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of the mixing of bodies. 14.11 And yet these things would not be foreign to nature. But the savior and bodiless Word of God, being life itself and intelligible light itself, whatever he might touch with divine and bodiless power, this must live and exist in rational light; for this reason also, whatever body he might touch, this has been sanctified and enlightened immediately, and every sickness and infirmity and suffering departs from it, and what is in want partakes of the fullness from him. 14.12 Therefore indeed he passed his whole life in this way, at one time showing the common suffering of his bodily instrument with us, and at another revealing the divine Word, performing great and wondrous deeds as God, and proclaiming beforehand the predictions of what was to come, and demonstrating by his very works the Word of God who is not seen by the many, in prodigious acts, wonders and signs and extraordinary powers, yes, and also by divine teachings leading souls to prepare themselves for the place above the heavens. 15.1 What then remains after this but to tell the very cause of the chief point of all, I mean the much-talked-of end of his life and the manner of his passion and the great wonder of his revival after death. And after the consideration of these things we will confirm the proofs of all through clear testimonies. 15.2 Using, then, a mortal instrument for the reasons we have stated before, as a god-befitting image, and through it, like a great king through an interpreter, having passed through human life, he accomplished all things in a manner worthy of divine power. If, then, in some other way after his time among men, having become invisible, he had suddenly flown away, secretly stealing away the interpreter and his own image, having been eager to escape death by flight, and then somewhere he himself through himself had consigned the mortal part to corruption and destruction, he would have seemed to all to be a phantom and would not have done what was fitting for himself, being life and the Word of God and the power of God; but having given over his own interpreter to corruption and destruction, 15.3 neither would the things done by him against the demons through the engagement with death have been deemed worthy of fulfillment, nor would it have been known where he had gone, nor would he have been believed by those who had not received it, nor would he have appeared greater than the nature of death, nor would he have freed the mortal from its own nature, nor would he have been heard of throughout the whole inhabited world of men, nor would he have persuaded his disciples to despise death, nor would he have established for those who follow his teaching the hope of life with God after death, nor would he have fulfilled the promises of his words, nor would he have furnished results consistent with the prophetic predictions about him, nor would he have gone through the last contest of all; and this was the contest against death. 15.4 Therefore, for all these reasons, since it was by all means necessary that the mortal instrument, after the sufficient service which it had rendered to the divine Word, should meet a god-befitting end, in this way also death is administered for him. For two things being left for the end, either to give over the whole to corruption and destruction and to make the conclusion of life a most shameful end to the whole drama, or to show himself greater than death, having by divine power made the mortal immortal, the first was foreign to the promise. For indeed it is not proper for fire to cool, nor for light to darken; thus neither is it for life to cause death, nor for the divine Word to act irrationally. What reason, then, did he who promises life to others have to overlook his own instrument being destroyed and to give over his image to destruction, and to allow the interpreter of his divinity to be ruined by death, he who procures immortality for his suppliants? 15.5 Was it not therefore necessary to do the second thing, I mean to show himself greater than death? How then was it necessary to do this? Secretly then and stealthily, or conspicuously and clearly to all? But in a dark and

