Book on the Most Holy Trinity (attributed to Cyril)

we have received, acknowledge, and confess what has been handed down, and we inquire nothing beyond these things. For it is impossible that we should say or think anything at all about God beyond those things which have been divinely set forth for us by the divine oracles of both the Old and New Testaments. That God exists, therefore, is not doubted by those who embrace the sacred Scriptures—the Old, I say, and the New Testament—just as it is not doubted by most of the Greeks. For the knowledge that God exists, as we have said, is naturally implanted in us. But since the malice of Satan has prevailed so much against human nature that it has led some even into a most foolish abyss of destruction, worse than any evil, so that they deny that God exists—whose folly the prophet David makes manifest, saying: «The fool has said in his heart, there is no God» (Ps. 13:1).

^B Accordingly, the disciples of the Lord and the apostles, illuminated by the most holy Spirit and having performed signs by His power and divine grace, led those who had been drawn from the depth of ignorance to the light of the knowledge of God by the net of miracles. In the same way, those who succeeded them in grace and dignity, the pastors and teachers, having obtained the illuminating grace of the Holy Spirit, enlightened the blinded and converted those turned away from the true path, both by the power of miracles and by the word of grace. But we, who have received the gift of neither miracles nor doctrine (for we have made ourselves unworthy through the pursuit of pleasures), come now, having invoked the ^C Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, to discuss a few things from those which have been handed down to us by the interpreters of grace.

CHAPTER II

All things that exist are either created or uncreated. But if they are created, they are surely also mutable. For those whose being began from change will likewise be subject to change, so that they are either corrupted or altered according to their choice. But if they are uncreated, they are surely, by the logic of consequence, also immutable. For of those things whose essence is contrary, the mode and reason of their essence—that is, their properties—will also be contrary. Who, therefore, will not agree that all things that exist are mutable, not only those which ^D fall under our senses, but also that angels are converted and altered and moved and changed in various ways: and those things which are understood—angels, I say, and demons and souls—according to choice, namely, according to progression in good, and the intended and relaxed departure from good: but the rest according to generation and corruption, increase and decrease, and the change which is in

^A entrusted by others were created. But the Creator must be uncreated. For if He too were created, He would surely have been created by someone else, until we arrived at something uncreated. The Creator, therefore, being uncreated, is altogether immutable. And what else could this be but God? Furthermore, the very structure, preservation, and governance of creatures teach us that God exists—He who has put this universe together, sustains it, preserves it, and always provides for it. For how could contrary natures—I mean fire and water, air and earth—have come together for the completion of one world and remained indissoluble, unless some omnipotent power had both harmonized them and always preserves them without dissolution? What is it that arranged and placed the celestial and terrestrial things, and whatever dwells in the air and water, in their own places? Nay, even the things that were before these—heaven and earth, and the nature of fire and water? Who mixed and distributed these? What is it that moved them and leads their unceasing and unimpeded course? Is it not the artisan of these things, who implanted in all the reason according to which the whole universe is carried and guided? And who is this artisan of these things? Is it not He who made them and brought them into being? For we shall not attribute such power to chance. Even if we concede that their origin might be due to chance, whose role would it be to arrange them in their proper order? And if we concede even this, whose role would it be to preserve and guard them according to the laws by which they first subsisted? Surely, someone other than chance. And what else is this but God? ^B

CAP. III.

That God exists is therefore manifest. But what He is according to essence and nature is entirely beyond comprehension and unknown. That He is incorporeal is clear. For how could that which has no boundaries or limits, which lacks shape, cannot be touched or seen, and is simple and devoid of composition, be a body? How could it be immutable if it were subject to spatial limitation and passion? And how could that which consists of four elements and is again resolved into them be devoid of passion? For composition is the beginning of conflict, conflict of discord, discord of dissolution, and dissolution is utterly foreign to God. But how, then, shall this also be maintained and defended—that God penetrates all things and fills all things, as the Scripture says: "Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord" (Jerem. XXIII, 24)? For it is impossible for a body to penetrate bodies without cutting or being cut, being intertwined and placed in opposition, just as liquids that are mixed and tempered together. Even if some people claim there is an incorporeal body, such as that which is called the "fifth body" by the wise men of the Greeks—which is ^C indeed impossible—it will certainly be moved like heaven; for they call this the fifth body. Who, then, is the one who moves this? For everything that is moved is moved by another; and who moves that? And so on to infinity, until we arrive at something unmoved. For the first mover is unmoved, which is the divine. And how is it also not limited by place, the

^A moving; only the Divine, then, is unmoved, moving all things through its immobility. The Divine, therefore, must be considered incorporeal. Yet this, too, is not descriptive of its essence, just as neither is the "unbegotten," nor the "without beginning," nor the "unchangeable," nor the "incorruptible," nor all the things we say about God or around God. For these do not signify what He is, but what He is not. One who wishes to state the essence of something must express what it is, not what it is not. Nevertheless, concerning God, it is impossible to state what He is in essence. It is more appropriate, rather, to formulate the discourse through the removal of all things. For He is none of the things that exist; not as if He does not exist, but as being above all things that exist, and even above existence itself. For if knowledge is of things that exist, that which is above knowledge will certainly also be above essence; and conversely, that which is above essence will also be above knowledge. The Divine, therefore, is infinite and incomprehensible; and only this concerning Him is comprehensible: His infinity and incomprehensibility. Whatever we say about God affirmatively does not declare His nature, but the things around His nature; even if you say He is good, or just, or wise, or whatever else you might say, you are not speaking of the nature of God, but of things around that nature. There are, however, certain things said about God affirmatively which possess the force of a supereminent negation; for example, when we speak of "darkness" concerning God, we do not understand darkness, but that He is not light, but rather above light; and "light," that He is not darkness. ^B

CAP. IV.

That God is, and that His essence is incomprehensible, has been sufficiently demonstrated. That there is one God and not many, among those who submit themselves to the divine Scriptures, is beyond controversy. For the Lord says at the beginning of the promulgation of His laws: "I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt: there shall be no other gods for thee besides me." And again: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God, the Lord is one." And through the prophet Isaiah: "For I," He says, "am God the first, I am also after these things, and besides me there is no God; before me there was no other God, and after me there shall be none, and besides me there is no one." And the Lord in the holy Gospels says thus to the Father: "This is eternal life, that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." To those, however, who do not submit themselves to the divine Scripture, we shall argue thus: The Divine is perfect and lacks no deficiency, whether you consider goodness, wisdom, or power; it is without beginning, without end, eternal, uncircumscribed; and, to speak simply, perfect in all things. ^C If, therefore, we speak of many gods, it is necessary ^D

ἀνάγκη ^A differentiam etiam in multis considerari necesse est. Si enim nulla est inter eos differentia, unus potius est quam multi. Sin autem differentia inter eos, ubi est perfectio? Sive enim quoad bonitatem, sive quoad potentiam, sive quoad sapientiam, sive quoad tempus, sive quoad locum aliquid ad perfectionem desideretur, non erit Deus. Ἡ δὲ διὰ πάντων ταυτότης ἕνα μάλλον δείκνυσι, καὶ οὐ πολλούς. Πῶς δὲ καὶ πολλοῖς οὖσι τὸ ἀπερίγραπτον φυλαχθήσεται; Ἔνθα γὰρ ἂν εἴη ὁ εἷς, οὐκ ἂν εἴη ἕτερος. Πῶς δὲ καὶ ὑπὸ πολλῶν κυβερνηθήσεται ὁ κόσμος, καὶ οὐ διαλυθήσεται, καὶ φθαρήσεται, μάχης ἐν τοῖς κυβερνῶσι θεωρουμένης; Ἡ γὰρ διαφορὰ ἐναντίωσιν εἰσάγει. Εἰ δὲ εἴποι τις, ὅτι ἕκαστος μέρους ἄρχει, τί τὸ τάξαν καὶ τὴν διανομὴν αὐτοῖς ποιησάμενον; Ἐκεῖνο γὰρ ἂν εἴη μᾶλλον Θεός. Εἷς τοίνυν ἐστὶ Θεὸς, τέλειος, ἀπερίγραπτος, τοῦ παντὸς ποιητής, συνοχεύς τε καὶ κυβερνήτης, καὶ ὑπερτελὴς, καὶ προτέλειος. Πρὸς δὲ καὶ φυσικὴ ἀνάγκη, μονάδα καὶ δυάδος ἀρχὴν, perfectione superiorem et antiquiorem. Denique et naturalis exigit necessitas, ut unitas binarii origo sit.

