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he says: "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?" having said expressly that all are appointed to the service of men. For again he says: "For the earnest expectation of the creation waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God," here calling "creation" the angels, and "sons of God," men, and "earnest expectation," to stretch from the head and to see from afar and to hope for something useful concerning men. 2.86 For when man had sinned and received the sentence of death, the angels were very grieved, considering the hopelessness of everything, since man was the bond of all creation and was the image of God, and from the sentence considering the hopelessness both of themselves and of everything, they did not wish to minister and serve any longer for him in vain; but, he says, "because of him who subjected it in hope," as if: God did not allow their will to be done, but gave them some hope, so that they should not despair, but hope that something useful would come to men in due time. Paragraph 2.87 On the sixth day the demon who hates the good, seeing man honored and deemed worthy of much care, out of envy tried to drag him down with him. But not knowing from where to attack him, he saw the irrational creatures running immediately to their food, but that he for the time being was not moved to appetite, but was observing the beauties of the planted trees, and he reckoned that he had received a law from God. And coming near through the serpent he tries to learn the law and craftily says: "Why is it that God said: You shall not eat from any tree of paradise?" But the woman, being newly created and much slower than he in understanding, told him the law. 2.88 Then, pretending as if he already knew, he began to slander God as envious and to tickle man towards the food and to advise him rather to obey him and become supposedly as gods, rubbing his own disease onto them. And indeed, being persuaded, in the evening of that very day man is cast out of paradise, just as he himself, immediately upon sinning, was cast down from heaven. And man also received the sentence of death, hearing: "You are earth and to earth you shall return." 2.89 This greatly grieved the angels; for they were disheartened also over those from among them who had transgressed, but especially because of man, as all creation was bound up in him and he was a pledge of the friendship of the whole world; for if this bond were supposedly dissolved, it would be necessary for the whole to be dissolved. They therefore lamented the dissolution both of themselves and of the whole, so that they could not bear to minister any longer for him in vain. But when the merciful God, through His care again for man and the postponement of punishment, had made them hopeful, they ministered eagerly in hope. And in each generation, as God made the righteous renowned, He made them more eager and laid down for them hopes of re-creation, and recall, and renewal. 2.90 Indeed, at the birth of the Lord Christ according to the flesh, the whole multitude of the invisible Powers, seeing Him born, through whom comes the abolition of death and the beginning of re-creation and resurrection and their own freedom, praising God the cause of all things, cried out: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men," completely casting off that grief and dejection of old on account of man, and rejoicing at the birth of the second Adam. Whence also in the time of the temptations, having long since seen the defeat of the first Adam, at which they were also vexed, but now also the victory of this second one, as he wrestled lawfully not once, but thrice with the tempter outside the wrestling ground

