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contentiousness, and from these and many other things one might refute them. For we will demonstrate in what follows, as the discourse proceeds, by the truths of nature and not by conjectures, that neither did Jeremiah call us “prisoners” of the “earth” on account of our fellowship with the body, nor David, in this respect, “fettered.” For it is worthwhile to bring forward these points in which they seem especially to fall away. Therefore, concerning the garments of skin, and that before their making the first-formed lived with a body, enjoying immortality, and furthermore, how the body cannot be considered a bond and a prison, having said what is fitting, O men, judges—for I call you judges of these words, O most excellent Theophilus—I will now turn to what follows, as I promised, of the matters before us, that we may see more clearly what we wish. 26. God, the creator of all things, when He had orderly constituted the universe like a great city and adorned it, commanding by the Word, and each element was harmoniously fitted to it and all things were filled with 2.442 different kinds of living creatures, so that the world might be perfectly increased in beauty, having brought to life forms of every nature—stars in the heaven and winged creatures in the air, quadrupeds on the earth and swimming creatures in the water—lastly man, having prepared the universe for him as a most beautiful house, He introduced into the world a similar imitation of His own image, having fashioned a bright statue as in a beautiful temple with His own hands. For He knew that whatever He should fashion with His own hand would by necessity be immortal, being a work of immortality. For by immortality the immortal become immortal, just as evil things are evil by evil, and unjust things are unjust by injustice. For to do wrong is not the work of justice but of injustice, nor, conversely, is to do justly the work of injustice but of justice, just as to cause corruption is not the work of incorruption but of corruption, nor to make immortal the work of corruption but of incorruption. And in short, whatever the maker is, by the same principle it follows that the thing made is by necessity produced to be of the same sort. But God is immortality and life and incorruption, and man is the work of God. Everything worked by immortality is immortal; therefore man is immortal. Therefore He Himself fashioned man with His own hands, but the other kinds of living creatures He commanded the air and earth and water to bring forth. But man is most truly said according to nature to be neither soul without body, nor again body without soul, but that which is composed from the constitution of soul and body into one beautiful form. Whence from this it appears that man was indeed made immortal, beyond all corruption and disease. And one might learn this sufficiently also from the 2.443 scripture. For in the case of the others, as many as are adorned by the intervals of time, becoming young and growing old, it is said, “Let the waters bring forth creeping things with living souls, and birds flying over the earth in the firmament of heaven,” and “Let the earth bring forth the living soul after its kind, four-footed beasts, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind”; but in the case of man it is no longer in the same way as with those—let the earth bring forth, or let the waters bring forth, or let there be lights—but, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over all the cattle,” and “God took dust from the earth and formed man.” 27. And so that you also may perceive the difference more clearly, how man, being different in whole and in every way from the others and being reckoned in the second honor of the angels, is found to be immortal, come, let us again treat this also according to the true and orthodox reasoning. For to the one it was given to be ensouled and to live from the in-breathing of the spirit in the air, but to the other from immortality itself and a pre-eminent substance. “For God breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul.” And to the ones it was commanded to serve and be ruled, but to the other to rule and

