272

He was crucified out of weakness, but not at all as one conquered by others, but having made himself weak, and having given himself over into the hands of men; which indeed he teaches, saying: 'No one takes my life from me; but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.' Therefore, just as he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, so he made himself weak, that he might be captured by men, and that he might endure the cross, 'becoming obedient' to the Father 'to the point of death, even death on a cross.' Therefore he says: 'When my strength fails, do not forsake me.' Then, since he has mentioned his own passion and those who brought about the passion, he accordingly makes mention of them, saying: 'For my enemies have spoken against me, and those who watch for my soul;' or according to Symmachus, 'And those who keep watch on my soul have conspired together, saying: God has forsaken him; pursue and seize him, for there is no one to deliver him.' For the chief priests and those with them said these things at the time of the passion, shaking their heads and saying: 'You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, he saved others, he cannot save himself. If he is the King of Israel, let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.' 'O God, do not be far from me; O God, make haste to help me.' My aforementioned enemies said: 'God has forsaken him;' but I entreat and beg you, my God, to be with me always, and not to stand far from me, but to attend to my help. For having you as my helper, I know that I shall see all my enemies put to shame. But 'let them be ashamed,' as is usual in the divine Scripture, is said here instead of 'they will be ashamed;' and 'let them fail,' instead of 'those who slander my soul will fail;' or according to Symmachus, 'those who oppose my soul.' But how those who plotted his death have failed, covered with shame, we do not need long arguments; since from that time every high priest among them has ceased, and of the Pharisees not even the name is still left, nor the memory of the dignities among them. For rulers from Judah and leaders from his thighs 23.781 have failed, the expectation of the nations having arrived according to the prophecy that decrees this. And there are neither kings, nor leaders, nor any rulers among them, nor has any order of those who were formerly among them been left; but having been put to shame, all who slandered his soul have failed. And in what shame do those who are considered to preside over the Jews find themselves even now, seeing themselves slandered throughout all of Scripture for idolatries, and all the nations throughout the whole world converted from their ancestral error through the teaching of Christ; in which they now find themselves, seeing with shame that they themselves are cast out of their royal mother-city, and that Greek men, foreign and of another race, inhabit their place, and in all provinces and countries and cities those from the nations proclaim the prophetic voices concerning the Savior? Truly shame and disgrace have seized their souls, seeing him who was yesterday delivered by them to the cross being worshipped and spoken of as God throughout the whole world; which was fulfilled according to the prophecy at hand, which says: 'Let those who seek my hurt be clothed with shame and disgrace.' And they indeed will suffer these things; 'But I,' having suffered so much at their hands, 'will hope continually,' he says, 'and will add to all your praise.' And since according to all the interpreters 'I will add' is spoken, as Aquila says, 'And I will add to all hymns;' and Symmachus, 'and I will add to the hymns;' see if he did not make an addition to the hymns of the Father, the New Testament to the Old

