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slander, or to relate the tragedy of the plot, and to expose the manifest licentiousness of his mistress. For he offered the counsel which was necessary; but he did not bring forward the existing charge; but as if condemned in his absence, and not being present with the judge, nor hearing the accusation, he accepted the punishment that was inflicted, and dwelt in the prison, and was bound with the malefactors, and bore all the terrible things nobly. And the frequency and succession of misfortunes did not rob 83.701 the strength of his soul, nor did it change its courage into cowardice. But he had such cheerfulness and gladness even in terrible circumstances, that he even encouraged the other prisoners, and if he saw them distressed, he continually comforted them. For the expression of the face often gives evidence of the disposition of the soul, and it is composed along with the movements of the mind, not only the color of the face, but also the movement of the eyes, and the knitting and relaxing of the eyebrows. And the grim look of the eyes indicates the rising of anger; but the folds of the eyelids, producing a smile, reveal the slackness of despondency; the meeting of the eyebrows in the middle hints at cares; and their curved upward movement, pride. Since, therefore, most of the movements of the soul are revealed in the face, that wonderful athlete, using his facial expressions as certain messengers of his soul, continually encouraged those who were despondent. And once, seeing two of the king's servants in a state of despondency, both the chief cupbearer and the chief baker—for on account of certain offenses they had been imprisoned there—he approaches them both, and inquires, and investigates the reason for their despondency. A man overwhelmed by so many misfortunes, a descendant of Abraham, a grandson of Isaac, a son of Jacob, most beloved of them all, seen like a light, being a cause of gladness, having fallen into slavery, and having endured this misfortune, not taken captive by some savage barbarians, but enslaved by the envy of his brothers, who pointed to no injustice but had taken his dreams as a pretext for their malice—taking none of these things to mind, nor the things that had happened after his enslavement, and the struggles for his chastity, and the condemnation after victory, and the punishment instead of crowns, and the prison instead of proclamations, he approached to comfort the others who were despondent, and inquired of his fellow prisoners, saying: “Why are your faces downcast today?” And when they said that they had seen dreams, and that their minds were troubled by their ignorance of the interpretation, that divine man did not lament when he heard of the dreams, nor did he wail, recalling his own misfortunes, nor did he shed an ignoble tear, nor cry out, and bring forth the tragedy of his sufferings; rather, he did not laugh loudly upon hearing of dreams, the falsehood of which he for his part considered manifest, nor did he say to those prisoners: “You are ignorant of the falsehood of dreams, it seems, my friends; being inexperienced in their deceit, as is likely, you desire their interpretation 83.704; but I, having experience as my teacher, urge you to laugh at them; for they signify nothing true, but foretell all things contrary to the truth. I hoped to be leader of my brothers and to rule my father's house, I who once believed in dreams; and not only did I not obtain the leadership, but having also fallen from my freedom, I, wretched one, became a slave. And not even as a slave was I borne along by favorable winds, but even here, having fallen into countless tempests, I am forced to dwell in a prison. Therefore, let not the nocturnal phantoms disturb you; the race of dreams is far from the truth.” That noble man said none of these things, nor did he think them, but says to them: “Is it not through
