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received nourishment. But when nature returned to itself, and clearly recognized that it was clothed with the divine image, then at last the nourishment passed over to the rational table. And He accepted circumcision, and offered sacrifices; for indeed He was a man; and it was necessary for nature to render victory through the keeping of the law. And He flees humanly into Egypt, being present everywhere as God, and standing by all things, as the divine Scripture says. And He comes also to John the Baptist, and though not having received the stain of sin, He endures baptism, that He might fulfill all righteousness. And He is proclaimed from above by the Father, and is shown by the Spirit. For the Father cried from above: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." And the all-holy Spirit, appearing in the form of a dove, drew the voice to Himself, and taught those present who it was that received the testimony from the Father. From there He proceeds at last to the contests against the tyrant; and the desert becomes the stadium of the contests, and the hosts of angels the spectators, and the adversary, the adversary of truth; who, having first heard the voice, and having been reminded of the prophetic predictions, feared the contest; and while he was not strong enough to bear the lightning of His virtue, he yet hastened to wrestle Him down, but he feared the struggle, remembering the voice. But the creator, and champion, and bestower of crowns, and judge of the contest of our nature, does not dread the antagonist, nor does he scare away the beast, but encourages and urges him to the fight, that He might take away the former victory; and He allows His body to hunger, having fasted for the length of forty days. And He does not permit it to exceed the measure of those who have already fasted, so that His human nature might be believed. The enemy saw the hunger, and hoped for victory, and dared the fight, and thought he was seeing that Adam, having beheld the affliction of hunger. But he approached Him as he had Adam, yet found the Maker of Adam clothed in the nature of Adam, and says to Him: "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." And he brings forward the voice brought from heaven to be confirmed, and asks that it be established by the miracle of the loaves. From this it is possible to learn precisely, how the enemy takes the opportunities for his deceit from us ourselves. For having seen the hunger, from this he skirmishes; but our Savior, though His body was hungry, and in need of food, does not endure to work a miracle. But He shoots down the tyrant with a word of Scripture, and says: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." And He made the response 83.753 in a human way, for the time being concealing His divinity, and working out the victory for men by means of what is like them. For not only, He says, is bread a co-worker for the life of men, but also every word offered by God is sufficient to provide life for hungry men. We believe that it is possible for human nature to live even without bread, if God wills it. Thus having dissolved the devices of the adversary, and having shown his second and third attacks to be fruitless, and having made the proofs as a man, that He might win back for men the victory that had been lost, He puts the sinner to flight, and makes the common avenger of men cease from his tyranny, and is proclaimed by the angels who witnessed the victory. "For having approached," it says, "the angels ministered to Him." From there He worked countless miracles. And He created wine from water without vines and earth, and from five loaves He satisfied many thousands, and with a word He made the lame sound of foot, and scraped away the leprosy of lepers, and made idle hands swift, and to eyes from which sight had been taken away, a healthy sense of perception

