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essential energies, that is, movements, of which he himself was the unconfused union, not admitting division in both the natures of which he himself was the hypostasis, since he was acting fittingly for himself in a unitary way, that is, in a single mode, and through each of the things done by him, by the power of his own divinity, he inseparably co-manifested the energy of his own flesh. For since he is one, nothing is more unitary, (1045) nor again is he himself entirely more unitary or more saving than his own [properties]. For this reason, He who suffered was truly God, and He who worked miracles was truly the same man, because he was also the true hypostasis of true natures according to an ineffable union. In which, acting suitably and fittingly, he was shown saving them truly unconfused while he himself was preserved; since he remained by nature impassible and passible, immortal and mortal, visible and conceivable, as the same one who is by nature God and by nature man. Thus then, to speak for myself, the Master by nature honors obedience, and is tested in this by suffering, not only that he might save the whole nature for his own by cleansing it from what is worse, but also that he might test our obedience, learning by the experience of our things that which pertains to us, he who by nature circumscribes all knowledge, how much is required of us, and how much is conceded to us towards perfect submission, through which he is constituted by nature to bring to the Father those who are saved, who have appeared according to him by the power of grace. How great and truly awesome is the mystery of our salvation. For we are required as much as he is by nature that which pertains to us, but we are conceded as much as he for our sake in union is that which pertains to us. Unless perhaps the disposition of a sin-loving will makes the weakness of nature the matter of evil. And this great teacher is clearly of this mind, confirming it in what follows. For he says: " For if the light was pursued on account of what was put forth, shining in the darkness, in this life, by the other darkness, I mean of the evil one and the tempter, how much the darkness, as being weaker? And what wonder is it, if when he escaped completely, we should be overtaken in some way? For to be pursued was a greater thing for him, than for us to be overtaken, among those who reason these things correctly."

To the letter to Gaius the therapeut from Dionysius the Areopagite, bishop of Athens: " How, you say, is Jesus, who is beyond all things, essentially ranked with all men? For he is not called man here as the cause of men, but as being himself in his whole essence truly man."

Because according to the simple interpretation of Holy Scripture, as the cause of all things God is signified to all

by the (1048) names derived from the things from him, thinking, perhaps, that even after the incarnation God was again called man only in this manner, the great Dionysius corrects Gaius the therapeut with these words, teaching that the incarnate God of all is not simply called man, but as being himself in his whole essence truly man. Of which the sole and true proof is its constitutive power according to nature, which one would not err from the truth in calling a natural energy, properly and primarily characteristic of it, as being a species-forming movement, the most generic of every comprehensive property naturally belonging to it, without which only non-being exists, as only that which in no way is, according to this great teacher, has neither movement nor existence. At any rate, he most clearly teaches that the incarnate God denied nothing at all of our things, except sin, since it was not of nature, being not simply man, but himself in his whole essence truly man

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οὐσιώδεις ἐνεργείας, ἤγουν κινήσεις, ὧν αὐτός ἕνωσις ἦν ἀσύγχυτος, μή δεχομένη διαίρεσιν κατ᾿ ἄμφω τάς φύσεις ὧν αὐτός ὑπόστασις ἦν, εἴπερ ἑαυτῷ προσφυῶς μοναδικῶς, τουτέστιν ἑνοειδῶς ἐνεργῶν, καί δι᾿ ἑκάστου τῶν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ γινομένων τῇ δυνάμει τῆς ἑαυτοῦ θεότητος ἀχωρίστως συνεκφαίνων τῆς οἰκείας σαρκός τήν ἐνέργειαν. Αὐτοῦ γάρ ἑνός ὄντος οὐδέν ἑνικώτερον, (1045) οὐδ᾿ αὐτοῦ πάλιν τῶν ἑαυτοῦ παντελῶς ἐνικώτερον ἤ σωστικώτερον. ∆ιά τοῦτο καί πάσχω Θεός ἦν ἀληθῶς, καί θαυματουργῶν ἄνθρωπος ἦν ὁ αὐτός ἀληθῶς, ὅτι καί φύσεων ἀληθῶν καθ᾿ ἕνωσιν ἄῤῥητον ὑπόστασις ἦν ἀληθής. Αἷς καταλλήλως τε καί προσφυῶς ἐνεργῶν ἐδείκνυτο σώζων αὐτάς ἀληθῶς ἀσυγχύτους σωζόμενος· εἴπερ ἀπαθής μεμένηκε φύσει καί παθητός, ἀθάνατος καί θνητός, ὁρατός καί νοούμενος, ὡς φύσει Θεός καί φύσει ἄνθρωπος ὁ αὐτός. Οὕτω μέν οὖν, κατ᾿ ἐμέ φάναι, τιμᾷ τήν ὑπακοήν ὁ φύσει ∆εσπότης, καί πειρᾶται ταύτης ἐκ τοῦ παθεῖν, οὐχ ἵνα σώσῃ μόνον τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ τήν ἅπασαν φύσιν ἀποκαθάρας τοῦ χείρονος, ἀλλ᾿ ἵνα καί τήν ἡμετέραν ὑπακοήν δοκιμάσῃ μανθάνων τῇ πείρᾳ τῶν ἡμετέρων τά καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς, ὁ πᾶσαν γνῶσιν τῇ φύσει περιγράφων, πόσον μέν ἀπαιτούμεθα, πόσον δέ συγχωρούμεθα πρός τήν τελείαν ὑποταγήν, δι᾿ ἧς προσάγειν πέφυκε τῷ Πατρί τούς σωζομένους, κατ᾿ αὐτόν φανέντας τῇ δυνάμει τῆς χάριτος. Ὡς μέγα καί φρικτόν ὄντως τό τῆς ἡμῶν σωτηρίας μυστήριον. Ἀπαιτούμεθα γάρ ὅσον ἐκεῖνος φύσει τό καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς, συγχωρούμεθα δέ ὅσον αὐτός ὑπέρ ἡμᾶς ἑνώσει τό καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς. Εἰ μήπου γνώμης φιλαμαρτήμονος ἕξις ποιεῖται κακίας ὕλην τῆς φύσεως τήν ἀσθένειαν. Καί δῆλός ἐστι ταύτης ὑπάρχων τῆς ἐννοίας ὁ πολύς οὗτος διδάσκαλος, τοῖς ἑξῆς αὐτήν βεβαιῶν. Φησί γάρ· " Εἰ γάρ τό φῶς ἐδιώχθη διά τό πρόβλημα, φαῖνον ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ, τῷ βίῳ τούτῳ, ὑπό τῆς ἄλλης σκοτίας, τοῦ πονηροῦ λέγω καί τοῦ πειραστοῦ, τό σκότος πόσον, ὡς ἀσθενέστερον; Καί τί θαυμαστόν, εἰ ἐκείνου διαφυγόντος παντάπασιν ἡμεῖς ποσῶς καταληφθείημεν; Μεῖζον γάρ ἐκείνῳ τό διωχθῆναι, ἤπερ ἡμῖν τό καταληφθῆναι, παρά τοῖς ὀρθῶς ταῦτα λογιζομένοις."

