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you turned away your anger and had mercy on me.” 2.197 The soul thus benefited hymns the one who encompassed it with affliction, saying: “Do not rejoice over me, my enemy, because I have fallen; I will arise. I will bear the wrath of the Lord because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my case, and executes judgment for me, and he will bring me out into the light. I will see his righteousness, and my enemy will see it, and shame will cover her, she who says to me: Where is the Lord your God? My eyes will look upon her; now she will be for trampling.” 2.198 The wrath of the Lord, which brings such an abundance of good things, happens to be not harmful, but beneficial, being brought on skillfully by the physician of souls, “who heals every disease and infirmity.” For how is it not salutary for the one with whom the merciful God was angry to be brought out into the light, so as henceforth to behold the hostile evil power having fallen into shame, being clothed in it because it has become something to be trampled upon? 2.199 That the cause of all good things brings on unpleasant and painful things in the manner of a skilled physician, the prophet, speaking of God, says: “And he is wise and has brought evils upon them, and his word shall not be set aside.” If afflictions are brought on so that the word of the only wise God may not be set aside, the wrath of God which brings these things on is not a passion or a change. It is shown that the wrath of the only merciful one is not a desire for punishment also from what is said by the hierophant Moses to the one who is glorified in the victory song against Pharaoh and his army: “You sent forth your wrath, and it consumed them like stubble.” 2.200 But a wrath that is sent forth in order to consume those shown to be stubble on account of their fruitlessness, is not a passible desire having its being in the one who is indignant, disappearing when it goes outside the one who is angry; wherefore that which is sent out is not a passion, but a painful discipline. 2.201 Since the great wrath came from the Lord Almighty, next the cause is given: “For it will be,” he says, “just as they did not listen to him, transgressing his law, casting his words behind them, so they will cry out, having fallen into affliction, and I will not listen to them, says the Lord Almighty.” Similarly to this it is said in the writing of Moses by the just judge: “They walked contrary to me, and I too will walk contrary to them in contrary wrath.” 