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to the ends of the earth. From this having come forth the twelve Apostles, having become beautiful and flourishing branches, they became a shelter for the nations, as for the birds of the air, by which branches all being sheltered, as birds gathered under a nest, they partook of the edible and heavenly food that came from them. 30 But now just as through the disobedience of the one man, the one first formed from unworked earth, the many were made sinners, and lost life; so also it was necessary that through the obedience of one man, the one first born of a virgin, many should be made righteous, and receive salvation. 31 Josephus says that when Moses was raised in the royal palace, having been appointed general against the Ethiopians, and having conquered, he took the daughter of that king; since out of desire for him she betrayed the city to him. Why then of the two who reviled, was she alone called to account? First, because the offense of the woman was greater; for both nature and the law subject the female to the male; and Aaron had some moderate excuse, as being older in age, and as having been deemed worthy of the high priesthood. And in addition to these things, since the leper was considered unclean according to the law, and Aaron was the root and foundation of the priests, so that the reproach might not pass to the whole race, he did not inflict the same punishment on him, but through the sister he both frightened and disciplined him. For so did the suffering trouble him, that when she was the first to receive this, he himself besought the one who had been wronged to release the affliction by his intercession. And he did not neglect it, but immediately offered the supplication. Then the philanthropic Lord taught, that he did not discipline her in a condemnatory way, but as a father; for he said, If her father had but spit in her face, would she not be ashamed? she shall be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that she shall be received in again. 32 Since some, I know not from whence moved, by halves take away the creative power of God, saying he is the cause only of the quality concerning matter, having said that matter itself is unbegotten, come let us ask them, what then also ... unchangeable; therefore matter is unchangeable; if matter is unchangeable, and the unchangeable is not altered in quality, it is not fashioned into a world. Through which it seems superfluous to them, for God to impose qualities on matter, since matter does not at all admit of alteration, being unbegotten according to it. Further, if matter is unbegotten, it has certainly been made according to some quality, and this unalterable, it would not be receptive of more qualities; nor would it be fashioned into a world; and not being fashioned into a world, it puts God entirely outside of creating. 33 And he was baptized, it says, in the Jordan seven times. Not in vain was Naaman of old, being a leper, cleansed when he was baptized, but for a sign to us; who being leprous in our sins through the holy water and the invocation of the Lord are cleansed from our old transgressions, being spiritually regenerated as newborn children, just as the Lord also said: unless one is born again of water and spirit, he shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 34 If the body of Elisha, being dead, raised a dead man, how much more will God who gave life to the dead bodies of men bring them to the judgment? 35 The true knowledge, then, is the understanding according to Christ, which Paul calls the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which the natural man does not receive, the word of the cross, of which if anyone tastes, he will by no means approach the perverse disputings and wranglings of words of those who are puffed up and conceited, of those who intrude into things they have not seen. For the truth is unadorned and the word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart, as the same apostle says, eas... to those who obey. For it makes us like Christ, if we know the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings. For this is the summary of the apostolic teaching and of the most holy faith that was delivered to us, which the unlearned receive and the little-learned have taught, those with the endless genealogies

