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having? The Word became flesh, the Word became man, not dwelling in a man. And how is he a magician, who long ago fashioned every perceptible and intelligible nature by the will of the Father, and in his incarnation healed every disease and infirmity?

And how is this one not God, who raises the dead, makes the lame whole, cleanses lepers, gives sight to the blind, who either multiplies or changes existing things, like the five loaves and the two fish and the water into wine, and who puts your army to flight by a word alone? And why do you revile the nature of the virgin and call her members shameful, you who long ago made a show of these things and commanded males to be naked in the sight of females, and females for the licentious desire of males? Now these things are considered shameful by you, and you pretend to be venerable, you, the spirit of fornication, not knowing that something becomes shameful when it is kindled by transgression, but in the absence of sin, nothing that has come to be is shameful, nothing is base, but all things are very good; and do you, not seeing, revile them? And how is it that Christ no longer seems to you to be from the virgin, but the God over all, the one who is, the Almighty? Who then sent this one, tell me; who is his master, and by whose will did he obey, and of what laws has he become the fulfiller, he who yields neither to anyone's will nor authority? And by removing Christ from the birth, you legislate that the unbegotten was begotten and that the one without beginning was nailed to a cross; by whose permission, I cannot say. But you have not escaped my notice, you turncoat, nor am I ignorant that you walk a crooked and double path; but you are ignorant of who was born, you who pretend to know everything. For many things escape your notice: the virginity of Mary, the wondrous birth, who it was in the body, the guiding star of those in the east, of the magi bearing gifts, an archangel's greeting to a virgin, a virgin's wondrous conception while betrothed, the preaching of the forerunner child about the one from the virgin and the leaping in the womb from him who was foreseen, the hymns of angels at his birth, the good news of the shepherds, Herod's fear at the removal of his kingdom, the command for infanticide, the migration to Egypt, the return from there to this place, the infant's swaddling clothes, a human census, being nourished with milk, the name of a father who did not beget, a manger because there was no room, no human preparation, progress in growth, human words, hunger, thirst, journeying, weariness, offerings of sacrifices, since also circumcision, baptism, the voice of God over the one being baptized, who he was and from where, the testimony of the spirit and of God from above, the voice of John the prophet signifying the passion through the title of the lamb, the workings of various signs, diverse healings, a master's rebuke commanding the sea and the winds, evil spirits being put to flight, yourself being contorted, tortured by the power of the one who appeared, having nothing you could do. Seeing these things you grow dizzy, and you were ignorant that she who bore him was a virgin; but the hymnology of the angels, the worship of the magi, the rising of the star astonished you. You relapse into ignorance because of the humble things; for swaddling clothes, a manger, circumcision, being nourished with milk seem small to you; these appear to you to be unworthy of God. Again you saw a man remaining for forty days and nights without tasting human food, angels ministering, whom you also shuddered at, having first seen him being baptized as a common man and not knowing the reason; but after the fast you again grew bold toward him when he was hungry and you tempted him as a common man, not knowing who he was. For you said: If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. For the "if you are the Son of God" is a mark of ignorance; for if you truly knew, you would have understood that it is equally possible for the Creator both to make what is not and to change what is. And you tempt by means of the belly the one who feeds all who are in need of food, and you tempt the Lord of glory, forgetting out of malice that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. For if you knew, that

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ἔχοντα; ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο, ὁ λόγος ἄνθρωπος, οὐκ ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ κατοικήσας. πῶς δὲ καὶ μάγος οὗτος, ὁ πάλαι μὲν πᾶσαν αἰσθητὴν καὶ νοητὴν φύσιν κατασκευάσας γνώμῃ πατρός, ἐν δὲ τῇ ἐνανθρωπήσει πᾶσαν νόσον καὶ μαλακίαν θεραπεύσας;

