Oration of Emperor Constantine to the Assembly of the Saints

^A For he showed the difference between those who deemed themselves worthy to worship him and Christ, and those who had chosen the opposite path; for those who had set themselves to war against his Church rendered God their enemy and foe, the ruin of each of them in the course of life providing a clear proof of their hatred of God; just as, therefore, the outcome of Constantine, made manifest to all, established the pledges of his love for God.

CHAPTER LXXV.

That Constantine surpassed all previous Roman emperors in piety.

^B Seeing that he alone of the Roman emperors had honored the God who is King of all with excellence of piety, and alone had preached the Word of Christ with free speech to all, and alone, as no one since the beginning of time has done, had glorified His Church, and alone had overthrown every polytheistic error and confuted every manner of idolatry; and indeed, also, he alone was deemed worthy in this life and after death of such honors as no one, should he wish to declare the like, could find to have fallen to anyone else—neither among the Greeks, nor among the barbarians, nor even among the most noble Romans themselves, nor is any such person recorded as having existed among us from the beginning of time.

THE CHAPTERS OF THE FIFTH BOOK.

α'. The prologue mentions the Passover, and how the Word of God, having benefited all in various ways, was plotted against by those who were benefited. β'. On asking for pardon and correcting one’s faults. γ'. That both God the Father of the Word, and the Creator of the universe, is the same; and that the things which exist could not persist if their causes were different. δ'. On the error concerning idols. ε'. That Christ the Son of God created everything, and determined the quantity of being in each. ϛ'. That the doctrine concerning fate is proven false, both from human laws and from those things in the creation which move not in disorder, but according to order, the Creator’s boundary being shown through that order. ζ'. That one must glorify the wisdom of the Creator concerning things incomprehensible, and not blame another or some automatic movement. η'. That God provides the things which are necessary to men in abundance; but provides those for pleasure with moderation, in a manner profitable for the enjoyment of each. θ'. Concerning the philosophers who, because they wished to know everything, were deceived in their opinions, and some encountered dangers. And concerning the doctrines of Plato. ι'. Concerning those who reject not only the scriptural doctrines but also the philosophical ones, and concerning whether one must believe poets in all things, or disbelieve them in all. ια'. Concerning the bodily presence of the Lord, who he was, and for whom he came. ιβ'. Concerning those who did not know the mystery, and that they were ignorant by choice, and what good things await those who knew, and especially those who were perfected through their confession. ιγ'. That the difference between the parts of the creation is necessary; and that the inclination toward good and evil belongs to the judgment of men, whence judgment is also necessary and reasonable. ιδ'. That the created nature is infinitely distant from the uncreated substance; but man comes near to it through a life of virtue. ιε'. All that the Savior taught, and the miracles He performed, and how He benefited those who were beginning. ισ'. That the coming of Christ was predicted by the prophets; and that it came at the destruction of the idols and of the idolatrous cities. ιζ'. Concerning the wisdom of Moses, which was emulated by the philosophers from outside; and concerning Daniel and the three children. ιη'. Concerning the Erythraean Sibyl, who in the acrostic of her prophetic verses indicates the Lord and His passion; and the acrostic is: Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior, Cross. ιθ'. That the prophecy concerning the Savior was not fabricated by any of the Church, but belongs to the Erythraean Sibyl, whose books

Cicero rendered into Latin verse before the coming of Christ; and that Virgil makes mention of her, and at the same time of the virgin birth, celebrating the mystery obscurely for fear of those in power. κ'. Other verses of Virgil Maro concerning Christ, and their interpretation, in which it is shown that the mystery was indicated obscurely, as is the custom of poets. κα'. That these things cannot be said of a mere man; and that those who disbelieve, through ignorance of piety, do not even know the cause of their own origin. κβ'. Thanksgiving to Christ, recording the emperor's victories and other blessings; and a refutation of the tyrant Maximin, who by the magnitude of the persecution brought greater glory to piety. κγ'. Concerning the Christian way of life; and that the Divine favors those who live in virtue, and that one must expect judgment and retribution. κδ'. Concerning Decius, Valerian, and Aurelian, who ended their lives miserably because of the persecution of the Church. κε'. Concerning Diocletian, who resigned his empire in disgrace, and was struck as if by lightning because of the persecution of the Church. κς'. That God is the cause of the emperor’s piety; and that one must seek success from God and attribute it to Him, while attributing failures to our own sloth.

565 CHAPTERS OF THE FIFTH BOOK

I. Proem regarding the mention of Pascha, and that Christ, though he had conferred many benefits upon all men, was evil-treated by them. II. Address to the Church and his listeners, that they should grant pardon and offer corrections if he has spoken anything less than rightly. III. That God is the Father of the Word, and the Maker of all things; and that things could in no way exist if their causes were diverse. IV. Concerning the error of those who worship idols. V. That Christ the Son of God created all things, and established a certain duration of life for each. VI. Concerning fate; and that the things said about it are false; and this is shown both from human laws and from created things which move not by chance, but by order; by doing this, I declare the Creator's precept. ^C VII. That in matters which we cannot grasp by intelligence, we ought to preach the wisdom of the Creator, and not imagine chance or any other cause besides God. VIII. That God provides in abundance for men the things that are necessary for use, but provides only sparingly those things that make for pleasure; dispensing both for our utility. IX. Concerning the philosophers who, wishing to know all things, fell into opinions, and some underwent the crisis of death; also concerning the doctrine of Plato. X. Concerning those who despise not only Sacred Scripture, but even the dogmas of the philosophers: and that faith should be placed in poets in all things, or in none at all. XI. Concerning the bodily advent of the Lord, what it was like and why it happened. XII. Concerning those who did not know this mystery; and that their ignorance is voluntary: and how great are the good things that await those who have known it, and especially those who have died in the confession of it. XIII. That a difference is necessary in created things; and that the propensity toward good and evil arises from the will of men: and therefore the judgment of God is necessary. XIV. That the creature is separated by an immense distance from the uncreated substance; and that man approaches nearest to God through virtue. ^D XV. What precepts He handed down, and what miracles He performed, and how greatly the Savior benefited his subjects. XVI. That the coming of Christ was predicted by the prophets: and that it was ordained for the overthrow of 566 idols and cities that worship idols. XVII. Concerning the wisdom of Moses: also concerning Daniel and the three children. XVIII. Concerning the Sibyl who, in the acrostic of the poems by which she prophesied, designates the Lord and His passion. This acrostic is: Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior, Cross. XIX. That this prophecy concerning Christ was not fabricated by any of the Christians, but was written by the Erythraean Sibyl, whose books Cicero rendered into Latin verse before the arrival of Christ; and that Virgil makes mention of her, and at the same time of the virgin birth; celebrating the mystery obscurely, for fear of those in power. XX. Other verses of Virgil Maro concerning Christ, and their interpretation: in which it is shown that the mystery was indicated obscurely, as is the custom of poets. XXI. That these things cannot be said concerning a naked and simple man; and that the unfaithful, on account of their ignorance of divine worship, do not even know the cause of their own origin. XXII. Thanksgiving of the emperor, by which he attributes his victories and his other goods to Christ; and a refutation of the tyrant Maximin, who had increased the glory of the Christian religion by the cruelty of his persecution. XXIII. Concerning Christian institutions: and that God loves those who seek after virtue; and that one ought to hope for judgment and retribution. XXIV. Concerning the calamitous end of life of Decius, Valerian, and Aurelian on account of their persecution of the Churches. XXV. Concerning Diocletian, who resigned his empire in disgrace, and was struck as if by lightning on account of the persecution of the Churches. XXVI. That God was the cause of the emperor’s piety; and that we ought to entreat prosperous outcomes from God and bear them as acceptable to Him: but that we should attribute things done otherwise to our own negligence.

CONSTANTINE THE EMPEROR, AN ORATION WHICH HE ENTITLED: TO THE ASSEMBLY OF THE SAINTS

^A CAPUT I. ^A *The prologue makes mention of Easter, and how Christ, having bestowed many benefits upon all men, was evilly treated by them.*

The radiance of the day and the sun—more brilliant than usual—the prologue to the resurrection, and the new restoration of those bodies which had long since dissolved, the foundation of the promise, and the path leading to eternal life: the day of the passion is now at hand, most beloved teachers, and all you other friends, and you, ^B the blessed and numerous multitudes of those who worship, who worship God Himself, the Source of religion, both with the inner senses of each person and with tongues and voices, unceasingly praising Him according to the instructions contained in the sacred oracles. But thou, Nature, mother of all, what hast thou ever accomplished for the benefit of mankind? Or rather, what is thy work at all? Since He is the Author of all things and of thy very substance; ^C for He adorned thee, since the ornament of nature is the life according to nature.

^A Indeed, it prevailed not a little, that which is contrary to nature, that no one should revere God as the Author of all, and that all things should be thought to consist not by providence, but as it happened, in disorder and confusion. And although divine inspiration was declaring these things one by one through the prophets, whom it was necessary to obey, wicked impiety resisted with all manner of devices, being maligned against the light of truth, but embracing the darkness which cannot be refuted. But not even this was done without violence and cruelty, especially since the judgment of those in power became complicit in the sudden rush of the common masses, or rather, this very judgment led the way in that untimely madness. Therefore, such a life, having been hardened over many generations, became the cause of the greatest evils for those at that time.

But when the manifestation of the Saviour suddenly shone forth, justice was established in the place of unjust deeds, and serenity in the place of a most grievous storm, and all things which had been foretold by the prophets were fulfilled. ^B For after that same Saviour of ours had been taken up to the dwelling-place of His Father, having illuminated the entire world with the rays of continence and modesty, He established His Church upon the earth as a certain sacred temple of virtue, eternal and incorruptible, in which the worship due to the supreme God and Father, and that which was fitting for Himself, might be performed with piety.

