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prepared a punishment to be received, so he stilled the sound of the sea and the noise of its waves. But what is the sea, and of what sort its sound, and what is the noise of its waves, Aquila clarifies next, saying: “And a multitude of tribes.” For there was a great multitude of the nations of old, and of the tribes of every race of men, when the wave of human life, and such a sea of mortal life, filled with human wickedness, had a great noise, and sent forth a great sound; since it possessed the dragon dwelling in it, about which it is said: “The Lord God will bring the sword against the dragon, the crooked serpent, and will slay the dragon that is in the sea;” and elsewhere the word says beforehand: “This is the great and wide sea,” it adds: “There is this dragon, which you formed to play with it.” But indeed, suddenly both the dragon and the sea, and the sound of its waves, the hope of all the ends of the earth, having appeared to men, stilled and calmed, and extinguished the multitude of the tribes. And when these things happened, it is said next and consequently: “And they that dwell at the ends of the earth shall be afraid of your signs.” For the aforementioned signs were sufficient—mountains being humbled and the sound of the sea being stilled, and the noise of waves no longer disturbing as of old, but also the multitude of tribes itself being extinguished—to inspire fear in those who dwell at the ends of the earth; so as no longer to fear all the things mentioned before, but only the one victor of all those things; whom, therefore, knowing and fearing, they attain the blessing that says: “Blessed are all they that fear the Lord.” But who these might be, the present saying teaches, stating: “And they that dwell at the ends of the earth shall be afraid of your signs.” But those who dwell at the ends of the earth are said to be not entirely those who inhabit the extremities of the earth, but those who are able to say with Paul: “For though we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh;” and: “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” For these, neither delving deep into human affairs, nor being entirely outside of them, stand as it were on a borderland, living their lives about the ends of human life. These 23.640 then, having partaken of much perception, having beheld the signs of our Savior, who have been in the beginning of wisdom, having taken up the fear of God. And who, having beheld the heights of the rulers of the times and the rebellions against the Church of God, and the persecutions and the threats of impious men, would not say that they are mountains being lifted up and a sea truly raging, and the sound of waves the blasphemies of the impious and the godless? All of which indeed, the Savior of all the ends of the earth is accustomed to humble in his strength in a single instant; so that those who see their fall and destruction are troubled; while others are benefited and take up the fear of God, confessing the destruction of the impious to be clear signs of the Savior's divine power. “The outgoings of the morning and evening you will delight; you visited the earth and made it drunk.” In addition to what has been enumerated, he presents other signs of the Savior's power, saying: “The outgoings of the morning and evening you will delight;” for which Symmachus interpreted: “The processions of the dawn and of the evening the hymns.” For this too is a very great sign of the saving power, that after the humbling of the aforementioned, there were established among men delights of the outgoings of morning and evening; or according to Symmachus, “hymns,” or, according to Aquila, “makings of praise.” For to establish throughout the whole world in the churches of God, during the morning outgoings of the sun, and during the evening hours, hymns and makings of praise, and truly divine delights to God, was no ordinary sign of God's virtue. But the delights of God are those sent up everywhere on earth in his Church during the morning and during

