the narrative of higher and more wondrous things. But the Lord does not offer to the scribes a solution appropriate to the seeming difficulty, showing that the solution would in no way improve the scribes; for they did not put this forward out of ignorance of the truth, but out of malice and senselessness of mind; for those whom the clear evidence of such great wonders did not put to shame, but rather kindled to greater envy, neither did the grace of so much teaching convert. What would the clarification of a single saying, one that did not even present a difficulty but was maliciously twisted by them, have accomplished? Therefore, for this reason He adds the solution, not for the Jews themselves, but fitting for the apostles, that indeed he whom they call Elijah will come and restore all things, but already also he who was of like manner to Elijah has come, and they did countless evil things to him. Let them not, therefore, pride themselves on saying that Elijah must come; for those who treated the one of like manner in this way would not have refrained from similarly mistreating that one, had he been present now, since they are complicit in handing over not only the one of like manner to Elijah, but also the Lord of both to the cross and to death. And He also says, "they did not recognize him." They did not want to know him, but also, having no charge to bring against him, they did to him all that their wicked mind permitted. They threw him into prison as a criminal, they made his life the reward for a dance, they cut off his head, they insulted him even after death, triumphing, as they thought, over him on a platter. But how did he say "they did"? For Herod alone did these things. No, not Herod alone, but also those who reclined with him, on whose account he rather carried out the slaughter; for if they had not run with him, the murder would not have been carried out by Herod, who was already shrinking from the man's <slaughter>; for if previously, though eager for the divine one's slaughter, he was nevertheless restrained by fear of the multitude, at a time when he himself had come to some perception of the man's wondrousness and was showing grief at the rashness of his promise, how would he not have been easily restrained had those reclining with him been indignant? But they were so far from restraining him that they all but became murderers with their own hands, if indeed Herod committed the murder by doing what was pleasing to them. 72 Mt 17, 11 13 John is Elijah not in name, but in the similarity of his action; for each is a forerunner of the Lord's coming, though the one of the first, and the other of the second, and because in other respects they had much similarity; for each of them fled the tumults and the cities and the law courts and