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Those at a loss to pass through the wanderings of labyrinths, if they should happen upon someone with experience, following behind, they pass through the varied and deceptive windings of the chambers, since they would not pass through, if not following in the footsteps of the one leading, so understand for me that the labyrinth of this life is also impassable for human nature, unless one should take the same path by which He who came into it was established outside of that which surrounds it. And by labyrinth I mean, tropically, the inescapable prison of death, by which the wretched race of man was encompassed. What then did we behold concerning the author of our salvation? A three-day death and again life. Must not some such likeness be devised in us also? What then is the device by which the imitation of what was done by Him is fulfilled in us also? Everything that has died has a certain proper and natural place, the earth, in which it is laid and hidden. And earth and water have a great affinity for each other, being the only elements that are heavy and tend downwards, and remaining in each other and being held by each other. Since, therefore, the death of the guide of our life was subterranean according to common nature, the imitation of death that is done by us is represented in the neighboring element. And as that man from above, having taken on death, after the subterranean placement, on the third day ran back up again to life, so every one who is united to Him by the nature of the body, looking to the same accomplishment, I mean the end which is according to life, having water poured over him instead of earth and entering under the element in three periods, has imitated the three-day grace of the resurrection. And such a thing has been said also in what has gone before, that death has been brought upon human nature by divine providence according to a plan, so that when vice has flowed away in the dissolution of the body and the soul, again through the resurrection man might be reconstituted sound and impassible and whole and alien to every admixture of vice. But in the case of the guide of our salvation, the plan concerning death had its perfection, being completely fulfilled according to its proper aim. For through death the united things were separated and again the distinguished things were brought together, so that when the nature had been purified in the dissolution of the congenital parts, I mean of both soul and body, the return of the separated parts might again occur, being pure of the foreign admixture; but in the case of those who follow the guide, nature does not admit of the exact imitation in all things, but having now accepted as much as it is able, what is lacking is stored up for the time after this. What then is it that it imitates? To effect the annihilation of the intermingled wickedness in the image of death which is brought about through water, not, however, a complete annihilation, but a certain interruption of the continuity of evil, two things conspiring for the removal of wickedness: both the repentance of the one who has sinned and the imitation of death, by which man is somehow released from his congenital affinity for evil, by repentance proceeding to hatred and alienation from wickedness, and by death working the annihilation of evil. But if it were possible for the one imitating to be in a complete death, what happens would not be an imitation, but an identity, and evil would be completely annihilated from our nature, so that, as the Apostle says, we would die once to sin. But since, as has been said, we imitate the transcendent power only as much as the poverty of our nature allows, having water poured over us three times and again ascending from the water, we enact the saving burial and resurrection that occurred in the space of three days, having taken this to mind: that just as water is in our power, both to be in it and to emerge from it again, in the same way it was in the power of Him who holds dominion over the universe, just as we are in the water, so He, having descended into death, to return again to His own blessedness. If, then, one should look to what is likely and judge what happens according to the power in each, he will find no

