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we say it is not at all wonderful if the presence of divine power transforms towards incorruption that which has come into being in corruptible nature.

34 But they seek proof that the Divine, being called upon, is present for the sanctification of the things that take place. But let him who seeks this read again the things examined before. For the argument that the power which appeared to us through the flesh is truly divine becomes an advocacy for the present discourse. For since it has been shown that He who was manifested in the flesh is God, who showed His own nature through the miracles that took place, it was also demonstrated that He is present to the things that take place at every time of invocation. For just as each of the beings has some property which makes its nature known, so truth is a property of the divine nature. But indeed He has promised to be always present to those who call upon Him, and to be in the midst of those who believe, and to remain in all and be with each one. Therefore we would no longer need another proof for the presence of the Divine in the things that take place, having believed that He is God through the miracles themselves, knowing that it is a property of the Godhead to have no admixture with falsehood, and not doubting that what was promised is present in the truthfulness of the promise. And the fact that the call through prayer precedes the divine economy is a kind of superabundance of proof that what is effected is accomplished according to God. For if, in the other kind of man-making, the impulses of the parents, even if the Divine is not invoked by them through prayer, by the power of God, as has been said before, form the one who is born—a power apart from which their zeal is ineffective and useless—how much more in the spiritual mode of generation, when God has promised to be present to the things that take place and has placed His own power in the work, as we have believed, and our choice has its impulse towards the matter of our zeal, if the alliance of prayer be fittingly included, will the matter of our zeal be more perfectly accomplished? For just as those who pray to God for the sun to shine on them in no way diminish what happens in any case, nor will anyone say that the zeal of those who pray is useless if they supplicate God for what will happen in any case, so those who are persuaded according to the unfailing promise of the one who promised that grace is in any case present to those who are regenerated through this mystical economy, either make some addition to the grace, or do not turn away that which is. For it is believed that He is in any case present because He who promised is God; and the testimony of the Godhead is through the miracles. So that through all things the presence of the Divine has no uncertainty.

35 But the descent into the water and the man's being in it three times contains another mystery. For since the way of our salvation became effective not so much from the guidance according to teaching as through the very things which He did who undertook fellowship with man, having put life into effect by His work, so that through the flesh assumed by Him and deified with Him all that is akin and of the same nature with it might be saved along with it, it was necessary for some manner to be devised in which there was a certain kinship and likeness in the things done by the follower to the leader. It is necessary, therefore, to see in what things the guide of our life was seen, so that, as the Apostle says, the imitation by the followers may be accomplished according to the author of our salvation. For just as by those who have been trained in tactics those are brought up for military experience who are instructed by what they see for graceful and armed movement, but he who does not do what is demonstrated remains without a share in such experience, in the same way it is likewise necessary for those whose zeal for the good is equal to follow by imitation the one who guides us to salvation, putting into practice what was demonstrated by him. For it is not possible to arrive at the same end, without having traveled by similar ways. For just as those who the

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φαμὲν μηδὲν εἶναι θαυμαστὸν εἰ θείας δυνάμεως παρουσία πρὸς ἀφθαρσίαν μετασκευάζει τὸ ἐν τῇ φθαρτῇ φύσει γενόμενον.

