3.  To speak in a more feeling strain, trusting in Him Who then forsook me, as in a Father, “Abraham has been ignorant of us, Israel has acknowledged us not, but Thou art our Father, and unto Thee do we look;16    Isai. lxiii. 16. beside Thee we know none else, we make mention of Thy name.”17    Ib. xxvi. 13 (LXX.).  Therefore, says Jeremiah, I will plead with Thee, I will reason the cause with Thee.18    Jer. xii. 1.  We are become as at the beginning, when Thou barest not rule19    Isai. lxiii. 19. over us, and Thou hast forgotten Thy holy covenant, and shut up Thy mercies from us.  Therefore we, the worshippers of the Trinity, the perfect suppliants of the perfect Deity, became a reproach to Thy Beloved, neither daring to bring down to our own level any of the things above us, nor in such wise to rise up against the godless tongues which fought against God, as to make His Majesty a fellow servant with ourselves; but, as is plain, we were delivered up on account of our other sins, and because our conduct had been unworthy of Thy commandments, and we had walked after our own evil mind.  For what other reason can there be for our being delivered up to the most unrighteous and wicked men of all the dwellers upon the earth?  First Nebuchadnezzar20    Nebuchadnezzar, i.e., Julian. afflicted us,21    Jer. li. 34. possessed during the Christian era with an anti-Christian rage, hating Christ just because he had through Him gained salvation, and having bartered the sacred books for sacrifices to those who are no gods.  He devoured me, he tore me in pieces, a slight darkness enveloped me,22    Ps. lv. 6 (LXX.). if I may even in my lamentation keep to the language of Scripture.  If the Lord had not helped me,23    Ps. xciv. 17. and righteously delivered him to the hands of the lawless, by casting him off (such are the judgments of God) to the Persians, by whom his blood was righteously shed for his unholy sheddings of blood, since in this case alone justice could not afford even to be longsuffering, my soul had shortly dwelt in the grave.24    Ib. xciv. 17.  The second25    The second, i.e. Valens. no more kindly, if he were not even more grievous still, for while he bore the name of Christ, he was a false Christ, and at once a burden and a reproach to the Christians, for, while to obey him was ungodly, to suffer at his hands was inglorious, since they did not even seem to be wronged, nor to gain by their sufferings the glorious title of martyr, inasmuch as the truth was in this case perverted, for while they suffered as Christians, they were supposed to be punished as heretics.  Alas! how rich we were in misfortunes, for the fire consumed the beauties of the world.26    Joel i. 19.  That which the palmerworm left did the locust eat, and that which the locust left did the caterpillar eat:  then came the cankerworm,27    Ib. i. 4. then, what next I know not, one evil springing up after another.  But for what purpose should I give a tragic description of the evils of the time, and of the penalty exacted from us, or, if I must rather call it so, the testing and refining we endured?  At any rate, we went through fire and water,28    Ps. lxvi. 12. and have attained a place of refreshment by the good pleasure of God our Saviour.

