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Contra haereticos et in sanctam deiparam

Against the heretics, and on the holy Theotokos.

59.709 1. Again, with the boldness of the Holy Spirit, breaking the chains of ignorance, I take possession of the teacher's throne, not being ashamed of my poverty; for being lovers of the poor, you pity me because of the munificence of your love. For though I am poor, I reach out to the rich, not afflicted with the disease of arrogance, but fulfilling the longing of your God-loving soul. For you delight in my words, as I also rejoice in your ways. I am not conscious of my poverty, and my stammering voice, when I behold this good and lovely theater. For I know that you do not come together as judges 59.710 of my words, or spectators of the contests, but that as fathers you might strengthen your child. For I speak with the tongue, but you with the heart cry out this to God, that a word may be given to us in the opening of our mouth; for being lovers of children and fond of your offspring, you consider our labors your own crowns. Therefore, I do not hesitate to speak; for my longing for you releases my hesitation, your devout prayer changes my ignorance into virtuous teaching. But let these things be said in the prologue. But today, having girded my loins with 59.711 truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod my feet with the preparation of the Gospel of peace, I begin, having taken up the contest against the heretics. I engage in the contests, not connecting words with words, nor with rhetorical skill dissolving the series of propositions, but by the voice that was just read, tearing apart the clever problems of the heretics, like a spider's web. And this is the apostolic reading: O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! What do you say, O Paul? Is the wealth of God situated in the depth, and made known in the height? Yes, he says, both in the depth and in the height; in the depth because of the humanity, and in the height because of the divinity. For so through the prophet, revealing the economy, he said to Ahaz: Ask for yourself a sign from the Lord your God in the depth or in the height; in the depth, because of the economy, and in the height, because of the theology. For a profound sign is to be born of a Virgin, and a lofty proclamation is for God to be begotten of God. Therefore, neither by prying into the height, O man, do you comprehend it, nor by meddling with the depth do you find it. For the births of Christ are venerable; for the one is according to nature, the other is beyond nature. For beyond nature in later times he was born of the Virgin, but according to nature before the ages he was begotten of the Father, as the one who begot knows. And the birth from above is true. For truly God was begotten of God, truly from the Virgin the man, God with men, was born; above, the only-begotten alone from the only one, and below, the only-begotten alone from the only one; and just as in the birth from above it is impious to suppose a mother, so also in the case of the Virgin it is blasphemous to suppose a father. The Father begot without flux, the Virgin bore without corruption. For neither did God endure flux in begetting, for he begot in a manner befitting God; nor did the Virgin undergo corruption in bearing, for she bore spiritually. O new wonder! O venerable and ineffable mystery! For I dare to say, and in saying it I do not err: that even above a virgin nature begot—for the substance of the divinity is pure and incorruptible—and below a Virgin bore the incorruptible one incorruptibly; For you will not allow your Holy One to see corruption. When nature proceeds by order, then seek the things according to nature, O man; but when God commands something, then nature denies its own order, and does those things which the will of God desires

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Contra haereticos et in sanctam deiparam

Κατὰ αἱρετικῶν, καὶ εἰς τὴν ἁγίαν Θεοτόκον.

59.709 αʹ. Πάλιν τῇ παῤῥησίᾳ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος διασπῶν τὰς σειρὰς τῆς ἀμαθίας