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λαβυρίνθων πλάνας διεξελθεῖν ἀμηχανοῦντες, εἴ τινος ἐμπείρως ἔχοντος ἐπιτύχοιεν, κατόπιν ἑπόμενοι τὰς ποικί λας τε καὶ ἀπατηλὰς τῶν οἴκων ἀναστροφὰς διεξέρχονται, οὐκ ἂν διεξελθόντες, μὴ κατ' ἴχνος ἑπόμενοι τῷ προάγοντι, οὕτω μοι νόησον καὶ τὸν τοῦ βίου τούτου λαβύρινθον ἀδιεξίτητον εἶναι τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει, εἰ μή τις τῆς αὐτῆς ὁδοῦ λάβοιτο δι' ἧς ὁ ἐν αὐτῷ γενόμενος ἔξω κατέστη τοῦ περιέχοντος. λαβύρινθον δέ φημι τροπικῶς τὴν ἀδιέξοδον τοῦ θανάτου φρουράν, ᾗ τὸ δείλαιον τοῦ ἀνθρώπου γένος περιεσχέθη. τί οὖν περὶ τὸν ἀρχηγὸν τῆς σωτηρίας ἡμῶν ἐθεασάμεθα; τριήμερον νέκρωσιν καὶ πάλιν ζωήν. οὐκ οῦν χρή τι τοιοῦτον καὶ ἐν ἡμῖν ἐπινοηθῆναι ὁμοίωμα. τίς οὖν ἐστὶν ἡ ἐπίνοια δι' ἧς καὶ ἐν ἡμῖν πληροῦται τοῦ παρ' ἐκείνου γεγονότος ἡ μίμησις; ἅπαν τὸ νεκρωθὲν οἰκεῖόν τινα καὶ κατὰ φύσιν ἔχει χῶρον, τὴν γῆν, ἐν ᾗ κλίνεταί τε καὶ κατακρύπτεται. πολλὴν δὲ πρὸς ἄλληλα τὴν συγγένειαν ἔχει γῆ τε καὶ ὕδωρ, μόνα τῶν στοιχείων βαρέα τε ὄντα καὶ κατωφερῆ, καὶ ἐν ἀλλήλοις μένοντα καὶ δι' ἀλλήλων κρατούμενα. ἐπεὶ οὖν τοῦ καθηγουμένου τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν ὁ θάνατος ὑπόγειος κατὰ τὴν κοινὴν γέγονε φύσιν, ἡ τοῦ θανάτου μίμησις ἡ παρ' ἡμῶν γινομένη ἐν τῷ γείτονι διατυποῦται στοιχείῳ. καὶ ὡς ἐκεῖνος ὁ ἄνωθεν ἄνθρωπος ἀναλαβὼν τὴν νεκρότητα μετὰ τὴν ὑπόγειον θέσιν τριταῖος ἐπὶ τὴν ζωὴν πάλιν ἀνέδραμεν, οὕτω πᾶς ὁ συνημμένος κατὰ τὴν τοῦ σώματος φύσιν ἐκείνῳ πρὸς τὸ αὐτὸ κατόρθωμα βλέπων, τὸ κατὰ τὴν ζωὴν λέγω πέρας, ἀντὶ γῆς τὸ ὕδωρ ἐπιχεάμενος καὶ ὑποδὺς τὸ στοιχεῖον ἐν τρισὶ περιόδοις τὴν τριήμερον τῆς ἀνα στάσεως χάριν ἀπεμιμήσατο. εἴρηται δὲ τὸ τοιοῦτον καὶ ἐν τοῖς φθάσασιν, ὅτι κατ' οἰκονομίαν ἐπῆκται τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει παρὰ τῆς θείας προνοίας ὁ θάνατος, ὥστε τῆς κακίας ἐν τῇ διαλύσει τοῦ σώματος καὶ τῆς ψυχῆς ἐκρυείσης πάλιν διὰ τῆς ἀναστάσεως σῶον καὶ ἀπαθῆ καὶ ἀκέραιον καὶ πάσης τῆς κατὰ κακίαν ἐπιμιξίας ἀλλότριον ἀναστοιχειωθῆναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον. ἀλλ' ἐπὶ μὲν τοῦ καθηγουμένου τῆς σωτηρίας ἡμῶν τὸ τέλειον ἡ κατὰ τὸν θάνατον ἔσχεν οἰκονομία, κατὰ τὸν ἴδιον σκοπὸν ἐντελῶς πληρωθεῖσα. διεστάλη τε γὰρ διὰ τοῦ θανάτου τὰ ἡνωμένα καὶ πάλιν συνήχθη τὰ διακεκριμένα, ὡς ἂν καθαρθείσης τῆς φύσεως ἐν τῇ τῶν συμφυῶν διαλύσει, ψυχῆς τε λέγω καὶ σώματος, πάλιν ἡ τῶν κεχωρισμένων ἐπάνοδος τῆς ἀλλοτρίας ἐπιμιξίας καθα ρεύουσα γένοιτο· ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ἀκολουθούντων τῷ καθηγου μένῳ οὐ χωρεῖ τὴν ἀκριβῆ μίμησιν δι' ὅλων ἡ φύσις, ἀλλ' ὅσον δυνατῶς ἔχει, τοσοῦτον νῦν παραδεξαμένη, τὸ λεῖπον τῷ μετὰ ταῦτα ταμιεύεται χρόνῳ. τί οὖν ἔστιν ὃ μιμεῖται; τὸ τῆς ἐμμιχθείσης κακίας ἐν τῇ τῆς νεκρώσεως εἰκόνι τῇ γενομένῃ διὰ τοῦ ὕδατος τὸν ἀφανισμὸν ἐμποιῆσαι, οὐ μὴν τελείως ἀφανισμόν, ἀλλά τινα διακοπὴν τῆς τοῦ κακοῦ συνεχείας, συνδραμόντων δύο πρὸς τὴν τῆς κακίας ἀναί ρεσιν, τῆς τε τοῦ πλημμελήσαντος μεταμελείας καὶ τῆς τοῦ θανάτου μιμήσεως, δι' ὧν ἐκλύεταί πως ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῆς πρὸς τὸ κακὸν συμφυίας, τῇ μεταμελείᾳ μὲν εἰς μῖσός τε καὶ ἀλλοτρίωσιν τῆς κακίας χωρῶν, τῷ δὲ θανάτῳ τοῦ κακοῦ τὸν ἀφανισμὸν ἐργαζόμενος. ἀλλ' εἰ μὲν ἦν δυνατὸν ἐν τελείῳ τῷ θανάτῳ γενέσθαι τὸν μιμούμενον, οὐδ' ἂν μίμησις, ἀλλὰ ταὐτότης τὸ γινόμενον ἦν, καὶ εἰς τὸ παν τελὲς τὸ κακὸν ἐκ τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν ἠφανίζετο, ὥστε, καθώς φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος, ἐφάπαξ ἀποθανεῖν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ. ἐπεὶ δέ, καθὼς εἴρηται, τοσοῦτον μιμούμεθα τῆς ὑπερε χούσης δυνάμεως ὅσον χωρεῖ ἡμῶν ἡ πτωχεία τῆς φύσεως, τὸ ὕδωρ τρὶς ἐπιχεάμενοι καὶ πάλιν ἀναβάντες ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕδατος, τὴν σωτήριον ταφὴν καὶ ἀνάστασιν τὴν ἐν τριημέρῳ γενομένην τῷ χρόνῳ ὑποκρινόμεθα, τοῦτο λαβόντες κατὰ διάνοιαν ὅτι, ὡς ἡμῖν ἐν ἐξουσίᾳ τὸ ὕδωρ ἐστί, καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ γενέσθαι καὶ ἐξ αὐτοῦ πάλιν ἀναδῦναι, κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ἐπ' ἐξουσίας ἦν ὁ τοῦ παντὸς ἔχων τὴν δεσποτείαν, ὡς ἡμεῖς ἐν τῷ ὕδατι, οὕτως ἐκεῖνος ἐν τῷ θανάτῳ καταδυείς, πάλιν ἐπὶ τὴν ἰδίαν ἀναλύειν μακαριό τητα. εἰ οὖν τις πρὸς τὸ εἰκὸς βλέποι καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἐν ἑκατέρῳ δύναμιν τὰ γινόμενα κρίνοι, οὐδεμίαν ἐν τοῖς γινομένοις εὑρήσει