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he set before them, so that either hearing they might be quiet, or contradicting they might be considered heretics. For the things aforesaid are neither to be spoken nor heard among Christians, but are in every way alien to the apostolic teaching. For this reason, therefore, I too have had the things from them, as has been said, written down plainly in the letter, so that even just by hearing one may perceive the shame and impiety in them. And even if it were necessary to accuse through more words and to refute the shame of those who thought these things, yet it is also good for the letter to go this far and to write nothing more—for one must not exercise further and examine too curiously things so manifestly shown to be vile, lest they be considered doubtful by the contentious; it is sufficient only to answer and say this to such things, that these are not of the catholic church, nor did the fathers 3.421 think these things—but lest the inventors of evils should furnish themselves a shameless pretext from complete silence, it is good to make mention of a few things from the divine scriptures. For perhaps even so, being ashamed, they will cease from these foul imaginings. 6. From where did it occur to you to say, O you people, that 20the body is consubstantial with the divinity of the Word20? For it is good to begin from this, so that, this being shown to be unsound, all the other such things may also be shown. From the scriptures, then, it is not possible to find it; for they say that God came to be in a human body. But indeed also the fathers who assembled at Nicaea said not the body, but the Son himself is consubstantial with the Father. And they confessed that he is from the substance of the Father, but that the body is from Mary, again according to the scriptures. Either, therefore, deny the synod at Nicaea and introduce these things as heretics, or, if you wish to be children of the fathers, do not think things contrary to what they themselves wrote. For from this it is possible for you to see the absurdity: if the Word is consubstantial with the body which has its nature from the earth, and the Word is consubstantial with the Father according to the confession of the fathers, then the Father himself will also be consubstantial with the body which came from the earth. And why do you still blame the Arians for saying the Son is a creature, when you yourselves say the Father is consubstantial with creatures and, passing over to another impiety, claim that 20the Word has been changed into flesh and bones and hair and nerves and a whole body, and has been altered from his own nature20? For it is time for you to say openly that he was born from the earth; for from the earth is the nature of bones and of