Chapter XXXIX.

For, while all things else that are born are subject to the impulse of those that beget them, the spiritual birth is dependent on the power of him who is being born. Seeing, then, that here lies the hazard, namely, that he should not miss what is for his advantage, when to every one a free choice is thus open, it were well, I think, for him who is moved towards the begetting of himself, to determine by previous reasoning what kind of father is for his advantage, and of what element it is better for him that his nature should consist. For, as we have said, it is in the power of such a child as this to choose its parents. Since, then, there is a twofold division of existences, into created and uncreated, and since the uncreated world possesses within itself immutability and immobility, while the created is liable to change and alteration, of which will he, who with calculation and deliberation is to choose what is for his benefit, prefer to be the offspring; of that which is always found in a state of change, or of that which possesses a nature that is changeless, steadfast, and ever consistent and unvarying in goodness? Now there have been delivered to us in the Gospel three Persons and names through whom the generation or birth of believers takes place, and he who is begotten by this Trinity is equally begotten of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost—for thus does the Gospel speak of the Spirit, that “that which is born of Spirit is spirit111    S. John iii. 6,” and it is “in Christ112    1 Cor. iv. 15.” that Paul begets, and the Father is the “Father of all;” here, then, I beg, let the mind of the hearer be sober in its choice, lest it make itself the offspring of some inconstant nature, when it has it in its power to make the steadfast and unalterable nature the founder of its life. For according to the disposition of heart in one who comes to the Dispensation will that which is begotten in him exhibit its power; so that he who confesses that the Holy Trinity is uncreate enters on the steadfast unalterable life; while another, who through a mistaken conception sees only a created nature in the Trinity and then is baptized in that, has again been born into the shifting and alterable life. For that which is born is of necessity of one kindred with that which begets. Which, then, offers the greater advantage; to enter on the unchangeable life, or to be again tossed about by the waves of this lifetime of uncertainty and change? Well, since it is evident to any one of the least understanding that what is stable is far more valuable than what is unstable, what is perfect than what is deficient, what needs not than what needs, and what has no further to advance, but ever abides in the perfection of all that is good, than what climbs by progressive toil, it is incumbent upon every one, at least upon every one who is possessed of sense, to make an absolute choice of one or other of these two conditions, either to believe that the Holy Trinity belongs to the uncreated world, and so through the spiritual birth to make It the foundation of his own life, or, if he thinks that the Son or the Holy Ghost is external to the being of the first, the true, the good, God, I mean, of the Father, not to include these Persons in the belief which he takes upon him at the moment of his new birth, lest he unconsciously make himself over to that imperfect nature113    imperfect nature: i.e. of a creature (κτιστός); for instance, of a merely human Christ, which himself needs, and therefore cannot give, perfection. which itself needs some one to make it good, and in a manner bring himself back again to something of the same nature as his own by thus removing his faith114    removing his faith: i.e. as he would do, if he placed it on beings whom he knew were not of that higher, uncreated, world from that higher world. For whoever has bound himself to any created thing forgets that, as from the Deity, he has no longer hope of salvation. For all creation, owing to the whole equally proceeding from non-existence into being, has an intimate connection with itself; and as in the bodily organization all the limbs have a natural and mutual coherence, though some have a downward, some an upward direction, so the world of created things is, viewed as the creation, in oneness with itself, and the differences in us, as regards abundance or deficiency, in no wise disjoint it from this natural coherence with itself. For in things which equally imply the idea of a previous non-existence, though there be a difference between them in other respects, as regards this point we discover no variation of nature. If, then, man, who is himself a created being, thinks that the Spirit and the Only-begotten God115    and the Only-begotten God. One Cod. reads here υἱ& 231·ν (not θεόν), as it is in S. John i. 18, though even there “many very ancient authorities” (R.V.) read θεὸν. The Latin of Hervetus implies an οὐκ here; “et unigenitum Deum non esse existimant;” and Glauber would retain it, making κτιστὸν = θεὸν οὐκ εἶναι. But Krabinger found no οὐκ in any of his Codd. are likewise created, the hope which he entertains of a change to a better state will be a vain one; for he only returns to himself116    πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἀναλύων, as explained above, i.e. εἰς τὸ ὁμογενὲς ἑαυτὸν εἰσαγάγῃ.. What happens then is on a par with the surmises of Nicodemus; he, when instructed by our Lord as to the necessity of being born from above, because he could not yet comprehend the meaning of the mystery, had his thoughts drawn back to his mother’s womb117    S. John iii. 4. So that if a man does not conduct himself towards the uncreated nature, but to that which is kindred to, and equally in bondage with, himself, he is of the birth which is from below, and not of that which is from above. But the Gospel tells us that the birth of the saved is from above.

