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movement. But the Spirit writes thoughts for us, Not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of fleshly hearts. And according to the breadth of the heart, the Spirit writes more or less in hearts, either manifest to all, or more obscure, according to the preparation of purity. And because of the swiftness of the things written, the whole world has therefore become full of the Gospel. And it seemed good to us to take what follows of the saying from its own beginning, and not to connect it with what came before, but to add it to what follows. For we believe "Fair in beauty," is said of the Lord, by way of apostrophe. Fair in beauty beyond the sons of men. Grace is poured out upon your lips. And both Aquila and Symmachus bring us to this understanding; the one saying: "In beauty you were made beautiful beyond the sons of men"; and Symmachus: "In beauty you are fair beyond the sons of men." Therefore, he who has gazed upon his divinity addresses the Lord as "fair in beauty." For he does not hymn the beauty of the flesh. For "we saw him, and he had no form, nor beauty, but his form was without honor, lacking beyond the sons of men." It is clear, therefore, that having looked upon his brightness and having been filled with the splendors from there, the Prophet, struck in his soul by this beauty, was moved to a divine love of the intelligible fairness; and when this appears to the human soul, all things previously loved appear shameful and to be rejected. For this reason also Paul, when he saw the one fair in beauty, considered all things to be rubbish, that he might gain Christ. Those outside the word of truth call the preaching of the Gospel foolishness, despising the simplicity of the phrasing of the Scriptures; but we who boast in 29.397 the cross of Christ, to whom the things freely given to us by God have been revealed through the Spirit, not in teachable words of human wisdom, we know that rich grace is poured out from God upon the words concerning Christ. For this reason, in a short time the preaching has traversed nearly the whole world, since a rich and abundant grace is poured out upon the preachers of the Gospel, whom Scripture has also named the lips of Christ. For this reason, in humble little words the preaching of the Gospel has much that is leading and drawing toward salvation. And every soul is held by unshakeable doctrines, being confirmed by grace in unshakeable faith in Christ. Whence the Apostle says: "Through whom we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith"; and again: "I toiled more than all of them; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." Grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever. It is written in the Gospel, that "They marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth." Therefore the psalm, wishing to represent emphatically the abundance of the grace of the words from our Lord, said, "Grace is poured upon your lips," because of the abundance of grace in the word. "God has blessed you," it says, "forever," And it is clear that these things must be referred to his humanity, as he "advanced in wisdom and in stature and in grace." According to this it is clear that we also understand grace to have been given to him as a prize for his virtuous deeds. Similar to this is: "You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions." And very similar to this is what was written by Paul to the Philippians, that "He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross, therefore God has also highly exalted him." So that it is clear that these things are said about the man according to the Savior; or because the Church is the body of the Lord, and he himself is the head of the Church; just as we have assigned the lips of Christ to be those who minister to the heavenly word (as Paul had Christ speaking in him, and if anyone is similar to him in virtue); so also we, each of the believers, are the other members of the body of Christ. Therefore the

