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having sent, to whom indeed He also delivered instructions concerning what must be done, and appointed them teachers of all the nations in the highest piety. What then remains after this but to declare the very sum of the whole matter, what cause it had, I mean the much-celebrated end of His life and the manner of His passion and the great wonder of His coming back to life after death. And after the consideration of these things, returning again to the proofs themselves, we shall confirm them by clear testimonies. So then, having used a mortal instrument for the reasons we have stated before, as a god-befitting image, and by this very means, like a great king through an interpreter, having passed through human life, He accomplished all things worthily of divine power. If then in some other way after His sojourns among men He had become unseen and suddenly flown away, having secretly stolen away the interpreter and His own image, eager to escape death by flight, and then somewhere having Himself through Himself joined the mortal part to corruption and destruction, He would have seemed a phantom to all, and He would not have accomplished for Himself what was fitting, being as He was life and the Word of God and the power of God, by delivering His own interpreter to corruption and destruction, nor would His deeds against demons have been brought to completion through the conflict with death, nor would it have been known where He had gone, nor would He have been believed by those who had not received Him, nor would He have appeared superior to the nature of death, nor would He have freed the mortal part from its own nature, nor would He have been heard of throughout the whole inhabited world of men, nor would He have persuaded His disciples to despise death, nor would He have established the hope of life with God after death for those who followed His teaching, nor would He have fulfilled the promises of His words, nor would He have provided results in accordance with the prophetic utterances concerning Him, nor would He have contended in the last contest of all. And this was the contest against death. Wherefore indeed for all these reasons, since it was altogether necessary for the mortal instrument, after the sufficient ministry which it rendered to the divine Word, to meet a god-befitting end, in this way somehow death was also appointed for it. For two possibilities remaining for the end, either to deliver the whole to corruption and destruction and to make the conclusion of His life the most shameful of the whole drama, or to show Himself superior to death by divine power presenting the mortal as immortal, the first was inconsistent with His promise. For it is not proper for fire to cool nor for light to darken; so neither is it proper for life to cause death nor for the Word of God to act irrationally. What reason then was there for Him who promised life to others to overlook His own instrument being destroyed and to deliver His image to destruction, and to have the interpreter of His divinity ravaged by death, He who promised immortality to His supplicants? Therefore the second was necessary, I mean, to show Himself superior to death. How then was it necessary to do this? Secretly then and stealthily or gloriously and manifestly to all? But the achievement, if done by Him in darkness and secrecy and known to no one, would have benefited no one; but being proclaimed and heard by all, it would provide benefit from the wonder to all. Reasonably then, since it was necessary to show His instrument to be superior to death and to do this not in secret but in the sight of men, He does not flee from death; for He would have been considered cowardly and inferior to death; but through the engagement with death as with an adversary He presents the mortal as immortal, having undertaken this last contest for the salvation and immortality of all. For His first contest was waged against demons for the overthrow of the polytheistic error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . And when the contest against these had an end, then the Savior, victorious over all, having ascended, came to the life among men . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the

