11

John has said in the beginning of the gospel. For since after the assumption of the flesh he is preached as Christ and Jesus, and Life and Way and Day and Resurrection and Door and Bread and whatever else he might be named by the divine scriptures, it is not fitting for us on account of this to be ignorant of the first name, that he was the Word. For on account of this, the most holy evangelist and disciple of the Lord, being very watchful in the spirit, remembering the beginning from above and nothing newer, “in the beginning was the Word,” he said, “and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” in order to show that, if there is any new and newer name, this belonged to him from the new and recent economy according to the flesh. 1.18.2 And he goes on to say: Therefore, before he came down and was born through the virgin, he was only Word. Since what else was that which came down “in the last days,” as he himself also wrote, and which was born of the holy virgin, before assuming human flesh? Nothing other than Word. And again he adds: For previously, as I have often said, he was nothing other than Word. 1.18.3 And he adds again, saying: For the Word “was in the beginning,” being nothing other than Word; but the man united to the Word, not existing before, became man, as John teaches us: “and the Word became flesh.” 1.18.4 On account of this, therefore, he appears to be mentioning the Word alone. For whether the divine scripture mentions the name of Jesus or of Christ, it appears to be naming the Word of God who exists after the human flesh. But if anyone should promise to be able to show the name of Christ or Jesus applied to the Word alone even before the New Testament, he will find this spoken prophetically. And after other things he adds, saying: Reasonably, therefore, before the descent he was this, which we have often said, the Word; but after the descent and the assumption of the flesh he has obtained various appellations. These are the things, therefore, by which Marcellus is caught, denying the Son of God who is and lives and is truly Son, but introducing 1.18.5 a mere Word. And it has been shown through his sayings quoted before also what sort of Word he supposed him to be, using the human word as an example, saying that he is one and the same with God. And having indeed established this principle, he proceeded, in consequence of the hypothesis given to him, to lie against the divinely inspired scripture and to make perverse interpretations of it. 1.19.1 It seemed good to me at present to consider briefly some of these things, and to show to the ignorant that no scripture agrees with him as he innovates and turns aside from the sound faith, but on the contrary all cry out against and testify against the narratives not rightly received by him. which it was especially necessary to demonstrate to those who honor the man, lest perhaps one of them, through inexperience of the divine readings, should think that he attains the mark of truth. 1.19.2 And indeed this must be examined first, which he also first dared to declare, that before being born through the virgin, the Son of God was not called by another name than Word. For he asserts that he was nothing before the incarnate presence other than Word, nor was he named otherwise unless perhaps prophetically, for he says that he both was and was named Word and nothing else, but after the incarnate presence he obtained various appellations. 1.20.1 This, therefore, must first be shown, that he declared it ignorantly and without knowledge of the divine scriptures. 1. For first the divine evangelist John himself, who indeed proclaimed him Word, 2. not after a long time but immediately and at once named him God, saying, “and the Word was God.” For though he could have said, 'and the Word was of God,' he did not say this, lest anyone should say he was similar to the word among men, but he calls him God, thus showing the transcendent and divinely-fitting dignity concerning him. 1.20.2 3. And moving on to another concept of the doxology concerning him, he named him Light, having declared by this very thing that he pre-existed the assumption of the body 1.20.3, in the things concerning the

