Letter 49: The Philip who baptized the Ethiopian eunuch and instructed Simon the sorcerer was not the Apostle Philip, but one...

To Strategios the Reader. What the almond rod signifies. The prophet Jeremiah, that most imperiled of the prophets, saw an almond rod — a figure of the priesthood, whose outward and superficial aspects, its preludes as one might say, are astringent and rough and partake of sharpness; but whose hidden and inner aspects are stable and firm and able to strengthen. One must therefore both bear the toils of the priesthood nobly and await its prizes eagerly. To the same. Not even Joseph, O best of men, was deemed worthy of kingship by grace alone. For he was adorned with many virtues even while still a youth. Therefore his father also loved him above his other sons. But when he saw him being envied, seeking to treat their envy, he said that the reason for his love was born not from the child's virtue, but from his being the last-born. But that this was a pretense of the father, who wished to extinguish the envy being kindled against him — for from this smoldering jealousy they also fabricated a wicked slander against him — is clear from the following. For if he was loved because he was a late-born child, the one born even later — and this was Benjamin — would have been more justly loved. But, as I said, Moses recounted the most wise pretense of the father. For that Joseph was adorned with extraordinary virtues even while still a youth, both his youth and every other age of his life demonstrated — not losing the virtues he possessed from the beginning, but increasing them and causing them to grow along with him. For with what virtue was he not crowned? He was sold a second time, but he did not lose his nobility. He was loved by his master for the propriety of his character, and this did not puff him up with arrogance. He was desired by his mistress, and he did not betray his chastity. He was falsely accused, and he bore it nobly. He became a prisoner, and his spirit did not flag. He was proclaimed for his wisdom — for the interpretation of the dreams came to fulfillment — and when he was neglected by the royal servants, he did not complain. He became king, and he bore it moderately, not exacting punishment from the woman who falsely accused him. He had his brothers in his power, and not only did he not take vengeance on them as enemies — though he was unrecognized — but he even rewarded them as benefactors. He administered the Egyptian government, and was proclaimed for wisdom and philanthropy, and through every stage of life he joined trophy to trophy. Let no one who is in misfortune, therefore, fall down, but let the seed of goodness be implanted, and it will certainly shine forth either here or there. To Timotheos the Reader. You seem to have been persuaded by the divinely-inspired Paul and to give attention to reading. Therefore I too shall attempt to clarify the question you have posed. For you said: If Belshazzar the king died on that very night, how does the Scripture say, "And Belshazzar spoke, and they clothed Daniel in purple, and placed the golden chain around his neck, and proclaimed concerning him that he should be the third ruler in his kingdom"? I think, therefore, that since the divine sentence was inscribed on the wall when it was already dark — for this is what "opposite the lamp" indicates — and the king was greatly disturbed and paralyzed with fear, and the queen, shaken out of her wits by the king's paralysis, heedless of her customary and fitting decorum, rushed into the banquet while it was still night — the divine decree was interpreted by the most wise Daniel; and he was immediately honored with the purple and the necklace, with the entire army and officials present — for the prizes of wisdom were clearly set forth — and the proclamation was made before those present, that he would be third in the kingdom, that is, after the king and the queen. And if someone should say that this ought to have been done in the full marketplace and not in the palace, we would say that what is done in the palace is ratified everywhere as well. For the most divine vote ratified within prevails everywhere. And it is perhaps even more likely that it was also put down in writing. What was done in the palace, about to be done before all and indeed already fulfilled by the decree of the one who commanded it, the historian recorded as an accomplished fact. To Zosimos the Presbyter. Many, or rather all — to speak generally — human beings have both advantages and deficiencies, and they take pride in the former...

