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the name of the ungodly is not in the book of the living, nor is it counted with the Church of the firstborn who are numbered in heaven; but their names remain upon their land, because they preferred this transient and short-lived life to the eternal tabernacles. Do you not see those who build marketplaces and gymnasia in the cities, who raise up walls, who repair aqueducts, how their names are called upon these earthly constructions? And indeed some, having branded their own names 29.449 even on herds of horses, have contrived for their memory to be extended for a long time in life; and having displayed magnificence also in tombs, they have left their names upon their memorials. These are they who mind earthly things, and who consider glory here and being remembered among men as sufficient for their own blessedness. And if you see any of those who are proud of falsely-named knowledge, and who give themselves over to the assent of certain wicked doctrines, and instead of the name of Christians, call themselves after one of the heresiarchs, such as Marcion, or Valentinus, or one of those now prevailing, know that these too have called their names upon their lands, having assigned themselves to corruptible and wholly earthly men. And man, being in honor, did not understand; he is compared to the senseless beasts, and is like them. This their way is a stumbling block to them: and afterwards they will take pleasure in their mouth. A great thing is man, and an honorable thing a merciful man, having honor in his natural constitution. For what else on earth has come to be in the image of the creator? To whom has dominion and authority over all land, water, and air animals been granted? He has been made a little lower than the dignity of the angels because of his connection to an earthly body; therefore He made man from the earth, and His ministers a flame of fire; but nevertheless the power of perceiving and understanding their own Creator and Maker exists also in men. For He breathed into his face; that is, He placed a certain portion of His own grace in man, so that by like he might know like. But nevertheless, being in so great an honor, from having been created in the image of the Creator, honored above heaven, above the sun, above the choirs of the stars (for what of the heavens is called an image of the most high God? And what image of the Creator does the sun preserve? What the moon? What the other stars? They are lifeless and material, possessing only transparent bodies, in which there is no thought, no voluntary movements, no freedom of self-determination; but they are slaves of an imposed necessity, according to which they revolve unchangeably always in the same courses); man, therefore, having been advanced in honors above these things, did not understand, but abandoning following God and being made like the Creator, becoming a slave to the passions of the flesh, He is compared to the senseless beasts, 29.452 and is like them; now neighing like a lustful horse after his neighbor's wife; now lying in wait for what belongs to others like a ravenous wolf; at another time, through deceit toward his brother, being compared to the cunning of the fox. And it is truly an excess of folly and brutish irrationality neither to be aware of his own original constitution, created in the image of the Creator, nor to wish to understand the great economies that came to be for his sake, and from those at least to recognize his own honor; but to be forgetful that, having cast off the image of the heavenly, he took up the image of the earthly. And that he might not remain in sin, for his sake The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and humbled Himself to such a degree as to become Obedient unto death, even death on a cross. If you do not remember your first creation, from the price paid for you take thought of your worth; look at your ransom, and know

