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having stopped our ears like a deaf asp that stops its ears, we contend not to hear the voice of charmers, nor to be treated with the medicines of wisdom, by which the sickness of the soul is cured; or at last, those of us who are bolder and nobler, we are openly shameless both towards sin and its physicians, with bared head, as they say, proceeding to every transgression; oh, the madness, or if there is any other more proper name for such a condition! And those whom we ought to love as benefactors, these we ward off as enemies, hating those who reprove in the gates, and abominating a holy word; and we think we shall rather war against those who are well-disposed to us, if we harm ourselves as much as possible, like those who, laying hold of their own flesh, think they are consuming their neighbors'.

21. These are the reasons why I consider our medicine to be far more difficult than that of the body, and for this reason more honorable; and that for the latter, which sees little of what is deep within, most of its effort is concerned with what is apparent; but for us, all our healing and zeal is for the hidden man of the heart, and our battle is against the one who wars against us and wrestles with us from within, who, most terribly, uses our own weapons against us, and gives us over to the death of sin. For these things, therefore, there is need of much and perfect faith, and greater co-operation from God, and not a little of our counter-art (as I persuade myself), 35.432 there is need, which is seen both in word and deed, if we are to be well healed and purified, and for what is most precious of what we have, our souls, to be of the greatest worth.

22. As to the ends of both therapies, for this still remains for our examination, for the one, it is to preserve the health or well-being of the flesh if it exists, or to recall it if it has departed, of which it is not yet clear if it will be of any benefit to those who possess it; since even the opposite has often benefited those who have it more, just as poverty and riches, glory and dishonor, lowliness and splendor, and whatever things are naturally intermediate, and incline no more to this side or that, but receive what is better or worse by the use and choice of those who possess them; but for the other, the object is to give wings to the soul, to snatch it from the world and give it to God, and to preserve the image if it remains, or to guide it when in danger, or to rescue it when it has been ruined, and to cause Christ to dwell in the hearts through the Spirit; and, in sum, to make a man a God, and a partaker of the bliss above, one of the order above.

23. This is what the law, our tutor, desires for us; this, the prophets between Christ and the law; this, Christ, the perfecter and end of the spiritual law; this, the emptied Godhead; this, the assumed flesh; this, the new mixture, God and man, one from both, and through the one, both. For this reason God was mingled 35.433 with flesh through a mediating soul, and what was separated was bound together by the kinship of the mediator to both; and all things came into one on behalf of all, and on behalf of the one forefather; the soul for the soul that disobeyed, the flesh for the flesh that ministered to it and was condemned with it; the one, the soul, the other, the flesh; Christ for Adam who had come under sin, He who is stronger than sin and higher.

24. For this reason the new was brought in to replace the old; and through suffering, he who suffered was recalled, and for each of our parts, each part of Him who is above us was given in exchange; and the economy of loving-kindness concerning him who fell through disobedience became a new mystery. For this reason, a birth and a Virgin; for this reason, a manger and Bethlehem; the birth for the creation; the Virgin for the woman; Bethlehem for Eden; the manger for paradise; the small and visible things for the great and hidden things. For this reason angels glorifying the heavenly one, who then became earthly; and shepherds seeing glory upon the Lamb and Shepherd; and a star leading, and Magi

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ἀκοὰς ἀποφράξαντες ἀσπί δος κωφῆς καὶ τὰ ὦτα βυούσης τρόπον, μὴ ἀκοῦσαι φωνῆς ἐπᾳδόντων φιλονεικοῦμεν, μηδὲ φαρμακευθῆ ναι σοφίας φαρμάκοις, οἷς ἀῤῥωστία ψυχῆς θε ραπεύεται· ἢ τὸ τελευταῖον, οἵ γε τολμηρότεροι ἡμῶν καὶ γενναιότεροι, καὶ φανερῶς ἀναισχυν τοῦμεν πρός τε τὴν ἁμαρτίαν καὶ τοὺς ταύτης θεραπευτὰς, γυμνῇ τῇ κεφαλῇ, τὸ δὴ λεγόμενον, χω ροῦντες πρὸς πᾶσαν παρανομίαν· ὢ τῆς παραπλη ξίας, ἢ εἴ τι ἄλλο τῷ τοιούτῳ πάθει κυριώτερον ὄνο μα! καὶ οὓς ἀγαπᾷν ὡς εὐεργέτας ἐχρῆν, τούτους ὡς ἐχθροὺς ἀμυνόμεθα, μισοῦντες ἐν πύλαις ἐλέγχοντας, καὶ λόγον ὅσιον βδελυσσόμενοι· καὶ οἰόμεθα μᾶλλον πολεμήσειν τοὺς ἡμῖν εὔνους, ἂν ὅτι μάλιστα ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς κακῶς δράσωμεν, ὥσπερ οἱ τῶν ἰδίων σαρκῶν ἁπτόμενοι τὰς τῶν πέλας δαπανᾷν νο μίζοντες.

