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What then, should not we, but the Holy Spirit say to them? This garment, then, what do you say it is, O men? Christ? Yes, he says. Is Christ therefore something, that I may speak as a fool to fools, or is He nothing? He is something, they would surely say, unless they are suffering from a complete loss of their senses. If then you confess that He is something, say now what He is first, so that you may thus teach yourselves not to speak as unbelievers, but as believers. What else, then, is Christ, if not true God and truly perfect man by nature? Confessing this, therefore, tell us also why God became man. Surely, as the divine Scriptures teach, and the very things that have happened and happen every day, even if perhaps you, being willingly deaf, are ignorant, it was to make man god. By what means did He accomplish this? Through the flesh or through the divinity? Through the divinity, clearly. "For the flesh," he says, "profits nothing; it is the spirit that gives life." If, therefore, by His divinity He first deified the flesh which He assumed, and gives life to all of us not through the corruptible flesh but through the deified (209) flesh, so that we may no longer recognize Him in any way as a man but as one perfect God in two natures — for He is one God, as the corruptible was swallowed up by incorruptibility and the body by the bodiless, not being destroyed, but wholly changed and remaining unconfused, ineffably blended and united in an unmixed mixture to the Triadic divinity, so that one God in Father and Son and Holy Spirit may be worshipped, and that the Trinity may neither receive any addition to its number from the economy nor undergo any passion from the body.

Why then do I say these things? So that you, knowing beforehand what you have confessed when questioned by me, may not through ignorance deviate from the straight path of these thoughts and cause us trouble and bring greater judgment upon your soul. I will therefore again remind you of what was said in summary, so that what I am about to say may be easy to see. Christ, therefore, exists. And what is He? True God and most truly perfect man by nature, for this reason becoming man, which He was not before, in order to make man god, which had never happened, deifying and making us gods through His divinity, that is, and not through His flesh alone; for it is not divisible. Pay attention, therefore, and answer me with understanding when I ask. If those who are baptized put on Christ, what is this that they put on? God. Will he who has put on God not know intellectually and see what he has put on? The naked body, when clothed, perceives and sees what kind of garment it is; but the soul, naked and clothed with God, will it not know? For if he who puts on God does not perceive what it is he has put on, then according to you God is not anything at all; for if He were, those who put Him on would know it. For when we put on nothing, we perceive nothing, but when we put on something, either from another or by ourselves, we perceive it very much (210), if indeed we possess our senses intact; for only the dead, when they are clothed, do not perceive it, and I fear that those who say these things are truly dead and naked indeed. And thus the question is resolved.

Then they say: "Do not quench the Spirit," Paul commands. And in saying this, not understanding the purpose of what is said, they show their own ignorance; for he who says to someone, "Do not put out the lamp," he says, is surely not speaking about one that is already extinguished, but about one that is still burning and has a flashing light. But again we counter them thus.

What then? Do you see at all within yourselves, O men, the Spirit burning and shining as is fitting? And to this not only do they answer nothing, but also, their faces immediately changing, they turn away and are displeased as if they had heard blasphemy; then, trying to outdo the one asking and feigning gentleness, they answer not with harshness: "And who would ever dare to say he sees this, or has seen it at all?" Away with it. "No one," he says, "has seen God

