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the bonds by which, like sandals, all the people at that time were bound; loosing all such things both by the preaching of repentance, and washing them away with the sprinkling water in the Jordan, in nothing did he show himself less than those who had advanced in virtue in the things of God.

7 But how was Paul after him, being second in time, hindered from running up to the highest point of progress according to God? Did he not immediately become a lover of the divine beauty that flashed before his eyes, at the same time as he cast off the scales from his eyes, which were a symbol of the covering around the heart, which, lying over the vision of the souls of the Jews, causes them to be blind to the truth? Did not, when he had put away in the mystical washing the filth of ignorance and deceit, his nature immediately change to the more divine, and, as if having put off this thick and fleshly garment, did he not dwell in the very heavenly sanctuaries, being in no way weighed down by the drag of the body, and come within the divine planting of paradise, there being perfected in the ineffable mystery by the Truth itself, and from there receiving the power of the word for the obedience of faith among all the nations? From which he becomes, one might almost say, the father of the whole world, through spiritual birth pangs bringing into the light those who through him were formed according to Christ in piety.

8 If, therefore, in the case of the other saints, the order in time in no way diminished their progress according to God, grace working equally with each for perfection, we reasonably dare to call the man of God in our generation, the great and royal vessel of truth, numbered among those renowned saints, since the chronological sequence hindered neither his lofty desire for God, nor divine grace in the perfecting of his soul; so that the purpose of the divine economy might not be harmed in any way, or that the assistance contributed by it to the mystery might be diminished because of time. But certainly no one is ignorant of the purpose of our teacher's appearance at this time.

9 For since the madness of men concerning idols was extinguished by the preaching of Christ and all the objects of vain worship were already in ruins and destruction, as the preaching of piety had traveled through almost the entire world, so that the one who prevails over human deceit was being driven from everywhere, expelled from the world by the name of Christ; but the inventor of evil, being wise in wickedness, was not at a loss for an evil device, so as to make mankind again subject to himself through deceit; but under the pretext of Christianity he secretly brought back idolatry, persuading by his own sophistries those who look to him not to stand apart from creation, but to worship it and revere it, and to think the created thing to be God, being called by the title of the Son. And if creation is from things that are not and is alienated from the divine essence according to its own nature, to take no account of this, but having placed the name of Christ upon creation, to worship it, to serve it, to have in it the hopes of salvation, to await judgment from it.

10 And the apostate, having wholly fallen upon men capable of containing all his malice, I mean Arius and Aetius, Eunomius, Eudoxius, and besides these many others, through whom he brought back again, as has been said, the already failing idolatry under the name of Christianity, and the disease of those who serve the creation rather than the creator prevailed over men; so that the deceit was strengthened by the alliance of the emperors of that time and all the pre-eminent authorities championed such a disease. and almost all men toward the prevailing

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δεσμὰ οἷς ὑποδημάτων δίκην κατὰ τὸν χρόνον ἐκεῖνον ἅπας ὁ λαὸς ἐνεδέδετο· πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα τῷ τε κηρύγματι τῆς μετανοίας ἐκλύων, καὶ τῷ περιρραντηρίῳ ὕδατι κατὰ τὸν Ἰορδάνην ἐκπλύνων, ἐν οὐδενὶ τὸ ἔλαττον τῶν ἐν ἀρετῇ προωδευκότων ἐν τοῖς κατὰ Θεὸν ἐπεδείξατο.

7 Τί δὲ μετὰ τοῦτον ὁ Παῦλος πρὸς τὸ ἀκρότατον τῆς κατὰ Θεὸν προκοπῆς ἀναδραμεῖν ἐκωλύθη δευτερεύων τῷ χρόνῳ; οὐκ εὐθὺς ἐραστὴς τοῦ θείου κάλλους ἐγένετο τοῦ τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἐναστράψαντος, ὁμοῦ τῷ τὰς λεπίδας ἀπο βαλεῖν τῶν ὀμμάτων αἳ σύμβολον ἦσαν τοῦ περικαρδίου κα λύμματος, ὃ περικείμενον τῷ διορατικῷ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ψυχῶν τυφλώττειν αὐτοὺς παρασκευάζει πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν; οὐκ ἐπειδὴ τῷ μυστικῷ λουτρῷ τὸν τῆς ἀγνοίας τε καὶ ἀπάτης ῥύπον ἐναπέθετο, εὐθὺς πρὸς τὸ θειότερον μετεσκευάσθη τὴν φύσιν, καὶ οἷον ἐκδὺς τὴν παχεῖαν ταύτην καὶ σαρκώδη περιβολὴν αὐτοῖς τοῖς οὐρανίοις ἀδύτοις ἐπεχωρίαζεν, οὐδὲν βαρούμενος τῷ ἐφολκίῳ τοῦ σώματος, καὶ ἐντὸς ἐγένετο τῆς θείας τοῦ παραδείσου φυτείας, ἐκεῖ τὴν ἄρρητον μυσταγωγίαν παρὰ τῆς ἀληθείας τελειούμενος, κἀκεῖθεν λαμβάνων τοῦ λόγου τὴν δύναμιν εἰς ὑπακοὴν τῆς πίστεως ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν; ὅθεν μικροῦ δεῖν τῆς οἰκουμένης πάσης πατὴρ γίνεται, διὰ τῶν πνευματικῶν ὠδίνων εἰς φῶς ἐνάγων τοὺς δι' αὐτοῦ μορφου μένους κατὰ Χριστὸν εἰς εὐσέβειαν.

