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In martyres Aegyptios

ENCOMIUM ON THE EGYPTIAN MARTYRS.

50.693 1. Blessed be God, that there are martyrs even from Egypt, from Egypt the God-fighting and most frenzied, and from whence come the godless mouths, from whence the blasphemous tongues, martyrs from Egypt, not in Egypt only, nor in the neighboring and adjacent country, but throughout the entire world. And just as in the case of a bountiful harvest of produce, when the inhabitants of the cities see that the yield has become greater than the need of the inhabitants, they send it out to foreign cities, at once demonstrating their own generosity and, in addition to their own abundance, easily receiving in exchange from them whatever they might need; so also have the Egyptians done in the case of the athletes of piety. Seeing by the grace of God that a great harvest had occurred among them, they did not shut up this great gift of God in their city, but sent out the treasures of good things to every part of the earth, both demonstrating their own love for the brethren, and glorifying the common Master of all, and adorning their own city in the eyes of all, and showing it to be the metropolis of the whole world. For if cold and cheap pretexts, and graces that contribute only to our present life, have had the power to grant this honor to many cities; how is it not just that this city, which bestows none of these perishable and corruptible things, 50.694 but rather men who possess great security for the cities allotted to them even after death, should above all others obtain from them this primacy?

For the bodies of these saints wall our city more securely than any wall of adamant and unbreakable stone; and like certain lofty reefs set forth on every side, they not only repel the attacks of these sensible and visible enemies, but also the plots of invisible demons, and they overthrow and dissolve every scheme of the devil as easily as some noble man might overturn and throw down the playthings of children. And the other contrivances made by men, such as walls, and trenches, and weapons, and multitudes of soldiers, and whatever has been devised for the security of the inhabitants, it is possible for enemies to repel with other more numerous and greater excesses of contrivances on their part; but when a city is walled with the bodies of saints, even if those enemies spend countless sums of money, they will not be able to set up any such contrivance against the cities that possess them. And not only against the plots of men, nor against the mischief of demons is this possession useful to us, beloved; but even if our common Master is angry on account of the multitude of our sins, we will be able, 50.695 by putting forward these bodies, to quickly make him gracious to the city. For if those who achieved great things in the time of our ancestors, by putting forward the names of holy men, and taking refuge in the names of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, obtained some consolation, and reaped great benefit from the memory of these names, how much more will we, when putting forward not only names, but also the very bodies that contended, be able to have God gracious and gentle and kind.

And that what we are saying is no boast, many know, both of the natives and of those who have come from elsewhere, how great is the power of these saints, who also bear witness to what is said, having learned through experience itself their boldness before God; and very rightly so. For they did not contend for the truth in a random way,

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In martyres Aegyptios

ΕΓΚΩΜΙΟΝ ΕΙΣ ΜΑΡΤΥΡΑΣ ΑΙΓΥΠΤΙΟΥΣ.

50.693 αʹ. Εὐλογητὸς ὁ Θεὸς, ὅτι καὶ ἐξ Αἰγύπτου μάρτυρες, Αἰγύπτου τῆς θεομάχου

καὶ μανικωτάτης, καὶ ὅθεν τὰ ἄθεα στόματα, ὅθεν αἱ βλάσφημοι γλῶσσαι, ἐξ Αἰγύπτου μάρτυρες, οὐκ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ δὲ μόνον, οὐδὲ ἐν τῇ παροίκῳ καὶ γείτονι χώρᾳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ πανταχοῦ τῆς οἰκουμένης. Καὶ καθάπερ ἐπὶ τῆς τῶν ὠνίων εὐετηρίας, ὅταν ἴδωσιν οἱ τὰς πόλεις οἰκοῦντες πλείω τῆς χρείας τῶν οἰκούντων γενομένην τὴν φορὰν, καὶ πρὸς τὰς ἔξω διαπέμπουσι πόλεις, ὁμοῦ τε τὴν παρ' ἑαυτῶν ἐπιδεικνύμενοι φιλοφροσύνην, καὶ πρὸς τῇ τούτων περιουσίᾳ μετ' εὐκολίας ὧν ἂν δέωνται πάλιν ἀντωνούμενοι παρ' ἐκείνων· οὕτω καὶ οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι πεποιήκασιν ἐπὶ τῶν τῆς εὐσεβείας ἀθλητῶν. Ἰδόντες τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ χάριτι πολλὴν παρ' ἑαυτοῖς γενομένην τὴν φορὰν, οὐ κατέκλεισαν ἐν τῇ πόλει τὸ μέγα τοῦτο τοῦ Θεοῦ δῶρον· ἀλλὰ πανταχοῦ τῆς γῆς ἐξέπεμψαν τοὺς τῶν ἀγαθῶν θησαυροὺς, τήν τε αὑτῶν φιλαδελφίαν ἐπιδεικνύμενοι, καὶ τὸν κοινὸν πάντων ∆εσπότην δοξάζοντες, καὶ τὴν αὑτῶν παρὰ πᾶσι κοσμοῦντες πόλιν, καὶ μητρόπολιν τῆς οἰκουμένης ἁπάσης ἀποφαίνοντες. Εἰ γὰρ ψυχραὶ καὶ εὐτελεῖς ἀφορμαὶ, καὶ πρὸς τὸν παρόντα βίον ἡμῖν συντελοῦσαι χάριτες μόνον, ἴσχυσαν τοῦτο τὸ γέρας πολλαῖς τῶν πόλεων παρασχεῖν· τὴν οὐδὲν τούτων τῶν ἐπικήρων καὶ φθαρτῶν 50.694 χαριζομένην, ἀλλ' ἄνδρας πολλὴν ταῖς κληρωθείσαις αὐτοῖς πόλεσι καὶ μετὰ τελευτὴν κεκτημένους ἀσφάλειαν, πῶς οὐ δίκαιον μάλιστα πασῶν ταύτης παρ' αὐτῶν τῆς προεδρίας τυχεῖν;

