Слово 5

Second incrimination against King Julian So, with my word, the first feat is completed and completed. For I have sufficiently shown the evil nature of man, depicting what he did to us and what he could still do, constantly inventing something more painful than the real thing. Now I will assign another goal to the word, which hardly anyone intended for himself, the most sacred goal before God, the most pleasant for us, the most useful for posterity - to add to what has been said how true the scales of God are and what rewards wickedness finds for itself, now immediately, then soon, as it pleases (I believe) the Artist - the Word and the Manager of our affairs, who knows when to make amends for disasters with mercy and when to admonish insolence with shame and executions, using the corrective measures known to Him. But who can fully depict the diseases that befall the wicked according to God’s judgment, torments that do not remain hidden, other various defeats and executions commensurate with the crimes, unusual cases of death, consciousness of guilt in the midst of the suffering itself, useless repentance, admonitions in dreams and visions sent from above? Or those clear and obvious evidence of God’s wrath, which we saw in ourselves as impudent people who desecrated God’s churches or violated sacred meals, or who showed their fury on mysterious vessels, devoured our flesh with impunity and dared to do everything else? But I will deliberately keep silent about this, not because I did not believe what I saw and told, or attributed the events to one set of circumstances or chance, as some foolishly imagine, but so that they would not think that I was dwelling on the unimportant, omitting the more important and especially remarkable. I will begin my speech with a miracle known to everyone, which even atheists believe. Like waves upon waves, every day he raged more against us, first raging against himself 51 , trampling the shrine and “offending the Spirit of grace” (Heb. 10:29), this (more decently said) Jeroboam, or the Israeli Achaab (the most lawless of people), or the Egyptian Pharaoh, or the Assyrian Nebuchadnezzar, or, all these Having combined the names together, let's call him one. For it seems that he combined in himself the vices of all: the apostasy of Jeroboam, the indecent murder of Achaab, the bitterness of Pharaoh, the sacrilege of Nebuchadnezzar and the wickedness of everyone in general. Having tried everything else on us and neglected other types of torment as small and insignificant (for there was no creature more capable of inventing it and inventing evil), he finally aroused the Jewish people against us, making the weapon of his deceit their long-standing frivolity and their long-hidden hatred of us. Hiding his plans under the guise of favor towards the Jews, he proved from their books and sacraments that now the predetermined time had come for them to enter their land, recreate the church and restore the power of their fatherly customs. When he invented this and convinced them of it (for everything pleasant easily leads to deception), the Jews, as if perked up, thought about the church, and began to work actively and zealously on the matter. Some say with surprise that their wives not only, having taken off all their jewelry, willingly sacrificed them for the benefit of the cause and the workers, but they themselves carried the earth in their hands, not sparing either expensive clothing or tender members, they recognized their labors as a matter of piety, and put everything else below their occupation. When, frightened by a sudden strong whirlwind and earthquake, they rushed to one of the nearby churches, some to pray, others, as usually happens in such cases, seeking salvation where they had to, while others were carried away by the general confusion, intervening in the crowd of those running, then, according to some, the church did not accept them. Going to the open gates, they found that they were closed by some invisible force, which works miracles in a similar way to bring terror to the wicked and safety to the pious. But everyone already says and is sure that when they tried to enter, fire came out of the church and burned and destroyed some (so that something similar to what befell the Sodomites happened to them, or the miracle that happened with Nadab and Abihu, who burned alien fire and died in an unusual way), and mutilated others, leaving them as a living monument of God’s wrath and vengeance on sinners. This is how it happened, and everyone should believe this, as well as other miracles of God. Even more surprising and obvious to everyone was the light in the sky, depicting a cross. This mark and name, which was previously despised on earth by the godless, now becomes equally visible to everyone in heaven and serves as a sign of God’s victory over the wicked, preferably over any other sign of victory. What will the wise men of our age say to this, who praise their own among us, wear long beards and drag their elegant cloaks along the ground? Tell yours instead, you who write long speeches, compose incredible stories, direct your gaze to the heavenly things, interpret heavenly signs and infer births and other events from the movements of the stars! Tell me about your stars, about the Crown of Ariadne, about the Hair of Veronica, about the lustful Swan, about the insolent Taurus and, if you want, about your Serpent-bearer 52, about Capricorn, about Leo and about all the others whom you, knowing from your atrocities, have made either gods or stars. Where can you find such a circle in your mathematics? Where will you find a star that would go ahead from the east to Bethlehem as a guide and patroness of your wise men? I can say something about heavenly signs: that star revealed the coming of Christ, and this 53 was the crown of Christ's victory. This is what I will say about the heavenly and the heavenly, which, by the great harmony and affinity of everything, participates in our affairs; the rest will be filled in by the psalm: “You have also destroyed cities” (Ps. 9:7). Like those ancient cities, ruined for such wickedness, they, at the very time of lawless actions against us, were either swallowed up by the sea, or destroyed by an earthquake, so that I can almost say the rest: “their memory perished with a noise,” perished loudly. Such was their fall and destruction that it would take a lot of time to restore them, even if one of the neighbors, even the most comforted by piety, dared to do so. Such were the phenomena on earth and in heaven! But weren’t there signs in the air itself at that time, and wasn’t it then sanctified by the signs of (Christ’s) suffering? Let the spectators and witnesses of his miracle now show the clothes that were then imprinted with the signs of the Cross. As soon as one of our people or from outsiders talked about something or