Πῶς δὲ οὐχ οὗτος θεός, ὁ νεκροὺς ἀνιστῶν, χωλοὺς ἀρτίους ἀποστέλλων, λεπροὺς καθαρίζων, τυφλοὺς ὀμματῶν, τὰ ὄντα ἢ αὔξων ἢ μεταβάλλων ὡς τοὺς πέντε ἄρτους καὶ τοὺς δύο ἰχθύας καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ εἰς οἶνον, τὸν δὲ σὸν στρατὸν ῥήματι μόνον φυγαδεύων; τί δὲ κακίζεις τὴν φύσιν τῆς παρθένου καὶ τὰ μόρια ἀποκαλεῖς αἰσχρά, πάλαι ταῦτα πομπεύων καὶ γυμνοῦσθαι κελεύων ἄρρενας μὲν εἰς ὄψιν θηλειῶν, θηλείας δὲ εἰς ἀκόλαστον ἐπιθυμίαν ἀρρένων; νῦν αἰσχρά σοι ταῦτα νενόμισται, καὶ σεμνὸς εἶναι προσποιῇ, σὺ τὸ τῆς πορνείας πνεῦμα, ἀγνοῶν, ὅτι τότε γίνεται αἰσχρόν τι, ὅταν παρανομίᾳ ·υπανθῇ, ἁμαρτίας δὲ ἀπούσης οὐδὲν τῶν γενομένων αἰσχρόν, οὐδὲν φαῦλον, ἀλλὰ πάντα καλὰ λίαν· καὶ σὺ μὴ βλέπων κακίζεις αὐτά; Πῶς δὲ πάλιν οὐκέτι σοι δοκεῖ ὁ Χριστὸς εἶναι ἐκ τῆς παρθένου, ἀλλ' ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων θεός, ὁ ὤν, ὁ παντοκράτωρ; τίς οὖν ὁ τοῦτον ἀποστείλας, εἰπέ· τίς ὁ τούτου κυριεύων, γνώμῃ δὲ τίνος οὗτος ἐπειθάρχησεν, νόμων δὲ ποίων πληρωτὴς γέγονεν, ὁ μήτε γνώμῃ τινὸς μήτε ἐξουσίᾳ εἴκων; καὶ τὸν Χριστὸν ἐξαιρῶν τῆς γεννήσεως, τὸν ἀγέννητον νομοθετεῖς γεγεννῆσθαι καὶ σταυρῷ προσηλῶσθαι τὸν ἄναρχον· τίνος συγχωρήσαντος, οὐκ ἔχω εἰπεῖν. ἀλλὰ γὰρ οὐ λέληθάς με τοῦ παλιμβόλου οὐδ' ἀγνοῶ, ὅτι διάλοξα καὶ δίδυμα βαίνεις· ἀγνοεῖς δὲ σύ, τίς ὁ γεννηθείς, ὁ πᾶν εἰδέναι προσποιούμενος. Πολλὰ γάρ σε λανθάνει· ἡ παρθενία Mαρίας, ὁ παράδοξος τοκετός, ὅστις ὁ ἐν τῷ σώματι, ὁ ἡγούμενος ἀστὴρ τῶν ἐν ἀνατολῇ, τῶν τὰ δῶρα κομιζόντων μάγων, ἀρχαγγέλου ἀσπασμὸς πρὸς παρθένον, παρθένου παράδοξος σύλληψις μεμνηστευμένης, παιδὸς προδρόμου κηρυκεία ἐπὶ τῷ ἐκ τῆς παρθένου καὶ ἐν κοιλίᾳ σκίρτησις ἐκ τοῦ προθεωρουμένου, ἀγγέλων ὕμνοι ἐπὶ τῷ τεχθέντι, ποιμένων εὐαγγελία, Ἡρóδου φόβος ἐπὶ ἀφαιρέσει βασιλείας, νηπιοκτόνον πρόσταγμα, εἰς Aἴγυπτον μετανάστασις, ἐκεῖθεν ἐπὶ τὰ τῇδε ἐπάνοδος, σπάργανα παιδικά, ἀπογραφὴ ἀνθρωπίνη, γαλακτοτροφία, ὄνομα πατρὸς οὐ σπείραντος, φάτνη διὰ τὸ μὴ εἶναι τόπον, οὐδεμία παρασκευὴ ἀνθρωπίνη, αὐξήσεως προκοπή, ἀνθρώπινα ῥήματα, πεῖνα, δίψα, ὁδοιπορία, κόπος, θυσιῶν προσκομιδαί, ἐπειδὴ καὶ περιτομή, βάπτισμα, φωνὴ θεοῦ ἐπὶ τῷ βαπτιζομένῳ, ὅστις καὶ πόθεν, μαρτυρία πνεύματος καὶ θεοῦ ὑπεράνωθεν, φωνὴ Ἰωάννου προφήτου σημαίνουσα πάθος διὰ τῆς τοῦ ἀμνοῦ προσηγορίας, σημείων διαφόρων ἐνέργειαι, ἰάσεις ποικίλαι, ἐπιτίμησις δεσποτικὴ προστάττουσα θαλάττῃ καὶ ἀνέμοις, πνεύματα πονηρὰ φυγαδευόμενα, σεαυτὸν στρεβλούμενον, ἐκ τῆς τοῦ φαινομένου δυνάμεως αἰκιζόμενον, οὐκ ἔχοντα ὅ τι ποιήσῃς. ταῦθ' ὁρῶν ἰλιγγιᾷς, καὶ ὅτι παρθένος ἡ τεκοῦσα, ἠγνόεις· ἀλλ' ἐξέπληττέν σε ἡ τῶν ἀγγέλων ὑμνολογία, ἡ τῶν μάγων προσκύνησις, ἡ τοῦ ἀστέρος ἐπιτολή. εἰς ἄγνοιαν σὺ παλινδρομεῖς διὰ τὰ εὐτελῆ· μικρὰ γάρ σοι δοκεῖ σπάργανα, φάτνη, περιτομή, γαλακτοτροφία· ἀνάξιά σοι ταῦτα κατὰ θεοῦ καταφαίνεται. Πάλιν εἶδες ἄνθρωπον τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας καὶ νύκτας ἄγευστον μείναντα τροφῆς ἀνθρωπίνης, ἀγγέλους διακονοῦντας, οὓς καὶ ἔφριττες, ἰδὼν πρῶτον ὡς κοινὸν ἄνθρωπον βαπτιζόμενον καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν ἀγνοῶν· μετὰ δὲ τὴν νηστείαν πεινῶντι κατεθάρσεις πάλιν καὶ ἐπείραζες ὡς κοινὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἀγνοῶν, ὅστις εἴη. ἔλεγες γάρ· Eἰ υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ θεοῦ, εἰπέ, ἵνα οἱ λίθοι οὗτοι ἄρτοι γένωνται. τὸ γὰρ εἰ υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ θεοῦ ἀγνοίας ἐστίν· εἰ γὰρ ὄντως ἐγίνωσκες, ἠπίστω, ὅτι δημιουργῷ καὶ τὸ μὴ ὂν ποιῆσαι καὶ τὸ ὂν μεταβαλεῖν ἐπ' ἴσης δυνατόν. καὶ διὰ γαστρὸς πειράζεις τὸν τρέφοντα πάντας τοὺς τροφῆς δεομένους, καὶ πειράζεις τὸν τῆς δόξης κύριον, ἐπιλαθόμενος ἐκ κακονοίας, ὅτι οὐκ ἐπ' ἄρτῳ μόνῳ ζήσεται ἄνθρωπος, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ παντὶ ῥήματι ἐκπορευομένῳ διὰ στόματος θεοῦ. εἰ γὰρ ᾔδεις, ὅτι