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and such things. Against which again opposes and rises up the testimony that according to the Godhead He is equal to God; and how He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant; and all that has been said before. And this very thing, to say with confidence, "Father;" and that He Himself gives life to all living things; and that He never spoke as a minister, "In the name of God," or "of my Father let it be done," for any one of the wonders He performed, as His disciples said to those who were grievously ill and to those who had a frail body: "In the name of Jesus Christ, arise;" and in this all-powerful and glorious name they did things which were impossible for all creation to do; but by His own authority He worked miracles, forgave sins, saying royally: "Your sins are forgiven you;" He snatched from Hades, He cast out demons, rebuking the sea He commanded: "Peace, be still;" He rebuked the winds, and they ceased; giving to Peter the keys of heaven, He said: "Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;" to La 39.901 zarus He commanded: "Come forth from the tomb;" To another He commanded: "Young man, arise;" to the leper He said: "I will, be cleansed;" to another: "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven you;" to another: "Rise, take up your pallet, and walk;" to the demon: "You mute," he says, "and deaf demon, I command you, come out." And not only did these things stand against them, but the notion of the insolent, "Why have you forsaken me?" was also refuted beforehand, as the Lord proclaimed in advance in the same John: "Behold, the hour is coming, and has now come, for you to be scattered, each to his own, and to leave me alone; and yet I am not alone, because my Father is with me;" and as Paul wrote to the Hebrews, that the Holy Spirit also was inseparable from Him: "For if," he says, "the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the defiled, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh: how much more will the blood of Jesus, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your hearts from a wicked conscience? And He offered Himself to God through the Holy Spirit when He willingly went up to the cross. Therefore, one must not understand it plainly, as the word seems to indicate; but that here also, condescending in all things, and becoming poor in the form of a servant, and unchangeably refashioning Himself by the word to the common state, and preserving the entire sequence of the incarnation, and obscuring none of the character of truth, He spoke things befitting humble men, as true wisdom does, so that we too, being made like Him, and perfectly conformed, according to the Apostle, may do the things that are fitting and pleasing to Him, and may proceed from earthly things to heavenly things. But what has been said about this by those outside, there is nothing like hearing from them themselves. For thus not only will we love the great utterance of the saints among us even more, but we will also admire more and more the one wisdom that provides for all. And it is as follows: For often they utter what it is possible for mortals to hear; but there are other, better meanings in the tales. 39.904 How one ought to look keenly with pure eyes. And receive the blessed gifts of God's truth, traveling another, more divine path of the tales. For how would we have been assured that He bore our weaknesses, as it is written, to the precious cross, so that through this He might provide a better state for men, if He had not first taken them upon Himself and shown them, in the way He knows? And how would it have been made clear that He truly became animate flesh, and not a phantom, when some thought, the Manicheans that He had a body in appearance, and the Arians that He had become soulless, if He had not said, "My soul is very sorrowful," and showed fear, and partook of food, and drink, and sleep? For such things are fitting neither for divinity, nor for soulless flesh. For concerning the body, only its own passions are seen