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τροφὴν ὑπεδέξατο. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ εἰς ἑαυτὴν ἐπανῆλθεν ἡ φύσις, καὶ τὴν εἰ κόνα τὴν θείαν περικεῖσθαι σαφῶς ἐπέγνω, τηνι καῦτα λοιπὸν ἐπὶ τὴν λογικὴν μετέβη τράπεζαν ἡ τροφή. Ἐδέξατο δὲ καὶ περιτομὴν, καὶ θυσίας προσ ενήνοχε· καὶ γὰρ ἄνθρωπος ἦν· ἔδει δὲ τῇ φυλακῇ τοῦ νόμου, τὴν νίκην ἀποδοῦναι τὴν φύσιν. Φεύ γει δὲ καὶ ἀνθρωπίνως εἰς Αἴγυπτον, πανταχοῦ παρὼν ὡς Θεὸς, καὶ τοῖς πᾶσι παριστάμενος, ὥς φησιν ἡ θεία Γραφή. Ἀφικνεῖται δὲ καὶ πρὸς Ἰωάννην τὸν Βαπτιστὴν, καὶ ἁμαρτίας οὐ δεξάμενος ῥύπον, ἀνέχεται τοῦ βαπτίσματος, ἵνα πληρώσῃ πᾶσαν δικαιοσύνην. Καὶ κηρύττεται ἄνωθεν ὑπὸ τοῦ Πατρὸς, καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ Πνεύματος δείκνυται. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ Πατὴρ ἄνωθεν ἐβόα· «Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ Υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητὸς, ἐν ᾧ εὐδόκησα.» Τὸ δὲ πανάγιον Πνεῦμα ἐν εἴδει περιστερᾶς φαινόμενον, εἷλκε πρὸς ἑαυτὸν τὴν φωνὴν, καὶ τοὺς παρόντας ἐδίδασκε τίς ὁ παρὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς τὴν μαρτυρίαν δεξάμενος. Ἐντεῦθεν πρὸς τοὺς ἀγῶνας λοιπὸν κατὰ τοῦ τυράννου χωρεῖ· καὶ γίνεται στάδιον μὲν τῶν ἀγώνων ἡ ἔρημος, θεαταὶ δὲ τῶν ἀγγέλων οἱ δῆμοι, ἀντίπαλος δὲ, ὁ τῆς ἀληθείας ἀντίπαλος· ὃς πρῶτον μὲν τῆς φωνῆς ἀκούσας, καὶ τῶν προφητικῶν ἀναμνησθεὶς προῤῥή σεων, ἐδεδίει τὴν πάλην· καὶ φέρειν μὲν αὐτοῦ τὴν τῆς ἀρετῆς οὐκ ἴσχυεν ἀστραπὴν, ἀλλὰ καταπαλαίειν ἠπείγετο, ἐδεδοίκει δὲ τὸν ἀγῶνα τῆς φωνῆς με μνημένος. Ἀλλ' ὁ τῆς ἡμετέρας φύσεως καὶ δημιουρ γὸς, καὶ πρόμαχος, καὶ στεφανίτης, καὶ ἀγωνοθέτης, οὐ δεδίττεται τὸν ἀνταγωνιστὴν, οὐδὲ ἀποσοβεῖ τὸν θῆρα, ἀλλὰ παραθαῤῥύνει καὶ προτρέπει πρὸς πάλην, ἵνα τὴν προτέραν νίκην ἀφέληται· καὶ πα ραχωρεῖ πεινᾶσαι τῷ σώματι, τεσσαράκοντα ἡμερῶν νηστεύσαντι μῆκος. Καὶ οὐκ ἐᾷ τῶν ἤδη νενηστευκό των ὑπερβῆναι τὸ μέτρον, ἵνα πιστευθῇ τὸ ἀνθρώ πινον. Εἶδεν ὁ δυσμενὴς τὴν πεῖναν, καὶ τὴν νίκην ἤλπισε, καὶ τὴν πάλην ἐθάῤῥησε, καὶ τὸν Ἀδὰμ ἐκεῖνον βλέπειν ἐνόμιζε, τὸ τῆς πείνης θεασάμενος πάθος. Ἀλλὰ προσελήλυθε μὲν ὡς τῷ Ἀδὰμ, εὗρε δὲ τὸν τοῦ Ἀδὰμ Ποιητὴν τὴν τοῦ Ἀδὰμ περικείμενον φύσιν, καί φησι πρὸς αὐτόν· «Εἰ Υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ Θεοῦ, εἰπὲ ἵνα οἱ λίθοι οὗτοι ἄρτοι γένωνται.» Καὶ παρ άγει μὲν εἰς μέσον τὴν οὐρανόθεν ἐναχθεῖσαν φωνὴν βεβαιωθῆναι, ἐμπεδωθῆναι δὲ ταύτην αἰτεῖ τῇ τῶν ἄρτων θαυματουργίᾳ. Ἐντεῦθεν ἔστι καταμαθεῖν ἀκριβῶς, ὡς παρ' ἡμῶν αὐτῶν ὁ πολέμιος λαμβάνει τοῦ πλάνου τὰς ἀφορμάς. Πείνην γὰρ θεασάμε νος, ἐκ ταύτης ἀκροβολίζεται· ἀλλ' ὁ Σωτὴρ ὁ ἡμέτε ρος, καὶ πεινῶντος τοῦ σώματος, καὶ δεομένου τρο φῆς, θαυματουργεῖν οὐκ ἀνέχεται. Γραφικῷ δὲ λόγῳ κατατοξεύει τὸν τύραννον, καί φησι· «Οὐκ ἐπ' ἄρτῳ μόνῳ ζήσεται ἄνθρωπος, ἀλλ' ἐν παντὶ ῥήματι ἐκ πορευομένῳ διὰ στόματος Θεοῦ.» Ἀνθρωπίνως δὲ 83.753 τὴν ἀπόκρισιν ἐποιήσατο, καὶ τὴν θεότητα τέως ἀπο κρύπτων, καὶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τῷ ὁμοίῳ τὴν νί κην πραγματευόμενος. Οὐ γὰρ μόνος, φησὶν, ἄρτος συνεργός ἐστι τῆς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ζωῆς, ἀλλὰ καὶ πᾶς λόγος ὑπὸ Θεοῦ προσφερόμενος, ἀπόχρη ζωὴν τοῖς πεινῶσιν ἀνθρώποις πορίσαι. Πιστεύομεν ὡς καὶ ἄρτου δίχα διαβιῶναι τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν φύσιν δυνα τὸν βουλομένου Θεοῦ. Οὕτω διαλύσας τοῦ ἀντι πάλου τὰ μηχανήματα, καὶ τὴν δευτέραν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν τρίτην προσβολὴν ἀνόνητον δείξας, καὶ ὡς ἄνθρωπος τὰς ἀποδείξεις ποιησάμενος, ἵνα τὴν ἀπο λωλυῖαν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἀνακτήσηται νίκην, τρέπε ται μὲν τὸν ἀλιτήριον, καὶ τὸν κοινὸν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀλάστορα παύει τῆς τυραννίδος, ὑπὸ δὲ τῶν τὴν νί κην θεασαμένων ἀγγέλων ἀνακηρύττεται. «Προσ ελθόντες γὰρ, φησὶν, οἱ ἄγγελοι διηκόνουν αὐτῷ.» Ἐκεῖθεν μυρία ὅσα θαυματουργήσας. Καὶ οἶνον μὲν ἐξ ὕδατος κλημάτων δίχα καὶ γῆς δημιουργήσας, ἐκ πέντε δὲ ἄρτων πολλὰς χιλιάδας κορέσας, καὶ λόγῳ χωλοὺς μὲν ἀρτίποδας ἀποφήνας, λεπρῶν δὲ τὴν λέ πραν ἀποξέσας, καὶ χεῖρας ἀργὰς γοργοὺς ἐργασάμε νος, καὶ ὀφθαλμοῖς τὸ βλέπειν ἀφῃρημένοις ὑγειᾶ τὴν αἴσθησιν