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of the things that have been said, has come down from heaven, <who> was neither in the beginning nor was equal to God. But let this argument also be silenced, especially because of the fitness of the conclusion proposed for it, which runs literally as follows: Therefore the human race is not saved by the assumption of a mind and of a whole man, but by the taking on of flesh. This is the conclusion; but let those who have practiced in the frigid subtleties of grammar explain the difference between 'assumption' and 'taking on', so as to treat technically among boys the slight distinction between such parts of speech which are called prepositions. For we think that he who was taken on was also assumed, and we do not doubt that he who was assumed was also taken on, having learned such use of the word from Scripture. You have taken me on with glory, says David; and again elsewhere: David chose his servant and assumed him from the flocks of his father. Therefore, he who was taken on with glory was also assumed, and he who was assumed from the flocks was also taken on; for he says two things about the same person, so what he means who says that the mystery concerning the man is accomplished for the Only-Begotten not by assumption but by taking on, perhaps not even he himself could say. But I, avoiding immersing my discourse in the mud of his incoherent words, omit most of his nonsense, thinking it to be a sufficient refutation of the absurdity of his statements to read what he has written literally, so that even one who wishes to vehemently attack the heresy would not refute the absurdity so much from 3,1.194 his own reasonings as the discourse itself does. For by the means with which he constructs his falsehood, in the weakness of his defense, he lays bare the impiety. For if, he says, a perfect God was joined to a perfect man, there would be two. But the imperfect, then, when combined with the perfect, is not regarded by him as a dyad. Has the noble man not even seen children ever counting the fingers on their hand? He who counts the small with the larger names the smaller one "one" and the greater one "one," but nevertheless says there are two, if he reckons both of them together. For every number is a composition of units, signifying the sum collected from them. And if the thing being counted, whatever it may be, when placed beside that with which it is counted, should exceed the lesser in bulk according to quantity, the smaller will be no less "one," even if it is deficient in size. Whenever, then, we take two things of equal size in number, we speak of two perfect things; but whenever we count the deficient with the perfect, we still say there are two, but the one is deficient, and the other is perfect. But this great expert in the science of arithmetic