A Someone might approach this more forcibly, saying that the text refers to the devout Jews living in Jerusalem; it signifies those from every nation who were in Jerusalem—for example, let us say there were B seventy nations in all. From these seventy nations, some happened to be in Jerusalem; suppose that from these, twenty were the devout Jews in Jerusalem, who were speaking the mighty works of God. Thus, the phrase "from every nation" should not be taken simply and strictly, but only of those who were in Jerusalem. And while we assume there were twenty nations in Jerusalem, let no one think that the entire twenty nations were there, but rather that certain men from them were. Consistent with these points, one must also endeavor to understand the prophecy of Joel, which speaks in the person of God: "I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh," but we must say that it is given to those prepared to receive the Spirit.
C Vers. 17. *I will pour out of my Spirit.* When those who bear the image of the heavenly [one], having become partakers of the true light, say: "The light of thy countenance, O Lord, is marked upon us." Truly, wonders are also published on earth when all nations depart from their ancestral customs and gods, receiving the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, whence it follows that divine gifts according to the Spirit are to be considered as wonders for men living on earth.
Vers. 21. *And it shall be: Whosoever shall call upon, etc.* Thus those words of Christ are true, "Everyone that asketh receiveth," provided that among all those who ask, those who ask wrongly are not included (for he who asks wrongly does not truly ask). In this sense, the following is true: "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved," provided that these are not included—those who, not doing the will of the Father, call Jesus Lord and therefore seem to themselves to be calling upon his name. Otherwise, it is not one and the same thing to call upon the name of the Lord and to pronounce it. For he who prays and desires to obtain some good thing calls; to whom, consequently, help is granted. But he who pretends to be a servant invokes Christ saying, "Lord, Lord," yet does not do the things that are a servant's. Therefore, to such he says: "Why do you call me, Lord, Lord, and do not do what I command?" D Therefore, take the saying, "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved," in a way consistent with this: "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost," that is, [calling him] Lord, both in deed and in the disposition of a servant.
A Ver. 22. *A man approved of God.*
But if those who are maddened by the doctrines of Artemas, and those who followed them—even the followers of Samosatenus—think that Jesus is a mere man because of the passage before us, let them know that the Son of God, who is God the Word, became man, having taken the form of a servant, so that Christ, while dwelling among men, is at once God and man. Just as, therefore, when Christ is called the power of God and the wisdom of God, we understand it of his divinity, not of his humanity; so, in turn, when Christ is said, according to the Scriptures, to have died and been buried, we understand it of his body, and not of his divinity. B And indeed, there are ten thousand such things to be found in the Scriptures. Hence, if one calls Jesus "a man approved of God by signs and wonders," we understand it in consistency with that which is said: "Now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth," and with that: "A man full of stripes, and acquainted with infirmity." For indeed, hearing this same man—the one approved of God—saying, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son," and, "I am the light of the world," and, "I am in the Father, and the Father in me," we are not so foolish as to think that these things are said of a mere man. Let them tell us, those who hold this opinion, how they interpret: "No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man," and that: "If ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before." For they will not be able to understand any of these things piously, if they deny the divinity of Jesus. How, then, has he who is from Mary, whom they suppose to be a mere man, descended from heaven, and how does the same ascend to where he was before? They will have no answer. By the passage before us, we must also refute those who think that the Savior was mere flesh. For the word "man" cannot, in truth, be appropriately used of mere flesh.
C Ver. 25. *Because he is on my right hand, etc.*
They who do not foster sober and just opinions concerning God accept the session of the Son at the right hand of the Father locally, because it is said: "Sit thou on my right hand," or that the Savior is narrated to have sat at the right hand of majesty after his ascension. To them one may say this: For if the Son is at the right hand of the Father locally, as they think, it is impossible for the Father to be at the right hand of the Son by this same logic. But the Son says: I foresaw the Lord always before my face; for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved.
