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according to the Word? and thus this mystery was formerly so hidden in God that no one of the former people knew clearly the things concerning the Word, but that we should now enjoy the riches of the glory and of the hidden mystery. And again the holy apostle and disciple of the Lord, John, teaching clearly and explicitly at the beginning of his gospel, naming him the Word of the Almighty, as one formerly unknown among men, said thus, "In the beginning was the Word." In these things, therefore, the matter of God having a Word is defined as a hidden mystery, but in the prophetic voices just cited he establishes that all the divine scriptures proclaim the things concerning him, and he collects as many testimonies as possible concerning the Word of God. 2.25.2 Therefore he was not unknown to the former people, for they all knew such words, carrying the prophetic oracles on their lips and in their memory. But the Christian puts forward to us the scribe of the Jews, not hearing the Savior saying, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites," and he marvels at him affirming by an oath that "God is one and there is none other beside him," not 2.25.3 knowing that "even the demons believe and shudder." But observe how from the prophetic scriptures themselves he collects things concerning the word that teaches what must be done; which even the children of the Jews will confess to know, since they received it before us. But not even Sabellius 2.25.4 himself was ignorant of such a word. How then, attacking the Jews and Sabellius, did he say through those sayings of his which I cited that they did not know the Word? And since he himself declared through the foregoing that no one was able to know God or to recognize his Word unless he had received the image of the invisible God, namely the flesh as 2.25.5 he himself said—for he insisted that God and his Word are known only through the image, saying that the flesh is the image—it must be recalled through what has been set forth that apart from the incarnate presence all the Jews knew precisely the Word of God and the words in the prophetic scriptures enjoining holy deeds, studying them from their tenderest years, and they confessed God, the maker and creator of all, just as did the scribe who affirmed this by an oath. 2.25.6 These things, then, are for proof that the man Sabellianizes. But it is time now to go over the perverse interpretations of the divine scriptures which he has made, so that everyone who honors the man may learn that he has strayed not only from the right faith, but also from sound reading and contemplation of the divinely inspired scriptures. 3.t.1 3 Chapters of the third book 1. How Marcellus dared to interpret the divine scriptures perversely. 2. How "the Lord created me as the beginning of his ways" and the things connected with it are understood, and how Marcellus applied these same things to the flesh of the Savior. 3. A refutation of the things said incorrectly by him regarding the passages and a sound interpretation of the same. 4. How Marcellus, not understanding the scriptures, defined there to be one hypostasis of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 5. How the Savior taught concerning the Holy Spirit. 6. How the church hands down the teaching concerning the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 7. How Marcellus maintained that the flesh is the image of the invisible God. 8. How the same man declared that the flesh of the Savior is of no profit. 9. How he dared to say that at the end of all things the flesh of the Savior will be left desolate by the Word. 10. What kind of things the divine scriptures teach concerning the flesh of the Savior, and how Marcellus thought the opposite. 11. How, not understanding the evangelical saying, he said that the flesh of the Savior is a stumbling block and is of no profit. 12. Interpretation of the evangelical saying. 13. How he maintained that the kingdom of Christ received a beginning four hundred years ago but will have an end at the consummation, making perverse interpretations of the divine scriptures. 14. Expositions of the sound meaning of the readings. 15. How it is said that all things will be subjected to the Son and

