Chapter XXIX.—Texts Explained; Twelfthly, Matthew xxvi. 39; John xii. 27, &c.Arian inferences are against the Regula Fidei, as before. He wept and the like, as man. Other texts prove Him God. God could not fear. He feared because His flesh feared.

54. Therefore as, when the flesh advanced, He is said to have advanced, because the body was His own, so also what is said at the season of His death, that He was troubled, that He wept, must be taken in the same sense1347    διανοί& 139·, §26 et passim.. For they, going up and down1348    ἄνω καὶ κάτω, vid. de Decr. 14, n. 1; Or. ii. 34, n. 5., as if thereby recommending their heresy anew, allege; “Behold, ‘He wept,’ and said, ‘Now is My soul troubled,’ and He besought that the cup might pass away; how then, if He so spoke, is He God, and Word of the Father?” Yea, it is written that He wept, O God’s enemies, and that He said, ‘I am troubled,’ and on the Cross He said, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani,’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?’ and He besought that the cup might pass away1349    John xi. 35; xii. 27; Matt. xxvi. 39; Mark xv. 34.. Thus certainly it is written; but again I would ask you (for the same rejoinder must of necessity be made to each of your objections1350    Cf. ii. 80.), If the speaker is mere man, let him weep and fear death, as being man; but if He is the Word in flesh1351    §53, n. 2. (for one must not be reluctant to repeat), whom had He to fear being God? or wherefore should He fear death, who was Himself Life, and was rescuing others from death? or how, whereas He said, ‘Fear not him that kills the body1352    Luke xii. 4.,’ should He Himself fear? And how should He who said to Abraham, ‘Fear not, for I am with thee,’ and encouraged Moses against Pharaoh, and said to the son of Nun, ‘Be strong, and of a good courage1353    Gen. xv. 1; xxvi. 24; Exod. iv. 12, &c.; Josh. i. 6.,’ Himself feel terror before Herod and Pilate? Further, He who succours others against fear (for ‘the Lord,’ says Scripture, ‘is on my side, I will not fear what man shall do unto me1354    Ps. cxviii. 6.’), did He fear governors, mortal men? did He who Himself was come against death, feel terror of death? Is it not both unseemly and irreligious to say that He was terrified at death or hades, whom the keepers of the gates of hades1355    Job xxxviii. 17. LXX.; De Syn. 8, below, §56. saw and shuddered? But if, as you would hold, the Word was in terror wherefore, when He spoke long before of the conspiracy of the Jews, did He not flee, nay said when actually sought, ‘I am He?’ for He could have avoided death, as He said, ‘I have power to lay down My life, and I have power to take it again;’ and ‘No one taketh it from Me1356    John xviii. 5; x. 18..’

55. But these affections were not proper to the nature of the Word, as far as He was Word; but in the flesh which was thus affected was the Word, O Christ’s enemies and unthankful Jews! For He said not all this prior to the flesh; but when the ‘Word became flesh,’ and has become man, then is it written that He said this, that is, humanly. Surely He of whom this is written was He who raised Lazarus from the dead, and made the water wine, and vouchsafed sight to the man born blind, and said, ‘I and My Father are one1357    Ib. x. 30..’ If then they make His human attributes a ground for low thoughts concerning the Son of God, nay consider Him altogether man from the earth, and not1358    ἄνθρωπον ὅλον, Orat. iv. 35 fin. from heaven, wherefore not from His divine works recognise the Word who is in the Father, and henceforward renounce their self-willed1359    ἰδίαν, Orat. i. 52 fin. irreligion? For they are given to see, how He who did the works is the same as He who shewed that His body was passible by His permitting1360    This our Lord’s suspense or permission, at His will, of the operations of His manhood is a great principle in the doctrine of the Incarnation. Cf. Theophylact, in Joh. xi. 34. And Cyril, fragm. in Joan. p. 685. Leon. Ep. 35, 3. Aug. in Joan. xlix. 18. vid. note on §57, sub. fin. The Eutychians perverted this doctrine, as if it implied that our Lord was not subject to the laws of human nature, and that He suffered merely ‘by permission of the Word.’ Leont. ap. Canis. t. i. p. 563. In like manner Marcion or Manes said that His ‘flesh appeared from heaven in resemblance, ὡς ἠθέλησεν.’ Athan. contr. Apoll. ii. 3. it to weep and hunger, and to shew other properties of a body. For while by means of such He made it known that, though God impassible, He had taken a passible flesh; yet from the works He shewed Himself the Word of God, who had afterwards become man, saying, Though ye believe not Me, beholding Me clad in a human body, yet believe the works, that ye may know that “I am in the Father, and the Father in Me.1361    John x. 38; xiv. 10.” ‘And Christ’s enemies seem to me to shew plain shamelessness and blasphemy;’ for, when they hear ‘I and the Father are one1362    Ib. x. 30.,’ they violently distort the sense, and separate the unity of the Father and the Son; but reading of His tears or sweat or sufferings, they do not advert to His body, but on account of these rank in the creation Him by whom the creation was made. What then is left for them to differ from the Jews in? for as the Jews blasphemously ascribed God’s works to Beelzebub, so also will these, ranking with the creatures the Lord who wrought those works, undergo the same condemnation as theirs without mercy.

