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the priesthood, the local worship He changed in another way, instead of a daily one, giving only one baptism into His death, and instead of one tribe, commanding that the best from every nation be appointed to the priesthood, and not that their bodies be inspected for blemishes, but their religion and lives; instead of sacrifice through blood, the rational and bloodless and mystical sacrifice, which is performed for the sake of symbols into the death of the Lord, of His body and His blood; and instead of local worship, from the rising of the sun to its setting, in every place of His dominion He commanded that He be glorified and He justified it. Therefore, He did not take away the law from us, but bonds; for concerning the law Moses also says: "You shall meditate on the word, which I command you, when you sit in your house and when you rise up and when you walk by the way." And David says: "In the law of the Lord is His will, and in His law he will meditate day and night." For everywhere He wills us to be lawful, but not lawless; for "Blessed," he says, "are the blameless in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord; blessed are they who search out His testimonies, with their whole heart they will seek Him." And again: "We are blessed, O Israel, for the things that are pleasing to God are known to us." And the Lord says: "If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them." But not only does He wish the law of righteousness to be shown through us, but He was also pleased for it to appear and shine through the Romans; for they also, having believed in the Lord, have departed from polytheism and injustice, and they accept the good and punish the wicked. But they hold the Jews as tributaries and do not permit them to use their own ordinances, since they also willingly drew servitude upon themselves, saying: "We have no king but Caesar," and: "If we do not kill Christ," he says, "all will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." And unwillingly they prophesied; for the nations did believe in Him, and they themselves were deprived of their authority and of their legal worship by the Romans, and they are prevented both from killing whom they wish and from sacrificing when they wish. Therefore they are also accursed, being unable to do the things that have been commanded; "For accursed," he says, "is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to do them." But it is impossible in the dispersion among

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τὴν ἱερωσύνην, τὴν τοπικὴν λατρείαν ἑτέρως μετεποίησεν, ἀντὶ μὲν καθημερινοῦ ἓν μόνον δοὺς βάπτισμα τὸ εἰς τὸν αὐτοῦ θάνατον, ἀντὶ δὲ μιᾶς φυλῆς ἀφ' ἑκάστου ἔθνους προστάξας τοὺς ἀρίστους εἰς ἱερωσύνην προχειρίζεσθαι, καὶ οὐ τὰ σώματα μωμοσκοπεῖσθαι, ἀλλὰ θρησκείαν καὶ βίους· ἀντὶ θυσίας τῆς δι' αἱμάτων τὴν λογικὴν καὶ ἀναί μακτον καὶ τὴν μυστικήν, ἥτις εἰς τὸν θάνατον τοῦ Κυρίου συμβόλων χάριν ἐπιτελεῖται, τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦ αἵματος· ἀντὶ δὲ τοπικῆς λατρείας ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν ἡλίου μέχρι δυσμῶν ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ τῆς δεσποτείας αὐτοῦ προσέ ταξεν δοξάζεσθαι αὐτὸν καὶ ἐδικαίωσεν. Oὐ νόμον οὖν περιεῖλεν ἀφ' ἡμῶν, ἀλλὰ δεσμά· περὶ γὰρ τοῦ νόμου καὶ Μωϋσῆς λέγει· «Μελετήσεις τὸ ῥῆμα, ὃ ἐγώ σοι ἐντέλλομαι, καθήμενος ἐν οἴκῳ καὶ ἀνιστάμενος καὶ περιπατῶν ἐν ὁδῷ.» Καὶ ὁ ∆αυὶδ λέγει· «Ἐν τῷ νόμῳ Κυρίου τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐν τῷ νόμῳ αὐτοῦ μελετήσει ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός.» Πανταχοῦ γὰρ ἐννόμους ἡμᾶς εἶναι βούλεται, ἀλλ' οὐχὶ παρανόμους· «Μακάριοι γάρ, φησίν, οἱ ἄμωμοι ἐν ὁδῷ, οἱ πορευόμενοι ἐν νόμῳ Κυρίου· μακάριοι οἱ ἐξερευνῶντες τὰ μαρτύρια αὐτοῦ, ἐν ὅδῃ καρδίᾳ ἐκζητήσουσιν αὐτόν.» Καὶ πάλιν· «Μακάριοί ἐσμεν, Ἰσραήλ, ὅτι τὰ ἀρεστὰ τῷ Θεῷ γνωστὰ ἡμῖν ἐστιν.» Καὶ ὁ Κύριός φησιν· «Eἰ ταῦτα οἴδατε, μακάριοί ἐστε, ἐὰν ποιῆτε αὐτά.» Oὐ μόνον δὲ τὸν τῆς δικαιοσύνης νόμον δι' ἡμῶν ἐπιδείκνυσθαι βούλεται, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ Ῥωμαίων εὐδόκησεν αὐτὸν φαίνεσθαι καὶ λάμπειν· καὶ γὰρ καὶ οὗτοι πιστεύσαντες ἐπὶ τὸν Κύριον καὶ πολυθεΐας ἀπέστησαν καὶ ἀδικίας, καὶ τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς ἀποδέχονται καὶ τοὺς φαύλους κολάζουσιν. Ἰουδαίους δὲ ὑποφόρους ἔχουσιν καὶ τοῖς ἰδίοις δικαιώμα σιν οὐκ ἐῶσιν κεχρῆσθαι, ἐπειδὴ καὶ ἑκούσιον ἐπεσπά σαντο τὴν δουλείαν εἰπόντες· «Oὐκ ἔχομεν βασιλέα εἰ μὴ Καίσαρα», καί· «Ἐὰν μὴ ἀποκτείνωμεν, φησίν, τὸν Χριστόν, πάντες εἰς αὐτὸν πιστεύσουσιν, καὶ ἐλεύσονται οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι καὶ ἀροῦσιν ἡμῶν καὶ τὸν τόπον καὶ τὸ ἔθνος.» Καὶ ἄκοντες προεφήτευσαν· καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐπίστευσαν εἰς αὐτὸν τὰ ἔθνη, καὶ αὐτοὶ ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων τῆς ἐξουσίας περιῃρέθησαν καὶ τῆς νομικῆς λατρείας, κεκωλυμένοι δέ εἰσι καὶ ἀναιρεῖν οὓς ἂν θέλωσι καὶ θύειν ὅτε θέλωσιν. ∆ιὸ καὶ εἰσὶν ἐπικατάρατοι, μὴ δυνάμενοι ποιεῖν τὰ διατεταγμένα· «Ἐπικατάρατος γάρ, φησίν, ὃς οὐκ ἐμμένει ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς γεγραμμένοις ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τοῦ νόμου, τοῦ ποιῆσαι αὐτά.» Ἀδύνατον δέ ἐστιν ἐν διασπορᾷ μεταξὺ