Darest thou, then, who didst fall "as lightning" [1341] from the very highest glory, to say to the Lord, "Cast thyself down from hence [1342] [to Him] to whom the things that are not are reckoned as if they were, [1343] and to provoke to a display of vainglory Him that was free from all ostentation? And didst thou pretend to read in Scripture concerning Him: "For He hath given His angels charge concerning Thee, and in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest thou shouldest dash Thy foot against a stone?" [1344] At the same time thou didst pretend to be ignorant of the rest, furtively concealing what [the Scripture] predicted concerning thee and thy servants: "Thou shalt tread upon the adder and the basilisk; the lion and the dragon shall thou trample under foot." [1345]

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Footnotes:

[1341] Luke 10:18.

[1342] Matthew 4:6.

[1343] Comp. Romans 4:17.

[1344] Matthew 4:6.

[1345] Psalm 91:13.