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33

What then, was the Holy Spirit all these things and did not speak it through the prophets according to what is written, but was spoken through them or spoken to them? Away with the blasphemy. But if these things spoken incorporeally by the incorporeal God were not the Holy Spirit, much more so neither were the words of Christ spoken corporeally. And if not these things, neither the breath in which they are formed and brought forth. And if not this, neither the in-breathing which happened through it. And in addition to this, neither what is signified by it. Even if it is altogether impossible, yet let the in-breathing be not of the flesh, but of the divinity of the Son; or rather, so that we may posit what is said by the Latins, let that intelligible thing be signified by the Savior through the sensible thing. But he also in the beginning breathed into the face of the first creature. And what did he breathe in? The breath of life. What is the breath of life? A living soul. Let Paul teach you: "the first man became a living soul." And what is living? Ever-living, immortal, which is the same as saying rational—for the immortal is rational—and not only this, but also divinely graced. For such is a truly living soul. And this is the same as being according to the image, and if you wish, also according to the likeness. O the loss, from what to what have we been changed!

The eyes of the angels saw then the soul of man joined to sense and flesh and they saw another God, not only having come into being on earth through divine (p. 198) goodness, being himself both mind and flesh, but through an excess of this goodness also formed according to the grace of God, so that he was the same flesh and mind and Spirit and had the divine image and likeness in the soul completely, being one in mind and word and spirit. But the envious eye also saw, the ancient serpent could not bear it; he endured, I think, just long enough to mix the venom more effectively under his tongue and, as it were, to prepare and mingle with deceit, with sweet words, the poison administered through hearing; he approached, he charmed, he wounded—oh, both my gullibility and his malice—he poured the venom into the soul, he put to death what was living from there, the body I mean, and he darkened the soul which was living of itself; we have been stripped of the divine beauty, we have been deprived of the divine form, we have cast off the light, we have corrupted our likeness to that highest light; we have put on gloom as a garment, alas, and as a double cloak we have clothed ourselves in darkness. But he showed mercy freely, so that I might not prolong my speech, whose nature is goodness and mercy on account of it; and for my sake, who had fallen, he descended and became, as the apostle says, "a life-giving Spirit," so that by giving life he might renew the tarnished image.

Therefore, now accomplishing this and showing that he is the one who also in the beginning created through an in-breathing, he breathes on the disciples and through his own word reveals the gift; not saying again, "I put in a soul," but "Spirit," and "I make the soul a divine Spirit again by the impartation of the gifts." Tell me, Paul, how, taking up the discourse; for I know you to be the mouth of Christ. "Uniting it," he says, as He would have said, "to my spirit and, as it were, for my own to breathe with me and to have by grace, through union with me, the power of loosing and binding which naturally belongs to the divine Spirit." "For we," he says, (p. 200) "have the mind of Christ," and "he who is joined to the Lord is one Spirit."

But do you see how this in-breathing signifies the Spirit as present and accomplishing the renewal for the better of the human soul, which we believe is accomplished from the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit, and it gives a spirit and the Holy Spirit, but according to the gift and the power and the grace and the

33

Τί οὖν, ταῦτα πάντα τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον ἦν καί οὐκ ἐλάλησεν αὐτό διά τῶν προφητῶν κατά τό γεγραμμένον, ἀλλ᾿ αὐτό ἐλαλήθη δι᾿ αὐτῶν ἤ ἐλαλήθη πρός αὐτούς; Ἄπαγε τῆς βλασφημίας. Εἰ δέ μή ταῦτα τά ἐκ τοῦ ἀσωμάτου Θεοῦ ἀσωμάτως λεγόμενα τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον ἦν, πολλῷ μᾶλλον οὐδέ τά τοῦ Χριστοῦ ρήματα σωματικῶς προφερόμενα. Εἰ δέ μή ταῦτα, οὐδέ ἡ ἀναπνοή ἐν ᾗ τυποῦται αὐτά καί προάγεται. Εἰ δέ μή αὕτη, οὐδέ τό ἐμφύσημα τό γεγονός δι᾿ αὐτῆς. Πρός δέ τούτῳ, οὐδέ τό παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ αἰνιττόμενον. Εἰ γοῦν καί παντάπασιν ἀδύνατον, ὅμως ἔστω μή τῆς σαρκός εἶναι, ἀλλά τῆς θεότητος τοῦ Υἱοῦ τό ἐμφύσημα˙ μᾶλλον δέ, ἵν᾿αὐτό θῶμεν τό παρά τῶν Λατίνων λεγόμενον, ἔστω παρά τοῦ αἰσθητοῦ τό νοητόν ἐκεῖνο παρά τοῦ Σωτῆρος σημαίνεσθαι. Ἀλλ᾿ ἐνεφύσησεν οὗτος καί τήν ἀρχήν εἰς τό πρόσωπον τοῦ πρώτου πλάσματος. Τί δέ ἐνεφύσησε; Πνοήν ζωῆς. Τί ἐστι πνοήν ζωῆς; Ψυχήν ζῶσαν. ∆ιδασκέτω σε Παῦλος˙ «ἐγένετο ὁ πρῶτος ἄνθρωπος εἰς ψυχήν ζῶσαν». Τί δέ ἐστι ζῶσαν; Ἀείζωον, ἀθάνατον, ταὐτόν δ᾿ εἰπεῖν λογικήν ἡ γάρ ἀθάνατος λογική - καί οὐ τοῦτο μόνον, ἀλλά καί κεχαριτωμένην θείως. Τοιαύτη γάρ ὄντως ζῶσα ψυχή. Τοῦτο δέ τῷ κατ᾿ εἰκόνα ταὐτόν, εἰ δέ βούλει καί καθ᾿ ὁμοίωσιν. Ὤ τῆς ζημίας, ἐκ τίνος εἰς τί μετεβάλομεν.