all the crowd from there. Elijah dwelt on Carmel, John spent his time in the desert; John pursued a life without baggage, Elijah had a life free of care, not even worrying about his daily food, each was a guardian of virginity and great <therefore> was the similarity. For this reason not only now is John taken in the likeness of Elijah, but also elsewhere more emphatically, as was said before: "He is Elijah who is to come"; for this also shows that John is the same as the Elijah who is to come, both in the similarity and the identity of his ministry; for as I said, each is a forerunner of the Lord's coming, and according to the similarity and affinity of their wondrous way of life. Therefore, when he says, "Elijah is coming and will restore," he means Elijah who is so in both deed and name; but when he says, "Elijah has already come," he means John in name, but Elijah in deed, showing the similarity between them. And likewise when he says, "He is Elijah who is to come," he means the one who has become Elijah in deed, who, on account of the strong similarity he possesses to the one who is to come, is called Elijah; for "who is to come" shows this, as if to say, he is the one who, on account of his similarity and affinity to the one who is to come, has also assumed his name. John is not Elijah in name, but in the similarity of his deeds; for both happened to be forerunners of Christ's coming, the one of the first, the other of the second, and both

τῶν ὑψηλοτέρων καὶ θαυμασιωτέρων τὴν διήγησιν. οὐ ποιεῖται δὲ τοῖς γραμματεῦσιν οἰκείαν τῆς δοκούσης ἀπορίας ὁ δεσπότης τὴν ἐπίλυσιν δεικνύς, ὅτι οὐδὲν ἡ λύσις τοὺς γραμματεῖς βελτιώσει· οὐ γὰρ ἀγνοίᾳ τοῦ ἀληθοῦς, κακουργίᾳ δὲ καὶ ἀπονοίᾳ γνώμης τοῦτο προέφερον· οὓς γὰρ τηλικούτων θαυμάτων ἐνάργεια οὐκ ἐδυσώπησεν, ἀλλ' εἰς μείζονα φθόνον ἐξέκαυσεν, οὐδὲ τοσαύτης διδασκαλίας χάρις ἐπέστρεψεν. τί ἂν εἰργάσατο ἑνὸς οὐδ' ἀπορίαν ἔχοντος λόγου, ἀλλ' ὑπ' αὐτῶν κακουργουμένου διασάφησις; ἐπάγει γοῦν διὰ τοῦτο τὴν λύσιν οὐκ αὐτοῖς Ἰουδαίοις, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἀποστόλοις ἁρμόζουσαν, ὅτι ἐλεύσεται μέν, ὃν λέγουσιν Ἠλίαν καὶ ἀποκαταστήσει πάντα, ἀλλ' ἤδη καὶ ὁ τοῦ Ἠλία ὁμοιότροπος ἦλθεν καὶ μυρία κακὰ ἐποίησαν αὐτόν. μὴ οὖν σεμνυνέσθωσαν ἐπὶ τῷ λέγειν Ἠλίαν δεῖ ἐλθεῖν· οἱ γὰρ τὸν ὁμοιότροπον οὕτω διαθέντες κἀκεῖνον, εἰ νῦν παρεγένετο, οὐκ ἂν μὴ ὁμοίως κακοποιῆσαι ἐφείσαντο, οἵ γε οὐ μόνον τὸν ὁμοιότροπον τοῦ Ἠλία, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν ἑκατέρου δεσπότην σταυρῷ καὶ θανάτῳ παραδοῦναι συνειδῶσιν. φησὶ δὲ καὶ οὐκ ἐπέγνωσαν αὐτόν. οὐκ ἠθέλησαν γνῶναι αὐτόν, ἀλλὰ καὶ μηδεμίαν λέγειν ἔχοντες αἰτίαν κατ' αὐτοῦ πάντα, ὅσα ἐπέτρεπεν ἡ πονηρὰ αὐτῶν γνώμη, εἰς αὐτὸν διεπράξαντο. ἐνέβαλλον ὡς κακοῦργον εἰς δεσμωτήριον, μισθὸν ὀρχήσεως τὴν ἐκείνου ζωὴν ἐποιήσαντο, τὴν