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he trembles; much more the one of the God of all. For wherever he may arrive, he has everyone as enemies, even creation itself. For just as the elements and the beasts fear his friends, and all creation respects them; so also inanimate things war against and scorn the foe and enemy. For this reason, then, the beasts destroyed some before they touched the ground, and fire consumed others. But they have bows and a quiver, and all things prepared for them; For they have prepared them, it says, for a quiver; but there is no strength in these, nor are we frightened by them. For not even if I saw some feeble man holding a bow, would I be afraid. For what is the benefit of weapons, when there is no strength? Thus neither here, when favor from God is absent. But they devise deceits, and do not approach directly. For this reason I especially laugh at them, that they shoot in the dark of the moon. For nothing is weaker than a man who schemes. He does not need to be captured by the weapons of others, but falls by his own hand, and is overthrown by his own deceit. What then could be weaker, than when he is captured by his own devices? And besides these things it is possible to say another; that sinners not only war deceitfully against those who are helped by God, but also against those who are blameless and have done them no wrong. And this too, not in some random way, makes them weak. For just as those who kick against the goads have not harmed them at all, but have bloodied their own feet; so indeed also are these men. And besides these things, there is also another cause that destroys the strength of their war. What is it then? That what you established, they, he says, have torn down. And what he says is this: They wage war and fight against you, tearing down your law and your commandments. For they attempt to tear down your commandments, and these have been established. Either he says this, or that they are also transgressors of the law. And this is no small cause of weakness, that not having kept your commands, they thus go to war. For because of this they both war against the upright, and devise deceits, since they do not listen to your commandments. 2. Having thus recounted the weakness of the enemies, and having shown this not from those things from which others do, but from which it was fitting for him to do—for he did not say, They have no money, nor fortresses, nor allies, nor cities, nor that they are inexperienced in wars, but passing over all these things and scorning them as being nothing, and saying that they are lawless, that they war against those who have done no wrong, that they tear down the things of God, he then speaks also of the battle-array of the just, and from there shows how easily conquered the others are. So let us too test the strong and the weak, but not based on what the ridiculous among men 55.142 fear, from these let us rather be afraid. For what do they say? He is terrible, he is wicked, he is surrounded by a mass of money and power. For this reason I especially laugh at him. For these are forms of weakness. But he knows how to plot, he says. Again you tell me another form of weakness. What then that many being such prevail? Because you do not know how to box well; because you too are competing for the same things from which they become weaker, for glory and power. Flee the occasion of the contest, and strike the attackers from another side, the arrogant with gentleness, the greedy with poverty, the licentious with self-control, the envious with friendliness; and thus you will easily overcome them. But, as I said before, having recounted the weakness of the adversaries, see how he also speaks of the full armor of the just man. For he adds: But what did the just man do? that is: While they were so arrayed for battle, do you seek from where the just man was armed? Listen: The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord, his throne is in heaven. Did you see how concisely the

