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the visible things might rather draw near to the disbelieved miracle concerning the resurrection. One of the Lord’s companions and friends was sick; Lazarus was the name of the sick man. And the Lord declined the visit to His friend, being far from the sick man, so that death might find place and power in the absence of life to do its own work through the disease. The Lord announces to the disciples in Galilee the suffering concerning Lazarus; but also His intention toward him, so that He might raise up the one who was lying there. But they were very fearful because of the cruelty of the Jews, considering it difficult and dangerous to be again in Judea in the midst of those who sought to kill. And because of this, hesitating and postponing, they made their return from Galilee after a time. For authority had prevailed, and the disciples were led by the Lord, as if to be initiated into the preliminaries of the general resurrection in Bethany. There were already four after the suffering the 221 day all the customary rites had been fulfilled for the departed, the body was hidden in the tomb. It had already swollen, as was likely, and was dissolving toward corruption, becoming damp in the mould of the earth, and of necessity falling apart. The matter was abhorrent, with nature being forced to give back to life again that which had dissolved into a foul odor. Then the disbelieved work of the general resurrection is brought to proof through a more manifest miracle. For it is not someone who rises from a severe illness, nor one at his last breaths who is brought back to life, nor a newly-dead child who is made alive, nor a young man about to be brought to the tomb who is released again from the bier; but a man past his time, dead, stale, already swollen and decomposed, so that it was not even tolerable for his own family for the Lord to approach the tomb, because of the inherent unpleasantness of the decayed body, who, being made alive by a single call, confirms the proclamation of the resurrection, that is, what is expected for all, which we learned in part through experience. For just as in the re-creation of the universe, the Apostle says, the Lord Himself will descend with a command, with the voice of an archangel, and with a trumpet will raise the dead to incorruption; so also now, the one in the tomb, shaking off death like some sleep at the voice of the command, and casting from himself the corruption that comes with death, leaps out of the tomb complete and whole, not even hindered for his exit by the binding of the grave-clothes around his feet and hands. Are these things small for faith in the resurrection of the dead? If you seek for your judgment on this matter to be confirmed by other things also? But it seems to me