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leaping up from the continual agony; so that even if we have provoked God, we have now propitiated Him, having endured so great a punishment. For even if we have not paid a penalty worthy of our sins, yet it is sufficient for the loving-kindness of God. 2. But it is necessary to be of good courage not only from this, but also from many other quarters; for God has already given us not a few pledges of good hopes. And first of all, those bearing the evil tidings, having departed from here as if winged and having expected long ago to reach the camp, are still lingering midway on their journey; so many hindrances and obstacles have befallen them, and having left their horses, they now drive wagons, from which it is altogether necessary that their arrival there should be slower. For since God raised up from here our priest and common father, and persuaded him to depart and to undertake this embassy, He then detained those men in the middle of the road, so that they might not arrive first and kindle the fire, and thus render the correction by the teacher useless, having inflamed the royal ears. For that the hindrance did not happen without God is clear from this: Men who have been brought up their whole life with such journeys, and whose business it is to ride horses continually, have now been worn out by the very riding and are delayed, and what has now happened is the opposite of what happened to Jonah. For He hurried him when he did not wish to go; but these men He hindered when they wished to go. O new and strange matter! he did not wish to preach destruction, and He raised him up against his will; these men hasten with great speed to announce destruction, and He hindered them again against their will. Why so? Because in this case speed brought harm, but in that case speed brought gain; for this reason He both hurried that one by means of the great fish, and shackled these men by means of their horses. Do you see the wisdom of God? by the very means by which each hoped to accomplish his purpose, by these each was shackled. That one expected to fly by means of the ship, and the ship became a bond for him; these men expected to see the emperor more quickly by means of their horses, and the horses have become a hindrance; or rather not the horses, just as it was not the ship for him, but the providence of God everywhere ordering all things with His own wisdom. And consider His care, how He both frightened and comforted. For on the very day when all those lawless acts were dared, by letting them go out as if to report to the emperor all that had happened, He frightened everyone by the speed of their departure; but when they had departed, and had spent two