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having made many, they showed them, saying: These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. They 55.663 forgot God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt, wondrous things in the land of Ham, terrible things at the Red Sea. Not in vain does he mention these things, but wanting to show that for so many things God did not cast them off, until they dared the most impious deed of all against Christ, having rejected the grace given to them. Therefore the Savior says to them: How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing? Behold, your house is left to you desolate. Not being content therefore, he says, with their former evils, they exchanged their glory, which was God, for the likeness of a calf. For they remembered neither their own salvation, nor the punishment of the Egyptians, nor the great wonder of the sea; but they spat out everything at once. And he said he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen one stood in the breach before him, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them. For when the God of all had said, Let me alone, that in the anger of my wrath I may destroy them, and I will make of you a great nation, the blessed Moses said: If you will forgive their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me also out of the book which you have written. Herein lies no small question. For what does he say? If not for Moses, they would have perished. What then? Did Moses accomplish everything, and did He, out of respect for him, not using His own love for mankind, stay his wrath? And who would say this? What then is being said? God uses a figure of speech for their benefit, and says that out of respect for him he relaxes his wrath, and says: Let me alone, and I will blot them out. And yet Moses had uttered nothing, nor approached, nor supplicated; but wishing to lead him to begin supplication, He prefaces it thus. According therefore to justice and the foreknowledge of their entire wickedness, is the decree of destruction; but according to love for mankind, is the pardon for being saved, which came about through the holiness of the intercessor, who supplicated in accordance with providence for the world, so that the grace of God might not seem incomplete concerning Israel, and because of the promise to the fathers, of which he made mention while supplicating. And they despised the pleasant land. They did not believe his word, and murmured in their tents; they did not hearken to the voice of the Lord. This is the fifth accusation after the Red Sea, and the wilderness, and the drunken insolence towards Moses, and the calf in Horeb. For the spies, when they returned, speaking ill of the land, also turned the others away, except for Joshua son of Nun, and Caleb son of Jephunneh. For when God had promised that they would set foot on the promised land, having received the passion of cowardice they openly resisted, saying that the Canaanites were valiant, but that they themselves did not have sufficient power for battle against them. And this is clearly a proof of unbelief. For it was right for the eyewitnesses of such and so many wonders to be confident in all things through the power of him who had saved them. And he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness; and to overthrow their seed among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands. But the contention concerning the land, although it was older than the sedition of Korah and Dathan, he subordinated to the calf-making, as being both greater and more impious on account of unbelief toward God. For cowardice destroyed their hope that is according to faith, since they were not even confirmed by the experience of what had gone before; whence also they underwent a greater judgment than the punishment for the making of the calf. For having suffered partially then, now they all perished utterly except for the children, not even being deemed worthy of the promise. For God willed to inflict a punishment suitable to their unbelief, and to bring destruction upon all at the same time. But nevertheless, using his customary love for mankind, a partial

