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the cause, and the salvation from it? Do you see the kinship of the type to the truth? There the Jews escaped death, but the temporary one; here, believers escape the eternal one. There the bites of serpents were healed by the hanging serpent, here the crucified Jesus healed the wounds of the spiritual dragon; there he who looked with these eyes was healed, here he who sees with the eyes of the mind, puts away all his sins; there the thing hanging was brass, fashioned into the shape of a serpent, here it was the Lord's body, prepared by the Spirit. A serpent bit there, and a serpent healed; so also here, death destroyed, and death saved. But the destroying serpent had venom; the saving one was pure of venom. And here the same again: for the destroying death had sin, just as the serpent had venom; but the death of the Lord was free from all sin, just as the bronze serpent was free of venom. For, it says, He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth. And this is what Paul says: Having disarmed the principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. For just as a noble athlete, when he has lifted his opponent on high and dashed him down, makes his victory more brilliant; so also Christ, while the whole world watched, cast down the opposing powers, and having healed those who were smitten in the desert, delivered them from all the wild beasts by being hung upon the cross. But He did not say, must be hanged, but, Be lifted up. For what seemed to be more decorous for the hearer, and close to the type, this He set forth. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. What He says is this: Do not be astonished that I am about to be lifted up, that you may be saved. For this also is pleasing to the Father, and He Himself so loved you, as to give His Son for His slaves, and ungrateful slaves. And yet one would not do this even for a friend, [nor quickly for a just man, which Paul also declared, saying:] For scarcely for a righteous man will one die. But he spoke more broadly, since he was discoursing with believers; here, however, Christ spoke concisely, since the discourse was with Nicodemus, but more emphatically. For each word has much emphasis. For in saying, so loved, and, God the world, He shows the great intensity of the love. For the distance was great and infinite. For the Immortal, the Unbeginning, the boundless Majesty, loved those who are of earth and ashes, those full of countless sins, those who had offended Him through all time, the ungrateful. And the things after this are again 59.160 similarly emphatic, which He added, saying: That He gave His only-begotten Son; not a servant, not an angel, not an archangel, He says. And yet one would not have shown so much concern for a child, as God did for His ungrateful servants. He does not, therefore, set forth the passion very nakedly, but obscurely; but the gain from the passion, clearly and unveiledly, saying thus: That whoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have eternal life. For since He said, must be lifted up, and hinted at death, so that the hearer might not become downcast from these words, suspecting something human about Him, and thinking His death to be non-existence, see how He corrects this, saying that the one given is the Son of God, and is the cause of life, and of eternal life. For He who provides life to others through death would not Himself remain in death forever. For if those who believe in the crucified One do not perish, much more will He Himself who was crucified not perish. For He who abolishes the perdition of others, is much more Himself free from it; He who gives life to others, much more is a fount of life for Himself. Do you see that everywhere there is need of faith? For He says the cross is a fount of life, which reason would not easily accept; and

