19

but only cooperating, not being corrupted with or changed with, but causing them to grow, while not being diminished by them, in addition to remaining immutable and unconfused, since it is also purely without share in any alteration. A witness to these things is Porphyry, who moved his tongue against Christ. Strong are the testimonies of enemies on our behalf and admitting no contradiction. This Porphyry, then, in the second book of his *Miscellaneous Questions*, writes verbatim as follows: One must not despair, therefore, that it is possible for a certain substance to be taken for the completion of another substance and to be a part of a substance, remaining according to its own nature after completing the other substance, both becoming one with another and preserving its own oneness, and what is more, not being changed itself, but changing those things in which it might be into its own activity by its presence. He says these things concerning the union of the soul and the body. But if the argument is true in the case of the soul because it is incorporeal, how much more so in the case of the divine Word, who is incomparably and in truth more incorporeal. This directly stops the mouths of those who attempt to speak against the union of God with man. For many of the Greeks make a mockery of this, saying it is impossible and improbable and unseemly for the divine to be joined to mortal nature by mixture and union; but we, using their own esteemed witnesses, refute the charge. It is said by some, and especially by the Eunomians, that God the Word was united to the body not in substance but according to the powers of each. For it was not the substances that were united or mixed, but the powers of the body were mixed with the divine powers; and the powers of the body—that is, of the organic body, according to Aristotle—they say are, of course, the senses; with these, therefore, the divine powers being mixed, worked out the union, according to them. But no one, I think, would agree with them when they declare the senses to be bodily powers. For it has been clearly defined in the preceding sections what things are properties of the body, what of the soul, and what of both together; and among the properties of both together we placed the senses that operate through organs; but the organs themselves we say belong to the body. It is better, therefore, as has been said before, that the union of the substances takes place without confusion, according to the proper nature of incorporeal beings, with the more divine nature being in no way harmed by the inferior; but with the latter only being benefited by the more divine. Since a purely incorporeal nature passes unhindered through all things, but nothing passes through it; so that by its passing through all things it is united; but by nothing passing through it, it remains unmixed and unconfused. The mode of the