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was in the king's court." These things also agree with the Apostle's teaching: "For now, he says, faith, hope, love remain; these three, but the greatest of all is love." For this divine prophet also loved God with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his strength, and with all his power; and having loved fervently, he believed sincerely, and having believed sincerely, he hoped to receive help from him; and having obtained what he hoped for, he showed love for his neighbor, and made his kinsmen partakers of what he had received. For whatever was written before was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope, in Christ Jesus, with whom be glory to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever, Amen. VOLUME 3. CHAPTER 3. a'. "In the eighteenth year, King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden image, and set it up in the plain of Dura in the land of Babylon." Our good and man-loving Master, as maker and creator, wishes "all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth;" and, "He does not desire the death of the sinner, but that he should turn and live." For this reason, he arranges all things for our salvation. But those who are sick with insensibility, and are enslaved to the incurable passion of arro 81.1316 gance, reap no benefit from the divine medicines, but are like certain sick people, who turn away from the treatment offered to them by the art of medicine, but indulge in much intemperance and disorder, and daily increase the disease that afflicts them. Such was this arrogant king, who, when the God of all showed immeasurable love for mankind, and after his countless transgressions and impieties offered him a cure, and showed him both the perishable and vain nature of his present prosperity, and the high and admirable quality of virtue, which makes even captives and those forced to bear the yoke of slavery illustrious, at once marveled at the prophet's wisdom, and confessed that his God was the God of all; but after a short time had passed, he returned to himself, like a dog to its own vomit, as the divine Scripture says, and he makes a golden image, having a height of sixty cubits, and a breadth of six cubits, and having set it up in a level place, so that perhaps it would tower above all things and be seen equally by all, he commands it to be worshipped by all his subjects. This is not a simple manner of arrogance, but is openly opposed to God and hateful to God. For since God showed him in a dream a very great image made of four materials, and through these revealed to him the successions of the four kingdoms, he, campaigning against God with his own pride, also makes an image, having given it a size as great as human art could provide. And he no longer makes it of gold, and silver, and bronze, and iron, but he fashions it from one material, that of gold, this wretch thinking he would prove God's prophecies false. And since the blessed Daniel, interpreting the dream, said that he was the golden head, that is, the kingdom of the Babylonians, or Assyrians, while the other parts of the image were of the other materials, which succeeded the head, he himself makes the entire image out of gold. b'. "He gathered together, it says, all the satraps, prefects and generals, and toparchs, leaders and governors, and those in authority, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up." And each of these things reveals the extreme arrogance. For he did not simply summon any of his subjects to the festival of the image, but the toparchs, and the generals, those entrusted with the leadership of the satrapies, and whatever other kind of authority was established among 81.1317 them. And at once the summons was a simple one

