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And by what reason did he accept the dead thing for cooperation? For what is without energy, he renders useless by complete inactivity. But how did he show this to be capable of giving life, as Cyril himself again taught, through its natural movements; such as touch, voice, walking, these things not being its own, or in it according to essence. For if they were its own according to essence, the flesh certainly had a natural energy; for both the movement of the hands and of the feet, and the voice in utterance, are of its essential energy. (112) But if these things were not its own by nature, the Savior did not show it to be capable of giving life.

These few things out of many, having been instructed by the teachings of you and of the God-wise saints among you, at your most sacred command, I have dared to set down in this modest letter, and to attempt things beyond my power, being small and of no account; possessing neither a mind keen in perception, nor speech suited for clarity, nor a well-ordered character for the relaxation of my betters; but rather by grace, through your mediation, being sheltered by the all-good God, who covers the multitude of my sins. And I beseech you with tears, prostrating myself as if present at your venerable footsteps, since the Holy Spirit has appointed you bishops and saviors of souls, not to hesitate, in what I have not written with precision, to make a benevolent correction; so that by this you may show yourselves to be mediators of God rather than imitators; his illumination upon all, and his mercy; not only having received it by lot, but also providing it by worth; to whom also I entreat you to commend my weakness, that of a poor and needy man, so that I may be sheltered from the all-consuming flame, both visible and invisible, on account of my sins; and to rest and be guarded forever in the dew of both his all-holy and orthodox faith, and of sacred virtue. Amen

SCHOLION Fr. See, for you the difficulty is resolved. But God having come forth with that which was assumed, one and one

from two contraries, said the great one, on account of the hypostatic union; but he did not accept the "one" as a nature.

To the holy Fathers dwelling throughout this Christ-loving island of the Sicilians,

to abbots and monks, and to the orthodox laity, Maximus, a humble and sinful, unworthy servant.

Great peace have they who love your law, (113) and for them there is no stumbling block,

said the Forefather of God, David, to God; making known from this to all, and I proclaim to those who long for salvation, that holding fast by nature to the ultimate object of desire with the most divine and supreme love, they might joyfully pursue in it the good of peace, immutably, toward themselves and all, if possible; removing every stumbling block from all things, through pious and supreme unanimity toward one another. For which reason, it has been earnestly undertaken by me, your servant, to set down readily in writing what I had previously established by word of mouth, for your most holy security and full assurance, having cast off through this apology every suspicion concerning our humility that had arisen in you from others; "For I cannot bear," as Gregory the Theologian says, "that some of those who carefully observe all our affairs, whether they are in a good or a different state, should be offended in me;

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καί τίνι λόγῳ προσίετο τό νεκρόν εἰς συνέργειαν; Τό γάρ ἀνενέργητον, τῇ παντελεῖ ἀκινησίᾳ καταργεῖ. Πῶς δέ ταύτην ἐδείκνυε ζωοποιεῖν δυναμένην, ὡς αὐτός πάλιν Κύριλλος ἐξεπαίδευσε, διά τῶν κατά φύσιν αὐτῆς κινημάτων· οἷον τῆς ἀφῆς, τῆς φωνῆς, τοῦ περιπάτου, τούτων οὐκ ὄντων αὐτῆς, ἤ ἐν αὐτῇ κατ᾿ οὐσίαν. Εἰ γάρ αὐτῆς κατ᾿ οὐσίαν, φυσικήν πάντως ἡ σάρξ εἶχεν ἐνέργειαν· ἐνεργείας γάρ αὐτῆς οὐσιώδους ἐστίν, ἤ τε κίνησις τῶν χειρῶν καί τῶν ποδῶν, καί ἡ κατά τήν προφοράν φωνή. (112) Εἰ δέ οὐκ αὐτῆς κατά φύσιν ταῦτα, ζωοποιεῖν δυναμένην ταύτην ὁ Σωτήρ οὐκ ἀπέδειξε.

