He accepted some as being necessary, but those that were not necessary He did not accept. For flesh, when deprived of food and drink and clothing, would even be destroyed, but when deprived of unlawful intercourse it suffers no evil at all. And at the same time He also foretold the union through intercourse which will be abolished in the age to come, as He says: The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, but the sons of the age to come neither marry nor are given in marriage, but will be as angels in heaven. Let not those outside the faith therefore be amazed, if He will also abolish in the age to come the flesh which is from now on being abolished in these works. Yes, they say. If, then, the flesh rises, it also rises in the same state in which it will be laid down, so that if it is laid down one-eyed, it rises one-eyed; if lame, lame; if it should be lacking some other part of the body, the man will rise thus diminished. Truly blinded in the eyes of their heart! For have they not seen on earth the blind regaining their sight, the lame walking, by His word? All of which the Savior did, first so that what was spoken about Him through the prophets might be fulfilled, that the blind receive their sight and the deaf hear and the rest, and still more also for faith that in the resurrection the flesh will rise whole. For if on earth He healed the weaknesses of the flesh and made the body whole, much more will He do this in the resurrection, so that the flesh will rise both sound and whole. The things therefore considered impossible by them will be remedied in this way. Furthermore, of those who say the flesh does not rise, some say that it is impossible for it to rise, others that it is not fitting for God to raise it because of its worthlessness and despicableness, and others that it has no promise from the beginning. First, then, it seems to me to address those who say it is impossible for God to raise it, because they are ignorant, who in word say they are faithful, and through their works show themselves unfaithful and more unfaithful than the unfaithful. For since all the nations have believed in their idols and are persuaded that all things are possible for them, as also Homer, their poet, says: But the gods can do all things And easily- (but he also added 'easily,' which means 'without effort,' in order to show the greatness of the power of the gods), therefore they appear much more unfaithful than these. For if the nations have believed that all things are possible for idols, their gods, who have ears and do not hear, have eyes and will not see, they being demons, as the scripture says, that the gods of the nations are demons, how much more should we, who have the excellent and true faith, believe our God, having proofs; and first, the generation of the first-formed man, that he was made by God from earth; suff