CAP. V.

^B Οὗτος τοίνυν ὁ εἷς καὶ μόνος Θεὸς, οὐκ ἄλογός ἐστι. Λόγον δὲ ἔχων, οὐκ ἀνυπόστατον ἕξει, οὐκ ἀρξάμενον τοῦ εἶναι, οὐδὲ παυσόμενον (οὐ γὰρ ἦν ποτε, ὅτε ἦν ὁ Θεὸς ἄλογος)· ἀεὶ δὲ ἔχει τὸν ἑαυτοῦ λόγον ἐξ αὐτοῦ γεννώμενον, οὐ κατὰ τὸν ἡμέτερον λόγον, ἀνυπόστατον καὶ εἰς ἀέρα χεόμενον, ἀλλ' ἐνυπόστατον, ζώντα, τέλειον, οὐκ ἔξω αὐτοῦ χωροῦντα, ἀλλ' ἐν αὐτῷ ἀεὶ ὄντα. Ποῦ γὰρ ἔσται ἔξω αὐτοῦ γινόμενος; Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἡ ἡμετέρα φύσις ἐπίκηρός ἐστι καὶ εὐδιάλυτος, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ λόγος ἡμῶν ἐστιν ἀνυπόστατος. Ὁ δὲ Θεὸς ἀεὶ ὤν, καὶ τέλειος ὤν, τέλειον καὶ ἐνυπόστατον ἕξει τὸν ἑαυτοῦ λόγον, καὶ ἀεὶ ὄντα, καὶ ζῶντα, καὶ πάντα ἔχοντα ὅσα ὁ γεννήτωρ ἔχει. Ὥσπερ γὰρ καὶ ὁ ἡμέτερος λόγος ἐκ τοῦ νοῦ προερχόμενος, οὔτε διόλου ὁ αὐτός ἐστι τῷ νῷ, οὔτε παντάπασιν ἕτερος (ἐκ τοῦ νοῦ μὲν γὰρ ὢν, ἄλλος ἐστὶ παρ' αὐτόν· αὐτὸν δὲ τὸν νοῦν εἰς τὸ ἐμφανὲς ἄγων, οὐκ ἔτι παντάπασιν ἕτερόν ἐστι παρὰ τὸν νοῦν· ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὴν φύσιν ἓν ὤν, ἕτερόν ἐστι τῷ ὑποκειμένῳ)· οὕτω καὶ ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος, τῷ μὲν ὑφεστάναι καθ' ἑαυτὸν ^C διῄρηται πρὸς ἐκεῖνον παρ' οὗ τὴν ὑπόστασιν ἔχει· τῷ δὲ τὰ αὐτὰ δεικνύειν ἐν ἑαυτῷ, ἃ περὶ τὸν Θεὸν καθορᾶται, ὁ αὐτός ἐστι κατὰ τὴν φύσιν ἐκείνῳ. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸ ἐν ἅπασι τέλειον ἐπὶ τοῦ Πατρὸς θεωρεῖται· οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐξ αὐτοῦ γεγεννημένου Λόγου θεωρηθήσεται.

CAP. VI.

Δεῖ δὲ τὸν Λόγον καὶ Πνεῦμα ἔχειν. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ ἡμέτερος λόγος οὐκ ἄμοιρός ἐστι πνεύματος· ἀλλ' ἐφ' ἡμῶν μὲν τὸ πνεῦμα ἀλλότριον τῆς ἡμετέρας ἐστὶν οὐσίας (τοῦ ἀέρος γάρ ἐστιν ὁλκὴ καὶ φορά

