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they certainly ate; and they died immediately the psychic death, and after many years later also the somatic death and were brought down into Hades. And not only these but also all those born from them have suffered this until the coming of Christ and God himself, the new Adam, and of his descent into Hades and of his resurrection from the dead. But when he who created all things then came and wished to renew them, (143) he did not wish to renew them in the same sequence as he created them. But how? First the man and so the creation later. In what way and why? Because then indeed he first prepared all visible things as a palace for Adam for his dwelling and enjoyment, and then he brought him forth; but now again, if he had wished to renew the creation first and to make it spiritual and incorruptible and eternal, where then was man himself, clothed in corruptible flesh, that is, the psychic and mortal man, to dwell? And in what world was he then to live and to marry and be given in marriage, to beget and be begotten and be raised? Truly you cannot say. For this reason therefore he first raises, refashions, and renews the fallen and broken and aged man, and then the creation.
But just as we have spoken in order of the creation and its fall, so it is necessary to speak also of its renewal. But consider the comparison of the old things, how it has equality when compared with the economy and covenant of God. First, therefore, Adam was brought into paradise by God and then Eve was brought forth; first also the Son of God, he the creator of Adam, descended and entered into the undefiled womb of the Virgin and thus took from her the side of Adam, that is, the all-blameless flesh, and became man and came forth into the world, in the place of Eve who was deceived by the serpent, and ate from the tree and transgressed the commandment and died the death of the soul; first Mary the Theotokos is evangelized by the angel and believes the announced will of God (144) and obeys, saying: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And thus she first received the Word of God substantially in herself, who redeemed her soul, that is, from that eternal death. And then, having become incarnate, he refashioned the body of Adam, into which he immediately breathed the breath into a living soul; for having later taken his ensouled side and built it into a woman, it is not written that he also built the breath. And that we may speak more clearly, let us elaborate on this very thing that has been said.
God took from Adam a portion of his flesh and in its place he filled in other flesh, and what he took he built into a whole person, but he neither added a soul to Adam himself in place of what he took with the side, nor again did he augment it in Eve; but as the flesh that was taken had its replacement in place of the side, the soul did not. But hear this yet more clearly. God took from the Virgin flesh endowed with mind and soul, which he had taken from Adam and for which he had filled in other flesh; and having taken this from her he gave to her his Holy Spirit and filled up the eternal life which her soul did not have. For the flesh filled