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to say one will, or rather to agree, and to establish this as is fitting, saying this not for the rejection of the human and natural will of the Savior, but for the sake that in no way did a will of the flesh or a passionate thought precede his conception without seed and his incorruptible birth. For only a divine and Fatherly will, through the only-begotten Son effecting his own incarnation, and with the concurrence of the Holy Spirit, accomplished this. And that he holds this meaning is clear from this. For having said that through the ineffable 0240 union of the human and divine nature, God is said to have suffered, and humanity to have come down from heaven with the humanity to have come down from heaven with the divinity; and in this way to show the extreme exchange by way of communication of the properties naturally belonging to each nature of the one Christ and Son, he adds, saying, "Whence also we confess one will of our Lord Jesus Christ," How, he says? "Since (15Α_318> manifestly our nature was assumed by the divinity, not sin"; that is, not from sin; almost speaking in unison with the great Athanasius, who writes these things against the impious Apollinarius, "He was born of a woman, having raised up for himself the form of man from the first creation, in a manifestation of flesh without fleshly wills and human thoughts, in an image of newness; for the will belongs to divinity alone, since the whole nature is also divinity." For since the procession of the birth of the Word according to the flesh for our sake was beyond us; for a passionate will or thought of the flesh did not precede, as is seen in our case, on account of the pleasure from deceit holding sway over the race, but only a will of the divinity through the Son himself effecting, as I said, his own embodiment according to the good pleasure of the Father, and the cooperation of the all-holy Spirit, who innovates in himself and through himself the manner of birth introduced into nature, and makes his own conception without seed from the holy Theotokos and Ever-virgin Mary; having considered this ineffable principle of his birth, the one said, "the will of the divinity alone in him," and the other, "One will of the Lord Jesus Christ, since manifestly," he says, "our nature was assumed by the divinity, and not sin; without fleshly wills and human thoughts," as the divine Athanasius says; not, however, that as a man, besides being God by nature, he does not have a human and natural will, just as he also has a divine and paternal one.

And he hints at the same thing in what follows, saying, "Without sin he was conceived of the Holy Spirit and of the holy, undefiled, and Ever-virgin Theotokos Mary, and without stain he was born of her according to the flesh." And he adduces Holy Scripture 0241 which makes mention of the flesh both in praise and blame, not, heaven forbid, suggesting that the flesh of the Lord (15Α_320> is to be understood as different from ours in nature and substance, since he knew it was assumed from our substance, that is, from the all-holy womb of the Ever-virgin and Mother of God, who is of one nature with us, but different in its sinlessness, and in having in no way that which opposes, as we have in our members the law of transgression against the law of the spirit. "For the flesh corrupted by sin," he says, "which wars against the law of his mind, was not assumed by the Savior." For of one whose birth was not preceded by the law of generation according to sin through seed, this law is not at all present even in his members, but a law of righteousness manifested to us as a model, and completely abolishing that which was introduced into nature by the transgression. "For the sinless one," he says, "came to seek and to save that which was lost," that is, the sinning nature of the human race. "For another law in his members, or a different or contrary will to the Father, did not exist." Hence showing, not that he did not have a human and natural will; for he does not appear to have said this; but that as