56. But they ought, when they hear ‘I and the Father are one,’ to see in Him the oneness of the Godhead and the propriety of the Father’s Essence; and again when they hear, ‘He wept’ and the like, to say that these are proper to the body; especially since on each side they have an intelligible ground, viz. that this is written as of God and that with reference to His manhood. For in the incorporeal, the properties of body had not been, unless He had taken a body corruptible and mortal1363    Or. i. 43, 44, notes; ii. 66, n. 7. Serm. Maj. de Fid. 9. Tertull. de Carn. Chr. 6.; for mortal was Holy Mary, from whom was His body. Wherefore of necessity when He was in a body suffering, and weeping, and toiling, these things which are proper to the flesh, are ascribed to Him together with the body. If then He wept and was troubled, it was not the Word, considered as the Word, who wept and was troubled, but it was proper to the flesh; and if too He besought that the cup might pass away, it was not the Godhead that was in terror, but this affection too was proper to the manhood. And that the words ‘Why hast Thou forsaken Me?’ are His, according to the foregoing explanations (though He suffered nothing, for the Word was impassible), is notwithstanding declared by the Evangelists; since the Lord became man, and these things are done and said as from a man, that He might Himself lighten1364    §44, nn. 2, 6. these very sufferings of the flesh, and free it from them1365    ii. 56, n. 5.. Whence neither can the Lord be forsaken by the Father, who is ever in the Father, both before He spoke, and when He uttered this cry. Nor is it lawful to say that the Lord was in terror, at whom the keepers of hell’s gates shuddered1366    Job xxxviii. 17, LXX. and set open hell, and the graves did gape, and many bodies of the saints arose and appeared to their own people1367    Vid. Matt. xxvii. 52, 53, similar passage supr. p. 88.. Therefore be every heretic dumb, nor dare to ascribe terror to the Lord whom death, as a serpent, flees, at whom demons tremble, and the sea is in alarm; for whom the heavens are rent and all the powers are shaken. For behold when He says, ‘Why hast Thou forsaken Me?’ the Father shewed that He was ever and even then in Him; for the earth knowing its Lord1368    δεσποτὴν, §14, &c. who spoke, straightway trembled, and the vail was rent, and the sun was hidden, and the rocks were torn asunder, and the graves, as I have said, did gape, and the dead in them arose; and, what is wonderful, they who were then present and had before denied Him, then seeing these signs, confessed that ‘truly He was the Son of God1369    Vid. Matt. xxvii. 54. Vid. Or. ii. 16; 35, n. 2. Cf. Leo’s Tome (Ep. 28.) 4. Nyssen, contr. Eunom. iv. p. 161. Ambros. Epist. i. 46. n. 7. vid. Hil. Trin. x. 48. Also vid. Athan. Sent. D. fin. Serm. Maj. de Fid. 24..’

