100

the whole matter hereafter is of our own indolence; for it is possible now not to walk according to the flesh, but then it was difficult. For then he establishes it differently through what follows, saying: For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free; here calling the Spirit the law of the Spirit. For just as he calls sin the law of sin, so he says the Spirit is the law of the Spirit. And yet he also called the law of Moses so, saying, For we know that the law is spiritual; what then is the difference? Much and infinite; for that one was spiritual, but this one is the law of the Spirit. And how does this differ from that? Because that one was only given by the Spirit, but this one also abundantly supplied the Spirit to those who received it. Therefore he also called it the law of life, in contrast to that of sin, not that of Moses. For when he says, Has set me free from the law of sin and death, he does not mean the law of Moses here; for nowhere does he call it the law of sin; for how could he, when he often called it just and holy, and destructive of sin? but that one which wars against the law of the mind. For the grace of the Spirit put an end to this difficult war by putting sin to death, and making the contest easy for us, and crowning us beforehand, and then drawing us to the wrestling-matches with much alliance. And what he always does, passing from the Son to the Spirit, from the Spirit to the Son and the Father, and reckoning all our affairs to the Trinity; this he does here also. For having said, Who will deliver me from the body of this death? he showed the Father doing this through the Son; then again the Holy Spirit with the Son; For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, he says, has set me free; then again the Father and the Son; For what the law could not do, he says, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. Again he seems to slander the law; but if one pays close attention, he praises it exceedingly, showing it to be in harmony with Christ, and to have chosen the same things. For he did not say, The evil of the law, but, What was impossible; and again, In that it was weak, not, In that it did evil, or plotted. And he does not even reckon the weakness to it, but to the flesh, saying: In that it was weak through the flesh; again calling flesh here not the substance itself and the underlying reality, but the more carnal mindset, by which he acquits both the body and the law of accusation; not only through these, but also through what follows. 