of wild beasts, having disbelieved God, who promised them the land, thus will they be saved by gazing at the uplifted serpent because of God who commanded this to be done. For not the nature of the thing constructed but the one who commanded them for this to be done provided the cause of their salvation. And did not the intelligible serpents subject men to death through sins? injecting into them the venom of their own wickedness. And indeed, when much death against souls had occurred (this is what follows sin), God, having been besought, was pleased for his own son to be lifted up, so that all those who through faith look to him might be delivered from the harm of the intelligible serpents and have eternal life. And eternal life is not the common life which also belongs to other living creatures, but that which comes from faith and the rest of virtue. 40 And from the present saying it is possible to refute those who say that the appellation "son" applies
only to the one from Mary, but not indeed to the God Logos. 〚For behold, the son of God is also the one sent into the world. But what was sent into the world was not what was taken from the virgin (for here it was formed, having been born from her), but God the Logos, being truly and true light. For concerning the same one do they offer an embassy to God who say: "Send forth your light and your truth," and again it is written:
"God sent forth his word and healed them."〛 41 But someone will say that the interpretation is not very intelligently understood, as though Jesus has not come to judge the world now, adducing what follows next: "And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world." And in this very gospel Jesus says: "For judgment I have come into the world." Therefore, the difficulty raised must be resolved. And even if Jesus, having come, does both things, to judge the world and to save it, yet the one is for the sake of the other. For he came into the world for judgment in order to save it (for he does not save in order to judge), and just as a physician comes to a sick person in order to heal him. For this is the goal of the physician's arrival, even if certain other things happen, such as cutting or cautery. For the cautery is not primarily for cutting ** but for healing. Next after these things is, "He who believes in him is not judged." For he who through faith has attained to perfect salvation is not subject to judgment. But he who has not believed, being self-condemned, has already been judged. 42 And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light. For if it had not come into the
world, the light, those who did not do good things would have had ignorance to blame, 〚so that those who practice evils would have had grounds for a defense, saying that they did not know them
to be evil〛. But since the light has come into the world, every erroneous defense being put to flight, there will be a judgment that examines the deeds and the mindset [from] each one; so that those who loved the light are accepted and obtain the kingdom of God, having themselves also become light from their love for it through good works and a true mindset so as to hate the darkness (this is wickedness and impiety), but those who turned away from virtue and God, its provider, are to experience eternal punishments; since, being eager to have wicked works, they hated the light, which through its manifestation exposed their evil works; "For everyone who does evil things hates the light," not wanting to come to it at all, so that his works, being wicked, might not be exposed, wanting to hide them so that he might not be condemned by others; but even if this one hates the light, yet the lover of truth comes to the light, wanting the works which he does to be made manifest, that in God they are
accomplished. 〚He said well: "He who does evil things" and "He who does the truth," saying neither "He who did" nor "He who has done." For it is possible also for the