57. And as to His saying, ‘If it be possible, let the cup pass,’ observe how, though He thus spake, He rebuked1370    Matt. xvi. 23, cf. §§40, 41. Peter, saying, ‘Thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.’ For He willed1371    [The human will of the Saviour is in absolute harmony with the Divine, though psychologically distinct.] Cf. Anast. Hodeg. i. p. 12. what He deprecated, for therefore had He come; but His was the willing (for for it He came), but the terror belonged to the flesh. Wherefore as man He utters this speech also, and yet both were said by the Same, to shew that He was God, willing in Himself, but when He had become man, having a flesh that was in terror. For the sake of this flesh He combined His own will with human weakness1372    It is observable that, as elsewhere we have seen Athan. speak of the nature of the Word, and of, not the nature of man as united to Him, but of flesh, humanity, &c. (vid. Or. ii. 45, n. 2.) so here, instead of speaking of two wills, he speaks of the Word’s willing and human weakness, terror, &c. In another place he says still more pointedly, ‘The will was of the Godhead alone; since the whole nature of the Word was manifested in the second Adam’s human form and visible flesh.’ contr. Apoll. ii. 10. Cf. S. Leo on the same passage: ‘The first request is one of infirmity, the second of power; the first He asked in our [character], the second in His own.…The inferior will give way to the superior,’ &c. Serm. 56, 2. vid. a similar passage in Nyssen. Antirrh. adv. Apol. 32. vid. also 31. An obvious objection may be drawn from such passages, as if the will ‘of the flesh’ were represented as contrary (vid. foregoing note) to the will of the Word. The whole of our Lord’s prayer is offered by Him as man, because it is a prayer; the first part is not from Him as man, but the second, which corrects it, from Him as God [i.e. the first part is not human as contrasted with the second]; but the former part is from the sinless infirmity of our nature, the latter from His human will expressing its acquiescence in His Father’s, that is, in His Divine Will. ‘His Will,’ says S. Greg. Naz. ‘was not contrary to God, being all deified, θεωθὲν ὅλον.’, that destroying this affection He might in turn make man undaunted in face of death. Behold then a thing strange indeed! He to whom Christ’s enemies impute words of terror, He by that so-called1373    νομιζομένῃ, vid. Orat. i. 10. tenor renders men undaunted and fearless. And so the Blessed Apostles after Him from such words of His conceived so great a contempt of death, as not even to care for those who questioned them, but to answer, ‘We ought to obey God rather than men1374    Acts v. 29..’ And the other Holy Martyrs were so bold, as to think that they were rather passing to life than undergoing death. Is it not extravagant then, to admire the courage of the servants of the Word, yet to say that the Word Himself was in terror, through whom they despised death? But from that most enduring purpose and courage of the Holy Martyrs is shewn, that the Godhead was not in terror, but the Saviour took away our terror. For as He abolished death by death, and by human means all human evils, so by this so-called terror did He remove our terror, and brought about that never more should men fear death. His word and deed go together. For human were the sayings, ‘Let the cup pass,’ and ‘Why hast Thou forsaken Me?’ and divine the act whereby the Same did cause the sun to fail and the dead to rise. Again He said humanly, ‘Now is My soul troubled;’ and He said divinely, ‘I have power to lay down My life, and power to take it again1375    John xii. 27; x. 18..’ For to be troubled was proper to the flesh, and to have power to lay down His life1376    This might be taken as an illustration of the ut voluit supr. Or. i. 44, n. 11. And so the expressions in the Evangelists, ‘Into Thy hands I commend My Spirit,’ ‘He bowed the head,’ ‘He gave up the ghost,’ are taken to imply that His death was His free act. vid. Ambros. in loc. Luc. Hieron. in loc. Matt. also Athan. Serm. Maj. de Fid. 4. It is Catholic doctrine that our Lord, as man, submitted to death of His free will, and not as obeying an express command of the Father. Cf. S. Chrysostom on John x. 18. Theophylact. in Hebr. xii. 2; Aug. de Trin. iv. 16. and take it again, when He will, was no property of men but of the Word’s power. For man dies, not by his own power, but by necessity of nature and against his will; but the Lord, being Himself immortal, but having a mortal flesh, had power, as God, to become separate from the body and to take it again, when He would. Concerning this too speaks David in the Psalm, ‘Thou shalt not leave My soul in hades, neither shalt Thou suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption1377    Ps. xvi. 10..’ For it beseemed that the flesh, corruptible as it was, should no longer after its own nature remain mortal, but because of the Word who had put it on, should abide incorruptible. For as He, having come in our body, was conformed to our condition, so we, receiving Him, partake of the immortality that is from Him.

58. Idle then is the excuse for stumbling, and petty the notions concerning the Word, of these Ario-maniacs, because it is written, ‘He was troubled,’ and ‘He wept.’ For they seem not even to have human feeling, if they are thus ignorant of man’s nature and properties; which do but make it the greater wonder, that the Word should be in such a suffering flesh, and neither prevented those who were conspiring against Him, nor took vengeance of those who were putting Him to death, though He was able, He who hindered some from dying, and raised others from the dead. And He let His own body suffer, for therefore did He come, as I said before, that in the flesh He might suffer, and thenceforth the flesh might be made impassible and immortal1378    Or. ii. 65, n. 3., and that, as we have many times said, contumely and other troubles might determine upon Him and come short of others after Him, being by Him annulled utterly; and that henceforth men might for ever abide1379    Ib. 69, n. 3. incorruptible, as a temple of the Word1380    §53.. Had Christ’s enemies thus dwelt on these thoughts, and recognised the ecclesiastical scope as an anchor for the faith, they would not have made shipwreck of the faith, nor been so shameless as to resist those who would fain recover them from their fall, and to deem those as enemies who are admonishing them to be religious1381    Thus ends the exposition of texts, which forms the body of these Orations. It is remarkable that he ends as he began, with reference to the ecclesiastical scope, or Regula Fidei, which has so often come under our notice, vid. Or. ii. 35. n. 2. 44, n. 1, as if distinctly to tell us, that Scripture did not so force its meaning on the individual as to dispense with an interpreter, and as if his own deductions were not to be viewed merely in their own logical power, great as that power often is, but as under the authority of the Catholic doctrines which they subserve. Vid. Or. iii. 18, n. 3..

