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He speaks boldly while they are mocking such things. Of how much audacity do you think this is, of how much impiety, of how much shamelessness, to consider the wonder of tongues a work of drunkenness? But this did not trouble the apostles at all, nor did hearing the mockery make them less bold then. For by the presence of the Spirit they were already transformed, and were superior to all bodily things. And wherever the Holy Spirit is present, it makes golden men out of clay ones. Behold now Peter, and examine the coward, the one without understanding, just as Christ says: Are you also still without understanding?; the one called Satan after that wonderful confession. Consider also the concord of the apostles. They yield the public speaking to him; for it was not necessary for all to speak. And he lifted up his voice, it says, and spoke out to them with great boldness. Such a thing it is to be a spiritual man. Only let us too make ourselves worthy of the grace from above, and all things will be easy. For just as a man of fire falling into the midst of stubble would suffer nothing terrible, but rather would accomplish something; for he himself suffers nothing, but they who fight against him destroy themselves; so also it happened now. Or rather, as if one holding straw should fight 60.47 against another who is carrying fire; so indeed did these approach those with great courage. For what did so great a multitude harm them? For tell me, did they not contend with poverty and famine? with dishonor and an evil reputation? (for they were considered deceivers;) Were they not subject to the laughter and mockery of those present? For both fell upon them; for some laughed at them, and others mocked them. Were they not exposed to the rages, to the madness of entire cities, to seditions and plots? to fire and sword, and wild beasts? did not a myriad war surround them on all sides? were they not so disposed as to see these terrible things as a dream or in a picture? What then? did they not consume their rages? did they not turn the difficulty back upon them? Were not they, most of all, possessed by rage and fear? Were they not in agony, and afraid, and trembling? For hear them saying: You intend to bring this man's blood upon us. And the wonderful thing is, that they arrayed themselves with naked body against armed men, against rulers having authority over them, being inexperienced, uneloquent, and of humble station, against sorcerers, against deceivers, against a multitude of sophists, of orators, of philosophers, who had rotted away in the Academy and the Peripatos, they stood their ground and fought back. And he who was occupied around the lakes so prevailed over them, as if his contest were with speechless fish; for just as a fisherman truly of fish more mute, so he overcame these. And