keeping

Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

In the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charge of the sanctuary.

But those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, even before the tabernacle of the congregation eastward, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:

They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.

Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub, were porters keeping the ward at the thresholds of the gates.

Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.

That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand.

And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.

Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

And love is the keeping of her laws; and the giving heed unto her laws is the assurance of incorruption;

In every good work trust thy own soul; for this is the keeping of the commandments.

A little or nothing is his rest, and afterward he is in his sleep, as in a day of keeping watch, troubled in the vision of his heart, as if he were escaped out of a battle.

Sure keeping is good, where an evil wife is; and shut up, where many hands are.

And the things concerning Heliodorus, and the keeping of the treasury, fell out on this sort.

Who coming to Jerusalem, and pretending peace, did forbear till the holy day of the sabbath, when taking the Jews keeping holy day, he commanded his men to arm themselves.

As long, therefore, as we are upon earth, let us practise repentance, for we are as clay in the hand of the artificer. For as the potter, if he make a vessel, and it be distorted or broken in his hands, fashions it over again; but if he have before this cast it into the furnace of fire, can no longer find any help for it: so let us also, while we are in this world, repent with our whole heart of the evil deeds we have done in the flesh, that we may be saved by the Lord, while we have yet an opportunity of repentance. For after we have gone out of the world, no further power of confessing or repenting will there belong to us. Wherefore, brethren, by doing the will of the Father, and keeping the flesh holy, and observing the commandments of the Lord, we shall obtain eternal life. For the Lord saith in the Gospel, “If ye have not kept that which was small, who will commit to you the great? For I say unto you, that he that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much.” This, then, is what He means: “Keep the flesh holy and the seal undefiled, that ye may receive eternal life.”

Wherefore if they who were brought up in these ancient laws came nevertheless to the newness of hope: no longer observing sabbaths, but keeping the Lord's day in which also our life is sprung up by him, and through his death, whom yet some deny:

“Wherefore, girding up your loins,” “serve the Lord in fear” and truth, as those who have forsaken the vain, empty talk and error of the multitude, and “believed in Him who raised up our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, and gave Him glory,” and a throne at His right hand. To Him all things in heaven and on earth are subject. Him every spirit serves. He comes as the Judge of the living and the dead. His blood will God require of those who do not believe in Him. But He who raised Him up from the dead will raise up us also, if we do His will, and walk in His commandments, and love what He loved, keeping ourselves from all unrighteousness, covetousness, love of money, evil-speaking, false-witness; “not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing,” or blow for blow, or cursing for cursing, but being mindful of what the Lord said in His teaching: “Judge not, that ye be not judged; forgive, and it shall be forgiven unto you; be merciful, that ye may obtain mercy; with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again;” and once more, “Blessed are the poor, and those that are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of God.”

Knowing, then, that “God is not mocked,” we ought to walk worthy of His commandment and glory. In like manner should the deacons be blameless before the face of His righteousness, as being the servants of God and Christ, and not of men. They must not be slanderers, double-tongued, or lovers of money, but temperate in all things, compassionate, industrious, walking according to the truth of the Lord, who was the servant of all. If we please Him in this present world, we shall receive also the future world, according as He has promised to us that He will raise us again from the dead, and that if we live worthily of Him, “we shall also reign together with Him,” provided only we believe. In like manner, let the young men also be blameless in all things, being especially careful to preserve purity, and keeping themselves in, as with a bridle, from every kind of evil. For it is well that they should be cut off from the lusts that are in the world, since “every lust warreth against the spirit;” and “neither fornicators, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, shall inherit the kingdom of God,” nor those who do things inconsistent and unbecoming. Wherefore, it is needful to abstain from all these things, being subject to the presbyters and deacons, as unto God and Christ. The virgins also must walk in a blameless and pure conscience.

And let the presbyters be compassionate and merciful to all, bringing back those that wander, visiting all the sick, and not neglecting the widow, the orphan, or the poor, but always “providing for that which is becoming in the sight of God and men;” abstaining from all wrath, respect of persons, and unjust judgment; keeping far off from all covetousness, not quickly crediting [an evil report] against any one, not severe in judgment, as knowing that we are all under a debt of sin. If then we entreat the Lord to forgive us, we ought also ourselves to forgive; for we are before the eyes of our Lord and God, and “we must all appear at the judgment-seat of Christ, and must every one give an account of himself.” Let us then serve Him in fear, and with all reverence, even as He Himself has commanded us, and as the apostles who preached the gospel unto us, and the prophets who proclaimed beforehand the coming of the Lord [have alike taught us]. Let us be zealous in the pursuit of that which is good, keeping ourselves from causes of offence, from false brethren, and from those who in hypocrisy bear the name of the Lord, and draw away vain men into error.

And let the presbyters be compassionate and merciful to all, bringing back those that wander, visiting all the sick, and not neglecting the widow, the orphan, or the poor, but always “providing for that which is becoming in the sight of God and men;” abstaining from all wrath, respect of persons, and unjust judgment; keeping far off from all covetousness, not quickly crediting [an evil report] against any one, not severe in judgment, as knowing that we are all under a debt of sin. If then we entreat the Lord to forgive us, we ought also ourselves to forgive; for we are before the eyes of our Lord and God, and “we must all appear at the judgment-seat of Christ, and must every one give an account of himself.” Let us then serve Him in fear, and with all reverence, even as He Himself has commanded us, and as the apostles who preached the gospel unto us, and the prophets who proclaimed beforehand the coming of the Lord [have alike taught us]. Let us be zealous in the pursuit of that which is good, keeping ourselves from causes of offence, from false brethren, and from those who in hypocrisy bear the name of the Lord, and draw away vain men into error.

I said to him, “Sir, I do not see the meaning of these similitudes, nor am I able to comprehend them, unless you explain them to me.” “I will explain them all to you,” he said, “and whatever I shall mention in the course of our conversations I will show you. [Keep the commandments of the Lord, and you will be approved, and inscribed amongst the number of those who observe His commands.] And if you do any good beyond what is commanded by God, you will gain for yourself more abundant glory, and will be more honoured by God than you would otherwise be. If, therefore, in keeping the commandments of God, you do, in addition, these services, you will have joy if you observe them according to my command.” I said to him, “Sir, whatsoever you enjoin upon me I will observe, for I know that you are with me.” “I will be with you,” he replied, “because you have such a desire for doing good; and I will be with all those,” he added, “who have such a desire. This fasting,” he continued, “is very good, provided the commandments of the Lord be observed. Thus, then, shall you observe the fasting which you intend to keep. First of all, be on your guard against every evil word, and every evil desire, and purify your heart from all the vanities of this world. If you guard against these things, your fasting will be perfect. And you will do also as follows. Having fulfilled what is written, in the day on which you fast you will taste nothing but bread and water; and having reckoned up the price of the dishes of that day which you intended to have eaten, you will give it to a widow, or an orphan, or to some person in want, and thus you will exhibit humility of mind, so that he who has received benefit from your humility may fill his own soul, and pray for you to the Lord. If you observe fasting, as I have commanded you, your sacrifice will be acceptable to God, and this fasting will be written down; and the service thus performed is noble, and sacred, and acceptable to the Lord. These things, therefore, shall you thus observe with your children, and all your house, and in observing them you will be blessed; and as many as hear these words and observe them shall be blessed; and whatsoever they ask of the Lord they shall receive.”

And as they stood together around the gate, those who seemed to be strong carried them, and they stooped down under the corners of the stone; and the others stooped down under the sides of the stones. And in this way they carried all the stones. And they carried them through the gate as they were commanded, and gave them to the men for the tower; and they took the stones and proceeded with the building. Now the tower was built upon the great rock, and above the gate. Those ten stones were prepared as the foundation for the building of the tower. And the rock and gate were the support of the whole of the tower. And after the ten stones other twenty [five] came up out of the pit, and these were fitted into the building of the tower, being carried by the virgins as before. And after these ascended thirty-five. And these in like manner were fitted into the tower. And after these other forty stones came up; and all these were cast into the building of the tower, [and there were four rows in the foundation of the tower,] and they ceased ascending from the pit. And the builders also ceased for a little. And again the six men commanded the multitude of the crowd to bear stones from the mountains for the building of the tower. They were accordingly brought from all the mountains of various colours, and being hewn by the men were given to the virgins; and the virgins carried them through the gate, and gave them for the building of the tower. And when the stones of various colours were placed in the building, they all became white alike, and lost their different colours. And certain stones were given by the men for the building, and these did not become shining; but as they were placed, such also were they found to remain: for they were not given by the virgins, nor carried through the gate. These stones, therefore, were not in keeping with the others in the building of the tower. And the six men, seeing these unsuitable stones in the building, commanded them to be taken away, and to be carried away down to their own place whence they had been taken; [and being removed one by one, they were laid aside; and] they say to the men who brought the stones, “Do not ye bring any stones at all for the building, but lay them down beside the tower, that the virgins may carry them through the gate, and may give them for the building. For unless,” they said, “they be carried through the gate by the hands of the virgins, they cannot change their colours: do not toil, therefore,” they said, “to no purpose.”

And, behold, after a little I see an array of many men coming, and in the midst of them one man of so remarkable a size as to overtop the tower. And the six men who had worked upon the building were with him, and many other honourable men were around him. And the virgins who kept the tower ran forward and kissed him, and began to walk near him around the tower. And that man examined the building carefully, feeling every stone separately; and holding a rod in his hand, he struck every stone in the building three times. And when he struck them, some of them became black as soot, and some appeared as if covered with scabs, and some cracked, and some mutilated, and some neither white nor black, and some rough and not in keeping with the other stones, and some having [very many] stains: such were the varieties of decayed stones that were found in the building. He ordered all these to be taken out of the tower, and to be laid down beside it, and other stones to be brought and put in their stead. [And the builders asked him from what mountain he wished them to be brought and put in their place.] And he did not command them to be brought from the mountains, [but he bade them be brought from a certain plain which was near at hand.] And the plain was dug up, and shining rectangular stones were found, and some also of a round shape; and all the stones which were in that plain were brought, and carried through the gate by the virgins. And the rectangular stones were hewn, and put in place of those that were taken away; but the rounded stones were not put into the building, because they were hard to hew, and appeared to yield slowly to the chisel; they were deposited, however, beside the tower, as if intended to be hewn and used in the building, for they were exceedingly brilliant.

The glorious man, the lord of the whole tower, having accordingly finished these alterations, called to him the Shepherd, and delivered to him all the stones that were lying beside the tower, that had been rejected from the building, and said to him, “Carefully clean all these stones, and put aside such for the building of the tower as may harmonize with the others; and those that do not, throw far away from the tower.” [Having given these orders to the Shepherd, he departed from the tower], with all those with whom he had come. Now the virgins were standing around the tower, keeping it. I said again to the Shepherd, “Can these stones return to the building of the tower, after being rejected?” He answered me, and said, “Do you see these stones?” “I see them, sir,” I replied. “The greater part of these stones,” he said, “I will hew, and put into the building, and they will harmonize with the others.” “How, sir,” I said, “can they, after being cut all round about, fill up the same space?” He answered, “Those that shall be found small will be thrown into the middle of the building, and those that are larger will be placed on the outside, and they will hold them together.” Having spoken these words, he said to me, “Let us go, and after two days let us come and clean these stones, and cast them into the building; for all things around the tower must be cleaned, lest the Master come suddenly, and find the places about the tower dirty, and be displeased, and these stones be not returned for the building of the tower, and I also shall seem to be neglectful towards the Master.” And after two days we came to the tower, and he said to me, “Let us examine all the stones, and ascertain those which may return to the building.” I said to him, “Sir, let us examine them!”

The virgins said to me, “The Shepherd does not come here to-day.” “What, then,” said I, “am I to do?” They replied, “Wait for him until he comes; and if he comes he will converse with you, and if he does not come you will remain here with us until he does come.” I said to them, “I will wait for him until it is late; and if he does not arrive, I will go away into the house, and come back early in the morning.” And they answered and said to me, “You were entrusted to us; you cannot go away from us.” “Where, then,” I said, “am I to remain?” “You will sleep with us,” they replied, “as a brother, and not as a husband: for you are our brother, and for the time to come we intend to abide with you, for we love you exceedingly!” But I was ashamed to remain with them. And she who seemed to be the first among them began to kiss me. [And the others seeing her kissing me, began also to kiss me], and to lead me round the tower, and to play with me. And I, too, became like a young man, and began to play with them: for some of them formed a chorus, and others danced, and others sang; and I, keeping silence, walked with them around the tower, and was merry with them. And when it grew late I wished to go into the house; and they would not let me, but detained me. So I remained with them during the night, and slept beside the tower. Now the virgins spread their linen tunics on the ground, and made me lie down in the midst of them; and they did nothing at all but pray; and I without ceasing prayed with them, and not less than they. And the virgins rejoiced because I thus prayed. And I remained there with the virgins until the next day at the second hour. Then the Shepherd returned, and said to the virgins, “Did you offer him any insult?” “Ask him,” they said. I said to him, “Sir, I was delighted that I remained with them.” “On what,” he asked, “did you sup?” “I supped, sir,” I replied, “on the words of the Lord the whole night.” “Did they receive you well?” he inquired. “Yes, sir,” I answered. “Now,” he said, “what do you wish to hear first?” “I wish to hear in the order,” I said, “in which you showed me from the beginning. I beg of you, sir, that as I shall ask you, so also you will give me the explanation.” “As you wish,” he replied, “so also will I explain to you, and will conceal nothing at all from you.”

And in the first week of the first jubilee, Adam and his wife were in the garden of Eden for seven years tilling and keeping it, and we gave him work and we instructed him to do everything that is suitable for tillage.

When therefore those soldiers saw it, they awakened the centurion and the elders; for they too were hard by keeping guard. And as they declared what things they had seen, again they see three men come forth from the tomb, and two of them supporting one, and a cross following them: and of the two the head reached unto the heaven, but the head of him who was lead by them overpassed the heavens. And they heard a voice from the heavens, saying, Thou hast preached to them that sleep. And a response was heard from the cross, Yea.

But Elizabeth when she heard that they sought for John, took him and went up into the hill-country and looked about her where she should hide him: and there was no hiding-place. And Elizabeth groaned and said with a loud voice: O mountain of God, receive thou a mother with a child. For Elizabeth was not able to go up. And immediately the mountain clave asunder and took her in. And there was a light shining alway for them: for an angel of the Lord was with them, keeping watch over them.

IN the mean time Paul, together with Onesiphorus, his wife and children, was keeping a fast in a certain cave, which was in the road from Iconium to Daphne.

The governor then inquired, Who would entertain her; upon which a certain very rich widow, named Trifina, whose daughter was lately dead, desired that she might have the keeping of her; and she began to treat her in her house as her own daughter.

Then said Annas and Caiaphas: Ye have well said those things which are written in the law of Moses, that no man saw the death of Enoch, and no man hath named the death of Moses. But Jesus spake before Pilate, and we know that we saw him receive buffets and spittings upon his face, and that the soldiers put on him a crown of thorns and that he was scourged and received condemnation from Pilate, and that he was crucified at the place of a skull and two thieves with him, and that they gave him vinegar to drink with gall, and that Longinus the soldier pierced his side with a spear, and that Joseph our honourable father begged his body, and that, as he saith, he rose again, and that ( lit. as) the three teachers say: We saw him taken up into heaven, and that Rabbi Levi spake and testified to the things which were spoken by Rabbi Symeon, and that he said: Behold this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel and for a sign spoken against. And all the teachers said unto all the people of the Lord: If this hath come to pass from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes, ye shall surely know, O house of Jacob, that it is written: Cursed is every one that hangeth upon a tree. And another scripture teacheth: The gods which made not the heaven and the earth shall perish. And the priests and the Levites said one to another: If his memorial endure until the Sommos which is called Jobel (i. e. the Jubilee), know ye that he will prevail for ever and raise up for himself a new people. Then the rulers of the synagogue and the priests and the Levites admonished all Israel, saying: Cursed is that man who shall worship that which man’s hand hath made, and cursed is the man who shall worship creatures beside the Creator. And all the people said: Amen, Amen. And all the people sang an hymn unto the Lord and said: Blessed be the Lord who hath given rest unto the people of Israel according to all that he spake. There hath not one word fallen to the ground of all his good saying which he spake unto his servant Moses. The Lord our God be with us as he was with our fathers: let him not forsake us. And let him not destroy us from turning our heart unto him, from walking in all his ways and keeping his statutes and his judgements which he commanded our fathers. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth in that day. And there shall be one Lord and his name one, even the Lord our King: he shall save us. There is none like unto thee, O Lord. Great art thou, O Lord, and great is thy name. Heal us, O Lord, by thy power, and we shall be healed: save us, Lord, and we shall be saved: for we are thy portion and thine inheritance. And the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake, for the Lord hath begun to make us to be his people. And when they had all sung this hymn they departed every man to his house, glorifying God. [For his is the glory, world without end. Amen.] Blessed be the Lord God who hath given rest unto all the people of Israel according as he hath said. And let the Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. And they went every man to his house praising God.

Then Hell, receiving Satan the prince, with sore reproach said unto him: O prince of perdition and chief of destruction, Beelzebub, the scorn of the angels and spitting of the righteous, why wouldest thou do this? Thou wouldest crucify the King of glory, and at his decease didst promise us great spoils of his death: like a fool thou knewest not what thou didst. For behold, now, this Jesus putteth to flight by the brightness of his majesty all the darkness of death, and hath broken the strong depths of the prisons, and let out the prisoners, and loosed them that were bound. And all that were sighing in our torments do rejoice against us, and at their prayers our dominions are vanquished and our realms conquered, and now no nation of men feareth us any more. And beside this, the dead which were never wont to be proud triumph over us, and the captives which never could be joyful do threaten us. O prince Satan, father of all the wicked and ungodly and renegades, wherefore wouldest thou do this? They that from the beginning until now have despaired of life and salvation—now is none of their wonted roarings heard, neither doth any groan from them sound in our ears, nor is there any sign of tears upon the face of any of them. O prince Satan, holder of the keys of hell, those thy riches which thou hadst gained by the tree of transgression and the losing of paradise, thou hast lost by the tree of the cross, and all thy gladness hath perished. When thou didst hang up Christ Jesus the King of glory thou wroughtest against thyself and against me. Henceforth thou shalt know what eternal torments and infinite pains thou art to suffer in my keeping for ever. O prince Satan, author of death and head of all pride, thou oughtest first to have sought out matter of evil in this Jesus: Wherefore didst thou adventure without cause to crucify him unjustly against whom thou foundest no blame, and to bring into our realm the innocent and righteous one, and to lose the guilty and the ungodly and unrighteous of the whole world? And when Hell had spoken thus unto Satan the prince, then said the King of glory unto Hell: Satan the prince shall be in thy power unto all ages in the stead of Adam and his children, even those that are my righteous ones.

And he took me into the midst of the city, by the twelve walls. Now there was in that place an higher wall; and I asked and said: Is there in the city of Christ a wall more excellent in honour than this place? And the angel answered and said unto me: The second is better than the first, and likewise the third than the second; for one excelleth the other even unto the twelfth wall. And I said: Wherefore, Lord, doth one excel another in glory? show me. And the angel answered and said unto me: All they that have in them even a little slandering or envy or pride, somewhat is taken away from a glory, even if he be in the city of Christ. Look thou behind thee. And I turned myself and saw golden thrones set at the several gates, and upon them men having golden crowns and jewels: and I looked and saw within among the twelve men, thrones set in another order, which appeared of much glory so that no man is able to declare the praise of them. And I asked the angel and said: Lord, who is upon the throne? And the angel answered and said unto me: These are the thrones of them that had goodness and understanding of heart and yet made themselves foolish for the Lord God’s sake, knowing neither the Scriptures nor many psalms, but keeping in mind one chapter of the precepts of God they performed it with great diligence, and had a right intent before the Lord God; and for these great wonder shall take hold upon all the saints before the Lord God, who shall speak one with another, saying: Stay and behold the unlearned that know nothing [more], how they have earned such and so fair raiment and so great glory because of their innocency. And I saw in the midst of the city an altar exceeding high. And there was one standing by the altar whose visage shone like the sun, and he held in his hands a psaltery and an harp and sang praises, saying: Alleluia. And his voice filled all the city. And when all that were upon the towers and the gates heard him, they answered: Alleluia, so that the foundations of the city were shaken. And I’ asked the angel and said: Who is this, Lord, that is of so great might? And the angel said unto me: This is David. This is the city of Jerusalem; and when Christ the king of eternity shall come in the fullness (confidence, freedom) of his kingdom, he shall again go before him to sing praises, and all the righteous together shall sing praises, answering: Alleluia. And I said: Lord, how is it that David only above the rest of the saints maketh (made) the beginning of singing praises? And the angel answered and said unto me: When ( or , because) Christ the Son of God sitteth on the right hand of his Father, this David shall sing praises before him in the seventh heaven: and as it is done in the heavens, so likewise is it below: for without David it is not lawful to offer a sacrifice unto God: but it must needs be that David sing praises at the hour of the offering of the body and blood of Christ: as it is performed in heaven, so also is it upon earth.

