ANTIPATER BOSTRENSIS. — NOTITIA. The following is read in Suidas, under the word Χειρίζω. Candidus the historian reports that Leo the Butcher A spent infinite sums of money on the expedition against the Vandals. For there were, as those who revealed these things managed, forty-four thousand pounds of gold through the prefects; and through the count of the treasuries seventeen thousand; and seven hundred thousand pounds of silver, both from the confiscated goods and from the Emperor Anthemius. B PHILIPPI LABBEI NOTE. The Patrician Illus arrives with Leontius and the others at the castle of Papyrius, and having led Verina Augusta out to Tarsus of Cilicia, caused her to be crowned outside the city at Saint Peter’s, King Leontius the Patrician. And the Lady Verina wrote a sacred letter to the Antiochians etc. As for those things which pertain to the death of Zeno, seek them from the common historical and chronicle writers.
ANNO DOMINI CDLX.
ANTIPATER,
BISHOP OF BOSTRA.
NOTITIA.
(Fabric. Biblioth. Græca edit. Harless, vol. X, 518.)Antipater ruled the Church in Bostra in Arabia immediately after Bishop Constantine, who was present at the Council of Chalcedon in the year 451, since a few years after the council Emperor Leo addressed letters to Antipater who was already bishop (Harduin Concil. vol. II, p. 690). Saint Euthymius is said to have written to the same, by the author of the Life of Euthymius in vol. II, p. 281, of Cotelier’s Monumenta, to which add his notes, p. 636 seq. and Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. II, p. 685. FABR. — Consult Cave, Hist. lit. SS. Eccl. I, p. 447, ad a. 460, and especially Oudin in Comment. de SS. Eccl. II, p. 101, sqq., who distinguishes two Antipatras: the Elder (who according to Cave is believed to have flourished circa a. 460, at least before the Second Synod of Nicaea, a. 787, who wrote the C *Antirresis*), and the Younger, author of the homilies, whose age he places before a. 840, and whom Leo Allatius mentions in his diatribe on the writings of the Simeons, p. 89, and "Truly," he says, "in manuscript codices (which he enumerates) there are many other encomia by Antipater, bishop of Bostra, on diverse subjects, to whose titles and inscriptions if we are to give credence, he did not exist entirely in a. 460 or before the Second Synod of Nicaea, but long after it, and scarcely before the year 840, or the middle of the ninth century." Saxius in *Onom. litt.* I, p. 517, adheres to the opinion of Cave and Fabricius. HARL.
1. His main and most celebrated work is *Antirresis contra Pamphili apologiam pro Origene*. It begins with the words: "I truly thought I had written sufficiently," as is noted in the Acts of the Second Synod of Nicaea, celebrated in the year [787], action v, Labbe vol. VII, p. 367 sq. (Harduin vol. IV, p. 304), where certain fragments from the first book exist. Much more and fuller material from the *Against the Blasphemies of Origen* (chapters 15, 16) was preserved by John Damascene in his *Sacra Parallela*, vol. II of the new edition, p. 764 to 772. See also Cyril of Scythopolis in *Vita S. Sabae*, vol. III of Cotelier’s *Monumenta*, p. 362, where he narrates that Gelasius the superior, in order to combat the rising Origenism, ordered Antipater’s work to be read publicly in the church: mention again on p. 364. FABR. — In two Mazarin codices there are certain works of Antipater; but what these are is not indicated by Montfaucon, in
1757 BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE ON THE FOLLOWING HOMILIES 1758 *Bibl. biblioth. Msstar.* II, p. 1306, E, and not in vol. I, p. 593, E, from the *Codex Augustanus Vindobonensis* 66, which contains homilies by various Fathers. In *Cod. Coislin.* 286, in the selections of the monk John, there are excerpts from Antipater against Origen; see Montfaucon, *Bibl. Coislin.*, p. 390. HARL.
2. On St. John the Baptist, the silence of Zacharias, and the salutation of the most holy Mother of God. Begins: *Ἐν γεννητοῖς γυναικῶν*. Manuscr. in the Imperial Library; Lambec. V, p. 18 [p. 42, Koll.]. Allatius also saw it in the libraries of Italy, and he mentions it on page 89 of his book on the Simeons. Thomas Gale also possessed it. If I remember correctly (for the book is not now at hand), Combefis gave it in Latin in his *Bibliotheca Concionatoria*; FABR., vol. VII, *Bibl. concion.*, p. 106. There exists, furthermore, a homily on St. John the Baptist, the silence of Zacharias, and the salutation of Mary, in *Codex Taurinensis* 135; see *Cat. codd. Gr. Taur.*, p. 232. *Orations on John*, in Paris, in five manuscripts of the public library; in Florence, in *Cod. Laurent. Med.* 27, no. 4, shelf 70; see Bandini, *Cat. codd. Gr. Laur.* II, p. 687, and in vol. I, p. 445, no. 6. In Oxford, in *Cod. Baroccianus* 199. In the Sforza library; see Montfaucon, *Bibl. biblioth. Msstar.*, p. 700, E, and p. 1317, A, in *Codex Mazarinus* 72. HARL.
3. On the Holy Theophany. Manuscript in the possession of the same Gale. FABR. In *Cod. Thomæ Gale* 38, or no. 5871 of the *Catal. Msst. Angliæ* vol. II. In *Cod. Bodleianus*, see no. 26, s. n. 2500, cited in the aforementioned *Cat.* vol. I, p. 129. HARL.
4. On the woman suffering from an issue of blood (*τὴν αἱμορροοῦσαν*). A passage from it is cited in the Acts of the Second Council of Nicaea, session IV, vol. VII of Labbe, p. 208 (Harduin, vol. IV, p. 169). FABR.
