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18

and the faithful from the hearing of fornication, having posed an objection from the person of the one accused, as if he could say, 'All things are lawful for me,' he stops such an objection, saying, 'But not all things are profitable' [he says.] And showing that not all things are lawful, he says: Foods for the belly, and the belly for foods. Therefore, he says, there is no difference, since they have come into being for the need of the time, but in no way for the age to come. But the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God both raised our Lord, and will raise us by His power; saying this, that the body is not abolished. just as foods, and the belly so long as it is a receptacle for foods, since it would not be a belly—referring to this reception of foods—if it did not fulfill such a need; but with these being abolished, and in no way operating in the future, it could no longer properly be called a belly, since it is not a receptacle for foods. But the whole, body and spirit, would rightly be named as being raised, just as, of course, that of the Lord. But lest their argument, from their use of external syllogisms, become suspect to the many, because it is not from our own sources, having scrutinized the divine Scripture, and having taken some little thing like a spark from the whole body, and having strangled what is well-established, and having transferred it to their own darkness, as if having fled to a base of operations, they try to read to us an apostolic saying: That we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus, who will transform the body of our humiliation; and they say: Behold, the Apostle clearly declared that a transformation would take place; not paying attention to the apostolic purpose, or rather, willingly reasoning falsely in order to think they have an irrefutable proof. For the Apostle did not speak of a transformation of the body, but of the humiliation of the body, that is, of death, and corruption and weakness, and the rest of the humiliation throughout life. Concerning which things, writing more clearly to the Corinthians about the resurrection, he says: It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; corruption, and dishonor, and weakness, speak- 96.497 ing of both death and the corruption after death; and incorruption, and glory, and power, both the resurrection, and the good things after it. And after a little: That when the divine Scripture speaks of being altered or transformed, it does not in every case speak of the form of the physical composition, but of its properties, being altered either toward the more glorious, or toward the more dishonorable, it is possible to understand from the many things discussed in the divine Scripture, as when it says of the Master, that He was transfigured before them; but being transfigured from the more humble to the more glorious. For the evangelist immediately showed us the manner of the transfiguration, that His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as the light; the appearance of His face was different. He does not say this, that He changed the composition of His face, but the glory. And this transfiguration of His in glory, the Lord said was a likeness of His future coming from heaven. For He says, speaking to them about this vision, that 'There are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His glory;' or according to the other evangelist, 'until they see the kingdom of God having come in power;' speaking of Peter, and James, and John. For they immediately connect it. The one, saying, 'It came to pass about eight days after these words;' having numbered all of them, he added: 'And he takes Peter, and James, and John,' and the rest, he explained about the aforesaid vision; the other, 'After six days,' mentioning only the days in between. Let them cease, therefore, who attempt to misinterpret the meanings of divine things, abiding in the tradition of the apostles, and in the doctrine of the Churches, handed down from the beginning and being practiced, that having taken on the nature of men and

