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about this? then it says, "he established me in the beginning." Therefore it is possible for the pious to see that here it signifies the human soul. For "the Lord created me," the Incarnation, 3.174 the one in the flesh, says, if indeed it is understood this way. But "he established," as he was established in the soul. But "he begets me before all hills," in order to show the generation from above. And we have said these things, not defining them in this way absolutely, but rather piously thinking of the incarnate presence. Even if it is necessary to say it this way, nevertheless no one could compel us to say this saying absolutely about Christ. But if it is said of Christ, it also has its own power, not spoken according to divination, but according to the piety of the reasoning, not to reckon any defect in the Son nor to think that he has a divinity inferior to the substance of the Father. For some of our fathers, orthodox ones too, have attributed this, thinking of the incarnate presence, even if it is necessary to speak thus concerning "the Lord created me, and established me." And that this is a pious reasoning, great fathers have taught. And if any of the orthodox should not wish to accept it, he will not be compelled, and towards those who are strangers and aliens to the faith, there is no harm at all. For neither will this bring upon us any defect in the Son *, the divinity being free and always being with the Father. And whatever Christ suffered, he suffered, but he was not changed in nature, but his divinity remained in its own impassibility. Therefore, wishing to suffer by his own good pleasure for the race of men, since the divinity could not suffer, being impassible in itself, he took our passible body, being Wisdom, so that in it he might consent to suffer and might take up our passions in the flesh, the divinity being present with it. For the divinity does not suffer. For how will he who says "I am the life" be able to die? But God remains impassible, but he suffers with the flesh, so that the passion might be reckoned to the divinity, though the divinity does not suffer, so that salvation for us might be in God. But the passion is in the flesh, so that we may not have a passible god, but an impassible one, reckoning the passion to himself, by choice and not by necessity. 25. Nevertheless, these men, having neither handled nor known nor understood the Hebrew words or what their meaning is, have rashly and precipitately sprung up as terrible enemies, seeking a pretext from which they might injure the faith, or rather themselves; for not the truth. And when they found, 3.175 "the Lord created me," they recklessly, as if imagining, dream dreams, having introduced things of no use to life and having disturbed the world. But the Hebrew is not so; whence Aquila says, "the Lord possessed me." And those who beget children always say: I have gotten a son. But not even Aquila has interpreted the meaning; for "I have gotten a son" is as if it were recent, but in God there is nothing recent. And even if one confesses that the son is begotten of the Father and not created, he is begotten timelessly and without beginning. For there is no time between Son and Father, lest some time † should become more than the Son. For if all things are through him, then also the times. But if time existed before him who is before all things, how will this be? But if so, then another son will be sought, through whom time came to be before the Son. And there are many things which the thoughts of men "who are busybodies and do no good" lead into infinite perplexity. But in the Hebrew it says: "Adonai," which is said Lord, "kanani," which can be said both "he nested me" and "he possessed me." But the most exact is said: "he nested me." And what chick is not born from the nature of the one who begot it? And here indeed in corporeal creations, through the unions of male and female, the things that are nested come to be, from man to beast and birds and the others. Therefore the only-begotten, being the wisdom of the Father in all things and wishing to correct all things