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comprehensive of all the properties in its own individual. For the things commonly observed in the individuals under the same species characterize primarily the universal of the substance or nature in the individuals under it. The composite is common to all the individuals under the composite species; therefore, the composite primarily characterizes a composite nature in the individuals under it, but not a hypostasis.

And again, in another way, every definition of the individuals that fall under them is from things common and universal; and from the universals, all things under them naturally have the principle of their own description; because it is clear what is properly and primarily being defined. If this is true, as indeed it is, it is clear that the one who spoke of a composite hypostasis referred back to a nature, has declared what exists in the commonality of the substance, universally, along with the properties that specifically characterize it in the individual of the hypostasis. So that he who said, a composite hypostasis existing under a certain nature, said nothing other than a composite nature or substance with properties. If, therefore, as has been shown, every composite nature has an involuntary coming together of its own parts with one another in the composition, and possesses its parts co-temporaneously with one another, and comes to be for the completion of the totality observed in beings according to each species; and every hypostasis, clearly, according to its nature has the same unvarying constitution for its being as its own genus and species. Let them show, therefore, that the composite hypostasis of Christ exists under a composite nature, and let them conclude that the parts are possessed co-temporaneously, and let them justly level the same censure against us. As long as they are unable to do this, they make the foundations of their own dogmas upon sand. For he who ignorantly forces Christ to be subject to these aforementioned (15Β_256> absurdities, because he is a composite hypostasis and is also piously confessed by us to be so, has strayed far from the road that leads to the truth, or rather, to speak more properly, from the truth itself. For this great and venerable mystery of Christ, 0529 neither as an individual does it have a certain universal nature predicated of it as a species; nor indeed is it itself a genus, or a species predicated of the individuals naturally under it; so that it can be subjected to any of the aforementioned rules; since it does not have the concurrence of God the Word with the flesh in the composition equal and similar to that which composites have in their coming together with one another.

THAT THE UNION OF THE WORD WITH THE FLESH ALONE OCCURRED BY ASSUMPTION ...

That the union of the Word with the flesh alone occurred by assumption, as of one who pre-existed, and who willed to be emptied for union with the flesh.

For in all natural composites whatsoever, not the coming together of this to that

by way of assumption, a coming together, makes the constitution of this particular species, as a whole from parts. But the simultaneous generation of the parts from non-being into being, according to their coming together with one another at the same time as their being, makes the composition of the whole. But the mystery of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, did not come to be in this manner; but being God by nature, and the Son of God by nature, simple and incorporeal, and co-eternal with the Father, and creator of all the ages, by a philanthropic will, desiring to, by the assumption of flesh, became man; and for our sake, simple by nature and incorporeal, from us he became economically, according to hypostasis, composite and embodied, as the holy and great Dionysius the Areopagite says divinely in the first chapter of his work *On the Divine Names*, discussing the divine incarnation thus: "And pre-eminently philanthropic, because in our realities he truly and wholly (15Β_258> in one of its

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τῶν καθ᾿ ἕκαστα περιληπτική τῶν ἐν τῷ οἰκείῳ ἀτόμῳ πάντων ἰδιωμάτων. Τά γάρ κοινῶς ἐν τοῖς ὑπό τό αὐτό εἶδος ἀτόμοις θεωρούμενα, τό τῆς οὐσίας ἤτοι φύσεως χαρακτηρίζει προηγουμένως ἐν τοῖς ὑπ᾿ αὐτήν ἀτόμοις γενικόν. Πάντων δέ κοινόν τῶν ὑπό τό σύνθετον εἶδος ἀτόμων τό σύνθετον· ἄρα φύσιν ἐν τοῖς ὑπ᾿ αὐτήν ἀτόμοις σύνθετον προηγουμένως χαρακτηρίζει τό σύνθετον, ἀλλ᾿ οὐχ ὑπόστασιν.