But what did the foolish malice of the nations contrive after these things? It attempted, casting away the graces of Christ, to destroy the Church which had been established for the salvation of all, and it kept introducing its own superstition. ^C Again there was unholy discord, wars, battles, perverse dispositions, a burdensome manner of life, and a love of riches; which, being contrary to nature in men (for it is the property of malice), at one time entices with adorned hopes, and at another strikes with terror. But let this indeed lie low, having been defeated by virtue, ^D as is right, being broken asunder and torn apart by repentance. But we must now speak of the things that are fitting for the divine Word.

^A

CHAPTER II. An address to the Church and the listeners, that they grant pardon and amend if anything should be said less correctly.

Hear, then, you who are master of a ship composed of purity and virginity, and you too, O Church, nurse of an unripe and tender age, to whom truth is a care, and to whom philanthropy is a care, from whose perennial fountain a saving stream flows down. May you also hear with favor, you who sincerely worship God, and are for that reason a care to Him; and applying your mind, attend not so much to the wording as to the truth of the things that are said, and look not at me who am speaking, but at the religious duty of devotion. For what grace and utility would there be in an oration, if the disposition of the speaker had not first been examined? I perhaps presume great things; but the love for God implanted in me is the cause of my boldness, since it is a thing that offers violence to modesty. ^B Therefore, you who are instructed beyond others in the science of divine mysteries, I would wish to have as helpers; so that if by chance any slip should occur in my speaking, you, following in my footsteps, may correct it, and not expect from me some finished doctrine, but rather benevolently approve the effort of my faith. Moreover, may the singular aid of the Father and of the Son now inspire us, while we speak those things which He shall have commanded and suggested to our mind. For if anyone, professing rhetoric or any other art whatsoever, hopes that he can complete his work perfectly without the aid of the divine Deity, he is found to be crude and imperfect in the work he has undertaken. But those to whom the aid of the divine Deity has once breathed are by no means to cease or grow sluggish. Therefore, having begged your pardon for a longer prologue, we shall attempt to approach the head and sum of our institution.

CHAPTER III. That God is the Father of the Word, and the creator of all things: and that things could by no means consist if their cause were diverse.

^C The Good that all things desire, since it is by its own nature always God, does not have a generation, and therefore does not have a beginning; but He Himself is the beginning of all things that are in generation. And he who has his relation from Him, is united again to Him ^D

^A in such a way that the separation and union come about not through spatial intervals, but rather through the intellect. For the offspring does not consist through any injury to the paternal entrails, in the manner of things produced from seeds; but by the arrangement of Providence, He brought forth a Protector and Saviour for both the sensible world and the things contrived within it. Therefore, for all things that are embraced by the world, the cause of their being and living comes from thence; and from thence also comes the soul, and every sense, and the instruments through which the things signified by the senses are accomplished. What, then, does this discourse imply? That there is one single Protector of all things that exist, and that all things whatsoever are subject to the dominion of Him alone, both the heavenly and the earthly, and the natural and organic bodies. For if the mastery of these things—which are numberless—were not in the hands of one, but of many, then lots ^B and distributions of elements, and ancient myths, and envy, and the desire for gain—laying hold according to their power—would disturb the harmonious concord of all things, with many managing in a different way the portion which had fallen to each. That the whole world, however, always remains in the same state and manner, demonstrates that it does not exist neglected, nor that it has come to be by chance. And who could ever have known the Maker of the entire creation? And as for prayers and supplications, to whom should one offer them first or last? And by revering whom among them out of choice, would I not have acted impiously toward the others? Or perhaps, if I were in need of some of the things of this life, I would be grateful to the one who assisted me, but would blame the one who opposed me. And to whom, after praying, could I ask to know the cause of my predicament, or obtain relief? Let us suppose, then, that responses and oracles have been given to us, yet that they are not under their own authority, ^C but that these things belong to another god; what then is the mercy? What is the providence of God toward man? Unless, perhaps, the more philanthropic one acted forcibly in assisting (one) who had no relation to him. ^D

Irritations, moreover, and rivalries, and abuse, and lastly the confusion of all things would follow: for while each one ^A did not perform his own duties, and was not content with what fell to his lot through greed, he would invade the possessions of others. What then next? Certainly this discord of the heavenly beings would bring destruction upon the inferior and earthly things, once the order and succession of the seasons and the utility of the fruits that are wont to grow at individual times of the year were completely destroyed, having also destroyed both day and the nightly rest that follows it. But enough of these things. Let us return again to the arguments which cannot be refuted in any way.

CAPUT IV. About the error of those who venerate idols.

Everything that has a beginning also has an end; and a beginning in time is called generation; and all things that come from generation are corruptible; and length of time obscures their form. How then could those who are from corruptible generation be immortal? A belief of the unreasoning masses has spread to such an extent that even among the gods marriages and begettings of children were thought to exist. ^B But if those being born are immortal, and they are always being born, it is necessary that their race should overflow. And if an increase comes about, what heaven, or what earth, could contain such a swarm of gods coming into being? And what could one say concerning men who join heavenly brothers to sisters in the bond of marriage, and accuse them of adulteries and debaucheries? We say boldly, furthermore, that the very honors and gifts presented to them by men have been mixed with insults and lewdness. For some person, already scrutinized in discussions, having conceived a form in his mind ^C as a sculptor, fashions it with skillful craft; and meanwhile, as if forgetfulness had fallen upon him, he flatters his own creation, worshiping it as an immortal god, while acknowledging that he himself, the father and creator of the statue, is mortal. And these people themselves show the tombs and monuments of those so-called immortals, and honor the dead with divine honors, ignorant that that which is truly blessed and immortal is in no need of the honor given by mortals. For that which can be discerned only by the mind and grasped by thought neither desires a form by which it might be recognized, nor does it endure a shape, as if it were an image or a statue. All these things take place ^D for the sake of the departed; for they were human beings when they lived, possessing bodies.

CAPUT V.

But why do I pollute my tongue with defiled words, I who am about to praise the true God? I have determined, therefore, first to rinse away the bitter drink with a pure one. And this pure drink is poured out through the perennial fountain of the virtues of that God who is praised by us. It is my own private duty, I deem, to proclaim Christ both by the holiness of my life and by the act of thanksgiving which is owed to Him by us in return for many and very great benefits. I say, then, that He established the foundations of this universe and devised the creation of men, measured out by certain law and reason. And those who had been newly brought into the light He straightway transferred to a certain blessed place, ^B filled with flowers and every abundance of fruits; and He willed that they should at first be ignorant of good and evil. But at length He established a dwelling on earth suitable for animals endowed with reason; and only then did He reveal to them the knowledge of good and evil, inasmuch as they were endowed with reason. Then also He commanded the human race to increase, and the whole of that space which, being healthy and free from disease, is bounded by the circuit of the Ocean, began to be inhabited. But as the human race grew, the arts necessary for the use of this life were discovered. And the brute animals also increased in like manner, since in each kind a certain proper force and virtue implanted by nature was found: in the gentle ones, a tameness and obedience toward man; in the wild ones, strength and speed. ^{C D}

and a certain natural providence by which they rescue themselves from dangers. And while God assigned the care and protection of all gentle animals to humans, against the wild ones He instituted a sort of contest. After this, He formed the race of birds, numerous in count but diverse in nature and species, gifted with a remarkable variety of colors and a certain natural science of melody. Having distributed all other things which are contained within the compass of the whole world in the most beautiful manner, and having defined for all things a fatal term of life, He completed the fabric of the universe, decorated with every ornament.

CHAPTER VI

On fate, and that what is said about it is shown to be false, both from human laws and from created things, which move not randomly but in an order, thereby demonstrating the precept of the Creator.

^B But the majority of men, being foolish, blame nature for the arrangement of all things; others assign these to fate or to random chance, attributing the power over such things to fate. Nor do they understand that when they name "fate," they are uttering a name, but signifying no action nor any underlying substance. For what could fate itself be of its own accord, since nature has brought forth all things? Or what should we consider nature to be, if the law of fate is inviolable? But indeed, to say that there is a certain law of fate reveals that every law is the work of a lawgiver. If, therefore, fate—if it be a law—is a discovery of God, then all things are subjected to God, and nothing is devoid of His power. We accept that fate is, and is considered to be, the will of God; ^C but in what way do justice, temperance, and the other virtues exist by fate? And whence come the opposites to these, namely injustice and intemperance? For malice is born of the will, and virtue is nothing other than right action pertaining to character. But the errors or, conversely, the successes of a good and right purpose, which turn out differently at different times according to fortune or fate—how could all justice and the apportionment of merit according to desert spring from fate?

