Thomas of Edessa: THOMAE EDESSENI: TRACTATUS DE NATIVITATE DOMINI NOSTRI CHRISTI

Per virtutem Domini nostri Iesu Christi incipimus scribere volumen disputationum auctoribus Mar Thoma Edesseno, magistro religionis Dei, et Mar Kaiura laboris consorte.

By the power of our Lord Jesus Christ we begin to write a volume of disputations, by the authors Mar Thoma of Edessa, master of the religion of God, and Mar Kaiura, partner in the labour.

Prima [disputatio], auctore Mar Thoma: de Nativitate carnali Domini nostri Christi.

First [disputation], by the author Mar Thoma: on the carnal Nativity of our Lord Christ.

Caput primum:	Ad illum qui eum rogavit ut illam [disputationem] scripto mandaret.
" secundum:	Quaenam sint eiusdem causae capita.
" tertium:	Investigatio de causa propter quam hoc festum celebramus.
" quartum:	Quaenam sint bona quae nobis data sunt per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum.
" quintum:	Quam ob causam haec ipsa bona hucusque revelata non fuerint.
" sextum:	Opus fuit mediatione alicuius per quem accipere possemus haec bona a Deo.
" septimum:	Quas ob causas nil aliud hoc tempore sumpserit Deus pro sua revelatione, nisi hominem ex nobis.
" octavum :	Quod Dominus noster Christus non fuit homo simplex (ψιλὸς ἄνθρ).
" nonum:	Quam ob rem homo Domini nostri sumptus non fuerit e terra, sed ex virgine sine coitu viri.
" decimum:	Quam ob causam ordinaverit Deus ut homo Domini nostri tempore verno conciperetur.
" undecimum:	Exhortatio ad vitam honestam.

Chapter 1:	To him who asked him that he commit that [disputation] to writing.
" second:	What are the chapters of the same cause.
" third:	Investigation of the cause for which we celebrate this feast.
" fourth:	What are the goods that have been given to us through our Lord Jesus Christ.
" fifth:	For what reason these very goods have not hitherto been revealed.
" sixth:	Whether there was need of the mediation of someone through whom we could receive these goods from God.
" seventh:	For what reasons God took nothing else at this time for his revelation, except a man from among us.
" eighth :	That our Lord Christ was not a simple ((ψιλὸς ἄνθρ) ) man.
" ninth:	Why the man of our Lord was not taken from the earth, but from a virgin without the intercourse of a man.
" tenth:	For what reason God ordained that the man of our Lord be conceived in the spring season.
" eleventh:	Exhortation to an honest life.

CAPUT PRIMUM. Ad illum qui rogavit ut eam [disputationem] scripto mandaret.

CHAPTER 1. To him who asked that he commit it [disputationem] to writing.

Tuum quod unacum fratribus claris coenobii nostri mihi dedisti utile consilium, tuumque iucundum mandatum, O electe Dei, Mar Moyses Lector, diversas cogitationes in me excitarunt, et in varias considerationes me deiecerunt. Mihi enim mandastis ut scriptis etiam traderem illam quippe causam Nativitatis gloriosae Domini et Salvatoris nostri Christi, quam dixi post Magistrum nostrum sanctum, Mar Aba Interpretem; quod quidem tremo facere, ne.......; .......facile reputer ab iis qui cum causa et sine causa reprehendere amant; item, mandato non obtemperare timeo, no praecepti violator consiliique transgressor a viris habear qui nihil dicunt nisi intuitu religionis Dei vivi. Sed dum in his similibusque cogitationibus morabar, adiudicavi conveniens mihi esse, voluntati vestrae satisfacere, aliis quidem relinquens loqui prout velint, ne, dum timeo verba invida quae nullam apud Deum faciunt iniuriam, vobis per voluntatem bonam atque vitam perfectam Christo placentibus, murmurandi in me causam praeberem, eo quod mandato vestro non obtemperaverim.

Your useful counsel, which together with the illustrious brethren of our coenobium you gave me, and your pleasant command, O elect of God, Mar Moyses, Lector, have stirred diverse thoughts in me and have cast me down into various considerations. For you commanded me that I should also deliver in writing that very cause of the glorious Nativity of our Lord and Savior Christ, which I related after our holy Master, Mar Aba the Interpreter; which indeed I tremble to do, lest.......; .......I be reckoned lightly by those who love to censure with cause and without cause; likewise I fear not to obey your command, lest I be held by men a violator of precept and transgressor of counsel who say nothing except with a view to the religion of the living God. But while I lingered in such and similar thoughts, I judged it fitting to satisfy your will, leaving others indeed to speak as they will, lest, while I fear envied words which do no injury before God, I should give you cause for murmuring against me, you who by good will and by a perfect life are pleasing to Christ, because I did not obey your command.

Rogans itaque auxilium precum vestrarum Christo acceptabilium, ecce incumbo ad voluntatem vestram explendam. Hoc prae omnibus peto a vobis, et ab illis qui quocumque modo in haec scripta inciderint, ne ullo modo de me falso opinemini, quod nempe accesserim dicere aut scribere, sperans me infirmum posse in hoc tractatu omnia quae sunt magistri nostri sic tradere prout ipse ea dixit. Imo hanc solam fiduciam habeo in meis sermonibus — et hoc ab intima procedit persuasione — quod omnia mea ita relate ad magistri nostri dicta se habent, ut quis ab his ad illa ducatur tanquam ab imagine ad prototypum suum, et tanquam ab umbra ad corpus quo iacta est.

Therefore, asking the aid of your prayers acceptable to Christ, behold I set myself to fulfill your will. Above all I ask this of you, and of those who in any way fall upon these writings, that in no way you form a false opinion about me — namely, that I have undertaken to say or write, hoping that I, being weak, am able in this treatise to hand over all the things of our master exactly as he himself said them. Indeed, this sole confidence I have in my sayings — and this proceeds from deep persuasion — that all my accounts are so related to the words of our master that one is led from these to those as from an image to its prototype, and as from a shadow to the body on which it is cast.

Quemadmodum insuper in loco quo sese extendunt radii solis, lucerna parva non est apta ad lucem dandam, sic etiam haec mea deperibunt, cum illa magistri nostri manifestant suarum cogitationum splendores. Faciam igitur divisionem in capita quibus tota disputatio ad maiorem utilitatem disponitur; et deinde incipiam illa dicere quae postulat ordo singularum rerum in ipsa disputatione. Sciunt enim sapientia et intellectus vestrum, quod illos, qui ambulaturi sunt per viam quotcumque milliarium quam probe non noscunt, multum adiuvat accipere signa et indicia quae sunt in via, et post hoc ambulare incipient; sic eis evenit, si animum attentum teneant, facile a signo ad signum et ab indicio ad indicium usque ad finem viae sine errore ambulare.

Just as moreover in the place where the rays of the sun spread themselves a small lamp is not fit to give light, so likewise these my things will perish when those of our master manifest the splendours of their thoughts. I will therefore make a division into chapters by which the whole disputation is set forth for greater utility; and then I will begin to say those things which the order of particular matters in the disputation itself demands. For your wisdom and intellect know that those who are to walk along a road, however many miles they do not well know, are greatly helped to receive signs and indications which are on the way, and after this will begin to walk; so it happens to them, if they keep their mind attentive, to pass easily from sign to sign and from indication to indication all the way to the end of the road without error.

Quod si hoc ita est, manifestum est multo magis esse necessarium iis qui orationem quamdam quotcumque sententiarum memoriae tradere cupiunt quod prius discant quaenam sint ipsius tractatus singula capita. Quod si ita fiat, quando cogentur dicere orationem, quanquam scriptum praesto non sit, unde totam orationem in memoriam revocent, attamen eo quod praevie didicerunt numerum et titulum omnium capitum, poterunt facile orationem habere, etiamsi omittant nonnihil ex eis quae in medio capitum sunt.

If this is so, it is manifestly all the more necessary for those who wish to commit to memory some speech, however many sentences it contains, that they first learn what the individual chapters of the treatise are. And if this is done, when they are compelled to deliver the speech, although the written text may not be at hand from which to recall the whole speech to memory, yet because they have beforehand learned the number and title of all the chapters, they will be able easily to produce the speech, even if they omit somewhat of those things that lie in the middles of the chapters.

CAPUT SECUNDUM. Quaenam sint capita eiusdem disputationis.

CHAPTER 2. What are the chapters of that same disputation.

Etiamsi unicuique apertum sit, festum quod hodie celebramus, Nativitatem esse Christi, mens tamen non est contenta illud tantummodo discere quod hoc sit festum Nativitatis Domini nostri, sed saepius aggreditur hanc etiam quaestionem: quare id celebramus? Cum investigaverimus et invenerimus id esse propter magna bona quae nobis data sunt per Dominum nostrum Christum qui hodie pro omnibus creaturis natus est, ut, colendo eorum memoriam eorumque datoris complendo voluntatem, firmentur eius bona quae habemus, rogamur dicere quaenam sint haec bona. Deinde postquam ea enarraverimus manifestaque fecerimus, quaeritur a nobis: cur bona quae ita sunt omnibus utilia, hucusque neque cognita neque revelata fuerant?

Even if to each one it is plain that the feast which we celebrate today is the Nativity of Christ, the mind nevertheless is not content to learn only that this is the feast of the Nativity of our Lord, but more often addresses also this question: why do we celebrate it? When we shall have investigated and found that it is on account of the great goods which have been given to us through our Lord Christ, who was born today for all creatures, so that by honoring their memory and fulfilling the will of their Giver the goods which we possess may be strengthened, we are asked to say what these goods are. Then after we have explained them and made them manifest, we are asked: why were goods which are thus useful to all hitherto neither known nor revealed?

Rursus, postquam excusationem de his etiam dederimus [quod non revelata fuerint], quaeritur [ut et hoc] aliud [statuamus]: quod nempe sine alicuius mediatione impossibile fuit haec ipsa bona ad nos a Deo pervenire. Cum deinde ostenderimus opus omnimodo esse aliquo per quem ad eorum acceptionem perduceremur, quaeritur: quare revelatio facta non fuit nisi per hominem? Et cum ostenderimus multa quae postulabant hominis e nobis sumptionem, occurrit aliud: si propter haec opus necessario fuit homine, num igitur ipse solus potuit nos redimere?

Again, after we have also given an excuse for these things [that they were not revealed], another thing is asked [and we establish this too]: namely that without some mediation it was impossible for these very goods to come to us from God. And when we then show that it was necessary in every way that there be someone by whom we should be led to the reception of them, the question is asked: why was the revelation made only through a man? And when we show many things which demanded a man’s assumption of us, another objection arises: if on account of these things a man was necessarily needed, then was he himself alone able to redeem us?

Sic docemus oeconomiam necessario postulare quod etiam Deus sit in illo [homine], ut notum sit hominem simplicem non potuisse nos redimere, nec nos sine alicuius mediatione potuisse accipere a Deo bona quae nobis parata fuerant. Sed postquam apparuerit [per demonstrationem nostram] nos hodie celebrare festum eius Nativitatis ratione bonorum quae nobis per Dominum nostrum Christum data fuerunt, et manifestum fuerit quae sint ista bona, et simul excusatio admissa fuerit quam ob causam prius revelata non fuerint, et apparuerit quod ad eorum revelationem opus fuit alicuius mediatione, qui nihil aliud fuit nisi homo, non fuit autem homo simplex sed talis in quo fuit Deus potens ad omnia ea quae pro redemptione nostra in dispensatione sua patravit, [cum haec omnia demonstrata fuerint], tunc quaeritur: quam ob causam Deus non sumpsit hunc hominem e terra quemadmodum primum hominem? Vel si necesse fuit quod ex muliere nasceretur, cur ex virgine sine virili semine natus sit?

Sic docemus oeconomiam necessario postulare quod etiam Deus sit in illo [man], ut notum sit hominem simplicem non potuisse nos redimere, nec nos sine alicuius mediatione potuisse accipere a Deo bona quae nobis parata fuerant. Sed postquam apparuerit [by our demonstration] nos hodie celebrare festum eius Nativitatis ratione bonorum quae nobis per Dominum nostrum Christum data fuerunt, et manifestum fuerit quae sint ista bona, et simul excusatio admissa fuerit quam ob causam prius revelata non fuerint, et apparuerit quod ad eorum revelationem opus fuit alicuius mediatione, qui nihil aliud fuit nisi homo, non fuit autem homo simplex sed talis in quo fuit Deus potens ad omnia ea quae pro redemptione nostra in dispensatione sua patravit, [when all these things have been demonstrated], tunc quaeritur: quam ob causam Deus non sumpsit hunc hominem e terra quemadmodum primum hominem? Vel si necesse fuit quod
ex muliere nasceretur, cur ex virgine sine virili semine natus sit?

Postquam huius causa ostensa fuerit, hoc [demonstrandum] relinquitur: quare Deus ordinavit ut in tempore verno conciperetur? Et quid ex hoc intelligimus quod in hoc tempore natus fuit? Itaque post haec, finem totius disputationis faciemus addendo brevem exhortationem aptam ad confirmationem ac emendationem auditorum.

After the cause of this has been shown, this [demonstrandum] remains: why did God ordain that he be conceived in the vernal time? And what do we understand from this that he was born in that season? Therefore, after these things, we will bring the whole disputation to an end by adding a brief exhortation fit for the confirmation and amendment of the auditors.

CAPUT TERTIUM. Investigatio causae ob quam hoc festum Nativitatis sanctae celebramus.

CHAPTER 3. Investigation of the cause for which we celebrate this feast of the holy Nativity.

Apertum est, hoc quippe festum quod hodie celebramus quodque Ecclesia sancta ubique magna cum laetitia celebrat, esse festum Nativitatis Christi, Domini nostri. Ecce enim hoc simul praedicatur ab ore omnium rationalium, hominum scilicet et mulierum, et a pueris usque ad senes. Quaeritur autem: numquid igitur propter novitatem speciei nativitatis eius, quae sine concubitu fuit, hodie congregamur et hoc festum celebramus, admirando potestatem quae potuit eum ex Maria Virgine formare sine semine virili?

It has been made clear that this feast which we celebrate today, and which the holy Church everywhere celebrates with great joy, is the feast of the Nativity of Christ, our Lord. For behold, this is proclaimed at once from the mouth of all rational beings, namely of men and women, and from children even to the aged. It is asked, however: are we then gathered and do we celebrate this feast on account of the novelty of the kind of his birth, which was without carnal intercourse, marveling at the power that could form him from the Virgin Mary without virile seed?

Notum est, rem magnam esse atque praestantem, quod virgo gignat siue viri concubitu. Attamen quantamvis exhibeat virtutis praestantiam, hoc solum sufficiens non fuit ut, sine aliis mox dicendis, causa fieret huius festi in omni regione. Videmus enim alia praestantia quae patrata fuerunt apud homines tempore eorum generationis; et quia speciem eorum formationis alia non secuta sunt, merito non celebramus festum eorum nativitatis, ut ex. gr. Adami, et Hevae, et Isaac, aliorumque huiusmodi.

It is known that it is a great and outstanding thing that a virgin bears whether by a man's concourse. Yet however great a display of virtue this may show, this alone was not sufficient that, without other things soon to be said, it became the cause of this feast in every region. For we see other excellences which were achieved among men at the time of their generation; and because the form of their formation was not followed by other things, rightly we do not celebrate a feast of their nativity, as for example of Adam, and Eve, and Isaac, and others of that sort.

Et quidem unaquaeque harum altera dignior est admiratione, et potestatem divinam magis praedicat. Primo [nativitatem] Isaaci consideremus, quam magna fuerit: quod scilicet e muliere sterili vetulaque filius natus sit. Utrumque quidem de seipso satis fuisset ad impediendam naturam ne daret fructum; quanto magis quando ambae simul adfuerunt, senectus atque sterilitas.

And indeed each one of these is more worthy than the other of admiration, and proclaims the divine power the more. First let us consider the [nativity] of Isaac, how great it was: namely that from a sterile and very old woman a son was born. Each of these alone would have been sufficient in itself to prevent nature from yielding fruit; how much more when both together were present, old age and sterility.

Attamen ex semine quidem hic fuit; sed quid prodest semen in sterilitate et senectute? Quemadmodum quippe miraculum est magnum, si aliquod seminum genus seminet quis super saxum, vel demittat in fornacem ignis, vel suspendat in aqua vel in aere, et ex uno illorum fructum inveniat; pariter etiamsi quis in senectute et sterilitate decies millies semen effundat, miraculum magnum est si nascatur filius ubi una tantum harum adsit, nedum in praesenti casu: nam ambae inveniebantur apud Saram. Apud Beatam Mariam unum defuit ordini naturae: receptio scilicet seminis, duplex vero adfuit impedimentum apud Saram, ut dixi, senectus et sterilitas.

Yet from seed indeed this was; but what avails seed in sterility and old age? For just as it is a great miracle if one should sow some kind of seed upon a rock, or cast it into a furnace of fire, or suspend it in water or in the air, and find fruit from one of those; likewise even if one in old age and sterility should pour out seed ten thousand times, it is a great miracle if a son is born where only one of these is present, much less in the present case: for both were found with Sarah. With the Blessed Mary one thing failed to the order of nature: namely the reception of seed; with Sarah, however, a double impediment was present, as I said, old age and sterility.