Ταῦτα μικρά ἐκ πολλῶν, ὑμᾶς τε καί τῶν καθ᾿ ὑμᾶς θεοσόφων ἁγίων παιδευθείς διδαγμάτων, δι τήν ἱερωτάτην ὑμῶν κέλευσιν, ἐθάῥῤησα διά τοῦδε τοῦ μετρίου γράμματος χαράξαι, καί τῶν ὑπέρ δύναμιν κατατολμῆσαι, μικρός ὤν καί εὐτελής· καί μήτε νοῦν εὔστοχον εἰς ἐπιβολήν, μήτε λόγον εὔεικτον εἰς σαφήνειαν, μήτε ἦθος εὔκοσμον εἰς τήν τῶν κρειττόνων ἐξάνεσιν ἔχων· ἀλλά μᾶλλον χάριτι, διά τῆς μεσιτείας ὑμῶν σκεπαζόμενος ὑπό τοῦ παναγάθου Θεοῦ, καί καλύπτοντος τά πλήθη τῶν ἐμῶν ἁμαρτημάτων. ∆υσωπῶ δέ μετά δακρύων, τοῖς τιμοίοις ὑμῶν ὡς παρών προκαλινδούμενος ἴχνεσιν, ἐπειδή ὑμᾶς κατέστησε τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον ἐπισκόπους ψυχῶν καί σωτῆρας μή κατοκνῆσαι ἐν οἷς οὐκ ἡκριβωμένως γέγραφα, φιλάγαθον ποιήσασθαι τήν διόρθωσιν· ἵν᾿ ἐκ τούτου μεσίτας Θεοῦ μᾶλλον, ἤ μιμητάς ἑαυτούς ἀναδείξηται· τόν ἐπί πάντας αὐτοῦ φωτισμόν, καί τό ἔλεος· οὐ μόνον ἕξει λαχόντες, ἀλλά καί ἀξίᾳ παρέχοντες· ᾧ καί παραθέσθαι τήν ἐμήν τοῦ πένητος καί φτωχοῦ ἀσθένειαν καθικετεύω, πρός τό σκεπασθῆναι τῆς τό πᾶν νεμομένης διά τάς ἐμάς ἁμαρτίας, ὁρατῆς τε καί ἀοράτου, φλογός· καί εἰς τήν δρόσον τῆς τε παναγίας αὐτοῦ καί ὀρθοδόξου πίστεως, καί τῆς ἱερᾶς ἀρετῆς διά παντός ἐπαναπαύεσθαι καί φρουρεῖσθαι. Ἀμήν

ΣΧΟΛΙΟΝ Fr. Ἴδε σοι τό ἄπορον λέλυται. Προελθών δέ Θεός μετά τῆς προσλήψεως, ἕν καί ἕν

ἐκ δύο τῶν ἐναντίων, εἰπών ὁ μέγας, διά τήν καθ᾿ ὑπόστασιν ἕνωσιν· ἀλλ᾿ οὐ φύσιν τό ἕν ἐξεδέξατο.

Τοῖς κατά τήνδε τήν Σικελῶν φιλόχριστον νῆσον παροικοῦσιν ἁγίοις Πατράσιν,

ἡγουμένοις τε καί μονάζουσι, καί ὀρθοδόξοις λαοῖς, Μάξιμος ταπεινός καί ἁμαρτωλός, ἀνάξιος δοῦλος.

Εἰρήνη πολλή τοῖς ἀγαπῶσι τόν νόμον σου, (113) καί οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτοῖς σκάνδαλον,

πρός τόν Θεόν ἔφησεν ὁ Θεοπάτωρ ∆αβίδ· γνωρίζων ἐντεῦθεν ἅπασι, καί διαγορεύω τοῖς σωτηρίας ἐφιεμένοις, ἵνα τῇ τοῦ ἐσχάτου φύσει προσανέχοντες ὀρεκτοῦ θειοτάτῃ κατ᾿ ἄκρον ἀγάπῃ, ταύτη περιχαρῶς τό τῆς εἰρήνης καλόν πρός ἑαυτούς τε καί πάντας, εἰ δυνατόν, ἀλύτως μεταδιώκοιεν· ἅπαν ἐξ ἁπάντων ἀφαιρούμενοι σκάνδαλον, διά τῆς εὐσεβοῦς εἰς ἀλλήλους καί ἄκρας ὁμοφροσύνης. Οὗ δή χάριν, κἀμοί τῷ ἡμετέρῳ διεσπουδάσθη δούλῳ, γραφῇ καταθέσθαι προθύμως, ὅπερ φθάσας γλώττῃ συνεστησάμην, πρός τήν τῶν ἁγιωτάτων ὑμῶν ἀσφάλειάν τε καί πληροφορίαν, πᾶσαν ἐξ ἑτέρων γεγενημένην ὑμῖν περί τῆς ἡμῶν ταπεινώσεως ὑποψίαν, διά τῆς ἀπολογίας ἀποσκευασάμενος· "Οὐδέ γάρ ἀνέχομαι, καθά φησιν ὁ Θεολόγος Γρηγόριος, πλήττεσθαί τινας ἐν ἐμοί τῶν πάντα τηρούντων ἐπιμελῶς τά ἡμέτερα, εὖ τε καί ὡς ἑτέρως ἔχοντα·