230
and the manifest victory against the demon, the strange death of the treasurer of the royal funds, the slaying of the emperor himself, of Julian himself, who surpassed all in impiety, and the destruction of his uncle, the wellsprings of worms, countless other things, the famine, the drought, the scarcity of water, that fell upon the cities with him, and countless other things everywhere. 5. And in Palestine, you know what happened then. For when the Jews wanted to rebuild that temple which had been destroyed by the decree of God, fire leaping out from the foundations drove them all away, and the work remaining unfinished bears witness. The Lord is merciful and 55.286 compassionate; He has given food to those who fear Him. Having recounted His benefactions, those through miracles, those through deeds, the care that has been shown for us, with this he again magnifies his discourse, showing that having done so many and so great things for the salvation of men, and having instructed them in every way, and instructing them in the knowledge of God and the highest philosophy, and sustaining their life, He does not do this as a debt, which is the greatest grace, but through mercy and love for mankind, not as though He needs them, but through goodness alone. He has given food to those who fear Him. Why has he here set down "those who fear"? For He does not feed them alone. For in the Gospel he says, 'that He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.' How then did he say, 'To those who fear Him'? It seems to me that here he speaks not of the food of the body, but that of the soul. For this reason he speaks only of those who fear Him; for this is set apart for them. For just as the body is nourished, so too is the soul nourished. And that it is nourished, listen: 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' He means, therefore, this food, which He has given especially to those who fear Him, the teaching through the Word, the instruction, all philosophy. He will be mindful of His covenant forever. Again, putting down the arrogance of the Jews, and cutting away their pride, or rather showing that the good things they enjoyed, they did not enjoy because of their own worth, but because of His friendship toward the fathers, and the covenants made with them, he says: He will be mindful of His covenant forever; which Moses also commanded them to say and to think upon entering the land of promise. For if you build, he says, splendid cities, and acquire a wealth of possessions, do not say, 'Because of my righteousness these things have happened,' but because of the covenants with your fathers. For nothing is worse than arrogance; for this reason God cuts it out continually in every way and at all times. He has shown His people the power of His works, in giving them the heritage of the nations. From the universal he moves the discourse to the particular; from the things that happened throughout the world, to the things that happened to the Jews. And yet, if one were to examine closely, these things also hold the rank of universal things. For the things done to them became lessons for others, and the wars, and the trophies? and the victories were sufficient as a proclamation to those who paid attention. For these things did not happen by human consequence, but beyond reason. For what kind of consequence was it that, when they blew the trumpets, the walls fell down, and a woman leading an army conquered and prevailed, and a small child put an end to barbarian wars with a single cast of a stone? And other such strange things happened. Thus they overcame their enemies, thus they cast them out of Palestine. When, therefore, he says, 'He has shown His people the power of His works,' he says nothing other than that
230