Magis credibile est quod terra non seminata producat, quam quod dent fructum grana tritici quae in fornacem ignis cadunt, etiamsi difficilia et facilia aeque possibilia sint apud Deum. Nos quidem, eo quod vim limitatam possidemus, non aeque utimur speciebus luti et aeris; Deo autem nulla res altera est difficilior, quoniam in virtute non est limitatus, et nutus eius solus sufficit ad omnia. Et si admirabilis est nativitas Isaaci admirabilior tamen est nativitas Hevae.

It is more credible that land not sown should produce, than that the grains of wheat which fall into a furnace of fire should give fruit, although difficult and easy things are equally possible with God. We indeed, because we possess limited force, do not equally make use of the species of earth and of air; but for God no thing is more difficult than another, since in power he is not limited, and his mere nod suffices for all things. And if the nativity of Isaac is admirable, yet the nativity of Eve is more admirable.

Illic enim non fuit venter, nec vulva, nec semen, sed costa e latere, et ipsa insuper maris, ex qua facta est mulier, non crescens moderate et sensim continuo temporis successu, sed in ictu oculi subito exsurgens, perfectamque exhibens staturam. Sed ea etiam mirabilior est res, [generatio nempe] Adami: Eva enim viva fuit de vivo et sensitiva de sensitivo; Adam vero vivus et rationalis et sensitivus, [factus est] de terra quae de nullo horum participat. Si igitur haec sunt stupenda, et aliud altero mirabilius, [nec tamen ea festo celebrantur], num propter solam rei novitatem celebrat ubique Ecclesia festum quale hodiernum?

For there was no womb there, nor vulva, nor seed, but a rib from the side, and that very same thing moreover, from which the woman was made, not growing moderately and gradually by the continual succession of time, but rising up suddenly in the blink of an eye, and presenting a perfect stature. But even more marvelous is that matter, [generatio nempe] of Adam: for Eve was living from the living and sensitive from the sensitive; Adam however living and rational and sensitive, [factus est] from earth which partakes of none of these. If therefore these things are wondrous, and one thing more marvelous than another, [nec tamen ea festo celebrantur], does the Church everywhere celebrate a feast such as to-day’s for the mere novelty of the matter?

Sed apertum est quod non celebramus hoc festum attendentes ad haec externa. Ipsi enim Magi, dum gratia divina quocumque modo excitati ascenderunt ad eum adorandum, non obtulerunt ei munera quae hanc [novitatem rei] significabant, sed aurum, et myrrham, et thus. Thus: ad manifestandum quod hic qui natus est templum sit Dei, in quo futurum erat quod Divinitas incorporaliter adoraretur ab omnibus rationalibus, ut in templo insolubili.

But it is clear that we do not celebrate this feast attending to these externals. For the Magi themselves, while by divine grace in whatsoever way roused they ascended to him to adore, did not offer him gifts which signified this [newness of the thing], but gold, and myrrh, and frankincense. Thus: to manifest that he who was born here would be the temple of God, in which it was to be that Divinity would be adored incorporeally by all rational beings, as in an indissoluble temple.

Aurum: ad ostendendum quod iam hominibus conveniat consilia eius atque praecepta accipere, eique obedire cum omni vi sua. Myrrha: ad significandum quod per mortem suam vincat mortem, et acquirat regnum nullo modo commovendum. Apertum est quod divina revelatione obtulerunt haec quae ei obtulerunt.

Aurum: to show that it is now fitting for men to receive his counsels and precepts, and to obey him with all their might. Myrrha: to signify that by his death he would conquer death, and acquire a kingdom in no way to be moved. It is plain that by divine revelation they offered these things which they offered to him.

Item Angelus, cum revelatus est pastoribus eisque nuntiavit, non praedicabat eis Dominum nostrum ex virgine natum. Quid enim dicebat eis? «Annuntio vobis quidem gaudium magnum quod erit universo mundo ». Et cur dicit: « Hodie quidem natus est vobis Salvator, qui est Dominus Christus, in civitato David?

Likewise the Angel, when he was revealed to the shepherds and announced to them, was not proclaiming to them our Lord born of a virgin. For what was he saying to them? «Announce I to you indeed a great joy which will be to the whole world». And why does he say: «Today indeed is born to you a Savior, who is the Lord Christ, in the city of David?»

» Facit mentionem civitatis David, ut ostendat quod in eo qui hodie natus est, impletae sunt Dei promissiones ad patres; et quod in eo benedicentur omnes populi, iuxta promissa ad Abraham: « In semine tuo benedicentur omnes populi »; [ut ostendat etiam] quod in eo nititur et exitum habet illud promissum ad David: « De fructu ventris tui sedere faciam super thronum tuum »; et, « regni eius non erit finis »; et, « dabit illi Dominus Deus thronum Davidis patris eius, et regni eius non erit finis ».

He makes mention of the city of David, to show that in him who is born today the promises of God to the fathers have been fulfilled; and that in him all peoples are blessed, according to the promise to Abraham: «In your seed shall all the nations be blessed»; [to show also] that in him that promise to David leans and finds its outcome: «Of the fruit of your womb I will make to sit upon your throne»; and, «his kingdom shall have no end»; and, «the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and his kingdom shall have no end».

Eum vero nominavit Dominum, quia est Dominus omnium creaturarum propter suam coniunctionem cum Deo Verbo. « Dominum quidem et Christum fecit eum Deus, hunc Iesum quem vos crucifixistis ». Christus est: quia huic operi separatus fuit atque electus. Ipse est verus Christus: quippe quod oleo legali uncti fuerint omnes principes, ipse vero a Spiritu Sancto.

He moreover named him Lord, because he is Lord of all creatures by reason of his conjunction with God the Word. «Indeed God made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.» He is Christ: because to this office he was set apart and elected. He himself is the true Christ: for whereas all princes were anointed with the legal oil, he however was anointed by the Holy Spirit.

« Propter hoc quidem unxit te Deus, Deus tuus, oleo laetitiae prae consortibus tuis ». Salvator est: quia per eum mox redimendi sumus a peccato, et a morte, et a corruptione, et a servitute Satanae; quod itaque gaudium est universo mundo gentium, quae dignae fiunt cognatione divina; et populo israelitico, quia implentur promissiones ad suos patres; quia omnes aequaliter liberantur ab omnibus huius mundi afflictionibus. Apertum est angelos etiam nobiscum in laetitia participare, eo quod etiam illi valde laetantur in nostra ad virtutem commutatione.

« Because for this God anointed you, your God, with the oil of gladness before your companions. He is Savior: for through him we shall soon be redeemed from sin, and from death, and from corruption, and from the servitude of Satan; and therefore it is a joy to the whole world of the nations, which become worthy by divine kinship; and to the Israelite people, because the promises to their fathers are fulfilled; because all alike are delivered from all the afflictions of this world. It is open also for the angels to share with us in joy, because they too greatly rejoice in our change to virtue.

Nec ecclesia sancta singulis annis commemorationem facit Ioannis Baptistae quia natus fuit ex senectute et sterilitate, sed propter opera quae per eum effecta sunt, et propter eius perfectam atque sublimem vitam, et eius mortem quae fuit pro cultu Dei; ut dum haec eius omnia in mentem revocamus, solliciti simus ea imitari in quantum possibile est, ut digni fiamus cum eo pervenire ad delectationem bonorum coelestium. Hoc vero facimus celebrando memoriam omnium patrum sanctorum atque illorum qui martyres fuerunt pro Christo, singuloram in suo ordine.

Nor does the holy Church make an annual commemoration of John the Baptist because he was born from old age and sterility, but on account of the works which were effected through him, and on account of his perfect and exalted life, and his death which was for the worship of God; so that, while we recall all these things of him to mind, we may be anxious to imitate them as far as possible, that we may become worthy to arrive with him at the delight of heavenly goods. This indeed we do by celebrating the memory of all the holy fathers and of those who were martyrs for Christ, each one in his own order.

Nos igitur propter hanc ipsammet rationem quam praevie dixi, dum celebramus hoc festum gloriosum et honorandum Nativitatis Christi Domini nostri, non attendimus externe solum ad hanc novam speciem eius generationis, quae fuit sine concubitu — huius quidem causam postea dicemus — sed [id celebramus] propter haec bona ineffabilia quae data sunt omnibus creaturis per Christum, spem nostram; ita ut, colendo eorum memoriam, et accipiendo doctrinam quae est de eis, aptemus vitam nostram ad voluntatem eorum datoris, ut digni fiamus ascendere ad coelos, et participes fieri bonorum quae servantur pro illis qui recte credunt, vitamque gerunt iuxta exemplar fidei suae.

Therefore we, for this very same reason which I have said before, while we celebrate this glorious and honorable feast of the Nativity of Christ our Lord, do not attend externally only to this new aspect of his generation, which was without concubitus — the cause of this indeed we will relate later — but [we celebrate it] on account of those ineffable goods which were given to all creatures through Christ, our hope; so that, by honoring their memory and receiving the doctrine which is about them, we may make our life fit to the will of their giver, that we may become worthy to ascend to the heavens, and to become partakers of the goods which are kept for those who rightly believe, and who live a life according to the pattern of their faith.

CAPUT QUARTUM. Quaenam sint bona quae nobis data sunt per Dominum nostrum Christum.

CHAPTER FOUR. What are the goods which have been given to us by our Lord Christ.

Opus est dicere, quaenam sint haec bona quae nobis per Dominum nostrum Christum dari decreta sunt [a Deo], et ad quae veluti firmanda hodie congregamur, hoc festum celebrantes. Ea quidem discimus ab angelis sanctis, qui tempore Nativitatis Redemptoris nostri, cum gaudio magno clamabant, sic dicentes: « Gloria Deo in excelsis; et super terra pax; et spes hominibus ». His tribus sententiis indicata sunt compendiose omnia bona quae per Dominum nostrum Christum nobis data sunt. Angeli sancti, quia respectu creationis sunt nostri socii, cum viderint nos cecidisse a sanitate cultus Dei, et captos fuisse morbo cultus idolorum, et prorsus tabuisse in servitio daemonum, et aegrotasse in foeditate operum nostrorum, contristati fuerunt ac irati; nec nec tamen incubuerunt in vel unum eorum faciendum quae necessaria sunt atque utilia ad nostram sanationem; sed contra postulassent nostri tamquam membrorum foetidorum abscissionem nostrique dimissionem a communione cum eis, nisi Dominus omnium bonus, Deus, propter spem emendationis nostrae et nostrae ad se conversionis, eos sibi subiecisset, sicut scriptum est: « Vanitati quidem creatum subiecta est, non sua sponte, sed propter eum qui subiecit eam in spe ». Vanum ac inutilem reputabant suum pro nobis laborem quamdiu non eramus in cultu Dei creatoris atque benefactoris nostri; [attamen] propter spem rerum venturarum sustinebant quocumque modo in suo pro nobis ministerio, cum in eis Deus spem nostrae ad virtutem commutationis confirmasset, ex clamore sanguinis Abel, et ex translatione Henoch, et ex ascensione Eliae, et eo quod [Deus] nullo tempore neque per generationes generationum desistebat ea dispensare quae opem ferrent redemptioni nostrae atque reversioni nostrae ad veritatem.

It is necessary to say what these goods are which have been decreed to be given to us through our Lord Christ [by God], and for the confirmation of which we are gathered today, celebrating this feast. We learn them indeed from the holy angels, who at the time of the Nativity of our Redeemer, crying out with great joy, thus said: «Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace; and hope to men». In these three sentences all the goods which have been given to us through our Lord Christ are briefly indicated. The holy angels, because with regard to creation they are our companions, when they saw that we had fallen from the health of the worship of God, and had been taken captive by the disease of the worship of idols, and had utterly fallen into the slavery of demons, and had sickened in the foulness of our works, were grieved and angry; yet they did not press for the doing even of one of those things which are necessary and useful for our healing; but rather they demanded our excision as fetid members and our dismissal from communion with them, unless the Lord, good God of all, because of the hope of our amendment and of our conversion to him, had subjected them to himself, as it is written: «Indeed creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own accord, but because of him who subjected it in hope». They reckoned their labor vain and useless for us so long as we were not in the worship of God our Creator and benefactor; nevertheless, because of the hope of things to come, they endured in whatever way in their ministry for us, since in them God had confirmed the hope of our power of conversion by the cry of the blood of Abel, and by the translation of Enoch, and by the ascension of Elijah, and by the fact that God at no time nor through the generations of generations ceased to dispense those things that would bring help to our redemption and our return to the truth.

Recte igitur eis tanquam membris sanis creationis, perseverantibus in sanitate amoris sui Domini, in peccatores indignantibus, meliorumque spem expectantibus, revelata sunt a Deo bona quae per Christum Dominum nostrum universae creationi dari decreta sunt. Gaudio itaque magno clamabant dicentes: « Gloria Deo in excelsis; et pax super terram; et spes hominibus ». Inique quidem oppressa fuit hucusque laus Deo ab hominibus debita. Idola muta adorabantur; Satanas colobatur; gaudebant genii mali; laetabantur daemones; impudici erant homines atque fraudatores; in sua inclinatione ad turpia, impulsu diaboli omnia mala facile patrabant.

Rightly therefore to them as healthy members of creation, persevering in the soundness of their love for their Lord, indignant toward sinners, and awaiting the hope of better things, were revealed by God the goods which were decreed to be given through Christ our Lord to the whole creation. With great joy they cried out saying: « Glory to God in the highest; and peace on earth; and hope to men ». Indeed the praise owing to God had hitherto been unjustly suppressed by men. Dumb idols were worshipped; Satan rejoiced; the evil genii exulted; demons were glad; men were shameless and deceivers; in their inclination to foul things, by the impulse of the devil they easily accomplished all evils.

Nunc vero per hunc qui iuxta promissiones divinas es semine David natus est, revertitur ad Deum laus ei ab omnibus debita; ipse cognoscitur ut omnium essentialiter altissimus maximeque supremus, facior omnium atque benefactor; congregantur homines e dispersione cultus idolorum et unanimiter revertuntur a servitio malorum geniorum; confunduntur daemones; cadit diabolus; surgunt homines; placent suo Creatori per scientiam veritatis et per vitam honestam, et omnia praevia turpia deponunt. Propter haec omnia, super terram est pax, quia scilicet homines revertuntur ab adoratione operis manuum suarum, adorant supreme Deum, nostri ipsorumque Factorem, se gerendo iuxta voluntatem eius; et tranquillitas et pax, et reconciliatio regnant in terra. Iratus enim erat Creator in creaturas, et minabatur omnibus hominibus poenas iuxta mensuram eorum facinorum; nunc vero per eum qui natus est, habet erga eos reconciliationem adaequatam.

Now indeed through him who was born of the seed of David according to the divine promises, the praise due to God from all is returned to Him; he is acknowledged as the essentially highest and most supreme of all, the maker of all and benefactor; men are gathered out of the dispersion of the cult of idols and unanimously turn back from the service of evil genii; the demons are confounded; the devil falls; men rise; they please their Creator by the knowledge of truth and by an honest life, and lay aside all former disgraceful things. Because of all these things there is peace upon the earth, for clearly men turn back from the adoration of the works of their own hands, they adore the supreme God, our and their Maker, conducting themselves according to his will; and tranquility and peace and reconciliation reign on earth. For the Creator was angry with his creatures, and threatened all men with penalties according to the measure of their deeds; now, however, through him who was born, he has toward them a fitting reconciliation.

Nos quoque, angeli, irati eramus contra eos, nos utpote servi zelotae sui Domini, suique benefactoris ministri atque famuli; [nunc vero] quemadmodum ii student magis placere universi mundi Factori, ita nos incendimus nostrum erga eos amorem, augemusque nostram de eis curam, etiamque amplificamus sollicitudinem nostram de eorum utilitate, et eos habemus ut membra sana, eosque diligimus ut socios nostros caros. Sed et omnes populi qui divisi erant contra se invicem, — ille adorabat solem, et hic lunam, et alius sidera, et alius aliquid aliud, cum eorum contra se invicem inimicitia esset varia iuxta diversas species istorum quae ab eis di vocabantur —, nunc omnes possident concordiam et amorem cultus Dei; et unacum populo israelitico, qui omnes ab eo (Deo) etiam repudiati fuerant a participatione cum eius sanctis beatisque omnibus, per amorem et concordiam, tanquam membra dispersa ad unum corpus cultus Dei congregantur, omni praevia discordia dissipata. Ipse vero homo habet erga seipsum pacem infinitam.

We also, the angels, were angry against them, we, as zealous servants of our Lord and as ministers and household-servants of his benefactor; [nunc vero] just as those strive more to please the Maker of the whole world, so we inflame our love toward them, and increase our care for them, and moreover enlarge our solicitude for their welfare, and we hold them as healthy members, and we love them as our dear companions. But all the peoples who had been divided against one another — one worshipped the sun, and another the moon, and another the stars, and another something else, their enmity against one another being varied according to the diverse kinds of those things which by them were called gods — now all possess concord and the love of the worship of God; and together with the Israelite people, who had all even been rejected by him (God) from participation with all his holy and blessed ones, by love and concord, as dispersed members are gathered into one body of the worship of God, every prior discord having been dissipated. The man himself, moreover, has toward himself infinite peace.

