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they might think him to be the one being baptized, the voice came, distinguishing this one from that one. And since it was unclear about whom the voice was saying what it said, the Holy Spirit also came in the form of a dove, drawing the voice to the head of Christ. But nevertheless He proclaimed him both by a voice, and showed him by the Spirit, and after this John also cried out, that I am not worthy to loose the strap of his sandal; and countless other testimonies came, both through words and through deeds, and to all these they were blinded; or rather, they understood everything, but were persuaded by none of the things said, nor of the things done, their minds being preoccupied by the madness for glory from the many. Which indeed the evangelist also says, that many of the Jews believed in him, but because of the rulers they did not confess it, 51.142 so that they might not be put out of the synagogue. And Christ himself said, How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another? and the glory that comes from the only God you do not seek? But not so Paul, but having heard a single voice of him who was being persecuted, he immediately ran to him, immediately obeyed, and showed a great change. But if you have not grown weary with the length of what has been said, I will bring the discourse to an even closer example. For they too heard the Son, and heard in the same way as Paul heard, and heard at such a time as Paul heard, and not even so did they believe. For just as Paul, when he was raging, when he was savage, when he was warring against the disciples, heard the voice, so also the Jews. Where, and when? They went out in the night with lanterns and torches for his arrest; for they thought they were attacking a mere man. Wishing, therefore, to teach them his own power, and that he is God, and that they are kicking against the pricks, he says to them, Whom do you seek? They were standing before him and near, and they did not see him; but he who was sought himself led them by the hand to find him, so that they might learn that he does not come to his passion unwillingly, that, if he had not wished to allow it, they would not have prevailed. For how could they, who were not even able to find him? What am I saying, not being able to find him? But they were not even able to see him when he was present; and not only were they not able to see him when he was present, but even when answering his question, they did not know who it was that was present; so with all exaggeration he blinded their eyes. And not only this, but he also threw them on their backs with his voice; for when he said, Whom do you seek?, they all went backward from this voice. For just as the voice struck Paul down, and made him lie prostrate, so also the voice threw all these down on their backs; and just as he did not see the one persecuted by him, so they did not see the one sought by them; just as he was blinded at the time of his madness, so they too were blinded at the very time of their madness. For he, when he was going to bind the disciples, and these, when they went out to bind Christ, suffered the same things. And there were bonds, and here bonds; and there persecution, and here persecution; and there blindness, and here blindness; and there a voice, and here a voice; and the demonstration of Christ's power was similar, the remedies were similar, but the correction was not similar; for those who were sick had a great difference. For what is more senseless, what more ungrateful than they? They fell backward, and again they rose up, and again they attacked. Were they not more senseless than stones? And so that they might learn that it is he who said to them, Whom do you seek? and threw them backward, he says to them again, when they had risen, Whom do you seek? and they say, Jesus; he says to them, I told you that I am he; as good as saying, Learn that he who before this said, 'Whom do you seek?' and threw you down, is I. But nothing more came of this, but they remained in their own hardness of heart. Comparing all these things side by side, therefore, learn precisely that not from