Some attribute the homily for Palm Sunday to Antipater; others, to the younger Titus (1). HARL. In *Cod. Thomæ Gale* 31, copied from a very ancient codex on the island of Chios, s. n. 5865, *Cat. Mss. Angliæ* II, p. 185, sq., many homilies are ascribed to Antipater of Bostra, such as: 1) Encomium of St. Athanasius; 2) Exhortatory orations, the first of which is on the Publican and the Pharisee; 3) Homily on the Sunday of the Prodigal Son; 4) On Septuagesima Sunday; 5) On Quinquagesima Sunday; 6) On the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin; 7) Eulogy of the Blessed Virgin, when she was presented in the Temple; 8) Homily on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin; 9) On the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin in the Temple; 10) On the Paralytic; 11) On the Cross; 12) On the Demoniac; 13) On the prediction of the Lord’s Passion; 14) Encomium of St. John the Evangelist; 15) Homily on John the Theologian; 16) Encomium of Luke the Evangelist; 17) Encomium of Cosmas and Damian, healers without fee; 18) Homily on the Entrance of the Blessed Virgin; 19) On the Nativity of Christ. But Oudin, *l. c.* p. 102 seq., teaches and concludes, on account of the solemnities of the feast days of the Blessed Virgin (concerning which the codex contains homilies), which are also festivals of the Saints later than the Second Council of Nicaea, A.D. 787, that either all these things were falsely attributed by later Greeks to Antipater of Bostra the elder, or those homilies pertain to some later Antipater who flourished around the middle of the ninth century—and he accumulates other weightier arguments. Antipater is also cited by Andreas of Caesarea in *Revelation*, sermon 22, p. 124, and by Maximus at chapter 7 of Dionysius’s *Ecclesiastical Hierarchy*, etc. (2). There are also those who mention his homily on the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin and on the Nativity of Christ. FABR. He is cited, or fragments appear in the catenae of the Fathers and other collections. See Lambec. II, p. 165; Montfaucon in *Bibl. Coislin.*, p. 251 and 390, and in *Bibl. biblioth. Msstar.*, p. 1309, E. HARL.
PREFATORY NOTE TO THE TWO FOLLOWING HOMILIES
You will find many who attribute no, or at least the most minimal, authority to certain homilies, relying solely on the reason that they are found nowhere except in collections edited at a time when the art of criticism had not yet flourished. Although this opinion does not at all please me, it must nevertheless be admitted that the authority of those works is thereby much diminished, and that testimonies cannot be extracted from them as effectively, especially if it is a question of confirming doctrine or establishing a dogma. And this is the chief reason for this opinion: because, taught by manifold and daily experience, we do not without cause doubt whether the works are truly genuine to the author to whom they are ascribed, and consequently whether they appeared in the age to which they are referred; or whether they are in every part sincere, or more or less corrupted; or finally, if the matter concerns an external axiom, whether they have been faithfully transcribed and truly reflect the author's meaning. There was a reason which impelled us to seek accurately the Greek text of a certain homily bearing the name of Antipater of Bostra, which Laurentius Surius had long ago published in the Latin language (1), and from Surius, Combefis (2) had inserted into his *Bibliotheca Concionatoria*. The cause for undertaking this work was...
that learned men (3) generally, following Leo Allatius (4), consider that this homily should rightly and deservedly be attributed to Antipater; and a far more ancient witness, Nicetas, supports them, confirming their view, for under the name of Antipater he cites a certain fragment of this homily in his *Catena on the Gospel of Luke* concerning the Saints, which has been published in Greek by the most eminent Cardinal Angelo Mai in his *Nova Collectio* of ancient writers (5). The outcome did not disappoint our hope; for, with divine assistance, a double codex of the Greek text soon came into our possession, and both are of the greatest value: the one, naturally, being the Vatican, inscribed under no. 820 of the Greek codices; the other, the Barberini, under no. 488 of the Greek codices, which had once belonged to the most illustrious Lucas Holstenius, or, if not copied by his hand, was at least produced by his order and direction.
However, we hesitated regarding whether the entire text should be published in Greek, as we were uncertain and doubtful, and there was a twofold cause for this hesitation. On one hand, in this homily there were many statements most useful for our purpose; and it was therefore our duty not only to put the author's statements before the eyes of the readers, but also their context, which they could not have consulted otherwise, and thus to present the whole homily. On the other hand, a part of the homily, almost half of it, deals with a different subject, as can be seen from the title, which reads as follows: *On Saint John the Baptist and on the silence of Zacharias, and on the salutation of the most holy Theotokos*. If, therefore, we were to publish the entire homily, a reader who noticed the matter at first glance might reproach us for having mixed in things that did not pertain to the subject. At length, all things being duly weighed, so that the homily might not turn out truncated and incomplete—which would certainly have been plainly displeasing if we had edited only the part that pertains to the Virgin Mother of God—we present the text in its entirety; and all the more so, since otherwise our Antipater homily would have become too short and truncated in this way.
Furthermore, it was not useless to bring to light what pertains to Saint John and to Zacharias. For Laurentius Surius, although worthy of praise and having earned our gratitude, left many things in his version not well set forth and things against which he had not sufficiently guarded, given human frailty; so that in not a few places, if anyone compares the Latin reading with the Greek text, he will discover that not only the author's sharpness, but sometimes the very meaning, is poorly expressed. Therefore, we have not hesitated to polish or rather to recast that version.
In this homily of ours, we have not completely adhered either to the Vatican or to the Barberini alone; but when the codices disagreed with each other, we preferred the meaning that seemed to us more consistent, while nevertheless relegating to the bottom of the page various readings from which it will be seen at a glance in what respects the manuscripts agree or differ. Moreover, we have added certain versions from the fragments of Antipater related by Nicetas in his *Catena*.
It remains now to speak of the controversy stirred up by Oudin, who invented a later Antipater different from the one of Bostra, to whom he ascribes the homilies in question here. Where, then, does Oudin find what prevents these homilies from being attributed to the ancient Antipater? Let us hear him speaking: "The feasts," he says, "of the blessed Virgin and of the saints are later than the second Council of Nicaea, which was celebrated in the year 787..." This collection of homilies, therefore, is later than the controversy concerning the cult of images and the saints, which... began from the empire of Leo the Isaurian in the year 716 and lasted until the empire of Theophilus and the year 842. Of this age are the homilies on the *Presentation of the blessed Virgin in the temple* and the homily on the *Assumption of the blessed Virgin*. For the cult of the saints and of the blessed Virgin, their invocation, and the institution of feasts for their memory and cult are clearly more recent than the second Nicene Council. Thus says Oudin.
It must indeed be admitted that such impious opinions could only have been thought up by a blind rage lasciviously acting against the Catholic Church; but it would be a sign of immense blindness not to perceive that the controversy concerning the cult of the saints and images did not arise from the fact that, in the reign of Leo the Isaurian, a new cult was introduced, but on the contrary, it arose from the fact that Leo the Isaurian waged war against a cult already received and older by many centuries. And certainly, no one in his right mind would deny or doubt, for this reason, that homilies on the cult of the saints or the blessed Virgin were delivered before the seventh council. Therefore, Oudin's words do not prevent the homilies of which we are speaking from being attributed to our Antipater of Bostra.
