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having already dared to tempt, returned beyond hope, both dishonored, and ridiculous; so also here, thinking him to be a mere man again, and not God, as he knows, manifested in the flesh, he might rush forward and subject him to be crucified, and he himself, the one contriving to wound the invincible God, having been wounded secretly, might retreat backwards; but we, having lived by the cross of Christ, and been redeemed by his most provident death, may cry out with Paul writing to the Corinthians: "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O Hades, is your sting?" Thus the words of the Lord were not of agony, because also concerning God the Father "Whom," as a holy man said, "the universe shudders and trembles from the face of his power" Isaiah in a certain ineffable vision speaks thus: "Hear now, O house of David; is it a small thing for you to weary men? And how do you weary the Lord? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the Virgin shall conceive in her womb, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which is interpreted, God with us." But let the discourse return for us again to where it came from. Therefore, neither does the highest impassibility, and life, and joy, and peace, and patience of all, the one who gives bright days to all, weep for any other reason, but to reveal 39.909 through what is seen the sympathy of his invisible divinity. For everywhere, either in words or deeds, he mingles his dispositions, so that we, as if from some tracks, might rush to the hunt of inspired understanding, and find that the whole of the divine economy is a property of compassion. Both to convict the mind of the sisters of Lazarus, as having nothing faithful, nor certain. For when he asked, "Where have you laid him?" it was necessary to say You know all things, as you are the Son of God, from which things you foretold from a great apparent distance: "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep;" and if you should command, he will return from Hades, anticipating the common resurrection with his own; for all things are certainly easy for you if you will it; it being necessary therefore to say these things, they said the opposite: "He has been dead for four days, he already stinks." We might say to this, that he wept, as a king, submitting to his own decrees, which say, "rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep," and for this reason putting an end to our ancient lamentation. Neither does he labor according to his divinity, but according to the consequence of the incarnation, he who heals the brokenhearted, and gives rest to those who labor and are burdened, he whose going forth is from the end of heaven, and his circuit to the end of it; for to whom there is no diminishing, nor limitation, there is also no labor. For even if