SIXTH WORD.

1

Animals, as long as they live in the forests and do not enter into a struggle with people, are quite docile and meek. But as soon as the hunters catch them, they bring them into the city, and locking them in a cage, they stir them up to fight with men, and they, attacking (people), will taste meat and drink human blood; then they can no longer so easily abandon this delicacy, but with great greed they rush to such a prey. The same thing happened to us. And we, as soon as we entered into the struggle, and, assailing their shameless objections, overthrew their schemes and every exaltation levied upon the mind of God, and captivated their speculations to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. X, 5), they were even more willing to fight them. But what should I do? You see that my voice has weakened and cannot endure the same long conversation, and it seems to me that the same thing has happened to me now as to the soldier who, having cut down several enemies, and with great fury attacked the enemy detachment and defeated many enemies, broke his sword, and with sorrow returns to his own. Our grief is even heavier. A soldier who breaks a sword can snatch another from someone standing, and take advantage of the (military) heat to show great courage; but when the voice was asleep, it is impossible to take the voice from another. What then? Shall we return too? But the power of your love does not allow it. I am ashamed of our father's presence, and I am ashamed of your zeal. Therefore, fully entrusting myself to his prayers and your love, I will try to take up that which is beyond my strength. And let none of you reproach our word for being untimely, because today, when the martyrs have summoned us, we, leaving the legend of their exploits, come out against the Jews: and for them (the martyrs) this word is more pleasant. Our praise will not make them any more glorious. In fact, what need is there for our words for those whose deeds are higher than mortal nature, and whose rewards are higher than power and conception (human)? They despised the present life, trampled on torture and torment, despised death, soared to heaven, freed themselves from the agitation of worldly cares, reached a quiet harbor, carrying with them not gold and silver and precious garments, but the unstolen treasures of patience, courage and love. They now flow into communion with Paul, winged, even before (receiving) crowns, by the expectation of crowns, and finally avoiding the uncertainty of the future. What need do they have of our words? And that's why they like the real object. From our praises, as I said above, nothing will come to their glory; and they will take great pleasure in our battles against the Jews, and they will gladly listen especially to the words spoken in defense of the glory of God. The martyrs especially dislike the Jews, because they loved Him very much, Whom they crucified. They said, "His blood be on us and on our children" (Matt. XXVII, 25); but these also shed their blood for Him Whom they had killed. So they will be happy to listen to these words.

2

Thus we have sufficiently proved that if the present slavery of the Jews were to end, the prophets would have foretold it and were not silent; (we have proved this) by showing that all the captivities of Egypt, Babylon, and that which took place under Antiochus Epiphanes, befell the Jews according to prediction. We have proved by the divine Scriptures that for each of these captivities both a place and a time are foretold, and no prophet has appointed a time (continuation) for the present. That it will come, that it will desolate everything, that it will change the social order (of the Jews), and that it will take for a time after the return from Babylon to happen, Daniel foretold; but that it will have an end, and that these calamities will ever cease, this neither this nor any other prophet has revealed: on the contrary, Daniel also predicted that this slavery would weigh upon them until the end of the age. Time itself confirms our words: so much of it has passed since then, and to this day there is no trace or beginning of a change beneficial to them, although they have repeatedly attempted to restore the church. Yes, they made attempts once, and twice, and three times, under Hadrian, Constantine, and Julian, but each time they were stopped, first by the soldiers, and then by fire, which came out of the foundations and stopped their untimely attempt. And I would like to ask them at last: Tell me, why is this, after living so long in Egypt, that you have again received your fatherland; then, having been led away to Babylon, they also returned to Jerusalem; Again, having suffered so many calamities under Antiochus, they again returned to their former position, and again received, with the same dignity, the sacrifices, and the altar, and the holy of holies, and all the rest? And now none of this has happened; nay, a hundred years have already passed, twice, thrice, four times as much, and even much more: for from that time (from Antiochus) to ours five hundred years have already passed; but we do not see that anywhere there is even a hint of such a change, on the contrary, their affairs have been upset in the end, and even in sleep they do not imagine such hope as before. If they point out their sins and say, "Thus we have sinned against God and offended Him," for this we do not receive our native land; If these people, who heard without shame the constant rebukes of the prophets, and did not confess when they strongly reproached them for murder, if they now confess and confess their sins, then I will ask each of them: Is it because of your sins, Jew, that you have been living so long away from Jerusalem? What is new and unusual here? Do you now only live in sins, and formerly lived righteously and virtuously? Have you not from time immemorial and from the beginning dwelt in innumerable iniquities? Did not the prophet Ezekiel rebuke you of innumerable (evil) deeds when he introduced the two harlots, Olah and Oliva, and said that you had committed fornication in Egypt, and had been foolish with foreigners, and had served strange gods (Ezek. XXIII)? What then? When the sea was divided, the stones were torn asunder, and so many miracles were performed in the wilderness, did you not worship the calf then? Did you not often attempt to kill Moses, either by throwing stones at him, or by banishing him, or by inflicting innumerable insults upon him? Did they not often pronounce blasphemy against God? Did they not serve Beelphegor? Did you not sacrifice your sons and daughters to demons? Have you not committed all kinds of impiety and sins? Did not the prophet say to you in the presence of God, "Four years of indignation of that generation, and reh: they ever err in their hearts" (Ps. XCIV, 10)? How is it that God did not turn away from you then, but even after infanticide, after idolatry, after great impiety, after unspeakable ingratitude, He allowed the great prophet Moses to still be with us, and performed wondrous and extraordinary signs? And what was not with any of the people has happened to you, a cloud has spread over you instead of a covering, a pillar has guided you instead of a lamp, enemies have voluntarily submitted to you, cities have surrendered almost at the sound of a voice. You had no need of arms, nor of an army, nor of a battle: you only sounded, and the walls crumbled of their own accord. You had new and unusual food, so that the prophet exclaims, "The bread of heaven is given unto them, the bread of angels is the poison of man: the bread of the angels hath sent unto them unto their filling" (Ps. LXXVII, 25). Why, tell me, did you then, although you lived wickedly, served idols, killed children, stoned prophets, committed innumerable crimes, yet enjoyed such favor, such protection of God; And now, although you do not serve idols, do not kill children, do not stone prophets, yet you all live in bondage? Was there one God then, and now another? Did not one and the same (God) arrange the affairs of that time and do the things of today? Why, tell me, when your sins were greater, then was your honor great with God, and when now you are less iniquity, He has completely turned away from you and given you over to constant dishonor? For if now He turns away from you for sins, how much more should He have abhorred then; but if He then condescended to you, although you lived wickedly, how much more should He condescend now, when you do not commit such crimes. Why did He not show mercy? If you are ashamed to say the reason, I will say it plainly, or rather not I, but the real truth itself: because you killed Christ; for raising their hands against the Lord; for shedding precious blood; This is why there is no relief for you, there is no forgiveness, no apology. Then you insulted the servants, Moses, and Isaiah, and Jeremiah; Then, although wickedness was committed, the main evil had not yet been done. But now you have eclipsed all the former (iniquities), and after the wickedness against Christ there is no greater iniquity left for you. That is why you are now punished more. Otherwise, if this is not the reason for your present humiliation, why did God tolerate you when you killed children, and now, when you do nothing of the kind, turns away? It is clear that by killing Christ, you have committed a greater and more grievous crime than infanticide and any other iniquity.

