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with gold, think of those who cast it; when you see it clothed, think of the bare wood, how it has nothing of its own, nor natural beauty; when you see it being carried, think that it is of weakness. *Beaten silver will come from Tarshish. That is, from the sea. Gold of Mophath; from a place. Do not fear them, for they will do no evil. What then? do they not do evil, tell me, nor destroy? But with God permitting it. For not even the executioner can do anything, unless the judge permits; and this is not a matter of power. Let the gods who did not make the heaven and the earth perish from the earth. This, therefore, is the proof, If one is found who made the heaven, this one is the true God, and such a one, as also the prophet says. Let the children of heretics be ashamed. For all things were made through him. And, In the beginning you, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands. This is not the proof, but a condescension. For this 64.861 is not the great work of God, but whether angels, or archangels, or principalities, or powers; but the greatest of all is the cross. The God who made the earth by his strength. He sets down two things, both the creation, and the best harmony. For consider what it was for heaven and earth to be brought forth, but to lie simply; how much more, and better, to raise up a heaven thrown on the ground, and to place it as a roof for the earth. And by his wisdom he stretched out the heaven. As one building a hut, so he set it up, not putting it together little by little, but bringing forth all things at once, as if making the whole from four whole blocks. And a multitude of water in heaven he made lightnings for rain and brought forth light. He speaks here of the thunders, and the rain from them; and the wonderful thing, he says, is that water makes a sound. The clouds make the thunders. For what reason are the thunders? To strike with awe, and to make sober. How is the water held, tell me, in the air? How does that which is heavy and flows downward become suspended on high, as if by some machine? How do the clouds, dashing against one another, not break? How does such a porous body, tell me, the body of the clouds, bear so great a mass. Have you seen the wonder-worker? Have you seen the master-craftsman? From above he waters the earth for you, first making many sounds, so that you might not think anything is spontaneous. And he brought up clouds from the end of the earth. That is, he brings these from one place to another; and it is easy for it to travel so far, only wherever he commands. He made lightnings for rain. And indeed rain might occur without lightning, and lightning in fair weather. But when we see in fair weather, it is likely