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For having been shut up for so many years in their huts, with no one exhorting them, no one advising them, when they saw so great a cloud surrounding the city, leaving their tents and their caves, they flocked together from all 49.173 sides, just as if some angels had arrived from heaven; and one could see the city resembling heaven then, with those saints appearing everywhere, and by their very appearance alone comforting those who were in distress, and leading them to a complete contempt of misfortune. For who that saw them would not have laughed at death? would not have despised life? And not only was this wonderful, but also that approaching the magistrates themselves they spoke with boldness on behalf of the accused, and they were all prepared to shed their blood and lay down their heads, so as to rescue those who had been captured from the dreadful things that were expected, and they said they would not depart before either the judges spared the people of the city, or they sent them with the accused together to the emperor. For he is beloved of God, they said, who rules our world, faithful, living in piety; we therefore will certainly reconcile him; we will not permit you nor allow you to stain the sword with blood, nor to cut off a head. But if you will not endure it, we too will surely die with them. The things that have been dared are dreadful, we too confess, but the lawlessness of what has been done does not surpass the emperor's love for mankind. One of them is said to have also spoken another saying full of philosophy, that the statues that were pulled down have been set up again, and have received their proper form, and what was done has received a very swift correction; but if you kill the image of God, how will you be able to recall what has been wrongly done? how to raise the dead, and restore their souls to their bodies? They also conversed with them at length about judgment. 2. Who would not be astonished, who would not marvel at the philosophy of the men? For if one mother of an accused man, baring her head and showing her gray hairs, seizing the horse of the man who was about to judge by the bridle, and running alongside through the marketplace thus entered the courthouse with him, we were all astonished, we all marveled at her parental affection, her greatness of soul; how should we not much more be astonished at these men? For if she had died for her child, it would be no wonder; for great is the tyranny of nature, and irresistible the necessity of birth-pangs; but these men loved those whom they had not borne nor reared, or rather whom they had not seen, of whom they had not heard, with whom they had never associated, whom they knew only from their misfortune, so much that, even if they had ten thousand souls, they would have chosen to give them all up for their salvation. For do not tell me this, that they were not slaughtered nor shed their blood, but that they used such boldness toward the judges, as only those who had despaired of their own lives would likely have used, and with such a resolve they ran from the mountains to the courthouse. For unless they had first prepared themselves for every slaughter, they would not have had such strength to speak freely to the judges then and to display such greatness of soul. For they spent the day sitting before the doors of the courthouse, prepared to snatch from the executioners those who were about to be led away. Where now are those who put on the worn cloaks, and show a deep beard, and carry clubs in their right hand, the philosophers from without, the Cynic filth, who are in a more wretched state than table-dogs, and do everything for the sake of their belly? 49.174 All then left the city, all fled, they hid themselves in caves, but only those who truly demonstrate philosophy through their works appeared fearlessly in the marketplace, as if no terrible thing had befallen the city. And those who inhabited the cities flew to the mountains and the deserts, but the citizens of the desert drove into the city, showing through their works, what in the days before

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Ἔτεσι γὰρ τοσούτοις ἐν ταῖς αὐτῶν καλύβαις συγκεκλεισμένοι, οὐδενὸς παρακαλέσαντος, οὐδενὸς συμβουλεύσαντος, ἐπειδὴ τοσοῦτον νέφος εἶδον τὴν πόλιν περιιστάμενον, καταλιπόντες αὐτῶν τὰς σκηνὰς καὶ τὰ σπήλαια, πάντοθεν συν 49.173 έῤῥευσαν, καθάπερ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ τινες ἄγγελοι παραγενόμενοι· καὶ ἦν ἰδεῖν τὴν πόλιν ἐοικυῖαν οὐρανῷ τότε, πανταχοῦ τῶν ἁγίων ἐκείνων φαινομένων, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ὄψεως μόνον παρακαλούντων τοὺς ὀδυνωμένους, καὶ πρὸς πᾶσαν ὑπεροψίαν συμφορᾶς ἀγόντων. Τίς γὰρ ἰδὼν ἐκείνους οὐκ ἂν κατεγέλασε θανάτου; οὐκ ἂν ὑπερεῖδε ζωῆς; Οὐ τοῦτο δὲ μόνον ἦν τὸ θαυμαστὸν, ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ τοῖς ἄρχουσιν αὐτοῖς προσελθόντες μετὰ παῤῥησίας διελέχθησαν ὑπὲρ τῶν ὑπευθύνων, καὶ τὸ αἷμα παρεσκευάσαντο πάντες ἐκχεῖν, καὶ τὰς κεφαλὰς ἀποθέσθαι, ὥστε τοὺς ἁλόντας τῶν προσδοκωμένων ἐξαρπάσαι δεινῶν, καὶ οὐκ ἔφησαν ἀποστήσεσθαι πρότερον, ἕως ἂν ἢ φείσωνται τοῦ δήμου τῆς πόλεως οἱ δικάζοντες, ἢ κοινῇ μετὰ τῶν ὑπευθύνων αὐτοὺς πρὸς βασιλέα πέμψωσι. Θεοφιλὴς γάρ ἐστι, φησὶν, ὁ κρατῶν τῆς καθ' ἡμᾶς οἰκουμένης, πιστὸς, ἐν εὐσεβείᾳ ζῶν· ἡμεῖς οὖν αὐτὸν καταλλάξομεν πάντως· οὐκ ἐπιτρέψομεν ὑμῖν οὐδὲ συγχωρήσομεν αἱμάξαι ξίφος, οὐδὲ ἀποτεμεῖν