^A καὶ προχεομένου πρὸς τὴν τοῦ σώματος σύστασιν· ὅπερ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς ἐκφωνήσεως φωνὴ τοῦ λόγου γίνεται, τὴν τοῦ λόγου δύναμιν ἐν ἑαυτῇ φέρουσα· ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς θείας φύσεως τῆς ἁπλῆς καὶ ἀσυνθέτου, τὸ μὲν εἶναι Πνεῦμα Θεοῦ, εὐσεβῶς ὁμολογητέον, διὰ τὸ μὴ εἶναι τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγον ἐλλειπέστερον τοῦ ἡμετέρου λόγου· οὐκ ἔστι δὲ εὐσεβές, ἀλλότριόν τι ἔξωθεν ἐπεισερχόμενον τῷ Θεῷ, τὸ πνεῦμα λογίζεσθαι, ὡς καὶ ἐφ' ἡμῶν τῶν συνθέτων. Ἀλλ' ὥσπερ Θεοῦ Λόγον ἀκούοντες, οὐκ ἀνυπόστατον, οὐδὲ ἐκ μαθήσεως προσεγγινόμενον, οὐδὲ διὰ φωνῆς προφερόμενον, οὐδὲ εἰς ἀέρα χεόμενον καὶ λυόμενον ᾠήθημεν, ἀλλ' οὐσιωδῶς ὑφεστῶτα, προαιρετικόν τε καὶ ἐνεργὸν, καὶ παντοδύναμον· οὕτω καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα μεμαθηκότες Θεοῦ, τὸ συμπαρομαρτοῦν τῷ Λόγῳ, καὶ φανεροῦν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐνέργειαν, οὐ πνοὴν ἀνυπόστατον ἐννοοῦμεν (οὕτω γὰρ ἂν καθαιρῆται πρὸς ταπεινότητα τὸ μεγαλεῖον τῆς θείας φύσεως, εἰ καθ᾽ ὁμοιότητα τοῦ ἡμετέρου πνεύματος καὶ τὸ ἐν αὐτῷ Πνεῦμα ὑπονοεῖτο), ἀλλὰ δύναμιν οὐσιώδη, αὐτὴν ἐφ' ἑαυτῆς ἐν ἰδιαζούσῃ ὑποστάσει θεωρουμένην, ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς προερχομένην, καὶ ἐν τῷ Λόγῳ ἀναπαυομένην, καὶ αὐτοῦ οὖσαν ἐκφαντικήν· οὔτε χωρισθῆναι τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐν ᾧ ἐστι, καὶ τοῦ Λόγου ᾧ συμπαρομαρτεῖ, δυναμένην· οὔτε πρὸς τὸ ἀνύπαρκτον ἐλθεῖν ἀνεχομένην· ἀλλὰ καθ' ὁμοιότητα τοῦ Λόγου καθ᾽ ὑπόστασιν οὖσαν, ζῶσαν, προαιρετικὴν, αὐτοκίνητον, ἐνεργὸν, πάντοτε τὸ ἀγαθὸν θέλουσαν, καὶ πρὸς πᾶσαν πρόθεσιν σύνδρομον ἐχούσαν τῇ βουλήσει τὴν δύναμιν· μήτε ἀρχὴν ἔχουσαν, μήτε τέλος. Οὐ γὰρ ἐνέλειψε ποτε τῷ Πατρὶ Λόγος, οὐδὲ τῷ Λόγῳ Πνεῦμα. Οὕτω διὰ μὲν τῆς κατὰ φύσιν ἑνότητος ἡ πολύθεος τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἐξαφανίζεται πλάνη· διὰ δὲ τῆς τοῦ Λόγου παραδοχῆς καὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος, τῶν Ἰουδαίων καθαιρεῖται τὰ δόγματα· ἑκατέρας τε αἱρέσεως παραμένει τὸ χρήσιμον, ἐκ μὲν τῆς Ἰουδαϊκῆς ὑπολήψεως, ἡ τῆς φύσεως ἑνότης· ἐκ δὲ τοῦ Ἑλληνισμοῦ ἡ κατὰ τὰς ὑποστάσεις διάκρισις μόνη. Εἰ δὲ ἀντιλέγει ὁ Ἰουδαῖος πρὸς τὴν τοῦ Λόγου παραδοχὴν καὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος, ὑπὸ τῆς θείας Γραφῆς ἐλεγχέσθω τε καὶ ἐπιστομιζέσθω. Περὶ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ Λόγου φησὶν ὁ θεῖος Δαβίδ· «Εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, Κύριε, ὁ Λόγος σου διαμένει ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ.» (Ps. cxvii, 89) Καὶ πάλιν· «Ἀπέστειλε τὸν Λόγον αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἰάσατο αὐτούς.» (Ps. cv, 20) Ὁ Λόγος δὲ προφορικὸς οὐκ ἀποστέλλεται, οὐδὲ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα μένει. Περὶ δὲ τοῦ Πνεύματος ὁ αὐτὸς Δαβίδ φησιν· «Ἐξαποστελεῖς τὸ Πνεῦμά σου, καὶ κτισθήσονται.» (Ps. ciii, 30) Καὶ πάλιν· «Τῷ Λόγῳ Κυρίου οἱ οὐρανοὶ ἐστερεώθησαν, καὶ τῷ Πνεύματι τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ, πᾶσα ἡ δύναμις αὐτῶν.» (Ps. xxxii, 6) Καὶ Ἰώβ· «Πνεῦμα θεῖον τὸ ποιῆσάν με, πνοὴ δὲ Παντοκράτορος ἡ διδάσκουσά με.» (Job xxxiii, 4) Πνεῦμα δὲ ἀποστελλόμενον, καὶ ποιοῦν, καὶ στερεοῦν, καὶ συνέχον, οὐκ ἆσθμά ἐστι λυόμενον, ὥσπερ οὐδὲ σωματικὸν μέλος τὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ στόμα· ἀμφότερα γὰρ θεοπρεπῶς νοητέον.

ΚΕΦΑΛ. Ζ'.

ἀρχὴν ^A beginningless, uncreated, unbegotten, ^B exempt from destruction and death, eternal, infinite, escaping all circumscription, infinite in power, simple, uncompounded, incorporeal; free from flux, passion, change, and alteration; invisible, the fountain of goodness and justice; light intellectual and inaccessible; a power known by no measure, but measured only by its own will: (for all things whatsoever it wills, it can do:) the maker of all creatures, both visible and invisible, the guardian and preserver of all, providing for all, commanding and ruling over all, and possessing over all an immortal and eternal kingdom; having nothing contrary to it, filling all things, contained by nothing, but rather itself containing, sustaining, and preceding all things, ^B immaculately pervading all essences, being beyond all things, and removed from every essence, as being super-essential and above things that are; super-divine, super-good, super-abundant; defining all origins and orders, and established above every origin and order, superior to essence and life, and reason and thought, self-light, self-goodness, self-life, self-essence (in that it does not have existence from another, nor anything of all that exists; but is itself the fountain of existence to things that are, of life to the living, of reason to those that partake of reason, and the cause of all good things to all), knowing all things before their coming to be, one essence, one divinity, one power, one will, one operation, one empire, one authority, one dominion, one kingdom: yet so that it is recognized and adored by every rational creature in three perfect persons, and adored with one adoration, and believed and worshipped, without confusion united and without distance divided (a thing which is a marvel) into Father and Son and Holy Spirit, in whose name also we have been baptized: (for so the Lord commanded the apostles to baptize: "Baptizing them," he says, "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit"): into one Father, the origin and cause of all things; begotten of no one, but existing alone as uncaused and unbegotten; the maker indeed of all things, but by nature the Father of only one, his only-begotten Son, our Lord and God and Savior ^C Jesus Christ, and the producer of the Holy Spirit; and into one Son of God, the only-begotten, our Lord Jesus Christ, begotten of the Father before all ages, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father, through whom all things were made. Whom when we call "before all ages," we show that his generation is destitute of beginning and time. For the Son of God, the radiance of his glory, the character of the Father's substance, the living wisdom and power, the Word that is truly subsistent, that essential and perfect and living image of the invisible God, was not brought from non-existence into existence; but he was always with the Father and in him eternally and beginninglessly begotten from him. For there was never a time when the Father was not, when the Son was not; but together Father, together Son, who was begotten from him; for the Father is ^D without the Son, there is no...

one who would be called Father. ^A If he were not having the Son, he was not the Father; and if after this he had a Son, after this he became the Father, not being the Father before this, and he shifted from not being the Father to becoming the Father; which is more grievous than all blasphemy. For it is impossible to call God destitute of natural fertility. And fertility is the begetting from himself, that is, from his own essence, a being similar in nature. Therefore, regarding the generation of God, it is impious to say that time intervened, or that the existence of the Son came to be after the Father. For we say the generation of the Son is from him, that is, from the nature of the Father. And if we do not grant that the Son from the beginning co-exists with the Father, having been begotten from him, we introduce a change of the Father's subsistence; because, not being the Father, he later became the Father. For creation, even if it has come to be after this, yet it was not produced from the essence of God, but from not-being into being by his will and power; and change does not touch the nature of God. For generation is the bringing forth from the essence of the begetter that which is begotten, similar in essence; but creation and making is the coming to be of the thing created and made from the outside, and not from the essence of the creator and maker, totally dissimilar in essence. For ^B the only God, who is impassible, unchangeable, immutable, and always existing in the same way, both begetting and creating is impassible. For being by nature impassible and unfluctuating, as he is simple and incomposite, he is not of a nature to endure passion or flux during begetting or during creating; nor does he need any cooperation. Thus, generation is without beginning and eternal, being a work of nature, and proceeding from his essence, so that the begetter might not endure change, and so that God might not be a first God and a later God, and receive an addition; but creation, being a work of God's will, is not co-eternal with God; since that which is brought from not-being into being is not by nature able to be co-eternal with the One who is without beginning and ever-existing. Just as, therefore, man and God do not create in the same way (for man does not bring anything from not-being into being; but what he makes, he makes from pre-existing matter, not only having willed, but also having previously conceived, and having shaped in his mind what is to be produced, then also having worked with his hands and endured labor and toil, and often even failing, the endeavor not turning out as he wishes; but God, having only willed, brought all things from not-being into being) ^C; so neither does God and man beget in the same way. For God, being timeless and without beginning and impassible and unfluctuating and incorporeal and only endless, begets timelessly and without beginning and impassibly and unfluctuatingly, and apart from union. And his incomprehensible generation has neither beginning nor end. And it is without beginning on account of him being immutable; and unfluctuating, on account of him being impassible and incorporeal. And it is apart from union, on account of his being ^D incorporeal again and one

^A that God alone is needing nothing of another; but without end, and unceasingly, due to his being without beginning and timeless, and endless, and always being the same. For that which is without beginning is endless; but that which is endless by grace is not entirely without beginning, just as the angels are. God, therefore, who is always, begets his own Word, being perfect without beginning and without end, so that God, who has a nature and an existence superior to time, does not beget in time; for man, as is evident, begets in an opposite manner, being subject to generation and corruption and flux and multiplication, and encompassed by a body, and possessing both male and female in his nature. For the male is in need of the help of the female. But may He who is beyond all things and surpasses all thought and comprehension be propitious.

