A et hoc magnum ac ineffabile miraculum patravit.
Truly, it is a great and incomprehensible miracle, surpassing every power of speech! To behold a grape cluster sprouted from the earth without vines, grain produced without seeds, a garment woven without threads or weaving hands; bread made without a mill, without hands, and without fire, but ineffably fashioned from virginal flour, covering the whole world. Further, to behold a Virgin offering her breast to her own infant, providing fountains of milk, and appearing as a mother while her virginity remained preserved; appearing as a mother without having accepted the law of marriage; appearing as a mother while not knowing how she became a mother; B appearing as a mother, though she had not previously been a wife, but showing instead the swelling of the womb in virginity, carrying the fruit in her hands, doing the things of a mother while her virginity was kept safe; and she who was a mother being called a virgin, and she who was a virgin being addressed as a mother, thus reconciling contradictory names and realities at once.
Having assumed human nature, God renews His own image, which had been corrupted by sin, and restores the likeness that had grown old with the rust of wickedness, C showing it to be more beautiful than the former, not by refashioning this [nature] from the earth as before, but by Himself assuming it; yet He did not convert the divine nature into human, but joined the human to the divine. For remaining what He was, He assumed what He was not. Being in the form of God, He took the form of a servant, that is, the essence, becoming in the likeness of man, and being found in fashion as a man, because although He possessed our nature, He was not in all respects equal to us. For we were born of a woman, and He was too, but not in the same way as us; for He blossomed from a virginal womb. And He was a perfect man just as we are, but He had more than us—the indwelling and union of the Word of God; He possessed flesh that was living and rational, just as we do, but He did not endure the impulses of sin as we do; rather, in a body that was besieged by sin, He destroyed the tyranny of sin.
D Furthermore, the body advances in age, but the soul in Wisdom; for the Divinity admits of no progress, because the Word of God is perfect in every respect. But according to reason, the (evangelist) conjoined the increase of wisdom with the increase of age, since the divine nature revealed its own wisdom according to the measure of the body’s age.
Truly, Gabriel, bringing the joyful message to the Virgin…
A expounded everything concerning Christ in a human manner. *He shall be great,* he says—he did not say, *is*—*and shall be called the Son of the Highest*; he did not say, *exists*; *and the Lord shall give unto him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign*; he did not say, *reigns*. And over whom? *Over the house of Jacob*; he did not say, *over angels and archangels*. And again: *Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born shall be called the Son of God*; he did not say, *has been called*, or *is*, but *shall be called*.
For these things are not suitable to Him who always exists, and is God, and Lord, and King, and the holy Son of God, but to the temple taken from the seed of David, which through its union with God the Word has attained these things. For God the Word did not become great after His birth from the Virgin, nor was He named the Son of the Highest, but from above and from the beginning and before the ages He is of infinite B greatness, and is and is called the Son of the Highest. For it seems to Arius and Eunomius, who diminish His divinity, that this is the case; yet none of them ever dared to say that He became great after the incarnation and was named the Son of the Highest. On the contrary, [they know] that having become man, He who was rich became poor, and emptied Himself in the form of a servant, and humbled Himself even unto death. Therefore, he did not foretell that God the Word would be great after the birth from the Virgin, but [he spoke of] the temple taken from the Virgin and united to Him who assumed it—not that we might worship two sons, but that, seeing the invisible God in the visible temple, we might offer one worship to Him.
C And now the Evangelist says: *And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him*. And again, shortly after: *And the child Jesus increased in stature, and in wisdom, and in grace with God and men*. What then is it that grows, and what is it that waxes strong in spirit, and is being taught wisdom, and receives the grace of God? Is it the omnipotent and perfect divinity, the fountain of wisdom, which distributes the gifts of grace to the faithful as it wills? But He whom he calls [by such names] does not have that by nature.
A Hence he calls the child Jesus, assigning this title to the nature that is seen. For it was this that grew; indeed, the body was following the law of nature as it progressed by degrees. And he grew strong in the Spirit, which was present with him as he was being formed, and being born, and being baptized, and working miracles.
