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without him, nor can anything be established without his providence; for he is the life of all, the constitution of all, the illumination of all, all sweetness and insatiable desire, and the highest of all desirable things. To abandon, therefore, a God so good, so wise, so powerful, and to worship unclean demons, creators of all the passions, and to render reverence to deaf and dumb wooden images, to things that neither are anything nor will be, of how much folly and madness would this not be beyond? For when was any speech or word heard from them? When have they given even a small answer to those praying to them? When have they walked about or received any sensation? For neither those who are standing have ever thought of a chair, nor have those who are sitting been seen to stand up. Having learned from a holy man the hideous and foul-smelling and senseless nature of these things, and moreover the rotten and weak nature of the demons working in them and deceiving you through them, and having spit upon their wickedness, and having hated them with a perfect hatred, I have enlisted myself with the living and true God; and I will serve him until my last breath, so that my spirit may also come into his hands. When, therefore, such inexpressible good things befell me, I rejoiced on the one hand, having been delivered from the slavery of the wicked demons and having been recalled from terrible captivity, and having been illuminated by the light of the Lord's face; but on the other hand I was distressed 356 and my soul was divided, because you yourself, my master and father, did not share in such benefits. But fearing the disobedience of your mind, I kept the grief within myself, not wishing to provoke you, but I unceasingly beseeched God to draw you to himself and to recall you from the long exile which you yourself brought upon yourself, having become, alas, a fugitive from piety and a servant of all wickedness and impiety. But since you yourself, O father, have brought the things concerning me to light, hear the whole of my mind; I will not be false to my covenants with my Christ, no, by him who redeemed me from slavery with his precious blood, even if it is necessary for me to die for him ten thousand times, I will die. Therefore, knowing thus the things concerning me, no longer cause yourself troubles, attempting to dissuade me from the good confession. For just as for you, if you thought to take hold of heaven with your hand, or to dry up the expanses of the sea, the attempt would be impracticable and unachievable, so know that this also is. Either, therefore, you yourself, having heard my counsel, be reconciled to Christ, and you will receive goods beyond conception, and we will be partners with one another, just as in nature, so also in faith; or, know well, I will stand apart from your sonship, and I will worship my God with a pure conscience. When the king heard all these things, therefore, being moved most sharply and seized by uncontrollable anger, he spoke to him angrily, and gnashed his teeth bitterly, resembling one who is mad: "And who," he says, "is the cause of such evils for me, if not I myself, 358 being so disposed to you and having worked such things for you as no father has ever done? For this reason the perversity and contentiousness of your mind, having acquired power by authority, has made you rage against my own head. Rightly, therefore, at your birth the astrologers said that you would turn out to be a terrible and utterly wicked man, both boastful and disobedient to your parents. But now, if you nullify my counsel and stand apart from my sonship, being disposed to you as an enemy, I will do to you those things which no one has ever shown even to enemies. And he again, "Why," he says, "O king, have you been kindled to anger? Because I have been deemed worthy of such goods, are you grieved? And what father was ever seen to be vexed at his son's good fortune? Or how could such a one be considered a father, and not an enemy? Therefore neither will I henceforth call you my father; but I will stand apart from you, as one flees from a serpent, if I know that you envy my salvation, and thrust me to destruction with a violent hand. if