Eo enim quod corpus eius est mortale, et anima eius immortalis, quanto mortalia immortalibus contraria sunt, tanto operatio corporis opponitur animae; ipsa vero, eo quod est elevata et discernens et immortalis et accipit scientiam Dei et doctrinam eius praeceptorum, ad opus virtutis inclinat. Corpus autem quia non est rationale nec discernens, sed est mortale, ad visibilia attrahitur et eorum amore tenetur. Homo itaque habuit in seipsum colluctationem incessantem, quam solvit Dominus noster Christus, corpus immortale faciens, et eradicans ab eo omnem attractionem ad res fluxas; ac simul ipse ei animaeque firmitatem largitur; ita ut sine angustiis possit facere voluntatem Dei, eique placere sine impedimento.

Because his body is mortal and his soul immortal, and as mortals are opposed to immortals, so the operation of the body is set against the soul; the soul itself, however, because it is exalted and discerning and immortal and receives the knowledge of God and the doctrine of his precepts, inclines to the work of virtue. The body, however, because it is not rational nor discerning but is mortal, is drawn to visible things and held by love of them. Thus man had within himself an incessant struggle, which our Lord Christ solved, making the body immortal and eradicating from it every attraction to fleeting things; and at the same time he bestows firmness upon it and upon the soul, so that without distress he may do the will of God and please him without impediment.

Iam hae omnes divitiae pacis regnant, quod homines ad Creatorem suum revertuntur, et eum solum tanquam causam omnium bonorum glorificant atque exaltant, anxie curando placere ei per vitam honestam: pax Creatoris est cum creaturis suis, et nostri, angelorum, cum hominibus, et omnium populorum cum se invicem et cum populo israelitico, et ipsius hominis cum seipso.

Now all these riches of peace reign, because men return to their Creator, and glorify and exalt him alone as the cause of all good things, anxiously caring to please him by an honest life: the peace of the Creator is with his creatures, and ours, of the angels, with men, and of all peoples with one another and with the people of Israel, and of the man himself with himself.

Post haec omnia non est expectandum aliquid aliud nisi spes bonorum coelestium, spes quidem bona hominibus. Firma igitur confidentia, et magna spes bona extirpationis peccati et liberationis a daemonibus et a diabolo, et solutionis [a lege] mortis, et abrogationis [decreti] corruptibilitatis, et resurrectionis a mortuis, et doni immortalitatis, et participationis incorruptibilitatis, et gratiae adoptionis filiorum, et ascensionis ad coelos, et communionis cum omnibus sanctis Dei, datae sunt nobis; quae quidem [sunt] inter haec bona coelestia non transeuntia nec deficientia in aeternum. Bona igitur quae nobis data sunt per Dominum nostrum Christum, O frater noster venerabilis, ad quae firmanda hodie hoc festum celebramus, haec sunt, iuxta interpretationem illorum verborum quae ab eis (angelis) dicta sunt.

After all these things nothing else is to be expected except the hope of heavenly goods, a hope indeed good for men. Therefore a firm confidence, and a great good hope of the eradication of sin and liberation from demons and from the devil, and of release from the [law] of death, and of the abrogation of the [decree] of corruptibility, and of resurrection from the dead, and of the gift of immortality, and of participation in incorruptibility, and of the grace of adoption as sons, and of ascension to the heavens, and of communion with all the saints of God, have been given to us; which indeed [are] among these heavenly goods not passing away nor failing forever. The goods therefore which have been given to us through our Lord Christ, O frater noster venerabilis, to which for strengthening we celebrate this feast today, these are, according to the interpretation of those words which were spoken by them (the angels).

Quid vem melius fuit omnibus populis atque praestantius quam cognoscere Deum Creatorem suum et causam omnium bonorum suorum? Nihil tale dari cognoscitur. Bona enim omnia huius mundi, etiamsi coniunctim inveniantur, ubi non est Dei cultus, sunt tamen [omnia] aequaliter inutilia; ubi vero adest cultus Dei qui in confessione [fidei] et in operibus ostenditur, quanquam aliquo modo afflictio per breve tempus inveniatur, omnia tamen laetifica et grata coniunctim advenient, maxime post egressum nostrum ex hoc mundo.

What indeed was better for all peoples and more excellent than to know God, their Creator, and the cause of all their goods? Nihil tale is known to be given. For all the goods of this world, even if they are found together, where the worship of God is not, are nevertheless [omnia] equally useless; but where the worship of God is present, which is shown in the confession [fidei] and in works, although affliction in some manner may be found for a brief time, yet all things joyful and pleasing come together, especially after our departure from this world.

Quemadmodum enim quando quis vult ire ad aulam regiam, et cum incipit ambulare, errat a via ut exit in desertum non habitatum, vel etiamsi viaticum, quantumcumque, portet, hoc tamen deficiet et consumetur, indeque relinquetur ei mori, cum non attigerit locum ad quem ire pollicitus erat: talis est ille qui errat a via recta et a cultu Dei veri, omneque etiam vitae suae viaticum, quamvis (multum) ei praesto sit, peribit, et regnum Dei non attinget, sed poena incessanti a Deo punietur. Etiamsi contingat quod ei sint opera quae videntur bona, similis tamen est fodienti puteum in terra, nec tamen quantumvis alte effodiat, invenit arteriam aquae. Nullum enim potestatem habent idola suis adoratoribus benefacere.

For just as when a man wishes to go to the royal hall, and when he begins to walk, he strays from the road and goes out into an uninhabited desert, or even if he carries viaticum, however much, this nevertheless will fail and be consumed, and he will leave it behind to die, since he did not reach the place to which he had promised to go: such is he who wanders from the straight way and from the worship of the true God, and every viaticum of his life, although (much) may be at hand for him, will perish, and he will not attain the kingdom of God, but will be punished with incessant penalty by God. Even if it should happen that he has works which seem good, yet he is like one digging a well in the earth, and however deeply he digs, he finds no artery of water. For idols have no power to benefit those who adore them.

Sed, [aliquis dicet] in nomine dei facit haec opera sua pulchra! [utique, respondemus] constat autem neminem esse deum eo solo quod se deum dicit. Quodnam vero ex hoc lucrum?

But, [someone will say], 'in the name of God he does these his works beautifully!' [certainly, we answer] it is evident, however, that no one is God by that alone that he calls himself God. What, then, indeed, is the profit of this?

Nullum dari cognoscitur. Si enim quis onustus fuerit debito quod regno debet ex quocumque opere; et dum pergit ut id sponte sua solvat, viderit homines otiosos qui solent nonnullis locis quemdam ex seipsis in dignitate regis constituere ut ludant coram eo; et deceptus, perrexerit et iecerit coram illis pecuniam regno debitam: nonne postea mandante rege vero, apprehendetur et ligabitur, siquidem ei in acceptum non fuerit quidquid dederit illi qui nomine tantum, non reapse, fuit rex. Simili modo etiam ille qui ferens adorationes et omnia quae Deo vero debentur, iacit [illa] coram iis qui non sunt dii, sed nomine non proprio suadentibus daemonibus appellati sunt, nullum istorum ei reputabitur in acceptum quando intrabit ad iudicium Dei omnium factoris, qui solus est Deus, cui soli debetur adoratio ab omnibus creaturis.

No gift is reckoned given. For if anyone were burdened with the debt which he owes to the kingdom from any work; and while he proceeds to pay it of his own accord, he should see idle men who are wont in certain places to set up some of themselves in the dignity of a king that they may play before him; and, deceived, he shall have gone on and cast before them the money owed to the kingdom: will he not afterwards, by order of the true king, be seized and bound, since that which he gave will not have been acceptable to him to whom he gave, who was king in name only, not in truth. In like manner also he who, offering adorations and all things which are due to the true God, casts [illa] before those who are not gods, but are called demons urged by a name not proper, none of these things will be reckoned acceptable to him when he shall enter into the judgment of God, maker of all, who alone is God, to whom alone adoration is owed by all creatures.

Quicumque igitur non possidet scientiam divinam amittet omnia sua laetifica, etiamsi ad tempus ea apud illum inveniantur; et hoc modo omnis eius labor erit sine lucro; et eius opera quae pulchra aestimabantur, invenientur ei sine remuneratione; et sic incidet in aeternam poenam quae manebat omnes gentes ante adventum Christi. Apertum est autem quod quamvis populus israeliticus Dei cognatione fruebatur, etiam ipsis evenit bonum magnum in adventu Christi Domini nostri. Elevati enim sunt ex puerili regimine; digni ipsi quoque habiti sunt scientia perfecta Trinitatis Sanctae, Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti, qui in unitate agnoscuntur.

Therefore whoever therefore does not possess divine knowledge will lose all his joyous possessions, even if for a time those things are found with him; and in this way all his labor will be without profit; and his works, which were esteemed beautiful, will be found to him without reward; and thus he will fall into the eternal punishment which awaited all the nations before the advent of Christ. It is moreover clear that although the Israelite people enjoyed the knowledge of God, to them also a great good came in the coming of Christ our Lord. For they were raised from a childish regime; they themselves were also deemed worthy of the perfect knowledge of the Holy Trinity, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, who are acknowledged in unity.

Non enim dissentiebant ab illo qui animam et solem idem appellat, ignorans quod sicut hic habet calorem et fulgorem, illa habet mentem et rationem. Si nobis est gaudium magnum quando infantem ablactamus eumque ad cibum perfectum (firmum) admovemus, quanto magis exultatione dignum est Israelitas cum omnibus gentibus ad scientiam perfectam Sanctae Trinitatis pervenisse? In moribus insuper impudicis et in possessione terrestrium omnes aeque ita versabantur ut Deum quidem non cognoscerent, neque ab eo bona expectarent; quemadmodum infantulus attrahitur ubere tempore ablactationis, ita illi terrena appetebant.

For they did not dissent from him who calls soul and sun the same, ignorant that just as this has heat and brightness, that has mind and reason. If it is a great joy for us when we wean an infant and bring him to perfect (firm) food, how much more worthy of exultation is it that the Israelites, together with all the nations, have reached the perfect knowledge of the Holy Trinity? Moreover, in shameless morals and in the possession of earthly things all were equally so engaged that they indeed did not know God, nor expect goods from him; just as an infant is drawn to the breast at the time of weaning, so they longed for earthly things.

Dominus autem noster in Evangelio suo infixit rerum futurarum expectationem; tum vero spreverunt atque contemptui habuerunt res huius saeculi; quod quidem bonum est maximum, quando cultum Dei comitatur. Etenim homo rationalis qui correptus est amore harum divitiarum caducarum, similis est linguae et oculo in quibus quoddam amuletum suspenderetur ad eorum ornatum; quod cum non eis esset ornamentum, impedit insuper, singulorum [oculorum et linguae] propriam operationem utilem totiusque operationem corporis. Similis quoque est puero cui iucundior est ficus parum ei utilis quam gemmae, quia earum pretiositatem non cognoscit.

Our Lord however in his Gospel fixed the expectation of future things; yet they despised and held in contempt the things of this age; which indeed is the greatest good, when it accompanies the worship of God. For a rational man who is seized by love of these perishable riches is like a tongue and eye in which some amulet is suspended for their ornament; which, since it is not an ornament to them, hinders moreover the proper useful operation of each [of the eyes and tongue] and the operation of the whole body. He is likewise like a boy to whom a fig is more pleasing though of little use to him than gems, because he does not know their preciousness.

Hominibus igitur nihil bonum et utile est sicut illud: quod Deum cognoscant scientia perfecta, quod de praeceptis eius tantum solliciti sint, quodque superent attractionem ad visibilia. Ita enim, eveniet illis quod Deus etiam in illis delectabitur, et quod angeli de eis solliciti erunt; possidebunt amorem erga se invicem, et digni fient felicitate non transeunte quae erit in mundo novo et indestructibili. Si vero dantur homines qui hucusque non crediderunt in Christum aut qui crediderunt et non observant eius praecepta, non ex eius (sc. Christi) parte hoc fit; ex eius enim parte lux scientiae eius diffusa est ad omnes homines, et omnibus coena eius bonorum est parata.

To men, therefore, nothing is so good and useful as this: that they know God with perfect knowledge, that they be concerned only about his precepts, and that they overcome attraction to visible things. For thus it will happen to them that God will even delight in them, and that the angels will be solicitous for them; they will possess love toward one another, and will become worthy of the non‑passing happiness that will be in the new and indestructible world. If, however, there are men who hitherto did not believe in Christ, or who believed and do not observe his precepts, this is not from his (i.e., Christ’s) side; for on his part the light of his knowledge has been poured out to all men, and for all his feast of goods is prepared.

Illos itaque qui non credunt, vel qui credunt et non faciunt, accusat eodem modo ac illum qui stat infra solem et claudit oculos ne videat, et illum qui invitatus ad coenam proprios pedes impedit ne ambulet.

He therefore accuses those who do not believe, or who believe and do not do, in the same way as the man who stands beneath the sun and closes his eyes so as not to see, and the man who, invited to a dinner, prevents his own feet from walking.

CAPUT QUINTUM. Quam ob rem haec ipsa bona hucusque revelata non fuerint.

CHAPTER 5. For what reason these very goods have not hitherto been revealed.

Nunc vero pergamus tractare illud quaesitum; quam ob causam hucusque non contigerit adventus Christi qui visus est adeo utilis fuisse omnibus rationalibus. Num igitur fuit, quia Deus hucusque hunc (adventum) non sciebat? Vel, si scientiam eius habuit, quia non habuit postestatem eum perficiendi?

Now then let us proceed to treat that question: for what reason hitherto did the coming of Christ, which seemed so useful to all rationals, not occur? Was it then, because God hitherto did not know this (adventum)? Or, if he had knowledge of it, was it because he did not have the power to effect it?

Vel si utramque habuit, scientiam dico et potestatem, num, tanquam malus, nobis bona invidit, quapropter eum hucusque distulit? Nam vel per ignorantiam, vel per impotentiam, vel per malitiam quis impeditur a faciendo bonum, quando ipse est causa dilationis. Deum autem novisse ab initio se suscitaturum Dominum nostrum Christum, apertum est ex hoc quod de adventu eius, deque bonis quae nobis per eum data sunt, antea prophetavit in promissis suis ad patres, et per prophetas in populo israelitico.

But if he had both, I mean knowledge and power, did he, as it were evil, begrudge good things to us, and therefore delay him up to now? For whether by ignorance, or by impotence, or by malice, who is hindered from doing good when he himself is the cause of the delay. But that God knew from the beginning that he would raise up our Lord Christ is made clear from this: that concerning his advent, and concerning the good things which were given to us through him, he foretold beforehand in his promises to the fathers and through the prophets among the Israelite people.

Quemadmodum enim non possumus opinari quod [Deus] nunc ignorat se nos ex mortuis suscitaturam, ex eo quod nos iam resurgere non fecit; similiter neque possumus opinari eum ignorasse se manifestaturum Dominum nostrum Christum, ex eo quod ab initio hoc reapse non fecerat. Etiamsi vero id reapse non perfecit, de eo tamen praedixit, et typi eius representati sunt apud antiquos. Ascendamus autem, si placet, ad initium creationis, et consideremus quod si, non ad futum respiciens, illam (creationem) ad existentiam perduxisset, non creasset duos coelos ad duos mundos regendos necessarios.

For just as we cannot suppose that [Deus] now is ignorant that he will raise us from the dead because he has not yet made us rise; likewise we cannot suppose that he was ignorant that he would manifest our Lord Christ because from the beginning he in truth had not done this. Even if indeed he did not actually accomplish it, yet concerning it he foretold, and its types were represented among the ancients. Let us, therefore, if it pleases, ascend to the beginning of creation, and consider that if, not looking to the future, he had brought that (creation) into being, he would not have created two heavens necessary for governing two worlds.

Quod autem non sit potens, quomodo possibile est cogitari? Nos enim renovari postquam existentes fuimus, non est tam difficile ac nos in existentiam educere quando prorsus non existebamus, cum non fuit aliquid ex quo et nos conderet et nobis daret subsistentiam. Quod bonus sit (Deus) cognoscitur.

But how can that which is not powerful be thought possible? For to be renewed after we have existed is not so difficult as to lead us into existence when we absolutely did not exist, since there was nothing from which he might create us and give us subsistence. That he is good (Deus) is known.

Si enim iam ab antiquo malus fuisset, nunquam se ad bonitatem convertisset, eo quod Deus omnia sua propria in immutabilitate possidet. Nonne quidem bonum est illud ineffabile, quod cum nos non possemus sponte nostra venire ad existentiam, ipso non solum dedit nobis existentiam, sicut lapidibus et lignis, sed etiam elevavit nos super muta animalia, fecitque nos discernentes atque rationales, et large dedit nobis potestatem in omnia visibilia? Si ergo ab initio fuit bonus et sciens et poteas, nihil quidem aliud eum impediebat ne ad effectum adduceret omnia nostra bona, nisi debilitas nostra propria, quae non potuit omnia ea coniunctim accipere sine [praevia] disciplina; quam rem cum viderit sapientia divina, ea ratione quae nobis utilis erat, nos bonitas eius ineffabilis gubernabat.