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τρέμει· πολλῷ μᾶλλον ὁ τοῦ τῶν ὅλων Θεοῦ. Ὅπου γὰρ ἂν ἀφίκηται, πάντας ἔχει πολεμίους, καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν κτίσιν. Καθάπερ γὰρ τοὺς φίλους αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ στοιχεῖα καὶ τὰ θηρία δέδοικε, καὶ πᾶσα ἡ κτίσις αἰδεῖται· οὕτω τὸν ἐχθρὸν καὶ πολέμιον καὶ τὰ ἀναίσθητα πολεμεῖ καὶ διαπτύει. ∆ιά τοι τοῦτο τοὺς μὲν, πρὶν ἢ τοῦ ἐδάφους ἅψασθαι, διειργάσαντο τότε οἱ θῆρες, τοὺς δὲ τὸ πῦρ κατηνάλωσεν. Ἀλλὰ τόξα καὶ φαρέτραν ἔχουσι, καὶ παρεσκευασμένα αὐτοῖς ἅπαντα· Ἡτοίμασαν γὰρ αὐτὰ, φησὶν, εἰς φαρέτραν· ἀλλ' οὐδεμία τούτων ἰσχὺς, οὐδὲν ἐντεῦθεν δεδιττόμεθα. Οὐδὲ γὰρ εἴ τινα ἐκλελυμένον εἶδον τόξον ἔχοντα, ἔδεισα ἄν. Τί γὰρ ὄφελος ὅπλων, ἰσχύος οὐκ οὔσης; Οὐ τοίνυν οὐδὲ ἐνταῦθα, τῆς παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ εὐνοίας ἀπούσης. Ἀλλὰ δόλους ῥάπτουσι, καὶ οὐκ ἐξ εὐθείας προσέρχονται. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο μάλιστα αὐτῶν καταγελῶ, ὅτι ἐν σκοτομήνῃ βάλλουσιν. Οὐδὲν γὰρ ἀσθενέστερον ἀνδρὸς ἐπιβουλεύοντος. Οὐ δεῖται τοῖς ἑτέρων ὅπλοις ἁλῶναι, ἀλλ' ὑπὸ τῆς οἰκείας πίπτει χειρὸς, καὶ τῷ ἑαυτοῦ περιτρέπεται δόλῳ. Τί οὖν γένοιτ' ἂν ἀσθενέστερον, ὅταν ὑπὸ τῶν οἰκείων μηχανημάτων αἱρῆται; Μετὰ δὲ τούτων ἔστι καὶ ἕτερον εἰπεῖν· ὅτι οὐχ ἁμαρτωλοὶ μόνον τοὺς ὑπὸ Θεοῦ βοηθουμένους καὶ μετὰ δόλου πολεμοῦσιν, ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἀνευθύνους καὶ οὐδὲν αὐτοὺς ἠδικηκότας. Οὐχ ὡς ἔτυχε δὲ καὶ τοῦτο αὐτοὺς ἀσθενεῖς ἐργάζεται. Καθάπερ γὰρ οἱ πρὸς κέντρα λακτίζοντες, ἐκεῖνα μὲν οὐδὲν ἔβλαψαν, τοὺς δὲ ἑαυτῶν πόδας ᾕμαξαν· οὕτω δὴ καὶ οὗτοι. Μετὰ δὲ τούτων, καὶ ἑτέρα τις αἰτία καταλύουσα αὐτῶν τὴν ἰσχὺν τοῦ πολέμου ἐστί. Ποία δὴ αὕτη; Ὅτι ἃ σὺ κατηρτίσω, αὐτοὶ, φησὶ, καθεῖλον. Ὃ δὲ λέγει τοιοῦτόν ἐστι· Σοὶ πολεμοῦσι καὶ μάχονται, τὸν νόμον σου καὶ τὰ προστάγματά σου καθαιροῦντες. Καὶ γὰρ τὰ σὰ προστάγματα καθελεῖν ἐπιχειροῦσι, καὶ ταῦτα κατηρτισμένα. Ἢ τοῦτό φησιν, ἢ ὅτι καὶ παραβάται τοῦ νόμου εἰσί. Καὶ αὕτη δὲ οὐ μικρὰ ἀσθενείας ὑπόθεσις, τὸ τὰ σὰ μὴ φυλάξαντας, οὕτως εἰς πόλεμον ἰέναι. ∆ιὰ γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ εὐθέσι πολεμοῦσι, καὶ δόλους ῥάπτουσι, ἐπειδὴ τῶν σῶν οὐκ ἀκούουσι προσταγμάτων. βʹ. ∆ιηγησάμενος τοίνυν περὶ τῆς ἀσθενείας τῶν πολεμίων, καὶ ταύτην δείξας οὐκ ἀπὸ τούτων, ἀφ' ὧν ἕτεροι, ἀλλ' ἀφ' ὧν αὐτῷ πρέπον ἦν οὐ γὰρ εἶπε, Χρήματα οὐκ ἔχουσιν, οὐδὲ φρούρια, οὐδὲ συμμάχους, οὐδὲ πόλεις, οὐδ' ὅτι πολέμων εἰσὶν ἄπειροι, ἀλλὰ πάντα ταῦτα παραδραμὼν καὶ διαπτύσας ὡς οὐδὲν ὄντα, καὶ εἰπὼν ὅτι παράνομοί εἰσιν, ὅτι πολεμοῦσι τοῖς οὐδὲν ἠδικηκόσιν, ὅτι τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ καθαιροῦσι, λέγει λοιπὸν καὶ τὴν τῶν δικαίων παράταξιν, κἀντεῦθεν δεικνὺς τὸ ἐκείνων εὐχείρωτον. Οὕτω καὶ ἡμεῖς τὸν ἰσχυρὸν καὶ τὸν ἀσθενῆ δοκιμάζωμεν, ἀλλὰ μὴ ἀφ' ὧν οἱ καταγέλαστοι τῶν ἀνθρώ 55.142 πων φοβοῦνται, ἐκ τούτων μᾶλλον φοβώμεθα. Τί γάρ φασι; ∆εινός ἐστι, πονηρός ἐστι, χρημάτων ὄγκον περιβέβληται καὶ δυναστείαν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο μάλιστα αὐτοῦ καταγελῶ. Ταῦτα γὰρ εἴδη ἀσθενείας ἐστίν. Ἀλλ' οἶδεν ἐπιβουλεύειν, φησί. Πάλιν ἕτερον εἶδός μοι λέγεις ἀσθενείας. Τί οὖν ὅτι πολλοὶ περιγίνονται τοιοῦτοι ὄντες; Ἐπειδὴ σὺ καλῶς πυκτεύειν οὐκ οἶδας· ἐπειδὴ καὶ σὺ ὑπὲρ τῶν αὐτῶν παγκρατιάζεις, ἀφ' ὧν ἐκεῖνοι γίνονται ἀσθενέστεροι, περὶ δόξης καὶ δυναστείας. Φεῦγε τοῦ ἀγῶνος τὴν ὑπόθεσιν, καὶ ἑτέρωθεν βάλλε τοὺς ἐπιόντας, ἐπιεικείᾳ τὸν ἀλαζόνα, πενίᾳ τὸν πλεονέκτην, ἐγκρατείᾳ τὸν ἀκόλαστον, φιλοφροσύνῃ τὸν φθονερόν· καὶ οὕτως αὐτῶν περιέσῃ ῥᾳδίως. Ἀλλ', ὅπερ ἔφθην εἰπὼν, διηγησάμενος τὴν ἀσθένειαν τῶν ἀντιδίκων, ὅρα πῶς καὶ τοῦ δικαίου λέγει τὴν πανοπλίαν. Ἐπάγει γάρ· Ὁ δὲ δίκαιος τί ἐποίησε; τουτέστιν· Ἐκείνων οὕτω παραταττομένων, ζητεῖς πόθεν ὡπλίσατο ὁ δίκαιος; Ἄκουε· Κύριος ἐν ναῷ ἁγίῳ αὐτοῦ· Κύριος ἐν οὐρανῷ ὁ θρόνος αὐτοῦ. Εἶδες πῶς συντόμως τὴν