But although the reasons brought forward by Casimir Oudin, being destitute of any foundation, are considered by all learned men to be most absurd and entirely unheard of, it must nevertheless be admitted that from this question, if it is considered under another aspect, a very serious difficulty arises. For although we all profess that the Church has at all times admitted and celebrated the cult of the saints, we nevertheless simultaneously profess that the manner of this cult has often been changed. Thus, from the infancy of the Church, the latria-cult was exhibited to the most august sacrament of the Eucharist; yet the solemnity of the Body of the Lord was instituted at a more recent time. Furthermore, learned men agree on this, that the feasts of the Presentation of the Blessed Mary in the temple, or of the Assumption into heaven, were instituted after the age of Antipater. Whence arises a serious reason for doubting whether the collection of homilies, among which some are inscribed *On the Presentation* or *On the Assumption*, actually had Antipater as their author.
But all these things are nothing to us: for of the two homilies which we present, the former was delivered in honor of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist; and there is no doubt that the solemnity of Saint John preceded the time of Antipater in the Church, whether Greek or Latin. The latter homily, however, unless it be concerning a particular...«
mystery of the Blessed Virgin, or spoken during some solemnity of hers, seems on the contrary to have been held on a Sunday, on which a very brief explanation of the evangelical history was given; some traces of which homilies exist in the ancient Scholia on the Gospel of Luke, which the most eminent Cardinal Angelo Mai published in Greek in volume IX of his *Classici Auctores* (4).
Moreover, it may be added that, for our understanding, there is no need in any way to recur to a later Antipater, to whom the homilies on the Presentation and the Assumption of the Virgin are ascribed. Whatever may be the case regarding the opinion of Trombelli (5), who contends that this inscription, "On the Assumption of the Mother of God," was inserted into the text of Antipater by a more recent hand, since throughout the whole sermon there is no mention of this mystery, there is no necessity to invent another Antipater, whom Oudin alone dreamed up, even if the aforesaid homily were treating of the Virgin’s Assumption, as do four others, if credence is to be given to the titles, which treat of her Presentation. If you object that these feasts were instituted at a more recent time, for the reason that there is no trace of them in earlier centuries, it is easily replied that this trace is either the homilies delivered on the occasion of them, or a mention of these feasts in the Calendars of the Church; and in this case, it may be asked why the earlier existence of these feasts would not be concluded from the homilies of Antipater. What is a better method of reasoning? What is more suited to sound criticism? Whether it is better to conclude the existence of a fact from a written testimony, or, from the silence of others, to doubt the existence of the same fact, or to argue that written testimonies are false? Furthermore, it is easy to see that this negative argument is of no force. For what are the monuments from whose silence it is concluded that the feasts had not been instituted? Those, clearly, which pertain to the Western or Eastern Churches, and in no way to the Arabian or Bostrenian. Even if we were to grant that in the Churches where certain monuments exist something could be concluded from silence, it would be absurd to reason in such a way about others: the reason is because if the custom of Churches has been varied in anything, especially in the celebration of feasts, then from the fact that some feast was received later in a certain place, it cannot be concluded that this feast had not been celebrated previously in another Church.
It may be added, moreover, that an argument derived from the fact that homilies are lacking, to conclude that a certain feast did not exist, is of no force. For homilies were not held for individual feasts, or at least they have not all reached us. If such a method were admitted, one could conclude that the feasts of Easter and Pentecost had not been instituted in the Church of Bostra before the fifth century, for the reason that there is no sermon or homily about them in Antipater (6). But enough and more than enough has been said about these matters.
ANTIPATER, BISHOP OF BOSTRA, HOMILIES
ON SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST, AND ON THE SILENCE OF ZECHARIAH, AND ON THE SALUTATION OF THE THEOTOKOS.
I. A Among those born of women, as the statement of the Savior has declared, no one is greater than John the Baptist. How then shall I offer a crown of praise to him who attained such a crown from the Lord? With what eulogies shall I celebrate him who, before he was born, learned the hidden mystery? For before he came forth into the light, Christ began to reveal to him the firstfruits of grace; He bestowed upon him the treasures of grace; and the things which were unknown to the angels dancing in the heavens, John, as you have just heard, while still being carried in the womb, spoke of through his mother. God hid Himself from the eyes of the Thrones, yet He did not remain hidden from him who was enclosed in the womb. He hid the mystery of the Incarnation from the Dominions, yet He revealed it to him who lay in the maternal womb; and that joyful message, to bring which the Archangel came from heaven, the fetus leaping within the womb confirmed. For when the Redeemer of our race had descended to us, as you have just heard, He immediately came into the womb, being carried in the womb to His friend who was likewise being carried in the womb.
II. B It was possible to see the Maker being greeted by the clay; the King lodging in the tent of the soldier; the Lord arriving at the small dwelling of the servant. Whom John, seeing from the womb [to the] womb, and beholding Him before him, leaping, attempted to transgress the bounds of nature. I know not, he says, the bounds of nature; for I see the Lord, who established the bounds of nature. I do not await the time during which a fetus is usually carried in the womb; time of nine months is not necessary for me; for He who knows no time is before me. What mother persuaded God the Word to deign to dwell visibly among us? Who was it that, having undertaken the embassy, roused from the paternal bosom the Son born without a mother? And who is this Virgin, whom the Powers themselves C
A have seen to be more honorable than all in the eyes of God? Who is she who contains within her womb Him who can be contained by no place? Who is she who carries inside her belly Him who is inaccessible? Who is she who acted as a mediatrix to the grass of human nature, that it might be able to bear the fire of the Godhead? Who will announce to the wife of the first parent Adam the mystery currently being performed? Who will tell her that she who was condemned has come, keeping within her the Judge, and that she—who had heard, "In sorrow you shall bring forth children"—is now carrying in her bosom Him who brings us the dissolution of sorrow?
Oh, what honor! Oh, ineffable transformation of affairs! God drove the first-formed man from Paradise B, and the offspring of that man contained God within herself! He who wove skins in Paradise is covered within a womb! He, in anger, cast out the first parent, yet in that same place [the womb], moved by compassion, He came to dwell! The earth which He had cursed, this He trod upon with divine footing, annulling the sentence, crushing with unpolluted steps the thorn of sin!
III. Homily on St. John the Baptist, etc.
III. These were John’s leapings, or rather, his words; for those leapings were, in form, the words of the child not yet born. Who among the sages of the Greeks, even in gray old age, ever taught such sublime things as the Forerunner uttered before he was even wrapped in swaddling clothes? C For such are the mysteries of this present solemnity, which, if I wish to proclaim, I find myself overwhelmed by the depth of these miracles, and as I narrate heavenly things, I feel myself walking upon the air. Therefore, I entreat you, O Baptist, grant me the anchor of your prayers, and preserve these things for me without stumbling, for you who are the "Voice," protect the senses of my vocal organs. For I have approached with firm faith, not doubting, to offer you incense of words; and therefore I will confidently recount your struggles, drawing from them even a reason for joy if my discourse should prove far inferior to your praises; for it is a victory for me to be overcome by the miracles of my patron.