listened to those talking, he immediately saw a miracle either on himself or on his neighbor: he himself was in the stars, or saw stars on the clothes of another, speckled better than any masterful fabric or skillful painting. What happened from this? The spectators were so amazed that almost everyone, as if with one wave and with one voice, began to call on the Christian God and propitiate Him with praises and prayers. Many, without any delay, at the same time as this happened, came to our priests and, after an intense request, became members of the Church, were instructed in the sacraments of the Faith, purified by Divine Baptism, and thus, through fear, were freed from fear. But enough of that. Julian, more and more incited and driven by rage, finally ascends to the very top of his misfortunes. Since he thought that the affairs of Christians were going according to his wishes, since what he had done already encouraged him that everything would submit to him if he only wanted; besides, he admired the victory over the Western barbarians, then he undertakes this intention, which is very prudent and philanthropic. Having taken two armies from here, and the warriors and demons who controlled them (on whom he relied more), he set out on a campaign against the Persians, relying more on his reckless audacity than on the strength of his forces. And this sage could not understand that courage (θάρσος) and insolence (θρασος), although close in name, are most different from each other in actions; I mean courage and cowardice. To be bold in matters requiring courage is a sign of courage; whereas to weaken is a sign of timidity. But going and rushing to where there is more danger, and not holding back, is a sign of insolence; whereas to shy away is a sign of caution. It cannot be assumed that preserving what you have and acquiring what you did not mean the same thing. The first is especially and predominantly worthy of the respect of prudent people; the latter, if it is convenient, should be accepted; otherwise, it is worthy of contempt. Whoever, in the hope of acquiring something, exposes himself to the danger of losing everything he has, is very unreasonable. Such a person seems to me like a bad fighter who begins to fight before he gets into a firm position, or that helmsman who sinks and tries to sink an enemy ship when his ship is without tackle and is not capable of sailing. Julian did not seem to think about it at all; he proceeds to carry out his undertaking without caution; thinks about acquiring someone else's region when the affairs of the Romans were upset by him and were in a bad situation, especially due to persecution. Being Salmoneus, who made thunder with his skin, he extended his gaze to those Trajans and Hadrians, in whom caution was surprised no less than courage, and did not think about Kara or Valerian, who, for their reckless impetuosity (I do not say this as a reproach to evil fate, as the tragedian puts it, 54 suffered punishment, having suffered defeat within Persia, when they were at the height of happiness. But he decided on it and betrayed himself swiftness, gathering together everything that went beyond measure in prophecies and magic, heard and unheard of sacrifices, so that everything would suddenly collapse. And what a great, extraordinary vow he made, both to my Christ and to the Word! The beginning of the campaign, so courageous and praised by many of his like-minded people, was as follows: having captured and devastated that part of Assyria, which is cut by the Euphrates and through which it flows past Persia before connecting with the Tigris, Julian destroyed some fortresses, in which almost no one prevented him, either because he deceived the Persians with the speed of the attack, or because he himself was deceived by the Persians and was lured little by little forward (they say that and more). So he walked on, while the army advanced, and grain and shells were carried along the river on ships; and soon camped at Ctesiphon, approaching which, due to the desire to take possession of this city, seemed to him already part of the victory. From that time on, his affairs went backwards, as if sand had been poured under his feet or a storm had met the ship. Ctesiphon is a solid fortress that is difficult to take; it is surrounded by a brick wall, a deep ditch and a swampy river. It is made even more fortified by another fortress, called Kohe, which is fenced by nature and art. Both fortresses are so connected that they appear to be one city and are separated only by a river. Since it was impossible to take them by storm, or subdue them by siege, or pass between them, especially on ships (there was a danger that they would throw arrows from above on both sides and block the way), Julian bypasses the fortresses and does this: diverting a considerable part of the Euphrates, the greatest of the rivers, and into one ditch, the ancient trace of which, as they say, was visible, releasing as much water as was necessary for the navigation of the ships, above Ctesiphon connects him with the Tiger; and thanks to this, he saves ships that are safely transferred from one river to another, and avoids the danger that threatened from the fortress. While Julian advances, the Persian army appears and constantly increases in number, but does not consider it necessary to face each other and be exposed to danger unless absolutely necessary, being able to overcome with little effort; on the contrary, from high places and from gorges, where the opportunity presents itself, it strikes with spears and arrows, takes convenient passages in advance and thereby blocks Julian’s path. Then he comes into great difficulty and, not knowing where to turn, finds the worst end of his plan. One Persian, not of low birth, imitating Zopyrus, who was with Cyrus during the siege of Babylon, under the guise that by an important offense he incurred the great wrath of the Persian king and became very disliked towards him, he has a goodwill towards the Romans, with his pretense he gains the trust of Julian and says to him: “What does this mean, sir? Why such light measures in such a matter? Why do you have this bread on the ships? It’s an unnecessary burden that only inspires cowardice. Nothing motivates you to resist your superiors and persevere more than a full belly and the thought that salvation is at hand. But if you listen to me; then you will abandon the ships and thereby free your brave army from cowardice. You yourself, by another most convenient and safest route, along which I am your guide (and I can say that hardly anyone else knows Persia better than me), will invade enemy land and return with the desired success. Then you will do me a favor when you experience my favor and my advice in practice.” How soon he said this, and Julian believed his words (for frivolity is gullible, especially with God's