[39] Τὰ μὲν γὰρ λοιπὰ τῶν τικτομένων τῇ ὁρμῇ τῶν ἀπογεννώντων ὑφίσταται, ὁ δὲ πνευματικὸς τόκος τῆς ἐξουσίας ἤρτηται τοῦ τικτομένου. ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ἐν τούτῳ ἐστὶν ὁ κίνδυνος, ἐν τῷ μὴ διαμαρτεῖν τοῦ συμφέροντος, κατ' ἐξουσίαν προκειμένης παντὶ τῆς αἱρέσεως, καλῶς ἔχειν φημὶ τὸν πρὸς τὴν γέννησιν τὴν ἰδίαν ὁρμῶντα προδιαγνῶναι τῷ λογισμῷ, τίς αὐτῷ λυσιτελήσει πατὴρ καὶ ἐκ τίνος ἄμεινον αὐτῷ συστῆναι τὴν φύσιν: εἴρηται γὰρ ὅτι κατ' ἐξουσίαν τοὺς γεννήτορας ὁ τοιοῦτος αἱρεῖται τόκος. διχῆ τοίνυν τῶν ὄντων μεμερισμένων εἰς τὸ κτιστὸν καὶ τὸ ἄκτιστον, καὶ τῆς μὲν ἀκτίστου φύσεως τὸ ἄτρεπτόν τε καὶ ἀμετάθετον ἐν ἑαυτῇ κεκτημένης, τῆς δὲ κτίσεως πρὸς τροπὴν ἀλλοιουμένης, ὁ κατὰ λογισμὸν τὸ λυσιτελοῦν προαιρούμενος τίνος αἱρήσεται μᾶλλον γενέσθαι τέκνον, τῆς ἐν τροπῇ θεωρουμένης ἢ τῆς ἀμετάστατόν τε καὶ παγίαν καὶ ἀεὶ ὡσαύτως ἔχουσαν ἐν τῷ ἀγαθῷ κεκτημένης τὴν φύσιν; ἐπεὶ οὖν ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ τὰ τρία παραδέδοται πρόσωπά τε καὶ ὀνόματα δι' ὧν ἡ γέννησις τοῖς πιστεύουσι γίνεται, γεννᾶται δὲ κατὰ τὸ ἴσον ὁ ἐν τῇ τριάδι γεννώμενος παρὰ πατρός τε καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ πνεύματος ἁγίου: οὕτω γάρ φησι περὶ τοῦ πνεύματος τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ὅτι Τὸ γεγεννημένον ἐκ τοῦ πνεύματος πνεῦμά ἐστι, καὶ ὁ Παῦλος ἐν Χριστῷ γεννᾷ, καὶ Ὁ πατὴρ πάντων ἐστὶ πατήρ: ἐνταῦθά μοι νηφέτω τοῦ ἀκροατοῦ ἡ διάνοια, μὴ τῆς ἀστατούσης φύσεως ἑαυτὴν ἔκγονον ποιήσῃ, ἐξὸν τὴν ἄτρεπτόν τε καὶ ἀναλλοίωτον ἀρχηγὸν ποιήσασθαι τῆς ἰδίας ζωῆς. κατὰ γὰρ τὴν διάθεσιν τῆς καρδίας τοῦ προσιόντος τῇ οἰκονομίᾳ καὶ τὸ γινόμενον τὴν δύναμιν ἔχει, ὥστε τὸν μὲν ἄκτιστον ὁμολογοῦντα τὴν ἁγίαν τριάδα εἰς τὴν ἄτρεπτόν τε καὶ ἀναλλοίωτον εἰσελθεῖν ζωήν, τὸν δὲ τὴν κτιστὴν φύσιν ἐν τῇ τριάδι διὰ τῆς ἠπατημένης ὑπολήψεως βλέποντα, ἔπειτα ἐν αὐτῇ βαπτιζόμενον, πάλιν τῷ τρεπτῷ τε καὶ ἀλλοιουμένῳ ἐγγεννηθῆναι βίῳ: τῇ γὰρ τῶν γεννώντων φύσει κατ' ἀνάγκην ὁμογενές ἐστι καὶ τὸ τικτόμενον. τί οὖν ἂν εἴη λυσιτελέστερον, εἰς τὴν ἄτρεπτον ζωὴν εἰσελθεῖν ἢ πάλιν τῷ ἀστατοῦντι καὶ ἀλλοιουμένῳ ἐγκυματοῦσθαι βίῳ; ἐπεὶ οὖν παντὶ δῆλόν ἐστι τῷ καὶ ὁπωσοῦν διανοίας μετέχοντι, ὅτι τὸ ἑστὼς τοῦ μὴ ἑστῶτος παρὰ πολὺ τιμιώτερον, καὶ τοῦ ἐλλιποῦς τὸ τέλειον, καὶ τοῦ δεομένου τὸ μὴ δεόμενον, καὶ τοῦ διὰ προκοπῆς ἀνιόντος τὸ μὴ ἔχον εἰς ὅ τι προέλθῃ, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τῆς