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showing that this victim is destructive both of demons and dangers and enemies and of every foulness in affairs, lest by taking up again just now the argument against those people, I should hinder myself from the proposed 27 sequence of the argument. Since, therefore, the only-begotten Son of God willed to provide a resurrection for fallen man and to renew him and by his own passion to re-create him in the first manner, see what he does. Since he himself was the creator of the first, he was also to be its healer when it fell, for the correction of the whole of nature. He brings himself to the passion, and takes up for the renewal the whole time which he had also taken up for the creation, so that the end might appear in harmony with the beginning and the manner of the creator the same.

28 For he willed, since he had also established a most pure time for the formation of the first man, and this first time was defiled through the transgression, being corrupted along with the transgressor himself, and showed the succeeding age to be thereafter defiled, to take up that same first time for the restoration of man, so that with this, by the purification from the passion, he might also render the succeeding age purer from its head, so that in the same he might show all things, both the renewal of man and the purity of the age, and might clearly show the corrector and creator of nature from the temporal symbols themselves.

29 What then is the first time? What is the head of the first time? The equinox, brother, as we have shown, requiring equal portions of day and night, and the vernal equinox, whence the <season> of spring, from the very sequence according to the account. For Moses relates that on the third day God commanded the flowers and the trees and the plants to come into being, and these are symbols of spring, agreeing with the skillful 30 way and order of God creating all things. Since, therefore, the first creation of man happened after the equinox on the sixth day of the equinox—for man was created on the day of preparation—, and the full moon itself was also created after the equinox on the fourth day, and the fall of man from sin occurred, for this reason he takes up his correction and renewal at the time of his creation, bringing together both the equinox and the fourteenth day after the equinox and the sixth day, so that through all the appointed times he might show the resurrection of the one who suffered and the renewal and recapitulation of nature.

31 For this reason the apostle, indicating this recapitulation accomplished by God, said: "In all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth." Do you see how he speaks of a recapitulation of the things on earth to the things in heaven? For when the fall of man and the separation from the piety of the heavenly angels occurred, by providing to lead us back to this union through the passion, what else is he accomplishing but a recapitulation of good things? Therefore he also takes up the times of the creation for the correction, and you have a very great mystery to hear.

32 For since these times coincide with difficulty according to the first manner in one and the same week—for pay attention that that first week, I mean the one of the creation, had in itself the equinox at the beginning, then the full moon existing on the fourth day, and immediately the sixth, on which man was formed; but indeed this cannot always happen in one and the same week—, since it was difficult and hard to achieve to bring these appointed times together under one in a single week according to the first creation, and the Savior had need of the convergence of these for the economy of the passion, so that the proposed

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τοῦτο τὸ σφάγιον καὶ καθαιρετικὸν καὶ δαι μόνων καὶ κινδύνων καὶ ἐχθρῶν καὶ πάσης αἰσχρότητος τοῖς πράγμασιν ἐμφαίνων, ἵνα μὴ πάλιν τὸν πρὸς ἐκείνους ἄρτι ἀναλαβὼν λόγον ἐμποδίσω ἐμαυτὸν πρὸς τὸν προκεί 27 μενον τοῦ λόγου εἱρμόν. Ἐπειδὴ οὖν ἠβουλήθη ὁ μονογενὴς υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ἀνάστασιν τῷ ἐκπεπτωκότι ἀνθρώπῳ πορί σασθαι καὶ ἀνανεώσασθαι τοῦτον καὶ τῷ πάθει τῷ ἰδίῳ ἐπὶ τὸν πρῶτον ἀνακτίσαι τρόπον, βλέπε τί πράττει. Ἐπειδὴ αὐτὸς ἦν τοῦ πρώτου δημιουργός, ἔμελλεν αὐτοῦ καὶ πεσόντος εἶναι θεραπευτὴς ἐπὶ διορθώσει ὅλης τῆς φύσεως. Προσάγει μὲν τῷ πάθει ἑαυτόν, ὅλον δὲ χρόνον παραλαμβάνει πρὸς ἀνανέωσιν, ὅνπερ καὶ πρὸς τὴν κτίσιν παρείληφεν, ἵνα καὶ τὸ τέλος τῇ ἀρχῇ σύμφωνον φάνηται καὶ ὁ τρόπος τοῦ δημιουργοῦ ὁ αὐτός.

28 Ἠβουλήθη γάρ, ἐπείπερ καὶ χρόνον καθαρώτατον ὑπεστή σατο ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ πρώτου ἀνθρώπου πλάσει, οὗτος δὲ ὁ πρῶτος χρόνος ἐμολύνθη διὰ τῆς παραβάσεως σὺν αὐτῷ τῷ παραβάντι φθαρεὶς καὶ μεμολυσμένον λοιπὸν τὸν ἑξῆς αἰῶνα ἀπέδειξεν, αὐτὸν τὸν πρῶτον χρόνον ἐπὶ τῷ κατορ θώματι τοῦ ἀνθρώπου παραλαβεῖν, ἵνα σὺν τούτῳ τῇ ἐκ τοῦ πάθους καθάρσει καὶ τὸν ἑξῆς αἰῶνα ἐκ κορυφῆς καθαρώτερον ἀποφήνειεν, ἵνα ἐν ταὐτῷ τὰ πάντα δείξειε καὶ τὴν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἀνανέωσιν καὶ τὴν τοῦ αἰῶνος καθαρότητα, καὶ τὸν διορθωτὴν καὶ δημιουργὸν τῆς φύσεως ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν χρονικῶν συμβόλων σαφῶς ἀποδείξειεν.