3

Tell me, then, will you dare to call Him a deceiver and a lawless one? On the contrary, will you not flee and hide, instead of contradicting such a clear truth of events? If Jesus had been, as you say, a deceiver and a lawless man, then you should still be famous for having killed Him. If Phinehas, having killed one someone, completely stopped the wrath (of God) against the (Judaic) people: "Stop," it is said, "Phinehas, and propitiate, and cease to slaughter" (Ps. CV, 31); if by the defeat of one wicked man he delivered from the wrath of God so many people guilty of wickedness; how much more would it have happened to you, if the one you crucified had been a lawless man. Wherefore Phinehas, having slain the wicked, was justified and honored by the priesthood; and you, having crucified, as you say, some deceiver and adversary of God, not only did not deserve praise and honor, but were subjected to greater calamities than when you slaughtered your own sons? Is it not obvious to the most foolish that you suffer such a punishment for having done wrongfully to the Saviour and Master of the universe? Now you abstain from the criminal shedding (of children) and keep the Sabbath, and then you violated this day as well. And God promised through Jeremiah to spare your city if you would cease to carry heavy loads on the Sabbath (Jer. XVII, 21); but now you do so, do not carry burdens on the Sabbath, and yet He is not reconciled to you, because this sin of yours (against Christ) is greater than all sins. This means that you point out your present sins in vain (as the cause of your present misfortunes). No, it is not because of your other works, but precisely because of your (greatest) iniquity that you endure such calamities, so that if it were not for it, God would not have turned away from you for so long, even though you had committed an innumerable multitude of sins. This is evident both from what has been said and from what I am now about to say. What is it? We have heard God often say through the prophets to your fathers, that you were worthy of innumerable tribulations, "but I," he says, "do (mercy) for My name's sake, that it may not be dishonored among the Gentiles." And again, I do not for your sake, O house of Israel, but for my name's sake (Ezek. XXXVI, 22, 32). This means: you deserved an even more grievous punishment and torment, but lest anyone say that God, out of weakness and lack of strength to save, delivered the Jews into the hands of enemies, I intercede and help you. Therefore, if Christ, whom you crucified, had been a lawless man, then even though you had committed an innumerable number of sins, even more grievous than the former, God would surely have saved you, so that His name would not be dishonored, so that He (Christ) would not be considered great, and it would not be said that you suffered it for Him. For if (God), for the sake of His glory, seems to despise your sins; how much more would He do so now, approve of this murder and blot out the multitude of your sins. But when He shows complete disgust for you, then, obviously, by His anger and complete abandonment of you, He admonishes even the most stubborn that the one you killed was not a lawless man, but the Lawgiver himself and the author of innumerable blessings. Wherefore ye who have done ungodly to Him are in oppression and dishonour, but we who worship Him, who were formerly more dishonourable than all of you, are now, by the grace of God, more glorious and honourable than all of you. But whence is it seen, you say, that God has turned away from us? Is it still necessary to prove this in words, tell me? When the very deeds are crying out and sounding louder than the trumpet, the destruction of the city, the desolation of the temple, and everything else that has happened to you, do you still need verbal proof? But these disasters, you will say, were brought upon us by people, and not by God. On the contrary, it was God who did it. But if you attribute your misfortunes to men, then consider that men, however much they may attempt to do so, would not be able to carry out their business if it were not pleasing to God. When the barbarian attacked (Judea), leading all Persia after him, he hoped to capture everyone by this raid, and shut everyone up in the city, as in nets and snares; then, since God was more merciful to you, (the enemy) fled from you even without war, without battle, without fight, leaving behind one hundred and eighty-five thousand slain soldiers, and considering it fortunate that at least he himself was saved. And many other wars were often decided by God in the same way. Therefore even now, if He had not forsaken you altogether, the people would not have been able to destroy your city and desolate the temple, the desolation would not have continued to this day, and so many of your attempts (to rebuild it) would not have been unsuccessful.