And straightway the king, laying hold of the apostle, and leading him by the right hand, brought him by craft into the palace; and Plato was on Matthew's left hand, going along with him, and keeping hold of him. Then Matthew says: O crafty tyrant, how long do you not fulfil the works of your father the devil? And he was enraged at what had been said; for he perceived that he would inflict upon him a more bitter death. For he resolved to put him to death by fire. And he commanded several executioners to come, and to lead him away to the place by the seashore, where the execution of malefactors was wont to take place, saying to the executioners: I hear, says he, that the God whom he proclaims delivers from fire those who believe in him. Having laid him, therefore, on the ground on his back, and stretched him out, pierce his hands and feet with iron nails, and cover him over with paper, having smeared it with dolphins' oil, and cover him up with brimstone and asphalt and pitch, and put tow and brushwood above. Thus apply the fire to him; and if any of the same tribe with him rise up against you, he shall get the same punishment.

And I found Paul in bed in Antioch from the toil of the journey, who also seeing me, was exceedingly grieved on account of my delaying in Pamphylia. And Barnabas coming, encouraged him, and tasted bread, and he took a little of it. And they preached the word of the Lord, and enlightened many of the Jews and Greeks. And I only attended to them, and was afraid of Paul to come near him, both because he held me as having spent much time in Pamphylia, and because he was quite enraged against me. And I gave repentance on my knees upon the earth to Paul, and he would not endure it. And when I remained for three Sabbaths in entreaty and prayer on my knees, I was unable to prevail upon him about myself; for his great grievance against me was on account of my keeping several parchments in Pamphylia.

And Paul having come to Rome, great fear fell upon the Jews. They came together therefore to him, and exhorted him, saying: Vindicate the faith in which you were born; for it is not right that you, being a Hebrew, and of the Hebrews, should call yourself teacher of Gentiles, and vindicator of the uncircumcised; and, being yourself circumcised, that you should bring to nought the faith of the circumcision. And when you see Peter, contend against his teaching, because he has destroyed all the bulwarks of our law; for he has prevented the keeping of Sabbaths and new moons, and the holidays appointed by the law. And Paul, answering, said to them: That I am a true Jew, by this you can prove; because also you have been able to keep the Sabbath, and to observe the true circumcision; for assuredly on the day of the Sabbath God rested from all His works. We have fathers, and patriarchs, and the law. What, then, does Peter preach in the kingdom of the Gentiles? But if he shall wish to bring in any new teaching, without any tumult, and envy, and trouble, send him word, that we may see, and in your presence I shall convict him. But if his teaching be true, supported by the book and testimony of the Hebrews, it becomes all of us to submit to him.

Now it came to pass, when she was fourteen years old, and on this account there was occasion for the Pharisees' saying that it was now a custom that no woman of that age should abide in the temple of God, they fell upon the plan of sending a herald through all the tribes of Israel, that on the third day all should come together into the temple of the Lord. And when all the people had come together, Abiathar the high priest rose, and mounted on a higher step, that he might be seen and heard by all the people; and when great silence had been obtained, he said: Hear me, O sons of Israel, and receive my words into your ears. Ever since this temple was built by Solomon, there have been in it virgins, the daughters of kings and the daughters of prophets, and of high priests and priests; and they were great, and worthy of admiration. But when they came to the proper age they were given in marriage, and followed the course of their mothers before them, and were pleasing to God. But a new order of life has been found out by Mary alone, who promises that she will remain a virgin to God. Wherefore it seems to me, that through our inquiry and the answer of God we should try to ascertain to whose keeping she ought to be entrusted. Then these words found favour with all the synagogue. And the lot was cast by the priests upon the twelve tribes, and the lot fell upon the tribe of Judah. And the priest said: Tomorrow let every one who has no wife come, and bring his rod in his hand. Whence it happened that Joseph brought his rod along with the young men. And the rods having been handed over to the high priest, he offered a sacrifice to the Lord God, and inquired of the Lord. And the Lord said to him: Put all their rods into the holy of holies of God, and let them remain there, and order them to come to you on the morrow to get back their rods; and the man from the point of whose rod a dove shall come forth, and fly towards heaven, and in whose hand the rod, when given back, shall exhibit this sign, to him let Mary be delivered to be kept.

And Joseph having come to a feast with his sons, James, Joseph, and Judah, and Simeon and his two daughters, Jesus met them, with Mary His mother, along with her sister Mary of Cleophas, whom the Lord God had given to her father Cleophas and her mother Anna, because they had offered Mary the mother of Jesus to the Lord. And she was called by the same name, Mary, for the consolation of her parents. And when they had come together, Jesus sanctified and blessed them, and He was the first to begin to eat and drink; for none of them dared to eat or drink, or to sit at table, or to break bread, until He had sanctified them, and first done so. And if He happened to be absent, they used to wait until He should do this. And when He did not wish to come for refreshment, neither Joseph nor Mary, nor the sons of Joseph, His brothers, came. And, indeed, these brothers, keeping His life as a lamp before their eyes, observed Him, and feared Him. And when Jesus slept, whether by day or by night, the brightness of God shone upon Him. To whom be all praise and glory for ever and ever. Amen, amen.

And while the apostle yet stood in the highway and spake with the multitude, A she ass's colt came and stood before him and opened its mouth and said: Thou twin of Christ, apostle of the Most High and initiate in the hidden word of Christ who receivest his secret oracles, fellow worker with the Son of God, who being free hast become a bondman, and being sold hast brought many into liberty. Thou kinsman of the great race that hath condemned the enemy and redeemed his own, that hast become an occasion of life unto man in the land of the Indians; for thou hast come unto men that were in error, and by thy appearing and thy divine words they are now turning unto the God of truth which sent thee: mount and sit upon me and repose thyself until thou enter into the city. And the apostle answered and said: O Jesu Christ (Son) that understandest the perfect mercy! O tranquillity and quiet that now art spoken of by (among) brute beasts! O hidden rest, that art manifested by thy working, Saviour of us and nourisher, keeping us and resting in alien bodies! O Saviour of our souls! spring that is sweet and unfailing; fountain secure and clear and never polluted; defender and helper in the fight of thine own servants, turning away and scaring the enemy from us, that fightest in many battles for us and makest us conquerors in all; our true and undefeated champion (athlete); our holy and victorious captain: glorious and giving unto thine own a joy that never passeth away, and a relief wherein is none affliction; good shepherd that givest thyself for thine own sheep, and hast vanquished the wolf and redeemed thine own lambs and led them into a good pasture: we glorify and praise thee and thine invisible Father and thine holy spirit and the mother of all creation.

Then God said to Adam, "So long as thou wast keeping My commandment, My light and My grace rested on thee. But when thou didst transgress My commandment, sorrow and misery befell thee in this land."

And Mathusal expecting my coming, keeping watch by day and by night at my couch, was filled with awe when he heard my coming, and I told him, 'Let all my household come together, that I tell them everything.'

Hearken, my children, I was the ninth son born to Jacob, and I was valiant in keeping the flocks.

The construction of the altar was in keeping with the place itself and with the burnt offerings which were consumed by fire upon it, and the approach to it was on a similar scale.

For, he explained, the good life consists in the keeping of the enactments of the law, and this end is achieved much more by hearing than by reading.

And he replied, 'Look always to your own fame and your own supreme position, that you may speak and think only such things as are consistent therewith, knowing that all your subjects think and talk about you. For you must not appear to be worse than the actors, who study carefully the role, which it is necessary for them to play, and shape all their actions in accordance with it. You are not acting a part, but are really a king, since God has bestowed upon you a royal authority in keeping with your character.'

'By keeping before your mind,' he replied, 'the thought that it is good to live and die in one's own country. Residence abroad brings contempt upon the poor and shame upon the rich as though they had been banished for a crime. If you bestow benefits upon all, as you continually do, God will give you favour with all and you will be accounted patriotic."

But the great-souled and noble man, an Eleazar in very truth, was no more moved in his mind than if he were being tormented in a dream; yea, the old man keeping his eyes steadfastly raised to heaven suffered his flesh to be tom by the scourges till he was bathed in blood and his sides became a mass of wounds; and even when he fell to the ground because his body could no longer support the pain he still kept his Reason erect and inflexible.

And each and all of them together, looking at each other brightly and very boldly, said, 'With a whole heart will we consecrate ourselves unto God who gave us our souls, and let us lend our bodies to the keeping of the Law.

For they were just, and temperate, and brave and great-souled, and lovers of each other and of their mother in such manner that they obeyed her in the keeping of the Law even unto death.

And there came forth from them a smoke and a judgment; and I was keeping quiet in the order of the Lord:

Rule me, O God, (keeping me back) from wicked sin, And from every wicked woman that causeth the simple to stumble.

Of godly men who, keeping to the counsels

Keeping in mind this purpose he shall come

Shall rule, three decades keeping; yet again

And as they went on from the field toward his house, beside that way there stood a cypress tree, and by the command of the Lord the tree cried out with a human voice, saying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God that calls himself to those that love him; but Abraham hid the mystery, thinking that the chief-captain had not heard the voice of the tree. And coming near to the house they sat down in the court, and Isaac seeing the face of the angel said to Sarah his mother, My lady mother, behold, the man sitting with my father Abraham is not a son of the race of those that dwell on the earth. And Isaac ran, and saluted him, and fell at the feet of the Incorporeal, and the Incorporeal blessed him and said, The Lord God will grant you his promise that he made to your father Abraham and to his seed, and will also grant you the precious prayer of your father and your mother. Abraham said to Isaac his son, My son Isaac, draw water from the well, and bring it me in the vessel, that we may wash the feet of this stranger, for he is tired, having come to us from off a long journey. And Isaac ran to the well and drew water in the vessel and brought it to them, and Abraham went up and washed the feet of the chief captain Michael, and the heart of Abraham was moved, and he wept over the stranger. And Isaac, seeing his father weeping, wept also, and the chief captain, seeing them weeping, also wept with them, and the tears of the chief captain fell upon the vessel into the water of the basin and became precious stones. And Abraham seeing the marvel, and being astonished, took the stones secretly, and hid the mystery, keeping it by himself in his heart.

Then Eve says to them: Listen, all my children, and my children's children, and I shall relate to you how our enemy deceived us. It came to pass, while we were keeping paradise, that we kept each the portion allotted to him by God. And I was keeping in my lot the south and west. And the devil went into the lot of Adam where were the male wild beasts; since God parted to us the wild beasts, and had given all the males to your father, and all the females He gave to me, and each of us watched his own. And the devil spoke to the serpent, saying, Arise, come to me, and I shall tell you a thing in which you may be of service. Then the serpent came to him, and the devil says to him, I hear that you are more sagacious than all the wild beasts, and I have come to make your acquaintance; and I have found you greater than all the wild beasts, and they associate with you; notwithstanding, you do reverence to one far inferior. Why do you eat of the tares of Adam and his wife, and not of the fruit of paradise? Arise and come hither, and we shall make him be cast out of paradise through his wife, as we also were cast out through him. The serpent says to him, I am afraid lest the Lord be angry with me. The devil says to him, Be not afraid; only become my instrument, and I will speak through your mouth a word by which you shall be able to deceive him. Then straightway he hung by the walls of paradise about the hour when the angels of God went up to worship. Then Satan came in the form of an angel, and praised God as did the angels; and looking out from the wall, I saw him like an angel. And says he to me, Are you Eve? And I said to him, I am. And says he to me, What are you doing in paradise? And I said to him, God has set us to keep it, and to eat of it. The devil answered me through the mouth of the serpent, You do well, but you do not eat of every plant. And I say to him, Yes, of every plant we eat, but one only which is in the midst of paradise, about which God has commanded us not to eat of it, since you will die the death. Then says the serpent to me, As God lives, I am grieved for you, because you are like cattle. For I do not wish you to be ignorant of this; but rise, come hither, listen to me, and eat, and perceive the value of the tree, as He told us. But I said to him, I am afraid lest God be angry with me. And he says to me, Be not afraid; for as soon as you eat, your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods in knowing what is good and what is evil. And God, knowing this, that you shall be like Him, has had a grudge against you, and said, You shall not eat of it. But observe the plant, and you shall see great glory about it. And I observed the plant, and saw great glory about it. And I said to him, It is beautiful to the eyes to perceive; and I was afraid to take of the fruit. And he says to me, Come, I will give to you: follow me. And I opened to him, and he came inside into paradise, and went through it before me. And having walked a little, he turned, and says to me, I have changed my mind, and will not give you to eat. And this he said, wishing at last to entice and destroy me. And he says to me, Swear to me that you will give also to your husband. And I said to him, I know not by what oath I shall swear to you; but what I know I say to you, By the throne of the Lord, and the cherubim, and the tree of life, I will give also to my husband to eat. And when he had taken the oath from me, then he went and ascended upon it. And he put upon the fruit which he gave me to eat the poison of his wickedness, that is, of his desire; for desire is the head of all sin. And I bent down the branch to the ground, and took of the fruit, and ate. And in that very hour my eyes were opened. and I knew that I was stripped of the righteousness with which I had been clothed; and I wept, saying, What is this you have done to me, because I have been deprived of the glory with which I was clothed? And I wept too about the oath. And he came down out of the tree, and went out of sight. And I sought leaves in my portion, that I might cover my shame; and I did not find them from the plants of paradise, since, at the time that I ate, the leaves of all the plants in my portion fell, except of the fig alone. And having taken leaves off it, I made myself a girdle, and it is from those plants of which I ate. And I cried out with a loud voice, saying, Adam, Adam, where are you? Arise, come to me, and I shall show you a great mystery. And when your father came, I said to him words of wickedness, which brought us down from great glory. For as soon as he came I opened my mouth, and the devil spoke; and I began to advise him, saying, Come hither, my lord Adam, listen to me, and eat of the fruit of the tree of which God said to us not to eat of it, and you shall be as God. And your father answered and said, I am afraid lest God be angry with me. And I said to him, Be not afraid, for as soon as you shall eat you shall know good and evil. And then I quickly persuaded him, and he ate; and his eyes were opened, and he was aware, he also, of his nakedness. And he says to me, O wicked woman, why have you wrought mischief in us? You have alienated me from the glory of God. And that same hour we heard the archangel Michael sounding his trumpet, calling the angels, saying, Thus says the Lord, Come with me to paradise, and hear the word in which I judge Adam. And when we heard the archangel sounding, we said, Behold, God is coming into paradise to judge us. And we were afraid, and hid ourselves. And God came up into paradise, riding upon a chariot of cherubim, and the angels praising Him. When God came into paradise, the plants both of Adam's lot and of my lot bloomed, and all lifted themselves up; and the throne of God was made ready where the tree of life was. And God called Adam, saying, Adam, where are you hidden, thinking that I shall not find you? Shall the house be hidden from him that built it? Then your father answered and said, Not, Lord, did we hide ourselves as thinking that we should not be found by You; but I am afraid, because I am naked, and stand in awe of Your power, O Lord. God says to him, Who has shown you that you are naked, unless it be that you have forsaken my commandment which I gave you to keep it? Then Adam remembered the word which I spoke to him when I wished to deceive him, I will put you out of danger from God. And he turned and said to me, Why have you done this? And I also remembered the word of the serpent, and said, The serpent deceived me. God says to Adam, Since you have disobeyed my commandment, and obeyed your wife, cursed is the ground in your labours. For whenever you labour it, and it will not give its strength, thorns and thistles shall it raise for you; and in the sweat of your face shall you eat your bread. And you shall be in distresses of many kinds. You shall weary yourself, and rest not; you shall be afflicted by bitterness, and shall not taste of sweetness; you shall be afflicted by heat, and oppressed by cold; and you shall toil much, and not grow rich; and you shall make haste, and not attain your end; and the wild beasts, of which you were lord, shall rise up against you in rebellion, because you have not kept my commandment. And having turned to me, the Lord says to me, Since you have obeyed the serpent, and disobeyed my commandment, you shall be in distresses and unbearable pains; you shall bring forth children with great tremblings; and in one hour shall you come to bring them forth, and lose your life in consequence of your great straits and pangs. And you shall confess, and say, Lord, Lord, save me; and I shall not return to the sin of the flesh. And on this account in your own words I shall judge you, on account of the enmity which the enemy has put in you; and you shall turn again to your husband, and he shall be your lord. And after speaking thus to me, He spoke to the serpent in great wrath, saying to him, Since you have done this, and have become an ungracious instrument until you should deceive those that were remiss in heart, cursed are you of all the beasts. You shall be deprived of the food which you eat, and dust shall you eat all the days of your life; upon your breast and belly shall you go, and you shall be deprived both of your hands and feet; there shall not be granted you ear, nor wing, nor one limb of all which those have whom you have enticed by your wickedness, and have caused them to be cast out of paradise. And I shall put enmity between you and between his seed. He shall lie in wait for your head, and you for his heel, until the day of judgment. And having thus said, He commands His angels that we be cast out of paradise. And as we were being driven along, and were lamenting, your father Adam entreated the angels, saying, Allow me a little, that I may entreat God, and that He may have compassion upon me, and pity me, for I only have sinned. And they stopped driving him. And Adam cried out with weeping, saying, Pardon me, Lord, what I have done. Then says the Lord to His angels, Why have you stopped driving Adam out of paradise? It is not that the sin is mine, or that I have judged ill? Then the angels, falling to the ground, worshipped the Lord, saying, Just are You, Lord, and judgest what is right. And turning to Adam, the Lord said, I will not permit you henceforth to be in paradise. And Adam answered and said, Lord, give me of the tree of life, that I may eat before I am cast out. Then the Lord said to Adam, You shall not now take of it, for it has been assigned to the cherubim and the flaming sword, which turns to guard it on account of you, that you may not taste of it and be free from death for ever, but that you may have the war which the enemy has set in you. But when you are gone out of paradise, if you shall keep yourself from all evil, as being destined to die, I will again raise you up when the resurrection comes, and then there shall be given you of the tree of life, and you shall be free from death forever. And having thus said, the Lord commanded us to be cast out of paradise. And your father wept before the angels over against paradise. And the angels say to him, What do you wish that we should do for you, Adam? And your father answered and said to the angels, Behold, you cast me out. I beseech you, allow me to take sweet odours out of paradise, in order that, after I go out, I may offer sacrifice to God, that God may listen to me. And the angels, advancing, said to God, Jael, eternal King, order to be given to Adam sacrifices of sweet odour out of paradise. And God ordered Adam to go, that he might take perfumes of sweet odour out of paradise for his food. And the angels let him go, and he gathered both kinds — saffron and spikenard, and calamus and cinnamon, and other seeds for his food; and having taken them, he went forth out of paradise. And we came to the earth.