18

καὶ τῆς ἀκοῆς τοὺς πιστοὺς τῆς πορνείας, ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ ἐγκαλουμένου ἀντίθεσιν ποιησάμενος, ὡς δυναμένου λέγειν ἐκείνου, ὅτι Πάντα μοι ἔξεστιν, ἐπιστομίζων τὴν τοιαύτην ἀντίθεσιν, Ἀλλ' οὐ πάντα συμφέρει [φησί.] Καὶ δεικνὺς ὡς οὐ πάντα ἔξεστι, φησί· Τὰ βρώματα τῇ κοιλίᾳ, καὶ ἡ κοιλία τοῖς βρώμασι. Μηδὲν οὖν, φησὶ, τὸ διάφορον, ἐπειδὴ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ καιροῦ χρείαν γεγένηνται, μηδαμῶς δὲ πρὸς τὸν μέλλοντα αἰῶνα. Τὸ δὲ σῶμα, οὐ τῇ πορνείᾳ, ἀλλὰ τῷ Κυρίῳ, καὶ ὁ Κύριος τῷ σώματι. Ὁ δὲ Θεὸς καὶ τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν ἐξήγειρε, καὶ ἡμᾶς ἐξεγερεῖ διὰ τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ· τοῦτο λέγων, ὅτι τὸ σῶμα οὐ καταργεῖται. ὥσπερ τὰ βρώματα, καὶ ἡ κοιλία ἕως οὗ δοχεῖον βρωμάτων ἐστὶν, ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἂν εἴη κοιλία καὶ ταύτην λέγων τὴν τῶν βρωμάτων ὑποδοχὴν, μὴ τὴν τοιάνδε πληροῦσαν χρείαν· τούτων δὲ καταργουμένων, καὶ μηδαμῶς ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι ἐνεργούντων, οὐκέτι ἂν κυρίως λεχθείη κοιλία, μὴ δοχεῖον βρωμάτων ὑπάρχουσα. Τὸ δὲ σύμπαν, σῶμα καὶ πνεῦμα δικαίως ἂν ὀνομασθείη ἐγειρόμενον, ὥσπερ ἀμέλει τὸ τοῦ Κυρίου. Ἵνα δὲ μὴ τοῖς ἔξωθεν χρωμένων συλλογισμοῖς ὕποπτος ὁ παρ' αὐτῶν λόγος γένηται τοῖς πολλοῖς, ὅτιπερ οὐκ ἐκ τῶν ἡμετέρων τυγχάνει, ἐξονυχίσαντες τὴν θείαν Γραφὴν, καὶ μικρόν τι οἷον σπινθῆρα ἐξ ὅλου τοῦ σώματος ἀφελόντες, καὶ τὸ καλῶς κείμενον ἄγξαντες, καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἴδιον μεταθέντες σκοτὸν, ὥσπερ ὁρμητηρίῳ καταφυγόντες, ἀποστολικὴν ἡμῖν πειρῶνται ἀναγινώσκειν φωνήν· Ὅτι Σωτῆρα ἀπεκδεχόμεθα Κύριον Ἰησοῦν, ὃς μετασχηματίσει τὸ σῶμα τῆς ταπεινώσεως ἡμῶν· καί φασιν· Ἰδοὺ μετασχηματισμὸν προφανῶς ὁ Ἀπόστολος ἀπεφήνατο γενέσθαι· μὴ προσέχοντες τῷ ἀποστολικῷ σκοπῷ, ἢ ἑκόντες μᾶλλον παραλογιζόμενοι πρὸς τὸ ἄμαχον οἴεσθαι ἔχειν ἀπόδειξιν. Οὐ γὰρ τοῦ σώματος ἔφη μετασχηματισμὸν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, ἀλλὰ τῆς τοῦ σώματος ταπεινώσεως, τουτέστι θανάτου, καὶ φθορᾶς καὶ ἀσθενείας, καὶ τῆς λοιπῆς κατὰ τὸν βίον ταπεινώσεως. Περὶ ὧν σαφέστερον ἐν τῷ περὶ ἀναστάσεως Κορινθίοις γράφων φησί· Σπείρεται ἐν φθορᾷ, ἐγείρεται ἐν ἀφθαρσίᾳ· σπείρεται ἐν ἀτιμίᾳ, ἐγείρεται ἐν δόξῃ· σπείρεται ἐν ἀσθενείᾳ, ἐγείρεται ἐν δυνάμει· φθορὰν, καὶ ἀτιμίαν, καὶ ἀσθένειαν, τόν τε θάνατον, καὶ τὴν μετὰ θάνατον λέ 96.497 γων φθοράν· ἀφθαρσίαν δὲ, καὶ δόξαν, καὶ δύναμιν, τήν τε ἀνάστασιν, καὶ τὰ μετ' αὐτὴν ἀγαθά. Καὶ μετ' ὀλίγα· Ὅτι δὲ μεταποιεῖσθαι ἢ μετασχηματίζεσθαι ἡ θεία Γραφὴ, οὐ πάντως τοῦ τῆς φυσικῆς συνθέσεως λέγει σχήματος, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῶν προσόντων, εἴτε ἐπὶ τὸ ἐνδοξότερον, εἴτε ἐπὶ τὸ ἀτιμότερον μεταποιουμένων, ἔνεστιν ἐκ τῶν πολλῶν κατανοῆσαι τῶν ἐν τῇ θείᾳ κινουμένων Γραφῇ, ὡς ὅταν ἐπὶ τοῦ ∆εσπότου λέγῃ, ὅτι μετεμορφώθη ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν· ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τοῦ εὐτελεστέρου ἐπὶ τὸ ἐνδοξότερον μεταμορφωθείς. Ἐδήλωσε γὰρ ἡμῖν ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς εὐθὺς τὸν τρόπον τῆς μεταμορφώσεως, ὅτι ἔλαμψε τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ὡς ἥλιος, τὰ δὲ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο ὡς τὸ φῶς· τὸ εἶδος τοῦ προσώπου αὐτοῦ ἕτερον. Οὐ τοῦτο λέγει, ὅτι τὴν θέσιν αὐτοῦ ἠμείψατο τοῦ προσώπου, ἀλλὰ τὴν δόξαν. Καὶ ταύτην αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐπὶ τῇ δόξῃ μεταμόρφωσιν, ὁ Κύριος εἶπεν εἶναι τῆς μελλούσης αὐτοῦ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ παρουσίας ὁμοιότητα. Φησὶ γὰρ πρὸς τοὺς περὶ τῆς ὀπτασίας ταύτης λέγων, ὅτι Εἰσί τινες τῶν ὧδε ἑστηκότων, οἵ τινες οὐ μὴ γεύσωνται θανάτου, ἕως ἂν ἴδωσι τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐρχόμενον ἐν τῇ δόξῃ αὐτοῦ· ἢ κατὰ τὸν ἄλλον εὐαγγελιστὴν, ἕως ἂν ἴδωσι τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐληλυθυῖαν ἐν δυνάμει· περὶ Πέτρου λέγων, καὶ Ἰακώβου, καὶ Ἰωάννου. Εὐθὺς γὰρ συνάπτουσιν. ὁ μὲν, Ἐγένοντο, λέγων, ὡς ἡμέραι ὀκτὼ μετὰ τοὺς λόγους τούτους· τὰς πάσας ἀριθμήσας, ἐπήγαγε· Καὶ παραλαμβάνει τὸν Πέτρον, καὶ Ἰάκωβον, καὶ Ἰωάννην, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς, περὶ τῆς προκειμένης ἐξηγήσατο ὀπτασίας· ὁ δὲ, Μεθ' ἡμέρας ἓξ, τὰς μέσας μόνας μνημονεύσας. Παυσάσθωσαν τοίνυν οἱ τῶν θείων παρεξηγεῖσθαι τὰς ἐννοίας ἐπιχειροῦντες, τῇ τῶν ἀποστόλων ἐμμένοντες παραδόσει, καὶ τῇ ἐξ ἀρχῆς παραδοθείσῃ, καὶ ἐμπολιτευομένῃ τῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν δόξῃ, ὅτι τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων παραλαβοῦσα καὶ