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ὅσα τοιαῦτα. Οἷς ἀντιβαίνει πάλιν καὶ ἐπανίσταται τὸ μαρτυρεῖσθαι κατὰ τὴν θεότητα εἶναι ἴσα Θεῷ· καὶ ὡς ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσε μορφὴν δούλου λαβών· καὶ ὅσα προείρηται. Καὶ αὐτὸ τοῦτο, τὸ εἰπεῖν πεποιθήσει, «Πάτερ·» καὶ ὅτι αὐτὸς πάντα τὰ ἔμψυχα ψυχοῖ· καὶ ὅτι οὐχ ὡς ὑπουργὸς ἐφθέγξατό ποτε· «Ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ Θεοῦ,» ἢ «τοῦ Πατρός μου γενέσθω» ἓν ὧν ἐποίησε θαυμάτων, καθὰ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ τοῖς τε δυσιάτως ἔχουσι καὶ τοῖς σαθρῷ σώματι κεχρημένοις ἔλεγον· «Ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐγέρθητι·» καὶ ἐν τῷ παντοδυνάμῳ καὶ εὐκλεεῖ ὀνόματι τούτῳ ἐποίουν, ὅσα ἦν τῇ κτίσει ὁμοῦ πάσῃ δράσαι ἀδύνατα· ἀλλ' ἰδίᾳ ἐξουσίᾳ ἐνήργει δυνάμεις, συνεχώρει ἁμαρτίας, λέγων βασιλικῶς· «Ἀφέωνταί σοι αἱ ἁμαρτίαι·» ἐκ τοῦ ᾄδου ἐξήρπαζεν, δαίμονας ἐφυγάδευεν, τῇ θαλάσσῃ ἐμβριμούμενος ἐπέταττεν· «Σιώπα, πεφίμωσο·» τοῖς ἀνέμοις ἐπετίμα, καὶ ἐκόπαζον· τῷ Πέτρῳ δοὺς τὰς κλεῖς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, ἔλεγεν· «Ὃ ἐὰν λύσητε ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἔσται λελυμένον ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς· καὶ ὃ ἐὰν δήσητε ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἔσται δεδεμένον ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς·» τῷ Λα 39.901 ζάρῳ παρεκελεύετο· «∆εῦρο ἐκ τάφων ἔξω·» Ἄλλῳ προσέταττεν· «Νεανίσκε, ἐγέρθητι·» τῷ λεπρῷ ἔφραζεν· «Θέλω, καθαρίσθητι·» ἄλλῳ· «Θάρσει, τέκνον· ἀφέωνταί σοι αἱ ἁμαρτίαι·» ἑτέρῳ· «Ἔγειρε, ἆρον τὸν κράββατόν σου, καὶ περιπάτει·» τῷ δαίμονι· «Τὸ ἄλαλον,» φησὶν, «καὶ κωφὸν δαιμόνιον, ἐγώ σοι ἐπιτάσσω, ἔξελθε.» Καὶ οὐ μόνον ταῦτα ἀντιστήκει, ἀλλὰ καὶ προανῃρέθη τῶν ὑβριστῶν ἡ ἔννοια τοῦ, «Ἵνα τί ἐγκατέλιπές με;» τοῦ μὲν Κυρίου παρὰ τῷ αὐτῷ Ἰωάννῃ προαναφωνήσαντος· «Ἰδοὺ ἔρχεται ὥρα, καὶ νῦν ἐλήλυθεν, ἵνα σκορπισθῆτε ἕκαστος εἰς τὰ ἴδια, καὶ ἐμὲ μόνον ἀφῆτε· καὶ οὐκ εἰμὶ μόνος, ὅτι ὁ Πατήρ μου μετ' ἐμοῦ ἐστιν·» τοῦ δὲ Παύλου Ἑβραίοις ἐπιστείλαντος, ὅτι καὶ τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα ἀχώριστον αὐτοῦ ἦν· «Εἰ γὰρ,» φησὶ, «τὸ αἷμα ταύρων καὶ τράγων, καὶ σποδὸς δαμάλεως, ῥαντίζουσα τοὺς κεκοινωμένους ἁγιάζει πρὸς τὴν τῆς σαρκὸς καθαρότητα· πόσῳ μᾶλλον τὸ αἷμα Ἰησοῦ, ὅστις διὰ Πνεύματος ἁγίου ἑαυτὸν ἄμωμον προσήνεγκε τῷ Θεῷ, καθαρίσει τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν ἀπὸ συνειδήσεως πονηρᾶς; Τότε δὲ προσήνεγκε διὰ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἑαυτὸν τῷ Θεῷ, ὅτε εἰς τὸν σταυρὸν ἑκουσίως ἀνέβη. Ὥστε, οὐχ ὡς τῷ ῥήματι δοκεῖ δηλοῦν, ψιλῶς νοεῖν χρή· ἀλλ' ὅτι κἀνταῦθα συγκαταβὰς εἰς πάντα, καὶ πτωχεύων τῇ τοῦ δούλου μορφῇ, καὶ μεταπλάσας τῷ λόγῳ ἑαυτὸν ἀτρέπτως εἰς τὸ κοινὸν, καὶ πᾶσαν τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως ἀκολουθίαν φυλάττων, καὶ μηδὲν τοῦ χαρακτῆρος τῆς ἀληθείας ἀφανίζων, τὰ πρέποντα ἀνθρώποις χαμαιζήλως, ὥσπερ ἡ ὄντως σοφία, ἐφθέγξατο, πρὸς τὸ καὶ ἡμᾶς ὁμοιουμένους αὐτῷ, καὶ τελέως συμμόρφους, κατὰ τὸν Ἀπόστολον, γινομένους, ποιεῖν τὰ πρέποντα καὶ ἀρέσκοντα αὐτῷ, καὶ πορεύεσθαι ἀπὸ τῶν γηίνων ἐπὶ τὰ αἰθέρια. Οἷα δὲ καὶ περὶ τούτου παρὰ τοῖς ἔξω λέλεκται, οὐδὲν οἷον καὶ αὐτῶν ἐκείνων ἀκούειν. Οὕτω γὰρ οὐ μόνον τὴν παρ' ἡμῖν τῶν ἁγίων μεγαλοφωνίαν ἔτι πλέον στέρξομεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ μᾶλλον καὶ μᾶλλον θαυμάσομεν τὴν μίαν ἁπάντων χορηγὸν σοφίαν. Ἔχει δὲ ὧδε· Πολλάκι γὰρ φθέγγονται, ὅσα σθένος ἐστὶν ἀκοῦσαι Θνητοῖς· ἄλλα δ' ἔνεστι νοήματα κρείσσονα μύθοις. 39.904 Πῶς ἐχρῆν καθαροίσιν ὑπ' ὄμμασιν ὀξέα λεύσσειν. Καὶ πρὸς ἀληθείην Θεοῦ ὄλβια δέχνυσο δῶρα, Ἄλλην θειοτέρην μύθων πρὸς ἀτραπὸν ὁδεύων. Πῶς γὰρ ἂν ἐπληροφορήθημεν, ὅτι τὰς ἀσθενείας ἡμῶν, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον, εἰς τὸν τίμιον ἀνήνεγκε σταυρὸν, ὥστε διὰ τούτου κρείττονα παρασχεῖν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις κατάστασιν, εἰ μὴ πρότερον αὐτὰς, καθ' ὃν οἶδε τρόπον, εἰς ἑαυτὸν ἀνέλαβέ τε καὶ ἔδειξεν; Πῶς δὲ ἂν εὐκρινὲς κατέστη, ὡς σὰρξ ἔμψυχος ἐγένετο ἀληθῶς, καὶ οὐ φαντασίᾳ, οἰηθέντων αὐτὸν, Μανιχαίων μὲν, σῶμα δοκήσει ἐσχηκέναι, Ἀρειανῶν δὲ ἄψυχον γεγενῆσθαι, εἰ μὴ εἶπε, «Περίλυπός ἐστιν ἡ ψυχή μου,» καὶ δειλίαν ἔδειξε, καὶ βρωμάτων, καὶ πομάτων, καὶ ὕπνου μετέλαβε; Τὰ γὰρ τοιαῦτα οὔτε θεότητι ἁρμόττει, οὔτε σαρκὶ ἀψύχῳ. Περὶ μὲν τὸ σῶμα θεωρεῖται τὰ πάθη μόνον τὰ αὐτοῦ