163

The facts bear witness to the words; for human nature, having been delivered from its former impiety, has learned piety. And if some of the believers do not live according to the evangelical laws, nevertheless there are myriads beyond number, both among soldiers and private citizens, and among townsmen and country folk, who take great care for virtue. "And abundance of peace, until the moon be taken away." For of old, the toparchies and the kingdoms divided among each nation, afflicted by frequent wars, were not able to enjoy the gift of peace. For they continually pursued the life of a soldier; and many of the Romans and the Greeks wrote about these wars. The histories of the Kings and of the Maccabees also teach us how many evils the toparchies caused. But after the incarnation of our God and Savior, those things ceased, and one kingdom rules our inhabited world, through which established peace has given strength to the divine proclamation. And the phrase, "until the moon be taken away," means, for all the time of this present life. For it is superfluous to speak of the future, in which true peace will reign. 8. "And he shall have dominion from sea to sea." That is, he will rule all the ends of the inhabited world. For since beyond the land are the great and unnavigable seas, which some call the Atlantic, or the western and eastern ocean, he reasonably indicated that the dominion of the inhabited world is encircled by the outer seas. And the verse after this one has made this clearer. "And from the rivers unto the ends of the inhabited world." He calls the Jordan the river, in which the Master, having been baptized, was testified to by the Father, that he is the beloved Son, in whom He was well pleased. From that time, says the evangelist, 80.1436 he began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." For which reason the prophecy also says, that "He will rule from the river to the ends of the inhabited world." Then he also makes this clear from another perspective. 9, 10. "Before him the Ethiopians shall fall down, and his enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tharsis and the isles shall bring presents: the kings of the Arabians and of Saba shall offer gifts." Both the blessed Isaiah and the wondrous Ezekiel call Carthage, which presides over Libya, Tharsis. And Saba is an Ethiopian nation; but the Libyans, who are also called Africans, occupy the western parts of the inhabited world; the Ethiopians the eastern and southern; the Arabs the middle continent; and the islanders the middle of the sea. He said that these would fall down before him, and would offer worship as to God, and bring gifts as to a king; but that his enemies would be subjected to the curses made against the serpent: "Upon your breast and your belly you shall go, and you shall eat earth all the days of your life." And the enemies of our God and Savior are the all-wicked demons, over whom he gave the authority to tread on serpents and scorpions. And since he mentioned three or four nations, and enigmatically indicated the conversion of all the nations, he makes the word clearer. 