Οὐκοῦν ὥσπερ, προκοπτούσης τῆς σαρκὸς, λέ γεται αὐτὸς προκόπτειν διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὸ σῶμα ἰδιό τητα· οὕτω καὶ τὰ περὶ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦ θανάτου λε γόμενα, τὸ ταραχθῆναι, τὸ κλαῦσαι, χρὴ λαμβάνειν τῇ αὐτῇ διανοίᾳ. Ἄνω γὰρ καὶ κάτω περιιόντες, καὶ ὥσπερ ἐκ τούτων τὴν αἵρεσιν πάλιν συνιστῶντες, φάσκουσιν· Ἰδοὺ ἔκλαυσε καὶ εἶπε· Νῦν ἡ ψυχή μου τετάρακται· καὶ παρεκάλεσε παρελθεῖν τὸ ποτή ριον· πῶς οὖν, εἰ ταῦτα εἴρηκε, Θεός ἐστι καὶ Λό γος τοῦ Πατρός; Ναὶ γέγραπται, ὅτι ἔκλαυσεν, ὦ Θεομάχοι, καὶ ὅτι εἶπεν, Ἐταράχθην, καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ σταυροῦ εἶπεν, Ἐλωῒ, Ἐλωῒ λιμασαβαχθανὶ, ὅ ἐστι, Θεέ μου, Θεέ μου, ἵνα τί με ἐγκατέλιπες; Καὶ παρεκάλεσε δὲ τοῦ παρελθεῖν τὸ ποτήριον· γέγραπται γὰρ ταῦτα. Ἀλλ' ἠβουλόμην πάλιν ὑμᾶς ἀποκρίνασθαι· τὸ αὐτὸ γὰρ ἐφ' ἑκάστου τῶν παρ' ὑμῶν προτεινομένων ἀντικρούειν ἀνάγκη. Εἰ μὲν ἄνθρωπος ψιλός ἐστιν ὁ λαλῶν, κλαιέτω καὶ φο βείσθω τὸν θάνατον, ὡς ἄνθρωπος· εἰ δὲ Λόγος ἐστὶν ἐν σαρκὶ (τὰ αὐτὰ γὰρ λέγειν ἀεὶ οὐκ ὀκνητέον), τίνα Θεὸς ὢν εἶχε φοβεῖσθαι; Ἢ διὰ τί τὸν θά νατον ἐφοβεῖτο ζωὴ ὢν αὐτὸς, καὶ ἄλλους ἐκ τοῦ θα νάτου ῥυόμενος; Ἢ πῶς λέγων, Μὴ φοβεῖσθε τὸν ἀποκτείνοντα τὸ σῶμα, αὐτὸς ἐφοβεῖτο; Πῶς δὲ ὁ τῷ Ἀβραὰμ λέγων, Μὴ φοβοῦ, ὅτι μετὰ σοῦ εἰμι· καὶ τὸν Μωσῆν παραθαρσύνων κατὰ τοῦ Φα ραὼ, καὶ τῷ τοῦ Ναυῆ λέγων, Ἴσχυε καὶ ἀν δρίζου, αὐτὸς ἐδειλία τὸν Ἡρώδην καὶ τὸν Πιλᾶ τον; Εἶτα, ἄλλοις γινόμενος βοηθὸς εἰς τὸ μὴ φοβεῖσθαι (Κύριος γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐμοὶ βοηθός· οὐ φοβηθήσομαι τί ποιήσει μοι ἄνθρωπος), αὐτὸς ἡγεμόνας θνητοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐφοβεῖτο; αὐ τὸς ἐλθὼν κατὰ τοῦ θανάτου, ἐδειλία τὸν θάνα τον; Πῶς δὲ οὐκ ἄτοπον καὶ δυσσεβὲς, λέγειν τοῦτον δειλιᾷν τὸν θάνατον ἢ τὸν ᾅδην, ὃν οἱ πυλωροὶ τοῦ ᾅδου βλέποντες ἔπτηξαν; Εἰ δὲ καθ' ὑμᾶς ἐδειλία ὁ Λόγος, διὰ τί πρὸ πολλοῦ λέγων περὶ τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς τῶν Ἰουδαίων οὐκ ἔφευγεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ζητούμε νος ἔλεγεν· Ἐγώ εἰμι; Καὶ γὰρ ἠδύνατο μὴ ἀποθα νεῖν, ὡς ἔλεγεν· Ἐξουσίαν ἔχω θεῖναι τὴν ψυχήν μου· καὶ ἐξουσίαν ἔχω πάλιν λαβεῖν αὐτήν· καὶ, Οὐδεὶς αἴρει αὐτὴν ἀπ' ἐμοῦ. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἦν ἴδια φύσει τοῦ Λόγου ταῦτα, ᾖ Λόγος ἦν· ἐν δὲ τῇ τοιαῦτα πασχούσῃ σαρκὶ ἦν ὁ Λόγος, ὦ Χριστομάχοι καὶ ἀχάριστοι Ἰουδαῖοι. Καὶ γὰρ οὐκ εἴρηται ταῦτα πρὸ τῆς σαρκός· ἀλλ' ὅτε ὁ Λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο, καὶ γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος, τὸ τηνικαῦτα καὶ ἀνθρωπίνως εἰρῆσθαι γέγραπται ταῦτα. Ἀμέλει, περὶ οὗ γέγραπται ταῦτα, αὐτὸς ἤγειρε τὸν Λάζαρον ἐκ νεκρῶν, καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ οἶνον πεποίηκε, καὶ τῷ ἐκ γενετῆς τυφλῷ ἐχαρίσατο τὸ βλέπειν, καὶ εἶπεν· Ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν. Εἴπερ οὖν ἐκ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων προφασίζονται ταπεινὰ νοεῖν περὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ· μᾶλλον δὲ ἄνθρωπον αὐτὸν ὅλον ἐκ γῆς, καὶ οὐκ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ νομίζουσι· διὰ τί μὴ καὶ ἐκ τῶν θεϊκῶν ἔργων ἐπιγινώ σκουσι τὸν ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ Λόγον, καὶ λοιπὸν ἀρνοῦνται τὴν ἰδίαν ἀσέβειαν; Ἔξεστι γὰρ αὐτοὺς ὁρᾷν, πῶς ὁ τὰ ἔργα ποιῶν ὁ αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ καὶ τὸ σῶμα παθητὸν δεικνὺς ἐν τῷ ἀφιέναι κλαίειν καὶ πεινᾷν αὐτὸν, καὶ τὰ ἴδια τοῦ σώματος ἐν αὐτῷ φαίνε σθαι. Ἐκ μὲν γὰρ τῶν τοιούτων ἐγνώριζεν, ὅτι, Θεὸς ὢν ἀπαθὴς, σάρκα παθητὴν ἔλαβεν· ἐκ δὲ τῶν ἔργων ἐδείκνυεν ἑαυτὸν Λόγον ὄντα τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ὕστερον γενόμενον ἄνθρωπον, λέγων· Κἂν ἐμοὶ μὴ πιστεύητε, βλέποντες ἀνθρώπινόν με περιβεβλη μένον σῶμα, ἀλλὰ κἂν τοῖς ἔργοις πιστεύσατε, ἵνα γνῶτε, ὅτι ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ, καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ἐν ἐμοί. Πάνυ δέ μοι δοκοῦσιν ἀναισχυντίαν ἐσχηκέναι καὶ βλασφημίαν οἱ Χριστομάχοι. Ἀκούοντες μὲν γὰρ, Ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν, βιάζονται τὴν διά νοιαν παρεξηγεῖσθαι, καὶ διαιρεῖν τὴν ἑνότητα τοῦ Πα τρὸς καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ· ἀκούοντες δὲ, ὅτι ἔκλαυσεν, ἵδρωσε, πέπονθεν, οὐκ ἐνορῶσι τῷ σώματι, ἀλλ' ἐκ τούτων τῇ κτίσει συναριθμοῦσι τὸν δι' οὗ γέγονεν ἡ κτίσις. Τί οὖν ἔτι λοιπὸν καὶ οὗτοι τῶν Ἰουδαίων διαφέρουσιν; Ὡς γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἔργα τῷ Βεελζεβοὺλ ἐλογίζοντο βλασφημοῦντες· οὕτω καὶ οὗτοι, τὸν ταῦτα ἐργασάμενον Κύριον τοῖς κτίσμασι συναριθμοῦντες, τὴν