Ἄλλως τε δέ πάλιν ἐκ τῶν κοινῶν καί καθ᾿ ὅλου πᾶς ἐστιν ὁρισμός τῶν ὑπ᾿ αὐτά τελούντων ἀτόμων· καί ἐκ τῶν γενικῶν πάντα φυσικῶς ἔχει τήν ἀρχήν τῆς οἰκείας ὑπογραφῆς τά ὑπ᾿ αὐτά· διά τό σαφές εἶναι τό τί κυρίως τε καί προηγουμένως ἐστί τό ὁριζόμενον. Εἰ δέ τοῦτό ἐστιν ἀληθές, ὥσπερ οὖν καί ἔστιν, δῆλον ὅτι ὁ εἰπώς σύνθετον ὑπό φύσιν ἀναγομένην ὑπόστασιν, τό ἐνυπάρχον τῷ κοινῷ τῆς οὐσίας, γενικῶς, τῷ ἀτόμῳ τῆς ὑποστάσεως συνεξέφηνε μετά τῶν αὐτήν ἰδικῶς χαρακτηριζόντων ἰδιωμάτων. Ὥστε ὁ φήσας, ὑπό τινα φύσιν τελοῦσαν ὑπόστασιν σύνθετον, οὐδέν ἕτερον εἶπεν, ἤ φύσιν ἤγουν οὐσίαν σύνθετον μετά ἰδιωμάτων. Εἰ τοίνυν, καθώς δέδεικται, πᾶσα φύσις σύνθετος ἀπροαίρετον ἔχει τήν πρός ἄλληλα τῶν οἰκείων μερῶν κατά τήν σύνθεσιν σύνοδον, καί ἀλλήλοις ὁμόχρονα κέκτηται τά μέρη, καί εἰς συμπλήρωσιν τῆς τά πᾶν κατ᾿ εἶδος ἕκαστον ἐν τοῖς οὖσι θεωρουμένης ὁλότητος γεγένηται· καί πᾶσα δηλονότι κατά τό πεφυκός ὑπόστασις τήν αὐτήν ἔχει τῷ οἰκείῳ γένει τε καί εἴδει ἀπαράλλακτον πρός τό εἶναι τήν σύστασιν. ∆είξωσιν οὖν ὑπό φύσιν σύνθετον τελοῦσαν τήν τοῦ Χριστοῦ σύνθετον ὑπόστασιν, καί ὁμόχρονα κεκτῆσθαι τά μέρη συναγαγέτωσαν, καί τήν αὐτήν δικαίως μέμψιν ἡμῶν κατηγορείτωσαν. Ἕως δι᾿ ἄν τοῦτο μή δύνωνται, κατά ψάμμου ποιοῦνται τῶν οἰκείων δογμάτων τά ἐρείσματα. Ὁ γάρ τόν Χριστόν τούτοις ὑπαγαγεῖν τοῖς προρηθεῖσιν (15Β_256> ἀτόποις ἀμαθῶς βιαζόμενος, διά τό σύνθετον αὐτόν ὑπόστασιν καί εἶναι, καί παρ᾿ ἡμῶν εὐσεβῶς ὁμολογεῖσθαι, πολύ τῆς πρός τήν ἀλήθειαν ἀγούσης ὁδοῦ, μᾶλλον δέ κυριώτερον εἰπεῖν, τῆς ἀληθείας αὐτῆς ἀποπεπλάνηται. Τό γάρ μέγα τοῦτο καί σεπτόν τοῦ Χριστοῦ μυστήριον, 0529 οὔτε ὡς ἄτομον καθ᾿ ὅλου τινά καί γενικήν ἔχει τήν ὡς εἶδος φύσιν αὐτοῦ κατηγορουμένην· οὔτε μήν αὐτό γένος ἐστίν, ἤ εἶδος τῶν ὑπ᾿ αὐτό φυσικῶς ἀτόμων κατηγορούμενον· ὥστε τινί δύνασθαι τῶν εἰρημένων ὑπαχθῆναι κανόνων· οἷα μηδέ τοῖς συνθέτοις κατά τήν πρός ἄλληλα σύνοδον, ἴσην καί ὁμοίαν ἔχον τήν τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγου συνδρομήν πρός τήν σάρκα κατά τήν σύνθεσιν.

ΟΤΙ ΚΑΤΑ ΠΡΟΣΛΗΨΙΝ Η ΠΡΟΣ ΤΗΝ ΣΑΡΚΑ ΜΟΝΗ ΤΟΥ ΛΟΓΟΥ ΓΕΓΟΝΕ ΕΝΩΣΙΣ ...

Ὅτι κατά πρόσληψιν ἡ πρός τήν σάρκα μόνη τοῦ Λόγου γέγονε ἕνωσις, ὡς προόντος, καί πρός ἔνωσιν σαρκός κενωθῆναι θελήσαντος.

Ἐπί γάρ πάντων καθ᾿ ὅλου τῶν κατά φύσιν συνθέτων, οὐχ ἡ τοῦδε πρός τόδε

κατά πρόσληψιν σύνοδος, τήν τοῦ δέ τοῦ εἴδους, ὡς ἐκ μερῶν ὅλου ποιεῖται σύστασιν. Ἀλλ᾿ ἡ ἀθρόα τῶν μερῶν ἐκ τοῦ μή ὄντος εἰς τό εἶναι γένεσις, κατά τήν ἅμα τῷ εἶναι πρός ἄλληλα σύνοδον, ποιεῖται τοῦ ὅλου τήν σύνθεσιν. Τό δέ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν καί Θεοῦ καί Σωτῆρος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ μυστήριον, οὐ κατά τοῦτον τόν τρόπον γέγονεν· ἀλλά Θεός ὑπάρχων φύσει, καί Θεοῦ κατά φύσιν Υἱός ἁπλοῦς τε καί ἀσώματος, καί τῷ Πατρί συναΐδιος, καί πάντων δημιουργός τῶν αἰώνων, φιλανθρώπῳ βουλήσει θέλων κατά πρόσληψιν σαρκός γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος· καί δι᾿ ἡμᾶς, ἁπλοῦς κατά φύσιν καί ἀσώματος, ἐξ ἡμῶν γέγονεν οἰκονομικῶς καθ᾿ ὑπόστασιν σύνθετος καί ἐνσώματος, καθά φησιν ἐνθεαστικῶς ὁ ἅγιος καί μέγας Ἀρεοπαγίτης ∆ιονύσιος ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ κεφαλαίῳ τῆς Περί θείων ὀνομάτων συγγραφῆς περί τῆς θείας σαρκώσεως οὑτωσί διεξιών· "Φιλάνθρωπον δέ διαφερόντως, ὅτι τοῖς καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς πρός ἀλήθειαν ὁλικῶς (15Β_258> ἐν μιᾷ τῶν αὐτῆς