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they hid themselves. Since the apostles also did this. For they did not always, appearing in the midst, leap into dangers, but there were times when they withdrew, both fleeing and hiding. But when they had caught their breath a little, like some noble lions' cubs, leaping out from the caves and emerging from their hiding places, they knew they must no longer save only themselves, but also others, as many as they could; and going around the entire city and country, they gathered up all whom they found to be of sound mind; and many also of the weary and corrupt they won back again, persuading them to return to the ancestral law. For they said that God is a lover of mankind, and never takes away the salvation that comes from repentance. And saying these things, they enlisted armies of noble men. For they were fighting not for wives, and children, and maidens, and the depopulation and enslavement of their homeland, but for the ancestral law and 55.168 constitution; and God was their general. Therefore, having drawn up in battle array, and giving their lives, they destroyed their enemies, not trusting in weapons, but having the cause of the battle as sufficient in place of all armor. Therefore, going into the war, they did not make a tragedy of it, they did not sing paeans, as some do, nor did they bring in flute-players, as in other armies; but they called upon God from above to be present and to fight with them, and to stretch out His hand, for whose sake they were at war, for whose glory they were contending. Let us see, then, what this army of God utters, fortified by spiritual aid, as it is about to go against the enemy. O God, with our ears we have heard. For since some of those arrayed with them, seeing both the multitude and the battle line of Antiochus, and the victory, and that they took all things by assault, and considering their own weakness and small number, were more faint-hearted and weaker, stirring up their spirit, and showing that everything rests upon the generalship of God, and that without armies, with Him fighting alongside, it is possible to prevail, in the form of a prayer he makes a certain exhortation and counsel to the soldiers, and by speaking with God he makes them more eager. And this is no small part of the exhortation. For the speech would not have been equally effective if turned toward them, as when it is directed toward God. Therefore, he went on to say this: Not by their sword did they inherit the land, and their right hand did not save them. For this was for the sake of winning back those who were more weakly disposed towards the labors, those seeking victory according to human consequence. This entire prayer, then, is an exhortation to the armies, bidding them to cast everything upon God, and to make the victory depend on hope from Him. But why did he not say, We have heard, simply, but, With our ears we have heard? For with what other part of the body does one hear? Is what is said then a redundancy? May it not be; but it is a common custom of men, whenever they are relating things about which they have been fully informed, and are making the narration about certain great and immense things, to those not yet fully informed, they always add "the ears," saying they have heard with their ears. Not only in this activity, but also in others we are accustomed to do the same, calling the senses themselves as witnesses. Therefore, making the addition of "the ears" is a way of assuring the listener. Since we also do the same with eyes and hands, as when we say. With our hands we have touched. And the apostles also said, That which our eyes have seen; that which our hands have touched. But see their virtue from the very beginning and from this point; having suffered so many and such terrible things for God, having been cast out of their homeland, from freedom, having fallen into dangers, and others having also become exiles, the