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λέγει· "Οὐχὶ πάντες εἰσὶ λειτουργικὰ πνεύματα εἰς διακονίαν ἀποστελλόμενα διὰ τοὺς μέλλοντας κληρονομεῖν σωτηρίαν;" διαρρήδην πάντας εἰπὼν εἰς δια κονίαν τεταγμένους τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Ἔτι γὰρ πάλιν λέγει· "Ἡ γὰρ ἀποκαραδοκία τῆς κτίσεως τὴν ἀποκάλυψιν τῶν υἱῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀπεκδέχεται. Τῇ γὰρ ματαιότητι ἡ κτίσις ὑπετάγη, οὐχ ἑκοῦσα, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸν ὑποτάξαντα, ἐπ' ἐλπίδι ὅτι καὶ αὐτὴ ἡ κτίσις ἐλευθερωθήσεται ἀπὸ τῆς δουλείας τῆς φθορᾶς εἰς τὴν ἐλευθερίαν τῆς δόξης τῶν τέκνων τοῦ Θεοῦ", "κτίσιν" καλῶν ἐνταῦθα τοὺς ἀγγέλους, "υἱοὺς δὲ Θεοῦ", τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, "ἀποκαραδοκίαν" δέ, τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦ κάρα ἐκτείνειν καὶ μακρόθεν ὁρᾶν τε καὶ ἐλπίζειν τι χρήσιμον περὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων. 2.86 Ἁμαρτήσαντος γὰρ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ λαβόντος τὴν ἀπόφασιν τοῦ θανάτου, πάνυ ἐλελύπηντο οἱ ἄγγελοι ἀφελπιστίαν τοῦ παντὸς ἀναλογιζόμενοι, ὡς συνδέσμου ὄντος τοῦ ἀνθρώπου πάσης τῆς κτίσεως καὶ εἰκόνος Θεοῦ τυγχάνοντος, καὶ ἐκ τῆς ἀποφάσεως ἀφελπιστίαν καὶ ἑαυτῶν καὶ τοῦ παντὸς λογιζόμενοι διακονεῖν καὶ ὑπηρετεῖν ἔτι ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ ματαίως οὐκ ἠβούλοντο· ἀλλά, φησί, "διὰ τὸν ὑποτάξαντα ἐπ' ἐλπίδι", ὡσανεί· Οὐκ εἴασεν ὁ Θεὸς τὴν βουλὴν αὐτῶν γενέσθαι, ἀλλὰ δέδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐλπίδα τινά, ὥστε μὴ ἀπογνῶναι, ἀλλ' ἐλπίζειν τι χρήσιμον ἔσεσθαι μετὰ καιροῦ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. Παραγραφή 2.87 Τῇ ἕκτῃ ἡμέρᾳ θεωρῶν ὁ μισόκαλος δαίμων τὸν ἄνθρωπον τιμηθέντα καὶ πολλῆς ἐπιμελείας ἀξιωθέντα, φθονήσας συγκατασπᾶν ἐπειρᾶτο. Ἀγνοῶν δὲ πόθεν αὐτῷ προσβάλλει, ἐθεώρει τὰ μὲν ἄλογα εὐθέως εἰς τροφὴν προσδραμόντα, αὐτὸν δὲ τέως εἰς ὄρεξιν μὴ κινηθέντα, ἀλλὰ περισκοποῦντα τὰ κάλλη τῶν φυτῶν δένδρων, καὶ ἐλογίσατο νόμον αὐτὸν εἰληφέναι παρὰ Θεοῦ. Ἐλθὼν δὲ πλησίον διὰ τοῦ ὄφεως πειρᾶται μαθεῖν τὸν νόμον καὶ τεχναζόμενός φησι· "Τί ὅτι εἶπεν ὁ Θεός· Οὐ μὴ φάγητε ἀπὸ παντὸς ξύλου τοῦ παραδείσου;" Ἡ γυνὴ δέ, ὡς ἀρτιγενὴς οὖσα καὶ πολὺ βραδυτέρα ἐκείνου περὶ τὸ νοεῖν ὑπάρχουσα, ἐξεῖπεν αὐτῷ τὸν νόμον. 2.88 Τότε δῆθεν ὡς ἤδη εἰδὼς ἤρξατο τὸν Θεὸν διαβάλλειν ὡς φθονερὸν καὶ γαργαλίζειν τὸν ἄνθρωπον πρὸς τροφὴν καὶ συμβουλεύειν μᾶλλον ὑπακοῦσαι αὐτοῦ καὶ γενέσθαι δῆθεν ὡς θεοί, τὴν ἰδίαν αὐτοῖς νόσον προστρίβων. Καὶ δὴ πεισθεὶς τὸ δειλινὸν αὐτῇ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκβάλλεται ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐκ τοῦ παραδείσου, ὥσπερ καὶ αὐτὸς εὐθέως ἁμαρτήσας κατερρίφη ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ. Ἐδέξατο δὲ ὁ ἄνθρωπος καὶ τὴν ἀπόφασιν τοῦ θανάτου ἀκούσας· "Γῆ εἶ καὶ εἰς γῆν ἀπελεύσῃ." 2.89 Τοῦτο τοὺς ἀγγέλους πάνυ ἐλύπει· ἠθύμουν μὲν γὰρ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐξ αὐτῶν παραβεβηκόσι, πλὴν ἐξαιρέτως διὰ τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ὡς συνδουμένης ἐν αὐτῷ πάσης τῆς κτίσεως καὶ ἐνεχύρου ὄντος φιλίας παντὸς τοῦ κόσμου· τοῦ γὰρ συνδέσμου τούτου δῆθεν διαλυομένου, ἀνάγκη τὸ πᾶν διαλύεσθαι. Ἐθρήνουν τοίνυν καὶ ἑαυτῶν καὶ τοῦ παντὸς τὴν διάλυσιν, ὥστε καὶ διακονεῖν ἔτι ματαίως ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἠνείχοντο. Τοῦ δὲ εὐσπλάγχνου Θεοῦ διὰ τῆς ἐπιμελείας πάλιν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ τῆς ὑπερθέσεως τῆς τιμωρίας εὐέλπιδας τούτους καταστήσαντος, προθύμως ἐπ' ἐλπίδι διηκόνουν. Καθ' ἑκάστην δὲ γενεὰν ἐπιδόξους τοὺς δικαίους ἐργαζόμενος ὁ Θεὸς τούτους προθυμοτέρους καθίστησι καὶ ἐλπίδας ἀνακτίσεως καὶ ἀνακλήσεως καὶ ἀνακαινίσεως αὐτοῖς καταβάλλεται. 2.90 Ἀμέλει ἐπὶ τῇ γενέσει τοῦ ∆εσπότου Χριστοῦ κατὰ σάρκα ἡ πληθὺς πᾶσα τῶν ἀοράτων ∆υνάμεων θεωρήσασα τεχθέντα, δι' οὗ γίνεται τοῦ θανάτου ἡ κατάλυσις καὶ τῆς ἀνακτίσεως καὶ ἀναστάσεως ἡ ἀρχὴ καὶ αὐτῶν ἡ ἐλευθερία, τὸν Θεὸν τὸν πάντων αἴτιον ἀνυμνοῦντες ἐβόων· "∆όξα ἐν ὑψίστοις Θεῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς εἰρήνη, ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκία", τὴν λύπην ἐκείνην καὶ τὴν κατήφειαν τὴν πάλαι διὰ τὸν ἄνθρωπον τέλεον ἀποβαλλόμενοι, καὶ χαίροντες ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ δευτέρου Ἀδὰμ γενέσει. Ὅθεν καὶ ἐν καιρῷ τῶν πειρασμῶν θεωρήσαντες μὲν ἤδη πρόπαλαι τὴν ἧτταν τοῦ πρώτου Ἀδάμ, ἐφ' ᾧ καὶ ἐδυσφόρουν, νυνὶ δὲ καὶ τούτου τοῦ δευτέρου τὴν νίκην, ὡς νομίμως οὐχ ἅπαξ, ἀλλὰ τρίτον παλαίσαντος τῷ πειράζοντι ἔξω τοῦ σκάμματος