33.
Who will not admire this? or who will not agree that such a thing is truly divine? for if the works of the Word’s Godhead had not taken place through the body, man had not been deified; and again, had not the properties of the flesh been ascribed to the Word, man had not been thoroughly delivered from them 1; but though they had ceased for a little while, as I said before, still sin had remained in him and corruption, as was the case with mankind before Him; and for this reason:—Many for instance have been made holy and clean from all sin; nay, Jeremiah was hallowed 2 even from the womb, and John, while yet in the womb, leapt for joy at the voice of Mary Bearer of God 3; nevertheless ‘death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression 4;’ and thus man remained mortal and corruptible as before, liable to the affections proper to their nature. But now the Word having become man and having appropriated 5 what P. 412 pertains to the flesh, no longer do these things touch the body, because of the Word who has come in it, but they are destroyed 6 by Him, and henceforth men no longer remain sinners and dead according to their proper affections, but having risen according to the Word’s power, they abide 7 ever immortal and incorruptible. Whence also, whereas the flesh is born of Mary Bearer of God 8, He Himself is said to have been born, who furnishes to others an origin of being; in order that He may transfer our origin into Himself, and we may no longer, as mere earth, return to earth, but as being knit into the Word from heaven, may be carried to heaven by Him. Therefore in like manner not without reason has He transferred to Himself the other affections of the body also; that we, no longer as being men, but as proper to the Word, may have share in eternal life. For no longer according to our former origin in Adam do we die; but henceforward our origin and all infirmity of flesh being transferred to the Word, we rise from the earth, the curse from sin being removed, because of Him who is in us 9, and who has become a curse for us. And with reason; for as we are all from earth and die in Adam, so being regenerated from above of water and Spirit, in the Christ we are all quickened; the flesh being no longer earthly, but being henceforth made Word 10, by reason of God’s Word who for our sake ‘became flesh.’
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Or. i. 5 n. 5, ii. 56 n. 5, 68, n. 1,infr.note 6. ↩
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Vid. Jer. i. 5 . And so S. Jerome, S. Leo, &c., as mentioned in Corn. a Lap.in loc.S. Jerome implies a similar gift in the case of Asella,ad Marcell.(Ep.xxiv. 2.) And so S. John Baptist, Maldon.in Luc.i. 16. It is remarkable that no ancient writer (unless indeed we except S. Austin), [Patrol. Lat. xlvii. 1144?] refers to the instance of S. Mary;—perhaps from the circumstance of its not being mentioned in Scripture. ↩
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θεοτόκου . For instances of this word vid. Alexandr.Ep. ad Alex.ap. Theodor.H. E.i. 4. p. 745. (al. 20). Athan. (supra); Cyril.Cat.x. 19. Julian Imper. ap. Cyrilc. Jul.viii. p. 262. Amphiloch.Orat.4. p. 41. (if Amphil.) ed. 1644. Nyssen.Ep. ad Eustath.p. 1093. Chrysost. apud. SuicerSymb.p. 240. Greg. Naz.Orat.29, 4Ep.181. p. 85. ed. Ben. Antiochus and Ammon. ap. Cyril.de Recta Fid.pp. 49, 50. Pseudo-Dion.contr. Samos.5. Pseudo-Basil.Hom.t. 2. p. 600 ed. Ben. ↩
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Rom. v. 14 . ↩
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ἰδιοποιουμένου . vid. also [Incar.8.]infr.§38.ad Epict.6, e. fragm. ex Euthym. (t. i. p. 1275. ed. Ben.) Cyril. inJoann.p. 151, a. For ἴδιον , which occurs so frequently here, vid. Cyril.Anathem.11. And οἰκείωται .contr.Apoll.ii. 16, e. Cyril.Schol. de Incarn.p. 782, d. Concil.Eph.pp. 1644, d. 1697, b. (Hard.) Damasc.F. O.iii. 3. p. 208. ed. Ven. Vid. Petav.de Incarn.iv. 15. ↩
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Vid.Or.i. §§45, 46, ii. 65, note. Vid. also iv. 33.Incarn. c. Arian.12.contr.*Apoll.i. 17. ii. 6. ‘Since God the Word willed to annul the passions, whose end is death, and His deathless nature was not capable of them…He is made flesh of the Virgin, in the way He knoweth, &c.’ Procl.ad Armen. p.616. also Leo.Serm.22. pp. 69. 71.Serm.26. p. 88. Nyssencontr. Apoll.t. 2 p. 696. Cyril.Epp.p. 138, 9.in Joan.p. 95. Chrysol.Serm.148. ↩
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ii. 69, n. 3, &c. ↩
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θεοτόκου .supr.14, n. 3. For ‘mater Dei’ vid. before S. Leo, Ambros.de Virg.ii. 7. Cassian.Incarn.ii. 5. vii. 25. Vincent. Lir.Commonit.21. It is obvious that θεοτόκος , though framed as a test against Nestorians, was equally effective against Apollinarians [?] and Eutychians, who denied that our Lord had taken human flesh at all, as is observed by FacundusDef. Trium. Cap.i. 4. Cf. Cyril.Epp.pp. 106, 7. Yet these sects, as the Arians, maintained the term. vid.supr. Or.ii. 8, n. 5. ↩
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ii. 59. n. 5. ↩
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λογωθείσης τῆς σαρκὄς . This strong term is here applied to human nature generally; Damascene speaks of the λόγωσις of the flesh, but he means especially our Lord’s flesh.F. O.iv. 18. p. 286. (Ed. Ven.) for the words θεοῦσθαι , &c. vid.supr.ii. 70, n. 1. ↩
