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For David said, "The stone which the builders rejected, this has become the head of the corner," and Isaiah says in the person of God, "Behold, I lay in Zion a cornerstone." And the great Paul calls Christ the cornerstone, upon whom he wrote that the believers were to be built. And again he says, "No one can lay any other foundation than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." And again elsewhere, "they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ." And he is called a rock of offense and a stone of stumbling, and in many places the Lord might be found called a stone and a rock. But its being cut without hands prefigured his birth beyond nature, the one without seed, the one without marital union. For the mountain might be considered the tribe of Judah, from which David came; and the stone, Christ, cut from it according to his humanity; but without hands, because he did not come forth according to the laws of nature, but from a virgin and holy womb. He who at first seemed small because of the nature of his humanity1.184, as he went forth filled the whole world with his own glory, and will fill it even more at his future appearance. So the prophet both recounted the dream to Nebuchadnezzar and revealed its interpretation, and he, amazed, fell upon his face and worshipped Daniel and ordered a sacrifice to be offered to him, that arrogant and proud man not assigning all the honor to him, but to the God worshipped by him. For he said, "Truly, your God, he is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries." He gave him many gifts, and made him ruler over all of Babylon, and named him Belteshazzar, giving him the name of his own god. Then, having set up a golden statue sixty cubits in height and six in width, he summoned the chief men from all his dominion, commanding that when they heard the trumpet, they should then fall down and worship the statue, and that those who disobeyed should be cast into the fiery furnace, which he had kindled there, large and fierce. When all were worshipping, therefore, the three young men, whom history has handed down as kinsmen of Daniel, not wishing to transgress the customs of their fathers, did not worship. And they were immediately cast into the furnace; but the fire did not touch them, but standing in the midst of that unbearable flame, they sent up a hymn to God. And a fourth was present with those three; it was an angel who had descended with them and 1.185 was turning that fiery air into a dewy breeze. These things astounded the beastly and unyielding soul of that king, and casting aside his arrogance, he approached and called the young men by name and blessed their God, and he deemed those men worthy of honor and appointed them rulers over all the Jews in Babylon. But after a little while, that Assyrian sees another dream. He saw a tree, great and encompassing the ends of the earth, adorned with leaves and laden with fruit. And under it the wild beasts took shelter, and the birds dwelt in its branches. Then he saw a Watcher coming from heaven and crying out with a strong voice, "Cut down the tree, and lop off its branches, and shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit, but leave the stump of its roots; and in a band of iron and in the grass of the earth and in the dew of heaven he shall lodge, and his portion shall be with the beasts, and his heart shall be changed from that of a man, and the heart of a beast shall be given to him, and seven times shall pass over him." Having seen this vision, he again summons the magi and the wise men of Babylon and seeks to learn the things signified by it. But they were at a loss and could not tell the meaning of the dream. Then again he has recourse to Daniel and recounts the dream to him and asked him to tell the interpretation; "for you are able," he says, "because the spirit of the holy God is in you." But he says, "My lord the king, may this dream be for those who hate you." Then he explains the meaning to him and says, "The great tree, which

