36

to slavery, and all men after the transgression of the commandment were subjected to the misery of toils. For after these things Adam heard: Cursed is the ground in your works; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; in sorrow you shall eat of it all the days of your life. In the sweat of your face you shall eat your bread, until you return to the earth from which you were taken; for you are earth, and to earth you shall return. Being surrounded by so many calamities, they found no release from the impending evils; but he who had allotted these things to them, himself also granted their release. And they cried to the Lord when they were afflicted, and he delivered them from their distresses; and he brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their bonds. For having compassion on both these and those, he delivered the one from the impending calamities, and freed the other from the darkness of ignorance, and broke the bonds of slavery. You might call the shadow of death idolatry, and the deeds done in godlessness, which long ago separated us from the true life, embittering God, and provoking the counsel of the Most High. For then our heart was humbled by the labors of sin, our innate and rational power being weakened, which no one recovered; for they were weakened, and there was no one to help; but this great achievement was reserved for the Word of God alone. But the phrase, 'He broke their bonds,' indicates this: the sudden forgiveness of sins, which the grace of the Savior deemed us worthy of. Let them confess to the Lord his mercies, and his wonders to the sons of men, because he shattered gates of bronze, and broke bars of iron. Gates of bronze and bars of iron he called the inescapable nature of the evils. For just as it is impossible for one shut inside by doors and bars to escape, so it was impossible both for the Jews to escape the slavery of the Babylonians, and for all men the dominion of death. But the divine mercy alone was sufficient to dissolve the power of both the one and the other, and to grant release from the afflictions. And he said the same things a second time concerning his second benefactions. It shows the fall of human souls even to death, for which his descent even to death was needed; where, having come, he shattered the gates which had been opened for no mortal, and for this reason are called gates of iron and bronze. And the Lord says also in Job: 'Have you come to the spring of the sea, and walked in the tracks of the abyss?' 'Are the gates of death opened to you, and did the gatekeepers of Hades, seeing you, cower?' And he alone indeed took away our iniquities, because of which we had reached the gates of death. He helped them out of the way of their iniquity; for because of their iniquities they were humbled. Neither the Jews, nor the whole nature of men, unjustly fell into afflictions; but both these and those pay the penalty for what they have transgressed. But nevertheless, he deemed both these and those, wallowing in so many evils, worthy of salvation. Their soul loathed all food, and they drew near to the gates of death.

3. For the Jews, being constrained by the multitude of evils, turned away even from food itself. For this also the prophet has said in another psalm, as if from them: 55.669 For I have forgotten to eat my bread. But the Gentiles did not even wish to pay attention to the teachings of their own philosophers. For this very reason, some condemned Socrates to death, others delivered Anaxarchus to a strange form of punishment, others, having bitterly tortured the successors of Pythagoras, brought an untimely death upon them. But nevertheless, the God of all prepared for these also to receive a share of the immortal food, and persuaded them to run to it with all eagerness, and freed them from the gates of death. And in another sense, we shall understand 'food' here as rational nourishment, concerning which

