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2. And why do I say men? It even escaped the devil's notice; for if he had known, he would not have asked him after so much time upon the mountain, If you are the Son of 55.243 God, and did this once, and twice, and a third time. For this reason he also said to John when he began to reveal him: Let it be so now; that is, Be silent now; for it is not yet the time for the mystery of the economy to be revealed; I still wish to remain hidden from the devil; be silent therefore, he says; For thus it is fitting for us. And coming down from the mountain, he commanded that they should tell no one that he is the Christ. For then he came as a shepherd seeking the lost sheep, and wishing to hunt the rebellious prey; for this reason he also concealed himself. For just as a physician is not immediately frightening to the sick, so also he himself from the beginning did not wish to make himself known, but quietly and little by little. For this reason this same prophet, declaring this his silent coming, says further on: He will come down like rain upon a fleece, and like a drop dripping upon the earth. For he did not come with a crash, nor disturbing, nor shaking the earth, nor casting forth lightning, nor shaking the heaven, nor bringing with him throngs of angels, nor rending the firmament in the midst, and thus descending on the clouds; but silently through a virgin's womb, being carried for a period of nine months, as a carpenter's son he is born in a manger, in humble swaddling clothes he is plotted against, he flees with his mother into Egypt. Then after the death of the one who had transgressed in such ways, he then returns, and continued going about as one of the many in appearance, and his garment was humble, and his table even more humble, and his walking continual, and so continual, as to even become weary from the walking. But not so will he come then, but so openly, as to have no need of one to announce his coming beforehand. For this reason he himself, declaring his own visibility, said: If you hear, that Lo, he is in the inner rooms, do not enter; that, In the wilderness, do not go out. For as the lightning comes from the east of the sun, and shines as far as the west; so will be the coming of the Son of Man, showing and proclaiming itself. For this happens with the lightning, and we have no need of an announcer, but as soon as it has appeared, it has become known to all, and in the same way to all. Thus Paul also says: That the Lord himself with a command, with the voice of an archangel, with the last trumpet will descend from heaven. And the prophet also thus saw him being carried on the clouds, and a river being dragged before him, and the fearful judgment seat, and the inexorable reckonings. For then, then is the time of the tribunal and of judgment; wherefore he no longer appears as a physician, but as a judge. At least Daniel sees both his throne, and the river being drawn before the judgment seat, and all things are shown to him of fire, the chariot, the wheels. But not when he came in the beginning and in his first coming, did he show anything of the sort, not fire, not a river, not anything else of such things; but a manger and an inn, and a hut, and a poor mother. Moreover, from this he also shows his unchangeable and immutable nature. For since he said that the one sitting on the throne has white hair as wool, and a garment as snow, so that you should not think of hairs, nor a garment, but that pure and transparent fire is everywhere, he says: 55.244 Fire shall burn before him, and round about him a mighty tempest. Thus he also shows at once the unchangeable, and immutable, and luminous, and unapproachable through these images. And he does not stop at the fire, but wishing to represent the severity of the punishment, he adds, saying: A mighty tempest. And a tempest is said to be either an unbearable clod of snow dragging and destroying everything that falls into it, or a violent rush of winds working the very same thing, and being unbearable to those