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γὰρ ∆αβίδ "λίθον ον ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες" εφη, "ουτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας," καὶ ὁ ̔Ησαΐας ἐκ προσώπου φησὶ τοῦ θεοῦ "ἰδοὺ τίθημι ἐν Σιὼν λίθον ἀκρογωνιαῖον." καὶ ὁ μέγας Παῦλος ἀκρογωνιαῖον καλεῖ τὸν Χριστόν, ἐφ' ῳ ἐποικοδομηθῆναι τοὺς πιστεύσαντας εγραψε. καὶ πάλιν λέγει "θεμέλιον ετερον οὐδεὶς δύναται θεῖναι παρὰ τὸν κείμενον, ος ἐστιν ̓Ιησοῦς Χριστός." καὶ αυθις ἑτέρωθι "επινον ἐκ πνευματικῆς ἀκολουθούσης πέτρας, ἡ δὲ πέτρα ην ὁ Χριστός." καὶ πέτρα δὲ σκανδάλου καὶ λίθος προσκόμματος λέγεται, καὶ πολλαχοῦ αν εὑρεθείη λίθος καὶ πέτρα κεκλημένος ὁ κύριος. τὸ δ' ανευ χειρῶν τμηθῆναι τὴν ὑπὲρ φύσιν αὐτοῦ γέννησιν προεδήλου, τὴν ανευ σπορᾶς, τὴν γαμικῆς ὁμιλίας χωρίς. ορος μὲν γὰρ ἡ τοῦ ̓Ιούδα νομισθείη φυλή, ἐξ ης ὁ ∆αβίδ· λίθος δὲ ὁ Χριστός, τμηθεὶς ἐξ αὐτῆς κατὰ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον· ανευ δὲ χειρῶν, οτι μὴ κατὰ τοὺς φυσικοὺς προῆλθε θεσμούς, ἀλλ' ἐξ ἀπειράνδρου καὶ ἁγίας γαστρός. ος μικρὸς μὲν ἐδόκει πρότερον διὰ τὴν φύσιν τῆς ἀνθρωπότη1.184 τος, προϊὼν δὲ τὴν οἰκουμένην πᾶσαν τῆς οἰκείας δόξης ἐπλήρωσε, καὶ ετι μᾶλλον πληρώσει κατὰ τὴν μέλλουσαν αὐτοῦ ἐπιφάνειαν. ̔Ο μὲν ουν προφήτης τό τε ἐνύπνιον τῷ Ναβουχοδονόσορ ἀπήγγειλε καὶ τὴν τούτου σύγκρισιν ἀνεκάλυψεν, ὁ δὲ θαυμάσας ἐπὶ πρόσωπον επεσε καὶ τῷ ∆ανιὴλ προσεκύνησε καὶ θύειν αὐτῷ διετάξατο, οὐκ ἐκείνῳ τὴν απασαν ἀπονέμων τιμὴν ὁ ἀλαζὼν ἐκεῖνος καὶ ὑπερήφανος, ἀλλὰ τῷ παρ' ἐκείνου θρησκευομένῳ θεῷ. εφη γάρ "ἐπ' ἀληθείας ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν ουτός ἐστι θεὸς θεῶν καὶ κύριος βασιλέων καὶ ἀποκαλύπτων μυστήρια." δώματά τε αὐτῷ παρέσχε πολλά, καὶ πάσης τῆς Βαβυλῶνος κατέστησεν αρχοντα, καὶ Βαλτάσαρ αὐτὸν ἐπωνόμασε, τὴν προσηγορίαν αὐτῷ θέμενος τοῦ οἰκείου θεοῦ. Ειτα χρύσεον ἀνδριάντα στήσας πήχεων μὲν τὸ υψος ἑξήκοντα, πλάτος δὲ εξ, συνεκάλεσεν ἐξ ἁπάσης αὐτοῦ τῆς ἀρχῆς τοὺς πρώτους, προστάξας, οταν ἀκούσωσι τῆς σάλπιγγος, τότε πεσόντας προσκυνεῖν τὸν ἀνδριάντα, τοὺς δ' ἀπειθήσαντας εἰς τὴν τοῦ πυρὸς ἐμβληθῆναι κάμινον, ην ἐκεῖ μεγάλην ἐξέκαυσε καὶ σφοδράν. πάντων ουν προσκυνούντων οἱ τρεῖς νεανίαι, ους συγγενεῖς τοῦ ∆ανιὴλ ἡ ἱστορία παρέδωκε, μὴ παραβῆναι τὰ πάτρια θέλοντες οὐ προσεκύνησαν. καὶ οἱ μὲν εἰς τὴν κάμινον αὐτίκα ἐβλήθησαν· τὸ δὲ πῦρ ἐκείνων οὐχ ηψατο, ἀλλ' ἑστῶτες ἐν μέσῳ τῆς ἀνυποστάτου φλογὸς ἐκείνης υμνον ἀνέπεμπον τῷ θεῷ. συνειστήκει δὲ τοῖς τρισὶν ἐκείνοις καὶ τέταρτος· αγγελος δ' ην συγκαταβὰς αὐτοῖς καὶ 1.185 τὸν φλογερὸν ἐκεῖνον ἀέρα μετατρέπων εἰς αυραν δροσώδη. ταῦτα ἐξέστησαν τὴν θηριώδη ψυχὴν τοῦ βασιλέως ἐκείνου καὶ ἀτεράμονα, καὶ τὸν τῦφον ἀφεὶς πρόσεισι καὶ ἐξ ὀνόματος τοὺς νεανίας καλεῖ καὶ τὸν θεὸν αὐτῶν εὐλογεῖ, καὶ τοὺς ανδρας ἐκείνους τιμῆς ἀξιοῖ καὶ ἡγεμόνας τῶν ἐν Βαβυλῶνι πάντων ̓Ιουδαίων καθίστησιν. ̔Ορᾷ δὲ μετ' ὀλίγον ὁ ̓Ασσύριος ἐκεῖνος ἐνύπνιον ετερον. δένδρον ἑώρα μέγα τε καὶ τῆς γῆς περιέχον τὰ πέρατα, φύλλοις ὡραϊζόμενον καὶ βρῖθον καρπῷ. ὑπ' αὐτὸ δὲ κατεσκήνουν τὰ θηρία τὰ αγρια, καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ ἐν τοῖς κλάδοις κατῴκει αὐτοῦ. ειτα Ιρ ειδεν οὐρανόθεν ἐλθόντα καὶ ἐν ἰσχύϊ φωνήσαντα "ἐκκόψατε τὸ δένδρον, καὶ τοὺς κλάδους αὐτοῦ ἐκτίλατε, καὶ τὰ φύλλα ἐκτινάξατε, καὶ διασκορπίσατε τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ, πλὴν ἐάσατε τὴν φυὴν τῶν ῥιζῶν αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἐν δεσμῷ σιδηρῷ καὶ ἐν τῇ χλόῃ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐν τῇ δρόσῳ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ αὐλισθήσεται, καὶ μετὰ τῶν θηρίων ἡ μερὶς αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀλλοιωθήσεται, καὶ καρδία θηρίου δοθήσεται αὐτῷ, καὶ ἑπτὰ καιροὶ ἀλλαγήσονται ἐπ' αὐτόν." ταύτην ἰδὼν τὴν οψιν συγκαλεῖ πάλιν τοὺς μάγους καὶ τοὺς σοφοὺς Βαβυλῶνος καὶ ζητεῖ μαθεῖν τὰ δι' αὐτῆς σημαινόμενα. ἠπόρουν δ' ἐκεῖνοι καὶ οὐκ ειχον λέγειν τοῦ ἐνυπνίου τὴν δήλωσιν. ειτα πάλιν καταφεύγει ἐπὶ τὸν ∆ανιὴλ καὶ διηγεῖται αὐτῷ τὸ ἐνύπνιον καὶ ἠξίου λέγειν τὸ σύγκριμα· "δύνασαι γάρ" φησίν, "οτι πνεῦμα θεοῦ αγιον ἐν σοί." ὁ δέ "κύριέ μου" φησί "βασιλεῦ, τὸ ἐνύπνιον τοῦτο τοῖς μισοῦσί σε." ειτα τὴν σημασίαν ἐξηγεῖται αὐτῷ καί φησι "τὸ δένδρον τὸ μέγα, ο