272

ἐξ ἀσθενείας ἐσταυρώθη, ἀλλ' οὔτι γε νικηθεὶς ὑφ' ἑτέρων, αὐτὸς δὲ ἑαυτὸν ἀσθενῆ ποιήσας, καὶ ἑαυτὸν παραδοὺς ὑποχείριον ἀνθρώποις· ὃ δὴ διδάσκει φάσκων· «Οὐδεὶς αἴρει τὴν ψυχήν μου ἀπ' ἐμοῦ· ἀλλ' ἐγὼ τίθημι αὐτὴν ἀπ' ἐμαυτοῦ. Ἐξουσίαν ἔχω θεῖναι αὐτὴν, καὶ ἐξουσίαν ἔχω λαβεῖν αὐτήν.» Ὥσπερ οὖν ἐκένωσεν αὐτὸς ἑαυτὸν μορφὴν δούλου λαβὼν, οὕτως ἀσθενῆ ἑαυτὸν εἰργάσατο, ὅπως ἁλωτὸς γένηται ἀνθρώποις, καὶ ἵνα σταυρὸν ὑπομένῃ «ὑπήκοος γιγνόμενος» τῷ Πατρὶ «μέχρι θανάτου, καὶ θανάτου σταυροῦ.» ∆ιό φησιν· «Ἐν τῷ ἐκλείπειν τὴν ἰσχύν μου μὴ ἐγκαταλίπῃς με.» Εἶτα ἐπειδὴ τοῦ πάθους ἑαυτοῦ ἐμνημόνευσε καὶ τῶν τὸ πάθος ἐργασαμένων ἀκολούθως ποιεῖται μνήμην λέγων· «Ὅτι εἶπαν οἱ ἐχθροί μου ἐμοὶ, καὶ οἱ φυλάσσοντες τὴν ψυχήν μου·» ἢ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον, «Καὶ οἱ ἐπιτηροῦντες τὴν ψυχήν μου ἐβουλεύσαντο ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ λέγοντες· Ὁ Θεὸς ἐγκατέλιπεν αὐτόν· καταδιώξατε καὶ καταλάβετε αὐτὸν, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ ῥυόμενος.» Ταῦτα γὰρ ἔλεγον οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ οἱ σὺν αὐτοῖς κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦ πάθους, κινοῦντες αὐτῶν τὰς κεφαλὰς καὶ λέγοντες· «Ὁ καταλύων τὸν ναὸν καὶ ἐν τρισὶν ἡμέραις ἐγείρων αὐτὸν, ἄλλους ἔσωσεν, ἑαυτὸν οὐ δύναται σῶσαι. Εἰ βασιλεύς ἐστι τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ, καταβάτω νῦν ἀπὸ τοῦ σταυροῦ, καὶ πιστεύσομεν αὐτῷ.» «Ὁ Θεὸς, μὴ μακρύνῃς ἀπ' ἐμοῦ· ὁ Θεὸς, εἰς τὴν βοήθειάν μου πρόσχες.» Οἱ μὲν προλεχθέντες ἐχθροί μου ἔλεγον· «Ὁ Θεὸς ἐγκατέλιπεν αὐτόν·» ἐγὼ δὲ ἀντιβολῶ καὶ δέομαί σε τὸν ἐμαυτοῦ Θεὸν παρεῖναί μοι διαπαντὸς, μηδὲ μακράν μου ἵστασθαι, προσέχειν δὲ εἰς τὴν βοήθειάν μου. Σὲ γὰρ βοηθὸν κτώμενος, οἶδ' ὅτι ὄψομαι καταισχυνομένους πάντας μου τοὺς ἐχθρούς. Τὸ δὲ, «αἰσχυνθήτωσαν,» συνήθως τῇ θείᾳ Γραφῇ καὶ νῦν ἀντὶ τοῦ, «αἰσχυνθήσονται» εἴρηται· καὶ τὸ, «ἐκλειπέτωσαν,» ἀντὶ τοῦ, «ἐκλείψουσιν οἱ ἐνδιαβάλλοντες τὴν ψυχήν μου·» ἢ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον, «οἱ ἀντικείμενοι τῇ ψυχῇ μου.» Ὅπως δὲ ἐκλελοίπασιν αἰσχύνην καταχεάμενοι οἱ τὸν θάνατον αὐτῷ τυρεύσαντες, οὐ μακρῶν ἡμῖν δεῖ λόγων· ὁπότε ἐξ ἐκείνου ἐκλέλοιπε πᾶς ἀρχιερεὺς παρ' αὐτοῖς, Φαρισαίων δὲ οὐδὲ ὄνομα ἔτι λείπεται, οὐδὲ μνήμη τῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς ἀξιωμάτων. Ἐξέλιπον γὰρ ἄρχοντες ἐξ Ἰούδα καὶ ἡγούμενοι ἐκ τῶν μηρῶν αὐ 23.781 τοῦ, τῆς προσδοκίας τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐπιστάσης κατὰ τὴν τοῦτο θεσπίζουσαν προφητείαν. Καὶ οὔτε βασιλεῖς, οὔτε ἡγεμόνες, οὔτε τινὲς παρ' αὐτοῖς δυνάσται εἰσὶν, οὐδέ τι τάγμα τῶν πάλαι παρ' αὐτοῖς ὄντων περιλέλειπται· καταισχυνθέντες δὲ πάντες ἐκλελοίπασιν οἱ διαβάλλοντες αὐτοῦ τὴν ψυχήν. Ἐν ὁποίᾳ δὲ αἰσχύνῃ τυγχάνουσιν εἰσέτι καὶ νῦν οἱ τῶν Ἰουδαίων προεστάναι νομιζόμενοι, ὁρῶντες ἑαυτοὺς μὲν διὰ πάσης Γραφῆς ἐπὶ εἰδωλολατρείαις διαβεβλημένους, πάντα δὲ τὰ καθ' ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης ἔθνη διὰ τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ διδασκαλίας τῆς πατροπαραδότου πλάνης μεταβεβληκότα· ἐν οἷς ἤδη τυγχάνουσιν, ἐντροπῇ ὁρῶντες ἑαυτοὺς μὲν τῆς βασιλικῆς αὐτῶν μητροπόλεως καὶ ἀποβλήτους, Ἕλληνας δὲ ἄνδρας ἀλλογενεῖς καὶ ἀλλοφύλους τὸν τόπον αὐτῶν οἰκοῦντας, κατὰ πάσας τε ἐπαρχίας καὶ χώρας, καὶ πόλεις τοὺς ἐξ ἐθνῶν τὰς περὶ τοῦ Σωτῆρος προφητικὰς φωνὰς κηρύττοντας; Αἰσχύνη δὲ ἀληθῶς καὶ ἐντροπὴ κατείληφεν αὐτῶν τὰς ψυχὰς, τὸν χθὲς δι' αὐτῶν σταυρῷ παραδοθέντα καθ' ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης προσκυνούμενον καὶ θεολογούμενον ὁρῶντας· ἃ δὴ ἐπληροῦτο ἀκολούθως τῇ μετὰ χεῖρας προῤῥήσει λεγούσῃ· «Περιβαλέσθωσαν αἰσχύνην καὶ ἐντροπὴν οἱ ζητοῦντες τὰ κακά μοι.» Καὶ οὗτοι μὲν τάδε πείσονται· «Ἐγὼ δὲ,» ὑπ' αὐτῶν τὰ τοσαῦτα πεπονθὼς, «διαπαντὸς, φησὶν, ἐλπιῶ, καὶ προσθήσω ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν αἴνεσίν σου.» Ἐπεὶ δὲ κατὰ πάντας τοὺς ἑρμηνεύσαντας τὸ, «προσθήσω,» λέλεκται ὅ τε Ἀκύλας φησὶ, «Καὶ προσθήσω ἐπὶ πάσας ὑμνήσεις·» καὶ ὁ Σύμμαχος, «καὶ προσθήσω τοῖς ὕμνοις·» ὅρα εἰ μὴ προσθήκην ἐποιήσατο τοῖς τοῦ Πατρὸς ὕμνοις, τὴν Καινὴν ∆ιαθήκην πρὸς τῇ Παλαιᾷ