Then Eve says to them: Listen, all my children, and my children's children, and I shall relate to you how our enemy deceived us. It came to pass, while we were keeping paradise, that we kept each the portion allotted to him by God. And I was keeping in my lot the south and west. And the devil went into the lot of Adam where were the male wild beasts; since God parted to us the wild beasts, and had given all the males to your father, and all the females He gave to me, and each of us watched his own. And the devil spoke to the serpent, saying, Arise, come to me, and I shall tell you a thing in which you may be of service. Then the serpent came to him, and the devil says to him, I hear that you are more sagacious than all the wild beasts, and I have come to make your acquaintance; and I have found you greater than all the wild beasts, and they associate with you; notwithstanding, you do reverence to one far inferior. Why do you eat of the tares of Adam and his wife, and not of the fruit of paradise? Arise and come hither, and we shall make him be cast out of paradise through his wife, as we also were cast out through him. The serpent says to him, I am afraid lest the Lord be angry with me. The devil says to him, Be not afraid; only become my instrument, and I will speak through your mouth a word by which you shall be able to deceive him. Then straightway he hung by the walls of paradise about the hour when the angels of God went up to worship. Then Satan came in the form of an angel, and praised God as did the angels; and looking out from the wall, I saw him like an angel. And says he to me, Are you Eve? And I said to him, I am. And says he to me, What are you doing in paradise? And I said to him, God has set us to keep it, and to eat of it. The devil answered me through the mouth of the serpent, You do well, but you do not eat of every plant. And I say to him, Yes, of every plant we eat, but one only which is in the midst of paradise, about which God has commanded us not to eat of it, since you will die the death. Then says the serpent to me, As God lives, I am grieved for you, because you are like cattle. For I do not wish you to be ignorant of this; but rise, come hither, listen to me, and eat, and perceive the value of the tree, as He told us. But I said to him, I am afraid lest God be angry with me. And he says to me, Be not afraid; for as soon as you eat, your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods in knowing what is good and what is evil. And God, knowing this, that you shall be like Him, has had a grudge against you, and said, You shall not eat of it. But observe the plant, and you shall see great glory about it. And I observed the plant, and saw great glory about it. And I said to him, It is beautiful to the eyes to perceive; and I was afraid to take of the fruit. And he says to me, Come, I will give to you: follow me. And I opened to him, and he came inside into paradise, and went through it before me. And having walked a little, he turned, and says to me, I have changed my mind, and will not give you to eat. And this he said, wishing at last to entice and destroy me. And he says to me, Swear to me that you will give also to your husband. And I said to him, I know not by what oath I shall swear to you; but what I know I say to you, By the throne of the Lord, and the cherubim, and the tree of life, I will give also to my husband to eat. And when he had taken the oath from me, then he went and ascended upon it. And he put upon the fruit which he gave me to eat the poison of his wickedness, that is, of his desire; for desire is the head of all sin. And I bent down the branch to the ground, and took of the fruit, and ate. And in that very hour my eyes were opened. and I knew that I was stripped of the righteousness with which I had been clothed; and I wept, saying, What is this you have done to me, because I have been deprived of the glory with which I was clothed? And I wept too about the oath. And he came down out of the tree, and went out of sight. And I sought leaves in my portion, that I might cover my shame; and I did not find them from the plants of paradise, since, at the time that I ate, the leaves of all the plants in my portion fell, except of the fig alone. And having taken leaves off it, I made myself a girdle, and it is from those plants of which I ate. And I cried out with a loud voice, saying, Adam, Adam, where are you? Arise, come to me, and I shall show you a great mystery. And when your father came, I said to him words of wickedness, which brought us down from great glory. For as soon as he came I opened my mouth, and the devil spoke; and I began to advise him, saying, Come hither, my lord Adam, listen to me, and eat of the fruit of the tree of which God said to us not to eat of it, and you shall be as God. And your father answered and said, I am afraid lest God be angry with me. And I said to him, Be not afraid, for as soon as you shall eat you shall know good and evil. And then I quickly persuaded him, and he ate; and his eyes were opened, and he was aware, he also, of his nakedness. And he says to me, O wicked woman, why have you wrought mischief in us? You have alienated me from the glory of God. And that same hour we heard the archangel Michael sounding his trumpet, calling the angels, saying, Thus says the Lord, Come with me to paradise, and hear the word in which I judge Adam. And when we heard the archangel sounding, we said, Behold, God is coming into paradise to judge us. And we were afraid, and hid ourselves. And God came up into paradise, riding upon a chariot of cherubim, and the angels praising Him. When God came into paradise, the plants both of Adam's lot and of my lot bloomed, and all lifted themselves up; and the throne of God was made ready where the tree of life was. And God called Adam, saying, Adam, where are you hidden, thinking that I shall not find you? Shall the house be hidden from him that built it? Then your father answered and said, Not, Lord, did we hide ourselves as thinking that we should not be found by You; but I am afraid, because I am naked, and stand in awe of Your power, O Lord. God says to him, Who has shown you that you are naked, unless it be that you have forsaken my commandment which I gave you to keep it? Then Adam remembered the word which I spoke to him when I wished to deceive him, I will put you out of danger from God. And he turned and said to me, Why have you done this? And I also remembered the word of the serpent, and said, The serpent deceived me. God says to Adam, Since you have disobeyed my commandment, and obeyed your wife, cursed is the ground in your labours. For whenever you labour it, and it will not give its strength, thorns and thistles shall it raise for you; and in the sweat of your face shall you eat your bread. And you shall be in distresses of many kinds. You shall weary yourself, and rest not; you shall be afflicted by bitterness, and shall not taste of sweetness; you shall be afflicted by heat, and oppressed by cold; and you shall toil much, and not grow rich; and you shall make haste, and not attain your end; and the wild beasts, of which you were lord, shall rise up against you in rebellion, because you have not kept my commandment. And having turned to me, the Lord says to me, Since you have obeyed the serpent, and disobeyed my commandment, you shall be in distresses and unbearable pains; you shall bring forth children with great tremblings; and in one hour shall you come to bring them forth, and lose your life in consequence of your great straits and pangs. And you shall confess, and say, Lord, Lord, save me; and I shall not return to the sin of the flesh. And on this account in your own words I shall judge you, on account of the enmity which the enemy has put in you; and you shall turn again to your husband, and he shall be your lord. And after speaking thus to me, He spoke to the serpent in great wrath, saying to him, Since you have done this, and have become an ungracious instrument until you should deceive those that were remiss in heart, cursed are you of all the beasts. You shall be deprived of the food which you eat, and dust shall you eat all the days of your life; upon your breast and belly shall you go, and you shall be deprived both of your hands and feet; there shall not be granted you ear, nor wing, nor one limb of all which those have whom you have enticed by your wickedness, and have caused them to be cast out of paradise. And I shall put enmity between you and between his seed. He shall lie in wait for your head, and you for his heel, until the day of judgment. And having thus said, He commands His angels that we be cast out of paradise. And as we were being driven along, and were lamenting, your father Adam entreated the angels, saying, Allow me a little, that I may entreat God, and that He may have compassion upon me, and pity me, for I only have sinned. And they stopped driving him. And Adam cried out with weeping, saying, Pardon me, Lord, what I have done. Then says the Lord to His angels, Why have you stopped driving Adam out of paradise? It is not that the sin is mine, or that I have judged ill? Then the angels, falling to the ground, worshipped the Lord, saying, Just are You, Lord, and judgest what is right. And turning to Adam, the Lord said, I will not permit you henceforth to be in paradise. And Adam answered and said, Lord, give me of the tree of life, that I may eat before I am cast out. Then the Lord said to Adam, You shall not now take of it, for it has been assigned to the cherubim and the flaming sword, which turns to guard it on account of you, that you may not taste of it and be free from death for ever, but that you may have the war which the enemy has set in you. But when you are gone out of paradise, if you shall keep yourself from all evil, as being destined to die, I will again raise you up when the resurrection comes, and then there shall be given you of the tree of life, and you shall be free from death forever. And having thus said, the Lord commanded us to be cast out of paradise. And your father wept before the angels over against paradise. And the angels say to him, What do you wish that we should do for you, Adam? And your father answered and said to the angels, Behold, you cast me out. I beseech you, allow me to take sweet odours out of paradise, in order that, after I go out, I may offer sacrifice to God, that God may listen to me. And the angels, advancing, said to God, Jael, eternal King, order to be given to Adam sacrifices of sweet odour out of paradise. And God ordered Adam to go, that he might take perfumes of sweet odour out of paradise for his food. And the angels let him go, and he gathered both kinds — saffron and spikenard, and calamus and cinnamon, and other seeds for his food; and having taken them, he went forth out of paradise. And we came to the earth.

For then neither brother pities brother, nor man wife, nor children parents, nor friends friends, nor a slave his master; for he who is the adversary of men shall come up from Tartarus, and shall show men many things. What shall I make of you, Esdras? And will you yet plead with me? And the prophet said: Lord, I shall not cease to plead with You. And God said: Number the flowers of the earth. If you shall be able to number them, you are able also to plead with me. And the prophet said: Lord, I cannot number them. I wear human flesh; but I shall not cease to plead with You. I wish, Lord, to see also the under parts of Tartarus. And God said: Come down and see. And He gave me Michael, and Gabriel, and other thirty-four angels; and I went down eighty-five steps, and they brought me down five hundred steps, and I saw a fiery throne, and an old man sitting upon it; and his judgment was merciless. And I said to the angels: Who is this? And what is his sin? And they said to me: This is Herod, who for a time was a king, and ordered to put to death the children from two years old and under. And I said: Woe to his soul! And again they took me down thirty steps, and I there saw boilings up of fire, and in them there was a multitude of sinners; and I heard their voice, but saw not their forms. And they took me down lower many steps, which I could not measure. And I there saw old men, and fiery pivots turning in their ears. And I said: Who are these? And what is their sin? And they said to me: These are they who would not listen. And they took me down again other five hundred steps, and I there saw the worm that sleeps not, and fire burning up the sinners. And they took me down to the lowest part of destruction, and I saw there the twelve plagues of the abyss. And they took me away to the south, and I saw there a man hanging by the eyelids; and the angels kept scourging him. And I asked: Who is this? And what is his sin? And Michael the commander said to me: This is one who lay with his mother; for having put into practice a small wish, he has been ordered to be hanged. And they took me away to the north, and I saw there a man bound with iron chains. And I asked: Who is this? And he said to me: This is he who said, I am the Son of God, that made stones bread, and water wine. And the prophet said: My lord, let me know what is his form, and I shall tell the race of men, that they may not believe in him. And he said to me: The form of his countenance is like that of a wild beast; his right eye like the star that rises in the morning, and the other without motion; his mouth one cubit; his teeth span long; his fingers like scythes; the track of his feet of two spans; and in his face an inscription, Antichrist. He has been exalted to heaven; he shall go down to Hades. At one time he shall become a child; at another, an old man. And the prophet said: Lord, and how do You permit him, and he deceives the race of men? And God said: Listen, my prophet. He becomes both child and old man, and no one believes him that he is my beloved Son. And after this a trumpet, and the tombs shall be opened, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. Then the adversary, hearing the dreadful threatening, shall be hidden in outer darkness. Then the heaven, and the earth, and the sea shall be destroyed. Then shall I burn the heaven eighty cubits, and the earth eight hundred cubits. And the prophet said: And how has the heaven sinned? And God said: Since...there is evil. And the prophet said: Lord, and the earth, how has it sinned? And God said: Since the adversary, having heard the dreadful threatening, shall be hidden, even on account of this will I melt the earth, and with it the opponent of the race of men. And the prophet said: Have mercy, Lord, upon the race of the Christians. And I saw a woman hanging, and four wild beasts sucking her breasts. And the angels said to me: She grudged to give her milk, but even threw her infants into the rivers. And I saw a dreadful darkness, and a night that had no stars nor moon; nor is there there young or old, nor brother with brother, nor mother with child, nor wife with husband. And I wept, and said: O Lord God, have mercy upon the sinners. And as I said this, there came a cloud and snatched me up, and carried me away again into the heavens. And I saw there many judgments; and I wept bitterly, and said: It is good for a man not to have come out of his mother's womb. And those who were in torment cried out, saying: Since you have come hither, O holy one of God, we have found a little remission. And the prophet said: Blessed are they that weep for their sins. And God said: Hear, O beloved Esdras. As a husbandman casts the seed of the grain into the ground, so also the man casts his seed into the parts of the woman. The first month it is all together; the second it increases in size; the third it gets hair; the fourth it gets nails; the fifth it is turned into milk; and the sixth it is made ready, and receives life; the seventh it is completely furnished; the ninth the barriers of the gate of the woman are opened; and it is born safe and sound into the earth. And the prophet said: Lord, it is good for man not to have been born. Woe to the human race then, when You shall come to judgment! And I said to the Lord: Lord, why have You created man, and delivered him up to judgment? And God said, with a lofty proclamation: I will not by any means have mercy on those who transgress my covenant. And the prophet said: Lord, where is Your goodness? And God said: I have prepared all things for man's sake, and man does not keep my commandments. And the prophet said: Lord, reveal to me the judgments and paradise. And the angels took me away towards the east, and I saw the tree of life. And I saw there Enoch, and Elias, and Moses, and Peter, and Paul, and Luke, and Matthias, and all the righteous, and the patriarchs. And I saw there the keeping of the air within bounds, and the blowing of the winds, and the storehouses of the ice, and the eternal judgments. And I saw there a man hanging by the skull. And they said to me: This man removed landmarks. And I saw there great judgments. And I said to the Lord: O Lord God, and what man, then, who has been born has not sinned? And they took me lower down into Tartarus, and I saw all the sinners lamenting and weeping and mourning bitterly. And I also wept, seeing the race of men thus tormented. Then God says to me: Do you know, Esdras, the names of the angels at the end of the world? Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael, Gabuthelon, Aker, Arphugitonos, Beburos, Zebuleon.

And read thou this writing that thou mayest have regard to the safe-keeping of the books,

But I said to him: "Tell me his name." But he answered: "I cannot tell thee. For if I tell his name, I render myself incurable. But he will come in response to his name." And on hearing this, I Solomon said to him: "Tell me then, by what angel thou art frustrated?" And he answered: "By the fiery flash of lightning." And I bowed myself before the Lord God of Israel, and bade him remain in the keeping of Beelzeboul until Iax should come.

THAT CHRISTIANS OUGHT NOT TO ENTER INTO THE CONGREGATION OF THE HEATHEN, NOR BE SPECTATORS IN THE THEATRE, NOR LISTEN TO (THEIR) SONGS. (ii., 62.] Beware, then, of deeds such as these, and take no part in the assembly of the Gentiles, and keep far from the devices of Satan, for the devil hath no love toward God. For he who hath fellowship with a singer to do the will of the enemy, shall be reckoned with the devil, and shall inherit a curse. Keep far then from evil deeds, wherein is no good thing, such are, play-acting, and worshipping of idols, and (consulting of) seers, and diviners, and augurs, and necromancers. Even as it is written, ‘And let there be no wickedness in Jacob, nor evil in Israel.”"? Depart then from such works as these which idolaters do to lead men astray: they are the works of Satan. The faithful ought to separate themselves from the congregation of the ungodly, and not join in keeping a feast with them. And in like manner let us keep far from them, and not enter into their houses, nor eat with them, nor drink; for they are full of the deeds of Satan. Let us turn aside from worshipping of idols and from error, and their salutations’ and (their) vows to their gods. [ii., 63.] Ye also, young men, perform without sloth for the Holy Church every duty that is fitting, and support yourselves by the fruit of your toil in purity, that ye may need nothing, nor be a burden on the Church of God: so that we may be without care. But in the preaching of the holy Gospel let us not neglect the labour of our hands, nor be slothful. For some of us are fishermen, and some of us tent-makers, and some tillers of the ground. Solomon saith, “Turn to the ant, thou sluggard, and when thou seest her way, imitate her, and become wiser than she. For she, having no field, nor any that constraineth her, and having no master, prepareth in summer her food, and laboureth much in the time of harvest. Or go to the bee, and learn how laborious she is, and how she maketh her work good; of whose labour kings and people take for health; who is desired of all and had in honour, yet in strength is she weak; honouring wisdom she is advanced (?). How long, thou sluggard, wilt thou sit and sleep? When wilt thou awake from sleep? A while thou sleepest, and a while thou sittest, and a while thou slumberest, and a while thou foldest thy hands on the breast: and then poverty shall come on thee as an evil messenger, and want as a swift courier. But if thou be not slothful, thy harvest shall come” as a fountain of water, and poverty as a slow courier shall be far from thee. A foolish and lawless man walketh in ways that are not good.” And again he saith, “He that tilleth the ground shall be filled with bread.” And moreover he saith, “The sluggard hideth his hand in his bosom, and it troubleth him to bring it to his mouth.” “He appeared wise unto himself."’? “A foolish sluggard foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh”; for the doings of a sluggard are without remedy. Whosoever will not work, let him not eat, and let him not sit idly with you. Fear Him, then, at all times, and keep far from sloth, for the Lord our? God hateth all the slothful. Let not the slothful man sit with those that are obedient to God the Father, to whom be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

OF THE MARTYRS. v., 8.) BeHoLD I say unto you, magnify and extol with double honour the martyrs, even as the blessed James and Stephen the first martyr are had in honour amongst us. Such are blessed before God, and elect and holy, a people pure from sin, and without (thought of) revenge; rather are they peacemakers and unwearied also in doing His will and in keeping His commandment. And concerning them David saith, Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of the righteous.” And furthermore Solomon saith, ‘“‘The remembrance of the righteous is perfect with praise.” And again the prophet saith, ‘His horn shall be exalted with honour.” v., 9.) This we have said concerning those who have been martyrs in truth for the sake of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Behold, then, we understand and know that those, who honour the martyrs and the faithful who have fought a good fight and finished their course, and died for Christ’s sake in the right faith, shall win a good reward and eternal life. And those who were martyrs in truth, and judged uprightly, and pleased God in their lives—such shall inherit the Kingdom of heaven.

But because in the midst of the assembly of the people [there are], more and more, many carnal desires, and the labourers are feeble and few, only My perfect labourers shall know the multitude of My words, all also which at times I spake to you in private before I should suffer, and which ye know; ye both have them and understand them. For My mysteries are given to those who are Mine, with whom I shall rejoice and be glad with My Father. When they shall be loosed from [this] life they shall come to Me. But these remaining words, determining and appointing them, speak ye in the Churches. But from the day that My faithful ones also have the desire to know, that they may do the things of My Father, what[soever is] in this My testament, I will be with them, and will be praised among them, and I will make My habitation with them, by power informing them of the will of My Father. See that ye give not My holy things to the dogs, and cast not pearls before swine, as I have often commanded you. Give not My holy things to defiled and wicked men who do not bear My cross, and are not subject [to Me]; and My commandments shall be for derision among them. And it shall be to him that is embittered and doeth them not, but giveth My words without profit, for the destruction of their souls. But it shall be spoken and given to those who are firm and fixed, and do not fall away, who keep My commandments and this tradition, [to the end] that they, keeping these [things], may abide holy and upright and strong in Me, fleeing from the downfall of iniquity and the death of sin; the Holy Ghost [also] bestowing upon them His grace, that they may believe uprightly, that they may in the Spirit spiritually know the things of the Spirit, and in hope endure labour, and in joy serve My Gospel, and bear the reproach of My cross, not doubting but [rather] glorying; for verily I say unto you, that such as these [men] and such as these [women] shall, after death, dwell in the third order of My Father who hath sent Me.

In the forty days of Pascha, let the people abide in the temple, keeping vigil and praying, hearing the Scriptures and hymns of praise and the books of doctrine. But on the last Saturday let them rise early in he night, and when the catechumens are being exorcised till the Saturday midnight. Let those who are about to be baptized not bring anything else with them except one loaf for the Eucharist. But let them be baptized thus. When they come to the water, let the water be pure and flowing. First the babes, then the men, then the women. But if any one desire to approach as it were to virginity, let him first be baptized by the hand of the bishop. Let the women, when they are baptized, loose their hair. Let all the boys who can answer in baptism make the responses and answer after the priest. But if they cannot, let their parents make the responses for them, or some one of their households. But when they who are being baptized go down [to the water], after they make the responses and say [the answers], let the bishop see if there be any of them—either a man having a ring of gold, or a woman having on her gold; for no one should have with him any strange thing in the water, but let him deliver it to those who are near him. But when they are about to receive the oil for anointing, let the bishop pray over it and give thanks, and let him exorcise another [oil] with an exorcism, the same as in the case of catechumens. And let the deacon bear that which is exorcised, and let the presbyter stand by him. Let him then who standeth by that [oil] on which a giving of thanks over the oil [is said] be on the right hand; but him who standeth by that which is exorcised, on the left. And when he taketh hold of each one, let him ask—he that is being baptized turning to the West—and let him say: Say, I renounce thee, Satan, and all thy service, and thy shows and thy pleasures and all thy works. And when he hath said these things and confessed, let him be anointed with that oil which was exorcised, he who anointeth him saying thus: I anoint [thee] with this oil of exorcism for a deliverance from every evil and unclean spirit, and for a deliverance from every evil. And also, turning him to the Hast, let him say: [Say,] I submit to Thee, Father and Son and Holy Ghost, before whom all nature trembleth and is moved. Grant me to do all Thy will without blame. Then after these things let him give him over to the presbyter who baptizeth. And let them stand in the water naked. But let the deacon descend with him similarly. But when he who is being baptized goeth down into the water, let him that baptizeth him say, putting his hand on him, thus: Dost thou believe in God the Father Almighty? Let him that is being baptized say: T believe. Let him immediately baptize him once. Let the priest also say: Dost thou believe also in Christ Jesus the Son of God, who came from the Father, who is of old with the Father, who was born of Mary the Virgin by the Holy Ghost, who was crucified in the days of Pontius Pilate, and died and rose the third day, [who] came to life from the dead, and ascended into heaven and sat down on the right hand of the Father, and cometh to judge the quick and the dead? But when he saith: I believe, let him baptize him the second time. And also let him say: Dost thou believe also in the Holy Ghost, in the holy Church? And let him who is being baptized say: I believe; and thus let him baptize him the third time. Then when he cometh up let him be anointed by the presbyter with oil over which the giving of thanks has been said, [the presbyter] saying over him: I anoint thee with oil in the Name of Jesus Christ. But let women be anointed by widows who sit in front, the presbyter saying over them [the words]. And let those widows in baptism also beneath a veil receive them by a veil, the bishop saying those Confessions, and so those whom they: cause them to renounce.