For if he had been evil from the ancient time, he would never have turned himself to goodness, since God possesses all his own things in immutability. Is not that ineffable good evident, that when we could not of our own will come into existence, he not only by himself gave us existence, as to stones and woods, but also elevated us above mute animals, and made us discerning and rational, and abundantly gave us power over all visible things? If therefore he was good and knowing and powerful from the beginning, nothing else indeed hindered him from bringing to effect all our goods, except our own weakness, which could not receive all those things together without [praevia] discipline; which thing, when divine wisdom saw it, by that reasoning which was useful to us, his ineffable goodness governed us.

Si enim cuivis nostri sit filius aut discipulus quem vult docere unamquamvis artem quam ipse callet, nonne eum ducit a parvis ad maiora? Si velit, verbi gratia, eum ad clericatum instruere, primo docet eum Aleph, Beth [i. e. literas separatas], deinde a b c d [i. e. literas coniunctas]; deinde [ei proponit] vocabula ut discat syllabatim enunciare; et post haec, psalmos, ut discat etiam per eos legero; cumque id perfecerit, (docet eum) scribere exemplar (S. Script.), usque dum discat textum (sacrorum) bibliorum. Itaque post haec omnia, volumina interpretationis ei tradit legenda ut attingat sensum librorum divinorum.

For if anyone of us has a son or a disciple whom he wishes to teach any art which he himself knows, does he not lead him from small things to greater? If he wishes, for example, to instruct him for the clericage, first he teaches him Aleph, Beth [i. e. separate letters], then a b c d [i. e. joined letters]; then [he sets before him] words so that he may learn to pronounce them syllabically; and after these, the psalms, so that he may also learn to read through them; and when he has completed that, (he teaches him) to write a copy (of Holy Scripture), until he learns the text (of the sacred) bibles. Therefore after all these things, volumes of interpretation are delivered to him to be read so that he may reach the sense of the divine books.

Si cogat discipulum sensum sententiarum exponere antequam didicerit legere, apertum est quod cum discipulus nihil lucri accipiat, magister videbitur mente captus esse; quia cum fundamentum non subiecerit, contendit tectum imponere. Si igitur nos mortales ac infirmi sic res nostras ordinate administrare scimus, agentes cum filiis atque discipulis nostris non secundum vim scientiae nostrae, sed moderantes nostram apud eos doctrinam ut eam recipere possint, quanto magis decebat Dominum omnium sapientissimum atque optimum in sua administratione, omnia ad utilitatem nostram, et secundum vires nostras temperare, non agendo secundum praescientiam suam nec secundum suam potestatem, sed secundum nostram propriam infirmitatem. Itaque contemplemur illam sapientiam ineffabilem, quomodo ab initio gradatim promovit nostram naturam ad scientiam perfectam, tanquam pater misericors et magister qui [ad intellectum discipuli] descendit.

If he compels a disciple to expound the sense of sentences before he has learned to read, it is clear that, since the disciple receives no gain, the teacher will seem to be seized in mind; for, since he has not laid a foundation, he strives to impose a roof. If then we mortals and infirm know how thus to order our matters, acting with our sons and disciples not according to the force of our knowledge, but moderating our doctrine toward them so that they may receive it, how much more did it become the Lord of all, most wise and best, in his administration to temper all things to our benefit and according to our powers, not acting according to his foreknowledge nor according to his power, but according to our own infirmity. Therefore let us contemplate that ineffable wisdom, how from the beginning step by step he promoted our nature to perfect knowledge, like a merciful father and teacher who descended [to the understanding of the disciple].

Illas itaque primas generationes quae fuerunt ab Adam usque ad Noe, in primo gradu dispensationis constituit gratia, ad instar primae classis puerorum, pro quibus scriptum est Aleph, Beth, administrans omnia illa quae apta erant ad eos terrendos eosque simul adhortandos ut recedant a malis et ad facienda bona accedant. Quemadmodum nos interdum illos [pueros] valde perturbamus, ut per ea omnia eos ad id quod decet educamus, cum ab ipsis occasionem accipimus eos modo sic modo alitor tractandi: sic etiam Deus, noster Creator, qui semper misericordiam paternam manifestavit erga genus nostrum in benignitate sua immensa, interdum poenam inflixit in peccatores, sicut ab initio in Adamum et Hevam, et in Cain qui occidit fratrem suum; ita ut cum haec fama ad posteros traderetur, terrerentur ipsi quominus accederent ad patranda scelera; sicuti quidem discimus a Lamech qui cum involuntarie virum occidisset, captus fuit timore magno, seipsum deflens, et adstantibus suis uxoribus lugebat utpote qui illam multiplicem poenam Cain a Deo accepturus erat, eo quod occidisset postquam cognovisset quam malo iudicio traditus fuerat occisor [Cain]. Interdum quoque Deus post mortem iusti Abel faciebat sanguinem eius clamare de terra ut ostenderet quantam curam habet de eis qui timent eum, cum post eorum etiam mortem, exaudiat eorum vocem, et exigat ultionem de eorum afflictoribus, ut per hoc incitet omnem hominem ut operam det ad amanda et curanda eius praecepta; sicuti videmus Henoch fecisse, qui sic iustificatus est ut etiam dignus factus sit discedere ab hominibus et habitare inter vivos hodie usque. Item quum corruptio paulatim profecisset in natura coram ipso, [Deus] venire fecit aquas diluvii super antiquos propter eorum impudicitiam atque nequitiam, eorumque opera mala.

Those first generations, then, which were from Adam to Noah, grace placed in the first grade of dispensation, after the likeness of the first class of children, for whom it is written Aleph, Beth, administering all those things which were fit to terrify them and at the same time to exhort them that they withdraw from evils and approach to do good. Just as we sometimes greatly disturb those [pueros] in order that by all these things we may educate them to what is fitting, since we take from them opportunity to deal with them now one way now another in nourishing; so also God, our Creator, who has always manifested fatherly mercy toward our race in his immense benignity, sometimes inflicted punishment on sinners, as at the beginning on Adam and Eve, and on Cain who killed his brother; so that when this report was handed down to posterity, they were terrified lest they approach to commit crimes; as we learn from Lamech who, when he had involuntarily slain a man, was seized with great fear, bewailing himself, and lamented before his wives as one who was about to receive from God that manifold punishment of Cain, because he had slain after he had known how evil a judgment the slayer [Cain] had been delivered to. Sometimes also God, after the death of the just Abel, made his blood cry out from the earth to show how great care he has for those who fear him, since even after their death he hears their voice and exacts vengeance on their afflicters, so that by this he incites every man to give effort to love and keep his precepts; as we see Enoch have done, who was so justified that he was even made worthy to depart from men and to dwell among the living to this day. Likewise when corruption had gradually progressed in nature before him, [Deus] caused the waters of the flood to come upon the ancients because of their unchastity and wickedness, and their evil works.

Servavit autem Noe et illos qui cum eo erant, et dedit eis leges quas non edocti fuerant illi qui ante eos vixerant: quod nempe comederent quidquid [vivens] aeque ac olera, postquam effuderint eius sanguinem, qui animalibus mutis locum tenet animae; quemadmodum et nos, postquam puer didicerit Aleph, Beth, scribimus literas coniunctas et vocabula, ut discat syllabatim enunciare. Iterum post haud modicum temporis, elegit Abraham patriarchara; et dedit ei legem circumcisionis, et promissiones claras de eius posteris, aliquid quidem praestantius illo quod dederat Noachidis. Postquam posteri eius multa mala experti fuerant in terra Aegypti, illinc eduxit eos per varia gesta mirabilia eisque dedit varias leges scriptas; quemadmodum et nos quum filii et discipuli nostri iam didicerunt syllabatim enunciare, scribimus psalmos ut etiam discant eos legere; et deinde codicem ipsum tradimus eis scribendum.

Noah, however, preserved those who were with him, and gave them laws which those who had lived before them had not been taught: namely, that they should eat whatever [living] thing as well as vegetables, after they have poured out its blood, which, in mute animals, supplies a place for the soul; just as we, after a child has learned Aleph, Beth, write joined letters and words, so that he may learn to pronounce syllables. Again, after no little time, he chose Abraham the patriarch; and gave him the law of circumcision, and clear promises concerning his posterity, somewhat more excellent indeed than that which he had given to the sons of Noah. After his descendants had suffered many evils in the land of Egypt, he led them out from there through various wondrous deeds and gave them diverse written laws; just as we, when our sons and disciples have now learned to pronounce syllables, write psalms so that they may also learn to read them; and then hand over to them the very codex to be written by them.

Postquam natum nostra sic pervenerat ad staturam perfectam, ut quis dicat, et exercitationem in illis primis disciplinis absolverat, tunc produxit adventum Christum, qui doceret scientiae perfectionem, et daret spem et expectationem bonorum futurorum; quemadmodum quis, post illas disciplinas quas exposuimus, tradit filio suo libros interpretationis, ut legat, et intelligat sensum atque significationem illius quod praevie [pronuntiare et scribere] didicerat Non autem destitit facere erga omnes generationes ea ipsa quae fecerat erga antiquos, infligendo poenam in scelestos et peccatores; et familiares faciendo celebres atque nobiles, et rectam administrationem agendo, ob illam rationem quam praevie diximus. Quemadmodum, verbi gratia, si quis habeat decem discipulos in primo gradu instructionis [i. e.] Aleph, Beth, constitutos; et unus ex eis destiterit a studio et exierit ludere in sterquiliniis; et alius inceperit comedere et bibere, do sua lectione non sollicitus; alius recubuerit et dormierit; alii vero collocuti fuerint sermone vano iocorum inanium, quod discere praecipiuntur minime curantes; reliqui vero didicerint quemadmodum decet, nihil antiquius habentes quam ut suae intendant instructioni iuxta voluntatem sui magistri; quando [priores] recitare rogabuntur, punientur, non quia non didicerunt legere et intelligere sensum librorum, sed quia non recitarunt Aleph, Beth, ut ita dicam, perinde ac sui [studiosiores] condiscipuli. Sic etiam Deus, Dominus omnium, quando veniet iudicare atque perscrutari opera hominum non quaeret ab Adamitis quare non circumcisi fuerunt, nec a Noachidis quare sabbatum non servaverunt; sed, ut dicam breviter, unumquamque generationem examinabit relate ad illa sua propria, cuique homini retribuens iuxta sua opera secundum tempus in quo existebat, et secundum leges quae a Deo in diebus suis datae fuerunt.

After our born one had thus come to a perfect stature, so to speak, and had completed his exercise in those first disciplines, then Christ manifested his advent, to teach the perfection of knowledge, and to give hope and expectation of future goods; just as one, after those disciplines which we have set forth, hands to his son books of interpretation that he may read and understand the sense and signification of that which previously he had learned [to pronounce and to write]. Nor did he cease to do toward all generations the very things he had done toward the ancients, inflicting punishment on the wicked and sinners, and making familiars celebrated and noble, and administering right governance, for the reason which we said above. Just as, for example, if one has ten disciples placed in the first grade of instruction [i. e.] Aleph, Beth; and one of them abandons study and goes out to play in the dung-heaps; and another begins to eat and drink, caring not for his reading; another reclines and sleeps; others are occupied with empty talk and vain jest, taking no heed of what they are commanded to learn; the rest, however, learn as becomes them, having nothing more important than to attend to their instruction according to the will of their master; when the former are asked to recite, they will be punished, not because they have not learned to read and to understand the sense of the books, but because they did not recite Aleph, Beth, so to speak, as did their more diligent fellow-students. Thus also God, Lord of all, when he comes to judge and to search the works of men will not ask the Adamites why they were not circumcised, nor the Noachids why they did not keep the Sabbath; but, to say briefly, he will examine each generation with respect to its own proper duties, and will render to each man according to his works, according to the time in which he existed, and according to the laws which were given by God in his days.

Quemadmodum autem [constat quod] Deus non quaeret ab antiquis ea quae recentiorum sunt, quia [tunc temporis] non aderant; ita [etiam constat quod nec] naturae conveniebat manere in primo gradu [dispensationis] sine progressione; sicut et neque puerum iuvat Aleph Beth tantum usque ad senectutem studere. Illis igitur antiquis non nocuit quod adventus Christi non prius fuerit, quum eo quod non requiretur ab eis ratio vitae quam [instituit] Christus. Nos vero immensum iuvit, quia nos ab errore ad Deum convertit, et nos perfecit in scientia completa, et premisit nobis bona futura, quemadmodum supra iam dixi.

Just as [it is established that] God will not ask of the ancients those things which belong to the more recent, because [at that time] they were not present; so [also it is established that not] it was fitting by nature to remain in the first grade [of dispensation] without progression; just as likewise it does not benefit a boy to study Aleph Beth only up to old age. Therefore it did them no harm that the advent of Christ was not earlier, since the rule of life which [Christ ordained] was not required of them. But to us it hugely benefited, for he turned us from error to God, and perfected us in complete knowledge, and set before us future goods, as I have already said above.

Videtur quod admodum sapienter hoc tempore factus fuit [adventus] quia si praevie fuerat manifestatus [Christus] non potuissent antiqui illum accipere; quemadmodum etiam ille qui nunc coepit in disciplina enunciationis syllabarum, non habet scientiam sufficientem ad intelligendum sensum librorum interpretationis. Si vero quis dicat Deum potuisse omnes illas scientias in nobis iam ab initio infigere sine graduali exercitatione, hic errat, quia, dum vult se liberare a labore, sese abiicit in ordinem irrationalium, quibus omnia quae possident, sine exercitatione, naturaliter sunt: sicut apibus opus melis, et turturibus pudicitia. Nullum quidem ex his generibus dignum esse dicimus nec laude nec convicio, nec bona remuneratione nec poena; quod etiam apud nos sic contigisset, si sine exercitatione iam (ab ipsa) creatione nostra accepissemus vitam illam non indigentem; quapropter opus fuit nos prius proclives esse; necesse fuit ut ille qui exercendo didicit, a parvis ad maiora duceretur.

It seems that the coming was made very wisely at this time, for if Christ had been manifested earlier the ancients would not have been able to receive him; just as one who now begins in the discipline of enunciating syllables does not have sufficient knowledge to understand the sense of books of interpretation. But if anyone should say that God could have implanted all those sciences in us already from the beginning without gradual training, he errs, because, while he wishes to free himself from toil, he casts himself into the order of the irrational, to whom all that they possess are natural without exercise: as to bees honey, and to turtledoves chastity. We do not say that any among these kinds is worthy either of praise or of blame, neither of good reward nor of punishment; which likewise would have occurred to us, if without exercise from creation itself we had already received that life needing nothing; wherefore it was necessary that we first be disposed; it was necessary that he who learns by practice be led from small things to greater.

Sed ecce [dicet aliquis] ille creavit nos proclives [ad malum], et propter hanc causam peccavimus; cur igitur iudicat nos peccantes? Quis judicatur eo quod proclivis est? Absit, ne ullus quidem!

But behold [someone will say] he created us proclive [to evil], and on account of this cause we sinned; why then does he judge us as sinners? Who is judged because he is proclive? Far be it — not a single one!

Nam proclivitas et peccatum non sunt idem. Proclivitatem illud vocamus, quando quis unum facere eligit cum potest inclinari ad duo aequaliter; peccatum vero reputamus, quod cum quis iudicat in sua intelligentia aut discit ex praeceptis Dei, vel etiam cum potest iudicare et scire, quod aliquid non est faciendum, negligit tamen calcatque suam intelligentiam, et contemnit praecepta divina, et propter suum lucrum temporaneum vel propter suam malam adversus socium voluntatem, vel propter quamcumque [aliam] causam, facit quod ipse quidem intellexit vel intelligere potuit non esse faciendum, quodque facere prae cepto divino prohibetur. Neminem iudicabit Deus eo quod ad illicitum inclinetur, sed eo quod, cum potuisset se cohibere a faciendo quod non erat faciendum illud tamen patraverit, quod vero erat faciendum propter quamcumque causam non fecerit.

For proclivity and sin are not the same. We call proclivity that thing when someone chooses to do one thing when he can incline equally to two; but we reckon sin that which, when someone judges in his own intelligence or learns from the precepts of God, or even when he is able to judge and know that something ought not to be done, nevertheless neglects and tramples his own intelligence, and despises the divine precepts, and for his own temporary gain or because of his bad will against a companion, or for whatever [other] cause, does what he himself understood or could have understood ought not to be done, and which to do is forbidden by a divine precept. God will judge no one because he leans toward the illicit, but because, when he could have restrained himself from doing what ought not to be done, nevertheless he has committed that, and because he for whatever reason did not do what truly ought to have been done.

Si vero, [inquiet quis] nos non creasset proclives non quidem peccavissemus! sed [respondemus] et non iustificati fuissemus; quemadmodum enim si ita te creasset ut Deo placere non posses, non esset tibi peccatum; simili modo si ita te condidisset ut peccare non posses, nulla esset tibi iustitia. Nunc vero quia potes respicere aequaliter ad utrumque quotiescumque velis, est tibi tum peccatum tum iustitia: Peccatum: quia cum potuisses Deo placere, sicut et reliqui homines qui per singulas generationes ei placuerunt eiusque fecerunt voluntatem, tu sectatus es cupidines tuas, cum quod iustum est tibi curae non fuerit.