CHAPTER VIII.

ν) signifies "uncreated," that is, that which has not been made; but that which is unbegotten (with two νν) declares that which has not been brought forth. According, then, to the first meaning, essence differs from essence. For one essence is uncreated, that is, unbegotten (with one ν), and another is begotten, that is, created. But according to the second meaning, essence does not differ from essence. For the first subsistence of every species of living creatures is unbegotten, but not uncreated. For they were created by the Creator, produced into existence by His Word, but they were not begotten, as there was no pre-existing being of the same kind from which they might be begotten. According, then, to the first meaning, the three ^A super-essential subsistences of the holy Godhead participate, for they are co-essential and uncreated; but according to the second meaning, by no means. For the Father alone is unbegotten (for He does not have His existence from another subsistence), and the Son alone is begotten (for He has been begotten from the essence of the Father without beginning and timelessly), and the Holy Spirit alone is proceeding from the essence of the Father; not begotten, but proceeding; thus the divine Scripture teaches, while the manner of the generation and the procession is and remains incomprehensible. Furthermore, this must be known, that the terms of paternity, filiation, and procession ^B were not transferred by us to the blessed Godhead; on the contrary, they were communicated to us from thence, as the divine Apostle says: "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father, from whom every paternity in heaven and on earth is named." And if we say that the Father is the origin of the Son and greater, we do not imply that He precedes the Son in time or nature; for through Him He made the ages; nor in any other respect, except in terms of causality, that is, that the Son was begotten of the Father, and not the Father of the Son; and that the Father is the cause of the Son naturally; just as we do not say that fire proceeds from light, but light from fire. ^C When, therefore, we hear that the Father is the origin and greater than the Son, let us understand it in terms of cause. And just as we do not say that fire is of one essence and light of another; so it is impossible to say that the Father is of one essence and the Son of another, but of one and the same. And just as we say that the fire shines through the light proceeding from it, and we do not posit the light from it to be an instrumental tool of the fire, but rather a natural power; so we say that the Father does all things that He does through His only-begotten Son; not as through a ministerial tool, but as through a natural and ^D subsistent power. And just as we say that fire illuminates, and again we say that the light of the fire illuminates; so all things that the Father does, the Son does likewise. But the light does not possess a subsistence of its own apart from the fire; whereas the Son is a perfect subsistence, inseparable from the paternal subsistence, as we have shown above. For it is impossible to find in creation

^A an image which, without dissimilarity, represents in itself the image ^B of the holy Trinity. For how shall that which is created, composite, shifting, mutable, circumscribed, endowed with form, and corruptible, clearly declare the super-essential divine essence, which is exempt from all these things? Furthermore, it is certain that all creatures are subject to most of these affections, and are by their very nature such as to be subject to corruption.

CAP. IX.

^A can be understood): yet we believe in one essence—simple, supreme, and in every way perfect—within the three perfect hypostases. For everything that consists of imperfect things is altogether composite. But from perfect hypostases, a composition cannot arise. Thus it comes about that we do not say the species is *out of* the hypostases, but *in* the hypostases. We have called those things imperfect which do not preserve the species of the thing produced from them. For stone and wood and iron are indeed perfect in themselves, if you look at the peculiar nature of each, but regarding the dwelling constructed from them, each of them is imperfect. Since not one of them is a house by itself. We affirm the persons to be perfect, therefore, lest we understand composition in the divine nature (for composition is the principle of division). And again, we say that the persons are in one another, lest we introduce a multitude and crowd of gods. By the three hypostases, we indicate the non-composite and unconfused; but by the fact that they are con-substantial and that the persons are in one another, and that their will, operation, power, authority, and—if I may so say—motion are identical, we make known that there is no place here for division, and that there is one God. For one is God in truth, God, and His Word, and His Spirit. ^B

CHAP. X.

It is worthwhile to know that it is one thing for a thing to be considered in reality, and another for it to be considered by reason and thought. For in all creatures, a distinction of hypostases is considered in reality (for Peter is considered as separated from Paul by the fact of the thing itself); but their communion, conjunction, and unity are considered by reason and thought. For we conceive in our mind that Peter and Paul are of the same essence ^C and have one common nature. For each of them is a rational, mortal animal; and each of them is flesh animated by a rational and intelligent soul. Therefore, this common nature is something observable by reason. For the hypostases are not in one another, but each is private and individual—that is, it is separated by itself—and possesses many things that divide it from the other. For they are distant from one another in place, and differ in time, and are separated by opinion, and by strength, and by form (or figure), and by state, and by temperament, and by dignity, and by manner of life and custom, and by all the characteristic properties by which they are recognized as if by certain marks. But above all, they differ ^D in that they do not exist in one another but separately; whence it also comes about that they are called two or three or many men. This, indeed, may be seen in all creation. But in the case of the most holy and trans-essential Trinity—which is beyond all things and incomprehensible—the matter stands in the inverse way. For there, commonality and unity are considered in reality, both because of their co-eternity and because of the identity of essence, operation, and will, and the agreement of opinion, and furthermore the identity of power, virtue, and goodness (I did not say likeness, but identity), and the one single propulsion of motion. For one is the essence, one the goodness, one the power, one the will, one the operation,

