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crying out to you. And if you enter the synagogues, you will hear them saying these words continuously. And David says, describing that thievish court of Caiaphas. that for this reason you have perished. For having said, Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yoke from us, he added: Then shall he speak to them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. And Isaiah, having said that He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, added: And I will give the wicked for his burial, and the rich for his death; and again elsewhere, speaking of the vineyard: I waited, that it should bring forth justice, but it brought forth iniquity, and not justice, but a cry. And what cry? Crucify, crucify. And he adds: Therefore I will take away its hedge, and it shall be for treading down; and I will command the clouds, that they rain no rain upon it. Not for this reason, therefore, were you scattered, but because of the audacious deeds at the cross; and this is clear from the prophets. And that you may learn the 55.114 power of Christ, and that you may be taught by yourselves what you were not taught by the prophets, behold at least the events bearing witness. For what the law taught you, this the power of Christ did in abundance. For as long as you had the law, you both murdered, and killed children, and committed adultery; but when the sun of righteousness shone, many of your evils were diminished, and you changed to a more decent life, having been corrected by zeal toward us. For this reason He scattered you, that you might know how great a polity he planted upon the earth; and he destroyed the temple, leading you away even unwillingly from wickedness. And where the temple was destroyed, there also Christ was buried, so that by going away from his tomb they might see both the trophy of his power, and the word standing which says: There shall not be left here one stone upon another. For everywhere are his trophies, and the memorials of his power. But if, as you say, he was impious and an opponent of God, even if you had sinned ten thousand times, you ought not to have been punished in this way; and even if you ought, not then; lest anyone think that you are paying the penalty on his account. Or have you not heard God saying, when you were in captivity, that I do not do this for your sake, but for my own, that my name not be profaned? And yet at that time your wickedness was at its height. But nevertheless, he says, lest the barbarians think me to be weak, I overlook your sins, and save you. Then, therefore, he saved transgressors, that his name might not be profaned; but would he not have done this now? For even if you had sinned ten thousand times, you ought not to have suffered anything like this, if Christ was an