34 Ἀλλὰ ζητοῦσιν ἀπόδειξιν τοῦ παρεῖναι τὸ θεῖον ἐπὶ ἁγιασμῷ τῶν γινομένων καλούμενον. ὁ δὲ τοῦτο ζητῶν ἀναγνώτω πάλιν τὰ κατόπιν ἐξητασμένα. ἡ γὰρ κατασκευὴ τοῦ τὴν διὰ σαρκὸς ἡμῖν ἐπιφανεῖσαν δύναμιν ἀληθῶς θείαν εἶναι τοῦ παρόντος λόγου συνηγορία γίνεται. δειχθέντος γὰρ τοῦ θεὸν εἶναι τὸν ἐν σαρκὶ φανερωθέντα, τοῖς διὰ τῶν γινομένων θαύμασι τὴν φύσιν ἑαυτοῦ δεί ξαντα, συναπεδείχθη τὸ παρεῖναι τοῖς γινομένοις αὐτὸν κατὰ πάντα καιρὸν ἐπικλήσεως. ὥσπερ γὰρ ἑκάστου τῶν ὄντων ἔστι τις ἰδιότης ἡ τὴν φύσιν γνωρίζουσα, οὕτως ἴδιον τῆς θείας φύσεώς ἐστιν ἡ ἀλήθεια. ἀλλὰ μὴν ἀεὶ παρέσεσθαι τοῖς ἐπικαλουμένοις ἐπήγγελται, καὶ ἐν μέσῳ τῶν πιστευόντων εἶναι, καὶ ἐν πᾶσι μένειν καὶ ἑκάστῳ συνεῖναι. οὐκέτ' οὖν ἂν ἑτέρας εἰς τὸ παρεῖναι τὸ θεῖον τοῖς γινομένοις ἀποδείξεως προσδεοίμεθα, τὸ μὲν θεὸν εἶναι διὰ τῶν θαυμάτων αὐτῶν πεπιστευκότες, ἴδιον δὲ τῆς θεότητος τὸ ἀμίκτως πρὸς τὸ ψεῦδος ἔχειν εἰδότες, ἐν δὲ τῷ ἀψευδεῖ τῆς ὑποσχέσεως παρεῖναι τὸ ἐπηγ γελμένον οὐκ ἀμφιβάλλοντες. τὸ δὲ προηγεῖσθαι τὴν διὰ τῆς εὐχῆς κλῆσιν τῆς θείας οἰκονομίας περιουσία τίς ἐστι τῆς ἀποδείξεως τοῦ κατὰ θεὸν ἐπιτελεῖσθαι τὸ ἐνεργού μενον. εἰ γὰρ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἑτέρου τῆς ἀνθρωποποιίας εἴδους αἱ τῶν γεννώντων ὁρμαί, κἂν μὴ ἐπικληθῇ παρ' αὐτῶν δι' εὐχῆς τὸ θεῖον, τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ δυνάμει, καθὼς ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν εἴρηται, διαπλάσσουσι τὸ γεννώμενον, ἧς χωρισθείσης ἄπρακτός ἐστιν ἡ σπουδὴ καὶ ἀνόνητος, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ἐν τῷ πνευματικῷ τῆς γεννήσεως τρόπῳ, καὶ θεοῦ παρέσεσθαι τοῖς γινομένοις ἐπηγγελμένου καὶ τὴν παρ' ἑαυτοῦ δύναμιν ἐντεθεικότος τῷ ἔργῳ, καθὰ πεπιστεύκαμεν, καὶ τῆς ἡμετέρας προαιρέσεως πρὸς τὸ σπουδαζόμενον τὴν ὁρμὴν ἐχούσης, εἰ συμπαραληφθείη καθηκόντως ἡ διὰ τῆς εὐχῆς συμμαχία, μᾶλλον ἐπιτελὲς ἔσται τὸ σπουδαζόμενον; καθάπερ γὰρ οἱ ἐπιφαῦσαι τὸν ἥλιον αὐτοῖς εὐχόμενοι τῷ θεῷ οὐδὲν ἀμβλύνουσι τὸ πάντως γινόμενον, οὐδὲ μὴν ἄχρηστον εἶναί τις φήσει τὴν τῶν προσευχομένων σπουδήν, εἰ περὶ τοῦ πάντως ἐσομένου τὸν θεὸν ἱκετεύουσιν, οὕτως οἱ πεπεισμένοι κατὰ τὴν ἀψευδῆ τοῦ ἐπαγγειλαμένου ὑπόσχεσιν πάντως παρεῖναι τὴν χάριν τοῖς διὰ τῆς μυστικῆς ταύτης οἰκονομίας ἀνα γεννωμένοις ἢ προσθήκην τινὰ ποιοῦνται τῆς χάριτος, ἢ τὴν οὖσαν οὐκ ἀποστρέφουσιν. τὸ γὰρ πάντως συνεῖναι διὰ τὸ θεὸν εἶναι τὸν ἐπαγγειλάμενον πεπίστευται· ἡ δὲ τῆς θεότητος μαρτυρία διὰ τῶν θαυμάτων ἐστίν. ὥστε διὰ πάντων τὸ παρεῖναι τὸ θεῖον οὐδεμίαν ἀμφιβολίαν ἔχει.

35 Ἡ δὲ εἰς τὸ ὕδωρ κάθοδος καὶ τὸ εἰς τρὶς ἐν αὐτῷ γενέσθαι τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἕτερον ἐμπεριέχει μυστήριον. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὁ τῆς σωτηρίας ἡμῶν τρόπος οὐ τοσοῦτον ἐκ τῆς κατὰ τὴν διδαχὴν ὑφηγήσεως ἐνεργὸς γέγονεν ὅσον δι' αὐτῶν ὧν ἐποίησεν ὁ τὴν πρὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον ὑποστὰς κοινωνίαν, ἔργῳ τὴν ζωὴν ἐνεργήσας, ἵνα διὰ τῆς ἀναλη φθείσης παρ' αὐτοῦ καὶ συναποθεωθείσης σαρκὸς ἅπαν συνδιασωθῇ τὸ συγγενὲς αὐτῇ καὶ ὁμόφυλον, ἀναγκαῖον ἦν ἐπινοηθῆναί τινα τρόπον, ἐν ᾧ τις ἦν συγγένειά τε καὶ ὁμοιότης ἐν τοῖς γινομένοις παρὰ τοῦ ἑπομένου πρὸς τὸν ἡγούμενον. χρὴ τοίνυν ἰδεῖν ἐν τίσιν ὁ τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν καθηγησάμενος ἐθεωρήθη, ἵνα, καθώς φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος, κατὰ τὸν ἀρχηγὸν τῆς σωτηρίας ἡμῶν κατορθωθῇ τοῖς ἑπομένοις ἡ μίμησις. ὥσπερ γὰρ παρὰ τῶν πεπαιδευ μένων τὰ τακτικὰ πρὸς τὴν ὁπλιτικὴν ἐμπειρίαν ἀνάγονται οἱ δι' ὧν βλέπουσιν πρὸς τὴν εὔρυθμόν τε καὶ ἐνόπλιον κίνησιν παιδευόμενοι, ὁ δὲ μὴ πράττων τὸ προδεικνύμενον ἀμέτοχος τῆς τοιαύτης ἐμπειρίας μένει, κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον τῷ πρὸς τὴν σωτηρίαν ἡμῶν ἐξηγουμένῳ πάντως οἷς ἴση πρὸς τὸ ἀγαθόν ἐστιν ἡ σπουδὴ ὁμοίως ἐπάναγκες διὰ μιμήσεως ἕπεσθαι, τὸ παρ' αὐτοῦ προδειχθὲν εἰς ἔργον ἄγοντας. οὐ γὰρ ἔστι πρὸς τὸ ἴσον καταντῆσαι πέρας, μὴ διὰ τῶν ὁμοίων ὁδεύσαντας. καθάπερ γὰρ οἱ τὰς τῶν