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The things said by Josephus agree with the Greek histories. For not even in those is it possible to find that Cyaxares, the son of Astyages, was himself Darius, whom he said made the campaign against Babylon with Cyrus; so that the account of Josephus is entirely improbable. But I, persuaded by the divine Scripture, find that he was the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar; for God, having commanded Jeremiah to put bonds on himself, and to send these to the neighboring kings, to those of the Idumeans, and Moabites, and Ammonites, and Tyrians and Sidonians, urged him to say these things to them: "Thus says the Lord the God of Israel; Thus you shall say to your lords: I made the earth with my great strength, and with my high arm, and I will give it to whomever it seems good in my eyes; I have given all the land to king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, to serve him, and all the nations will serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the time of their land comes." Since Belshazzar, therefore, was called son by Daniel, the descendant must be sought. But if anyone objects, saying that Darius is called a Mede, let him learn that this does not damage the argument at all. For even Cyrus, being the grandson of Astyages, who was a Mede, and ruled the Medes, is called a Persian; for people are accustomed to take their national designations from their paternal lineage. It is likely, therefore, that Darius was of a Median father, but a Chaldean mother, and was called that which his father was. But if this is not so, let those who wish show Nebuchadnezzar's descendant who inherited the ancestral kingdom, and we will not dispute about this. For that the prophecy of the great Jeremiah is entirely true, anyone of sound mind would agree. But if it occurs to anyone that Darius was not the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, but the son of his son, because the prophet said: "They will serve him, 81.1397 and his son, and his son's son;" let him learn the idiom of the divine Scripture; for being accustomed to trace genealogies through the males, and wishing to speak of the descendant, it called him son of the son. But that he is not the son of the son, the blessed Daniel testifies, saying: "Darius the Mede received the kingdom." But that Nebuchadnezzar would pass on the kingdom even to his descendants, the divine Jeremiah foretold. From both prophecies, therefore, it is possible to find the truth; from that of Jeremiah, that the descendant of Nebuchadnezzar would also possess the kingdom; and from that of the blessed Daniel, that when Belshazzar, the son of Nebuchadnezzar, died by the divine decree, Darius the Mede received the kingdom. Examining from this, and knowing the truthfulness of the prophets, we find this one to be a Mede on his father's side, but a Chaldean on his mother's side, and a descendant of Nebuchadnezzar. These things, therefore, we found by seeking the truth of both prophecies; but let each one think as he pleases about this, for no harm will come from the uncertainty about his lineage. Come then, let us take up the interpretation part by part.

CHAPTER VI. When Darius became king, it says (1, 2) "He set over his kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps, to be throughout his whole kingdom. And over them three commissioners, and Daniel was one of them, so that the satraps might give an account to them, in order that the king might not be troubled."

Truly nothing can dull piety, but it sends forth its own rays everywhere, even if it be in a slave, even if in a captive, and nothing has the strength to overshadow its brilliance, but it emits its own lightning. And this can be seen from many places and from other sources, but especially from the things concerning the blessed Daniel, who, having become a slave and a captive of the spear, and dwelling in a foreign land, and living among barbarians, shone brightly; for under Nebuchadnezzar he was worshipped by the most fearsome