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τό ἕν θέλημα φάναι, συναγορεύειν δέ μᾶλλον, καί ταύτην ὡς εἰκός συνιστᾷν, οὐκ ἐπ᾿ ἀθετήσει τοῦτό γε λέγοντα τοῦ ἀνθρωπίνου καί φυσικοῦ τοῦ Σωτῆρος θελήματος, ἀλλ᾿ ἐπί τοῦ μηδαμῶς τῆς ἀσπόρου συλλήψεως αὐτοῦ καί τῆς ἀφθόρου γεννήσεως προκαθηγεῖσθαι θέλημα σαρκός, ἤ λογισμόν ἐμπαθῆ. Μόνη γάρ θέλησις θεία καί Πατρική, δι᾿ Υἱοῦ μονογενοῦς αὐτουργοῦντος τήν οἰκείαν σάρκωσιν, καί Πνεύματος ἁγίου συνδρομῇ, ταύτην εἰργάσατο. Καί ὅτι γε ταύτης ἔχεται τῆς ἐννοίας, δῆλον ἐντεῦθεν. Εἰπών γάρ, ὅτι διά τήν ἄφραστον 0240 ἕνωσιν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης καί θείας φύσεως, καί Θεός λέγεται παθεῖν, καί ἀνθρωπότης ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατελθεῖν μετά τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατελθεῖν μετά τῆς θεότητος· καί ταύτῃ δεῖξαι τήν τῶν φυσικῶς προσόντων ἑκατέρᾳ φύσει τῶν τοῦ ἑνός Χριστοῦ καί Υἱοῦ κατ᾿ ἀπαλλαγήν ἄκραν ἀντίδοσιν, ἐπάγει λέγων, «Ὅθεν καί ἕν θέλημα ὁμολογοῦμεν τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ», Πῶς, φησίν; «Ἐπειδή (15Α_318> προδήλως ἐκ τῆς θεότητος προσελήφθη ἡ ἡμετέρα φύσις, οὐχ ἁμαρτία»· τουτέστιν, οὐκ ἐκ τῆς ἁμαρτίας· μονονουχί συμφθεγγόμενος τῷ μεγάλῳ Ἀθανασίῳ, γράφοντι τάδε κατ᾿ Ἀπολιναρίου τοῦ δυσσεβοῦς, " Ἐγεννήθη ἐκ γυναικός, ἐκ τῆς πρώτης πλάσεως τήν ἀνθρώπου μορφήν ἑαυτῷ ἀναστησάμενος, ἐν ἐπιδείξει σαρκός δίχα σαρκικῶν θελημάτων καί λογισμῶν ἀνθρωπίνων, ἐν εἰκόνι καινότητος· ἡ γάρ θέλησις θεότητος μόνῃ, ἐπειδή καί φύσις ὅλη θεότητος». Ἐπειδή γάρ τῆς δι᾿ ἡμᾶς κατά σάρκα τοῦ Λόγου γεννήσεως ὑπέρ ἡμᾶς, ἡ πρόοδος γέγονεν· οὐ γάρ σαρκός ἐμπαθής προηγήσατο θέλησις ἤ λογισμός, ὡς ἐφ᾿ ἡμῶν ὁρᾶται, διά τήν ἐξ ἀπάτης τοῦ γένους κατακρατοῦσαν ἡδονήν, ἀλλά θέλησις θεότητος μόνη δι᾿ Υἱοῦ αὐτουργοῦντος, ὡς ἔφην, τήν οἰκείαν σωμάτωσιν κατ᾿ εὐδοκίαν Πατρός, καί συνέργειαν τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος, καινοτομοῦντος ἐν ἑαυτῷ τε καί δι᾿ ἑαυτοῦ τόν ἐπεισαχθέντα τῇ φύσει τῆς γεννήσεως τρόπον, καί ἀσπόρως τήν ἑαυτοῦ ποιουμένου σύλληψιν ἐκ τῆς ἁγίας Θεοτόκου καί Ἀειπαρθένου Μαρίας· τοῦτον δή τόν ἄῤῥητον αὐτοῦ τῆς γεννήσεως σκοπήσαντες λόγον, ἐκεῖνος μέν, "θέλησιν μόνην ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῦ θεότητος" εἶπεν, οὗτος δέ, "Θέλημα ἕν τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐπειδή προδήλως, φησίν, ἐκ τῆς θεότητος προσελήφθη ἡ ἡμετέρα φύσις, καί οὐχ ἁμαρτία· δίχα σαρκικῶν θελημάτων καί λογισμῶν ἀνθρωπίνων», ὡς ὁ θεῖός φησιν Ἀθανάσιος· οὐ μέν γε τό μή καί ὡς ἄνθρωπον αὐτόν μετά τοῦ εἶναι φύσει Θεόν οὐκ ἔχει ἀνθρώπινον θέλημα καί φυσικόν, ὥσπερ οὖν καί θεῖον καί πατρικόν.

Τό δ᾿ αὐτό κἀν τοῖς ἑξῆς ὑπαινίττεται, φάσκων, "Χωρίς ἁμαρτίας συνελήφθη ἐκ Πνεύματος ἁγίου, καί τῆς ἁγίας ἀχράντου καί Ἀειπαρθένου θεοτόκου Μαρίας, καί χωρίς μολυσμοῦ ἐξ αὐτῆς κατά σάρκα γεγέννηται». Τήν δέ γε θείαν Γραφήν ἐπαινετῶς τε καί ψεκτῶς παράγει 0241 τῆς σαρκός μνημονεύουσαν, οὐχ ἑτέραν μή γένοιτο, τῇ τε φύσει καί τῇ οὐσίᾳ τήν τοῦ Κυρίου σάρκα (15Α_320> πρός τήν ἡμετέραν ὑποβάλλων νοεῖν, ὅς γε ταύτην ἠπίστατο προσληφθεῖαν ἐκ τῆς ἡμετέρας οὐσίας, ἤγουν τῶν τῆς ὁμοφυοῦς ἡμῖν Ἀειπαρθένου καί Θεομήτορος παναγίων σπλάγχνων, ἀλλ᾿ ἑτέραν τῇ ἁμαρτησίᾳ, καί τοῦ μηδαμῶς ἀντιταττόμενον ἔχειν, καθάπερ ἡμεῖς ἐν τοῖς μέλεσι τόν ἐκ παραβάσεως νόμον τῷ νόμῳ τοῦ πνεύματος "Οὐ γάρ προσελήφθη, φησίν, ὑπό τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡ κατεφθαρμένη ἀπό τῆς ἁμαρτίας σάρξ, ἡ ἀντιστρατευομένη τῷ νόμῳ τοῦ νοός αὐτοῦ». Οὗ τινος γάρ οὐ προκαθηγήσατο ὁ καθ᾿ ἁμαρτίαν διά σπορᾶς τῆς γεννήσεως νόμος, τούτου παντελῶς οὐ δέ τοῖς μέλεσιν ἐνυπάρχει, ἀλλά νόμος δικαιοσύνης πρός ὑποτύπωσιν ἡμῖν ἐκφαινόμενος, καί τόν ἐκ παραβάσεως ἐπεισαχθέντα τῇ φύσει τελείως ἐξαφανίζων. Ἦλθε γάρ, φησίν, ὁ ἀναμάρτητος ζητῆσαι καί σῶσαι τό ἀπολωλός, τουτέστι τήν ἁμαρτήσασαν τοῦ ἀνθρωπίνου γένους φύσιν. «Ἕτερος γάρ νόμος ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν αὐτοῦ, ἤ θέλημα διάφορον ἤ ἐναντίον οὐ γέγονε τῷ Πατρί». Ἐντεῦθεν δεικνύς, οὐχ ὡς οὐκ εἶχεν ἀνθρώπινον θέλημα καί φυσικόν· οὐ γάρ λέξας φαίνεται τοῦτο· ἀλλ᾿ ὅτιπερ ὡς