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Speak the truth, if anything crooked or doubtful has appeared to you in these things. But I know that you will not say so; for you are suspicious of the testimony of the facts. For you see clearly the fulfillment of the 10.52 prophecy. Or do you not see the height of the church and everyone bowing down and offering reverence to it, most of them willingly, but those who speak against it serving against their will? Do you not see the mountain peaks freed from your defilement and adorned with the dwellings of the ascetics, and everyone flocking together from all sides and proclaiming as God the Word that appeared in Zion and embracing the law that gushed forth from Zion, and the wars having ceased, and instead of weapons of war, handling the 10.53 tools of agriculture? Or do you not know that when the prophet uttered these oracles, one man was king of Jerusalem, another of Samaria, and another of the Idumaeans, and another of the Moabites, and again another of the Ammonites? And the Arabs and Midianites and Amalekites were under other rulers. And Gaza and Ascalon and Azotus, and indeed also Sidon and Tyre and Damascus were governed by different rulers. For they were ruled by kings not only 10.54 city by city, but even village by village. But as soon as our Savior was born in the flesh, Augustus Caesar ruled over all, and after dissolving the ethnarchies and partial kingdoms, he subjected all to the Roman helm. Foreseeing these things, the prophet uttered the aforementioned oracles and a little later solemnly proclaimed the destruction of the 10.55 man-made idols: "For," he says, "they will hide all the man-made things, carrying them into the caves and into the clefts of the rocks and into the holes of the earth, from before the fear of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he arises to crush the earth. For in that day a man will cast away his abominations of silver and of gold, which they made for themselves to worship vain things and bats, to enter into the holes of the solid rock and into the clefts of the rocks, from before the fear of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he arises to crush the earth." 10.56 And it is not for us to make the interpretation of this prophecy, but for you to marvel at the truth of the oracle and 10.57 to confess the things that have often been done by you. But do not blush, O men; for it is proper to be ashamed not of the confession of sin, but of the deed. But if you do not wish to speak, at any rate all who have become eyewitnesses know of the gods often buried in the earth and dragged up from there by those taught to be pious, 10.58 and made manifest. For those enslaved to impiety buried them, thinking to help their gods, while others informed on them to those searching for such things, and others dug them up and found them and displayed them in the marketplaces, so that the so-called gods were mocked even by women and youths. For some were images of reptiles, others of quadrupeds; and indeed they even worshipped likenesses of bats and flies. And they kill the animals themselves—I mean the snakes and scorpions and flies and bats—but they deified imitations of them. 10.59 But concerning these things we have already gone through many arguments; let us then learn the truth of the other oracles. And from the same prophet are also these words: "Thus says the Lord the God of Israel: In that day a man will trust in him who made him; and his eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel. And they will not trust in the altars nor in the works of their hands, which their fingers have made. And they will no longer look upon the groves nor their abominations." 10.60 The prophet foretold these things more than a thousand years before the reign of Constantine, after which the precincts of the demons were destroyed. But even from afar the God-bearing man saw as if present and foretold the things that would be after so much time; but the Dodonian and the Pythian not even the