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ἀσεβοῦς ὄνομα ἐν βίβλῳ ζώντων, οὐδὲ ἀριθμεῖται μετὰ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τῶν πρωτο τόκων τῶν ἀριθμουμένων ἐν οὐρανοῖς· ἀλλὰ τῇ γῇ αὐτῶν ἐναπομένει τὰ ὀνόματα, διότι τὴν παροδικὴν ταύτην ζωὴν καὶ ὀλιγοχρόνιον τῶν αἰωνίων σκηνῶν προετίμησαν. Οὐχ ὁρᾷς τοὺς οἰκοδομοῦντας ἐν ταῖς πόλεσιν ἀγορὰς καὶ γυμνάσια, τείχη ἀνιστῶντας, ὑδραγωγοὺς ἐπισκευάζοντας, πῶς τὰ ὀνόματα αὐτῶν τούτοις ἐπικέκληται τοῖς γηίνοις κατασκευάσμασιν; Ἤδη δέ τινες, καὶ ἀγέλαις ἵππων τὰς ἑαυτῶν προσ 29.449 ηγορίας ἐνσημηνάμενοι, ἐπὶ πολὺ συμπαραταθῆναι τῷ βίῳ τὴν μνήμην ἑαυτῶν ἐπενόησαν· καὶ ἐν τά φοις δὲ μεγαλουργίαν ἐπιδειξάμενοι, τοῖς μνήμασιν ἑαυτῶν ἐναφῆκαν τὰ ὀνόματα. Οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ τὰ γήϊνα φρονοῦντες, καὶ τὴν ἐνταῦθα δόξαν, καὶ τὸ παρὰ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις μνημονεύεσθαι αὔταρκες ἑαυ τοῖς εἰς μακαριότητα λογιζόμενοι. Κἂν ἴδῃς δέ τινα τῶν ἐπὶ ψευδωνύμῳ γνώσει μέγα φρονούντων, καὶ προσνεμόντων ἑαυτοὺς μοχθηρῶν τινων δογμά των συγκαταθέσεσι, καὶ ἀντὶ τοῦ ὀνόματος τῶν Χριστιανῶν, ἀφ' ἑνός τινος τῶν αἱρεσιαρχησάντων ἑαυτοὺς ὀνομάζοντας, Μαρκίωνος, ἢ Οὐαλεντίνου, ἢ τῶν νῦν ἐπιπολαζόντων τινὸς, γίνωσκε, ὅτι καὶ οὗτοι ἐπεκαλέσαντο τὰ ὀνόματα αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τῶν γαιῶν, φθαρτοῖς ἀνθρώποις καὶ τὸ ὅλον γηΐνοις ἑαυτοὺς προσνείμαντες. Καὶ ἄνθρωπος ἐν τιμῇ ὢν, οὐ συνῆκε· παρασυνεβλήθη τοῖς κτήνεσι τοῖς ἀνοήτοις, καὶ ὡμοιώθη αὐτοῖς. Αὕτη ἡ ὁδὸς αὐτῶν σκάνδαλον αὐτοῖς· καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν εὐδοκήσουσι. Μέγα ἄνθρωπος, καὶ τίμιον ἀνὴρ ἐλεήμων, τὸ τίμιον ἐν τῇ φυσικῇ κατασκευῇ ἔχων. Τί γὰρ τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς ἄλλο κατ' εἰκόνα τοῦ κτίσαντος γέγονε; Τίνι ἡ κατὰ πάντων ἀρχὴ καὶ ἐξουσία τῶν τε χερσαίων καὶ ἐνύδρων καὶ ἐναερίων ζώων κεχάρισται; Βραχὺ μὲν ὑποβέβηκε τὴν τῶν ἀγγέλων ἀξίαν διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὸ γεῶδες σῶμα συνάφειαν· τὸν μὲν οὖν ἄνθρωπον ἐποίησεν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, καὶ τοὺς λειτουργοὺς αὐτοῦ πυρὸς φλόγα· ἀλλ' ὅμως ἥ γε τοῦ νοεῖν καὶ συνιέναι τὸν ἑαυτῶν Κτίστην καὶ ∆η μιουργὸν δύναμις καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ὑπάρχει. Ἐνεφύσησε γὰρ εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον· τουτέστι, μοῖράν τινα τῆς ἰδίας χάριτος ἐναπέθετο τῷ ἀν θρώπῳ, ἵνα τῷ ὁμοίῳ ἐπιγινώσκῃ τὸ ὅμοιον. Ἀλλ' ὅμως ἐν τιμῇ ὢν τηλικαύτῃ, ἐκ τοῦ δεδημιουργῆ σθαι κατ' εἰκόνα τοῦ κτίσαντος, ὑπὲρ οὐρανὸν, ὑπὲρ ἥλιον, ὑπὲρ τὰς τῶν ἀστέρων χορείας τετιμημένος (τίς γὰρ τῶν οὐρανῶν εἰκὼν εἴρηται τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ὑψίστου; ποίαν δὲ ἥλιος εἰκόνα σώζει τοῦ κτί σαντος; τί ἡ σελήνη; τί οἱ λοιποὶ ἀστέρες; ἄψυχα μὲν καὶ ὑλικὰ, διαφανῆ δὲ μόνον τὰ σώματα κεκτη μένοι, ἐν οἷς οὐδαμοῦ διάνοια, οὐ προαιρετικαὶ κινήσεις, οὐκ αὐτεξουσιότητος ἐλευθερία· ἀλλὰ δοῦλά ἐστι τῆς ἐπικειμένης ἀνάγκης, καθ' ἣν ἀπαραλλά κτως ἀεὶ περὶ τὰ αὐτὰ ἀναστρέφεται)· ὑπὲρ οὖν ταῦτα ταῖς τιμαῖς προηγμένος ὁ ἄνθρωπος, οὐ συν ῆκεν, ἀλλὰ καταλιπὼν τὸ ἕπεσθαι Θεῷ, καὶ ὁμοιοῦ σθαι τῷ κτίσαντι, δοῦλος γενόμενος τῶν παθῶν τῆς σαρκὸς, Παρασυνεβλήθη τοῖς κτήνεσι τοῖς ἀνοή 29.452 τοις, καὶ ὡμοιώθη αὐτοῖς· νῦν μὲν ὡς ἵππος θη λυμανὴς χρεμετίζων ἐπὶ τὴν γυναῖκα τοῦ πλησίον αὐτοῦ· νῦν δὲ ὡς λύκος ἅρπαξ ἐφεδρεύων τοῖς ἀλ λοτρίοις· ἄλλοτε δὲ διὰ τοῦ πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφὸν δόλου τῇ πανουργίᾳ τῆς ἀλώπεκος εἰκαζόμενος. Ὑπερβολὴ δὲ τῆς ἀνοίας καὶ τῆς κτηνώδους ἀλογίας τῷ ὄντι μήτε τῆς ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἑαυτοῦ κατασκευῆς ἐπαι σθάνεσθαι, δημιουργηθέντα κατ' εἰκόνα τοῦ κτίσαν τος, μήτε τὰς τηλικαύτας ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ γενομένας οἰκονομίας νοεῖν βούλεσθαι, καὶ ἀπ' ἐκείνων γοῦν ἑαυτοῦ γνωρίζειν τὸ τίμιον· ἀλλ' ἀμνημονεῖν, ὅτι ἀποβαλὼν τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ ἐπουρανίου, ἀνέλαβε τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ χοϊκοῦ. Καὶ ἵνα μὴ ἐναπομείνῃ τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ, δι' αὐτὸν Ὁ Λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο, καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν, καὶ ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ἑαυτὸν ἐτα πείνωσεν, ὥστε γενέσθαι Ὑπήκοος μέχρι θανάτου, θανάτου δὲ σταυροῦ. Εἰ μὴ τῆς πρώτης σεαυτοῦ γενέσεως μέμνησαι, ἐκ τῆς καταβληθείσης ὑπὲρ σοῦ τιμῆς λάβε τοῦ ἀξιώματος ἔννοιαν· ἀπόβλεψόν σου πρὸς τὸ ἀντάλλαγμα, καὶ γνῶθι