union, therefore, is not good pleasure, as it seems to some of the famous men, but nature is the cause. For one might reasonably say that the assumption of a body happened according to good pleasure; but that what is united is not confused happens according to the proper nature of God, not according to good pleasure. For the grades of souls and the ascents and descents which Origen introduces, having no connection to the divine scriptures, nor harmonizing with the doctrines of the Christians, must be omitted. 4 Concerning the Body Every body is a compound of the four elements and has come into being from these; but the bodies of animals with blood are proximately from the four humors: blood, phlegm, and yellow and black bile; and the bodies of bloodless animals from the other humors and from what is analogous to blood in them. It is called 'proximately' when something comes into being immediately from those things themselves. Thus, the four humors are a compound of the four elements; and the homogeneous parts, which are the parts of the body, are a compound of the humors. And they liken black bile to earth; phlegm to water; blood to air; and yellow bile to fire. Every compound of elements is either solid or liquid or spirit. But Aristotle holds that the bodies of animals come into being proximately from blood alone. For from this all the parts of the animal are proximately nourished and grow; and the seed also has its origin from blood. But since from one and the

19

ἀλλὰ συμπράττων μόνον, οὐδὲ συμφθειρόμενος καὶ συναλλοιούμενος ἀλλὰ συναύξων μὲν ἐκεῖνα, αὐτὸς δὲ μὴ μειούμενος ὑπ' αὐτῶν, πρὸς τῷ μένειν ἄτρεπτος καὶ ἀσύγχυτος, ἐπειδὴ καὶ καθαρῶς πάσης ἀλλοιώσεως ἀμέτοχός ἐστιν. μάρτυς τούτων Πορφύριος ὁ κατὰ Χριστοῦ κινήσας τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γλῶσσαν. ἰσχυραὶ δὲ τῶν ἐχθρῶν αἱ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν μαρτυρίαι καὶ μηδεμίαν ἀντιλογίαν ἐπιδεχόμεναι. οὗτος τοίνυν ὁ Πορφύριος ἐν τῷ δευτέρω λόγῳ τῶν συμμίκτων ζητημάτων γράφει κατὰ λέξιν οὕτως· οὐκ ἀπογνωστέον οὖν ἐνδέχεσθαί τινα οὐσίαν παραληφθῆναι εἰς συμπλήρωσιν ἑτέρας οὐσίας καὶ εἶναι μέρος οὐσίας μένουσαν κατὰ τὴν ἑαυτῆς φύσιν μετὰ τὸ συμπληροῦν ἄλλην οὐσίαν, ἕν τε σὺν ἄλλῳ γενο μένην καὶ τὸ καθ' ἑαυτὸν ἓν διασώζουσαν, καὶ τὸ μεῖζον αὐτὴν μὲν μὴ τρεπομένην, τρέπουσαν δὲ ἐκεῖνα ἐν οἷς ἂν γίγνηται εἰς τὴν ἑαυτῆς ἐνέργειαν τῇ παρουσίᾳ. λέγει δὲ ταῦτα περὶ τῆς ἑνώσεως τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ τοῦ σώματος. εἰ δὲ ἐπὶ τῆς ψυχῆς ἀληθὲς ὁ λόγος διὰ τὸ ἀσώματον, πολλῷ πλεῖον ἐπὶ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγου, τοῦ μᾶλλον ἀσυγκρίτως καὶ κατὰ ἀλήθειαν ὄντος ἀσωμάτου. ὅπερ ἄντικρυς ἀποφράττει τὰ στόματα τῶν ἐπιχειρούντων κατηγορεῖν τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἑνώσεως πρὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον. τοῦτο γὰρ Ἑλλήνων οἱ πολλοὶ γέλωτα ποιοῦνται, φάσκοντες