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of the haughtiness of his eyes. For he too, not having given glory to God nor considered that the God of all was himself the one who had delivered to him both Israel and Judah and all those worthy of punishment, was greatly proud, having thought and said to himself according to Symmachus: in the power of my hand I have acted, for I am prudent, and I have removed the boundaries of peoples, and I have confounded their kings, and as a mighty one I have brought down their inhabitants. and my hand has found, like a nest, all the power of the peoples, and as one gathers abandoned eggs, I have gathered the whole earth. Therefore, toward this arrogant reasoning, whether it was some opposing power, just as "the prince of the kingdom of the Persians and the prince of the kingdom of the Medes and the prince of the kingdom of the Greeks"; for so one might also say that there was a certain prince of the kingdom of the Assyrians who boasted and uttered the aforementioned words. So then, toward this man, or toward the king of the Babylonians who besieged Jerusalem and burned the temple, and took all the sacred vessels and offerings in it and dedicated them to his idols in Babylon itself, as to one who dared to say such terrible and crazed things, the prophetic word answers, saying: Then, O most foolish of all, do you not see that neither would an axe ever move itself to cut wood without another acting, nor would a saw divide the things being sawn by it with no one pulling, nor would a rod strike someone, nor would a staff hit, moving automatically? You should have considered, therefore, that not even you, being a minister of the wrath of God, had so much power as to overcome countless nations, and to cut down some, to hew others, and to strike still others, and to enslave whole cities and to lay low myriads of multitudes, becoming worse than any saw and axe and rod, unless it was the Lord who delivered into your hand those who were worthy of these things. But now, having considered none of these things, you have exalted yourself so as to suppose yourself to be the great mind; for you did not set before your eyes "the peace of God which surpasses all understanding," but believing yourself to be the highest and greatest of all minds, and being lifted up against God with arrogant eyes, you resolved to confound the boundaries of the nations on earth, which God established and ordered well, "when the Most High divided the nations, when he scattered the sons of Adam, he set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the angels of God." But you, by your own wisdom and misguided understanding, thought you were able to move the boundaries well-ordered by God, and to make the inhabited world subject to yourself; for you believed that no one watches over and protects, nor that God cares for the men on earth, wherefore you supposed you would rule the nations upon the inhabited earth like deserted fledglings, or like abandoned eggs. It is necessary, therefore, to think with right reason, that even of those whom you conquered, you did not prevail without God's consent; for whence came to you so much authority, had not God permitted it and used you as an instrument for the punishment and chastisement of those who needed to repent? But since "you did not reason so" and did not recognize the cause of so great authority having come to you, for this reason know that the Lord Sabaoth himself, the master of all power and of the angelic host, will send dishonor upon your honor, and upon your glory a burning fire will be kindled; and the light of Israel will be God himself who long ago enlightened his own people, and he who sanctifies them, becoming a fire to you, the arrogant one. But instead of: and he will sanctify him in a burning fire, Symmachus has: and his holy one, into a flame. For to you, he says, the Assyrian who dared to think impious and arrogant things, "the holy one of Israel" and he who long ago was his light will become a flame and a fire. He well compares both the multitude of the Assyrians and its leaders to hills and mountains and forests

