,

the first man, having received being from God and having come into being according to that very generation of being, was free from corruption and sin—for corruption and sin were not created with him—but when, having transgressed the commandment, he sinned, he is condemned to a generation constituted through passion and sin, with sin holding generation as by law in its passibility, henceforth according to nature; according to which no one is sinless, being subject by nature to the law of generation introduced after the [initial] generation on account of sin.

Since, therefore, sin came through the transgression, and through sin passibility in generation entered the nature of men, and the first transgression always flourished along with the passibility of generation through sin, there was no hope of freedom, as nature was indissolubly bound by an evil bond in its will. For to the extent that nature hastened toward its own constitution through generation, to that same extent it bound itself more tightly to the law of sin, having the transgression energized according to its passibility. For in that very passibility, because of its natural circumstance, having the increase of sin, it had the energies of all the opposing 14Β_124 powers, both principalities and authorities, hidden in the natural passions according to the generic sin in passibility, through the unnatural passions; through which every evil power was at work, driving the will, according to the passibility of nature, through the natural passions to the corruption of the unnatural passions.

Therefore the only-begotten Son and Word of God, out of love for mankind, became a perfect man, in order to deliver human nature from this evil helplessness, taking from the first constitution of Adam according to his generation, he had sinlessness without incorruptibility, and from the generation later introduced into nature on account of sin, he took only passibility without sin. Since, therefore, in the passibility according to Adam, as I said, the evil powers had their energies secretly hidden in the circumstantial law of nature on account of sin, fittingly, seeing in the Savior God of Adam the passibility according to nature through the flesh and thinking that the Lord too, as a mere man, possessed the law of nature circumstantially by necessity, and was not moved by will according to volition, they attacked, hoping to persuade him also through the natural passion to imagine an unnatural passion and to do something similar to them; who, through the first trial of temptations according to pleasure, having allowed them to be mocked by their own devices, stripped them off, thrusting them out of nature, remaining inaccessible and untouched by them, making the victory manifestly for us and not for himself; for whom he also became man, as the good one offering the whole of what was accomplished. For he himself did not need trial, being God and master and free from every passion according to nature, but so that, by inviting the evil power to our temptations, he might capture it by its assault, having put to death the one that expected to capture him as it did Adam in the beginning.

14Β_126 Thus, therefore, in the first trial he stripped off the principalities and authorities that attacked him, making them distant from nature, and healing the passibility according to pleasure, and blotting out in himself the handwriting of Adam's volitional consent to the passions according to pleasure; through which man, having a will inclined to pleasure, proclaimed their evil dominion over himself, even in silence, through his works, not being freed from the guilt of pleasure by the fear of death.

Since, therefore, by conquering through the first trial according to pleasure, the Lord frustrated the evil powers, both principalities and authorities, he also allows them to make a second assault and to bring the remaining trial of temptations through pain and suffering, so that having completely emptied in himself the corrupting poison of

πρῶτος ἄνθρωπος, ἐκ Θεοῦ τὸ εἶναι λαβὼν καὶ γενόμενος κατ᾽ αὐτὴν τοῦ εἶναι τὴν γένεσιν, φθορᾶς ἦν καὶ ἁμαρτίας ἐλεύθεροςοὐ γὰρ συνεκτίσθη αὐτῷ φθορὰ καὶ ἁμαρτίαὅτε δὲ τὴν ἐντολὴν παραβὰς ἥμαρτε, γέννησιν καταδικάζεται διὰ πάθους καὶ ἁμαρτίας συνισταμένην, ἐν τῷ δι᾽ αὐτὴν παθητῷ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἐχούσης, ὡς ἐν νόμῳ, λοιπὸν κατὰ τὴν φύσιν τὴν γένεσιν· καθ᾽ ὃν οὐδείς ἐστιν ἀναμάρτητος, ὑποκείμενος φύσει τῷ νόμῳ τῆς μετὰ τὴν γένεσιν διὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐπεισαχθείσης γεννήσεως.

Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν διὰ τὴν παράβασιν ἡ ἁμαρτία, διὰ δὲ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τὸ παθητὸν κατὰ τὴν γέννησιν τῇ φύσει τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐπεισῆλθεν, καὶ συνήκμαζεν ἀεὶ τῷ παθητῷ τῆς γεννήσεως διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἡ πρώτη παράβασις, οὐκ ἦν ἐλπὶς ἐλευθερίας, δεσμῷ πονηρῷ δεθείσης ἀλύτως κατὰ γνώμην τῆς φύσεως. Ὅσον γὰρ πρὸς τὴν οἰκείαν ἔσπευδε διὰ τῆς γεννήσεως σύστασιν ἡ φύσις, τοσοῦτον πλέον ἑαυτὴν τῷ νόμῳ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἐπέσφιγγεν, ἐνεργουμένην ἔχουσα κατὰ τὸ παθητὸν τὴν παράβασιν. Ἐν αὐτῷ γὰρ τῷ παθητῷ διὰ τὴν φυσικὴν περίστασιν ἔχουσα τῆς ἁμαρτίας τὴν αὔξησιν, πασῶν εἶχε τῶν ἐναντίων 14Β_124 δυνάμεων ἀρχῶν τε καὶ ἐξουσιῶν κατὰ τὴν ἐν τῷ παθητῷ γενικὴν ἁμαρτίαν διὰ τῶν παρὰ φύσιν παθῶν ἐγκεκρυμμένας τοῖς κατὰ φύσιν πάθεσι τὰς ἐνεργείας· δι᾽ ὧν πᾶσα πονηρὰ δύναμις ἐνήργει, κατὰ τὸ παθητὸν τῆς φύσεως εἰς τὴν φθορὰν τῶν παρὰ φύσιν παθῶν τὴν γνώμην διὰ τῶν κατὰ φύσιν ἐλαύνουσα.