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ἔκρυπτον ἑαυτούς. Ἐπεὶ καὶ οἱ ἀπόστολοι τοῦτο ἐποίουν. Οὐ γὰρ ἀεὶ φαινόμενοι ἐν τῷ μέσῳ ἐπεπήδων τοῖς κινδύνοις, ἀλλ' ἔστιν ὅτε καὶ φεύγοντες καὶ λανθάνοντες ὑπεχώρουν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ μικρὸν ἀνέπνευσαν, καθάπερ τινὲς σκύλακες γενναῖοι, ἐκπηδήσαντες ἐκ τῶν σπηλαίων καὶ προκύψαντες ἐκ τῶν καταδύσεων, ἔγνωσαν μηκέτι μόνους ἑαυτοὺς διασώζειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑτέρους, ὅσους οἷοί τ' ἂν ὦσι· καὶ τὴν πόλιν καὶ τὴν χώραν περιιόντες ἅπασαν, ἀνελέγοντο πάντας, ὅσους ηὕρισκον ὑγιῶς διακειμένους· πολλοὺς δὲ καὶ τῶν κεκμηκότων καὶ διεφθαρμένων ἀνεκτῶντο πάλιν, πείθοντες ἐπὶ τὸν πατρῷον νόμον ἐπαναδραμεῖν. Τὸν γὰρ Θεὸν φιλάνθρωπον εἶναι ἔφασκον, καὶ μηδέποτε τὴν ἐκ τῆς μετανοίας ἀναιρεῖν σωτηρίαν. Ταῦτα δὲ λέγοντες, στρατόπεδα κατέλεγον ἀνδρῶν γενναίων. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ὑπὲρ γυναικῶν, καὶ παίδων, καὶ παιδισκῶν, καὶ ἀπαναστάσεως καὶ ἀνδραποδισμοῦ τῆς πατρίδος, ἀλλ' ὑπὲρ νόμου καὶ πο 55.168 λιτείας ἐμάχοντο πατρῴας· ἐστρατήγει δὲ αὐτοῖς ὁ Θεός. Παραταξάμενοι τοίνυν, καὶ τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν ἐπιδιδόντες, κατέλυον τοὺς ἐναντίους, οὐχ ὅπλοις θαῤῥοῦντες, ἀλλ' ἀντὶ πάσης παντευχίας ἀρκοῦσαν ἔχοντες τὴν τῆς μάχης ὑπόθεσιν. Ἰόντες τοίνυν εἰς τὸν πόλεμον, οὐκ ἐτραγῴδουν, οὐ παιᾶνας ᾖδον, καθάπερ τινὲς ποιοῦσιν, οὐδὲ τοὺς αὐλοῦντας προσκαθίεσαν, καθάπερ ἐν ἄλλοις στρατοπέδοις· ἀλλὰ τὸν Θεὸν ἄνωθεν ἐκάλουν παρεῖναι καὶ συμμαχεῖν, καὶ χεῖρα ὀρέγειν, δι' ὃν ἐπολεμοῦντο, ὑπὲρ οὗ τῆς δόξης ἠγωνίζοντο. Ἴδωμεν τοίνυν τί φθέγγεται τὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦτο στρατόπεδον, τὸ τῇ πνευματικῇ φραττόμενον βοηθείᾳ, μέλλον ἐπιέναι τοῖς πολεμίοις. Ὁ Θεὸς, ἐν τοῖς ὠσὶν ἡμῶν ἠκούσαμεν. Ἐπειδὴ γάρ τινες τῶν συντεταγμένων αὐτοῖς, τό τε πλῆθος καὶ τὴν παράταξιν ὁρῶντες τὴν Ἀντιόχου, καὶ τὴν νίκην, καὶ ὅτι πάντα ἐξ ἐπιδρομῆς ἐλάμβανον, τήν τε οἰκείαν ἀσθένειαν καὶ ὀλιγότητα λογιζόμενοι, μαλακώτεροι ἦσαν καὶ ἀσθενέστεροι, διεγείρων αὐτῶν τὸ φρόνημα, καὶ δεικνὺς, ὅτι τὸ πᾶν ἐπὶ τῇ στρατηγίᾳ κεῖται τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ χωρὶς στρατοπέδων, συμμαχοῦντος αὐτοῦ, δυνατὸν περιγενέσθαι, ἐν εὐχῆς τάξει τινὰ παραίνεσιν καὶ συμβουλὴν ποιεῖται πρὸς τοὺς στρατιώτας, καὶ τῷ Θεῷ διαλεγόμενος προθυμοτέρους ἐκείνους ἐργάζεται. Οὐ μικρὸν δὲ τοῦτο παρακλήσεως μέρος. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἂν ἴσχυσεν ὁμοίως ὁ λόγος πρὸς ἐκείνους τετραμμένος, καὶ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἀποτεινόμενος. ∆ιὸ δὴ καὶ τοῦτο προϊὼν ἔλεγεν· Οὐκ ἐπὶ τῇ ῥομφαίᾳ αὐτῶν ἐκληρονόμησαν γῆν, καὶ ἡ δεξιὰ αὐτῶν οὐκ ἔσωσεν αὐτούς. Τοῦτο γὰρ τοὺς ἀσθενέστερον πρὸς τοὺς πόνους διακειμένους ἦν ἀνακτωμένου, τοὺς κατὰ ἀνθρωπίνην ἀκολουθίαν ζητοῦντας τὴν νίκην. Πᾶσα τοίνυν ἡ εὐχὴ αὕτη προτροπὴ τοῖς στρατοπέδοις ἐστὶ, τὸ πᾶν ἐπὶ τὸν Θεὸν ῥῖψαι κελεύουσα, καὶ ἐξαρτῆσαι τῆς ἐκεῖθεν ἐλπίδος τὴν νίκην. ∆ιὰ τί δὲ οὐκ εἶπεν, Ἠκούσαμεν, ἁπλῶς, ἀλλ', Ἐν τοῖς ὠσὶν ἡμῶν ἠκούσαμεν; Ποίῳ γὰρ ἑτέρῳ μέρει τις ἀκούει τοῦ σώματος; Ἆρα μὴ περιττολογία τὰ λεγόμενα; Μὴ γένοιτο· ἀλλὰ κοινὸν ἔθος τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐστὶν, ὅταν τινὰ διηγῶνται, ὑπὲρ ὧν εἰσι πεπληροφορημένοι, καὶ περὶ μεγάλων τινῶν καὶ ὑπερόγκων ποιῶνται τὴν διήγησιν, πρὸς τοὺς οὔπω μὴ σφόδρα πεπληροφορημένους, προστιθέασιν ἀεὶ τὰ ὦτα, φάσκοντες τοῖς ὠσὶν ἀκηκοέναι. Οὐκ ἐπὶ ταυτησὶ δὲ τῆς ἐνεργείας μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων τὸ αὐτὸ ποιεῖν εἰώθαμεν, μάρτυρας καλοῦντες αὐτὰς τὰς αἰσθήσεις. Πιστουμένων τοίνυν ἐστὶ τὸν ἀκροατὴν, τὸ τῶν ὤτων τὴν προσθήκην ποιεῖν. Ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐπὶ ὀφθαλμῶν καὶ χειρῶν τὸ αὐτὸ ποιοῦμεν, ὡς ὅταν λέγωμεν. Ταῖς χερσὶν ἡμῶν ἐψηλαφήσαμεν. Καὶ οἱ ἀπόστολοι δὲ ἔλεγον, Ἃ ἑωράκασιν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ ἡμῶν· ἃ αἱ χεῖρες ἡμῶν ἐψηλάφησαν. Ὅρα δὲ αὐτῶν ἐκ προοιμίων κἀντεῦθεν τὴν ἀρετήν· τοσαῦτα καὶ τηλικαῦτα παθόντες δεινὰ διὰ τὸν Θεὸν, πατρίδος ἐκπεσόντες, ἐλευθερίας, κινδύνοις περιπεπτωκότες, ἄλλοι δὲ καὶ φυγάδες γενόμενοι, τὰ