he is seen at one time seated on a colt, yet as God he was praised by innocent children, crying out: "Hosanna in the highest;" which is interpreted: "Save, O you who are in the highest;" and by David in the 59th psalm: "From the risings of the sun and unto its settings, out of Sion is the comeliness of his beauty; God shall come manifestly." Nor does the bread of life desire food unwillingly, to whom all things look, according to the psalmist: "The eyes of all hope in you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand, and fill every living thing with pleasure;" and again: "All things wait for you, 39.912 to give them their food in due season;" he who from five loaves and two fish fed five thousand, besides women and children, and caused twelve baskets of fragments to be left over; he who said to the devil: "Man shall not live by bread alone;" he who set before us all an all-sufficient and inexhaustible table, his own goodness, and saying: "He who comes to me shall never hunger; and he who believes in me shall never thirst;" he who came to the fig tree as if hungry, but commanded as God that the plant no longer produce fruit, and added the deed to the word, and showed that he himself was the one who said in the beginning: "Let the earth bring forth fruit trees." But neither does he thirst, except for the
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ἤδη πειρᾶσαι τολμήσας, τῆς τε ἐλπίδος ἐκτὸς, καὶ ἄτιμος, καὶ καταγέλαστος ὑπενόστησεν· οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθα ἄνθρωπον ψιλὸν πάλιν νομίσας εἶναι, καὶ οὐ Θεὸν, ὡς οἶδεν φανέντα σαρκὶ, ὀξυδρομήσας προέλθῃ καὶ ὑποβάλῃ αὐτὸν σταυρωθῆναι, καὶ αὐτὸς μὲν τρωθεὶς λεληθότως, ὁ τρῶσαι τὸν ἀήττητον Θεὸν μηχανώμενος, παλίνορσος ἀποστῇ· ἡμεῖς δὲ τῷ σταυρῷ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ζήσαντες, καὶ τῷ προμηθεστάτῳ αὐτοῦ θανάτῳ λυτρωθέντες, ἀναβοήσωμεν μετὰ Παύλου Κορινθίοις γράφοντος· «Ποῦ σου, θάνατε, τὸ νῖκος; ποῦ σου, ᾅδη, τὸ κέντρον;» Οὕτω δὲ οὐκ ἀγωνίας ἦν τὰ τοῦ Κυρίου ῥήματα, ὅτι καὶ περὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ Πατρὸς «Ὃν,» ὡς εἶπεν ἱερὸς ἀνὴρ, «φρίττει καὶ τρέμει τὰ σύμπαντα ἀπὸ προσώπου δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ» Ἡσαΐας ἀποῤῥήτῳ τινὶ θεωρίᾳ οὕτω διαλέγεται· «Ἀκούσατε δὴ, οἶκος τοῦ ∆αυΐδ· μὴ μικρὸν ὑμῖν ἀγῶνα παρέχειν ἀνθρώποις; καὶ πῶς Κυρίῳ παρέχετε ἀγῶνα; ∆ιὰ τοῦτο δώσει Κύριος αὐτὸς ὑμῖν σημεῖον. Ἰδοὺ ἡ Παρθένος ἐν γαστρὶ λήψεται, καὶ τέξεται Υἱὸν, καὶ καλέσουσι τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἐμμανουὴλ, ὅ ἐστιν μεθερμηνευόμενον, Μεθ' ἡμῶν ὁ Θεός.» Ἀλλ' ὅθεν ἐξῆλθεν, πάλιν ὁ λόγος ἡμῖν ἐπανίτω. Οὔτε οὖν δακρύει ἡ ἀνωτάτω ἀπάθεια, καὶ ζωὴ, καὶ χαρὰ, καὶ εἰρήνη, καὶ πάντων ὑπομονὴ, ὁ φαιδρὰς ἡμέρας διδοὺς τοῖς ἅπασι, δι' ἄλλο τι, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ ὑποφῆναι 39.909 διὰ τοῦ ὁρωμένου τῆς ἀοράτου θεότητος αὐτοῦ τὴν συμπάθειαν. Πανταχοῦ γὰρ, ἢ λόγοις, ἢ ἔργοις τὰς διαθέσεις ἀναμίγνυσιν, ὄφρα ἡμεῖς ὥσπερ ἔκ τινων ἰχνῶν ἐπ' αὐτὴν ὁρμήσωμεν τὴν θήραν τῆς ἐνθεαστικῆς νοήσεως, καὶ εὕρωμεν, ὡς τὸ πᾶν τῆς οἰκονομίας θεϊκῆς ἴδιόν ἐστιν εὐσπλαγχνίας. ∆ιά τε τὸ ἐλέγξαι τῶν ἀδελφῶν Λαζάρου τὴν διάνοιαν, ὡς οὐδὲν ἔχουσαν πιστὸν, οὐδὲ βέβαιον. Ἐρωτήσαντι γὰρ αὐτῷ, «Ποῦ τεθείκατε αὐτόν;» δέον εἰπεῖν Σὺ πάντα γινώσκεις, ἅτε Υἱὸς Θεοῦ, ἐξ ὧν προεῖπας πολλῷ διαστήματι τῷ φαινομένῳ ἀφεστώς· «Λάζαρος ὁ φίλος ἡμῶν κεκοίμηται·» καὶ εἰ προστάξειας, ἐξ ᾅδου ὑποστρέψει, τὴν κοινὴν ἀνάστασιν προλαβὼν τῇ ἰδίᾳ· πάντα γάρ σοι ῥᾴδια πάντως ὑπάρχει ἐθέλοντι· δέον οὖν ταῦτα εἰπεῖν, τοὐναντίον ἔφασαν· «Τεταρταῖός ἐστιν, ἤδη ὄζει.» Εἴποιμεν ἂν πρὸς τοῦτο, δεδακρυκέναι, ὡς βασιλέα, τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ ὑποκύπτοντα θεσπίσμασι, τοῖς λέγουσιν, «χαίρειν μετὰ χαιρόντων, καὶ κλαίειν μετὰ κλαιόντων,» καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὸν παλαιὸν θρῆνον ἡμῶν ἀποπαύοντα. Οὐδὲ κοπιᾷ κατὰ τὴν θεότητα, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὴν τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως ἀκολουθίαν, ὁ ἰώμενος τοὺς συντετριμμένους, καὶ τοὺς κεκοπιακότας καὶ πεφορτισμένους ἀναπαύων, ὁ τὴν ἔξοδον ἔχων ἀπ' ἄκρου τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ τὸ κατάντημα ἕως ἄκρου αὐτοῦ· ᾧ γὰρ μὴ μείωσις, ἢ ἀποπεράτωσις, οὐδὲ κόπος ἐστίν. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ πώλῳ ποτὲ φαίνεται καθεσθεὶς, ἀλλ' ὡς Θεὸς ὑμνεῖτο ὑπὸ παίδων μὲν ἀκάκων, κραζόντων· «Ὠσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις·» ὃ ἑρμηνεύεται· «Σῶσον ὁ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις·» ὑπὸ δὲ τοῦ ∆αυῒδ ἐν νθʹ ψαλμῷ· «Ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν ἡλίου καὶ μέχρι δυσμῶν ἐκ Σιὼν ἡ εὐπρέπεια τῆς ὡραιότητος αὐτοῦ· ὁ Θεὸς ἐμφανῶς ἥξει.» Οὐδὲ ὀρέγεται τροφῆς ἄκων ὁ ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς, πρὸς ὃν ἀποβλέπει τὰ πάντα, κατὰ τὸν ψαλμῳδόν· «Οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ πάντων εἰς σὲ ἐλπίζουσιν, καὶ σὺ δίδως τὴν τροφὴν αὐτοῖς ἐν εὐκαιρίᾳ. Ἀνοίγεις σὺ τὴν χεῖρά σου, καὶ ἐμπιμπλᾷς πᾶν ζῶον εὐδοκίας·» καὶ πάλιν· «Πάντα πρὸς σὲ προσδοκῶσιν, 39.912 δοῦναι τὴν τροφὴν αὐτοῖς εἰς εὔκαιρον·» ὁ ἐκ πέντε ἄρτων καὶ δύο ἰχθύων πεντακισχιλίους χορτάσας ἐκτὸς γυναικῶν καὶ παιδίων, καὶ δυοκαίδεκα κοφίνους κλασμάτων περιττεῦσαι ποιήσας· ὁ εἰπὼν τῷ διαβόλῳ· «Οὐκ ἐπ' ἄρτῳ μόνῳ ζήσεται ἄνθρωπος·» ὁ πᾶσιν ἡμῖν πανταρκῆ καὶ ἀνέκλειπτον τράπεζαν, τὴν οἰκείαν προθεὶς ἀγαθότητα, καὶ φάσκων· «Ὁ ἐρχόμενος πρὸς μὲ, οὐ μὴ πεινήσῃ· καὶ ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ, οὐ μὴ διψήσῃ πώποτε·» ὁ ἐλθὼν μὲν ἐπὶ τὴν συκῆν ὡσανεὶ πεινῶν, προστάξας δὲ ὡς Θεὸς μηκέτι καρπὸν τὸ φυτὸν ἐνεργεῖν, καὶ ἔργον τῷ λόγῳ ἐπιθεὶς, καὶ δείξας, ὡς αὐτὸς ἦν ὁ τὴν ἀρχὴν εἰπών· «Ἐξαγαγέτω ἡ γῆ ξύλα καρποφόρα.» Ἀλλ' οὔτε διψᾷ, εἰ μὴ διὰ τὴν