8 Εἰ τοίνυν ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἁγίων ἡ κατὰ τὸν χρόνον τάξις οὐδὲν τῆς κατὰ Θεὸν προκοπῆς ἠλάττωσεν, ὁμοτίμως ἑκάστῳ τῆς χάριτος πρὸς τὴν τελειότητα συνεργούσης, εἰκότως τολμῶμεν καὶ τὸν ἐν τῇ καθ' ἡμᾶς γενεᾷ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἄνθρωπον, τὸ μέγα σκεῦος τῆς ἀληθείας, βασίλειον, τοῖς ὀνομαστοῖς ἐκεί νοις ἁγίοις ἐναρίθμιον εἶναι λέγειν, οὐδὲν τῆς χρονικῆς ἀκολουθίας, οὔτε τὴν ὑψηλὴν ἐκείνου πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἐπιθυμίαν, οὔτε τὴν θείαν χάριν πρὸς τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς τελείωσιν ἐμποδιζούσης· ὡς ἂν μὴ τῆς θείας οἰκονομίας ὁ σκοπός τι παραβλαβείη, ἤ τι παρὰ τὴν τοῦ χρόνου αἰτίαν ἐλαττωθείη τῆς παρ' αὐτοῦ συνεισφερομένης συμμαχίας πρὸς τὸ μυστήριον. πάντως δὲ οὐδεὶς ἀγνοεῖ τὸν σκοπὸν τῆς κατὰ τὸν χρόνον τοῦτον τοῦ διδασκάλου ἡμῶν ἀναδείξεως.

9 Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἡ περὶ τὰ εἴδωλα τῶν ἀνθρώπων μανία τῷ 9 κηρύγματι τοῦ Χριστοῦ κατεσβέσθη καὶ πάντα ἦν ἐν ἐρειπίοις ἤδη καὶ ἀφανισμῷ τὰ τῶν ματαίων σεβάσματα, διὰ πάσης σχεδὸν τῆς οἰκουμένης τοῦ κηρύγματος τῆς εὐσεβείας φοιτήσαντος, ὥστε τὸν ἐπικρατοῦντα τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ἀπάτης πανταχό θεν ἐξείργεσθαι τῷ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὀνόματι τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐξελαυνόμενον· σοφὸς δὲ εἰς κακίαν ὢν ὁ τῆς κακίας εὑρετὴς οὐκ ἠπόρησεν πονηρᾶς ἐπινοίας, ὥστε πάλιν ὑποχείριον ποιῆσαι δι' ἀπάτης ἑαυτῷ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον· ἀλλ' ἐν προσχήματι Χριστιανισμοῦ τὴν εἰδωλολατρείαν κατὰ τὸ λεληθὸς ἐπανήγαγεν, πείσας τοῖς ἰδίοις σοφίσμασι τοὺς πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁρῶντας μὴ ἀποστῆναι τῆς κτίσεως, ἀλλὰ ταύτην προσκυνεῖν καὶ ταύτην σέβεσθαι, καὶ Θεὸν τὸ ποίημα οἴεσθαι τῇ τοῦ Υἱοῦ κλήσει ὀνομαζόμενον. εἰ δὲ ἐκ μὴ ὄντων ἐστὶν ἡ κτίσις καὶ τῆς θείας οὐσίας κατὰ τὴν ἰδίαν ἠλλοτρίωται φύσιν, μηδένα ποιεῖσθαι τούτου λόγον, ἀλλὰ τὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὄνομα ἐπιθέν τας τῇ κτίσει ταύτην προσκυνεῖν, ταύτῃ λατρεύειν, ἐν ταύτῃ τὰς ἐλπίδας τῆς σωτηρίας ἔχειν, παρὰ ταύτης ἀναμένειν τὴν κρίσιν.

10 Καὶ ὅλος ἐμπεσὼν ὁ ἀποστάτης ἀνθρώποις πᾶσαν αὐ τοῦ τὴν κακίαν ἱκανοῖς χωρῆσαι, Ἀρείῳ τε λέγω καὶ Ἀετίῳ, Εὐνομίῳ Εὐδοξίῳ, καὶ πρὸς τούτοις καὶ πολλοῖς ἄλλοις, δι' ὧν ἐκλείπουσαν ἤδη τὴν εἰδωλολατρείαν πάλιν, καθὼς εἴρηται, τῷ ὀνόμα τι τοῦ Χριστιανισμοῦ ἐπανήγαγεν, καὶ κατεκράτει τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἡ νόσος τῶν τῇ κτίσει λατρευόντων παρὰ τὸν κτίσαντα· ὡς καὶ τῇ συμμαχίᾳ τῶν τότε βασιλέων τὴν ἀπάτην κρατύ νεσθαι καὶ πάσας τὰς ὑπερεχούσας ἀρχὰς τῆς τοιαύτης ὑπερμάχεσθαι νόσου. καὶ πάντων μικροῦ δεῖν ἀνθρώπων πρὸς τὸ ἐπικρατοῦν