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τῆς τῶν σωμάτων ἐπιμιξίας. 14.11 καὶ μὴν ταῦτά γε τῆς φύσεως οὐκ ἂν εἴη ἀλλότρια. ὁ δέ γε σωτὴρ καὶ ἀσώματος τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος, αὐτοζωὴ τυγχάνων καὶ αὐτοφῶς νοερόν, παντὸς οὗ δἂν ἐφάψηται ἐνθέῳ καὶ ἀσωμάτῳ δυνάμει, ζῆν τοῦτο ἀνάγκη καὶ ἐν λογικῷ διάγειν φωτί· ταύτῃ τοι καὶ σώματος οὗ δ' ἂν ἐφάψηται, ἡγίασται τοῦτο καὶ πεφώτισται αὐτίκα, πᾶσά τε νόσος αὐτῷ καὶ ἀρρωστία καὶ πάθος ὑπεξίσταται, ἀντιλαμβάνει δὲ τῆς ἐξ αὐτοῦ πληρώσεως τὰ ἐν στερήσει. 14.12 διὸ δὴ τὸν πάντα βίον ταύτῃ πη διετέλει, τότε μὲν τοῦ σωματικοῦ ὀργάνου τὴν πρὸς ἡμᾶς ὁμοιοπάθειαν ὑποδεικνύς, τότε δὲ τὸν θεὸν λόγον ὑποφαίνων, μεγαλουργῶν καὶ παραδοξοποιῶν ὡς θεός, καὶ τῶν μελλόντων ἔσεσθαι προαναφωνῶν τὰς προρρήσεις, καὶ τὸν μὴ τοῖς πολλοῖς ὁρώμενον θεοῦ λόγον τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῖς ἐπιδεικνύμενος ἐν τεραστίαις πράξεσι, θαύμασί τε καὶ σημείοις καὶ παραδόξοις δυνάμεσι, ναὶ μὴν καὶ διδασκαλίαις ἐνθέοις ἄνω πρὸς τὸν ὑπερουράνιον τόπον τὰς ψυχὰς παρασκευάζεσθαι προαγούσαις. 15.1 Τί δὴ λείπεται ἐπὶ τούτοις ἀλλ' ἢ αὐτὸ δὴ τὸ τοῦ παντὸς κεφάλαιον ὁποίαν ἔσχε τὴν αἰτίαν ἐξειπεῖν, λέγω δὴ τὸ πολυθρύλητον τοῦ βίου τέλος καὶ τοῦ πάθους τὸν τρόπον καὶ τῆς μετὰ τὸν θάνατον ἀναβιώσεως αὐτοῦ τὸ μέγα θαῦμα. μετὰ δὲ τὴν τούτων θεωρίαν τὰς ἀποδείξεις πάντων δι' ἐναργῶν πιστωσόμεθα μαρτυριῶν. 15.2 ὀργάνῳ μὲν οὖν θνητῷ δι' ἃς προείπομεν αἰτίας οἷα δὴ ἀγάλματι θεοπρεπεῖ κεχρημένος τούτῳ τε αὐτῷ οἷα μέγας βασιλεὺς δι' ἑρμηνέως τὸν ἀνθρώπειον διεξελθὼν βίον, πάντ' ἐπαξίως θεϊκῆς δυνάμεως διεπράξατο. εἰ μὲν οὖν ἄλλως πως μετὰ τὰς ἐν ἀνθρώποις διατριβὰς ἀφανὴς γεγονὼς ἐξαίφνης ἀπέπτη, ὑποκλέψας λάθρα τὸν ἑρμηνέα καὶ τὸ οἰκεῖον ἄγαλμα φυγῇ τὸν θάνατον διαδρᾶναι σπουδάσας, κἄπειτά που τὸ θνητὸν αὐτὸς δι' ἑαυτοῦ φθορᾷ καὶ ἀπωλείᾳ συμψήσας, φάσματι ἂν ἐῴκει τοῖς πᾶσι καὶ οὔτ' ἂν αὐτὸς αὐτῷ τὰ πρέποντα διεπράξατο, ζωὴ μὲν τυγχάνων καὶ θεοῦ λόγος καὶ θεοῦ δύναμις· φθορᾷ δὲ καὶ ἀπωλείᾳ τὸν αὐτὸς αὐτοῦ παραδοὺς ἑρμηνέα, 15.3 οὔτ' ἂν τὰ κατὰ δαιμόνων αὐτῷ πεπραγμένα διὰ τῆς τοῦ θανάτου συμπλοκῆς τέλους ἠξιοῦτο, οὔτ' ἂν ἐγνώσθη ὅπη ποτὲ ὑπῆρχεν χωρήσας, οὔτ' ἂν ἐπιστεύθη τοῖς μὴ παρειληφόσιν, οὔτ' ἂν θανάτου τὴν φύσιν ἐφάνη κρείττων, οὔτ' ἂν τὸ θνητὸν τῆς οἰκείας ἠλευθέρου φύσεως, οὔτ' ἂν καθ' ὅλης τῆς ἀνθρώπων οἰκουμένης ἠκούσθη, οὔτ' ἂν θανάτου καταφρονεῖν τοὺς αὐτοῦ μαθητὰς ἔπεισεν, οὔτ' ἂν τῆς μετὰ τὸν θάνατον παρὰ θεῷ ζωῆς τὴν ἐλπίδα τοῖς τὴν αὐτοῦ διδασκαλίαν μετιοῦσι παρεστήσατο, οὔτ' ἂν τῶν αὐτοῦ λόγων τὰς ἐπαγγελίας ἐπλήρου, οὔτ' ἂν ταῖς προφητικαῖς περὶ αὐτοῦ προρρήσεσι σύμφωνα παρεῖχε τὰ ἀποτελέσματα, οὔτ' ἂν τὸν ὕστατον ἁπάντων ἀγῶνα διῆλθεν· οὗτος δ' ἦν ὁ κατὰ τοῦ θανάτου. 15.4 διὸ δὴ τούτων ἕνεκα πάντων, ἐπειδὴ ἐχρῆν ἐξ ἅπαντος τὸ θνητὸν ὄργανον μετὰ τὴν αὐτάρκη διακονίαν, ἣν τῷ θείῳ λόγῳ διηκονήσατο, τέλους θεοπρεποῦς τυχεῖν, ταύτῃ πη καὶ αὐτῷ ὁ θάνατος οἰκονομεῖται. δυεῖν γὰρ λειπομένων τῷ τέλει, ἢ φθορᾷ καὶ ἀπωλείᾳ παραδοῦναι τὸ πᾶν καὶ τοῦ παντὸς δράματος αἰσχίστην ποιήσασθαι τὴν τοῦ βίου καταστροφήν, ἢ θανάτου ἑαυτὸν κρείττονα ἀποφῆναι θεϊκῇ δυνάμει τὸ θνητὸν ἀθάνατον παραστησάμενον, τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἀνοίκειον ἦν τῆς ἐπαγγελίας. οὐ γὰρ δὴ πυρὸς οἰκεῖον τὸ ψύχειν, οὐδὲ φωτὸς τὸ σκοτίζειν· οὕτως οὐδὲ ζωῆς τὸ θανατοῦν, οὐδὲ θείου λόγου τὸ παραλόγως ἐνεργεῖν. ποῖον οὖν εἶχε λόγον τὸν ἑτέροις ζωὴν ἐπαγγελλόμενον τὸ οἰκεῖον ὄργανον φθειρόμενον παριδεῖν ἀπωλείᾳ τε παραδοῦναι τὸ αὐτοῦ ἄγαλμα, καὶ τὸν τῆς θεότητος αὐτοῦ ἑρμηνέα θανάτῳ λυμήνασθαι τὸν τοῖς πρόσφυξιν ἀθανασίαν προμνώμενον; 15.5 οὐκοῦν τὸ δεύτερον ἀναγκαῖον ἦν, λέγω δὴ τὸ θανάτου κρείττονα ἑαυτὸν φῆναι; πῶς οὖν ἐχρῆν τοῦτο ποιήσασθαι; λαθραίως ἄρα καὶ κλοπιμαίως ἢ τοῖς πᾶσιν ἀριπρεπῶς καὶ ἀριδήλως; ἀλλὰ σκότιον μὲν καὶ