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and of judges, and of those not daring to utter a sound on behalf of those wretched men, one old man came forward, entrusted with the priesthood of God, and by his appearance alone and the mere encounter, shamed the ruler; and what he had granted to none of those under him, this he gave to one old man, reverencing the laws of God. For in this very thing, the city has honored you not a little, O emperor, by sending me on this embassy; for they cast the best and most excellent vote concerning you, that you prefer the priests of God above all the authority that is under you, even if they happen to be of humble station. But I have not come now from them alone, but even before them I have been sent by the common Lord of the angels, to say these things to your most clement and most meek soul, that If you forgive men their debts, your heavenly Father will also forgive you your trespasses. Remember, therefore, that day, on which we shall all give an account for what we have done; consider that if you have committed any sin, you will be able to wash away all the offenses through this decision and judgment, without toils, without sweat. Other ambassadors, then, bring gold and silver and other such gifts; but I have come to your majesty with the sacred laws, and instead of all gifts I offer these; and I beseech you to imitate your Lord, who, though insulted by us daily, does not cease supplying what is from himself to all; and do not put our hopes to shame, nor refute the promises. For I want you to know this also, along with the other things, that if you are willing to be reconciled and to grant your former goodwill to the city, and to release this just anger, I will depart with great confidence; but if you should cast the city from your mind, not only will I not set foot in it, nor see its soil, but I will also renounce it completely henceforth, and enroll myself in another city. For may it never befall me to claim that city as my homeland, with which you, the most philanthropic and most clement of all men, would not choose to make peace and be reconciled.

4. Having said these things and more than these, he so distressed the emperor, that the same thing happened which once happened in the case of Joseph. For just as he then, upon seeing his brothers, wished to weep, but concealed his feeling, so as not to spoil the pretense; so indeed the emperor was weeping in his mind, but did not show it on account of all who were present; yet he was not able to hide his feeling to the end, but was exposed against his will. For after this speech he needed no second words, but uttered only one saying, which adorned him much more than his diadem. And what is this? And what is so wonderful and great, he said, if we, being men ourselves, forgive our anger against men who have been insolent, when the Lord of the world, having come to earth and become a slave for our sakes, and having been crucified by those He had benefited, besought the Father for those who crucified him, saying, Forgive them; for they 49.220 know not what they do? what wonder, then, if we also forgive our fellow-servants? And that these words were not a pretense, all that happened showed, and no less than these, this also, which I am now about to relate. for when this priest wished to celebrate this feast there together with him, he compelled him against his will to hurry and make haste, and to appear to the citizens. I know, he said, that their souls are now shaken, and the remnants of the calamity are many; go, console them; if they see their pilot, they will not even remember the past storm, but will wipe out the entire memory of their sorrows. But when the priest insisted, asking him to send his own son, he, wishing to show clearly that he had wiped all anger completely from his mind, said, Pray that these hindrances may be removed, that...may be quenched

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καὶ δικαστῶν, καὶ οὐδὲ φωνὴν ῥῆξαι τολμώντων ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀθλίων ἐκείνων, εἷς παρελθὼν πρεσβύτης τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν ἱερωσύνην ἐγκεχειρισμένος ἀπὸ τῆς ὄψεως μόνης αὐτῆς, καὶ ψιλῆς τῆς συντυχίας ἐνέτρεψε τὸν κρατοῦντα· καὶ ὃ μηδενὶ τῶν ὑπ' αὐτὸν ἐχαρίσατο, ἑνὶ γέροντι τοῦτο ἔδωκε τοὺς τοῦ Θεοῦ νόμους αἰδεσθείς. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ τούτῳ αὐτῷ οὐ μικρῶς σε, ὦ βασιλεῦ, τετίμηκεν ἡ πόλις, ἐμὲ πρὸς τὴν πρεσβείαν ταύτην ἀποστείλασα· ψῆφον γὰρ ἀρίστην ἐξήνεγκαν περὶ σοῦ καὶ καλλίστην, ὅτι τῆς ἀρχῆς ἁπάσης τῆς ὑπὸ σὲ κειμένης, τοῦ Θεοῦ τοὺς ἱερέας προτιμᾷς, κἂν εὐτελεῖς ὄντες τύχωσιν. Οὐ παρ' ἐκείνων δὲ ἥκω νῦν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸ ἐκείνων παρὰ τοῦ κοινοῦ τῶν ἀγγέλων ἀπέσταλμαι ∆εσπότου, ταῦτα εἰπεῖν πρὸς τὴν ἡμερωτάτην σου καὶ πραοτάτην ψυχὴν, ὅτι Ἂν ἀφῆτε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὰ ὀφειλήματα αὐτῶν, καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος ἀφήσει ὑμῖν τὰ παραπτώματα ὑμῶν. Ἀναμνήσθητι τοίνυν τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης, καθ' ἣν ἅπαντες δίκην δώσομεν περὶ τῶν πεπραγμένων· ἐννόησον, ὅτι εἰ καί τί σοι ἡμάρτηται, πάντα ἀπονίψασθαι δυνήσῃ τὰ πλημμελήματα διὰ τῆς ψήφου καὶ τῆς γνώμης ταύτης, χωρὶς πόνων, χωρὶς ἱδρώτων. Ἄλλοι μὲν οὖν πρεσβευόμενοι χρυσίον καὶ ἀργύριον καὶ ἕτερα τοιαῦτα δῶρα κομίζουσιν· ἐγὼ δὲ μετὰ τῶν ἱερῶν πρὸς τὴν σὴν βασιλείαν ἀφῖγμαι νόμων, καὶ ἀντὶ δώρων ἁπάντων τούτους προτείνω· καὶ παρακαλῶ σε μιμήσασθαί σου τὸν ∆εσπότην, ὃς καθ' ἡμέραν παρ' ἡμῶν ὑβριζόμενος, οὐ διαλιμπάνει τὰ παρ' ἑαυτοῦ χορηγῶν ἅπασι· καὶ μὴ καταισχύνῃς ἡμῶν τὰς ἐλπίδας, μηδὲ ἐλέγξῃς τὰς ὑποσχέσεις. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ τοῦτό σε μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων εἰδέναι βούλομαι, ὅτι εἰ μὲν βουληθείης καταλλαγῆναι καὶ τῆς προτέρας εὐνοίας μεταδοῦναι τῇ πόλει, καὶ τὴν ὀργὴν ἀφεῖναι τὴν δικαίαν ταύτην, μετὰ πολλῆς ἀπελεύσομαι τῆς παῤῥησίας· εἰ δὲ ἐκβάλοις τὴν πόλιν τῆς διανοίας τῆς σῆς, οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἐπιβήσομαι, οὐδὲ ὄψομαι αὐτῆς τὸ ἔδαφος, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀρνήσομαι αὐτὴν καθάπαξ λοιπὸν, καὶ εἰς ἑτέραν ἐμαυτὸν ἐγγράψω πόλιν. Μὴ γάρ μοι γένοιτο πατρίδα ἐπιγράψασθαί ποτε ἐκείνην, πρὸς ἢν ὁ φιλανθρωπότατος σὺ καὶ πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἡμερώτατος οὐκ ἂν ἕλοιο σπείσασθαι καὶ καταλλαγῆναι.