Γενόμενος οὖν ὑπὲρ φιλανθρωπίας ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ μονογενὴς Υἱὸς καὶ Λόγος τέλειος ἄνθρωπος, διὰ τὸ ταύτης τῆς πονηρᾶς ἐξελέσθαι τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων φύσιν ἀμηχανίας, ἐκ μὲν τῆς κατὰ τὴν γένεσιν τοῦ Ἀδὰμ πρώτης συστάσεως λαβὼν εἶχε δίχα τῆς ἀφθαρσίας τὸ ἀναμάρτητον, ἐκ δὲ τῆς ὕστερον διὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐπεισαχθείσης τῇ φύσει γεννήσεως μόνον εἴληφε δίχα τῆς ἁμαρτίας τὸ παθητόν. Ἐπεὶ τοίνυν ἐν τῷ παθητῷ κατὰ τὸν Ἀδάμ, ὡς ἔφην, διὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν αἱ πονηραὶ δυνάμεις ἔσχον τὰς ἐνεργείας ἀφανῶς ἐγκεκρυμμένας τῷ περιστατικῷ νόμῳ τῆς φύσεως, εἰκότως ἐν τῷ Σωτῆρι Θεῷ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ θεωροῦσαι κατὰ φύσιν διὰ τὴν σάρκα τὸ παθητὸν καὶ δοκοῦσαι πρὸς ἀνάγκης περιστατικῶς ὡς ψιλὸν ἄνθρωπον καὶ τὸν Κύριον κεκτῆσθαι τὸν νόμον τῆς φύσεως, ἀλλ᾽ οὐχὶ κατὰ θέλησιν γνώμῃ κινούμενον, προσέβαλον, ἐλπίζουσαι κἀκεῖνον διὰ τοῦ κατὰ φύσιν πάθους τὸ παρὰ φύσιν πείθειν φαντάζεσθαι πάθος καί τι δρᾶν αὐταῖς ἐοικός· ὅς, διὰ τῆς πρώτης πείρας τῶν καθ᾽ ἡδονὴν πειρασμῶν συγχωρήσας τοῖς οἰκείοις αὐτὰς ἐμπαίζεσθαι δόλοις, ἐξεδύσατο ταύτας ἐξωθήσας τῆς φύσεως, ἀπρόσιτος μείνας αὐταῖς καὶ ἀνέπαφος, ἡμῖν προδήλως ἀλλ᾽ οὐχ ἑαυτῷ τὴν νίκην ποιούμενος· οἷς καὶ γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος προσάγων ὡς ἀγαθὸς ὅλον τὸ κατορθούμενον. Οὐ γὰρ αὐτὸς ἐδεῖτο πείρας, Θεὸς ὢν καὶ δεσπότης καὶ παντὸς πάθους κατὰ φύσιν ἐλεύθερος, ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα, τοῖς ἡμετέροις πειρασμοῖς τὴν πονηρὰν προσκαλούμενος δύναμιν, ἕληται τῇ προσβολῇ, νεκρώσας τὴν ἑλεῖν αὐτὸν ὡς ἐν ἀρχῇ τὸν Ἀδὰμ προσδοκήσασαν.

14Β_126 Οὕτω μὲν οὖν κατὰ τὴν πρώτην πεῖραν προσβαλούσας τὰς ἀρχὰς καὶ τὰς ἐξουσίας ἐξεδύσατο, πόρρω ποιήσας τῆς φύσεως, καὶ τὸ καθ᾽ ἡδονὴν παθητὸν ἰασάμενος, καὶ τὸ χειρόγραφον ἐν ἑαυτῷ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ τῆς τῶν καθ᾽ ἡδονὴν παθῶν γνωμικῆς συγκαταθέσεως ἀπαλείψας· δι᾽ οὗ τὴν γνώμην ὁ ἄνθρωπος ῥέπουσαν ἔχων πρὸς ἡδονὴν τὴν πονηρὰν καθ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ καὶ σιγῶν διὰ τῶν ἔργων ἀνεκήρυττε δεσποτείαν, τῷ τοῦ θανάτου φόβῳ τῆς καθ᾽ ἡδονὴν ἐνοχῆς οὐκ ἐλευθερούμενος.

Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν διὰ τῆς καθ᾽ ἡδονὴν πρώτης πείρας ἡττήσας τὰς πονηρὰς ἐματαίωσε δυνάμεις ἀρχάς τε καὶ ἐξουσίας ὁ Κύριος, καὶ δευτέραν αὐταῖς συγχωρεῖ ποιεῖσθαι προσβολὴν καὶ τὴν λειπομένην δι᾽ ὀδύνης καὶ πόνων πεῖραν τῶν πειρασμῶν προσαγαγεῖν, ἵνα τελείως κενώσας ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὸν φθαρτικὸν ἰὸν τῆς