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of the men among the Greeks who disparage the word of Christ, lest anyone should suppose that the preceding things were said about others, he accurately and necessarily added this: those who have authority over this people. And since there were also many outside of Jerusalem throughout all Judea and Galilee who presided over the people, it is precisely indicated to which rulers and authorities of the people these things were said. These were "the crown of pride" mentioned above, and so these things are still said to the same people: since you said to yourselves, "We have made a covenant with Hades and agreements with death;" for you said, "We have made falsehood our hope and in falsehood we will be sheltered;" since, therefore, the aforementioned scoffers thought these things and spoke to one another, mocking and disparaging the word of Christ, through which they were taught how they ought to expect affliction upon affliction and the hope upon it, hope upon hope, choosing instead to make a treaty of friendship with death and a refuge with Hades. For having done this, they expected neither to experience affliction nor to encounter anything painful or unpleasant; and if it should happen that a tempest, flooding from some opposing power, should come upon you, you supposed it would not come upon you because you were friends with the opposing power and with death itself. Since, therefore, you said these things to yourselves, for this reason hear what the Lord of all commanded to be said to you: you did not receive the grace that was first proclaimed to you, but I, having placed my own precious and honorable stone at the head of the corner, will make it high and conspicuous and manifest to all, so that everyone who believes in it might not fall from hope. But according to the other interpreters: he who believes will not make haste; for he who believes will be long-suffering, awaiting the promise of the word. This would be the stone, and the same rock about which the Savior said, "Upon this rock I will build my church." And he promises to place this stone in the foundations of Zion, which indeed he has done in deed by saying and accomplishing this: "Upon this rock I will build my church." For we have often understood Mount Zion as the evangelical proclamation and the church founded upon it. And he promises to place this stone, being precious and elect and honorable, in the foundations of the church. From this it is called a cornerstone and a chief cornerstone. This would be the human body of our Savior, so named, since also according to Daniel a "stone cut without hands" was seen; the stone being understood as the human body, and the mountain as the divinity of the Savior. And in this stone, he says, "I will place judgment for a hope;" for this stone, judging, will provide good hopes to those being judged, since mercy is joined to it with the most just balance and measure; wherefore it is said, "And my mercy for weights." These things, then, have been said about the stone, but to those who said above, "We have made falsehood our hope and in falsehood we will be sheltered," he adds the following, saying: and you who trust in vain in falsehood: that a tempest shall not pass you by, lest it also take away your covenant of death; for do not deceive yourselves, he says, by asserting, "Since we have befriended death, a tempest will not come upon us, nor shall we experience anything painful." For hear now from this and learn, O you who trust in falsehood and have said, "We have made falsehood our hope and in falsehood we will be sheltered," that a passing tempest will not pass you by, but will take away your agreement with death, and your hope in Hades will not remain; for you have entrusted yourselves to a rotten thing, having attached your hopes to death and Hades. Wherefore if a rushing tempest should come, you will be for it to trample. But if it should be about to pass by and go away, far