2.202 And what will they suffer, those who have fallen into great wrath? “I will cast them out,” he says, “into the nations which they have not known,” not having had experience of their savagery and cruelty. But Assyrians and Babylonians and as many other barbarians to whom Israel, sinning and being impious, has been handed over, having fallen into their hands by the law of captivity. 2.203 In addition to men who are so disposed on account of cruelty and brutishness, there are also incorporeal opposing powers, inhumanly enraged against the captured prisoners, who happen to be Assyrians and Babylonians and Egyptians in a spiritual sense. For they are not mortal Assyrians whom the one called the great mind rules, about whom it is written in Isaiah: “The Lord will bring upon the great mind, the ruler of the Assyrians.” 2.204 Concerning this it has also been said in Nahum the prophet --he is the seventh of the Twelve--: “Woe to them; for your shepherds have slumbered, O king of Assyria, he has put your mighty ones to sleep.” And the king of the Assyrians is called the great mind on account of his cunning and the cleverness of his villainies, so that not many detect his schemes, or only those able to say: “For we are not ignorant of his designs,” but we are able to comprehend and refute them. 2.205 For thus also the one who is not ignorant of the designs of the devil, having detected the sophistic manner of his servant Elymas the magician, strongly bringing the refutation, said: “O full of all deceit and all villainy, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?” This one who rules and reigns, the great mind of those according to

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ἀπέστρεψας τὸν θυμόν σου καὶ ἐλέησάς με.» 2.197 Ἡ οὕτω ὠφεληθεῖσα ψυχὴ ὑμνεῖ τὸν κακώσει περιβαλόντα φάσκουσα· «Μὴ ἐπίχαιρέ μοι ἡ ἐχθρά μου, ὅτι πέπτωκα, καὶ ἀναστήσομαι· ὀργὴν Κυρίου ὑποίσω ὅτι ἥμαρτον αὐτῷ, ἕως οὗ δικαιῶσαι τὴν κρίσιν μου, καὶ ἀποίσει τὸ κρίμα μου, καὶ ἐξάξει με εἰς τὸ φῶς. Ὄψομαι τὴν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὄψεται ἡ ἐχθρά μου, καὶ περιβαλεῖται αἰσχύνην, ἡ λέγουσα πρός με· Ποῦ Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου; Οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου ὄψονται αὐτήν· νῦν ἔσται εἰς καταπάτημα.» 2.198 Ἡ τοσαύτην φορὰν ἀγαθῶν ἀγαγοῦσα ὀργὴ Κυρίου, οὐ βλαπτική, ἀλλ' ὠφελητικὴ τυγχάνει, ὑπὸ ἰατροῦ τῶν ψυχῶν «πᾶσαν νόσον καὶ μαλακίαν θεραπεύοντος» ἐπιστημονικῶς ἐπαγομένη. Πῶς γὰρ οὐ σωτηριῶδες τὸ ἐξαχθῆναι εἰς τὸ φῶς τὸν ᾧ ὠργίσθη ὁ ἵλεω Θεός, ὡς λοιπὸν θεάσασθαι τὴν ἐχθραίνουσαν πονηρὰν δύναμιν αἰσχύνῃ ὑποπεσοῦσαν, περιβεβλημένην αὐτὴν διὰ τὸ εἰς καταπάτημα γεγονέναι; 2.199 Ὅτι δὲ ἐπιστήμονος ἰατροῦ δίκην ἐπιφέρει ὁ πάντων ἀγαθῶν αἴτιος τὰ ἀηδῆ καὶ ἐπίπονα, ὁ προφήτης θεολογῶν φάσκει· «Καὶ αὐτὸς σοφὸς ἦγεν ἐπ' αὐτοὺς κακά, καὶ ὁ λόγος αὐτοῦ οὐ μὴ ἀθετηθῇ.» Εἰ ἕνεκα τοῦ μὴ ἀθετηθῆναι τὸν λόγον τοῦ μόνου σοφοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπάγεται τὰ κακωτικά, οὐ πάθος ἢ τροπὴ ἡ ἐπακτικὴ τούτων ὀργὴ Θεοῦ. Παρίσταται ὡς οὐκ ὄρεξις τιμωρίας ἐστὶν ἡ τοῦ μόνου ἵλεω ὀργὴ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ λεγομένου πρὸς τοῦ ἱεροφάντου Μωϋσέως πρὸς τὸν δοξολογούμενον ἐν ἐπινικίῳ ᾠδῇ κατὰ Φαραὼ καὶ τῆς στρατιᾶς αὐτοῦ· «Ἐξαπέστειλας τὴν ὀργήν σου καὶ κατέφαγεν αὐτοὺς ὡς καλάμην.» 2.200 Ὀργὴ δ' ἐξαποστελλομένη ἵνα καταφάγῃ τοὺς δι' ἀκαρπίαν ἀποδειχθέντας καλάμην, οὐκ ἔστιν ὄρεξις παθητικὴ ἔχουσα τὸ εἶναι ἐν τῷ ἀγανακτοῦντι, ἀφανιζομένη ὅταν ἔξω γένηται τοῦ ὀργιζομένου· διὸ ἡ ἐκπεμπομένη οὐ πάθος ἐστίν, ἀλλ' ἐπίπονος ἀγωγή. 2.201 Τῆς μεγάλης ὀργῆς παρὰ Κυρίου παντοκράτορος γεναμένης, ἑξῆς ἡ αἰτία ἀποδίδοται· «Ἔσται γάρ, φησίν, ὃν τρόπον οὐκ ἤκουσαν αὐτοῦ, παραβαίνοντες αὐτοῦ τὸν νόμον, ἐκβαλόντες τοὺς λόγους αὐτοῦ εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω, οὕτω κεκράξονται κακώσει ὑποπεσόντες καὶ οὐκ εἰσακούσομαι αὐτῶν, λέγει Κύριος παντοκράτωρ.» Παραπλησίως τούτῳ λέγεται ἐν τῇ Μωϋσέως γραφῇ ὑπὸ τοῦ δικαίου κριτοῦ· «Αὐτοὶ ἐπορεύθησαν πρὸς ἐμὲ πλάγιοι, κἀγὼ πορεύσομαι πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἐν θυμῷ πλαγίῳ.» 2.202 Τί δὲ πείσονται οἱ ὀργῇ μεγάλῃ ὑποπεσόντες; «Ἐκβαλῶ, φησίν, αὐτοὺς εἰς τὰ ἔθνη ἃ οὐκ ἔγνωσαν», πεῖραν τῆς ἀγριότητος καὶ ὠμότητος αὐτῶν οὐκ ἐσχηκότες· Ἀσσύριοι δὲ καὶ Βαβυλώνιοι καὶ ὅσοι ἄλλοι βάρβαροι οἷς ὁ Ἰσραὴλ ἁμαρτάνων καὶ ἀσεβῶν παραδέδοται, ὑποπεσὼν ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτῶν νόμῳ αἰχμαλωσίας. 2.203 Πρὸς τοῖς οὕτως ἔχουσιν ἀνθρώποις δι' ὠμότητα καὶ θηριωδίαν, καὶ ἄσαρκοι ἀντικείμεναι δυνάμεις, ἀπανθρώπως ἐξηγριωμέναι κατὰ τῶν ἑαλωκότων αἰχμαλώτων, Ἀσσύριοι καὶ Βαβυλώνιοι Αἰγύπτιοί τε κατ' ἀναγωγὴν τυγχάνουσιν. Οὐ γὰρ θνητοὶ Ἀσσύριοί εἰσιν ὧν ἄρχει ὁ καλούμενος νοῦς μέγας, περὶ οὗ γέγραπται ἐν Ἠσαΐᾳ· «Ἐπάξει Κύριος ἐπὶ τὸν νοῦν τὸν μέγαν τὸν ἄρχοντα τῶν Ἀσσυρίων.» 2.204 Περὶ τούτου καὶ ἐν τῷ Ναοὺμ τῷ προφήτῃ εἴρηται, -ἕβδομος δὲ τῶν ∆ώδεκα οὗτος-· «Οὐαὶ αὐτοῖς· ὅτι ἐνύσταξαν οἱ ποιμένες σου, βασιλεὺς Ἀσσύριος ἐκοίμησεν τοὺς δυνάστας σου.» Μέγας δὲ νοῦς προσηγόρευται ὁ τῶν Ἀσσυρίων βασιλεὺς διὰ κακεντρέχειαν καὶ δεινότητα πανουργευμάτων, ὡς μὴ πολλοὺς φωρᾶν αὐτοῦ τὰς μεθοδείας, ἢ μόνους τοὺς δυναμένους εἰπεῖν· «Οὐ γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὰ νοήματα ἀγνοοῦμεν», ἀλλὰ καταλαμβάνειν καὶ διελέγχειν αὐτὰ δυνάμε̣θ̣α. 2.205 Οὕτω γὰρ καὶ τοῦ ὑπηρέτου αὐτοῦ Ἐλύμα τοῦ μάγου φωράσας τὸν σοφιστικὸν τρόπον ὁ μὴ ἀγνοῶν τὰ νοήματα τοῦ διαβόλου, ἰσχυρῶς τὸν ἔλεγχον προσάγων εἶπεν· «Ὦ πλήρης παντὸς δόλου καὶ πάσης ῥᾳδιουργίας, υἱὲ διαβόλου, ἐχθρὲ πάσης δικαιοσύνης, οὐ παύσει διαστρέφων τὰς ὁδοὺς Κυρίου τὰς εὐθείας;» Οὗτος ὁ κρατῶν καὶ βασιλεύων νοῦς μέγας τῶν κατὰ