^A And if there be exhortations toward virtue, and dissuasions from things that ought not to be, and praises and censures, and punishments, and all those things that both call men to virtue and lead them away from wickedness, how can it be said that these do not arise from justice, which is the property of the caring God, but from fortune or chance? For because of the quality of men's lives, everything happens according to desert: plagues sometimes, and seditions, and both the failure and the abundance of crops following, clearly and explicitly, as if voicing it, signifying that all such things 21 are adapted to our ways of life. For the Divine Substance truly delights in probity, while it turns away from all impiety; and it welcomes a moderate spirit, but hates boldness and the arrogance that elevates itself higher than is fitting for a living being; of which, ^B even if the proofs are most clear and are set before our eyes, they shine forth more manifest at those times when, gathering ourselves together and, as it were, collecting our mind, we consider their cause among ourselves. Wherefore I say that we ought to walk moderately and kindly, not lifting up our spirit beyond our nature, and, taking these thoughts, to realize that God, the inspector of our deeds, is always present with us. Moreover, we must examine in this way also whether the statement is true: as if the arrangement of all things consists of fortune and chance 25. ^C Are we then to believe that the heavenly bodies, and the stars, and the earth and sea, and fire and winds, and water and air, and the alternation of seasons, the times of summer and winter, have all happened senselessly and as it chanced, rather than that they were created? For some, who are utterly deprived of reason, say that most of these things were devised by men for their own use; for since nature provides all goods abundantly, let us grant, if you please, that this opinion is not without reason regarding earthly and corruptible things: but what of immortal and immutable things? Are they inventions of men? For all such things and all others of this kind, which have been separated from our senses, but which happen to be graspable by the mind alone, are not the ensouled life 26 of men, but ^D the intelligible and eternal substance of God, the generator. But surely also the account of the order of…

this arrangement is a work of Providence: that the day, illuminated by the sun, should shine forth, and that night should succeed it when he sets, and having succeeded it, should not be left ^A entirely without light because of the choir of stars. And what might one say concerning the moon, being filled by its distance directly opposite the sun, and waning because of its close proximity to it? Do not these things declare the indwelling Word and the intelligence of God? And the fitness of the solar ray ripening the fruits, and the spirits of the winds preparing for good seasons, and the cooling of the rains, and the harmony of all these things, according to which all things are governed reasonably and in good order; and the eternity of the arrangement, with the planets returning to the same place at the fitting and supposed times—is this not the manifest command of God, and the perfect service of the stars, obeying the divine law? And the heights of the mountains, and the hollow depths of the regions, and the smoothness of the expanded plains—does this seem to be without the providence of God? A sight that is not only pleasant, but whose utility is also ^B pleasant. And the measures and distances of water and earth, sufficient for agriculture and for the transport of the needs of foreign lands, do they not most clearly demonstrate the precise and proportionate providence of God? For the mountains contain water, and when the level plain below has received this, and has abundantly refreshed the fields with its irrigation, it casts what is remaining into the sea, and the sea in turn transmits it to the Ocean. And do we still dare to say that all these things come to be automatically and by chance? Not revealing in what kind of shape and form this "automatic" is characterized, having no substance, neither intellectually nor sensibly, only that it is the sound of a name without substance buzzing about our ears.

CHAPTER VII.

For "chance" is in truth an utterance of men who think randomly and without reason, and who, not grasping their own argument, ^C prefer a prior emendation. Thus Eusebius at the end of Chapter 7. The best codex, however, the Fuk., clearly supports Christophorson. There is no need for the conjecture of Christophorson and Savile, who amends, as it is amended in the book of More in the margin. Soon, however, write again below: "And thus clearly in the Fuk. codex it was discovered written," except that it has "as the learned man had noted in the book of More." Thus it is certainly read in the Fuk. codex.

7. That in matters which the intelligence cannot reach, we must preach the wisdom of the Creator; and not deem chance, or any other cause besides God, to exist.

For chance is in reality a word invented by men endowed with no reason or prudence, but who, when they cannot attain the cause itself by intelligence, ^D

^A imagine that these things—the reasons for which they are unable to provide—were ordered without any reason. There are certainly some things the true comprehension of which lies in the depths, being endowed with a wondrous nature; such is the nature of hot springs. For no one could easily state the cause of so great a fire; yet it is a marvel that, being surrounded on all sides by cold water, it does not for that reason lose its innate heat. These things seem to be rare and few throughout the whole world, in order that, as I persuade myself, the power of Providence might be easily recognizable to men, by decreeing that two perfectly opposite natures, heat and cold, should flow from one and the same root. Many things, indeed, and countless, have been bestowed by the Better One upon men for their consolation and enjoyment, but especially the fruits of the olive and the vine. ^B The latter has the power to refresh and exhilarate the soul, while the former is suited not only for pleasure but also for the healing of bodies. The continuous and unceasing flow of rivers, gliding on day and night and bearing a certain likeness to eternal and everlasting life, also deserves the greatest admiration. The continuous vicissitude of day and night is likewise just as wonderful.

CHAPTER VIII

^A may we recount, which, in all the things that have been abundantly granted to us, openly urge the life of man toward temperance and all other virtues, and lead it away from untimely cupidity? To investigate the rationale of all these things is a greater task than what can be accomplished by a human being. For how could the intelligence of a frail and feeble animal ever attain to the accuracy of truth? How could it ever understand the pure will of God from the beginning?

CHAPTER IX.

Of philosophers who, having wished to know all things, fell into errors and some underwent dangers; and concerning the doctrines of Plato.

Wherefore we must apply ourselves to things that can be done and that do not exceed the measure of our nature. For the probability found in dialogues and disputations is wont to lead most of us away ^B from the truth of things that are. Which indeed has happened to many philosophers while they exercise their genius in debating and investigating the nature of existing things. For as often as the magnitude of wonders surpasses the limits of their investigation, they involve the truth in various modes of argumentation. Hence it happens that they hold contrary opinions and one man impugns the dogmas of another, and this while they wish to appear wise. From which have arisen most grievous tumults of the people and bitter justice of princes against them, since they think the ancestral customs are being subverted by them. And death has often followed for those very men. For Socrates, elated by his science of discourse, ^C since he would make inferior arguments appear superior, and played in his constant contradiction, was killed through the envy of his fellow-tribesmen and citizens. But Pythagoras also, who professed to cultivate temperance and silence above all others, was convicted of falsehood. For what he himself once ^D [proclaimed]—the matters formerly foretold by the prophets, having traveled to Egypt, he gave them out to the Italians as though they had been revealed to him personally by God—[this he falsely claimed].

Plato, finally, who surpassed all others in the gentleness of his character, and who was the first to accustom the minds of men to turn away from the senses toward things intelligible and always remaining in the same state, and taught them to look up to the things above ^A,

teaching them to look up to the things above

and flee from wickedness? ^A Following this, he added that the souls of the wicked are carried away and wander like the wreckage of a ship in the currents of Acheron and Pyriphlegethon.

CHAPTER X.

That those who reject not only the doctrines of Scripture, but also those of the philosophers, and regarding whether one should believe the poets in all things or in none.

There are, however, some who are so damaged and corrupted in their understanding ^B that when they read these things, they do not care, nor are they struck by any fear; but they despise and laugh at them as though they were hearing mere fables. They praise the elegance and richness of the language, but they turn away from the austerity of the doctrine. Yet, these same people believe the poets' myths and fill all of Greece and all of the Barbarian world with empty and false rumors. For the poets say that certain men, the sons of gods, judge souls after death, and they celebrate their judgments and courts, establishing them as inspectors and censors of the departed. These same poets also report the battles of demons ^C and announce certain laws of war, and they proclaim their fates; they assert that some are by nature bitter, others removed from all care for human affairs, and others still to be difficult. They even introduce them lamenting the slaughter of their own children, as if they were unable to provide aid not only to strangers, but not even to their own closest kin. They represent them as subject to human passions, singing of their battles and wounds, their joys and laments. And they are deemed trustworthy when they speak. For if they undertake poetry by divine inspiration, it is fitting to believe and obey them ^D regarding those things which they proclaim while inspired; but they speak of the sufferings of gods and demons—these sufferings, then, touch upon every kind of truth. But someone will say that it is permitted for poets to lie; for to charm the souls of their hearers is proper to poetry, while truth exists when what is said is exactly as it is represented. Let this be proper to poetry, to sometimes steal away the truth; yet those who speak falsehoods do not lie in vain—for they do this for the sake of gain and profit, or because they are conscious, it seems, of some evil deed, fearing the punishment hung over them by the laws.

For it was possible, I think, for those recording nothing against the truth regarding the higher nature, neither to lie nor to act impiously.

CHAPTER XI.

Therefore, if anyone is unworthy of a good life, and is conscious in himself of having lived his life in a disorderly and wicked manner, if he should change and look toward the Divine, having purified the eye of his soul, and having become a stranger to his former most wretched way of living—yet it is desirable if, even in the prime of life, he should attain to wisdom. But as for us, no instruction ^A proceeding from men has ever helped us; but whatever is worthy of praise in human life and conduct, in the judgment of the wise, these are the gifts and favors of God. But against those venomous arrows which are fashioned by the evil demon, I possess no weak shield to oppose—namely, the knowledge of those things which are acceptable to God. From which knowledge and discipline, having selected those things which are accommodated to the present discourse, I shall undertake to praise the Father of all. And may You, Christ, Savior of all, ^B yourself assisting the zeal of our devotion, be present and adorn the discourse regarding your excellence, prescribing for us the mode and manner of offering praise. And let no one expect to hear an oration adorned with some elegant display of ornate names and words; for I know accurately that a loose oration, crafted for pleasure, is displeasing to those who are wise, ^C whenever those who speak, care for applause rather than for a prudent discourse. ^D Certain foolish men say...