If indeed, [someone may say] he had not created us inclined, we would not indeed have sinned! but [we reply] we also would not have been justified; for just as if he had created you so that you could not please God, there would be no sin for you; in like manner if he had fashioned you so that you could not sin, there would be no righteousness for you. But now because you can turn your regard equally to either whenever you will, there is for you both sin and righteousness: Sin, because, when you could have pleased God, as also the rest of men who in successive generations pleased him and did his will, you pursued your own desires, since what was right was not a care to you.

Item iustitia: quia cum potuisses bona lucrari, aequitatem et cultum Dei prae omnibus rebus aestimasti. Ergo propter hoc reprehenderis et poenam accipies; propter illud vero laudaberis et dignus bonorum delectatione habeberis. Si vero proclivia nominamus animalia muta, vel creaturas sensibus non praeditas, metaphorice illa ita nominamus, loco dicendi ea mutabilis esse naturae.

Likewise, justice: because when you could have gained goods, you esteemed equity and the worship of God above all things. Therefore for this you will be reproached and receive punishment; for that other thing you will be praised and will be held worthy of the delight of good things. If, however, we call proclivia mute animals, or creatures not endowed with senses, we so name them metaphorically, by a figure of speech, because they are mutable in their nature.

De rationalibus vero proclivitas praedicatur eo modo quo supra locutus sum. Si itaque quis dicat Deum potuisse ambo apud nos operari: (scil.) nos iam ab initio facere non proclives, et in nobis infigere scientiam discernendi omnia quae licent, sine experientia in aliis, hic certe non scit quid dicit, neque cognoscit quid postulat. Quidquid enim fingere possumus existere, invenimus in uno ex his modis existere, et extra hos modos nihil aliter existit, nec existere potest.

Of the rational ones, however, inclination is predicated in the manner I spoke above. If therefore anyone should say that God could have wrought both upon us: (namely) to make us from the very beginning not inclined to do wrong, and to implant in us the science of discerning all that is permitted, without experience from others, this man certainly does not know what he says, nor does he comprehend what he demands. For whatever we can imagine to exist, we find that it exists in one of these modes, and outside these modes nothing else exists otherwise, nor can it exist.

Existit Deus nostri omnium factor; existunt rationales qui omnes in duos ordines dividuntur, visibilium et invisibilium; existunt animalia omnia muta; et existunt creaturae non viventes sensibusque non praeditae. Sed Deo non datur simile, nec dabitur. Quomodo enim potest ens creatus esse similis creatori?

There exists God, maker of all of us; there exist rational beings, which all are divided into two orders, of the visible and the invisible; there exist all mute animals; and there exist creatures not living by the senses and not endowed with senses. But to God no likeness is given, nor will be. For how can a created being be like the Creator?

cum nec existentiam sibi ipsi dare potuerat; et quomodo potest ens creatus sine initio esse? cum, ecce, quodam tempore exstitit; et antequam existeret, non existebat. Vel quomodo illius natum non est limitata cuius existentiae tempus limitatur?

since it could not give existence to itself; and how can a created being be without a beginning? since, behold, at a certain time it came into existence; and before it existed, it did not exist. Or how is the offspring of him whose existence’s time is limited not itself limited?

Oportet enim quod nec tempus aliquod, nec quamcumque aliam extensionem fingere possimus ante existentiam illius cuius natura nihilo coarctatur. Dei autem solius sunt haec omnia, quod omnes creaturas, quando non existebant existere fecerit, cum ipse existit essentialiter et ab aeterno ante omnia saecula et tempora quae in mentem veniant, quodque eius natum sit incircumscripta et infinita. Item, ut ex his omnibus concludi potest, impossibile est illud intelligere, quod, nempe [ens creatus] aliquid sciat qum ab alio acceperit vel experientia didicerit et quod sit sicuti est omni tempore et quocumque momento quod in mentem venire potest qum experietur ullam mutationem qualicumque modo.

For it must be that neither any time nor any other extension we can imagine is before the existence of that whose nature is constrained by nothing. But all these things belong to God alone, in that he made all creatures to exist when they did not exist, since he himself exists essentially and from eternity before all ages and times that can be conceived, and that his nativity is uncircumscribed and infinite. Moreover, as can be concluded from all these things, it is impossible to understand that [ens creatus] should know anything which it has received from another or learned by experience, or that it should be so at every time and at whatever moment can be imagined when it undergoes any change in any manner.

Etenim [etiam] haec sunt Dei proprietates quas nulla creatum assequi potest. Ubi enim una harum invenitur, ipsa cohaerentia necessarie postulat ut omnes inveniantur. Itaque magna audacia est, et ad impudentiam Satanae pertinet id quod quis dicat: pulchrum esset si non proclives et mutabiles essemus, et ab initio omnes scientias distincte possedissemus.

For indeed [also] these are the properties of God which no created thing can attain. For where one of these is found, that very coherence necessarily demands that all be found. Therefore it is great audacity, and pertains to the impudence of Satan, that anyone should say: "It would be beautiful if we were not prone and mutable, and had from the beginning distinctly possessed all sciences."

Hic scit quod ad gradum (Dei) surgere petit; et hoc meretur poenam quantam potest quis dicere; et, ut breviter dicamus, ille qui sic loquitur, meretur in nihilum reverti. Si itaque impossibile fuit nos in tali gradu constitui, numquid igitur postularemus fieri sicut lapides et ligna, et quatuor elementa atque similia, quae ad peccatum non inclinantur? Sed si de hoc interroges quemcumque vationalem, invenies [eum et alios] omnes pariter id recusantes; nullus vult fieri vel etiam sicut sol, qui scipsum non cognoscit etsi bene splendeat.

He knows that he seeks to rise to the degree (of God); and for this he deserves a punishment as great as one can say; and, to speak briefly, he who speaks thus deserves to be reverted into nothing. If therefore it was impossible that we be established in such a degree, should we then demand to be made like stones and wood, and the four elements and the like, which do not incline to sin? But if you ask any vaunting aspirant, you will find [him and others] all alike refusing it; no one wishes to become even like the sun, which does not know itself though it shines well.

Etenim ex eo quod, si velimus, multis modis ignem de eo accendamus, apertum est quod solis natum sit ignis; apertum est etiam ignem ex lapidibus exire; manifestum vero est quod quid in medio lapidum absconditum, non est vivum nec sensibus praeditum, neque tale [esse] desiderat ullus rationalium. Et si non hoc, num rogamus fieri sicut animalia muta, quibus peccatum non imputatur, nec iustitia, qualescumque sui sint mores? Gallum enim non reprehendimus quantumvis calcet; nec turturem laudamus quod non coeat nisi cum una; nec asinam dicimus poena dignam quod toties foetum concipiat; nec beatam dicimus mulam quae prorsus nec copulatur nec concipit.

For from the fact that, if we wish, in many ways we can kindle fire from it, it is clear that fire is born of the sun; it is also clear that fire issues from stones; and it is manifest that whatever is hidden in the midst of stones is not alive nor endowed with senses, nor does any of the rational creatures desire to be such. And if not this, do we ask that it be made like mute animals, to whom sin is not imputed, nor justice, whatever their manners may be? For we do not reproach the cock however much he stamps about; nor do we praise the turtledove because it does not pair except with one; nor do we call the she-ass worthy of punishment because she conceives offspring so often; nor do we call the mule blessed which in no wise is coupled nor conceives.

Sic non dicimus reliquas etiam animalium mutorum species habere peccatum nec justitiam in suis operibus. Invenimus autem omnes rationales hoc posterius quemadmodum et prius recusare. Haec autem omnia ideo creata sunt, tum ut praebeant nobis scientiam et multos usus, tum etiam ut per ea discamus quali beatitudine dignos nos fecit Creator omnium qui nos non creavit sicut unum ex illis; et ut gratias agamus pro eius amore paterno erga genus nostrum.

Thus we do not say that the remaining species of mute animals possess sin or justice in their works. But we find all rational beings alike to reject this both afterwards and before. Now all these things were created for this reason: partly to afford us knowledge and many uses, and partly also that through them we might learn by what sort of beatitude the Creator of all made us worthy, who did not create us as one of them; and that we might give thanks for his paternal love toward our race.

Quid exinde? Si impossibile est nos fieri sicut Deus, et si non eligimus nobis fieri sicut genera belluarum aut sicut una creaturarum sensibus non praeditarum, quid superest nobis, nisi ut gratias Deo agamus verbo et factis, in quantum possumus, quod sic nos honoravit atque exaltavit prae omnibus visibilibus, et nos etiam adduxit atque nos fecit participare de suis in quantum decorum fuit? Si vero quis dicat: cur nos non creavit ad similitudinem angelorum?

What then? If it is impossible for us to become like God, and if we do not choose to be made like the kinds of beasts or like those one of the creatures not endowed with senses, what remains for us except to give thanks to God in word and deed, as far as we are able, that He thus honored and exalted us above all visibles, and also brought us and made us to share in His things as far as was fitting? But if anyone says: why did He not create us in the likeness of the angels?

Ecce illi etiam proclives sunt sicut et nos; omnes enim daemones, et diabolus, ex illis profecto ordinibus sunt [et tamen peccaverunt]. Nostrae autem instructioni profuit hoc, quod ex tota creatione, visibilium atque invisibilium, compositi simus nos homines; ut discamus per nosmetipsos, et angeli pariter per nos, quod unus est Deus, factor omnium creaturarum visibilium atque invisibilium. Nisi enim ita factum esset, videretur nobis tot esse factores, quot species naturarum. Nunc vero cum omnes varias species creationis congregavit Factor sapiens in uno animali, homine rationali, aperte cognoscitur quod etsi variae sint naturae, et multiformes creaturae, unus tamen est eorum factor, ille qui ea omnia congregavit et strinxit in uno homine qui ex his omnibus componitur.

Behold, they too are inclined like us; for all the demons, and the devil, indeed are from those orders [and yet they sinned]. It has been useful to our instruction that we men are composed from the whole creation, of the visible and the invisible; so that we may learn through ourselves, and the angels likewise through us, that there is one God, maker of all visible and invisible creatures. For if it had not been made thus, it would seem to us that there are as many makers as there are species of natures. But now, since the wise Maker has gathered together all the diverse species of creation into one animal, the rational human, it is plainly known that although natures are various, and creatures manifold, yet their maker is one, he who gathered and bound all these into one man who is composed of all of them.

Sed ecce [quis dicet] quia proclives sumus, peccant multi; et propter hanc causam tradentur in gehennam ad poenam incessantem. Quid proficit quod fuerint rationales atque intelligentia praediti, cum sint indigni bonis coelestibus? Ille qui sic loquitur debet hoc considerare, quod illi qui peccaverunt, potuerunt non peccare, ad instar illorum reliquorum qui Deo placuerunt, cum sint eiusdem naturae ac ipsi.

But behold [who will say] that because we are prone, many sin; and for this reason they will be delivered into Gehenna to unceasing punishment. What profit that they were rational and endowed with intelligence, when they are unworthy of heavenly goods? He who thus speaks ought to consider this, that those who sinned could have not sinned, like those other ones who pleased God, since they are of the same nature as themselves.

Propterea quod quidem voluntarie contemptui habuerunt atque despexerunt praecepta divina, iuste felicitate coelesti privantur. Verumtamen valde altius est atque praestantius, esse aliquem in gehenna, quam non esse rationalem et discernentem. Si non creditur verbum meum, videamus ex factis, et interrogemus caecum qui nec videt nec delectatur in splendida luce solis sensibilis.

Because they willingly held divine precepts in contempt and despised them, they are justly deprived of heavenly felicity. Nevertheless it is far higher and more excellent to be someone in Gehenna than to be non-rational and non-discerning. If my word is not believed, let us look to facts, and let us ask the blind man who neither sees nor delights in the splendid light of the sensible sun.

Videamus quid sibi eligat: manere sicut est, vel fieri asinus cui sunt oculi magni, et optime videre. Sed [inquies] caecus est, et suum vitium non est valde malum. [Esto;] quis, autem, in hoc mundo magis humiliatus est quam leprosus?

Let us see what he chooses for himself: to remain as he is, or to become a donkey who has large eyes, and sees very well. But [you will say] he is blind, and his fault is not very bad. [Be it so;] who, however, in this world is more humiliated than a leper?

Si tamen eum interroges, invenies eum petentem in doloribus suis manere, potiusquam transformari in camelum, verbi gratia, vel in aliquid aliud simile. Simili modo illi qui in Gehennam eunt in poenasque cadunt diversas, propter sua exosa opera, indesinenter gratia agunt benignitati sui benefactoris quod eos in nihilum non converterit, prout promeriti sunt, nec fecerit eos ad instar animalium mutorum, nec ad instar creaturarum sensibus non praeditarum. Quod privati sint ascendere ad coelum et iustis misceri, hanc rem imputant suis operibus, conscii nullam habere excusationem; ita ut de hoc incessanter laudant iustitiam divinam.

Si however you question him, you will find him asking to remain in his pains rather than to be transformed into a camel, for example, or into some other similar thing. In like manner those who go into Gehenna and fall into diverse penalties, on account of their hateful works, incessantly give thanks to the grace and benignity of their benefactor that he has not turned them into nothing, as they have deserved, nor made them like mute animals, nor like creatures not endowed with senses. That they are permitted to ascend to heaven and to be mingled with the just they ascribe to their own works, conscious of having no excuse; so that concerning this they ceaselessly praise divine justice.

Relate vero ad id quod supra dixi: (scil.) quod ubi est scientia omnis rei sine aliqua experientia, et stabilitas in iisdem sine quacumque ullo modo mutatione, omnia haec necessarie Dei sint, forsan putabit quis hoc esse falsum, eo quidem quod credimus omnes rationales accepturos esse scientiam perfectam post resurrectionem ex mortuis, et immutabiles aeterne permansuros esse. Quanto distat hoc ab illo, apertum est eis qui intelligenter audiunt. Dixi enim scientiam omnis rei sine aliqua experientia, et in iisdem stabilitatem quocumque tempore quod in mentem veniat, apud nos nunquam inveniri; sed, ecce iampridem in hoc mundo experientiam in multis habuimus, et mutationibus haud modicis mutati sumus.

Relate vero ad id quod supra dixi: (scil.) namely that where there is knowledge of every thing without any experience, and stability in those same things without any manner of change, all these things would necessarily be of God, perhaps someone will think this to be false, precisely because we believe that all rational beings will receive perfect knowledge after the resurrection from the dead, and will remain immutable eternally. How far this is from that, is plain to those who hear with understanding. For I said that knowledge of every thing without any experience, and permanence in those same things at whatever time may come to mind, are never found among us; but, behold, already in this world we have had experience in many things, and have been changed by no small alterations.

In hoc itaque non sumus [sicut] Deus. O frater noster venerande, quantumvis insufficientem quis dicat hunc tractatum, si tamen diligenter illum consideret, scire poterit quod ea quae ad hoc caput pertinent, omnia quamtumvis breviter, dixi.

In this, therefore, we are not [as] God. O our venerable brother, however insufficient one may call this tractate, if he nevertheless considers it diligently he will be able to know that the things which pertain to this head I have all stated, however briefly.

CAPUT SEXTUM. Opus fuit sumere aliquem mediatorem per quem acciperemus a Deo illa bona magna.

CHAPTER 6. It was necessary to take some mediator through whom we might receive from God those great goods.

Ostendamus exinde quod impossibile fuit accipere illa bona eaque possidere sine alicuius mediatione. Quemadmodum enim si ab initio revelata fuissent, nullum horum lucrifecissemus, cum non potuissemus ea cognoscere propter nostram pueritiam atque has quas diximus causas; simili modo, si hoc tempore Deus, omnium Dominus, in sapientia sua non usus fuisset alicuius mediatione, eorum possessio nobis non advenisset. Si enim Deus visibilis fuisset, ad nostram institutionem satis fuisset eum vidisse.

Let us therefore show from this that it was impossible to receive those goods and to possess them without some mediation. For just as if they had been revealed from the beginning, we would have gained none of these things, since we could not have known them because of our childhood and those causes which we have mentioned; in like manner, if at this time God, Lord of all, in his wisdom had not used some mediation, the possession of them would not have come to us. For if God had been visible, it would have sufficed for our instruction to have seen him.

Nunc vero quia non est visibilis, impossibile est nos de eo discere sine alicuius mediatione. Quamvis dicitur a prophetis quod viderunt Dominum, planum tamen est quod non videbant eius naturam. « Veritas enim et gratia per Iesum Christum fuit», dioit Ioannes.

Now, however, because he is not visible, it is impossible for us to learn of him without some mediation. Although it is said by the prophets that they saw the Lord, it is plain nevertheless that they did not see his nature. «For truth and grace were through Jesus Christ,» said John.

Cur 'veritas et gratia' dixit? Quia Deum nemo vidit unquam. « Illum qui habitat lucem splendidam quem nullus hominum vidit, neque videre potest ». Quibus nos docet Sanctus Paulus quod antiqui nunquam viderunt Deum» nec novissimi eum vident, nec homines scilicet, nec virtutes invisibiles.

