of human things to call him only a man; but from the works, which were proper to God, no longer to confess him as God, but to deify Beelzebul in them instead of him, so that with him they might finally be punished eternally in the fire. And this observation of the reading itself seems to me to offer a certain emphasis of this kind, and to show that both blasphemies reach him, and that he has spoken about himself the, "Son of man," and the, "Spirit;" so that from the one he might show his corporeal nature, and from the Spirit he might declare his spiritual and intelligible and most true divinity. For he set down that which is able to receive forgiveness upon the Son of man, in order to signify his corporeal nature; but he has declared that the unforgivable blasphemy reaches unto the Spirit; in order that, saying this in contrast to the corporeal, he might show his own divinity. And this characteristic I have also seen in the Gospel according to John; when, discoursing about the eating of the body, and for this reason having seen many who were scandalized, the Lord says: "Does this scandalize you? If then you see the Son of man ascending where he was before? It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life." For here too he has said both things concerning himself, flesh and spirit; and he distinguished the spirit from that according to the flesh, so that having believed they might learn not only his visible but also his invisible nature, that the things he says are not carnal, but spiritual. For to how many would the body have sufficed for food, that it might also become nourishment for the whole world? But for this reason he made mention of the ascension of the Son of man into 26.668 the heavens, in order to draw them away from the corporeal notion, and that they might finally learn that the flesh spoken of is heavenly food from above, and spiritual nourishment given by him. "For what I have spoken," he says, "to you, is spirit and life;" which is the same as saying: What is shown and given for the salvation of the world is the flesh which I wear; but this and its blood will be given to you by me spiritually as nourishment; so that it is spiritually imparted in each one, and becomes for all a safeguard unto the resurrection of eternal life. Thus also the Lord, drawing the Samaritan woman away from sensible things, said that God is Spirit, so that she might no longer think corporeally, but spiritually, concerning God; thus also the prophet, beholding the Word become flesh, has said: "The Spirit of our face, Christ the Lord;" so that no one, from what is seen, should think the Lord to be a mere man, but hearing also "Spirit," might know that he who is in a body is God. It should be clear then, concerning both, that he who sees the Lord discoursing about himself, if, looking only at his corporeal aspects, and not believing, he should say, "Whence has this man this wisdom?" he sins indeed, and blasphemes as against the Son of man; but he 26.669 who sees his works, which are done by the Holy Spirit, and says that the one doing such things is not God and the Son of God, but ascribes them to Beelzebul, blasphemes openly, denying his divinity. For indeed in the evangelical saying, as has often been said, by saying, "Son of man," he shows his aspect according to the flesh and humanity; so that, by saying "the Spirit," he might declare that the Holy Spirit is his, by whom he worked all things. Whence, performing the works, he said: "If you do not believe me, believe at least my works, that you may know that I am in the Father, and the Father in me." But when he was about to offer himself corporeally for us, when for this very reason he went up to Jerusalem, he said to his disciples: "Sleep on now, and take your rest; for behold, the hour has drawn near, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners;" for the works made him to be believed to be true God; but the