36

δουλείᾳ, καὶ πάντες ἄνθρω ποι μετὰ τὴν παράβασιν τῆς ἐντολῆς ὑπεβλήθησαν τῇ τῶν πόνων ταλαιπωρίᾳ. Μετὰ ταῦτα γὰρ ἤκουσεν Ἀδάμ· Ἐπικατάρατος ἡ γῆ ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις σου· ἀκάνθας καὶ τριβόλους ἀνατελεῖ σοι· ἐν λύπῃ φαγῇ αὐτὴν πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς σου. Ἐν ἱδρῶτι τοῦ προσώπου σου φαγῇ τὸν ἄρτον σου, ἕως τοῦ ἀπο στρέψαι σε εἰς τὴν γῆν, ἐξ ἧς ἐλήφθης, ὅτι γῆ εἶ, καὶ εἰς γῆν ἀπελεύσῃ. Τοσαύταις δὲ περιστοιχιζόμενοι συμφοραῖς, λύσιν οὐδεμίαν εὕραντο τῶν ἐπικειμένων κακῶν· ἀλλ' ὁ ταύταις αὐτοὺς συγκληρώσας αὐτὸς καὶ τὴν τούτων ἀπαλλαγὴν ἐδωρήσατο. Καὶ ἐκέκραξαν πρὸς Κύριον ἐν τῷ θλίβεσθαι αὐτοὺς, καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἀναγ κῶν αὐτῶν ἐῤῥύσατο αὐτούς· καὶ ἐξήγαγεν αὐτοὺς ἐκ σκότους καὶ σκιᾶς θανάτου, καὶ τοὺς δεσμοὺς αὐτῶν διέῤῥηξεν. Οἰκτείρας γὰρ καὶ τούτους κἀκεί νους, τοὺς μὲν τῶν ἐπικειμένων ἀπήλλαξε συμφορῶν, τοὺς δὲ τοῦ τῆς ἀγνοίας ἠλευθέρωσε σκότους, καὶ τῆς δουλείας διέῤῥηξε τὰ δεσμά. Λέγοις δ' ἂν σκιὰν θανάτου τὴν εἰδωλολατρείαν, καὶ τὰς ἐν ἀθεότητι πράξεις, αἳ τῆς ἀληθινῆς ἡμᾶς ἐχώριζον πάλαι ζωῆς παραπικραί νοντας τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ τὴν βουλὴν τοῦ Ὑψίστου παρ οξύνοντας. Τότε μὲν γὰρ ἡ καρδία ἡμῶν ἐν τοῖς τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἐταπεινοῦτο κόποις, παρειμένης ἡμῶν τῆς ἐμφύτου καὶ λογικῆς δυνάμεως, ἣν οὐδεὶς ἀνεκτήσατο· ἠσθένησαν γὰρ, καὶ οὐκ ἦν ὁ βοηθῶν· μόνῳ δὲ τετήρητο τῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγῳ τὸ μέγα τοῦτο κατόρθωμα. Τὸ δὲ, ∆ιέῤῥηξε τοὺς δεσμοὺς αὐτῶν, δηλοῖ τοῦτο, τὴν ἀθρόαν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἄφεσιν, ἧς ἡμᾶς ἡ τοῦ Σωτῆρος κατη ξίωσε χάρις. Ἐξομολογησάσθωσαν τῷ Κυρίῳ τὰ ἐλέη αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὰ θαυμάσια αὐτοῦ τοῖς υἱοῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὅτι συνέτριψε πύλας χαλκᾶς, καὶ μοχλοὺς σιδηροῦς συνέθλασε. Πύλας χαλκᾶς καὶ μοχλοὺς σιδη ροῦς τὸ ἄφυκτον ἐκάλεσε τῶν κακῶν. Καθάπερ γὰρ τὸν καθειργμένον ἔσωθεν τῶν θυρῶν καὶ τῶν μοχλῶν δια φυγεῖν τῶν ἀδυνάτων ἐστὶν, οὕτως ἀμήχανον ἦν καὶ Ἰουδαίους τὴν Βαβυλωνίων διαδρᾶναι δουλείαν, καὶ πάντας ἀνθρώπους τοῦ θανάτου τὴν δυναστείαν. Μόνος δὲ ὁ θεῖος ἔλεος ἤρκεσε κἀκείνων καὶ τούτου διαλῦσαι τὸ κράτος, καὶ τῶν ἀνιαρῶν τὴν λύσιν χαρίσασθαι. Τὰ αὐτὰ δὲ δεύτερον εἶπεν ἐπὶ ταῖς δευτέραις αὐτοῦ εὐεργεσίαις. ∆ηλοῖ δὲ τὴν μέχρι θανάτου κατάπτωσιν τῶν ἀνθρωπί νων ψυχῶν, δι' ἢν ἐδέησεν αὐτοῦ τῆς μέχρι θανάτου καθόδου· ἔνθα γενόμενος, τὰς μηδενὶ θνητῷ διανοιχθεί σας πύλας, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο σιδηρᾶς καὶ χαλκᾶς λεγομέ νας, συνέτριψε. Λέγει δὲ καὶ ἐν Ἰὼβ ὁ Κύριος· Ἦλθες δὲ ἐπὶ πηγὴν θαλάσσης, ἐν δὲ ἴχνεσιν ἀβύσσου περιεπάτησας; Ἀνοίγονται δέ σοι πύλαι θανάτου, πυλωροὶ δὲ ᾅδου ἰδόντες σε ἔπτηξαν; Καὶ τὰς ἡμετέρας δὴ μόνος ἀφεῖλεν ἀνομίας, δι' ἃς μέχρι τῶν τοῦ θανάτου πυλῶν ἐφθάσαμεν. Ἀντελάβετο αὐτῶν ἐξ ὁδοῦ ἀνομίας αὐτῶν· διὰ γὰρ τὰς ἀνομίας αὐτῶν ἐταπεινώθησαν. Οὔτε Ἰουδαῖοι, οὔτε πᾶσα τῶν ἀν θρώπων ἡ φύσις ἀδίκως τοῖς ἀνιαροῖς περιέπεσεν· ἀλλὰ καὶ οὗτοι κἀκεῖνοι δίκας ὧν ἐπλημμέλησαν τίνουσιν. Ἀλλ' ὅμως καὶ τούτους κἀκείνους τοσούτοις ἐγκαλινδου μένους κακοῖς σωτηρίας ἠξίωσε. Πᾶν βρῶμα ἐβδελύ ξατο ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτῶν, καὶ ἤγγισαν ἕως τῶν πυλῶν τοῦ θανάτου.

γʹ. Ἰουδαῖοι μὲν γὰρ τῷ πλήθει συνεχόμενοι τῶν κα κῶν καὶ αὐτὴν ἀπεστρέφοντο τὴν τροφήν. Τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ἐν ἑτέρῳ ψαλμῷ ὡς ἐξ ἐκείνων εἴρηκεν ὁ προφήτης· 55.669 Ὅτι ἐπελαθόμην τοῦ φαγεῖν τὸν ἄρτον μου. Τὰ δὲ ἔθνη οὐδὲ ταῖς τῶν οἰκείων φιλοσόφων διδασκαλίαις προσέχειν ἐβούλετο. Οὗ δὴ χάριν οἱ μὲν Σωκράτους κατεψηφίσαντο θάνατον, οἱ δὲ τὸν Ἀνάξαρχον ξένῃ παρέδοσαν τιμωρίας ἰδέᾳ, ἄλλοι τοὺς Πυθαγόρου διαδόχους πικρῶς αἰκισά μενοι, πρόωρον αὐτοῖς ἐπήγαγον θάνατον. Ἀλλ' ὅμως καὶ τούτοις ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς παρεσκεύασε μεταδοθῆναι τῆς ἀθανάτου τροφῆς, καὶ μετὰ πάσης ταύτῃ προσδρα μεῖν προθυμίας ἀνέπεισε, καὶ τῶν τοῦ θανάτου πυλῶν ἠλευθέρωσε. Καὶ ἄλλως βρῶμα ἐνταῦθα τὴν λογικὴν νοήσομεν τροφὴν, περὶ ἧς