11

Ἰωάννης ἐν ἀρχῇ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου εἴρηκεν. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τὴν μετὰ τὴν τῆς σαρκὸς ἀνάληψιν Χριστός τε καὶ Ἰησοῦς κηρύττεται, ζωή τε καὶ ὁδὸς καὶ ἡμέρα καὶ ἀνάστασις καὶ θύρα καὶ ἄρτος καὶ εἴ τι ἕτερον ὑπὸ τῶν θείων ὀνομάζοιτο γραφῶν, οὐ παρὰ τοῦτο ἀγνοεῖν ἡμᾶς προσήκει τὸ πρῶτον ὄνομα, ὅτι λόγος ἦν. διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ὁ ἁγιώτατος εὐαγγε λιστὴς καὶ μαθητὴς τοῦ κυρίου, σφόδρα ἐγρηγορὼς τῷ πνεύματι, τῆς ἄνωθεν μνημονεύων ἀρχῆς καὶ μηδενὸς νεωτέρου, «ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος», ἔφη «καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος», ἵνα δείξῃ ὅτι, εἴ τι καινὸν καὶ νεώτερον ὄνομα, τοῦτ' ἀπὸ τῆς καινῆς αὐτῷ καὶ νέας ὑπῆρξε κατὰ σάρκα καὶ οἰκο νομίας. 1.18.2 καὶ ἑξῆς ἐπιλέγει οὐκοῦν πρὸ μὲν τοῦ κατελθεῖν καὶ διὰ τῆς παρθένου τεχθῆναι λόγος ἦν μόνον. ἐπεὶ τί ἕτερον ἦν πρὸ τοῦ τὴν ἀνθρω πίνην ἀναλαβεῖν σάρκα τὸ κατελθὸν «ἐπ' ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμε ρῶν», ὡς καὶ αὐτὸς ἔγραφεν, καὶ τὸ γεννηθὲν ἐκ τῆς ἁγίας παρθένου; οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἢ λόγος. καὶ πάλιν ἐπιφέρει πρότερον γάρ, ὥσπερ πολλάκις ἔφην, οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἦν ἢ λόγος. 1.18.3 καὶ προστίθησιν αὖθις φάσκων ὁ μὲν γὰρ λόγος «ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν», μηδὲν ἕτερον ὢν ἢ λόγος· ὁ δὲ τῷ λόγῳ ἑνωθεὶς ἄνθρωπος, οὐκ ὢν πρότερον, γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος, ὡς διδάσκει ἡμᾶς Ἰωάννης· «καὶ ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο». 1.18.4 διὰ τοῦτο τοίνυν τοῦ λόγου μνημονεύων φαίνεται μόνου. εἴτε γὰρ Ἰησοῦ εἴτε Χριστοῦ ὀνόματος μνημονεύοι ἡ θεία γραφή, τὸν μετὰ τὸν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ὄντα σαρκὸς τοῦ θεοῦ λόγον ὀνομά ζειν φαίνεται. εἰ δέ τις καὶ πρὸ τῆς νέας διαθήκης τὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἢ Ἰησοῦ ὄνομα ἐπὶ τοῦ λόγου μόνου δεικνύναι δύνασθαι ἐπαγγέλλοιτο, εὑρήσει τοῦτο προφητικῶς εἰρημένον. καὶ μεθ' ἕτερα ἐπάγει λέγων εἰκότως οὖν πρὸ τῆς καθόδου τοῦτο ἦν, ὅπερ πολλάκις ἔφαμεν, λόγος· μετὰ δὲ τὴν κάθοδον καὶ τὴν τῆς σαρκὸς ἀνά ληψιν διαφόρων καὶ τῶν ἐπηγοριῶν τετύχηκεν. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν δι' ὧν Μάρκελλος ἁλίσκεται τὸν μὲν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ τὸν ὄντα καὶ ζῶντα καὶ ἀληθῶς υἱὸν ὄντα ἀρνούμενος, λόγον δὲ 1.18.5 ψιλὸν εἰσάγων. δέδεικται δὲ διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν παρατεθεισῶν αὐτοῦ φωνῶν καὶ ὁποῖον αὐτὸν εἶναι λόγον ὑπετίθετο, παραδείγματι χρώμενος τῷ ἀνθρωπείῳ λόγῳ ἕν τε καὶ ταὐτὸν εἶναι λέγων αὐτὸν τῷ θεῷ. καὶ δὴ ταύτην ἀρχὴν ὑποστησάμενος, ἀκολούθως ἐκ τῆς δοθείσης αὐτῷ ὑποθέσεως ἐπὶ τὸ καταψεύδεσθαι τῆς θεοπνεύστου γραφῆς διαστρόφους τε αὐτῆς ποιεῖσθαι τὰς ἑρμηνείας προῆλθεν. 1.19.1 ὧν βραχείας ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος καλῶς ἔχειν ἐφάνη μοι διασκέψασθαι, τοῖς τε ἀγνοοῦσιν ἐπιδεῖξαι, ὡς οὐδεμία μὲν αὐτῷ νεωτερίζοντι καὶ τῆς ὑγιοῦς ἐκτρεπομένῳ πίστεως συνᾴδει γραφή, τοὐναντίον δὲ πᾶσαι ἀντιφθέγγονται καὶ ἀντιμαρτυροῦσιν ταῖς οὐκ ὀρθῶς αὐτῷ παραληφθείσαις διηγήσεσιν. ὅπερ ἐχρῆν μάλιστα τοῖς τὸν ἄνδρα τιμῶσιν ἐνδείξασθαι, μήποτ' ἄρα τις αὐτῶν ἀπειρίᾳ τῶν θείων ἀναγνωσμάτων τυγχάνειν αὐτὸν τοῦ τῆς ἀληθείας σκοποῦ 1.19.2 νομίσειεν. καὶ δὴ τοῦτο πρῶτον διασκοπητέον, ὃ δὴ καὶ πρῶτον τετόλμηκεν ἀποφήνασθαι, πρὶν τεχθῆναι διὰ τῆς παρθένου τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ μὴ κεκλῆσθαι ἑτέρῳ ὀνόματι ἢ λόγον. μήτε γὰρ εἶναι αὐτόν τι πρὸ τῆς ἐνσάρκου παρουσίας ἢ λόγον, μήτ' ὠνομάσθαι ἑτέρως εἰ μὴ ἄρα προφητικῶς, λόγον γὰρ εἶναί τε καὶ ὠνομάσθαι καὶ οὐδὲν ἕτερον φάσκει, μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἔνσαρκον παρουσίαν διαφόρων καὶ τῶν ἐπηγοριῶν τετυχηκέναι. 1.20.1 τοῦτο δὴ οὖν πρῶτον δεικτέον ἀμαθῶς καὶ τῶν θείων γραφῶν ἀνεπιστημόνως αὐτὸν ἀποφηνάμενον. αʹ. πρῶτος μὲν γὰρ αὐτὸς ὁ θεῖος εὐαγγελιστὴς Ἰωάννης, ὁ δὴ λόγον αὐτὸν ἀνειπών, βʹ. οὐκ εἰς μακρὸν ἀλλ' εὐθὺς καὶ παρὰ πόδα θεὸν αὐτὸν ὠνόμασεν φήσας «καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος». δυνάμενος γοῦν εἰπεῖν· καὶ θεοῦ ἦν ὁ λόγος, τοῦτο μὲν οὐκ ἔφη, ὡς ἂν μή τις αὐτὸν τῷ παρὰ ἀνθρώποις ὅμοιον εἶναι φήσειεν, θεὸν δὲ αὐτὸν καλεῖ, τὸ ὑπερφυὲς τοῦ περὶ αὐτὸν θεοπρεποῦς ἀξιώματος οὕτω δεικνύς. 1.20.2 γʹ. μεταβὰς δὲ ἐφ' ἑτέραν ἐπίνοιαν τῆς περὶ αὐτοῦ δοξολογίας φῶς αὐτὸν ὠνόμασεν, προϋπάρχειν αὐτὸν τῆς τοῦ σώματος ἀναλή1.20.3 ψεως κατὰ τοῦτο αὐτὸ δηλώσας, ἐν οἷς περὶ τοῦ