permission); suddenly all the disasters came. The ships took fire; there was no bread; laughter followed; for it was almost a voluntary suicide; all hopes disappeared; the conductor disappeared with his promises. There are enemies all around; the war flared up; there was no convenient passage; food was obtained with difficulty; the army became despondent and was indignant at the king; there was no good hope left. One means of salvation seemed to exist in the present circumstances - to get rid of the bad reign and military leadership. This is how everything happened until now, but what followed next is told differently; those who were, as well as those who were not in the war, agree, one on this, the other on the other. Some say that Julian was shot by the Persians when, in one of the disorderly attacks, he rushed hither and thither beside himself, and that something similar to the fate of Cyrus, son of Parysatov, happened to him, who with ten thousand troops attacked his brother Artaxerxes and, fighting bravely, lost the victory due to his impetuosity. Others tell the following about him: Julian climbed one high hill so that from it, like from a tower, he could survey the entire army and find out how many remained in the battle. When the army, beyond his expectations, seemed to him to be very numerous, like a man envious of the salvation of his soldiers, he said: “What a shame it will be if we lead them all to Roman land!” One of the warriors, irritated by these words, could not contain his annoyance and struck him in the stomach, not caring about preserving his life. And some say that one of those foreign jesters who followed the army for fun and for fun at feasts dared to do this. Others give this honor to one Saracen. Be that as it may, Julian receives a truly timely blow and a saving one for the whole world; with one blow of the sword he is punished for cutting off many wombs in which he wickedly believed. And I marvel at how this vain man, who thought that he could know everything through dissecting wombs, did not foreknow this one thing, that is, the blow to his own womb. It is indecent to remain silent about his act, which, among many other things, indisputably proves his fury. Julian lay on the river bank and suffered from his wound. Since he knew that many of those who had become famous before him, in order to be considered something higher than man, through some tricks disappeared from among people and were therefore recognized as gods, then he, captivated by the desire for such glory, moreover, ashamed of the very kind of death that ingloriously befalls him for his own recklessness, what is he up to? what does it do? His wickedness does not stop with life! He attempts to throw himself into the river and for this he uses the help of people loyal to him and participants in his secrets. And if one of the royal eunuchs, who guessed what was the matter and explained to others, out of disgust for the crime, had not prevented the intention, then perhaps from the distressed Julian a new god would have appeared for unreasonable people. But this is how he reigned, this is how he led the army, and this is how he ends his life! Soon after him, who accepted the royal rank and was proclaimed king among the military camp, in the very heat of dangers that necessarily required a leader, was a famous man for other merits, and for piety, and for his appearance, truly worthy of a ruler. And although he lacked neither courage nor jealousy; however, he could neither fight the Persians nor go forward, because the army had weakened in strength and hope. Having become the heir not of a kingdom, but of defeat, he is concerned about returning to his fatherland and is looking for ways to do this safely. If the Persians, due to their moderation in victory (for they had a law - to observe moderation in happiness), or for fear of any rumors, had not turned to peace proposals, as much as unexpected, as well as philanthropic, then there would have been no means, as they say, for the fire-bearer to remain in the army 55. Thus the Romans were pressed by the Persians, who were fighting on their own soil and inspired by previous events, for it is enough to gain some success to have hope for the future. But Julian’s successor, as I said, now cared about one thing - to save the army, to preserve the strength of the Romans. For these warriors really constituted the strength of the Romans, and if they acted unsuccessfully, it was more due to the recklessness of the commander than due to a lack of their own courage. A treaty was concluded with the Persians (to put it briefly) shameful and unworthy of the Roman army. But if anyone, leaving Julian aside, began to blame his successor for him, then, in my opinion, he would be a bad judge of the events of that time. For the ear of corn belongs not to the reaper, but to the sower; in a fire it is not the one who could not extinguish it that is to blame, but the one who started it. Here, by the way, to cite what Herodotus said about the Samian tyrants: these shoes were made by Istia, and worn by Aristagoras, who continued what his predecessor had started. After this, what could be done but return the body of the wicked man to the Romans, although how did he end his life? But just as we have a deceased person who left life before him, 56 let us see what the difference is here between both kings (if this also serves in any way to the happiness or misfortune of those who have departed). One is accompanied by nationwide blessings, celebrations, processions and our sacred rites, all-night hymns, the raising of lamps, by which we Christians honor the pious repose; and the removal of his body becomes a joyful triumph, dissolved by sadness. If you believe the rumor that reached the ears of many, then when the body of Constantius was carried through the Taurus to his hometown, the same and famous, - on the top of the mountains some heard the voice of those singing and accompanying, and I think that it was the voice of the Angelic Forces - a reward for his piety and a funeral reward. If he, apparently, shook the right teaching; then the ignorance and malice of his nobles are to blame for this; But we, thinking about what concerns everyone more, that is, about his father, who laid the foundation of royal power in Christianity and the Faith, and about the legacy of teaching passed from his father to him, we duly honored the earthly church of the one who lived worthy of a king, ended his life with the death of a righteous man and left us power. Is it necessary to talk about the escort of a whole army when the body approached the great reigning city, and about the ranks of the armed army that appeared to the king as if alive, or about how the whole city flowed to a meeting that was more brilliant than all that has ever been or will be? And this daring and courageous one, dressed in new purple