^A say that our Christ was justly condemned to punishment, and that He who is the author of life was deprived of life by those who live. That those who have once dared to commit impiety, and who neither fear nor cover their faces, being fully aware of their own wickedness, should say this is not at all surprising. But it truly surpasses all madness that they seem to have persuaded themselves that the immortal God suffered violence from men, and not from His own kindness and benevolence toward humanity; nor do they notice that greatness of mind and patience are neither changed by insult, nor moved from their state by reproaches, but rather crush the fury of those who hostily attack them by counsel and the loftiness of their mind. Indeed, the divine clemency had determined to wipe away injustice and to raise up propriety and justice; for this reason, ^B having gathered the wisest of men, it established a most excellent and life-benefiting teaching, that good and blessed men might emulate His own providence regarding the things of the world. For what greater good could one mention than God dispensing justice and making those worthy of His instruction like unto Himself, so that, goodness having been disseminated among all, good fortune might be secured for men for all eternity? This is the noble victory, this the true power, this the greatest work, fitting and corresponding to God, namely, the correction of all peoples and their conversion to a better state. And we, indeed, offer the glory of this triumph with praises and acclamations to You, O Savior of all. ^C But you, O wicked and disgraceful blasphemy, raising yourself up with lies, with rumors and clamors, deceiving the young, persuading adolescents and those of men who have a childish manner, leading them away from the worship of the living God, and setting up the fabrications of statues, to which they might pray and bow down; so that having been deceived, they remain for the wages of their own lack of perception. For they blame ^D

^A the cause of all good things, Christ, both God and the Son of God. Is it not the case, then, that this God is worshiped as is worthy by the most temperate of nations and peoples? Having grasped power of every kind, yet remaining in his own resolve, he has not diminished in the slightest the innate philanthropy. Depart then, you impious ones—for it is permitted to you, through your unpunished sin—to the slaughter of sacrificial animals, and to feasts and festivals and drunkenness; you who profess piety, but cultivate pleasures and debauchery; and who, while pretending to perform sacrifices, are in fact slaves to your own pleasures. For nothing good, nor even the primary command of the great God, is attained by those who, as he gives orders to the human race and commands the Son to govern the life of these people, might—if they had lived rightly and temperately—according to the judgment of the Son, obtain a second life, blessed and happy. ^B I, for my part, have expounded the decree of God concerning the life of men, not being ignorant, as the many are, nor led by guesswork or conjecture. Yet perhaps someone might say: Whence is the appellation of "Son," and what is the nature of his generation, if he is the one and only God, and is entirely alien to all commingling? But it is necessary to understand that there is a twofold manner of generation: the one, from birth, which is known to all; the other, that which is from an eternal cause, which the providence of God sees, and of which he who is a friend to him has knowledge ^C (for some wise man will know the cause of the ordering of all things). Since, therefore, there is nothing before him, it is necessary that the cause of existing things should pre-exist them. Since, then, there is a world and those things in it, and there is their salvation, it is necessary that the Savior of existing things should pre-exist; so that Christ is the cause of salvation, while salvation is the effect—just as the Father is the cause of the Son, and the Son is the effect. And the former, indeed, pre-exists...

itself, has been sufficiently declared. How, then, did He descend to men and to the earth? The purpose of His ^A general coming, as the prophets foretold, belongs to the providence governing all things; for it is necessary that the Creator should care for His works. Since He was to approach a worldly body and dwell on earth, because necessity demanded it, He devised a certain strange manner of birth for Himself. For it was a conception without marriage, and a birth from a chaste virgin, and a maiden who is Mother of God, and the temporal initiation of an eternal nature, and the perception of an intelligible substance, and the matter of an incorporeal splendor ^B. All the subsequent manifestations of Him are consistent with this: a radiant dove, flying from the ark of Noah, descended to the bosom of the Virgin; and consistent, too, are the things that followed the birth, a marriage-union more pure than all purity and superior even to continence itself. The wisdom of God from the swaddling-clothes, and the Jordan, the dispenser of the baths, receiving Him with reverence—all of this is astonishing. In addition to this, the royal anointing joined with the knowledge of all things; and the teaching and power accomplishing miraculous deeds, and healing incurable things; and the swift and unimpeded confirmation of human prayers; and, in a word, the whole life led on behalf of men; and a teaching that instructed not in worldly prudence, but in wisdom, the students ^C not learning the so-called political virtues, but those paths that lead [the soul] to the intelligible world, and laboring for the contemplation of the nature that is ever the same, and exercising themselves in the notion of the greatest Father. For the gifts of His benefits are no small measure; instead of blindness, sight; instead of infirmity, health; instead of death, the restoration to life again. I pass over the abundant provision of necessities in the wilderness, and the lavish superabundance distributed to great multitudes from meager food. This thank-offering we render to Thee, as far as we are able, O Christ, God and Savior, ^D whose divine providence, through grace, is seen among men, for whoever is dear to God. For any wise man understands the cause of the order of the universe. Moreover, since there is nothing that does not have a cause, it is necessary that prior to all things that exist, the cause of them should have subsisted. Since, therefore, the world and all things that are in the world exist, and their preservation exists, it is necessary that the Savior should have existed before all things that are, so that Christ Himself is the cause of all things, and their preservation is the effect; just as the Father, indeed, is the cause of the Son, while the Son is the caused. And that Christ Himself existed before all things, we have already amply proven. But how did He descend to the earth and come to men? His plan, indeed, as the prophets had predicted, proceeded from the care and solicitude which He bore for all things. For a craftsman must needs take care of his works. But when He was about to approach a terrestrial body and to remain for some time among men, as necessity so required, He devised for Himself a new manner of birth. For there was a conception without nuptials; and a delivery from a chaste maiden; and a damsel who is the Mother of God; and a temporal beginning of an eternal nature; and a sense of an intelligible substance; and a subject of incorporeal splendor. All things, therefore, that were seen at that time were consistent with these. A most radiant dove, flying down from the ark of Noah, descended into the bosom of the Virgin. Consistent, likewise, are the remaining things which followed that immaculate and, beyond all purity, more refined union, and even superior to continence itself. Wonderful is the wisdom of God from the very cradle, and the Jordan which provided the waters for baptism, receiving Him with reverence. To these, the royal anointing joined with the knowledge of all things; likewise the doctrine and power by which wonderful things were performed.

^A The greatest providence of the great Father, both saving from evils and teaching the most blessed doctrine—for I do not speak these things in praise, but in thanksgiving. For who among men could worthily hymn You? For You are the Word who brought existent things into being from non-being, and kindled for them the light, and adorned the disordered confusion of the elements with order and measure. And this is the preeminent gift of Your philanthropy: that You made men well-disposed by nature to be emulators of a divine and blessed life; ^B and to observe how those who have become merchants of truly good things might share their own wisdom and fortune with many others, and themselves garner the eternal fruit of virtue, released from licentiousness, partaking of philanthropy, keeping pity before their eyes, hoping for the promise of faith, and embracing shame and every kind of virtue, which the preceding life of human customs had cast away ^C—[the providence] acting for the sake of all; for no one else could have been found a sufficient physician for such evils and the injustice that had prevailed during that life. Providence, therefore, reaching down to these things, set into order everything that had been disordered by insolence and intemperance. And this was not done secretly; for He knew how some of those among men were observing His own power through wisdom and intelligence, ^D while others, their nature having been likened to the irrational beasts, were inclined toward the senses. Therefore, clearly, so that no one might doubt—neither the earnest nor the base—He brought happiness and wonderful healing before their eyes; for those ceasing from life, He restored life a second time, and those deprived of their senses, He bade to perceive healthfully once more; and to make the sea stand firm, and to command a calm from a storm, and finally, having undertaken wonderful works and having summoned men from unbelief to a strong faith, to fly up to heaven—whose other work is this, save the work of God and of the most excellent Power? Not even the time immediately following the suffering was alien to those wonderful sights; when nights, obscuring the midday light, caused the sun to disappear; for fear had seized the peoples everywhere, that the end of all things had arrived, and [that the base]...

world was about to return to a primordial chaos, such as existed before the foundation of the universe. The cause of so great an evil was sought, and whether any transgression had been committed by men against the Divine. But when God, with gentle magnanimity, disregarding the insults of the impious, had restored all things, and had adorned the whole heaven with the customary course of the stars, the face of the whole world, which had been in a manner confounded by grief and mourning, recovered its former splendor.

Chapter XII. Concerning those who have not known this mystery, and that their ignorance was voluntary; and what great goods await those who have known it, and especially those who have been perfected through confession.

^B But someone – one of those accustomed to speak impiously – will say that God could have made the will of men better and more gentle. What, I ask, is a better way, or what method is more effective for the amendment of wicked men, than that God Himself should address them face to face? Did He not, by being present and subject to the sight of all, instruct them in a life befitting the world? If, therefore, the exhortation of God while present accomplished nothing, what could it have availed if He were absent and unheard? What, then, was the obstacle to that most blessed teaching? The ferocity and cruelty of men. ^C For whenever we receive with a hostile mind things that are rightly and usefully commanded, then the sharpness of our mind is obscured by a kind of darkness. And what of the fact that it was a pleasure to them to neglect the commandments and to turn deaf ears to the law that was provided? For if they had not neglected it, they would certainly have received a reward worthy of their obedience, not only at that very moment, but also in the life hereafter, which is truly to be considered life. For the reward of those who have obeyed the commandments of God is an immortal and eternal life. To this, those may finally aspire who have known God, ^D and who have set forth their own life as a kind of perpetual example for imitation to those who have set their hearts on the struggle.

^A For it has been handed down to the wise, so that whatever they may command, this might be guarded with care by their own followers with a pure soul, and that the guard over the commandment of God might be true and steadfast; for from this there even springs a fearlessness in the face of death, through a pure faith and a sincere consecration to God. It resists worldly storms, sheltered by the unconquerable virtue of God ^B for martyrdom; having conquered, therefore, the greatest fears through magnanimity, the martyr is deemed worthy of a crown from Him for whom he has courageously testified. And he takes no pride in anything; for he knows, I think, that this too is given from God, for the sake of standing firm and for fulfilling the divine commandments with eagerness. A lasting memory and eternal glory follow this life, and reasonably so; for if the life of the martyr is sober and mindful of the commandments, his end is found to be full of magnanimity and nobility. Hymns, then, follow these things, and psalms and praises, and glory offered to the Overseer of all. And such a ^C sacrifice of thanksgiving is performed for these men, pure of blood and pure of all violence; nor is the scent of frankincense sought after, nor a pyre, but only pure light, as much as suffices to illuminate those who are praying, and their banquets are very sober, performed for the sake of mercy and for the recovery of the needy and for the assistance of the fallen. If anyone thinks these things are burdensome, he does not think according to the divine and most blessed teaching.

CHAPTER XIII

That a difference is necessary among created things: and that the inclination toward good and evil arises from the will of men: and therefore the judgment of God is necessary.