καὶ ἡ φανερὰ νίκη ἡ κατὰ τοῦ δαίμονος, τοῦ ταμίου τῶν βασιλικῶν χρημάτων ὁ παράδοξος θάνατος, αὐτὴ ἡ τοῦ βασιλέως ἀναίρεσις, αὐτοῦ τοῦ Ἰουλιανοῦ τοῦ πάντας ἀσεβείᾳ νικήσαντος, καὶ ἡ τοῦ θείου τοῦ ἐκείνου ἀπώλεια, τῶν σκωλήκων αἱ πηγαὶ, ἕτερα μυρία, ὁ λιμὸς, ὁ αὐχμὸς, ἡ τῶν ὑδάτων σπάνις, ἡ μετ' αὐτοῦ ταῖς πόλεσιν ἐμπεσοῦσα, καὶ ἕτερα μυρία πανταχοῦ. εʹ. Καὶ ἐν Παλαιστίνῃ τὰ τότε συμβάντα ἔγνωτε. Καὶ γὰρ ἡνίκα τὸν ναὸν ἐκεῖνον τὸν τῇ ψήφῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ καθαιρεθέντα ἀνοικοδομεῖν ἐβούλοντο Ἰουδαῖοι, πῦρ ἐκ τῶν θεμελίων ἐκπηδῆσαν ἅπαντας ἤλασε, καὶ μαρτυρεῖ τὸ ἔργον ἀτέλεστον μεῖναν. Οἰκτίρμων καὶ 55.286 ἐλεήμων ὁ Κύριος τροφὴν ἔδωκε τοῖς φοβουμένοις αὐτόν. Ἀπαγγείλας αὐτοῦ τὰς εὐεργεσίας, τὰς διὰ τῶν θαυμάτων, τὰς διὰ τῶν ἔργων, τὴν κηδεμονίαν τὴν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν γεγενημένην, καὶ τούτῳ πάλιν αὔξει τὸν λόγον, δεικνὺς ὅτι τοσαῦτα καὶ τηλικαῦτα ποιήσας ὑπὲρ τῆς σωτηρίας τῆς τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ παντὶ τρόπῳ παιδεύσας αὐτοὺς, καὶ παιδεύων εἰς τὴν θεογνωσίαν καὶ τὴν ἄκραν φιλοσοφίαν, καὶ διακρατῶν αὐτῶν τὴν ζωὴν, οὐ κατὰ ὀφειλὴν τοῦτο ἐργάζεται ὅπερ μεγίστη χάρις ἐστὶν, ἀλλὰ δι' ἔλεον καὶ φιλανθρωπίαν, οὐχ ὡς αὐτὸς δεόμενος αὐτῶν, ἀλλὰ δι' ἀγαθότητα μόνην. Τροφὴν ἔδωκε τοῖς φοβουμένοις αὐτόν. Τίνος ἕνεκεν τοὺς φοβουμένους ἐνταῦθα τέθεικεν; Οὐ γὰρ δὴ μόνους αὐτοὺς τρέφει. Καὶ γὰρ ἐν τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ φησὶν, Ὅτι ἀνατέλλει τὸν ἥλιον ἐπὶ πονηροὺς καὶ ἀγαθοὺς, καὶ βρέχει ἐπὶ δικαίους καὶ ἀδίκους. Πῶς οὖν εἶπε, Τοῖς φοβουμένοις αὐτόν; Τροφὴν ἐνταῦθα δοκεῖ μοι λέγειν οὐ τὴν σωματικὴν, ἀλλὰ τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ περὶ τῶν φοβουμένων διαλέγεται μόνον· αὕτη γὰρ τούτοις ἐστὶν ἀφωρισμένη. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τρέφεται σῶμα, οὕτω τρέφεται καὶ ψυχή. Καὶ ὅτι τρέφεται ἄκουε· Οὐκ ἐπ' ἄρτῳ μόνῳ ζήσεται ἄνθρωπος, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ παντὶ ῥήματι ἐκπορευομένῳ διὰ στόματος Θεοῦ. Ταύτην οὖν λέγει τὴν τροφὴν, ἣν ἐξαιρέτως ἔδωκε τοῖς φοβουμένοις αὐτὸν, τὴν διὰ τοῦ λόγου διδασκαλίαν, τὴν παίδευσιν, τὴν φιλοσοφίαν ἅπασαν. Μνησθήσεται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα διαθήκης αὐτοῦ. Πάλιν καταστέλλων τῶν Ἰουδαίων τὴν ἀπόνοιαν, καὶ τὸν τῦφον αὐτῶν ὑποτεμνόμενος, μᾶλλον δὲ δεικνὺς, ὅτι τῶν ἀγαθῶν, ὧν ἀπήλαυσαν, οὐ διὰ τὴν ἀξίαν ἀπήλαυσαν τὴν οἰκείαν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν φιλίαν αὐτοῦ τὴν πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας, καὶ τὰς συνθήκας τὰς πρὸς ἐκείνους γεγενημένας, φησί· Μνησθήσεται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα διαθήκης αὐτοῦ· ὅπερ καὶ Μωϋσῆς παρήγγειλεν αὐτοῖς εἰσιοῦσιν εἰς τὴν γῆν τῆς ἐπαγγελίας λέγειν καὶ ἐννοεῖν. Ἐὰν γὰρ οἰκοδομήσῃς, φησὶ, πόλεις λαμπρὰς, καὶ περιβάλῃ πλοῦτον χρημάτων, μὴ εἴπῃς, ὅτι ∆ιὰ τὴν δικαιοσύνην μου ταῦτα γέγονεν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὰς συνθήκας τὰς πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας σου. Οὐδὲν γὰρ ἀπονοίας χεῖρον· διὰ τοῦτο παντὶ τρόπῳ καὶ διαπαντὸς ὁ Θεὸς ἐκκόπτει αὐτὴν συνεχῶς. Ἰσχὺν ἔργων αὐτοῦ ἀνήγγειλε τῷ λαῷ αὐτοῦ, τοῦ δοῦναι αὐτοῖς κληρονομίαν ἐθνῶν. Ἀπὸ τῶν καθολικῶν ἐπὶ τὰ μερικὰ μετάγει τὸν λόγον· ἀπὸ τῶν κατὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην γενομένων, ἐπὶ τὰ Ἰουδαίοις συμβάντα. Μάλιστα δὲ, εἴ τις ἀκριβῶς ἐξετάσειε, καὶ ταῦτα καθολικῶν ἐπέχει τάξιν. Τὰ γὰρ εἰς αὐτοὺς γινόμενα, τοῖς ἄλλοις διδασκαλίαι ἐγίνοντο, καὶ οἱ πόλεμοι, καὶ τὰ τρόπαια; καὶ αἱ νῖκαι ἀντὶ κηρύγματος ἤρκουν τοῖς προσέχουσιν. Οὐ γὰρ ἀκολουθίᾳ ἀνθρωπίνῃ, ἀλλὰ ὑπὲρ λόγον ταῦτα συνέβαινε. Ποία γὰρ ἀκολουθία ἐκείνη, σαλπιζόντων αὐτῶν τὰ τείχη καταβάλλεσθαι, καὶ γυναῖκα στρατηγοῦσαν νικᾷν καὶ περιγίνεσθαι, καὶ παιδίον μικρὸν βαρβαρικοὺς πολέμους καταλύειν ἀπὸ λίθου βολῆς μιᾶς; Καὶ ἕτερα δὲ ἄλλα παράδοξα τοιαῦτα συνέβαινεν. Οὕτω τῶν πολεμίων ἐκράτησαν, οὕτω τῆς Παλαιστίνης ἐξέβαλον. Ὅταν οὖν λέγῃ, Ἰσχὺν ἔργων αὐτοῦ ἀνήγγειλε τῷ λαῷ αὐτοῦ, οὐδὲν ἄλλο λέγει, ἢ ὅτι