ΚΑʹ. Ταῦτά ἐστιν, οἷς ἐγὼ τὴν καθ' ἡμᾶς ἰατρικὴν τῆς περὶ τὰ σώματα ἐργωδεστέραν τίθεμαι μα κρῷ, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τιμιωτέραν· καὶ ὅτι ἐκείνῃ μὲν, ὀλίγα τῶν ἐν τῷ βάθει κατοπτευούσῃ, περὶ τὸ φαινό μενον ἡ πλείων τῆς πραγματείας· ἡμῖν δὲ περὶ τὸν κρυπτὸν τῆς καρδίας ἄνθρωπον ἡ πᾶσα θερα πεία τε καὶ σπουδὴ, καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἔνδοθεν ἡμῖν ἀντιπολεμοῦντα καὶ ἀντιπαλαίοντα ἡ μάχη, ὃς ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς ὅπλοις καθ' ἡμῶν χρώμενος, τὸ δεινότατον, τῷ τῆς ἁμαρτίας θανάτῳ δίδωσι. Πρὸς οὖν ταῦτα πολλῆς μὲν καὶ παντελοῦς τῆς πίστεως, μείζο νος δὲ τῆς παρὰ Θεοῦ συνεργίας, οὐκ ὀλίγης δὲ τῆς ἡμετέρας ἀντιτεχνήσεως (ὥς γε ἐμαυτὸν πεί 35.432 θω), χρεία, τῆς καὶ λόγῳ καὶ ἔργῳ θεωρουμένης, εἰ δεῖ καλῶς ἡμῖν θεραπεύεσθαι καὶ ἀπο καθαίρεσθαι, καὶ ὡς πλείστου ἀξίας εἶναι, τὸ τιμιώ τατον ὧν ἔχομεν, τὰς ψυχάς.

ΚΒʹ. Τά γε μὴν ἀμφοτέρων τῶν θεραπειῶν τέλη, τοῦτο γὰρ ἡμῖν εἰς τὴν ἐξέτασιν ἔτι λείπεται, τῇ μὲν ὑγίειαν, ἢ εὐεξίαν σαρκὸς, ἢ οὖσαν φυλάξαι, ἢ ἀπελθοῦσαν ἀνακαλέσασθαι, ὧν οὔπω δῆλον, εἴ τι συνοίσει τοῖς κεκτημένοις· ἐπεὶ καὶ τὰ ἐναντία πολλάκις πλείω τοὺς ἔχοντας ὤνησεν, ὥσπερ πενίαι τε καὶ πλοῦτοι, δόξαι τε καὶ ἀδοξίαι, ταπεινότητες καὶ λαμπρότητες, καὶ ὅσα ἐν μέσῳ κείμενα κατὰ τὴν φύ σιν, καὶ οὐδὲν μᾶλλον τῇδε ἢ τῇδε νεύοντα, τῇ χρή σει καὶ τῇ προαιρέσει τῶν κεκτημένων τὸ βέλτιον ἢ τὸ χεῖρον λαμβάνει· τῇ δὲ τὸ προκείμενον πτερῶσαι ψυχὴν, ἁρπάσαι κόσμου, καὶ δοῦναι Θεῷ, καὶ τὸ κατ' εἰκόνα ἢ μένον τηρῆσαι, ἢ κινδυνεῦον χειραγωγῆσαι, ἢ διαῤῥυὲν ἀνασώσασθαι, εἰσοικί σαι τε τὸν Χριστὸν ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις διὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος· καὶ τὸ κεφάλαιον, Θεὸν ποιῆσαι, καὶ τῆς ἄνω μακαριότητος, τὸν τῆς ἄνω συντάξεως.

ΚΓʹ. Τοῦτο ἡμῖν ὁ παιδαγωγὸς βούλεται νόμος· τοῦ το οἱ μέσοι Χριστοῦ καὶ νόμου προφῆται· τοῦτο ὁ τοῦ πνευματικοῦ νόμου τελειωτὴς καὶ τὸ τέλος Χρι στός· τοῦτο ἡ κενωθεῖσα θεότης· τοῦτο ἡ προσληφθεῖσα σάρξ· τοῦτο ἡ καινὴ μίξις, Θεὸς καὶ ἄνθρωπος, ἓν ἐξ ἀμφοῖν, καὶ δι' ἐνὸς ἀμφότερα. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο Θεὸς σαρκὶ διὰ μέσης ψυχῆς ἀνεκρά 35.433 θη, καὶ συνεδέθη τὰ διεστῶτα τῇ πρὸς ἄμφω τοῦ μεσιτεύοντος οἰκειότητι· καὶ πάντα ὑπὲρ πάντων ἦλθεν εἰς ἓν, καὶ ὑπὲρ ἑνὸς τοῦ προπάτορος· ἡ ψυχὴ διὰ τὴν παρακούσασαν, ἡ σὰρξ διὰ τὴν ὑπουργήσασαν καὶ συγκατακριθεῖσαν· ἡ μὲν ψυχὴν, ἡ δὲ σάρκα· ὁ Χριστὸς διὰ τὸν Ἀδὰμ τὸν γενόμενον ὑπὸ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, ὁ κρείττων ἁμαρτίας καὶ ὑψηλότερος.

Κ∆ʹ. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἀντεισήχθη τῷ παλαιῷ τὸ νέον· καὶ διὰ πάθους ὁ παθὼν ἀνεκλήθη, καὶ ὑπὲρ ἑκάστου τῶν ἡμετέρων ἕκαστον τοῦ ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς ἀντεδόθη· καὶ γέγονε καινὸν μυστήριον ἡ περὶ τὸν πεσόντα δι' ἀπεί θειαν ἐκ φιλανθρωπίας οἰκονομία. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο γέννη σις καὶ Παρθένος· διὰ τοῦτο φάτνη καὶ Βηθλεέμ· ἡ γέννησις ὑπὲρ τῆς πλάσεως· ἡ Παρθένος ὑπὲρ τῆς γυ ναικός· ἡ Βηθλεὲμ διὰ τὴν Ἐδέμ· ἡ φάτνη διὰ τὸν παράδεισον· τὰ μικρὰ καὶ φαινόμενα ὑπὲρ τῶν μεγά λων καὶ κρυπτομένων. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἄγγελοι δοξά ζοντες τὸν οὐράνιον, εἶτα ἐπίγειον· καὶ ποιμένες δό ξαν ὁρῶντες ἐπὶ τῷ ἀμνῷ καὶ ποιμένι· καὶ ἀστὴρ ἠγούμενος, καὶ μάγοι