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to write to you blessed ones, that according to the prophetic word: As a dog to its own vomit, I say they have the foulness to return to the unpleasantness of their faith; like second Simons, and Demases and Hermogeneses, choosing to prefer falsehood to the truth; and injuring in no way, as they think, by their apostasy the heralds of piety, or rather being justly harmed by the deprivation of grace; and not even being able to possess the present age, for which they apostatized from the truth, according to their desire, since it is by nature unstable (15B_232> and easily changed, and always eluding those who think they possess it.

For truly unpleasant and full of foul odor and devoid of all grace is every doctrine that teaches that the things out of which Christ is are not preserved according to nature in the one Christ after the ineffable union; but as if denying the whole economy of God concerning man, and circumcising from the Word of God what was assumed, from the immaculate and holy all-glorious Virgin and true Theotokos, a rational, ensouled body. For he truly circumcises it in fact, even if he seems somehow to confess it merely with his mouth for the deception of his hearers, and he completely denies the incarnation, who after the union does not say that the nature of the flesh is, and is preserved and is spoken of, unconfusedly and indivisibly united to God the Word hypostatically, on the pretext, forsooth, of piety, of not seeming to divide the union by number, to speak properly, clearly denying the existence after the union of the whole of the natures out of which 0513 Christ is.

A MORE PHYSICAL CONCEPTION CONCERNING NUMBER

A more physical conception concerning number. They suffer this, as it seems, from their ignorance that all number neither

divides according to its own principle, nor is divided; nor is it at all productive of division, nor indeed of union. For it is not its nature to act or be acted upon, not being a substance or an accident, with respect to which acting and being acted upon exist; but it is only indicative of the quantity of the underlying things, however they may happen to be according to their relation: whether united, or distinct. As, to speak boldly, a name signifying quantity, apart from the relation in it. For number does not of necessity make the natural distinction, or quantity, of beings; nor does it of itself produce the continuity of things joined (15B_234> in the same species; nor indeed is it characteristic of any property at all of individuals under the same species which are distinguished from one another by their accidents. For to do these things has been established as proper to the divine wisdom and power, which constituted the universe, and keeps each thing unconfused, by the definitions according to the nature of beings concerning the universe; but only, as I said, it makes a declaration simply of the quantity of things, but not of their mode, just like some suitable name for quantity.

CONCERNING DIFFERENCE, AND MORE PRECISELY QUANTITY, AND THEIR PIOUS

CONFESSION Concerning difference, and more precisely quantity, and their pious

confession. If, then, according to the Fathers, number is indicative of the quantity of things, but not

of their relation; and every quantity considered with natural otherness certainly admits of difference;

and even those who fight against the truth speak of a natural difference in Christ after the union; and the quantity of the differing things, without which

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γράψαι τούς εὐλογημένους ὑμᾶς, ὅτι κατά τόν προφητικόν λόγον· Ὡς κύων ἐπί τόν ἴδιον ἔμετον, τῆς κατά τήν πίστιν αὐτῶν ἀηδείας λέγω τό δυσῶδες ἔχουσιν ἐπιστρέψαι· οἷα δή Σίμωνες δεύτεροι, καί ∆ήμαντες καί Ἑρμογένεις, προκρίνειν ἑλόμενοι τῆς ἀληθείας τό ψεῦδος· καί μηδέν ἀδικοῦντες, ὡς οἴονται, τῇ ἀποστασίᾳ τούς κήρυκας τῆς εὐσεβείας, ἤ βλαπτόμενοι μᾶλλον ἐνδίκως τῇ στερήσει τῆς χάριτος· καί οὐδέ τόν νῦν αἰῶνα, δι᾿ ὅν τῆς ἀληθείας ἀπέστησαν, ἔχειν καταθυμίως δυνάμενοι, κατά φύσιν ἄστατον (15Β_232> ὄντα καί εὐαλλοίωτον, καί ἀεί παρατρέχοντα τούς κρατεῖν νομίζοντας.