Concerning the gift and the office. If anyone has obtained a gift and office he shall not glory over anyone. Our God and Saviour Jesus Christ (is) he who gave us this great mystery of the religion of God, calling the Jews and Gentiles that they might know the one God and Father in truth. As he said himself in the Gospel when giving thanks for the salvation of those who believe on him: I have manifested thy Name to the men: the work which thou gavest me I have finished. And concerning himself he said to the Father: Holy Father, the world indeed knoweth thee not, but I know thee, and these also know thee. Since then we have all been thus made perfect, he said concerning the Spirit of grace which should be given from him: This sign, then, to them who believe (is) that which shall be done in my Name. They shall cast out demons, and they shall speak with tongues, and they shall take serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not affect them, and upon the sick they shall lay their hand and they shall recover. And this grace, then, was first given to us, the Apostles, that in his name we might preach the Gospel to all creation; and next, to those who believed by us, as is seemly that they should be given to them; not for the sake of benefiting those who work, but for the sake of unbelievers, to make them believe: that those who by the Son did not believe in him, the power of the signs might put to shame. For signs are not for the faithful but for unbelieving, for Jews and Gentiles. Casting out demons is no gain for us, but is done by the working of our Lord Christ To those who believe this grace shall be given, as the Lord himself teaches and shows us when he said: Rejoice not because the demons submit to you, but rejoice because your names are written in the heavens. Since the power is his, and ours the faith and diligence, it is clear that we work by him. It is not necessary therefore that a believer should cast out demons, and raise the dead, and speak with tongues, but he who gave the grace (gave it) for that which is seemly, for salvation of unbelievers. Though most men are put to shame, not by the demonstration of the word, but by the working of the signs which is connected with salvation, yet all the wicked are not put to shame by a plague. And God himself testified to this, as he said in the Law: With other tongues I will speak to this people and with other lips, and they will not believe. For neither did the Egyptians believe God, when Moses the prophet worked so many signs and miracles, nor did the Jews, through their malice, believe him, though our Lord Christ for the Jews like Moses healed all infirmity and all sickness among them. Nor again did it put those to shame, nor did they believe in it, when the rod became transformed as a serpent, nor the hand when it was made white, nor the river when it became blood, neither by this again did they believe him: nor again were these satisfied when the blind saw and the lame ran and the dead rose. And moreover Iyanes and Iyanbares opposed that one, and this also Hana and Kayafa insulted. But this one was not sufficient for them, and they (lit. he) were not put to shame when he did signs and wonders, but only those of good character with whom God is well pleased, and he only exercises power for them as a wise ordainer, not according to the power of a man, but his own will. This therefore we say that they who received such a grace may not boast over those who received not the grace. I speak therefore about a grace accompanied by a sign, for there is no man who believed in Christ the Son of God, who does not receive a grace of the Holy Spirit. For indeed he who has been transformed from the religion of many evil gods and believed in God the Father and in Christ his Son; this (in itself) is a grace from God. If he believed in God and cast away the unbelief of the Jews, and confesses (that) according to the will of God who was before the world, the only Son in the last days was born of a virgin without intercourse of man, and lived with men without sin, fulfilling all the righteousness of the Law, and that by the will of God he was crucified and was buried and rose the third day, and after the resurrection from the dead (for forty days) having been with the Apostles, and having made an end of all his ordinance (to them), he ascended in their presence to him who sent him, God the Father. To know this in truth then, not vaguely but as certain, he received a grace from God. So also he who has been transformed from all heresy. Let not therefore any who do a sign and miracle despise any of the believers to whom a working was not imparted. His own are the graces of God which are given through Christ. Thou indeed hast received this, and any of thy neighbours that; either the word of wisdom, or knowledge, or discerning of spirits, or the word of prescient instruction, or endurance, or lawful continence. Because Moses the man of God, in Egypt, when he worked signs did not magnify himself above the people Esrael, and though he was named god he did not magnify himself nor boasted over his prophet Aaron. Neither did (the son) of Newe Iyasu when he was leading the people after him, and while he fought with (the people of) the Iyabusewon, and made the sun to stand towards Gabaon and the moon towards the valley of Ailon, because the day was not sufficient for the victory, he did not magnify himself above Fenehas and above Kaleb. Nor did Samuel, though he wrought many signs, contemn David the beloved of God, both being prophets, the one chief priest and the other king. And the seven thousand who were in Esrael, the holy ones who would not worship Ba'al in bowing the knee, Elyas only amongst them and his assistant Eleseos were workers of a miracle. Neither did Elyassa despise Abdeyu keeping the law and fearing God, and he did no signs. And Elesewon did not neglect his assistant when he was afraid of the enemy, but attended to him. And Daniel again, the wise, who was twice saved from the mouth of the lions; and the three children who went forth from the furnace of fire did not despise the others who were another people, because they knew that by their own power they did not overcome the trial, but by the strength of God they both did a sign, and they were saved from the trouble. Therefore let none of you magnify himself above his brother, if he is a prophet or worker of a miracle. If indeed it was granted that there should not be any who believed not, superfluous then (would be) all working of signs. For the fearing of God is a matter of faith, and the doing of a sign is of him whose power worked. As regards the first indeed we looked to ourselves, and in the second God works, concerning which we have already spoken.

Concerning the Virgins and Widows. And he shall not lay hand upon virgins, because this thing is not a commandment from God, for it is concerned with the character of a man; and it is not that (the virgin) despises marriage, but that he may have time for the service of God. And concerning Widows. He shall not lay hand upon a widow, but if she lives alone, and her husband has been dead many years, being a widow of long time, and if she has lived industriously, and if no accusation is found against her, and if she was able to order properly the men of her own house like Yudit, and if she loved all good things like Yudit, then she shall be put (lit. ordained) into the Order of Widows. And if her husband was dead a short time, and not long, she shall not be trusted nor put into the Order of Widows, but shall remain a long time, with good works, with fasting and prayer, keeping apart, that she may subdue herself patiently. The horse indeed and the mule are not controlled except by a strong rein. Concerning male Virgins. They shall not ordain male virgins, because this thing is from the will of the heart alone by the grace of God and by the love of Christ Jesus; for when the Holy Spirit makes abode with a man, he obtains grace and healing, being known by the grace which he has, which will be known to all men. And if he had a call for this work (of the ministry), that he should be ordained bishop or presbyter or deacon, they shall lay hand upon him (lit. them).

Concerning the Order of the Priesthood. Each one of you knows what we have ordained for you, and further ye know that there are some whom we name bishops, and others whom we name presbyters, and others are named deacons. With prayer we laid hand upon them, and we appointed to each an Order according to its different name. And among us there is no one who desires a filling of our hand, nor will he receive from us that which he wishes for of priesthood, as the priests of the oxen of Iyurebe'am, which were made as an abomination to God. Unless there had been a special Order for each according to law, one name would have sufficed for all the world; but having been taught by God a guidance for all functions, we have separated for the bishops the ordination of the priesthood, for the presbyters the priesthood, for the deacons the service.... that the work of the service might be completed withal. It is not seemly for the deacons to offer the Oblation, or to baptise, or to give the Eulogia to small or to great. And the presbyter shall not ordain anyone, because he was not worthy (of anything) beside his Order. For God is not a God of confusion, so that the inferiors may not grasp (at office) with audacity. What work then will be completed by the imperfect } And they make a new law to their own destruction, and do not know that it is a small thing which is in their power (lit. with them); and they kick with their feet in the net And if thus, they do not oppose us, but they oppose the Bishop of all the world, the Son of God, the Chief Priest Jesus Christ our Lord, A chief priest, priests, and levites were ordained by Moses, the lover of God, and we the twelve Apostles were ordained by our Lord and our Saviour Jesus Christ, and we ordained for us Klementos and Ya'ekob and others with them, that we might send ' each one of them, and further, we all of us ordained withal presbyters and deacons. And the first Presbyter, the only true Chief Priest, is our Lord Jesus Christ, who did not grasp for himself the honour, but the Father ordained him. And as he is the Chief Priest for us, so he offered spiritual sacrifice to God the Father before he was crucified, and he commanded us to do likewise. And there were others with us who believe in him, but he does not grant to all who believe in him to be priests, nor to obtain the Order of ordination of priesthood like us. And after his Ascension we offered according to the ordinance of the holy bloodless Oblation. And we ordained bishops and presbyters and deacons in number seven, and amongst them Estifanos, the first martyr, who was not the least of us in his love of God: but he showed his service of God by faith and love of Jesus Christ our Lord, so much that he gave his life up for his sake; and the wicked Jews, the murderers of the Lord, stoned him with stones for his name and killed him. But he was a man of such fervent spirit that he saw our Lord Christ at the right hand of God, and he saw the open gates of the heavens. And it is nowhere found that he did what was not suitable for him as deacon, that he offered sacrifice or laid hand upon anyone, but he kept to his Order of deacon unto the end. For thus it was proper for the martyr of our Lord Christ to fulfil the duties of his Order. And if there are any who blame Filepos the deacon and Hananya the faithful brother because the one baptised the eunuch and the other baptised even me, Pawlos, they are deluded as to what we say; for we say that no one should take by force the ordination of priesthood, but he obtained it from God, as Malkasedek and Ya'ekob; or from the chief priest, as Aron from IS Muse; therefore that Filepos and Hananya themselves took not ordination from themselves, but from our Lord Christ. They believed in the Chief Priest of God, with whom there is none to be compared. PRAYER OF EARLY MORNING And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father of our Lord and our Saviour Jesus Christ, while thanking him because he has kept us throughout the night, and brought us from darkness into light, from corruption into that which is incorruptible, and from ignorance into the knowledge of the truth, that throughout the day also he may cause us to be in all peace and health, and protect his people with the power of his angels, who has authority over all work of blessing, the Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray. O Lord the almighty, do thou cause us to be in all peace and health throughout the day, for thou hast kept us throughout the night Thou, Lord, the almighty, send to us thine angel the good guide. And have mercy upon us according to the greatness of thy mercy, and according to the multitude of thy clemency blot out our wickedness. And none of us is an alien and a backslider, put us not away from thy favour, because of thy name which was named over us. Be forgiving to us and forsake us not. Grant us to obtain favour before thee and before Christ thy Son, through, etc. PRAYER FOR THE SICK And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc. for the sick brethren, that he may remove all sickness and all suffering from them. Having taken away the spirit of disease, may he who has authority for all healing give to them life, the Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray for the sick. God the almighty, the Father, etc. we pray thee and we beseech thee for the sick brethren. Grant to them life. Take away the spirit of sickness. Cause to pass away from them all disease and all suffering. Speedily let thy mercy find us, O Lord. The deacon shall say: Let us all say. The people shall say: Have mercy upon us. Physician of the soul and physician of the body, thou art the overseer of all flesh, and of those who are troubled with unclean spirits; deliver every tormented and IS oppressed soul, give health and give rest, drive away all disease from this house, and from those who call upon thy holy and blessed name. Having healed the disease of all of our souls, grant perfect soundness, through, etc. PRAYER FOR THOSE WHO MAKE A JOURNEY And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, JO etc, for those our brethren who make a journey, and also for those who are about to make a journey, whether by sea, or by rivers, or by the deeps, or by road, in whatever journey they may travel, that he may bring all into the safe harbour, the almighty Lord our God. IS The deacon shall say: Pray. Lord our God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee for our brethren who make a journey, and also for those who are about to make a journey abroad; direct (them) as fellow (traveller) though we are many. Speedily let thy mercy find us, O Lord. The deacon shall say: Let us all say. The people shall say: O Lord, have mercy upon us. Bring them into the safe harbour. Restore them to their people with joy and with peace, rejoicing and causing to rejoice, through, etc PRAYER FOR RAINS And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc, for rains, that he may send his rain into the place where it is needed, the almighty Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray. Lord our God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee, send thy rains into the place where they are needed. Make to rejoice the face of the earth, and water its furrows. Bring the sowing and the harvest, and bless the circle of the year with thy goodness. Speedily let thy mercy find us, O Lord. The deacon shall say: Let us all say. The people shall say: O Lord, have mercy upon us. For the poor of thy people, and for all those who hope in thee, work with us according to thy clemency, and nourish our mind with the doctrine of the Godhead, and with understanding which is from thee, through, etc. PRAYER FOR THE FRUIT OF THE EARTH And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father etc. for the fruit of the earth, that he may increase the fruit of the earth, and that he may be pleased to bring the sowing and the harvest. May he grant rich favour, the Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray for the fruit of the earth. Lord our God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee, increase the fruit of the earth, and be pleased (and) bring the sowing and the harvest, which is from thy goodness. Speedily let thy mercy find us, O Lord. The deacon shall say: Let us all say. The people shall say: O Lord, have mercy upon us. For the poor of thy people and for all who call upon thy holy and blessed name, through, etc. PRAYER FOR THE WATERS OF THE RIVERS And again we' beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc, for the waters of the rivers, that he may cause (them) to rise up to their (proper) measure. Make to rejoice the face of the earth. May he bring the sowing and the harvest May he grant rich favour, the Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray for the waters of the rivers. God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee, cause to rise the waters of the rivers up to their (proper) measure. Make to rejoice the face of the earth, and water its furrows. Multiply food, and bless the circle of the year with thy goodness. Speedily let thy mercy find us, O Lord. The deacon shall say: Let us all say. The people shall say: O Lord, have mercy upon us. For the poor of thy people, and for all who call upon thy holy and blessed name, through, etc. PRAYER FOR THE KING as And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc. for the lover of God, our king, Iyasu, that he should keep his kingdom without trouble, in peace and righteousness, the almighty Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray for the king. Lord our God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee for the king of this land, the lover of God, our king, Iyasu, and grant to him what is useful for him. Cause to submit his enemy, the peoples who are against his wall& And speak in his heart for thy holy Church. Speedily let thy mercy find us, O Lord. The deacon shall say: Let us all say. The people shall say: O Lord, have mercy upon him. Grant him without error to keep (his) understanding concerning the faith in the excellence of thy Godhead, through, etc. PRAYER FOR THOSE WHO OFFER AN OFFERING And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, is etc. for those who offer an offering in the holy, one, catholic (lit. which is over all) Church, a sacrifice, first fruits, tithes, a thanksgiving, a memorial, whether much or little, secret and open. And as for those who have nothing and wish to give, (though) they have nothing to to give, accept their desire, and having accepted the longing of every one of them, grant to them the heavenly Spirit And as for those who have somewhat and do not wish to give, soften their heart to do good, thou (lit. he) who hast authority for all work of blessing, the Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray for those who offer an offering. God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee for those who offer an offering to the holy, one, catholic Church, to the honour of thy name, an offering and a thanksgiving of first-fruits and of tithes, of much and of little, of secret and of open. And as for those who have nothing (yet) who wish to give, accept their desire as the offering of Abel: and as the Hebrew woman who offered the two mites, and as the sacrifice of the forefathers. And thus accept into the heavenly altar. Repay them with a reward of blessing, heavenly in return for earthly, and much in return for little, and open in return for secret, and life everlasting in Christ in return for food and drink, through, etc PRAYER FOR THE CATECHUMENS And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc. as regards his servants the catechumens, that he may impart to them in due time the washing of regeneration for the forgiveness of sin, the almighty Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray for the catechumens, God the Lord almighty, the Father, etc. we pray thee and we beseech thee, have mercy upon thy servants the catechumens. Be kind, (and) remove from them all the remains of the idols. Impose upon their hearts thy law and thy commandment, and thy righteousness and thine ordinance. Speedily let thy mercy find us. The deacon shall say: Let us all say. The people shall say: O Lord, have mercy upon us. In proper time (impart to them) the washing of regeneration for the forgiveness of sin. Make them the shrine of the Holy Spirit, through our Lord and our Saviour Jesus Christ, through whom, etc. PRAYER FOR THOSE WHO HAVE FALLEN ASLEEP And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc. Lord of the living, Life of the dead, and Hope of the desperate, Helper of the afflicted, Cleanser of sinners, who hast abolished death and burst the bonds of Satan (Sayetan). Thou hast granted life to the race of men, thee we pray and beseech, who wilt not die for ever and ever, with whom is the treasure of life, for those who have fallen asleep and rested in the faith; the forefathers, the bishops, (papasat), presbyters and deacons, and readers (anaguenestis), and monks, and virgins, and widows (of the order), infants, widows and orphans (lit. offspring of the dead); and for the soul of thy servant N(egale) and for the soul of all those who are there in that place, whom thou calledst from among thy people in righteousness and in uprightness. Give rest to their soul in the place of pasturage by the water of rest, in the bosom of Abreham, Yeshak, and Ya'ekob, in the garden of joy, among the guides of light, thine angels, having united (them) with thy holy ones. And raise up their body in the day which thou hast appointed, according to thy holy unlying promise of thy heavenly kingdom; for there is no death to thy servants, but rather a passing, and although one has sinned, and the law of man was hidden from them, be indulgent; for thou, God, art good and the lover of man; for there is none pure from uncleanness before thee, even though he lived one hour upon the earth. Do thou grant passings to their soul freely, without hindrance. Send the Spirit of the Comforter, and who gives consolation to their people. Comfort them, cause them to rejoice in Christ, through, etc. PRAYER FOR PEACE And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc, for the peace of the holy, one, catholic Church, that he may grant much peace upon all rulers (lit. shepherds) and peoples and upon all flocks, he who has authority for all peace, the Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray for peace. Lord our God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee for the peace of the holy, one, catholic Church. King of peace, give to us peace, because thou gavest to IS us everything. Possess us, God, and reward us, for beside thee there is no other whom we know. And thy holy name we name and we invoke. Do thou impart thy heavenly peace upon us all. Preserve (our) life (lit. soul) and our condition of this world peacefully. Give peace to the king of this land, and through thy holy name give counsel to the rulers of the neighbouring peoples. Guard our coming in and our going out in peace, that living in a quiet and tranquil life we may be found in all piety, in the fear of God and virtue in Christ, through, etc. PRAYER FOR THE CONGREGATION And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc. for the congregation, this as well as all our congregations, that he may grant that it may be according to his holy will, the almighty Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray for our congregation. God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee for this our congregation as well as all our congregations. Grant that it may be according to thy holy will, where we do this service of our congregation and other congregations also. And make it a house of prayer and a house of blessing. Vouchsafe to bestow upon us, and upon those who (come) after us, the everlasting salvation. Rise up, O Lord, and let all thine enemies be scattered, and let all flee away from before thy face who hate thy holy and blessed name, and make thy people ten thousand of ten thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand, through, etc PRAYER FOR THE PAPAS And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc. for the blessed and holy Papas, Aba N(egale), that thou wilt in keeping keep him for us during many years and during times of peace, while he fulfils the priesthood which has been entrusted to him by thee. May the Lord our God grant rich favour. The deacon shall say: Pray for Papas N. Lord our God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee for the blessed Papas N. In keeping keep him for us during many years, during times of peace, while he fulfils the priesthood which was entrusted to him by thee, together with all the bishops, presbyters, and deacons, and with all the fulness of the holy, one, catholic Church. And the prayer which they make for us and for all thy people hear (it), and accept them; and open to them the treasury of thy clemency; and further, pour down upon him abundantly thy grace of thy Holy Spirit, thy heavenly blessing, that he may bless thy people; and moreover, cause to submit every enemy, visible or invisible, and bruise (them) under his feet; and himself indeed keep for thy Church in glory, through thine only Son, through whom to thee with him and with the Holy Spirit (be) glory and might, now and ever and for ever and ever. Amen.