IV. "There was," he says, "in the days of Herod the king." D Let no one be deceived in interpreting the Gospels by the similarity of names. For one Herod was he who made away with the Forerunner, and another was this Herod who reaped the green herb of the infants, when he was seeking the ear of piety. In the days of this Herod was a certain priest, by name Zacharias, and his wife, Elizabeth. And both were just; for the woman lived a life of orderly concord with her husband, sustaining the yoke of the law, abounding in justice, not yet...
possessing children. For the womb having been weakened by the long duration of time, Elizabeth was childless and barren. Both, however, had advanced in their days. They had become childless, he says, by nature, and having passed the legal time for childbearing, they had lost not the hope, but the law, and had acquired a second sort of time. The power of procreation had ceased, but prayer had not grown weak. A
V. And it came to pass B while Zacharias was performing his priestly office (and the festival was solemn, that of the sanctification), having put on his robe, and wearing the golden plate, and taking the incense, he was entering into the holy of holies; and while the sound of the bells went before, the multitude stood in prayer before the doors, designating the priest as an angel and an ambassador to God.
When he had come inside the veil, there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing at the right side of the altar of incense. And Zacharias was troubled, and at the sight of the angel he was driven backward; he was unable to proceed further. For a long time he remained motionless, fixed in astonishment, pondering these things in his mind: “Truly, I am altogether at a loss as to what this is that I see. Another is performing the ministry at the altar of incense; for how shall I cast the incense into the fire? For the law prescribes that one alone should fulfill the priest’s office. Yet it is an angel whom I see, not a man; therefore, this sanctuary is not to be approached by me; for we have not learned to minister together with angels. What shall become of me? What shall I do? From whom shall I seek counsel? Shall I relinquish the holy things to the Holy One? Shall I approach and greet him? Shall I hand over the censer to him? Will he admit me as a partner? Or has he perhaps come to demand an account from the ministers of the holy things? C
I behold him as at once terrible and joyful. Has he come to bring some good news, or to threaten famine or war? And that he who is visible is a minister of the heavenly court, and not God, is shown by his stance. For Isaiah saw the Lord sitting; Ezekiel beheld the Incorporeal One upon a throne; and Daniel likewise saw the Ancient of Days sitting. But this one stands as if fulfilling a ministry, occupying the more honorable part of the altar. Woe is me! Might he be seeking from me an account not only for my own sin, but also for the sins of the people? Shall the greatness of this honor become for me the occasion of a heavier punishment?” D
VI. These things Zacharias was pondering within himself, and he was tossed by an internal tumult. But the disturbance of the priest did not escape the angel Gabriel.
A And immediately, as if extending a friendly right hand to him, he addressed him with a calm voice, saying: “Do not fear, Zacharias.” He first cast out his fear B and then delivered the good news, so that Zacharias might receive the message with an untroubled soul, saying: “Do not fear, Zacharias; the good news coming to you is pleasant: your prayer has been heard; your wife will bear a son, and you shall call his name John. For I have come from heaven, not only bringing news of a son, but also to name him who is to be born; I have come having learned the designation from the book on high. God has inscribed in the census him whom the womb has not yet conceived. C Many will rejoice at his birth. For it is your child, your offspring, but the fruit is common. You are his father, but he who is born is a lamp for all.”
VII. When Zacharias heard these things, D he was at once filled with joy and seized by curiosity. Since, therefore, he received the message of Gabriel with a curious mind, he did not answer with faith: “By what shall I know this?” Gabriel did not bear this questioning of Zacharias, but he held for nothing the priest who, while offering incense, lacked faith; and showing indignation in his countenance, he said: “Do you demand from me, O Zacharias, reasons for the things I have spoken? Do you demand accounts from the minister of God? Do you demand a pledge from him who brings you favorable news? You receive divine gifts not with thanksgiving, but with curious inquiries, and you say, ‘By what shall I know this?’ I am Gabriel: take my name as a pledge of the things which have been spoken, and if this seems little to you, learn my dignity: ‘I am he who stands before the Lord.’ If, then, you suspect that I am a false speaker, where does your accusation lead? For I am he who stands before the Lord, and you say, ‘By what shall I know this?’ By what shall you know? For you are, he says, an old man, and your wife is advanced in her days. Does time, O priest, have more authority with you than the Creator of time? Will you not cease to mistrust God and bring up time, but instead say, ‘By what shall I know this?’ How have you learned that Isaac was born to Abraham? Because he believed, he nullified time; because he believed, did he not overcome old age? But if the matter of the barren woman seems impossible to you, how shall I dare to entrust the mystery of the virgin to you? If, therefore, when you have many examples before your eyes, you still demand a pledge, how shall I propose to you the higher conception of the Word
of which Isaiah prophesied many ages ago, saying: *Behold, a virgin shall have in the womb, and shall bear a son*? He, having faith, proclaimed what is greater; but you, incredulous in a lesser matter, exact from me reasons for one sent from heaven to you, and for your sake! But since it is in your heart to receive some sign (for this you requested, and would that you had not requested it!), take your impediment of speech as a pledge of the begetting of your offspring: you shall be silent until the things I have said are confirmed by deeds. Let the bonds of barrenness pass from the organs of generation to the organs of speech: hindered in voice, beget for me Him who is to be the voice. For to him alone will I forgive his father’s error. He is a friend of the Lord: whatever he wishes, as a friend he requests. B
VIII. While these things were being done or said within the sanctuary, the protracted delay (of the priest) created great astonishment in the multitude, and their suspicion, distracted in various directions, suggested various conjectures to each one, until Zacharias, coming out, taught by his silence what he had suffered while he remained inside. But when the days of his ministry were completed, he betook himself home, bearing a good message in his heart, but a curb upon his mouth. And this, if one may so speak, is the beginning of the conception of the Forerunner; if we wish to celebrate his nativity, it is absolutely necessary that we make mention of the related solemnity. C
IX. For in the sixth month from the conception of John, Gabriel arrived in the city of Nazareth to bring the auspicious announcements of the Father to the Virgin. When he had seen her at home, he was the first to salute her, saying: *Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you*. Hail, he says, you who are the first and only one to bear an infant free from the curse. Hail, you who beget for the world the source of life. Hail, you who remain incorrupt, yet are not without offspring. Hail, you who remain unmarried, yet not unfruitful. Hail, you who are without seed, yet not without fruit. Hail, you who await the birth pangs, yet have no labor pains. Hail, you who bring a defender to your first parent Adam. Hail, you who without weariness carry the foundation of all created nature. Hail, you who easily intercede as mediatrix for humanity. Hail, you who beget God, but not naked, and man, but not mere man. Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you. D
X. But she, although she heard the joy being announced, did not prick up her ears, but weighed the saying, saying within herself: *What is this salutation?* Who is this, she says, who has entered our little house unbidden? Not an acquaintance, not a kinsman, not one drawing his lineage from Adam; I judge by his very form that the greeting is that of a stranger; John is not present
I am not drawn away by the voice; for only, as they say, did the author of evil speak to the first-formed woman. But the angel said to her: "Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found grace" which the first-formed woman lost. She alone received the deception, but thou alone hast brought the solution of the deception. "Thou shalt bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus."