in, in his body, in place of Adam’s side, this was the pledge and the security of God’s economy, that from the side he might again take a side and give in its place not flesh again, for it was already filled in, but the Spirit of God substantially, so that, just as from the side of Adam the woman came to be and all mortal men from her, so also from the flesh of the woman the man Christ the God might come to be and from him all might be rendered immortal and he might fill up what Adam had more than the woman. And what was it that he had? (145) The flesh that was filled in, in his body, in place of the side. For having taken, that again to you the
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φαγεῖν ἔφαγον· καί ἀπέθανον εὐθύς μέν τόν ψυχικόν, μετά δέ πολλούς χρόνους ὕστερον καί τόν σωματικόν θάνατον καί κατήχθησαν ἐν τῷ ᾅδῃ. Καί οὐ μόνον οὗτοι ἀλλά καί πάντες οἱ ἐξ αὐτῶν γεννηθέντες τοῦτο πεπόνθασι μέχρι τῆς αὐτοῦ τοῦ Χριστοῦ καί Θεοῦ, τοῦ νέου Ἀδάμ, παρουσίας καί τῆς εἰς τόν ᾅδην αὐτοῦ καταβάσεως καί τῆς ἐκ νεκρῶν αὐτοῦ ἀναστάσεως. Ἀλλά γάρ ἐλθόντος τοῦ τά πάντα τότε δημιουργήσαντος καί ἀνακαινίσαι ταῦτα θελήσαντος, (143) οὐχί κατά τήν ἀκολουθίαν ἥν ἔκτισε ταῦτα καί ἀνακαινίσαι ἠθέλησεν. Ἀλλά πῶς; Πρῶτον τόν ἄνθρωπον καί οὕτω τήν κτίσιν ὕστερον. Τίνα τρόπον καί διά τι; Ἐπειδή τότε μέν ὡς βασίλεια τῷ Ἀδάμ τά ὁρώμενα πάντα εἰς κατοικίαν καί ἀπόλαυσιν αὐτοῦ πρῶτον ηὐτρέπισε καί εἶθ᾿ οὕτως ἐκεῖνον παρήγαγε· νυνί δέ πάλιν, ἐάν τήν κτίσιν ἀνακαινίσαι πρῶτον ἠθέλησε καί πνευματικήν αὐτήν καί ἄφθαρτον καί ἀΐδιον ἀπεργάσασθαι, ποῦ ἄρα ὁ σάρκα φθαρτήν περικείμενος, ὁ ψυχικός δηλονότι καί θνητός αὐτός ἄνθρωπος, οἰκεῖν ἔμελλεν; Ἐν ποίῳ δέ κόσμῳ διάγειν τότε καί γαμεῖν καί ἐκγαμίσκεσθαι, γεννᾶν τε καί γεννᾶσθαι καί ἀνατρέφεσθαι ὤφειλεν; Ὄντως οὐκ ἔχεις εἰπεῖν. ∆ιά τοῦτο οὖν πρῶτον τόν καταπεσόντα καί συντριβέντα καί παλαιωθέντα ἄνθρωπον ἀνεγείρει, ἀναπλάττει τε καί ἀνανεοῖ, καί τότε τήν κτίσιν.
Ἀλλά γάρ ὥσπερ κατά τάξιν τήν δημιουργίαν καί τήν ταύτης ἔκπτωσιν εἰρήκαμεν, οὕτω δέον εἰπεῖν καί τήν αὐτῆς ἀνακαίνισιν. Σκόπει δέ τήν παράθεσιν τῶν παλαιῶν πραγμάτων, ὅπως ἐξ ἰσότητος ἔχει παρατιθεμένη τῇ οἰκονομίᾳ καί διαθήκῃ Θεοῦ. Πρῶτον τοιγαροῦν εἰσήχθη ὁ Ἀδάμ εἰς τόν παράδεισον ὑπό τοῦ Θεοῦ καί τότε ἡ Εὔα παρήχθη· πρῶτον καί ὁ Υἱός τοῦ Θεοῦ, αὐτός ὁ ποιητής τοῦ Ἀδάμ, κατῆλθε καί εἰσῆλθεν ἐν τῇ ἀχράντῳ γαστρί τῆς Παρθένου καί οὕτως ἔλαβεν ἐξ αὐτῆς τήν πλευράν τοῦ Ἀδάμ, ἤτοι τήν πανάμωμον σάρκα, καί ἐγένετο ἄνθρωπος καί προῆλθεν ἐν κόσμῳ ἀντί Εὔας τῆς ἀπατηθείσης ὑπό τοῦ ὄφεως, καί ἀπό τοῦ ξύλου ἔφαγε καί τήν ἐντολήν παρέβη καί τόν θάνατον ἀπέθανε τῆς ψυχῆς· πρώτη ἡ θεοτόκος Μαρία ὑπό τοῦ ἀγγέλου εὐαγγελίζεται καί τήν τοῦ Θεοῦ βουλήν ἀπαγγελθεῖσαν πιστεύει (144) καί πείθεται λέγουσα· "Ἰδού ἡ δούλη Κυρίου· γένοιτό μοι κατά τό ῥῆμα σου". Καί οὕτως τόν τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγον οὐσιωδῶς ἐν ἑαυτῇ ὑπεδέξατο πρώτη, τήν ψυχήν αὐτῆς δηλαδή τοῦ αἰωνίου ἐκείνου θανάτου ἐκλυτρωσάμενον. Καί τηνικαῦτα σαρκωθείς τό τοῦ Ἀδάμ ἀνέπλασε σῶμα, ᾧ τήν πνοήν εὐθύς εἰς ζῶσαν ψυχήν ἐνεφύσησεν· ἐψυχωμένην γάρ λαβών τήν πλευράν αὐτοῦ ὕστερον καί οἰκοδομήσας αὐτήν εἰς γυναῖκα, οὐχί οἰκοδομῆσαι καί τήν πνοήν γέγραπται. Καί ἵνα σαφέστερον εἴπωμεν, οὕτως ἐπεργασώμεθα τοῦτο αὐτό τό ῥηθέν.