"Full of wisdom," he hints at the manifestation of the indwelling nature which was taking place little by little: "And the grace of God was upon him." For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. These things Isaiah also, when prophesying, proclaimed aloud: "There shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise from his root; and the Spirit of God shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and of godliness; and the spirit of the fear of God shall fill him." B Such is the harmony of the prophetic and evangelical proclamations. When, therefore, you hear, "The child grew and waxed strong in spirit," and you wish to examine to what nature these words apply, remember the root of Jesse, and the rod, and the flower that blossomed from it; and you will find the visible nature of Christ, but not the invisible one, which is hidden by the Evangelist and the Prophet.
When, therefore, you hear that "Jesus increased in wisdom and in grace," weigh in your mind what it is that increases in wisdom and grace, and you will easily understand that it is his soul—not his divinity, which is always perfect and which makes those who are worthy wise; for none of these things befits divinity. But the body increases in age, and the soul in wisdom—not the irrational soul, but the rational one; from which it is clear that the God Word has also assumed a rational soul.
C To say it in summary, when the Lord Christ was born miraculously from the holy Virgin (for it is not right, after the birth, either to call him only the God Word, or a man stripped of divinity, but Christ—a name by which both natures are signified, the one assuming and the one assumed), he adopts all things that are ours, sin excepted. Just like infants, he is wrapped in swaddling clothes; he is nourished with milk, and sucks the breast; he is carried in hands, and placed on the lap; according to the law he is circumcised, and is purified with atoning sacrifices, though he is the new and only sacrifice of the whole world, and the Lamb who took away the sin of the world. He is worshiped by Simeon, and at the same time is called Savior and Lord. He flees from Herod with his mother and his guardian; he comes into Egypt, and returns from there; he fears Archelaus; he withdraws to Nazareth; he increases in age and wisdom; he is subject to his parents; he honors with all respect not only his mother, but also the one who was once the betrothed of his mother, but later her guardian and
A protector; he celebrates the lawful feasts, and attends the temple; he refutes Jewish coarseness, and this he does being only twelve years of age. After the birth, when he is sought by his relatives because he had been left behind, he is chided by his mother; he defends himself, and in a way quietly lays bare his divinity. For "Do you not know," he says, "that I must be in my Father’s house?" showing that he is not only that which is seen, but also God hidden in that which is seen, existing before time, and having proceeded from the Father before all ages. The things that follow regarding his theandric conduct we shall learn again from the Gospel.
"For how," he says, "does he exist as equal to the Father in essence if he is not perfect? For wisdom appears to progress; whereas the Father is in need of nothing, nor does he admit of progress." One must inquire of the adversaries of God, of whom they think this is said: "Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor." They will clearly say, of Jesus Christ. To this, most senseless of all men, whom and of what sort do you think Christ to be, concerning whom is the discourse of Luke? For if you believe him to be a common man, and consider him to be of such a kind that he has nothing above others, let him progress as a man. But if he is God made man, and the Word, as it is written, "became flesh," what progress will he receive? Or how will he be imperfect who is equal to God? For he also must be imperfect, to whom he is equal, if matters are as you say. But if you also consider it impious to believe and to say this (for you admit that the Father is perfect), it is necessary that you also consider the Son, who is his equal, to be perfect. Therefore he is not said to progress in the sense that he is the Word, but in the sense that he was made man, and bore a nature that is capable of progressing. Paul says in a certain place concerning the God Word, that he was "in the form of God," and also that he was "equal to God." If, therefore, being equal to the Father, he received progress, and in reality did progress, he is clearly greater than the Father, and has surpassed him, if, as you say, God the Word progressed. But this is the most absurd of all things. Therefore the Word did not progress in the sense that he is the Word; for he is perfect just as the Father. But this was said on account of the economy by which he was made man.
If the Word progressed when he was made man and bore our flesh, he did not help us by being made man, but rather the flesh brought perfection to him. For if he truly progressed when he was made flesh, he was clearly imperfect before the advent, and now, as your opinion holds, has attained perfection. For what reason then do we give thanks to him for having been made man for our sake, when he himself ought to give thanks to us for that name? But this is absurd. Therefore he did not progress as he is the Word; but this was said because of the dispensation and the exchange which he had with the flesh.
