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suffering these things, they are paying the penalty for their sins, he added; And for a recompense to them. Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back always. Do these things then need any interpretation? Are they not clear even to the very foolish? And before our words, the very outcome of events, having anticipated them, testifies to what was said. For when were they so easily subdued? When so easily captured? When did he so bow down their back? When did they endure such slavery? And what is greater, that there will be no release from these terrible things; which the prophet himself also hinted at. For he did not simply say, Bow down their back, but also, Always. But if you are contentious, O Jew, concerning the end, learn the present things also from the past. You went down into Egypt; but it was for two hundred years, and God quickly delivered you from that bondage, and this while you were acting impiously and committing the most grievous fornication; you were delivered from Egypt, and you worshipped the calf, you sacrificed your sons to Baal-peor, you defiled the temple, you went through every form of wickedness, you ignored nature itself, the mountains, the glens, the hills, the springs, the rivers, the gardens you filled with abominable sacrifices, you slaughtered prophets, you destroyed altars, you showed every excess of depravity and impiety; but nevertheless, after delivering you to the Babylonians for seventy years, he brought you back again to your former freedom, and gave back the temple and your country, and the ancient form of prophecy, and prophets again and the grace of the Spirit; or rather, not even in the time of the captivity were you abandoned, but even there Daniel and Ezekiel, and in Egypt Jeremiah, and in the desert Moses. 60.585 2. After those things you returned again to your former wickedness, and you were driven to frenzy, and you changed to the Greek way of life under Antiochus the impious; but even then, for only three years and a little more, having been delivered to Antiochus, through the Maccabees you again set up splendid trophies. But now there is nothing of the sort, but quite the opposite has happened; which is especially to be wondered at, that the acts of wickedness have ceased, but the punishment is intensified, and it has no hope of change. For not only have seventy years passed, nor a hundred, nor twice that many, but even three hundred and much more, and not even a shadow of such a hope can be found, and this though you are not practicing idolatry, nor doing the other things which you dared to do before. What then is the cause? The truth has succeeded the type, and grace has shut out the law; which things, therefore, the prophet proclaiming from of old said: And bow down their back always. Do you see the accuracy of the prophecy, how it