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κατὰ τὸν λόγον; οὕτως δὲ ἦν ἀποκεκρυμμένον ἐν τῷ θεῷ τουτὶ πρό τερον τὸ μυστήριον, ὥστε μηδένα τοῦ προτέρου λαοῦ σαφῶς τὰ κατὰ τὸν λόγον εἰδέναι, ἀλλ' ἡμᾶς τοῦ πλούτου τῆς δόξης καὶ τοῦ ἀποκεκρυμμένου μυστηρίου ἀπολαύειν νυνί. καὶ αὖθις ἐπιλέγει ὁ δὲ ἱερὸς ἀπόστολός τε καὶ μαθητὴς τοῦ κυρίου Ἰωάννης σαφῶς καὶ διαρρήδην ἐν ἀρχῇ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου διδάσκων, ὡς ἀγνο ούμενον ἐν ἀνθρώποις πρότερον, λόγον αὐτὸν τοῦ παντοκράτορος ὀνομάζων, οὕτως ἔφη «ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος». ἐν τούτοις μὲν οὖν ἀποκεκρυμμένον μυστήριον διορίζεται εἶναι τὸ περὶ τοῦ λόγον ἔχειν τὸν θεόν, ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἀρτίως παρατεθείσαις προφητικαῖς φωναῖς πάσας τὰς θείας γραφὰς κηρύττειν τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ συνίστησιν καὶ συνάγει περὶ λόγου θεοῦ πλείστας ὅσας μαρ2.25.2 τυρίας. οὐκ ἄρα ἦν ἀγνοούμενος τῷ προτέρῳ λαῷ, πάντες γὰρ αὐτοὶ τοὺς τοιούτους λόγους ᾔδεσαν, ἀνὰ στόμα καὶ διὰ μνήμης τὰ προφητικὰ λόγια φέροντες. ἀλλὰ τὸν γραμματέα τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἡμῖν ὁ Χριστιανὸς προΐσχεται, οὐκ ἀκούων τοῦ σωτῆρος λέγοντος «οὐαὶ ὑμῖν, γραμματεῖς καὶ Φαρισαῖοι ὑποκριταί», θαυμάζει τε αὐτὸν ὅρκῳ πιστούμενον ὅτι «εἷς ἐστιν ὁ θεὸς καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν πλὴν αὐτοῦ», οὐκ 2.25.3 εἰδὼς ὅτι καὶ τὰ «δαιμόνια πιστεύουσιν καὶ φρίττουσιν». τήρει δὲ ὅπως ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν προφητικῶν γραφῶν τὰ περὶ λόγου συνάγει τοῦ τῶν πρακτέων διδασκαλικοῦ· ὃν καὶ Ἰουδαίων παῖδες γνωρίζειν ὁμολογήσουσιν, ἅτε πρὸ ἡμῶν τοῦτον παρειληφότες. ἀλλ' οὐδὲ αὐτὸς 2.25.4 Σαβέλλιος τὸν τοιοῦτον ἠγνόει λόγον. πῶς οὖν Ἰουδαίους καὶ Σαβέλλιον κόπτων μὴ ἐγνωκέναι τὸν λόγον ἔφη δι' ὧν παρεθέμην αὐτοῦ φωνῶν; καὶ ἐπειδὴ ἀποπέφανται ὁ αὐτὸς διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν ὡς οὐδεὶς ἐδύνατο τὸν θεὸν εἰδέναι οὐδὲ τὸν λόγον γνωρίζειν αὐτοῦ εἰ μὴ τὴν εἰκόνα εἰλήφει τοῦ ἀοράτου θεοῦ, δηλαδὴ τὴν σάρκα ὡς 2.25.5 αὐτὸς ἔφη διὰ μόνης γὰρ τῆς εἰκόνος γνωρίζεσθαι τὸν θεὸν καὶ τὸν τούτου λόγον διετείνατο, τὴν σάρκα λέγων εἶναι τὴν εἰκόνα, ὑπομνηστέον διὰ τῶν προκειμένων ὡς δίχα τῆς ἐνσάρκου παρουσίας Ἰουδαῖοι πάντες τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τοὺς λόγους τοὺς ἐν ταῖς προφητικαῖς γραφαῖς τῶν ὁσίων ἔργων παραγγελτικοὺς ἀκριβῶς ᾔδεσαν, ἐξ ἁπαλῶν ὀνύχων τούτους καταμελετῶντες, καὶ τὸν θεὸν ὡμολόγουν τὸν πάντων ποιητὴν καὶ δημιουργόν, ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ ὁ γραμματεὺς ὁ δι' ὅρκου πιστούμενος τοῦτο. 2.25.6 ταῦτα μὲν οὖν εἰς ἀπόδειξιν τοῦ Σαβελλίζειν τὸν ἄνδρα. ὥρα δὲ λοιπὸν ἐπελθεῖν καὶ ἃς πεποίηται διαστρόφους τῶν θείων γραφῶν ἑρμηνείας, ὡς ἂν μάθοι πᾶς τῶν τὸν ἄνδρα τιμώντων ὅτι μὴ μόνης τῆς ὀρθῆς παρεξετράπη πίστεως, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς ὑγιοῦς τῶν θεοπνεύστων γραφῶν ἐντεύξεώς τε καὶ θεωρίας. 3.t.1 Γ Κεφάλαια τοῦ γʹ αʹ ὡς διαστρόφως ὁ Μάρκελλος τὰς θείας γραφὰς ἑρμηνεύειν ἐτόλμα. βʹ ὅπως τὸ «κύριος ἔκτισέν με ἀρχὴν ὁδῶν αὐτοῦ» καὶ τὰ τούτῳ συνημμένα νοεῖται, καὶ ὅπως τὰ αὐτὰ Μάρκελλος ἐπὶ τὴν σάρκα τοῦ σωτῆρος μετῆγεν. γʹ ἔλεγχος τῶν οὐκ ὀρθῶς εἰς τοὺς τόπους αὐτῷ λελεγμένων καὶ τῶν αὐτῶν ὑγιὴς ἑρμηνεία. δʹ ὅπως Μάρκελλος, μὴ συνιεὶς τὰς γραφάς, μίαν εἶναι ὡρίζετο ὑπόστασιν πα τρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος. εʹ ὅπως ὁ σωτὴρ περὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος ἐδίδασκεν. ʹ ὅπως ἡ ἐκκλησία περὶ πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος φρονεῖν παρα δίδωσιν. ζʹ ὅπως Μάρκελλος τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου τὴν σάρκα εἶναι διεβεβαιοῦτο. ηʹ ὅπως ὁ αὐτὸς μηδὲν ὠφελεῖν τὴν σάρκα τοῦ σωτῆρος ἀπεφαίνετο. θʹ ὅπως καταλειφθήσεσθαι ἐν τῷ τοῦ παντὸς τέλει τὴν σάρκα τοῦ σωτῆρος τοῦ λόγου ἔρημον ἐτόλμα λέγειν. ιʹ ὁποῖα αἱ θεῖαι γραφαὶ περὶ τῆς σαρκὸς τοῦ σωτῆρος διδάσκουσιν, καὶ ὡς τὰ ἐναντία Μάρκελλος ἐφρόνει. ιαʹ ὅπως μὴ νοήσας τὴν εὐαγγελικὴν φωνὴν σκανδαλίζειν ἔφη τὴν σάρκα τοῦ σωτῆρος καὶ μηδὲν ὠφελεῖν. ιβʹ ἑρμηνεία τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς λέξεως. ιγʹ ὅπως τὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ βασιλείαν ἀρχὴν μὲν εἰληφέναι τὴν ἀπὸ τετρακοσίων ἐτῶν τέλος δὲ ἕξειν ἐν τῇ συντελείᾳ διεβεβαιοῦτο, διαστρόφους ποιούμενος τὰς τῶν θείων γραφῶν ἑρμηνείας. ιδʹ ἐξηγήσεις τῆς ὑγιοῦς διανοίας τῶν ἀναγνωσμάτων. ιεʹ ὅπως εἴρηται τὰ πάντα ὑποταγήσεσθαι τῷ υἱῷ καὶ