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Therefore he said these things; but since He answered nothing, he contrives another thing. What then is this? It was a custom for them to release one of the condemned, and from this he attempted to rescue him. For if you are not willing, he says, to release him as an innocent man, at least as a condemned man grant him as a favor to the feast. Do you see the inverted order? For the request for the condemned, it was the custom for it to be of the people, and the granting of the ruler; but now the opposite has happened, and the ruler asks the people, and not even so do they become gentle, but they grow more savage and murderous, being driven to a frenzy by the passion of envy. For they did not even have anything to accuse him of, and that while he was silent, but they were convicted even so through the abundance of his righteous acts, and being silent he conquered those who were saying countless things and raging. And as he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying: Have nothing to do with this just man; for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of him. See what happens again, sufficient to recall them all. For along with the proof from the facts, the dream was also no small thing. And for what reason does he not see it himself? Either because she was more worthy; or because if he himself had seen it, he would not have been believed in the same way, or he would not even have spoken of it. For this reason it is arranged for the wife to see it, so that it might be manifest to all. And she does not simply see, but also suffers many things, so that from his sympathy for his wife the husband might become more hesitant about the murder. And the timing also contributed no small part; for she saw it that very night. But it was not safe for him, he says, to release him, since they said that he made himself a king 58.765. It was necessary, therefore, to seek proofs and refutations, and whatever are the signs of tyranny; for example, if he was levying armies, if he was collecting money, if he was forging weapons, if he was attempting anything else of that sort. But he is simply carried away; for this reason Christ does not absolve him of the charges, saying: He who delivered me to you has the greater sin. So the concession was one of weakness, and the scourging and delivering him up. This man, then, was unmanly and weak; but the chief priests were wicked and evil-doers. For when he found a device, the law of the feast that commanded to release a condemned man, what do they contrive against this? They persuaded the crowd, it says, to ask for Barabbas. 