Ἀηδής γάρ ὄντως ὑπάρχει καί δυσωδίας μεστός καί πάσης χάριτος ἔρημος, πᾶς λόγος, μή σώζεσθαι πρεσβεύων κατά φύσιν ἐν τῷ ἑνί Χριστῷ τά ἐξ ὧν Χριστός μετά τήν ἄφραστον ἕνωσιν· ἀλλ᾿ οἷον ἀρνούμενος τήν ὅλην τοῦ Θεοῦ περί τόν ἄνθρωπον οἰκονομίαν, καί περιτέμνων τοῦ Λόγου τοῦ Θεοῦ τό προσειλημμένον, ἐκ τῆς ἀχράντου καί ἁγίας πανενδόξου Παρθένου καί κατά ἀλήθειαν Θεοτόκου, σῶμα λογικόν ἐμψυχωμένον. Περιτέμνει γάρ ἀληθῶς τῷ πράγματι, κἄν δοκῇ πῶς ψιλῶς ὀμολογεῖν τῷ στόματι τῶν ἀκουόντων ἐξαπάτην, καί παντελῶς ἀρνεῖται τήν σάρκωσιν, ὁ μετά τήν ἕνωσιν μή λέγων εἶναι, σώζεσθαί τε καί λέγεσθαι τῆς σαρκός τήν φύσιν, ἀσυγχύτως τε καί ἀδιαιρέτως ἡνωμένην τῷ Θεῷ Λόγῳ καθ᾿ ὑπόστασιν, προφάσει δῆθεν εὐλαβείας, τοῦ μή τεμεῖν δόξαι διά τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ τήν ἕνωσιν, αὐτήν κυρίως εἰπεῖν, τήν πᾶσαν τῶν ἐξ ὧν 0513 ἐστιν ὁ Χριστός φύσεων, μετά τήν ἕνωσιν σαφῶς ἀρνούμενος ὕπαρξιν.

ΠΕΡΙ ΑΡΙΘΜΟΥ ΦΥΣΙΚΩΤΕΡΑ ∆ΙΑΛΗΨΙΣ

Περί ἀριθμοῦ φυσικωτέρα διάληψις. Τοῦτο δέ πάσχουσιν, ὡς ἔοικε, παρά τό ἀγνοεῖν αὐτούς, ὅτι πᾶς ἀριθμός οὔτε

διαιρεῖ κατά τόν ἴδιον λόγου, οὔτε διαιρεῖται· οὔτε διαιρέσεως, οὔτε μήν ἑνώσεως παντελῶς ἐστι ποιητικός. Ποιεῖν γάρ ἤ πάσχειν οὐ πέφυκε, μή ὑπάρχων οὐσία ἤ συμβεβηκός· περί ἅ τό ποιεῖν τε καί πάσχειν ἐστίν· ἀλλά μόνον δηλωτικός τοῦ ποσοῦ τῶν ὑποκειμένων πραγμάτων, ὡς δ᾿ ἄν κατά τήν σχέσιν ἔχοντα τύχωσιν· εἴτε ἡνωμένα, εἴτε διακεκριμένα. Οἷον, ἵν᾿ εἴπω τι θαῤῥήσας, ὄνομα ποσοῦ, χωρίς τῆς ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ σχέσεως σημαντικόν. Οὔτε γάρ τήν τῶν ὄντων ἐξ ἀνάγκης φυσικήν ὁ ἀριθμός ποιεῖται διάκρισιν, ἤ ποσότητα· οὔτε τῶν συνημμένων (15Β_234> κατά τό αὐτό εἶδος ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ ἐργάζεται τήν συνέχειαν· οὔτε μήν καθ᾿ ὅλου τινός ἐστι χαρακτηριστικός ἰδιότητος τῶν ὑπό τό αὐτό εἶδος πρός ἄλληλα τοῖς συμβεβηκόσι διακεκριμμένων ἀτόμων. Ταῦτα γάρ ποιεῖν τῆς θείας σοφίας τε καί δυνάμεως καθέστηκεν ἴδιον, τῆς τό πᾶν συστησαμένης, καί ἀσύγχυτον διατηρούσης ἔκαστον, τοῖς περί τό πᾶν κατά φύσιν τῶν ὄντων διορισμοῖς· ἀλλά μόνον, ὡς ἔφην, τοῦ ἁπλῶς, ἀλλ᾿ οὐ τοῦ πῶς τῶν πραγμάτων ποσοῦ ποιεῖται δήλωσιν, καθάπερ τι ὄνομα ποσοῦ προσφυές.

ΠΕΡΙ ∆ΙΑΦΟΡΑΣ, ΚΑΙ ΠΟΣΟΤΗΤΟΣ ΑΚΡΙΒΕΣΤΕΡΟΝ, ΚΑΙ ΤΗΣ ΑΥΤΩΝ ΕΥΣΕΒΟΥΣ

ΟΜΟΛΟΓΙΑΣ Περί διαφορᾶς, καί ποσότητος ἀκριβέστερον, καί τῆς αὐτῶν εὐσεβοῦς

ὁμολογίας. Εἰ τοίνυν κατά τούς Πατέρας, ὁ ἀριθμός τοῦ ποσοῦ τῶν πραγμάτων, ἀλλ᾿ οὐ

τῆς σχέσεώς ἐστι δηλωτικός· πᾶν δέ ποσόν ἑτερότητι φυσικῇ θεωρούμενον, διαφοράν πάντως ἐπιδέχεται· διαφοράν δέ λέγουσιν ἐπί Χριστοῦ φυσικήν μετά τήν ἕνωσιν καί οἱ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ μαχόμενοι· καί τό ποσόν τῶν διαφερόντων, οὗ χωρίς