one the authority, one and the same; they are not three entities similar to one another, but one and the same motion of the three hypostases. For each one of them has [its relation] toward the other no less than toward itself; that is to say, that in all things the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one; apart from ^A unbegottenness, generation, and procession. But by way of mental abstraction, that which is distinct [is considered]. For we know one God, but only in the properties of paternity, and filiation, and procession, and in regard to cause and that which proceeds from a cause, and the perfection of the hypostasis—that is, the mode of existence—do we conceive of a difference. For we cannot speak of local distance concerning the uncircumscribed Godhead, as [is the case] with us (for the hypostases are in one another, not so as to be confused, but so as to cohere according to the word of the Lord who says, “I am in the Father, and the Father in me”); nor do we profess a difference of will, or opinion, or operation, or power, or of any other thing that would generate in us a real and total division. Hence we do not call the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit three gods; but rather we assert that the Holy Trinity is one God, with the Son and the Spirit being referred to one cause, not being composed or mingled according to the contraction of Sabellius (for they are united, as we have said, not so as to be confused, but so as to be contained by one another; and they possess an interpenetration in one another free from all commingling and confusion); nor do they depart from one another, nor are they divided in essence according to the division of Arius. For the Godhead is indivisible in those which are divided, if one must speak briefly; and it is as in three suns that are touching one another and are undistanced, there is one blending and conjunction of light. When, therefore, we look toward the Godhead and the first cause, and the monarchy, and the one and the same—if I may so say—motion and will of the Godhead, and the identity of essence and power and operation and lordship, there appears to our eyes one [God]. But when we gaze at those in whom the Godhead is, or, to speak more accurately, which the Godhead is; and those which are from the first cause timelessly, and from there are in the same glory and without distance (that is, the hypostases of the Son and of the Spirit), there are three which are worshipped: one Father, the Father and without beginning, that is to say, without cause (for He is not from anything); one Son, the Son and not without beginning, that is to say, not without cause (for He is from the Father). But if you take beginning [to mean] from time, even [He is] without beginning (for He is the creator of times, not subject to time); one Holy Spirit, the Spirit who proceeds indeed from the Father, yet not in the manner of filiation, but of procession; so that neither has the Father departed from the property of unbegottenness because He has begotten, nor has the Son [departed] from generation, because He is from the unbegotten (how could He?); nor does the Spirit either pass over into the Father or into the Son because He has proceeded, and because He is God. For the property is immovable. Or how could a property remain if it were being moved and changing? For if the Father were the Son, He would not be Father in the proper sense; for there is only one Father in the proper sense. And if the Son were the Father, He would not be Son in the proper sense; for there is only one Son in the proper sense, and one Holy Spirit. We must know that we do not say that the Father

is from someone, but we confess Him to be the Father of the Son. We do not say that the Son is without cause, nor that He is the Father; but we say that He is from the Father, and is the Son of the Father. The Holy Spirit ^A we also say is from the Father, and we name Him the Spirit of the Father. We do not say the Spirit is from the Son, but we name Him the Spirit of the Son ("For if any man have not the Spirit of Christ," says the divine Apostle); and we confess that through the Son He has been manifested and imparted to us. "For He breathed," he says, "and said to His disciples: Receive the Holy Spirit." Just as the ray and the splendor are from the sun (for he himself is the source of the ray and the splendor), yet the splendor is imparted to us through the ray, and this is what illuminates us and is participated in by us. We say that the Son is neither of the Spirit, nor indeed from the Spirit. ^B

CHAPTER XI

CHAPTER XII

or express the immaterial energies of the Godhead, unless we make use of images, types, and symbols compatible with our own nature. Whatever, therefore, is said of God in a more bodily sense is spoken symbolically and possesses a higher meaning. For the Divine is simple and lacks all form.

By the eyes, therefore, and eyelids, and the sight of God, let us understand His power of overseeing all things, and the unerring nature of His knowledge, because with us, a more perfect and full knowledge is acquired through this sense. By the ears and hearing, His readiness to grant pardon and the ease with which He receives our prayers; for we, too, when others make supplications to us, show ourselves to be mild through this sense, inclining a more favorable ear to them. By the mouth and speech, the manifestation of His will, because among us, inner thoughts of the heart are indicated through mouth and speech. By food and drink, our concurrence with His will; for we, too, satisfy the necessary appetite of nature through the sense of taste. By the sense of smell, that power by which He considers our thought and goodwill toward Him to be pleasing and acceptable, just as we perceive the sweet fragrance of odors through this sense. By the face, the demonstration and revelation ^B of Himself through His works, in that our own appearance is revealed through our face. By the hands, the effective power of His operation; for we, too, accomplish the most useful and honorable things with our own hands. By the right hand, His assistance in prosperous affairs, because we ourselves prefer to use our right hand for things that are more honorable and require greater strength. By touch, His most accurate knowledge and investigation of things even most minute and hidden, because among us, things that are handled cannot hide anything within themselves. By feet and walking, His coming and presence for the purpose of bringing aid to those in need, or punishing enemies, or performing some other action; because among us, arrival is accomplished by the benefit of feet. By an oath, the immutability of His counsel, because among us, mutual agreements are confirmed through an oath. By anger and fury, His hatred and detestation of vice; for we, too, become angry when we hate things contrary to our will and judgment. ^C By forgetfulness, sleep, and drowsiness, the delay of vengeance against His enemies and the procrastination of His accustomed aid toward His own. And, to say it in a word, all things spoken of God in a bodily manner possess a hidden meaning, teaching us about things that are above us through the things that are harmonious with us.

CHAPTER XIII.

they are natural, not ^A hypostatic, as those which, outside of the prerogative of honor, belong to the three hypostases of the Divinity; but they are called "idiomata" [properties] because, except for the divine essence alone, they can be participated in by no other nature, and they are observed to exist in neither humans nor angels.

It is called essence, and nature, and form; [one and the same thing: essence, indeed, as having being for itself; nature,] as that which brings forth hypostases; form, as that which encompasses all things formed under it, that is to say, their characters. The things contained are called individuals, and hypostases, and persons. Individuals, indeed, because none of them admits of section or division. For if the human essence, or to say the same thing, humanity, is divided among humans who fall under sensation, none of them can be divided into other humans—rational and mortal animals, capable of mind and knowledge—and according to this reasoning, all particular men are individuals. ^B Hypostases, because they stand and remain under the nature, which is universal and considered as an notion of the mind; but those things are particular and have existence in reality. Persons, finally, because each of them possesses an individual character incommunicable to the others. Therefore, in the Divinity, we posit one essence, one nature, one form; but three individuals, three hypostases, three persons, which are known by corresponding characters, that is to say, properties. The Son is called the character of the paternal hypostasis, not because he himself is the property of the Father (for who endowed with reason would suspect this?), but because the Father, in that he is Father, is characterized and known from the fact that he has a Son; and because the Son, absolutely having in himself all things that are the Father’s, while remaining the Son, reveals the one ^C from whom he is, just like a natural and in every way similar image of him. Therefore he says: "He who has seen me, has seen the Father." But God, being Mind by nature and without beginning, pours forth the Word of the same nature as if from a fountain. And since he is Father, he generates a coessential Son. Wherefore, he is the same Word of God and Son of the Father.

CHAPTER XIV

This Son and Word of God and the Father, through whom the Father created all creation as through his own wisdom and power (for he himself is the wisdom and power of the Father), he, I say, for our sakes, by the good pleasure ^D of the One who begat him, became man, existing in the Father and having become with us (for he is without limitation); and he assumed flesh, soul, mind, reason, will, operation, all things that naturally belong to man—he did not remain untried even by those passions which were introduced among us after the first sin, in which no blame lies, but he also accepted these because of his great condescension, in order that he might restore all humanity to the better; and simply to say, he became perfect man, not by phantasy or appearance, but truly and

...not according to appearance or opinion, but as He truly and exactly existed as man, both like us and above us. Like us, in that He was conceived in the womb of a woman, formed within her as a living being, and carried for as long a time and in such manner as the law of nature allowed, being born in the likeness of an infant. Above us, in that His conception was from the Holy Spirit without marital union, without carnal pleasure, and without any passion-driven thought; the formation of His body was from most holy virginal blood, and His birth, devoid of labor pains, did not harm the virginity of the one who bore Him. For she remained a virgin even after childbirth, just as she had been before birth and before conception, being throughout her whole life an ever-virgin, undefiled and stainless. For it was fitting that the one who gave birth to God should be such. Like us, in that He took on a natural and corruptible body, ^B composed of the four humors, quickened by a tripartite soul, administered by innate heat and natural powers, and subject to hunger, thirst, and the other blameless infirmities of nature. Above us, in that He was not a mere man, but man and God at once. For He did not complete the work of His incarnation by changing from being God into becoming man, but remaining God what He was, He became man what He was not; not by transforming the human nature into the divine nature, which He assumed, but by deifying it through the most perfect union, while it yet remained within its own boundaries. For just as fire, when fully united to iron, ignites it, yet does not remove it from the nature of iron (for this remains iron even after the heating, and is called and is burning iron), in the same way the Son and Word of God, having been united to the mortal nature, deified it, yet did not cause it to cease being the mortal nature. For it remains mortal nature even after deification, and it is called and is a deified mortal nature—a deified flesh, I say, with an intelligent, rational, volitional, and active soul, possessing the faculty of working.

