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Whom you say, and by saying. How then does he now see? 2. Three questions therefore having been asked, if he was their son, if he was blind, and how he received his sight, they confess the two only, but the third they do not add. And this happened for the sake of the truth, so that no one else, 59.317 but the one who had been healed, who was also trustworthy, might confess these things. For how would the parents have shown favor, who even kept silent about some things they knew because of the fear of the Jews? For what do they say? We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but how he now sees, or who opened his eyes, we do not know; he is of age, he will speak for himself. Having made him trustworthy, thus they excused themselves; He is not a child, it says, nor immature, but able to bear witness for himself. These things they said because of the fear of the Jews. See how again the Evangelist brings their opinion and their intention into the open. I say these things, because of that saying which they said before, when they said, that He makes Himself equal to God; because if that were the opinion of the Jews, but not the judgment of Christ, he would have added and said, that it was a Jewish opinion. Since therefore they sent them to the one who was healed, they called him again a second time. And they do not say openly and shamelessly: Deny that Christ healed you; but they wish to contrive this under a pretext of piety. For give, it says, glory to God. For to say to the parents, Deny that he is your son, and that you bore him blind, seemed to be extremely ridiculous; but to say this to him again, was open shamelessness. For this reason they do not say it, but they scheme it another way, saying, Give glory to God; that is, Confess that this man did nothing. We know that this man is a sinner. How then did you not convict him when he said: Which of you convicts Me of sin? and whence do you know that he is a sinner? And when they said, Give glory to God, and he said nothing, Christ, answering, praised him and did not rebuke him, nor did he say, Why did you not give glory to God? but what? Do you believe in the Son of God? so that you may learn that this is to give glory to God. But if He were not of equal honor with the Father, this would not be glory. But since he who honors the Son is himself the one who honors the Father, the blind man is rightly not rebuked. When therefore they were expecting the parents to refuse and deny, they said nothing to him; but when they saw that they had gained nothing from this, they come to him again, saying that This man is a sinner. That man answered and said: Whether he is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see. Was the blind man afraid then? By no means. And how does he who said, He is a Prophet, say, Whether he is a sinner, I do not know? Not thinking this, nor being