Γʹ. Καὶ, ἵν' εἴπω τι συμπαθέστερον, ὡς πατρὶ τῷ παραδεδωκότι θαῤῥήσας Ἀβραὰμ οὐκ ἔγνω ἡμᾶς, καὶ Ἰσραὴλ οὐκ ἐπέγνω ἡμᾶς: ἀλλὰ σὺ Πατὴρ ἡμῶν εἶ: καὶ πρὸς σὲ βλέπομεν: ἐκτὸς σοῦ ἄλλον οὐκ οἴδαμεν: τὸ ὄνομά σου ὀνομάζομεν. Διὰ τοῦτο ἀπολογήσομαι, πλὴν κρίματα λαλήσω πρὸς σὲ, φησὶν Ἱερεμίας, ἐγενόμεθα ὡς τὸ ἀπ' ἀρχῆς, ὅτε οὐκ ἦρξας ἡμῶν, καὶ ἐπελάθου διαθήκης ἁγίας σου, καὶ ἀπέκλεισας ἀφ' ἡμῶν τὰ ἐλέη σου. Διὰ τοῦτο ἐγενήθημεν ὄνειδος τῷ ἀγαπητῷ σου, οἱ τῆς Τριάδος προσκυνηταὶ, οἱ τέλειοι τῆς τελείας θεότητος πρόσφυγες: καὶ μὴ τολμῶντές τι τῶν ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς εἰς ἡμᾶς κατάγειν: μηδὲ τοσοῦτον ἐπαίρεσθαι κατὰ τὰς ἀθέους γλώσσας καὶ θεομάχους, ὥστε τὴν δεσποτείαν ποιεῖν ὁμόδουλον: ἀλλὰ παρεδόθημεν δηλαδὴ διὰ τὰς ἄλλας ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν, καὶ τὸ μὴ ἀξίως τῶν ἐντολῶν σου ἀναστραφῆναι: ἀλλ' ὀπίσω τῆς διανοίας ἡμῶν τῆς πονηρᾶς πορευθῆναι. Διὰ τί γὰρ ἕτερον ἀνδράσιν ἀδικωτάτοις καὶ πονηροτάτοις παρὰ πάντας τοὺς κατοικοῦντας τὴν γῆν; Ὁ πρῶτος Ναβουχοδονόσορ ἐξέθλιψεν ἡμᾶς, ὁ μετὰ Χριστὸν κατὰ Χριστοῦ μανεὶς, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο μισήσας Χριστὸν, ὅτι δι' αὐτοῦ σέσωστο: καὶ τῶν ἱερῶν βίβλων τὰς ἀθέους θυσίας ἀντιλαβών. Κατέφαγέ με, ἐμερίσατό με, ἐκάλυψέ με σκότος λεπτὸν, ἵνα μὴ ἀποστῶ, μηδὲ θρηνῶν, τῆς Γραφῆς. Εἰ μὴ ὅτι Κύριος ἐβοήθησέ μοι, καὶ χερσὶν ἀνόμων δικαίως αὐτὸν παρέδωκεν, ἐκτοπίσας εἰς Πέρσας, (οἷα τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ κρίματα!) καὶ ὑπὲρ αἱμάτων ἀνοσίων αἷμα ἐχέθη δίκαιον, ἐνταῦθα μόνον οὐδὲ μακροθυμῆσαι ἀνασχομένης τῆς δίκης, παραβραχὺ παρῴκησε τῷ ᾅδῃ ἡ ψυχή μου. Ὁ δεύτερος, οὐδὲν ἐκείνου φιλανθρωπότερος, ὅτι μὴ καὶ βαρύτερος, ὅσῳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ φέρων ὄνομα, ψευδόχριστος ἦν, καὶ Χριστιανοῖς βάρος ὁμοῦ τε καὶ ὄνειδος, οἷς καὶ τὸ ποιεῖν ἄθεον, καὶ τὸ πάσχειν ἄδοξον: τῷ μηδὲ ἀδικεῖσθαι δοκεῖν, μηδὲ τὸ μεγαλοπρεπὲς ὄνομα τῷ πάσχειν προσεῖναι τὴν μαρτυρίαν: ἀλλὰ κἀνταῦθα κλέπτεσθαι τὴν ἀλήθειαν, πάσχοντας ὡς Χριστιανοὺς, ὡς ἀσεβεῖς κολάζεσθαι. Οἴμοι, ὅτι ἐπλουτήσαμεν ἐν τοῖς κακοῖς, ὅτι πῦρ κατέφαγε τὰ ὡραῖα τῆς οἰκουμένης. Τὰ κατάλοιπα τῆς κάμπης κατέφαγεν ἡ ἀκρὶς, καὶ τὰ κατάλοιπα τῆς ἀκρίδος κατέφαγεν ἡ ἐρυσίβη: εἶτα ὁ βροῦχος, εἶτα οὐκ οἶδ' ὅ τι πρὸς τούτοις, καὶ ἄλλο ἐπ' ἄλλῳ κακῷ φυόμενον. Τί ἄν τις ἐκτραγῳδοίη πάντα τὰ τοῦ καιροῦ κακὰ, καὶ τὴν τότε κατασχοῦσαν ἡμᾶς, εἴτε εἴσπραξιν χρὴ λέγειν, εἴτε δοκιμασίαν καὶ πύρωσιν; Πλὴν ὅτι διήλθομεν διὰ πυρὸς καὶ ὕδατος, καὶ προήλθομεν εἰς ἀναψυχὴν εὐδοκίᾳ τοῦ σώζοντος Θεοῦ.