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they completed. 10.24 But the resourceful wisdom of God, ever finding a way in perplexities, even in the pit itself and in the very threat of death, snatched him from their defiled hands. For one of the brothers advised them to abstain from that murderous deed; but God persuaded them and prevented the slaughter. Yet the terrible things did not stop here, but went still further again. For since they were prevented from killing him, and their anger was still boiling and their wrath was at its height and the surging of their passion was great, they transferred their anger to something else. 10.25 For after stripping and binding him and casting him into a pit, the cruel and inhuman and beastly ones thus enjoyed the meal brought by him; and he was in the pit, fearing the worst, while they were feasting and getting drunk. And not even here did their madness stop, but seeing some barbarian men settled far from their own country going down to Egypt, they took and sold their brother, thereby contriving another death for him, a longer and more difficult one and full of much hardship. 10.26 For being a youth, and a very young youth at that, and having been raised with much freedom in his father's house, and having no share in any slavery or the hardship of slavery, consider what he must have suffered, suddenly becoming a slave instead of free and a foreigner instead of a citizen and enduring the utmost captivity; not only slavery, but also being torn away from father and mother and all his relatives, naked, a foreigner, homeless, stateless, given over by the law of slavery to barbarian hands. 10.27 For what was not sufficient to disturb him? The suddenness, the unexpectedness, the unpracticed nature of it beyond all expectation, the difficulty of the misfortune, that he should suffer these things from brothers, and beloved brothers, having wronged them in nothing, small or great, but rather even having been a benefactor? And yet he was disturbed by none of these things, but was led away by those merchants to Egypt, exchanging slavery for slavery. 10.28 For there too he again became a slave and dwelt in a barbarian house, the Hebrew, the noble one, free with a twofold freedom, both of the body and of the soul; and not even by this was he disturbed, nor was he scandalized by what had happened, remembering the visions that promised the contrary, nor did he question curiously, "why on earth are these things happening?" 10.29 And the fratricides and wolves and wild beasts, although having done these wrongs, are living in luxury in their father's house. but he who was expected to be their king, a captive, a slave, sold off to a foreign land, endures the utmost hardship, not only not ruling over them, but even becoming their slave and suffering things diametrically opposed to the promises. For indeed not only did he not attain a kingdom then, but he also fell from his homeland and freedom and from the sight of his parents. 10.30 And not even here did his struggles stop, but another, deeper pit was being dug, again holding death and slaughter, a shameful death and a slaughter full of disgrace. For she who owned him, seeing him with unjust eyes and being captivated by the beauty of the young man, subdued by his radiant appearance, she too in turn wove deceits and plots. 10.31 And having spread the nets of licentiousness on all sides, each day she watched to catch the young man within her own dragnet and cast him into the pit of adultery and deliver him to immortal death. And each day she went out for this hunt, being goaded by passion and by this licentious love. And once, finding him alone, she dragged him by force to her unjust bed and compelled him to break into another's marriage and tried to destroy his chastity. 10.32 But yet, not even from this did that righteous man suffer anything terrible; but both the tyranny of desire and the commotions of new age and the plot of a licentious woman and the assaults of a mistress and the agitations of youth and all things that were likely to arise from that touch and of the