and therefore probably thinking highly of himself, himself forms part of the solemn procession, gives and receives honor; one, as they say, is somewhat forced, the other willingly. For the entire army, although it submitted to the real power, nevertheless showed more respect to the deceased; and (as we usually do when the loss is still fresh in our memory) grieving and regretting the beloved king, the soldiers did not tolerate him being deprived of royal honors, but they persuade the apostate to take part in them, they even force them to meet the deceased in decent form, that is, after removing the diadem from their head and giving the king due worship, they go with the bearers to the tomb - to the famous church The apostles who received and preserve this sacred lineage, which was awarded almost equal honor. This is how our Emperor is buried! On the contrary, Julian’s campaign was inglorious (his peoples and cities were pursued by cliques of the mob and jesters, which many still remember today); and his return was even more inglorious. What kind of disgrace is this? He was carried by buffoons, the procession was accompanied by indecent games; they drank, danced, and reviled him for his apostasy, defeat and death. And what insult did he not suffer? What have you not heard from impudent people who place their art in insulting others? Finally, the city of Tarsus accepts him, I don’t know how or why he was condemned to such disgrace. Here the place of burial assigned to him is dishonorable, and the coffin is unclean, despicable, disgusting to the pious gaze. I have described only the most important and important wines of Julian; but I also know that two or three court caresses, equal to him in wickedness (I willingly keep silent about the others), were given such a reward for wickedness that in a short time they would have unhindered all the possessions of the Romans on land and sea, if these affairs had not soon been given a favorable end. They were so superior in robbery and greed to the ancient hundred-armed giants! The administration of the regions was entrusted to people not the most truthful, but the most inhuman. One was the right to obtain leadership - apostasy; and those only received gifts from Julian who plotted the greatest evil against themselves and others. What can be said about the changes and alterations in judicial decisions that overnight changed and turned this way and that, like the ebb and flow of the sea? For this tireless man wanted to carry out the judgment himself, appropriating everything to himself out of ambition. Maybe they will think that I blame too much for small crimes and reduce the big ones with small ones. However, everyone will agree that such deeds not from the Champs Elysees are worthy of the fields and not the glory that Radomantus has there 57, and that people of the same kinship and rank honor Julian with. I am surprised at one thing about Julian: he urgently invited many of his peers and acquaintances, especially from Asian schools, to his place, as if intending to do wonderful things, and inspired them with hopes, recalling his promises. When they appeared, it turned out that this was just a cunning trick and a deception of the eyes. He conducted some in one way, others in another. He even invited some to the table in a friendly manner; instead of any other bait, he called them comrades, gave them a cup, joked with them, but sent them away with nothing; so they did not know who to blame more, either him for deception, or themselves for gullibility. I do not consider it necessary to mention how unworthy of praise in the rules of this philosopher is that, having before him examples of firm and unshakable sovereigns, who, no matter what happened, did not change in their faces and did not show any traces of embarrassment, he was so calm and knew how to control passions that, while holding court, he filled the entire palace with noise and shouts, as if he himself suffered violence and damage, and not protected others from it. But who does not know that many of the villagers who publicly came to him for what kings are usually asked for, he beat with his fists and trampled under his feet in front of everyone, and treated them so cruelly that they rejoiced if they were not subjected to anything grave? In what part of the Word should we mention those blows and puffs that this wondrous man, in mockery of our rites 58, made to show the old women when he lit the fire on the altar? How good it was to see the Roman king with disfigured cheeks, arousing great laughter not only from strangers, but also from those whom he thought to please! He probably didn’t hear that his goddess, Athena, cursed the pipes when, looking into the water instead of a mirror, she saw that the pipe had disfigured her face. Are those circular cups that Julian publicly gave to indecent women and himself accepted from them, covering his debauchery with the guise of a sacrament, really not worthy of surprise? Others learned from their own experience when the authorities gave Julian complete freedom; but in some way I foresaw this a long time ago, since I was with him in Athens, where he arrived soon after the return of his brother, having asked permission from the Emperor. There were two reasons for this trip: one most plausible - to survey Greece and its schools; another, more distant and not known to many, is to consult with the local priests; because wickedness did not yet have obvious audacity. And then I guessed this man quite well, although I am not one of those skilled in such matters. The inconstancy of his character and immoderate enthusiasm made me a soothsayer; unless the best diviner is the one who knows how to guess well. For me, they did not foretell anything good: an unsteady neck, moving and leveling shoulders, darting, impudent and ferocious eyes, legs - not standing firmly, but bending, a nose expressing insolence and contempt, funny facial features and the same expression of loud and immoderate laughter, bending and throwing back the head for no reason, slow and intermittent speech, random questions and incoherent, answers no better, mixed one with another, unsteady, not subject to rules. But why describe in detail? I saw him the same way before, as I recognized him from his deeds. If some of those who were with me then and heard my words were here, they would easily testify to this. For then, as soon as I saw it, I said to them: “What evil is being fostered by the Roman Empire!” and having predicted, he wanted to be a false soothsayer. For it would be better for me to be a false prophet than to experience so many evils in the universe, and to bring into the world such a monster as has never happened before; although they talk about many floods, about many inflammations, eruptions and collapses of the earth, about inhuman people, about monstrous and complex animals, not