· καὶ γὰρ καὶ νέας οὔσης ἄχρηστον τὸ τῆς φύσεως ἐργαστήριον ἦν· στεῖρα γὰρ ἦν ἡ γυνή. 10.3 ∆ιὸ καὶ Παῦλος ἐπισημαινόμενος τοῦτο αὐτό, οὕτως ἔλεγε· «Καὶ τὴν νέκρωσιν τῆς μήτρας Σάρρας». Οὐκ εἶπε τὴν νέκρωσιν Σάρρας ἁπλῶς, ἵνα μὴ τὴν ἡλικίαν ὑποπτεύσῃς μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτῆς μήτρας τὴν νέκρωσιν, τὴν οὐκ ἀπὸ χρόνων μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπὸ φύσεως γεγενημένην· ἀλλ' ὅμως καὶ τηλικούτων, ὅπερ ἔφην, κωλυμάτων ὄντων, εἰδὼς τί ποτέ ἐστιν ἐπαγγελία Θεοῦ, πῶς εὐμήχανός τε καὶ εὔπορος καὶ οὐ νόμοις φύσεως, οὐ δυσχολίᾳ πραγμάτων, οὐκ ἄλλῳ τινὶ κωλυομένη, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῶν ἐναντίων βαδίζουσα καὶ τὸ ἐπηγγελμένον εἰς ἔργον ἄγουσα, 10.4 κατεδέξατο τὸ εἰρημένον καὶ ἐπίστευσε τῇ ὑποσχέσει καὶ τὸν θόρυβον τὸν ἐκ τῶν λογισμῶν οὐδὲ κινηθῆναι ὅλως ἀφείς, ἀξιόπιστον ἔκρινεν εἶναι, ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ ἔστι, πρὸς τὴν τῆς ἐπαγγελίας πλήρωσιν τοῦ ὑποσχομένου τὴν δύναμιν, οὐκ ἐξετάσας, πῶς καὶ τίνι τρόπῳ ταῦτα ἔσται καὶ τίνος ἕνεκεν οὐκ ἐν νεότητι, ἀλλ' ἐν γήρᾳ καὶ ὀψέ ποτε καὶ βραδέως. 10.5 ∆ιὸ καὶ ὁ Παῦλος αὐτὸν ἀνακηρύττει μετὰ λαμπρᾶς τῆς φωνῆς οὕτω λέγων· «Ὃς παρ' ἐλπίδα ἐπ' ἐλπίδι ἐπίστευσεν εἰς τὸ γενέσθαι αὐτὸν πατέρα πολλῶν ἐθνῶν.» Τί ἐστι· «Παρ' ἐλπίδα ἐπ' ἐλπίδι»; Παρ' ἐλπίδα τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην, ἐπ' ἐλπίδι τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ, τῇ πάντα νικώσῃ, τῇ πάντα δυναμένῃ, τῇ πάντων περιγινομένῃ. Καὶ ἐπίστευσεν οὐκ εἰς τὸ πατὴρ γενέσθαι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐθνῶν τοσούτων, ὁ γέρων καὶ ἄγονος, ὁ στεῖραν καὶ γεγηρακυῖαν γυναῖκα ἔχων, κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον· 10.6 «Οὕτως ἔσται τὸ σπέρμα σου. Καὶ μὴ ἀσθενήσας τῇ πίστει οὐ κατενόησε τὸ ἑαυτοῦ σῶμα νενεκρωμένον, ἑκατονταέτης που ὑπάρχων καὶ τὴν νέκρωσιν τῆς μήτρας Σάρρας· εἰς δὲ τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐ διεκρίθη τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ, ἀλλ' ἐνεδυναμώθη τῇ πίστει, δοὺς δόξαν τῷ Θεῷ καὶ πληροφορηθεὶς ὅτι ὃ ἐπήγγελται δυνατός ἐστι καὶ ποιῆσαι.» Ὃ δὲ λέγει, τοιοῦτόν ἐστι· Ἀναπηδήσας καὶ ἐξαλλόμενος εὐθέως ἀπὸ τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ἀσθενείας καὶ πρὸς τὸ ὕψος ἀναδραμὼν τοῦ ὑποσχομένου καὶ ἐννοήσας αὐτοῦ τὴν ἄφατον δύναμιν, ἐπείσθη σαφῶς ὅτι πάντως ἔσται τὸ εἰρημένον. 10.7 Καὶ τούτῳ μάλιστα τὸν Θεὸν ἐδόξασε, τῷ μὴ περιεργάσασθαι, μηδὲ πολυπραγμονῆσαι, ἀλλὰ τῷ ἀκαταλήπτῳ τῆς σοφίας αὐτοῦ καὶ τῆς δυνάμεως παραχωρῆσαι καὶ μηδὲν ἀμφιβάλλειν ὅλως περὶ τῶν εἰρημένων. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι τοῦτό ἐστι μάλιστα τὸ δοξάζειν τὸν Θεόν, τὸ ἀεὶ παραχωρεῖν αὐτοῦ τῷ ἀκαταλήπτῳ τῆς προνοίας καὶ τῇ ἀρρήτῳ