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Therefore, indeed, we say that the union has come to be from two perfect natures, both divine and human, not according to mixture or confusion or mingling, as the God-driven-out Dioscorus and Severus and their accursed gang said, nor a personal or relative union, or one according to worth, or identity of will, or equal honor, or a common name, or good pleasure, as the God-hated Nestorius and Diodorus and Theodore of Mopsuestia and their demonic assembly said, but according to composition, that is, according to hypostasis, unchangeably and unconfusedly and unalterably and indivisibly and inseparably and in two natures, possessing perfectly one hypostasis, we confess the Son of God and incarnate one, saying that the hypostasis of His divinity and of His humanity is the same, and confessing that the two natures are preserved in Him after the union, not setting each one apart and by itself, but united to one another in the one composite hypostasis. For we say the union is essential, that is, true and not according to fantasy; essential, however, not in the sense that the two natures formed one composite nature, but that they were united to one another in truth into one composite hypostasis of the Son of God. And we define that their essential difference is preserved; for the created has remained created and the uncreated uncreated, and the mortal remained mortal and the immortal immortal, and the circumscribed circumscribed and the uncircumscribed uncircumscribed, the visible visible and the invisible invisible; “The one shines forth with miracles, the other has submitted to insults.” And the Word makes the human things His own (for the things of His holy flesh are His) and imparts to the flesh His own things according to the mode of exchange, on account of the mutual indwelling of the parts and the hypostatic union, and because He was one and the same who was “working both the divine and the human things in each form with the communion of the other.” Therefore indeed, the Lord of glory is said to have been crucified, although His divine nature did not suffer, and the Son of Man is confessed to have been in heaven before the passion, as the Lord Himself said. For the Lord of glory was one and the same, who by nature and in truth became Son of Man, that is, man, and we know His miracles and His passions, even if He worked miracles according to one thing and endured the passions according to another. For we know that just as His hypostasis is one, so also the essential difference of the natures is preserved. But how could a difference be preserved if the things that have the difference with respect to each other are not preserved? For a difference is a difference of things that differ. Therefore, in the principle by which the natures of Christ differ from each other, that is, in the principle of substance, we say He is joined to the extremes, according to