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he says. 38. And you see that all things of Christ are smooth and there is nothing convoluted in them. For 'a high priest who is faithful to the one who made him' does not narrate here the same formation of the body or of his incarnation, nor does it speak of creation at all, but of the grace of the office after his sojourn; as also the saying 'he gave him the name that is above every name.' And this was not formerly fulfilled in his divinity, but in his present coming, since his incarnation is e39. What then did he make him? Let the contentious learn from all that has been said before that nothing in this saying corresponds to his divinity, but to his incarnate presence, and not as concerning a making or a creature, but as concerning an office after his coming, does 'he made him' refer. For if someone asked a king about his own son, 'What is this one to you by nature?', he will hear from him, 'He is my son.' 'Is he then your 3.187 legitimate or illegitimate son?' And he says, 'He is my legitimate son.' 'What then did you make him?' 'I made him king.' It is clear that he is in no way changed from the dignity of his father. And it is not at all because he said, 'I made him king,' that on this account the king says, 'I created him.' For he did not deny the begetting, which he confessed in stating he had begotten, by saying 'I made'; rather he clearly declared the former, but the 'I made' indicated his office. So also the Son, the Son of the Father, is undoubtedly believed in and worshipped by those who wish to secure life for themselves. But as to his becoming a high priest, it is because in his body he offered himself to the Father on behalf of humanity, himself priest, himself victim; he offered himself, acting as high priest for all creation, and having ascended spiritually and gloriously in that very body, 'he sat down at the right hand of the Father,' 'having become a high priest forever' and 'having passed through the heavens' once for all, as the same holy apostle testifies about him in the following words. And again, their specious interpretation of the divine scripture has failed, which is life-giving and contains no stumbling block for believers or occasion for blasphemy against the Word. 40. Then they again mention another saying, how John, standing in the wilderness and seeing him coming, said, 'This is he of whom I said to you, "After me comes a man who has come to be before me, for he was before me".' And first, as if heavy-headed, they change the very words in their meaning and say: how is this fulfilled in the incarnate coming, since he was not conceived in Mary's womb before John? But, as the evangelist says: 'And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent to a city of Galilee, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph. And he came in to her and said, "Hail, favored one, the Lord is with you,"' and the rest of the sequence. So when the virgin was troubled at the greeting, he said to her: 'Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.' ''And behold, your relative Elizabeth has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren.'' And you see, he says, that six months before Mary received the good news, John already existed. How then will the 3.188 'he was before me' be fulfilled in the incarnate presence of Christ? And who of the simple, not clearly established in understanding, hearing the saying, will not be troubled? † For he says the necessary and simple and life-giving things of the divine scripture seem more harmful to those who draw evil things upon themselves, the sayings being in every way illuminated by the holy spirit. For what has been omitted from the saying for security? For behold, he says 'this is he,' signifying the visible and pointing him out to those who see, 'of whom I told you, "After me he comes".' And who comes but a 'man'? But no one possessing understanding would consider our Lord a mere man, but the heresies already mentioned above, the

