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and he relieved the sorrows of others. For when he saw some there who were troubled and confused and disheartened, he immediately approached to find out the cause. And having learned that the disturbance was from the vision of dreams, he interpreted the dreams. Then, begging him to remember him to the king, for the sake of his own release—for even if he was noble and admirable, still he was a man and did not wish to suffer in those chains—begging, therefore, that he would remember him to the king and persuade him to release him from his bonds, and being forced to state the reason why he had been thrown in, so that the one pleading on his behalf might have a plausible pretext for his advocacy, he mentioned none of those who had wronged him, but clearing himself of the charges, he stopped at that point only and did not add those who had sinned against him. For, he says, 'I was indeed stolen from the land of the Hebrews, and here I have done nothing, and they threw me into this pit.' And why do you not speak of the harlot, the adulteress, the brother-slayers, the envy, the murder, the sale, the madness of the mistress, the assault, the licentiousness, the snares, the schemes, the slander, the unjust judgment, the corrupt judge, the unlawful sentence, the condemnation that has no reason? Why do you keep silent about and hide these things? 'Because I do not know how to bear a grudge,' he says, 'because to me these things are crowns and prizes and the substance of a greater commerce.' 10.14 Have you seen a philosophic soul? have you seen one pure of anger and higher than dreadful things? have you seen one grieving with those who wronged him rather than bearing a grudge? For so as not to bring his brothers into the open, nor that bloodthirsty woman; 'I was indeed stolen,' he says, 'from the land of the Hebrews, and here I have done nothing.' And he nowhere mentions any person, not the pit, not the Ishmaelites, nor anyone else. But nevertheless, even after these things, no ordinary temptation awaited him. For he who had received such consolation from him and had been freed from his bonds according to his prophecy and restored to his former honor, forgot the good deed and the supplication of the just man. And the servant was in the royal courts enjoying much prosperity; but he who was shining more than the sun and so sending forth the bright rays of his virtue, still dwelt in prison, and there was no one to remind the king. For it was necessary for even more crowns to be woven for him and for greater prizes to be prepared; wherefore the double courses of the races were then made longer, with God indeed allowing the contests to remain, yet not completely abandoning him, but allowing the plotters to display their own devices only so much as not to destroy the athlete, nor to remove the contestant of virtue from the way. For He allowed him to be thrown into a pit and his garment to be bloodied, but He did not permit them to proceed to slaughter; but while his brother advised this, the whole thing came from the providence of God. This also happened in the case of the Egyptian woman. For why, tell me, did the man who was so hot-tempered and licentious—for you know how spirited and wrathful the race of the Egyptians is; for this passion belongs to them in excess—not immediately cut down or hand over to the fire the one whom he believed to be an adulterer and to have wronged his wife, but, being so irrational as to pass judgment from one side, and not even to grant a hearing to the accused, at the time of punishment he showed much forbearance, although he saw his wife raving, raging, lamenting the violence, carrying about her torn garments, and being all the more inflamed by this, and wailing and mourning? But nevertheless, none of these things incited him to slaughter. From whence, tell me? Is it not clear that He who bridled the lions and cooled the furnace, this one also a beast's

