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to the lions the blessed Daniel; and he prays for his salvation, saying: "The God whom you serve continually, he will deliver you." A pious saying, and inconsistent with his previous actions. For if you testify to so great a power of God, how did you legislate that no one should pray to him for thirty days? But it seems Darius was good, and gentle in manner, and rather inclined to piety, but nevertheless fearful of noise and very easily deceived. For he would not, while ruling a kingdom, be led by his subjects instead of leading them; and he appears to greatly admire Daniel. "For the God, he says, 81.1405 whom you serve continually," on whose account, he says, you even disregarded my laws, and you offer to him perpetual worship, will reward you for your piety, and may he deliver you from the terrible things that hold you. Then, both trusting in the power of God, and suspecting the plots of the accusers, he blocks the mouth of the pit with a stone, and with the imprints of his signet ring he places seals, so that no mischief might be done by them to Daniel; for he was confident that God would not allow the lions to harm Daniel's sacred and holy body. Having done these things, then, 18. "The king went to his house, and went to bed without supper, and food was not brought to him, and sleep departed from him." Each of these things testifies to both his humanity and his cowardice. Of humanity, because he was unwilling either to partake of food, or to receive sleep somehow on his eyelids, but remained sleepless, grieving over the unjust punishment of Daniel; of cowardice, because being so disposed he did not stand up to the accusers and, using his royal authority and power, save the one who was wronged. Having passed the night in this way, 19. "King Darius arose early in the morning in the light." That is, while it was still dark, around twilight, so that torches were needed; for "in the light" indicates this. "And he came with haste to the den of lions (20.) And when he drew near to the den," that is, not yet being beside it, "he cried out to Daniel with a loud voice, and the king answered and said to Daniel." For not yet being beside the den itself, he was compelled by his fervent disposition to shout, and to call Daniel, and to ask if, having enjoyed divine assistance, he had proved stronger than the ferocity of the lions. "For Daniel," he says, "servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the mouth of the lions?" Each of the things said shows the king to be devout, and rejoicing in Daniel because of his piety. For first he calls him a servant not of himself, but of God; then he names Daniel's God as living; then praising his piety, "Whom you," he says, "serve