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he takes a servant's, he was changed in his appearance, not by a transformation, as I have already said many times, but by an assumption. And the phrase: "we have seen him, glory as of the only-begotten from the father," signifies his glory according to nature. He had, therefore, a glory befitting the composite being he became with the flesh. "This is the change of the right hand of the Most High." not that we should speak here of the change which he himself underwent when we said that he was changed by the assumption of the form of a servant, but "this is the change" which he himself brings about; for he himself circumscribes wrath, he makes compassions to be active. Leaving aside for a moment glorifying and praising, he says: "for I will remember your wonders from the beginning." "And I said, Now I have begun." I have spoken all the gloomy things, that being troubled I did not speak, that guards were around me, but henceforth: "now I have begun." Now I will recount other things after those, the things succeeding the gloomy ones. "This is the change of the right hand of the Most High." Henceforth he says: "what god is great as our God"? "You have made known your power among your peoples." Behold, this is the change. Then, therefore, he changed his countenance. You can take the king of Gath more allegorically as the ruler of this world, the devil. The land of the foreigners, therefore, is our region. And just as when Egypt is said to be the place upon the earth, Pharaoh is said to be the one ruling and tyrannizing, and when Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar is said, and when Assyria, the Assyrian, so for Gath, from what is said about the place on earth, we must take its king to be again some evil power. "He changed," therefore, "his own countenance," "taking the form of a servant"; for in this way that one seemed to have power over him, so that even death was contrived against him. He tasted "by the grace of God death for everyone." And a sign of this change: "he released him." He was not able to hold him. And I say the paradox: if he was not able to hold his humiliation, what might they say about his divinity? Whence you who say that the Word was crucified, the Lord of glory? "He released" therefore "him, and he went away." He went away from him; for he was not there for the sake of staying there, but so that having completed the economy, he might depart and draw many away from there with him. He was, therefore, also in Hades and led up from there 186 many souls of the righteous. But when you hear bodies, do not by all means consider the tabernacles; for many think this. And it is not out of place to say that in addition to the other divine signs this paradox also happened; but see that it does not conflict with the whole sequence of the economy. Know this, that if the men had recognized their own, it would have been difficult for them to remain in unbelief. And another thing: Peter in the Acts of the Apostles says concerning David that: "and his tomb exists until now." It must be considered: if anyone was raised at all, David was raised. The souls, therefore, that were brought from the earth we call "bodies of saints." And we say this in the same way that we call the whole church the body of Christ. And in the resurrection it is said: "each in his own order." But the own orders of those being raised from the dead are not characterized by anything else than the progress of souls. Those having the same virtue and faith and piety are arranged into one order. "The firstfruits," therefore, "Christ, then those who are Christ's, each in his own order." Those who are Christ's are those having different orders. And that we may take from another example, as in the case of the earth which received the seed, which they bear fruit a hundredfold, sixtyfold, thirtyfold, there come to be different orders; for it is not one or a single heart that bears a hundred and sixty and thirty. At any rate, our interpreters say this, that those who practice virginity are the hundredfold, those who pursue divine marriage are the thirtyfold. They looked to the reduction and inequality of the numbers, not to the nature of the numbers. Some bear fruit perfectly. And these are signified by the number one hundred. And in the promise at any rate it says: "the young man shall be one hundred years old."