A Therefore, we must conceive of the Son being at the right hand of the Father, and the Father at the right hand of the Son, in another way than that of place. In this same way must the saying be understood: I am in the Father, and the Father is in me. And this one also: And my flesh shall rest in hope. For Jesus, insofar as he underwent death, laid aside the flesh which he had assumed for the sake of our salvation, so that on the third day he might raise it from death again. He says that this flesh of his, therefore, rested in hope, due to the expectation of the resurrection. And if anyone supposes this to have been said in the person of David, let him cease from running against the opinion of the prudent concerning the resurrection. For although they who hold this view cannot demonstrate what they believe to the eye, they act piously nonetheless, saying that the flesh rose again so as to become a spiritual and incorruptible body. For just as the dead man who rises again lives after the resurrection and is dead no more, so the flesh that is raised up is, after the resurrection, a spiritual and incorruptible body.
Vers. 31. Neither did his flesh see corruption. That the flesh of Jesus did not see corruption does not mean that it did not die (for it did die, and was laid in a sepulcher), but rather it means that it did not decay. For he rose again on the third day. For it was fitting that the resurrection should happen in this way. For if his flesh had been dissolved after the manner of the dead, his rising would have brought hesitation, with people being in doubt whether the body that rose again was truly the body of Jesus. B Furthermore, it would follow from this that the resurrection did not happen on the third day, but after it. In order, therefore, that every hesitation might be cut off, he rose again after three days, without decay having occurred, and was buried in a new sepulcher, in which no one had previously been laid, so that it might not be supposed that someone else had risen in another’s place.
Vers. 38. And let each of you be baptized. Since the Savior commands those who are initiated to be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, some, imprudently attacking the Scripture, and hearing Peter exhorting that each one be baptized in the name of Christ, believe C that this one title is equivalent to the three. They are, in fact, affected by the heresy of Sabellius. The Church, however, believing the most holy Trinity to be indivisible and inseparable, affirms the Father to be the Father of the Son, and the Son to be the Son of the Father, and the Holy Spirit to be of the Father and of the Son. Through this union it comes to pass that whoever is baptized in the name of Christ is baptized into the Trinity, nor is the essence of God separated by the circumscription and distinction of the names of Father and Son. D
FRAGMENTA IN ACTUS APOSTOLORUM
A CAP. III, vers. 20. *Ut veniant tempora refocillationis.*
Whoever is diligent in reading will find many kinds of prophecy revealed in the Scriptures, among which is the prediction of future events. Some men, instructed by God in this kind of prophecy, predicted the birth of Christ, and no less the passion which He was to undergo for the sake of men. These prophecies concerning such events, which came to pass when the Lord was crucified, God fulfilled; wherefore, when it is written here that the words of all the prophets were fulfilled when Christ suffered, one ought to understand not all the prophets absolutely, but only those who predicted the passion of Christ.
Vers. 21. *Usque ad tempora restitutionis.*
He who observes the custom of Scripture will not take the expressions "until" and "then" in a strict sense, as if they circumscribed a time, in the meaning that once that time had passed, something else different from the former must occur. For what was said by God to some, "I am your God, until you have grown old, I am," does not imply that when they have grown old, He will no longer be their God; for He is immortal and eternal. Innumerable things agree with this, which are handed down in the same way in divine doctrine, and who could suffice to enumerate them? When, therefore, the present text says that heaven must receive the Lord "until the times of restitution," etc., it is to be thought that Christ, having been received into heaven, remains there until the consummation of the world, and will come then with power, when all other things which the prophets predicted have been restored. Or these things may also be accepted in this way: that when the end is imminent, and sensible things have passed away, Christ will be B superior to all the heavens, not indeed as being established in heaven, but as established above heaven, in that glory which He had with the Father before the world was created. Being, therefore, above every visible creature, He puts an end C to that which is in heaven.
Vers. 23. *Fiet vero, ut omnis anima, etc.*
Because the soul is immortal, its perdition is to be understood as its falling away from those good things which it was to enjoy, had it lived a pious life.