μίας ἃς μὲν ἀναγκαίας ὑπάρχειν κατεδέξατο, ἃς δὲ μὴ ἀναγ καίας οὐ προσήκατο. Τροφῆς μὲν γὰρ καὶ ποτοῦ καὶ ἐν δύματος ὑστερουμένη σὰρξ καὶ διαφθαρείη ἄν, συνουσίας δὲ στερουμένη ἀνόμου οὐδὲν ὅ τι πάσχει κακόν. Ἅμα δὲ καὶ τὴν μέλλουσαν καταργεῖσθαι διὰ συνουσίας μῖξιν ἐν τῷ μέλ λοντι αἰῶνι προεμήνυσεν, ὥς φησιν· Oἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου γαμοῦσι καὶ γαμίσκονται, οἱ δὲ υἱοὶ τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰ ῶνος οὔτε γαμοῦσιν οὔτε γαμίσκονται, ἀλλ' ἔσονται ὡς ἄγγελοι ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ. Μὴ θαυμαζέτωσαν οὖν οἱ τῆς πίστεως ἐκτός, εἰ τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν καταργουμένην ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τούτοις σάρκα καὶ ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι αἰῶνι καταργήσει. Ναί, φασίν. Eἰ οὖν ἡ σὰρξ ἀνίσταται, καὶ τοιαύτη ἀνίσταται ὁποία κλιθήσεται, ὥστε, εἰ μονόφθαλμος κλιθή σεται, μονόφθαλμος ἀνίσταται, εἰ χωλός, χωλός, εἰ ἄλλο τι τοῦ σώματος ὑστεροῦν εἴη, τοῦτο καὶ ἐλάττων ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἀναστήσεται. Τετυφλωμένοι ὡς ἀληθῶς τὰ τῆς καρδίας ὄμ ματα! Oὐ γὰρ εἶδον ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς τυφλοὺς ἀναβλέποντας, χωλοὺς περιπατοῦντας τῷ ἐκείνου λόγῳ; Ἂ πάντα ἐποίησεν ὁ σωτήρ, πρῶτον μὲν ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ·ηθὲν περὶ αὐτοῦ διὰ τῶν προφητῶν, ὅτι Τυφλοὶ ἀναβλέπουσι καὶ κωφοὶ ἀκούουσιν καὶ τὰ ἄλλα, ἔτι δὲ καὶ εἰς πίστιν τοῦ ὅτι ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει ἡ σὰρξ ὁλόκληρος ἀναστήσεται. Eἰ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς τὰς ἀσθε νείας τῆς σαρκὸς ἰάσατο καὶ ὁλόκληρον ἐποίησε τὸ σῶμα, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει τοῦτο ποιήσει, ὥστε καὶ ἀκέραιον καὶ ὁλόκληρον ἀναστῆναι τὴν σάρκα. Τὰ μὲν οὖν παρ' αὐτῶν νομιζόμενα ἄπορα τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον ἰαθήσεται. Ἔτι δὲ καὶ τῶν λεγόντων μὴ ἀνίστασθαι τὴν σάρκα οἱ μὲν ὡς ἀδύνατον ἀναστῆναι λέγουσιν, οἱ δὲ ὡς μὴ προσῆκον τῷ θεῷ τὸ ἀνιστάνειν αὐτὴν διὰ τὸ εὐτελὲς καὶ εὐκαταφρό νητον αὐτῆς, οἱ δὲ ὅτι τὴν ἀρχὴν οὐδὲ ἐπαγγελίαν ἔχειν. Πρῶτον οὖν δοκεῖ μέν μοι πρὸς τοὺς ἀδύνατον εἶναι λέγοντας τῷ θεῷ τὸ ταύτην ἀναστῆσαι διεξελθεῖν, ὅτι ἀγνοοῦσιν αὐτοὶ τῷ λόγῳ λέγοντες ἑαυτοὺς εἶναι πιστούς, καὶ διὰ τῶν ἔργων ἀποδεικνύντες ἀπίστους ἑαυτοὺς καὶ τῶν ἀπίστων ἀπιστοτέ ρους. Τῶν γὰρ ἐθνῶν ἁπάντων ἐπὶ τὰ εἴδωλα πεπιστευκότων καὶ πεπεισμένων ὅτι πάντα δυνατὰ τούτοις ἐστίν, ὡς καὶ Ὅμηρος, ὁ ποιητὴς αὐτῶν, φησίν· Θεοὶ δέ τε πάντα δύνανται Καὶ ·εῖα- (ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ·εῖα προσέθηκεν, ὅπερ ἐστὶν εὐχερῶς, ἵνα τὴν μεγαλειότητα τῆς τῶν θεῶν δυνάμεως ἐμφάνῃ), πολὺ οὖν τούτων ἀπιστότεροι φαίνονται. Eἰ γὰρ τοῖς εἰδώλοις τὰ ἔθνη, τοῖς θεοῖς αὐτῶν, οἳ ὦτα ἔχουσι καὶ οὐκ ἀκούουσιν, ὀφθαλμοὺς ἔχουσι καὶ οὐκ ὄψονται, τὸ πάντα δύνασθαι πεπιστεύκασι, δαιμονίοις οὖσι, καθὼς ἡ γραφὴ λέγει, ὅτι Oἱ θεοὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν δαιμόνια, πολὺ μᾶλλον ἡμεῖς, οἱ τὴν ἐξαίρετον καὶ ἀληθῆ πίστιν ἔχοντες, ὀφείλομεν τῷ θεῷ ἡμῶν πιστεύειν, ἔχοντες τεκμήρια· καὶ πρῶτον μὲν τὴν τοῦ πρωτοπλάστου γένεσιν, ὅτι ἐκ γῆς ὑπὸ θεοῦ γέγονεν· ἱκα