CHAPTER XV.

Since sin is something spurious and contrary to nature (for it supervenes from without when we are not watchful), the Word of God rightly did not assume it. Furthermore, because He deified the whole nature that He assumed, it was right and just that this deified nature should remain impervious to sin and in every way untouched by it. Nor was there in Christ any doubtful or wavering choice. For Christ possessed the faculty of choosing, as one endowed with free will and as the condition of human nature—which He assumed—required, because He was also a participant in reason (for everything that is a participant in reason is endowed with free will, and everything endowed with free will has the faculty of choosing); ^D yet He did not need, as we do, counsel, reflection, judgment, and choice, just as He did not need watchfulness. For He was God in both respects: the one by nature, the other by deification. Therefore, on this account too, He was superior to all sin. For the act of sinning arises in us either from a wavering choice or through inadvertence, contrary to our intention. Indeed, even inadvertence itself is sin, or at least the beginning of sin. For this reason, we are held liable for involuntary sins. Hence, where the cause is removed, what place is there for the effect...

^A that arises from that cause to creep in?

Choice (*electio*), therefore, is simply a progression toward desiring and embracing—that is, a movement proceeding from free will, and an impulse joined with reason toward that which is the object of the will; a quality that belongs to everyone who participates in reason. Furthermore, choice is called the apprehension of one thing over another, which occurs with a preceding deliberation, then a judgment, which is followed by an affection toward that which was determined by the deliberation, and it is called an opinion (*sententia*): the choice that is now being declared, or the selection of that which seems honorable, follows upon this opinion. No one who is of sound mind would attribute such a choice to Christ. For of what deliberation, or of what things arising from deliberation, could that admirable Counselor, that Wisdom of God and the Father, be in need? Or how could the choice that exists in us, who have pre-selected the good, be appropriate to Him, as it has been testified? For Isaiah has cried out beforehand that, before He knows or prefers evil, He will choose the good—meaning that He would neither know evil at all, nor would He prefer it; but He will chose the good from the very beginning. And again: "Before the child knows good or evil, he will not obey wickedness, so as to choose the good" ^B—that is, before all knowledge, in His early infancy, the child, being disobedient and immovably disposed toward evil, will claim the good for Himself. But the phrase "before He knows" is spoken according to how it appeared. For when was the child ignorant, in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge were hidden, being revealed at the appropriate times, insofar as it was fitting? Such also is the meaning of Jesus advancing in wisdom and grace with His age, according to how it appeared, that is to say. For there was an advancement of age as the body grew naturally; but for His wisdom and grace, which were established at the first and highest degree, it was not an advancement, but a timely manifestation. Therefore, Christ, who was God united to human nature according to hypostasis, was good as God. And yet, even as man, He possessed the good freely, which is according to nature. For just as evil and sin are contrary to nature, so indeed are the good and virtue according to nature. For this reason, sin has received such a name, as being a ^C falling short of the good which is according to nature.

CHAPTER XVI.

The angels, then, are indeed called and are difficult to move toward evil, being aided by their attendance upon God and the illumination they receive from Him. But the soul of the Lord was in every way immovable toward evil, having the God Word Himself within it, not by a relation, but by union. And it indeed exercised the government of the body; but the God Word was its leader and prince, whom it followed freely, and it desired most of all to fulfill His divine will on account of the preeminence of His own holiness. For this reason, also, the Lord, when praying to His Father in the ^D

^A time of His passion as a man, said: "Not as I will, but as Thou: Thy will be done." For this saying of the Lord’s soul proves that it knew that the will of the Word of God, who had been united to it, was one and the same as the Father’s. The Lord indeed possessed the things that befit servants, for the sake of the servants, but He remained above the condition of servants; for He was the Lord, even if He had taken the form of a servant. In truth, He hungered, He thirsted, He was drowsy, He labored, He was saddened, He wept, He feared, He was anguished, but voluntarily; since He Himself, when He willed it, permitted His own humanity to perform what is its own without blame: a thing that surpasses our own condition. Again, He ate, drank, slept, and conversed like us, but entirely without sin; in which respect He is once more superior to us. For who among us could be found in natural matters, even those that are blameless, to be entirely without fault? He suffered for us; He felt pain from being fastened and stretched upon the cross; finally, He died; but His passion, His pain, and His death were voluntary. The flesh suffered, and the soul felt pain naturally on account of the bond by which it was joined to it (for the sensation of the flesh comes from it); yet the Divinity, which was in both, was free from division.

CHAPTER XVII

Having suffered, died, and been buried, the Lord cast off corruption and the things that follow from corruption; ^B and having prepared His body for incorruption, and having taken up His own soul by the authority He possessed as God, He rose again on the third day. "For I lay down my life," He says, "that I may take it again. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again." If, therefore, the Lord also ate after the resurrection, He did so by economy, showing His own disciples that He Himself who had been with them before had risen. Yet when I say "by economy," I exclude it being a mere appearance or fancy. For He truly ate, yet He partook of food in a way that was new and appropriate to Him then, as He Himself knows. For this reason, He also showed the marks of the wounds; through His omnipotence, He made present the things that had happened, yet were no longer truly there. For that body, having become superior to every need and every resistance to touch, admitted neither food nor handling. Wherefore, we say that the Lord is now no longer "according to the flesh," ^C as one who has put aside the things of the flesh: desire for food, sleep, labor, and the like; and besides these, also resistance to touch. For His body, having stripped off corruption, was made finished, free from all need, free from passion, intangible, and immortal; however, it was not thereby made uncreated, nor again uncircumscribed. For these things belong to the Divinity alone. And, to sum up, in so far as the human nature of Christ was capable of divine prerogatives, it participated in them from the Word of God Himself on account of the union, by reason of which it is also to be religiously venerated and worshipped. In so far as it was not capable, it did not participate, that from this we might recognize both the difference of the natures of Christ and the uniqueness of His person. ^D

CHAP. XVIII.

CHAP. XIX.

^A natures, namely the divine, and again another of the flesh, that is to say the human, by synecdoche.

CHAPTER XX

Another is the will of the divine nature, and another of the human. For by will we denote the faculty of willing itself, which is a natural will. When the Lord therefore had assumed the will of human nature and deified it, He truly retained that which was human according to nature. And wishing to demonstrate this clearly, having entered a house in the parts of Tyre and Sidon, He wished that no one should know, and He could not be hid. For since He had wished through ^B dispensation to be hidden, He could not: so that He might teach us by the very events, that the Omnipotent did not reject the weak will of human nature, but essentially took it for His own, our whole nature having been assumed with all things that are according to nature. Thus it is said primarily that which is the natural will, as has been declared. It is also called will, that which the will wills; which in men is personal, and not the same for the whole nature. For one man wills to act privately, another to speak and act openly; one wills to till the earth, another to navigate; and it is one thing to one, and another to another, according to ^C opinion. Frequently, to one and the same person, there is a different and other thing according to opinion. Frequently also one and the same person at another time wills a different and other thing. This is called personal will, the will of opinion. Since therefore we confess that the Lord is of two natures, we believe that He also possesses two natural wills, divine and human, that is to say, two volitive powers distinguished from each other by the reason of nature. But since He is understood to be of one person, it is slippery and dangerous to affirm of Him diverse wills of opinion. For that which He wills is one, because He also who wills is one; so that the human will is moved ^D toward that which it properly wills, when this also is what His divine will wills, and in so far as it is willed.