and three days, and we were thinking that our priest's journey was in vain, since he would be late, then He dispelled the 49.84 fear and comforted us, both by detaining those men, as I said, in the middle of their journey, and by arranging for those coming from there to us by the same road to announce to all of us their sufferings, so that we might breathe a little; which indeed happened, and we laid aside a great part of our agony. Having heard these things, we worshipped the God who did these things as more affectionate than any father; and now He has arranged all our affairs, restraining these evil messengers with some invisible power, and all but saying: 'Why do you hasten? Why are you in a hurry, intending to overwhelm so great a city? Do you bring good news to the emperor? Remain here, until I prepare my servant, like an excellent physician, to arrive first and to anticipate your course.' But if at the beginning of the ulcer of lawlessness there has been such providence, much more after the conversion, after the repentance, after so great a fear, after the tears and the prayers, shall we enjoy greater security. For Jonah was reasonably hurried, that he might bring them to repentance, but you have already shown repentance and great conversion; therefore there is need of comfort now, not of a message bearing a threat. For this reason also He raised up the common

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ἀναπηδῶντες ἀπὸ τῆς διηνεκοῦς ἀγωνίας· ὥστε εἰ καὶ παρωργίσαμεν τὸν Θεὸν, ἐξιλεωσάμεθα νῦν τοσαύτην ὑπομείναντες τὴν τιμωρίαν. Καὶ γὰρ εἰ καὶ μὴ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἀξίαν ἐδώκαμεν δίκην, ἀλλ' ἀρκοῦσαν τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίᾳ. βʹ. Οὐκ ἐντεῦθεν δὲ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑτέρωθεν πολλαχόθεν θαῤῥεῖν χρή· οὐδὲ γὰρ ὀλίγα ἡμῖν ἐνέχυρα τῶν χρηστῶν ἐλπίδων ἔδωκεν ὁ Θεὸς ἤδη. Καὶ πρῶτον μὲν ἁπάντων οἱ τὴν πονηρὰν κομίζοντες ἀγγελίαν, ἐξελθόντες ἐντεῦθεν καθάπερ τινὲς ὑπόπτεροι καὶ πάλαι καταλήψεσθαι προσδοκήσαντες τὸ στρατόπεδον, κατὰ μέσην ἔτι διατρίβουσι τὴν ὁδόν· τοσαῦτα αὐτοῖς κωλύματα καὶ ἐμπόδια γέγονε, καὶ τοὺς ἵππους ἀφέντες ὀχήματα ἐλαύνουσι νῦν, ὅθεν ἀνάγκη πᾶσα βραδυτέραν αὐτοῖς γενέσθαι τὴν ἐκεῖσε ἄφιξιν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τὸν ἱερέα τὸν ἡμέτερον καὶ κοινὸν πατέρα ἀνέστησεν ὁ Θεὸς ἐντεῦθεν, καὶ ἔπεισεν ἀπελθεῖν, καὶ τῆς πρεσβείας συνεφάψασθαι ταύτης, κατέσχε λοιπὸν ἐκείνους κατὰ μέσην τὴν ὁδὸν, ἵνα μὴ φθάσαντες τὸ πῦρ ἀνάψωσι, καὶ τῷ διδασκάλῳ λοιπὸν ἀνόνητον ποιήσωσι τὴν διόρθωσιν, τὰς βασιλικὰς ἐμπρήσαντες ἀκοάς. Ὅτι γὰρ οὐκ ἄνευ Θεοῦ τὸ κώλυμα γέγονε, δῆλον ἐκεῖθεν· Ἄνθρωποι τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον τοιαύταις συντραφέντες