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εἰς τὰ πέρατα τῆς γῆς. Ἐκ τούτου προκύψαντες οἱ δώδεκα Ἀπόστολοι, κλάδοι ὡραῖοι καὶ εὐθαλεῖς γενηθέντες, σκέπη ἐγενήθησαν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, ὡς πετεινοῖς οὐρανοῦ, ὑφ' ὧν κλάδων σκεπασθέντες οἱ πάντες, ὡς ὄρνεα ὑπὸ καλιὰν συνελθόντα, μετέλαβον τῆς ἐξ αὐτῶν προερχομένης ἐδωδίμου καὶ ἐπουρανίου τροφῆς. 30 Νῦν δὲ ὥσπερ διὰ τῆς παρακοῆς τοῦ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου, τοῦ πρώτως ἐκ γῆς ἀνεργάστου πεπλασμένου, ἁμαρτωλοὶ κατέστησαν οἱ πολλοὶ, καὶ ἀπέβαλον τὴν ζωήν· οὕτως ἔδει καὶ δι' ὑπακοῆς ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου, τοῦ πρώτως ἐκ παρθένου γεγεννημένου, δικαιωθῆναι πολλοὺς, καὶ ἀπολαβεῖν τὴν σωτηρίαν. 31 Ἰώσηπός φησιν, ὅτι ἡνίκα ἐν βασιλείοις ἐτρέφετο Μωϋσῆς, στρατηγὸς χειροτονηθεὶς κατὰ τῶν Αἰθιόπων, καὶ νικήσας, ἠγάγετο τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως ἐκείνου θυγατέρα· ἐπείπερ πόθῳ τῷ πρὸς αὐτὸν προδίδωσιν αὐτῷ τὴν πόλιν. Τί δήποτε τῶν δύο λοιδορησάντων, ἐκείνη δίκας ᾐτήθη μόνη; πρῶτον, ἐπειδὴ μεῖζον ἦν τῆς γυναικὸς τὸ πλημμέλημα· τῷ ἄῤῥενι γὰρ καὶ ἡ φύσις καὶ ὁ νόμος ὑποτάττει τὸ θῆλυ· ἤτε εἶχέ τινα μετρίαν συγγνώμην ὁ Ἀαρὼν, ὡς τῷ χρόνῳ πρεσβύτερος, καὶ ὡς ἀρχιερωσύνης ἠξιωμένος. Πρὸς δὲ τούτοις ἐπεὶ ἀκάθαρτος ὁ λεπρὸς ἐδόκει εἶναι κατὰ τὸν νόμον, ῥίζα δὲ τῶν ἱερέων καὶ κρηπὶς ἦν ὁ Ἀαρὼν, ἵνα μὴ εἰς ἅπαν διαβῇ τὸ γένος τὸ ὄνειδος, τὴν ἴσην οὐκ ἐπήγαγεν αὐτῷ τιμωρίαν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς ἀδελφῆς ἐφόβησεν ὁμοῦ τε καὶ ἐπαίδευσεν. Οὕτω γὰρ αὐτὸν τὸ πάθος ἠνίασεν, ὅτι πρώτης τοῦτο δεξαμένης, αὐτὸς τὸν ἠδικημένον ἱκέτευσε λῦσαι τῇ πρεσβείᾳ τὴν συμφοράν. Ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἠμέλησεν, ἀλλ' αὐτίκα τὴν ἱκετηρίαν προσήνεγκεν. Εἶτα ὁ φιλάνθρωπος Κύριος ἐδίδαξεν, ὡς οὐ καταδικαστικῶς αὐτὴν, ἀλλὰ πατρικῶς ἐπαίδευσεν· ἔφη γὰρ, Εἰ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτῆς ἐμπαίων ἐνέπαισεν εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτῆς, οὐκ ἐντραπήσεται; ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας ἀφορισθήσεται ἔξω τῆς παρεμβολῆς, καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα εἰσελεύσεται. 32 Ἐπειδὴ τινὲς οὐκ οἶδ' ὁπόθεν κινηθέντες, δι' ἡμισείας τὸ δημιουργικὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ παραιροῦνται, μόνου τοῦ ποιοῦ τοῦ περὶ ὕλην αἴτιον αὐτὸν λέγοντες, ἀγέννητον αὐτὴν τὴν ὕλην εἰπόντες, φέρε πυθώμεθα αὐτῶν, τί ποτε καὶ ... ἀμετάβλητον· ἀμετάβλητος ἄρα ἡ ὕλη· εἰ ἀμετάβλητος ἡ ὕλη, τὸ δὲ ἀμετάβλητον οὐ τρέπεται κατὰ ποιότητα, οὐ κοσμοποιεῖται. ∆ι' οὗ παρέλκον αὐτοῖς φαίνεται, τὸν Θεὸν ἐπιβάλλειν ποιότητας τῇ ὕλη, ὅλως τῆς ὕλης οὐκ ἐπιδεχομένης τροπὴν, ἀγεννήτου κατ' αὐτὴν τυγχανούσης. Ἔτι εἰ ἀγέννητος ἡ ὕλη, πάντως κατὰ τινὰ ποιότητα πεποίηται, καὶ ταύτην ἄτρεπτον, οὐκ ἂν εἴη πλειόνων ποιοτήτων δεκτική· οὐδ' ἂν κοσμοποιοῖτο· μὴ κοσμοποιουμένη δὲ, ἐκτὸς ποιεῖ τὸν Θεὸν δι' ὅλων τοῦ δημιουργεῖν. 33 Καὶ ἐβαπτίσατό, φησιν, ἐν τῷ Ἰορδάνῃ ἑπτάκις. Οὐ μάτην πάλαι Ναιμὰν λεπρὸς ὢν βαπτισθεὶς ἐκαθαίρετο, ἀλλ' εἰς ἔνδειξιν ἡμετέραν· οἳ λεπροὶ ὄντες ἐν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις διὰ τοῦ ἁγίου ὕδατος καὶ τῆς τοῦ Κυρίου ἐπικλήσεως καθαριζόμεθα τῶν παλαιῶν παραπτωμάτων, ὡς παιδία νεόγονα πνευματικῶς ἀναγεννώμενοι, καθὼς καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἔφη· ἐὰν μή τις ἀναγεννηθῇ δι' ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος, οὐ μὴ εἰσελεύσεται εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν. 34 Εἰ τὸ Ἐλισσαίου σῶμα νεκρωθὲν νεκρὸν ἤγειρε, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ὁ Θεὸς ὁ τὰ νεκρὰ σώματα τῶν ἀνθρώπων ζωοποιήσας ἄξει ἐπὶ τὴν κρίσιν; 35 Ἔστι μὲν οὖν ἡ γνῶσις ἡ ἀληθινὴ ἡ κατὰ Χριστὸν σύνεσις, ἣν ὁ Παῦλος καλεῖ τὴν σοφίαν Θεοῦ ἐν μυστηρίῳ τὴν ἀποκεκρυμμένην, ἣν ὁ ψυχικὸς ἄνθρωπος οὐ δέχεται, ὁ λόγος τοῦ σταυροῦ, οὗ ἐάνπερ τις γεύσηται, οὐ μὴ ἂν προσελεύσεται ταῖς παραδιατριβαῖς καὶ λογομαχίαις τῶν τετυφωμένων καὶ φυσιουμένων, τῶν ἃ μὴ ἑωράκασιν ἐμβατευόντων. Ἀσχημάτιστος γὰρ ἡ ἀλήθεια καὶ ἐγγύς σου τὸ ῥῆμά ἐστιν ἐν τῷ στόματί σου καὶ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου, ὡς ὁ αὐτὸς ἀπόστολος λέγει, εὐμ... τοῖς πειθομένοις. Ὁμοίους γὰρ Χριστῷ ἡμᾶς ποιεῖ, εἰ τὴν δύναμιν τῆς ἀναστάσεως αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν κοινωνίαν τῶν αὐτοῦ παθημάτων γνῶμεν. Αὕτη γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ἐπιλογὴ τῆς ἀποστολικῆς διδασκαλίας καὶ τῆς ἁγιωτάτης πίστεως τῆς ἡμῖν παραδοθείσης, ἣν οἱ ἰδιῶται δέχονται καὶ οἱ ὀλιγομαθεῖς ἐδίδαξαν, οἱ ταῖς γενεαλογίαις ταῖς ἀπεράντοις