And she, having heard of birth and a son, said, "How shall this be, since I know not a man?" Not contradicting, but learning by inquiry: "How shall this be? Do I alone," she says, "make the nature of things new? Shall the causes of child-bearing be abolished in me? Tell me, stranger, the manner; for the gospel thou bringest is strange."
[XI] "The Holy Spirit," said Gabriel, "shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee." Receive, he says, O Virgin, what has been said, and be not inquisitive about what has been kept silent; I bear witness to the birth, I yield on the manner. For I have not come to thee as a teacher of the economy; I have been sent as a herald of the Lord’s coming, not as an interpreter. "How shall this be?" The One who is present Himself knows the "how"; for that He is present, I know; for the inward proof already leaps within thee; but to speak of the manner, this is not in my power. That I am no liar, Elizabeth shall bear witness to me, who in barrenness and old age is carrying in her the Precursor of Him who is in thee. And if I have spoken of a barren and aged woman being pregnant, thou hast a pledge of no small moment. For as regards child-bearing, there is nothing between a barren old woman and a virgin who persists in her virginity.
[XII] The Virgin, having heard these things, reached the house of Zacharias, and having found Elizabeth pregnant, she greeted her. Mary greeted Elizabeth, and the infant within answered; for the mother’s ear became the ear for the fetus; and since John, confined by the limits of nature, was not able to speak, he spoke by leaping, addressing his own mother by his saltations, and answering the mother of the Savior by her motherly tongue.
But when Elizabeth could no longer bear the child’s saltations, filled with the Holy Spirit she cried out, saying to the Virgin: "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb." Thou, she says, who art blessed, who bearest the solution of the curse. Thou art blessed, thou who...
bringest the gift of wisdom. Thou art blessed, thou who A bearest within thee him who walked in paradise. Thou art blessed, thou whose womb became a holy temple. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, from which, having eaten, Adam shall conquer the enemy. Blessed is this fruit, which became the food and clothing of the world. "And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" These things, O Virgin, the infant within me taught me, leaping beyond the order of nature at thy salutation. These were the divinely inspired words of Elizabeth.
XIII. Zacharias, however, as I have said, constrained by the bridle which unbelief had placed upon him, had not left his house, inasmuch as he had lost his voice from the time that John was conceived, nor did he see the end of his inflicted punishment before the birth of the boy. But after the inhabitant of the desert came forth to the light from the solitary seat of the womb, the father, asking for a tablet, faithfully wrote what he had heard as an unbeliever; and having given the child the name, he recovered his voice.
Such, O Forerunner and Baptist, were thy mysteries before thou wast born; such was the honor God bestowed upon thee even before thy conception. For [it was] the same Gabriel [who] announced the DominicBirth and thy conception; and in the temple, as in a bridal chamber, he proclaimed thy conception. The archangel brought thy birth to the temple as a gift acceptable to God, during a feast dear to God. Thou didst become spirit-bearing, receiving the gift of prophecy in the womb, and B leaping in the womb, thou didst proclaim what God had already revealed to the aged Moses; therefore the Bridegroom of the Church called thee greater than the prophets. For who among the prophets revealed a mystery from the womb? Who among the just, at his very birth, offered his voice to his parent as a present? But thou didst, at the same time, deliver the one who begat thee from his lack of speech, and didst deem him worthy of the gift of prophecy. For he who a little before was mute, being filled with the Holy Spirit, sang a canticle for us, which, changing it slightly, I shall opportunely sing again. For he says: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel"; but I say: Blessed be the God of the Christians: to Him be the glory for ever and ever. Amen. D
ON THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS
Bless, Father.
I. On the preceding Sunday, the interpretation of the [scriptural] prayers [alt-version omitted]
concerning the Forerunner; but now the Forerunner leads us to the One who is preached. And if the birth of the Forerunner brought us joy, A how much more should the birth of the common Savior gladden us! For that one ran ahead only to preach; but this one has come to save. And John exists for Christ’s sake; but Christ does not exist for John’s sake, but for the Father’s.
II. Let us come, then, to the explanation of the evangelical words. For the very same archangel performs the ministry both at John’s birth and at the Savior’s conception. There, the husband of a barren woman receives the good news; here, a Virgin is instructed. Therefore, the archangel is sent no longer to a temple, as in the case of John, but to the living temple, the Virgin. B There, Zacharias the priest entered to offer incense and heard the sweet words from the archangel; here, there is no longer a [material] temple, but the Virgin herself is the temple. The angel does not come to the high priest, but comes to her who is to give birth to the heavenly High Priest. There, the archangel came at the time of the liturgy; here, not at the time of the liturgy; for He who was to be born was about to bring the corporal worship to an end. There, the archangel comes to the father; here, he does not come to Joseph, who was not a father by begetting, C but comes to the Virgin, who became a mother without a father. There, Elisabeth and Zacharias were present; here, only Mary. For Joseph was indeed a husband in the manner of a betrothed, yet he preserved the virgin as a virgin. The archangel does not therefore come to him, but comes to the Virgin.
III. And what does he say to her? "Hail, full of grace"; since God had said to Eve: "In sorrows you shall bring forth children." Hail, full of grace; for the sorrow of Eve is undone. Eve brought forth in sorrows; D this joy, therefore, undoes that sorrow. For this reason he said: "Hail, full of grace; the Lord is with you." For He who was a little later to be born of her was already with her.
