350

proclaimed what was seen, holding the truth firmly established in four ways: from natural dogma, from patristic usages, from synodical pronouncements, and from ancient legislation. According to natural consequence, for example, the evangelist John points this out, saying: And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. If, therefore, the Word was made flesh, it is clear that as Word He is uncircumscribable, but as flesh He is circumscribed; and, if He dwelt among us (and the one dwelling is one thing and the dwelling another), in one respect He would be circumscribed, but in another He is superior to circumscription. Since, by what signs will He be recognized as having become man, if He does not naturally possess the property of being depicted, which is primary in a formed man, and by the removal of which man vanishes? But indeed He is truly man; therefore, as man He is circumscribed, He who as God is uncircumscribable. For which reason He was named mediator of God and men, as joining both extremes to Himself and being both, and possessing without deficiency in one hypostasis the properties of both natures from which He was composed, from the Father, with all things, also His uncircumscribability, since He said, All things that are mine are yours, and yours are mine, and from His mother, with all things, also His circumscribability, since it is written, For surely He does not lay hold of angels, but He lays hold of the seed of Abraham. Wherefore He had to be made like His brethren in all things. Therefore, one property in either nature being removed is by nature bound to remove with it all kindred properties, and when the properties are removed, it is clear that their natures are also removed with them. And, as a witness to this argument, the hieromartyr Justin says somewhere as follows: For nothing of existing things remains what it is, if even one of the properties naturally belonging to it is lacking; and hence the tenets of our faith are rendered void by the new hypothesis. Following the evangelist, then, the apostle also says this: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant. Therefore, if, being in the form of God, He took the form of a servant, irrefutably, in as much as He is in the form of God, He is not depicted, because the divine is beyond comprehension; but in as much as He took the form of a servant, He is depicted, because the servile form is defined by comprehension through touch and color. For how will He be believed to have been made in the likeness of men, if He is not by nature depicted in the same way as men? And how will He be said to have been found in fashion as a man, if He is not seen delineated in human fashion? You see, most serene ones, how, being obligated to be made like His brethren in all things, of whose flesh and blood He likewise partook, He must of necessity have the property of being depicted equally with them? But if not, He has not been made like them, and the one who declared it has spoken falsely, and the nature has been altered. And indeed God the Word Himself says somewhere as follows: Why do you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God? But one who is not depicted would never call himself a man, nor would one who is by nature able to be killed not also be by nature able to be depicted; for the one is both introductory to and confirmatory of the other. This is He who was put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit, as the blessed Peter has said; what else could this be than to say that He is depicted in the flesh, but not depicted in the spirit? This is He who said, and he who eats me, he also will live because of me; but one who is not circumscribed would not speak of being eaten, unless perhaps He were a phantom. Which if we should accept, we will fall into the opinion of Manichaeus, rejecting the great mystery of godliness; for he too says that the Son manifested His own substance on the mountain in what was visible and invisible, not having two natures, but one. So that also those who insist that Christ is not to be circumscribed, as professing one nature, are convicted of falling in with his opinion; for what is uncircumscribable is also incorporeal,