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λαμβάνει δούλου, ἠλλοιώθη κατὰ τὸ πρόσωπον, οὐ κατὰ μεταβολήν, ὡς ἤδη πολλάκις εἶπον, ἀλλὰ κατὰ πρόσλημψιν. καὶ τό· "ἐθεασάμεθα αὐτόν, δόξαν ὡς μονογενοῦς παρὰ πατρός", τὴν κατὰ φύσιν αὐτοῦ δόξαν σημαίνει. ἔσχεν οὖν πρὸς δόξαν ἁρμόζουσαν τῷ συνθέτῳ γενομένῳ αὐτῷ σαρκί. "αὕτη ἡ ἀλλοίωσις τῆς δεξιᾶς τοῦ ὑψίστου". οὐχ ἵνα ἀλλοίωσιν ὧδε λέγωμεν ἣν αὐτὸς ἀνεδέξατο ὅτε ἐλέγομεν ὅτι προσλήμψει τῆς τοῦ δούλου μορφῆς ἠλλοιω´̣θη, ἀλλ' η "αὕτη ἡ ἀλλοίωσις" ἣν αὐτὸς ἀλλοιοῖ· αὐτὸς γὰρ τὴν ὀργὴν περιγράφει, τοὺς οἰκτιρμοὺς ποιεῖ ἐνεργῆσαι. δοξάσαι καὶ α̣ἰνέσαι ἐάσας ὀλίγον λέγει· "ὅτι μνησθήσομαι ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς τῶν θαυμασίων σου". "καὶ εἶπα Νῦν ἠρξάμην". εἶπον τα`̣ σκυθρωπὰ πάντα, ὅτι ταραχθεὶς οὐκ ἐλάλησα, ὅτι οἱ φύλακες περὶ ἐμὲ γεγόνασιν, ἀλλὰ λοιπόν· "νῦν ἠρξάμην". ἄλλα νῦν διηγήσομαι τὰ μετ' ἐκεῖνα, τὰ διαδεχόμενα τὰ σκυθρωπά. "αὕτη ἡ ἀλλοίωσις τῆς δεξιᾶς τοῦ ὑψίστου". λοιπὸν λέγει· "τίς θεὸς ὡς ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν μέγας"; "ἐγνώρισας ἐν τοῖς λαοῖς σου τὴν δύναμίν σου". ἰδοὺ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἀλλοίωσις. τότε οὖν ἠλλοίωσεν τὸ πρόσωπον̣ αὐτοῦ. τὸν βασιλέα τῆς Γὲθ ἀλληγορικώτερον δύνῃ λαβεῖν τὸν ἄρχοντα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου διάβολον. χώρα οὖν̣ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων ὁ καθ' ἡμᾶς ἐστιν τόπος. καὶ ὥσπερ ὅταν Αἴγυπτος λέγηται ὁ ἐπὶ γῆν τόπος, Φαρα̣ω`̣τ̣ ὁ κρατῶν καὶ τυραννῶν λέγεται, καὶ ὅταν Βαβυλών, λέγεται Ναβουχοδονοσσόρ, καὶ ὅταν Ἀσσυ ρία, Ἀσσύριος, οὕτω τῆς Γὲθ ἀπὸ τῆς λεγομένης ἐπὶ τοῦ περὶ γῆν τόπου τοῦτον βασιλέα αὐτῆς πάλιν πονηράν τινα δύναμιν ἐκλημπτέον. "ἠλλοίωσεν" οὖν "τὸ πρόσωπον ἑαυτοῦ" "μορφὴν δούλου λαβών"· οὕτω γὰρ ἔδοξεν ἐκεῖνος κρατεῖν αὐτοῦ, ὡς καὶ θάνατον μηχανηθῆναι κατ' αὐτοῦ. ἐγεύσατο "χάριτι θεοῦ ὑπὲρ παντὸς θανάτου". καὶ σημεῖον τῆς ἀλλοιώσεως τούτου· "ἀπέλυσεν αὐτόν". οὐ δεδύνηται αὐτὸν κατασχεῖν. καὶ λέγω τὸ παράδοξον· εἰ τὴν ἐλάττωσιν αὐτοῦ κατασχεῖν οὐ δεδύνηται, τί ἂν εἴποιεν περὶ τῆς θεότητος; ὅθεν ὑμεῖς δὲ οἱ λέγοντες τὸν λόγον ἐσταυρῶσθαι, τὸν