τελειότητος τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ μένον ἀεί, ἐπάναγκες ἂν εἴη ἓν ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων αἱρεῖσθαι πάντως τόν γε νοῦν ἔχοντα, ἢ τῆς ἀκτίστου φύσεως εἶναι πιστεύειν τὴν ἁγίαν τριάδα καὶ οὕτως ἀρχηγὸν διὰ τῆς πνευματικῆς γεννήσεως ποιεῖσθαι τῆς ἰδίας ζωῆς, ἤ, εἰ ἔξω τῆς τοῦ πρώτου καὶ ἀληθινοῦ καὶ ἀγαθοῦ θεοῦ φύσεως, τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς λέγω, νομίζοι εἶναι τὸν υἱὸν ἢ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, μὴ συμπαραλαμβάνειν τὴν εἰς ταῦτα πίστιν ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς γεννήσεως, μήποτε λάθῃ τῇ ἐλλιπεῖ φύσει καὶ δεομένῃ τοῦ ἀγαθύνοντος ἑαυτὸν εἰσποιῶν καὶ τρόπον τινὰ πάλιν εἰς τὸ ὁμογενὲς ἑαυτὸν εἰσαγάγῃ, τῆς ὑπερεχούσης φύσεως ἀποστήσας τὴν πίστιν. ὁ γάρ τινι τῶν κτιστῶν ἑαυτὸν ὑποζεύξας λέληθεν εἰς αὐτὸ καὶ οὐκ εἰς τὸ θεῖον τὴν ἐλπίδα τῆς σωτηρίας ἔχων. πᾶσα γὰρ ἡ κτίσις τῷ κατὰ τὸ ἴσον ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος εἰς τὸ εἶναι προήκειν οἰκείως πρὸς ἑαυτὴν ἔχει: καὶ ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῆς τῶν σωμάτων κατασκευῆς πάντα τὰ μέλη πρὸς ἑαυτὰ συμφυῶς ἔχει, κἂν τὰ μὲν ὑποβεβηκότα, τὰ δὲ ὑπερανεστῶτα τύχῃ, οὕτως ἡ κτιστὴ φύσις ἥνωται πρὸς ἑαυτὴν κατὰ τὸν λόγον τῆς κτίσεως καὶ οὐδὲν ἡ κατὰ τὸ ὑπερέχον καὶ ἐνδέον ἐν ἡμῖν διαφορὰ διίστησιν αὐτὴν τῆς πρὸς ἑαυτὴν συμφυίας: ὧν γὰρ ἐπ' ἴσης προεπινοεῖται ἡ ἀνυπαρξία, κἂν ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις τὸ διάφορον ᾖ, οὐδεμίαν κατὰ τὸ μέρος τοῦτο τῆς φύσεως παραλλαγὴν ἐξευρίσκομεν. εἰ οὖν κτιστὸς μὲν ὁ ἄνθρωπος, κτιστὸν δὲ καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ τὸν μονογενῆ θεὸν εἶναι νομίζοι, μάταιος ἂν εἴη ἐν ἐλπίδι τῆς ἐπὶ τὸ κρεῖττον μεταστάσεως, πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἀναλύων. ὅμοιον γὰρ ταῖς τοῦ Νικοδήμου ὑπολήψεσίν ἐστι τὸ γινόμενον, ὃς περὶ τοῦ δεῖν ἄνωθεν γεννηθῆναι παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου μαθὼν διὰ τὸ μήπω χωρῆσαι τοῦ μυστηρίου τὸν λόγον ἐπὶ τὸν μητρῷον κόλπον τοῖς λογισμοῖς κατεσύρετο. ὥστε εἰ μὴ πρὸς τὴν ἄκτιστον φύσιν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὴν συγγενῆ καὶ ὁμόδουλον κτίσιν ἑαυτὸν ἀπάγοι, τῆς κάτωθεν, οὐ τῆς ἄνωθέν ἐστι γεννήσεως. φησὶ δὲ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ἄνωθεν εἶναι τῶν σωζομένων τὴν γέννησιν.