proclaimed beforehand their unbelief, and showed their contentiousness, and declared the punishment that would follow, and pointed out the endlessness of the chastisement? For since many of the duller sort, disbelieving in the future, wished to see the future from the present, from this point Christ gave proof of his power in both directions, raising up those of the Gentiles who believed above heaven, but bringing down those of the Jews who disbelieved to the utmost desolation, and delivering them to unending evils. Having therefore rebuked them severely, both for what they disbelieved, and for what they both suffered and were about to suffer, he again offers comfort for what was said, writing thus: I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? By no means. When he has shown that they are responsible for countless evils, he then devises a consolation. And consider the wisdom of Paul; he introduced the accusation from the prophets, but he offers the consolation from himself. For that great sins have been committed by them, he says, no one will deny; but let us see if the fall is of such a kind as to be incurable, and to have no correction. But it is not so. Do you see how he rebukes them again, and in the expectation of consolation makes them responsible for acknowledged sins? But let us see what consolation he also devises for them. What then is the consolation? When the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, he says, then all Israel

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ἁμαρτημάτων τίνουσι δίκην ταῦτα πάσχοντες, ἐπήγαγε· Καὶ εἰς ἀνταπόδομα αὐτοῖς. Σκοτισθήτωσαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτῶν τοῦ μὴ βλέπειν, καὶ τὸν νῶτον αὐτῶν διαπαντὸς σύγκαμψον. Ταῦτ' οὖν ἔτι ἑρμηνείας δεῖταί τινος; οὐχὶ καὶ τοῖς σφόδρα ἀνοήτοις δῆλα ἦν; Καὶ πρὸ τῶν ἡμετέρων ῥημάτων αὐτὴ τῶν πραγμάτων ἡ ἔκβασις προλαβοῦσα μαρτυρεῖ τοῖς εἰρημένοις. Πότε γὰρ οὕτως εὐχείρωτοι γεγόνασι; πότε εὐάλωτοι; πότε οὕτω τὸν νῶτον αὐτῶν συνέκαμψε; πότε τοιαύτην δουλείαν ὑπέστησαν; Καὶ τὸ δὴ μεῖζον, ὅτι οὐδὲ λύσις ἔσται τῶν δεινῶν τούτων· ὃ καὶ αὐτὸ ὁ προφήτης ᾐνίξατο. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἁπλῶς εἶπε, Τὸν νῶτον αὐτῶν σύγκαμψον, ἀλλὰ καὶ, ∆ιαπαντός. Εἰ δὲ φιλονεικεῖς, ὦ Ἰουδαῖε, περὶ τοῦ τέλους, ἀπὸ τῶν φθασάντων μάνθανε καὶ τὰ παρόντα. Κατέβης εἰς Αἴγυπτον· ἀλλ' ἐγένετο διακόσια ἔτη, καὶ ταχέως τῆς δουλείας ἐκείνης σε ἀπήλλαξεν ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ ταῦτα ἀσεβοῦντα καὶ πορνεύοντα τὴν χαλεπωτάτην πορνείαν· ἀπηλλάγης Αἰγύπτου, καὶ προσεκύνησας τὸν μόσχον, ἔθυσας τοὺς υἱούς σου τῷ Βεελφεγὼρ, τὸν ναὸν ἐμόλυνας, πᾶν εἶδος ἐπῆλθες κακίας, τὴν φύσιν αὐτὴν ἠγνόησας, τὰ ὄρη, τὰς νάπας, τοὺς βουνοὺς, τὰς πηγὰς, τοὺς ποταμοὺς, τοὺς κήπους τῶν θυσιῶν ἐνέπλησας τῶν ἐναγῶν, προφήτας ἔσφαξας, θυσιαστήρια κατέστρεψας, πᾶσαν ὑπερβολὴν ἐπεδείξω πονηρίας καὶ ἀσεβείας· ἀλλ' ὅμως