ἀδύνατον καὶ ἀπίθανον καὶ ἀπρεπὲς εἶναι συγγενέσθαι θνητῇ φύσει τὸ θεῖον κατὰ κρᾶσιν καὶ ἕνωσιν· ἀλλ' ἡμεῖς τοῖς εὐδοκίμοις αὐτῶν χρησάμενοι μάρτυσιν ἀποδυόμεθα τὴν αἰτίαν. λέγεται δὲ παρά τισιν, καὶ μάλιστα παρὰ τοῖς Εὐνομιανοῖς, ἡνῶσθαι τὸν Θεὸν λόγον τῷ σώματι οὐ κατ' οὐσίαν ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὰς ἑκατέρου δυνάμεις. οὐ γὰρ εἶναι τὰς οὐσίας τὰς ἑνωθείσας ἢ κραθείσας, ἀλλὰ τὰς δυνάμεις τοῦ σώματος ταῖς δυνάμεσι ταῖς θείαις συγκεκρᾶσθαι· δυνάμεις δὲ τοῦ σώματος πάντως δήπου τοῦ ὀργανικοῦ κατὰ Ἀριστοτέλην λέγουσιν εἶναι τὰς αἰσθήσεις· ταύταις οὖν αἱ θεῖαι δυνάμεις συγκιρνάμεναι, τὴν ἕνωσιν ἀπειργάσαντο κατ' αὐτούς. οὐδεὶς δ' ἂν αὐτοῖς οἶμαι συγχωρήσειεν τὰς αἰσθήσεις σωματικὰς δυνάμεις ἀποφαινομένοις. διώρισται γὰρ ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν σαφῶς τίνα μὲν ἴδια σώματος, τίνα δὲ ψυχῆς, τίνα δὲ τοῦ συναμφοτέρου· καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἰδίοις τοῦ συναμφοτέρου τὰς δι' ὀργάνων αἰσθήσεις ἐτίθεμεν· αὐτὰ δὲ τὰ ὄργανα τοῦ σώματος λέγομεν εἶναι. βέλτιον οὖν ὡς προείρηται κατὰ τὴν οἰκείαν φύσιν τῶν ἀσωμάτων ἀσυγχύτως τὴν ἕνωσιν γίγνεσθαι τῶν οὐσιῶν, μηδὲν παραβλαπτομένης τῆς θειοτέρας ἐκ τῆς ὑποδεεστέρας· ἀλλὰ ταύτης μόνον ὠφελουμένης ἐκ τῆς θειοτέρας· ἐπείπερ ἡ καθαρῶς ἀσώματος φύσις χωρεῖ μὲν ἀκωλύτως διὰ πάντων, δι' αὐτῆς δὲ οὐδέν· ὥστε τῷ μὲν χωρεῖν αὐτὴν διὰ πάντων ἡνῶσθαι· τῷ δὲ μηδὲν δι' αὐτῆς μένειν ἄμικτον καὶ ἀσύγχυτον. οὐκ εὐδοκία τοίνυν ὁ τρόπος τῆς ἑνώσεως, ὥς τισιν τῶν ἐνδόξων ἀνδρῶν δοκεῖ, ἀλλ' ἡ φύσις αἰτία. τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἀναλαβεῖν σῶμα κατ' εὐδοκίαν εἴποι τις ἂν εὐλόγως γεγενῆσθαι· τὸ δὲ ἑνούμενον μὴ συγχυθῆναι κατὰ τὴν οἰκείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ φύσιν, οὐ κατ' εὐδοκίαν γίνεται. τοὺς γὰρ βαθμοὺς τῶν ψυχῶν καὶ τὰς ἀναβάσεις καὶ καταβάσεις ἃς Ὠριγένης εἰσάγει, μηδὲν προσηκούσας ταῖς θείαις γραφαῖς, μηδὲ συνᾳδούσας τοῖς τῶν Χριστιανῶν δόγμασιν, παραλειπτέον. 4 περὶ σώματοσ Πᾶν σῶμα τῶν τεσσάρων στοιχείων ἐστὶ σύγκριμα καὶ ἐκ τούτων γέγονεν· προσεχῶς δὲ τὰ τῶν ἐναίμων ζῴων ἐκ τῶν τεσσάρων χυμῶν, αἵματος, φλέγματος ξανθῆς τε χολῆς καὶ μέλανος· τὰ δὲ τῶν ἀναίμων ἔκ τε τῶν ἄλλων χυμῶν καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἀναλογοῦντος ἐν αὐτοῖς τῷ αἵματι. προσεχῶς δὲ λέγεται ὅταν ἀμέσως ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐκείνων τι γίνηται. ὡς εἶναι τῶν μὲν τεσσάρων στοιχείων σύγκριμα τοὺς τέσσαρας χυμούς· τῶν δὲ χυμῶν τὰ ὁμοιομερῆ, ἅ ἐστι μόρια τοῦ σώματος. εἰκάζουσι δὲ τῇ μὲν γῇ τὴν μέλαιναν χολήν· τῷ δὲ ὕδατι τὸ φλέγμα· τῷ δὲ ἀέρι τὸ αἷμα· τῷ δὲ πυρὶ τὴν ξανθὴν χολήν. πᾶν δὲ σύγκριμα στοιχείων ἢ στερεόν ἐστιν ἢ ὑγρὸν ἢ πνεῦμα. Ἀριστοτέλης δὲ προσεχῶς ἐξ αἵματος μόνου βούλεται γίνεσθαι τὰ σώματα τῶν ζῴων. ἐκ τούτου γὰρ καὶ τρέφεσθαι προσεχῶς καὶ αὔξεσθαι πάντα τὰ τοῦ ζῴου μόρια· καὶ τὸ σπέρμα δὲ τὴν γένεσιν ἐξ αἵματος ἔχειν. ἀλλ' ἐπείπερ ἐξ ἑνὸς καὶ τοῦ