produced in the usual order by nature. And therefore he had an end worthy of his madness. Here only God did not show His usual long-suffering, because His love for mankind would have been disastrous for many. In virtuous people it would produce despondency, and in sinners - arrogance and the thought that no one oversees our affairs, there is no control or reward, but everything moves and is controlled by chance - a thought that shows an evil mind, very destructively reasoning about the most important subjects! This is what we are saying - Galileans, despised people, worshipers of the Crucified One, disciples of fishermen and, as they themselves say, ignoramuses; we who sit and sing psalms together with the old women; We, who are exhausted by long fasts and half-dead, wake in vain and talk idle talk during all-night vigils, and yet we depose you! “Where is the person who took the census? Where is the one who weighed the tribute? (Isa.33:18). I borrow this victory song from one of our unwise ones, as it seems to you. Where are the sacrifices, rituals and sacraments? Where are the open and secret slaughters? Where is the art of guessing from dissected entrails? Where are the miracles of foresight and the signs of ventriloquists? Where is the glorious Babylon, about which there was so much talk, and the whole Universe, which you dreamed of conquering for yourself by shedding a little unclean blood? Where are the Persians and Medes, whom he considered in his hands? Where are the gods, accompanied by you, guiding and accompanying you, your protectors, comrades-in-arms? Where are the prophecies and threats against Christians or the complete extermination of us and our name at a certain time? Everything disappeared, deceived, dissipated; all the eloquent praises of the wicked turned out to be a dream. When a certain foreign king with a large army attacked Hezekiah, the king of Judah, besieged Jerusalem and angrily spewed out wicked and blasphemous words against the king and God himself, as if there were no means left to save the city from his dominion: then Hezekiah comes to the church, tears his clothes, sheds streams of tears, raising his hands to heaven, calls on God as a witness to the blasphemy of Sennacherib and prays to Him to be an avenger for arrogant threats. “You see, Lord,” he says, “how this foreigner reviles You, the God of Israel; “You have seen, O Lord, but do not remain silent” (Ps. 34:22).” And the king’s prayer did not remain in vain, for the one who rebelled against God realized in practice his madness and left without fulfilling his threats: suddenly struck by some invisible force, he lost most of the army and was driven away by unpleasant news, which beyond his expectations put an end to the siege and his hopes. This is what Hezekiah did, surrounded by a numerous army, the king of the great Jerusalem, who, perhaps, himself would have repelled the hostile hordes. And we, for whom there remained only one weapon, one wall, one defense - hope in God (because we were completely deprived of all human help from everywhere), who else could we expect to hear our prayers and repel threats, if not from God, Who with an oath rejected the arrogance of Jacob 59? Oh, what incredible stories! What daring hopes! We were promised to the demons as a sacrifice; we are the great inheritance of God, “a holy nation, a royal priesthood” (1 Pet. 2:9), intended as a reward for the fulfillment of one hope, for victory in one battle. This is your gift to Christians for being saved by them to the general detriment! 60 Thus have you repaid the Lord your God! Until now, God has also held back and postponed His wrath for us, not yet kindling all His jealousy, but only raising His hand high against the wicked, and although he pulled and prepared the bow, he nevertheless held it back by force and waited until all of Julian’s anger came out, like some malignant and purulent abscess; for this is the law of God's judgment: either to save by repentance, or to punish with justice. And then, with difficulty enduring the present and lamenting about the future (because the very goodness of God towards His own, hidden from us, was unbearable for us), we raised our voices to God; now calling upon Him as a Master, now beseeching Him as a good Father, now as if complaining and entering into court with Him, which is typical of people who mourn, they cried out: “Why, O God, has He cast us away forever? Thy anger has kindled against the sheep of Thy pasture? Remember Your host, which You acquired from ancient times” (Ps. 74:1-2), which You acquired through the suffering of Your Only Begotten Word, honored with Your great covenant, and attracted to heaven with a new sacrament and pledge of the Spirit. “Move Your feet towards the ancient ruins!” You endured, “and the enemy destroyed everything in the sanctuary, and rejoiced” at Your festival (Ps. 74:3). We called for the sword and Egyptian executions, asked God to “judge our strife”; finally begged to rise up against the wicked, saying: “How long will the wicked, Lord, how long will the wicked triumph” (Ps. 93:3)? How long will they “tromp down Your people and oppress Your inheritance?” (Ps. 93:5) until they cease both to speak and to do iniquity?” We repeated these and similar deplorable words: “He has made us a reproach and a reproach to our neighbors, a byword, a reproach” to all people (Ps. 79:7, 43:14–15). We remembered the vineyard, which was transported from Egypt - from the darkness of godlessness, grew into the beauty and greatness of Faith, and then lost its fence - the gaze of God guarding us, became open to all passers-by, to evil rulers, and was devastated by this wild boar, a crafty man who had internalized evil, filled with the mud of evil. This is how I thought and cried out to God before. What am I changing now in the sounds of the song? I already mourn the destruction of the wicked; I become philanthropic towards the haters, and I say this: “How accidentally they came to ruin, disappeared, perished from horrors” (Ps. 72:19), like dust swept up by a whirlwind, like fluff blown by the wind, like morning dew, like the whistle of a fired arrow, like a thunderclap, like fast-flying lightning? If they, although now, changed their thoughts, stopped indulging in many errors, and flowed in the wake of the truth, then perhaps the fall itself would turn to their advantage. For punishment often serves for the good of those punished. But what if they remain of the same opinion, still cling to idols and are not wise by the disaster that admonishes even the foolish? Jeremiah mourns Jerusalem so much that he calls soulless things to weeping and demands tears at the walls (Lamentations 2:18); What kind of cry is there worthy of these so stubborn people? Who will weep for the present without shedding more tears for the future punishment for the fact that they were mad, strayed