Concerning the Order of the Priesthood. Each one of you knows what we have ordained for you, and further ye know that there are some whom we name bishops, and others whom we name presbyters, and others are named deacons. With prayer we laid hand upon them, and we appointed to each an Order according to its different name. And among us there is no one who desires a filling of our hand, nor will he receive from us that which he wishes for of priesthood, as the priests of the oxen of Iyurebe'am, which were made as an abomination to God. Unless there had been a special Order for each according to law, one name would have sufficed for all the world; but having been taught by God a guidance for all functions, we have separated for the bishops the ordination of the priesthood, for the presbyters the priesthood, for the deacons the service.... that the work of the service might be completed withal. It is not seemly for the deacons to offer the Oblation, or to baptise, or to give the Eulogia to small or to great. And the presbyter shall not ordain anyone, because he was not worthy (of anything) beside his Order. For God is not a God of confusion, so that the inferiors may not grasp (at office) with audacity. What work then will be completed by the imperfect } And they make a new law to their own destruction, and do not know that it is a small thing which is in their power (lit. with them); and they kick with their feet in the net And if thus, they do not oppose us, but they oppose the Bishop of all the world, the Son of God, the Chief Priest Jesus Christ our Lord, A chief priest, priests, and levites were ordained by Moses, the lover of God, and we the twelve Apostles were ordained by our Lord and our Saviour Jesus Christ, and we ordained for us Klementos and Ya'ekob and others with them, that we might send ' each one of them, and further, we all of us ordained withal presbyters and deacons. And the first Presbyter, the only true Chief Priest, is our Lord Jesus Christ, who did not grasp for himself the honour, but the Father ordained him. And as he is the Chief Priest for us, so he offered spiritual sacrifice to God the Father before he was crucified, and he commanded us to do likewise. And there were others with us who believe in him, but he does not grant to all who believe in him to be priests, nor to obtain the Order of ordination of priesthood like us. And after his Ascension we offered according to the ordinance of the holy bloodless Oblation. And we ordained bishops and presbyters and deacons in number seven, and amongst them Estifanos, the first martyr, who was not the least of us in his love of God: but he showed his service of God by faith and love of Jesus Christ our Lord, so much that he gave his life up for his sake; and the wicked Jews, the murderers of the Lord, stoned him with stones for his name and killed him. But he was a man of such fervent spirit that he saw our Lord Christ at the right hand of God, and he saw the open gates of the heavens. And it is nowhere found that he did what was not suitable for him as deacon, that he offered sacrifice or laid hand upon anyone, but he kept to his Order of deacon unto the end. For thus it was proper for the martyr of our Lord Christ to fulfil the duties of his Order. And if there are any who blame Filepos the deacon and Hananya the faithful brother because the one baptised the eunuch and the other baptised even me, Pawlos, they are deluded as to what we say; for we say that no one should take by force the ordination of priesthood, but he obtained it from God, as Malkasedek and Ya'ekob; or from the chief priest, as Aron from IS Muse; therefore that Filepos and Hananya themselves took not ordination from themselves, but from our Lord Christ. They believed in the Chief Priest of God, with whom there is none to be compared. PRAYER OF EARLY MORNING And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father of our Lord and our Saviour Jesus Christ, while thanking him because he has kept us throughout the night, and brought us from darkness into light, from corruption into that which is incorruptible, and from ignorance into the knowledge of the truth, that throughout the day also he may cause us to be in all peace and health, and protect his people with the power of his angels, who has authority over all work of blessing, the Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray. O Lord the almighty, do thou cause us to be in all peace and health throughout the day, for thou hast kept us throughout the night Thou, Lord, the almighty, send to us thine angel the good guide. And have mercy upon us according to the greatness of thy mercy, and according to the multitude of thy clemency blot out our wickedness. And none of us is an alien and a backslider, put us not away from thy favour, because of thy name which was named over us. Be forgiving to us and forsake us not. Grant us to obtain favour before thee and before Christ thy Son, through, etc. PRAYER FOR THE SICK And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc. for the sick brethren, that he may remove all sickness and all suffering from them. Having taken away the spirit of disease, may he who has authority for all healing give to them life, the Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray for the sick. God the almighty, the Father, etc. we pray thee and we beseech thee for the sick brethren. Grant to them life. Take away the spirit of sickness. Cause to pass away from them all disease and all suffering. Speedily let thy mercy find us, O Lord. The deacon shall say: Let us all say. The people shall say: Have mercy upon us. Physician of the soul and physician of the body, thou art the overseer of all flesh, and of those who are troubled with unclean spirits; deliver every tormented and IS oppressed soul, give health and give rest, drive away all disease from this house, and from those who call upon thy holy and blessed name. Having healed the disease of all of our souls, grant perfect soundness, through, etc. PRAYER FOR THOSE WHO MAKE A JOURNEY And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, JO etc, for those our brethren who make a journey, and also for those who are about to make a journey, whether by sea, or by rivers, or by the deeps, or by road, in whatever journey they may travel, that he may bring all into the safe harbour, the almighty Lord our God. IS The deacon shall say: Pray. Lord our God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee for our brethren who make a journey, and also for those who are about to make a journey abroad; direct (them) as fellow (traveller) though we are many. Speedily let thy mercy find us, O Lord. The deacon shall say: Let us all say. The people shall say: O Lord, have mercy upon us. Bring them into the safe harbour. Restore them to their people with joy and with peace, rejoicing and causing to rejoice, through, etc PRAYER FOR RAINS And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc, for rains, that he may send his rain into the place where it is needed, the almighty Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray. Lord our God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee, send thy rains into the place where they are needed. Make to rejoice the face of the earth, and water its furrows. Bring the sowing and the harvest, and bless the circle of the year with thy goodness. Speedily let thy mercy find us, O Lord. The deacon shall say: Let us all say. The people shall say: O Lord, have mercy upon us. For the poor of thy people, and for all those who hope in thee, work with us according to thy clemency, and nourish our mind with the doctrine of the Godhead, and with understanding which is from thee, through, etc. PRAYER FOR THE FRUIT OF THE EARTH And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father etc. for the fruit of the earth, that he may increase the fruit of the earth, and that he may be pleased to bring the sowing and the harvest. May he grant rich favour, the Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray for the fruit of the earth. Lord our God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee, increase the fruit of the earth, and be pleased (and) bring the sowing and the harvest, which is from thy goodness. Speedily let thy mercy find us, O Lord. The deacon shall say: Let us all say. The people shall say: O Lord, have mercy upon us. For the poor of thy people and for all who call upon thy holy and blessed name, through, etc. PRAYER FOR THE WATERS OF THE RIVERS And again we' beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc, for the waters of the rivers, that he may cause (them) to rise up to their (proper) measure. Make to rejoice the face of the earth. May he bring the sowing and the harvest May he grant rich favour, the Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray for the waters of the rivers. God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee, cause to rise the waters of the rivers up to their (proper) measure. Make to rejoice the face of the earth, and water its furrows. Multiply food, and bless the circle of the year with thy goodness. Speedily let thy mercy find us, O Lord. The deacon shall say: Let us all say. The people shall say: O Lord, have mercy upon us. For the poor of thy people, and for all who call upon thy holy and blessed name, through, etc. PRAYER FOR THE KING as And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc. for the lover of God, our king, Iyasu, that he should keep his kingdom without trouble, in peace and righteousness, the almighty Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray for the king. Lord our God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee for the king of this land, the lover of God, our king, Iyasu, and grant to him what is useful for him. Cause to submit his enemy, the peoples who are against his wall& And speak in his heart for thy holy Church. Speedily let thy mercy find us, O Lord. The deacon shall say: Let us all say. The people shall say: O Lord, have mercy upon him. Grant him without error to keep (his) understanding concerning the faith in the excellence of thy Godhead, through, etc. PRAYER FOR THOSE WHO OFFER AN OFFERING And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, is etc. for those who offer an offering in the holy, one, catholic (lit. which is over all) Church, a sacrifice, first fruits, tithes, a thanksgiving, a memorial, whether much or little, secret and open. And as for those who have nothing and wish to give, (though) they have nothing to to give, accept their desire, and having accepted the longing of every one of them, grant to them the heavenly Spirit And as for those who have somewhat and do not wish to give, soften their heart to do good, thou (lit. he) who hast authority for all work of blessing, the Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray for those who offer an offering. God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee for those who offer an offering to the holy, one, catholic Church, to the honour of thy name, an offering and a thanksgiving of first-fruits and of tithes, of much and of little, of secret and of open. And as for those who have nothing (yet) who wish to give, accept their desire as the offering of Abel: and as the Hebrew woman who offered the two mites, and as the sacrifice of the forefathers. And thus accept into the heavenly altar. Repay them with a reward of blessing, heavenly in return for earthly, and much in return for little, and open in return for secret, and life everlasting in Christ in return for food and drink, through, etc PRAYER FOR THE CATECHUMENS And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc. as regards his servants the catechumens, that he may impart to them in due time the washing of regeneration for the forgiveness of sin, the almighty Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray for the catechumens, God the Lord almighty, the Father, etc. we pray thee and we beseech thee, have mercy upon thy servants the catechumens. Be kind, (and) remove from them all the remains of the idols. Impose upon their hearts thy law and thy commandment, and thy righteousness and thine ordinance. Speedily let thy mercy find us. The deacon shall say: Let us all say. The people shall say: O Lord, have mercy upon us. In proper time (impart to them) the washing of regeneration for the forgiveness of sin. Make them the shrine of the Holy Spirit, through our Lord and our Saviour Jesus Christ, through whom, etc. PRAYER FOR THOSE WHO HAVE FALLEN ASLEEP And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc. Lord of the living, Life of the dead, and Hope of the desperate, Helper of the afflicted, Cleanser of sinners, who hast abolished death and burst the bonds of Satan (Sayetan). Thou hast granted life to the race of men, thee we pray and beseech, who wilt not die for ever and ever, with whom is the treasure of life, for those who have fallen asleep and rested in the faith; the forefathers, the bishops, (papasat), presbyters and deacons, and readers (anaguenestis), and monks, and virgins, and widows (of the order), infants, widows and orphans (lit. offspring of the dead); and for the soul of thy servant N(egale) and for the soul of all those who are there in that place, whom thou calledst from among thy people in righteousness and in uprightness. Give rest to their soul in the place of pasturage by the water of rest, in the bosom of Abreham, Yeshak, and Ya'ekob, in the garden of joy, among the guides of light, thine angels, having united (them) with thy holy ones. And raise up their body in the day which thou hast appointed, according to thy holy unlying promise of thy heavenly kingdom; for there is no death to thy servants, but rather a passing, and although one has sinned, and the law of man was hidden from them, be indulgent; for thou, God, art good and the lover of man; for there is none pure from uncleanness before thee, even though he lived one hour upon the earth. Do thou grant passings to their soul freely, without hindrance. Send the Spirit of the Comforter, and who gives consolation to their people. Comfort them, cause them to rejoice in Christ, through, etc. PRAYER FOR PEACE And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc, for the peace of the holy, one, catholic Church, that he may grant much peace upon all rulers (lit. shepherds) and peoples and upon all flocks, he who has authority for all peace, the Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray for peace. Lord our God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee for the peace of the holy, one, catholic Church. King of peace, give to us peace, because thou gavest to IS us everything. Possess us, God, and reward us, for beside thee there is no other whom we know. And thy holy name we name and we invoke. Do thou impart thy heavenly peace upon us all. Preserve (our) life (lit. soul) and our condition of this world peacefully. Give peace to the king of this land, and through thy holy name give counsel to the rulers of the neighbouring peoples. Guard our coming in and our going out in peace, that living in a quiet and tranquil life we may be found in all piety, in the fear of God and virtue in Christ, through, etc. PRAYER FOR THE CONGREGATION And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc. for the congregation, this as well as all our congregations, that he may grant that it may be according to his holy will, the almighty Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray for our congregation. God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee for this our congregation as well as all our congregations. Grant that it may be according to thy holy will, where we do this service of our congregation and other congregations also. And make it a house of prayer and a house of blessing. Vouchsafe to bestow upon us, and upon those who (come) after us, the everlasting salvation. Rise up, O Lord, and let all thine enemies be scattered, and let all flee away from before thy face who hate thy holy and blessed name, and make thy people ten thousand of ten thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand, through, etc PRAYER FOR THE PAPAS And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc. for the blessed and holy Papas, Aba N(egale), that thou wilt in keeping keep him for us during many years and during times of peace, while he fulfils the priesthood which has been entrusted to him by thee. May the Lord our God grant rich favour. The deacon shall say: Pray for Papas N. Lord our God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee for the blessed Papas N. In keeping keep him for us during many years, during times of peace, while he fulfils the priesthood which was entrusted to him by thee, together with all the bishops, presbyters, and deacons, and with all the fulness of the holy, one, catholic Church. And the prayer which they make for us and for all thy people hear (it), and accept them; and open to them the treasury of thy clemency; and further, pour down upon him abundantly thy grace of thy Holy Spirit, thy heavenly blessing, that he may bless thy people; and moreover, cause to submit every enemy, visible or invisible, and bruise (them) under his feet; and himself indeed keep for thy Church in glory, through thine only Son, through whom to thee with him and with the Holy Spirit (be) glory and might, now and ever and for ever and ever. Amen.

You shall not be as a wanderer and drifter abroad, rambling about the streets, without just cause, to spy out such as live wickedly. But by minding your own trade and employment, endeavour to do what is acceptable to God. And keeping in mind the oracles of Christ, meditate in the same continually. For so the Scripture says to you: You shall meditate in His law day and night; when you walk in the field, and when you sit in your house, and when you lie down, and when you rise up, that you may have understanding in all things. Nay, although you are rich, and so do not want a trade for your maintenance, be not one that wanders about, and walks abroad at random; but either go to some that are believers, and of the same religion, and confer and discourse with them about the lively oracles of God: —

Yet it is very necessary that those who are yet innocent should continue so, and not make an experiment what sin is, that they may not have occasion for trouble, sorrow, and those lamentations which are in order to forgiveness. For how do you know, O man, when you sin, whether you shall live any number of days in this present state, that you may have time to repent? For the time of your departure out of this world is uncertain; and if you die in sin, there will remain no repentance for you; as God says by David, In the grave who will confess to You? It behooves us, therefore, to be ready in the doing of our duty, that so we may await our passage into another world without sorrow. Wherefore also the Divine Word exhorts, speaking to you by the wise Solomon, Prepare your works against your exit, and provide all beforehand in the field, lest some of the things necessary to your journey be wanting; as the oil of piety was deficient in the five foolish virgins mentioned in the Gospel, when they, on account of their having extinguished their lamps of divine knowledge, were shut out of the bride-chamber. Wherefore he who values the security of his soul will take care to be out of danger, by keeping free from sin, that so he may preserve the advantage of his former good works to himself. Therefore, so judge as executing judgment for God. For, as the Scripture says, the judgment is the Lord's. In the first place, therefore, condemn the guilty person with authority; afterwards try to bring him home with mercy and compassion, and readiness to receive him, promising him salvation if he will change his course of life, and become a penitent; and when he does repent, and has submitted to his chastisement, receive him: remembering that our Lord has said, There is joy in heaven over one sinner that repents.

As to a good shepherd, let the lay person honour him, love him, reverence him as his lord, as his master, as the high priest of God, as a teacher of piety. For he that hears him, hears Christ; and he that rejects him, rejects Christ; and he who does not receive Christ, does not receive His God and Father: for, says He, He that hears you, hears me; and he that rejects you, rejects me; and he that rejects me, rejects Him that sent me. In like manner, let the bishop love the laity as his children, fostering and cherishing them with affectionate diligence; as eggs, in order to the hatching of young ones; or as young ones, taking them in his arms, to the rearing them into birds: admonishing all men; reproving all who stand in need of reproof; reproving, that is, but not striking; beating them down to make them ashamed, but not overthrowing them; warning them in order to their conversion: chiding them in order to their reformation and better course of life; watching the strong, that is, keeping him firm in the faith who is already strong; feeding the people peaceably; strengthening the weak, that is, confirming with exhortation that which is tempted; healing that which is sick, that is, curing by instruction that which is weak in the faith through doubtfulness of mind; binding up that which is broken, that is, binding up by comfortable admonitions that which is gone astray, or wounded, bruised, or broken by their sins, and put out of the way; leasing it of its offenses, and giving hope: by this means restore it in strength to the Church, bringing it back into the flock. Bring again that which is driven away, that is, do not permit that which is in its sins, and is cast out by way of punishment, to continue excluded; but receiving it, and bringing it back, restore it to the flock, that is, to the people of the undefiled Church. Seek for that which is lost, that is, do not suffer that which desponds of its salvation, by reason of the multitude of its offenses, utterly to perish. Search for that which is grown sleepy, drowsy, and sluggish, and that which is unmindful of its own life, through the depth of its sleep, and which is at a great distance from its own flock, so as to be in danger of falling among the wolves, and being devoured by them. Bring it back by admonition, exhort it to be watchful; and insinuate hope, not permitting it to say that which was said by some: Our impieties are upon us, and we pine away in them; how shall we then live? As far as possible, therefore, let the bishop make the offense his own, and say to the sinner, Do thou but return, and I will undertake to suffer death for you, as our Lord suffered death for me, and for all men. For the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep; but he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming, that is, the devil, and he leaves the sheep, and flees, and the wolf seizes upon them. We must know, therefore, that God is very merciful to those who have offended, and has promised repentance with an oath. But he who has offended, and is unacquainted with this promise of God concerning repentance, and does not understand His long-suffering and forbearance, and besides is ignorant of the Holy Scriptures, which proclaim repentance, inasmuch as he has never learned them from you, perishes through his folly. But — like a compassionate shepherd, and a diligent feeder of the flock — search out, and keep an account of your flock. Seek that which is wanting; as the Lord God our gracious Father has sent His own Son, the good Shepherd and Saviour, our Master Jesus, and has commanded Him to leave the ninety-nine upon the mountains, and to go in search after that which was lost, and when He had found it, to take it upon His shoulders, and to carry it into the flock, rejoicing that He had found that which was lost. In like manner, be obedient, O bishop, and seek that which was lost, guide that which has wandered out of the right way, bring back that which is gone astray: for you have authority to bring them back, and to deliver those that are broken-hearted by remission. For by you does our Saviour say to him who is discouraged under the sense of his sins, Your sins are forgiven you: your faith has saved you; go in peace. But this peace and haven of tranquillity is the Church of Christ, into which do you, when you have loosed them from their sins, restore them, as being now sound and unblameable, of good hope, diligent, laborious in good works. As a skilful and compassionate physician, heal all such as have wandered in the ways of sin; for they that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick. For the Son of man came to save and to seek that which was lost. Since you are therefore a physician of the Lord's Church, provide remedies suitable to every patient's case. Cure them, heal them by all means possible; restore them sound to the Church. Feed the flock, not with insolence and contempt, as lording it over them, but as a gentle shepherd, gathering the lambs into your bosom, and gently leading those which are with young.

Be gentle, gracious, mild, without guile, without falsehood; not rigid, not insolent, not severe, not arrogant, not unmerciful, not puffed up, not a man-pleaser, not timorous, not double-minded, not one that insults over the people that are under you, not one that conceals the divine laws and the promises to repentance, not hasty in thrusting out and expelling, but steady, not one that delights in severity, not heady. Do not admit less evidence to convict any one than that of three witnesses, and those of known and established reputation; inquire whether they do not accuse out of ill-will or envy: for there are many that delight in mischief, forward in discourse, slanderous, haters of the brethren, making it their business to scatter the sheep of Christ; whose affirmation if you admit without nice scanning the same, you will disperse your flock, and betray it to be devoured by wolves, that is, by demons and wicked men, or rather not men, but wild beasts in the shape of men — by the heathen, by the Jews, and by the atheistic heretics. For those destroying wolves soon address themselves to any one that is cast out of the Church, and esteem him as a lamb delivered for them to devour, reckoning his destruction their own gain. For he that is their father, the devil, is a murderer. He also who is separated unjustly by your want of care in judging will be overwhelmed with sorrow, and be disconsolate, and so will either wander over to the heathen, or be entangled in heresies, and so will be altogether estranged from the Church and from hope in God, and will be entangled in impiety, whereby you will be guilty of his perdition: for it is not fair to be too hasty in casting out an offender, but slow in receiving him when he returns; to be forward in cutting off, but unmerciful when he is sorrowful, and ought to be healed. For of such as these speaks the divine Scripture: Their feet run to mischief; they are hasty to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways, and the way of peace have they not known. The fear of God is not before their eyes. Now the way of peace is our Saviour Jesus Christ, who has taught us, saying: Forgive, and you shall be forgiven. Give, and it shall be given to you; that is, give remission of sins, and your offenses shall be forgiven you. As also He instructed us by His prayer to say unto God: Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. If, therefore, you do not forgive offenders, how can you expect the remission of your own sins? Do not you rather bind yourselves faster, by pretending in your prayers to forgive, when you really do not forgive? Will you not be confronted with your own words, when you say you forgive and do not forgive? For know that he who casts out one who has not behaved himself wickedly, or who will not receive him that returns, is a murderer of his brother, and sheds his blood, as Cain did that of his brother Abel, and his blood cries to God, and will be required. For a righteous man unjustly slain by any one will be in rest with God forever. The same is the case of him who without cause is separated by his bishop. He who has cast him out as a pestilent fellow when he was innocent, is more furious than a murderer. Such a one has no regard to the mercy of God, nor is mindful of His goodness to those that are penitent, nor keeping in his eye the examples of those who, having been once great offenders, received forgiveness upon their repentance. Upon which account, he who casts off an innocent person is more cruel than he that murders the body. In like manner, he who does not receive the penitent, scatters the flock of Christ, being really against Him. For as God is just in judging of sinners, so is He merciful in receiving them when they return. For David, the man after God's own heart, in his hymns ascribes both mercy and judgment to Him.