Item, the Word of God is called by many names in Scripture. For he is said to be, and is, the Son; he has been called Wisdom; he has been denominated God, Virtue or Power, the form and image of the Father. If, therefore, being all these things, he progresses, surely they can name something greater than the Son, Wisdom, Virtue, God, and all other things, so that one need not recount them individually. But it is impious to think thus: for nothing is greater than God. Therefore, as he is the Word, he is not said to progress.
Item, Principalities, Thrones, Dominions, Angels and Archangels, and every rational virtue, and furthermore men, exist as perfect in all piety and obtain perfection through participation in the Word; how then can that which provides perfection to others be imperfect, so as to seek to progress and move forward by some increase? But if he is truly Wisdom, can Wisdom progress? Or he who gives grace to others, does he himself progress in grace, as if he did not possess grace? Unless perhaps you say that Paul lies, who calls the Son wisdom and the giver of grace. But the minister of truth does not lie. Therefore he did not progress in the sense that he is the Word; but it is said as of a man, who assumed all our things for our sake.
That which is imperfect always strives toward that which is perfect; so that it condemns the place where it first is, and as it were always seeks what is higher and better. For example: we men progress, who, having been made better little by little through wisdom and other virtues, are thus carried toward the perfection of life. But the Word of God, since he is in the Father, where at length will he proceed? And what growth will he receive, which is so perfect that it has the whole Father in itself, and it again exists wholly in the Father? For if, while he filled the Father (for let it be said in a cruder way, as by an example), he received a certain progress or increase; he exceeded the bounds of the Father, and was made greater than the Father in whom he was. But he did not exceed the Father, but is always perfect in the perfect.
A It exists, having perfection in itself. He did not, therefore, progress as the Word; but he remains the same perfect being, subject to no change.
Furthermore, Paul says concerning the Son: *He humbled himself, taking the form of a servantp.* Since, therefore, no one is offended by this, nor, when he hears that he humbled himself, does he think anything lowly of God the Word, but rather admires his clemency; how is it not superfluous to be offended by hearing that he progressed? If his divinity was not harmed by the fact that he was humbled, neither, surely, is it to be harmed by the fact that he progressed. And, just as he humbled himself for our sake, so too for our sake he takes on progress, so that we might in turn progress in wisdom in him, we who were once made like the beasts by sin; and that we might progress in grace, we who were once held in hatred for the sake of Adam’s transgression. For Christ took upon himself everything of ours for our sake, so that he might change all things for the better and become the source of every good for the human race.
It is a law of nature that it does not allow a man to be endowed with far greater prudence than befits his age. Yet, in us it is so arranged that the power of judgment in some way accompanies the progress of age. The Word was therefore made man in the flesh, and he was perfect, inasmuch as he was the wisdom and virtue of God. Yet, human nature and character had to be yielded to, so that nothing strange would appear to those beholding him, as he revealed himself, his body growing little by little: and day by day he appeared more wise to those who saw and heard him; for, of course, he was perfect in all things, as has been said, even if he retained the common character of nature. Therefore, when you hear, *“He increased in wisdom and grace,”* do not think that any addition was made to his wisdom (for the Word of God lacks nothing), but because it was always appearing wiser and more graceful to those who saw him, it was said that he progressed, so that the habit of those who admired him progressed rather than he himself.
That which progresses in something is distinct from that in which it progresses. Since, therefore, Jesus is said to have progressed in wisdom, he was not progressing in wisdom, but the human mind in him was. For as the divinity daily unveiled and manifested itself in him, he was held in greater admiration by those who beheld him. This is what is meant by the statement, *“He increased in wisdom.”* In this way, humanity progressed in wisdom: human nature clothing itself in wisdom; that is, the Word of God, gradually deifying the temple assumed by him through works and wondrous effects among those who saw him, acquired progress for itself in that manner. In this way human nature progressed in wisdom, having been deified through it. Wherefore we too, in the likeness of the Word who for our sake became man, have been called both sons of God and gods. Human nature therefore progressed in wisdom, having been brought from corruption to incorruption, and from the level of human nature to the dignity of divinity.