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Τί οὖν, οὐχ ἡμεῖς, ἀλλά τό Πνεῦμα τό Ἅγιον πρός αὐτούς εἴποι ἄν; Τό οὖν ἔνδυμα τοῦτο, τί εἶναι, ὦ οὗτοι, λέγετε· Χριστόν; Ναί, φησίν. Ὁ τοίνυν Χριστός ἐστί τι, ἵνα ὡς ἄφρων πρός ἄφρονας εἴποιμι, ἤ οὐδέν ἐστιν; Ἔστι τι, πάντως εἴποιεν ἄν, εἰ γε μή τέλεον παρακοπήν φρενῶν εἰσι πάσχοντες. Εἰ οὖν εἶναί τι ὁμολογεῖτε, εἴπατε δή καί τί πρῶτόν ἐστιν, ἵνα οὕτως διδάξητε ἑαυτούς μή ὡς ἄπιστοι φθέγγεσθαι, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς πιστοί. Τί τοίνυν ἄλλο ἐστίν ὁ Χριστός, εἰ μή Θεός ἀληθής καί ἄνθρωπος ἐπ᾿ ἀληθῶς τέλειος πεφυκώς; Τοῦτο τοιγαροῦν ὁμολογοῦντες, εἴπατε ἡμῖν καί διά τί ἄνθρωπος γέγονεν ὁ Θεός. Πάντως, ὡς αἱ θεῖαι Γραφαί διδάσκουσι καί αὐτά τά γεγονότα καί καθ᾿ ἑκάστην γινόμενα, εἰ καί ἴσως ὑμεῖς ἐθελοκωφοῦντες ἀγνοεῖτε ἵνα τόν ἄνθρωπον ποιήσῃ θεόν. ∆ιά τίνος τοῦτο κατεργαζόμενος; ∆ιά τῆς σαρκός ἤ διά τῆς θεότητος; ∆ιά τῆς θεότητος δηλονότι. "Ἡ σάρξ γάρ, φησίν, οὐκ ὠφελεῖ οὐδέν· τό πνεῦμά ἐστι τό ζωοποιοῦν". Εἰ οὖν διά τῆς αὐτοῦ θεότητος ἥν ἀνέλαβε σάρκα πρῶτον ἐθέωσε, καί ἡμᾶς πάντας οὐ διά τῆς φθαρτῆς σαρκός ἀλλά διά τῆς θεωθείσης (209) ζωοποιεῖ, ἵνα μηκέτι μηδαμῶς ὡς ἄνθρωπον ἀλλ᾿ ὡς ἕνα Θεόν αὐτόν τέλειον ἐν δυσίν ἐπιγινώσκωμεν φύσεσιν - εἷς γάρ Θεός , ὡς τοῦ φθαρτοῦ ὑπό τῆς ἀφθαρσίας καταποθέντος καί τοῦ σώματος ὑπό τοῦ ἀσωμάτου οὐκ ἀφανισθέντος μέν, ὅλου δέ ἀλλοιωθέντος καί μένοντος ἀσυγχύτου, ἀρρήτως ἀνακεκραμένου καί ἐν ἀμίκτῳ μίξει τῇ τριαδικῇ θεότητι ἡνωμένου, ἵνα εἷς Θεός ἐν Πατρί καί Υἱῷ καί Ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι προσκυνῆται καί μήτε προσθήκην τῷ ἀριθμῷ ἀπό τῆς οἰκονομίας λάβῃ τινά μήτε πάθος τι ἀπό τοῦ σώματος ἡ Τριάς ὑποστῇ.

