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what such calamity is upon you? Did you not worship the calf, and were initiated to Baal-peor, and ignored nature? Have you not had experience of such enemies? Were you not saved while being ungrateful in the midst of benefactions? From where, then, are your endless evils? Is it not manifest, that it is because the sin was dared against the Master, not against the servants? Therefore for you there is no release from the evils that hold you, nor will there be. For if there were, the prophets would have foretold it. But now they spoke of the captivity, but of the return nowhere, although they continually mixed good things with the punishments, 55.115 and set time limits. For Jeremiah set seventy years, and Daniel likewise three and a half weeks; and in Egypt it was said that they would be in bondage for four hundred and thirty years. But concerning this captivity, nowhere is a time set, nor a limit, but your house is left desolate, and every day your affairs proceed to the worse. 2. Considering all these things with accuracy among yourselves, and expanding the argument from them—for "Give an opportunity to a wise man, and he will be wiser"—you will be able to convict their shamelessness and ingratitude. Because I shall see the heavens, the works of your fingers. Another, For I see the heavens. The moon and stars which you have established. Another, You prepared. Another, You made firm. Having said, "You have destroyed the enemies," he also provides the proof of this glorious victory. For you, he says, the one crucified, the one put to death, appeared as the creator of the world. For this reason he says, "I shall see the heavens," showing that before not many knew this, but later all will know it. And for what reason did he not go through all the parts of the world? Because having gone through the most important of visible things, there was no need of teaching about the others. To such an extent, then, were the enemies destroyed, that the one persecuted and put to death by them was revealed as the creator of all visible things. And for what reason did he not say, "Of your hands," but "Of your fingers"? Showing the visible things to be the work of the slightest energy, and the paradox of creation, that being hung up the stars do not fall out; although indeed the nature of foundations itself is not to hang above, but is disposed to lie below; but the master craftsman, also doing paradoxical things, in the visible things made the greater part follow a course beyond nature. And why does he discourse nothing about incorporeal powers, and from there show his creative work? Because for the time being this was the important thing, for them to learn about the visible things. For this reason also his Father, discoursing to the Jews up and down, does not say, "I made the angels and the Cherubim;" but, "I stretched out the heaven; my hand laid the foundation of the earth, my right hand made it firm;" and he always spends his entire discourse on visible things, arranging all things for the salvation of the hearers. For being thicker, they were more led by the visible than by the invisible things. For this reason also Paul, always entering and speaking publicly, begins from the visible creation, saying, "The God who made heaven, and earth and the sea, and all things in them;" and from the yearly rains, and from the race of men he always makes his argument. For if I say that he made the Cherubim, I have need of a double argument, both that Cherubim exist, and that he made them; but concerning visible things I am only compelled to demonstrate that he made them. Therefore the argument is also easier; for it has sight as a witness of the things being said. For the listener sees the magnitude, and the beauty, the use, and the position, and the good order. So that my one concern is to show that God made it. And for what reason did he not mention the sun, but the moon and