Ν'. – ΣΤΡΑΤΗΓΙΩ (49) ΑΝΑΓΝΩΣΤΗ. Τι σημαίνει ἡ καρυΐνη ῥάβδος. Ῥάβδον καρυΐνην εἶδεν Ἱερεμίας, ὁ τῶν προφη- τῶν πολυκίνδυνος, ἱερωσύνης ὑπόθεσιν, ἧς τὰ μὲν προφανῆ καὶ ἐπιπόλαια, καὶ ὡς ἄν τις εἴποι προοί- μια, στυπτικὰ καὶ τραχέα τυγχάνει, καὶ δριμύτητος μέτοχα· τὰ δὲ κρύφια καὶ ἐσώτερα, σταθερά τε καὶ βέβαια, καὶ στηρίζειν δυνάμενα. Χρὴ τοίνυν καὶ τὰ ἐπίπονα τῆς ἱερωσύνης φέρειν γενναίως, καὶ τὰ ἔπαθλα ταύτης περιμένειν προθύμως. ΜΘ. – ΤΟ ΑΥΤΟ. Οὐδὲ ὁ Ἰωσὴφ, ὦ βέλτιστε, κατὰ χάριν βασιλείας ἠξιώθη. Πολλαῖς γὰρ ἀρεταῖς καὶ ἔτι μειράκιον ὢν ἑκόμα. Διὸ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτὸν ἠγάπα παρὰ τοὺς ἄλλους αὐτοῦ υἱεῖς. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἑώρα αὐτὸν φθονού μενον, θεραπεύων ἐκείνων τὸν φθόνον, τῆς ἀγάπης τὴν ὑπόθεσιν ἔλεγεν, οὐκ ἐκ τῆς τοῦ παιδὸς τίκτε σθαι ἀρετῆς, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ τῆς τελευταίας γονῆς. Ὅτι δὲ τοῦτο σκῆψις ἦν τοῦ πατρὸς, βουληθέντος σβέσαι τὸν πυρσευόμενον κατ᾿ αὐτοῦ φθόνον (ἐκ τούτου γὰρ ὑπο σμυχόμενοι καὶ ψόγον πονηρὸν ἔπλασαν κατ᾿ αὐτοῦ), δῆλον ἐκεῖθεν. Εἰ γὰρ διὰ τοῦτο ἡγαπᾶτο, ὅτι ὀψίγονος ἦν, ὁ ὀψιγονώτερος (Βενιαμὶν δὲ οὗτος ἦν), δίκαιος ἦν μᾶλλον ἀγαπηθῆναι. Αλλ', ὡς ἔφην, σοφωτάτην τοῦ πα τρὸς σκῆψιν ὁ Μωσῆς εἰσηγήσατο. Ὅτι γὰρ ἐξαιρέ τοις ἀρεταῖς, καὶ ἔτι μειράκιον ὢν, ἐκόμα, ἔδειξε καὶ ἡ νεότης, καὶ [ἡ] ἄλλη πᾶσα ἡλικία, οὐ τὰς ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἀρετὰς ἀπολέσασα, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐξήσασα, καὶ συν ηβᾶν παρασκευάσασα. Ποίᾳ (26) γὰρ ἀρετῇ οὐκ ἐστέ φθη; Ἐπράθη δεύτερον, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀπώλεσε τὴν εὐ· γένειαν. Ἡγαπήθη παρὰ τοῦ δεσπότου διὰ τρόπων κοσμιότητα, καὶ οὐκ ἐπῆρεν αὐτὸν τοῦτο εἰς ἀλαζο νείαν. Ἐφιλήθη παρὰ τῆς δεσποίνης, καὶ οὐ πρού δωκε τὴν σωφροσύνην. Εσυκοφαντήθη, καὶ ἤνεγκε γενναίως. Δεσμώτης ἐγένετο, καὶ οὐκ ἀπέπεσε τῷ φρονήματι. Ἐπὶ σοφίᾳ ἀνεκηρύχθη (ἡ ἑρμηνεία γὰρ τῶν ἐνυπνίων εἰς ἔργον ἦλθε)· καὶ ἀμεληθεὶς παρὰ τῶν βασιλικῶν δούλων, οὐκ ἐδυσχέρανεν. Εβασί λευσε· καὶ μετρίως ἤνεγκε, τὴν συκοφαντήσασαν · δίκας μὴ ἀπαιτήσας. Τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς ὑποχειρίους ἔσχε καὶ οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἡμύνατο ὡς ἐχθροὺς, καίτοι ἀγνοούμενος, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὡς εὐεργέτας ἡμείψατο. Τὴν ἀρχὴν τὴν Αἰγυπτιακὴν διεἶπε· καὶ ἐπὶ σοφίᾳ καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ ἀνεκηρύττετο, καὶ διὰ πασῶν τῶν ἡλικιῶν τρόπαια τροπαίοις συνῆπτε. Μηδεὶς τοίνυν τῶν ἐν συμφοραῖς καταπιπτέτω, ἐντυφέσθω δὲ σπέρμα καλοκαγαθίας, καὶ πάντως ἢ ἐνταῦθα ἢ ἐκεῖσε ἀναλάμψει. ΕΓ΄. ΑΝΘΙΜΩ. Εἴ τις ἔτι διὰ τοῦτ' εὐπατρίδαις προσεκο 49΄. – ΤΙΜΟΘΕΟ ΑΝΑΓΝΩΣΤΗ. Ἕοικας πεπεῖσθαι τῷ θεσπεσίῳ Παύλῳ, καὶ τῇ ἀναγνώσει προσέχειν τὸν νοῦν. Διὸ δὴ καὶ αὐτὸς σαφηνίσαι τὸ παρὰ σοῦ προβληθὲν πειράσομαι. Ἔφης γάρ· Πῶς, εἴγε ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ νυκτὶ ἀπέθανε Βαλ- τάσαρ ὁ βασιλεὺς, ἔφη ἡ Γραφή· « Καὶ εἶπε Βαλτά- σαρ, καὶ ἐνέδυσαν τὸν Δανιὴλ πορφύραν, καὶ τὸν μανιάκην τὸν χρυσοῦν περιέθηκαν περὶ τὸν τράχηλον αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἐκήρυξαν περὶ αὐτοῦ, εἶναι αὐτὸν ἄρχοντα C τρίτον ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ αὐτοῦ; » Οἶμαι τοίνυν ὅτι ἐπει- δὴ ἡ μὲν θεία ἀπόφασις σκότους ἤδη τυγχάνοντος ἐπὶ τοῦ τοίχου ἐχαράχθη (τοῦτο γὰρ δηλοῖ τὸ, κατ- ἐναντι τῆς λαμπάδος)· ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ἐταράχθη σφόδρα καὶ παρελύθη ὑπὸ τοῦ φόβου · ἡ δὲ βασίλισσα ἐκ- κρουσθεῖσα τῶν λογισμῶν διὰ τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως πα- ράλυσιν, ἀμελήσασα τῆς συνήθους καὶ πρεπούσης εὐκοσμίας, εἰσεπήδησεν εἰς τὸ συμπόσιον ἔτι νυκτὸς οὔσης· τὸ θεῖον θέσπισμα ἑρμηνεύεσθαι παρὰ τοῦ σοφωτάτου Δανιήλ· καὶ τῇ μὲν πορφύρᾳ καὶ τῷ περιαυχενίῳ παραχρῆμα τετιμῆσθαι, παρεστώσης πάσης τῆς στρατιᾶς καὶ τῶν ἐν τέλει (προύκειτο γὰρ δῆλον ὅτι τῆς σοφίας τὰ γέρα), τὸ δὲ κήρυγμα γεγενῆσθαι ἐπὶ τῶν παρόντων, ὅτι τρίτος ἔσται ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ, τουσέστι, μετ' αὐτὸν καὶ τὴν βασιλίδα. D El δὲ, Πληθούσης ἀγορᾶς, εἴποι τις, ἐχρῆν γενέσθαι, καὶ οὐκ ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις· εἶποιμεν ὅτι μάλιστα μὲν τὰ ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις (90) γενόμενα, καὶ παντα- χοῦ κυροῦται. Ἡ γὰρ ἔνδον κυρουμένη θειοτάτη ψῆφος, πανταχοῦ κρατεῖν πέφυκεν. Ίσως δὲ μᾶλλον εἰκὸς καὶ ἐν γράμμασι διατετυπῶσθαι. Τὸ δὲ ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις γεγενημένον, ὅσον οὐδέπω καὶ ἐπὶ πάν- των ἐσόμενον, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ πεπληρωμένον τῇ κρί- σει τοῦ προστάξαντος, ὡς γεγονὸς ὁ ἱστοριογράφος ΡΗ'. – ΖΩΣΙΜΟ ΠΡΕΣΒΥΤΕΡΩ. Πολλοί, μᾶλλον δὲ πάντες, ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν, ἄνθρω- ποι καὶ πλεονεκτήματα ἔχουσι καὶ ἐλαττώματα, καὶ τοῖς μὲν ἐναβρύνονται, τοῖς δὲ ἐγκαλύπτονται. Σὺ δὲ, ὡς φασιν, ἐλαττωμάτων ἀνάπλεως ὧν, κατορθωμά- των ἔρημος εἶ καὶ γυμνός. Τὸ μὲν οὖν γαστρός σε ἡττώμενον, καὶ τοῖς μετὰ γαστέρα κεχειρῶσθαι πά- θεσι, θαυμαστὸν οὐδέν. Ταῦτα γὰρ ἐκείνῃ ὡς