CAP. IV, vers. 12. *Neque est in ullo alio salus.*
Since our salvation is founded in the equal essence of the Trinity, it follows that he is saved who embraces Christ born for us, and believes in His name, which was given on earth under the appellation of the Son, from the time of the nativity, in which he who believes partakes, through the Son, of the Father, and of the Holy Spirit, as the sent Paraclete. Whence he who is saved in the name of the Savior, the same obtains salvation from the Holy Trinity. D
Vers. 24. *Master, thou art God, who hast made heaven and earth.* A Many heretics divide the Godhead, saying that one is God the maker of the world, and another is the Father of Christ. Whence, having also divided the Scripture, they say that the Old Testament is of the world’s maker, but the New is from the Father of Christ. And consistently with their impious opinion, they say that these gods are opposed to one another, as are their Scriptures, so that those who adhere to the Lord are opposed to the maker of the world, and are therefore better than him; just as, in turn, the followers of the Creator of the world think most evilly of Christ and his teaching. But the present passage of Scripture refutes their impiety, since it represents the apostles, after being delivered from the plots of the high priests and elders, and returning to their own people—that is, those who professed the same faith as they did—singing together with them all a hymn of thanksgiving to the maker of heaven and earth, and furthermore mentioning the second psalm, as having been pronounced by him through the mouth of David in the Holy Spirit, the beginning of which is: *Why did the nations rage?* etc. For by all these things it is shown that the same [Being] is God the maker of the world and Father of our Savior, and that both Testaments proceeded from the same. B
CAP. V, vers. 32. *And the Holy Spirit, whom God gave to those who obey him,* etc. Not only here, but in other places of Scripture it is signified that the Holy Spirit is given, if we ourselves provide the occasion and cause for receiving him. For to obey God is a matter of our own will, as is believing, to which surely the Holy Spirit is given in proportion, to those who attain his gifts. Akin to this is the verse: *He will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.*
CAP. VI, vers. 5. *And they chose Stephen.* C Those who pursue virtue possess it, some perfectly, others imperfectly. Stephen, therefore, is said to have been chosen because he was full of faith and of the Spirit; for not all who believe in some way are full of faith. For a certain person who was seen by Peter is said to have faith, but not to be full of faith. D
CHAP. VII. Vers. 22. And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians.
A From the present passage it is evident that education outside of the Scripture is not to be entirely rejected. For it is mentioned by way of praise that Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians; and likewise concerning Daniel and the Jews with him, that they excelled all in the philosophy of the Chaldeans and in related sciences. Note, however, regarding these things being said, how one must approach other disciplines rationally. For one must apply oneself to them only briefly, remaining steadfast in the divinely inspired Scripture. For the command, "Be not much with a strange woman," is spoken not of a woman joined to a husband, but of such wisdom. For it is not harmless to approach a strange woman even in a small degree.B Vers. 32. And Moses, becoming terrified, etc. Although the expression exactly as it is in the Exodus account is not carried in these words, nevertheless it is set forth there meaning the same thing. For the word "terrified" will not differ much from "fearful," when Moses became fearful. These things are said concerning the vision at the bush, with the same distinction remaining between the fearful and the terrified, even in the account concerning Mount Sinai. For what is said in the Epistle to the Hebrews, "And so terrible was the sight," refers to that mountain. For concerning it Moses said, "I am terrified and tremble," having used the words as equivalent.
Vers. 38. This is he who was in the church, in the desert. C The preceding word shows that it does not happen that one is in better or worse places only according to location. For those of whom the discourse treats, even though they were in location outside of Egypt, were in the same state within it, not having departed in their mind from the Egyptian customs. Of the same meaning is also that which is in the Gospel, "Where the treasure is, there is also the heart," not necessarily where one is according to place, but where one has his mind. Many, therefore, though they are on earth, by gathering things suitable for heaven, have their heart there; but conversely, the angels who fell, even then, while they were there, had their disposition on the earth; by which it followed that they were cast from heaven to earth.
Vers. 42. But God turned, and gave them up. D Some, having approached the Old Testament as they ought, think that the Jews were given up by God to serve the host of heaven, having been rapt away from that which is written: "For if the word spoken through angels was firm," etc., and from the other portion, where the law is said to have been ordained through angels in the hand of a Mediator. But he who defines it thus has need of much correction and counsel. We, however, knowing that which is said, "God turned," and what follows, [declare that] the betrayal which is now indicated came about thus.
