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were also insensible. But when he willed to show the power of his divinity, 3.431 “being transfigured, he showed his face as the sun and his garments white as snow.” “For all things are possible for the powerful,” to refashion unexpectedly even the insensible and the breathless into glory and brightness, like the rod of Moses, like the sandals of the sons of Israel. For it is confessed by all that the holy apostles were men, corruptible in their bodies as we are, but incorruptible through the glory of God that dwelt in them, and the shadow of Peter healed all who were brought to him having infirmities, and the handkerchiefs and aprons from the garments of Paul worked mighty deeds. 18. And how do these men meddle with God, fabricating certain shameful suspicions, about which there has never been any need for discussion, not for a prophet, not for an evangelist, not for an apostle, not for a writer? For whatever such things these men say, even if they should badly suspect a myriad things beyond these, they will not overturn our paternal faith, which in truth proclaims Christ as man. For Christ was born in the flesh in truth from Mary the ever-virgin through the Holy Spirit and immediately from his conception he is called Emmanuel, which is God with us, but he is not born a second time. And the child fled to Egypt with Joseph and Mary, since they were seeking the life of the child, as he was able to be killed in the flesh; but he was worshipped by the magi as true God, born in the flesh in truth and not in appearance. And having come up from Egypt, out of fear Joseph did not enter into Jerusalem, on account of Archelaus, as the child was able to be seized and * to suffer in the flesh before the time what he was destined to suffer. * but he was prevented by John, the master being recognized by the servant, because he was God incarnate in truth. But he did not accept the honor from his own servant in such a matter, in order that he might “fulfill all righteousness” in the flesh, in a true and perfect incarnation, “leaving an example” of salvation “for us.” But he also grew weary from the journey in truth, and not simply did he tire, but he also sat down, because he was truly made man, and he cried out saying 3.432 “Come, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest,” in order to show that his divinity was sufficient to give rest to all the multitudes of the world who come to him. But he was also tempted by the devil, and he remained for forty days neither eating nor drinking, in order to show the lack of need of his divinity. For he did not endure while being hungry, practicing self-control in our philosophical manner, and choking and forcing himself, but without lack because of his true divinity. And “afterwards,” says the scripture, “he was hungry,” in order to show the true incarnation of the divinity, allowing the fleshly presence to partake of reasonable and true needs, so that the truth of the sequence might not obscure the true incarnation. For indeed he was hungry at the fig tree and he made real clay; but God spoke a word to the fig tree and it happened, and on the boat he rebuked the wind and it ceased, and through the spittle and clay, by the word of his divinity and by the spittle of his incarnation and by the clay—as again with Adam—he bestowed upon this man also, by fashioning the missing member, all things being perfectly in him, suffering in the flesh, but being impassible in the divinity, until he rose from the dead, suffering not at all thereafter, “dying no more” at all. But if some, because he did not take his body from the seed of a man, think it is different, it is not for this reason by any means not according to our body. For since it is confessed to be from Mary, it was ours. For Mary was not other than our bodies, since Adam also was not from the seed of a man, but formed from the earth. And not by any means, because he was from the earth and not