11. "And all the kings of the earth shall worship him." Some willingly in this present life; but all after the resurrection. "For not yet," as the divine Apostle says, "do we see all things put under him," but then "to him every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth." -"All nations shall serve him." These things agree with the prophecy of the patriarch Jacob, "For he is the expectation of nations." And we see the fulfillment of the prophecy; for there is not a nation that has not heard the evangelical preachings; but in each one there are those who have received the splendor of the knowledge of God. 12, 13. "For he delivered the poor from the mighty, and the needy for whom there was no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy." All shall worship him, having been delivered from the bitter tyranny of the devil. For he called him mighty, but human nature poor, as destitute

163

μαρτυρεῖ τοῖς λόγοις τὰ πράγματα· τῆς γὰρ προτέρας δυσσεβείας ἀπαλλαγεῖσα τῶν ἀνθρώ πων ἡ φύσις, μετέμαθε τὴν εὐσέβειαν. Εἰ δὲ καί τινες τῶν πεπιστευκότων κατὰ τοὺς εὐαγγελικοὺς οὐ πολιτεύονται νόμους, ἀλλ' οὖν εἰσι μυριάδες ἀριθ μοῦ κρείττους, καὶ ἐν στρατιώταις, καὶ ἐν ἰδιώ ταις, καὶ ἐν ἀστοῖς, καὶ ἐν χωριτικοῖς, ἀρετῆς πολλὴν φροντίδα ποιούμενοι. "Καὶ πλῆθος εἰρήνης, ἕως οὗ ἀνταναιρεθῇ ἡ σελήνη." Πάλαι μὲν γὰρ αἱ τοπαρχίαι, καὶ αἱ καθ' ἕκαστον ἔθνος διῃρημέναι βασιλεῖαι συχνοῖς πολέμοις ταλαιπωρούμεναι, τοῦ δώρου τῆς εἰρήνης ἀπολαύειν οὐκ εἶχον. ∆ιηνεκῶς γὰρ τὸν ὁπλιτικὸν μετῄεσαν βίον· καὶ τούτους τοὺς πολέμους πολλοὶ καὶ Ῥωμαίων καὶ Ἑλλήνων συνέγραψαν. ∆ιδάσκουσι δὲ ἡμᾶς καὶ αἱ τῶν Βασιλέων, καὶ αἱ τῶν Μακκαβαίων ἱστορίαι, ὅσα προὐξένουν αἱ τοπαρχίαι κακά. Μετὰ δὲ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Σω τῆρος ἡμῶν ἐνανθρώπησιν, πέπαυται μὲν ἐκεῖνα, μία δὲ βασιλεία τῆς καθ' ἡμᾶς οἰκουμένης κρατεῖ, δι' ἣν εἰρήνη πολιτευομένη, τῷ θείῳ κηρύγματι δέδωκε τὴν ἰσχύν. Τὸ δὲ, "ἕως οὗ ἀνταναιρεθῇ ἡ σελήνη," ἀντὶ τοῦ, πάντα τοῦ παρόντος βίου τὸν χρόνον. Περιττὸν γὰρ περὶ τοῦ μέλλοντος λέγειν, καθ' ὃν εἰρήνη ἀληθὴς πολιτεύσεται. ηʹ. "Καὶ κατακυριεύσει ἀπὸ θαλάσσης ἕως θαλάσ σης." Ἀντὶ τοῦ, πάντων κρατήσει τῶν τερμάτων τῆς οἰκουμένης. