38

one ought to do, and to attribute to him both the divine and the human. {ORTH.} This argument is ours, even if you have not worked it out precisely. Consider it, then, this way. When we examine the argument concerning the human soul, do we speak only of the things that pertain to its nature and activity? {ERAN.} Only those. 139 {ORTH.} And when our discussion is about the body, again, do we not go through only its properties? {ERAN.} True. {ORTH.} But when the discussion is about the whole living being, we then confidently bring forward both the one and the other. For both the properties of the body and of the soul are fitting for a man. {ERAN.} You have spoken very well. {ORTH.} In this way, therefore, it is also proper to make arguments concerning the Lord Christ; and when discussing the natures, to assign to each what is suitable, and to know what properties are of the divinity, and what of the humanity. But when we make arguments concerning the person, it is necessary to make the properties of the natures common and to attribute both the one and the other to the Savior Christ, and to call the same one both God and man, and son of God and son of man, and son of David and Lord of David, and seed of Abraham and maker of Abraham, and all other things likewise. {ERAN.} That the person of Christ is one, and that both the divine and the human attributes pertain to him, you have said very correctly, and I accept this definition of faith. But to say again that, when discussing the natures, it is necessary to assign to each its own properties, seems to me to dissolve the union; for which reason I do not accept these and such arguments. {ORTH.} And yet when we were examining the things concerning soul and body, that division of arguments seemed to you admirable; you immediately offered your praise. Why then do you not accept the same rule for the divinity and humanity of the Lord Christ? Or do you not even compare the divinity of Christ and his humanity to soul and body? But while you grant an unconfused union to soul and body, do you dare to say that the divinity of Christ and his humanity have undergone a mixture and confusion? {ERAN.} I for my part have supposed the divinity of Christ and indeed his flesh to be by some great and infinite measure more precious than soul and body; yet I speak of one nature after the union. {ORTH.} And how is it not both impious and wretched to say that the soul, when joined to the body, has not in the least suffered the passion of confusion, but that the 140 divinity of the Lord of all was not able to preserve its own nature uncorrupted, nor to maintain the human nature which it took within its own limits, but to mix the unmixed and to mingle the unminglable? For the one nature prepares one to suspect these things. {ERAN.} For me the name of confusion is to be avoided; but I decline to speak of two natures, lest I fall into the duality of sons. {ORTH.} But I am eager to escape each precipice, both that of impious confusion and that of impious division. For to me it is equally unholy both to divide the one Son in two and to deny the duality of natures. But tell me, in the name of truth: if one of the partisans of Arius or Eunomius, arguing with you, were to try to diminish the Son, and to show him to be less and inferior to the Father, saying those things which they are accustomed to say, and bringing forward from the divine scripture: "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me;" and: "Now is my soul troubled," and other such things; how would you solve his problems? How would you show that the Son is not diminished by these things, nor of a different substance, but begotten from the substance of the Father? {ERAN.} I would say that the divine scripture says some things theologically, and others economically, and that it is not right to apply what is said economically to what is theological. {ORTH.} But he would say that in the Old [Testament] also the divine scripture says many things economically. For such is this: "Adam heard the voice of the Lord God walking;" and this: "I will go down and see

