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signifies a certain human appearance, but the form of a servant, the nature of a man; the Apostle sets them in opposition; but if the Apostle's words are not in opposition, let us learn that the form of a servant is the substance of a servant. And "being made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man," we will understand thus, that our Lord Jesus Christ, having our nature, was not in all things equal to us; for he too was born of a woman, but not in the same way as us; for he sprang from a virgin's womb; and he was a perfect man as we are; but he had 75.1433 more than us the indwelling and union of the Word of God; and he had flesh, ensouled and rational as we do, but he did not endure the movements of sin as we do, but in a body warred against by sin, he destroyed the tyranny of sin; for this reason, being made in the likeness of man, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even death on a cross; and the very name of humiliation signifies the assumption of a humble nature. Besides, speaking about him who exists in the form of God, he added: "Being made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man," teaching that the incorporeal Word of God appeared as a man, having assumed human nature; for this reason he also added "as a man," so that we might not think that some change had occurred to the invisible God, but might believe that, having taken on flesh, ensouled and rational, being God, he was made in the likeness of man, and was found in fashion as a man; thus the great champion of piety, I mean the blessed Paul, silenced the various and diverse mouths of the heretics. But here the Word has carried us away, refuting the folly of the heretics, and making clear the doctrines of truth to the disciples of piety. It is time, therefore, to return from where I departed. XI. For what reason God the Word assumed human nature. Therefore the Creator, pitying our nature which was being warred against by the Evil One, and struck by the bitter darts of sin, and delivered over to death, defends his image, and vanquishes those who war against it, not using the bare power of his divinity, nor striking the adversaries with the authority of his kingship, not mustering angels, nor taking archangels as allies, nor arming thunderbolts or lightning against his enemies, nor appearing with the cherubim upon the earth and judicially condemning our adversaries [ξοδ. μενδοσε καταψησάμενος], but becoming one of the accountable and the warred-against, and concealing the magnificence of his divinity in the lowliness of humanity, and anointing the visible man for the contest, and crowning him as victor; and from childhood he taught virtue, and led righteousness to the highest point, and kept him unconquered, and free from the darts of sin, yet allowing him to come under death, in order to convict sin of its injustice, and to destroy the power of death. For if death is the penalty for those who have come under sin, he who was entirely free from it was justly meant to enjoy life, not death; therefore sin, being defeated, and condemning the victor to death, and passing the same sentence against the one who had conquered, which it always passed against the defeated, was caught in its injustice. For as long as it delivered its subjects to death, it was permitted to do this, 75.1436 as if doing what was just; but when it subjected the innocent and unaccountable one, worthy of crowns and proclamations, to the same penalties, it is henceforth necessarily cast out from its authority as unjust. And teaching this