CHAPTER XXI

But since opinion, that is, judgment, is spoken of in two ways (for it is also called simple

^A inclination toward what we desire, as that which happens with reason and knowledge among rational beings)—judgment is also called an affection arising from previous deliberation and scrutiny—it is not safe to speak of either judgment or judicial will in reference to Christ according to the second meaning of "judgment," because ignorance is brought in along with these. For although the Lord assumed a nature capable of ignorance, He nevertheless imparted to it divine prerogatives and gifts. And the soul of the Lord possessed all wisdom, divine as well as human; all knowledge of things past, things present, and things future—not by nature or by grace, but because of the union in subsistence with Him who alone is wise, and who knows all things eternally, even before they come into being. What counsel, then, did this need? For what reason would He, who knew all things, need to deliberate, as we have said? But if it is written that the Lord, being hungry, came to a fig tree that had no fruit to see if He might find anything on it, and found nothing but leaves, the description of the matter in this way is ^B by way of allegation, or allegorically and figuratively, even if someone—perhaps having observed His advent to the fig tree but not knowing the reason for the dispensation—might have suspected otherwise. For to whom, even among ordinary people, could that which was manifest have been unknown, since it was not the season for figs? But as He who possesses power over all things wished to demonstrate at that time that He possesses not only the power to bestow benefits, but also the power to punish, and that, if He willed, by his word alone He could wither those who were about to crucify Him, the wise and philanthropic Lord set His hunger and His coming to the fig tree as precursors to such a demonstration. For this reason, also, contrary to custom, there was hunger early in the morning, just as He had willed it. Therefore, the arrival at the fig tree, and likewise the inquiry regarding Lazarus as to where he had been laid after his death, and anything similar, are not matters of ignorance, but of dispensation and of appropriate condescension. ^C According to the second meaning of judgment and "prohairesis" (choice), therefore, we would not speak of judgment or choice in Christ. But according to the first meaning, we say that such a thing was done according to the judgment of God, that is, that the act was willed by God and the deed was acceptable; as if we were to say that David reigned according to the judgment of God. And the Word of God is said to be "choosing," and the Holy Spirit has been said to be "choosing." Therefore, the term must be examined in all cases to see if it implies more than one thing, and one must proceed with clarity in one’s speech toward what is signified. For the error arising from ambiguity is great, and this is the first method in sophistries.

CHAPTER XXII

^A Now, by anointing must be understood the total perfusion of the ointment into the whole which is anointed. For thus, that which has received the anointing would truly be wholly Christ. For that which is anointed superficially is anointed in part, but not totally; wherefore it is not strictly anointed either. For this reason, kings and high priests, who are anointed with oil and besmeared with a superficial anointing, are not strictly anointed. And if the grace through the ointment has penetrated even into the depth, not even then are they strictly anointed; for they are anointed by grace and are subject to falling. Hence, the Lord alone is strictly anointed, who is anointed wholly through and through—not by grace, but by personal union, and is eternally anointed.

CHAPTER XXIII

^B It must be known, however, that there are four general modes of the things said concerning Christ. For some things befit Him even before the assumption of humanity; some in the union itself; some after the union; and some, finally, after the resurrection. And of those things which befit Him before the assumption of humanity, there are six modes. For some of them declare the conjunction of nature and that essence which is the same as the Father’s, such as this: "I and the Father are one" (John x, 30); and, "He who has seen me has seen the Father" (John xiv, 9); and that: "Who, being in the form of God" (Phil. ii, 6); and the like. Other things declare the perfection of the subsistence, such as: "The Son of God, and the express image of His subsistence" (Hebr. i, 3); and: "Angel of Great Counsel, wonderful, counselor" (Isa. ix, 6); and those of this kind. Other things [declare] the mutual interpenetration of the subsistences, ^C as: "I am in the Father, and the Father in me" (John xiv, 11); and the immovable indwelling, as "Word, wisdom, and power, and splendor" (1 Cor. i, 24). For the Word is established in the mind (I mean the essential Word), and wisdom likewise; and power in the powerful one, and splendor in the light, are unshakably established, emanating from Him as from a source. Other things are stated of Him as recognizing the Father as His Author and Cause, such as: "The Father is greater than I" (John xiv, 28). For from Him He has both being and whatever He has—His being, indeed, by generation and not by production or creation; such as that saying: "I came forth from the Father" (John xvi, 28); and, "I live because of the Father" (John vi, 57). But all things that He has, He has not by participation or instruction, but as from a Cause, such as: "The Son can do nothing of himself, ^D unless he sees the Father doing it" (John v, 19). For if the Father is not, neither is the Son. For from the Father is the Son, and in the Father, and together with the Father, and not after the Father. In the same way, whatever He does, He does from Him and with Him. For one and the same—I say, not similar, but the same—is the will, act, and power of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Other things are commemorated of Him as if the Father’s good pleasure is fulfilled by His own action, not as through an instrument or servant, but as through His own essential and subsistent Word and wisdom and power; for this reason, that one movement is considered in the Father and the Son, as this: "All things were made through him" (John i, 3); and: "He sent his Word and healed them" (Ps. cvi, 20); and: "You may know that you sent me" (John v, 36). Other things are [said] prophetically, and of these some [are said] as things to come, such as: "Clearly..."

he shall come," and that of Zechariah, "Behold your King shall come to you," and what is said by Micah: "Behold, the Lord goes forth from his place, and shall come down, and shall step upon the high places of the earth." Other things, although they are future, are nevertheless spoken of as past: "This is our God, after this he appeared on earth and lived with men," and: "The Lord created me as the beginning of his ways for his works," and: "Therefore God your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions," and similar things. And those things which are said before the union, will be said of him even after the union; but those things which are [said] after the union are by no means said of him before the union, unless, as we said, in a prophetic manner. ^B

CHAPTER XXIV

There are three modes of those things which are in the union. For when we speak from the more excellent side, we mention the deification of the flesh, and the "verbification" (or becoming Word), and the superexaltation, and things of that kind; demonstrating the richness that came to the flesh from the union and the most intimate conjunction with the most high God the Word. But when we speak from the lesser part, we speak of the incarnation of the Word, the assumption of humanity, the emptying, the poverty, the humiliation. For these and things of this kind are attributed to the Word and God on account of the conjunction and temperance that He has with humanity. But when we speak of both at once, we speak of union, communion, anointing, coalition, conformation, and things similar to these. Because of this third mode, therefore, the two previously mentioned modes are spoken of. For by the union it is declared what each holds from the adjustment ^C and [immeation] (or interpenetration) of that which co-exists with it. For because of the union according to hypostasis, the flesh is said to have been deified, and to have become God, and [to be] equal in divinity to the Word; and the God Word is said to have been incarnate, and to have become man, and to be called a creature, and to be called the last, not as if the two natures were changed into one composite nature—for it is impossible for opposite natural properties to exist simultaneously in one nature—but as the two natures united according to hypostasis, and having an [immeation] into one another that is unconfused and unchangeable. ^D Moreover, the [immeation] did not originate from the flesh, but from the divinity. For it is impossible for the flesh to [immeate] through the divinity, but the divine nature, having once [immeated] through the flesh, gave to the flesh also the ineffable [immeation] toward itself, which we certainly call union. It is worthy of note that in the first and second mode of those things which are said of Christ in the union, a reciprocity is to be considered. For when we make our speech regarding the flesh, we speak of deification and "verbification," and superexaltation, and anointing. For these are from the divinity, but are considered in relation to the flesh. When, however, we speak concerning the Word, we speak of emptying, incarnation, becoming man, humiliation, and the like, which are, as I said, from the flesh, but are attributed to the Word and God. For He Himself endured having these.

