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[HOMILY IX.] On the following day, therefore, Peter, going out with his companions and coming to the place of the day before and standing there, began to say: God, having destroyed with water all the men of old who had acted impiously, finding one pious man among all, caused him to be saved in an ark with his three sons and their wives. From this it is possible to perceive His nature, not caring for a multitude of impious men, but not neglecting the salvation of one pious man. The greatest impiety of all, therefore, is to forsake the only Lord of all and worship many who are not gods as if they were. If, therefore, while I suggest and show you that this is the greatest sin, which is able to destroy you all, it should run through your mind that you are not being destroyed, being great multitudes, you have been deceived; for you have the example of the world that was formerly overwhelmed by the flood. And yet their sin was much less than yours; for they sinned against their fellows, either by murdering or committing adultery, but you sin against the God of all, worshipping lifeless images instead of Him or even with Him, and casting His divine name upon all senseless matter. First, then, you have been unfortunate, not knowing the difference between monarchy and polyarchy, that monarchy is productive of concord, while polyarchy is the worker of wars. For the one does not fight with itself, but the many have a pretext for undertaking a fight against another. For example, immediately after the flood, Noah, having lived three hundred more years, continued in concord with the multitudes born from him, being a king after the image of the one God. But after his death, many of his descendants desired kingship, and hastening to be king, each devised how he might be able. And one by war, another by craft, another by persuasion, and another by other means, of whom one was from the family of Ham, who begot Mestrem, from whom the tribes of the Egyptians and Babylonians and Persians multiplied. From this family there is one in succession who had received magical arts, by name Nebrod, who, like a giant, chose to think things contrary to God, whom the Greeks called Zoroaster. This man, after the flood, desiring kingship and being a great magician, compelled by magical arts the star of the evil one who now reigns, which rules the horoscope of the world, to grant kingship from itself. But he (since he was a ruler and had power over the one who was compelling him) with anger poured down the fire of kingship, in order both to acknowledge the adjuration and to punish the one who first compelled him. Therefore, from this lightning that fell from heaven to earth, the magician Nebrod was destroyed, and from the event that occurred, he was renamed Zoroaster, because the living stream of the star was brought down upon him. But the foolish men of that time, thinking that his soul had been sent for by lightning because of his friendship towards God, having buried the remains of his body, honored his tomb with a temple in Persia, where the descent of the fire took place,