imposter, lest anyone think you had suffered these things on his account, but you should even have been saved; and even if you had to, as I said before, not then. But now these things have happened together. For when the cross came to pass, after a little while the apostles went forth, and immediately a grievous war was fanned against that city; and that in the Gospels, the, Woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck, and all those things were coming to pass in deeds; and the, Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning, was being fulfilled. For women ate children, and the enemies tore open the wombs of the dead, and barbarian fire was distributed everywhere, and all things were full of blood, and new tragedies, and the whole world was filled with the evils of the Jews. Considering these things, therefore, acknowledge your Master. Did you not slaughter prophets? Did you suffer anything of this sort? Did you not tear down altars? Did such a disaster befall you? Did you not worship the calf, and were initiated to Baal-peor, and ignored nature? Did you experience such enemies? Were you not saved while being ungrateful in the midst of benefactions? Whence then are your endless evils? Is it not manifest, that it is because the sin was dared against the Master, not against the servants? Whence there is for you no release from the evils that hold you, nor will there be. For if there were,

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ἐπιβοῶντες ὑμῖν. Κἂν εἰσέλθῃς εἰς τὰς συναγωγὰς, ἀκούσῃ αὐτῶν ταῦτα τὰ ῥήματα συνεχῶς λεγόντων. Καὶ ὁ μὲν ∆αυῒδ φησὶ, τὸ δικαστήριον ἐκεῖνο τὸ λῃστρικὸν ὑπογράφων τοῦ Καϊάφα. ὅτι διὰ τοῦτο ἀπολώλατε. Εἰπὼν γὰρ, ∆ιαῤῥήξωμεν τοὺς δεσμοὺς αὐτῶν, καὶ ἀποῤῥίψωμεν ἀφ' ἡμῶν τὸν ζυγὸν αὐτῶν, ἐπήγαγε· Τότε λαλήσει πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἐν ὀργῇ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐν τῷ θυμῷ αὐτοῦ ταράξει αὐτούς. Ὁ δὲ Ἡσαΐας εἰπὼν, ὅτι Ὡς πρόβατον ἐπὶ σφαγὴν ἤχθη, ἐπήγαγε· Καὶ δώσω τοὺς πονηροὺς ἀντὶ τῆς ταφῆς αὐτοῦ, καὶ τοὺς πλουσίους ἀντὶ τοῦ θανάτου αὐτοῦ· καὶ πάλιν ἀλλαχοῦ περὶ τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος διαλεγόμενος· Ἔμεινα, ἵνα ποιήσῃ δικαιοσύνην, ἐποίησε δὲ ἀνομίαν, καὶ οὐ δικαιοσύνην, ἀλλὰ κραυγήν. Ποίαν δὲ κραυγήν; Σταύρωσον, σταύρωσον. Καὶ ἐπάγει· ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καθελῶ τὸν φραγμὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔσται εἰς καταπάτημα· καὶ ἐντελοῦμαι ταῖς νεφέλαις, τοῦ μὴ βρέξαι εἰς αὐτὸν ὑετόν. Οὐ διὰ τοῦτο τοίνυν διεσπάρητε, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὰ τολμηθέντα ἐν τῷ σταυρῷ· καὶ τοῦτο ἀπὸ τῶν προφητῶν δῆλον. Καὶ ἵνα μάθητε τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὴν 55.114 δύναμιν, καὶ ἵνα διδαχθῆτε δι' ἑαυτῶν, ἅπερ οὐκ ἐπαιδεύθητε διὰ τῶν προφητῶν, ὅρα γοῦν καὶ τὰ πράγματα μαρτυροῦντα. Ὅπερ γὰρ ὁ νόμος ὑμᾶς ἐπαίδευσε, τοῦτο ἐκ περιουσίας ἡ τοῦ Χριστοῦ δύναμις ἐποίησεν. Ἕως μὲν γὰρ εἴχετε τὸν νόμον, καὶ ἐφονεύετε, καὶ ἐπαιδοκτονεῖτε, καὶ ἐμοιχεύετε· ἐπειδὴ δὲ ὁ τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἥλιος ἔλαμψε, καὶ τῶν ὑμετέρων πολλὰ ἠλαττώθη κακῶν, καὶ ἐπιεικέστερον μετήλθετε βίον, ζήλῳ τῷ πρὸς ἡμᾶς διορθωθέντες. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ὑμᾶς διέσπειρεν, ἵνα εἰδῆτε ἡλίκην πολιτείαν ἐφύτευσεν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· καὶ τὸν ναὸν ἔλυσεν, ἀπάγων ὑμᾶς καὶ ἄκοντας τῆς κακίας. Καὶ ἔνθα ὁ ναὸς κατελύθη, ἐκεῖ καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ἐτάφη, ἵνα διὰ τὸν ἐκείνου τάφον ἀπιόντες καὶ τὸ τρόπαιον ἴδωσι τῆς αὐτοῦ δυνάμεως, καὶ τὸν λόγον ἑστῶτα τὸν λέγοντα· Οὐ μὴ μείνῃ λίθος ἐπὶ λίθον ὧδε. Πανταχοῦ γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὰ τρόπαια, καὶ τὰ ὑπομνήματα τῆς δυνάμεως. Εἰ δὲ, ὥς φατε, ἀσεβὴς ἦν καὶ ἀντίθεος, εἰ καὶ μυρία ἡμαρτήκατε, οὐδὲ οὕτω κολασθῆναι ἔδει· εἰ δὲ καὶ ἔδει, οὐ τότε· ἵνα μή τις νομίσῃ, ὅτι ὑπὲρ ἐκείνου τίνετε δίκην. Ἢ οὐκ ἠκούσατε τοῦ Θεοῦ λέγοντος, ὅταν ἐν τῇ αἰχμαλωσίᾳ ἦτε, ὅτι Οὐ δι' ὑμᾶς ἐγὼ ποιῶ, ἀλλὰ δι' ἐμὲ, ἵνα μὴ τὸ ὄνομά μου βεβηλωθῇ; Καίτοι τότε ἐπετέτατο ὑμῶν ἡ κακία. Ἀλλ' ὅμως, φησὶν, ἵνα μὴ νομίσωσιν οἱ βάρβαροι ἀσθενῆ με εἶναι, παρίημι τὰ ἁμαρτήματα ὑμῶν, καὶ σώζω ὑμᾶς. Εἶτα τότε μὲν παρανομοῦντας ἔσωσεν, ἵνα μὴ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ βεβηλωθῇ· νυνὶ δὲ οὐκ ἂν τοῦτο ἐποίησεν; Εἰ γὰρ καὶ μυρία ἡμαρτήκατε, οὐδὲν τοιοῦτο ἔδει παθεῖν, εἴγε πλάνος ἦν ὁ Χριστὸς, ἵνα μή τις νομίσῃ δι' ἐκεῖνον ταῦτα πεπονθέναι, ἀλλὰ καὶ σωθῆναι ἐχρῆν· εἰ δὲ καὶ ἔδει, ὅπερ ἔφθην εἰπὼν, οὐ τότε. Νυνὶ δὲ ὁμοῦ ταῦτα γέγονεν. Ὅτε γὰρ ὁ σταυρὸς προεχώρησε, μετὰ μικρὸν ἐξῆλθον οἱ ἀπόστολοι, καὶ εὐθέως χαλεπὸς ἀνεῤῥιπίσθη πόλεμος κατὰ τῆς πόλεως ἐκείνης· καὶ τὸ ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις, τὸ, Οὐαὶ ταῖς θηλαζούσαις καὶ ἐν γαστρὶ ἐχούσαις, καὶ πάντα ἐκεῖνα ἐπὶ τῶν ἔργων ἐξῄει· καὶ τὸ, Τότε ἔσται θλίψις, οἵα οὐδέποτε γέγονεν, ἐπληροῦτο. Καὶ γὰρ γυναῖκες τέκνα ἤσθιον, καὶ γαστέρας ἀνεῤῥήγνυσαν νεκρῶν οἱ πολέμιοι, καὶ πῦρ πανταχοῦ βαρβαρικὸν διενέμετο, καὶ αἵματος πάντα ἦν μεστὰ, καὶ τραγῳδίαι καιναὶ, καὶ ἡ οἰκουμένη πᾶσα τῶν Ἰουδαϊκῶν κακῶν ἐμπέπληστο. Ταῦτ' οὖν ἐννοοῦντες, ἐπίγνωτε τὸν ὑμέτερον ∆εσπότην. Οὐχὶ προφήτας ἐσφάξατε; μὴ ἐπάθετέ τι τοιοῦτον; Οὐ θυσιαστήρια κατεσκάψατε; μὴ συνέβη τις ὑμῖν τοιαύτη συμφορά; Οὐχὶ μόσχον προσεκυνήσατε, καὶ τῷ Βεελφεγὼρ ἐτελέσθητε, καὶ τὴν φύσιν ἠγνοήσατε; μὴ ἐλάβετε πεῖραν τοιούτων πολεμίων; Οὐκ ἐν μέσαις ταῖς εὐεργεσίαις ἀγνωμονοῦντες ἐσώζεσθε; Πόθεν οὖν ὑμῖν τὰ κακὰ ἀπέραντα; Ἆρ' οὐχὶ πρόδηλον, ὅτι ἐπειδὴ τὸ ἁμάρτημα εἰς τὸν ∆εσπότην ἐτολμήθη, οὐκ εἰς τοὺς δούλους; Ὅθεν ὑμῖν οὐδὲ λύσις ἐστὶ τῶν κατεχόντων ὑμᾶς κακῶν, οὐδὲ ἔσται. Εἰ γὰρ ἦν,