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τις ὑμῖν τοιαύτη συμφορά; Οὐχὶ μόσχον προσεκυνήσατε, καὶ τῷ Βεελφεγὼρ ἐτελέσθητε, καὶ τὴν φύσιν ἠγνοήσατε; μὴ ἐλάβετε πεῖραν τοιούτων πολεμίων; Οὐκ ἐν μέσαις ταῖς εὐεργεσίαις ἀγνωμονοῦντες ἐσώζεσθε; Πόθεν οὖν ὑμῖν τὰ κακὰ ἀπέραντα; Ἆρ' οὐχὶ πρόδηλον, ὅτι ἐπειδὴ τὸ ἁμάρτημα εἰς τὸν ∆εσπότην ἐτολμήθη, οὐκ εἰς τοὺς δούλους; Ὅθεν ὑμῖν οὐδὲ λύσις ἐστὶ τῶν κατεχόντων ὑμᾶς κακῶν, οὐδὲ ἔσται. Εἰ γὰρ ἦν, προεῖπον ἂν οἱ προφῆται. Νυνὶ δὲ τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν εἶπον, τὴν δὲ ἐπάνοδον οὐδαμοῦ, καίτοι συνεχῶς ταῖς κολάσεσι τὰ χρηστὰ ἀναμιγνύν 55.115 τες, καὶ χρόνους ὁρίζοντες. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ Ἱερεμίας ἑβδομήκοντα ἔτη ὥρισε, καὶ ὁ ∆ανιὴλ ὁμοίως τρεῖς ἑβδομάδας καὶ ἥμισυ· καὶ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ τετρακόσια τριάκοντα ἔτη ἐῤῥήθη ὅτι δουλεύσουσι. Περὶ δὲ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας ταύτης οὐδαμοῦ κεῖται χρόνος, οὐδὲ πέρας, ἀλλ' ἀφεῖται ὁ οἶκος ὑμῶν ἔρημος, καὶ καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἐπὶ τὸ χεῖρον τὰ ὑμέτερα πρόεισι. ʹ. Ταῦτα πάντα μετὰ ἀκριβείας ἀναλογιζόμενοι παρ' ἑαυτοῖς, καὶ τὸν λόγον ἐκ τούτων πλατύνοντες ∆ίδου γὰρ σοφῷ ἀφορμὴν, καὶ σοφώτερος ἔσται, τὴν ἀναισχυντίαν αὐτῶν καὶ τὴν ἀγνωμοσύνην ἐλέγχειν δυνήσεσθε. Ὅτι ὄψομαι τοὺς οὐρανοὺς ἔργα τῶν δακτύλων σου. Ἄλλος, Ὁρῶ γὰρ τοὺς οὐρανούς. Σελήνην καὶ ἀστέρας ἃ σὺ ἐθεμελίωσας. Ἄλλος, Ἡτοίμασας. Ἄλλος, Ἥδρασας. Εἰπὼν, ὅτι Κατέλυσας τοὺς ἐχθροὺς, καὶ τὴν ἀπόδειξιν παρέχει τῆς λαμπρᾶς ταύτης νίκης. Σὺ γὰρ, φησὶν, ὁ σταυρωθεὶς, ὁ ἀναιρεθεὶς, ἀνεφάνης τῆς οἰκουμένης δημιουργός. ∆ιὰ τοῦτό φησι· Ὄψομαι τοὺς οὐρανούς· δηλῶν, ὅτι ἔμπροσθεν οὐ πολλοὶ τοῦτο ᾔδεισαν, ὕστερον μέντοι πάντες εἴσονται. Καὶ τίνος ἕνεκεν οὐκ ἐπῆλθεν ἅπαντα τῆς οἰκουμένης τὰ μέρη; Ὅτι τὰ καιριώτερα τῶν ὁρωμένων ἐπελθὼν, οὐδὲν ἔδει τῆς περὶ τῶν ἄλλων διδασκαλίας. Εἰς τοσοῦτον τοίνυν κατελύθησαν οἱ ἐχθροὶ, ὡς τὸν παρ' αὐτῶν ἐλαυνόμενον καὶ ἀναιρεθέντα ἀναφανῆναι τῶν ὁρωμένων ἁπάντων δημιουργόν. Καὶ τίνος ἕνεκεν οὐκ εἶπε, Τῶν χειρῶν σου, ἀλλὰ, Τῶν δακτύλων σου; Τῆς ἐλαχίστης ἐνεργείας ἔργον δεικνὺς τὰ ὁρώμενα, καὶ τὸ παράδοξον τῆς δημιουργίας, ὅτι κρεμασθέντες οὐκ ἐκπίπτουσιν οἱ ἀστέρες· καίτοι γε οὐκ αὐτὴ τῶν θεμελίων ἡ φύσις, ἄνω κρεμᾶσθαι, ἀλλὰ κάτω κεῖσθαι πέφυκεν· ἀλλ' ὁ ἀριστοτέχνης δημιουργὸς καὶ παράδοξα ποιῶν, ἐν τοῖς φαινομένοις τὰ πλείονα ὑπὲρ φύσεως ἀκολουθίαν ἐποίησε. Καὶ διὰ τί μηδὲν περὶ ἀσωμάτων δυνάμεων διαλέγεται, καὶ ἐκεῖθεν δείκνυσιν αὐτοῦ τὴν δημιουργίαν; Ὅτι τέως τὸ σπουδαζόμενον τοῦτο ἦν, περὶ τῶν φαινομένων αὐτοὺς μαθεῖν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ αὐτοῦ ἄνω καὶ κάτω Ἰουδαίοις διαλεγόμενος, οὐ λέγει· Ἐγὼ τοὺς ἀγγέλους ἐποίησα, καὶ τὰ Χερουβίμ· ἀλλ', Ἐγὼ τὸν οὐρανὸν ἐξέτεινα· ἡ χείρ μου ἐθεμελίωσε τὴν γῆν, ἡ δεξιά μου ἐστερέωσε· καὶ πάντα ἀεὶ τὸν λόγον ἐν τοῖς φαινομένοις ἀναλίσκει, πρὸς τὴν σωτηρίαν τῶν ἀκουόντων ἅπαντα πραγματευόμενος. Παχύτεροι γὰρ ὄντες, ἀπὸ τῶν φαινομένων μᾶλλον ἐνήγοντο, ἢ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀοράτων. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ Παῦλος εἰσιὼν ἀεὶ καὶ δημηγορῶν, ἀπὸ τῆς φαινομένης κτίσεως προοιμιάζεται λέγων· Ὁ Θεὸς ὁ ποιήσας τὸν οὐρανὸν, καὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ τὴν θάλασσαν, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς· καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ὄμβρων τῶν ἐτησίων, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ γένους τοῦ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀεὶ ποιεῖται τὸν λόγον. Ἂν γὰρ εἴπω ὅτι τὰ Χερουβὶμ ἐποίησε, διπλῆς μοι χρεία κατασκευῆς, ὅτι τε ἔστι Χερουβὶμ, καὶ ὅτι ἐποίησεν· ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ὁρωμένων μόνον ὅτι ἐποίησεν ἀναγκάζομαι ἀποδεῖξαι. ∆ιὸ καὶ εὐκολώτερος ὁ λόγος· τὴν γὰρ ὄψιν ἔχει μαρτυρίαν τῶν λεγομένων. Καὶ γὰρ τὸ μέγεθος, καὶ τὸ κάλλος, τὴν χρῆσιν, καὶ τὴν θέσιν, καὶ τὴν εὐρυθμίαν ὁρᾷ ὁ ἀκροατής. Ὥστε ἕν μοι τὸ σπουδαζόμενον, δεῖξαι ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς αὐτὸ εἰργάσατο. Καὶ τίνος ἕνεκεν οὐχὶ τοῦ ἡλίου ἐμνήσθη, ἀλλὰ τῆς σελήνης καὶ