were of the children of Judah, Daniel, | weak, do not believe them nor listen Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: to them; for it is the enemy that unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach ; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abed-nego. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Now GOD had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. Ry. Look down. p. cxlviii. Lesson III. AND the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king. Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, | Mishael, and' Azariah, Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat. Ry. Behold. p. cxlviii. SECOND NOCTURN. suggests these things to thee through them. Remember that which is written, that when the three children, and Daniel, and other youths, had been led captive by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they had been commanded to eat of the king's own royal table and to drink of his wine, Daniel and the three children would not pollute themselves by eating of the king's table, but said to the eunuch who had the charge of them, Give us pulse to eat. And the eunuch said to them, I fear my lord the king who hath appointed your meat and your drink; for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? thus shall ye make me endanger my head to the king. Ry. I have. p. cxlix. Lesson V. AND they said to him, Prove thy servants ten days, and let them give us pulse. And he gave them pulse to eat and water to drink; and he brought them in before the king, and their countenances appeared fairer than the rest of the children who were nourished with food from the king's table. Dost thou see then what fasting does? It heals diseases, it dries up the humours of the body, it puts demons to flight, it drives out evil thoughts, it renders the mind clearer, it makes the heart pure, it sanctifies the body, in short it places man near the throne of GOD. And think not that these things are inconsiderately said, for you have the testimony of this uttered by our Saviour in the Gospels; for when the disciples asked by what means unclean spirits might be cast out, the From the Book of S. Athanasius the LORD answered, This kind goeth not Bishop, to Virgins. Lesson IV. Book 2 on Virgins. out but by prayer and fasting. Lesson VI. IF any should come and say to thee, WHOEVER therefore is troubled Do not fast often lest thou become by an unclean spirit, if he attend to this, and use this remedy, | kings: for the GoD of heaven hath fasting I mean, immediately the evil spirit will be overcome and depart, fearing the powers of fasting. For demons are mightily delighted by revelling and drunkenness and pampering of the body. There is great power in fasting, and great and famous things have been wrought by means of it. In what other way have wonderful things been performed by men, and signs been wrought by them, and healing been bestowed by GoD on the sick by them, except through spiritual exercises and humility of mind and a good conversation? For fasting is angels' food, and he who practises it is to be reckoned among the angelic order. given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. Ry. We looked. p. cxlix. Ry. vii. Blessed are. p. cxlix. Of Daniel the Prophet. Lesson I. Chap. ii. THOU, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. Ry. He hath. p. cl. Lesson II. THIS is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, art a king of Ry. I am straitened. p. cl. AND whereas thou sawest the feet for ever. Ry. My God. p. cl. TUESDAY. And in the Lesson I. Chap. iii. NEBUCHADNEZZAR spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, | them that hate thee, and the interand all kinds of musick, ye fall down pretation thereof to thine enemies. and worship the image which I have The tree that thou sawest, which grew, made; well: but if ye worship not, and was strong, whose height reached ye shall be cast the same hour into the unto the heaven, and the sight thereof midst of a burning fiery furnace and to all the earth; whose leaves were who is that God that shall deliver you fair, and the fruit thereof much, and out of my hands? in it was meat for all; under which Ry. At Thy. p. cl. the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of heaven had their habitation; it is thou, O king, that art grown and become and reacheth unto heaven, and thy strong for thy greatness is grown, dominion to the end of the earth. Ry. He hath. p. cli. Lesson II. SHADRACH, Meshach, and Abed nego, answered and said to the king, Ŏ Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our GoD whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. Ry. Gird about. p. cli. Lesson III. THEN these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. And they walked in the midst of the fire, praising GoD, and blessing the LORD. Ry. On a sinful. p. cli. WEDNESDAY. Of Daniel the Prophet. Lesson I. Chap. iv. BELTESHAZZAR answered and said, My lord, the dream be to VOL. II. Lesson II. AND whereas the king saw a watcher from heaven, and saying, Hew the and an holy one coming down tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him; this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king: that they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven. Ry. I am straitened. p. cl. Lesson III. SEVEN times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it m may be a lengthening of thy tran- THURSDAY. Of Daniel the Prophet. Lesson I. Chap. v. BE ELSHAZZAR the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his drink therein. Ry. Look down. p. cxlviii. written, Mene, Mene, Tekel, wives, and his concubines, might AND this is the writing that was Then they brought Upharsin. This is the interpretathe golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of GOD tion of the thing: Mene; GOD hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished which was at Jerusalem; and the it. king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines drank in them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him. Ry. I saw the LORD. p. cxlviii. THEN was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry? I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee. And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not shew the interpretation of the thing: and I balances, and art found wanting. Tekel; thou art weighed in the Peres; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and and made a proclamation concerning put a chain of gold about his neck, him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old. Rz. Behold. p. cxlviii. FRIDAY. Of Daniel the Prophet. Lesson I. Chap. vi. THEN these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king's decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. Then | hurt me: forasmuch as before him answered they and said before the innocency was found in me: and also king, That Daniel, which is of the before thee, O king, have I done no children of the captivity of Judah, hurt. Then was the king exceeding regardeth not thee, O king, nor the glad for him, and commanded that decree that thou hast signed, but they should take Daniel up out of the maketh his petition three times a day. den. So Daniel was taken up out of Then the king, when he heard these the den, and no manner of hurt was words, was sore displeased with him- found upon him, because he believed self, and set his heart on Daniel to in his GOD. And the king comdeliver him and he laboured till the manded, and they brought those men going down of the sun to deliver him. which had accused Daniel, and they Then these men assembled unto the cast them into the den of lions, them, king, and said unto the king, Know, their children, and their wives; and O king, that the law of the Medes the lions had the mastery of them, and and Persians is, That no decree nor brake all their bones in pieces or ever statute which the king establisheth they came at the bottom of the den. may be changed. Ry. We looked. p. cxlix. Ry. I have set. p. cxlix. Lesson II. THEN the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy GoD whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee. And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? Ry. With Thine. p. exlix. Lesson III. THEN said Daniel unto the king. O king, live for ever. My GOD hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not SATURDAY. Of Daniel the Prophet. Lesson I. Chap. ix. of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; in the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. And I set my face unto the LORD GOD, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: 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; we have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments. Ry. Blessed are. p. cxlix. YEA, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the |