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For he uttered nothing to him, but stood by in silence; but wanting to give him a pretext for his supplication on their behalf. This we also often do, and when servants have committed offenses worthy of punishment, neither wishing to punish them, nor to release them from the fear of punishment, we order friends to snatch them from our hands, so that both the fear remains strong in them, and they escape the blows from us. Such a thing can also be seen to have happened in the case of Jonah. For the word of the Lord, it says, came to Jonah the prophet, saying: 'Arise and go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach in it: "Yet three days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown."' But Jonah, hearing this, went down to Joppa to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. Where are you fleeing, man? Are you fleeing the Master, tell me? Well then, wait a little, and you will learn from the events themselves that you will not be able to escape even the hands of the servant sea. For he had not even boarded the ship, when it stirred up the waves, and was lifted to a great height. And just as a loyal handmaiden, finding a fellow-servant who is a fugitive, having stolen some of the master's possessions, does not desist from causing countless troubles for those who received him 63.734 until she takes him and departs; so indeed the sea, finding and recognizing her own fellow-servant, causes countless troubles for the sailors, stirring, roaring, not dragging him to a court, but threatening to sink the vessel with all hands, unless they gave the fellow-servant back to her. While these things were happening, they made, it says, a jettison of the cargo; but the ship was not lightened; for the entire freight still remained inside, the body of the prophet, the heavy cargo, not on account of the nature of his body, but on account of the burden of sin. For nothing is so heavy and hard to bear as sin and disobedience. And just as in a court of law, with accusers present, and witnesses standing by, and examinations taking place, those who condemn do not cast their vote until the condemned man himself becomes the accuser of his own sin; so indeed can be seen in the case of the sailors and the prophet. For they cast, it says, a lot; and the lot then delivered the responsible one to the vote. But they, not even then did they take him and cast him into the sea, but with so much uproar and turmoil pressing upon them, and with the sea not even permitting them to breathe, but raging and roaring and continually raising up the waves, as if enjoying much tranquility, they indeed set up a court on the ship, and gave him leave to speak, and deemed him worthy of a defense, and examined everything with precision, as if they were about to give an account to someone for what they would vote; and not even with the sea crying out against him, nor the lot testifying against him, nor himself having confessed the sin, do they cast their vote. Whence then came such great care? From the economy of God. For God permitted these things to happen, teaching the prophet through them to be philanthropic and gentle, and all but crying out to him and saying, 'Imitate the sailors, barbarian and foolish men; for they do not despise even one soul, nor do they spare one body, yours; but you have given up an entire city, which has so many myriads, for your part at least; and while these men, having found the cause of the evils that had befallen them, not even then do they rush to the condemning vote; you, however, having nothing to charge the Ninevites with, have drowned and destroyed them. But most people become advocates for their own sins, but accusers of others'. And many often say that affairs and the state are in a bad condition, and they say the cause is the poor counsel of the rulers; but I say, that it is not the poor counsel of the rulers, but our sin, that has turned things upside down, that has brought in all the terrible things; not from elsewhere has the swarm of troubles overflowed upon us. So that even if Abraham be the one ruling, or Moses, or David, or