When you call an assembly of the Church as one that is the commander of a great ship, appoint the assemblies to be made with all possible skill, charging the deacons as mariners to prepare places for the brethren as for passengers, with all due care and decency. And first, let the building be long, with its head to the east, with its vestries on both sides at the east end, and so it will be like a ship. In the middle let the bishop's throne be placed, and on each side of him let the presbytery sit down; and let the deacons stand near at hand, in close and small girt garments, for they are like the mariners and managers of the ship: with regard to these, let the laity sit on the other side, with all quietness and good order. And let the women sit by themselves, they also keeping silence. In the middle, let the reader stand upon some high place: let him read the books of Moses, of Joshua the Son of Nun, of the Judges, and of the Kings and of the Chronicles, and those written after the return from the captivity; and besides these, the books of Job and of Solomon, and of the sixteen prophets. But when there have been two lessons severally read, let some other person sing the hymns of David, and let the people join at the conclusions of the verses. Afterwards let our Acts be read, and the Epistles of Paul our fellow-worker, which he sent to the churches under the conduct of the Holy Spirit; and afterwards let a deacon or a presbyter read the Gospels, both those which I Matthew and John have delivered to you, and those which the fellow-workers of Paul received and left to you, Luke and Mark. And while the Gospel is read, let all the presbyters and deacons, and all the people, stand up in great silence; for it is written: Be silent, and hear, O Israel. And again: But stand there, and hear. In the next place, let the presbyters one by one, not all together, exhort the people, and the bishop in the last place, as being the commander. Let the porters stand at the entries of the men, and observe them. Let the deaconesses also stand at those of the women, like shipmen. For the same description and pattern was both in the tabernacle of the testimony and in the temple of God. But if any one be found sitting out of his place, let him be rebuked by the deacon, as a manager of the foreship, and be removed into the place proper for him; for the Church is not only like a ship, but also like a sheepfold. For as the shepherds place all the brute creatures distinctly, I mean goats and sheep, according to their kind and age, and still every one runs together, like to his like; so is it to be in the Church. Let the young persons sit by themselves, if there be a place for them; if not, let them stand upright. But let those that are already stricken in years sit in order. For the children which stand, let their fathers and mothers take them to them. Let the younger women also sit by themselves, if there be a place for them; but if there be not, let them stand behind the women. Let those women which are married, and have children, be placed by themselves; but let the virgins, and the widows, and the elder women, stand or sit before all the rest; and let the deacon be the disposer of the places, that every one of those that comes in may go to his proper place, and may not sit at the entrance. In like manner, let the deacon oversee the people, that nobody may whisper, nor slumber, nor laugh, nor nod; for all ought in the church to stand wisely, and soberly, and attentively, having their attention fixed upon the word of the Lord. After this, let all rise up with one consent, and looking towards the east, after the catechumens and penitents are gone out, pray to God eastward, who ascended up to the heaven of heavens to the east; remembering also the ancient situation of paradise in the east, from whence the first man, when he had yielded to the persuasion of the serpent, and disobeyed the command of God, was expelled. As to the deacons, after the prayer is over, let some of them attend upon the oblation of the Eucharist, ministering to the Lord's body with fear. Let others of them watch the multitude, and keep them silent. But let that deacon who is at the high priest's hand say to the people, Let no one have any quarrel against another; let no one come in hypocrisy. Then let the men give the men, and the women give the women, the Lord's kiss. But let no one do it with deceit, as Judas betrayed the Lord with a kiss. After this let the deacon pray for the whole Church, for the whole world, and the several parts of it, and the fruits of it; for the priests and the rulers, for the high priest and the king, and the peace of the universe. After this let the high priest pray for peace upon the people, and bless them, as Moses commanded the priests to bless the people, in these words: The Lord bless you, and keep you: the Lord make His face to shine upon you, and give you peace. Let the bishop pray for the people, and say: Save Your people, O Lord, and bless Your inheritance, which You have obtained with the precious blood of Your Christ, and hast called a royal priesthood, and an holy nation. After this let the sacrifice follow, the people standing, and praying silently; and when the oblation has been made, let every rank by itself partake of the Lord's body and precious blood in order, and approach with reverence and holy fear, as to the body of their king. Let the women approach with their heads covered, as is becoming the order of women; but let the door be watched, lest any unbeliever, or one not yet initiated, come in.

And when you shall bring them they shall be in your keeping, you shall rear them until they grow up, and you shall teach them to dart upon, as is the way of the young ones of the hawk.

These things were told Vespasian by deserters; for although the seditious watched all the passages out of the city, and destroyed all, whosoever they were, that came thither, yet were there some that had concealed themselves, and when they had fled to the Romans, persuaded their general to come to their city's assistance, and save the remainder of the people; informing him withal, that it was upon account of the people's good-will to the Romans that many of them were already slain, and the survivors in danger of the same treatment. Vespasian did indeed already pity the calamities these men were in, and arose, in appearance, as though he was going to besiege Jerusalem, but in reality to deliver them from a [worse] siege they were already under. However, he was obliged first to overthrow what remained elsewhere, and to leave nothing out of Jerusalem behind him that might interrupt him in that siege. Accordingly, he marched against Gadara, the metropolis of Perea, which was a place of strength, and entered that city on the fourth day of the month Dystrus [Adar]; for the men of power had sent an embassage to him, without the knowledge of the seditious, to treat about a surrender; which they did out of the desire they had of peace, and for saving their effects, because many of the citizens of Gadara were rich men. This embassy the opposite party knew nothing of, but discovered it as Vespasian was approaching near the city. However, they despaired of keeping possession of the city, as being inferior in number to their enemies who were within the city, and seeing the Romans very near to the city; so they resolved to fly, but thought it dishonorable to do it without shedding some blood, and revenging themselves on the authors of this surrender; so they seized upon Dolesus, [a person not only the first in rank and family in that city, but one that seemed the occasion of sending such an embassy,] and slew him, and treated his dead body after a barbarous manner, so very violent was their anger at him, and then ran out of the city. And as now the Roman army was just upon them, the people of Gadara admitted Vespasian with joyful acclamations, and received from him the security of his right hand, as also a garrison of horsemen and footmen, to guard them against the excursions of the runagates; for as to their wall, they had pulled it down before the Romans desired them so to do, that they might thereby give them assurance that they were lovers of peace, and that, if they had a mind, they could not now make war against them.

Now when hitherto the several parties in the city had been dashing one against another perpetually, this foreign war, now suddenly come upon them after a violent manner, put the first stop to their contentions one against another; and as the seditious now saw with astonishment the Romans pitching three several camps, they began to think of an awkward sort of concord, and said one to another, "What do we here, and what do we mean, when we suffer three fortified walls to be built to coop us in, that we shall not be able to breathe freely? while the enemy is securely building a kind of city in opposition to us, and while we sit still within our own walls, and become spectators only of what they are doing, with our hands idle, and our armor laid by, as if they were about somewhat that was for our good and advantage. We are, it seems, [so did they cry out,] only courageous against ourselves, while the Romans are likely to gain the city without bloodshed by our sedition." Thus did they encourage one another when they were gotten together, and took their armor immediately, and ran out upon the tenth legion, and fell upon the Romans with great eagerness, and with a prodigious shout, as they were fortifying their camp. These Romans were caught in different parties, and this in order to perform their several works, and on that account had in great measure laid aside their arms; for they thought the Jews would not have ventured to make a sally upon them; and had they been disposed so to do, they supposed their sedition would have distracted them. So they were put into disorder unexpectedly; when some of them left their works they were about, and immediately marched off, while many ran to their arms, but were smitten and slain before they could turn back upon the enemy. The Jews became still more and more in number, as encouraged by the good success of those that first made the attack; and while they had such good fortune, they seemed both to themselves and to the enemy to be many more than they really were. The disorderly way of their fighting at first put the Romans also to a stand, who had been constantly used to fight skillfully in good order, and with keeping their ranks, and obeying the orders that were given them; for which reason the Romans were caught unexpectedly, and were obliged to give way to the assaults that were made upon them. Now when these Romans were overtaken, and turned back upon the Jews, they put a stop to their career; yet when they did not take care enough of themselves through the vehemency of their pursuit, they were wounded by them; but as still more and more Jews sallied out of the city, the Romans were at length brought into confusion, and put to flight, and ran away from their camp. Nay, things looked as though the entire legion would have been in danger, unless Titus had been informed of the case they were in, and had sent them succors immediately. So he reproached them for their cowardice, and brought those back that were running away, and fell himself upon the Jews on their flank, with those select troops that were with him, and slew a considerable number, and wounded more of them, and put them all to flight, and made them run away hastily down the valley. Now as these Jews suffered greatly in the declivity of the valley, so when they were gotten over it, they turned about, and stood over against the Romans, having the valley between them, and there fought with them. Thus did they continue the fight till noon; but when it was already a little after noon, Titus set those that came to the assistance of the Romans with him, and those that belonged to the cohorts, to prevent the Jews from making any more sallies, and then sent the rest of the legion to the upper part of the mountain, to fortify their camp.

After this these Jews, without keeping any decorum, grew insolent upon their good fortune, and jested upon the Romans for being deluded by the trick they had put upon them, and making a noise with beating their shields, leaped for gladness, and made joyful exclamations; while these soldiers were received with threatenings by their officers, and with indignation by Caesar himself, [who spake to them thus]: These Jews, who are only conducted by their madness, do every thing with care and circumspection; they contrive stratagems, and lay ambushes, and fortune gives success to their stratagems, because they are obedient, and preserve their goodwill and fidelity to one another; while the Romans, to whom fortune uses to be ever subservient, by reason of their good order, and ready submission to their commanders, have now had ill success by their contrary behavior, and by not being able to restrain their hands from action, they have been caught; and that which is the most to their reproach, they have gone on without their commanders, in the very presence of Caesar. "Truly," says Titus, "the laws of war cannot but groan heavily, as will my father also himself, when he shall be informed of this wound that hath been given us, since he who is grown old in wars did never make so great a mistake. Our laws of war do also ever inflict capital punishment on those that in the least break into good order, while at this time they have seen an entire army run into disorder. However, those that have been so insolent shall be made immediately sensible, that even they who conquer among the Romans without orders for fighting are to be under disgrace." When Titus had enlarged upon this matter before the commanders, it appeared evident that he would execute the law against all those that were concerned; so these soldiers' minds sunk down in despair, as expecting to be put to death, and that justly and quickly. However, the other legions came round about Titus, and entreated his favor to these their fellow soldiers, and made supplication to him, that he would pardon the rashness of a few, on account of the better obedience of all the rest; and promised for them that they should make amends for their present fault, by their more virtuous behavior for the time to come.

Now these towers were very troublesome to the Jews, who otherwise opposed the Romans very courageously; for they shot at them out of their lighter engines from those towers, as they did also by those that threw darts, and the archers, and those that flung stones. For neither could the Jews reach those that were over them, by reason of their height; and it was not practicable to take them, nor to overturn them, they were so heavy, nor to set them on fire, because they were covered with plates of iron. So they retired out of the reach of the darts, and did no longer endeavor to hinder the impression of their rams, which, by continually beating upon the wall, did gradually prevail against it; so that the wall already gave way to the Nico, for by that name did the Jews themselves call the greatest of their engines, because it conquered all things. And now they were for a long while grown weary of fighting, and of keeping guards, and were retired to lodge in the night time at a distance from the wall. It was on other accounts also thought by them to be superfluous to guard the wall, there being besides that two other fortifications still remaining, and they being slothful, and their counsels having been ill concerted on all occasions; so a great many grew lazy and retired. Then the Romans mounted the breach, where Nico had made one, and all the Jews left the guarding that wall, and retreated to the second wall; so those that had gotten over that wall opened the gates, and received all the army within it. And thus did the Romans get possession of this first wall, on the fifteenth day of the siege, which was the seventh day of the month Artemisius, [Jyar,] when they demolished a great part of it, as well as they did of the northern parts of the city, which had been demolished also by Cestius formerly.

Petus then sent some of his men to seize upon Samosate, and by their means took possession of that city, while he went himself to attack Antiochus with the rest of his army. However, the king was not prevailed upon by the distress he was in to do any thing in the way of war against the Romans, but bemoaned his own hard fate, and endured with patience what he was not able to prevent. But his sons, who were young, and unexperienced in war, but of strong bodies, were not easily induced to bear this calamity without fighting. Epiphanes, therefore, and Callinicus, betook themselves to military force; and as the battle was a sore one, and lasted all the day long, they showed their own valor in a remarkable manner, and nothing but the approach of night put a period thereto, and that without any diminution of their forces; yet would not Antiochus, upon this conclusion of the fight, continue there by any means, but took his wife and his daughters, and fled away with them to Cilicia, and by so doing quite discouraged the minds of his own soldiers. Accordingly, they revolted, and went over to the Romans, out of the despair they were in of his keeping the kingdom; and his case was looked upon by all as quite desperate. It was therefore necessary that Epiphanes and his soldiers should get clear of their enemies before they became entirely destitute of any confederates; nor were there any more than ten horsemen with him, who passed with him over Euphrates, whence they went undisturbed to Vologeses, the king of Parthia, where they were not disregarded as fugitives, but had the same respect paid them as if they had retained their ancient prosperity.

This was Eleazar's speech to them. Yet did not the opinions of all the auditors acquiesce therein; but although some of them were very zealous to put his advice in practice, and were in a manner filled with pleasure at it, and thought death to be a good thing, yet had those that were most effeminate a commiseration for their wives and families; and when these men were especially moved by the prospect of their own certain death, they looked wistfully at one another, and by the tears that were in their eyes declared their dissent from his opinion. When Eleazar saw these people in such fear, and that their souls were dejected at so prodigious a proposal, he was afraid lest perhaps these effeminate persons should, by their lamentations and tears, enfeeble those that heard what he had said courageously; so he did not leave off exhorting them, but stirred up himself, and recollecting proper arguments for raising their courage, he undertook to speak more briskly and fully to them, and that concerning the immortality of the soul. So he made a lamentable groan, and fixing his eyes intently on those that wept, he spake thus: "Truly, I was greatly mistaken when I thought to be assisting to brave men who struggled hard for their liberty, and to such as were resolved either to live with honor, or else to die; but I find that you are such people as are no better than others, either in virtue or in courage, and are afraid of dying, though you be delivered thereby from the greatest miseries, while you ought to make no delay in this matter, nor to await any one to give you good advice; for the laws of our country, and of God himself, have from ancient times, and as soon as ever we could use our reason, continually taught us, and our forefathers have corroborated the same doctrine by their actions, and by their bravery of mind, that it is life that is a calamity to men, and not death; for this last affords our souls their liberty, and sends them by a removal into their own place of purity, where they are to be insensible of all sorts of misery; for while souls are tied down to a mortal body, they are partakers of its miseries; and really, to speak the truth, they are themselves dead; for the union of what is divine to what is mortal is disagreeable. It is true, the power of the soul is great, even when it is imprisoned in a mortal body; for by moving it after a way that is invisible, it makes the body a sensible instrument, and causes it to advance further in its actions than mortal nature could otherwise do. However, when it is freed from that weight which draws it down to the earth and is connected with it, it obtains its own proper place, and does then become a partaker of that blessed power, and those abilities, which are then every way incapable of being hindered in their operations. It continues invisible, indeed, to the eyes of men, as does God himself; for certainly it is not itself seen while it is in the body; for it is there after an invisible manner, and when it is freed from it, it is still not seen. It is this soul which hath one nature, and that an incorruptible one also; but yet it is the cause of the change that is made in the body; for whatsoever it be which the soul touches, that lives and flourishes; and from whatsoever it is removed, that withers away and dies; such a degree is there in it of immortality. Let me produce the state of sleep as a most evident demonstration of the truth of what I say; wherein souls, when the body does not distract them, have the sweetest rest depending on themselves, and conversing with God, by their alliance to him; they then go every where, and foretell many futurities beforehand. And why are we afraid of death, while we are pleased with the rest that we have in sleep? And how absurd a thing is it to pursue after liberty while we are alive, and yet to envy it to ourselves where it will be eternal! We, therefore, who have been brought up in a discipline of our own, ought to become an example to others of our readiness to die. Yet, if we do stand in need of foreigners to support us in this matter, let us regard those Indians who profess the exercise of philosophy; for these good men do but unwillingly undergo the time of life, and look upon it as a necessary servitude, and make haste to let their souls loose from their bodies; nay, when no misfortune presses them to it, nor drives them upon it, these have such a desire of a life of immortality, that they tell other men beforehand that they are about to depart; and nobody hinders them, but every one thinks them happy men, and gives them letters to be carried to their familiar friends [that are dead], so firmly and certainly do they believe that souls converse with one another [in the other world]. So when these men have heard all such commands that were to be given them, they deliver their body to the fire; and, in order to their getting their soul a separation from the body in the greatest purity, they die in the midst of hymns of commendations made to them; for their dearest friends conduct them to their death more readily than do any of the rest of mankind conduct their fellow-citizens when they are going a very long journey, who at the same time weep on their own account, but look upon the others as happy persons, as so soon to be made partakers of the immortal order of beings. Are not we, therefore, ashamed to have lower notions than the Indians? and by our own cowardice to lay a base reproach upon the laws of our country, which are so much desired and imitated by all mankind? But put the case that we had been brought up under another persuasion, and taught that life is the greatest good which men are capable of, and that death is a calamity; however, the circumstances we are now in ought to be an inducement to us to bear such calamity courageously, since it is by the will of God, and by necessity, that we are to die; for it now appears that God hath made such a decree against the whole Jewish nation, that we are to be deprived of this life which [he knew] we would not make a due use of. For do not you ascribe the occasion of our present condition to yourselves, nor think the Romans are the true occasion that this war we have had with them is become so destructive to us all: these things have not come to pass by their power, but a more powerful cause hath intervened, and made us afford them an occasion of their appearing to be conquerors over us. What Roman weapons, I pray you, were those by which the Jews at Cesarea were slain? On the contrary, when they were no way disposed to rebel, but were all the while keeping their seventh day festival, and did not so much as lift up their hands against the citizens of Cesarea, yet did those citizens run upon them in great crowds, and cut their throats, and the throats of their wives and children, and this without any regard to the Romans themselves, who never took us for their enemies till we revolted from them. But some may be ready to say, that truly the people of Cesarea had always a quarrel against those that lived among them, and that when an opportunity offered itself, they only satisfied the old rancor they had against them. What then shall we say to those of Scythopolis, who ventured to wage war with us on account of the Greeks? Nor did they do it by way of revenge upon the Romans, when they acted in concert with our countrymen. Wherefore you see how little our good-will and fidelity to them profited us, while they were slain, they and their whole families, after the most inhuman manner, which was all the requital that was made them for the assistance they had afforded the others; for that very same destruction which they had prevented from falling upon the others did they suffer themselves from them, as if they had been ready to be the actors against them. It would be too long for me to speak at this time of every destruction brought upon us; for you cannot but know that there was not any one Syrian city which did not slay their Jewish inhabitants, and were not more bitter enemies to us than were the Romans themselves; nay, even those of Damascus, when they were able to allege no tolerable pretense against us, filled their city with the most barbarous slaughters of our people, and cut the throats of eighteen thousand Jews, with their wives and children. And as to the multitude of those that were slain in Egypt, and that with torments also, we have been informed they were more than sixty thousand; those indeed being in a foreign country, and so naturally meeting with nothing to oppose against their enemies, were killed in the manner forementioned. As for all those of us who have waged war against the Romans in our own country, had we not sufficient reason to have sure hopes of victory? For we had arms, and walls, and fortresses so prepared as not to be easily taken, and courage not to be moved by any dangers in the cause of liberty, which encouraged us all to revolt from the Romans. But then these advantages sufficed us but for a short time, and only raised our hopes, while they really appeared to be the origin of our miseries; for all we had hath been taken from us, and all hath fallen under our enemies, as if these advantages were only to render their victory over us the more glorious, and were not disposed for the preservation of those by whom these preparations were made. And as for those that are already dead in the war, it is reasonable we should esteem them blessed, for they are dead in defending, and not in betraying their liberty; but as to the multitude of those that are now under the Romans, who would not pity their condition? and who would not make haste to die, before he would suffer the same miseries with them? Some of them have been put upon the rack, and tortured with fire and whippings, and so died. Some have been half devoured by wild beasts, and yet have been reserved alive to be devoured by them a second time, in order to afford laughter and sport to our enemies; and such of those as are alive still are to be looked on as the most miserable, who, being so desirous of death, could not come at it. And where is now that great city, the metropolis of the Jewish nation, which was fortified by so many walls round about, which had so many fortresses and large towers to defend it, which could hardly contain the instruments prepared for the war, and which had so many ten thousands of men to fight for it? Where is this city that was believed to have God himself inhabiting therein? It is now demolished to the very foundations, and hath nothing but that monument of it preserved, I mean the camp of those that hath destroyed it, which still dwells upon its ruins; some unfortunate old men also lie upon the ashes of the temple, and a few women are there preserved alive by the enemy, for our bitter shame and reproach. Now who is there that revolves these things in his mind, and yet is able to bear the sight of the sun, though he might live out of danger? Who is there so much his country's enemy, or so unmanly, and so desirous of living, as not to repent that he is still alive? And I cannot but wish that we had all died before we had seen that holy city demolished by the hands of our enemies, or the foundations of our holy temple dug up after so profane a manner. But since we had a generous hope that deluded us, as if we might perhaps have been able to avenge ourselves on our enemies on that account, though it be now become vanity, and hath left us alone in this distress, let us make haste to die bravely. Let us pity ourselves, our children, and our wives while it is in our own power to show pity to them; for we were born to die, as well as those were whom we have begotten; nor is it in the power of the most happy of our race to avoid it. But for abuses, and slavery, and the sight of our wives led away after an ignominious manner, with their children, these are not such evils as are natural and necessary among men; although such as do not prefer death before those miseries, when it is in their power so to do, must undergo even them, on account of their own cowardice. We revolted from the Romans with great pretensions to courage; and when, at the very last, they invited us to preserve ourselves, we would not comply with them. Who will not, therefore, believe that they will certainly be in a rage at us, in case they can take us alive? Miserable will then be the young men who will be strong enough in their bodies to sustain many torments! miserable also will be those of elder years, who will not be able to bear those calamities which young men might sustain! One man will be obliged to hear the voice of his son implore help of his father, when his hands are bound. But certainly our hands are still at liberty, and have a sword in them; let them then be subservient to us in our glorious design; let us die before we become slaves under our enemies, and let us go out of the world, together with our children and our wives, in a state of freedom. This it is that our laws command us to do; this it is that our wives and children crave at our hands; nay, God himself hath brought this necessity upon us; while the Romans desire the contrary, and are afraid lest any of us should die before we are taken. Let us therefore make haste, and instead of affording them so much pleasure, as they hope for in getting us under their power, let us leave them an example which shall at once cause their astonishment at our death, and their admiration of our hardiness therein."