For as in those things which we ourselves chose, God permits us [to remain], after having often restrained us, so did He [act] regarding the Hebrews, who had a desire to honor the creation more than the Creator; having restrained them often through the prophets [from] such a purpose, He permitted them—as they remained [in their purpose]—to be handed over to that which they had chosen. Whence it is necessary to hear more accurately the statement, "God turned and handed them over." For this was not the primary intention of the Law. For if in it [we] read, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve," He handed over those who had transgressed this commandment to serve the host of heaven, not indeed making them so by a primary design, B but rather, as the text says, [as one who] had turned [them] away from a prior will.
Vers. 54. *But hearing these things, they were cut to the heart.*
This was clarified shortly before, when we were discussing that statement: "For if the word spoken through angels," etc., that is, the law promulgated through angels was given to men by God as the angels' [law]: unless it be rather intimated hereby that the law was so prescribed to men that they should lead a life after the manner of angels. For they are placed under God. Therefore, it is said of them: "Bless the Lord, all you His angels, mighty in strength, doing His word." But the second interpretation seems more forced.
CAP. VIII, vers. 2. *And they made great lamentation.*
As therefore one ought not to receive every gain, C nor only that which truly contributes to salvation; so one ought not to be distressed at every loss or misfortune, but [only] at those things which truly harm the soul. Since, therefore, Stephen, while conversing with men, contributed much towards the piety of those who desired it, it was consistent that those who were henceforth to be deprived of so great a man should be grieved at his slaughter. And thus it is necessary, even upon the death of others—if they should otherwise be our closest friends—to mourn, [yet] with a sorrow not admitted beyond measure. For the Savior Himself provides an example of this, who even went so far as to shed tears over the beloved Lazarus who had died.
Vers. 22. *Repent, therefore.*
The change here is voluntary, which falls only upon D him who is capable of both virtue and vice. But man, according to the fables of the heretics, being evil by nature, is not capable of voluntary change. Whence it is superfluous, when it is said to Simon, "Repent," [to imagine it is] from...
his very creation that he was evil. But now, it is not in vain that it is said here: "Repent, therefore." Thus he also is free to such an extent. And since he is not evil by nature, nor prone to commanded wickedness, neither will any other person be discovered to be like this. A
Vers. 36. *And as they went on their way.* It must be noted that truly Christian men held baptism—which is external and sensible—in the highest regard. For since it is bestowed in a twofold way—at one time by water, at another by the Holy Spirit and fire—they did not despise that which was more bodily, on the grounds that the other, which was wrought by the Spirit, was more excellent. For even that former one contributes to salvation toward the resurrection of the body. And it is possible, by means of the present book of the Acts of the Apostles, to glean many things that demonstrate the usefulness of baptism by water.
Vers. 39. *The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip.* The aforementioned rapture is equivalent to the assumption of Elijah. And since Philip, having been snatched away, was transported from one place to another, it follows that Elijah too, being taken up from the earth, was translated to another region, even if in some cases the names of the places to which they were translated are indicated, and in others they are not. For Philip, after his snatching away, was found at Azotus; B but Paul the Apostle, having been transported into the third heaven, and even as far as paradise, heard unspeakable words. You must also consider Habakkuk in this regard. For he too was carried aloft by an angel from Jerusalem to Babylon. But Elijah is not described as having arrived in a certain place when he was taken up. For it is said that he was "assumed as if into heaven." This phrase implies that he was not translated into heaven itself, nor does it define where he was. Similarly, Enoch was also transported from place to place. For this is understood from the fact that he is said to have been "translated." But because it is not expressed in the canonical books where he arrived, he is recorded in the apocryphal accounts as having been taken up into paradise. If the matter is thus, it is simultaneously clear what is to be determined concerning Elijah. And so the phrase "as if into heaven" is not equivalent to the phrase "in paradise." But concerning our Savior, it is expressly said that after the resurrection he was taken up into heaven. C For there are many testimonies that exist concerning this.