τὸν διδασκαλικὸν καταλαμβάνω θρόνον, οὐκ αἰδούμενός μου τὴν πτωχείαν· φιλόπτωχοι γὰρ ὄντες οἰκτείρετέ με διὰ τὴν τῆς ἀγάπης φιλοτιμίαν. Πένης γὰρ ὢν πλουσίοις ἐπεκτείνομαι, οὐκ ἀλαζονείας ὑποθέμενος νόσον, ἀλλὰ τῆς φιλοθέου ὑμῶν ψυχῆς ἀποπληρῶν τὸν ἔρωτα. Τέρπεσθε γάρ μου τοῖς λόγοις, ἐπειδὴ κἀγὼ εὐφραίνομαι ὑμῶν τοῖς τρόποις. Οὐκ οἶδά μου τὴν πτωχείαν, καὶ μογιλάλον φωνὴν, τὸ καλὸν τοῦτο καὶ ἐπέραστον θεωρῶν θέατρον. Οἶδα γὰρ, ὡς οὐ κριταί 59.710 μου τῶν λόγων, ἢ θεαταὶ τῶν ἀγώνων συνέρχεσθε, ἀλλ' ἵνα τῷ παιδὶ ὡς πατέρες συνεπισχύσητε. Ἐγὼ γὰρ τῇ γλώττῃ λαλῶ, ὑμεῖς δὲ τῇ καρδίᾳ φθέγγεσθε πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν τοῦτο, δοθῆναι ἡμῖν λόγον ἐν ἀνοίξει τοῦ στόματος· φιλόπαιδες γὰρ ὄντες καὶ φιλότεκνοι τοὺς ἡμετέρους πόνους οἰκείους λογίζεσθε στεφάνους. ∆ιὸ οὐκ ὀκνῶ πρὸς τὸ λέγειν· λύει γάρ μου τὸν ὄκνον ὁ περὶ ὑμᾶς πόθος, μεταβάλλει μου τὴν ἀμάθειαν εἰς ἐνάρετον διδασκαλίαν ἡ εὐαγὴς προσευχή. Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἐν προοιμίῳ εἰρήσθω. Ἐγὼ δὲ σήμερον περιζωσάμενος τὴν ὀσφὺν τῆς 59.711 ἀληθείας, καὶ ἐνδυσάμενος τὸν θώρακα τῆς δικαιοσύνης, καὶ ὑποδησάμενος τοὺς πόδας ἐν ἑτοιμασίᾳ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου τῆς εἰρήνης, ἄρχομαι κατὰ τῶν αἱρετικῶν ἀναδεξάμενος ἀγῶνα. Ἐφάπτομαι τῶν ἀγώνων, οὐ λόγοις λόγους συνάπτων, οὐδὲ ῥητορικῇ δεινότητι τὰς σειρὰς τῶν προτάσεων διαλύων, ἀλλὰ τῇ τελείως ἐπαναγνωσθείσῃ φωνῇ τὰ εὐμήχανα τῶν αἱρετικῶν προβλήματα, ὡς ἱστὸν ἀράχνης, διασπῶν. Ἔστι δὲ ἀποστολικὸν ἀνάγνωσμα τοῦτο· Ὢ βάθος πλούτου, καὶ σοφίας, καὶ γνώσεως Θεοῦ! ὡς ἀνεξερεύνητα τὰ κρίματα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀνεξιχνίαστοι αἱ ὁδοὶ αὐτοῦ! Τί λέγεις, ὦ Παῦλε; ὁ πλοῦτος τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν βάθει κεῖται, καὶ ἐν ὕψει γνωρίζεται; Ναὶ, φησὶ, καὶ ἐν βάθει, καὶ ἐν ὕψει· ἐν βάθει μὲν διὰ τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα, ἐν ὕψει δὲ διὰ τὴν θεότητα. Οὕτω γὰρ διὰ τοῦ προφήτου ἀποκαλύπτων τὴν οἰκονομίαν ἔλεγε πρὸς Ἄχαζ· Αἴτησαι σεαυτῷ σημεῖον παρὰ Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ σου εἰς βάθος ἢ εἰς ὕψος· εἰς βάθος μὲν, διὰ τὴν οἰκονομίαν, εἰς ὕψος δὲ, διὰ τὴν θεολογίαν. Βαθὺ μὲν γὰρ σημεῖον τὸ ἐκ Παρθένου τεχθῆναι, ὑψηλὸν δὲ κήρυγμα καὶ τὸ ἐκ Θεοῦ Θεὸν γεννηθῆναι. Οὔτε οὖν τὸ ὕψος, ἄνθρωπε, περιεργαζόμενος καταλαμβάνεις, οὔτε τὸ βάθος πολυπραγμονῶν εὑρίσκεις. Σεπταὶ γάρ εἰσιν αἱ τοῦ Χριστοῦ γεννήσεις· ἡ μὲν γάρ ἐστι κατὰ φύσιν, ἡ δὲ παρὰ φύσιν. Παρὰ φύσιν γὰρ ἐν ὑστέροις καιροῖς ἐκ τῆς Παρθένου ἐτέχθη, κατὰ φύσιν δὲ πρὸ αἰώνων ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐτέχθη, ὡς ὁ γεννήσας οἶδε. Καὶ ἡ ἄνω γέννησις ἀψευδής. Ἀληθῶς γὰρ ἐκ Θεοῦ Θεὸς ἐγεννήθη, ἀληθῶς ἐκ τῆς Παρθένου ἄνθρωπος ὁ Θεὸς μετὰ ἀνθρώπων ἐτέχθη· ἄνω μόνος ἐκ μόνου Μονογενὴς, καὶ κάτω μόνος ἐκ μόνης Μονογενής· καὶ ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῆς ἄνω γεννήσεως ἀσεβές ἐστιν ὑπονοῆσαι μητέρα, οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς Παρθένου βλάσφημόν ἐστιν ὑπονοῆσαι πατέρα. Ὁ Πατὴρ ἀῤῥεύστως ἐγέννησεν, ἡ Παρθένος ἀφθόρως ἔτεκεν. Οὔτε γὰρ Θεὸς ῥεῦσιν ὑπέμεινε γεννήσας· θεοπρεπῶς γὰρ ἐγέννησεν· οὔτε ἡ Παρθένος φθορὰν ὑπέστη τεκοῦσα· πνευματικῶς γὰρ ἔτεκεν. Ὢ καινοῦ θαύματος! ὢ σεπτοῦ καὶ ἀλαλήτου μυστηρίου! Τολμῶ γὰρ εἰπεῖν, ὅπερ λέγων οὐ σφάλλομαι· ὅτι καὶ ἄνω παρθένος ἐγέννησε φύσις καθαρὰ γάρ ἐστι καὶ ἄφθορος ἡ τῆς θεότητος οὐσία, καὶ κάτω Παρθένος ἔτεκεν ἄφθορος ἄφθορον· Οὐ δώσεις γὰρ τὸν Ὅσιόν σου ἰδεῖν διαφθοράν. Ὅταν ἡ φύσις τάξει βαίνῃ, τότε τὰ κατὰ φύσιν ζήτει, ἄνθρωπε· ὅταν δὲ Θεός τι προστάσσῃ, τότε ἡ φύσις τὴν ἑαυτῆς ἀρνεῖται τάξιν, καὶ ἐκεῖνα πράττει, ἅπερ ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ βούλεται