∆ιά τί οὖν ταῦτα λέγω; Ἵνα προγινώσκων σύ ἅ ὡμολογήσας ἐρωτώμενος παρ᾿ ἐμοῦ, μή ἐξ ἀγνοίας ἐκκλίνῃς τῆς εὐθείας τῶν νοημάτων ὁδοῦ καί κόπους παρέξῃς ἡμῖν καί κρῖμα προξενήσῃς πλεῖον τῇ σῇ ψυχῇ. Πάλιν τοιγαροῦν προσαναμνήσω σε τά ῥηθέντα ἐν ἐπιτόμῳ, ἵνα εὐσύνοπτον γένηται ὅ μέλλω εἰπεῖν. Ἔστι τοίνυν Χριστός. Τί δέ ἐστι; Θεός ἀληθής καί ἄνθρωπος τέλειος παναληθῶς πεφυκώς, διά τοῦτο γενόμενος ἄνθρωπος, ὅπερ πρώην οὐκ ἦν, ἵνα ποιήσῃ θεόν τόν ἄνθρωπον, ὅπερ οὐδέποτε γέγονεν, διά τῆς θεότητος θεώσας καί θεοποιῶν ἡμᾶς δηλαδή καί οὐχί διά μόνης αὐτοῦ τῆς σαρκός· οὐδέ γάρ μεριστή. Πρόσεχε τοίνυν καί ἐρωτῶντί μοι μετά συνέσεως ἀποκρίθητι. Εἰ οἱ βαπτιζόμενοι τόν Χριστόν ἐπενδύονται, τί τοῦτό ἐστιν ὅ ἐπενδύονται; Θεός. Ὁ οὖν Θεόν ἐνδυσάμενος οὐκ ἐπιγνώσεται νοερῶς καί ἴδῃ τί ἐνεδύσατο; Ὁ γυμνός τῷ σώματι ἐνδυσάμενος ἐπαισθάνεται καί τό ἱμάτιον ὁποῖον ὁρᾷ, ὁ δέ γυμνός τῇ ψυχῇ Θεόν ἐνδυσάμενος οὐ γνώσεται; Εἰ γάρ οὐκ αἰσθάνεται ὁ τόν Θεόν ἐνδυόμενος τί ποτε ἄρα ἐνεδύσατο, λοιπόν κατά σέ οὐδέ ἐστί τί ποτε ὁ Θεός· εἰ γάρ ἦν, οἱ αὐτόν ἐνδυόμενοι ἐγίνωσκον ἄν. Τό γάρ μηδέν ἐνδυόμενοι οὐδέν αἰσθανόμεθα, τό δέ τί ποτε ἤ παρ᾿ ἑτέρου ἤ ἡμᾶς αὐτούς ἐπενδύοντες καί λίαν (210) ἐπαισθανόμεθα, εἴ γε καί σώας τάς αἰσθήσεις κεκτήμεθα· νεκροί γάρ ἐνδυόμενοι οὐκ αἰσθάνονται μόνοι καί δέδοικα μή καί οἱ ταῦτα λέγοντες νεκροί καί γυμνοί ἐπ᾿ ἀληθείας ὄντως εἰσίν. Καί οὕτω λέλυται τό ζητούμενον.

Εἶτα φασί· "Τό Πνεῦμα μή σβέννυτε" ὁ Παῦλος διακελεύεται. Καί τοῦτο λέγοντες, τόν σκοπόν τῶν λεγομένων μή ἐπιστάμενοι, τήν ἑαυτῶν ἄγνοιαν ἐμφανίζουσιν· ὁ γάρ λέγων τινί· "Μή σβέσῃς, φησί, τήν λαμπάδα", οὐ περί τῆς ἤδη ἐσβεσμένης αὐτῷ πάντως λέγει, ἀλλά περί τῆς ἔτι καιομένης καί ἀστράπτον ἐχούσης τό φῶς. Ἀλλά γάρ αὖθις πρός αὐτούς ὦδε ἀνθυποφέρομεν.

Τί δαί; Ὁρᾶτε κἄν ὅλως ἐν ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς, ὦ οὗτοι, τό Πνεῦμα καιόμενον καί λάμπον ὥσπερ εἰκός; Καί πρός τοῦτο οὐ μόνον οὐδέν ἀποκρίνονται, ἀλλά καί τάς ὄψεις εὐθύς ἀλλοιούμενοι ἀποστρέφονται καί ὡς βλασφημίαν ἀκούσαντες δυσχεραίνουσι· εἶτα, τόν ἐρωτῶντα φιλοτιμούμενοι καί τόν πρᾷον δῆθεν ὑποκρινόμενοι, οὐ μετά στυφότητος ἀποκρίνονται· "Καί τίς ποτε ἰδεῖν τοῦτο τολμηρῶς εἴποι ἤ ὅλως αὐτό ἐθεάσατο;" Ἄπαγε. "Θεόν, φησίν, οὐδείς ἑώρακε