the whole body. What then is this great madness, that you even fight against yourselves? For by saying the Word is consubstantial with the body you signify one thing next to another, but by his having been changed into flesh you imagine a change of the Word himself. And who will any longer endure you even just uttering these things? For you have deviated into impiety more than any heresy. For if the Word is consubstantial with the body, the mention and the need of Mary is superfluous, since the body is able to exist eternally even before Mary, just as the Word himself is, if indeed according to you he is consubstantial with the body. And what is the need of the sojourn of the Word, that he should either put on that which is consubstantial with himself 3.422 or, having been turned from his own nature, become a body? For the Godhead does not take hold of itself, that it should also put on what is consubstantial with it. But neither indeed has the Word who redeems the sins of others sinned, that, being turned into a body, he might offer himself as a sacrifice for himself and redeem himself. 7. But it is not so, may it never be. «For he takes hold of the seed of Abraham,» as the apostle said; «whence he was obliged in all things to be made like his brethren» and to take a body like ours. For this reason, therefore, Mary is truly supposed, that from her he might take this and offer it as his own on our behalf. And Isaiah, prophesying, pointed to her saying, «behold, the virgin shall conceive in her womb and shall bring forth,» and Gabriel is sent to her, not simply to a virgin, but «to a

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παρέθηκεν αὐτοῖς, ἵνα ἢ ἀκούσαντες ἠρεμήσωσιν ἢ ἀντιλέγοντες ὡς αἱρετικοὶ νομισθῶσι. τὰ γὰρ προειρημένα οὔτε λεκτὰ οὔτε ἀκουστὰ παρὰ Χριστιανοῖς, ἀλλὰ ἀλλότρια κατὰ πάντα τρόπον τῆς ἀποστολικῆς διδασκαλίας ἐστί. διὰ τοῦτο γοῦν κἀγὼ τὰ παρ' ἐκείνων, ὡς εἴρηται, γυμνῶς πεποίηκα ἐγγραφῆναι τῇ ἐπιστολῇ, ἵνα καὶ μόνον ὁ ἀκούων θεωρῇ τὴν ἐν αὐτοῖς αἰσχύνην καὶ ἀσέβειαν. καὶ εἰ καὶ ἔδει διὰ πλειόνων κατηγορεῖν καὶ διελέγχειν τὴν τῶν ταῦτα διανοηθέντων αἰσχύνην, ἀλλὰ καὶ καλὸν εἶναι ἕως τούτων τὴν ἐπιστολὴν καὶ μηδὲν πλέον γράφειν-τὰ γὰρ οὕτως φανερῶς δεικνύμενα φαῦλα γυμνάζειν ἐπὶ πλέον καὶ περιεργάζεσθαι οὐ δεῖ, ἵνα μὴ τοῖς φιλονεικοῦσιν ὡς ἀμφίβολα νομισθῇ· τοῦτο μόνον ἀποκρίνασθαι πρὸς τὰ τοιαῦτα καὶ εἰπεῖν ἀρκεῖ, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι ταῦτα τῆς καθολικῆς ἐκκλησίας οὐδὲ ταῦτα οἱ πατέρες 3.421 ἐφρόνησαν-ἵνα δὲ μὴ ἐκ τῆς τέλεον σιωπῆς πρόφασιν ἀναίσχυντον ἑαυτοῖς οἱ τῶν κακῶν ἐφευρεταὶ πορίσωνται, καλὸν ἐκ τῶν θείων γραφῶν ὀλίγων μνημονεῦσαι. τάχα γὰρ κἂν οὕτως αἰδεσθέντες παύσονται ἀπὸ τῶν ῥυπαρῶν τούτων ἐπινοιῶν. 