Plato, who talked much nonsense, has been silenced; but this man speaks, not only among his own, but also among Parthians, among Medes, among Elamites, and in India, and everywhere on earth, and to the ends of the inhabited world. Where now is the pride of Greece? where the name of Athens? where the nonsense of the philosophers? He from Galilee, from Bethsaida, the rustic, overcame them all. Are you not ashamed, tell me, at the name of the fatherland of him who has conquered you? And if you hear his name also, that he was called Cephas, you will hide your faces all the more. For this, this has destroyed you, that you consider this a reproach, and eloquence a praise, and inexperience in eloquence, a reproach. You did not come by the way you should have come, but leaving the royal road, the easy and smooth, you walked the rough and steep and difficult one. For this reason you did not arrive at the kingdom of heaven. 4. Why then did Christ not work in Plato, nor in Pythagoras, he says? Because the soul of Peter was much more philosophical than the souls of those men. For they were indeed children, turned about everywhere by vainglory; but this man was a philosopher, and receptive of grace. And if you laugh hearing these things, it is not surprising; since those men then also laughed, and said they were full of new wine; but later, when

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τοιαῦτα διαχλευαζόντων παῤῥησιάζεται. Πόσης εἶναι νομίζεις ἰταμότητος τοῦτο, πόσης ἀσεβείας, πόσης ἀναισχυντίας, τὸ μέθης λογίζεσθαι ἔργον τῶν γλωσσῶν τὸ παράδοξον; Ἀλλ' οὐδὲν τοῦτο τοὺς ἀποστόλους ἐλύπησεν, οὐδ' ἀτολμοτέρους εἰργάσατο τότε τὰ τῆς χλεύης ἀκούοντας. Τῇ γὰρ παρουσίᾳ τοῦ Πνεύματος ἤδη μετεσκευάσθησαν, καὶ ἀνώτεροι τῶν σωματικῶν πάντων ὑπῆρχον. Ἔνθα δὲ ἂν παραγένηται τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, χρυσοῦς ἀντὶ πηλίνων ἐργάζεται. Ὅρα μοι λοιπὸν τὸν Πέτρον, καὶ ἐξέταζε τὸν δειλὸν, τὸν ἀσύνετον, καθάπερ ὁ Χριστός φησιν· Ἀκμὴν καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀσύνετοί ἐστε· τὸν μετὰ τὴν ὁμολογίαν ἐκείνην τὴν θαυμαστὴν Σατᾶν κληθέντα. Σκόπει δὲ καὶ τῶν ἀποστόλων τὴν ὁμόνοιαν. Αὐτοὶ παραχωροῦσιν αὐτῷ τῆς δημηγορίας· οὐ γὰρ ἔδει πάντας φθέγγεσθαι. Καὶ ἐπῆρε, φησὶ, τὴν φωνὴν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀπεφθέγξατο αὐτοῖς μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς παῤῥησίας. Τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν ἄνδρα εἶναι πνευματικόν. Μόνον καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀξίους ἑαυτοὺς καταστήσωμεν τῆς ἄνωθεν χάριτος, καὶ πάντα εὔκολα ἔσται. Καθάπερ γὰρ πύρινος ἄνθρωπος εἰς μέσην καλάμην ἐμπεσὼν, οὐδὲν ἂν πάθοι δεινὸν, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἐργάσεται· οὐ γὰρ αὐτός τι πάσχει, ἀλλ' αὐτοὶ ἑαυτοὺς οἱ πυκτεύοντες διαφθείρουσιν· οὕτω καὶ νῦν ἐγένετο. Μᾶλλον δὲ ὥσπερ ἂν εἴ τις πῦρ ἐπιφερομένῳ χόρτον