that winter is far off, lightning goes out over all the earth, and runs over the whole inhabited world; but how it happens I do not know. See, he does not speak of particular benefits, but universal ones, since his argument was against the gods. Every man has become foolish from knowledge, was put to shame, because they cast false things. For even if he is very wise, yet he has shown folly concerning the carved images. They are works of vanity, in the time of their visitation they will perish. When the city is taken, they too will share in the punishment. The portion of Jacob is not like this. That is, he does not have a man-made God; because He who formed all things, this is his inheritance. Here the word inheritance is superfluous. And it is interpreted obscurely in the Greek; but what he wants to say is this: The portion of Jacob is not like that of the nations. So that he might say, He does not have a man-made God. But what? The former of all things, that is, the Creator. 64.864 And Israel is the rod of his inheritance. But he himself, he says, has Israel, as an inheritance, that is, he chose him. And who is this? The Lord of hosts is his name. This is, the Lord of all things. He gathered from without his substance which was dwelling. For he himself assembled them when they were dissolved and scattered; and again he scattered them, and again he gathered them, showing that he who gathered them before is himself the one who heals those who are broken in the

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χρυσῷ, ἐννόησον τοὺς χωνεύσαντας· ὅταν ἴδῃς περιβεβλημένον, ἐννόησον τὸ ξύλον τὸ γυμνὸν, ὡς οὐδὲν οἴκοθεν ἔχει, οὐδὲ φυσικὸν κάλλος· ὅταν ἴδῃς φερόμενον, ἐννόησον ὅτι ἀσθενείας ἐστί. *Ἀργύριον πρόσβλητον ἀπὸ Θαρσῆς ἥξει. Τουτέστιν, ἀπὸ θαλάσσης. Χρυσίον Μωφάθ· ἀπὸ τόπου. Μὴ φοβήθητε αὐτὰ, ὅτι οὐ μὴ κακοποιήσωσι. Τί οὖν; οὐ κακοποιοῦσιν, εἰπέ μοι, οὔτε ἀναιροῦσιν; Ἀλλὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ συγχωροῦντος. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ὁ δήμιος δύναταί τι, μὴ τοῦ δικαστοῦ συγχωροῦντος· τοῦτο δὲ οὐ δυνάμεώς ἐστιν. Θεοὶ οἳ τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν οὐκ ἐποίησαν ἀπολέσθωσαν ἐκ τῆς γῆς. Ἄρα τοῦτο τεκμήριον, Κἂν εὑρεθῇ τις τὸν οὐρανὸν ποιήσας, οὗτος Θεὸς ἀληθὴς, καὶ τοιοῦτος, οἷον ἄλλ. οἷος καὶ ὁ προφήτης φησίν. Αἰσχυνέσθωσαν παῖδες αἱρετικῶν. Πάντα γὰρ δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο. Καὶ, Κατ' ἀρχὰς σὺ, Κύριε, τὴν γῆν ἐθεμελίωσας, καὶ ἔργα τῶν χειρῶν σού εἰσιν οἱ οὐρανοί. Οὐ τοῦτο τεκμήριον, ἀλλὰ συγκατάβασις. Οὐ γὰρ δὴ τοῦτο 64.861 τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸ μέγα ἔργον, ἀλλὰ εἴτε ἄγγελοι, εἴτε ἀρχάγγελοι, εἴτε ἀρχαὶ, εἴτε δυνάμεις· τὸ δὲ πάντων μεῖζον, ὁ σταυρός. Θεὸς ὁ ποιήσας τὴν γῆν ἐν τῇ ἰσχύϊ αὐτοῦ. ∆ύο τίθησι, καὶ τὴν δημιουργίαν, καὶ τὴν ἁρμονίαν τὴν ἀρίστην. Ἐννόησον γὰρ οἷον ἦν τὸ παραχθῆναι μὲν, καὶ οὐρανὸν, καὶ γῆν, κεῖσθαι δὲ ἁπλῶς· πόσῳ μᾶλλον, καὶ κρεῖττον, οὐρανὸν χαμαὶ ἐῤῥιμμένον ἀναστῆσαι, καὶ περιθεῖναι στέγην τῇ γῇ. Καὶ τῇ φρονήσει αὐτοῦ ἐξέτεινε τὸν οὐρανόν. Καθάπερ καλύβην κατασκευάζων, οὕτως ὤρθωσεν, οὐ κατὰ μικρὸν συντιθεὶς, ἀλλ' ἀθρόα παραγαγὼν πάντα, ὥσπερ ἀπὸ ὅλων κύβων τεσσάρων τὸ πᾶν ποιῶν. Καὶ πλῆθος ὕδατος ἐν οὐρανῷ ἀστραπὰς εἰς ὑετὸν ἐποίησε καὶ ἐξήγαγε φῶς. Τὰς βροντὰς ἐνταῦθά φησι, καὶ τὸν ὑετὸν ἐξ αὐτῶν· καὶ τὸ θαυμαστὸν, ὕδωρ ἦχον ποιεῖ, φησί. Τὰ νέφη ποιεῖ τὰς βροντάς. Τίνος ἕνεκεν αἱ βρονταί; τοῦ καταπλῆξαι, καὶ σωφρονίσαι. Πῶς κατέχεται τὸ ὕδωρ, εἰπὲ, ἐν ἀέρι; Πῶς τὸ κατωφέρας, καὶ κατάῤῥυτον, ὥσπερ ἔκ τινος μηχανῆς, ἀνωμετέωρον γίγνεται; Πῶς οὐ ῥήγνυται τὰ νέφη προσαρασσόμενα ἀλλήλοις; Πῶς σῶμα χαῦνον οὕτω, φέρει τοσοῦτον ὄγκον, εἰπέ, μοι τὸ τῶν νεφῶν. Εἶδες τὸ θαυματοποιόν; Εἶδες τὸν ἀριστοτέχνην; Ἄνωθέν σοι τὴν γῆν ἄρδει, κτύπους πολλοὺς πρότερον ἀποτελῶν, ἵνα μηδὲν αὐτόματον εἶναι νομίζῃς. Καὶ ἀνήγαγε νεφέλας ἐξ ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς. Τουτέστιν, ἀλλαχόθεν ἀλλαχοῦ φέρει ταῦτα· καὶ τοσοῦτον βαδίσαι ἐκεῖ εὔπορον μόνον, ὅπουπερ ἂν προστάττῃ. Ἀστραπὰς εἰς ὑετὸν ἐποίησεν. Καὶ μὴν καὶ ἀστραπῆς χωρὶς γένοιτ' ἂν ὑετὸς, καὶ ἐν εὐδίᾳ ἀστραπή. Ἀλλ' ὅταν ὁρῶμεν ἐν εὐδίᾳ, μακρὸν εἰκὸς εἶναι χειμῶνα, ἀστραπὴ ἐξέρχεται ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν, καὶ πᾶσαν ἐπιτρέχει τὴν οἰκουμένην· τὸ δὲ πῶς γίνεται οὐκ οἶδα. Ὅρα οὐχὶ μερικὰς τὰς εὐεργεσίας λέγει, ἀλλὰ τὰς καθολικὰς, ἐπειδὴ πρὸς τοὺς θεοὺς ὁ λόγος ἦν αὐτῷ. Ἐμωράνθη πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ἀπὸ γνώσεως, κατησχύνθη, ὅτι ψευδῆ ἐχώνευσαν. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ σφόδρα ἐστὶ σοφὸς, ἀλλὰ μωρὰ ἐπεδείξατο ἐπὶ τοῖς γλυπτοῖς. Μάταιά ἐστιν ἔργα, ἐν καιρῷ ἐπισκοπῆς αὐτῶν ἀπολοῦνται. Ὅταν ἡ πόλις ἁλῷ, καὶ αὐτὰ τῆς τιμωρίας κοινωνήσουσιν. Οὐκ ἔστι τοιαύτη ἡ μερὶς Ἰακώβ. Τουτέστιν, οὐ χειροποίητον ἔχει Θεόν· ὅτι Ὁ πλάσας τὰ πάντα, οὗτος κληρονομία αὐτοῦ. Ἐνταῦθα τὸ κληρονομία περιττῶς κεῖται. Ἑρμηνεύεται δὲ παρὰ τῷ Ἑλληνικῷ ἀσαφῶς· ὃ δὲ βούλεται εἰπεῖν, τοῦτό ἐστιν· Ἡ μερὶς Ἰακὼβ οὐκ ἔστιν οἵα ἡ τῶν ἐθνῶν. Ἵνα εἴπῃ, Οὐκ ἔχει Θεὸν χειροτονητόν. Ἀλλὰ τίνα; Τὸν πλάστην τῶν ἁπάντων, τουτέστι τὸν ∆ημιουρ 64.864 γόν. Καὶ Ἰσραὴλ ῥάβδος κληρονομίας αὐτοῦ Αὐτὸς δὲ, φησὶν, ἔχει τὸν Ἰσραὴλ, ἀντὶ κληρονομίας, τουτέστιν, ἐξελέξατο αὐτόν. Τίς δὲ οὗτος; Κύριος τῶν δυνάμεων ὄνομα αὐτῷ. Τοῦτό ἐστιν, ὁ τῶν ἁπάντων Κύριος. Συνήγαγεν ἔξωθεν τὴν ὑπόστασιν αὐτοῦ κατοικοῦσαν. Αὐτὸς γὰρ αὐτοὺς συνεκρότησε διαλελυμένους, καὶ διεσπαρμένους· καὶ πάλιν διεσκόρπισε, καὶ πάλιν συνήγαγεν, δεικνὺς ὅτι καὶ ὁ πρότερον συνάγων, αὐτός ἐστιν, ὁ ἰώμενος τοὺς συντετριμμένους τῇ