Some, however, even in this, presume with youthful audacity to find fault with God: "Why, oh why, when He willed it, did He not make one and the ^D same propensity in the nature of things? But the diversity [in created things] is necessary... and the inclination of human judgment toward good and evil is the cause; wherefore also judgment is necessary and reasonable. Now, however, some, even in finding fault with God, show their arrogance: "Why, oh why, when He willed it, did He not make one and the same...

nature and character for all things, but willed instead that many diverse and for the most part contrary things should come into being?" From this has arisen the diversity of customs and wills among men. It might perhaps have been better, as regards the observance of God’s commandments, the accurate contemplation of Him, and the confirmation of the faith of each individual, if all men had been of ^A one and the same character. But it is entirely absurd and ridiculous to desire that all men should be endowed with the same character, and not to perceive that the order of the world is one thing, and the order of the things in the world another; nor are natural things of the same substance as moral things, nor are the affections of the body the same as the affections of the soul. For the rational soul surpasses this entire world by a great interval, being as much more blessed than earthly and corruptible animals as it is more august and divine; and the human race is not without a share in the divine goodness—not, however, that all men are partakers of this divine goodness indiscriminately and without any distinction, but only those who have scrutinized the divine nature and who have proposed to themselves this principal aim and study of life: the knowledge of divine things.

CHAPTER XIV

Truly, it is the height of madness to compare things born with things eternal. For the latter have neither beginning nor end. Those, however, because they came into being and were generated, and received the beginning of their existence and life in time, must necessarily also have an end. But how could things generated ever be compared with Him who commanded them to be born? For if these things were equal to Him, the commandment by which He willed them to be born could not rightly apply to Him; for an equal cannot exercise authority and command over an equal. But not even the heavenly things could be compared to Him, just as the sensible world cannot be compared to the intelligible, nor images to their archetypes. And the confusion and intermingling of all things—how is this not ridiculous? ^D when the dignity of the divine nature is obscured, if men and beasts…

^A of raving men, who have turned away from a sober and virtuous life? For if we truly aspire to divine happiness, it is necessary to pass our life according to the commandment of God; for thus we shall pass our life in immortal and ageless dwellings, superior to all fate, having lived according to the law ordained by God. For the only human power which is a match for the power of God is sincere and unfeigned worship of God, and conversion to Him, the contemplation and knowledge of those things which are pleasing to the Most High, and not to be bent toward the earth, but as far as possible to raise one’s mind to lofty and heavenly things; for from this practice, "victory," as it is said (99), "is gained instead of many good things." The reason, therefore, for the difference in existing things, both in worth and in the variation of power, follows this principle to which the wise willingly submit and give the greatest thanks, whereas the foolish, showing themselves ungrateful, bear the due punishment of their arrogance. ^B

CHAPTER XV.

What precepts the Savior delivered, what miracles He performed, and how greatly He benefited those subject to Him.

Moreover, the Son of God exhorts all men to virtue, showing Himself to be a teacher of the Father’s commandments to those who are wise. Unless, perhaps, through extreme ignorance we are unaware that for the sake of our benefit—that is, for the happiness of all—He wandered over the earth, and calling the best men of that time to Himself, He delivered a most useful doctrine, as a kind of medicine for a sober life, teaching them faith and justice against the envy of the hostile demon, who is accustomed to entice and deceive the simple and inexperienced. Therefore, He visited the sick, and relieved the infirm of the evils by which they were oppressed; He also offered consolation to those who had been reduced to extreme poverty and want. He also approved of the moderation of prudence ^C according to reason, ^D

^A and commanded that we should bear every injury and contumely with a brave and patient spirit; teaching us that such is the visitation of His Father, so that those who endure all hardships generously may always carry off the victory. For He affirmed that this was the highest strength, a constancy of mind joined with philosophy, which is nothing other than the knowledge of truth and of the good, accustoming men who possess wealth acquired by good means to share them humanely with the more needy. He utterly forbids domination, openly denouncing that as He came to help the humble, so He will refuse to favor those who have despised the humble. By such an experiment, therefore, when He had explored the loyalty of the peoples subject to Him, He made them not only contemners of the most grave and formidable things, ^B but also genuine disciples of hope and trust in Him. Furthermore, He reproved one of His companions, who had flared up with overly vehement anger, and restrained him with words. That man had set upon someone, sword in hand, thinking to render aid to the Savior. But the Savior commanded him to be at rest and to put away the sword, gravely rebuking the man because he had distrusted His protection and patronage. He clearly enacted this law: that he who had begun to strike another, or who had attempted to harm one who was striking, and generally whoever used a sword, should perish by a violent death. ^C This is truly heavenly wisdom: to prefer to suffer injury rather than to inflict it; and as often as necessity requires, to be of such a mind that we prefer to receive harm rather than to inflict it. For since to inflict injury is the greatest evil, it is not he who suffers, but rather he who inflicts the injury, who is afflicted with the most grievous punishment. Moreover, to the one who is subject to God, it is possible neither to do injury nor to suffer it, provided he trusts in the patronage of the God who is present to him and brings aid, lest anyone ^D among His subjects be harmed. But how could He Himself require aid, trusting in God? The struggle was between two, and the outcome of the victory was uncertain; but no one in his right mind prefers uncertain outcomes to those that are firmly established. And how was He to inquire concerning the presence of God,

^A or to doubt His aid, he who has experienced so many dangers, and who has always been easily delivered from evils by the mere nod of God [(14)], he who traveled through the sea, when it was calmed at the command of the Saviour and provided a solid path for the crossing peoples? For this, I think, is the manifest substructure of faith, and this the foundation of confidence, whenever we contemplate these wondrous and incredible things, happening and being fulfilled by the command of Him who provides for us. Hence also arises the state of not repenting in one's faith [(15)], whenever someone falls into a trial of evils [(16)] and holds his hope toward God unshaken; for this disposition having been produced in the soul, God is established according to the mind—and He is invincible. Therefore, the soul that possesses the Invincible in its own mind will not be overcome by the dangers that surround it. Beyond this, we have learned from the victory of God, who, showing providence for all, and having been mocked by the injustice of the impious, having suffered no harm from the passion, wreathed for Himself the greatest trophies of victory and an eternal crown against wickedness, bringing to an end the intention of His own providence and affection for the just, and having crushed the cruelty of the unjust and the impious. ^B

CAPUT XVI. That Christ’s advent was predicted by the prophets, and that it was ordained for the destruction of idols and of cities that worship idols.

Furthermore, the passion of Him had long been predicted by the prophets, and His bodily birth was also proclaimed; the time of His incarnation was also foretold, and that the seedlings of injustice and intemperance sprouting forth, which harm just deeds and ways, should be removed; and that the whole world should share in wisdom and restraint, the law proclaimed by the Saviour having prevailed in the souls of almost all mortals; and that the worship of the Divine Numen was confirmed, while the superstition of demons was blotted out. Which superstition, indeed, had introduced not only the slaughter of brute animals, but even human sacrifices, and the wicked defilements of altars, according to the laws of the Assyrians ^C and Egyptians, by means of bronze-wrought or fashioned images.

^A And thus they reaped the harvest appropriate to such a religion: "Memphis and Babylon will be laid waste, and will be left uninhabited, along with their ancestral gods." And these things I do not recount from hearsay, but having been present myself and investigated them, and having become an eyewitness of the piteous and wretched Memphis. ^B Now Moses, in accordance with the divine command, laid waste the land of the most powerful Pharaoh of that time, whom pride had shattered; and his army, which was victorious over many and very great nations, and was well-fortified and armed, he brought down, not by volleys of arrows or the casting of javelins, but by holy prayer alone and gentle supplication.

CHAPTER XVII.

Concerning the wisdom of Moses, which was emulated by the philosophers from without, and concerning Daniel and the three youths.

No one, truly, has ever been or ever will be more blessed than that people, unless they had of their own accord turned their souls away from the Holy Spirit. And what could anyone say that is worthy of Moses? He who led a disorderly multitude into order, and having adorned their souls with persuasion and reverence, gave them freedom in place of captivity, and gladness in place of gloom; and he advanced their souls to such a point that, because of the extreme transition to the opposite state and the good fortune of their successes, their spirit became more haughty than men; and he so surpassed in wisdom those who were before him, that even those who are praised by the nations—that is, the wise men and philosophers ^C—became emulators of his.

^A Pythagoras, indeed, having imitated his wisdom, is so famed for temperance that even Plato, a most modest man, set up his self-restraint as an example to be imitated. And Daniel (25), who prophesied the future and was a worker of the most exalted greatness of soul, excelling in the beauty of his character and his entire life: how great and how harsh was the difficulty he overcame from that tyrant who at that time held sway in Syria? The name of this man was Nabuchodonosor, whose lineage having been entirely wiped out, that noble and immense power passed to the Persians. For even to this day, the riches of that king are famed and celebrated in the many discourses of men; and his importunate zeal for forbidden religion, and the vast supply of every kind of metal for the fashioning of idols of the gods; also the roofs of the temples, which, so to speak, reached the very heaven; and finally, the terrible laws of religion, fashioned for cruelty. But Daniel, despising all these things on account of his sincere piety toward God, prophesied that that importunate zeal of the tyrant would be the cause of some very great evil. Yet he did not persuade the tyrant; for the abundance of riches is a very great hindrance to thinking rightly. Finally, the ruler indeed made known the savagery of his own mind, ordering the just man to be thrown to wild beasts to be destroyed. ^B Yet noble, too, was the unanimity of the brothers in undergoing martyrdom; those who after them emulated them, attained an immense glory for their faith toward the Savior, appearing unharmed by the fire and the furnace and the terrible things appointed for their consumption, and by the purity of their bodies repelling the fire contained within the furnace. But Daniel, when the empire of the Assyrians was destroyed by the striking of lightning (27), was led by divine providence to Cambyses, the king of the Persians. But envy even here—and in addition to envy, the lethal plots of the Magi, and a constant succession of many and very great dangers—vexed him. From all of which, with the assistance of Christ’s providence, he was easily delivered, and shone forth having been tested in every kind of virtue. For the Magi, when the man prayed three times a day and performed great and extraordinary virtues through memorable deeds, slandered the very attainment of his prayers out of envy; and slandering his such great power to the ruler as highly dangerous (29-30), they persuaded him that the man who had been the public cause of so many goods for the Persians should be condemned to a feast for wild lions. ^C I write, therefore, either wise men or philosophers, that is to say, if you prefer to call them philosophers. After he spoke of the destruction of Memphis, he passes to the Assyrians and the desolation of Babylon. And, indeed, by the occasion of the Egyptians, he inserted praise of Moses. But now, treating of the Assyrians, he sets forth the praises of Daniel, who lived as a captive among the Assyrians or Babylonians. The antiquarian who transcribed the Royal codex, offended by the multitude of errors with which the exemplar was teeming, made this the end of his writing. And he testified to this in these words inscribed to the empty page: ^D whence Constantine drew these things, who writes that the kingdom of the Assyrians was destroyed by the striking of lightning; which, indeed, I do not remember reading elsewhere. But neither do I sufficiently understand it. For men and fortresses and cities can be destroyed by the striking of lightning, as the poets have spun fables about the Phlegyae; but how a kingdom can be abolished by lightnings, I, for my part, do not see. In the manuscript codices of Fuk. and Turnebus, and in the Royal papers, it is written "he had said virtues" (28); which word, that it is accustomed to be used for miracles in the sacred Books, no one is unaware. The interpreter of this oration translated it badly, when he ought to have translated "powers." (29-30) Vulgate. In the codex of Fuk., this passage is distinguished in this way, etc. Soon I shall write as it is corrected in the margin of the book of Moraeus.