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πεποιηκότες πολλοὺς ἐδείκνυον φάσκοντες· Οὗτοι οἱ θεοί σου, Ἰσραὴλ, οἱ ἀναγαγόντες σε ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου. Ἐπ 55.663 ελάθοντο τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ σώζοντος αὐτοὺς, τοῦ ποιή σαντος μεγάλα ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ, θαυμάσια ἐν γῇ Χὰμ, φοβερὰ ἐπὶ θαλάσσης ἐρυθρᾶς. Οὐκ εἰκῇ τούτων μέμνηται, δεῖξαι δὲ θέλων, ὡς ἐπὶ τοσούτοις οὐκ ἀπέβα λεν αὐτοὺς ὁ Θεὸς, μέχρι κατὰ Χριστοῦ τὸ πάντων ἀσε βέστατον ἔργον ἐτόλμησαν, τὴν δοθεῖσαν αὐτοῖς παραι τησάμενοι χάριν. ∆ιό φησιν αὐτοῖς ὁ Σωτήρ· Ποσάκις ἠθέλησα ἐπισυναγαγεῖν τὰ τέκνα σου, ὃν τρόπον ὄρνις ἐπισυνάγει τὰ νοσσία αὐτῆς ὑπὸ τὰς πτέρυ γας, καὶ οὐκ ἠθελήσατε; Ἰδοὺ ἀφίεται ὁ οἶκος ὑμῶν ἔρημος. Μὴ ἀρκεσθέντες οὖν, φησὶ, τοῖς προτέ ροις κακοῖς, τὴν δόξαν αὐτῶν, ἥτις ἦν ὁ Θεὸς, ἠλλάξαντο ἐν ὁμοιώματι μόσχου. Οὔτε γὰρ τῆς οἰκείας ἐμνημόνευ σαν σωτηρίας, οὔτε τῆς τῶν Αἰγυπτίων τιμωρίας, οὔτε τοῦ μεγάλου τῆς θαλάττης θαύματος· ἀλλὰ πάντα ἀθρόως ἀπέπτυσαν. Καὶ εἶπε τοῦ ἐξολοθρεῦσαι αὐτοὺς, εἰ μὴ ὁ Μωϋσῆς ὁ ἐκλεκτὸς αὐτοῦ ἔστη ἐν τῇ θραύσει ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ, τοῦ ἀποστρέψαι τὸν θυμὸν αὐτοῦ, τοῦ μὴ ἐξολοθρεῦσαι αὐτούς. Τοῦ γὰρ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων εἰρηκότος, Ἔασόν με, καὶ θυμωθεὶς ὀργῇ ἐκτρίψω αὐτοὺς, καὶ ποιήσω σε εἰς ἔθνος μέγα, εἶπεν ὁ μα κάριος Μωϋσῆς· Εἰ μὲν ἀφίης αὐτοῖς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, ἄφες· εἰ δὲ μὴ, ἐξάλειψον κἀμὲ ἐκ τῆς βίβλου, ἧς ἔγραψας. Ἐνταῦθα ζήτημα οὐ μικρὸν κεῖται. Τί γάρ φησιν; Εἰ μὴ Μωϋσῆς, ἀπώλοντο ἄν. Τί οὖν; Μωϋ σῆς τὸ πᾶν ἤνυσε, καὶ αὐτὸν αἰδεσθεὶς, οὐ τῇ οἰκείᾳ φιλανθρωπίᾳ χρησάμενος ἔστησε τὴν ὀργήν; Καὶ τίς ἂν τοῦτο εἴποι; Τί οὖν ἐστι τὸ λεγόμενον; Σχήματι κέχρη ται ὁ Θεὸς εἰς τὴν ἐκείνων ὠφέλειαν, καί φησιν αἰδού μενος αὐτὸν χαλᾷν τὴν ὀργὴν, καὶ λέγει· Ἄφες με, καὶ ἐξαλείψω αὐτούς. Καίτοι γε οὐδὲν ἐφθέγξατο Μωϋσῆς, οὐδὲ προσῆλθεν, οὐδὲ ἱκέτευσεν· ἀλλὰ βουλόμενος αὐτὸν εἰς ἀρχὴν ἱκετηρίας ἀγαγεῖν, ἐνταῦθα προοιμιάζεται. Κατὰ μὲν οὖν τὸ δίκαιον καὶ τὴν πρόγνωσιν τῆς ὅλης αὐτῶν κακίας, ὁ τῆς ἀπωλείας ὅρος· κατὰ δὲ τὸ φιλάνθρωπον, ἡ τοῦ σωθῆναι συγχώρησις διὰ τὴν ὁσιότητα γενομένη τοῦ πρεσβευτοῦ κατὰ τὴν ὑπὲρ κόσμου πρό νοιαν ἱκετεύσαντος, ὡς ἂν ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ χάρις ἀτελὴς μὴ δόξῃ περὶ τὸν Ἰσραὴλ καὶ διὰ τὴν πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας ἐπαγγελίαν, ἧς ἱκετεύων ἀπεμνημόνευσε. Καὶ ἐξουδέ νωσαν γῆν ἐπιθυμητήν. Οὐκ ἐπίστευσαν τῷ λόγῳ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐγόγγυσαν ἐν τοῖς σκηνώμασιν αὐτῶν· οὐκ εἰσήκουσαν τῆς φωνῆς Κυρίου. Πέμπτον ἔγκλημα τοῦτο μετὰ τὴν Ἐρυθρὰν, καὶ τὴν ἔρημον, καὶ τὴν εἰς Μωϋσῆν παροινίαν, καὶ τὸν μόσχον τὸν ἐν Χωρήβ. Ἐπανελθόντες γὰρ οἱ κατάσκοποι κακῶς λέγοντες τὴν γῆν καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἀπέτρεψαν, χωρὶς Ἰησοῦ τοῦ Ναυῆ, καὶ Χαλὲφ τὸν τοῦ Ἰεφονῆ. Τοῦ γὰρ Θεοῦ παρεγγυήσαν τος τῆς ἐπηγγελμένης ἐπιβῆναι γῆς, τῆς δειλίας τὸ πάθος δεξάμενον ἀντέτεινον προφανῶς, τοὺς μὲν Χανα ναίους γενναίους εἶναι λέγοντες, αὐτοὺς δὲ δύναμιν ἀξιό χρεων οὐκ ἔχειν πρὸς τὴν ἐκείνων παράταξιν. Τοῦτο δὲ ἀπιστίας προφανῶς τεκμήριον. Τοὺς γὰρ τοιούτων καὶ τοσούτων θαυμάτων αὐτόπτας θαῤῥεῖν εἰς ἅπαντα δίκαιον ἦν τῇ τοῦ σεσωκότος δυνάμει. Καὶ ἐπῆρε τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ἐπ' αὐτοὺς, τοῦ καταβαλεῖν αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ· καὶ τοῦ καταβαλεῖν τὸ σπέρμα αὐτῶν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσι, καὶ διασκορπίσαι αὐτοὺς ἐν ταῖς χώ ραις. Τὴν δὲ περὶ τῆς γῆς ἀντιλογίαν, καίτοι πρεσβυτέ ραν οὖσαν τῆς Κορὲ καὶ ∆αθὰν στάσεως, ὡς μείζονί τε καὶ δυσσεβεῖ διὰ τὴν πρὸς Θεὸν ἀπιστίαν, τῇ μοσχοποιίᾳ φέρων ὑπέταξεν. Ἡ δειλία γὰρ αὐτοῖς τὴν κατὰ πίστιν ἀνεῖλεν ἐλπίδα, μηδὲ τῇ τῶν προλαβόντων πείρᾳ βεβαι ουμένοις· ὅθεν καὶ μείζω τὴν δίκην ὑπέσχον τῆς ἐπὶ τῇ μοσχοποιίᾳ κολάσεως. Μερικῶς γὰρ τότε παθόντες, νῦν ἅπαντες ἄρδην πλὴν τῶν παίδων ἀπώλοντο, μηδὲ τῆς ἐπαγγελίας ἀξιωθέντες. Ἠβουλήθη γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς τῇ ἀπι στίᾳ κατάλληλον ἐπιθεῖναι τὴν τιμωρίαν, καὶ πᾶσι κατὰ ταὐτὸν ἐπενεγκεῖν τὸν ὄλεθρον. Ἀλλ' ὅμως τῇ συνήθει φιλανθρωπίᾳ χρώμενος μερικὴν