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a soul we have believed from the flesh being isolated from the soul becoming dead and inactive, and we do not know the manner of the union, so also there we confess that the divine nature differs from the mortal and perishable one in a more magnificent way, but we are not capable of comprehending the manner of the blending of the divine with the human. But we do not doubt that God has come to be in human nature, through the recorded wonders, but as to the 'how,' as something greater than the reach of our reasonings, we decline to investigate. For neither, when we believe that the whole corporeal and intelligible creation was brought into existence by the incorporeal and uncreated nature, do we examine together the 'whence' or the 'how' with our faith concerning these things. But accepting that it has come to be, we leave the manner of the constitution of the universe uninvestigated, as being altogether ineffable and inexplicable.

12 And let him who seeks proofs that God has been manifested to us in the flesh look to His operations. For indeed, that there is a God at all, one could have no other proof, except the testimony through the operations themselves. Just as, therefore, looking upon the universe, and observing the dispensations in the world and the benefactions from God that are at work in our life, we apprehend that some power lies over us, creative of things that come to be and conservative of things that are, so also in the case of the God who was manifested to us through the flesh we have made the wonders in His operations a sufficient proof of the epiphany of the Godhead, having understood in the recorded works all things by which the divine nature is characterized. It is of God to give life to men, of God to preserve existing things through providence, of God to grant food and drink to those who have received life through the flesh, of God to do good to the one in need, of God to restore nature, when it has been turned aside by weakness, to itself again through health, of God to preside equally over all creation, of earth, sea, air, and the regions above the air, of God to have power sufficient for all things, and above all, to be superior to death and corruption. If, therefore, the account concerning him were lacking in any of these and such things, those outside the faith would with good reason have rejected our mystery; but if all things through which God is conceived are seen in the narratives about him, what is the impediment to faith?

13 'But,' one says, 'birth and death are characteristic of the fleshly nature.' I say so too. But what is before the birth and what is after the death escapes the commonality of our nature. For looking at both ends of human life, we know both whence we begin and in what we end. For man, having begun his existence from passion, is completed by passion. But in His case neither did His birth begin from passion, nor did His death end in passion; for neither did pleasure precede the birth, nor did corruption succeed the death. Do you disbelieve the wonder? I rejoice in your unbelief; for you certainly confess by the very fact that you consider what is said to be beyond belief, that the wonders are beyond nature. Therefore let this very thing be for you a proof of the divinity of Him who appeared, that the proclamation does not proceed through the things according to nature. For if the narratives about Christ were within the limits of nature, where would the divine be? But if the account transcends nature, in those things in which you disbelieve, in these is the proof that the one proclaimed is God. For a man is born from union and after death ends in corruption. If the proclamation contained these things, you would certainly not have thought him to be God who is testified to in the properties of our nature. But since you hear that he was born, but has departed from the commonality of our nature both in the manner of his birth and in his being unsubject to alteration into corruption, it would be well, consequently, to use your unbelief for the opposite purpose, so as not to think him a man, one of those shown in our nature. For there is every necessity for one who does not believe such a one to be a man to be brought to the faith that he is God. For he who has been born