^A Daniel, having been condemned, was cast not into destruction, but into everlasting glory; and although he was examined in the midst of the beasts, he proved himself to be gentler and more mild than the beasts that had imprisoned him. For prayer—31—aided by the virtue of modesty and temperance, made even those who were savage by nature become tame. When these things became known to Cambyses (for it was not possible for the achievements of such great divine power to be obscured), he was struck with exceeding wonder at the miracle of what was reported, and he repented for having so easily been persuaded by the slanders of the Magi. Yet, he dared to become an eyewitness of that spectacle; and when he saw the man—32—praising Christ with his hands lifted on high, while the lions lay prostrate ^B and, as it were, were worshipping the footprints of the man, he immediately condemned the Magi who had persuaded him to the same penalty and imprisoned them in the lions’ den. And the beasts, which a little while before had fawned upon Daniel, set upon the Magi and devoured them all according to their own nature.

CHAPTER XVIII.

It occurs to me also to record some testimonies from foreigners—33—regarding the divinity of Christ. For indeed, the very mindset of those who are accustomed to blaspheme Him reveals this, and they know Him to be God and the Son of God, if indeed they are willing to believe their own words. The Erythraean Sibyl, therefore, claiming herself to have been born in the sixth ^D generation after the flood, was a priestess of Apollo—34—wearing a crown upon her head, just as...

that god whom she worshipped preserved the tripod around which the serpent was coiled, delivering oracles to those who questioned her. Dedicated to this cult by foolish parents, from it nothing honorable or upright is born, but rather a frenzy devoid of modesty. Such of this kind are the things recounted regarding Daphne. ^A This woman, then, having once forced her way into the inner sanctuaries of untimely superstition, and being truly filled with divine inspiration, began to prophesy in verses all the things about God that were to come to pass; making history known most openly through the initial letters of the verses (a style of writing called an acrostic) concerning the advent of Jesus Christ. The acrostic is of this kind: *Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior, Cross*. And her verses are as follows:

Dripping shall the earth be with sweat, when there is a sign of judgment; E from heaven then the King shall come through the ages, who is to be, S verily, so that He may judge the whole world now present. V And the unfaithful and the faithful shall see God S sublime in human flesh, and surrounded by a holy company, C Who, when the time is complete, shall judge all. H Horrid then shall the earth be, overgrown with sharp brambles. R Rejection of idols and all metallic wealth shall men make. I And with a single assault they shall break the gates of the underworld, S the squalid spirits, and shall enjoy pure light. T The judge shall then test the wicked and the good with fire. V The voice of each shall speak the hidden sin that he has done, S and the hidden caves of the human heart shall be laid open.

^B Whoever among the Christian writers brought forward the oracles of the Sibyls for the confirmation of the Christian faith, they found it necessary to say the same thing about the Sibyls as Constantine did: namely, that they, having been inspired by a certain divine spirit, foretold [the truth] about Christ. Thus Justin in his *Exhortation to the Greeks*;... Consonant with these, Augustine writes in book XVIII of *The City of God*, ch. 23; and Jerome in his book *Against Jovinian*. For the latter, indeed, writes that the gift of divination was granted by God to the Sibyls on account of the merit of their virginity. Augustine, for his part, does not fear to enroll them in the City of God. But Gregory of Nazianzus, in his poem to Nemesius, says that Hermes Trismegistus and the Sibyl, whatever they foretold about God, did not prophesy having been divinely inspired, but received these things from the sacred books of the Hebrews which they had perused in passing.

^C That is to say, Gregory of Nazianzus and those most holy Fathers of the Church truly believed those poems had been composed by the Sibyls, when, however, they were in fact concocted by idle men and published in the name of the Sibyls around the time of the Emperor Hadrian. Certainly, no one earlier than Justin made mention of them. And Celsus, whom we have shown above to have lived during the principate of Marcus Antonius, affirms that Christians falsely inserted many things into the Sibylline poems. Origen reports his words in book VII. I know, indeed, that Origen denies this. For thus he responds to Celsus: that he ought to have brought forward earlier copies of the Sibylline poems, in which those verses that he said were intruded by Christians might by no means be read. It would surely have been easy for Celsus to accomplish this and to convict the falsity of those verses by this argument. But there are also other arguments by which this can be proven. For if the Sibyl had foretold so clearly about Christ, why did Paul in his Epistles, and when he spoke before the Athenians, not make use of her testimony, especially when he did not disdain to cite Aratus and other gentile poets? Certainly, if the Sibyl wrote this acrostic about Christ, there is no cause why we should doubt to rank her among the prophets, and indeed in the first rank. For among the ancient Hebrew prophets, no one wrote as clearly and distinctly about Christ as these Sibylline poems brought forward by Constantine. And yet, neither Origen nor any of the holy Fathers ever conceded that the Sibyls should be held among the prophets; rather, they judged those who so believed to be heretics, and called them "Sibyllists," as Origen teaches in his book *Against Celsus*, where, responding to Celsus—who had objected that Christians were divided into various sects: that some were *psychics*, others *spirituals*; some worshipped the God of the Jews, others did not; others were Sibyllists, etc.—he says thus:

^D (Concerning the line) *He shall burn the earth, heaven, and sea*, it is to be supplemented as follows: although I would prefer to read in the neuter. But the ancient version in Augustine in book XVIII of *The City of God* shows that this verse was omitted, which reads thus: *Exuret terras ignis pontumque polumque Inquirens*. Furthermore, they had expunged that Greek verse for this reason, because the whole acrostic seemed to stand without it, and they did not notice that in the acrostic the name of Christ is written with a diphthong—how this fact came to be, I do not know. [alt-version omitted] The Latin acrostic, however, retained it through Augustine. Indeed, the ancient Greeks made the name of Christ an eight-syllable word, writing it with a diphthong, as Irenaeus teaches in book 1, cap. 10.

^A Then there shall be gnashing of teeth and bitter cries to all. The sun shall fail, and the choirs of stars. He shall roll up the heavens; the moon’s light shall perish. He shall raise the valleys, and destroy the heights of the mountains. There shall no longer be any wretched height for men to see; Mountains and plains shall be equal, and the whole sea Shall be unnavigable, for the earth shall be scorched by lightning. With their springs, the roaring rivers shall fail. A trumpet shall send forth from heaven a voice full of lamentation, Howling over the defilement and the miserable sufferings of the world. The earth, gaping open, shall then reveal Tartarean chaos. All kings shall stand before the judgment seat of God. A river of fire and brimstone shall flow from heaven. A sign shall be given then, manifest to all mortals, even The wood, the desired horn among the faithful. This shall be the life of the pious, and a stumbling block to the world, Illuminating the faithful with waters in twelve springs; The shepherd’s rod of iron shall hold sway. This same God, now written in the acrostics, our Saviour, The immortal King, who suffered for our sake.

And these things were, as is credible, inspired by God to be proclaimed by the Virgin. I for my part judge her blessed, whom the Saviour chose as a prophetess of His own providence towards us.

CHAPTER XIX

But the many ^C do not believe this, and although they acknowledge that the Erythraean Sibyl was a prophetess, they suspect that some one of our religion, not unskilled in the poetic muse, composed these verses and falsely attributed them under the name of the Sibyl, since they contain maxims useful for life, which restrain the unbridled license of pleasures and lead men towards a sober and orderly life. But the truth is manifest to all, since the diligence of our men has so accurately collected the sequence of the years that no one can now suspect the poem to have been composed after the coming and judgment of Christ, ^D and since the truth is evident.

^A For it is agreed that Cicero, having encountered the poem, translated it into the Roman tongue and inserted it into his own compositions; and that after Anthony had gained supreme power, he had him put to death. Again, after these events, Anthony was overcome by Augustus, who held the empire for fifty-six years. Tiberius succeeded him; during whose time the presence of the Savior shone forth upon the world, and the mystery of the most holy religion began to flourish, and a new succession of the people was established ^B — concerning which I believe the most excellent of the poets of Italy intended to speak, as if these verses had long ago been foretold by the Sibyl.

