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to say what it is, The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach. But Paul does not permit us to use this order of sequence, calling our tongue to himself and his own achievements. For I desire to see him being led into Damascus, bound, not with an iron chain, but by the Lord's voice; and I desire to see this great fish caught, the one that 63.788.40 stirred up the whole sea, the one that raised up countless waves against the Church; I desire to see him caught, not by a fishhook, but by the Lord's word. For just as some fisherman sitting on a high rock, and raising his rod, lets down the hook from on high into the deep; so indeed also our Master, who showed us the spiritual fishery, just as if sitting on the high rock of the heavens, let down that voice from above like a fishhook, and saying, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? thus he caught this great fish. For who would have endured the cruel and inhuman man, the persecutor and blasphemer, who so ravaged the Church as even to go into houses and drag out men 63.789 and women, and to throw everything into confusion and turmoil, if not that our King suddenly called and transformed him, and brought him back to himself? For even the disciples, wherever they saw him appear, were terrified and shuddered, and did not dare even to look at him; and when he again became one of the friends, they showed the same fear. If then they feared him when he was reconciled, what would they not have done when he was an enemy and an adversary? But what should I do? It is necessary to flee, having used great vehemence, lest he again seize me and lead me away from the subject at hand. For you know that many times when I was going and turned in another direction, he met me in the midst of my discourse and restrained me, and so captured me as to persuade me to conclude the discourse in him. This blessed Paul, then, who enlightened the whole world, was once blinded at the time of his calling; but that blindness became the enlightenment of the world. For since he was seeing badly, God blinded him well, so that he might see again usefully; and since he was persecuting the Church exceedingly, and was so vehement and unapproachable, he receives a stronger bridle; so that, carried away by the rush of that zeal, he might not disregard what was said, and so that he might learn against whom he was warring, whom he is not able to bear, not only when punishing, but not even when benefiting. For it was not darkness that blinded him, but an excess of light that darkened him. If a barbarian war had beset us, and in the line of battle the enemies were causing us countless troubles; then if the general of the barbarians, who was bringing countless siege engines, and throwing all our affairs into confusion, and filling everything with much noise and turmoil, and threatening to tear down the city itself and give it over to fire, and menacing us with slavery, were suddenly bound by our king and led as a captive into the city; would we not all, with women and children, have rushed out to that spectacle? But since even now a war has been stirred up by the Jews, who are disturbing and confounding all things, and bringing many siege engines against the security of the Church, and the chief of the enemies is Paul, who did and said greater things than all, who disturbed and confounded all things, but our Lord Jesus Christ our king bound him, bound him and led him captive; shall we not all go out to this spectacle, so as to see him being led captive? For the angels from the heavens, seeing him bound and being led in, leaped for joy; not because they saw him bound, but because they considered how many men he was about to release from their bonds; not because they beheld him being led by the hand, but because they reckoned how many he was about to lead by the hand away from the earth; not because they saw him blinded, but because they considered how many he was about to lead out of darkness. For this reason I too, leaving all others, hasten to leap to Paul. For Paul and the longing for Paul have compelled us to leap