IV. But she was troubled at the word; for not a woman had greeted a woman, but a heavenly citizen had addressed one dwelling on earth. But she was troubled at the word. Perhaps, too, she was afraid at the voice, as it were, of a man; for the holy one was in no way accustomed to the salutations of men. She remained, therefore, struck with awe at the voice, and was reasoning within herself what manner of salutation this might be; what this address might mean? V. And the angel said...
to her: "Fear not, Mary; for you have found grace with God: and behold, you shall conceive in your womb" [Luke 1:30]. That which was said—"you have found grace"—was common to others, for others before her had found grace. But the addition of "you shall conceive" was no longer common, but was unique by reason of the promise; and behold, you shall conceive in the womb, a virgin: a strange thing indeed! "You have found grace with God"—for since it is altogether necessary that he who is to be born should come forth from a virgin, you have been preferred above all virgins; this honor has been bestowed upon you. B VI. "For you have found grace with God, and you shall bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus." The Virgin, therefore, when she was saluted by the angel, was troubled in spirit and pondered the matter within herself; but when she perceived where this auspicious annunciation tended, she no longer resisted the word, but hesitated in perplexity concerning the thing proposed to her. Hence she says to the angel: "How shall C this be to me, seeing I know not a man?" She does not deny faith in his words, but inquires about the manner. Zacharias therefore proved himself incredulous; but the Virgin does not appear equally incredulous. Therefore he inquired: "Whereby shall I know this?" For he demanded that a sign be shown to him, in order that he might believe. But the Virgin said: "How shall this be?" The word indeed is worthy of faith, but the manner is impenetrable to the mind; the natural intellect does not in any way attain to what you are saying: for the expression, "behold, you shall conceive," looks to my present condition and allows no place for a man. "How shall this be?" Eve did not conceive before she had company with Adam: such is the order of nature; this is the way of receiving offspring; this is the law for the propagation of descendants. "How shall this be to me, seeing I know not a man?" D VII. Since the Virgin was inquiring wisely, the angel replies to her: "For the fact that you doubt, pardon is easily granted you." He does not spare Zacharias; indeed, he stopped the mouth of one who badly denied the faith; but he pardons the Virgin, for there had been no precedent of a Virgin who had given birth. Pardon, he says, is granted to you for your doubting, because this has never happened before; nay, this very thing will have both its beginning and its end in you. But I myself will explain the manner to you; do not suspect that a man will approach you; do not fear the intercourse of a man; without the work of the flesh, flesh shall come forth; without the company of a man, there shall be a birth. By what means, then? "The Holy Spirit shall come upon you" [Luke 1:35]. Receive in a spiritual sense the things that pertain to the Spirit. Without seed, the coming of the Spirit shall take place; for by the will of God that which comes to pass is brought into being. VIII. "The Holy Spirit shall come upon you." How shall he come? While he comes, you shall not see him with your eyes; but, although invisible, he shall work. "The Holy Spirit shall come upon you." Why does the Holy Spirit come? Because, holy as you are, you shall bring forth, when the Holy Spirit descends upon you.
A And you, therefore, are a virgin, but you must become holier, in order to conceive the Holy One.
IX. "The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you." He mentions two things: the Holy Spirit and the power. What is this power? Christ is the power of God. Two, then, arrive: namely, both the Holy Spirit and Christ, the only-begotten Son of God. "Since that which is born of you shall be called holy." See, I pray, how she has heard of the whole: the Holy Spirit and the power of the Most High. The angel omitted nothing, B he kept silent about nothing. "The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you"—it shall wrap you around and clothe you, it shall surround you on all sides and enclose you, and shall be a covering for you.
X. The Holy Spirit, the Power, the Most High: count these things for me, and you will find everything accurately recounted. What, then, are these? Man upon the earth; the angel in heaven; the Holy Spirit, and the Son, and the Father. For when you ascend toward the beginning, you can no longer go higher; for He Himself is the Most High, who is altogether invisible. Therefore, when the subject is the generation C of the Son, all things are gathered together, and all things come together and concur in unity. For these alone are present: the angel, man, the Holy Spirit, the Son, and the Father; and besides these, there is nothing else. For leave aside for me the irrational animals, which exist for the sake of man; they lack reason, they do not sin, they are not judged, they do not discern right actions, they have no praise, they do not attain eternal life; such are born, and such they die. But man is a rational animal, the most noble of all living things, a citizen of the world, lord of those things created for his sake. Since, therefore, these alone D are present—man, the angel, the Holy Spirit, the Son, and the Father—see how these things are joined together in the mystery. Man is the Virgin, the virgin indeed repairing the fall of the virgin; in the Virgin, therefore, you have man. The angel is Gabriel; the Holy Spirit is He who descends; the power of the Most High is the power that overshadows. See how truly all that exists concurs in the generation of the Lord. The angel descended to the Virgin; the Holy Spirit comes upon her; and the power of the Most High overshadows; the Most High Himself is He who generated the Only-Begotten, and ordained that He also be born of the Virgin, so that he who was deceived from the beginning through Eve might himself be saved through the conception of the Virgin.
XI. A And the Angel answering, said to her: And behold Elisabeth, thy kinswoman, and she also hath conceived a son. Indeed, a barren woman provides the conception as a sign to the Virgin. And this is the sixth month for her, because no word shall be impossible with God. Truly, God is He who works; do not doubt.
But Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word. I am the handmaid of the Lord; I am a tablet upon which it may be written: let the writer write what he wills; the material is at hand; let the craftsman do what he wills. And the Angel departed from her; he received the words of consent, and departed.
Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word. Clearly, the Virgin does not reply: "Away, what you say is vain; I am a virgin; I do not know a man; what you argue is not consistent"; but after the Angel said: The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee; as a spiritual person listening spiritually, and believing holily in holy words, she remained, persisting in the faith, and awaiting the promises. The Angel, therefore, departed from her. B
XII. And Mary rising up in those days, went into the hill country with haste to her kinswoman. For Mary came to Elisabeth, even as Christ came to men. For it was fitting that Elisabeth should come to Mary; and this order was more congruous, that the mother of the Precursor should betake herself to the mother of the Lord. But Mary rises, and comes to Elisabeth, the one bringing forth the Lord to the mother of the servant.