that it was not in vain that he spoke to those in Capernaum, as if the Lord were saying this to himself from the person of men: “You will surely say this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself.’” For it was necessary, having accustomed men to the miracle of the resurrection in other bodies, to confirm the word in His own human person. You have seen the proclamation at work in others. Those about to die, the child that had just ceased to live, the young man at the tomb, the corrupted corpse, all equally at one command returning to life. Do you seek also those who came to death through wounds and blood, lest some weakness of the life-giving power in their case undo the grace? See the one whose hands were pierced with nails. See the one whose side was pierced by a spear. Pass your fingers through the marks of the nails. Put your hand into the wound from the spear. You surely consider how far it was likely for the point to have penetrated inside, calculating its passage inward by the width of the scar. For a wound that held the entrance of a human hand, how deep inside does it show the iron to have gone? If, therefore, this man has been raised, it would be easy 224 to utter the apostolic saying: “How do some say that there is no resurrection of the dead?” Since, therefore, every prophecy of the Lord through the testimony of the events [is] true

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μᾶλλον προσεγ γίσειε τὰ φαινόμενα τῷ ἀπιστουμένῳ περὶ τὴν ἀνάστασιν θαύματι. Ἠσθένει τις τῶν συνήθων τῷ Κυρίῳ καὶ φίλων· Λάζαρος ὄνομα τῷ ἀσθενοῦντι. Καὶ παραιτεῖται ὁ Κύ ριος τὴν τοῦ φίλου ἐπίσκεψιν, πόῤῥω τοῦ νοσοῦντος γενόμενος, ὡς ἂν εὕροι χώραν καὶ δύναμιν ἐν τῇ τῆς ζωῆς ἀπουσίᾳ τὸ ἴδιον ἐργάζεσθαι διὰ τῆς νόσου ὁ θά νατος. Μηνύει τοῖς μαθηταῖς ὁ Κύριος κατὰ τὴν Γαλι λαίαν τὸ περὶ τὸν Λάζαρον πάθος· ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁρμὴν, ἐφ' ᾧ τε διαναστῆσαι τὸν κείμενον. Περι δεεῖς δὲ ἦσαν ἐκεῖνοι διὰ τὴν τῶν Ἰουδαίων ὠμότητα, χαλεπὸν καὶ κινδυνῶδες ποιούμενοι τὸ πάλιν ἐπὶ τῆς Ἰουδαίας ἐν μέσῳ τῶν φονώντων γενέσθαι. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο μέλλοντες καὶ ἀναβαλλόμενοι, χρόνῳ ποιοῦνται τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς Γαλιλαίας ἐπάνοδον. Κατεκράθη γὰρ ἡ ἐξ ουσία, καὶ ἤγοντο παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου οἱ μαθηταὶ, οἱονεὶ τὰ προτέλεια τῆς καθολικῆς ἀναστάσεως ἐν Βηθανίᾳ μυηθησόμενοι. Τέσσαρες ἦσαν ἤδη μετὰ τὸ πάθος αἱ 221 ἡμέραν πάντα ἐπεπλήρωτο τῷ κατοιχομένῳ τὰ νομι ζόμενα, τάφῳ κατεκρύβη τὸ σῶμα. Ἐξῳδήκει κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς ἤδη, καὶ πρὸς διαφθορὰν διελύετο, μυδῶντος ἐν τῷ εὐρῶτι τῆς γῆς, καὶ διαπίπτοντος ὑπ' ἀνάγκης τοῦ σώματος. Φευκτὸν ἦν τὸ πρᾶγμα, βιαζομένης τῆς φύσεως τὸ διαλυθὲν εἰς δυσωδίαν ἀποδιδόναι πάλιν τῷ ζῇν. Τότε τὸ ἀπιστούμενον τῆς καθολικῆς ἀνα στάσεως ἔργον δι' ἐναργεστέρου τοῦ θαύματος εἰς ἀπόδειξιν ἄγεται. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐκ νόσου τις ἀνίσταται χαλεπῆς, οὐδὲ πρὸς ταῖς τελευταίαις ὢν ἀναπνοαῖς εἰς τὴν ζωὴν ἐπανάγεται, οὐδὲ παιδίον ἀρτιθανὲς ζωοποιεῖται, οὐδὲ μέλλων τῷ τάφῳ προσάγεσθαι νεα νίας πάλιν ἐκ τῆς σοροῦ ἀναλύεται· ἀλλ' ἀνὴρ τῶν ἐξώρων, νεκρὸς, ἕωλος, ἐξῳδηκὼς ἤδη, καὶ λελυμέ νος, ὡς μηδὲ τοῖς ἐπιτηδείοις ἀνεκτὸν εἶναι προσεγ γίσαι τῷ τάφῳ τὸν Κύριον, διὰ τὴν ἐγκειμένην ἀηδίαν τοῦ διαπεπτωκότος σώματος, μιᾷ κλήσει ζωοποιηθεὶς πιστοῦται τὸ κήρυγμα τῆς ἀναστάσεως, τοῦτ' ἐστι, τὸ ἐπὶ τοῦ κοινοῦ προσδοκώμενον, ὃ ἐπὶ μέρους τῇ πείρᾳ ἐμάθομεν. Καθάπερ γὰρ ἐν τῇ τοῦ παντὸς ἀναστοιχειώσει, φησὶν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, αὐτὸν καταβήσεσθαι τὸν Κύριον ἐν κελεύσματι, ἐν φωνῇ ἀρχαγγέλου, καὶ διὰ σάλπιγγος εἰς ἀφθαρσίαν τοὺς νεκροὺς διαναστήσειν· οὕτω καὶ νῦν οἷόν τινα ὕπνον τὸν θάνατον, τῇ φωνῇ τοῦ προστάγματος ὁ ἐν τῷ τάφῳ ἀποσεισάμενος, καὶ ἀποτινάξας ἑαυτοῦ τὴν ἐπιγινομένην διαφθορὰν τῇ νεκρότητι, ἄρτιος καὶ σῶος τοῦ τάφου ἐξάλλεται, μηδὲ τῷ δεσμῷ τῶν περὶ τοὺς πόδας καὶ τὰς χεῖρας κειριῶν κωλυθεὶς πρὸς τὴν ἔξοδον. Ἆρα μικρὰ ταῦτα πρὸς πίστιν τῆς τῶν νεκρῶν ἀναστάσεως; Εἰ ζητεῖς καὶ δι' ἑτέρων βεβαιωθῆ ναί σοι τὴν περὶ τούτου κρίσιν; ἀλλά μοι δοκεῖ μὴ μάτην τοῖς κατὰ Καφαρναοὺμ εἰρηκέναι, ὡς ἐκ προσώπου τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὁ Κύριος τοῦτο πρὸς ἑαυτὸν λέγων· «Πάντως ἐρεῖτέ μοι τὴν παραβολὴν ταύτην· Ἰατρὲ, θεράπευσον σεαυτόν.» Ἔδει γὰρ ἐν ἑτέροις σώμασι προσεθίσαντα τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τῷ κατὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν θαύματι, ἐν τῷ καθ' ἑαυτὸν ἀν θρώπῳ βεβαιῶσαι τὸν λόγον. Εἶδες ἐν ἑτέροις ἐνερ γὸν τὸ κήρυγμα. Τοὺς τεθνήξεσθαι μέλλοντας, τὸ παιδίον τὸ τοῦ ζῇν ἄρτι παυσάμενον, τὸν πρὸς τῷ τάφῳ νεανίαν, τὸν διεφθορότα νεκρὸν, πάντας κατὰ τὸ ἶσον ἐνὶ προστάγματι πρὸς τὴν ζωὴν ἀναλύοντας. Ζητεῖς καὶ τοὺς διὰ τραυμάτων καὶ αἵματος ἐν τῷ θανάτῳ γεγονότας, μή τις ἐπὶ τούτων ἀτονία τῆς ζωοποιοῦ δυνάμεως λύῃ τὴν χάριν; Εἶδε τὸν ἐν ἥλοις διαπερονηθέντα τὰς χεῖρας. Εἶδε τὸν τὴν πλευρὰν λόγχῃ διαπαρέντα. ∆ιένεγκε τοὺς δακτύλους σου διὰ τῶν τύπων τῶν ἥλων. Ἔμβαλε τὴν χεῖρά σου τῷ ἐκ τῆς λόγχης τραύματι. Στοχάζῃ πάντως ἐπὶ πόσων εἰκὸς ἦν εἰς τὸ ἐντὸς τὴν αἰχμὴν διαδῦναι, διὰ τοῦ πλάτους τῆς ὠτειλῆς, τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ ἔσω πάροδον λογι ζόμενος. Ἡ γὰρ εἴσοδον χειρὸς ἀνθρωπίνης χωρή σασα πληγὴ, πόσον ἐντὸς τοῦ βάθους γεγενῆσθαι τὸν σίδηρον ὑποδείκνυσιν; Εἰ οὖν οὗτος ἐγήγερται, εὔ 224 κολον ἂν εἴη τὸ ἀποστολικὸν ἐπιφθέγξασθαι· «Πῶς λέγουσί τινες, ὅτι ἀνάστασις νεκρῶν οὐκ ἔστιν;» Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν πᾶσα μὲν πρόῤῥησις τοῦ Κυρίου διὰ τῆς τῶν γεγονότων μαρτυρίας ἀληθὴς