from God, “and served the creation together with the Creator” (Rom. 1:25), and not only served, but rebelled against the servants of God and raised an ungodly hand against them, worthy of such evils? But as God pleases, so be it! Who knows that God, who “looseth the prisoners” (Ps. 145:7), raises from the gates of death the burdened and the prostrate, does not want the death of the sinner, but waits for his conversion, - Who also enlightened and made us wise, who sat in darkness and the shadow of death - this God will one day accept them, and, putting aside the heavy and iron rod, will guard them with the rod pastoral? But I return my word again to the same victorious song: “Bel has fallen, Dagon has been cast down” (Is. 46:1), “Sharon is like the desert, Lebanon has been put to shame” (Is. 33:9); Now they will no longer say to the stupid, motionless and insensitive crowd of idols: Be in charge! - they will not look for a fly, the god of Akron, or anything even more ridiculous; They will not think about groves and heights, and about every wooded and shady mountain, they will not “sacrifice their sons and daughters to demons” (Ps. 106:37), for which Israel was reproached from ancient times by the prophets. But what do I care about that? Let me turn to the present – ​​to what actually concerns us. They will no longer look slyly at our sacred churches, nor desecrate the altars with unclean blood, which received their name from the most pure and bloodless Sacrifice; They will not dishonor sacred places with godless altars, plunder and desecrate offerings, adding greed to wickedness; they will not insult the gray hair of priests, the honesty of deacons, the chastity of virgins; They will no longer allow unclean pigs into the cut wombs of the Saints, so that they will devour these wombs along with food; they will not destroy with fire and scatter to the wind the remains of the Saints, dishonoring them with the most dishonorable bones in order to deprive them of the honor due to them; They will no longer set up “destroying seats” and amuse themselves with the blasphemy of bishops and presbyters, also Prophets and Apostles, and even Christ himself; They will no longer triumph over us, prohibiting us by law from falsely named 61 formations, in order to at the same time close our lips. Bring here your royal and sophistic speeches, your irresistible syllogisms and enthymemes; Let's see what our uneducated fishermen say. “Take away from me the noise of your songs, and the sound of your harps,” my Prophet commands you (Amos 5:23). Let David sing again with boldness, who with mysterious stones overthrew the arrogant Goliath, defeated many with meekness and spiritual sweetness, healed Saul, tormented by an evil spirit. Let your candle-bearer extinguish the fire; and the wise and sacred divas will light their lamps for the Bridegroom. Let your hierophant lay aside the robe of a harlot; and “the priests will be clothed with righteousness” (Ps. 131:9) and the adornment of “glory instead of the spirit of despondency” (Ps. 61:4), they will be clothed in a great and undefiled tunic, in Christ - our adornment. Let your preacher be silent and not speak dishonorably; May my preacher speak the inspired things. Leave your magic and sorcery books, and let only the prophetic and apostolic ones be re-read. Stop your vile and darkness-filled night gatherings; and I will restore the sacred and bright all-night vigils. Block your hiding places and paths that lead to hell; I will show you the open paths that lead to heaven. What stores of arms, what inventions of projectiles, what darkness and hordes of men would have produced what our prayers and God's will have done? God dispelled darkness with a word, created light with a word, founded the earth, rounded the sky, distributed the stars, poured out the air, set limits to the sea, extended rivers, animated animals, created man in His image, and gave beauty to everything. With a word, He has now dispelled the darkness of the night and brought everything back to light, order and its former harmony. Now greedy and deceitful demons no longer rule; the creature is not offended by the worship given to it instead of God. Throw away your Triptolemus, and Kelei, and mysterious dragons; finally be ashamed of the books of your theologian - Orpheus; take advantage of the gift of time that covers your shamelessness. If these are just fables and fictions, then I will discover your nightly mysteries. Now the oak tree no longer speaks, the tripod no longer prophesies, and the Pythia is no longer filled with, I don’t know what, but nothing more than fables and nonsense. The Kastalsky source has again fallen silent and remains silent; its water excites not the gift of prophecy, but laughter. Apollo again became a silent idol, Daphne - a tree lamented in a fable! Dionysus is again androgynous and leads a crowd of drunks with him; your great mystery - the god Fall suffers from love for the beautiful Prosymnus. Semele is struck by lightning again. Hephaestus, this god stained with soot, is again limping on both legs, but agile in finding adulterers, although he is a glorious artist and Olympian Thersite. Ares is again chained for fornication along with Fear, Horror and Confusion and wounded for insolence. Aphrodite is again a fornicator, shamefully born, a servant of shameful marriages. Athena is a virgin again and gives birth to a dragon. Hercules goes crazy again, or, better said, stops going crazy. Again, from lust and voluptuousness, Zeus, the adviser and ruler of the gods, turns into all kinds, who alone raises them all with everything that exists, but he himself cannot be moved from his place by everyone. The coffin of Diev is shown again in Crete. As soon as I see your Kerdoy, Logia and Epagonius, I close my eyes and run away from your god, because I am ashamed to look. I do not prevent you from worshiping the power of eloquence and sum. One thing is worthy of respect from you: the honor given by the androgynes among the Egyptians to the Nile, Isis, Mendesian gods, Apises and all other monstrous and many-composed animals that you draw or sculpt. I laugh at your Pan, Priapus, Hermaphroditus and other gods who are either mutilated or torn to pieces in a frenzy. I leave all this to the spectacle and to the poets who adorn your gods; and I will close the word with an exhortation. Men and wives, young men and old men, all who serve in this sanctuary and occupy the lower ranks, all whom the Lord once delivered from error and atheism, and now from the rebellion of the pagans and from real and expected disasters! Listen to the word of the man who learned this not just lightly, but from daily events, from ancient stories, books and deeds! It is a great thing not to experience any sorrow; and perhaps not great, if the word is true that “the Lord loves him, punishes him, and beats every son whom