Traduction Masquer
On the Flesh of Christ

Chapter VIII.--Apelles and His Followers, Displeased with Our Earthly Bodies, Attributed to Christ a Body of a Purer Sort. How Christ Was Heavenly Even in His Earthly Flesh.

These passages alone, in which Apelles and Marcion seem to place their chief reliance when interpreted according to the truth of the entire uncorrupted gospel, ought to have been sufficient for proving the human flesh of Christ by a defence of His birth. But since Apelles' precious set ¹ lay a very great stress on the shameful condition ² of the flesh, which they will have to have been furnished with souls tampered with by the fiery author of evil, ³ and so unworthy of Christ; and because they on that account suppose that a sidereal substance is suitable for Him, I am bound to refute them on their own ground. They mention a certain angel of great renown as having created this world of ours, and as having, after the creation, repented of his work. This indeed we have treated of in a passage by itself; for we have written a little work in opposition to them, on the question whether one who had the spirit, and will, and power of Christ for such operations, could have done anything which required repentance, since they describe the said angel by the figure of "the lost sheep." The world, then, must be a wrong thing, ⁴ according to the evidence of its Creator's repentance; for all repentance is the admission of fault, nor has it indeed any existence except through fault. Now, if the world ⁵ is a fault, as is the body, such must be its parts--faulty too; so in like manner must be the heaven and its celestial (contents), and everything which is conceived and produced out of it. And "a corrupt tree must needs bring forth evil fruit." ⁶ The flesh of Christ, therefore, if composed of celestial elements, consists of faulty materials, sinful by reason of its sinful origin; ⁷ so that it must be a part of that substance which they disdain to clothe Christ with, because of its sinfulness,--in other words, our own. Then, as there is no difference in the point of ignominy, let them either devise for Christ some substance of a purer stamp, since they are displeased with our own, or else let them recognise this too, than which even a heavenly substance could not have been better. We read in so many words: ⁸ "The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven." ⁹ This passage, however, has nothing to do with any difference of substance; it only contrasts with the once ¹⁰ "earthy" substance of the flesh of the first man, Adam, the "heavenly" substance of the spirit of the second man, Christ. And so entirely does the passage refer the celestial man to the spirit and not to the flesh, that those whom it compares to Him evidently become celestial--by the Spirit, of course--even in this "earthy flesh." Now, since Christ is heavenly even in regard to the flesh, they could not be compared to Him, who are not heavenly in reference to their flesh. ¹¹ If, then, they who become heavenly, as Christ also was, carry about an "earthy" substance of flesh, the conclusion which is affirmed by this fact is, that Christ Himself also was heavenly, but in an "earthy" flesh, even as they are who are put on a level with Him. ¹²

Edition Masquer
De carne Christi

VIII

[1] Solis istis capitulis quibus maxime instructi sibi videntur Marcion et Apelles secundum veritatem integri et incorrupti evangelii interpretatis, satis esse debuerat ad probationem carnis humanae in Christo per defensionem nativitatis. [2] sed quoniam et isti Apelleiaci carnis ignominiam praetendunt maxime, quam volunt ab igneo illo praeside mali sollicitatis animabus adstructam et idcirco indignam Christo et idcirco de sideribus illi substantiam competisse, debeo eos de sua paratura repercutere. angelum quendam inclitum nominant qui mundum hunc instituerit et instituto eo paenitentiam admiserit. [3] et hoc suo loco tractavimus-- nam est nobis et ad illos libellus--an qui spiritum et voluntatem et virtutem Christi habuerit ad ea opera dignum aliquid paenitentia fecerit. eum angelum etiam de figura erraticae ovis interpretantur. teste igitur paenitentia institutoris sui peccatum erit mundus, siquidem omnis paenitentia confessio est delicti quia locum non habet nisi in delicto. [4] si mundus delictum est, qua corpus et membra delictum erit perinde et caelum et caelestia cum caelo: si caelestia, et quicquid inde conceptum prolatumque est. mala arbor malos fructus edat necesse est. caro igitur Christi de caelestibus structa de peccati constat elementis, peccatrix de peccatorio censu, et pars iam erit eius substantiae, id est nostrae, quam ut peccatricem Christo dedignantur inducere. [5] ita si nihil de ignominia interest, aut aliquam purioris notae materiam excogitent Christo quibus displicet nostra, aut eam agnoscant qua etiam caelestis melior esse non potuit. legimus plane, Primus homo de terrae limo, secundus homo de caelo: [6] non tamen ad materiae differentiam spectat, sed tantum terrenae retro substantiae carnis primi hominis, id est Adae, caelestem de spiritu substantiam opponit secundi hominis, id est Christi. et adeo ad spiritum, non ad carnem, caelestem hominem refert, ut quos ei comparat constet in hac carne terrena caelestes fieri, spiritu scilicet: [7] quodsi secundum carnem quoque caelestis Christus, non compararentur illi non secundum carnem caelestes. si ergo qui fiunt caelestes, qualis et Christus, terrenam carnis substantiam gestant, hinc quoque confirmatur ipsum etiam Christum in carne terrena fuisse caelestem sicut ii sunt qui ei adaequantur.