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the worship services performed there, through which they imagined they saw God who is incorporeal and invisible. Since, therefore, through punishment you have worked such a change in us, 42, 43. "Do not put us to shame, but deal with us according to your forbearance, and according to the multitude of your mercy. And deliver us according to your wonderful works, and give glory to your name." For these reasons, he says, deem us worthy of pity and loving-kindness; for you are by nature merciful, and you use long-suffering toward all, and you have power that runs together with your will; and the wonders continually wrought by you bear witness. For the things that have happened to us will also cause your name to be praised, not only by us who are being saved, but also by those who see our salvation. "Give glory, therefore, to your name, O Lord. (44, 45.) And let all who show 81.1333 evil to your servants be confounded, and may they be put to shame from all their might, and let their strength be broken. Let them know that you alone are the Lord God, and glorious over the whole world." For when this loving-kindness is shown to us, the insolence of our enemies will be brought down, their rage will be quenched, and their haughty spirit will be broken, and they will know that you alone are Lord and God, worthy to be praised by the whole world; and those who now worship many gods will know the weakness of their own gods, and will worship your power. So then, those inside the furnace continued to dance; but the king's servants, and the accusers of the saints, did not cease supplying fuel to the flame, both vine branches, and tow, and naphtha; and this is a substance produced in that country, capable of kindling a flame. And so much fuel was supplied to the pyre that it spread out to forty-nine cubits, and burned up those of the Chaldeans who came near. And while those outside were kindling the flame, a divine angel scattered the flame, and stripped the middle of the furnace of its coals, and caused the fire to bring forth a certain cool and moderately moist breeze, procuring great pleasure for the saints, and to let it fall upon the bodies of the saints. 50. "For He made," it says, "the middle of the furnace like a rustling breeze of dew, and the fire did not touch them at all, nor did it grieve them, nor trouble them." But let no one, looking at these things, diminish the struggles of the saints, but let him be reminded of those sacred words: "The God whom we serve is in heaven, able to deliver us from the burning furnace, and from your hands, O king, He will rescue us." And, "But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor do we worship the golden image which you have set up." So those holy children despised that flame, not seeing this end, but expecting death; but the judge of the contest awarded the prize as He wished, and He both put those sinners to shame and rendered these men famous in song. Therefore, having enjoyed this salvation, the blessed and thrice-blessed children, and this many times, no longer allowed one to praise God, but, 51. "as from one mouth," he says, "they sang and glorified God, and they blessed Him in the furnace," setting their own excellent harmony and wonderful hymnody against the harmony before the image and the 81.1336 musical instruments, and showing how much more profitable it is not to worship the image than to worship it. And they begin the hymn thus: 52. "Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, and praised and highly exalted for ever; and blessed is the name of your glory, the holy, and greatly praised, and highly exalted for ever." The words are of a most ardent and insatiable love; for wounded by this, they seek names capable of signifying the worth of the one being praised, and not finding them, they weave them with superlative prefixes, calling him "highly exalted" and "greatly praised," and not him