κεφαλήν. Εἰ δὲ μὴ ἀνάσχοισθε, καὶ ἡμεῖς μετ' αὐτῶν ἀποθανούμεθα πάντως. ∆εινὰ μὲν τὰ τετολμημένα καὶ ἡμεῖς ὁμολογοῦμεν, ἀλλ' οὐχ ὑπερβαίνει τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως φιλανθρωπίαν ἡ τῶν γεγενημένων παρανομία. Λέγεταί τις ἐξ αὐτῶν καὶ ἕτερον ῥῆμα γέμον φιλοσοφίας εἰπεῖν, ὅτι οἱ μὲν ἀνδριάντες οἱ κατενεχθέντες ἀνέστησαν πάλιν, καὶ τὸ οἰκεῖον ἀπέλαβον σχῆμα, καὶ τὸ γεγενημένον διόρθωσιν ἔσχε ταχίστην· ὑμεῖς δὲ ἂν τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν εἰκόνα ἀποκτείνητε, πῶς δυνήσεσθε πάλιν ἀνακαλέσασθαι τὸ πεπλημμελημένον; πῶς ἀναστῆσαι τοὺς ἀπολλυμένους, καὶ τὰς ψυχὰς τοῖς σώμασιν ἀποδοῦναι; Πολλὰ καὶ περὶ κρίσεως αὐτοῖς διελέχθησαν. βʹ. Τίς οὐκ ἂν ἐκπλαγείη, τίς οὐκ ἂν θαυμάσειε τὴν φιλοσοφίαν τῶν ἀνδρῶν; Εἰ γὰρ μία τῶν ὑπευθύνων μήτηρ γυμνώσασα τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὰς πολιὰς δείξασα, τοῦ μέλλοντος δικάζειν κατασχοῦσα τὸν ἵππον ἀπὸ τοῦ χαλινοῦ, καὶ παρατρέχουσα διὰ τῆς ἀγορᾶς οὕτως εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον συνεισῆλθε, πάντες ἐξεπλάγημεν, πάντες ἐθαυμάσαμεν τὴν φιλοστοργίαν, τὴν μεγαλοψυχίαν· πῶς οὐχὶ μᾶλλον τούτους ἐκπλήττεσθαι χρή; Ἐκείνη μὲν γὰρ εἰ καὶ ἀπέθανεν ὑπὲρ τοῦ παιδὸς, οὐδὲν θαυμαστόν· μεγάλη γὰρ ἡ τῆς φύσεως τυραννὶς, καὶ ἄμαχος ἡ τῶν ὠδίνων ἀνάγκη· οὗτοι δὲ οὓς οὐκ ἐγέννησαν οὐδὲ ἔθρεψαν, μᾶλλον δὲ οὓς οὐκ εἶδον, ὧν οὐκ ἤκουσαν, οἷς οὐδέποτε συνεγένοντο, οὓς ἀπὸ τῆς συμφορᾶς ἐγνώρισαν μόνης, οὕτως ἐφίλησαν ὡς, εἰ καὶ μυρίας εἶχον ψυχὰς, ἑλέσθαι πάσας ὑπὲρ τῆς τούτων ἐπιδοῦναι σωτηρίας. Μὴ γάρ μοι τοῦτο εἴπῃς, ὅτι οὐκ ἐσφάγησαν οὐδὲ ἐξέχεαν τὸ αἷμα, ἀλλ' ὅτι τοσαύτῃ πρὸς τοὺς δικάζοντας ἐχρήσαντο παῤῥησίᾳ, ὅσῃ μόνους τοὺς ἀπεγνωκότας τῆς ἑαυτῶν ψυχῆς χρήσασθαι εἰκὸς ἦν, καὶ μετὰ τοιαύτης γνώμης ἀπὸ τῶν ὀρῶν ἐπὶ τὸ δικαστήριον ἔδραμον. Οὐδὲ γὰρ, εἰ μὴ πρότερον ἑαυτοὺς πρὸς πᾶσαν παρεσκεύασαν σφαγὴν, οὐκ ἂν οὕτως ἴσχυσαν πρὸς τοὺς δικάζοντας ἐλευθεροστομῆσαι τότε καὶ τοσαύτην ἐπιδείξασθαι με γαλοψυχίαν. Καὶ γὰρ διημέρευον πρὸ τῶν θυρῶν τοῦ δικαστηρίου καθήμενοι, τοὺς ἀπάγεσθαι μέλλοντας ἐξαρπάσαι τῶν δημίων παρεσκευασμένοι. Ποῦ νῦν εἰσιν οἱ τοὺς τρίβωνας ἀναβεβλημένοι, καὶ βαθὺ γένειον δεικνύντες, καὶ ῥόπαλα τῇ δεξιᾷ φέροντες, οἱ τῶν ἔξωθεν φιλόσοφοι, τὰ κυνικὰ καθάρματα, οἱ τῶν ἐπιτραπεζίων κυνῶν ἀθλιώτερον διακείμενοι, καὶ γαστρὸς 49.174 ἕνεκεν πάντα ποιοῦντες; Πάντες κατέλιπον τότε τὴν πόλιν, πάντες ἀπεπήδησαν, εἰς τὰ σπήλαια κατεκρύβησαν, μόνοι δὲ οἱ διὰ τῶν ἔργων ἀληθῶς τὴν φιλοσοφίαν ἐπιδεικνύμενοι, καθάπερ οὐδενὸς δεινοῦ τὴν πόλιν κατειληφότος, οὕτως ἀδεῶς ἐπὶ τῆς ἀγορᾶς ἐφάνησαν. Καὶ οἱ μὲν τὰς πόλεις οἰκοῦντες πρὸς τὰ ὄρη καὶ τὰς ἐρημίας ἀπέπτησαν, οἱ δὲ τῆς ἐρήμου πολῖται εἰς τὴν πόλιν εἰσήλασαν, δεικνύντες διὰ τῶν ἔργων αὐτῶν, ὅπερ ἐν ταῖς ἔμπροσθεν ἡμέραις