κεφαλὴν ἐξέτεμον, ἐνύβρισαν καὶ μετὰ θάνατον ἐπὶ πίνακος ὡς ἐνόμιζον θριαμβεύοντες. ἀλλὰ πῶς ἔφη ἐποίησαν; ταῦτα γὰρ Ἡρώδης μόνος ἐποίησεν. οὐ μὲν οὖν μόνος Ἡρώδης, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ συνανακείμενοι αὐτῷ, δι' οὓς μᾶλλον καὶ τὴν σφαγὴν ἐξειργάσατο· εἰ γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι μὴ συνέτρεχον, οὐκ ἂν ἡ μιαιφονία ἐξείργαστο τοῦ Ἡρώδου ἤδη πρὸς τὴν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς <σφαγὴν> ὑποστελλομένου· εἰ γὰρ πρώην εἰς τὴν τοῦ θείου σφαγὴν ὡρμημένος ὅμως τῷ δέει τοῦ πλήθους ἐπεσχέθη, ὅτε καὶ αὐτὸς εἰς αἴσθησίν τινα τῆς θαυμασιότητος ἐληλάκει τοῦ ἀνδρὸς καὶ λύπην ἐπὶ τῇ προπετείᾳ τῆς ὑποσχέσεως ἐπεδείκνυ, πῶς οὐκ ἂν εὐκόλως ἐπεσχέθη τῶν συνανακειμένων διαγανακτούντων· οἱ δὲ τοσούτου ἐδέησαν τοῦ ἐπισχεῖν, ὥστε μονονουχὶ καὶ αὐτόχειρες γεγόνασιν, εἴπερ τὸ ἀρεστὸν αὐτῶν ποιῶν ὁ Ἡρώδης τὴν μιαιφονίαν ἀπειργάσατο. 72 Mt 17, 11 13 Ἠλίας ὁ Ἰωάννης οὐ τῷ ὀνόματι, ἀλλὰ τῷ παραπλησίῳ τῆς πράξεως· καὶ γὰρ ἑκάτερος τῆς δεσποτικῆς παρουσίας πρόδρομος, εἰ καὶ ὁ μὲν τῆς προτέρας, ὁ δὲ τῆς δευτέρας, καὶ ὅτι καὶ κατὰ τὰ ἄλλα πολλὴν τὴν ὁμοιότητα εἶχον· ἑκάτερος γὰρ αὐτῶν τοὺς θορύβους καὶ τὰς πόλεις καὶ τὰ δικαστήρια καὶ πάντα τὸν ἐκεῖθεν ἐξέφυγεν ὄχλον. ᾤκει τὸν Κάρμηλον Ἠλίας, ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ διέτριβεν ὁ Ἰωάννης· ἄσκευον βίον ἐδίωκεν ὁ Ἰωάννης, ἀφρόντιστον εἶχεν ὁ Ἠλίας μηδὲ τῆς ἐφημέρου τροφῆς μεριμνῶν, παρθενείας ἑκάτερος φύλαξ καὶ πολλὴ <οὖν> ἡ ὁμοιότης. διὸ οὐ μόνον νῦν ὁ Ἰωάννης εἰς τὴν τοῦ Ἠλία ὁμοιότητα παραλαμβάνεται, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ ἐμφαντικώτερον ὡς ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν εἴρηται· αὐτός ἐστιν Ἠλίας ὁ μέλλων ἔρχεσθαι · καὶ γὰρ τοῦτο δηλοῖ, ὅτι τῷ μέλλοντι ἔρχεσθαι Ἠλίᾳ ὁ αὐτός ἐστιν κατά τε τὴν ὁμοιότητα καὶ ταυτότητα τῆς διακονίας ὁ Ἰωάννης· πρόδρομός τε γὰρ ὡς ἔφην ἑκάτερος τῆς δεσποτικῆς παρουσίας καὶ κατὰ τὴν ὁμοιότητα καὶ οἰκείωσιν τῆς θαυμασίου πολιτείας. ὅταν οὖν λέγῃ Ἠλίας μὲν ἔρχεται καὶ ἀποκαταστήσει, τὸν Ἠλίαν λέγει τὸν ὄντα τῷ τε πράγματι καὶ τῷ ὀνόματι· ὅταν δὲ λέγῃ Ἠλίας ἤδη ἦλθεν τὸν Ἰωάννην μὲν τῷ ὀνόματι λέγει, Ἠλίαν δὲ τῷ πράγματι τὴν πρὸς ἀλλήλους δεικνὺς ὁμοιότητα. ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ ὅταν λέγῃ αὐτός ἐστιν Ἠλίας ὁ μέλλων ἔρχεσθαι τὸν τῷ πράγματι Ἠλίαν γεγενημένον φησίν, ὃς διὰ τὴν σφοδρὰν ὁμοιότητα, ἣν πρὸς τὸν μέλλοντα ἔρχεσθαι κέκτηται, Ἠλίας καλεῖται· τὸ γὰρ ὁ μέλλων ἔρχεσθαι τοῦτο δηλοῖ, οἷον ὁ διὰ τὴν τοῦ μέλλοντος ἔρχεσθαι ὁμοιότητα καὶ οἰκειότητα καὶ τὴν κλῆσιν αὐτοῦ ὑποδὺς αὐτός ἐστιν. Οὐ τῷ ὀνόματί ἐστιν Ἠλίας ὁ Ἰωάννης, ἀλλὰ τῇ ὁμοιότητι τῶν πράξεων· καὶ γὰρ ἀμφότεροι πρόδρομοι ἐτύγχανον τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσίας, ὁ μὲν τῆς προτέρας, ὁ δὲ τῆς δευτέρας, καὶ ἀμφότεροι