25. Athanasius’s wonderful escape.

Now when Providence had delivered us in such an extraordinary manner, who can justly lay any blame upon me, because we did not give ourselves up into the hands of them that sought after us, nor return and present ourselves before them? This would have been plainly to shew ingratitude to the Lord, and to act against His commandment, and in contradiction to the practice of the Saints. He who censures me in this matter must presume also to blame the great Apostle Peter, because though he was shut up and guarded by soldiers, he followed the angel that summoned him, and when he had gone forth from the prison and escaped in safety, he did not return and surrender himself, although he heard what Herod had done. Let the Arian in his madness censure the Apostle Paul, because when he was let down from the wall and had escaped in safety, he did not change his mind, and return and give himself up; or Moses, because he returned not out of Midian into Egypt, that he might be taken of them that sought after him; or David, because when he was concealed in the cave, he did not discover himself to Saul. As also the sons of the prophets remained in their caves, and did not surrender themselves to Ahab. This would have been to act contrary to the commandment, since the Scripture says, ‘Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God114    Deut. vi. 16; Matt. iv. 7..’

25 Τῆς τοίνυν Προνοίας οὕτως καὶ παραδόξως ῥυσαμένης, τίς ἂν δικαίως μέμψιν ἐπαγάγοι ὅτι μὴ τοῖς ζητοῦσιν ἑαυτοὺς ἐκδότους δεδώκαμεν, ἢ ὑποστρέψαντες ἐνεφανίσαμεν ἑαυτούς; Τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν ἄντικρυς ἀχαριστῆσαι τῷ Κυρίῳ, παρ' ἐντολήν τε αὐτοῦ πρᾶξαι καὶ ταῖς τῶν ἁγίων μάχεσθαι πράξεσιν. Ἢ ὁ τοῦτο μεμφόμενος τολμησάτω καὶ τὸν μέγαν ἀπόστολον Πέτρον αἰτιάσασθαι, ὅτι καίτοι συγκλεισθεὶς καὶ τηρούμενος ὑπὸ στρατιωτῶν ἠκολούθησε τῷ καλοῦντι ἀγγέλῳ καὶ ἐξελθὼν ἀπὸ τῆς φυλακῆς καὶ διασωθείς, οὐχ ὑπέστρεψε καὶ παρέδωκεν ἑαυτόν, καίπερ ἀκούσας ἃ πεποίηκεν Ἡρώδης. Μεμφέσθω δὲ μανεὶς ὁ Ἀρειανὸς ὅτι μήτε Παῦλος ὁ ἀπόστολος, χαλασθεὶς ἀπὸ τοῦ τείχους καὶ διασωθείς, μετέγνω καὶ ὑποστρέψας ἔκδοτον ἑαυτὸν δέδωκε· μήτε ὅτι Μωσῆς ὑπέστρεψεν ἀπὸ Μαδιὰμ εἰς Αἴγυπτον, ἵνα κρατηθῇ παρὰ τῶν ζητούντων, μήτε ὁ ∆αυὶδ ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ ἔδειξεν ἑαυτὸν τῷ Σαούλ, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ τῶν προφητῶν ἔμειναν ἐν τοῖς σπηλαίοις καὶ οὐ παρέδωκαν ἑαυτοὺς τῷ Ἀχαάβ. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἦν πάλιν παρ' ἐντολὴν ποιεῖν λεγούσης τῆς γραφῆς· «οὐκ ἐκπειράσεις Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου».