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we have shown," not understanding the things that have been said, but cunningly mutilating the scriptures, narrating things obliquely, and introducing the arguments in a contrary manner, he neither speaks consistently and step-by-step nor does he narrate in an orderly sequence what Noetus or the Noetians from him understand. For just as they give a bad dog the name Lion, and call those who cannot see at all "far-seeing," and say that galls are sweet, and some have named vinegar honey, and some have named the Furies "the Kindly Ones," so also this man and those from him, having the name of Noetus, is senseless, and those from him act senselessly, not at all understanding the consistency of what they both say and what they put forward, so that 2.352 there is fulfilled for them what was said by the holy apostle "understanding neither what they are saying nor the things about which they make confident assertions." 7. For see, O brethren, how the divine scripture said above, or rather the Lord himself, as the beginning of the chapter has it; whence also it must be shown concerning the whole truth and argument in the chapter itself that "Ask me concerning my sons and my daughters, and concerning the works of my hands command me. I made, he says, the earth and man upon it, I with my hand established the heaven. I commanded all the stars, I have raised up a king with righteousness and all his ways are straight. He shall build my city and he shall restore the captivity, not with ransom nor with gifts, said the Lord of hosts." Then, next, "Egypt has labored and the merchandise of the Ethiopians" and what follows "because God is in you." And in whom might we say, if not in the paternal Word? For truly the Son is God the Word, and in him the Father is known, as he says "He who has seen me has seen the Father" and "I have glorified your name on the earth." Then again, "I have raised up a king." Do you not see that it is the distinct voice of the Father who raised up from himself the true Word as king over all, the one 2.353 truly begotten from him without beginning and without time? whom also he raised up again, the king himself, as the holy apostle says, stating "But if the Spirit of him who raised Christ from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies, through his Spirit who dwells in you," so that the prophetic might harmonize with the apostolic, and the apostolic with the evangelic, and the evangelic with the apostolic, and the apostolic with the prophetic; for there, "I have raised up a king," and here, "he who raises Christ from the dead." But "in you is God" shows, how mysteriously and wondrously the divine scripture relates all things. For just as dwelling in the flesh as in a temple, the divinity was foreseen and fore-announced to the hope of men through their turning to God. For the Son of God, God the Word, dwelling as God as in a holy city and in a holy temple, that is, in the holy incarnation and presence in the flesh, says concerning the holy temple, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." Because God the Word mystically orders all things, being sent from the Father in the flesh and showing a bond of spiritual love, he draws flesh to himself, making himself small, though he is great God, the Word himself being born of a virgin through the Holy Spirit, being the one Son of God, having made himself one in flesh and spirit, as he says, "He who descended is the same one who also ascended," "the Son of Man," "who is in heaven." 2.354 8. What then will Noetus say in his senselessness? Was flesh in heaven? It is clear that it was not. How then is he who descended from heaven the same one who also ascended? But it is to signify that the Word who came was not from below, but descended from above, since he became man in the flesh, not from the seed of a man, but from Spirit and flesh, having perfected his economy, for this reason, signifying one unity of the co-uniting of the Word and of the incarnation, he says that the one who came from above ascends above in the perfection of divinity. For even now he who was once not flesh,

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ὑπεδείξαμεν», οὐ νοῶν τὰ εἰρημένα, ἀλλὰ πανούργως περικόπτων τὰς γραφάς, λοξὰ μὲν διηγούμενος, ἀνθυπερβάτως δὲ εἰσάγων τοὺς λόγους, οὐκ ἀκολούθως καὶ περὶ πόδα φθέγγεται οὔτε καθ' εἱρμὸν διηγεῖται ὁ Νόητος ἢ οἱ ἐξ αὐτοῦ Νοητιανοί νοοῦσιν. ὥσπερ γὰρ κακῷ κυνὶ ὄνομα Λέων ἐπιτιθέασιν καὶ τοὺς μηδὲ ὅλως ὁρῶντας καλοῦσι πολὺ βλέποντας καὶ τὰς χολὰς γλυκείας φασὶ καὶ τὸ ὄξος μέλι τινὲς ἐπωνόμασαν καὶ τὰς Ἐρινύας Εὐμενίδας τινὲς ὠνόμασαν, οὕτως καὶ οὗτος καὶ οἱ ἀπ' αὐτοῦ, Νοήτου ἔχων ὄνομα, ἀνόητος ὑπάρχει καὶ οἱ ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἀνοητοῦντες, μηδὲ ὅλως τὴν ἀκολουθίαν ὧν τε φάσκει καὶ ὧν προβάλλονται νοοῦντες, ὡς καὶ 2.352 πληροῦσθαι ἐπ' αὐτοὺς τὸ εἰρημένον ὑπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου ἀποστόλου «μήτε ἃ λέγουσι νοοῦντες μήτε περὶ τίνων διαβεβαιοῦνται». 7. Ὁρᾶτε γάρ, ὦ ἄνδρες ἀδελφοί, πῶς ἀνώτερον ἔφη ἡ θεία γραφή, μᾶλλον δὲ αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος, ὡς ἔχει ἡ ἀρχὴ τοῦ κεφαλαίου· ὅθεν καὶ δεικτέον ἐστὶ περὶ τῆς πάσης ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ κεφαλαίῳ ἀληθείας τε καὶ ὑποθέσεως ὅτι «ἐρωτήσατέ με περὶ τῶν υἱῶν μου καὶ τῶν θυγατέρων μου, καὶ περὶ τῶν ἔργων τῶν χειρῶν μου ἐντείλασθέ μοι. ἐγὼ ἐποίησα, φησί, τὴν γῆν καὶ ἄνθρωπον ἐπ' αὐτῆς, ἐγὼ τῇ χειρί μου ἐστερέωσα τὸν οὐρανόν. ἐγὼ πᾶσι τοῖς ἄστροις ἐνετειλάμην, ἐγὼ ἤγειρα μετὰ δικαιοσύνης βασιλέα καὶ πᾶσαι αἱ ὁδοὶ αὐτοῦ εὐθεῖαι. οὗτος οἰκοδομήσει τὴν πόλιν μου καὶ τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν ἐπιστρέψει, οὐ μετὰ λύτρων οὐδὲ μετὰ δώρων, εἶπε κύριος σαβαώθ». εἶτα λοιπόν «ἐκοπίασεν Αἴγυπτος καὶ ἡ ἐμπορία Αἰθιόπων» καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς «ὅτι ἐν σοὶ ὁ θεός ἐστιν». ἐν τίνι δὲ φαίημεν ἀλλ' ἢ ἐν τῷ πατρῴῳ Λόγῳ; καὶ γὰρ ἀληθῶς θεὸς Λόγος ὁ υἱὸς καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ ὁ πατὴρ γινώσκεται, ὡς λέγει «ὁ ἑωρακὼς ἐμὲ ἑώρακεν τὸν πατέρα» καί «ἐγὼ ἐδόξασά σου τὸ ὄνομα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς». εἶτα πάλιν «ἐγὼ ἤγειρα βασιλέα». οὐχ ὁρᾷς ὅτι φωνή ἐστι πατρὸς ἰδιάζουσα ἡ ἐγείρασα ἐξ αὐτῆς τὸν ἀληθινὸν Λόγον βασιλέα ἐπὶ πάντας, τὸν 2.353 ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἀληθινῶς γεννηθέντα ἀνάρχως καὶ ἀχρόνως; ὃν καὶ ἤγειρε πάλιν, αὐτὸν τὸν βασιλέα, ὡς λέγει ὁ ἅγιος ἀπόστολος φάσκων «εἰ δὲ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ ἐγείραντος Χριστὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν οἰκεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν, ὁ ἐγείρας Χριστὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν ζωογονήσει καὶ τὰ θνητὰ σώματα ὑμῶν, διὰ τοῦ ἐνοικοῦντος πνεύματος αὐτοῦ ἐν ὑμῖν», ὅπως συνᾴδοι τὰ προφητικὰ τοῖς ἀποστολικοῖς καὶ τὰ ἀποστολικὰ τοῖς εὐαγγελικοῖς καὶ τὰ εὐαγγελικὰ τοῖς ἀποστολικοῖς καὶ τὰ ἀποστολικὰ τοῖς προφητικοῖς· ἐκεῖ γάρ «ἐγὼ ἤγειρα βασιλέα», καὶ ὧδε· «ὁ ἐγείρων Χριστὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν». τὸ δέ «ἐν σοὶ θεός ἐστιν» δείκνυσιν, ὡς μυστηριωδῶς τὰ πάντα καὶ θαυμασίως διηγεῖται ἡ θεία γραφή. ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐν ναῷ ἐν σαρκὶ κατοικοῦσα προεωρᾶτο καὶ προκατηγγέλλετο τῇ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐλπίδι διὰ τῆς πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ἐπιστροφῆς ἡ θεότης. ὁ γὰρ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ θεὸς Λόγος, ὡς ἐν πόλει ἁγίᾳ καὶ ἐν ναῷ ἁγίῳ τουτέστιν ἐν τῇ ἁγίᾳ ἐνανθρωπήσει καὶ ἐνσάρκῳ παρουσίᾳ θεὸς ὢν κατοικῶν, ἐπὶ τῷ ναῷ ἁγίῳ λέγει «λύσατε τὸν ναὸν τοῦτον καὶ ἐν τρισὶν ἡμέραις ἐγερῶ αὐτόν». διότι μυστικῶς τὰ πάντα οἰκονομεῖ ὁ θεὸς Λόγος ἀποσταλεὶς ἀπὸ πατρὸς ἐν σαρκὶ καὶ σύνδεσμον ἀγάπης πνευματικῆς δεικνὺς ἐφέλκεται σάρκα, σμικρύνας ἑαυτὸν μέγας ὢν θεός, αὐτὸς ὁ Λόγος ἐκ παρθένου διὰ πνεύματος ἁγίου γεννηθείς, υἱὸς θεοῦ εἷς ὤν, ἑαυτὸν σαρκὶ καὶ πνεύματι ἕνα τελέσας, ὡς λέγει «ὁ καταβὰς αὐτός ἐστι καὶ ὁ ἀναβάς, ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, ὁ ὢν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ». 2.354 8. Τί οὖν ἐρεῖ Νόητος ἐν τῇ αὐτοῦ ἀνοησίᾳ; μὴ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ σὰρξ ἦν; δῆλον ὅτι οὐκ ἦν. πῶς οὖν ὁ καταβὰς ἐξ οὐρανοῦ αὐτός ἐστιν καὶ ὁ ἀναβάς; ἀλλ' ἵνα τὸν ἐλθόντα Λόγον σημάνῃ οὐ κάτωθεν ὄντα, ἀλλ' ἄνωθεν κατελθόντα, ἐπειδὴ ἐνηνθρώπησε ἐν σαρκί, οὐκ ἀπὸ σπέρματος ἀνδρός, ἐκ πνεύματος δὲ καὶ σαρκὸς τελειώσας τὴν αὐτοῦ οἰκονομίαν, διὰ τοῦτο μίαν ἑνότητα σημαίνων τῆς τοῦ Λόγου συνενώσεως καὶ τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως φάσκει τὸν ἄνωθεν ἥκοντα ἄνω ἀνιέναι ἐν τελειώσει θεότητος. καὶ γὰρ νῦν ὁ μὴ ὤν ποτε σάρξ,