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αἰτίαν, καὶ τὴν ἐξ αὐτοῦ σωτηρίαν; ὁρᾷς τοῦ τύπου πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν τὴν συγγένειαν; Ἐκεῖ θάνατον διέφυγον Ἰουδαῖοι, ἀλλὰ τὸν πρόσκαιρον· ἐνταῦθα τὸν αἰώνιον οἱ πιστεύοντες. Ἐκεῖ δήγματα ὄφεων ἰᾶτο ὁ κρεμάμενος ὄφις, ἐνταῦθα τοῦ νοητοῦ δράκοντος ἐθεράπευσε τὰς πληγὰς ὁ σταυρωθεὶς Ἰησοῦς· ἐκεῖ ὁ τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς τούτοις βλέπων ἐθεραπεύετο, ἐνταῦθα ὁ τοῖς τῆς διανοίας ὀφθαλμοῖς ὁρῶν, πάντα ἀποτίθεται τὰ ἁμαρτήματα· ἐκεῖ χαλκὸς τὸ κρεμάμενον ἦν εἰς σχῆμα ὄφεως διατυπωθεὶς, ἐνταῦθα σῶμα δεσποτικὸν ὑπὸ Πνεύματος κατασκευασθέν. Ὄφις ἔδακνεν ἐκεῖ, καὶ ὄφις ἰᾶτο· οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθα θάνατος ἀπώλεσε, καὶ θάνατος ἔσωσεν. Ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν ἀπολλὺς ὄφις, ἰὸν εἶχεν· ὁ δὲ σώζων, ἰοῦ καθαρὸς ἦν. Καὶ ἐνταῦθα τὸ αὐτὸ πάλιν· ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἀπολλὺς θάνατος ἁμαρτίαν εἶχεν, ὥσπερ τὸν ἰὸν ὁ ὄφις· ὁ δὲ τοῦ ∆εσπότου, ἁμαρτίας πάσης ἀπήλλακτο, ὥσπερ οὖν ὁ χαλκοῦς ὄφις, ἰοῦ. Ἁμαρτίαν γὰρ, φησὶν, οὐκ ἐποίησεν, οὐδὲ δόλος εὑρέθη ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ. Καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν, ὅ φησι Παῦλος· Ἀπεκδυσάμενος τὰς ἀρχὰς καὶ τὰς ἐξουσίας, ἐδειγμάτισεν ἐν παῤῥησίᾳ θριαμβεύσας αὐτοὺς ἐν αὐτῷ. Καθάπερ γάρ τις ἀθλητὴς γενναῖος, ὅταν ἐπὶ μετεώρου τὸν ἀνταγωνιστὴν ἄρας καὶ καταῤῥάξας, λαμπροτέραν ἀποφαίνῃ τὴν νίκην· οὕτω καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς, τῆς οἰκουμένης ἁπάσης ὁρώσης, τὰς ἀντικειμένας δυνάμεις κατέβαλε, καὶ τοὺς ἐπὶ τῆς ἐρημίας πληττομένους ἰασάμενος, πάντων τῶν θηρίων ἀπήλλαξε κρεμασθεὶς ἐπὶ τοῦ σταυροῦ. Ἀλλ' οὐκ εἶπε, κρεμασθῆναι δεῖ, ἀλλ', Ὑψωθῆναι. Ὅπερ γὰρ εὐφημότερον εἶναι ἐδόκει διὰ τὸν ἀκροώμενον, καὶ ἐγγὺς τοῦ τύπου, τοῦτο τέθεικεν. Οὕτω γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν κόσμον, ὅτι τὸν Υἱὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ ἔδωκεν, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν μὴ ἀπόληται, ἀλλ' ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον. Ὃ δὲ λέγει, τοιοῦτόν ἐστι· Μὴ θαυμάσῃς ὅτι ἐγὼ μέλλω ὑψοῦσθαι, ἵνα σωθῆτε ὑμεῖς. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ τῷ Πατρὶ τοῦτο δοκεῖ, καὶ αὐτὸς οὕτως ὑμᾶς ἠγάπησεν, ὡς ὑπὲρ τῶν δούλων δοῦναι τὸν Υἱὸν, καὶ δούλων ἀγνωμόνων. Καίτοι οὐκ ἄν τις οὐδὲ ὑπὲρ φίλου τοῦτο ποιήσειεν, [οὐδὲ ὑπὲρ δικαίου ταχέως, ὅπερ καὶ ὁ Παῦλος δηλῶν ἔλεγε·] Μόλις γὰρ ὑπὲρ δικαίου τις ἀποθανεῖται. Ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνος μὲν πλατύτερον, ἐπειδὴ πρὸς πιστοὺς διελέγετο· ἐνταῦθα δὲ συνεσταλμένως μὲν ὁ Χριστὸς, ἐπειδὴ πρὸς Νικόδημον ἦν ὁ λόγος, ἐμφαντικώτερον δέ. Καὶ γὰρ ἑκάστη λέξις πολλὴν ἔχει τὴν ἔμφασιν. Τῷ τε γὰρ εἰπεῖν, Οὕτως ἠγάπησε, καὶ τῷ, Ὁ Θεὸς τὸν κόσμον, πολλὴν δείκνυσι τῆς ἀγάπης τὴν ἐπίτασιν. Πολὺ γὰρ τὸ μέσον καὶ ἄπειρον ἦν. Ὁ γὰρ ἀθάνατος, ὁ ἄναρχος, ἡ μεγαλωσύνη ἡ ἀπέραντος, τοὺς ἀπὸ γῆς καὶ σποδοῦ, τοὺς μυρίων γέμοντας ἁμαρτημάτων, τοὺς διὰ παντὸς προσκεκρουκότας τοῦ χρόνου, τοὺς ἀγνώμονας, τούτους ἠγάπησε. Καὶ τὰ μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ πάλιν 59.160 ὁμοίως ἐμφαντικὰ, ἅπερ ἐπήγαγε λέγων· Ὅτι τὸν Υἱὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ ἔδωκεν· οὐ δοῦλον, οὐκ ἄγγελον, οὐκ ἀρχάγγελόν φησι. Καίτοι γε οὐδ' ἂν περὶ παῖδά τις τοσαύτην ἐπεδείξατο σπουδὴν, ὅσην περὶ τοὺς οἰκέτας τοὺς ἀγνώμονας ὁ Θεός. Τὸ μὲν οὖν πάθος οὐ σφόδρα γυμνῶς τίθησιν, ἀλλὰ συνεσκιασμένως· τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ πάθους κέρδος, σαφῶς καὶ ἀνακεκαλυμμένως, λέγων οὕτως· Ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν, μὴ ἀπόληται, ἀλλ' ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εἶπεν, Ὑψωθῆναι δεῖ, καὶ τὸν θάνατον ᾐνίξατο, ἵνα μὴ κατηφὴς ὁ ἀκροατὴς ἀπὸ τούτων γένηται τῶν ῥημάτων, ἀνθρώπινόν τι περὶ αὐτοῦ ὑποπτεύων, καὶ τὸν θάνατον αὐτοῦ νομίζων ἀνυπαρξίαν εἶναι, σκόπει πῶς αὐτὸ διορθοῦται, Υἱόν τε Θεοῦ λέγων εἶναι τὸν διδόμενον, καὶ ζωῆς αἴτιον εἶναι, καὶ ζωῆς αἰωνίου. Οὐκ ἂν δὲ ὁ τοῖς ἄλλοις ζωὴν παρέχων διὰ τοῦ θανάτου, αὐτὸς ἔμελλεν εἶναι ἐν τῷ θανάτῳ διηνεκῶς. Εἰ γὰρ οἱ πιστεύοντες εἰς τὸν ἐσταυρωμένον οὐκ ἀπόλλυνται, πολλῷ μᾶλλον αὐτὸς σταυρωθεὶς οὐκ ἀπολεῖται. Ὁ γὰρ τῶν ἄλλων τὴν ἀπώλειαν ἀναιρῶν, πολλῷ μᾶλλον αὐτὸς ταύτης ἀπήλλακται· ὁ τοῖς ἄλλοις παρέχων ζωὴν, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἑαυτῷ πηγάζει ζωήν. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι πανταχοῦ πίστεως χρεία; Τὸν γὰρ σταυρὸν πηγὴν ζωῆς εἶναί φησιν, ὃ λογισμὸς μὲν οὐκ ἂν ῥᾳδίως παραδέξαιτο· καὶ