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ἦν ἐν τῇ αὐλῇ τοῦ βασιλέως." Συμβαίνει καὶ ταῦτα τῇ τοῦ Ἀποστόλου διδασκαλίᾳ· "Νῦν γὰρ, φησὶ, μένει πίστις, ἐλπὶς, ἀγάπη· τὰ τρία ταῦτα, μείζων δὲ πάντων ἡ ἀγάπη." Καὶ γὰρ καὶ οὗτος ὁ θεῖος προφήτης ἠγάπησε μὲν τὸν Θεὸν ἐξ ὅλης καρδίας, καὶ ἐξ ὅλης ψυχῆς, καὶ ἐξ ὅλης ἰσχύος, καὶ ἐξ ὅλης δυνάμεως· ἀγαπήσας δὲ θερμῶς ἐπί στευσεν εἰλικρινῶς, εἰλικρινῶς δὲ πιστεύσας ἤλπισε τῆς παρ' αὐτοῦ τεύξεσθαι βοηθείας· τυχὼν δὲ ὧν ἤλπι σεν, ἔδειξε τὴν περὶ τὸν πέλας ἀγάπην, καὶ κοινωνοὺς τοὺς ὁμοφύλους, ὧν ἔλαβεν, ἐποιήσατο. Ὅσα δὲ προ εγράφη, εἰς τὴν ἡμετέραν διδασκαλίαν προεγράφη, ἵνα διὰ τῆς ὑπομονῆς, καὶ διὰ τῆς παρακλήσεως τῶν Γραφῶν τὴν ἐλπίδα ἔχωμεν, ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, μεθ' οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ δόξα, σὺν τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων, Ἀμήν. ΤΟΜΟΣ Γʹ. ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ Γʹ. αʹ. "Ἔτους ὀκτωκαιδεκάτου Ναβουχοδονόσορ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐποίησεν εἰκόνα χρυσῆν, καὶ ἔστησεν αὐ τὴν ἐν πεδίῳ ∆εηρᾶ ἐν χώρᾳ Βαβυλῶνος." Ὁ μὲν ἀγαθὸς ἡμῶν καὶ φιλάνθρωπος ∆εσπότης, ἅτε δὴ ποιητὴς καὶ δημιουργὸς, βούλεται "πάντας ἀνθρώ πους σωθῆναι, καὶ εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας ἐλθεῖν·" καὶ, "Οὐ θέλει τὸν θάνατον τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ, ὡς τὸ ἐπιστρέψαι αὐτὸν καὶ ζῇν." Οὗ χάριν ἅπαντα ὑπὲρ τῆς ἡμετέρας πραγματεύεται σωτηρίας. Οἱ δὲ ἀναλ γησίᾳ νοσοῦντες, καὶ τῷ ἀνηκέστῳ πάθει τῆς ἀλα 81.1316 ζονείας δουλεύοντες, οὐδεμίαν ἐκ τῶν θείων φαρμά κων ὠφέλειαν καρποῦνται, ἀλλ' ἐοίκασί τισιν ἀῤ ῥώστοις, ἀποστρεφομένοις μὲν τὴν παρὰ τῆς ἰατρι κῆς τέχνης προσαγομένην αὐτοῖς θεραπείαν, ἀκρα σίᾳ δὲ καὶ ἀταξίᾳ πολλῇ χρωμένοις, καὶ τὴν ἐπι κειμένην αὐτοῖς αὔξουσιν ὁσημέραι νόσον. Τοιοῦτος ἦν οὗτος ὁ ἀλαζὼν βασιλεὺς, ὃς τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων ἀμέτρῳ φιλανθρωπίᾳ χρησαμένου, καὶ μετὰ τὰς μυρίας παρανομίας τε καὶ δυσσεβείας θεραπείαν αὐτῷ προσενηνοχότος, καὶ ὑποδείξαντος τῆς τε παρ ούσης εὐημερίας τὸ ἐπίκηρόν τε καὶ μάταιον, καὶ τῆς ἀρετῆς τὸ ὑψηλὸν καὶ περίβλεπτον, ἣ καὶ τοὺς δορυαλώτους, καὶ τὸν τῆς δουλείας ζυγὸν φέρειν ἠναγκασμένους, ἀποφαίνει λαμπροὺς, εὐθὺς μὲν ἐθαύμασε τὴν τοῦ προφήτου σοφίαν, καὶ τὸν τούτου Θεὸν τῶν ὅλων εἶναι Θεὸν ὡμολόγησεν· ὀλίγου δὲ χρόνου διελθόντος, εἰς ἑαυτὸν ἐπανῆλθεν, ὥσπερ κύων εἰς τὸν ἴδιον ἔμετον, ᾗ φησιν ἡ θεία Γραφὴ, καὶ κατασκευάζει μὲν εἰκόνα χρυσῆν, τὸ μὲν ὕψος ἔχουσαν πήχεις ἑξήκοντα, τὸ δὲ εὖρος πήχεις ἓξ, καὶ ταύτην ἐν ἰσοπέδῳ στήσας χωρίῳ, ὥστε ἴσως ἁπάντων ὑπερέχειν καὶ ὑπὸ πάντων ὁμοίως ὁρᾶ σθαι, παρὰ πάντων αὐτὴν κελεύει προσκυνεῖσθαι τῶν ὑπηκόων. Οὐχ ἁπλοῦς δὲ οὗτος τῆς ἀλαζονείας ὁ τρόπος, ἀλλ' ἀντίθεος ἀντικρὺς καὶ θεομισής. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς ὄναρ αὐτῷ μεγίστην ὑπέδειξεν εἰκόνα ἐκ τεττάρων ὑλῶν πεποιημένην, καὶ διὰ τούτων αὐτῷ τὰς τῶν τεττάρων βασιλειῶν διαδοχὰς παρεδήλωσεν, ἀντιστρατευόμενος τῷ Θεῷ τὸν οἰκεῖον τῦφον, κατασκευάζει δὴ καὶ αὐτὸς εἰκόνα μέγεθος αὐτῇ δεδωκὼς, ὅσον ἡ τῶν ἀνθρώπων παρασχεῖν ἠδύνατο τέχνη. Οὐκέτι δὲ καὶ ταύτην ἐκ χρυσίου, καὶ ἀργύ ρου, καὶ χαλκοῦ, καὶ σιδήρου ποιεῖ, ἀλλ' ἐκ μιᾶς ὕλης τῆς τοῦ χρυσοῦ κατασκευάζει, οἰόμενος ὁ δεί λαιος οὗτος ψευδεῖς ἀποδείξειν τοῦ Θεοῦ τὰς προῤ ῥήσεις. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ ὁ μακάριος ∆ανιὴλ τὸ ἐνύπνιον ἑρμηνεύων, αὐτὸν εἶναι ἔφη τὴν κεφαλὴν τὴν χρυσῆν, τουτέστι τῶν Βαβυλωνίων, εἴτουν Ἀσσυρίων βα σιλείαν, τὰ δὲ ἄλλα μόρια τῆς εἰκόνος ἐκ τῶν ἄλλων ὑλῶν, αἳ τὴν κεφαλὴν διεδέξαντο, αὐτὸς πᾶσαν ἐκ τοῦ χρυσίου τὴν εἰκόνα κατασκευάζει. βʹ. "Συνήγαγε, φησὶ, πάντας τοὺς σατράπας, ὑπάρχους τε καὶ στρατηγοὺς, καὶ τοπάρχας, ἡγουμένους τε καὶ τυράννους, καὶ τοὺς ἐπ' ἐξ ουσιῶν, καὶ πάντας τοὺς ἄρχοντας τῶν χωρῶν, ἐλ θεῖν εἰς τὰ ἐγκαίνια τῆς εἰκόνος, ἧς ἔστησε Ναβου χοδονόσορ ὁ βασιλεύς." Καὶ τούτων δὲ ἕκαστον τὴν ἄκραν ὑπερηφανίαν παραδηλοῖ. Οὐ γὰρ ἁπλῶς τοὺς τυχόντας τῶν ὑπηκόων εἰς τὴν τῆς εἰκόνος συνεκά λεσεν ἑορτὴν, ἀλλὰ τούς τε τοπάρχας, καὶ τοὺς στρατηγοὺς, τοὺς τῶν σατραπειῶν τὴν ἡγεμονίαν πεπιστευμένους, καὶ εἴ τι ἕτερον εἶδος ἀρχῆς παρ' 81.1317 ἐκείνοις ἐνενόμιστο. Καὶ εὐθὺς μὲν ἡ κλῆσις ἁπλῆ τις