continually," that is, you who were not hindered from this worship even by the constraint of the law. And the phrase, "Has he been able to deliver you from the mouth of the lions?" means: Did he wish to show you to be stronger than the lions? For he would not have called God unable, whom he addressed as living. Hearing these things, Daniel answered, saying: 21. "O king, live forever," He places the customary 81.1408 address before his own words, instead of "May it be yours to live for a very long time." For even in the present time, as we have already said, some are accustomed to address kings as eternal in the documents of contracts. 22. "My God," he says, "has sent his angel, and has shut the mouths of the lions, and they have not harmed me, because before him uprightness and righteousness were found in me, and also before you, O king, no offense was found in me." For God, he says, being just and justly governing all things, seeing that I preferred his worship to the impious laws, and that I have never committed any offense against your kingdom, made me stronger than the harm of the lions, and showed them to be more like images of lions than lions. 23. "Then the king," it says, "was exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den." For being overjoyed

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λέουσι τὸν μακάριον ∆ανιήλ· ἐπεύχεται δὲ αὐτῷ σωτηρίαν λέγων· "Ὁ Θεὸς ᾧ λατρεύεις ἐνδελεχῶς, αὐτὸς ἐξελεῖταί σε." Εὐ σεβὲς τὸ ῥῆμα, καὶ τοῖς πρώτοις ἀσύμφωνον. Εἰ γὰρ τοσαύτην τῷ Θεῷ προσμαρτυρεῖς δύναμιν, πῶς ἐνο μοθέτησας μηδένα τούτῳ εἰς τριάκοντα ἡμέρας προσεύξασθαι; Ἀλλ' ἔοικεν ὁ ∆αρεῖος χρηστὸς μὲν γεγενῆσθαι, καὶ τὸν τρόπον ἐπιεικὴς, καὶ μᾶλλον εὐσεβείᾳ προσέχων, ψοφοδεὴς δὲ ὅμως καὶ λίαν εὐ εξαπάτητος. Οὐ γὰρ ἂν βασιλείαν διέπων, ἀντὶ τοῦ ἄγειν, ὑπὸ τῶν ἀρχομένων ἤγετο· φαίνεται δὲ καὶ σφόδρα θαυμάζων τὸν ∆ανιήλ· "Ὁ Θεὸς γὰρ, φησὶν, 81.1405 ᾧ λατρεύεις ἐνδελεχῶς," δι' ὃν, φησὶ, καὶ τῶν ἐμῶν κατεφρόνησας νόμων, καὶ διηνεκῆ τὴν θεραπείαν αὐτῷ προσφέρεις, ἀμείψεταί σε τῆς εὐσεβείας, καὶ τῶν κατεχόντων δεινῶν ἀπαλλάξειεν. Εἶτα καὶ θαῤ ῥῶν τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ δυνάμει, καὶ τὰς τῶν κατηγόρων ὑφορώμενος ἐπιβουλὰς, λίθῳ μὲν ἐμφράττει τοῦ λάκκου τὸ στόμα, τοῖς δὲ τοῦ δακτυλίου ἐκτυπώ μασιν ἐπιτίθησι σήμαντρα, ἵνα μή τις ὑπ' ἐκείνων περὶ τὸν ∆ανιὴλ γένηται κακουργία· ἐθάῤῥει γὰρ ὡς τοὺς λέοντας οὐκ ἐάσει τοῦ ∆ανιὴλ ὁ Θεὸς τὸ ἱερὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἅγιον λυμήνασθαι σῶμα Ταῦτα τοίνυν ποιήσας, ιηʹ. "Ἀπῆλθεν ὁ βασιλεὺς εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὑτοῦ, καὶ ἐκοιμήθη ἄδειπνος, καὶ ἐδέσματα οὐκ ἤνεγκαν αὐτῷ, καὶ ὁ ὕπνος ἀπέστη ἀπ' αὐτοῦ." Τούτων δὲ ἕκαστον καὶ φιλανθρωπίαν αὐτῷ καὶ δειλίαν προσ μαρτυρεῖ. Φιλανθρωπίας μὲν γὰρ τὸ μήτε