he receives” (Heb. 12:6) and for whom he especially cares. On the contrary, the great thing is not to sin at all, or at least not to sin gravely; because God placed being completely sinless above human nature. And the second thing after this, I believe, is that those who have fallen and been punished, and then forgiven, always feel the punishment and avoid a new execution for a new crime. Therefore, we ourselves will experience God’s punishment. Let us show ourselves worthy not of what we previously suffered, but of what we finally received. Let us justify ourselves in the calamity that befell us by the fact that we, not as evildoers, were betrayed to the pagans, but were admonished like children. Let us not forget about the storm during silence, about illness during health, about captivity during a safe return to Jerusalem, about Egypt after Egypt. Let the time of suffering not be our best time of peace; but it will be like this if it turns out that we were then humble and moderate and stretched to heaven in all hopes, and now we are exalted, arrogant and again turned to the same sins that brought us to the disasters that befell us. “No, my children” (1 Samuel 2:24), says the priest Eli, admonishing his children who have sinned against God. On the contrary, knowing that it is easier to return lost prosperity than to preserve what was given from God (for what is lost is returned through chastity, and what is given is lost through carelessness), knowing that a sick body is restored by medicine and abstinence, and the restored one, with a little negligence and satiety, again comes to relaxation and falls into previous ailments, knowing all this and instilling in each other, we will come to ourselves and we will use our time chastely. And first of all, brethren, let us celebrate not with carnal joy, not with feasts, not with drunkenness; you know their fruit - unclean beds and debauchery. Let us not cover the streets with flowers, anoint the tables with the shame of incense, or decorate the vestibules; Let the houses not be illuminated by sensual light, and let the sounds of pipes and applause not turn into houses of disorder! This is how the pagans established to celebrate the new moon. And we will not honor God by this, not by exalting the present time, which is unworthy of us, but by the purity of the soul, the lightness of the mind, by the lamps that illuminate the entire body of the Church, that is, by divine contemplations and reflections, lifted up on a sacred candlestick and illuminating the entire Universe. In comparison with this light, in my opinion, all the fires lit by people during private or public celebrations are insignificant. I also have myrrh, but one with which only priests and kings are anointed, as it is multi-component and valuable and is exhausted for us - an ointment composed by the art of the great Myrovarz. Oh, if only I were worthy to bring the fragrance of this world! I also have a spiritual and divine meal, which “the Lord has prepared for me in the sight of my enemies” (Ps. 23:5); behind her I calm down and have fun and, when I’m full, I don’t indulge in shameful thoughts, but I lull in myself any rebellion of passions. I also have flowers that are more beautiful and longer lasting than any spring flower, the flowers of the “full field which the Lord has blessed” (Gen. 27:27), that is, priests, fragrant shepherds and teachers, and from the people everything that is pure and chosen. With them I desire to be crowned and adorned when, following the example of the holy Apostle, “I will fight the good fight and finish my course and keep the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7). Let us replace tympanums with spiritual songs, disorderly shouts and songs with psalmody, spectacular applause with applause with gratitude and harmonious movements of the hands, laughter with reflection, drunkenness with wise conversation, playfulness with sedateness. If you, as a lover of solemn gatherings and festivities, need to dance, gallop, but not with the dance of the shameless Herodias, whose work was the death of the Baptist, but with the galloping of David, during the installation of Kyoto in its place, which, I think, was a mysterious sign of a quick and free march before God. This is the first and most important part of my exhortation! The second part, as far as I know, will be difficult and unpleasant for many. For a person who has received the opportunity to repay evil for evil, especially if what he suffered provides a just cause for anger, does not like to obey the word, which curbs his irritability. However, my word is worthy of being listened to and accepted. Let us not make excessive use of the circumstances of the time, we will not allow excess in the use of our power, we will not be hard-hearted towards those who have offended us, we will not do what we ourselves condemned. From this real change, taking advantage of the fact that we avoid evil, we will hate all revenge. Moderate people consider fear, the expectation of what they deserve, and the torment of their own conscience as sufficient punishment for their offenders. For whoever fears future punishment already suffers, although he does not yet endure punishment; he punishes himself, perhaps more than the executioners would have punished him. So, let us not wish to moderate (God’s) anger, lest we appear to punish less than what is proper, but since we cannot punish for everything, we will forgive in everything and through this we will become better than our offenders and become higher than them. Let us show what the demons teach them and what Christ teaches us, Who gained glory through suffering and triumphed no less because He did not do what He could have done. Let us give God one thanksgiving, let us spread the sacrament 62 with goodness, and for this only occasion we will take advantage of the circumstances. Let us defeat the tormentors by love of truth. Especially in forgiveness we will show love for mankind and the power of the commandment, which rewards us with equal love for mankind, as soon as we need it; for we know that “with the measure” we use, “with the same measure it will be measured” to us (Mark 4:24). If anyone is very upset, let us leave those who upset us to God and to future judgment. Let us not lessen future wrath by laying our own hand on them. We will not think about taking away their property, we will not drag them to trial, we will not expel them from the fatherland, we will not punish them with whips; I’ll say briefly: we won’t do anything to them that we ourselves suffered. And if possible, let us make them meek by our own example. Whether someone’s son or father, or wife, relative, friend, or anyone else whom they value dearly suffered, let us reward everyone for their suffering by convincing him to endure with firmness whatever he suffered. Above this gift, what else