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for a refutation, for an accusation, for a testimony; for those who believed will testify against those who did not believe, and will condemn them. For this reason, after the Gospel was preached everywhere in the world, Jerusalem is destroyed, so that the obstinate might not have even a shadow of an excuse. For those who saw His power shining everywhere, and taking the world in an instant, what excuse could they have left, remaining in the same obstinacy? For that it was preached everywhere then, hear what Paul says: Of the Gospel which was preached in all creation under heaven. Which is also the greatest sign of the power of Christ, that in twenty or even thirty whole years the word took hold of the ends of the earth. After this, therefore, he says, the end of Jerusalem will come. For that he is hinting at this, what follows has shown. For he added also a prophecy, confirming their destruction, and saying: But when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place; let him who reads understand. He referred them to Daniel. And by abomination he means the statue of the one who then took the city, which he who desolated the city and the temple set up within; for which reason he also calls it of desolation. Then, so that they might learn that these things will happen while some of them are still living, for this reason he said: When you see the abomination of desolation. 3. From which one might especially admire the power of Christ and their courage, that they preached in such times, in which Jewish matters were especially warred against, in which they were regarded especially as seditious, when Caesar ordered all to be expelled. And the same thing happened, as if someone, with the sea roused from all sides, and darkness holding all the air, and successive shipwrecks occurring, and all the fellow sailors above in mutiny, and beasts coming up from below and with the waves consuming those who were sailing, and thunderbolts being hurled, and there being pirates, and those within plotting against one another, should command men inexperienced in sailing and who had not even seen the sea to sit at the rudders, and to steer and to fight at sea, and an infinite fleet approaching with great battle array, using a single small boat, so troubled as I have said, to sink and overcome it. For they were hated by the Gentiles, as Jews; and they were stoned by the Jews, as warring against their laws; and there was nowhere to stand. Thus everything was cliffs and reefs and promontories, things in the cities, things in the countries, things in the houses; and each one warred against them, both general, and ruler, and private citizen, and all nations 58.690, and all peoples; and there was a certain confusion that could not be described in words. For the Jewish race was exceedingly