ἔχων 60.47 πυκτεύοι· οὕτω δὴ καὶ οὗτοι τούτους προσίεσαν μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς ἀνδρείας. Τί γὰρ αὐτοὺς ἔβλαψε τὸ τοσοῦτον πλῆθος; Εἰπὲ γάρ μοι, οὐχὶ πενίᾳ ἐμάχοντο καὶ λιμῷ; οὐχὶ ἀτιμίᾳ καὶ δόξῃ πονηρᾷ; (πλάνοι γὰρ εἶναι ἐνομίζοντο·) οὐχὶ γέλωτι καὶ χλεύῃ τῶν παρόντων ὑπέκειντο; Ἐπ' αὐτῶν γὰρ τὰ ἑκάτερα συνέπιπτεν· οἱ μὲν γὰρ αὐτοὺς ἐγέλων, οἱ δὲ καὶ ἐχλεύαζον. Οὐχὶ θυμοῖς, οὐχὶ μανίαις ὁλοκλήρων πόλεων, οὐχὶ στάσεσι καὶ ἐπιβουλαῖς προέκειντο; οὐχὶ πυρὶ καὶ σιδήρῳ, καὶ θηρίοις; οὐχὶ πάντοθεν αὐτοὺς μυρίος περιειστήκει πόλεμος; οὐχὶ ὡς ὄναρ ταῦτα ὁρῶντες τὰ δεινὰ ἢ ἐν γραφῇ, οὕτω διέκειντο; Τί δαί; οὐκ ἀνάλωσαν αὐτῶν τοὺς θυμούς; οὐκ εἰς ἑαυτοὺς τὴν ἀπορίαν περιέτρεψαν; οὐχὶ καὶ θυμῷ, καὶ δέει πάντων μάλιστα ἐκεῖνοι συνείχοντο; οὐχὶ ἐναγώνιοι ἦσαν, καὶ ἐφοβοῦντο, καὶ ἔτρεμον; Ἄκουε γὰρ αὐτῶν λεγόντων· Θέλετε ἐπαγαγεῖν ἐφ' ἡμᾶς τὸ αἷμα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τούτου. Καὶ τὸ θαυμαστὸν, ὅτι γυμνῷ τῷ σώματι παρετάττοντο πρὸς ὡπλισμένους, πρὸς ἄρχοντας κατὰ αὐτῶν ἔχοντας ἐξουσίαν, ἄπειροι, ἄγλωττοι, καὶ ἰδιωτικώτερον διακείμενοι, πρὸς γόητας, πρὸς πλάνους, πρὸς σοφιστῶν, πρὸς ῥητόρων, πρὸς φιλοσόφων πλῆθος, τῶν κατασαπέντων ἐν Ἀκαδημίᾳ καὶ Περιπάτοις, ἐνίσταντό τε καὶ ἀπεμάχοντο. Καὶ ὁ περὶ λίμνας ἠσχολημένος οὕτως αὐτῶν ἐκράτησεν, ὡς οὐδὲ εἰ πρὸς ἰχθῦς ἀγλώττους ὁ ἀγὼν ἦν αὐτῷ· καθάπερ γὰρ ὄντως ἁλιεὺς ἰχθύων ἀφωνοτέρων, οὕτω τούτων περιεγένετο. Καὶ ὁ μὲν πολλὰ ληρήσας Πλάτων, σεσίγηκεν· οὗτος δὲ φθέγγεται, οὐχὶ παρ' οἰκείοις μόνοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ παρὰ Πάρθοις, παρὰ Μήδοις, παρὰ Ἐλαμίταις, καὶ ἐν Ἰνδίᾳ, καὶ πανταχοῦ γῆς, καὶ εἰς τὰ πέρατα τῆς οἰκουμένης. Ποῦ νῦν τῆς Ἑλλάδος ὁ τῦφος; ποῦ τῶν Ἀθηνῶν τὸ ὄνομα; ποῦ τῶν φιλοσόφων ὁ λῆρος; Ὁ ἀπὸ Γαλιλαίας, ὁ ἀπὸ Βηθσαϊδᾶ, ὁ ἀγροῖκος, πάντων ἐκείνων περιεγένετο. Οὐκ αἰσχύνεσθε, εἰπέ μοι, ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι τῆς πατρίδος τοῦ νενικηκότος ὑμᾶς; Ἂν δὲ καὶ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἀκούσητε, καὶ ὅτι Κηφᾶς ἐλέγετο, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἐγκαλύψεσθε. Τοῦτο γὰρ ὑμᾶς, τοῦτο ἀπολώλεκεν, ὅτι τοῦτο ὄνειδος εἶναι νομίζετε, καὶ εὐγλωττίαν ἐγκώμιον, καὶ ἀπειρίαν εὐγλωττίας, ὄνειδος. Οὐκ ἤλθετε ἣν ἐλθεῖν ὑμᾶς ἔδει, ἀλλὰ τὴν βασιλικὴν ἀφέντες ὁδὸν τὴν εὔκολον καὶ λείαν, τὴν τραχεῖαν καὶ ἀνάντη καὶ χαλεπὴν ἐβαδίσατε. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο οὐδὲ ἐφθάσατε πρὸς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν. δʹ. Τί οὖν οὐκ εἰς Πλάτωνα ἐνήργησεν ὁ Χριστὸς, οὐδὲ εἰς Πυθαγόραν, φησίν; Ὅτι πολλῷ φιλοσοφωτέρα ἦν ἡ Πέτρου ψυχὴ τῶν ψυχῶν ἐκείνων. Ἐκεῖνοι μὲν γὰρ παῖδες ὄντως ἦσαν, ὑπὸ τῆς κενῆς δόξης περιτρεπόμενοι πανταχοῦ· οὗτος δὲ ἀνὴρ φιλόσοφος, καὶ δεκτικὸς τῆς χάριτος. Εἰ δὲ γελᾷς ταῦτα ἀκούων, οὐ θαυμαστόν· ἐπεὶ καὶ οἱ τότε ἐγέλων, καὶ γλεύκους αὐτοὺς ἔλεγον εἶναι μεστούς· ἀλλ' ὕστερον, ὅτε