divinity, to the Father and the Spirit, and according to humanity, to His mother and to us; for He is the same, consubstantial, according to divinity, with the Father and the Spirit, and according to humanity, with His mother and with all men. But in the principle by which His natures are joined, we say that He differs from the Father and the Spirit, and from His mother and the rest of men; for His natures are joined in the hypostasis, having one composite hypostasis, according to which He differs from the Father and the Spirit, and from His mother and us. But also, the parts of every composite nature have at the same time their production from non-being into being for the completion of the whole. And it is possible for things co-eternal to constitute one composite nature, receiving such a limit and natural law from the Creator, so that by the law of nature like is born from like in succession. But in the case of the Lord, of the united natures, the one is without beginning and timeless, the other has a beginning and is under time; and it has not become a species for the completion of the whole (since God did not rest from His works on the seventh day) nor were two things united naturally, but paradoxically and supernaturally. But paradoxical and supernatural things do not constitute a nature; for we do not speak of a nature of a bush consorting with fire and not being burned, nor of a nature of a man being raised up into heaven, nor a nature
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∆ιὸ δὴ ἐκ δύο φύσεων τελείων, θείας τε καὶ ἀνθρωπίνης, φαμὲν γεγενῆσθαι τὴν ἕνωσιν οὐ κατὰ φυρμὸν ἢ σύγχυσιν ἢ ἀνάκρασιν, ὡς ὁ θεήλατος ἔφη ∆ιόσκορος Σευῆρός τε καὶ ἡ τούτων ἐναγὴς συμμορία, οὐδὲ προσωπικὴν ἢ σχετικὴν ἢ κατ' ἀξίαν ἢ ταυτοβουλίαν ἢ ὁμοτιμίαν ἢ ὁμωνυμίαν ἢ εὐδοκίαν, ὡς ὁ θεοστυγὴς ἔφη Νεστόριος ∆ιόδωρός τε καὶ ὁ Μομψουεστίας Θεόδωρος καὶ ἡ τούτων δαιμονιώδης ὁμήγυρις, ἀλλὰ κατὰ σύνθεσιν ἤτοι καθ' ὑπόστασιν ἀτρέπτως καὶ ἀσυγχύτως καὶ ἀναλλοιώτως καὶ ἀδιαιρέτως καὶ ἀδιασπάστως καὶ ἐν δυσὶ φύσεσι τελείως ἐχούσαις μίαν ὑπόστασιν ὁμολογοῦμεν τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ σεσαρκωμένου, τὴν αὐτὴν ὑπόστασιν λέγοντες τῆς θεότητος καὶ τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰς δύο φύσεις ὁμολογοῦντες σῴζεσθαι ἐν αὐτῷ μετὰ τὴν ἕνωσιν, οὐκ ἰδίᾳ καὶ ἀναμέρος τιθέντες ἑκάστην, ἀλλ' ἡνωμένας ἀλλήλαις ἐν τῇ μιᾷ συνθέτῳ ὑποστάσει. Οὐσιώδη γάρ φαμεν τὴν ἕνωσιν, τουτέστιν ἀληθῆ καὶ οὐ κατὰ φαντασίαν· οὐσιώδη δέ, οὐχ ὡς τῶν δύο φύσεων ἀποτελεσασῶν μίαν σύνθετον φύσιν, ἀλλ' ἑνωθεισῶν ἀλλήλαις κατὰ ἀλήθειαν εἰς μίαν ὑπόστασιν σύνθετον τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ. Καὶ σῴζεσθαι αὐτῶν τὴν οὐσιώδη διαφορὰν ὁριζόμεθα· τὸ γὰρ κτιστὸν μεμένηκε κτιστὸν καὶ τὸ ἄκτιστον ἄκτιστον, καὶ τὸ θνητὸν ἔμεινε θνητὸν καὶ ἀθάνατον τὸ ἀθάνατον καὶ τὸ περιγραπτὸν περιγραπτὸν καὶ τὸ ἀπερίγραπτον ἀπερίγραπτον, τὸ ὁρατὸν ὁρατὸν καὶ τὸ ἀόρατον ἀόρατον· «Τὸ μὲν διαλάμπει τοῖς θαύμασι, τὸ δὲ ταῖς ὕβρεσιν ὑποπέπτωκεν». Οἰκειοῦται δὲ τὰ ἀνθρώπινα ὁ λόγος (αὐτοῦ γάρ εἰσι τὰ τῆς ἁγίας αὐτοῦ σαρκὸς ὄντα) καὶ μεταδιδοῖ τῇ σαρκὶ τῶν ἰδίων κατὰ τὸν τῆς ἀντιδόσεως τρόπον διὰ τὴν εἰς ἄλληλα τῶν μερῶν περιχώρησιν καὶ τὴν καθ' ὑπόστασιν ἕνωσιν, καὶ ὅτι εἷς ἦν καὶ ὁ αὐτὸς ὁ καὶ τὰ θεῖα καὶ τὰ ἀνθρώπινα «ἐνεργῶν ἐν ἑκατέρᾳ μορφῇ μετὰ τῆς θατέρου κοινωνίας». ∆ιὸ δὴ καὶ ὁ κύριος τῆς δόξης ἐσταυρῶσθαι λέγεται καίτοι τῆς θείας αὐτοῦ μὴ παθούσης φύσεως, καὶ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου πρὸ τοῦ πάθους ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ εἶναι ὡμολόγηται, ὡς αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος ἔφησεν. Εἷς γὰρ ἦν καὶ ὁ αὐτὸς κύριος τῆς δόξης ὁ φύσει καὶ ἀληθείᾳ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου ἤτοι ἄνθρωπος γενόμενος, καὶ αὐτοῦ τά τε θαύματα καὶ τὰ πάθη γινώσκομεν, εἰ καὶ κατ' ἄλλο ἐθαυματούργει καὶ κατ' ἄλλο τὰ πάθη ὁ αὐτὸς ὑπέμεινεν. Ἴσμεν γάρ, ὥσπερ μίαν αὐτοῦ τὴν ὑπόστασιν, οὕτω καὶ τὴν τῶν φύσεων οὐσιώδη διαφορὰν σῴζεσθαι. Πῶς δὲ σωθείη διαφορὰ μὴ σῳζομένων τῶν τὴν διαφορὰν ἐχόντων πρὸς ἄλληλα; ∆ιαφορὰ γὰρ διαφερόντων ἐστὶ διαφορά. Τῷ μὲν οὖν λόγῳ, ᾧ διαφέρουσιν ἀλλήλων αἱ φύσεις τοῦ Χριστοῦ τουτέστι τῷ λόγῳ τῆς οὐσίας, φαμὲν συνάπτεσθαι αὐτὸν τοῖς ἄκροις, κατὰ μὲν τὴν θεότητα τῷ τε πατρὶ καὶ τῷ πνεύματι, κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα τῇ τε μητρὶ καὶ ἡμῖν· ὁμοούσιος γάρ ἐστιν ὁ αὐτός, κατὰ μὲν τὴν θεότητα τῷ τε πατρὶ καὶ τῷ πνεύματι, κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα τῇ τε μητρὶ καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. Ὧι δὲ λόγῳ συνάπτονται αἱ φύσεις αὐτοῦ, διαφέρειν αὐτόν φαμεν τοῦ τε πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ πνεύματος, τῆς τε μητρὸς καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἀνθρώπων· συνάπτονται γὰρ αἱ φύσεις αὐτοῦ τῇ ὑποστάσει μίαν ὑπόστασιν σύνθετον ἔχουσαι, καθ' ἣν διαφέρει τοῦ τε πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ πνεύματος, τῆς τε μητρὸς καὶ ἡμῶν. Ἀλλὰ καὶ πάσης συνθέτου φύσεως τὰ μέρη ἅμα τὴν ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος εἰς τὸ εἶναι παραγωγὴν ἔσχηκε πρὸς συμπλήρωσιν τοῦ παντός. Καὶ δυνατὸν τὰ ὁμόχρονα μίαν φύσιν ἀποτελεῖν σύνθετον, τοιοῦτον ὅρον καὶ φυσικὸν νόμον παρὰ τοῦ δημιουργοῦ δεχόμενα, ὥστε φύσεως νόμῳ κατὰ διαδοχὴν ὅμοια ἐξ ὁμοίων γεννᾶσθαι. Ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ κυρίου τῶν ἑνωθεισῶν φύσεων ἡ μὲν ἄναρχός ἐστι καὶ ἄχρονος, ἡ δὲ ἠργμένη καὶ ὑπὸ χρόνον· καὶ οὐ γέγονεν εἶδος πρὸς συμπλήρωσιν τοῦ παντός (ἐπεὶ οὐ κατέπαυσεν ὁ θεὸς ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων αὐτοῦ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ἑβδόμῃ) οὔτε δύο φυσικῶς ἡνώθησαν, ἀλλὰ παραδόξως καὶ ὑπερφυῶς. Τὰ δὲ παράδοξα καὶ ὑπερφυῆ οὐ φύσιν ἀποτελεῖ· οὐ γάρ φαμεν βάτου φύσιν προσομιλοῦσαν πυρὶ καὶ μὴ φλεγομένην οὐδὲ φύσιν ἀνθρώπου μεταρσίου γενομένου ὡς (ὡς] ὢν ν) εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν οὔτε φύσιν