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And the prophecy necessarily made use of an example, saying, "As rain upon a fleece." Which indeed all the others interpreted harmoniously; Aquila, for his part, saying, "And he shall come down as rain upon a shorn fleece;" and Symmachus, "He shall come down as dew upon a fleece;" and the other interpreters similarly; representing the descent from on high, from the very heavens to the earth, of the prophesied Word; and how he has descended gently and quietly, with no one perceiving. For rain coming down upon a fleece, comes down imperceptibly and without a sound. Since, therefore, the birth in the flesh of our Savior took on such a dispensation that no one noticed or heard, not even those living as neighbors, the mystery of the conception and the birth of the holy Virgin. The present passage itself hinted at this, saying: "He shall come down as rain upon a fleece;" and in another way, since a fleece is the hide of sheep, understanding how the Savior himself taught, saying: "I came not except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel;" you will apply the present saying to his own utterance. For he did not descend upon another nation, but only upon that of the Jews, among whom he also spent his time. His first descent, therefore, was as rain 23.801 upon a fleece according to the ways rendered; but after these things, no longer as upon a fleece, but with much movement; and his teaching became a resounding report throughout the whole inhabited world. Wherefore it is added next, "and as drops dripping upon the earth." For drops or showers, according to the other interpreters, dripping upon the earth no longer come down silently, but with a great sound. And this indeed was fulfilled, when the sound of his apostles went out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the inhabited world. Next to these things it has been said: "Righteousness and abundance of peace shall arise in his days;" but according to Aquila, "A righteous one and abundance of peace shall sprout in his days;" but according to Symmachus, "A righteous one shall flourish in his days." And the days of our Savior will be understood as those from his coming until the consummation of the age. For just as we hear, "In the days of David," and, "In the days of Jeroboam," so would be the days of our Savior. But those men, appearing for a little while, were quickly extinguished; wherefore their days also came to an end; but how long the days of our Savior are, the Word has already declared, saying: "He shall endure with the sun and before the moon for generations of generations;" in accordance with which he himself also promised to his own disciples, saying: "Behold, I am with you until the consummation of the age;" For so was he to endure with the sun. Therefore in his days, during which he endures with the sun, and likewise as the moon will illumine the souls of those in darkness, righteousness will shine forth upon all the earth; or according to Aquila, "a righteous one;" no longer only among the Jews of one or a second being called righteous, but throughout the whole inhabited world of myriads being justified in Christ. And you will understand the multitude of the righteous who flourish in the days of the Savior and rise like light, just like their own luminary, from the multitude of his martyrs everywhere on earth and of those throughout his Church who achieve the angelic life in complete purity. And if it has been said that righteousness will also flourish in his days, it is possible to learn how this too is fulfilled by deeds from the fact that not only Jews, but also every nation is called to the divine faith, that slaves worship God equally with the free, and the poor likewise with the rich, and rulers with the ruled, with the great righteousness of God. And how an abundance of peace has arisen in the declared days of our Savior, it is possible to understand by paying attention to the state of affairs before his coming. In which the entire human race was divided, having been cut off as if from one