CHAPTER XXV

^A There are three modes of what is said about Christ after the union. The first is that which declares the divine nature, such as, "I am in the Father, and the Father in me," and, "I and the Father are one." And all things whatsoever are said of Him before the incarnation, these shall also be said of Him after the incarnation, with the one exception that He had not [then] taken to Himself flesh and the natural properties of the flesh. The second is that which indicates the human nature, such as, "Why do you seek to kill me, a man who has spoken the truth to you?" and, "So must the Son of Man be lifted up," and the like. The third mode is that which declares the one person and signifies both natures together, as for instance: "I live on account of the Father," and, "He who eats me, he also shall live on account of me," and, "I am going to the Father, and you see me no longer," and, "Had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory," and, "No one has ascended into heaven, except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man who is in heaven," and things of this kind. ^B Now, of those things which are said of Christ in a manner suitable to humanity, whether in words or in deeds, there are six modes. For some of them are both done and said according to nature by way of the dispensation of the incarnation; for instance, the birth from the Virgin, the growth and progress in age, hunger, thirst, toil, weeping, sleep, the piercing by nails, death, and suchlike, and whatever are natural and blameless passions. For in all these there is a mixing of the Divine with the human, yet it is believed that they belong to the body, so that the Divine suffers nothing of these, but through them procures our salvation. ^C Others are by way of simulation, such as asking, "Where have you laid Lazarus?" the running toward the fig tree; the hiding, that is, withdrawing; the prayer; the acting as though He were traveling further. For He had no need of these or similar things, either as God or as man. But He adapted Himself in a manner suitable to humanity, as necessity and utility required: for example, He prayed to show that He is not opposed to God, and that He honors the Father from whom He derives His origin. If He asked a question, it was not because He was ignorant, but to show that, while He was God, He was also in truth a man. He withdrew so as to teach us not to be headstrong, ^D nor to betray ourselves. Others are by way of appropriation and relationship, such as: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" and, "He who knew no sin, He made sin for us," and, "Having become a curse for our sake," and, "The Son Himself will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him." For neither as God nor as man was He ever forsaken by the Father, nor did He become sin or a curse, nor does He need to be subjected to the Father. For in that He is God, He is equal to the Father, and not even opposed,

nor is He subject; ^A but in that He is man, He was never disobedient to the Begetter, so as to have need of subjection. Therefore, He was appropriating our person and ranking Himself with us when He said these things. For we ourselves were the ones guilty of sin and under a curse, as disobedient and defiant, and for this reason, we were forsaken.

Other things are alienated from Him on account of a division made by mental abstraction. For if you divide by mental abstraction those things which are in truth inseparable—that is, the flesh from the Word—He is called both a servant and ignorant. For ^B it was of a serving and ignorant nature; and if the flesh had not been united to the Word of God, it would have been serving and ignorant. But through the personal union with the Word of God, it was neither serving nor did it labor under ignorance. Thus, He also called the Father His own God.

Some things, furthermore, are said for the sake of His manifestation to us and for our confirmation in faith, as that saying: «Father, glorify me with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.» For He Himself was and is glorified, but His glory had not been manifested and confirmed to us. And that which was said by the Apostle: «Who was declared the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by the ^C resurrection from the dead.» For through the miracles, and the resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Spirit, it was manifested and confirmed to the world that He is the Son of God. And the saying: «He increased in wisdom and grace.»

And those things which pertain to the accommodation of the Jewish person, in that He numbered Himself with the Jews, as He says to the Samaritan woman: «You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.»

CHAPTER XXVI.

And of those things which are spoken concerning Christ after the resurrection, some are consistent with divinity, as: «Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,»—obviously as God, and the Holy Spirit as well—and «Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age,» and things like that. For as God, He is with us.

Others are consistent with humanity, as: «They held Him by the feet,» and «There they will see me,» and such like. The modes of those things which are consistent with humanity after the resurrection are various. For some are true indeed, yet not according to nature, but by dispensation, to create faith that that very body which suffered has risen, such as the wounds, and the eating and drinking after the resurrection. Others are true according to nature, such as moving from place to place ^D without effort, and entering through shut doors. Others are by way of simulation, as: «He pretended to go further.» Others are of both together, as: «I ascend to my Father and your Father, and my God and your God,» and «The King of glory shall enter,» and «He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.» And those things which, as if He were with us

^A in the mode of division that exists in bare thought, are said of Him, as in the passage, «My God and your God.» Therefore, we must attribute the sublime things to the divine and superior nature—that which is above passions and body; the humble things to the human nature; and the common things to the composite—that is, to Christ the One, who is both God and man.

CHAPTER XXVII

It must be known, therefore, that the names of divinity and humanity designate the essences or natures. But "God" and "man" are also used of the nature, as when we say "God is an incomprehensible essence," and "God is one." But they are also taken of the persons, as when the more particular receives the name of the more universal, just as the Scripture says: «Therefore God has anointed you, your God.» For observe that it indicated both the Father and the Son. And as when it says: «There was a certain man in the land of Ausitis.» For it indicated Job alone. Since, therefore, we acknowledge in our Lord Jesus Christ two natures, but one composite person from both: when we contemplate the natures, we call them divinity and humanity; but when we contemplate the person composed from the natures, at one time we name Him Christ from both, and God and man at the same time, and God incarnate; at another time, from one of the parts, we call Him God only and Son of God, and man only and son of man. And sometimes we name Him from the sublime things alone, and sometimes from the humble things alone. For He who is both the one and the other is one and the same; the former being always, the latter having come to be afterward out of love for the human race.

Therefore, when we speak of the divinity, we do not name it by the properties of the humanity. For we do not say that the divinity is passible or created; nor do we predicate the properties of the divinity of the flesh, that is, of the humanity. For we do not say that the flesh or humanity is uncreated. But of the person, whether we name it from both or from one of the parts, we attribute to it the properties of both natures. For Christ, who is both at once, is called God and man, created and uncreated, passible and impassible. And when He is named from one of the parts as Son of God and God, He receives the properties of the co-existing nature—that is, the flesh—being named God who has suffered, and the Lord of glory who has been crucified; not insofar as He is God, but insofar as He is the same person who is also man. And when He is named man and son of man, He receives the properties and boons of the divine essence, being called a child older than the ages and a man without beginning; not insofar as He is a child and a man, but insofar as, being God existing before the ages, He became a child in the last times. And this is the mode of exchange, with each nature giving its own to the other because of the identity of the person and their mutual interpenetration. In this respect, we can say concerning Christ: «This is our God who appeared on earth, and conversed with men;» and, «This man is uncreated, and impassible, and uncircumscribed.»

CHAPTER XXVIII.