B “I have heard,” he says, “from sacred Scripture, that the Word of God became man, having obtained the name of Jesus. It is he, therefore, who was progressing. For do not divide him, since Paul proclaims that Christ is one. Yet if he seems to receive progress, it is clearly concluded that he is imperfect. But who, being of such a kind, will be equal to the perfect Father? You will neither harm the divinity of the Son; nor will you diminish the dignity of the Word, even if you keep saying this, but you will fall in victory by the very things by which you hope to live. For if you acknowledge that the Word was altogether made flesh and man, as divine Scripture speaks, why do you not also concede that he experienced, without sin, things that are appropriate to man? For since progress is owed to the flesh, let it be said that he progressed in the manner in which he was made in the flesh, and took upon himself its blameless affections. For the flesh was not of some other, but was the Word's own. And just as we say that he himself suffered in the flesh, even if the flesh alone suffered; since he did not suffer as God, but his body suffered: so also let him be said to progress, even if he as God received no progress from the progress of the flesh. And you yourself confess, adversary of God, that the Word of God was made flesh: which indicates nothing other than that he put on flesh and existed as man. Therefore, just as when you hear some great thing about the Word, which is fitting for him as he is in his naked essence, and before he put on flesh—as when he is called light, radiance, the wisdom of the Father—you do not understand this as the flesh, but that the Word dwelt in the flesh: so when something has been said in the sacred Scriptures which is appropriate only to the flesh or the human species, do not refer it to the Word, but attribute it to the nature of the flesh, which claims those things for itself. When, therefore, it is said that he progressed, wisdom itself did not progress as it is wisdom; but the human mind progressed in wisdom, gradually becoming clear and conspicuous through it; for since it was an instrument of the divinity that was in him, it performed and administered this, so that the divinity might little by little reveal itself through his works.”
C Observe, however, that he did not say, “The Word, however, was progressing,” but, “Jesus”; so that you do not understand the naked Word, but him after he became flesh. And if he is said to progress, because he took on that which is born to progress, that is, human nature, that was surely what progressed in him; and it was said to progress where that was predicted. For thus each of the things that are said will stand in its own proper order, so that things which are appropriate to the naked Word are not dragged down to the human level, nor are human things promoted to the level of divinity.
A And the devil said to him: "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone that it may become bread." The Word of God assumed the firstfruits from us for the sake of our entire nature, so that, by leading it through every degree of virtue, He might urge the adversary into a contest, demonstrate the athlete to be invincible, crown him, proclaim the defeat of the other, and prepare all men to take courage against him. He is led, therefore, into the wilderness by the Spirit, as into a fitting wrestling-ground—not, indeed, God the Word Himself, but the temple taken from the seed of David by the divine Word. For the Holy Spirit did not lead God the Word into the struggle against the devil, but the temple which was fashioned for God the Word in the Virgin. And He fasted, yet not beyond the measures of nature; for He spent forty days and as many nights without food, not wishing to exceed the measure of those who had fasted of old, lest the adversary flee the confrontation with Him—lest, having recognized what was hidden, he might flee from joining battle with what was manifest. For this reason, after the aforementioned number of days, He reveals the condition of human nature and gives place to hunger, providing the other with a handle through that hunger. For he did not dare approach, seeing many divine things happening around Him; for indeed, angels danced as He was being born, a star rose and led the leaders of his rank—the Magi—to worship Him, and he had seen Him from childhood pursuing all righteousness, detesting malice, and loathing wickedness, according to the prophecy concerning Him: "Before the child knows good or evil, he will reject malice, to choose the good." B John also cried out: "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." The Father had testified from above: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." The grace of the Spirit had descended. These things, and others like them, by terrifying the devil, did not allow him to approach the athlete of our nature. But when He received the onset of hunger, and the devil saw Him in need of human food, yet not able to endure beyond the men of old, he approaches, thinking the wilderness to be a most significant opportunity and believing that he would easily conquer. And just as in wars, if someone wishes to strike a man covered on every side with full armor, he searches by looking all around from a distance with his eyes, seeking a naked limb into which, by casting C a dart, he might strike the adversary; so the devil, seeing Christ armed with all righteousness and seeking a fitting place where he might hurl his dart, as soon as he found hunger revealing itself, approaches boldly, as if having found that which he was seeking, and as if of the first parent's af- D fliction having beheld it in Him. For he had, by eating, deprived him of life free from pain...