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ψυχὴν πεπιστεύ καμεν ἐκ τοῦ μονωθεῖσαν τῆς ψυχῆς τὴν σάρκα νεκράν τε καὶ ἀνενέργητον γίνεσθαι, καὶ τὸν τῆς ἑνώσεως οὐκ ἐπι γινώσκομεν τρόπον, οὕτω κἀκεῖ διαφέρειν μὲν ἐπὶ τὸ μεγαλοπρεπέστερον τὴν θείαν φύσιν πρὸς τὴν θνητὴν καὶ ἐπίκηρον ὁμολογοῦμεν, τὸν δὲ τῆς ἀνακράσεως τρόπον τοῦ θείου πρὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον συνιδεῖν οὐ χωροῦμεν. ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν γεγενῆσθαι θεὸν ἐν ἀνθρώπου φύσει διὰ τῶν ἱστο ρουμένων θαυμάτων οὐκ ἀμφιβάλλομεν, τὸ δ' ὅπως, ὡς μεῖζον ἢ κατὰ λογισμῶν ἔφοδον, διερευνᾷν παραιτούμεθα. οὐδὲ γὰρ πᾶσαν τὴν σωματικήν τε καὶ νοητὴν κτίσιν παρὰ τῆς ἀσωμάτου τε καὶ ἀκτίστου φύσεως ὑποστῆναι πιστεύοντες, τὸ πόθεν ἢ τὸ πῶς τῇ περὶ τούτων πίστει συνεξετάζομεν. ἀλλὰ τὸ γεγενῆσθαι παραδεχόμενοι, ἀπολυπραγμόνητον τὸν τρόπον τῆς τοῦ παντὸς συστά σεως καταλείπομεν, ὡς ἄρρητον παντάπασιν ὄντα καὶ ἀνερμήνευτον.

12 Τοῦ δὲ θεὸν ἐν σαρκὶ πεφανερῶσθαι ἡμῖν ὁ τὰς ἀποδείξεις ἐπιζητῶν πρὸς τὰς ἐνεργείας βλεπέτω. καὶ γὰρ τοῦ ὅλως εἶναι θεὸν οὐκ ἄν τις ἑτέραν ἀπόδειξιν ἔχοι, πλὴν τῆς δι' αὐτῶν τῶν ἐνεργειῶν μαρτυρίας. ὥσπερ τοίνυν εἰς τὸ πᾶν ἀφορῶντες, καὶ τὰς κατὰ τὸν κόσμον οἰκονομίας ἐπισκοποῦντες καὶ τὰς εὐεργεσίας τὰς θεόθεν κατὰ τὴν ζωὴν ἡμῶν ἐνεργουμένας, ὑπερκεῖσθαί τινα δύναμιν ποιη τικὴν τῶν γιγνομένων καὶ συντηρητικὴν τῶν ὄντων καταλαμβάνομεν, οὕτως καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ διὰ σαρκὸς ἡμῖν φανερωθέντος θεοῦ ἱκανὴν ἀπόδειξιν τῆς ἐπιφανείας τῆς θεότητος τὰ κατὰ τὰς ἐνεργείας θαύματα πεποιήμεθα, πάντα τοῖς ἱστορηθεῖσιν ἔργοις, δι' ὧν ἡ θεία χαρακτηρί ζεται φύσις, κατανοήσαντες. θεοῦ τὸ ζωοποιεῖν τοὺς ἀν θρώπους, θεοῦ τὸ συντηρεῖν διὰ προνοίας τὰ ὄντα, θεοῦ τὸ βρῶσιν καὶ πόσιν τοῖς διὰ σαρκὸς τὴν ζωὴν εἰληχόσι χαρίζεσθαι, θεοῦ τὸ εὐεργετεῖν τὸν δεόμενον, θεοῦ τὸ παρα τραπεῖσαν ἐξ ἀσθενείας τὴν φύσιν πάλιν δι' ὑγείας πρὸς ἑαυτὴν ἐπανάγειν, θεοῦ τὸ πάσης ἐπιστατεῖν ὁμοιοτρόπως τῆς κτίσεως, γῆς, θαλάσσης, ἀέρος, καὶ τῶν ὑπὲρ τὸν ἀέρα τόπων, θεοῦ τὸ πρὸς πάντα διαρκῆ τὴν δύναμιν ἔχειν καὶ πρό γε πάντων τὸ θανάτου καὶ φθορᾶς εἶναι κρείττονα. εἰ μὲν οὖν τινὸς τούτων καὶ τῶν τοιούτων ἐλλιπὴς ἦν ἡ περὶ αὐτὸν ἱστορία, εἰκότως τὸ μυστήριον ἡμῶν οἱ ἔξω τῆς πίστεως παρεγράφοντο· εἰ δὲ δι' ὧν νοεῖται θεός, πάντα ἐν τοῖς περὶ αὐτοῦ διηγήμασι καθορᾶται, τί τὸ ἐμποδίζον τῇ πίστει;