Εἰς τήν πρός Γάϊον τόν θεραπευτήν ἐπιστολήν τοῦ ∆ιονυσίου τοῦ Ἀρεοπαγίτου, ἐπισκόπου Ἀθηνῶν· " Πῶς, φής, Ἰησοῦς, ὁ πάντων ἐπέκεινα, πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις ἐστίν οὐσιωδῶς συντεταγμένος; Οὐδέ γάρ ὡς αἴτιος ἀνθρώπων ἐνθάδε λέγεται ἄνθρωπος, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς αὐτός κατ᾿ οὐσίαν ὅλην ἀληθῶςἄνθρωπος ὤν."

Ἐπειδή κατά τήν ἁπλῆν ἐκδοχήν τῆς ἁγίας Γραφῆς, ὡς πάντων αἴτιος ὁ Θεός πᾶσι

σημαίνεται τοῖς (1048) τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ παρηγμένων ὀνόμασιν, οἰόμενον, τυχόν, καί μετά τήν σάρκωσιν τούτῳ μόνῳ τῷ τρόπῳ πάλιν ἄνθρωπον τόν Θεόν ὀνομάζεσθαι τούτοις τόν θεραπευτήν Γάϊον ἐπανορθοῦται τοῖς ῥήμασιν ὁ πολύς ∆ιονύσιος, διδάσκων ὡς οὐχ ἁπλῶς ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεός σαρκωθείς λέγεται ἄνθρωπος ἀλλ᾿ ὡς αὐτό κατ᾿ οὐσίαν ὅλην ἀληθῶς ἄνθρωπος ὤν. Ἧς μόνη τε καί ἀληθής ἐστιν ἀπόδειξις ἡ κατά φύσιν αὐτῆς συστατική δύναμις, ἥν οὐκ ἄν τις ἁμάρτοι τῆς ἀληθείας φυσικήν φήσας ἐνέργειαν, κυρίως τε καί πρώτως χαρακτηριστικήν αὐτῆς, ὡς εἰδοποιόν ὑπάρχουσαν κίνησιν, γενικωτάτην πάσης τῆς φυσικῶς αὐτῇ προσούσης περιεκτικῆς ἰδιότητος, ἧς χωρίς μόνον ἐστί τό μή ὄν, ὡς μόνου τοῦ μηδαμῶς ὄντος, κατά τοῦτον τόν μέγαν διδάσκαλον, οὔτε κίνησιν οὔτε ὕπαρξιν ἔχοντος. Τρανότατα γοῦν διδάσκει μηδέν ἠρνῆσθαι παντάπασι τῶν ἡμετέρων τόν Θεόν σαρκωθέντα, πλήν τῆς ἁμαρτίας, ἐπεί μηδέ τῆς φύσεως ἦν, οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλ᾿ αὐτό κατ᾿ οὐσίαν ὅλην ἀληθῶς ἄνθρωπον ὄντα