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we all poured out and were scattered "as dust from the face of the wind." And no one among us has been spoken of as such, as to be able to call upon your name and beseech you through prayers; for no one holds fast nor calls to mind the help from you. therefore you have rightly turned your face from us; but nevertheless, even after these things we know you as father, and we are not ignorant of ourselves, that we are no different from clay, of which you alone have become the potter, and we differ in no way from a vessel of fragile earthenware, at different times being broken and shattered in different ways. Therefore, we beseech you, looking upon the unsoundness of our weakness, to grant pardon for our sins, calling to mind that we were once called your people and your city, which is now desolate, and your sanctuary, which is now demolished, and that the house of your sanctuary has been changed into a curse and the place blessed by our fathers has been given over to fire, and according to Symmachus: he says Jerusalem has become desolate, the house of our sanctuary, where our fathers praised you, has been brought to annihilation, has become fuel for fire, and all our desirable things have become a reproach. Will you restrain yourself at these things, Lord, and be silent and humble us exceedingly? 2.55 In response to the aforementioned voices, through which supplications from the person of the people were sent up, and confessions, and now also as it were reproaches of those who said: "you have made us wander, Lord, from your way, you have hardened our hearts from fearing you," a response is given through the prophetic spirit, having this meaning: And how was it possible for me, "who does not will" "the death of the sinner as much as his repentance," to overlook those praying and confessing such things? And how is it possible for me, who wills to turn all people from error to the truth, who also exhorts "the falling to rise up", to "lead you astray from my way" or "harden your hearts from fearing me"? And indeed, if anyone should wish to see my love for mankind with truth-loving reason, he would find me anticipating with benefits even those standing far off from the knowledge of me. At once, therefore, to those outside who had never even asked me, I made myself manifest through surpassing love for mankind, so that now foreigners and those of other tribes have received the knowledge of me, although they contributed nothing to this. But also to those who did not seek my grace, I gave a share of it, anticipating the exhortations of others; before they even prayed, before they even supplicated, I said, 'Behold, I am.' I, therefore, who am by nature so kind and good even concerning those who are strangers to the knowledge of me, how could I have appeared to you as someone cruel and harsh and most unjust? And indeed, I began my grace from you, and to you first I stretched out my hands, calling and embracing you as my own legitimate sons; but you continued to disobey as I was calling and exhorting you to hasten to the salvation that is with me. You went the opposite way, multiplying your own evils. Or are you not the ones who from all eternity have been provoking me, who forsake the temple consecrated to me, and give yourselves over to idolatry and polytheistic error, so as to sacrifice in gardens, and burn incense to unclean spirits and wicked demons on altars constructed by you from bricks, but also sleeping in tombs and in caves? And such were the supposed shrines of the gods where you contrived oracles for yourselves. For what else are you doing but making yourselves like the completely lawless and foreign, and you are already sated with swine's flesh and you do not shrink from defiling all the vessels in your houses with unclean sacrifices. And the worst thing, at which it is right to be filled with wrath and to be indignant, is that priding yourselves on these same things as if on good deeds, you were disposed to be purer than all men, so that you did not even wish