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ἦν καὶ ἀναίσθητα. ἀλλ' ὅτε ἠθέλησε δεῖξαι αὐτοῦ τὸ δυνατὸν τῆς θεότητος, 3.431 «μεταμορφωθεὶς ἔδειξε τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ὡς τὸν ἥλιον καὶ τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ λευκὰ ὡσεὶ χιόνα». «πάντα γὰρ τῷ δυνατῷ δυνατά», εἰς τὸ ὑπὸ θῆξιν παρὰ προσδοκίαν καὶ τὰ ἀναίσθητα καὶ τὰ ἄπνοα εἰς δόξαν καὶ φαιδρότητα μετασκευάσαι, ὡς τὴν ῥάβδον Μωυσέως, ὡς τὰ ὑποδήματα τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραήλ. πᾶσι γὰρ ὡμολόγηται ὅτι οἱ ἅγιοι ἀπόστολοι ἄνθρωποι ἦσαν, φθαρτοὶ τὰ σώματα ὡς ἡμεῖς, ἄφθαρτοι δὲ διὰ τὴν ἐνοικήσασαν αὐτοῖς θεοῦ δόξαν, καὶ σκιὰ μὲν Πέτρου πάντας τοὺς προσφερομένους ἔχοντας ἀσθενείας ἰᾶτο καὶ σουδάρια καὶ σιμικίνθια τῶν ἱματίων Παύλου δυνάμεις ἐργάζονται. 18. Καὶ πῶς οὗτοι θεὸν πολυπραγμονοῦσιν αἰσχράς τινας ὑπονοίας τεκταινόμενοι, περὶ ὧν οὐδεμία χρεία γεγένηται πώποτε πρὸς διαλογήν, οὐ προφήτῃ, οὐκ εὐαγγελιστῇ, οὐκ ἀποστόλῳ, οὐ συγγραφεῖ; ὅσα γὰρ τοιαῦτα οὗτοι λέγουσι, κἂν μυρία ἐπέκεινα τούτων κακῶς ὑπονοήσωσιν, οὐκ ἀνατρέψουσι τὴν πατρικὴν ἡμῶν πίστιν, τὴν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ Χριστὸν ἄνθρωπον καταγγέλλουσαν. ἐγεννήθη γὰρ Χριστὸς ἐν σαρκὶ κατὰ ἀλήθειαν ἀπὸ Μαρίας τῆς ἀειπαρθένου διὰ πνεύματος ἁγίου καὶ εὐθὺς ἀπὸ κυήσεως Ἐμμανουὴλ καλεῖται, ὅ ἐστι θεὸς μεθ' ἡμῶν, οὐκέτι δὲ δεύτερον γεννᾶται. καὶ ἀπέδρα εἰς τὴν Αἴγυπτον τὸ παιδίον μετὰ Ἰωσὴφ καὶ Μαρίας, ἐπειδὴ ἐζήτουν τὴν ψυχὴν τοῦ παιδίου, ὡς δυναμένου αὐτοῦ ἐν σαρκὶ ἀποκτανθῆναι· ἀλλὰ προσεκυνήθη ὑπὸ τῶν μάγων ὡς θεὸς ἀληθινός, ἐν σαρκὶ γεννηθεὶς ἀληθείᾳ καὶ οὐ δοκήσει. καὶ ἀνελθὼν ἀπὸ Αἰγύπτου, κατὰ φόβον τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ οὐκ εἰσῆλθεν εἰς Ἱερουσαλήμ, δι' Ἀρχέλαον, ὡς δυναμένου τοῦ παιδίου κρατηθῆναι καὶ πρὸ τοῦ καιροῦ * ἐν σαρκὶ παθεῖν ὅπερ ἔμελλε πάσχειν. * ἀλλὰ διεκωλύθη ὑπὸ Ἰωάννου, ἐπιγνωσθεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ δούλου δεσπότης, ὅτι θεὸς ἦν ἐνανθρωπήσας ἐν ἀληθείᾳ. οὐ κατεδέξατο δὲ τὴν τοῦ ἰδίου δούλου ἐν τῇ τοιαύτῃ ὑποθέσει τιμήν, ἵνα «πληρώσῃ πᾶσαν δικαιοσύνην» ἐν σαρκί, ἐν ἀληθινῇ καὶ τελείᾳ ἐνανθρωπήσει «τὸν ὑπογραμμὸν» τῆς σωτηρίας «ἡμῖν ὑπολιμπάνων». ἀλλὰ καὶ κέκμηκεν ἀπὸ τῆς ὁδοιπορίας ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, καὶ οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἔκαμεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐκαθέσθη, διότι ἀληθινῶς ἐνηνθρώπησεν, καὶ ἐβόα λέγων 3.432 «δεῦτε πάντες οἱ κοπιῶντες καὶ πεφορτισμένοι, κἀγὼ ἀναπαύσω ὑμᾶς», ἵνα δείξῃ τὴν αὐτοῦ θεότητα ἱκανὴν οὖσαν πάντα τὰ πλήθη τοῦ κόσμου τὰ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀφικνούμενα ἀναπαῦσαι. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπειράσθη ὑπὸ τοῦ διαβόλου, καὶ ἔμεινε τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας μήτε ἐσθίων μήτε πίνων, ἵνα δείξῃ τὸ ἀνενδεὲς τῆς αὐτοῦ θεότητος. οὐ γὰρ πεινῶν ὑπέμεινεν, ὡς φιλοσοφικῶς καθ' ἡμᾶς ἐγκρατευόμενος καὶ αὑτὸν ἄγχων καὶ βιαζόμενος, ἀλλὰ ἀνυστερήτως διὰ τὴν ἀληθινὴν αὐτοῦ θεότητα. καὶ «ὕστερον», φησὶν ἡ γραφή, «ἐπείνασεν», ἵνα δείξῃ τὴν ἀληθινὴν ἐνανθρώπησιν τῆς θεότητος, ἐνδιδούσης τῇ ἐνσάρκῳ παρουσίᾳ τῶν εὐλόγων χρειῶν καὶ ἀληθινῶν μετέχειν, ἵνα μὴ τὸ ἀληθινὸν τῆς ἀκολουθίας ἀφανίσῃ τὴν ἀληθινὴν ἐνανθρώπησιν. καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς συκῆς ἐπείνασε καὶ πηλὸν ἀληθινὸν ἐποίησεν· ἀλλὰ λόγον εἶπε πρὸς τὴν συκῆν ὁ θεὸς καὶ ἐγένετο, καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς νηὸς ἐπετίμησε τῷ ἀνέμῳ καὶ ἐπαύσατο, καὶ διὰ τοῦ πτύσματος καὶ πηλοῦ τῷ λόγῳ τῆς αὐτοῦ θεότητος καὶ τῷ πτύσματι τῆς αὐτοῦ ἐνανθρωπήσεως καὶ τῷ πηλῷ πάλιν ὡς τῷ Ἀδὰμ καὶ τούτῳ τὸ ἐλλιπὲς μέλος πλάττων ἐχαρίσατο, τῶν πάντων τελείως ἐν αὐτῷ ὄντων, ἐν σαρκὶ πασχόντων, ἐν θεότητι δὲ ἀπαθῶν ὄντων, ἕως ἀνέστη ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν, ὅλως μὴ πάσχων λοιπόν, ὅλως «μηκέτι ἀποθνήσκων». Εἰ δέ τινες διὰ τὸ μὴ ἀπὸ σπέρματος ἀνδρὸς τὸ σῶμα αὐτὸν εἰληφέναι ἀλλοῖον νοήσουσιν, οὐ πάντως διὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἔστι κατὰ τὸ ἡμέτερον σῶμα. ἐξότε γὰρ ἀπὸ Μαρίας ὡμολόγηται, ἡμέτερον ἦν. καὶ γὰρ Μαρία οὐκ ἄλλη ἦν παρὰ τὰ ἡμέτερα σώματα, ἐπεὶ καὶ ὁ Ἀδὰμ οὐκ ἀπὸ σπέρματος ἀνδρὸς ἦν, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῆς γῆς πεπλασμένος. καὶ οὐ πάντως, ἐπειδὴ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ἦν καὶ οὐκ