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χωρὶς αὐτοῦ, οὔτε τῆς αὐτοῦ προνοίας ἄνευ συνίστασθαί τι δύναται· αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστι πάντων ἡ ζωή, πάντων ἡ σύστασις, πάντων ὁ φωτισμός, ὅλος γλυκασμὸς καὶ ἐπιθυμία ἀκόρεστος, καὶ πάντων τῶν ἐφετῶν τὸ ἀκρότατον. τὸ καταλιπεῖν οὖν τὸν οὕτως ἀγαθόν, οὕτω σοφόν, οὕτω δυνατὸν Θεόν, καὶ δαίμοσιν ἀκαθάρτοις, δημιουργοῖς πάντων τῶν παθῶν, λατρεῦσαι, ξοάνοις τε κωφοῖς καὶ ἀλάλοις σέβας ἀπονεῖμαι, τοῖς μήτε οὖσί τι μήτε ἐσομένοις, πόσης οὐκ ἂν εἴη πέρα ἀνοίας καὶ παραφροσύνης; πότε γὰρ ἠκούσθη τις λαλιὰ ἢ λόγος παρ' αὐτῶν; πότε κἂν σμικρὰν ἀπόκρισιν τοῖς εὐχομένοις αὐτοῖς δεδώκασι; πότε περιεπάτησαν ἢ αἴσθησίν τινα ἐδέξαντο; οὔτε γὰρ οἱ ἱστάμενοί ποτε καθέδρας ἐμνήσθησαν, οὔτε οἱ καθήμενοι ἀναστάντες ὤφθησαν. τούτων τὸ εἰδεχθὲς καὶ δυσῶδες καὶ ἀναίσθητον, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τῶν ἐνεργούντων ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ δι' αὐτῶν ὑμᾶς ἀπατώντων δαιμόνων τὸ σαθρὸν καὶ ἀσθενὲς παρὰ ἀνδρὸς ἁγίου μαθών, καὶ τῆς αὐτῶν κακίας καταπτύσας, καὶ τέλειον μῖσος μισήσας αὐτούς, τῷ ζῶντι καὶ ἀληθινῷ συνεταξάμην Θεῷ· καὶ αὐτῷ δουλεύσω μέχρι τελευταίας ἀναπνοῆς, ἵνα καὶ εἰς τὰς αὐτοῦ χεῖρας ἔλθοι μου τὸ πνεῦμα. τῶν τοιούτων οὖν συναντησάντων μοι ἀνεκδιηγήτων ἀγαθῶν, ἔχαιρον μὲν τῆς δουλείας ἀπαλλαγεὶς τῶν πονηρῶν δαιμόνων καὶ τῆς δεινῆς ἀνακληθεὶς αἰχμαλωσίας, καὶ τῷ φωτὶ περιλαμφθεὶς τοῦ προσώπου Κυρίου· ἠνιώμην δὲ 356 καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν ἐμεριζόμην, ὅτι μὴ καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ δεσπότης μου καὶ πατὴρ τῶν τοιούτων μετεῖχες εὐεργεσιῶν. ἀλλὰ δεδοικώς σου τῆς γνώμης τὸ δυσπειθές, κατεῖχον ἐν ἐμαυτῷ τὴν λύπην, μὴ παροργίσαι σε βουλόμενος, τὸν Θεὸν δὲ ἀπαύστως ἱκέτευον ἑλκῦσαί σε πρὸς ἑαυτὸν καὶ τῆς μακρᾶς ἀνακαλέσασθαι ἐξορίας ἧς αὐτὸς προεξένησας σεαυτῷ, δραπέτης οἴμοι τῆς εὐσεβείας γενόμενος καὶ κακίας ὑπηρέτης πάσης καὶ ἀσεβείας. ἐπεὶ δὲ αὐτός, ὦ πάτερ, εἰς ἐμφανὲς τὰ κατ' ἐμὲ ἤγαγες, τὸ πᾶν τῆς ἐμῆς ἄκουε γνώμης· οὐ ψεύσομαι τὰς πρὸς Χριστόν μου συνθήκας, οὐ, μὰ τὸν ἐξαγοράσαντά με τῆς δουλείας τῷ τιμίῳ αὐτοῦ αἵματι, κἂν μυριάκις με δεῖ ἀποθανεῖν ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ, θανοῦμαι. τὰ περὶ ἐμοῦ τοίνυν οὕτως εἰδώς, μηκέτι κόπους σεαυτῷ πάρεχε, μεταπείθειν με ἐπιχειρῶν τῆς καλῆς ὁμολογίας. ὡς γάρ σοι τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἐπιλαβέσθαι δόξαντι τῇ χειρί, ἢ τὰ θαλάττια ξηρᾶναι πελάγη, ἄπρακτον ἂν τὸ ἐγχείρημα ἦν καὶ ἀνήνυτον, οὕτω δὴ καὶ τοῦτο γίνωσκε εἶναι. ἢ τοίνυν αὐτός, τῆς ἐμῆς ἀκούσας βουλῆς, τῷ Χριστῷ οἰκειώθητι, καὶ τῶν ὑπὲρ ἔννοιαν λήψῃ ἀγαθῶν, κοινωνοί τε ἀλλήλοις ἐσόμεθα, ὥσπερ τῆς φύσεως, οὕτω δὴ καὶ τῆς πίστεως· ἢ τῆς σῆς ἀποστήσομαι, εὖ ἴσθι, υἱότητος, καὶ τῷ Θεῷ μου λατρεύσω καθαρῷ συνειδότι. Ταῦτα οὖν πάντα ὡς ἤκουσεν ὁ βασιλεύς, ὀξύτατα κινηθεὶς καὶ θυμῷ ἀσχέτῳ καταληφθείς, ὀργίλως αὐτῷ ἐλάλει, καὶ πικρῶς τοὺς ὀδόντας ἔβρυχε, μαινομένῳ ἐοικώς· Καὶ τίς, φησίν, ὁ τοιούτων μοι αἴτιος τῶν κακῶν, ἢ αὐτὸς ἐγὼ 358 οὕτως σοι διατεθεὶς καὶ τοιαῦτα ἐπὶ σοὶ ἐργασάμενος ἃ οὐδεὶς πώποτε τῶν πατέρων πεποίηκε; διό σου τῆς γνώμης τὸ σκολιὸν καὶ φιλόνεικον, δύναμιν τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ προσλαβόμενον, κατὰ τῆς ἐμῆς κεφαλῆς μανῆναί σε πεποίηκε. δικαίως οὖν ἐν τῇ σῇ γεννήσει οἱ ἀστρολόγοι δεινὸν εἶπον ἀποβήσεσθαί σε καὶ παμπόνηρον ἄνδρα, ἀλαζόνα τε καὶ γονεῦσιν ἀπειθῆ. ἀλλὰ νῦν, εἰ τὴν ἐμὴν ἀκυρώσεις βουλὴν καὶ τῆς ἐμῆς ἀποστήσῃ υἱότητος, ὡς ἐχθρός σοι διατεθείς, ἐκεῖνα ποιήσω σοι, ἅπερ οὐδὲ πολεμίοις τις ἐνεδείξατο. Αὖθις δὲ ἐκεῖνος, Τί, φησίν, ὦ βασιλεῦ, εἰς ὀργὴν ἀνήφθης; ὅτι τοιούτων ἐγὼ ἠξίωμαι ἀγαθῶν, λελύπησαι; καὶ τίς ποτε πατὴρ ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ υἱοῦ εὐτυχίᾳ ἀχθόμενος ὡράθη; ἢ πῶς πατὴρ ὁ τοιοῦτος, καὶ οὐκ ἐχθρός, λογισθείη; οὐκοῦν οὐδὲ ἐγὼ τοῦ λοιποῦ πατέρα μού σε καλέσω· ἀλλ' ἀποστήσομαί σου, ὥσπερ τις φεύγει ἀπὸ ὄφεως, εἰ γνώσομαι φθονεῖν σε τὴν ἐμὴν σωτηρίαν, εἰς ἀπώλειαν δὲ βιαίᾳ συνωθεῖν με χειρί. εἰ