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ἐξερρεύσαμεν πάντες καὶ διεσκεδάσθημεν «ὡς χοῦς ἀπὸ προσώπου ἀνέμου». Καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐν ἡμῖν εἴρηται τοιοῦτος ὡς ἐπικαλεῖσθαι τὸ ὄνομά σου καὶ δυσωπεῖν σε διὰ τῶν προσευχῶν δύνασθαι· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἀντέχεταί τις οὐδ' ἐν μνήμῃ τίθεται τὴν παρὰ σοῦ βοήθειαν. διὸ εὐλόγως ἀπέστρεψας τὸ πρόσωπόν σου ἀφ' ἡμῶν· πλὴν ὅμως καὶ μετὰ ταῦτά σε πάτερ γινώσκομεν, οὐκ ἀγνοοῦμεν δὲ καὶ ἑαυτοὺς ὡς οὐδὲν διενηνώχαμεν πηλοῦ, οὗ σὺ μόνος πλάστης γέγονας, καὶ ὀστράκου δὲ εὐθραύστου σκεύους κατ' οὐδὲν διαφέρομεν ἄλλοτε ἄλλως ῥηγνύμενοι καὶ συντριβόμενοι. διὸ ἀπιδόντας σε τῇ σαθρότητι τῆς ἡμετέρας ἀσθενείας ἀντιβολοῦμεν νεῖμαι συγγνώμην τοῖς ἡμαρτημένοις ἀνενέγκαντα τῇ μνήμῃ, ὡς σός ποτε λαὸς ἐχρηματίσαμεν καὶ σὴ πόλις, ἣ νῦν ἔρημος, καὶ σὸν ἁγιαστήριον, τὸ νῦν καθῃρημένον, καὶ ὡς ὁ οἶκος τοῦ ἁγιάσματός σου μεταβέβληται εἰς κατάραν καὶ πυρὶ παραδέδοται ὁ ὑπὸ τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν εὐλογηθεὶς τόπος, κατὰ δὲ τὸν Σύμμαχον· ἔρημός φησιν ἐγένετο Ἰερουσαλήμ, εἰς ἀφανισμὸν ὁ οἶκος τοῦ ἁγιάσματος ἡμῶν, ὅπου ὕμνησάν σε οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν, ἐγένετο εἰς καῦσιν πυρός, καὶ πᾶν τὸ ἐπιθυμητὸν ἡμῶν ἐγένετο εἰς ὄνειδος. μὴ ἐπὶ τούτοις ἐγκρατεύσῃ, κύριε, καὶ σιγήσῃς καὶ ταπεινώσῃς ἡμᾶς ἕως σφόδρα; 2.55 Πρὸς τὰς προεκτεθείσας φωνὰς δι' ὧν ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ λαοῦ ἱκετηρίαι ἀνεπέμποντο καὶ ἐξομολογήσεις ἤδη δὲ καὶ ὡσπερεὶ μέμψεις τῶν εἰρηκότων· «πεπλάνηκας ἡμᾶς, κύριε, ἀπὸ τῆς ὁδοῦ σου, ἐσκλήρυνας τὰς καρδίας ἡμῶν τοῦ μὴ φοβεῖσθαί σε», ἀπόκρισις διὰ τοῦ προφητικοῦ πνεύματος δίδοται τοῦτον ἔχουσα τὸν νοῦν· καὶ πῶς οἷόν τε ἦν ἐμὲ «τὸν μὴ βουλόμενον» «τὸν θάνατον τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ ὡς τὴν μετάνοιαν αὐτοῦ» τοὺς τὰ τοιαῦτα εὐχομένους καὶ ἐξομολογουμένους ὑπερορᾶν; πῶς δὲ δυνατὸν ἐμὲ τὸν ἀπὸ πλάνης ἐπὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐπιστρέφειν πάντας ἀνθρώπους ἐθέλοντα τὸν καὶ «τοὺς πίπτοντας ἀνίστασθαι» παρακαλοῦντα ὑμᾶς «ἀποπλανᾶν τῆς ἐμῆς ὁδοῦ» ἢ «τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν σκληρύνειν τοῦ φοβεῖσθαί με»; καὶ μὴν εἴ τις ἐθέλοι φιλαλήθει λογισμῷ τὴν ἐμὴν ὁρᾶν φιλανθρωπίαν, εὕροι ἂν φθάνοντά με ταῖς εὐεργεσίαις καὶ τοὺς μακρὰν ἀφεστῶτας τῆς ἐμῆς γνώσεως. αὐτίκα δ' οὖν τοῖς ἐκτὸς μηδὲ πώποτε ἐρωτήσασί με ἐμφανῆ κατέστησα ἐμαυτὸν δι' ὑπερβάλλουσαν φιλανθρωπίαν, ὥστ' ἤδη τοὺς ἀλλογενεῖς καὶ ἀλλοφύλους τὴν ἐμὴν γνῶσιν ἀνειληφέναι καίπερ μηδὲν εἰς τοῦτο συμβαλλομένους. ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς μὴ ζητήσασι τὴν ἐμὴν χάριν ταύτης μετέδωκα φθάσας τε τὰς ἑτέρων παρακλήσεις· πρὶν καὶ εὔξασθαι, πρὶν καὶ ἱκετεῦσαι αὐτούς, εἶπον Ἰδού εἰμι. Ὁ τοίνυν καὶ περὶ τοὺς ἀλλοτρίους τῆς ἐμῆς γνώσεως οὕτω χρηστὸς καὶ ἀγαθὸς πεφυκὼς πῶς ἂν περὶ ὑμᾶς ὠμός τις καὶ ἀπηνὴς καὶ ἀδικώτατος ἐφάνην; καὶ μὴν ἐξ ὑμῶν ἀπηρξάμην τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ χάριτος καὶ πρώτοις ὑμῖν τὰς ἐμαυτοῦ χεῖρας ἐξεπέτασα προσκαλούμενος καὶ ἐναγκαλιζόμενος ὡς ἂν ἐμαυτοῦ γνησίους υἱούς· ὑμεῖς δὲ ἀπειθοῦντες διετελεῖτε καλοῦντός τε καὶ παρακαλοῦντος ἐμοῦ σπεύδειν ἐπὶ τὴν παρ' ἐμοὶ σωτηρίαν. Ὑμεῖς τὴν ἐναντίαν ὡδεύσατε πολυπλασιάζοντες τὰ ἑαυτῶν κακά. ἢ οὐχ ὑμεῖς ἐστε ἐκ τοῦ παντὸς αἰῶνος παροξύνοντές με οἱ τὸν καθηγιασμένον ἐμοὶ νεὼν ἐγκαταλείποντες, εἰδωλολατρίᾳ δὲ καὶ πολυθέῳ πλάνῃ ἐκδότους ἑαυτοὺς παρέχοντες ὡς θυσιάζειν μὲν ἐν τοῖς κήποις, θυμιᾶν δὲ πνεύμασιν ἀκαθάρτοις καὶ πονηροῖς δαιμονίοις ἐν τοῖς ἐκ πλίνθων κατεσκευασμένοις ὑμῖν βωμοῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τοῖς μνήμασι καὶ ἐν τοῖς σπηλαίοις ἐγκαθεύδοντες; τοιαῦτα δὲ ἦν τὰ νομιζόμενα τῶν θεῶν ἱερὰ τὰς μαντείας ἑαυτοῖς περινοεῖτε. τί γὰρ ἄλλο ἢ τοῖς πάμπαν ἀνόμοις καὶ ἀλλογενέσιν ὁμοιούμενοι καὶ χοιρείων ἤδη κρέων ἐμφορεῖσθε καὶ πάντα τὰ κατὰ τοὺς οἴκους ὑμῶν σκεύη μιαραῖς μολύνειν θυσίαις οὐκ ἀποκνεῖτε. Καὶ τὸ χείριστον, ἐφ' ᾧ καὶ μάλιστα θυμοῦ πληροῦσθαι καὶ ἀγανακτεῖν ἄξιον, ὅτι δὴ ἐπὶ τοῖς αὐτοῖς ὡς ἂν ἐπ' ἀγαθαῖς πράξεσι σεμνυνόμενοι πάντων ἀνθρώπων καθαρώτεροι εἶναι διέκεισθε, ὡς μηδὲ βούλεσθαι