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ὕψους τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτοῦ. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ οὗτος μὴ δοὺς δόξαν τῷ θεῷ μηδὲ λογισάμενος, ὅτι ὁ τῶν ὅλων θεὸς αὐτὸς ἦν ὁ παραδοὺς αὐτῷ καὶ τὸν Ἰσραὴλ καὶ τὸν Ἰούδαν καὶ πάντας τοὺς τιμωρίας ἀξίους, μέγα ἐφρόνησε διανοηθεὶς καὶ πρὸς ἑαυτὸν εἰπὼν κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον· ἐν τῇ δυνάμει τῆς χειρός μου ἐποίησα, συνετὸς γάρ εἰμι, καὶ μετῆρα ὅριον λαῶν καὶ τοὺς βασιλεῖς αὐτῶν συνέχεον καὶ κατήγαγον ὡς δυνατὸς τοὺς κατοικοῦντας. καὶ εὗρεν ὡς νοσσιὰν ἡ χείρ μου πᾶσαν τὴν δύναμιν τῶν λαῶν, καὶ ὡς συνάγεται ᾠὰ καταλελειμμένα πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ἐγὼ συνήγαγον. πρὸς τοῦτον τοιγαροῦν τὸν ὑπερήφανον λογισμόν, εἴτε τις ἀντικειμένη δύναμις ἐτύγχανεν, ὥσπερ «ὁ ἄρχων βασιλείας Περσῶν καὶ ὁ ἄρχων βασιλείας Μήδων καὶ ὁ ἄρχων βασιλείας Ἑλλήνων»· οὕτω γὰρ εἴποι ἄν τις καὶ ἄρχοντα βασιλείας Ἀσσυρίων γεγονέναι τινὰ τὸν ἀλαζονευσάμενον καὶ τὰς προκειμένας φωνὰς φθεγξάμενον. Εἶτ' οὖν πρὸς τοῦτον ἢ πρὸς τὸν Βαβυλωνίων βασιλέα τὸν πολιορκήσαντα τὴν Ἰερουσαλὴμ καὶ τὸν νεὼν ἐμπρήσαντα, πάντα τε τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ ἱερὰ σκεύη τε καὶ ἀναθήματα ἑλόντα καὶ τοῖς αὐτοῦ εἰδώλοις ἀναθέντα ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ Βαβυλῶνι, ὡς πρὸς δεινὰ καὶ ἀπονενοημένα τοιαῦτα τολμήσαντα εἰπεῖν, ἀποκρίνεται φάσκων ὁ προφητικὸς λόγος· εἶτα, ὦ πάντων ἀφρονέστατε, οὐ συνορᾷς, ὡς οὔτε πέλυξ ἑαυτόν ποτε κινήσειεν ἐπὶ κοπῇ ξύλου μὴ ἑτέρου ἐνεργοῦντος, οὔτε πρίων διέλοι ἂν τὰ πρὸς αὐτοῦ πριζόμενα μηδενὸς ἕλκοντος, οὔτε ῥάβδος τύψειεν ἄν τινα, οὔτε ξύλον πλήξειεν αὐτομάτως κινούμενα; χρῆν οὖν λογίσασθαι, ὅτι μηδὲ σοὶ διακόνῳ ὄντι τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ ὀργῆς τοσαύτη παρῆν δύναμις ὡς μυρίων ἐθνῶν κατακρατῆσαι καὶ τοὺς δὲ μὲν ἐγκόπτειν, τοὺς δὲ τέμνειν, ἑτέρους δὲ παίειν, πόλεις τε ὅλας ἐξανδραποδίζεσθαι καὶ μυρία πλήθη καταστρωννύναι παντὸς πρίονος καὶ πελέκυος καὶ ῥάβδου χείρονι γιγνομένῳ, εἰ μὴ κύριος ἦν ὁ τῇ σῇ χειρὶ παραδοὺς τοὺς τούτων ἀξίους. νυνὶ δὲ μηθὲν τούτων λογισάμενος, ἐπῆρας σαυτὸν ὡς ὑπολαβεῖν ἑαυτὸν εἶναι τὸν μέγαν νοῦν· οὐ γὰρ ἔθου πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν «τὴν εἰρήνην τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν ὑπερέχουσαν πάντα νοῦν», τὸν ἀνώτατον δὲ νοῦν καὶ πάντων μέγιστον νομίσας εἶναι σεαυτόν, ὑπερηφάνοις τε ὀφθαλμοῖς κατεπαρθεὶς τοῦ θεοῦ, διενοήθης τὰ ὅρια τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς ἐθνῶν συγχεῖν, ἃ ὁ θεὸς διώρισε καὶ διέταξε καλῶς, «ὅτε διεμέριζεν ὁ ὕψιστος ἔθνη, ὡς διέσπειρεν υἱοὺς Ἀδάμ, ἔστησεν ὅρια ἐθνῶν κατὰ ἀριθμὸν ἀγγέλων θεοῦ». σὺ δὲ τῇ σαυτοῦ σοφίᾳ καὶ τῇ πεπλανημένῃ συνέσει ᾠήθης δύνασθαι μεταθεῖναι μὲν τοὺς ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ εὖ διατεταγμένους ὅρους, ὑποχείριον δὲ σαυτῷ τὴν οἰκουμένην ποιήσασθαι· μηδένα γὰρ ἐφορᾶν καὶ ἀντιλαμβάνεσθαι μηδὲ θεῷ μέλειν τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς ἀνθρώπων ἐνόμισας, διὸ ὥσπερ νεοττῶν ἐρήμων, ἢ δίκην ᾠῶν καταλελειμμένων ὑπέλαβες κρατήσειν τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐθνῶν. ∆εῖ οὖν ὀρθῷ λογισμῷ διανοηθῆναι, ὅτι καὶ αὐτῶν ὧν ἐκράτησας οὐκ ἄνευ θεοῦ νεύματος περιεγένου· πόθεν γάρ σοι παρῆν τοσαύτη ἐξουσία μὴ τοῦ θεοῦ συγκεχωρηκότος καὶ ὥσπερ ὀργάνῳ χρησαμένου σοι ἐπὶ τιμωρίᾳ καὶ κολάσει τῶν ἐπιστροφῆς δεομένων; ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ «μὴ οὕτως ἐλογίσω» καὶ οὐδ' ἐπέγνως τὸν τῆς τοσαύτης σοι γενόμενον ἐξουσίας αἴτιον, τούτου χάριν γίνωσκε ὡς αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος σαβαώθ, ὁ πάσης δυνάμεως καὶ ἀγγελικῆς στρατιᾶς δεσπότης, ἀποστελεῖ εἰς τὴν σὴν τιμὴν ἀτιμίαν, καὶ εἰς τὴν σὴν δόξαν πῦρ καιόμενον καυθήσεται· καὶ ἔσται τὸ φῶς τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ αὐτὸς ὁ πάλαι φωτίζων τὸν ἑαυτοῦ λαὸν θεὸς καὶ ὁ ἁγιάζων αὐτὸν σοὶ τῷ ὑπερηφάνῳ γιγνόμενος πῦρ. ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· καὶ ἁγιάσει αὐτὸν ἐν πυρὶ καιομένῳ, ὁ Σύμμαχος· καὶ ὁ ἅγιος αὐτοῦ εἰς φλόγα. σοὶ γάρ φησι τῷ Ἀσσυρίῳ ἀσεβῆ καὶ ὑπέρογκα λογίσασθαι τετολμηκότι «ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ» καὶ ὁ πάλαι φῶς αὐτοῦ γεγονὼς εἰς φλόγα καὶ εἰς πῦρ γενήσεται. βουνοῖς δὲ καὶ ὄρεσι καὶ δρυμοῖς παρεικάζει καλῶς αὐτήν τε τὴν τῶν Ἀσσυρίων πληθὺν καὶ τοὺς ἡγουμένους αὐτῆς