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but let there be two, and three, and four, and ten, and twenty inhabited worlds, and let them say this, and let them do this; but they will not be able to. But the friend of God commanded the friend's creations, or rather, he called upon his friend, and the servants yielded, and the one below commanded those above. Do you see that these things were made for servitude, fulfilling their appointed course? This is greater than the deeds of Moses. Why so? For it is not the same to command the sea, and the things in heaven; for that also was great, and exceedingly great, yet not at all equal. But hear also whence he became so. Why so? The name of Jesus was a type of Christ. Therefore, since he had such a name as a type, which is Jesus, creation revered the name itself. What then? Was no one else called Jesus? But this one was called so for this purpose, as a type; for he was also called Hoshea; for this reason his name was changed; for it was a prefiguration and a prophecy. This man brought the people into the promise, just as Jesus brings us into heaven, not the law, just as Moses did not, but remained outside; the law is not able to bring in, but grace is. Do you see the types prefigured from the beginning? He commanded creation, or rather the master part of creation, the very head, while standing below; so that when you see Jesus in the form of a man saying the same things, you might not be troubled nor think it strange. He, even while Moses was living, routed the enemies; this one, even while the law is living, orders all things, but not openly. But let us see how great is the virtue of the saints. IV. If here they work such things, if here they do such things as the angels do, what then will they do there? how great a splendor do they have? Perhaps each one of you would wish to be such a one, as to be able to command the 63.189 sun and the moon. Here, what would those who say that heaven is a sphere say to this? For why did he not say, Let the sun stand still, but added, Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Elom? That is, Let it make the day longer. This also happened in the time of Hezekiah; for the sun went backward. But this is more wonderful than that, to go back the opposite way, not yet having completed its course. But we shall attain to greater things than these, if we are willing. For what has Christ promised us? Not to make the sun stand still, nor the moon, nor the sun to go backward, but what? We will come to him, I and the Father, He says, and make our abode with him. What need have I of the sun and moon, and of these wonders, when the very Lord of all lodges with me and is established in me; I have no need of this. For what need have I of any of these things? He himself will be to me for a sun and moon and for a light. For tell me, what would you wish, on entering a palace, to be able to rearrange some of the fixed things, or to make the king so much your own as to persuade him to lodge with you? Is not this much more than that? What then? Is it not wonderful, if a man commands these things which Christ also commands? But Christ, he says, does not need the Father, but acts with authority. Well; then first confess and say that He does not need the Father, and acts with authority; and then I will ask you again, or rather I will teach you about the prayer which He makes, that it was of condescension and economy (for Christ was surely not less than Jesus the son of Nave), and of being able to teach us without prayer. For just as when you hear a teacher lisping and listing the letters of the alphabet, you do not say that he is ignorant, and when he asks, where is this letter, you know that he does not ask from ignorance, but wanting to lead on the student; so also Christ, not needing prayer, made the prayer, but wanting to lead you on, so that you might continually attend to prayer, that you might do it without ceasing, that you might do it soberly, and with much watchfulness. By watchfulness I do not mean only to rise at night, but also to be sober in prayers during the day; for such a person is called watchful. Since it is possible both to be asleep while praying at night, and to be watchful while not praying during the day, when the soul is stretched out towards God, when it considers with whom it is conversing, to whom its speech is directed, when it takes into mind that angels stand by with
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δὲ δύο, καὶ τρεῖς, καὶ τέσσαρες, καὶ δέκα, καὶ εἴκοσιν οἰκουμέναι, καὶ λεγέτωσαν, καὶ ποιείτωσαν τοῦτο· ἀλλὰ οὐ δυνήσονται. Ὁ δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ φίλος τοῖς τοῦ φίλου κτίσμασιν ἐπέταττε, μᾶλλον δὲ τὸν φίλον παρεκάλει, καὶ εἶκε τὰ δοῦλα, καὶ ὁ κάτω τοῖς ἄνω προσέταττεν. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι εἰς δουλείαν ταῦτα γέγονε, τὸν δρόμον τὸν διατεταγμένον πληροῦντα; Τοῦτο τῶν Μωϋσέως μεῖζον. Τί δήποτε; Οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἴσον θαλάττῃ ἐπιτάξαι, καὶ τοῖς κατ' οὐρανόν· μέγα μὲν γὰρ κἀκεῖνο, καὶ σφόδρα μέγα, πλὴν ἀλλ' οὐδὲν ἴσον. Ἄκουε δὲ καὶ πόθεν τοιοῦτος γέγονε. Τί δήποτε; Τύπος ἦν τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὸ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ὄνομα. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο τοίνυν, ἐπεὶ τὴν τοιαύτην κλῆσιν ἔσχεν ἐν τύπῳ, ἣν Ἰησοῦς, αὐτὴν τὴν προσηγορίαν ᾐδέσθη ἡ κτίσις. Τί οὖν; ἄλλος οὐκ ἐκλήθη Ἰησοῦς; Ἀλλ' οὗτος ἐπὶ τούτῳ ἐκλήθη ἐν τύπῳ· καὶ γὰρ καὶ Αὐσῆς ἐλέγετο· διὰ τοῦτο μετεβλήθη τὸ ὄνομα· πρόῤῥησις γὰρ ἦν καὶ προφητεία. Οὗτος εἰσήγαγε τὸν λαὸν εἰς τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν, ὥσπερ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν, οὐχ ὁ νόμος, ὥσπερ οὐδὲ ὁ Μωϋσῆς, ἀλλ' ἔξω ἔμενεν· οὐκ ἰσχύει νόμος εἰσαγαγεῖν, ἀλλ' ἡ χάρις. Ὁρᾷς τοὺς τύπους ἄνωθεν προδιαγραφομένους; Ἐπέταξε τῇ κτίσει, μᾶλλον δὲ τῷ κυρίῳ τῆς κτίσεως μέρει, αὐτῇ τῇ κεφαλῇ κάτω ἑστώς· ἵνα, ὅταν ἴδῃς ἐν ἀνθρώπου σχήματι τὸν Ἰησοῦν τὰ αὐτὰ λέγοντα, μὴ θορυβηθῇς μηδὲ ξενισθῇς. Αὐτὸς, καὶ Μωϋσέως ζῶντος, ἐτροπώσατο τοὺς πολεμίους· οὗτος, καὶ τοῦ νόμου ζῶντος, τὰ πάντα διοικεῖ, ἀλλ' οὐ φανερῶς. Πλὴν ἴδωμεν ὅση ἡ ἀρετὴ τῶν ἁγίων. δʹ. Εἰ ἐνταῦθα τοιαῦτα ἐργάζονται, εἰ ἐνταῦθα τοιαῦτα ποιοῦσιν, ἅπερ οἱ ἄγγελοι, τί ἄρα ἐκεῖ; πόσην ἔχουσι τὴν λαμπρότητα; Τάχα τις ὑμῶν ἕκαστος ἐβούλετο εἶναι τοιοῦτος, ὥστε δύνασθαι ἐπιτάττειν τῷ 63.189 ἡλίῳ καὶ τῇ σελήνῃ. Ἐνταῦθα οἱ λέγοντες τὸν οὐρανὸν σφαῖραν εἶναι, πρὸς τοῦτο τί ἂν εἴποιεν; ∆ιὰ τί γὰρ μὴ εἶπε, Στήτω ὁ ἥλιος, ἀλλὰ προσέθηκε, Στήτω ὁ ἥλιος κατὰ Γαβαὼν, καὶ ἡ σελήνη κατὰ φάραγγα Ἐλώμ; Τουτέστι, Μείζονα τὴν ἡμέραν ἐργασάσθω. Τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἐζεκίου γέγονεν· ἀνεπόδισε γὰρ ὁ ἥλιος. Ἀλλὰ τοῦτο ἐκείνου θαυμαστότερον, τὸ τὴν ἐναντίαν ἐλθεῖν πάλιν ὁδὸν, μήπω περιελθόντα τὸν δρόμον. Ἀλλὰ τούτων ἡμεῖς μείζονα ἐπιτευξόμεθα, ἐὰν ἐθέλωμεν. Τίνα γὰρ ἡμῖν ἐπηγγείλατο ὁ Χριστός; Οὐχὶ ἥλιον στήσειν, οὐδὲ σελήνην, οὐδὲ ἀναποδισμὸν ἡλίου, ἀλλὰ τί; Ἐλευσόμεθα πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ, φησὶ, καὶ μονὴν παρ' αὐτῷ ποιήσομεν. Τί μοι δεῖ ἡλίου καὶ σελήνης, καὶ τῶν θαυμάτων τούτων, αὐτοῦ τοῦ ∆εσπότου πάντων παρ' ἐμοὶ καταγομένου καὶ ἐνιδρυμένου· οὐ δεῖ μοι τούτου. Τί γὰρ δεῖ μοί τινος τούτων; αὐτὸς ἔσται μοι εἰς ἥλιον καὶ σελήνην καὶ εἰς φῶς. Εἰπὲ γάρ μοι, τί ἐβούλου, εἰς βασίλεια εἰσελθὼν, δυνηθῆναί τι τῶν πεπηγότων μεταῤῥυθμίσαι, ἢ τὸν βασιλέα οὕτως οἰκειώσασθαι, ὡς πεῖσαι πρὸς σὲ καταχθῆναι; οὐ πολλῷ μᾶλλον τοῦτο, ἢ ἐκεῖνο; Τί δαί; οὐ θαυμαστὸν, εἴπερ ἄνθρωπος ἐπιτάττει ταῦτα ἃ καὶ ὁ Χριστός; Ἀλλ' ὁ Χριστὸς, φησὶν, οὐ δεῖται τοῦ Πατρὸς, ἀλλ' αὐθεντικῶς ποιεῖ. Καλῶς· οὐκοῦν ὁμολόγησον πρῶτον καὶ εἰπὲ, ὅτι οὐ δεῖται τοῦ Πατρὸς, καὶ αὐθεντικῶς ποιεῖ· καὶ τότε σε ἐρήσομαι πάλιν, μᾶλλον δὲ διδάξω περὶ τῆς εὐχῆς ἧς ποιεῖται, ὅτι συγκαταβάσεως καὶ οἰκονομίας ἦν (οὐ γὰρ δὴ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ Ναυῆ ἐλάττων ἦν ὁ Χριστὸς), καὶ τοῦ δύνασθαι διδάσκειν ἡμᾶς χωρὶς εὐχῆς. Ὥσπερ γὰρ διδασκάλου ἀκούων ψελλίζοντος καὶ τὰ στοιχεῖα καταλέγοντος, οὐ φὴς αὐτὸν ἀγνοεῖν, καὶ ὅταν ἐρωτᾷ, ποῦ ἐστι τόδε τὸ στοιχεῖον, οἶδας ὅτι οὐκ ἀγνοῶν ἐρωτᾷ, ἀλλὰ τὸν μαθητευόμενον θέλων ἐναγαγεῖν· οὕτω καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς οὐ δεόμενος εὐχῆς ἐποιεῖτο τὴν εὐχὴν, ἀλλὰ σὲ θέλων ἐναγαγεῖν, ἵνα συνεχῶς προσέχῃς τῇ εὐχῇ, ἵνα ἀδιαλείπτως, ἵνα νηφόντως, καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς ἀγρυπνίας ταύτην ποιῇς. Ἀγρυπνεῖν δὲ οὐ τὸ νυκτὸς ἐγείρεσθαι λέγω μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ νήφειν ἐν ταῖς προσευχαῖς· ἄγρυπνος γὰρ καλεῖται ὁ τοιοῦτος. Ἐπεὶ ἔστι καὶ νυκτὸς εὐχόμενον καθεύδειν, καὶ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ μὴ εὐχόμενον ἀγρυπνεῖν, ὅταν ἡ ψυχὴ τεταμένη ᾖ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, ὅταν ἐννοῇ τίνι διαλέγεται, πρὸς τίνα ὁ λόγος αὐτῇ, ὅταν λάβῃ ἐν νῷ ὅτι ἄγγελοι παρεστήκασι μετὰ