I know that very many of the brethren, induced by their thirst for a knowledge of the Scriptures, have requested some distinguished men, well versed in Greek learning, to translate Origen into Latin, and so make him accessible to Roman readers. Among these, when our brother and colleague had, at the earnest entreaty of Bishop Damasus, translated two of the Homilies on the Song of Songs out of Greek into Latin, he prefixed so elegant and noble a preface to that work, as to inspire every one with a most eager desire to read and study Origen, saying that the expression, “The King hath brought me into his chamber,” was appropriate to his feelings, and declaring that while Origen in his other works surpassed all writers, he in the Song of Songs surpassed even himself. He promises, indeed, in that very preface, that he will present the books on the Song of Songs, and numerous others of the works of Origen, in a Latin translation, to Roman readers. But he, finding greater pleasure in compositions of his own, pursues an end that is attended with greater fame, viz. in being the author rather than the translator of works. Accordingly we enter upon the undertaking, which was thus begun and approved of by him, although we cannot compose in a style of elegance xiiequal to that of a man of such distinguished eloquence; and therefore I am afraid lest, through my fault, the result should follow, that that man, whom he deservedly esteems as the second teacher of knowledge and wisdom in the church after the apostles, should, through the poverty of my language, appear far inferior to what he is. And this consideration, which frequently recurred to my mind, kept me silent, and prevented me from yielding to the numerous entreaties of my brethren, until your influence, my very faithful brother Macarius, which is so great, rendered it impossible for my unskilfulness any longer to offer resistance. And therefore, that I might not find you too grievous an exactor, I gave way, even contrary to my resolution; on the condition and arrangement, however, that in my translation I should follow as far as possible the rule observed by my predecessors, and especially by that distinguished man whom I have mentioned above, who, after translating into Latin more than seventy of those treatises of Origen which are styled Homilies, and a considerable number also of his writings on the apostles, in which a good many “stumbling-blocks” are found in the original Greek, so smoothed and corrected them in his translation, that a Latin reader would meet with nothing which could appear discordant with our belief. His example, therefore, we follow, to the best of our ability; if not with equal power of eloquence, yet at least with the same strictness of rule, taking care not to reproduce those expressions occurring in the works of Origen which are inconsistent with and opposed to each other. The cause of these variations we have explained more freely in the Apologeticus, which Pamphilus wrote in defence of the works of Origen, where we added a brief tract, in which we showed, I think, by unmistakeable proofs, that his books had been corrupted in numerous places by heretics and malevolent persons, and especially those books of which you now require me to undertake the translation, i.e. the books which may be entitled De Principiis or De Principatibus, and which are indeed in other respects full of obscurities and difficulties. For he there discusses those subjects with respect to which philosophers, xiiiafter spending all their lives upon them, have been unable to discover anything. But here our author strove, as much as in him lay, to turn to the service of religion the belief in a Creator, and the rational nature of created beings, which the latter had degraded to purposes of wickedness. If, therefore, we have found anywhere in his writings, any statement opposed to that view, which elsewhere in his works he had himself piously laid down regarding the Trinity, we have either omitted it, as being corrupt, and not the composition of Origen, or we have brought it forward, agreeably to the rule which we frequently find affirmed by himself. If, indeed, in his desire to pass rapidly on, he has, as speaking to persons of skill and knowledge, sometimes expressed himself obscurely, we have, in order that the passage might be clearer, added what we had read more fully stated on the same subject in his other works, keeping explanation in view, but adding nothing of our own, but simply restoring to him what was his, although occurring in other portions of his writings.

Now it ought to be known that the holy apostles, in preaching the faith of Christ, delivered themselves with the utmost clearness on certain points which they believed to be necessary to every one, even to those who seemed somewhat dull in the investigation of divine knowledge; leaving, however, the grounds of their statements to be examined into by those who should deserve the excellent gifts of the Spirit, and who, especially by means of the Holy Spirit Himself, should obtain the gift of language, of wisdom, and of knowledge: while on other subjects they merely stated the fact that things were so, keeping silence as to the manner or origin of their existence; clearly in order that the more zealous of their successors, who should be lovers of wisdom, might have a subject of exercise on which to display the fruit of their talents,—those persons, I mean, who should prepare themselves to be fit and worthy receivers of wisdom.

Seeing, then, that such is the end, when all enemies will be subdued to Christ, when death—the last enemy—shall be destroyed, and when the kingdom shall be delivered up by Christ (to whom all things are subject) to God the Father; let us, I say, from such an end as this, contemplate the beginnings of things. For the end is always like the beginning: and, therefore, as there is one end to all things, so ought we to understand that there was one beginning; and as there is one end to many things, so there spring from one beginning many differences and varieties, which again, through the goodness of God, and by subjection to Christ, and through the unity of the Holy Spirit, are recalled to one end, which is like unto the beginning: all those, viz., who, bending the knee at the name of Jesus, make known by so doing their subjection to Him: and these are they who are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth: by which three classes the whole universe of things is pointed out, those, viz., who from that one beginning were arranged, each according to the diversity of his conduct, among the different orders, in accordance with their desert; for there was no goodness in them by essential being, as in God and His Christ, and in the Holy Spirit. For in the Trinity alone, which is the author of all things, does goodness exist in virtue of essential being; while others possess it as an accidental and perishable quality, and only then enjoy blessedness, when they participate in holiness and wisdom, and in divinity itself. But if they neglect and despise such participation, then is each one, by fault of his own slothfulness, made, one more rapidly, another more slowly, one in a greater, another in a less degree, the cause of his own downfall. And since, as we have remarked, the lapse by which an individual falls away from his position is characterized by great diversity, according to the movements of the mind and will, one man falling with greater ease, another with more difficulty, into a lower condition; in this is to be seen the just judgment of the providence of God, that it should happen to every one according to the diversity of his conduct, in proportion to the desert of his declension and defection. Certain of those, indeed, who remained in that beginning which we have described as resembling the end which is to come, obtained, in the ordering and arrangement of the world, the rank of angels; others that of influences, others of principalities, others of powers, that they may exercise power over those who need to have power upon their head. Others, again, received the rank of thrones, having the office of judging or ruling those who require this; others dominion, doubtless, over slaves; all of which are conferred by Divine Providence in just and impartial judgment according to their merits, and to the progress which they had made in the participation and imitation of God. But those who have been removed from their primal state of blessedness have not been removed irrecoverably, but have been placed under the rule of those holy and blessed orders which we have described; and by availing themselves of the aid of these, and being remoulded by salutary principles and discipline, they may recover themselves, and be restored to their condition of happiness. From all which I am of opinion, so far as I can see, that this order of the human race has been appointed in order that in the future world, or in ages to come, when there shall be the new heavens and new earth, spoken of by Isaiah, it may be restored to that unity promised by the Lord Jesus in His prayer to God the Father on behalf of His disciples: “I do not pray for these alone, but for all who shall believe on me through their word: that they all may be one, as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us;” and again, when He says: “That they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and Thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one.” And this is further confirmed by the language of the Apostle Paul: “Until we all come in the unity of the faith to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” And in keeping with this is the declaration of the same apostle, when he exhorts us, who even in the present life are placed in the church, in which is the form of that kingdom which is to come, to this same similitude of unity: “That ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

But even holy Scripture does not appear to me to be altogether silent on the nature of this secret, as when the Apostle Paul, in discussing the case of Jacob and Esau, says: “For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him who calleth, it was said, The elder shall serve the younger, as it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” And after that, he answers himself, and says, “What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God?” And that he might furnish us with an opportunity of inquiring into these matters, and of ascertaining how these things do not happen without a reason, he answers himself, and says, “God forbid.” For the same question, as it seems to me, which is raised concerning Jacob and Esau, may be raised regarding all celestial and terrestrial creatures, and even those of the lower world as well. And in like manner it seems to me, that as he there says, “The children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil,” so it might also be said of all other things, “When they were not yet” created, “neither had yet done any good or evil, that the decree of God according to election may stand,” that (as certain think) some things on the one hand were created heavenly, some on the other earthly, and others, again, beneath the earth, “not of works” (as they think), “but of Him who calleth,” what shall we say then, if these things are so? “Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.” As, therefore, when the Scriptures are carefully examined regarding Jacob and Esau, it is not found to be unrighteousness with God that it should be said, before they were born, or had done anything in this life, “the elder shall serve the younger;” and as it is found not to be unrighteousness that even in the womb Jacob supplanted his brother, if we feel that he was worthily beloved by God, according to the deserts of his previous life, so as to deserve to be preferred before his brother; so also is it with regard to heavenly creatures, if we notice that diversity was not the original condition of the creature, but that, owing to causes that have previously existed, a different office is prepared by the Creator for each one in proportion to the degree of his merit, on this ground, indeed, that each one, in respect of having been created by God an understanding, or a rational spirit, has, according to the movements of his mind and the feelings of his soul, gained for himself a greater or less amount of merit, and has become either an object of love to God, or else one of dislike to Him; while, nevertheless, some of those who are possessed of greater merit are ordained to suffer with others for the adorning of the state of the world, and for the discharge of duty to creatures of a lower grade, in order that by this means they themselves may be participators in the endurance of the Creator, according to the words of the apostle: “For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope.” Keeping in view, then, the sentiment expressed by the apostle, when, speaking of the birth of Esau and Jacob, he says, “Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid,” I think it right that this same sentiment should be carefully applied to the case of all other creatures, because, as we formerly remarked, the righteousness of the Creator ought to appear in everything. And this, it appears to me, will be seen more clearly at last, if each one, whether of celestial or terrestrial or infernal beings, be said to have the causes of his diversity in himself, and antecedent to his bodily birth. For all things were created by the Word of God, and by His Wisdom, and were set in order by His Justice. And by the grace of His compassion He provides for all men, and encourages all to the use of whatever remedies may lead to their cure, and incites them to salvation.

And now, to confirm the deductions of reason by the authority of Scripture—viz. that it is our own doing whether we live rightly or not, and that we are not compelled, either by those causes which come to us from without, or, as some think, by the presence of fate—we adduce the testimony of the prophet Micah, in these words: “If it has been announced to thee, O man, what is good, or what the Lord requires of thee, except that thou shouldst do justice, and love mercy, and be ready to walk with the Lord thy God.” Moses also speaks as follows: “I have placed before thy face the way of life and the way of death: choose what is good, and walk in it.” Isaiah, moreover, makes this declaration: “If you are willing, and hear me, ye shall eat the good of the land. But if you be unwilling, and will not hear me, the sword shall consume you; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken this.” In the psalm, too, it is written: “If my people had heard me, if Israel had walked in my ways, I would have humbled her enemies to nothing;” by which he shows that it was in the power of the people to hear, and to walk in the ways of God. The Saviour also saying, “I say unto you, Resist not evil;” and, “Whoever shall be angry with his brother, shall be in danger of the judgment;” and, “Whosoever shall look upon a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his heart;” and in issuing certain other commands,—conveys no other meaning than this, that it is in our own power to observe what is commanded. And therefore we are rightly rendered liable to condemnation if we transgress those commandments which we are able to keep. And hence He Himself also declares: “Every one who hears my words, and doeth them, I will show to whom he is like: he is like a wise man who built his house upon a rock,” etc. So also the declaration: “Whoso heareth these things, and doeth them not, is like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand,” etc. Even the words addressed to those who are on His right hand, “Come unto me, all ye blessed of my Father,” etc.; “for I was an hungered, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink,” manifestly show that it depended upon themselves, that either these should be deserving of praise for doing what was commanded and receiving what was promised, or those deserving of censure who either heard or received the contrary, and to whom it was said, “Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.” Let us observe also, that the Apostle Paul addresses us as having power over our own will, and as possessing in ourselves the causes either of our salvation or of our ruin: “Dost thou despise the riches of His goodness, and of His patience, and of His long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But, according to thy hardness and impenitent heart, thou art treasuring up for thyself wrath on the day of judgment and of the revelation of the just judgment of God, who will render to every one according to his work: to those who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and immortality, eternal life; while to those who are contentious, and believe not the truth, but who believe iniquity, anger, indignation, tribulation, and distress, on every soul of man that worketh evil, on the Jew first, and [afterwards] on the Greek; but glory, and honour, and peace to every one that doeth good, to the Jew first, and [afterwards] to the Greek.” You will find also innumerable other passages in Holy Scripture, which manifestly show that we possess freedom of will. Otherwise there would be a contrariety in commandments being given us, by observing which we may be saved, or by transgressing which we may be condemned, if the power of keeping them were not implanted in us.

But, seeing there are found in the sacred Scriptures themselves certain expressions occurring in such a connection, that the opposite of this may appear capable of being understood from them, let us bring them forth before us, and, discussing them according to the rule of piety, let us furnish an explanation of them, in order that from those few passages which we now expound, the solution of those others which resemble them, and by which any power over the will seems to be excluded, may become clear. Those expressions, accordingly, make an impression on very many, which are used by God in speaking of Pharaoh, as when He frequently says, “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart.” For if he is hardened by God, and commits sin in consequence of being so hardened, the cause of his sin is not himself. And if so, it will appear that Pharaoh does not possess freedom of will; and it will be maintained, as a consequence, that, agreeably to this illustration, neither do others who perish owe the cause of their destruction to the freedom of their own will. That expression, also, in Ezekiel, when he says, “I will take away their stony hearts, and will give them hearts of flesh, that they may walk in my precepts, and keep my ways,” may impress some, inasmuch as it seems to be a gift of God, either to walk in His ways or to keep His precepts, if He take away that stony heart which is an obstacle to the keeping of His commandments, and bestow and implant a better and more impressible heart, which is called now a heart of flesh. Consider also the nature of the answer given in the Gospel by our Lord and Saviour to those who inquired of Him why He spoke to the multitude in parables. His words are: “That seeing they may not see; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest they should be converted, and their sins be forgiven them.” The words, moreover, used by the Apostle Paul, that “it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy;” in another passage also, “that to will and to do are of God;” and again, elsewhere, “Therefore hath He mercy upon whom He will, and whom He will He hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth He yet find fault? For who shall resist His will? O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him who hath formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another to dishonour?”—these and similar declarations seem to have no small influence in preventing very many from believing that every one is to be considered as having freedom over his own will, and in making it appear to be a consequence of the will of God whether a man is either saved or lost.

But since we acknowledge the God who spoke by Moses to be not only just, but also good, let us carefully inquire how it is in keeping with the character of a just and good Deity to have hardened the heart of Pharaoh. And let us see whether, following the example of the Apostle Paul, we are able to solve the difficulty by help of some parallel instances: if we can show, e.g., that by one and the same act God has pity upon one individual, but hardens another; not purposing or desiring that he who is hardened should be so, but because, in the manifestation of His goodness and patience, the heart of those who treat His kindness and forbearance with contempt and insolence is hardened by the punishment of their crimes being delayed; while those, on the other hand, who make His goodness and patience the occasion of their repentance and reformation, obtain compassion. To show more clearly, however, what we mean, let us take the illustration employed by the Apostle Paul in the Epistle to the Hebrews, where he says, “For the earth, which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, will receive blessing from God; but that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing, whose end is to be burned.” Now from those words of Paul which we have quoted, it is clearly shown that by one and the same act on the part of God—that, viz. by which He sends rain upon the earth—one portion of the ground, when carefully cultivated, brings forth good fruits; while another, neglected and uncared for, produces thorns and thistles. And if one, speaking as it were in the person of the rain, were to say, “It is I, the rain, that have made the good fruits, and it is I that have caused the thorns and thistles to grow,” however hard the statement might appear, it would nevertheless be true; for unless the rain had fallen, neither fruits, nor thorns, nor thistles would have sprung up, whereas by the coming of the rain the earth gave birth to both. Now, although it is due to the beneficial action of the rain that the earth has produced herbs of both kinds, it is not to the rain that the diversity of the herbs is properly to be ascribed; but on those will justly rest the blame for the bad seed, who, although they might have turned up the ground by frequent ploughing, and have broken the clods by repeated harrowing, and have extirpated all useless and noxious weeds, and have cleared and prepared the fields for the coming showers by all the labour and toil which cultivation demands, have nevertheless neglected to do this, and who will accordingly reap briers and thorns, the most appropriate fruit of their sloth. And the consequence therefore is, that while the rain falls in kindness and impartiality equally upon the whole earth, yet, by one and the same operation of the rain, that soil which is cultivated yields with a blessing useful fruits to the diligent and careful cultivators, while that which has become hardened through the neglect of the husbandman brings forth only thorns and thistles. Let us therefore view those signs and miracles which were done by God, as the showers furnished by Him from above; and the purpose and desires of men, as the cultivated and uncultivated soil, which is of one and the same nature indeed, as is every soil compared with another, but not in one and the same state of cultivation. From which it follows that every one’s will, if untrained, and fierce, and barbarous, is either hardened by the miracles and wonders of God, growing more savage and thorny than ever, or it becomes more pliant, and yields itself up with the whole mind to obedience, if it be cleared from vice and subjected to training.