ἑβδομήκοντά σε ἔτη παραδοὺς Βαβυλωνίοις, πάλιν ἐπὶ τὴν προτέραν ἐπανήγαγεν ἐλευθερίαν, καὶ τὸν ναὸν καὶ τὴν πατρίδα ἀπέδωκε, καὶ τὸ παλαιὸν τῆς προφητείας σχῆμα, καὶ προφῆται πάλιν καὶ Πνεύματος χάρις· μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδὲ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας ἐγκατελείφθης, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐκεῖ ∆ανιὴλ καὶ Ἰεζεκιὴλ, καὶ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ Ἱερεμίας, καὶ ἐν ἐρήμῳ Μωϋσῆς. 60.585 βʹ. Μετ' ἐκεῖνα πάλιν ἐπὶ τὴν προτέραν ἐπανῆλθες κακίαν, καὶ ἐξεβακχεύθης, καὶ πρὸς τὴν Ἑλληνικὴν μετετάξω πολιτείαν ἐπὶ Ἀντιόχου τοῦ ἀσεβοῦς· ἀλλὰ καὶ τότε ἔτη τρία μόνον καὶ μικρόν τι πρὸς, Ἀντιόχῳ παραδοθέντες, διὰ τῶν Μακκαβαίων τὰ λαμπρὰ πάλιν ἐστήσατε τρόπαια. Ἀλλὰ νῦν τοιοῦτον οὐδὲν, ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον ἅπαν γέγονεν· ὃ καὶ μάλιστα ἔστι θαυμάσαι, ὅτι τὰ μὲν τῆς κακίας ἔληξε, τὰ δὲ τῆς τιμωρίας ἐπιτέταται, καὶ οὐδὲ ἐλπίδα τινὰ ἔχει μεταβολῆς. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἑβδομήκοντα ἔτη παρῆλθε μόνον, οὐδὲ ἑκατὸν, οὐδὲ δὶς τοσαῦτα, ἀλλὰ καὶ τριακόσια καὶ πολλῷ πλέον, καὶ οὔτε σκιὰν ἐλπίδος τοιαύτης ἔστιν εὑρεῖν, καὶ ταῦτα οὔτε εἰδωλολατρούντων ὑμῶν, οὔτε τὰ ἄλλα ποιούντων, ἅπερ ἔμπροσθεν ἐτολμᾶτε. Τί ποτ' οὖν ἐστι τὸ αἴτιον; ∆ιεδέξατο τὸν τύπον ἡ ἀλήθεια, καὶ τὸν νόμον ἐξέκλεισεν ἡ χάρις· ἅπερ οὖν ἄνωθεν προαναφωνῶν ὁ προφήτης ἔλεγε· Καὶ τὸν νῶτον αὐτῶν διαπαντὸς σύγκαμψον. Εἶδες προφητείας ἀκρίβειαν, πῶς καὶ τὴν ἀπιστίαν προανεφώνησε, καὶ τὴν φιλονεικίαν ἔδειξε, καὶ τὴν ἑψομένην δίκην ἐδήλωσε, καὶ τὸ ἀπέραντον τῆς κολάσεως ἐνεδείξατο; Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ πολλοὶ τῶν παχυτέρων τοῖς μέλλουσι διαπιστοῦντες, ἀπὸ τῶν παρόντων τὰ μέλλοντα ἐβούλοντο ἰδεῖν, ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη ἐφ' ἑκάτερα τῆς ἑαυτοῦ δυνάμεως τὴν ἀπόδειξιν παρέσχετο ὁ Χριστὸς, τοὺς μὲν ἐξ ἐθνῶν πιστεύσαντας ἐπάρας ὑπὲρ τὸν οὐρανὸν, τοὺς δὲ ἐξ Ἰουδαίων ἀπιστήσαντας εἰς ἔσχατον ἐρημίας κατενεγκὼν, καὶ ἀλύτοις κακοῖς παραδούς. Καθαψάμενος τοίνυν αὐτῶν σφοδρῶς, καὶ ἀφ' ὧν ἠπίστησαν, καὶ ἀφ' ὧν ἔπαθόν τε καὶ ἔμελλον πείσεσθαι, πάλιν παραμυθεῖται τὰ εἰρημένα, γράφων οὕτω· Λέγω οὖν, Μὴ ἔπταισαν ἵνα πέσωσι; Μὴ γένοιτο. Ὅτε ἔδειξε μυρίων ὄντας κακῶν ὑπευθύνους, τότε παραμυθίαν ἐπινοεῖ. Καὶ σκόπει τὴν σύνεσιν τὴν Παύλου· τὴν μὲν κατηγορίαν ἀπὸ τῶν προφητῶν εἰσήγαγε, τὴν δὲ παραμυθίαν παρ' ἑαυτοῦ τίθησιν. Ὅτι μὲν γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἡμάρτηται μεγάλα, φησὶν, οὐδεὶς ἀντερεῖ· ἴδωμεν δὲ, εἰ τοιοῦτον τὸ πτῶμα, ὡς καὶ ἀνίατον εἶναι, καὶ μηδεμίαν ἔχειν διόρθωσιν. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔστι τοιοῦτον. Εἶδες πῶς αὐτῶν πάλιν καθάπτεται, καὶ ἐν προσδοκίᾳ παραμυθίας ὑπευθύνους ποιεῖ ἁμαρτημάτων ὡμολογημένων; Ἴδωμεν δὲ τίνα αὐτοῖς καὶ παραμυθίαν ἐπινοεῖ. Τίς οὖν ἡ παραμυθία; Ὅταν δὲ τὸ πλήρωμα τῶν ἐθνῶν εἰσέλθῃ, φησὶ, τότε πᾶς Ἰσραὴλ