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Pride, then, is a scorching wind, (717) a passion that hates God and man alike; for it dries up the heart of the unbelieving, withering pious thoughts concerning the Godhead and right reasonings concerning nature, in the image of the scorching wind. For they say that this wind comes from a mixture of the east and south wind; and for this reason it dries up the moisture scattered over the earth. They say it is also called Euroclydon and Typhonic; the one, because it raises a disturbance on every side of land and sea; the other, because it produces a parched darkness; which pride is also wont to do. For it brings great disturbance to the soul, and fills the mind with the darkness of ignorance. God raised up this scorching wind after the drunken violence against Christ; that is, He allowed it to come upon the Jews, who possessed a disposition suitable for it, so that their disposition towards God and men might become manifest to all. Wherefore, being oppressed by the gloom of ignorance, they willingly thrust themselves into the portion opposed [Fr. et. Seg: godless] to God; having absolutely nothing else, except to be distressed and troubled, both at the salvation and glory of the gentiles through faith, and at the abolition of the carnal ordinances among them, saying: Now, Lord, take our souls from us, for it is better for us to die than to live, because of the withered gourd; I mean, the worship in the shadows of the law, which was abolished; which came to be and passed away overnight; so that, being described only by the enigmas and types of symbols, it had no intelligible illumination capable of enlightening the mind of the soul.

But let us spiritually, through faith and the righteousness that accompanies it, embrace the spiritual Nineveh; I mean the Church from the gentiles, which has truly become a great City to God, as it is written; and was saved through repentance in the three days appointed for its conversion; and let us strive to become, through repentance and change for the better, citizens of this city that is great to God. For this passage carefully says that the city is great to God, stating, Now Nineveh was a great city to God. Where in Scripture does the Jew, who cares for the truth concerning the city of Jerusalem below, find this saying written verbatim? For nowhere have I, though I have read all of Holy Scripture many times, found it written that, And Jerusalem(720) was a great city to God. And who, trusting in the power of speech and wealth of thoughts, would be able to circumscribe and measure the greatness of the city that both is and is called great to God? To me, this is utterly impossible; and I think, also, to everyone prudent in mind, and who has even a little perception of the divine majesty, and who is not ignorant that the divine decrees seem to befit God. But how is it a great city to God, the first city of the Assyrians, where the confusion of error existed; where the kingdom of idolatry was established; which happens to be very far from the so-called holy land, and the one promised to the physical Israel, unless God, seeing the greatness of the faith of the Church from the gentiles, which can be described by no word, accepted the future as though it were present, and made His own that which was formerly foreign; and that which was once most worthless on account of its godlessness, has become by the Word divine and most honorable, and having its future defined by no word, saying plainly through the prophet, And Nineveh was a great city to God; to which the word of prophetic grace was sent, and preached the blessed overthrow, saying: Yet three days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. Having come to this place concerning the appointed time of the days, I think I will pass over the other things, as many as can be said by those who interpret the word allegorically; but to consider one thing alone with precise observation, and to say that which perhaps, when said, will be found not to stray from the truth.

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Πνεῦμα γοῦν καύσωνός ἐστιν ὁ τῦφος, (717) μισόθεον ὁμοῦ καί μισάνθρωπον πάθος· ἀποξηραίνει γάρ τήν καρδίαν τῶν ἀπίστων, τούς περί θεότητος εὐσεβεῖς λογισμούς, καί τούς ὀρθούς περί φύσεως λόγους ἀπομαραίνων, κατά τήν εἰκόνα τοῦ καύσωνος. Φασί γάρ τοῦτον γίνεσθαι τόν ἄνεμον κατά μίξιν ἀνατολικοῦ καί νοτίου πνεύματος· καί διά τοῦτο ξηραίνοντα τῆς γῆς τήν παρεσπαρμένην ἰκμάδα. Καλεῖσθαι δέ φασιν αὐτόν καί Εὐροκλύδωνα καί Τυφονικόν· τό μέν, ὡς ταραχήν πανταχόθεν γῆς καί θαλάττης ἐγείροντα· τό δε, ὡς αὐχμώδους σκότους ποιητικόν· ὅπερ πέφυκε ποιεῖν καί ὁ τῦφος. Ἐπάγει γάρ μεγάλην ταραχήν τῇ ψυχῇ, καί σκότους ἀγνοίας πληροῖ τήν διάνοιαν. Τοῦτον ἐξήγειρεν ὁ Θεός τόν καύσωνα μετά τήν εἰς Χριστόν παροινίαν· τουτέστι, παρεχώρησεν ἐπελθεῖν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις, πρόσφορον κεκτημένοις αὐτῷ τήν διάθεσιν, ἵνα γένηται πᾶσι κατάδηλος αὐτῶν ἡ περί Θεόν καί ἀνθρώπους προαίρεσις.Ὅθεν ἀγνοίας ζόφῳ καταπιεσθέντες, εἰς τήν ἀντίθετον [Fr. et. Seg ἀντίθεον] τῷ Θεῷ μοῖραν ἑαυτούς ἑκουσίως ἀπέωσαν· ἄλλο μέν οὐδέν τό σύνολον ἔχοντες, πλήν τό διαπονεῖσθαι καί ἀδημονεῖν, ἐπί τε τῇ κατά πίστιν σωτηρίᾳ καί δόξῃ τῶν ἐθνῶν, ἐπί τε τῇ καθαιρέσει τῶν παρ᾿ αὐτοῖς κατά σάρκα νομίμων, λέγοντες· Νῦν, Κύριε, λάβε δή τάς ψυχάς ἀφ᾿ ἡμῶν, ὅτι καλόν ἡμῖν ἀποθανεῖν, ἤ ζῇν, διά τήν ξηρανθεῖσαν κολόκυνταν· λέγω δέ, τήν ἐν σκιαῖς τοῦ νόμου λατρείαν καταργηθεῖσαν· τήν ὑπό νύκτα, καί γενομένην καί ἀπογενομένην· ὡς μηδένα, τοῖς τῶν συμβόλων αἰνίγμασί τε καί τύποις μόνοις περιγραφομένην, φωτισμόν ἔχουσαν νοητόν ψυχῆς διάνοιαν λαμπρύναι δυνάμενον.