350

ὁρώμενον ἀνεκήρυξε, τέτρασι τρόποις ἐρηρεισμένως τὸ ἀληθὲς ἔχουσα, ἔκ τε φυσικοῦ δόγματος, παρά τε πατρικῶν χρήσεων, ἔκ τε συνοδικῶν ἐκφωνήσεων καὶ παρὰ ἀρχαίας θεσμοθεσίας. κατὰ μὲν οὖν φυσικὴν ἀκολουθίαν, φέρε εἰπεῖν, ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς Ἰωάννης ὑποδείκνυσι λέγων· καὶ ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν. εἰ τοίνυν ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο, δῆλον ὅτι ὡς μὲν λόγος ἀπερίγραπτος, ὡς δὲ σὰρξ περιγραφόμενος· καί, εἰ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν (ἄλλο δὲ τὸ σκηνοῦν καὶ ἕτερον ἡ σκηνή), καθ' ἕτερον μὲν περιγράφοιτο, καθ' ἕτερον δὲ περιγραφῆς ἀνώτερος. ἐπεί, ποίοις σημείοις ἄνθρωπος γεγονέναι ἐπιγνωσθήσεται, εἰ μὴ τὸ τῆς ἐξεικονίσεως ἰδίωμα, ὅπερ ἐστὶ πρῶτον ἐν μεμορφωμένῳ ἀνθρώπῳ, φυσικῶς κέκτηται, οὗ τῇ ἀναιρέσει φροῦδος ὁ ἄνθρωπος; ἀλλὰ μὴν ἄνθρωπος ἀληθῶς, οὐκοῦν καὶ ὡς ἄνθρωπος περιγραφόμενος ὁ ὡς θεὸς ὢν ἀπερίγραπτος. ἐφ' ᾧπερ λόγῳ μεσίτης θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων ἐχρημάτισεν, ὡς τὰ ἀμφότερα ἄκρα πρὸς ἑαυτὸν συνάπτων καὶ ἀμφότερα ὑπάρχων καὶ τὰ τῶν ἀμφοτέρων ἐξ ὧν συνετέθη φύσεων ἰδιώματα ἐν μιᾷ ὑποστάσει ἀνελλιπῶς κεκτημένος, ἔκ τε πατρὸς σὺν πᾶσι καὶ τὸ ἀπερίγραπτον, ἐπείπερ εἴρηκε, πάντα τὰ ἐμὰ σά ἐστι καὶ τὰ σὰ ἐμά, ἔκ τε μητρὸς σὺν πᾶσι καὶ τὸ περιγραπτόν, ἐπείπερ γέγραπται, οὐ γὰρ δήπου ἀγγέλων ἐπιλαμβάνεται, ἀλλὰ σπέρματος Ἀβραὰμ ἐπιλαμβάνεται. ὅθεν ὤφειλε κατὰ πάντα τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ὁμοιωθῆναι. ἓν οὖν καθ' ἑκατέραν φύσιν ἀναιρούμενον ἰδίωμα συναναιρεῖν πέφυκεν ἐξ ἀναγκαίου πάντα τὰ ὁμόστοιχα, ἀναιρουμένων δὲ τῶν ἰδιωμάτων δῆλον ὅτι συναναιροῦνται καὶ αἱ τούτων φύσεις. καί, μάρτυς τοῦ λόγου, ὁ ἱερομάρτυς Ἰουστῖνος ὧδέ πού φησι· οὐδὲν γὰρ διαμένει τῶν ὄντων ὅπερ ἐστίν, ἑνὸς καὶ μόνου τῶν προσόντων αὐτῷ φυσικῶς ἐλλείποντος· κἀντεῦθεν φροῦδα τὰ τῆς πίστεως ἡμῶν ἐκ τῆς καινῆς ὑποθέσεως καθέστηκεν. ἑπομένως δ' οὖν τῷ εὐαγγελιστῇ καὶ ὁ ἀπόστολος τάδε φησίν· ὅς, ἐν μορφῇ θεοῦ ὑπάρχων, οὐχ ἁρπαγμὸν ἡγήσατο τὸ εἶναι ἴσα θεῷ, ἀλλ' ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσε μορφὴν δούλου λαβών. τοίνυν, εἴπερ ἐν μορφῇ θεοῦ ὑπάρχων μορφὴν δούλου ἔλαβεν, ἀναντιρρήτως, ᾗ μὲν ἐν μορφῇ θεοῦ ὑπάρχει, οὐκ ἐξεικονίζεται, ὅτιπερ τὸ θεῖον ὑπὲρ κατάληψιν, ᾗ δὲ μορφὴν δούλου ἔλαβεν, ἐξεικονίζεται, ὅτι ὑπὸ κατάληψιν τῆς ἐν ἁφῇ τε καὶ χροιᾷ ἡ δουλικὴ μορφὴ περιορίζεται. πῶς γὰρ ἐν ὁμοιώματι ἀνθρώπων γεγονέναι πιστευθήσεται, εἰ μὴ ὁμοίως τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἐξεικονίζεσθαι πέφυκε; πῶς δὲ καὶ σχήματι εὑρεθῆναι ὡς ἄνθρωπος λεχθήσεται, εἰ μὴ τῷ ἀνθρωπίνῳ σχήματι γεγραμμένος ὀφθήσεται; Ὁρᾶτε, ὦ γαληνότατοι, πῶς, ὀφειλομένως κατὰ πάντα τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ὁμοιούμενος, οἷς καὶ παραπλησίως μετέσχηκε σαρκὸς καὶ αἵματος, ἐξ ἀναγκαίου ἔχοι τὸ ἐπίσης τούτοις ἐξεικονίζεσθαι; εἰ δὲ μή, οὐχ ὡμοίωται, καὶ διέψευσται ὁ ἀποφηνάμενος, καὶ ἡ φύσις παρήλλακται. καὶ μὴν αὐτὸς ὁ θεὸς καὶ λόγος ὧδέ πού φησι· τί με ζητεῖτε ἀποκτεῖναι, ἄνθρωπον, ὃς τὴν ἀλήθειαν ὑμῖν λελάληκα, ἣν ἤκουσα παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ; οὐκ ἂν δὲ ὁ μὴ ἐξεικονιζόμενος ἄνθρωπον ἑαυτὸν εἴποιέ ποτε, οὐδ' ἂν ὁ πεφυκὼς ἀποκτένεσθαι μὴ οὐχὶ πεφυκὼς εἴη καὶ τοῦ ἐξεικονίζεσθαι· θάτερον γὰρ θατέρου εἰσαγωγικόν τε καὶ ὁμολογητικόν. οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ θανατωθεὶς μὲν σαρκί, ζωοποιηθεὶς δὲ πνεύματι, καθὼς ὁ μακάριος Πέτρος λέλεχε· τί δ' ἄλλο εἶεν τοῦτο ἢ τὸ φάναι ἐξεικονίζεσθαι σαρκί, οὐκ ἐξεικονιζόμενον πνεύματι; οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ εἰρηκώς, καὶ ὁ τρώγων με, κἀκεῖνος ζήσεται δι' ἐμέ· οὐκ ἂν δὲ ὁ μὴ περιγραφόμενος εἴποιεν ἐσθίεσθαι, εἰ μή τί γε ἆρα φάντασμα εἶεν. ὅπερ εἰ καταδεξοίμεθα, ἐμπεσούμεθα εἰς τὸ τοῦ Μανιχαίου φρόνημα, ἀποσκευαζόμενοι τὸ μέγα τῆς εὐσεβείας μυστήριον· καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος ἐν τῷ ὁρατῷ καὶ ἀοράτῳ τὸν υἱὸν τὴν ἰδίαν οὐσίαν ἐν τῷ ὄρει πεφανερωκέναι φησίν, οὐ δύο ἔχοντα φύσεις, ἀλλὰ μίαν. ὥστε καὶ οἱ μὴ περιγράφεσθαι Χριστὸν διισχυριζόμενοι, ὡς μίαν φύσιν πρεσβεύοντες, ἐκείνου τῷ φρονήματι συνεμπίπτειν ἀπελέγχονται· ὃ γὰρ ἀπερίγραπτον, τοῦτο καὶ ἀσώματον,