Ἔλαβεν ὁ Θεός ἀπό τοῦ Ἀδάμ τήν τῆς σαρκός αὐτοῦ μερίδα καί ἀντ᾿ αὐτῆς ἑτέραν ἀνεπλήρωσε σάρκα, καί ἥν ἔλαβεν εἰς ὅλον ᾠκοδόμησεν ἄνθρωπον, ψυχήν δέ οὔτε αὐτῶ προσέθηκε τῷ Ἀδάμ ἀνθ᾿ ἧς ἔλαβε σύν αὐτῇ τῇ πλευρᾷ, οὔτε πάλιν ἐν τῇ Εὔᾳ ταύτην ἐπηύξησεν· ἀλλ᾿ οἷον ἡ μέν σάρξ ἡ ληφθεῖσα ἀντί τῆς πλευρᾶς ἔσχε τήν ἀναπλήρωσιν, ἡ δέ ψυχή οὐκέτι. Ἀλλ᾿ ἔτι τοῦτο σαφέστερον ἄκουε. Ὁ Θεός ἐκ τῆς Παρθένου σάρκα ἔννουν καί ἐψυχωμένην ἔλαβεν, ἥν ἔλαβεν ἀπό τοῦ Ἀδάμ καί ἄλλην ἀντ᾿ αὐτῆς ἀνεπλήρωσε· καί ταύτην ἐξ ἐκείνης λαβών δέδωκεν αὐτῇ τό Πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ τό Ἅγιον καί ἀνεπλήρωσεν ἥν οὐκ εἶχεν αἰωνίαν ζωήν ἡ ψυχή αὐτῆς. Ἡ ἀναπληρωθεῖσα γάρ ἀντί τῆς πλευρᾶς τοῦ Ἀδάμ σάρξ ἐν τῷ σώματι αὐτοῦ, αὕτη ἦν ὁ ἀρραβών καί τῆς οἰκονομίας Θεοῦ τό ἐχέγγυον, ὡς ἄν ἐκ τῆς πλευρᾶς πάλιν λάβῃ πλευράν καί δώσῃ ἀντ᾿ αὐτῆς οὐ σάρκα πάλιν, προανεπληρώθη γάρ, ἀλλά Πνεῦμα οὐσιωδῶς Θεοῦ, ἵνα, ὥσπερ ἐκ τῆς πλευρᾶς τοῦ Ἀδάμ ἡ γυνή γέγονε καί πάντες ἄνθρωποι θνητοί ἐξ αὐτῆς, οὕτω καί ἐκ τῆς σαρκός τῆς γυναικός ὁ ἀνήρ Χριστός ὁ Θεός γένηται καί ἐξ αὐτοῦ πάντες ἀθάνατοι χρηματίσωσι καί ἀναπληρώσῃ ὅ εἶχεν ὁ Ἀδάμ πλεῖον τῆς γυναικός. Τί δέ ἦν ὅ εἶχε ἐκεῖνος; (145) Ἡ σάρξ ἡ ἀναπληρωθεῖσα ἀντί τῆς πλευρᾶς ἐν τῷ σώματι αὐτοῦ. Λαβών γάρ, ἵνα πάλιν σοι τά