19

angels guard, but the dark ones the wicked. A wealth of knowledge and wisdom adds many angels to us; but the unclean man is separated even from the angel given to him from childhood. For spiritual friendship is virtue and knowledge of God, through which we are joined in friendship to the holy powers, if indeed repentant men become a cause of joy to the angels.

TITLE VIII. -Concerning the formation and fashioning of man.

God made man; in the image of God he made him; male and female he made them. God formed man, taking dust from the earth, and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul. God cast a deep sleep upon Adam; and he slept, and he took one of his ribs, and filled up flesh in its place, and built it 95.1100 into a woman, and brought her to Adam. And Adam said: This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman, because she was taken out of her man; for this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall be one flesh. Your hands made me, and formed me; you clothed me with skin and flesh, and wove me together with bones and sinews. Remember that you formed me as clay, and to earth you turn me back again. But all things are vanity, every man living; yet man walks in an image, but he is troubled in vain. You will take away their spirit, and they will fail, and to their dust they will return. All things were made from the dust, and all things will return to the earth. God created man for incorruption, and made him in the image of His own eternity. You who made all things by your word and by your wisdom fashioned man, that he might have dominion over the creatures that were made by you, and rule the world in holiness and righteousness, and judge judgment in uprightness. I myself am a mortal man, like all others, and a descendant of the first-formed, earth-born man, and in my mother's womb I was sculpted as flesh, in a ten-month period being compacted in blood, from the seed of a man, and the pleasure that came with sleep. And when I was born, I drew in the common air, and fell upon the earth which is of like nature, uttering my first sound, the same as all, crying; in swaddling clothes I was nourished and with cares. For no king had any other beginning of birth; but for all there is one entrance into the world, and a like departure. The Lord created man from the earth; he gave him a number of days and a season, and gave him authority over it. In his own image he made him, and put the fear of him upon all flesh, to have dominion over beasts and reptiles. He filled him with counsel, and glory, and eyes, and the knowledge of understanding, and showed him good and evil. All things that are from the earth shall return to the earth. We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. The Creator and Lord of all himself 95.1101 rejoices in his works. For by his exceedingly great power he established the heavens, and by his incomprehensible understanding he adorned them; and the earth he separated from the water that surrounds it, and established it upon the sure foundation of his own will. Upon these things, the most excellent and exceedingly great man he formed with his own and blameless hands, the character of his own image. For thus says God: Let us make man in our image, and after our likeness. And God made man, male and female he made them. Having therefore finished all these things, he made them, and blessed them, and said: Increase and multiply. Who has fastened an unmelted substance to bones? and who bound them with sinews to be stretched, and to be relaxed around

19

φυλάττουσιν ἄγγελοι, τοὺς δὲ φαύλους σκοτεινοί. Πλοῦτος γνώσεως καὶ σοφίας προστίθησιν ἡμῖν ἀγγέλους πολλούς· ὁ δὲ ἀκάθαρτος καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ δοθέντος αὐτῷ ἐκ παιδὸς ἀγγέλου χωρίζεται. Ἡ γὰρ πνευματικὴ φιλία ἔστιν ἀρετὴ καὶ γνῶσις Θεοῦ, δι' ὧν συναπτόμεθα πρὸς φιλίαν ταῖς ἁγίαις δυνάμεσιν, εἴ γε οἱ μετανοοῦντες ἄνθρωποι χαρᾶς αἴτιοι γίνονται τοῖς ἀγγέλοις.

ΤΙΤΛ. Ηʹ. -Περὶ τῆς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου πλάσεως καὶ κατασκευῆς.

Ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον· κατ' εἰκόνα Θεοῦ ἐποίησεν αὐτόν· ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἐποίησεν αὐτούς. Ἔπλασεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον, λαβὼν χοῦν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, καὶ ἐνεφύσησεν εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ πνοὴν ζωῆς, καὶ ἐγένετο ἄνθρωπος εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν. Ἐπέβαλεν ὁ Θεὸς ἔκστασιν ἐπὶ τὸν Ἀδάμ· καὶ ὕπνωσεν, καὶ ἔλαβεν μίαν ἐκ πλευρῶν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐνεπλήρωσε σάρκα ἀντ' αὐτῆς, καὶ ᾠκοδόμησεν αὐ 95.1100 τὴν εἰς γυναῖκα, καὶ ἤγαγεν αὐτὴν πρὸς τὸν Ἀδάμ. Καὶ εἶπεν Ἀδάμ· Τοῦτο νῦν ἐστιν ὀστοῦν ἐκ τῶν ὀστέων μου, καὶ σὰρξ ἐκ τῆς σαρκός μου. Αὕτη κληθήσεται γυνὴ, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς αὐτῆς ἐλήφθη αὐτή· ἕνεκεν τούτου καταλείψει ἄνθρωπος τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, καὶ προσκολληθήσεται πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν. Αἱ χεῖρές σου ἐποίησάν με, καὶ ἔπλασαν· δέρμα καὶ κρέας ἐνέδυσας, ὀστέοις δὲ καὶ νεύροις με ἐνεῖρας. Μνήσθητι ὅτι πηλόν με ἔπλασας, εἰς δὲ γῆν με πάλιν ἀποστρέφεις. Πλὴν τὰ σύμπαντα ματαιότης, πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ζῶν· μέντοι γε ἐν εἰκόνι διαπορεύεται ἄνθρωπος, πλὴν μάτην ταράσσεται. Ἀντανελεῖς τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐκλείψουσι, καὶ εἰς τὸν χοῦν αὐτῶν ἐπιστρέψουσιν. Τὰ πάντα ἐγένετο ἐκ τοῦ χοὸς, καὶ τὰ πάντα ἐπιστρέψει εἰς τὴν γῆν. Ὁ Θεὸς ἔκτισε τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐπὶ ἀφθαρσίᾳ, καὶ κατ' εἰκόνα τῆς ἰδίας ἀϊδιότητος ἐποίησεν αὐτόν. Ὁ ποιήσας τὰ πάντα ἐν λόγῳ σου καὶ τῇ σοφίᾳ σου κατασκευάσας ἄνθρωπον, ἵνα δεσπόζῃ τῶν ὑπὸ σοῦ γενομένων κτισμάτων, καὶ διέπῃ τὸν κόσμον ἐν ὁσιότητι καὶ δικαιοσύνῃ, καὶ ἐν εὐθύτητι κρίσιν κρίνῃ. Εἰμὶ μὲν κἀγὼ θνητὸς ἄνθρωπος, ἴσος ἅπασιν καὶ γηγενοῦς ἀπόγονος πρωτοπλάστου, καὶ ἐν κοιλίᾳ μητρὸς ἐγλύφην σὰρξ, δεκαμηνιαίῳ χρόνῳ παγεὶς ἐν αἵματι, ἐκ σπέρματος ἀνδρὸς, καὶ ἡδονῆς ὕπνῳ συνελθούσης. Καὶ ἐγὼ δὲ γενόμενος ἔσπασα τὸν κοινὸν ἀέρα, καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν ὁμοιοπαθῆ κατέπεσα γῆν, πρώτην φωνὴν τὴν ὁμοίαν πᾶσιν ἴσα κλαίων· ἐν σπαργάνοις ἀνετράφην καὶ ἐν φροντίσιν. Οὐδεὶς γὰρ βασιλεὺς ἑτέραν ἔσχε γενέσεως ἀρχήν· μία δὲ πάντων εἴσοδος εἰς τὸν κόσμον, ἔξοδος ἴση. Κύριος ἔκτισε ἐκ γῆς ἄνθρωπον· ἡμέρας ἀριθμοὺς καὶ καιρὸν ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ, καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ἐξουσίαν ἐπ' αὐτῆς. Κατ' εἰκόνα αὐτοῦ ἐποίησεν αὐτὸν, καὶ ἔθηκεν τὸν φόβον αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ πάσης σαρκὸς, κατακυριεύειν θηρίων καὶ ἑρπετῶν. ∆ιαβούλιον, καὶ δόξαν, καὶ ὀφθαλμοὺς, καὶ ἐπιστήμην συνέσεως ἐνέπλησεν αὐτὸν, καὶ ἀγαθὰ καὶ κακὰ ὑπέδειξεν αὐτῷ. Πάντα ὅσα ἀπὸ γῆς, εἰς τὴν γῆν ἐπελεύσεται. Αὐτοῦ ἐσμεν ποίημα, κτισθέντες ἐν ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, οἷς προητοίμασεν ὁ Θεὸς, ἵνα ἐν αὐτῷ περιπατήσωμεν. Βουληθεὶς ἀπεκύησεν ἡμᾶς λόγῳ ἀληθείας, εἰς τὸ εἶναι ἡμᾶς ἀπαρχήν τινα τῶν ἑαυτοῦ κτισμάτων. Αὐτὸς ὁ ∆ημιουργὸς καὶ ∆εσπότης τῶν ἁπάντων 95.1101 ἐπὶ τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῦ ἀγάλλεται. Τῷ γὰρ παμμεγεθεστάτῳ αὐτοῦ κράτει οὐρανοὺς ἐστήριξεν, καὶ τῇ ἀκαταλήπτῳ αὐτοῦ συνέσει διεκόσμησεν αὐτούς· γῆν δὲ ἐχώρισεν ἀπὸ τοῦ περιέχοντος αὐτὴν ὕδατος, καὶ ἥδρασεν ἐπὶ τὸν ἀσφαλῆ τοῦ ἰδίου θελήματος θεμέλιον. Ἐπὶ τούτοις τὸν ἐξοχώτατον καὶ παμμεγέθη ἄνθρωπον ταῖς ἰδίαις αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀμώμοις χερσὶν ἔπλασεν, τῆς ἑαυτοῦ εἰκόνος χαρακτῆρα. Οὕτως γάρ φησιν ὁ Θεός· Ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον κατ' εἰκόνα ἡμετέραν, καὶ καθ' ὁμοίωσιν. Καὶ ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἐποίησεν αὐτούς. Ταῦτα οὖν πάντα τελειώσας, ἐποίησεν αὐτὰ, καὶ ηὐλόγησε, καὶ εἶπεν· Αὐξάνεσθε καὶ πληθύνεσθε. Τίς ὀστέων ἐξῆπται ἄτηκτον οὐσίαν; τίς δὲ συνέδησεν ἐπιτείνεσθαι νεύροις, καὶ ἀνίεσθαι περὶ