Τὰ γὰρ τῶν ἁγίων σώματα τούτων τείχους παντὸς ἀδάμαντος καὶ ἀῤῥαγοῦς ἀσφαλέστερον ἡμῖν τειχίζει τὴν πόλιν· καὶ καθάπερ σκόπελοί τινες ὑψηλοὶ προβεβλημένοι πανταχόθεν, οὐχὶ τὰς τῶν αἰσθητῶν τούτων καὶ ὁρωμένων ἐχθρῶν προσβολὰς ἀποκρούονται μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς τῶν ἀοράτων δαιμόνων ἐπιβουλὰς, καὶ πᾶσαν τοῦ διαβόλου μεθοδείαν ἀνατρέπουσί τε καὶ διαλύουσιν οὕτως εὐκόλως, ὡς εἴ τις γενναῖος ἀνὴρ παίδων ἀθύρματα ἀνατρέψειε καὶ καταβάλοι. Καὶ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα τὰ παρὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γινόμενα μηχανήματα, οἷον τείχη, καὶ τάφροι, καὶ ὅπλα, καὶ στρατιωτῶν πλήθη, καὶ ὅσα πρὸς ἀσφάλειαν τῶν οἰκούντων ἐπινενόηται, δυνατὸν τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ἀποκρούεσθαι ἑτέραις πλείοσι καὶ μείζοσι μηχανῶν ὑπερβολαῖς ταῖς παρ' αὐτῶν· ὅταν δὲ ἁγίων σώμασι πόλις τειχίζηται, κἂν μυρία ἐκεῖνοι δαπανῶσι χρήματα, τοιοῦτόν τι ἀντιστῆσαι μηχάνημα ταῖς ἐχούσαις αὐτοὺς πόλεσιν οὐ δυνήσονται. Οὐ πρὸς ἀνθρώπων δὲ ἐπιβουλὰς μόνον, οὐδὲ πρὸς κακουργίας δαιμόνων τοῦτο ἡμῖν χρήσιμον τὸ κτῆμα, ἀγαπητέ· ἀλλὰ κἂν ὁ κοινὸς ἡμῖν ὀργίζηται ∆εσπότης διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων, δυνησόμεθα ταῦτα 50.695 προβαλλόμενοι τὰ σώματα, ταχέως αὐτὸν ἵλεων ποιῆσαι τῇ πόλει. Εἰ γὰρ οἱ τὰ μεγάλα κατωρθωκότες ἐπὶ τῶν προγόνων τῶν ἡμετέρων, ὀνόματα προβαλλόμενοι ἁγίων ἀνδρῶν, καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν προσηγορίαν Ἀβραὰμ καὶ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακὼβ καταφεύγοντες, ἔτυχόν τινος παραμυθίας, καὶ μεγάλην ἀπὸ τῆς μνήμης τῶν ὀνομάτων τούτων ἐκαρποῦντο τὴν ὠφέλειαν, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἡμεῖς, ὅταν μὴ ὀνόματα μόνον προβαλλόμενοι, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὰ τὰ ἀθλήσαντα σώματα, δυνησόμεθα τὸν Θεὸν ἵλεων ἔχειν καὶ ἥμερον καὶ προσηνῆ.

Καὶ ὅτι οὐ κόμπος τὰ παρ' ἡμῶν λεγόμενα, ἴσασι πολλοὶ καὶ τῶν ἐγχωρίων, καὶ τῶν ἑτέρωθεν ἐληλυθότων, ὅση τῶν ἁγίων τούτων ἡ δύναμις, οἳ καὶ μαρτυροῦσι τοῖς λεγομένοις, διὰ τῆς πείρας αὐτῆς μαθόντες αὐτῶν τὴν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν παῤῥησίαν· καὶ μάλα εἰκότως. Οὐ γὰρ ὡς ἔτυχεν ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀληθείας ἠγωνίσαντο,