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φιλονεικίαν καὶ ἐκ τούτων ἄν τις καὶ ἐξ ἑτέρων ἐλέγχοι πλειόνων. ἀποδείξομεν γὰρ ἐν τοῖς ἑξῆς προβαίνοντος τοῦ λόγου φύσεως ἀληθεύμασι καὶ οὐκ εἰκασίαις μήτε τὸν Ἰερεμίαν «δεσμίους» ἡμᾶς «γῆς» διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὸ σῶμα κοινωνίαν εἰρηκέναι μήτε τὸν ∆αυὶδ κατὰ τοῦτο «πεπεδημένους». ἄξιον γὰρ καὶ ταῦτα προφέρειν ἐν οἷς μάλιστα φαίνονται διαπίπτοντες. περὶ μὲν οὖν τῶν δερματίνων χιτώνων καὶ ὅτι πρὸ τῆς κατασκευῆς αὐτῶν οἱ πρωτόπλαστοι διῆγον μετὰ σώματος, ἀθανασίας ἀπολαύοντες, ἔτι τε καὶ ὡς οὐ δύναται τὸ σῶμα δεσμὸς καὶ εἱρκτὴ νομίζεσθαι, τὰ προσήκοντα εἰπών, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί δικαστὰς γὰρ ὑμᾶς τῶν λόγων, ὦ κράτιστε Θεόφιλε, καλῶ, τρέψομαι λοιπὸν ἐπὶ τὰ ἀκόλουθα, καθάπερ ὑπεσχόμην, τῶν προκειμένων, ἵν' εὐκρινέστερον ἴδωμεν ὃ βουλόμεθα. 26. Ὁ τῶν ὅλων δημιουργὸς θεός, ἐπειδὴ τὸ πᾶν εὐτάκτως συνεστήσατο καθάπερ μεγάλην πόλιν καὶ διεκόσμησε προστάσσων τῷ λόγῳ, ἕκαστόν τε αὐτῷ συμφώνως ἥρμοστο στοιχεῖον καὶ πάντα ζῴων πεπλήρωτο 2.442 διαφοραῖς, ἵνα τελείως ὁ κόσμος εἰς κάλλος αὐξηθῇ, παντοίας φύσεως ζωοτοκήσας μορφάς, ἄστρα μὲν κατὰ τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ πτηνὰ κατὰ τὸν ἀέρα, τετράποδα δὲ κατὰ τὴν γῆν καὶ νηκτὰ κατὰ τὸ ὕδωρ, τελευταῖον τὸν ἄνθρωπον, προετοιμάσας ὡς οἰκίαν αὐτῷ καλλίστην τὸ πᾶν, μίμημα τῆς ἰδίας εἰκόνος ἐμφερὲς εἰς τὸν κόσμον εἰσήγαγεν, ἄγαλμα ὡς ἐν ναῷ καλῷ φαιδρὸν ταῖς ἑαυτοῦ χερσὶ κατασκευάσας. ἠπίστατο γὰρ ὅτι πάντως ὅπερ ἂν τῇ ἑαυτοῦ τεχνήσηται χειρί, ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἔσται ἀθάνατον, ἅτε ἀθανασίας ἔργον ὄν. ἀθανασίᾳ γὰρ ἀθάνατα τὰ ἀθάνατα γίγνεται, καθάπερ καὶ τὰ κακὰ κακίᾳ κακὰ καὶ τὰ ἄδικα ἀδικίᾳ ἄδικα. οὐ γὰρ δικαιοσύνης ἔργον τὸ ἀδικεῖν ἀλλὰ ἀδικίας, οὐδ' αὖ ἀδικίας ἀντιστρόφως τὸ δικαιοπραγεῖν ἔργον ἀλλὰ δικαιοσύνης, ὥσπερ οὐδὲ ἀφθαρσίας τὸ φθείρεσθαι ποιεῖν ἀλλὰ φθορᾶς, οὐδὲ φθορᾶς τὸ ἀθανατίζειν ἀλλ' ἀφθαρσίας. καὶ συλλήβδην οἷον ἂν ᾖ τὸ ποιοῦν, κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν οὕτως λόγον τοιοῦτο καὶ τὸ ποιούμενον ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἀπεργάζεσθαι συμβαίνει. ὁ δὲ θεὸς ἀθανασία καὶ ζωὴ καὶ ἀφθαρσία, ἔργον δὲ ἄνθρωπος θεοῦ. πᾶν δὲ τὸ ὑπὸ ἀθανασίας ἐργασθὲν ἀθάνατον· ἀθάνατος ἄρα ὁ ἄνθρωπος. διὸ δὴ τὸν μὲν ἄνθρωπον αὐτούργησεν αὐτός, τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ γένη τῶν ζῴων ἀέρι καὶ γῇ καὶ ὕδατι προσέταξε φέρειν. ἄνθρωπος δὲ ἀληθέστατα λέγεται κατὰ φύσιν οὔτε ψυχὴ χωρὶς σώματος οὔτ' αὖ σῶμα χωρὶς ψυχῆς, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐκ συστάσεως ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος εἰς μίαν τὴν τοῦ καλοῦ μορφὴν συντεθέν. ὅθεν ἐντεῦθεν ἀθάνατον δὴ τὸν ἄνθρωπον γεγονέναι φαίνεται, φθορᾶς τε ἁπάσης καὶ νόσων ἐκτός. μάθοι δ' ἄν τις τοῦτο καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς 2.443 γραφῆς ἱκανῶς. ἐπὶ μὲν γὰρ τῶν ἄλλων, ὁπόσα χρόνων μετακοσμοῦνται διαστολαῖς ἡβῶντα καὶ γηράσκοντα, «ἐξαγαγέτω» λέγεται «τὰ ὕδατα ἑρπετὰ ψυχῶν ζωσῶν καὶ πετεινὰ πετόμενα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς κατὰ τὸ στερέωμα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ» καί «ἐξαγαγέτω ἡ γῆ ψυχὴν ζῶσαν κατὰ γένος, τετράποδα καὶ ἑρπετὰ καὶ θηρία τῆς γῆς κατὰ γένος»· ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ὡσαύτως ἐκείνοις οὐκέτι, ἐξαγαγέτω ἡ γῆ ἢ ἐξαγαγέτω τὰ ὕδατα ἢ γενηθήτωσαν φωστῆρες, ἀλλὰ «ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ καθ' ὁμοίωσιν ἡμετέραν, καὶ ἀρχέτωσαν τῶν ἰχθύων τῆς θαλάσσης καὶ τῶν πετεινῶν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ πάντων τῶν κτηνῶν» καί «ἔλαβεν ὁ θεὸς χοῦν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἔπλασε τὸν ἄνθρωπον». 27. Καὶ ἵνα δὴ μᾶλλον καὶ ὑμεῖς τὴν διαφορὰν αἴσθησθε, ὡς ἐν ὅλῳ καὶ παντὶ τῶν ἄλλων διαφέρων καὶ ἐν δευτέρᾳ τιμῇ τῶν ἀγγέλων ἐγκαταλεχθεὶς ὁ ἄνθρωπος εὑρίσκεται ἀθάνατος ὤν, φέρε κατὰ τὸν ἀληθῆ πάλιν καὶ ὀρθόδοξον καὶ τοῦτο διαλάβωμεν λογισμόν. τοῖς μὲν γὰρ ἀπὸ τῆς εἰσπνοῆς τοῦ κατὰ τὸν ἀέρα πνεύματος τὸ ἐμψυχῶσθαι ἐδόθη καὶ ζῆν, τῷ δὲ ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀθανάτου καὶ διαφερούσης οὐσίας. «ἐνεφύσησε γὰρ ὁ θεὸς εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ πνοὴν ζωῆς καὶ ἐγένετο ὁ ἄνθρωπος εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν». καὶ τοῖς μὲν δουλεύειν καὶ ἄρχεσθαι προσετάγη, τῷ δὲ ἄρχειν καὶ