Thenceforth a new offspring of men appeared. And again in another place of the Bucolics: Sicilian Muses, let us sing of somewhat greater things. What could be clearer than this? For he adds: The last age of the Cumaan song has now come; meaning, of course, the Cumaan Sibyl. Nor was he content with these, but proceeded further, as if the necessity of the case itself demanded his testimony. What, then, does he say further? This holy verse of the ages now begins for us: The virgin returns, bringing the desired King. Who, then, is this virgin who returns? Is she not she who became full and pregnant by the Holy Spirit? And what prevents her who is pregnant by the divine Spirit from being a maiden and remaining a virgin forever? He will return again, and will relieve the world by his coming. For thus the poet adds: 594 Do thou, O chaste Lucina, grant thy favor to the child now being born, through whom the iron race shall first cease, and the golden race shall arise throughout the whole world. Under his leadership, if any traces of our wickedness remain, they shall be rendered void, and loose the earth from perpetual fear.

We understand that these words have been spoken both openly and obscurely through allegory; for to those who [scrutinize the power of the verses, they bring to light the divinity of Christ; but so that no one…] ^{C D}

of the dignitaries in the royal city might have cause to accuse the poet of writing against the ancestral laws, or of casting out the beliefs concerning the gods held by the forefathers of old, he cloaks the truth. For he knew, I believe, the blessed and eponymous mystery of the Savior, and that he might turn aside the savagery of their cruelty, he led the minds of his hearers towards their own custom, and says that it was necessary for altars to be erected and temples to be built, and for sacrifices to be performed to the one newly born; and he added the rest following what they thought. For he says:

CHAPTER XX

^A who first deceived the first-created, turning their minds away from their innate temperance to the enjoyment of carnal pleasures, so that they might not know the destruction hanging over them, was first destroyed. For truly, before the coming down of the Savior, because of the ignorance of the immortality of the righteous, which left the souls of men anchored to no hopeful expectation, he brought ruin; but when He suffered, and for a season that body which He had assumed was separated from the communion of the Holy Spirit, the power of the resurrection was revealed to men, ^B and whatever filth of human sins remained was wholly washed away by the sacred laver. Then at last He exhorts His subjects to be of good courage, and from His own venerable and glorious resurrection, He bids them hope for the like. Therefore, the nature of those venomous things was justly brought to an end, and death was brought to an end, and the resurrection was sealed; and the race of the Assyrians—which was the cause of faith in God—perished; and he predicts that the faultless multitude of those who worship shall everywhere spring forth; for even as from one root a multitude of branches, flourishing with fragrant blossoms and watered by the harmony of the rain, sends forth its growth. And those things which follow, O most wise poet Maro, are also set forth learnedly and in order: ^C *But at the same time you shall learn the praises of heroes, and the deeds of the greatest parent, and what his virtue may be.* By the praises of heroes he signifies the works of righteous men; by the virtues of the parent, [he signifies] the constitution of the world.

^D This passage was interpolated by Christophorsonus, who struck out the two preceding words. Savile likewise, in his book, expunged these words just as Christophorsonus did. But both are far from the truth. For Constantine, being unskilled in the art of grammar, had constructed the verse of Virgil thus: *Occidet Assyrium, vulgo nascetur amomum.* And this is proven both by this passage and by the version of the Greek interpreter, who translated that verse of Virgil thus—for so it is read in the best codex, that of Fuk, and indeed correctly according to the mind of Constantine. Furthermore, regarding this whole poem of Virgil, Christians have constantly affirmed that it was translated from the Sibylline verses and ought to be understood of the birth of Christ; nor, indeed, can it be said of any other than Christ: *With him as leader, if any traces of our crime remain, they shall be rendered void, freeing the earth from perpetual fear.*

Thus, besides Constantine, Augustine in his letter to Volusianus, and in letter 155—in the letter indeed to Volusianus—interprets "Assyrian amomum" as the dogma of Pherecydes the Assyrian, who was the first to declare that the soul is immortal. But this interpretation of Augustine cannot be maintained, since Pherecydes was not an Assyrian, but a Syrian, that is, from the island of Syros. Wherefore, one must pass over the interpretation of Constantine, who says that by the name of amomum the faithful or Christians are designated, in that they are [faultless], that is, without reproach. And that he is called "Assyrian" because the beginning of faith took its rise from the Assyrians. For Abraham, an Assyrian, was the first to believe in God; whence he is also named the father of those who believe. [index: entries preserved]

and the structure of the world, and the construction that is to abide forever. Perhaps he also understands the laws which the God-beloved Church uses, ordering a life of justice and temperance. Admirable, too, is the advancement to higher things of the life of men who stand in a certain intermediate grade between good and evil, when such a life does not allow of a sudden change. ^A

Molli paulatim flavescet campus arista; that is, the fruit of the divine law will be brought forth for the benefit of mankind. Incultisque rubens pendebit sentibus uva. Which things were not at all seen in the unjust and depraved life of men.

Sclerôn dē peukēs lagōnōn, melitos rhee nama. ^B He describes the stupidity and the hardness of the mind of the men of that time. And perhaps he also hints that those who will have endured labors for the sake of God will be about to perceive a sweet fruit of their own endurance.

Pauca tamen suberant prisca vestigia fraudis: Quae tentare Thetin ratibus, quae cingere muris Oppida, quae jubeant telluri infundere sulcos. Alter erit tum Tiphys, et altera quae vehat Argo Delectos heroas: erunt etiam altera bella: Atque iterum ad Trojam magnus mittetur Achilles.

Well said, O most wise poet. For you managed poetic license ^C as far as was fitting; for it was not your purpose to deliver oracles, as you were not a prophet, and there stood in your way, I believe, a present danger which threatened the heads of those who would wish to refute the ceremonies instituted by their ancestors. Thus, cautiously and as safely as possible, setting forth the truth for those able to understand, and attributing it to towers and wars—which are truly still examined even now in the life of men—he characterizes the Savior rushing toward the Trojan war; and by Troy, he means the whole world. For Christ waged war contrary to the opposing ^D wicked power of demons, sent partly by the will of His own providence, and partly by the commandment of the supreme Father. But what does the same poet say after this?

Hinc ubi jam firmata virum te fecerit aetas. That is, after you have entered upon manhood, and have uprooted all the evils that infest the life of men, and the whole earth—

^A peace shall adorn.

"Nor shall the sailor roam the sea," By the earth's yielding fruits at once and measure rich, She herself unsown and unplowed; nor, I think, will the vine Need the point of the sharp pruning-hook. Nor would mortal need the fleece of wool; but the ram itself Will change its fleece for Tyrian-dyed streams, ^B Exchanging its soiled hair for bright purple. But come, receive the honored scepter of kingly power From the right hand of your thundering Father. Behold the well-founded foundations of the teeming world, The joy of earth and heaven and sea, And of the infinite age; may a fond heart Grant me, though aged, and while I live, a soft strength, To sing your virtue as long as power is granted; Neither the divine Thracian bard would strike me dumb, Nor Linus, nor Pan himself, whom Arcadia’s earth brought forth; Nor will Pan himself contend for the sake of victory. ^C Behold, he says, the joy of the teeming world and of all the elements.

CHAPTER XXI.

Perhaps some one of those who are less endowed with prudence might suppose that these things are said concerning the birth of a man. But when a child is born as a man, what meaning, pray, can it have, that the earth should need neither plow nor sowing, and that the vine should not desire the point of the knife, nor the other care of cultivation? How can it be understood as spoken of human birth? For nature is a minister of the divine will, not a servant ^D of human commands. Add to this that the joy of all the elements designates the advent of God, not the conception of any man. Moreover, that the poet wishes his own life to be prolonged is clearly an argument that he is invoking God. For we are accustomed to ask for life and safety from God, not from man. And the Erythraean Sibyl indeed addresses God thus: Why, she says, O Lord, do you impose upon me the necessity of prophesying, and do not rather take me up on high from the earth and preserve me until the day of your most blessed advent? And Virgil, after the verses which we have cited above, adds this:

Begin, small boy, to recognize your mother with a smile.

^A And mortal parents did not smile on you at all, nor did you touch a couch, nor did you know a festive feast. For how could parents have smiled on him? For his father is God, who is a quality-less power; and though He is without form, He exists within the circumscription of others, yet He is not possessed of a human body. And who does not know that the divine Spirit is without a couch? For what desire, or what craving, could exist in the affection of the Supreme Good, by whose desire all other things are led? Again, what can wisdom have in common with pleasure? But let it be permitted to say these things to those who introduce some human generation for Christ, and who do not take pains to keep their own soul free from every impious deed and word. I call upon you, O Piety, as an ally to these things being said; you who are a certain pure law, and the most desirable of all good things, teacher of a most holy hope, and an uncorrupted promise of immortality; I venerate you, O Piety and Philanthropy; and we who have sought out your aids owe you eternal gratitude. But the vast ^B crowd, being bereft of your aid, because of the innate hatred with which it burns against you, turns away from God Himself; nor does it know that the cause of its own life, and that of the rest of the impious, depends upon the duty of worshipping the Divine Being. For the whole world, and all that is in the world, is His possession.

[The following is Migne’s critical apparatus regarding the text above, presented as translated scholarly notes:]

It was very easy to restore the true reading of this passage. Thus, therefore, I emend it: Begin, small boy, to recognize your mother with a smile. Which amendment is indeed most certain.

(77) *And mortal parents did not smile on you at all.* Constantinus did not receive these words correctly, nor did the Greek translator. For he understood it as if Virgil had said that the parents did not smile on the boy; and that neither did a god offer him a table, nor a goddess a couch. Clearly Constantinus thought that the verse of Virgil, "Begin, small boy, to recognize your mother with a smile," etc., should be read in one flow without any punctuation: although, however, a period should be placed after the word "boy," as is known even to boys. Since Christophorsonus had not noticed this, he interpolated the following words of Constantinus, adding a negation contrary to the mind of the author, and contrary to the authority of all exemplars. Furthermore, in the Fuk. codex it is read more correctly, if I am not mistaken. Certainly in the drafts it is written *tempus esse* [that it is time], etc.