and bound him to sweat, and toils, and death. A He approaches, therefore, saying: "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." But he would not have done this, had not the Savior admitted the passion of hunger; and one may learn this clearly from what follows. For as, having wrestled and been defeated, he learned by experience that He is the very One whom all the prophets had proclaimed, he did not even dare to endure the sight of Him approaching, but immediately took to flight. Now indeed crying out: "What have we to do with you, Son of God? Why have you come here to torment us before the time?" And now: "I know who you are, the Holy One of God; I adjure you, do not torment me." Thus did he fear Him, and confess Him to be judge; for he had not previously, before the trial, used such words, but had approached confidently and said: "If you are the Son of God, command the stone, that it may become bread." "For I heard," he says, "the voice that came from above, which called you by this name; but I do not believe it to be so, until I have learned by experience as a teacher. Persuade me by deeds that you are truly what you are called; for if I learn this, I shall flee and depart, and shall refuse the struggle with you; for I know well what B of a difference there is between me and you: show, therefore, the miracle, and let the miracle-worker be taught by the wonder: command that this stone may become bread."
α'. The C Lord, having heard the words of the Evil One, conceals His divinity, but speaks from His human nature, saying: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." I am able, He says, to be nourished without bread; for the life of men is not maintained by these things alone; but the word of God suffices to nourish the entire human nature. Thus the Israelite people were nourished for forty years, gathering manna, and enjoying the hunting of birds caught by the will of God. Thus Elias had ravens as purveyors. Thus Elisha fed his disciples with wild herbs. But why need I mention old things? That John, who shortly before was baptizing in the Jordan, having spent his whole life in the desert, is fed on locusts and the honey of wild bees. It is therefore not absurd if we also are nurtured by God with a new kind of food, so that we have no need of bread. D
A The Wicked One felt pain at being defeated once, yet he did not despair of victory, hearing that he was a man; for he says, "Man shall not live by bread alone." Therefore, he sounds out a second and a third temptation for him, at one moment saying, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from above," plotting against him through vainglory; at another moment showing him the kingdoms of the world, and promising to give them in return if he were first to receive worship from him. But when Christ again reminded him of the ancient laws, and taught him that he would not suffer anyone else to be offered the divine honor, and reminded him also of other commandments of God declaring that the God of all things should not be tempted, he fled, unable to bear the shame of his defeat, fearing and trembling, and expecting to be cast out of his tyranny. For having exhausted all his arrows and brought against him all the wiles of his deceit, he found the athlete unassailable and invincible, and he did not find [in him] what he expected when he approached him just as he had approached Adam.
To the victor came the angels, who from afar had watched the struggle; like friends they ministered to him, they danced, they extolled the athlete, they crowned him, they proclaimed his victory, they rejoiced at the freedom of their fellow-servants, mankind, and they exulted seeing the defeat of the adversary.
These things refute the empty speech of Apollinaris, who says that the God Word inhabited the assumed flesh in place of a mind. For if the assumed nature did not have a human mind, B then it was God who wrestled against the devil, and God who wreathed himself with the victory; but if God won the victory, I have derived no benefit from the victory, as I was able to contribute nothing to it. But I am also deprived of the joy that comes from this, exulting in another’s trophies; yet the devil boasts and struts and thinks highly of himself and prides himself, as if he had wrestled with God and been defeated by God—for it is a great thing for him even to be defeated by God.