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εἰπεῖν τί ποτέ ἐστι, Τὸν μὲν πρῶτον λόγον ἐποιησάμην περὶ πάντων, ὦ Θεόφιλε, ὧν ἤρξατο ὁ Ἰησοῦς ποιεῖν τε καὶ διδάσκειν. Ἀλλὰ Παῦλος οὐκ ἀφίησιν ἡμᾶς χρήσασθαι τῇ τάξει ταύτῃ τῆς ἀκολουθίας, πρὸς ἑαυτὸν καὶ τὰ οἰκεῖα κατορθώματα τὴν ἡμετέραν γλῶτταν καλῶν. Ἐπιθυμῶ γὰρ αὐτὸν ἰδεῖν εἰς ∆αμασκὸν εἰσαγόμενον, δεδεμένον, οὐκ ἐν ἀλύσει σιδηρᾷ, ἀλλὰ φωνῇ ∆εσποτικῇ· ἐπιθυμῶ δὲ ἰδεῖν ἁλιευθέντα τὸν ἰχθὺν τοῦτον τὸν μέγαν, τὸν 63.788.40 ἅπασαν ἀναβράσαντα τὴν θάλασσαν, τὸν μυρία κύματα κατὰ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἐπεγείραντα· ἐπιθυμῶ ἰδεῖν αὐτὸν ἁλιευθέντα, οὐχὶ ἀγκίστρῳ, ἀλλὰ λόγῳ ∆εσποτικῷ. Καθάπερ γάρ τις ἁλιεὺς ἐπὶ πέτρας ὑψηλῆς καθήμενος, καὶ τὸν κάλαμον μετεωρίζων ἀφ' ὑψηλοῦ τὸ ἄγκιστρον ἀφίησιν εἰς τὸ πέλαγος· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ὁ ∆εσπότης ὁ ἡμέτερος, ὁ τὴν ἁλείαν δείξας τὴν πνευματικὴν, καθάπερ ἐφ' ὑψηλῆς πέτρας τῶν οὐρανῶν καθήμενος, ὥσπερ ἄγκιστρον τὴν φωνὴν ἐκείνην ἀφεὶς ἄνωθεν, καὶ εἰπὼν, Σαῦλε, Σαῦλε, τί με διώκεις; οὕτω τὸν ἰχθὺν τοῦτον τὸν μέγαν ἡλίευσε. Τίς γὰρ τὸν ὠμὸν καὶ ἀπάνθρωπον, καὶ διώκτην καὶ βλάσφημον, καὶ οὕτω τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν λυμαινόμενον, ὡς καὶ κατὰ τοὺς οἴκους πορευόμενον σύρειν ἄνδρας 63.789 τε καὶ γυναῖκας, καὶ πάντα συγχέειν καὶ ταράττειν, ὑπέμεινεν, εἰ μὴ ἐξαίφνης ὁ Βασιλεὺς ὁ ἡμέτερος καλέσας μετέστησε, καὶ πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἐπανήγαγε; Καὶ γὰρ καὶ οἱ μαθηταὶ, ὅπουπερ ἂν παραγενόμενον εἶδον, δεδοικότες ἔφριττον, καὶ οὐδὲ ἀντιβλέψαι ἐτόλμων· καὶ ὅτε πάλιν τῶν φίλων ἐγένετο, τὸν αὐτὸν φόβον ἐδείκνυον. Εἰ οὖν καταλλαγέντα αὐτὸν ἐδεδοίκεισαν, ἐχθρὸν ὄντα καὶ πολέμιον, τί οὐκ ἂν ἐποίουν; Ἐγὼ δὲ τί πάθω; ἀνάγκη φυγεῖν πολλῇ τῇ σφοδρότητι χρησάμενον, μὴ πάλιν κατασχὼν ἀπαγάγῃ τοῦ προκειμένου. Καὶ γὰρ ἴστε πολλάκις ἑτέρωθί με βαδίζοντα καὶ τετραμμένον, ἀπαντήσας ἐν μέσῳ τῷ λόγῳ κατέσχε, καὶ οὕτως εἷλεν, ὡς ἐν αὐτῷ πεῖσαι καὶ καταλῦσαι τὸν λόγον. Οὗτος τοίνυν ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος, ὁ τὴν οἰκουμένην φωτίσας πᾶσαν, ἐν καιρῷ τῆς κλήσεως ἐτυφλώθη ποτέ· ἀλλ' ἡ πήρωσις ἐκείνου φωτισμὸς τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐγένετο. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἔβλεπε κακῶς, ἐπήρωσεν αὐτὸν καλῶς ὁ Θεὸς, ὥστε ἀναβλέψαι χρησίμως· καὶ ἐπειδὴ καθ' ὑπερβολὴν ἐδίωκε τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν, καὶ οὕτως σφοδρὸς ἦν καὶ ἀπρόσιτος, σφοδρότερον δέχεται τὸν χαλινόν· ἵνα μὴ τῇ ῥύμῃ τῆς προθυμίας ἐκείνης ἀγόμενος παρακούσῃ τῶν λεγομένων, καὶ ἵνα μάθῃ τίνα πολεμεῖ, ὃν οὐ μόνον κολάζοντα, ἀλλὰ οὔτε εὐεργετοῦντα ἐνεγκεῖν δύναται. Οὐδὲ γὰρ σκότος αὐτὸν ἐπήρωσεν, ἀλλ' ὑπερβολὴ φωτὸς αὐτὸν ἐσκότισεν. Εἰ πόλεμος ἡμῖν περιεστήκει βαρβαρικὸς, καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς παρατάξεως οἱ πολέμιοι μυρία παρεῖχον ἡμῖν πράγματα· εἶτα ὁ στρατηγὸς τῶν βαρβάρων ὁ μυρία προσάγων μηχανήματα, καὶ πάντα συγχέων τὰ ἡμέτερα, καὶ πολλοῦ θορύβου καὶ ταραχῆς ἐμπιπλῶν, καὶ τὴν πόλιν αὐτὴν ἀπειλῶν κατασκάψειν καὶ παραδώσειν πυρὶ, καὶ δουλείαν ἡμῖν ἐπανατεινόμενος, ἐξαίφνης ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως τοῦ ἡμετέρου δεθεὶς, αἰχμάλωτος εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἤγετο· οὐκ ἂν ἅπαντες μετὰ γυναικῶν καὶ παιδίων πρὸς τὴν θεωρίαν ἐκείνην ἐξεπηδήσαμεν; Ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ νῦν πόλεμος συνέστηκεν Ἰουδαίων θορυβούντων καὶ ταραττόντων ἅπαντα, καὶ πολλὰ τῇ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἀσφαλείᾳ προσαγόντων μηχανήματα, τὸ δὲ κεφάλαιον τῶν πολεμίων ὁ Παῦλος, ὁ πάντων μείζονα καὶ ποιῶν καὶ λέγων, ὁ πάντα θορυβῶν καὶ ταράττων, ἔδησε δὲ αὐτὸν ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς ὁ βασιλεὺς ὁ ἡμέτερος, ἔδησε καὶ αἰχμάλωτον ἤγαγεν· οὐκ ἐξέλθωμεν ἅπαντες ἐπὶ τὴν θεωρίαν ταύτην, ὥστε ἰδεῖν αὐτὸν αἰχμάλωτον ἀγόμενον; Καὶ γὰρ οἱ ἄγγελοι ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν ὁρῶντες αὐτὸν δεδεμένον καὶ εἰσαγόμενον, ἐσκίρτων· οὐκ ἐπειδὴ δεδεμένον αὐτὸν εἶδον, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ἐνενόουν, ὅσους ἀνθρώπους ἀπὸ τῶν δεσμῶν λύειν ἔμελλεν· οὐκ ἐπειδὴ χειραγωγούμενον ἐθεάσαντο, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ἐλογίζοντο ὅσους ἔμελλεν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς χειραγωγεῖν ἐκεῖνος· οὐκ ἐπειδὴ πεπηρωμένον εἶδον, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ἐνενόουν, ὅσους ἔμελλεν ἀπὸ σκότους ἐξάγειν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο κἀγὼ πάντας ἀφεὶς τοὺς ἄλλους, εἰς Παῦλον ἅλλεσθαι σπεύδω. Παῦλος γὰρ καὶ Παύλου πόθος ἠνάγκασεν ἡμᾶς πηδῆσαι