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such a thing will overtake them, so that they are trampled down. Therefore they were also trampled down by the wrath of God which came upon them, and by the enemies who enslaved them; who also made their city a place for themselves to trample, having driven out the former inhabitants. These things, then, are about the crown of pride, and specifically about the flower that has fallen from glory he adds next: And the flower of the hope of glory on the top of the high mountain will be like an early fig, which whoever sees it will want to swallow it before taking it into his hand. Such a one was Judas, who had become a flower, but fell from the hope of God and from glory. And though he was formerly upon the high mountain, yet not like those on the summit of the fat mountain; for he himself was also one of those on the high mountain, about whom the present prophet says, "Go up on a high mountain, you who bring good news to Zion," but he became such a one as to be likened to the unripe fruit of an early fig, beautiful and fair in appearance, but otherwise useless because of the immaturity of its suitable fruit for food. Therefore, the slanderer of good things, having seen him become an early fruit, snatched him away in haste, as if wishing to swallow him before he could take hold of his hand; and so, having gained power, he indeed swallowed him. But the things concerning the crown of pride, and those concerning the fallen flower, are such as these. "But in that day," he says, that is, at the same time, "the Lord of hosts will be the crown of hope, the wreath of glory, for the remnant of the people," that is, for those who were left from the destruction of all the people; and these were the apostles and disciples of the Savior, to whom he promises that the Lord himself will be a crown of hope. Then, since it was said that they would "sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel," the Lord himself became for them also a spirit of judgment, and in addition to this, he himself was their strength for receiving those who were about to return from war to the gate of the church. And these things are concerning the apostles. But again the discourse, changing to those of the left-hand order, adds: "For these have been led astray by wine." And who these are, he explains, saying, "priest and prophet." You see who the crown of pride were, and it is clear that they were the priests in the former discourse and those called their prophets, who were certain ones indeed claiming for themselves prophetic dignities. All these, he says, were led astray by wine and by strong drink, from "the gall and bitterness and wrath of dragons." They were led astray by strong drink (sikera), which the other interpreters have called intoxicating drink (methusma). But lest anyone should suppose the wine and intoxicating drink to be what is commonly understood, he guarded against it above, saying, "those who are drunk without wine." Therefore, this wine was of a different kind, and what is called sikera or methusma was something else, through which their error came about. Then he adds: This is a vision. For it was truly a vision and a phantom for them all to suffer so many things at once and to devise a terrible and godless plan, which the curse from God will overtake. Judas, then, for the sake of money and greed for these things, "betrayed" the Savior, while the others, laying claim to the greed from the people, and fearing lest the word of Christ might somehow depose them from their authority, they contrived the plot against him. Therefore it is said: "For this is the counsel they considered for the sake of greed." And he calls the counsel a plot. 1.93 Having described the prophecy concerning "the crown of pride" and the things brought upon it next, the discourse transitions again to the apostolic order, of which it was said that he himself is "the Lord of hosts, a crown of hope" and "a diadem of glory." And it teaches this very one, I mean the apostolic choir, to prepare and be ready for the afflictions that are about to be brought upon them because of the word of Christ. Therefore, as if exclaiming to them, he says: To whom have we announced evils and to whom

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αὐτοὺς διαλήψεται τοιοῦτον, ὡς καταπατηθῆναι αὐτούς. διὸ καὶ κατεπατήθησαν ὑπὸ τῆς ἐπελθούσης αὐτοῖς ὀργῆς τοῦ θεοῦ, ὑπό τε τῶν καταδουλωσαμένων αὐτοὺς πολεμίων· οἳ καὶ τὴν πόλιν αὐτῶν ἑαυτοῖς καταπάτημα πεποιήκασι τοὺς παλαιοὺς ἐξελάσαντες οἰκήτορας. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν περὶ τοῦ στεφάνου τῆς ὕβρεως, ἰδίως δὲ περὶ τοῦ ἐκπεσόντος τῆς δόξης ἄνθους ἑξῆς ἐπιλέγει· καὶ ἔσται τὸ ἄνθος τῆς ἐλπίδος τῆς δόξης ἐπ' ἄκρου τοῦ ὄρους τοῦ ὑψηλοῦ ὡς πρόδρομος σύκου, ὁ ἰδὼν αὐτὸ πρὶν εἰς τὴν χεῖρα λαβεῖν θελήσει αὐτὸ καταπιεῖν. τοιοῦτος δέ τις ἦν ὁ Ἰούδας, ἄνθος μὲν γεγονώς, ἀλλ' ἐκπεσὼν τῆς ἐλπίδος τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τῆς δόξης. καὶ πάλαι μὲν τυγχάνων ἐπάνω τοῦ ὄρους τοῦ ὑψηλοῦ, ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁμοίως τοῖς ἐπὶ τῆς κορυφῆς τοῦ ὄρους τοῦ παχέος· ἦν γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸς εἷς τῶν ἐπὶ τοῦ ὄρους τοῦ ὑψηλοῦ, περὶ ὧν ὁ παρὼν προφήτης φησίν· «ἐπ' ὄρος ὑψηλὸν ἀνάβηθι, ὁ εὐαγγελιζόμενος Σιών», ἀλλὰ γέγονε τοιοῦτός τις, ὡς ὁμοιωθῆναι προδρόμου σύκου καρπῷ ἀτελεσφορήτῳ, ὡραίῳ μὲν καὶ καλῷ τῇ θέᾳ, ἀχρήστῳ δὲ ἄλλως διὰ τὸ ἀτελὲς τοῦ πρὸς τροφὴν ἐπιτηδείου καρποῦ. διὸ πρόδρομον αὐτὸν γενόμενον τεθεαμένος ὁ τῶν καλῶν βάσκανος, προήρπασε σπεύσας, ὡς ἐθελῆσαι αὐτὸν καταπιεῖν, πρὶν ἢ τῆς χειρὸς ἐπιλαβέσθαι· οὕτω γοῦν αὐτὸν καὶ κατέπιεν ἰσχύσας. Ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν περὶ τοῦ στεφάνου τῆς ὕβρεως, τά τε περὶ τοῦ ἐκπεσόντος ἄνθους, τοιαῦτα τῇ δὲ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ φησί, δηλαδὴ κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον, ἔσται κύριος σαβαὼθ ὁ στέφανος τῆς ἐλπίδος ὁ πλακεὶς τῆς δόξης τῷ καταλειφθέντι τοῦ λαοῦ, δηλονότι τοῖς περιλειφθεῖσιν ἐκ τῆς τοῦ παντὸς λαοῦ ἀπωλείας· οὗτοι δ' ἦσαν οἱ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἀπόστολοί τε καὶ μαθηταί, οἷς αὐτὸν ἔσεσθαι τὸν κύριον στέφανον ἐλπίδος ἐπαγγέλλεται. εἶτα ἐπειδὴ «ἐπὶ θρόνους καθίσεσθαι» εἴρηνται «κρίνοντες τὰς δώδεκα φυλὰς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ», γέγονεν αὐτοῖς αὐτὸς κύριος καὶ εἰς πνεῦμα κρίσεως, πρὸς τούτοις δὲ καὶ δύναμις αὐτῶν αὐτὸς ἦν εἰς τὸ ὑποδέχεσθαι τοὺς ἀπὸ πολέμου μέλλοντας ὑποστρέφειν εἰς τὴν πύλην τῆς ἐκκλησίας. Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν περὶ τῶν ἀποστόλων, αὖθις δὲ μεταβαλὼν ὁ λόγος ἐπὶ τοὺς τοῦ ἀριστεροῦ τάγματος ἐπιλέγει· οὗτοι γὰρ οἴνῳ πεπλανημένοι εἰσί· τίνες δὲ οὗτοι, διερμηνεύει ἱερεὺς καὶ προφήτης λέγων. ὁρᾷς τίνες ἦσαν ὁ στέφανος τῆς ὕβρεως, δῆλον δ' ὅτι οἱ ἐν τῷ προτέρῳ λόγῳ ἱερεῖς καὶ οἱ ὀνομαζόμενοι αὐτῶν προφῆται δέ τινες ὄντες διεκδικοῦντες γε μὴν ἑαυτοῖς ἀξιώματα προφητικά. πάντες οὗτοί φησιν ἐπλανήθησαν ἀπὸ οἴνου καὶ διὰ τὸ σίκερα ἀπὸ «χολῆς καὶ πικρίας καὶ θυμοῦ δρακόντων». ἐπλανήθησαν διὰ τὸ σίκερα, ὅπερ οἱ λοιποὶ ἑρμηνευταὶ μέθυσμα ὠνόμασαν. ἵνα δὲ μήτις οἶνον ὑπολάβοι καὶ μέθυσμα τὸ προχείρως νοούμενον, προησφαλίσατο ἀνωτέρω εἰπών· «οἱ μεθύοντες ἄνευ οἴνου». οὐκοῦν ἕτερος ἦν οὗτος ὁ οἶνος καὶ ἄλλο τὸ καλούμενον σίκερα ἢ τὸ μέθυσμα, δι' οὗ τὰ τῆς πλάνης αὐτοῖς γέγονεν. εἶτα ἐπιλέγει· τοῦτό ἐστι φάσμα· φάσμα γὰρ ἦν ἀληθῶς καὶ φάντασμα τὸ πάντας αὐτοὺς ἀθρόως τὰ τοσαῦτα παθεῖν καὶ τὸ βουλὴν βουλεύσασθαι δεινὴν καὶ ἄθεον, ἣν καταλήψεται ἡ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἀρά. Ἰούδας μὲν οὖν χρημάτων ἕνεκεν καὶ τῆς τούτων πλεονεξίας «προεδίδου» τὸν σωτῆρα, οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ μεταποιούμενοι τῆς ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ πλεονεξίας, καὶ μή πη ὁ Χριστοῦ λόγος καθέλοι αὐτούς, τῆς ἀρχῆς ὑφορώμενοι τὴν κατ' αὐτοῦ συσκευὴν ἐτύρευσαν. διὸ εἴρηται· αὕτη γὰρ ἡ βουλὴ ἕνεκεν πλεονεξίας ἐσκέψαντο. καλεῖ δὲ τὴν βουλὴν ἐπιβουλήν. 1.93 ∆ιαγράψας ὁ λόγος τὴν περὶ «τοῦ στεφάνου τῆς ὕβρεως» καὶ τῶν ἑξῆς ἐπενηνεγμένων προφητείαν, μεταβαίνει πάλιν ἐπὶ τὸ τάγμα τὸ ἀποστολικόν, οὗ ἐλέγετο εἶναι αὐτὸς «ὁ κύριος σαβαὼθ στέφανος ἐλπίδος» καὶ «κίδαρις δόξης». διδάσκει δὲ τοῦτον αὐτόν, λέγω δὲ τὸν ἀποστολικὸν χορὸν παρασκευάζεσθαι καὶ ἑτοίμους γίγνεσθαι πρὸς θλίψεις μελλούσας αὐτοῖς ἐπάγεσθαι διὰ τὸν Χριστοῦ λόγον. διὸ ὥσπερ ἐπιφωνῶν αὐτοῖς λέγει· τίνι ἀνηγγείλαμεν κακὰ καὶ τίνι