(78) Vulg. *For his father is God.* It is clear to anyone that it should be written, "For his father is God," etc. In the Fuketiano codex it is written, "For the God of them being," [instead of] "is a quality-less power."

(79) *The divine Spirit.* Constantinus seems to understand the Divinity, or the divine nature, as we have already noted in the previous chapter. For he explains those words translated from Virgil which are said concerning Christ, not concerning the Holy Spirit. Therefore, in this place, I preferred to interpret "spirit" as of God, rather than as the Holy Spirit, as did Portesius and Christophorsonus.

(80) *But let it be permitted to say these things.* From these words it is apparent that the error which I noted above was not admitted by Constantinus himself, but by the Greek interpreter, who misinterpreted the final verses of Virgil. For Constantinus himself had indeed received those verses of Virgil correctly, as is clear from this. For when he had cited the words of Virgil, which follow thus: *Begin, small boy, to recognize your mother with a smile; And mortal parents did not smile on you at all, nor did a god think you worthy of a table, nor a goddess of a couch,* he immediately subjoins, as if reproaching the poet: How, he says, could parents have smiled on him, when his father is God, expers of body and form? Now, in what way could couch and table be appropriate to God, who it is agreed is utterly without a resting-place, nor is affected by the pleasure of foods? He then adds these words, from which it is clearly perceived what I have said, that Constantinus understood the verses of Virgil most excellently: "But to those who set forth some human generation, let us concede that they speak in this way." By which words he excuses Virgil, for having been ignorant of the divine generation of Christ. But in the Greek interpretation, in which the verses of Virgil are poorly explained, this period does not cohere with the preceding ones.

(81) Vulg. *nor his soul.* I embrace the conjecture of learned men, which I also found annotated in Savilius's book: *nor the soul*, etc.

(82) Vulg. *being a certain pure law, and the most desirable of all good things, teacher of...* The laws of grammar command it to be written, as it is in the Fuk. codex. Furthermore, this definition of the Christian religion is most elegant: but it is foully corrupted by base punctuation [and script]. I read, therefore, "Nothing in this reading is more certain, nothing more elegant." Constantinus calls religion the teacher of a most holy hope, for it teaches us to hope for heavenly things, and not to place all our hope in earthly and fleeting goods, but in God. In the Fuk. codex it is read: ...The same punctuation is in the drafts.

(83) *we who have sought [your aids].* It is elegantly said, that is, healed by your remedies.

(84) *His possession.* I would prefer to write "creation."

CHAPTER XXII.

I attribute my good fortune and all that is mine to piety; the outcome of all things according to my prayers ^B bears witness to this, as do my successes, victories over enemies, and trophies. The great city also knows this and celebrates it with praise, and the people of my most cherished city desire the same, even if, deceived by false hopes, they had chosen a leader unworthy of its majesty—one who was immediately caught, as was fitting and deserved for the crimes he had dared, which it is not right to recount, especially for me who am speaking to you, and who take every care and diligence that I might address you with pure and praiseworthy discourses. I shall say something, however, which will seem neither unseemly nor inappropriate. There was, in truth, an implacable war, overflowing with madness and cruelty, O piety, waged by the tyrants ^C against you and against all your most holy Churches. Nor were there wanting some in Rome who rejoiced in such great evils and public calamity. A plain had also been prepared for the battle. But you, having come forth, offered yourself, leaning upon faith in God. The cruelty of the impious, like an unceasing fire, having consumed everything in its path, attached to you a wonderful and forever famous glory; for because of these things, those who beheld them were struck with awe and reverence. For it was possible to see the executioners who were distorting the bodies of the pious, ^D weary and distressed at their suffering, and even the bonds were loosened, the torments themselves slackened, and the tortures applied were rendered ineffective, and not even for a moment did they yield their

^A invincibility and the liberty of the pious, who were not moved even in the slightest from their position. Having attempted such things, therefore, what did you gain, you most impious of all men? What, in heaven’s name, was the cause of your madness? You will say, perhaps, that these things were done by you in honor of the gods. But of which gods? Or what divine concept worthy of their nature have you conceived in your mind? Did you imagine these gods to be irascible, just like yourself? But if they were such, it would have been more appropriate to marvel at their intent than to obey the impudent commands by which they ordered just men to be unjustly slaughtered. But you will say, perhaps, that you did these things because of the institutions of your ancestors and the opinion of men. I forgive you. For those institutions are similar to those practiced by you, and flow from one and the same source of ignorance. You imagined, perhaps, that there was some superior power in the man-shaped objects crafted by stonecutters and artisans; and therefore you surrounded them with all care, so that they might never be defiled, for the greatest and most exceptional gods required the service of human care ^B.

CHAPTER XXIII.

Concerning the institutions of the Christians; and that the Divine loves those who follow virtue; and that one must await judgment and retribution.

Compare, if you will, our religion with your rites. Is there not among us genuine harmony and perpetual humanity? Is there not among us a rebuke of wrongdoing which is such as to bring about correction, not destruction; a healing which is for salvation, and not for cruelty? Is there not among us a sincere faith, first of all toward God, and then toward the natural society of mankind? Is there not among us mercy toward those whom the calamity of fortune has overwhelmed? Is there not a simple life, not masking hidden wickedness with any paint of dissimulation; and the knowledge of the true and only God who governs all things? This is truly piety; this is the integral and incorrupt religion. This is the most wise way of living; those who have embraced it, as if by a royal road, head toward eternal life. For no one who has entered upon this way of life, and who has a soul purified from every stain of the body, dies entirely; but he rather fulfills the service commanded to him from God than dies. For he who has confessed God does not become a mere accessory to insolence ^C or anger, but

^A bravely enduring necessity, he possesses the proof of his patience, as a kind of viaticum for gaining the favor of God. For it is not doubtful ^B that the Divine Being embraces the virtue of men; for it would be most absurd if those who have attained power and those of lower station, if they happen to be served or benefited, show gratitude to them and return the favor, yet He who is above all, the Originator of all things, and Goodness itself, should neglect to return the reward. ^C He accompanies our whole life, and is present with us whenever we do anything good; and while He immediately accepts [the sign] of courage and good will, He defers our completion. For the entire account of one's life is then reckoned, and when these things are in good order, the reward of eternal life follows; but the appropriate punishment pursues the wicked.

CHAPTER XXIV.

Concerning the calamitous end of the life of Decius, Valerian, and Aurelian, because of their persecution of the Churches.

I ask you now, Decius, you who once insulted the labors of the just; who persecuted the Church with hatred; who inflicted punishment upon those who lived with the highest holiness. What are you doing now after this life? With how many and how difficult sufferings are you weighed down? ^D That span of time which intervened between your life and your death declared your infelicity enough and more than enough, when you, having fallen in the Scythian fields together with your whole army, exposed the Roman empire, which had been so heralded everywhere, to the contempt and mockery of the Goths. You, however, Valerian, having shown your murderousness towards the subjects of God, made manifest the holy judgment [of God] through your capture...

^A by the enemy, and led about in chains with your purple cloak and the rest of your imperial adornment; and finally, having been ordered by Sapor, king of the Persians, to be flayed and preserved, you provided an eternal trophy of your own misfortune. And you, too, Aurelian, flame of all injustices, how ^B clearly, as you ran madly through Thrace, you were cut down in the middle of the highway, filling the ruts of the road with impious blood?

CHAPTER XXV.

Concerning Diocletian, who shamefully abdicated the empire, and who was struck by lightning on account of the persecution of the Churches.

Diocletian, in truth, after the blood-stained cruelty of the persecution, having passed sentence upon himself on account of the infirmity of his madness, ^C having entrusted himself to the confinement of a single, contemptible dwelling— ^D

^A of what benefit, then, was this to him, to have provoked a war against our God? It was, I believe, that in terror of the bolt of the thunderbolt, he might drag out the remainder of his life. Nicomedia speaks; nor do those continue silent who have seen the event with their own eyes—of whose number I myself happen to be. The palace was being ravaged, as was his own private chamber, by the thunderbolt and by a certain heavenly fire that was consuming it. And the outcome of these events had previously been foretold by men of wisdom. For they could not keep silence, nor did they hide their groaning at such an indignity of affairs, but openly and publicly, with the utmost freedom, they bandied these words about among themselves: "What is this madness? How great is the arrogance of this power, that men should dare to wage war against God, and should wish to offer outrage to the most holy and most just religion, and should not hesitate to machinate the slaughter and ruin of so great a multitude, and indeed of the most equitable of men, without any fault of theirs? Oh, teacher of moderation to all subjects! Oh, glorious instructor of the care and solicitude which soldiers maintain for their fellow-citizens!" They were piercing the breasts of their own kin, they who had never seen the backs of enemies in battle. And finally, divine Providence did indeed pursue the retribution for these unholy deeds, though not without public loss; for such great slaughters ^B took place—slaughters which, had they been committed against barbarians, would have been sufficient to secure eternal peace. For the entire army of the aforementioned emperor, having been subjected to the authority of a worthless man, and having for the sake of violence gazed upon the Roman ^C empire... [alt-version omitted] ^D

^A [having] snatched it away, was consumed by many and diverse wars, while the providence of God was liberating the great city. And indeed, the cries of the oppressed to God, and of those longing for their innate liberty; and the praises of thanksgiving to God after the deliverance from evils, when liberty was restored to them and the contracts ^B made with justice, how do they not in every way characterize the providence of God and His affection towards men?

Chapter XXVI. That God was the cause of the emperor's piety, and that we ought to ask for prosperous events from God and attribute them to Him: but attribute deeds otherwise done to our own negligence.

When they praise my service, which had its beginning from the inspiration of God, do they not clearly affirm that God was the cause of my brave deeds? Most certainly. For it is proper to God to perform the best things, but to men, to obey God. There is, I think, a most beautiful and excellent service: if one, before ^C undertaking a task, prepares the security of the things to be done. And all men know that this most holy service of hands is owed to God with a pure and sincere faith. ^D