6. Πόθεν ὑμῖν ἐπῆλθεν εἰπεῖν, ὦ οὗτοι, τὸ 20ὁμοούσιον εἶναι τὸ σῶμα τῆς τοῦ λόγου θεότητος20; ἀπὸ γὰρ τούτου καλὸν ἄρξασθαι, ἵνα τούτου δεικνυμένου σαθροῦ καὶ πάντα τὰ ἄλλα τοιαῦτα δειχθῇ. ἀπὸ μὲν οὖν τῶν γραφῶν οὐκ ἔστιν εὑρεῖν· θεὸν γὰρ ἐν ἀνθρωπίνῳ σώματι γεγονέναι λέγουσιν. ἀλλὰ γὰρ καὶ οἱ πατέρες οἱ ἐν Νικαίᾳ συνελθόντες οὐ τὸ σῶμα, ἀλλ' αὐτὸν τὸν υἱὸν εἰρήκασιν ὁμοούσιον τοῦ πατρός. καὶ τοῦτον μὲν ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ πατρός, τὸ δὲ σῶμα ἐκ Μαρίας ὡμολόγησαν εἶναι πάλιν κατὰ τὰς γραφάς. ἢ τοίνυν ἀρνήσασθε τὴν ἐν Νικαίᾳ σύνοδον καὶ ὡς αἱρετικοὶ παρεισφέρετε ταῦτα ἤ, εἰ βούλεσθε τέκνα τῶν πατέρων εἶναι, μὴ φρονεῖτε παρ' ἐκεῖνα ἅπερ ἔγραψαν αὐτοί. καὶ γὰρ ἐκ τούτου τὸ ἄτοπον θεωρεῖν ὑμᾶς ἔξεστιν· εἰ ὁμοούσιος ὁ λόγος τῷ σώματι ἐκ γῆς ἔχοντι τὴν φύσιν, ὁμοούσιος δὲ ὁ λόγος τῷ πατρὶ κατὰ τὴν τῶν πατέρων ὁμολογίαν, ὁμοούσιος ἔσται καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ πατὴρ τῷ σώματι τῷ ἐκ γῆς γενομένῳ. καὶ τί ἔτι μέμφεσθε τοῖς Ἀρειανοῖς λέγουσι τὸν υἱὸν κτίσμα, λέγοντες καὶ αὐτοὶ τὸν πατέρα ὁμοούσιον τοῖς κτίσμασι καί, εἰς ἑτέραν ἀσέβειαν μετερχόμενοι, φάσκοντες 20εἰς σάρκα καὶ ὀστέα καὶ τρίχας καὶ νεῦρα καὶ ὅλον σῶμα μεταβεβλῆσθαι τὸν λόγον καὶ ἠλλάχθαι τῆς ἰδίας φύσεως20; ὥρα γὰρ εἰπεῖν ὑμᾶς φανερῶς ἐκ γῆς αὐτὸν γεγενῆσθαι· ἐκ γῆς γὰρ ἡ τῶν ὀστέων καὶ ὅλου τοῦ σώματος φύσις. τίς οὖν ἡ τοσαύτη παραφροσύνη, ἵνα καὶ πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς διαμάχησθε; ὁμοούσιον μὲν λέγοντες τὸν λόγον τῷ σώματι ἕτερον πρὸς ἕτερον σημαίνετε, τῷ δὲ εἰς σάρκα μεταβεβλῆσθαι αὐτοῦ τοῦ λόγου τροπὴν φαντάζεσθε. καὶ τίς ἔτι λοιπὸν ὑμῶν ἀνέξεται ταῦτα καὶ μόνον φθεγγομένων; πάσης γὰρ αἱρέσεως πλέον εἰς ἀσέβειαν ἐξεκλίνατε. εἰ γὰρ ὁμοούσιος ὁ λόγος τῷ σώματι, περιττὴ τῆς Μαρίας ἡ μνήμη καὶ ἡ χρεία, δυναμένου τοῦ σώματος καὶ πρὸ τῆς Μαρίας εἶναι ἀϊδίως, ὥσπερ οὖν ἐστι καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ λόγος, εἴ γε καθ' ὑμᾶς ὁμοούσιός ἐστι τῷ σώματι. τίς δὲ καὶ ἡ χρεία τῆς ἐπιδημίας τοῦ λόγου, ἵνα ἢ τὸ ἑαυτοῦ ὁμοούσιον 3.422 ἐνδύσηται ἢ τραπεὶς ἀπὸ τῆς ἰδίας φύσεως σῶμα γένηται; οὐ γὰρ αὐτὴ ἑαυτῆς ἡ θεότης ἐπιλαμβάνεται, ἵνα καὶ τὸ ὁμοούσιον αὐτῆς ἐνδύσηται. ἀλλ' οὐδὲ γὰρ ἥμαρτεν ὁ τὰς ἄλλων ἁμαρτίας λυτρούμενος λόγος, ἵνα τραπεὶς εἰς σῶμα ἑαυτὸν ὑπὲρ ἑαυτοῦ θυσίαν προσενέγκῃ καὶ ἑαυτὸν λυτρώσηται. 7. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔστιν οὕτως, μὴ γένοιτο. «σπέρματος γὰρ Ἀβραὰμ ἐπιλαμβάνεται», ὡς εἶπεν ὁ ἀπόστολος· «ὅθεν ὤφειλε κατὰ πάντα τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ὁμοιωθῆναι» καὶ λαβεῖν ὅμοιον ἡμῖν σῶμα. διὰ τοῦτο γοῦν καὶ ὑπόκειται ἀληθῶς ἡ Μαρία, ἵνα ἐξ αὐτῆς τοῦτο λάβῃ καὶ ὡς ἴδιον ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν αὐτὸ προσενέγκῃ. καὶ ταύτην ὁ μὲν Ἠσαΐας προφητεύων ἐδείκνυε λέγων «ἰδού, ἡ παρθένος ἐν γαστρὶ ἕξει καὶ τέξεται», ὁ δὲ Γαβριὴλ ἀποστέλλεται πρὸς αὐτήν, οὐχ ἁπλῶς πρὸς παρθένον, ἀλλὰ «πρὸς