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συκοφαντίαν, ἢ τὴν τῆς ἐπι βουλῆς ἐξηγήσασθαι τραγῳδίαν, καὶ δεσποτικὴν προφανῶς ἀκολασίαν ἐλέγξαι. Συμβουλὴν μὲν γὰρ, ἣν ἔδει, προσήνεγκε· γραφὴν δὲ τὴν οὖσαν οὐκ εἰσήνεγκεν· ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἐρήμην ἁλοὺς, καὶ τῷ δι κάζοντι μὴ συμπαρὼν, μηδὲ τῆς κατηγορίας ἀκούων, τὴν ἐξενεχθεῖσαν τιμωρίαν ἐδέξατο, καὶ τὸ δεσμωτή ριον ᾤκει, καὶ τοῖς κακούργοις συνεδεσμεῖτο, καὶ πάντα γενναίως ἔφερε τὰ δεινά. Καὶ τὸ πυκνὸν τῶν συμφορῶν καὶ ἐπάλληλον, τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς οὐκ ἐλῄ 83.701 στευσε ῥώμην, οὐδὲ τὴν ἀνδρείαν αὐτῆς εἰς δει λίαν μετέβαλε. Τοσαύτην δὲ εἶχε κἀν τοῖς δεινοῖς εὐ φροσύνην καὶ θυμηδίαν, ὡς καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους δεσμώτας ψυχαγωγεῖν, καὶ εἰ ἀδημονοῦντας ἑώρα, παραμυθού μενος διετέλει. Τεκμηριοῖ γὰρ πολλάκις τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς διάθεσιν τῶν προσώπων ἡ θέσις, καὶ συνδιατί θεται τοῖς τῆς ἐννοίας κινήμασιν, οὐ χρόα μόνον προσώπου, ἀλλὰ καὶ κίνησις ὀφθαλμῶν, καὶ ὀφρύων συναγωγή τε καὶ ἄνεσις. Καὶ τὴν μὲν τοῦ θυμοειδοῦς ἐπανάστασιν, τὸ βλοσυρὸν τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἐπισημαίνει, τὸ δὲ χαλαρὸν τῆς ἀθυμίας, αἱ τῶν βλεφάρων παραδηλοῦσι στολίδες, ἐργαζόμεναι τὸ μειδίαμα· τὰς δὲ φροντίδας, ἡ τῶν ὀφρύων κατὰ τὸ μέσον αἰνίτ τεται σύνοδος· τὸν δὲ τῦφον, ἡ τούτων αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὸ ἄνω καμπυλοειδὴς ἀναχώρησις. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν τὰ πλεῖστα τῶν τῆς ψυχῆς κινημάτων ἐν τοῖς προσώποις παραδηλοῦται, ὁ θαυμάσιος ἐκεῖνος ἀθλητὴς, οἷόν τισιν ἀγγέλοις τῆς ψυχῆς χρώμενος τοῖς προσώποις, τοὺς ἀθυμοῦντας διετέλει ψυχαγωγῶν. Καί ποτε θεασάμενος δύο τοῦ βασιλέως οἰκέτας ἀθύμως διακει μένους, τόν τε ἀρχιοινοχόον, καὶ τὸν ἀρχισιτοποιόν· ἁμαρτημάτων γάρ τινων ἕνεκεν ἐκεῖσε καθείρ χθησαν· ἀμφοῖν πρόσεισι, καὶ πυνθάνεται, καὶ τῆς ἀθυμίας τὴν αἰτίαν ἀνερευνᾷ. Ἄνθρωπος τοσαύταις περικλυζόμενος συμφοραῖς, ἀπόγονος μὲν τοῦ Ἀβρα ὰμ, ἔκγονος δὲ τοῦ Ἰσαὰκ, υἱὸς δὲ τοῦ Ἰακὼβ, πάντων αὐτῶν προσφιλέστατος, φωτὸς δίκην ὁρώ μενος, ἀφορμὴ θυμηδίας ὑπάρχων, εἰς δουλείαν μετα πεσὼν, καὶ ταύτην ὑπομείνας τὴν συμφορὰν, οὐ βαρβάρων τινῶν ἀγρίων δορυάλωτον εἰληχότων, ἀλλὰ ἀδελφῶν φθόνῳ δεδουλευκότων, καὶ οὐδὲ ἀδικίαν τινὰ δεικνύντων, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ὀνείρους ἐφόδιον εἰς δυσμέ νειαν εἰληφότων, οὐδὲν τούτων εἰς διάνοιαν λαμ βάνων, οὐδὲ τὰ μετὰ τὴν δουλείαν συμβεβηκότα, καὶ τοὺς ὑπὲρ σωφροσύνης ἀγῶνας, καὶ τὴν μετὰ νίκην καταδίκην, καὶ τὴν ἀντὶ στεφάνων τιμωρίαν, καὶ ἀντὶ ἀναῤῥήσεων δεσμωτήριον, προσ ῄει τοὺς ἄλλους ἀθυμοῦντας παρηγορῶν, καὶ τῶν συν δεσμωτῶν ἐπυνθάνετο, λέγων· «Τί ὅτι τὰ πρόσωπα ὑμῶν σκυθρωπὰ σήμερον;» Τῶν δὲ φησάντων ὀνεί ρους ἑωρακέναι, καὶ τῇ τῆς ἑρμηνείας ἀγνοίᾳ κυ κᾶσθαι τὸν λογισμὸν, οὐκ ἐθρήνησεν ὁ θεῖος ἐκεῖνος ἀνὴρ τῶν ὀνείρων ἀκούσας, οὐδὲ ὠλοφύρατο τῶν οἰκείων ἀναμνησθεὶς συμφορῶν, οὐδὲ ἀφῆκε δάκρυον ἀγεννὲς, οὐδὲ ἀνῴμωξε, καὶ τῶν παθῶν τὴν τραγ ωδίαν εἰς μέσον παρήγαγε· μᾶλλον δὲ οὐκ ἐγέλασε μέγα, ὀνείρων ἀκούσας, ὧν τὸ ψεῦδος τέως προ φανὲς ἐθεώρει, οὐδὲ ἔφησε πρὸς τοὺς δεσμώτας ἐκείνους· Ἀγνοεῖτε τῶν ὀνείρων, ὡς ἔοικεν, ὦ φίλοι, τὸ ψεῦδος, ἀπείρατοι τῆς τούτων ἀπάτης, ὡς εἰκὸς, ὑπάρχοντες, τὴν τούτων ἑρμηνείαν 83.704 ποθεῖτε· ἐγὼ δὲ τὴν πεῖραν ἔχων διδάσκαλον, καταγε λᾷν ὑμᾶς τούτων παρεγγυῶ· οὐδὲν γὰρ οὗτοι μη νύουσιν ἀληθὲς, ἀλλὰ τἀναντία πάντα τῇ ἀληθείᾳ προλέγουσιν. Ἤλπισα τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἡγεμονεύσειν, καὶ τῆς πατρῴας ἄρξειν οἰκίας, ὀνείροις ποτὲ πιστεύσας ἐγώ· καὶ οὐ μόνον τῆς ἡγεμονίας οὐκ ἔτυχον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς ἐλευθερίας ἐκπεσὼν, δοῦλος ὁ ταλαίπωρος ἐγενόμην. Καὶ οὐδὲ δουλεύων ἐξ οὐρίων ἠνέχθην, ἀλλὰ κἀνταῦθα μυρίαις περιπεσὼν τρικυ μίαις, δεσμωτήριον οἰκεῖν ἀναγκάζομαι. Μὴ τοίνυν ὑμᾶς ταραττέτωσαν αἱ νυκτεριναὶ φαντασίαι· ἀλη θείας πόῤῥω τυγχάνει τῶν ὀνείρων τὸ γένος. Οὐδὲν τούτων οὐκ εἶπεν, οὐκ ἐνενόησεν ὁ γενναῖος ἐκεῖνος ἀνὴρ, ἀλλά φησι πρὸς αὐτούς· «Οὐχὶ διὰ