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φαν τασίαν τινὰ ἀνθρωπείαν δηλοῖ, ἡ δὲ μορφὴ τοῦ δού λου, φύσις ἀνθρώπου· ἐναντία τίθησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος· εἰ δὲ οὐκ ἐναντία τοῦ Ἀποστόλου τὰ ῥήματα, μά θωμεν ὡς ἡ τοῦ δούλου μορφὴ, οὐσία δούλου τυγχά νει. Τὸ δὲ ἐν ὁμοιώματι ἀνθρώπων γενέσθαι, καὶ σχήματι εὑρεθῆναι ὡς ἄνθρωπον, οὕτως νοήσομεν, ὅτι ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς τὴν ἡμετέραν ἔχων φύσιν, οὐ κατὰ πάντα ἴσος ἡμῖν ἐτύγχανεν· ἐγεννήθη μὲν γὰρ ἐκ γυναικὸς καὶ αὐτὸς, ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁμοίως ἡμῖν· ἐκ παρθενικῆς γὰρ ἐβλάστησε μήτρας· καὶ τέλειος μὲν ἄνθρωπος ἦν ὡς ἡμεῖς· εἶχε δὲ 75.1433 πλέον ἡμῖν τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγου τὴν ἐνοίκησίν τε καὶ ἕνωσιν· καὶ σάρκα μὲν εἶχεν ἔμψυχόν τε καὶ λογι κὴν ὡς ἡμεῖς, τῶν δὲ τῆς ἁμαρτίας οὐκ ἠνέσχετο κινημάτων ὥσπερ ἡμεῖς, ἀλλ' ἐν σώματι ὑφ' ἁμαρ τίας πολεμουμένῳ, τὴν τῆς ἁμαρτίας τυραννίδα κατ έλυσε· διὰ τοῦτο ἐν ὁμοιώματι ἀνθρώπου γενό μενος, καὶ σχήματι εὑρεθεὶς ὡς ἄνθρωπος, ἑαυτὸν ἐταπείνωσεν, γενόμενος ὑπήκοος μέχρι θανάτου, θα νάτου δὲ σταυροῦ· καὶ αὐτὸ δὲ τὸ ὄνομα τῆς ταπει νώσεως δηλοῖ τὴν τῆς ταπεινῆς ἀνάληψιν φύσεως. Ἄλλως τε περὶ τοῦ ἐν μορφῇ Θεοῦ ὑπάρχοντος δια λεγόμενος, ἐπήγαγεν· «Ἐν ὁμοιώματι ἀνθρώπων γενόμενος, καὶ σχήματι εὑρεθεὶς ὡς ἄνθρωπος,» διδάσκων ὅτι ὁ ἀσώματος Θεοῦ Λόγος ὡς ἄνθρωπος ὤφθη, φύσιν ἀνθρωπείαν ἀναλαβών· διὸ καὶ τὸ «ὡς ἄνθρωπος» τέθεικεν, ἵνα μὴ τροπήν τινα γεγενῆσθαι νομίσωμεν τοῦ ἀοράτου Θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ πιστεύσωμεν ὅτι σάρκα λαβὼν ἔμψυχόν τε καὶ λογικὴν, Θεὸς ὢν ἐν ὁμοιώματι ἀνθρώπου ἐγένετο, καὶ σχήματι εὑρέθη ὡς ἄνθρωπος· οὕτως ὁ μέγας τῆς εὐσεβείας προ αγωνιστὴς, ὁ μακάριος λέγω Παῦλος, τὰ ποικίλα καὶ διάφορα τῶν αἱρετικῶν κατέλυσε στόματα. Ἀλλ' ἐνταῦθα μὲν ἡμᾶς ὁ Λόγος παρήνεγκε, τὴν τῶν αἱ ρετικῶν ἐλέγχων ἐμβροντησίαν, καὶ δῆλα ποιῶν τοῖς τροφίμοις τῆς εὐσεβείας τῆς ἀληθείας τὰ δόγματα. Ἀναχωρεῖν οὖν, ὅθεν ἐξέβην, καιρός. ΙΑʹ. Τίνος χάριν τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν ὁ Θεὸς ἀνέλαβε Λόγος. Τοίνυν τὴν ἡμετέραν φύσιν ὁ Ποιητὴς οἰκτείρας ὑπὸ τοῦ Πονηροῦ πολεμουμένην, καὶ τοῖς πικροῖς τῆς ἁμαρτίας βέλεσι βαλλομένην, καὶ τῷ θανάτῳ παρα πεμπομένην, ἐπαμύνει τῇ εἰκόνι, καὶ τοὺς πολε μοῦντας καταγωνίζεται, οὐ γυμνῇ τῇ δυνάμει χρη σάμενος τῇ θεότητι, οὐδὲ τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ τῆς βασιλείας καταπλήξας τοὺς ἀντιπάλους, οὐκ ἀγγέλους στρατεύ σας, οὐδὲ τοὺς ἀρχαγγέλους εἰς συμμαχίαν λαβὼν, οὐδὲ κεραυνοὺς ἢ πρηστῆρας κατὰ τῶν ἐναντίων ὁπλίσας, οὐδὲ μετὰ τῶν χερουβὶμ φανεὶς ἐπὶ τῆς ἠπείρου καὶ τῶν ἡμετέρων ἀντιδίκων δικαστικῶς καταψηφισάμενος [ξοδ. μενδοσε καταψησάμενος], ἀλλ' εἷς τῶν ὑπευθύνων καὶ πολεμουμένων γινόμε νος, καὶ κατακρύψας τὸ μεγαλοπρεπὲς τῆς θεότητος τῇ εὐτελείᾳ τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος, καὶ τὸν ὁρώμενον ἄνθρωπον εἰς πάλην ἀλείψας, καὶ νικήσαντα στεφα νώσας· καὶ παιδόθεν μὲν τὴν ἀρετὴν ἐκδιδάξας, καὶ δικαιοσύνης εἰς ἀκρότατον ἀγαγὼν, ἀήττητον δὲ φυ λάξας, καὶ τῶν βελῶν τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἐλεύθερον, συγχωρήσας δὲ ὅμως ὑπὸ θάνατον γενέσθαι, ἵνα τῆς ἁμαρτίας τὴν ἀδικίαν ἐλέγξῃ, καὶ τοῦ θανάτου καταλύσῃ τὸ κράτος. Εἰ γὰρ τῶν ὑπὸ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν γεγενημένων ὁ θά νατος ἐπιτίμιον, ὁ ταύτης ἀπηλλαγμένος παντάπασι, δηλονότι ζωῆς ἀπολαύειν, ἀλλ' οὐ θανάτου, δίκαιος ἦν· τοίνυν ἡττηθεῖσα ἡ ἁμαρτία, καὶ τὸν νικητὴν κατακρίνασα θανάτῳ, καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν ἐξενεγκοῦσα κατὰ τοῦ νενικηκότος ψῆφον, ἣν ἀεὶ κατὰ τῶν ἡττω μένων ἐξέφερεν, ἀδικοῦσα ἑάλω. Μέχρι μὲν γὰρ τοὺς ὑπηκόους τῷ θανάτῳ παρέπεμπεν, ὡς δίκαια ποιοῦσα 75.1436 συνεχωρεῖτο τοῦτο ποιεῖν· ἐπειδὴ δὲ τὸν ἀθῶον καὶ ἀνεύθυνον καὶ στεφάνων καὶ ἀναῤῥήσεων ἄξιον τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἐπιτιμίοις ὑπέβαλλεν, ἀναγκαίως λοιπὸν ὡς ἄδικος τῆς ἐξουσίας ἐκβάλλεται. Καὶ τοῦτο διδάσκων