Why did he say 'truth and grace'? Because no one has ever seen God. « He who dwells in the resplendent light whom no man has seen, nor can see ». By which Saint Paul teaches us that the ancients never saw God, nor do the latest see him, nor men, certainly, nor the invisible powers.»

Omne quod est visibile, vel ex parte videtur vel ex toto. Terram ex parte vidimus, et coelum et mare; et cum partem tantum utriuscumque vidimus, eo quod non sufficit visio nostra comprehendere quatuor regiones, dicimus: videmus coelum et terram et mare. Ex toto autem videmus omnes res parvas, ut, verbi gratia, lapides et arbores et [alia] similia, propter eorum parvitatem.

Everything that is visible is seen either in part or in whole. We have seen the earth in part, and the sky and the sea; and when we have seen only a part of each, since our sight is not sufficient to comprehend the four regions, we say: we see the sky and the earth and the sea. But we see wholly all small things, as, for example, stones and trees and [alia] similar things, on account of their smallness.

Atqui impossibile est nos Deum ex parte videre, ad modum terrae et coeli, quia non est compositus, et ex partibus non constituitur. Nec rursus cadit infra visionem ad modum rerum parvarum; quia ille est infinitus simulque incircumscriptus. Et si peteremus eum videre sicuti est, interitum nostrum tantum cupiremus.

But it is impossible for us to see God in part, in the manner of the earth and the sky, because he is not composite, nor constituted of parts. Nor again does he fall within vision in the manner of small things; for he is infinite and at once uncircumscribed. And if we should seek to see him as he is, we would only desire our own destruction.

Quis est enim qui dimittat paulum cerae in fornacem ignis et eam iterum inveniet? Vel quis est qui proiiciet pugillum pulveris in mare magnum, et poterit scire quid de illo factum sit? Et si in rebus istis, quamvis omnes sint creatae, sunt quae sese invicem devorant ac destruunt, si proximae fiant, vel si una in alteram decidat, multo magis nos consumeremur, [et citius, quidem,] quam liquescit cera in igne, vel evanescit pugillus pulveris in aquis multis, si vel incideret visio nostra in Deum, omnium factorem, qui est infinitus in sua Deitate et ineffabilis in sua gloria.

For who is there who would let a little bit of wax fall into the furnace of fire and find it again? Or who is there who would cast a handful of dust into the great sea, and be able to know what has become of it? And if in those things, although all are created, there are ones that devour and destroy one another, if they become adjacent, or if one falls upon another, much more would we be consumed, [and more quickly, indeed,] than wax melts in fire, or a handful of dust vanishes in many waters, if even our vision should fall upon God, the maker of all, who is infinite in his Deity and ineffable in his glory.

Sicut enim propter latitudinem suam et extensionem inexplorabilis est abyssus maris magni, nec quis potest enim transire absque auxilio navis aut cymbae [sic nec ullus homo] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . sine auxilio alicuius per quem ad invisibilis notitiam dirigatur. Si enim, quamvis anima sit creata et limitata, quia eam non videmus, non possumus cognoscere suam voluntatem, imo nec suam existentiam, quamdiu non operatur per aliquod e membris corporis, quanto minus potuissemus accipere doctrinam vel discere voluntatem illius qui est factor omnium et incomprehensibilis, sine eius revelatione per unam creaturarum facta. Recte igitur Deus qui vult nostra bona, iuxta abundantes gratiae suae divitias, non fecit suam ad nos revelationem sine alicuius mediatione, sed sumpsit e nobis hominem perfectum pro sua ad nos revelatione, et docuit nos per eum scientiam perfectam de sua natum deque sua voluntate, et nobis promisit bona coelestia non transeuntia.

For just as on account of its breadth and extension the abyss of the great sea is unsearchable, nor can anyone cross it without the aid of a ship or boat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . without the help of someone by whom one is directed to knowledge of the invisible. For if, although the soul is created and limited, because we do not see it we cannot know its will, indeed not even its existence, as long as it does not operate through some of the members of the body, how much less could we receive doctrine or learn the will of him who is the maker of all and incomprehensible, without his revelation made through one of the creatures. Therefore rightly God, who wills our good, according to the riches of his abundant grace, did not make his revelation to us without some mediation, but took from among us a perfect man for his revelation to us, and taught us through him perfect knowledge of his nativity and of his will, and promised us imperishable heavenly goods.

CAPUT SEPTIMUM. Propter quas causas Dominus noster Deus nihil aliud pro sua revelatione hoc tempore sumpserit, nisi hominem ex nobis.

CHAPTER SEVEN. For which causes our Lord God has assumed nothing else for his revelation at this time, except a man from among us.

Has igitur causas dicamus ob quas hoc tempore opus fuerit homine ex nobis ad revelationem divinam. Quaeritur enim, quare Deus nobis per hominem perfectum de genere nostro sumptum, et non quemadmodum patribus antiquis, per ignem, vel per nubem, vel per aliquam e creationis partibus, suam fecerit revelationem? Dicimus ergo: nobis per aliquam harum partium hoc tempore non fecit Deus suam revelationem, propter hanc ipsam causam quod iam per eas patribus nostris revelatus fuerat.

Let us therefore state the causes on account of which at this time it was necessary that a man from among us be taken for divine revelation. For the question is asked why God made his revelation to us through a perfect man taken from our race, and not, as to the ancient fathers, through fire, or through a cloud, or through some part of creation? We say therefore: God did not make his revelation to us at this time through any of these parts, for this very reason, namely because he had already been revealed to our fathers through them.

Quemadmodum enim ab initio Deus totam creationem per singulas partes condidit; et tunc postremo cum nihil deerat, illam in uno collegit homine, post quem nihil novum creavit: simili modo etiam nunc, postquam per partes cognitus factus fuisset nostris patribus in primis generationibus, collegit, novissimis temporibus, omnes partes omnium suarum revelationum in hoc homine quem ex nobis sumpsit; post quem in nullo alio revelabitur, quippe quod in eo consummata sunt omnia priora; et ipse permanebit in aeternum indissolubiliter. Quando enim redemptionem partialem facere volebat, et doctrinam pueris aptam docere petiebat, et necessitati temporariae volebat opitulari, per partem quamdam creationis tironibus revelationem suam rite complebat. Nunc vero quia redemptionem perfectam quae prodesset universae creationi, proferre voluit, et doctrinam omnino perfectam docere placuit ei, recte vinculum totius creationis sumpsit hominem corpore et anima perfectum, et in quo omnes creaturae visibiles et invisibiles continentur.

For just as from the beginning God founded the whole creation through its single parts; and then finally, when nothing was lacking, he gathered it into one man, after whom he created nothing new: in like manner even now, after he had been made known to our fathers in the first generations through parts, he gathered, in the last times, all the parts of all his revelations in this man whom he took from among us; after whom he will be revealed in no other, since in him all prior things have been consummated; and he himself will remain forever indissolubly. For when he willed to make a partial redemption, and sought to teach a doctrine fit for boys, and to help a temporary necessity, by some part of creation he duly completed his revelation to neophytes. But now, because he wished to bring forth a perfect redemption that would profit the entire creation, and it pleased him to teach a doctrine altogether perfect, rightly he took upon himself the bond of the whole creation: a man perfect in body and soul, in whom all creatures, visible and invisible, are contained.

Iterum propterea quod Adam homo primus, pater omnium hominum, ab initio suae formationis auscultavit diabolum et transgressus est mandatum divinum, et a Deo mortis iudicio damnatus est, quod scilicet ut debitum quoddam sese extendit et transmissum fuit in omnes eius posteros; proptereaque quod isti magis confortarunt super seipsos iudicium mortis per inventiones diversas idololatriarum et peccatorum multiplicium, despiciendo amorem erga proximos, et contemptui habendo honorem in parentes, et negligendo etiam observantias legis Moysis: (propter haec omnia) opus fuit oriri hominem eiusdem participem naturae, eorum fratrem, ex progenie Adami primi hominis; qui omnino iustus atque absque macula in omnibus suis moribus, auferret a nobis mortis iudicium, et solveret ac aboleret peccatum, et eriperet nos a servitute Satanae atque daemonum, et liberaret nos a maledicto legis Moysis, et promitteret nobis vitam immortalem in resurrectione ex mortuis. « Quemadmodum quidem per hominem [fuit] mors, ita etiam per hominem est reviviscentia mortuorum. Et sicut per Adam omnes homines moriuntur, ita etiam per Christum omnes vivificantur ». Et « Quemadmodum propter inobedientiam unius hominis peccatores multi fuerunt, ita etiam propter obedientiam unius hominis multi iusti fiunt ». Quemadmodum enim quando quis aliquo debito oneratur, si non potest illud solvere, eius bona ab eo auferuntur, etiamque liberi eius servituti traduntur; si vero oriatur quis de eius progenie, qui ratione suae prosperitatis, debita sui patris solvere potest, recipiet eius bona, et liberabit omnes suos fratres ab oppressione debiti atque servitutis: sic etiam postquam Adam debitor factus fuerat auscultando diabolum, et traditus fuerat morti, ipse eiusque proles tota post eum, sumpsit Deus hominem Iesum, Adamum secundum, de genere nostro, et per suam gratiam fecit eum immaculatum; fecitque eum mori, —etiamsi debitor non fuit quia non peccavit, —ut per eius innocentiam solvatur debitum nostrum; et nos vivamus per eius mortem qui peccato non erat subiectus, [nos, inquam] qui scilicet, propter peccatum iudicium mortis acceperamus.

Again, because Adam the first man, father of all men, from the beginning of his formation listened to the devil and transgressed the divine command, and was by God condemned to the judgment of death, so that, as it were a due, it was extended and transmitted to all his posterity; and because these strengthened the judgment of death upon themselves by diverse inventions of idolatries and manifold sins, despising love toward their neighbors, and holding the honor of parents in contempt, and even neglecting the observances of the law of Moses: (on account of all these things) it was necessary that a man of the same participating nature arise, their brother, from the progeny of Adam the first man; who being altogether just and without blemish in all his manners, would take away from us the judgment of death, and loose and abolish sin, and snatch us from the servitude of Satan and of demons, and free us from the curse of the law of Moses, and promise us immortal life in the resurrection from the dead. "Just as through one man there was death, so also through one man is the revivification of the dead. And just as through Adam all men die, so also through Christ shall all be made alive." And "As through the disobedience of one man many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one man many are made righteous." For just as when one is burdened with a debt, if he cannot pay it his goods are taken from him, and his children are even handed over to servitude; if, however, one should arise from his progeny who by reason of his prosperity can pay his father's debts, he will receive his goods and will free all his brothers from the oppression of the debt and of servitude: so too after Adam had become a debtor by listening to the devil, and had been handed over to death, God took the man Jesus, the second Adam, from our stock, and by his grace made him immaculate; and made him to die—even though he was no debtor because he had not sinned—so that by his innocence our debt might be paid; and we might live through his death who was not subject to sin, [nos, inquam] who, namely, because of sin had received the judgment of death.

Si enim Deus crucifixus atque mortuus fuisset, ut dicunt haeretici, hoc nobis nullius utilitatis fuisset; sed deos suos socios redemisset. — Si enim Deus mortalis sit, apertum est multos etiam esse deos ei similes. — Deus autem verus de nulla passionum creaturarum participat.

For if God had been crucified and dead, as the heretics say, this would have been of no benefit to us; rather he would have redeemed his own gods as companions. — For if God be mortal, it is manifest that many likewise are gods similar to him. — But the true God partakes of none of the passions of creatures.

Si vero quis dicat, praestantissimae esse misericordiae, ipsum mori ut nos redimamur, sicuti si quis debitor sit et alius [debitum] solvat pro illis qui servituti traditi sunt, et liberet eos, ecce hoc fecit homo Domini nostri, quia cum ipse solus iustus fuerit atque immaculatus, promisit vitam immortalem omnibus hominibus suae naturae participibus. Facile vero fuisset Deo, si ei utile visum fuisset, etiam sine accipiendo hominem ex nobis, nutu suo solo omnibus nobis vitam immortalem afferre. Hoc vero non fecit, ne existimaretur nefariorum amator, eo quod dum in peccatis eramus redemisset nos sine mediatione hominis ex nobis qui iustus esset.

If, however, anyone should say that it was of most excellent mercy that he himself should die so that we might be redeemed, just as when one is a debtor and another pays the [debt] for those who have been handed over to servitude and frees them, behold this the man of our Lord did; for although he alone was just and unblemished, he promised immortal life to all men participating in his nature. It would indeed have been easy for God, if it had seemed to him useful, even without receiving a man from among us, by his mere nod to bring immortal life to all of us. But he did not do this, lest he be thought a lover of the wicked, because, while we were in sins, he redeemed us without the mediation of a man from among us who was just.

Nunc vero eo quod [hominem] ex nobis sumpsit, et tum demum nos a morte et a peccato liberavit, manifestavit suam iustitiam; et terruit nos quominus patraremus nefaria et mala morti tradens illum qui debitor non fuit, et sic nos redimens. Insuper eo quod satis habuit unum tantum pro toto genere nostro [mori], manifestavit suam misericordiam ineffabilem; cum enim unumquemque nostrum sine macula esse oporteret, et tum demum vitam aeternam possidere, hanc per unum tantum qui iustus fuit, promisit nobis ne debilitaret aut omnino praecluderet spem commutationis nostrae ad virtutem. Hae tamen rationes afferuntur secundum modos oeconomiae divinae.

Now indeed because he took [hominem] from among us, and then at last freed us from death and from sin, he manifested his justice; and he frightened us so that we would not suffer wicked and evil things by handing over to death him who was not a debtor, and thus redeeming us. Moreover, because it was sufficient that one only should [mori] for our whole race, he manifested his ineffable mercy; for since each one of us ought to be without blemish, and then at last to possess eternal life, he promised this to us through the one only who was just, lest he weaken or entirely shut off the hope of our change into virtue. These reasons, however, are offered according to the modes of the divine economy.

Apertum est enim quod ab initio placuit Deo prius naturam nostram patientem et mortalem facere; et tum denique post disciplinam et exercitationem rationalitatis nostrae in hoc mundo, participes nos efficere vitae immortalis et immutabilis. Ut ex omnibus rebus nostris utilitatem nobis concederet, ostendit mortem quae in Adami natum inde ab eius creatione imposita fuit, cum nos scilicet per peccatum devicit, ut omnes timeamus et terreamur quominus transgrediamur praecepta Dei; Si tantam iniuriam faciebat inobedientia, ut hominis compositionem dissolveret, et separaret eius animam ab eius corpore. Vitam quidem illam immortalem quam sibi ante constitutionem mundi nobis tempore opportuno largiri proposuerat, per hominem Iesum Christum protulit, quemadmodum dixit Paulus Apostolus: « Unus est mediator Dei et hominum »; ut nos omnes incitaret simul atque adhortaretur amare et sollicitos esse de iustitia quae talem habet vim, ut cum in uno tantum invenitur, multos sine numero vivificat.

For it is clear that from the beginning it pleased God first to make our nature patient and mortal; and then finally, after the discipline and training of our rationality in this world, to make us sharers of immortal and unchangeable life. So that he might grant to us the benefit from all our things, he revealed death, which was imposed upon Adam’s race from his creation onwards, when indeed by sin he conquered us, that we all might fear and be terrified lest we transgress God’s precepts; for disobedience worked so great an injury as to dissolve the composition of man, and to separate his soul from his body. That immortal life, however, which he had proposed to bestow upon us at a fitting time for himself before the constitution of the world, he deferred through the man Jesus Christ, as the Apostle Paul said: «There is one mediator of God and men»; so that he might at once incite and exhort us all to love and to be solicitous for the righteousness which has such power that, since it is found in one only, it quickens countless multitudes.

Haec igitur fuit voluntas divina ante omnia saecula; schema quidem suae oeconomiae nobis profuit in multis quemadmodum dixi; quod si quis consideret et si discat sensum bibliorum, iustas dicet illas rationes quas nunc enarravimus; opus profecto fuit accipere prae omnibus hominem Domini nostri. Quia hoc tempore quo natum nostra, ut dixi, pervenit ad staturam perfectam, ut quis dicat, opus fuit nobis recipere doctrinam perfectam de Deo qui cognoscitur in tribus personis Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti, paribus in natura, sine initio et sine fine; quod quidem per quamdam partem creationis rationalibus revelari non potuit. Hoc apertum est ex eo quod quotiescumque in his similibus Deus illis antiquis revelabatur, non sciverunt discere illam divinitatis naturam gloriosam quae in tribus personis cognoscitur, et superat omnem compositionem et omnem finem atque limitationem localem.

This then was the divine will before all ages; indeed the schema of his oeconomy profited us in many respects, as I have said; and if anyone consider and learn the sense of the Scriptures, he will call just those reasons which we have now expounded; it was indeed necessary above all to receive the man of our Lord. Because at that time in which our [nature] was born, as I said, it reached perfect stature, so to speak, it was necessary for us to receive the perfect doctrine concerning God, who is known in three persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — equal in nature, without beginning and without end; which indeed could not be revealed to rational creatures through any part of creation. This is made plain from the fact that whenever God was revealed in such things to those ancients, they did not know how to learn that glorious nature of divinity which is known in three persons, and which surpasses every composition and every end and local limitation.