38

προσήκει ποιεῖν, καὶ αὐτῷ προσαρμόττειν τά τε θεῖα τά τε ἀνθρώπινα. {ΟΡΘ.} Ἡμέτερος οὗτος ὁ λόγος, εἰ καὶ μὴ ἀκριβῶς αὐτὸν ἐξειρ γάσω. Σκόπησον τοίνυν ὡδί. Ὅταν τὸν περὶ τῆς ἀνθρωπείας ψυχῆς ἐξετάζωμεν λόγον, μόνον τὰ προσήκοντα τῇ ταύτης φύσει καὶ ἐνεργείᾳ φαμέν; {ΕΡΑΝ.} Μόνα. 139 {ΟΡΘ.} Ὅταν δὲ περὶ τοῦ σώματος ἡμῖν οἱ λόγοι γίνωνται, πάλιν οὐ μόνα τὰ τούτου διέξιμεν ἴδια; {ΕΡΑΝ.} Ἀληθές. {ΟΡΘ.} Ἐπειδὰν δὲ περὶ τοῦ ζῴου παντὸς ἡ διάλεξις γίνηται, ἀδεῶς λοιπὸν καὶ ταῦτα κἀκεῖνα προσφέρομεν. Ἁρμόττει γὰρ τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τά τε τοῦ σώματος τά τε τῆς ψυχῆς ἴδια. {ΕΡΑΝ.} Παγκαλῶς εἴρηκας. {ΟΡΘ.} Οὕτω τοιγαροῦν καὶ τοὺς περὶ τοῦ δεσπότου Χριστοῦ ποιεῖσθαι προσήκει λόγους· καὶ περὶ μὲν τῶν φύσεων διαλεγομένους ἀπονέμειν ἑκατέρᾳ τὰ πρόσφορα, καὶ εἰδέναι τίνα μὲν τῆς θεότητος, τίνα δὲ τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος ἴδια. Ὅταν δέ γε τοὺς περὶ τοῦ προσώπου ποιώμεθα λόγους, κοινὰ χρὴ ποιεῖν τὰ τῶν φύσεων ἴδια καὶ ταῦτα κἀκεῖνα τῷ σωτῆρι προσαρμόττειν Χριστῷ, καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν καλεῖν καὶ θεὸν καὶ ἄνθρωπον, καὶ υἱὸν θεοῦ καὶ υἱὸν ἀνθρώπου, καὶ υἱὸν ∆αβὶδ καὶ κύριον ∆αβίδ, καὶ σπέρμα Ἀβραὰμ καὶ ποιητὴν Ἀβραάμ, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα ὡσαύτως. {ΕΡΑΝ.} Τὸ μὲν ἓν εἶναι πρόσωπον τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ αὐτῷ προσή κειν καὶ τὰ θεῖα καὶ τὰ ἀνθρώπεια, λίαν ὀρθῶς εἴρηκας, καὶ δέχομαι τόνδε τὸν ὅρον τῆς πίστεως. Τὸ δὲ φάναι πάλιν, ὡς χρὴ περὶ τῶν φύσεων διαλεγομένους ἀπονέμειν ἑκάστῃ τὰ ἴδια, λύειν δοκεῖ μοι τὴν ἕνωσιν· οὗ δὴ χάριν τούτους καὶ τοὺς τοιούτους οὐ προσίεμαι λόγους. {ΟΡΘ.} Καὶ μὴν ὅτε τὰ περὶ ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος ἐξητάζομεν, ἀξιάγαστος ἔδοξεν εἶναί σοι ἡ τῶν λόγων ἐκείνων διαίρεσις· αὐτίκα γοῦν τὴν εὐφημίαν προσήνεγκας. Τί δήποτε τοίνυν ἐπὶ τῆς τοῦ δεσπό του Χριστοῦ θεότητός τε καὶ ἀνθρωπότητος τὸν αὐτὸν οὐ δέχῃ κανόνα; Ἢ οὐδὲ ψυχῇ καὶ σώματι παρισοῖς τὴν θεότητα τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα; ἀλλὰ ψυχῇ μὲν καὶ σώματι δίδως ἀσύγχυτον ἕνωσιν· κρᾶσιν δὲ καὶ σύγχυσιν ὑπομεμενηκέναι λέγειν τολμᾷς τὴν θεότητα τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα; {ΕΡΑΝ.} Ἐγὼ μὲν τὴν θεότητα τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ μέντοι καὶ τὴν σάρκα ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος πολλῷ τινι καὶ ἀπείρῳ μέτρῳ τιμαλ φεστέραν ὑπείληφα· μίαν μέντοι φύσιν μετὰ τὴν ἕνωσιν λέγω. {ΟΡΘ.} Καὶ πῶς οὐ δυσσεβές τε καὶ σχέτλιον, τὸ λέγειν ψυχὴν μὲν σώματι συναφθεῖσαν ἥκιστα παθεῖν τὸ τῆς συγχύσεως πάθος, τὴν δὲ 140 θεότητα τοῦ τῶν ὅλων δεσπότου μὴ δυνηθήναι μήτε τὴν οἰκείαν φύσιν ἀκήρατον διασῶσαι, μήτε τὴν ἀνθρωπείαν ἣν ἔλαβεν ἐπὶ τῶν ὅρων τῶν οἰκείων διατηρῆσαι, ἀλλὰ κερᾶσαι τὰ ἄκρατα, καὶ μῖξαι τὰ ἄμικτα; Ταῦτα γὰρ ὑποπτεύειν ἡ μία φύσις παρασκευάζει. {ΕΡΑΝ.} Καί μοι τὸ τῆς συγχύσεως φευκτόν ἐστιν ὄνομα· δύο δὲ λέγειν παραιτοῦμαι φύσεις, ἵνα μὴ τῇ τῶν υἱῶν περιπέσω δυάδι. {ΟΡΘ.} Ἐγὼ δὲ ἑκάτερον διαφυγεῖν σπουδάζω κρημνόν, καὶ τὸν τῆς δυσσεβοῦς συγχύσεως καὶ τὸν τῆς δυσσεβοῦς διαιρέσεως. Ἐμοὶ γὰρ ἴσως ἀνόσιον καὶ διχῆ τὸν ἕνα μερίζειν υἱὸν καὶ τὸ ἀρνεῖσθαι τὴν δυάδα τῶν φύσεων. Εἰπὲ δέ μοι πρὸς τῆς ἀληθείας· εἴ τίς σοι τῶν Ἀρείου ἢ τῶν Εὐνομίου στασιωτῶν προσδιαλεγόμενος σμικρύνειν τὸν υἱὸν πειρῷτο, καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς δεικνύναι μείονά τε καὶ ὑποδεέστερον, ἐκεῖνα λέγων, ἅπερ λέγειν εἰώθασι, καὶ προφέρων ἀπὸ τῆς θείας γραφῆς τό· "Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατόν, παρελθέτω ἀπ' ἐμοῦ τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο·" καὶ τό· "Νῦν ἡ ψυχή μου τετάρακται," καὶ τὰ ἄλλα τὰ τοιαῦτα· πῶς ἂν αὐτοῦ διαλύσαις τὰ προβλήματα; πῶς δ' ἂν δείξειας οὐκ ἐλαττούμενον ἐκ τούτων τὸν υἱόν, οὐδέ γε ἑτεροούσιον ὄντα, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς γεγεννημένον οὐσίας; {ΕΡΑΝ.} Εἴποιμ' ἄν, ὡς τὰ μὲν θεολογικῶς, τὰ δὲ οἰκονομικῶς ἡ θεία λέγει γραφή, καὶ ὡς οὐ χρὴ τὰ οἰκονομικῶς εἰρημένα τοῖς θεο λογικοῖς συναρμόττειν. {ΟΡΘ.} Ἀλλά γε ἐκεῖνος φαίη ἄν, ὡς κἀν τῇ παλαιᾷ πολλὰ οἰκονο μικῶς ἡ θεία λέγει γραφή. Τοιοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τό· "Ἤκουσεν Ἀδὰμ τῆς φωνῆς κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ περιπατοῦντος·" καὶ τό· "Καταβὰς ὄψομαι