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ἀληθείας εἴπατε, εἴ τι λοξὸν ὑμῖν ἐν τούτοις ἢ ἀμφίβολον κατεφάνη· ἀλλ' οἶδα, ὡς οὐκ ἐρεῖτε· τῶν γάρ τοι πραγμάτων ὑφορᾶσθε τὴν μαρτυρίαν· ὁρᾶτε γὰρ ἐναργῶς τὸ τῆς 10.52 προρρήσεως τέλος. Ἢ οὐχ ὁρᾶτε τῆς ἐκκλησίας τὸ ὕψος καὶ ἅπαν τας ὑποκύπτοντας καὶ ταύτῃ τὸ σέβας προσφέροντας, καὶ τοὺς μὲν πλείστους ἐθελοντάς, τοὺς δὲ ἀντιλέγοντας καὶ παρὰ γνώμην δουλεύοντας; οὐχ ὁρᾶτε τῶν ὀρέων τὰς κορυφὰς τοῦ ὑμετέρου μύσους ἀπηλλαγμένας καὶ ταῖς τῶν ἀσκητῶν καταγωγαῖς κοσμου μένας καὶ πάντας πανταχόθεν ξυρρέοντας καὶ τὸν ἐν τῇ Σιὼν ἐπιφανέντα λόγον θεολογοῦντας καὶ τὸν ἐκ τῆς Σιὼν ἀναβλύ σαντα νόμον ἀσπαζομένους, καὶ τοὺς μὲν πολέμους πεπαυμέ νους, ἀντὶ δὲ τῶν πολεμικῶν ὅπλων τὰ τῆς γεωργικῆς μετα 10.53 χειρίζοντας ὄργανα; ἢ οὐκ ἴστε, ὡς ὁπηνίκα ταῦτα ὁ προφήτης ἐθέσπιζεν, ἄλλος μὲν τῆς Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἐβασίλευεν, ἄλλος δὲ τῆς Σαμαρείας, καὶ ἄλλος Ἰδουμαίων, καὶ Μωαβιτῶν ἕτερος, καὶ αὖ πάλιν ἄλλος Ἀμμανιτῶν; καὶ Ἄραβες δὲ καὶ Μαδιηναῖοι καὶ Ἀμαληκίται ὑπ' ἄλλοις ἡγεμόσιν ἐτέλουν· καὶ Γάζα δὲ καὶ Ἀσκάλων καὶ Ἄζωτος, καὶ μέντοι καὶ Σιδὼν καὶ Τύρος καὶ ∆αμασκὸς ὑπὸ διαφόρων ἀρχόντων ἰθύνοντο· οὐ γὰρ δὴ μόνον 10.54 κατὰ πόλεις, ἀλλὰ καὶ κατὰ κώμας ἐβασιλεύοντο. Εὐθὺς δὲ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν κατὰ σάρκα τεχθέντος, Αὔγουστος Καῖσαρ ἁπάν των ἐκράτησε, καὶ καταλύσας τὰς ἐθναρχίας καὶ μερικὰς βασι λείας τοῖς Ῥωμαίων ἅπαντας ὑπέταξεν οἴαξιν. Ταῦτα προορῶν ὁ προφήτης τὰ προειρημένα τεθέσπικε καὶ μετ' ὀλίγα τὴν τῶν 10.55 χειροποιήτων εἰδώλων κατάλυσιν ἐτραγῴδησεν· "Πάντα" γάρ φησι "τὰ χειροποίητα κατακρύψουσιν, εἰσενέγκαντες εἰς τὰ σπή λαια καὶ εἰς τὰς σχισμὰς τῶν πετρῶν καὶ εἰς τὰς τρώγλας τῆς γῆς, ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ φόβου Κυρίου καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς δόξης τῆς ἰσχύος αὐτοῦ, ὅταν ἀναστῇ θραῦσαι τὴν γῆν. Τῇ γὰρ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἐκβαλεῖ ἄνθρωπος τὰ βδελύγματα αὐτοῦ τὰ ἀργυρᾶ καὶ τὰ χρυσᾶ, ἃ ἐποίησαν ἑαυτοῖς εἰς τὸ προσκυνεῖν τοῖς ματαίοις καὶ ταῖς νυκτερίσι, τοῦ εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὰς τρώγλας τῆς στερεᾶς πέτρας καὶ εἰς τὰ σχίσματα τῶν πετρῶν, ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ φόβου Κυρίου καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς δόξης τῆς ἰσχύος αὐτοῦ, ὅταν ἀναστῇ θραῦσαι τὴν γῆν." 10.56 Ταύτης δὲ τῆς προφητείας τὴν ἑρμηνείαν οὐχ ἡμᾶς προσήκει ποιήσασθαι, ἀλλ' ὑμᾶς θαυμάσαι τοῦ χρησμοῦ τὴν ἀλήθειαν καὶ 10.57 ξυνομολογῆσαι τὰ παρ' ὑμῶν πολλάκις γεγενημένα. Ἀλλὰ μὴ ἐρυθριάσητε, ὦ ἄνδρες· αἰδεῖσθαι γὰρ οὐ τὴν ὁμολογίαν τῆς ἁμαρ τίας, ἀλλὰ τὴν πρᾶξιν προσήκει. Εἰ δὲ ὑμεῖς λέγειν οὐ βούλε σθε, ἀλλ' οὖν ἴσασιν ἅπαντες αὐτόπται γενόμενοι τῶν ἐν τῇ γῇ πολλάκις καταχωσθέντων θεῶν καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν εὐσεβεῖν δεδιδαγμέ 10.58 νων ἀνασπασθέντων ἐκεῖθεν καὶ δήλων γεγενημένων. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ τῇ δυσσεβείᾳ δεδουλωμένοι κατέχωσαν, ἐπικουρεῖν ἡγούμενοι τοῖς θεοῖς, οἱ δὲ τοῖς τὰ τοιαῦτα μαστεύουσι κατεμήνυσαν, οἱ δὲ ὀρύξαντες καὶ εὗρον καὶ προὔθεσαν ἐν ταῖς ἀγοραῖς, ὥστε καὶ παρὰ γυναικῶν καὶ μειρακίων κωμῳδεῖσθαι τοὺς καλουμένους θεούς. Τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἑρπετῶν ἦν, τὰ δὲ τετραπόδων ἰνδάλματα· ἤδη δὲ καὶ νυκτερίδων καὶ μυιῶν εἰκάσματα προσεκύνησαν. Καὶ αὐτὰ μὲν ἀναιροῦσι τὰ ζῷα, τοὺς ὄφεις λέγω καὶ τοὺς σκορπίους καὶ τὰς μυίας καὶ νυκτερίδας, τὰ δὲ τούτων ἐθεοποίουν μιμήματα. 10.59 Ἀλλὰ τούτων πέρι πολλοὺς ἤδη διεξήλθομεν λόγους· τῶν ἄλλων οὖν χρησμῶν καταμάθωμεν τὴν ἀλήθειαν. Τοῦ δὲ αὐτοῦ προφήτου καὶ ταῦτα τὰ ῥήματα· "Τάδε λέγει Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς Ἰσραήλ· τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ πεποιθὼς ἔσται ἄνθρωπος ἐπὶ τῷ ποιήσαντι αὐτόν· οἱ δὲ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν ἅγιον τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἐμβλέψονται. Καὶ οὐ μὴ πεποιθότες ὦσιν ἐπὶ τοῖς βωμοῖς οὐδὲ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν χειρῶν αὐτῶν, ἃ ἐποίησαν οἱ δάκτυλοι αὐτῶν. Καὶ οὐκέτι ὄψονται τὰ δένδρα οὐδὲ τὰ βδελύγματα αὐτῶν." 10.60 Ταῦτα πρὸ πλειόνων ἢ χιλίων ἐτῶν τῆς Κωνσταντίνου βασιλείας προηγόρευσεν ὁ προφήτης, μεθ' ἣν τὰ τῶν δαιμόνων κατελύθη τεμένη. Ἀλλὰ καὶ πόρρωθεν ὁ θεοφόρος ἀνὴρ ὡς παρὼν ἑώρα καὶ προὔλεγε τὰ μετὰ τοσοῦτον ἐσόμενα χρόνον· ὁ δὲ ∆ωδωναῖος καὶ ὁ Πύθιος οὐδὲ τὰ