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κίνησις. Νοήματα δὲ ἡμῖν ἐγγράφει τὸ Πνεῦμα, Οὐκ ἐν πλαξὶ λιθίναις, ἀλλ' ἐν πλαξὶ καρδίας σαρκίναις. Κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἀναλογίαν τοῦ πλά τους τῆς καρδίας, πλείονα ἢ ἐλάττονα ἐγγράφει ταῖς καρδίαις τὸ Πνεῦμα, ἢ ἐκφανῆ πᾶσιν, ἢ ἀμυδρότερα, κατὰ τὴν προπαρασκευὴν τῆς καθαρότητος. ∆ιὰ δὲ τὸ τάχος τῶν γραφομένων πλήρης πᾶσα λοιπὸν ἡ οἰκουμένη τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου γεγένηται. Τὸ δὲ ἐφεξῆς τοῦ ῥητοῦ ἀπὸ ἰδίας ἀρχῆς ἔδοξεν ἡμῖν λαμβάνειν, καὶ μὴ συνάπτειν τοῖς προλαβοῦσιν, ἀλλὰ προστιθέναι τῷ ἐφεξῆς. Τὸ γὰρ, Ὡραῖος κάλλει, πρὸς τὸν Κύριον ἡγούμεθα λέγεσθαι, κατὰ τὴν ἀποστροφὴν τοῦ προσώπου. Ὡραῖος κάλλει παρὰ τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώ πων. Ἐξεχύθη ἡ χάρις ἐν χείλεσί σου. Προσ άγεται δὲ ἡμᾶς τῇ διανοίᾳ ταύτῃ ὅ τε Ἀκύλας καὶ ὁ Σύμμαχος· ὁ μὲν εἰπών· Κάλλει ἐκαλλωπίσθης παρὰ τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων· ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος· Κάλλει καλὸς εἶ παρὰ τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Ὡραῖον οὖν κάλλει προσαγορεύει τὸν Κύριον ὁ ἐν ατενίσας αὐτοῦ τῇ θεότητι. Οὐ γὰρ τὸ τῆς σαρκὸς ἀνυμνεῖ κάλλος. Εἴδομεν γὰρ αὐτὸν, καὶ οὐκ εἶχεν εἶδος, οὐδὲ κάλλος, ἀλλὰ τὸ εἶδος αὐτοῦ ἄτιμον, ἐκλεῖπον παρὰ τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων. ∆ῆλον οὖν, ὅτι ἐνιδὼν αὐτοῦ τῇ λαμπρότητι καὶ τῶν ἐκεῖθεν μαρμαρυγῶν ἀναπλησθεὶς ὁ Προφήτης, πληγεὶς τὴν ψυχὴν τούτῳ τῷ κάλλει, πρὸς τὸν ἔνθεον ἔρωτα τῆς νοητῆς ὡραιότητος ἐκινήθη· ἧς ἐπιφανείσης τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ ψυχῇ, πάντα αἰσχρὰ καὶ ἀπόβλητα τὰ τέως ἀγαπώμενα καταφαίνεται. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Παῦ λος, ὅτε εἶδε τὸν ὡραῖον κάλλει, πάντα ἡγήσατο σκύβαλα, ἵνα Χριστὸν κερδήσῃ. Οἱ μὲν ἔξω τοῦ λό γου τῆς ἀληθείας μωρίαν ὀνομάζουσι τοῦ Εὐαγγε λίου τὸ κήρυγμα, τὴν εὐτέλειαν τῆς φράσεως τῶν Γραφῶν ἐξουθενοῦντες· ἡμεῖς δὲ οἱ καυχώμενοι ἐν 29.397 τῷ σταυρῷ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, οἷς ἐφανερώθη διὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ χαρισθέντα ἡμῖν, οὐκ ἐν διδακτοῖς ἀνθρωπίνης σοφίας λόγοις, οἴδαμεν, ὅτι πλουσία χάρις ἐστὶν ἐκκεχυμένη παρὰ Θεοῦ ἐπὶ τοῖς περὶ Χριστοῦ λόγοις. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἐν ὀλίγῳ τῷ χρόνῳ πᾶσαν σχεδὸν τὴν οἰκουμένην διῆλθε τὸ κήρυγμα, ἐπειδὴ πλουσία καὶ ἄφθονος ἡ χάρις ἐκκέχυται ἐπὶ τοὺς κήρυκας τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου, οὓς καὶ χείλη Χριστοῦ ὠνόμασεν ἡ Γραφή. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἐν εὐκαταφρονήτοις λεξειδίοις πολὺ τὸ ἀγωγὸν καὶ πρὸς σωτηρίαν ὁλκὸν ἔχει τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου τὸ κήρυγμα. Καὶ πᾶσα ψυχὴ κεκράτηται δόγμασιν ἀκινήτοις, διὰ τῆς χάρι τος πρὸς τὴν ἀσάλευτον εἰς Χριστὸν πίστιν βεβαιου μένη. Ὅθεν φησὶν ὁ Ἀπόστολος· ∆ι' οὗ ἐλάβομεν χάριν καὶ ἀποστολὴν εἰς ὑπακοὴν πίστεως· καὶ πάλιν· Περισσότερον αὐτῶν πάντων ἐκοπίασα· οὐκ ἐγὼ δὲ, ἀλλ' ἡ χάρις τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἡ σὺν ἐμοί. Ἐξεχύθη χάρις ἐν χείλεσί σου· διὰ τοῦτο εὐλόγησέ σε ὁ Θεὸς εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. Γέγραπται ἐν τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ, ὅτι Ἐθαύμαζον ἐπὶ τοῖς λόγοις τῆς χάριτος τοῖς ἐκπορευομένοις διὰ στόματος αὐτοῦ. ∆ιόπερ ἐμφαντικῶς ὁ ψαλμὸς, τὸ πλῆθος τῆς χάριτος τῶν παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν ῥημάτων παραστῆσαι βουλόμενος, Ἐξεχύθη χάρις ἐν τοῖς χείλεσί σου, εἶπε, διὰ τὸ ἄφθονον τῆς ἐν τῷ λόγῳ χάριτος. Εὐλό γησέ σε, φησὶν, ὁ Θεὸς εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, ∆ῆλον δὲ, ὅτι ἐπὶ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον χρὴ ἀναφέρεσθαι ταῦτα, καθὰ προκόπτει σοφίᾳ καὶ ἡλικίᾳ καὶ χάριτι. Κατὰ τοῦ το δῆλον, ὅτι καὶ ἆθλον ἀνδραγαθημάτων αὐτῷ νοοῦμεν δεδόσθαι τὴν χάριν. Ὅμοιον δὲ τούτῳ τό· Ἠγάπησας δικαιοσύνην, καὶ ἐμίσησας ἀνομίαν· διὰ τοῦτο ἔχρισέ σε ὁ Θεὸς, ὁ Θεός σου, ἔλαιον ἀγαλλιάσεως παρὰ τοὺς μετόχους σου. Ὧ παρα πλήσιόν ἐστι καὶ τὸ Φιλιππησίοις παρὰ Παύλου γρα φὲν, ὅτι Ἐταπείνωσεν ἑαυτὸν γενόμενος ὑπήκοος μέχρι θανάτου, θανάτου δὲ σταυροῦ, διὸ καὶ ὁ Θεὸς αὐτὸν ὑπερύψωσεν. Ὥστε δῆλον, ὅτι ταῦτα περὶ τοῦ κατὰ τὸν Σωτῆρα ἀνθρώπου λέγεται· ἢ ἐπειδὴ ἡ Ἐκκλησία σῶμά ἐστι τοῦ Κυρίου, καὶ αὐτὸς κεφαλὴ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας· ὥσπερ ἀποδεδώκαμεν χείλη εἶναι τοῦ Χριστοῦ τοὺς ὑπηρετουμένους τῷ οὐ ρανίῳ λόγῳ (ὥσπερ Παῦλος ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἔχων τὸν Χριστὸν λαλοῦντα, καὶ εἴ τις ἐκείνῳ τὴν ἀρετὴν παραπλήσιος)· οὕτω καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ μέλη τοῦ σώμα τος τοῦ Χριστοῦ, οἱ καθεῖς τῶν πεπιστευκότων ἐσμέν. Τὴν οὖν