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διαλήψεσθαι τιμωρίαν ἡτοίμασεν, οὕτω κατέστειλε τὸν ἦχον θαλάσσης καὶ τὸν θόρυβον τῶν κυμάτων αὐτῆς. Τίς δὲ ἡ θάλασσα, καὶ ποταπὸς ὁ ἦχος αὐτῆς, καὶ τίς ὁ θόρυβος τῶν κυμάτων αὐτῆς, ἑξῆς διασαφεῖ ὁ Ἀκύλας εἰπών· «Καὶ ὄχλον φυλῶν.» Ὁ γὰρ πολὺς ὄχλος τῶν πάλαι ἐθνῶν, καὶ τῶν κατὰ πᾶν γένος ἀνθρώπων φυλῶν ἦν, ὅτε κῦμα τοῦ τῶν ἀνθρώπων βίου, καὶ ἡ τοιαύτη τοῦ θνητοῦ βίου θάλασσα τῆς τῶν ἀνθρώπων κακίας πεπληρωμένη, πολὺν θόρυβον εἶχε, μέγαν τε ἦχον ἐξαπέστελλεν· ἅτε τὸν δράκοντα οἰκοῦντα ἐν αὐτῇ κεκτημένη, περὶ οὗ λέλεκται· «Ἐπάξει Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τὴν μάχαιραν ἐπὶ τὸν δράκοντα, ὄφιν τὸν σκολιὸν, καὶ ἀνελεῖ τὸν δράκοντα τὸν ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ·» καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ προειπὼν ὁ λόγος· «Αὕτη ἡ θάλασσα ἡ μεγάλη καὶ εὐρύχωρος,» ἐπιλέγει· «Ἐκεῖ δράκων οὗτος, ὃν ἔπλασας ἐμπαίζειν αὐτῷ.» Ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἀθρόως καὶ τὸν δράκοντα καὶ τὴν θάλασσαν, καὶ τὸν τῶν κυμάτων αὐτῆς ἦχον, ἡ ἐλπὶς πάντων τῶν περάτων τῆς γῆς, ἐπιφανεῖσα ἀνθρώποις, κατέστειλε καὶ κατεπράϋνε, τόν τε ὄχλον τῶν φυλῶν ἔσβεσε. Τούτων δὲ γενομένων, ἑξῆς καὶ ἀκολούθως εἴρηται· «Καὶ φοβηθήσονται οἱ κατοικοῦντες τὰ πέρατα ἀπὸ τῶν σημείων σου.» Ἱκανὰ γὰρ ἦν τὰ προλεχθέντα σημεῖα, ὄρη ταπεινούμενα καὶ θαλάσσης ἦχος καταστελλόμενος, θόρυβός τε κυμάτων μηκέτι ταράττων κατὰ τὸ παλαιὸν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὄχλος φυλῶν καὶ αὐτὸς σβεννύμενος, φόβον ἐμποιῆσαι τοῖς κατοικοῦσι τὰ πέρατα· ὡς μηκέτι τὰ προλεχθέντα πάντα φοβεῖσθαι, ἀλλ' ἕνα μόνον τὸν πάντων ἐκείνων νικητήν· ὅντινα λοιπὸν γνόντες καὶ φοβούμενοι, τοῦ φάσκοντος μακαρισμοῦ τυγχάνουσι· «Μακάριοι πάντες οἱ φοβούμενοι τὸν Κύριον.» Τίνες δ' ἂν εἶεν οὗτοι, τὸ παρὸν λόγιον διδάσκει φάσκον· «Καὶ φοβηθήσονται οἱ κατοικοῦντες τὰ πέρατα ἀπὸ τῶν σημείων σου.» Κατοικεῖν δὲ λέγονται τὰ πέρατα οὐ πάντως οἱ τὰς ἐσχατιὰς τῆς γῆς οἰκοῦντες, ἀλλ' οἱ δυνάμενοι ὁμοίως Παύλῳ λέγειν· «Ἐν σαρκὶ γὰρ ζῶντες, οὐ κατὰ σάρκα στρατευόμεθα·» καί· «Ζῶ δὲ οὐκέτι ἐγὼ, ζῇ δὲ ἐν ἐμοὶ Χριστός.» Οὗτοι γὰρ, οὔτε ἐμβαθύναντες τοῖς ἀνθρωπίνοις πράγμασιν, οὔτε πάντη ἐκτὸς ὄντες αὐτῶν, ὥσπερ ἐν μεθορίῳ καθεστήκασιν, ἀμφὶ τὰ πέρατα τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ζωῆς πολιτευόμενοι. Οἱ 23.640 δὴ, πολλῆς αἰσθήσεως μετασχόντες, τὰ σημεῖα τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν θεασάμενοι, οἱ ἐν ἀρχῇ γεγόνασι σοφίας, τὸν φόβον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀνειληφότες. Τίς δὲ τὰ ὑψώματα τῶν κατὰ χρόνους ἀρχόντων καὶ τὰς κατὰ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπαναστάσεις, τούς τε διωγμοὺς καὶ τὰς ἀπειλὰς τῶν ἀσεβῶν ἀνδρῶν τεθεαμένος, οὐκ ἂν εἴποι ὄρη εἶναι ὑψούμενα καὶ θάλασσαν ἀληθῶς κυμαίνουσαν, ἦχόν τε κυμάτων τὰς τῶν ἀσεβῶν καὶ ἀθέων βλασφημίας; Ἃ δὴ πάντα ἐν τῇ ἰσχύϊ αὐτοῦ ὁ Σωτὴρ πάντων τῶν περάτων τῆς γῆς μιᾷ ῥοπῇ ταπεινοῦν εἴωθεν· ὡς τοὺς ὁρῶντας τὴν πτῶσιν αὐτῶν καὶ τὴν ἀπώλειαν ταράττεσθαι· τοὺς δὲ ὠφελεῖσθαι καὶ φόβον ἀναλαμβάνειν Θεοῦ, σημεῖα ἐναργῆ τῆς τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἐνθέου δυνάμεως τὴν τῶν ἀσεβῶν καθαίρεσιν εἶναι ὁμολογοῦντας. «Ἐξόδους πρωΐας καὶ ἑσπέρας τέρψεις· ἐπεσκέψω τὴν γῆν καὶ ἐμέθυσας αὐτήν.» Πρὸς τοῖς κατειλεγμένοις καὶ ἄλλα σημεῖα τῆς τοῦ Σωτῆρος δυνάμεως παρίστη λέγων· «Ἐξόδους πρωΐας καὶ ἑσπέρας τέρψεις·» ἀνθ' οὗ ὁ Σύμμαχος ἡρμήνευσε· «Τὰς προελεύσεις τοῦ ὄρθρου καὶ τῆς ἑσπέρας τὰς ὑμνολογίας.» Ἓν γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο μέγιστον σημεῖον τυγχάνει τῆς σωτηρίου δυνάμεως, τὸ μετὰ τὴν ταπείνωσιν τῶν προλεχθέντων συστήσασθαι ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἐξόδους πρωΐας καὶ ἑσπέρας τέρψεις· ἢ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον, «ὑμνολογίας,» ἢ, κατὰ τὸν Ἀκύλαν, «αἰνοποιήσεις.» Τὸ γὰρ καθ' ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις τοῦ Θεοῦ κατὰ τὰς πρωϊνὰς τοῦ ἡλίου ἐξόδους, κατά τε τὰς ἑσπερινὰς ὥρας ὑμνολογίας καὶ αἰνοποιήσεις, καὶ θείας ἀληθῶς τέρψεις τῷ Θεῷ συστήσασθαι, οὐ τὸ τυχὸν ἦν Θεοῦ ἀρετῆς σημεῖον. Θεοῦ δὲ τέρψεις οἱ πανταχοῦ τῆς γῆς ἐν τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ αὐτοῦ ἀναπεμπόμενοι κατὰ τοὺς ὀρθρινοὺς καὶ κατὰ