hateful to the Roman rule, having caused them countless troubles; and not even from this was the preaching harmed; but the city was plundered and burned, and inflicted countless evils on its inhabitants; but the apostles who were from there, introducing new laws, prevailed even over the Romans. O new and paradoxical things! The Romans then subdued countless myriads of Jews, and yet they did not overcome twelve men, naked, unarmed, fighting against them. What word will be able to represent this wonder? For two things are necessary for teachers: to be trustworthy, and to be loved by their disciples; and with these and in addition to these, also that the things said be easy to accept, and the time be free from confusion and tumult. But then all things were the opposite. For they neither seemed to be trustworthy, and they were drawing away the deceived from those who seemed to be trustworthy; they were not loved, but were also hated, and they led them away from those who were loved, and from customs, and from ancestral traditions, and from laws. Again, the commandments had much difficulty; but the things from which they drew them away, had much pleasure. Both they and those who were persuaded endured many dangers, many deaths; and with all these things the time presented much difficulty, being full of wars, tumults, confusion; so that if even nothing

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ἔλεγχον, εἰς κατηγορίαν, εἰς μαρτυρίαν· οἱ γὰρ πιστεύσαντες καταμαρτυρήσουσι τῶν μὴ πιστευσάντων, καὶ κατακρινοῦσιν αὐτούς. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο δὲ μετὰ τὸ κηρυχθῆναι τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον πανταχοῦ τῆς οἰκουμένης ἀπόλλυται τὰ Ἱεροσόλυμα, ἵνα μηδὲ σκιὰν ἀπολογίας ἔχωσιν ἀγνωμονοῦντες. Οἱ γὰρ ἰδόντες τὴν αὐτοῦ δύναμιν πανταχοῦ διαλάμψασαν, καὶ ἐν ἀκαριαίῳ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἑλοῦσαν, τίνα ἂν ἔχοιεν λοιπὸν συγγνώμην, ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτῆς ἀγνωμοσύνης μείναντες; Ὅτι γὰρ πανταχοῦ ἐκηρύχθη τότε, ἄκουσον τί φησιν ὁ Παῦλος· Τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου τοῦ κηρυχθέντος ἐν πάσῃ τῇ κτίσει τῇ ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανόν. Ὃ καὶ μέγιστον σημεῖον τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ δυνάμεως, ὅτι ἐν εἴκοσι ἢ καὶ τριάκοντα ὅλοις ἔτεσι τὰ πέρατα τῆς οἰκουμένης κατέλαβεν ὁ λόγος. Μετὰ τοῦτο οὖν, φησὶν, ἥξει τὸ τέλος τῶν Ἱεροσολύμων. Ὅτι γὰρ τοῦτο αἰνίττεται, τὸ ἑξῆς ἐδήλωσεν. Ἐπήγαγε γὰρ καὶ προφητείαν, πιστούμενος αὐτῶν τὸν ἀφανισμὸν, καὶ λέγων· Ὅταν δὲ ἴδητε τὸ βδέλυγμα τῆς ἐρημώσεως, τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ ∆ανιὴλ τοῦ προφήτου, ἑστὼς ἐν τόπῳ ἁγίῳ· ὁ ἀναγινώσκων νοείτω. Παρέπεμψεν αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ τὸν ∆ανιήλ. Βδέλυγμα δὲ τὸν ἀνδριάντα τοῦ τότε τὴν πόλιν ἑλόντος