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[OΜIΛIA Θ.] Τῇ μὲν οὖν ἐπιούσῃ ἡμέρᾳ ὁ Πέτρος ἅμα τοῖς ἑταίροις ἐξιὼν καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν πρὸ μιᾶς τόπον ἐλθὼν καὶ ἐπιστὰς ἤρξατο λέγειν· Ὁ θεὸς τοὺς πάλαι ἀνθρώπους ἀσεβήσαντας πάντας ὕδατι διαφθείρας, ἐκ πάντων ἕνα εὐσεβῆ εὑρὼν ἐν λάρνακι μετὰ τριῶν αὐτοῦ υἱῶν καὶ γυναικῶν σωθῆναι ἐποίησεν. ὅθεν συνιδεῖν ἔστιν αὐτοῦ τὴν φύσιν, ὄχλου μὲν ἀσεβούντων οὐ φροντίζουσαν, ἑνὸς δὲ εὐσεβοῦς σωτηρίας οὐκ ἀμελοῦσαν. πασῶν οὖν μείζων ἐστὶν ἀσέβεια τὸ τὸν μόνον πάντων καταλείψαντα δεσπότην πολλοὺς τοὺς οὐκ ὄντας ὡς ὄντας σέβειν θεούς. ἐὰν οὖν ἐμοῦ ὑμῖν ὑφηγουμένου καὶ δεικνύντος ὅτι τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ μέγιστον ἁμάρτημα, ὃ πάντας ὑμᾶς ἀπολέσαι δύναται, τὸν ὑμέτερον ὑποδράμῃ νοῦν ὅτι οὐκ ἀπόλλυσθε, πολλοὶ ὄντες ὄχλοι, ἠπάτησθε· ἔχετε γὰρ τοῦ πάλαι κατακλυσθέντος κόσμου τὸ ὑπόδειγμα. καίτοι ἐκείνων μὲν τὸ ἁμάρτημα πολὺ ἧττον ἦν τοῦ καθ' ὑμᾶς· ἐκεῖνοι γὰρ εἰς τοὺς ὁμοίους ἠσέβουν ἢ φονεύοντες ἢ μοιχεύοντες, ὑμεῖς δὲ εἰς τὸν τῶν ὅλων ἀσεβεῖτε θεόν, ἀντ' αὐτοῦ ἢ καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ ἄψυχα ἀγάλματα σέβοντες καὶ τὸ θεῖον αὐτοῦ ὄνομα πάσῃ ἀναισθήτῳ ὕλῃ ἐπιρρίψαντες. πρῶτον μὲν οὖν δεδυστυχήκατε, μὴ γνωρίσαντες τὴν διαφορὰν τὴν μεταξὺ μοναρχίας καὶ πολυαρχίας, ὅτι ἡ μὲν μοναρχία ὁμονοίας ἐστὶν παρεκτική, ἡ δὲ πο- λυαρχία πολέμων ἐξεργαστική. τὸ γὰρ ἓν ἑαυτῷ οὐ μάχεται, τὰ δὲ πολλὰ πρόφασιν ἔχει τὴν πρὸς ἕτερον μάχην ἐπιχειρεῖν. Aὐτίκα γοῦν εὐθὺ μετὰ τὸν κατακλυσμὸν ὁ Νῶε τριακόσια ἐπιζήσας ἔτη μετὰ τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ γενομένων ὄχλων ἐν ὁμονοίᾳ διετέλει, τοῦ μό- νου θεοῦ κατ' εἰκόνα ὑπάρξας βασιλεύς. μετὰ δὲ τὴν αὐτοῦ τελευτὴν πολλοὶ τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ βασιλείας ὠρέχθησαν καὶ πρὸς τὸ βασιλεῦσαι σπεύδοντες τὸ πῶς δυνηθείη ἕκαστος ἐπενόει. καὶ ὁ μὲν πολέμῳ, ἄλλος δόλῳ, ἕτερος πειθοῖ καὶ ἄλλος ἄλλως, ὧν εἷς τις ἀπὸ γέ- νους ὢν Χάμ, τοῦ ποιήσαντος τὸν Μεστρέμ, ἐξ οὗπερ τὰ Aἰγυπτίων καὶ Βαβυλωνίων καὶ Περσῶν ἐπλήθυνε φῦλα. ἐκ τοῦ γένους τούτου γίνεταί τις κατὰ διαδοχὴν μαγικὰ παρειληφὼς ὀνόματι Νεβρώδ, ὥσπερ γίγας ἐναντία τῷ θεῷ φρονεῖν ἑλόμενος, ὃν οἱ Ἕλληνες Ζωροάστρην προσηγόρευσαν. οὗτος μετὰ τὸν κατακλυσμὸν βασιλείας ὀρεχθεὶς καὶ μέγας ὢν μάγος, τοῦ νῦν βασιλεύοντος κακοῦ τὸν ὡροσκοποῦντα κόσμον ἀστέρα πρὸς τὴν ἐξ αὐτοῦ βασιλείας δόσιν μαγικαῖς ἠνάγκαζε τέχναις. ὁ δέ (ἅτε δὴ ἄρχων ὢν καὶ τοῦ βιαζομένου τὴν ἐξουσίαν ἔχων) μετὰ ὀργῆς τὸ τῆς βασιλείας προσέχεε πῦρ, ἵνα πρός τε τὸν ὁρκισμὸν εὐγνω- μονήσῃ καὶ τὸν πρώτως ἀναγκάσαντα τιμωρήσηται. ἐκ ταύτης οὖν τῆς ἐξ οὐρανοῦ χαμαὶ πεσούσης ἀστραπῆς ὁ μάγος ἀναιρεθεὶς Νεβρώδ, ἐκ τοῦ συμβάντος πράγματος Ζωροάστρης μετωνομάσθη διὰ τὸ τὴν τοῦ ἀστέρος κατ' αὐτοῦ ζῶσαν ἐνεχθῆναι ῥοήν. οἱ δὲ ἀνόητοι τῶν τότε ἀνθρώπων ὡς διὰ τὴν εἰς θεὸν φιλίαν κεραυνῷ μεταπεμφθεῖσαν τὴν ψυχὴν νομίσαντες, τοῦ σώματος τὸ λείψανον κατορύξαντες, τὸν μὲν τάφον ναῷ ἐτίμησαν ἐν Πέρσαις, ἔνθα ἡ τοῦ πυρὸς καταφορὰ γέγονεν,