The Refinement of the Three Youths

You, just as I. But the potter demands such superiority from his equals; but God, surpassing all in both nature and law, and being so much higher—to the extent that one must think of the Maker of all things as being higher—is blasphemed and despised by the ignorant. He is not provoked, for he is impassive; but he punishes those who persist in folly a little later, because he is the judge of truth and the unbribable critic.

In order that all who sin might not be destroyed all at once, he delays the punishment and offers forbearance, so that he might draw them toward repentance. But let us return to what was before. A man, surrounded by flesh, dared to say: 'Who is this god who will deliver you from my hands?' (Psalm 2:3). But these three blessed children, having heard this, were not startled by the blasphemy; for they themselves were companions of God's patience. Instead, taking up the voice of faith against the words of unbelief, they answered back to the tyrant, undoing lawlessness by law, and overcoming the threat of injustice with the freedom of righteousness, saying: 'Know this, O king: we do not worship your gods, nor do we bow down to the golden image which you have set up.'

'Cease your folly, man; feel shame for the insulting worship of the image. For if you set up the image, how can you worship those whom you have made? Who ought to be the creators: men of God, or a god of men? For if they are truly gods, the honor of being a creator is fitting for them; but as we have often said, if art had not been present to men, the Greeks would not have had gods. Rather, let us grant even to that, that if there were any perception in the idols, it was fitting for men, the workers of them, to worship them. For by the laws of nature, the creature worships the Creator, not the maker submitting to his own creation. Therefore we, being companions of piety and following divine law, say: We do not worship your gods, nor do we bow down to the golden image which you have set up; but God is in heaven, who will deliver us from your hands.'

Then, so that they might not either dare to test God or hope to be saved from being cast down into the fire, they are immediately brought to trial; and if not, that is, even if...

It is not saved, but rather let our bodies be consumed by the fire; yet even so we are not deprived of piety, for we do not worship God for reward, but we confess the truth with good intention. When the tyrant heard this promise of faith, he was all the more inflamed with rage and commanded the furnace to be heated sevenfold; for it was necessary that the most tested silver be purified sevenfold. For the words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in the earth and purified sevenfold; therefore the furnace was heated sevenfold, so that the saints might be purified sevenfold.

Because the men of God are called silver, remember what Wisdom says: 'The tongue of the righteous is like refined silver.' And listen to the prophet Jeremiah, speaking concerning those rejected from piety: 'Call them rejected silver, because God has rejected them.' If the unrefined are rejected silver, but those who are perfected are clearly the most tested silver; for just as the furnace was heated, so much was the passion for the testimony brightened.

For these three holy children, having entered with faith, trod upon the flame, breathing a thin air and a veil amidst the heights of the fire. For He who does all things and transforms, blunted the heat of the fire and cut short its caustic energy, as that hymn of praise confirms it: 'The voice of the Lord cutting through the flame of fire.' The fire had indeed settled within, becoming calm, but the holy children were dancing, enjoying alone that promise which God, through the prophet Isaiah, promises to every soul filled with piety and faith: 'Even if you walk through fire,' He says, 'I am with you, and the flame shall not burn you.'

And one could see the promise advancing through works. For the fire did not touch the members of the saints; it did not scorch the eyes, which were looking rightly toward piety and recognizing the Creator through the order of those things seen; it did not wrong the ears that had fulfilled the divine law; it did not approach the mouth, nor touch the lips, while disfiguring their hymns and their hymn-writing tongues. Each of the saints had his own sanctuary: the hands, the ecstasy of the prayers, and the...