3
opinions. Having prefaced these things at greater length, he brings on his argument, saying that among the faithless and the heresies it is commonly rumored that it is not possible for God to become man and associate with sufferings, which is also introduced among the heresies under the guise of faith, by those who say Christ is an inspired man because of his birth from a woman and because of his passions. What heresies, then, he knows, which say that Christ is an inspired man, he himself would know, and anyone who has been instructed in his things; but we, having visited many places and having diligently conversed both with those who share the doctrine and with those who have departed from it concerning the matters sought in the discussion, have not yet heard anyone utter such a statement about the mystery, that Christ was an inspired man. Therefore, it was fitting for one who is about to correct the 3,1.136 deceived opinions about the doctrine, and to introduce in their place the more pious ones, not to fabricate for himself things that are not and to fight against non-existent things, but to arm himself against what is said by his opponents. For not even skilled physicians introduce their own art against non-existent afflictions, but they stand by means of their science against a disease that has already occurred. Either, therefore, let him point out the one who said not that God was manifested in the flesh, but that Christ was an inspired man, and then we will accept his argument as not made in vain, or, as long as such a disease is not found, all will confess that it is futile to grapple with things that are not. But not in vain does he contrive for himself such a necessity for his writing; but in order that he might find some path and sequence for the construction of his own doctrine, he supposed what was not said as if it had been said, so that by seeming to contend against these things through a contrived refutation, he might establish that the divine is mortal. For the whole aim of his treatise looks to this, that the divinity of the only-begotten Son is mortal, and that he did not receive the passion in his humanity, but that the impassible and unchangeable nature was changed to a participation in suffering. Therefore, for what useful purpose his argument looks, those who are privy to his mysteries would know; but what its consequence shows even to mere infants is such as not even the most godless of the Greeks would say. For if the divinity itself of the Only-begotten has died, then certainly life and truth and righteousness and goodness and light and power have died with it; for according to various conceptions, the only-begotten God both is and is called these things. But being simple and without parts and uncompounded, 3,1.137 whatever he is called, he is wholly, not this in part and that in part, so that when he is one, all things are understood in him, and when he is not, all