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the world is as it was constructed from the beginning; and we inhabit the earth in which we were condemned to eat our bread in toil and labor and the sweat of our face. Where then is the paradise that you describe to us? If you wish to learn the invisible and incomprehensible works and mysteries of the incomprehensible and invisible God, which are so to the unbelieving, fix your mind from this point on, and as they are recounted, you will know and learn them.

First God made the heaven and the earth and all that is in them, and after all these things He fashioned man with His own hands, then He made paradise and the things in it and placed the man whom He had made in it; and taking one of his ribs He built it into a woman, and so He gave them a commandment not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, lest they die the death, but that they might work according to the commandment and keep it. But after these things they first turned away from remembering God and His benefactions, which was the work given to them by God, second, they ceased to keep the commandment and ate from the tree from which He commanded them not to eat; and they died immediately the spiritual death, and after many years later the bodily death as well, and were brought down into Hades. And not only they but also all who were born from them have suffered this, until the coming of Christ and God Himself, the new Adam, and His descent into Hades and 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 according to the sequence in which He created them. But how? First man, and then creation afterward. In what manner and for what reason? Because then He first prepared all visible things as a palace for Adam for his habitation and enjoyment, and then He brought him forth; but now again, if He had wished to renew creation first and to make it spiritual and incorruptible and eternal, where then was man himself, who is clothed in corruptible flesh, that is, who is soulish and mortal, 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 up, refashions, and renews man who had fallen and was shattered and had grown old, and then creation.

But just as we have spoken in order of the creation and its fall, so it is necessary to speak of its renewal. Consider the comparison of the old things, how it stands in equality when compared to the economy and testament of God. First, therefore, Adam was brought into paradise by God and then Eve was brought forth; first also the Son of God, He Himself the maker of Adam, came down and entered into the undefiled womb of the Virgin, and thus He took from her the rib of Adam, that is, the all-blameless flesh, and became man and came forth into the world instead 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 the Theotokos Mary is given the good news by the angel and believes the will of God that was announced (144) and obeys, saying: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And thus she was the first to receive the Word of God substantially within herself, which delivered her soul, that is, from that eternal death. And then, having been incarnate, He refashioned the body of Adam, into which He had straightway breathed the breath into a living soul; for having taken his rib, which was already ensouled, and later built it into a woman, it is not written that He also built the breath of life. And that we may speak more clearly, let us elaborate on this very thing that was said.

God took from Adam the portion of his flesh and in its place He filled in other flesh, and what He took He built into a whole man, a soul

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κόσμος, καθώς ἐξ ἀρχῆς κατεσκευάσθη, ἐστί· καί τήν γῆν κατοικοῦμεν ἐν ᾗ ἐν κόπῳ καί μόχθῳ καί ἱδρῶτι τοῦ προσώπου ἡμῶν ἐσθίειν κατεκρίθημεν τόν ἄρτον ἡμῶν. Ποῦ οὖν ὁ παράδεισος ὅν διηγῇ ἡμῖν; Εἰ βούλει μαθεῖν Θεοῦ ἀκαταλήπτου καί ἀοράτου ἀόρατα καί ἀκατάληπτα τοῖς ἀπίστοις ἔργα τε καί μυστήρια, ἐπίστησον ἐντεῦθεν τόν νοῦν καί διηγουμένων γνώσῃ καί μαθήσῃ αὐτά.

Πρῶτον ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεός τόν οὐρανόν καί τήν γῆν καί πάντα τά ἐν αὐτοῖς καί ὕστερον τούτων πάντων οἰκείαις χερσί τόν ἄνθρωπον ἔπλασεν, εἶθ᾿ οὕτως ἐποίησε τόν παράδεισον καί τά ἐν αὐτῷ καί ἔθετο τόν ἄνθρωπον ἐν αὐτῶ ὅν ἐποίησε· καί λαβών μίαν αὐτοῦ τῶν πλευρῶν ᾠκοδόμησεν αὐτήν εἰς γυναῖκα καί οὕτως ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐντολήν τοῦ μή φαγεῖν ἀπό τοῦ ξύλου τοῦ γνωστοῦ καλοῦ καί πονηροῦ, ἵνα μή θανάτῳ θανατωθήσονται, ἀλλ᾿ ἐργάζωνται κατά τήν ἐντολήν καί φυλάσσωσιν. Αὐτοί δέ μετά ταῦτα ἀπέστησαν μέν ἐν πρώτοις τοῦ μεμνῆσθαι Θεοῦ καί τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν αὐτοῦ, ἥτις ἦν ἡ ἐργασία ἡ ἀπό Θεοῦ δοθεῖσα αὐτοῖς, δεύτερον κατέλιπον τοῦ φυλάσσειν τήν ἐντολήν καί ἐκ τοῦ ξύλου οὗ ἐνετείλατο αὐτοῖς μή 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