ἀποδημίαις, καὶ τοῦτο ἔργον ἔχοντες ἵππους ἐλαύνειν διηνεκῶς, νῦν ὑπ' αὐτῆς τῆς ἱππασίας συντριβέντες ὑστέρησαν, καὶ γέγονεν ἀπ' ἐναντίας τοῖς τοῦ Ἰωνᾶ πράγμασι τὰ συμβάντα νῦν. Ἐκεῖνον μὲν γὰρ μὴ βουλόμενον ἀπελθεῖν ἤπειγε· τούτους δὲ βουλομένους ἀπελθεῖν ἐκώλυσεν. Ὢ καινοῦ καὶ παραδόξου πράγματος! ἐκεῖνος οὐκ ἐβούλετο κηρῦξαι καταστροφὴν, καὶ ἄκοντα αὐτὸν ἀνέστησεν· οὗτοι μετὰ πολλοῦ τοῦ τάχους σπεύδουσιν ἀπαγγεῖλαι καταστροφὴν, καὶ ἄκοντας αὐτοὺς πάλιν ἐκώλυσε. Τί δήποτε; Ὅτι ἐνταῦθα μὲν τὸ τάχος βλάβος, ἐκεῖ δὲ τὸ τάχος κέρδος ἔφερε· διὰ τοῦτο κἀκεῖνον ἤπειξε διὰ τοῦ κήτους, καὶ διὰ τῶν ἵππων τούτους συνεπόδισεν. Ὁρᾷς Θεοῦ σοφίαν; διὰ τῶν πραγμάτων αὐτῶν, ὧν ἕκαστος ἤλπισεν ἀνύειν τὸ προκείμενον, διὰ τούτων συνεποδίσθησαν ἕκαστος. Ἐκεῖνος διὰ τοῦ πλοίου προσεδόκησε πτήσεσθαι, καὶ τὸ πλοῖον αὐτῷ δεσμὸς ἐγένετο· διὰ τῶν ἵππων οὗτοι προσεδόκησαν ταχύτερον ὄψεσθαι τὸν βασιλέα, καὶ οἱ ἵπποι γεγόνασιν κώλυμα· μᾶλλον δὲ οὐχ οἱ ἵπποι, ὥσπερ οὖν οὐδ' ἐκείνῳ τὸ πλοῖον, ἀλλ' ἡ πρόνοια τοῦ Θεοῦ πανταχοῦ πάντα μετὰ τῆς οἰκείας οἰκονομοῦσα σοφίας. Καὶ σκόπει κηδεμονίαν, πῶς καὶ ἐφόβησε καὶ παρεκάλεσε. Παρὰ μὲν γὰρ αὐτὴν τὴν ἡμέραν, ὅτε τὰ παράνομα ἐτολμήθη πάντα ἐκεῖνα, ἀφεὶς αὐτοὺς ἐξελθεῖν ὡς ἀπαγγελοῦντας τῷ βασιλεῖ τὰ συμβεβηκότα ἅπαντα, τῷ τάχει τῆς ἐξόδου πάντας ἐφόβησεν· ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἀπῆλθον, καὶ δύο καὶ τρεῖς ἀνήλωσαν ἡμέρας, καὶ λοιπὸν ματαίαν εἶναι ἐνομίζομεν τοῦ ἱερέως τοῦ ἡμετέρου τὴν ἀποδημίαν, ὡς ὑστερίζειν μέλλοντος, τότε τὸν 49.84 φόβον ἐξέλυσε καὶ παρεμυθήσατο, ἐκείνους τε, ὥσπερ ἔφην, κατὰ μέσην κατασχὼν τὴν ὁδὸν, καὶ τοὺς ἐκεῖθεν ἀφικνουμένους πρὸς ἡμᾶς διὰ τῆς αὐτῆς ὁδοῦ τὰ ἐκείνων πάθη πᾶσιν ἡμῖν ἀναγγεῖλαι παρασκευάσας, ἵνα μικρὸν ἀναπνεύσωμεν· ὅπερ οὖν καὶ ἐγένετο, καὶ πολὺ τῆς ἀγωνίας ἀπεθέμεθα μέρος. Ταῦτα ἀκούσαντες, τὸν ταῦτα ποιήσαντα προσεκυνήσαμεν Θεὸν ὡς πατέρων πάντων φιλοστοργότερον· καὶ νῦν τὰ καθ' ἡμᾶς διέθηκεν ἅπαντα, ἀοράτῳ τινὶ δυνάμει τοὺς πονηροὺς τούτους κατασχὼν ἀγγέλους, καὶ μονονουχὶ λέγων· Τί σπεύδετε; τί δὲ ἐπείγεσθε πόλιν τοιαύτην καταποντίζειν μέλλοντες; μὴ γὰρ εὐαγγέλια κομίζετε τῷ βασιλεῖ; Μένετε αὐτοῦ, ἕως οὗ τὸν θεράποντα τὸν ἐμὸν, καθάπερ ἰατρὸν ἄριστον, παρασκευάσω φθάσαι καὶ τὸν ὑμέτερον προκαταλαβεῖν δρόμον. Εἰ δὲ ἐν ἀρχῇ τοῦ τῆς παρανομίας ἕλκους τοσαύτη πρόνοια γέγονε, πολλῷ μᾶλλον μετὰ τὴν ἐπιστροφὴν, μετὰ τὴν μετάνοιαν, μετὰ τὸν τοσοῦτον φόβον, μετὰ τὰ δάκρυα καὶ τὰς εὐχὰς πλείονος ἀπολαυσόμεθα τῆς ἀδείας. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ Ἰωνᾶς εἰκότως συνηλαύνετο, ἵνα εἰς μετάνοιαν ἐμβάλῃ, ὑμεῖς δὲ ἤδη τὴν μετάνοιαν ἐπεδείξασθε καὶ πολλὴν τὴν ἐπιστροφήν· διὸ καὶ παρακλήσεως δεῖ λοιπὸν, οὐκ ἀγγελίας ἀπειλὴν ἐχούσης. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὸν κοινὸν ἐντεῦθεν ἀνέστησε