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βʹ. Καὶ τί λέγω ἀνθρώπους; Καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν διάβολον ἐλάνθανεν· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἂν, εἴπερ ᾔδει, ἠρώτα αὐτὸν μετὰ τοσοῦτον χρόνον ἐπὶ τοῦ ὄρους, Εἰ Υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ 55.243 Θεοῦ, καὶ ἅπαξ, καὶ δὶς, καὶ τρίτον τοῦτο ἐποίει. ∆ιὸ καὶ τῷ Ἰωάννῃ ἔλεγεν ἀρξαμένῳ αὐτὸν ἐκκαλύπτειν· Ἄφες ἄρτι· τουτέστι, Σίγα νῦν· οὐδέπω γὰρ καιρὸς τοῦ ἐκκαλυφθῆναι τὸ ἀπόῤῥητον τῆς οἰκονομίας· ἔτι λανθάνειν τὸν διάβολον βούλομαι· σίγα τοίνυν, φησίν· Οὕτω γὰρ πρέπον ἐστὶν ἡμῖν. Καὶ κατελθὼν ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄρους, ἐνετείλατο ἵνα μηδενὶ εἴπωσιν, ὅτι αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ Χριστός. Τότε γὰρ ὡς ποιμὴν ἦλθε ζητῶν τὸ πεπλανημένον πρόβατον, καὶ τὴν ἀφηνιῶσαν ἄγραν θηρεῦσαι βουλόμενος· διὸ καὶ συνεσκίαζεν ἑαυτόν. Καὶ γὰρ ὥσπερ ἰατρὸς οὐκ εὐθέως φοβερὸς τῷ κάμνοντι γίνεται, οὕτω δὴ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐκ προοιμίων οὐκ ἠβουλήθη δῆλον ἑαυτὸν ποιῆσαι, ἀλλ' ἠρέμα καὶ κατὰ μικρόν. ∆ιὸ τὴν ἀψοφητὶ ταύτην αὐτοῦ γινομένην παρουσίαν δηλῶν ὁ αὐτὸς οὗτος προφήτης λέγει προϊών· Καταβήσεται ὡς ὑετὸς ἐπὶ πόκον, καὶ ὡσεὶ σταγὼν στάζουσα ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ κτυπῶν ἦλθεν, οὐ ταράττων, οὐ κλονῶν τὴν γῆν, οὐκ ἀστραπὰς ἀφιεὶς, οὐ τινάσσων τὸν οὐρανὸν, οὐ δήμους ἀγγέλων ἐπιφερόμενος, οὐ μέσον τὸ στερέωμα διαῤῥηγνὺς, καὶ οὕτω καταβαίνων ἐπὶ τῶν νεφελῶν· ἀλλ' ἀψοφητὶ διὰ μήτρας παρθενικῆς, ἐννεαμηνιαίῳ κυοφορούμενος χρόνῳ, ὡς τέκτονος υἱὸς ἐν φάτνῃ τίκτεται, ἐν σπαργάνοις εὐτελέσιν ἐπιβουλεύεται, φεύγει μετὰ τῆς μητρὸς εἰς Αἴγυπτον. Εἶτα μετὰ τελευτὴν τοῦ τοιαῦτα παρανομήσαντος, τότε ἐπάνεισι, καὶ περιπολῶν διετέλει ὡς εἷς τῶν πολλῶν κατὰ τὸ σχῆμα, καὶ ἱμάτιον εὐτελὲς ἦν αὐτῷ, καὶ τράπεζα εὐτελεστέρα, καὶ βάδισις διηνεκὴς, καὶ οὕτω διηνεκὴς, ὡς καὶ κόπον ἀπὸ τῆς βαδίσεως γίνεσθαι. Ἀλλ' οὐ τότε οὕτως ἥξει, ἀλλ' οὕτω φανερῶς, ὡς μηδὲ χρείαν ἔχειν τοῦ προαγγέλλοντος αὐτοῦ τὴν παρουσίαν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ αὐτὸς δηλῶν αὑτοῦ τὸ περιφανὲς ἔλεγεν· Ἐὰν ἀκούσητε, ὅτι Ἰδοὺ ἐν τοῖς ταμιείοις, μὴ εἰσέλθητε· ὅτι Ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, μὴ ἐξέλθητε. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἡ ἀστραπὴ ἐκπορεύεται ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν ἡλίου, καὶ φαίνεται ἕως δυσμῶν· οὕτως ἔσται ἡ παρουσία τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, αὐτὴ ἑαυτὴν δεικνύουσα καὶ ἀνακηρύττουσα. Καὶ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῆς ἀστραπῆς τοῦτο συμβαίνει, καὶ οὐ δεόμεθα τοῦ ἀπαγγέλλοντος, ἀλλ' ὁμοῦ τε ἐφάνη, καὶ γνωρίμη πᾶσι γέγονε, καὶ κατὰ ταὐτὸν πᾶσιν. Οὕτω καὶ ὁ Παῦλός φησιν· Ὅτι αὐτὸς ὁ Κύριος ἐν κελεύσματι, ἐν φωνῇ ἀρχαγγέλου, ἐν τῇ ἐσχάτῃ σάλπιγγι καταβήσεται ἀπ' οὐρανοῦ. Καὶ ὁ προφήτης δὲ οὕτως αὐτὸν ἑώρα ἐπὶ τῶν νεφελῶν φερόμενον, καὶ ποταμὸν ἔμπροσθεν συρόμενον, καὶ τὸ βῆμα τὸ φοβερὸν, καὶ τὰς εὐθύνας τὰς ἀπαραιτήτους. Τότε γὰρ, τότε δικαστηρίου καιρὸς καὶ κρίσεως· διόπερ οὐκέτι ὡς ἰατρὸς, ἀλλ' ὡς δικαστὴς φαίνεται. Ὁ γοῦν ∆ανιὴλ καὶ τὸν θρόνον αὐτοῦ βλέπει, καὶ τὸν ποταμὸν πρὸ τοῦ βήματος ἑλκόμενον, καὶ πάντα ἀπὸ πυρὸς αὐτῷ δείκνυται, τὸ ἅρμα, οἱ τροχοί. Ἀλλ' οὐχ ὅτε παρὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν καὶ ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ παρουσίᾳ παρεγένετο, ἔδειξέ τι τοιοῦτον, οὐ πῦρ, οὐ ποταμὸν, οὐκ ἄλλο τῶν τοιούτων οὐδέν· ἀλλὰ φάτνη καὶ καταγώγιον, καὶ καλύβη, καὶ μήτηρ πενιχρά. Ἄλλως δὲ καὶ τὸ ἄτρεπτον αὐτοῦ δείκνυσιν ἐντεῦθεν καὶ ἀναλλοίωτον. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἔφησε τὸν ἐπὶ τοῦ θρόνου καθήμενον τρίχα ἔχειν λευκὴν ὡσεὶ ἔριον, καὶ ἱμάτιον ὡς χιόνα, ἵνα μὴ τρίχας νομίσῃς, μήτε ἱμάτιον, ἀλλὰ τὸ καθαρὸν καὶ τὸ διαυγὲς πῦρ πανταχοῦ εἶναι, λέγει· 55.244 Πῦρ ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ καυθήσεται, καὶ κύκλῳ αὐτοῦ καταιγὶς σφοδρά. Οὕτω καὶ οὗτος ὁμοῦ τε τὸ ἀναλλοίωτον, καὶ ἄτρεπτον, καὶ φωτεινὸν, καὶ ἀπρόσιτον διὰ τούτων ἐνδείκνυται τῶν εἰκόνων. Καὶ οὐχ ἵσταται μέχρι τοῦ πυρὸς, ἀλλὰ τὸ σφοδρὸν τῆς τιμωρίας παραστῆσαι βουλόμενος, ἐπάγει λέγων· Καταιγὶς σφοδρά. Καταιγὶς δὲ λέγεται ἢ βῶλος χιόνος ἀφόρητος τὸ ἐμπῖπτον ἅπαν παρασύρουσα καὶ καταστρέφουσα, ἢ ῥαγδαία πνευμάτων ῥύμη τὸ αὐτὸ δὴ ἐργαζομένη, καὶ ἀφόρητος οὖσα τοῖς