CHAP. IX, vers. 6. *But arise and go.* Because Jesus, in saying to Paul, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" was the cause of his blindness, this must be set against the heretics who rail against Him who says, "Who has made the seeing and the blind? Is it not I, the Lord God?" For such passages as these drive into a corner those who say that there are different gods, and who accuse one as if He were the cause of blindness, while they accept the other... D
on the ground that He restores sight. But as for us, who profess one God, these things do not trouble us, especially knowing that He, having the care of this whole universe, has foreknowledge of to whom He will grant the faculty of seeing, and to whom not; and why, and when, and how. Thus, for example, He says that the man blind from birth was born so, that the works of God might be made manifest in him. And it is not an evil that contributes to the manifestation of the works of God; wherefore it is not inappropriate to say that God makes someone blind. A
*Vers. 7. Audientes quidem vocem, neminem vero videntes.* (Hearing the voice, but seeing no one.)
What is this conflict in the narrative of the Acts of the Apostles concerning Paul's vision? For Luke testifies that those who were with Paul in that vision which occurred on the road, heard the voice, but saw no one; but Paul himself, when narrating the same vision while standing on the steps, says that those who were with him saw the light, but did not hear the voice of the one speaking. B By the sequence of the history, Chrysostom has carefully interpreted this passage, saying that the former narrative, which says that those present heard the voice, means that they heard the voice of Paul saying, "Who are you, Lord?" but that they saw no human being except Paul. But the subsequent narrative, which says that they beheld the light but did not perceive the voice of the one speaking, in the same man's judgment, is to be understood as concerning the voice of the Lord made to Paul, so that therefore they saw only the light. C
*Vers. 15. Dixit vero ad illum Dominus.* (And the Lord said to him.)
Those who dogmatize about a double nature say that Paul, being a spiritual man, was incapable of malice. And they confirm this opinion of theirs also from the text placed before us, in that God says concerning him: "He is a chosen vessel to Me." For they say, it is not written "He shall be to Me" here. But it must be answered to this that this testimony was given concerning him when, of his own free will, believing the oracle, the man went forth to meet Ananias. Wherefore it also follows that he who underwent such profound repentance in a moment of time became a chosen vessel. Furthermore, the fact that he did not eat for three whole days was proof of his intense repentance. D It is also possible to say that God, who knows the future as accurately as the present, testified for the sake of his future service, as if it were already
a chosen vessel. Others will say that being pious with a zeal full of ignorance, he persecuted those who believed in the Savior A as if they were apostates from God and His law; and since he did this with a certain divine intent, even if mistakenly, the One who called him looked at his intent and said, “Why do you persecute me?” For he immediately listened to the speaker and acted in a manner worthy of that call. Those who ponder the natures would have ceased from their deception had they understood that his being a chosen vessel belongs to the One who chooses, who does not regard nature but regards the life.
Ver. 33. He found there a certain man.
There is a great difference between what was done by Peter to the man who had been lying prostrate for eight whole years due to an incurable disease, and what was done by Jesus to the one who remained for thirty-eight whole years on a mat due to an incurable paralysis. For Peter, saying, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; arise, make your bed for yourself,” performed this sign. But Jesus, saying, “Arise, take up your mat and walk,” B performed this miracle as God. There was a great difference in what was said to both. For to one it was said, “Arise, and take up your mat and walk.” For this command shows that great strength with perfect health had been imparted to the one benefited, especially when it is added, “Arising, therefore, he took up his mat and walked.” To the other it was said, “Arise, make your bed for yourself”; for not as much strength is manifest in one who is able to make a bed after a long illness as in one who is able to take up a mat and walk. We have noted these things by way of anagogical interpretation, not by way of comparison with Peter. For the former acted as God, whereas the latter acted as one believing in God. For he says, “Jesus Christ heals you,” so that both these should be works of Christ.Ver. 36. In Joppa there was a certain disciple.
It is to be noted that the name of disciple and the dignity of this title extends even to women. C And they sent two men to him. Rather, the faith of the sufferers accomplishes the healings. For behold, even here, those who believed that through the boldness of Peter God is able to raise the dead, attained their goal; however, it is not just any kind of faith that contributes to this matter, but that which is directed toward those who are truly holy.Ver. 36. She was full of works.