things are obliterated with him. If, therefore, the divine was annihilated by death, all things that are considered connectedly with his divinity were annihilated with him by death. But indeed Christ is not simply power, but the power of God and the wisdom of God. When, therefore, these things were extinguished together with the divinity of the Son through death, there was not with the Father the wisdom of God, nor power, nor life, nor anything else of the things named for the better; for all these things are believed to be of God <and all> the Father's things are in him, which exist when the Son exists, but certainly do not exist when he does not, because it is confessed that all the Father's things are in him. If, therefore, the power was extinguished in death, and Christ is the power of God, what power was then called back from non-existence, when the existing one was annihilated by death, and no other was left? For it is confessed even by those who fight against us that the power of the Father is in the Son. If, therefore, the power is one, and this power, having been overcome by death, passed into annihilation at the time of the economy of the passion, what other power besides it is fashioned that calls this power back from death? For if they should say that one died, but the other remained immortal, they will no longer confess that the power of the Father is in the Son, and thus, consequently, they will set aside the very words of the Lord as not being true, which all things that
3
δόξαις. ταῦτα διὰ πλειόνων προοιμιασάμενος ἐπάγει τὸν λόγον εἰπὼν ὅτι Παρὰ τοῖς ἀπίστοις καὶ ταῖς αἱρέσεσι προτεθρύλληται τὸ μὴ δυνατὸν εἶναι θεὸν ἄνθρωπον γενέσθαι καὶ πάθεσιν ὁμι λῆσαι, ὃ καὶ παρὰ ταῖς αἱρέσεσιν ἐπὶ σχήματι πίστεως εἰσάγεται ἄνθρωπον ἔνθεον διὰ τὴν ἐκ γυναικὸς γέννησιν καὶ διὰ τὰ πάθη λεγούσαις τὸν Χριστόν. τίνας μὲν οὖν οἶδεν αἱρέσεις, αἳ τὸν Χριστὸν ἔνθεον ἄνθρωπον λέγουσιν, αὐτὸς ἂν εἰδείη καὶ εἴ τις τὰ ἐκείνου πεπαίδευται· ἡμεῖς δὲ πολλοῖς ἐπιδεδημηκότες τό ποις καὶ κατὰ σπουδὴν τοῖς τε κοινωνοῦσι τοῦ δόγματος τοῖς τε ἀφεστηκόσι περὶ τῶν κατὰ τὸν λόγον ζητουμένων καθομιλήσαντες, οὔπω τινὸς ἀκηκόαμεν τὴν τοιαύτην ῥήξαντος περὶ τοῦ μυστηρίου φωνήν, ὅτι ἄνθρωπος ἔνθεος ὁ Χριστὸς ἦν. τὸν τοίνυν μέλλοντα διορθοῦσθαι μὲν τὰς 3,1.136 ἠπατημένας περὶ τοῦ δόγματος ὑπολήψεις, ἀντεισάγειν δὲ τὰς εὐσεβεστέρας μὴ ἀναπλάσσειν ἑαυτῷ τὰ μὴ ὄντα καὶ πρὸς τὰ ἀνύπαρκτα μάχεσθαι προσῆκον ἦν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰ λεγόμενα παρὰ τῶν ἀντιδιατιθεμένων ὁπλίζεσθαι. οὐδὲ γὰρ τῶν ἰατρῶν οἱ ἐπιστήμονες πρὸς τὰ μὴ ὄντα πάθη τὴν ἑαυτῶν τέχνην ἀντεισάγουσιν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸ γεγονὸς ἤδη νόσημα διὰ τῆς ἐπιστήμης ἵστανται. ἢ τοίνυν δειξάτω τὸν εἰρηκότα μὴ θεὸν ἐν σαρκὶ πεφανερῶσθαι, ἀλλ' ἔνθεον ἄνθρωπον τὸν Χριστὸν εἶναι, εἶτα καὶ τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ ὡς οὐ μάτην πεποιημένον παραδεξόμεθα, ἢ ἕως ἂν ἡ τοιαύτη μὴ εὑρίσκηται νόσος, μάταιον εἶναι πάντες ὁμολογήσουσι τὸ τοῖς μὴ οὖσι συμπλέκεσθαι. Ἀλλ' οὐκ εἰκῆ τὴν τοιαύτην τῆς λογογραφίας ἀνάγκην ἑαυτῷ σχηματίζεται· ἀλλ' ὡς ἂν ὁδόν τινα καὶ ἀκολουθίαν πρὸς τὴν κατασκευὴν τοῦ καθ' ἑαυτὸν δόγματος λάβοι, τὸ μὴ λεχθὲν ὡς εἰρημένον ὑπέθετο, ἵνα τῷ πρὸς ταῦτα δοκεῖν ἀγωνίζεσθαι διὰ τῆς ἐσχηματισμένης ἀντιρρήσεως κατα σκευάσῃ τὸ θνητὸν εἶναι τὸ θεῖον. \Απας γὰρ αὐτῷ τῆς λογογραφίας ὁ σκοπὸς πρὸς τοῦτο βλέπει, τὸ θνητὴν εἶναι τοῦ μονογενοῦς υἱοῦ τὴν θεότητα καὶ οὐχὶ τῷ ἀνθρωπίνῳ τὸ πάθος δέξασθαι, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀπαθῆ καὶ ἀναλλοίωτον φύσιν πρὸς πάθους μετουσίαν ἀλλοιωθῆναι. ὅθεν πρὸς τί μὲν αὐτῷ χρήσι μον ὁ λόγος βλέπει, εἰδεῖεν ἂν οἱ τῶν μυστηρίων αὐτοῦ ἐπιίστορες· ἃ δὲ ἡ ἀκολουθία καὶ τοῖς ἄγαν νηπίοις προδείκ νυσι, τοιαῦτά ἐστιν, οἷα μηδ' ἂν τοὺς ἀθεωτάτους τῶν Ἑλλήνων εἰπεῖν. εἰ γὰρ αὐτὴ τέθνηκε τοῦ μονογενοῦς ἡ θεότης, συναπέθανε ταύτῃ πάντως καὶ ἡ ζωὴ καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια καὶ ἡ δικαιοσύνη καὶ ἡ ἀγαθότης καὶ τὸ φῶς καὶ ἡ δύναμις· ταῦτα γὰρ κατὰ διαφόρους ἐπιβολὰς ὁ μονογενὴς θεὸς καὶ ἔστι καὶ λέγεται. ἁπλοῦς δὲ ὢν καὶ ἀμερὴς καὶ ἀσύνθετος, 3,1.137 ὅπερ ἂν λέγηται, ὅλος ἐστίν, οὐκ ἐν μέρει τοῦτο καὶ ἐν μέρει τὸ ἕτερον ὥστε ἑνὸς ὄντος πάντα ἐν αὐτῷ νοεῖσθαι καὶ μὴ ὄντος τὰ πάντα συνδιαγράφεσθαι. εἰ οὖν ἠφανίσθη τῷ θανάτῳ τὸ θεῖον, συνηφανίσθη τῷ θανάτῳ πάντα τὰ συνημ μένως περὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ θεότητα θεωρούμενα. ἀλλὰ μὴν οὐχ ἁπλῶς δύναμις ὁ Χριστός, ἀλλὰ θεοῦ δύναμις καὶ θεοῦ σοφία. ὅτε οὖν ταῦτα τῇ θεότητι τοῦ υἱοῦ διὰ τοῦ θανάτου συγκατεσβέσθη, οὐχ ἦν παρὰ τῷ πατρὶ θεοῦ σοφία, οὐ δύναμις, οὐ ζωή, οὐκ ἄλλο τι τῶν πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον ὀνομα ζομένων οὐδέν· θεοῦ γὰρ πάντα ταῦτα εἶναι <καὶ πάντα> τὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐν αὐτῷ εἶναι πιστεύεται, ἅπερ ὄντος μὲν τοῦ υἱοῦ ἔστι, μὴ ὄντος δὲ πάντως οὐκ ἔστι διὰ τὸ ἐν αὐτῷ εἶναι πάντα τὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ὁμολογεῖσθαι. εἰ οὖν ἐναπεσβέσθη τῷ θανάτῳ ἡ δύναμις, Χριστὸς δὲ θεοῦ ἐστι δύναμις, ποία πάλιν ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος ἀνεκλήθη δύναμις τῆς μὲν οὔσης τῷ θανάτῳ ἀφανισθείσης, ἑτέρας δὲ οὐχ ὑπολειφθείσης; τὴν γὰρ τοῦ πατρὸς δύναμιν ἐν τῷ υἱῷ εἶναι καὶ παρὰ τῶν μαχομένων ἡμῖν ὁμολογεῖται. εἰ οὖν μία ἡ δύναμις, αὕτη δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ θανάτου δυναστευθεῖσα εἰς ἀφανισμὸν μετεχώρησεν ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς τοῦ πάθους οἰκονομίας, τίς ἄλλη δύναμις παρ' αὐτὸν ἀναπλάττεται ἡ ταύτην ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου ἀνακαλου μένη τὴν δύναμιν; εἰ γὰρ τοῦτο λέγοιεν ὅτι ἡ μὲν ἀπέθανεν, ἡ δὲ ἀθάνατος ἔμεινεν, οὐκέτι ἐν τῷ υἱῷ τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς δύναμιν εἶναι ὁμολογήσουσι καὶ οὕτως ἐκ τοῦ ἀκολούθου τὰς αὐτοῦ τοῦ κυρίου φωνὰς παραγράψονται ὡς οὐκ ἀληθῶς ἐχούσας, αἳ πάντα τὰ