Let us now look to the expression, “It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.” For our opponents assert, that if it does not depend upon him that willeth, nor on him that runneth, but on God that showeth mercy, that a man be saved, our salvation is not in our own power. For our nature is such as to admit of our either being saved or not, or else our salvation rests solely on the will of Him who, if He wills it, shows mercy, and confers salvation. Now let us inquire, in the first place, of such persons, whether to desire blessings be a good or evil act; and whether to hasten after good as a final aim be worthy of praise. If they were to answer that such a procedure was deserving of censure, they would evidently be mad; for all holy men both desire blessings and run after them, and certainly are not blameworthy. How, then, is it that he who is not saved, if he be of an evil nature, desires blessings, and runs after them, but does not find them? For they say that a bad tree does not bring forth good fruits, whereas it is a good fruit to desire blessings. And how is the fruit of a bad tree good? And if they assert that to desire blessings, and to run after them, is an act of indifference, i.e. neither good nor bad, we shall reply, that if it be an indifferent act to desire blessings, and to run after them, then the opposite of that will also be an indifferent act, viz. to desire evils, and to run after them; whereas it is certain that it is not an indifferent act to desire evils, and to run after them, but one that is manifestly wicked. It is established, then, that to desire and follow after blessings is not an indifferent, but a virtuous proceeding. Having now repelled these objections by the answer which we have given, let us hasten on to the discussion of the subject itself, in which it is said, “It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.” In the book of Psalms—in the songs of Degrees, which are ascribed to Solomon—the following statement occurs: “Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it; except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” By which words he does not indeed indicate that we should cease from building or watching over the safe keeping of that city which is within us; but what he points out is this, that whatever is built without God, and whatever is guarded without Him, is built in vain, and guarded to no purpose. For in all things that are well built and well protected, the Lord is held to be the cause either of the building or of its protection. As if, e.g., we were to behold some magnificent structure and mass of splendid building reared with beauteous architectural skill, would we not justly and deservedly say that such was built not by human power, but by divine help and might? And yet from such a statement it will not be meant that the labour and industry of human effort were inactive, and effected nothing at all. Or again, if we were to see some city surrounded by a severe blockade of the enemy, in which threatening engines were brought against the walls, and the place hard pressed by a vallum, and weapons, and fire, and all the instruments of war, by which destruction is prepared, would we not rightly and deservedly say, if the enemy were repelled and put to flight, that the deliverance had been wrought for the liberated city by God? And yet we would not mean, by so speaking, that either the vigilance of the sentinels, or the alertness of the young men, or the protection of the guards, had been wanting. And the apostle also must be understood in a similar manner, because the human will alone is not sufficient to obtain salvation; nor is any mortal running able to win the heavenly [rewards], and to obtain the prize of our high calling of God in Christ Jesus, unless this very good will of ours, and ready purpose, and whatever that diligence within us may be, be aided or furnished with divine help. And therefore most logically did the apostle say, that “it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy;” in the same manner as if we were to say of agriculture what is actually written: “I planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.” As, therefore, when a field has brought good and rich crops to perfect maturity, no one would piously and logically assert that the husbandman had made those fruits, but would acknowledge that they had been produced by God; so also is our own perfection brought about, not indeed by our remaining inactive and idle, [but by some activity on our part]: and yet the consummation of it will not be ascribed to us, but to God, who is the first and chief cause of the work. So, when a ship has overcome the dangers of the sea, although the result be accomplished by great labour on the part of the sailors, and by the aid of all the art of navigation, and by the zeal and carefulness of the pilot, and by the favouring influence of the breezes, and the careful observation of the signs of the stars, no one in his sound senses would ascribe the safety of the vessel, when, after being tossed by the waves, and wearied by the billows, it has at last reached the harbour in safety, to anything else than to the mercy of God. Not even the sailors or pilot venture to say, “I have saved the ship,” but they refer all to the mercy of God; not that they feel that they have contributed no skill or labour to save the ship, but because they know that while they contributed the labour, the safety of the vessel was ensured by God. So also in the race of our life we ourselves must expend labour, and bring diligence and zeal to bear; but it is from God that salvation is to be hoped for as the fruit of our labour. Otherwise, if God demand none of our labour, His commandments will appear to be superfluous. In vain, also, does Paul blame some for having fallen from the truth, and praise others for abiding in the faith; and to no purpose does he deliver certain precepts and institutions to the churches: in vain, also, do we ourselves either desire or run after what is good. But it is certain that these things are not done in vain; and it is certain that neither do the apostles give instructions in vain, nor the Lord enact laws without a reason. It follows, therefore, that we declare it to be in vain, rather, for the heretics to speak evil of these good declarations.

Nevertheless we must not forget that a substance never exists without a quality, and that it is by an act of the understanding alone that this [substance] which underlies bodies, and which is capable of quality, is discovered to be matter. Some indeed, in their desire to investigate these subjects more profoundly, have ventured to assert that bodily nature is nothing else than qualities. For if hardness and softness, heat and cold, moisture and aridity, be qualities; and if, when these or other [qualities] of this sort be cut away, nothing else is understood to remain, then all things will appear to be “qualities.” And therefore also those persons who make these assertions have endeavoured to maintain, that since all who say that matter was uncreated will admit that qualities were created by God, it may be in this way shown that even according to them matter was not uncreated; since qualities constitute everything, and these are declared by all without contradiction to have been made by God. Those, again, who would make out that qualities are superimposed from without upon a certain underlying matter, make use of illustrations of this kind: e.g. Paul undoubtedly is either silent, or speaks, or watches, or sleeps, or maintains a certain attitude of body; for he is either in a sitting, or standing, or recumbent position. For these are “accidents” belonging to men, without which they are almost never found. And yet our conception of man does not lay down any of these things as a definition of him; but we so understand and regard him by their means, that we do not at all take into account the reason of his [particular] condition either in watching, or in sleeping, or in speaking, or in keeping silence, or in any other action that must necessarily happen to men. If any one, then, can regard Paul as being without all these things which are capable of happening, he will in the same way also be able to understand this underlying [substance] without qualities. When, then, our mind puts away all qualities from its conception, and gazes, so to speak, upon the underlying element alone, and keeps its attention closely upon it, without any reference to the softness or hardness, or heat or cold, or humidity or aridity of the substance, then by means of this somewhat simulated process of thought it will appear to behold matter clear from qualities of every kind.

This being the state of the case, we have to sketch what seem to us to be the marks of the [true] understanding of Scriptures. And, in the first place, this must be pointed out, that the object of the Spirit, which by the providence of God, through the Word who was in the beginning with God, illuminated the ministers of truth, the prophets and apostles, was especially [the communication] of ineffable mysteries regarding the affairs of men (now by men I mean those souls that make use of bodies), in order that he who is capable of instruction may by investigation, and by devoting himself to the study of the profundities of meaning contained in the words, become a participator of all the doctrines of his counsel. And among those matters which relate to souls (who cannot otherwise obtain perfection apart from the rich and wise truth of God), the [doctrines] belonging to God and His only-begotten Son are necessarily laid down as primary, viz. of what nature He is, and in what manner He is the Son of God, and what are the causes of His descending even to [the assumption of] human flesh, and of complete humanity; and what, also, is the operation of this [Son], and upon whom and when exercised. And it was necessary also that the subject of kindred beings, and other rational creatures, both those who are divine and those who have fallen from blessedness, together with the reasons of their fall, should be contained in the divine teaching; and also that of the diversities of souls, and of the origin of these diversities, and of the nature of the world, and the cause of its existence. We must learn also the origin of the great and terrible wickedness which overspreads the earth, and whether it is confined to this earth only, or prevails elsewhere. Now, while these and similar objects were present to the Spirit, who enlightened the souls of the holy ministers of the truth, there was a second object, for the sake of those who were unable to endure the fatigue of investigating matters so important, viz. to conceal the doctrine relating to the previously mentioned subjects, in expressions containing a narrative which conveyed an announcement regarding the things of the visible creation, the creation of man, and the successive descendants of the first men until they became numerous; and other histories relating the acts of just men, and the sins occasionally committed by these same men as being human beings, and the wicked deeds, both of unchastity and vice, committed by sinful and ungodly men. And what is most remarkable, by the history of wars, and of the victors, and the vanquished, certain mysteries are indicated to those who are able to test these statements. And more wonderful still, the laws of truth are predicted by the written legislation;—all these being described in a connected series, with a power which is truly in keeping with the wisdom of God. For it was intended that the covering also of the spiritual truths—I mean the “bodily” part of Scripture—should not be without profit in many cases, but should be capable of improving the multitude, according to their capacity.

We shall therefore say, in the first place, that if he who disbelieves the appearance of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove had been described as an Epicurean, or a follower of Democritus, or a Peripatetic, the statement would have been in keeping with the character of such an objector. But now even this Celsus, wisest of all men, did not perceive that it is to a Jew, who believes more incredible things contained in the writings of the prophets than the narrative of the appearance of the dove, that he attributes such an objection! For one might say to the Jew, when expressing his disbelief of the appearance, and thinking to assail it as a fiction, “How are you able to prove, sir, that the Lord spake to Adam, or to Eve, or to Cain, or to Noah, or to Abraham, or to Isaac, or to Jacob, those words which He is recorded to have spoken to these men?” And, to compare history with history, I would say to the Jew, “Even your own Ezekiel writes, saying, ‘The heavens were opened, and I saw a vision of God.’ After relating which, he adds, ‘This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord; and He said to me,’” etc. Now, if what is related of Jesus be false, since we cannot, as you suppose, clearly prove it to be true, it being seen or heard by himself alone, and, as you appear to have observed, also by one of those who were punished, why should we not rather say that Ezekiel also was dealing in the marvellous when he said, “The heavens were opened,” etc.? Nay, even Isaiah asserts, “I saw the Lord of hosts sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; and the seraphim stood round about it: the one had six wings, and the other had six wings.” How can we tell whether he really saw them or not? Now, O Jew, you have believed these visions to be true, and to have been not only shown to the prophet by a diviner Spirit, but also to have been both spoken and recorded by the same. And who is the more worthy of belief, when declaring that the heavens were opened before him, and that he heard a voice, or beheld the Lord of Sabaoth sitting upon a throne high and lifted up,—whether Isaiah and Ezekiel or Jesus? Of the former, indeed, no work has been found equal to those of the latter; whereas the good deeds of Jesus have not been confined solely to the period of His tabernacling in the flesh, but up to the present time His power still produces conversion and amelioration of life in those who believe in God through Him. And a manifest proof that these things are done by His power, is the fact that, although, as He Himself said, and as is admitted, there are not labourers enough to gather in the harvest of souls, there really is nevertheless such a great harvest of those who are gathered together and conveyed into the everywhere existing threshing-floors and churches of God.

Although the Jew, then, may offer no defence for himself in the instances of Ezekiel and Isaiah, when we compare the opening of the heavens to Jesus, and the voice that was heard by Him, to the similar cases which we find recorded in Ezekiel and Isaiah, or any other of the prophets, we nevertheless, so far as we can, shall support our position, maintaining that, as it is a matter of belief that in a dream impressions have been brought before the minds of many, some relating to divine things, and others to future events of this life, and this either with clearness or in an enigmatic manner,—a fact which is manifest to all who accept the doctrine of providence; so how is it absurd to say that the mind which could receive impressions in a dream should be impressed also in a waking vision, for the benefit either of him on whom the impressions are made, or of those who are to hear the account of them from him? And as in a dream we fancy that we hear, and that the organs of hearing are actually impressed, and that we see with our eyes—although neither the bodily organs of sight nor hearing are affected, but it is the mind alone which has these sensations—so there is no absurdity in believing that similar things occurred to the prophets, when it is recorded that they witnessed occurrences of a rather wonderful kind, as when they either heard the words of the Lord or beheld the heavens opened. For I do not suppose that the visible heaven was actually opened, and its physical structure divided, in order that Ezekiel might be able to record such an occurrence. Should not, therefore, the same be believed of the Saviour by every intelligent hearer of the Gospels?—although such an occurrence may be a stumbling-block to the simple, who in their simplicity would set the whole world in movement, and split in sunder the compact and mighty body of the whole heavens. But he who examines such matters more profoundly will say, that there being, as the Scripture calls it, a kind of general divine perception which the blessed man alone knows how to discover, according to the saying of Solomon, “Thou shalt find the knowledge of God;” and as there are various forms of this perceptive power, such as a faculty of vision which can naturally see things that are better than bodies, among which are ranked the cherubim and seraphim; and a faculty of hearing which can perceive voices which have not their being in the air; and a sense of taste which can make use of living bread that has come down from heaven, and that giveth life unto the world; and so also a sense of smelling, which scents such things as leads Paul to say that he is a sweet savour of Christ unto God; and a sense of touch, by which John says that he “handled with his hands of the Word of life;”—the blessed prophets having discovered this divine perception, and seeing and hearing in this divine manner, and tasting likewise, and smelling, so to speak, with no sensible organs of perception, and laying hold on the Logos by faith, so that a healing effluence from it comes upon them, saw in this manner what they record as having seen, and heard what they say they heard, and were affected in a similar manner to what they describe when eating the roll of a book that was given them. And so also Isaac smelled the savour of his son’s divine garments, and added to the spiritual blessing these words: “See, the savour of my son is as the savour of a full field which the Lord blessed.” And similarly to this, and more as a matter to be understood by the mind than to be perceived by the senses, Jesus touched the leper, to cleanse him, as I think, in a two-fold sense,—freeing him not only, as the multitude heard, from the visible leprosy by visible contact, but also from that other leprosy, by His truly divine touch. It is in this way, accordingly, that John testifies when he says, “I beheld the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon Him. And I knew Him not; but He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said to me, Upon whom you will see the Spirit descending, and abiding on Him, the same is He that baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bear witness, that this is the Son of God.” Now it was to Jesus that the heavens were opened; and on that occasion no one except John is recorded to have seen them opened. But with respect to this opening of the heavens, the Saviour, foretelling to His disciples that it would happen, and that they would see it, says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye shall see the heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.” And so Paul was carried away into the third heaven, having previously seen it opened, since he was a disciple of Jesus. It does not, however, belong to our present object to explain why Paul says, “Whether in the body, I know not; or whether out of the body, I know not: God knoweth.” But I shall add to my argument even those very points which Celsus imagines, viz. that Jesus Himself related the account of the opening of the heavens, and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Him at the Jordan in the form of a dove, although the Scripture does not assert that He said that He saw it. For this great man did not perceive that it was not in keeping with Him who commanded His disciples on the occasion of the vision on the mount, “Tell what ye have seen to no man, until the Son of man be risen from the dead,” to have related to His disciples what was seen and heard by John at the Jordan. For it may be observed as a trait of the character of Jesus, that He on all occasions avoided unnecessary talk about Himself; and on that account said, “If I speak of myself, my witness is not true.” And since He avoided unnecessary talk about Himself, and preferred to show by acts rather than words that He was the Christ, the Jews for that reason said to Him, “If thou art the Christ, tell us plainly.” And as it is a Jew who, in the work of Celsus, uses the language to Jesus regarding the appearance of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, “This is your own testimony, unsupported save by one of those who were sharers of your punishment, whom you adduce,” it is necessary for us to show him that such a statement is not appropriately placed in the mouth of a Jew. For the Jews do not connect John with Jesus, nor the punishment of John with that of Christ. And by this instance, this man who boasts of universal knowledge is convicted of not knowing what words he ought to ascribe to a Jew engaged in a disputation with Jesus.

Now it escaped the notice of Celsus, and of the Jew whom he has introduced, and of all who are not believers in Jesus, that the prophecies speak of two advents of Christ: the former characterized by human suffering and humility, in order that Christ, being with men, might make known the way that leads to God, and might leave no man in this life a ground of excuse, in saying that he knew not of the judgment to come; and the latter, distinguished only by glory and divinity, having no element of human infirmity intermingled with its divine greatness. To quote the prophecies at length would be tedious; and I deem it sufficient for the present to quote a part of the forty-fifth Psalm, which has this inscription, in addition to others, “A Psalm for the Beloved,” where God is evidently addressed in these words: “Grace is poured into Thy lips: therefore God will bless Thee for ever and ever. Gird Thy sword on Thy thigh, O mighty One, with Thy beauty and Thy majesty. And stretch forth, and ride prosperously, and reign, because of Thy truth, and meekness, and righteousness; and Thy right hand shall lead Thee marvellously. Thine arrows are pointed, O mighty One; the people will fall under Thee in the heart of the enemies of the King.” But attend carefully to what follows, where He is called God: “For Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity: therefore God, even Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows.” And observe that the prophet, speaking familiarly to God, whose “throne is for ever and ever,” and “a sceptre of righteousness the sceptre of His kingdom,” says that this God has been anointed by a God who was His God, and anointed, because more than His fellows He had loved righteousness and hated iniquity. And I remember that I pressed the Jew, who was deemed a learned man, very hard with this passage; and he, being perplexed about it, gave such an answer as was in keeping with his Judaistic views, saying that the words, “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom,” are spoken of the God of all things; and these, “Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity, therefore Thy God hath anointed Thee,” etc., refer to the Messiah.

After these matters, although Celsus becomes tautological in his statements about Jesus, repeating for the second time that “he was punished by the Jews for his crimes,” we shall not again take up the defence, being satisfied with what we have already said. But, in the next place, as this Jew of his disparages the doctrine regarding the resurrection of the dead, and the divine judgment, and of the rewards to be bestowed upon the just, and of the fire which is to devour the wicked, as being stale opinions, and thinks that he will overthrow Christianity by asserting that there is nothing new in its teaching upon these points, we have to say to him, that our Lord, seeing the conduct of the Jews not to be at all in keeping with the teaching of the prophets, inculcated by a parable that the kingdom of God would be taken from them, and given to the converts from heathenism. For which reason, now, we may also see of a truth that all the doctrines of the Jews of the present day are mere trifles and fables, since they have not the light that proceeds from the knowledge of the Scriptures; whereas those of the Christians are the truth, having power to raise and elevate the soul and understanding of man, and to persuade him to seek a citizenship, not like the earthly Jews here below, but in heaven. And this result shows itself among those who are able to see the grandeur of the ideas contained in the law and the prophets, and who are able to commend them to others.

He says, further, that “many other persons would appear such as Jesus was, to those who were willing to be deceived.” Let this Jew of Celsus then show us, not many persons, nor even a few, but a single individual, such as Jesus was, introducing among the human race, with the power that was manifested in Him, a system of doctrine and opinions beneficial to human life, and which converts men from the practice of wickedness. He says, moreover, that this charge is brought against the Jews by the Christian converts, that they have not believed in Jesus as in God. Now on this point we have, in the preceding pages, offered a preliminary defence, showing at the same time in what respects we understand Him to be God, and in what we take Him to be man. “How should we,” he continues, “who have made known to all men that there is to come from God one who is to punish the wicked, treat him with disregard when he came?” And to this, as an exceedingly silly argument, it does not seem to me reasonable to offer any answer. It is as if some one were to say, “How could we, who teach temperance, commit any act of licentiousness? or we, who are ambassadors for righteousness, be guilty of any wickedness?” For as these inconsistencies are found among men, so, to say that they believed the prophets when speaking of the future advent of Christ, and yet refused their belief to Him when He came, agreeably to prophetic statement, was quite in keeping with human nature. And since we must add another reason, we shall remark that this very result was foretold by the prophets. Isaiah distinctly declares: “Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: for the heart of this people has become fat,” etc. And let them explain why it was predicted to the Jews, that although they both heard and saw, they would not understand what was said, nor perceive what was seen as they ought. For it is indeed manifest, that when they beheld Jesus they did not see who He was; and when they heard Him, they did not understand from His words the divinity that was in Him, and which transferred God’s providential care, hitherto exercised over the Jews, to His converts from the heathen. Therefore we may see, that after the advent of Jesus the Jews were altogether abandoned, and possess now none of what were considered their ancient glories, so that there is no indication of any Divinity abiding amongst them. For they have no longer prophets nor miracles, traces of which to a considerable extent are still found among Christians, and some of them more remarkable than any that existed among the Jews; and these we ourselves have witnessed, if our testimony may be received. But the Jew of Celsus exclaims: “Why did we treat him, whom we announced beforehand, with dishonour? Was it that we might be chastised more than others?” To which we have to answer, that on account of their unbelief, and the other insults which they heaped upon Jesus, the Jews will not only suffer more than others in that judgment which is believed to impend over the world, but have even already endured such sufferings. For what nation is an exile from their own metropolis, and from the place sacred to the worship of their fathers, save the Jews alone? And these calamities they have suffered, because they were a most wicked nation, which, although guilty of many other sins, yet has been punished so severely for none, as for those that were committed against our Jesus.

In the preceding pages we have already spoken of this point, viz. the prediction that there were to be two advents of Christ to the human race, so that it is not necessary for us to reply to the objection, supposed to be urged by a Jew, that “the prophets declare the coming one to be a mighty potentate, Lord of all nations and armies.” But it is in the spirit of a Jew, I think, and in keeping with their bitter animosity, and baseless and even improbable calumnies against Jesus, that he adds: “Nor did the prophets predict such a pestilence.” For neither Jews, nor Celsus, nor any other, can bring any argument to prove that a pestilence converts men from the practice of evil to a life which is according to nature, and distinguished by temperance and other virtues.