σιτίων ἐθελῆσαι μετασχεῖν, μήτε ὕπνον τοῖς βλεφάροις πως δέξασθαι, ἀλλ' ἄγρυπνον διατελέσαι, ἀλγοῦντα ἐπὶ τῇ ἀδίκῳ τοῦ ∆ανιὴλ τιμωρίᾳ· δειλίας δὲ, τὸ οὕτω διακείμενον μὴ ἀντιστῆναι τοῖς κατηγόροις, καὶ τῇ βασιλικῇ ἐξουσίᾳ καὶ δυνάμει χρησάμενον σῶσαι τὸν ἀδικούμενον. Οὕτω δὲ τὴν νύκτα δια τελέσας, ιθʹ. "Ὁ βασιλεὺς ∆αρεῖος ἀνέστη τοπρωῒ ἐν τῷ φωτί." Τουτέστιν, ἔτι σκότους ὄντος, περὶ τὸ λυκόφως, ὡς καὶ δεηθῆναι λαμπάδων· τὸ γὰρ ἐν τῷ φωτὶ τοῦτο παραδηλοῖ. "Καὶ σπουδῇ ἦλθεν ἐπὶ τὸν λάκκον τῶν λεόντων (κʹ.) Καὶ ἐν τῷ ἐγγίζειν αὐτὸν τῷ λάκκῳ," τουτ έστι, μηδέπω παρ' αὐτὸν γενόμενος, "τῷ ∆ανιὴλ ἐν φωνῇ ἰσχυρᾷ ἐβόησε, καὶ ἀπεκρίθη ὁ βασιλεὺς, καὶ εἶπε τῷ ∆ανιήλ." Μηδέπω γὰρ παρ' αὐτὸν τὸν λάκκον γενόμενος, ὑπὸ θερμῆς διαθέσεως βοᾷν ἠναγ κάζετο, καὶ τὸν ∆ανιὴλ καλεῖν, καὶ πυνθάνεσθαι, εἰ τῆς θείας ἀπολαύσας ῥοπῆς, κρείττων ἐφάνη τῆς τῶν λεόντων ὠμότητος. "∆ανιὴλ γὰρ, φησὶν, ὁ δοῦ λος τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος, ὁ Θεός σου, ᾧ λατρεύεις ἐνδελεχῶς, εἰ ἠδυνήθη ἐξελέσθαι σε ἀπὸ στόματος τῶν λεόντων;" Ἕκαστον δὲ τῶν εἰρημένων εὐλαβῆ δείκνυσι τὸν βασιλέα, καὶ διὰ τὴν εὐσέβειαν χαίροντα τῷ ∆ανιήλ. Πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ δοῦλον αὐτὸν οὐχ ἑαυ τοῦ, ἀλλὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ προσαγορεύει· εἶτα ζῶντα τὸν τοῦ ∆ανιὴλ ὀνομάζει Θεόν· ἔπειτα τὴν εὐσέβειαν ἐπαινῶν, "Ὧ σὺ, φησὶν, λατρεύεις ἐνδελεχῶς," τουτέστιν, ὁ μηδὲ διὰ τὴν τοῦ νόμου ἀνάγκην ταύ της κωλυθεὶς τῆς θεραπείας. Τὸ δὲ, "Εἰ ἠδυνήθη ἐξελέσθαι σε ἀπὸ στόματος τῶν λεόντων;" σημαί νει· Εἰ ἠβουλήθη κρείττονά σε τῶν λεόντων ἀπο φῆναι; Οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἐκάλεσεν ἀδύνατον τὸν Θεὸν, ὃν ζῶντα προσηγόρευσε. Τούτων ἀκούσας, ὁ ∆ανιὴλ ἀπεκρίνατο λέγων· καʹ. Βασιλεῦ, εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας ζῆθι," Τὴν συνήθη 81.1408 πρόσρησιν τῶν οἰκείων λόγων προτάττει, ἀντὶ τοῦ Γένοιτό σοι ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ζῇν. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος, ὡς καὶ ἤδη προειρήκαμεν, αἰωνίους τοὺς βασιλέας ἐν τοῖς τῶν συμβολαίων γραμματείοις τινὲς προσαγορεύειν εἰώθασιν. κβʹ. "Ὁ Θεός μου, φησὶν, ἀπέστειλε τὸν ἄγγελον αὑτοῦ, καὶ ἐνέφραξε τὸ στόμα τῶν λεόντων, καὶ οὐκ ἐλυμήναντό με, ὅτι καὶ ἔναντι αὐτοῦ εὐθύτης καὶ δικαιοσύνη εὑρέθη μοι, καὶ ἐνώπιον δέ σου, βασιλεῦ, παράπτωμα οὐχ εὑρέθη ἐν ἐμοί." ∆ί καιος γὰρ ὢν, φησὶν, ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ δικαίως ἅπαντα πρυτανεύων, θεασάμενος ὅτι τῶν δυσσεβῶν νόμων τὴν αὐτοῦ προτετίμηκα θεραπείαν, καὶ εἰς τὴν σὴν δὲ βασιλείαν οὐδὲν πώποτε πεπλημμέληκα, κρείττονά με τῆς τῶν λεόντων ἀπέφηνε λύμης, καὶ μᾶλλον εἰκόνας λεόντων ἢ λέοντας ἔδειξεν. κγʹ. "Τότε ὁ βασιλεὺς, φησὶ, πολὺ ἠγαθύνθη ἐπ' αὐτῷ, καὶ τὸν ∆ανιὴλ εἶπεν ἀνενέγκαι ἐκ τοῦ λάκ κου." Περιχαρὴς γὰρ