I find, in the writings, that the bishop of blessed memory, Athanasius, very often called her Theotokos. For he sums up in one word those testimonies which are very numerous in the works of Athanasius. What reason is there, therefore, that in the letter to the queens, he brings forth almost the whole booklet De Incarnatione to confirm that word Theotokos? For, with the exception of those first lines (where the word Theotokos appears), the rest has nothing to do with the matter. Moreover, this booklet does not exist in the collections of Athanasius's works. And it seems alien to the holy doctor to speak of one incarnate nature in Christ. For Athanasius always rejects the confusion of natures; he always preserved the characteristics of the natures, and also assigns two distinct wills proper to each nature, thus in the book De Incarnatione, p. 709: "He shows two wills; the one human, which is of the flesh, and the divine, which is of God. For the human, because of the weakness of the flesh, shrinks from the passion; but his divine will is ready." If, indeed, one nature is spoken of after the incarnation, you would necessarily have to remove the distinction of the wills. To these things, against the Dimæritæ heretics of his time, he denies p. 741 that the body is consubstantial with the Divinity, and on the following page he says that by A an unconfused union the Word was united with his own flesh. By the name of body and flesh, as we showed in the general preface of the first volume, he very often understands humanity. But where he proves in his later books against the Dimæritæ that flesh or humanity is not consubstantial with the Word—what else, I ask, could he have indicated than that the substance or nature of the Word and of humanity is not one and the same? So that, even to indicate the difference of the natures, he calls him p. 747 perfect God and perfect man. On p. 756, however, he strikes down with one word both heresies, both the Nestorian and the Eutychian, when he says, speaking of the conjunction of the Word with the flesh, "Not in a division of persons, but in the existence of the divinity and the humanity." He declares that the person of Christ is one, and that there are two natures, p. 757. But where he contends that it is impious to say that the divine nature has suffered, does he not make it manifest that the nature which suffered in Christ is another? And thus he demonstrates B that there is not one incarnate nature in Christ, but two distinct from one another: the one that took [flesh], and the other that was taken. Even if, furthermore, before it was defined by the decrees of the Church that one person and two natures are to be proclaimed in Christ, Athanasius, or anyone else, could have said "one incarnate nature," understanding by the name of "nature" the "person," I do not believe, however, that Athanasius used that style of speaking; because for many years his struggle was with the Dimæritæ, whose heresy these things seem to favor, and it is very easy to twist that sentiment into an evil meaning. For that reason, with Leontius, I strongly suspect that this small work is a fabrication of the Eutychians or other heretics, published in the name of Athanasius. I would not dare, however, to say whether it was added to Cyril's writings after his death, or whether a booklet of this kind was finished and attributed to Athanasius before Cyril.
OF OUR HOLY FATHER ATHANASIUS ON THE INCARNATION OF THE WORD OF GOD.
C S. P. N. ATHANASII DE INCARNATIONE DEI VERBI.
We confess the Son of God, born of the Father from eternity before the ages, and in the last of D the ages born according to the flesh of Mary the Virgin for our salvation, just as the divine Apostle teaches, saying: "But when the fullness of time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman." We also confess the same to be the Son of God and God according to the spirit; but the son of man according to the flesh. Not two natures, but one Son, one
A nature of God the Word incarnate, together with His flesh, to be worshipped with one worship. Nor do we hold two sons, one the Son of God, true God and to be worshipped, and another man from Mary, not to be worshipped, who became B Son of God by grace, as men do; but, as I have said, the one Son of God and God who is from God. The selfsame, and no other, was born of Mary according to the flesh in the last days, as the angel said to the Theotokos Mary when she asked: "How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?" And he replied: "The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born shall be called the Son of God." Therefore, He who was born of the Virgin Mary is the Son of God by nature, and true God, and not by grace or participation; but according to the flesh only, which He has from Mary, He is man; yet according to the spirit, the same is the Son of God and true God B; having suffered our sufferings according to the flesh, as it is written: "Christ having suffered for us in the flesh;" and elsewhere: "He who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all." But He remains impassible and immutable according to His divinity, as it is said by the prophet: "I am God, and I change not." He died indeed our death according to the flesh for our sins, that He might destroy death through His own death which He endured for us. As the Apostle says: "Death is swallowed up in victory: O death, where is thy sting?" And elsewhere: "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures;" but He remains immortal and free from the dominion of death because of His divinity, as being the impassible power of the C Father, as Peter says: "It was not possible," he says, "that He should be holden of death." Having ascended into heaven, and sitting at the right hand of the Father, with respect to the flesh of the Word, which was exalted from earth to heaven, as it was said by David: "The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand," which is confirmed by the Lord Himself and by the apostles. But according to His divinity, He is incomprehensible, containing every place with the eternal Father, as the paternal and ineffable power, as Paul teaches: "Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." The same Son of God and God is coming, as He promised, D to judge the living and the dead, as the Apostle says: "Who judges the hidden things of darkness, and makes manifest the hidden things of the hearts, and renders to each both praise and blame according to his desert." If, however, anyone teaches otherwise from the holy Scriptures, and says there is one Son of God, and another who was born of Mary, adopted by grace as we are, so that there are two sons, the one Son of God by nature, the other by grace from