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βαπτιζομένου εἶναι νομίσωσιν, ἦλθεν ἡ φωνὴ τοῦτον ἀπ' ἐκείνου διαιροῦσα. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ ἄδηλον ἦν περὶ τίνος ἔλεγεν ἡ φωνὴ ὅπερ ἔλεγεν, ἦλθε καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἐν εἴδει περιστερᾶς, τὴν φωνὴν ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἕλκον τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ἀλλ' ὅμως καὶ διὰ φωνῆς αὐτὸν ἐκήρυξε, καὶ διὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος ἔδειξε, καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο καὶ Ἰωάννης ἐβόα, ὅτι Οὐκ εἰμὶ ἱκανὸς αὐτοῦ λῦσαι τὸν ἱμάντα τοῦ ὑποδήματος· καὶ μυρία ἕτερα καὶ διὰ ῥημάτων, καὶ διὰ πραγμάτων μαρτύρια ἐγένετο, καὶ πρὸς ἅπαντα ἀπετυφλώθησαν· μᾶλλον δὲ πάντα μὲν συνεώρων, οὐδενὶ δὲ τῶν λεγομένων, οὐδὲ τῶν πραττομένων ἐπείθοντο, τῇ μανίᾳ τῆς παρὰ τῶν πολλῶν δόξης προκατειλημμένοι τὴν διάνοιαν. Ὅπερ οὖν καὶ ὁ εὐαγγελιστής φησιν, ὅτι πολλοὶ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐπίστευσαν εἰς αὐτὸν, διὰ δὲ τοὺς ἄρχοντας οὐχ ὡμολό 51.142 γουν, ἵνα μὴ ἀποσυνάγωγοι γένωνται. Καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ Χριστὸς ἔλεγε, Πῶς δύνασθε πιστεύειν, δόξαν παρὰ ἀλλήλων λαμβάνοντες; καὶ τὴν δόξαν τὴν παρὰ τοῦ μόνου Θεοῦ οὐ ζητοῦντες; Ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁ Παῦλος οὕτως, ἀλλὰ μιᾶς μόνης ἀκούσας φωνῆς αὐτοῦ τοῦ διωκομένου, εὐθέως προσέδραμεν, εὐθέως ὑπήκουσε, καὶ πολλὴν ἐπεδείξατο τὴν μεταβολήν. Εἰ δὲ μὴ ἀπεκάμετε τῷ μήκει τῶν εἰρημένων, ἔτι εἰς ἐγγύτερον παράδειγμα ἄγω τὸν λόγον. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ ἤκουσαν, καὶ οὕτως ἤκουσαν ὡς Παῦλος ἤκουσε, καὶ ἐν καιρῷ τοιούτῳ ἤκουσαν, οἵῳ Παῦλος ἤκουσε, καὶ οὐδὲ οὕτως ἐπίστευσαν. Καθάπερ γὰρ Παῦλος ὅτε ἐμαίνετο, ὅτε ἠγριαίνετο, ὅτε ἐπολέμει τοῖς μαθηταῖς, ἤκουσε τῆς φωνῆς, οὕτω καὶ Ἰουδαῖοι. Ποῦ, καὶ πότε; Ἐξῆλθον ἐν τῇ νυκτὶ μετὰ φανῶν καὶ λαμπάδων εἰς τὴν σύλληψιν αὐτοῦ· ἐνόμιζον γὰρ ἀνθρώπῳ ψιλῷ ἐπιτίθεσθαι. Βουλόμενος τοίνυν αὐτοὺς διδάξαι τὴν δύναμιν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ ὅτι Θεός ἐστι, καὶ πρὸς κέντρα λακτίζουσι, λέγει αὐτοῖς, Τίνα ζητεῖτε; Ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ καὶ πλησίον εἱστήκεισαν, καὶ οὐχ ἑώρων αὐτόν· ἀλλ' αὐτὸς ὁ ζητούμενος αὐτοὺς ἐχειραγώγει πρὸς τὴν εὕρεσιν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ, ἵνα μάθωσιν, ὅτι οὐκ ἄκων ἐπὶ τὸ πάθος ἔρχεται, ὅτι, εἰ μὴ ἐβούλετο συγχωρῆσαι, οὐκ ἂν περιεγένοντο. Πῶς γὰρ, οἱ μηδὲ εὑρεῖν αὐτὸν δυνηθέντες; Τί λέγω, εὑρεῖν αὐτὸν μὴ δυνηθέντες; Ἀλλ' οὔτε ἰδεῖν αὐτὸν παρόντα ἴσχυσαν· οὐ μόνον δὲ παρόντα οὐκ ἴσχυσαν ἰδεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐρωτῶντι ἀποκρινόμενοι, οὐδὲ οὕτως ᾔδεσαν ὅστις ποτὲ ἦν ὁ παρών· οὕτω μεθ' ὑπερβολῆς ἁπάσης ἀπετύφλωσεν αὐτῶν τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς. Καὶ οὐ τοῦτο μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπτίους ἔῤῥιψεν αὐτοὺς τῇ φωνῇ· εἰπόντος γὰρ, Τίνα ζητεῖτε, ἀπῆλθον πάντες εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω ἀπὸ τῆς φωνῆς ταύτης. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸν Παῦλον ἡ φωνὴ κατέβαλε, καὶ πρηνῆ κεῖσθαι ἐποίησεν, οὕτω καὶ τούτους ἡ φωνὴ πάντας ἔῤῥιψεν ὑπτίους· καὶ ὥσπερ οὗτος οὐκ ἔβλεπε τὸν διωκόμενον ὑπ' αὐτοῦ, οὕτως ἐκεῖνοι οὐκ ἔβλεπον τὸν ζητούμενον ὑπ' αὐτῶν· ὥσπερ οὗτος ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς μανίας ἀπετυφλώθη, κἀκεῖνοι ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ καιρῷ τῆς μανίας ἀπετυφλώθησαν. Καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος, ὅτε ἐπορεύετο δῆσαι τοὺς μαθητὰς, καὶ οὗτοι, ὅτε ἐξῆλθον δῆσαι τὸν Χριστὸν, ταὐτὰ ἔπαθον. Καὶ ἐκεῖ δεσμὰ, καὶ ἐνταῦθα δεσμά· καὶ ἐκεῖ δίωξις, καὶ ἐνταῦθα δίωξις· καὶ ἐκεῖ πήρωσις, καὶ ἐνταῦθα πήρωσις· καὶ ἐκεῖ φωνὴ, καὶ ἐνταῦθα φωνή· καὶ ὁμοία τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ δυνάμεως ἡ ἔνδειξις, ὅμοια τὰ φάρμακα, ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁμοία ἡ διόρθωσις· οἱ γὰρ κάμνοντες πολλὴν εἶχον διαφοράν. Τί γὰρ ἀναισθητότερον, τί δὲ ἀγνωμονέστερον ἐκείνων; Ἔπεσον ὀπίσω, καὶ πάλιν ἀνέστησαν, καὶ πάλιν ἐπέθεντο. Ἆρα τῶν λίθων οὐκ ἦσαν ἀναισθητότεροι; Καὶ ἵνα μάθωσιν, ὅτι οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ εἰπὼν αὐτοῖς, Τίνα ζητεῖτε; καὶ ῥίψας ὀπίσω αὐτοὺς, λέγει αὐτοῖς πάλιν, ὅτε ἀνέστησαν, Τίνα ζητεῖτε; καὶ λέγουσιν, Ἰησοῦν· λέγει αὐτοῖς, Εἶπον ὑμῖν, ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι· μονονουχὶ λέγων, Μάθετε ὅτι καὶ ὁ πρὸ τούτου εἰπὼν, Τίνα ζητεῖτε; καὶ ῥίψας ὑμᾶς, ἐγώ εἰμι. Ἀλλ' οὐδὲν πλέον ἐκ τούτου ἐγένετο, ἀλλ' ἔμειναν ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτῶν πωρώσεως. Ταῦτ' οὖν ἅπαντα ἐκ παραλλήλου συγκρίνων, μάνθανε ἀκριβῶς, ὅτι οὐκ ἐξ