318

we ourselves groan, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.” And Isaiah also: “For as the new heaven and the new 2.462 earth, which I, he says, make, remain before me, says the Lord, so shall your seed and your name be.” And again, “Thus says the Lord who made the heaven, this God who formed the earth and made it, he established it, he did not create it in vain, but to be inhabited.” For truly not in vain nor for nothing unto destruction did God create the universe, according to those who think vain things, but for it to be and to be inhabited and to remain. Therefore it is necessary that both the earth and the heaven will exist again after the conflagration and boiling of all things. But why this is necessary would be a longer argument than what has been said. For the universe, having been dissolved, will be reconstituted neither into idle matter and such a state as it was even before its ordering, nor again into complete destruction and ruin. 40. But if: How then, if the universe is not destroyed, those from the opposition might say, did the Lord say that the heaven and the earth will pass away, and the prophet that the heaven will perish like smoke, and the earth will grow old like a garment? Since it is the custom of the scriptures, we will say, to call the change from this state of the world to a better and more glorious one destruction, as the former form is destroyed in the transformation of all things to a brighter state; because there is no contradiction or absurdity in the divine words. “For the form of this world is passing away,” and it is not said “the world.” Thus it is the custom of the scriptures 2.463 sometimes to call destruction the change of the former form to a better and more beautiful one, as for example when one might speak of the destruction of the form of a child in its change to a perfect man, as the age of the child is changed to greatness and beauty. “For when I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” For creation will be disturbed as if about to die at the conflagration, in order that it may also be recreated, but it is not to be expected that it will be destroyed, so that we who have been renewed may dwell in a renewed world without tasting grief, according to what was said in the one hundred and third psalm, “You will send forth your spirit, and they shall be created, and you will renew the face of the earth,” with God henceforth managing the well-temperedness of the environment. For since there will be an earth even after this age, it is altogether necessary that there will also be inhabitants, no longer about to die or to marry and beget children, but like angels, unchangeably doing the best things in incorruptibility. Therefore it is foolish to say in what state the bodies will then be, since there will be neither air nor earth nor the other things. 41. But it is worthwhile to consider that point also in addition to what has been said, how it contains much error, if we must speak freely, O Aglaophon, while discussing such great matters. For having stated that the Lord declared that those who 2.464 attain the resurrection will then be as angels, where the Sadducees tempt him, you added: “but the angels, being outside of flesh, are in the height of blessedness, and for this reason also of glory, and so it is necessary for us who are to be made equal to angels to be likewise bare of flesh as they are,” not understanding, O best of men, that he who made and ordered the universe out of nothing, adorned the nature of the immortals, distributing it not only into angels and ministers, but also into principalities and powers and thrones. For the race of angels is one thing, and that of principalities and powers is another, because there is not one order and one constitution and tribe and clan of the immortals, but races and tribes and differences. And neither are the Cherubim, departing from their own nature, refashioned into the form of angels, nor again into