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Ἀναγκαίως δὲ καὶ παραδείγματι κέχρηται προφητεία φήσασα, «Ὡς ὑετὸς ἐπὶ πόκον.» Ὃ δὴ συμφώνως οἱ λοιποὶ πάντες ἡρμήνευσαν· Ἀκύλας μὲν εἰπὼν, «Καὶ καταβήσεται ὡς ὑετὸς ἐπὶ κουράν·» Σύμμαχος δὲ, «Καταβήσεται ὡς δρόσος ἐπὶ πόκον·» καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ ἑρμηνευταὶ ὁμοίως· παριστῶντες τοῦ Λόγου τὴν ἐξ ὕψους τὴν ἐξ αὐτῶν οὐρανῶν κάθοδον ἐπὶ γῆς τοῦ προφητευομένου· καὶ ὡς ἠρέμα καὶ ἡσυχῆ μηδενὸς αἰσθομένου καταβέβηκεν. Ὑετὸς γὰρ ἐπὶ πόκον κατιὼν, ἀνεπαισθήτως καὶ ἀψοφητὶ κάτεισιν. Ἐπεὶ τοίνυν ἡ κατὰ σάρκα γένεσις τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν τοιαύτην ἀνείληφε τὴν οἰκονομίαν, ὡς μηδένα νοῆσαι μηδὲ ἀκουσθῆναι, μηδὲ τοὺς ἐκ γειτόνων οἰκοῦσι τὸ μυστήριον τῆς συλλήψεως καὶ τοῦ τοκετοῦ τῆς ἁγίας Παρθένου. Τοῦτ' αὐτὸς ὁ παρὼν ᾐνίξατο λόγος, εἰπών· «Καταβήσεται ὡς ὑετὸς ἐπὶ πόκον·» καὶ ἄλλως, ἐπειδὴ πόκος προβάτων δορὰ, νοήσας ὅπως αὐτὸς ἐδίδασκε λέγων ὁ Σωτήρ· «Οὐκ ἦλθον εἰ μὴ εἰς τὰ πρόβατα τὰ ἀπολωλότα οἴκου Ἰσραήλ·» ἐφαρμόσεις τὸ παρὸν λόγιον τῇ αὐτοῦ φωνῇ. Οὐ γὰρ ἐπὶ ἕτερον ἔθνος καταβέβηκεν, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ μόνον τὸ Ἰουδαίων, παρ' οἷς καὶ τὰς διατριβὰς ἐποιήσατο. Ἡ μὲν οὖν πρώτη κατάβασις αὐτοῦ γέγονεν ὡς ὑετὸς 23.801 ἐπὶ πόκον κατὰ τοὺς ἀποδοθέντας τρόπους· μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ οὐκέτι ὡς ἐπὶ πόκον, ἀλλὰ σὺν πολλῇ κινήσει· καὶ κτύπος ἐξάκουστος γέγονε καθ' ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης ἡ διδασκαλία αὐτοῦ. ∆ι' ὃ ἐπιλέγεται ἑξῆς, «καὶ ὡσεὶ σταγόνες στάζουσαι ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν.» Σταγόνες γὰρ ἢ ψεκάδες κατὰ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἑρμηνευτὰς στάζουσαι ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν οὐκέτ' ἀψοφητὶ, σὺν πολλῷ δὲ ψόφῳ κατίασι. Καὶ τοῦτο δὲ τέλος ἐτύγχανεν, ὅτε εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ἐξῆλθεν ὁ φθόγγος τῶν ἀποστόλων αὐτοῦ, καὶ εἰς τὰ πέρατα τῆς οἰκουμένης τὰ ῥήματα αὐτῶν. Τούτοις ἑξῆς εἴρηται· «Ἀνατελεῖ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις αὐτοῦ δικαιοσύνη καὶ πλῆθος εἰρήνης·» κατὰ δὲ τὸν Ἀκύλαν, «Βλαστήσει ἐν ἡμέραις αὐτοῦ δίκαιος καὶ πλῆθος εἰρήνης·» κατὰ δὲ τὸν Σύμμαχον, «Ἀνθήσει ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις αὐτοῦ δίκαιος.» Ἡμέραι δὲ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν αἱ ἀπὸ τῆς παρουσίας αὐτοῦ μέχρι τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος νοηθήσονται. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἀκούομεν τὸ, «Ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ∆αυῒδ,» καὶ, «Ἐν ἡμέραις Ἱεροβοὰμ,» οὕτως εἶεν ἂν ἡμέραι τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν. Ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνοι μὲν, πρὸς ὀλίγον φανέντες, θᾶττον ἀπεσβέσθησαν· δι' ὃ καὶ αἱ ἡμέραι αὐτῶν ἐξέλιπον· αἱ δὲ ἡμέραι τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ὁπόσαι τυγχάνουσι, φθάσας ὁ λόγος ἐδήλωσεν εἰπών· «Συμπαραμενεῖ τῷ ἡλίῳ καὶ ἔμπροσθεν τῆς σελήνης γενεὰς γενεῶν·» οἷς ἀκολούθως καὶ αὐτὸς τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς ἐπηγγέλλετο λέγων· «Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ μεθ' ὑμῶν εἰμι ἄχρι τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος·» Οὕτω γὰρ ἤμελλε συμπαραμένειν τῷ ἡλίῳ. Οὐκοῦν ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις αὐτοῦ, καθ' ἃς συμπαραμενεῖ τῷ ἡλίῳ, καὶ ὁμοίως σελήνῃ τὰς τῶν ἐν σκότῳ φωτίσει ψυχὰς, ἀναλάμψει ἐπὶ πάσης τῆς γῆς δικαιοσύνη· ἢ κατὰ τὸν Ἀκύλαν, «δίκαιος·» οὐκέτι παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις μόνοις ἑνός που καὶ δευτέρου ὀνομαζομένου δικαίου, καθ' ὅλης δὲ τῆς οἰκουμένης μυρίων ἐν Χριστῷ δικαιουμένων. Τὸ δὲ πλῆθος τῶν δικαίων τῶν ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἀνθούντων καὶ φωτὸς δίκην ἀνατελλόντων ὁμοίως τῷ ἑαυτῶν φωστῆρι νοήσεις ἀπὸ τοῦ πλήθους τῶν ἁπανταχοῦ γῆς μαρτύρων αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν κατὰ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν αὐτοῦ τὸν ἀγγελικὸν ἐν παντελεῖ ἁγνείᾳ κατορθούντων βίον. Εἰ δὲ καὶ δικαιοσύνη ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις αὐτοῦ ἀνθήσειν λέλεκται, καὶ τοῦτο ὅπως δι' ἔργων πληροῦται ἔστι καταμαθεῖν ἐκ τοῦ μὴ Ἰουδαίους μόνους, ἀλλὰ καὶ πᾶν ἔθνος καλεῖσθαι ἐπὶ τὴν ἔνθεον πίστιν, δούλους τε ἐξ ἴσου τοῖς ἐλευθέροις θεοσεβεῖν, καὶ πένητας ὁμοίως τοῖς πλουσίοις, ἄρχοντάς τε σὺν ἀρχομένοις σὺν πολλῇ Θεοῦ δικαιοσύνῃ. Ὅπως δὲ πλῆθος εἰρήνης ἀνατέταλκεν ἐν ταῖς δηλωθείσαις τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἡμέραις, νοῆσαι ἔστιν ἐπιστήσαντα τῇ καταστάσει τῶν πρὸ τῆς αὐτοῦ παρουσίας πραγμάτων. Καθ' ἣν τὸ σύμπαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένος διῄρητο ἀποτετμημένων ὥσπερ ἐξ ἑνὸς