Ἑώρων οἱ τῶν ἀγγέλων ὀφθαλμοί τότε τήν αἰσθήσει καί σαρκί συνημμένην τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ψυχήν καί Θεόν ἄλλον ἑώρων, μή γεγενημένον μόνον ἐπί γῆς δι᾿ ἀγαθότητα (σελ. 198) θείαν, νοῦν τε καί σάρκα τόν αὐτόν, ἀλλά δι᾿ ὑπερβολήν ταύτης καί κατά Θεοῦ χάριν μεμορφωμένον, ὡς εἶναι τόν αὐτόν σάρκα καί νοῦν καί Πνεῦμα καί τό κατ᾿ εἰκόνα καί ὁμοίωσιν θείαν τήν ψυχήν ἔχειν ἐντελῶς ὡς ἑνιαίαν οὖσαν ἐν νῷ καί λόγῳ καί πνεύματι. Ἀλλ᾿ εἶδε καί ὁ βάσκανος ὀφθαλμός, οὐκ ἤνεγκεν ὁ ἀρχέκακος ὄφις˙ τοσοῦτον ἐκαρτέρησεν, οἶμαι, ὅσον δραστικώτερον τόν ἰόν ὑπό τήν γλῶσσαν κεράσαι καί οἷον συσκευάσαι καί μῖξαι δόλῳ, γλυκερῷ λόγῳ, τό δι᾿ ἀκοῆς δηλητήριον˙ ἐπῆλθεν, ἔθελξεν, ἔτρωσεν ὤ καί τῆς ἐμῆς εὐκολίας καί τῆς ἐκείνου κακίας - εἰσέχεε τῇ ψυχῇ τόν ἰόν, ἐθανάτωσε τό ζῶν ἐκεῖθεν, τό σῶμα λέγω, τήν δ᾿ ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτῆς ζῶσαν ψυχήν ἠμαύρωσεν˙ ἀφῃρήμεθα τό θεῖον κάλλος, ἐστερήμεθα τῆς θείας μορφῆς, τό φῶς ἀπεβάλομεν, τήν πρός αὐτό τό ἀνωτάτω φῶς ὁμοιότητα διεφθείραμεν˙ περιβαλόμεθα τό ζόφον ὡς ἱμάτιον, φεῦ, καί ὡς διπλοΐδα τό σκότος ἐνεδεδύμεθα. Ἀλλ᾿ ἠλέησε δωρεάν, ἵνα μή μηκύνω λέγων, οὗ φύσις ἡ ἀγαθότης καί ὁ δι᾿ αὐτήν ἔλεος˙ καί δι᾿ ἐμέ τόν πεσόντα κατῆλθε καί γέγονε, καθά φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος, «εἰς Πνεῦμα ζωοποιοῦν», ὡς ἄν ζωοποιήσας ἀνακαινίσῃ τήν ἀμαυρωθεῖσαν εἰκόνα.

Τοῦτον τοίνυν ἤδη τελῶν καί δεικνύς ὡς οὗτος ἐκεῖνος ὁ καί τήν ἀρχήν δημιουργήσας δι᾿ ἐμφυσήματος τοῖς μαθηταῖς ἐμφυσᾷ καί δι᾿ οἰκείου λόγου φανεροῖ τό δώρημα˙ οὐκ αὖθις λέγων ψυχήν ἐντίθημι, ἀλλά Πνεῦμα, καί Πνεῦμα θεῖον αὖθις τῇ μεταδόσει τῶν χαρισμάτων τήν ψυχήν ἀπεργάζομαι. Εἰπέ, Παῦλε, πῶς, τόν λόγον διαδεξάμενος˙ στόμα γάρ ὄντα σε γινώσκω Χριστοῦ. Αὐτήν, φησί, συνάπτων, ὡς ἐκεῖνος ἄν εἶπε, τῷ ἐμῷ πνεύματι καί οἷον πνέειν μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ τούς ἐμούς καί κατά χάριν ἔχειν διά τῆς πρός ἐμέ συναφείας τήν τῷ θείῳ Πνεύματι φυσικῶς προσοῦσαν τοῦ λύειν καί δεσμεῖν ἐξουσίαν. «Ἡμεῖς γάρ», φησί, (σελ. 200) «νοῦν Χριστοῦ ἔχομεν», καί «ὁ κολλώμενος τῷ Κυρίῳ ἕν Πνεῦμά ἐστιν».

Ἀλλ᾿ ὁρᾷς πῶς τό ἐμφύσημα τοῦτο αἰνίττεται μέν παρόν τό Πνεῦμα καί τελεσιουργοῦν τήν ἐπί τό κρεῖττον τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ψυχῆς ἀνακαίνισιν, ἥν ἐκ Πατρός διά τοῦ Υἱοῦ ἐν ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι τελεῖσθαι πιστεύομεν, δίδωσι δέ πνεῦμα καί Πνεῦμα ἅγιον, ἀλλά κατά τήν δωρεάν καί τήν δύναμιν καί τήν χάριν καί τήν