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Ἑλληνικαῖς ἱστορίαις τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἰωσήππου εἰρημένα συμβαίνει. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐν ἐκείναις ἔστιν εὑρεῖν, τὸν Κυαξάρην τὸν τοῦ Ἀστυάγους υἱὸν αὐτὸν εἶναι τὸν ∆α- ρεῖον, ὃν οὗτος ἔφη σὺν τῷ Κύρῳ τὴν στρατείαν κατὰ τῆς Βαβυλῶνος ποιησάμενον· ὥστε παντάπασιν ἀπί θανον εἶναι τὸν τοῦ Ἰωσήππου λόγον. Ἐγὼ δὲ τῇ θείᾳ πειθόμενος Γραφῇ, τοῦ Ναβουχοδονόσορ εὑρίσκω τοῦ τον θυγατριδοῦν· τῷ γὰρ Ἱερεμίᾳ παρακελευσάμενος ὁ Θεὸς δεσμὰ ἑαυτῷ περιθεῖναι, καὶ ταῦτα πέμψαι τοῖς πλησιοχώροις βασιλεῦσι, τῷ τῶν Ἰδουμαίων, καὶ Μωαβιτῶν, καὶ Ἀμανιτῶν, Τυρίων τε καὶ Σιδωνίων, ταῦτα εἰπεῖν αὐτοῖς παρεγγύησεν· "Οὕτως εἶπε Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς Ἰσραήλ· Οὕτως ἐρεῖτε πρὸς τοὺς κυρίους ὑμῶν· Ἐγὼ ἐποίησα τὴν γῆν ἐν τῇ ἰσχύϊ μου τῇ μεγάλῃ, καὶ τῷ βραχίονί μου τῷ ὑψη λῷ, καὶ δώσω αὐτὴν, ᾧ ἂν δόξῃ ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς μου· ἔδωκα πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν τῷ βασιλεῖ Ναβουχο δονόσορ Βαβυλῶνος, δουλεύειν αὐτῷ, καὶ δουλεύ σουσιν αὐτῷ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, καὶ τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ, καὶ τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ, ἕως ἂν ἔλθῃ ὁ καιρὸς τῆς γῆς αὐτῶν." Τοῦ τοίνυν Βαλτάσαρ υἱοῦ προσ αγορευθέντος ὑπὸ τοῦ ∆ανιὴλ, ζητητέον τὸν ἔκγονον. Εἰ δέ τις ἀντιλέγει, Μῆδον τὸν ∆αρεῖον ὀνομάζεσθαι λέγων, μαθέτω ὡς οὐδὲν τοῦτο τῷ λόγῳ λυμαίνεται. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ Κῦρος θυγατριδοῦς ὢν τοῦ Ἀστυάγους, ὃς Μῆδος ἦν, καὶ Μήδων ἐβασίλευσε, Πέρσης ὀνομά ζεται· ἐκ γὰρ τῆς πατρῴας συγγενείας φιλοῦσιν οἱ ἄνθρωποι τὰς ἐθνικὰς τιθέναι προσηγορίας. Εἰκὸς τοίνυν καὶ τὸν ∆αρεῖον εἶναι μὲν Μήδου πατρὸς, Χαλδαίας δὲ μητρὸς, καλεῖσθαι δὲ τοῦτο ὅπερ ἦν ὁ πατήρ. Εἰ δ' οὐχ οὕτως ταῦτ' ἔχει, δειξάτωσαν οἱ βουλόμενοι τοῦ Ναβουχοδονόσορ τὸν ἔκγονον τῆς παπ πῴας βασιλείας κληρονομήσαντα, καὶ οὐδὲν περὶ τούτου ζυγομαχήσομεν. Ὅτι γὰρ παναληθὴς τοῦ μεγάλου Ἱερεμίου ἡ πρόῤῥησις, πᾶς τις εὖ φρονῶν ὁμολογήσειεν. Εἰ δέ τινι προΐσταται μὴ εἶναι θυγα τριδοῦν τοῦ Ναβουχοδονόσορ τὸν ∆αρεῖον, ἀλλ' ὑϊδοῦν, διὰ τὸ τὸν προφήτην εἰρηκέναι· "∆ουλεύσουσιν αὐτῷ, 81.1397 καὶ τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ, καὶ τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ·" μαθέτω τῆς θείας Γραφῆς τὸ ἰδίωμα· ἐξ ἀῤῥένων γὰρ γενεαλογεῖν εἰωθυῖα, καὶ τὸν ἔκγονον εἰπεῖν ἐθελήσασα, υἱὸν τοῦ υἱοῦ προσηγόρευσεν. Ἀλλ' ὅτι μὲν τοῦ υἱοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν υἱὸς, ὁ μακάριος ∆ανιὴλ μαρτυρεῖ, λέγων· "∆αρεῖος ὁ Μῆδος παρέλαβε τὴν βασιλείαν." Ὅτι δὲ μέχρις ἐκγόνων παραπέμψει τὴν βασιλείαν ὁ Ναβουχοδονόσορ, ὁ θεῖος προεῖπεν Ἱερεμίας. Ἐξ ἑκατέρας τοίνυν προφητείας εὑρεῖν δυνατὸν τὸ ἀληθές· ἐκ μὲν τῆς Ἱερεμίου, ὅτι καὶ ὁ ἔκγονος τοῦ Ναβουχοδονόσορ τῆς βασιλείας ἀνθέξε ται· ἐκ δὲ τῆς τοῦ μακαρίου ∆ανιὴλ, ὅτι Βαλτάσαρ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ Ναβουχοδονόσορ, τῇ θείᾳ ψήφῳ τελευτή σαντος, ∆αρεῖος ὁ Μῆδος παρέλαβε τὴν βασιλείαν. Ἐντεῦθεν σκοπούμενοι, καὶ τὸ ἀψευδὲς τῶν προφη τῶν ἐπιστάμενοι, εὑρίσκομεν τοῦτον Μῆδον μὲν ὄντα πατρόθεν, Χαλδαῖον δὲ ὄντα μητρόθεν, καὶ τοῦ Ναβουχοδονόσορ ἔκγονον. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἡμεῖς ἑκατέ ρας προφητείας τὸ ἀληθὲς ζητήσαντες ηὕρομεν· ὡς δὲ φίλον ἑκάστῳ περὶ τούτου φρονείτω οὐδεμία γὰρ ἐκ τῆς περὶ τὸ γένος ἀμφιβολίας γενήσεται βλάβη. Φέρε τοίνυν, τῆς κατὰ μέρος ἑρμηνείας ἁψώμεθα.

ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ ςʹ. Βασιλεύσας, φησὶν, ὁ ∆αρεῖος (αʹ, βʹ.) "Ἔστησεν ἐπὶ τῆς

βασιλείας αὑτοῦ σατράπας ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι, τοῦ εἶναι αὐτοὺς ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ βασιλείᾳ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ἐπάνω αὐτῶν τακτικοὺς τρεῖς, καὶ ἦν ∆ανιὴλ εἷς ἐξ αὐ τῶν, τοῦ ἀποδιδόναι αὐτοῖς τοὺς σατράπας λόγον, ὅπως ὁ βασιλεὺς μὴ ἐνοχλῆται." Ἀληθῶς οὐδὲν ἀμ βλύνειν δύναται τὴν εὐσέβειαν, ἀλλὰ τὰς οἰκείας πανταχοῦ ἀκτῖνας ἀφίησι, κἂν ἐν δούλῳ γένηται, κἂν ἐν αἰχμαλώτῳ, καὶ οὐδὲν ταύτης συσκιάσαι τὴν αἴγλην ἰσχύει, ἀλλὰ τὴν οἰκείαν ἀφίησιν ἀστραπήν. Καὶ τοῦτο πολλαχόθεν μὲν καὶ ἀλλαχόθεν ἔστιν ἰδεῖν, μάλιστα δὲ ἐκ τῶν κατὰ τὸν μακάριον ∆ανιὴλ, ὃς δοῦ λος καὶ δορυάλωτος γεγονὼς, καὶ ξένην οἰκῶν, καὶ μεταξὺ βαρβάρων στρεφόμενος, διέλαμψε· ἐπὶ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ Ναβουχοδονόσορ προσεκυνήθη ὑπὸ τοῦ φοβερωτάτου