13 Ἀλλά, φησί, γέννησίς τε καὶ θάνατος ἴδιον τῆς σαρκικῆς ἐστὶ φύσεως. φημὶ κἀγώ. ἀλλὰ τὸ πρὸ τῆς γεν νήσεως καὶ τὸ μετὰ τὸν θάνατον τὴν τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν ἐκ φεύγει κοινότητα. εἰς γὰρ ἑκάτερα τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ζωῆς τὰ πέρατα βλέποντες, ἴσμεν καὶ ὅθεν ἀρχόμεθα καὶ εἰς τί καταλήγομεν. ἐκ πάθους γὰρ ἀρξάμενος τοῦ εἶναι ὁ ἄνθρωπος πάθει συναπαρτίζεται. ἐκεῖ δὲ οὔτε ἡ γέν νησις ἀπὸ πάθους ἤρξατο, οὔτε ὁ θάνατος εἰς πάθος κατέληξεν· οὔτε γὰρ τῆς γεννήσεως ἡδονὴ καθηγήσατο, οὔτε τὸν θάνατον φθορὰ διεδέξατο. ἀπιστεῖς τῷ θαύ ματι; χαίρω σου τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ· ὁμολογεῖς γὰρ πάντως δι' ὧν ὑπὲρ πίστιν ἡγῇ τὸ λεγόμενον, ὑπὲρ τὴν φύσιν εἶναι τὰ θαύματα. αὐτὸ οὖν τοῦτο τῆς θεότητος ἔστω σοι τοῦ φανέντος ἀπόδειξις, τὸ μὴ διὰ τῶν κατὰ φύσιν προιέναι τὸ κήρυγμα. εἰ γὰρ ἐντὸς ἦν τῶν τῆς φύσεως ὅρων τὰ περὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ διηγήματα, ποῦ τὸ θεῖον; εἰ δὲ ὑπερ βαίνει τὴν φύσιν ὁ λόγος, ἐν οἷς ἀπιστεῖς, ἐν τούτοις ἐστὶν ἡ ἀπόδειξις τοῦ θεὸν εἶναι τὸν κηρυσσόμενον. ἄνθρωπος μὲν γὰρ ἐκ συνδυασμοῦ τίκτεται καὶ μετὰ θάνατον ἐν διαφθορᾷ γίνεται. εἰ ταῦτα περιεῖχε τὸ κήρυγμα, οὐκ ἂν θεὸν εἶναι πάντως ᾠήθης τὸν ἐν τοῖς ἰδιώμασι τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν μαρτυρούμενον. ἐπεὶ δὲ γεγενῆσθαι μὲν αὐτὸν ἀκούεις, ἐκβεβηκέναι δὲ τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν τὴν κοινό τητα τῷ τε τῆς γενέσεως τρόπῳ καὶ τῷ ἀνεπιδέκτῳ τῆς εἰς φθορὰν ἀλλοιώσεως, καλῶς ἂν ἔχοι κατὰ τὸ ἀκόλουθον ἐπὶ τὸ ἕτερον τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ χρήσασθαι, εἰς τὸ μὴ ἄνθρωπον αὐτὸν ἕνα τῶν ἐν τῇ φύσει δεικνυμένων οἴεσθαι. ἀνάγκη γὰρ πᾶσα τὸν μὴ πιστεύοντα τὸν τοιοῦτον ἄνθρωπον εἶναι εἰς τὴν περὶ τοῦ θεὸν αὐτὸν εἶναι πίστιν ἐναχθῆναι. ὁ γὰρ γεγεννῆσθαι αὐτὸν