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ πέραν τῆς γῆς τὰ μεγάλα ἐστὶ καὶ ἄπλωτα πελάγη, ἅ τινες Ἀτλαντικὰ καλοῦσιν, ἢ ὠκεανὸν ἑσπέριον καὶ ἑῷον, εἰκότως τῆς οἰκουμένης τὸ κράτος ταῖς ἔξωθεν κυκλοῦσθαι θα λάσσαις ἐδήλωσε. Καὶ τοῦτο σαφέστερον ὁ μετὰ τοῦ τον πεποίηκε στίχος. "Καὶ ἀπὸ ποταμῶν ἕως πε ράτων τῆς οἰκουμένης." Ποταμὸν λέγει τὸν Ἰορ δάνην, ἐν ᾧ βαπτισθεὶς ὁ ∆εσπότης ὑπὸ τοῦ Πα τρὸς ἐμαρτυρήθη, ὡς αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ ἀγαπητὸς Υἱὸς, ἐν ᾧ ηὐδόκησεν. Ἀπὸ τότε δὲ, φησὶν ὁ εὐαγγελι 80.1436 στὴς, ἤρξατο κηρύττειν καὶ λέγειν, "Μετανοεῖτε, ἤγγικε γὰρ ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν." Οὗ δὴ χάριν καὶ ἡ προφητεία φησὶν, ὅτι "Κρατήσει ἀπὸ τοῦ πο ταμοῦ ἕως τῶν περάτων τῆς οἰκουμένης." Εἶτα καὶ ἑτέρωθεν τοῦτο ποιεῖ φανερόν. θʹ, ιʹ. "Ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ προπεσοῦνται Αἰθίοπες, καὶ οἱ ἐχθροὶ αὐτοῦ χοῦν λείξουσι. Βασιλεῖς Θαρσεῖς καὶ νῆσοι δῶρα προσοίσουσι· βασιλεῖς Ἀράβων καὶ Σαββὰ δῶρα προσάξουσι." Θαρσεῖς τὴν Καρχη δόνα, τὴν τῆς Λιβύης προκαθημένην, καὶ ὁ μακάριος Ἡσαΐας καὶ ὁ θαυμάσιος Ἰεζεκιὴλ ὀνομάζουσι. Σαββὰ δὲ Αἰθιοπικὸν ἔθνος· ἀλλὰ Λίβυες μὲν οἱ καὶ Ἀφροὶ προσαγορευόμενοι, τὰ ἑσπέρια τῆς οἰκου μένης κατέχουσι τμήματα· Αἰθίοπες δὲ τὰ ἑῷα καὶ νότια· Ἄραβες δὲ τὴν μέσην ἤπειρον· οἱ δὲ νησιῶ ται τῆς θαλάσσης τὰ μέσα. Τούτους δὲ ἔφη προ πεσεῖσθαι ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ, καὶ προσοίσειν ὡς Θεῷ τὴν προσκύνησιν, καὶ δῶρα προσκομιεῖν ὡς βασιλεῖ· τοὺς δὲ ἐχθροὺς ὑποβληθήσεσθαι ταῖς κατὰ τοῦ ὄφεως γεγενημέναις ἀραῖς· "Ἐπὶ τῷ στήθει καὶ τῇ κοιλίᾳ πορεύσῃ, καὶ γῆν φαγῇ πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς σου." Ἐχθροὶ δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν, οἱ παμπόνηροι δαίμονες, καθ' ὧν ἔδωκε τὴν ἐξου σίαν τοῦ πατεῖν ἐπάνω ὄφεων καὶ σκορπίων. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ τριῶν ἢ τεττάρων ἐθνῶν ἐμνημόνευσε, καὶ αἰνιγματωδῶς τὴν τῶν ἐθνῶν ἁπάντων μετα βολὴν παρεδήλωσε, σαφέστερον τὸν λόγον ποιεῖ. ιαʹ. "Καὶ προσκυνήσουσιν αὐτῷ πάντες οἱ βασι λεῖς τῆς γῆς." Οἱ μὲν κατὰ τὸν παρόντα βίον ἑκόντες· οἱ δὲ μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν ἅπαντες. "Οὐ δέπω γὰρ," ᾗ φησιν ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολος, "ὁρῶμεν αὐτῷ τὰ πάντα ὑποτεταγμένα," ἀλλὰ τότε "κάμψει αὐτῷ πᾶν γόνυ ἐπουρανίων, καὶ ἐπιγείων, καὶ κα ταχθονίων." -"Πάντα τὰ ἔθνη δουλεύσουσιν αὐτῷ." Συμβαίνει ταῦτα τῇ τοῦ πατριάρχου Ἰα κὼβ προφητείᾳ, "Ὅτι αὐτὸς προσδοκία ἐθνῶν." Ὁρῶμεν δὲ καὶ τὸ τῆς προῤῥήσεως τέλος· οὐδὲ γάρ ἐστιν ἔθνος τῶν εὐαγγελικῶν κηρυγμάτων ἀνήκοον· ἀλλ' εἰσὶν ἐν ἑκάστῳ οἱ τῆς θεογνωσίας τὴν αἴγλην δεξάμενοι. ιβʹ, ιγʹ. "Ὅτι ἐῤῥύσατο πτωχὸν ἐκ δυνάστου, καὶ πένητα ᾧ οὐχ ὑπῆρχε βοηθός. Φείσεται πτωχοῦ καὶ πένητος, καὶ ψυχὰς πενήτων σώσει." Προσ κυνήσουσιν αὐτῷ ἅπαντες, τῆς πικρᾶς τοῦ δια βόλου τυραννίδος ἀπαλλαγέντες. ∆υνάστην γὰρ αὐτὸν ὠνόμασε, πτωχὸν δὲ τὴν ἀνθρωπείαν φύσιν, ὡς ἔρημον