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the Word calls his birth through the flesh an entrance into the world. If, therefore, when he entered into the world all the angels worship him, and the entrance is a birth through the flesh, we are not subjecting the master's own possession to him, but the very nature of the angels is not ignorant of the lordship that is over it, so let him be silent who adds those foolish things to the argument <that> we make what is above below, enslaving God-bearing angels to a God-bearing man. Furthermore, in addition to these things, he says: If he who received God is true God, there would be many gods, since many receive God. What then do we say to this? That "God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself," the great Paul is sufficient for a testimony. But if because of this the writer thinks that a multitude of gods is introduced by us into the preaching, because we confess that in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, as if God were also in men, we shall answer these things: if many mothers are virgins and to many is the mystic instruction of Gabriel and upon each is the coming of the Holy Spirit and the presence of the power of the Most High; and if concerning many the prophets proclaim the grace so as to speak in the plural: "children were born to us and sons were given to us" and "the virgins shall conceive in the womb" and the names of all those born are "Emmanuel," if all walk upon the waves and with unspeakable power feed so many thousands 3,1.3 in the wilderness, increasing to satiety the bread produced in the hands of the disciples, if all raise the four-days-dead from the tombs, if all become lambs of God and are sacrificed as the Passover for us and nail sin to the cross and destroy the power of death and ascend to heaven in the sight of the disciples and sit at the right hand of the Father, if all will come to judge the world in righteousness and in the name of all the tongue of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth confesses, we will grant that there are many gods, if indeed the many were in these tokens. But if there is one Lord Jesus, through whom are all things, and "From him and through him and to him are all things," and concerning him alone is such an enumeration of God-befitting names, what danger is there that many gods should be fabricated, when we say that God was manifested through ensouled flesh? For that what appeared was a man, who is so unheard of the evangelical teachings as to be ignorant of what was said by the Savior himself to the Jews: "But now you seek to kill me, a man who has spoken the truth to you"? Do you see in the things said, what the Word indicated was being killed when he said: "You seek to kill me"? Not the truth, but the man, through whom the truth was uttered. For it was not a man who spoke the truth; but clearly he who spoke was God, and the man mediated what was said to men with his own voice. For which reason he is also called mediator of God and men, since human nature is unable to mingle with the unmixed presence of God and for this reason needs a voice that is kindred to it and natural, through which the power from above may likely be received. This too must be left, and the argument must be turned to what follows. 3,1.4

"Nothing," he says, "is so united to God as the flesh that was assumed." Oh, his carefully considered declaration! Nothing is so united to God as the flesh, not goodness, not eternity, not incorruptibility, not sovereignty over all things, nor any other of the God-befitting concepts, but all these things are secondary to the flesh in comparison to God and to the union of God with it and to the flesh that was acquired. The writer confesses this very thing; for by saying that it was assumed he indicated its derivative nature. And this we will pass by, keeping silent about what follows, as having in itself the refutation of the incoherent myth-making and being harmless to those who encounter it; for having proposed that nothing else of the things that have come to be upon God