δʹ. Ταῦτα καὶ πλείονα τούτων εἰπὼν, οὕτω τὸν βασιλέα συνέχεεν, ὡς ταυτὸ γενέσθαι, ὅπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ συνέβη γενέσθαι ποτέ. Καθάπερ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος τότε τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς ἰδὼν ἐβούλετο μὲν δακρύειν, ἔστεγε δὲ τὸ πάθος, ὥστε μὴ διαφθεῖραι τὴν ὑπόκρισιν· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐδάκρυε μὲν κατὰ διάνοιαν, οὐκ ἐδείκνυτο δὲ διὰ τοὺς παρόντας ἅπαντας· οὐ μὴν ἴσχυσεν εἰς τέλος κρύψαι τὸ πάθος, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄκων ἠλέγχετο. Μετὰ γὰρ τὴν δημηγορίαν ταύτην οὐκ ἐδεήθη ῥημάτων δευτέρων, ἀλλ' ἓν μόνον ἐφθέγξατο ῥῆμα, ὃ τοῦ διαδήματος αὐτὸν πολλῷ μειζόνως ἐκόσμησε. Τί δὲ τοῦτό ἐστιν; Καὶ τί θαυμαστὸν καὶ μέγα φησὶν, εἰ τοῖς ὑβρικόσιν ἀφήσομεν τὴν ὀργὴν ἀνθρώποις οὖσιν ἄνθρωποι καὶ αὐτοὶ τυγχάνοντες, ὅπου γε ὁ τῆς οἰκουμένης ∆εσπότης ἐπὶ γῆς ἐλθὼν καὶ δι' ἡμᾶς γενόμενος δοῦλος, καὶ παρὰ τῶν εὐεργετηθέντων σταυρωθεὶς ὑπὲρ τῶν σταυρωσάντων αὐτὸν παρεκάλει τὸν Πατέρα, λέγων, Ἄφες αὐτοῖς· οὐ γὰρ 49.220 οἴδασι τί ποιοῦσι; τί τοίνυν θαυμαστὸν, εἰ τοῖς ὁμοδούλοις καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφήσομεν; Καὶ ὅτι ταῦτα τὰ ῥήματα οὐχ ὑπόκρισις ἦν, ἔδειξε μὲν καὶ τὰ γεγενημένα ἅπαντα, οὐκ ἔλαττον δὲ τούτων καὶ τοῦτο, ὃ μέλλω νῦν ἐρεῖν αὐτὸν γὰρ τὸν ἱερέα τοῦτον βουλόμενον ἐκεῖ κοινῇ μετ' αὐτοῦ τὴν ἑορτὴν ἐπιτελέσαι ταύτην, ἄκοντα κατηνάγκασε κατεπειχθῆναι καὶ σπεῦσαι, καὶ τοῖς πολίταις φανῆναι. Οἶδα, φησὶν, ὅτι νῦν αὐτῶν εἰσιν αἱ ψυχαὶ δεδονημέναι, καὶ πολλὰ τῆς συμφορᾶς τὰ λείψανα· ἄπελθε, παρακάλεσον· ἂν ἴδωσι τὸν κυβερνήτην, οὐδὲ τοῦ παρελθόντος μεμνήσονται χειμῶνος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν μνήμην αὐτὴν ἐξαλείψουσι τῶν λυπηρῶν ἅπασαν. Ὡς δὲ ἐπέκειτο ὁ ἱερεὺς, ἀξιῶν τὸν υἱὸν πέμψαι τὸν ἑαυτοῦ, βουλόμενος ἐκεῖνος δεῖξαι σαφῶς, ὡς πᾶσαν καθόλου τῆς διανοίας ἐξήλειψε τὴν ὀργὴν, Εὔξασθε, φησὶ, ταῦτα ἀναιρεθῆναι τὰ κωλύματα, σβεσθῆναι