φησὶν, ὃ ὁ ἐρημώσας τὴν πόλιν καὶ τὸν ναὸν ἔστησεν ἔνδον· διὸ καὶ ἐρημώσεως αὐτὸ καλεῖ. Εἶτα, ἵνα μάθωσιν, ὅτι καὶ ζώντων ἐνίων αὐτῶν ταῦτα ἔσται, διὰ τοῦτο ἔλεγεν· Ὅταν ἴδητε τὸ βδέλυγμα τῆς ἐρημώσεως. γʹ. Ἐξ ὧν μάλιστα ἄν τις θαυμάσειε τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὴν δύναμιν καὶ τὴν ἐκείνων ἀνδρείαν, ὅτι ἐν τοιούτοις καιροῖς ἐκήρυττον, ἐν οἷς μάλιστα τὰ Ἰουδαϊκὰ ἐπολεμεῖτο, ἐν οἷς μάλιστα ὡς στασιασταῖς προσεῖχον αὐτοῖς, ὅτε ὁ Καῖσαρ ἐκέλευσεν ἅπαντας ἀπελαύνεσθαι. Καὶ ταὐτὸν συνέβαινεν, ὥσπερ ἂν εἴ τις, τῆς θαλάττης ἐγερθείσης πάντοθεν, καὶ ζόφου τὸν ἀέρα πάντα κατέχοντος, καὶ ναυαγίων ἐπαλλήλων γινομένων, καὶ πάντων ἄνωθεν τῶν συμπλεόντων στασιαζόντων, καὶ θηρῶν κάτωθεν ἀνιόντων, καὶ μετὰ τῶν κυμάτων ἀναλισκόντων τοὺς πλέοντας, καὶ σκηπτῶν φερομένων, καὶ πειρατῶν ὄντων, καὶ τῶν ἔνδον ἀλλήλοις ἐπιβουλευόντων, ἀνθρώπους ἀπείρους τοῦ πλεῖν καὶ οὐδὲ θάλατταν ἰδόντας κελεύοι ἐπὶ τῶν οἰάκων καθῆσθαι, καὶ κυβερνᾷν καὶ ναυμαχεῖν, καὶ στόλον ἄπειρον ἐπιόντα μετὰ πολλῆς παρατάξεως, ἑνὶ χρωμένους ἀκατίῳ, τῷ οὕτως ὡς εἶπον ταραττομένῳ, καταδύειν καὶ χειροῦσθαι. Καὶ γὰρ ὑπὸ ἐθνῶν ἐμισοῦντο, ὡς Ἰουδαῖοι· καὶ ὑπὸ Ἰουδαίων ἐλιθάζοντο, ὡς τοῖς αὐτῶν πολεμοῦντες νόμοις· καὶ οὐδαμοῦ στῆναι ἦν. Οὕτω πάντα κρημνοὶ καὶ σκόπελοι καὶ πρόβολοι ἦσαν, τὰ ἐν ταῖς πόλεσι, τὰ ἐν ταῖς χώραις, τὰ ἐν οἰκίαις· καὶ εἷς ἕκαστος αὐτοῖς ἐπολέμει, καὶ στρατηγὸς, καὶ ἄρχων, καὶ ἰδιώτης, καὶ ἔθνη πάν 58.690 τα, καὶ δῆμοι πάντες· καὶ ταραχή τις ἦν λόγῳ παραστῆναι μὴ δυναμένη. Καὶ γὰρ σφόδρα τῇ τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῇ μισητὸν τὸ Ἰουδαίων γένος ἦν, ἅτε μυρία πράγματα αὐτοῖς παρεσχηκός· καὶ οὐδὲ ἐντεῦθεν ἐβλάβη τὸ κήρυγμα· ἀλλ' ἡ μὲν πόλις ἀνάρπαστος ἦν καὶ ἐμπεπύριστο, καὶ μυρία τοὺς οἰκοῦντας διέθηκε κακά· οἱ δὲ ἐντεῦθεν ὄντες ἀπόστολοι, νόμους εἰσάγοντες καινοὺς, καὶ τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἐκράτουν. Ὢ καινῶν καὶ παραδόξων πραγμάτων! Μυριάδας ἀπείρους Ἰουδαίων τότε ἐχειρώσαντο Ῥωμαῖοι, καὶ δώδεκα ἀνδρῶν οὐ περιεγένοντο, γυμνῶν, ἀόπλων μαχομένων αὐτοῖς. Τίς παραστῆσαι δυνήσεται λόγος τὸ θαῦμα τοῦτο; Καὶ γὰρ δύο ταῦτα τοῖς διδάσκουσιν ὑπάρχειν χρὴ, τό τε ἀξιοπίστους εἶναι, καὶ τὸ φιλεῖσθαι παρὰ τῶν μαθητευομένων· καὶ μετὰ τούτων καὶ πρὸς τούτοις, καὶ τὸ τὰ λεγόμενα, εὐπαράδεκτα εἶναι, καὶ τὸν καιρὸν ταραχῆς ἀπηλλάχθαι καὶ θορύβων. Τότε δὲ ἅπαντα τὰ ἐναντία ἦν. Οὔτε γὰρ ἀξιόπιστοι εἶναι ἐδόκουν, καὶ τῶν δοκούντων ἀξιοπίστων εἶναι τοὺς ἠπατημένους ἀφίστων· οὐκ ἐφιλοῦντο, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐμισοῦντο, καὶ τῶν φιλουμένων ἀπῆγον, καὶ ἐθῶν, καὶ πατρίων, καὶ νόμων. Πάλιν τὰ ἐπιτάγματα πολλὴν τὴν δυσκολίαν εἶχεν· ὧν δὲ ἀφείλκοντο, πολλὴν τὴν ἡδονήν. Πολλοὺς καὶ αὐτοὶ καὶ οἱ πειθόμενοι τοὺς κινδύνους, πολλοὺς τοὺς θανάτους ὑπέμενον· καὶ μετὰ τούτων ἁπάντων ὁ καιρὸς πολλὴν παρεῖχε τὴν δυσκολίαν, πολέμων γέμων, θορύβων, ταραχῆς· ὡς εἰ καὶ μηδὲν