persuaded of this himself, but wishing to free him from the accusations by the testimony of the deed, and not by his own voice, and to make the defense trustworthy, since the testimony from the good deed condemned them. For if after he had said more things, that If this man were not devout, he could not do such signs, they were so indignant as to say, You were born entirely in sins, and do you teach us? if he had said this from the beginning, what would they not have done? and what would they not have said? Whether he is a sinner, I do not know? as if he said: I say nothing about this man now, nor do I declare 59.318 for the present; but that one thing I know clearly and would maintain, that being a sinner, he could not have done such things. For this reason he also made himself above suspicion, and the testimony incorruptible, as no longer showing favor, but testifying from the deed itself. Since therefore they were not able to overturn nor to annul what had happened, they come again to the former point, investigating the manner of the healing, just as some men examine from all sides a prey securely set before them, and now running here, now there. And they come to their former words, so that they might again make them unsound by questioning continually, and they say: What did he do to you? how did he open your eyes? What then that man? Having conquered

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Ὃν ὑμεῖς λέγετε, καὶ τῷ εἰπεῖν. Πῶς οὖν βλέπει ἄρτι; βʹ. Τριῶν τοίνυν ἐρωτήσεων γενομένων, εἰ υἱὸς αὐτῶν ἦν, εἰ τυφλὸς ἦν, καὶ πῶς ἀνέβλεψε, τὰς δύο μόνας ὁμολογοῦσι, τὴν δὲ τρίτην οὐ προστιθέασι. Καὶ τοῦτο δὲ ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀληθείας γέγονεν, ὥστε μηδένα ἄλλον, 59.317 ἀλλὰ τὸν τεθεραπευμένον, τὸν καὶ ἀξιόπιστον ὄντα, ταῦτα ὁμολογεῖν. Πῶς γὰρ ἂν ἐχαρίσαντο οἱ γονεῖς, οἱ καὶ ὧν ᾔδεσάν τινα σιγήσαντες διὰ τὸν φόβον τῶν Ἰουδαίων; Τί γάρ φασιν; Ὅτι οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς ἡμῶν, ἡμεῖς οἴδαμεν, καὶ ὅτι τυφλὸς ἐγεννήθη· πῶς δὲ νῦν βλέπει, ἢ τίς ἀνέῳξεν αὐτοῦ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς, ἡμεῖς οὐκ οἴδαμεν· αὐτὸς ἡλικίαν ἔχει, αὐτὸς περὶ ἑαυτοῦ λόγον λαλήσει. Ἀξιόπιστον αὐτὸν ποιήσαντες, οὕτω παρῃτήσαντο· Οὐκ ἔστι παιδίον, φησὶν, οὐδὲ ἀτελὴς, ἀλλ' ἱκανὸν ἑαυτῷ μαρτυρῆσαι. Ταῦτα δὲ εἶπον διὰ τὸν φόβον τῶν Ἰουδαίων. Ὅρα πῶς πάλιν τὴν δόξαν αὐτῶν ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς καὶ τὴν γνώμην εἰς μέσον ἄγει. Ταῦτα λέγω, διὰ τὸ ῥῆμα ἐκεῖνο, ὃ ἔμπροσθεν ἔλεγον, εἰπόντες, ὅτι Ἴσον ἑαυτὸν ποιεῖ τῷ Θεῷ· ὅτι εἰ καὶ ἐκεῖνο τῆς γνώμης ἦν τῶν Ἰουδαίων, ἀλλὰ μὴ τῆς κρίσεως τοῦ Χριστοῦ, προσέθηκεν ἂν καὶ εἶπεν, ὅτι γνώμη ἦν Ἰουδαϊκή. Ἐπεὶ οὖν παρέπεμψαν αὐτοὺς πρὸς τὸν τεθεραπευμένον, πάλιν ἐφώνησαν ἐκ δευτέρου. Καὶ φανερῶς μὲν καὶ ἀναισχύντως οὐ λέγουσιν· Ἄρνησαι ὅτι ὁ Χριστὸς ἐθεράπευσε· προσχήματι δὲ εὐλαβείας τοῦτο κατασκευάσαι βούλονται. ∆ὸς γὰρ, φησὶ, δόξαν τῷ Θεῷ. Τοῖς μὲν γὰρ γονεῦσιν εἰπεῖν, Ἀρνήσασθε ὅτι υἱὸς ὑμῶν ἐστι, καὶ ὅτι τυφλὸν ἐγεννήσατε, σφόδρα ἐδόκει καταγέλαστον εἶναι· αὐτῷ δὲ πάλιν εἰπεῖν τοῦτο, φανερὰ ἦν ἀναισχυντία. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο μὲν οὐ λέγουσιν, ἑτέρως δὲ αὐτὸ μεθοδεύουσι, ∆ὸς δόξαν τῷ Θεῷ, λέγοντες· τουτέστιν, Ὁμολόγησον ὅτι οὗτος οὐδὲν εἰργάσατο. Ἡμεῖς οἴδαμεν ὅτι οὗτος ἄνθρωπος ἁμαρτωλός ἐστι. Πῶς οὖν αὐτὸν οὐκ ἠλέγξατε λέγοντα· Τίς ἐξ ὑμῶν ἐλέγχει με περὶ ἁμαρτίας; πόθεν δὲ ἴστε ὅτι ἁμαρτωλός ἐστι; Εἰπόντων δὲ αὐτῶν, ∆ὸς δόξαν τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ τούτου μηδὲν εἰπόντος, ἀπαντήσας ὁ Χριστὸς, ἐπῄνεσε καὶ οὐκ ἐνεκάλεσεν, οὐδὲ εἶπε, ∆ιατί οὐκ ἔδωκας δόξαν τῷ Θεῷ; ἀλλὰ τί; Πιστεύεις εἰς τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ; ἵνα μάθῃς, ὅτι τοῦτό ἐστι δοῦναι δόξαν τῷ Θεῷ. Εἰ δὲ οὐκ ἦν ἰσότιμος τῷ Πατρὶ, αὕτη δόξα οὐκ ἂν ἦν. Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ὁ τιμῶν τὸν Υἱὸν αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ τιμῶν τὸν Πατέρα, εἰκότως οὐκ ἐπιτιμᾶται ὁ τυφλός. Ὅτε μὲν οὖν προσεδόκων τοὺς γονεῖς ἀνανεύειν καὶ ἀρνεῖσθαι, οὐδὲν αὐτῷ ἔλεγον· ἐπειδὴ δὲ εἶδον οὐδὲν πλέον αὐτοῖς γεγενημένον ἐκ τούτου, ἐπὶ τοῦτον ἔρχονται πάλιν, λέγοντες, ὅτι Ἁμαρτωλός ἐστιν οὗτος. Ἀπεκρίθη ἐκεῖνος καὶ εἶπεν· Εἰ ἁμαρτωλός ἐστιν, οὐκ οἶδα· ἓν οἶδα, ὅτι τυφλὸς ὢν, ἄρτι βλέπω. Ἆρα μὴ ἐφοβήθη ὁ τυφλός; Μὴ γένοιτο. Καὶ πῶς ὁ εἰπὼν, ὅτι Προφήτης ἐστὶ, λέγει, Εἰ ἁμαρτωλός ἐστιν, οὐκ οἶδα; Οὐχ οὕτως ἔχων, οὐδὲ τοῦτο πεπεικὼς ἑαυτὸν, ἀλλὰ βουλόμενος ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ πράγματος μαρτυρίας, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς αὐτοῦ φωνῆς ἀπαλλάξαι τῶν ἐγκλημάτων αὐτὸν, καὶ ἀξιόπιστον ποιῆσαι τὴν ἀπολογίαν, τῆς ἀπὸ τῆς εὐεργεσίας μαρτυρίας καταψηφιζομένης αὐτῶν. Εἰ γὰρ μετὰ πλείονας λόγους εἰπόντος αὐτοῦ, ὅτι Εἰ μὴ οὗτος ἦν θεοσεβὴς, οὐκ ἠδύνατο τοιαῦτα σημεῖα ποιεῖν, οὕτως ἠγανάκτουν ὡς εἰπεῖν, Ἐν ἁμαρτίαις σὺ ἐγεννήθης ὅλος, καὶ σὺ διδάσκεις ἡμᾶς; εἰ ἐξ ἀρχῆς τοῦτο εἶπεν, τί οὐκ ἂν ἔπραξαν; τί δὲ οὐκ εἶπαν; Εἰ ἁμαρτωλός ἐστιν, οὐκ οἶδα; ὡσανεὶ ἔλεγεν· Οὐδὲν ὑπὲρ τοῦτον λέγω νῦν, οὐδὲ ἀποφαίνο 59.318 μαι τέως· ἐκεῖνο μέντοι οἶδα σαφῶς καὶ διισχυρισαίμην ἂν, ὅτι ἁμαρτωλὸς ὢν, οὐκ ἂν τοιαῦτα ἐποίησε. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἀνύποπτον ἐποίησεν ἑαυτὸν, καὶ τὴν μαρτυρίαν ἀδέκαστον, ὡς οὐκ ἔτι χαριζόμενος, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τοῦ πράγματος μαρτυρῶν. Ἐπεὶ οὖν οὐκ ἴσχυσαν ἀνατρέψαι οὐδὲ ἀνελεῖν τὸ γεγονὸς, πάλιν ἐπὶ τὸ πρότερον ἔρχονται, τὸν τρόπον τῆς θεραπείας περιεργαζόμενοι, καθάπερ τινὲς θήραν ἀσφαλῶς προκειμένην πάντοθεν διερευνώμενοι, καὶ νῦν μὲν ὧδε, νῦν δὲ ἐκεῖ περιτρέχοντες. Καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς προτέρους ἔρχονται λόγους, ἵνα πάλιν σαθροὺς αὐτοὺς ποιήσωσι τῷ συνεχῶς ἐρωτᾷν, καὶ λέγουσι· Τί ἐποίησέ σοι; πῶς ἀνέῳξέ σου τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς; Τί οὖν ἐκεῖνος; Νικήσας