can we give them? Should we also talk about the greatest blessing we have received? Our persecutors are persecuted by the reproaches of peoples and cities at spectacles, in marketplaces, and at meetings. Everywhere they please the old, put the new to shame, and to great surprise, even the accomplices of our persecutors with reproaches overthrow the gods themselves, as having deceived them for a long time, and only later being caught in deception. Who was a fan yesterday has now become a scolder. What more could you ask for? This is now being rewarded to the unfortunate, and perhaps this is still a small part of the reward. There will be a time when I will see my offenders and their great leader mourning their wickedness, when all lawlessness will be judged and tortured. I am silent about our Divine sayings and about those executions that, according to our teaching, are prepared for the future. Turn to your teaching and to the horrors that not only poets, but also philosophers love to talk about; turn to your Pyriphlegethonts, Cocytus and Acheronts, in which Tantalus, Tityus, Ixion are tormented for lies. Julian, the king of this brotherhood, will be numbered among them, and will even precede them, according to our word and definition. He will not languish with thirst, standing up to his neck in the lake; will not be terrified by the stone, as depicted by the tragedian, hanging over his head and constantly rising and falling; he will not be turned on a rapidly spinning wheel; and the birds will not torment his liver, which is never exhausted, but always replenished - let all this be the truth or one fable hiding the truth in fiction. But then we will see how and with what he will be punished, we will see that his torment will be more severe than those described, because penalties and rewards are always proportionate to the crimes. This is our gift to you, excellent and wise husband (I’ll say it in your own words), for the kick! This is what we reward you, who, according to your great and amazing code, were forbidden to study eloquence. You see that we did not have to remain completely silent, that your statutes could not condemn us to constant silence; but that we too have been given the freedom to raise our voices and alleviate your folly. Just as it is impossible with any art to hold back the Nile falls falling from Ethiopia into Egypt, or to stop a ray of sunshine, although it is obscured for a short time by a cloud; So you cannot bind the tongue of Christians, which denounces your deeds. This is brought to you by Vasily and Gregory, opponents and opponents of your plan, as you yourself thought, assured others, glorifying and encouraging us to greater piety with their threats. Knowing us back in Greece as people who acquired a name and fame in life through eloquence and mutual unanimity, you honored us with the honor of the Cyclops, that is, you left the latter to perish and, perhaps, planned to bring as a victory gift to the demons as something great and worthy of your greatness, if we met you returning from Persia; or even, miscalculating, he harbored the hope of plunging us into the same abyss. For we are no more cowardly than those young men who were watered by fire, defeated beasts with faith, willingly exposed themselves to danger along with a courageous mother and an even more courageous priest, showed that faith alone is invincible; no more cowardly, of course, than those who showed their fearlessness in front of you and of whom one 63, having disgraced the mother of your gods and destroying the altar, was led to you as a condemned man, entered as a conqueror and, having laughed a lot at your scarlet robe and your speeches as being riddled and ridiculous, left you with greater boldness than with which another returns from the supper and from the bright feast; and the other (St. Eusebius of Samosata - “ed.”), when the whole body was deeply cut with belts, barely breathing from the wounds, not only did not weaken in torture and did not consider the tortures he was undergoing to be severe, but even noticing that some parts of the body had not yet been subjected to blows, he began to accuse the torturers of insulting him, because not his entire body was honored, but they left something untortured and unsanctified, and with it pointed to the shin, which alone escaped the iron nails, and demanded that it not be spared. So, this is a word for you, valued by Christians no lower than the lies and absurdities of Porphyria, which you admire as divine words, and no lower than your Misopogon or Antiochus 64; for you inscribe your work with both names. It was then made important by your purple and flatterers, who were amazed at everything about you, but now it has become a beard, which everyone drags, tears and ridicules, as well as those who worked on it. In it, as if discussing something important, you are very proud of the fact that you do not have excessive care for your body and have never felt indigestion from overeating; and you deliberately keep silent about the fact that you so cruelly persecuted Christians and exterminated this numerous sacred people. But what is the harm to society when one person suffers from indigestion or has natural belching? When did such persecution begin and so many riots occur? Then shouldn't the entire Roman Empire have found itself in a difficult situation, as it actually turned out to be in experience? We are erecting a monument to you that is higher and more glorious than the pillars of Hercules. They were erected in one place and visible only to those who came there; and this monument, moving from one to another, cannot but be known everywhere and to everyone. And I know for sure that later times will see him denouncing you and your deeds, as well as teaching everyone else not to dare such a rebellion against God, so that, by doing like you, they will not receive the same reward as you. That is, the light that appeared in the sky, depicting the sign of the Cross, as mentioned above. The fire-bearer was the name given to the one who carried the sacred fire in the pagan army to burn victims, and the victors spared his life so as not to offend the gods. But the defeat of the Roman army could have been so great that even this man could not have been saved. According to pagan superstition, on the Champs Elysees the virtuous receive rewards, which are distributed by Radomantus. An indication of the rituals performed during the sacrament of Baptism. That is, the descendants of the patriarch Jacob (Amos.6:8). During the disturbance that followed the death of Constantine the Great, Constantius saved Julian and his brother Gall from death, hiding them in his palace. In pagan schools and in secular sciences. Julian's essay "Misopogon" is a hater of the beard, written against the Antiochians, who laughed at Julian's long and unkempt beard. You might be interested in: