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the cessation of error, and the knowledge of the truth. And of all these things, the divine mercy is the author. "For not by works of righteousness which we have done, says the divine Apostle, but according to his great mercy he saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, which he poured out on us abundantly." 9, 10. "For he has satisfied the empty soul, and has filled the hungry soul with good things. Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and iron." And the Jews, who were yoked to slavery and affliction, and wasting away with famine, He freed from the terrible things that held them; and He nourished the whole nature of men with divine teachings, and freeing them from the gloom of ignorance, He illuminated them with the light of the knowledge of God, and scattered the overhanging shadow of death, having given the hope of the resurrection and broke the strong bonds of sin. "For with the cords," he says, "of his own sins is each one bound fast." And: "Woe to them that draw their sins as with a long rope, and their iniquities as with the strap of a heifer's yoke." 11, 12. "Because they provoked the oracles of God, and provoked the counsel of the Most High. And their heart was humbled with labors; they were weakened, and there was no one to help." And the cause of all these painful things, both for the Jews, and indeed for all men, is sin; for they too, paying the penalty, were delivered to the slavery of the Babylonians; and all men, after the transgression of the commandment, were subjected to the misery of toils. For after these things Adam heard, "Cursed is the ground in your works; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; in sorrows you shall eat of it all the days of your life; in the sweat of your face you shall eat your bread, till you return to the ground from which you were taken; for you are earth, and to earth you shall return." Surrounded by so many calamities, they found no release from the evils that beset them, but He who had allotted these things to them, Himself also granted release from them. For he says: 13, 14. "And they cried to the Lord in their affliction, and He saved them out of their distresses. And He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their bonds." For pitying both these and those, He delivered the one group from the 80.1741 calamities that beset them, and the other He freed from the darkness of ignorance, and broke the bonds of slavery. 15, 10. "Let them give thanks to the Lord for His mercies, and for His wonderful works to the children of men. For He has broken gates of bronze, and shattered bars of iron." Gates of bronze and bars of iron he called the inescapable nature of evils; for just as it is impossible for one confined within such doors and bars to escape, so it was impossible both for the Jews to escape the slavery of the Babylonians, and for all men to escape the dominion of death. But the divine mercy alone was sufficient to destroy the power of both the one and the other, and to grant release from grievous things. 