2. Do you see how much providence he exercises, so as to free them from charges, and how much zeal they show, so as not even to leave themselves a shadow of a defense? For what was needed? to release the one who was acknowledged, or the one who was disputed; For if it was necessary to grant release in the case of those acknowledged, much more in the case of the doubtful. For surely this man did not seem to them to be worse than acknowledged murderers. For because of this he did not simply say, They had a robber, but, A notorious one; that is, famous in wickedness, having committed countless murders. But nevertheless they preferred even that man to the Savior of the world; and they neither respected the season that it was holy, nor the laws of philanthropy, nor anything else of the sort; but envy blinded them completely. And along with their own wickedness they also corrupt the people, so that they might also pay the ultimate penalty for their deception. Since then they asked for that one, he says: What then shall I do with Christ, wishing again by this to shame them, by making them masters of the choice, so that at least out of shame they might ask, and the whole thing might be a result of their own honor. For to say, He has not sinned, made them more contentious; but to ask that he be saved out of philanthropy, has an irrefutable persuasiveness and request. But they even so said: Crucify. But he said: For what evil has he done? But they cried out the more exceedingly, Let him be crucified. But he, seeing that it availed nothing, washed his hands, saying, I am innocent. Why then do you hand him over? and why did you not rescue him, just as the centurion did Paul? For he too knew that he was gratifying the Jews; and there arose a dissension because of him, and a tumult; but nevertheless he stood against everything. But not this man, but he was very unmanly and weak; and all were corrupted together. For neither did this man stand against the multitude, nor the multitude against the Jews; and

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διὸ καὶ ταῦτα ἔλεγεν· ἐπειδὴ δὲ οὐδὲν ἀπεκρίνατο, καὶ ἕτερόν τι μηχανᾶται. Ποῖον δὴ τοῦτο; Ἔθος ἦν αὐτοῖς ἀφιέναι ἕνα τῶν καταδίκων, καὶ ἐντεῦθεν αὐτὸν ἐξελέσθαι ἐπεχείρησεν. Εἰ γὰρ μὴ βούλεσθε, φησὶν, ὡς ἀθῶον ἀφεῖναι, κἂν ὡς κατάδικον χαρίσασθε τῇ ἑορτῇ. Εἶδες τάξιν ἀντεστραμμένην; Τὴν μὲν γὰρ αἴτησιν τὴν ὑπὲρ τῶν καταδίκων, τοῦ δήμου ἔθος ἦν εἶναι, τὴν δὲ δόσιν τοῦ ἄρχοντος· νῦν δὲ τοὐναντίον γέγονε, καὶ ὁ ἄρχων αἰτεῖ τὸν δῆμον, καὶ οὐδὲ οὕτω γίνονται ἥμεροι, ἀλλ' ἐκθηριοῦνται μειζόνως καὶ φονῶσιν, ὑπὸ τοῦ πάθους τῆς βασκανίας ἐκβακχευόμενοι. Οὐδὲ γὰρ εἶχον ὅ τι κατηγορήσουσιν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ταῦτα σιγῶντος, ἀλλ' ἠλέγχοντο καὶ οὕτω διὰ τὴν τῶν δικαιωμάτων περιουσίαν, καὶ σιγῶν ἐνίκα τοὺς μυρία λέγοντας καὶ μαινομένους. Καθημένου δὲ αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τοῦ βήματος, ἔπεμψε πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ λέγουσα· Μηδέν σοι καὶ τῷ δικαίῳ τούτῳ· πολλὰ γὰρ ἔπαθον σήμερον κατ' ὄναρ δι' αὐτόν. Ὅρα οἷον γίνεται πάλιν, ἱκανὸν πάντας αὐτοὺς ἀνακαλέσασθαι. Μετὰ γὰρ τῆς ἀπὸ τῶν πραγμάτων ἀποδείξεως, καὶ τὸ ὄναρ οὐ μικρὸν ἦν. Καὶ τίνος ἕνεκεν οὐκ αὐτὸς ὁρᾷ; Ἢ ὅτι ἐκείνη ἀξία ἦν μᾶλλον· ἢ ὅτι αὐτὸς εἰ εἶδεν, οὐκ ἂν ἐπιστεύθη ὁμοίως, ἢ οὐδ' ἂν ἐξεῖπε. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο οἰκονομεῖται τὴν γυναῖκα ἰδεῖν, ὥστε κατάδηλον γενέσθαι πᾶσι. Καὶ οὐχ ἁπλῶς ὁρᾷ, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάσχει πολλὰ, ἵνα καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς συμπαθείας τῆς πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα ὀκνηρότερος γένηται ὁ ἀνὴρ περὶ τὸν φόνον. Καὶ ὁ καιρὸς δὲ οὐ μικρὸν συνετέλει· κατὰ γὰρ αὐτὴν τὴν νύκτα εἶδεν. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἦν αὐτῷ ἀσφαλὲς, φησὶν, ἀφεῖναι, ἐπειδὴ εἶπον, ὅτι βασιλέα ἑαυτὸν 58.765 ἐποίει. Ἐχρῆν οὖν ἀποδείξεις καὶ ἐλέγχους ζητῆσαι, καὶ ὅσα τυραννίδος ἐστὶ τεκμήρια· οἷον, εἰ στρατόπεδα κατέλεγεν, εἰ χρήματα συνέλεγεν, εἰ ὅπλα ἐχάλκευεν, εἰ ἄλλο τι τοιοῦτον ἐπεχείρει. Ὁ δὲ ἁπλῶς παρασύρεται· διὰ τοῦτο οὐδὲ αὐτὸν ἀφίησιν ὁ Χριστὸς τῶν ἐγκλημάτων, λέγων· Μείζονα ἁμαρτίαν ἔχει ὁ παραδιδούς μέ σοι. Ὥστε μαλακίας ἦν ἡ συγχώρησις, καὶ τὸ μαστίξαντα ἐκδοῦναι. Οὗτος μὲν οὖν ἄνανδρος καὶ μαλακός· οἱ δὲ ἀρχιερεῖς πονηροὶ καὶ κακοῦργοι. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εὗρέ τινα ἐπίνοιαν, τὸν τῆς ἑορτῆς νόμον τὸν κελεύοντα ἀφεῖναι κατάδικον, τί πρὸς τοῦτο μηχανῶνται; Ἔπεισαν τὸν ὄχλον, φησὶν, ἵνα τὸν Βαραββᾶν αἰτήσωσιν. βʹ. Εἶδες πόσην αὐτὸς πρόνοιαν ποιεῖται, ὥστε αὐτοὺς ἀπαλλάξαι ἐγκλημάτων, καὶ πόσην αὐτοὶ σπουδὴν, ὥστε μηδὲ σκιὰν ἑαυτοῖς ἀπολογίας καταλιπεῖν; Τί γὰρ ἔδει; τὸν ὡμολογημένον, ἢ τὸν ἀμφισβητούμενον ἀφεῖναι· Εἰ γὰρ ἐπὶ τοῖς ὡμολογημένοις ἀφίεσθαι ἔδει, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀμφιβόλοις. Οὐ γὰρ δήπου ὡμολογημένων ἀνδροφόνων χείρων αὐτοῖς οὗτος ἐδόκει εἶναι. ∆ιὰ γὰρ τοῦτο οὐδὲ ἁπλῶς εἶπεν, Εἶχον λῃστὴν, ἀλλ', Ἐπίσημον· τουτέστι, Περιβόητον ἐν κακίᾳ, μυρίους ἐργασάμενον φόνους. Ἀλλ' ὅμως κἀκεῖνον τοῦ τῆς οἰκουμένης Σωτῆρος προὔθηκαν· καὶ οὔτε τὸν καιρὸν ᾐδέσθησαν ὅτι ἅγιος ἦν, οὐ τοὺς τῆς φιλανθρωπίας νόμους, οὐκ ἄλλο τῶν τοιούτων οὐδέν· ἀλλὰ καθάπαξ αὐτοὺς ὁ φθόνος ἀπετύφλωσε. Καὶ μετὰ τῆς οἰκείας κακία καὶ τὸν δῆμον διαφθείρουσιν, ἵνα καὶ τῆς ἐκείνων ἀπάτης τὴν ἐσχάτην δῶσι δίκην. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἐκεῖνον ᾐτήσαντο, λέγει· Τί οὖν ποιήσω τὸν Χριστόν, καὶ ταύτῃ πάλιν ἐντρέψαι βουλόμενος, τῷ ποιῆσαι κυρίους τῆς αἱρέσεως, ἵνα κἂν αἰσχυνθέντες αἰτήσωσι, καὶ τῆς αὐτῶν φιλοτιμίας γένηται τὸ πᾶν. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ λέγειν, Οὐχ ἥμαρτε, φιλονεικοτέρους ἐποίει· τὸ δὲ ἐκ φιλανθρωπίας ἀξιοῦν σωθῆναι, ἀναντίῤῥητον ἔχει τὴν πειθὼ καὶ τὴν αἴτησιν. Οἱ δὲ καὶ οὕτως ἔλεγον· Σταύρωσον. Ὁ δὲ ἔφη· Τί γὰρ κακὸν ἐποίησεν; Οἱ δὲ περισσῶς ἔκραζον, Σταυρωθήτω. Ὁ δὲ ἰδὼν, ὅτι οὐδὲν ὠφελεῖ, ἐνίψατο τὰς χεῖρας, λέγων, ὅτι Ἀθῶός εἰμι. Τί οὖν παραδίδως; τί δὲ οὐκ ἐξήρπασας, καθάπερ τὸν Παῦλον ὁ ἑκατοντάρχης; Καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος ᾔδει χαριζόμενος τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις· καὶ στάσις ἐγένετο δι' αὐτὸν καὶ θόρυβος· ἀλλ' ὅμως ἔστη πρὸς πάντα. Ἀλλ' οὐχ οὗτος, ἀλλὰ ἄνανδρος σφόδρα καὶ μαλακός· καὶ πάντες ὁμοῦ διεφθείροντο. Οὔτε γὰρ οὗτος πρὸς τὸ πλῆθος ἔστη, οὔτε τὸ πλῆθος πρὸς τοὺς Ἰουδαίους· καὶ