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ἀπήρτισαν. 10.24 Ἀλλ' ἡ εὐμήχανος καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀπόροις εὔπορος τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφία καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ βαράθρῳ καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ τοῦ θανάτου τῇ ἐπαγωγῇ, ἐκ τῶν μιαρῶν αὐτῶν ἐκεῖνον ἐξήρπασε χειρῶν. Συνεβούλευσε μὲν γὰρ τῶν ἀδελφῶν εἷς, ὥστε ἀποστῆναι τῆς μιαιφονίας ἐκείνης· ἔπεισε δὲ ὁ Θεὸς καὶ τὴν σφαγὴν διεκώλυσεν. Οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ ἐνταῦθα ἵστατο τὰ δεινά, ἀλλὰ περαιτέρω προῄει πάλιν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ αὐτὸν ἐκωλύθησαν ἀνελεῖν, ἔζεε δὲ ὁ θυμὸς αὐτῶν ἔτι καὶ τὰ τῆς ὀργῆς ἤκμαζε καὶ πολὺ τὸ κλυδώνιον τοῦ πάθους ἦν, εἰς ἕτερόν τι τὴν ὀργὴν μετήνεγκαν. 10.25 Ἀποδύσαντες γὰρ καὶ δήσαντες αὐτὸν καὶ εἰς λάκκον ῥίψαντες οἱ ὠμοὶ καὶ ἀπάνθρωποι καὶ θηριώδεις, οὕτω τῆς παρ' αὐτοῦ κομισθείσης τραπέζης ἀπήλαυον· καὶ ὁ μὲν ἦν ἐν λάκκῳ περὶ τῶν ἐσχάτων δεδοικώς, οἱ δὲ ἐτρύφων καὶ ἐμέθυον. Καὶ οὐδὲ ἐνταῦθα ἵσταντο τῆς μανίας, ἀλλ' ἰδόντες ἀνθρώπους βαρβάρους καὶ πόρρω τῆς αὐτῶν ἀπῳκισμένους χώρας εἰς τὴν Αἴγυπτον κατιόντας, λαβόντες ἀπέδοντο τὸν ἀδελφόν, ἕτερον θάνατον ἐντεῦθεν αὐτῷ κατασκευάζοντες, μακρότερόν τινα καὶ χαλεπώτερον καὶ πολλῆς γέμοντα ταλαιπωρίας. 10.26 Μειράκιον γὰρ ὢν καὶ μειράκιον κομιδῆ καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς ἐλευθερίας ἐν οἰκίᾳ πατρῴᾳ τραφεὶς καὶ δουλείας ἁπάσης ἄμοιρος ὢν καὶ τῆς ἐν δουλείᾳ ταλαιπωρίας, ἐννόησον τί ποτε ἔπασχεν, ἀθρόον δοῦλος ἀντ' ἐλευθέρου καὶ ξένος ἀντὶ πολίτου γενόμενος καὶ τὴν ἐσχάτην αἰχμαλωσίαν ὑπομένων· οὐχὶ δουλείαν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πατρὸς καὶ μητρὸς καὶ τῶν αὐτῷ προσηκόντων ἁπάντων ἀπορρηγνύμενος, γυμνός, ξένος, ἄοικος, ἄπολις, νόμῳ δουλείας βαρβαρικαῖς χερσὶν ἐκδεδομένος. 10.27 Τί γὰρ οὐκ ἦν αὐτὸν ἱκανὸν θορυβῆσαι; τὸ ἀθρόον, τὸ ἀπροσδόκητον, τὸ παρ' ἐλπίδα ἀμελέτητον, τὸ χαλεπὸν τῆς συμφορᾶς, τὸ παρ' ἀδελφῶν καὶ ἀδελφῶν ἀγαπωμένων, μὴ μικρόν, μὴ μέγα ἐκείνους ἠδικηκότα, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ εὐεργετηκότα, ταῦτα παθεῖν; Καὶ ὅμως οὐδενὶ τούτων διεταράττετο, ἀλλ' ἀπήγετο διὰ τῶν ἐμπόρων ἐκείνων εἰς Αἴγυπτον, δουλείαν ἐκ δουλείας ἀμείβων. 10.28 Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐκεῖ πάλιν ἐγίνετο δοῦλος καὶ ᾤκει βαρβαρικὴν οἰκίαν ὁ Ἑβραῖος, ὁ εὐγενής, ὁ διπλῆν ἐλευθερίαν ἐλεύθερος καὶ τὴν τοῦ σώματος καὶ τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς· καὶ οὐδὲ ἐντεῦθεν ἐταράττετο, οὐδὲ ἐσκανδαλίζετο πρὸς τὰ γεγενημένα, τῶν ὄψεων ἀναμιμνησκόμενος τῶν τὰ ἐναντία ἐπαγγελλομένων, οὐδὲ περιειργάζετο, τί δήποτε ταῦτα γίνεται; 10.29 Καὶ οἱ μὲν ἀδελφοκτόνοι καὶ λύκοι καὶ θῆρες καίτοι ταῦτα ἠδικηκότες, ἐπὶ τῆς πατρῴας οἰκίας τρυφῶσιν. αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ προσδοκηθεὶς αὐτῶν βασιλεύς, αἰχμάλωτος, δοῦλος, εἰς ἀλλοτρίαν ἀπεμποληθείς, τὴν ἐσχάτην ὑπομένει ταλαιπωρίαν, οὐ μόνον αὐτῶν οὐ βασιλεύσας, ἀλλὰ καὶ δοῦλος αὐτῶν γενόμενος καὶ ἐκ πολλοῦ τοῦ διαμέτρου τἀναντία ταῖς ὑποσχέσεσι παθών. Οὐ γὰρ δὴ μόνον βασιλείας τότε οὐκ ἐπέτυχεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πατρίδος καὶ ἐλευθερίας καὶ τῆς τῶν γονέων ἐξέπεσεν ὄψεως. 10.30 Καὶ οὐδὲ ἐνταῦθα αὐτῷ τὰ τῶν ἀγώνων ἵστατο, ἀλλ' ἕτερον βαθύτερον ἀνωρύττετο βάραθρον, θάνατον πάλιν ἔχον καὶ σφαγήν, θάνατον ἐπονείδιστον καὶ σφαγὴν αἰσχύνης γέμουσαν. Ἰδοῦσα γὰρ αὐτὸν ἀδίκοις ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡ κεκτημένη καὶ ἁλοῦσα τῷ κάλλει τοῦ νεανίσκου, ὑπὸ τῆς λαμπρᾶς αὐτοῦ χειρωθεῖσα ὄψεως καὶ αὐτὴ πάλιν δόλους ἔρραπτε καὶ ἐπιβουλάς. 10.31 Καὶ τὰ δίκτυα τῆς ἀκολασίας πάντοθεν ἁπλώσασα, καθ' ἑκάστην παρετήρει τὴν ἡμέραν εἴσω τῆς οἰκείας σαγήνης τὸν νεανίσκον λαβεῖν καὶ εἰς τὸ τῆς μοιχείας ἐμβαλεῖν βάραθρον καὶ θανάτῳ παραδοῦναι ἀθανάτῳ. Καὶ καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἐπὶ τὴν ἄγραν ἐξῄει ταύτην, ὑπὸ τοῦ πάθους κεντουμένη καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀκολάστου τούτου ἔρωτος. Καί ποτε εὑροῦσα μόνον, ἐπὶ τὴν ἄδικον αὐτὸν πρὸς βίαν εἷλκεν εὐνὴν καὶ τὸν ἀλλότριον διορύξαι γάμον ἠνάγκαζε καὶ τὴν σωφροσύνην αὐτοῦ λυμήνασθαι ἐπεχείρει. 10.32 Ἀλλ' ὅμως οὐδὲ ἐντεῦθεν ἔπαθέ τι χαλεπὸν ὁ δίκαιος ἐκεῖνος· ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπιθυμίας τυραννίδα καὶ νέας ἡλικίας θορύβους καὶ ἀκολάστου γυναικὸς ἐπιβουλὴν καὶ δεσποίνης ἐφόδους καὶ νεότητος ταραχὰς καὶ πάντα ὅσα εἰκὸς ἐκ τῆς ἁφῆς ἐκείνης γενέσθαι καὶ τῆς