Since some, being sluggish concerning the attainment of perfect virtue, say that it is not possible for a human being to live a blameless life, they must be refuted by the presentScripture, which testifies that Dorcas was full of all good works and alms which she did. For it follows A that he who conducts his life in such a way must necessarily live without stains. And she is found to be full of alms which she did, whenever she performs them due to communion and the commandment of God, and not in order to hunt for praise from men. You shall say the same also concerning the other good works with which the woman praised here was filled.
Verse 37. *And it came to pass that she died from her sickness.* Why did they wait until she had died? Why had they not troubled Peter before this? They considered it unworthy, using their reason, to cause business for the disciples in this matter and to call them away from the ministry of the Gospel. Therefore it is said that Lydda was near to Joppa: whence they requested that they might undertake this labor in their spare time. B
CAP. X, verse 10. *A trance fell upon him.* Those who introduce the doctrine of a dual nature assert that those men who, through the depravity of their character, are called dogs and swine—to whom the Savior forbade the giving of the holy thing and casting of divine pearls—are incapable of salvation. Furthermore, they say that those who are called beasts of prey and foxes, and all who are simply designated by the names of brute animals, are evil by nature. It is necessary, therefore, to refute them from the present vision, showing that none of them is evil by nature, but only by choice. For when God wished to teach Peter C that no human being should be rejected as common and unclean, He let down a vessel like a sheet from heaven to earth by four corners, in which were all the kinds of brute animals, from which Peter was ordered to kill and eat. But he, still clinging to the Jewish custom and referring what was seen to the senses, refused to do this, saying that he had never eaten anything common or unclean. While he was saying these things, he heard the divine oracle: *What God has cleansed, do not you call common.* Taught by this same thing, he understood that God had spoken concerning the characters of the men mentioned, and he said that God had shown him that no human being is unclean by nature; therefore he also went without hesitation to Cornelius, who desired D with his whole house to receive the benefit of the evangelical teaching. Hence, the quadrupeds and the reptiles and the birds were shown, having a reference to the conditions of men, bestowed by God; it is not because of a nature opposing holiness that it is forbidden to cast pearls before dogs or swine, but because of a most wicked choice, which it is possible to abandon so that one no longer exists as a dog or a swine. Thus, the Syrophoenician woman, through faith, became a human from a dog, whence Jesus also bestowed upon her the bread of the children.
A "And there came upon him," he says, "an ecstasy, and he saw the heaven opened" (Acts 10:10). Those who choose to be disciples of the wandering women—these are the ones from Phrygia—say that the prophets, being possessed by the Holy Spirit, did not understand their own utterances, being carried along at the time of prophecy. They also think they have a proof for this impiety from the text before us, which says that Peter fell into an ecstasy. But let those fools, who are truly wandering, know that this word signifies many things. For it means a stupor born of wonder, and an excursion from the senses to spiritual things, and also delirium; but the latter is not to be spoken either of Peter or of the prophets, though the other meanings derived from the word are. Indeed, Peter, having fallen into an ecstasy, understood, inasmuch as he reported what he had seen and heard, and of what things those shown to him were symbols. You will say the same concerning all the prophets, as they understood what they were reporting as visions. For they were wise, knowing from their own mouth what they uttered, after the Lord clearly commanded after the resurrection to make disciples of all nations. Or how could the apostles who were in Jerusalem, having heard the things concerning Cornelius, have disputed with Peter? Peter, the leader of the apostles and most holy man, certainly stood in need of the divine revelation concerning the Gentiles.
DIDYMUS FRAGMENTS ON THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS
(Mai, Bibl. nov., IV, 11, 113.)The history of the Manichaeans and their extensive refutations, which we have covered in this volume, have brought to our memory Didymus the Alexandrian, who is numbered among the first and noble adversaries of that sect; yet the little book which remains against the Manichaeans is only an imperfect part of his work. And indeed, having recently examined two Vatican manuscripts of his writing, I found nothing beyond the published edition. But because I had begun to think about Didymus, I did not wish to return empty-handed from my investigation, until in a distinguished manuscript catena on the Epistles of Paul—from which I had already taken Cyril—I observed a large portion of Didymus commenting on the second epistle to the Corinthians; which, when I perceived it to be entirely unpublished—for neither Oecumenius, nor the recent Greek