says that if each is perfect according to its own nature, the things so spoken of are called two; but if one were deficient and the other perfect, both become one, I do not know how, by smearing the imperfect together with the superabundant and devising through opposites a union for incompatibles. For perfect fits better with perfect and imperfect with imperfect through similarity; but of the union of an opposite with an opposite—I mean of the imperfect with the perfect—let the lawgiver of this new arithmetic tell the manner. But he does not think it fitting to conceive of a human mind in connection with the only-begotten God, and he gives the reason, that the human mind is mutable. Therefore, let the same argument not allow even the flesh 3,1.195 to God. For that it is mutable not even the author would deny, from youth to maturity, changing its ages as if changing clothes. Or how was he not mutable, who was previously carried in his mother's arms, then among children, then becoming a youth, and so little by little advancing to perfection, so as to come to the measure of human age? If therefore the mind is rejected on account of its mutability, for the same reason let the flesh not be permitted by him either, and thus according to him the whole Gospel will be shown to be false, and the preaching empty, and the faith vain. But if it is not disbelieved that he was manifested in the flesh, and that a mutable one, neither the mind, certainly, for the same reason

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εἰρημένων ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καταβέβηκεν, <ὃς> οὔτε ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν οὔτε ἴσα θεῷ ἦν. Ἀλλὰ σιγάσθω καὶ τοῦτο τὸ ἐπιχείρημα μάλιστα διὰ τὸ προσφυὲς τοῦ προτεθέντος αὐτῷ συμπεράσματος οὕτως κατὰ τὴν λέξιν ἔχοντος· Οὐκ ἄρα σῴζεται τὸ ἀνθρώ πινον γένος δι' ἀναλήψεως νοῦ καὶ ὅλου ἀνθρώ που, ἀλλὰ διὰ προσλήψεως σαρκός. τὸ μὲν συμπέ ρασμα τοῦτο· τὴν δὲ τῆς ἀναλήψεως καὶ προσλήψεως διαφορὰν ἑρμηνευόντων οἱ ταῖς γραμματικαῖς ψυχρολογίαις ἐμμελετήσαντες, ὥστε τῶν τοιούτων τοῦ λόγου μορίων, ἃ προθέσεις κατονομάζονται, τεχνολογεῖν ἐν μειρακίοις τὴν ἐν ὀλίγῳ διαφωνίαν. ἡμεῖς γὰρ καὶ τὸν προσειλημμένον ἀνειλῆφθαι νομίζομεν καὶ τὸν ἀνειλημμένον προσειλῆφθαι οὐκ ἀμφιβάλλομεν, παρὰ τῆς γραφῆς τὴν τοιαύτην χρῆσιν τοῦ λόγου μεμαθηκότες. Μετὰ δόξης προσελάβου με, φησὶν ὁ ∆αβίδ· καὶ πάλιν ἑτέρωθι· Ἐξελέξατο ∆αβὶδ τὸν δοῦλον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνέλαβεν αὐτὸν ἐκ τῶν ποιμνίων τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ. οὐκοῦν καὶ ὁ μετὰ δόξης προσληφθεὶς ἀνελήφθη καὶ ἐκ τῶν ποιμνίων ἀναληφθεὶς προσελήφθη· περὶ γὰρ τοῦ αὐτοῦ δύο λέγει, ὥστε τί βούλεται ὁ λέγων οὐκ ἀναλήψει ἀλλὰ προσ λήψει τῷ μονογενεῖ τὸ κατὰ τὸν ἄνθρωπον οἰκονομεῖσθαι μυ στήριον, οὐδ' ἂν αὐτὸς εἴποι τάχα. ἐγὼ δὲ φεύγων τῇ ἰλύϊ τῶν