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οὐδὲν γὰρ ἐφθέγξατο πρὸς αὐτὸν, ἀλλὰ σιγῇ παρειστήκει· ἀλλὰ πρόφασιν αὐτῷ δοῦναι βουλόμενος τῆς ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἱκετηρίας. Τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς πολλάκις ποιοῦμεν, καὶ οἰκέτας ἄξια κολάσεως πλημμελήσαντας οὔτε κολάσαι βουλόμενοι, οὔτε τοῦ ἐκ τῆς κολάσεως ἀπαλλάξαι φόβου, φίλοις κελεύομεν τῶν ἡμετέρων αὐτοὺς ἐξαρπάσαι χειρῶν, ὥστε καὶ τὸν φόβον αὐτοῖς ἐνακμάζοντα μένειν, καὶ τὰς παρ' ἡμῶν πληγὰς διαφυγεῖν. Τοιοῦτον καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἰωνᾶ γενόμενον ἔστιν ἰδεῖν. Ἐγένετο γὰρ, φησὶ, λόγος Κυρίου πρὸς Ἰωνᾶν τὸν προφήτην, λέγων· Ἀνάστηθι καὶ πορεύθητι εἰς Νινευὶ τὴν πόλιν τὴν μεγάλην, καὶ κήρυξον ἐν αὐτῇ· Ἔτι τρεῖς ἡμέραι, καὶ Νινευὶ καταστραφήσεται. Ἀκούσας δὲ Ἰωνᾶς κατέβη εἰς Ἰόππην τοῦ φυγεῖν εἰς Θαρσεῖς ἀπὸ προσώπου Κυρίου. Ποῦ φεύγεις, ἄνθρωπε; τὸν ∆εσπότην φεύγεις, εἰπέ μοι; οὐκοῦν μικρὸν ἀνάμεινον, καὶ δι' αὐτῶν τῶν πραγμάτων μαθήσῃ, ὅτι οὐδὲ τῆς δούλης θαλάσσης τὰς χεῖρας δυνήσῃ διαφυγεῖν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐπέβη τῆς νηὸς οὗτος, κἀκείνη τὰ κύματα διανέστησε, καὶ πρὸς ὕψος ἠγείρετο μέγα. Καὶ καθάπερ θεράπαινά τις εὐγνώμων σύνδουλον εὑροῦσα φυγάδα, τῶν δεσποτικῶν ὑφελόμενόν τι κτημάτων, οὐ πρότερον ἀφίσταται μυρία τοῖς ὑποδεξαμένοις αὐτὸν παρ 63.734 έχουσα πράγματα, ἕως ἂν λαβοῦσα αὐτὸν ἀπέλθῃ· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἡ θάλασσα τὸν σύνδουλον εὑροῦσα τὸν ἑαυτῆς καὶ ἐπιγνοῦσα, μυρία τοῖς ναύταις παρέχει πράγματα, ταράττουσα, βοῶσα, οὐκ εἰς δικαστήριον ἕλκουσα, ἀλλ' αὔτανδρον ἀπειλοῦσα καταδύειν τὸ σκάφος, εἰ μὴ τὸν ὁμόδουλον ἀποδοῖεν αὐτῇ. Τούτων γινομένων, ἐποιήσαντο, φησὶν, ἐκβολὴν τῶν σκευῶν· τὸ δὲ πλοῖον οὐκ ἐκουφίζετο· ὁ γὰρ φόρτος ἅπας ἔνδον ἔμεινεν ἔτι, τοῦ προφήτου τὸ σῶμα, τὸ βαρὺ φορτίον, οὐ παρὰ τὴν τοῦ σώματος φύσιν, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἄχθος. Οὐδὲν γὰρ οὕτω βαρὺ καὶ δυσβάστακτον ὡς ἁμαρτία καὶ παρακοή. Καὶ καθάπερ ἐν δικαστηρίῳ καὶ κατηγόρων παρόντων, καὶ μαρτύρων ἐφεστηκότων, καὶ ἐλέγχων γινομένων, οὐ πρότερον οἱ καταδικάζοντες τὴν ψῆφον ἐκφέρουσιν, ἕως ἂν αὐτὸς ὁ κατάδικος κατήγορος τῆς οἰκείας ἁμαρτίας γένηται· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ναυτῶν καὶ τοῦ προφήτου ἔστιν ἰδεῖν. Ἔβαλον γὰρ, φησὶ, κλῆρον· καὶ παρέδωκεν ὁ κλῆρος λοιπὸν τῇ ψήφῳ τὸν ὑπεύθυνον. Οἱ δὲ οὐδὲ οὕτως αὐτὸν λαβόντες κατεπόντισαν, ἀλλὰ θορύβου τοσούτου καὶ ταραχῆς ἐπικειμένης, καὶ τῆς θαλάσσης οὐδὲ ἀναπνεῖν ἐπιτρεπούσης, ἀλλὰ καὶ μαινομένης καὶ καταβοώσης καὶ συνεχῆ τὰ κύματα ἐπεγειρούσης, ὥσπερ ἡσυχίας πολλῆς ἀπολαύοντες, οὕτω δὴ καὶ δικαστήριον ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ καθίσαντες, καὶ λόγου μετέδωκαν αὐτῷ, καὶ ἀπολογίας ἠξίωσαν, καὶ πάντα μετὰ ἀκριβείας ἐξήταζον, ὥσπερ τινὶ μέλλοντες εὐθύνας παρασχεῖν ὧν ἂν ψηφίσοιντο· καὶ οὐδὲ τῆς θαλάσσης καταβοώσης, οὐδὲ τοῦ κλήρου καταμαρτυρήσαντος, οὐδὲ ἑαυτοῦ καθομολογήσαντος τὸ ἁμάρτημα, τὴν ψῆφον ἐπάγουσι. Πόθεν οὖν ἡ τοσαύτη γέγονε πρόνοια; Ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ οἰκονομίας. Ὁ γὰρ Θεὸς συνεχώρει ταῦτα γενέσθαι, τὸν προφήτην διὰ τούτων παιδεύων φιλάνθρωπον εἶναι καὶ ἥμερον, καὶ μονονουχὶ βοῶν πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ λέγων, Μίμησαι τοὺς ναύτας, ἀνθρώπους βαρβάρους καὶ ἀνοήτους· αὐτοὶ μὲν γὰρ οὐδὲ μιᾶς καταφρονοῦσι ψυχῆς, οὐδὲ ἑνὸς ἀφειδοῦσι σώματος τοῦ σοῦ· σὺ δὲ ὁλόκληρον πόλιν, τοσαύτας ἔχουσαν μυριάδας, ἐκδέδωκας, τό γε σὸν μέρος· καὶ οὗτοι μὲν τὸν αἴτιον τῶν γεγενημένων αὐτοῖς κακῶν εὑρόντες, οὐδὲ οὕτως ὁρμῶσιν ἐπὶ τὴν καταδικάζουσαν ψῆφον· σὺ δὲ οὐδὲν ἔχων ἐγκαλεῖν τοῖς Νινευίταις, κατέδυσας αὐτοὺς καὶ ἀπώλεσας. Ἀλλ' οἱ πολλοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τῶν μὲν ἰδίων ἁμαρτημάτων συνήγοροι γίνονται, τῶν δὲ ἀλλοτρίων κατήγοροι. Καὶ πολλοὶ πολλάκις κακῶς τὰ τῶν πραγμάτων καὶ τῆς πολιτείας διακεῖσθαί φασι, καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν ἐκ τῆς τῶν κρατούντων ἀβουλίας γίνεσθαι λέγουσιν· ἐγὼ δέ φημι, ὡς οὐχ ἡ τῶν κρατούντων ἀβουλία, ἀλλ' ἡ ἡμῶν ἁμαρτία, ἐκείνη τὰ ἄνω κάτω πεποίηκεν, ἐκείνη πάντα τὰ δεινὰ εἰσήγαγεν· οὐκ ἄλλοθεν ἡμῖν ὁ τῶν ἀνιαρῶν ἐσμὸς ὑπερεχύθη. Ὥστε κἂν Ἀβραάμ τις ᾖ ὁ κρατῶν, κἂν Μωϋσῆς, κἂν ∆αυῒδ, κἂν