17. "He helped them out of the way of their iniquity; for they were humbled because of their iniquities." Neither the Jews, nor the whole nature of men, fell into grievous things unjustly; but both these and those are paying the penalty for what they have transgressed. But nevertheless, He deemed both these and those, who were wallowing in so many evils, worthy of salvation. 18. "Their soul abhorred all food; and they drew near to the gates of death." For the Jews, being overwhelmed by the multitude of evils, turned away even from food itself. For this the prophet also said in another psalm, as if from their perspective: "For I have forgotten to eat my bread." But the Gentiles were unwilling even to pay attention to the teachings of their own philosophers. For which reason, some condemned Socrates to death; others delivered Anaxarchus to a strange punishment; and others, bitterly torturing the successors of Pythagoras, brought a premature death upon them. But nevertheless, even for these, the God of all prepared that they should partake of the immortal food, and run to it with all eagerness

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πλάνης ἡ παῦλα, καὶ τῆς ἀληθείας ἡ γνῶσις. Τούτων δὲ πάν των ὁ θεῖος πρόξενος ἔλεος. "Οὐ γὰρ διὰ τὰς δι καιοσύνας ἡμῶν, ἃς ἐποιήσαμεν, φησὶν ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολος, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ πολὺ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ ἔσωσεν ἡμᾶς διὰ λουτροῦ παλιγγενεσίας, καὶ ἀνακαινώσεως Πνεύματος ἁγίου, οὗ ἐξέχεεν ἐφ' ἡμᾶς πλουσίως." θʹ, ιʹ. "Ὅτι ἐχόρτασε ψυχὴν κενὴν, καὶ ψυχὴν πεινῶσαν ἐνέπλησεν ἀγαθῶν. Καθημένους ἐν σκότει καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτου, πεπεδημένους ἐν πτωχείᾳ καὶ σι δήρῳ." Καὶ Ἰουδαίους δουλείᾳ καὶ κακουχίᾳ συν εζευγμένους, καὶ λιμῷ τηκομένους, τῶν κατεχόντων δεινῶν ἠλευθέρωσε· καὶ ἅπασαν ἀνθρώπων τὴν φύ σιν ταῖς θείαις διδασκαλίαις διέθρεψε, καὶ τοῦ ζόφου τῆς ἀγνοίας ἐλευθερώσας, τῷ φωτὶ τῆς θεογνωσίας κατηύγασε, καὶ τὴν ἐπικειμένην τοῦ θανάτου σκιὰν ἀπεσκέδασε, τῆς ἀναστάσεως δεδωκὼς τὴν ἐλπίδα καὶ διέῤῥηξε τὰ ἰσχυρὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας δεσμά. "Σει ραῖς γὰρ, φησὶ, τῶν ἑαυτοῦ ἁμαρτημάτων ἕκαστος σφίγγεται." Καί· "Οὐαὶ οἱ ἐπισπώμενοι τὰς ἁμαρ τίας αὑτῶν ὡς σχοινίῳ μακρῷ, καὶ ὡς ζυγοῦ ἱμάντι δαμάλεως τὰς ἀνομίας αὑτῶν." ιαʹ, ιβʹ. "Ὅτι παρεπίκραναν τὰ λόγια τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τὴν βουλὴν τοῦ Ὑψίστου παρώξυναν. Καὶ ἐτα πεινώθη ἐν κόποις ἡ καρδία αὐτῶν· ἠσθένησαν, καὶ οὐκ ἦν ὁ βοηθῶν." Τούτων δὲ πάντων αἴτιον τῶν ἀλγεινῶν, καὶ Ἰουδαίοις, καὶ μέντοι καὶ πᾶσιν ἀν θρώποις, ἡ ἁμαρτία· κἀκεῖνοι γὰρ δίκας τίνοντες ἐξεδόθησαν τῇ Βαβυλωνίων δουλείᾳ· καὶ πάντες ἄν θρωποι, μετὰ τὴν παράβασιν τῆς ἐντολῆς, ὑπεβλήθη σαν τῇ τῶν πόνων ταλαιπωρίᾳ. Μετὰ ταῦτα γὰρ ἤκουσεν Ἀδὰμ, "Ἐπικατάρατος ἡ γῆ ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις σου, ἀκάνθας καὶ τριβόλους ἀνατελεῖ σοι, ἐν λύπαις φάγῃ αὐτὴν πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς σου· ἐν ἱδρῶτι τοῦ προσώπου σου φάγῃ τὸν ἄρτον σου, ἕως τοῦ ἀποστρέψαι σε εἰς τὴν γῆν ἐξ ἧς ἐλήφθης, ὅτι γῆ εἶ, καὶ εἰς γῆν ἀπελεύσῃ." Τοσαύταις περιστοι χιζόμενοι συμφοραῖς λύσιν οὐδεμίαν εὕροντο τῶν ἐπικειμένων κακῶν, ἀλλ' ὁ ταύταις αὐτοὺς συγκλη ρώσας, αὐτὸς καὶ τὴν τούτων ἀπαλλαγὴν ἐδωρή σατο. Φησὶ γάρ· ιγʹ, ιδʹ. "Καὶ ἐκέκραξαν πρὸς Κύριον ἐν τῷ θλίβε σθαι αὐτοὺς, καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἀναγκῶν αὐτῶν ἔσωσεν αὐ τούς. Καὶ ἐξήγαγεν αὐτοὺς ἐκ σκότους, καὶ σκιᾶς θανάτου, καὶ τοὺς δεσμοὺς αὐτῶν διέῤῥηξεν." Οἰ κτείρας γὰρ καὶ τούτους κἀκείνους, τοὺς μὲν τῶν 80.1741 ἐπικειμένων ἀπήλλαξε συμφορῶν, τοὺς δὲ τοῦ τῆς ἀγνοίας ἠλευθέρωσε σκότους, καὶ τῆς δουλείας διέῤ ῥηξε τὰ δεσμά. ιεʹ, ιʹ. "Ἐξομολογησάσθωσαν τῷ Κυρίῳ τὰ ἐλέη αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὰ θαυμάσια αὐτοῦ τοῖς υἱοῖς τῶν ἀνθρώ πων. Ὅτι συνέτριψε πύλας χαλκᾶς, καὶ μοχλοὺς σιδηροῦς συνέθλασεν." Πύλας χαλκᾶς, καὶ μο χλοὺς σιδηροῦς, τὸ ἄφυκτον ἐκάλεσε τῶν κακῶν· καθάπερ γὰρ τὸν εἴσω τοιούτων καθειργμένον θυρῶν τε καὶ μοχλῶν, διαφεύγειν τῶν ἀδυνάτων· οὕτως ἀμήχανον ἦν καὶ Ἰουδαίους τὴν Βαβυλωνίων δια δρᾶναι δουλείαν, καὶ πάντας ἀνθρώπους τοῦ θανάτου τὴν δυναστείαν. Μόνος δὲ ὁ θεῖος ἔλεος ἤρκεσε κἀκεί νων καὶ τούτου διαλῦσαι τὸ κράτος, καὶ τῶν ἀνια ρῶν τὴν λύσιν χαρίσασθαι. ιζʹ. "Ἀντελάβετο αὐτῶν ἐξ ὁδοῦ ἀνομίας αὐ τῶν· διὰ γὰρ τὰς ἀνομίας αὑτῶν ἐταπεινώθησαν." Οὔτε Ἰουδαῖοι, οὔτε πᾶσα τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἡ φύσις, ἀδίκως τοῖς ἀνιαροῖς περιέπεσεν· ἀλλὰ καὶ οὗτοι κἀκεῖνοι δίκας ὧν ἐπλημμέλησαν τίνουσιν. Ἀλλ' ὅμως, καὶ τούτους κἀκείνους τοσούτοις ἐγκαλινδου μένους κακοῖς σωτηρίας ἠξίωσεν. ιηʹ. "Πᾶν βρῶμα ἐβδελύξατο ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτῶν· καὶ ἤγγισαν ἕως τῶν πυλῶν τοῦ θανάτου." Ἰουδαῖοι μὲν γὰρ, τῷ πλήθει συνεχόμενοι τῶν κακῶν, καὶ αὐτὴν ἀπεστρέφοντο τὴν τροφήν. Τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ἐν ἑτέρῳ ψαλμῷ, ὡς ἐξ ἐκείνων εἴρηκεν ὁ προφήτης· "Ὅτι ἐπελαθόμην τοῦ φαγεῖν τὸν ἄρτον μου." Τὰ δὲ ἔθνη οὐδὲ ταῖς τῶν οἰκείων φιλοσόφων διδασκα λίαις προσέχειν ἐβούλετο. Οὗ δὴ χάριν, οἱ μὲν Σω κράτους κατεψηφίσαντο θάνατον· οἱ δὲ τὸν Ἀνάξ αρχον ξένῃ παρέδοσαν τιμωρίᾳ· οἱ δὲ ἄλλοι τοῦ Πυθαγόρου διαδόχους πικρῶς αἰκισάμενοι, πρόωρον αὐτοῖς ἐπήγαγον θάνατον. Ἀλλ' ὅμως καὶ τούτοις ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς παρεσκεύασε μεταδοθῆναι τῆς ἀθα νάτου τροφῆς, καὶ μετὰ πάσης ταύτῃ προσδραμεῖν προθυμίας