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ἐπιτελουμένας αὐτόθι λατρείας, δι' ὧν ἀσώματον ὄντα τὸν Θεὸν καὶ ἀόρατον ὁρᾷν ἐφαντάζοντο. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν τοσαύτην ἡμῶν διὰ τῆς τιμωρίας εἰργάσω μεταβολὴν, μβʹ, μγʹ. "Μὴ καταισχύνῃς ἡμᾶς, ἀλλὰ ποίησον μεθ' ἡμῶν κατὰ τὴν ἐπιείκειάν σου, καὶ κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος τοῦ ἐλέους σου. Καὶ ἐξελοῦ ἡμᾶς κατὰ τὰ θαυμάσιά σου, καὶ δὸς δόξαν τῷ ὀνόματί σου." ∆ιὰ ταῦτα, φησὶν, οἴκτου ἡμᾶς καὶ φιλανθρωπίας ἀξίωσον· ἐλεεῖν τε γὰρ πέφυκας, καὶ μακροθυμίᾳ κεχρῆσθαι πρὸς ἅπαντας, σύνδρομόν τε ἔχεις τῇ βουλήσει τὴν δύναμιν· καὶ μαρτυρεῖ τὰ διηνεκῶς ὑπὸ σοῦ γενόμενα θαύματα. Τὰ γὰρ εἰς ἡμᾶς γενό μενα, καὶ τὸ σὸν ὄνομα ὑμνεῖσθαι παρασκευάσει, οὐχ ὑφ' ἡμῶν μόνον σωζομένων, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν τὴν ἡμετέραν σωτηρίαν ὁρώντων. "∆ὸς δόξαν τοίνυν τῷ ὀνόματί σου, Κύριε. (μδʹ, μεʹ.) Καὶ ἐντραπείησαν πάντες οἱ ἐνδεικνύ 81.1333 μενοι τοῖς δούλοις σου κακὰ, καὶ καταισχυνθείησαν ἀπὸ πάσης δυναστείας, καὶ ἡ ἰσχὺς αὐτῶν συν τριβείη. Γνώτωσαν, ὅτι σὺ Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς μόνος, καὶ ἔνδοξος ἐφ' ὅλην τὴν οἰκουμένην." Ταύτης γὰρ εἰς ἡμᾶς γινομένης φιλανθρωπίας, καταλυθήσεται μὲν τῶν ἐναντίων τὸ θράσος, σβεσθήσεται δὲ αὐ τῶν ἡ λύττα, καὶ φρόνημα αὐτῶν τὸ ὑψηλὸν συν τριβήσεται, καὶ γνώσονταί σε μόνον εἶναι Κύριον καὶ Θεὸν, ὑπὸ πάσης ἄξιον ὑμνεῖσθαι τῆς οἰκουμέ νης· καὶ οἱ νῦν πολλοὺς προσκυνοῦντες θεοὺς, τῶν μὲν οἰκείων θεῶν γνώσονται τὴν ἀσθένειαν, τὴν δὲ σὴν προσκυνήσουσι δύναμιν. Οἱ μὲν οὖν ἔνδον ἐν τῇ καμίνῳ χορεύοντες διετέλουν· οἱ δὲ τοῦ βασιλέως ὑπηρέται, καὶ τῶν ἁγίων κατήγοροι, οὐκ ἔληγον ὕλην τῇ φλογὶ χορηγοῦντες, καὶ κληματίδας, καὶ στυππίον, καὶ νάφθαν· εἶδος δὲ τοῦτό ἐστιν ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ χώρᾳ γινόμενον, ἐξάψαι τὴν φλόγα δυνάμενον. Τοσαύτη δὲ ἦν χορηγουμένη τῇ πυρᾷ τροφὴ, ὡς ἐπ' ἐννέα καὶ τεσσαράκοντα πήχεις διαχυθῆναι, καὶ τῶν Χαλδαίων ἐμπρῆσαι τοὺς πλησιάζοντας. Καὶ οἱ μὲν ἔξωθεν ἐξῆπτον τὴν φλόγα· θεῖος δὲ ἄγγελος ἐσκεδάννυ τὴν φλόγα, καὶ τὸ μέσον τῆς καμίνου τῶν ἀνθράκων ἐγύμνου, καὶ αὖράν τινα ψυχράν τε καὶ μετρίως ὑγρὰν, καὶ πολλὴν τοῖς ἁγίοις ἡδονὴν πραγματευομένην, ὠδίνειν τὸ πῦρ παρεσκεύαζε, καὶ ταύτην τοῖς τῶν ἁγίων ἐπαφιέναι σώμασιν. νʹ. "Ἐποίησε γὰρ, φησὶ, τὸ μέσον τῆς καμίνου ὡς πνεῦμα δρόσου διασυρίζον, καὶ οὐχ ἥψατο αὐτῶν τὸ καθόλου τὸ πῦρ, καὶ οὐκ ἐλύπησεν αὐτοὺς, οὐδὲ παρηνώχλησεν αὐτοῖς." Ἀλλὰ μηδεὶς ταῦτα ἀφορῶν σμικρυνέτω τοὺς τῶν ἁγίων ἀγῶνας, τῶν δὲ ἱερῶν ἐκείνων ἀναμιμνησκέσθω λόγων· "Ἔστιν ὁ Θεὸς ἐν οὐρανοῖς, ᾧ ἡμεῖς λατρεύομεν, δυνατὸς ἐξελέσθαι ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῆς καμίνου τῆς καιομένης, καὶ ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν σου, βασιλεῦ, ῥύσεται ἡμᾶς." Καὶ, "Ἐὰν μὴ, γνωστὸν ἔστω σοι, βασιλεῦ, ὅτι τοῖς θεοῖς σου οὐ λατρεύομεν, καὶ τῇ εἰκόνι τῇ χρυσῇ, ᾗ ἔστη σας, οὐ προσκυνοῦμεν." Ὥστε οἱ ἅγιοι παῖδες ἐκεῖ νοι τῆς φλογὸς ἐκείνης κατεφρόνησαν, οὐ τοῦτο τὸ τέλος ὁρῶντες, ἀλλὰ θάνατον προσδεχόμενοι· ὁ δὲ ἀγωνοθέτης ἐβράβευσεν, ὡς ἠθέλησε, καὶ τούς τε ἀλι τηρίους ἐκείνους κατῄσχυνε, καὶ τούτους ἀοιδίμους ἀπέφηνε. Ταύτης τοίνυν τῆς σωτηρίας ἀπολαύσαν τες οἱ μακάριοι καὶ τρισμακάριοι παῖδες, καὶ πολ λάκις τοῦτο, οὐκ ἔτι ἑνὶ τὸν Θεὸν ὑμνεῖν παρεχώρη σαν, ἀλλ', ναʹ. "Ὡς ἐξ ἑνὸς, φησὶ, στόματος ὕμνουν καὶ ἐδόξαζον τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ ηὐλόγουν ἐν τῇ καμίνῳ," τὴν ἀρίστην αὑτῶν συμφωνίαν, καὶ θαυμαστὴν ὑμν ωδίαν, τῇ παρὰ τὴν εἰκόνα συμφωνίᾳ καὶ τοῖς 81.1336 μουσικοῖς ἀντιτάξαντες ὀργάνοις, καὶ δεικνύντες, ὅσῳ τὸ μὴ προσκυνῆσαι τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ προσκυνῆ σαι λυσιτελέστερον. Ἄρχονται δὲ οὕτως τοῦ ὕμνου· νβʹ. "Εὐλογητὸς εἶ, Κύριε, ὁ Θεὸς τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν, καὶ αἰνετὸς καὶ ὑπερυψούμενος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας· καὶ εὐλογημένον τὸ ὄνομα τῆς δόξης σου, τὸ ἅγιον, καὶ ὑπεραινετὸν, καὶ ὑπερυψούμενον εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας." Ἔρωτός ἐστι θερμοτάτου καὶ ἀπληστοτά του τὰ ῥήματα· τούτῳ γὰρ τετρωμένοι, ζητοῦσιν ὀνόματα τοῦ ὑμνουμένου τὴν ἀξίαν παραδηλῶσαι δυ νάμενα, καὶ μὴ εὑρίσκοντες, ταῖς ὑπερθετικαῖς αὐτὰ προθέσεσιν ἐξυφαίνουσιν, "ὑπερυψούμενον" ὀνομάζον τες, καὶ "ὑπεραινετὸν," καὶ οὐκ αὐτὸν