τὰ πολλὰ ἔπεται. Ὁ γὰρ γαστρὸς ἄρξας, καὶ συνουσίας ἄρχειν δυνήσεται. Ἐπειδὴ καὶ τἄλλα πάντα ἑλαττώ- ματα ἐν σοὶ χορεύειν φασὶ, καὶ ταμεῖόν σε καλοῦσι κακίας, καὶ θησαυρὸν ἀναισχυντίας", τοῦτο θαυμαστὸν εἶναι δοκεῖ, καὶ πᾶσαν ἔμπληξιν ὑπερβαίνειν. Εἰσὶ γάρ τινες ὠμοὶ μὲν, σώφρονες δὲ, ἢ αἰσχροκερδεῖς μὲν, μέτριοι δὲ, ἢ ἀσελγεῖς μὲν, ἤμεροι δέ. Σὲ δὲ διὰ πάντων χωρεῖν κωμῳδοῦσι· γλῶσσαν μὲν γὰρ ὁπλί ζειν σὲ φασι κατὰ τῶν φιλαρέτων, αἰσχροῖς δὲ κέρδε- σιν ἐγκαλινδούμενον καὶ σεμνύνεσθαι, πάντας δὲ τοὺς πώποτε ἐπὶ λαγνείᾳ βεβοημένους ἀποκρύψαντα καὶ ἐναβρύνεσθαι, κάτω δὲ τὴν ὀφρὺν ἔχειν ὀφεί- λοντα, διὰ τὰς πράξεις, ὃς οὐδὲ εἰπεῖν θέμις, ἄνω κροτάφων αὐτὴν ἐπαίρειν. Καὶ συλλήβδην εἰπεῖν, πᾶν μέλος τοῦ σώματος τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς ἐμφαίνει ῥᾳ- θυμίαν τε καὶ ἀπόνοιαν. Καίτοι θάτερον θατέρῳ ἐναντίον ἐστὶν, ἀλλ᾽ εἰς σὲ συνδεδραμηκέναι διισχυ- ρίζονται. Εἰ τοίνυν ἀληθεύουσι, μετανόει ἐνταῦθα, ἵνα μὴ ἐκεῖσε ἀνονήτως αὐτὸ πράξειας. ΜΘ. - ΠΑΛΛΑΔΙΩ. Ὅταν τῆς κακίας ἀπόσχοιο, τότε καὶ περὶ ἀρετῆς σκοπεῖν ἂν εἴης δίκαιος. Ἐὰν γὰρ ἐκείνην ἀποτρί ψαιο, τότε καὶ περὶ τοῦ τίνα τρόπον ἀρετῆς ἀντι- λάβοιο, ἐξέσται σκοπεῖν. Πρὶν δὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν καὶ τὴν κρηπίδα ὀρθῶς ὑποθέσθαι, περιττὸν ἡγοῦμαι περὶ τῆς τελευτῆς καὶ τῆς κορωνίδος διεξελθεῖν. ΜΘ. – ΩΡΙΩΝΙ. Εἰς τὸ· · Εἰ δὲ ἐστι γεῦμα ἐν ῥήμασι κενοῖς. » Ἴσθι, ὅτι ἐῤῥωμένης τῆς νόσου, καὶ τὴν δύναμιν καταπαλαιούσης, καὶ εἰς τελευτὴν ἐλαυνούσης καὶ ἀπειλούσης (50) τὴν ψυχὴν μὲν χωρίσαι, τὸ δὲ σῶμα νεκρῶσαι, ὀλίγα φροντίσαντες, τὰ γραφέντα παρὰ σοῦ ἑρμηνεῦσαι προεθυμήθημεν νῦν· τό· « Εἰ δὲ καὶ ἔστι γεῦμα ἐν ῥήμασι κενοῖς, » οἶμαι δύο μηνύειν· ἢ ὅτι τὸ ψευδὲς ὅνειδος οὐ περαιτέρω τῆς ἀκοῆς ἀφικνεῖται· οὐ γὰρ ἅπτεται τῆς τοῦ ἀκούοντος δια- νοίας· ἢ ὅτι χρὴ μετρίοις ἄλασι (51) τὸν λόγον ἠρτύσθαι, ἵνα καὶ ἡδὺς ᾗ τοῖς εὐγνώμοσι, καὶ τρό 'φιμος, καὶ καθάπτηται τῆς τῶν ἀκουόντων διανοίας. "Αλες δὲ τῶν παραινετικῶν λόγων ἡ τῶν θείων λογίων μαρτυρία, ὁ τε τῆς κρίσεως φόβος, καὶ τῆς βασιλείας λόγος, ἰσχυροτέραν καὶ δραστικωτέραν καὶ τροφιμωτέραν δημιουργοῦντες τὴν παραίνεσιν, καὶ οὐ μόνον τοῖς εὐστομάχοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς κάκο- σίτοις πρόσφορον καὶ κατάλληλον τροφὴν ὀρέγοντες. ΜΘ΄. – ΤΩ ΑΥΤΩ Εἰ διὰ τούτου ποτὲ ὁ θεὸς τὸ ἄρρητον ἐθεραπεύσατο, καὶ διὰ ταύτης εὕρε τὴν ἐπιείκειαν, δῆλον, ὡς ἡ τῶν ἀγνοουμένων ἀποκάλυψις ἐπεδεικνύετο εἰς ἐπιστήμην, καὶ τοιοῦτο ἐγίγνετο κατὰ θείαν ἀποκάλυψιν ὡς ὁ ἐξαγγέλλων. ΡΞϚ΄. – ΠΑΥΛΩ Ἐπαινεῖσθαι τὸ ἔργον, καὶ μὴ τοὺς ἐργασαμένους.