θηρίων ἀπιστήσαντες θεῷ, τῷ τὴν γῆν αὐτοῖς ἐπαγγειλαμένῳ, οὕτως σωθήσονται ἀτενίζοντες τῷ ὑψωθέντι ὄφει διὰ τὸν προστά ξαντα τοῦτο γενέσθαι θεόν. οὐ γὰρ ἡ τοῦ κατασκευάσματος φύσις ἀλλ' ὁ ἐντειλάμενος αὐτοῖς τοῦτο γενέσθαι τῆς σωτηρίας αὐτοῖς τὴν αἰτίαν παρέσχεν. καὶ οἱ νοητοὶ δὲ ὄφεις θανάτῳ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ὑπέβαλον δι' ἁμαρτημάτων; τὸν ἰὸν αὐτοῖς τῆς ἰδίας πονηρίας ἐνιέντες. καὶ δὴ πολλοῦ τοῦ κατὰ τῶν ψυχῶν θανάτου γεγενημένου (οὗτος δέ ἐστιν ὁ ἑπόμενος τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ), παρακληθεὶς ὁ θεὸς ὑψωθῆναι τὸν ἑαυτοῦ υἱὸν εὐδόκησεν, ἵνα πάντες οἱ διὰ πίστεως εἰς αὐτὸν ὁρῶντες ἀπαλλάττωνται τῆς τῶν νοητῶν ὄφεων βλάβης καὶ ζωὴν αἰώνιον ἔχωσι. ζωὴ δὲ αἰώνιός ἐστιν οὐχ ἡ κοινὴ ἥτις καὶ ἑτέροις ζῴοις ὑπάρχει, ἀλλ' ἡ ἐκ τῆς πίστεως καὶ τῆς λοιπῆς ἀρετῆς ἐγγινομένη. 40 Καὶ ἐκ τοῦ παρόντος ῥητοῦ ἐλέγξαι ἔστι τοὺς λέγοντας τὴν «υἱὸς» προσηγορίαν ἐπὶ
μόνου τοῦ ἐκ Μαρίας κεῖσθαι, μὴ μὴν ἐπὶ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγου. 〚ἰδοὺ γὰρ καὶ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστὶν ὁ εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἀποσταλείς. ἀπεστάλη δὲ εἰς τὸν κόσμον οὐ τὸ ἐκ τῆς παρθένου ληφθὲν (ἐνταῦθα γὰρ συνέστη ἐξ αὐτῆς τεχθέν), ἀλλὰ θεὸς λόγος ὢν ἀληθείᾳ καὶ φῶς ἀληθινόν. περὶ γὰρ τοῦ αὐτοῦ πρεσβείαν προσά γουσι τῷ θεῷ οἱ λέγοντες· «Ἐξαπόστειλον τὸ φῶς σου καὶ τὴν ἀλή «θειάν σου», καὶ πάλιν γέγραπται·
«Ἐξαπέστειλεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν λόγον «αὐτοῦ καὶ ἰάσατο αὐτούς».〛 41 Ἐρεῖ δέ τις μὴ πάνυ συνετῶς ἐννοεῖσθαι τὸ ἑρμηνευθὲν ὡς μὴ ἐληλυθότος Ἰησοῦ κρῖναι νῦν τὸν κόσμον, παρατιθέμενος τὸ ἐπι φερόμενον ἑξῆς· «Αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ κρίσις, ὅτι τὸ φῶς ἐλήλυθεν εἰς «τὸν κόσμον». καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ τούτῳ τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ Ἰησοῦς λέγει· «Εἰς κρίμα εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἐλήλυθα». λυτέον οὖν τὸ ἐπαπορηθέν. κἂν ἀμφότερα Ἰησοῦς ἐληλυθὼς ποιῇ, τό τε κρῖναι τὸν κόσμον καὶ τὸ σώζειν αὐτόν, ἀλλὰ θάτερον διὰ θάτερόν ἐστιν. εἰς κρίμα γὰρ ἐλήλυθεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἵνα σώσῃ αὐτόν (οὐ γὰρ σώζει ἵνα κρίνῃ), καὶ ὥσπερ ἰατρὸς πρὸς κάμνοντα ἔρχεται ἵνα ὑγιάσῃ αὐτόν. τοῦτο γὰρ τέλος τῆς τοῦ ἰατροῦ ἀφίξεως, κἂν ἄλλα τινὰ γίνηται, οἷον τομὴ <ἢ> καῦσις. οὐ γὰρ προηγουμένως ἐπὶ τῷ τεμεῖν ** ἡ καῦσις, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τῷ ὑγιάσαι. ἑξῆς ἐπὶ τούτοις τὸ «Ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν «οὐ κρίνεται». ὁ γὰρ διὰ πίστεως ἐπὶ τὴν τελείαν σωτηρίαν φθάσας οὐχ ὑπόκειται κρίσει. ὁ μέντοι μὴ πιστεύσας αὐτοκατάκριτος ὢν ἤδη κέκριται. 42 Αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ κρίσις, ὅτι τὸ φῶς ἐλήλυθεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον καὶ ἠγάπησαν οἱ ἄνθρωποι μᾶλλον τὸ σκότος ἢ τὸ φῶς . Εἰ γὰρ μὴ ἐληλύθει εἰς τὸν
κόσμον τὸ φῶς, εἶχον ἄγνοιαν τῶν καλῶν αἰτιάσασθαι οἱ μὴ πράξαντες αὐτά, 〚ὡς ἂν οἱ τὰς κακίας ἐνεργοῦντες τόπον ἀπολογίας εἶχον, φάσκοντες μὴ ἐγνωκέναι αὐτὰ
ὄντα κακά〛. ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ τὸ φῶς ἐλήλυθεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον, πάσης πεπλανημένης ἀπολογίας φυγαδευομένης κρίσις ἔσται ἐξεταστικὴ τῶν πράξεων καὶ τοῦ φρονήματος [ἐξ] ἑκάστου· ὡς ἀποδεχθῆναι καὶ βασιλείας θεοῦ τυχεῖν τοὺς τὸ φῶς ἀγαπήσαντας, ἐκ τῆς πρὸς αὐτὸ ἀγαπήσεως φῶς καὶ αὐτοὺς γεγενημένους δι' ἔργων ἀγαθῶν καὶ φρονήματος ἀληθοῦς <ὡς> μισῆσαι τὸ σκότος (τοῦτο δέ ἐστιν ἡ κακία καὶ ἡ ἀσέβεια), τοὺς δὲ ἀποστραφέντας τὴν ἀρετὴν καὶ τὸν ταύτης πάροχον θεὸν κολάσεων αἰωνίων πειρασθῆναι· ἐπείπερ σπουδά ζοντες ἔχειν ἔργα πονηρὰ ἐμίσησαν τὸ φῶς, διὰ φανερώσεως ἐλέγχον αὐτῶν τὰ φαῦλα ἔργα· «Πᾶς γὰρ ὁ φαῦλα πράσσων μισεῖ «τὸ φῶς», οὐδ' ὅλως προσελθεῖν αὐτῷ βουλόμενος, ἵνα μὴ ἐλεγχθῇ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ ὄντα πονηρά, κρύπτειν αὐτὰ βουλόμενος ἵνα μὴ παρ' ἄλλους καταγνωσθῇ· ἀλλ' εἰ καὶ οὗτος μισεῖ τὸ φῶς, ἀλλ' οὖν ὁ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐραστὴς ἔρχεται πρὸς τὸ φῶς, φανερωθῆναι θέλων τὰ ἔργα ἃ ποιεῖ ὅτι ἐν θεῷ ἐστιν
ἐπιτελούμενα. 〚καλῶς εἶπεν· «Ὁ «τὰ φαῦλα πράσσων» καὶ «Ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν», οὔτε «Ὁ πράξας» εἰπὼν οὔτε «Ὁ ποιήσας». ἐγχωρεῖ γὰρ καὶ τὸν