Nonnulli quidem putabant eius habitaculum esse in paradiso; alii vero opinabantur coelorum tantum finibus concludi eius habitationem; et aliqui cogitabant intra limites Ierusalem coarctari oeconomiam [eius] operationis, cum nesciebant distinctionem personarum divinitatis. Nos vero per hominem (sumptum) ex nobis nunc didicimus quod Spiritus est Deus, et quod aequaliter habitat in omni loco qui in mentem veniat, et aeque potest operari; universus mundus ab eo sustentatur, et est in eo sicut granulum arenae in manu unius nostrum, et quantum dici non potest. Et [didicimus] quia tripliciter in personis existit esse illud ineffabile.

Some indeed thought his habitation to be in paradise; others again supposed that his dwelling was closed within the bounds of the heavens alone; and some conceived that the œconomy of [eius] operation was to be confined within the limits of Jerusalem, since they did not know the distinction of the persons of the divinity. We however, through a man (sumptum) taken from us, have now learned that the Spirit is God, and that he equally dwells in every place that can be conceived, and equally can operate; the whole world is sustained by him, and is in him like a grain of sand in the hand of one of us, beyond what can be spoken. And [didicimus] that that ineffable Being exists threefold in the persons.

Ex eo enim quod nominatus est Christus, novimus Patrem qui unxit eum, et Spiritum Sanctum qui loco olei eum replevit, Iesum scilicet de Nazareth, hunc « quem unxit Deus Spiritu Sancto et virtute »; et iterum: « Spiritus Domini super me, propterea me unxit », ipse Dominus noster dixit de seipso. Iterum ex eo quod nominatus est Filius, intelligimus de Filio aeterno qui est cum Patre suo; quemadmodum ab hoc pane qui corpus Christi appellatus est, efferimur ad illud corpus quod est in coelo. Impossibile fuit quod Filii nomine appellaretur una ex his creationis partibus, per quas antiquis revelatus fuit, sicut ignis, et nubes, lapidesque, et ligna templi, et arca, et lamina aurea.

From the fact, then, that he is called Christ, we know the Father who anointed him, and the Holy Spirit who filled him in place of oil, Jesus of Nazareth, namely, him «whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit and power»; and again: «The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, therefore he has anointed me,» our Lord himself said of himself. Again, from the fact that he is called Son, we understand the eternal Son who is with his Father; just as from this bread which is called the body of Christ we are borne toward that body which is in heaven. It was impossible that he should be called by the name Son as one of those parts of creation by which he was revealed to the ancients, such as fire, and cloud, and stones, and the timbers of the temple, and the ark, and the golden plate.

Hominem vero Domini nostri Filium Dei vocatum fuisse, non videbatur res nova; nam multi ita nominati sunt, sicut illud: « Filios genui et exaltavi »; et « Ego dixi: dii estis, et filii Excelsi omnes ». Et quando appropinquabant ad eum et videbant eius opera quae superabant naturam, et audiebant verba eius dicentis: « Ego et Pater meus unum sumus »; et, « Qui videt me videt et Patrem », cognoverunt quod in eo absconditus erat Filius aeternus qui est ex Patre, qui per eum haec faciebat. Ei quidem congruunt verba his similia. Quemadmodum enim si manu annuas, et capite innuas, vel oculo nictes, anima, quae in corpore celatur et non videtur, ex parte tantum sese revelat, item si quis eat, vel veniat, vel surgat, vel sedeat, vel aliud huiusmodi [faciat]; omnia vero sua desideria et cogitationum suarum notiones per linguam solam docet atque manifestat; simili modo cum per unam harum partium Deus invisibilis antiquis revelabatur, scientiam partialem eos docebat iuxta necessitatem quam exigebat eorum pueritia.

That the man was called the Son of God, our Lord, did not seem a new thing; for many have been so named, as that saying: «I have begotten and exalted sons»; and «I said: you are gods, and all sons of the Most High». And when they drew near to him and saw his works which surpassed nature, and heard his words saying: «I and my Father are one»; and, «He who sees me sees also the Father», they came to know that hidden in him was the eternal Son who is from the Father, who through him was doing these things. Words similar to these indeed suit him. For just as if you nod with the hand, and bow the head, or wink the eye, the soul, which is hidden and unseen in the body, reveals itself only in part, likewise if anyone goes, or comes, or rises, or sits, or does other such things; yet he declares and manifests all his desires and the notions of his thoughts by the tongue alone; in a similar way, when the invisible God was revealed to the ancients through one of these parts, he taught them partial knowledge according to the necessity demanded by their childhood.

Nunc vero cum perfectnm ex nobis hominem acceperit, omnia sua desideria nos per eum docuit, et nobis perfecte naturam suam manifestavit, in quantum possibile est; sicut anima quae omnes suas notiones per linguam revelat atque cla?e manifestat. Itaque etiam propter hoc necessaria fuit sumptio? hominis ex nobis.

Now indeed, when he had taken a perfect man from among us, he taught all his desires to us through him, and perfectly revealed his nature to us, insofar as is possible; like a soul which reveals and plainly manifests all its notions through language. Therefore also for this reason the taking up of a man from among us was necessary.

Porro quia resurrectio ex mortuis promissa fuerat, et facta fuerat promissio ascensionis ad coelos [nec tamen exemplis illustratae fuerant], non certi fuissemus quod harum vel una compleretur apud nos, nisi hominem de nobis, eiusdem nostrae naturae, nobis similem vidissemus mori, resurgere, et ipsum prius ad coelos ascendere. Cum vero prius cuidam nobis simili [haec] evenerunt, credidimus iam non esse difficile ea etiam apud nos patrari, eo quod sumus eiusdem naturae cum illo qui reapse iam accepit haec ipsa, resurrectionem ex mortuis dico, et ascensionem iustorum ad coelos. Iterum quia per eum Deus omnes homines iudicaturus est, sicut Apostolus dicit: « Quando iudicabit Deus occulta hominum secundum Evangelium meum per Iesum Christum »; iusti iucunditates bonorum et scelesti poenam quam recipient, magis sentient quando a visibili sicut sunt ipsi est, accipient retributionem omnium suorum operum.

Furthermore, because resurrection from the dead had been promised, and the promise of ascension to the heavens had been made [nec tamen exemplis illustratae fuerant], we would not have been certain that either of these things would be fulfilled among us, unless we had seen a man of us, of the same nature as ours, like to us, die, rise again, and himself first ascend to the heavens. But when formerly these things befell one similar to us, we believed that it was no longer difficult for these things also to be accomplished among us, because we are of the same nature with him who in fact has already received these very things, I mean resurrection from the dead and the ascension of the righteous to the heavens. Again, because through him God will judge all men, as the Apostle says: "When God shall judge the hidden things of men according to my gospel through Jesus Christ"; the righteous will more fully sense the delights of good things and the wicked the punishment which they will receive, when, as they themselves are visible, they shall receive the retribution of all their works.

Denique post resurrectionem a mortuis et ascensionem iustorum ad coelos, non aedificabunt aedificia de lapidibus excisis et lignis et cedris et gemmis, ut in eis Deum sicuti in hoc mundo adorent; sed eis ipse erit pro templo in quo incessanter adorabunt Trinitatem sanctam, ostendentes suum erga Deum amorem, atque in eo tanquam in templo rationali offerentes adorationem Deo ab eis debitam, et gloriam, et gratiarum actionem; et in eo possidebunt consolationem et tranquillitatem; et eorum mens quae Deum cupit videre, [erit] veluti in portu quieto, cum eum utpote illum videbunt, et efferentur ab eo ad illum invisibilem, sicut ab imagine ad suum prototypum; nam ille est imago Dei invisibilis. Quando enim a nobis discedit aliquis nobis dilectus, si nos in suam imaginem intuimur magno cum delectu, quanto magis iusti consolabuntur atque gaudebunt, et flamma amoris mentis suae quae ardenter cupit videre Deum, suum creatorem causamque omnium suorum bonorum, fidem certam accipiet in hac imagine rationali quae vestitur gloria divina, et omnibus altior est, atque potestatem habet in omnes creaturas, siquidem in eo quodam modo videbunt illum qui eis est invisibilis, et per eum cognoscent illum qui sua essentia est absconditus, et certam de illo fidem accipient! O frater noster praeclare, assumptionem hominis ex nobis postulabant hae omnes causae: congregatio et perfectio omnium priorum, et redemptio omnium creaturarum visibilium et invisibilium, cessatio omnium molestiarum quae per Adam hominem primum apparuerunt regnantes super naturam nostram, condemnatio Satanae *********** accipiens stipendium operum suorum, et ut per eum ostendant iusti suum erga Deum amorem; et per eum accipiant certam fidem invisibilitatis sui Creatoris atque Benefactoris.

Finally, after the resurrection from the dead and the ascension of the righteous to the heavens, they will not build buildings of hewn stones and woods and cedars and gems, as if in them to worship God as in this world; but He Himself will be to them a temple in which they will incessantly worship the Holy Trinity, showing their love toward God, and in Him as in a rational temple offering to God the worship due from them, and glory, and thanksgiving; and in Him they will possess consolation and tranquillity; and their mind which longs to see God [erit] as it were in a still harbor, since they will indeed see Him, and will be carried by Him to that which is invisible, as from an image to its prototype; for He is the image of the invisible God. For when someone beloved departs from us, if we behold his image with great delight, how much more will the righteous be consoled and rejoice, and the flame of love of their mind which ardently longs to see God, their Creator and the cause of all their goods, will receive sure faith in this rational image which is clothed in divine glory, and is higher than all things, and has power over all creatures, since in Him in a certain manner they will see Him who is invisible to them, and through Him they will know Him who is hidden in His essence, and will receive a certain faith about Him! O our most excellent brother, all these causes demanded the assumption of a man from among us: the congregation and perfection of all the former, and the redemption of all creatures visible and invisible, the cessation of all troubles which through Adam the first man appeared, reigning over our nature, the condemnation of Satan *********** receiving the wages of his works, and that through Him the righteous might show their love toward God; and through Him they might receive a certain faith in the invisibility of their Creator and Benefactor.

CAPUT OCTAVUM. Dominus noster Christus non fuit homo simplex (Ψιλὸς ἀνθρωπος)

CHAPTER 8. Our Lord Christ was not a simple man (Ψιλὸς ἀνθρωπος)

Solvemus exinde dubitationem multorum qui a nobis audientes quod narravimus proprietates humanitatis Domini nostri, causasque propter quas sumpta fuerit, nobis occurrunt dicentes: homo igitur merus fuit, et ipse solus potuit nos redimere, iuxta verbum vestrum ? Quod quidem iniuste et ignoranter dicunt; si enim diligenter ad ea quae dicta sunt attendissent, intellexissent illud quod diximus: quod in eo Deus Verbum revelatur, cum suo Patre et Spiritu Sancto; et in eo tanquam in templo rationali incessanter adoratur; iterum in eo tanquam in imagine omnibus suis iustis se videndum praebet: quae non sinunt Dominum nostrum reputari merum hominem. Haec quidem, cum dicuntur, sola sufficiunt ostendere magnitudinem eius, et discrimen eum inter et omnes creaturas. Imo, dicemus alias causas quae ostendunt Deum inesse illi homini qui ex nobis sumptus fuit.

We will therefore dissolve the doubt of many who, hearing from us the properties of the humanity of our Lord which we have related, and the causes on account of which it was assumed, come to us saying: was he then a mere man, and could he alone redeem us, according to your word? Which indeed they say unjustly and ignorantly; for if they had attentively attended to those things which were said, they would have understood that which we have said: that in him the Word of God is revealed, with his Father and the Holy Spirit; and in him, as in a rational temple, is incessantly adored; again in him, as in an image, he presents himself to be seen by all his righteous ones—things which do not permit our Lord to be reckoned a mere man. These things indeed, when spoken, alone suffice to show his greatness and the distinction between him and all creatures. Moreover, we will set forth other causes which demonstrate that God is present in that man who was taken from among us.

Supra diximus, necessitatem postulare [Dominum nostrum] declarari perfecte iustus, et in omnibus sine macula: in cogitationibus, et verbis, et operibus ********** ********* et praebebat illi auxilium iuxta praestantiam eius voluntatis. Iustificatus quidem fuit per Spiritum. Et quia adimplevit legem Mosaicam, necesse fuit huius cursum aboleri utpote quid iam pridem expletum.

Above we said that necessity demands [our Lord] be declared perfectly just, and in all things without blemish: in thoughts, and words, and deeds ********** ********* and that aid was afforded him according to the excellence of his will. He was indeed justified through the Spirit. And because he fulfilled the Mosaic law, it was necessary that its course be abolished, as something already long since completed.

Propterea opus etiam fuit Deum ei inesse quia quidem ad ipsum solum pertinebat legem abolere, utpote qui illam dederit ab initio. Praeterea postquam desierat lex a suo cursu, et institutio Testamenti novi sumpserat exordium, necesse fuit illos accipere Sancti Spiritus gratiam adoptionis in filios, qui, per fidem in eum, domestici Dei facti fuerant. Quapropter etiam dicimus Deum in eo inhabitare, quia ipse solus potest gratiam Spiritus dare.

Therefore it was also necessary that God be in him, because to him alone pertained the abolishing of the law, being he who gave it from the beginning. Moreover, after the law had ceased its course, and the institution of the New Testament had taken its beginning, it was necessary that they receive the grace of adoption of the Holy Spirit into sons, who, through faith in him, had been made members of God’s household. Wherefore also we say that God dwells in him, because he alone can give the grace of the Spirit.

Sed et impossibile erat illum hominem Domini nostri a mortuis resurgere et ascendere ad coelos, nisi in eo fuit Deus. Solutionem enim mortis Ipse solus potuit perficere. Denique, sed nec possibile fuit nos accipere vitam novam, nec iustos ad altitudines sublimes elevari, si homo simplex fuisset Dominus noster Christus.

But it would have been impossible for that man our Lord to rise from the dead and ascend to the heavens, unless God was in him. For He alone could accomplish the undoing of death. Moreover, it was neither possible for us to receive new life, nor for the righteous to be raised to sublime heights, if our Lord Christ had been a mere simple man.

Propter haec omnia igitur, necesse fuit Deum inesse in illo homine qui ex semine David sumptus fuit, sicut et propter priora quae diximus. * * * * *.

Therefore on account of all these things it was necessary that God be present in that man who was taken from the seed of David, just as also on account of the earlier things which we have said. * * * * *.

CAPUT NONUM. Quam ob rem homo Domini nostri non fuerit sumptus ex terra, sed ex virgine sine coitu viri.

CHAPTER 9. For which reason the man of our Lord was not taken from the earth, but from a virgin without the coitus of a man.

Postquam visum fuit quod hodie congregamur propter bona quo nobis per Christum Dominum nostrum data sunt; cognitum etiam quaenam sint illa bona; et manifestatum est, in sapientia magna ad nostram utilitatem illud administratum fuisse, quod antea revelatio facta non fuerit; visumque est quod etiam opus fuit alicuius mediatione cuius ope haec bona ad nos pervenirent, quodque [ille mediator] nihil aliud nisi homo [debuit esse]: non quidem homo simplex sed [homo] in quo esset Deus omnium Dominus atque omnipotens: — dicemus exinde quam ob rem ex terra non sumpserit Deus hominem Domini nostri quemadmodum Adamum primum; et quam ob rem natus fuerit ex muliere sine coitu viri. Quando hoc ostenderimus, veniemus ad illud: quare ordinavit Deus ut conceptio eius tempore verno fieret? Et quid intelligimus ex hoc: quod hoc tempore natus fuerit?

After it was seen that today we are gathered for the goods which have been given to us through Christ our Lord; and also made known what those goods are; and it was manifest that, in great wisdom for our benefit, that which had not previously been revealed had been administered; and it seemed that there was also need of some mediation by whose aid these goods might come to us, and that [ille mediator] ought to be nothing other than a man [debuit esse]: not indeed a mere/simple man but [homo] in whom was God, Lord and almighty of all: — we shall therefore say why God did not take the man of our Lord from the earth as he did Adam at first; and why he was born of a woman without the coitus of a man. When we have shown this, we will come to that: why did God ordain that his conception should occur in the spring season? And what do we understand by this: that he was born in that season?

Adiiciemus illae [disputationi] brevem exhortationem quam ut finem dabimus totius disputationis, quemadmodum ab initio diximus. — Ab initio usque nostrae creationis, irritatores fuimus atque praeceptorum divinorum transgressores, et contemptores electionis vis nostrae discretivae, propter nostrum in socios nostrum odium. Breviter, per omnes generationes ita apparuimus Dei adversarii verbis nostris atque operibus, ita ut etsi ad nihilum conversi fuissemus hoc merito nobis accidisset * * * * * paucis exceptis qui per singulas generationes inventi sunt [iusti] inter nos, tanquam margaritae in arena.

We will add to that [disputation] a brief exhortation which we shall give as the end of the whole disputation, as we said from the beginning. — From the beginning even to our creation we have been instigators and transgressors of the divine precepts, and contemners of the election of our discriminating power, because of our hatred toward our fellow companions. In short, through all generations thus we have appeared as God’s adversaries by our words and deeds, so that even if we had been reduced to nothing this would rightly have befallen us * * * * * with a few excepted who in each generation have been found [just] among us, like pearls in the sand.