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καὶ ἑτέροις ἔλυσε λύπας. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εἶδέ τινας αὐτόθι τεταραγμένους καὶ συγκεχυμένους καὶ ἀθυμοῦντας, προσῆλθεν εὐθέως τὴν αἰτίαν εἰσόμενος. Καὶ μαθὼν ὅτι ἐξ ὄψεως ὀνειράτων ὁ θόρυβος ἦν, διέλυσε τὰ ὀνείρατα. Εἶτα παρακαλῶν ἀναμνῆσαι τὸν βασιλέα, τῆς ἀπαλλαγῆς ἕνεκεν τῆς αὐτοῦ, εἰ γὰρ καὶ γενναῖος καὶ θαυμαστὸς ἦν, ἀλλ' ἄνθρωπος ἦν καὶ οὐκ ἐβούλετο ταῖς ἁλύσεσιν ἐνταλαιπωρεῖσθαι ἐκείναις, παρακαλῶν τοίνυν μνησθῆναι αὐτοῦ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα καὶ πεῖσαι ἀφεῖναι αὐτὸν τῶν δεσμῶν, καὶ ἀναγκαζόμενος καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν εἰπεῖν, δι' ἣν ἐνεβέβλητο, ὥστε κἀκεῖνον τὸν ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ δεόμενον εὐπρόσωπον ἔχειν πρόφασιν τῆς ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ συνηγορίας, οὐδενὸς ἐμνημόνευσε τῶν ἠδικηκότων, ἀλλ' ἀπαλλάξας ἑαυτὸν τῶν ἐγκλημάτων ἔστη μέχρι τούτου μόνον καὶ οὐ προσέθηκε τοὺς εἰς αὐτὸν πεπλημμεληκότας. Καὶ γάρ· «Ἐγώ, φησί, κλοπῇ ἐκλάπην ἐκ γῆς Ἑβραίων καὶ ὧδε οὐκ ἐποίησα οὐδὲν καὶ ἐνέβαλόν με εἰς τὸν λάκκον τοῦτον.» Καὶ τίνος ἕνεκεν οὐ λέγεις τὴν πόρνην, τὴν μοιχαλίδα, τοὺς ἀδελφοκτόνους, τὸν φθόνον, τὸν φόνον, τὴν πρᾶσιν, τὴν μανίαν τῆς δεσποίνης, τὴν ἔφοδον, τὴν ἀκολασίαν, τὰ δίκτυα, τὰ μηχανήματα, τὴν συκοφαντίαν, τὴν ἄδικον κρίσιν, τὸν διεφθαρμένον δικαστήν, τὴν παράνομον ἀπόφασιν, τὴν καταδίκην τὴν οὐκ ἔχουσαν λόγον; ∆ιὰ τί ταῦτα σιγᾷς καὶ ἀποκρύπτεις; Ὅτι μνησικακεῖν οὐκ οἶδα, φησίν, ὅτι ἐμοὶ ταῦτα στέφανοι καὶ βραβεῖα καὶ μείζονος ἐμπορίας ὑπόθεσις. 10.14 Εἶδες ψυχὴν φιλόσοφον; εἶδες τῆς ὀργῆς καθαρὰν καὶ τῶν δεινῶν ὑψηλοτέραν; εἶδες συναλγοῦντα τοῖς ἠδικηκόσι μᾶλλον ἢ μνησικακοῦντα; Ὥστε γὰρ μήτε τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς εἰς μέσον ἐνεγκεῖν, μήτε τὴν αἱμοβόρον ἐκείνην· «Κλοπῇ, φησίν, ἐκλάπην ἐκ γῆς Ἑβραίων καὶ ὧδε οὐκ ἐποίησα οὐδέν.» Καὶ οὐδαμοῦ προσώπου μέμνηται, οὐδὲ τοῦ λάκκου, οὐδὲ τῶν Ἰσμαηλιτῶν, οὐδὲ ἄλλου οὐδενός. Ἀλλ' ὅμως καὶ κατὰ ταῦτα αὐτὸν οὐχ ὁ τυχὼν διεδέξατο πειρασμός. Ὁ γὰρ τοσαύτης παρ' αὐτοῦ παρακλήσεως τυχὼν καὶ τῶν δεσμῶν κατὰ τὴν τούτου πρόρρησιν ἐλευθερωθεὶς καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν προτέραν ἐπαναχθεὶς τιμήν, τῆς εὐεργεσίας ἐπελάθετο καὶ τῆς τοῦ δικαίου ἱκετηρίας. Καὶ ὁ μὲν οἰκέτης ἐν βασιλικαῖς ἦν αὐλαῖς πολλῆς ἀπολαύων εὐημερίας· ὁ δὲ ὑπὲρ τὸν ἥλιον λάμπων καὶ οὕτω φαιδρὰς ἀφιεὶς τῆς ἀρετῆς τὰς ἀκτῖνας, ἔτι δεσμωτήριον ᾤκει, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἦν ὁ ἀναμνήσων τὸν βασιλέα. Ἐχρῆν γὰρ αὐτῷ ἔτι πλείους πλακῆναι τοὺς στεφάνους καὶ μείζονα παρασκευασθῆναι τὰ βραβεῖα· διὸ καὶ μακρότεροι τῶν δρόμων οἱ δίαυλοι τότε ἐπήγνυντο, ἐῶντος μὲν τοῦ Θεοῦ μένειν τὰ σκάμματα, οὐ μὴν τέλεον ἐγκαταλιμπάνοντος, ἀλλὰ τοσοῦτον συγχωροῦντος τοῖς ἐπιβουλεύουσιν τὰ αὐτῶν ἐπιδείκνυσθαι ὅσον μηδὲ ἀφανίσαι τὸν ἀθλητήν, μηδὲ ἐκποδὼν ποιῆσαι τῆς ἀρετῆς τὸν ἀνταγωνιστήν. Εἰς λάκκον μὲν γὰρ αὐτὸν ἐμβληθῆναι συνεχώρησε καὶ τὸ ἱμάτιον αἱμαχθῆναι, εἰς δὲ σφαγὴν αὐτοὺς ἐλθεῖν οὐκ ἀφῆκεν· ἀλλὰ συνεβούλευσε μὲν τοῦτο ὁ ἀδελφός, τὸ δὲ πᾶν τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ προνοίας ἐγένετο. Τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς Αἰγυπτιακῆς συνέβη γυναικός. Τίνος γὰρ ἕνεκεν, εἰπέ μοι, ὁ θερμὸς οὕτω καὶ ἀκόλαστος-ἴστε γὰρ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων τὸ γένος ὡς θυμῶδες καὶ ὀργίλον· καὶ γὰρ τοῦτο μεθ' ὑπερβολῆς αὐτοῖς πρόσεστι τὸ πάθος-ὃν ἐπίστευσεν εἶναι μοιχὸν καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα ἠδικηκέναι τὴν αὐτοῦ, οὐκ ἀπέτεμεν εὐθέως, οὐδὲ πυρὶ παρέδωκεν, ἀλλ' οὕτως ἀλόγιστος ὢν ὡς ἐκ μιᾶς μοίρας ἀποφήνασθαι, καὶ μηδὲ λόγου μεταδοῦναι τῷ ἐγκαλουμένῳ, ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς τιμωρίας πολλὴν ἐπιείκειαν ἐπεδείξατο, καίτοι γε ὁρῶν τὴν γυναῖκα μαινομένην, λυττῶσαν, βίαν ἀποδυρομένην, τὰ ἱμάτια διερρωγότα περιφέρουσαν καὶ μειζόνως καὶ ἐντεῦθεν ἐκκαιομένην καὶ θρηνοῦ σαν καὶ ὁλοφυρομένην; Ἀλλ' ὅμως τούτων οὐδὲν αὐτὸν εἰς σφαγὴν ἐξῆψε. Πόθεν, εἰπέ μοι; Οὐκ εὔδηλον ὅτι ὁ τοὺς λέοντας χαλινώσας καὶ τὴν κάμινον καταψύξας, οὗτος καὶ θηρίου