He might also use reasonable pleas, and say: "I, Master and creator of all, did not undertake the battle against You; for I know Your worth, I understand Your power, I recognize Your sovereignty, I confess my servitude, although I am known to be a runaway; and I yield the victory to the angels and to all the holy hosts, among whom I also, wretch that I am, once belonged. C But I did undertake the battle against this one, whom You fashioned from clay, and made according to Your own image, and honored with reason, and appointed as a citizen of paradise, and showed to be master of land and sea. Him I defeated by using deceit, not compulsion; him I continue to defeat even until this day. D
A I persist in leading him to the stadium and commanding him to wrestle with me. Be yourself the spectator and the master of games of the wrestling. If you wish also to act the part of the trainer, teach him how to wrestle, show him the holds for victory, anoint him, as you will—only do not join him in the wrestling; for I am not so bold, nor so bereft of my senses, as to attempt to wrestle with you, the Creator.
The devil would justly say these things to the Savior Christ, if He were not man, but God wrestling in place of a man. For if there were not a human mind in Him, but God, existing in place of the mind, worked the things that are proper to the mind, it would be God who labored with the body; it would be God who endured the other human passions. But if He who wrestled and won was God, then the victory does not belong to me, but to God, who accomplished all righteousness. But far be the babbling of Apollinarius: as for us, let us show that the dispensation which the Savior fulfilled was necessary.
For since the whole man was deceived, and the whole man fell under sin, and the mind received the deception before the body—for the consent of the mind first sketches out the sin, and then the body forms it through action—the Lord Christ, desiring to raise up the fallen nature, B rightly stretches out a hand to the whole, and raises up the whole, I mean the flesh and the mind, which was made in the image of the Creator. He did not therefore despise the mind, that was adorned with such great honor, and was so much in need of healing; nor, when He assumed that part of man which is corrupted by disease and old age and is subject to death, did He disregard that which is immortal and partaker of speech and made in the image of God, even though it was, as they say, in a bad state. Rather, He renewed the whole decrepit nature, and did not repair one part of it as new, while leaving the other, though aged and corrupted, unhealed, especially since it is C more excellent and superior to the intelligible natures.
For it is absurd that the body, which is clay-like and earthy and bound to passions, should be assumed and, once assumed, settled at the right hand of majesty, but that the mind, the invisible, immortal, sentient leader, made in the image of God, acting as charioteer and governor for the body, and skilled in harmony—by whose benefit it comes to pass that man is not devoid of reason, but abundantly partaker of wisdom, art, and science—should be cast down to the ground and not receive the same honor as the body: D the mind, I say, for whose sake the body also belongs to a rational condition, and laws have been laid down, and prophecies made; for whose sake there have been struggles, wrestlings, victories, and proclamations,
A whose aid the body, while struggling, possesses the kingdom of heaven as a reward for its labors; for whose sake, finally, the Savior also arrived, and the mystery of the dispensation was completed. For the Savior did not accept saving sufferings for inanimate things, or for those lacking reason, nor for irrational brutes or stones, as though He were lacking a rational soul, but for men, endowed with a rational and immortal soul.
But let us see again how Christ is tempted, and how He puts the tempter to shame. B Since, therefore, you find it written that "Jesus, full of the Spirit, returned from the Jordan" (Luke IV, 1), do not imagine that God the Word had need of the cooperation of the Spirit; for the temple that was seen enjoyed the varied gifts of the Holy Spirit.
For this is what Isaiah cried out from afar: "Behold my servant, whom I chose, my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased" (Isa. XLIII, 10); or as the Seventy interpreted: "Jacob is my servant, him will I take hold of; Israel is my chosen, my soul has accepted him; I will place my Spirit upon him." When you hear of him who is from Jacob and Israel, do not think him a man stripped of divinity, but in the visible temple worship the invisible God, keeping to each nature its own properties.
In the apologetic discourse of Gregory the Theologian concerning his flight, these things of Theodoret's are found on those words: Therefore the new was introduced against the old, and through suffering the sufferer was recalled, and for each of our own, each of those belonging to Him who is above us was given back.
C To the old suffering of the first-created, the new suffering of Christ was substituted, and that Adam who had suffered and was afflicted was repaired through the divine suffering of the new Adam. For since Adam, by sinning, subjected the race to death and made the whole of nature liable to the debt, Christ, being God and man, recalls the fall of Adam through His own incarnation; and for each of our own, each of the things belonging to Him who is above us was repaid.
For since I, who am a man, having willed it, transgressed the divine commandment, the devil, baiting my nature with the hope of divinity, overthrew it through the pleasure of the flesh, through which, having introduced death, he insolently boasted in the corruption D of the delights of nature.
For this reason, God becomes perfect man, hating nothing of nature except sin, which does not belong to nature, so that, by the assumption of flesh, baiting and inciting the insatiable dragon, who was gaping to devour the flesh—which would be for him, indeed, poison, because of the power of the divinity existing within it—he might entirely [destroy that sin].
and be a present remedy for human nature to recover its pristine grace and the immortality it had lost. For as he, having poured the venom of his own wickedness into the tree of knowledge, corrupted the nature that tasted it, so also, when he wished to swallow the flesh of the Lord, he was corrupted by the power of the divinity existing within that flesh.
Wherefore the great mystery of the divine incarnation is truly always a mystery. For God, existing above every substance, and indeed B infinitely positioned over every supersubstantiality, when he willed to come into substance, was supersubstantially substantialized. Wherefore for the sake of men, as he was the most loving of men, having taken a substance from men, he was truly made man, [and] the manner in which he was made man he always possesses as altogether ineffable: for for the sake of men he was made man.
Wherefore the divine Apostle himself, having clearly contemplated the power of the mystery, says: *Jesus Christ, yesterday and today, the same also into the ages* C (Hebr. XIII, 8); showing how the mystery is always new, and never grows old by the comprehension of the mind. The new was introduced in place of the old.
GARNER’S NOTES.
*In the discourse.* This fragment is exhibited by the Vatican codex 469, p. 85. The passage of Gregory the Theologian, which Theodoret uses, is taken from the apologetic discourse in which Gregory gave an account of his flight into Pontus, a place to which he had withdrawn in secret when he had been made a presbyter and feared the episcopacy.
*From the third book.* That this fragment pertains to the third book of the Pentalogium, I have no doubt. For in this book, Theodoret relates the doctrine of the holy Fathers concerning the incarnation. Nor, likewise, do I doubt that he also brought forward the whole of that which is with Nazianzen, and it makes against Apollinaris, to demonstrate D that salvation was bestowed upon the whole man by Christ, because the whole man was assumed. And the same or a similar thing was provided according to proportion, while salvation was being cared for, which had happened in the fall and perdition of nature. For, as Nazianzen says, Elias Cretensis in his Commentaries upon this passage of Gregory seems to have aimed his eyes at Theodoret, while he argues against his interpretation. For after he had said that a name signifying an affection underlies these two adjectives, the old and the new, he continues: "Some have understood by 'the old and the new,' not an affection in us and a different way of life, but judged that the holy man meant this: that for the old passion of the first parent, the new passion of Christ was introduced." But whether rightly or otherwise, I leave to the readers to weigh.
VARIOUS READINGS.
31 *Third.* But Garner had declared these to pertain to the second book. 32 *He relates.* Namely, on the hypothesis of Garner, who held the second and third [books] of the aforementioned codex as one, and thus the fourth as the third.
ADMONITION TO THE READER.
The next place, pp. 51–107 of the *Auctarium*, is held by the epistles of Theodoret omitted by Sirmond, which Garner edited with his own prolix observations. These epistles, together with those which Sirmond had edited, have found their place at the end of the previous volume of our edition. Therefore, only Garner’s notes on the newly edited epistles should now be transcribed; but we shall give them a suitable place in Garner’s second dissertation, and its fifth chapter. This piece, which is the first among the five of Garner’s dissertations now to be sent to the press again, comprises the *History of Theodoret*, composed with much study indeed, but with such an iniquitous spirit against a good man that it seems he wished not to narrate his history and adorn it according to the dignity of the subject, but to hand him down badly to posterity and paint him in black colors. Which immodesty of Garner could not please the learned and fair judges of these matters. Therefore, it has incurred the just reproaches of many, of which I have already had occasion to speak elsewhere.