Ἀλλ᾿ ἡμεῖς πνευματικῶς διά πίστεως, καί τῆς παρομαρτούσης αὐτῇ δικαιοσύνης, τήν πνευματικήν ἀσπασώμεθα Νινευή· φημί δέ τήν ἐξ ἐθνῶν Ἐκκλησίαν, τήν ὡς ἀληθῶς Πόλιν μεγάλην τῷ Θεῷ καθεστῶσαν, ὡς γέγραπται· καί διά τῶν ὁρισθεισῶν αὐτῇ πρός ἐπιστροφήν τριῶν ἡμερῶν τῆ μετανοίᾳ διασωθεῖσαν· καί πολῖται ταύτης τῆς πόλεως τῆς τῷ Θεῷ μεγάλης διά τῆς μετανοίας, καί τῆς ἐπί τό κρεῖττον μεταβολῆς γενέσθαι σπουδάσωμεν. Ἐπιτετηρημένως γάρ φησι μεγάλην εἶναι τῷ Θεῷ τήν πόλιν ὁ λόγος οὗτος φάσκων, Ἡ δέ Νινευή, ἧν πόλις μεγάλη τῷ Θεῷ. Ποῦ τῆς Γραφῆς ὁ Ἰουδαῖος περί τῆς κάτω πόλεως Ἱερουσαλήμ ἀληθείας φροντίζων τοῦτο κείμενον ἐπί λέξεως εὑρίσκει τό ῥητόν; Οὐδαμοῦ γάρ ἔγωγε πᾶσαν πολλάκις ἀναγνούς τήν ἁγίαν Γραφήν, κείμενον ηὗρον τό, Καί Ἱερουσαλήμ(720) ἦν πόλις μεγάλη τῷ Θεῷ. Τίς δέ λόγου δυνάμει καί νοημάτων πλούτῳ θαῤῥῶν, περιγράψας μετρῆσαι δυνήσοιτο τό μέγεθος τῆς τῷ Θεῷ καί οὔσης καί λεγομένης μεγάλης πόλεως; Ἐμοί μέν τοῦτο παντελῶς ἄπορον· οἶμαι δέ, καί παντί συνετῷ τήν διάνοιαν, καί μικρόν γοῦν ἐπῃσθημένῳ τῆς θείας μεγαλειότητος, καί τῷ Θεῷ τάς θείας ψήφους ἐμφερεῖς εἶναι δοκεῖν οὐκ ἀγνοῶν. Πῶς δέ τῷ Θεῷ μεγάλη πόλις ἐστίν, ἡ πρώτη πόλις τῶν Ἀσσυρίων, ἔνθα τῆς πλάνης ὑπῆρχεν ἡ σύγχυσις· ἔνθα τῆς εἰδωλομανίας ἵδρυτο τό βασίλειον· ἡ πολύ πόῤῥω τυγχάνουσα τῆς λεγομένης ἁγίας γῆς, καί τῷ σωματικῷ Ἰσραήλ ἐπηγγελμένης, εἰ μή τό μέγεθος τῆς μηδενί λόγῳ περιγραφομένης πίστεως τῆς ἐξ ἐθνῶν Ἐκκλησίας ἐνιδών ὁ Θεός, τό μέλλον ὥσπερ ὄν ἀπεδέξατο, καί τό τέως ἀλλότριον εἰσῳκήσατο· καί τό ποτε διά τήν ἀθεΐαν φαυλότατον, ἔνθεον τῷ λόγῳ καθέστηκε καί τιμιώτατον, καί μηδενί λόγῳ τό μέλλον ὁριζόμενον ἔχον, διά τοῦ προφήτου φήσας διαῤῥήδην, Καί Νινευή ἦν πόλις μεγάλῃ τῷ Θεῷ· πρός ἦν ἀποσταλείς ὁ τῆς προφητικῆς χάριτος λόγος, τήν μακαρίαν καταστροφήν ἐκήρυξεν, εἰπών· Ἔτι τρεῖς ἡμέραι, καί Νινευή καταστραφήσεται. Κατά τοῦτον γενόμενος τῆς τῶν ἡμερῶν προσθεσμίας τόν τόπον, τά μέν ἄλλα δοκῶ μοι παρήσειν, ὅσα δυνατόν ῥηθῆναι τοῖς τόν λόγον ἀνάγουσι· μονώτατον δέ σκοπεῖν μετά τῆς ἀκριβοῦς σημειώσεως, καί εἰπεῖν ὅπερ τυχόν οὐκ ἔξω βαῖνον εὑρεθήσεται τῆς ἀληθείας λεγόμενον.