318

ἑαυτοῖς στενάζομεν τὴν υἱοθεσίαν ἀπεκδεχόμενοι, τὴν ἀπολύτρωσιν τοῦ σώματος ἡμῶν». καὶ ὁ Ἠσαΐας δέ· «ὃν τρόπον γὰρ ὁ οὐρανὸς καινὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ 2.462 καινή, ἃ ἐγὼ φησί ποιῶ, μένει ἐνώπιόν μου, λέγει κύριος, οὕτως ἔσται τὸ σπέρμα ὑμῶν καὶ τὸ ὄνομα ὑμῶν». καὶ πάλιν «οὕτως λέγει κύριος ὁ ποιήσας τὸν οὐρανόν, οὗτος θεὸς ὁ κατασκευάσας τὴν γῆν καὶ ποιήσας αὐτήν, αὐτὸς διώρισεν αὐτήν, οὐκ εἰς κενὸν ἐποίησεν αὐτήν, ἀλλὰ κατοικεῖσθαι». ὄντως γὰρ οὐκ εἰς κενὸν οὐδὲ εἰς μάτην πρὸς ἀπώλειαν ἔκτισε κατὰ τοὺς φρονοῦντας μάταια τὸ πᾶν ὁ θεός, ἀλλὰ εἰς τὸ εἶναί τε καὶ οἰκεῖσθαι καὶ διαμένειν. διὸ ἀνάγκη δὴ καὶ τὴν γῆν αὖθις καὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν μετὰ τὴν ἐκφλόγωσιν ἔσεσθαι πάντων καὶ τὸν βρασμόν. διὰ τί δὲ τοῦτο ἀνάγκη, λόγος ἂν ἔτι πλείων τῶν εἰρημένων γίγνοιτο. οὔτε γὰρ εἰς ὕλην ἀργὴν καὶ τοιαύτην ἔτι κατάστασιν, οἵα καὶ πρὸ τῆς διακοσμήσεως ἦν, διαλυθὲν ἀναστοιχειωθήσεται τὸ πᾶν οὔτ' αὖ εἰς ἀπώλειαν παντελῆ καὶ φθοράν. 40. Ἐὰν δέ· πῶς οὖν, ἐὰν μὴ ἀπόλλυται τὸ πᾶν, οἱ ἐξ ἐναντίας εἴπωσιν, ὁ μὲν κύριος τὸν οὐρανὸν παρελεύσεσθαι ἔφη καὶ τὴν γῆν, ὁ δὲ προφήτης ἀπολεῖσθαι μὲν τὸν οὐρανὸν ὡς καπνόν, τὴν δὲ γῆν ὡς ἱμάτιον παλαιωθήσεσθαι; ἐπειδήπερ ἔθος ταῖς γραφαῖς, λέξομεν, τὴν εἰς τὸ κρεῖττον καὶ ἐνδοξότερον ἀπὸ ταύτης τῆς καταστάσεως τοῦ κόσμου μεταβολὴν ἀπώλειαν λέγειν, οἷον τοῦ πρόσθεν σχήματος ἀπολλυμένου κατὰ τὴν εἰς τὸ φαιδρότερον ἁπάντων ἐξαλλαγήν· ὅτι μηδεμία ὑπεναντίωσις ἢ ἀτοπία ἐν τοῖς θείοις λόγοις. «παράγει γὰρ τὸ σχῆμα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου» καὶ οὐχ ὁ κόσμος εἴρηται. οὕτως ἔθος ἀπώλειαν καλεῖν τὰς γραφὰς 2.463 τὴν πρὸς τὸ ἄμεινον ἔσθ' ὅτε καὶ εὐμορφότερον τροπὴν τοῦ πρόσθεν σχήματος, οἷον ὥσπερ ὁπόταν τις ἀπώλειαν λέγοι τοῦ κατὰ τὸ νήπιον σχήματος τὴν εἰς τὸν ἄνδρα τὸν τέλειον μεταλλαγήν, τρεπομένης εἰς μέγεθος καὶ κάλλος τῆς ἡλικίας τοῦ νηπίου. «ὅτε γὰρ ἤμην νήπιος, ὡς νήπιος ἐλάλουν, ὡς νήπιος ἐφρόνουν, ὡς νήπιος ἐλογιζόμην, ὅτε δὲ γέγονα ἀνήρ, κατήργηκα τὰ τοῦ νηπίου». ταραχθήσεσθαι μὲν γὰρ τὴν κτίσιν ὥσπερ τεθνηξομένην κατὰ τὴν ἐκπύρωσιν, ἵνα καὶ ἀνακτισθῇ, οὐ μὴν ἀπολεῖσθαι προσδοκητέον, ὅπως οἱ ἀνακαινοποιηθέντες ἐν ἀνακαινοποιηθέντι τῷ κόσμῳ ἄγευστοι λύπης κατοικήσωμεν, κατὰ τὸ λεχθέν «ἐξαποστελεῖς τὸ πνεῦμά σου καὶ κτισθήσονται» ἐν ἑκατοστῷ τρίτῳ ψαλμῷ «καὶ ἀνακαινιεῖς τὸ πρόσωπον τῆς γῆς», τοῦ περιέχοντος τῆς εὐκρασίας ἐπιτροπεύοντος λοιπὸν τοῦ θεοῦ. ἐσομένης γὰρ καὶ μετὰ τοῦτον τὸν αἰῶνα γῆς ἀνάγκη πᾶσα ἔσεσθαι καὶ τοὺς οἰκήσοντας, οὐκέτι τεθνηξομένους ἢ γαμήσοντας καὶ γεννησομένους, ἀλλ' ὡς ἀγγέλους ἀμεταστρόφως ἐν ἀφθαρσίᾳ τὰ ἄριστα πράξοντας. διὸ ληρῶδες τὸ ἐν ποίᾳ διαγωγῇ τότε δὴ τὰ σώματα ἔσονται λέγεσθαι, μήτε ἀέρος μήτε γῆς μήτε τῶν ἄλλων ἐσομένων. 41. Ἄξιον δὲ κἀκεῖνο πρὸς τοῖς εἰρημένοις ἐπισκοπεῖν, ὡς ἔχει πολλὴν διάπτωσιν, εἰ δεῖ παρρησίαν ἄγειν περὶ τηλικούτων, ὦ Ἀγλαοφῶν, διαλεγομένους πραγμάτων. φράσας γὰρ ἀποφήνασθαι τὸν κύριον ὡς οἱ 2.464 τῆς ἀναστάσεως τευξόμενοι ἔσονται τότε ὡς ἄγγελοι, ἔνθα πειράζουσιν αὐτὸν οἱ Σαδδουκαῖοι, ἐπέφερες «οἱ δὲ ἄγγελοι ἐκτὸς ὄντες σαρκὸς ἐν μακαριότητος ἀκρότητι, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ δόξης εἰσί, καὶ ἡμᾶς δὲ ἄρα ἐξισάζεσθαι μέλλοντας ἀγγέλοις ἀνάγκη δὴ σαρκῶν ὡσαύτως ἐκείνοις γυμνοὺς ἔσεσθαι δεῖν», οὐκ ἐπιστήσας, ὦ ἄριστε, ὡς ὁ ποιήσας καὶ διακοσμήσας ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων τὸ πᾶν τὴν τῶν ἀθανάτων φύσιν οὐ μόνον εἰς ἀγγέλους καὶ λειτουργοὺς διανείμας ἐκόσμησεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς ἀρχὰς καὶ ἐξουσίας καὶ θρόνους. ἄλλο γὰρ γένος τὸ τῶν ἀγγέλων καὶ ἄλλο τὸ τῶν ἀρχῶν καὶ ἐξουσιῶν, ὅτι μὴ τάγμα ἓν καὶ μία σύστασις καὶ φυλὴ καὶ φατριὰ τῶν ἀθανάτων, ἀλλὰ γένη καὶ φυλαὶ καὶ διαφοραί. καὶ οὔτε τὰ Χερουβὶμ τῆς ἰδίας ἐξιστάμενα φύσεως εἰς τὴν τῶν ἀγγέλων ἰδέαν μετασκευάζονται οὔτε αὖ πάλιν εἰς