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φησί. 38. Καὶ ὁρᾷς ὅτι πάντα τοῦ Χριστοῦ λεῖα καὶ οὐδὲν ἐν αὐτοῖς στραγγαλιῶδες. τὸ γὰρ «ἀρχιερέα πιστὸν ὄντα τῷ ποιήσαντι αὐτόν» οὐδὲ τὴν αὐτὴν πλάσιν ἐνταῦθα διηγεῖται τοῦ σώματος οὐδὲ τῆς αὐτοῦ ἐνανθρωπήσεως, οὐ περὶ κτίσεως ὅλως φάσκει, ἀλλὰ μετὰ τὴν ἐνδημίαν τοῦ ἀξιώματος τὸ χάρισμα· ὡς καὶ τὸ εἰρημένον «ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὄνομα τὸ ὑπὲρ πᾶν ὄνομα». καὶ οὐ πρώην τοῦτο ἐπληροῦτο ἐν τῇ θεότητι, ἀλλὰ ἐν τῇ νῦν παρουσίᾳ, ἐπειδήπερ ἡ αὐτοῦ ἐνανθρώπησις ἡ ἐ39. Τί οὖν ἐποίησεν αὐτόν; οἱ φιλονεικοῦντες μάθωσιν ἀπὸ τῶν προειρημένων πάντων ὅτι οὐδὲν εἰς τὴν θεότητα ἐν τῷ ῥητῷ τούτῳ ἀναλογεῖται, ἀλλὰ εἰς τὴν ἔνσαρκον παρουσίαν καὶ οὐδὲ ὡς περὶ ποιήσεως ἢ κτίσματος, ἀλλ' ὡς περὶ ἀξιώματος μετὰ τὴν παρουσίαν τὸ «ἐποίησεν αὐτόν». ἐρωτήσας γάρ τις τινὰ βασιλέα περὶ τοῦ ἰδίου υἱοῦ, ὅτι «τί σοι πέφυκεν οὗτος», καὶ ἀκούσει παρ' αὐτοῦ ὅτι «υἱός μου ἐστί». «γνήσιος οὖν 3.187 σοι ὑπάρχει ἢ νόθος;» ὁ δέ φησι· «γνήσιος ἐξ ἐμοῦ ὑπάρχει.» «τί οὖν αὐτὸν ἐποίησας»; «βασιλέα αὐτὸν ἐποίησα.» δῆλον μηδὲν παρηλλαγμένον τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ ἀξίας. καὶ οὐχὶ πάντως διὰ τὸ εἰρηκέναι, ἐποίησα αὐτὸν βασιλέα, παρὰ τοῦτο ἔκτισα αὐτόν, λέγει ὁ βασιλεύς. οὐ γὰρ τὴν γέννησιν ἠρνήσατο, ἣν ὡμολόγησεν φάσκων γεγεννηκέναι, ἐν τῷ εἰπεῖν ἐποίησα, ἀλλ' ἐκείνην μὲν σαφῶς ἀπεφήνατο, τὸ δὲ ἐποίησα περὶ ἀξίας ἐδήλωσεν. οὕτω καὶ ὁ υἱὸς υἱὸς τοῦ πατρὸς ἀναμφιβόλως τοῖς ζωὴν ἐθέλουσι περιποιήσασθαι πιστεύεταί τε καὶ προσκυνεῖται. τὸ δὲ ἀρχιερέα γενέσθαι, διότι ἐν τῷ σώματι αὐτοῦ τῷ πατρὶ ἑαυτὸν προσήνεγκεν ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος, αὐτὸς ἱερεύς, αὐτὸς ἱερεῖον· ἑαυτὸν μὲν προσήνεγκεν, ὑπὲρ πάσης δὲ κτίσεως ἀρχιερατεύων, ἀναβὰς δὲ πνευματικῶς καὶ ἐνδόξως ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ σώματι «ἐκάθισεν ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ πατρός», «γεγονὼς ἀρχιερεὺς εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς» καὶ «διεληλυθὼς τοὺς οὐρανοὺς» ἐφ' ἅπαξ, ὡς μαρτυρεῖ περὶ αὐτοῦ ἐν ταῖς καθεξῆς λέξεσιν ὁ αὐτὸς ἅγιος ἀπόστολος. καὶ ἐξέπεσε πάλιν τούτων ἡ προφασιστικὴ διαλογὴ τῆς θείας γραφῆς, ζωτικῆς οὔσης καὶ μηδὲν ἐχούσης εἰς πρόσκομμα πιστοῖς ἢ εἰς ἐλάττωμα βλασφημίας πρὸς τὸν λόγον. 40. Εἶτα μέμνηνται πάλιν ἑτέρου ῥητοῦ ὡς Ἰωάννης ἑστὼς ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ καὶ θεασάμενος αὐτὸν ἐρχόμενον ἔλεγεν «οὗτός ἐστιν, ὃν εἶπον ὑμῖν, ὅτι ὀπίσω μου ἔρχεται ἀνήρ, ὃς ἔμπροσθέν μου γέγονεν, ὅτι πρῶτός μου ἦν». καὶ πρῶτον μὲν αὐτὰς τὰς λέξεις ὡς καρηβαροῦντες ἀλλάσσουσι τῇ διανοίᾳ καὶ λέγουσι· πῶς τοῦτο πληροῦται ἐν τῇ ἐνσάρκῳ παρουσίᾳ, ὅτι οὐκ ἦν πρὸ Ἰωάννου ἐν γαστρὶ Μαρίας συνειλημμένος; ἀλλά, ὥς φησιν ὁ εὐαγγελιστής· «ἐν δὲ τῷ ἕκτῳ μηνὶ ἀπεστάλη ὁ ἄγγελος Γαβριὴλ εἰς πόλιν τῆς Γαλιλαίας, πρὸς παρθένον μεμνηστευμένην ἀνδρί, ᾧ ὄνομα Ἰωσήφ. καὶ εἰσελθὼν πρὸς αὐτὴν ἔφη· χαῖρε κεχαριτωμένη, ὁ κύριος μετὰ σοῦ,» καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ τῆς ἀκολουθίας. ὡς οὖν ἡ παρθένος ἐπὶ τῷ ἀσπασμῷ ἐταράσσετο, ἔφη πρὸς αὐτήν· «ἰδοὺ συλλήψῃ ἐν γαστρὶ καὶ τέξῃ υἱὸν καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν.» «καὶ ἰδοὺ ἡ συγγενής σου Ἐλισάβετ συνειληφυῖα υἱὸν ἐν γήρει αὐτῆς, καὶ οὗτος μὴν ἕκτος ἐστὶν αὐτῇ τῇ καλουμένῃ στείρᾳ». καὶ ὁρᾷς, φησιν, ὅτι πρὸ ἓξ μηνῶν τοῦ εὐαγγελισθῆναι Μαρίαν ἤδη προυπῆρχεν ὁ Ἰωάννης. πῶς οὖν τὸ 3.188 «πρὸ ἐμοῦ ἐγένετο» ἐν τῇ ἐνσάρκῳ παρουσίᾳ Χριστοῦ πληρωθήσεται; τίς δὲ τῶν ἀκεραίων καὶ μὴ ἐν διανοίᾳ ἐναργῶς ἑδραιωμένων ἀκούσας τὸ ῥητὸν οὐ ταραχθήσεται; † λέγει γὰρ τὰ ἀναγκαῖα καὶ ἀκέραια καὶ ζωτικὰ τὰ τῆς θείας γραφῆς τοῖς τὰ πονηρὰ ἑαυτοῖς ἐπισπωμένοις μᾶλλον βλαβερώτερα φαίνεται, τῶν ῥητῶν πάντῃ ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ κατηυγασμένων. τί γὰρ παραλέλειπται τῷ ῥητῷ πρὸς ἀσφάλειαν; ἰδοὺ γὰρ λέγει ὅτι «οὗτός ἐστι», τὸ ὁρατὸν σημαίνων καὶ ὑποδεικνύων τοῖς ὁρῶσιν, «ὃν εἶπον ὑμῖν, ὅτι ὀπίσω μου ἔρχεται». καὶ τίς ἔρχεται ἀλλ' ἢ «ἀνήρ»; οὐδεὶς δὲ τῶν σύνεσιν κεκτημένων ἄνδρα ψιλὸν νομίσειε τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν, ἀλλὰ αἱ ἄνω αἱρέσεις αἱ ἤδη σημανθεῖσαι, οἱ