XIII. And she entered into the house of Zacharias. For after the Angel said to her: Behold thy kinswoman hath conceived, she went to her, C that she might rejoice with her, because she had conceived beyond expectation. And she entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. And it happened, when Elisabeth heard Mary saluting, she transmitted the voice of the salutation through the ears to the mind, and the mind to the Precursor; and the Precursor, before he received the ears, heard; he heard (I say) not by the faculty of the mind now prepared for this, but by the virtue of the (Holy) Spirit. And the Precursor, to signify joy, and to indicate his prophetic office, exults; he exults, namely, in the womb of Elisabeth. But Elisabeth noticed the matter; yet she did not notice it by human intelligence, but perceived what was happening by the (revelation of the) Holy Spirit. D
XIV. And she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women. Why do you, greeting me, anticipate me? Why do you address me first? Am I the one who brings forth the Saviour? It was fitting for me to come to thee
and thou hast come to me? Thou hast anticipated me in greeting! But blessed art thou among women: as the only-begotten, so hast thou been blessed, thou who bringest forth the Only-Begotten. Thou alone givest birth as a virgin; no other has conceived before thee, nor will any other virgin conceive after thee among women; in the whole race of women, thou alone art found to be blessed in this way. And blessed is the fruit of thy womb; not the fruit of him who is not even a husband to thee; for that which is born is not from a man, but from thy womb.
XV. B Look at the mother of John, and how she speaks, having been filled with the Holy Spirit: *And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?* She sees a virgin, and calls her mother, prophetically anticipating the outcome of the word; and she who was not yet called mother, although she had long since conceived, she calls her mother who was still a virgin. Thus, the barren woman became the precursor of the Virgin, just as John was of the Saviour.
Mary was being assured of her happiness from every side. Although she did not hear the voice of the angel at that moment, yet when her kinswoman spoke similar things and added, *Blessed is she that believed; for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord*, she was strengthened further in the faith regarding what she had heard from the archangel; being pronounced blessed, if she believed, and with the angel signifying it beforehand, and her kinswoman prophesying similar things about these matters, that she would be the Theotokos.
XVI. C Having been assured from every side, the Virgin no longer doubts; but having received the word concerning the things to come, spoken to her by both—by the angel and by Elizabeth—she awaits the event. And she cannot refrain from speaking; but she already provides a taste and the first fruits of the Holy Spirit who had come upon her, through the things she utters. For when the angel had said and clearly promised, *The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee*, since she heard the same Holy D Spirit through the words of her kinswoman, she too is struck in her mind, and is moved similarly to her by the same Spirit; such that the angel might also be truthful, as the word swiftly passed into deed, with the Holy Spirit beginning to descend upon Mary.
XVII. Since, at the same time and in the same place, the Spirit was seen working in two women, in the barren woman and in the virgin—the barren one taking the lead, since she had already conceived the Forerunner and was pronouncing the Theotokos blessed, and the Virgin following, since she was conceiving the One who was preached—the Holy Spirit, as one craftsman, was playing like two lyres upon the two souls of the holy women: for Elizabeth was pronouncing her blessed; but what does Mary say? *My soul doth magnify the Lord.*
XVIII. And first, she shows that she believes the things spoken to her, by saying, *Blessed is she that believed*, because—
those things which were spoken to her by the Lord shall have their fulfillment. Then she does not in turn call Elisabeth blessed, lest things which differ so greatly from one another should seem to be made equal. For what comparison has a servant to a master, or the person of a soldier to the royal majesty? A Wherefore, she accepts the praise of being blessed, but refers the glory of the praise to the Lord, saying: *My soul doth magnify the Lord*. For inasmuch as she, being a virgin, had conceived in her womb corporally, contrary to the common order of nature—corporally, I say, indeed in the body, but yet spiritually, because it was without the union of a man—nevertheless, since that wondrous dispensation had been completed in the body, she says: *My soul doth magnify the Lord*. For even if God, she says, had signified that He would work wondrous things in this bodily substance of mine, and had indeed so worked them, yet surely my soul is not barren before the Lord. B And indeed the body, as you, O Elisabeth, were saying, shall offer a most bountiful fruit; for you said to me: *Blessed is the fruit of thy womb*. But nevertheless, this fruit cannot be reckoned as an achievement of my own will, but is the work of God, who wondrously effects in me things that are above nature. It is right, however, that I should also offer the fruit of my will, so that not only my body may be fruitful, but that my soul also may offer the fruit of free will to God, who works wonders within me; and therefore she says: *My soul doth magnify the Lord*; that is, not only my body, but also my soul. For in as much as it is my lot to serve so great a miracle and such an achievement, so much the more am I bound above all things to glorify Him who works wonders in me.
XIX. *And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour*; for my God is my Saviour. By "my spirit," she designates her own soul by a double name. "My spirit," she says, "hath rejoiced," because I am deemed worthy of such ample gifts. *In God my Saviour*, that is to say, God is granting the Saviour to the world from me. C *For He hath regarded the humility of His handmaid*. For what am I, if I am compared with such a work? He Himself regarded; I did not even suspect it; for I was cast down and despised, and could think of nothing else than that a man had come; but in stead of a man, the Holy Ghost hath come upon me; I pass from earth to heaven, and am chosen to minister to an ineffable dispensation. Therefore, *He hath regarded the humility of His handmaid*. D
XX. *For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed*. She declares herself blessed; not as speaking from her own mouth, but as an image of the Holy Ghost, who had come upon her, she utters words and prophesies, saying: *For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed*, not you alone. For what generation...
from that time on does not call Mary blessed, who was unacquainted with marriage as regards a man, but was God-bearing according to the Spirit? The word of prophecy came first, and the outcome has verified the word as true.
A [KA]. *For he who is mighty has done to me great things.* For how are they not great things? Because, being a virgin, I conceive, having surpassed nature by the will of God, and am deemed worthy, without a man, not only to be a mother, but to be the mother of Him who alone is the Savior.
He says, *who is mighty*, since one might perhaps disbelieve the working of the conception. For if, being a virgin, I conceive, he says, *He who is mighty has done to me great things*; by the name of *the Mighty One* banishing the unbelief which arises from a fact that transcends the order of nature, so that one should attribute the achievement to the power of the One who works; but he who would subtly scrutinize that which is not according to the laws of nature, might fall away from the true faith of those things which have truly come to pass.
And he adds: *And holy is His name.* For it is not because His Only-Begotten comes into a woman that He is thereby defiled. For *holy is His name*, since I too am a holy Virgin. Nothing is contaminated, nor is the Savior who is being conceived B in me, the Virgin, [while] forming His own body. For He who is Holy holily puts on His own work. For this reason also the Holy Spirit comes upon [me], so that the conception, having become holy, might prepare the birth also to be holy. *Holy, therefore, is His name.*
[KB]. *And His mercy is on generations of generations.* And I conceive, and He puts on a body; and He comes into the world, and walks among men, and lives on earth, and orders all things, so that those who were unworthy because of the multitude of their sins might attain mercy. *Yet to those who fear Him.* For not those who are altogether unworthy receive mercy; but those who through repentance are turned toward fear.
