Nilus of Ancyra→Theodotus|c. 415 AD|nilus ancyra|From Ancyra|AI-assisted
To the Same Person.
Just as in the case of Joseph [the patriarch, Genesis 37-50], the beginning held difficulty, and for a long while affairs went forward seeming to be contrary to the promise, but afterward they turned out greater than what had been expected; so too in the case of the cross, the whole accomplishment did not sprout forth at once, nor in the opening stages and at the beginning. Rather, the scandal went first, and a few things came to pass for the sake of a wonder and for the correction of those who had dared these deeds, and at once everything passed by. For even if the veil of the temple was torn at that time, and rocks were split, and the sun was darkened, yet these things happened in a single day, and they fell into oblivion among the many. And after these events, at once the apostles were in flight, in persecution, in wars, in plots; hiding, concealing themselves, in fear, thus they were proclaiming the word; and while the Jews led, dragged about, and tore to pieces those who believed, with great power the people drove them on; and the one who had been crucified bore with these things as he looked on. But see how, after these events, the affair of the Church shone brighter than the sun, and took hold of the whole inhabited world.
Just as in the case of Joseph [the patriarch, Genesis 37-50], the beginning held difficulty, and for a long while affairs went forward seeming to be contrary to the promise, but afterward they turned out greater than what had been expected; so too in the case of the cross, the whole accomplishment did not sprout forth at once, nor in the opening stages and at the beginning. Rather, the scandal went first, and a few things came to pass for the sake of a wonder and for the correction of those who had dared these deeds, and at once everything passed by. For even if the veil of the temple was torn at that time, and rocks were split, and the sun was darkened, yet these things happened in a single day, and they fell into oblivion among the many. And after these events, at once the apostles were in flight, in persecution, in wars, in plots; hiding, concealing themselves, in fear, thus they were proclaiming the word; and while the Jews led, dragged about, and tore to pieces those who believed, with great power the people drove them on; and the one who had been crucified bore with these things as he looked on. But see how, after these events, the affair of the Church shone brighter than the sun, and took hold of the whole inhabited world.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.