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ἀνδρῶν τῶν παρ' Ἕλλησι διασυρόντων τὸν Χριστοῦ λόγον, ἵνα μή τις ὑπολάβῃ περὶ ἑτέρων τὰ προκείμενα λέγεσθαι, ἀκριβῶς καὶ ἀναγκαίως προσέθηκεν τό· οἱ ἐξουσιάζοντες τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου. καὶ ἐπειδήπερ καὶ ἐκτὸς τῆς Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἦσαν πλείους ἀνὰ πᾶσαν τὴν Ἰουδαίαν καὶ Γαλιλαίαν προεστῶτες τοῦ λαοῦ, ἐπισημαίνεται ἀκριβῶς πρὸς ποίους ἄρχοντας καὶ ἐξουσιάζοντας τοῦ λαοῦ ταῦτα λέγοιτο. Οὗτοι δ' ἦσαν «ὁ στέφανος τῆς ὕβρεως» ὁ ἀνωτέρω λελεγμένος, καὶ ταῦτα τοίνυν ἔτι πρὸς τοὺς αὐτοὺς λέγεται· ἐπειδὴ εἴπατε πρὸς ἑαυτούς· Ἐποιησάμεθα διαθήκην μετὰ τοῦ ᾅδου καὶ μετὰ τοῦ θανάτου συνθήκας· εἴπατε γάρ· ἐποιησάμεθα τὸ ψεῦδος ἐλπίδα ἡμῶν καὶ ἐν ψεύδει σκεπασθησόμεθα· ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ταῦτα διενοήθησαν καὶ ἀλλήλοις ὡμίλησαν οἱ προλεχθέντες χλευασταὶ τὸν μὲν Χριστοῦ λόγον χλευάσαντες καὶ διασύραντες, δι' οὗ ἐδιδάσκοντο ὡς δέοι αὐτοὺς θλῖψιν ἐπὶ θλίψει προσδοκᾶν καὶ τὴν ἐπ' αὐτῇ ἐλπίδα ἐπ' ἐλπίδι, ἑλόμενοι δὲ φιλίαν σπείσασθαι πρὸς τὸν θάνατον καὶ πρὸς τὸν ᾅδην καταφυγήν. τοῦτο γὰρ πράξαντες προσεδόκησαν οὔτε θλίψεως πειραθήσεσθαι οὔτε λυπηρῷ τινι καὶ ἀηδεῖ περιπεσεῖσθαι· εἰ δὲ καὶ συμβαίη ὑμᾶς καταιγίδα, ποθὲν ἐπικλύζουσαν ἐξ ἀντικειμένης δυνάμεως ἐπιέναι οὐκ ἐφ' ὑμᾶς ἥξειν ὑπελάβετε διὰ τὸ φίλους εἶναι τῇ ἀντικειμένῃ δυνάμει καὶ αὐτῷ τῷ θανάτῳ. Ἐπεὶ τοίνυν ταῦτα πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς εἴπατε, τούτου χάριν ἀκούσατε, ἅπερ πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰπεῖν ὁ τῶν ὅλων προσέταξε κύριος· ὑμεῖς μὲν οὐ παρεδέξασθε τὴν πρώτοις ὑμῖν καταγγελθεῖσαν χάριν, ἐγὼ δὲ τὸν ἐμαυτοῦ λίθον τὸν πολυτελῆ καὶ τίμιον ἐν ἄκρῳ γωνίας ἀναθεὶς ὑψηλὸν καὶ ἐπιφανῆ καὶ τοῖς πᾶσιν ἔκδηλον ποιήσω, ὅπως πᾶς ὁ ἐπ' αὐτὸν πιστεύων μὴ ἐκπέσοι τῆς ἐλπίδος. κατὰ δὲ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἑρμηνευτάς· ὁ πιστεύων οὐ σπεύσει· μακροθυμήσει γὰρ ὁ πιστεύων περιμένων τοῦ λόγου τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν. οὗτος δ' ἂν εἴη ὁ λίθος, ὁ αὐτός τε πέτρα περὶ ἧς ὁ σωτὴρ ἔλεγεν· «ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν οἰκοδομήσω μου τὴν ἐκκλησίαν». τοῦτον δὲ τὸν λίθον ἐπαγγέλλεται θήσειν εἰς τὰ θεμέλια Σιών, ὃ δὴ καὶ ἔργῳ πεποίηκεν εἰπὼν καὶ ἐπιτελέσας τό· «ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν οἰκοδομήσω μου τὴν ἐκκλησίαν». Σιὼν γὰρ ὄρος τὸ εὐαγγελικὸν κήρυγμα καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τούτῳ τεθεμελιωμένην ἐκκλησίαν πολλάκις ἐξειλήφαμεν. πολυτελῆ δὲ ὄντα τὸν λίθον τοῦτον καὶ ἐκλεκτὸν καὶ τίμιον θήσειν εἰς τὰ θεμέλια τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐπαγγέλλεται. ἐντεῦθεν γωνιαῖος καὶ ἀκρογωνιαῖος κέκληται. εἴη δ' ἂν τὸ ἀνθρώπινον τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν οὕτως ὠνομασμένον σῶμα, ἐπεὶ καὶ κατὰ τὸν ∆ανιὴλ «λίθος τμηθεὶς ἄνευ χειρῶν» ἑωρᾶτο· λίθου μὲν τοῦ ἀνθρωπίνου νοουμένου σώματος, ὄρους δὲ τῆς θεότητος τῆς κατὰ τὸν σωτῆρα. Ἐν τούτῳ δὲ τῷ λίθῳ φησὶ θήσω κρίσιν εἰς ἐλπίδα· κρίνων γὰρ ὁ λίθος οὗτος ἀγαθὰς παρέξει τοῖς κρινομένοις ἐλπίδας, ἐπειδὴ συνῆπται αὐτῷ ἐλεημοσύνη μετὰ τοῦ δικαιοτάτου σταθμοῦ καὶ μέτρου· διὸ λέλεκται· ἡ δὲ ἐλεημοσύνη μου εἰς σταθμούς. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν περὶ τοῦ λίθου εἴρηται, πρὸς δὲ τοὺς εἰρηκότας ἀνωτέρω· «ἐθήκαμεν ψεῦδος τὴν ἐλπίδα ἡμῶν καὶ τῷ ψεύδει σκεπασθησόμεθα», ἐπιλέγει τὰ ἑξῆς φάσκων· καὶ οἱ πεποιθότες μάτην ψεύδει· ὅτι οὐ μὴ παρέλθῃ ὑμᾶς καταιγίς, μὴ καὶ ἀφέλῃ ὑμῶν τὴν διαθήκην τοῦ θανάτου· μὴ γὰρ ἑαυτούς φησιν ἀπατᾶτε φάσκοντες· ἐπεὶ τῷ θανάτῳ ἐφιλώθημεν, οὐ μὴ ἐπέλθῃ ἐφ' ἡμᾶς καταιγίς, οὐδὲ πειραθησόμεθά τινος λυπηροῦ. ἀκούετε γὰρ ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη καὶ μανθάνατε, ὦ οὗτοι οἱ πεποιθότες τῷ ψεύδει καὶ εἰρηκότες· «ἐθήκαμεν ψεῦδος τὴν ἐλπίδα ἡμῶν καὶ τῷ ψεύδει σκεπασθησόμεθα», ὅτι καταιγὶς παρελθοῦσα οὐ παρελεύσεται ὑμᾶς, ἀλλὰ ἀφελεῖ ὑμῶν τὴν πρὸς τὸν θάνατον συνθήκην, καὶ ἡ ἐλπὶς ὑμῶν ἡ πρὸς τὸν ᾅδην οὐ μὴ ἐμμείνῃ· σαθρῷ γὰρ πράγματι ἑαυτοὺς ἐπιστεύσατε θανάτῳ καὶ ᾅδῃ τὰς ὑμετέρας ἐλπίδας ἀναρτήσαντες. διόπερ καταιγὶς φερομένη ἐὰν ἐπέλθῃ, ἔσεσθε αὐτῇ εἰς καταπάτημα. Εἰ δὲ καὶ μέλλοι παριέναι καὶ ἀπιέναι, μακρὰν