Sed [si] assumpsisset Deus hominem Domini nostri ex terra [sicut] primum Adamum, desperatione omnes capti fuissemus et opinati fuissemus Deum genus nostrum repudiasse propter nostra delicta, nec ullam nobis superesse spem; itaque Deo, cuius misericordia immensa atque benignitas paterna erga nostrum genus ab initio fuerunt, placuit sumere eum non ex terra sed ex ipsa natum nostra, ut doceret nos, vitam immortalem et non proclivem et incorruptibilem quam assumpsit Dominus noster in sua a mortuis resurrectione, toti generi nostro transmissam esse, omnesque nos simul illius participes esse, quia ille eiusdem ac nos naturae est, et a nobis non alienus. Quemadmodum enim quia nos eiusdem naturae sumus ac Adamus primus, molestiae quascumque ipse primus acceperit, transmissae atque extensae sunt ad nos omnes: ita quia Dominus noster eiusdem ac nos est naturae, et ipse initiator bonorum futurorum sicuti Adam molestiarum instantium, credimus atque speramus omnes nos, participes futuros esse vitae immortalis et non proclivis cum Domino nostro Christo, quemadmodum cum Adamo primo participes fuimus huius [vitae] quae plena est omnibus doloribus. Quemadmodum quidem per Adam omnes mortui sumus, ita per Christum omnes vivemus.

But [if] God had taken the man of our Lord from the earth [as] Adam was at first taken, we would all have been seized by despair and would have supposed that God had rejected our race on account of our sins, and that no hope remained for us; therefore it pleased God, whose mercy is immense and paternal kindness toward our race has existed from the beginning, to take him not from the earth but from one born of our very stock, so as to teach us that the immortal, incorruptible, and not profligate life which our Lord assumed in his resurrection from the dead was transmitted to our whole race, and that we all together are sharers in it, because he is of the same nature as we and not alien from us. For just as, because we are of the same nature as the first Adam, whatever sufferings he first received were transmitted and extended to all of us: so because our Lord Christ is of the same nature as we, and is himself the initiator of future goods as Adam was of present sufferings, we believe and hope that we shall all be sharers of the immortal and incorruptible life with our Lord Christ, just as with the first Adam we were sharers of that life which is full of all sorrows. As indeed through Adam we all died, so through Christ we all live.

******************* sicut primus Adam, aut ex quacumque alia parte quam quis excogitare potest. Apertum est enim quod, etsi absque coitu formatus est atque natus ex Maria Virgine, participat tamen totam naturam virorum atque mulierum, et pars utrorumque in eo fuit, siquidem Beata Maria ad instar omnium mulierum ex viro et ex femina facta est; si vero ipsa quae eum genuit ex ambobus ordinibus virorum atque mulierum constituta fuit, necesse est in eo inesse partem utrorumque, utpote natus ex ea quae ex ambobus constituta fuit. Ipse itaque filius Davidis et Abraham vocatur a Scripturis, siquidem ex eorum semine generata fuit Beata Maria, de qua ipse natus est.

******************* just as the first Adam, or from whatever other quarter anyone can devise. For it is plain that, although he was formed without intercourse and born of the Virgin Mary, he nevertheless partakes the whole nature of men and women, and a part of each was in him, since Blessed Mary, like all women, was made from man and from woman; and if indeed she who bore him was constituted from both orders of men and of women, it is necessary that in him there be a part of both, namely, born of her who was constituted of both. Therefore he is called the son of David and of Abraham by the Scriptures, since Blessed Mary, of whose seed he was born, was generated from them.

Itaque bona quae per eum [venerunt], omnibus hominibus tradita sunt, viris simul et mulieribus, quia ut dixi, naturaliter ad omnes pertinent. Quod vero de Spiritu Sancto sine coitu viri formatus sit, [hoc fuit] ut cognoscatur eum esse incoeptorem oeconomiae novae, et saeculi futuri, ad instar Adam qui formatus fuit ex terra, sine coitu, et fuit caput et pater huius mundi. Ille qui futurus erat caput atque incoeptor in oeconomia [vitae] mortalis, de terra non viva recte factus est; hic autem qui fuit incoeptor et monstrator huius mundi * **** ***** vitae immortalis ex terra viva, Maria Virgine, sumptus fuit sine coitu viri.

Therefore the good things which through him [came] were delivered to all men, to men and women alike, because, as I said, they naturally pertain to all. But that he was formed of the Holy Spirit without the coitus of a man, [this was] so that he might be known to be the inceptor of the new oeconomy and of the future age, after the likeness of Adam who was formed from the earth without coitus, and was head and father of this world. He who was to be head and inceptor in the oeconomy of [mortal] life was rightly made from non-living earth; but this one who was the inceptor and demonstrator of this world * **** ***** of immortal life was taken from living earth, Mary the Virgin, without the coitus of a man.

Ipsa novitas quod formatio eius sine semine fuerit, sufficiens est praedicare quod ille sit incoeptor oeconomiae novae quae dat resurrectionem mortuorum, quae fit per vim Spiritus, qui non caruit vi formandi ex virgine, sine semine, supra ordinem naturae.

The very novelty that his formation was without seed is sufficient to proclaim that he is the initiator of the new oeconomy which gives the resurrection of the dead, which is effected by the power of the Spirit, who did not lack the power to form [him] from a virgin, without seed, above the order of nature.

CAPUT DECIMUM. Quam ob causam ordinaverit Deus ut tempore verno conciperetur.

CHAPTER TEN. For what cause God ordained that it be conceived in the springtime.

Quod vero ordinaverit Deus ut tempore verno conciperetur, [hoc fuit] quia hoc etiam tempore fecerat Deus totam creationem: identitas enim temporis docebat, eumdem esse qui creavit ab initio et qui nunc renovat per hunc qui conceptus est et exinde, hoc tempore nasciturus est iuxta ordinem naturae quem, constituit Deus inde ab initio. Quod ex convenientia et similitudine operum [divinorum] dicimus. Quemadmodum, enim, hoc tempore dies, tempus lucis, deficit et imminuitur usque ad horas novem, nox vero, imperium tenebrarum, longior fit et pervenit ad quindecim horas; et deinde incipit dies, regnum lucis, (horas) sumere a nocte, imperio tenebrarum; iterum (quemadmodum) nulli fructus, cerealium vel arborum sunt hodie inter nos, — cerealia enim [vix] incipiunt crescere, et omnium arborum decidunt ipsa folia —, simili modo ambo videntur apud homines *********** adventus Domini nostri, Christi; lux enim scientiae veritatis hoc dissipat ab animabus nostris.

That God ordained that he be conceived in the springtime, [this was] because at that same time God had made the whole creation: for the identity of the season taught that he who created from the beginning is the same as he who now renews through him who is conceived and thereafter, at this season, is to be born according to the order of nature which God established from the beginning. Which we say from the convenience and similarity of the works [divine]. For just as, in this season, the day, the time of light, wanes and is diminished even to nine hours, while night, the rule of darkness, becomes longer and reaches fifteen hours; and then day, the reign of light, begins to take hours from the night, the rule of darkness; likewise (as) today there are no fruits, of grain or of trees among us, — for the cereals [scarcely] begin to grow, and the very leaves of all the trees fall off —, so in a similar way both are seen among men *********** the advent of our Lord, Christ; for the light of the knowledge of truth disperses this from our souls.

Tenebrae erroris adorationis idolorum cogitationes nostras tenebant, cum spoliati atque nudati eramus etiam omnibus fructibus operum iustitiae. Venit autem Dominus noster et Redemptor noster, Christus, et cum vidit nos in mente nostra errare, tum expulit a nobis tenebras adorationis idolorum, et nos duxit ad scientiam perfectam Trinitatis Sanctae, Patris et Filii, et Spiritus sancti; dedit nobis etiam gratiam Spiritus, per quam possemus crescere atque facere fructus iustitiae Deo Creatori acceptabiles. Sed et ethnici, adoratores elementorum, festum magnum hodie ubique quotannis celebrant, hac scilicet de causa, quia incipit sol vincere, regnumque eius magis se extendere.

The darkness of the error of idol adoration held our thoughts, when we were stripped and naked even of all the fruits of the works of righteousness. But our Lord and our Redeemer, Christ, came, and when he saw that we erred in our mind, then he expelled from us the darkness of idol adoration, and led us to the perfect knowledge of the Holy Trinity, of the Father and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; he also gave us the grace of the Spirit, through which we might grow and produce fruits of righteousness acceptable to God the Creator. But the ethnics, worshippers of the elements, likewise celebrate a great feast everywhere each year, for this very cause, namely because the sun begins to prevail, and his kingdom to extend more widely.

Sed oportebat eos considerare quod, si omnino gaudio festoque sit dignum quod dies inceperit sumere a nocte, eadem ratione iisdem festis dignum esset illud quod deinde incipiet nox, regnum tenebrarum, sumere a die, imperio solis. Quemadmodum enim cum nox prolongatur, nisi iterum minueretur, periret hominum ratio vitae; similiter et dies quando incipit longior fieri, nisi iterum minueretur, non esset huic mundo conservatio, quia sine aestate et hieme, calore et frigore, non potest subsistere ratio nostra vitae hic, quia ********* impossibile est sine ascensu atque descensu solis, elongatione et imminutione noctis et diei, illa existere [tempora]. Utilitas igitur quae est nobis quando superat sol, eadem prorsus est nobis quando deficit. Oporteret igitur Ethnicos errantes festum celebrare vel in utraque mutatione vel in neutra; quia lucrum aequale ex ambobus provenit, hoc est a Deo qui ea ita ordinavit.

But they ought to have considered that if it is altogether worthy of joy and festival that the day should begin to take from the night, by the same reasoning it would be worthy for those same festivals that what then begins — the night, the realm of darkness — should take from the day, by the empire of the sun. For just as, if the night were prolonged unless it were again diminished, the order of human life would perish; likewise when the day begins to become longer, unless it were again diminished, there would be no preservation of this world, because without summer and winter, heat and cold, our order of life here cannot subsist, since ********* it is impossible that those [tempora] exist without the rising and setting of the sun, the lengthening and shortening of night and day. Therefore the benefit which we have when the sun prevails is entirely the same as the benefit we have when it declines. It would therefore behoove the erring Gentiles to celebrate the festival either at both changes or at neither; for equal gain comes from both, that is, from God who so ordered them.

CAPUT UNDECIMUM. Exhortatio ad vitam honestam.

CHAPTER 11. Exhortation to an honest life.

Illi ergo festum celebrabant, sicut dixi, solis scilicet qui incipit hoc tempore superare imperium tenebrarum, et iterum deficiet. Ecclesia vero sancta celebrat festum nativitatis Christi, solis justitiae, qui incepit superare errorem et Satanam, et nunquam deficiet; cuius, e contra, imperium se extendit usquedum omnes rationales visibiles atque invisibiles imperio eius subiugati sint. Ei quidem omne genu flectetur coelestium, terrestrium, et eorum qui sunt subter terram.

They therefore celebrated a feast, as I said, namely of the sun, which at this season begins to prevail over the empire of darkness, and will again fail. The holy Church, however, celebrates the feast of the nativity of Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, who began to overcome error and Satan, and will never fail; whose empire, on the contrary, extends until all rational beings, visible and invisible, are subjected to his rule. To him indeed every knee shall be bowed — of the heavenly, the earthly, and those who are under the earth.

Quemadmodum, [igitur] festa nostra maiora sunt atque potentiora quam illa paganorum omniumque religionum, — scientia enim vera apud nos solos invenitur, — ita nostros mores, qui in cultu Dei fundantur, oportet honestiores et puriores esse quam reliquorum hominum, dum solliciti simus amborum aequaliter: lectionis bibliorum eorumque interpretationis, necnon doctrinae de festis eorumque causis; [sed] et vitae excellentis Christo Domino nostro acceptabilis. Curam habeamus de sociis nostris et fratribus nostris magis quam de nobismetipsis, si omnino discipuli simus Apostolorum qui sui Domini imitatores fuerunt. Ecce enim illi omnes de nostra utilitate solliciti fuerunt, etiamque laborabant die noctuque, in aestate et in hieme, in mari et in terra, omnibus viis et modis, ut nos omnes ad cognationem Domini nostri Christi adduceremur, et ut inveniremus bona quae in coelo parantur iis qui recte credunt atque recte vivunt.

Quemadmodum, [igitur] festa nostra maiora sunt atque potentiora quam illa paganorum omnumque religionum, — scientia enim vera apud nos solos invenitur, — ita nostros mores, qui in cultu Dei fundantur, oportet honestiores et puriores esse quam reliquorum hominum, dum solliciti simus amborum aequaliter: lectionis bibliorum eorumque interpretationis, necnon doctrinae de festis eorumque causis; [sed] et vitae excellentis Christo Domino nostro acceptabilis. Curam habeamus de sociis nostris et fratribus nostris magis quam de nobismetipsis, si omnino discipuli simus Apostolorum qui sui Domini imitatores fuerunt. Ecce enim illi omnes de nostra utilitate solliciti fuerunt, etiamque laborabant die noctuque, in aestate et in hieme, in mari et in terra, omnibus viis et modis, ut nos omnes ad cognationem Domini nostri Christi adduceremur, et ut inveniremus bona quae in coelo parantur iis qui recte credunt atque recte vivunt.

Omnibus malis obnixi sunt, et morti se tradiderunt pro nobis, quia vita nostra in Christo eis carior fuit quam ipsorum vita in hoc mundo. Quid dico, in hoc mundo? Cum unus eorum elegit se alienari a bonis futuris pro fratribus suis omnibus, ut illi participes bonorum Christi fierent; dicit enim: « Orabam ut ego ipse anathema essem a Christo pro fratribus meis et cognatis meis secundum carnem, qui sunt filii Israel ». Si igitur beatus Paulus, damnum sui ipsius et fere perditionem pro utilitate communi petiit in oratione, quomodo non nos pudet et erubescimus, et in timorem magnum atque tremorem non incidimus, nosmetipsos illorum discipulos vocare, cum eorum vitam eorumque perfectas voluntates non imitemur.

They endured all evils and delivered themselves over to death for us, because our life in Christ was dearer to them than their own life in this world. What do I say, in this world? When one of them chose to be alienated from the goods of the future for all his brothers, so that they might become sharers of the goods of Christ; for he says: «Orabam ut ego ipse anathema essem a Christo pro fratribus meis et cognatis meis secundum carnem, qui sunt filii Israel» — “I was praying that I myself might be anathema from Christ for my brothers and kinsmen according to the flesh, who are the sons of Israel.” If then blessed Paul sought the loss of himself and almost perdition for the common benefit in prayer, how can we not be ashamed and blush, and fall into great fear and trembling, to call ourselves their disciples, when we do not imitate their life and their perfect wills?

Similes igitur in omni re fiamus Apostolis, doctoribus, in quantum possibile est, ut cum eis participes simus bonorum coelestium. Quantumvis enim meditemur in eorum doctrinam et confiteamur eorum fidem, si eorum mores non habeamus, non perveniemus ad locum quo ipsi vadunt; sed fiemus sicut caeci super quos se extendunt radii solis, nec tamen delectantur in eorum fulgore, quia eis desunt organa ad eorum actionem recipiendam. Revera enim manifestatio fidei rectae et confirmatio disciplinae perfectae vita est honesta, sine * * * ******* nec doctrina nostra credibilis fiet iis qui extra ecclesiam sunt, nec nos, qui intus sumus, videbimur hanc, intuitu religionis Dei, tradere.

Therefore let us be like in every thing to the Apostles, to the teachers, as far as possible, that we may be sharers with them of the heavenly goods. For however much we meditate on their doctrine and confess their faith, if we do not have their manners, we shall not attain the place to which they go; but let us become like the blind upon whom the rays of the sun are stretched, and yet are not delighted in their brightness, because they lack the organs to receive its action. For truly the manifestation of right faith and the confirmation of perfect discipline is an honest life; without * * * *******, neither will our doctrine become credible to those who are outside the Church, nor shall we, who are within, be seen to deliver this, in consideration of the religion of God.

Solliciti ergo simus de moribus deque amore erga invicem; et [caveamus] ne simus causa malorum nobismetipsis, et scandalum omnibus qui nos vident; sed nosmetipsos paremus ad opera bona, ut digni fiamus illud [audire] verbum quod dicit: « Venite benedicti Patris mei, possidete regnum quod paratum fuerat vobis a constitutione mundi », cum omnibus iustis Christi; cui sit laus, et super nos misericordia eius in saecula. Amen.

Therefore let us be solicitous about morals and about love toward one another; and [caveamus] lest we be the cause of evils to ourselves, and a scandal to all who see us; but let us prepare ourselves for good works, that we may become worthy to [audire] that word which says: «Venite benedicti Patris mei, possidete regnum quod paratum fuerat vobis a constitutione mundi», with all the righteous of Christ; to whom be praise, and over us his mercy for ages. Amen.

Absoluta est disputatio de Nativitate, facta a Mar Thoma Doctore Edesseno. Oratio eius sit super peccatorem qui scripsit. Amen.

The disputation on the Nativity is concluded, made by Mar Thoma, Doctor of Edessa. Let his prayer be for the sinner who wrote it. Amen.