αὐτὴν ἐκείνοις ἀσύγγνωστον ὑποίσονται κα ταδίκην. Ἔδει δὲ ἀκούοντας μὲν αὐτοὺς, Ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν, μίαν ὁρᾷν τὴν θεότητα καὶ τὸ ἴδιον τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ Πατρός· ἀκούοντας δὲ τὸ, ἔκλαυσε, καὶ τὰ ὅμοια, ταῦτα τοῦ σώματος ἵδια λέ γειν, μάλιστα ὅτι ἐν ἑκατέρῳ τούτων ἔχουσι τὴν ἀφορ μὴν εὔλογον, ὅτι τὰ μὲν ὡς περὶ Θεοῦ γέγραπται, τὰ δὲ διὰ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον αὐτοῦ σῶμα λέγεται. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐν ἀσωμάτῳ τὰ τοῦ σώματος ἂν ἐγεγόνει, εἰ μὴ σῶμα λαβὼν ἦν φθαρτὸν καὶ θνητόν· θνητὴ γὰρ ἦν ἡ ἁγία Μαρία, ἐξ ἧς ἦν καὶ τὸ σῶμα. ∆ιὸ καὶ ἀνάγκη ἐν πάσχοντι σώματι, καὶ κλαίοντι, καὶ κάμνοντι γε νομένου αὐτοῦ, αὐτοῦ λέγεσθαι μετὰ τοῦ σώματος καὶ ταῦτα, ἅπερ ἐστὶν ἴδια τῆς σαρκός. Εἴ τε τοί νυν ἔκλαυσε, καὶ ἐταράχθη, οὐκ ἦν ὁ Λόγος, ᾗ Λόγος ἐστὶν, ὁ κλαίων καὶ ταρασσόμενος, ἀλλὰ τῆς σαρκὸς ἴδιον ἦν τοῦτο· εἰ δὲ καὶ παρεκάλεσε παρελ θεῖν τὸ ποτήριον, οὐκ ἦν ἡ θεότης ἡ δειλιῶσα, ἀλλὰ τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος ἦν ἴδιον καὶ τοῦτο τὸ πάθος, καὶ τὸ λέγειν· Ἵνα τί με ἐγκατέλιπες; ὡς αὐτοῦ μέντοι πάλιν, κατὰ τὰ ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν εἰρημένα, καίτοι μηδὲν πάσχοντος, ἀπαθὴς γὰρ ἦν ὁ Λόγος, εἰρήκασιν ὅμως οἱ εὐαγγελισταὶ ταῦτα· ἐπεὶ καὶ ἄν θρωπος γέγονεν ὁ Κύριος, καὶ ὡς παρὰ ἀνθρώ που γίνεται καὶ λέγεται ταῦτα, ἵνα καὶ, ταῦτα τὰ παθήματα τῆς σαρκὸς κουφίσας αὐτὸς, ἐλευθέραν αὐ τῶν ταύτην κατασκευάσῃ. Ὅθεν οὐδὲ ἐγκαταλείπε σθαι δύναται παρὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς ὁ Κύριος ὁ ἐν αὐτῷ ὢν ἀεὶ, καὶ πρὸ τοῦ εἰπεῖν, καὶ ὅτε ταύτην ἠφίει τὴν φωνήν. Ἀλλ' οὐδὲ θέμις πάλιν εἰπεῖν δει λιᾷν τὸν Κύριον, ὃν οἱ πυλωροὶ τοῦ ᾅδου πτήξαντες ἐξαφῆκαν τὸν ᾅδην· καὶ τὰ μὲν μνήματα ἀνέῳγε, πολλὰ δὲ σώματα τῶν ἁγίων ἀνέστησαν, καὶ ἐνεφανίσθησαν τοῖς ἰδίοις. Φιμούσθω τοίνυν πᾶς αἱρε τικὸς, καὶ φοβείσθω λέγειν δειλιᾷν τὸν Κύριον, ὃν ὁ θάνατος, ὡς δράκων, φεύγει, ὃν τρέμουσι δαίμονες, καὶ φοβεῖται θάλασσα· δι' ὃν οἱ οὐρανοὶ σχίζονται, καὶ πᾶσαι αἱ δυνάμεις σαλεύονται· ἰδοὺ γὰρ λέ γοντος αὐτοῦ, Ἵνα τί με ἐγκατέλιπες; ἐδείκνυεν ὁ Πατὴρ, ὡς ἀεὶ καὶ τότε ἦν ἐν αὐτῷ. Ἡ γὰρ γῆ, γινώσκουσα τὸν λαλοῦντα ∆εσπότην, εὐθὺς ἔτρεμε, καὶ τὸ καταπέτασμα ἐσχίζετο, ὁ ἥλιός τε ἐκρύπτετο, καὶ αἱ πέτραι διεῤῥήγνυντο, καὶ τὰ μὲν μνημεῖα, ὡς προεῖπον, ἠνοίγετο, οἱ δὲ ἐν αὐτοῖς νεκροὶ ἠγείροντο· καὶ τό γε θαυμαστὸν, οἱ τότε παρόντες καὶ ἀρ νούμενοι πρότερον αὐτὸν, ὕστερον ταῦτα βλέποντες, ὁμολογοῦσιν ἀληθῶς τοῦτον εἶναι τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸν Υἱόν. Περὶ δὲ τοῦ λέγειν αὐτὸν, Εἰ δυνατὸν, παρελ θέτω τὸ ποτήριον, μάθετε πῶς ταῦτα εἰρηκὼς ἐπ ετίμα τῷ Πέτρῳ, λέγων· Οὐ φρονεῖς τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Ἤθελε γὰρ ὃ παρ ητεῖτο, καὶ διὰ τοῦτ' ἦν ἐλθών· ἀλλὰ τοῦ μὲν ἦν τὸ θέλειν· ἐπὶ τοῦτο γὰρ ἦλθε· τῆς δὲ σαρκὸς ἦν τὸ δειλιᾷν· διὸ καὶ ὡς ἄνθρωπος ἔλεγε τὴν τοιαύτην φωνήν. Καὶ ἀμφότερα πάλιν παρὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐλέ γετο, ἵνα δείξῃ, ὅτι Θεὸς ἦν θέλων μὲν αὐτὸς, γενόμενος δὲ ἄνθρωπος εἶχε δειλιῶσαν τὴν σάρκα, δι' ἣν συνεκέρασε τὸ ἑαυτοῦ θέλημα τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ ἀσθενείᾳ, ἵνα καὶ τοῦτο πάλιν ἀφανίσας, θαῤῥαλέον τὸν ἄνθρωπον πάλιν πρὸς τὸν θάνατον κατα σκευάσῃ. Ἰδοὺ γοῦν πρᾶγμα παράδοξον ἀληθῶς· ὃν ὡς κατὰ δειλίαν λαλεῖν νομίζουσιν οἱ Χριστομά χοι, οὗτος τῇ νομιζομένῃ δειλίᾳ θαῤῥαλέους καὶ ἀφό βους τοὺς ἀνθρώπους κατεσκεύαζεν. Οἱ γοῦν μα κάριοι ἀπόστολοι μετ' αὐτὸν οὕτως ἐκ τῶν τοιούτων φωνῶν κατεφρόνουν τοῦ θανάτου, ὡς μηδὲ φροντίζειν τῶν ἀνακρινόντων αὐτοὺς, ἀλλὰ λέγειν· Πειθαρχεῖν δεῖ Θεῷ μᾶλλον ἢ ἀνθρώποις· οἵ τε ἄλλοι ἅγιοι μάρτυρες οὕτως ἐθάῤῥουν, ὡς μᾶλλον νομίζειν αὐτοὺς εἰς ζωὴν μεταβαίνειν, ἢ θάνατον ὑπομένειν. Πῶς οὖν οὐκ ἄτοπον τῶν μὲν θεραπόντων τοῦ Λόγου θαυμάζειν τὴν ἀνδρείαν, αὐτὸν δὲ τὸν Λόγον λέγειν δειλιᾷν, δι' ὃν κἀκεῖνοι τοῦ θανάτου κατεφρόνη σαν; Ἐκ δὲ τῆς τῶν ἁγίων μαρτύρων καρτερικωτά της προθέσεως καὶ ἀνδρείας δείκνυται, ὡς οὐκ ἦν ἡ θεότης δειλιῶσα, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἡμῶν δειλίαν ἦν ἀφαιρού μενος ὁ Σωτήρ. Ὡς γὰρ τὸν θάνατον θανάτῳ κατήρ γησε, καὶ ἀνθρωπίνως πάντα τὰ ἀνθρώπινα, οὕτω τῇ νομιζομένῃ δειλίᾳ τὴν ἡμῶν δειλίαν ἀφῃρεῖτο, καὶ πεποίηκε μηκέτι φοβεῖσθαι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τὸν θάνατον. Ἔλεγεν οὖν ταῦτα καὶ ἅμα ἐποίει. Ἀνθρώπινα μὲν γὰρ ἦν τὸ λέγειν· Παρελθέτω τὸ ποτή ριον, καὶ, Ἵνα τί με ἐγκατέλιπες; θεϊκῶς δὲ ὁ αὐ τὸς ἐποίει τὸν ἥλιον ἐκλείπειν, καὶ τοὺς νεκροὺς ἐγεί ρεσθαι. Πάλιν τε λέγων ἀνθρωπίνως, Νῦν ἡ ψυχή μου τετάρακται· ἔλεγε καὶ θεϊκῶς· Ἐξουσίαν ἔχω θεῖναι τὴν ψυχήν μου, καὶ ἐξουσίαν ἔχω πάλιν λαβεῖν αὐτήν. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ ταράττεσθαι τῆς σαρκὸς ἴδιον ἦν, τὸ δὲ ἐξουσίαν ἔχειν θεῖναι καὶ λαβεῖν, ὅτε βούλεται, τὴν ψυχὴν, οὐκέτι τοῦτο ἴδιον ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλὰ τῆς τοῦ Λόγου δυνάμεώς ἐστιν. Ἄν θρωπος γὰρ οὐ κατ' ἰδίαν ἐξουσίαν, ἀλλ' ἀνάγκῃ φύ σεως καὶ μὴ θέλων ἀποθνήσκει· ὁ δὲ Κύριος, ἀθάνα τος αὐτὸς ὢν, σάρκα δὲ θνητὴν ἔχων, ἐπ' ἐξου σίας εἶχεν, ὡς Θεὸς, ἀπὸ τοῦ σώματος χωρισθῆναι, καὶ τοῦτο πάλιν ἀναλαβεῖν, ὅτε βούλεται. Περὶ τού του καὶ ∆αβὶδ ψάλλει· Οὐκ ἐγκαταλείψεις τὴν ψυ χήν μου εἰς ᾅδην, οὐδὲ δώσεις τὸν Ὅσιόν σου ἰδεῖν διαφθοράν. Ἔπρεπε γὰρ, φθαρτὴν οὖσαν τὴν σάρκα, μηκέτι κατὰ τὴν ἑαυτῆς φύσιν μένειν θνη τὴν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸν ἐνδυσάμενον αὐτὴν Λόγον ἄφθαρτον διαμένειν. Ὡς γὰρ αὐτὸς, γενόμενος ἐν τῷ ἡμῶν σώ ματι, τὰ ἡμῶν ἐμιμήσατο, οὕτως ἡμεῖς, δεξά μενοι αὐτὸν, τῆς παρ' ἐκείνου μεταλαμβάνομεν ἀθα νασίας. Μάτην τοίνυν σκανδαλίζεσθαι προσποιοῦνται, καὶ μικρὰ νοοῦσιν οἱ Ἀρειομανῖται περὶ τοῦ Λόγου, εἰ γέγραπται, ἐταράχθη, καὶ ἔκλαυσεν. Ἐοίκασι γὰρ μηδὲ ἀνθρωπίνην αἴσθησιν ἔχειν, ἀγνοοῦντες τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων φύσιν καὶ τὰ τούτων ἴδια· δι' ἃ μᾶλ λον ἔδει θαυμάζειν, ὅτι ἐν τοιαύτῃ πασχούσῃ σαρκὶ ἦν ὁ Λόγος, καὶ οὔτε ἐκώλυε τοὺς ἐπιβουλεύον τας, οὔτε ἐξεδίκει κατὰ τῶν ἀναιρούντων, καίπερ δυνάμενος, ὁ ἄλλους κωλύσας ἀποθανεῖν, καὶ ἀποθα νόντας ἐγείρας ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν· ἀλλ' ἠνείχετο πάσχειν τὸ ἴδιον σῶμα. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ἐλήλυθεν, ὡς προεῖπον, ἵνα σαρκὶ πάθῃ, καὶ λοιπὸν καὶ ἀπαθὴς καὶ ἀθάνατος ἡ σὰρξ κατασκευασθῇ· καὶ ἵνα, καθὼς πολλάκις εἴπομεν, ὡς εἰς αὐτὸν τῆς ὕβρεως καὶ τῶν γινομένων φθανόντων, μηκέτι τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἅπτηται ταῦτα, ἀλλ' ἐξαφανισθῇ παντελῶς παρ' αὐ τοῦ· καὶ λοιπὸν δι' αἰῶνος ἄφθαρτοι, ὡς ναὸς τοῦ Λόγου, διαμείνωσι. Ταῦτα εἰ οὕτως καὶ οἱ Χριστομάχοι διενοοῦντο, τόν τε σκοπὸν τὸν ἐκκλησιαστικὸν ὡς ἄγκυραν τῆς πίστεως ἐπεγίνωσκον, οὔτ' ἂν ἐναυάγησαν περὶ τὴν πίστιν, οὔτε τοσοῦ τον ἠναισχύντουν, ὡς ἀνθίστασθαι καὶ τοῖς βουλομένοις πεπτωκότας αὐτοὺς ἐγεῖραι, καὶ μᾶλλον ἐχθροὺς ἡγεῖσθαι τοὺς νουθετοῦντας αὐτοὺς εἰς εὐσέβειαν.