ἀσυναρτήτων αὐτοῦ ῥημάτων συνδιαβαπτίζειν τὸν λόγον τὰ πολλὰ τῆς φλυαρίας ἀφίημι, ἱκανὸν ἔλεγχον εἶναι τῆς ἀτοπίας τῶν λεγομένων οἰόμενος αὐτὴν ἐπὶ λέξεως αὐτοῦ τὴν τῶν γεγραμμένων ἀνάγνωσιν, ὡς καὶ τὸν σφοδρῶς καταδραμεῖν τῆς αἱρέσεως ἐθέλοντα μὴ ἂν τοσοῦτον ἐξ 3,1.194 οἰκείων λογισμῶν διελέγξαι τὴν ἀτοπίαν ὡς αὐτὸς ὁ λόγος· δι' ὧν γὰρ κατασκευάζει τὸ ψεῦδος ἐν τῇ ἀτονίᾳ τῆς συνηγο ρίας ἀπογυμνοῖ τὴν ἀσέβειαν. καὶ γὰρ εἰ ἀνθρώπῳ τελείῳ, φησί, συνήφθη θεὸς τέλειος, δύο ἂν ἦσαν. τὸ δὲ ἀτελὲς ἄρα τῷ τελείῳ συντεθειμένον οὐκ ἐν δυάδι παρ' αὐτοῦ θεωρεῖται. οὐκ εἶδεν ὁ γεννάδας οὐδὲ παιδία ποτὲ τοὺς ἐπὶ τῆς παλάμης δακτύλους ἐξαριθ μούμενα; ὁ τὸν μικρὸν τῷ μείζονι συναριθμῶν ἕνα μὲν ὀνομάζει τὸν ἐλαττούμενον καὶ ἕνα τὸν ὑπερέχοντα, δύο δὲ ὅμως εἶναί φησιν, εἰ μετ' ἀλλήλων ἀμφοτέρους λογίζοιτο. πᾶς γὰρ ἀριθμὸς μονάδων ἐστὶ σύνθεσις, τὸ ἀθροιζόμενον ἐκ τούτων ἐν κεφαλαίῳ σημαίνων. εἰ δὲ τὸ ἀριθμητόν, ὅτιπερ ἂν ᾖ, τῷ συναριθμουμένῳ παρατιθέμενον κατὰ τὴν πηλικό τητα πλεονάζοι τῷ ὄγκῳ παρὰ τὸ ἔλαττον, οὐδὲν ἧττον ἓν καὶ τὸ ἐλαττούμενον ἔσται, κἂν ἐλλείπῃ τὸ μέγεθος. ὅταν μὲν οὖν ἰσομεγέθη δύο τῷ ἀριθμῷ διαλάβωμεν, δύο τέλεια λέγομεν· ὅταν δὲ τῷ τελείῳ τὸ λεῖπον συναριθμήσωμεν, δύο μὲν καὶ οὕτω φαμέν, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν ἐλλιπές, τὸ δὲ τέλειον. ὁ δὲ πολὺς οὗτος κατὰ τὴν ἀριθμητικὴν ἐπιστήμην, εἰ μὲν τελείως ἑκάτερον κατὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ φύσιν ἔχει, δύο φησὶ λέ γεσθαι τὰ οὕτω λεγόμενα· εἰ δὲ τὸ μὲν ἐλλείποι, τὸ δὲ ἕτερον τέλειον εἴη, ἓν ἀμφότερα γενέσθαι, οὐκ οἶδα ὅπως τὸ ἀτελὲς συναλείφων τῷ περιττεύοντι καὶ διὰ τῶν ἐναντίων ἐπινοῶν τοῖς ἀσυμβάτοις τὴν ἕνωσιν. τέλειον γὰρ τελείῳ καὶ ἀτελὲς ἀτελεῖ μᾶλλον ἁρμόζεται τῇ ὁμοιότητι· τῆς δὲ τοῦ ἐναντίου πρὸς τὸ ἐναντίον ἑνώσεως, τοῦ ἀτελοῦς φημι πρὸς τὸ τέλειον, λεγέτω τὸν τρόπον ὁ τῆς καινῆς ταύτης ἀριθμητικῆς νομοθέτης. Ἀλλ' οὐχ ἡγεῖται πρέπειν ἀνθρώπινον νοῦν περὶ τὸν μονογενῆ θεὸν ἐννοεῖν καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν λέγει, ὅτι τρεπτὸς ὁ νοῦς ὁ ἀνθρώπινος. οὐκοῦν ὁ αὐτὸς λόγος μηδὲ τὴν σάρκα 3,1.195 τῷ θεῷ συγχωρείτω. τὸ γὰρ τρεπτὴν αὐτὴν εἶναι οὐδὲ ὁ λογογράφος ἀντείποι, ἀπὸ νεότητος μέχρι τελειώσεως ὥσπερ ἐνδύματα μετενδυομένην τὰς ἡλικίας. ἢ πῶς οὐκ ἦν τρεπτὸς ὁ πρότερον ἐπ' ὠλένης ὑπὸ τῆς μητρὸς κομιζόμενος, εἶτα ἐν παιδίοις, εἶτα ἐν μειρακίοις γινόμενος καὶ οὕτω κατ' ὀλίγον προελθὼν εἰς τὸ τέλειον, ὥστε εἰς τὸ μέτρον τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ἡλικίας ἐλθεῖν; εἰ οὖν ὁ νοῦς διὰ τὸ τρεπτὸν ἀποβάλλεται, διὰ τὴν αὐτὴν αἰτίαν μηδὲ ἡ σὰρξ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ συγχωρείσθω καὶ οὕτω ψευδὲς κατ' αὐτὸν δειχθήσεται τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ἅπαν καὶ κενὸν τὸ κήρυγμα καὶ ματαία ἡ πίστις. εἰ δὲ οὐκ ἀπιστεῖται τὸ ἐν σαρκὶ πεφανερῶσθαι καὶ ταύτῃ τρεπτῇ, οὐδὲ τὸν νοῦν πάντως διὰ τὴν αὐτὴν αἰτίαν