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τὴν διὰ σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ γένεσιν εἴσοδον εἰς τὴν οἰκου μένην ὀνομάζει ὁ λόγος. εἰ οὖν εἰσελθόντι αὐτῷ εἰς τὴν οἰκουμένην πάντες προσκυνοῦσιν οἱ ἄγγελοι, ἡ δὲ εἴσοδος διὰ σαρκός ἐστι γένεσις, οὐχ ἡμεῖς δουλαγωγοῦμεν τῷ δεσ πότῃ τὸ ἴδιον κτῆμα, ἀλλ' αὐτὴ τῶν ἀγγέλων ἡ φύσις οὐκ ἀγνοεῖ τὴν ὑπερκειμένην ἑαυτῆς δεσποτείαν, ὥστε σιγάτω προστιθεὶς ἐκεῖνα τῷ λόγῳ τὰ μάταια <ὅτι> τὰ ἄνω ποιοῦμεν κάτω, θεοφόρους ἀγγέλους θεοφόρῳ ἀνθρώπῳ καταδου λοῦντες. Ἔτι πρὸς τούτοις φησίν· Εἰ ὁ θεὸν δεξάμενος θεός ἐστιν ἀληθινός, πολλοὶ ἂν εἶεν θεοί, ἐπειδὴ πολλοὶ δέχονται τὸν θεόν. τί οὖν καὶ πρὸς τοῦτο ἡμεῖς; ὅτι μὲν Ὁ θεὸς ἦν ἐν Χριστῷ, κόσμον ἑαυτῷ καταλ λάσσων, ἱκανὸς εἰς μαρτυρίαν ὁ μέγας Παῦλος. Εἰ δὲ διὰ τοῦτο οἴεται ὁ λογογράφος πλῆθος θεῶν παρ' ἡμῶν ἐπεισά γεσθαι τῷ κηρύγματι, ὅτι ὁμολογοῦμεν ἐν Χριστῷ τὸν θεὸν ἑαυτῷ καταλλάσσειν τὸν κόσμον, ὡς καὶ ἐν ἀνθρώποις τοῦ θεοῦ γινομένου, ταῦτα ἀποκρινούμεθα· εἰ πολλαὶ μητέρες παρθένοι καὶ πρὸς πολλὰς ἡ μυσταγωγία τοῦ Γαβριὴλ καὶ πρὸς ἑκάστην ἡ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος ἐπέλευσις καὶ ἡ τῆς τοῦ ὑψίστου δυνάμεως παρουσία· καὶ εἰ περὶ πολλῶν οἱ προφῆται τὴν χάριν κηρύσσουσιν ὥστε πληθυντικῶς λέγειν· παιδία ἐγεννήθησαν ἡμῖν καὶ υἱοὶ ἐδόθησαν ἡμῖν καὶ αἱ παρθένοι ἐν γαστρὶ λήψονται καὶ τὰ ὀνόματα τῶν τεχθέντων πάντων Ἐμμανουήλ ἐστιν, εἰ πάντες πεζῇ τῶν κυμάτων ἐπιβατεύουσι καὶ τῇ ἀφράστῳ δυνάμει τὰς τοσαύτας χιλιάδας 3,1.3 ἐπ' ἐρημίας τρέφουσιν αὔξοντες τῷ κόρῳ τὸν ἄρτον τὸν ἐν ταῖς χερσὶ τῶν μαθητῶν γεωργούμενον, εἰ πάντες νεκροὺς τετραημέρους ἐκ τῶν χωμάτων ἐγείρουσιν, εἰ πάντες ἀμνοὶ τοῦ θεοῦ γίνονται καὶ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν πάσχα θύονται καὶ τῷ σταυρῷ προσηλοῦσι τὴν ἁμαρτίαν καὶ καταλύουσι τοῦ θα νάτου τὸ κράτος καὶ εἰς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῶν μαθητῶν εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἀνατρέχουσι καὶ ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ πατρὸς καθέζονται, εἰ πάντες ἐλεύσονται κρῖναι τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ ἐν ὀνόματι πάντων ἡ τῶν ἐπουρανίων τε καὶ ἐπιγείων καὶ κατα χθονίων γλῶσσα ἐξομολογεῖται, δώσομεν τὸ πολλοὺς εἶναι θεούς, εἴπερ ἐν τούτοις εἶεν οἱ πολλοὶ τοῖς γνωρίσμασιν. εἰ δὲ εἷς κύριος Ἰησοῦς, δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα, καὶ Ἐξ αὐτοῦ καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν τὰ πάντα, καὶ περὶ μόνον αὐτὸν ἡ τοιαύτη τῶν θεοπρεπῶν ὀνομάτων ἀπαρίθμησις, τίς κίνδυνος πολλοὺς ἀναπλασθῆναι θεούς, ὅταν λέγωμεν θεὸν διὰ σαρκὸς ἐμψύχου πεφανερῶσθαι; ὅτι γὰρ ἄνθρωπος τὸ φαινόμενον ἦν, τίς οὕτω τῶν εὐαγγελικῶν διδαγμάτων ἀνήκοος, ὡς ἀγνοεῖν τὸ παρ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ σωτῆρος πρὸς τοὺς Ἰουδαίους λεγόμενον· Νυνὶ δὲ ζητεῖτέ με ἀποκτεῖναι, ἄνθρωπον ὃς τὴν ἀλήθειαν ὑμῖν λελάληκα; ὁρᾷς ἐν τοῖς λεγομένοις, τί τὸ ἀποκτεινόμενον ὁ λόγος ὑπέδειξεν εἰπών· Ζητεῖτέ με ἀποκτεῖναι; οὐ τὴν ἀλήθειαν, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἄνθρωπον, δι' οὗ ἐφθέγγετο ἡ ἀλήθεια. οὐ γὰρ ἄνθρωπος ἦν ὁ λαλῶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν· ἀλλὰ δηλονότι ὁ μὲν λαλῶν θεὸς ἦν, ὁ δὲ ἄνθρωπος ἐμεσίτευε πρὸς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τῇ ἰδίᾳ φωνῇ τὸ λεγόμενον. δι' ὃ καὶ μεσίτης λέγεται θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων ὡς οὐ δυναμένης τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως ἀκράτῳ προσμῖξαι τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ συνουσίᾳ καὶ διὰ τοῦτο δεομένης τῆς συγγενοῦς αὐτῇ καὶ κατὰ φύσιν φωνῆς, δι' ἧς εἰκὸς χωρεῖσθαι τὴν ἄνωθεν δύναμιν. κατα λειπτέον καὶ τοῦτο, πρὸς δὲ τὸ ἐφεξῆς τρεπτέον τὸν λόγον. 3,1.4

Οὐδέν, φησίν, οὕτως ἥνωται πρὸς θεὸν ὡς ἡ σὰρξ ἡ προσληφθεῖσα. ὢ τῆς περιεσκεμμένης αὐτοῦ ἀπο φάσεως! οὐδὲν οὕτως ἥνωται πρὸς θεὸν ὡς ἡ σάρξ, οὐδὲ ἡ ἀγαθότης οὐδὲ ἡ ἀϊδιότης οὐδὲ ἡ ἀφθαρσία οὐδὲ τὸ ἐπὶ πάντων κράτος οὐδὲ ἄλλο τι τῶν θεοπρεπῶν νοημάτων, ἀλλὰ πάντα ταῦτα τῆς σαρκός ἐστι δεύτερα συγκρίσει τῇ πρὸς τὸν θεὸν καὶ τῇ πρὸς ταύτην τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ ἑνώσεως καὶ σαρκὸς τῆς ἐπικτηθείσης. ὁμολογεῖ αὐτὸ τοῦτο ὁ λογογράφος· ὁ γὰρ προσειλῆφθαι αὐτὴν εἰπὼν τὸ ἐπιγεννηματικὸν αὐτῆς ἐνεδείξατο. Καὶ τοῦτο παραδραμούμεθα τὰ ἐφεξῆς ὡς αὐτόθεν ἔχοντα τὸν ἔλεγχον τῆς ἀσυστάτου μυθοποιΐας καὶ ἀβλαβῆ ὄντα τοῖς ἐντυγχάνουσι σιωπήσαντες· προθεὶς γὰρ τὸ μηδὲν ἄλλο τῶν ἐπὶ θεοῦ γενομένων