κύριον τῆς δόξης; "ἀπέλυσεν" οὖν "αὐτόν, καὶ ἀπῆλθεν". ἀπῆλθεν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἕνεκα τοῦ ἐκεῖ διατρίβειν γέγονεν ἐκεῖ, ἀλλ' ἵνα οἰκονομίαν ἐκτελέσας ἀναχωρήσῃ καὶ συναποσπάσῃ πολλοὺς ἐκεῖθεν. γέγονεν οὖν καὶ ἐν τῷ ᾅδῃ καὶ ἀνήγαγεν ἐκεῖθεν 186 πολλὰς ψυχὰς δικαίων. ὅταν δε`̣ σώματα ἀκούῃς, μὴ πάντως τὰ σκηνώματα σκόπει· τοῦτο γὰρ πολλοὶ νομίζουσιν. καὶ οὐκ ἀπεμφαίνει εἰπεῖν πρὸς ταῖς ἄλλαις θεοσημείαις καὶ τοῦτο τὸ παράδοξον γεγονέναι· ἀλλ' ὅρα, μὴ μάχεται ὅλῳ τῷ εἱρμῷ τῆς οἰκονομίας. τοῦτο γίγνωσκε, ὅτι εἰ ἐπέγνωσαν τοὺς ἑαυτῶν οἱ ἄνθρωποι, δύσκολον εἰ ἔμειναν ἐν τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ. καὶ ἄλλο δέ· ὁ Πέτρος ἐν ταῖς πράξεσιν τῶν ἀποστόλων περὶ τοῦ ∆αυὶδ λέγει ὅτι· "καὶ τὸ μνῆμα ἔστιν αὐτοῦ ἕως ἄρτι". θεω̣ρητέον· εἰ ὅλως ἠγείρετό τις, ὁ ∆αυὶδ ἠγείρετο. τὰς ψυχὰς οὖν τὰς μετενεχθείσας ἐκ τῆς γῆς "σώματα ἁγίων" λέγομ̣εν. οὕτω δὲ λε´̣γ̣ο̣μεν, ὡς λέγομεν σῶμα Χριστοῦ ὅλην τὴν ἐκκλησίαν. καὶ ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει λέγεται· "ἕκαστος ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ τάγματι". τ̣ὰ ἴδια̣ δὲ τάγματα τῶν ἐκ νεκρῶν ἐγειρομένων οὐκ ἀπ' ἄλλου τινὸς χαρακτηρίζεται ἢ προκοπῇ ψυχῶν. οἱ τὴν αὐτὴν ἔχοντες ἀρετὴν καὶ πίστιν καὶ εὐσέβειαν εἰς ἓν τάγμα συντάττονται. "ἀπαρχὴ" οὖν "Χριστός, ἔπειτα οἱ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἕκαστος ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ τάγματι". οἱ τοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰσιν οἱ τάγματα διάφορα ἔχοντες. καὶ ἵνα ἐξ ἄλλου λάβωμεν, ὡς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς τῆς δεξαμένης τὸν σπόρον, ὃν ἑκατόν, ἑξήκοντα, τριάκοντα καρποφοροῦσιν, γίνονται διάφορα τάγματα· μὴ γὰρ εἷς ἐστιν ἢ μία καρδία φέρουσα ἑκατὸν καὶ ἑξήκοντα καὶ τριάκοντα. ἀμέλει γοῦν οἱ ἐξηγηταὶ ἡμῶν τοῦτο λέγουσιν ὅτι οἱ τὴν παρθενίαν τὰ ἑκατόν, οἱ τὸν γάμον μετερχόμενοι τὸν θεῖον τὰ τριάκοντα. εἰς τὴν ἐλάττωσιν καὶ ἀνισότητα τῶν ἀριθμῶν ἐσκόπησαν, οὐκ εἰς τὴν φύσιν τῶν ἀριθμῶν. τέλειοι καρποφοροῦσίν τινες. οὗτοι δὲ τῷ ἑκατὸν ἀριθμῷ σημαίνονται. καὶ ἐν τῇ ἐπαγγελίᾳ γοῦν λέγει· "ἔσται ὁ νέος ἑκατὸν ἐτῶν".