5. For if the law was contrary, how did Christ come to its 60.514 aid, and fulfill its righteousness, and lend a hand by condemning sin in the flesh? For this was what was left, since in the soul the law had long ago condemned it. What then? did the law do the greater thing, and the Only-begotten of God the lesser? By no means. For indeed God accomplished that too, who gave the natural law, and added the written one; but otherwise there was no benefit from the greater, without the lesser being added. For what is the benefit of knowing what must be done, without pursuing it? None, but even greater condemnation. So He who saved the soul is also the one who has made the flesh obedient. For to teach is easy; but to also show a way by which these things could be done with ease, this is the wonderful thing. For this reason the Only-begotten came, and did not depart before He had delivered us from that difficulty. And what is greater, the manner of the victory; for He did not take another flesh, but this very one that was being worn down; just as if someone, being a king's son, should see a lowly and common woman being beaten in the marketplace, and should say he is her son, and so deliver her from those who were abusing her. Which He Himself did, both confessing to be the Son of man, and standing by her, and condemning sin. Therefore it did not dare to strike her anymore, or rather, it did strike her with the blow of death; but by this very act it was condemned and destroyed, not the flesh that was struck, but that which struck

100

ῥᾳθυμίας τὸ πᾶν λοιπὸν τῆς ἡμετέρας· δυνατὸν γὰρ νῦν μὴ κατὰ σάρκα περιπατεῖν, τότε δὲ δύσκολον ἦν. Εἶτα γὰρ ἑτέρως αὐτὸ κατασκευάζει διὰ τῶν ἑξῆς λέγων· Ὁ γὰρ νόμος τοῦ Πνεύματος τῆς ζωῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ ἠλευθέρωσέ με· νόμον Πνεύματος ἐνταῦθα τὸ Πνεῦμα καλῶν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ νόμον ἁμαρτίας τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, οὕτω νόμον Πνεύματος τὸ Πνεῦμά φησι. Καίτοι καὶ τὸν Μωϋσέως οὕτως ἐκάλει λέγων, Οἴδαμεν γὰρ, ὅτι ὁ νόμος πνευματικός ἐστι· τί οὖν τὸ μέσον; Πολὺ καὶ ἄπειρον· ἐκεῖνος μὲν γὰρ πνευματικὸς, οὗτος δὲ νόμος Πνεύματος. Καὶ τί τοῦτο ἐκείνου διέστηκεν; Ὅτι ὁ μὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐδόθη μόνον, οὗτος δὲ καὶ Πνεῦμα ἐχορήγει τοῖς δεχομένοις αὐτὸν δαψιλές. ∆ιὸ καὶ ζωῆς αὐτὸν νόμον ἐκάλεσε, πρὸς ἀντιδιαστολὴν ἐκείνου τοῦ τῆς ἁμαρτίας, οὐ τοῦ Μωϋσαϊκοῦ. Ὅταν γὰρ λέγῃ, Ἠλευθέρωσέ με ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου τῆς ἁμαρτίας καὶ τοῦ θανάτου, οὐ τὸν Μωϋσέως νόμον λέγει ἐνταῦθα· οὐδαμοῦ γὰρ αὐτὸν νόμον ἁμαρτίας καλεῖ· πῶς γὰρ, ὃν δίκαιον καὶ ἅγιον πολλάκις ὠνόμασε, καὶ ἁμαρτίας ἀναιρετικόν; ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνον τὸν ἀντιστρατευόμενον τῷ νόμῳ τοῦ νοός. Τοῦτον γὰρ τὸν χαλεπὸν κατέλυσε πόλεμον θανατώσασα τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἡ τοῦ Πνεύματος χάρις, καὶ ποιήσασα τὸν ἀγῶνα κοῦφον ἡμῖν, καὶ πρότερον στεφανώσασα, καὶ τότε μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς συμμαχίας ἐπὶ τὰ παλαίσματα ἑλκύσασα. Καὶ ὅπερ ἀεὶ ποιεῖ, ἀπὸ τοῦ Υἱοῦ εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα μεταβαίνων, ἀπὸ τοῦ Πνεύματος εἰς τὸν Υἱὸν καὶ τὸν Πατέρα, καὶ τῇ Τριάδι πάντα τὰ παρ' ἡμῶν λογιζομένος· τοῦτο καὶ ἐνταῦθα ἐργάζεται. Καὶ γὰρ εἰπὼν, Τίς με ῥύσεται ἐκ τοῦ σώματος τοῦ θανάτου τούτου; ἔδειξε Πατέρα διὰ Υἱοῦ τοῦτο ποιοῦντα· εἶτα πάλιν τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον μετὰ τοῦ Υἱοῦ· Ὁ γὰρ νόμος τοῦ Πνεύματος τῆς ζωῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ ἠλευθέρωσέ με, φησίν· εἶτα πάλιν τὸν Πατέρα καὶ τὸν Υἱόν· Τὸ γὰρ ἀδύνατον τοῦ νόμου, φησὶν, ἐν ᾧ ἠσθένει διὰ τῆς σαρκὸς, ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ Υἱὸν πέμψας ἐν ὁμοιώματι σαρκὸς ἁμαρτίας, καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας κατέκρινε τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐν τῇ σαρκί. Πάλιν δοκεῖ μὲν διαβάλλειν τὸν νόμον· εἰ δέ τις ἀκριβῶς προσέχοι, καὶ σφόδρα αὐτὸν ἐπαινεῖ, σύμφωνον τῷ Χριστῷ δεικνὺς, καὶ τὰ αὐτὰ προῃρημένον. Οὐδὲ γὰρ εἶπε, Τὸ πονηρὸν τοῦ νόμου, ἀλλὰ, Τὸ ἀδύνατον· καὶ πάλιν, Ἐν ᾧ ἠσθένει, οὐκ, Ἐν ᾧ ἐκακούργει, ἢ ἐπεβούλευε. Καὶ οὐδὲ τὴν ἀσθένειαν αὐτῷ λογίζεται, ἀλλὰ τῇ σαρκὶ, λέγων· Ἐν ᾧ ἠσθένει διὰ τῆς σαρκός· σάρκα πάλιν ἐνταῦθα οὐχὶ τὴν οὐσίαν αὐτὴν καὶ τὸ ὑποκείμενον, ἀλλὰ τὸ σαρκικώτερον φρόνημα καλῶν, δι' ὧν καὶ τὸ σῶμα καὶ τὸν νόμον ἀπαλλάττει κατηγορίας· οὐ διὰ τούτων δὲ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τῶν ἑξῆς. εʹ. Εἰ γὰρ ἐναντίος ἦν ὁ νόμος, πῶς ὁ Χριστὸς εἰς 60.514 βοήθειαν αὐτοῦ παραγέγονε, καὶ τὸ δικαίωμα αὐτοῦ πληροῖ, καὶ χεῖρα ὤρεξε κατακρίνας τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐν τῇ σαρκί; Τοῦτο γὰρ ὑπολέλειπτο, ἐπειδήπερ ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ πάλαι ὁ νόμος αὐτὴν κατακρίνας ἦν. Τί οὖν; τὸ μεῖζον ὁ νόμος ἐποίησε, τὸ δὲ ἔλαττον ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ Μονογενής; Οὐδαμῶς. Μάλιστα μὲν γὰρ κἀκεῖνο ὁ Θεὸς εἰργάσατο, ὁ τὸν φυσικὸν δεδωκὼς νόμον, καὶ τὸν γραπτὸν προσθείς· ἄλλως δὲ οὐδὲν ὄφελος τοῦ μείζονος ἦν, τοῦ ἐλάττονος μὴ προσκειμένου. Τί γὰρ ὄφελος εἰδέναι τὰ πρακτέα μὴ μετιόντα αὐτά; Οὐδὲν, ἀλλὰ καὶ μείζων κατάκρισις. Ὥστε ὁ καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν σώσας, οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ καὶ τὴν σάρκα εὐήνιον καταστήσας. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ διδάξαι, εὔκολον· τὸ δὲ καὶ ὁδόν τινα δεῖξαι, δι' ἧς μετ' εὐκολίας ταῦτα ἐγένετο, τοῦτό ἔστι τὸ θαυμαστόν. ∆ιὰ δὲ τοῦτο ἦλθεν ὁ Μονογενὴς, καὶ οὐ πρότερον ἀπέστη, ἕως ἂν ἀπήλλαξεν ἡμᾶς τῆς δυσκολίας ἐκείνης. Καὶ τὸ δὴ μεῖζον, ὁ τρόπος τῆς νίκης· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἑτέραν ἔλαβε σάρκα, ἀλλ' αὐτὴν ταύτην τὴν καταπονουμένην· ὥσπερ ἂν εἴ τις ἐν ἀγορᾷ γυναῖκα εὐτελῆ καὶ ἀγοραίαν τυπτομένην ἰδὼν, εἴποι αὐτῆς εἶναι υἱὸς, βασιλέως ὢν υἱὸς, καὶ οὕτως αὐτὴν ἀπαλλάξειε τῶν ἐπηρεαζόντων. Ὅπερ αὐτὸς ἐποίησε, καὶ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου εἶναι ὁμολογήσας, καὶ παραστὰς αὐτῇ, καὶ κατακρίνας τὴν ἁμαρτίαν. Οὐ τοίνυν ἐτόλμησε τυπτῆσαι αὐτὴν λοιπὸν, μᾶλλον δὲ ἐτύπτησε μὲν τῇ τοῦ θανάτου πληγῇ· τούτῳ δὲ αὐτῷ κατεκρίθη καὶ ἀπώλετο, οὐχ ἡ τυπτηθεῖσα σὰρξ, ἀλλ' ἡ τυπτήσασα