29 Τίς οὖν ὁ πρῶτος χρόνος; τίς ἡ κορυφὴ χρόνου τοῦ πρώτου; Ἰσημερία, ἄδελφε, ὡς ἐδείξαμεν ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς ἴσα τὰ τμήματα ἀπαιτοῦντες, καὶ ἰσημερία ἐαρινή, ὅθεν ὁ τοῦ ἔαρος <καιρὸς>, ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς κατὰ τὴν ἱστορίαν ἀκολουθίας. Ἱστορεῖ γοῦν ὁ Μωϋσῆς ὅτι τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκέλευσεν ὁ θεὸς τὰ ἄνθη καὶ τὰ δένδρα καὶ τὰς βοτάνας γενέσθαι, ἔαρος δὲ σύμβολα ταῦτα συμφωνοῦντα τῇ τέχνῃ 30 ὁδῷ καὶ τάξει τοῦ θεοῦ τὰ πάντα κτίζοντος. Ἐπειδὴ οὖν πρώτη δημιουργία τοῦ ἀνθρώπου μετ' ἰσημερίαν ἐγένετο ἕκτῃ τῆς ἰσημερίας ἡμέρᾳ-τῇ γὰρ παρασκευῇ ἐκτίσθη ὁ ἄνθρωπος-, τὸ δὲ τῆς σελήνης πλησιφαὲς καὶ αὐτὸ μετ' ἰ σημερίαν ἐδημιουργήθη τετάρτῃ ἡμέρᾳ, διάπτωσις δὲ ἐξ ἁμαρτίας τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐγένετο, διὰ τοῦτο τὴν διόρθωσιν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν ἀνανέωσιν ἐπὶ τῆς κατὰ τὴν κτίσιν αὐτοῦ προθεσμίας ἀναλαμβάνει, καὶ ἰσημερίαν καὶ τεσσαρεσκαιδε κάτην τὴν μετ' ἰσημερίαν καὶ ἡμέραν ἕκτην συναγαγών, ἵνα διὰ πασῶν προθεσμιῶν τὴν τοῦ παθόντος ἀνάστασιν δείξειε καὶ τῆς φύσεως ἀνανέωσίν τε καὶ ἀνακεφαλαίωσιν.

31 ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ὁ ἀπόστολος ταύτην τὴν ἀνακεφαλαίωσιν ἐμφαίνων ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ γινομένην ἔλεγεν· "Ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καὶ φρονήσει γνωρίσας ἡμῖν τὸ μυστήριον τοῦ θελή ματος αὐτοῦ κατὰ τὴν εὐδοκίαν αὐτοῦ, ἣν προέθετο ἐν αὐτῷ εἰς οἰκονομίαν τοῦ πληρώματος τῶν καιρῶν ἀνακεφαλαιώσασθαι τὰ πάντα ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ τὰ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ γῆς". Ὁρᾷς πῶς ἀνακεφα λαίωσιν τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς λέγει πρὸς τὰ οὐράνια. Ἐκπτώσεως δὲ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου γενομένης καὶ διαμερισμοῦ ἀπὸ τῆς εὐσε βείας τῶν οὐρανίων ἀγγέλων, εἰς ταύτην ἐπανάγειν διὰ τοῦ πάθους τὴν ἕνωσιν ἡμᾶς προμηθούμενος τί ἄλλο ἢ ἀνακεφα λαίωσιν ἀγαθῶν πραγματεύεται; ∆ιὸ καὶ τοὺς χρόνους τῆς δημιουργίας ἐπὶ τῇ διορθώσει παραλαμβάνει, καὶ μυστήριον ἔχεις ἀκοῦσαι μέγιστον.

32 Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ δυσχερῶς οὗτοι οἱ χρόνοι συμπίπτουσι κατὰ τὸν πρῶτον τρόπον εἰς μίαν καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν ἑβδομάδα- πρόσεχε γὰρ ὅτι ἡ πρώτη ἑβδομὰς ἐκείνη, ἡ κατὰ τὴν δημιουργίαν φημί, ἐν αὑτῇ εἶχε τὴν μὲν ἰσημερίαν ἐν ἀρχῇ, ἔπειτα τὴν πλησιφαῆ σελήνην κατὰ τὴν τετάρτην ἡμέραν ὑφεστῶσαν, καὶ τὴν ἕκτην εὐθέως, ἐν ᾗ ἐπλάσθη ὁ ἄνθρωπος· οὐ μὴν ἀεὶ τοῦτο συμβαίνειν δύναται κατὰ τὴν μίαν καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν ἑβδομάδα-, ἐπειδὴ δυσχερὲς ἦν καὶ δυσπόριστον ἐν μιᾷ ἑβδομάδι κατὰ τὴν πρώτην δημιουργίαν ταύτας ὑφ' ἓν τὰς προθεσμίας συναγαγεῖν, καὶ τῆς συνδρομῆς τούτων πρὸς τὴν τοῦ πάθους οἰκονομίαν ὁ σωτὴρ ἔχρῃζεν, ἵνα τὴν προκει μένην