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τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἄνθρωπον αὐτὸν μόνον ὀνομάζειν· ἐκ δὲ τῶν ἔργων, ἃ ἦν ἴδια Θεοῦ, μηκέτι Θεὸν αὐτὸν ὁμολογεῖν, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἐν αὐ τοῖς Βεελζεβοὺλ ἀντ' ἐκείνου θεοποιεῖν, ἵνα σὺν αὐτῷ λοιπὸν αἰωνίως ἐν τῷ πυρὶ κολάζωνται. Καὶ αὐτὴ δὲ ἡ τοῦ ἀναγνώσματος παρατήρησις τοιαύτην ἔμφασίν τινα παρέχειν μοι δοκεῖ, καὶ δεικνύειν εἰς αὐτὸν φθάνειν ἀμφοτέρας τὰς βλασφη μίας, καὶ περὶ ἑαυτοῦ εἰρηκέναι τὸ, «Υἱὸς ἀνθρώ που,» καὶ τὸ, «Πνεῦμα·» ἵν' ἐκ τούτου μὲν τὸ σω ματικὸν ἑαυτοῦ δείξῃ, ἐκ δὲ τοῦ πνεύματος τὴν πνευματικὴν ἑαυτοῦ καὶ νοητὴν καὶ ἀληθεστάτην θεότητα δηλώσῃ. Καὶ γὰρ τὸ μὲν λαβεῖν δυνάμενον συγγνώμην ἐπὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου συνέταξεν, ἵνα τὸ σωματικὸν ἑαυτοῦ σημάνῃ· τὴν δὲ ἀσύγγνωστον βλασφημίαν εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα φθάνειν δεδήλωκεν· ἵνα, πρὸς ἀντιδιαστολὴν τοῦ σωματικοῦ τοῦτο λέγων, τὴν ἑαυτοῦ θεότητα δείξῃ. Τοῦτον δὲ τὸν χαρακτῆρα καὶ ἐν τῷ κατὰ Ἰωάννην Εὐαγγελίῳ ἑώρακα· ὁπη νίκα, περὶ τῆς τοῦ σώματος βρώσεως διαλεγόμενος, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πολλοὺς ἑωρακὼς τοὺς σκανδαλισθέντας, φησὶν ὁ Κύριος· «Τοῦτο ὑμᾶς σκανδαλίζει; Ἐὰν οὖν θεωρῆτε τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἀναβαί νοντα, ὅπου ἦν τὸ πρότερον; Τὸ Πνεῦμά ἐστι τὸ ζωοποιοῦν· ἡ σὰρξ οὐκ ὠφελεῖ οὐδέν. Τὰ ῥήματα ἃ ἐγὼ λελάληκα ὑμῖν, πνεῦμά ἐστι καὶ ζωή.» Καὶ ἐν ταῦθα γὰρ ἀμφότερα περὶ ἑαυτοῦ εἴρηκε, σάρκα καὶ πνεῦμα· καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα πρὸς τὸ κατὰ σάρκα δι έστειλεν, ἵνα μὴ μόνον τὸ φαινόμενον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ἀόρατον αὐτοῦ πιστεύσαντες μάθωσιν, ὅτι καὶ ἃ λέγει οὐκ ἔστι σαρκικὰ, ἀλλὰ πνευματικά. Πόσοις γὰρ ἤρκει τὸ σῶμα πρὸς βρῶσιν, ἵνα καὶ τοῦ κόσμου παντὸς τοῦτο τροφὴ γένηται; Ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦτο τῆς εἰς 26.668 οὐρανοὺς ἀναβάσεως ἐμνημόνευσε τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, ἵνα τῆς σωματικῆς ἐννοίας αὐτοὺς ἀφελ κύσῃ, καὶ λοιπὸν τὴν εἰρημένην σάρκα βρῶσιν ἄνω θεν οὐράνιον, καὶ πνευματικὴν τροφὴν παρ' αὐτοῦ διδομένην μάθωσιν. «Ἃ γὰρ λελάληκα, φησὶν, ὑμῖν, πνεῦμά ἐστι καὶ ζωή·» ἴσον τῷ εἰπεῖν· Τὸ μὲν δει κνύμενον καὶ διδόμενον ὑπὲρ τῆς τοῦ κόσμου σωτη ρίας ἐστὶν ἡ σὰρξ ἣν ἐγὼ φορῶ· ἀλλ' αὕτη ὑμῖν καὶ τὸ ταύτης αἷμα παρ' ἐμοῦ πνευματικῶς δοθή σεται τροφή· ὥστε πνευματικῶς ἐν ἑκάστῳ ταύτην ἀναδίδοσθαι, καὶ γίνεσθαι πᾶσι φυλακτήριον εἰς ἀνάστασιν ζωῆς αἰωνίου. Οὕτω καὶ τὴν Σαμα ρεῖτιν ἀφέλκων ὁ Κύριος ἀπὸ τῶν αἰσθητῶν, Πνεῦμα εἴρηκε τὸν Θεὸν, ὑπὲρ τοῦ μηκέτι σωματικῶς αὐτὴν, ἀλλὰ πνευματικῶς διανοεῖσθαι περὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ· οὕτω καὶ ὁ προφήτης θεωρῶν τὸν Λόγον τὸν γενόμενον σάρκα εἴρηκε· «Πνεῦμα προσώπου ἡμῶν Χριστὸς Κύριος·» ἵνα μὴ ἐκ τοῦ φαινομένου νομίσῃ τις ἄνθρωπον ψιλὸν εἶναι τὸν Κύριον, ἀλλὰ καὶ Πνεῦμα ἀκούων, γινώσκῃ Θεὸν εἶναι τὸν ἐν σώματι ὄντα. Ἑκάτερον οὖν δῆλον ἂν εἴη λοιπὸν, ὅτι ὁ τὸν Κύριον ὁρῶν τὰ περὶ ἑαυτοῦ διαλεγόμενον, ἐὰν μὲν τὰ σωματικὰ αὐτοῦ μόνον βλέπων, καὶ μὴ πιστεύων λέγοι· «Πόθεν τούτῳ ἡ σοφία αὕτη;» ἁμαρτάνει μὲν, καὶ ὡς εἰς Υἱὸν ἀνθρώπου βλασφημεῖ· ἀλλ' ὁ 26.669 ὁρῶν αὐτοῦ τὰ ἔργα τὰ Πνεύματι ἁγίῳ γινό μενα, καὶ λέγων τὸν τοιαῦτα ποιοῦντα μὴ εἶναι Θεὸν καὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ Υἱὸν, ἀλλὰ τῷ Βεελζεβοὺλ αὐτὰ ἐπιγράφων, φανερῶς βλασφημεῖ, ἀρνούμενος αὐτοῦ τὴν θεό τητα. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελικῷ ῥητῷ, καθὰ πολλάκις εἴρηται, λέγων, «Υἱὸν ἀνθρώπου,» τὸ κατὰ σάρκα καὶ ἀνθρώπινον αὐτοῦ δείκνυσιν· ἵνα, «τὸ Πνεῦμα» λέγων, δηλώσῃ αὐτοῦ εἶναι τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα, ἐν ᾧ τὰ πάντα εἰργάζετο. Ὅθεν τὰ μὲν ἔργα ποιῶν ἔλεγεν· «Εἰ ἐμοὶ μὴ πιστεύετε, κἂν τοῖς ἔργοις μου πιστεύετε, ἵνα γνῶτε, ὅτι ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ, καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ἐν ἐμοί.» Μέλλων δὲ ἑαυτὸν σωματικῶς προσφέρειν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, ὁπηνίκα δι' αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἀνέβη εἰς Ἱερουσαλὴμ, ἔλεγε τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ· «Καθ εύδετε τὸ λοιπὸν, καὶ ἀναπαύεσθε· ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἤγγικεν ἡ ὥρα, καὶ ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου παραδίδοται εἰς χεῖρας ἁμαρτωλῶν·» τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἔργα Θεὸν ἀληθι νὸν αὐτὸν ἐποίει πιστεύεσθαι· ὁ δὲ

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