[KC]. *He has shown strength with His arm* C; for the hand is His, not the work of man. *He has scattered the proud.* For if anyone, using arrogance, thinks he does not need repentance, he is scattered—alluding by this to the people of the Jews, who were to be scattered for the pride they showed against the Savior. *He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.* For each one, [by] the thoughts of his own heart, scatters himself, whereas D
for his own mind’s perception perishes A, and shows himself unworthy of the calling of Jesus.
XXIV. *He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble.* For the Pharisees and Scribes carried high spirits, and coveted the first seats; from which they were cast down because they spoke against Jesus. *And hath exalted the humble* who were dispersed, because they believed that He had come from heaven and from on high. *He hath filled the hungry with good things.* For the whole human race, except the Jews, was laboring with hunger. *And the rich he hath sent empty away*; the Jews, namely, who had been enriched both by the received Law and the doctrines of the holy prophets. Who indeed, because they contended bitterly for their own arrogance, and were greatly lifted up by their own dignity, did not bring themselves to approach humbly to the Savior as He dwelt among them in human form, they were sent away empty, bringing nothing with them, neither faith, nor knowledge, nor hope B of good things; but they fell away both from the earthly Jerusalem and from the life to come.
XXV. *He hath holpen His servant Israel*; He refers not to the name (of Israel), but designates the true (Israel) — not those who glory in the name, but those who have kept the faith of the name. *As He promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed for ever.*
He fulfills this prophecy, not only her own, but also that of the prophets, by the promise of God, who, as the common Savior Jesus Christ, was about to be born of her. Therefore, Mary does not prophesy things that are lowly while she ministers to the most perfect dispensation; and her spirit rejoices in the Lord. Let the Church also exult in her Bridegroom and Savior. For if she C rejoiced even before the outcome of the work, how much more does it behoove the Church, which has already been betrothed and is already fecundated by the seed of the holy Bridegroom through the teaching of angelic words, to rejoice all the more, and to exult unceasingly, and to give marvelous thanks, and to strive to please Christ, who has become her Savior, by works of virtue? To whom be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
FRAGMENTS
Antipater D bishop of Bostra, *Contradictions against Eusebius bishop of Caesarea for the defense of Origen*, first discourse, the beginning of which is:
Truly I thought I had written sufficiently, and that what was commanded by your holiness was enough.
to do, O most God-beloved and most holy father John. And after a little: For since the man has been a great historian, having thoroughly searched and tracked down all the books and writings of the ancients, and having set forth almost everyone’s opinions, and having left many writings to life, some of which are worthy of all acceptance; using such an estimation of the man, they attempt to seize some, claiming that Eusebius would not have chosen to see this, they say, if he had not accurately understood the opinions of all the ancients who willed this. But I, that the man was a great historian, and that nothing of the older writings escaped his knowledge, I concede and confess. For using imperial cooperation, he was easily able to gather what was scattered everywhere. But I do not say that the man arrived at the precision of doctrines. B Hence, we must grant him that he was very learned, but that he had knowledge of doctrines, no longer; but we know that he arrived far behind such precision. And after a little: So that, in order that we may not seem to attack the man regarding things which it is not our present purpose to speak of, nor by discussing more diligently the apology that was made, show both to be heretics, both him who is defended and him for whom he composed the apology. And after other things: Show me some clear and undoubted one of the illustrious teachers of the Church, who has dogmatized that the souls of men pre-exist; and do not try to put forward some fallacious arguments for proof. For that you are hastening to show that some have said the subordination of the Son to the Father is similar to him, at first we are not surprised; for such an opinion is yours and that of those around you. C Hence, concerning this, there is no discussion for us at present, since it was long ago cast out and rejected by universal inquiry. And let one not be persuaded in this, nor, because of those for whom these things are proposed to us, investigate; but that you have criticized the mere voice concerning the *Periarchon*, you have by no means heard from anyone until now, O fierce advocate of the perversions of Origen.
OF THE SAME (1). From the discourse on the woman with an issue of blood; the beginning of which is: That the calling of the Jews was first, the Scripture has taught. And after other things: Taking hold of this saving fringe, the woman who had the issue of blood spoke, as if holding the Lord who is King of nature, and teaching the tyranny of the passion. D And having received the gift, she erected a statue to Christ, having spent her wealth on physicians, but having offered the remainder of her wealth to Christ.
OF THE SAME (2). From the disputations against Origen. For the devil, being a partaker of the same immortal glory of the angels, not having kept his own dignity
A and rank, and having fallen from the glory of God, remained indeed what he was by nature—immortal, and likewise powerful, and losing nothing of that which he had received from God in his nature from the beginning. Yet he is now hindered by God from using this propensity and fulfilling the wrath which he conceived against the human race out of envy, since God provides for us and guards us from his malice as long as we remain worthy of His care. But if, through sloth, we are found unworthy of His aid, then he displays his own malice and power against us, when we have become utterly destitute of good works and alienated ourselves from the providence of God. As long as we are worthy to be befriended by His help, the devil is in no wise permitted to prevail against us. B And the swine in Gadara are witnesses to this, for even against them, the demons had not been granted the power of injury, which they received only then, on account of many and various reasons of the economy, which it is not the time to recount at present.
Longe plura et ampliora ex τῆς κατὰ τῶν βλασφημιῶν Ὠριγένους πραγματείας κεφαλ. ιε', ις', servavit JOANNES DAMASCENUS in Parallelis sacris, tom. II, editionis Lequinianæ pag. 747, 764-772, quas typis grandioribus expressas invenies hujusce Patrolog. tom. XCVI.
OF THE SAME (3). From the discourse on the Cross.
According to the human will with which, just as we, Christ was endowed, from which He says: C “Not my will, but Thine be done,” He drew back from death; for as God, He foretold that the cup would indeed pass from Him. For He rose on the third day, having gifted the flesh with immortality and shattered the cup of death.
OF THE SAME (4). From the treatise against Apollinarius.
He, therefore, who suffered for us not only did not commit sin, but also rooted out the very roots of sin from their foundations. Therefore, it is not as one resisting God that He says, “Not my will be done,” but demonstrating to us the method of how we ought to pray to God in temptations. D But if on account of Christ saying, “Not my will be done,” Apollinarius removes the rational soul from Him, and—like one bereft of his senses—maintains that His incarnation was without soul and mind, it would be much more insulting than this claim regarding the life-loving will to say that Christ became an abomination and sin, and was tempted by Satan for forty days, and fled from Herod into Egypt, and was subject to Joseph the carpenter, and was strengthened by an angel, as one who dreaded death.