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στειλάμενος, οἷς δὴ καὶ ὑποθήκας περὶ τῶν πρακτέων παραδοὺς διδασκάλους τῶν ἐθνῶν ἁπάντων τῆς ἀνωτάτω θεοσεβείας ἀπέφηνεν. τί δὴ οὖν ἐπὶ τούτοις λείπεται ἢ αὐτὸ δὴ τὸ τοῦ παντὸς κεφάλαιον ὁποίαν ἔσχεν αἰτίαν ἐξειπεῖν, λέγω δὴ τὸ πολυθρύλλητον τοῦ βίου τέλος καὶ τοῦ πάθους τὸν τρόπον καὶ τῆς μετὰ τὸν θάνατον ἀναβιώσεως αὐτοῦ τὸ μέγα θαῦμα. μετὰ δὲ τὴν τούτων θεωρίαν πάλιν εἰς τὰς ἀποδείξεις παριόντες αὐτὰς δι' ἐναργῶν πιστωσόμεθα μαρτυριῶν. ὀργάνῳ μὲν οὖν θνητῷ δι' ἃς προείπομεν αἰτίας οἷα δὴ ἀγάλματι θεοπρεπεῖ κεχρημένος τούτῳ τε αὐτῷ οἷα μέγας βασιλεὺς δι' ἑρμηνέως τὸν ἀνθρώπειον διεξελθὼν βίον, πάντ' ἐπαξίως θεϊκῆς δυνάμεως διεπράξατο. εἰ μὲν οὖν ἄλλως πως μετὰ τὰς ἐν ἀνθρώποις διατριβὰς ἀφανὴς γεγονὼς ἐξαίφνης ἀπέπτη, ὑποκλέψας λάθρα τὸν ἑρμηνέα καὶ τὸ οἰκεῖον ἄγαλμα φυγῇ τὸν θάνατον διαδρᾶναι σπουδάσας, κἄπειτά που τὸ θνητὸν αὐτὸς δι' ἑαυτοῦ φθορᾷ καὶ ἀπωλείᾳ συνάψας, φάσματι ἂν ἐῴκει τοῖς πᾶσι καὶ οὔτ' ἂν αὐτὸς αὑτῷ τὰ πρέποντα διεπράξατο, ζωὴ μὲν τυγχάνων καὶ θεοῦ λόγος καὶ θεοῦ δύναμις, φθορᾷ δὲ καὶ ἀπωλείᾳ τὸν αὐτὸς αὐτοῦ παραδιδοὺς ἑρμηνέα, οὔτ' ἂν τὰ κατὰ δαιμόνων αὐτῷ πεπραγμένα διὰ τῆς τοῦ θανάτου συμπλοκῆς τέλους ἠξιοῦτο, οὔτ' ἂν ἐγνώσθη ὅπη ποτὲ ὑπῆρχε χωρήσας, οὔτ' ἂν ἐπιστεύθη τοῖς μὴ παρειληφόσιν, οὔτ' ἂν θανάτου τὴν φύσιν ἐφάνη κρείττων, οὔτ' ἂν τὸ θνητὸν τῆς οἰκείας ἠλευθέρου φύσεως, οὔτ' ἂν καθ' ὅλης τῆς ἀνθρώπων οἰκουμένης ἠκούσθη, οὔτ' ἂν θανάτου καταφρονεῖν τοὺς αὐτοῦ μαθητὰς ἔπεισεν, οὔτ' ἂν τῆς μετὰ τὸν θάνατον παρὰ θεῷ ζωῆς τὴν ἐλπίδα τοῖς τὴν αὐτοῦ διδασκαλίαν μετιοῦσι παρεστήσατο, οὔτ' ἂν τῶν αὐτοῦ λόγων τὰς ἐπαγγελίας ἐπλήρου, οὔτ' ἂν ταῖς προφητικαῖς περὶ αὐτοῦ προρρήσεσι σύμφωνα παρεῖχε τὰ ἀποτελέσματα, οὔτ' ἂν τὸν ὕστατον ἁπάντων ἀγῶνα διήθλησεν. οὗτος δ' ἦν ὁ κατὰ τοῦ θανάτου. διὸ δὴ τούτων ἕνεκα πάντων, ἐπειδὴ ἐχρῆν ἐξ ἅπαντος τὸ θνητὸν ὄργανον μετὰ τὴν αὐτάρκη διακονίαν, ἣν τῷ θείῳ λόγῳ διηκονήσατο, τέλους θεοπρεποῦς τυχεῖν, ταύτῃ πη καὶ αὐτῷ ὁ θάνατος ᾠκονομεῖτο. δυοῖν γὰρ λειπομένων τῷ τέλει, ἢ φθορᾷ καὶ ἀπωλείᾳ παραδοῦναι τὸ πᾶν καὶ τοῦ παντὸς δράματος αἰσχίστην ποιήσασθαι τὴν τοῦ βίου καταστροφήν, ἢ θανάτου κρείττονα ἑαυτὸν φῆναι θεϊκῇ δυνάμει τὸ θνητὸν ἀθάνατον παραστησάμενον, τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἀνοίκειον ἦν τῆς ἐπαγγελίας. οὐ γὰρ δὴ πυρὸς οἰκεῖον τὸ ψύχειν οὐδὲ φωτὸς τὸ σκοτίζειν· οὕτως οὐδὲ ζωῆς τὸ θανατοῦν οὐδὲ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγου τὸ παραλόγως ἐνεργεῖν. ποῖον οὖν εἶχε λόγον τὸν ἑτέροις ζωὴν ἐπαγγελλόμενον τὸ οἰκεῖον ὄργανον φθειρόμενον παριδεῖν ἀπωλείᾳ τε παραδοῦναι τὸ αὐτοῦ ἄγαλμα, καὶ τὸν τῆς θεότητος αὐτοῦ ἑρμηνέα θανάτῳ λυμήνασθαι τὸν τοῖς πρόσφυξιν ἀθανασίαν προμνώμενον; οὐκοῦν τὸ δεύτερον ἀναγκαῖον ἦν, λέγω δὲ τὸ θανάτου κρείττονα ἑαυτὸν φῆναι. πῶς οὖν ἐχρῆν τοῦτο ποιήσασθαι; λαθραίως ἄρα καὶ κλοπιμαίως ἢ τοῖς πᾶσιν ἀριπρεπῶς καὶ διαδήλως; ἀλλὰ σκότιον μὲν καὶ κρύφιον αὐτῷ πραχθὲν τὸ κατόρθωμα μηδενί τε γνωσθὲν οὐδένα ἂν ὤνησεν· βοηθὲν δὲ καὶ ἀκουσθὲν εἰς πάντας τοῖς πᾶσι τὴν ἐκ τοῦ θαύματος παρεῖχεν ὠφέλειαν. εἰκότως ἄρα, ἐπειδὴ ἐχρῆν τὸ αὐτοῦ ὄργανον κρεῖττον θανάτου φῆναι καὶ τοῦτο πρᾶξαι μὴ εἰς τὸ λεληθὸς ἀλλ' ἐπ' ὄψεσιν ἀνθρώπων, οὐ φεύγει μὲν τὸν θάνατον· ἦν γὰρ ἂν δειλὸς καὶ θανάτου χείρων ἐνομίσθη· διὰ δὲ τῆς πρὸς τὸν θανατὸν συμπλοκῆς οἷα πρὸς ἀνταγωνιστὴν τὸ θνητὸν ἀθάνατον παρίστη, ὕστατον ἀγῶνα τοῦτον ὑπὲρ τῆς ἁπάντων σωτηρίας καὶ ἀθανασίας ἀναδεδεγμένος. ὁ μὲν γὰρ πρῶτος αὐτῷ κατὰ δαιμόνων ἐνηργεῖτο ἐπὶ καθαιρέσει τῆς πολυθέου πλάνης . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ πρὸς τούσδε τέλος εἶχεν ἀγών, ἀνελθὼν λοιπὸν ὁ πάντων ἐπινίκιος σωτὴρ τῷ ἐν ἀνθρώποις βίῳ ἐπεδήμησεν . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ὁ