Section 447
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416 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. lation, as he says, Be ye comforted, ye dejected in mind, be strong, fear not.' " This our new and excellent Zerubbabel, then perceiving by the acute hearing of his mind, the sacred oracles declaring that she who had been desolate for the sake of her God, should now enjoy such things as these, after her severe captivity, and the abomination of desolation, did not neglect this dead carcase. First of all with prayers and supplications, he propitiated the Father with the common consent and concurrence of you all, and calling upon the only one who can raise from the dead, as his aid and ally, he raised her, who had fallen, after he had cleansed and healed her from her ills. He cast around her, not the gar ment of old, but such as he had again learned from the sacred oracles, clearly declaring : And the glory of this latter house shall far exceed the former.' Thus, then, embracing a much wider space, he strengthened the outer enclosure with a wall to compass the edifice, that it might be a most secure bulwark to the whole work. Then raising a large and lofty vestibule, he extended it towards the rays of the rising sun ; presenting even to those standing without the sanctuary, a full view of those within, all but turning the eyes of those who are strangers to the faith, to contemplate its entrance ; so that no one can pass by, without being struck in his mind at the recollection of the former desolation, and the present wonderful transformation. By this, indeed, he also hoped that the individual thus smitten would be attracted by the very sight, and induced to enter. And on entering within the gates, he has not permitted you to enter im mediately, with impure and unwashed feet, within the sanctuary, but leaving an extensive space between the temple, (the nave) and the vestibule, he has decorated and enclosed it with four in clined porticoes around, presenting a quadrangular space, with pillars rising on every side. Between these he carried round the frame latticed railing, rising to a proportioned and suitable height, leaving, however, the middle space open, so that the heavens can be seen, and present the splendid sky irradiated by the beams of the sun. Here too, he has placed the symbols of the sacred purification':, by providing fountains built opposite the temple,